June 20th- World Refugee Day

Take a moment today to learn about the plight of millions of refugees around the world, and to reflect on what it would be like to be forced out of your home, displaced to an unfamiliar place, and face fears associated with personal safety, and food insecurity.

"Some 40 million people worldwide are already uprooted by violence and persecution, and it is likely that the future will see more people on the run as a growing number of push factors compound one another to create conditions for further forced displacement." http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/events?id=3e7f46e04

Chad Refugee Camp (from bbc.co.uk)

Amnesty International

My friend Bruno from Portugal put me onto this video. It is very thought-provoking. Bruno is also working on a write-up on AI which I will be posting soon. PLEASE NOTE: THE VIDEO IS NO LONGER WORKING SO I'VE RE-POSTED IT IN SEP. 07

Beijing 2008- The Olympic Spirit?

It is no secret that China has never rated well on the "human rights" scale. When Beijing was awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics, it started to "clean" itself up at the expense of the people that have lived there for generations (aka- forced evictions) . Developmental and gentrification projects have displaced people from their homes and have created an artificial environment, with a widening gap between the rich and the poor.

I have visited Beijing 4 times over the past 3 years and have found it shocking to see at what lengths the city will go to in order to try to convince the international community of its integrity and Olympic spirit.

http://hrw.org/campaigns/china/beijing08/

From Blood Diamonds to the Trial of Charles Taylor

The trial began two days ago for Charles Taylor, a man accused of instigating atrocities during Sierra Leone's decade long civil war. To this point he has refused to show up for the proceedings.

"The global, human-rights advocacy organization Human Rights Watch notes that Taylor, who served as Liberia's president until 2003, "is being tried on 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international law committed during Sierra Leone's conflict." Taylor's alleged crimes include "murdering and mutilating civilians, using women and girls as sex slaves, and abducting both adults and children and making them perform forced labor or become fighters." http://standardtimespress.net/cgi-bin/artman/publish/article_1377.shtml

Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma

Myanmar is a country in trouble. I'm not a big fan of celebrity endorsements, but Michael Stipes is one person that I trust. You don't have to believe that Aung San Suu Kyi will be a good leader, you just have to believe that the process that imprisoned her, and has extended her sentence is wrong.

Zimbabwe: A Country in Crisis

"The political and economic crises in Zimbabwe are worsening at an alarming rate. The policies, corruption and repressive governance of President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party are directly responsible for the severe economic slide, growing public discontent and international isolation of the country. In April 2006, inflation officially topped 1,000 per cent, helped by the decision to print $230 million worth of Zimbabwean currency to pay international debts and sustain operations. Unemployment is over 85 per cent, poverty over 90 per cent, and foreign reserves are almost depleted. Over four million persons are in desperate need of food. HIV/AIDS and malnutrition kill thousands every month. The government-sponsored 2005 “Operation Murambatsvina” to clear urban slums forcibly deprived more than 18 per cent of the population of homes or livelihoods and badly damaged the informal sector, the lifeline for many urban poor."http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=1233&l=1&gclid=CL-QjebgvYwCFQQ4TQodIXEvVw

I visited friends in Zimbabwe in 1991 and found it to be a success story for Africa. My friends warned me to not be too optimistic. Robert Mugabe was in charge of the country then and he still is today. I was told to watch and keep up with the goings on in the country, because it would change for the worse- those friends were right!

How has Robert Mugabe managed to stay in power since 1980? He led the fight against the white dominated government of Rhodesia and helped establish Zimbabwe and black rule. Since that point however, his human rights record has been on a continuous slide downwards. His condemnation of the gay community, his "land reforms", and his zero tolerance of any opposition in the country has led to a country in crisis.

The LTTE (aka Tamil Tigers) of Sri Lanka- Freedom Fighters or Terrorists?

I've been living in Sri Lanka just over half a year now and have actually felt the deterioration of human rights in this country. Many colleagues who have been here for years say it is the worst period they've ever experienced in the country.

The government claims that the LTTE is a terrorist group, but the LTTE claims that they are fighting for a Tamil homeland due to oppression by the Sinhalese majority. I don't want to choose sides, but I do want to add some points to ponder:

-The LTTE is still involved in recruitment of child soldiers
-The government is censoring the media
-There are hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the east due to the conflict
-There are muslim IDPs living north of Colombo forced out of Jaffna in the north by the LTTE, and are still living as displaced persons after 17 years
-Sri Lanka has increase its military spending
-The present government and the LTTE "seem" to have no intention of returning to peace negotiations
-Foreigners, specifically humanitarian workers, are being treated with suspicion by political parties and as such are being treated as scapegoats by the government
-The LTTE wants a Tamil homeland, but only for those of higher castes. They are not interested in the rights of Tamils from the tea plantations or from the east.

For more information on Sri Lankan news visit: http://www.lankapage.com

In Your Eyes Only Sadness

You have all heard about Darfur, but what do you know about it? http://www.darfurgenocide.org/

What Ever Happened to East Timor???

"East Timor's road to independence - achieved on 20 May 2002 - was long and traumatic.
The people of the first new nation of the century suffered some of the worst atrocities of modern times. An independent report has said at least 100,000 Timorese died as a result of Indonesia's 25-year occupation, which ended in 1999."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1508119.stm

The end of the occupation did not spell peace for the country though. Even recently there has been ongoing unrest, killings, and people forced to move into refugee camps. With the May 2007 presidential election of Jose Ramos Horta (1996 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his "work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor"), will there be a brighter future for this small nation?

Being Gay is Not Okay

Just when you think things are on track in the world, when countries are beginning to recognize that people with different sexual orientations are not evil and are "real" people, along comes Poland with it's "terrible twins" and their ban against all things gay, Iran with torture and execution of gay men, the US and it's evangelical right, and the pope (don't need to say more on that). There are many more countries that I could add to the list, but I'll let you check the link below for some sad truths.

http://direland.typepad.com/direland/

When I attended Colombo Pride last week I realized how far we still have to go, and no matter how many people are trying to stop the queer community from moving ahead, there are those that are pushing ahead and trying to create "equality for all" (see www.equal-ground.org).