Conflict Solutions International

Islam and Western Society

2011-05-06T13:36:00.000-04:00

CSI’s Islam and Western Society took place on April 6, 2011 at Western Presbyterian Church in Washington DC. The event had five speakers representing a broad array of different positions on the challenges facing Muslims living in Western Societies. Some, like Deborah Weiss Esq. and Dr. Ali Alyami highlighted current challenges, while others such as Pastor John Wimberly and Dr. Ahmed Moen discussed ways in which communities could work together even in the face of conflicts over religion. Dr. Diane Perlman, a psychologist whose research focuses on perception and conflict, rounded out the discussion with some additional context.
James Littleton moderated the discussion.

Pastor John Wimberly
Pastor Wimberly argued that Muslims and Islam in general are facing the same pressures as all communities of immigrants that came to the United States. Rather than condemn members of the Muslim community, the United States should do more to integrate it into the mainstream society. The United States’ greatest strength lies in its diversity and its ability to welcome in new peoples from around the world.

Dr. Ali Alyami.
Dr. Alyami argued that the lives of Muslims in the west are greatly complicated by the government of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government uses its wealth to advance the religious agenda of its Wahabi religious leaders. This is done through both Arabic language media and through funding of religious schools.
The Saudi government’s activism abroad is directly contrary to the interests of Muslim communities. According to Dr. Alyami, the Saudi government actively advocates separation between Muslims and non Muslims as well as advocates an extremely conservative interpretation of Sharia law. This advocacy is not only directed at Saudi citizens, but at Muslim communities of all origins.

Dr. Ahmed Moen
Ahmed Moen asserted that Americans of both Muslim and Christian faiths share many values. These shared values were not just religious, but stretched to many other parts of public life. He framed the issue as a matter of religious tolerance—religious tolerance which could be reinforced through dialogue between the mainstream and Muslim communities.
Unlike the other speakers, Dr. Moen pursued the most explicitly religious course, supporting his arguments with citations from the Quran as well as the Bible.
Moen argued that Islam has a long tradition of coexistence, citing Ethiopia as a major example. Islam had a presence in Ethiopia since the time of the prophet Mohammed, when according to the Quran the country’s Christian King offered Mohammed and his followers protection from their enemies on the Arabian Peninsula. Since then both Christian and Muslim communities have coexisted in Ethiopia and have often resolved their differences through interreligious dialogue and arbitrators.

Deborah Weiss, Esq.
Deborah Weiss’s concerns centered on the application of Sharia Law in the United States as advocated by nonviolent Islamists. According to Weiss, non-violent Islamists, such as those ideologically aligned with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood are a danger to the United States. Weiss argues that Islamists advocate the privileging of their own religion above others. This is done in part by requesting special accommodations- such as protecting the name of Islam from criticism- and through the usage of Sharia Law. Sharia, according to Weiss, is intrinsically at odds with the principles of the United States Constitution and is incompatible with mainstream western culture. Weiss singled out Sharia’s approach to women’s rights as one of the most significant issues. Furthermore, Islamists seek to undermine the separation of Church and State.
Like Dr. Alyami she argued that the isolation of Muslim communities in the United States and Europe was a problem. According to Deborah, this isolation leads Muslims to set up parallel institutions separate from mainstream society, and also contributes to the radicalization of Muslims and facilitated connections with sometimes violent extremist organizations in the Middle East. These points met the most resistance from the Wimberly, who argued that these features are much less ominous, but rather are temporary traits exhibited by most immigrant communities in the United States.

Dr. Diane Perlman
Dr. Perlman argued that America’s sense of vulnerability has given rise to a somewhat irrational view of the other. In this case certain members of the mainstream society in the United States are afraid of the Muslim community. This leads to reactions that exacerbate the resentments and tensions between the two communities such as the Quran burning in Florida. However these tensions are not about the other, as much as they are about the about perceptions.
In this way, Dr. Perlman’s arguments mesh most closely with those of Dr. Moen’s. The key to resolving tensions between the communities is through communication and dialogue.

For more information on the speakers, check out our speakers’ biographies on the CSI Website.

Videos about and from the Congo

2011-04-21T14:12:00.001-04:00

Citizen Global and VOA have united to increase awareness about the atrocities of the Eastern Congo. CSI has blogged about this topic before and subsequently wanted to share the videos put together on the topic.

http://www.citizenglobal.com/voa/congo/overview

You can see videos about the crisis, including interviews with experts, hear from the Congolese women, and see stories about rehabilitation.

CSI Tabletop Discussion Happy Hour

2011-02-23T16:33:00.000-05:00

Qadafi may be one of the most controversial leaders in modern history. This week he defied international calls for restraint against protesters as 1000's have been reported killed. He has vowed to fight till death, claiming the demonstrations held across the Arab world are part of the US conspiracy. However, Qadafi has not always been seen in such a negative light. He was appointed to head the African Union in 2009, and being his female body guard is a highly sought out position.

Who is Qadafi? What will he do next? Does he really have psychological issues or does his speeches have some point that is simply denied by his opponents?

Conflict Solutions International would like to invite you to a table top discussion to discuss Qadafi and his past, present and future. No speakers, No panelists. Just order a drink or coffee and lets spark a friendly, and maybe controversial conversation.

What: CSI Tabletop Discussion Happy Hour
When: Wednesday, March 2, 6:30pm
Where: One Lounge, 1606 20th Street NW, DC
Who: You and your friends

11.02.11 الثورة المصرية

2011-02-12T10:06:00.004-05:00

The Egyptian Revolution- 11.02.11

I am not Egyptian, but I am in my heart. After living in Cairo for almost three years, I feel a sense of homage to Egypt and its people. Sitting in my office yesterday with Al Jazeera streaming online, I was in tears. The 30 second speech by Suleiman was so quick, followed by such jubilation! Did I hear what I think I just heard? I saw this happiness the day before when the Amy said the demands of the protesters would be met, but only hours later, Mubarak defiantly said he would not be pressured to step aside. So what just happened? What exactly happened between 11.01.11 and 11.02.11 is unclear as of now, but the speech by Suleiman, stated without the government seal behind, quickly laid out that governmental affairs had been handed over to the military. Mubarak had given up his powers.

What will happen after this is still a unknown- and that is OK. For many Westerners- you need a plan, you need to think through your agenda and have every step established. However, for Egyptians- you don't. You get one thing done first, then you think later about the rest. There is no need to worry about everything, as its God's will, IsA (inshallah) as one may say.

When will elections happen? What about the Muslim Brotherhood? What about the Parliament, Cabinet, the new VP? Today- these questions do not matter. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is about joy. It is about feeling/being "free" after feeling captive in your own country.

Westerners have come to Egypt for years as tourists, students and workers. Each has its own experience, but each has been witness to the poverty and pollution, each probably has asked- why is it like this? Why don't the people care? Simple-the people care, but regime for years played its cards right- The government treated the people like children- Telling them they were not "mature" or "ready." And kept them from trying to reach for more by using police and central security to quiet any growing voices, creating a world of fear.

The protests, however, gave them a voice and with the voice- gave them power- gave everyone power. Men and women of all ages were there- children, youth, adults, and elderly. Liberals and Conservatives, life long activists/bloggers and those that never had a voice a before, the poor and the rich, the farmers and the actors. Women felt like equals without harassment. Without the government, they set a city within Tahrir- tents of medicine, tents of food, tents to charge your mobiles. They set up speakers- one for music, one for political chants. They set up large sheets and screen to watch Mubarak give his speeches. They put up pictures of the martyrs. They even cleaned the entire area of Tahrir before I had time to write this post.

This is also something any westerner should have seen and felt when coming to Egypt- the hospitality of Egyptians. The desire to take care of their family and friends. Tahrir was a giant home to Egyptians. They united as a family.

Many people are pointing to social media as a mechanism that started the demonstrations, and I do not doubt the important of social media, however, we must remember that internet use is still limited in Egypt (We are talking about a country that still has high poverty rates). Social Media is important for tying young internet users together, and did unite many to start the protests, but it was a lit match. The gas that drove the fire was the Egyptians overcoming ingrained fear. Not every Egyptian originally believed in these demonstrations, not every Egyptian wanted an immediate departure of Mubarak right away, but people began talking and then believing in the possibility!

We have seen social media bring people to the streets but fail to bring real change in Egypt before - during the Kefeya rise about 6 years ago. On a much smaller scale, protesters took to the street after online discussions. Soon however, people turned on each other all wanting different things- different policies, different goals. In the time that has passed, young Egyptian bloggers have used the internet as a personal diary to share their views with a known or unknown virtual community. There were also citizen journalists that wanted to keep alive the reality of Egyptian government spreading videos of abuse. The largest Egypt erupted was on April 6, 2008- when Facebook again played a role, but it was the workers (many without internet) united together. In all these prior cases, they lost a strong unification to move forward with a collective idea of change. They were online sharing their voices and unifying, but on the streets soon the unified strength lost its muster. This time in 2011, they left those differences aside. This time they united as Egyptians and said- the rest will be figured out lately, IsA.

They spread the word online, but they also spread the word by mouth, print flyers, and by religious gatherings (be it mosque or church). There were ups and downs, but ups poured more gas and kept the people coming. One up- overcoming the police, one down -looting and thuggery, one up- people finding police tags on thugs, one down- over 200 people dead and over 1000s injured, one up- realizing they could not stop because of the martyrs, one down-economy wailing, one up- Wael Ghoneim's interview, one up-workers unite, one down- Mubaraks speech, one up- the call answered for a day of departure!

The rest of Egypt's future story is unknown and untold. A land that was run by foreigners for thousands of years, then by the military regime, is now looking for a civilian rule. Egyptians are proud people, and at this time, they are at their proudest.

As I danced outside the Egyptian embassy last night, I saw old and young, tears and smiles. This small group was a glimpse into Egypt and I am proud with you.

Poverty and Human Trafficking in South Asia

2011-02-09T21:41:00.004-05:00

Poverty and Human Trafficking

Southeast Asia is a hub for human trafficking. Too often, young girls are lured by traffickers through promises of well paying jobs in the cities. If you have read Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl Wudunn, you will already be aware of the horrors endured by women and girls caught in the web of modern day slavery, and if you don't know, read the book. It's easy to read but hard to handle.

The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as the “recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion abduction, of fraud, for the purpose of exploitation”. It is modern day slavery.

I write for a woman that runs a non-profit in Northeastern India. The work I have done for her has changed me. It's overwhelming to realize that such brutality and twisted sexuality exists in the world. On the other hand, it is an impetus to keep working and making a difference in the world.

Poverty is the primary factor in human trafficking. Most girls are not outright kidnapped, at least not in the sense that they are taken from their homes in the dead of night. They are often promised a modeling job or simply selling vegetables to provide for their families, then locked up in a brothel until they die of AIDS.

What if they had job opportunities in their home villages? With a bridge out of poverty, the path to slavery is blocked.

Married to a Vision: Hasina Kharbhih

“A successful entrepreneur is married to a vision and cannot rest until it has transformed all of society.” - Hasina Kharbhih

A young Indian woman who works Northern India, Hasina Kharbhih’s work involves issues like child trafficking, HIV/AIDS intervention, and sustainable livelihood. She first received recognition as a teenager when she was chosen as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for Positive Living. She was then selected as an Ashoka fellow because they want to help her in her efforts to spread the Meghalaya Model, an impressive and complete strategy to deal with child trafficking.

Her model is one of the most effective in all of Asia, and involves rescuing and restoring the lives of young girls caught in the web of human trafficking. She also rehabilitates them with job training and professional counseling.

Despite the world’s efforts to stop slavery in the late nineteenth century, it is today the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, with an estimated $32 billion in revenue yearly. In fact, there are more people enslaved today than in any other time of the world, according to Mary Burke, director of the Project to End Human Trafficking. They are trafficked to provide labor (domestic services, agricultural or sweatshop labor) or sexual services (street work, brothels, pornography, or massage parlors).

Throwing Back Starfish: Trina Talukdar

Are you familiar with the Hawaiian fable about the boy who, after a massive storm over the sea, threw starfish back into the ocean one by one? An older man ridiculed him for it, saying that no matter how many starfish he threw back, he couldn’t even make a dent in the amount washed up on the beach. He shrugged his shoulders and threw back another one. “It makes a difference to that one,” he replied.

Trina Talukdar is doing just that. She rescues girls from human trafficking and trains them in the career of their choice. Just recently she rehabilitated a seven-year-old girl. (I know, we don’t want to hear it, we don’t want to know, we don’t want to imagine the tortures this little girl faced. But if it was your hometown that lost girl after girl to slavery, wouldn’t you want more people to know and stop this insanely lucrative crime from happening?) The girls paint, sing, attend concerts, visit museums, and are becoming women who will change the world. Trina aptly calls them her Revolutionaries.

Trina Talukdar and a few of her Revolutionaries

This battle is against women, and will be won by women. Have you ever thought that you would have been active in the Underground Railroad, had you been alive then? If so, you have now been introduced to a new form of slavery, and have the opportunity to stop it. You can be one of this generation’s Abolitionists. I wholeheartedly believe it can be stopped.

Let the Revolution begin.

Pro Egypt Protests in Washington DC

2011-01-31T13:23:00.004-05:00

On Friday and Saturday crowds gathered in Washington DC to support Egypt's pro democracy demonstrations.


Crowds gathered outside of the White House on Friday and Saturday and called upon the US government to cease its support Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Several groups planned rallies for Saturday. One group of protesters marched from the Egyptian Embassy to the the White House

An onlooker watches as a second group of protesters arrived at Lafayette Square

The crowd was buoyant as the second group of protesters arrived.

Activists shouted slogans in both Arabic and English calling for Mubarak to step down.

The protesters in Washington DC have called for the government to take a less equivocal stand on the protests in Egypt. On Sunday President Obama expressed his support for “an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.”

Review of National Geographic's North Korea

2011-01-01T18:31:00.003-05:00

Three nights ago my husband and I watched a documentary on North Korea by National Geographic. It came out back in 2007 and a lot has happened in North Korea since then, but the core values of the nation are essentially the same. Then again, they're essentially the same as they were in the 1950s.

It began with a humanitarian mission to the "hermit country". A crew from National Geographic teamed up with a doctor who planned on performing one thousand operations on North Koreans with cataracts that cause blindness. The documentary team was undercover, obviously, and they were the only Americans in the nation.

I won't tell you too much about it, because it is worth watching yourself, but a few things blew me away. First, there are two MILLION soldiers guarding the border between North and South Korea. Two million! There are also over a million land mines and an electric fence.

Second, they had a famine during the 1990s that killed three million North Koreans. The children that grew up during that time are permanently stunted in growth.

Third, they worship Kim Jung-Il like he is the son of God. Literally, that's not an exaggeration. As the people removed their bandages after their successful surgeries, they ran to a picture of Kim Jung-Il with prayers of thanks and promises to do more to make him happy.

Last, the prison camps are like something out of a Cold War science fiction movie. If you defect from North Korea and manage to slip past the soldiers, land mines, and electric fence, your entire family is placed in hard labor prison camps. Children, too, for the rest of their lives. One defector recounted a story of when he was a guard in one of those camps about a group of children who fought over a kernel or corn in cow dung. And it's not only the families of defectors that are placed in these camps, it is anyone who is remotely disloyal to Kim Jung-Il.

I am normally one who sees the possibility of a solution to anything. Not here. The children are taught from the day they are able to understand that America is the enemy. Old men promise to kill all the Americans to honor Kim Jung-Il. It's hard to imagine a nation that size and with so many people, so completely under the control of such an evil leader. Check it out. Tell me what you think.

Fair Trade

2010-12-21T11:07:00.002-05:00

by Crystal Huskey

Globalization has had a profound effect on the world over the course of the past three decades. We are in a very interesting, exciting time. We are experiencing a technological revolution; it's far from over. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina began saying in 2004 that we were "at the end of the beginning" of the information age and that the last 25 years were just "the warm up act". Technology isn't done with us yet. We are now living in the formative years of Globalization 3.0 (Friedman, It's a Flat World After All).

We have seen the ugly side of globalization, the economic kick-in-the-butt of out-sourcing and off-shoring. We have also seen foreign investors, at the advice of the World Bank, buy up businesses in Africa, strip their assets and abandon them. With the advent of social media and instant access to world events, we know that this system is failing. Exploiting the developing world is not a nice way to do business.

Ten Thousand Villages employs craftsmen is
isolated areas and provides a sustainable
livelihood.

Enter 3.0. The next wave will not be large corporations that are only concerned with the bottom line. It will be social entrepreneurs, intelligent business men and women who want to combine global enterprise with a genuine desire to change the world.

All that to say this: fair trade will be a big part of this movement. Fair trade has been around a while, but is now becoming more mainstream. Walmart now carries fair trade coffee, which in essence means, "we pay the laborers in the coffee fields a fair wage and do not exploit them. We create jobs and want to make the world a more fair, equal place for everyone." Other businesses employ people in isolated areas as craftsmen and sell the wares for a profit in the States, while giving the workers good pay so that they don't have to travel to the cities. Now wouldn't that be an exciting field to be a part of?

The information age makes us aware of what's happening and lays a responsibility on the consumer that has never been felt before. Look for Fair Trade labeling on your products. You will have a more unique product and know that you are helping to change the world.

www.oneworld-rightswatch.blogspot.com

World Peace?

2010-12-17T12:13:00.011-05:00

War as we know it has never made sense to me. Please don’t misunderstand; I greatly admire the men and women in the military. I had a dozen friends join the military after 9/11 with the motivation of defending the Americans citizens. They want to serve and protect. They choose to be in the line of fire and have good reason to do so.

Image originally from
http://www.pchrgaza.org/images.html

I have a problem with civilian deaths. Women and children routinely flee mortar bombs in the Gaza Strip, Iraqi families lose loved ones who play no part in the war on terror, and in the more distant past, thousands of Japanese- half the populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - lost, quite literally, everything to two nuclear bombings. And now, with the war on terror, the line between good guys and bad guys is so thin and transparent. Is that man behind the rubble of a house wrapped in explosives? Or is he simply anxious because he’s walking past a caravan of soldiers? Who is the enemy? Since the beginning of the Second Gulf War there have been over 10,000 civilian deaths. There have been a little less than 5,000 military casualties. Most people’s response to this is that civilian deaths are simply a part of war. It’s the price you have to pay. It’s just what happens.

Our government knows the price of war. No one wants civilian deaths. This is why we impose sanctions and do everything in our power to prevent war in the first place. And, of course, it’s not just the United States that perpetrates war. How do you stop the genocides in Sudan and the mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Some, like the U.S., aim to promote democracy, get rid of human rights violations and bring freedom to the people. Some critics accuse the U.S. of having a messiah complex, but doing something is better than doing nothing. I don’t think anyone would disagree, however, that things have not worked out in Iraq the way the U.S. wanted it to.

That’s because you can't physically fight an idea, philosophy, religion, or deeply rooted cultural beliefs.

There has to be a different way of doing this. Not just in Iraq, but anywhere. We have imposed sanctions on North Korea and Iran. Still, they threaten. Still, they actively pursue war. It’s like they want us to attack them so they can retaliate. And when I say “they”, I mean Mhamoud Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong-Il personally, not the people.

Richard Holbrooke

I don’t know the answer. I do know that diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who past away this past week, brokered a peace deal to end the war in Bosnia in the late 1990s. He most recently served under President Obama in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His last words: “You’ve got to stop this war in Afghanistan.”

Let’s start with that.

For more information on the attacks in Gaza, visit this video published by Human Rights Watch:

http://www.hrw.org/en/video/2009/03/25/rain-fire-white-phosphorus-gaza

For information on rockets launched from Gaza, see this:

http://www.hrw.org/en/video/2009/08/04/rockets-gaza

World Peace for Christmas

2010-12-13T09:59:00.004-05:00

Okay, maybe not world peace, but at least a gift to promote peace and goodwill toward men! As I scour the shops and warehouses for unique Christmas gifts for my kids, family and friends, I have an underlying sense of guilt and waste. Of course it isn't wrong to give and receive gifts at Christmastime, but I know I personally don't need anything new. I could probably do with less, actually. (Except for those really cute rain boots, ahem...) There are a number of places to shop, virtually and physically, that "give back" as you buy.

Ten Thousand Villages in Atlanta, GA, is a huge fair trade marketplace for handmade crafts and unique gifts from all over the world. You won't walk away with a McGift here! The name was inspired by a quote by Mahatma Ghandi when he said, "India is not to be found in its few cities but in the 700,000 villages. We have hardly ever paused to inquire if these folks get sufficient to eat and clothes themselves with." The Fair Trade Online Store has similar gifts.

Somaly Mam with child trafficking survivors

The Somaly Mam Foundation is an organization founded by a survivor of child trafficking, Somaly Mam. She has devoted her life to restoring the girls caught in the web of trafficking and bringing an end to this modern day slavery. Read through the website. You will be astounded at the things taking place today. Shop at her Survivor Empowerment Store for gifts created by other survivors, beautiful items like scarves and jewelry.

The International Rescue Committee sells gifts of a different type. You can purchase mosquito nets, cholera treatment, or carpentry kits for families in need in developing and underdeveloped countries. MercyCorps offers gift options like this as well.
These are just some of my favorites.

Happy shopping!

BP & Bhopal

2010-10-25T10:15:00.004-04:00

BP & Bhopal
By. Parth Chauhan

The headlines on BBC News’ website on September 19th, 2010, read “Gulf oil spill ‘finally sealed,’” putting an end to a five month ordeal for the citizens near the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20th, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, owned by British Petroleum, exploded, leaving eleven workers dead and an uncontrollable fountain of oil gushing into the Gulf. Over the next few months, efforts to cap the leak saw their effectiveness ebb and flow like the tides of the Gulf; the blowout preventer remained unresponsive, the static kill took months, and a “junk shot” failed. It was only until the relief well was completed in September that the leak stopped spewing oil. All in all, the explosion led to 4.9 million barrels being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. The livelihoods of thousands of fishermen, crabbers, tourism-service providers, and other Gulf-residents were threatened, as millions of fish and sea creatures died on the polluted beaches of Louisiana and Alabama. And yet, as the final feet of the relief well was bored, and as the pressure on the well abated, the end of the crisis was realized. The objective had been reached, and the Deepwater Horizon spill was over, never to spew black liquid death again.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an unheard of ecological catastrophe, a disaster whose magnitude is still being grasped. Despite this, all signs point to the Gulf essentially making as full of a recovery as possible. The oil-eating bacteria that helped eat up the crude did not create the dreaded “dead-zone” of oxygen-deprived ocean water; the massive cleanup crews assembled by BP and the US government were able to contain much of the oil before it reached too many beaches; the deaths of the eleven men, while undeniably tragic, was not a calamitous number. Despite all of this, British Petroleum was forced by the US Department of Justice to set aside 20 billion USD for victims, after already spending over 8 billion USD in cleanup and recovery efforts. Pressure from the American public and President Barack Obama led to BP’s announcing of the creation of the fund within two months of the explosion, and within weeks, 319 million USD had already been issued out. Though the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, did step down, further punishments in terms of fines and finding those responsible for the spill are still ongoing processes.
Thus, a British company who victimized the American people came under scrutiny and pressure from the US legal and political system to right its wrongs. This was not the case in Bhopal, India, where an American company was responsible for devastating the region, and yet remained relatively untouched in terms of punishment.
On December 3rd, 1984, a gas cylinder in the Union Carbide pesticide plant reacted with water and exploded, spewing forty tones of poisonous gas over Bhopal, a town of one million people. By the 6th, 8,000 people were killed, and tens of thousands of deaths followed in the next months. The poison’s effects remained in the area, affecting 600,000 people at the time. Even today, the groundwater in Bhopal is likely still contaminated, and the children of the region are known to have disproportionally high rates of many genetic diseases. The exact number of those who became ill, passed away, and were adversely affected by the Union Carbide explosion will never be known, but the area will never be the same again.
Though it occurred over two decades ago, the people of Bhopal are still waiting for justice. In 1989, Union Carbide paid 470 million USD, which amounted to around 783.33 USD per person affected. [In contrast, if the BP fund for the Gulf disaster was allocated equally to all 31 million people living (regardless or not if they were affected by the spill) in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida would receive around 651.70 USD in compensation.] $783.33 was all the money that the victims got to fight off kidney, liver, skin, and brain disease; for those families that lost males, the main breadwinner was replaced by this paltry sum. The Indian government has been slow in dealing with the victims, and legally, India was unable to leverage the US into allowing for Bhopal to file charges in American courts.
When BP’s negligence in the US came to light, the latter immediately forced the gas giant to make amends. However, in a case where an American company neglected to ensure the safety of a foreign nation’s citizenry, the United States refused to force just compensation. Union Carbide’s CEO, Warren Anderson, was not punished by the company or the US; in fact, he was allowed to retire in 1986. His outstanding warrants to be brought in on homicide charges in India have been ignored, as Union Carbide claimed that it does not fall under Indian jurisdiction. The American legal system backed this when, in separate Superior and Supreme Court cases in 2006 and 1993, attempts by Bhopal victims to sue in US courts were dismissed. Thus, the United States government did little to compensate India for the gross negligence of its company’s actions abroad.
The discrepancy and hypocrisy of the United States legal actions towards both incidents are glaring. In one situation, a major environmental disaster became a PR nightmare for the offending, non-American company, with billions of USD being issued in compensation. On the other hand, one of the worst industrial disasters in history, which led to the deaths of thousands, was perpetrated by a US subsidiary that was forced to pay under one thousand dollars per victim. It was a cold welcome to American capitalism.

Connecting Violence with the Illegal Mineral Trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2010-10-24T21:37:00.004-04:00

Is violence in Eastern Congo, particularly gender-based violence, directly linked to the illegal trade of minerals? According to in-depth research conducted by the UN and others, in a word, yes. But how? And what can be done about it?

In a past blog, I wrote about the horrible mass rapes that occurred in Eastern Congo. I know, it's not a pleasant topic, and not one most people want to keep close tabs on. It's uncomfortable to read, painful to think about, and disturbing to even begin to try to empathize with. It has been in the news so much lately, however, that pressure is finally coming down on the Congolese government to stop this type of crime.

Eastern Congo is rich in minerals like cassiterite (tin ore), diamonds, gold and coltan, which is used in things from laptop computers to cell phones. The majority of these mines are controlled by rebel groups, foreign and national. To simplify this complicated situation, the rebels and militias are on a mission to control and conquer the villages that exist around the mines so that they have complete control over the minerals themselves. They use rape as a way to subjugate the people. Most families outcast the women once they have been raped and see them as unclean. Many women are unable to have children after the brutal attacks.

Before 1996, much of the DR Congo's resources were in the hands of civilians for trade. In order to fund their war effort, former president Mobutu militarized the mines and other industries, and ever since then more and more have fallen into the hands of rebel militias and the national military. According to a report released by the UN, “Civilians who attempted to resist the theft of their natural resources, or who did not collaborate with those in power, were subjected to attacks. Entire villages were displaced to make way for mineral or timber exploitation and armed groups engaged in massacres, sexual violence and cruel and inhuman treatment in the process. They also attacked and burned villages in order to seize coltan that had been mined artisanally by the residents.” This is apparently what happened in the Northern Kivu province a couple of months ago.

Actress Ashley Judd has taken trips to the Congo and raised awareness about the rape of women and the connection to the illegal mineral trade. She and others have said that we as consumers should stop buying the electronics that use coltan and make our point known to the industries that rely on them. The same UN report mentioned previously agrees with this:

“The illicit exploitation of natural resources in the DRC and the accompanying serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law could not have taken place on such a large scale had there not been customers willing to trade in these resources. Indeed, there was never any shortage of foreign buyers willing to handle these goods, despite the existence of reports denouncing the serious violations of international law committed by their trading and financial partners. Buyers included not only traders in the DRC and neighboring countries but also private companies registered in other countries, including multinationals.”

But to say that all that needs to be done is avoid purchasing products with these materials is short-sighted. To make the change final the government has to step up to the plate. Many militias and foreign armies in neighboring countries get their primary income from the resources in the Congo. In 2008 the government lost $450 million to foreign army and militia groups illegally trading resources. In 2009, experts working on the human rights violations from the UN sent 14 letters to the Congolese government with urgent appeals and letters of allegations. The Congolese government is hostile towards human rights workers and their message, labeling them “humanitarian terrorists”. Some of the groups they have labeled include Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of Human Rights League, and Global Witness. Multiple journalists and human rights defenders have been murdered in the nation because of their reports of human rights violations, including Bruno Koko Chirambiza, journalist at Radio Star on August 23^rd, 2009, Didace Namujimbo (murdered on 21 November 2008) and Serge Maheshe (murdered on 13 June 2007) . There is little cooperation between the government and any human rights work being done, and there will be no progress until the government makes changes. And in order to make changes, they must have money, money they could be getting from regulating the mineral trade.

In 2001, Joseph Kabila became president of the DRC. His father had been president before him by overthrowing former president Mutombo with the aid of Rwanda and other foreign armies. When Joseph Kabila became president, he called for peace between the countries. This is when the UN peacekeepers arrived. By 2003 all foreign forces had been pulled out of the DRC except for those from Rwanda. While the Second Congo War officially ended in 2003, there are still hostilities. It is a war that has had 5.4 million fatalities, more than any other since World War II. It does not all revolve around the illegal mineral trade, but huge changes could begin to be made if the Congolese government began there.

Most information in this blog is pulled from two UN reports. The first is titled “TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY-BUILDING : Second joint report of seven United Nations experts on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ”. It can be found at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/RDCProjetMapping.aspx. The second is titled “Violence linked to natural resource exploitation ” and can be found on the same site under note 5.

President Carter to Travel to Middle East for Peace Negotiations

2010-10-14T08:59:00.002-04:00

Former President Jimmy Carter will be in the Middle East over the next week discussing methods to promote peace, particularly among the Israelis and Palestinians. He will be joined by his fellow Elders (of the Global Elders, a group of former world leaders) Lakhdar Brahimi, Ela Bhatt, and Mary Robinson. They will be traveling and speaking with key leaders in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

To follow their travels and conversations, follow their blog at:

http://theelders.org/middle-east

What an exciting time! This extraordinary group may be one of the most influential in terms of negotiating peace in the world.

A Conversation with Susan Johnson, Executive Director of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation

2010-10-04T10:48:00.011-04:00

This past Friday, October 1^st, I had the privilege of speaking with Susan Johnson, Executive Director of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation based out of Atlanta, GA. The foundation is a major relief effort set up by NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo of the Houston Rockets. Mutombo is a Democratic Republic of Congo native and has been recognized as the “Most Caring Athlete” by USA Today. He founded his organization in 1997, and the foundation's list of accomplishments is vast.

The most significant accomplishment to date is their remarkable Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center, which opened it's doors on December 4^th, 2007. Friday morning, Mutombo attended a symposium in the Congo celebrating the opening of a Radiology and Imaging Center, a huge step forward in the way patients will be treated. It is the first of its kind in the Congo and only the fifth in Africa. Many patients come to the hospital with acute strokes, but the hospital was, up until Friday, unable to treat them.

Dikembe Mutombo and his wife
Rose holding the thriving triplets

The hospital, located in the capital city of Kinshasa, has 170 beds, and generally admits between 100-150 people a day. It employs over 400 people. One employee is the father of triplets who were brought to the hospital on the brink of death. Before the existence of the Mutombo hospital, most Congolese felt that if you went to the hospital there would be little chance of coming out alive.

The parents of the triplets believed this, and abandoned the newborns. They were treated and restored to 100% health, but the parents were still nowhere to be found. Employees of the hospital were able to track them down and tell them the amazing news that their children were healthy and would survive and thrive, but the father was still distressed. He had no job and no way to pay for the care they received. On the spot, Dikembe Mutombo offered him a job as a janitor at the hospital, complete with medical benefits that would cover the babies' treatment. The parents were so grateful, they named the triplets Biamba, Dikembe, and Mutombo.

A young boy that was
burned badly, but
was healed at the hospital

The hospital particularly excels in the areas of maternity, orthopedics and pediatrics. They are in a pre-planning stage to build a Center of Excellence on Women's and Children's Health. Saving women and children is a high priority, says Johnson. Last year alone they were able to vaccinate 500 infants and toddlers and provide them with mosquito nets to help prevent malaria. The mosquito nets alone are not enough, she explains. They are in dire need of a vaccine for malaria, a disease that was once eradicated but is now the top health concern in the nation. There is hope for a vaccine by 2015, with trials as early as 2012, according to Joe Cohen, a GlaxoSmithKline researcher.¹

Needed interventions for mental health and gender-based violence are under discussion. The hospital will soon be able to perform fistula repair surgery, funded by a recent donation by the UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Dr. Leon Mubikayi is an OB/GYN recently brought on to the hospital who specializes in this type of surgery. There will be a group of doctors traveling from Atlanta to begin work in this area.

Discussing this type of surgery with Johnson led to the topic of the mass rapes in Eastern Congo, an area that is almost a three hour flight away from the hospital. Despite a commonly held belief that the Congo is the worst place in the world for a woman to live, Johnson feels that is an accurate portrayal for Eastern Congo, but not necessarily the rest. An entire book by Laura Shannon entitled “A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to be a Woman” is devoted to that subject.

Eastern Congo is rich in natural resources, and as such is a magnet for greed, corruption, and violence. A UN report released this week confirms the link between the violence, particularly gender-based violence, and conflict minerals. The report is well timed. I have read a number of comments on news sites that argue vehemently that there is no connection the two. I mentioned this to Johnson. Her response was succinct: what else could it be? When the majority of the violence occurs along the trade route used to export illegal minerals, what else could the reason for the violence be? In fact, with a little bit of research it becomes very clear how the two are connected and why, but I will discuss that in my next post.

A village that received solar lights and shoes.
The village renamed itself Mutombo Village

Johnson accompanied a group of high school students in 2008 to the Congo with the mission of bringing solar powered lights to the City of Hope, a place of refuge for IDPs (internally displaced peoples). The lights were battery powered, and it was clear that the Congolese would have difficulty operating the batteries, having never been exposed to them before. The group of 6-8 students, Susan Johnson, and Mr. Mutombo spent the entire night in a cramped hotel room, eating pizza and assembling 2500 lights. The next day, they drove to the village and presented the lights. Their cars got stuck in a quicksand type of terrain, stranding the group in the village until night. Johnson says you have never experienced something so dark as the dark of the Congo. Because of their delay, they were able to witness the lights turn on for the very first, along with the reaction of the village. Upon seeing the lights, Johnson felt that “now we understand the darkness”. The group also distributed shoes from a company called Shoes from the Soul, a Florida charity organization.

The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is one of a number of humanitarian relief efforts working in the Congo. Sometimes, when there does not seem to be a solution to the conflict in a region, the best a person or organization can do is heal its' victims. The hospital is a true light of hope in a country where darkness dwells and hope can be hard to find.

Female patients and staff

1 http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100929/Malaria-vaccine-close-to-reality.aspx

The Congo and Voices of Refugees

2010-09-30T10:57:00.002-04:00

I want to post a quick update on some ongoing research concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well our feature on Voices of Refugees. This coming Monday I will post a fascinating interview featuring the Executive Director of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, Susan Johnson. We will explore the issues the Congo is facing, such as the extreme violence against women and current health issues, along with what the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is doing to alleviate some of the suffering.

Recently, I have had the privilege of meeting a number of female refugees from the Congo. I have quickly realized that they are in no state to make any type of comments on their experience in their beautiful, yet tragic, home country. One social worker close to the ladies informed me that they have just recently arrived, and are just now at the point where they have stopped simply sitting on the floor and staring at the wall. They have lived a life of terror. It will take much more than a sympathetic ear to begin to heal their wounds. The children adjust quicker than the adults, but the struggles they face upon entering a Western school and lifestyle is overwhelming. It is humbling to witness their quiet strength. I look forward to getting to know these families more and witnessing their metamorphosis as they heal and grow in Peace.

The edge of the marginalized

2010-09-23T19:57:00.002-04:00

The edge of the marginalized

When a conflict or natural disaster creates refugees or IDP’s there is usually an outpouring of support from people, governments and NGO’s. What happens to the people when support for their displacement has dried up but the problem that caused them to be displaced persists? With limited resources, governments, NGO’s and individuals cannot maintain support for everyone who is displaced for the duration of some conflicts or natural disasters.

Haiti is a situation that garnered the attention and outpouring of support from around the world. But recently more and more reports are coming out that show the aid and support for Haiti’s IDP population has been ineffective and many IDPs are beginning to feel despondent.[i]

Haiti has had a long and violent past[ii], which lead to a very unstable country, prior to the earthquake on January 12 2010. A large group of desperate IDP in Haiti could create conflicts both internally and across their border with the Dominican Republic.

In the past Haitians crossing the border to work in the Dominican Republic have frequently faced a denial of human rights.[iii] With a large number of Haitians living in IDP camps looking for jobs many could cross the border in to the Dominican Republic, straining the local economies. This strain could cause a violent backlash against the Haitian people and create an internal conflict in the Dominican Republic and a border conflict between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

This impending conflict can be avoided if all sides put forth an effort to resettle or alleviate the great deal of stress and want that the IDP in Haiti face.

[i] This blog is too short to include all the insightful reports and articles on this issue, below are the links to the reports.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/RMOI-895UPF?OpenDocument

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MCOI-89GB3C/$File/full_report.pdf

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/doc116?OpenForm&rc=2&emid=acos-635p2k&secid=9

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39265119/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/

[ii] http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/haiti.htm

[iii] http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/haitian-migrants-denied-basic-rights-dominican-republic-20070321

Refugees and IDP voices

2010-09-21T16:01:00.001-04:00

Refugee and IDP Voices:

Conflicts create refugees and internally displaced people (IDP) and these are some of the least listen to voices in a clash. True conflict resolution must take in to account the voices and opinions of the people it has misplaced.

Facts and Figures

A Refugee is:

"A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” [i]

In 2009 there were roughly 15.4 million refugees in the world. 45% of the refugee population is believed to be under the age of 18. Afghanistan, Iraq, Somali and Sudan are the largest refugee producing countries.[ii] [iii]

An Internally Displaced Person is:

“Internally displaced persons are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border.” [iv]

There are between 26 and 27 million IDP in 55 countries in the world. Colombia, Iraq, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have the largest concentration of IDP populations. Colombia and Sudan both contain roughly 5 million IDP the largest two concentrations of IDP on the planet.[v]

[i] http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html

[ii]http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c206.html

[iii] http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c206.html

[iv] http://www.undp.org/cpr/documents/recovery/DefinitionIDPs.pdf

[v]http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpPages)/22FB1D4E2B196DAA802570BB005E787C?OpenDocument&count=1000

Update on Gang-Rapes in the Congo

2010-09-08T23:16:00.002-04:00

Update on Gang-Rapes in the Congo

by Crystal

Huskey

September 8^th, 2010

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, is worse than previously suspected, although it is hard to fathom anything much worse. The numbers of women systematically gang-raped has increased from an estimate of around 240 to now closer to 500, all during the same two week time period of July 30^th through somewhere around August 14^th. The growing number represents small villages in the North and South Kivu provinces that were attacked during the same period of time.

Numerous complaints have been made in online forums concerning the idea that the world does not care what happens in the Congo because there is nothing to gain materially from them. This assumption is wrong. In terms of natural resources, out of all the African countries, the Congo has the most to offer. Interestingly, many of the villages targeted were along the route that is used to traffic illegally extracted minerals. Margot Wallstrom, a UN special envoy on sexual violence in armed conflict, cited horrific accounts from women attacked around Kibua, a village in North Kivu. She reported that “militiamen shoved their hands inside women’s sexual organs to look for hidden gold and that the village was surrounded so that no one could run away.”[1]

Much has been done in the Congo and other African nations to bring the illegal trade of so-called blood diamonds, also called conflict diamonds (diamond that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments[2]) under control and stop the violence, but not enough[3].

All crime has its motivation. The issue of illegal trade serves to understand the motivation behind these heinous acts a little bit more, at least, more so than rape and torture for the sake of rape and torture. There must have been a unifying goal to get so many different militia groups working as one, over such a broad sweep of land, and such a short period of time. Four years ago I worked in a refugee camp in Europe. I recall meeting a group of young girls with beautiful eyes and energetic spirits. When I asked them where they were from, they replied in unison and with great pride, “The Congo!” They were there alone, having escaped to Angola on the back of a pick-up truck with a group of orphans. The war in the Congo has been going on since it first became independent, over forty years ago now. My hope is that as time goes on, the motivation will become known, and a solution found.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/world/africa/08nations.html?_r=3&ref=world

[2] UN definition of conflict diamonds

[3] http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/congo.htm

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

2010-09-07T11:00:00.002-04:00

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

September 7, 2010

by Crystal Huskey

Although Sakineh Ashtiani's case is being widely reported this week, I wanted to analyze the situation myself, even if for no other reason than to understand it more personally.

From the news reports, her story is summed up in a few facts:
Sakineh was sentenced to death for the crime of adultery and murder. The files containing the evidence on her husband's murder are missing. She was originally accused of an "illicit relationship" with two men (which occurred after her husband's death) and sentenced to 99 lashes. It wasn't until one of the men previously mentioned was linked to her husband's murder that she was accused of adultery while married and involvement in the murder. Her two children successfully voiced her story to the world and are lobbying to have her released, or at least not stoned.

None of the details of the murder case are available. She confessed under extreme duress and torture. It is not the crimes themselves (or lack thereof) that are at the center of the controversy, but the method of execution. According to www.apostatesofislam.com:

"In stoning to death, the victims's hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack. Then, this human "package" is buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. If its a woman, she is buried upto her shoulders. This is to give her an seemingly equal (but nonetheless impossible) chance to escape recognizing her lesser physical strength. After the hapless individual has been secured in the hole, people start chanting "Allah hu Akbar" (meaning, God is great), and throw palm sized stones at the head of the victim from a certain distance (a circle is drawn). The stones are thrown until the person dies or until he/she escapes out of the hole and crosses the circle. Escaping is impossible, given that the individual's hands are tied behind their backs and they are buried in a hole upto their necks or shoulders (in the case of males and females respectively). Naturally, the procedure is extremely barbaric and bloody."

The events that have taken place this week have particularly astounded me. The Times of London published a picture of what was presumably Ashtiani without the traditional head dress. The Iranian regime declared that it was indecent for her to expose herself in that way, and subjected her to another 99 lashes. The Times claimed that they received the picture from her former lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, who in turn claimed to have received it from Ashtiani's son. There are many questions unanswered here, but I'm sure there is a lot going on behind the scenes that the public does not know about. Mostafaei was reunited with his family in Norway this past Thursday, after being separated from them since fleeing the country. They were previously held as political prisoners in order to place pressure on Mostafaei www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/iran-must-end-harassment-stoning-case-lawyer-2010-07-28).

Many countries and groups have loudly declared their opposition to what is happening to Sakineh, including France, Brazil, and the Vatican. It is not simply a cry against one woman’s inhumane treatment, involving torture, threats, and ultimately a slow and painful death, but the lack of basic human rights being given to prisoners, whether political or criminal. Hopefully this can become a rallying point that will change the ways of the Iranian government and the future of its citizens.

For more information and ways to help Sakineh, visit www.freesakineh.org or http://www.facebook.com/savesakineh

For Amnesty International’s view on stoning in Iran, visit http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/campaigning-end-stoning-iran-20080115

Nearly 200 Women Gang-Raped Near UN Congo Base

2010-08-31T10:47:00.001-04:00

Nearly 200 Women Gang-Raped Near UN Congo Base
August 24, 2010 Crystal Huskey

On July 30, 2010, a series of breathtakingly atrocious crimes were committed against 200 women and four baby boys, ages one month, 6 months, one year and 18 month. Rwandan and Congelese rebels raped, pillaged, and plundered their way through a number of villages only a few miles away from a U.N. peacekeeping base. Now, more than three weeks later, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo has no statement to issue about the events.

The rebels blockaded the roads, keeping the victims in and the peacekeepers out. On top of that, there were only 25 peacekeepers stationed there. They were no match against the 200 to 400 rebels occupying the towns.

Many of the rebels were from the FDLR, the group that committed the mass genocide in 1994 in Rwanda. They fled to the Congo, and have been terrorizing the population there ever since. According to the survivors, they were accompanied by the Mai-Mai rebels. Mai-Mai is a term referring to basically any militia based group active in the Second Congo War (1998-2003) and its aftermath. Most were formed to resist the invasion of Rwandan forces and their affiliated Congolese rebel groups.

Last year, 8,300 rapes were reported in Eastern Congo, and many more cases are believed to be unreported. Using rape as a weapon has become shockingly commonplace in Africa. According to the International Rescue Committee, one of the primary aid organizations for survivors of rape in the Congo, “rape is used as a weapon of war in Congo. Armed groups rape to terrorize and control women and communities and to humiliate families. It’s calculated and it’s brutal. The International Rescue Committee is focusing on emergency care, counseling, prevention, advocacy and other support for survivors.”
A 2007 report in the New York Times describes the scene in Congo well by interviewing a gynecologist in a Congo hospital. "We don't know why these rapes are happening, but one thing is clear," says Dr Mukwege who works in south Kivu province, the epicenter of Congo's rape epidemic. "They are doing this to destroy women." According to John Holmes, the United Nations Undersecretary of Humanitarian Affairs, the sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world. That seems to be an understatement. The escalation of rape in the Congo took off in the 1990s, a direct correlation to the waves of Hutu militiamen who escaped into the Congo forest after the genocide in Rwanda.
The problem is much bigger than the resources devoted to it and is escalating every day. The following aid groups are doing work in the region to support the victims of rape.
International Rescue Committee – www.theirc.org
Eastern Congo Initiative – www.easterncongo.org

Saudi Arabia and Women’s Rights

2010-04-14T11:56:00.001-04:00

The women’s Rights issue in the Saudi Kingdom has always been a sensitive and much deliberated one both within the watchful eyes of the International community and amongst feminist groups. It always brings to fore the moot question of sharia laws and fundamental questions of Human Rights.

In January 2010, Sawsan Salim was sentenced to 300 lashes and one and half year imprisonment by a Saudi Court on charges of making “spurious complaints” against government officials and for “appearing without a male guardian in court”.

The verdict reflects the discriminatory system of male guardianship in Saudi Arabia, in which women are prohibited from many acts without the presence of a male guardian.[1]
Cases likes Salim’ s is not uncommon in the Kingdom. There have been numerous cases some which have been brought to light under the watchful eyes of the International Human Rights groups.

One of the high profile cases involves Fatima Azzaz who had to fight to live with her legal husband and her children after her family tried to force them to divorce. Eventually the Saudi Human rights commission and the Supreme judicial council had to intervene.[2]

Human Rights in Saudi Arabia like many Islamic Nations are based on sharia laws. Most often than not the laws transcends many forms of Human rights including those related to women. The kingdom itself ratified the International convention against Torture in October 1997 according to the office of the UN high commissioner for Human rights but the courts here continued to mete out corporal punishments including amputations and floggings.

These actions have been repeatedly condemned by the United Nation’s committee against Torture. Saudi Arabia also engages in capital punishments including public executions by beheading. Beheading is the punishment for murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and armed robbers, according to strict interpretation of Islamic Law.In 2005 there were 191 executions, in 2006 there were 38, in 2007 there were 153, and in 2008 there were 102.[3] .

The government has not set a minimum age for a girls marriage nor has it any ways undertaken measures to put limits to forces and early child marriages. Marriages of Saudi girls as young as 10 to much older men were reported in 2008, although the Human Rights Commission intervened in one such case to delay the marriage for five years.[4]

In a country where female students outnumber men at Universities, It is indeed ironic that the same does not apply to them in the mainstream workforce. They are not allowed to work or study at places which does not have separate female sections.The ministry of justice also denies women the right to become judges or prosecutors.

In contrast the situation is definitely better in terms of political participation and civil liberties in other Gulf countries .In Kuwait for example women gained the right to vote and stand for election in 2005 and last year in a historic electorate elected four female parliamentarians. Oman became the first Gulf country to give its women the right to vote in 1994. Bahrain and Qatar also have some minimal representation of women to public offices. Barring some insignificant transitions to political representation of Women in these countries it still remains an upheaval task for the Human Right and the feminist groups to progress on much of the aforesaid issues.

It’s not uncommon otherwise to come across a Salim or Fatima’s Story somewhere maybe provoking a thought or two in the minds of all those who read it but for the millions of women who continue to bear the brunt of it everyday it’s the life they live everyday……….

[1] Human Rights Watch” Saudi Arabia, Free Woman who sought court Aid “March 2 2010.
[2] ["http://thereport.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/saudi-arabia#death-penalty" "Amnesty International Report 2009, Saudi Arabia"]. Amnesty International. "http://thereport.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/saudi-arabia#death-penalty". Retrieved 2009-08-17.
[3] Human Rights Watch, report, 2008.

Potential Prisoner Swap with Iran

2010-02-11T10:47:00.001-05:00

Three American freelance journalists, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal, are being held in Iran for illegally crossing the border and for allegedly being spies. They have been in detention since July 31, 2009 and on February 2nd, 2010 Iranian president Ahmadinejad proposed a prisoner exchange.

The three entered Iraq on July 28th, 2009 and travelled to an Iraqi tourist resort, Ahmad Awa, that is on the border with Iran. While they were hiking near Halabja, part of Iraqi Kurdistan, they crossed the border into Iran. The border between Kurdish Iraq and Iran is said to be unclear. (1)

They said they made “a simple and regrettable mistake” when they crossed the border, according to their friend Shon Meckfessel who spoke with Bauer that morning. They also did not know they were that near the border, stated Meckfessel. (2)

The Iranian government, however, accuses them of disregarding warnings from guards and originally held them for illegally crossing the border. (3)

In November 2009, three months after their detention, it was publicly announced by Tehran's prosecutor general, Abbas Ja'afari Dolatabadi, that they would be charged with espionage. "We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever," stated U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. (4)

Since the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, Swiss diplomats served as a mediator and met with the Americans to call for their release. The three were last seen by Swiss diplomats on October 29th, 2009. They seemed to be nervous and scared, but otherwise were in good physical and psychological health, a senior State Department official told CNN. (5)

They still have not been tried in court. Iran's foreign minister never stated when a trial would begin and never stated exactly what they would be charged with other than that their intentions were “suspicious.” In January, their families hired an Iranian attorney to rush the case because they feel that the alleged charges are “ludicrous.” (6)

On February 2nd, Ahmadinejad stated in an interview with state TV that there were negotiations about exchanging the hikers for 11 Iranians being held in the United States. "I had said I would help in releasing them, but the attitude of some of U.S. officials damages the job," said Ahmadinejad. "There are a large number of Iranians in prison in the U.S. They have abducted some of our citizens in other countries." (7)

The negotiations did not start and it is not guaranteed that the prisoner exchange will go through.

"There are no negotiations taking place between the United States and Iran. We believe they should unilaterally release our detained citizens," said Clinton after meeting with Bahrain's foreign minister. (8)

A reason against the swap, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, is that there is not an “equivalence between the hikers and Iranians that had left Iran.” (9)

The three Americans crossed an unspecified border while the Iranian citizens that are in the held in the U.S. “have been indicted and/or convicted of arms trafficking in violation of international law,” said Crowley. (10)

Going through with a prisoner swap would release three Americans, but the flipside of the coin is that it would also release 11 Iranians who are suspected of or have been found to play a role in assisting Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Only three of the eleven have been tried. (11)

For those who want to press the release of the three Americans, with or without a prisoner swap, there is a petition they can sign. Freethehikers.org has more information about the Americans and the petition.

Articles:

¹BBC News Online, “US concern as Iran holds Tourists.” 1 August 2009: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8180081.stm

² CNN Online, “Iran to charge 3 American hikers with espionage, says prosecutor.” 9 November 2009: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/09/iran.hikers/index.html

³ “US concern as Iran holds Tourists.”

⁴ “Iran to charge 3 American hikers with espionage, says prosecutor”

⁵ “Iran to charge 3 American hikers with espionage, says prosecutor”

⁶ Karimi, Nasser. “Ahmadinejad proposes prisoner swap for US hikers.” Yahoo! News, 2 February 2010: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100202/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_us_hikers

⁷ Karimi

⁸ BBC News Online, “Hilary Clinton rejects US-Iran prisoner swap proposal.” 3 February 2010: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8497363.stm

⁹ Karimi

¹⁰ “Hilary Clinton rejects US-Iran prisoner swap proposal”

¹¹ Karimi

The Freedom Exchange Project

2010-01-20T12:50:00.002-05:00

CSI has just launched its most recent negotiation effort called The Freedom Exchange Project. The goal of this project is for both the U.S. and Cuban governments to release political prisoners. For more information about the project and to sign the petition, visit: Freedom Exchange Project.

A prisoner exchange is an agreement between two opposing sides to release prisoners. These prisoners include political prisoners, spies, hostages and even dead bodies. “I’m very much encouraged by the exchange of prisoners,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon when Israel and Hezbollah swapped prisoners in 2008 (UN News Centre). “I hope this will be the beginning of many to come in the future,” he added.

Prisoner exchanges are a contemporary innovation, according to Derek Brown. In ancient times, he added, captured enemies were slaughtered rather than kept hostage and fed (Guardian). During the Hundred Years’ War, for instance, it was only necessary for the French to incapacitate the English bowmen they captured by cutting off their index and middle fingers and then releasing them.This prompted the untouched Englishmen to tauntingly wave their still-remaining middle fingers, giving birth to the infamous gesture (Guardian).

As civilization became more sophisticated, so did the tactics used in war. It became the norm to capture and hold prisoners alive by the time of the Napoleonic wars.Using captives as a means to achieve an end was a practice honed during the American Civil war. A value was assigned to captured soldiers based on their rank. A captured general, for example, would be released in exchange for 46 privates (Guardian).

Capturing prisoners and keeping them alive, rather than killing them, became a way for one side to have leverage over another. The Cold War, to use a more recent example, did not have soldiers to capture, but it did have spies. In 1960, Gary Powers, a US Pilot whose plane was shot down, was found guilty of espionage and crimes against the Soviet people. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in the Soviet Union (Military). He was released two years later in one of the most famous spy swaps, negotiated by Wolfgang Vogel, when he was exchanged for the KGB spy Rudolf Abel.

Up until the Cold War ended, the people being captured were soldiers or spies directly involved with the war being fought. With the types of warfare changing, so are the types of people being captured and exchanged. Civilians, such as politician’s family members, journalists, and political dissidents, are being held because of ethnic conflicts, terrorist groups and political oppression.

Israel, for example, engaged in swaps with her neighbors and groups such as Hezbollah. In 2004, an Israeli businessman and the remains of three Jewish soldiers were transferred for over 400 Arab prisoners, 59 remains of Lebanese, a spy, and maps of landmines. Israel has a policy of saving every possible life, so many of the deals brokered have had an uneven number of prisoners exchanged (Guardian).

Another type of prisoner exchange that developed is a Humanitarian exchange. This type of exchange is used in Colombia to describe a swap between hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC for its initials in Spanish) and imprisoned guerillas. FARC has kidnapped thousands of people, ranging from ordinary civilians to high-profile politicians such as Ingrid Betancourt, to put raise funds and also to put pressure on the Colombian government to create a demilitarized zone and release guerillas (BBC).“I see no possible solution to the conflict other than negotiation,” said former politician Alan Jara after he was released from captivity (IPS).

From the ongoing political prisoners held in Cuba to the recent holding of Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari in Iran, it is clear that people, and more frequently civilians with information or dissident ideas, will be continued to be detained. Exchanging prisoners is a model that worked in the past.

“I was neither a resistance fighter nor a good Samaritan,” said Wolfgang Vogel, the late overseer of many Cold War swaps. “My ways were not white or black. They had to be grey — otherwise it would not have worked,” he added (Times). Conflicts can be ended and civilians can be released with prisoner exchanges, if both sides are willing to negotiate.

Articles:

Brown, Derek. “Prisoners of Fortune.” The Guardian Online, 2 February 2004: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/feb/02/comment.derekbrown

Sullivan, Michael. “Francis Gary Powers: One Man, Two Countries and One Cold War.” Military.com: http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=cw_fgpowers

Viera, Constanza. “COLOMBIA: Freed Hostage Calls for Peace.” IPS News Agency, 4 February 2009: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45677

UN News Centre, “Ban Encouraged by Prisoner Exchange between Israel and Hizbollah.” 16 July 2008: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27386&Cr=Leban&Cr1

Times Online, “Wolfgang Vogel:East German Lawyer,” 27 August 2008: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4613780.ece

BBC News Online, “Q&A: Colombia Hostage Situation,” 3 July 2008: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7161276.stm

Cuba: Past, Present and Future

2009-07-29T11:45:00.001-04:00

On the night of June 12, 2009, CSI hosted an event titled, “Cuba: Past, Present and Future” at the Letelier Theater in Georgetown. In this event, the audience was able to hear from four professionals who have done work in Cuban affairs. Each gave the audience a different perspective on how to view the United States’ relationship with Cuba—these experts included Wayne Smith, Eugene Puryear, Jose’ Pertierra and Cecila Domeyko.

Wayne Smith was a former diplomat of the US Department of State that worked on Cuban affairs for well over 30 years. He presented many interesting facts about Cuba, and US-Cuban relations during his tenure working for the State Department. At that time Cuban-American relations were tense with the Bay of Pigs incident and the alignment of Fidel Castro with the Soviet Union. Smith discussed a long history of presidential administrations doing far too little to improve U.S.-Cuban relations, including the most recent Bush administration. It was interesting to note that post-9/11 Cuba kept their airspace open and also signed all 12 anti-terror conventions, which provoked no response from the United States. It seemed to Smith that former President Bush’s main objective was to topple the Castro’s government.

Mr. Smith then came to discuss the current administration under Barack Obama. Smith hopes that the United States will open a greater dialogue with Cuba by allowing for remittances and also by opening channels of migration to the States. This would enable Cuba to be an open society, he stressed. He wants the relationship to move forward and still presses for policy to change towards Cuba. U.S.-Cuban relations are better off now with the Obama administration in power, he said.

Eugene Puryear, a Cuban 5 advocate, talked about the current battle to free five Cubans illegally arrested for preventing anti-Castro terrorist organizations from carrying out terrorist attacks in Cuba. Puryear also discussed the pattern of past presidents dealing with Cuba in a negative light, and all the aspirations attached to the new Obama administration to strengthen relations between the two countries.

The 4th speaker, Jose Pertierra, represented the council for Alien Gonzales, the Cuban illegal immigrant who sailed on a raft to the United States to seek asylum and be with his father. Mr. Pertierra said that there was a abnormal relationship between the United States and Cuba, stressing scornful paternalism with which United States treats Cuba. He wanted the United States to put into focus the geopolitical issues which are at stake with regards to this fragile relationship between the two countries. Pertierra stated that more effort and cooperation is needed between the states when dealing with trade, immigration, and travel. Other issues that need to be deliberated should be prisoner exchange and the way in which the Organization of American States is shifting policy towards Cuba.

The final speaker was Cecila Domeyko, a documentary film-maker. She made a documentary on an all-women orchestra in Cuba, sharing with us her thoughts on making the documentary. She hoped to show women’s empowerment through her documentary, allowing for an unprecedented view into the daily lives of the Cuban women. She wanted everyone to know what their homes looked like, their hopes and dreams. The theme was the artist and family—the universality of the artist struggle.

The various dimensions presented in the panel discussion on the past, present and future of Cuba allowed the audience to see how the relationship between the United States and Cuba has evolved, and how professionals dealing with Cuba advocate for a strengthening of the relationship.

Written by Rajit Das, a CSI volunteer.

Separation of Church and State, Muslim World and Civil Society

2009-07-29T11:18:00.002-04:00

Three major power players in the Muslim world held an intriguing discussion under the title, “Separation of Religion and State: Muslim World and Civil Society”, at the Henry L. Stimson Center on the 26th of May.

The first speaker, Elias Aoun, is a lawyer who discussed how the Islamic world should inject their legal system with common principles. Tyranny may have resulted from the lack of common law and lack of adoption of natural rights in some parts of the region. Aoun stated we should learn from religion the basic tenets of Righteousness, and just Truth, resulting in the eventual incorporation of these concepts within the law. Overall he emphasized the need for a reform in the current laws found in Muslim countries.

The second speaker, Dr Katrin Michael, a female member of the opposition party in the Iranian government, spoke about the urgent need for the reformation of existing laws and establishing new ones in regards to a rights of the women. Currently, she is a human rights activist who stressed that women are treated as second class citizens since, in Islam, a woman is legally considered to be half of a man. Furthermore, throughout her speech, she gave numerous citations of passages from the Quran, such as Article III of Surah 1.4 that allows a husband to beat his wife. She also discussed the practice of Female Genital Mutilation. She concluded her speech by saying that countries should create a independent commission for women that works along with the president, ensuring that women have a role in government, and that peace movements towards societal ills against women should become more progressive through the use of the media.

The final speaker, Peshwaz Faizulla, a Kurd and the online editor of Chiraiazadi.org, showcased some unique points in ways in which Muslim countries should reform the establishment of their laws. For example, Islam has no “church”, therefore there shouldn’t be a relationship between church and state found in certain Muslim countries. Also he stated that religion is a product of human history, and Islamic disputes are more for power than for necessity. This has led to the continuing bloody conflict found in Muslim history. He also made the point of emphasizing that knowledge is what Prophet Muhammad advocated for, and that knowledge was not desired amongst his people after his death. “Secularism” is deemed to be a western concept, unfamiliar to people in the Muslim world. Yet this form of government should be implemented in its various ways in the Middle East, according to Faizulla.

These speeches were given by reputable Middle East specialists, showcasing the multifaceted ways in which reform ideas are being circulated amongst intellectuals in the Islamic world. It allows one to think how, if possible, any changes may come in future discussions of this sensitive topic. This CSI event allowed an “outsiders” view into what is happening in the Muslim world and I am certainly optimistic of the positive changes that are yet to come for the region.

Written by Rajit Das, a CSI volunteer.

The Conflict in Somalia

2009-04-28T09:53:00.001-04:00

As timely an issue as ever, the conflict in Somalia was discussed at CSI's latest event, Thursday April 23. The volunteers of CSI pulled together a knowledgeable panel from different sectors to try to help us understand exactly what brought this state to failure.

Abdirahman M. Abdi spoke first. As an economist with ties to the World Bank and Wall Street, Abdi explained the complicated economic situation in Somalia, along with highlighting the historical reasons for the piracy that has so captured the headlines recently.

Next, native Somalia Hussein Yusuf discussed the current state of conflict, bringing in the tribal wars along with the Islamist Movement and the imposition of Shariah law.

Refugees International worker Patrick Duplat discussed the situation on land as a grave humanitarian crisis where even the aid workers are now targeted.

And finally, Hassan Warsame, co-founder and Vice President of the Somalia Diaspora Network (SDN) finished up the panel's presentation by going in depth into the challenges and opportunities with the recent unity government, along with his recommendations for bringing Somalia closer to a peaceful nation.

Check our website soon for a full video recap of the panel discussion and the Q&A after: http://csiorg.org

Anniversary of a Revolution: Perspectives on Iran

2009-02-12T20:03:00.001-05:00

Last night CSI held its first formal program of 2009 at All Souls Unitarian Church titled: “Anniversary of a Revolution: Perspectives on Iran.” More than 40 people gathered to listen to the expert opinions and commentary of six distinguished individuals as they elucidated the many dynamics of a country that is not well known by the American people.

International political economist Allison Johnson moderated as the speakers each took a few minutes to present the issues they deemed pertinent, specifically when thinking about Iran 30 years after the revolution. The first speaker was former deputy director of the National Cathedral Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation Evan Anderson. He was able to reflect on the history and mindset that brought Iran to revolution in the first place and how those viewpoints inform Iranian decision-making. This was especially important to hear considering the state of Iranian-U.S. relations after their mention as a member of the "Axis of Evil" in 2002, now with a new U.S. Administration and in the future with the upcoming Iranian elections. “If there’s anything we need in this country,” Anderson said, “it’s fresh perspectives on Iran.”

Jamil Shami followed Anderson’s presentation with a lively recounting of the dynamics among the U.S., Arab and Iranian world. She spoke about how the U.S. relationship with Israel affects Arab and Persian perceptions of America, and also about the seeming U.S. hypocrisy of allowing its allies nuclear weaponry but not allowing Iran to develop nuclear capabilities that they consider peaceful. Towards the end of his presentation he also noted the recent empowerment political parties with financial support from Iran have received in the past few years after military engagements with Israel, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Director of the Islamic Information Center, Nassar Haider was next to speak, choosing to focus on the dynamics between Shia and Sunni Islam, along with adamantly pointing out that “in the last 30 years, Iran has not invaded a single country.” He also spoke about civil liberties in the United States before and after 9/11.

As a reporter for London-based Financial Times, Simon Henderson was a correspondent in Tehran during the revolution, which he described in his presentation as “a chaotic time… it was one day of chaos followed by another day of chaos.” He spoke of the difficulty in putting the events in a regional context as they unfolded, but the ease later in understanding the developing signs of revolution. As a somewhat gray prediction of the times to come, Henderson said in his closing statement: “I’ve had a tremendously interesting time writing about this and writing about it for the past 30 years… but it is unfortunate that it will remain a troublesome area to write about for the next 30 years.”

Fatemeh Mohammadi, a deputy director of diplomatic affairs with the Iranian Interest Section in Washington rounded out the speakers’ comments by describing what she saw as the “peace-loving country of Iran,” a democratic state that guarantees the rights of individuals, including women like herself who choose to cover their heads out of piety, rather than out of fear of retribution. She criticized the biases of the U.S. media where “fiction takes place as fact.” She also chastised the U.S. for holding the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world and accusing Iran of enriching uranium for WMDs. She then praised Iran for it's technological developments, like the launching of a satellite last week.

During the brief Q&A section, two of the brave souls to stand up to the microphone were Iranian-born. One mentioned the victims of chemical attacks perpetrated by Saddam Hussein and the other spoke of her concern over the bias of American media. The third question brought to the discussion some of Iran’s more controversial political moves like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s demonstrated hatred towards the Israeli state, and also Iran's financing of American-recognized terrorist organizations. Mr. Henderson, Mr. Shami and Mr. Haider all responded in their own ways, Henderson stating that “there hasn’t been any indication that there will be a change in unhelpful behavior of Iran” and Haider talking about some of the similarities between Iran and the U.S. in regards to their controversial behavior.

To close, Anderson discussed U.S. engagement with Iran in the Obama Administration versus in the Bush Administration and Mohammadi reminded us all of the large population of Jewish people in Iran. But I think the most lasting message of the final comments to this intriguing discussion—organized by a small, independent organization like CSI— came from the moderator, Allison Johnson: “We are witnesses to the power of the grassroots movement… our voices make a difference.”

And here are some parting words from the CSI President:

Contrary to popular belief, America today is a polarized place. Our event on Iran was one of the very few exceptions. If you go to an event run by Islamic or pro-Iranian groups, you will never hear the voice of the American mainstream with their criticism of Islam. But if you go to any lecture by mainstream organizations, you will never hear the other side. Any foundation with institutional or government money (and those are the only ones that in the end survive) will ever host official Cubans, Iranians or other people that are hostile to the US. We are trying to bring both sides of the same issues under one roof, building bridges.

Check out the Meet-Up site!

Deja Vu

2009-02-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I got a particularly violent case of déjà vu when I read stories about Gaza militants launching rockets into Israel and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert threatening a “disproportionate” response. The likelihood of another escalation in violence makes expediency of peace agreements and ceasefires all-the-more important. But peace negotiations in the region have never exactly been described as swift.

This is mainly because Israeli-Palestinian conflict is facing such an assortment of problems on many levels. One major one seems to be the fact that the Palestinians aren’t united, that an agreement is impossible if not all Palestinians are able to take part. Though the world may see Mahmoud Abbas as the Palestinian leader, many of the Palestinians don’t, and it is their opinion that really matters to the success of any peace talks.

In an attempt to work on this particular puzzle piece, Abbas of the Fatah party is now in Cairo with President Hosni Mubarak and a few reluctant members of Hamas, trying to “negotiate a permanent ceasefire which could lead to Gaza’s borders being reopened after an 18-month Israeli blockade which has prevented all but the most basic humanitarian supplies from entering.” But they aren’t likely to get anywhere soon, and not just because of the hostility Hamas probably feels towards the Egyptian leader who turned Gazans away at the border during the 22-day Israeli offensive—“Mr Abbas has said talks were impossible with anyone who rejected the supremacy of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which he leads. This follows a statement last week by the exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said the PLO ‘expresses a state of impotence, abuse and a tool to deepen divisions.’ Hamas has never been a member of the PLO.” [BBC, 2/2/09]

A little closer to home

2009-02-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

In an increasingly lawless Mexico that some have warned may be close to a failed state, a truce has been called between competing drug lords in the infamous Sinaloa region.

The marked decrease in violence in the area after the truce would signal how closely tied the violence is to drug trafficking disputes—it would seem the drug lords have figured out that these constant killings and kidnappings are bad for business. But I’m sure President Felipe Calderon would love to attribute the positive change to his efforts in clamping down on crime—he has sent 45,000 troops around the country, pushed for legislation to decrease the number of readily available weapons and attempted to overhaul a slow and somewhat corrupt judiciary.

I commend Calderon on his courageous efforts to bring his country out of bedlam amid a global recession that Mexico is feeling, badly. But it seems odd that drug lords would just suddenly decide that random violence and kidnappings is rather counter-productive. Maybe the narco-trafficking kings are indeed reacting to Calderon’s crackdown. Let’s just hope they aren’t calling a truce to unite together against governmental forces. And if that really is the cause for the truce, let’s just hope that their compadres in Juarez or Tijuana don’t get similar ideas.

Other news from Mexico:

--Crimes are getting more gruesome: “el Pozolero”

--Still no word from the ironic kidnapping of the year: Felix Batista

A ceasefire has been reached, now what?

2009-01-18T09:33:00.002-05:00

The other day a friend of mine returned from a group trip to Israel and she seemed changed. I’ve never seen her get emotional or caught up in anything, but as she described one particular story, her eyes welled up with tears and her lip quivered for a moment before she blinked it all back.

She talked about an Israeli girl at a cross-cultural meeting of Israelis, Palestinians and Americans. This local girl was confused at much of the talk about Israelis and Palestinians hating each other. She asked an adult nearby my friend why the Palestinians didn’t like her and her family.

“It’s complicated,” the adult replied. “It’s difficult to explain.”

“Well maybe,” the girl bravely replied, “we can send my friend over there to talk to them. He speaks their language very well. He can tell them that we’re nice.”

This was the point where my friend’s big brown eyes turned red.

It truly is complicated, as the adult so matter-of-factly stated to the girl, but it’s also very simple-- it's hatred bred from years of violence based on religion and territory.

The recent events in Gaza were essentially inevitable. Hamas militants were lobbing rockets into Israel, a sovereign state. How long would it take the United States to react defensively if it was being attacked from the south by Mexico, or Cuba? Not long indeed.

However, true to form, Israel reacted disproportionately. Some Israelis have been killed but more than 1,000 Palestinians are dead. A UN school and center for humanitarian aid were shelled (which also brings up the moral question—are the ones who attack the civilians guilty of war crimes or are the ones who hide behind civilians and store weapons in Mosques and schools guilty of war crimes?). So although Israel’s reaction is inevitable, it is disproportionate and, quite frankly, counter-productive.

Hamas gains its strength and support not only from regional nations with similar hatred of the Israeli state, but also from Palestinians who have no one else to turn to. When Israel blockaded Gaza, Hamas was one of the only organizations providing adequate support to a very needy and lost population of first and second generation refugees. So it seems only natural that Hamas receives support from the Palestinians-- “people support the source that meets their needs” (Major Erik A. Claessen, Belgian Armed Forces. “S.W.E.T. and Blood: Essential Services in the Battle Between Insurgents and Counterinsurgents.” Military Review Nov-Dec 2007, p.91).

And those ‘needs’ aren’t merely physical. For a population who has lost hope in peaceful methods of obtaining a land for themselves and adequate jobs and education, who has lost hope in democracy after seeing the world turn its back on their (more or less) democratically elected party, the only hope they can find is in religion. Sadly, many of the religious leaders then use that faith against them to breed violence and more hatred.

With Israel continuing blockades and these past few weeks of air strikes and bringing ground forces into an already dire situation, the religious zealots’ jobs are, unfortunately, much easier. Israel is painted as the evil aggressor and Hamas the defender. No matter how successful Israel believes itself to be after this incursion into Gaza, Hamas will continue to flourish and quite possibly more so.

But then what can be done? Now with a ceasefire agreed upon (albeit, temporarily), what can we do to move forward? Honestly I think the little Israeli girl had it right. We need to start with the youth.

Now this is no short-term solution. This would be a long-term, hard-fought siege against a violent racism that has been stoked and prodded for years upon decades upon centuries. This presence of such deeply engrained prejudices has even forced the international community and country leaders to see very little hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. But if we start now—if the Palestinian refugees were given more aid and unbiased education, clean places to live with health services and food security, if Israel was a part of providing those food and health and educational services to Palestinians, then this majority youth population might choose peaceful economic and political opportunities instead of resorting to violence. If schools were integrated or had regular cross-cultural meetings of children so they could see that the other ‘really is nice,’ then maybe in a generation or two we can quiet the voices of racism and hatred and bring up a generation of those who understand the conflict’s history (from both points of view) and can work towards a more peaceful future.

No this doesn’t solve the territory issue, or stop other nations from funding terrorism, but it’s a start.

And I’m idealistic, I know. But someone’s got to be.

Conflict in Film

2008-12-27T14:44:00.001-05:00

With the perpetually busy lives of Americans, it would seem a lot to ask to sit down in front of the silver screen for two hours or more, but we do. And what movies do we watch?

Sure many are purely for entertainment purposes, to bring us out of our tedious lives and into a fanciful world where the hero is victorious and the vanquished see justice. But many blockbuster hits of late have portrayed the world as it is, violence and corruption and all. And this is to John Q public who may be oceans away from conflicts-- who may not have the patience to read policy papers or textbooks, but still craves truth that can be found beyond the 24-hour news cycle. Movies like Blood Diamond, Hotel Rwanda, Jarhead, Body of Lies, or Traitor have had such success that it would seem Americans use film for other purposes than simply entertainment—maybe film can be used as entertaining education.

I’ll grant that film isn’t always the best educator. Even when depicting real events, it is still a subjective portrayal, with changes in characters and timing to make the two hours as action-packed as possible. But film may have a different type of education—it may show an emotional history, and quite possibly find a deeper truth than any documentary can uncover.

So seeing the entertainment value of international conflicts, how may film be used to help end, or at least understand conflict? Can it even be used? Many terrorist organizations use music videos and short films to recruit martyrs and send a message of hate and violence by using the high emotions and energy of youth against them. But might it be possible for peaceful organizations to send their message of tolerance and understanding through film as well?

I have always been amazed by the beauty of moments in film that lend a real understanding through fictional characters. For example in Kingdom of Heaven, the main character, Balian (a Christian), listens to the translation of a Muslim prayer and states that they sound curiously like his own. Or in a similarly named, but more recent movie The Kingdom, a deeper truth in the conflict between the Western and Arab world is revealed at the end—- both sides have lost loved ones and vow to kill all the perpetrators of these atrocities, demonstrating that in a war where no one is completely innocent, we might be more similar than we believe.

Another, very recent, release Waltz with Bashir, for example, which depicts the experiences of a few Israeli soldiers during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, might lend understanding to a small part of an ongoing war, in an area of the world which is now experiencing the violent effects of continued misunderstanding and hatred.

Given the lag time between an event occurring and the possibility of portraying that event through film, it cannot be used as an everyday policy tool. But in ongoing conflicts with frequent uprisings, it might be useful to teach a younger generation (that makes up a majority of the population in developing countries, especially the Middle East) the emotional taxations of both sides, the misunderstandings that led to a semi-constant state of war or even reveal the tools that could lead to an ultimate peace

Modern-day piracy

2008-11-20T00:30:00.001-05:00

Here’s a situation I’m not even sure how to begin approaching—piracy off the coast of Somalia. What could be done? Where can we even start? This royal mess includes gangs of pirate ships hijacking at ever-increasing rates for ever-increasing ransom amounts. This is all fueled by the lack of any legitimate, sustained government in-land, and a non-existent economy, only to be replaced by a new type of economy catering specifically to the pirating industry.

This country is a place where sending anyone, from a New York Times journalist to a UN peacekeeper, is virtually a death sentence. Lawlessness has prevailed and piracy has become almost a normal means for getting ahead in life (BBC). The sad part is that this may even be expected in a “post-failed state” facing such a proliferation of fighting and famine that the “getting ahead in life” plans are few and far between—you either struggle in poverty as a victim, or struggle in wealth as the perpetrator. Why work for almost non-existent wages with government security forces when you can gain a fortune out at sea?

Any hope for peaceful solutions has walked the plank, pushed by ex-fisherman, ex-militiamen and "technical" experts who have convened in 10 gangs (there was only one in 2005) that plague the Gulf of Aden (one of the world’s busiest shipping ways), searching for the highest ransom (Maclean’s). And considering the ransoms have grown to an estimated $25 to $30 million this year, the practice is highly lucrative (NYT). This may be the reason why eight ships have been hijacked in the past two weeks, adding to the 92 ships already taken this year alone (NYT).

Under these circumstances, where the situation is volatile both on land and at sea (the two areas feeding off each other like sharks), where do we begin to promote conflict resolution and peace? What’s more, how do we stop this practice from being spread to other regions as they see evidence of high-value work?

Sources:

Gatehouse, Jonathon. “Blackbeard Still Lives.” Maclean’s 121(41) 20 October 2008: p38-40.

Hunter, Robyn. “Somali pirates living the high life.” BBC News online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7650415.stm.

Kumar, Hari and Alan Cowell. “Indian Navy Tells of Sinking Pirate Ship.” The New York Times Online, 20 November 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/world/africa/20pirate.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin.

The Greater Threat

2008-10-13T13:16:00.002-04:00

During the Vice-Presidential debates a question was asked about Iran and Pakistan—which country poses a greater threat to the new administration? Putting aside the vice-presidential candidate’s answers (since CSI is a non-partisan organization) I wanted to discuss this question since it’s been on my mind now for a few weeks.

First of all, can we compare the two? If we’re talking about Iran, I’m assuming the threat would be coming from their possible development of nuclear technology for WMDs (though they need the nuclear technology for Iranian citizens, and are entitled to it under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, if and only if they allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to enter the country and inspect at will. So far they have not cooperated with inspectors, so they don’t get help with nuclear technology). In Pakistan, it is assumed that the threat comes from multiple sources—the Taliban fighting and growing stronger in the tribal regions, al-Qaeda also finding safe-houses, a new President that hasn’t established a strong rule yet and all of the terrifying instability that emanates from a fragmented government with nuclear capabilities. I recently heard Pakistan called “not a country, but an army”—they are unstable and difficult to handle.

So now which produces the greater threat? In Pakistan, this new unbalanced administration is in charge of a country full of terrorist safe-houses. This poses a major short-term threat not only to the people of Pakistan, but to U.S. efforts in Afghanistan—most all U.S. supplies to troops in Afghanistan go through Pakistan. Recently the U.S. decided to cross the borders of Pakistan without permission from Islamabad so Special Forces could carry out attacks on known terrorist hiding areas. Who knows how this will affect the way the new president is seen to his people, or the actions that the Pakistani military or intelligence organizations choose to take?

But Iran poses a greater long-term threat if something isn’t done now. I don’t mean the military option. Let me repeat that—we should NOT, can NOT invade Iran. We need to increase our diplomatic relations with the country and do whatever we can to foster the growing youth democratic movement there—whether that is done by involving ourselves in local Iranian politics or simply staying away, whatever works. True, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is relatively nuts and frequently spouts off something-or-other about destroying Israel, but he technically has no decision making power in the country—he is more a spokesman than anything else. But whoever has the decision making power is enjoying a healthy growing relative power in the region. It is dangerous to ignore this.

So I’m curious. What do you think? Which poses a greater threat to U.S. interests, if a threat at all?

Cuban embargo

2008-09-25T16:02:00.004-04:00

For almost 50 years the United States has continued its trade embargo against Cuba, stepping up to even more strict regulations within the past 10 years, like increased financial sanctions that isolate Cuba from the international trading community. With the devastation of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, many in Cuba and around the world are again raising their voices in protest to the persistence of the blockade. After the natural disaster, the U.S. offered direct aid to the island, but still refuses to lift the embargo that Cuban Foreign Minister Felips Pérez Roque estimated has cost Cuba at least $222 billion (“Near-unanimous vote at UN”). Calls to end the blockade may be heard louder as the Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura participates in the 63rd convention of the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York (though it is unlikely to make headlines in the U.S. while the Presidential campaign and the current financial crisis blanket news pages across the country).

Looking beyond the protestations of Cuba herself, more than 180 members of the United Nations voted to condemn the embargo in 2007. This issue has been raised religiously for the past 16 years, and every vote ends with a majority decision against the blockade. So what is the U.S. still holding on for? Are politicians trying not to lose face in the international community for giving in to such a small nation?

Having formed the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba in 2003, it would seem the U.S. government has held tight to this embargo for so many years because it wishes to see the administration in Cuba change to a democracy. But is this an efficient way to do so? When an embargo is placed on a country, who is hurt? And who do they blame for their suffering?

--Articles:

Partlow, Joshua. “Hurricanes Shift Debate on Embargo Against Cuba.” Washington Post Foreign Service, 24 September 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092303668.html?hpid=moreheadlines .

Van Auken, Bill. “Near-Unanimous vote at UN to repudiate US blockade of Cuba” World Socialist Web Site, 1 November 2007 http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/nov2007/cuba-n01.shtml.

Crossing Pakistani Borders

2008-09-16T20:10:00.002-04:00

Recently the U.S. military began sending Special Operations ground troops into Pakistani borders without permission from Islamabad. The first of such attacks happened when they landed by helicopter within the borders of Afghanistan on September 3rd, crossed into Pakistan and attacked Taliban and al-Qaeda targets. In these tribal areas there are hideouts and safe-houses where members of either terrorist organization could be planning attacks, either within that region or outside. This would seem to fall directly under the mission of the U.S. military in the War on Terror. However, attacking without permission—from the Pakistani military, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency or the new President Asif Ali Zardari—may end up being counter-productive. Here are some issues to think about and discuss:

1) The people of Pakistan, like those in most every other country, have a great enthusiasm for keeping their territorial integrity, and are understandably upset by U.S. incursions into their borders. Up until now they have been called an ally in the war on terror, albeit an unstable and ineffective ally. Through the years of fighting since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, terrorists have been able to cross the borders into Pakistan to find safe-havens and supplies, which has been detrimental to U.S. efforts in the region. It seems logical that the U.S. military should now follow them across the border to target known terrorist areas specifically. But crossing that border complicates the matter greatly. What authority does the U.S. have to do this? In a New York Times article by Eric Schmitt and Mark Mazzetti, it was stated that an American official said “the Pakistani government had privately assented to the general concept of limited ground assaults by Special Operations forces against significant militant targets, but that it did not approve each mission" (“Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan”). Is this enough?

2) With the new president, and his apparent good relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a window of opportunity was opened for improved diplomatic relations among the two presidents and the U.S. But that window could quickly close if the U.S. goes too far in outraging the Pakistani population (they already aren’t too fond of us). Both Karzai and Zardari have to walk a fine line between good relations with the U.S. and seeming like a puppet for Western powers to their own people. I’m sure hearing news that U.S. soldiers killed civilians in their area is making it difficult for them to keep good relations with Washington.

3) It is extremely difficult for U.S. soldiers to fight in civilian areas while then enemy hides out in their villages and in their homes, wearing similar clothes. This has been a big issue in Iraq as well. So who is morally at fault when civilians die in these attacks? The terrorists who hide behind these women and children, or the soldiers who are trying to do their jobs while also protecting themselves and the lives of their fellow soldiers? And if it is wrong to attack in tribal areas where civilians may be in danger, what do we do instead? The U.S. military knows where the enemy is. One New York Times article stated that U.S. special Operations forces killed “about two dozen suspected Qaeda fighters” (“Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan”). So how can we expect our military men and women to stand back and wait for permission that may come too late, while they know the location of an enemy most of them joined the military to fight?

News Article:

Schmitt, Eric and Mark Mazzetti. “Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan.” New York Times Online, 11 September 2008:

Georgia and the 'new Cold War'

2008-09-04T11:35:00.001-04:00

When Russian forces moved across Georgian borders August 7th of this year, it was easy for many in the West to jump to the conclusion that Russia was the “bad” guy and Georgia was the “good” guy. Zip, bang, boom, put it in the headline. But in the weeks since, the lines between the aggressor and the victim have been blurred.

Moscow accused Tbilisi of “genocide”. Tbilisi accused Moscow of “ethnic cleansing.” And since Russia’s acknowledgement of the independent status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the borders that Russia crossed and their motivations for taking these actions have been muddled into a gray area. The international community joins Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in renouncing Russia’s action, but it was reported that the power structures of the already semi-autonomous regions actually thanked Russian President Dmitri Medvedev for his help and recognition. It could be said that Saakashvili moved his troops into the region first, and in his attempt to take them back under full control of his administration, he provoked Russia into a defensive response to protect the large number of Russian citizens that reside in the regions. But then Russia’s response has been called a “disproportionate reaction” by European leaders who met earlier this week to discuss possible sanctions (BBC News article, “EU suspends talks on Russia Pact”). The European Union ultimately decided against sanctions but threatened to delay talks on a new partnership agreement if Moscow doesn’t remove its troops from Georgian territory. This lack of sanctions has given Russia one reason to be happy, but they are still alone in their recognition of the break-away regions as independent entities and have furthered their international isolation with provocative comments like Medvedev’s recent description of Saakashvili as a “political corpse” (BBC News article, “Saakashvili a ‘political corpse’”).

Now, I won’t debate here whether the sovereignty of a country, or its right to an independent existence, is reliant on the recognition of one other nation alone, or whether an agreement needs to be reached among a majority of UN members, or whether de facto control over a territory is enough. The entire issue of the human right to self-determination is complex and would require much more space for debate. But I would like to discuss one issue I find interesting in the political discussion of the crisis as it is portrayed in the media.

In a September 2nd article from the BBC, Medvedev brought to light U.S. involvement in the crisis. Though the U.S. has sent no troops, nor imposed any sanctions, President Bush’s support of Saakashvili would seem enough for Russia to accuse Washington of provoking the crisis. Medvedev may be just flexing his muscles now in an attempt to prove that his strength matches that of his predecessor, Vladimir Putin. But with such direct jabs at the West that have become fairly regular, especially since the U.S. finally locked the agreement with Poland to place anti-missile defense systems in their borders, many have considered the idea of a “new Cold War.” But what does that mean, really? What would a new Cold War entail? And shouldn’t we give it a new name? Granted, Prime Minister Putin is ex-KGB, but Russia is not the Soviet Union. Medvedev hasn’t proved himself to be Stalin. He doesn’t seem to be Mahatma Gandhi either, but it must difficult to be the successor of a man like Putin, a leader who is revered in Russia as the one who brought the country back from the dead and into her own.

Looking specifically at the conflict in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, I can understand why so many would question the reemergence of the Cold War. If we defined that time by the actions of two major powers who prodded each other politically by using other, perhaps smaller or lesser developed nations for their battlefields, then this example might be perfect. The possibility is open that Russia’s actions in Georgia was partially backlash from the Western recognition of the Serbian break-away region of Kosovo in February, making Kosovo and Georgia the proxy wars of the new millennium.

I’m sure it also doesn’t help that Saakashvili seems to be egging on this Cold War mentality with inflammatory remarks, broadening the situation to frame it as a war between the West and Russia. Between good and evil. Between freedom and tyranny. But what I want to know is, in the very specific case of the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, minus all the Cold War rhetoric, which government really represents good and which government really represents evil? The government that sent troops to keep control over the regions? Or the government that sent troops to keeps those troops from keeping control over the regions? Do they have a right to independence, as Georgia did from the Soviet Union? Maybe. But does Russia have a right to decide? Or the Georgian government? The UN?

News articles:

BBC News, "EU suspends talks on Russia Pact” 1 Sept 2008

BBC News, "Saakashvili a ‘political corpse'” 2 Sept 2008

Updates from Nagaland

2008-09-02T11:33:00.002-04:00

You may have already seen the two-part interview with Grace Collins in the “CSI Productions” tab of the website (if not, then I encourage you to watch it). I spoke with Ms. Collins recently and it sounds like she has been busy since that interview was filmed.

One “soft multi-track diplomacy” campaign she is working on is modeled after none other than her pet cat Malcolm. A strange suggestion to be an ambassador of Nagaland for sure, but her reasoning is sound. As a cultural diplomat, it is Ms. Collins’ job to share the culture of the Naga people with the seemingly apathetic American public. One medium she has chosen to spread news of the plight of the Nagas is YouTube.

Videos have previously been posted on YouTube about Nagaland, but unfortunately it seems the nation is a victim of its own obscurity—searching YouTube for “Nagalim” yields only 90 videos. Searching “Nagaland” brings in a bit more: 304. Searching “cat,” however, has very different results. This was why Collins’ decided to use her pure-bred Blue cat Malcolm to star in a three-part drama that will expose the problems the Nagas face at the hands of Indian officials enforcing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. “I can’t afford a celebrity,” she said. “But on YouTube you can make anyone a celebrity.” The Malcolm Project will also attempt to tap into the multi-billion dollar pet fashion industry to raise money for orphans of Nagalim.

“Food, culture and art is the best way to create awareness, then comes interest, then comes action.” And it seems to be working. The first video of the Malcolm Project has been viewed more than 370,000 times, whereas the first video that comes up when searching “Nagaland” has only been viewed around 3,800 times.

In addition to the pet industry, Ms. Collins’ work has brought her to the culinary industry, making a Naga cookbook that will also tell a compelling story of the people of Nagalim. It makes sense considering how important food is to the identity of any given culture. It also makes perfect sense given the controversy of the Naga Jolokia pepper. Native to the Naga territory, it is the hottest chili in the world. Ms. Collins has even had the unfortunate opportunity of tasting it first hand. “I didn’t realize how horrible it would be until I tried it,” she said. “I took this big bite of it and my lips turned so bright red it looked like I had lipstick on. The next morning my whole hands broke out.” The main controversy of this chili is two-fold—on one hand are the alleged reports of Indians using the pepper as a torture device by making victims eat massive amounts of them or having their skin burned by forced exposure to the chili that normally requires gloves to handle. On the second hand is the controversy over whether the chili pepper belongs to the Nagas or the Indians. This is directly tied to the human right to self-determination of the Naga people: whether their land and their culture are their own, or whether they are just a part of the Indian territory.

“If you look at the UN definition of a nation, the Nagas meet all of the categories,” Collins said. So why are they still being denied independence?

Click for more information on the Malcolm Project

White South African Farmers

2008-09-01T16:02:00.002-04:00

Though there have not yet been many submissions on the CSI website, there is one that caught my eye, as I’m sure it captured the eyes of anyone who chose to open it. The powerpoint presentation on the murders of white South African farmers is graphic and emotional. There are not many facts, but plenty of passion. This makes me wonder how much of it is actually publicized. Even the quintessential source of information—Google—is relatively mum on the situation. So this presentation may be much needed, given the lack of media coverage on the issue. I had certainly never heard much of it and this prompted me to seek out more information on the subject. More information that, let me reiterate, was very difficult to find.

In the presentation it was stated that 1,600 died, but in what time period? Within any particular area? I read that the murders may have totaled 40,000 in South Africa, with around 1,200 between 1994 and 2002 (09 June 2002 WorldNetDaily Article http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27892 ). I also found information tying the killings to an organization called the Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO)—a group from South Africa that boasts its dedication to the Black Consciousness Movement on their website http://www.azapo.org.za/. On this website it is also stated that “although our ancestors fought the [white] settlers bravely, they were defeated by superior weapons. But Azania, the land of the Black People, is still ours and that is why we reclaim it by force.”

Having found these tidbits of information I would like to know more, especially after having read an April 2008 article in the "Toronto Star" (Canada) describing similar, though not quite as violent, circumstances in Zimbabwe—“White farms seized as Mugabe backers stage 'land grab'.” Not as violent yet anyway.

2008-09-01T09:02:00.000-04:00