volume 1 ďƒ´ issue 1
IN THIS ISSUE: Kashmir: The Futility of Conflict ................................. 2 Child Soldiers: A Global Responsibility............................... 4 Child Trafficking: Sold To The Devil ................................. 7 Nigeria: The Ferocious Plea of a Nation ............................ 9 Israel/Palestine: The Lost sense of the Middle East ........... 11
Photo by Chelsie MacIlwain rd
GuluWalk 2010 participants gather at City Hall Square in Downtown Windsor on October 23 . Over 60 Windsorites walked in solidarity with 40,000 Ugandan children. This international event recognizes their struggles. 1|T h e I S S U E O c t – N o v 2 0 1 0
The Futility of Conflict in Kashmir – by Uriel Marantz One simple question is usually asked about international conflicts, a question which allows observers to casually rate them from most to least severe: how many people have been killed or injured? Somehow the mass total of human misery and suffering endured by ordinary civilians in warzones and battlegrounds the world over is ultimately reduced to black-and-white figures, numbers on a page or statistics in some United Nations report. If it is the case that numbers are synonymous with importance, then the ongoing conflict in Kashmir between Pakistan and India deserves serious mention and closer attention. Although scarcely 10 million people live in Kashmir today, this conflict affects nearly 2.5 billion people. Pakistan, India and China all claim some pieces of the Kashmir puzzle for themselves, meaning that one out of every three people in the world – the combined populations of these three great Asian countries – is indirectly involved in the future resolution or continued protraction of the Kashmir dispute. Though China is involved in the dispute for Kashmiri territories, its claim to strategically remote and virtually uninhabitable plateaus is a minor concern which is secondary to the central Indo-Pakistani rivalry. India currently administers approximately two-thirds of the contested area, or regions known as the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh, while Pakistan controls the remaining one-third of Azad
Kashmir and the Northern Areas. This haphazard and suboptimal distribution of land, peoples and power goes back to the Partition of the Indian Subcontinent in 1947 and the British presence there beforehand. In short, when Britain packed up and left South Asia in the late 1940s, it allowed all 562 Indian provinces to decide whether they wanted to join the newly created sovereign entities of Pakistan and India, or to declare their own independence. Kashmir, a Muslimmajority territory, was ruled by a Hindu Prince who only decided to join India to gain reinforcements once it became clear that tribal groups in Pakistan were invading and annexing Kashmir by force. At this point in the story, the narrative takes an abrupt turn in favour of either Pakistan or India Photo credits: DTP – Pius Lee. depending on which specific points are emphasized or ignored. Suffice it to say that both countries have legitimate, age-old claims for Kashmir; it is, after all, a disputed territory. The problem is that conflict has not led to resolution, and bilateral relations are at an all-time low. Such were the origins of the first Indo-Pakistani war and the conditions which led to the current status quo in the disputed territory. Besides for minor skirmishes between Pakistan and India in the mountainous regions of Kashmir and China’s precipitous entry into the hotly contested territory in
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the 1960s, the situation as it exists today has remained largely unchanged for almost 60 years. Not only are these two countries bitter rivals who have fought three out of four indecisive wars because of the unresolved status of Kashmir, but they are mutually antagonistic, nuclear-armed states who refuse to sign on to or abide by the terms of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This reckless nuclear showboating not only fans the flames of extremism on both sides, but gives radical Islamic terrorists, who have already struck India’s Parliament in 2001 and across the city of Mumbai in 2007, another target to exploit. This is a cause of legitimate concern for the governments and peoples within both of these countries, the neighbouring countries, and for the rest of the world if peace and stability are highly coveted international goods. The latest flare-up of Indo-Pakistani conflict over Kashmir occurred in 1999 when Pakistani forces unsuccessfully attempted to infiltrate and undermine Indian positions in the Kargil district of Kashmir. The potential for violent spasms to continue to erupt between these two countries clearly exists and must be confronted. As was already mentioned, three out of four IndoPakistani wars revolving around the issue of Kashmir, took place in 1947-48, 1965, and 1999, and resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries. The Indian government has estimated that the death toll in Kashmir since the late 1980s, when two long and bloody decades of insurgency and armed conflict began, have cost the country more than 47,000 lives – a figure which does not include disappearances. Separatist groups in Kashmir have claimed more than 100,000 casualties, with the real number being likely somewhere in the mid-range of these two. Although the situation within Kashmir has somewhat stabilized and improved with a proIndian party being elected in an internationally applauded election in 2008, the territory is nowhere closer to resolving its much deeper social, ethnic, religious, and political problems. Internationally, it remains as corrosive and explosive an issue as ever,
ready to be hijacked by extremists at any time. The independence of Kashmir from India is seen as an alternative to resolute this issue, and is a highly debated and contested topic. However, supporters of sovereign Kashmir, which include Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy, have been the target of severe scrutiny and opposition by Indian political parties and their supporters. Is the conflict over Kashmir really worth risking yet another war and thousands more lives? Besides the threat of nuclear warfare, which is only the most dramatic of many of the potential issues involved, the recent flooding of the Indus River and its nearby tributaries, along with India’s $20 million in aid for Pakistani flood victims, demonstrates an important point: the renewed importance of water in the region and the beneficial effects of interdependence on both countries. With a change in attitudes, Pakistan and India could both benefit from much more positive relations. As neighbours with extensive geographical and cultural connections, these two states could be excellent trading partners. Mutual cooperation could become the norm instead of conflict, hostility and antagonism. The militaries in both countries could engage in confidencebuilding measures by performing drills and exercise with instead of against each other; after all, extremists and terrorists are openly combated by both sides already. Complementary economic structures, identical sporting events and similar regional aspirations could bring these two countries closer together than previously thought possible. However, the issue of Kashmir is strongly integrated within several cultural and societal aspects, that need to be addressed by the governments of India and Pakistan. If these two nations adopt a moral stance and bury the hatchets of old rivalries, they can move into the future as friends and allies.
Uriel Marantz is currently working towards his MA in Public Policy at the University of Muchigan-Dearborn. He will also complete his MA in Political Science from the University of Windsor later this year.
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A Global Responsibility to Children - by Adam Hummel 300,000. Consider this number. Write it down, say it out loud, imagine its vastness, and place it in your heart. 300,000. This is the approximate number of child soldiers that are currently being used in the various conflicts of the modern world. This covers the number of children who are utilized in armed conflict across South America, Asia, and specifically Africa, and is a number so vast that it is almost difficult to comprehend. It is difficult to picture ranks of children who have been abducted, intimidated, scared, orphaned, drugged, raped, and pressured into joining the ranks of corrupt militaries, militias and gangs. This involvement will scar all 300,000 of them for the rest of their lives, but who should bear responsibility for them once the dust settles and they are set free? To answer this question we need only to consider the future and contemplate a world in which former child soldiers grow up without help. These children, reared in the midst of warfare, some knowing only how to resort to violence, may grow up to become the leaders of a region that desires peace. Even though Africa or Asia may seem far away, it is possible that a certain responsibility to rehabilitate these former warriors falls to the global community. Ruthie Ackerman, in her article "Scars and Stripes", details the life of former child soldiers who have been severely disabled as a result of their troubled past. There is much information detailing the plight of these former soldiers and why so little is being done to truly rehabilitate them. Money is always a factor, and some countries are simply unable to receive the aid they need in order to set up rehabilitation centers. Military programs often take priority over rehabilitation or civilian programs, and money is not always spent effectively. People are starving on the streets and are desperate to survive on whatever they can find to give them subsistence. Children are equally susceptible to these needs, and
so they turn primarily to institutions that simply give them a means to live. In many cases, especially in war torn countries, these children turn to the military establishment. Ishmael Beah is but one example of a child soldier. In his book A Long Way Gone, he details his experience as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, and writes that in a time of war, after the murder of his parents and siblings, he turned to the military for help. The military inherently resumes full control over the destinies of children like Beah. They intimidate them, desensitize them to war, show them how to kill, train them to use AK47s, and heavily drug them. One need only imagine the consequences of such actions. The children are trained to patrol the streets and territories of war-torn countries, shoot on sight, and if they disobey the commands of a superior, they themselves are killed. This becomes a child's world. Suddenly, when the conflict ends and there is no more fighting, the children must adapt and learn to survive in an unfamiliar setting. Little chance of survival is found on the streets at home so, as Ackerman so brutally details, former combatants look to the conflicts of neighbouring countries. They know how to fight and understand that they can be an asset to either side of the conflict. They also know that fighting, in a twisted sense, means survival, food, shelter and clothing, at least for the time being. So they move to the next conflict and descend into the horrors of war once again. This is the life of a child soldier; naturally if there is no rescue, no rehabilitation, and no chance for them to enter society, they may become the warlords of the future. They may be fighters forever, trained with rogue techniques and with little sense of what is ethical and moral. How are our lives necessarily endangered by the fighting done by children thousands of miles away? The truth is that what happens in the world is our responsibility. It is our responsibility because we are 4|T h e I S S U E O c t – N o v 2 0 1 0
fortunate to be living in a time when there is more devastation and destruction that we could ever have imagined, but in which we have the ability to do more now than we have before. We can do more to help save these children whose youth was stolen from them by the warlord, the politician, the diamond merchant, or the state. Our mindset must not be whether or not we should be responsible for contributing to the rehabilitation of these youths. Our logic should be: we can, therefore we will, and we must. At the Tate Modern Art Gallery in London, England, there is a display of African artwork. One vivid painting shows a child soldier, surrounded by flowers and scenery. In full military attire, he holds a pistol in a hand behind him, an AK47 on his other side, and a phone on his belt. His hands are held up, in a surrender position. Cheri Samba, the artist, has written at his feet, "I am for peace, that is why I like weapons." This is what child soldiers are taught, and it is clearly a lesson that must be altered for a peaceful future. This painting so clearly captures why the responsibility to help these children lies in our hands. Our abilities influence our actions, and we therefore have the power to help. Whether this means sending money or volunteering at shelters and clinics that are established on their home soil, we must help. The nature of the deed may change, but the fact is unalterable that we must resume some of the responsibility for implementing such change. The United Nations has spent much time considering the issue of child soldiers, and the rules are, when possible, enforced. In the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is clearly stated that rehabilitation is required for those children affected by participation in warfare, offered by the states from which the children emerge. Many, unfortunately, will not abide by these rules. They are either morally or economically depleted, and these children must therefore turn elsewhere.
What responsibility does the world bear for rehabilitating child soldiers? We bear a huge responsibility so that we can knowingly reflect on the fact that we did not sit idly while children are trained to hate instead of love, kill instead of nurture, and value war over peace. 300,000 is a number that can bring about peace in our time. When 300,000 children are given a second chance to thrive in their communities, they have the potential to generate goodness. Let us, as a global community, bear full responsibility for this number, and strive to help every child with a misguided youth achieve their full potential to help create a peaceful international community.
Photo credits: Pierre Holtz / UNICEF CAR
Adam Hummel is a student of Law at the University of Windsor. He is also the founder of Youth Ambassadors For Peace in Kenya – www.kenyapeaceproject.com
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Child Trafficking: Sold To The Devil. - by Aline Beydoun A 12 year old Pakistani girl named Shazia Masih, who was from an impoverished family, was a servant to a wealthy lawyer in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. Her parents were mislead to believe that selling her will help her in attaining a better life, by a broker in child trafficking, who did not disclose that he was a broker. This man had sold her to the Pakistani lawyer who did not allow any communication between Shazia and her parents. Earlier this year, the lawyer and brought the lifeless body of the girl back to her parents and claimed that she had fallen down the stairs – offering them money in exchange for silence. Medical reports show that Shazia’s body had shown signs of torture, sexual abuse, 16 incision wounds, a damaged skull, and fractured ribs and arm. The Lawyer, Chaudhry Naeem had presided over the Lahore Bar association, and thus had an influential power, which helped him to attain an acquittal for the charges. However, the child trafficking broker was eventually arrested and five children were rescued. This shows how corrupt institutions along with poverty work against the protection of children. The parents had sealed Shazia’s fate upon selling her despite having the best intentions, and she is now remembered as a victim of child trafficking. Child trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation. The act of trafficking is interpreted as a different act in different states which makes it extremely difficult to determine the number of children trafficked and creates conflicting statistics. The general consensus is that the number of children trafficked from one state to another has decreased, but that internal trafficking within states has increased. Originally, international focus was primarily on transnational trafficking and domestic trafficking was not perceived to be a major issue. This was evident in the United Nations protocol which, when adopted, focused on transnational trafficking. However, in
2005, it was internationally recognized that the majority of trafficking is domestic. Child trafficking does not solely refer to trafficking for sexual purposes but also refers to many other forms of exploitation and abuse, such as child-labor. There are approximately 2.5 million children that are sexually exploited in the commercial sex industry or even forced into marriage. According to the U.S. Department of State 600,000 to 800, 000 children, most of who are female are bought and sold across international borders each year. A majority of the cases involve young girls, but young boys are also exploited, and are highly underestimated. There are many conventions and guidelines to tackle child trafficking but there is a problem with implementation, and children do not receive the proper aid or protection. The three prominent international conventions dealing with child trafficking for sexual purposes are: Convention No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, passed by the International Labour Organization; Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, a protocol passed by the United Nations passed to supplement the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Part of the UN Protocol states: (c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a). Subparagraph (a) refers to coercion and the use of force. The UN protocol only focuses on aiding the physical and psychological recovery of the victim, but the Optional Protocol 7|T h e I S S U E O c t – N o v 2 0 1 0
requires states to go beyond that and ensure the child’s full social integration into society. The ILO convention protects children against trafficking, sale, forced labor, prostitution and the use of children for pornographic performances. The aforementioned conventions are gender neutral, but when it comes to implementation many of the programs and initiatives that have taken place have strictly focused on females. The boys that are trafficked are completely neglected and lack measures of protection. Law enforcement brings up a number of new concerns in regards to child trafficking. It is extremely difficult for officials to convict someone on child trafficking charges, let alone to lay a charge, thus they charge them with corruption or any number of less prominent offences. Collecting evidence to prove a trafficking charge is extremely difficult, thus resulting in the victim not receiving the proper physical and psychological aid because the trafficking aspect is neglected. Prosecution becomes difficult when the victims and witnesses do not testify due to fear. Proceedings need to be made child-friendly and to provide ample protection for the child. An excellent example of this is Thailand, where children are only questioned in the presence of a social worker and/or psychologist. They may also be present during court proceedings to make the child feel more at ease and advocate for the child in the presence of harsh questioning tactics. Another great initiative takes place in the Philippines where the fines which are collected under the antitrafficking law are transferred to half-way houses for the victims, which provide them with shelter and counseling assistance.
United States and Canada. Thailand was placed in Tier Three of the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report for not fully complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act but making significant effort to do so. According to the same report, Malaysia was placed in Tier Three for not complying and not making any significant effort. In Malaysia, children are trafficked from Burma, Indonesia, Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan and others. Children are primarily trafficked out for sexual and labor exploitation. Thai government officials have been accused for their having complicity with traffickers, and safeguarding their interests and intentions. NGOs are working toward the exterminating the trafficking of children, but they have many conflicts amongst themselves due to unilateral efforts, which hinder the process. If they were all able to coordinate their efforts, the interventions and aid that the children would receive would be much more effective. Perhaps, having the victims themselves participate in anti-trafficking initiatives would provide for valuable insight that could be used towards prevention of trafficking and better rehabilitation of victims. It is evident that despite many efforts, child-trafficking continues; it is time to put differences aside and to have government agencies and NGOs all working together.
Aline Beydoun is a student in BA Political Science at the University of Windsor.
A large portion of child trafficking occurs in Thailand, where children are brought in from Cambodia, Laos, China, Burma and several other Asian countries for forced labour, begging, and commercial sex. Their trafficking network extends out to Japan, South Africa, Bahrain, Malaysia, European countries,
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Report on Nigeria: The Ferocious Pleas of a Nation - by Fahd Ahmed & Rahul Radhakrishnan Even though Nigeria is an established regional power in the African continent, it is heavily ridden with complex colossal issues which encompass several intertwined variables. This country has witnessed coup after coup, the rise and fall of several dictators, the exploitation of resources, and an ethos of intolerance toward one another. Amidst this darkness, the only steady vehicles of hope were the voices of independent journalists, and the deterministic courage of the first African Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. Soyinka was sentenced to death for treason ‘in absentia’ by dictator Sani Abache. He had escaped the country and found his way to the United States where he garnered international attention to the atrocities within Nigeria. His writings emphasize the plight of the Nigerian peoples due to misrule. He writes, “The hands of the nation’s clock were stopped on a day that, ironically, recorded its birth. If the nation is to live, its resuscitation must commence where its heart first stopped beating.” A contextual glimpse: The Federal Republic of Nigeria is located in West Africa and is the continent’s largest exporter of oil. Predictably, The Niger Delta has been of particular interest to major oil companies which have been hawking this area with self-interest; shoving right through any hindrances. An instance of such setbacks include the recent attacks during the fiftieth Independence Day celebrations in the capital city of Abuja. This was an act of intimidation by one of the largest militant groups in the country, named Movement For The Emancipation Of The Niger Delta or MEND. This belligerent group firmly opposes large oil corporations such as Shell, AGIP, Chevron Texaco and Esso Mobil for the extraction of oil and the exploitation of the natural resources. They also oppose the corrupt Nigerian federal government who reaps the benefits from oil deals and consequently leaves the people of Nigeria
exceedingly impoverished. MEND operates in close association with another militant group, Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force which is also infuriated with the oil industry and their government and opts for violent methods of resistance. The youth of the nation is imposed to this violent dogma as a mean to governmental reform. This aggressive discourse appeals to the Nigerian youth since the unmistakably crooked government turns a deaf ear to the misery of the Nigerian peoples. This misery engulfs the Nigerian people in immense poverty and non-negotiated ethno-religious disagreements which mired the country since its independence from the British Empire in 1960. The roots of these unresolved disputes lay in the unification of the different British protectorates in the Niger Delta to form present-day Nigeria. The unification of 1914 resulted in the amalgamation of different ethnic tribes, and a clear religious distinction between the Islamic Hausa tribes from the north, and the southern province which is populated by the Christian Yoruba and Igbo tribes. This cultural spar between these provinces resulted in ethnic intolerance and religious clashes. Adding fuel to the fire, there are several rebel groups within Nigeria which are stimulated by religious and ethnic intolerance – such as the Boko Haram. This militant Islamic extremist group demands the implementation of Shari’ah – The Islamic Law - in northern Nigeria. Additionally, there have been several armed sectarian conflict in the central city of Jos, which has been under military curfew due to these riots. The city has been scarred with 500 deaths this year alone – many of which were innocent victims killed by the brutal mode of intervention of the Nigerian army. These eruptions of conflict are a result of crooked politicians fabricating ethnic and religious differences and hatred to manipulate the uneducated and impoverished people. Politicians use dishonest 9|T h e I S S U E O c t – N o v 2 0 1 0
means to get into power since it is reckoned as a way of making money – for individuals and communities. This ideological disparity has an evident toll on the current state of affairs of this hurting nation. This year was not promising from its dawn, with civil clashes in Jos followed by the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua in May. Yar’Adua had a landslide victory in 2007 which was highly criticized both domestically and internationally. Upon his death, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan took over as acting President. Jonathan is currently campaigning for President in the upcoming elections in 2011. His rival? Ibrahim Babangida, also known as IBB. He was formerly the dictator of Nigeria from 1985 to 1993. He annulled the results of a free and fair election in 1993, in which M.K.O. Abiola was justly elected as Head of State, providing no explanation to the baffled citizens. Abiola would have been the first President to emerge from a truly free and fair electoral process that was unprecedented in the country’s history. The Northern dominance in Nigerian politics is a key contributing factor to civil clashes. Upon IBB’s resignation in ‘93, he had instated Ernest Shonekan as the Head of State. Shortly after, Shonekan was ousted by IBB’s confidant - the notorious Sani Abacha - who claimed dictatorial power over the state. Abacha’s regime was subject to several human rights abuse allegations due to the genocide of the Ogoni people, who were destroyed for opposing the exploitation of Nigerian resources. The Abacha regime had heavily rigged tribunals to sentence several acclaimed activists to death by hanging. This triggered an international outrage, and several countries imposed stringent economic sanctions – which were conveniently ignored by Abacha. He took advantage of his status as de facto leader by sentencing Abiola, Wole Soyinka, and several other national figures for treason for opposing his kleptocracy and regime. Will we observe an inclination toward the societal progress of the country or will the status quo continue to prevail? With the nation’s youth yelling unholy war-cries, the incompetent conduct of
Photo by Fahd Ahmed
power-hungry officials, and multi-national oil companies seeking economic dominance, the 2011 elections may bear witness to history repeating itself. Amidst this ideological battle, the efforts of those Nigerians embracing both the expansion of civil society and the vision of an unstained democracy with an adamant attitude have been key in attaining international recognition of Nigerian issues. Independent “guerrilla” journalists such as Christine Anyanwu who refused to endorse Abacha’s dictatorial regime and its propaganda machinery have effectively garnered global attention. Lawyer and acclaimed Nigerian figure, Gani Fawelhinmi said “We rely on the bravery of journalists to get the real story of what is happening in this country. Nobody else will tell us.” The voice of the Nigerian people is unremittingly muffled by factors of historical, external and internal origins. With all these entangled issues in place, is it possible to reveal the dire need for tolerance and social activism to a nation encrusted with problems of this calibre? Fahd Ahmed is a student in Business Administration at The University of Windsor. Rahul Radhakrishnan is a student in Communication Studies and Political Science, and the Editor-in-Chief of The ISSUE.
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The Lost Sense of the Middle East by Peter M. The hallmark of a society on the edge has always struck me to be that it has lost its sense of the ridiculous. In peaceful, stable societies, the demagogues and conspiracy theorists who litter conflict zones are pushed to the sidelines and mocked. Yet here, at the very heart of the conflict, you are surrounded not only by those who proclaim hateful and self-serving ideas but also by those who follow them and accept them. Even ordinary people that you are otherwise on very good terms with will say and think things which are demonstrably false. I've talked to young, intelligent Israelis who believe that Palestinians never existed and that the refugees are descended from Arab immigrants to Israel in the early 20th century. I've listened to elder, educated Palestinian men who believe that Yasser Arafat was a Jew sent to destroy the Palestinian cause. There are International workers are here who believe that Israel is killing thousands of civilians with the complicity of the international press, policemen who insist that all of this is all part of a secret Western plot to manipulate the Jews into weakening the Arab nation. These thoughts are a product of the ridiculousness of this situation, a situation where almost everyone feels compelled and nearly overwhelmed by events. It seems ridiculous because of the thought that conspiracies are possible in an area where the vast majority of events are incidental. The only way to assert any level of control seems to be to believe you are the victim of a grand, over-arching conspiracy. Despite this, the vast bulk of people do not buy into these ideas. A sense of muted helplessness seems to exude from their pores, barely noticeable except in the bad jokes and grim looks when the perennial topic comes up in conversation. A good friend who served in the army, lost a best friend in the war in
Lebanon, has heard stories of abuses from her friends but cannot help but just shrug at it all. You'd go crazy here if you let yourself be swallowed up by all this. Hearing the views of the people who have been consumed by the conflict, I cannot help but agree. The lost sense of the ridiculous does not just lead some to buy into conspiracies. It also enables the famous pettiness of the Middle Eastern conflict. Every day I walk from the bus station in East Jerusalem to my offices in West Jerusalem and every day I pass by a small, steel set of stairs. The badly painted stairs take you up a couple of metres to a gravel parking lot – the sort of thing which would be completely unremarkable anywhere else. Except here. A woman who works at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency For Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) told me the story of this set of stairs, how it has been replaced and removed countless times. The problem is, it appears, that the gravel car park is for a small Jewish neighbourhood. Arabs live on either side and with the staircase in place, they use the road as a short cut between the two areas. For anyone to take this seriously enough to fight over it, let alone to let this dispute go on for years, means that a sense of proportion has been replaced by a sense of spite. Someday, I shall walk past that car park and the stairs will be gone - and with it another flake of decency will be chipped away.
Peter M. has a BA in Politics from The School of Oriental and African Studies at The University of London, England. He is currently working at the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions which fights against demolitions of Arab homes in East Jerusalem.
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Photo by: Cody Valdes.
This is a common sight in Rwanda. Scores of Rwandans have been displaced from their homes due to the genocide and massacres, and the shelters built by Survivors Funds are far away from their lands. Rwandan women have to walk for several hours everyday in order to cultivate these lands.
Cody Valdes is a student of History and Political Science at Tufts University in Boston, MA. He is currently the Project Manager of the ‘Sisi Ni Amani – We are Peace’ project in Kenya. http://www.sisiniamani.org/pages/mission.html
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Kashmir:
India-Pakistan Conflict: An enduring rivalry. – T.V.Paul http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/55198/frontmatter/9780521855198_frontmatter.pdf
Bargaining and Learning in Recurring Crises: The Soviet-American, EgyptianIsraeli, and Indo-Pakistani Rivalries. Leddy Library Call Number: JZ6045 .L46 2000 ISBN: 0472067036
Child Soldiers:
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Child Soldier by Ishmael Beah Leddy Library Call Number: DT516.828.B43 A3 2007 ISBN: 9780374105235 The Children’s War – Cinema Libre Studio (Documentary)
Child Trafficking:
Seminar on Human Trafficking on November 4 & 5, 2010 at Assumption University. (See page 6 for poster)
Nigeria:
Words of Fire: Independent Journalists Who Challenge Dictators, Druglords, and Other Enemies of a Free Press by Anthony Collings Leddy Library Call Number: PN4820 .C65 2001 ISBN: 0814716059 The Open Sore of A Continent: A Personal Narrative of The Nigerian Crises by Wole Soyinka Leddy Library Call Number: PR9387.9.S6 Z473 1996 ISBN: 0195105575
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The ISSUE EDITORIAL TEAM – OCTOBER/NOVEMBER issue. Founder & Editor-in-chief Rahul Radhakrishnan
Managing Editor Katelyn Murray
Contributors…….. Leah Cowan, Uriel Marantz Adam Hummel, Aline Beydoun, Fahd Ahmed, Peter M., Cody Valdes
Interested in on-campus & local issues? Click here for The Student Movement
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