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ment December 2005

Lonely Christmas for Migrant Workers Why migrant workers are without their families,

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t will be a lonely Christmas for many migrant workers separated from their families as a result of limited entitlements under the current work permit system. In effect, family members of all legal migrants do not have the right to join family members in Ireland. “The huge gap in entitlements between someone on a work permit and someone on a work visa, means that a doctor is more entitled to have their husband or wife here with them than somebody employed in the tourism or catering industry.â€?, says Helen Lowry, a community worker with the Migrant Right Centre of Ireland. “A migrant worker needs to be earning RYHU Âź D ZHHN EHIRUH WKH\ DUH HQWLWOHG to family reunification, migrant workers on the cusp of that figure are generally being refused family reunification, they need to be earning far in excess of it to be consideredâ€?. In the report, Private Homes: A Public Concern, the Migrant Rights Centre documented cases of excessive working hours, low pay, unreasonable working conditions and threatened deportation among women working as domestic and care workers. One year on from the report, the work permit system, described by some immigrant support groups as a form of "bonded labour" is still in place. The government's plans to introduce a "green card" system for migrant workHUV LQ WKH (PSOR\PHQW 3HUPLWV %LOO

has also been criticised by the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Migrant Right Centre for not addressing the exploitation of migrant workers. The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland has launched a campaign to amend the Employment Permits Bill. The campaign was initiated by a group of migrant workers who are currently lobbying on the Bill. “Our concerns would be that the rights and entitlements of people on the so called green card work visa are greater than those on work permits. From what we can see the employer still applies for the work permit so we are quite concerned about that as well. When a system is inflexible and that labour market driven, and is at the discretion of the Minister in terms what the labour market skill shortages are, people can fall out of the system far easier and become undocumented� says Helen Lowry. The CSO estimated Ireland would need LPPLJUDQWV D \HDU WR WR ILOO our skill and labour shortages. 7KH 81 &RQYHQWLRQ RQ WKH Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers sets out the minimum obligations and responsibilities of host states, but has not been ratified by the Irish government. Amnesty International is still calling on the government to immediately sign the convention, “Migrant workers have been subjected to extensive exploitation and if the Irish government is serious

John Pilger Exclusive interview with the acclaimed investigative journalist

Jennifer O’Leary reports

Christmas can be an empty time for migrant workers Contd. from front page about its human rights commitments it should immediately sign the convention� says spokesperson Fiona Crowley. Family reunification is an issue that comes up a lot of the time regardless of what time of the year it is, but Helen Lowry of the Migrant Rights Centre has found that “coming up to Christmas people are trying to get their family

Tsunami Stories Should “Holiday volunteering� be more strictly regulated?

over on a tourist visa just to see them. Family is a key agent of integration for ethnic minorities, it impacts negatively if you do not have the right to have your family around you.� To participate in the campaign to amend the Employment Permits Bill go to : www.mrci.ie/campaign/epb05/ (continues on page 2)

Lifting the Veil Life for Afghan women after the Taliban and the US invasion

2

Commentary

90 Degrees December 2005

Editorial 'HJUHHV LV D SXEOLFDWLRQ WKDW espouses the principles of good journalism; the first principle of which is the obligation to tell the truth. But we also wrote our articles on the basis of you, the reader's right to know. The right to know of why migrant workers legally working in this country do so without their families being legally entitled to live here with them. The right to know of the issues concerning nuclear power and alternative methods of energy production as outlined in Darragh Connolly's article. The right to know of the ongoing difficulties women in Afghanistan still contend with on a daily basis, in spite of the end of Taliban control of that country, the reality of which is documented by Aoife McMahon. John Pilger is a journalist whose investigative work provokes extremes that veer, depending on your point of view, between adulaWLRQ DQG GLVGDLQ 1RQHWKHOHVV KH LV one of the world’s most acclaimed war correspondents, film-makers and writers, and we are honoured to have an exclusive interview with him in 'HJUHHV Recent natural disasters have undoubtedly increased the number of volunteering enterprises to aid in disaster zones. Gayle Fitzpatrick reports on an issue that gets little attention: the effectiveness of some volunteering enterprises - a hand up or a hindrance? Journalists depend on social values such as openness and freedom of expression. However, openness is not a word that can be applied to at least one issue in our society. Celia Zwahlen reports on the connection that has yet to be acknowledged between sexually transmitted infections and the need for such screening services in Ireland. Mens health is another topic that garners little media attention; Anita O'Donovan explores the health issues at stake in her article. The impact of new media has \HW WR EH HYDOXDWHG EXW 'HJUHHV embraces its potential: Fiona Ferguson reports on audio books and the potential of such technology; Gerard Matthews examines the blogging phenomenon; and Aidan McKeown looks at how campaigning organizations are using new media to their advantage. Finally, who will lead the country is decided at the ballot box, but the question of who will next manage the Irish football team is a more hotly debated issue in some quarters. Patrick Donohoe reviews one of the possible contenders. :H KRSH \RX HQMR\ UHDGLQJ Degrees.

Contd. from front page

From: Private Homes: A public concern. Published by the Migrant Rights Centre December 2004.

Boom Generation CĂŠlia Zwahlen reflects on the direction Irish society is taking

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e are today often exposed to various references in public debates to the country’s SRRU HFRQRPLF VWDWH \HDUV DJR Comparisons between ‘the way it was’ and the sophistications of our present society prove useful for the politician who wants to justify moves and strategies. But is this really the way forward? The portrayal of Ireland abroad \HDUV DJR ZDV FORVHU WR WKDW RI a Third World country than of a Western society. The overwhelming influence of the Catholic Church in such modern times was frowned upon and regarded as the sign of a backward culture that hadn’t been able to free itself from patriarchal

Nowadays, people of Ireland are referred to as ‘tax-payers’ and rarely as ‘citizens.’ control. 7KLQN RI )UDQFH LQ 0D\ DQG the student revolution –the revolution of youth: this was the stepping stone for many European countries to grow towards freer and more tolerant

social structures. But Ireland never seemed to have caught the bug. Do we really want to continue comparing our current society with ZKDW LW ZDV \HDUV DJR" 'R ZH want to encourage our politicians to look into the past for justifications of our present circumstances? Or would we rather have them concentrate on the future of this country, on the welfare of the present generations and those to come? The values of Irish society have gone downhill, it seems, since the church lost its influence on the VWDWH 1R RWKHU VHW RI PRUDOV KDV \HW replaced the catholic stance. There is aggressiveness at a very low, street level, in day-to-day interaction. The motto of the day is to make money and spend it. But consumption can hardly spread social values. 1RZDGD\V SHRSOH RI ,UHODQG DUH referred to in the news as ‘tax-payers’ and rarely as ‘citizens.’ The government sees workers who pay the taxes that make policy and budget possible as valuable assets; indeed they form the core of our economy. On the other hand, citizens who exercise their rights are not quite as focused on fattening the cow.

What use is all this wealth if it is not invested in the well-being of the population? We see child poverty, we regularly hear about the lousy healthcare system, the extra money we get seems to serve mostly the handful

No other set of morals has yet replaced the catholic stance. few to get richer, because our system is such that they are the ones who benefit the most from it. The country is now finally running on an economy which is up to the standards expected of a Western society. Other EU countries now look up to Ireland, the same countries that FDOOHG LW D 7KLUG :RUOG FRXQWU\ years ago‌ So it is time to deliver: where is the infrastructure to match the economical growth? 1R RQH ZLOO IRUJHW WKH SDVW VWUXJgles of this country, because they are part and parcel of the tale of the Celtic Tiger. Looking into the past may make us feel better about where we are at right now. But the question is, what good will the future generaWLRQV WKLQN RI XV LQ \HDUV WLPH"

'HJUHHV ZRXOG OLNH WR ZLVK DOO our readers a Happy Christmas & $ 3URVSHURXV 1HZ <HDU

Jean is a married woman with one child in the Philippines. She holds D %DFKHORU RI $UWV DQG LQ VKH worked for a solicitor in Dublin as a child minder. Jean borrowed in H[FHVV RI Ÿ WR FRYHU KHU costs in travelling to Ireland to take up employment. On arrival Jean discovered she was expected to carry out many more jobs in addition to the child minding position described in her work permit. Apart from the full range of household duties such as washing, ironing, cleaning, and hovering she was also expected to clean the offices of her employer and the homes of her employer’s friends. When Jean attempted to clarify these duties her employer became very angry and told her not to question her orders. 6KH ZDV SDLG Ÿ SHU ZHHN Deductions were made for accommodation and meals. Jean worked on DYHUDJH KRXUV SHU ZHHN VRPHtimes more. Her employer threatened her with deportation and called her a liar. Following Jean’s departure, her former employer contacted an immigration officer and made a number of accusations against her. Eventually Jean found a new employer.

Editor: Jennifer O’Leary Deputy Editor: CÊlia Zwahlen Design & Layout: Aidan McKeown Photography: Gayle Fitzpatrick Sub-editors: Darragh Connolly, Aoife MacMahon, Fiona Ferguson, Anita O’Donovan, Gerry Matthews, Patrick Donohue Contributors: Darragh Connolly, Patrick Donohue, Fiona Ferguson, Aoife MacMahon, Gerry Matthews, Aidan McKeown, Anita O’Donovan, Jennifer O’Leary, CÊlia Zwahlen Editorial Consultants: Ryan Brennan & Alan Gill If you have any comments about any of the articles in this newspaper please e-mail: 90degreesreporters@gmail.com We will be delighted to reply to any queries.

December 2005 90 Degrees

3

POLITICS

Mother Nature knows best Darragh Connolly: Nuclear power may not be the best approach.

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think it is a safe assumption that all readers of this newspaper will have seen an episode of The Simpson’s at some point. But, how many of you have thought it strange that Homer works in a nuclear power station, or even questioned the existence of a nuclear power station in a relatively small town? Recent suggestions by Tony Blair may well lead to an increase in the number of nuclear stations in Britain, and has caused a response from the Irish government, who are in favour of the closing of all British nuclear power stations. Minister for the Environment Dick Roche responded to Tony Blair’s statement by saying “Basically the argument which is being put forward by some in the British government is that the way forward is by rolling out more nuclear power stations. The reality is we have to learn from the mistakes of the past.� There are a lot of arguments against nuclear power, but the need to decrease carbon emissions is a real one. A look at nuclear power yields by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) produces surprising results. 1XFOHDU SRZHU LV XVHG WR VXSSO\ D large percentage of electricity, most QRWDEO\ )UDQFH %HOJLXP 6ZHGHQ DQG WKH 8 6 1XFOHDU SRZHU LV FUHDWHG using a process called nuclear fission, which is the splitting of an atom. Uranium is the most popular element used, as it is relatively common and RQH W\SH RI XUDQLXP 8 DOORZV a chain reaction to take place. This chain reaction creates a greater output of energy per unit of uranium. The major concern with nuclear power is the radioactive waste produced as a by-product. This waste is estimated to take tens of thousands of years to become safe, and no manmade container can last this length of time. At present, waste is stored in

tanks and vaults at the site where it is created. Both Finland and the U.S. are investigating the possibility of using landfill sites in geographically safe areas to bury nuclear waste. In France, the most pro-nuclear power of all nations, the industry nearly FDPH WR D VWDQGVWLOO LQ GXH WR the waste issue. Residents refused to have waste buried near their homes. A solution was reached, with the setting up of temporary storage facilities where the waste will remain supervised until the technology exists to treat it. This would seem to leave the Irish government in a no-win situation. Continue with the current policy of burning fossil fuels and risk both environmental harm and huge fines (85 ELOOLRQ LQ .\RWR UHODWHG ILQHV E\ LV WKH HVWLPDWH RU switch to nuclear power, where the waste is both dangerous and extremely difficult to deal with. However, an alternative option is available, and can be clearly seen in parts of Clare and Wexford. This alternative is the supply of energy through wind farms. Wind farms are collections of turbines that garnish wind to produce energy. The main advantage of wind farms is obvious: by using wind to move the turbines and create electricity, the need for a fuel source is eliminated. Electricity generated from wind farms globally RQO\ DFFRXQW IRU RI WRWDO HQHUJ\ needs but it is the fastest growing source of electricity. In Europe, wind power is already VDYLQJ PLOOLRQ WRQQHV RI &2 SHU year according to the European Wind (QHUJ\ $VVRFLDWLRQ DQG E\ ZLQG power will be responsible for meeting RI WKH (8 V .\RWR REOLJDWLRQ Spain is the country with the greatest proportion of energy supplied by wind power with a current level of DQG D SURMHFWHG RXWSXW RI E\ *HUPDQ\ LV WKH VHFRQG ELJgest producer of wind energy, and

had been the leader for many years. Current levels in Ireland are not close to this, despite the fact that a wind farm in Ireland will produce twice as much output as an identical wind farm in Germany. Ireland has been described as the ‘wind arabs’, as our potential is so great. We are ideally situated to capture all the winds, and waves, coming from the Atlantic and turn this raw energy into electricity. Fiona O’Malley TD, Progressive Democrats spokesperson for the energy, arts and culture says “It is true the potential is vast. Government cannot afford to miss this opportunity.� The Irish government should grab the bull by the horns and plan to adopt wind farms as the major source of electricity production. To do so would have numerous advantages. It would make the country less vulnerable to global energy price and supply shocks, while reducing our energy costs and stabilising output, it would set precedence for future governments to follow and it would set an example to other countries of the potential for wind as an energy source. It would also establish Ireland at the forefront of alternative energy technology and give us an area of true global expertise. Also, the planned phasing out of the Common Agricultural Policy is going to free up a lot of farmland as the industry will become less profitable. Although the best wind energy potential is offshore, there are a lot of onshore sites that are suitable. The rental income that farmers could receive for their lands could help save and rejuvenate the rural areas of the country. While nuclear power would also result in a decrease in our Greenhouse gas emissions, it is not a realistic option for Ireland. The global outcry which greeted the disaster in Chernobyl, and the continued debate and concern over Sellafield would make a nuclear station in this country political suicide. It would

One of many nuclear power stations in France also not be economical due to our size. One of the reasons why the French model has been so successful is the economies of scale they received by adopting nuclear power as their primary source of energy. They also decided to run all stations in the same manner, using the same technology. This reduced the cost of each additional station due to the synergy caused by the expertise, knowledge and experience. There are several obstacles to the development of wind farms in Ireland. The major ones seem to be public acceptance and the planning process. Tony Kay, an engineering lecturer in the University of Limerick, states that “Some say that people now will object to anything DQG WKDW WKH 1,0%< V\QGURPH 1RW ,Q 0\ %DFN<DUG KDV JURZQ LQWR WKH %$1$1$ V\QGURPH %XLOG $OPRVW 1RWKLQJ $Q\ZKHUH 1HDU $Q\RQH +H gives examples of delays to, and possible cancellations of the building of wind farms due to public opposition, most notably in county Tipperary. On the bright side, however, are the

recent results of an ESB scheme designed to attract renewable energy generation. The results of the scheme ZHUH WKH DFFHSWDQFH RI ZLQG farms which will provide the ESB ZLWK DERXW RI WKH WRWDO RXWSXW RI Moneypoint, a coal fired power station in Clare. This may seem small, but it is a step in the right direction, as is the ESB offering guaranteed contracts. Energy production through the burning of fossil fuels is on the way out, with the economics of Kyoto and dwindling oil supplies likely to be the biggest push factors. Technology is finally making wind, wave and bio fuels a viable alternative. The question facing the Irish people and government is whether or not we want to harness our advantageous global position and become leaders rather than followers. For those who take issue with wind farms, the question needs to be asked, would you prefer a nuclear station in your back garden?

All go for opinion polls

Jennifer O’Leary reports that the government will not be attempting to restrict opinion polls publication prior to next election

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ny attempts to ban political opinion polls in the media is off the government's agenda prior to the forthcoming general election. That's according to Liam Cullen, Head of Research for Fianna Fail, “It is very much off the radar screen at the minute. I certainly don't think there is a clamour for similar introduction of a bill of that nature. I don't think it is an issue that has received a whole lot of attention since then and I don't see it being a major issue in the lead up to the next general election.� The most recent move to ban election polls during the last week of elections was made by the govHUQPHQW LQ -XQH $W WKH WLPH the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said he believed the publication of opinion polls should be banned for the last GD\V RI DQ HOHFWLRQ FDPSDLJQ $V it turned out the Seanad rejected the provision for the polls ban on the basis that the legislation was flawed and the Dail accepted the deletion

of the amendment banning opinion polls, without a vote. Off the government agenda it may be, but the issue has not yet disappeared from the Fine Gael political radar. Following the Meath by-election in March of this year, two Fine Gael members of the Seanad, Frank Feighan and Paul Coghlan, advocated that there be a ban on opinion polls or their publication in advance of elections. The Fine Gael TD, Fergus O'Dowd, has not recently discussed the issue with his party but he has “no problem banning opinion polls one week before an electionâ€?. Indeed, he thinks it would be a “good thing and would keep us all on our feetâ€?. 1RW VR VD\V WKH RWKHU KDOI RI WKH alternative government pact. Mr Eamon Gilmore, TD for DĂşn Laoghaire and the Labour spokesperson on Environment and Local Government confirmed, "The Labour Party position on opinion polls has not changed since the then leader, Ruairi Quinn TD expressed the

Party's opposition to the proposal to ban opinion polls in the run up to elections." A view also held by Sinn Fein. “Seeking to ban media content is a form of censorship a policy which Sinn Fein is opposed to. The internet has also made this policy redundant as a print and broadcast media ban could easily be circumvented by publishing poll details on the internet, even though in Ireland less than half the population have access to this medium.� But do snapshots affect voter preferences? The phenomenon of voters changing their votes in favour of the likely winner is called the “bandwagon� effect. Empirical studies of voting behaviour have presented evidence that pre-election polls persuade some voters to switch their votes to whichever candidate is ahead, even though they prefer the alternative. On the flip side, the “boomerang effect� is where the likely supporters of the candidate

shown to be winning feel that they are “home and dry�, and that their vote is not required, thus allowing another candidate to win. Some commentators have directed their criticism towards the media, in particular the journalists that comment on the polls. Professor Michael Marsh of Trinity College has written of how “regional journalism and survey research make for strange bedfellows�, and why GXULQJ WKH JHQHUDO HOHFWLRQ WKH accuracy of local newspaper polls are a “matter of concern�. An argument not exclusive to this country. Marketing expert Professor Janet Hoek highlighted what she perceived as the incompetence of journalists in 1HZ =HDODQG WR UHSRUW RQ HOHFWLRQ polls, “The media's job is to sell audiences to advertisers and the best way to do this is often to run sensational headlines, neither of which fit easily with the idea of more in-depth and thoughtful poll analyses.�

Liam Cullen, disagrees “I think in Ireland there would be quite a bit of evidence to suggest that we have a decent level of polling in the country and I think the papers reflect that quite accurately. I would not be overly worried in terms of the commentary on the polls or the quality of analysis of the polls, people will always read into them what they want.� Irish politicians intent on restricting polls should take note of Arto Jaaskelainen, who originally proposed the ban in Finland. The proposal received an icy reception from politicians and the media and was rejected. One year later he is certain he will not be proposing such a restriction again, “My goal was to activate public debate about this issue. After the public debate, it seems that there is no need or possibility to have such a ban of opinion polls. We just have to live with them.�

4

POLITICS

90 Degrees December 2005

Lifting the veil Aoife MacMahon investigates the reality of life for women in Afghanistan, after

the Taliban and the US invasion

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Q 1DWLRQDO *HRJUDSKLF journalist Hilary Meyell wrote “ The curtain of invisibility is finally lifting for the women of Afghanistan�. During the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan from WR ZRPHQ ZHUH WUHDWHG appallingly. They were forbidden to work, to have access to education, or to leave the house without a male escort. The burqa became the symbol of this harsh regime, where women were more controlled and dehumanised than at any other time LQ KLVWRU\ ,Q 0D\ WKH 3UHVLGHQW of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai told the European Parliament that Afghanistan’s enlightened constitution meant that the plight of women in Afghanistan had improved. Is this simply rhetoric and hyperbole on behalf of the Afghan 3UHVLGHQW ZKR LV IODQNHG GDLO\ E\

During the rule of the Taliban women were more controlled and dehumanised than at any other time in history bodyguards paid for by the US? The reality is that a culture of prejudice and discrimination against women VWLOO UDPSDQW ,Q 0DUFK ZKLOH on a visit to the country, Laura Bush applauded her husband’s compassionate measures in achieving freedom for Afghan women. According to President Bush, women’s human rights in Afghanistan are a “foreign policy imperative and a cornerstone of all US humanitarian efforts in the region�. However, Human Rights Watch reports that Afghan women have one of the lowest social statuses in the world, while security issues and restrictive social norms about women’s role in public life means participation in politics is a constant battle. In US media terms, only 1HZVZHHN $VVRFLDWHG 3UHVV DQG the Washington Post have full-time reporters in the country. Afghanistan is barely a footnote in mainstream US media or western world media, the GDLO\ IRFXV VWD\LQJ RQ ,UDT $ US government report does admit that Afghanistan is teetering on the brink of chaos, its women the subject of widespread inhumane rape, beatings and kidnappings, and self-immolation. Moreover, women guilty of zina, or unlawful sexual intercourse, face prison. Despite new developments, such as the Afghan government’s commitment to the International Conventions on Women’s Rights, the reality at grassroots level is that women are not free. As recently as 1RYHPEHU VW 1DGLD $QMXPDQ GLHG in Herat after being beaten by her husband. Ironically, Herat province had just witnessed the election of Fauzia Gailani, a women’s rights campaigner. Gailani pledges to form

the first Afghan women’s party, stating “Women are not seen as human beings in Afghanistan but like objects that people can buy, sell, trade or buy.� ,Q UHVSRQVH WR WKH DWWDFNV LQ $IJKDQLVWDQ EHFDPH WKH ILUVW stop on Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ world tour. ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ resulted in the supposed toppling of the Taliban, with the U.S. justifiying their attack on one of the world’s poorest countries by showing potent images evoking the Taliban’s evil regime. Tragically, significant pockets of Taliban militia still dominate UHJLRQV RI $IJKDQLVWDQ LQ $W face value the country was freed from the clutches of the evil Taliban in EXW ZLWK $IJKDQLVWDQ RII WKH international media radar screens, the world view of security in Afghanistan LV WRWDOO\ VNHZHG 2Q 0D\ WK the Amnesty International report Afghanistan: Women Under Attack called on the Afghan government and the international community to protect women and girls at risk of abduction, rape, forced marriage and violence. The author of the report, 1D]LD +XVVHLQ FRQGXFWHG LQWHUYLHZV throughout Afghanistan and concluded that there was a deep sense of disappointment among women that life had not improved since the IDOO RI WKH 7DOLEDQ LQ $IJKDQ women continue to suffer from widespread abuse at the hands of male family members, militias, police and the judiciary. Ultimately, they are still living in conflict, with violence against women widely accepted by the community and by the highest levels of government. Societal codes invoked in the name

The reality is that a culture of prejudice and discrimination against women is still rampant of tradition and religion are used to justify denying women access to fundamental human rights. In Afghanistan the tragedy remains that the crime of zina implies that being raped constitutes a crime. Women guilty of zina often end up in jail for ‘crimes’ ranging from marrying a man of their choice to adultery. Women also run the risk of murder, as the following examples of women who transgressed social mores and paid the price will attest. When the Taliban were largely driven from power, Shaime Rezayees was one of the first young women to drop the veil and denounce the regime. She burst onto Kabul television screens, presenting a music video show on Tolo TV, Kabul’s answer to MTV. A new breed of young hip Afghans embraced her flirtatious style, western clothing and banter with male guests. She symbolised what life could be like for young Afghan people, but that glimmer of hope ended with Rezayees’ death from a gunshot wound to the

head. Rezayees paid the ultimate price for pushing boundaries; many were shocked by the ‘unislamic values’ of her show. She drew flak from conservative mullahs, including her own brothers. Reports suggest that Rezayees was murdered either by hardliners or by her own family to protect their honour. US media did not cover the tragic story of her death; this harsh reality for Afghan women is far removed from the ‘freedom’ that Bush so zealously champions. On May 3rd, the partially clothed bodies of three women were discovered close to Pol-e-Khomri. The Daily Times of Pakistan reported that a note was attached to their chests warning other women not to work with non-governmental aid groups. Apparently a group calling itself $IJKDQ <RXWK &RQYHQWLRQ NLOOHG WKH women because they were having relationships with Americans. In March, the Afghan government launched a national campaign

“How can American journalists convey to a complacent audience that it has a stake in the stoning of a woman in Afghanistan?� FRRUGLQDWHG ZLWK D QXPEHU RI 1*2V to promote women’s rights and to highlight violence against women. Tragically though, the brutal murders of these women resulted in many non-governmental organisations withdrawing from the war-shattered country. According the CARE, escalating violence is impeding the ability of humanitarian workers to implement urgently needed

development projects. Furthermore, WKH VWRQLQJ WR GHDWK RI \HDU ROG Amina for adultery, highlights how the barbaric acts unleashead upon innocent women don’t mesh with the rhetoric propagated by President Bush and President Hamid Karzai. Reports of other women walled up alive or stoned to death would imply that the burqa is low on the list of an Afghan’s woman daily anxieties. There are exceptions in US media

Being charged with the crime of ‘zina’, or unlawful sexual intercourse, can lead to a woman facing a prison sentence simply for being raped UHSRUWLQJ (OL]DEHWK 1HXIIHU IRUHLJQ reporter for the Boston Globe pleaded for a greater focus on these crimes DJDLQVW KXPDQLW\ 7UDJLFDOO\ 1HXIIHU GLHG LQ D FDU FUDVK LQ ZKLOH on assignment in Iraq. Eileen Mc 1DPDUD LQ 7KH 0LDPL +HUDOG SD\V KRPDJH WR 1HXIIHU E\ VWDWLQJ Âł7KH gulf between the democratised West and the developing world frustrated 1HXIIHU LQ KHU ZRUN DQG FRQWLQXHV WR frustrate journalists trying to report on the universality of the struggle for human rights. How can American journalists convey to a complacent audience that it has a stake in the stoning of a woman in Afghanistan?â€? Pam Constable, deputy foreign editor of The Washington Post, believes that limited resources lead to many conflicts not being revisited; the challenges facing women in Afghanistan start with the press. This aspect of the

US media must be admired, and their reporting standards upheld. However the predominant view that all is rosy in the Afghan garden still holds swau for the majority in the media. Laura Bush continues to state that women in Afghanistan have won significant freedom, with over 2-million Afghan girls attending school DQG ZLWK ZRPHQ IRUPLQJ RI Online Information Human Rights Watch is an independent NGO, dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world: www.hrw.org Calling itself ‘a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice’, Dissident Voice aims to provide thought-provoking commentary on politics and culture: www.dissidentvoice.org myAfghan News calls itself ‘Your Gateway to Updated News Resources on Afghanistan’: www.myafghan.com The Afghanistan Online website has a section devoted to the situation of Afghan women: www.afghan-web.com/woman The Afghan Women’s Mission supports health and educational missions in Afghanistan: www.afghanwomensmission. org Afghan News carries the latest Afghan news: www.afghannews.net

December 2005 90 Degrees the electorate. While good news for women, the fact remains that the criminal justice system is not only ineffective in stopping violence but RIWHQ FRPSRXQGV LW ,Q WKH Afghan Independent Human Rights &RPPLVVLRQ LQYHVWLJDWHG FDVHV of self-immolation by women. Afghan women would rather set themselves on fire than revel in the newfound freedom so lauded by Bush and his administration. In terms of women voting in the elections, a UHSRUW E\ WKH $VLD )RXQGDWLRQ IRXQG WKDW RI $IJKDQ ZRPHQ required their husband’s permisVLRQ WR YRWH /HVV WKDQ RI $IJKDQLVWDQœV EXGJHW IRU is allocated for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. BBC’s World Service radio has provided a new voice for Afghan women, in the form of Afghan’s Woman’s Hour. This programme features items on women’s health, education, political participation and human rights. During a radio show, one woman told the reporter she faced death threats from her husband if she went to her literacy class. Women only listen to the radio show in the absence of their husbands; it is one positive outlet in a very dark daily reality. However, appalling gender discrimination, forced marriage, polygamy, domestic violence, imprisonment of women for zina, and the incompatibility between Islam and women’s human rights remains. Ultimately George Bush and the US media must be honest with the American people; as long as Bush continues to manipulate and deceive the American public, the truth will never be exposed, and certainly these women deserve better than to be exploited for George Bush’s political gain. Carla Koppell, policy director of Women Waging Peace, vehemently advocates the crucial role of women in achieving peace in conflict areas, such as Afghanistan and Iraq. With the eyes of the world elsewhere, Afghan woman continue to be subjected to inhumane treatment.

5

POLITICS

Next in line?

Patrick Donohoe sizes up Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny

Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny addresses the party

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ine Gael party members left their party conference in high spirits having just witnessed an assured performance by their party leader Enda Kenny; there is growing confidence within the party that Fine Gael will be in government after the next election The upsurge in the fortunes of the

Kenny has been a TD since 1975 but never made any real impression prior to becoming party leader party under the leadership of Enda Kenny is nothing short of remarkable. The party was totally written off after their disastrous showing in the JHQHUDO HOHFWLRQ 6RPH ZLWKLQ the party feared that they would go the way of the British Conservative

Party and spend many years in the political wilderness. Enda Kenny has been dismissed in the past as a weak leader and has also suffered from being labeled as a politician lacking in any real ambition. He has often been referred to as the Brian Cowen of Fine Gael. Both men are intelligent and possess sharp wit. Both are well liked and admired within their party but often dismissed outside the party ranks. Cowen is seen as dour while Kenny is often seen as bland and lackadaisical. Kenny has been a 7' VLQFH EXW QHYHU PDGH DQ\ real impression prior to becoming party leader. His promise to electrify the party when taking over as leader LQ KDV QRW EHHQ WDNHQ VHULRXVO\ However the main opposition party has made steady progress under Kenny’s leadership. Last year’s local election results in which the party performed far better than expected shows how far the party has come

under him. They came within nine seats of Fianna Fail’s total in the local election. In the European elections they gained a seat and returned five MEPs to the European parliament. More recently in the Meath byelection last March, Shane McEntee topped the poll to hold onto John Bruton’s former seat. This electoral success has given the party momentum going into the next election and they have a solid base to build upon. The party is hoping that the local election results are not a once-off and are indicative of a growth in support for their party from the general public. Kenny hit all the right notes at the party’s national conference, promising not to raise taxes if in government. The party unveiled plans for a pre-school childcare package expectHG WR FRVW PLOOLRQ HXUR DQQXally. The party would offer parents

Last year’s local election results in which the party peformed better than expected show how far Fine Gael has come under him D GLUHFW \HDUO\ SD\PHQW RI Âź for each child up to the time they entered primary school. Kenny was critical of wasteful public spending and promised tax payers better value for money in this regard. He made it clear neither waste nor incompetence would be tolerated in any Fine Gael government. He claimed that “anyone responsible for the like of the PPARS health service computer fiasco would be shown the doorâ€?. Fine Gael know launching strong attacks on the government are not enough; they also have to devise

policies that are attractive to the public and convince them that they are a credible alternative government to Fianna Fail. Certainly the agreed pact with the Labour Party is a welcome move since it gives the public a real choice when they go to the polls, unlike the last election ,when such an agreement did not exist. Public confidence in government is undoubtedly low at present. The public are unhappy at the continuing crises in the health service and the many promises that the government have broken. The muted public response to the DPELWLRXV 7UDQVSRUW SODQ LQGLFDWHV that the public do not believe that the government can deliver. In addition to this, by the time of the next election the coalition government will have been in power for nine years, so the public may decide that they have had their chance and that it’s time for someone else with fresh ideas. It would be foolhardy at this stage to dismiss the coalition’s chances of a third successive election victory. They will be counting on the feel good factor when the SSIAs mature to win the party a significant number of voters who will be keen to reward the government who gave them thousands of extra euros in their pockets. The government will be stressing in the coming months that during their tenure we have seen unparalleled economic growth and emphasizing that they are currently working to improve areas like the health service. The opposition parties will point out that although the economy is doing well, people’s quality of life KDV QRW LPSURYHG 7KHUH DUH QRZ months until the next election and the intervening period promises to be fascinating. Certainly the prospect of Enda Kenny as Taoiseach after the next election looks like a real possibility.

Questions for John Pilger Jennifer O'Leary

In an exclusive for 90 Degrees, interviews John Pilger, the acclaimed investigative journalist, documentary film-maker and writer which are pretty thin on the ground, that is that journalists ought to be the agents of people, not the agents of power.� Out of all the appalling scenes you have witnessed, which one has affected you the most?

“It’s very important that the Bush regime fails in Iraq and is forced to withdraw�

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hat motivates you?“Many things do of course but I think a very strong sense of justice and injustice and that everybody has a right to basic human rights no matter where they come from or who they are. I believe very strongly that all power wherever it is must be accountable. I am also motivated by principles of journalism

“I don't think there is a league table. I am always affected by human suffering and especially suffering which has an identifiable political cause. I then feel angry because the suffering could have been averted. I certainly felt that when I went to Cambodia shortly after the fall of the Pol Pot regime and found that the

stricken country was being subjected to an international embargo organised by the Americans and helped by the British. The suffering that this caused and compounded from the years of the Pol Pot regime barbarities certainly affected me.â€? If you could interview anyone from the the world of politics who would you choose? “I'd like to interview those who wouldn't see me. Blair and Bush would be a good pair, not together, I think I might get indigestion. One in the morning and one in the afternoon, and I think I would regard my career as having reached a new height or depth depending on your point of view.â€? Do you despair for the future of Iraq? Âł1R , GRQ W JR LQ IRU GHVSDLULQJ there’s not much point, is there? I mean whats the point of despairing? It’s sort of like those people

WKDW GHSHQG RQ KRSH 1R , FHUWDLQO\ grieve for the people who will die unnecessarily in that country and I refer to both Iraqis, Americans

“I'd like to interview those who wouldn't see me. Blair and Bush would be a good pair, though not together. I think I might get indigestion� and British. It’s very important that the Bush regime fails in Iraq and is forced to withdraw. Its very important not only for Iraqis, but for many other countries.� Are you concerned for investigative

journalism? “It’s always been a Cinderella but it’s always come up trumps. Take, for example, the work of Seymour Hersh. Without his investigations and exposĂŠs, we would be much the poorer in our understanding of events in Iraq. The problem with good journalism and good investigative journalism is, that if it finds a generous sponsor and a comfortable niche, if you like, then it may end up not being good investigative journalism but may end up being corrupted. So perhaps the investigative journalist has to battle a bit harder to get his or her work published.â€? Which part of the world do you plan on travelling to next? “I am making a film in South America next year and I'll be in Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. That's where I'll be next working.â€?

6

INTERNATIONAL

90 Degrees December 2005

Volunteering for disaster How much good are NGOs doing in Sri Lanka?

The legacy of last year’s tsunami in the Indian Ocean

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as the phenomenon of ‘holiday volunteering’ become another package experiHQFH LQ WKH VXQ WDUJHWLQJ \HDU olds, or is it a negative experience the locals will never forget? While Oxfam International has declared DV D GHDGO\ Âľ\HDU RI GLVDVWHUVÂś the number of private companies offering fee paying placements for unskilled volunteering has almost doubled in the last decade. Take, for example, the Asian tsunami and the numerous retrospective reports from the professional 1*2 FRPPXQLW\ WKH LPPHGLDWH humanitarian assistance continues to unravel as one blighted by a lack of resources, often with unknown companies offering undocumented PHGLFDO DLG 1HDUO\ WZHOYH PRQWKV RQ unskilled volunteering has emerged in the seemingly benign form of ‘community development’ in relation to tsunami relief efforts. Paddy McGuiness, a media executive for Concern, spent six weeks in the badly effected region of Banda Aceh, Indonesia in the initial stages

of international relief. He refers to VXFK ',< DLG DV ÂłD UHFLSH IRU GLVDVterâ€?. He believes it is representative of an ego driven response that fulfills a need in an individual, rather than the community. This can cause problems in the long term: “Part of the problem is that there are no barriers. One American group came to ‘de-traumatise’ the turtles after the tsunami. There has to be a distinction with these groups between providing an ‘experience’ and help solving the problem.â€? In Banda Aceh there was a significant lack of local groups and indigenous partners for the International 1*2V WR ZRUN ZLWK WKRVH WKDW ZRXOG best understand the needs of the comPXQLW\ 7KH 81 KDV UHSRUWHG WKDW it is on the strength of such groups that future plans for disaster planning must rely. During the tsunami there was an influx of charities and specifically local university students trying to set up food centres in a canteen style. Mr McGuinness felt that while this was well intentioned, it perhaps did more harm than good:

Gayle Fitzpatrick explores

“Everything had been taken away from these people. In taking away the responsibility for cooking a family meal you add insult to injuryâ€?. Providing their own cooking kits would seem to have been a better option. “When we first set up, I recruited every woman I met that could speak English and sent them into camps to ask other women what they really needed. The male voices will inevitably come through. What they really wanted was underwear and smocks for praying. They felt physically defiled and wanted some semblance of control over how they looked.â€? He also points to the HYHQWV LQ 1HZ 2UOHDQV DQG KRZ WKLV represents “the first major disaster where the victims were able to speak directly to the cameras in English. The stories there were different in that the complexities of the problems were actually addressed.â€? 7KH H[LVWHQFH RI ORFDO 1*2V DUH vital if international groups are to work both efficiently and positively. Âł3URMHFW *DOOH ´ 3* DUH D local group that formed in the days following the tsunami in the old Dutch town of Galle in the South West of Sri Lanka. They also found that the “massive aid effort has been impaired, by the absence of a comprehensive database of information detailing the progress of reconstruction and rehabilitation in all affected areas. This missing source hampers the ability of relief agencies to coordinate their efforts so as to minimize duplication and maximize efficiency.â€? Project Galle gave initial funding to set up a ‘tsunami voices’ website which provides a forum for the organized exchange of this information in Sri Lanka. In time they hope to install Geographic Information System(GIS) software which could be used to provide accurate and detailed information on areas where medical facilities may be in need of upgrade, and more importantly on

WKH LGHQWLW\ DQG ORFDWLRQ RI 1*2V and their activities. Jake Zarins from 3* FODLPV KH KDV EHHQ DSSURDFKHG on several occasions by private fee driven projects hoping to unload their paying customers to work with him. Project Galle do not charge a fee but ask that you look after your own expenses. These companies which he will not name, hoped that they could take the credit for work that took months of trust building with the locals. ‘i-to-i volunteers’ is a private company based in Leeds that operates ‘meaningful travel’ trips for unskilled YROXQWHHUV LQ RYHU FRXQWULHV 7KH\ also provide other options such as media internships and paid TEFL teaching placements. This small business set up by a Leeds native, Deirdre Bounds, has proved to be a success in providing a different type of holiday. ‘i-to-i’ has been providing fee paying placements in Sri Lanka since the tsunami aid effort began. They co-ordinate with local groups throughout the affected areas often expanding to conservation projects or community development as the cleanup has become less urgent. Rosin Fox from Galway has just returned from eight weeks in Sri Lanka with this private company and remains frustrated that the relatively new ‘tsunami relief work’ has now been shut down in the Galle region. The project has moved to Coscoda near the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo where an existing turtle conservation project has been merged with tsunami relief work. “I don’t think they even told the children that there would be no volunteers coming on Monday. They just seemed to have upped and left as it was cheaper for them to maximize existing accommodation already set up in Coscoda.� Other volunteers who were involved on similar projects in Sri Lanka for a shorter time period also

expressed disappointment. Shona 1LFKROVRQ WKHUH IRU WZR ZHHNV VXJgested “For it to be really successful the projects would need to be much more structured than they currently are. Although they told us that we should be pro-active and take the initiative, it’s actually quite hard for a group of ten strangers to do this in such a short period of time, with no direction from the project manager. Although at times the onsite project manager for the local group Green Forest Conservation seemed out of his depth. On the first day we were led into a classroom of children and instructed to teach them. I felt that he had also been abandoned by i-to -i.â€? Although local groups are imperative to an efficient aid effort that understands the real need of the people, any quality volunteering project needs to supply support, leadership and direction especially to unskilled volunteers in a short term setting. Cressida Eccelson, another volunteer on the same project, points to the absence of representation on the ground: “i-to-i implies in its advertising that it is in control of the projects it runs overseas, but hands volunteers over to local organizations and doesnĂ­t expect to hear from them unless they get ill. I do feel together we made a difference, but in spite of ito-i not because of them.â€? Top of the list of improvements recommended by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in their World Disasters Report LVVXHG LQ 1RYHPEHU ZDV WKH development of a system of accreditation for international agencies to ensure the work they are doing matches their experience and also the establishment of a global network of professional volunteers. In any volunteering capacity a universal code of conduct is ‘Do no harm’. Without implementing these systems, holiday volunteering, left unregulated, could be.

Fairly traded footwear Can union-made trainers change the world?

C

oncerns about ethical consumption have grown steadily, as fairly traded coffee and chocolate have made their way onto the supermarket shelves. But how about fairly traded clothing? The international garment industry has come under scrutiny, as production moves to low-wage countries with poor or non-existent labour standards. Massachussets company 1R 6ZHDW DLPV WR JXDUDQWHH WKH rights of garment workers by sourcing production for its line of trainers only from unionized factories. Aidan McKeown VSRNH WR $GDP 1HLPDQ the company’s founder. You’ve said that by protecting workers rights abroad, say in Jakarta, Indonesia, you’re also protecting workers rights worldwide. How do you explain that? ³:H GRQœW VHH WKLV DV D 1RUWK 6RXWK issue. We see workers all over the world sliding into this great global sweatshop. We see a deterioration in working conditions in the US. We’re

starting to see deterioration even in places like Europe and Australia. What we see as the solution is for consumers in the West to support workers rights in the developing world; that way we can raise incomes in the developing world. And as we do that, we protect incomes here in the industrialised world.� How do No Sweat sneakers differ

We see workers all over the world sliding into this great global sweatshop. We see a deterioration in working conditions in the US, even in places like Europe and Australia in their manufacture from Nike’s or Reeboks’?

Aidan McKeown finds out

:H DVNHG 1LNH WR SXW IRUZDUG the same information that we have, about wages and benefits, and they declined. So, we can pretty reasonably assume that they cannot remotely match what we’ve got at the shop in -DNDUWD 2XU ZRUNHUV KDYH KRVSLWDOLVDWLRQ DQG KRVSLWDOLVDWLRQ for their families. There is a significant pension, there are paid holidays, and there’s maternity leave. In fact, most workers in the United States don’t have those benefits. That’s one of the objectives for our company: we want consumers in the west, especially in the United States, to take a look at the working conditions in Jakarta, and look at the information sheet of the wages and benefits which we put right in the shoebox and say ‘Well, gee, hospitalisation? I don’t have that. Maybe I need a union too!’� As you just said, each pair of shoes comes with a card detailing the conditions which the workers work under. How important do you think those working conditions, that ethical

dimension is to your consumers? Well that’s really what’s driving RXU VDOHV :H JUHZ E\ DERXW

ODVW \HDU :H DUH QRZ LQ VWRUHV around the world, and it looks like ZHÂśOO EH LQ FRQWLQHQWV E\ WKH HQG RI

No Sweat: one of the first lines of ethically made trainers.

December 2005 90 Degrees

7

INTERNATIONAL

Adventure guaranteed Darragh Connolly goes down under in South America to discover la vida loca Six hours on a bus from Santiago brought our group to the town of Pucon, located in the Chilean Lake District. A snow-covered mountain spewing smoke greets us long before we enter the town. This is Volcano Villarica and is the dominant feature of the Pucon tourist industry. The volcano is located in a nature reserve and features a ski slope on its side. Given the choice between hiking up or skiing down the mountain, the entire group chose to climb it. On the first two days the weather was unsuitDEOH IRU KLNLQJ WR PHWUHV EXW various other activities were available, including white-water rafting, horse riding, zip-lining and quad-biking. Our third and final day in Pucon brought better weather and the chance to climb an active volcano. Before setting out we were equipped with full hiking clothing and equipment and after a short drive to the

The menacing Volcano Villarica

I

f white-water rafting, skiing, volcano climbing and amazing scenery, combined with excellent inexpensive food and wine sound more like your idea of a holiday than sitting on a beach for two weeks, perhaps it is time you considered an adventure holiday. Having recently taken such a holiday, a two week tour of Chile and Argentina with GAP adventures, I can thoroughly recommend it. The tour I took was categorised as a ROAM tour, which is designed around the independent traveller. The structure of the tour is that there LV D WRXU JXLGH DQG XS WR SHRSOH per group. The tour guide organises all the internal travel, accommodation and chosen activities while also acting as an indispensable source of local knowledge and expert translator. The tours are arranged as sightseeLQJ FXOWXUDO KROLGD\V ZLWK RSWLRQDO participation in outdoor activities. There are a wide variety of activities offered by independent operators in the destination towns and cities and travellers are free to choose which to take. The tour guide proves a useful

UHVRXUFH KHUH DV KH VKH ZLOO HLWKHU have tried all activities or have reliable reports on them. Accommodation is basic but comfortable, on a bed & breakfast basis. Participants normally range

September. There really is an awareness all around the world of how interconnected we are, and how the circumstances of the workers in Indonesia can affect the circumstances of workers here. It’s a very, very small world. One of the great dreams of the labour movement was that it be a truly international movement. That dream was VHW DVLGH IRU DERXW \HDUV GXULQJ the Cold War. But now that the Cold War is over, and we’re confronting this globalised capitalism, the only response that we see as viable is a globalised labour movement. You’ve coined the term ‘the cool

“Now that we’re confronting this globalised capitalism, the only response that we see as viable is a globalised labour movement�

“Cool bosses get older; they get bought out, and they sell out. After the entrepreneurial phase, the managment phase sets in�

Chile’s capital, Santiago, has a surprisingly Irish flair, with names like O’Higgins and McKenna widely in age, gender, marital status and nationality. The tour started in Santiago de Chile, the capital of Chile. Santiago is an old city, with a lot of history. It has a surprisingly Irish flair, and the names O’Higgins and McKenna are very noticeable. Santiago is overlooked by a statue of the Virgin Mary, located on a large hill which sits at the edge of the city and provides a backdrop to the Andes.

boss’, and applied it especially to the technology sector. As you describe it, the attitude is ‘We don’t need unions, we’ve got ponytails’. So why doesn’t the ‘cool boss’ suffice. Why are unions necessary? Well, cool bosses get older, as we found here in the United States. They get bought out, they sell out, and after the entrepreneurial phase that a company goes through, the management phase sets in. Then the bean counters come along and the beans count for more than the human beings. The wages and the benefits get cut and cut, and if there’s not a

Chile’s Volcano Villarica features a ski slope on its flanks foot of the mountain our climb began. Eight hours later, with numerous pairs of sore limbs and one possible concussion, our tired and cold group returned to the bus for the trip back to town. The hike was a lot tougher than we had expected and poor weather leading to icy and foggy conditions made the five hour uphill hike tougher than normal. It was worth doing for the experience and the need to never do it again, but it took a day

A day’s ski pass and equipment rental FRVWV OHVV WKDQ Ÿ LQ Argentina’s Bariloche resort or two for this reality to override the memories.

union there to stand up for the workers, that’s going to be a problem. The other advantage to unions is that unions affect wages and working conditions across the board. It was unions who lobbied for minimum wages and health care benefits and such like in the developed world. And without that lobbying, none of those conditions would exist. So by leveling the playing field so that workers across the board have these

“Unions affect wages and working conditions across the board; unions lobbied for minimum wages and health care benefits� benefits it really makes it much easier for a ‘cool boss’ to stay cool. That way, workers don’t have to just

The next stop was Puerto Varas, with a day trip to island of Chiloe. Then we headed for Argentina. The trip across the border is a long but beautiful one with the road meandering through the Andes. The necessary passport checks completed, we entered Argentina and our bus

Argentinians traditionally don’t go out to eat until 11pm and bars don’t fill up until after this wound on to the town of Bariloche. Bariloche must surely be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It is a major domestic ski resort in Argentina, making it a perennially busy town in winter. Skiing here is extraordinarily inexpensive, for people earning euros, with a day’s ski pass and equipment rental costing OHVV WKDQ Ÿ Finding a good restaurant in Bariloche seems to be as difficult as finding a bar serving Guinness in Dublin, and Alberto’s steak house is definitely worth a visit for the carnivores out there. Steak restaurants take their steak very seriously in Argentina, and the food is prepared by a Grill Master, not a chef. In Alberto’s, the Grill Masters operate in the centre of the restaurant. Be prepared for late eating though. Argentineans do not traditionally go RXW WR HDW XQWLO S P DQG EDUV DUH relatively empty until after this. Bariloche also offered the first ,ULVK EDU , KDG VHHQ LQ GD\V DQG an abundance of locally produced chocolate. The chocolate shops will make you feel like a child in Roald Dahl’s most famous book, such is the variety of colour, scent and taste available. Having never skied before, but always wanted to, the chance to try was one I gladly took. There were two others in the group in the same boat as me, so we all signed up for

pray that someday they get a job with a cool boss . How do you see the future playing out, both for No Sweat and for the ethical consumption movement? I think it’s going to be huge actually. I think that really this is going to be transformative of the entire HFRQRP\ ,I WKHUHœV RU RI the population that seriously cares about these issues, that can affect WKH UHVW RI WKH HFRQRP\ 1RQH RI WKH brands are willing to concede that much market share, so in order for them to compete, they’re going to have to improve their labour conditions as well.

ski lessons. The views from the slopes were truly breathtaking, and my only regret is that I did not have the opportunity to return for another day. Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, was our next and final destination. Half of the group elected to fly from Bariloche while six of us stuck to the itinerary and took the nineteen hour bus trip. Arriving in Buenos Aires surprisingly refreshed and well slept, we travelled to our hotel. Immediately struck by the size of the city, and the amount of traffic, I liked Buenos Aires. It felt good to be in a city after ten days in rural areas.

One piece of advice for anyone travelling to South America is to learn some basic Spanish Buenos Aires has everything a tourist could desire. Shopping, sightseeing, tango lessons and shows, fine dining, pubs and nightclubs. The city is quite easy to navigate as there is a good subway system for a minimal cost and a huge main street running through the city from which all subsidiary streets feed. As with most areas of South America there seems to be a plethora of shops selling the ssame items. One piece of advice I would give to anyone before travelling to South America is to learn some basic Spanish as I felt not being able to communicate properly with the locals did hinder me somewhat. If you have never considered booking an adventure holiday, I would recommend doing so. If you are presently considering one, I would advise you to book in the near future. If your experience is anything like mine you will see spectacular places, eat delicious food, drink excellent wine and meet some fantastic like-minded independent travellers.

Buying NoSweat Through NoSweat: www.nosweatapparel.com/ shop.htm Or go to Fair Deal Trading: www.fairdealtrading.com In the Republic, you can order them through: Amnesty International Fleet Street Temple Bar Dublin 2 In Belfast, you can buy direct from Fair Trade in Spires Unit 35, Townsend Enterprise Park 28 Townsend Street Belfast, Northern Ireland BT13 2ES

8

TECHNOLOGY

90 Degrees December 2005

Literate listening Podcasting looks set to revolutionise the way we listen to music, catch up on the news, and even ‘read’ books. Fiona Ferguson tunes in

1

ext time you travel on the train or the bus take a look around you. Some of those people sporting the ear phones may not be listening to the new releases from Coldplay or GoldFrapp on their iPods – they may be catching up on the latest from the Big Apple with the 1HZ <RUN 7LPHV Once the province of long car journeys or the visually impaired, audiobooks have been enjoying a resurgence thanks to a cost effective and portable way to access them – via the Internet and the ubiquitous MP3 player. Audio books are a small but growing portion of the overall book market. Speaking to Reuters at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October Penelope Liechti, export manager for audio books at the BBC said “We H[SHFW D SHUFHQW PDUNHW JURZWK in audio book sales across continental (XURSH LQ ´ This growth is expected to come not just from the traditional books on tape and CDs that appear in book shops, but also through new Internet distribution channels, which are growing in popularity. The market leader Audible.com opened its doors to the UK and Irish market with the launch of its UK site Audible.co.uk in the summer of this year. With a combined total RI FXVWRPHUV ZRUOG ZLGH Audible has been in business in the 8QLWHG 6WDWHV VLQFH Subscribers can download bestselling books, newspapers and magazines onto a variety of portable audio players including the iPod and the Creative Zen Touch; alternatively, they can listen via audio stream on their PC. Content on the site ranges from the magical bestseller Jonathon

Korzen acknowledges this and says “We try to focus on unabridged, but the majority of the UK audio book publishers work in abridged‌ We know that our listeners prefer unabridged and we work towards providing them.â€? Audible offers both once-off Williams and interviews with mov- purchases and a variety of subscription programs which allow you to ers and shakers in the download a book and magazine, or business world, two books per month. The popular such as Steve “Premium Listenerâ€? program, Jobs. which allows you to “In the UK download two books site we have a month, works out RYHU pretty cost effectively actually at 22 euro per month. This represents a substantial saving over the more expensive traditional tape and CD formats. <RX FDQ EURZVH WKURXJK the content available and then add selected items to “My Libraryâ€?, where your purchased items are permanently available to you. One can listen to samples of the content before committing yourself to purchasing or subscribing. To access Audible’s content you must download and install software called Audible Manager. This manages the transfer of the audio content from your online library to your PC, approachand from that onto a portable device. LQJ The popular Creative Alternatively, it allows you to burn titlesâ€? Zen Touch MP3 player the content to CD should you so says wish, cleverly inserting tracks every Jonathon seven minutes to allow you to move Korzen, Director of Business back and forward through the book. Development at Audible.co.uk. “We Most of the books will require seven DUH DGGLQJ SHUKDSV QHZ WLWOHV D or more CDs, as a CD holds just month or soâ€?. RYHU PLQXWHV ZRUWK RI DXGLR ERRN The major issue some people have content. with audio books is the fact that Unfortunately, not all players are many are abridged or summarized to compatible with Audible’s proprietary cut down the running time. Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell to Michael Moore’s Dude, Where’s my Country? to an audio version of Little Britain. There are drama, languages and radio programs available, as well as some original content from Audible – including standup from Robin

file format. Audible supplies a list of “AudibleReady� media players which includes the iPod, Palm OS handheld, Pocket PC as well as most Creative media players. Slightly confusingly, the audio

You can now leave your media player plugged in overnight, set up Audible Manager to sychronise with your online library, and listen to the morning paper on your way to work LWVHOI FDQ EH GRZQORDGHG LQ IRUPDWV of varying quality. These range from WHOHSKRQH OLQH TXDOLW\ IRUPDW through FM radio quality (format 3) WR 03 TXDOLW\ IRUPDW ZKLFK \RX choose depends on how much space you have available and which formats your media player is compatible with. For example, the Ipod Shuffle ZLOO SOD\ IRUPDWV WR ZKLOH WKH &UHDWLYH 1RPDG 0X9R ZLOO SOD\ RQO\ formats 2 and 3. In June, Audible entered the podcasting arena, enabling the content RI SHULRGLFDOV VXFK DV 7KH 1HZ <RUN Times and The Wall Street Journal to be delivered automatically to its FXVWRPHUV GHYLFHV <RX FDQ QRZ leave your media player plugged in overnight, set up Audible Manager to sychronise with your online library, and listen to the morning paper on your way to work. While Audible remains the top provider of spoken-word content at Amazon and the Apple iTunes Music

Store, other providers are popping up on the Internet. Time Warner Audio Books, for instance, sells several of its bestsellers such as the Dalai Lama’s autobiography in Windows Media Audio format. An illegal audiobook version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was available within hours of its release but if you want to try out this format legally for free check out HLWKHU ZZZ JXWHQEHUJ RUJ DXGLR RU www.audiobooksforfree.com, both of which have audio versions of outof-copyright classics from Charles Dickens, Joseph Conrad and Oscar Wilde available for free (and legal!) download. Looking to the future, Audible has plans for wireless delivery of its content to Palm’s Treo smart phones, thereby bypassing the computer altogether. “We are up and running in the states

Once the province of long car journeys or the visually impaired, audiobooks have been enjoying a resurgence thanks to the ubiqutous 03 SOD\HU with a program called AudibleAirâ€? says Jonathon Korzen. “Let’ s say \RX KDYH D PLQXWH GULYH WR ZRUN every day, which is not uncommon IRU $PHULFDQ FRPPXWHUV <RX FDQ VHW XS D KRXU ORQJ DXGLR ERRN WR ZLUHOHVVO\ DUULYH LQ PLQXWH LQFUHments on your smart phone. So then it would top off your audio with the QH[W PLQXWHV RQ D GDLO\ EDVLV ´ Sure beats listening to breakfast radio!

Www.revolutiononline.ie

Can online advocacy spur e-activism?

FOE Climate Change website hen was the last time politically unengaged population, you sat down and wrote charities and lobby groups are turning a letter to one of your to the Internet to make the lobbying TDs or local councilors? Ok, let’s process as effortless as possible. backtrack: can you even name your For instance, Focus Ireland’s Right TDs or your local councillors? All to a Home campaign is calling for of them? Aware that they’re dealing government action to tackle the riswith an increasingly time-poor and ing numbers of homeless in the State.

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Aidan McKeown logs on to find out more

On their website, you can select your constituency from a list, tick the boxes beside the name of TDs who you want to contact, and send them a form e-mail. If you’re feeling more ambitious, the charity encourages you to make your own changes to the e-mail. And it asks you to forward the the e-campaign details to your friends. So far, the e-campaign has generDWHG H PDLOV WR 7'V DV WKH website will inform you). “It’s a way of communicating the issue to a widespread audience without having to do a lot of ground workâ€? says )RFXV ,UHODQGÂśV 5RXJKDQ 0F1DPDUD The advent of online advoFDF\ LV UHODWLYHO\ UHFHQW 1LDPK 1t &KRQJKDLOH FKDLU RI WKH ,ULVK Charities Tax Reform Group (ICTRG) recalls how they got involved. The group, an umbrella group of charities campaigning for vat-exempt status, realized that

they “weren’t reaching the public�. Having found that e-mail was “such a fast and effective� way of reaching their membership, developing their Internet use made sense. That’s ZKHUH ZHE GHYHORSPHQW FRPSDQ\ Degrees came in. Where precisely online advocacy took off in Ireland is hard to pin down, but certainly the Sligo-based company has been one of the key players in its development. Eugene Flynn says of the genesis of their approach, “A client wanted to create awareness about a particular campaign, so we proposed a webbased viral campaign solution. What we do is we connect constituents with political representatives. It’s hard to ignore your voters; you wouldn’t be in your job otherwise.� It would seem that for any campaign, getting voters to target their own constituency politicians, at local, Dail, or European level, is essential. Deirdre De Burca, a Green Party

councilor in Wicklow, stood for elecWLRQ WR WKH 'DLO LQ WKH JHQHUDO election. She received some of the H PDLOV VHQW RQ EHKDOI RI WKH ICTRG’s VAT campaign. “It was very effectiveâ€? she recalls. “Because all the e-mails were sent to me from constituents with Wicklow addresses, I took it a lot more seriouslyâ€?. OisĂ­n Coghlan of Friends of the Earth (FOE) agrees: “We know that what TDs respond to more than anything else is communication from their own constituents.â€? FOE launched their Climate Change Pledge campaign some months ago, designed to get TDs to pledge their support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Coghlan outlines the benefits to the charity of going online: “It was the way for us as a new organisation to go. For a small investment and a small amount of maintenance you can have a dynamic and impactful campaign.â€?

December 2005 90 Degrees

9

TECHNOLOGY

Citizen journalism Gerard Matthews looks at the changes in how we get our news

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he July 7th bombings on the London transport system was the latest in a number of recent examples that mark a fundamental shift in the way news is JDWKHUHG DQG GLVVHPLQDWHG :LWKLQ minutes of the attack, grainy images of the disaster began appearing on broadcast news stations. These images, some taken with ubiquitous camera phones, were the latest example of what some have termed “citizen journalism�. 7KH %%& UHSRUWHG WKDW E\ o’clock on the morning of July 7th WKH\ KDG UHFHLYHG RYHU LPDJHV DQG video files which had been posted to their websites by eyewitnesses. This demonstrated an increasing mediasavviness among the general public, with the immediacy of a given situation generating huge excitement amongst ordinary men and women. In an era where virtually everyone carries a camera, the possibility of everything being recorded and posted is very real, be it disasters RU FHOHEULW\ LQGLVFUHWLRQV 1RW WKDW this means that every event will be covered equally and objectively.

But simply applying new technology isn’t enough. TechnoFutures is the web development company behind the Climate Change Pledge ZHEVLWH 7RP 'XNH IURP WKH 1RUWK Dublin company. says of online advocacy: “As more and more websites go out there, it might not have the same impact. If you’re not inventive about how you do it, it’s going to fall by the wayside.â€? FOE are already looking to how their campaign will develop. OisĂ­n Coghlan points out that anyone who has used their website has also been asked to sign up for regular updates “so the next thing might be we ask them to text or e-mail the Minister for the Environment before he goes to Montreal, for exampleâ€?. He maintains that “the main way of actually getting people active will be through e-mailing our supporters and getting them to e-mail their friendsâ€?. This electronic word-of-

This new phenomena poses big questions for the traditional “mainstream� media. The BBC and other large broadcaster now routinely provide links to the best blogs and image sites such as Flickr. Typically these links will sit alongside their regular filed stories offering readers a wide range of opinions, legitimate or not, on a particular topic. In the United

tions of taste and libel are all ignored by this new conduit of information. In these early days, it is tempting to speculate how the web might mature over the coming years, if at all. Will it supplant or sit alongside traditional media? Or will the overwhelming din of discordant voices drown out any serious message? 'XULQJ WKH 86 SUHVLGHQWLDO

HOHFWLRQ RYHU PDLQVWUHDP journalists were officially registered to follow George Bush’s journey to a second term. Alongside these however were thousands of unofficial commentators assiduously recording every twist and turn of the election for an online audience, sometimes many, sometimes few. Described disparagingly by a CBS executive as “people writing in their pyjamas�, the disparate group of bloggers not only commented on the agenda set by the networks, but crucially, on occasion, set the agenda for the networks to follow. :KHQ &%6 UHOHDVHG \HDU ROG documents casting questions about 3UHVLGHQW %XVK V 1DWLRQDO *XDUG service, conservative bloggers immediately began challenging the reliability of the documents. Rewriting the papers on modern word-processing software, one blogger found similar line margins, type size, breaks, tab stops. This cast doubt on whether the documents had been prepared on a ZRUG SURFHVVRU LQ :LWKLQ GD\V this had become one of the biggest stories of the campaign; first being picked up by the Drudge Report and then the networks. It ended with an embarrassing climbdown by veteran CBS anchor Dan Rather. This role of unofficial fact-checker would have been unthinkable at the last presidential election. Weblogs are proving not only crucial to established democracies, but in the long-term some believe they could have the biggest impact on emerging democracies. By their nature, they are the essence of global communication and internetworking. Bloggers read online news sources that interest them. They link to these sites and then on to others. Making comments, dissecting facts and occasionally banding together in numbers large enough to push through a set agenda or reveal untruths. When racist comments were made by American Senator Trent Lott that went on the whole unreported in the mainstream media outlets, bloggers seized on them leading to widespread publicity. The media attention and

mouth approach is much more effecWLYH Âł,I , ZULWH WR SHRSOH ZKR don’t know me, they’ll consider it VSDP %XW LI SHRSOH ZULWH WR people, they’ll take it seriouslyâ€?. Such reliance on e-mail means that FOE needs a serious e-mail database. According to Coghlan, older organisations may have thousands of members, but only a few hundred e-mail addresses. By contrast, Friends of the (DUWK DLPV WR JHW WKH H PDLOV RI of its supporters. With a working e-mail database, the campaigning options are wide open. Tom Duke has studied the growth of online advocacy in the USA. He says “they find that the most successful campaigns are the ones that follow the news cycle.â€? When an event occurs, campaigners can e-mail their e-activists, and get them to put pressure on politicians while the issue is hot on the media DJHQGD Âł<RX FDQ GR WKDW PXFK EHWWHU

with e-mail: you can get something out within the hour of something happening in the newsâ€?. So is traditional campaigning dead? According to Eugene Flynn, online advocacy will never replace traditional campaigning for the simple reason “there are always going to be people who simply don’t have access to the Internetâ€?. Focus Ireland views e-campaigning as just one tactic in a broader UHSHUWRLUH 5RXJKDQ 0F1DPDUD PDLQWDLQV Âł<RXtYH JRW WR EH GRLQJ the more serious side of the lobbying thing as well where you’re actually sitting down with the politicians.â€? The subject of the campaign also has to be taken into account: “On more marginalized issues like homelessness I don’t think a [web] campaign by itself is going to achieve changeâ€?. FOE view their online campaign as part of a progression; OisĂ­n Coghlan proposes that e-activists will, over

time, be encouraged to expand into more traditional forms of campaigning: visiting a TDs clinic, for example. So what does the future hold? Tom Duke says “I think you’ll see more and more of it happening. The traditional party political system isn’t as strong as it used to be. <RXQJHU SHRSOH WHQG WR IHHO PRUH issue based. So I think you’ll see more groups taking advantage of the way that younger people are politically involved, around issues rather than parties. The Internet lends itself very much to that.� If the nature of politics is changing, so too is the image of the political campaigner. According to Duke, we’ll see more of “the political campaigner sitting in their underpants at eleven o’clock at night, rather than the party hack going door to door with leaflets. It’s a different way of doing it. But it’s just as valid�.

Last year there was some annoyance that reporting of the Asian tsunami was overly biased towards tourist resorts, where most Western visitors with their video cameras and mobile phones were based. This was in spite of the fact the greatest devastation had occurred in areas not typically visited by westerners.

States, Fox corporation are working to make as much of their content freely available in a bid to corner any perceived future market. One of the chief attractions of the Internet as a news source is its uncensored nature. Clearly this can prove itself as much of a weakness as a strength. Copyright, piracy, ques-

One of the chief attractions of the Internet as a news source is its uncensored nature. Clearly this can prove itself as much of a weakness as a strength. Copyright, piracy, questions of taste and libel are all ignored by this new conduit of information

Blog Highlights Scoops Russ Kick’s scoop on US military suppression of pictures of troop coffins www.thememoryhole.org Fakes Plain Layne, the highly personal blog of supposed lesbian Layne Johnson. Check out the fake Bill Clinton and Andy Kaufman blogs as well. www.plainlayne.dreamhost.com www.billclintondailydiary.blogspot.com Going pro Online ads (along with Google's automated ad server) allow popular bloggers to go pro. Political blogger Joshua Micah Marshall, claims to make $5,000 a month from banner ads: www.talkingpointsmemo.com Start one yourself The most popular service is Google’s Blogger. Microsoft has launched a trial version of its own blogging service. www.blogger.com www.spaces.msn.com (TIME magazine) public scrutiny that ensued led to his resignation as Republican leader of the US Senate. Another example is the massive growth of blogs detailing and arguing about the war in Iraq – this has been described as the "warblogging". While traditional media in the US offer scant details and often only one-dimensional stories, blogs - some directly from Iraq - encouraged debate and argument on a global scale. So where for the future? Supplementing traditional media and fact -checking seem to be where we are today. How long can it be beforeold world media are supplanted by this technological new wave.

Online campaign sites Friends of the Earth Climate Change Pledge site: www.climatepledge.ie 54 Degrees: One of the pioneers of online advocacy in Ireland www.54degrees.com Technofutures: www.technofutures.ie Focus Ireland’s Right to a Home campaign www.focusireland.org/campaign. php. Irish Charities Tax Reform Group, VAT campaign www.vatcampaign.com

10

HEALTH

90 Degrees December 2005

Dancing in the dark Our sexual behaviour and lack of knowledge puts us at risk.

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t is long since Ireland was seen as a timid country that blindly followed the moral stands of the Catholic Church. When it comes to premarital relationships, the country has endorsed a more liberal gown over the past decade. As in the rest of Europe, it is now no longer a social shame to engage in sexual relationships before marriage. Or is it? Official reports over the past three years show a clear contrast between liberal sexual behaviour among the Irish population and the absence of systematic health checks. A combination of poor public knowledge and the scarcity of specialised health centres are at the root of this deficiency in Irish society. PHQ DQG ZRPHQ ZKR

Nearly one million people in Ireland are potentially threatening their health and the health of their partners by engaging in unsafe sexual practices walk the streets of Ireland today may be exposed to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) by neglecting to use contraception, according to data drawn from population surveys by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency on contraceptive use in unmarried, sexually DFWLYH SHRSOH DJHG WR Added to the count, consistent contraceptive users who don’t fall into WKH SHUFHQW RI FRQGRP XVHUV ¹WKH only contraception medically recognised to protect against STIs – double the figure of those at risk of encountering STIs. The majority of people surveyed who admitted having had unprotected sex also reported always using contraceptives. In all, nearly one million people DJHG ¹ LQ ,UHODQG ZKR DUH unmarried and sexually active are potentially threatening their health and the health of their partners by engaging in unsafe sexual practices. As highlighted by a study from the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, the current promotion of contraceptive use is widely targeted at preventing unwanted pregnancies, at the expense of the public not understanding the differ-

ence between using contraceptives and being protected from STIs. Currently, GPs are the main health providers of contraceptive services in Ireland and only ten family planning clinics have been identified in the whole of Ireland. Research in the UK has shown however that dedicated family planning centres are more effective in informing patients about sexual health issues than GPs. “There is an information gap when it comes to STIs, whereas the issue of preventing unwanted pregnancies gets more focused attention with our campaign ‘Think Contraception’, explains Caroline Spillane, Programme Manager in the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. “The vast majority of GPs say they provide family planning services. Whether they provide a comprehensive service or give advice on the full range of contraceptives is unknown to us.� Ireland has experienced an upsurge in STIs in recent years, with phenomenal increases in chlamydia, gonorrhoea, infectious hepatitis B, syphilis, trichomoniasis and ano-genital warts. 1HZ GLDJQRVHV KDYH EHHQ LQFUHDVLQJ HYHU\ \HDU VLQFH Mortality rates by cervical cancer have also gone up and, with 77 deaths per year on average, they now surpass those of the UK where a decrease was noted since the introduction of a national screening SURJUDPPH LQ %\ FRQWUDVW the current Irish Cervical Screening 3URJUDPPH ODXQFKHG LQ ZKLFK is only in its premature phase, covHUV D PHDJUH SHUFHQW RI WKH IHPDOH SRSXODWLRQ DJHG WR DQG UHTXLUHV participants to register.

The dominance of crisis pregnancy over the issue of STIs in public debates over health risks misinforming the public While in most European countries the rate of HIV has been decreasing VLQFH WKH PLG V LQ ,UHODQG TXLWH the opposite has occurred. Between DQG WKH GHWHFWLRQ RI QHZ cases in people residing in Ireland increased threefold.

Celia Zwahlen investigates

Unknown dangers: Irish people are putting themselves at risk from STIs )XUWKHUPRUH ZLWK SHUFHQW RI WKRVH DIIHFWHG E\ +,9 LQ EHLQJ women, HIV is now predominantly transmitted through heterosexual relationships. And since women suffering an infection, even a non-sexually transmittable one, raise their risk of contracting HIV by four to five times in comparison to men, it is clear that the neglect of sexual health plays a key part in the proliferation of this deadly disease. Overall, reported cases of STIs KDYH LQFUHDVHG E\ SHUFHQW EHWZHHQ DQG :LWK KLJKHU UDWHV QRWHG LQ SHRSOH DJHG WR a correlation may well exist between the outbreak of STIs and the changes in social conduct associated with the liberalisation of customs of the past ten years or so. However, the evolution of sexual behaviour over time is difficult to establish because no national sexual health survey was ever made and most studies in sexual trends did not include unmarried ZRPHQ XQWLO WKH ODWH V ,Q SHUFHQW RI ZRPHQ ZKR discovered an STI found this out when going for a pre-natal screening. This suggests that many women don’t enter the women’s healthcare system until pregnancy. For many, the difficulty of access to specialised health centres is an obstacle. But the ques-

tionable adequacy of GPs as the main institution for family planning also accounts for the deficiency in sexual healthcare. Research shows that women expect practitioners to be approachable, non-judgemental and prefer female doctors or somebody who doesn’t know them when dealing with their

Reported cases of STIs have increased by SHUFHQW EHWZHHQ DQG intimate health. GPs on the other KDQG DUH SHUFHQW PDOH RIWHQ NQRZ the patients’ family and neighbours, and sometimes refuse to prescribe contraception on the basis of personal beliefs. While the pitfalls of the nation’s sexual health have been allowed to develop for the past decade, the government has taken concerned action in the prevention of crisis pregnancy with the introduction of WKH &ULVLV 3UHJQDQF\ $JHQF\ LQ As Ireland has displayed the highest rates in teenage pregnancies in (XURSH WKH 6WUDWHJ\ WR Address the Issue of Crisis Pregnancy promotes and advertises contracep-

tive use, but overshadows the issue of STIs. The dominance of crisis pregnancy over the issue of STIs in public debate risks misinforming the public. The overwhelming emphasis on contraception as a prevention tool for unwanted pregnancy fails to recognise the distinction between the concepts of using contraception and protecting oneself against infections. The apparent poor public awareness on safe sexual practice combined with the inadequacy of the healthcare and public information available demonstrate that a gap exists between real social behaviour and the systems in place. Perhaps a truly effective public campaign for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections is delayed by the inevitable fact that the public requires subsidised screening services nationwide. But the current efforts of the Health Promotion Unit to place advertisements behind the closed toilet doors of popular venues hardly seems to spark an open dialogue. $SSUR[LPDWHO\ SHUFHQW RI WKH population in Ireland is sexually active.

Fluoride: poison or panacea? Should we be concerned about the fluoride in water?

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e are encouraged to drink two or more litres of water a day in order to stay healthy but could we be polluting our bodies with toxins in the process? Research has shown that boys EHWZHHQ WKH DJHV RI ILYH DQG ZKR are exposed to fluoride in tap water will suffer an increased rate of osteosacroma - bone cancer - between WKH DJHV RI DQG 'ULQNLQJ fluoridated water has also been linked to an increased rate of osteoporosis – brittle bones - in women. The research on the links between bone cancer and fluoridation in

young men was carried out by Dr. Elise Bassin at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and its findings have been highlighted by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington based research organisation. Research from the United States has also linked over consumption of fluoride to an increased possibility of developing osteoporosis in later life. Osteoporosis is a progressive weakening of the bones leading to increased risk of fracture which generally affects older women. Tablets and chewing gum which contained

fluoride were banned in Belgium for this reason. Ireland is the only country in the EU that adds fluoride to the entire public water supply. In our daily lives we also ingest fluoride from many other sources such as toothpaste, mouthwashes and every soft drink, beer or soup that is made using fluoridated water. A widely accepted side effect of drinking fluoridated water is fluorosis, which dentists see everyday in their practices, in which little white lines or specks appear on the teeth’s surface.

Fiona Ferguson finds out

Speaking recently to The Irish Times Dr Don MacAuley, chairman of Irish Dentists Opposing Fluoridation (IDOF) said "as the teeth are the windows of the skeleton we question what this chemical is doing WR RXU SDWLHQWV ERQHV 1RZ ZH UHDG more evidence that fluoride can cause bone cancer while our health minister plays a delaying game of forums and expert groups." A Forum on Fluoridation which was established by the government LQ WR UHYLHZ WKH IOXRULGDWLRQ of public piped water supplies in Ireland. One of its recommendations

was that the level of fluoride in water supplies should be reduced. A Department of Health spokes person has confirmed that an expert body which is overseeing the implementation of the recommendations “is currently examining the regulations governing fluoridation of public piped water supplies with the aim of making proposals for the purposes of implementing the recommendation of the Forum to reduce the level of fluoride.� Several county councils including Dublin City Council and Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim county councils

December 2005 90 Degrees

11

HEALTH

Men behaving badly Anita O’Donovan reviews the state of Irish men’s health, and finds it lacking

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rish men, watch your waistline – this was the message from the Irish Cancer Society as part of Male Cancer Action week. An DODUPLQJ RI ,ULVK PHQ DUH DERYH QRUPDO ZHLJKW ¹ RYHUZHLJKW DQG REHVH +RZHYHU PDQ\ DUH LQ GHQLDO DERXW WKLV 2QO\ RI WKRVH surveyed by the Irish Cancer Society actually admitted a weight problem, while none felt they were obese. The link between obesity and cancer risk is well known, but the majority of men do not engage in risk-reducing behaviour in this regard. The lack of physical activity DQG SURSHU GLHW DUH WR EODPH RI men surveyed did not know the recommended daily consumption of fruit and vegetables, while only one-third of men actually met this requirement. Men are especially vulnerable to JDLQLQJ ZHLJKW LQ WKHLU ODWH V DQG HDUO\ V DQG DFFRUGLQJ WR WKH :RUOG Health Organisation, should aim to keep their waist measurement below 37 inches. ,Q ,UHODQG PHQ DUH GLDJnosed with cancer each year, the most common being prostate, bowel, lung, skin and testicular cancers. Male bowel cancer patients were shown to have a worse prognosis than women LQ WKH ODVW 1DWLRQDO &DQFHU 5HJLVWU\ report. Male colorectal cancer SDWLHQWV KDG D SRRUHU VXUYLYDO than their female counterparts. Irish men, who have the second highest rate of bowel cancer in Europe, not only fare worse in the health system, but also seem to lack awareness of common health signs and symptoms, DFFRUGLQJ WR D UHSRUW 0HQ and Cancer. Barometer Research. Behaviour and Attitudes October

66 percent of Irish men are above normal weight The Tanaiste, Ms Mary Harney, has been heavily criticised in the past, following the publication of the Feasta report “Growth: The Celtic Cancer�. This report found an overall deterioration in the health of Irish people, as a result of the economic ERRP SHULRG RI WKH V As with most publications on health, the findings are presented in a ‘gender-neutral’ manner, but it seems that men’s health has deteriorated the most. Howver, this is not confined to cancer incidence. have adopted motions asking the Minister for Health to suspend fluoridation. The fluoride added to our water originates as hydrofluosilicic acid, a by-product of the fertilizer industry, sold to Ireland by a Finnish company. Ironically fluoridation in Finland was KDOWHG LQ ZKHQ KHDOWK VWXGLHV identified a link between water fluoridation and osteoporosis. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks fluoride with a KLJKHU WR[LFLW\ WKDQ OHDG 6LQFH all toothpaste in the United States containing fluoride must come with

Picture reproduced by courtesy of The Irish Cancer Society “Men’s Health in Ireland�, a report by the Men’s Health Forum of Ireland (MHFI), was published in January of last year. The impetus for the report was the absence of a strategic policy on men’s health in this country, in comparison to women’s health, and the lack of structured research in this area. A lengthy consultation process followed, which gave Irish men the opportunity to have a voice in policy formation. Although men were named as a target population group, for the first time, in the strategic planning of health promotion and health care by the DoHC LQ DQG YHU\ OLWWOH KDG EHHQ done until recent times to implement

these initiatives. Some of the principal findings of the “Men’s Health in Ireland� report included a higher level of health damaging behaviours in men, than in women, under-researching in health promotion, and lower life expectancy. The issue of gender roles was also addressed: “Boys and young men continue to be socialised to appear in control, to be strong and to take risks; thus reinforcing their exposure to illness and accidental deaths.� The adoption of this role is seen as an impediment to participation in positive health behaviours. A gendered approach to health promotion and increased awareness is

The fluoride in our water is a by-product of the fertiliser industry

unethical. An Irish pressure group, Fluoride Free Water Ireland, claim that the incidence of hip replacement due to RVWHRSRURVLV LV WLPHV KLJKHU LQ WKH 5HSXEOLF RI ,UHODQG WKDQ LQ 1RUWKHUQ Ireland where the water is not fluoridated. They also point to the fact that fluoride acts on the teeth on a topical basis and therefore there is no reason that fluoride should be ingested and allowed to cumulate in the body. The Department of Health defends fluoridation on the grounds that it has transformed dental health in Ireland

a warning advising those that swallow more toothpaste than is used for brushing to contact a Poison Control Centre. Anti-fluoride activists have sued cities in the United States for infringing upon their rights claiming that that fluoridation is a form of involuntary medication which they say is

advocated by the European’s Men’s Health Forum (EMHF)-“There is a need for policy to be formulated that is gender-sensitive - gender must become ‘mainstream’ â€?. The Forum’s report on the state of men’s health DFURVV (XURSHDQ FRXQWULHV LQFOXGing Ireland, found “marked inequalitiesâ€? between men and women. To reflect the growing needs of men in Irish society, the Irish Cancer Society group, “Men Against Cancerâ€? (MAC), has been recruiting and training extra volunteers to run its national helpline. This organisation is a support group for men with any type of cancer, and is provided by former patients. A volunteer with MAC, Mr Eamonn Donnelly, has noted the increased number of calls from men, over the past number of years. Mr Donnelly, who is also a lecturer with the Retirement Council of Ireland, had this to say about men’s health behaviour. “Men in their fifties and sixties are pretty poor about preventative healthcare‌‌.are not in tune with their bodies‌.They wouldn’t have the same awareness that a woman would have.â€? Amazingly, there have been cases, which MAC has experienced, where some men thought that a woman could get prostate cancer too. This highlights their relative lack of awareness of common health issues. It is well known that Irish men, in comparison to women, are not frequent users of the health service. As Dr. Stephen Mulvey, a Dublin-based G.P. commented: “Men are much less likely to come to their G.P.‌.and generally tend to come later for most thingsâ€?. This is not only an Irish problem, although Irish men have one of the lowest life expectancies in the E.U., according to the European Men’s Health Forum. This pattern of health behaviour has also been noticed in Irish migrants to England

There have been cases, where some men thought that a woman could get prostate cancer too. This highlights their relative lack of awareness of common health issues and Wales. A recent study published by the London Public Health Observatory by strengthening our tooth enamel DQG FRQWULEXWLQJ WR D UHGXFWLRQ in dental decay since its introduction \HDUV DJR However Ireland lies only sixth place in Europe in dental decay surveys and the five countries above us don’t fluoridate their water at all. ,Q 0DUFK WKHUH ZDV HPEDUrassment for the government when Green Party TD John Gormley asked the Minister for Health at the time, Micheal Martin, whether there was any chromium present in the acid that makes up the fluoride. Exposure to the poisonous chemical hexavalent

shows higher mortality among Irish workers, from a host of diseases, including cancer. Men’s health was noted to be of specific concern in this study. The development of the traditional heterosexual male identity, coupled with the lack of a self-nurturing attitude from early teens leads to a worrying pattern of avoidance of the Primary Healthcare facilities for most males. To tackle the issue of increased cancers in males, this pattern needs to be countered. The Irish Cancer Society is working to improve this, however, and to promote awareness of male cancers. In addition to

“Boys and young men continue to be socialised to appear in control, to be strong and to take risks; thus reinforcing their exposure to illness and accidental deathsâ€? devoting Cancer Awareness week to this problem, the organisation has published “The Manualâ€?, especially for men, which is available nationwide, in G.P. clinics, or directly from The Irish Cancer Society. This publication, produced in the format of a car workshop manual, presents information on common male cancers, signs and symptoms, in a manner, which might appeal to men. There is a macho element to the publication, with phrases such as “getting \RXU 1&7´ ÂłIDXOW\ IXHO LQMHFWRU´ DQG “poor combustion and backfireâ€?. The acknowledgement that men’s health is a major problem in this country, and the formation of gender-specific health policy, coupled with increased awareness campaigns should go a long way towards improving the health of the male population. However, it should be stressed that men themselves need to be more proactive in this process. They need to follow a healthier lifestyle, and must be more aware of early signs and symptoms of some of the more common cancers. Ideally, this should be a lifelong commitment to better health, and not something which begins at retirement.

chromium in drinking water formed the plot of the motion picture Erin Brockovich. The Minster replied it was not present but later had to apologise for misleading the Dail when tests confirmed that it was indeed present. Speaking about the Ministers DSRORJ\ RQ D 79 6SHFLDO RQ the Water Flouridation debate at the time, John Gormley said “this doesn’t LQVSLUH FRQILGHQFHÂŤ <RX EHJLQ WR realise that they don’t even know what’s in the stuff.â€?

12

SPORT

90 Degrees December 2005

EL TEL FOR IRISH JOB? Patrick Donohue reports that Irish bookmakers are so convinced about Terry Venables’ likely appointment as Ireland manager that many have stopped taking bets on him becoming Brian Kerr’s successor.

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he former England coach failed to register a win over any of insists he has not been WKH ZRUOGÂśV WRS WHDPV LQ FRPSHWLapproached about the job tive fixtures. Ireland finished fourth although he insists that he would in their World Cup group, and out be interested if contact was made. of the top three teams in that group Venebles has essentially sent out a only one, France, are above them in “come and get meâ€? call to the FAI. the world rankings. The cause has not He is certainly a high profile figure been helped by retirement of experiwith a proven reputation in manageenced players such as Roy Keane and ment and would seem to be ahead of Stephen Carr. other candidates like John Aldridge Venables has been out of the game and Steve Staunton for the position. VLQFH KH OHIW /HHGV LQ 0DUFK Significantly, one of Irelands most after a disappointing eight month high profile players, Richard Dunne, spell in charge of the club. He took has backed Venebles as a future Irish over in the midst of a financial crisis manager. Dunne believes “Ireland and during his time in charge high needs to get someone who can excite profile players Rio Ferdinand, Robbie people and get the public behind the Keane, Oliver Dacourt and Lee teamâ€?. He believes that Venebles Bowyer all left due to the financial fits the bill perfectly and if he perchaos that engulfed the club. forms the role Venables has confidently, his a vast amount appointment would of managerial “go down well experience both with the rest of the domestically and squadâ€?. Acording internationally. to Dunne, two One of his most players, Gary successful spells Kelly and Ian as a manager Harte, who played came when he under him at Leeds guided England would also give to the semi-finals their backing to of the European Venables. He states Championship they enjoyed his losing out to “training and tactieventual winner cal ideas and he Germany in a pen“Lying is common seemed to treat evealty shoot out. He ryone with respect among the football fra- also had a spell in and they felt he was charge of Australia a good man to work ternity and Venables EHWZHHQ DQG forâ€?. was a flawless practi- EXW UHVLJQHG These sentiments when they failed are echoed by other tioner of the artâ€? WR UHDFK WKH players who have Tom Bower World Cup. worked with him Venables is curand have nothing rently based in but praise for the Spain where he highly regarded coach. Respected is involved in the leisure club busiprofessionals like Gary Lineker and ness. He could combine both roles if Gareth Southgate rave about his appointed given the part time nature coaching abilities. Former Arsenal of international football management. captain Tony Adams described him as Critics argue that it would be a masbeing the “best coach he ever worked sive gamble for the FAI to offer him underâ€? and stated that “he was a great the job, as his record since he stepped football man who knows his job in GRZQ DV (QJODQG FRDFK LQ KDV depthâ€?. not been particularly impressive. While nobody doubts his abilities as Another factor that may count against a manager, many question his integKLP LV KLV DJH +H LV DQG FDQQRW rity. Tom Bower, in his acclaimed be seen as a long term appointment. book, “Broken Dreamsâ€? started the The FAI hopes to have a new manfirst of three chapters on Venable's ager in place by February when their excesses with the observation that ILUVW IL[WXUH RI WDNHV SODFH )$, “lying is common among the football chief John Delaney insists that they fraternity and Venables was a flawwill not rush into appointing a new less practitioner of the artâ€? He cermanager. Irelands most successful tainly has a colourful past and has a period in international competition WRWDO RI FRQYLFWLRQV XQGHU %ULWDLQÂśV came when another English manCompanies Directors disqualification ager, Jack Charlton, was in charge. It act. However the Irish public will pay would appear that the FAI are set to little attention to this if he succeeds take a chance on another Englishman in reviving Ireland’s fortunes. in order to revive Ireland’s fortunes. The task facing the future Irish boss is big. At present Ireland is undoubtedly a team in decline. During Brian Kerr’s reign as Irish coach, Ireland

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