Archive for December, 2011

  |   Newer Entries »
04/12/2011

Remember Somalia?

Human Wrongs Watch

Geneva – Hundreds of refugees in southern Ethiopia have been relocated from an overcrowded transit centre to a new camp, the fifth one in the area for Somalis fleeing conflict and drought in their homeland.

Somali refugees in Ethiopia | Credit: UN

The Bur Amino camp in Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado region was opened on Nov. 30 and has received the first group of some 400 Somali refugees so far, Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), announced in Geneva on December 2.

The relocation to Bur Amino will decongest the transit centre, said Mahecic. For weeks, 7,500 recent arrivals from Somalia had been living in the centre, built to host one third of that population for a few days only.

Rain and poor shelter conditions exacerbated the already low nutritional and health status of the refugees there, especially the children, he added.

read more »

Posted in Africa, Market Lords, The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

03/12/2011

They, The Peoples!

Human Wrongs Watch 

By Baher Kamal*

They are more than 370 million, that’s 120 per cent of U.S. population; they speak 4.000 of 7,000 languages spoken today all over the world; they contribute extensibly to Humanity’s cultural diversity, and they know more than any body else on Earth how to preserve water, land, biodiversity, and the whole cycle of life.

Credit: UN Forum on Indigenous Issues

Nevertheless, they are deliberately impoverished, denied, oppressed, and exterminated. Because their lands embrace the most precious resources –commercially profitable minerals, flora, fauna– they have been even physically eradicated by political and business magnates who consider them a disturbing obstacle to their insatiable greed.

They make up to one-third of the world’s poorest and suffer inhumane conditions in all countries. UN research reveals alarming statistics on poverty, health, education, employment, human rights, the environment and more.

Their lives and sufferance are never headlines, nobody talks about them, busy as the world now is with rescuing giant private banks and corporations. Hollywood made huge profits by showing them as wild, violent, stupid, uncivilised, “bad” people, while “good” white, civilised cowboys, sheriffs, and military commanders manage to uproot them and extinguish them.

read more »

Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | 2 Comments »

02/12/2011

Unequal Under the Law

Human Wrongs Watch

Interview with Israeli Historian Ilan Pappé

By Eric Ruder – International Socialist Organization 

For decades, Israel has waged war against Palestinians with the blessing of the world’s chief powers in Western Europe and North America. Though the issues involved and the names of the players changed over the years, little else seemed to–until recently.

Israeli war on Gaza. **Photo: International Solidarity Movement | Wikimedia Commons

First, there was the global revulsion at Israel’s barbaric assault on Gaza in late 2008-09, which spurred action on a boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement launched by Palestinian civil society in 2005. Israeli officials have termed this growing movement a “delegitimization” campaign and pledged to counter it.

Then there was Israel’s murderous assault on a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian aid to the besieged people of Gaza, again creating an outpouring of sympathy for Palestinians from people around the world.

read more »

Posted in Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | 2 Comments »

02/12/2011

No Water in Many Parts of the World in Only 40 Years

Human Wrongs Watch

Durban, South Africa (IRIN*) – In another 40 years, many parts of the world will have run out of water for farming, says a new authoritative analysis of the state of the world’s land and water resources.

Photo credit: UN

“It is now estimated that more than 40 percent of the world’s rural population lives in river basins that are physically water scarce,” said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, which looked at land and water from a food security perspective.

That is a lot, considering 75 percent of the population in developing countries is poor, lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture for income and food.

read more »

Posted in Market Lords, Mother Earth, The Peoples | 6 Comments »

02/12/2011

UN to Rich Countries: Halt Austerity, Avoid Deep Recession

Human Wrongs Watch

New York –The world risks falling back into recession if developed countries embark prematurely on fiscal austerity measures, according to a UN report, which recommends additional stimulus measures as well as more forceful international coordination to stimulate job creation and investment.

Credit: UN

The report on global economic prospects, released on Dec, 1 by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), states that fiscal austerity measures implemented in developed countries and elsewhere in response to high levels of fiscal deficit and public debt are further weakening growth and job prospects.

read more »

Posted in Market Lords, Others-USA-Europe-etc. | Leave a Comment »

  |   Newer Entries »