Slave childrenThey are practically everywhere. Vulnerable kids from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. They end up as slaves. Often white wealthy Europeans buy their "services" without a second thought. It makes me sick to think about that. The same people wouldn't want their own kids working as shoe shiners, bakers, car window washers or prostitutes.
Yet, one has to acknowledge that the Thirld World governments are guilty as charged too. After all, if they were ready to protect the kids, ready to mete out punishments and ready to abolish criminal tourists from their countries all of this could not happen. Instead there is a silent cooperation, bribery, corruption... Parents literally sell their kids so they can have some form of livelihood. One of these desperate children tells his story in the
New York Times.
That is one story but there are so many more. From accross the continents human evil knows no boundaries and trafficking in children fourishes. Trafficking - a word that cannot express the horror and evil of what is going on. As pointed out at the article, a child doesn't consent, he or she is taken against his/her will and there is no choice involved. No choice from the child's part. The adult always has a choice and therefore should be punished harshly for the crime!
Women in India to get legal protection against husbandsFor the first time in India marital abuse, including rape, emotional and physical abuse have been recognized as crimes. Yesterday a new law came into effect and finally women, until now safe in the sreets, will be safer at homes too. Yes, this is true. Indian streets are very safe even to strangers but, as reported by the
Independent, every six hours a married Indian woman is either murdered or commits suicide because of marital abuse.
Often the cause of marital abuse is related to the issue of dowry. Husbands and their families, if unhappy with the dowries, often abuse or even kill the woman. Women are still being burnt to death and often these crimes are hard to prove. Sometimes women are thrown out from family houses, which makes them destitute and homeless. The new law also legislates against that.
One supposes that even with new laws, it will take time to change attitudes. As Hillary Clinton once remarked, these issues are not women's rights, they are human rights. A democratic society cannot be modern and liberal and at the same time remain oppressive towards its women. The problem is that if until now Indian husbands - apparently in large numbers - felt it was OK to beat and abuse their wives, they will hardly have a change of heart overnight. But on the positive side, new laws serve to educate and show that the wider society doesn't tolerate illegal and abusive practises. Hopefully women because of new legislation will have courage to report on the crimes knowing that the Indian lawmakers are on their side. Hopefully this large Asian country can finally adapt itself to modern concepts of gender equality and human rights.
Human traffickers in Israel face a tougher lawAs reported by major Israeli newspapers, such as
Ha'aretz a new and tougher law has just been passed in the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, and from now on traffickers can be sentenced to 16-20 years in prison. The majority of Israel's lawmakers approved of the law, which had no opponents. The bill lists among trafficking offences kidnapping of babies, stealing of organs, slavery, forced labor, prostitution, pornography and sexual abuse. Lawmaker Zehava Gal-On, who initiated the bill considers it's passing the highlight of her career.
In the last years Israel has become an important destination for human traffickers. Hopefully the new bill will discourage both the traffickers and those using their victims. The bill is an important moral and practical step announcing to the victims and perpetrators alike that these crimes are heinous and will not be tolerated.
Dr. Ayman Nour from an Egyptian prisonDr. Nour was a runner-up in the last presidential election of Egypt. He was arrested in January 2006 accused of fraud relating to documents on the establishment of his party. He was consequently sentenced to five years in jail.
It is obvious to everyone that the charges are completely politically motivated and there is no justice in Egypt. Dr. Nour received about 7.8% of all votes, which in itself is significant considering how long president Mubarak has been in power.
Dr. Nour recently wrote a letter from the prison. This letter can be found in English in the web site:
freeaymannour. I recommend all of us to go to that web site in order to show our support to a courageous individual in a tyrannical system.
Why were girls killed in the latest school shooting?In the latest school shooting that happened at an Amish school in Pennsylvania, the killers delibaretely separated girls from boys and then concentrated on killing the girls. As correctly presented in
the Washington Post, had the sepapration been done between ethnic groups instead of sexes, there would have been a terrible uproar over it. And what happened now? The fact barely registered anywhere in the media.
Has Western media, like the society at large, become misogynist, completely accepting of the continuous maltreatment and violence against women? Have pornography with its violent degrading images, and overtly sexual advertizing lulled the senses to the extent that separation between the sexes for targeted killing doesn't register at all? If that is so, this must be stopped!
Nothing in the world happens unrelated to other events. Sexual advertizing leads men and women to view women's bodies as something to be purchased. Pornography leads men to view all women as mere objects. Soon enough poor women are being trafficked to slavery in the Western world. Slowly but surely the society is changing for the worse and women have exchanged their dearly gained power to being objects, their feminism to getting killed for being women.
Do we not deserve more?
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat on Straw's veil remarksA senior journalist Adel Dawish comments on the latest controversy surrounding Muslim women's veils. Interestingly, Dawish claims that since Straw is an elected representative coming from an area with a large Muslim community, he has as much right as the Muslim leaders to express his views on this particular theme.According to Dawish, it is hypocritical of these leaders to cite individual freedoms allowing veil wearing, as in any other matter they are the first ones to reject those same freedoms.
That Mr. Straw should have his right to express himself is besides the point. The point being that individual freedoms are part of being European and leaders shouldn't be speaking for communities that haven't elected them in the first place. And, as Mr. Dawish concludes, it is time for minorities to try to understand the culture they have chosen to come to, and possibly not the other way around.
Freedom of speech in RussiaThis is my last comment on this topic - for a while - but I just want to share a good article I found in
Spiegel's international version. Journalism in Putin's Russia has indeed become a dangerous occupation.
The question is if there will be any journalists left in Russia with the courage to practise their profession in an authentic way?
Putin received in Finland by loyal politiciansAs reported by all the Finnish newspapers, but described in the most poignant way by daily
Turun Sanomat, Finnish politicians once again received Putin like royalty. Whereas the ordinary folks see a large gap between Putin and democracy, Finland's leadership fails to do so. PM Matti Vanhanen mentioned that "Russia has its own type of democracy". Political researchers in the Finnish Alexander Institute completely disagree with this view. According to them, the Finnish PM would do well to insists on democracy and cite Russian problems publicly. Vanhanen's statement is like from the Kreml's own ideologues, they say.
What is so worrying about all this is that behind the thin smokescreen of special Russian democracy, Putin is actually working against human rights. Democracy is getting thinner and thinner each day. Wealthy aspiring politicians end up behind the bars and journalists end up dead. PM Vanhanen doesn't worry about them - Putin visists Finland again and again. The most disgusting thing in all this is that the Finnish leaders see themselves as defenders of human rights and former peace activists, including Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and President Tarja Halonen. Elsewhere in the world, notably in the case of Israel, they have been quick to bring up their - unwanted, as one might add - pro human rights opinions.
Why no end to their hypocrisy? Why is Putin being hosted like royalty? What does Finland gain from all this? Are Finland's politicians accountable to Finnish public, who sees the contradiction?
No protest, no arrests following the murder of the Russian journalist
As you know, no one has been arrested for the murder of Anna Politkovskaya during these two weeks following her cruel killing. As reported by the
Washington Post, this is telling. Since Mr. Putin became president of Russia, more than a dozen Russian journalists have been brutally murdered. None of the perpetrators have ever been found. Something is very wrong, and at the same time, very clear in this picture. The Russian authorities at all levels share unwillingness to investigate what is plain for the eye to see. When Putin was finally forced to talk about the murder at all, and then only because he was in a joint press conference with Angel Merkel, he strangely alluded to foreign enemies of Russia. Not to enemies of the slain journalist but of Putin's Russia.
The story doesn't end here though. Following the murder, memorial gatherings remembering the journalist, were violently interrupted and NGO's such as Amnesty International suspended in Russia. Predictably enough, and this is even worse, Western leaders have largely ignored the events of past two weeks. There has been absolutely no follow-up after the usual condolences. And that is what should be the real story here. Leaders, such as the Scandinavians, ever vigilant to human rights violations have not paid attention to these events at all. Not one protest has been submitted to Mr. Putin. On the contrary, the Finnish EU Presidency is busying itself by organizing a dinner in his honor.
One can not help but wonder: Why Why Why?
Human rights in China - a case study
Recently the Yinan County People's Court in Shandong sentenced a man, Chen Guangchen, to 4 years and 3 months in prison. His wife wrote about the ordeal in an article published in the
Washington Post. Apparently local village women were forced to take abortions and the accused gave them advice on law and human rights. These activities - obviously - were completely peaceful. When Mr. Guangchen was arrested following a long house arrest, he was taken to prison and his wife physically constrained and thus prevented even from attending his trial. Other villagers were brutally tortured and forced to witness against the accused. The accused was sent to prison and his wife is currently under constant surveillance.
My question is this: Had you heard about this story? If not, it is because this is not considered a big news item. Human rights violations by the Chinese authorities are common-place and apparently well accepted by Westerners. One family's tragedy is nothing compared to vast commercial and political interests. Even the known human-rights defenders, such as the Scandinavian countries, are strangely silent when it comes to China. Not only but they cultivate their vast commercial-political ties by constant visits in their countries by delegations of Chinese officials.
If one really believes that human rights belong to everyone, then this reality is a sad state of affairs indeed. What to do about the leftist governments that uphold human rights elsewhere but have a blind-spot when it comes to China?
Iran's nuclear option - is Russia with us or against us?
In all issues, it seems, Putin's Russia is unpredictable, sometimes hostile, sometimes ambivalent but never to be counted on. As appeared in
The Economist on May 13, the Russian government was accused by Dick Cheney not only of restricting the rights of its own people but also of bullying and intimidating its neighbours by force, as best became apparent in the oil and gas crisis. Around the time of Cheney's comments, Russians accused Americans of hypocrisy.
Now we are talking about nuclear weapons. Iran is making fun of the whole world and what does Russia do? According to Foreign Minister Sergei Larov "Reports from Iran do not indicate a real threat to peace and security", as reported in the
Jerusalem Post at the time of the Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's visit to Moscow.
I would like to know if they, the Russians, are with us or against us? Is this a convenient tactic for Chechnya tainted Putin to cosy up to the Muslims? Or does he seriously think there is no threat? Either way, there is not much time left to act decisively against the possibility of a Nuclear Iran.
A courageous woman, a Russian journalist, an enemy of the State if you'd like, was brutally murdered in Moscow on October 7th. Anna Politkovskaya was killed with a pistol - work of assassins and, as many suspect, ordered by figures close to Putin. A relentless critic of the government and a true fighter her books had been virtully banned in Russia. She had talked a lot about the Chechnya situation. Local warlords denied having anything to do with her death. Putin remains silent.
Isn't it surprising that Western governments are not worked up about the human rights situation in Russia? Isn't it hyporcritical that Putin just hosted the G8 meeting? Dick Cheney seems to be the only one daring to criticize the Russians and for this has been labelled a Russiaphobic.
I say wake up, people! Western leaders should stop cosying up to Russia and demand true human rights. That is the least we owe to Anna Politkovskaya! Her death shouldn't have been in vain.
