Category Archives: Global Politics

‘The Jungle’: Christmas in a Refugee Camp | Masha Alekhina

As a child you were told, “If you behave, Santa Claus will bring you a lot of gifts, and if you misbehave — nothing.” What is good behavior? Do not skip school to return home on time. And what would you say to Santa Claus if you’re not allowed to enroll in school, and if, instead of the house every night you go back into an icy tent?At Christmas you can dream of a miracle, or you can try to be the miracle for someone else.”To Avrist from Pussy Riot and the Belarusian Theatre” — I wrote on a white piece of paper and put a note in a black guitar case. Buying a guitar in Calais — that was a quest that deserves a separate story. The city only has one music store, it is not on the map, and all the others are closed down because they do not bring profits.Miracle — it’s not just a word in a book, but also your purchased ticket to the refugee camps, it is your gift, your two hours in which you listen to the story of one of the refugees because he wants to tell it. Miracle — it means not turning away someone you don’t understand.

Source: ‘The Jungle’: Christmas in a Refugee Camp | Masha Alekhina

Czech president Zeman says refugee wave is ′organized invasion′ | News | DW.COM | 26.12.2015

Czech President Milos Zeman has compared the refugees arriving to Europe with the Trojan horse, and called the influx an ‘organized invasion.’ His comments were met with outrage.

Source: Czech president Zeman says refugee wave is ′organized invasion′ | News | DW.COM | 26.12.2015

Permission to Narrate: Bethlehem: Living Between Tear Gas and Christmas Ornaments

In the Western imagination, the “little town of Bethlehem” is a romanticized, mythological town that appears on Christmas cards and is usually depicted by a bucolic nativity scene with wise men, animals, Mary, Joseph, Jesus in a manger, and a bright star above all.  In reality, Bethlehem is a besieged city surrounded by a 26-foot-high wall erected on much of its perimeter. This imposing edifice prevents many farmers from getting to their land and restricts residents from performing everyday actions, like going to school or work. By the time it is completed, 56 kilometers of this barrier—which many call the apartheid wall—will leave 12 communities physically separated from the rest of Bethlehem.Fully 85 percent of the Governorate of Bethlehem is classified as part of Area C—under complete Israeli control in all security and civil matters. In addition, there are 19 settlements—illegal according to international law and officially opposed by the U.S. government—surrounding the governorate which house over 100,000 Israeli settlers. In the last three months, there were 39 incidents of settler violence in Bethlehem—these are cases that involve assault, raids, destruction of property, abductions, injuries, and other aggressive acts perpetrated against Palestinians by Israeli settlers. Settler violence goes largely unpunished, so settlers feel they have tacit impunity for their actions.

Source: Permission to Narrate: Bethlehem: Living Between Tear Gas and Christmas Ornaments

Proposed change to French constitution likened to Nazi-era policy | The Electronic Intifada

The measure was first proposed by President François Hollande after suspected Islamic State gunmen killed 130 people in Paris on 13 November.“We must be able to strip the French citizenship of any person convicted of attacking the fundamental interests of the nation or of an act of terrorism, even if he is born French,” Hollande told parliament.VichyFrench law already allows citizenship to be stripped from foreign-born naturalized French citizens.But just days ago, Justice Minister Christiane Taubira had predicted – wrongly – that the measure to expand this power to French-born citizens would not be included in the constitutional reform package.According to Taubira, the president’s proposal “poses a major problem with respect to a fundamental principle, the right of the soil” – a legal term referring to the right of anyone born in a state to nationality or citizenship – to which the minister said she was “profoundly attached.”French Prime Minister Manuel Valls “knows that this measure will not discourage a single terrorist, but will produce two classes of French citizens,” Yasser Louati, spokesperson for the anti-Islamophobia group CCIF tweeted.

Source: Proposed change to French constitution likened to Nazi-era policy | The Electronic Intifada

Malala Meets up Again with Syrian Schoolgirl Campaigner in Britain | Jakarta Globe

Newcastle upon Tyne. Nearly two years after they met in a dust-blown refugee camp in Jordan, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai welcomed Syrian fellow schoolgirl activist Muzoon Almellehan to her friend’s new home in rainy northern England on Tuesday.Malala, who moved to Britain in 2012 after being shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban for refusing to quit school, won acclaim for her advocacy of women’s right to education and becoming the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.Reuniting at a gleaming public library in the northeast English city of Newcastle, 18-year-old Malala and Muzoon, 17, pledged to campaign together for access to education for Syrian refugee children.The setting was a far cry from the sprawling lines of tents comprising the Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in the Jordanian desert, where the pair first met in early 2014.Malala now lives in England’s second city, Birmingham, where she was treated after being shot, and Muzoon is among the first Syrians from refugee camps in the Middle East to have come to Britain.

Source: Malala Meets up Again with Syrian Schoolgirl Campaigner in Britain | Jakarta Globe

Police union slams plan to strip refugee jewelry – The Local – Government theft planned from refugees

Denmark’s Minister for Integration has hit back at police criticism of the government’s highly controversial proposal to confiscate valuable items from refugees by saying “most people” can judge the value of jewelry.Outrage at Danish plan to strip refugee jewellery (17 Dec 15)The proposal to strip refugees of their valuables is contained in a draft bill which was submitted to the Danish parliament on December 10th and which is not expected debated by MPs until some time in January. But the furore over the plan is rumbling on with Police Union leader Claus Oxfeldt now entering the fray by going public with concerns about the practicality of the scheme.“I don’t have a good enough imagination to envisage us taking things like wedding rings from refugees coming to this country,” Oxfeldt was quoted by national broadcaster DR.Oxfeldt also stated his belief that estimation of specific values of items was outside of police jurisdiction.“It is not possible for us to judge whether a ring has a value of 1,000 (€134), 5,000 or 10,000 kroner,” Oxfeldt said. “If there is a large amount of cash, perhaps we should confiscate it,” he added.But integration minister Inger Støjberg stated her disagreement with Oxfeldt’s assessment.“I think most people can tell whether something is worth a thousand or 20,000 kroner, and if there is any doubt, you can have it valued or choose not to take it,” she said, also on DR.This does not mean that valuation experts would be brought in, according to Støjberg.“This is about very general principals in Denmark. If you can provide for yourself, you will provide for yourself. This also applies to refugees… The Police must see whether, for example, large amounts of money are being brought in. If they are, stays at asylum centers must be paid for [by the refugee] for as long as possible.“It is important to say that if anyone comes here with a wedding ring, we will not take it. I have said this from the start, when we presented the proposal.”Under the proposal, items needed for everyday use such as mobile telephones would also be exempt from confiscation, as well as items of sentimental value – unless these are of very high monetary value, in which case their confiscation can be considered “reasonable”.Refugees carrying the equivalent of over 3,000 kroner in cash would also see this confiscated.

Source: Police union slams plan to strip refugee jewellery – The Local

Muslim Teacher Fired for Mentioning Islam in Class

In case anyone was still wondering whether American Islamophobia is an emergency: Recently, a Muslim-American high school history teacher of Palestinian descent, Sireen Hashem, was fired from her job at Hunterdon Central High School in New Jersey after being banned from mentioning Islam in class.As if that wasn’t enough, Hashem and her attorney report that soon after she was dismissed, she received a knock on the door from… Jesus Christ, the FBI.Hashem’s apparent offense? Using the same teaching materials as everyone else.Hashem had shown a video about Malala Yousafzai in class — a pedagogical move apparently unoffensive in the classrooms of other, non-Muslim teachers. Hashem also used a writing prompt touching on Osama bin Ladin. Both pedagogical moves, reads the suit contesting the dismissal, were considered acceptable from other (non-Muslim) teachers. According to the suit, Hashem was told that “she could not teach current events in the same manner as her non-Arab, non-Palesinian, and non-Muslim colleagues.”Racism in the age of Trump is not the territory of ignorant people totally unlike “us,” but fundamental to everywhere from our most prestigious universities to the places we grew up.This incident — Hashem’s firing — literally happened in the place I grew up. Hunterdon County, New Jersey is the sixth richest county in the United States. According to the 2010 census, It is 91 percent percent white. It is not the abstract working class white Trump middle America of wealthy liberal fantasies. It is a place full of nice, white college graduates who smile at each other in the grocery store. I am ashamed, but not surprised, that this has happened at home.

Source: Muslim Teacher Fired for Mentioning Islam in Class

Franco Galdini: Kyrgyz Mercenary, Friend or Foe? – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics

Last time I saw Manas, he was at his wits’ end. All his attempts to leave the country had come to naught and he seemed resigned to a life on the run. His tone was more conciliatory than threatening, but as usual self-criticism was conspicuously absent. It was everyone else’s fault that he had driven himself into a corner. In his mind, he was still a misunderstood Kyrgyz hero, as the pseudonym he had chosen for himself made abundantly clear (the Epic of Manas is considered the national heritage of the Kyrgyz people).Apparently, this is not so uncommon. A former Russian volunteer in eastern Ukraine interviewed by Dozhd TV channel stated that “most of those who came back either went on fighting, but for Kiev, or were jailed. They get into fights with the police or other people, trying to prove they are heroes back from the war. But come to think of it, are we really heroes?” Addressing President Putin, he concludes that the war “isn’t worth it.”Just how not worth it all was becomes painfully evident on assessing the state of the Donbass region today. “The war has come and gone, leaving behind poverty and pain,” writes Novaya Gazeta special correspondent Pavel Kanygin.If the conflict has passed its peak intensity, the situation on the ground remains extremely volatile, as recent incidents show. The media spotlight may have moved on, but left behind are the shattered lives of the thousands upon thousands of civilians who have to pick up the pieces.

Source: Franco Galdini: Kyrgyz Mercenary, Friend or Foe? – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics

Erdogan says Kurdish militants will be ‘annihilated’ – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East – Armenian Genocide Deja Vu – The Turkish Caliphate Sticks Again!

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurdish militants Dec. 15 that “you will be annihilated,” and pledged that Turkish security forces will continue their massive military assault on Kurdish towns in southeastern Turkey until they are “completely cleansed and a peaceful atmosphere established.”Metin Gurcan reports that the escalation in military operations in towns where Kurdish militants associated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have taken hold has increased the possibility of a civil war.

Source: Erdogan says Kurdish militants will be ‘annihilated’ – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Demographic change a threat to Hindus: Giriraj Singh – Times of India {Religious Racism despite his protest that it is not}

“The geography and history of vast Aryavart are still there but many parts of this Aryavart have no Sanatan dharma followers,” he added. He also advocated a wide discussion on the definition of minority.Citing examples, he said that population of Hindus had declined in 60 districts of UP and 26 districts of Bihar, while they have turned into minority in five districts of Kerala.On the issue of intolerance, the minister said that tolerance was in the blood of India, which firmly believes in the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ and ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina’. “It is the country’s tolerance that the court sat at night for a terrorist Yakub Memon and thousands of people took part in his funeral,” he said, adding that some people were questioning the country’s tolerance by raising the issue of increasing intolerance but the world accepts India’s tolerance.

Source: Demographic change a threat to Hindus: Giriraj Singh – Times of India