Category Archives: human rights

On slavery, 150 years later

Slavery still matters.I mentioned tracing my mother’s family history through ancestry.com. It’s as easy as clicking a button. There are always records, remnants of a life once lived, to be explored. Some came from Germany in the 1850s, others from England in 1610. My father’s side of the tree ends with a maybe. Maybe the names I’ve stumbled across in those inventories and in ancestry belong to my relatives. Maybe. Their names, their stories, are lost among the rest of my father’s family, leaving only partial truths and half told stories. That loss will always matter to me.

Source: On slavery, 150 years later

Humans of New York

“ISIS needs educated people to support them. None of them finished school. They cannot manage the cities they capture because they have no skills. When they took me to prison, at first they were very aggressive. They kept putting a gun to my head and taking it away. But after a few minutes of this, one of the men began speaking to me in a very nice way. He said: ‘You are an Islamic man. Please, be a good Muslim and help us. We want your wife to open a hospital for us. And we want you to manage it.’ I agreed to everything they asked. I told them I would help. Then the moment they let me go home, we packed our bags and left.”

Source: Humans of New York

Humans of New York

“I was the only doctor in the area, so when ISIS captured our town, I knew that they would ask me to work for them. We should have left right away. One night five men came to our house. They were wearing masks and they refused to take off their shoes. Their Arabic was not with a Syrian accent. They claimed to be searching for weapons and went from room to room. They knew about me already, because they kept calling me ‘Doctor.’ When they finished searching the house, they arrested my husband. It was a night in January, so it was too cold for them to start their car. The engine kept turning over and over. I thought that maybe a miracle would keep them from taking him. But then I heard the engine start and they drove away. I paced in the street all night. At one point I heard a gunshot in the distance, and I thought for sure they had killed him. I thought it was all my fault. We should have left right away.”

Source: Humans of New York

#YouAintNoMuslimBruv: the voice of defiant unity | Remona Aly | Comment is free | The Guardian

As one tweeter pointed out: “Islamophobes and racists are unhappy with #YouAintNoMuslimBruv trending. They want division as much as Daesh does.” The fact that this is trending on Twitter reflects an eagerness for unity. People simply do not want more division. We are sick and tired of it. Londoners, Brits, the French, Americans, Australians, whoever we are, wherever we face the threat of discord, we stand in solidarity.

Source: #YouAintNoMuslimBruv: the voice of defiant unity | Remona Aly | Comment is free | The Guardian

Humans of New York

“Because I’m a refugee, my life is on pause. My studies have stopped. I’m not working. I don’t have a career. Because I’m Syrian, I’m not allowed to participate in society. It’s been years of doing nothing. I used to be a cheerful person. I was always invited to parties. Now I like to be alone. I’ve become more nervous and aggressive. I yell over silly things. I just want to start my life again. I learned last Thursday that I’m going to a state called North Carolina. I’m very nervous. I know nothing about it. More than anything, I want to finish my education. But mostly I hope that whatever is waiting for me there is better than what I’ve gone through.”(Amman, Jordan)

Source: Humans of New York

Humans of New York

“Doesn’t she look like an American? The lady who did our interview said that she looks like an American. She’s very excited. She’s young, so I know she’ll be able to learn English very easily. She’s a very smart girl. She’s already decided exactly what her room will look like in North Carolina. She won’t stop talking about it. She says that she’s going to do a lot of swimming and learn how to use the computer. Someone at her school told her that kids in America can do whatever they want and never get yelled at. So whenever I try to punish her, she tells me: ‘That won’t be allowed in America.’”

Source: Humans of New York

Wampis nation establishes the first autonomous indigenous government in Peru

For most Peruvians it was a Sunday like any other; but in the Wampis community of Soledad, it was a historic day. On November 29, the Wampis nation declared the formation of the first Autonomous Indigenous Government in Peru.Spanning a 1.3 million hectare territory – a region the size of the State of Connecticut – the newly elected government brings together 100 Wampis communities representing some 10,613 people who continue to live a traditional subsistence way of life through hunting, fishing and small scale agriculture.While the newly-formed government does not seek independence from Peru, its main role is to protect Wampis ancestral territory and promote a sustainable way of life that prioritizes well-being, food security and a healthy harmonious existence with the natural world.

Source: Wampis nation establishes the first autonomous indigenous government in Peru

German vice chancellor warns Saudi Arabia over Islamist funding in Germany | News | DW.COM | 06.12.2015

Gabriel’s comments on Sunday followed a report released by the German foreign intelligence agency (BND) on Wednesday, which suggested that Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy was becoming more “impulsive.”In an unusual move, however, the German Foreign Ministry rebuked the BND for accusing Saudi Arabia of being a destabilizing influence in the Middle East, insisting that the oil-rich kingdom is a key business partner.Time to look away is pastIn an interview with the German newspaper “Bild am Sonntag,” Gabriel said that Saudi Arabia needed “to solve the regional conflicts,” but added that it was also necessary to “make clear that the time to look away is past.””Wahhabi mosques are financed all over the world by Saudi Arabia. In Germany, many dangerous Islamists come from these communities,” Gabriel said.Saudi Arabia follows the ultra-conservative Wahhabi form of Islam and is regarded by some outsiders as a cause of the international jihadist threat.Public concern about the growing number of Salifists in Germany is on the increase. According to the BND, the number of Salafists has risen from 5,500 to 7,900 in just two years. The terrorist attacks in Paris last month have also heightened fears of an attack on German soil.

Source: German vice chancellor warns Saudi Arabia over Islamist funding in Germany | News | DW.COM | 06.12.2015

Children drive 35km for help after mother falls into well trying to save father overwhelmed by gas – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Police said the 29-year-old man was installing a water pump at the bottom of the well near Weilmoringle — about 225 kilometres north west of Lightning Ridge in north-western NSW — when he was overwhelmed by fumes, about 5:30pm on Saturday.He died at the scene.The man’s 28-year-old partner started climbing down the well to help, but fell about 30 metres after the rope ladder broke.Police said the couple’s two children, aged 12 and 13, drove 35 kilometres to a nearby road, where they flagged down a passing driver, who phoned emergency services.Superintendent Jim Stewart from the Castlereagh Local Area Command said the incident demonstrated the skills of people in the bush and their ability to survive.

Source: Children drive 35km for help after mother falls into well trying to save father overwhelmed by gas – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

‘You Ain’t No Muslim, Bruv’: Response to London Attack Inspires Hashtag – The New York Times

A knife attack that injured three people on Saturday in a London subway station was being investigated as a “terrorist incident,” the police said. But the words of a bystander who shouted at the suspect as officers held him down are what have captured public attention.“You ain’t no Muslim, bruv,” a man can be heard calling out to the suspect on videos of the arrest posted on YouTube. “You’re no Muslim, bruv. You ain’t no Muslim.” “Bruv” is London slang, similar to “bro” in the United States.

Source: ‘You Ain’t No Muslim, Bruv’: Response to London Attack Inspires Hashtag – The New York Times