Soaring Food Prices Cause Concern Worldwide (Report)

(PHOTO: Bikyamasr.com)(HN, January 6, 2011) - Noah commandeers his battered taxi through the early morning haze of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, wondering how he will come up with the money to pay for a trip to the market. Not only has the price of produce shot up in recent months, the price of parking at the market has double in recent weeks.

Noah’s worries were confirmed this week by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), which reported that its food price index – a basket tracking the wholesale cost of wheat, corn, rice, oil seeds, dairy products, sugar and meats, has jumped to a record high – even surpassing prices that sparked riots in more than 30 countries – including Haiti, Somalia and Cameroon - in 2007-2008.

While the price of staples such as rice and wheat are below the crises level, sticker shock in markets around the world is being caused by corn, sugar, meat and vegetable oil.

“We are entering a danger territory,” Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist at the FAO told reporters Wednesday.

(GRAPH: FAO) But some believe the world food supply is more fragile than it ever was, mostly because of extreme weather worldwide last year. Major wheat producers such as Ukraine and Russia have banned exports of wheat in 2010 after extremely poor harvests. And recent severe flooding in Australia’s agricultural heartland of Queensland is already having global repercussions on the world food supply.

This week, young people in the capital of Algiers, Algeria, rioted mostly because of rising food prices – including oil, sugar and flour.

There is also evidence to suggest that in the poorest countries, mothers are being forced by rising prices to cut back on essentials. In Niger - where one in four children die before their fifth birthday, mainly due to malnutrition – record numbers of children are being admitted to the country’s 822 therapeutic feeding centres, according to UNICEF.

Even in developed countries, people in the food business are being forced to cope using innovative means. Cynthia Thomet, co-owner of Atlanta’s Lunacy Black Market, a trendy eatery, said fluctuating prices of produce means much more frequent menu changes.

The sharp increase in commodity prices has prompted food companies like General Mills, Kraft, Sara Lee, Kellogg and ConAgra Foods to drop discounts and start rising prices on many products, said Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper.

According to the FAO not only is their Food Price Index which tracks 55 commodities in total at a record high, but December 2010 was the sixth month in a row of surging prices - the highest since records began in 1990. The organization says it fears that prices will continue to soar in coming months as supply will fall short of world demand.

(PHOTO: City Farmer)Additionally, in a continuing to struggle world economy rising food prices would see consumers left with less money for discretionary spending on things like eating out and retail items as every day eating becomes more expensive.

Compounding the issue is the growing global population, scheduled to top 7 billion people sometime this spring.  The FAO has previously warned that worldwide food production must rise by 70% by 2050 when the global population will increase to 9.1 billion people, mostly in Asia and Africa.

--- By HUMNEWS’ staff

Sudan/DRC: Abducted Children Flown Home by ICRC (Feature)

(HN, Janury 5, 2011) - Judy and several other children were abducted by an armed group that roamed the jungle between the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan. For a whole year, she had to carry goods and food through difficult terrain, under dangerous conditions, unpaid and uncared for.Yambio airstrip, Southern Sudan. James climbs aboard the plane that will reunite him with his family in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. CREDIT: ICRC

Today, Judy is one of seven children eagerly waiting to rejoin their families in the DRC, with apprehension written all over their faces. They sit patiently at Yambio airstrip in Southern Sudan, straining to hear the distant sound of the ICRC plane arriving from Dungu in the DRC, just thirty minutes away.

Young lives, tough stories

James (14) is the most confident of the group. "My sister and I were abducted somewhere in the DRC and forced to march with the armed men. They gave us stuff to carry but we didn't know where we were going. It was like that most days, we just wandered around the bush. Later my sister died in a shootout between the group and the army."

Unlike James, Anne (12) was abducted right in her home. She recalls the episode in a voice so quiet as to be almost inaudible. "Armed men burst into our house early one morning. The rest of my family escaped. They took me into the bush. They made me do things I don't want to talk about, things I want to forget."

Judy was just nine years old when she was abducted and the details are hazy. Now ten, she does remember how she was rescued from somewhere along the border between the DRC and Sudan. "We were just moving off after I had fetched water, when soldiers started shooting at the men who had abducted me. A bullet hit me in the head and I fell down. My abductors thought I was dead and abandoned me. I was scared, but I crawled away from the fighting until the soldiers saw me and took me to their base where I was treated."

Two other children injured in the crossfire that day were subsequently rescued by soldiers, who handed them over to a humanitarian agency that referred them to the ICRC.

James and Anne also escaped during fighting between the army and the armed group, but at different times and in different places. Anne, who said she was beaten every time she asked her captors for her mother, was forced to follow the group during every attack. This ultimately proved a blessing in disguise, as it was during one of these attacks that she managed to escape.

The long route home

The children came into contact with the ICRC on the border between the DRC and Southern Sudan in 2008. They then moved to a refugee camp where they were looked after by the UNHCR while the ICRC and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society followed up on their cases. It took ICRC staff two years to establish contact with their families and complete the paperwork required to get the children back to their families in the DRC.

Looking at the people waiting to say farewell to her and other children, Judy becomes pensive. "There are still many children in the bush with this armed group and they're not happy. The fighters keep moving from place to place and when an attack comes, the children are killed if they can't run fast enough."

The ICRC aircraft finally appears, and smiles replace the apprehension on the children's faces. Nuala Ryan, the Deputy Head of the ICRC Mission in Southern Sudan, smiles too. "These children suffered a lot away from their families. By registering them and reuniting them with their parents, the ICRC not only returns them to the warmth and care of their families but also ensures that the world hears their stories."

Feature produced by the International Commitee of the Red Cross

Kashmir: A look at the affects of conflict on women (Report)

by Afsana Rashid Bhat

(HN, December 30, 2010) Facing the brunt of a two-decade-long armed conflict, most women in Kashmir are caught between the devil and the deep sea. Their roles are shifting abruptly from a home maker to a breadwinner and has rendered them physically crippled, emotionally bruised and economically disturbed.

Kashmir being a major stumbling block in relations between India and Pakistan has so far involved two declared and two undeclared wars. When armed conflict started here in 1989, many people began disappearing on both sides.Kashmir region - showing disputed territories

Some victims were arrested by Indian armed forces and police for alleged involvement in militant activities. The families of those arrested believe that the victims are often killed after being tortured in custody, but many still hold onto the hope that they will see their dear ones again. There is no report that can prove that any missing persons taken by the government have ever returned.

Some people have been subjected to disappearance by militants on the pretext that the victims were working as informers for Indian forces. Families are generally reluctant to identify kidnappers, preferring to say that their loved ones had disappeared by “unidentified gunmen.” They don’t disclose who was responsible, whether Indian forces (the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force) or militant groups, for fear of retaliation against them or their families.

Women face most of the brunt of the entire situation. They are the worst sufferers on various counts.

Psychologically, they’ve been traumatized by the death of few women who were expecting babies due to the lack of ante-natal care in initial years of the militancy, as reported by Dr. Abdul Rashid Malik, former Deputy Director Health Services-Kashmir, and this fact sends shivers down the spine.

“In the early 1990’s, a few deaths of expectant mothers were reported for want of ante-natal check-up as they couldn’t make it to the hospital due to cross-firing and search operations.  The situation became grim particularly during Jag Mohan’s state governor’s reign. George Fernandes, the then Kashmir affairs in-charge Government of India, was apprised of the same information by senior health officers”, says Dr.Malik.

The former Deputy Director says that people, especially women, were on the look out for psychiatrists. “Since psychiatrists were not available in requisite numbers, they had to look for alternatives that lead to suicidal tendencies among them. Young widows and half-widows who, had to feed their children single-handedly faced the worst of it”.

Most of the women who have been directly affected by conflict, says Dr. Hameedullah, Shah, renowned psychiatrist suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which often leads to depression.

“Emotionally women are more susceptible. This keeps them under stress. Most of the time women have been apprehensive about safety of their male members,” says Dr. Shah adding “anxiety, body ache and pain, as well as an irritable attitude has been commonly observed among women, over here for these years”.A Kashmiri woman paddles along Dal lake in Srinagar, photo courtesy of globeandmail

Isolation and other social problems, says Dr. Shah have been witnessed in particular among women confined within the four walls of their homes as their interaction gets affected. He said that no specific data is available to quantify their health problems.

Referring to the attitude of society towards the plight of widows and half-widows, renowned religious scholar Kaleemullah Khan says, “Ignorance, selfishness, cruelty and inhuman attitude is at its climax”.

“The Quran is categoric about widows. If she does not have kids then she inherits one-fourth of the property left by the deceased and if she has children she inherits one-eighth,” says Khan, adding “though no authentic verse deals exclusively with it, a decree based on consensus can be issued by ‘ulemas’ and ‘molvees’ (scholars and clerics), with the consideration of the intensity and immediacy of the problem and its ramifications”.

“Rehabilitating orphan (special children) is one of the basic teachings of Islam, discussed  at least three dozen times in the Quran. More so when an orphan is nearest of kin, responsibility doubles”, he adds. To make such women economically self reliant, Khan suggests certain collective measures like providing them suitable professions (crèche, orphanages, home-based-industry) and encouraging their re-marry.

Dr. Khurshid-ul-Islam, a well-known sociologist, says that her attachment to her first husband and children stops her remarrying. “Facts are facts, it is children who become the motivating force for her not to re-marry - otherwise it is permitted under Islam”.

“Being more sensitive and fragile to issues, she can’t face the situation and while facing the brunt of it she gets labeled, exploited and becomes the talk of the town. Automatically, she gets distressed,” says the sociologist adding, “She is already at the back of the bench when something happens here.”

According to Dr. Khurshid, she becomes the ‘forced’ bread winner or crusader in a society like Kashmir and a forced decision-maker, wherein she normally fails. On the economic aspect he says, “The majority of them voluntarily work in fields but now it’s a forced role”, adding, “I won’t call it economic empowerment. Her heart isn’t with it”.

Psychologically, as well women have suffered immensely over the past two decades. Mental health of women has deteriorated the most, particularly direct sufferers of conflict.

According to doctors at the Government Psychiatry Diseases Hospital, women constitute 62 percent of patients visiting it, says a report published by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (J&KCCS), a human rights group. Hundreds of women, it says, have no idea of medical counseling and continue to suffer.

According to studies, most Kashmiris suffer from PTSD and are in need of treatment.  As against 1,762 patients registered during 1990, number of patients who visited hospital in 2000 went up to 38,696 and nearly 48,000 in 2002, says the report, adding “before eruption of conflict in Kashmir in 1989 hardly any case of PTSD was reported”.

According to Medecins Sans Frontiers, MSF (Doctors Without Borders), a private international medical and humanitarian organization, counseling can help to understand the problem and treatment through counseling is psychological and a process that might continue for a certain time period depending upon severity, intensity, complexity, duration of problem and likewise.

PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are common psychiatric disorders found in an orphanage, almost exclusively in female children. Younger age, being female and lower socio-economic class are believed to be other risk factors for PTSD, says the study, “Psychiatric disorders among children living in orphanages-Experience from Kashmir.”

Psychologists believe that not only physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural reactions occur under stressful situations but relationships get strained, accidents become common after severe stresses followed by danger of alcohol and drug abuse.

MSF believes that areas of armed conflict and mass violence generally give rise to stressful situations that can be difficult to cope up with. “Violence has touched each family here, in a way or other, which leads to detrimental effects on well-being of people”.

- Afsana Rashid Bhat is a journalist based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir-India. Author of the book, “Waiting for justice: Widows and Half-widows”She is a recipient of the Sanjoy Ghose Humanitarian Award, Sanjoy Ghose Media fellowship (2006-07) by Charkha Communications Development Network - New Delhi, UN Population Fund-Laadli Media Award and Grass-root Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) – Media Awards-2007. She was also awarded a fellowship in 2005 for her work on impact of conflict on the subsistence livelihoods of marginalized communities in Kashmir by Action Aid India.

New Convention Imposes Penalties for 'Enforced Disappearance' (Report)

(HN, December 23, 2010) - The entry into force of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance is being hailed as a milestone event in the fight to prevent and eradicate disappearances.

The new convention may help prevent enforced disappearance

"It is an important achievement in the struggle against a cause of indescribable fear and sorrow for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide," said Olivier Dubois, deputy head of the Central Tracing Agency and Protection Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "This convention will certainly contribute to greater protection against enforced disappearance. States that are party to it must implement it into national law. They must put it into practice and make enforced disappearance an offence under their national criminal law."

Enforced disappearance is a crime under international human rights law and – when it occurs in war – under international humanitarian law. The convention contains a series of measures to prevent forced disappearances.

For example, it requires that any person deprived of liberty must be registered by the detaining authority. It also enshrines the right of any victim to know the truth about the circumstances of an enforced disappearance and the fate of the disappeared person. The convention also requires suitable criminal sanctions to be taken against persons who commit enforced disappearances. As of today, the provisions of the treaty are legally binding on the first 20 States that have ratified or acceded to it.

Iraq, which acceded to the treaty 30 days ago, triggered the entry into force. Tens of thousands of people in Iraq are still hoping to receive news of their relatives who have gone missing in the country since the 1980s.

The other signatories as of now are: Albania, Argentina, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Germany, Honduras, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Senegal, Spain and Uruguay. It will also be binding on Brazil as of 29 December 2010.

In every situation of armed conflict or internal violence, people disappear. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, to mention just one other example, the fate of more than 10,000 people who went missing during the conflict in the early 1990s remains unknown.

Despite its illegality in international law, Human Rights Watch said world governments "routinely" fail to investigate accounts of disappearances.

"Putting this landmark treaty into effect is immensely important, but to end this practice, every country is going to have to recognize that it may never abduct people and hide them away," Aisling Reidy, a legal adviser for the rights group, said in a statement.

The ICRC works around the world to prevent people from going missing, to help clarify what happened to those who do disappear and to support the families of missing persons. The ICRC has also actively supported the process of drafting the convention and is committed to achieving its widespread ratification and implementation.

- HUMNEWS staff, ICRC, UN

At Christmas, Mia Farrow Wants People to 'Get Angry' (Interview)

(HN, December 21, 2010) - Acclaimed actress and humanitarian activist has served as a Goodwill Ambassador to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) for the past decade. She has travelled extensively to places such as Darfur in Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo - meeting with the victims of conflict and working to bring greater international attention to humanitarian crises.Actress Mia Farrow in the field. CREDIT: UNICEF

Just a few days before Christmas, Farrow says she wants people to feel a real outrage about fellow human being who have literally nothing.

"I think the saddest person in the world is the one who did nothing because they could only do a little. We can all find ways to reach out to those who are in need," Farrow told UNHCR in an interview.

Recently, she completed a personal project to match photographs taken during her travels to the John Lennon song, "Imagine." The video can be seen on YouTube.

Excerpts of the interview:

What was your idea behind making this project?

I have taken a lot of photographs over the years – some of them on trips with UNICEF, some of them on my own journeys – and I was listening to the song at the time that would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday. I came to the line, "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can," and I went to some of the photographs where it didn't require imagining for me. I've witnessed people with nothing. And then I thought: Was there something I could put together? I think the song is such a beautiful song, in its message, in its melody. I chose the pictures to go with the lyrics. I had returned from Uganda with UNICEF and I wanted to bring it emotionally to the destructive forces that have displaced all the people in the photographs. And I wanted to end with the dreamer and the thought: "If only the world could live as one."

Did you set out to illustrate the song with your photographs or the other way around?

No, it was hearing the song and the words and then coming up with the right photograph. For me, these photographs are not just pictures, they are of people I have spent time with. So I started imagining. Then I went to my photographs and played the song and began to assemble them in batches that would go with each wave of imagining. My daughter-in-law helped me with the technical side. But the people in the photographs are with me always. I couldn't hear a song like that without my mind going to the people.

Many of the photographs are of refugees and refugee children. Was that a deliberate choice?

Yes. My focus has been on people who are displaced primarily by conflict. Exceptions would be places like Haiti, but there, too, people are longing for peace. So many people there have nothing and they're longing for peace, peace of mind. There are all kinds of peace.

You have been able to move between these two extreme worlds of people in refugee camps and then life in the United States. Do you think that people understand what it's like to be a refugee?

How can we? Even though I might spend a lot of time in these situations – I've made 13 journeys to the Darfur region alone – I have a passport out. While I have experienced their circumstances, the huge difference is that I can leave and they can't. So I can never really fully understand their position and I hope I never will be in a similar position. But if I am, I hope that I will have the grace and the strength to maintain the hope that they have.

Were you hoping the slide show would inspire people or to provoke them in some way?

I wanted people to get angry, really. I wanted people to feel a sense of outrage that while we go about our business – and I know many people in my country and elsewhere are having difficult times – that we can scarcely imagine having nothing. I think that if people look into the eyes of our fellow human beings who have literally nothing, not even safety, then are we not compelled to do something?

On December 14, UNHCR marked 60 years since its creation. What are your thoughts looking forward?

I think in the face of displacement it's our feelings of helplessness that are our worst enemy. They are an indulgence that we can't give in to. And that comes to why I love UNHCR so much, because you're addressing the needs of the most vulnerable population on earth. I think the saddest person in the world is the one who did nothing because they could only do a little. We can all find ways to reach out to those who are in need.

(EXCLUSIVE) (Perspective) - `Obsession with Political Power: the Case of Laurent Gbagbo’

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire AKA Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. (CREDIT: Wikipedia--- By Adama Burkari

Did I know that Africa was just about setting in motion it’s own system of democracy where two presidents rule one nation when I authored “AFRICA’S LEADERSHIP QUAGMIRE: any way forward?” Dear reader, I had not the slightest hint that Ivory Coast was the nation to redefine democracy in the African context in such a vague and unrealistic form it has just done! Please, do me the honour by reading the full publication which featured concurrently on the Ghana’s myjoyonline.com and humnews.com.

I shudder at the reality that the once peaceful nation called Ivory Coast is almost on the verge of sinking again into the dregs of political conflict which engulfed the country some years ago. The sight of fallen victims of the conflict most of whom were women and children was such as despicable scenario that the eyes had to behold! Things had virtually fallen apart and the war resulted in the loss of innocent souls. The tears of children could not stop the blood-thirsty and power-obsessed political ‘trustees’ from firing gunshots indiscriminately!

Laurent GbagboI certainly can’t bring back the pains and undignified savagery that went on in the land of Ivory Coast and no one should try re-opening unhealed wounds! Not even the Gbagbo’s or the Ouattara’s should revisit sane minds with such a toxic pain! It surely should not happen again for Africans are neither savages nor cannibals; we are humans with a sense of dignity and pride. Sorry, reader if I sound harsh in your ears but must we not condemn the on-going political garbage in Ivory Coast in the strongest terms? It is so sad that we live on a continent that prides itself as the premier to human civilizations yet we seem far from the realities and the application of common sense in our political governance systems to the extent that political conflict has virtually become engrained in Africa’s politics. What a shame!

Until the death of its longest serving President, Felix Houphouet-Boigny who ruled the country right from her time of independence, Ivory Coast lacked any real experience in democratic governance. This is because under his dictatorial claws, Felix Houphouet-Boigny held onto power for over 3 decades baring any democratic political activities in the country. It was after his death that multi-party politics started to unfold and then the thorny issues such as who qualified to vote in Ivory Coast became contentious. As if these issues were light-weighted, they became so thorny that conflict finally reared its ugly head and split the nation apart.

Felix Houphouet-BoignyIn my article “AFRICA’s Leadership Quagmire; any way forward?”, I talked about political dynasty in Africa and cited Togo and Gabon as two among the several African countries that have experienced the unfortunate scenario where political leaders simply pass on the reigns of governments to their kinsmen and one wonders if the late Houphouet-Boigny would have ever ceded power to anybody apart from his kinsmen. Because of his long stay in power, the political aspiration of the people was curtailed. Even though under his reigns, the country was not only politically stable but also economically viable, it must be emphasized that his long stay in power was by itself a breach of trust and a denial for a fair and democratic political activities in Ivory Coast. Certainly, that was a trait of dynastic rule and the rippling effect is vivid for all to see.

The Ivory Coast’s civil war was prompted by the new law ushered in through a referendum that required a presidential candidate to have both parents born in Cote D’Ivoire. Obviously, this bared the main opposition leader Alassane Ouattarra from contesting in the country’s election. With his huge support base in the country especially the north and the obvious game of political gymnastics Gbagbo sought to pursue against Ouattara, it was not surprising that civil war finally broke out in the country.

Events leading up to the peace process had been difficult but the Marcoussis Accord of January 2003, supposedly the most comprehensive peace pact, was expected to end the crisis. Importantly, the main characters of the conflict signed this agreement which among other things dealt with the issues of nationality, eligibility for citizenship and land ownership. With these thorny issues having been resolved under mutual consent and satisfaction, it was expected that Ivory Coast was on the road to national cohesion. Unfortunately, elections after the Marcoussis Accord had been delayed for six consecutive times.Alassane Ouattarra

In the events leading up to the October 31^st, 2010 elections, there were concerns over possible vote rigging and as a result ballot papers had to be printed in Europe and a new Independent Electoral Commission comprising representatives of all the political parties was put in place. In the face of all these, it was the expectation that peace would be restored after the October 2010 elections. For now, one can say no to this expectation and unless a fast and decisive approach is adopted, Ivory Coast would sink again into political chaos!

In my view, the single person who should rationalize his position and make way for peace is Laurent Gbagbo. As a history professor and a critic of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny regime, and having suffered political imprisonment from 1971 to 1973 he should be the last person to provoke war in his cherished home country. Becoming president in October 26, 2000 after Robert Guei had fled the country, Laurent Gbagbo has perhaps become so obsessed with power that is why he could defy the will of the people and over-turn their verdict. I daresay that he is trying to entrench himself on the seat of the presidency and I am not surprised at all. In my recent publication of November 24, 2010, I did indicate that “having the entire state apparatus under their control for a few years nurtures an unbridled desire to remain in control even after the expiration of their mandatory regime”. This is Gbagbo’s ailment.

Indeed, it is shocking that the two personalities under the Ivory Coast saga are high-profiled public figures. As an economist, Alassane Ouattara has had extensive working relationship with international organizations. He served as the Deputy Managing Director for the International Monetary Fund, in Washington DC. As mentioned earlier, Laurent Gbagbo is a history professor. Both personalities have what it takes to be statesmen if only they will exercise restraint and allow due process to take its course. My worry is; if elite personalities will engage in such political sycophancy, then where are we heading towards?

It is important to state that regional and international bodies must remain resolute in their decision not to recognize the government of Laurent Gbagbo. The AU must bite now or remain mute forever! I am however excited at the stance of ECOWAS. At its extraordinary meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday December 7, 2010, the West African regional body unequivocally called on Gbagbo to step down and hand over power to Ouattara. That is indeed a refreshing call coming from ECOWAS.

It is expected that the African Union and other regional bodies would continue to exert pressure to stop the power-obsessed Gbagbo from holding on to political power. Africans are tired of backslapping behaviours of leaders who are expected to blaze the trail of democratic governance. Surely, the world is watching to see how at the continental level, African leaders can stop this show of tyranny coming from Gbagbo. His conduct smacks of hypocrisy at the highest level and an indictment to his academic laurels. Quoting from my earlier publication, I wish to ask Gbagbo, “Why must people think that they and their lineage are the only one who must rule?” How I wish to hear the history professor whose academic records are undoubtedly akin to a genius respond to this question. How does he expect the people of Ivory Coast and the world not to wonder if his desire to stay in power is not a way of covering up any excesses under his regime?

Peace is the foundation to progress and we must not allow one man to deny the good people of Ivory Coast from leaving in peace and tranquility. The era of fear and political intimidation in Africa cannot be revisited. The success story of Ghana’s journey to democratic governance must remind the likes of Gbagbo that times have changed and bully tactics would not be countenanced in Africa. Let the world tell him to deal with his own obsession privately. Eyes are watching! Long live Ivory Coast; Long Live Africa!

The writer, Adama Bukari, is a full-time author/publisher and the C.E.O of Exceed Media Ltd, a company that delivers superior services in publishing, media consultancy, business communications and advertising. He is also a motivational speaker and the editor-in-chief of JUVINILE INSPIRER; a youth magazine which seeks to deal with youthful inertias. Currently, he is studying Master of Philosophy in Global Leadership at the Institute of Professional Studies, Legon, Ghana. He was a finalist in the JoyFM’s MY BUSINESS 2010 Entrepreneurial Mentorship Programme.

Email: adamab2@yahoo.com

Unusual Air Flows to Blame for Current Weather Chaos - WMO

(HN, December 21, 2010) - The current extreme weather conditions bringing travel chaos to Western Europe and elsewhere are meteorologically linked to large disturbances that affect air pressure and wind regimes in the northern hemisphere during end of the autumn and winter.Severe weather has caused travel chaos throughout Western Europe

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says the air flow is usually west to east, which brings milder conditions with it. But atmospheric blocking patterns are currently preventing this. Instead, the airflow is more in the north-south direction. The pattern is similar to what happened in last year’s northern hemisphere winter, and it is unusual to witness the same phenomenon for two consecutive years, Clare Nullis of the WMO told a media briefing in Geneva today, monitored by HUMNEWS.

She said parts of Western Europe and the Eastern United States are currently witnessing a second cold spell after the first one in mid to late November. At the same time, conditions are warmer than average over the Polar Regions, including the Arctic.

Unusually cold temperatures and heavy snowfall has brought travel chaos to Western Europe - in many cases forcing the closure of large hubs like London Heathrow and the cancellation of thousands of flights. The knock-on impact of the cancellations is being felt around the globe.

The good news is that some relief is expected in the intensity of the conditions through the end of December and beginning of January. But cold spells could always happen during the winter from time to time and in many places in the Northern Hemisphere. Currently it is still too early to say that the long-persisting extreme conditions of last winter will be repeated. 

The WMO says it will monitor the situation during the remainder of the winter.

Also today, a European Union spokesperson says it may set down "minimum standards of service" for airports in the EU after tens of thousands of passengers experienced "unacceptable" disruptions.

- HUMNEWS staff, WMO

Belarusian Presidential Elections: A Disgraceful Conclusion (PERSPECTIVE)

By David R. Marples

The 2010 Belarusian presidential elections had been relatively peaceful prior to the day of voting. Ten candidates had gathered the requisite 100,000 signatures and had been allowed to campaign in relative freedom around the country. The tolerant nature of the campaign reflected President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s wish to assure the European Union that he was meeting the conditions for closer engagement and a promised substantial loan of around $3.9 billion.

On December 9, the situation changed after a surprise private meeting between Lukashenka and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. To that point in the campaign, Russia had been an angry critic of the Belarusian leader and his methods. A documentary on NTV called The Godfather, had described the kidnappings and elimination of his opponents in the past, and the two neighbors were at odds over a number of issues, including has prices, plans for the Customs Union, which also includes Kazakhstan, Lukashenka’s refusal to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetiya, and others.

After the meeting, that impasse ended. Customs duties were removed from imported oil to Belarus and the danger of a massive increase in the price of Russian gas in 2011 ended. Lukashenka agreed to a common economic space, meaning that the Russian ruble will become the sole currency of the two states on January 1, 2012. Lukashenka could approach the coming election with new confidence in the knowledge that Russia would recognize it as free and fair. In brief, the need to satisfy the Europeans receded. 

The consequences of this change in status quo were soon evident. The presidential agency EKOOM, which poses as a research institute conducting opinion polls, began to speak of a sweeping victory with about 80% of all votes cast for Lukashenka, a figure picked up quickly by supposedly responsible Western agencies. Other polls had suggested a more realistic figure was between 30 and 38%, with votes for the opposition totaling about one-third of those polled and the remaining one-third undecided.

Most of the nine opposition candidates had agreed to meet on October Square in Minsk at 8pm on December 19, when polls closed. The authorities turned the square into a skating rink with music blaring from speakers, and Uladzimir Makey, chairman of the presidential administration warned that a gathering on the square would face criminal proceedings. Two of the leading candidates, Uladzimir Nyaklayeu, a poet and leader of the ‘Speak the Truth’ campaign, and Andrey Sannikau, leader of European Belarus and a co-founder of Charter-97, were the main coordinators.

Prior to the vote, a third opposition candidate, economist Yaraslau Ramanchuk, announced that he had been approached to join the government after the election. He appeared noncommittal about the proposal. Vital Rymasheuski, candidate of the unofficial Christian Democratic Party, was also committed to action on the square.

On Sunday, the voting appeared to go smoothly, though observers noted a number of violations. About 25% of the voting had taken place early, with the encouragement of the government. Many factories pressured workers to vote for Lukashenka. The subsequent events are only now being pieced together with the assistance of reports from Minsk, mobile phone videos, and reports from foreign news services. My comments represent an attempt to put these together.

The number of protesters at October Square gradually increased. At some point, a decision was made to march to Independence Square, a distance of about one mile down the main street of Minsk. The latter square houses the parliament building, which serves as the headquarters of the Central Election Commission (CEC). Nyaklayeu did not get that far. En route to join the main demonstration with some 70 supporters, he was attacked by riot police and beaten senseless. He had to be carried to a van, which had been badly damaged, and taken to hospital. 

Eventually some 40-50,000 demonstrators had assembled on Independence Square, a large Stalinist complex with a large statue of Lenin as its main feature. Sannikau, Statkevich, and several other presidential candidates were present. A few protesters tried to break into the parliament building. Some observers maintain that they were agents provocateurs working for the government, perhaps KGB agents. The response was brutal: hundreds of arrests, thousands beaten and badly injured, including Sannikau who was left injured on the ground. It was the worst violence seen in Minsk in the independence era. 

EU leaders and the US Embassy roundly condemned the brutality. President Medvedev decided it was an internal affair of Belarus and said he hoped that the country would progress on a democratic path. The OSCE clearly took it into account when it declared that the election had not been free or fair. Many European statespersons were clearly shocked by the events. But there were several more shocks to come.

Lukashenka was declared the victor of the election with an implausible vote total of almost 80%. No other candidate broke 2%, according to the CEC. Ramanchuk blamed the excesses on Sannikau, Statkevich, and Rymasheuski, whom he claimed, had staged a provocation to ensure that Belarus-European relations were broken. Reaction to his statement on Facebook indicates that many of his “friends” regard his statement as a crass betrayal of his principles. 

Nyaklayeu was forcibly removed from his hospital bed by security forces and taken away. The offices of Charter 97 were raided. Sannikau’s apartment was broken into by the KGB—his wife Iryna Khalip, had also been arrested during the protests. Seven presidential candidates were in detention the morning after the election.

What has changed in Belarus? Essentially, it seems, nothing. The regime has engineered another victory for the president, quashed opposition with exceptional ruthlessness, and cajoled an opposition leader to switch sides. Belarus under Lukashenka is neither in the camp of Europe nor Russia, though it has inclined clearly once again toward the latter. The main opposition candidates, badly beaten, are in the hands of the KGB. It is a disgraceful end to an election, by any standards.

The opposition has begun a campaign for new elections “without Lukashenka.” But the anti-government movement is obviously in turmoil. The beacon of light in this dark picture is the courage of the demonstrators: on a -12C (10.4F) night, over 40,000 people came out to protest their lack of choice, despite official warnings, the imposing presence of police vans and Spetsnaz troops, and the unlikelihood of success. 

The EU now faces a decision whether to continue its policy of engagement with a leader who has only contempt for his opponents, for freedom of assembly, and indeed for anyone who dares to challenge his authority. By 2015 an entire generation in Belarus will have grown up knowing only one leader, the former state farm chairman and KGB border guard who is the only European statesperson with an apparent mandate of ‘president for life.’

David R. Marples is Distinguished University Professor, Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta and President of the North American Association for Belarusian Studies. The opinions expressed here are entirely his own.

“Endure the Hardship of Hardships, Become the Man above Men” (Book Excerpt)

An excerpt from The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the World’s Largest Middle Class and What It Means to You (ISBN-10: 1452898049)

By Helen H. Wang

When I read the story of a young American woman selling her ova for $7,000 in order to pay off her credit cards, I kept thinking about young women I met in China. They earned about $100 a month, yet saved 80 percent of their incomes to help pay for their siblings’ education. I felt a huge disconnection. Although many people are worried that the middle class in the West is shrinking, Americans still enjoy immense privilege compared to the vast majority of people in the world. To many Chinese rural migrants, enduring hardship is their way of life.

On a hot summer day, I was roaming randomly down Jianguomen Avenue in Beijing. I found myself drawn to a place called Liang Zi Fitness. As soon as I stepped in the front door, six young ladies dressed in the traditional Qipao (pronounced chi-pao), a tradition one-piece body-hugging Chinese dress for women, gently bowed and greeted me, “Welcome, distinguished guest.” 

When I asked what Liang Zi Fitness was, one of the girls politely handed me a menu, which described different kinds of acupressure massages combined with Chinese herbal medicine treatments. Having been cheated in a massage salon before, I was suspicious. However, since I did not have any plans that night, I thought I might as well try it. My favorite massage in China is always the foot massage that is not easy to find in the United States. So, I ordered an “empress foot massage,” which cost about $25.

As I was escorted along the hallway, my eyes turned to the grand wall murals that illustrated Chinese ancient mythologies. “This massage place seems a little extravagant,” I thought to myself. It was huge: there were two floors with many individual rooms. Along the way, the staff, dressed in traditional Chinese clothes, would stop, bow, and greet me: “Welcome, distinguished guest.” “Good evening, distinguished guest.” 

I was led to a room with a flat panel TV and a couple of massage couches. Before I sat down, a fruit plate and tea were served. Shortly after, my masseur appeared. He introduced himself as “Technician Number 30.” He was about twenty years old, attentive and gentle-mannered. His dark skin tone suggested his rural origin (peasants in China usually have darker skin tone because they labor in the field under the sun; light skin tone is considered more desirable in China since it implies the privilege of city life). In our conversation, I learned that he was from Henan province, which is one of the poorest provinces in China and produces the largest number of migrant workers. 

He told me the company recruited him and put him through a strict training program. He earned about 3,000-4,000 yuan ($400-$550) per month as a massage technician, with free meals and lodging. The company used a performance-based point system to encourage good customer service and adroit massage skills. That means the more customers who come back to the same massage technician, the more points he or she will earn, and the higher the rate of pay. 

I was more than impressed by everything I had experienced so far—the tasteful interior design, the courteous staff, and the excellent service. “Who is the person who started this company?” I asked.

 “He was a poor boy from Henan province,” he said. “His family was so poor that he never tasted meat before he was ten years old. He started out selling barbecued food on the street when he was thirteen years old. He had done many things, including selling fish, trading clothes, and running a restaurant, before he opened his first foot massage business in Henan. It was 1997 and he was twenty-seven years old. Since then, the business has grown so quickly, and he has opened many branches and made it into a franchise business. Beijing has seven Liang Zi locations, and many want to join the franchise. Now he is rich. He has a big house and two cars.”

“What’s his name?” I asked. 

“His name is Zhu Guofan,” he said.

A young girl came in to pour tea in my cup. She wore light makeup, with her hair tied up tidily like a stewardess. Quietly, she retreated backwards as if facing an empress. Just as I was wondering how these young men and women became so well trained and who was responsible, my masseur said, “We have been through military training before we joined the company.”

 “Military training?” It was as if he had dropped a bomb, and I was immediately alarmed. Having heard so many news stories about hideous abuse to rural migrants, including physical assault and personal humiliation, I was full of sympathy. 

“Yes, the company came to our village and recruited us. Then we were all sent to a military compound for one month of military training.”

 “What did you do at the military training?”

 “We got up early in the morning for running and exercising. During the day, we took classes, learning about acupressure points in the human body, and also the company history, corporate culture, and team building.”

I was taken aback to hear such things at a foot massage salon. “Corporate culture and team building? Tell me, what is your corporate culture? And what is the team building?” 

 “Working hard and making progress every day, helping each other and working together to succeed, striving for excellent performance, and providing superior customer service,” he said, as if reciting a poem.

“Who paid for all this?”

“The company.”

Suddenly, everything made sense to me. China’s abundant labor source comes with a cost. Imagine how hard it is to train a large pool of rural people with no job skills. Some entrepreneurs like Zhu Guofan took on the task on their own. In addition to training, the company provides lodging and meals, which saves a lot of trouble for these newcomers as they settle into the cities. No wonder the staff was so warm and professional. No wonder this technician knew the company history by heart. No wonder the tea in my cup never got cold.

 “This Zhu Guofan,” I said, still in shock. “He was so poor and didn’t have much education, right? How did he know about the franchising business and corporate culture?”

 “When the business grew so fast, he realized he needed more knowledge in order to keep up with his business. So he enrolled in an eMBA program (an executive MBA program provided for midcareer entrepreneurs). He took a year off to study management.” 

Technician Number 30 continued, “During Chinese New Year, if we do not go back home, the company throws a big party, and the boss gives each of us a red envelope (it is a Chinese tradition to give New Year’s money in a red envelope). The employees here are very happy. Some top performers move up to become managers. They make about 10,000 to 20,000 yuan ($1,470 to $2,940) a month.”

“Is that what you plan to do—become a manager?” I asked.

“Maybe,” he said. Then he added, “Well, in a few years, I may start my own business. Zhu Guofan encourages us to start our own businesses. He said he would help us. There are many opportunities.” 

 “Is it hard for you, leaving home and working in a big city like Beijing?” I was still probing for some sign of dissatisfaction or bitterness.

He looked at me, with a sparkle in his eyes, and said, “Only if you endure the hardship of hardships will you become the man above men” (a well-known Chinese saying).

I left Liang Zi Fitness late in the night. The lights on Jianguomen Avenue were flickering and shimmering through foggy air, like an abstract painting against dark sky. They were like the sparks I saw in the eyes of Massage Technician Number 30. With those sparks, any adversity or affliction is another stepping-stone to a better life. I have no doubt my masseur will be another Yi Fan, and he will be part of the middle class of tomorrow. 

(Helen Wang is the author of The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the World’s Largest Middle Class and What It Means to You. Available on Amazon and http://TheChineseDreamBook.com)

Sweden, UK, Denmark Sending Iraqis Back to Danger - UN (News Report)

(HM, December 17, 2010) - Iraqi Christians who fled danger at home are being sent back to Iraq on deportation flights that have been condemned by the United Nations.

The world body's refugee agency - the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - is strongly reiterating its call on countries to refrain from deporting Iraqis who originate from the most perilous parts of the country, including Baghdad.Nearly 70 people died when security forces stormed the church in Baghdad to free dozens of hostages held by militants

UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a media briefing today in Geneva that as recently as Wednesday, Sweden once again forcibly returned a group of some 20 Iraqis to Baghdad. Among this group – sent back on the eve of Ashura – had been five Christians originally from Baghdad. 

UNHCR staff in Baghdad have already interviewed three of the Christians and three Iraqi Muslims among the group - all said that they originated from Baghdad. The deplaning asylum-seekers said they had been accompanied by as many as 60 Swedish policemen - two for every deportee.

One of the Christian men said he had escaped Iraq in 2007 after militiamen directly threatened to kill him. Fearing for his life, he travelled through several countries in the Middle East and Europe before reaching Sweden where he applied for asylum. He said his claim had been rejected three times in 2008 as he was not considered to have been personally targeted. The others UNHCR spoke to said their asylum claims had been rejected on the basis of improved security conditions in Iraq. 

This forced return come at a time when UNHCR's five offices in Iraq are noting a significant increase in Christians fleeing Baghdad and Mosul to the Kurdistan Regional Government Region and Ninewa plains.

Since the Baghdad church attack on October 31 in which almost 70 people were killed - the worst massacre of Iraqi Christians since the war began here in 2003 - and subsequent targeted attacks, the Christian communities in Baghdad and Mosul had started a slow but steady exodus. Some 1,000 families have arrived since the beginning of November in the Kurdistan Regional Government Region. UNHCR says it has heard many accounts of people fleeing their homes after receiving direct threats.

In addition, UNHCR offices in neighbouring Syria, Jordan and Lebanon are reporting a growing number of Iraqi Christians arriving and contacting UNHCR for registration and help. Churches and non-governmental organizations are warning UNHCR to expect more people fleeing in the coming weeks. Many of the new arrivals say they are fleeing in fear as a result of the church attack. One man who had now registered with UNHCR in Jordan narrowly escaped the attack, having left the church minutes before the bombing took place. This refugee had been deported from Europe just days beforehand.

Fleming said that over the past months there have been many deportation flights originating from Europe – from the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden – and UNHCR has spoken out on each occasion.

The countries undertaking the highly-controversial deportations are not necessarily given the list of the people on the flights, but UNHCR staff wait at Baghdad Airport to try and conduct interviews. In this case of the Swedish deportation this week, twenty deportees were on the flight, reportedly accompanied by as many as 60 policemen. 

“Churches and NGOs are warning us to expect more people fleeing in the coming weeks. Many of the new arrivals explain that they left in fear as a result of the church attack on 31 October,” said Ms. Fleming.

Jemini Pandya, of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said some groups had been quoted as saying that Christians are legitimate targets for attack in Iraq. While all ethnic minorities are vulnerable, Christians are understandably worried and nervous. 

- HUMNEWS staff, UNHCR

On Migrants and Movement (Perspective)

By Liepollo Pheko

There are currently about 200 million people living outside their countries of birth. Worldwide the rate of migration grew at six percent a year during the 1990s, a rate faster than population growth as a whole. 

Better opportunities for employment are among the main reasons people choose to migrate. A migrant in South Africa. CREDIT: UN

According to the Pew Hispanic Centre, 11% of everyone born in Mexico is currently living the United States in search of better opportunities in the world’s biggest economy. At the same time, there are 11 million Filipinos outside the Philippines and their remittances alone contribute to 13% of the country’s GDP. 

Estimates on the number of Zimbabweans in South Africa range from the somewhat hysterical eight million to the more realistic two million. Their remittances are credited with having kept the fraught Zimbabwean economy afloat for the last decade or so.

In the developed world, a major pull factor is aging populations combined with low-birth rates and longer life expectancy, causing a shortage of skilled people. For example, immigrants are increasingly filling healthcare posts. Developed economies have always needed workers from less developed economies.

It is well known that immigrants with the lowest levels of skills enter the labour market to occupy jobs that are usually scorned by the local population in sectors such as primary industries, agriculture or personal services. This is primarily why people of colour from Asia, Latin America and Africa are making beds, waiting tables, working illicitly in sweatshops, looking after children and doing back breaking care work across Europe, America and Australia. 

In theory, the inflow of foreign workers helps to fill the gaps in the domestic supply of labour. But foreign workers can also operate as a factor to keep wages down and drive up capital surpluses, which is partly why local workers across the world are often against large-scale immigration.

Its affect has been to erode basic class solidarity and entrench a false dichotomy between local and migrant workers. 

In countries such as South Africa and the United States, the dichotomy between the two is very fragile since both economies were built by generations of migrant workers, many of who have settled in the host countries for many generations. At one point, at least one in five miners in South Africa were from across the Southern African region. 

The story of migration is not a simple one of supply and demand. Migrants, refugees, immigrants, sometimes even students and tourists encounter increasing manifestations of hostility and violence against non-nationals.

In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, discrimination and abuse is rampant against persons coming from neighbouring countries. Surprisingly these are often people with largely shared racial, ethnic, cultural and historical characteristics.

South Africa’s rabid history with Afro-phobia, in my opinion, is wrongly characterised as xenophobia.

In Europe, the frenzy about undocumented migrants has a particular racial overtone. People of African and Middle Eastern origin are particularly unwelcome.

Recently Europe’s frontline agency in the fight against undocumented migrants, Frontex, has come up with ever more extreme solutions to keep poor black undocumented workers out of “Fortress Europe.” A recent Inter Press Service report reveals that Frontex has called for expressions of interest for small unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to patrol Europe’s borders and track the movements of migrants.

But worldwide today almost every nation is a country of origin, of transit and of destination. Many are all three.

Virtually every country has become or is fast becoming multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious. There are Chinese, Indian, Nigerian, Senegalese, Ethiopian, Italian and Mexican restaurants just about anywhere in the world. Parts of major cities such as New York, Toronto, London, Brussels, Paris, Chicago and Sydney also resemble ‘somewhere like home’, as migrant communities, both new and old, create enclaves of cultural familiarity.

Instead of embracing these new constructs of citizenship, identity and culture, host communities jostle to protect and close off their interests, their religions, their cultures and schools. For example, in the 1980s, many public schools in London had ‘host classes’ for Vietnamese and Chinese children, which supposedly were intended to help them to adjust and learn English fast. The opposite occurred and the separation merely underscored the politics of the ‘other’.

Conventional explanations for migration focus on economic, political and natural disasters or environmental factors. 

In many developing countries, the state’s inability to create viable and vibrant market places for skilled labour and independent thinking has been cited as a reason for the outward movement of people. This is why there are so many brilliant MBA graduates from Africa flipping burgers and working as security guards in London and New York.

Their home countries are sometimes characterised as failed states. But this is a simplistic view. A more useful appraisal might consider the manner in which these countries have taken partisan positions, which undermine social development and sustainable economic expansion.

The sort of upheavals seen in the last 15 years in Rwanda, Burma, Thailand, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Somalia and Central America are as much about internal conflicts as they are linked to external demands for unfettered access to resources.

Given the coercive nature of global capitalism, which includes the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the European Commission’s Economic Partnership Agreements, some states do find themselves in difficult positions. However, their willingness to pursue unfettered free trade in the face of increased environmental degradation, labour law violations, non-beneficial foreign direct investment and capital flight, is also a major factor that causes immigration. 

Moreover, the compound effects of the implementation of Structural Adjustment Programmes, brought with them increased austerity measures, reduced social investment in government housing, education, health care, subsidies for local producers, increased debt servicing and aid dependency. All of this contributed to the fragility of states and impacted on their relationships with their citizens, driving many to countries with better opportunities.

This is what prompted the United Nations Population Fund to declare, “The basic determinants of international migration lie in the inequalities, which exist in levels of development, and the enormous magnitude, persistence and agony of those inequalities in the globalized world of today heighten the so-called pressures for migration,” (UNFPA, 1998).

As a concept, migrant justice faces definitional difficulties for several reasons. Migrants are not a homogeneous group with monolithic preferences, requirements and skills. This means that governments should take into account how citizenship is defined by migrants’ identities, roles and entitlements in relation to the host state and how these will be protected.

All of this negates a very important point, which is freedom of movement and the right to migrate with dignity.  It also fails to recognise that the same global economy, which has moved across the world unencumbered, is now the one that is hypocritically closing its borders, rejecting skills and stigmatising those who having been failed by global capitalism dare to demand more, notably those from the South, but also within the South.

How can we begin to forge identities that allow us to be affirmed and protected wherever we are?

It is a myth that we are all born equal and able to move around on equal terms to create a dignified life for ourselves anywhere in the world. We all have some work to do to turn that myth into reality.

Pheko serves as Policy and Advocacy Director at NGO/think-tank, the Trade Collective and is Africa co-convener of the World Dignity Forum. This article originally appeared on the website of The South African Civil Society Information Service 

Water is The Greatest Gift in The Desert (Perspective)

By Rhym Gazal

(HN, December 14, 2010) --- They were the usual concerns for such a senior gathering of Arab officials: security worries over Iran, terrorism and peace in the Middle East were all high on the agenda. But in the end it was "water security" that arguably took centre stage, making it the first time an environmental issue had been discussed at such a high level in the region.Nowhere is the issue of water more important than in the Middle East, where it's considered a ‘strategic’ resource and tensions between countries in the region over it are high. CREDIT: UNEP

It was with good reason that the 31st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), gathered in Abu Dhabi this week, concluded with a Quoranic verse: "We made from water every living thing."

As a religion born in a harsh desert terrain, Islam ascribed the most sacred of qualities to water. It is the purifier and heavenly source of life, and its conservation is part of Islamic teachings. Even the term "Sharia" was originally related to water, meaning "the place from which one descends to water", and included rules about sharing the liquid in pre-Islamic Arabia that were later expanded to embody Islamic laws in general.

Now, it is time once again to apply rules about the use of water, but on a far more regional level.

In a 15-point declaration, put together by the UAE in its role as the host of this year's summit, a broad plan was outlined to deal with one of the GCC's most "significant challenges" - a sustainable water supply.

"While abundant in oil and gas, our habitat is scarce in water, the lifeline for any civilisation and its development," read the Abu Dhabi Declaration.

The declaration urged the introduction of GCC legislation that would improve efficiency of industries and promote water conservation. Targeting the individual will be another top priority; in the UAE, the average resident uses 550 litres of water a day, the highest rate in the world. The global average is 250 litres a day.

Last year, the UAE used 4.5 billion cubic metres of water, with more than half coming from groundwater. Farming uses 97 per cent of that groundwater, while contributing just 3.3 per cent of GDP.

So in effect, the declaration called for a strategy that would take into consideration the effects of climate change, the impact of agricultural practices on the Gulf's water resources, the region's strategic water reserves and the effects of desalination on marine life and climate change.

"Water security and its sustainability is a great concern," said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a press conference after the summit. Immediately afterwards, Sheikh Abdullah boarded a plane for Cancun, Mexico, to attend the UN climate change summit.

Armed with the Abu Dhabi Declaration, one of the wealthiest groups of nations in the world will present a united Arab front on how to deal with the world's water crisis and hopefully inspire change at the UN summit.

The climate change negotiations will continue into next year, where governments will meet in another summit in South Africa in December, and then in Qatar in December 2012.

In other words, in two years the eyes of the world will be on the Middle East to see if our leadership will be able to save the planet.

At present, half of the world's desalinated water is produced in the GCC, a process that costs us dearly both financially and environmentally. So one of the immediate steps will involve improving existing desalination plants by introducing more fuel-efficient technologies.

At the moment just nine per cent of the water used comes from treated wastewater, and more than 40 per cent from desalination. In the UAE alone, there are 83 desalination plants, providing nearly 65 per cent of domestic, commercial and industrial needs.

The Federal National Council raised the alarm on a water crisis in November when it declared that these plants will be insufficient by 2017. The FNC said that serious steps have to be taken at governmental level to tackle "this national security issue".

A federal law on water management was issued in 1981, but was never implemented.

Other points in the Abu Dhabi Declaration stress the importance of diversifying sources of energy and food security, as well as introducing local and regional standards to limit the carbon footprints of the public sector and private homes. Applying more efficient standards for home appliances such as air conditioners, so vital in the Gulf's hot climate, were also singled out.

All this comes at a time when headlines like "the Levant prays for rain" are dominating regional news, when Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, which normally enjoy healthy rainfall, are in the grip of a drought brought on by one of the driest winter seasons in more than a decade. The heavy rains and storms forecast for this weekend will come too late to prevent the tragedy of 42 people burnt to death in Israel in recent days by fires that are a consequence of the continuous dry spell.

The situation is equally grim in Lebanon, where farms and ski resorts are struggling with drought that threatens livelihoods. Just 51.2mm of rain has fallen since September. Rainfall over the corresponding period last year was 214.8mm.

"Climate change is the biggest threat facing our region, including losing our agriculture, coast and water resources," says Wael Hmaidan, the executive director of the environmental pressure group IndyACT, and one of Lebanon's most vocal activists on the issue.

He points out that the International Panel on Climate Change has predicted that the Middle East will lose about 20 per cent of its water resources by mid-century.

"In countries like Lebanon, year after year, the rainy season is becoming shorter and shorter," Mr. Hmaidan warns.

"It will become worse, but the yearly change is incremental, so we do not feel surprised or shocked. It is similar to a frog in a water kettle that is being heated slowly. The frog will not jump out."

At least the UAE is not taking any chances. Nor is it waiting, after already investing millions of dollars in preventative measures.

In September, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority awarded a contract worth US$315.8m (Dh1.16bn) to build a water-storage and recovery system in the emirate. It will take the form of an underground aquifer storage facility in Liwa with a capacity of 27 million tonnes of water for use in the event of an emergency.

Although for the typical home or business in the UAE that is something to be imagined rather than experienced, that is not the case for our neighbours in Saudi Arabia.

For at least 15 years, residents in residential compounds and neighbourhoods in major Saudi cities have been relying on privately run "water trucks" to help them cope with their ever-dwindling national supply of water. So precious is this resource that at times it has created a "water black market", where water-tanker drivers charge double, if not triple, especially neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city centre.

I experienced this first hand, living with my family in Jeddah during the 1990s. If I came home to find the bath tub filled with water, it meant someone in the household had spotted that water flow from the taps was weak, signalling an imminent cut within the next hour or so. Sometimes it took a whole day, sometimes longer, for the water to come back.

In those days I often took showers using bottled water, or "canister" water that my mother would buy from private water suppliers.

This "extra water" was often not of the best quality. Sometimes it felt a bit salty or had a strange hue. But when one is desperate for water for washing and flushing, these factors seem insignificant.

These days, the family has a backup water storage in the back of the villa, filled by a truck once a month. It costs several hundred riyals on top of the municipal bills for water and electricity, but is a necessity.

In some compounds, there are special staff who monitor water usage. Leave the hose watering the garden for more than an hour and the "water police" will come and fine you. Another conservation measure means that cars can be washed only with water from a bucket.

Saudi Arabia is planning to invest $53bn in a variety of water projects over the next 15 years, 70 per cent of which will be for sewage and wastewater treatment projects. It wants to start reusing sewage water, which currently only contributes six per cent to seven per cent of the kingdom's water.

In this Year of Water - or perhaps the lack of it - the UN General Assembly has declared that access to clean water and sanitation are fundamental human rights. After much talk about the importance of water, it is only now that the world is taking notice.

As Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, put it in Cancun: "Nature will not wait while we negotiate."

--- Rym Ghazal is a writer and a columnist for The National - where this opinion piece first appeared. She lives in Dubai.

New Hydroelectric Project to Provide Laos With Huge Cash Influx (News Brief)

(HN, December 13, 2010) -- The landlocked Southeast Asian country of Laos - one of the poorest in the world - is celebrating the arrival of a new revenue stream in the form of the Nam Theun 2 hydropower facility.

Operating since April, the controversial 1,070 megawatt plant was officially inaugurated late last week. Over 90% of the electricity generated is being sold to neighbouring Thailand, providing Laos with a $2 billion revenue stream over the next 25 years.Will the fresh income from hydro projects trickle down to this family in Vientiane? CREDIT: Michael Bociurkiw/HUMNEWS

Officials say the funds are earmarked for the nationwide improvement of health and education services, and other poverty alleviation programs.

The influx of revenue could not have come at a better time. Laos, like many other developing countries, has taken a huge economic blow from the global economic downturn: foreign remittances from overseas workers has slumped and so have orders for textile products. Tourists have also been in short supply, despite the hosting of the Asian Games in Vientiane in December 2009. Aid agencies feared that the Communist government may be tempted to institute budget cuts to education and health.

But officials behind the project put forth a positive spin, suggesting it will go a long way in eradicating poverty - especially in the country's backward northern provinces.

"This project is a testament to the fact that when hydropower projects are done right, in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, the benefits are considerable," said Kunio Senga, Director General of the Asian Development Bank's Southeast Asia Department.

Before the Nam Theun 2 - located on a river of the same name, which is a tributary of the Mekong - more than half of the families in the nearby Nakai Plateau villages lived in poverty. Child mortality rates were high, clean drinking water was scarce, and sanitation was almost non-existent.

"Today, the vast majority of residents say they are better off than ever before," said Senga.

The ADB said displaced families have been provided with new hardwood homes complete with electricity, clean water and sanitation facilities.

CREDIT: International RiversThese improvements, coupled with improved healthcare services, have resulted in a measurable decline in child and infant mortality rates, with parasitic infections falling by 90 percent, according to the ADB.

"This is an incredibly complex project, and numerous challenges have arisen along the way," said Senga. "By working closely with communities we strive to address their concerns - from compensation to the need for more land - and to introduce programs tailored to their specific needs. We will continue to closely monitor the situation."

The project has also placed great emphasis on environmental management. Over $60 million has been invested in downstream water quality management, with better than expected results, says the ADB.

However environmental groups still have reservations about the overall benefit of the project.

US-based watchdog International Rivers says there are still questions about the sustainability of livelihoods for the more than 6,000 villagers relocated for the dam, and tens of thousands more downstream.

"It's way too early to call this project a success," Ikuko Matsumoto, Lao programme director for the group was quoted as saying.

Laos is highly dependent on outside assistance. The ADB provided $120 million in support of the $1.43 billion project. Twenty-seven different financing institutions also supported it, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and Agence Francaise du Developpement.

The Nam Theun 2 Power Company is jointly owned by Electricite de France International, Electricity Generating Public Company (Thailand), and the Government of Laos.

The World Bank estimates the project will account for almost 40% of Laos's economic growth this year.

"The idea of the Laotian government is to become the 'battery' of Southeast Asia, because they've got tremendous hydropower potential, so what we're trying to emphasize is, please take the model and the lessons," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said after a visit to the project with The Associated Press in October.

- HUMNEWS staff, ADB, files

Egypt Intensifies Fight Against Human & Organ Trafficking (News Brief)

(HN, December 12, 2010) The Egyptian Government plans to intensify its battle against the widespread trafficking of human organs and humans, including moving against the widening practice of under-age marriages that are the equivalent of human slavery.

Starting with a forum this weekend in Luxor chaired by First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, the country will follow-up with its first national anti-human trafficking plan. It is to enter into force as of January 2011 and extend to to January 2013, and is based on four main points: prevention, protection, prosecution and participation. Mubarak made the annoucement at a news conference.Egyptian First Lady Suzanna Mubarak has taken on the fight against human trafficking as one of her main causes

Human trafficking is an enormous problem in Egypt. Canadian investigative journalist Victor Malarek identified the country - and especially the Sinai Peninsula - as a major transit point for women from Eastern Europe being trafficked. Malarek, in his book The Natashas, has documented cases of Slavic women smuggled via Egypt into Israel and forced into prostitution, often with the collusion of Israeli police.

Mubarak hinted at the large scope of the problem - saying that, given the unprecedented growing threat posed by this crime, it was a must for Egypt to adopt its own combat strategy.

Human trafficking has mushroomed into a global, trans-national menace that imposed itself on the world community's agenda, she said.

The trafficking of human organs is also proliferating - especially among poor, urban dwellers in Egypt - who sell the items to specialized hospitals and labs, the government found in a national study on human trafficking.

Another problem is under-age marriage for the purpose of prostitution or human slavery: a government study obtained by HUMNEWS says that girls as young as 14 years old, in a bid to escape poverty, are wed to wealthy men from the Gulf States.

The forum - held with the UN and attended by Hollywood celebrities - is held also to mark the ten-year anniversary of the UN Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, which was launched on Dec. 12, 2000. The protocol focused the attention of the global community on combating human trafficking and called for the criminalization of all acts of trafficking, including forced labor, slavery, and slavery-like practices.

Human trafficking is the third most profitable illegal business after weapons and drugs nowadays. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates the total market value of human trafficking at $32 billion. And an estimated 2.4 million people are currently victims of this modern slavery - from at least 127 countries and have been found to be exploited in 137 states.

Most victims are between the ages of 18 and 24, and an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, UN figures show.

At the forum, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov urged for action from business: "The private sector has so much to offer in terms of resources, knowledge and influence to combat human trafficking. Raising awareness both within the workforce and the general community on trafficking is critical, and businesses have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that all aspects of their operations are "traffic-free" - from employees, to suppliers, to partners".

Joy Ngozi Ezeilo - the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons - has said there is absence of accurate data on trafficking in persons, especially women and children which has made it impossible to measure the magnitude or scale of human trafficking in Egypt. "While acknowledging that quality data may be scarce in the field, it also breeds concern because...many stakeholders describe Egypt as a transit country but this classification is done without any backup statistics," she said.

Ezeilo also said human trafficking is much more of a domestic problem in Egypt. "There is a growing trend of sexual and economic exploitation of young Egyptian girls by their families and brokers, who execute marriages that are also popularly known as 'seasonal or temporary' marriage. These types of marriages sometimes provide a smokescreen for providing sexual services to foreign men."

Though one observer in Egypt said the problem is far more grave than the Government or UN is admitting. "We are a country of origin, transit and destination but the government decided that we are only a country of origin. We have the worst forms of exploitation - and they (the Government) still insist that we have none."

- HUMNEWS staff, files

International Human Rights Day Observed Around the World (News Brief)

(HN, December 10, 2010) -- Today is International Human Rights Day. The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption, by the UN General Assembly in 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the first global enunciation of the inalienable rights of mankind.  This year's observance highlights human rights defenders who act to end discrimination.

Here is a round-up of events, developments and comments from around the globe:

- At the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies in Oslo today, Actress Liv Ullmann read out the final statement the winner - the jailed Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo - made at his trial in December 2009 on charges of subversion against the state. "I have no enemies and no hatred," Ullmann read, as Norway's King Harald and Queen Sonja listened. "None of the police who monitored, arrested, and interrogated me, none of the prosecutors who indicted me, and none of the judges who judged me are my enemies."The Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma are seen on an empty chair representing Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo during a ceremony honouring Liu at city hall in Oslo today

- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has asked China to release Liu, who is sentenced for 11 year prison for a political revolt against China - saying he is an example of a human rights defender who is paying a heavy price for his activism. Liu participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest in Beijing and is one of China's most prominent activists fighting for greater political freedom and human rights. Pillay added that she will hold talks with Chinese officials for the release of Liu.

- The Nobel prize award ceremony will be held in Oslo today. The Nobel Committee will award the Peace prize to Liu Xiaobo in his absence. The Committee will leave an empty chair for Liu Xiaobo. Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said awarding the peace prize to Liu is not a protest against China. The United States also asked China to release Liu, but China retorted calling them "arrogant and rude."

 - The Britain-based business risk assessment firm Maplecroft released a report in connection with Human Rights Day. It ranks the Democratic Republic of Congo as the worst country for human rights, along with Somalia. Another three sub-Saharan African nations ranked among the worst 10: Sudan, Chad and Zimbabwe. In Asia, Pakistan, Myanmar [Burma], Afghanistan, North Korea and China get the lowest marks, with Russia the worst in Europe. 

(The drafting committee of the Universal Human Rights Declaration, Lake Success, NY, 1947) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday asked American embassies across the globe to open their doors to civil society activists and to listen to their concerns. "The US is committed to promoting and defending civil society around the world. And we will continue to remind leaders of their responsibilities to their citizens under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Clinton said in a statement issued on the occasion of Human Rights Day.

- Chaloka Beyani, an expert in international law at the London School of Economics, said many governments still refuse to face up to what the declaration means in practice. "Within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 21 says that the authority of the government is based on the rights of the people and yet we have seen many instances in Africa and elsewhere where election and their outcomes have been usually contested, from Zimbabwe, Kenya 2007, and now Cote d'Ivoire as we speak, where there was an election, a winner was announced, but the incumbent president refuses to leave office." 

- "An overlooked feature of the declaration is that it ends with duties and obligations upon an individual to their community. Sadly, we have become obsessed with rights, without any corresponding sense of duty, obligation or responsibility. I truly believe that with rights come responsibilities. There needs to be a balance, for our privileges can be no greater than our obligations." - Prashanth Shanmugan - a geopolitical strategist, writer and a United Nations Ambassador for the Global Atlas of Human Rights - writing in Australia's National Times.

- Said Michael C. Williamsis, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, in an op-ed to mark Human Rights Day: "This year’s global celebration of Human Rights Day is dedicated to 'human rights defenders who act to end discrimination.' I believe that human rights concern us all and that every Lebanese and every resident of this country can benefit from the initiatives mentioned above. Lebanon can do a great deal to further improve its human rights record and can count on the support of its friends and partners in the international community in this effort."

- HUMNEWS staff, agencies, UN, VOA