Gordon’s UN speech

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

The UK’s new prime minister, Gordon Brown, has called for renewed efforts to combat global poverty and reach the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) by their set date of 2015. In a speech he gave earlier today outside the United Nations, he immediately called attention to the crisis in Darfur, which he has been strongly pushing for action for since he came to office in June. Britain, as well as France, have put together a timeline for the 19,000 member hybrid force to be deployed to Darfur which is expected to be voted on later today.

Immediately we will work hard to deploy this force quickly.

And the plan for Darfur from now on is to achieve a ceasefire, including an end to aerial bombings of civilians; drive forward peace talks starting in Arusha, Tanzania this weekend on 3 August; and as peace is established, offer to and begin to invest in recovery and reconstruction.

But we must clear if any party blocks progress and the killings continue, I and others will redouble our efforts to impose further sanctions.

The message for Darfur is that it is time for change.

He was also quite frank about addressing the lagging global commitment to the MDGs and international development, specifically referring to the UN 2007 Report on the Millenium Development Goals, which gave a rather grim review of the progress being made (or lack thereof in some cases). But Brown is confident that if dedicated efforts are made together, these goals are not out of reach. And he has been reaching out to everyone on these issues: business leaders, government leaders (12 of which have already thrown their support behind him including the current G8 host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the coming year’s host, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe), NGOs, IGOs, and civilian leaders.

I must admit, it is refreshing to see a Western leader finally grow some balls and stick to commitments made, even if he himself did not make those commitments (although I know he was involved as Chancellor of the Exchequer in some of these efforts). Will he stick to them? I could see him getting burned out quickly if things don’t seem to be going the way he wants them to go. Especially since he’s dealing with the situation in Iraq as well. But he’s reviving world leadership in international development goals that are doomed to fail if people don’t commit to them. I’ll be waiting and voting in anticipation of new U.S. leadership in this area as well.

Posted in International News | No Comments »

It’s about time

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

Most people seem to forget that Sudan has strong connections with Al’Qaida and Osama bin Laden, but yesterday a U.S. federal judge ordered Sudan to pay $7.96 million to the families of 17 sailors killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole. This follows the ruling back in March that found the Sudanese government partly responsible for the attacks. Partly? Let’s see. The support the Sudanese government has given Osama bin Laden includes allowing the group to establish training bases, run businesses and use Sudanese diplomatic passports to carry explosives. Hell, during the trial, the lawyers representating the Sudanese government “did not offer opening statements or closing arguments or question any witnesses.” At this point, I think the link is pretty solid despite the Sudanese government’s refusal of any connection to the terrorist organization. This is among the recent parade of denials the Sudanese government is putting forward. According to The Economist, President Bashir is denying any violence in Darfur at the moment.

In fact most of Sudan’s western region is “secure and enjoying real peace”, he [Bashir] announced after a rare visit to Darfur last weekend. “People are living normal lives”, he said.

You know, President Bashir, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. This quote comes amidst energized efforts by the new British and French administrations to get something done about the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Posted in International News | No Comments »

Buffalo is his American hometown

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

Hey everybody,

A good friend of mine, Abda Wone, is in the process of looking for a job, and he would be ecstatic to be able to work in Buffalo, his American hometown as he still fondly calls it.

Abda is originally from Mauritania, and came to Buffalo in 2000 and lived in the B-lo until his acceptance to Columbia (that’s right, Columbia) University in New York City. He now has permanent residence in the United States. Through dedicated ambition and hard work, he graduated with a Masters of International Affairs in Human Rights and African Studies from Columbia University in New York, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from UB, a DESJ from the Institut Superieur Des Sciences De L’Information Et Des Communications in Dakar, Senegal, and a Certificate in Film Design from the Audiovisual PBS Project.

Abda also has quite a bit of professional experience. He currently serves as a Member of the Speakers Bureau of the American Anti-Slavery Group, and his work has contributed to the campaign against racism and slavery in Sudan and Mauritania. He is also the former President of the Communication Department of the Human Rights Pan African Youth Organization. Overall, Abda has worked on issues of sustainable development in Africa for more than ten years. His journalistic work began in Senegal as a correspondent for the French-language newspaper Sud Quotidien and has continued throughout his education in the U.S.

His work, experience, and skills are centered around communicating messages, which he is adept at doing in several languages- English, French, Wolof, Pulaar, Fulani. He also has an intermediate comprehension of Arabic.

My connection with Abda began when he traveled from Columbia to be the keynote speaker at the 2006 Human Rights Student Conference which is sponsored by a Canisius student group that I formerly presided over, the International Affairs Society. He is dynamic, engaging, and knowledgeable. Public speaking seems to come as second nature to Abda. It was by far, one of the most well-attended events of the conference and one that people stopped me about for weeks afterward. Now, he’s ready to put his education, activism, and experience to work. Abda can be reached at aw2244@columbia.edu or by cell phone at (831) 869-8003.

Just in case you weren’t convinced, you can find Abda on the web-
http://www.iabolish.org/speakers_bureau/bio_abda.html
http://south.ecc.edu/pr/ecctoday/archivenews/2003newsletters/newsletter08-07-03.html
http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/article.php?id=16841

Posted in Locally Global | No Comments »

Interfaith Symposium

Saturday, July 21st, 2007

Next weekend, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is holding their next interfaith symposium at the Millenium Airport Hotel in Cheektowaga. The topic of this discussion is The Concept of Life After Death and there will be representatives from Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism to speak on the topic from the perspective of their faith community. They’ll address issues like what happens after a person dies in this world, the concept of reward and punishment, and heaven and hell citing scriptures, teachings, traditions, etc.

I try to attend these forums as often as they hold them, which is usually every few months. I’ve been to one on the role of women and another on human rights and religion. They’re always quite interesting and informative. I mean, here is a group that works diligently on bringing together members of different faiths in the Western New York area to talk about issues that we sometimes misinterpret amongst one another, which in this day and age leads to senseless anger and violence. I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Nasir Khan and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for their work on trying to promote greater understanding and awareness, especially in Western New York. Not that this is related, but they adopted that stretch of the 33 by Harlem and the 90. Just another way to show they care about this community and the people living in it.

What: Interfaith Symposium on The Concept of Life after Death
Where: Millennium Airport Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave, Cheektowaga 14225
When: Sunday July 29, 2007 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM

If you get a chance and you know you’re going, please RSVP to buffalo.ahmadi@gmail.com by July 27. You don’t have to RSVP to attend though. So if you decide last minute you would like to go, I strongly encourage you to attend.

Posted in Events | No Comments »

Can Darfur get a drop to drink?

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Those of you who know me, know that the conflict in Darfur is an issue I’ve spent a considerable amount of time following and attempting to generate awareness about. This is a conflict that has ravaged the western region of Darfur, the eastern region of Chad and Central African Republic, has killed at least 200,000 and forced millions out of their homes. Plenty of sites offer background information on the conflict (which kind of makes me ill that the background information has to be continually updated) including the UN, Save Darfur, and the BBC.

But reports have come out in the last week revealing the discovery by Boston University researchers by use of satellite radar of an underground lake that is from water that seeped deep underground from an ancient body of water about the size of Lake Erie. This is a really big deal as far as the Darfur conflict is concerned. Part of the cause of the violence is the scarcity of resources available in the Darfur region, which led to clashes between Arab and African farmers. This, in turn, led to violence against government targets as locals increasingly felt their issues were being ignored by the national government. Not that the Bashir regime has a history of, at best, neglecting the African population in Sudan. This time they decided to bolster Janjaweed militia to react to the problem (as opposed to listening to their citizens concerns), and the ensuing violence between the rebel groups and the government-backed Janjaweed militia continues to destroy the lives of the Darfur people.

So, the lake. Voice of America did a lengthy interview with Dr. Farouk El-Baz, the director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University. Referring to the remnants of the ancient lake:

“Some of that water would still be there as ground water, which means that this is a signal to the people in Darfur that there may be plenty of water down there to resolve many of the real problems,” -Dr. El-Baz

He sited two major droughts in the last twenty years that have built up tensions between the Arab and African farmers. This discovery, as well as the construction of about 1000 wells, would be able to serve many of the needs of both the African and Arab population, which have mostly been surviving off of insufficient supplies from surface water wells.

Of course, the construction will be very difficult as violence continues to plague the area. And an end to violence could mean trouble for the Bashir regime as ICC warrants are already out for some of his administration for war crimes. So what motivation does Bashir really have? Hafiz Muhamad of Justice Africa told the BBC’s Focus on Africa program that the discovery of the lake is “very significant,” but that “it has long been known there was water in the area but the government had not paid for it to be exploited.” Too busy painting their military planes to look like UN delivery crafts, I guess. Remember that Vanity Fair issue on Africa I posted about? Well there is an article about China’s involvement in Sudan that sheds some light on how Bashir’s regime has been able to continue its campaign of death and destruction without real consequences. One thing the article talks about is how nuanced diplomatic language can really be: so when China finally started nudging Sudan to accept UN forces, behold a signed agreement to allow a hybrid AU-UN force in Darfur. So combine the lake and wells with a hybrid AU-UN force in Darfur, is it possible that after years of suffering for the Darfuri people, we may see some resolution in the near future?

Posted in International News | No Comments »

What is up with Pakistan?

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Unless you’ve been actively avoiding any news sources the last day or so (which is entirely possible considering how nice it has been in Buffalo), you’ve heard of the National Intelligence Estimate that was released on the 17th. And if you haven’t, go , read it yourself. It’s not even two full pages long and I always encourage primary source reading when every pundit out there is making his/her own laundry list of what this document actually means.

One thing people seem particularly focused on is what this document has to say about Pakistan:

“We assess the group [al-Qa'ida] has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability, including: a safehaven in the Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), operational lieutenants, and its top leadership”

What has Musharraf been doing all this time? Well as articles from the NY Times and the BBC have pointed out, General Musharraf has been facing opposition in his own country as to how he has been handling extremists and his relationship with the West. Some have accused his policies under the recent cease-fire with tribal leaders to be the reason extremist networks have been able to rebuild in the northern areas of the countries, while others have accused his heavy military hand of driving more and more people to extremism. Either way, he is no longer popular at home or abroad. According to Ahmed Rashid’s article (BBC), “General Musharraf is faced with a middle-class movement of lawyers and professionals who are fed up with military rule and a burgeoning political opposition movement that held its biggest get together ever in London recently.”

After the siege of the Red Mosque last week, many international news programs/prints such the International Herald Tribune, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and NPR (hey, the more sources to look at, the better) were focused on trying to figure out whether the fight signaled a broader sustainable confrontation with Islamist radicals, or “whether it was a one-time imperative prompted by the truculence of the militants inside the mosque.” The answer so far has leaned towards a broader crack-down which has led to increased violence in kind to Pakistani troops. Musharraf’s rhetoric has been stepped-up and his foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam has already come out stating that the National Intelligence Estimate contained “some unsubstantiated assertions,” referring to the quote from the report above. Can’t say whether this increase in effort is going to mean anything substantial as Musharraf has seemed to waiver back and forth depending on whose support he needs. One thing seems a bit more certain: it doesn’t look like he will be able to keep up this charade for long, whether it’s at the hands of the extremists or pressure/loss of aid from the U.S.

Posted in International News | No Comments »

Dalits of India

Tuesday, July 17th, 2007

Poverty is not something you can avoid in a trip to India. In fact, I distinctly remember being struck by the poverty I saw immediately leaving the airport in Chennai (formerly Madras) on the way to our hotel. It was unlike anything I had seen anywhere else. India has so much to offer in culture, philosophy, spirituality, tolerance, etc.
But poverty in India is not something you can deny. Nor is the overt gap between the economic, educational, and social situation of the Dalits and the middle and upper classes.
I took the picture above outside a Hindu temple in the outskirts of Chennai after someone in the group forked over 10 rupees (about $.25). I’m sure you’ve seen a million pictures like it in magazines, on websites, or maybe on those Christian Children’s Fund commercials. But this was real for me, right in front of me, shaking me out of my comfort zone. The young lady was the only one brave enough to shake my hand, the boys were too shy. I don’t know their story, and I wonder if they’ve had any other foreign visitors since I left. Probably not as this temple was in the middle of nowhere and the tourism season in India doesn’t start until September.

But before I go on- a little background. Dalits are people among the untouchables (achut) or some are among the serving caste (shudra). It’s a more general label than people think because it’s not only the untouchables, and it includes the many subcastes of untouchables. Although this still confuses me because technically, untouchables are outside the caste system. Nonetheless, the term “Dalit” is actually a self-proclaimed name that untouchables gave to themselves which translates to “The Oppressed.” The Dalit situation is pervasive to so many of areas we studied in India: economics, religion, politics.

What struck me was that there seemed to be no force in Indian society that has been capable of dismantling the remnants of the caste system. The caste system is illegal, discrimination against Dalits is illegal, there is even a reservation system and government benefits available to Dalits as well as a type of affirmative action program far more proactive than in the U.S. and yet, the pervasive inequity exists. You would also think the conversion of Dalits to Christianity or Islam, as egalitarian religions, would help Dalits become more socially mobile. I received multiple impressions on the impact of the Christians in India. For example, two Christian projects that we saw in Chennai and Bangalore provided education to any underprivileged child that was able to come to school.
These students in the picture below are taking a nap at the OASIS school in a slum in Bangalore. The stories we were told by the teachers are burned permanently in my mind. The problems these children face include alcoholic fathers, physical abuse, malnutrition, etc. The school has provided a shining light in their lives. The teachers have even been able to bring doctors into the slum to do check-ups and vaccinations.

Something not so clear as to whether it is positive or negative is inculturation (I know, shocker something related to culture is not easy to categorize). Long ago when Christianity was developing in India, some of the churches adopted inculturation in order to adapt to Indian society. However with some of the beautiful things it adopted from Indian culture, it also gave in to the caste system. Some sects provide schools to the underprivileged, some still have separate masses/services for Dalits from caste Christians. Frustrating. Oh, by the way, there is currently a case being argued in the Supreme Court of India about whether Christian and Muslim Dalits are even eligible for government benefits, as so far, they have not been.

Intermarriage is not a solution. In fact, historically, that is supposedly where the untouchables originally came from- they are the children of intercaste relationships. Even now, 74% of people in India interviewed in a 2005 IBN-CNN poll disapproved of intercaste marriage.

Political parties seem to exploit Dalits, calling on their communal loyalty rather than a push for national Dalit unity to overcome their problems collectively. They also tend to make government benefits the only issue.

I have been fortunate enough to maintain contact with a few priests in India who either work with or study Dalits and Dalit indentity. They even provided me with plenty of reading material so that I may understand the situation of the Dalits to whatever extent I am able to. Oh! And I almost forgot the meeting we had with Dr. Henry Thiagaraj and the Dalit Liberation Education Trust.

Dr. Henry is a friend of Dr. Claude Welch at UB (who has been a great help and mentor to me throughout college). The Dalit Liberation Education Trust is doing amazing work for Dalits in India. Dr. Thiagaraj, himself, is a Dalit, but has been able to receive a good education and has now dedicated his life to giving a hand-up to fellow Dalits. The Trust even has an international visitors program so if you have a group or if you want to go by yourself to stay at the center and work with their programs, you can take up the opportunity. The website has the contact information. This project is not affiliated with any religion. In fact, Dr. Thiagaraj was even critical of the work of religious establishments among Dalits. I was glad I was able to learn about both though.

Posted in Experience Abroad, International News | 1 Comment »

Follow-up on (Product) Red

Monday, July 16th, 2007

I wanted to add this to my last post, but it can take up another post in and of itself. (Product) Red is the product and service line started by Bono that works with companies like Gap, Nike, Motorola, Apple, and Armani to offer goods that give back a part of the profit to fight AIDS in Africa.

The companies use their own marketing funds to advertise the products and so far, it has generated about $25 million for the Global Fund. Definitely a good thing.

This line from the (Red) Manifesto is an extension of Bono’s philosophy to bring in people from, especially, the developed world in order to combat life-threatening international issues.

“As first-world consumers, we have tremendous power. What we collectively choose to buy or not buy, can change the course of life and history on the planet.”

Although this line may seem overused, and is a mantra for fair-trade consumers, you can’t deny the logic behind it. Consumer demands are what have brought companies to the developing world in the first place— cheap labor to bring down the prices of goods to stay competitive in the marketplace. So if consumers are saying, “Hey, I’d rather buy something that will help bring ARVs to AIDS patients in Africa than your regular goods,” it is likely to have an effect on where and how these companies invest, not to mention encourage other companies to jump on the band wagon.

There is always the cautious side of me. Recently, for my baby cousin’s birthday, I decided to go to the Gap and buy her a little outfit from the (Red) line. It’s the first I ever bought, and I even decided to buy an Inspi(red) shirt for myself. The shirts were both made in South Africa from South African materials. However, as I went to buy a matching red bracelet for myself, I looked at the tag and saw the leather bracelet was actually made in China. So now what to do? Odds are pretty good the person who made that bracelet isn’t getting fantastic wages. In fact, I can remember being back in El Salvador when we met with the only unionized garment factory in San Salvador who said that Gap was frequently a problem when it came to subcontracting. Their own website has a section on how Gap choses the factories to produce their clothing in, which provides a little too much wiggle-room on compliance, if you ask me.

BUT! Part of the profits from the bracelet are still going to fight AIDS in Africa. This is what I meant by talking out of two sides of their mouth in my last post. Yes, this bracelet is going towards a very noble cause, and it allows consumers a chance to be more responsible global citizens. But it is very likely it was made by workers operating in substandard conditions so the company could save a buck. So I bought the shirt and spared the bracelet. Why? I think encouraging international corporate responsibility and the involvement of the average citizen in global affairs is a great thing. And I want Gap to know that. I will always encourage people to buy from fair-trade markets, but this is also reaching out to a broader audience, which can only lead to greater awareness. And awareness is something I feel the average consumer can use more of.

Posted in Experience Abroad, International News, Locally Global | No Comments »

How do we act on ubuntu?

Monday, July 16th, 2007

Sorry for the delay in posting. I had a lovely weekend at Geneva-on-the-Lake in Ohio for the Lake Erie International Model United Nations annual staff camping trip. Unfortunately, we were not equipped with internet.

Anyway, I did however, get a chance to finish the July/August issue of Vanity Fair, which happens to be their first special issue on Africa guest-edited by the one-and-only Bono. The stimulating collection of interviews, stories, and reports on the problems and positives of Africa is sprinkled by flashy advertisements for (Product) Red, a line co-started by Bono, as well as pages by other corporations that are using their resources to provide some contribution to fighting AIDS and poverty in Africa. What caught my attention about this issue (which actually has 20 different covers starring artists, politicians, athletes, philanthropists, and world leaders) is that it is a striking attempt to reach out to people from both sides of the political spectrum as well as to the average as well as wealthier American consumer. Bono’s philosophy seems to be,

“There are no easy good or bad guys…Do you think an African mother cares if the drugs keeping her child alive are thanks to an iPod or a church plate? Or a Democrat or a Republican…It can lead to some uncomfortable bedfellows, but sometimes less sleep means you are more awake.”

Ok, point taken. Fighting global poverty is an issue everyone should be able to get behind no matter who you are. Was I still surprised to see President Bush, Secretary Rice, and Warren Buffett used as some of their cover stars? Yes. Sometimes I worry this leads not only to unsavory bedfellows, but also to people who claim to be on the side of Africans, but really have their own agenda that marginalizes the plight of Africa. Talking out of both sides of their mouth, if you will. Harsh? Perhaps.

Bono also sticks by the bi-partisan approach by committing an article to getting quotes from the 2008 presidential candidates of both parties on what they will do for Africa once they are in power. The quotes were pretty short so nobody really wowed me. Some like Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Chris Dodd did include specific numbers and actions they will take as opposed to the general comment on how important our relationship is with Africa.

Binyavanga Wainaina, an award-winning author and journalist, contributed an article called “Generation Kenya,” which details Wainaina’s personal account of growth and democratic change in Kenya. He recognizes Kenya’s challenges, but makes a point of showing how much has changed in the last ten years, especially since the 2002 elections. He worries that international news services, like CNN, are showing only the problems of Africa (as long as it’s after Paris Hilton. My sarcastic remark, not his), which is turning into one of Africa’s biggest hurdle to solving it’s issues.

“This habit - of trying to turn the second-largest continent in the world, which has 53 countries and nearly a billion people of every variety and situation, into one giant crisis- is now one of the biggest problems Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and Ghana face.”

Articles like Wainaina’s are also balanced out by reports on the extent of poverty, the problems with providing health care to those that desperately need it, and the continuing violence in Darfur as issues that plague Africa’s ability to grow as a whole. But, it also offers some solutions that serve to show that all of these crises are surmountable by a coordinated and flexible effort by the governmental and non-governmental, the profit and the non-profit, and the indigenous and the international.

So, after reading this insanely long review of the July/August Vanity Fair, I know you’re going to go to the store and grab a copy. Perhaps start with the interview between Brad Pitt and Bishop Desmond Tutu. It lays out why we should even care about Africa and that is the concept of ubuntu.

“Ubuntu is the essence of being human…We say a person is a person through other persons. You can’t be human in isolation. You are human only in relationships…We are interconnected.” -Bishop Desmond Tutu