From social distancing to quarantini
Social Distancing, Doomscroll, and Defund: The Words That Defined 2020
I honestly didn’t know a lot of these…
Social Distancing, Doomscroll, and Defund: The Words That Defined 2020
Tag: human-rights
‘I Feel Like a Second-Class Citizen.’ Shutdown Pain Continues for Furloughed Government Contractors Who Don’t Get Back Pay
In the news, ethics and development
Hey everyone. Time to share with you some of the headlines that I’ve curated at work recently. You might have heard or read about some of them. Have a great weekend!
- How the sharing economy is exploiting young workers
- Brands with a conscience
- To slut-shame a fifth-grader
- The largest health insurance company in the U.S. has just been created
- Five Movies That Will Help You See The World Differently
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Leave Beyonce Alone
Racism and miscommunication: “Today, we have that same paternalistic attitude of old white men claiming they know what’s best for young black women. Ironically, Kanye West has a lot in common with Huckabee and O’Reilly. In defending Beyonce, he, too, acted in a paternalistic way, as if he were some noble knight riding in to protect a damsel in distress. Beyonce, who is a much more powerful force in the music business than West, has proven she is fully capable of speaking for herself”.
Public Service Announcement: a new stance against child marriage
via Care:
No one could blame Amaranth Yadav for not remembering his wedding day. After all, he was just 7 years old and still half asleep.
What he won’t forget are the years that followed—the anger he felt because his wife, who was also a child, was never allowed to go to school. He resented how fast he had to grow up and all the pressure placed on him to succeed. And most of all he resented being forced into a life he didn’t choose.
But as the groom, at least Amaranth got to go to school and get a college degree. Today, at 27, he’s using his education to fight against child marriage by working with CARE’s Tipping Point—a project addressing child marriage through advocacy—and he now lives with his wife and kids in Nepal.
Amaranth was relatively fortunate. The brides don’t usually fare as well. Consider:
- Almost 39,000 girls become child brides every day
- 1 in 9 girls is forced into marriage before she’s 15
- 142 million children will be married by 2020
Girls married before their 18th birthday don’t often complete their secondary education, let alone college. And they’re at a higher risk of being physically abused, contracting HIV, and dying while pregnant or giving birth.
But Amaranth is using his experience to help turn the tide. He’s teaching his neighbors how dangerous child marriage can be—for the boy and girl—and showing them sustainable alternatives to the practice. He’s even teaching his wife to read.
Donate to this cause.
Army to Recognize Legal Names of Transgender Veterans
Civil rights are human rights.
A case for boycotting the FIFA World Cup
The girl has some major points.
Public Service Announcement: A drone killed my grandmother
Some e-mail subjects you can`t help but pay attention to:
| “I wasn’t scared of drones before, but now when they fly overhead I wonder, will I be next?” – Nabeela, granddaughter of US drone strike victim Mamana Bibi | ||
Dear Luis, Last October, 8-year-old Nabeela ventured outside while her 68-year-old grandmother Mamana Bibi picked vegetables in their family’s large, open field. Moments later, this beloved grandmother was blasted to pieces by not one, but two US drone missiles apparently aimed directly at her. Nabeela and other nearby grandchildren were injured when the exploding missile lodged shrapnel in their bodies. One year later, the US government has not even acknowledged Mamana’s death. Now Nabeela wonders whether she will be next. How would you feel if this happened to your family? No one is alleging Mamana did anything wrong. Her fatal “mistake” was living in North Waziristan, a region in Pakistan pummeled by US drone strikes. Today, Amnesty International released a comprehensive report documenting dozens of killings and utter destruction caused by US drone strikes, including the unlawful killing of Mamana Bibi. We interviewed 60 survivors and eyewitnesses, who describe a daily life of inescapable violence – death from above, and attacks on the ground by Pakistani forces, Taliban and Al-Qa-ida-linked groups. Tomorrow, President Obama is meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif. Mamana Bibi’s unlawful death should be the first item on their agenda. Demand answers about Mamana’s death by US drone strike. In May of this year President Obama pledged to increase transparency about drone strikes. 5 months later, nothing has changed. No new information about drone policy. No legal framework for when and why the US would use this deadly force. No acknowledgment of responsibility. No investigations into cases like Mamana’s. Drone strikes have destroyed families and fomented hate against the US. Mamana’s grandchildren deserve better than this. They deserve answers. They deserve justice. Stand up for Mamana’s grandchildren. It’s time the US government answered for these killings. Sincerely, Zeke Johnson |
That is why we are here
Via GHRC (Guatemala Human Rights Comission)
…Ríos Montt was found guilty of masterminding and overseeing the massacre of 1,771 Ixil Mayans in the department of El Quiché, as well as the forced displacement of 29,000, and 1,485 acts of sexual violence and acts of torture. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison and was ordered into police custody. His director of Military Intelligence, Jose Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, was absolved of both crimes.During a one hour statement, Judge Barrios recounted evidence of the indiscriminate massacres committed against the civilian Ixil population, systematic physical and psychological control meant to destroy the social fabric of the Ixil culture. She noted the brutal use of sexual violence. These acts were carried out as state policy and destroyed 5.5% of the Ixil population.Over the course of the trial, 100 survivors testified in the trial which began on March 19. They were joined by dozens of expert witnesses. In closing arguments yesterday, Benjamín Jerónimo, a survivor and representative of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation, stated: “We are not looking for vengeance; we are looking for a true peace with justice, with respect, with equality, with dignity, that is why we are here.”
Some people do not belong in a “church”
If ever there was a group of people who gives the word church a heinous name it`s the Westboro Baptist Church. On the wake of their decision to picket the Sandy Cook funerals, as you might have heard, it has been reported that Anonymous took notice and action.
“We will not allow you to corrupt the minds of America with your seeds of hatred. We will not allow you to inspire aggression to the social factions which you deem inferior. We will render you obsolete. We will destroy you. We are coming”. – Anonymous
“Be afraid, be very afraid”. –The Fly
Homophobia is…
Today I am grateful for knowledge, such as this:
Homophobia is …
• discriminating against lesbians and gay men because
of their sexuality
• harrassment of lesbians and gay men through namecalling,
jokes about their sexuality, bullying or teasing
• treating same sex partners diff erently to opposite
sex partners
• showing disrespect towards the lives and relationships
of lesbians and gay men
• making lesbians and gay men feel they cannot be open
about their sexualityHomophobia in the Workplace can lead to …
• failure to attract and retain talented staff
• loss of worker self-confi dence and productivity
• harm to the health and safety of workers
• potential legal action
Does your country? (the updated version)
Does your country enacts its officials to persecute “enemies of the state”? Mine does.
Does your country allow elected presidents that have confessed to assassinations, to take office? Mine does.
Does your country asks state employees to “donate” part of their wages to the official party? Mine does.
Does your country round up people from rural and urban sides alike (while threatening to retrieve welfare benefits if they refuse) to “show support” for the administration? Mine does.
Does your country allow the First Lady to divorce from the president, just so that she can run for the Presidency herself? Mine does.
Does your country play musical chairs with its population?
Does your country allow military and police officers to search citizens without probable cause?
Does your country`s armed forces open fire on civilians, 16 years after peace agreements were signed? Mine does.
Whaterver the question, sadly, I think you’ve guessed the answer…
A“rehashed” post that still seems relevant today.
Keep your promises on sanitation and water
ICROSS (International Community for Relief of Starvation and Suffering) is working hard to provide basic sanitation rights for children in need in Africa. To give you an idea of their current needs, I`ll share with you part of what they discovered:
Women and children walk on average 6km every day to fetch water, and the average weight of water they carry is 20kg“ I stopped going to School when I was 14 because there was nowhere to wash, no place I could manage my period, no girls toilet and nowhere to wash my hand[s] , I had no choice “ Susan ( 22 Mother of 3 children, Kenya )ICROSS has been working with communities since 1980 to improve access to water, improve sanitation and reduce infectious disease through hygiene. With Over a Billion without clean water and hundreds of millions without toilets the Global solution requires poitical action to provide these rights and create change.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is part of UNICEFS Global campaign to end this injustice. World leaders have made promises which they have not kept. These promises must be kept to bring an end to the global sanitation and water crisis.
By taking part in the Keep Your Promises campaign, you can unite with hundreds of thousands of people across the world who are taking action to ensure that basic sanitation and clean water are available for EVERYONE!
ICROSS is part of an international partnership that is launching a year long campaign.
“It is hard for us to imagine life without ever having a toilet, It`s one of those things we have never thought about. Now imagine your young children, those you love and old and sick managing without a toilet, water to wash, the absence of every and any amenity, no toilet paper, sanitary towel, anything ! This is reality for a third of humanity and it has to stop. There`s no excuse, water is a right !” Michael Meegan
Push came to shove: the Guatemalan education riots
Like most countries in Latin America, Guatemala has a long-running history of public demonstrations and a sometimes overwhelming need to take to 
the streets (for whatever reasons) and demand measures to be reversed or enforced. Monday`s violent confrontation between public school students and police forces is a painful reminder that things can escalate pretty quickly: all you need is a spark to fuel a fire.
As the BBC reports:
“Dozens of people have been injured in Guatemala in clashes between police and students protesting against education reform in the capital, Guatemala City.
Among those injured are the ministers for education and the interior, who were caught up in the clashes .
The protesters, who are studying to become teachers, object to changes which would see the length of their university course increase.
President Otto Perez Molina has called a meeting to end the protests.
Under the new plans, university courses for students studying to become primary school teachers will go up from three to five years.
Protests against the measure began more than two months ago, and still no agreement has been reached.
Police said Monday’s clashes kicked off when the protesters confronted Education Minister Cynthia del Aguila”.
One of those injured is a colleague of mine, Luis Soto, a photo-journalist who was assigned to the Industry Park (Parque de la Industria), where Monday`s violent clash took place. Thankfully, he survived a head injury, after being struck by a rock thrown by a student, aimed at members of the riot police .
Now, as the easy-going and courageous photographer recovers (a day after brain surgery), we are left to ponder where will all parties involved in this education crisis will draw the line. How many more people need to get hurt? Do we, God forbid, need to see dead bodies as a result, for Government authorities, students, civil organizations to put their differences aside and reach an understanding? I fear that the political leverage used by people manipulating both sides of the conflict will contemplate more sinister consequences.
Duff who lives at home 