Saturday, January 27, 2007

Laws are Made to Be Broken


There is a game that is played in the political hallways of the powerful nations. It is called the game of “appearances.” Nowhere is this more apparent than in the blatant disregard for the lives of civilians in conflict, specifically by the nations possessing the deadliest arsenals.

The war between Israel and Hizbollah in 2006 demonstrated such a phenomenon and its schizophrenic manifestations to brutal levels. The use of cluster bombs against civilians by Israel and the initial denial of their use demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the laws that govern warfare and the treatment of civilians. The United States provides the bulk of the cluster bomb munitions to the Israeli military. Israel also manufactures its own. Current international law does not ban the use of such weapons. But agreements between the United States and Israel prohibit the use of such bombs in civilian areas. According to the Council on Foreign Relations:

International law does not ban the use of cluster bombs, though humanitarian groups claim they have killed or maimed hundreds of innocents in recent armed conflicts. Cluster bombs scatter hundreds of bomblets over a large area but with limited accuracy and high failure rates. After last summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah, in which both sides were accused of killing civilians with cluster bombs, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on countries to ban cluster bombs and destroy their stockpiles. A proposal to limit their use during wartime came under review at a November 2006 conference in Geneva on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, a 1980 agreement that seeks to protect military troops from inhumane injuries and prevent civilians from being wounded or killed.ter bombs specifically.

Following the brutal assault on Lebanon last year, investigation into the use of cluster bombs is on the way. The effectiveness of the outcome is to be seen since Israel is still refusing to provide detailed and accurate maps of the drop sites. It is estimated that as many as one million bomblets litter about 250 villages and towns. While the United States is conducting this investigation, it has neglected to practice according to the rules it laid out for its allies. Cluster bombs have littered the landscapes of invasion areas such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Vietnman by the American military.

The nations that dictate the rules of warfare are the same nations that are breaking them. Israel has justified the use of cluster bombs for "security" reasons to target Hizbollah because Hizbollah "hide behind civilians." Such an argument is idiotic at best because most warfare is conducted in civilians areas and not in the wilderness. Occupations are resisted in towns and villages, especially when the occupiers or aggressors are launching their own attacks from civilian areas. In the case of Israel, many of the bombing missions were launched close to Jewish settlements near the border with Jewish children scribbling "love notes" on the bombs themselves. Should these civilians and children then be considered "legitimate targets?"

In an era of military escalation and nuclear armament, is it really feasible and honest to talk about sanctions and laws while we continue to produce more deadly weapons that kill mostly civilians? The outcome of this investigation will be a glimpse of things to come.

Marilyn

Thursday, January 25, 2007

The Fog of War


THE FOG OF WAR

He marches in rhythmic step
Across a Country border
With his pack and weapon slung
In precise Military order.

He knows not why, he goes there
He is just doing as he is told
Following his mounted General
Who looks so proud and brave and bold.

The General knows not why he goes
But once given the Command
From those Politicians back at Home
He’ll march his Troops across the Land.

They would search out others of their ilk
Sometimes they will come face to face
With the same from “the other side”
Who wish them moved from that space.

The politicians would talk and debate
Though they knew not, of what they spoke
But they could say, “Well, we tried!”
Although all knew, that was a joke!

There might be something “over there”
That the opposite side thinks it needs
Maybe sometimes, land or riches
Or fear or merely, hatred’s bitter seeds.

The leaders of those Nations
Will say, “Peaceful options are all gone!”
And each one will point their finger
And blame it all on the other one.

But the Generals and their Soldiers
Who really don’t hate “the enemy”
Stand nose to nose and toes to toes
With weapons held, at the ready.

If no one blinks or turns away
Or says, “Let’s try to make things work.”
Then the awful truth about Mankind
And through the smoke from the battle

And above the screams of fear and pain
The sounds of the Soldier’s cadence
Is heard through the fog of War, again.

And then Parents will be grieving
Spouses will weep through the night
Politicians pat the children’s heads
And say, “Oh yes, this War is right!”

Then, eventually the fog will clear
And all might seem right and well
But too soon it will roll in, once more
To shroud us in our own man made hell.

There never seems to be a shortage
Of those Brave, young Souls
Who will put their Life on the line
For their Country’s or leader’s goals.

Most those who fight those Wars
Are from the common folk, mostly
For the Generals and Politicians
Sure don't want their kin to "see"!

And the “Old Soldiers” “fade” away
Their heads held proud and high
To that place where all Heroes go
Somewhere there, up in the sky.

"Christian Poetry In Rhyme"
©Del “Abe” Jones
6-22-2006

Anyone following the events of the last seven years has to remember the documentary, Fog of War, featuring the political, military, and personal life of Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The central themes of the documentary center around eleven lessons that McNamara discusses when dealing with conflict and human relations:

Empathize with your enemy.
Rationality will not save us.
There's something beyond one's self.
Maximize efficiency.
Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
Get the data.
Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
Never say never.
You can't change human nature.

McNamara shares ten additional "lessons:"
  1. The human race will not eliminate war in this century but we can reduce war, the level of killing, by adhering to the principles of a just war, in particular of proportionality.
  2. The indefinite combinations of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations.
  3. We are the most powerful nation in the world — economically, politically, and militarily — and we are likely to remain so for decades ahead. But we are not omniscient. If we cannot persuade other nations with similar interests and similar values of the merits of the proposed use of that power, we should not proceed unilaterally except in the unlikely requirement to defend the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii.
  4. Moral principles are often ambiguous guides to foreign policy and defense policy, but surely we can agree that we should establish as a major goal of U.S. foreign policy and, indeed, of foreign policy across the globe : the avoidance in this century of the carnage — 160 million dead — caused by conflict in the 20th century.
  5. We, the richest nation in the world, have failed in our responsibility to our own poor and to the disadvantaged across the world to help them advance their welfare in the most fundamental terms of nutrition, literacy, health, and employment.
  6. Corporate executives must recognize there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibilities to their employees, their customers and to society as a whole.
  7. President Kennedy believed a primary responsibility of a president — indeed "the" primary responsibility of a president — is to keep the nation out of war, if at all possible.
  8. War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International Court — that the U.S. has refused to support — which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity.
  9. If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe, we must develop a sense of empathy — I don't mean "sympathy" but rather "understanding" to counter their attacks on us and the Western World.
  10. One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk of mass destruction as a result of the breakdown of the Non-Proliferation Regime. We — the U.S. — are contributing to that breakdown.
Whether we agree with all of McNamara's warnings is beside the point. His warnings and suggestions are a guide that will help us minimize the risk of conflict.

Conflict and violence cannot be avoided. Criminal thinking cannot be eradicated from the personalities of ordinary and influential individuals, but its effects can be minimized through knowledge, understanding, dialog, and hard work. Some force may be necessary under the guidance of strict moral and practical principles, but all-out war and the wanton destruction of human life, the environment, and property, are never acceptable risks in any conflict.

We have become accustomed to the idea that our morality must "shift gears" in times of conflict; that somehow, murder becomes acceptable in war. It becomes a "necessary evil" (McNamara, by the way, accepts such a risk). Then, are we saying that human life is subservient to different causes? Are we implying that human life can be wasted in international conflict but killing in peacetime is a crime?

Then there is the other fog of war, the one perpetrated by those in power against all people to muddy the waters of perception to enable the execution of the plans for war. But that is a topic to follow.

Marilyn.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Child Trafficking


Trafficking in children and women has prompted the establishment of international laws against such practices. Sex trafficking in girls and women is a global problem and it is found in most countries. Some countries provide a transit route for the victims. International law through the efforts of the United Nations, the United States and other organizations, has sought to eradicate this problem.

Women can be trafficked for the sex trade. Children are trafficked as domestic servants and also for the sex industry. Many remain locked up in basements and warehouses while they are being abused. War is one of the biggest contributers to the exploitation of women and children and to their trafficking across borders. Poverty drives many into the claws of traffickers.

Children are the most vulnerable group in all cultures. They are unable to protect themselves when abused by relatives or strangers, in peacetime and in war. I am profiling a few organizations that deal with this problem on an ongoing basis.

Marilyn.

Terre des Hommes A Swiss global child advocacy organization: http://www.childtrafficking.com/Content/aboutus.php


Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/


http://www.humantrafficking.org/content/about_us The purpose of this Web site is to bring Government and NGOs in the East Asia and Pacific together to cooperate and learn from each other’s experiences in their efforts to combat human trafficking. This Web site has country-specific information such as national laws and action plans and contact information on useful governmental agencies. It also has a description of NGO activities in different countries and their contact information.

United Stated Department of Justice (DOJ) Trafficking in persons — also known as "human trafficking" — is a form of modern-day slavery. Traffickers often prey on individuals who are poor, frequently unemployed or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets, predominantly women and children in certain countries. Victims are often lured with false promises of good jobs and better lives, and then forced to work under brutal and inhuman conditions.

It is a high priority of the Department of Justice to pursue and prosecute human traffickers. Human trafficking frequently involves the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation, a brutal crime the Department is committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting. Trafficking also often involves exploitation of agricultural and sweat shop workers, as well as individuals working as domestic servants.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (VTVPA) supplements existing laws and establishes new tools and resources to combat trafficking in persons and to provide services and protections for victims.

http://www.usdoj.gov/whatwedo/whatwedo_ctip.html

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) is creating real and lasting changes in countries around the world by launching and supporting anti-trafficking projects in areas that few programs address: the links between prostitution and trafficking; challenging the demand for prostitution that promotes sex trafficking; and protecting the women and children who are its victims by working to curb legal acceptance and tolerance of the sex industry.

Please join CATW in putting a donation to work in our various campaigns and projects (See CATW’s campaign page). Your gift will support projects that prevent the sexual exploitation of women and children in 15 different countries.

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) is a non-governmental organization that promotes women's human rights. It works internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms, especially prostitution and trafficking in women and children, in particular girls.

CATW is composed of regional networks and of affiliated individuals and groups. It serves as an umbrella that coordinates and takes direction from its regional organizations and networks in its work against sexual exploitation and in support of women's human rights.

CATW brings international attention to all forms of sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography, sex tourism, and mail order bride selling. Working with national and international policy makers, women's rights and human rights advocates, and the United Nations, it promotes the fundamental human right of women and children, in particular, girls, to be free from sexual exploitation.

CATW prevents trafficking by educating boys and girls in schools and communities in different parts of the world and by training teachers, professionals, police, governmental authorities and the public about the harm of sexual exploitation and ways to resist and combat it.

CATW testifies before national congresses, parliaments, law reform commissions, regional and UN committees and commissions, and holds Category II Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Members serve as consultants to governmental commissions drafting new legislation on prostitution and sex trafficking, and against the sex industry.

CATW researches and documents the situation of women who have been trafficked and are in prostitution; educates the public about the extent of harm sustained by women and girls in prostitution; and galvanizes change through legislation and working with governments and international agencies to create/change/amend policy and legislation that support the right of every woman and girls to be free of sexual exploitation; and helps create and support alternatives for women and girls who have been sexually exploited.

http://www.catwinternational.org/about/index.php


United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Virtually no country immune from human trafficking, UNODC report shows
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press_release_2006_04_24.html

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Women in Black


Women in Black (WIB) in San Luis Obispo county saw their beginning in April of 2002 with the first vigil in downtown San Luis Obispo. Since then, a number of local cities have organized their own WIB vigils. After San Luis Obispo came Lompoc, then Cambria and Atascadero.

WIB is an international movement of women which began in 1988 as a collaborative effort between Israeli Arab and Jewish women who were opposed to violence and occupation with silent vigils taking place weekly in Jerusalem and other cities in Israel. Since then, the movement has spread around the world and expanded to include other wars.

The core belief of the movement centers around the idea that deliberate violence should never be a strategy in conflict resolution, neither at home or community, nor among groups and nations. Nations that encourage or tolerate violence in the home seem to exhibit that tendency in society at large and in international relations.

Around one hundred women, men and children stood in Atascadero on the 20th of January 2007 in silent protest of the war in Iraq and in silent vigil to remember the over 3000 U.S. soldiers killed in the war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Individuals of all ages came to express their grief and abhorrence of the violence that is the hallmark of this occupation in the Middle East. Prayer flags with the names of every single soldier killed were held in memoriam to remind those of us left behind of the wastefulness of war and the disregard it generates towards human beings.

Women in Black is a movement of women, by women, for everyone, which is gaining momentum across the globe.

We are our children's caretakers. We should never be their killers and executioners.

Marilyn

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Poetry of War and Peace


I had these eleven poems in a folder for 4 years. I am hoping to share them with all the mothers out there who have children in war. They were inspired by letters of Israelis soldiers to their mothers during the invasion and occupation of Lebanon 1982-2000.

The countries, soldiers, and wars may be different, but the stories and agony are the same.

Marilyn.


Eleven Poems

By Ada Aharoni

Inspired from Letters of Israeli Soldiers

While in Lebanon

Copyright: Ada Aharoni - Haifa, May 2001.

Not Returning Home I'm

I'm so sorry, my love,
I'm not returning home
for I can't return home
I love you so,
want to be with you so,
but somewhere there -
among Lebanon's majestic cedars
so far from you my love -
I was hit by a murderous bullet
in the very center of
the fallow of my heart
where I first fell for you -
and fell forever.
I so want to be with you my love,
so want to hug you
my love, my life -
but cannot return home.
They have uselessly, pitifully,
spilled my young life, my blood,
under Lebanon's blue sky,
and now I cannot,
just cannot
return home.


The Hell With War


They announced a cease - fire
But we continued to bomb
The Beyrut Airport
And the streets and the houses,
What is it with us?

I loathe killing, I hate destroying,
Horrible, pitiful war!
Why should we allow them
To force us to be here?
And what hence?
And when will it end?
The Hell with War!

Mr. Prime Minister When Will The Nighmare End?


Mr. Prime Minister, when will the nightmare end?
What absolute misery -
I want to go home!
Instead of home's warmth -
anguished cold in my frozen bones
while watching the dreadful shock of a man
who has just discovered his dead wife's body
under his wrecked home ...


We came back from the nightmare
with horror in our hearts and imploring in our eyes -
Mr. Prime Minister, we were born
for creation, for joy and life - not for destruction!
Please, Mr. Prime Minister, end this nightmare that really kills -
and not only in nightmares.

Safety Is A Siamese Twin

For our safety
we will break their teeth,
for our safety
we will throw tons of bombs
on their heads and on their safety,
on their orchards
and on their vines,
on their houses and on their pride -
all this only for our safety.

But where is our safety?
And what about their safety?
In truth, our safety and their safety
Are Siamese Twins -
In reality, you can't hit one
without the other.

The Lie That Exploded

That night that big lie exploded
in my heart and in my mind
shattering all my limbs and all my values.
The big lie that violence can stop conflicts
exploded in the very depth of my heart together with the bombs -
And that explosive night my dreams exploded
With the lie.

When We Will Go Back Home

When we will go back home
They will not trick us anymore,
When we will return home
We will show them
What peace is
When we will go back home
We will hug our joyful wives and children,
And we will try to forget the sadness
In the eyes of their wives and children,
We will try, we will try very hard -
But I know we will never
Forget.

Bach In Beyrut

A moment of harmony in Beyrut -
We suddenly heard from one of the houses
Bach music beautifully played -
The whole company stopped
To hear the music.
The pianist played beautifully
And the whole company stopped and
listened to the exquisite harmony.
The bombs did not succeed to stop us -
but a sixteen year old girl
Playing Bach music -
Stopped us!

Amputated Hand

A young boy runs to me
and asks for a sweet,
he spreads his amputated arm
without a hand -
"Who did that to you?"
I ask aghast,
"Entum!" - "You!"
he answers timidly -
his apologetic bashfulness strangles
my shocked shame.

Fear From A Mosquito

We are forced to be policemen
of a population that hates us -
conflicts between Moslems, Christians and Druze,
thorny, entangled conflicts among them -
yet they all agree on one thing -
they all hate us!
We have entered a muddy morass
in which we are drowning -
Oh God! What a mess!
And in the end
we only found a mosquito -
but its bite kills,
and we shouldn't be here!
Oh God! What a mess,
Four Mothers, please save us.

A Mother's Letter

You will not build a nest
dear Gili,
every night you return to me,
and your silent cries
silence my heart,
"Mother, mother, help me!"
And I cannot
I can only caress the rugged stone
over your bones,
as I used to caress your soft curls
before sleeping ...

Leaving Lebanon In Peace

Can be sung to the music of "Let My People Go!"

When soldier sons were in Lebanon Land,
Let the soldiers go!
They suffered so much they could not stand,
Let the Soldiers go!
Go up Mothers, liberate your soldier sons,
Biblical Revka, Sarah, Leah, Rachel -
Let our sons go!
The soldiers under the cedar trees
Heard the four mothers in joy -
Leave Lebanon, Leave Lebanon
Leave Lebanon in Peace,
They sang and laughed in joy -
Go home soldiers,
Go home to Israel Land
And leave, and leave

Leave Lebanon in Peace!

Copyright: Ada Aharoni - Haifa, 2001

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Child Soldiers: Our Wars, Their Lives


Children continue to be conscripted into armed conflicts to perform various roles including combat. UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund), along with non-governmental organizations, is seeking to advocate on behalf of such children to ban their abuse.


Marilyn


FACTSHEET: CHILD SOLDIERS

The facts

It is estimated that some 300,000 children – boys and girls under the age of 18 – are today involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. Children are used as combatants, messengers, porters and cooks and for forced sexual services. Some are abducted or forcibly recruited, others are driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination, or to seek revenge for violence enacted against them or their families.

Children are more likely to become child soldiers if they are separated from their families, displaced from their homes, living in combat zones or have limited access to education. Children may join armed groups as the only way to guarantee daily food and survival.

In some situations, the involvement of children in conflicts as soldiers may even be accepted or encouraged. Children may ‘voluntarily’ take part in warfare, not realizing the dangers and abuses they will be subjected to. Most likely these children are responding to economic, cultural, social and political pressures.

The particular situation of girls in conflicts continues to require further attention. The potential risk of sexual violence, abuse and exploitation of children and women increase during armed conflicts, and specific measures must be taken to ensure their security and to strengthen their decision-making abilities. Still, in many instances, programmes to demobilize and reintegrate child soldiers fail to identify appropriate strategies for gaining access to these girls and young women. Ways must also be found to address the needs of girls abducted during war to serve as sexual slaves and who may have no alternative to remaining under the custody of their abductors.

Building a protective environment for children

Ending the use of child soldiers can be extremely challenging, particularly when children are enlisted for combat by armed, non-governmental groups. In addition, modern conflicts are characterized by governmental breakdown, making it difficult to identify and influence those recruiting and using children as soldiers.

Elements already in place

Legislation: In 2002 the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict entered into force. It outlaws the involvement of children under age 18 in hostilities, raising the previous standard of age (15 years) set by the Convention and the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols. As well as requiring States to raise the age for compulsory recruitment and direct participation in conflict to 18, the Optional Protocol requires State parties to raise the minimum age for voluntary recruitment beyond the current minimum of 15.

Another milestone was set in July 2002 when the Statute of the International Criminal Court entered into force, making the conscription, enlistment or use of children under 15 in hostilities by national armed forces or armed groups a war crime.

Monitoring: Violations of the laws of war that affect children need to be properly monitored and reported, so that perpetrators can be held accountable before tribunals or other truth and reconciliation mechanisms. This applies to the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, particularly in light of the provision in the Statute of the International Criminal Court. Adequate monitoring will also promote better understanding of and data on the numbers and situation of child soldiers.

Capacity: During conflict, the capacity of families and communities to protect and care for children is undermined. Nonetheless, their efforts to ensure that their children do not become involved in violence are important and must be supported. The protection of children by families and communities is the frontline in the war against recruiting children into armed groups. Capacity also involves focusing efforts and resources on the most underserved regions and population groups, including displaced populations, to guarantee equal access to quality services, in particular education.

UNICEF’s response

Attitudes, customs and behaviours, and practices: A protective environment for demobilized child soldiers must include strategies to prevent their re-recruitment. It should also lay the groundwork for the eventual return to their families and communities.

Governmental and non-governmental commitment: This includes advocacy on behalf of children at the international, national and community level. This could include, for example, promoting ratification of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict and advocating for national law reform and sensitization campaigns. It could also mean engaging in dialogue with non-governmental armed groups to uphold international standards for child protection and securing their commitment to end the recruitment and use of children in hostilities.

Children’s life skills and participation: Giving children a voice – and listening to them – will allow children to have a say in their own protection and in the life of their community and country.

Services for victims of abuse: This includes providing protection to former child soldiers during demobilization and social reintegration programmes (education and vocational training) and providing psychosocial support (peer-to peer support, community-based support and psychosocial counselling). It also means promoting family reunification as a key factor for social reintegration and ensuring follow-up care for demobilized children, focusing on long-term social reintegration.

UNICEF in action

Since the mid-1980s, UNICEF has played a key role in advocating and securing the release of children from armed forces and other combatant groups in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

UNICEF and its NGO partners have also provided care, technical guidance and, at times, financial support for the successful implementation of national programmes for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.

In Angola, following the signing of a ceasefire agreement in April 2002, a wide process of demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants was initiated. However, an estimated 8,000 children recruited during the civil war were released without going through a formal demobilization exercise. UNICEF is now working to build support for their reintegration into communities, in particular to provide them with health care and schooling. Current initiatives include setting-up child-friendly spaces in demobilization camps, and providing psychosocial counselling and appropriate education and vocational training opportunities.

In the Great Lakes region of Africa, UNICEF is working in partnership with the World Bank, other UN agencies, donor governments and the countries concerned to develop a multi-country demobilization and reintegration programme for combatants, including former child soldiers. In Rwanda, UNICEF has worked alongside Save the Children and the International Committee of the Red Cross for the demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers following rebel incursions in May and June of 2001 in the Gisenyi and Ruhengeri Provinces. Over 2,000 rebels were either captured by or surrendered to the Rwandan Patriotic Army. Among them were more than 350 children who had been forcibly recruited by rebel forces. All these children and a small number of others who returned to the country afterwards benefited from a transitional period in a rehabilitation centre and reintegration back into their communities of origin.

In Sierra Leone, UNICEF was the lead agency for child protection during the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process for child soldiers from 1998 to 2002. Demobilized children were transferred to interim care centres supported by UNICEF where they were provided with health care and psychosocial counselling. They also participated in educational and recreational activities while family tracing and reunification was in progress. Almost all of 6,800 former child soldiers who have been demobilized since October 1999 are now reunited with their families. Access to education and family- and community-support programmes has been key to their successful reintegration.

Since the ceasefire agreement in Sri Lanka in February 2002, a significant decrease in child recruitment by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been reported, and a number of children have been released and returned to their families. UNICEF is now working with LTTE to help develop an action plan for the social reintegration of children still with them, including providing assistance for returning the children to school and accessing vocational training, as called for in the peace negotiations. UNICEF and the LTTE have also agreed to develop procedures for monitoring and preventing child recruitment in the future.

In southern Sudan, more than 3,500 child soldiers were demobilized in phase one of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process, which began in February 2001. These children are receiving reintegration support through community centres. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army has continued to demobilize child soldiers, with UNICEF assistance, since October 2001.

Data is being collected on abducted children in Uganda, as a tool to advocate for the release of child soldiers. The registration of abducted persons started in 1997, following the intensification of abductions by the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. The main purpose of the registration exercise is to support international and national advocacy for an end to abductions and for the return of abducted children. The data also supports the implementation of tracing and reunification, as well as psychosocial support and advocacy activities.

Definition

For the purposes of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, UNICEF defines a ‘child soldier’ as any child – boy or girl – under 18 years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including, but not limited to: cooks, porters, messengers, and anyone accompanying such groups other than family members. It includes girls and boys
recruited for forced sexual purposes and/or forced marriage. The definition, therefore, does not only refer to a child who is carrying, or has carried, weapons. (Based on the ‘Cape Town Principles’, 199
7)

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Global Warming. Solutions?


Following is a "letter to the editor" sent to the Telegram Tribune by Bob Banner, editor and publisher of Hopedance Magazine in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barabra Counties. The letter follows an article by David Sneed in the San Luis Obispo Tribune on global warming. Bob's letter summarizes the efforts of many local citizens who are trying to explore and implement ways to alleviate pollution and the effects of global warming. You can link to Bob Banner's Hopedance website and film schedule at hopedance.org.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispotribune/16458465.htm

Marilyn

SOLUTIONS?

Thank you David Sneed for writing a comprehensive summary of global warming and how it will affect San Luis Obispo County. I would like to add some of the future events that can direct people to some solutions and actions.

On February 24th SLO Rideshare and HopeDance will present a free screening of the film “An Inconvenient Truth” with a panel discussing the film afterwards (SLO’s Mayor Dave Romero, Sierra Club Karen Merriam, APCD Larry Allen and Rideshare Lisa Quinn).

The next day February 25 (3pm) we will continue the discussion after viewing a 20-minute speech by famed Paul Hawken, given at the recent Bioneers Conference. A pot luck and more discussion of activities will ensue.

Also HopeDance did a special issue awhile back called “How Cities Are Preparing for Global Warming and Peak Oil.” Readers can either order a copy or view it at http://tinyurl.com/yq2oyq.

Also, a highly respected biologist traveling from British Columbia, Professor Gordon Hartman, will speak to the public on Saturday, February 3 at 7pm at the SLO Public Library. His talk is called “Converging Ecological Crises: Are We Up to the Challenges?” An article of the same title is in the current issue of HopeDance to be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/yu5mca.

Bob Banner
Publisher of HopeDance
www.HopeDance.org
544-9663
POBox 15609
SLO, CA 93406

Domestic Violence


Domestic violence is a worldwide problem that cuts across cultural, religious, socio-economic and gender boundaries. It remains a far underreported problem and a culturally acceptable or ignored aspect of family and community life. The following statistics portray the national problem and give some helpful information. It impacts children as well who may end up becoming abusers or abused themselves. All information is obtained from the website of the Women's Shelter SLO

http://www.womensshelterslo.org/index.htm

Marilyn.

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women, more than muggings, stranger rape, and car accidents combined.

• The United Way ranks domestic violence as the leading cause of birth defects.

• 3-4 million women are beaten by their husbands or boyfriends every year.

• A man beats his partner every 13 seconds.

• 1 out of every 2 women will be physically abused by their partner at least once.

• 4000 women and children are beaten to death every year .

• At least 25% of domestic violence victims are beaten while pregnant.

• 50% of all homeless women and children are fleeing domestic violence situations.

• 79% of spousal abuse is committed by men after the woman leaves.

• An intimate male partner murdered 42% of all female homicide victims.

• More than three million children witness acts of domestic violence every year.

• 95% of boys and 72 % of girls witnessing domestic violence will carry abuse into their own relationships.

• 1 out of 3 high school relationships includes domestic violence or rape.

• On average, a women is beaten 9 times before she placed the first call to police for help; only 7% of spousal assaults are reported to the police.

• 57% of women who are physically abused by their partners never tell anyone.

• 40% of assaults committed by a male partner on women begin during the first pregnancy; pregnant women are at twice the risk of battery.

Department of Justice Stats

Myths and Realities of Domestic Violence

Myth: The problem of domestic violence is greatly exaggerated.

Reality: National statistics reveal that every year three to four million women are beaten by their husbands or boyfriends, and every day, four die. Battery is the single most common cause of injury to women, more than auto accidents, rapes or muggings combined. Physical abuse is cited as the cause of one fourth of all suicide attempts by women. Twenty percent of visits by women to emergency rooms are the result of battering by their husbands or boyfriends.

Myth: In terms of domestic violence and spouse abuse, men and women are equally violent.

Reality: National crime survey data show that men commit 95 percent of all assaults on female spouses or girlfriends. Forty percent of all female homicide victims are killed by their husbands or boyfriends; only10 percent of male homicide victims are killed by their wives or girlfriends, and of these 7 percent were killed in self defense.

Myth: Men and women have always fought; it is natural.

Reality: There is occasional conflict in every family and relationship, but there is no need for violence. Wife beating is a crime of rage, power, and control. The batterer often thinks he has the right to control his partner through any means, even beating. Violence is never an acceptable way to solve problems.

Myth: Domestic violence only happens in the lower economic classes and minority populations.

Reality: Domestic violence occurs in families from all social racial, economic, educational, and religious backgrounds. In occurs in towns, suburbs, rural areas, and neighborhoods. Battered women with few economic resources are more visible because they seek help from public agencies and are counted in statistics. Women from middle and upper economic groups are more likely to seek help from private agencies.

Myth: Battering usually only happens once. It should be a private family matter, not a crime.

Reality: A battering incident is rarely an isolated occurrence; beatings escalate in frequency and intensity. Assault is a crime whether it is committed within or outside the family.

Myth: Battered women are masochistic and crazy; they provoke and enjoy their abuse.

Reality: Women do not provoke or deserve battering. They deserve a violence-free life. As does happen with rape, the attempt is made to blame the victim for the behavior of the attacker. Abusers commonly blame minor frustrations, alcohol and drug abuse, and the words or behavior or their partner for their battering. Their violence, however, is their choice. There are non-violent ways to deal with their anger.

A battered woman's reactions to the violence are normal, given the circumstances, and the reactions are often necessary for survival. She is not crazy. She still hopes her partner will change, and indeed, he may show remorse and there may be some good times; however, the good times and remorse happen less and less over time.

Myth: Men who abuse women are mentally ill and not responsible for their actions.

Reality: Battering is a learned behavior from childhood experiences and from social messages condoning violence against women. Psychological tests have repeatedly shown that men who abuse women do not differ from the "normal" male. Lenore Walker's study showed that batterers had learned as children that violence was an appropriate response to anger. Abusers are not out of control, but are trying to get control over their partner with demands, threats, and physical abuse. They deny and minimize the violence, and blame their partners for their violence. Their violent behavior will continue as long as society continues to refuse to threat their violence as the serious crime that it is and impose serious consequences.

Myth: Alcohol and drug abuse cause domestic violence.

Reality: Alcohol and drug abuse do not cause domestic violence. The violence may be more severe, however, when alcohol or drugs are involved. Alcohol and drugs may also intensify existing violent behavior. Rates of simultaneously occurring domestic violence and alcohol abuse vary from as low as 25 percent in some studies, to as high as 80 percent in other studies.

Many batterers do not abuse alcohol or drugs and many alcohol or drug abusers do not batter. Chemical dependency treatment will not cure battering; the two problems need to be dealt with separately. The alcohol abuse rate for abused women is the same as that of the general female population, 7 to 14 percent. Their alcohol abuse does not justify their being battered.

Myth: Batterers cannot change.

Reality: The criminal justice system can hold batterers accountable for their actions and court order the choice of jail or counseling. Men who batter can learn to take responsibility for their own behavior and can learn non-violent ways to act and communicate. The programs for men who batter, however, are only as effective as the willingness of the batterer to change.

Myth: Once the battering stops, everything will be okay.

Reality: There is also psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse which often continues even when the battering has stopped. These behaviors must also stop before the healing can start.

Women who are abused feel fear, depression, anxiety, helplessness, anger and embarrassment. A lowered self-esteem can develop from constant insults and put downs by her abuser. She is often isolated by her partner and has lost touch with friends and family. She may be afraid that she will be blamed by them for the violence. The support of friends, family, and the community is necessary for her to recognize her strengths and to believe that she is a good person who deserves a violence-free life. Recovery from abuse is a process and can take a long time.

Myth: Domestic violence is only a family problem.

Reality: Domestic violence is still viewed by many as just a family problem, even though the effects are serious. It is a crime that can result in serious injury or death. Social problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction, juvenile delinquency, suicide, and runaway children are increased by violence in the home. Businesses lose $3 to 5 billion dollars each year because of absenteeism resulting from abuse, and $100 million in medical costs. Communities spend millions of dollars every year on intervention. Society suffers when individuals and families are destroyed by domestic violence.

Referenced from: Annotated Bibliogrpahy on "Spouse Abuse. Wife Abuse The Facts. Response to Violence in the Family and Sexual Assault." National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Report. April 1985 National Woman Abuse Prevention Project. 1989. Washington DC.

Blood and Oil: How the West will Profit from Iraq's Most Precious Commodity

The signs of the real motives behind the invasion of Iraq are unfolding. This expose by the Independent on Line sheds some light onto the plans for the Iraqi oil industry by Western Corporations.

Marilyn.


Blood and oil: How the West will profit from Iraq's most precious commodity

The 'IoS' today reveals a draft for a new law that would give Western oil companies a massive share in the third largest reserves in the world. To the victors, the oil? That is how some experts view this unprecedented arrangement with a major Middle East oil producer that guarantees investors huge profits for the next 30 years

Published: 07 January 2007

So was this what the Iraq war was fought for, after all? As the number of US soldiers killed since the invasion rises past the 3,000 mark, and President George Bush gambles on sending in up to 30,000 more troops, The Independent on Sunday has learnt that the Iraqi government is about to push through a law giving Western oil companies the right to exploit the country's massive oil reserves. (read more........) Blood and Oil

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2132574

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Landmines: The Indiscriminate Killer


Killing does not always stop when wars are over. It has been the custom of many a nation or group to litter the landscape with landmines, a fact that has contributed to killing and maiming, especially of children, across the globe. Today, I am profiling an organization that has been working to alleviate the hardships of this unjust, brutal, and indiscriminate form of warfare.

Landmines left by retreating forces have caused the deaths of many children, adults, and farm animals. They have robbed children of their ability to live safely in their homes and neighborhoods. MAG (Mines Advisory Group) is a British based organization that helps the victims of war in clearing the landmines and trains the locals in ways to escape poverty and deprivation.

Marilyn

MAG (Mines Advisory Group) is one of the world's leading humanitarian organisations providing conflict-affected countries with a real chance for a better future.

We clear the remnants of conflict from some of the world's poorest nations, we educate and employ local people and help provide solutions for those trapped by poverty and economic devastation through no fault of their own.

Operating since 1989 and having worked on a variety of conflict-related projects in around 35 countries, MAG is also co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for our work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Our aims are:

  • To deliver on our promise to save lives and build futures globally by implementing our innovative solutions for conflict-affected communities.
  • To enable governments and institutions to address the needs of conflict-affected communities through funding our activities.
  • To work with partners and others who share our impact-driven approach and further enable people to escape from the poverty and suffering caused by conflict.
  • To create awareness and secure public contributions so we can provide an effective response to the wider problems caused by the presence of remnants of conflict
  • http://www.mag.org.uk/index.php?p=316&s=0.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

A Challenge to the Supreme Court: Can the U.S. Kill Iraqi Children Legally?

International sanctions use civilian death and suffering to force a change in policy in governments. Those affected mostly by the sanctions are the most vulnerable, among whom are the children. Are sanctions equivalent to crimes against humanity?

Marilyn
by Bert Sachs
Counterpunch
January 4, 2007

"Imagine if a U.S. cruise missile were to land on a kindergarten and kill 165 children. Imagine now that it was launched knowing it would hit that kindergarten, and further, that one of these missiles was launched at a different kindergarten every day for a month. That's 5,000 children.

"To kill that many children as a matter of state policy would be unspeakable. The American commander in chief would be condemned as a barbarian. And yet, that is what the economic embargo of Iraq has done."

This is from a Seattle Times editorial six years ago. For ten years I have wanted to ask one very basic question: Not were the sanctions barbaric. But were the sanctions legal? Could the U.S cause the deaths of thousands of Iraqi children every month for years and do so legally?

I will finally get a chance to ask this of the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition I'll file this month.

I need to show what deaths occurred and why: UNICEF reported "there would have been half a million fewer deaths of children under-five [in Iraq] during the eight year period 1991 to 1998." The New England Journal of Medicine explained: "The [Gulf War] destruction of the country's power plants had brought its entire system of water purification and distribution to a halt, leading to epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever, and gastroenteritis, particularly among children." (read more.....) Killing Children

http://www.counterpunch.org/sacks01042007.html

Bert Sacks, who lives in Seattle, has been fined $10,000 by the U.S. government after going to Iraq to distribute medicine; Sacks has refused to pay any fines. More of his writings are at: http://bertoniraq.blogspot.com.