Month: November 2021

From navigating shopping centers to government offices, South Africa’s “little people” say public spaces aren’t designed to be accessible for them. One advocacy group in Johannesburg is calling for better support to help them live independently.

“Different,” “abnormal” and “very small.”

Those are just some of the words Olivia Radebe — who was born with a condition that restricted her growth — says have been used to describe her.

The 27-year-old writer says her late grandmother encouraged her to persevere with her studies and with living independently — and she has. But Radebe says she still faces practical challenges navigating life in Johannesburg.

“You cannot ask help and not pay someone, you know. … Because I’m not on a permanent job and also the money that I get from the government is not enough to sustain me to that certain level whether I can afford to pay everyone and anyone, like it’s a bit of a challenge. So, in other words, I have to beg someone to help me,” Radebe said.

There are hundreds of causes for restricted growth — the most common being achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism that results in short arms and legs. Radebe was never diagnosed as a child.

Now, she says it would be too costly to go to a private specialist to find out. Radebe says she sometimes wonders what her underlying health issue is.

“Because at a later stage, I might be having other complications. … So, if I was diagnosed earlier, maybe I would have known that, okay, fine, in 10 years’ time, I should expect this, I should live like this. There are certain things that I need to avoid in order for me to [have] a long life,” Radebe said.

Specialized health care isn’t evenly available across the country. Parents have to look to big cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg to find the best resources for their children who show signs of restricted growth.

Rachelle Petersen, a member of Little People South Africa, has a son with achondroplasia.

“Our hospitals in areas, like impoverished areas, where there’s a day hospital. So, a parent will go and take the child but the nurses, the doctors are not aware of the condition that the child has,” Petersen said.

Raising awareness about people with dwarfism is one of the main reasons why Piet Nel established the non-profit Short Statured Persons South Africa.

“We can share ideas and come together and also that the public can know what we are about,” Nel said.

The 57-year-old says he has struggled with accessibility and discrimination throughout his life. Nel says the organization gives people like him more power to advocate for themselves and their unique needs.

“That’s why they say, ‘Nothing about us without us.’ You can’t do for us; we must talk for ourselves. Like I say, we must stand together and fight for our rights,” Nel said.

And the country, he added, is starting to listen. Nel’s group met with South Africa’s social development minister to discuss their health and reproductive needs that go unaddressed. He hopes it will be the first step toward bringing more support within their reach.

Source: Voice of America

Security is getting worse in Burkina Faso, with the deadliest attacks by Islamist militants in the West African country in years on civilians and security forces. People are protesting the failure of Burkinabe and international forces to stop the violence, with some calling for change at the top.

In downtown Ouagadougou early Saturday police fired tear gas into crowds of protesters calling for the resignation of Burkina Faso’s President Roch Kabore.

Around 400-500 people were assembled before the tear gas forced them to disperse. An eerie silence followed.

Journalists were hit with tear gas too, even after identifying themselves as press. One local radio journalist was injured after being hit in the face with a tear gas canister.

In recent days, protests have spread across several cities in Burkina Faso.

Demonstrators were angry at what they say is the government’s inability to counter terrorism, after an al-Qaida-linked terror group attacked a military outpost in the north of the country, killing at least 50 military police.

Mamadou Drabo, who is a protest leader, said, “We want the departure of Roch by noon, we want the resignation of Roch, his government and the MPP regime.”

By early Saturday, the police had blocked entrances to the square where protesters were due to meet. Some protesters began shouting at military police, others approached them with their hands up to show their support for the security forces.

Not all demonstrators were peaceful, however. Some attacked a pickup truck carrying members of a local militia known as the Koglweogo. Others set fire to tires and threw rocks at security forces, as well as journalists.

Maman Flora Pascalina is a Burkinabe blogger and activist who goes by the nickname Flo Flo. She said she supports the FDS, the Burkinabe security forces, and therefore Saturday’s protests against the government.

Flo Flo said her heart aches for her people who are dying before her eyes. She can’t stand it, she says. “I’ve thrown myself into this and I fight, night and day for the Burkinabe people, for the FDS,” she added.

Protests against French military intervention in Burkina Faso have also taken place in the last ten days. Demonstrators blocked a French convoy traveling through the country, claiming the soldiers were aiding terrorists.

Many Burkinabes believe in conspiracy theories like this, spread over social media.

Starting November 20, the government shut down mobile internet for eight days, in part to stop the spread of misinformation, but also to suppress protests.

The government came under pressure from lawmakers about its handling of security and the internet shutdown at a special session of the national assembly on Friday. The defense minister, Aime Simpore, voiced support for the shutdown.

He said, “Regretfully, some uses of social networks compromise national security and contribute to the weakening of our country to the point of making it vulnerable.”

Analysts say the threat of protests may force the government to make concessions.

“There’s some sense politically that there was a need to concede something to some of these demands.”

More demonstrations are scheduled for the 10th and 11th of December.

Source: Voice of America

ISLAMABAD — Authorities in northwestern Pakistan said Monday they had arrested around 30 people in connection with an overnight mob assault on a police station aimed at grabbing and lynching a mentally unstable detainee accused of insulting Islam.

Witnesses and police said thousands of protesters stormed the police station in Charsadda, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Sunday evening and burned the facility along with several nearby security outposts after police refused to hand over the blasphemy suspect.

The mob attack forced police officers to abandon the installation and flee to safety along with the detainee, district police chief Asif Bahadur Khan told reporters Monday.

A video circulating on social media showed the police station burning.

The alleged blasphemer was taken into police custody earlier in the day on charges he desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Quran. Khan said an investigation was underway into the charges against the detainee, but he declined to share further details.

Residents said tension was still high in the Pakistani district amid heavy police deployment to deter further unrest. Khan said they had also engaged local Islamic clerics to help defuse the tension and urge demonstrators to let the law decide the fate of the alleged blasphemer.

Insulting Islam or its Prophet Mohammad carries the death penalty in Pakistan, where mere blasphemy allegations often provoke mob violence and lynching of suspects.

In 2017, a mob of students at a university in Mardan district, next to Charsadda, attacked and killed a fellow student, Mohammad Mashal, after accusing him of sharing blasphemous content on Facebook.

Critics of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws say accusations of insulting Islam are often used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores in the pre-dominantly Muslim country.

Earlier this month the United States designated Pakistan, along with nine other countries, as violators of religious freedom, saying they have “engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”

The U.S. secretary of state compiles a list of such countries each year. Other countries listed this year are Russia, China, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Eritrea, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Pakistan rejected the U.S. designation as “arbitrary” and the outcome of a “selective assessment”, saying it was against the realities on the ground and raised “serious doubts about the credibility” of the exercise “Such subjective designations do not contribute towards promoting the cause of religious freedom world-wide,” it added.

Source: Voice of America

Violence has reached record levels in many cities of the world and has become a critical threat to the security and development of urban dwellers. Levels of burglary, robbery, rape, kidnapping, killing and other types of crimes are on the rise in several urban areas. These crimes not only result in injury and loss of property but also increase the general feeling of insecurity. Women and children, in particular, are the most vulnerable groups harmed by violence.

As the world becomes more and more urbanized, cities are increasingly seen as places of opportunity. If cities are secure and well administered, they can offer their residents diverse social, economic, and cultural benefits. However, most urban areas, particularly in the developing world, do not fulfill this potential. Many are characterized by extreme social exclusion, inequality, and high levels of crime and violence.

Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, is blessed with extraordinary peace and tranquility. Its inhabitants are live in harmony with a tolerance of diversity and multiculturalism. Strong social cohesion prevents tension, violent crime, including violence against women, theft, and other crimes. One foreign observer described the social order and honesty she encountered in Eritrea’s capital city like this: “Asmara was certainly the only African city in which not only was I regularly offered lifts by strangers, but I accepted them without hesitation.” She added, “The most dangerous thing that could happen to you in Asmara after dark was to stumble on a piece of broken paving.” Trust and cooperation are easy to find among the people. Trust plays a central role, perhaps the main one, in the life of Asmarinos.

The extraordinary peace and stability of Asmara is not really maintained through the work of the police and security forces. Asmara has become home to a peaceful society primarily because it exhibits a high degree of social cohesion. Trust makes it possible to maintain peaceful and stable social relations among the people. Asmara has, reportedly, the lowest incidence of crime and violence in Continent. The streets of Asmara are the safest places one can walk on at any time of the day or night. The government puts significant emphasis on the maintenance of peace and order and it ensures women and other vulnerable members of the society enjoy their rights to live in a peaceful and safe environment.

According to the well-known Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, safety and security are placed among the basic needs that should be satisfied for all humans. To live in a safe city free from harm and danger should be the right of every citizen. Among others, specifically Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.” The Sustainable Development Goals particularly highlight the importance of safe cities in the commitment to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”

We proudly claim with confidence that Asmara is safe because the city’s inhabitants are able to live, work and participate in urban life without fear of bodily harm or intimidation. Asmara is oftentimes described as a beautiful, clean city with well-designed buildings and well-decorated streets. The social beauty and safety of Asmara enjoyed by its inhabitants are, however, far greater and appreciable than the architectural beauty of the city. The people of Eritrea have developed the capacity to live together in harmony. Their collective historical experience oriented them toward peace and tolerance rather than towards violence. The life of the people is shaped by the discipline of peaceful co-existence, mutual trust, and tolerance.

Today, crime rates have soared in the developed and developing world. Urban dwellers try to secure their homes and gated communities are increasingly becoming common. Contrary to this reality, gating and surveillance technology is unknown in Asmara. The houses of the rich, government officials and famous personalities have no surveillance instruments or special fences.

For Eritreans, Asmara is not just their capital city but an icon of unity with a very strong social bondage and attachment. It is not only the political and administrative center of Eritrea but also a desirable place venerated for its peace. Songs, poems, and novels have been dedicated to the beauty and peacefulness of Asmara.

The government’s policy that promotes social cohesion and peaceful coexistence has also developed a sense of community and trust among the people and removed all forms of discrimination and division.

In Eritrea, like many other countries, there is an increasing trend toward the concentration of people in the cities. The high concentration of people in cities constitutes advantages and disadvantages. In addition to social inequalities, it creates additional pressure on the state to respond to the increasing demand of the city. If these demands are not adequately addressed, crime, theft, violence, unsafe and unhygienic environments, and many other social ills develop. Therefore, in order to maintain and make the safety and security of our cities sustainable, the government must continue its efforts to make the rural areas attractive places. The provision of social services and opportunities in rural areas is a guarantee for the sustainability of city life.

Safety and security are sine-qua-non to progress and development. No society can develop without peace, security, and social harmony. Therefore, guarding the moral, spiritual and cultural values of the Eritrean society is of vital importance to the sustainability of safety and security.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

Mr. Berhane Gebrehiwet, Charge d’Affairs of the Eritrean Embassy in the US conducted seminars to nationals in various cities of the US.

At the seminars conducted in Washington, Seattle, Oakland, Huston, Chicago, and New York Mr. Berhane Gebrehiwet gave a detailed briefing on the objective situation in the homeland in terms of the regional and global developments and especially on the unwarranted external interferences in the internal affairs in the region.

In his briefing, Mr. Berhane called on the nationals to raise their understanding, awareness and strengthen their unity and reinforce participation in the diplomatic and media activities aimed at foiling the external conspiracies that are aiming to disrupt the prevailing peace and cooperation in the region.

He also called for strengthening participation and contribution in the implementation of the national development drives.

The participants on their part expressed conviction to strengthen organizational capacity and to actively participate in the diplomatic and media campaigns, and firmly stand in the effort the Eritrean Government and Eritrean Defense Forces are exerting to ensure national sovereignty and stability.

 

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea