An artisan in Hebron works on a design created by Majd Abdel Hamid
(Annelys de Vet)

Jewelry is intimately connected to resistance in Palestine. On a recent trip to the West Bank, the designer Annelys de Vet learned of how prisoners smuggle little gifts out of jail. The most prized possessions among Palestinians include beautifully hand-decorated jewels that prisoners make for their children.

De Vet is a curator of the Disarming Design project, which aims to bring to market collections of Palestinian design products for the bedroom, kitchen, living room, garden and even a collection of toys.

Prototypes of the products have been developed at a workshop hosted by the International Academy of Arts Palestine in Ramallah. Disarming Design is supported by UNESCO, the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Dutch anti-poverty organization ICCO.

De Vet is head of the design department of the Amsterdam-based Sandberg Institute and runs a design studio in Brussels. The project’s coordinator, Majd Abdel Hamid, studied art in Ramallah, as well as in Malmö in Sweden.

Hamid and de Vet spoke to The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof about the project.

Adri Nieuwhof: How did the project Disarming Design come about and does the name express the meaning of the project?

Annelys de Vet: Mieke Zagt from ICCO approached me with the question if I could think of strategies to make Palestinian products more attractive for a contemporary international market. She explained how many beautiful products she sees in Palestine, but never finds them in Dutch warehouses [department stores]. I came up with the idea of developing a collection of Palestinian products by contemporary artists, designers and local craftsmen, creating new possibilities out of the existing resources and production methods.

The project has a slightly provocative title: “Disarming Design from Palestine.” It is an artistic project with strong conceptual thinking [behind it]. In that way it shows the quality of the Palestinian people without portraying them as [only] victims.

At the same time, it [the project] does not ignore the situation but reflects upon the situation. The products can unveil parts of the Palestinian reality, tell a different story to an international audience. I approached Khaled Hourani, the director of the International Academy of Arts Palestine, to develop this project with him and the academy. He responded more than enthusiastically.

Majd Abdel Hamid: About the name Disarming Design, there is a cultural aspect of language. I like the name. I know what it means. But the problem is that “disarming” always takes you to an idea that something is armed and this proved to be a little controversial when I was talking to and inviting artists. We are still thinking about the title, how to maneuver around it, play with the name without creating some kind of controversy of talking about Palestinian design as armed design. Disarming Design is a working title.

AN: What are your impressions of the Palestinian artists and craftspeople you have met?

AV: Both the craftsmen and the artists responded very enthusiastically to our project, and especially to the opportunity to experiment. It’s not a common thing for artists to think about collaborating with craftsmen. In general they are separated groups. Just by visiting the workshops, the artists and designers got many new ideas. There were already some brilliant ideas and projects, that can get a new platform through our design collection. In western societies most small workshops and [associated] skills have unfortunately disappeared. And with them the knowledge and respect for resources and processes of making also vanished. Craftsmen have knowledge in their hands and express that through the material. It was enriching to meet many highly skilled and committed craftsmen in Palestine.

AN: Does the Israeli occupation or the Palestinian nation play a role in the design?

MA: Of course, occupation plays a role even in how you perceive things, I mean visually speaking. My generation, we have a distorted perception of space. It is distorted in how you see, how you look at things. You have many affiliations, you have the wall, you have all these boundaries on movement. You talk about the last ten years where people were mostly living in one city, they don’t really move around the West Bank. They are just living with one community. So the occupation has a lot of influence [on the design], but it is indirect. You can see it visually, in the language, in the development of the work. You can find traces of this. But at the same time it should not be literal, it should not be like one layer, as “an occupation” or “against occupation.” It is not about the just cause of Palestinians, or a political debate. It is about a beautiful product and the history of it and the people who are doing it.

AV: Yes, very much. For instance, only some resources are easy to get and for most it is difficult, impossible or too expensive. That plays a role in the project. But also in the meaning of all the products themselves the occupations plays a role, because they reflect on the situation. What I see with Palestinian artists is that it is impossible to deny the reality outside the [studio]. You can’t “just make art.” You have to take a position in what it means to make art in a situation of occupation, in this political impossible reality. That clearly influences the art and design works.

AN: Did the cooperation between the artists, students and craftspeople from Palestine and the Dutch Sandberg Institute bring new energy?

MA: It is very interesting to see the relationship. For instance, we had three students from the Netherlands who were staying with me [in Palestine]. I was telling them that I know that this experience is intense. It does not matter if this is the first time or fifth time you are in Palestine. It is a charged atmosphere. Politically, the situation is now unstable, and with all these demonstrations. There is this collaboration but it takes a little bit of time to develop knowledge about what you can do, how we can work, to actually see the country, understand the layers. I think they bring something really important and they also get something very important. The collaboration brings out a very interesting dynamic, a kind of visual debate between two very different visual languages. Someone with a western background and someone from here, it is very different. Then we have this negotiation and this is interesting, to see how it works.

AN: What did the cooperation bring the Palestinian craftsmen, students and artists?

MA: I have been dealing with craftsmen and I think they are really excited about this project. They feel really marginalized, which is true. They have this threat of China that is ruining all these small shops, all the production of the craftsmen. Everyone is importing cheap products from China which have overtaken the market. There is this aspect of showing the craftsmen that we care they are there, by working with them. I really appreciate the personal contact with these craftsmen, to see them interested in the work and trying to find solutions for the problems that come up with the product.

The other part is that the artists themselves, when you think about what it means to create a fork or a table spoon from olive wood from Bethlehem. This brings a lot of questions. It helps people to grow, to have a fresh perspective on the esthetics of this country and the products, and on us as cultural practitioners what are we producing. It influences the discourse of art as a culture itself. I am really optimistic about this project, because it is a continuation, it is not just two months and then you stop. Hopefully, we can introduce a design program at the art school [in Ramallah]. No one is studying design. We have technicians who know how to use software, but the concept of design as an art as philosophy does not exist.

AN: Can you give an example of an idea for a product that came up during the workshop which stands out or made you feel enthusiastic?

AV: Palestinian designer Wafa Meri created a contemporary interior for a hotel in Nablus in cooperation with Rashid Abdel Hamid, traditional manufacturers and female embroiderers. From this project Wafa will make a special “bedroom collection,” consisting of a pillowcase and a duvet cover with embroidered borders, a hand-woven bed-runner, a carpet in similar colors and a bed lamp made of olive tree branches. They all use production processes embedded in the cultural heritage.

MH: I am enthusiastic about the product I am working on. We were working with a jewelry designer and were talking about jewelry, rocks and precious stones. And then someone told about this small stone [jewel] he had made in jail. We developed the idea to use instead of precious stones or diamonds, we would use a rock that someone had sent out from prison, and make a very elegant, well-made necklace from it. It is playing on the idea of precious stones this personal relationship with a stone that is “worthless” but then we have the personal relationship. Then you can wear it. I am critical also of the commercial aspect of it, of selling this. At the same time, it is a statement. It is negotiation, it is not like it is good or bad.

I am also trying to develop a sand-clock, an hour glass made from crushed cement from the wall. It is completely Palestinian-made. So you have five minutes of the virtual life of the wall, but at the same time it is infinite because you can keep turning it.

AN: Do you think Palestinian investors will show interest in the products?

MA: I don’t see why not. With all the movement around the costs of living, there is this aspect of being part of the community and giving back, basically. It is not just about talking and demonstrating. It is about daily life, to work with the people, as many as possible, to actively create some help, so that people can still live, not suffocate or just emigrate out of the country. It is very important to invest in this.

AV: Yes, although it’s not an easy time for investors. But for this in particular we are collaborating Sam Bahour from AIM [Applied Information Management]. He is a business investor and joined the final presentation of the results of the workshop. He said that he was shocked by the quality of the presented prototypes and ideas. He said that it is the first time that there is a collection of contemporary design products from Palestine. Of course contemporary products exist, but they are never presented in a collection like [this]. Our design label will have a kitchen collection, bedroom collection, a garden and interior collection and even toys. Presenting the products in this context is a strong marketing tool, because of the bigger story it tells.

AN: Do you think it is possible to market the products outside Palestine?

AV: Yes, that’s the aim of the project. For the distribution of the products we collaborate with Alhoush [House of Arab Art and Design] in Amman [Jordan], who have experience with international distribution. We work with the Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans who already have a lot of international orders. But first we will exhibit the collection of prototypes during the international Art Biannual Qalandiya International in November. Qalandiya International is an ambitious contemporary art event taking place in several Palestinian cities and villages. Seven prominent Palestinian cultural institutions that are focused on contemporary art and the Palestine cultural landscape collaborate to organize the event. The prototypes that we have developed for the Disarming Design collection will be presented by the International Academy of Arts. From there on we will investigate in taking products into production and develop a mobile and online design shop. Summer 2013 we expect to present this temporary shop in outstanding international museums and cultural platforms. And on the Internet, of course.

Further information on the Disarming Design project can be found on www.sandberg.nl

Adri Nieuwhof is a consultant and human rights advocate based in Switzerland.

Disclosure: The Electronic Intifada has received grants from ICCO.

AUTHOR: Adri Nieuwhof
URL: http://www.samora.org
E-MAIL: a.nieuwhof [at] samora.org

JMN Audit Report 2011-2012

AUTHOR: Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi
URL: http://www.pvchr.net/
E-MAIL: pvchr.india [at] gmail.com

1. On 26th June, 2012 Ms. Shirin Shabana Khan, senior member of management committee of PVCHR posted in Odisha Watch an article published in Asia News. This article includes the quotation of Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi on Kandhamal issues. After more than a month three gentlemen (Mr. Saubhagya Panigrahi, Mr. Chinmaya Kumar Panda and Mr. Bahara Mihir Mohanty) from Odisha attacked on her religion identity.
2. Shruti Nagvanshi was struck down in the ground and villagers were beaten by Guddu Dubey, known for his links to the underworld in Ahirani Nathaipur, Block – Baragaon under Phulpur Jurisdiction, Varanasi.. After they complained that a social audit was being fabricated, and that many of their names were being misused. The audit was to look into the operation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MNREGA), which is operated by the Village Panchayat. We have also learned that although the office of the village head was reserved for a female candidate and was won by the wife of a local landlord, it is her husband who runs the village.

Lalji and Mr. Magala Rajbhar, an activist associated with the PVCHR, tried to intervene and keep the peace, but were beaten by Singh. The BDO called off the meeting and made moves to leave. When asked to call the police by two female PVCHR staff members (Ms. Shruti and her sister Ms. Anupam), he claimed that he would rather report it personally. Shruti requested that she and Lajli go with him and the three tried to leave, but a mob of upper caste men led by Singh reportedly surrounded the vehicle and demanded that Lalji get out. At this point Mishra allegedly pushed Lalji out of his vehicle, and Shruti followed, fearing for his safety. The two were beaten, and one man, Guddu Dubey, known for his links to the underworld, struck Shruti to the ground. Villagers were able to intervene and the two victims were taken to Phulpur Police Station to make a report.

3. Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi was detained under Section 151 and released after four hours while the other three activists were charged under Sections 107/16 for the legal proceeding. As on 8 August 2003, the children held a Child Parliament in front of the district headquarters and demanded a school in their area. On 26 August 2003, observed as tehsil diwas (day), 250 children walked 5 km from the Sant Kabir Jan Mitra Kendra to Pindra tehsil and submitted their demand to the SDM of Pindra. The SDM misbehaved with the children and ordered a lathi-charge on the children and the villagers.

Rajendra Tiwari, present village head of Belwa village, does not plan to open any school for the Musahars he engages as bonded labourers in his brick kiln factory. Even the BRC co-ordinator in his report stated that 211 children were present in the brickfields and this ghetto was marginalised due to politically biased enmity.

In 2007 false charged imposed on Dr. Raghuvanshi and his colleagues under Section 505(b) were highlighted by NDTV in a special news report. It was aired in India, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom on 10 December 2010. As the national media wrote front-page editorials, the electronic media gave wide coverage to the issue by allotting prime time news coverage to these cases.

The state administration, meanwhile, haphazardly responded to the issue. Its response was in two different directions, unfortunately opposing each other. Once the appeals were issued, the administration immediately dispatched some of its senior most government officers to the remote villages to study the situation. In one such case, some of the top officers literally flew into Anei village at Varanasi in a helicopter. Anei is the village from which the Jigar case was reported. The officers, under the direction of the chief minister’s office, took immediate steps to ensure that there would be no further starvation deaths in the village. The officers made overnight arrangements to measure the land and even allotted land to the lower caste community in the village within hours.

Various political parties in the state picked up the issue of starvation and malnourishment. Rahul Gandhi, a Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh, came to know about the case of Mukesh from Jaunpur district and made arrangements for his treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Mukesh was shifted to AIIMS and is now receiving treatment there. While this was going on, the chief minister appeared on television and gave a statement that the reports made by PVCHR and AHRC concerning starvation and deaths from malnutrition were false. Simultaneously, I started receiving threat calls on my mobile phone.

One Rajendra Tripathi has filed a complaint against him and his colleagues at the Phulpur police station making false allegations against PVCHR and myself. Tripathi, the head of Belwa village who is also the complainant in the case, is a person against whom I, in the past, as the member of the District Vigilance Committee against Bonded Labour, filed complaints, based on which there is a warrant of arrest issued by the magistrate’s court. The arrest order is pending against Tripathi. The FIR states that Tripathi himself reported at Phulpur police station along with his brother, and has given the First Information Statement.

To
Police Station Officer,
Phulpur, Varanasi
Sir

The applicant Mr Rajendra Prasad Tripathi, son of Raj Narayan Tripathi is a resident of Belwa village within the jurisdiction of Phulpur police station of Varanasi district. He is a peace loving person. In the applicant’s village, now Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi, Ms Anupam Nagavanshi and Ms Shruti Nagavanshi of village Pandeypur and Daulatpur and Mr Prem Nut, son of Mahangu, Ms Kalawathi, wife of Sherbahadur of Belwa are running various NGOs – Jan Mitra Nyas (funding organisation), People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, Sawitri Bai Phule Samiti, Bagath Singh Youth Singh Samiti, Voice of People, etc. They are giving fake assurances and attractions to the illiterate and poor people in the name of money, Anthyodaya Anna Yojana Card (AAY card), housing, pension, allotment of land and jobs and they are earning money. They have compelled the villagers into class conflict and are interfering in the village committee politics by agitating the villagers by provocative speeches. It is their work to gather against the administration and other respected people of the village and they regularly conduct gherao in the district head quarter and against other high officials.

The above people and their NGO’s work is to create class conflict and lawlessness. If legal action is not taken against the above people, the situation of conflict and disorder will be created. Sir, I urge you to take legal action against the above people so there could be peace in the village.

9 December 2007
Applicant
Mr Rajendra Prasad Tripathi
Village Belwa

The complaint reflects the worry of a Brahmin who finds his family’s thus far unchallenged domination upon the lower caste being challenged. The accused persons in the complaint also include members of the Dalit community. The mere fact that the complaint is false and made with malicious intention calls for action against the complainant under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and also under the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The allegations of ‘making promises’ are false. Free speech is a fundamental right in India, so is the freedom to associate. The registration of the crime based on this complaint will amount to registering a crime for exercising a person’s fundamental right guaranteed in the Constitution. This ground of the complaint has no legal basis whatsoever.

In spite of repeated reminders, the Phulpur police refused to produce anything in court. Even though the law mandates a report to be filed by the police in court within 48 hours, the police filed a report after 10 days informing the court that a crime has been registered. Meanwhile, the PVCHR activists against whom the crime was registered also appeared in court, informing it that they are present within the jurisdiction of the police and in public in case the police wanted them to be arrested. The police, however, refused to arrest them. Ironically, PVCHR has also been requested by the state police department to address their senior officers on human rights principles in a meeting organised by the state police department in Varanasi on 28 January 2008. In December 2007, the PVCHR staff and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh even had a live discussion telecast regarding the issues of starvation and hunger of Dalits in the state.

In fact, in August 2005, PVCHR promoted a contest against the candidature of Tripathi as the village head in the local election. Tripathi immediately responded by ordering Ramasray Singh, a local criminal, to call the candidate S N Giri and me over telephone saying that he has been asked by Tripathi to kill both me and Giri for promoting a competition in the village election, which thus far was never contested. Against this, the AHRC issued an Urgent Appeal, which was responded to by three rapporteurs from the United Nations, who wrote to the Government of India to provide protection to Giri and me. The Election Commission of India also responded to the appeal by sending their representative to monitor the election and ordering the then District Magistrate to provide every security to Giri and also to the Dalit voters during the election. A criminal case was registered against Ramasray Singh and he was arrested. The District Magistrate also issued shoot-at-sight orders against the criminals sponsored by Tripathi, if they tried to prevent the Dalits from participating in the electoral process. Due to this, for the first time since Independence, the Dalits in Belwa exercised their right to vote.

4. Mangal Singh son of Ghasite resident of Vishal Nagar, district Mahoba of Uttar Pradesh. Mangal Singh, a farmer is fighting against the illegal mining & heavy blasting activities near town Kabrai Mahoba district, which has affected the residents of that areas. He has filed PIL in Honb’ High Court, Allahabad CIVIL MISC. WRIT PETITION NO 63396 OF 2009 that turned the stone crusher association against him. On which Mangal Singh sought security from Honb’ High Court. The Honb’ Court ordered but till now he did not get any security.

5. Ms.Rehana Adeeb, founder of ASTITWA (Action Social team for Women) Social Organization in Purkoji Street, District Muzaffarnager of Uttar Pradesh. Her organization starts having friendly relation with Muslims and dalits women and share their high and lows faces in their life and experience how they individually struggled in their life and run their families.

Astitwa is making effort with this aim and some people or some groupis strictly opposing it because they are in the fear of seat and they are playing politics in the name of religion and women. They are raising their voice and doing against Astitwa because they are feared of political game will be ruined. For example provoking with worker, forcefully taking money by entering in office, showing vulgar picture and mentioning it on the piece of paper to women worker, communicating on the mobile etc. several times it was complained in the police station but police respected people of the society unite for doing harassment. Administration entirely oppositely behaving with us “they are already in trouble and we also came to troubled them”. In this situation it is very challenging to work. Entire day she work in the field because her house is 90 Km far from my work place. It is very dangerous to sleep alone in the office. Female colleagues help her in day during her work but she is alone in the night.[iii]

6. Mr. Mahesanand, Secretary, Gramya Swaraj Samiti organized protest march from Dudhi tehsil to Robertsganj district header of Sonbhadra. In which five thousand tribal will cover 100 km starting from 10- 15 March on the resolution taken by villagers of Sundari on 15th January, 2011 after inauguration of Kanhar Dam. He faced threat from the local contractor, state and political parties.

7. When the world recognises and shows solidarity with the non violent protest of Irom Sharmila, that entered into the 10th year for demanding establishment of rule of law and repeal of AFSPA entirely from the State, the political system both in Delhi and Manipur get into the brass task to undermine the strength of non violence through their silence and ignorance. Her’s is the longest protest for a social cause by any single individual anywhere in the world. Reacting to her hunger strike, and the public support across the globe, the frustrated Mr Okram Ibobi Singh, the Chief Minister told in the Manipur State Assembly that the State Government had to spend around Rs 147,000 in two years to keep Sharmila ‘alive’. We are sure; the Britishers never said such thing against Gandhiji. Neither the security agencies, nor the political class have learned the meaning and experience of non violence, except using it as a debit card.

8. The reign of terror was such that even listening to Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) Radio Station would lead to public beatings and incarceration. “There were lots of stories in our childhood about sending behind bars anyone caught murmuring signature tune of AJK radio-today many have put this as ring tone in their cell phones. Those days it was seditious to tune in any other radio station other than the Radio Kashmir. We heard stories about sleuths eavesdropping and people being cane charged and even fed with hot potatoes by dreaded cops for listening to AJK radio”.

9. Police firing in Paramakudi area of Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, on 11September 2011, in which 6/7 persons died and several injured. Pursuant to the directions of the Commission to the DGP, Tamil Nadu, the SP, Ramanathapuram District, has sent his report dated 29.02.2012. As per this report, Crime No. 300/11 U/S 147/148/149/427/324/435/332/307 IPC and Section 3/4 of the TNPPDL Act, was registered at Town Police Station of Paramakudi on the incident in question. Vide Government Order dated 29.11.2011 the investigation of the case has since been transferred to the CBI. The report further says that the State Government has appointed a one man Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice Shri Sampath, a retired Judge of the Madras High Court, to conduct an inquiry into the incident. The report is yet to come. The report further says that vide Government Order dated 29.11.2011, the State Government has announced relief of Rs.5 lakhs each to the NOK of the deceased persons. The Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, is directed to inform the Commission of the status of the inquiry by the Inquiry Commission within four weeks. He should further forward to the Commission proof of payment of the announced relief to the NOK of the persons who died in the police firing. The Additional Director, CBI, Chennai, is also directed to inform the Commission of the current status in the case within four weeks.

Dr. B.R Ambedkar rightly says “Indian today are governed by two different ideologies. Their political ideal set in the preamble of the constitution affirms a life of liberty, equality and fraternity. Their social ideal embodied in their religion denies them”

Therefore it is an appeal to Government of India to assert the Liberty (Freedom of Expression) and to invite UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly to visit to India.

AUTHOR: Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi
URL: http://www.pvchr.net/
E-MAIL: pvchr.india [at] gmail.com

In process of door to door campaign against torture and organized violence the PVCHR activist together with community leaders will visit each and every family of the targeted marginalized communities in model village for given below reasons:

• Increase public relationship against torture and organized violence
• Inculcate a better strategy with the involvement of the community for developing torture free village
• Linking the torture and organized violence with social and economical rights

They will sensitize them on all the Acts and directive guideline issued by Hon’able Supreme Court, National Human Rights Commission such as D.K Basu guideline, SC/ST (PoA) Act and D.V Act, 2005, RTE Act, Right to Health etc. At last they will gather at one place for developing comprehensive strategy for developing torture free village.

The DDCATOV campaign is divided in four phase:

• First phase: Badagaon block of Varanasi district & Tanda block of Ambedkar Nagar district
• Second phase: Robertsganj block of Sonbhadra district
• Third phase: Pindra block of Varanasi district
• Fourth phase: Domchach block of Koderma district of Jharkhand

For more information about DDCATOV please write to pvchr.india@gmail.com

AUTHOR: Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi
URL: http://www.pvchr.net/
E-MAIL: pvchr.india [at] gmail.com

Mrs. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, pm@pmo.gov.bd or ps1topm@pmo.gov.bd or psecy@pmo.gov.bd

RE: Bangladesh: Immediately lift ban on Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Action against Hunger (ACF) and Muslim Aid UK

Dear Prime Minister Hasina,

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com.

From media reports I came to know that recently your government has ordered three international charities France’s Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières-MSF) and Action Against Hunger (ACF) as well as Britain’s Muslim Aid UK to stop providing aid to Rohingya refugees who cross the border to flee persecution and violence in Myanmar.

According to the media report , In a letter to Muslim Aid UK, Bangladesh’s NGO Affairs Bureau accused the charity of illegally helping the undocumented Rohingya refugees using its Non-Formal Education Training and Livelihood Support for the Vulnerable Families in Cox’s Bazar.

It said the project was encouraging the entry of the Myanmar people into Bangladesh, said the letter.

Golam Sarwar, security coordinator of Muslim Aid UK in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, confirmed that his group had stopped its Rohingya project following the order.

A senior aid worker, who did not wish to be identified for fear of government reprisals, said he feared that “the impact of the government’s move would be catastrophic and cause a humanitarian crisis”.

The NGO Affairs Bureau, which is a wing under the prime minister’s office, accused MSF of “damaging the image of Bangladesh by running negative news in the international media” about difficult conditions faced by the Rohingya.

According to the report of BBC, International charity MSF says tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh will go without critical healthcare if it is not allowed to work near a camp for Burmese Muslim Rohingya refugees.

Some 100,000 people, both Bangladeshis and Burmese Rohingya refugees, depend on MSF’s services, the group says.

The charity runs a maternity care centre and supports malnourished children in a district bordering Burma.

MSF’s health facility is located close to a Rohingya refugee camp.

“We have dozens of people in our in patient care. Seven women in the maternity unit and one of them is currently labouring. Where do they go it we have to close our activities?” MSF’s Christopher Lockyear told the BBC.

The charities were providing healthcare, food and water to thousands of refugees and Bangladeshis in the Cox’s Bazaar district in south-eastern Bangladesh.

Thousands have fled communal violence in Burma’s Rakhine state since May.

Mr Lockyear has urged the Bangladeshi government to withdraw its decision to ban their services from Cox’s Bazaar district.

“We would like to be able to open a dialogue and [see] how we can resolve the situation,” Mr Lockyear said.

The MSF runs two other programmes in different parts of Bangladesh, which have been running without any problem.

I want to remind you that international community has an obligation to assist with the costs of providing sanctuary.

I also want to remind you On June 12, Human Rights Watch issued a statement which not only called on your government to open its borders to refugees, but which also said, “Bangladesh needs generous support right now from the international community to assist the refugees fleeing Arakan State and to find durable solutions later on.”

I want to remind you what human rights watch mentioned in letter to you.

Bangladesh’s Treaty Obligations To Respect the Principle of Nonrefoulement

While Bangladesh is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, it is a party to other treaties, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). These treaties establish the obligation to respect the principle of nonrefoulement, which holds that refugees should not be forcibly returned to a place where their lives or freedom would be threatened and that no person should be returned to a place where he or she would be subjected to torture.

Article 3 of CAT forbids the return or expulsion of any persons to states where they would be in danger of being tortured. Article 7.1 of the ICCPR forbids subjecting anyone to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, Comment 20 (1992), establishes an obligation that states “must not expose individuals to the danger of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment upon return to any country by way of their extradition, expulsion or refoulement.” (HRI/HEN/1/Rev.1, 28 July 1994). In its General Comment 6 (2005), the Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that the CRC, article 6, establishes an obligation that States party to the CRC “[…] shall not return a child to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk of irreparable harm to the child, such as, but by no means limited to, those contemplated under articles 6.” (CRC/GC/2005/6.)

Bangladesh’s Customary International Law Obligations on the Principle of Nonrefoulement

The Foreign Minister also said, “Some are trying to say that Bangladesh should open the border in line with the international customary law. But I want to say that Bangladesh does not fall under the purview of the law.” This, too, is inaccurate. Customary international law establishes certain peremptory norms for which no derogation is tolerated. Among these, for example, are slavery, torture, and, in the present instance, the forcible return of a person to a place where his or her life or freedom would be threatened or where he or she would be exposed to torture. No state, including Bangladesh, is exempt from these fundamental norms.

UNHCR’s Executive Committee—of which Bangladesh is a member—adopted Conclusion 25 in 1982, which declared that “the principle of nonrefoulement…was progressively acquiring the character of a peremptory rule of international law.” The UN General Assembly reinforced the international consensus that the nonrefoulement obligation adheres to all states, not just signatories to the Refugee Convention, when it adopted Resolution 51/75 on August 12, 1997, which:

[C]alls upon all States to uphold asylum as an indispensable instrument for international protection of refugees and to respect scrupulously the fundamental principle of nonrefoulement, which is not subject to derogation.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Refugee Convention in 2001, the Declaration of States Parties to the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees acknowledged “the continuing relevance and resilience of this international regime of rights and principles, including at its core the principle of nonrefoulement, whose applicability is embedded in customary international law.” Later that year, the UN General Assembly welcomed the Declaration.

Nonrefoulement obligation adheres to asylum seekers at the border

The principle of nonrefoulement as a customary norm of international law applies not only to refugees within the territory of a state, but also to rejection of asylum seekers at the frontiers. In its October 2004 meeting, UNHCR’s Executive Committee issued Conclusion 99, which calls on States to ensure “full respect for the fundamental principle of nonrefoulement, including non-rejection at frontiers without access to fair and effective procedures for determining status and protection needs.”

Of particular relevance to states facing the prospect of a large-scale influx of refugees fleeing sectarian violence in a neighboring state, UNHCR’s Executive Committee Conclusion 22 of 1981 provided the following standard to guide the host state’s response:

In situations of large-scale influx, asylum seekers should be admitted to the State in which they first seek refuge and if that State is unable to admit them on a durable basis, it should always admit them at least on a temporary basis…They should be admitted without any discrimination as to race, religion, political opinion, nationality, country of origin, or physical incapacity. In all cases the fundamental principle of nonrefoulement—including non-rejection at the frontier—must be scrupulously observed.

The Right to Seek and Enjoy Asylum

The UNHCR Executive Committee conclusion 20, quoted just above, which calls on states like Bangladesh faced with a potential mass influx to “admit at least on a temporary basis” asylum seekers at its border, rests on the foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), article 14: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”

I recognize that the principles of the UDHR are not binding on states, but I note that many states, including Bangladesh, have pledged to uphold these principles. In a May 4, 2009, letter to the President of the UN General Assembly on the occasion of its candidacy to the Human Rights Council, the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh pledged that Bangladesh would “intensify its efforts, while framing its national policies and strategies, to uphold the fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh as well as those of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional human rights instruments to which it is a party.”

Dear Prime minister, I want to urge you please immediately lift on France’s Doctors without Borders (MSF) and Actions Against Hunger (ACF) and Britain’s Muslim Aid.

On the same time ,I want to remind you closing your border when sectarian violence in Arakan State continues to threaten lives is a contravention of Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations. Your government has a positive obligation to keep your border open to people fleeing threats to their lives and provide them protection.

I want to remind you now is not the time to turn your back, but rather to do the right thing, open your borders, and call for international solidarity in meeting compelling humanitarian needs and respecting human rights.

AUTHOR: William Nicholas Gomes
URL: www.williamgomes.org
E-MAIL: williamgomes.org [at] gmail.com

I am fortunate enough to know people who are attempting to make a difference in Cambodia and it has given my husband and I the opportunity to see things we may not normally see. One of these people is my stepson, James, who works in the emergency department of the Provincial Hospital in Siem Reap as well as teaching and training there. On our arrival last December my daughter in law asked if I would like to visit an Orphanage where a friend was a member of staff. I immediately said yes. The following day we travelled in the tuk tuk for my first visit. I had stupidly visualised the Orphanage as being huge and rather monolithic, like something out of Jane Eyre. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After travelling along a very bumpy track and a bumpy track in a tuk tuk is no fun let me tell you.  I certainly lost a fair amount of my diet coke on the way, we pulled up outside a traditional Cambodian house that was as far removed from Jane Eyre as one could get.

‘Hello,’ welcomed Sochenda in her broken English. ‘Thank you so much for visiting.’

The children

I removed my shoes before entering the house and had just got them off when the children ran to greet me. I followed them inside where they pulled me to their books and toys. Some were quite shy and just watched me, while others were keen to go outside and play ball. I sat for a short time with the youngest baby there and then saw a child who was clearly distressed and very unwell.  If anything brought my life into perspective this child did. Her skin was blue and her eyes sunken. This distressed me so much that I felt an urgent need to run from this situation that I could do nothing about. I forced back my own tears and asked my daughter in law what was wrong with the baby. With Sochanda’s help, she told me that Leangim, normally called Gem, was abandoned by her mother. Her father is unknown.

A midwife who helped Gem’s mum to give birth took pity on her and decided to adopt her. Unfortunately, eight months later Gem became really sick and the midwife and her husband brought her to Kuntha Bopha Hospital to get medical treatment. The doctor’s found she had a serious heart defect and needed an operation which could not be done in Cambodia.  With hope and love for Gem, the midwife sought help from any NGOs that could save her life.  She found the Children’s Sanctuary.  

For the first time in my life I felt so helpless. Here was a child so very sick and there was nothing I could do.

A week later I returned with my husband. No sooner had we stepped into the courtyard, then children began shouting hello to us from their classroom high up on the balcony of the house which is located alongside the Siem Reap River. I have never felt as welcome as I did that day and I only wish I could have been armed with more than just biscuits. The children had just started their lessons. They sat quietly listening to their teacher while occasionally posing for me when they realised the camera was on them. I had the pleasure of playing with the children on my first visit and reading to them from the collection of donated books on the shelves. This time I sat in on their class and again I could not resist photographing their happy faces while wondering how I could contribute to their lives. I asked how Gem was and she was brought out looking a lot better than on my previous visit, but still very sick.

Dawn and Andrew

Cambodia is a poverty stricken country and everywhere you look there is malnutrition. Many of the children here originate from impoverished rural villages and most children coming to the Sanctuary are orphans or have been abandoned by their families. When visiting the sanctuary it is almost impossible not to fall in love with the children. I pointed my camera again and Srey Roat Heng smiled proudly at the lens.

‘We found Srey Roat in her mother’s lap whilst she was begging beneath the scorching summer sun. She was only three months old.’ Sochenda told me.

‘Her mother was hungry and her breast milk was diminishing fast. She could not afford infant formula, had no access to clean drinking water and no facilities to keep bottles clean. Srey Roat and her mother now live with us and for the first time in her life, mother Mao is receiving a regular income for her work as an assistant at The Children’s Sanctuary.

It is thanks to an Australian couple, Dawn Cornish and her husband Doctor Andrew Clift that the vision of a home for abandoned children was realised. I contacted Andrew on my return home and he quickly put me in touch with Dawn.  Andrew Clift visited Cambodia in 2006. The couple had already worked with HIV infected orphans in Africa and Thailand. They decided that Cambodia was one of the neediest countries they had seen. Following their vision, Dawn set off establish The Children’s Sanctuary in Siem Reap the following year. Four years later I would visit and feel an overwhelming need to meet Dawn and Andrew who share their life with the first child who came to the orphanage and whom they adopted. Dawn has worked in nursing and medical recruitment and management and has studied international and community development. She has worked overseas particularly with AIDS orphans in Asia. Andrew Clift, meanwhile, has worked in ten countries for government, non-government and United Nations organisations. His work in remote Australian communities, five years’ work with orphaned and abandoned children, as well as hospital and project management, assists his CSI work in Cambodia.

Within a month of Dawn returning to Cambodia the venue for the orphanage had been found and renovations took place. Their first baby arrived weighing just 2.2kg. Shortly after, others followed. Abandoned babies were taken in, as well as others with cerebral palsy, HIV and epilepsy. Dr Andrew Clift described the following two years as a ‘Big adventure’

‘Many of the children in the orphanage originate from impoverished rural villages where their families live in conditions of extreme deprivation,’ Dawn explained.

 ‘Most of these children are malnourished, many severely, and significant proportions have other illnesses, most commonly infectious diseases.’

Despite significant improvements since the end of recent conflicts, Cambodia still remains one of the world’s most impoverished countries. Most families survive on less than one dollar a day and children are the ones most affected by the poverty. The under-five mortality rates remain very high. Half of all Cambodian children suffer from malnutrition. Less than half will complete primary school.

Helping

When a child is taken into care at the sanctuary, the main objective is to address any health issues. The children are cared for by the Sanctuary nannies and what wonderful people they are. All are trained in first aid and health care with emphasis upon hygiene. A doctor and nurse visit the children on a regular basis to check on the children’s health and progress if they are on treatment. Full dental care is also provided for all children. But, as always, money is a problem. The Orphanage depends solely on donations and sponsorship. I met the staff first hand and was so impressed. It was hard to control my emotions in the face of such caring dedication. Since its establishment Dawn Cornish has welcomed sixteen children into The Children’s Sanctuary in Siem Reap but she has also supported many children in a local village school and assisted people who have needed lifesaving operations. Her husband, Andrew Clift, has supported this venture by working in outback Australian and Pacific hospitals. One person helped by The Sanctuary is Srey Cheak, who has thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder requiring regular blood transfusions. She is being assisted by The Children’s Sanctuary for her medical treatment.

A few days before writing this article I emailed Sochenda for some background on the children. I was thrilled to read that thanks to the efforts of Dawn and Andrew, Gem underwent major  cardio-vascular surgery at the Angkor Hospital for Children on Friday, 23rdMarch 2012 under the care of the visiting Singaporean cardio-thoracic team.  The surgery was a success, which means Gem’s symptoms should dramatically improve and her life expectancy extended. Gem is due another operation in December this year and hopefully this will also be successful.

On my journey back I realised that I could help in more ways than I had at first imagined. I could write about the sanctuary and bring attention to its needs. For a small amount each month I could sponsor a child there.

The Children’s Sanctuary Incorporated (CSI) strongly believes the best place for a child is within his or her own community. It works together with families and single mothers who are wishing to relinquish their child due to their circumstances, and find solutions to avoid separation. The children, who are a part of the CSI family, are those who have nowhere else to go. They are either true orphans, have been abandoned, are seriously ill, or were living in a high-risk environment. The children under CSI’s care receive a secure and loving home, a balanced diet, high-standard health care, private education supplementary classes and weekly outings

I hope I have encouraged you to do something to help. I will be returning to Cambodia in July to work as a volunteer in the hospital where Gem had her operation. From my photos you can see how happy the children are. During our visit we saw the children receive gifts for their outstanding work in the classroom for the past year. Visitors are very welcome at the Sanctuary provided prior arrangement is made and you can help with the lessons if you wish. My time spent with the children was very humbling and visiting the sanctuary certainly puts things into perspective. When it is time to climb back into the tuk tuk, both the staff and children come to wave goodbye. It is a visit I shall not forget.

You can support the sanctuary on Facebook. For information on sponsoring please visit the sanctuary at www.thechildrenssanctuary.com

Please help and make a difference.

AUTHOR: Lynda Renham-Cook
URL: http://www.renham.co.uk
E-MAIL: lynda [at] renham.co.uk

Introduction

The best example of a working Trued and Reconciliation Committee (TRC), is that of South Africa. According to Wikipedia there are 22 TRC in the world, predominately in the Americas (8), than Africa (6) and third Asia (6). In April 2010, The Franklin Humanities Institute, Duke University in Durham North Carolina, organized a conference on Peace Process in South Africa in April 2009. The conference identified the principle of UBUNTU as one of the key enforcers of peace in South-Africa. John and Jean Comaroff, both Anthropologists at the University of Chicago; Anne-Maria Makhulu, Professor at Duke University; and the Honorable Judge, Mrs Yvonne Makorro of South Africa, one of the prominent South Africans who developed the legal framework for the South African TRC’s; The panelists all explained in great detail and from different angles (judicial, anthropological and political) how reconciliation and peace between Black and Whites in South Africa was achieved through bottoms-up politicization process called Ubuntu. The process was a work in progress and South Africa they all said, has a long way to go.

The lessons from South Africa, teaching us that in order to move ahead, a people rather the nation, has to forgive those that committed crimes and brutalities; that a people has to find that what ties it together, to the symbols, traditions, religion all that is familiar to charge ahead, in the case of South Africa it was Ubuntu that helped ease the process; lawmakers and politicians tried to develop a modus that would prevent plunging into a new civil war, or deepening of the rift between Black and White

What is Ubuntu? Ubuntu is an African ethic and humanistic philosophy that focuses on inter personal relationships between people. Ubuntu as a phenomenon has recent times been researched by a scholars such as Jean and John Comaroff and Anne-Maria Makhulu to name a few. Although the conception of ubuntu is specifically tied to South Africa, it attenuation is universal as it refers to community and primordial ties -blood, culture and otherwise-. Other similar conceptions and principles are for example Rukun of Indonesia, that also refers to humanness, to community, to the ethical and the morality. Ubuntu and Rukun are thought to run counter to individualism, commonly connected to Western civilization, its meritocratic grounding, that forefronts the individual, the I. I think that such a juxtaposing creates bias because it compares political and social systems that premise from completely different realities and histories.

As a political scientist and researcher of ethnicity and its role in the political arena, I view conceptions such as Ubuntu as the driving forces behind political processes and political organization. In this particular posting however I have opted to focus on how Ubuntu helped ease transition , and not on its actual role in the political process of South Africa.

The Meaning of TRC’s in South Africa and other parts of the World

Several deviant cases, Chile and Uruguay, Spain, Greece and Portugal demonstrate that bottom-up democratization after getting rid of dictator can in some cases be successful, because the civil society joins forces with other arenas to end authoritarian rule. In all these cases mentioned, polarization was rather weak at the time of transition and consensus to end the crises strong. The case of South Africa as a model for peace however stands alone, next to a wide array of cases where ethnic, religious and racial divides hampered unification and democratization. Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Northern Ireland all societies that opted for the top-down model as prescribed by the Dutch political scientist Arendt Lijphart, a model that roughly focuses on behavior modification of political leaders, on the organizing of elections and on the forging of consensus. The experiences with top-down institutionalization, are grounded in the European reality, The Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland to name a few. The fact the primary examples of top-down democratization are situated in Europe, makes this theoretical conception in my opinion not very suitable to underpin cases in other continents. The issue is that democratization in former war torn societies has always been the affair of the international community. But what does democratization mean in the eyes of the international community and what does it mean in the eyes of the citizens, the people affected by war and conflict? How do citizens regard the organization of elections, whereby very often the individuals that started the conflict in the first place, appear at the ballots as the political leaders of the future? This situation typically confuses the ordinary citizens, making it hard for them to phantom why perpetrators and instigators of crimes and war are rewarded at the ballots. The international community however looks for counterparts, people familiar with the system, institutions, oftentimes failing to acknowledge the occurrences and divides that foreground the crisis.

It is societies without a strong civility and in the throes of transition that typically focus on elections to fix the gab between state’s institutions and the political arena, to acquire legitimacy. Minimalists conceptions of democracy invoke equally minimalist ideas on democratization, freedoms and rights of the people. Electoralism as its called by Diamond and others, is an unambiguous phenomenon, that attenuates to a political culture that focuses on political legitimization to fill the government offices and parliamentary seats. The flaw of electoralism hinges on its pretension that elections can fix the underlying conflicts in a given society.

The link between the success of the TRC and electoralism is that only in the cases of a working and affable civility will a TRC work and be successful and be able to help transition. Latin-America in contrast, has the most experience with TRC, all founded to come to terms with brutal dictatorships, and in some cases to compensate the victims (Chile). TRC all aim foster predilection, to take away some of the unease and the sense of impunity as majority of the cases in the Southern cone of Latin America demonstrate. The results are mixed, only recently has the Chilean government achieved success in removing the sens of impunity within the Chilean society, in the past it paved the way for concertacion, the co-operation between the left and Christian Democrats. They allowed Pinochet his status, it was only after his capture in Europe that the Chilean government took a leap forward, stripping away his immunity, his privileges and his power before they could start legal proceedings. But Pinochet died, a free man and the focus is now on his inner-circle. In Argentina, a number of highly profiled court cases to punish the military who stole children from dissidents, demonstrate that Argentina has yet to come to terms with its brutal past.

In Central America, the TRC’s failed to help society come to terms with the past. In Nicaragua, people still struggle to deal with the past, they still have to come to grips with the fact that both the Sandinistas and the Contras committed brutalities, burned their homes down, raped and stole the land from the farmers. Governments starting with the Chamorro government lacked the power to end this injustice, to compensate the victims, to help them return to their villages, to give back their lands. It is highly unlikely that such will ever happen,a festering of conflict is more likely since the new president, Mr Ortega, has not made a move to repair what occurred under his watch during the late 1980s.

No Amnesty, only Trued and Fact-Finding

Harking back to the case of South Africa, demonstrates that ubuntu repaired society only up to a certain extent. Ubuntu helped take the angle out, curbing the magnitude of Apartheid, its atrociousness, its brutality, making transition possible, opening up the political arena for the ANC. The fact that Nelson Mandela, the uncontested hero of struggle against Apartheid became president, pushed the process forward. The Trued and Reconciliation Committee, merely accommodated this transition, coming to terms with Apartheid:

Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No 34 of 1995 (pdf)

“… a commission is a necessary exercise to enable South Africans to come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and to advance the cause of reconciliation.”

Mr Dullah Omar, former Minister of Justice

The lengthy process of hearings, that involved all parties that during Apartheid that possibly committed crimes against humanity, and spared nobody[ the Apartheid Regime,UDF, the ANC, Freedom Front and NP, the Mandela United Football Club hearings (the death of Stompie Siskei, involving Winnie Mandella)]. After lengthy proceedings and much mulling by the Reverent Desmond Tutu, even Winnie Mandela was subpoenaed to testify and was later tried for her involvement in the murder of Stompie Siskei, a trial that pushed her from her pedestal as the true thespian of the Apartheid Struggle and out of the vortex of political power.
It is to soon to argue that TRC in South Africa worked and that society indeed has come to terms with the past. Although the Ubuntu helped to ease the worst growing pains, its benefits as vehicle for citizenry have yet to be determined.

The case of South Africa teaches that a TRC cannot replace the Courts, it compliments the courts, they help to bring violators to court, through extensive hearings. Moreover, the TRC’s work because of its intermittent position between the courts and the people; violators are identified by the people who come and testify before the TRC’s that typically consists of a wide variety of prominent people of all walks of society. The reports made by the sections of the TRC’s form the grounding on which the state prosecution’s office than can continue to make a case that can be taken to trial. Perpetrators are not granted amnesty, they can eventually face the court.

Suriname

Suriname is the latest case, where government toys with the thought of establishing a TRC, based on the idea that it will undermine the pending court case, and possible prevent a ‘guilty-verdict’. Many prominent Surinamese citizens parrot the generalities of such a TRC, ‘that it will help society come to terms with the past’, ‘that it will help society move forward’, ‘that it will substitute going to trial for crimes committed against humanity’. And herein lies the problem, the Surinamese president and his allies confuse an ordinary amnesty law that will exonerate him and his allies crimes committed against humanity during the 1980s,with a lengthy hearings by a committee, so characteristic of the TRC. The case of South Africa demonstrates that a TRC can only be fruitful if it occurs simultaneously with the strengthening of the complementary pillars on which democracy tends to rest. Suriname is currently not in transition after a period of mayhem and conflict, if anything democracy stands on a threshold becoming torn to shreds by the current government.

Establishing a TRC, will not help the government in its quest to make the past go away, it will only further tarnish the reputation of a government already tarnished by the fact that the president is on trial for crimes committed against humanity. A TRC will at present only aggravate and divide society to an even greater extent. The government is however convinced that they will not lose face at international fora. But what is the extent of Surinamese international relations, beyond the CARICOM? What is the role of the CARICOM, beyond the shores of the Guyana’s? One of the telltale signs of tarnish and disrepute is the fact that non of the CARICOM members came to the inauguration of Mr Bouterse in 2011. The fact that Suriname is president of the CARICOM for the first half of 2012 has no other significance than a symbolic token bestowed on every member of the organization, to make things run smoothly through calibration.

Conclusion

For many people in South Africa, the TRC did not live up to its promise, and the nation has a long way to go, dealing with the ANC, the fact that the country is a de facto one -party state, and that democratization has come to a screeching halt at the moment. In Latin America, democratization is also underway, as many societies come to gripes with their past, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and more recently Brazil. In other societies, discussion of the past has always been challenging, a fact that makes coming to terms a hard and arduous process. In Suriname, silence about the past, the last 30 years has brought Mr. Bouterse to power, despite claims from the previous president to the contrary. Discussions on FACEBOOK and the internet focus on the inaction of the previous governments to help bring Mr Bouterse and his allies to justice. The closed doors, the silence and the inertia all contributed to the ignorance on the part of the youth, their callous approach of the killings and their admiration for a president that in their eyes can do no wrong.

AUTHOR: Natascha Adama
URL: http://natascha23.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: nataliapestova23 [@] yahoo.com

Last year, the country, placed 15th among 22 most TB burdened countries in the world, reported 106, 083 new cases due to the disease.

According to Maurice Maina of the USAID, the plan is to develop an online TB reporting system—that is able to tell where the patients are, what medication they are on…how many of those initiated on TB treatment end with resistance form of TB and provide supportive supervision to improve adherence to treatment.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press briefing in Nairobi ahead of the World TB Day set for Saturday, Maina said the plan is to improve governance and accountability in TB programmes besides helping programme implementers be able to know how much resources are used in any district and the impact these resources have. This, he said, will help them match inputs and outputs.

“The system is going to be real-time using online connectivity using mobile phone provider to ensure that patients and health workers at all levels have all the information they need on real-time basis. The provider is yet to be identified as the plan is still being mooted,” he said.

Maina said for ease of operations, the system will be housed at the Division of Tuberculosis and Leprosy in the ministry of Public Health and Sanitation who will be the main driver of the system.

“They will be the ones who will be using the system with the USAID is only developing the system and make it user-friendly, support follow up activities by the ministry of health staff,” he told Africa Science News Service.

According to Maina, the patients will be able to get information on where they can get subsequent diagnosis, treatment and mobile alerts on when to take their medications.

Further, he said patients who experience any side effects on any given medicine will be able to send questions and expect to get advise from experts on what next to do.person is diagnosed with TB they will automatically be put in the system to begin benefiting from the services offered.

The plans by the USAID is testimony of the growing demand for timely information and services by both the patient and the health care provider.

According to Prof Odongo William Okello of the School of Computing, University of Nairobi, there is growing interest and need for more sophisticated health information systems and the call for bringing health care to the patient when and where it is required.

This is creating a growing demand for timely information and services by both the patient and the health care provider.

Statistics show that one in three adults in Kenya carry a mobile phone and the rapid spread of mobile phones, mobile broadband and internet usage at the household level has increased the use of ICT in a number of development programmes including health.

Not to be left behind, the government has introduced use of computers in all health facilities with the hope that the use of the equipment will increase timeliness of reporting and improve patient care.

According to Beth Mugo, minister in charge of Public health and sanitation, the direction that the ministry is taking calls for healthcare workers to be computer literate.

AUTHOR: Henry Neondo
URL: http:// www.africasciencenews.org
E-MAIL: neondohenry [at] yahoo.com

“We are grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their continued confidence in Aeras and their support of our efforts to develop vaccines against a disease that costs the global economy billions of dollars annually, and hits hardest in the nations of Africa and Eastern Europe, and the emerging economic powerhouses of Asia,” said Jim Connolly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aeras.

“This infusion of funding must be seen as a global call to action in response to one of the world’s deadliest diseases. It will allow Aeras to expand upon existing partnerships in Europe, Africa, China, and around the world, and to build new partnerships that will accelerate the development of safe and effective vaccines. But the scientific challenges are immense, and the threat is global. Without support for this search for new vaccines from every quarter, we will never eliminate TB as a global health threat.”

Globally, the TB vaccine field estimates it will need in excess of US$1 billion over the next five years to support worldwide efforts against a disease so complex it is expected to require more than one vaccine to address geographic variations in the strains, different stages of disease, and a variety of target populations.

Aeras estimates US $400-500 million will be needed over the next five years if the organization is to accomplish critical TB vaccine development goals set jointly with global research and development partners. This grant provides approximately half of the estimated cost of meeting 2012-2016 milestone targets, while addressing significant scientific questions that must be answered in order to further successful development of new vaccines.

“There is an urgent need for the global community to support the full range of tools to eliminate tuberculosis, but the development of TB vaccines that can prevent men, women and children from developing the disease would be the single greatest advance in the global fight against TB,” said Trevor Mundel, President of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Aeras’ work will help realize the vision for the Decade of Vaccines, to create a world in which all individuals and communities enjoy lives free from vaccine-preventable diseases, through accelerated efforts from all partners. If donor and endemic countries can join together to show their commitment through funding and collaboration, the innovative research that Aeras and others are making possible could one day have a significant impact on TB, which is gaining in its ability to resist the solutions we have in hand. The foundation thanks Aeras for its commitment to the TB research and development space, helping us realize long-term goals sooner.”

Once known as “consumption” for the slow wasting away of the people who died of it, tuberculosis is one of history’s great global killers. It kills 1.4 million people every year, equivalent to the entire population of Munich, Germany or Phoenix, Arizona. One out of every three people globally is thought to be infected by the airborne TB organism, although only a portion will go on to develop the disease. And increasing cases of drug-resistant strains of TB, reported in 80 countries and 8 territories over the past several years, is one of the greatest global threats from TB today. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) study reports the highest-ever recorded levels of multi-drug resistant TB worldwide.

The WHO estimates the global economic burden of TB at nearly $12 billion a year, with India and China together accounting for more than half the global economic toll. London has the highest TB rate of any capital city in Western Europe, making it one of the city’s biggest health problems today. And a new World Health Organization/European Union plan to address drug-resistant TB estimates18 percent of the global burden of resistant TB is in the European region. In the United States, just one case of extremely drug-resistant TB is estimated to cost a quarter-million dollars to treat.

In the last 12 years, TB vaccine research has made dramatic strides, but it began with a tremendous handicap. Scientists had learned little about the disease since the discovery of a vaccine in 1908 that continues to have limited efficacy. So in 2000, when scientists began in earnest to search for a new vaccine, they did so in the virtual dark.

“Until 20 or 30 years ago, the global community thought TB was on the way out, along with other killer infectious diseases like smallpox and polio,” said Tom Evans, Chief Scientific Officer of Aeras. “But this lowering of the guard, and the emergence of drug-resistant strains and the deadly combination of TB and rising HIV infections in Africa, has created what the WHO called ‘fire raging out of control’ in developing countries. The disease should now have our full attention.”

In the past decade, the number of TB vaccines in clinical trials has grown from zero to a dozen, six of which have been developed by Aeras or with support from Aeras and its partners. Two of these are currently the most clinically-advanced TB vaccine candidates in the world. Aeras scientists and their colleagues are applying what they’ve learned to rapidly test the best proposals coming out of laboratories around the world, in a drive to identify the most promising prospects for the next generation of vaccines.

Today’s grant to Aeras will help advance several vaccine candidates into pivotal large-scale efficacy trials, build a robust and diverse pipeline of innovative, next-generation candidates, and develop and utilize key scientific approaches including challenge models, systems biology, and innovative vaccine designs to strengthen and accelerate TB vaccine development.

“Aeras is now at the center of the most promising research across private industry, government, and civil society, with the potential to deliver a vaccine by the end of this decade,” said Aeras’ Jim Connolly. “However, no single organization—including Aeras—can do this alone. We are in this together, and to succeed we will need to work with everyone—more investors, researchers, manufacturers, regulatory agencies, and national leaders.”

AUTHOR: Henry Neondo
URL: http:// www.africasciencenews.org
E-MAIL: neondohenry [at] yahoo.com

Following the tragic killings of our colleagues Philippe Havet and Dr. Karel Keiluhu in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 29 December 2011, the medical humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) sees itself forced to end all activities in the Hodandistrict of the capital, including the closure of two separate 120-bed medical facilities for the treatment of malnutrition, measles and the treatment of cholera.

The closure of activities in this district halves the assistance MSF is providing in Mogadishu. For now, MSF projects will continue to provide medical care in the other districts of the capital, as well as in 10 locations in the rest of Somalia.

However, the continuation of MSF work to assist Somalis in need of medical care is dependent upon the respect for personnel, patients and medical facilities. Where these conditions prevail, MSF remains committed to continue its activities in Somalia.

“It is hard to close health services in a location where the presence of our medical teams is genuinely life-saving every day,” states Christopher Stokes, MSF General Director, “but the brutal assassination of our colleagues in Hodan makes it impossible for us to continue working in this district of Mogadishu.”

In Hodan, MSF has been assisting 200,000 Somalis who had fled to the capital in recent months. Since August 2011, treatment has been provided to 11,787 malnourished children, 1,232 patients for acute watery diarrhea and 861 measles patients. MSF teams have also vaccinated 67,228 children against measles.

MSF strongly reiterates its call to all parties, the leadership and the people of Somalia to facilitate the safe release of Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut, MSF aid workers who were abducted in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on 13 October 2011 while carrying out emergency assistance for the Somali population.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com