| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| 2004 May 5 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 8 Number 1 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| The Globe's Unbalanced Agenda |
|
From a speech last Wednesday by UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development:
On the positive side, important agreements have been adopted, most notably the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. New and binding international conventions are entering into force, for example, on persistent organic pollutants and on rules for international trade in pesticides and other hazardous chemicals. The developing countries' capacity has been strengthened in many areas. Official development assistance has risen after a long decline. Partnerships have expanded, as have corporate social responsibility initiatives. And awareness of what sustainable development means has deepened -- in particular, the crucial understanding that it rests on three pillars: not just environmental protection, but also social progress and economic development. Yet key challenges remain. The natural resource base is under siege. Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production are still the norm. Progress in slowing deforestation and biodiversity loss has been glacial. The AIDS epidemic is an enormous and still growing burden. The global trading system, including economically and environmentally harmful subsidies, remains biased against developing countries, hampering their efforts to rise out of poverty. Vulnerable small island states face enormous threats; some may not survive at all. Unless the United States or the Russian Federation ratifies the Kyoto Protocol, we cannot fully and properly address the issue of climate change. As if all that wasn’t enough, high-level political attention has been diverted from sustainable development by the recent emphasis given to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and the war in Iraq. However understandable that focus might be, we cannot lose any more time, or ground, in the wider struggle for human well-being. Just as we need balanced development, so do we need a balanced international agenda. Source: United Nations |
| Maasai Warriors, Arizona Cowboys Compare Notes |
|
They appreciate many of the same things -- healthy cattle,
roasted meat, and the open plains -- so it's no wonder they
struck up a friendship. A group of Maasai from Kenya and
Tanzania departed for Arizona on April 21 to spend a week
learning how to merge ancient Kenyan traditions with
American agro-economics. Ranchers from the Douglas
AZ-based Malpai Borderlands Group prepared to show off the
conservation and economic benefits of open rangelands.
The Arizona ranchers had gone to Kenya in October 2002 and shared their experiences with the Maasai, who, like themselves, have resisted government pressure to fence in their land and drive off wildlife, said James Ndung'u of the African Conservation Center, which helped the two groups meet. During the Americans' stay, Yusuf Ole Petenya said of them, "They live like Maasai, but their environment is different. They do things according to the clock. Once a Maasai starts grazing his cattle, he's not in a hurry." But "they milk their cattle, graze them, water them, take them to dips just like we do. Even they were surprised there were similarities between the Maasai and cowboys." Like the Maasai, the Malpai ranchers not only think of their herds when pondering the future, they also keep in mind the wildlife that shares the open rangelands, such as the endangered Mexican jaguar, the recently reintroduced thick-billed parrots, or the rare Chiricahua leopard frog. "We believe that our work will continue to show that cattle are not just compatible with rare species, but often they are beneficial. We've found that if you do the right thing for one, it tends to help the other," Bill McDonald, the group's executive director, said on its Web site. The Maasai have learned over generations to coexist with wildlife. They've turned that knowledge to their advantage by creating conservation areas and attracting eco-tourists. Petenya said his American visitors told him they too had come under pressure from government officials to modernize and change their ways, to graze their cattle on less land, to subdivide their property, or quit ranching all together. When the Malpai ranchers subdivided their rangeland, which totals 800,000 acres, cattle overgrazed the smaller, 100-acre plots, which adversely affected the environment and the wildlife there. Eventually they opened up some of their prairies and are working to restore all of them. Petenya said he hopes to learn the same skills the Malpai Borderlands Group used to lobby government officials and lawmakers to rethink their policies on ranching. He wants to help fellow Maasai avoid the same problems, by forming a group to gain access to President Mwai Kibaki. Source: Associated Press |
| UK Rejects Collective Rights for Tribals |
|
Reversing a century of progress in the recognition of human
rights, the UK government has now decided that collective
human rights do not exist. If allowed to become official
policy, this threatens tribal peoples around the world.
Ten years ago the United Nations announced a decade of indigenous peoples and began work on a declaration of their rights that was supposed by now to have stood beside the famous Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Hundreds of consultations were carried out with indigenous representatives, and a draft was finally completed with their agreement. Now the UK and some of its former colonies (e.g. Australia and Canada) are blocking the new declaration. Collective rights are vital for tribal peoples. This is confirmed not just by the draft declaration but by numerous laws and agreements already accepted by many countries and internationally. The most important is the convention on tribal peoples adopted nearly 50 years ago -- the cornerstone of international law on the subject. The UK has allowed two exceptions to its refusal to recognize collective rights. In the first, impelled by established international law, the UK accepts that all peoples have the right to self-determination. The second: It doesn't accept the concept of collective title to land. It declares, instead, that this is an individual right that may be ‘exercised collectively’. This reminds one of the infamous Dawes Act of 1887, which broke up Indian reservations in the USA by transforming collective lands into individual plots which could then be sold off. In fact, there are many cases where the UK has recognized collective rights, going back centuries: Hundreds of treaties with Amerindians, Africans, and Maori. Ratifications in the 20th century of a number of collective-rights-based international instruments, e.g., the 1948 genocide convention. Governments have often used the denial of collective rights as a device to break up and destroy tribal peoples. If the UK government rejects these rights, others will follow suit. Source: Survival International Action Link: Write to Tony Blair |
| NJ Starts Planning to Save Its Military Bases |
|
New Jersey must stay united to save its military bases and
the economic benefits they convey, said Gov. James
McGreevey on Monday, and base advocates must work together
to save all eight bases, including Fort Dix and McGuire Air
Force Base in Burlington County, as Congress prepares for
another round of base closures in 2005.
To that end, McGreevey created a commission to prepare a blueprint within three months detailing how the state will fight to protect its bases. "Our obligation is to convince the Department of Defense and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission of the importance of their sustained commitment" to this state, he said to base advocates who met at the Trenton War Memorial. A Rutgers University report released Monday concluded that military spending in the state contributes to more than 98,000 jobs paying $4 billion. "To put this in a different perspective," says the report, "the state's entire chemical industry -- including pharmaceuticals -- maintained 98,089 jobs in 2000, and the sum of New Jersey-based lawyers earned $3.8 billion that year." If the bases were to close it would set the state way back at a time when jobs are at a premium, according to Philip Kirscher, president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. "Towns in those areas would literally be devastated economically." Source: Burlington County Times |
| WTO Slams US Agro-Subsidies |
|
A World Trade Organization panel says US subsidies to
cotton farmers violate international trade rules. The
decision came April 26 in a case filed by Brazil, which
claimed that billions of dollars in subsidies to US farmers
prompted them to produce more cotton than market demand
required.
Economists say a glut of cotton can depress prices for poor farmers in other nations. It's the first time the WTO has challenged a nation's domestic farm subsidies. Officials in Washington say they have "serious concerns" about the ruling and may appeal it. Agricultural subsidies are one of the most contentious issues between rich and poor nations. Experts say the case may encourage other nations to file similar actions against subsidies of other crops by the US, the EU, and Japan. Source: Voice of America |
| Soup Lines Lengthen in Burlington |
|
When parishioners at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in
Burlington City, NJ, opened a soup kitchen for the needy
three months ago, they cooked enough to feed a small army.
Only 14 people showed up to eat.
"We didn’t know how it was going to go over because we didn’t know if there was a need," said Judy Atwell, a parishioner and one of the organizers. "When we first started, we thought we’d give it two months and if it didn’t pick up, we’d stop." In the weeks that followed, more people started coming to St. Mary’s Guild House on West Broad Street each Wednesday night, when the kitchen is open. Last week it served nearly 60, Atwell said. "The word’s spreading and everybody’s coming together to help," said parishioner Irene Gares of Edgewater Park. Last week the Gares family joined a team of nearly 30 volunteers preparing and serving the meal. Students from area schools, Boy Scouts, and city residents also help out. "The community has jumped in and taken this to heart," Atwell said. "It’s gone beyond the parish." When parishioners first asked local schools to help the kitchen with canned food drives this winter, the response was overwhelming, said Atwell. "We didn’t have enough room to store all the donations." Last week, about a dozen students from St. Paul School came and helped. "This isn’t what I expected at all," said Haley Gannon, a fifth-grader. "This really isn’t charity, it’s like a family." After eating his meal, Baird Applegate started to walk back to his home on Conover Street. Unlike some of the people served at the kitchen, he can afford a meal, so he makes a small donation every week. He said he likes to go there for companionship: "It’s better than staying home all the time, that’s for sure." Source: Burlington County Times |
| India's First 'Litigation-Free Village' |
|
Working out of an elegant old rented building in Kerala's
Thrissur, the organization Jananeethi was started just over
a decade ago by Kerala-born Catholic priest and human
rights lawyer George Pulikuthiyil. It battles for human
rights, aids dispute resolutions, cares for the despairing,
propagates awareness of law, and preaches social harmony.
In his first assignment as a priest, George, now 50, was struck by the stories he heard from judges and lawyers practising in the Ernakulam High Court. Stories of how long cases lasted before decision; how people pauperized themselves fighting litigation; how innocent many of them were of their rights; how frequently this innocence cost them their cases. By 1990 he had furthered his education and was enrolled at the court, taking briefs gratis. Before long, he saw the need for a parallel -- and faster -- track for settling disputes. So began Jananeethi, in 1991, as a legal aid center. It has allowed itself to be molded by the needs of the people who approach it for various sorts of help. In the last three years, 10,000 people have approached it. Last year alone it was presented with 220 disputes, out of which it settled 137 out of court. A majority of these related to domestic discords, followed by property and debt wrangles. Jananeethi created the first litigation-free village in India. It began like this: In early 2000, Fr. George had addressed a seminar of several village officials on the evils of litigation and the need to resolve disputes locally. After a few days a delegation arrived from the village of Thrissur inviting Advocate George to visit them and demonstrate his solutions. Peopled by craftsmen with ancient, masterly skills, Thrissur, predominantly Hindu, had been contributing steadily to Kerala's cultural life. But the villagers were a querulous lot. There were disputes in every street. Forty law students volunteered to survey and list the problems. They knocked on 500 doors, seeking to understand all the disputes. In the end, the students had compiled a list of 264 deadlocks to be resolved. Not surprisingly, two-thirds of them were against the administration. There were also 17 cases filed in the various courts. A 'court' or Lok Adalat was set up in the village school. Law students and other volunteers began extensive discussions with the various parties. George coordinated with the judiciary, police, other authorities, and banks who were parties to the disputes, to depute their representatives. Three benches were set up, each headed by a retired judge, a senior lawyer and a social worker. A team of three law students was assigned to assist each bench. In a mere three days that May, the benches found enough time to hear all disputes in detail and arrive at settlements. Only 11 cases were left for the newly set up village Harmony Committee to dispose of later. The villagers were agog with excitement. Hundreds stood around to gawk. On May 7, the whole village was dressed up to celebrate. Its renowned pipers and drummers led a slow parade through the decorated streets. A lunch fest followed. Thrissur had just become India's first litigation-free village. Source: Good News India Relevant Link: Jananeethi |
| Life-Net News Extras |
| India Looks Into Possible Slavery in Iraq |
|
India yesterday expressed concern over "disturbing reports" about the conditions in which some of its nationals are being forced to work in Iraq. It queried the US embassy for details of those compelled to remain in the war-ravaged country against their will.
In response, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman said, "The US Embassy was requested for information about the numbers of such Indian nationals known to have been employed in this manner, and also about the accounts that Indians who wished to leave were unable to do so, and were being compelled to continue to remain in Iraq against their will." He said the MEA "today expressed its concern regarding the disturbing reports about the conditions in which some Indian nationals are being forced to work for contractors active in Iraq". Following reports that about 1,500 ex-servicemen were transhipped to Iraq despite a ban on sending people to that country, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha had yesterday announced in Chennai that a probe was being ordered into it. The Indian government had banned sending people to Iraq from April 15 as security deteriorated. Four Keralites, who were "cheated" by job agents and taken to a US military camp in Iraq, managed to escape. They recently narrated their nine-month-long ordeal in the camp as slaves. One of them said "We were slaves in American kitchens". Source: Times of India |
| NJ Foster Stipends to Rise Four Times By 2008 |
|
The state will begin boosting the pay for foster parents next January -- six months earlier than originally planned, Human Services Commissioner James Davy announced yesterday. Davy said New Jersey's estimated 4,500 foster parents will see a 10% raise in the monthly "board rate" in January rather than waiting for the July 2005 startup date he announced earlier this year. He pushed up the date at the request of a panel of child welfare experts monitoring the court-ordered reform of New Jersey's child welfare services.
By 2008, foster parents and relatives licensed as "kinship" providers will see their monthly stipend increase four times. It will ultimately rise to $792.50 a month, what the US Department of Agriculture estimates is the cost of raising a child. The current monthly average stipend for foster parents is $420 per child. In the kinship program, those caring for grandchildren or other related children currently receive $250 per month for each child. Davy also has promised to assign foster parents their own caseworkers, to shorten the licensing process from 12 months to three months, and establish a $1 million pool to help foster parents make their homes safer for children. Source: Newark Star-Ledger |
| Yanomami Health Programs At Risk |
|
The Brazilian government’s health foundation has announced that it will take over Indian health programs which it had previously contracted out to NGOs. This has caused serious alarm amongst those working with the Yanomami who fear that the government will not provide the specialist health care needed. Due to local NGOs’ emphasis on providing preventive health care in remote Yanomami areas, rates of malaria have fallen dramatically.
There are still goldminers working illegally in the Yanomami area: the miners’ introduction of malaria into the Yanomami territory caused hundreds of deaths in the 1980s and 90s. In February a Xerente Indian working for the government Indian affairs department was killed by miners in the Yanomami area. The Yanomami are calling for all miners to be removed immediately. The Yanomami are one of the most numerous forest dwelling peoples in South America. It is probable that they have been there since the first peoples arrived in South America. During the 1970s and 80s, the Yanomami suffered hugely from the invasions of the miners -- shootings, disease, destruction of villages. They still do not have proper ownership rights over their land: Brazil refuses to recognize tribal land ownership, despite having signed an international law guaranteeing it. There are many within the Brazilian establishment who would like to see the Yanomami area reduced and opened to mining and colonization. The army is stepping up its presence in the area. Source: Survival International |
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