| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| August 2, 2006 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 10 Number 6 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| Welfare Reform: Some Improvements, Serious Problems |
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Welfare caseloads peaked at 5.1 million families in 1994; now, 1.9 million. Millions of people moved off welfare, but most of the women in this group are in low-paying, unskilled jobs. Many families have become "working poor" and are struggling to make ends meet. Those with mental illness, substance abuse or criminal records seldom easily make the transition from welfare to work.
Statistics also indicate some improvements. Before declining slightly since 2001, employment rates for single women rose 25%. Poverty rates for children decreased 25% before rising 10% since 2000, and child support collections are up. Major employers, including UPS (52,000) and CVS (45,000), hired thousands of welfare recipients. Yet, more than half of people eligible for welfare do not get their benefits, because they are discouraged by the new system. "We now simply have a system that provides less help in times when people are without work," says Mark Greenberg of the Center for American Progress. While welfare rolls have been getting smaller, the number of people receiving Medicaid and food stamps has soared by 50% since 2000. Medicaid serves 53 million recipients and is now the nation's largest entitlement program; the Food Stamp Program serves 25 million. Moreover, it is common that even the little gains the working poor make in their jobs are offset by cuts in food stamps, health care, child care, and energy assistance, which are based on income. "We're punishing the people who won't work," says Berta Sailer of a low-income service center in Kansas City, "and we're punishing the people who will work." Source: USA Today |
| Sanctions Could Direly Harm North Korea's Persecuted |
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After North Korea's communist government test-fired seven missiles in early July, reaction from the international community was swift and included calls for sanctions -- something Christian author (of Escape from North Korea) and spokesman (Open Doors with Brother Andrew) Paul Estabrooks believes could aggravate the troubles of Christians and other citizens.
"They've had a famine in the country for the past decade practically," the author noted. "It was especially bad in the middle 90s, just after Kim Il Sung, their first leader, died in 1994." "This is why most people are trying to escape out of the country, initially," he says, "just to get food." Economic sanctions would hurt everyone in North Korea, Estabrooks contends. However, he believes imposing them would be particularly detrimental for the nation's Christians, for whom, he points out, the situation is already desperate. "North Korea, before the split after WWII, was known as the Jerusalem of the East: there were so many Christians in Pyongyang," Estabrooks notes. "When the country was divided by that parallel division in 1952, then we lost contact with the church in the North. Christianity was forbidden." Open Doors has called attention to the plight of North Korean Christians as victims of some of the most severe religious persecution happening anywhere. The ministry notes that, because believers in the communist nation are seen as political criminals, when they are arrested they are often forcibly compelled to renounce their faith and worship Kim Il Sung. If these detainees remain faithful and continue to confess Christ, they are often executed. An estimated 100,000 Christians are political prisoners. North Korea is a "dominantly socialist, atheistic society," Estabrooks adds, "and therefore Christians are treated very poorly." According to the latest "World Watch List" published by Open Doors, North Korea has replaced Saudi Arabia as the country where Christians are most severely persecuted. Source: AgapePress |
| A 'Crawling Disaster' of Mounting Hidden Hunger |
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A parade of men and women, some with children, are streaming in the doors of the Father English Community Center and its emergency food pantry in Paterson NJ, which has just opened at 8am on a rainy day. While their appearance does not tell their stories, nearly all of them are hungry, or "hidden hungry" as anti-hunger advocates call them, victims of the "growing gap between the wealthy on one hand and the middle class and poor on the other."
The largest group seeking food assistance is women with children. Many others are ill or disabled and trying to live on a fixed income while costs rise. "It's easy for people to picture a disaster like Katrina and respond to it," Bill Hudson of Father English says. "This is like a crawling disaster. You don't hear about it. You can pass someone on the street and never know how much trouble they're in." "We don't see the kind of hunger they have in Africa," says Adele LaTourette, director of the Statewide Emergency Food and Anti-Hunger Network. "It's much, much more hidden. It's people cutting back on food because they can't cut back on rent. It's mothers skipping meals themselves so they can feed their children." Nearly a million New Jersey residents face food insecurity, having limited access to food and experiencing malnutrition or outright hunger, according to the Center on Hunger and Poverty. Food contributions and grant money are down. Despite government, corporate and faith-based efforts to stem hunger, the pantry at Father English serves a growing number of clients and has more difficulty stocking its shelves up, especially with healthier items. Some pantries are running out of food, says LaTourette. Source: Herald News |
| Congress Urged to Save Original American Languages |
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Indigenous languages will die out in America unless
Congress acts soon, an Indian education leader said
Thursday: "We're on the very verge of losing our
languages," said Ryan Wilson, president of the National
Indian Education Association. "We don't have tomorrow.
This has to happen today."
Wilson spoke at United Tribes Technical College in a press conference to promote passage of a bill co-sponsored by Senator Byron Dorgan, D-ND, that would create grants to establish immersion schools where Indian children could learn their traditional language. Before Europeans came to America, there were about 500 different American Indian languages, Wilson said. Fewer than 100 have survived; only 20 are spoken by American Indian children. Immersion schools are important for two major reasons, Wilson said. First, indigenous languages are an important part of America's culture and history. Second, research has shown that Indian students do better academically when the lessons are relevant to their culture, he said. Language is an important part of that. At a language immersion school, of which there are already a few in the country for Indian students, children learn traditional languages and are then taught other subjects in the language. Most of the schools focus on young students, who have an easier time picking up new languages. Graduates of the existing programs have had more academic success than students at traditional schools, Wilson said. There are far too few of the schools, though, he said. "You have one system that's scientifically proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to fail our kids," Wilson said. "Here's another system that might be a potential answer." Furthermore, he said, other research has shown that studying any language fosters intellectual development. For Indian students, an indigenous language is the logical choice for study, he said. Fast action is important because some languages have only a few remaining speakers, said Tex Hall, chairman of the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation. There are only 8 people alive who speak Mandan fluently, he said. "If we don't do this now, it will be gone," Hall said. "These speakers are passing on. When they pass, they take a wealth of knowledge with them." One reason there are so few speakers is because the government discouraged previous generations from speaking or learning indigenous languages in an attempt to force cultural assimilation, Wilson said. Many Indians attended boarding schools, where they were punished if caught speaking their native tongue. "We know that while that was well-intentioned ... we also know that it did great damage to Indians," Wilson said. "We're not playing the role of victims; we don't believe in that. But the US government made the biggest investment in the destruction of the languages, and it should make a commensurate investment in helping to bring them back." Source: Bismarck Tribune |
| Camden Residents Slam Housing Officials |
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Angry residents blasted leaders of the city's housing
authority on July 24, saying the agency was plagued by
inefficiency, incompetence and improprieties. "You're all
a disgrace," Charlotte Sarles, a public-housing tenant,
told officials at the special meeting of the authority's
commissioners. "What's wrong with you?"
Among other woes, the housing authority faces an estimated budget deficit of $700,000 to $1.3 million. That could bring layoffs for 40% of its 70 maintenance and clerical workers, although commissioners have not yet voted on any cutbacks. Recent articles have noted that the son of executive director Maria Marquez lived rent-free in an authority home for three years, then bought the property and sold it for a $40,000 profit. Also, Kathryn Blackshear, an authority administrator who earns at least $69,000 a year, lives in an authority home intended for low-income people. Diann Stratton, 28, of North Camden, criticized those living arrangements as she described spending four years on the authority's waiting list. "I'm trying to actually make it. But you're making it harder," Stratton said. An overflow crowd of about 60 people attended the meeting at the McGuire Gardens community center. Several drew applause with pointed criticisms, as when Sarles, a McGuire Gardens resident, described renovation work at the complex as "screwed up and threw up." Several speakers called for Marquez's dismissal. "The board ought to fire her because the residents are suffering," said Naomi Williams, a Branch Village resident who criticized the agency's "ineptness" and "corruption." Commissioners did not respond to the residents, who repeatedly cited recent Courier-Post articles about the beleaguered agency. Source: Courier-Post |
| Indigenous Rights Declaration Approved by Council |
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In a historic vote which brought a standing ovation from
those present, the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva in
late June approved the text of a declaration on indigenous
peoples' rights that was first discussed over 20 years
ago. The draft declaration will now move to the UN General
Assembly, where member countries are expected to vote on it
later this year. The Council recommended that the General
Assembly approve it.
In a signal of increasing support amongst African governments for recognizing indigenous peoples' rights, Cameroon, South Africa and Zambia all voted for the declaration. Only Canada and Russia opposed it. If approved, the declaration would set a benchmark against which countries' treatment of tribal peoples could be judged. It is not legally binding. The declaration recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples to their land and to live as they wish. It also affirms that, for example, they should not be moved from their lands without their free and informed consent. Speaking after the vote, the UK's representative cautioned that the UK does not accept the concept of collective rights in international law, a position that has made it the target of a sustained campaign by indigenous people and Survival International. Survival's Director Stephen Corry said,7 "At long last the UN is moving towards properly recognizing the world's indigenous peoples, most of whom are still suffering dispossession, many of whom are staring extinction in the face. It remains to be seen which governments will actually do something to help them. Of course, it's dismaying that the UK government's immediate response to the Declaration is to deny the existence of collective rights." Source: Survival International Declaration: Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples |
| Poverty and Murder in Robeson County NC |
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Robeson is the largest of North Carolina's 100 counties.
It is a mostly rural expanse in the state's southeast,
astride I-95, with Lumberton at its center. It has long
suffered desperate poverty.
In 2000, 9% of North Carolinians were considered poor. Robeson's poverty rate was 19.6%. Another distinction is that the county's population has been split roughly equally among whites, African-Americans and native Americans. It is the home territory of the Lumbees, a tribe officially recognized by North Carolina in 1885 but never accorded full tribal privileges by the US. In recent years, Robeson has been plagued with an alarming murder rate. A rough drug trade, delivered on the interstate that comes up from Florida through Robeson, fuels the killings, as does poverty, joblessness, and a high dropout rate. North Carolina's overall rate in 2005 was 6.9 murders per 100,000 people; Robeson's, 23.8. Many of the killings involve Lumbees who attacked other Lumbees, authorities say. Members of the Lumbee tribe are murdered seven times more often than whites in North Carolina. Lumbees are murdered more often than blacks, too, according to the state health department. Jobs and education will help what ails Robeson. Federal and state aid need to be steered to the county. The University of North Carolina system -- through UNC-Pembroke, which is located in Robeson -- should make sure that its expertise is brought to bear in tackling problems and enlarging opportunities. It is worth noting that the state has made a modest grant to the Lumbees to study the tribe's death rate from murders and car accidents. Researchers will gather statistics, convene a task force of local leaders on the issue, and come up with a presentation on the problem. It's encouraging that the General Assembly has amended the state's industry incentives program -- the Bill Lee Act -- to encourage more companies to relocate to Robeson, Hoke, and other challenged counties. Meanwhile, the state grant likely will need to be followed by funds for Robeson's county and local governments to hire more police officers and sheriff's deputies. The murder rate signals that law enforcement in the county is overwhelmed, which leaves Robeson residents in unacceptable danger. Source: Charlotte News & Observer |
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| School Counselors See Poverty's Effects in SD |
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Low-income students at Lead-Deadwood Elementary in Northern
Hills, SD, are frequent visitors to school counselors who help them with issues caused by living in poverty. Some talk about signs of depression. Counselor Marcia Price, who works with high school students, mostly receives complaints about peer pressure.
Students are "being made fun of because they are poor," Price said. "There is a common feeling of hopelessness with these kids. I hear comments like 'What is the point? And how can I ever get out of this?'” Some seldom see parents, who are working two jobs to support the family. The summer is the most difficult time for many students -- they stay at home and are more exposed to family problems. During the school year they get a venue of escape -- and a place to eat: The two meals a day they get at school are sometimes "the most solid meals they will have," said Calabro. "The tough thing is explaining it to a young person who doesn’t have food and shelter that they can be the best that they can be," Price said. "How can you even get there if you don’t have the basics?" Source: Black Hills Pioneer |
| On the Edge: Juarez Femicides |
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Between 70 and 80 people were in attendance at the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura in Tijuana for Steev Hise's film On the Edge: The Femicides in Ciudad Juarez. Four-fifths of them stayed for the panel discussion afterwards.
Panelist Sara Ruiz’s daughter Sarita was abducted, assaulted and thrown from a moving car last December onto the streets of Tijuana, about four blocks away from the San Ysidro Port of Entry. She died six days later. Mrs Ruiz carried out a 9-day hunger strike in June and says many mothers whose daughters have been victimized are afraid to speak out and have asked her to carry on for them also. Majority awareness and actions are needed to halt and stop the spread of out-of-control atrocities. As evidenced by the reception of the screenings in San Diego and Tijuana in late July, On the Edge is an important step in this direction. Ruiz has fought courageously for there to be an investigation and prosecution in the face of a weak and mixed official response, including accusations that her daughter must have been engaging in risky behaviors. Ruiz said she is certain her 15-year old daughter kept a healthy lifestyle and was going about her normal routine that day. Among the comments from the audience were that citizen complaints are not taken seriously. Another theme was gender relations. One man said it has been a difficult but positive process for him to understand how to give his wife the space and respect she merits, and that all men must become aware of any abusive behaviors, which however subtle are damaging and have social consequences. Other comments were regarding women’s responsibility in not putting up with derogatory behaviors, such as celebrating abusive comments that men make about other women, as well as the responsibility of both parents for bringing up the men of the future to be respectful and the girls to know what their rights are, all from a very early age. There was a comment about how femicides are an extra layer of brutality inflicted upon women, yet the common root affecting the entire society is the prevalent climate of economic exploitation. Steev Hise was applauded for his interest in going to Mexico and addressing this Mexican problem. Steev mentioned 2 Mexican filmmakers have also produced documentaries, and that the players in this tragedy reside on both sides of the border, a great majority of maquiladoras being US concerns. Hise added that corruption, while not as evident, is nonetheless widespread and deep in the US. One man commented there should be laws whereby women only work daylight shifts, to which Carmen Valadez of the Feminist Binational Collective answered we must demand what women and all citizens deserve: Safe cities 24 hours a day. Source: Independent Media Center |
| Ayoreo Indians Denounce Illegal Logging |
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A group of Ayoreo Indians (in Paraguay) has angrily condemned the landowners who are logging their territory illegally. Senior government officials have travelled to the Ayoreo's villages to investigate.
The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode's territory was recently included in the Chaco Biosphere Reserve in an attempt to protect it from the private landowners who are determined to log the area of all its valuable hardwoods. The forest is protected by injunctions which make any activity on it illegal, but these injunctions have been repeatedly flouted. The area is home to an unknown number of uncontacted Ayoreo families, whose forest home is being encroached upon from all sides. Amongst the worst offenders is the firm of Carlos Casado SA, who have refused government attempts to buy the land from them to transfer to the Indians. The Ayoreo have denounced "the theft of our forest and resources, especially the cutting of palo santo [a valuable hardwood] for fence posts ... Marcelo Peyrat [the representative of Carlos Casado SA] is making himself rich through the theft of our timber." Source: Survival International |
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