| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| September 9, 2009 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 13 Number 5 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| Recession Leads to New Gold Rush |
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COLUMBIA, CA Maybe it was the nail in Ray's head. Maybe it was the economy. His wife said it was one as much as the other that drove the decision to auction off everything that wouldn't fit in the trailer and leave Vermont for the mother lode. "Thought we'd try to make a living at it," Kim Lague said, standing in a mining camp that was busier during the Great Depression than it was in the Gold Rush of 1849, and is busy once again.
And so, 18 months after a co-worker's pneumatic hammer drove a 2 1/2-inch stainless-steel nail into Ray Lague's skull -- "the plunger of the gun brushed my hat and discharged" -- the once-thriving contractor took his place among the prospectors lining the steep banks of the South Fork of the Stanislaus River, 40 miles west of Yosemite National Park. The bearded man helping him drag the mining gear into the water was a jobless logger who lost his home to foreclosure. Fifty feet downstream, an unemployed concrete-truck driver scoured the river bottom beside a laid-off furniture mover, back to prospecting after a day spent wrestling with the unemployment office. "You have to consider the economy," said Gary Rhinevault, caretaker of the Lost Dutchman's Mining Association campground, where 45 prospectors pay as little as 30 cents a day to pitch their tents. "In 1932 there were more prospectors out trying to make a living than in the 1850s." Even in the trough of today's great recession, most of the prospectors still double as hobbyists. The Lost Dutchman's club allows members to camp for six months at a time, and its dozen or so claims are crowded first with the motor homes of freewheeling retirees. But as the economy soured, their ranks were swelled by adults of working age, pulled by gold prices flirting with $1,000 a troy ounce -- the highest in more than two decades -- and pushed by unfortunate circumstance. While there is no way to quantify the trend, anecdotally it is clear that the jobless are showing up not only in California but also elsewhere around the country where gold has been found in the past. "People come out with high hopes and don't realize the work that is involved until they get into it," said Tim LeGrand, owner of TN Gold & Gems in Coker TN. "Most try a few days and give up. Many struggle on and learn to pan. Very few get enough gold to do them any financial good." On the South Fork, everyone claims to know this. "No one's making a living down here," said Tony Stroud, an unemployed machinist who, like the other prospectors repeating the phrase, surely believes the words. And yet, here they all are, investing $1,500 to $5,000 for the suction dredges that vacuum up gravel, for the sluices that separate the gravel from the black sand, and, not least, for the big plastic pans that, after the machines have done the heavy work, reveal the glimmers of color that set hearts to racing and render reason irrelevant. Source: Washington Post |
| Child Rape Now Common in War Zones |
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UNITED NATIONS The widespread and systematic rape of girls in war zones is increasingly a characteristic of conflict in many parts of the world, a senior UN official warned today in an expansive report on children and armed conflict. "Such violations are often perpetrated in a rule of law vacuum as a result of conflict, and there often exists a prevailing culture of impunity for such crimes," said Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
"Precise information, critical for combating impunity and for programmatic response, is difficult to obtain or verify," Coomaraswamy wrote in her latest report to the General Assembly on the issue. She said that the fear of reprisals and cultural taboos surrounding such crimes are among the obstacles to collecting information about the incidents and understanding the magnitude and scope of sexual violence against children, as well as bringing the perpetrators to justice. Coomaraswamy spotlighted research indicating that boys are also vulnerable to sexual violence, especially during military operations in civilian areas or during military conscription or abduction into paramilitary forces, as well as in refugee and internally displaced settings, and in detention. "Although cases of sexual violence against boys are sometimes reported, insufficient attention is paid to this particular dimension, and such violations remain largely undocumented." The Special Representative underscored the importance of protecting schools and providing education in times of emergency and conflict, noting a growing tactical trend of targeting students, teachers, and education buildings. "In some situations, the fear of being attacked on their way to school or at school deprives girls of their basic right to learn and shape their future. In other places, schools are used as recruiting grounds, and entire classes have been abducted to be used as child combatants." She said that under international humanitarian law, attacks on schools are regarded as grave human rights violations and going after those responsible is key to ensuring that schools remain safe havens. "Education is also a central tool for conflict prevention and post-conflict recovery," Coomaraswamy stressed. "Addressing education in peace agreements and in their implementation is a fundamental step towards reinforcing security, gender equality, and economic development." Source: United Nations |
| Islamic Holy Month Spurs Outpouring of Charity |
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USA Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer, began at sunset on August 22. Two days prior, many believers were planning a key observance: zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam.
Often translated as "charity," zakat requires believers to give 2.5% of their cash assets, including the value of jewelry or stocks, to the Muslim needy and poor. Zakat might be given at any time in the year, but Ramadan's focus on compassion and introspection often prompts a greater outpouring. After the 9/11 attacks, Muslims in the USA struggled to be sure that the charities they chose supported human welfare without financing violent political efforts. President Obama pledged in his June 2009 address to the Muslim world that the government would take IRS and anti-terrorism measures to make it easier to clear zakat hurdles. Websites such as Global Giving point a spotlight at selected Islamic charities to make it easier for Muslims to give to reputable groups within legal guidelines, says program officer Saima Zaman, who created a Ramadan portal at the site in 2006. It directs a small but growing number of Muslim donors to 40 suggested charities, such as organizations that offer clean drinking water in Morocco, meals for girls in Burkina Faso, and education and health services for girls in Afghanistan. Ramadan is also when critics of Islam step up. The website Middle East Forum features an essay on the "dark side of zakat" by associate director Raymond Ibrahim, who is not Muslim. He writes about potential misuse of charity money, but he has "no doubt there are American Muslims who give zakat for positive or neutral reasons. I would even say the majority." Muslims account for less than 2% of the US population. At the website Charity Navigator, which helps donors find philanthropic groups that meet high operating and ethical standards, the big rush is the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas season. But, says spokeswoman Sandra Miniutti, "we do get e-mails from Muslim givers asking for giving tips around Ramadan." Many Muslims choose to give to concerns close to home. Fatemeh Fakhraie, founder and editor of an international Muslim women's website, Muslimah Media Watch, says, "I donate to my local food bank every Ramadan; some people give (zakat) to the mosque to distribute." Source: USA Today |
| Cash Transfers Give Filipino Kids a Better Start |
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LAKE SEBU,
PHILIPPINES Decades of insurgency clashes have reduced the oil-rich southern Philippines from a land of promise to a land of despair. And like most villagers in Muslim Mindanao, Maricel Kuyan lives on dreams.
Kuyan and her seven children live in a dim shack perched on a village called Ned, about 12 hours' walk from the nearest town in South Cotabato province. Most families there survive on less than $1 a day. Locked down by poverty, Kuyan never sets eyes on the outside world and has to imagine simple things like what tap water tastes like. Lining up in a gymnasium in the town of Lake Sebu on July 27 to register for a government cash transfer program, Kuyan said she was able to dream something big -- her seven children's education. Under the Pantawid Pamil-yang Pilipino Program (4P), Kuyan is entitled to P15,000 (about $312) a year, which must be spent on the children's education, healthcare, and nutrition. The cash means a great deal to Kuyan's family, who can rarely afford red meat for dinner. "Often, we have to skip meals. It's hard to send the kids to school." In Mindanao, most impoverished families want young children to drop out of school and enter the workforce early, because struggling parents need the support. But policy makers believe that without proper education the cycle of poverty is hard to break. Monera Lidasan, who overseas the cash transfer program in the region, said it was not a dole-out, because in order to remain qualified for the grants, beneficiaries must satisfy certain pre-conditions, such as keeping their kids in school. Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the five-year program was not just designed to ease the financial crunch of the poor but was an investment to lift them up out of the poverty trap. "Poor families reap profits of the program, if not now, in the future." With a budget of P10 billion ($208 million), the program will cover 700,000 beneficiaries from the poorest households in 20 provinces across the country. It's expected to expand the coverage to one million next year. One third of the Philippines' 90 million population live under the $1-a-day poverty line. Most of them are residents of Muslim Mindanao, where economic development has stalled because of constant clashes between government soldiers and Muslim rebels. Without imminent peace in sight, it remains uncertain whether pro-poor programs can do more than inspire a little hope. "We are all hoping that our life will be changed once they finish their studies and find a good job," said 45-year-old registrant Narcisa Alboleras, a mother of five. She and her husband earn barely enough to afford three meals a day. "Joven, my grade school son, says he will finish college and wants to become a cop. Now he gets closer to his dream." Source: Manila Times |
| Shutdown Imminent for Addicted Moms' Treatment Center |
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UPPER DEERFIELD, NJ A program that houses women with addiction problems and their children throughout their treatment time will close December 31 because of decreased
funding, the nonprofit Seabrook House confirmed yesterday.
Seabrook House President Edward Diehl said notice was given last Wednesday to the state Department of Human Services' Division of Addiction Services. Employees were notified Thursday. He said the decision means layoffs for 30 employees -- assuming they don't get other jobs at the nonprofit -- and displacement for about 40 women now in the program, as well as their children. Seabrook's MatriArk Program is one of several residential treatment systems for women across the state, but it's the only one in South Jersey. The program keeps mothers and children together during treatment and trains the women in life skills they'll need to continue their progress on the outside. This is the second significant payroll reduction at Seabrook in the past several weeks. On August 14, the center laid off 23 employees due to what management said was a decline in business. That dropped its work force from 205 people to 182. The latest layoff brings the center's employment down to about 150. Human Services and the state Department of Children and Families put up about $4.2 million toward the $8.3 million facility in which the MatriArk Program operates. The center opened in May 2006. Human Services spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy said the state is reviewing its "contract and contributory rights." Seabrook House has three service contracts with the New Jersey government for the residential mother-and-children program. Two of them expire December 31. Diehl said the state earlier this year slashed its daily reimbursement rate for one of the contracts from $250 to $147. That amounted to a $250,000 funding cut, Diehl said."I appealed to everyone from the commissioner of Human Services to the South Jersey legislative delegation, who historically have been incredible supporters to the good works of our women and children programs. No one could help. So, it's sad." Lovejoy said Seabrook House's reimbursement rate was made the same as that for all NJ-based agencies providing that same service as part of the fiscal year 2010 state budget. "This phase-in gave Seabrook sufficient time to make necessary program adjustments." She also said the state "had expressed concerns in staffing and operational issues" at Seabrook, and the state continues to investigate. Lovejoy said the center has told the state it intends to serve "private pay and self-insured clients, as well as Drug Court referrals" in the facility. She said that the state has started planning where to send displaced Seabrook House clients. Source: Courier-Post |
| UN Envoy Bill Clinton Chides Donors Over Haiti Aid |
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UNITED NATIONS Haiti has kept its promise to build a government, but donor nations have failed to deliver the aid they pledged to the poorest country in the western
hemisphere, Bill Clinton said today.
"They've only gotten a pittance of the aid that was pledged to them," Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy to Haiti, told reporters after addressing a meeting of the Security Council on the Caribbean nation. "A lot of that is part of the appropriations process that plays out in the latter half of every year," the former US president said. "But we can't get to January with only $21 million of over $760 million in commitments disbursed down there (in Haiti). We've got to get the show on the road." Clinton said Haiti has been delivering on promises to stabilize the country. "They did what they were supposed to do," he said. "They've got a functioning political system. The legislature's working with the executive branch. They've got a good government there. ... They need the rest of us to do more." US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice told the Security Council that "real gains have been made to improve security in Haiti. But we are acutely aware of the potential threats, including transnational crime, gang violence, and civil unrest." Clinton added that he hoped to boost private investment in Haiti. But the success of private investment projects, he said, will depend on donor nations living up to their aid commitments so Haitians can continue to improve their infrastructure. Devastating hurricanes caused an estimated $1 billion of damage last year. At the same time, the global financial crisis brought a sharp reduction in remittances vital to many Haitian families. Ban has also urged donor countries to be generous to Haiti. He has been influenced by a report by British academic Paul Collier which said that if Haiti could improve its roads and ports, it was well-placed to benefit from low labor costs and the duty-free access it enjoys to the US market. UN officials say that security has improved dramatically in Haiti, where just a few years ago large areas were controlled by heavily armed gangs that killed, kidnapped, and raped with impunity. The UN peacekeeping mission known as MINUSTAH, made up of 7,000 soldiers and 2,000 police, has worked to help stabilize Haiti since its last revolt in 2004. Source: Reuters |
| Remote Area Gets Large-Scale Health Care Gratis |
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FORT DUCHESNE, UT As a 17-year-old living and working in the Amazon basin, Stan Brock found himself in need of a doctor after he was thrown from a horse. "I had a head-on
collision with the side of a corral," Brock said. "I was told, 'The nearest doctor is a 26-day walk away.'"
Brock, who used to co-host Wild Kingdom on NBC, has never forgotten that lesson: People in remote areas of the world have little or no access to basic medical, dental, or eye care. So in 1985, Brock founded the Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps (RAMVC), the self-proclaimed "pioneers of no-cost medical care." "This is what's important," he said, looking around the Ute Indian Tribe gymnasium in Fort Duchesne on August 25 at the makeshift but well-equipped dental and optometry stations staffed by volunteer medical professionals from around the US. Many of the stations were in use, with RAMVC volunteers providing free care to Native American patients from a number of tribes. The clinic, which opened its four-day visit to the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation on August 23, had already treated 285 registered patients by the next night and performed $123,979 in services at no cost. "Nobody does this on the scale we do in this country," said Brock, whose group now spends 64% of its time working in the US because of the rising number of people who are uninsured or underinsured. Florine Sam of Duchesne, a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation, and her husband brought their four children to the clinic on August 24. Delbert Sam was laid off from his job as a diesel mechanic in June, his wife said, which left the family without insurance. "It wouldn't have been so bad," said Mrs Sam, "but they took the last (premium) payment out of his last check, which was $500." The Sams' four children have been accepted into the state's Child Health Insurance Program, their mother said. The family also qualifies for medical, dental, and eye care through the federal Indian Health Service. But being seen at the IHS clinic in Fort Duchesne can be a frustrating experience. RAMVC's visit to the reservation was suggested by Dr Larry Zubel, chief of optometry at the IHS clinic in Fort Duchesne. Zubel said the clinic's two dentists approached him in the spring and said they were being inundated with patients, many of them children. Zubel was aware of RAMVC and sought the approval of the Ute Tribe Health Board to bring the group to the reservation for a free dental clinic. As luck would have it, the vehicle the volunteer group would bring to provide dental care carried optometry equipment as well. Zubel said RAMVC also agreed, at the health board's request, to provide free women's health exams for two days, including cancer screenings. Mrs Sam said of her experience, "I've been to many different hospitals and they have probably been the nicest, most accepting," said Florine Sam. "Because it's free, you almost feel like you're imposing, but there was none of that. They thanked us for coming, which was kind of unusual. "To find out they were all here on their own dime was just amazing. I figured it was a federal grant that was paying for it." Brock said he's never applied for -- and will not accept -- government money to run his program. "Most of our support comes from John Q Public with $10 or $15 tax-deductible donations," he said. "That is what is the lifeblood of this organization." Source: Deseret News |
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| Officials Address Abandoned Patients Problem at Barbados Hospital |
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BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS A team of officials from the main social services agencies in Barbados were set to meet with Minister of Health Donville Inniss this week to address the problem of patient abandonment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). This was announced by Inniss during a media briefing on Friday. He said personnel from the National Assistance Board, the Welfare Department and other social agencies would be invited to the session against the backdrop of four patients who had been left by relatives in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department after being discharged by doctors.
Inniss also indicated that there were sick people who had been admitted to the wards but remained in the A&E Department because of a lack of bed space. "If you go to the A&E now, I am told that there are about four individuals who were discharged by the A&E staff but their so-called loved ones have not come back to collect them. "In a facility that has 25 beds, that is considerable pressure. There are other patients who have been admitted to the wards, but there are challenges with bed space. This is as a result of individuals who had been discharged for weeks or even months, whose relatives did not collect them." In chiding Barbadians for not taking care of their elderly relatives, Inniss stressed that the social agencies "must step up to the plate and assist the QEH in this dilemma. I am not prepared to sit here as Minister of Health and have all of these challenges dumped on the Ministry. The state has a duty to assist these individuals, and hence, it is regrettable that these citizens, in the evening of their days, continue to be dumped in health care institutions." In light of this situation, the Health Minister pledged to work more closely with social institutions to alleviate the problem. "I hope that this a wakeup call for all Barbadians that we need to take care of our elderly," Inniss emphasized. "Any one of us may be fortunate to live to age 65, and none of us would want our children to dump us." Source: BGIS |
| Residents Attack Blight with an "Ugliest House" Contest |
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CAMDEN, NJ Cramer Hill resident Zoraida Gonzalez-Torres can't remember the last time someone lived in the burned-out rowhouse at 923 N 27th St, just a few blocks from her home. She guessed that the two-story building had been vacant for at least 12 years.
Last October, the city designated it an imminent hazard that should be demolished within 48 hours. As of August 28, what's left of the house was still standing, one of thousands of abandoned shells marring the city. To Cramer Hill residents, this particular house was the worst of the worst eyesores in their neighborhood. On August 27, Gonzalez-Torres and about 50 other residents crowned it the winner of an "Ugly Home" contest at a tongue-in-cheek ceremony they hoped would spur real action. They shook tambourines, banged hand drums, and waved cardboard cut-outs of bulldozers as community leaders covered part of the red siding with a banner proclaiming "Cramer Hill's Ugliest House of 2009." "This could collapse any minute and affect anybody walking down the sidewalk," Gonzalez-Torres said. "This is not normal in any other community. Why is it normal in Camden? We need to make sure that something gets done." Leaders from St Anthony of Padua Parish and Camden Churches Organized for People started the ugly home contest in July to call attention to the problem. They photographed 13 of the neighborhood's nearly 200 abandoned buildings and distributed ballots to local churches and the Cramer Hill Community Development Corporation. More than 300 votes were cast, about 30% of which put 923 N 27th St at the top of the list, said Father Jud Weiksnar of St Anthony. The building also won the most votes -- about 60 of more than 200 -- in an unofficial poll on the Courier-Post Web site. According to tax records, the home, owned by James Jimmo, has $55,600 worth of outstanding liens. Manny Delgado, director of the Cramer Hill Community Development Corporation, said the city could have a prime site for commercial development if it tore down the home and two adjacent vacant buildings. "It's been amazing for us how difficult it is to get a house torn down, even when that house is a hazard. In the second richest state, how can there be a city with so many abandoned houses? It's not fair." Weiksnar said he talked to the city about knocking down the contest winner in conjunction with their announcement, but was told money still wasn't available. Demolishing a single-family home costs between $15,000 and $30,000. Public Works Director Pat Keating said the city spent $667,000 to tear down 36 "imminent hazards" last fiscal year but still has a list of 34 more. Source: Courier-Post |
| Trafficking Laws Interfere with Anti-AIDS Efforts |
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NUSA DUA, INDONESIA The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Anand Grover, on August 10 called for the repeal of punitive laws that conflate sex work and trafficking. He warned that they are impeding efforts to slow the spread of HIV in Southeast Asia.
Grover cited Cambodia's 2008 Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation as an example of punitive laws that had set back the fight against HIV. He was speaking at a press conference at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, in which the UN called for the removal of all laws that hinder effective HIV interventions. The rapporteur, an independent expert, also took aim at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), indicating that the Cambodian government is not alone in its difficulty in tackling trafficking without stepping on the rights of sex workers. Grover condemned as "unacceptable" a program in India in which police had been trained by the UNODC to "rescue and rehabilitate" brothel workers. He cited one case in which police took 47 sex workers from Delhi brothels against their will and kept them in "the hellhole of Calcutta". Twenty-five managed to escape. "It is unacceptable, and it is a consequence of conflating sex work with trafficking," Grover said. "Unfortunately, it is instituted by international pressures, and it is based on prejudice and ideology." Jeffrey O'Malley, director of the HIV/AIDS team at the UN Development Program, said the introduction of anti-trafficking legislation in Cambodia changed the patterns of sex work but did not change the number of commercial sex transactions. He called for a global end to police interference in the delivery of essential HIV prevention programs and services to high-risk groups. The removal of punitive laws was identified by UNAIDS, the UN's joint program on HIV and AIDS, as one of nine priorities for slowing the spread of HIV, O'Malley told reporters. "AIDS is going to be with us for at least the next 20 years. We need cost-effective and sustainable approaches to HIV prevention and treatment." Kyung Wah-kang, the UN's deputy high commissioner for human rights, said issues surrounding the decriminalization of prostitution were complex but called for governments in the region to take a human rights- and public health-centered approach to all laws involving communities at risk of HIV infection. "Members of these vulnerable groups do not forfeit their human rights just by belonging to these groups." O'Malley said crafting legislation to crack down on human trafficking without catching sex workers in the net was a challenge. He pointed to the recent decriminalization of sex work in New Zealand as an example of how it could be achieved. Source: Phnom Penh Post |
| Day of Golf Helps At-Risk Youth |
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MT LAUREL, NJ It was a chance to hit the links for a good cause. Nearly 100 golfers jumped at the opportunity to help on July 13 as part of the 14th Justice for All Celebrity Golf Classic at Laurel Creek Country Club.
The annual event raises money for Justice for All People, a nonprofit group that provides mentoring programs and college scholarships for at-risk youngsters in Burlington County. Lou Rogers of Edgewater Park, founder of the organization and executive director of the tournament, said he was proud to see so many golfers on hand. "Despite the economy, people have embraced this event." Rogers created the tournament 14 years ago after his teenage nephew, Manuel Taylor, was gunned down in a random act of violence in Jacksonville FL in 1993. Despite the dozens of students positively influenced by the nonprofit organization over the years, Rogers said there is more work to do. "We've done this for 14 years and evidence shows that our job is not done," said Rogers, referring to senseless violence. He said the idea behind the scholarships is to honor students who have beaten the odds stacked against them. "We need to encourage and empower these kids who are doing the right thing. Try to encourage them to lead by example. Together we can beat this thing." This year's award recipients were Jared McGrath of Burlington City High School, Terrance Scotton of Burlington Township, and Akia Williams of Rancocas Valley Regional. McGrath and Scotton received Peace and Principle awards. Williams was honored with the Irving Fryar Sportsmanship Award. "It's really an honor," said McGrath, who will attend Ramapo College of New Jersey in the fall. "My brother recently won the same award. It's kind of cool to follow in his footsteps." Williams, who plans to attend Burlington County College, said any financial assistance is appreciated. "I was happy because it's hard to pay for college," she said. "The award is $2,000, or $500 a year. It will help me pay for my books. It's cool because my brother won the same award just a few years ago." Previous recipients honored during Monday's event included Ashley Silivanis, Ernest Mitchell IV, Derrick Price, Jesse McGrath, and Lauren Powell. Former Philadelphia Eagle and All-Pro wide receiver Mike Quick again served as the honorary chairman for the tournament. Source: Burlington County Times |
| Why Saudi Arabia Allows Child Marriages |
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Adapted from a piece by Lee Jay Walker:
Saudi Arabia is often rebuked for allowing child marriages to take place. Many Saudi Islamic clerics justify the practice, citing Mohammed, who married a child himself. It is deemed to be Islamic to marry a young child of 8 or 9 years of age, irrespective if the male is 30 years old or 40 or even older. When Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, was 49, he married a 6-year old named Aisha. When Aisha was 9 and Mohammed 52, he consummated the marriage. From Sahih Al-Bukhari volume 5,234: "Narrated Aisha: ... Unexpectedly Allah's Messenger came to me in the forenoon, and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age." Also: "Narrated Aisha: that the prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old." The volumes of Sahih Al-Bukhari comprise some of the numerous Hadiths, which are based on Mohammed's words and deeds according to statements written by his companions, wives, and relatives. Al-Bukhari is accepted by the vast majority of mainstream Muslims. This sets up a major problem for the conservative Islamic religious leaders in Saudi Arabia, because they want to govern society by Sharia Law and the Hadiths. If they were to support raising the age of marriage, as the majority of mainly Muslim nations have done, they would have a hard time reconciling it with the interpretation of Sharia that prevails in Saudi Arabia. The Hadiths vindicate religious leaders like the kingdom's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh. To him, the Koran and the Hadiths must be upheld, and this also applies to killing all converts from Islam and persecuting all other religions. The sheikh is adamant that marrying young female child brides is consistent with the teachings and life of Mohammed. "A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those who think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her." Several months ago a judge in Saudi Arabia justified the right of an 8 year-old girl to marry a man of 47. Even after the mother signed a petition to demand the annulment of the marriage, the judge refused openly to annul the marriage. In his eyes it is morally right to marry a child to a middle-aged man. Some people are now speaking out and trying to challenge the conservative status quo. Some moderate Sunni Islamic scholars want to modernize and change the legal system. Despite this, the conservative stranglehold remains firm. The co-founder of the Society of Defending Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia, Wajeha al-Huwaider, says that it is vital to stand up to people who desire to "keep us backward and in the dark ages." Source: FaithFreedom |
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