tagged w/ Displaced People
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Refugees of war are not criminals or potentially violent people but are men, women and children victims of violence, trying to escape. This is not a difficult concept to understand, but Italy rejects refugees treating them like criminals, like commodities, like waste. Berlusconi's government is criticized for its behavior by the EU and UN, but doesn't give a damn.Refugees of war are not criminals or potentially violent people but are men, women and... more
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Katrina Pain Index 2009 is a solidarity message from Bill Quigley to Hurricane Katrina survivors in NYC at the Katrina Remembrance Aug. 29, 2009. Bill more...Quigley is a human rights lawyer on leave from Loyola University to serve as legal directior for the Center for Constitutional Rights. For a pirinted version of the article "Katrina Pain Index 2009" contact Bill Quigley at quigley77@gmail.com. This video was shot by Johnnie Stevens and Dalia Grinan. Mayibuye2@Yahoo.comKatrina Pain Index 2009 is a solidarity message from Bill Quigley to Hurricane Katrina... more
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Now that Americans have withdrawn from Iraqi cities, the situation of the country is mentioned by western media only when there is some chain of bloody attacks, as it happened in these days, with nearly 100 deaths in several explosions that have targeted the Shabak, an ethnic-religious minority that lives in the north, near Mosul, and the Shiite of Baghdad.Now that Americans have withdrawn from Iraqi cities, the situation of the country is... more
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A year has passed after the conflict that plunged the world again in a climate of cold war, the conflict between Russia and Georgia for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, russian speaking regions within the territory of Georgia. Reciprocal blame for having started the conflict, 4-500 dead, tens of thousands of refugees and a situation which is now very likely to remain unstable for a long time.A year has passed after the conflict that plunged the world again in a climate of cold... more
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UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived Friday in Sri Lanka to press for humanitarian access to civilians displaced by the separatist conflict, as the island's president dismissed international concerns.
Ban is the first world leader to visit since Colombo's assertion earlier this week that the Tamil Tigers' bloody decades-long crusade for an independent homeland had been crushed once and for all.
"It's time for Sri Lankans to heal the wounds and unite without regards for religious and ethnic identity," Ban said after touching down to a red-carpet welcome late in the evening.
The secretary general said he had three priorities on his 24-hour mission, chief among them ensuring humanitarian assistance "to the more than 300,000 displaced badly in need of food, water and sanitation".
Tamil activists have likened the barbed wire "welfare villages" where civilians who fled the fighting are housed to concentration camps.
Ban also identified the need for the Tamil minority, long marginalised here, to be resettled and integrated into Sinhalese-dominated society.
The third goal of his visit was "national reconciliation" he said, adding: "I hope President Rajapakse will reach out in a inclusive dialogue with minority groups, including Tamils and Muslims."
But in a defiant speech delivered just hours before Ban flew in, President Mahinda Rajapakse brushed off widespread pressure from governments around the world who fear the Tigers' defeat came at the expense of civilians.
"There are some who tried to stop our military campaign by threatening to haul us before war crimes tribunals," said Rajapakse in a speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters outside the national parliament.
"I am not afraid. The strength I have is your support. I am even ready to go to the gallows on your behalf."
snip
Ban's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, told reporters that the secretary general would tour the sprawling Manik Farm area in the northern district of Vavuniya, where most of the people displaced by the recent fighting are housed.
Ban has also said Tuesday that any serious allegations of war crimes "should be properly investigated."
The conflict has cost up to 100,000 lives, according to UN estimates.
end of excerptUN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived Friday in Sri Lanka to press for humanitarian access to... more
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"A human rights organization is accusing the Chinese government of widespread forced evictions along with other human rights violations during preparations for the Beijing Olympics. In a new report, the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions says 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes to make room for Olympic venues and city beautification schemes. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.
The Center on Housing Rights and Evictions says it is becoming normal practice for housing rights to be violated by countries hosting mega-events, such as the Olympics. But, it says the scale of displacement that is taking place in China is unprecedented.
The Center's Executive Director, Salih Booker, tells VOA from 1991 to 1999 China displaced an average of 70,000 people a year to make room for economic and urban development projects.
But during the period since Beijing was awarded the games, he says an average of 165,000 people have been displaced through evictions, demolition of houses and relocation to alternative housing.
He says the process was supposed to involve mediation and tenants were supposed to receive adequate compensation for their homes.
"The compensation rates were most frequently below market value," said Booker. "And, because of the corruption that also was encouraged by the process, by the time families actually received money, the original compensation amount had been reduced by middle men among the municipal authorities and construction companies. In cases where citizens absolutely refused, we have witnesses report forced evictions, often using violent techniques and harassment."
China has signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which protects the right to adequate housing. These rights also are protected under China's national law and constitution.
But Booker says there is no independent judiciary in the country and the judicial system is riddled with corruption. As a consequence, he says there is no legal redress for people who have been thrown out of their homes.
The Housing Rights Organization has harsh words for the International Olympic Committee, which it accuses of being an apologist for the Chinese Government. Booker says the International Olympic Committee has refused to take action against the government's human rights violations and massive displacement of its people.
"We are dismayed that the IOC President has suggested that as a result of the Beijing Olympics, the human rights situation in China has improved," he said. "We believe the evidence is completely to the contrary, particularly with regard to housing rights. So, we feel that it is appropriate to hold the IOC accountable for its role in not acknowledging these problems and not seeking to address them in the case of China."
The Center on Housing Rights and Evictions is calling for the International Olympic Committee to bring pressure on the Chinese government to ensure people who are inadequately compensated for being displaced have some form of redress.
The Organization is also demanding that China immediately halt demolitions and evictions."
"A human rights organization is accusing the Chinese government of widespread forced... more
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Iraq remains one of the most dangerous places in the world. Its refugee crisis is worsening. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, an estimated 4.7 million have been displaced both within and outside Iraq and for many the situation is desperate.
A new report by Amnesty International, Rhetoric and reality: the Iraqi refugee crisis, says that the international community continues to fail to respond to the crisis in a meaningful way. Countries like Jordan and Syria host most of the refugees but are simply not equipped to meet the needs of all those arriving.
Syria alone may be hosting more than a million refugees. As of 2007, only 1 percent of the total Iraqi displaced population was estimated to be in the industrialized world.
To mark World Refugee Day, Amnesty International has called on the international community and, in particular, those states who participated in the US-led invasion of Iraq, to take real steps to alleviate the suffering of those displaced. The organization said these countries must urgently act on their responsibility to assist the host nations and humanitarian organizations operating in the region to support the large numbers of refugees.
Many families are destitute and facing impossible choices and new risks, like having to resort to child labour and the prospect of being forced through circumstances to undertake "voluntary" return to Iraq.
Iraq remains one of the most dangerous places in the world. Its refugee crisis is... more
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Detroit based Hip-Hop artists Invincible and Finale rhyme about the impacts of gentrification on the Motor City. This piece includes interviews with community activists discussing displacement and predatory planning versus sustainable development in the D.
Both the song and video for "Locusts" by Invincible feat. Finale, (produced by DJ House Shoes) are from Invincible's debut album Shapeshifters available on www.EMERGENCEmusic.net and www.bling47.com).Detroit based Hip-Hop artists Invincible and Finale rhyme about the impacts of... more
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iqaa
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added this
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1 year ago
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It is said Sudan's Darfur region is often overlooked by the media as one of the biggest humanitarian disasters in history. But to the south, an even lesser-known war has raged on in Northern Uganda. And the media have shared very little about this "silent disaster" as well. This unique look at the crisis in Northern Uganda follows a Portland, Oregon musician's journey to share her music and compassion with those who have been left to pick up the pieces in the wake of a decades-long war. It is said Sudan's Darfur region is often overlooked by the media as one of the... more
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The Ugandan government has struck a deal with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) about where their leaders will be tried. LRA leaders accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes would be tried by a national court under the terms of the deal.
Many of the people have been charged with horrific crimes – and international warrants have been out for their arrest for more than two and a half years.
As a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, Uganda has the duty to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigations and prosecutions. In particular, it must cooperate in arresting and surrendering any person charged by the Court, without delay.
Arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and the others who are still alive were issued on 8 July 2005 and Uganda is obliged under international law to arrest and surrender them regardless of any agreement reached in the peace process. They are also obliged to bring to justice all those responsible for crimes under international law in fair trials without the death penalty.
The Rome Statute provides that, once the men have been surrendered to the ICC, the Ugandan government may then apply to have the cases returned to Ugandan courts. However, it would be up to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC to decide whether Ugandan courts are able and willing to genuinely investigate and prosecute the LRA suspects named in the warrants.
Amnesty International has called for LRA members charged with crimes under international law to be surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) immediately.
“It is not acceptable for the Ugandan government and the LRA to make a deal that circumvents international law,” said Christopher Keith Hall, Senior Legal Adviser in Amnesty International’s International Justice Project. “They must be handed over to the ICC so that their guilt or innocence can be determined once and for all. The people of Uganda deserve no less.
“At the moment, we have no evidence to suggest that even a new court established in Uganda to deal with these cases would be able and willing to do so in fair proceedings that are not a sham.”
During approximately 20 years of fighting between the LRA and the Ugandan government, soldiers on both sides have murdered tens of thousands of people and forcibly displaced about two million people. The Ugandan government has struck a deal with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) about... more
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If you were a college student at a university in Baghdad when the US-led invasion began, the job prospects upon graduating were not too hot. Many Iraqis took jobs as interpreters with the US forces; putting their lives, and those of their families at risk.
A departure from the typical media coverage of "Operation Iraqi Freedom," this pod tells the gut-wrenching story of a young Iraqi's struggle to make ends meet and stay alive. Eventually forced to flee the only home she had ever known, she set sights on a life in the US. But, what she didn't realize was once she left Iraq, the struggle would not soon be over.
She is one, but her story represents many.If you were a college student at a university in Baghdad when the US-led invasion... more
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Geneva-based housing rights group says about 13,000 people a month are being evicted in time for the Beijing Olympics. Beijing says figures are exaggerated.Geneva-based housing rights group says about 13,000 people a month are being evicted... more
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This is a long version trailer of the documentary, Falling Together in New Orleans - A Series of Vignettes featuring music by Ani Difranco www.righteousbabe.com
SOLO JOURNALIST & DOCUMENTARY ARTIST Farrah Hoffmire was inspired by grassroots organizing and volunteer efforts in the weeks and months after Hurricane Katrina. She has traveled to New Orleans numerous times to create a solo work that is part art-vignette, part documentary film and part grassroots journalism.
In stark contrast to the failure and corruption stories that have dominated mass-media coverage, Falling Together introduces us to powerful people fighting to save lives, preserve culture and bring a sense of well-being back to New Orleans. Conceived as an ongoing, subscription-based platform to follow events in New Orleans as they unfold over the next few years, it also explores the ongoing complexities of rebuilding in areas of the city still severely damaged -- such as the Lower 9th Ward. The film features music by Ani Difranco as well as some of New Orleanss top musicians.
The film series has been featured at the:
* Oral History Association national conference (Little Rock, AR)
* Langston Hughes African American Film Festival (Seattle, WA)
* Lake Eden Arts Festival (Asheville, NC)
* Zeitgeist Film Series (Tulane University, New Orleans)
* Hurricane Katrina Campus Media Project (worldwide 2007-2008)
*ConvergeSouth Film Festival (Greensboro, NC 2007)
*Ani DiFranco U.S. Winter Tour (SouthEast 2007)
This is a long version trailer of the documentary, Falling Together in New Orleans - A... more
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Social Dress New Orleans - 730 After
Takashi Horisaki and a small team of volunteers were working 20-hour days in the 100-degree heat when OPP found them completing an art project in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. Working on a largely abandoned block of the city, they worked with a mission to remind people of "what is still happening" in NOLA two years after the floods.
Takashi's ambitious media project involved the laborious process of covering the surface of the shotgun-style house in latex and cheesecloth to create a replica that itself could be "displaced" as a sculpture.
Falling Together in New Orleans: Vignette 4 looks at the process and motivations and then visits the artist and the sculpture at it's first home in New York City's Socrates Sculpture Park.
Takashi hopes to displace the sculpture across the U.S. and world to raise awareness about the still displaced people of New Orleans struggling to return home.
The film features music by Kevn Kinney. (http://www.kevnkinney.com)Social Dress New Orleans - 730 After
Takashi Horisaki and a small team of... more
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VC2 producer Hala Alsalman recently traveled to Kurdistan, the northern territories of Iraq, a region considered relatively safe for refugees. According to the UNHCR, 2.3 million Iraqis are internally displaced. That's a record high for refugees globally.VC2 producer Hala Alsalman recently traveled to Kurdistan, the northern territories of... more
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Are you kidding me? This is just now happening....Federal disaster officials plan to move thousands of hurricane victims out of travel trailers as worries grow that people might have been living for months in government-issued campers contaminated with a carcinogenAre you kidding me? This is just now happening....Federal disaster officials plan to... more
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Kazaam
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added this
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2 years ago
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