Category Archives: Age

U.S. Feature | Homeless Seniors

May 31, 2016 Prince Grace

The Changing Face of American Homelessness

A bulge of homeless baby-boomers has been making its way through the nation’s aging pipeline, with more than 300,000 homeless people in the U.S. now over the age of 50. From the recessions and zero-tolerance drug policies of the ’70s and ’80s to contemporary wage stagnation and affordable housing shortages exacerbated by unchecked urban gentrification, many who came of age during the social tumult of the ’60s and ’70s have struggled to maintain their footing in the nation’s rapidly evolving cities. For many, chronic illness and disability have led to homelessness or struck as a result of it, prematurely introducing aging issues into an already vulnerable population. As a result, homeless seniors have found themselves at the center of an epidemic that is increasingly understood to intersect with other national problems, including weak safety nets for seniors, people with disabilities, and the poor.

As national conversations framed through the lens of personal responsibility, urban threat, and moral failings compound the shame many experience in precarious situations, the aging homeless community has found itself not only marginalized on the streets, but within the discourse of homelessness in general, framed as it too often is in terms of workforce reintegration and social re-engagement. With the elderly homeless population expected to more than double by 2050, The New York Times recently examined the structural problems facing the aging homeless population and challenges affecting the development of effective long-term solutions.

Read:
“Old and on the Street: The Graying of America’s Homeless” (The New York Times)

Additional coverage:
“Fast-aging homeless population may lead to public health crisis” (The San Francisco Chronicle, March 2016)
“Solving The Growing Health Needs Of America’s Elderly Homeless” (ThinkProgress, February 2016)
“‘We Shouldn’t Have To Live Like This’” (NPR, March 2013)

Reports:
Aging and Housing Instability: Homelessness among Older and Elderly Adults (National HCH Council, September 2013)
Homelessness Among Elderly Persons (National Coalition for the Homeless, September 2009)

Connect:
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Health Care for the Homeless Council

(Image Credit: Monica Almeida/The New York Times)

Age, Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration

Eritrea Feature | Eritreans

May 28, 2016 Prince Grace

25 Years of Independence and Suppression in Eritrea

As it celebrates the 25th anniversary of the overthrow of Ethiopian rule, Eritrea continues to hemorrhage citizens under one-party, anti-democratic rule. Indefinite military conscription, mobility restrictions, and the absence of civil liberties have greatly diminished prospects for Eritreans, driving youth from the country in droves and into trans-Mediterranean trafficking networks in which thousands have died. Some estimates put the emigration rate at 5,000 people per month, second only to Syrians in contributing to the swelling of the Mediterranean migration crisis in 2015.

The Eritrean government has been particularly unfriendly to journalists and other writers, who have faced high insecurity following the 2001 roundup of independent newspaper editors in a push by the Eritrean president to crack down on public dissent. In the diaspora, Eritreans have found themselves involuntarily bound to the government as attempts to access documents and send remittances has subjected them to taxes international monitors liken to extortion. Amidst independence celebrations, both native and diasporan Eritreans continue to work to organize an effective opposition against the presidential regime and bring about a democratic renaissance for the country’s disenfranchised citizenry.

Read:
“Eritreans still denied freedom 25 years after independence” (The Guardian)
“A quarter of a century after independence Eritreans still yearn for freedom” (The Conversation)
“How to End the Eritrean Refugee Crisis” (The Nation, December 2015)
“‘If we don’t give them a voice, no one will’: Eritrea’s forgotten journalists, still jailed after 14 years” (The Guardian, August 2015)
“Outside Eritrea looking in: a diaspora that stands divided” (The Guardian, August 2015)
“UN Inquiry reports gross human rights violations in Eritrea” (UNHCR, June 2015)

Watch:
25 years of independence in Eritrea: Thousands continue to flee repressive regime (France 24 English)
Eritrea: Delving into a Sealed-Off Country (Deutsche Welle, April 2015)

Follow:
Eritrea profile: Timeline (BBC)
2015 prison census: 199 journalists jailed worldwide (The Committee to Protect Journalists, December 2015)

Connect:
Eritrean Solidarity Movement for National Salvation (Simret)

(Image Credit: Boris Roessler/EPA, via The Guardian)

Age, Class + Socioeconomics, Ideology + Affiliation

France News | Workers & Police

May 16, 2016 Prince Grace

Massive protests against French labor reform bring about violence, arrests, strikes

Demonstrations have been ongoing since March, when labor and student unions organized against government proposals perceived as decreasing job security and negotiating power for workers.
More than 1,000 have been arrested during clashes with police in cities like Paris and Nantes that have seen more than 300 officers injured as protesters have alleged instances of police brutality, with police unions organizing counter-protests against anti-police violence.
After President François Hollande’s government survived a no-confidence vote, union leaders planned rolling strikes and continuing demonstrations across the country.

(Image Credit: Geoffroy van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Age, Health + Ability

U.S. Feature | People with Disabilities

May 7, 2016 Prince Grace

The New Segregation

Long-term care for people with chronic illnesses and certain physical and cognitive disabilities has become an important civil rights battle ground over the last two decades. While media attention has focused on government responses to civil rights issues including anti-LGBT legislation and racial inequalities in the criminal justice system, the U.S. Department of Justice has opened more than 50 investigations into what it reports has been the segregation of people with chronic illnesses and disabilities in nursing facilities. Effectively institutionalizing people with disabilities, nursing facilities have detached an estimated 250,000 from economic opportunity and social life, despite a 1999 Supreme Court ruling that people with disabilities should only be placed in nursing facilities if medically necessary. The New York Times analyzes the push for home-based care and the DOJ’s active investigations into violations of protections secured under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court’s 1999 decision.

Read:
“South Dakota Wrongly Puts Thousands in Nursing Homes, Government Says” (The New York Times)

Additional:
“Feds: Relying On Nursing Homes For Those With Disabilities Not OK” (Disability Scoop)
Letter on results of investigation into South Dakota’s healthcare practices (U.S. Department of Justice)
“Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin Releases Report Showing ADA’s Promise of Integration is Not Being Met for Many Americans with Disabilities” (U.S. Senate press HELP release, July 2013)

(Image Credit: Thinkstock, via Disability Scoop)

Age, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel & Palestine Feature | Palestinian Youth

April 29, 2016 Prince Grace

Palestinian Youth, from Classroom to Jail Cell

Comprising nearly half of those who have attempted or carried out attacks against Israelis since October, Palestinian youth have found themselves imprisoned in increasing numbers as a result of Israel’s two-tier criminal justice system. Since October, the number of imprisoned youth has more than doubled to 430, including 103 under the age of 17. While Palestinian families and human rights advocates have called for rehabilitation over punishment, Israeli authorities have cited the severity of the crimes as cause for the imprisonments, which would be illegal were the youth Israeli. The New York Times investigates recent cases of youth imprisonment, from the impact of the media to the effects youth violence has had on Palestinian families and communities.

Read:
“Surge in Palestinian Youths in Prison Tests Israel’s Justice System” (The New York Times)

Additional reading:
“Israeli forces detain two Palestinian children over alleged stabbing plans” (Ma’an News Agency, via Al Bawaba)
“Leaderless Palestinian Youth, Inspired by Social Media, Drive Rise in Violence in Israel” (The New York Times, October 2015)
“Palestinian youth devise a new, personalized approach to the Intifada using social media” (Ma’an News Agency, via Al Bawaba, October 2015)

(Image Credit: Rina Castelnuovo/The New York Times)

Age, Gender

Guinea Research | Women & Girls

April 27, 2016 Prince Grace

Female Genital Mutilation in Guinea

Despite political and social efforts to eliminate the practice, female genital mutilation (FGM) has continued unabated in Guinea. The West African country has actually seen support for the ritual increase in the last couple of decades, and the trans-ethnic prevalence of the procedure has made FGM rates in the country one of the highest in the world. The UN recently released a report on the current state of FGM in Guinea and the cultural difficulties in ending the practice, including anti-Western sentiment, social norms, and religious traditions.

96% (2005) vs. 97% (2012)

Percentage of Guinean women aged 15-49 subjected to FGM

96.8% (urban) vs. 97% (rural)

Percentage of women subjected to FGM by area of residence

92% (low-income) vs. 68% (higher-income)

Percentage of women subjected to FGM by socioeconomic status

69% (currently aged 20-24) vs. 61% (currently aged 45-49)

Percentage of women cut prior to the age of 10 (2012)

65% (1999) vs. 76% (2012)

Percentage of Guinean women who support FGM

Read:
Rapport sur les droits humains et la pratique des mutilations génitales féminines/excision en Guinée (UN Human Rights report, in French)
“UN report reveals increasing incidents of female genital mutilation in Guinea, including on infants” (UN News Service)

Additional:
Fact sheet: Female genital mutilation (World Health Organization)

Age, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Interregional Feature | Holocaust Survivors

April 23, 2016 Prince Grace

Finding Healthcare Justice for Aging Holocaust Survivors

With the youngest among them now in their 70s, Holocaust survivors are facing late-in-life issues compounded by the traumas from the policies of targeted persecution just over seven decades ago. Dementia has returned some to the nightmares of their youth, while social isolation, physical ailments, and other mental health issues stemming from the violence of the period have left many with high care needs as they age.

In the U.S., home to more than 100,000 survivors (most Jewish), politicians have begun calling on the German government to do more for victims, arguing that current caps on assistance leave many survivors struggling. While reparations have expanded since the 1951 establishment of the Claims Conference, questions over who shoulders the burden for late-in-life care have yet to be resolved. The increasing needs that come with aging have reignited debates about Germany’s obligations to those its government systematically disenfranchised, impoverished, and subjected to physical and mental anguish that outlived the liberation of the final concentration camp.

Read:
“As Holocaust Becomes More Distant, Survivors’ Needs Intensify“(The New York Times)
“Federal grants to assist Holocaust survivors draw praise, concern” (The Sun-Sentinel)
“Harrowing story of the Holocaust survivors still fighting for a dignified life 75 years on” (The Daily Mirror)
“Romanian Holocaust survivors aging without benefits” (Ynetnews, July 2015)
“Holocaust survivors deported from France can now apply for reparations” (The Washington Post, November 2015)
“Germany to Pay 772 Million Euros to Survivors” (Der Spiegel, May 2013)

(Image Credit: Kacper Pempel/Reuters, via The New York Times)

Age, Gender

South Africa News | Youth

April 20, 2016 Prince Grace

Hundreds of protesters clash with police at campus rape protests in southeast South Africa

Police used rubber bullets, stun guns, and pepper spray to disperse hundreds of protesters at Rhodes University in Grahamstown.
The protests erupted after the names of 11 alleged perpetrators of sexual violence were circulated on campus and via social media.
Demonstrators disrupted lectures and organized the #RUReferenceList and #Chapter212 campaigns to call for a reform of the campus sexual assault policies and trauma services, leading to an indefinite shutdown of academic activity.

(Image Credit: Sophie Smith/Mail & Guardian)

Age, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Canada News | First Nations

April 18, 2016 Prince Grace

Rash of suicide attempts leads to emergency declaration in Ontario First Nations community

Soon after the Attawapiskat First Nation’s council had declared a state of emergency following months of suicides and suicide attempts, 16 members of the northern Ontario First Nation attempted to take their lives.
Since last fall, the community has seen more than 100 suicide attempts among its population of 2,000, with victims ranging in age from 11 to 71.
Poor standards of living, limited healthcare access, and the legacies of brutal policies against First Nations have contributed to high indigenous suicide rates, with suicide/self-harm the leading cause of death among indigenous people under the age of 44.

(Image Credit: Chris Wattie/Reuters, via The Toronto Star)

Age, Ideology + Affiliation

Myanmar News | Youth Activists

April 10, 2016 Prince Grace

New Myanmar government pardons almost 200 imprisoned activists

Among the 113 released so far were 69 student activists, many of whom had been charged and convicted following major student protests in March 2015.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the National League for Democracy (NLD) party to victory, had herself been under house arrest for 15 years of the military’s rule.
Of the remaining 345 facing political charges, 298 are on bail and 47 on remand in jail.

Read more:
“New Myanmar government frees scores of jailed activists” (Reuters)
“Myanmar Court Drops Charges Against Student Detainees” (Radio Free Asia)
“Myanmar drops charges against nearly 200 political activists” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Age, Ideology + Affiliation

Portugal & Angola News | Activists & Dissidents

April 3, 2016 Prince Grace

Protests over jailing of youth activists in Angola spread to Portugal

Advocates in Lisbon have expressed dismay that the Portuguese government has so far refused to condemn the jailing of 17 youth activists in its former colony.
Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos warned Portugal against stepping into what he considers to be an Angolan domestic matter.
Demonstrations in Lisbon castigated the conviction of the book-club activists as well as Angolan businessmen’s investment in Portugal’s news and telecommunications industries.

(Image Credit: Joao Relvas/EPA, via The Guardian)

Age, Gender

Japan News | Women & Youth

April 3, 2016 Prince Grace

Death from overwork on the rise among Japanese youth and women as non-regular contracts increase

Karoshi, or death by overwork, is a long-recognized phenomenon in Japanese society often associated with white-collar men, but labor and demographic changes have contributed to its expansion to youth and women.
For a death to qualify as karoshi, claimants—usually family members—must prove the victim died from work-related cardiovascular illness or suicide from overwork (including demonstration of significant overtime work).
Karoshi claims hit a record high of 1,456 in 2015, with labor analysts pointing to the rise of non-regular work in Japan (including temporary and temp-to-perm contracting) as a significant contributor to their growth.

(Image Credit: AP, via The Japan Times)

Age, Gender

Cameroon Feature | Women & Children

March 31, 2016 Prince Grace

The Weaponized Girls of Boko Haram

As Boko Haram’s successes in northeastern Nigeria have been rolled back, the extremist group’s attentions have turned elsewhere in the region, including neighboring Cameroon. Rare in other global terrorist activity, female suicide bombers between 14 and 24 years of age have formed the lion’s share of suicide attacks in Cameroon, comprising some 80% of incidents. Female suicide bombers have also been deployed in Nigeria, most recently in Maiduguri. Reuters investigates the pipeline from abduction to sexual slavery to suicide attacks that women captured by Boko Haram have found themselves caught up in.

Read:
“Weakened Boko Haram sends girl bombers against Cameroon civilians” (Reuters)

Additional:
“Video: The war against Boko Haram’s suicide bombers in Cameroon” (France24)
“Nigeria mosque hit by Maiduguri suicide bombers” (BBC)

(Image Credit: Joe Penney/Reuters)

Age, Health + Ability, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Black & Children with Disabilities

March 29, 2016 Prince Grace

Disproportionate Suspension Rates in U.S. Charter Schools

A new study has found that black students and students with disabilities are suspended at considerably higher rates than their peers in charter schools at both the elementary and secondary level. At the secondary level, Latino and Native American students join them in disproportionate suspension. The report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project spells particular trouble for black students with disabilities and has troubling implications in the fight against the school-to-prison pipeline.

4.1% (all students) vs. 9.7% (with disabilities) vs. 3.7% (without disabilities)

Suspension rates at the elementary level by ability

4.1% (all students) vs. 8.7% (black) vs. 2.1% (white) vs. 2.4% (Latino) vs. 3% (Native American)

Suspension rates at the elementary level by race/ethnicity

11.6% (all students) vs. 20.8% (with disabilities) vs. 10.6% (without disabilities)

Suspension rates at the secondary level by ability

11.6% (all students) vs. 22% (black) vs. 5.6% (white) vs. 9.1% (Latino) vs. 10.9% (Native American)

Suspension rates at the secondary level by race/ethnicity

7.8% (charters) vs. 6.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates at the K-12 level

15.5% (charters) vs. 13.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates of students with disabilities (K-12)

7% (charters) vs. 5.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates of students without disabilities (K-12)

50+%

Suspension rate of students with disabilities at 235 charter schools

Years studied: 2011-12

Read more:
Charter Schools, Civil Rights, and School Discipline: A Comprehensive Review (The Center for Civil Rights Remedies)
“Students With Disabilities Suspended More Often At Charters” (Disability Scoop)

Age, Ideology + Affiliation

Angola News | Youth Activists

March 28, 2016 Prince Grace 1 Comment

Youth activists sentenced in Angola for anti-government demonstrations

Seventeen activists were arrested in Luanda last June after an organized reading of Gene Sharp’s From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Democracy, a text promoting non-violent resistance.
The group has been sentenced to between two and eight-and-a-half years in jail after conviction on charges of rebellion, planning mass civil disobedience, and producing fake passports.
President José Eduardo dos Santos has been in power for 37 years, and despite his pledge to step down in 2018, rampant inflation, public spending cuts, a public health crisis, and human rights infringements have increased anti-government sentiment in the lead-up to elections.

(Image Credit: via Africanews)