Tag Archives: 3: Moderate/Neutral

Nationality + Migration

U.K. News | Asylum-Seekers

Asylum-seekers increasingly attempt dangerous cross-Channel trek to the U.K.

  • Patrol operations in the English Channel have led to the rescue of asylum-seekers attempting to reach the U.K. by small boats, which French and British officials claim is driven by organized smuggling.
  • More than 200 have arrived in the U.K. by water since November, which represents more than a tenfold increase from last year.
  • Migrants have begun turning to aquatic travel as the British and French governments have increasingly targeted land-based vehicles for inspection and closed shelter camps.

Read

“More migrants and refugees try to reach UK via English Channel” (Al Jazeera | December 2018)

“Five migrant boats rescued in English Channel” (BBC News | December 2018)

“Migrants risk death at sea to reach Britain as prices spike on traditional routes” (CNN | December 2018)

Nationality + Migration

Germany News | Asylum-Seekers

Report indicates attacks on asylum-seekers down in Germany
  • According to police, there were 704 cases of anti-refugee violence from January to June, down more than a third from 2017.
  • The 2018 attacks included 77 on asylum shelters and 627 direct attacks on refugees, resulting in 127 injuries.
  • The reduction has come as immigration debates continue to erupt along political fault lines, including the introduction of “anchor centers” for asylum-seekers awaiting judicial decisions and the limited restart of family reunifications.
Read

“Fewer attacks on refugees and asylum shelters in Germany” (Reuters | August 2018)

“Germany opens refugee ‘anchor centres’ amid criticism” (Al Jazeera | August 2018)

“Family reunification for refugees resumes in Germany” (Deutsche Welle | August 2018)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Mexico News | Indigenous

Indigenous communities throughout Mexico protest presidential election, press for self-rule
  • Residents have banned political parties, destroyed protest signs, patrolled streets for campaign paraphernalia, and blocked ballot delivery throughout small towns in the western state of Michoacán as anti-government sentiment has grown.
  • Seven municipalities covering 16 towns and at least 50,000 voters have decided to opt out of the election, and Maya communities in Guerrero and Chiapas have begun mobilizing as well.
  • Although popular leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has advocated for Mexico’s indigenous communities in the past, historical and ongoing neglect by and corruption in the government has led many indigenous Mexicans to disengage and push for greater autonomy.
Read

“Indigenous Mexicans spurn presidential vote with blockades, bulldozers” (Reuters | June 2018)

“The Mexican indigenous community that ran politicians out of town” (The Guardian | April 2018)

“Mexico’s Indigenous Council Continues Campaign Despite Violence” (teleSUR English | January 2018)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Pakistan News | Pashtun

Thousands rally against anti-Pashtun violence in Karachi
  • The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) has emerged as a nonviolent ethnic rights group confronting abuse and neglect by Pakistan’s security apparatus, recently invigorated by the killing of Pashtun youth Naqibullah Mehsud in January.
  • Despite a government ban and media censorship, PTM recently staged rallies across the country in cities including Lahore and Karachi, the latter of which is home to Pakistan’s largest Pashtun community and the location of Mehsud’s killing.
  • Demonstrators rallied against enforced disappearances (numbering in the thousands, according to some claims), extrajudicial killings, and other human rights abuses against the Pashtun community, who make up 15% of the Pakistani population.
Read

“Thousands rally in Pakistan’s Lahore for Pashtun rights” (Al Jazeera | May 2018)

“Pakistani ethnic rights group stages first rally in Karachi” (Reuters | May 2018)

“On ‘Pashtun Tahafuz Movement’” (The Nation, commentary | May 2018)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Switzerland Research | Black

Countering Racism in Switzerland

Following an uptick in reports of prejudice, harassment, and discrimination over the last decade, several Swiss federal agencies and civil organizations have undertaken research to outline the prevalence and dimensions of racism, discrimination, and racial prejudice in the country, focusing on the ways in which cultural, political, and administrative practices marginalize people of color and exclude them from conceptions of Swiss national identity. Anti-black racism has emerged as a phenomenon of particular concern, ranging from everyday prejudice and harassment to discrimination in housing, employment, policing, and access to public accommodations and services. The continuing growth of Switzerland’s Afro-descendant population—having doubled over the last decade to some 100,000 people—has made countering racism a priority in the integration of new generations of residents, and experts have begun issuing recommendations including increased service provision, media representation, anti-profiling measures, and data collection.

Study

Recommandations sur le thème du racisme anti-Noirs en Suisse (Federal Commission Against Racism, in French | December 2017)

Incidents racistes recensés par les centres de conseil (Federal Commission Against Racism, in French | April 2017)

Rapports sur la discrimination raciale en Suisse (Federal Department of Home Affairs, in French | 2012-2016)

Read

“Racism in Switzerland: ‘People of colour are automatically perceived as foreigners’” (The Local | January 2018)

 

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Brazil Feature | Black Women

Afro-Brazilian Women’s Mobilization Moment

The current global push for the redress of epidemic violence against women—from #NiUnaMenos to #MeToo—has long been of national concern in Brazil, with women sharing stories of sexual assault via #MeuPrimeiroAssedio (#MyFirstHarassment) and demonstrations for reproductive rights having sought to counter entrenched conservative religious interests. For Afro-Brazilian women, this is part of decades of mobilization that has attempted to draw attention to both material and ideological disparities threatening their security. High homicide and sexual violence rates, reproductive healthcare limitations, anti-black beauty standards, and lack of positive cultural representation have led activists to demand attention to institutions and cultural practices that they argue have marginalized their welfare. From mass demonstrations to digital organizing, black women have taken the lead in movements for both racial and gender justice, challenging Brazil’s deeply embedded ideology of colorblindness and calling instead for more research into and accountability for persistent economic and cultural disparities.

Read

“Beyond #MeToo, Brazilian women rise up against racism and sexism” (The Conversation, via Salon | January 2018)

“Afro-Brazilian Feminists and the Fight for Racial and Gender Inclusion” (Black Perspectives | February 2017)

“Black Women March Against Violence in Brazil” (teleSUR | November 2015)

Perspectives

“Interview with Djamila Ribeiro: Fighting Racism and Sexism in Post-Coup Brazil” (The Council on Hemispheric Affairs | December 2017)

“Black Brazilian Feminists Say: ‘Autonomy is the Only Way.’” (For Harriet | July 2015)

Read More

“Brazil: Report Exposes High Rates of Rape Among Women, Girls” (teleSUR | January 2018)

“The campaigners challenging misogyny and sexism in Brazil” (The Guardian | December 2015)

Connect

Geledés Black Woman Institute

Black Women of Brazil

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration, Religion + Belief

Global Feature | Atheists & Secularists

Video

The Global Effort to Rescue Persecuted Atheists


Source: Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science/YouTube (September 2016)

With more than a dozen countries criminalizing atheistic expression and anti-atheist sentiment widespread even in purportedly secular countries, organizations have popped up around the globe to rescue persecuted atheists, lobby for civil rights, and promote community and security for atheists, agnostics, and other freethinkers. Secular Rescue was launched by the Center for Inquiry in 2016 in response to the recent spate of murders of secularist Bangladeshi writers and intellectuals, and its efforts have drawn attention to the plight of freethinkers living in the Global South in need of asylum. The Atlantic recently profiled the organization as well as the conditions contributing to the greater visibility of atheists in regions conventionally assumed to be inhospitable to the growth of secularism and freethought.

Read

“The ‘Underground Railroad’ To Save Atheists” (The Atlantic | January 2018)

“Center for Inquiry Launches ‘Secular Rescue’ to Save Lives of Threatened Activists” (The Center for Inquiry | September 2016)

Connect

Secular Rescue

Atheist Asylum Program

 

Other, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Incarcerated Black & Latinx

Mixed Optimism in New U.S. Incarceration Statistics

Racial and ethnic disparities in incarceration in the U.S. have long been the target of research, with the gaps an indicator of the effects of unevenly policed populations and legacies of bondage, segregation, and criminalization. Nevertheless, the difference in rates of incarceration in federal and state prisons between groups has shrunk, and criminal justice reform advocates hope that the last decade has been an indication of a turning of the tide towards de-incarceration and the decriminalization of communities of color.

New data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics continue to enliven those hopes as they show continuing gains in 2016 in the wake of the incarceration apex in 2009, and analysts have begun offering a number of reasons for the tightening numbers, including changes in drug-related law enforcement and an increased focus on sex crimes. However, disparities at the the juvenile level have widened, and advocates and researchers continue to worry over the growth of contributing phenomena including the school-to-prison pipeline.

1,458,173 (2016) vs. 1,553,574 (2009)

Total number of prisoners (decrease of 6%)

486,900 (2016) vs. 584,800 (2009)

Number of black prisoners (decrease of 17%)

339,300 (2016) vs. 341,200 (2009)

Number of Latinx prisoners (decrease of <1%)

439,800 (2016) vs. 490,000 (2009)

Number of white prisoners (decrease of 10%)

33% (black) vs. 23% (Latinx) vs. 30% (white)

Percentage of prison population by race/ethnicity

12% (black) vs. 16% (Latinx) vs. 64% (white)

Percentage of overall population by race/ethnicity

1,604 (black) vs. 856 (Latinx) vs. 274 (white)

Number of incarcerated people per 100,000 adults in racial/ethnic group

Study

Prisoners in 2016 (Bureau of Justice Statistics | January 2018)

Read

“The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking” (Pew Research Center | January 2018)

“A Mass Incarceration Mystery” (The Marshall Project | December 2017)

“Black Disparities in Youth Incarceration” (The Sentencing Project | September 2017)

“Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017” (The Prison Policy Initiative | March 2017)

“There’s been a big decline in the black incarceration rate, and almost nobody’s paying attention” (The Washington Post | February 2016)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Pakistan Feature | Trans Women

The Fitful Progress of the Movement for Pakistani Trans Lives


Source: CGTN YouTube

By way of Pakistan’s landmark 2017 census, some 10,000 transgender Pakistanis have become officially visible in the eyes of the government, though community organizers say the number is likely much larger. Illiteracy, poverty, disenfranchisement, trafficking, threats to sexual health, and the dangers of unregulated sex work plague Pakistan’s trans women (khawaja siras, a reclaimed term in the trans community), but the recent securing of legal protections have given hope to a community where precarity reigns.

While communities of trans women have provided kinship and security where mainstream society has offered a mix of scorn and fetish, hierarchical systems within the communities have layered additional vulnerabilities upon threats already faced. The women have organized and built security-focused civil groups, and the last decade has seen a number of victories including census recognition, a third-gender option on ID cards, limited economic investments, and technological and political tools for accountability in law enforcement. Some hardline conservatives have become unlikely allies as trans women are seen among some Islamic sects as holy, though they have stopped short of supporting partnership rights. Recent international media coverage has highlighted recent gains as well as ongoing insecurity for Pakistan’s increasingly visible trans community.

Read

“Pakistan’s Transgender Women, Long Marginalized, Mobilize For Rights” (NPR | January 2018)

“Tabooed transgender community still facing discrimination but to be protected in Pakistan” (Xinhua | January 2018)

“New App TransMuhafiz Puts Pakistani Transphobic Offenders in the Spotlight” (Planet Transgender | January 2018)

Watch

Transgenders: Pakistan’s Open Secret (Clover Films, via Real Stories/YouTube | December 2016)

Somebody (TriumF Media, via YouTube | September 2017)

Connect

TransAction Pakistan

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Zimbabwe News | White

Zimbabwe looks to reverse Mugabe-era land reform policies amidst economic instability


Source: CGTN America via YouTube

  • Since independence, the land ownership reform and redistribution of farmland from the white settler minority to the indigenous black majority has been central to Zimbabwean politics, with most viable land having been legally restricted to white owners and large—largely white-owned—corporations in the colonial era.
  • The government began allowing for the seizure of white-owned farms without compensation after a period of voluntary land sales, and some militant groups and security forces occupied farms and drove out their owners.
  • Following the effective coup that brought about the end of President Robert Mugabe’s nearly three decades of rule, the new government, led by former Vice President Emmerson Mnangawa, has begun returning expropriated land to white farmers in an attempt to stabilize the fragile economy.
Read

“Ululations, tears as white Zimbabwean farmer returns to seized land” (Reuters | December 2017)

“White Zimbabwean farmer get back land seized under Robert Mugabe rule” (Sky News | December 2017)

Additional

“Why Zimbabwe has failed to sate the yearning for land and to fix rural hunger” (The Conversation | December 2016)

“Robert Mugabe admits Zimbabwe’s land reform flaws” (BBC News | February 2015)

Class + Socioeconomics

South Africa News | Poor & Working Class

South African president announces free higher education for poor and working-class students
  • The change affects students from households making up to 350,000 South African rand (~USD26,715) enrolled in the country’s TVET (Technical Vocational Educational and Training) colleges.
  • President Jacob Zuma has pledged to implement the shift from loan- to grant-based subsidies in a “fiscally responsible manner,” with aid to higher education institutions set to increase from 0.7% to 1% of GDP over the next five years.
  • Critics continued to question the financing for such a sweeping initiative, with the finance minister indicating details will be deferred to the 2018 budget unveiling in February.
Read

“Zuma announces free higher education for poor and working class students” (News24 | December 2017)

“Gigaba: How government will fund free education to be clarified at 2018 budget” (The Mail & Guardian | December 2017)

“Zuma says South Africa’s free higher education to be done in a fiscally sustainable manner” (Reuters | December 2017)

Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel News | Incarcerated Palestinians

Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli facilities win increased visitation rights following hunger strike
  • Incarcerated Palestinians were granted a second visitation day per month following a 41-day hunger strike in the lead up to Ramadan and the 50th anniversary of Israel’s seizure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
  • Nearly 1,000 protesters took part in the strike, which ended following a deal struck by Israeli prison officials, the Palestinian Authority, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
  • More than 6,000 Palestinians are incarcerated in Israeli prisons for offenses ranging from throwing stones to murder.
Read

“Mass Palestinian hunger strike in Israeli jails ends after visitation deal” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Palestinian Prisoners End Hunger Strike in Israel After 40 Days” (The New York Times | May 2017)

“Palestinian prisoners end hunger strike, Israel says it met none of their demands” (The Times of Israel | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Mohamad Torokman/Reuters, via The New York Times)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Russia News | Gay Men

Russia begins investigation into abduction, torture, and massacre of gay men in Chechnya
  • Government officials reportedly launched an investigation as international pressure increased following reports from human rights organizations about the rounding up of gay men into camps.
  • Gay Chechens have allegedly been held in extrajudicial detention and subjected to physical and psychological abuse including beatings, electroshock torture, outing to family, and murder.
  • President Vladimir Putin was reportedly briefed by the country’s human rights ombudswoman and is set up for a showdown with Ramzan Kadyrov, the authoritarian leader of the republic.
Read

“Russia investigates ‘gay purge’ in Chechnya” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Chechnya’s anti-gay pogrom: Too much even for the Kremlin?” (The Christian Science Monitor | May 2017)

“‘They Have Long Arms and They Can Find Me’” (Human Rights Watch | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Arden Arkman/AP, via The Christian Science Monitor)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Australia News | Indigenous

Indigenous leaders in Australia seek formal legal and political representation with government
  • More than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander leaders met in Uluru to discuss political recognition, agreeing formal treaties were necessary beyond proposed symbolic representation in the constitution.
  • The government issued an apology for historical injustices in 2008, although community leaders and activists have sought legal commitments to reparative measures beyond symbolism.
  • The push is likely to face strong opposition as the Australian Constitution has only been amended eight times in 44 attempts in its 116-year history.
Read

“Uluru talks: Indigenous Australians reject ‘symbolic’ recognition in favour of treaty” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Australia’s Aborigines seek treaties in drive for more than symbolic change” (Reuters | May 2017)

“Why doesn’t Australia have an indigenous treaty?” (BBC News | May 2017)

Additional

The Australian Constitution

(Image Credit: Calla Wahlquist/The Guardian)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Australia Feature | Mixed-race Aboriginal

Australia’s “Stolen Generation” Speaks

For six decades across the 20th century, the Australian government pursued a ruthless policy of the forced assimilation of its indigenous population, tearing mixed-race children from their communities and creating “stolen generations” deprived of access to the culture of their aboriginal roots. The policy, similar to those pursued in Canada and the U.S., forced children into boarding schools, church missions, and adoptions to erase connections to their communities. Canadian photographer Matthew Sherwood has documented the stories of those in the Northern Territory through his photo series Generations Stolen, profiled in The New York Times.

Read

“Australia’s ‘Stolen Generations’ Tell Their Stories” (The New York Times | May 2017)