Tag Archives: 3: Moderate/Neutral

Nationality + Migration

U.K. News | Polish Immigrants

1 Comment
Polish immigrants in the U.K. launch #PolishBlood blood donation campaign to combat anti-immigrant sentiment
  • Andrzej Rygielski developed the idea as a productive protest against rising anti-immigrant activity in the U.K.
  • The protest is promoted as a positive demonstration in contrast to the planned workers’ strike next week.
  • More than 1,000 have pledged to donate blood on August 20, which the National Health Service says will begin helping to address the more than 200,000 donors who still need to be recruited this year.

“It seems that thousands of Poles and other people have joined the Polish blood campaign, not just in opposition to the strike but to show that Polish and migrant energy can be harnessed to achieve positive and extraordinary things – and that is what we should be aiming for. Not for division, not for hatred, not for inequality – but for inclusiveness, positivity and tolerance.”

Read the full story at the Independent.

(Image Credit: Getty Images, via The Independent)

Nationality + Migration

Europe News | Migrants & Refugees

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European Commission announces €2.4 billion in funding support as transregional migration surge continues
  • The aid will be disbursed over six years, with the two countries most acutely affected to receive the largest share: €560 million for Italy and €473 million for Greece.
  • France will receive €27 million later in the month, and the U.K. already received €20 million in emergency aid in March.
  • France and the U.K. are expected to use the funding they have received to address the situation in Calais, the departure point for many migrants looking to cross into Britain.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Gender

Chile News | Women

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Chilean government advances bill to modify ban on abortions
  • The Chamber of Deputies’ health commission voted 8-5 in favor of proposals to create exceptions to the country’s total ban on abortions in cases of rape, maternal life endangerment, and the inviability of the fetus.
  • The bill will now be voted on article by article before moving to the full chamber, where it faces stiff opposition from lawmakers and Catholic Church interests.
  • Since Augusto Pinochet implemented the ban in 1989, women have faced up to five years in prison for aborting a fetus in one of only seven countries in the world with a total ban on abortions.

“The vote reflects the opinion of a majority in Chile, which considers that its time to assume the reality of the more than 30,000 illegal abortions in the country every year.”

Read the full story at Bloomberg.

(Image Credit: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images, via Bloomberg)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Uganda News | LGBT

Uganda holds fourth-annual Pride festival amidst pervasive anti-LGBT sentiment
  • The invitation-only event includes film screenings, a cocktail party, and a low-profile parade, all held in secret locations disseminated through private networks.
  • Last year’s pride coincided with the overturning of the law condemning gays discovered by law enforcement to life imprisonment.
  • Despite the law’s overturning, Uganda continues to experience rampant anti-LGBT persecution, including media outings and violence at levels sufficient to warrant asylum in other countries.

Read the full story at the Guardian.

“The law is only part of it. … It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have the people on your side. The biggest challenge is to get that neighbour, that shop keeper, that person working in the salon to support you.”

(Image Credit: Iain Statham/SIPA/REX Shutterstock, via The Guardian)

Gender

Armenia News | Women

1 Comment
Armenian ministry proposes ban on sex-selective abortion along with additional restrictions
  • The Ministry of Health submitted the bill to parliament at the beginning of July, hoping to become the first country to enact the protective measure in the South Caucasus.
  • The ban would require doctor’s consent for all abortions between the 12th and 22nd weeks of pregnancy and would require counseling and a three-day waiting period.
  • One estimate puts the number of sex-selective abortions at 2,000 per year, producing a male-to-female birth ratio of 114 to 100, the third highest in the world.

“Having a son is one of the most important issues for many Armenian families, and I highly doubt that it will be possible to get results [and end selective abortions] by using prohibitions.”

Read the full story at EurasiaNet.

(Image Credit: Anahit Hayrapetyan/EurasiaNet)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Race Sentiment

Black Attitudes on U.S. Race Relations

The New York Times released the results of a recent New York Times/CBS News poll surveying individuals’ attitudes on white-black relations in the U.S.. Here are highlights of the level of security expressed by black respondents only:

Belief in real progress made in eliminating racial discrimination
56% believe vs. 41% do not believe

Who has the better chance of getting ahead in today’s society?
Whites do: 60% (2015) vs. 46% (2014)
Blacks do: 1% (2015) vs. 4% (2014)
Both do equally: 35% (2015) vs. 46% (2014)

Feelings about personal interactions with the police
58% mostly safe vs. 37% mostly anxious

Belief that race has ever caused police to stop him/her
41% race-motivated experience vs. 57% no race-motivated experience

Further Reading
“A Growing Divide on Race” (NYT: full results)
“Poll Finds Most in U.S. Hold Dim View of Race Relations” (NYT: analysis)
“How the Poll Was Conducted” (NYT: methodology)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | Transgender Jews

Ritual baths pose difficult obstacle for trans individuals converting to Judaism in the U.S.
  • The last step in the conversion process, the mikvah requires submersion in water in the nude, which can be a source of anxiety for transgender converts.
  • Transgender and ally rabbis have been working together to compile a running list of transgender Jews willing to serve as witnesses for those undergoing mikvah.
  • The number of gender minorities seeking to convert has surprised some community members, but theologians note that Judaism has recognized individuals falling outside of the gender binary since its earliest times.

“The body is an area of particular vulnerability for transgender people, because so much of our identities is inextricably intertwined with the nuances of our physical appearance.”

Read the full Religious News Service story at The Huffington Post.

(Image Credit: Mayyim Hayyim, via The Huffington Post)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.A.E. Feature | Jewish Israeli

Video

Eli Beer: Diplomatic Daredevil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVDj86g9D7E

Middle East Eye interviews Eli Beer, an Israeli citizen who traveled to Dubai and recorded a video greeting despite the U.A.E.’s lack of diplomatic recognition of Israel. Raising money on a dare for the volunteer ambulance service he founded in Israel, Beer speaks about his perception of Dubai, his home country’s place in the Middle East, and the future of the Arab world’s relations with Israel.

Read the full interview at Middle East Eye.

Age, Gender, Nationality + Migration

U.S. News | Immigrant Women & Children

U.S. federal judge rules mothers and children held in immigration detention centers must be released
  • The judge cited poor detention conditions and failure to comply with a 1997 ruling on the detention of migrant children as grounds for release.
  • Border officials resorted to the detention centers during the surge of undocumented migrant arrivals in 2014, many of whom were unaccompanied children.
  • The Department of Homeland Security will have to develop a release strategy by August 3, according to the ruling.

“It is astonishing that Defendants have enacted a policy requiring such expensive infrastructure without more evidence to show that it would be compliant with an Agreement that has been in effect for nearly 20 years. … It is even more shocking that after nearly two decades Defendants have not implemented appropriate regulations to deal with this complicated area of immigration law.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News.

Gender, Religion + Belief

Pakistan News | Christian Women

Aside
Death sentence temporarily stayed for Pakistani Christian woman charged with blasphemy
  • Pakistan’s Supreme Court issued the decision as they prepare to hear an appeal against the conviction of Asia Bibi, a mother of four who became the first woman sentenced to death under the law.
  • Blasphemy laws are ill-defined in Pakistan and often connected to personal conflicts and extortion, making the rate of convictions high.
  • Two politicians who intervened on behalf of Bibi were murdered, inhibiting calls for legal reform.

Read the full story at Al Jazeera.

(Image Credit: EPA, via Al Jazeera)

Gender, Nationality + Migration, Religion + Belief

Canada News | Muslim Women

Religious freedom and politics face off over face-covering ban for Canadian citizenship oaths
  • A legal showdown looms over the constitutionality of the 2011 policy requiring oath-takers to have their faces uncovered, which conservative Muslims say violates their religious freedom.
  • A federal judge ruled in favor of a Muslim woman who had been denied citizenship after refusing to unveil herself, leading the government to appeal.
  • Lawyers for the woman hope to have the constitutionality of the ban addressed in the appeal ruling, while Conservative politicians have drummed up the issue as a political one.

“Despite the party’s success with new immigrants and ethnic communities … and spearheading connections to those communities, a lot of the base still has a view that minority cultures have inappropriate practices.”

Read the full story at The StarPhoenix.

Nationality + Migration

India & Bangladesh News | Immigrants & Nationals

Indian and Bangladeshi enclave residents decide on citizenship as deadline nears
  • In May, India and Bangladesh agreed to return enclaves within their respective borders to one another.
  • More than 50,000 enclave residents must now choose which citizenship they would like to have by July 31st, which will determine whether they will have to move.
  • Despite having officially been citizens of their country of national origin, the residents have effectively been stateless as they lack access to public services in their country of residence.

Read the full story at the BBC.

(Image Credit: via BBC)

Gender

Morocco News | Women

Moroccan women cleared of indecency charges
  • The two Moroccan women had faced charges of public obscenity for wearing too tight of skirts, which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison.
  • The women’s defense attorney indicated that the women will be pursuing legal action against the merchants who harassed them over their dress in the market where the conflict occurred.
  • More than 27,000 had signed a petition of support for the women, and solidarity protests were held in Agadir and Casablanca.

“This is a victory not only for these two women, but for all members of civil society who mobilised.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Paraguay News | LGBT

Paraguayan LGBT activist becomes first to attend meeting with Pope Francis
  • Simón Cazal, executive director of advocacy organization Somosgay, was invited to attend the event that saw representatives of 1,600 organizations to see the Pope in Asunción.
  • He became the first professional advocate to meet publicly with the Pope, who has previously visited LGBT prisoners and had private meetings.
  • Cazal reported that the Pope spoke of dignity for all, in line with similar pronouncements he has made with regard to diversity in the Church.

“The local church insisted on talking about the family and other conservative issues. … He distanced himself from this discourse and highlighted diversity in its place. … The pope’s speech was very productive.”

Read the full story at the Washington Blade.

(Image Credit: Jeon Han, courtesy Wikimedia Commons; via the Washington Blade)

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Bosnia & Herzegovina News | Muslim Men

Srebrenica genocide’s 20th anniversary brings together tens of thousands
  • The event in the eastern Bosnian town memorialized the more 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys–including 136 recently identified–who were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces during the Bosnian War.
  • The Srebrenica massacre’s U.N.-backed status as a genocide has been denied by some Bosnian Serb leaders, and recently Russia vetoed a U.N. measure to condemn genocide deniers.
  • At the memorial, Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic was attacked by a crowd with rocks and water bottles, leading to his early departure.

Read the full story at Al Jazeera.

(Image Credit: Al Jazeera)