Europeans has known psychological problem in the last year hence the importance of addressing mental health and well-being
Almost one in two Europeans has experienced an emotional or psychosocial problem in the last year. The recent context of compounded crises (the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the climate crisis, unemployment, and the food and energy price increases) has further worsened the situation, in particular for children and young people.
As you know, we are living in a time of polycrisis that has severely hit the mental health of Europeans. The COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the climate crisis are just some of the shocks which have exacerbated already poor levels of mental health. Improving mental health is a social and economic imperative. I am extremely pleased that, in the conclusions we have approved today, we have reached consensus on crucial issues such as the need to take a cross-cutting approach to mental health that covers all policies and recognises the social, environmental and economic causes of mental health.
Mónica García Gómez, Spanish Minister for Health
In its conclusions, the Council highlights the importance of addressing mental health and well-being in different contexts in the life course, which benefits both individuals and societies. It recognises the beneficial role of communities, schools, sports and culture in strengthening mental health and life-long mental well-being.
The conclusions invite member states to elaborate actions plans or strategies with a cross-sectoral approach to mental health, addressing not only health, but also employment, education, digitalisation and AI, culture, environment and climate factors, among other things.
Suggested actions aim to prevent and combat mental health problems and discrimination, while promoting wellbeing. Member states are invited to ensure access to timely, effective and safe mental health care, as well as to act across a wide spectrum of areas, sectors and ages, including:
early detection and awareness-raising at school and amongst young people
tackling loneliness, self-harm and suicidal behaviour
managing psychosocial risks at work, with special attention to health professionals
social and job reintegration after recovery to prevent relapses
measures against mental health stigma, hate speech and gender-based violence
using antidiscrimination as a prevention tool, with a focus on vulnerable groups
The conclusions encourage the member states and the Commission to continue moving towards a comprehensive approach to mental health maintaining this subject in the international agenda. This includes cooperation and coordination between EU member states and the Commission, such as exchanging best practices and promoting EU funding opportunities in the area of mental health, as well as designing actions and recommendations and monitoring progress.
The Council conclusions on mental health draw on the Commission’s communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health, published in June 2023. The topic of mental health is of the utmost importance to the Spanish presidency.
This set of conclusions is part of a wider cluster of conclusions on mental health that have been or will be approved during the Spanish presidency, including mental health and its interconnection with precarious working conditions, the mental health of young people, and mental health and co-occurrence with drug use disorders (the latter to be approved in December).
In 2022, a total of 2,496 children, some as young as 8-years-old, were verified by the United Nations as detained for their actual or alleged association with armed groups, including groups designated as terrorists by the U.N. The highest numbers were recorded in Iraq, in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Syrian Arab Republic.
These figures were highlighted by Anne Schintgen at the European Parliament during a conference titled “Children Deprived of Liberty in World” organised on 28 November by MEP Soraya Rodriguez Ramos (Political Group Renew Europe). A number of high-level experts had been invited as panelists to speak about their respective areas of expertise:
Manfred Nowak, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and an independent expert that led the elaboration of a UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty;
Benoit van Keirsbilck, a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child;
Manu Krishan, Global Campus on Human Rights, researcher with expertise in children’s rights and best practices;
Anne Schintgen, Head of the European Liaison Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict;
Rasha Muhrez, Syria Response Director for Save the Children (online);
Marta Lorenzo, Director of the UNRWA Representative Office for Europe (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East).
Manfred Nowak, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and an independent expert that led the elaboration of a UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, was invited to the conference at the European Parliament and stressed that 7.2 million children are in various ways deprived of freedom in the world.
He referred in particular to the report of the UN Secretary-General about children in armed conflict addressed to the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly Security Council (A/77/895-S/2023/363) on 5 June 2023, which was saying:
“In 2022, children continued to be disproportionately affected by armed conflict, and the number of children verified as affected by grave violations increased compared with 2021. The United Nations verified 27,180 grave violations, of which 24,300 were committed in 2022 and 2,880 were committed earlier but verified only in 2022. Violations affected 18,890 children (13,469 boys, 4,638 girls, 783 sex unknown) in 24 situations and one regional monitoring arrangement. The highest numbers of violations were the killing (2,985) and maiming (5,655) of 8,631 children, followed by the recruitment and use of 7,622 children and the abduction of 3,985 children. Children were detained for actual or alleged association with armed groups (2,496), including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations, or for national security reasons.”
The mandate of the UN Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict
The Special Representative who is currently Virginia Gamba serves as the leading UN advocate for the protection and well-being of children affected by armed conflict.
The mandate was created by the General Assembly (Resolution A/RES/51/77) following the publication, in 1996, of a report by Graça Machel titled the “Impact of Armed Conflict on Children”. Her report highlighted the disproportionate impact of war on children and identified them as the primary victims of armed conflict.
The role of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict is to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict, raise awareness, promote the collection of information about the plight of children affected by war and foster international cooperation to improve their protection.
Detention of children in Iraq, DR Congo, Libya, Myanmar Somalia
Six grave violations affecting children in times of conflict were highlighted by Anne Schintgen, a member of the conference panel: recruitment and use of children for combating, killing and maiming children, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction and denial of humanitarian access.
Additionally, the UN is monitoring the detention of children for their actual or alleged association with armed groups.
In this regard, she named a number of countries of particular concern:
In Iraq in December 2022, 936 children remained in detention on national security-related charges, including for their actual or alleged association with armed groups, primarily Da’esh.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN verified in 2022 the detention of 97 boys and 20 girls, between the ages of 9 and 17, for their alleged association with armed groups. All children have been released.
In Libya, the UN received reports of the detention of some 64 children, with their mothers, of several nationalities, for their mothers’ alleged association with Da’esh,
In Myanmar, 129 boys and girls were detained by the national armed forces.
In Somalia, a total of 176 boys, of which 104 were released and 1 was killed, were detained in 2022 for their alleged association with armed groups.
Children should be primarily considered as victims of violations or abuses of their rights rather than as perpetrators and a security threat, Anne Schintgen said, stressing that the detention of children for their alleged association with armed groups is an issue in 80% of the countries covered by the UN Children and Armed Conflict mechanism.
Deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia
During the debate following the presentations of the panelists, the issue of the deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia from the Occupied Territories was raised. Both Manfred Nowak and Benoit Van Keirsblick, a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child invited as a panelist, expressed their deep concerns about this situation.
In a report titled “Ukrainian Children in Search of Way Home from Russia” published in three languages (English, Russian and Ukrainian) on 25 August 2023, Human Rights Without Frontiers stressed that the Ukrainian authorities had a nominative list of about 20,000 children deported by and to Russia who are now being russified and educated in an anti-Ukrainian mindset. However, many more have been taken away from the territories occupied by Russia.
As a reminder, on 17 March 2023, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova on their responsibility in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
A call for the EU
The experts invited to the conference encouraged the European Union to ensure that the topic of conflict affected children is systematically integrated and advanced in its wide range of external actions. They also urged the EU to include the issue of the detention of children for their alleged association with armed groups in its Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict that are currently being revised.
MEP Soraya Rodriguez Ramos concluded by saying:
“The parliamentary own-initiative report that I am leading and which will be voted on December’s plenary session is an opportunity to give visibility to the suffering of millions of children deprived of liberty in the world and to call the international community for action and the effective commitment to put an end to it.”
It’s cold, Paris at this time of the year is a chilly 83 per cent humidity, and the temperature is a mere three degrees. Fortunately, my usual café au lait and toast with butter and jam allow me to put the computer on the table to get closer to a story that once again takes us into the devastating world of death and the medical establishment.
In a newspaper, on 22 September 2001, many years ago, I came across a small blurb, you know, those short news items that appear in column form and which are used by newspaper editors to fill the page, which read as follows:
Bleeding risk with new antidepressants: A study published in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal says that new-generation antidepressant drugs that inhibit the reabsorption of serotonin in the brain increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in older people. The research, carried out in several Canadian hospitals, found in particular that the chance of suffering from such a disorder is increased by 10 percent.
Although the research was carried out in a Canadian hospital, the reality is that in the last twenty years, the intake of antidepressants in the world’s population has been and continues to be alarming. The big pharmaceutical industries, aided by general practitioners, the media and psychiatrists, have implanted the idea that any emotional state that upsets us can be declared a “mental illness” and medicated with some glee with new generation antidepressants.
I myself was at the doctor’s in 2010 and the doctor who attended me, when I told her about my state of mind, of a certain apathy, because I had just gone through a process of deep mourning in which I was still immersed, without considering any other type of treatment, prescribed me antidepressants, which of course I did not take. However, every time I visit my doctor for any document related to any test, I am astonished to see that my medical records show me as a person suffering from depression. If I had decided to take medication at that time, today I would be a chronically ill person crammed with pills for my “depressive” treatment.
In November 2022, a geriatric portal published a report with a devastating headline: Cases of stroke will increase by 34% in the next decade in Europe. The Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) pointed out that 12.2 million people in the world will suffer a stroke in 2022 and 6.5 million will die. It also stated that more than 110 million people who had suffered a stroke were in a situation of disability.
According to the association and others consulted, the possible causes of stroke include high blood pressure, smoking, physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, atrial fibrillation, high blood lipid levels, diabetes mellitus, genetics, stress, etc. It seems that living, in general, causes stroke. Once again, medicine lays a huge deck of cards on the table so that whatever card you are dealt, you have no choice but to medicate yourself. And especially for stress or tension, anxiolytics and antidepressants.
In my modest research on the relationship between old age and stroke, I have come across some truly terrifying articles that place all the blame, as justice would have it, of the ordeal on the elderly person (I am an elderly person myself). In an article published on 28 November this year (2023) and entitled: La depresión, un problema de salud pública entre la población mayor (Depression, a public health problem among the elderly). Among the frightening symptoms that can diagnose such a chronic illness, the following can be read:
Depression has become a public health problem that deserves special attention because of its effects on cognitive decline in older people. Its symptoms can vary and affect both the physical and emotional well-being of sufferers.
Common symptoms include loss of energy or constant fatigue, boredom, sadness or apathy, low self-esteem, nervousness, restlessness, delusions, unwarranted fear, feelings of worthlessness, mild cognitive impairment, unexplained or chronic pain and some behavioural disturbances.
Social factors that should in no case be treated with antidepressants. To label such problems as a case of public health is a disgrace that is being imposed in order to permanently medicate people who should only be helped to feel useful again. To claim that such people are “a burden” is to dispossess them of their fundamental rights, especially when they end up in nursing homes not for social and emotional reintegration, but only as “cattle” to be fed and stuffed with drugs until they die and are no longer a nuisance.
Over-medication is a risk factor, especially in people who are already grey-haired. Studies on what causes a certain disease, carried out in any university in the world or “accredited” body, do not necessarily, if ever, analyse who causes it. That is why whenever we are prescribed anything, we should not be tired of asking at all times, even to internet search engines to show us and clarify every last molecule of doubt we have. And if not, I recommend spending a few dollars (euros) to buy a book or two critical of the medical system. I always recommend, because of the author and his medical training, one of these two books: How to survive in an overmedicated world, or Medicines that kill and organised crime.
The global health care system wants us to be over-medicated. Medicine should only be used very occasionally. If we need to be constantly at the doctor’s, then something is wrong, let’s read the pills we take, the side effects they cause, and it may turn out that we are falling into a self-destructive spiral guided by the one-eyed leading the blind.
But as I always say, as I finish my already cold coffee, my articles, my observations, have nothing to do with the honest medical class that tries to bring us closer together so that our health becomes better and better and more stable. And in the same way, it is also convenient for us to be aware of the life we lead. Is it healthy? If it is not, let’s change it.
The revision aims for more accurate origin labelling to help consumers make an informed choice on a number of agri-food products.
On Wednesday, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee adopted its position on the revision of EU marketing standards for the so-called ‘breakfast’ directives to update requirements and product definitions with 73 votes in favour, 2 against and 10 abstentions.
Clear labelling of geographical origin of honey
As consumers have shown a particular interest in the geographical origin of honey, MEPs agree that the country where honey has been harvested must appear on the label in the same visual field as the product indication. If honey originates from more than one country, the countries shall be indicated on the label in descending order according to proportion and if more than 75% of honey comes from outside the EU, this information shall also be indicated clearly on the front label. To further limit honey fraud, including the use of sugar syrups in honey that is very difficult to detect, MEPs also want to set-up a traceability system along the supply chain to be able to track the origin of the honey. Beekeepers in the EU with less than 150 hives would be exempted.
Fruit juices and jam
MEPs agree that the label ‘contains only naturally occurring sugars should be allowed for fruit juices. To meet growing demand for low-sugar products, reformulated fruit juices may be labelled ‘reduced-sugar fruit juice’.
MEPs highlight that new techniques that remove naturally occurring sugars in fruit juices, jams, jellies or milk should not lead to the use of sweeteners to compensate for the effect of sugar reduction on the taste, texture and quality of the final product. They also point out that claims regarding positive properties, such as health benefits, must not be made on the labelling of reduced-sugar fruit juice.
For fruit juices, jams, jellies, marmalades and sweetened chestnut purée MEPs also want the country of origin of the fruit used to manufacture the juice to be indicated on the front-label. If the fruit used originates in more than one country, the countries of origin shall be indicated on the label in descending order according to their proportion.
Regarding jams, MEPs agree with the proposal to increase the minimum fruit content, reducing the required added sugar for certain products, and allows the term ‘marmalade’ to be used for all jams (previously this term was only allowed for citrus jams).
Quote
Rapporteur Alexander Bernhuber (EPP, Austria) said: “Today is a good day for more transparent labelling of origin. In addition to stricter quality criteria and controls, the more precise indication of the countries of origin will provide more transparency and will make it easier for consumers to choose healthier and regional products. For honey, the requirements to state the countries of origin on labelling will prevent adulteration and facilitate informed consumer choices.”
Next steps
Parliament is scheduled to adopt its mandate during the 11-14 December 2023 plenary session, after which it is ready to start negotiations with EU member states.
Background
The revision of EU marketing standards for certain ‘breakfast’ directives was proposed by the European Commission on 21 April 2023 to update current standards that are more than 20 years old.
MEP Maxette Pirbakas, at the European Parliemant, emphasizes the importance of religious tolerance and freedom in Europe, highlighting the need for dialogue and respect for minority rights. Photo credit: A.S. Pegasus Photo Creations // MEP Maxette Pirbakas - Living together in Peace 30 nov 2023
Brussels – On 30 November 2023, Maxette Pirbakas, MEP for Overseas France, welcomed participants to a conference on the protection of the rights of religious and spiritual minorities in Europe.
In her opening speech, MEP Maxette Pirbakas acknowledged Europe’s complex history when it comes to religion. She pointed out that religions have often been “engines or pretexts for savagery”, referring to the persecution of early Christians and the atrocities committed against Jews in the 20th century. At the same time, Pirbakas pointed out that it was in Europe that the ideas of religious tolerance and freedom were born. “Shadows and light: that’s Europe”, she summed up.
According to Pirbakas, Europe’s founding fathers attached particular importance to the issue of religious freedom from the outset. They made the protection of minority groups an essential part of Europe’s democratic culture.
According to Maxette Pirbakas, a balanced compromise embodies the EU’s global approach. By avoiding the adoption of an EU-wide religious statute and leaving it to the Member States to regulate worship, she believes that Europe has wisely avoided homogenising national points of view. It has left a margin of discretion to the Member States while ensuring that they do not use it to violate fundamental rights, in particular those of religious and spiritual minorities. “Confronting points of view and finding a point of balance” is Europe’s speciality, said MEP Pirbakas.
MEP Maxette Pirbakas, who organized the meeting, addressed leaders of religious minorities in Europe, at the European Parliament. Photo credit: 2023 www.bxl-media.com
Maxette Pirbakas concluded by recalling principles such as individual free will, the protection of minority rights and the fact that States should only restrict religion for demonstrable reasons of public order. She referred to the dangerous attempts to deal with the new “heretics” by trying to create new legislation that would endanger the precious freedom of thought and expression. The standard penal codes, if applied correctly, are more than sufficient to punish anyone who breaks the laws without having to examine the religious, spiritual or political background of the individuals, stating that “the current tools are sufficient if applied correctly“.
Encouraging continued dialogue, Pirbakas described debates on religion as “always passionate”. But she expressed the hope that the EU could remain an ally of all spiritual views by ensuring that Member States respect fundamental freedoms, to help Europe “live together in our differences and diversity”.
A few days ago, the Gucci family announced for sale their two villas in Rome, which are as opulent and luxurious as the famous models of the legendary fashion house, located in the most exclusive residential area of Rome.
Built by Aldo Gucci after he moved to Rome in the 1940s, these two villas are located just 10 minutes from the historic city center, in one of the most exclusive residential areas.
The main mansion was where the Gucci dynasty celebrated holidays and other special occasions, and the two villas are surrounded by a huge park and share a swimming pool. Their design, of course, draws inspiration from Italy, but also from English mansions, as Olwen Price, Gucci’s wife, was British – the English flavor can be seen in the columns and arched windows.
The larger villa has a games room, master bedroom with two bathrooms and wardrobe, and staff quarters. The smaller villa needs updating but would make a great guest house, according to Chiara Genarelli, real estate advisor for Forbes Global Properties.
The villas, which are sold within a single listing, are on the market for €15 million.
The cargo spacecraft was launched on Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Progress MS-25 cargo spacecraft, which was launched on Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, docked with the Poisk module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), Roscosmos reported, as quoted by TASS.
The ship docked at the station in automatic mode, adds BTA. The process was controlled from Earth by specialists from the Mission Control Center, and from the ISS board by cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and Konstantin Borisov.
“Progress MS-25” delivered 2,528 kg of cargo, including 515 kg of refueling fuel, 420 liters of potable water, 40 kg of compressed nitrogen in bottles, clothing, and about 1,553 kg of various equipment for medical control and sanitary needs. In addition, the ship delivered food to the Russian cosmonauts, including tangerines, oranges, lemons and grapefruits, as the Russian Research Institute of Food Concentrate Industry and Special Food Technologies previously reported.
“Progress MS-25” also brought New Year’s gifts to the station, which were prepared for the crew members by their relatives and friends, the psychological support service of the ISS crew reported. Gift bags also contain dragon keychains.
The ship also delivered a special complex “Incubator-3” and 48 eggs of Japanese quail, with the help of which it is planned to conduct the “Quail” experiment, as well as equipment for the “Quartz-M” experiment, which the cosmonauts will have to install during work session outside the ship.
Illustrative Photo by Suzy Hazelwood: https://www.pexels.com/photo/orange-fruit-on-white-ceramic-saucer-1295567/
What kind of Europe are we heading for? And, more specifically, where are the Churches andChurch movements heading in the current climate of growing uncertainty? The shrinking of the Churches is certainly a very painful loss. But every loss can create more space and more freedom to encounter God.
French writer Charles Péguy described the “little sister hope” that carries with it faith and love in a childlike impetuosity. It opens up new horizons and leads us to say “and yet”, taking us into unknown territory.
What does this mean for the Churches? The days of cathedrals seem to be over. Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is on fire… but Christian life is dying out. However, the charisms of Christian movements can open new paths. It was during the Second World War, for example, that several movements were born, like a baptism of fire.
The fate of societies depends on “creative minorities”.
Joseph Ratzinger, future pope Benedict XVI, has recognised the relevance of this notion since 1970. From its very beginnings, Christianity has been a minority, a minority of a unique kind. A renewed awareness of this characteristic fact of its identity holds great promise for the future.
Questions of gender and authoritarian politics, for example, exclude, divide, and polarise. Reciprocity born of the recognition of charisms and a friendship centred on Christ are the two essential counterpoisons.
Regarding reciprocity, Helmut Nicklas, one of the fathers of Together for Europe, wrote: “It is only when we really succeed in receiving our own experience of God, our charisms and our gifts in a new and more profound way from others that our network will really have a future!”
And, on the importance of friendship, the philosopher Anne Applebaum noted: “We must choose our allies and friends with the greatest care because it is only with them that it is possible to resist authoritarianism and polarisation. In short, we must form new alliances.
The hidden face of Christ on the road to Emmaus
In Christ, the walls of hatred and separation have been torn down. The story of Emmaus makes us understand this: on their journey, the two disciples are deeply wounded and divided, but through the presence of Christ who joins them, a new present is born. Together, we are called to be bearers of this “Emmaus skill” that brings reconciliation.
The Slovakian Mária Špesová, from the European Network of Communities, has also meditated on the disciples of Emmaus. Recently, she met some young people who had mocked Christians, claiming that they were mistaken.
The experience of the Emmaus disciples gives her hope. Jesus hid his face to bring their hearts to the light and fill them with love. She hopes that these teenagers will have the same experience: discovering the hidden face of Jesus. And that face shows through our own!
Ruxandra Lambru, a Romanian Orthodox and member of the Focolare Movement, feels the divisions in Europe when it comes to the pandemic, vaccines against the Coronavirus and the state of Israel. Where is the Europe of solidarity when the arguments exclude the values we hold dear, and when we deny the existence of others or demonise them?
The road to Emmaus showed her that it is essential to live the faith in small communities: it is together that we go to the Lord.
Influencing social and political life through Christian values
According to Valerian Grupp, a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association, only a quarter of the population of Germany will belong to the Catholic and Protestant Churches in 2060. Already today, the “big Church” no longer exists; less than half the population belongs to it, and common convictions are disappearing.
But Europe needs our faith. We need to win it back by meeting people and inviting them to enter into a relationship with God. The current situation of the Churches is reminiscent of that of the first disciples of Jesus, with their “mobile Churches”.
As for Kostas Mygdalis, adviser to the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, an Orthodox movement that brings together parliamentarians from 25 countries, he notes that certain political circles are mystifying the history of Europe by trying to erase the heritage of Christian faith. For example, the 336 pages of a book published by the Council of Europe on the values of Europe nowhere mention Christian values!
Yet our duty as Christians is to speak out and have an impact on society… even if the Churches sometimes view people involved in politics with suspicion.
Edouard Heger, former President, and Prime Minister of Slovakia, also calls on Christians to go out and speak out, with courage and love. Their vocation is to be people of reconciliation.
“I’ve come here with just one request, he says. We need you as politicians. We also need Christians in politics: they bring peace, and they serve. Europe has Christian roots, but it needs to hear the Gospel because it no longer knows it”.
The call to courage and trust that I received from Timisoara is summed up in these words from Saint Paul: “We are ambassadors sent by Christ, and it is as if God himself were making his appeal through us: we beseech you, in the name of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5,20).
Photo: Young people in traditional dress from Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Germany, Slovakia, and Serbia, all present in Timisoara, reminded us that we are at the heart of Europe.
Since late September, the Amazon faces one of its most relentless droughts in recorded history. Disturbing images from Brazil’s Amazonas state show hundreds of river dolphins and countless fish dead on the riverbanks after water temperatures last month shot from 82 degrees Fahrenheit to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
As temperatures climb, Indigenous peoples and local communities across the Central and Western Amazon—namely regions in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru—are watching their rivers disappear at unprecedented rates.
Given the region’s dependence on waterways for transportation, the severely low river levels are disrupting the transportation of essential goods, with numerous communities struggling to access food and water. Regional health departments have warned that it is also becoming increasingly difficult to bring emergency medical assistance to many Amazonian communities.
The hot and dry conditions have also spurred wildfire across the region. Since the start of 2023, more than 11.8 million acres (18,000 sq mi) of Brazil’s Amazon have been consumed by fire, an area twice the size of Maryland. In Manaus, the capital of Amazonas in Brazil and a city of two million people, doctors have reported an increase in respiratory issues due to persistent smoke from fires, especially among children and the elderly.
Distant cities have also been impacted. In Ecuador, where normally 90% of power is generated by hydroelectric power plants, the Amazon drought has obliged the government to import energy from Colombia in order to prevent widespread power outages. “The river that flows from the Amazon, where our power plants are located, has decreased so much that hydroelectric generation was reduced to 60% on some days,” explained Fernando Santos Alvite, Ecuador’s Minister of Energy.
Though wet seasons vary throughout the Amazon, rain isn’t anticipated in most affected regions until late November or early December.
EL NIÑO, DEFORESTATION, AND FIRE: A DANGEROUS COMBINATION
Scientists emphasize that while the extreme drought is influenced by El Niño, deforestation over the years has worsened the situation. Additionally, wildfires linked to slash-and-burn practices favored by cattle ranchers and soybean producers are pushing the region beyond its limit.
Ane Alencar, Director of Science at the Institute for Amazonian Environmental Research (IPAM), explains, “The smoke from the fires affects the rain in several ways. When you cut down native forest, you’re removing trees that release water vapor into the atmosphere, directly reducing rainfall.”
Research has shown that this degenerative process could be pushing us closer to a “tipping point” in the Amazon, with hotter and longer dry seasons potentially triggering a mass die-off of trees. A study published last year in Nature Climate Change posits that we are just decades away from vast portions of the Amazon rainforest collapsing and becoming savannah–which, in turn, would produce a devastating effect on ecosystems around the globe.
This drought is not an isolated natural disaster. It’s a symptom of global climate changes and the local impacts of deforestation. Tackling these challenges necessitates coordinated action on local, national, and global levels.
The Brazilian government has created a task force and Peru has declared a regional emergency, but very few communities in the region have seen any coordinated effort to mitigate the impacts of the drought. Meanwhile, analysts worry that remote and isolated Indigenous communities will suffer more than most.
Indigenous peoples stand at the frontlines of climate change, despite contributing the least to greenhouse gas emissions. Now, more than ever, international solidarity and support for the affected communities are essential.
Brussels, Belgium – “Hence the need today for this kind of debate, which enables a religious minority to find a clean, respectful space in which to express their religion responsibly and transparently, within a democratic framework,” affirmed Lahcen Hammouch in an address last week to the European Parliament. The journalist and living together in peace activist gave remarks on November 30th as part of a conference on safeguarding the rights of spiritual minorities.
Organized by French MEP Maxette Pirbakas, the working meeting convened diverse religious groups to discuss experiences in Europe. In his speech, Hammouch, CEO of the Brussels-based outlet Bruxelles Media, drew on an upbringing that nurtured interfaith bonds. Growing up in Morocco, “we’ve lived together with the Jewish community since we were children,” he recalled. Yet upon immigrating to Belgium at 18, Hammouch encountered unfamiliar racism and divisions.
In the wake of “terrorist attacks in Europe by radical Islamist extremists”, dialogue has become more urgent, Hammouch argued. “Hence the need today for everyone – Black, White, Blue, Yellow, Green – to talk to each other,” he emphasized, even where full agreement proves impossible. His work centres on facilitating such conversations through media platforms, seminars and “apéros of diversity” involving diverse philosophies and religious organizations.
While acknowledging that the Muslim community faces prejudice, Hammouch distinguished the religion’s spiritual core from the political ideology of Islamism. His forthcoming book explores this complex landscape. “There is of course an Islam of peace, a traditional Islam, an Islam of values,” he wrote. “And then there is an Islamism which carries a political project.”
By providing a forum for pluralistic exchange, Hammouch suggested, events like the conference organized by French MEP Pirbakas, enable transparent understanding between people of different backgrounds. Thanking the MEP for her efforts, he reiterated the need for a “respectful space” where religious minorities can voice their beliefs freely as integral members of European democracies.
