European Parliament demands answers from Bulgarian authorities on judicial reform, rule of law
The Monitoring Group on Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (DRFMG) in the European Parliament is not satisfied with the answers it received to written questions sent by it to the Bulgarian authorities about the course of the judicial reform, the activity of the Prosecutor General and others. Therefore, the EP has invited them to a meeting on December 17. This was announced by the BNR correspondent in Brussels, Angelina Piskova, referring to the MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Elena Yoncheva.
In August this year, the Monitoring Group was scheduled to hear Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on these issues. Instead, he sent Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva and other officials from the Bulgarian institutions. After not receiving satisfactory answers, the Monitoring Group sent additional written questions to the Bulgarian authorities.
The European Union has committed EUR 250 000 in humanitarian funding to help affected families, after Tropical Cyclone Gati made landfall in Somalia on 22 November.
Mogadishu, 15 December: The European Union has committed EUR 250 000 in humanitarian funding to help affected families, after Tropical Cyclone Gati made landfall in Somalia on 22 November. Cyclone GATI has had a devastating impact on Bari and Sanaag regions of northern Somalia, bringing heavy rains and triggering flash flooding. Authorities estimate that 180 000 people were affected by the cyclone and 42 000 displaced from their homes as shelters and infrastructure was washed away.
This EU funding will support 6120 people (1020 households) and will be channeled through the Danish Refugee Council, which will implement a multi-sectoral response with water source rehabilitation, hygiene promotion and sanitation. Cash assistance will also be provided, enabling people to buy food and meet other immediate basic necessities,
“After several seasons of sustained erratic weather patterns, including droughts and flooding, cyclone Gati has hit already vulnerable people,” says Johan Heffinck, Head of the EU’s Humanitarian Aid office to Somalia. “The EU is providing emergency support, so that affected families get the help they need efficiently and timely.”
The assistance will be provided as of this month and will be implemented up until the end of March.
Ayat Al Huseein: refugee community psychosocial worker helps other refugees tackle mental health issues
“In some ways, this job has helped me rebuild my own life. I can now help others heal and develop mental health resilience, too,” says Ayat Al Huseein, a thirty-year-old refugee from Syria, who left with her family by boat for Greece about three years ago and is now working as a psychosocial worker. She is part of a project offering refugees and asylum seekers psychosocial assistance.
“I meet people who are very diverse, as are their psychosocial needs, which means I need to adapt my response accordingly. When I visit a person who has requested assistance or has been referred to us, I use the competencies acquired during my training and rely on my personal skills. Before leaving Syria, I worked as a teacher and my ability to communicate, actively listen and empathize serve me well.
“Refugees’ psychosocial needs vary depending on lived experiences, age, gender and background, but I strive to help them all find hope again for what the future might bring.”
“Psychosocial support can come in various forms – some refugees require emotional comfort, others need to be motivated to join activities that can help them establish ties with local communities, and yet others need practical support in carrying out day-to-day tasks.
“I help refugees by listening to their stories and identifying organizations or actors that offer the services they need to get better, like language classes or assistance in accessing health care, legal counsel or finding a job. Mental health issues require a comprehensive, multisectoral response.
“When refugees face severe mental health issues, I turn to my team leader and other health care professionals. This collaboration is essential to ensure a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to refugees’ mental health, and we continuously emphasize the importance of coordination among all actors on the ground, to help refugees become autonomous again.”
Ayat and her colleagues refer to various WHO-issued manuals for mental health field workers, such as Psychological first aid: Facilitator’s manual for orienting field workers, Psychological first aid: Guide for field workers, and Problem Management Plus Individual psychological help for adults impaired by distress in communities exposed to adversity.
Sharing similar stories helps make meaningful connections
“One of the best features of this project is that the community psychosocial workers are refugees themselves. As we often share similar stories, culture and language, refugees have an easier time confiding in us because they know we can truly relate to their experiences. This makes it easier to build a relationship and a meaningful connection.
“I once met a woman who was dealing with anxiety and depression. She was listless, had no friends, and would even forget to pick up her children from school. We began to meet regularly and, over time, she made substantial progress. We managed to help her sign up for language classes, find a job, and attend cultural events, where she found friends. She was able to change her life.
“It is these experiences that keep me motivated at work. I want to help people and see them improve. I wish for this project to continue and reach everyone who needs it across all countries.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered but not stopped psychosocial workers’ efforts
The current COVID-19 pandemic may further exacerbate refugee mental health conditions, as public health measures, social isolation, food and medicine insecurity, and quarantine may act as triggers of past traumas. The lives of asylum seekers and refugees in countries of arrival, even before the pandemic, are also often fraught with social, cultural, linguistic and legal barriers which may exacerbate or cause psychological challenges.
Asylum seekers and refugees may experience intense feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness due to past traumatic experiences, which may be a consequence of various stress factors related to hardships experienced in their country of origin, migration journey or living conditions in the European Region.
“Since the pandemic began, we have not been able to visit persons of concern in their homes and must instead meet online or over digital tools. We make use of all possible services, ranging from regular phone calls to video chats and social media channels,” Ayat explains.
“Some have been reluctant to resort to technological tools to communicate, and many required some time to adapt, just like we, psychosocial workers, also had to adjust to the new circumstances. However, I really believe that despite these challenges, we have been successful in continuing to offer the care and support refugees need.”
Ayat has worked at EPAPSY – the Association for Regional Development and Mental Health – since November 2019, providing psychosocial support to adult refugees and asylum seekers who live in the urban areas of Attica in Greece. From January to September 2020, the Community Psychosocial Workforce project has provided its services to 92 beneficiaries, including people experiencing homelessness, self-accommodated individuals and persons of concern identified in the Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation programme implemented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in collaboration with local authorities and nongovernmental organizations, and funded by the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
The coronavirus pandemic is the latest crisis facing the world, and societies everywhere need to “release their grip on nature”, or risk more of the same, the agency said in this year’s Human Development Report, entitled The Next Frontier, released on Tuesday.
“Humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of COVID-19, record-breaking temperatures and spiraling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden”, said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.
“As this report shows, no country in the world has yet achieved very high human development without putting immense strain on the planet. But we could be the first generation to right this wrong. That is the next frontier for human development.”
The 30th anniversary edition of UNDP’s Human Development Report, The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene, includes a new experimental index on human progress that takes into account countries’ carbon dioxide emissions and material footprint. Anthropocene is an unofficial unit of geological time; it describes an era in which humans are a dominant force shaping the future of planet Earth.
By adjusting its annual Human Development Index – the measure of a nation’s health, education, and standards of living – to include two more elements: a country’s carbon dioxide emissions and its material footprint, the new index shows how the global development landscape would change if both the wellbeing of people and also the planet were central to defining humanity’s progress.
With the resulting Planetary-Pressures Adjusted HDI – or PHDI – a new global picture emerges, painting a less rosy but clearer assessment of human progress.
Working with nature
Progress in human development, UNDP says, “will require working with and not against nature, while transforming social norms, values, and government and financial incentives.”
For instance, estimates suggest that by 2100 the poorest countries in the world could experience up to 100 more days of extreme weather due to climate change each year – a number that could be cut in half if the Paris Agreement on climate change is fully implemented.
Similarly, reforestation and taking better care of woodlands could alone account for roughly a quarter of the pre-2030 actions needed to stop global warming from reaching 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the report notes.
WMO/Boris Palma
Sun rises over the mountains in the province of Carchi, northern Ecuador.
Dismantling power imbalances
The report also outlines the impact of inequalities between and within countries, lack of involvement of indigenous peoples in decision making, and discrimination, leaving affected communities exposed to high environment risks.
Easing planetary pressures in a way that enables all people to flourish in this new age requires dismantling the gross imbalances of power and opportunity that stand in the way of transformation, it adds.
Lead report author and head of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office, Pedro Conceição, highlighted that the choice is not “between people or trees”.
“It is about recognizing, today, that human progress driven by unequal, carbon-intensive growth has run its course … by tackling inequality, capitalizing on innovation and working with nature, human development could take a transformational step forward to support societies and the planet together,” he said.
Popular Tanzanian singer Ben Pol has for the first time opened up about his new found faith months after converting to Islam. Speaking during a recent interview with E FM, the Moyo Mashine singer began by expressing his disappointment at netizens for associating his public life with his faith.
“First of all, there’s this one thing I think people mistook and that was linking Ben Pol the celebrity with my faith. I really feel that that was a big mistake.”
In his explanation, the award-winning Bongo Flava star stated that he wanted his religious life to stay private without any interference or judgment from his celebrity life.
“Someone like me who is known compared to an ordinary person, they have the privilege of making as many mistakes as they can and get away with it you know. But as a celebrity, everything you do is under scrutiny. You make one mistake and the mistake is seen by millions of people, and honestly, that’s why I think linking my faith to my celebrity life was a big mistake. A celebrity is like an entity, for instance, the President’s office or government property or since we are here like E FM, you cannot associate it with religion,” he said.
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“When I go to my place of worship, whoever will see me there, that’s fine. Whatever happens behind the curtains should stay there. I don’t have to attach that to the celebrity side of my life. Personally, I’m tired of having to separate the two and with all due respect would wish to stop talking about it,” he added.
Relationship
Touching on his marriage with Keroche Heiress Anerlisa Muigai, Ben Pol assured his fans that everything was okay between him and his wife despite the breakup rumors that had been doing rounds on social media. The singer recently shot a music video with the love of his life, and many assumed they prerecorded the video months ago and are currently not together.
“That video is very current, and I think what was getting many people confused about our relationship and alleged break up was the fact that we never responded to the allegations and let them come up with their own versions of what was going on. You know some people when something happens between you they come out and start making up stories about you or for instance, the both of you are going through ups and downs, which is very normal.
“It happens even at places of work; at home, it’s very normal. Someone can use that to say something very extreme about you to try and make your situation worse. Most of the time, we were at very different frequencies with the world. When they think we are fighting or not talking, we were very much okay. We had agreed never to let anything come between us no matter how big social media made it seem, and that is what worked for us,” he said.
EP recommends that Marek Opioła should not be appointed to the Court of Auditors
The post of the Polish member has been vacant for over a year
MEPs on Tuesday voted to reject a candidate nominated by the Polish government to become a member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA).
The European Parliament, by 536 votes to 156 and 3 abstentions delivered, in a secret ballot, a negative opinion on Mr Marek Opioła, who was nominated by Poland to become a member of the European Court of Auditors.
After a hearing with the Polish candidate Mr Marek Opioła on 7 December, the EP Budgetary Control Committee recommended that the Parliament should not endorse his candidacy.
Mr Opioła is currently Vice President of the Polish Supreme Audit Office – read his full CV.
Background
The ECA candidates (one per member state) are put forward by member states and approved by the Council, after consulting the European Parliament. MEPs can either back the candidate or ask for the nomination to be withdrawn.
Eastern Kentucky University has taken a new step to make college more affordable, announcing that starting in the fall, course books will be made available to students for free.
EKU President David McFaddin, in a video message to the campus community, said, ”EKU BookSmart offers required class textbooks and course materials for EKU undergraduate students enrolled at all of our campuses, and online. We will have them delivered directly to you, or ready for pick-up, here at the EKU Barnes and Noble Bookstore, for free.”
McFaddin said the program is unique to Eastern, and unlike any other program anywhere else. “It is one more way we are keeping college affordable by investing in our students, so they will be able to be prepared when their classes begin. Anytime we can assist our students is an exciting day, and today’s announcement is made possible through our long-standing partnership with our friends at Barnes and Noble.”
He summed up the program by saying, “Come to EKU and the books are on us.”
Dr. Tanlee Wasson, senior vice-president for student success, noted, “Because of the BookSmart Program, no EKU student will have to drop an undergraduate class because they realize they can’t do the work without the book they couldn’t afford to buy. “No EKU student will choose not to take an undergraduate course because the books are more than she can afford. No EKU student will have to weigh the cost of an undergraduate textbook against meeting essential needs like food, housing, or transportation.”
Barry Poynter, senior vice president for finance and administration, said eliminating financial barriers to success is their job.
“We’ve all seen the national studies showing an average annual cost of textbooks for an academic year at about $1,200. Removing a barrier to academic access and student success of this magnitude is opportunity in action. We are directly reducing the cost of attendance at EKU by providing textbooks and course materials to our students, and also providing some additional stability.”
NEW DELHI — A gathering held recently by the Bahá’ís of India looked at the need to reconceptualize the institution of the family based on the principle of equality between women and men. Among the attendees of the gathering were organizations concerned with the issue of gender equality, academics, and school teachers.
“The challenges women face within the family have become a most pressing issue during the pandemic in many societies. In some cases, education has come to an end for many girls. There are a lot of child marriages taking place because families see no other path for their daughters during this crisis. At the same time there are many organizations that are trying to reach out and help out,” says Carmel Tripathi of the Indian Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs.
“We felt it was timely,” she continues, “to create a space for various segments of society to explore together the kinds of changes that the family as an institution must undergo.”
Slideshow 9 imagesPanelists at the seminar. Top: Carmel Tripathi of the Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs; Anshu Gupta, founder of the relief organization Goonj; Anuja Agrawal, a professor of sociology at the University of Delhi. Bottom: Murari Jha, educator in Delhi government schools; Stuti Narain Kacker, former chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights.
This gathering is among numerous other efforts of the Indian Bahá’í community over the past decades to contribute to the discourse in society on gender equality.
Anshu Gupta, a panelist at the gathering and founder of the relief organization Goonj, spoke about the effects of culture and tradition on the family environment, asking: “What is tradition? It is something you keep following. To stop taboos, we have to talk about them … in a common language. So we create dialogue and stop claiming that we have to do certain things because it is tradition.”
Commenting on the significance of the meeting, Ms. Tripathi explains that people often hold back from a deeper exploration of the role of family in contributing to gender equality. “There is a tendency to think of the family as something isolated from society and very private. In reality this should be discussed openly because this is where patterns of thought and behavior that are associated with being a man or women are learned and practiced.”
Slideshow 9 imagesPhotograph taken before the current health crisis. The paper prepared for the discussion by the Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs highlights the need for consultation as the basis for decision-making within a family. “The capacity to consult in a loving, considerate and yet frank manner in arriving at collective decisions is an art whose value humanity is only beginning to appreciate.”
In a paper prepared for the discussion and distributed to participants at the gathering, the Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs highlighted several themes, including “Sharing the functions of nurturance and care-giving” and “Consultation as the basis for decision-making.”
The paper reads in part: “If decision making in a family is not to be an outcome of arbitrary and dictatorial authority, members of the family will need to learn to communicate with each other with respect and openness drawing on a whole range of qualities such as love, humility, tact, empathy, courtesy and moderation. The capacity to consult in a loving, considerate and yet frank manner in arriving at collective decisions is an art whose value humanity is only beginning to appreciate.”
Murari Jha, a panelist and an educator in Delhi government schools, spoke about the need for greater rigor when analyzing social progress, stating: “We need to be vigilant of misunderstandings. When you look at what was mentioned in the seminar paper about decision making within the family, the real measure of gender-equal practices is who is making the decisions, such as whether and whom to marry. If we are not allowing our daughters, our sisters… to be part of important decisions, then the act of sending them to school is not really the symbol that we are practicing equality.”
Slideshow 9 imagesNilakshi Rajkhowa of the Office of Public Affairs says that “Bahá’í community building endeavors encourage families to plan and consult together when they undertake initiatives. … Prayer also plays an important role in creating a unified spirit.”
Nilakshi Rajkhowa of the Office of Public Affairs highlights other concepts from the paper, such as the need for families to develop an outward orientation while serving the needs of society.
“Bahá’í community building endeavors encourage families to plan and consult together when they undertake initiatives. As a result, often, profound discussions can happen in homes in which other families join in as they assist with activities. Prayer also plays an important role in creating a unified spirit. Communities in which families work together in this way develop the capacity to look at the issues affecting their lives and to address them without waiting for someone from outside to give aid and support.
“What we are observing is that by consciously learning to apply the Bahá’í principles of unity, consultation and equality between women and men, structures within families begin to change where no members dominate others.”
The UWI’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, called upon the European Parliament to end colonization in the region and honour its debt to the people.
Invited to speak to the parliament (at a virtual international panel on December 2, 2020) during a special discussion on the poverty legacies of colonization, he reminded the audience that Europe’s economic development was funded by a brutal and inhumane system of wealth extraction from the Caribbean, leaving the region impoverished and unable to meet its economic development targets.
Sir Hilary reminded the parliament that the Caribbean remains one of the few colonized regions in the world, and that Europe’s legacy is one of continuing economic exploitation, and the politics and policies of white supremacy.
The Caribbean, he said, since pushing for its independence, has taken full responsibility for its future, but he noted that the responsibility and accountability relationship is a two-way process.
Europe, he stated, walked away from its obligations after committing heinous crimes against humanity in the region, stripping it of its natural resources, and enslaving its people.
Left behind as the primary legacy is the horrendous social and economic mess that Europe has refused to clean up with a development plan, but the Caribbean has a right to economic fairness and justice.
Europe’s insistence on giving aid instead of economic development funding is reflective of an obsolete mentality that has no honourable place in the 21st century. It drives, for example, the impulse to blacklist the region’s financial sector, and to be unsupportive of economic diversification strategies.
“This is a top moral priority issue in the international order,” Professor Beckles said, noting that the world is aware of the extent to which Europe plundered the Caribbean to fund its growth and development, while the region is forced to fund its own economic development with debt. Europe, he insisted, owes the West Indies an enormous debt which can be addressed by a “Marshall Plan” similar to what it offered the East Indies with the “Colombo Plan” between 1950 and 2000.
Reparatory justice, he told the gathering, is about economic development partnership and support. He congratulated the parliament for recognizing that ‘repairing this legacy’ is an idea whose time has come.
