DUBAI – From gender parity to religious tolerance, Canadian Ambassador to the UAE Marcy Grossman has a busy agenda from the embassy in Abu Dhabi.The Jewish civil servant arrived in Dubai as the consul-general in 2018, but within a year was promoted to ambassador, moving to the UAE capital. The timing could not have been more auspicious.“I don’t believe in chance, but I believe we are all in the right place at the right time, so I am sure that’s really why I’m here,” she says. A public servant of 30 years, she has spent the majority of her career in the US, including Miami and Denver, before returning to Ottawa in 2016 to work on Canada’s presence in the upcoming Dubai Expo, slated for 2020, though now postponed to 2021.It was seen as an unusual choice of posting by some around her, to choose a Muslim country that they perceived to not yet be open to the Jewish faith, but Grossman felt drawn to the UAE. “I felt Dubai was calling me; as if it would be the pinnacle of my career, even if at the time, I wasn’t sure what exactly that was.”Her first posting in the Middle East has been a whirlwind. One of only roughly seven female ambassadors in the UAE alongside around 100 men, she feels she has much to do for Canada – as a woman and a person of faith.“Two months into my arrival in Dubai, there was the story in Bloomberg about the secret synagogue coming out of the shadows, so not only did I know I was a female diplomat in a male-dominated environment, I had the opportunity to embrace my culture and religion, which was very exciting,” she says.She admits it was a liberating time. “It’s always a responsibility to be authentic to who you are and I’ve always had to manage my ‘Jewishness,’” she admits. But now, the country where many Jews once hid their religious identity, has now given them the opportunity to publicly embrace their faith. cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: ’36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b’ }).render(‘4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6’); });“With my name, everyone pretty much knew I was Jewish and I didn’t hide it, but of course I will be a little more open now,” she adds.During 2019, she witnessed the announcement that Abu Dhabi would be home to the Abrahamic Family House, comprising a synagogue, church and mosque in the grand complex, the pope made his first historic visit to the region, and the UAE was enveloped in a mantra of peace and tolerance.“By the time the Abraham Accords were announced, I had seen there was already a lot of relationship-building going on, especially through my involvement in the Jewish community,” she says. “I knew Israel had a presence at IRENA [the International Renewable Energy Agency], that Israeli business people were coming and at the government level, there were connections, so I always expected that this was going to lead to something, although, I was shocked like everyone else when it was announced. I think it was a very close-held decision.”More than the decision, she has been most surprised by the speed of progress, with the likes of high-level research collaboration in areas including AI and health, as well as foreign investment, plans for 28 flights a week between the two countries and a rapid influx of Jewish and Israeli tourists and business people. As Canada already has a large Jewish population and a close relationship with Israel, she says the trilateral relationship she can now help facilitate, feels close to her heart.
But one cause even closer to her heart is that of women’s empowerment and being an ambassador for Canada’s feminist foreign policy. The Abraham Accords brought that home even harder.“When we saw the delegations for the Abraham Accords, there were a lot of men,” she says. “There are still gaps in many places; military, politics, diplomacy, in every field. I lead from the prism of being a woman in a man’s world.”Though the UAE’s cabinet and government offices have far better gender parity than any other country in the Gulf, when it comes to diplomacy, Grossman is vastly outnumbered. She has female Canadian counterparts heading missions in Amman, Beirut, Washington, London and Paris, but this is not so representative of other nations. “I’m a bit of a novelty here,” she smiles.
While ministers such as Reem al Hashimi and Noura al Kaabi have made a strong statement on the international political stage for the UAE in terms of the importance they place on gender equality, there is still much to be done for gender parity around the world, says Grossman.“We’ve seen that boards with women are more successful in business, governments with more women have policies which better reflect the interests of women, and the same in diplomacy. There is more opportunity to get diverse opinions, to promote inclusion, and represent the other 50% of voices.”Most of all, she says it is critical for peace. “The more women involved in peacemaking, when they’re at the decision-making table, the more peace there is,” she says.Involving more women in major global accords such as the Abraham Accords, she says is critical for peace to endure.
“It’s with great personal pride that I’m here at this time. I feel the Abraham Accords are a bold step in diplomatic efforts to reaffirm peace in the whole region.”
Jewish envoy to UAE gets opportunity to embrace culture, religion
Philippines battered by Typhoon Goni – Vatican News
By Vatican News staff writer
In the Philippines, the death toll from the world’s most powerful cyclone this year has climbed to 20 so far. As super Typhoon Goni lashed the country over the weekend, some 13,000 shanties and houses were damaged or swept away in the eastern region that was first hit by the ferocious storm.
Worst hit provinces
Albay and Catanduanes provinces, south of the capital Manila, took the brunt of gusts of up to 310 kph and accounted for all deaths. More that 400,000Civil defence officials estimate about 370,000 people have been displaced. The 18th storm to hit the Philippines this year, evoked memories of Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines in November 2013.
“It is a very sad situation because many have lost their homes, have lost everything and would like to rebuild their homes,” said Brother Joseph A. Salando of Legazpi Diocese in Albay province. Speaking to Vatican News on the phone, he explained that many lost their homes and everything, and were left with only what they were wearing. Hence, they need food, clothes and material to rebuild their homes.
Brother Salando spoke about destruction everywhere. Many survivors found shelter in public schools, others in parishes, many of whose churches were damaged. One had most of its roof blown away and inside it was a mess. A parish was sheltering some 30 families who requested to be accommodated for two more days.
He also spoke about the resilience of the people to be back on their feet. He said they are coping with the situation by saving what they can. He saw two families preparing dinner with pork from a pig that drowned.
Complex calamity of typhoon and pandemic
The string of typhoons that hit the Philippines this year, comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is straining the nation’s financial and logistical resources, making the typhoon relief work very difficult. With 2,298 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection on Monday, the total has surged past number to 385,400, with more than 7,200 deaths. With the displaced sheltered in schools and parishes, there is fear of a surge in infections.
With the Covid-19 pandemic and typhoon, they are going through a “complex calamity”, Brother Salando said. People who have taken shelter in evacuation centres, public schools and churches, find it difficult to maintain social distancing.
Innovation in religion
- There is more controversy than there needs to be
This is arguably the touchiest issue when it comes to religion. There are those who take an uncompromising position against anything that they believe started after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Let us call them hardliners (for lack of a better term). On the other hand, there are those who see no problem in certain practices so long as they serve a good purpose. Let us call them enthusiasts (for the same reason). Everybody is aware of the acrimonious nature of the old conflict between the two. But there is much more controversy than there needs to be.
The problem can easily be resolved given cooperation from both sides – for either side, at one time or another, is guilty of transgression here. So long as the enthusiasts do not bother anybody else and do not insist on others joining them, there ought to be no problem. The hardliners must refrain from interfering or unnecessarily giving their opinion when it is not sought. It is one thing to choose not to participate in something that one deems improper (more power to one), but to deliberately make a scene by calling in question the faith of somebody else is not only uncalled for but counterproductive as well.
There is plenty of leeway when it comes to temporal matters, but if something is presented as part of religion, then one must be prepared to back it up with evidence. Taking offence when somebody demands proof for something being a religious activity is by no means an appropriate attitude.
Let us take rituals such as qul and chaaleeswaan as familiar examples. Those who stage it are obviously convinced about its advisability or are following (in their view) a time-honoured tradition; else, why would they hold it? In addition, they are in an emotional state of mind after the loss of their dearly departed. Now, it is one thing to believe that the practice is un-Islamic, but those who point that out on the spot should hardly be shocked when they fail to become heroes of those on the other side. But at the same time the enthusiasts, on their part, must also make sure that they do not take offence when their invitation to join such activities is politely declined. And of course, they must not present such practices as mandatory, failing to participate in which is to the detriment of somebody’s faith.
When it comes to academic debates however, there is an important limit to the validity of ‘What is the harm in it?’ retort. For starters, if there is no use of something, then that is harm enough. But more significantly, whether there is harm in some activity or not depends on its nature. Much bad blood can be avoided by being clear on the answer to a simple question: whether the advocate of a ritual considers it a religious activity or not (for every religious act there are a hundred cultural traditions in a society). If the answer is no, then there is no cause for further debate. So long as the thing does not harm anybody else, it can hardly be objected to. However, if the answer is yes, then the advocate must be prepared to justify the activity as a religious one. Here, it must be borne in mind that for something to qualify as religion it must have a warrant to that effect from Allah and his messengers. Anything less, and the advocate has failed to prove that it is indeed a religious matter. A useful rule-of-thumb is this: In the worldly sphere, everything which is not forbidden is allowed; while in the religious domain, everything which is not allowed is forbidden. There is plenty of leeway when it comes to temporal matters, but if something is presented as part of religion, then one must be prepared to back it up with evidence. Taking offence when somebody demands proof for something being a religious activity is by no means an appropriate attitude.
On an ironic note, there is hardly anything innovative about these innovations. Adherents of all religions invariably recycle the same old things, sometimes in a thinly disguised manner but often extremely obviously. Take birthdays of religious figures: Christians have their Christmas. Many Muslims have their milaad-un-nabi. Followers of other religions have also celebrated the birthdays of their real or imaginary founders. While I do not intend to comment on other religions, a lot is to be said about those who propose to commemorate Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by celebrating his birthday, after the extensive arrangement for his remembrance (made by God Himself), where the Prophet’s name resonates five times every day from all mosques in every part of the globe with millions of Muslims praying for him in between. In the obsession between mandatory and forbidden (with nothing in between), it is easy to forget that some practices, like this one, could be in questionable taste. As was pointed out by an intellect, there is no one day for the Prophet (peace be upon him); every hour, every day, and every year is his.
WHO Chief self-isolating as COVID-19 spreads – Vatican News
By Stefan J. Bos
Tedros said he was identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID19. In a statement on social networking site Twitter, he stressed that he was “well and without symptoms.”
The 55-year-old leader did not identify the person who tested positive. However, Tedros said he would “self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.”
The former Ethiopian minister of health and foreign affairs has been at the forefront of the United Nations health agency’s efforts to battle the pandemic.
His remarks came as official estimates suggested that COVID 19 claimed nearly 1.2 million lives and infected 46 million people worldwide since emerging in China late last year.
Europe is among the regions rushing to contain the virus. On Monday, Germany, Europe’s largest economy, entered the first day of a month-long “lockdown light.” It shut restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment venues but keeping schools, shops, and workplaces open.
INFECTION RATE RISING
The coronavirus infection rate is still rising in Germany, though not as dramatically as in France and Belgium, which are now in tighter lockdowns. Italy is also planning tighter rules.
And over the weekend, Austria and Portugal became the latest countries to announce new restrictions.
Under Germany’s new national measures, public meetings are restricted to 10 people maximum from two households. Private parties are banned.
Governments are also rushing in Central and Eastern Europe to contain the virus; in Slovakia, roughly half of the entire population took COVID-19 swabs over the weekend.
With the two-day nationwide testing, the government hopes to reverse a fast rise in infections without a hard lockdown.
WORLD’S FIRST
The scheme, a first in a country of comparable size, is being watched by other European Union nations, explained EU Council President Charles Michel. “The prime minister [of Slovakia] explained his country’s strategy regarding the rapid tests is. Indeed in many countries, there is interest for the rapid test,” Michel said.
“Because we have the impression that with the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test those new rapid tests…can help in order to develop a global strategy,” he added.
Among those watching the testing in Slovakia are neighboring Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Austria. They all are looking for ways to slow the virus spread and avoid overwhelming their health systems.
Slovakia’s Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said that more than 2.5 million Slovaks took the free of charge test on Saturday. The minister added that 25,850 people or 1 percent tested positive and must go into quarantine.
The EU member state has 5.5 million people and aims to test as many as possible, except for children under 10. More than 40,000 medics and support teams of soldiers, police, administrative workers, and volunteers staffed around 5,000 sites to administer the swab tests.
The government warned it would impose a lockdown on those who do not participate, including a ban on going to work. Prime Minister Igor Matovic said he apologized for putting pressure on people to participate but said the requirement was justified. “Freedom must go together with responsibility toward those who … are the weakest among us, oncology patients, old people, and people with other diseases.”
Cardinal-designate Grech: in service of the synodality of the Church – Vatican News
By Vatican News staff writer
Pope Francis, during the Sunday Angelus on 25 October, announced the names of 13 new cardinals. Among them are Bishop Mario Grech, General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops and Bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Gozo in Malta.
The new Cardinals-designate will be raised to the rank of Cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 28 November 2020.
Unexpected
For Bishop Grech, like the other Cardinal-designates announced by Pope Francis, the news was unexpected. In an interview with Vatican News’ Antonella Palermo, soon-to-be Cardinal Grech said that he received the news around 12:20 pm that Sunday.
“It was a big surprise for me… I received the news from a friend of mine,” he said. “I was going through Via Giulia and the Chiesa dello Santo Spirito (the Church dedicated to the Holy Spirit) is in that area.”
He remembers that the first thing he did was to go into the Church for the devotion to the Divine Mercy. There, “I thanked the Lord for his mercy and I prayed that this new ministry may help me to be a minister of mercy to the world,” Bishop Grech told Vatican News.
Synodality
Bishop Grech thinks that his new role coupled with his current assignment as the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops will be an opportunity to further “the vision of the Holy Father.”
“The Holy Father believes in synodality and he wants to empower not only the Synod of Bishops which is celebrated periodically every two years, but also synodality in the Church,” said the 63-year-old Cardinal-designate.
“I pray the Almighty and I will try to commit myself to bring forth this concern, this truth, this new ecclesiology,” Bishop Grech added.
The Maltese-born bishop was ordained a priest in 1984. He was appointed Pro-Secretary of the Synod of Bishops in 2019 and subsequently its General Secretary in September 2020.
Algeria: European Union supports UNHCR to continue water distribution to Sahrawi refugees
ALGERIA
The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, welcomes a contribution of € 600,000 from the European Union (EU) for essential humanitarian assistance to Sahrawi refugees in the five refugee camps in Tindouf province, in south-western Algeria. “It is a priority for the EU to ensure all Sahrawi refugees have access to safe water for domestic use. Sufficient water to maintain minimum levels of hygiene, allowing for frequent handwashing, is more than ever needed with the threat of coronavirus still looming. EU is fully committed to continue supporting Sahrawi refugees,” said Patrick Barbier, Head of EU Humanitarian Aid Operations in Algeria.
The EU is a long-standing and active humanitarian donor in the camps. It supports the lifesaving humanitarian activities of many UN and partner organizations in various domains, from food assistance and health to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). “UNHCR would like to thank the EU for their ongoing support to the Sahrawi refugee population, particularly in the supply of potable water for the Sahrawi community,” said UNHCR Representative Agostino Mulas. “This significant contribution, in the water sector, is so crucial as water is essential for a people living in the desert, especially in the summer months, when water is harder to get and needed in greater amounts.”
WASH services and infrastructure are being improved in the Tindouf camps. UNHCR provides about 700,000 m3 of safe water per year by continuously operating and maintaining existing water facilities, installing new ones, and monitoring the water quality.
UNHCR is still striving to reach the target of 20 litres per person per day.
UNHCR’s five-year WASH strategy, developed with Oxfam, includes a study for the development of the water pipeline network to reduce the need for water trucking. In order to be able to fully implement the WASH strategy UNHCR is searching for additional funding as for a number of years the works on the new infrastructure will have to go in parallel with the existing water trucking.
For its 2020 programme, UNHCR Algeria is currently 44% funded, with approximately US$ 16.6 M received out of a total US$ 37.4 M required.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Russell Fraser Tindouf, Algeria [email protected]
Religious liberty endangered by French Draft Law Against “Separatism”
France has a serious problem with radical Islam, but the draft law against “separatism” announced by President Macron may create more problems than it claims to solve. This is the conclusion of a “White Paper” co-authored or endorsed by well-known scholars of new religious movements Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist and managing director of CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions) and Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, from the University of Bordeaux, French lecturer in law Frédéric-Jérôme Pansier, human rights activists Willy Fautré, of Brussels-based Human Rights Without Frontiers, and Alessandro Amicarelli, human rights attorney in London and chairperson of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB).
“Eradicating the social roots of terrorism is a laudable purpose“, say the members of the task force who is launching the White Paper, “and some provisions of the draft law make sense, but there are also serious problems.”
First, the law is being proposed and publicized by some politicians and media with disturbing accents implying that only an “Islam des Lumières,” an Enlightenment-style Islam, is accepted in France, where all conservative Muslims, i.e, the majority of Muslims in France and Europe, are suspected of extremism if not terrorism. “This“, the report says, “risks to fuel extremism rather than containing it.”
Second, the total ban on homeschooling punishes thousands of French parents who are not Muslim, and in most cases do not even decide to educate their children at home for religious reasons. Several sociological studies have concluded that homeschooling is a legitimate form of education and may give good results. “Islamic ultra-fundamentalism“, the authors state, “appears in homeschooling in a tiny minority of cases, and may be controlled or eliminated through adequate controls rather than by banning the practice altogether.”
Third, there is a speedy procedure for dissolving religious organizations deemed to operate against “human dignity” or use not only physical but also “psychological pressures.” This, the White Paper says, is standard jargon used against the so-called “cults” and in fact some French politicians have already announced that the law will be used to “dissolve hundreds of cults” (called in France sectes).
Rather than relying on the pseudo-scientific notions of “brainwashing” or “psychological control,” the White Paper suggests, the law should focus on the “criminal religious movements” (a label several scholars prefer to the elusive “cults” or sectes) that use physical violence or commit common crimes. And, the report adds, the defense of “human dignity” may not lead to violate the corporate freedom of religious bodies, for example when they decide whom to admit or to expel, or suggests that their current members do not associate with those who have been expelled. The White Paper quotes several court decisions stating that excommunication and “ostracism” are part of religious liberty, as religions have the right to take decisions about their own organizations.
Fourth, the reference to places of worship unduly used to spread “hostility to the laws of the Republic” should not mean that sermons should not be free to criticize laws they regard as unjust. Religion has always had the prophetic function of criticizing laws deemed as unfair, which is different from inciting to violence.
“We understand“, the authors explain, “that France has its own tradition and history of laïcité, and our purpose is not to suggest that France should adopt the American model of religious liberty, or the Italian model of cooperation between religion and the state. On the contrary, our aim is to find ways to address, within rather than outside the French legal tradition, legitimate concerns about radicalization and terrorism, without infringing on the rights of religious minorities or breaching France’s international human rights obligations.”
https://www.cesnur.org/2020/separatism-religion-and-cults.htm
New Caliph Erdogan irritates European Union
Turkey has intensified tensions with France in recent months over the fighting in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh
Pakistan is running from pillar to post crying all the way against Islamophobia. The PTI government, propped up by Pakistani Army, prolongs its life along borrowed times, garnering alibi from Islamophobia, to India’s alleged ‘interference’ in Afghanistan to French action on Islamists. To the fear-widened eyes of Pakistan, India looks much bigger than what its hair-brained PM can ever conceptualise.
Recently, an Islamic terrorist slit the throat of teacher, Samuel Paty, in France when he was teaching religious tolerance in school. The French society is totally shaken and agitated over the incident. Responding to people’s angst against the gruesome killing, French President Emmanuel Macron came out with a slew of measures against Islamic terror, highlighting the problems created by radical Muslims in France who practice Islamist separatism.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the new self-declared Caliph of the Islamic Caliphate, jumped into the fray. He questioned the mental state of Macron stating he has lost his way and needed his head examined. Continuing on the offensive, he called on Muslim nations to come to the assistance of Muslims in France. Erdogan accused the European leaders of conducting anti-Islam policies, and branded them as fascists who are the link in the Nazi chain. Erdogan also railed against France for condoning caricatures of the Prophet. Turkey has intensified tensions with France in recent months over the fighting in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.
When Erdogan joined the melee, how could Imran, widely known as the Taliban Khan for supporting terror, and third-fiddle to China and Turkey, stay away? Imran accused Macron of fanning Islamophobia. Later on, Pakistani Parliament passed a resolution condemning French action.
This diversion came as the God-sent opportunity to Imran as he is getting meticulously roasted by political agitation at home. He could not have found a better time to arouse Islamic jihad to distract public opinion.
France announced recalling its ambassador from Turkey for consultations. The French Presidential Office noted that the Turkish called for a boycott of French products. The move adds a further layer of economic ramifications to the deepening diplomatic tussle.
The development raised tensions between the European Union and Turkey. The EU Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, slammed Erdogan’s comments as unacceptable and urged Turkey to stop this dangerous spiral of confrontation. Several EU officials also harshly criticised Erdogan’s comments.
The bloc’s executive arm, the European Commission, asked the Turkish leader to change his approach unless he wants to derail the bloc’s attempts at renewed dialogue with Turkey.
European Council President Charles Michel blamed Turkey for resorting to provocations, unilateral actions in the Mediterranean and now insults. At early October Summit, the EU Member States agreed to review Turkey’s behaviour in December. If Erdogan continues with provocations, the EU could slap sanctions.
EU Spokesman Peter Stano indicated that there could be an urgent meeting of the EU Ministers at the earliest in view of Erdogan’s latest comments. The EU expects a clear change in action and declarations from the Turkish side. There would be many discussions to decide whether to wait or take action. Turkey still remains a very important partner for the 27-nation bloc and confrontation benefits none.
Several EU Member States leaders rallied around France in Macron’s spat with Erdogan. Dutch Prime Minister Rutte stood with France for the freedom of speech and against extremism and radicalism. Germany reiterated its solidarity with France in the fight against Islamic extremists. German Foreign Minister described Erdogan’s insults of Macron as a new low point.
Pakistan and Turkey are befooling Islamic world by falsely projecting themselves as champion of Muslim nations especially when they maintain absolute silence on persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Chinese concentration camps.
Islam is yet to learn how to co-exist peacefully with other religions, hence taking cudgels and causing troubles to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Shias and Ahmadiyya. Events unfolding in Xinjiang, Rakhine, and Sri Lanka prove that only Buddhists have cracked the code of tackling the Islamists. If Chinese way is the only way to handle Islamists, that will be unfortunate. A country like India with cultural pedigree of tolerance for thousands of years can’t cough up requisite levels of violence to tackle the menace.
Hidden from public view, China has unleashed untold sufferings on Uyghur Muslims. They are barred from performing Namaz or keeping Muhammad as name! Nobody opens the mouth, least of all the self-proclaimed Islamists like Erdogan and Imran who are wrongly fixated on denial of mobile network to Kashmiri Muslims! Strange protagonists. Funny narratives!
Photo Credit : Getty Images
UN75: UNYA, NEKOTECH PETITION PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO TO INITIATE ECOWAS-MIDDLE EAST MULTILATERAL LABOUR MIGRATION DIALOGUE
“DEADLY WORK OR DECENT WORK?” BOOK AUTHOR, H.E. REV. DR. OCANSEY, PRESENTS ROADMAP FOR AFRICA TO MAKE A SHIFT FROM DEADLY TO DECENT WORK AT UN75 CELEBRATION
#UN75: HUMAN RIGHTS, GENDER ISSUES, DECENT WORK AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT ACCORDING TO UN RESOLUTION 2250 MUST FIND ITS SECURE PLACE AT THE CENTER OF MULTILATERAL DIPLOMACY IN THIS COVID19 ERA AND BEYOND.”— H.E. REV DR. OCANSEY
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA, November 1, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — At the just ended UN75 celebration in Accra, the UNYA-Ghana, #Enddeadlywork Coalition and the Nekotech Center for Labour Migration Diplomacy jointly made a seven point petition to Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, read by the world renowned Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh and the African Union Migration Expert and international best selling authour of “Deadly Work or Decent Work?”, H.E. Rev. Dr. Ocansey.
The petition singled out and prioritised an ECOWAS-Middle East Labour Migration Multilateral Dialogue inorder to make a shift from deadly to decent work for African women domestic workers. For those working in the Middle Eastern globally criticised slave-like employment system, Kafala – Covid19, coupled with the explosion in Lebanon has exacerbated the issue, making a bad situation, more deadly than ever before!
Over two thousand young women were recently rescued from Lebanon by the Government of Ghana. Thousands of African Women are currently stranded in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern kafala practicing nations from countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and others – are all faced with domestic workers who are now stranded, sick and suffering in Lebanon and other countries like Oman.
The “Deadly Work or Decent Work?” book, which was presented at the UN75 event, gave a shocking revelation of this kafala system, but also pointed to other Middle Eastern decent work employment systems plus a ten key roadmap African Governments can pursue to make the shift from deadly to decent work.
Dr. Ocansey indicated that the Bilateral agreements signed with kafala practicing receiving countries do not provide adequate protection once the domestic workers enter into the homes of their employers in the Middle East. Rape, sexual harrassment and abuse, may still happen under kafala Bilateral agreements. It is best to abolish Kafala like the UAE and Qatar have done, with Saudi Arabia being next, after announcing their plans to abolish kafala.
“Covid19 has taught us that our challenges are interconnected and can be best addressed through effective multilateralism,” said Dr. Ocansey.
“At the UN 75 meeting this year, Member States all agreed that multilateralism is not an option but a necessity, to build back better for a more equal, more resilient, and more sustainable world. We therefore petition H.E. President Nana Akufo-Addo, as Chair of ECOWAS, to initiate this long overdue ECOWAS/AFRICA-Middle East Multilateral Labour Migration Dialogue Platform, much like the Abu Dhabi Dialogue and the Colombo Process, which are doing well to help Asians have much better outcomes with the Gulf States/Middle East Labour Migration,” she concluded.
The highlights of the UN75 celebration was a UN Flag ceremony by the youth of the UNYA-Ghana and some of the returnees from Lebanon, as well as a highly spirited and emotionally charged Presidential and Diplomatic Award Ceremony. President Akufo-Addo was honoured with “Champion of Migrant Women’s Decent Work Award”, which was was received by Honourable Cynthia M. Morrison, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection on behalf of the President. The award was presented by H.E. Rev. Dr. A.K. Ocansey and Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh.
The other awardee was H.E. Ambassador Dr. Winfred Nii Okai Hammond, Ghana’s Ambassador to Egypt, with concurrent assignment to Lebanon, Sudan and Palestine. Ambassador Hammond was awarded the “Distinguished Diplomatic Service Award” for his outstanding rescue mission which saved the lives of over two thousand women from Lebanon. The award was presented by H.E. Lillian Addo, UNYA Country Head and Bishop Peter Kojo Sackey, UNYA-Ghana, founder.
Sheila, one of the domestic workers rescued from Lebanon, was among the women who were screaming uncontrollably, when Ambassador Hammond was given his award. Sheila said: “I may not be alive, if it had not been for this Ambassador,” she said with tears of joy in her eyes.
“My friend Patience, worked for nearly two years without any pay. The Lebanese family sent her to prison for three months when she asked for the rest of the salary owed her which amounted to three thousand US dollars. Now she is back in Ghana penniless. After being sexually harrassed and abused, many have nothing to show for it. This is a great injustice! We are so grateful to the UNYA-GHANA, Enddeadlywork Coalition and NEKOTECH for this petition! If it works we will be able to have a good life in Ghana and we will never dream of going overseas again! For now, we will be on our knees praying!” she said smiling.
Africa has multilateral migration platforms with Europe, and the Middle East has Multilateral platforms with Asia, but Africa and the Middle East are yet to have a multilateral labour migration platform. With the excellent leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo, the ECOWAS region is uniquely positioned to lead Africa in this much needed Multilateral platform with the Middle East.
The UNYA-Ghana is a not for profit member based association of over 10,000 youth. The UNYA-Ghana was founded by Bishop Peter Kojo Sackey. H.E. Lillian Addo is the Country Head with Evangelist Safo as the head of operations.
The Nekotech Center is a not for profit NGO founded by the late USA mega star, Mr. Isaac Hayes and H.E. Rev Dr Ocansey. Nekotech Center is a Center of Excellence for Labour Migration and provides advisory services and workshops to African Governments.
The #Enddeadlywork Coalition is made up of over 25,000 high level activists and institutions globally, headed by USA seasoned human rights activist, Mr. Joel Seagal with Rev. Rod Sadler heading up the Inter-faith movement.
The book, “Deadly Work or Decent Work?” is available on amazon: https://amzn.to/30jM8Hm
Mr. Emma Broni
Nekotech Center for Labour Migration Diplomacy
TEN KEYS TO MAKING THE SHIFT: DEADLY WORK TO DECENT WORK
The Library Book and The Lilac Girls
Today was our monthly book club and it could not have been a more beautiful day to sit outside and discuss our book.
The book this month was The Library Book by Susan Orlean.
It is not a book any of us would have chosen to read on our own, and at least one was not sure she could get through it, but she persevered. The majority were glad they read it and learned a lot about the inner workings of a library. The book focuses on the history of the main library in Los Angeles. In April 1986 the library had a fire which destroyed thousands of books but damaged many more. Once books caught fire, it was hard to contain, taking over 7 hours to put out. By that time, a lot of damage was done. Cindy bought Inferno wine to keep with our fire theme!
The story moved back and forth from the fire, to cleaning out the library, restoring the books, and an arson investigation, to a story line recounting the history of the Los Angeles public library dating back to its inception. Parts of the story were fascinating; some were a bit detracting. When I first started reading, I thought it was going to be a hard book to read, but once I got into it, it moved at a quick pace. The arson investigation and the main suspect story line were the least interesting to me. The author had a lot of animosity towards the suspect, and had nothing nice to say about him or any of his family or associates. She paints a bleak picture and you are pretty certain this guy is guilty. Then almost at the end, she totally recounts and says she doesn’t think it was arson after all. Pretty confusing. One member thought she used the story line of arson to keep readers interested to read to the end to see who did it. I hadn’t thought of that. Many of us thought this part of the book was the weakest.
As a huge library fan myself, I enjoyed reading about the history of libraries across the country and even the world. Would I say this is a must read, no, but if you like non-fiction and libraries, you may want to read it.
My other book club met via zoom earlier in the month
and we discussed the Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. While the book is fiction, it was based on many true stories, which she embellished a bit. It is a World War II book focusing on three women with very different lives. One is a socialist in NY, Caroline Ferraday who was a real person who worked tirelessly both during and after the war. At first her efforts were to help send supplies to orphanages in France to help the children torn from their families. After the war, she works to help reunite families, and then helps a group of Polish women who were victims of the Ravensbrook Concentration Camp. This story line really happened. Another character is Herta Oberheuser a real-life German doctor who ended up working in the concentration camp, doing atrocious things. The third character was a young Polish woman named Kasia Kuzmerick. This character was a composite of several of the women who ended up in Ravensbrook undergoing experimental surgeries which left many of them maimed for life. The group of Polish women who were operated on were collectively called “the Rabbits” because many of them had to hop on one leg after surgery, and because they were human guinea pigs. It was a hard book to read because of the horrid conditions they had to endure. The book covers their lives before the war, during the war, and then after the war. The one thing most of us agreed on was that the lead character Caroline Ferraday was marginalized in her story line. Instead of focusing on her heroic acts, the story line centers more on her romantic entanglement with a married Frenchman. In reading about Caroline after I read the book, there is no mention of any romance. I think it took away from the story. Also the title was totally misleading, along with the cover of the book.
I thought it was going to be a story of how three women were brought together with some connection of lilacs. While they are interconnected in some ways, Caroline and the doctor never meet, and the lilacs from Caroline’s home were important to her but really not the story. I had never heard about the rabbits, and I did learn some things, but I would not recommend the book to anyone else. One member liked it, the others all learned something but found it hard to read in parts.
We had great discussions on both books. Now on to more books. For my online book club we are reading Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig. My in person book club is off until January when we will discuss Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard.
