As of today, all the smart bars and taverns on Mykonos will have to close at midnight, and at all other hours social distancing and mask-wearing will be required. And the all-night partying in luxurious villas, where to get in would cost maybe a thousand euros, had been halted.
The move comes after weeks of official fury at television and social media images of masses of people packing the bars and beaches, in defiance of the rules, taking no precautions whatsoever. Mykonos’ small police force has proved inadequate to cope with the situation.
Cases of Covid-19 in Greece are rising again, with about 220 deaths so far and more than 6,000 infections since the pandemic began. Crowded islands such as Mykonos have been blamed for the spike. Local bar owners and hoteliers are howling their protests that business will take a fatal hit.
India’s Catholic community has been urged “to strengthen its solidarity with the poor”, who are considered “useless objects” in the eyes of today’s economic system.
The call was made by Archbishop Felix Machado of Vasai Diocese, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), who inaugurated the annual general body meeting of the All India Catholic Union (AICU) in Mumbai on Sunday.
“We should not treat the poor as insignificant non-persons without any rights and an obstacle to society. It is a matter of concern and we must understand their plight and treat them equally,” Archbishop Machado said in a webinar that was hosted in keeping with the Covid-19 protocols.
Founded in 1919, the AICU is the oldest lay Catholic organization of India. In a press release on Tuesday, it noted that participants expressed concerns over the plight of the poor, the digital divide in society, attacks on minority rights and the Indian government’s “worrisome” New Education Policy (NEP).
In his address, Archbishop Machado explained, “due to globalization, millions of poor people are considered as useless objects and are used and thrown away by the economic system”. In this regard, he recalled Saint Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis who have urged that the foreign debt of poor countries, manipulated by creditors with taxes and interest, be written off.
Indian and Christian at the same time
Archbishop Machado dismissed allegations of “vested interests” that question the patriotism of India’s Christians. “We are Indians and at the same time Christians,” he said, stressing the two cannot be separated.
At the same time, the Church promotes dialogue with all, irrespective of their religious affiliations, to foster values of peace, justice and freedom so that everyone’s rights are respected.
“We need to collaborate not only with other Christian denominations but also with civil society and like-minded people of all faiths,” the AICU statement said.
Concerns
The AICU meeting noted that the government’s New Education Policy has created apprehension in the country’s Christian community. The CBCI and AICU have demanded continuing consultations on the NEP and assurances that it will not violate the rights of states or religious minorities and will ensure adequate budgetary provisions for universal education.
The meeting also touched upon issues such as threats faced by the Catholic Church from religious fundamentalists, changes in laws related to the environment and the need for a concerted response from the CBCI and the AICU to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Humanitarian worker Aron Kassahun Aregay joined the WHO Country Office in Ukraine in late 2019. From having worked as an epidemiologist in numerous emergency settings on the African continent, he was now in charge of information management, coordinating the health cluster response in the eastern conflict areas.
“The challenges I witnessed in Ukraine were somewhat different from what I had experienced in other settings. In Ukraine, I see elderly people and people with disabilities struggle the most, being isolated with limited capacity to face the challenges of this humanitarian crisis,” Aron explains.
“COVID-19 has increased their difficulties and suffering, and of course the sufferings of all affected people in the conflict areas. For us humanitarian workers, COVID-19 has undoubtedly added to the existing challenges.”
In protracted emergencies, such as the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, lack of access to essential health services is one of the biggest challenges for people living in emergency settings. The health system in eastern Ukraine was in a fragile state already before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many health-care workers had left the region, and health facilities had been neglected for years.
“WHO’s core principle not only to assist people who are in crisis, but also support and sustain the existing health-care system, is at the centre of our work as humanitarians,” says Aron. “We provide technical trainings to health-care professionals and help deliver life-saving equipment.”
With COVID-19, Aron soon found his tasks broadened. Supporting the Incident Management System, he initially disseminated information about COVID-19 to all partners working in the east; advocating, preparing and aligning all response activities; shifting the priority of all the humanitarian actors in the eastern conflict area to plan and prepare for the outbreak.
Now Aron is leading one of the major pillars in the COVID-19 response with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme in Ukraine, that of health information, epidemiology (surveillance) and contact tracing – working in close collaboration with other response pillars. His work also covers predictive modelling of the outbreak and assessing health system readiness to cope with potential surges of new infection. “For me, being a humanitarian means that your ultimate goal is to save lives at any cost. Whether in the eastern conflict areas or any other areas with emergencies, in whatever context, whether during a pandemic or not,” says Aron.
“We don’t take sides in a conflict or political crisis and we maintain a neutral position in all situations we are faced with,” Aron explains. “Impartiality is one of the most important things in crisis and emergency response. Those who are most in need should be the first to receive help and support. You kind of have to be a conscious and compassionate superhero.”
World Humanitarian Day
World Humanitarian Day, observed each year on 19 August, comes as the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Aid workers are overcoming unprecedented challenges to assist people in humanitarian crises in 54 countries all over the world, all with their specific environments, challenges and hurdles.
World Humanitarian Day is dedicated to recognizing the work of humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes.
A much anticipated summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe is scheduled to take place next month.
The summit would witness the signing of the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA). The meeting that comes at a time when India and china are locked in a face-off is likely to take place on September 10.
The Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) statute (formerly known as “NATO Mutual Support Act”) was enacted to simplify exchanges of logistic support, supplies, and services between the United States and other NATO forces.
At the end of the bilateral summit meeting in Tokyo between the two leaders in 2018, both countries agreed to begin formal negotiations on the ACSA. This would allow the Indian military and the Japan Self Defence Force to use each other’s bases for logistic support. “The two leaders welcomed the joint exercise between each of the three services and the commencement of negotiations on the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), which will enhance the strategic depth of bilateral security and defense cooperation,” the joint statement read.
The ACSA would permit the Indian Navy access to a Japanese base in Djibouti. The Japan Maritime Self Defence Force would be permitted to use India’s military installations on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands located in the Indian Ocean.
The ACSA was first discussed during the annual India-Japan Defence Ministerial Dialogue held at New Delhi in August 2018. It was also on the agenda of the Indian National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval and his Japanese counterpart, Shotaro Yachi held at New Delhi in September 2018.
The joint statement by the Prime Ministers also said, “recognizing that enhanced exchanges in expanding maritime domain awareness (MDA) in the Indo-Pacific region contributes to regional peace and stability, they welcomed the signing of the Implementing Arrangement for deeper cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).”
The meeting of Modi and Abe is important also in the context with the tensions with China. The issue regarding the Chinese would figure in the talks. The expansion drive by China is not just limited to Ladakh. It has also caused concerns for Japan over the ownership of the Senaku Islands. Abe too is under pressure from his Cabinet to take a tough stance on China.
China’s territorial hunger and thirst of strategic expansions has ruffled the wrong feathers not just with India but also countries sharing the waters of East China Sea. Japan, for instance, has been fairly a global player since the World War but the tables have considerably turned in these 75 years.
There’s a storm brewing and China is once again at the centre of it, guiding the wind and steering the vessel. Only this time it’s not India.
East China Sea is a crucial stretch of contention between China and Japan and the Red Dragon’s advancements and disputed claims over the Senkaku/ Diaoyu islands could possibly spark a new political tension in Asia in the coming years.
While China shares its borders (land and sea) with 14 countries, it is at loggerheads with most of them, including islands such as Taiwan.
Tensions around the East China Sea stretch, roughly 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometres) southwest of Tokyo, have been brimming for years. With both countries claiming over the region for hundreds of years, neither Japan nor China is expected to pull their mast down over the territory which is considered “a national birthright” in both Beijing and Tokyo, according to CNN.
Both claim authority over the uninhabited islands, known as the Diaoyus in China and the Senkakus in Japan, but Japan has administered the area since 1972.
Ecuador’s indigenous communities are calling on the judicial system to hold the government and oil companies accountable for the damage caused by an oil spill in early April.
Catholic leaders from across Latin America and from other parts of the globe joined in that appeal with a letter expressing support for their plight.
On 7 April 2020, a landslide burst three pipelines carrying crude oil along the Coca River.
Over 16,000 barrels of oil spilled into the river, washing downstream and polluting vast tracts of land.
The pipelines are managed by state-run oil company Petroecuador and a private company, Heavy Crude Pipeline (OCP).
The resulting environmental damage hit Ecuador’s indigenous communities hardest, due to their heavy reliance on sustenance fishing and hunting in the affected area.
Wide range of Catholic leaders
Now, months later, judicial hearings resumed to discover who was responsible for the disaster.
A group of 117 Catholic leaders sent an amicus brief to the judge overseeing the case. In it they present relevant information and arguments for consideration.
The letter’s signatories include Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso, two Archbishops, 42 Bishops, and a wide complement of religious superiors and directors of lay organizations.
Unhindered exploitation
“As people of faith,” the letter reads, “we call attention to one of the most urgent moral questions with which we are confronted today in the Amazon region of Latin America.”
The Catholic leaders say the Ecuador disaster “is sadly only one of many recent examples in a long history of ecological and human health crises that are the result of the unhindered extraction and exploitation of natural resources.”
They explain their desire to “defend and promote human rights as both a social duty and a demand arising out of faith.”
Reparation and prevention
Defending the rights of indigenous communities, say Catholic leaders, includes “condemning extractive destruction and encouraging states to fulfill their obligations in this regard.”
“May justice be done,” they urge, calling for “comprehensive and urgent measures to repair the harm done to the communities and ecosystems damaged by the oil spill.”
Preventative strategies must be put in place, conclude Catholic leaders, “so that serious incidents such as these are never repeated in Ecuador or in any other Amazonian nation.”
Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced his resignation hours after he and Prime Minister, Boubou Cisse were detained by mutinous soldiers.
Both Mali’s 75-year-old President and Prime Minister were seized on Tuesday in the capital city, Bamako. This followed months of massive protests calling for Keita to step down three years before the end of this second term as president.
Keita announced his resignation on Tuesday night via national broadcaster ORTM, explaining he had little choice but to stand down to avoid bloodshed. He also dissolved the country’s national assembly and government.
“For seven years, I have with great joy and happiness tried to put this country on its feet,” Keita said. “If today some people from the armed forces have decided to end it by their intervention, do I have a choice? I should submit to it because I do not want any blood to be shed.”
Following his announcement, the UN security council scheduled a closed meeting for Wednesday to discuss the unfolding situation in the West African country.
Mali has been mired in political troubles in recent months as President Boubacar Keita has come under increased pressure from the opposition Rassemblement des forces patriotiques (M5 RFP) to resign.
Keita became president in 2013 and was re-elected in 2018. However, his second term has been overshadowed with allegations of corruption, incompetence and mismanagement of the economy.
Recent protests were sparked by a controversial ruling of the country’s Constitutional Court to overturn the results of 31 parliamentary elections which took place in March, in favor of President Keita’s party. Since protests began in June, at least 14 people have been killed according to the United Nations.
Pressure from protesters moved Keita to announce a reshuffle of the country’s Constitutional Court last month.
Peace efforts
In July, opposition party M5 RFP rejected a proposal by a delegation from the Economic Community of West-African States (ECOWAS) calling for the resignation of the 31 disputed members of parliament, and for fresh parliamentary elections to be held. ECOWAS also called for the creation of a unity government that would include members of the opposition insisting that Keita not be forced to resign.
Religious leaders also have been vocal in their appeals for peace in the nation. Following the increasingly violent protests last month, the Archbishop of Bamako, Cardinal Jean Zerbo, the president of the Islamic High Council, Cherif Ousmane Madani Haidara and the president of the Association of Evangelical Protestant Church Groups and Mission in Mali (AGEMPEM), Reverend Nouh Ag InfaYattara called for calm and reconciliation among the citizens.
Cardinal Zerbo, in his appeal to the nation, said the nation did not deserve what was happening to it and mourned the deaths of the people killed during the protests.
AU, EU, UN react
World and regional leaders have also condemned the forced resignation of Keita.
The European Union also condemned the insurrection. In a statement on Tuesday, the block said that it “strongly condemns the coup attempt underway in Mali and rejects any unconstitutional changes. This can in no way be a response to the deep socio-political crisis that has bit Mali for several months.”
Also, Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat issued a statement calling for the release of Keita, the Prime Minister, and other members of the government. He also “strongly rejects any attempt at the unconstitutional change of government in Mali and calls on the mutineers to cease all recourse to violence.”
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not only “exposed the plight of the poor and the serious inequality that reigns in the world,” but even exacerbated them, Pope Francis said at the Wednesday General Audience.
Continuing his catechesis on “Healing the World,” the Holy Father said our response to the pandemic must be twofold: “finding a cure for this small but terrible virus,” but also curing “a larger virus, that of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalisation, and lack of protection for the weakest.”
In meeting that challenge, he said, we must always keep in mind the “preferential option for the poor.” This is not a political, ideological, or partisan option, he said. Rather, “the preferential option for the poor is at the centre of the Gospel.”
Following the example of Jesus, the Pope said, Christians “are recognised by their closeness to the poor, the least, the sick and the imprisoned, the excluded and the forgotten, those without food and clothing.” This, he said, “is a key criterion of Christian authenticity.” And he emphasised that it is not the duty only of a few, but of every Christian: “It is the mission of the Church as a whole.”
The preference for the poor is rooted in the virtues of faith, hope and love. Going beyond the bare necessities, “it implies walking together, allowing ourselves be evangelized by [the poor], who know the suffering Christ well, letting ourselves be ‘infected’ by their experience of salvation, their wisdom, and creativity.”
Going to the peripheries
Closeness to the poor, said Pope Francis, also implies working to overcome the “unhealthy social structures,” as we strive to return normality in the aftermath of the pandemic.
This “normality,” however, should not include returning to “social injustices and the degradation of the environment” that marks contemporary society, the Pope said. He lamented an economy focused on profits over people, arguing that “the preferential option for the poor, this ethical-social need that comes from God’s love, inspires us to conceive of and design an economy where people, and especially the poorest, are at the centre.”
Prioritising those who have greatest need
Similarly, as treatments for the coronavirus become more widely available, society should prioritise those who have the greatest need, rather than those who have the most money, the Pope insisted. “How sad it would be if, for the Covid-19 vaccine, priority were to be given to the richest.”
Pope Francis also warned against the “scandal” of directing economic assistance during the pandemic primarily to “industries that do not contribute to the inclusion of the excluded, the promotion of the least, the common good, or the care of creation” – which he proposed as four criteria for determining which industries should be helped.
Changing the world
Looking ahead, Pope Francis said, “if the virus were to intensify again in a world that is unjust to the poor and vulnerable, then we must change the world.”
Pointing to the example of Jesus, “the doctor of integrated divine love,” the Holy Father said, “we must act now, to heal the epidemics caused by the small, invisible viruses, and to heal those caused by the serious and visible social injustices.”
Pope Francis proposed to accomplish this “by starting from the love of God, placing the peripheries at the centre and those who are least in first place.”
“Starting from this love anchored in hope and founded in faith, a healthier world will be possible.”
SAVANNAH, United States — Parent University, a Baha’i-inspired organization in the United States, is drawing on its decades-long experience of promoting racial equality in Savannah, Georgia, to foster greater societal unity at a time of heightened consciousness in the country about racial prejudice. The organization is building bridges between community members and representatives of local government, including the mayor and the chief of police, by hosting constructive online discussion spaces to explore issues of equality and justice.
“The issues facing the community can be resolved through an attitude of learning,” says Michael O’Neal, executive director of the organization. “Parent University emerged more than 20 years ago—at another moment of tension over racial inequalities in Savannah’s education system—as a way of connecting parents, city and school officials, and other community members in a learning environment where we could apply the principle of Baha’i consultation instead of the oppositional attitude that had led to impasse.” In such gatherings, the perspectives of diverse members of the community are heard in order to reach consensus on action.
Parent University now runs educational programs that allow parents and teachers to regularly consult on issues facing their community, often with the participation of school administration and the municipal government.
Within days of the eruption of unrest across the country over police violence toward African-American citizens, the organization invited Savannah’s chief of police to an online discussion with members of the public. Acknowledging that the concerns of community members were shared by officials helped to create the mutual understanding needed for a constructive conversation to take place. “I am appalled and disturbed by what I’m seeing,” said Police Chief Roy Minter. “I wear this uniform to work, but I live every day as an African-American male, so I never, never forget where I came from, I never forget what I’ve gone through…”
Subsequent conversations have strengthened a sense of shared purpose among different segments of society toward improving systems of public safety.
“We know that crisis brings creativity and opportunity,” said Mayor Van Johnson at a recent discussion hosted by Parent University. He observed that opportunities were now being created for decision-making to include “people who have never been at the table before.”
The mayor and the chief of police highlighted the critical role that Parent University plays in enabling close engagement between parents and local institutions and between diverse segments of the community that would otherwise rarely interact. “It is important for us to be on a call like this and to continue using numerous avenues to improve relationships, but also with the youth in our communities,” said Police Chief Minter.
Looking to the future, Mr. O’Neal speaks of the transformation that is needed in the relationships between different social actors. “Attitudes of conflict and opposition are not how we will get rid of racism. We must establish collaborative and inclusive relationships among individuals, communities, and institutions of society based in the realization of humanity’s oneness.”
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s largest democracy. Home to approximately 200 million people, it is blessed with abundant human and natural resources, with a rich mix of over 250 ethnic groups and over 500 spoken languages.
Recently, however, northern Nigeria has seen increased instances of violent attacks and escalating acts of terrorism. The southern part of Kaduna state, in particular, has been the epicenter of a rash of attacks, with at least three occurring in July alone. Nigeria’s northeastern region has also been plagued by terrorist attacks carried out by the extremist Boko haram organization, which has killed thousands and displaced approximately two million people. These various factors, coupled with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, make for a grim situation.
In an interview with Vatican News, Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi, the board chairman of the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety), spoke on the situation in northern Nigeria, stressing the need for a government for everyone irrespective of ethnicity or religion.
Born in 1969, Emeka Umeagbalasi is a graduate of security studies and holds a Master’s degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. He is also a human rights activist and the convener of the Coalition of Human Rights and Democracy Organizations (SBCHROs), a group of over twenty rights and democracy organizations in Southeast Nigeria. Mr. Umeagbalasi is also a Catholic.
Pope Francis, at the Angelus address on Saturday, 15 August, prayed for Nigeria in the wake of the violence and killings in the north of the country.
The Nigerian Bishops’ Conference (CBCN), in a statement dated 8 August, said that they are “tired of this situation” of increasing insecurity, especially in southern Kaduna. They called for a stop to the killings in the country, and urged all Christians to join in a 40-day prayer of one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be to the Father each day, ending on 1 October – Nigeria’s Independence Day.
Interview with Emeka Umeagbalasi
Disproportionate Christian casualties
“Nigeria is a country of roughly fifty percent Muslim and fifty percent Christians,” Umeagbalasi pointed out, adding that the country also has a multiplicity of ethnicities. It is therefore expected to be “governed secularly and pluralistically.”
However, said Umeagbalasi, the attacks from the Boko haram militants, Fulani herdsmen, and other terrorist groups in the region “have destroyed over 17,000 churches since 2009.”
To remedy this, the current government administration has to examine its very foundations and corporate motives, as to whether it has “come to govern everybody irrespective of the citizens’ religion and ethnicity,” he said.
“The government can rewind,” he stated. “The government can go back to the drawing board and start from the foundation, reorganizing the entire establishment to give it a true picture of a pluralistic Nigeria.” For this to happen, he explained, no faction should be given preferential treatment by the government.
Umeagbalasi also lauded the Pope’s recent fatherly gesture of praying for Nigeria, saying that “it means that the Pope is not oblivious of what is going on in Nigeria.”
Southern Kaduna attacks
Kaduna state, the focal point of recent attacks, straddles Nigeria’s religious and ethnic divide.
Northern Kaduna is predominantly Muslim and Hausa-Fulani, while the south is largely Christian and populated by several ethnic groups. Relations between the North and South have been strained, owing largely to competition over resources and tensions of a political nature. Unfortunately, these tensions have sometimes resulted in violence.
The spate of recent attacks, according to Umeagbalasi, are part of a bigger picture. He pointed out that, while the focus of recent attacks is presently southern Kaduna, other states have also suffered violent attacks. He gave the example of Plateau and Benue states where he says 158 and 152 people have been killed respectively. “Even Igboland where Christianity is concentrated is not spared,” he added.
Umeagbalasi pointed out that for the violence to end in northern Nigeria, the government has to evenly distribute “the composition and concentration of all the public security and policing structures,” and not put them in the hands of members of one ethnic group or religion.
“Kaduna is composed of roughly sixty percent Muslims and forty percent Christians,” Umeagbalasi said. Therefore, it would be expected that “all these particular socio/cultural factors are reflected” in state government and security.
Intersociety
The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) was founded in 2008 with the vision of campaigning “vigorously for the promotion and advancement of democracy, accountable governance, rule of law, civil liberties and public security and safety.”
Mr. Umeagbalasi said he hopes the organization he leads will become a formidable voice with the capacity to represent effectively what is going on in the country “on the local, national and international level.”
