The UN was asking for $11.1 billion dollars – its largest appeal worldwide – to support Syrians inside the country and those displaced in the broader region, Mr. Guterres said.
By the end of the conference, donors announced €5.6 billion in grants, tweeted the UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi, reiterating that pledges must “translate into tangible contributions for Syrians inside the country, those on the move and the countries hosting them.
Only about a tenth of the necessary funding for 2023 has been secured so far and needs are sky-high, after a devastating earthquake in February compounded suffering brought on by more than a decade of war.
Nearly the entire population of the country lives below the poverty line. Mr. Guterres warned that there was “no time to spare”, as aid will run out for 2.5 million Syrians next month, for lack of financing.
Political solution sorely needed
Mr. Guterres also reiterated his call for a sustainable political solution to the conflict that would involve all Syrians.
“We must chart a path forward for the Syrian people to find a degree of stability and a measure of hope for the future”, he said, stressing that this required progress towards “credible and comprehensive” negotiations, in line with Security Council resolution 2254. Adopted in December 2015, the resolution drew up a road map for a peace process in Syria.
Displaced children stand in front of their family’s tent in an informal camp in southern Syria.
Status quo ‘unacceptable and unsustainable’
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, echoed this call, saying that it was urgent to renew the intra-Syrian political process, as the current situation in the country was “unacceptable and unsustainable”.
“Average Syrians have yet to see any dividend from diplomacy,” he deplored.
Mr. Pedersen also underscored the need to ensure humanitarian access “via all modalities, including cross-line and cross-border”. He joined Mr. Guterres in calling for a 12-month extension of the Security Council’s authorization for cross-border aid access from Türkiye into northwestern Syria, a lifeline for millions in the area.
Seven out of ten people in the country – more than 15 million in total – need humanitarian aid and protection, they said.
Some 12 million are food insecure, while one in four Syrian children are stunted and risk “irreversible damage” to their development.
Solidarity with refugees
The crisis has driven more than 13 million people to flee their homes, including 6.8 million Syrian refugees who escaped to neighbouring countries.
The UN leaders underscored the generosity of host countries in the region – Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Türkiye – in supporting the refugees.
They called for increased international solidarity with those countries as they find themselves “reeling from global economic pressures”.
The statement noted that conditions for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Türkiye have deteriorated in recent years, with nine in 10 refugees unable to cover their basic needs, while in Jordan almost two thirds were forced into debt.
The heads of UN agencies also highlighted the plight of Syrian refugee women and girls, who face widespread gender inequality and higher risks of violence.
Reflecting demographic changes in the EU since the 2019 elections, the report approved on Thursday asks for additional seats to be allocated as follows:
Spain +2 [61]
Netherlands +2 [31]
Austria +1 [20]
Denmark +1 [15]
Finland +1 [15]
Slovakia +1 [15]
Ireland +1 [14]
Slovenia +1 [9]
Latvia +1 [9]
Parliament’s composition is assessed before each election, in line with the principles set out in the Treaties (i.e. a maximum of 750 MEPs plus the President, no less than 6 and no more than 96 seats for any EU country, and the “degressive proportionality” principle), and based on the most recent population figures.
MEPs want to keep a reserve of 28 seats for members elected in a future Union-wide constituency, in line with Parliament’s proposal on the EU electoral law, which is awaiting progress in the Council. They warn that any further delay in the Council’s work on this reform would run against the principle of sincere cooperation, since the Council’s decision is expected to have an impact on the elections of the European Parliament and may also affect its composition.
The proposal for a European Council Decision was adopted with 316 votes for, 169 against, and 67 abstentions. The resolution accompanying the proposal was approved with 312 in favour, 201 against, and 44 abstentions. Roll call results will be available here.
Next steps
It is now up to the European Council to adopt a decision by unanimity, which would then require Parliament’s consent. MEPs underline the need to proceed swiftly, in order to give member states the time to make the necessary changes ahead of next year’s ballots, so it asks to be immediately informed if the European Council intends to deviate from the submitted proposal.
Quotes
Co-rapporteur Loránt VINCZE (EPP, RO) commented: “Out of the numerous proposals for seat distribution presented both in Committee and Plenary, Parliament today maintained the initial proposal we submitted with my co-rapporteur colleague. The solution is a balanced one and the least intrusive in the existing balance in citizen representation. It only adds the least amount of seats needed to comply with a strict interpretation of the degressive proportionality principle from the Treaties and only where these are objectively justified without resorting to cuts in case of any country. I am confident it has a high likelihood of meeting the European Council’s unanimous approval.”
Co-rapporteur Sandro GOZI (Renew, FR) said: “This is an important step towards a fairer Europe. Parliament’s composition goes hand in hand with the new European electoral law. Both are key to achieving elections in 2024 that are both more European and more representative. We urge the Council to accelerate negotiations, with a view to allocating 28 transnational seats to a pan-European constituency, and hope that the final decision, which will need our consent, will better take into account demographic developments, and in a more proportional way.”
As part of the ‘This is Europe’ debate series, President Christodoulides called for a united Europe capable of changing to secure its place in tomorrow’s world. “I am strongly convinced that the EU must be strategically autonomous, in areas such as security, energy, health”, he highlighted, to ensure it can face challenges effectively, thereby becoming a more valuable and an equal partner and ally.
Mr Christodoulides stressed that the EU needs to continue supporting Ukraine. It is a matter of principle “to ensure that the law of the jungle will not prevail”, he said, referring also to the almost half-a-century-long occupation of part of Cyprus by Türkiye. The high cost of the decisions to address the Russian aggression is worth shouldering, as peace in Europe has to be defended, he argued.
Eastern Mediterranean, Southern Neighbourhood, and migration
Cyprus, with its gas reserves and excellent relations with almost all its neighbours in the Eastern Mediterranean, can play a significant role in the energy crisis and the green transition by providing gas and hydrogen, he said. Electricity connections with Israel and Egypt currently in the pipeline will also be key. For these plans to succeed, a stable and secure environment is necessary, which requires the EU to continue being clear and firm in order to deter new provocations.
Speaking of the disproportionate burden that his country is shouldering in managing migratory flows, he urged for a Migration and Asylum Pact based on solidarity and responsibility, and which tackles the external aspects of migration.
Reunifying Cyprus
The Cypriot President reiterated the need for a comprehensive solution to the occupation of the northern part of the island, in line with international law, UN Security Council Resolutions and EU law, values and principles. Stressing that the occupation is “an open wound to the body of Europe”, he thanked Parliament for all its efforts and demanded more EU engagement, within the UN-centred framework for a solution based on Security Council resolutions. The Cyprus problem is a European problem that requires European solutions, “using all the political-economic instruments and tools” at the European Union’s disposal. Christodoulides also asked for the appointment of an EU envoy for the Cyprus problem to help break the current deadlock.
Reactions from MEPs
Highlighting their unanimous support for a peaceful reunification of Cyprus, several speakers also backed the proposal for the appointment of an EU envoy. Tackling illegal migration was central to the exchange, while the question of energy resources also featured prominently, in the geopolitical context and in light of the green transition.
Most MEPs condemned Türkiye’s continued occupation and provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean, with many speaking against its instrumentalisation of migrants. Many speakers called for a harder EU stance while some highlighted the importance of a solid strategic partnership with Türkiye.
In 2011, one of America’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles crashed. In 2013, a train accident in Paris killed seven. And in 2016, a Union Pacific train derailed in Mosier, Oregon, spilling 42,000 gallons of crude oil.
Keegan Moore, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, will use high speed cameras to capture the interface contact conditions — the surfaces the bolts hold together. Image credit:Craig Chandler | University Communication and Marketing
Those are just three dramatic examples of how one of the most vexing and little-understood phenomena of basic mechanics — the loosening of bolts over time — can create havoc. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Keegan Moore is studying how that happens and how it might be prevented with a five-year, $727,410 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program.
“Loose bolts aren’t just to blame for high-profile catastrophes; they’re a threat in everyday life, from playground equipment and cars to biomedical implants and the James Webb Space Telescope,” said Moore, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering.
Moore said that despite the ubiquity of bolts and screws in the infrastructure of all types, little is understood about how a structure’s dynamics can influence their loosening during normal operation.
“Bolt and joint loosening has been studied since the Industrial Revolution because it’s been a problem since then,” Moore said.
He’s hoping his research will answer some of those questions. He will focus on rotational loosening, which is caused by vibrations in structures.
Lock washers are the most common approach used to prevent bolts from loosening, but in many cases they’re ineffective or even increase the rate of loosening. Other approaches, including torque nuts and the use of two nuts on a bolt, seem to at best delay, not prevent, loosening.
Moore’s project will measure the interface contact conditions — the surfaces the bolt holds together — using high-speed digital cameras that film at thousands of frames per second. He believes the strains measured around the bolt head or nut can be mapped to the contact conditions inside the interface around the bolt hole. He also will produce modeling frameworks to reproduce the dynamics of loosening and determine how a structure’s dynamics influence loosening bolts.
“This will hopefully give us a new window to what’s going on in the interface that we’ve never had before and we’ll be able to measure how that changes dynamics as the bolt loosens and as the structure shakes,” Moore said.
One key challenge is understanding how one loosening bolt might have an impact elsewhere in a structure.
“Changes in one bolt can cause dramatic changes elsewhere … not just failure but changes in operation,” he said.
Loosening bolts is one aspect of America’s aging infrastructure. He hopes his research could lead to predictive maintenance that would focus on specific likely problem areas, which is more efficient than trying to monitor all bolts.
As with all CAREER grants, Moore’s includes an education component. He plans to “gamify” existing dynamics courses in mechanical engineering by developing collaborative, not competitive, game-based learning and create a virtual reality dynamics laboratory “to generate excitement and curiosity in the classroom and transform the sharing of ideas.” He also plans to create a new graduate course on game-based learning.
NSFCAREER awards support pre-tenure faculty who exemplify teacher-scholars’ role through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research.
A wedding occurred in the Scientology Church of Copenhagen. How does it work? Who are the Ministers performing ceremonies? How do Scientologists view marriage?
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, June 15, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Last Saturday in Denmark, the Church of Scientology, located at the oldest square, Nytorv, in the centre of the Copenhagen Middle Ages city, was fully packed with a crowd who came to celebrate the romantic wedding of two young Scientologists. That day, Vanessa and Lancelot took their vows as bride and groom.
A wedding uniting universes
When asked at a wedding officiated by a female minister, Vanessa said: “For me, it was important to do a church wedding, since our religion is very spiritual and to get married in our church creates a very nice bond between two people. Also, I love the wedding ceremony in itself. It really unites two universes and puts a new creation there that you walk from now on the path together as husband and wife. It is a very nice symbolic way to show now that you start a new chapter in your life.”
I love the wedding ceremony in itself. It really unites two universes and puts a new creation there that you walk from now on the path together as husband and wife”
Vanessa
And her now-husband Lancelot added: “Getting married in our church was important to us as it has a big meaning. It represents what we both believe in and it bonds us not only physically or legally but spiritually too. We both share the same way of living and perspectives and the church really defines that connection.”
Both of them, while their marriage is the concretization of their true and shared love, consider that the vows taken by the bride and groom build a foundation not only for their own union but contribute to that of the community as a whole. They believe the sacred commitment of marriage, as intended by L. Ron Hubbard, forms the basis of a stable family, a fundamental building block of any society.
Photo credit: Pierre BasteinPhoto credit: Pierre BasteinPhoto credit: Pierre BasteinPhoto credit: Pierre Bastein
Ministers with the highest ethical standards
Matrimony is a hallowed rite in virtually every religion and culture. Scientology marriages are celebrated by ordained church ministers, who are authorized to celebrate and perform religious ceremonies and hear confessions. They go through extensive training, which includes, inter alia, a study of other faiths and beliefs. They are also required to commit to and demonstrate the highest ethical standard if they want to be granted the privilege of serving as a minister.
There are different wedding ceremonies with varying degrees of formality, but each of them insists on the loyalty and devotion the groom and bride promise each other.
The Scientology wedding ceremonies include the promise of the engaged couple to continue creating their love through health and sickness, adversity, as well as good fortune. It encourages forgiveness and admiration for each other. And while it reminds the future honeymooners that none can add to the love they have already created, it asks the assembly to join in blessing the ceremony with the creative wish “that the trust and love of the present shall become ever stronger with each passing year.”
The Danish Church of Scientology
This year the Danish Scientology Church celebrated its 55th anniversary, and over the years since it was founded in 1968, hundreds of religious ceremonies like weddings, confirmations, christenings, and funerals have taken place in the Church. Copenhagen, once a Viking fishing village, is one of Europe’s modern metropolises. The new premises of the Danish Church of Scientology were inaugurated in 2017 after a full renovation of the building, a 40,000-square-foot Neoclassical building that was originally constructed in 1796 and was born out of the flames of the “Great Fire” just one year prior that had consumed the Nytorv/Gammeltorv district.
With craft and care, the Church teamed with local artisans and returned the landmark to its original character. More than 2,500 Scientologists and guests attended the opening ceremony of the Church, which now, in a city where helping one another defines the character of its residents, is a welcome resource for its diverse population.
See the future in a whole new way at the Designs for a Cooler Planet festival this September at Aalto University. The theme, “Invisible,” encourages us to look beyond the surface and consider what lies beneath.
Multiple coils of different shapes within the same transcranial magnetic stimulation device: figures of eight, loops and circles – illustrating the concept of making the invisible visible. Image credit: Aalto University
Like an iceberg, we only see a fraction of reality at first glance and often operate with limited knowledge, because the rest remains invisible.
But what if we could see below the surface? Would we make different choices? The festival’s projects aim to shed light on the hidden and noteworthy. Fascinating prototypes, experiments, and perspectives can transform how we see and think.
Join us this September and discover a world of new ideas, insights, and inspiration that will challenge your assumptions and expand your horizons.
Miniature-sized hyperspectral sensor
The Agate hyperspectral sensor, which is smaller than a fingertip, can reveal what is invisible to the naked eye or a regular camera.
Optical imaging technology is fundamentally safe or harmless and has great potential for rapid, non-invasive material investigation. Image credit: Aalto University
The hyperspectral imaging technology analyzes a wide spectrum of light with an interpretation algorithm. Traditional imaging assigns a main colour (red, green or blue) to each pixel, but hyperspectral imaging uses thousands of colours to capture the full range of information within a single pixel.
This level of detail has the potential to impact several fields. For example, in food production, more precise information about nutrient distribution on the field or ripeness of fruit could decrease excessive fertilisation and food waste, which is usually invisible to observers.
In just a few years, Agate may become standard equipment for smartphones, drones, or self-driving cars.
Magnetic stimulation – a treatment for brain disorders
Finland is among the world leaders in brain research and health technology. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a drug-free treatment, which is already being used in Finland to treat depression and pain.
Pantelis Lioumis (from left), Matilda Makkonen, Ana Maria Soto and Tuomas Mutanen demonstrating the use of the new TMS device. Image credit: Mikko Raskinen, Aalto University
Now, researchers at Aalto University are working to create an even more effective device that can stimulate multiple points in the brain simultaneously guided by artificial intelligence. Again, making invisible visible.
This approach could be used for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, while also making the treatment process more accessible and streamlined. The technology is already entering the commercialisation phase, and visitors to the exhibition can learn about the new TMS prototype.
Designing a mobile magnetic imaging equipment
Distinguishing between the external symptoms of a stroke and cerebral hemorrhage can be challenging, yet it is essential for effective treatment. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment used to detect these conditions is typically large and expensive, limiting its availability to hospitals in major cities.
This makes it difficult for patients in more remote or crisis areas to receive timely diagnosis and treatment as the cause of their medical condition remains invisible and unknown for a longer time.
3D rendering of a mobile MRI equipment. Illustration: Niilo Kämäräinen, Aalto University
The AMRI research group is developing novel, low-field magnetic resonance imaging and information processing technologies. They are also conducting design research that includes clinicians, caregivers, and experts by experience as stakeholders throughout the process.
The low-field MRI device could be mounted in a vehicle that has a size of an ambulance. With this mobile and cost-effective solution, MRI technology could some day become accessible to people living in even the most sparsely populated areas.
The exhibition includes a real scale mock-up of an MRI-ambulance used for simulations, information about very low field MRI, and a look into the interdisciplinary design and research.
Radical Ceramics – the amazing power of unfired clay
During the construction process, soil – typically clay – is often moved from one location to another and even sent to landfills, resulting in wasted materials and increased environmental impact which usually is invisible to our eyes.
Selected geopolymer test cubes. Clockwise from left: chamotte, calcined Finnish clay, raw Finnish clay, volcanic rock, and feldspar. Photo: Johannes Kaarakainen, Aalto University, 2022
However, what if this undervalued material could be repurposed and used in innovative ways as a building material, instead of remaining ‘invisible’ in landfills? This is precisely the focus of the Radical Ceramics project, which explores the chemical curing of clay using locally-sourced soil and raw materials from ceramics laboratories.
By using unfired clay, the project reduces the ecological footprint of ceramic production. Geopolymers might even also offer a promising alternative to concrete. The exhibition presents geopolymer research and material samples made in the ceramics studio.
A multi-sensory wooden pavilion Huoju-A
Huoju-A represents a new approach to construction: it is constructed from surplus materials and designed for easy assembly, disassembly, and mobility, this multipurpose structure prioritizes ecological sustainability. Its individual components can be easily replaced.
The students felt important to dive into the challenge of re-use. Scale model photo by Kim Gykax / Aalto University
Huoju-A also offers a unique sensory experience. Its hanging wooden elements produce organic sound, creating a serene environment for socializing and relaxation.
Visitors can encounter and interact with this beautiful structure at the Sideways festival in June, after which it will be relocated to Otaniemi.
Experience the future in Otaniemi
Every year, Aalto community designs dozens of interesting prototypes of objects that could improve our lives in the future. Each year, we curate thought-provoking examples on display and welcome everyone to explore the artefacts of a more sustainable future.
Designs for a Cooler Planet showcases the fruitful collaboration between research and design. The festival, now in its fifth year, will take place at Otaniemi from September 6th to October 6th, 2023.
The Otaniemi campus will feature twenty research-based projects, ecological, inclusive, and fair garments from Näytös23 as well as interesting material experiments from the Bioinnovation Centre. There will also be several open lectures and events.
The complete program will be unveiled in early August. Designs for a Cooler Planet is an official event of Helsinki Design Week, and part of the EU Commission’s New European Bauhaus initiative.
On June 13th 2023, following the plenary session organised in the European Parliament in Strasbourg about the situation in Lebanon. Omar Harfouch, a political and human rights activist, met with a series of MEPs in the European Parliament in order to raise awareness concerning the human rights situation in Lebanon and the need to act to stop corruption in order to establish peace in the Middle East.
A long official meeting with Vice-President Othmar Karas in his office was organised to discuss religious freedom as well as dialogue in Lebanon and the need to work on peace and coexistence between the different religious groups so as to guarantee security and prosperity for the Lebanese people.
Members of the European Parliament showed respect and admiration for Harfouch’s commitment to establishing a dialogue between the different political and religious institutions as well as his fight against corruption and for a free and democratic Lebanon.
MEP Lopez intervened later in the day during the plenary session to highlight the case of Harfouch and to raise awareness concerning the Arab and mainly Lebanese leaders as well as youth who want to establish a dialogue and fight against institutional antisemitism and find themselves accused of treason and risk prison or even worse, the death penalty.
During his meetings with MEPs, Harfouch explained how the economic situation was worse after the Beirut Blast and how his native country Lebanon was struggling to fight against corruption after a huge sum of money (about 10 billion euros) was transferred to European banking accounts of Lebanese Elite PEP, ministers and politicians and their families.
Thanks to his constant work for more than two years together with Judge Ghada Aoun, famous French Lawyer William Bourdon and some NGOs, the Financial French Tribunal and the Swiss Justice managed to freeze about 600 million euro of stolen Lebanese money.
Omar Harfouch’s program is to promote women’s rights and to give Lebanese women the right to give citizenship to their children born to foreign fathers.
He also wants to find a solution to the refugee crisis by naturalizing the Palestinian children who were born and have lived in Lebanon for years as refugees and who have no access to water, education and health.
There is a warrant arrest against Harfouch since he participated in a conference at the European Parliament in which according to Pro Hezbollah allies, pro-Israel and Jewish citizens were present. Harfouch met MEP Lizzi (member of the delegation for the relation with Mashreq countries), MEP Andrey Kovatchev (member of AFET committee), MEP Anna Bonfrisco (Member of EU Foreign, MEP Lopez Isturiz, MEP David Lega, as well as MEP Alvarez.
The above MEPs showed support and solidarity with the Lebanese people as well as the EU commitment to help Lebanon in its political, economic and humanitarian crisis and to advocate for freedom, democracy, human rights and women’s rights in Lebanon.
On Wednesday, MEPs outlined their expectations for the 29-30 June EU summit, in light of recent events in Ukraine and progress towards concluding the EU’s Migration Pact.
MEPs denounced the destruction of Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam, the latest war crime committed by Russia and one that must be met with consequences. They called for the EU to continue its strong support for Ukraine, for new sanctions against Russia, and for the billions of frozen assets by Russian oligarchs to be used to reconstruct Ukraine.
On migration and asylum, some MEPs welcomed the agreement reached by member states as a step forward that will help improve the treatment and reception of refugees, better protect the EU’s external borders, and enable the EU to fight human trafficking more effectively. Some speakers also stressed that the EU must do more to fight the causes of migration and that it needs to cooperate more with third countries. Others criticised the debate as toxic and driven by fear, noting that strengthened borders will not lead to fewer refugees and that that the deal in Council de facto abolishes the right to asylum in the EU.
Other topics MEPs raised were the green and digital transition, the nature restoration law, the upcoming revision of the EU’s long-term budget, and the need to reindustrialize Europe.
Ahead of MEPs’ interventions, Commission Vice-President Šefčovič and Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Roswall took the floor for the Commission and the Council respectively.
On Wednesday, the President of the Republic of Kosovo,Vjosa Osmani, addressed the European Parliament in a formal sitting in Strasbourg.
“The Republic of Kosovo and its people continue to look to the future – a European future”, said President Osmani and called for more robust regional cooperation. “We have extended a hand of cooperation to all our neighbours and we have done so in large part because our people deserve a brighter future”, she added. To Serbs living in Kosovo, she stressed that Kosovo “is your home. And we will do everything in our power to make sure that you feel protected, included, equal and heard.”
As the first President of Kosovo, since Kosovo’s independence in 2008, to speak before the European Parliament, she stressed that her country wants a sustainable, just peace, and stability with respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and good neighbourly relations at its heart.
“In this process, we need strong European leadership – that we so often witness in this Parliament – across every institution. This will require a proactive, credible and straightforward roadmap for our region’s future as part of the European family,” she said.
Talking about Kosovo’s path to EU membership, President Osmani said her country recognises the challenges that lie ahead of it and that Kosovo believes in a merit-based process for countries that truly respect and act upon European values. “In our DNA European values and the EU spirit are deeply engrained. It is these values that shaped our past, inspire us in the present, and guide us towards a future where Kosovo flourishes as a beacon of European ideals,” she added.
President Osmani stressed Kosovo’s commitment to the rule of law and justice as well as to combating crime and corruption and enhancing transparency. She said Kosovo is also focused on advancing gender equality and promoting women empowerment in all walks of life.
“EU values serve as our moral compass and guide us and our people to the highest peaks of achievement,” President Osmani said.
With regard to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, President Osmani said there should be “no gray zone as to where we stand on autocracies and tyrannies. (…) Kosovo may be a small country, but we are willing to do whatever it takes to support our Ukrainian friends,” she said.
Dozens of Christians were massacred in a church, attending service, standing under a crucifix with their children, and Europe says it is ” shocked. ” But ” the root causes of this insecurity in Nigeria are not based on religion. Sometimes there are religiously motivated attacks, however, they are mainly due to local circumstances, for example, competition for scarce resources, endemic poverty, little education, low access to public services, unemployment.” Causing them, then, is “generally a sense of exclusion.”
Exclusion: this is the interpretation Dombrovskis Valdis, Executive Vice President of the European Commission has made of the horrendous Pentecost massacre in Nigeria as a way of condemning “this attack and violence in all its forms, regardless of faith, religion.”
Slogans that are once again not followed by facts, Carlo Fidanza, a Fratelli d’Italia-ECR MEP in the European Parliament and co-chair, along with Peter Van Dalen of the EPP of the Intergroup on Religious Freedom, explains to Tempi:
“On the contrary, in the debate we asked for and obtained in the last plenary session in Strasbourg, which took place at night strictly away from the cameras, EU Commission Vice-President Dombrovskis embraced a denialist line rather widespread in laicist circles. According to this understanding, the causes of the endless massacres of Christians in Nigeria can be traced to local issues, territorial disputes, social inequalities. Little or nothing would they have to do with the religious factor. I felt it only right to reiterate that unfortunately this is not the case, that the vast majority-just like the innocent victims of Pentecost-are killed because they are Christians and because their being Christians translates into a presence marked by a social and economic model that aims at the development of those lands and not at their depredation. That is why Christians over there are inconvenient. But if we refuse to open our eyes and, at the same time, do not recognize that the genocide of Christians concerns us because it touches that very cross that forged European civilization, it is clear that there can never be a reaction.”
On May 19, in the wake of the murder of Christian student Deborah Yakubu, who was stoned and burned alive, and the assaults on churches, the EU Parliament decided to reject (244 MEPs against, 231 in favor) the call for a debate on the massacres of Christians in Nigeria. A few hours earlier Shagufta Kauser and Shafqat Emmanuel, a Pakistani married couple sentenced to death for blasphemy, had spoken to the EU parliament.
What can you tell us about that testimony and what was the purpose of it?
That vote was a disgrace, which is why as soon as we received the tragic news about Owo we immediately resubmitted a similar request. And this time, in the face of 50 innocent victims, they had the good heart not to oppose it. But they did not want us to vote on a motion, and after all, when voting on a specific resolution on religious persecution, the same majority had expunged from the text any reference to Christians and their executioners. As if to say: yes, many die, but we are unable to say who they are or who kills them. Listening to the testimonies of the two Pakistani spouses saved from the death penalty for blasphemy thanks also to the work of the Parliamentary Intergroup for Religious Freedom, which I have the honor of co-chairing, would have done a lot of good to this majority of Chrstianophobes. Thanks to their voices, we understood to the fullest extent the stubbornness of anti-blasphemy laws that become tools of personal vendettas. We are talking about huge nations, in Nigeria’s case a wealthy nation, in Pakistan’s case a nuclear power. Understanding how to help communities on a legal level as well is essential.
5,898 is the number of Christians killed last year, 16 per day. 5,110 are the churches attacked or destroyed. 6,175 Christians arrested and imprisoned without trial, 3,829 those kidnapped. In total, the number of Christians who suffered persecution, ambushes, massacres, and kidnappings in 2021 because of their faith is about 360 million. All of these figures are on the rise. And the place where the most Christians are being killed in the world is Nigeria.
What place does the protection of religious freedom have on the agenda of the European Parliament?
We as an intergroup do our best to keep attention but, despite our efforts, we are unable to get active members from left-wing groups. The few who are sensitive to the issue are in a position of cultural subordination within their respective groups. This leads to difficulties even in calendaring a dutiful debate after a massacre. And on the other hand it is no better at the level of the European Commission, which for months has had to appoint the new Special Envoy for Religious Freedom but, despite or our repeated appeals, still has not done so. Even the Italian government has managed to get there first, which, in other busy affairs, found time to name diplomatic adviser Andrea Benzo as the new envoy for Italy.
In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where Christians make up a little more than 50 percent of the population, the faithful find themselves squeezed in a deadly grip formed by Islamic terrorists Boko Haram and Iswap on one side and Fulani Muslim herdsmen on the other. And despite the striking increase in violence, Joe Biden’s United States has inexplicably decided to expunge Nigeria from the list of countries of concern from a religious freedom perspective.
What is the European approach and how does it intervene, in what way, and how many resources are coming from Europe to Buhari?
The Biden administration’s choice was a clamorous mistake. The data we published in our intergroup’s Periodic Report on Religious Freedom, collected through the work of leading Christian-inspired NGOs, tell us that Nigeria is one of the countries where the situation has deteriorated the most in recent years. Islamist militias affiliated with Isis and Al Qaeda have been joined by tribes of Fulani herders, also Muslim, who are descending southward, attempting to eradicate the Christian presence, destroying their religious identity and appropriating those lands. As is well known, the EU has a weak foreign policy and has only one tool at its disposal, the tool of economics and finance. It is difficult to quantify how much money we give to Nigeria every year through various cooperation projects, and that is why I will file an urgent question to know the real amount, which should be in the hundreds of millions of euros anyway. Here it is, it is time to condition every single euro donated by the EU to Nigeria to the concrete commitment of the Buhari government in countering these gangs and guaranteeing religious freedom and security, first and foremost to the Christian communities.
In the Europe of “rights” alone, is religious freedom a problem?
The EU pursues a very pushy “rights” agenda, which leads me to think that now every license and personal preference becomes a socially recognized right in itself. Yet when we talk about religious freedom, that is, a fundamental human right recognized as such by international conventions, an ideological reflex kicks in, which is, however, based on a wrong assumption. Certainly as a Catholic I personally feel closer to my fellow believers, but defending religious freedom means defending the right of every community and every individual to believe but also not to believe, and not to be discriminated against or persecuted because of it. To say that Christians are by far the most persecuted is not to espouse a confessional view; to say that among those responsible for these persecutions most are Muslims or that anti-Semitism is rampant in Muslim communities in Europe is not to be Islamophobic. Because in other latitudes there are minorities of Muslims persecuted by other Muslims. It is simply the tragic reality, which must be faced for what it is, calling things by their proper names in order to deal with them. The rest is cancel culture that claims to relegate faith to a private matter, eliminating its dimension of public witness. An evil we cannot resign ourselves to.
