Report from World Wise Fair

Last Friday, the 22nd of January 2010, Amnesty International had the great privilege of being invited to the WorldWise Forum: The Partnership Journey, held in Croke Park, Dublin.

Over 400 students and 50 teachers from Secondary Schools across Ireland attended.

The school partnership programme partners Irish schools with schools from another part of the world, in the hope that both groups of students can develop and grow through an increased understanding of one another.

It was a great pleasure to be there, not only to talk to teachers and students about the work that we do, but more importantly to see the inspiring stands created by the students who have partner schools all over the world: from India to the Philippines, from Kenya to Malawi and South Africa.

It was humbling to say the least. To see the cultural exchange was inspiring. Many of the schools had visited their partner schools, and were full of news about the lives of their counterpart classmates, and the world which they inhabit. We even learnt that there was no panic over the lack of hair straighteners when one Donegal girls' school visited Kenya: they had no mirrors to notice!

There were exotic smells, and even a taste of Indian spices. We heard African songs, and were in for a visual treat as many of the students wore the traditional clothing of their ‘adopted’ countries.

The guest speaker who opened the day’s proceedings was the Kenyan Ambassador to Ireland, Catherine Muigai Mwangi. She spoke with great pride about the fact that the country with the most partner schools in the exhibition was Kenya, and revealed the fact that like so many of the students taking part, she too was a Loreto girl.

Released aid worker Sharon Cummins was also present during the day, and we learned how she got interested in aid work through her initial interest in the plight of the Jews during World War II. Her first job in the sector was volunteering in the Goal offices, taking credit card donations after the Asian Tsunami on St. Stephen's Day 2004.

She spoke about her time in Sudan, and about how different life was there: very little contact with family and friends, and no beloved pint on a Friday night.

It was an honour to be invited, and we were struck by the words of one of the programme’s founders: "it all started because we had an idea".

A report from the talk by Palestinian Human Rights Activist Khalil Shaheen By Ciaran O Carroll

Overwhelming numbers turned up to hear Khalil Shaheen, from the Palestinian Centre of Human Rights (PCHR), speak at the Irish aid building in O’Connell St, Dublin last Wednesday (20^th of January); so many that we had to jam the doors open!

Such a great turnout was no surprise for a man who has fought for the socioeconomic and cultural rights of the citizens of Gaza and has worked with PCHR since its establishment in 1995.

After applying for several years to get a visa to leave Gaza, Khalil finally managed to obtain one from the Israeli authorities and decided to spend two weeks in Ireland. He described how he was only able to see his sisters, for ten minutes in Cairo, despite not having seen them for fifteen years, before he had to board his plane.

He spoke about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, which has occurred since the blockade by Israel, in June 2007. This blockade has caused real hardship to the Palestinian people. Fuel, electricity and medical supplies were blocked from entering Gaza; and Palestinians, among other things, are now not allowed to study aboard.

The destruction caused by Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in December 2009, was at the heart of his passionate and thought provoking talk. Kahlil spoke of the extensive damage the offensive caused to homes, civilian infrastructure, public services, farms and businesses and how little has been repaired because the civilian population, and the UN and aid agencies who help them, are prohibited from importing materials like cement and glass in all but a handful of cases.

Khalil was lucky to survive Operation Cast Lead. Otherwise known as, The Gaza War, this was a three-week military conflict between Israel and Hamas (Palestinian group) that took place in the Gaza Strip, and southern Israel, during the winter of 2009. He was nearly killed in the Israeli’s initial bombardment as he left his office at rush hour on December 27^th 2009. He described harrowingly how he saw a young girl flung into the air by a rocket bombardment that killed 230 people in Gaza and injured 700 more.

Khalil Shaheen’s day job is the head of Economic and Social Rights Unit at PCHR. His job is ‘to ensure the importance of economic and social rights through research and study’. Their research and regular press releases are essential reading to anyone working objectively on human rights in the region.

Khalil Shaheen took questions at the end of the talk, and answered each diligently, writing down the question and his answer before responding.

When asked what a lone Irish person could do to help the people of Gaza he answered to join and become active in an organization like Amnesty International that lobbies governments and promote justice and human rights in the region.

The catastrophic earthquake that occurred last Tuesday the 12th of January in Haiti has seen the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. The loss of life will, probably, never be fully known. For those that have survived, the struggle to ensure that they have access to medical care, shelter, food and water has begun in earnest. Aid workers have been flying to Haiti, and many more of us have been donating money to the relief effort.

Haiti has long been one of the world’s poorest countries. Images of the disaster are being beamed into out homes; and have dominated the front of every newspaper.

The immediate priority is to prevent further loss of life.

But what will happen in the long term? When the aid workers have gone home and Haiti no longer occupies the front page of our newspapers.

Watch Amnesty International Special Advisor, Javier Zuniga, speak about how in the aftermath of the disaster in Haiti that there is a grave human rights crisis brewing. The link to our you tube video is available on the right hand side of this blog.

At the moment the concern is to save lives but what about the mid – term and long - term effects of the earthquake on human rights?

Eighth Anniversary of Guantanamo Bay.

In January 2002, following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, the first people were transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since then the orange jumpsuits, worn by the prisoners, have become symbols of Human Rights violations for those that campaign for their protection.

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that no one has the right to arrest us, put us in jail, or send us out of our own country without good reason. Yet for over 770 people, who have been detained in Guantanamo, this Human Right has been ignored and disrespected.

The passing of this momentous occasion has had me thinking. How many more of the prisoners Human Rights have been violated: There have been reports of torture, and of suicides (and further suicide attempts). Inmates have not been afforded the ‘luxury’ of a fair and open trail.

Amnesty International’s former General – Secretary, Irene Khan referred to Guantanamo as ‘the gulag of out times’ (the labour camps of Stalin’s Soviet Union).

Following Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States of America last November, he promised that he would close Guantanamo bay by the 22nd of January this year. This will now not happen.

One of the reasons why, the closure of Guantanamo has been slower than expected, is that the resettlement of the prisoners has proved an obstacle. Around 50, of the 198 prisoners still within the gates of Guantanamo, are still there because they have nowhere else to go. They cannot be returned to their own countries: for fear of further Human Rights violations. Combined with this many countries, including some within Europe, have proved resistant to offering the inmates a sanctuary to rebuild their lives.

Ireland is one of the European countries, whose government has provided a new home to two former inmates.

Following on from the Government’s acceptance of the two men, Amnesty International, along with many other groups, has been working behind the scenes to encourage Ireland to become vocal and visible advocates, in encouraging other countries, to also accept Guantanamo detainees for resettlement.

2010 also sees the beginning of a new Amnesty International campaign: No Security with Human Rights. First on the agenda is: Illegal Detention centres throughout the world.

Tens of thousands of people, far more than were ever held in Guantanamo, continue to be held in detention and torture camps across the world, all in the name of security. Our aim will be to work to end this process including ending the use of Administrative Detention in places like Israel.

As this campaign gets under way, from April this year, we will keep you informed and we will create opportunities for your input and welcome all of your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.

Guantanamo Bay may now be closing, but the existence of other detention centres, reminds us that there are still thousands of people across the world who are detained, without trial, and who are, repeatedly, the victims of Human Rights Violations.

A new decade. Renewed hope, and a new focus in the campaign to ensure that everyone's Human Rights are respected and protected.