Friday, August 17, 2012

History and Plight of the Rohingyas: Restless Beings


TO HELP: 

Mabrur Ahmed
Co-Director & Co-Founder ~ RestlessBeings

Email



We ask you to continue to work alongside us on this issue to get the news out to the mass public and media.


History of the Rohingyas from Restless Beings.Org

The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted communities in the world. Although, they have been living in the state of Arakan since the 8th century (which is now part of Burma), the Rohingyas have been under extreme scrutiny by the Burmese government. They haven't been recognised as citizens of The Union of Burma since Burmese independence in 1948, instead they are known as 'non citizens'.

The Burmese Junta have discriminated the Rohingya because:
  • They are not similar in looks
  • Speak a different language 
  • Have a different religion. 

As a means of clamping down on the Rohingya, the Junta have restricted even the most basic of rights such as education, marriage and citizenship.

The Burmese government endorse the Burmese culture and the Buddhist faith for their national citizens; the Rohingyas fall outside of this ideal criteria because they want to retain their own culture and the Muslim faith. As a result, the Rohingyas, sidelined and marginalised, have to live with their derogatory national status of 'non-citizens'.
 
Between 1978 and 1992, approximately 200,000 Rohingyas left Burma to escape the tyranny of the Burmese military. Most of them moved to southern Bangladesh where they remain as refugees. In one of the most densely populated countries in the world, life in Bangladesh proved just as hard as it did in Burma.

In Bangladesh, the Rohingyas are faced with hardly any protection from their host country. A burden to the densely populated country, the Rohingyas are denied humanitarian aid which forces them to turn to other means of income such as drug trafficking.

There is one registered camp situated meters away from the registered camp where 90,000 refugees live. Another camp 15 miles away, in Leda Bazaar where approximately 25,000 Rohingya live, is where Restless Beings focus has been.

In 1962, the Rohingyas were systematically denied of political, civil, economic and social human rights. Today, the Rohingyas in Burma cannot commute from one village to another due to the security forces known as 'Nasaka' who patrol their movement at various checkpoints. This affects their education and access to medication.

Rohingyas are denied citizenship despite living in Arakan for centuries because Muslims are portrayed as 'relics of a colonial past'. This stems from the fact that Muslims supported the British during the colonial period because they were promised autonomy in Rakhine previously known as Arakan.

Rohingyas have been subject to the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war, forced labour, and land confiscation. Over 3,500 villages have been destroyed since 1996.

Similar to the Rohingyas living in Burma, the Rohingya refugees are limited in their movement and subject to exploitation. In refugee camps, the Rohingya women are victims of sexual violence, children are denied education and there is limited access to health and medical aid.

The hostile environment for Rohingyas in Bangladesh urges the refugees in Bangladesh and Burma to seek help in other parts of Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia; however, these parts are not usually welcoming.


 
Reports have been flooding in this afternoon of a new wave of attacks on Rohingya this afternoon leaving hundreds homeless and looking for shelter on foot during torrential monsoon rains whilst others were left dead. The recent clashes have been reported from 4 villages near Rauthedoung were as many as 12 have been killed with 1,000 Rohingya displaced as well as in 3 villages south of Maungdaw where 3 people have been killed this Thursday, August 16, 2012.

In the minutes leading up to sunset as many Rohingya were preparing to open their fasts (Ramadhan) hundreds of Rakhine activists armed with sticks, batons and other weaponry forced their way into Rohingya houses in three adjacent villages. As the villagers attempted to fight back against the Rakhine who had violated their homes, Lun Htin and Nasaka (Burmese armed forces and paramilitary) opened live rounds of fire on the villagers.

Three men and one woman have been shot dead whilst many others have been injured. In total the three entire villages are being evacuated with the Rohingya unsure of where they are to move to next. Whilst one of the sources was describing the events , shooting and wailing could be heard in the background.

In a separate incident, but most likely part of this new wave of violence, four villages near Rathedoung were attacked late last night, Wednesday, leaving more than 12 dead and over 1,000 Rohingya displaced. Similar to incidents in Maungdaw today, Rakhine had attacked the villages and were backed up by Burmese armed forces and paramilitary servicemen.

The forces pushed the Rohingya villages from their homes, across the river and now the camp of 1,000 are moving north through mountainous terrains and during monsoon season looking for shelter. 12 people have been confirmed dead - 8 were shot dead and 4 more have lost their lives battling against the elements whilst being shelter less.

As international media have recently been reporting from the region and as an aid deal has been agreed by the President with OIC, this is seen as the final, brutal wave against the Rohingya during the recent clashes. It is feared that this move will be drawn out over many days surely, many more lives will be lost.




Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Social Media vs Journalism

First published:

 




Prompted by a question asked to me by Kashif Ahmad on twitter






I responded with:


The term “Journalism” is a well defined term. Due to “social media” everyone thinks they are a journalist.


Journalism is [Merriam-Webster] : Writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation.


Journalism is a diverse field with varying degrees of reporting such as: journalism by field [medical, business, political, education, art], and journalism by genre [broadcast, photo, combat, investigative, citizen, documentary.]





Social media is [Merriam-Webster] : forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.


Examples of social media are: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, Vimeo, and WordPress.









Journalism and social media are clearly two different matters of concern.



Social Media can be utilized to propel journalism via technology through public relations and networking.  Due to technology, information is able to reach the world in seconds, including all of the people one is connected to, as well as all of the people that share ones information and whom they are connected to.


For example, if I were sent trusted, educational, newsworthy information; my network is designed to reach every online network in mere seconds. That is employing social media in regards to public relations and networking. That is not journalism.

Social Media involves utilizing technology to reach an audience in order to make any information public.  Social Media is what most of us use everyday.

Journalism is reporting, writing, and broadcasting information that is informative and factual to the public for a specific purpose.

The difference between the two depends solely on the information that is being shared. Is it educational, researched, factual, informative and necessary for the public to know about? Or is it a picture of you at your cousins birthday party?

While there is nothing wrong with either forms of utilizing social media, there is a distinct line between referring to oneself as a “social journalist” simply due to accessing and being published by the means of social media.

In order to be “journalistic”, writing in a blog, having an article accepted by a newspaper and sharing information online must be comparable to research, speaking to people involved [recording, broadcasting, writing] and reading about a single subject matter in order to educate the public in an objective fashion, as well as yourself.

There is nothing in this article that is my opinion. It is researched fact, informative and educational. That is a form of journalism.

Anything faltering from the above is simply expression or opinion.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Rohingya: The Human Story

 Remember Rohingya
 
Restless Beings has prepared a media statement 

on behalf of community organizations and business to ask media to end the  blackout from Burma on this issue and  to report according to international standards without bias. 
To support, email your business/organization/network logo to: rohingya@restlessbeings.org  
A special event for press and limited guests:
This event will look at the human stories behind recent clashes and the ensuing state-led campaign against the Rohingya in Burma.
Monday 23 July 2012, 6.30pm - 8pm
Brady Arts and Community Centre
192-196 Hanbury Street
London
E1, 5HU.
Space is limited, for more information and to register for this free event click here.
On Monday,  July 23, 2012 (same day as the press conference), there will be an international tweet up on Twitter.  Go to @RestlessBeings.
The tweet up is between 6 - 11pm UK time. The more people tweeting, the more chance of getting the topic trending to grab media attention.
Described by the UN as the most persecuted community in the world, the struggle of the Rohingya is largely unknown. 
Help give a voice to one of the most marginalized communities in the world: #SOSRohingya
The ethnic cleansing campaign of the Rohingya in Burma demands mainstream coverage. Human rights activists and advocates, please spread the word. 


This community is being killed.
 

Monday, July 2, 2012

Enforced Disappearance: In Wake of the "War on Terror"

First published:




Amina Masood Janjua, Chairperson: Defence of Human Rights is launching an international campaign for the release of missing persons that will include traveling, seminars, rallies, and camps in major cities to advocate for the release of human beings imprisoned without cause.

Amina began the Defence of Human Rights with almost no resources and this organization has flourished through the support of kind hearted people.

It will be 7 years since Amina has been separated from her husband, Masood. Her determination to find him has resulted in the relief of thousands of families of those wrongfully imprisoned.





THE APPEAL:

1. The struggle with military dictatorship and poverty upon the advent of the second decade of the 21st century introduced a new menace in Pakistan: Enforced Disappearance. Thousands of people have gone missing.

People were afraid to talk about this atrocity due to fear. Amina Masood Janjua took it upon herself to break this silence. 





2. Mrs. Janjua’s lone struggle began in 2005 after the disappearance of her husband Masood Janjua. After arduous rallies, protests, legal battles, and endless campaigning; Defence of Human Rights staged a 24/7 sit-in in front of parliament house in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

Hundreds of families of victims stayed in this camp for 76 days from February 15th to April 30, 2012. The exemplary and unprecedented camp turned out to be a huge success and attracted the attention of not only the nation, but the world.





3. Under the pressure of the continued struggle of the people, Parliament passed two unanimous resolutions against enforced disappearance, three parliamentary committees have been formed to look into the matter of enforced disappearance and up to 32 of the listed cases have been traced since the camp began.

Much remains to be done.




4. DHR registered more than 370 new cases of missing persons yet despite the phenomenal impact of the protest camp, it had to be closed down due to limited resources. Regardless, DHR has decided to launch this nationwide campaign and prepare for an even larger sit-in by the end of 2012.


The struggle to free human beings from illegal detentions, torture and unlawful arrests is a direct result from the wake of the War on Terror. An urgent humanitarian appeal is crucial for the sake of countless helpless victims that face death and torture from prolonged detention.

Defence of Human Rights depends 100% on the support of conscientious citizens. DHR represents more cases in Supreme Court than any other human rights association or legal firm in Pakistan without charging a single fee to the families of missing persons.






To report a case, for press and to assist the Defence of Human Rights, contact:

Amina Masood Janjua, Chairperson, DHR
40-C/1 Nagi Road Westridge-1, Rawalpindi, Pakistan





"Justice Delayed is Justice Denied" - CJP

Friday, May 25, 2012

Live from Cairo: The Egypt Revolution


First published: 

The News Tribe  - Pakistan
We Speak News - India

Inline image 7

Mahitab Elgilani, one of the most leading faces in protests and rallies since long before the   revolution started, and during the events of the revolution.   

 
"It is 4am Cairo time. An attack had been launched against those in the sit in, in front of the Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament. Water is pouring on them in this cold, stones and Molotov's from security. This means that soon they will progress into using tear gas and rubber bullets, then live ammo and toxic gases." - Ahmed Salah,
December 16, 2011

Inline image 1

On Tuesday, January 25, 2011, the people of Egypt led a campaign of non violent civil resistance against the 30 year regime of dictator, President Hosni Mubarak. The initial uprising began in Cairo, Alexandria.

"Clashes continue nonstop around Tahrir in Kasr ElEini St. and ElSheikh Rehan Street with the death toll rising to 15 protesters in two days and hundreds more injured or kidnapped by the military and security." - Ahmed Salah, December 18, 2011

Inline image 2
Ahmed Salah, an Egyptian activist, public speaker and advocate of non violent resistance, shared his account through words and photo.

Hany Ghoraba, an Egyptian journalist, businessman and political analyst in Cairo, describes on live audio, the years preceding, during and up to present Egypt, focusing on The Egyptian Revolution: Live from Cairo: From Tahrir to the Muslim Brotherhood

Inline image 2

On February 11, 2011, Mubarak resigned after demonstrations turned violent with clashes between security forces and protesters. 
 

Inline image 5

Blood and live ammo, everywhere . . .

Inline image 1

Tear gas canisters made in the USA. They were not bought, but given as military aid. This is where American tax payers money is spent.

Inline image 10

The all women rally in Tahrir. 
Inline image 6
Amnesty International and The Egyptian Organization For Human Rights have documented extensive cases of human rights abuses such as torture, killing and forced virginity tests under the regime of Mubarak between 1993-2007, including the 2011-2012 revolution when SCAF [Supreme Council of Armed Forces] were granted rule over Egypt.

"A massacre is underway in Tahrir. More and more troops are coming in covering more entrances to the square. Already stormed the mosque and the church that were converted into hospitals for the injured and injured and kidnapped the doctors as well as everyone else.  This keeps getting darker and darker, people are getting ready to die and write their names on their arms. I can't remember the last time I was so desperate and frustrated. The war of attrition against us worked, they exhausted us to the maximum, and now they move for the kill." - Ahmed Salah

Inline image 8


In 2012, Egypt will elect a new President. 


Inline image 9


* Topics discussed in live audio : The Muslim Brotherhood, The National Day of Police, The Friday of Fury, SCAF, Tahrir, Khaled Said, Hosni Mubarak, Emergency Law, the 2011-2012 elections, and the culture, history and strength of the people of Egypt.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Alive in a Time of Dying




The days meld into nights into days of unrest to rest, my voice. I'm guessing the full moon rising, she may speak on my behalf.

SisterMoonChild shall bat her eyelashes spiderlike to each constellation as they sparkle and dim upon the backdrop of this grand stage.

This place we call Earth, it is a Hell birthing breathing dragons of denial and greed and in between, beauty. The blooming of new life.

The irony that existence is dependent upon black vs. white, good vs. evil, night vs. day, man vs. woman, sun vs. moon, and you vs. me.

Where are the ones standing and speaking for us all, we're outnumbered. Where is the golden chalice, my cup of poison, the holy altar?

I shall gladly drink my share to elevate me from a state of betrayal. Hand me a crudely chiseled cup made only by the hand of man.

Bring it to my lips, love. My eyes shall close, breathing cease, yet my spirit shall soar as pure divine energy.

Oh, what silly creatures to dream a dream upon dreams that may or may not exist according to each of our own waking states.

I shall attempt to reach a state of being and non being, of living while dying alive, of pure esoteric flight, of thinking without thought.

How grand it is to be alive in a time of dying. The fresh buds shall bloom when the frost sleeps during Springtimes coming of age. And Summer shall welcome Fall, prepare her for Winter. 

Drink, friends, this cup of mine is yours. 

It is sweet, oh, yet it is bitter.


© Susan Marie 2012 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

lines finely sketched



I raise both palms in supplication to that which is more immense than the feeble human mind and cry as thunder for the ills of society.

Voices reverberate in my skull bones causing me to question:  Is it I, solitary human, that has fallen backwards on her own insight?
 

Are we all not sane and insane? Are we all not greater and lesser? Who has the absolute right to judge such a notion? 

Such answers elude me. Raising my weary and shaking palms to the fiery boisterous sky. Waiting for answers only I have the answer to.

The thin line that separates us all is oh, so very fine. Like cracks in fault lines, the smallest disturbance, a chain reaction.
 
I seek answers to questions that have no answers. I must be insane to imagine that fine line, erased, and the middle way, my berth.




 The Valkyrie's Vigil (1906) by Edward Robert Hughes

Thursday, March 1, 2012

"Nightingales Perched Upon Knots of Mother Nature" For Syria


 
The dead speak in tongues known only to nightingales perched upon rheumatic knots of Mother Nature trilling: What fresh hell is this? 

Their voices echo in crisp cold eves, melding with wind's fierce breath. She welcomes them, wind, embracing martyrs, one by one.

Dear Earth, how short life is. We pay homage to those who travel to better places more so than precise moments of our own existence.

We cannot fully experience what death holds dear. Pure and absolute energy, alive and aligned divine with the universe, whole.

There's no reason to fear existence nor death. They are similar, yet this is the playground, the game board, the poker chip.

Each breath of ours mimics movements elsewhere. Do not think that you do not matter. For every fallen soul, there is birth.



Hassan Saad, 13, who fled Idlib in Syria, flashes a victory sign while walking outside the refugees camp near the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern city of Yayladagi, on February 16, 2012. Hassan said that his father was killed by the pro-Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad army five months ago.   

© photo Zohra Bensemra

© Susan Marie 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Firewall Looming in Pakistan: URL Filtering and Blocking


First published: 




By March of 2012, The Pakistani Telecommunication Authority (PTA), may have succeeded in deployment of an Internet URL Filtering and Blocking system unless we, global citizens, along with the people of Pakistan, help prevent this from occurring.

As people become more aware and active globally, governments have begun to attempt to increase online censorship. Online censorship or filtering can be seen as justifiable when it may involve harmful content to children in educational systems, however, to censor or filter Internet usage in any fashion to adults, is in direct violation of constitutions and amendments that exist, against 14 of 30 Universal Human Rights, and the Constitution of Pakistan, as seen in the preamble alone.

America, with help from worldwide activists, citizens, businesses and Internet networks, fought back against two proposed bills SOPA [Stop Online Piracy Act] and PIPA [Protect IP Act] through petitions, calling state and government legislation, with businesses and online networks blacking out their websites in protest. 


Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. 

The PTA is asking institutions [business, organizations, education, communication, media, etc] to submit a proposal allowing the PTA to block URL's [universal resource locaters] aligned with The National RCT & RD Fund

THE RCT states the URL blocking will
"Transform Pakistan’s economy into a knowledge based economy by promoting efficient, sustainable and effective ICT initiatives through synergic development of industrial and academic resources."

This is not the first time Pakistan has experienced online censorship in the current Federal Parliamentary System [Executive branch with support of legislation] however, with help, it can very well be the last. 


On 24/7OnlineTV, broadcast journalist, Faisal Kapadia speaks with Sana Saleem, activist/journalist and Yusra Askari, correspondent with NDTV in Part One of "Out of Bounds" on the Firewall Looming in Pakistan. All three explain and address how the government has invited proposals to private and semi-private companies to block 5 to 10 million URLS.



Why is the government doing this?

In Part Two of "Out of Bounds", Faisal addresses the online community for reaction inside and out of Pakistan as to how this issue is viewed using varied comments from activists, journalists and citizens.


In May of 2011, The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights General Assembly in Article A/HRC/17/27 focused on freedom to access online content, access to the physical and technical infrastructure online, the increase in censoring information online, namely through arbitrary blocking or filtering of content, and criminalization of legitimate expression as human rights abuses under the right to freedom of expression and opinion.

Universal access to the Internet is not only freedom of expression and opinion as a human right, it is part of the Constitution of Pakistan. Blocking of URLS will hamper international business inside and out of Pakistan, as well as further damaging the cross border communications already in dire need of repair between people.


Business owners may not be able to promote their services, as well as global access to each business. Media will be hampered immensely due to not being able to access the global online network in order to tell the world what is occurring in Pakistan. Global aid for disaster relief, disease, hunger and medical care will not be able to reach those in need. The world will continue to operate as usual, however, to assume according to the RCT statement aligned with the Government of Pakistan that this filtering is solely to enhance the economy and education of Pakistan is preposterous at most.


On the
US State Website after a 2010 visit to China, where the government controls the Internet, President Obama held a meeting with an online component to highlight the importance of the Internet. He defended the right of people to freely access information, and said that the more freely information flows, the stronger societies become. Obama spoke about how access to information helps citizens hold their own governments accountable, generates new ideas, encourages creativity and entrepreneurship.

In 2011, SOPA and PIPA were introduced to the American public.

Condemnations of this action, along with information regarding this initiative have already begun by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Civil Society Against Blanket Ban of the Internet and Freedom House.Org. 

Censorship, in any form, is to silence.