K16273

(ES)

Raghda al-Wafi was born in Jabalah the 11 of September of 2001. The UN embargo and sanctions made it difficult to get the most basic products. Raghda's parents thought that they lost her in her first birthday when she became ill and hardly there were medicines to give her. Still, Raghda was a strong girl and went ahead with the attentive care and vigilance of her mother. While, his father desperately seeking any source of income that allowed him to buy medicines in the black market, almost the only way to supply itself of any product of first necessity.

Raghda turned two years in the midst of the bombings. Every night trembling with fear, like the boy who cries with the thunderclaps and lightning of a storm. Only in those stormy nights, the life of Raghda and her family were at the mercy of a guided missile that could hit in their house, just as it had done weeks before the house of her uncle.

Raghda's mother was busy every night to swallow his own fear and overcome the noise of the bombs to try to reassure her young daughter.

Raghda turned nine years, and his father thought that only a miracle had been able to maintain his family alive. Gave thanks to God every day for it.

The situation in the country after seven years of invasion was chaotic, but Raghda’s father had joined the Sahwa militia two years ago to fight against the members of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. If it is ultimately fulfilled the agreement of the Ministry of Defense to give effect to the recruitment of up to 10,000 of the Sahwa militias into the army and the security services of the Iraqi Government, the family's fortunes would change forever.

Raghda, although only nine years, and perhaps influenced by his father, was already contemplating a future as a teacher, having gone to college, helping the youth of his country to live in peace and freedom. Let no man or woman in Iraq had to face a horrible experience as she had lived as a child.

The story of Raghda al-Wafi and her family is fiction. The real story is the incident K16273. On December 13, 2010 a member of the Sahwa militia lost his wife and daughter in the explosion of a roadside bomb. And nothing left to fight for.

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/incidents/k16273


.

Protecting children from the rubble

(ES)

Child trafficking is a form of violation of human rights that affects over one million children worldwide.

Is to separate children from their families and their environment, sometimes taking them to other countries and continents with the sole purpose of profiting from the mafias that drive this lucrative business.

The purpose of this trade is sexual exploitation, illegal adoptions, domestic work, labor exploitation in conditions of slavery, illegal activities or begging. The consequences are terrible for children both physically and emotionally, while denying them basic rights such as education. Once in the destination countries, these children become illegal immigrants, so their status as victims is twofold: first, by depriving them of their basic rights and bein victims of violence and abuse, and two, be legally unprotected in the countries that are transferred.

Among the reasons for child trafficking occurs are:

* Extreme poverty
* Lack of educational opportunities
* Discrimination against women and girls
* Socially accepted practices and customs in certain communities
* Humanitarian crises and natural disasters
* Demand for labor and child prostitution


While poverty is an important factor, is also not the main cause. Should also analyze other factors such as the laws of different states on child trafficking, which allows dealers to commit the crime without any appropriate penalties to be punished, no laws to prevent its commission.

Weeks after the earthquake that struck Haiti alarmed us with news related specifically to the trafficking of children allegedly orphaned after the disaster.

Without doubt, the misery of others is always a good business for the mafia.

UNICEF echoed this alarming situation and on their website picked up the following news:
UNICEF steps up efforts to protect child healt and safety in Haiti quake zone

On 21/01/2010, Consuelo Crespo, President of UNICEF-Spain wrote the article Protecting children from the rubble in elpais.com newspaper. In the last paragraph we read a declaration of good intentions, very reluctantly, with the perspective that gives the time, seems far removed from the reality of Haiti today. UNICEF also provides an overview of last year's report Children in Haiti. One year later: the long road from relief to recovery. Especially interesting analysis of context: persistent bottlenecks and new challenges to better understand a picture so bleak.

Yes, one year later, mainly women and children in Haiti are still extremely vulnerable in a situation which is even closer to the humanitarian crisis than to the reconstruction of a country.

Living without fear

(ES)

All who have experienced violence probably will have, at least, one desire: to relive without fear. The human ability to overcome the traumatic effect of excessive violence is known as resilience.

There is, however, a form of violence that the sufferer does not even have the ability to remember a before and after to let him or her be able to address life in a different manner. A kind of violence that deprives of freedom, in which the individual becomes an object that passes from one owner to another without any ability to control their fate nor the one of their descendants. One form of violence that prevents to those who suffer it to exercise their most basic rights, among them, that of education. A kind of violence that imposes walls with solid foundations rooted in the community, perhaps the most difficult walls to demolish, even more taking into account that customs only change with education, and in some countries is a privilege rather than a right.

So far, it might seem that I'm talking about slavery, and no, I'm describing a form of violence as old as slavery itself. I mean to gender-based violence and all forms of discrimination against women especially.

In today's society there is a common denominator, in the most civilized and in the less developed, that the woman is the basis of the family and of productive network. Probably why, and over many centuries, this is the reason that women are discriminated against and exercised violence against them both in peacetime and in times of conflict, whether humanitarian or war. In peacetime, discrimination and violence allow men to maintain the status quo generally accepted in society, although this is changing gradually. How many centuries will it take to eradicate it? In times of conflict, attacking women becomes one more means of controlling the civilian population, since this is done to destroy the basis of the family and of productive network in which a community is sustained.

We can not tolerate violence or discrimination against women.

Say NO UNITE to end violence against women

Let's demand to our governments more budget to eradicate gender violence and to struggle against women discrimination, increased presence of women in institutions and government bodies, access to education on equal terms, legislation amending or repealing laws that are clearly discriminatory against women, and thus, a set of measures as stated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ratified by more than 185 countries.

It is not just a document, is the life of millions of women and girls worldwide.
 

Tragically, up to three quarters of women and girls worldwide experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. And the effect on the millions of girls and women who are abused is devastating — not just on them personally, but also on their ability to fully participate in the development of their countries. Unless violence against women is curbed, meeting all of the eight Millennium Development Goals will be impossible.


(Publisher: UNTV with support from UNIFEM; Date of Release: September 2010; Available in: English, French, Spanish and Russian)




.

Looking in the wrong direction

(ES)

"A community is disintegrating as soon as consents to abandon its weakest members."
Léon l'Africain - Amin Maalouf.

Governments of developed countries at this time of crisis not only economic but also of values, look at the powerful and govern at their dictation, or at least, favoring their interests to the detriment of general interest.

Is this the beginning of the disintegration of the global community and the system as we know today as Maalouf sentence?

I hope so, or at least, involving a change of direction.

Let us look in another direction. We demand our leaders, judges, journalists to put the focus on the weakest, not looking the other way, without turning a deaf ear, without lukewarm measures, without yielding to pressure from big banks and corporations that control the economic activity.

From the individual point of view let us examine our conscience to evaluate the effort we do for those around us in a position of weakness. And our surrounding, in a global world, is becoming wider.

Consider for a moment that the denial of relief in a situation of violation or abuse is a crime, and if a crime is committed while a witness looks away, becomes an accomplice to it.

Then at the macro level happens the same. Why not to judge our governments by complicity or denial of assistance to the violation of human rights, or to the abuses committed by other governments on its population?

But this trial is not held in court, but in the collective conscience of each and every one of us. And only when we become aware of it and decide to take part is when we see the enormous pressure we can exert as a collective.

Take for the initiative, and let them know to the different powers that govern us that we require them to look in another direction.


.

Stop rape now - against sexual violence in conflict

(ES)

A UN initiative to end sexual violence against women and girls in situations of armed conflict and other crises.

http://www.stoprapenow.org/

As stated in the Africa Plan 2009-2012 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC)

[...] the promotion of gender equality is one of the basic principles of the AU (African Union) as stated in Article 4 of its constitution and reflected in the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, attached to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and in force since 2005. To comply with this principle, the AU created the Directorate of Women, Gender and Development, reporting directly to the President of the Commission, and launched an ambitious program of Gender. [...]

That is why I refer to the Directorate of Women, Gender and Development and the Chairman of the AU Commission the following letter which can be downloaded from the web:

http://www.stoprapenow.org/

To:dgender@africa-union.org

Cc:chairperson@africa-union.org

Sir/Madam,

I am writing to ask you to intensify your efforts to end sexual violence against women and girls in situations of armed conflict and other crises. Sexual violence is a human rights violation and is unacceptable. I am concerned, in particular, about the use of rape as a weapon of war. In numerous conflicts worldwide, rape is used as a weapon to destroy the lives of women and girls, to undermine the welfare and recovery of entire communities.

In response to this crime, I ask that you:

Legislate to prevent and to end sexual violence.
Ensure that all legislation promotes equality between women and men in all spheres of life, in accordance with international standards. Determine the effectiveness, at the national and local levels, of the enforcement of laws on the perpetration of sexual violence in armed conflict or other crises. In all legislation relating to foreign policy and international security, ensure protection of women and girls and prevention of sexual violence against women and children.

Budget for the needs of women and girls.
Ensure the use of gender-responsive budgeting tools that assess the impact of public expenditure and revenue from a gender perspective, identifying their impact on and responsiveness to women, men, girls, and boys.

Provide resources for survivors of sexual violence.
Ensure that sufficient resources are earmarked in national and state budgets and allocated for strategies to eradicate violence against women in armed conflict and other crises and to facilitate universal access to reproductive healthcare and services.

Support legislative and judicial means of ending impunity for sexual violence in conflict.
Ensure that local and national courts eliminate barriers that impede the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence.

I urge you to prioritize ending sexual violence in armed conflict and other crises.

Sincerely, [name]

TAKE ACTION:

Download this letter asking your elected official to increase efforts to address sexual violence in conflict.

Download letter in WORD format from http://stoprapenow.org/take-action/ or copy it directly from this post.

To find contact information for your elected official, visit:
Inter-Parliamentary Union's PARLINE database

The PARLINE database contains information on the structure and working methods of 265 parliamentary chambers in all of the 188 countries where a national legislature exists.

The important thing is not the number

(ES)

After consulting various sources on the number of civilians killed in the Iraq war since 2003, I note that the figures range from 100,000 to over 1,000,000 deaths since the start of the invasion, according to the source.

These figures are of the magnitude they are, reflect only the violent deaths. It should be added because the effects on mortality caused by UN sanctions imposed during the conflict.

But without going into the parallel war figures, and comparisons with other armed conflicts, perhaps the single most insidious is the anonymity of victims, treatment of information about the invasion of Iraq and large numbers and dates, which isolates the receiver of the same in a bubble, and makes you keep your conscience unchanged over the seriousness of the facts reduced to a single figure.

Currently we use social networks to maintain contact with family and friends. Turning to the figures, there are studies that limit the ability to maintain stable relations of human beings in 150 contacts. The mean number of contacts on social networks like Facebook is 120 friends, which is regularly interact with between 7 and 10 of them.

This leads me to think about the magnitude of the suffering of the Iraqi people, for every civilian killed had a family and friends who came in contact. Simply multiply the number of civilians killed by ten, and maybe I fall short, and will result in the number of people who mourn the death of a relative or friend.

Still, I believe that the number does not matter. What matters is people and their stories.

Visiting the website IRAQ BODY COUNT we can imagine some of them. Just visit the following link:

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/individuals/

Victims are entitled to be remembered, and those who survive to be heard, to never forget their stories and not be reduced to a simple number.

Women in black

(ES)

Civilians bear the brunt in armed conflicts, especially women. Women know the suffering that involves seeing the death of their sons, husbands, relatives, friends, family; they know what it means to continue with daily life in the midst of a war, because even when they have been direct victims of extreme violence, are able to rise again and continue taking care, as every day, of those who depend on them.
The strength and the ability of women to preserve life are the only possible answer to a world in peace. Just give them the chance to speak and listen what they say.




http://www.womenforwomen.org/

http://www.womeninblack.org


.