Alte Studienfreunde waren dieses Wochenende zu Besuch – als sie in meiner Wohnung GfbV-Flyer zu Dafur sahen, kam die etwas ratlose Frage, was man da eigentlich machen könne, solange China nicht handele. Über die GfbV-Flyer zu brasilianischen Indigenen und dem Kllimawandel kamen wir dann auch auf die “Birdwatcher” zu sprechen – auch hier die Frage, was wir machen können, um den Menschen und ihrer Umwelt zu helfen?

Mit ein bisschen Wehmut blickten wir “auf damals zurück”, als wir im Zivildienst soziale Verantwortung übernahmen – aber in Deutschland. Die Möglichkeiten, ins Ausland zu gehen und in Entwicklungsländern zu helfen, waren zwar schon irgendwie da, dann aber auch sehr teuer, sehr umständlich und noch nicht so gewürdigt wie heute. Die rot-grüne Bundesregierung hat aber in dieser Hinsicht wertvolle Fördermöglichkeiten geschaffen. Wir haben alle dann im Studium ehrenamtlich irgendwo in den ganz verschiedenen Facetten ehrenamtlich gearbeitet, so das Studium uns liess….:-)

Ich kann rückblickend (so kurz vor meinem einschneidenden dreißigsten Geburtstag! *lol*) nur jedem empfehlen, die Möglichkeit zwischen Abi und Studium, zwischen Schule und Ausbildung für sich zu nutzen und die Welt zu erobern. Für diejenigen, die mit ihrem Auslandsaufenthalt auch was bewegen wollen, ist das ASA-Programm sehr gut geeignet (es steht jetzt stellvertretend für viele andere sinnvolle Programme, tut mir leid für die Vereinfachung!). Denn hier wird nicht nur die Möglichkeit gegeben zu lernen. Diese Möglichkeit wird auch gleich mitgefördert – und das macht vieles leichter. Die Teilnehmer lernen gesellschafts- und entwicklungspolitische Fähigkeiten, lernen interkulturell zu denken und zu handeln (was die neudeutsche Version vom “Über den Tellerrand gucken können” ist). Das ASA-Lernprogramm ist meines Erachtens sehr gut geeignet für interessierte, weltoffene und kritisch nachfragende junge Menschen, die in Entwicklungsländern im kleinen Rahmen Verantwortung übernehmen wollen und mit den Herausforderungen wachsen wollen. Noch läuft die Bewerbungsfrist, die formalen Anforderungen findet man hier….so kommt man jedenfalls von Gesprächen über Dafur und die Indigenen zu Auslandsaufenthalten. Und wenn man sich fragt, was man gegen die Ungerechtigkeiten dieser Welt machen kann als vermeintlich “kleiner Fisch” – das ist häufig leichter, als man denkt. Die Auslandsaufenthalte (mit Praktika, Sprachkursen und so) hab ich dann übrigens im Studium nachgeholt, als ich in Indonesien und Australien war.

EDL Manchester October 10th promo video – No to Radical Islam

Say No til Eurabia

Britain says stop

From Morocco to Mozambique, Mali to Liberia, African films by African filmmakers help bring new perspectives to a continent riddled with mystery and rich in diversity.

On September 19th, the Washington, DC-based Reel World Underground presents the first part of their…

I Luv Africa Film Series.

This free, all-day collaborative event helps bring attention to the works of independent African artists by showcasing their fiction and documentary films, including the acclaimed production Throw Your Heart Down with Bela Fleck.

The day will also feature talks with Miss Africa USA 2009-2010, who will speak about xenophobia in South Africa, and the Project HOPE campaign that works in Dafur.

The Festival’s name comes from the current documentary produced by Reel World Underground. Information on how to become involved in the film project will be available at the festival.

Part two of the I Luv Africa Film Series will be held in October.

As uninteresting as all of these trivial topics are, to create scandalacious headlines in Hollywood, somehow makes InTouch magazine, seem so Out of Touch this week!

It’s all about a revolution and getting people to rise up, Tracey Chapman styles. There are deeper issues in society going on right now, than Tom Cruise’s perfect fringe, Kate Gosselin’s crocodile tears or Brad Pitt’s boozing ways to encourage the peeps to go and see his new film Inglourious Basterds.

How about reflecting on the plight of people in Rawanda & Dafur, or the  homeless and the unemployed of America for example?

But seriously, having a nice  chilled beer, is a sensible thing to do in these times. Smiles all round to the people. Go Brad…. Rawanda & Dafur forever!

And, what a dumb ass magazine cover!

Havde regnet med de måtte have Bent Betjentsen ind igen. Det viser sig imidlertid, at trafikkens Lars Barfod tager førertrøjen på havene – han canceler den foreslåede Kattegatbroforbindelse og indfører i stedet oppiskende flyvebådstrafik fra Kalundborg til klodens centrum Århus og retur – det vil give et opsving for den i Århus så navnkundinge dræberbølge, hvis ikke DSB deltager.

Ingen tvivl, Lomborg og Barfod står hinanden nær, i hvert fald har Barfod fundet forkanten godt vejledt af Bjørn Lomborg, for nu siger Lomborg også, at 1900 skibe til 45 mia kr., der oppisker saltvandet på havene kloden rundt, kan neddæmpe varmen fra Solen i det 21. århundrede. Selvfølgelig, to ting kan forekomme samtidig, uden der nødvendigvis lyser en sammenhæng ud af dem. Sjældent i politik, altså.

Det kan så godt være antallet af saltvandsspringvand eller hav-piskeris alligevel kan reduceres til 1800 – også af hensyn til den ekstra CO2, som drivkraften fordrer -, for nu kom der så pludselig lige en ekstra – vel mestendels uforudset – tyfon, der oversvømmer Taiwan, og den har vindhastigheder på optil 144 km. i timen og vindstød på optil 180 km. i timen. Mon ikke den pisker for i hvert fald 100 piske-skibe af Lomborg-typen i et år. Det afhænger givet af tyfonens varighed. Vi tillader os at give et slag på tasken.

For at fastholde allerede misfornøjede læseres interesse for sagen lige en lille opmuntrende strofe:

Frit efter tekst i “Mød Mig På Casiopeia”:

“Lad os flyve til stjerne, stjerne, til en klode i det fjerne. Lad os bygge os en lille grøn planet for dig og mig, før dagen den er omme.”

Nu også en tekstforfatter med fingeren på den yderste forkant med ud- eller afviklingen eller blot tiden, som vi ynder at kalde den.

Vi har som sædvanlig misforstået mange ting: Vi mente at CO2 sådan holdt på varmen her på jorden, så temperaturen steg af den grund, hvis vi nu et splitsekund holdt os til Connie-Ortodoxien. Nu siger Bjørn Lomborg så, at det er ekstra varme fra Solen, der skal standses med hans 1900 hav-piskeris.

Vi mener så efterhånden, at disciplinerne økonomi, vejr og dermed klima må tilhøre samme videnskabsgren, i hvert fald må de være nært beslægtede. For en del år siden (engang i 80-erne) så vi stud. polit. Hans Bishoff forklare dansk økonomi ved hjælp af en hjulpisker, ikke et piskeris, men en rigtig hjulpisker. Det var lang tid efter el-piskerens opfindelse, det skal nævnes. Hvad mon vi skal lægge i netop det? I 1995 fik vi daværende økonomiminister Marianne Jelveds økonomiske udlægning af 3. december orkanen 1994, der lagde hele skovområder ned i Sydsverige. Hendes flerfarvede fotostat-plancher på TV viste figurer, der så skulle tolkes som at orkanen et år senere havde gavnet dansk økonomi.

Kultur er ligeledes samme videnskabsgren som økonomi, klima og vejr – Økologoggy:  Når immigranter forlader den varmere del af kloden, hvor rumopvarmning aldrig har været nødvendigt i andet end påkommende tilfælde, og de så sætter kursen mod nord, der uanset hele Connie-Ortodoxien fortsat bruger en del rumopvarmning fra oktober til i hvert fald marts/april, så er resultatet:

Mere CO2

Nu er det så også lige før vi begynder at forstå, at FN-udlægningen af Sudan-problemerne: De skyldes klimaet. Det er så en omvendt forklaringsmodel, og det fører helt naturligt eller logisk, om man vil, til at enten klimaet påvirker kulturen eller kulturen påvirker klimaet. Når de så er kommet her op, så opstår der vitaminmangel hos flere p.g.a. af deres klædedragt. Kultur + klima kan også føre til sygdom.
Og det er i den samm’hæng – ja, en af dem eller den anden – vi lissom skal forstå Barfod, Lomborg, Betjentsen, Connie og ikke mindst Carina.

Det kan være en fordel som ateist at indbygge nogle pricipper for sin egen tilværelse, der sådan lissom rager noget ind i det universielle, men samtidig langt fra det mere simple og navlebeskuende ‘ideologiske’, der altid handler om de andre. Ellers kunne jeg pludselig få den opfattelse, at Arne Melchior & Co havde skabt eller havde styr på det:

Til himlene rækker din miskundhed, Gud!
Tekst: B. S. Ingemann, 1845
Melodi: J. P. E. Hartmann, 1852

Til himlene rækker din miskundhed, Gud!
din trofasthed når dine skyer.
Din retfærdshånd over bjergene ud
er strakt over dale og byer.

Som himlenes favn er din kærlighed, Gud!
som havenes dyb dine domme.
Til frelsen fører du sjælene ud,
vil skabningens suk ihukomme.

Hvor dyrebar er dog din miskundhed, Gud!
hvor menneskebørnene bygge!
I mulm er kærligheds-vingen bredt ud,
vi skjule os under dens skygge.

Du kvæger i ørken den tørstende sjæl,
du bjærger den bævende due.
Hos dig er livets det evige væld,
og lys i dit lys skal vi skue.

Sonias søster Gurli Margrete med lettere redigering af min søster

PS: Dagens motto: “Vi forlanger lighed og fordrer derfor forskellighed”

eller

“Når det bli’r varmere bliver det koldere” (for Solen, der en million gange større end jorden, er på slingrekurs…ikke alene pinse morgen)

De’ æ da klart ik’gå!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Hu9×2xde8

On Wednesday July 22, Darfur advocates and communities around the country have organized a National Call-In Day to the White House.  Please spread the word, urge your organizations to participate, and take action.

Ask President Obama to help the people of Darfur by:

• Supporting the International Criminal Court and the arrest warrant against Omar al-Bashir
• Ensuring the IMMEDIATE deployment of the 26,000 UNAMID Peace Forces to Darfur with a full mandate, helicopters, logistics and necessary supplies needed.
• Pressuring the Government of Sudan to allow all expelled humanitarian organizations back into Darfur without any delays or conditions.

Contact the White House in any of the following ways:

• Call 202-456-1111
• Fax 202-456-2461
• Email the White House
• Become a Fan and Post to the White House’s official Facebook page
• If you have a Twitter account, post: “@WhiteHouse Support Bashir’s arrest warrant and the immediate deployment of UNAMID Peace Forces to Darfur #obama #darfur”

IF YOU ARE IN THE D.C. AREA ON JULY 22, join in a rally by the Sudanese and Darfuri communities to call for international cooperation with the International Criminal Court and the protection of civilians living in refugee camps. The rally is coordinated by the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Starts from the Lafayette square in front of the White House.

WHAT: Rally at the White House. Then walk to the State Department at 2:35 p.m. and arrive at 2:50 p.m.

List of online actions for Darfur:

• www.darfurscores.org/darfur-legislation for a list of bills and legislation on Darfur
• www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact8/twitter to tweet on twitter about the I-ACT team’s latest interviews from refugee camps
• www.twitter.com/genocideprevent to tweet on twitter about preventing genocide
• www.savedarfur.org click on take action, scroll down to send a postcard to Pres. Obama
• www.addyourvoice.org sign an online postcard to Pres. Obama
• www.savedarfur.org/pages/passed_legislation/ for a list of passed legislation on Darfur
• www.investorsagainstgenocide.org
  (TIAA-CREF and Vanguard are finally taking steps towards offering only genocide-free investing. Help ‘Get Out the Vote’ )
• www.Facebook.com/pages/SaveDarfurCoalition to facebook about Darfur
• www.youtube.com/group/ActNowForDarfur to upload your YouTube video
• www.savedarfur.org/pages/actnowfordarfurvideoinstructions for instructions to upload your video onto YouTube
• www.unitedhumanrights.org info about pressuring oil co.’s and for UNAMID deployment
• www.rocktosavedarfur.org for battle of the band concerts
• www.darfurrehab.org for the statewide teaching program about the genocide in Darfur
• www.preventorprotect.org
• www.genocidepreventionmonth.org watch “The Last Survivor”, a new film about survivors from genocides by Righteous Pictures
• www.savedarfur.org
• www.ecc4darfur.org or www.njcoalition4darfur
  for information about the solar oven cooker campaign
• www.state.nj.gov.us/governor/ to email Governor Corzine
• www.lautenberg.senate.gov to email Senator Lautenberg
• www.menendez.senate.gov to email Senator Menendez
• www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov to email Ambassador Susan Rice (to the U.N.)
• www.state.gov to email Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
  or text 90822 and type in ‘What about Darfur?’
• www.house.gov/payne/contact.shtml to email Representative Payne
• www.whitehouse.gov to email President Obama
• www.pascrell.house.gov to email Representative Pascrell
• www.frelinghuysen.house.gov to email Representative Frelinghuysen
• www.codey.senate.gov to email Senator Codey

Die Prokrastination vor der Klausurphase kennt keine Grenzen, und deshalb habe ich ein Last.fm-WordPress Plugin geschrieben, welches ihr auf der rechten Seite schon betrachten könnt. Alle relevanten Informationen trage ich unter http://blog.shiruba.net/recentfm ein, dort ist auch der Download der jeweils aktuellsten Version zu finden.

Vielleicht findet sich ja der eine oder andere Interessent!

NEWSTRACK INDIA

Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) spokesman Osman Mohammed al-Aghbash said the troops managed to defeat the rebels in the attack but in the process 20 soldiers were killed and 31 others injured.

Khartoum, May 26 (Xinhua) At least 20 Sudanese soldiers and 43 insurgents have been killed in fighting in the restive Darfur region, as rebels fought a pitched battle with the security forces before being crushed, leaving more than 300 people homeless, officials said Monday.

The fighting started Sunday after the armed rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) group attacked the government soldiers to gain control of the Umm Baru area in North Darfur State

He added that 43 rebels were killed and dozens of vehicles of the insurgents were destroyed in the fighting.

Meanwhile, the UN and African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur (UNAMID) said the Sudanese Army has gained full control of the Umm Baru area after the fighting.

 UNAMID spokesman Ahmed Salah said about 350 civilians who fled the area after the fighting broke out have taken shelter in government relief camps and are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

 At least 53 civilians who were seriously injured in the fighting needed immediate evacuation for further medical treatment, UNAMID said in a statement in Khartoum Monday.

The situation in the conflict zone has been calm Monday while the UNAMID peacekeepers were monitoring the developments after the attack.

Officials said this was the second attack by JEM rebels in the past 10 days against the government troops in North Darfur.

Found this on Jon Foreman’s website.

“I arrived home in San Diego early this morning, back from a run of shows up the coast with Switchfoot. The sun is setting over the pacific and my hair is still wet from an evening surf. In the distance I can hear the whistle of the Amtrak from LA heading south. I’m grateful to be home, grateful to have a place to live, grateful to have been given another breath alive on this planet.

But today my thoughts are divided, split between two worlds. As the sun sets over California it begins to rise over Darfur. The same sun. The same planet. Can it be possible that right now, two and a half million people are waking up in camps and refugee camps having been driven from their homes by violent means? Under the same sun, could it be true that almost half a million people have died of starvation, violence, and disease over the past six years in Darfur? Is this true?!

And if this is true, why has the media remained almost completely silent on the issue? Why has our government maintained it’s current stance of inaction?

When presidential hopeful Obama was running for office he stated that “We can’t ignore the genocide in Darfur. The international community can’t turn a blind eye when children are being slaughtered and women are being raped. We have to do everything in our power to make it stop. We have to act. Now.”

Nothing has happened.

And yet the sun is still rising over Darfur. And the sun still rises over me. And the sun still rises over capital hill… the same sun.

Today we celebrate mother’s day with our moms and grandmothers. My thoughts drift overseas to the mother who is just now waking up, wondering whether she’ll be able to give her children anything to eat.

Tomorrow I begin a three day fast for Darfur. Why fast? Because quite frankly, I can’t think of a better idea. I reckon the best way to enter into the suffering of a group of people halfway around the world is to start with the basics. These folks are fasting without alternative, for three days I will fast with them.”

Jon Foreman

Sometimes I question God why this stuff happens. Why people suffer on this earth and I’m always reminded of the sun that never stops shining. However as c.s lewis wrote the church isn’t made up of pastors and spiritual leaders it’s made up of  people who need christ on daily level. That statement makes me think and seek more every day. peace and God be with you.

I stumbled upon this recently and though to share with all. A rather harrowing tale and insight into the world of child soliders who were abducted and used as pawns for war and terror.  The world needs to know more about the atrocities that were inflicted and are probably still being carried out in various parts of the globe particularly in Africa. Kindly do all you can to enlighten your colleagues globally.

Call 1-800-GENOCIDE to be connected with a staff member from the office of your Congressional Representative, Senator, and even President Obama! Tell them about the need for humanitarian aid organizations to be allowed back in to Darfur. Ask them to do all they can to establish real peace negotiations in Darfur and Southern Sudan.

The people of Darfur are suffering daily under brutal, murderous attacks by the Janjaweed and the Sudanese military and sometimes by rebel groups and raiders. Over 30,000 villages have been burned to the ground since 2003. Most of the survivors live in idp (internally displaced people) camps in Darfur. (Over 280,000 Darfuri people live in refugee camps in Chad.) On March 4th, 2009, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was served with an arrest warrant by the ICC (International Criminal Court) of the U.N. This brought on his recent expulsion of 13 international and 3 national humanitarian aid organizations from Darfur. MSF (Medicines Sans Frontiers/Dr.’s Without Borders), Oxfam America, Care, Mercy Corps, and other wonderful relief organizations are currently unable to distribute basic necessities like food, clean water, medical help, emotional support, and plastic tents. The idp camps are being attacked with even more frequency without the presence of humanitarian aid organizations to deter the militias.

The people of Southern Sudan were brutally attacked, tortured, murdered and enslaved for over 23 years by the Sudanese Government. For the past few years a shaky peace treaty has been teetering on a balance. Over 12,000 Southern Sudanese are estimated to still be enslaved in Northern Sudan.

A true and lasting peace treaty is vitally important for both Darfur and Southern Sudan. Please raise your voices and your cell phones by texting 90822 for the State Department (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Special U.S. Envoy for Darfur Scott Gration) and calling 1-800-GENOCIDE to speak with staff members from offices of your elected officials. Ask for real peace negotiations and re-admittance of humanitarian aid organizations.

… war eine der ungewohnten, wichtigen Fragen. Gestellt von Schülern in Bruchsal. Vor ein paar Tagen.

Schwere Frage.

Zuerst wollte ich “Für Geld!” rufen, weil ich so’n blödes EhrlichkeitsGen innehabe. Dann wollte ich ein kokettes “Nur Für Euch!” flüstern, weil ich natürlich gut lügen kann. Logo. Autoren können das.
Ich habe irgendeine blödsinnige nichtssagende Antwort gegeben.
(sorry dafür!)

Aber was ist die Wahrheit?
Wofür? Mache ich das?
Ich würde die Antwort umdeuten in die Frage: “Für wen?”
Für mich?
Nee …
Oder doch?
Die Antwort ist ein Bild:

Obwohl dort nur Jungs zu sehen sind, geht es auch besonders um eine großartige Frau und ihre Familie. Sandra. MamaSan.
Dafür. Mache ich das.
Und für die Jungs.
Und für die Kohle.
Und für mich.
UndundUND …

Doch die ehrliche Antwort auf die Frage “Warum machste das?”, ist:
“Liebe. Es geht IMMER nur um Liebe!”

Alles klar?
Hehe, Olé

(maybe most important faq)

A very good profile from Bloomberg today

about a displaced people within their own country. Similar to the Kurds in Iraq,

The Nubians of Egypt have had to leave their traditional villages along the Nile. Some of the displacement is caused by floods, while some is due to reservoirs that the government builds and plans to build upon. 
Daniel Williams of Bloomberg news tells us about the Nubian people and their efforts to preserve their own kind.

Singing songs and chatting in an ancient language, hundreds of cheerful Nubian travelers gathered at Alexandria’s railway station for a long pilgrimage to a lost homeland.

Exiles in their own country, they journeyed 18 hours to celebrate a Muslim holiday in southern Egypt’s Nile valley, a region their ancestors once dominated from a loose confederation of villages along the river banks.

In 1964, their shoreline was inundated when the Aswan High Dam created Lake Nasser, the world’s largest reservoir. Now the Egyptian government has floated plans to develop and populate land surrounding the lake — without reserving space for Nubians. Activists in the ethnic minority say no fair: They want terrain set aside for new villages so their brethren can live again on the Nile, returning from a northern Egypt diaspora and arid settlements established 44 years ago for displaced families.

“The settlements are false Nubia,” said Haggag Oddoul, an author who has become an outspoken advocate for resettlement. “To restore our character and community, we need to be rerooted. We need to return.”

Nubians ruled Egypt in pharaonic times, their armies having ousted Libyan invaders…

They speak their own, non-Arabic language and sing their “Songs to Drum beats”….

The river was their economic lifeblood and fountain of memory, identity and lore.

 Central to old beliefs, it held the spirits of angels and holy men. 

Nubians, now numbering about 3 million of Egypt’s 73 million people,

have been leaving their stretch of the Nile valley for more than a century –

some because of poverty, some because of efforts to tame the river’s annual floods.

The first dam near Aswan was built in 1902; subsequent ones obliterated settlements further and further south until all of Egyptian Nubia was under water.

Khabairi Gamal, 70, unfurled a hand-drawn map of old Nubia for holiday visitors earlier this month in Aniba, one of the transplanted villages.

Young Nubians are forgetting their past, he said, turning to Islam. Fathi, 23, and asking where he was from originally…

“Well,” Fathi stammered with a smile….

“Go home and ask about your grandfather….

Ask about it!”     stormed Gamal, the village leader. “And do you know Nubian ?”   

“A few ”  “Learn it,” Gamal ordered. “You see, we have to move back. Otherwise, there will be no Nubia and no Nubians.”

Nubians live in the Upper Nile region.

When the “Condominium Agreement“ of 1899″ fixed the boundary between Egypt and Sudan,

Lower Nubians found themselves “under direct Egyptian rule” and politically “separated” from their kin to the south.

This arbitrary frontier divides the Nobiin-speaking group more or less equally between Egypt and Sudan. Close ties of culture, language and family continue to unite the people north and south of the border, and until the evacuation of 1964 that accompanied the building of the Aswan High Dam there was continual visiting back and forth between them.

Egyptian Nubia is part of the Governorate of Aswan which also includes a populous area whose inhabitants are not Nubian.

As a result, Nubians have found themselves a minority within their native province.

Historical context

Although Egypt remained the stronger power for most of its dynastic period, it did not destroy its southern neighbour, Nubia;

nor did Nubia, in spite of its adoption of Egyptian gods and ideas of kingship, completely succumb to its neighbour’s ways.

The Nubian city of Meroe was sited on the banks of the Nile about 200 kilometres north of present-day Khartoum, growing rich from control of trade on the Nile until the fourth century CE. Its wealth gave rise to elite patronage of art work such as pottery and shield rings, worn on the forehead, a practice that Nubians continue today. The incorporation of Egypt into the Byzantine Empire brought Christianity to the Nile region. Coptic Christianity spread to Nubia, where a Christian kingdom existed from the sixth to the fourteenth centuries. 

At the end of this period Nubia adopted Islam, 700 years later than the north of Egypt, and many of its large churches were converted into mosques.

Rural Nubians have been neglected and exploited for much of the twentieth century. From about 1910 until their final destruction in the 1960s, the villages of Egyptian Nubia were populated chiefly by women, children and older people; most able-bodied men were forced to migrate to find work. For the sake of increased agricultural production downstream, their land has been destroyed piecemeal by the building of successive dams at Aswan without any effort to gain their consent. Over a period of 70 years about 60 per cent of Egyptian Nubia territory has been destroyed or rendered unfit for habitation, and roughly half the surviving Nubian-speaking people have been obliged to find new homes.

 Some attempt has been made to compensate Nubians for the loss of their farms and date groves and create new livelihoods for them, but development south of Aswan has failed to keep pace with the rest of the country. For thousands of years ‘Nubian’ and ‘slave’ were virtually synonymous in the Egyptian mind; although this prejudice has lessened in the modern era, Nubians are still largely excluded from Egyptian national life.

Nubians convened a ‘First Nubian Congress’ in October 2002, and petitioned the government for greater compensation for their lost land.

Current issues

Nubians remain bitter over the loss of their land to the dam projects without adequate compensation. 

While the dams were designed to serve Egypt’s development needs ,Nubians complain that the government continues to neglect their needs… 

(Map below of dates the African countries gained independent soveriegnity) Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria ,Sudan, Ghana etc..

             To World Wide :

 

The International Appeal to Rescue Nubia And to stop Building the Kajbar Dam 

Halfa First! Kajbar Next!! 
Nubia Drowns and Dies of Thirst!!! 

Date: May 12, 2007 

 

To: 
• The United Nations Secretary General 
• United Nations programs and Specialized Agencies: 
• International Labor Organization (ILO) 
• UN High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) 
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 
• United Nations Economic Development Program (UNDP) 
• United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 
• United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). 
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 
• World Tourism Organization (WTO) 
• World Health Organization (WHO) 
• United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) 
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 
• The African Union (AU) 
• The International Rivers Network 
• The Arab League. 

We, the signatories on the this appeal, individuals and organizations, call upon the United Nations, its specialized agencies, governments of free nations, human rights organizations, academicians, scholars, and the international community

at large to heed to this urgent appeal and rush to the rescue of Nubia from the eminent destruction and devastation by the proposed Kajbar Dam at the Third Cataract on the River Nile which will inundate one of the most precious and invaluable archaeological sites of the world.

The international community is urged to exert all possible pressures on the government of Sudan to “Stop” building dams in the Nubian lands without the consent of the Nubians and put an end to decades of intentional marginalization, isolation, cultural and ethnic cleansing which has been practiced by the consecutive governments of Sudan in collaboration with the Egyptian government against Nubians, their culture and heritage.

The Nubians have never recovered yet from the devastation of the High Dam of Egypt to their lands and properties in early sixties of last century. 

The governments of Sudan and Egypt have jointly and intentionally implemented series of destructive policies to dismantle the Nubian society and assimilate the indigenous people of Nubia into Arabic culture through well organized programs of cultural cleansing, acculturation and indoctrination.

 It is our believe that the international community has a legal and moral obligation towards preserving and protecting the Nubians as one of the indigenous people of the world, their heritage and culture from the excessive and intentional process of Arabization and cultural cleansing. 
 

Governments of Sudan and Egypt have signed the Four Freedoms Agreement (the freedom to move, live, work and own.)

on April 5, 2004 and the officials of the two governments expressed their desire to bring millions of Egyptian farmers to the Nubian lands of Argeen without the knowledge and consent of Nubians.

On the other hand the government of Sudan has issued a presidential decree last year to confiscate the Nubian lands in Wadi Halfa municipality. 

Governments of Sudan and Egypt “prohibi”t usage of the Nubian” language” in their educational curricula and apply disguised and discriminatory measures to deny Nubians from holding sensitive and key governmental positions unless they master

Arabic ”language” and get affiliated with the ruling elites and culturally assimilated to the dominant Arabic culture as a precondition for holding senior positions. The systematic depopulation of the Nubians from their lands and gradual replacement of Nubians by non-Nubians is intended to destroy the strongly knitted social fabric of Nubian society and disrupt the long lived harmony and demographic homogeneity of the Nubians, one of the oldest indigenous and distinctive cultural groups in Africa.

Nubians as “indigenous people” are entitled to get international protection according to the international laws protecting the indigenous people, their cultures and heritage. 

Last March, the Nubians saw the Sudanese government bringing Chinese workers and equipments being brought to the site of

Kajbar Dam and the Nubian organizations and associations organized a big demonstration to protest the building of Kajbar Dam without their consent. They expressed their opposition to the dam and demand immediate removal of equipments from the site. The governor of the Northern Province promised the angry protesters but he reneged and even began to put obstacles to the committees opposing the Kajbar Dam. When the Nubians protested again, the security forces at the Kajbar Dam site used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the peaceful demonstration injuring several people.

During the last few weeks the state authorities deployed more security forces to the site of the Dam and the governor announced that the government will conduct feasibility studies only to decide whether to proceed in building the dam or stop it. The government is trying to fool the people and continue building the dam and force the Nubians to accept the dam as a reality and a status quo matter like what they did at Meroe Dam and to the people affected by the dam. 

We call upon the international community to: 

 

• Take every necessary steps to move expediently to stop forthwith the building of Kajbar Dam and any dam in the heartland of Nubia and extend every possible help Nubians are entitled to,by the international laws to get their share

in “power and wealth” as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in Naivasha, Kenya between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People Liberation Army/Movement and the agreements signed in Abuja and Asmara between the government of Sudan and the Darfur rebels and the East Front rebels. 

• Protect and enable the Indigenous people of Nubia to have the right and freedom to use their ancestral lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, and their right to maintain, control, protect and develop their language, cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions 

• Make sure that the Nubians who suffered from forcible relocations for the purpose of building the High Dam of Aswan, the biggest man made dam in the history in their lands be compensated for their sufferings during the last four decades and that they shall not be forcibly removed again from their lands or territories and that no relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous people of Nubia. 

• Insure the right of the indigenous people of Nubia to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures. 

• Enable the right of the indigenous people of Nubia to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning. 

• Enable the Indigenous people of Nubia who are divided by international borders between Sudan and Egypt, to maintain and develop contacts, relations and cooperation, including activities for spiritual, cultural, political, economic and social purposes, with their own members as well as other peoples across borders. 

• Insure the right of the Indigenous people of Nubia to have free access to public media or establish their own media in their own languages and to have access to all forms of non-indigenous media without discrimination. 

The Nubians, their organizations and association inside Sudan and around the world were asked to organize demonstrations on May 21st, 2007 inside Sudan and in front of Sudanese and

Chinese embassies and UN offices worldwide to express their unequivocal opposition to Kajbar Dam and any future plans to build dams in the Nubian lands and spread the word through the international media to expose to the world the hidden war against Nubians and the conspiracy to wipe out Nubia from the map of the world.. 

 

 

Nuraddin Abdulmannan 
Secretary General 
The Rescue Nubia and Kajbar Dam Resistance Committee – US chapter. 
151 Danbury Street SW 
Washington, DC 20032 
Tel. (240)441-6993 

Date: May 14, 2007 

Sincerely,

 

 

http://www.petitiononline.com/Appeal/

and Sudan’s Dafur Crisis

http://www.savedarfur.org/

http://www.genocideintervention.net/

 

ቢልልይ ጋምበላ  

 

 

The funny thing is the people of Dafur have been participating in a hunger strike over Mia Farrow!

How noble Mia is!

Mia Farrow, the once A-List actress, sheds light on what Madonna should be thinking now that Madonna has turned 50. Farrow has  spun herself into a global humanitarian, whose heart is more for the oppressed of the world than celebrity trappings these days.

In fact, Mia Farrow is so intent on making a difference in the world, that she is about to go on a hunger strike, to raise awareness about the atrocities occurring in Dafur as innocent people die of starvation due to corrupt dictatorship rule.

Says Mia about Darfur: “The Darfur crisis deepened on March 4th when the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president President Omar al-Bashir for his essential role in the murder, rape, torture and displacement of millions. Al-Bashir retaliated immediately by expelling thirteen key international aid agencies from Sudan, including Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, CARE, Oxfam and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) along with three highly respected Sudanese agencies.”

Mia aims to continue her hunger strike, until she can no longer continue, and hopes that another will pick up her place, and then another and another. Paging Madonna, to partner with Mia, and starve a little for Darfur? It would be right down Madonna’s all after Malawi, I’m sure.

Ich blieb still und weinte. Doch durfte mich dabei niemand sehen. Mein Fahrtgeld vergrub ich in der ersten Nacht außerhalb des Dorfes, an einer Stelle, wo ich sicher war, dass es nicht gefunden wurde. Ich half den Rebellen oder den Staatstruppen, egal welcher Seite, um zu überleben, das war anders nicht möglich. Am schlimmsten war, dass ich darüber beinahe meine Familie und meine Schwester vergessen hätte. Als ich bemerkte, wie die grausamste Unmenschlichkeit mir meine Wahrnehmung nahm, die Sehnsucht auf Hoffnung, die nicht von Tieren zerfleischt werden kann, Hoffnung! – überkam mich große Scham. Später, auch hier in Berlin, habe ich diese Scham noch häufig kennen gelernt, bis ich begriffen habe, dass ich mich schämte, weil ich Dinge glaubte, die nicht wahr waren, und andere nicht sehen wollte, die viel Schlimmer waren – und wahr. Doch von dieser Scham befreite ich mich bald und von der Reue, die nur dazu dient, Angst zu machen. Sorgen und Furcht, so wird die Welt regiert. Nicht meine Welt. Ich habe aufgehört, an Dinge zu glauben, wie sie nur ein Kind glauben kann und doch bin ich Kind geblieben. Verstehen Sie? Es ist nicht schwer, lässt man falsche Befürchtungen und Sorgen fort. Fort damit. Es gibt keine endgültige Wahrheit, deshalb bleibe ich ein Mensch ohne Eigenschaften, ein Baum ohne Form, entwurzelt: Das trübe Aquarell eines Schattens im Nebel.

Nach drei Monaten kam der Bus. Wie ich bis dahin überlebt habe, ist mir nicht klar. Ich kann darüber nachdenken wie ich will. Ich erinnere mich. Ich sehe jeden einzelnen Tag vor mir, aber ich kann nicht sagen, was ich dabei gefühlt habe und wie ich gelebt habe. Ich weiß es nicht mehr und doch: Ich weiß alles.

Ich warf mich eilends aufs Dach, der Bus war heillos überfüllt.  Als wir Kutum hinter uns ließen, blickte ich noch einmal zurück und glaubte, Dike zu sehen, meine Schwester. Eine Krähe saß auf ihrer Schulter und hackte ihr das linke Auge aus, während in Sturzbächen Blut aus unzähligen Schusswunden in den Staub floss.

Sie winkte.

In Ad-Dabbah angekommen, empfingen uns bereits Schleuser, die versprachen, uns nach Sidi Barani bringen zu wollen, von wo aus wir in die EU geschifft würden. Die Schleuser überboten sich mit günstigen Fahrtangeboten und so blieb auch dem letzten keine Wahl mehr zur Umkehr. Doch wer wollte das, nachdem er es soweit gebracht hatte, noch darauf ankommen lassen? Im Vergleich zur Zeit in Kutum, war die kommende Zeit ein Kinderspiel. In Ad-Dabbah arbeitete ich einige Zeit, wir wollten erst im Herbst aufbrechen, als Schuhputzer, als Handwerker – was sich gerade anbot, häufig genug schlief ich noch in kleinen Gassen, im Dreck von denen, die es, in meinen Augen, bereits geschafft hatten – jedoch nicht weit genug. Die Arbeit ließ mich rasch wieder klar denken, oder lenkte mich ab, jedenfalls kam ich gut zurecht und konnte sogar über das hinaus, was mir zum Fahrtgeld fehlte, ein wenig Geld zusammensparen. Hoffnung, ein Baum aus dem fruchtlosen Sand der Wüste, sprießt, wo eigentlich nichts wächst und wachsen kann und darf; ein Lied, das ich erst wie ein Tauber und Blinder tastend aus der Muttererde wachsen fühlte; erste Töne, zarte Triebe, getrieben von Willen und Glauben an eine Zukunft, die ich mir, nach allem, was bislang hinter mir lag, verdient glaubte. Von der Nachtsonne beschienen, ein Baum, tausendfach grünfarbene Blätter, Funkeln im Schimmer des Mondlichts, ferne Sterne, ferne Welten, von denen ich nichts ahne und doch: Rufe, Lockungen, der Erstgeborene, der Schwarze aus dem wüsten Land, Heimkehr, Heimkehr! Es gibt in unserem Dorf ein Sprichwort: Die Schlange lauert auf das Ei, womit sie sich, gleich wenn es gelegt ist, den langen Magen füllt und das Ei, durch die Muskeln zerdrückt, zerquetscht, verdaut – restlos ausscheidet.

Die Überfahrt von Sidi Barani nach Italien dauerte kaum drei Tage, das Meer lag ruhig, kaum ein Wind verkürzte uns die Leiden, die wir auf Deck lagernd von der Sonne ausgetrocknet wurden. Der Kahn war alt und rostig, angetrieben von einem alten Dieselmotor, der bereits in der ersten Nacht den Geist aufgab. Daraufhin gab es Streit, denn die meisten der Mitfahrenden bekamen es mit der Angst zu tun. Niemand mehr wollte umkehren, wir waren zu weit gekommen. Die Schleuser beruhigten die Menge mit ihren Pistolen und versicherten, der Motor würde in Kürze seinen Dienst wieder aufnehmen. Zu unserem Glück kam es so. Kurz vor Brindisi kam ein großer und gewaltiger Sturm auf, der meine Gedanken und Hoffnungen zu strafen schien, wenigstens glaubte ich fest daran, und warf mich an die Reling, dem Sturm zum Trotz und flehte, dass mich, im Andenken an Dike, ihre Liebe dies alles überstehen ließe. Im größten Unwetter legten wir an. Da war ich.

"Abd al-Rahman, 13. Bild: Tötet die Sklaven, tötet die Schwarzen!"

Wir wurden in LKW´s verladen, die uns in den Norden bringen sollten. Ich fror elendig, war nass bis auf die Knochen, hatte seit zwei Tagen nichts mehr zu essen gehabt und war froh, endlich unter der Plane des Fahrzeugs in Sicherheit zu kommen, wo ich sofort einschlief. Auf der Fahrt nach Norden gab es zwei Zwischenfälle, an die ich mich nicht gerne erinnere. Erst nach einem weiteren Tag gab es etwas zu essen, pappiges, süßes Zeugs, dass in Plastikpapier verpackt war und von dem wir angeblich schnell satt werden sollten. Der Schleuser lachte, als er uns die Schokoladenriegel unter die Plane warf. „Seid froh“, rief er laut, „überhaupt etwas zu essen zu bekommen.“

Niemand war froh darüber.

Eine Frau und ein Mann waren krank geworden und husteten und spuckten schlimm, bis es den Schleusern irgendwann zu viel wurde, außerdem gab es Beschwerden von Leuten, die Angst hatten, sie würden sich anstecken. Ich gebe zu, dass ich auch dazu gehört habe. Ich dachte, die Beschwerden würden helfen, die Schleuser wurden sich darum kümmern, dass Medizin beschafft würde, schließlich waren wir in der neuen Welt angekommen. Kurz vor Loreto hielt der LKW in der Nacht an. Die Beiden wurden von der Ladefläche geholt, wogegen sie sich heftig wehrten, doch sie waren zu schwach und wir wagten nicht, ihnen zu helfen. Wie getriebene Tiere versteckten wir uns im hinteren Teil des LKW, drückten uns zusammen und gegeneinander, dass uns die Luft auszugehen schien, bis schließlich, ich weiß es noch genau, fünf Schüsse fielen. Die Plane wurde zugezogen, der Motor gestartet, wir fuhren weiter.

Die Angst war nur eine winzige, aber doch beachtliche Wolke, die über einem weiten Feld lag und ich dachte, die Angst wäre alles, ein weites Feld gäbe es nicht. Ich lernte, der Angst auszuweichen. Aber der Angst auszuweichen ist sinnlos, denn trotzdem harrt sie über dem Ort, der Oase, wie der Nebel, nein! Der Nebel über der Oase ist die Angst!

Ich wischte sie fort.

Jetzt bin ich wirklich frei und weiß, es gibt keine endgültige Wahrheit.

Es ist schwer, sich eine Welt aufzubauen, wenn man weiß, es gibt keine Wahrheit. Viele versuchen, mir einen Teil ihrer Wahrheit in meine Welt zu rücken. Doch ich will diese Wahrheiten nicht. Ich baue mir meine Welt und meine Wahrheit selbst. Und mein Haus ist wie ich. Es lebt und wächst mit jedem Tag – es verändert sich. Ich bin kein Tier.

Vi lovede en vindvender i samlesæt i sidste

uge

Det er primært som alt et spørgsmål om bevidsthed. Et kvarters hånd- eller hovedstand fra kl. 5:45 til 6:00 hver dag giver det ønskede resultat. Det er nøjagtig som med lysene i lyskurven, rene konventioner bestilt hjem af overfladen. I Århus har trafikrådmanden derfor også indført en kønsspecifik lyskurv, idet farverne selvfølgelig bør underordnes dette vigtigere aspekt. Nattetrafikken med kropsvask på plejehjemmene er derimod ikke blevet rettet endnu. En ændret ressort-indretning med plejehjemmenes overgang til kulturudvalget ville kunne fremme sagerne ganske betydeligt af helt åbenlyse årsager – rent bevillingsmæssigt. 

Hånd- eller hovedstand:

Op bliver ned, og syd bliver nord o.s.v. Det har selvsagt en særlig sociologisk effekt, når vi alle løfter benene i samlet trop eller samlesæt. Så påvirkes den enkeltes aura sammen med alle de andres, og til sidst vil vi se aurora i spring over hvælvet. 

Så vil Solen igen stå op i vest – det er også lissom mere naturligt med østenrøden ved aftenstide. Men det sker ikke uden videre. Vi skal gennem polvendingen efter klimaforandringen og istiden først, sådan om en 17.000 år.

Men der er allerede ting der bærer os i den rigtige retning. Senest tiltrådte generalsekretær i FN meldte netop ved sin tiltræden, at problemerne i Sudan, specielt Dafur, i Somalia og på Elfenbenskysten skyldes klimaforandringer. Vi er så af den utvetydigt klare opfattelse, at større indvandring til Norden (før polvendingen) alt andet lige fører til en øget rumopvarmning og dermed øget CO2-udledning, når her trods alt er så koldt.

Og her er vi ved sagens kerne. CO2-problemerne i den vestlige verden skyldes simpelthen indvandringen, og tilmed spredes tropesygdomme og en række tidligere udrydede sygdomme med indvandringen. Ved at vende indvandringen til repatriering, altså i Syd-Nord-gående dialogisk retning  - om morgenen, altså – vil der kunne bringes et effektivt bidrag til FN’s klimakonference i København, et bidrag der permanent vil sætte Danmark på globussen.

Substans omhandlende klodevipperiet

Sonia

There has been lots of speculation, hand-wringing and other expressions of sincere concern since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the president of Sudan (see especially well-wrung hands here and here).

Turns out they were on to something. The LA Times has a wonderful–and, blessedly and unusually, lengthy–piece today exposing the costs to civilians in Darfur of the political game that’s being played over the ICC warrant.

International justice/jurisprudence seems to me like a great tool. But how are we supposed to use it? Thoughts. Please.