New Internationalist articles from July 2005

New Internationalist archives from July 2005

From this month's editors.(Editorial)
July 1, 2005... THIS has been a very high-tech magazine--what with the two of us in Oxford and South India editing, writing and commissioning, and teleconferences spanning four continents and five countries. At the same time, it has been hard just to find...

Unwise reduction.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Our world is terribly sick, perhaps mortally so (Only protect... Ecosystems, NI 378). For those who are listening, some days all we can hear are cries of pain. However, for many reasons, those who are able often look away and I can only be...

On the lookout.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... I write this in search of a small number of dedicated charismatic individuals willing to found a mass environmental movement with international potentiality. It has now become plain that the extreme and widespread misuse of planetary life...

Hariri's loss.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Reem Haddad's column is the first I read when my NI arrives, so when Rafic Hariri was murdered I was gripped with concern about Reem. She feels like a sister to me. As I read her column (Letter from Lebanon, NI 378), a lump came to my throat. I...

Slowly, slowly ...(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... I have read your excellent magazine for 25 years. But your cover strapline always irks me. To 'fight for global justice' implies the discredited approach of warriordom. What weapons shall we 'fight' with? Words? If they're ineffective...

Not to blame.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Sue Hensley (Letters, NI 378) states that the massacres in West Papua are really carried out by multinational companies and foreign powers. But she then goes on to say that we are all responsible for the murders. It is essential to...

Safe distance.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Street children (NI 377) led me to a fantasy. Suppose some altruistic people-smuggler delivered hundreds of street children from around the world to a remote part of the New Zealand/Aotearoa coast and then slipped away. What would happen when...

Basta!(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... After reading Street children, I am disgusted that so many other supposed 'human beings' can terrorize, beat and use street children for their own gratification. I am sickened and amazed at the harm human beings can inflict on each other and,...

Citizen woman.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Re: 'Motherland' (Letter from Lebanon, NI 377). My mother was British. My father was Polish and came to Britain during Second World War to join the Allied forces. As soon as the War ended my parents married. Not long afterwards a police...

Shock therapy.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Thank you, New Internationalist, for your great efforts at making crucial news information--most of which is being suppressed by the 'popular' media of today's world--available to your readers. The 'state of fear' which you featured in NI...

A test of wills: explosions rock Reem Haddad's beloved Beirut--and out of the cave of fear, new-found courage emerges.(Letter from Lebanon)
July 1, 2005... IT didn't take long for once-boisterous Beirut to become a ghost town in the evenings. We were petrified. Night after night we sat at home dreading what might come. And it came. The explosions ripped through an unsuspecting neighbourhood....

Southern exposure: highlighting the work of photographers from the majority world.(Armenia, 24 April, day to remember the genocide by Ottoman Empire)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Perhaps the only day when most Armenians set aside their differences and come together is 24 April. This date commemorates the death of as many as 1.5 million Armenians during the massacres and deportations that took place in the Ottoman Empire...

On football.(soccer national teams)
July 1, 2005... In 2002, Clint Mathis, US soccer star, announced that his team was going to win the World Cup. It was only logical and natural, he explained, because: 'We're pretty much the lead country in everything.' The leading country in everything...

Hearts of darkness: massive military build-up coincides with Halliburton's arrival in West Papua.(WEST PAPUA)
July 1, 2005... THE Indonesian military recently unveiled plans to increase their presence in West Papua--its mineral-rich eastern province--by up to 15,000 new troops. This will bring the total number of Indonesian military personnel in the territory to...

South Africa's prickly pear spikes poverty.(CURRENTS)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Women in South Africa's Fort Beaufort township can make a little money by selling prickly pear fruit on the streets, but a larger source of income comes from brewing the fruit into beer. Prickly pear, native to Mexico, was introduced to South...

Ethiopia: local people are out, wildlife is in.(Nechasar National Park )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... In November last year, 463 houses of the Guji-Oromo people in Nechasar National Park in southern Ethiopia were burned down by police and park authorities. It is the latest move in the effort to remove the Guji and Kore people from within the...

Bolivar's broom: public protests sweep through Argentina.(Simon Bolivar)
July 1, 2005... ARGENTINA'S left-leaning President, Nestor Kirchner, has only just repaired the largest-ever default on national debt in his country with a swap that leaves bondholders with 35 cents in the dollar. Now he faces an unprecedented wave of strike...

Word power: the language of the environment.(CURRENTS)
July 1, 2005... globalization n. ability to say Big Mac and Fries in Swahili indebted adj. descriptive of debtor forced to, a) expose their vulnerable market, and b) appear grateful for it protectionism n. approach to trade condemned in all countries...

Brazil throws Microsoft out of the Windows.(CURRENTS)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Brazil has pledged to invest heavily in its own software industry in a bid to keep pace with the technological advance of the developed nations. And to Microsoft's chagrin, there won't be a Start button in sight. The Government has thrown its...

China: demonstrable discontent.(CURRENTS)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Dedicated to preserving stability and maintaining its monopoly on power, the Beijing regime sings the praises of China's booming economy. Meanwhile, with China's reforms crippled by political corruption and the rising gap between rich and poor,...

Buried alive: Bangladeshi factory collapse highlights dangerous conditions in global sweatshops.(LABOUR)
July 1, 2005... It was 1:00am on 11 April this year and the 250-worker night shift was hard at work in the factory housing the Spectrum Sweater Factory and Shahrair Fabrics Industry in Savar Dhaka, Bangladesh. Without warning the factory crumbled onto their...

Raiders of the lost park: true tales of a mixed-up world.(Seriously ...)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... If a tree falls in a forest and Arthur Andersen isn't around to hear it, do we cost it under a general depreciation budget or should it be recorded as a debit in the current accounts' register of our special tax-exempt entity in the Cayman...

Combatting caste Mari Marcel Thekaekara reports from India on the stink of untouchability and how those most affected are trying to remove it.(KEYNOTE)
July 1, 2005... 'IN the rainy season,' the woman began, 'it is really bad. Water mixes with the shit and when we carry it (on our heads) it drips from the baskets, on to our clothes, our bodies, our faces. When I return home I find it difficult to eat food...

The caste system.
July 1, 2005... The caste system ensures that between 250 and 300 million people worldwide continue to suffer from segregation, exclusion, modern day slavery and other extreme forms of discrimination, exploitation and violence. The Indian caste system is...

Caste out: blatant rather than latent, caste is still alive--and kicking--in the West. Nikki van der Gaag reports.(CASTE IN THE WEST)
July 1, 2005... DAVINDER Prasad is very proud of his daughters. His oldest, Rena, works in the media; the second is doing a degree in fashion and the youngest, Indira, named after India's former Prime Minister, is still at school. Davinder works as a...

View from the top: KR Narayanan was India's first and only Dalit President from 1997 to 2002. Mari Marcel Thekaekara found him ready to speak his mind.(POLITICS)
July 1, 2005... THE contradiction confounds you. A Dalit elected to the highest post in the land in a country where every day Dalits are humiliated, raped, tortured and killed. Of course, governments are notorious for tokenism; show-casing their support for...

Caste: One in every 25 people suffers from caste discrimination based on the kind of work they do and their family origins. That is around 250-300 million people globally and 179 million in India alone. Many countries have laws against discrimination, some specifically against caste discrimination, but they are rarely enforced.
July 1, 2005... Common features of caste systems (1) * Physical segregation--for example, not being allowed to drink from the same cup or share the same water source as higher castes. * Social segregation, including a prohibition on intercaste...

I, a Brahmin: UR Ananthamurthy is an Indian poet and writer famous for his outspokenness on issues of caste. He is also a Brahmin.(VIEWPOINT)
July 1, 2005... As a Brahmin, I have not enjoyed the distress and even anger that my stories have caused to other Brahmins. I remember once a mild-mannered, hospitable woman who had served me lunch, beckoned to me as I was preparing to leave. 'Nobody...

Mariamma's Shame: an extract from a story by Bama, one of the first Dalit women writers to be recognized and translated.(WOMEN)(Excerpt)
July 1, 2005... Mariamma, a young woman from the paraiya community, was on her way home from collecting firewood when Kumarasami, a high-caste landowner, attempted to rape her. She managed to escape and ran home. Afraid that his reputation might be in ruins,...

Between a rock and a hard place.(NEPAL)
July 1, 2005... Nepal's 4.5 million Dalits have always been the poorest of the poor. But now they face an additional problem: in the latest escalation of the nine-year civil war, they are caught between the Maoist guerrillas who see them as an obvious ally,...

The choice: when Manami Mori, a non-Buraku, fell in love with a Buraku man the path was suddenly strewn with thorns. This is an extract from her story.(JAPAN)
July 1, 2005... I first encountered the Buraku issue when I met my future husband. After he told me that he was of Buraku origin, I told my family. Then, they changed their attitude quite abruptly. They said that I should not go out with him any more, although...

Tied to the job: caste remains a curse in many African countries. While people there are rarely killed because of it, discrimination against what are known as 'caste' people is common. Work and descent remain the binding factors, says Tidiane Kasse.(AFRICA)
July 1, 2005... CASTE first appeared in Africa in the 18th century, in what was then the Malian empire. It depended on a social stratification which distinguished the 'griots' (traditional musicians) and other artisans (blacksmiths, shoemakers, carpenters)...

The blacksmith and the noble: stories that tell how castes came to be formed are no tall tales for people in Burkina Faso.(AFRICA)
July 1, 2005... IN the Yatenga region in Burkina Faso, it is still common to see people refusing to drink from the same calabash or sit on the same mat as a blacksmith. The reason lies in an old tale. It goes: 'In the beginning blacksmiths and nionnonses (the...

International.(ACTION)(Directory)
July 1, 2005... Anti-Slavery International is the world's oldest international human-rights organization and works to eliminate all forms of slavery, including that based on caste. Thomas Clarkson House, The Stableyard, Broomgrove Road, London SW9 9TL. Tel:...

Britain.(ACTION)(Directory)
July 1, 2005... CasteWatch UK aims to monitor caste discrimination practices or policies in Britain, to raise awareness of caste discrimination occurring in the country and to work for legal, social and democratic remedies, PO Box 3685, Coventry, CV6 4WA....

Canada.(ACTION)(Directory)
July 1, 2005... CHETNA Association of Canada (CAC) researches underlying causes of socio-economic inequities and propose strategies for sustainable human, social, and economic development. Tel: +00 1604-992-7473. Email: infochetna@yahoo.ca; web@chetna.net

India.(ACTION)(Directory)
July 1, 2005... The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) works to ensure that India and the international community recognize that Dalit rights are human rights. 34/15, East Patel Nagar, First Floor, New Delhi, 110 008. Tel: +91 11 30966234. Email:...

Japan.(ACTION)
July 1, 2005... Buraku Liberation League is a movement demanding a national policy on Buraku problems. Email: honbu@bll.gr.jp Web: www.bll.gr.jp/eng.html Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute (BLHRRI) aims to eliminate all forms of...

Nepal.(ACTION)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Dalit Human Rights Organization (DHRO) campaigns on Dalit human rights in Nepal. New Plaza, Putalisadak, Kathmandu. Tel: +977 1 4445300. Email: dhro@wlink.com.np The Dalit NGO Federation is an umbrella organization of Dalit NGOs which...

Pakistan.(ACTION)
July 1, 2005... Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan is a non-political organization which works to raise issues concerning the Scheduled Castes of Pakistan. Email: pakdalits@yahoo.com Web: www.pakdalits.tk

Further reading.(ACTION)(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
July 1, 2005... Caste, race and discrimination: discourses in international context, Rawat Publications in association with the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, 2004 (www.dalitstudies.org). A series of essays that emerged from the context of the World...

Fiction/autobiography.(ACTION)(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
July 1, 2005... Kurukku, Bama, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1992. The story of her childhood memories by the first Dalit woman to appear in English translation (see page 22). Samskara: a Rite for a Dead Man, U R Ananthamurthy, Oxford University Press,...

Pope Benedict XVI.(WORLDBEATERS)(Biography)
July 1, 2005... Job: Newly elected spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics. Ex-head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Reputation: Uncompromising, old-fashioned conservative; cool, intellectual, aesthete. Back...

Ao Toa: Earth Warriors.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Ao Toa: Earth Warriors by Cathie Dunsford (Spinifex Press, ISBN 1 876756 43 8) This is the latest in Cathie Dunsford's series of novels concerning the exploits of Cowrie, her exuberant eco-warrior. After travelling to San...

Shell Shock The Secrets and Spin of an Oil Giant.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Shell Shock The Secrets and Spin of an Oil Giant by Ian Cummins and John Beasant (Mainstream Publishing ISBN 1 84018 941 X) Shell Shock is a timely and valuable history of one of the three remaining oil giants. The authors start...

Stop the War The story of Britain's biggest mass movement.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Stop the War The story of Britain's biggest mass movement by Andrew Murray and Lindsey German foreword by Tony Benn (bookmarks publications ISBN 1905192 00 2) Someone, in this story of the remarkable mobilization of outrage that...

Moolaade.(MIXED MEDIA)(Movie Review)
July 1, 2005... Moolaade Written and directed by Ousmane Sembene Terrified by the village ceremony where they will be 'cut'--their genitals excised--four young girls, the oldest not yet 10, flee. They ask Colle, a circumcised woman who some years...

Czech Dream.(MIXED MEDIA)(Movie Review)
July 1, 2005... Czech Dream Written and directed by Vit Vlusak and Filip Remunda The advance publicity is encouraging--Czech Dream is an anti-consumerist film about the dominance of supermarkets. But the reality is different. Vlusak and Remunda...

Bjork: Army of Me.(MIXED MEDIA)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2005... Bjork: Army of Me by Various Artists (One Little Indian TPLP 467 CD) Bjork has always been an enthusiast of the remix. Versions of her work have abounded to the extent that she devoted an entire album, 'Telegram', to invited...

La Juderia.(MIXED MEDIA)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2005... La Juderia by Yasmin Levy (Connecting Cultures CC 50024 CD) If Jewish diasporic music now has a strong international presence--think of the late Ofra Haza's Yemenite pop or the international klezmer bands--there's one significant...

Interview with Israel's Refuseniks.(making waves)(Haggai Matar, Adam Maor and Matan Kaminer)(Interview)
July 1, 2005... Haggai Matar, Adam Maor, Matan Kaminer. These names may not be familiar to the world at large, but in Israel they are part of a well-known group of five young men who banded together to take a stand against the country's compulsory military...

Riding for their lives: Daoud Khan's photo essay on the use of children as camel-racing jockeys in the United Arab Emirates.(ESSAY)
July 1, 2005... The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is widely regarded as one of the most pro-Western countries in the Gulf region. It's become popular as a venue for an increasing variety of international sporting events. Yet few realize that for nearly 25 years...

Somalia.(COUNTRY PROFILE)
July 1, 2005... SOMALIA is the ultimate in 'imagined communities', the failed state whose fissiparous character is unique even in today's splintered world. Situated in the dusty Horn of Africa, this is a country whose Transitional Federal Government (TFG)...