Message to Rishi

Long before Christians claimed it, this midwinter festival was marked by congregation, food, gifts, and hope for the light and warmth to come in spring. For me, that ancient tradition holds true just as much now, and maybe even more so in a year when hope for the light of tomorrow for the most vulnerable is so quickly diminished.

Diminished by the likes of Rishi Sunak who on a PR stunt visit to a shelter on Friday, run by the homeless charity The Passage boasted that the government was "investing a significant amount" after Levelling-Up Minister Felicity Buchan said."We announced  a huge package to tackle homelessness -£654m over  2 years.

Shelter replied "the government should be doing a lot more" to help homeless people starting with raising housing benefit. which Sunak has frozen since  2020.

The charity also urged the PM to "get on with building social homes" after he watered down housing targets to quell a Tory revolt.

Chief executive Polly Neate said "Hundreds of thousands of people. including more than 120,000 children woke up homeless today." 

In the excruciating  footage above we witness a man worth £730m giving a homeless person a plate of sausages and eggs and is asked by the individual if he was "sorting the economy out

"That's what I'm trying to do." Sunak replied. then asks the man incredibly, if he worked in business.The man called Dean replies."No, I'm homeless. I'm actually a homeless person.

Then in a staggering patronising display of obscenity from one of the richest man in the UK says to Dean that the food kitchen is a great place.Pretending to be on their side but showing no respect. It is disgusting that these places need to exist in first place. What they are is evidence of  the failure of a rotten tory Government and the hypocrisy of a man who supported and helped implement  policies that led to rise in homelessness.  

His words would have mattered if  he'd said "it is an abomination that a facility like this should have to exist in the UK today. I will do everything in my power to ensure that everyone in this country has a warm place to live, has a well paid job and a health service that works"

How could he ever relate to someone  or have any understanding or sympathy for who's fallen on hard times. with no personal frame of reference. You'd be hard pushed to find another person so fundamentally lacking in empathy or even a basic understanding than him and his rotten tory government.

Ultimately we are all an intrinsic part of this universe. We are all interconnected, and even though each of us separate individuals.We should appreciate the slender threads that hold us together.Through compassion we can share the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of our emotional maturity. Rishi so out of touch of reality has none of these values. he and the Tories just show us how easily they've accepted  the impoverishment of UK society and are happy to exploit it with no concept of shame. It's time for them to stop gaslighting. get houses built. tax wealth and assets fairly and stop blaming the poor and ordinary people for the problems created by those getting richer and richer.

Musical Highlights of the year:2022

 

 

2022 has been a particularly cruel year, post pandemic with a spiralling cost of living crisis,we've had 3 different governments and 3 different prime ministers, it seems Great Britain is not so great anymore.

On top of this so many brilliant people taken from us..Unfortunately we lost  Pharoah Sanders, Nik Turner, Wilko Johnson. Keith Levene, Mark Astronaut, Christine McVie,.Angelo Badalamenti, D.H. Peligri,Terry Hall. and Martin Duffy to name a few.

To honor these musical geniuses' inspirational legacies,let's continue listening to their incredible music and keeping their influence alive. 

Times ahead are going to be hard. As we ride these storms together lets be reminded of people like the individuals mentioned and of music’s ability to stir us, allowing us to forge further connections to ourselves and each other. 

However you spend or celebrate this time of year, power to the music and the people that make it. Lets  try and support local music venues and appreciate their intrinsic value. Music and the places where it is performed can be balms that can brings us together as we face the challenges  ahead.

Bandcamp an artist-focussed platform continues to allow us to support our favorite musicians and labels that enrich our lives and is a good place to discover 

In a year of reflection, music stretched and relocated in often unpredictable ways.In no particular order here are my musical highlights of the year that have really enjoyed, that include some reissues,here;s to better days ahead. Happy yule. winter solstice. Heddwch/Peace :-

 

1:The Intifada 1987 - Riad Awwad

2: Peter Vukmirovic Stevens and Penny Rimbaud - S LENCE 

3. Adwaith- Bato Mato 

3:Gwenno - Tresor

5: Moon Goose -  La Nuit

6:The Comet is Coming - Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam

7: Melts - Maelstrom. 

8: Cosmo,and the Objektors - Cop This  

9: Julian Cope - England Expectorates 

10: Les Rellizes Denudes - The Oz Tapes

11: Newtown Neurotics  - Cognitive Dissidents

12: Spiritualised- Everything Was Beautiful

13: Bjork  -Fossora

14:Spurious Transients - Fake Music

15:Sendelica - One Man Man's

16: Cate Le Bon- Pompei

17: Dream Syndicate - Ultraviolet Battle Hymns And True Confessions. 

18: Majazz Project - Al Fajer (The Dawn) ف​ر​ق​ة ا​ل​ف​ج​ر ا​ل​ف​ل​س​ط​ي​ن​ي​ة 

19: Omega  Tribe - New Peace Movement

20: Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime 

21: El Universo - El Universo

22: Awaiting The Elliptical Drift / VVK - IO Audio Recordings

 

23:Burum - Eniadau

24:. Sun Ra Arkestra – Living Sky

25:The Master Musicians of Jajouka- Dancing Under The Moon

Mōdraniht / Night of the Mothers

 

Tonight I want to take this opportunity to celebrate the female side of Old Yule,Mothers night, specifically. the Germanic holiday of Mōdraniht. a sacred fertility festival, held on what is now known as Christmas Eve and is closely associated with the Germanic matron cult. A north west European tradition attributing power to women, the Matres  (Latin for “mothers”) and Matronae (Latin for “matrons”), which would have included figures like Eostre, goddess of birth, Hel, goddess of death and Frigg the goddess of love. Along with other sister deities such as the Gaulish goddess Epona, the Welsh goddess Rhiannon and the Irish tutelary goddess Macha. 

Sisters in spirit to Suleviae, a goddess worshipped in Gaul, Britain and Galicia, the Disir, protectors of the Norse Clans, the Valkyries and the Norns of Scandinavian legend and  the Saxon Sigewif and waelcyrian, brave shield maidens so often mentioned in old tales like the Hervarar Saga,  Egil’s Saga and the Gesta Danorum.

Celebrations and feasting that  pre-date the Christian overlay by millennia, originating as far back as the Stone and Bronze Ages. These still live on today in the folk festivities like  Jul in Sweden and Denmark, Jol in Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands,  Joulu in Finland, Joelfest in Friesia in Holland, and the Joulud in Estonia.

Mōdraniht (anglo-saxon) is literally translated as Mothers Night, or Night of the Mothers.We don't know a lot about this celebration because it would have been suppressed after conversion to Christianity. We do know that it was a time to celebrate motherhood and probably other female ancestors. This celebration of the feminine may be related to the age old correlation between the fertility of women with fertility of crops, and with rebirth of new life. The Winter Solstice, after all, celebrated the rebirth of the Sun and lengthening of days.

Many people already know that the Twelve Days of Christmas comes from the fact that Yule was not just a one day celebration, but rather a  twelve day celebration of the return of the sun and its triumph over darkness.The yule log is a symbol of this manifestation.

Even if you lived where you wouldn’t see the sun above the horizon, the winter solstice marked the last day of the year where the darkness was at its longest. After winter solstice, you could guarantee the days would start growing longer again.

Just as it is in other indigenous religions, ancestor veneration was a very important aspect of Germanic spirituality. Both male and female ancestors were honored. But, it seems that female ancestors played an important role as guardians of the family line.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that women were often the ones home guarding the homestead while men were off at war, raiding, or trading. We do know that like the Celts, Germanic women were often trained to wield a sword. Although women on the battlefield was not as common as men, it was not uncommon either. There are accounts of female bravery in battle, and it is known that certain battle tactics were designed specifically for the shield maidens. So, it might be that the women who tended the homestead were seen as strong protectresses by their children. Indeed, many Germanic female names have elements of strength and battle in them. For example, the name Mathilde translates as "mighty battle maiden."

 Among the notable works of the Venerable Bede (c.673-735) is De temporum ratione (The Reckoning of Time). It explains why the length of days and nights changes (Bede knew the Earth was a globe); it explains how the Sun and Moon cause the phases of the Moon, and it addresses the relationship between the Moon and the tides (but doesn't understand how the relationship works). It also includes an explanation of various calendars used by different cultures. The whole point of his scholarship was to explain how to calculate the date of Easter, that "floating Holy Day" that can be held anywhere from 22 March to 25 April.

One of the events he discusses as part of other calendars is Mōdraniht (Night of Mothers), intended to be the start of the New Year:

...began the year on the 8th kalends of January [25 December], when we celebrate the birth of the Lord. That very night, which we hold so sacred, they used to call by the heathen word Modranecht, that is, "mothers night", because (we suspect) of the ceremonies they enacted all that night. [Wallis, Faith (1999). Bede: The Reckoning of Time. Liverpool University Press.]

Pope Gregory suggested that the missionaries to England should hold Christian feasts on the dates and in the same places (reconsecrated as Churches) where the heathen had been accustomed to have their pagan feasts and in this way to use their habits to bring them over to Christianity.

Mothernight, as with so many other heathen customs, are pieced together from the very few bits and pieces that survive, and we know very little about what was really practiced. Those who recorded the history were more interested in having those customs forgotten than preserving them.

Who were the "Mothers" meant by Bede? I think he was referring to female spirits that had to do with mankind's welfare, and who would be sacrificed to and invoked for bounty for the coming year. Some scholars have linked them to the dísir (singular dís), female spirits that watch over the fate of Norse clans. These would be similar to the Norns of Norse mythology who function like the Fates of Greek mythology.
Bede seems to be reliable on many of the observations he makes of other cultures. Unfortunately, he did not elaborate on the "ceremonies" that he "suspected" were performed on Mōdraniht, and we have no other contemporary source for information on what the celebration entailed.

Whatever the case may be, we know that female ancestors remained a prominent element in Germanic heathen religion. They were celebrated not only during Mōdraniht, but they also enjoyed another holiday during the Autumnal Equinox - Dísablót. While Mōdraniht is attested in Anglo-Saxon sources, Dísablót is attested in the Norse. However, both cultures share a linguistic and cultural heritage.

Mōdraniht was celebrated on the date that we now call Christmas Eve.This though  a very  old custom  can still be appreciated by people of any religion today! So this year, raise a glass and toast to your female ancestors. and all the women who have helped raise you and yours and those who are believed to watch over our families and help us in times of need and offer our thanks. 

International Migrants Day 2022: It takes a community

 

International Migrants Day is observed on 18 December throughout the world, and aims to raise awareness about t the roughly 272 million migrants, including more than 41 million internally displaced persons, and the challenges and difficulties they face as well as highlighting their valuable contributions to their communities and to their host countries.

The United Nations General Assembly in the year 1999 created the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

But on December 04, 2000, keeping an account of the large and increasing migrants across the globe, December 18 was decided as International Migrants’ Day.

Later, based on the previous concerns on December 14 and 15, 2006, 132 member states shared a high-level dialogue on the migration issues proposed by the General Assembly.

International Migrants Day was created to commemorate the importance of strengthening international cooperation and migration bilaterally, regionally, and globally. 

This year, International Migrants Day coincides with the end of the World Cup in Qatar. This coincidence is a particularly powerful reminder of both how reliant the global economy is on the benefits that migration and migrant work bring, but also of the injustices that many migrant workers face when they move for work. It is one more insult that the final of this tournament would be organised to take place on a day earmarked to celebrate the contributions of migrant workers and raise awareness about the challenges of international migration. 

In Qatar, migrants have been forced to work under extreme heat with no rest days, have not been paid for their work nor overtime, have been facing extortionate recruitment fees to obtain a job, and have been threatened to have their visa withdrawn if they tried to change employer. 

In some instances, when workers denounced these abuses and rights violations, they then risked detention and deportation, as a minimum. 

These examples, however, are not a unique to the Qatar World Cup. Migrant workers in the agriculture sector, fishing, electronics and construction industries, to name just a few, are also systematically exploited in severe ways. This is true for countries far away as well as at home.

All around the world, we have allowed our economies to become reliant on cheap labour – with slavery being driven by a relentless drive for cheap products and services. Businesses have allowed poor working conditions and systematic human rights abuses, that have at times cost lives. 

The benefits of welcoming migrant workers into our societies – such cultural and religious diversity and inclusion as well as larger and strengthened (and sometimes highly specialised) workforces – are often overlooked and taken for granted, meaning that the vulnerabilities of migrant workers are not always understood and mitigated. 

This global event examines a wide range of migration themes, Social Cohesion, Dignity, Exploitation, Solidarity to advocate for migration guided by the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.

The theme for the year 2022 is “It takes a community”.

It’s a good chance for us all to think about the people who surround us, how they have supported us and how we may have supported them.

The number of migrants across the world reached 281 million in 2020, or 3.6% of the world’s population, including many people forced from their homes by the impacts of climate change. 

In too many cases, the benefits brought by a migrant workforce come at a a high price for the workers themselves. Many migrant workers are severely exploited when they take up job opportunities abroad in search of income to support their families – some end up trapped in modern slavery.   

This severe exploitation is not small-scale, it’s taking place all around the world and across sectors that provide services, goods and experiences that enrich our life. From the food we eat, to the phones we use, the clothes we wear, and the entertainment we choose, we know there’s a high chance that migrant workers have been exploited along the way. 

Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to modern slavery, as a 2019 report by the International Organization for Migration has demonstrated. The 2022 Global Estimates on Modern Slavery also highlight that migrant workers are over three times more likely to be in situations of forced labour in the private economy compared to non-migrant workers. 

There  are various reasons why migrants are particularly vulnerable to forms of modern slavery. These include marginalisation, restrictive and inadequate immigration policies – that might tie a migrant’s visa to their employer – and barriers to access to remedy. Migrant workers are more likely to be concentrated in low-paid, precarious, informal work and, therefore, excluded from any form of social protection. This is especially the case for migrant women, who are overrepresented in the informal economy, particularly in the care and domestic sectors.

In UK and elsewhere, migrants contribute to society with their knowledge, networks, and skills to build stronger, more resilient communities. The global social and economic landscape can be shaped through impactful decisions to address the challenges and opportunities presented by global mobility and people on the move.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said:

 “On this International Migrants Day, we reflect on the lives of the over 280 million people who left their country in the universal pursuit of opportunity, dignity, freedom, and a better life.

“Today, over 80 per cent of the world’s migrants cross borders in a safe and orderly fashion. This migration is a powerful driver of economic growth, dynamism, and understanding.

“But unregulated migration along increasingly perilous routes – the cruel realm of traffickers – continues to extract a terrible cost. Over the past eight years, at least 51,000 migrants have died – and thousands more have disappeared. Behind each number is a human being – a sister, brother, daughter, son, mother, or father.

“Migrant rights are human rights. They must be respected without discrimination – and irrespective of whether their movement is forced, voluntary, or formally authorised. There is no migration crisis; there is a crisis of solidarity. Today and every day, let us safeguard our common humanity and secure the rights and dignity of all.”

 

According to the experts, there has been a significant increase in the use of immigration detention since the 1990s, although it is forbidden by international law.

Detention has a significant impact on the health and personal integrity of migrants, including on their mental health, including anxiety, depression, exclusion and post-traumatic stress disorder, and even risk of suicide.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not paid for their work.

On the occasion of International Migrants Day, we should  call on policymakers to facilitate human mobility instead of treating migrants as a threat or weapons. People on the move are human beings, crossing borders for different reasons – to seek protection, work, study, reunite with family members, among others.

Migrants and those defending their rights are facing a particularly challenging moment in Europe,a hostile environment where policies of panic and rejection dominate and too often kill. Fatal shipwrecks in the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea, people used as pawns at the border with Belarus and left dying in frozen woods at the EU’s doorstep, countless pushbacks and refoulement in Greece and along the Balkan route are just a few examples.

We must continue to provide a vibrant welcome to refugees among us, and to encourage our country to respond to the world's crisis by offering hospitality to vulnerable refugees now more than ever.
Women, men and children around the world are fleeing war, persecution and torture.They have been forced into the hands of smugglers and onto dangerous journeys across the sea in rickety old boats and dinghies. Many have lost their lives. Those who have made it often find themselves stranded in makeshift camps in train stations, ports or by the roadside. And still, politicians across Europe fail to provide safe and legal routes for people to seek asylum.

The  UK government should be leading  the way towards a more human global response to the millions fleeing conflict. and do more to help refugees in the UK rebuild their lives  People have always crossed borders, be it to find peace, love or better opportunities,throughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of individual determination to overcome adversity and seek a better life.and this will not stop, regardless of how high the fences are.hroughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of individual determination to overcome adversity and seek a better life. We meed a drastic shift of migration policies. safe regular pathways to Europe rather than higher walls and militarised borders. 

The respect of human rights, including migrant’s rights, must be placed at the core of the functioning of our societies and economies. As individuals, we have the power to demand this change.   

By demanding accountability of governments and businesses for their lack of legislation and harmful practices, by keeping ourselves informed and by supporting migrants’ right to decent working conditions and freedom from modern slavery, we can help making this change happen.  

Solidarity with migrants has never been more urgent. The appalling treatment of refugees across Europe and the staggering rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes must be challenged too. Let’s send a message that drives back the tide of racism, fascism, Islamophobia, and the scapegoating of migrants and refugees.

 and continue to loudly say that migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are welcome.Demand safe haven, and establish safe refugee routes to the OK to break  the cycle of tragic unnecessary deaths and enable the right to work and equal treatment for everyone and, furthermore, that no person should be forced to migrate.

Human Rights Day 2022: Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All

 

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In 1945, the Second World War came to an end. It is estimated that over 70-85 million people perished. At the time that was just over 3% of the world’s total population. Devastated by the event, 51 countries pledged that they would never want a repeat of such mass destruction ever again. They came together and formed what is now known as The United Nations. Following their pledge to international peace and security, they realised the importance of the security of the individual. Many atrocities had taken place during the war including mass killings, atomic bombings, torture cases and genocides. In a bid to never repeat such “barbarous acts which […] outraged the conscience of mankind”, Eleanor Roosevelt was tasked to chair the Commission on Human Rights which drafted what became known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 

The UDHR is a milestone document, which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world. The declaration serves as a foundation for dignity, freedom, justice and peace

There have been other precursors to this 20th-century text, such as the Magna Carta, which was drafted in 1215, the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights of 1791. However, it was discovered that these texts’ policies ignored women, people of colour, race, and religion.

  When the General Assembly adopted the Declaration, with 48 states in favor and eight abstentions, it was proclaimed as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations", towards which individuals and societies should "strive by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance".
Although the Declaration with its broad range of political, civil, social, cultural and economic rights is not a binding document, it inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. It has helped shape human rights all over the world.
Today the general consent of all United Nations Member States on the basic Human Rights laid down in the Declaration makes it even stronger and emphasizes the relevance of Human Rights in our daily lives.The High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the main United Nations rights official, plays a major role in coordinating efforts for the yearly observation of Human Rights Day.

 For millions of people, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still just a dream.Many people around the world are still denied the most basic of human rights on a daily basis. Women’s rights are still repeatedly denied and marginalised throughout the globe, despite 70 years of the milestone declaration on human rights. Confronted with widespread gender-based violence, hate and discrimination, women’s well-being and ability to live full and active lives in society are being seriously challenged. 

Racism, xenophobia and intolerance are still  problems prevalent in all societies, and discriminatory practices are widespread, particularly regarding the  targeting of migrants and refugees. including in rich countries where men, women and children who have committed no crime are often held in detention for prolonged periods. They are frequently discriminated against by landlords, employers and state-run authorities, and stereotyped and vilified by some political parties, media organizations and members of the public.

Many other groups face discrimination to a greater or lesser degree. Some of them are easily definable such as persons with disabilities, stateless people, gays and lesbians, members of particular castes and the elderly. Others may span several different groups and find themselves discriminated against on several different levels as a result.

Those who are not discriminated against often find it hard to comprehend the suffering and humiliation that discrimination imposes on their fellow individual human beings. Nor do they always understand the deeply corrosive effect it has on society at large.

The Human Rights Act is currently under attack, as part of its efforts to hide from accountability and make itself untouchable, the Government has announced it will ‘overhaul’ our Human Rights Act.

This year, Human Rights Day holds a particular importance given the acute and diverse impacts on fundamental rights and freedoms globally. Commemorating the day, allows us a moment to pause and reflect on the challenges humanity faces and to strengthen our resolve to respect, honour and support the universal principles recognised in the UDHR.  

The theme for Human Rights Day 2022 is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”. These principles are valuable touchstones, as we focus on and seek to address the significant human rights challenges facing the world. These cover the human rights violations resulting from the active armed conflicts, civil wars and political instability in countries such as Ukraine, Ethiopia, The Sahel, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar and Haiti, to focus on a few; the increasing number of authoritarian governments limiting social and political freedoms and discriminating on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity; the impacts to millions of workers who are being exploited by unfair business practices; the global refugee and migration situation, which the UN has described as creating the “highest levels of displacement on record”.

World Human Rights Day 2022, and every other World Human Rights Day, is a day to celebrate the achievements of those who have fought for and protected human rights. It is also a day to reflect on the future and work out what needs to be done to make society fairer for everyone.The day inspires everyone to speak up and take action to end discrimination in all forms, whenever and wherever it happens. This, in a nutshell, is what World Human Rights Day is all about.Let's take a moment today to highlight that all our struggles are interconnected

In the past few years, the world has seen some of the very critical times for mankind. People across the globe have witnessed a pandemic, social and political conflict, climate crisis and so on. Human Rights play a key role in sustaining such a situation. To overcome all of this, it requires a collective contribution to rebuild trust and embrace a shared and comprehensive vision of human rights on the road to a just and sustainable development.  When we fight for climate justice, we fight for social justice and human rights. The climate crisis is already being recognised as creating direct human rights consequences, particularly for populations in developing countries and low-lying territories. Fossil fuel companies continue to exploit and harm communities around the world, putting profit before people and the planet. We should not let them get away with it!

Human Rights Day reminds us all that how undemocratic countries are snatching away the rights of the innocent and how people are losing their lives because of injustice and violence. Let us promise to fight for their betterment.

It’s important to acknowledge that human rights, have rarely been gifted to us through benevolent leaders. Rather, they have been won after long fought battles and collective struggle. We need to recognize and pay tribute to human rights defenders the world over, putting their lives on the line for others, our voice must be their voice. 

 As thousands of struggles have proved, human rights are a vital lever in the quest for equality and social justice. If governments will no longer protect human rights it will be up to us, the people to keep on fighting for them and ensure our human right are always upheld.   

We all need to stand up for these Rights which are too often under threat.  We need to remind people of the importance of protecting our Human Rights to ensure that they cannot be eroded. Lets work to achieve a better life for all. And more importantly, to continue to take a stand for people whose human rights are still not being met across the globe, find a way to use our voices for those who may not have an opportunity to advocate for themselves. At the same time  strengthening  international law and justice in order to end impunity, and bring to justice those guilty of violations of human rights and offer protection to their victims.

Just by giving all the humans their rights, we can surely make this earth a far better place to live… where there will be peace, happiness and growth for one and for all. Today and every day we  must rise up against injustice and stand with everyone fighting for a more just and equitable world. Warm wishes on Human Rights Day.

 

 Take Action for Human Rights today – Participate in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights.

Cyclical rhythms

 

In times shifting corridor

On an earthly course,

Everyone that passes

Leaves a void and a hole,

Twists and knots tangled 

Existing deep within.

That never go away

Or ever ironed out.

Among this broken earth  

Under silvery moons.

In sunshine or rainfall

The fragile morn awakening.

Fibres of memory releasing

Dawn birds voices calling.

In healing pools of existence

Light dancing with darkness.

Life's rich tapestry and all its ambiguity 

Containing throbbing waves of synergy.

Different souls, heading to same exit

Tales of humanity, diversity, adversity.

On roads of nervous contrition

Following  the spiral case of life.  

The gift of land and eternal sky 

Waiting for whatever comes next, 

The NSPCC / JCB and Letters to Santa Claus

 

Every child is important in the eyes of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children – unless they are Palestinian, it would seem, because they have accepted millions from JCB a company which makes money from destroying Palestinian homes, traumatising the children and plunging the families into instant poverty.

And a three-year campaign to change the charity’s practice eventually evinced a response that they had checked with their lawyers, and it was legal to do so.

JCB, which has not engaged at all with campaigners, exports to an Israeli partner, Comasco. The bulldozer manufacturer is fully aware that their equipment is used to demolish Palestinian homes, schools, clinics, olive groves and water pipes. This is completely illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, the human suffering is immeasurable and studies by psychologists show that the children are permanently traumatised.

But it is all part of Israel’s policy of “judaizing” Palestine in – among other places – East Jerusalem, the highly fertile Jordan Valley and the Naqab (Negev).

But that cuts no ice with the charity which claims to exist for the protection of children. The acceptance of money from JCB is “legal” so the human misery wreaked by their bulldozers is ignored.

Faced with calls that it should refuse to accept money earned in activities that involve severe and enduring harm to Palestinian children, the NSPCC has  previously said that, "In line with Charity Commission guidance the NSPCC has produced ethical corporate fundraising guidelines reflecting its values… and undertakes due diligence based on criteria approved by its Trustees in relation to corporate partners."

Surprisingly, perhaps, the NSPCC feels entitled to regard profits earned from home demolitions, and the cruelty they inevitably entail, as clean money. Perhaps this is because the guidelines only advise the refusal of moneys "associated with any organisation connected with slavery, human trafficking and child labour or where a director or officer has been convicted of a sexual offence."

In a pamphlet called "Living Our Values", the NSPCC states: "We will speak out when something is wrong… We seek to achieve cultural, social and political change – influencing legislation, policy, practice, attitudes and behaviours and delivering services for the benefit of children and young people."

The NSPCC here recognises a responsibility to challenge accepted norms where these expose young people to harm. Yet when it comes to children in faraway lands, it suggests that government trading priorities provide an adequate guide to moral practice: "The export activities of a corporate do not form part of our ethical checks" unless concerning a country "on which the UK Government/ Department of Trade has formally imposed trade restrictions."

With this legalistic approach, the charity's officials brush aside a serious moral challenge to their mutually beneficial relationship with JCB.

Meanwhile the United Nations, Amnesty International and Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights have all denounced JCB’s complicity with Israel as war crimes. And the company is currently under scrutiny by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its lack of a human rights policy.

A broad coalition comprising Defence of Children International, ICAHD UK, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Protecting Palestinian Families, the Shoal Collective, Social Work Action Network, the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network, eminent social work and medical professionals and thousands of individual citizens has bombarded the NSPCC with letters, postcards and Tweets, all asking the senior staff and every single trustee at NSPCC to sever links with JCB.

All these bodies and individuals condemn JCB, quoting International Humanitarian Law, International Law and Human Rights conventions. But the NSPCC ignores it all, citing narrow legality.

And here comes the hypocrisy. NSPCC uses the following language of some of these documents in its banner headlines – “Every Child Matters” and “Every Child is Worth Fighting For” but these wonderful slogans don’t apply to Palestinian children.

The NSPCC was founded to prevent cruelty to children.  but despite them having received detailed information about JCB’s complicity in Israel’s house demolitions, it continues to accept donations and partner with the company. that derives profits from inflicting cruelty on Palestinian children – it doesn’t make sense.

The NSPCC has  recently launched its annual festive fundraiser, Letter from Santa. Aiming to drive donations for the charity during the winter season, the campaign, which is in its 20th year, encourages supporters to order a personalised letter from Santa for the little ones in their life. Apparently if children write to Santa with their own unique message via the NSPCC they will get an answer

So this information has been used to write a letter from an imaginary Palestinian child. It makes the point about the toxic relationship between the charity and its donor JCB.  

It would be great if as many copies of the letter flooded into the inboxes of NSPCC trustees and officers before Christmas. You could use the following actual letter, a modified form of it or a completely original letter of your own to one, more or all of them.

It would great to do the whole thing on December 6, the feast day of Saint Nicholas aka Santa Claus, but any day you can manage would be excellent.

Here are the addresses of the principal officers and all the trustees of the NSPCC and some of them use twitter – see below

Josephine.Swinhoe@NSPCC.org.uk   director of income generation

Peter.Wanless@NSPCC.org.uk          chief executive        @peterwanless

David.Hamilton@NSPCC.org.uk  director of communications and marketing

Claire.Watt@NSPCC.org.uk  director of services

Neil.Berkett@NSPCC.org.uk chair of trustees @neilberkett

Mark.Corbidge@NSPCC.org.uk treasurer

 j.begent@nhs.net @jobegent9

Joanna.Begent@NSPCC.org.uk

other trustees using same email format                    

Elizabeth Brash

Peter Daffern

Eithne Daly @eithnedaly

Pippa Gough @pippagough

Ife Grillo @ifetalksback

Albert Heaney

Andrew Kerr @andychariots

Tarek Khlat

Derrick Mortimer

Sheanna Patelmaster @5h34nn4

Sarah Ridgway

Tom Toumazis @tomtoumazis

Emma Smyth

Dear Santa 

 

My name is Leila and I live in Bethlehem. Most people in the city are Muslims but my family is Christian - however at this time of year we all celebrate Christmas! Everybody loves the enormous Christmas tree set up in Manger Square and all my school friends wish me “Happy Christmas!” Of course we wish them “Happy Eid” when it’s their turn and we all share the special foods in each other’s tradition. 

 

I have heard that children in the UK write to you via the NSPCC which helps children who are suffering from cruelty and that if they use this charity, you will write back to them so I am sending you my wish.  Please can you give my cousin Nabil a new house? A big yellow bulldozer knocked down his house last week. The soldiers said they had to destroy the house to make way for a new Israeli settlement and that the whole village is in the way. 

 

It’s getting cold and rainy now and Nabil is living under a plastic sheet near the rubble. His baby sister Maysun suffers from asthma and it’s hard to get her to hospital because of the checkpoints. So I’m very worried about what will happen to them as the winter goes on. 

 

My teacher told me that the company that makes the bulldozers gives money to the NSPCC but I am sure that must be a mistake. A charity which prevents cruelty to children wouldn’t take money from a company which made my cousins homeless, would it?

 

Anyway Santa my best present would be a new home for Nabil and Maysun 

 

With love from Leila 

 

ps I have been a good girl this year

 

 

International Day of Solidarity With The Palestinian People 2022

 

Today is International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The United Nations chose this day, 29th November, in accordance with mandates given by the General Assembly in its resolutions 32/40 B of 2 December 1977, 34/65 D of 12 December 1979, 56/34 of 3 December 2001, and other relevant resolutions.
The date of 29 November chosen has meaning and significance to the Palestinian people. Because on that shameful day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted resolution 181(II), which came to be known as the Partition Resolution. That resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State”, with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime. Of the two States to be created under this resolution, only one, Israel, has so far come into being.
This United Nations decision unleashed a catastrophe whose reverberations Palestinians continue to experience until today. On 14 May, 1948, the state of Israel was formed.Three-quarters of a million Palestinian Arabs—who were the majority of the population of historic Palestine, fled for their lives after experiencing or learning of massacres by Zionist paramilitary organizations, or were expelled from their homes during the ensuing Arab-Israeli war of 1948. By the 1949 armistice, the original partition lines had shifted violently so that Israel’s footprint became much larger than envisioned by the proposed partition plan, it was accorded 55 percent by the plan, but seized an additional 25% of Palestinian territory.

At present, the drastically reduced Palestinian land continues to be occupied by the Israeli military and Jerusalem is occupied and divided with Israel controlling and limiting access to religious sites. Palestinians originally displaced during the Nakba (the Arabic word for Catastrophe—what the Palestinians call the 1948 war when they lost their homeland) are still prevented from exercising the right to return to their homes in what is now Israel. And contrary to the resolution (and to the Fourth Geneva Convention )   Israel has continued to expropriate additional vast tracts of Palestinian territory for its own use and especially for the building and transfer of its own Israeli citizens to illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.
The Palestinian people, who now number more than 8 million, live primarily in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem, part of which is now administered by the Palestinian Authority; in Israel; in neighbouring Arab States; and in refugee camps in the region.
The International Day of Solidarity has traditionally provided an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine is still unresolved and that the Palestinian people is yet to attain its inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced.

Today reminds the world that the threats facing the Palestinian people intensify day by day,  and our only response can be to give even more, and to do even more as the Israeli government continues to press ahead with its gross violations of international law and Palestinian human rights, accelerating the ongoing colonisation of yet more Palestinian land, continues to demolish Palestinian homes and buildings in the Occupied West Bank and continues to subject Gaza to an ever-tightening land, air and sea blockade, making life insufferable for the nearly two million Palestinians, the majority of them refugees from Israel’s ethnic cleansing, trapped in the enclave, like Palestinian refugees everywhere, are denied the right to return to the homes from which they, their parents or grandparents were expelled.

For decades the world has been helplessly watching the Palestinian tragedy unfold as the people of this land are being driven out of their homes that are being destroyed. They are forced to wander as they are constantly harassed and deprived of the very basic necessities such as water. They have no freedom of movement, as they are being arrested arbitrarily, even little children and women have been detained.

Recent actions by the Israeli Government have illustrated the continuing nature of Israel’s illegal occupation and the denial of the rights of Palestinian peoples with the use of militarised violence and forced displacements. The attacks on Gaza in August 2022 killed 44 Palestinians, including 15 children, and were described by the UN Special rapporteur as an act contrary to international law. The Israeli army’s killing of the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh; the attacks on the Al Aqsa mosque and the outlawing of 7 NGOs who spoke up for Palestinian rights.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Israeli occupying forces have killed over 200 Palestinians so far- 51 of that number are children, the majority shot by Israeli forces or armed settlers in the occupied West Bank. 

As recent Israeli elections recorded a swing to the far-right and the targeting of activists and peaceful protesters has vastly increased, the conditions for Palestinian prisoners mirror those on the ground. Currently, 4760 Palestinian political prisoners are held in Israeli occupation prisons, including 160 children and 33 women. Of that number, 820 are administrative detainees, held without charge or trial based on undisclosed "secret information," four of whom are children, and three are women.

All the above  being just some examples of the  seriousness of the situation facing the people of Palestine, that is confirmed by the the continuing de facto annexation of Palestinian land by accelerated settlement building alongside statements of Israel’s continuing intention to proceed with annexation, show it is clearer than ever that the Israeli State is intent on eliminating any prospects of Palestinian self-determination.

These are threatening, uncertain times for Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. No Palestinian is untouched as we see the intensification of settler colonialism and occupation.More soldiers, more checkpoints, more harassment and more settler attacks.

There is no room for normalcy.The Palestinian Rights can no longer be "exceptions to the rule" of International law. As their advocates, our steadfastness is critical.

It is a testament of hope and perseverance that today the recognition of Israel as an apartheid state and the demand for it to be held accountable for this crime against humanity is becoming mainstream worldwide. Just as in southern Africa, relentless indigenous grassroots struggle and meaningful global solidarity have made this year a remarkable one for the Palestinian anti-apartheid struggle to end Israel’s ongoing Nakba. Beginning with Amnesty International’s milestone report on Israel’s apartheid, in high level UN meetings several states have acknowledged and condemned Israel’s apartheid regime and, in some cases, called for international pressure to end it. 

Although the circumstances of Palestinians have changed over the years, their core demands for liberation and return – and the need for resistance and solidarity to achieve this – have not.The tenacity of Palestinians in struggling for their most basic of rights, and the continued solidarity of people across the world in response, offer a ray of hope that neither alarming rightward drift of Israeli politics nor the bleak geopolitical landscape can diminish. The ongoing challenge for Palestinians, and those engaged in their struggle, this 29 November, is to translate this sentiment of hope into tangible structures capable of moving towards a different political reality.

Today and everyday  lets  re-affirm our solidarity with all Palestinians in historic Palestine and their right to self-determination' with Palestinian political prisoners (women, men & children) in Apartheid Israel's jails, and with the millions of refugees struggling to make their legally guaranteed right of Return a reality.

A struggle that should concern people with humanitarian values everywhere. We can  amplify the Palestinian people’s call for freedom, justice, equality, security and dignity and the right of return,by supporting “effective measures” including sanctions, as called for by Palestinian civil society, against actions by the Israeli state that are illegal according to international law. This must include action to ensure that Israel stops the building of settlements, reverses any annexation, ends the occupation of the West Bank, ceases the blockade of Gaza, brings down the Wall and respects the right of refugees to return to their homes under international law.

The UK government must take action too by banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and implementing sanctions, including a two-way arms embargo, until Israel complies with international law. Public bodies also need to take action to ensure that they are not investing funds or procuring contracts with companies complicit in Israel’s human rights abuses. 

In drawing attention to the struggle of the Palestinian people we cannot but remember the firm stand that the United Nations took against racism, against the evil of Apartheid and supported the liberation struggle of the people of South Africa. 

 At the time his people were liberated, the celebrated leader of the liberation struggle for South Africa Nelson Mandela made a profound statement, which resonates around the world to this day.

 He said: “For many years the United Nations stood firm against racism. Because of that a worldwide consensus was built against this unfair system. We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” 

Today on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People wherever you are in the world you can activate your solidarity by joining and sharing existing campaigns that can put an end to Israel;s impunity. Apartheid is still a crime against humanity. From the rivers to the sea, Free Palestine!

Another anniversary we should never want to Forget

One year ago,on 24/11.22 a rubber dinghy carrying 34 people sank in the English Channel. There were two survivors. in what was the worst disaster on record involving migrants in the sea separating France and the United Kingdom, an incident that shocked people around the world.

They all had different hopes and dreams. Many were trying to flee violence, persecution or hardship in their own country. Some were seeking to reunite with their family and partners. Others wanted to find work here to support the family they’d left behind. All were hoping to find safety and security. 

The incident came amid record numbers of asylum seekers attempting to cross the Channel and further highlighted the dehumanisation and objectification of migrant ‘bodies at borders’.

The British government steadfastly refused to take responsibility, instead pointed the finger of blame at the French for failing to stop people smugglers operating on the beaches near Calais.

In the 3 hours it took for the boat to sink, distress messages flooded in from those on board, yet French and British coastguards debated whose responsibility it was to rescue them. No help came, as one by one the passengers died of cold or drowned. 

Evidence from the two survivors, phone calls, text messages and emails unveiled the horror of the disaster. The phone conversations suggested that neither the French nor the British coastguards wanted to take responsibility, each believing the vessel to be in the other's waters.

A preliminary report, put together by a law firm representing the victims' families, said that the first calls for help were made around 2am and continued for over two hours, with the passengers increasingly begging for help.

Logs published by the Le Monde newspaper   last weekend indicate that they tried to contact both French and English rescue services, but were not rescued before the captain of a private boat reported bodies floating in the water in the strait of Calais – 12 hours after the first mayday call on 24 November 2021.

The account only covers the response by French authorities, because logs and other evidence from the British coastguard are subject to a separate investigation that has not yet published its findings.

The first call to the French coastguard was recorded at 1.51am local time, when a passenger stayed on the phone for 14 minutes begging for help for more than 30 people on board the inflatable boat. 

 “We need help, if you please, help us,” the man was recorded saying.

Minutes later, a telephone conversation between British and French authorities reportedly indicated that the boat was in French waters around half a mile from the nautical border.

Migrants continued to call for help, but at 2.33am logs show that French authorities instructed them to call 999 because they were in British waters at that point.

They were given the same message in further calls before the boat is believed to have overturned around 3am. 

Half an hour later, logs compiled by French lawyers show that a survivor on the phone to French authorities said people were in the water but was told: “Yes, but you are in English waters.”

Records show that shortly after 4am, British authorities told their French counterparts that they had received a distress call but found nothing at the reported location of the boat. 

French authorities formally closed their operation at around 4.30am after calls ceased and a French fisherman found the victims’ bodies the next day. 

We now know far more about what the French coastguard did that night. But the British actions are covered-up. The French coastguard disclosed its record of emergency calls to lawyers as part of a French investigation. The British authorities have not.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch, tasked with investigating the worst loss of life in the Channel in over 30 years, to add further injury  will not present its findings until next year and has yet to get in touch with most of the families of the dead, despite receiving their contact details. The families have also been denied access to recordings of their loved ones’ final calls for help.

The unmistakable message conveyed by such responses is that these deaths don’t matter and that the families of the deceased are unworthy of respect. But the  people who died in the Channel  have names, lives, stories, and families, and should  not be forgotten.

These drownings were not an isolated incident, over the last 20 years, many other asylum seekers have also died trying to cross the Channel to the UK. And in the 365 days since those 31 people drowned, nearly 44,000 have made the dangerous crossing and the numbers are only going up, according to data from the PA news agency.

Under the UK government’s hostile environment policy, many legal immigration routes have been closed and the rights of asylum seekers have been severely curtailed. The increasing number of people attempting to cross the Channel in small boats in recent years appears to be linked to the closing down of other routes.

Thus, far from tackling a dangerous migration process, the British government’s actions seem to be feeding this route and as a consequence will guarantee more drownings.The simple truth is that people fleeing war and persecution will continue to risk making these perilous  frightening journeys. whether by boat or other means, if  the government refuse to share responsibility for providing safe access to a kinder, fairer and more effective properly functioning asylum system

On the anniversary of the tragedy, refugee and migrant support groups joined relatives at memorial events  across the country and, through calls for a public inquiry into the events, made it clear that callous indifference to the lives and deaths of migrants and refugees will not be tolerated.

They also called for an end to the poisonous rhetoric used by our politicians – calling innocent refugees ‘illegal migrants’ or, worse, ‘an invasion’ – that only serves to breed more fear and division.Demanding safe and legal passage to refugees to allow them to claim asylum in Britain without risking their lives in the Channel.

By shutting down ordinary routes for people to seek asylum in the UK, the Tory government has encouraged ever more dangerous smuggling operations that have become a last resort for those desperate enough to put themselves in smugglers hands. If the UK government really cares and wants to put people smugglers out of business, the simple demands for safe and legal passage would ensure they would disappear overnight. and more importantly, it would safe lives. On behalf of the the victims and their families of the the 24 November tragedy we must continue to demand change.