Jpic News From John Paul Blog ? Vol. 5 - N 9

Christians are increasingly concerned about government plans to crack down on “non-violent extremism” after an opinion poll found that nearly a third of people said Jesus Christ was an “extremist”. Twenty-five per cent also thought that Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela could be considered extremists. The poll carried out by ComRes among the Britons (United Kingdom) for the Evangelical Alliance also found that nearly half of the people interviewed believed that it was extremism to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman only. Dr David Landrum, director of advocacy for the Evangelical Alliance, which represents some two million Evangelicals, said: “The language of extremism is a recipe for chaos and division. This poll shows the scale of moral confusion in our society with the public having no way of deciding whether something is extreme or not. It also shows the division that might ensue if the Government persists in trying to use extremism as a way of regulating peaceful ideas in society. Detached from terrorism and incitement to violence, extremism does not work as a litmus test for judging peaceful beliefs and opinions. Indeed, the Government has tried and failed over the last two years to define extremism with any precision and this poll shows that the public share that confusion.” Read the entire article

In a country wracked by civil war and ethnic strife, opened in 2008 by the Irish Loreto Sisters, the Loreto Girls Secondary School brings girls from throughout this ethnically diverse country to
study and learn together: a unique space where young women can dream of a better future and begin to acquire the skills that will help them construct it. This is a unique environment in a land torn by civil war since 2013, according to Nicky Hess a US Mennonite volunteer. "The school is an oasis in a country overcome by violence. One of the first casualties of trauma is imagination; you become incapable of imagining a future that's better or different. These girls want to become engineers and teachers and doctors and lawyers, and they can hold fast to those dreams because the school gives them the space to dream." She is an emergency room nurse who helps run the school's clinic. For her, the school offers the girls something rare here: an opportunity to just be kids. "I play basketball with them, something that people do all over the world. But too many children here are rushed into maturity, and they have to care for their younger siblings. It's refreshing to see kids just be able to play and have fun without having to be responsible all the time. That's a part of childhood that everyone deserves." Read the entire article  

One cannot serve two masters: one's own interests and those of the Country. One cannot serve the Country if one is making use of the Country. Here are the results of the Study Group on the Congo: it documented over a period of 20 months the vast and diverse portfolio of the business affairs of Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and his family. This report presents the conclusions based on legal documents. Kabila and his family own, either in part or entirely, more than 80 companies and businesses in the country and abroad: permits for actively exploiting diamond minds over an area which extends for more than 720  km along the frontier with Angola. These companies have brought in millions from operating in mining projects which are amongst the largest in the world, and some businesses have received payments from the World Bank, the Congolese Government and the United Nations. A conservative reading of the publicly available documents suggests that their businesses have brought in revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars since 2003 and that they possess assets which are easily worth several tens of millions of dollars. One of the conclusions of the report is that the businesses extend over almost all the sectors of the Congolese economy: agriculture, mines, banking, property, telecommunications, airlines. The Minister of Congolese Mines has granted more mining permits to a company controlled by Jaynet Kabila, the sister of the President, than is permitted by the Mining Code. Businesses belonging to Zoe Kabila have earned millions of dollars thanks to joint ventures and sub-contracts, including with Sicomines, sharing in a mining agreement worth 6.2 billion dollars made with China. Some commercial possessions of the family are protected or supervised by members of the Republican Guard, which is not permitted in the legal terms of the authority of that body. The family businesses have benefited from important public contracts, including the issue of driving licenses. At least one of the family businesses was implicated in an agreement to extract copper which was challenged in 2011. This led the International Monetary Fund to suspend its program of loaning half a billion dollars to the Congo. The result of the research raises a series of questions about conflict of interest and underlines the need for major transparency and liability for tax. See here the report (French)

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has approved the adoption of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The resolution, adopted on 4^th  December 2015, recognizes “the importance of international tourism, and particularly of the designation of an international year of sustainable tourism for development, in fostering better understanding among peoples everywhere, in leading to a greater awareness of the rich heritage of various civilizations and in bringing about a better appreciation of the inherent values of different cultures, thereby contributing to the strengthening of peace in the world”. This declaration "is a unique opportunity to advance the contribution of the tourism sector to the three pillars of sustainability – economic, social and environmental, while raising awareness of the true dimensions of a sector which is often undervalued” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “UNWTO is very much looking forward to proceeding with the organization and implementation of the International Year, in collaboration with Governments, relevant organizations of the UN system, other international and regional organizations and all other relevant stakeholders”, he added. The decision comes at a particularly important moment as the international community embraces the new Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved by the UN General Assembly last September. Tourism is included as targets under three of the SDGs - SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production and SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. To know more, see here  Here Read the adopted resolution  Read also here Tourism and the SDGs

Tokyo has adopted the slogan “Fair Play for Earth” for its supposedly green Olympic Games. It has now come to light that tropical wood is going into the plywood being used in the Olympic Village and stadiums. Ancient trees are falling in the rainforests of Malaysia for concrete formwork in Japan! Shin Yang – a logging company that has few scruples with regard to the environment or the rights of Malaysia’s indigenous people – is partly responsible. The company produces hundreds of millions of sheets of plywood every year. Sarawak’s indigenous peoples are having their forests stolen: tropical plywood from their ancestral home – in all likelihood from illegally felled trees – is being used to build facilities for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Tell Japan and the IOC that tropical wood has no place in the Olympics! Several Penan communities have taken legal action against Shin Yang for illegal deforestation and land grabbing – so far without success. It’s time to focus the eyes of the world on the destruction of rainforests and put pressure on the Japanese government and the organizational committees of the games. Let’s ensure that the sports community and policymakers fill the slogan “Fair Play for Earth” with life! Take action and sign here  

Record high temperatures are gripping much of the globe and more hot weather is to come. This implies more drought, more food insecurity, more famine and more massive human displacements. In fact, extremely high May and June temperatures have broken records in parts of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported, adding that the heat-waves have arrived unusually early. At the same time, average global surface temperatures over land and sea are the second highest on record for the first five months of 2017, according to analyses by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA-Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting Copernicus Climate Change Service. In Portugal, extremely high temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius contributed to the severity of the devastating, fast-moving weekend wildfires that ripped through the country’s forested Pedrógão Grande region, some 150 kilometres (95 miles) north-east of Lisbon, leaving dozens dead and more injured. WMO on 20 June also reported that Portugal is not the only European country experiencing the effects of the extreme weather, as neighbouring Spain – which had its warmest spring in over 50 years – and France, have seen record-breaking temperatures. France is expected to continue to see afternoon temperatures more than 10 degrees above the average for this time of year. Meantime in Spain, spring (from 1^st March to 31^st May 2017) has been extremely warm, with an average temperature of 15.4 ° C, which is 1.7 ° C above the average of this term (reference period 1981-2010), the UN specialised body informs. Many other parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom, also witnessed above average temperatures into the low to mid 30°s. Read here all the article  

Are animals subjects to rights like humans? Are theirs "animal" rights? A small story to smile about and ask if certain ideas would lead to greater respect for nature or to greater conflicts. Every event of life has no other meaning than that which you give it. See the short film here

Sometimes, only through fiction do we attain to recognize reality. This short video conveys a clear central message: not everything that glitters is gold. And it does it in a direct, simple and funny way, with a soundtrack music attuned to "the staging" and with a spectacular end. Although the idea is clear, people with different perspectives and background can understand it in a different way and there will be even those who do not like it. The character represents those who lie to their society, politicians or large foreign banks who make good money by lending loans to a troubled state only to burden by payback during decades. We could name examples: for an anarchist The Magician represents the government that forces the central banks to lend money to companies and people at a very low cost. So money is produced out of nowhere, but all those riches are "fumes", since there is no unpaid  lunch. At the end comes the bill and the bill is inflation, depression, indebtedness, trains that take you nowhere, empty airports, lack of work. Then the Central Bank comes to rescue, a little more "smoke" and the magician goes and another comes with a different colored smoke but the trick remains the same. Maybe we all live with illusions, the illusion of being or having, and the magician who knows our desires makes them "become reality". The Magician lives on it and takes advantage of that magical moment giving the pleasure of the illusion, because even if we are able to see the reality, for a moment we all surrender ourselves to that smoke of dreams and illusions. Watch the video here

Over the past three years, IOM Italy has seen an almost 600 per cent increase in the number of potential sex trafficking victims arriving in Italy by sea. This upward trend has continued during the first six months of 2017, with most victims arriving from Nigeria. This is one of the key findings of a new report published by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, Human Trafficking through the Central Mediterranean Route, which was released in Italian this week (21 July) by IOM’s Coordination Office for the Mediterranean in Rome. The report states that sexual exploitation increasingly involves younger girls – often minors – who are already subject to violence and abuse on their way to Europe. IOM estimates that 80 per cent of girls arriving from Nigeria - whose numbers have soared from 1,454 in 2014 to 11,009 in 2016 - are potential victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The report is based on data collected by IOM at landing sites and in reception centers for migrants in the regions of southern Italy, where the Organization carries out identification of potential victims and assists those who, once identified, decide to escape their exploiters and accept IOM support. "Trafficking is a transnational crime that devastates the lives of thousands of people and is the cause of untold suffering," said Federico Soda, Director of the IOM Coordinating Office for the Mediterranean. "This is a theme we have been working on for years, committing to protect, prevent and collaborate with the authorities dealing with organized crime." IOM Project Manager Carlotta Santarossa added: "The report describes the organization's activities in the face of this phenomenon: the difficulties in protecting victims and the main vulnerabilities identified among several cases of people who were assisted by the Organization. We also wanted to tell some of the stories of people who have been assisted by IOM staff to highlight the true nature of this painful and hateful form of slavery. We also feel that it is increasingly urgent that data analysis be accompanied by an examination of the market these girls supply, and the growing demand for paid sexual services." IOM staff working in Sicily and elsewhere meet potential trafficking victims as soon as they reach Italian soil. This allows IOM to develop a list of indicators that are useful in the identification of potential trafficking victims amongst the newly arrived migrants, using indicators based on information collected during individual and group meetings with migrants. These indicators are broadly described in the report, accompanied by some of the stories that have been collected by IOM staff during their activities. Entire report can be found here in Italian.  An English version will be available soon. In Italian also here there is an Overlook

An article by Stefanie Glinski, credits the Thomson Reuters Foundation (Visit www.trust.org) titled "South Sudan's women deminers brave danger to change their children's future" is running through the web sites. It tells about the 400 to 500 mine disposal women, digging up remnants of past and present wars – bombs, unexploded ordnances and landmines. "Landmines have a long history in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation that won independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long and violent liberation struggle. After just two years, a political squabble escalated into renewed civil war in late 2013, fracturing the new nation along ethnic lines," writes Stefanie and reports the story of Margret who "decided that South Sudan is not a place to raise children, but she is changing this for future generations." "It's my way of contributing and making this country better," she said. "I sent my children to Uganda, but I want them to come back one day. It's a sacrifice for me, but a gain for those returning when the war is over." "More than four million mines and explosive devices have been found and destroyed in South Sudan over the last decade, says the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). While some accidents are recorded, UNMAS believes that at least 90 percent go unreported," reports Stefanie whose article can be found here.

These women are doing the most effective action of Advocacy. Actually advocacy can be done in many ways: policy work, research and investigation (building an evidence base on issues and problems, and so identifying recommended solutions or courses of actions), Collecting and producing documentation on a problem, creating public awareness (Increasing the knowledge and understanding of the public about the existence of a particular issue, problem or policy), campaigning, alliance building. Their action collects evidences of a war and injustice; creates public awareness of a problem on local, national and international level. Their campaign against one of the most cruel of wars: "Soldiers placing mines think carefully about how humans behave, where they go and what they do. That is why mines are found alongside roads, in market places or by water points," writes Stefanie quoting Jan Møller Hansen of DanChurchAid's demining project. "While mines are easy to place, they are hard to remove." These women doing so are the pivot of alliance building of all people and institution opposing wars and human mines, searching to rebuild the nation and the welfare of the people, aiming and hoping to bring about a change in policy work. Too often, grassroots and international organizations see the advocacy arena as a space of words, discussions, conferences, decisions, agreements or disagreements, documents and papers: those women are a reminder of the necessity of action, capable of braving danger. Let's say by paraphrasing an idea of Leonard Cohen, "Create a crack even in the toughest situation, and through it light will come in".