Monday, November 28, 2022

Asian faiths try to save swastika symbol corrupted by Hitler

The symbol is a millennia-old sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism that represents peace and good fortune, and was also used widely by Indigenous people worldwide in a similar vein.

A swastika decorates an entryway in India. Photo by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

“My decoration said ‘Happy Diwali’ and had a swastika on it,” said Deo, a physician, who was celebrating the Hindu festival of lights.

The equilateral cross with its legs bent at right angles is a millennia-old sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism that represents peace and good fortune, and was also used widely by Indigenous people worldwide in a similar vein.

But in the West, this symbol is often equated to Adolf Hitler’s hakenkreuz or the hooked cross – a symbol of hate that evokes the trauma of the Holocaust and the horrors of Nazi Germany. White supremacists, neo-Nazi groups and vandals have continued to use Hitler’s symbol to stoke fear and hate.

Sheetal Deo and her husband, Sanmeet Deo, hold a Hindu swastika symbol in their home in Syosset, N.Y., on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. Hindus, Buddhists and Native Americans are trying to rehabilitate the swastika, a symbol of peace and prosperity, and to restore it to a place of sanctity in their faiths. 
(AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)



RELATED: The swastika and the 4 H’s


Over the past decade, as the Asian diaspora has grown in North America, the call to reclaim the swastika as a sacred symbol has become louder. These minority faith communities are being joined by Native American elders whose ancestors have long used the symbol as part of healing rituals.

Deo believes she and people of other faiths should not have to sacrifice or apologize for a sacred symbol simply because it is often conflated with its tainted version.

“To me, that’s intolerable,” she said.

Yet to others, the idea that the swastika could be redeemed is unthinkable.

Holocaust survivors in particular could be re-traumatized when they see the symbol, said Shelley Rood Wernick, managing director of the Jewish Federations of North America’s Center on Holocaust Survivor Care.

“One of the hallmarks of trauma is that it shatters a person’s sense of safety,” said Wernick, whose grandparents met at a displaced persons’ camp in Austria after World War II. “The swastika was a representation of the concept that stood for the annihilation of an entire people.”

For her grandparents and the elderly survivors she serves, Wernick said, the symbol is the physical representation of the horrors they experienced.

“I recognize the swastika as a symbol of hate.”

New York-based Steven Heller, a design historian and author of “Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption?”, said the swastika is “a charged symbol for so many whose loved ones were criminally and brutally murdered.” Heller’s great-grandfather perished during the Holocaust.

“A rose by any other name is a rose,” he said. “In the end it’s how a symbol affects you visually and emotionally. For many, it creates a visceral impact and that’s a fact.”

The symbol itself dates back to prehistoric times. The word “swastika” has Sanskrit roots and means “the mark of well being.” It has been used in prayers of the Rig Veda, the oldest of Hindu scriptures. In Buddhism, the symbol is known as “manji” and signifies the Buddha’s footsteps. It is used to mark the location of Buddhist temples.

In China it’s called Wàn, and denotes the universe or the manifestation and creativity of God. The swastika is carved into the Jains’ emblem representing the four types of birth an embodied soul might attain until it is eventually liberated from the cycle of birth and death. In the Zoroastrian faith, it represents the four elements – water, fire, air and earth.

In India, the ubiquitous symbol can be seen on thresholds, drawn with vermillion and turmeric, and displayed on shop doors, vehicles, food packaging and at festivals or special occasions. Elsewhere, it has been found in the Roman catacombs, ruins in Greece and Iran, and in Ethiopian and Spanish churches.

The swastika also was a Native American symbol used by many southwestern tribes, particularly the Navajo and Hopi. To the Navajo, it represented a whirling log, a sacred image used in healing rituals and sand paintings. Swastika motifs can be found in items carbon-dated to 15,000 years ago on display at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine as well as on artifacts recovered from the ruins of the ancient Indus Valley civilizations that flourished between 2600 and 1900 BC.

The symbol was revived during the 19th century excavations in the ancient city of Troy by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who connected it to a shared Aryan culture across Europe and Asia. Historians believe it is this notion that made the symbol appealing to nationalist groups in Germany including the Nazi Party, which adopted it in 1920.

In North America, in the early 20th century, swastikas made their way into ceramic tiles, architectural features, military insignia, team logos, government buildings and marketing campaigns. Coca-Cola issued a swastika pendant. Carlsberg beer bottles came etched with swastikas. The Boy Scouts handed out badges with the symbol until 1940.

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The Rev. T.K. Nakagaki said he was shocked when he first heard the swastika referred to as a “universal symbol of evil” at an interfaith conference. The New York-based Buddhist priest, who was ordained in the 750-year-old Jodoshinshu tradition of Japanese Buddhism, says when he hears the word “swastika” or “manji,” he thinks of a Buddhist temple because that is what it represents in Japan where he grew up.

“You cannot call it a symbol of evil or (deny) other facts that have existed for hundreds of years, just because of Hitler,” he said.

In his 2018 book titled “The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler’s Cross: Rescuing a Symbol of Peace from the Forces of Hate,” Nakagaki posits that Hitler referred to the symbol as the hooked cross or hakenkreuz. Nakagaki’s research also shows the symbol was called the hakenkreuz in U.S. newspapers until the early 1930s, when the word swastika replaced it.

Nakagaki believes more dialogue is needed even though it will be uncomfortable.

“This is peace work, too,” he said.

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The Coalition of Hindus of North America is one of several faith groups leading the effort to differentiate the swastika from the hakenkreuz. They supported a new California law that criminalizes the public display of the hakenkreuz — making an exception for the sacred swastika.

Pushpita Prasad, a spokesperson for the Hindu group, called it a victory, but said the legislation unfortunately labels both Hitler’s symbol and the sacred one as swastikas.

This is “not just an esoteric battle,” Prasad said, but an issue with real-life consequences for immigrant communities, whose members have resorted to self-censoring.

Vikas Jain, a Cleveland physician, said he and his wife hid images containing the symbol when their children’s friends visited because “they wouldn’t know the difference.” Jain says he stands in solidarity with the Jewish community, but is sad that he cannot freely practice his Jain faith “because of this lack of understanding.”

He noted that the global Jain emblem has a swastika in it, but the U.S. Jain community deliberately removed it from its seal. Jain wishes people would differentiate between their symbol of peace and Hitler’s swastika just as they do with the hateful burning cross symbol and Christianity’s sacred crucifix.

EDMONTON SWASTIKA'S WOMENS HOCKEY TEAM PRE WWII

Before World War II, the name “Swastika” was so popular in North America it was used to mark numerous locations. Swastika Park, a housing subdivision in Miami, was created in 1917, and still has that name. In 2020, the hamlet of Swastika, nestled in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, decided to keep its name after town councilors determined that it predated WWII and referred to the prosperity symbol.

Swastika Acres, the name of a Denver housing subdivision, can be traced to the Denver Swastika Land Company. It was founded in 1908, and changed its name to Old Cherry Hills in 2019 after a unanimous city council vote. In September, the town council in Puslinch, Ontario, voted to change the name of the street Swastika Trail to Holly Trail.

Next month, the Oregon Geographic Names Board, which supervises the naming of geographic features within the state, is set to vote to rename Swastika Mountain, a 4,197-foot butte in the Umpqua National Forest. Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of the Oregon Historical Society, said although its name can only be found on a map, it made news in January when two stranded hikers were rescued from the mountain.

“A Eugene resident saw that news report and asked why on earth was this mountain called that in this day and age,” said Tymchuk. He said the mountain got its name in the 1900s from a neighboring ranch whose owner branded his cattle with the swastika.

Tymchuk said the names board is set to rename Mount Swastika as Mount Halo after Chief Halito, who led the Yoncalla Kalapuya tribe in the 1800s.

“Most people we’ve heard from associate it with Nazism,” Tymchuk said.

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For the Navajo people, the symbol, shaped like a swirl, represents the universe and life, said Patricia Anne Davis, an elder of the Choctaw and Dineh nations.

“It was a spiritual, esoteric symbol that was woven into the Navajo rugs, until Hitler took something good and beautiful and made it twisted,” she said.

In the early 20th century, traders encouraged Native artists to use it on their crafts; it appeared often on silver work, textiles and pottery. But after it became a Nazi symbol, representatives from the Hopi, Navajo, Apache and Tohono O’odham tribes signed a proclamation in 1940 banning its use.

Davis views the original symbol that was used by many Indigenous people as one of peace, healing and goodness.

“I understand the wounds and trauma that Jewish people experience when they see that symbol,” she said. “All I can do is affirm its true meaning — the one that never changed across cultures, languages and history. It’s time to restore the authentic meaning of that symbol.”

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Like Nakagaki, Jeff Kelman, a New Hampshire-based Holocaust historian, believes the hakenkreuz and swastika were distinct. Kelman who takes this message to Jewish communities, is optimistic about the symbol’s redemption because he sees his message resonating with many in his community, including Holocaust survivors.

“When they learn an Indian girl could be named Swastika and she could be harassed in school, they understand how they should see these as two separate symbols,” he said. “No one in the Jewish community wants to see Hitler’s legacy continue to harm people.”

Greta Elbogen, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor whose grandmother and cousins were killed at Auschwitz, says she was surprised to learn about the symbol’s sacred past. Elbogen was born in 1938 when the Nazis forcibly annexed Austria. She went into hiding with relatives in Hungary, immigrated to the U.S. in 1956 and became a social worker.

This new knowledge about the swastika, Elbogen said, feels liberating; she no longer fears a symbol that was used to terrorize.

“Hearing that the swastika is beautiful and sacred to so many people is a blessing,” she said. “It’s time to let go of the past and look to the future.”

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For many, the swastika evokes a visceral reaction unlike any other, said Mark Pitcavage, senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism who for the past 22 years has maintained the group’s hate symbols database.

“The only symbol that would even come close to the swastika is the symbol of a hooded Klansman,” he said.

The ADL explains the sanctity of the swastika in many faiths and cultures, and there are other lesser-known religious symbols that must be similarly contextualized, Pitcavage said. One is the Celtic cross – a traditional Christian symbol used for religious purposes and to symbolize Irish pride – which is used by a number of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.

Similarly, Thor’s hammer is an important symbol for those who follow neo-Norse religions such as Asatru. But white supremacists have adopted it as well, often creating racist versions of the hammer by incorporating hate symbols such as Hitler’s hakenkreuz.

“In the case of the swastika, Hitler polluted a symbol that was used innocuously in a variety of contexts,” Pitcavage said. “Because that meaning has become so entrenched in the West, while I believe it is possible to create some awareness, I don’t think that its association with the Nazis can be completely eliminated.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.


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CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal’s brother Pramod Mittal’s deal with creditors revoked by London court

By: Melvin Samuel
November 26, 2022

The younger brother of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal had his deal with creditors – under which he agreed to pay 0.2% of his total debts of more than $2 billion – overturned in a London court on Friday.

Pramod Mittal was declared bankrupt in June 2020 over an approximately $170 million debt owed to Moorgate Industries UK Limited, previously called Stemcor UK Limited.

The businessman entered into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) with his creditors in October 2020.

Joseph Curl, representing Moorgate, said in court documents filed earlier this month that Mittal’s debts increased by a factor of more than 40 to almost $2.7 billion shortly before creditors voted on the IVA proposal.

Curl said loans to four of Mittal’s creditors carried “absolutely extraordinary” rates of compound interest, with interest making up more than 97% of his total debt.

Mittal’s lawyers argued Moorgate did not have any evidence to support its case that the loans were a “sham” or that they were created for a “fraudulent purpose”.

However, Judge Nicholas Briggs said in a ruling that “there was a material irregularity at the meeting of creditors convened to consider [Mittal’s] proposal” and revoked the IVA.

Mittal’s lawyer, in an emailed statement to Reuters, said: “Mr Mittal is disappointed with the decision and intends to appeal.

“He has already informed the judge of his intention and there will be a further hearing in the next few weeks to consider his application for permission to appeal.”

(Reuters)
100 UK companies switch to permanent 
4-day working week

By: Kimberly Rodrigues
November 28, 2022

A group campaigning for a four-day working week on Monday announced that it had hit a milestone of 100 UK companies who have signed up for the scheme, which allows employees to work four days instead of the traditional five without impacting their pay.

The 4 Day Week Campaign said the 100 companies employ around 2,600 staff and cover a range of sectors from marketing to banking. A global Pilot Programme being run by the group until next month is aimed at measuring productivity and wellbeing of staff over six months as they work one day less on the understanding of delivering similar results.

“The 4 Day Week Campaign offers accreditation to UK employers who have moved all of their employees to a four-day working week, with no loss of pay,” the group said.

“In order to achieve four-day week accreditation, employers must be able to confirm their organisation has permanently reduced its full-time hours, with no loss of pay for workers, to either: a 32-hour or less four-day week (gold standard) or a 35-hour or less four-day week (silver standard),” it said.

The group’s ongoing so-called world’s biggest pilot scheme of its kind involves academics from Oxford and Cambridge universities, as well as experts at Boston College in the US as they coordinate the experiment in partnership with the think tank Autonomy and not-for-profit coalition 4 Day Week Global.

Worldwide, over 150 companies and 7,000 employees across the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand have signed up to participate in the six-month coordinated trials of the four-day working week as part of the 2022 programme until December.

“The four-day week is generally considered to be a triple dividend policy – helping employees, companies, and the climate. Our research efforts will be digging into all of this,” said Juliet Schor, professor of sociology at Boston College and lead researcher behind the pilot scheme.

“The basis of this movement is that there’s activity going on in many workplaces, particularly white-collar workplaces, that’s low-productivity and that you can cut without harming the business. Sticking to a rigid, centuries-old, time-based system doesn’t make sense,” she explained.

The employers and workers in the pilot have access to the expertise, tools and resources such as workshops and mentoring that the researchers feel would be needed to run a smooth and successful trial until the end of this year.

– PTI

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London transport network blocks Qatar ads over LGBTQ laws



By: Kimberly Rodrigues
November 27, 2022

London’s transport system is not allowing advertising that “portrays Qatar as a desirable destination” or encourages people to attend the World Cup, under a 2019 policy response to LGBTQ laws there.

The stance by Transport for London (TfL) has reportedly angered Doha during its hosting of the football tournament, with the Financial Times reporting Saturday that it is reviewing all investments in the UK capital.

Since 2019, adverts that reference countries identified as having the death penalty for same-sex sexual acts are referred to TfL, which reviews their suitability to feature on trains, buses, and other sites.

It uses a list of countries compiled by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA), a federation of more than 1,700 organisations worldwide campaigning for LGBTQ rights.

Qatar is among 11 states listed as having “effective” or “probable” death penalty policies for same-sex sexual acts, alongside regional neighbours Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A TfL spokesperson said as a result any advertising campaign referencing them “continues to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis”.

She added that ahead of the World Cup it provided advertising partners and brands with “further guidance” on ads likely to be deemed “acceptable to run during the tournament”.

“Advertising which promotes travel to Qatar, tourism in Qatar, or portrays Qatar as a desirable destination will not be considered acceptable at this time,” TfL noted.

“Advertising which promotes ticket sales, encourages people to attend the matches in person, or encourages people to attend other events in Qatar will not be considered acceptable at this time.”

However, other ads featuring the official FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 logo or encouraging people to watch the matches on TV or streaming services were likely to be considered acceptable, it added.

The Financial Times said the policy had prompted Qatar — one of the biggest investors in London through the emirate’s vast sovereign wealth fund — to launch a review of its investments there.

The Qatar Investment Authority has spent lavishly and snapped up some of Britain’s best-known landmarks and businesses, including the luxury store Harrods and the capital’s Shard skyscraper.

– AFP



Pakistan floods: High time South Asia come together to combat heavy climate challenges


LONG READ

By: Shubham Ghosh
November 28, 2022

The devastating floods that affected lives and economy in the South Asian nation of Pakistan this year have rung the warning bells across the globe. Environmentalists and conservationists have raised serious concerns over the deadly disaster that has killed nearly 1,700 people and displaced almost eight million people.

The extreme environmental conditions in Pakistan, which also experienced heatwaves besides the floods, are being seen as a new normal not only for that country but overall for South Asia.

A girl sits on a cot as she crosses a flooded street at Sohbatpur in Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province on October 4, 2022. (Photo by FIDA HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Chatham House, an independent policy institute in London, recently came out with a study explaining how the impacts of climate change in South Asia, one of the most populous regions in the world, can witness knock-on effects that go beyond borders and adversely influence other areas such as trade, security, financial markets, and migration.

The study also explored how nations in South Asia can join hands to address these pressing issues and the innovative solutions that can be identified to improve resilience.

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif recently gave an emotive address at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where he said that despite its low carbon footprint, Pakistan became a victim of something with which it had nothing to do.

But the challenges posed by climate change are universal. Growing greenhouse gas emissions are causing extreme weather events across South Asia and the world.
South Asia one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change

According to the Chatham report, South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change with more than half of all people in the region having been affected by at least one climate-related disaster in the last two decades. The year 2022 saw an early, and prolonged, heatwave in India and Pakistan which led to subsequent flooding in wide swathes of Pakistan as well as parts of India and Bangladesh.

Internally displaced people use a boat to cross a flooded area at Dadu in Sindh province on October 27, 2022. 
(Photo by ASIF HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images)

These events appear to present a sample of the ‘new climate normal’ in the region. According to the World Bank, more than 800 million people across South Asia are living in climate hotspots.

South Asia is already struggling with several challenges in the form of poverty, high inflation, slow economic growth, and climate change. The region’s youthful population also presents a source of optimism and there is a potential for growth, particularly regarding investment in climate resilience and adaptation.

Therefore, if the region fails to deal with the climate change threat successfully, the consequences will be global and hence, finding an effective response to the threat should be viewed as global public good, the Chatham report added.

In March 2022, Pakistan, along with its eastern neighbour Pakistan, faced a heatwave well before the usual months when the summer peaks. While India recorded its hottest March since 1901, temperatures peaked at close to 50 degrees Celsius in the Pakistani city of Nawabshah
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In this picture taken on September 26, 2022, internally displaced flood-affected people drink water from a puddle outside a makeshift camp in Jamshoro district of Sindh province.
 (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images)

Another Pakistani city Jacobabad recorded the hottest temperature, 51 degrees, in May.The heatwave was one of the longest for decades and a late, and incessant, monsoon followed it, resulting in the massive flooding in Pakistan. The two events are connected, the report said.

“Extreme heat increases the risk of subsequent flooding because warmer air can hold more moisture, drier ground is less able to absorb rainfall and, for countries in South Asia, hotter weather in the Himalayas brings the risk of increased glacial melt,” the Chatham report said.

The consequences of the extreme events were exacerbated by two unconnected phenomena — the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While the first affected availability of agricultural labour, the second saw a rise in fuel and food prices.

It is not that countries of South Asia had seen riverine flooding for the first time as swollen rivers burst their banks during the monsoon. But the 2022 floods in Pakistan were an order of magnitude which was different from the past, stemming from intense downpour, including in areas that do not see heavy rainfall.
Heatwave, flooding effects cascade across gepgraphies

The twin events of heatwave and flooding had effects that cascaded across sectors and geographies because of several inter-dependencies. They are both direct and indirect and show the manner in which the challenges are inter-linked. According to the World Bank, they threaten ‘Pakistan’s development ambitions and its ability to reduce poverty. The country needs fundamental shifts in its development path and policies, requiring substantial investments in people-centric climate adaptation and resilience, that will require international support’.

In this picture taken on September 27, 2022, internally displaced flood-affected women take care of new-born babies at a maternity ward of a hospital in Johi, Dadu district of Sindh province. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images)

Direct consequences of extreme weather include heat waves leading to increased forest fires, for instance, or flooding destroying infrastructure, eroding riverbanks, saline intrusion and the destruction of buildings and crops. The heatwave in the breadbasket of South Asia – Pakistan and northwest India – was particularly harmful for the wheat crop.

The indirect consequences range from migration within, and between, countries, food insecurity, health risks and disruption to trade and finance. While the means by which societies can become more resilient to the direct impacts are relatively well-established – if often politically difficult – resilience needs to be extended downstream into the indirect threats.Extreme heat has also had bigger environmental, economic and social ramifications across the region.

Between 2017 and 2021, the damage caused by wildfires in India’s Himalayan state of Uttarakhand more than trbled, while between November 2021 and June 2022, the state recorded almost 13,000 wildfires.

The most immediate economic impact from heatwaves is a rise in demand for power for cooling which has put a massive load on power grids across the region and led to power outages. To counter them, India has tried to ramp up electricity generation using coal-fired power stations.

While demand for power has gone up, that for most goods have fallen, and productivity has been lower.

India alone, by some estimates, suffers half the 200 billion days of labour lost globally owing to heatwaves. This could account for up to 4.5 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2030, while its neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh could see losses of five per cent of GDP due to lost labour.

The impact is worse for informal workers and those who work outdoors in sectors such as construction, transport and agriculture. But cooling is something which goes beyond the individual. Some medicines and food products also require cooling. Currently, less than four per cent of fresh produce in India is transported by cold-chain logistics (keeping foodstuffs cool along the supply chain), the report said.

While South Asia has a huge potential market for cold-chain technology, there would be major implications for energy demand if it were to develop. Demand for air-conditioning is rising fast as access to energy increases but from a low base.In 2019, one study suggested just 10 per cent of India’s population had an air-conditioning unit.

The massive untapped market offers business opportunities – by some estimates up to $1.5 trillion by 2040 in India alone – but also points out the need for a significant rise in energy production and/or the development of fresh cooling technologies.Investment in sustainable cooling solutions will be crucial to a just and equitable energy transition.A number of surveys in Bangladesh have suggested that the vast majority of people who move into urban areas cite environmental reasons for their movement, including erosion, flooding, and cyclones.

Those who move into slums are frequently the worst affected by extreme weather due to over-crowded spaces with less green space and less access to cooling technology.

BRAC, an international development organisation from Bangladesh, has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop the Climate Resilience Early Warning System Network (CREWSnet) to forecast the community-level impacts of climate change in the country.

By fusing climate science with development programming, BRAC can use this tool for informed decision-making.

For example, BRAC can identify when a heatwave will become particularly severe, or which communities will need to be evacuated during a cyclone, and provide the necessary knowledge and resources to strengthen affected communities’ abilities to respond, and adapt, to future extreme weather or climate impacts.

Historically, migration provided one means of dealing with environmental degradation, and cities in South Asia continue to expand because of rural challenges. The abandoned Moghul capital of Fatehpur Sikri in north India proves that cities require a perennial water supply. But, in contemporary South Asia, the scope for mass migration within the region is less apparent and those areas with the prerequisites for urbanisation are largely already built upon.

Scientists predict that this extreme weather phenomenon, in particular ‘urban heat islands’ where 45 degree temperatures feel like 50 degrees, will become more frequent and severe.Yet, while these impacts have generated understandable anger among politicians in South Asia, it seems they have neither generated widespread public demand for action nor concrete actions to prioritise climate action.

Rather, the greater the frequency of extreme weather events becomes, the greater becomes the ambivalence towards them. While nations such as Pakistan highlight their lack of responsibility for climate change, yet their vulnerability to its effects; for many this emphasis on vulnerability provides an excuse for inaction.Every country in South Asia has a national level policy or plan to deal with the impacts of climate change. But, while implementation of those plans is less apparent, the capacity to implement plans at a local level differs dramatically.

Some are even close to non-existence. While solutions to the specific impacts of climate change such as extreme rainfall and heatwave are largely known and often simple in theory, they are sometimes harder to implement in practice. Increasing vegetation in cities, for example, is one way of dealing with the urban heat island effect. Vegetation reflects, rather than absorbs, sunlight and plants release moisture helping lower temperatures.

As part of the Cooling Singapore project, for instance, 56 per cent of the island has been lined with shady Angsana and rain trees to reduce heat and improve outdoor thermal comfort. The construction of more green public spaces, such as parks or playgrounds, would also serve to absorb heat and allow better circulation of air. The Dhaka North City Corporation is an admirable example whereby 20 parks and playgrounds are being developed through the greening of urban open spaces. A less costly alternative would be the construction of rooftop gardens.

Traditional roofs absorb heat while heating the building below. By reflecting heat, rooftop gardens could serve to lower the cost of air conditioning, and of heating in colder months. Depending on the plants grown, additional benefits could be to filter pollutants, provide food or increase biodiversity. An alternative to rooftop gardens is to simply paint roofs white so they reflect rather than absorb heat. Various pilot projects in India have seen that this reduces indoor temperature and also helps in bringing down the demand for power.

Need for regional engagement

The starting point for regional engagement in relation to disasters, particularly in regions with concerns regarding sovereignty and political tensions, has generally been through meteorological information-sharing and the development of early warning systems.

For riverine floods, in particular, data held by upstream countries can warn those downstream of impending threats though sensitivities between upstream and downstream riparians regarding river-flows can stymie efforts towards information-sharing.

There are several arguments to justify greater cooperation across South Asia, including between India and Pakistan. One is that in the absence of cooperation, climate change will serve to heighten tension, in particular, over shared rivers. Another argument is that there is scope for mutual benefit from early-warning systems and information-sharing along with learning from examples of best practices.

Finally, because the challenges are shared, so too are countries’ interests. Engaging regionally and forging joint positions in international forums, most obviously the Conference of the Parties (COP), would amplify their voices. This is particularly the case where India and Pakistan need to stand together on climate-change related issues despite their other political differences.

Iran authorities bar Iranian filmmaker from coming to India for IFFI 2022: Reports


By: Mohnish Singh
November 28, 2022

Iranian authorities have barred filmmaker Reza Dormishian from visiting the International Film Festival of India in Goa, where ‘A Minor,’ a movie he produced, was scheduled to play in the competition.

According to Variety, he is the most recent representative of Iranian cinema to face sanctions from the Iranian regime due to his expression of anti-regime opinions.
The IFFI had invited Dormishian to accompany the film which was directed by Dariush Mehrjui.

He did not, however, receive permission from the Iranian government to leave the country. His film ‘A Minor’ played on Thursday and Friday at IFFI.

According to Variety, his film ‘A Minor’ tells a story of a woman who is torn between her free-thinking daughter, who wants to study music, and her conservative husband.

Variety reports that at the airport, Dormishian’s passport was taken away. Sources close to the filmmaker claim that “he was referred to the court of law for prosecution.” Whether Dormishian was detained or the charges to which he must respond are unknown.

However, it is believed that Dormishian’s criticism of the Iranian government on social media over the past few weeks is directly related to the actions taken against him.

According to sources close to the director-producer, “Throughout the nationwide protests in Iran, Dormishian shared various posts on his Instagram account to show support for the significant developments.”

Following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in police custody in September, Iran has been in upheaval. She was detained in Tehran for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress regulations for women.

Before the current wave of protests, Iran’s government had already been severely cracking down on the film industry. Mohammad Rosoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, two Iranian filmmakers, were detained in July for releasing a statement on social media in the wake of a violent government arrest, as per Variety.

A few days later, after asking about his fellow prisoners, renowned dissident Iranian author Jafar Panahi was also detained. Panahi is best known for his award-winning films ‘Offside’ and ‘Taxi.’

Since then, Iran has barred at least three filmmakers from leaving. In October, as Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi was about to board a plane to travel to the BFI London Film Festival, his passport was seized at the airport. There was supposed to be a U.K. premiere of Haghighi’s most recent movie, ‘Subtraction.’

When their documentary film ‘Silent House’ had its world premiere at IDFA in The Netherlands at the beginning of November, co-directors Farnaz and Mohammadreza Jurabchian were also barred from travelling.

(ANI)
Nepali migrant workers recall dark days in Qatar as FIFA World Cup kicks off

By: Kimberly Rodrigues
November 28, 2022

As the FIFA World Cup has started, Nepali workers who were involved in construction work in Qatar have recalled their experience of working in the Middle Eastern nation. Hari Bahadur Shrestha watched the football match between Costa Rica and Japan which was being held in Qatar, a country where he worked for 3 years as a worker immediately after it won the bid to host the latest edition of the World Cup.

Hari Bahadur Shrestha went to Qatar at the time when the world football body – FIFA had awarded the gulf nation with the title of host for the 2022 World Cup games in early 2010. He went to the Gulf nation at the time when the world football body- FIFA had awarded Qatar with the title of host for the 2022 World Cup games in early 2010.

Speaking to ANI, Hari Bahadur Shreshtha, a Qatar returnee Nepali migrant worker, said, “When it comes to facilities that were promised at the time of recruitment, they weren’t fulfilled. The case only was not applicable to my company but to almost all the companies there. I also was promised to pay 1200 (Qatari Riyal) but while working there I was only given 900 (Qatari Riyal). We tried to protest against it but they (the company) instead threatened me to deport back.”

He worked as a painter without any safety gear for the construction of the City Center in Qatar’s capital Doha. According to Shreshtha, he was just given a jumpsuit and a helmet as he had to paint the walls taking support of metal beams erected around.

Hari Bahadur Shreshtha further said, “I worked for three years there. I returned back to Nepal quite a time before, it’s been around 7-8 years since I returned back but back at that time, the preparations and constructions had already started for the World Cup, and infrastructures were being set up including the stadiums and other things.”
He used to take shelter in a room packed with fellow migrant workers from Nepal and other nations to save money during the stay. According to Shreshtha, the company did not provide them with adequate accommodation and food facilities. Shreshtha said that while working in Qatar, he used to wake up at 3 am (Qatari time) to reach for work on time and return late at around 8 pm (Qatari time). He revealed that misbehavior was a regular phenomenon at the work site.

Reejan (name changed), a Qatar returnee Nepali migrant worker said, “Staying there was quite hard. In Qatar, we were only paid if we worked. If a worker gets absent for a day then it would result in a deduction of three days’ wage.

A report “Vital Signs: Deaths of Migrants in the Gulf”, made public on March 10 this year has revealed that migrant workers in the Gulf are exposed to a series of risks to their health, including heat and humidity, air pollution, overwork, and abusive working conditions, poor occupational health and safety practices, psychosocial stress and hypertension. Long hours of manual labour in searing temperatures can result in heat stress, which can lead to organ damage.

The report said that as many as 10,000 migrant workers from South and Southeast Asia lose their lives in six countries in the Gulf every year. Around half of the migrant worker deaths are not explained, which means that deaths are certified without any reference to an underlying cause of death.

The report reads, “Low-paid migrant workers in the Gulf are subjected to a range of risks to their health that place their lives in jeopardy. Working and living conditions, psychosocial stress, and lack of access to health care are among the reasons for the rising deaths.”

The report that has analyzed the numbers and causes of deaths of migrant workers in the destination countries has claimed that the cause of the death is not transparent while many of those deaths could have been avoidable.

The migrant worker deaths have been classified broadly into seven categories– cardiac arrest, heart attack, natural cause, traffic accident, suicide, workplace death, and other causes. However, the researchers claim categories are not aligned with international guidance on classification.

As many as 7,296 male and 171 female migrant workers from Nepal lost their lives in a decade between the fiscal years 2008-2009 and 2018-2019 and heart attacks and natural causes accounted for 47 per cent of the total deaths. Road accidents with 20 per cent of all deaths are the second highest reason for Nepali migrant workers followed by suicide (9 per cent).

Reports suggest there are about 30 million migrants working in the Arab Gulf states-the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. 80 per cent of these migrant workers are employed in low-paid sectors such as construction, hospitality and domestic work. During the pre-pandemic period, these seven countries were hosting an estimated 1.27 million Nepali migrant workers.

A report, compiled by NGOs from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, and FairSquare Projects, a London-based migrant rights organization, revealed that low-paid migrant workers in isolated and unsanitary labour camps are often working extremely long hours in dangerous conditions to service debt from recruitment fees. They often do not receive training on occupational health and safety and cannot access healthcare.

– ANI

Canada and the Kidnapping of Ambassador Saab


 
NOVEMBER 28, 2022
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Photograph Source: Harvey K – CC BY 2.0

Throughout the years I have known some people who were very vocal and eloquent supporters of humanity and its various causes. Yet, personally, they were quite disagreeable people, very unforgiving of the actual humanity that surrounded them, their families, acquaintances and, neighbors. It always made me wonder about their public sincerity when their private actions were so at odds with it.

Something like that happens to me at the broader scale when I think of Canada’s foreign policy: big words but mean actions. What great eloquence we get from the prime minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers! The government of Canada presents itself – to itself, to its people, to the world, as great defenders of human rights, great lover of humanity, of law and order, of humanitarian actions.  And yet, what shabby, incongruous, filthy foreign policies it has!

Canada’s role in Libya, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, has not been anything to boast about. Furthermore, Canada has voted against every UN resolution upholding Palestinian rights, and its support for Saudi Arabia -even when it is chopping up journalists- extends to making arms deals with them.[i]  And in Latin America, Canada has been responsible for outrages in Haiti, Honduras, in Añez’s Bolivia, in Bolsonaro’s Brazil…and for 20 years of vile persecution of the beleaguered Venezuela, nation that has done no wrong to Canada or any Canadians.  Hence Ottawa’s silence on the kidnapping by the USA of the Venezuelan ambassador, Alex Saab.

Here’s the thing. Venezuela counts very little in terms of Canada’s political or diplomatic priorities. As we all very well know, the most important factor, overwhelming really, that matters to Canada internationally is its relationship with Washington. Nothing else comes remotely close to it.

Canadian trade with Venezuela has always been minimal. There has been little tourism between the two countries, (mostly due to Venezuela’s incipient tourism industry) therefore, not many Canadians travel there. The number of Venezuelans living in Canada is also very small compared to people who immigrate from other countries. In short, Venezuela is of slight importance to Canada other than the mining establishment and its desire to please Washington.

What has happened is that at one point, in order to – as the renown Canadian writer Linda McQuaig would say- in order to hold on to the bully’s coattails, ie of Uncle Sam’s, Canada agreed to do his dirty work in Latin America and foremost, ”to go after Venezuela”.  [ii]Canada can easily afford “to give this bone” to the USA.

However, there is also another factor. Canada is the world’s leading mining headquarters and what drives its poisonous actions against Venezuela is also the greed of both Canadian financial institutions and Canadian mining that have their eye on the extensive and rich gold mines of Venezuela, and all its other prodigiously rich mining resources. The Venezuelan Constitution has determined that all natural resources belong to the Venezuelan people to be used for their welfare, and not mainly for the purposes and gains of international corporations. There is the rub for imperial capitalism that wishes to dominate Venezuela.

Trudeau and his ministers, not content with ruling Canada, want to play with the big boys, and in their delusions, actually believe that Canada is somehow very important internationally, because they say so. Canada is a big country, second biggest in size, but has comparatively, a small population and economy, and very modest military capacity.

Canadian politicians give sundry speeches supporting “the international community”, the “rule of law”, better still “the international rule of law”, “the support for Human Rights”, they decry governments that Washington declares are anti-democratic governed by demagogues, dictators, narcotraffickers, even terrorists. In a court of law it is necessary to prove with evidence any accusation made, but in imperial politics, it is enough to simply launch accusations to condemn a country or a leader that does not obey.

Canada has proposed various sorts of “humanitarian interventions” to supposedly “save” entire populations, however unwilling these populations may be of such interventions. This is a new masquerade of the old racist idea of “white man’s burden”, of “we do this for your own good”, as if the peoples of other nations did not have the sovereign right to conduct their own domestic affairs. The USA, EU and of course, Canada are adept at throwing out accusations and inept on presenting actual evidence especially when they denounce President Maduro.

How hollow these accusations sound to Venezuelans, Hondurans, Haitians, to Evo Morales, to Nicolas Maduro! How hollow the narrative of human rights is to the indigenous population of Canada who have long suffered wilful neglect from their government, both historically (to mention the horrific genocide of hundreds of indigenous children in residential schools) and to this day when too many indigenous people make up disproportionally the prison population, when many of their communities have been waiting for years to have pure water and many public facilities. Where is the defense of their human right to water, education, health services, and self- determination?[iii] Canada has sent $2 billion to Ukraine, of which $1 billion is for military arms and assistance, and thus it helps Uncle Sam in his war of proxy with Russia. They have funds for Ukraine but not for the needs of Canadian indigenous peoples. [iv]

It is an appalling irony that US and Canada accuse Russia of “weaponizing food’ in Ukraine and are utterly and wilfully blind to how the US/Canada and EU have weaponized food, also medicines and worse, Covid vaccines against the Venezuelan people, doing everything in their power to bring the government down by impoverishing, starving, and making Venezuelans ill. 100,000 Venezuelans have died due directly to these US/EU/Canadian illegal sanctions that stop the country from buying food and medicines, and of selling their oil.  Canada has expressed no regret, sympathy or concern for these deaths and sufferings –none, but has the audacity to accuse President Maduro of these ills.[v]

It is true that it was the USA that physically kidnapped this bona fide diplomat, from a third country, Cabo Verde on October 2021, and up to now he has been cruelly detained in a US jail for more than 2 years. So why do we bring up Canada in this scenario?

Because this is a criminal kidnapping.  It is practically an unassailable conclusion of this USA unilateral action that mirrors that of vigilantes of the Old West movies. If you like, it is a diplomatic lynching.  And so we ask, where is Canada’s concern for the “international rule of law” in all this?

The kidnapping has been an appalling act, firstly on the purely human level. This man is suffering, physically, mentally, and emotionally as attested by lawyers and his own wife. What about the actual human being, Alex Saab and his wellbeing and rights, or do they not matter? It is similar to the torture of Julian Assange.

But what about the broader picture? Why should Canada, its government and its people, care that a Venezuelan ambassador is seized and jailed despite having diplomatic immunity? What is its importance in the scheme of things? What does it tell us about the political system under which we live?

It is important to underline that diplomatic immunity has been a very established international practice, dating from antiquity, almost universal.  Its symbol is the white flag. This has been customary law, longstanding almost everywhere there has been conflict. And let us remember that during the two world wars, – absolutely horrific wars- diplomats and the embassies of the belligerent parties were respected, and even diplomats were allowed to be evacuated through neutral countries.

After WW II, the principle of diplomatic immunity was enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, that formally acknowledged and codified the political status of diplomats. It has been ratified by the UN, that is, most of the existing nations in the world. Violation of diplomatic immunity is considered a serious crime.

Washington accuses Ambassador Saab of not being a diplomat and money laundering, of engaging in commercial activities for his own purpose, not the state he represents. But Alex Saab’s lawyer, Inhriana Parada has presented documents that prove Mike Pompeo (Secretary of State for US President Trump) admitted to Alex Saab’s diplomatic status. So when Canada talks about it being a country that respects international law, when has it decried the kidnapping and imprisonment of Ambassador  Saab?

The US’s kidnapping of a bona fide diplomat may open a slippery slope in the international scene, whereby a precedent is set and what is good for the goose may be good for the gander; and therefore, puts in danger all diplomats. If Ambassador Saab can be taken, so can anyone else, even diplomats from the US/ Canada and EU.

But the Canadian position indicates a deep malaise within its political culture.

First of all,  Canadian politicians suffer from the self-delusion that their international status and power is very significant. It is an illusion because they know they have become in fact, subservient to the US economy and politics.  Their inability to obtain a seat, twice in 2010 and in 2020, at the UN Security Council is proof of this.[vi]

Canadian power self-delusion is very sadly, tinged with racism. They go after the poorer, smaller progressive nations, especially of late, in its incursions in Latin America so they can exercise this fictional sense of power. As Owen Schalk has mentioned: “…The truth is that Canada, like the USA, is governed by a ruling class that scorns popular left-wing movements in the Global South and especially what their capitalist allies call “resource nationalism”.[vii]  Resource nationalism considers that the people should benefit from their own resources not international corporations. It is abundantly clear that the attitude of these elites is that of: “How dare the mobs of little, brown people defy our capitalist, neo-liberal system?”

Secondly, the Canadian government in its present configuration has shown quite clearly its moral failure, its hypocrisy in pretending to be protectors of some vague “rule of law” when in fact they are violating clear, specific, tenets of established, universally accredited, international laws. This moral cowardice contributes to the disdain growing around the world for Canada, who once upon a time was one of the founders of the United Nations and basked in real peacekeeping duties.

Today Canada is seen as a warmonger, a supporter of political criminals, as partner in regime change adventures, an enemy of Indigenous governments, whose “peacekeeping” has turned out to be the militarizing of police and arming of the military for compliant anti-democratic leaders.  For example, there have been angry protests by thousands of Haitians, not against the US but against Canada. They have on various occasions marched against the Canadian embassy and have been decrying Canada’s role in ousting the democratically elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide, coup d’etat that has greatly been the source of so much suffering and chaos in that country. [viii]

Thirdly, the present Canadian government shows evidence of stagnation and inability to learn from experience, thus, repeats its mistakes. This folly is what Barbara Tuchman calls “protective stupidity”.[ix]  Canada’s foreign policy has been, in fact, mostly a string of failures that they have been unwilling to admit or remedy.

Canadian politicians –and let us not forget the supine and mendacious mainstream media that so much loves a war and coup d’etat so they can put up a “show”- they demonstrate little curiosity of wanting to learn, to find out the roots of issues, to hear the voices that counter the political narrative, the propaganda,  that is spouted. Why don’t they go to Venezuela to see the real situation? Why do they not go to the many elections that have taken place there under the eyes of hundreds of international observers?

The reason is because to change towards Venezuela would mean to admit defeat, to admit they were wrong, to see in Venezuela a true participatory socialist democracy at work for which Alex Saab, as ambassador, was working to obtain the food and medicines that the Venezuelan people so desperately need.  His sin was trying to feed and heal his people.

Take for example, the whimpering death of the Lima Group, which Canada itself funded on 8 Aug. 2017. Its members were all presidents of dubious democratic credentials, criminals some of them, all fell by the wayside of the ballots of their people for their corruption and repressions. Did Canada say, “Oops, we made a mistake? We picked the wrong friends”. No. Just a deep silence, especially from that fascist supporter, minister Freeland, founder of the Lima group.

So we come back to that suffering man, Ambassador Saab. Canada’s failure to exert any action or give even words of sympathy, on his behalf, (or on Julian Assange’s) shows just how rotten the Canadian political culture at present finds itself in. It is willing to accept any ignominy perpetuated by its partner in crime, Washington, no matter how devious or power-hungry are the imperial people at Capitol Hill.

Let us not accept Canadian platitudes and hypocrisies.

Let us demand more of these moral cowards, because in the end, we all get splashed with their muck and a good man is being sacrificed for nothing on the altar of their crass political and moral ineptitude.

Notes.

[i] CBC, “Canada loses its bid for seat on UN Security Council”, CBC News, 18 June 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/united-nations-security-council-canada-1.5615488

[ii] Linda McQuaig, Holding the Bully’s Coat, 2010

[iii] https://canadians.org/fn-water/

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/access-to-clean-drinking-water-remains-an-issue-in-first-nations-communities-1.5605633

[iv] https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/10/28/prime-minister-announces-new-measures-support-ukraine

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/campaigns/canadian-military-support-to-ukraine.html

[v] https://orinocotribune.com/former-un-rapporteur-on-human-rights-us-sanctions-have-killed-more-than-100-thousand-venezuelans/

[vi] CBC, “Canada loses its bid for seat on UN Security Council”, CBC News, 18 June 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/united-nations-security-council-canada-1.5615488

[vii] Owen Schalk, Why is Canada still humiliating itself on the world stage by persisting in its regime change efforts against Venezuela?, 1 October 2021, canadiandimentions.com

[viii] Global News, “Thousands protest in Haiti against Canada, US sending pólice and military supplies”, 18 Oct. 2022

https://globalnews.ca/video/9207676/thousands-protest-in-haiti-against-canada-u-s-sending-police-and-military-supplies/; Yves Engler, “Ottawa has given Haitians many good reasons not to like us”, Canadian Dimensions, 14 Oct. 2022, https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/ottawa-has-given-haitians-many-good-reasons-not-to-like-us

[ix] Barbara W. Tuchman, The March of Folly, 1984

María Páez Victor, Ph.D. is a Venezuelan born sociologist living in Canada. 

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Anti-US protest in Leipzig runs into large counterdemonstrations

DPA
November 26, 2022

Police officers stand by burning trash containers during a demonstration. Participants of a left-wing demonstration blocked a right-wing march in Leipzig. The initiators of the right-wing demonstration under the slogan "Ami go home" demanded that the USA withdraw its troops and nuclear weapons on German soil.
 Sebastian Willnow/dpa

Police officers stand by burning trash containers during a demonstration. Participants of a left-wing demonstration blocked a right-wing march in Leipzig. The initiators of the right-wing demonstration under the slogan "Ami go home" demanded that the USA withdraw its troops and nuclear weapons on German soil. Sebastian Willnow/dpa

Police in the eastern German city of Leipzig said on Saturday that far fewer people than expected turned out for a demonstration against the remaining US military presence in Germany.

Many of the hundreds who gathered near the US consulate in the city waved banners reading "Ami go home." "Ami" is a common term in Germany for Americans.

The protesters demanded that the US troops and nuclear weapons still based in Germany be removed. Among the protesters was Jürgen Elsässer, publisher of Compact, a magazine that German courts have labelled as right-wing extremist.

Police said they counted about 900 people in the protest, several known for ties to right-wing groups. Organizers had said to expect around 15,000.

They were also met by counterdemonstrators, some of who sat down to block the protesters' path, but some who clashed actively with the anti-American protesters. Pyrotechnics were ignited during at least one counterdemonstration.

Police said the counterdemonstration was significantly larger than the right-wing protest, with a turnout in the low thousands.

A police spokesperson said officers were out in force and "ready for anything."


Police officers stop participants of a demonstration. The initiators of the demonstration under the slogan "Ami go home" demanded that the USA withdraw its troops and nuclear weapons on German soil. Sebastian Willnow/dpa


Participants of a demonstration carry a banner. The initiators of the right-wing demonstration under the slogan "Ami go home" demanded that the USA withdraw its troops and nuclear weapons on German soil. Sebastian Willnow/dpaRead More