‘Chilling’: Human Rights Watch, Greta Thunberg slam France for shutting down climate group
Charlotte Elton
Fri, 23 June 2023
Climate activists in France are being “systematically targeted with repression,” Greta Thunberg has warned, as outrage over the dissolution of an environmentalist group grows.
On Wednesday, the French government shut down the environmental activist group Les Soulevements de la Terre (‘Earth Uprisings’).
Authorities accuse the group of provoking violence - but campaigners insist that the crackdown is disproportionately harsh.
Speaking at a climate finance summit in Paris, 20 year-old Thunberg expressed concern over increasingly tough anti-protest laws.
"We are seeing extremely worrying developments where activists all over the world are experiencing increased repressions just for fighting for our present and our future," the Swedish activist warned.
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"For example, here in France just the other day, they are paying the price for defending life and for the right to protest."
NGOs have called the crackdown “chilling” and “hostile.”
“Dissolving an independent organisation undermines lawful activism and will have a serious chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly,” said Eva Cosse, senior Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Protestors at the Global Climate Finance Summit in Paris, Friday, June 23, 2023. Greta spoke at the summit on Thursday. - AP Photo
“Instead of dissolving environmental groups, the government should live up its commitment to protect the environment and investigate the concerns these groups raise.”
Dissolving an independent organisation should be a measure of last resort only, the group insist.
Why has the French government banned Earth Uprisings?
Les Soulèvements de la Terre encompasses multiple environmental activist associations across France.
Founded in early 2021, the group undertake direct action protests like blockades and land occupations.
In March, it was part of a demonstration against a giant reservoir in Sainte-Soline, western France. Protestors clashed with police; 30 officers were injured and two activists were left in comas.
After the incident, the government vowed to dissolve the group.
Government spokesman Olivier Véran said that activists “whipped up violence” and “invited rioters from across Europe.”
Watch Greta Thunberg being carried away by police during anti-wind farm protest in Norway
Paris protest in support of extremist climate activist group SLT
But France’s human rights’ organisation insist that police started the violence, firing teargas grenades and rubber bullets at peaceful protesters.
In June, UN experts criticised French authorities for excessive force, urging police to exercise proportionality.
Soulèvements de la Terre has vowed to fight on.
“Trying to silence the Soulèvements de la Terre is a vain attempt to break the thermometer instead of worrying about the temperature,” they said in a statement.
“[We] cannot be dissolved because it is multiple and alive. You don't dissolve a movement, you don't dissolve a revolt.”
ZIONIST KRISTALLNACHT
Israel admits failings over attacks on Palestinians
Gareth BROWNE
Fri, 23 June 2023
Foreign diplomats inspect the damage done to Palestinian homes in an arson spree by Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya earlier this week (AHMAD GHARABLI)
The Israeli army acknowledged Friday it "failed" to prevent an attack by Jewish settlers on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, during which one villager was killed.
Revenge attacks on Turmus Ayya and other villages followed the killing of four Israelis by Palestinian gunmen on Tuesday, which militant group Hamas said was in response to an Israeli army raid on Jenin refugee camp which killed six Palestinians the previous day.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said troops had tried to prevent Israelis from attacking Turmus Ayya but they were stretched too thin.
"We didn't have, in the first wave, enough forces in the area they chose," he told journalists on Friday.
"We failed this time," Hagari added.
Turmus Ayya residents told AFP they saw between 200 and 300 Israelis rampaging through their village on Wednesday, attacking residents and damaging dozens of houses and cars.
A delegation from more than 20 diplomatic missions, including those of the European Union and the United States, visited the village on Friday to inspect the damage.
The EU's top representative to the Palestinians, Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, blasted Israel for failing to meet its obligations to protect Palestinians.
"There was no attempt or effort to stop the settlers," he said.
Israeli police said on Friday they had arrested three people in connection with the violence, without giving details.
Turmus Ayya is home to a significant number of Palestinian-Americans and residents voiced their anger at the lack of action from Washington.
"We are helpless," Yaser al-Kam, 33, told AFP.
"I'm speaking on behalf of this peaceful town where 80 per cent to 90 per cent of residents are US citizens. We hold passports, does this passport matter?" Al-Kam asked.
The 25-year-old Palestinian killed Wednesday, Omar Jabara, was a US Green Card holder, a US official told AFP.
The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, warned "the violence, along with the inflammatory rhetoric, serve only to drive Israelis and Palestinians deeper into an abyss."
Israel's extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, insisted what was needed in the West Bank was a large-scale "military operation".
"Terrorists eliminated, not one or two, but tens and hundreds, and if necessary even thousands," said Ben-Gvir, himself a settler.
gb/rsc/kir
UK
Farmers' damning views on Brexit revealed in industry magazine survey
Xander ElliardsTHE NATIONAL
Fri, 23 June 2023
Image: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash)
THREE-QUARTERS of farmers think Brexit has had a negative impact on the UK economy, according to a survey conducted by an industry magazine.
Farmers Weekly’s poll of more than 900 people in the farming industry further found that 69% of them said leaving the EU had negatively impacted their business.
In analysis of its poll, which was run from late May to early June ahead of the seven-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum on June 23, the magazine said that both animal and arable farmers took a very negative view of leaving the EU.
The sentiment was strongest among vegetable farmers (81% had a negative view) and pig farmers (79%).
READ MORE: Question Time Brexiteer reveals jaw-dropping reason she voted Leave
Both of these sectors were hit hard by staffing problems after Brexit. In August 2022, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said that as much as £60 million worth of crop had been left to rot in the field for lack of workers to harvest it.
And in late 2021 reports focused on a crisis in pig farming, with hundreds of thousands of animals sitting on farms long after they should have gone to slaughter, again due to labour shortages.
But in other farming sectors, the view of Brexit was also overwhelmingly negative. Farmers Weekly reported 70% of cereal farmers, 76% of oilseed rape farmers, and 68% of cow and sheep farmers said leaving the EU had negatively impacted their business.
However, among Leave-voting farmers, the magazine reported a more positive view of the impact of Brexit.
Among this subset, just 36% reported a negative impact on their business from leaving the EU. One-third (30%) of them said Brexit had actually proven “fairly” or “very positive”, against just 12% who took this view among farmers as a whole.
Patricia Gibson, the SNP’s rural affairs spokesperson at Westminster, said a return to the European Union was “essential to securing long-term economic prosperity for Scottish farmers”.
She went on: “The impact of Brexit is being felt in every sector across Scotland, but arguably none more so than in our farming communities.
“Like many, ahead of the EU referendum, farmers were misled and lied to by the likes of Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, and Nigel Farage.
“However, what they were left with was mountains of red tape and bucket-loads of Brexit bureaucracy.
“What Brexit has done, though, is underline how threadbare the case for continued Westminster control has become for Scotland.
“Only the SNP are offering a real alternative through independence at the next general election – which is essential to securing long-term economic prosperity for Scottish farmers.”
UK
Bimini protests Conservative anti-trans proposals at Glastonbury
Joe Goggins
Fri, 23 June 2023
Bimini lashed out at the government's anti-trans manoeuvring. (Photo: Press)
Bimini protested Conservative government proposals to rob trans people of vital rights and protections on stage at Glastonbury last night (June 22).
Performing on the Greenpeace stage the night before the festival got underway in earnest, the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star paid moving tribute to the trans community, saying: “If it wasn’t for trans people, I wouldn’t be able to stand on this stage right now. Trans people are the reason we got our rights, they were at the forefront of the Stonewall riots. If you’re a true ally, support trans people.”
Bimini also displayed a placard which read “Bin The Tories Anti-Trans Ban”. Back in April, Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch signalled that she was considering changing the legal definition of ‘sex’, in such a manner that would strip trans people of protections currently guaranteed under the 2010 Equality Act. Badenoch’s move to have ‘sex’ legally refer only to ‘biological sex’ – i.e. gender assigned at birth – would mean that trans women would no longer be considered legally women, and trans men would not longer be considered legally men.
Badenoch’s recommendation came with the backing of Downing Street, and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has endorsed the potential change. It has been dismissed on Twitter by Grey Collier, a trans human rights lawyer and former legal director of the EHRC, as “nonsense”, “unworkable” and “legally illiterate”, but the Tories may yet move forward with it as they attempt to stoke culture wars ahead of a likely general election next year.
Bimini finished as a runner-up on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2021. Glastonbury kicks off in earnest today (June 23), with Arctic Monkeys confirmed to go ahead with their headline set after Alex Turner successfully shook off his laryngitis. Also performing arr mystery band The Churnups, widely rumoured to be Foo Fighters, as well as Royal Blood, Fred again.. and Hot Chip. Guns N’ Roses will headline at Worthy Farm tomorrow (June 24), before Elton John plays what is set to be his final UK show on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday (June 25).
Nausea, red eyes and fatigue: Toxic algae is causing flu-like symptoms along the Mediterranean coast
Estelle Nilsson-JulienEURONEWS
Fri, 23 June 2023
Nausea, red eyes and fatigue: Toxic algae is causing flu-like symptoms along the Mediterranean coast
Since 2021, close to 900 people have been infected by ostreopsis - a form of microscopic algae which was first spotted in the Atlantic Ocean in 2021.
A new report by ANSES, the French National Health Security Agency, warns of the dangers of human contact with the algae and its toxins.
Marc Rappoport, a doctor who lives in Biarritz believes he was contaminated when surfing in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in the Basque region.
"I started getting symptoms 45 minutes after entering the water. I had nausea but continued to surf," he tells Euronews Green. "In the afternoon I started feeling achey, my eyes were red and I was extremely tired. It lasted 48 hours and my symptoms were similar to the flu."
Whilst inhaling sea spray remains the most common mode of infection, it can also occur through skin contact and ingestion. Symptoms typically surface within hours of direct or indirect contact with the algae and tend to disappear within a matter of days.
As well as surfers, those who work on beaches - such as lifeguards - are at particular risk of infection. When contacted by Euronews Green, the Basque Committee of Lifeguards stated that they had not yet charted a significant rise in cases of ostreopsis among personnel.
Workers in nearby shops and restaurants also risk airborne exposure, according to the report. "People with respiratory problems" should also be especially vigilant, according to to ANSES spokesperson Carole Castini.
Monitoring algae levels in France and Spain's coastlines
In 2021, multiple beaches in Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Bidart, in the Basque coast were closed off as a preventive measure due to high levels of ostreopsis.
However, monitoring ostreopsis infections proved difficult for health authorities during the pandemic. Symptoms were similar to COVID-19, but authorities have since intensified scientific monitoring of the region's waters.
Maïder Arosteguy, Mayor of Biarritz - a city which attracts thousands of tourists every year - told Euronews Green that closing beaches remains highly unlikely this year.
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"We have more information now than we did in 2021. We also know that if we closed off beaches, we should also close off nearby restaurants and shops because of its presence in the air."
"We were very disappointed with the French National Health Security Agency for not sending us the report before it was publicly released. We must now rush to action but were not warned before of the findings."
Arosteguy added that when ostreopsis levels reach alarming rates they will be catalogued in Kalilo, a weather app which operates in the Basque region.
Surf Rider Europe has been taking samples in order to monitor algae levels - Surf Rider Europe
However, some organisations feel that monitoring by authorities could go further. NGO Surf Rider Europe - which works to preserve ocean's across Europe - has been regularly sampling ostreopsis levels in surfing zones.
"Surfers travel from around the world to surf here, but they don't necessarily listen to warnings about algae but we want to ensure their safety", Marc Valmassoni, Surf Rider Europe spokesperson told Euronews.
Surfers risk particularly high levels of contamination "swimmers will go into the water for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, but a surfer will be in there significantly longer. A surfer will drink on average drink the equivalent of 1 cup of water per surf session."
The NGO has been raising awareness about the dangers of the algae in local surf clubs, as well as in pharmacies and in community hubs.
Plastic pollution is a 'time bomb' warns France's President Macron
Is climate change bringing toxic algae to Europe's coastlines?
Ostreopsis outbreaks mainly occur in summertime, when water temperatures exceed 20 degrees.
The microalgae were first observed in France in 1972, and are now regularly found along the Mediterranean coastlines of France, Italy and Spain.
The toxic variant of ostreopsis is named the 'ovata' strain and originates from tropical waters. Due to a combination of global warming and maritime transport movements, it surfaced in the Mediterranean.
Ostreopsis has a brown-reddish colour but is not usually visible due to its microscopic size. But it can aggregate into floating blooms, as well as give water a metallic taste. Nevertheless, other forms of algae can also merge into blooms in the Atlantic Ocean and be mistaken for ostreopsis.
Activist Diego Caixeta shares insights on the rise of the far-right around the globe
Sarah McKenna Barry
Fri, 23 June 2023
The photo shows Diego Caixeta. It is a close up headshot taken in front of a building with a Pride flag. He is wearing a mustard coloured shirt open over a white tshirt. Hazel Coonagh
As we celebrate Pride Month across this island, we must confront the harsh reality that our community faces a rising tide of disinformation, scapegoating and hate. It’s time again for us to channel our collective pain and anger into action for social justice. As part of the #StrongerTogether initiative in collaboration with the Rowan Trust and the Hope and Courage collective, GCN interviewed Diego Caixeta of the MPOWER programme, who spoke about how Ireland can learn from the rise of the far-right in Brazil if it takes action now.
As Ireland’s growing far-right movement continues to put the lives of refugees, minorities and the LGBTQ+ community at risk, it’s important to contextualise the violence from a global perspective.
One person who is all too familiar with the impact of the far-right movement both here and in his home country of Brazil is Diego Caixeta. Diego has been living in Ireland for the past 13 years, and during that time, he worked for the Gay Men’s Health Service, before joining the MPOWER Programme at HIV Ireland.
Over the past few years, Diego has been following Brazil’s political situation intently while witnessing a similar wave of far-right rhetoric rise in Ireland.
“We had a far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro,” Diego explains. “He was in the same wave as Trump, and stayed in power for four years, causing destruction.”
Bolsonaro’s presidency was defined by his antienvironmental and pro-gun stance. During his time in office, he disseminated misinformation through the promotion of fake news. He rolled back protections for Brazil’s Indigenous peoples. Poverty and hunger increased, while social inequality reached its worst levels since 2012.
Bolsonaro’s anti-LGBTQ+ stance was clear even before he was elected, when he professed that he would be “incapable of loving a homosexual son,” and expressed concern over Brazil becoming a welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, Brazil was the country with the highest rate of murdered trans people for the 14th consecutive year.
Bolsonaro’s election, Diego feels, came as a result of a campaign of manipulation and exploitation, one that encouraged the public to blame minorities for wider problems. It’s a similar mechanism that mobilises the far right around the world.
“It’s always the same,” Diego says. “They take the opportunity of a crisis, and they use a very simple narrative to get people engaged with them. They are democratically elected, but when they are in power they start destabilising democracy, to try to be in power and cause all the destruction that they do.”
Bolsonaro ran for re-election in 2022, but was defeated by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a centre-left candidate. Despite this change in presidency, the right wing parties that sided with Bolsonaro make up half of Brazil’s congress. With this, Diego worries that Bolsonaro’s legacy will continue to jeopardise the lives of Black people, the LGBTQ+ community and Brazil’s Indigenous population.
“The far right have an umbrella of targets,” Diego explains.
Still, he is hopeful for Brazil’s future. “I think there is always hope,” he says. “You have to have hope. There are strong groups trying to push legislation to protect minorities. On the other hand, it’s tricky. Our Congress is very conservative and full of extremism, and we have a big rise in evangelism. It’s very easy to get their narrative across when they use religion as an excuse for what they’re doing.”
In Ireland, Diego has concerns over the escalation of far-right violence we’ve seen this year. “I think the far right hasn’t fully looked into Ireland with the same urgency they did in other countries, but they are around. We’ve seen all the protests against migrants, setting tents on fire, trying to block refugees from going to hotels. I hope that Ireland can start acting now, but you have to act in a very strong way.”
With a number of people becoming radicalised via social media and misinformation, Diego believes greater regulation could make a difference, if executed swiftly.
“Social media is so powerful, but it’s not so well regulated. I know Europe is trying to legislate it, but technology is way faster than legislation,” he says. “Social media platforms are allowing people to say whatever they want to say. I don’t think they understand that what is a crime offline is still a crime online.”
Ireland, Diego Caixeta believes, can look to Brazil to understand how quickly the far right can grow, and its ensuing consequences.
“Here in Ireland, we can predict things and hope the Government takes it seriously. Especially with the situation regarding healthcare and housing. No one can access these things at the moment, so it’s very easy to target minorities and blame them for everything, and that’s how xenophobia and racism rises, and that’s what the far right does.”
This story originally appeared in GCN’s Pride issue 378, as part of an ongoing feature on solidarity that was created in cooperation with the Rowan Trust and the Hope and Courage Collective. You can read this interview with Diego Caixeta and other activists in the full issue here.
Want to be featured in this special campaign? Share a message of solidarity using #StrongerTogether, tagging GCN or email info@gcn.ie.
Only the super wealthy stand to lose money from shutting down fossil fuels, study finds
Charlotte Elton
Fri, 23 June 2023
Scaling down fossil fuels would have hardly any financial impact on the vast majority of people, new research reveals.
Oil and gas companies are the single biggest driver of global heating.
But opponents of the renewable transition often claim that cutting down fossil fuel production will be hugely expensive - and hit ordinary people in the pocket.
New research sends this argument up in smoke. According to a study published in Joule journal this week, the clean transition will have a marginal financial impact on ordinary people.
Wind and solar overtake fossil fuels in the EU as energy transition hits ‘hyperdrive’
Church of England divests from fossil fuels after oil and gas companies fail on climate
In the United States, two-thirds of financial losses from fossil fuel assets would affect the top 10 per cent of wealth holders, with half of that affecting the top 1 per cent.
In contrast, 3.5 per cent of financial losses would affect the poorest half of Americans.
The researchers say that analysis on Europe and the UK showed “similar” results.
“Investing in a [fossil fuel project] is like buying a rotten apple,” co-first author Lucas Chancel said.
“The apple is rotten because of climate change. Who owns these rotten apples? We find that the richest 10 per cent of the population owns the vast majority of these assets.”
What are ‘stranded assets’ and why do they matter in the clean transition?
Opponents of climate action often refer to the risk of ‘stranded’ assets. These are fossil fuel reserves, infrastructure, and technologies that lose their value prematurely as climate-conscious governments reduce subsidies and investors pull out.
By ‘stranding’ polluting assets, the rationale runs, shutting down production could trigger an economic slump, hitting everyday people’s pensions and savings.
The new research suggests that this is not the case.
The clean transition requires ramped up investment in wind and solar power. - Canva
The ‘losers’ of the clean energy transition are the super-wealthy - and what they stand to lose is still just a fraction of their overall wealth.
Rich people tend to have a “diverse portfolio of investments”, so clean transition losses would still make up less than 1 per cent of this group’s net wealth.
Researchers estimate that the entirety of the clean transition losses for the bottom 50 per cent of earners could be compensated for as little as $9 billion in Europe and $12 billion in the US.
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For comparison, governments spent more than €900 billion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2022, the highest figure ever recorded.
"There's this idea that it's the general populace that should be opposed to climate policy that creates stranded assets because their pensions are at risk or their retirement savings or just their savings," says co-author Gregor Semieniuk.
"It's not untrue that some wealth is at risk, but in affluent countries, it's not a reason for government inaction because it would be so cheap for governments to compensate that."
UK's Heathrow airport strikes cancelled after pay deal
Reuters
Fri, 23 June 2023
A British Airways aircraft takes off over terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport near London
LONDON (Reuters) - Heathrow Airport security workers on Friday called off 31 days of strikes planned for this summer, a relief for those travelling through Britain's busiest hub for their summer getaway.
Over 2,000 staff accepted an improved pay offer for a rise of between 15.5% and 17.5% the Unite union said on Friday and industrial action at the airport had been cancelled as a result.
Workers had already staged 18 days of strikes in recent months, and while airport bosses had guided it would be able to keep operations running smoothly despite walkouts over the summer, passengers worried there could be a repeat of last year's chaos.
In 2022, a faster-than-expected rebound in air travel for the peak season coupled with labour shortages caused long delays at several airports across Europe.
Heathrow, which was used by 6.7 million passengers in May, said it was pleased the dispute was over.
"We can now move forward together and focus on delivering an excellent summer for our passengers," a spokesperson said.
Britain continues to face strike action in other sectors. Teachers, railway workers and junior doctors are all due to strike in July.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by William James)
Heathrow Airport security officers dispute ends with new pay deal
Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Fri, 23 June 2023
A long-running dispute involving security officers at Heathrow Airport has ended after workers voted to accept an improved pay offer.
More than 2,000 security officers at Heathrow Terminals 3 and 5 and campus security were due to take 31 days of strike action throughout the summer, but talks resumed which Unite said led to an improved pay offer.
The union said workers will receive an increase of between 15.5% and 17.5%.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This was a hard won victory which demonstrates what can be achieved when workers stand together and take action together
“The pay deal at Heathrow is a further demonstration of how Unite’s complete focus on jobs, pay and conditions is having direct benefits for its members.”
The dispute started before Easter, with Unite members taking a total of 18 days of industrial action.
Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: “The solidarity and dedication of Unite’s reps and members was fundamental in ensuring Heathrow Airport returned to the negotiating table with an improved offer.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We are pleased to confirm Unite members have voted to accept a two-year above-inflation pay deal, ending the current dispute and allowing the strikes to be called off.
“We can now move forward together and focus on delivering an excellent summer for our passengers.”
UK
Private school blasted for 'misleading' figures in pay dispute with teachers
Alex Marsh
Fri, 23 June 2023
NEU and NASUWT members at Mill Hill School have held two days of strikes this week (Image: NEU/NASUWT)
Teachers have taken to the picket line outside a private school as a dispute over pay and working conditions escalates.
Members of the NASUWT and NEU teachers’ unions at Mill Hill School in The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, walked out yesterday and today (June 22 to 23).
The unions have accused the private school, which charges up to £39,810 a year, of slashing paid time off for staff to care for sick children and for key dates of religious observance.
But Mill Hill School Foundation says it is merely implementing a policy that is standard practice “across the education sector”.
READ MORE - Teachers at private Mill Hill School in Barnet set to strike
A spokesperson for the school claimed that union members had demanded a 20.3% pay award, which is something that “could simply not be met” by the foundation.
But teachers and union representatives have disputed this characterisation. One banner on the picket line outside the school yesterday read: “we want respect, not a 20% pay rise”.
Keith Nason, secretary of the Barnet branch of the NEU, said that it was “misleading” for the school to state that the unions demanded a 20% pay rise as its “final position”.
He added that it was merely a “starting point for negotiation”, factoring in the erosion of real pay over the last few years due to inflation.
A document shared with Barnet Times Series shows that in requests sent to the school last week by the NEU and NASUWT, a 5% pay rise in each of the next two years or an 8% pay rise in 2023 was offered.
One mum of a child at the school, who did not wish to be named, said she felt the school was “running roughshod over goodwill”, and was “pitting parents against teachers” by quoting “misleading” figures.
She added: “I just feel that’s very underhand. The teachers will just feel that they’ve been completely thrown under a bus, they’ve been totally misrepresented.
“For me as a parent, I don’t want my child at a school where there’s a fight between the management and the teachers, with a loss of goodwill and low morale, which is very damaging.
“A small increment in fees is preferable in my mind to an overall poor delivery in terms of education.”
The NEU said it believed this was the first local NEU strike in over two decades, highlighting the exceptional nature of the dispute.
READ MORE - Awards for north London NHS staff filling gaps after Covid
A spokesperson for the Mill Hill School Foundation said: “We have continued to meet with union representatives to seek solutions to this dispute to avoid strike action, and we have presented a range of proposals to try to reach an agreement, including on pay.
“Paid leave has not been cut. We have recently put in place a foundation-wide policy that, for the first time, formally sets out how staff can make leave requests for various situations.
“The policy has been put together based on legal advice and HR practice across the education sector and has been designed to be fair across all staff – for instance those who have children and those who do not, and those who do and do not observe religious holidays.
“The policy makes clear that the foundation will consider all reasonable requests, and there is discretion for additional paid leave based on individual circumstances.
“We believe this strike action, however, is unnecessary and counter-productive to the children’s education and wellbeing.”
IRELAND
Cavan/Fermanagh Border-based artist opens major national solo show in Cork
Jessica Campbell
Fri, 23 June 2023
Cavan/Fermanagh Border-based artist Rita Duffy, known for her acerbic political commentary, opens major national solo show in Crawford Art Gallery, Cork.
Rita Duffy believes in the power of art to help tackle the seemingly insurmountable global challenges of climate change, inequity and migration.
The veteran Northern Irish artist, who is based on the Fermanagh/Cavan Border, is well known for her acerbic political commentary in works such as ‘The Raft Project’ which replicated 19th century painting The Raft of the Medusa to critique Brexit politics. In this exhibition, she focuses her keen gaze on migration and climate change in a soon-to-be-revealed series of exciting new works that form the backbone of her first solo exhibition in the Crawford Art Gallery.
Rita Duffy. Photo: Johnny Banbury
Duffy’s new triptych of paintings, Epiphany, Belfast to Byzantium and Ornithopter, grapple with the grotesquery of a world of socio-economic divisions against the backdrop of climate change, migration and increasing attempts to use borders as a fortress to protect the affluent .
Referencing post-Trump US politics, the 2021 Kabul airlift and the history of Northern Irish people as settlers in the US Bible Belt, the trilogy is a painful satire of global affairs, painted with a nod to Hieronymus Bosch, Brueghel and Goya.
Rita Duffy, Ornithopter, 2023. © the artist.
Duffy holds a horrifying mirror up to the current state of world affairs, and yet she believes not all is bleak: art and creative thinking are our hope for the future, she says.
“I think art is the thing that is the most hopeful,” Duffy says. “There is a sense of cataclysm all around us, in our movies, our culture. It’s almost like we’re digging ourselves into the negative darkness and that’s where art’s role becomes more and more important.”
An artist known for her Northern Irish roots and her pervasive interest in social justice, she says identifying herself as nationalist in the context of the climate crisis is problematic, even as a large political shift is underway in her native Northern Ireland.
Rita Duffy, Partition, 2023. © the artist.
“I think there’s a phenomenal, unstoppable energy bubbling up in Ireland. Now more than ever, local politics are important as they speak to the global. There is only one issue we need to be urgently addressing and that’s climate change,” she said.
“There’s nothing else on the agenda. We’re coming into a post-nationalist state, because it doesn’t matter what your nationality is or where you’re from. If you don’t have clean water to drink or a safe place to live, waving a flag is not going to make any difference to you.”
Mary McCarthy, Director of Crawford Art Gallery said: "Crawford Art Gallery continues to champion artists practice through these solo presentations as well as through group exhibitions. Duffy’s work is relevant pertinent and visually arresting. We hope our visitors will be inspired and engaged by her rich visual imagery."
Persistent Illusion by Rita Duffy is in the Gibson Galleries at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork City until Sunday, October 8.
