It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, January 23, 2022
#CRYPTOZOOLOGY #CRYPTID
Diver spots ghostly transparent sea creature in South African waters
A photo shows the eel-like creature.
Gulf Today Report
Incredible footage shows the moment a diver encounters a ghostly eel-like creature that is almost completely transparent.
Experts are divided over the bizarre sea creature spotted by Amy Wainman, 36, off Simon's Town near Cape Town in South Africa.
In Amy's footage, the creature is seen undulating through the water, its transparent body seemingly devoid of any organs.
The diver said the 'amazing, magical' creature was unlike anything she'd ever seen.
Bradley Stevens, a retired marine science professor, formerly of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said it seemed to be at the end of its larval stage.
He said, “Its size and location suggest that it is nearing the end of its migration from the mid-oceanic spawning grounds, and will soon become a normal-shaped juvenile eel.”
However, Kevin Kocot, an associate professor at The University of Alabama specialising in invertebrate zoology, believes it's actually a 'very unusual' type of jelly.
He said, “Some baby eels have larvae called leptocephalus larvae that look superficially very similar.
'But if you look closely, they have a head and mouth at one end whereas this animal's mouth is in the middle of the body,” he added.
UN experts: UK Nationality and Borders Bill breaches International Law
Five United Nations special rapporteurs have said that the government’s proposed Nationality and Borders Bill increases the risk of discrimination and serious human rights violations and seriously undermines the country’s obligations under international law.
The government says the bill, which is currently being debated in the House of Lords, targets terrorists, war criminals and spies.
Under the bill, if the British government wants to remove someone’s citizenship it will no longer need to tell them.
Home Secretary Priti Patel says the law would be used in “exceptional circumstances” on people who pose the most risk to the UK.
But the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Siobhán Mullally, said: “If adopted, the Nationality and Borders Bill would seriously undermine the protection of the human rights of trafficked persons, including children; increase risks of exploitation faced by all migrants and asylum seekers; and lead to serious human rights violations…
“The bill fails to acknowledge the Government’s obligation to ensure protection for migrant and asylum-seeking children, and greatly increases risks of statelessness, in violation of international law.”
According to UN experts, seeking and enjoying asylum is a fundamental human right.
The bill is currently being debated in the House of Lords
“If passed, it could penalise asylum-seekers and refugees, violating the principle of non-punishment in international law and discriminating between categories of asylum seekers, which is contrary to international law,” Siobhán Mullally said.
The experts said the bill does not respect the UK’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law, but instead dismantles a core protection of democratic societies and pushes vulnerable people into dangerous situations.
The experts also highlighted the specific risks faced by migrant and refugee women. Under this bill, they said, women that have experienced gender-based violence can be turned away from the UK rather than be allowed to seek and find safety.
“The Government’s repeated public statements on combating trafficking and modern slavery must be matched by concrete action to ensure equal protection of the law for all victims of trafficking and modern slavery, without discrimination,” the experts said.
“We are alarmed that the bill will increase the possibility of arbitrary deprivation of citizenship – which has a troubled history rooted in racism and discrimination – and increase the risk of statelessness. The bill instrumentalises national security concerns, increasing risks of discrimination and of serious human rights violations, in particular against minorities, migrants and refugees. We urge the Government to reverse these proposed measures.”
The UN experts who raised the alarm include Felipe González Morales, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, and Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women.
Earlier this month an open letter, organised by CAGE and Media Diversified, and endorsed by a broad coalition of experts, civil society and community organisations and leading actors, condemned the Nationality and Borders Bill as an “Islamophobic” and “overtly racist” piece of legislation.
The Nationality and Borders Bill is currently at the committee stage in the House of Lords. It has already been approved by MPs.
CAIR urges U.S. govt to investigate group accused of spying on Muslims
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged the U.S. government to investigate a group which it has accused of spying on Muslims.
CAIR is currently holding an internal investigation over claims that the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), a Washington based research group, was spying on the organisation.
Nihad Awad, CAIR’s National Executive Director, has also called upon U.S. authorities to investigate the IPT and its alleged involvement in spying on the group.
Awad said: “I would like to take this opportunity to call on the Justice Department, on the FBI, on the US Treasury to investigate and hold IPT Director, Steven Emerson, and his Investigative Project on Terrorism accountable. Why is he allowed to spy … in service of the state of Israel? Spying on American Muslims, on legal organisations, should not be allowed…
“We are working diligently to uncover, disrupt and expose every attempt that this anti-Muslim hate group and its allies have made to spy on American Muslims in service to the Israeli government. We commend the whistle-blowers who are coming forward to apologise, take responsibility and provide information. In the coming weeks, we plan to continue releasing additional information as we uncover and validate it.”
CAIR National Deputy Director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said: “The fact that anti-Muslim bigots and anti-Palestinian racists have invested so much time and effort in spying on our community is a sign of the importance of our community. These hate groups are terrified that American Muslims will use our political activism, civic engagement and legal work to advance justice here and around the world. They’re right to be afraid because that’s exactly what we’ve been doing and will continue to do, God willing.”
Last month, CAIR announced that CAIR-Ohio director Romin Iqbal had been fired for passing information about CAIR’s civil rights work to the IPT which is led by far-right activist Steven Emerson, who has been described as an “anti-Muslim activist” by the Southern Poverty Law Centre.
Days after Iqbal’s termination, a Virginia Muslim voluntarily came forward to admit and apologise for working as a paid IPT spy from 2008 to 2012. Tariq Nelson of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Centre in Falls Church, Virginia, said that he spied for IPT because he was going through financial distress at that time.
He said: “For about four years starting in 2008, I provided information to IPT. Emerson used SAE Productions, one of his for-profit companies, to pay me about $3,000 per month. Looking back on those times, it’s now clear to me that Emerson’s main goal in spying on Muslims was to protect the Israeli government; essentially, to ensure there would never be a ‘Muslim AIPAC’ to challenge U.S. support for Israel.”
In addition to CAIR, Muslim organisations and leaders surveilled or spied on by IPT are alleged to include then-Congressman Keith Ellison, the Park51 community centre, the Muslim Alliance of North America, the Islamic Society of North America, Muslim American Society, the Muslim Legal Fund of America, Muslim Advocates, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Zaytuna College, among others.
IPT rejects being characterised as anti-Muslim. It says it is focused on exposing what it calls “radical Islamist activity on American soil.”
It says Steven Emerson is considered one of the leading authorities on Islamic extremist networks, financing and operations as well national security and intelligence.
Aafia Siddiqui: one of the most famous Muslim prisoners in the world
One of the demands made by Malik Faisal Akram when he took hostages inside a Texas synagogue on Saturday was the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving 86 years in prison in the U.S. So who is Aafia Siddiqui and why has she become such a cause célèbre in the Muslim world?
The case of Aafia Siddiqui has brought with it a wave of emotion from all corners of the Muslim world. The detention of this woman, and allegedly her children, has evoked condemnation from politicians, lawyers and activists.
For millions of Muslims, Aafia Siddiqui symbolises the abuses of the “War on Terror.”
According to advocacy group CAGE, which produced a report on her case, from the day of her initial detention, no information regarding Aafia Siddiqui seems consistent, especially in relation to information released by the U.S. administration.
Some accuse her of being an extremely high level Al Qaeda operative. However, at the same time, the statements of lawyers, family and friends render her incapable of any acts of terrorism.
Disappearance from Pakistan
Aafia Siddiqui is a U.S. national of Pakistani descent who studied for a Masters in biology at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and later went on to do a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience at Brandeis University. She is also a mother of three children.
Siddiqui is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in a Texas federal prison on charges of attempting to murder U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. She was convicted by an American court in February 2010, two years after she was arrested in 2008 by Afghan police on suspicion of trying to blow up the governor’s house in Ghazni.
She was 36 at the time and it should be noted that she has never been charged with those alleged crimes.
Siddiqui disappeared from Pakistan between 2003 and 2008 with her three children before her mysterious appearance in Afghanistan. It was alleged that she was abducted by either U.S. or Pakistani intelligence agencies. Not much information is available about her whereabouts during those five years.
George Bush. Editorial credit: Jason and Bonnie Grower / Shutterstock.com
But according to multiple reports Siddiqui may have been held in Afghanistan’s notorious Bagram prison and then at Guantanamo Bay. Multiple accounts also tell of her torture in those prisons.
At the time of her arrest, court documents in the U.S. alleged that she was carrying chemicals and handwritten notes that referred to a mass casualty attack that listed various locations in the U.S. including Plum Island, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. The U.S. authorities also alleged that she was carrying notes on the construction of “dirty bombs.”
Again it should be noted that she has never been charged with any of those offences.
One of the frequent allegations made against her is that she was an Al Qaeda’s “microbiologist/biochemical expert.” However, according to advocacy group CAGE, these are fields which are very far from what she was actually doing.
In reality, Siddiqui’s PHD was based on the concept of human beings learning by imitation. When one of her supervisors, Professor DiZio, was questioned regarding her research and how it could be used by Al Qaeda, he stated that it was highly unlikely that she would have the technical knowledge to be involved with such things. Her PHD focused on the use of computers to understand human behaviour and had nothing to do with biochemical weapons.
Calls for release
Over the years, Pakistan, the Taliban and mainstream Muslim organisations around the world, as well as some jihadi groups, have sought her release.
In 2010, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan described her as a “daughter of the nation” and a resolution was passed in parliament for her release.
Pakistani officials in 2012 even offered to help secure the release of Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. army sergeant who was held by the Taliban, if the U.S. agreed to release Siddiqui.
Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist who has investigated Siddiqui’s case, said: “Aafia has iconic status in the Muslim world. People are angry with American imperialism and domination… Aafia will continue to be a symbol of everything that is wrong with George W Bush’s never-ending War of Terror.”
The 17 victims of the New York apartment fire were all Muslim
Sera Janneh, left, was killed in the fire on East 181th Street. Her younger sister, Isatou, is on the right. Photograph: Janneh Family
All 17 victims who lost their lives eight days ago in a New York apartment block fire were Muslims, according to the names released by fire officials.
The deceased ranged in age from two to 50. Some died at hospitals, others at the 181st Street scene.
All succumbed to smoke inhalation as ash clouds enveloped hallways in their 19-story Bronx building and blocked escapes.
These are the names of the 17 casualties who came from West Africa, mostly from the Gambia:
Ousmane Konteh, age 2, male
Fatoumata Dukureh, age 5, female
Omar Jambay, age 6, male
Haouwa Mahamdou, age 5, female
Mariam Dukureh, age 11, female
Mustapha Dukyhreh, age 12, male
Seydou Toure, age 12, male
Muhammed Drammeh, age 12, male
Nyumaaisha Drammeh, age 19, female
Foutmala Drammeh, age 21, female
Sera Janneh, age 27, female
Isatou Jabbie, age 31, female
Hagi Jawara, age 37, male
Haja Dukureh, age 37, female
Fatoumata Tunkara, age 43, female
Haji Dukary, age 49, male
Fatoumata Drammeh, age 50, female
The fire was sparked by a malfunctioning heater in one of the third-floor units. Two safety doors that should have automatically closed did not close, which fuelled the spread of smoke and fire.
Here are the stories of some of the victims which have been culled from media reports:
Sera Janneh, 27
Sera was a psychology major and wanted to be a social worker. She was an active member of the Gambian Youth Organization, a community group that serves the neighbourhood and the borough’s west African communities at large.
Seydou Toure, 12
Seydou was an eighth-grade student at the Angelo Patri middle school. His classmate and friend Chanel Álvarez, 13, described him as “a bit of a troublemaker, but a very good kid.”
Haowa Mahamadou, 5
Mahamadou was one of at least four siblings caught in the blaze, according to an online fundraising page set up by her aunt, Khadidja Timbaye, for the family.
The Dukureh family
Haja Dukureh, 37, and her husband, Haji Dukuray, 49, moved from the Gambia more than a decade ago, settling in the Bronx. They had three children in the United States: Mustapha, 12; Mariam, 11; and Fatoumata, five.
The couple worked hard to support their children – Haja as a home health aide and Haji at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken.
The family was devoutly Muslim, and Haji frequented a nearby mosque to pray in the mornings.
The Drammeh family
Fatoumata Drammeh, 50, and her husband, Ishak Drammeh, 57, moved to Twin Parks from the Gambia and lived on the 15th floor for nearly 20 years.
Fatoumata and three of the couple’s children, Fatoumala, 21; Nyumaaisha, 19; and Muhammed, 12, were killed in the fire. They are survived by Ishak and their daughter Fatima, 23, and another son, Yagub, 16, who remains in critical condition.
Isatou Jabbie, 31, and Hagi Jawara, 47
Hagi Jawara worked jobs in construction and at a fried chicken restaurant, and his wife, Isatou Jabbie, was a home health aide. The Gambian couple are survived by their four children, ages six to 15, who were visiting relatives in the west African country at the time of the fire.
Ousmane Konteh, two
The youngest of the fire’s victims, Ousmane Konteh, was staying at a relative’s apartment on the 19th floor when the smoke engulfed the Bronx building.
Journalist Sajad Gul arrested as media crackdown in Kashmir continues
The intimidation of journalists and suppression of media continues unabated in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) with the arrest of a 26-year-old journalist Sajad Ahmad Dar, alias Sajad Gul.
Gul, a trainee reporter with a local web portal The Kashmir Walla, was arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) – a law that allows the detention of anyone for a period of up to two years without a trial – and is currently incarcerated in Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu.
He was first arrested on January 7th by the Indian army and was later handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir Police in Sumbal, a town around 20kms north of Srinagar. Gul was granted bail but was again arrested and booked for two years.
Umair Ronga, the counsel for Gul, told The Kashmir Walla: “When the orders of release reached the police station, the family members were made to wait for a few hours, to be informed that the journalist would not be released on the pretext that one more FIR (First Information Report) has been registered against him, apparently to thwart the orders of court.”
J&K Police said in a statement: “Sajad Gul uploaded objectionable videos with anti-national slogans raised by some women folk on the day when most wanted terrorist Saleem Parray was eliminated in Shalimar Srinagar. The said person under the garb of a journalist is habitual of spreading disinformation/false narratives through different social media platforms in order to create ill will against the government by provoking general masses to resort to violence and disturb public peace and tranquillity…
“Moreover, his overall activities are prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and unity of India. Accordingly, a case has been registered against him in which he has been arrested and presently is on Police remand.”
Local as well as international press rights groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have condemned Gul’s detention and urged Indian authorities to drop charges against him.
CPJ said in a statement: “Authorities must immediately release Gul and drop their investigations related to his journalistic work. Amid ongoing police harassment in retaliation for his journalistic work, CPJ reiterates its call on authorities to drop their investigation into Gul and allow him to report without interference.”
The Journalist Federation of Kashmir (JFK) said: “JFK condemns the PSA against journalist Sajad Gul. JFK is shocked at the brazen and extreme action against Gul and see it as an act of punitive retribution for his journalistic work on the ground that the authorities are uncomfortable with. The detention under PSA violates Gul’s right to liberty and freedom of expression as a journalist and also contravenes the court order that granted him bail…
Journalists in Kashmir. Editorial credit: Faizan Ahmad sheikh
“We strongly condemn the latest action and view it as continued attacks on freedom of the press in #Kashmir. Journalists in Kashmir have always worked under perilous conditions, holding up values of press freedom in the face of dangers to life and liberty. JFK reiterates the demand that the practice of summoning journalists to police stations should end and demand that Gul should be released immediately.”
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an amalgamation of resistance parties in IOJK, condemned the actions against Gul. A statement read: “A few days back journalist Sajad Gul was arrested for doing his duty of reporting facts, and charged brutally for criminal conspiracy, such harassment of scribes has become a routine in the valley.” APHC asked the authorities to immediately release Sajad Gul and put an end to the policy of intimidation through arrests and detentions.
Journalists in IOJK have faced repeated threats and harassment by different government agencies after India scrapped limited autonomy that was guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian constitution.
Journalists have been arrested, harassed, beaten, threatened with consequences for reporting, investigated and booked under anti-terrorism laws.
In September last year, four senior journalists including Showkat Motta, Hilal Mir, Shah Abbas and Azhar Qadri’s houses were raided and their electronic gadgets and some books were seized. They were later detained at a police station in Srinagar and were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case filed in 2020.
Since 2019, three other journalists from Kashmir, Masrat Zehra, Gowhar Geelani and Peerzada Ashiq were booked under the anti-terror law.
Multiple journalists, without divulging details and on the condition of strict anonymity, told 5Pillars that they faced questioning and are constantly being called to police stations for one reason or the other.
An elected body of journalists in IOJK, The Kashmir Press Club (KPC), has on multiple occasions urged the government to allow the journalists in the region to report freely.
The KPC itself was overrun by members of the region’s paramilitary forces on January 15th this year. They claimed that they were enforcing Covid-19 measures. It was disbanded its doors were then sealed and journalists are denied entry since then.
Daniel Bastard, the head of Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific desk, said: “We call on Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to immediately restore the KPC’s licence and order its reopening. This society’s closure is clearly the outcome of a coup hatched at great length by the local government, which follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s orders. This undeclared coup is an Indian government insult to all the journalists trying to do their job in the Kashmir Valley, which is steadily being transformed into a black hole for news and information.”
Bernie Sanders says Senate Republicans are 'laughing all the way to Election Day' over the lack of votes on consequential legislation
John L. Dorman Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Sanders complained that Senate Republicans have not had to take many votes on consequential bills.
Due to Democratic infighting, the party's key social-spending bill has stalled in the upper chamber.
Sanders wants to see individual components of Build Back Better brought to the floor for votes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday said Senate Republicans are "laughing all the way to Election Day" since Democrats have yet to schedule a vote on the party's signature social-spending bill which has languished in the upper chamber due to intraparty divisions.
During an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," the Vermont independent and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee said Senate Republicans have essentially been left off the hook in casting votes for consequential pieces of legislation as lawmakers look toward the November midterm elections.
"What has bothered me very much is the Republicans are laughing all the way to Election Day," he said. "They have not had to cast one bloody vote — which shows us where they're at. And we have got to change that."
While the Senate easily passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill championed by President Joe Biden last year, the larger social-spending bill — which was originally pegged at $3.5 trillion before it was whittled down to roughly half of that amount — fell victim to opposition by Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and a lengthy back-and-forth with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Manchin backed many of Biden's climate provisions, along with expansion of the Affordable Care Act and universal pre-K, but balked at extending the monthly child tax credit program without major changes. The senator appeared on Fox News in December to oppose the Build Back Better bill, despite efforts by Biden officials to stop him.
Manchin's counteroffer to the White House for a smaller social-spending bill was reportedly off the table earlier this month, but last week, the senator said that renewed talks regarding the legislation would be "starting from scratch."
Biden said during a Wednesday press conference that he believed parts of the Build Back Better framework could pass Congress before the midterm elections.
"I'm confident we can get pieces, big chunks of Build Back Better signed into law," Biden said.
During the CNN interview, Sanders said the Senate should hold floor votes for individual components of the larger social-spending bill, which would allow members to clarify their respective positions.
He added that Democrats could craft a bill with the initiatives that are able to clear the upper chamber, pointing to the popularity of many of the party's policies among the American public.
"People want to expand Medicare. People want to deal with the crisis of climate," he said. "So what we are talking about is what the American people want. And I think, when you bring bills on the floor — we have allowed the Republicans to get away with murder."
Sanders — who said earlier on Sunday that he backed the Arizona Democratic Party's decision to censure Sinema over her refusal to change filibuster rules to pass voting-rights legislation — stated that Republicans need to have their votes on the record.
"They haven't had to vote on anything," he said. "Now, if they want to vote against lowering the cost of prescription drugs, expanding Medicare, dealing with child care, dealing with housing, let them vote, and let Manchin and Sinema decide which side they are on."
He added: "And when all of that shakes out, we will see where we are. I have the feeling that we will be able to get 50 votes or more on some of these issues. We could put that piece together and then pass something that's very significant."
Alarming xenophobic trend on the rise in Turkey
On Jan 23, 2022
Amid alarming reports about assassinations of Syrian refugees in Turkey, the trend of violence and the security of foreigners has become a source of concern in the country, where refugees were once welcomed with open arms.
The country’s economic woes, with high rates of unemployment and decreased purchasing power due to inflation, have pushed many to blame foreigners.
The frequent use of anti-refugee rhetoric by politicians has fanned the flames of racism. A Turkish court recently overturned controversial plans by the mayor of the northwestern city of Bolu, Tanju Ozcan, to increase water bills by tenfold for foreigners, as well as charging 100,000 lira ($7,435) for civil marriage ceremonies for foreigners in Turkey.
“They overstayed their welcome. If I had the power, I would use municipal officials to throw them out by force,” Ozcan said. “I know people will talk about human rights and they will call me fascist. I simply do not care.”
Anti-immigrant sentiment has hardened, exacerbated by an influx of Afghans after the Taliban takeover of their country in August 2021.
Last week, Nail Al-Naif, a 19-year-old Syrian refugee, was killed in Istanbul by a group of men when sleeping in his room. Eight people, including five Turkish nationals and three Afghans, were arrested.
Another young Syrian was stabbed walking in a park in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir last week, just a couple of days after a mob attacked a shopping mall frequented by Syrians in Istanbul, allegedly after a Syrian refugee refused to give a cigarette to a Turkish man.
In November, three young Syrian workers were burned to death in the western city of Izmir after a fire broke out at their apartment when they were sleeping.
Police detained a Turkish man, who admitted that he caused the fire motivated by xenophobia.
Muge Dalkiran, an expert on migration issues and a junior fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, said refugees have been scapegoated in Turkey due to ongoing competition over economic resources, concerns over ethnic or religious balances, and security-related worries.
“The tension has also escalated as a result of misinformation in the media, xenophobic discourses and hate speech by public figures from different political parties that represent large and diverse groups in the Turkish society,” she told Arab News.
Dalkiran said that negative attitudes, hate speech, and xenophobia against migrant and refugee groups exist in many countries, but in Turkey a major problem is impunity.
“Due to the lack of (a) clear legal definition of xenophobia and racial discrimination, as well as the lack of the enforcement of law, this leads to the impunity for crimes motivated by racist and xenophobic attitudes.
“In addition to this, the lack of international protection of refugees also creates a precarious situation for them,” she said.
As Turkey has put a geographical limitation on the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, it cannot grant its main refugee groups, like Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis, refugee status.
“Many times, because of the fear of detention or deportation, migrant and refugee groups in Turkey cannot even access official complaint mechanisms when they face violent acts,” Dalkiran said.
The number of Syrian refugees under temporary protection in Turkey is 3.7 million people, most of them living in Istanbul as well as the southeastern province of Gaziantep.
Over 2.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey are under the age of 30. Overall, the country is home to about 5.3 million foreigners in total.
Metin Corabatir, president of the Research Center on Asylum and Migration in Ankara, said there are many examples of xenophobia that go unreported.
“Syrian refugees in Ankara cannot send their children to school for fear that they could be subject to physical violence or hate speech” he told Arab News.
“They cannot guarantee their own security and children pay it back with their declining enrolment rates,” he added.
In August 2021, tensions rose in Ankara’s Altindag district, where the Syrian population is concentrated in the capital.
After a knife fight between locals and Syrians, several workplaces and houses of Syrians were targeted.
“(Turkish) house owners in Altindag district reportedly began to decline to rent their houses to Syrians,” Corabatir said.
“The municipality abruptly stopped the coal and food assistance to the Syrians in the city without giving any excuse. Opposition politicians began pledging to send Syrians back to their home country,” he added.
“As the date of parliamentary elections is nearing, refugees and foreigners in general have been used for domestic consumption,” said Corabatir.
Advocacy groups also underline the alarming trend of hate speech in the country against foreigners more generally. Recently, a taxi driver in Istanbul beat a French woman after he overcharged her and her husband.
“We cannot send these refugees back to Syria, which is still unsafe,” Corabatir said. “Several international right groups, like Amnesty International, announced that those who returned home were subjected to torture, disappearance and detention.”
In January, a video was posted on social media of a Turkish man in Istanbul breaking the doors and windows of a house he owned because, after he raised the rent of his Syrian tenants by 150 percent and they refused to pay, he wanted to evict them.
Dalkiran emphasized the need for adopting a coherent and integrated approach by political parties and their leaders, the media, academia and civil society for the refugee-related issues.
“Rather than populist discourses to secure the electoral gains, a human rights-based approach should be prioritized,” she said.
“This needs to be accompanied by social awareness raising efforts to combat against racism and xenophobia together with the migrant and refugee rights.”
Source: Arab News
NCAA leaves transgender inclusion decisions to individual sports
fitzcrittle | Shutterstock
J-P Mauro -published on 01/23/22 - updated on 01/23/22
Transgender student athletes are now required to provide documentation of their testosterone levels throughout the season.
The NCAA has updated its policy on transgender participation in collegiate sports. On Wednesday, the NCAA Board of Governors voted to approach transgender participation in a sport-by-sport basis. The new rules, which went into effect immediately, hope to balance fairness, inclusion, and safety for all student athletes.
While the NCAA has placed the power to make decision on transgender inclusion in the hands of the sport, the Board of Governors urged the divisions to be flexible. They suggest that if a transgender athlete loses eligibility, the sport should provide additional eligibility for the athlete. It is unclear if this means creating new criteria or alternative events to compete in.
John DeGioia, chairman of the NCAA board said in a statement:
“We are steadfast in our support of transgender student-athletes and the fostering of fairness across college sports. It is important that NCAA member schools, conferences and college athletes compete in an inclusive, fair, safe and respectful environment and can move forward with a clear understanding of the new policy.”
Testosterone documentation
The policy changes will already affect the 2022 championships for winter sports. As of now, transgender atheletes must provide documentation of their testosterone levels four weeks prior to the championship competition. Beginning next year, they must also provide such documentation at the start of their season and six months after the season begins.
The documentation will work to prevent the assumption of an unfair advantage on the part of the transgender athletes. The IOC framework notes that an unfair advantage should never be assumed, but they admit that there are “advantage[s] gained by altering one’s body” that exist at elite-level competition.
USCCB
The USCCB has yet to comment on the NCAA’s policy changes, but the bishops have already spoken about transgenderism in student athletics. In 2020, Bishop Michael C. Barber and Bishop David A. Konderla penned a letter to Congress over a Title IX dispute. They noted that males “possess a distinct physical advantage in a number of sports,” and warned of “physical safety concerns in high-contact sports,” between biological males and female athletes.
Despite safety concerns and the perception of an unfair advantage, however, the bishops stood by transgender athlete’s right to compete. They wrote:
“Youth who experience gender identity discordance should be assured the right to participate in, or try-out for, student athletics on the same terms as any of their peers, in co-educational activities or, where sexes are separated, in accord with their given sex,” said the bishops, adding that “Harassment or unjust discrimination against them in this regard is unequivocally immoral.”
