‘Good war’ vs ‘bad war’: An examination of TIFF’s offerings in the ‘shadow of a genocide’

This year's edition of the film festival posed an interesting question — what does it mean to be human in the face of destruction?

Narendra Pachkhédé
27 Sep, 2024
IMAGES/DAWN

How does one navigate the vibrant chaos of a film festival in the shadow of an ongoing genocide? This weighty question loomed large in my mind as I immersed myself in two films at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) — From Ground Zero and Russians at War — while other poignant narratives such as No Other Land and Viktor beckoned for consideration.

These films help us grapple with the complex emotional landscape and ethics that shape our collective experience in these turbulent times, urging us to confront the ethical dilemmas that persist long after the last credits roll. It compels us to confront the paradox of our existence — the allure of heroism entwined with the horror of destruction, inviting us to grapple with the ethical complexities that underlie our narratives of violence and redemption. Cinema transforms war into a mirror reflecting our deepest truths — showing us not just the chaos of battle, but the moral quandaries that linger in its aftermath. Through its lens, we grapple with the cost of conflict and the enduring question: what does it mean to be human in the face of destruction?
When cinema blinks


A scene from No Other Land



In No Other Land, directed by Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor, the viewer is thrust into the rugged landscape of Masafer Yatta, a region reeling from a court ruling that dismisses the residents’ long-standing fight against the illegal seizure of their homeland. Adra, an activist armed with both a camera and a law degree, serves as both narrator and anchor; having lived his entire life in this encroached territory, he aims to illuminate his community’s struggle against relentless Israeli occupation.

While the villagers are aware of the larger forces at play, the film focuses on their immediate struggles, driven by an undeniable urgency. The documentary immerses viewers in the stark realities of Masafer Yatta, tracing the lives of its inhabitants from 2019 to 2023 with a poignant immediacy. The film paints a vivid portrait of resilience amidst adversity, juxtaposing serene moments — like Adra’s quiet attempt to rest as a bulldozer rumbles ominously above — with the visceral chaos of confrontations captured in raw, handheld footage.

Rather than wading into the murky waters of geopolitical debate, Adra and Abraham, an anti-occupation Israeli journalist, zero in on the intimate struggles faced by the villagers, illuminating their humanity in the face of relentless encroachment and occupation. Each frame pulsates with a sense of urgency, revealing how the residents navigate the daily grind of existence under siege, where each mundane act becomes an act of defiance.

The documentary powerfully conveys that while broader political narratives loom in the background, the heart of the film lies in the lived experiences of those who call this contested land home. In this landscape of tension and uncertainty, No Other Land resonates as a profound exploration of survival, reminding us that in the face of overwhelming odds, the quest for dignity and belonging remains an unwavering force.


A scene from Viktor



In Viktor, another war tale, this time from Ukraine, we see in the protagonist, Viktor, a deaf war photographer, navigating the vagaries of a nation at war. Starting a day before the first day of the conflict and running through the first year, director Olivier Sarbil introduces us to Viktor Korotovskyi, a deaf Ukrainian citizen desperate to fulfil his duty and against all odds becoming an official press photographer, working near the front lines. He gets inside the head of his subject, employing subjective swings in the audio soundtrack to either mute or muddle what’s being perceived, bringing hearing audiences into the compromised sonic space of Viktor himself.

The film delves deeply into the intricate bond between war and the often unspoken compulsion to serve one’s country, revealing the profound desperation that drives individuals to such lengths. It lays bare the human instinct to sacrifice, not just out of duty, but from a need to find purpose amidst the chaos, portraying the silent yet powerful forces that compel people to offer themselves to the cause, even when the cost is unimaginable.

Viktor envelops its audience in the depths of auditory isolation, using a delicate interplay of cinematic techniques to invite us into the silence that governs Viktor’s reality. The absence of sound heightens each visual detail, creating an unsettling immersion. By weaving between muffled whispers and distorted soundscapes, the film offers hearing viewers a visceral glimpse into Viktor’s fragmented experience of reality. By manipulating the audio to oscillate between muted whispers and muddled soundscapes, the film immerses hearing audiences into Viktor’s disorienting, compromised world of sound, allowing them to experience the fractured reality that shapes his perception.

Viktor captivates not only through its portrayal of the war photographer at its centre but also in what his lens reveals in stark, arresting black and white. As much a study of Viktor as it is of the fractured worlds he captures, the film draws power from what lingers in the shadows, making it a profoundly reflective meditation on war, memory, and the act of witnessing. As Viktor declares, “Silence is not emptiness; it is not the absence of something. It is the presence of the self and nothing else. In this silence, I find my peace.”
We have not been able to see past the fog of war

In the Western world, the narrative is sharply divided between a ‘good war’ and a ‘bad war’ — where Israel’s actions are framed as ‘self-defence’ while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is condemned. Amid this, Canadian-Russian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova’s Russians at War finds itself ensnared in controversy. The film has drawn fierce backlash from the sizeable Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, who vehemently oppose its portrayal of the conflict, accusing the filmmaker of “humanising the Russians soldiers”.


 

Pro-Ukraine protesters at the festival.


Politicians have weighed in, amplifying tensions, while funding bodies like TVO disavowed their connection, giving credence to the documentary as ‘Russian propaganda’ — a term now wielded to fit shifting political agendas.

Four days earlier, the same TVO, in a statement released on September 6, claimed: “Russians at War is at its core an anti-war film. It is unauthorised by Russian officials and was made at great personal risk to the filmmaker, who was under constant threat of arrest and incarceration for trying to tell an unofficial story. This film shows the increasing disillusionment of Russian soldiers as their experience at the front doesn’t jive with the media lies their families are being told at home.”

Amid this tumult, TIFF cancelled the programmed screenings, ultimately permitting a double screening after North America’s largest film festival drew to a close, under heightened security, surrounded by vocal protesters, underscoring the fraught intersection of art, politics, and public sentiment.

Russians at War unveils the complex realities of life of a motley group of Russian soldiers amidst existential compulsions, ideological tensions, and unravelling war, revealing the humanity often obscured by political narratives. It is as if the film followed in the footsteps of John Steinbeck’s Russian Journal, alongside renowned war photographer Robert Capa, an incisive eyewitness account of the Soviet Union during the nascent Cold War.

Captured over seven months, this documentary immerses viewers in the lives of a disparate band of Russian soldiers — conscripts and volunteers alike — grappling with the stark challenges of survival in the tumultuous landscape of Russian-occupied Ukraine, where the lines between fighting and enduring blur. Boredom and the slowness of war on the frontlines envelop the viewer, as myriad personal intentions, stories of friendship, and the nurturing of love gradually peel away the layers of narrative surrounding the brutal Russian invasion.


A scene from The Bibi Files



In sharp contrast is The Bibi Files, directed by Alexis Bloom, which delves into the murky depths of corruption enveloping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While the film faced minimal resistance to its release — save for Netanyahu’s legal attempts to stifle it — the compelling leaked footage at its core presents a unique dilemma. This very evidence, vital to the film’s investigation, complicates its screening in Israel, where it risks prejudicing potential jurors and further entangling the political narrative it seeks to expose.

In From Ground Zero, the gaze reverses. It offers an urgent, intimate glimpse into the human toll of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, far beyond the scope of news bulletins. The victims and subjects of the genocide speak, each frame is an expression of raw emotion, creating a deeply personal narrative of survival, loss, and the fragility of existence under siege. From Ground Zero — a powerful anthology of 22 distinct voices from filmmakers within Gaza — stands as a harrowing yet vital testament to the enduring human cost of war.

A scene from From Ground Zero

Each film poignantly underscores that, beneath the broader geopolitical narrative, it is individual lives that are irreversibly altered. Both unflinching and heart-wrenching, this collection confronts viewers with the visceral realities of conflict, demanding our attention and empathy. It is not merely an artistic endeavour but an essential document of survival and suffering, a necessary reckoning with the ongoing devastation. Initiated by director Rashid Masharawi, born and raised in Gaza to a family of refugees originally from Jaffa, through the Masharawi Fund, this project grants Palestinian filmmakers an artistic outlet in the face of impossible conditions.

In one of these 22 works that stuck with me, Sorry Cinema by veteran Gazan filmmaker Ahmed Hassouna offers a letter of apology to the art form, saying he is unable to continue working as he has to ensure his family’s survival. Ahmed, having never seen his films on a big screen or showcased at festivals, declined Masharawi’s offer to join the project. Grieving the recent loss of his brother and trapped in the isolation of North Gaza where aid arrives only by air, his refusal spoke to the weight of personal and collective tragedy. The film is a moving tribute to cinema, as much as it is a poignant perspective of a creative’s life amidst war.

It is pertinent to point out that this anthology from Gaza was first accepted at the 77th Cannes Film Festival after which its director Thierry Fremaux informed director Rashid Masharawi about their inability to screen the collection of 22 works as they want “a festival without polemics”. The 2022 Cannes Film Festival kicked off with a live video message from Ukrainian President Zelensky, bringing the urgency of war to the heart of cinema’s grand stage.

In 2024, Masharawi organised a protest screening in Cannes: “We carried out the media campaign ourselves, set up the tent, issued our publications, established a refugee cinema, showed the Gaza sea, and provided dates and coffee — which we serve in houses of mourning — to honour the souls of the more than 37,000 martyrs. We are filmmakers. The world must hear us. We want our voice to be heard, because we exist.”
Excavating cinematic memories

In the invocation of the influence of Robert Capra by the director of Russians at War, my mind wandered to two individuals — Rade Serbedzija who played the character of a native Macedonian war photographer in Before the Rain, and Abu Zubaydah in Can’t Get You Out of My Head by Adam Curtis.


A scene from Can’t Get You Out of My Head by Adam Curtis



Curtis’ ambitious six-part documentary series, with a total runtime of approximately eight hours, explores the psychological and political evolution of modern society, tracing the shift from collectivism to individualism. With his signature blend of archival footage, Curtis delves into the forces shaping our contemporary world — power, paranoia, and the disintegration of shared meaning.

The series interweaves stories of individuals, ideologies, and revolutions, presenting a complex narrative about the consequences of unbridled individualism and the manipulation of collective fear. It’s an epic reflection on the chaotic, fragmented world we now inhabit. In one haunting vignette, Curtis lingers on the fractured psyche of Abu Zubaydah, a man whose mind, shattered by CIA torture, serves as a chilling metaphor for collective disarray.

Curtis almost declares, “We’ve all become like Abu Zubaydah’s brain,” yet wisely holds back, inviting viewers to explore this unsettling parallel for themselves. Abu Zubaydah’s tale, however, extends beyond his personal torment; a shell fragment lodged in his brain since 1991 leaves him trapped in a liminal world of fragmented memories — mirroring the way we, too, grapple with a fractured reality that eludes coherence.

As if vindicating, and despite the zeitgeist, the festival’s People’s Choice Award turned a wary eye from the pressing realities of today, opting instead for a nostalgic inward gaze. The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal celebrated musical lore with tender reverence, while The Life of Chuck, with its forlorn tale, took the crown. Yet, amid these echoes of the past, one is left to ponder — how long can we cradle the comforts of memory while the world outside unravels, demanding not just our awareness, but our urgent response?

However, for me two films, Ground Zero and Russians at War, offered a pertinent point of entry in the times when we are conditioned to create the the uncomfortable dichotomy of ‘good war’ versus ‘bad war’; they stand as bookends to the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, caught in the tumult of American cancel culture, providing a fertile ground for exploring how we collectively process and respond to the visceral realities of contemporary loss, pain, memory, conflict, war and genocide.

They invite us to examine not just the cinematic stories unfolding before us, but also the deeper emotional resonances that challenges our understanding of empathy and complicity. In this context, the festival transforms into a space not merely for entertainment, but for a deeper reckoning with the moral imperatives of our time.

EU deforestation law in doubt as Germany pushes for postponement


By Dave Keating | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab
Sep 23, 2024 

To calm growing alarm, the Commission said it would come out with additional guidelines in the Spring. 

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Calls for EUDR postponement have created confusion for companies over when and if they will have to comply.

As lawmakers clash this month over whether to stick with rigid enforcement of the EU’s new Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), with obligations set to take effect in December, companies have been left questioning whether they should move forward with urgent reporting and certification preparation.

Earlier this month, German Food and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir asked the European Commission to postpone the regulation’s application by six months to 1 July 2025, saying: “The Commission must finally come out of the summer break and provide clarity,” he wrote. “I take the concerns of companies, agriculture and forestry, and the countries very seriously. Companies need sufficient time to prepare.”

He added: “This also applies to countries with small-scale production structures. Otherwise, supply chains threaten to break at the end of the year – to the detriment of the German and European economy, small farmers in third countries, and consumers.”

‘Bureaucratic monster’

The message has also been carried forward by conservative German members of the European Parliament. “We call on the Commission to immediately delay the implementation of the Deforestation Law,” said Herbert Dorfmann, EPP coordinator in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, this week. Peter Liese, a powerful member of the Parliament’s Environment Committee, agreed and called the legislation a “bureaucratic monster” which could threaten the EU’s animal feed supply and disrupt trade in many consumer goods.

To calm growing alarm, the Commission said it would come out with additional guidelines in the Spring. But these guidelines have yet to emerge.

Centre-left MEPs are urging the Commission to stick to the original timeline for implementing the law. A group of centre-left MEPs, including Italy’s Brando Benifei and Germany’s Delara Burkhardt, have sent the Commission a letter saying, “It is crucial that the EUDR is applied without delay.” They urged the Commission to quickly finalise the guidelines and FAQs as a matter of urgency and said a “user-friendly IT system” should be created for companies to submit compliance documents.

The EUDR became law in June last year, mandating that any operators or traders engaged in importing or exporting certain commodities within the EU market demonstrate that the products are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation. They will have to start proving this in December.

Products also need to be produced by the relevant legislation of the country of production as well as follow strict traceability requirements set by the regulation. The law applies to soy, oil palm, rubber, wood, coffee, cacao and cattle. To achieve this, businesses will be required to gather geolocation data and carry out due diligence before bringing their products to market.

Due diligence

The due diligence process required of companies will consist of three main components: information gathering, risk assessment and risk mitigation. There are concerns about the impact on European supply chains, in particular, the scale of the requirements has sparked concerns about how smallholder farmers in third countries, who don’t have the resources to invest in their certification systems, will be affected.

The European Parliament elections in June 2024 have led to a more conservative Parliament and Commission, with over half of the new commissioners in Ursula von der Leyen’s college coming from her own conservative European Peoples Party. That has created questions over whether the new term will see a dilution of some of the environment and climate laws that were passed during the previous term.

Progressive parties such as the Greens and Social Democrats have been staunch defenders of strict environmental laws. The EUDR is being seen as one of the key tests for the new term. Will it be watered down or postponed?

Soft launch?

Industry insiders say they don’t expect the core requirements of the EUDR to be weakened, even if the Commission does decide to delay its application start date. What might happen, they say, is a soft launch with a transition period. This would mean that while all requirements officially take effect at the end of December, national governments would start with actual enforcement later, in 2025 or 2026.

In this case, sample verifications and checks would begin at a later stage once countries are ready and have prepared their verification systems.

In any event, people in the certification sector are advising companies to continue for now with the expectation of full enforcement in December.

ISCC, the International Sustainability Certification body, has been preparing tools for companies to ensure compliance. The advice for companies is don’t assume anything about the law that hasn’t yet been decided and proceed as if requirements will come in December. ISCC certification is currently available for oil palm, soy, rubber and wood.

In the meantime, forestry campaigners are urging the Commission to quickly come out with guidelines rather than delaying the law. “Action by the EU is needed, but not the action that EUDR’s detractors want,” Sam Lawson, Director of the campaign group Earthsight, wrote this week.

She said: “Research shows that the destruction being wrought by these commodities in forest countries is almost entirely the responsibility of large companies, not smallholder producers. The EU is already investing in helping to ensure that those smallholders can benefit from their relative lack of complicity by supporting their efforts to prove their compliance. But that EU support must be ramped up.”

“The EU should also press the large companies through whom smallholder-produced commodities reach Europe to invest their vast profits in that effort,” she added.

Expand not weaken

Lawson believes the law should be expanded, not weakened, to include commodities produced through the destruction of precious non-forest biomes and expand its scope to cover other commodities like cotton.

The balance between environmental ambitions and economic realities will be a key focus in the post-election landscape. For better or worse, the EUDR is now being seen as the first test of whether the building blocks of von der Leyen’s Green Deal will hold firm with the new political realities in the EU’s institutions.

[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]

10 years into Huthi rule, some Yemenis count the cost


By AFP
September 20, 2024

Demonstrators rally outside a mosque in Yemen's Huthi-held Sanaa on March 29, 2024 - Copyright AFP Yan ZHAO

With a floundering economy and growing restrictions on personal freedoms, 10 years of Huthi rule has left its mark on Yemen’s ancient capital, Sanaa, where some quietly long for how things once were.

The Huthis, a radical political-military group from Yemen’s northern mountains, have imposed strict rule over the large swathe of Yemen under their control, covering two-thirds of the population.

Since the Iran-backed rebels took power in Sanaa in 2014, after long-running protests against the government, the country has gone “back 50 years”, sighed Yahya, 39, who like many prefers not to share his full name for fear of reprisals.

“Before, we thought about how to buy a car or a house. Now we think about how to feed ourselves,” added Abu Jawad, 45.

Already the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been devastated by war since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition launched a failed campaign to dislodge the Huthis.

Hundreds of thousands of people have died through fighting or indirect causes like hunger and disease, with much of the infrastructure in ruins.

Yemen, mired in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, remains divided between the Huthis and the government, now based in the port city of Aden.

The Huthis, who adhere to the Zaidi branch of Shiite Islam and claim divine right to rule, have tightened their control over many aspects of daily life.

– ‘Men, women could sit together’ –

Sanaa, despite its conservatism, once had “political parties, active civic organisations, NGOs… coffee shops where males and females can sit together”, said researcher Maysaa Shuja al-Deen, of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies.

“Now the social and political atmosphere has become very closed,” she added.

Men and women are segregated in public, and Huthi slogans like “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” are plastered everywhere, alongside photos of Huthi leaders, Deen said.

Since 2015, Amnesty International has documented numerous cases of activists, journalists and political opponents who were convicted on “trumped-up” espionage charges.

A wave of arrests in June targeted aid workers, including 13 United Nations staff who are still detained.

Majed, the director of a Yemeni non-governmental organisation, said he fled Sanaa for Aden before taking refuge with friends in Jordan, leaving behind his wife and three children.

“I made the decision without thinking too much. Leaving was a risky choice, but it was the only one,” the 45-year-old said from Amman, where he hopes to find a job.

According to Deen, a Yemeni who is also based outside the country, it is now difficult to go against the ruling authorities, or even fail to show support.

“At the very beginning, being silent was an option. Now it’s not even an option,” she said.

“You have to show that you are loyal to the Huthi ideology.”

The Huthis are adept at using social and traditional media, such as their Al-Masirah TV station, to spread propaganda, and have even revised school textbooks and changed the calendar.

The traditional holiday of September 26, which celebrated the 1962 revolution against the former imam, has been moved to September 21, the day the Huthis took power.

Some Yemenis chafe at the change. “Even if they forbid us from celebrating officially, we will celebrate it in our hearts,” said Abu Ahmed, 53, a Sanaa resident.

– ‘I dream of getting my life back’ –

However, support for the Huthis’ attacks since November against Israel and ships in the Red Sea, in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war, seems to be unanimous.

“The Yemenis have always been pro-Palestinian,” said author and Yemen specialist Helen Lackner, highlighting the hundreds of thousands of people who join the Huthis’ weekly demonstrations in Sanaa.

Despite their popularity among ordinary people, the maritime attacks have halted negotiations conducted between the rebels and Saudi Arabia to end the war.

Rim, 43, who has lived with her family in neighbouring Saudi for nine years, has not been able to return to Sanaa to bury her father, or attend the weddings of her brothers and sisters.

“I dream of getting my life back,” said the 43-year-old. In the meantime, she is content to talk to her children about her country.

“I don’t want them to forget that they are Yemeni.”

UK
Southport imam tells the Canary about the far-right riot and the real situation in the town

 by Ed Sykes
19 September 2024
in Analysis
THE CANARY

After far-right rioters targeted and damaged the Southport Mosque and Cultural Centre on 30 July, the Canary went to meet Ibrahim Hussein, the mosque’s imam.

He said the attacks created a lot of worry, but that there has been a lot of support from the community and elsewhere. He also insisted that the focus of people’s support should be on the people directly affected by the tragedy that had occurred the day before the riot.

Southport, the far-right attacks, and what helped to fuel them

Hussein stated that misinformation and fake news helped to fuel the riot. One source of misinformation, he stressed, is the government, with politicians “blaming immigrants or the immigration issue for everything” and making out that “they are responsible for all the problems that Britain faces”.

He added “that is terrible – this is not the truth at all”. But because some people “like this kind of talk”, politicians carry on with it. In terms of dealing with unrest and division, he said the biggest thing politicians can do is to apply laws.

The government provided some temporary security after the riot. But as he insisted:

We don’t really want a security. We want to come and go as ordinary people, you know? You leave your home and you go to work and you don’t need security.

In the coming months and years, he stressed, “I hope we can come closer and accept each other’s differences”, with a “live and let live” attitude. And he asked:

Why be an enemy? Life is too short. You do not need to create an enemy from somebody that you don’t even know anything about. These people who came here, they hate everything around them. And they even hate themselves, because they don’t respect themselves at all. They got drunk – they were happy to act as fools. It doesn’t matter who’s in front of them – whether it’s the police, whether it’s the local community, whether it’s Muslims. What is the point of living like this?
“You can fix a building, but when life is lost, you can’t fix that”

After the far-right attacks on the mosque, meanwhile, they got “people from all over the place, not even from this area, coming from far away and they were offering their help and support”. They also received “flowers and biscuits”, along with lots of cards and letters from people showing solidarity. He said:

If you read some of the words, it really brings tears to your eyes, because they’re so supportive: ‘We stand with you’; ‘we don’t agree with this rubbish that took place’; and ‘you’re not to blame, you are welcome’.

However, Hussein insisted that it isn’t the Muslim community that really needs support right now. Instead, it’s the families of the three young girls who were killed on 29 July and the people who experienced the tragedy first-hand. “To us Muslims, family is everything”, he said, so “I can’t really imagine how they felt – the parents or the people who were actually there”. He stressed:

It’s absolutely terrible. And we really feel more for them than we feel for ourselves. This is only a building. And if it’s damaged in any way, we can fix it. But when life is lost, you can’t fix that. You can’t bring them back.

He also mentioned how much the community came together in the wake of the horrific events in July. The grieving parents condemned violence, local people helped to repair the damage that rioters had caused, and people reached out to each other to see how they were doing. And it was in those moments that people confirmed what he already felt – that the community is full of really decent people.

Not enough support for people in the wake of the July murders

Speaking about the “absolutely dreadful and awful” murder on 29 July, Hussein said the people the tragedy affected directly “need a lot of support” but they’re not getting as much as they need. Despite what politicians and media outlets have said, some local people had told him “this support is not handy, it’s not in front of people”.

Local councillor Sean Halsall, who also participated in the conversation, added:

From the beginning of this, the ruling party, the Labour Party that I was a part of, have been told not to engage the media, not to speak to people. And because of that, I think there’s been a massive void there left behind where people should have been leading the community who weren’t. And then it’s fallen on other people who shouldn’t have had that burden.

I was happy to pick it up. I’m a councillor myself, not in that ward but the neighbouring ward. But just reaching out to the communities of people who feel threatened at that time and making sure you know you’ve got allies, at least. And at best, there should have been some sort of service set up here with counselling or whatever on site in Southport. There’s plenty of empty buildings, empty shops in town that could have been repurposed for a short period of time to offer a counselling service or any other service that people need.

“Live and let live” – from Southport to Palestine

In Southport itself, Hussein said all the neighbours are very polite to mosque-goers and will congratulate them during important religious festivals. And around the time of Ramadan, he pointed out, “we usually go around with a thank you card or box of chocolates and say thank you for your patience” because of parking inconveniences, even though people are very understanding and kind about it.

He also mentioned that there have been exchanges of visits with churches and synagogues locally, with people from other faiths visiting the mosque and vice versa. He summed up by saying “you believe what you want to believe. I believe what I want to believe. It doesn’t stop me from having a cup of coffee with you and a biscuit”.

For people who are not religious, the vigils and demonstrations against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza have served as a meeting point with local Muslims and others. As Halsall asserted:

It has been a good space for people to have conversations they might never have had before and get to know each other. And I think that, if there is any positive to come from the atrocities that are going on the Middle East, it is that bringing people together over politics and just disagreeing that genocide’s the right thing to do.

Hussein agreed. And regarding Palestine, he said:

My hopes are different from my expectations. Because all these politicians, they should know better. They know what is right and what is wrong. But it seems like it has served their purpose to support a rogue state like Israel.

Despite critiques of the genocide from within the halls of international law and the United Nations, he stressed, “the politicians seem to be looking to the other side and whistling as if they haven’t seen anything”. He also stressed that so-called ‘friends of Israel’ from political parties should, to be true friends, be honest with Israel about its actions. If you just express concerns in private, that’s not good enough, he insisted. Instead:

Justice has to be seen. People should see that justice is implemented in real life.

You can see and read Sean Halsall’s full interview with us in Southport here. And stay tuned for the final article from our visit to the town.

Featured image via the STV – screengrab

New research reveals how 'home' affects psychological well-being in a mobile world

by Queen Mary, University of London

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

A typology of home in global consumer mobility.

 Credit: Journal of Consumer Psychology (2024). DOI: 10.1002/jcpy.1440

A new study by Zahra Sharifonnasabi, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Co-Director of the MINDS Research Group at Queen Mary University of London, sheds light on the link between "home" and psychological well-being for people who frequently move across countries. The work is published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

The study, "Home and Psychological Well-being in Global Consumer Mobility," explores how individuals who travel or relocate often—like expatriates, digital nomads, or frequent international travelers—create and experience different types of "home." These findings offer important insights into how this impacts their mental well-being, sense of ownership, and identity.

Global consumer mobility refers to a lifestyle where individuals frequently move across borders for work, study, or personal reasons. This group often faces unique challenges, such as adjusting to new cultures and living environments, which can affect how they feel about "home" and their psychological well-being.

Different types of home

The study identified four main types of home, each with its own psychological benefits. These challenge the traditional idea of home as just one place:

• Emotional Home: A place that provides a deep sense of belonging and stability.
• Home Away from Home: Temporary comfort through familiar rituals and routines.
• Base of Operation: A location that supports work productivity and provides professional stability.
• Home on the Road: A flexible, temporary setup that offers a sense of groundedness while traveling.

These types of home reflect the fragmented and ever-changing nature of home in the lives of globally mobile individuals.

How people cope with global mobility

The study also looked at how people manage the challenges of constantly moving. Many rely on resources in the marketplace—like services, brands, or even local businesses—to help make different places feel like home. These "commercial friendships" and familiar consumption habits play a crucial role in easing the mental strain of mobility.

One study participant, Adam, a consultant, shared his experience: "I have a flat in London, which is my primary home. I spend about 60-70% of my time there. In Berlin, we have a house built in 1966 where my wife lives, and that's my emotional home, where I want to retire. Dubai, where I work part-time, is just a place to get the job done. It can be challenging… It's an isolated life in London or Dubai, as everyone is so focused on work. I've tried to connect more, like having coffee with a colleague or joining a choir. It helps."

What HR professionals can learn

This research offers valuable takeaways for HR professionals managing internationally mobile employees:

• Understanding Needs: Recognizing the different types of homes and their benefits can help HR understand the diverse needs of globally mobile workers.
• Support Systems: Providing resources that help employees manage multiple homes and offering access to local services can improve well-being.
• Flexible Work Policies: Offering remote work or short-term assignments that fit employees' mobile lifestyles can boost productivity and satisfaction.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Promoting an inclusive environment where cultural differences are valued can help internationally mobile employees feel more at home.
• Mental Health Support: Offering mental health resources tailored to the unique challenges of global mobility can help employees maintain well-being.

Zahra Sharifonnasabi explains, "Our study challenges the traditional idea of home. It shows that home is more complex and multifaceted, especially for people who move frequently. These insights are crucial for understanding their well-being and helping HR professionals manage a mobile workforce."

The study redefines what "home" means in today's world of constant mobility and offers practical ways to help people cope with the challenges it brings.

More information: Zahra Sharifonnasabi et al, Home and psychological well‐being in global consumer mobility, Journal of Consumer Psychology (2024). DOI: 10.1002/jcpy.1440

Journal information: Journal of Consumer Psychology 

Provided by Queen Mary, University of London Dutch survey study links air ventilation and other factors to work-from-home success

 

Moving as one: Discovering how synchronous movements strengthen social bonds

by Elaina Hancock, University of Connecticut

(a) Worshippers in the Salat al Jama’ah are positioned in parallel rows behind the imam, 

and women are separated from men by a partition or other means. (b) The prayer consists

 of repetitive units (Rak’ah). Images adapted from pngtree.com. 

Credit: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2024). 

DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0162

Sharing stories over a cup of coffee; dancing in a group; cheering a football game in a crowd: these everyday rituals are among many different types of shared experiences that help humans develop social cohesion.

UConn researchers are studying another way humans connect: through synchronous movement or chanting, and Mohammadamin Saraei, a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences, says we can see examples of the phenomenon everywhere around us, and throughout history in many cultures and religions.

After years of research, we now know that synchrony enhances social cohesion, creates a shared identity, boosts prosocial behavior, builds trust, and even contributes to our overall well-being.

But what makes this group-level synchrony happen? Saraei and co-authors Alexandra Paxton, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, and Dimitris Xygalatas, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, have detailed their findings in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

The researchers studied synchrony during a religious ritual at the UConn Islamic Center, called Salat al Jama'ah, where more than 200 worshipers gathered for evening prayer.

They wanted to determine which aspects of the ritual were most impactful for creating synchrony, so they recruited participants who agreed to wear a comfortable device to measure physiological data like heart rate, breathing, and posture, and another device to measure the position of the participants throughout the prayer.

Saraei says that each day there are five rounds of prayer that Muslims are advised to do, and ideally with others as a community. To emphasize the community aspect, the researchers timed their study during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight hours and are likely to pray in larger group settings.

"We are very appreciative of Muslim students at UConn because it was difficult to participate in this study, especially considering we gathered this data during Ramadan, when they were fasting for 14 hours or so, but they were very cooperative and this study would not have been possible without them," says Saraei.

For the ritual, worshipers gather for the group prayer, and men are encouraged to line up closely behind the leader (imam), women usually gather behind a partition, and everyone faces the same direction—qibla, or the direction of Islam's most holy site in Mecca. The imam leads a cycle of prayers which include coordinated sequences of bowing and prostrating movements.

The results showed that, beyond impacts from worshippers around an individual, the researchers discovered the important role of the leader in creating synchrony and its physiological impacts, like synchronization of the participants' heart rates.

"This study shows us the important role of a leader in a community. Having a leader is a double-edged sword. This role can either be beneficial or harmful—because if you have a bad leader, they might create a toxic environment for everyone, like in a cult. But if you have a good leader, they can foster a community that helps everyone grow," Saraei says.

He says another important aspect of creating synchrony was the effect of proximity the worshipers had to the imam—the closer to the imam, the stronger the effect.

"Worshipers are strongly advised to go to the first lines behind the imam. We don't know the religious reasons behind it, but, interestingly, it is connected to the synchrony measures we have too," he says.

"I think one of the most important findings of this study was that if you are closer to that center of synchrony, you will get more synchronous, even physiologically in your heart rate, and there seems to be a ripple effect to the lines behind."

This ripple effect is likely due to the auditory-visual information that worshipers receive, says Saraei. During the prayer, people are looking down, therefore they can see their nearest neighbors in their peripheral vision, and this seems to help with coordinating movements.

"They hear the imam, but some of them do not see him, and there is a kind of two-way effect of synchrony. On one hand, you're seeing your neighbors, and this is one of your major sources of information, but on the other hand, you're affected from a longer distance by the imam."

Beyond religious settings, Saraei says Xygalatas's research group is also looking at the role synchrony plays in political events like debates or rallies.

"The way people chant or clap for the president, these gestures all affect social cohesion. Another example is with soldiers marching, which is no use in today's battlefields, but marching still makes sense because it helps create that bond you need on the battlefield."

Saraei is currently analyzing other positive health benefits of synchronous prayer by looking at heart rate variability (HRV) during prayer.

"Another interesting finding in my current analysis is the increase in HRV during Islamic collective prayer, suggesting its positive effects on well-being and stress reduction."

He says HRV is an indicator of things like reduced stress, a greater sense of well-being, and a healthy immune system. Saraei also has plans to investigate how the number of participants impacts synchrony and the potential impacts of virtual versus in-person participation.

Saraei says this study shows some of the mechanisms underlying synchrony for grounding and creating social interactions and cohesion. This is important because synchrony is a key aspect of our social lives.

"Synchrony is all around us, subtly shaping our connections and experiences," says Saraei. "Once you recognize it, you begin to see it everywhere, woven into the fabric of daily life—bringing us together in ways we often take for granted."

More information: Mohammadamin Saraei et al, Aligned bodies, united hearts: embodied emotional dynamics of an Islamic ritual, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0162

Journal information: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 

Provided by University of Connecticut In sync: The biological underpinnings of romantic attraction and bonding

After 2,600 years, we finally know how static electricity really works

It all comes down to nanoscale-level variations.


By Andrew Paul
Posted on Sep 18, 2024 
POP SCI

Static electricity occurs in part due to nanoscale imperfections on object surfaces. 

Credit: Deposit Photos


The first documentation of static electricity dates back to 600 BCE. Even after 2,600 years’ worth of tiny shocks, however, researchers couldn’t fully explain how rubbing two objects together causes it. But according to a team at Northwestern University, the mystery is finally solved. As explained in a September 17 study published in the journal Nano Letters, the answer is “surprisingly simple.” It all has to do with little imperfections.

“People have tried, but they could not explain experimental results without making assumptions that were not justified or justifiable,” Lawrence Marks, a professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, said on September 18. “We now can… Just having different deformations—and therefore different charges—at the front and back of something sliding leads to current.”

Marks and their colleagues first began exploring static electricity’s properties back in 2019, when they discovered that rubbing two materials against one another bends miniscule variations on each object’s surface. This movement then generated voltages. From there, the team created a new model that relies on the concept known as “elastic shear,” which happens whenever an object resists a sliding force and creates friction in the process. Once the friction builds up on either side of the nanosized deformations, the difference in electrical charges can create a current—and the resultant shock.

“We developed a new model that calculates electrical current. The values for the current for a range of different cases were in good agreement with experimental results,” said Marks.

Marks notes that while most people associate static electricity with demonstrations such as hair-raising elementary science experiments or touching a doorknob after rubbing your pet’s fur, the electric charge actually exerts a huge influence on the world “in both simple and profound ways.” An everyday example can be seen when a coffee grinder’s charged grains alters the flavor of beans. But static shocks are also responsible for far more serious issues, such as dosing complications for powdered medicines and industrial fires. Most experts believe the Hindenburg tragedy likely hinged on fires sparked by static electricity. By better understanding the mechanisms involved, experts across industries can help make their products more effective and working conditions safer.

[Related: Butterflies and moths suck up pollen with static electricity.]

“The Earth would probably not be a planet without a key step in the clumping of particles that form planets, which occurs because of the static electricity generated by colliding grains,” Marks explained. “It’s amazing how much of our lives are touched by static electricity and how much of the universe depends on it.” And now, after thousands of years, that key phenomenon has an exact explanation.

Sri Lanka's plantation workers live on the margins. But politicians still want their votes

Published: 18 Sep 2024 - 10:26 am | Last Updated: 18 Sep 2024 - 10:35 am

In this photograph taken on September 2, 2024, tea pickers listen to Palani Shakthivel, national organiser of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), at a village in Hatton. 

Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP.

Spring Valley, Sri Lanka: Whoever Sri Lanka's next president is, Muthuthevarkittan Manohari isn't expecting much to change in her daily struggle to feed the four children and elderly mother with whom she lives in a dilapidated room in a tea plantation.

Both leading candidates in Saturday's presidential election are promising to give land to the country's hundreds of thousands of plantation workers, but Manohari says she's heard it all before.

Sri Lanka's plantation workers are a long-marginalized group who frequently live in dire poverty, but they can swing elections by voting as a bloc.

Mahohari and her family are descended from Indian indentured laborers who were brought in by the British during colonial rule to work on plantations that grew first coffee, and later tea and rubber.

Those crops are still Sri Lanka's leading foreign exchange earners.

For 200 years, the community has lived on the margins of Sri Lankan society.

Soon after the country became independent in 1948, the new government stripped them of citizenship and voting rights.

Around 400,000 people were deported to India under an agreement with Delhi, separating many families.

The community fought for its rights, winning in stages until achieving full recognition as citizens in 2003.

There are around 1.5 million descendants of plantation workers living in Sri Lanka today, including about 3.5% of the electorate, and some 470,000 people still live on plantations.

The plantation community has the highest levels of poverty, malnutrition, anaemia among women and alcoholism in the country, and some of the lowest levels of education.

They're an important voting bloc, turned out by unions that double as political parties that ally with the country's major parties.

Despite speaking the Tamil language, they’re treated as a distinct group from the island’s indigenous Tamils, who live mostly in the north and east.

Still, they suffered during the 26-year civil war between government forces and Tamil Tiger separatists.

Plantation workers and their descendants faced mob violence, arrests and imprisonment because of their ethnicity.

Most plantation workers live in crowded dwellings called "line houses,” owned by plantation companies.

Tomoya Obokata, a U.N. special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, said after a visit in 2022 that five to ten people often share a single 10-by-12-foot (3.05-by-3.6 meter) room, often without windows, a proper kitchen, running water or electricity. Several families frequently share a single basic latrine.

There are no proper medical facilities in the plantations, and the sick are attended to by so-called estate medical assistants who do not have medical degrees.

"These substandard living conditions, combined with the harsh working conditions, represent clear indicators of forced labour and may also amount to serfdom in some instances,” Obokata wrote in a report to the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

The government has made some efforts to improve conditions for the planation workers, but years of fiscal crisis and the resistance of powerful plantation companies have blunted progress.

Access to education has improved, and a small group of entrepreneurs, professionals and academics descended from planation workers has emerged.

This year, the government negotiated a raise in the minimum daily wage for a plantation worker to 1,350 rupees ($4.50) per day, plus an additional dollar if a worker picks more than 22 kilos in a day.

Workers say this target is almost impossible to achieve, in part because tea bushes are often neglected and grow sparsely.

The government has built better houses for some families and the Indian government is helping to build more, said Periyasamy Muthulingam, executive director of Sri Lanka's Institute of Social Development, which works on plantation worker rights.

But many promises have gone unfulfilled. "All political parties have promised to build better houses during elections but they don’t implement it when they are in power,” Muthulingam said.

Muthulingam says more than 90% of the planation community is landless because they have been left out of the government's land distribution programs.

In this election, sitting President Ranil Wickremesinghe standing as an independent candidate has promised to give the line houses and the land they stand on to the people who live in them, and help develop them into villages.

The main opposition candidate, Sajith Premadasa, has promised to break up the plantations and distribute the land to the workers as small holdings.

Both proposals will face resistance from the plantation companies.

Manohari says she's not holding out hope.

She's more concerned with what's going to happen to her 16-year-old son after he was forced to drop out of school due to lack of funds.

"The union leaders come every time promising us houses and land and I would like to have them," she said. "But they never happen as promised.”

U.S. Latinas embrace spiritual practices outside traditional religion

Many U.S. Latinas have turned to sound healing while seeking spiritual practices outside of traditional religion.

(Photo by Antoni Shkraba/Pexels/Creative Commons)

August 29, 2024
By Aleja Hertzler-McCain

(RNS) — Alicia Contreras has held sound healing sessions in the Arizona desert, in green and grassy parks, amid the stained glass of a church sanctuary and in a coffee shop. Everywhere she holds them, her crystal singing bowls produce ringing tones that reverberate over people as they lie relaxed on mats on the ground, each bowl’s note aimed at connecting with a particular chakra, or physical and spiritual energy center in her listeners.

And each time, before her guests arrive, Contreras prays the rosary.

A parishioner at St. Francis Xavier and community organizer in Phoenix, Contreras became interested in sound healing early in the COVID-19 pandemic while she was unable to attend Mass. She searched for a spiritual routine she could practice in isolation instead.

Contreras is one of many U.S. Latinas who have turned to sound healing and other forms of spiritual self-care, despite their roots outside of traditional religion.

Sound healers say that sound’s various frequencies can rebalance certain chakras, which are connected to both physical and spiritual health, to cure a range of ailments. Vladi Peña, a curandera, Reiki master and sound healer, said chakras are like waves or currents that sometimes need to be unclogged.

Contreras mostly focuses on bowls that she strikes or rubs with mallets, but other sound healers use gongs, chimes, tuning forks, handpans, maracas, drums or their voice. And while some Latina sound healers retain their cradle faith, some leave organized religion altogether to combine sound healing with practices such as Reiki, astrology, crystal work, shamanism and tarot.
RELATED: Reiki goes mainstream: Spiritual touch practice now commonplace in hospitals


Emma Olmedo. (Video screen grab)

Emma Olmedo, a Reiki master and sound healer in Northern Virginia, said she doesn’t identify as a religious “none,” a catchall term that demographers use to group together atheists, agnostics and people who are “nothing in particular.” Instead, Olmedo sees herself as “all of the above.”

“It’s really beautiful that there’s that example in the Bible, in the Quran, in the Bhagavad Gita, like there’s all of these different prophets, but for me, I believe in all of them,” said Olmedo, who was raised in the “Catholic tradition,” she said, in keeping with her father’s Mexican identity. But Olmedo’s mother, who grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, wanted her daughter to choose her own faith. At different points, Olmedo has attended a nondenominational Christian church and practiced Hinduism.

“I love religion,” Olmedo said. “I don’t love the human aspect of religion, and the control of religion, and control and manipulation of people through religion, but I love religion.”

Peña, who is from Fairfax, Virginia, and recently moved to Medellín, Colombia, said the Catholicism of her youth is still salient in her devotion to the Virgin Mary. But while Peña said she enjoyed her Catholic upbringing, she felt a “disconnect.”

Peña, whose parents are from Nicaragua, is among the 22% of U.S.-born Latinos who no longer identify as Catholic. U.S.-born Latinos are slightly more likely to be unaffiliated (39%) than Catholic (36%).

Vladi Peña. (Video screen grab)

“I think it was too structured in certain ways,” said Peña of Catholicism. “And so I kind of branched out and branched away as I grew up and found my own way to spirit and to divinity through a more connected practice that was more individualized with and for myself.”

Peña’s current spiritual practice is a mixture of connecting to nature, music, Reiki, Hindu concepts of reincarnation and karma and more.

Dori Beeler, a medical anthropologist at the University of North Carolina Charlotte who has studied Reiki, said that Reiki and sound healing, as energy healing practices, both fall within animism, a “worldview that everything in the world has spirit, has some sort of energy force, life force.”

Reiki was developed in the 1920s in Japan by Mikao Usui, in a syncretic context where people practiced a variety of traditions together, just as Reiki practitioners do today. It spread to the U.S. through Usui’s students and became a mainstream practice in the 1980s.

While Reiki can take many years to understand, Beeler said, “it’s a practice that’s easily adaptable in other contexts without losing, for the most part, its foundational identity of being a hands-on healing practice and spiritual practice.” Research shows that it has appealed mostly to “educated, white, relatively well-off women,” she noted.

But Reiki was the practice that drew Peña into energy healing, when she was working as a behavioral therapist for autistic children and a client’s mother introduced her to it. Later, Peña found that sound bowls brought the “energy to a neutral state” before a Reiki session.

Peña was unable to bring her bowls with her to Medellín, but she has branched out into other instruments, as well as a cappella singing. One song she performs for clients who are struggling with seeing their way forward says, “Dame alas para volar” (“Give me wings to fly”).

Beyond sound healing and Reiki, Peña also offers clients astrology readings and various ceremonies — cord-cutting, said to help a person release something, or a house cleansing. From Colombia, she also continues to work in graphic design and videography for a Latino-focused therapy and wellness practice called De Tu Tierra.
RELATED: As Hindu wellness gains in West, chakra healing practitioners root their art in science

Olmedo also combines various spiritual practices for her clients. This summer, she co-founded a sober nightlife experience — advertised as being in a “secret mystical location” in Washington — called Soul Flow, where she guides sound healing. The event includes a social justice discussion, an embodiment exercise to release trauma and grief and a two-hour dance set.

Olmedo emphasized that her healing work is not about her own ego or the ability to say, “I shifted this person’s path.” Instead, she explained, each modality or practice can be one of “different paths to get to the same place.” The important questions are “How can you enjoy every bit of this moment?” and “Can we enjoy this connection?”

“The spiritual path is about being present in this moment and shifting away from suffering,” said Olmedo. “The foundation of all spiritual practices essentially is a true, good, fulfilling, heartfelt practice, is gratitude and intention.”

Contreras also sees herself as a guide, even rejecting the term “sound healer,” because, she says, “I’m not God. I’m not their healer.”


Alicia Contreras. (Photo by Alejandra Ruiz)

She sees God as working through humans, even outside the church, especially because of colonialism and patriarchy that persists in the Catholic Church.

“You don’t need to practice whatever faith that is in a structure, if that structure and the colonialism or patriarchy in that structure is not serving you,” Contreras said.

But as she learned about sound healing in online classes, Contreras was careful to discern whether there was any conflict between her Catholic faith and her new practice. She came to the conclusion that “I wasn’t actually going against my traditions” as long as “I’m using this in my best and highest self,” or her spirit’s connection to God.

Contreras said she has witnessed sound healing mend pain that has gone unaddressed by traditional faith and health care. Contreras, a Chicana born in California and married to a Salvadoran immigrant, largely facilitates sound healing for people in her community, especially migrant women. Migrant women often experience high stress from their pivotal roles in their families and communities, as well as trauma from their migration journeys, which together can contribute to mental health struggles that sometimes have deadly impact.

Contreras said she has seen sound healing help her community with everything from grief to digestion issues, but she still has more to learn. “I’m on a journey. I don’t have all the answers, but I’m open to the wonder,” she said.

African free trade pact gives China a chance to deepen its engagement

Expert comment~ Written by Linda Calabrese

16 September 2024

Africa’s continental trade pact offers significant opportunities not only for African economies but also for their foreign trade partners – none more so than the largest, China.

While China is perhaps best known in Africa for funding infrastructure megaprojects, its spending on infrastructure has decreased in recent years, even as it maintains its foreign direct investment (FDI).

To take full advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), both elements will be necessary. While tariffs and other trade barriers have fallen, African economies still need the productive capacity to make desirable goods at competitive prices, and the logistics to export them efficiently, if intra-African trade is to increase.

For African countries, the benefits are obvious. Currently, most of the continent’s exports consist of commodities and raw materials that are then processed elsewhere. A larger continental market will have more capacity to process these resources and use them for manufacture, meaning more of their value – and associated job creation – will stay within Africa.

China can also win from this development. By investing in Africa, Chinese companies get a return on their investment; and the opening up of the intra-African market allows them to sell beyond the borders of the country where they set up. We are yet to see any moves in this direction by China, but the AfCFTA becoming operational could be the trigger for such a strategy.
Trade imbalance

China has been Africa’s main trade partner for over a decade. Since 2012, most African imports come from China, and most of Africa’s exports go to China. But China has maintained a trade surplus since at least 2015. In 2023, the value of its exports to Africa was $173bn, and the value of imports was $110bn – with a trade deficit of $63bn, more than half of the value of its imports.

And, while China’s imports from Africa are largely minerals, oil and gas and other commodities, its exports include manufactured products, machinery and equipment.

This imbalance isn’t to China’s advantage. It is becoming a point of tension with African leaders: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, for example, last year noted these skewed trade patterns.

“I would like to encourage China to open their market more for processed coffee and other products, not only raw materials,” he said in November.

Keenly aware of this, Chinese leaders are encouraging more exports from Africa through China, through initiatives like the establishment of ‘green lanes’, or electronic trade platforms to boost the sales of African agricultural products in the Chinese market, thus diversifying Africa’s exports.

The AfCFTA eliminates many tariffs between African countries and removes other barriers to trade. Africa’s internal trade is already more diversified – involving more manufactured products – than its trade with the rest of the world, meaning that the continent’s value-adding industries stand to gain the most from this liberalisation.

Therefore, even though the trade pact is directly concerned only with internal trade, its effect will be to lengthen African value chains and make manufacturing more efficient, serving as a launchpad for countries to export more manufactured products outside the continent, including to China. This will not be an immediate effect but may happen in the longer term.
How China can help

As China stands to gain from this development, there are several things it can do to speed the process along.

First, it can continue to invest in African industry, particularly in value chains that the African Union has identified as particularly promising for the AfCFTA, namely agroprocessing, automotives, pharmaceuticals, and transport and logistics.

This is already underway. Chinese automotive producer BAIC has set up a plant in South Africa. BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, plans to set up factories in Morocco (though this may serve to maintain access to the EU market). Fosun Pharma, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation, wants to establish antibacterial and antimalarial production in Côte d’Ivoire.

Chinese capital is also still needed in infrastructure, and here the picture is more mixed. Chinese banks are major financiers of infrastructure in Africa, but in recent years, this finance seems to be drying up. This is due to many reasons, but challenges with debt repayment by many African countries are certainly an important one.

China frames this change as the pursuit of ‘small and beautiful’ projects, intended to be more impactful and sustainable than the mega-infrastructure financed in the past. This is, in principle, a good thing: some of the infrastructure previously financed by China did little to improve trade or economic development.

The AfCFTA presents a unique opportunity for both Africa and China. With well targeted FDI and infrastructure investment from China, the two sides can create a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship that will boost economic growth and development for both sides.


This opinion piece was first published in African Business Magazine on 27 August 2024.

 

Indonesia’s shrinking middle class alarms economists

As a result, the economic stability of Southeast Asia’s biggest country is at risk, experts warn.

Nazarudin Latif
2024.09.14
Jakarta

Firdaus Wadjidi, a freelance photographer retrenched from his job at a news agency a year ago, works on his computer at his home in Tangerang city, Banten province, Indonesia, Sept. 12, 2024.

 Pizaro Gozali Idrus/BenarNews

Triana Rahmawati, a mother of two, lost her publishing job in Jakarta earlier this year, forcing her family to cut back on spending drastically. 

Gone are the days of leisurely outings with friends and casual coffee dates, which she could afford in her old job, where Triana worked for nine years and earned around 6 million rupiah (U.S. $400) a month.

“My husband still has a job, but we’ve gone from a double-income to a single-income household,” the 36-year-old told BenarNews. “I have to be prepared for a life of limitations.”

Her story exemplifies the broader struggles faced by Indonesia’s middle class, a group once heralded as a symbol of economic progress in Southeast Asia’s largest and most populous country. 

The size of the Indonesian middle class has decreased significantly since before the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2019, about 57 million people were classified in the country’s middle class but that number has shrunk to nearly 48 million in 2024 – representing just over 17% of the country’s total population – according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). 

Indonesia defines the middle class as households with monthly expenditures between 2 million rupiah and 9.9 million rupiah ($130 to $650). 

The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused waves of layoffs across multiple sectors, took a big bite out of this economic class. 

Economists warn that the declining middle class could jeopardize Indonesia’s long-term ambitions to achieve “developed nation” status by 2045.

The class’s shrinkage poses a significant threat to national economic stability, said Jahen Fachrul Rezki, a researcher at the University of Indonesia’s Institute for Economic and Social Research.

“The middle class is a cornerstone of the national economy, not just for their purchasing power but because they also represent a highly skilled labor force and contribute significantly to tax revenues,” Jahen told BenarNews.

Rahmat Hidayat (left) serves a customer while grilling meatballs in West Java province, Indonesia, July 31, 2024. Hidayat lost his job when the shoe factory he worked for closed last year. [Stefanno Sulaiman/Reuters]

In a country where household consumption drives over 80% of spending, any disruption in middle-class financial security could have widespread ramifications, he said.

“If their numbers continue to fall, the ripple effects will be felt across domestic consumption, the labor market, and government tax collection,” he said.

A key factor contributing to the middle class’s decline, Jahen added, is Indonesia’s inability to generate high-value jobs. 

Despite the country’s steady economic growth of around 5% annually, much of this growth has been concentrated in low-wage, low-productivity sectors such as retail and extractive industries.

Meanwhile, the government has struggled to spur development in high-tech sectors such as manufacturing and information technology, where wages are higher.

“The rise of the gig economy is another symptom of this issue,” Jahen said, pointing to a labor market increasingly reliant on short-term, freelance work rather than stable, full-time employment. 

“Gig work like that should be a supplementary income, but for many Indonesians, it has become their primary source of employment, which is not sustainable.”

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The current economic situation, meanwhile, has led to widespread job losses. Between January and August 2024 alone, more than 46,000 workers were laid off, according to the Ministry of Manpower. 

Last year, over 64,000 people lost their jobs.

Job seekers attend a job market event in East Java province, Indonesia, Sept. 10, 2019. [Juni Kriswanto/AFP]

Among those affected was 42-year-old photographer Firdaus Wajidi, who lost his job at a foreign news agency in August 2023. He had worked there for 5 years, earning a monthly salary of 16 million rupiah ($1,000).

Now, Wajidi scrambles to make ends meet with freelance work, earning about 7.5 million rupiah ($500) a month while grappling with mounting school fees, mortgage payments, and daily expenses for his family of five.

“Trying to apply for a job at a media company is difficult because I’m over 40,” Wajidi said. “Besides, nearly all media companies in Jakarta are facing financial struggles.”

The government has responded by expanding social safety nets to prevent further economic decline, said Muhadjir Effendy, coordinating minister for human development and culture. 

“Our focus now is on providing protections, particularly in health and employment, to safeguard the vulnerable,” the state-run Antara news agency quoted him as saying.  

The government is also bolstering employment-related protections, including old-age benefits, work accident insurance, pensions, and job loss insurance, he said.

Labor demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against a controversial law on job creation that critics argued undermines workers’ rights and environmental protections, Nov. 2, 2020. [Achmad Ibrahim/AP Photo]

However, the structural transformation of Indonesia’s labor market remains incomplete, according to Yorga Permana, a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology’s School of Business and Management.

While there has been a reduction in agricultural employment, much of the growth in the services sector has been confined to low-skill jobs, leaving many workers without a pathway to upward mobility, he said.

“The government has failed to prioritize policies that create decent work,” Yorga said. “What we’ve seen instead is the domination of informal labor and gig economy jobs since 2014.”

Addressing stagnant middle-class wages must be a priority, said Muhammad Faisal, the executive director of the Center of Reform on Economics, an economic think-tank. 

“The government must end the era of low wages if it hopes to rebuild a strong middle class,” Faisal said. “We need to focus on making wage growth sustainable through productivity gains.”

Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to this report.