Smoke from Navy ship fire in San Diego contained toxic chemicals

THE WAR MACHINE IS TOXIC

Air sampling has revealed that the Navy ship that burned in San Diego Bay early this month blanketed nearby communities with smoke containing toxic chemicals. ... Testing found more than a dozen potentially harmful substances, such as benzene, chloromethane and acetonitrile.

THEY ARE MADE FOR DEATH WITH NO CONCERN FOR LINGERING CHRONIC ILLNESS OF SURVIVORS

Smoke from Navy ship fire in San Diego contained toxic chemicals

A golfer plays on as a fire burns on the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego on July 12.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images )

By JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH
JULY 27, 2020

SAN DIEGO —
Air sampling has revealed that the Navy ship that burned in San Diego Bay early this month blanketed nearby communities with smoke containing toxic chemicals.

As black smoke poured off the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, people in portside communities complained of headaches and nausea, and residents as far north as Escondido reported smelling smoke from the blaze.

The findings from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District contradict earlier statements by the Navy that “there’s nothing toxic in there.” Testing found more than a dozen potentially harmful substances, such as benzene, chloromethane and acetonitrile.

Still, state and local air-quality officials agreed residents have little to fear. Their relatively brief exposure to the toxic smoke is unlikely to cause any negative, long-term health effects, according to a review of the data by the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

“At those levels, over that short period of time, there were no known great health risks,” said Donna Durckel, spokeswoman for the county’s air district.

Mostly, the fire produced fine particulate matter, a common pollutant created by everything from lighting bonfires to driving cars and trucks.

Community members have started organizing under the banner Navy Ship Fire Community Advocates. The group is working with several law firms to explore potential legal action against the federal government.

The group maintains that the Navy should have alerted residents to the potential impacts sooner. It’s now calling for the military to draft an emergency notification plan.

The San Diego air district issued the Navy a notice of violation for creating a public nuisance and contaminating the air a day after the fire started on July 12. The action will probably result in a negotiated financial penalty.

Top district officials said there was little the Navy could do to control the smoke after the fire started.

“Because of the magnitude of this incident, it would have been difficult to avoid these violations,” said Mahiany Luther, chief of compliance for the air district. “I’m not aware of any measure that they could have implemented to prevent the impact on the communities.”

Smith writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

WHICH  CALLS BULLSHIT ON THIS 

Regulators: San Diego Ship Fire Smoke Not a Health Risk7.28.20

FILE - Smoke rises from the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego Sunday, July 12, 2020, in San Diego after an explosion and fire Sunday on board the ship at Naval Base San Diego. Smoke from the fire that ravaged a Navy warship in San Diego Bay contained elevated levels of toxins, but air-quality authorities said area residents had little to fear. The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District found that smoke from the USS Bonhomme Richard contained a dozen potentially harmful substances, such as benzene chloromethane and acetonitrile, the San Diego Union-Tribune Reported. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)


SAN DIEGO (AP) — Smoke from the fire that ravaged a Navy warship in San Diego Bay contained elevated levels of toxins, but air-quality authorities said area residents had little to fear.

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District found that smoke from the USS Bonhomme Richard contained a dozen potentially harmful substances, such as benzene chloromethane and acetonitrile, the San Diego Union-Tribune Reported.

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“At those levels, over that short period of time, there were no known great health risks,” said Donna Durckel, spokeswoman for the county’s air district.

The fire mostly produced a common pollutant known as fine particulate matter.

The district issued the Navy a notice of violation for creating a public nuisance and contaminating the air.

The fire began July 12 and swept through much of the ship, which was docked for a long period of maintenance. The Navy has yet to say whether the vessel will be repaired.

Content copyright the Associated Press. © copyright 2020. All rights reserved.

New report reveals toxic chemicals in smoke from USS Bonhomme Richard
While multiple chemicals were present, they believe the chemical Benzene in the toxic smoke was not at levels causing health concerns.


Author: Chris Gros (Reporter)
Published: 7:01 AM PDT July 28, 2020

NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — San Diego County’s Air Pollution Control District released a report stating that the smoke from the USS Bonhomme Richard was full of toxic chemicals. The report directly contradicts what Navy officials initially told the public.

The state’s Office of Environmental Hazard Assessment also reviewed the samples taken of the air. While chemicals were present, they believe the chemical Benzene in the toxic smoke was not at levels causing health concerns.

However, it wasn’t just elevated levels of Benzene found in the samples. The smoke also contained chloromethane and acetonitrile.

The samples were taken from sites nearby the burning ship, the closes one being Sherman Elementary. Residents from as far away as Vista reported seeing smoke and smelling a plastic or electrical-like odor.
People who live in Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, and National City are especially concerned. Advocates say these areas have suffered the most because of the air pollution from the fire. Many families were forced into lockdown because of the smoke. The advocate said, “I began hearing from elders in the community that they couldn't breathe, they had to close their windows in the heat. They were struggling and had very little support and no one was communicating with them."

A group has been created to ask that a contingency plan be put in place in case another fire or something similar happens again. They are also calling on the Navy to improve communication with neighboring residents.

The full "Elevated Compound Data Report" can be found below.
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/apcd/PDF/Misc/APCD-Elevated-Compounds-Data-071220.pdf

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Which Notable Republicans Are Voting For Biden In The Fall Election?

By Wesley Dockery
08/01/20

Although many Republicans are sticking with President Donald Trump in the fall election, some conservative voices are refusing to vote for the incumbent, and instead have declared their support for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Most notably, the Lincoln Project PAC, a Republican-backed group opposing Trump's re-election, have expressed their support for Biden. Conservative attorney George Conway, the husband of Trump’s assistant Kellyanne Conway, revealed in March that he had donated the maximum allowable amount to Biden’s campaign. Steve Schmidt, a campaign strategist who ran John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, also backs Biden.

Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Arizona senator, has said she will vote for Biden, saying “politics is personal” for her. Trump has routinely mocked John McCain, saying in 2015 that he was “not a war hero.”

In June, former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced his endorsement of Biden, on CNN's “State of the Union.” Powell, a Republican who served in George W. Bush's cabinet, said Trump had “drifted away” from the Constitution. Powell also supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.


Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and a former Republican presidential candidate, said she would vote for Biden due to his character.

“I am encouraged that Joe Biden is a person of humility and empathy and character. I think he’s demonstrated that through his life. And I think we need humility and empathy everywhere in public life right now. And I think character counts,” Fiorina told The Atlantic in June.

Bill Weld, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, has suggested he would back Biden over Trump. “Could I vote for a Democrat? Hell yes. If it's Trump against Joe Biden, I'm with Biden in a heartbeat,” said during a CNN conference in October.

Philippines losing virus war, doctors warn Duterte

Issued on: 01/08/2020 -

The Philippines imposed one of the harshest lockdowns in the world in mid-March, that kept people at home except to buy food and seek health treatment Ted ALJIBE AFP/File

Manila (AFP)

Dozens of doctors' groups on Saturday warned that the Philippines was losing the coronavirus fight, urging President Rodrigo Duterte to tighten a recently eased lockdown as cases surged and hospitals turned away patients.

Eighty medical associations representing tens of thousands of doctors signed the open letter, a day after the country posted a record single-day count of more than 4,000 new infections, pushing the total past 93,000.

"Healthcare workers are united in sounding off a distress signal to the nation -- our healthcare system has been overwhelmed," the letter said

"We are waging a losing battle against COVID-19, and we need to draw up a consolidated, definitive plan of action."

An increasing number of health workers have fallen ill or quit their jobs, while some packed hospitals are now refusing to admit new patients, it added.

The government has blamed poor compliance with health protocols for the sharp increase in infections.

The country imposed one of the harshest lockdowns in the world in mid-March, that kept people at home except to buy food and seek health treatment.

But the government recently loosened the restrictions to allow people to return to work after predictions that the Philippine economy will fall into recession, with millions of jobs already lost.

In the open letter, doctors urged Duterte to put the capital Manila and surrounding provinces back under "enhanced community quarantine" until August 15 to give the country time to "refine our pandemic control strategies".

In response, Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said the government was balancing the health and economy of the nation.

"The strict lockdown in Metro Manila has served its purpose, and we need to intensify other strategies," he added.

Health department officials earlier this week acknowledged hospital bed availability was drying up and the government has had limited success in hiring new doctors, nurses and other health care workers.

The letter said contact tracing was "failing miserably" and public transport and workplace settings were often unsafe.

Lei Alfonso, an official of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians, told a news conference on Saturday that the developments "will push us to the brink to become the next New York City, where Covid-19 patients die at home or (on) stretchers".

President Duterte on Thursday called on Filipinos to keep faith in his ability to swiftly procure a vaccine to be produced by China, a key supporter of his rule.

© 2020 AFP

Italy's Lampedusa new target of far-right anger over migrants

THE OLD IMPERIAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ABANDON THEIR COLONIES

Issued on: 01/08/2020 - 04:12Modified: 01/08/2020 - 04:10

Most of the recent arrivals hail from Tunisia, a country battling high unemployment and political instability Alberto PIZZOLI AFP

Lampedusa (Italy) (AFP)

Out in the Mediterranean, under a baking sun, fisherman Ezio Billeci comes across a boat of vulnerable migrants and calls for help, but for hours the only response he gets from Italian authorities is to "stand by".

The episode off the island of Lampedusa symbolises what critics say is the government's lax response to managing migration in a period exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic -- accusations led by the anti-immigrant far-right.

Most of the recent arrivals hail from Tunisia, a country battling high unemployment and political instability. But Italy has its own financial woes -- figures released Friday showed it plunged deep into recession -- prompting resentment towards so-called economic migrants.

Several episodes in recent days of breakouts from overcrowded reception centres have also sparked fears among local populations that the migrants who did not respect quarantine orders could be spreading the virus throughout Italy.

Exasperated local mayors have appealed for help from the government, which has in some cases sent in army back-up.

Far-right rising star Giorgia Meloni, head of the Brothers of Italy party, accused the centre-left ruling coalition this week of having used draconian measures this spring to ensure Italians respected the coronavirus lockdown, but was now letting migrants roam free.

"You have the nerve to chase people on the beach with drones, and now you allow thousands of illegal immigrants to enter Italy, transgress our borders and violate quarantine, wandering around infected," she said in an angry address to parliament.

- No emergency? -

Many of the small boats carrying Tunisians to Italy land on the tiny island of Lampedusa. Its ex-mayor Giusi Nicolini, who won the UNESCO Peace Prize in early 2017 for her efforts with migrants, has insisted there "is no emergency".

"They say we are overrun (with migrants) for political purposes," she said in an interview this week with La Stampa daily.

A widely-circulated photograph of a Tunisian family with straw sunhats and trolley suitcases arriving by boat with their pet poodle fuelled the far-right, as did a video of beach-going tourists watching as new migrants disembarked on nearby rocks.

"The illegal immigrants are arriving in droves, even with poodles who've clearly escaped from Libyan camps," quipped opposition chief Matteo Salvini, head of the anti-immigrant League, Italy's most popular party.

On Thursday, Lampedusa's local League representative, along with the centre-right Forza Italia party, filed a complaint against Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese, accusing her of destroying nascent tourism on the island.

According to Italy's interior ministry, nearly half of the 11,191 migrants who have arrived in Italy this year through July 24 have set sail from Tunisia. Of them, nearly 4,000 are Tunisian citizens.

Over 2,000 migrants arrived last week alone, according to the UN Refugee Agency -- more than double the previous week.

- 'Look the other way' -

The interior ministry has acknowledged that the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 in Tunisia has fed an "exceptional flow of economic migrants" to Italy's borders, while the virus has made managing numerous daily arrivals more complex.

After specifically singling out Tunisians escaping mandatory quarantine, Lamorgese said Wednesday that the army would guard reception centres, while two ships of 600 places each would be available soon to hold migrants during quarantine.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has remained silent about the recent arrivals, reflecting tensions within the party over how to respond, given that Salvini famously built his voter base on an anti-immigrant policy that the left has failed to counter.

Salvini, who faces trial later this year for allegedly illegally detaining migrants by refusing to let them disembark from a rescue ship, insists that charity ships and others who save migrants at sea encourage more people to attempt the dangerous journey.

"But I can't do that, I can't. Lives at sea should be saved. Full stop," he said.

© 2020 AFP

S. Korean sect leader arrested for hindering virus efforts
AMERICA SHOULD DO THE SAME WITH THEIR RIGHT WING RELIGIOUS LEADERS WHO DISMISS COVID-19 RULES
Issued on: 01/08/2020 - 06:24Modified: 01/08/2020 - 06:22

Lee Man-hee, head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus - POOL/AFP

Seoul (AFP)

The elderly leader of a secretive South Korean sect at the centre of the country's early coronavirus outbreak was arrested on Saturday for allegedly hindering the government's effort to contain the epidemic.

Lee Man-hee, 88, is the head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is often condemned as a cult.

People linked to the church accounted for more than half of the South's 4,000-plus coronavirus cases in February when the country was enduring one of the worst early outbreaks in the world.


As of July 19, those connected with the church made up 38 percent of all confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lee is accused of giving inaccurate records of church gatherings and false lists of its members to health authorities.

He was taken into custody early Saturday "after the Suwon District Court granted an arrest warrant at 1:20 am", a court spokesperson told AFP.

The judge said there "have been circumstances indicating systematic attempts to destroy evidence" by Lee, Yonhap news agency reported.

Shincheonji has claimed its members face social stigma and discrimination if their beliefs become publicly known, dissuading some from responding to official inquiries.

Lee is also accused of embezzling 5.6 billion won ($4.69 million) from church funds and holding religious events at public facilities without approval.

He apologised back in March for the spread of the disease.

The South has since been returning largely to normal, appearing to have brought the outbreak under control with an extensive "trace, test and treat" programme.

Officials in the east Asian nation of 52 million announced 31 new cases Saturday, taking the total to 14,336.

© 2020 AFP

In southern Spain, fruit pickers ditched as virus spreads

Issued on: 01/08/2020 -

Seasonal workers have been left on their own in southern Spain after their shantytowns burnt down and coronavirus cases surged once again 

CRISTINA QUICLER AFP/File

Lepe (Spain) (AFP)

Lamine Diakite has been on the street for two weeks since the Spanish shantytown he was staying in burnt down, one of hundreds of fruit pickers abandoned as coronavirus cases soar.

To protest at their situation, he and dozens of other African workers have taken their mattresses and are sleeping in a square outside the town hall in Lepe, near the Portuguese border.

"Our huts have been burnt down leaving more than 200 of us in the street," said Diakite, a 32-year-old Malian.

"And during the pandemic, that's a risk for us and for the rest of the population."

Known for its strawberries, Lepe in southern Spain supplies a large part of the European market.

Here, as in other agricultural areas, workers live in basic shelters without light or running water, cobbled together from wooden pallets, plastic sheeting and mattresses, spaces they trade among themselves for around 250 euros ($300).

Despite the unsanitary conditions and impossibility of observing social distancing, no coronavirus tests have been carried out in the camps, the migrants and Lepe officials say.

Even so, many have gone on to work in other areas of Spain, such as Lerida in the north east where regional authorities reimposed a two-week lockdown in July after the emergence of a new outbreak linked to seasonal workers.

"It's very likely there will continue to be outbreaks linked to seasonal workers," the health ministry's emergencies coordinator Fernando Simon warned this week.

At the moment, only the northern region of La Rioja has taken drastic measures, pledging to test all seasonal workers whether they have a contract or not.

- Migrants suspect arson -

In mid-July, three shantytowns went up in flames around Lepe in a string of fires that began just after the picking season for strawberries, raspberries and blueberries ended.

"It was a crazy night," recalls Ismaila Fall, a 30-year-old Senegalese man who tried to put out the blaze with water and sand and suspects it was deliberate.

But when it comes to finding a solution, neither the state nor local authorities are willing to take responsibility.

"(These migrants) are the government's problem, not the town hall's, we can't regularise their situation," insisted Manuel Mora, mayor of Lucena del Puerto, where another camp burned down.

"Before the harvest, they should have a PCR test but that costs the farmer a lot of money, so the government should help" by providing them, said Juan Jose Alvarez Alcalde, who heads the ASAJA farmworkers union.

There have been makeshift encampments in the Lepe area going back to 1980s, with the UN's expert on poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter calling on local authorities to urgently "end the situation of degradation in which seasonal agricultural workers live".

The town hall had suggested the army set up a field camp on a plot of industrial land, but the military rejected because of the extreme summer heat, a government source told AFP.

"We need a network of lodgings in all agricultural communities" in the area, concluded Jesus Toronjo, deputy head of the Lepe town council.

He added that it was looking at a ranch owned by the municipality with space for 800 people.

Any solution would require cooperation between local authorities with support from the regional or central government, but that does not look likely given a proliferation of local power struggles.

"Everyone is just passing the buck," explained Antonio Abad who heads an NGO called ASISTI that helps migrants.

"The problem is the lack of political will" with an immigrant population that "doesn't take part in polls."

© 2020 AFP

Trump says fed agents to stay in Portland until police 'cleanup'

Issued on: 01/08/2020


Washington (AFP)

US federal officers will stay in the protest-wracked city of Portland until local law enforcement officials finish a "cleanup of anarchists and agitators," President Donald Trump said.

The forces -- whose deployment was seen by many as part of the president's law-and-order strategy for re-election and exacerbated tensions between authorities and anti-racism protestors -- had been scheduled to begin their phased pullout from Portland on Thursday.

Trump tweeted late Friday: "Homeland Security is not leaving Portland until local police complete cleanup of Anarchists and Agitators!"


Hundreds of demonstrators were still on the streets of downtown Portland on Saturday morning, without any federal law enforcement in sight.

Earlier, Portland police cleared parks and nearby roads around the city center on Friday in anticipation of the phased pullout by federal forces.

City mayor Ted Wheeler said the deployment was part of the agreement for federal officers to leave.

In a tweet late Friday, Wheeler thanked the peaceful protestors, and said they had "reclaimed the space that has been a staging ground for violence, to share their powerful message of reformative justice."

Earlier this month the Trump administration sent federal tactical teams, many wearing combat-like gear, to intervene in the city after weeks of protests against racism and police brutality saw windows broken and graffiti scrawled on the federal courthouse and other buildings.


But their deployment inflamed the situation, especially following footage of protesters being snatched off the street by federal agents and put into unmarked cars.

Democrats said the intervention reeked of a "police state" and that it was a political move to show Trump -- who is struggling in the polls ahead of November's presidential election -- to voters as a strict law-and-order president.

Attorney General Bill Barr has defended the use of federal officers, and rejected any suggestion of the political motivation.

"In the wake of George Floyd's death, violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction on innocent victims," Barr said in testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.

Under an agreement between Oregon officials and the Trump administration on Wednesday, the federal forces were to begin withdrawing from the city on Thursday.


However, their pullout was conditional on local law enforcement ensuring the security of the federal courthouse and other buildings that have been targeted by protesters.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who warned earlier this week a full pullout depended on the security situation "significantly" improving.

And on Thursday Trump reiterated the need for federal intervention.

"The governor and the mayor, we've been dealing with them, and we think they don't know what they're doing, because this should not have been going on for 60 days," he told reporters.

"It's not our job to go in and clean out the cities. That's supposed to be done by local law enforcement," Trump added.

© 2020 AFP

Massive protests in Russia's far east rattle Kremlin
"We're living through a moment of democracy but it will doubtless be fleeting."



Issued on: 01/08/2020 -

Police have been reserved in their response to the unprecedented protests in the region Aleksandr Yanyshev AFP

Khabarovsk (Russia) (AFP)

Locals say a struggle for democratic freedoms is unfolding in the far eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk, where the arrest of a popular governor has unleashed massive protests.

"Sometimes I feel like crying with joy when I see everyone so united," 21-year-old student Yekaterina Ishchenko told AFP.

For the last three weeks, she and thousands of other residents of the city 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) east of Moscow have taken to the streets, with another huge rally due on Saturday.


For Ishchenko, this is her first taste of political activism.

Tens of thousands attended a rally last weekend, according to journalists and activists, while police put the figure at just 6,500.

Such protests are rare in the region seven time zones away from the capital, where most opposition protests take place.

They were sparked by the arrest on July 9 of regional governor Sergei Furgal.

Investigators accused the 50-year-old former businessman of ordering two contract killings and an attempted murder 15 years ago.

He was flown to Moscow where he is being held in custody.

His supporters see the probe as aimed at removing an overly independent politician, elected in 2018 after standing against an incumbent from the ruling party backing President Vladimir Putin.

"It's a slap in the face for us. We voted for him!" said 72-year-old pensioner Marina Beletskaya.

Furgal is a member of the nationalist party LDPR which is generally loyal to the Kremlin.

He became a popular governor, with supporters describing him as energetic and ready to listen. Locally, his level of popularity rivalled Putin's.

- Conflict with Moscow -

"After we elected Furgal, the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District was moved from here to Vladivostok," said 22-year-old Victoria Sakharova, a sales assistant, referring to the port city on the Pacific coast.

"This was clearly because we elected an opposition candidate."

Around the size of Turkey, the Khabarovsk region has a population of just 1.3 million.

One factor fuelling protests is long-standing resentment among residents who feel ignored by Moscow.

Added to this are the economic worries in this region bordering China where metallurgy, coal mining and forestry are the main areas of employment.

State media has largely ignored the protests but more independent outlets have described the events positively.

In a recent editorial Vedomosti daily called the protests a "new symbol" representing opposition of "regions against the centre".

Some protesters shout slogans expressing anger at Putin.

Khabarovsk was one of those least supportive regions in a July 1 vote on changing the constitution to allow Putin to extend his rule. The "yes" vote was 15 percent below the national average.

- Sent from Moscow -

In a bid to appease the protesters, Moscow appointed a new acting governor from Furgal's LDPR party, Mikhail Degtyarev.

But the 39-year-old MP, known for proposing wacky bills, has faced a chilly reception.

He made matters worse by claiming not to "have time" to meet protesters and alleging they received backing from foreign "provocateurs".

"We should have chosen a local person to replace him ourselves. But instead we were sent someone who only knows Khabarovsk from 5,000-ruble banknotes," said Sakharova. The banknote (worth $68) depicts views of the city.

In a sign that the scale of the protests may have spooked the regional authorities the police have shown unusual restraint, allowing the protests to go ahead and only detaining a handful of people.

Even Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this week praised the police's forbearance while unauthorised protests are usually quickly broken up in Russia.

"We're living through a moment of democracy but it will doubtless be fleeting."

video-rco/alf/er

© 2020 AFP

Sinti and Roma fear for their Holocaust memorial in Berlin

Germany’s rail company, Deutsche Bahn, wants to build a suburban train line that would run under Berlin’s memorial to the Sinti and Roma murdered in the Holocaust. Activists are up in arms about the plan.



Whenever Roxanna-Lorraine Witt visits Berlin, she goes to the memorial to the murdered Sinti and Roma in Tiergarten, the city’s sprawling central park. It’s a special place for her. None of her grandmother’s five siblings survived the Nazi’s systematic murder of the Sinti and Roma.

The memorial may be under threat. Witt fears it won’t survive if a new track for the city’s commuter line gets built beneath it.

Read more: Nazis carried out mass murder of Sinti and Roma in Auschwitz

"It should be clear that this monument is sacrosanct," she said. "There is a political responsibility to protect it." That activists like her have to protest to protect it is itself a scandal, she added.

For Roxanna-Lorraine Witt the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma is a precious place

It has taken a long time for Germany to collectively remember the Sinti and Roma killed in the Holocaust.

The mass murder was called the Porajmos, meaning "devouring." Exact numbers don’t exist, but 500,000 people are estimated to have been killed. For decades, Sinti and Roma said they felt discriminated against by German authorities and overlooked as a victim group.

The German government only acknowledged the murder as a genocide in 1982.


The memorial is close to the Reichstag — a triangular stone in a circular pool representing the badges Sinti and Roma were forced to wear by the Nazis
Kept out of the loop

The memorial, just 50 meters (164 feet) from the German parliament building, was unveiled in 2012, and seen as Germany finally taking responsibility for the groups’ plight. It consists of a dark, circular pool of water upon which sits a triangular stone, which represents the badges Sinti and Roma were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps to identify them as such.

Read more: Holocaust remembrance in Germany is a changing culture

The proximity to the government quarter poses the problem. The new rail line is set to run right through it, which may lead to the monument being dismantled.


Plans for the new train line see it run right across the Sinti and Roma Memorial

"It’s inconceivable that something would happen to this monument without speaking to us," said Romani Rose, the head of the Central Council of Sinti and Roma in Germany.

Rose has spent his life fighting for the recognition of Nazi crimes against Sinti and Roma. He’s known for leading hunger strikes in 1980 on the grounds of Dachau, the former concentration camp, to raise awareness of the Sinti and Roma role in the Holocaust.

Romani Rose is the top representative of Sinti and Roma in Germany
Deutsche Bahn reacts

A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn says the company is "totally blown away" that the impact on a memorial could be problematic, according to the Tageszeitung newspaper. Witt organized a protest against the rail construction in June.

"The memorial is a gravesite for those whose ashes are still in Auschwitz. This is a holy place not only for Sinti and Roma, but for all people," Witt said, adding she is furious that the memorial’s future could be "negotiable" in a way others are not.

Read more: Jewish memorial stones dug out and taken to construction dump

Deutsche Bahn seemed to bend to the uproar in Berlin and online. Though declining to comment to DW, a company news release said "the memorial will not be touched." It also noted that the project is only in its early stages, and a long way off from seeking actual building permission.



REMEMBERING NAZI GENOCIDE OF SINTI AND ROMA
Serving the fatherland

Many German Sinti fought for Germany not only in the First World War but also in the Wehrmacht from 1939 on. In 1941 the German high command ordered all "Gypsies and Gypsy half-breeds" to be dismissed from active military service for "racial-political reasons." Alfons Lampert and his wife Elsa were then deported to Auschwitz, where they were killed.

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A sense of discrimination

Zimbabwe: Star author among several arrests at anti-government protests in Harare

Booker Prize nominee Tsitsi Dangarembga was bundled into a police truck in Harare during anti-government protests. The demonstrations coincided with the second anniversary of President Mnangagwa's election.


Award-winning author and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga was among scores of people arrested in Zimbabwe on Friday as hundreds of military troops and police attempted to thwart anti-government protests.

Dangarembga, 61, was shoved into a police truck as she demonstrated in the upmarket Harare suburb of Borrowdale. Another protester alongside her was also bundled into the vehicle.

Read more: Tsitsi Dangarembga, the author behind one of the '100 stories that shaped the world'

Streets clear as military deployed

As a result of law enforcement restrictions, streets in the Zimbabwean capital, home to some 1.5 million people, soon became deserted as police and troops scrutinized documents at checkpoints to prevent unauthorized entry to certain parts of the city.

Opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume, head of a small party called Transform Zimbabwe, had called for protesters to demonstrate against alleged state corruption and the country's crumbling economy.

The demonstrations were aimed at coinciding with the second anniversary of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's election victory, which opposition leaders have claimed was won fraudulently.

However, most people stayed home on Friday after police on Thursday warned of a severe response to those wishing to protest.

"All security arms of government are on full alert and will deal decisively with any individuals or groups fomenting violence," police spokesman Paul Nyathi said in a statement.

Protest organizers focused their frustration on the ruling political party, using the hashtag #ZANUPFmustgo on social media.

Read more: Zimbabwe compensates white farmers with billions

Mounting unease

Tensions are rising in Zimbabwe as the perennially-shaky economy faces added pressure. Inflation is more than 700%, the second highest in the world. Furthermore, the coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed the country's threadbare health system.

President Mnangagwa described the demonstrations as "an insurrection to overthrow our democratically-elected government." He added that security agents "will be vigilant and on high alert."

Speaking at the burial on Friday of cabinet minister Perence Shiri, who died from the coronavirus, Mnangagwa did not directly refer to the demonstrations but called for unity and urged citizens to avoid causing unrest.


Mnangagwa appeared at the funeral with the capital's streets deserted as security forces took charge

Mnangagwa has been in power since November 2017 after replacing longstanding freedom fighter turned authoritarian Robert Mugabe. The army ultimately ousted Mugabe, only to put one of the former president's closest allies in charge in his stead. Mnangagwa secured his first full term as president in July the following year after the country held a general election.

Read more: Pressure mounts on Zimbabwe to release investigative journalist

Charges 'unclear'

Fadzayi Mahere, spokeswoman of the main opposition MDC Alliance party, was also arrested on Friday, though the charges against her and Booker Prize nominee Tsitsi Dangarembga were not immediately clear, according to their attorneys.

Dangarembga wrote the prize-winning novel "Nervous Conditions" in 1988. It was the first book written by a Black woman from Zimbabwe to be published in English and she was subsequently awarded the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1989.

jsi/msh (AFP, AP)

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Date 31.07.2020
Keywords Zimbabwe, protests, ZANU-PF, Harare, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Emerson Mnangagwa

Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3gFRr