Seeking Asylum from the Mainstream

The Launch of Our Website!

2011-04-22T20:11:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends,

I hope you will take a few minute to look at the new webpage of Mujeres Unidas. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks!

http://www.mujeresunidasdecandelaria.org/

In Peru, Deciding Between “Left” and “Right”

2011-04-15T17:12:00.000-06:00

My new post from AQ:

Peru is about to be divided, again. With the vote count nearly complete, it looks like the pre-election polls were spot on: first place is Ollanta Humala and second place is Keiko Fujimori. Exit polls also indicate that their two respective parties, Gana Perú and Fuerza 2011, won the most seats in Congress.

What would an Ollanta Humala presidency look like? Would he live up to his campaign promise to be a more center-left candidate, or would he backtrack on his recent character transformation? The problem is: no one knows. During the campaign, he appealed to the mainstream Peruvian electorate by portraying himself as a political centrist and Catholic conservative, and by shying away from his close ties with Presidents Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales. He has tried to portray himself as more like former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. However, many Peruvians—including several investors—believe this is just a façade. Predictions of an Humala victory have contributed to the biggest jump in the cost of insuring Peruvian sovereign debt in five years and the Peruvian Nuevo Sol has declined by 1.6 percent since March 20. We do know that Humala has said he might try to reform the constitution, redistribute wealth through a “national market economy,” and start a government pension program for the elderly.

And, what would a Fujimori presidency look like? It is possible it would look a lot like her father’s, with the first step being a pardon for Alberto Fujimori who is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption. Nevertheless, Keiko Fujimori appealed to some voters because of her father’s record on the economy, anti-terrorism and populism—he frequently gave away goods and services to remote regions overlooked by other governments. Her presidency is not expected to be much different and there is no guarantee that she would adhere to democratic principles.

A runoff between Humala and Fujimori will be very close, as both appeal to constituencies that have felt neglected for the past five years. According to some experts, it will be one of the closest and most polarizing runoff scenarios in years. The election could even get personal because of the conflict between Humala and Alberto Fujimori in 2000, when Humala seized control of a mining town and led a protest against corruption.

Perhaps one of the most frustrating parts about the first-round election is that it seemed to be less about the individual candidates and more of a referendum on current President Alan García. One thing is for sure: it clearly illustrated the consequences of Peru’s weak political party system. Despite high GDP growth over the past five years, low-income Peruvians have not felt wealth trickle down to them. García’s approval rating was an abysmal 26 percent just before Sunday’s election. In the end, Peruvians voted for two extreme candidates, and chose to stay away from the centrist candidates who are more closely aligned with García. The centrist votes were split between Alejandro Toledo, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, and Luis Castañeda—causing a majority win for both extremes. In this case, economic growth was not backed by social reform, and the voters demonstrated their resentment.

Another problem was the lack of strong political parties. One can’t help noticing the striking absence of Fuerza Social presidential candidate Susana Villarán, despite her Obama-esque mayoral campaign. Moreover, APRA—García’s party—failed to put forth a presidential candidate and didn’t even endorse one of the centrist candidates until only a few days before the election. As a result, the June 5 runoff is between two last names, not two parties. On that day, Peruvians will tell us which extreme they prefer: left or right.

Peruvian Arrested for Involvement in Death Squads

2011-03-25T23:37:00.001-06:00

From AQ:

A new change in British law last year extends the retroactive reach of United Kingdom authorities to prosecute for war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. Crimes can now be prosecuted for acts committed all the way back to 1991—10 years earlier than the previous cut-off point.

Given this development, a Peruvian man was recently arrested in Yorkshire, England, for allegedly participating in death squads during the Shining Path era. The charge was suspicion of involvement in state-backed death squads that targeted guerrilla movements, mainly the Shining Path. He is being accused of participating in the murder of up to 100 individuals during the period of 1989-1993 and is the first to be arrested under the new law.

The purpose of the law was to cover the actions of individuals who had become UK residents after the genocide in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. It is suspected that hundreds of suspected war criminals from around the world are living in the UK with apparent impunity.

But the UK is not alone in its ability to prosecute such criminals. The United States has the Alien Tort Claims Act, which asserts that “the district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.” Although the law remained dormant for nearly 200 years, with the increased awareness about and concern for human rights, litigants have recently begun to seek redress more frequently under the Alien Tort Claims Act—including by Paraguayans, Ethiopians, Nigerians, Libyans and Filipinos.

Civil war in Peru lasted between 1980 and 2000 and led to the death or disappearance of around 70,000 people. The Shining Path is supposedly responsible for half these killings and government security forces are accused of another third. Although the Shining Path is no longer a threat to Peruvian society, remnants of the group have reinvented themselves as an illicit drug enterprise, rebuilding on the profits of Peru's thriving cocaine trade.

Beyond the recent UK arrest, the most prominent prosecution for crimes during the Shining Path era is that of former President Alberto Fujimori. In 2009, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering abuses included the killing of 25 people by a military death squad. The ruling was controversial, given that Fujimori is still a popular figure among Peruvians and his daughter Keiko is a frontrunner in the Peruvian presidential elections next month. She is expected to pardon her father if elected.

However, this recent development in the UK shows that there is a growing international trend for the use of domestic courts to rule on international human rights law. This is a clear warning sign for those that expect to get away with human rights abuses.

Agriculture Exports on the Rise in Peru as Free Trade Promoted

2011-03-12T14:30:00.001-07:00

My newest post in AQ:

Peru has been very busy looking for cooperation in the realm of international commerce. In his remaining months as president, President García is intent on leaving lasting footprints, especially a legacy of free trade. At present, Peru has signed bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs) with the United States, China, Canada and Singapore. It plans on signing agreements with Japan, the European Union and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

While the pact with EFTA is expected to come into force in July, trade with Switzerland will begin this month. Switzerland’s main commodity interest appears to be gold, as Peru's mineral exports to Switzerland amount to about 3.8 billion dollars, while the export value of non-traditional products totals seven million dollars. Other notables in the Peru-EFTA agreement include industrial and processed goods, fish, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition and investment.

Peru and South Korea are expected to sign an FTA on March 21. Such an agreement is expected to boost bilateral commerce by $7 billion by 2016 and would benefit Peru’s agriculture, mining, coffee and fishing sectors. There is also news that Peru is seeking deeper trade integration with Panama, Chile and Colombia to cooperate with respect to goods and services, trade facilitation and microenterprises. Peru is even undergoing talks with Arab nations.

Bloomberg reports that Mexico’s government is close to reaching a free-trade agreement with Peru. Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari said that Mexico currently exports $974 million annually to Peru, which represents 0.3 percent of Mexican exports and 3.4 percent of Peru’s imports—but Mexican exports to Peru would increase to $2.7 billion under an FTA.

Peru’s large agricultural sector is expected to make gains from these agreements; it is already slated to reach $4 billion in shipments this year. Agro-exports have grown by 20 percent in the first two months of 2011 versus the same in 2010. Last year’s total agriculture export figure of $3.2 billion represented a growth of 31 percent over 2009. According to Peru’s development director Luis Torres, demand has increased for Peruvian products in three principal markets: Brazil, China, and the United States. New customs regulations and improvements to the two roads that connect the countries through the Amazon have helped increase trade between Peru and Brazil. France is also a notable partner in agricultural exports, with exports expected to rise by 20 percent this year.

So why are we seeing so much movement recently in the realm of international trade? It is no coincidence that such rapid movement comes months before April’s election. García could see his free-trade agenda threatened depending on who succeeds him. Although anti-free trader Ollanta Humala is in fourth place, his numbers have been rising from 10 percent to 13 percent and he unexpectedly won in the first round of votes in 2006. García has made it clear that he hopes that any incoming administration follow in his footsteps of neoliberalism and is taking steps to ensure that such policies prevail once he exits office by negotiating these agreements in advance. Only in April will we be able to see if his free-trade policies endure.

Pretty Woman, Patrolling down the street

2010-11-26T21:18:00.002-07:00

In line with my Fulbright project here in Lima, looking at the feminized transit division of the PNP, I recently came across this article:

Authorities in China’s Sichuan province want to increase the number of female law enforcement officers, but with a catch: they must be young and pretty. Authorities in the city of Chengdu said they created the women-only team to “present the soft side” of China’s urban law enforcement officers, known as chengguan, whose alleged abuses of power and excessive force have earned them a bad reputation.

The reason for feminizing Peru's transit division of the police is because woman are perceived to be less corrupt. The example in China takes this assumption, that women have inherent qualities that make them great image cleaners for the Police, just a little too far in my opinion.

Project Update: Tejidos and Volleyball

2010-10-18T17:35:00.004-06:00

As a part of Mujeres Unidas, we have organized knitting and embroidery workshops as well as a volleybal tournament for the women of the community. (Volleyball is more popular in Candelaria than soccer). The women began both the knitting group and volleyball tournament about a month ago. We are still working on building our community center, which should be done by December!

A Gift of Pollo for the Madrina

2010-10-18T17:24:00.006-06:00

About a month ago, one of the mother's in my community asked me to be the Godmother of her daughter. After a long conversation, in which I had to tell her that I am not Catholic, nor had I been baptized myself, she still insisted that I take on the responsibility. I accepted. The following are photos of the baptism from last weekend. The madrina is responsible for the child's moral upbringing as well as to provide any support. The ceremony lasted 2 hours and then the parents hosted a party for the family. The gave the padrino and I a gift of a whole chicken.

Election Monitoring with Transparency International

2010-10-07T08:07:00.004-06:00

On October, 3, Peruvians went to the polls to cast their vote for the municipal elections. I decided to volunteer for Transparency International, as an "observadora." I was surprised at how well the volunteers were treated at their sites. The policeman and the coordinator of the voting site were both very keen to make sure that I was well attended. My job was to observe the site and report any suspicious activity. I also was required to fill out three surveys, which were used as a sample.

The voting site was supposed to open at 9am, but did not open until 9:30am (Peruvian time, nothing unusual). There was a steady stream of voters throughout he day, and the polls closed at 4pm. Voting is obligatory in Peru. While there are ups and downs to obligatory voting, one upside is that I definitely noticed more people take an active interest in the election; it is treated like a holiday. People travel from all parts of the country to vote on this day, but also treat it as an excuse to visit family and friends.

The most contested race was for mayor of Lima, between Susana Villaran and Lourdes Flores. While Susana Villaran has had a steady lead for the past month, they election results have them being 1% apart from one another. They are supposed to announce the official winner today.

A New Baby in the Family

2010-10-07T08:03:00.002-06:00

Welcome! My host mother recently gave birth to Dulce Thais Aller. She was born September 25, 2010, healthy. (The baby on the left is Kalet, her cousin who was born earlier in September.)

"Stalin es el cambio"...Beach Vacation in Tumbes and Piura

2010-09-06T14:55:00.004-06:00

They say that the north of Peru is known for its delicious food, its friendly people, and its calentura- both in temperature and in all things related to love. After my visit to Tumbes and Piura, I would say that the generalization is accurate. The food is definitely delicious. I ate ceviche everyday- the highlight being the ceviche that I ate on the beach prepared on the spot with fresh fish caught by fishermen. I stayed at a resort called Hoja de Palma, which is near Mancora- the surfing capitol and beach hotspot in Peru. Hoja de Palma is much more relaxed, without the crowd of Mancora nor the fiestas. I was amazed at the amount of sea life on the beach and saw everything from crabs (which rule the beach), to octopus, to seahorses, to oyesters, to sea turtles, to pelicans, to all kinds of fish, to vultures.

The last two days I spend in Sullana, which is a town in Piura, known for its parcelas or small agricultural farms. I stayed with the family of Placida, one of the women that I work with in Candelaria. Her family took me in as if I were their own and by the time I left I was the "sobrina" (niece) of the family. I immediately noticed that the political activity in the rural part of Peru appears to be stronger than in Lima. There are a lot more political parties and candidates and a lot more volunteers who canvass. One of my favorite slogans was "Stalin...es el cambio;" "Stalin es humilde."

I went to visit the parcela of Rafael, Placida's brother in law. He owns a small agricultural plot of 50 hectares. He grows lime, mangos, cotton, papaya, peanuts, beans, coconuts, sugarcane, and yuca and sent me home with a huge bag of these goodies. Over a case of beers, Rafael proceeded to tell me how small agricultural farms are suffering from takeovers by big impresas such as Dole, which has had a large presence in Sullana since 2001. Even if they form organizations, such as their's of 50 small agriculturalists, they simply cannot compete. Even though Dole has a foundation and says they are helping small time agriculturalists, they cant help all of them in Sullana, and the majority seem to be suffering.

I left my trip to the north with a reinforced sentiment that those with the least seem to always give the most.

The Rise and Fall of Political Parties in Peru

2010-09-06T14:53:00.001-06:00

My latest post for Americas Quarterly:

For the last two election cycles in which Lourdes Flores has run for president, polls have always shown her with strong leads in the weeks before elections, but come election night, she has lost. This time she is running for mayor of Lima on the Partido Popular Cristiano political party ticket and it looks like the trend will continue. Recent revelations of her close ties to Cesar Castano, the owner of Peruvian Airlines, who is currently under suspicion of narco-trafficking, have caused her numbers to slide in the polls with the October elections fast approaching.

While this could signal yet another political disappointment for Lourdes, it also raises questions about the strength of her political party affiliation and Peru’s political party system overall. Perhaps, this is because the formal institutionalization of political parties under the Peruvian legal system did not happen until 2003. But there is also simply a culture of informality with political parties here. Parties are often created every election cycle to fill a vacuum of political institutions and ideas, but they are not sustainable. They are created out of necessity during elections years to organize campaigns rather than built over the long-term, based on political ideas and platforms.

Often, candidates in high profile races like Lima mayor or president form party alliances and then find candidates in the provinces and local areas to carry the name of the party bloc. After the election, the political party disappears only to be resurrected using the same name or another name in the next election cycle. Also common: political parties field candidates only at the municipal level and do not have national candidates or they are only national and struggle to find municipal candidates.

Another problem parties face is that they are often formed around a single figurehead. When that person leaves office, the strength of the party also falls. This is the case for President Alan Garcia’s political party, Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana, (APRA). With Garcia’s term as president ending, APRA has struggled to find candidates to fill national and local posts because the strength of the party depended on Garcia’s candidacy and term as president. The same could be true for Partido Popular Cristiano, which has spent a lot of time and energy in creating a brand for the party. However, it remains to be seen if her new party will fall with Lourdes, assuming she loses and history repeats itself.

Although political parties have a turbulent history, Peruvian politicians and citizens can help strengthen the system. For example, there has been a recent movement to create a primary voting system within the parties. This would help shift the image of parties from a single figurehead to a party with a platform. Another suggestion for party leaders would be to focus on branding a platform that is about more than just the vague promise of public works projects. At present, almost all the political parties and candidates have made nearly identical promises for reforms and public works projects. The very essence of a political party, however, should be its platform of ideas or ideology. If a party’s agenda is indistinguishable from the competition or its platform is reconstructed every election cycle, there is no foundation upon which to build longer-term voter party affiliation. Lastly, there needs to be more decentralization in the party system. Almost all political party activity and power is centered in Lima. To build a strong base, a political party must reach beyond the capital and into the arms of those living in el campo.

ENAP en Ayacucho and a little bit on Peruvian Politics

2010-08-09T15:55:00.004-06:00

In Peru, the government, both national and municipal, has created multiple avenues for youth participation in politics. For example, there is a quota for the number of young people in office. As a result, there are many youth candidates who run for political office such as city council and even mayor. There are also special forums for youth in the community to propose projects that are then funded by the local governments.

In July, I was invited to give a presentation at the 6th annual Encuentro Nacional de Actores Políticos Jóvenes, which is conference for young people who are involved in politics as candidates or in other forms. At the conference, there were about 20 youth candidates from all over the country and about 50-60 others who attended. They come from all over the country and receive training. The coordinators asked me to give a presentation on youth involvement in American politics. This was my first presentation in Spanish in front of a large group of people and political candidates, but it turned out just fine. I talked about the American political system, gave some statistics on youth participation, about political primaries, and then talked about how to engage youth in politics, using the Obama campaign as an example.

The municipal elections are in October and the national election is in April of next year. There is a certain cynicism about politics especially because voting is mandatory. 1) people dont vote for candidates, but rather vote against candidates (lesser evil of the two) 2) political parties dont exist in Peru, and change each year 3) most candidates dont talk about issues nor about solving problems, rather they try to win votes by showing their face the most. I witnessed the latter point in action. Yesterday, I attended a political concert/rally by one of the mayoral candidates in my neighborhood. He is the current mayor, running for re-election (against 16 other candidates. He is not the frontrunner, but rather in the middle) and used public space to contract a popular band in Peru to throw a concert. The idea is to get out your name and symbol (for those that are illiterate) for voting to as many people as possible.

More to come as the election draws near!

A Peruvian Fourth of July + Social Work

2010-07-15T08:14:00.004-06:00

Something many people may not know about the Fulbright is that a Fulbright fellow is supposed to spend 1/2 the time in their country doing research and the other 1/2 of the time sharing American culture with those in the host country. As a result, I decided to throw a big Fourth of July bash in Candelaria.

The party started off with a BBQ fundraiser. Then, we played traditional games with the kids such as Capture the Flag, potato sack contest, musical chairs etc. I also hired a clown and Mickey Mouse to do a show for kids. We also had a raffle and the party really began with a castillo or the Peruvian version of fireworks. We danced all night long, until 6:30am.

The BBQ was a fundraiser for the project that I am working on in the community. In total we raised 1100 soles ($350). The project in Candelaria is 100% participatory, with the mother's making all the decisions. They decided that the greatest needs are social- a community center, workshops, classes, a nursury, and a co-op. My goal is to set the foundation for all of these things to emerge in Candelaria before I leave.

A snapshot of the community
I completed a needs assessment in Candelaria during the month of June. Here are some results:

Most of the mother's migrated from the rural parts of the country
Most of the mother's have less than secondary level of education (thus it is very difficult for them to help their kids with their homework)
the majority of households earn 300-600 soles per month ($100-200).
The average age of the mothers is 35
The average number of children in the household is 3.7
There are a handful number of women who are illiterate

If you are interested in donating to the project, please email me at sabrinamkarim@fulbrightmail.org

Who's Who in Lima's Mayoral Race

2010-07-15T08:12:00.001-06:00

Here is my post from America's Quarterly:

It’s election season in Lima. In less than three months, Limeños will go to the polls to choose the successor for outgoing Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio who will be running in the April 2011 presidential contest. Although there are two frontrunners, 12 candidates have formally registered to run in the October 3 mayoral contest.

Here is a brief summary of each candidate:

Lourdes Flores: the leading candidate in the race. She is a center-right candidate and is the leader of the Partido Popular Christano (PPC). Flores ran for the presidency in Peru twice and came in third place both times. Her campaign is based on reforming security and public transportation.
Álex Kouri: currently in second place. Kouri is the current mayor of the city of Callou. He has a reputation for completing public works projects, but also has recently been tainted by scandal. He is from the Cambio Radical party, which leans to the right.
Humberto Lay: candidate from the Restauración Nacional party. He is currently tied with Fernando Andrade for third place. Lay is an Evangelist candidate and founder of the church Iglesia Alianza Cristiana y Misionera who has focused his campaign on fighting corruption. He came in second place in the 2006 Lima mayoral contest.
Fernando Andrade: member of the Somos Peru party. Tied with Humberto Lay for third place, Andrade is a former mayor of Miraflores, a wealthy district of Lima. His brother, Alberto Andrade, founded the party and was a popular mayor of Lima, winning the 2002 election with a clear majority. With Alberto’s death, Fernando has sought to follow his political path.
Susana Villarán: the leftist candidate and a member of the Fuerza Social party. She is the most popular candidate on Facebook. Her campaign is focused on providing more nutrition to the poor by reforming the Vaso de Leche program and Comedor Populares. She is also concerned about security and public transportation.
Maria Eugenia de la Puente: member of the Partido Humanista. Her father was a leader in the leftist movement. She is a business owner and has focused her campaign on cleaning up the image of Lima.
Raul Canelo: member of the Partido Fonavista. His candidacy is based on fighting for a referendum to restore funds for the Fondo Nacional de Vivienda, which was a social program designed to increase workers’ access to funding. He is well-known lawyer throughout Lima.
Alex Gonzalez: member of the Partido Siempre Unidos. He is an ecologist and is presenting himself as the “green candidate,” with a platform that includes creating a green transportation system.
Luis Iberico: member of the Alianza para el Progreso party. He is a former reporter and congressman and was a major figure in the media in opposition to the Fujimori government. He is a centrist candidate.
Carlos Roca: member of the Partido Aprista—the political party of President Alan Garcia. He promises to travel to every corner of Lima and learn about problems within each community.
Gonzalo Alegría: member of the Accion Popular party. His campaign is focused on security, order and development.
Walter Ibañez: member of the Todos por el Perú party.

Udate from Peru: Pachamanka and Machu Pichu

2010-06-11T11:07:00.011-06:00

I was out traveling for a large part of May and without much time or Internet access. Hence the reason for the delay in posting.

My dad came to visit me in May and the community of Candelaria and my friends decided to host a Pachamanka for him. Pacha means earth and manka means hole. But, its a traditional meal from the Sierra where potatoes, sweet potatoes, lima beans, and meat is cooked in the earth. The food is incredibly decision and takes almost and entire day to prepare. First, one has to dig the hole in a very particular way, and then cook the food, which takes a long time. My friend Dora in Candelaria hosted the fiesta in her house and my friend Jhonny prepared the food. It made me feel like I have become accepted into the community and have built some long lasting friendships.

While my dad was visiting, we went to Cusco and Machu Pichu for several days. There is truly something magical about the place. Once you get there, the clouds open up and reveal this enchanting city. They say that Machu Pichu was a summer palace for the Inca Emperor Pachacutec and was found completely intact (the Spanish conquistadores did not find know of the place). It was discovered by an archeologist from Yale university. The artifacts from Machu Pichu are still at Yale, pending a request from Peru for their return. For anyone planning to visit the place, instead of doing the Waynu Pichu hike, for which you have to get up at 4am and be lucky enough to be one of the 400 people who are allowed on the hike per day, it is better to do the "Inca Mountain" hike, which is splits off from the "Puerta de Sol" hike. It is 1.5hours of straight climbing stairs to the top of the mountain, which has the best aerial view of Machu Pichu.

My New Favorite Tradition: Godparenting Roofs

2010-05-17T11:47:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend, I learned about a Peruvian tradition: inaugurating newly built roofs of houses. The tradition is to hang two bottles of champagne and flowers from the roof and select a Madrina and Padrino to break the bottles. Then the fiesta begins with a huge meal, to feed those that helped build the roof, and lots of drinking and dancing. I was selected by my neighbor to be Madrina of his roof and honored that role as best as could!

Ecuador’s Open Border Rhetoric

2010-05-17T11:45:00.000-06:00

My latest post for AQ:

In a world shaped by bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, where goods and services cross borders with relative ease, it is often difficult to say the same about people. However, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has been a leader in championing integration efforts, in particular open border policies in the Western Hemisphere. Ecuador’s 2008 constitution has provisions guaranteeing the free movement of people through Ecuador’s borders and the country is planning to pressure the Organization of American States (OAS) to adopt open-border policies that allow all people from the Americas to have free movement across the region.

These initiatives do not come without tension and controversy. Historically, Ecuador has experienced a number of border conflicts—particularly with Peru and more recently tensions over military incursions by Colombia into Ecuador—and understands the importance of border security. How the country reconciles this history with its new rhetoric of open borders has proved to be challenging. On one hand Ecuador is forced to limit diplomatic relations with Colombia and has expressed concern over the number of refugees crossing the border into Ecuador. At the same time, it is promoting integration as official foreign policy. For Ecuador, fully resolving the Colombian border conflict may be a first step toward an integrated regional body.

The United States has expressed concern over Ecuador’s open border policies. One of the most pressing issues seems to be over undocumented immigration and smuggling. The fear is that Ecuador will be used as a staging ground for entry into the United States. These concerns come at a time when undocumented immigration is a heated topic in the United States. Countries from all over Latin America have voiced their disapproval of SB 1070 in Arizona, and Ecuador is planning on opening a new consulate in Arizona to help its nationals. Ecuador may be trying to claim the moral high ground over the United States, but we still have yet to see whether there is substance behind this rhetoric, or if President Correa’s gestures are at best symbolic.

Yucca in Puno and Lake Titikaka

2010-05-17T11:12:00.002-06:00

There is a Peruvian verb: enyucar, which has a very interesting history. It comes from Fujimori’s presidential campaign. He promised the Peruvians that he would not engage in privatizing services, but when he came into power that is exactly what he did. He was known to always carry yucca with him, so yucca became a symbol of deceit and the verb enyucar means to deceive or cheat. For example, when you are bargaining in the markets, you can say “what’s the price ‘sin yucca’,” or “what’s the price without yucca/deceit.”

In Puno, I saw the most beautiful sunset and sunrise on water I have ever seen. The beauty of Lake Titikaka is unmatched. But, I was surprised to find Puno to be filled with tourists. I was not expecting this to be the case, but Europeans and Americans filled the streets. For this reason, there is a lot yucca in around the area.

My friends Carrie and John came to visit me and we met in Puno and decided to spend two days and two nights on the islands in Lake Titikaka. All the guidebooks say that its best to try to visit the islands on your own, instead of using a tour group. But, this appeared to be impossible, as all the boats were connected to a tour group. So, we managed to catch the last boat to Amantani and spent the day and night there, which was very nice. (See pictures) The next day, we went to Taquile, but were told that there was no boat that would return back to Puno the next morning (we needed to return in by the afternoon because our flight back to Lima was in the afternoon). As a result, we agreed to hire a private boat for 200 soles (which was a yucca because we knew that there were non tourist boats that left sometimes for 10 soles). We spent the day hiking and when the thunderstorm came, we ate a candlelit dinner in our hut (because there was no electricity or running water).

The next morning, we came down for breakfast, after watching the sunrise and were met by someone who was the captain of the boat. They informed us that they would charge 300 soles to take us or they would not take us. After arguing with them, I finally consented since we didn’t have another choice. Luckily, we didn’t have the money on us, so we negotiated that we would go to the bank and then give him the money. We searched for other boats, but to no avail, so were forced to take this boat. On the boat ride back to Puno, we angrily discussed what we were going to do, 1) give 200 soles and walk away 2) Offer the dollars we had 3) Actually give him the 250 newly negotiated price. We came to the conclusion that it was the tour company and the middleman (out host) that had “enyuca’d” us, and not the captain. As a result, we decided to offer the dollars first (which was equivalent to about 200 soles) and then to pay the 250 soles because the captain was probably not at fault (this was much analysis of the situation).

In the end, we were all happy and laughed about the situation, because the captain ended up being more than happy to take the dollars and we were happy to have only paid the original agreed upon 200 soles.

La Faena and the “Real” Value of Work

2010-05-04T15:18:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, I learned about the meaning of hard labor. I woke up at 5am to help the community members of Candelaria clear cement, rock, and dirt to build a clinic. Each manzana was responsible for their own share of clearing the cement. We got there an only about 1/3 of the manzana was there to help with the work. At first, the labor was gendered, with the men doing the work of actually breaking the cement with sledge hammars and pick axes and shoveling the rocks and dirt into wheelbarrows and potato sacks, which the women carried in pairs to the dirt pile. But, as people tapered off, the women, including myself, started doing the “men’s work.”

Everyone in the manzana had the option to either pay 10 soles (about $4) or to do the work that morning. This translated to the work being worth about $1 per hour (we were there for more than 4 hours). It occurred to me how little this kind of “real,” “hard,” physical labor is actually worth, obviously not the same worth as “real,” “had,” intellectual work. To me the former was much harder than the latter, so why is the former valued as so much less?

Despite this realization, the sight was beautiful. The community – men, women, and children,- working together to better their community. One sight in particular caught my attention- a woman with a baby wrapped in a blanket around her back carrying dirt, rocks, and slabs of cement, using a potato sack. It made me wonder something else. Why is it that the poor are made to work for their basic necessities when other communities, relatively richer ones, receive the same services for free from the state? The answer is complicated, I know, but it just seemed like an injustice to me. Before, the faenas were mandatory for the community every Sunday, meaning that there was no day for resting from work (most people work 6 days a week).

At the same time, I am sure that the community of Candelaria understands the value of hard work; there is no such thing as entitlement. From the pistas, to the lights, to the walls, everything they have has been done using their bare hands, with their sweat. I am sure they also understand in a way that others do not, the sense of community and solidarity, something that wealth cannot buy. As I was leaving, I had mixed feelings about how we come to value things and how we can sometimes have no concept of the “real” value of hard work, money, entitlement, and community. Its something that the community of Candelaria understands a lot better than I ever will.

La Copa Libertadores

2010-04-30T09:50:00.001-06:00

You know the feeling when you are watching something happen to you in slow motion? That happened to me for the first time last night, when I was at a Peruvian national soccer game. This was the fourth time that I have been to a South American soccer game and just like the other times, the excitement and emotion among the crowd was the highlight of the game. Each time I have gone to a game, I’ve always bought tickets for the “South,” the cheapest section, with the liveliest crowd (which is an understatement). I went to a Copa Libertadores game (the three best national teams from each South American country play in a tournament to determine the best team in South America), between Alianza from Peru against La “U” de Chile.

Two of my officemates were kind of enough to accompany me to the game and watch over me. We got there about an hour and half early and the crowd was already pretty riled up. I quickly learned that the crowd was not just composed of crazy fans, but also thieves who were shameless in their attempts to rob people. While my friend, Miguel was holding me and protecting me from the crowd, which seemed to take pleasure in pushing people down the steps, a group of four or five thieves grabbed him from behind. I desperately tried to keep a hold of him, but let go, and they pulled him to the ground and started trying to grab things from him, while others had him pinned down. This was happening while the other men in our group held on to me to ensure that I wouldn’t be pulled down as well. We looked on helplessly as our friend was being robbed. Except that, there was nothing to rob because he had carried anything with him, no phone, no money, nothing. Luckily, the crowd doesn’t react so kindly to thieves, so the they started to fight the thieves, and they finally let him go.

It was the beginning to a night of pushing and shoving, but also to a pretty entertaining time. At times, I wondered if the crowd was supporting the same team, because they kept fighting with one another. There seems to be a culture of paternalism in that the older men keep watch to make sure that the entire crowd continued to sing and chant the entire game. If they saw that some people were not singing, they take it upon themselves to push then down the steps. A few times my friends were saved from this fate because they would not dare shove a woman. At least the chivalrous culture comes in handy sometimes!

Despite the pushing and shoving, the game was a lot of fun. The emotion and excitement of the fans in South American is unmatched. When the team enters the field, the streamers, confetti, songs, yelling, and fire is truly a site. And the singing and jumping never ends, no for a second. Not when the other team scores a goal, not when the team misses a goal, its ongoing; a ritual. Going to such a game is definitely an experience that I would gladly repeat with one exception, next time it would be better if Alianza won.

"Obras" and Local Elections in Lima

2010-04-26T10:19:00.002-06:00

I will now also be blogging for Americas Quarterly. This is my first post:

You know it is election season in Peru when the number of public works projects (obras) increases so much that traffic comes to a virtual standstill. That’s how Lima is today ahead of the municipal and regional elections that will be held in October 2010. Much is at stake as the outcomes are a telltale sign for what may happen in next year’s presidential election

The massive display of obras during an election year is not uncommon. In fact, they are strategic. Visible projects—like the construction of an electric train and bus system in Lima—are displays of what the government has done for its people, and are often used as a form of propaganda by candidates running in incumbent seats. Closely following the Latin American tradition of populismo, incumbent candidates appeal to the masses through these obras. Yet, the use of public works projects as propaganda can pose risks too. Publicly displayed accomplishments might also expose the corruption associated with their construction.

Lima has a history of failed public works projects. During President Alan García’s first term (1985—1990) he invested in a national project to construct a Tren Electrico—a train system that would run through the city. However, the project was abandoned and some parts of the construction turned into artwork. At the same time President García was accused of rampant corruption and mismanagement of the project. Then after winning the presidency again in 2006, he promised to complete the project by the end of his term in 2011.

Now the ghost of the Tren Electrico appears to be haunting the city of Lima again. Another visible obra is marred by scandal: the construction of a bus system, the Metropolitano, by the municipal government of Lima. Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio intends to construct a bus corridor that would serve the entire city but the cost of the project has doubled, the distance of the line shortened and the date of its inauguration is likely to be pushed back. Castañeda’s inability to explain these changes has caused his approval rating to drop seven percentage points this past week.

These setbacks have implications for the municipal race this year. At present, there are two potential front runners for the mayor’s seat: Lourdes Flores and Alex Kouri. The controversy over the Metropolitano has given political fodder to both candidates. Nobody wants to be associated with another failed project, and all have criticized Castañeda’s handling of the situation.

While Castañeda has yet to officially support either mayoral candidate, successful completion of this obra could shift the political tide in the other direction. The candidates could then find themselves vying for Castañeda’s support, especially given his status as the front-runner for the presidential election in 2011. Either way, it seems as if Castañeda’s political success may hinge on the success of the

On Privilege

2010-04-20T17:24:00.001-06:00

Privilege comes in many forms. There is privilege associated with socio-economic status, with being a “man,” with being “white,” with being born in the United States of America, with being born in an in tact family, with being born healthy etc. On my recent trip to Ecuador, I was again reminded of the many ways that I am privileged. The Fulbright Commission of Ecuador organized an all expense paid enhancement seminar for all the Fulbright Research Fellows from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela to meet in Quito to talk about research and share findings. Every aspect of the trip was paid for- from the airfare, to the incredible meals, to the snack packs for the bus rides, to the per diems. In fact, it is quite possible that I was paid to attend this seminar. We even got to do a lot of site seeing, which was also paid for: trekking to a waterfall to go swimming in the rainforest, zip-lining across the canopy of the rainforest, and going on a guided tour of historic Quito were just some examples. It was an incredible experience on many different levels, but the most profound part of it was meeting so many interesting, talented, and brilliant people. We were able to learn from one another, and build strong relationships within the span of one week.

Yet, I was constantly reminded how lucky I was to have this experience. In commemoration of that feeling, I would like to take a minute to trace the roots of my privilege and think about how I was able to spend this past week Ecuador. Its something I think we should all do every now and then as a mental exercise.

Receiving a Fulbright Grant to Peru is a direct result of being able to graduate from Oxford University and by working at Young Lives while at Oxford. Going to Oxford was only possible because of the mentors I had while at Georgetown University. Going to Georgetown was only possible because of the resources that my family was able to provide me to not only attend the school, but also to build up my life accomplishments to allow me to get accepted into the school. The resources that my family accumulated was only possible because of the value placed on education by my grandparents because this allowed both my father and mother to attend higher education and pursue a Master’s degree/PhD. This value that my grandparents placed on education was also passed down to my parents and on to my sister and I. My parents’ hard work and dedication to education instilled a culture of learning from early childhood. In Bangladesh, my grandfather was able to get an education because he was male, while his sisters were not able to get an education. My other Grandfather was the first Bengali to get a Master’s degree from a British University. Thus, a culture of education was passed down to me through three generations. All I can do is continue that tradition and hopefully make my ancestors proud.

Ayacucho

2010-04-05T18:03:00.004-06:00

There is a place in the rolling hills of Ayacucho where the green fertility of the land meets the sky. Each celestial cloud is incandescent with the golden rays of the sun and the serpentine rivers flow to an endless rhythm. The lush vegetation speckled with yellow and indigo petals. Water springs from the earth as if nature were trying to flood the fields with its nourishment encouraging the fecundity of life to produce more. This place is home to the indigenous population of Peru. Its people forgotten by many of Peru's leaders, but its history tainted and well known. History has been both kind and menacing to this place. Independence and terrorism color the lens through which it is remembered. The battlefields of Quinua often overshadowed by the more recent resistance movement, born a long time ago from the minds of intellectuals in Ayacucho. If you ask the people about their pride for "Quechua" they dont speak of it. But, you see it in their eyes. Their faces do not hide the stark reality of living a life of symbiosis with the land. Thus, there is a place that from its core and from the core of its people resonates such beauty that the only things an outsider can do is capture the memory, turn around, and walk away.

Some thoughts on Gender

2010-03-30T15:50:00.002-06:00

I have been here for a little over two weeks now, and have has some thoughts about gender and the role of women in Peru. There are several jobs that were previously dominated by men, which are slowly seeing more and more women.

In a previous post, I described a national program implemented by then President Alberto Fujimori to replace male traffic officers with female ones. At the time of implementation, there was a major backlash with reports of some taxi drivers running the women over. While I am here, I intend to study how perceptions of these male drivers have changed over the last ten years and how the female traffic officers' own perceptions have changed.
Another male dominated male work area that women have penetrated is the job of conductor in public transportation vehicles. Their jobs are to fill the vehicle (whether bus, "convi," or minibus) with as many people as possible and collect the fares. The men who have this job are, by far, more aggressive than the women. However, there does not seem to be a difference int he number of passengers in the vehicles. It would be interesting to find out whether women are just as effective or maybe even more effective in their job than men. One way to do this would be to research the total fares collected by the men versus the women for a selected mode of transportation over given period of time.
The last area that I have noticed women is at gasoline stands. It is not a self service system here in Peru. Rather, ther are workers who fill your tank for you. In many gasoline stands, women have replaced men in this job. However, the women in many cases are required to wear mini skirts etc. Thus instead of a gender role transformation, the women continue to fulfill constructed gender norms.

Love at First Site: Candaleria

2010-03-26T09:08:00.003-06:00

Before I left Colorado, I had grown a little disillusioned with the idea of community organizing and its effectiveness. I suppose a small case of burn out- it’s a good thing I left when I did. Last Sunday, I experienced love at first site/sight. My host family, with the help of my host mom’s cousin (who has a car) took me on a tour of Mariategui, which is a zone in Villa Maria del Triunfo. Jhonny, my host mom’s cousin, owns a house in a community called Candaleria, which is located way up in the hills of Mariategui. To get there, you have to go up this very bumpy road (for those of you that might know Lima Sur, its about ten times more bumpy than La Pista Nueva), and only certain cars can go up there or you have to walk up the dirt road, up the hill. It’s a community of about 500 people that moved up there ten year ago. I immediately fell in love with the community. They have been organizing for ten years and how have electricity, a school, and are about to get water. They are organized so that every 30 houses has two directors that represent those houses and collects dues. The directors or organizers meet weekly to make decisions. They have required each house to plant a tree, have a bag of sand for fires, and an electric meter to measure the electricity they use. The most amazing part of this bottom up, organic organization is that no outside institutions were involved- not an NGO nor the government. Jhonny introduced me to two women- Betty and Dora. They are both single moms living on a few hundred soles per month, working, and directors for their “manzanas.” They immediately treated me as a friend and invited me to the meeting/training they were having. I watched a water representative from SEDAPAL be two hours late for the meeting- while everyone patiently waited, and the training only lasted for about 20 minutes. That disappointment was quickly remedied by a game of volleyball in the street with some neighbors. We lost the game, but I felt like I had won some new friends.

Live and Let Live

2010-03-22T08:17:00.003-06:00

Since I live in the boonies- well about 30-120 minutes away from the main districts of Lima proper (depending on traffic) - I have to commute to and from the outskirts to Barranco- the artsy, Bohemian neighborhood, where my office is located. How do I make this daily commute? By minibus off course! Its not just any minibus or bus system, however. There is a driver and a steward for every bus. The objective of the driver is to drive as fast as possible while maneuvering through the traffic maze. The object of the steward is to cram as many people as possible into the vehicle and collect fares. I’ve learned that its actually much better to get into a overflowing bus than an empty one because if the vehicle is empty, it literally stops every two seconds or whenever people are standing by the road to try to fill the vehicle. The first time that I got into the “convi,” I was a puzzle piece that didn’t fit in the puzzle of human bodies inside. I had to bend by body into a pretzel to fit in as I waved goodbye to my host father through gritted and nervous teethe. But now, Im an expert, totally unafraid of the “public” transportation system of Lima.

On a side note- I noticed that there are an unusual amount of traffic officers in Lima who are women. It turns out that the government in the early 2000’s implemented a program to replace male traffic cops with female traffic cops as a way to reduce corruption. At first, there was a huge backlash- and some taxi cab drivers even tried to run over the women- but not it seems better. As a side project, I’m planning to look into the effectiveness of the program and to see if gender norms have normalized since the inceptions of the program. Any article suggestions from anyone about the topic?

Update on showers: I’ve switched from morning to afternoon showers as a coping mechanism since the days are hot and humid. A cold shower actually feels pretty good.

Home and Space in Peru

2010-03-17T15:26:00.003-06:00

I just started my Fulbright in Peru this week and instead of blogging about migration etc, will be taking a short hiatus from that and writing about my experience here in Peru. This is my first reflection:

The house that I am staying at is in the East part of town. It’s a city that mostly runs West to East similar to Philadelphia, though some people still call it the southern part of the town. I am just on the outskirts of the city, the place where there is an invisible border and after you cross it, all the things we consider modern, developed, and clean disappear. But, its real- real in the sense that this is how the majority of Peruvians live. I really like my house. Its completely made out of cement and brick and has somewhat of an open roof. It has a tin roof, but not completely covering the house. Its also still under construction, but has running water, electricity and all necessary amenities. My host family made a room out of the garage for me- its actually pretty sweet, except for the fact that there are no windows and thus no natural light. The neighbors can skip across to our side using the roof. Its not the most safe space necessarily, but then neither is the street or most places in the world.. And it is very cozy. Im also learning to get used to cold showers. Its going to take some getting used too. At least its humid enough and somewhat hot enough for it to feel refreshing. Overall the place is very real and that’s what I like about it. I know its not for everyone, but for now, its right for me as well. To borrow from what an old friend told me about his own childhood home, the borders between inside and outside are not clearly defined. Its quite possible that after three months, I will want to return to the world of clearly defined spaces, where a luxury is a hot shower, but right now this does feel like home.

What if Haitians were allowed to leave the disaster?

2010-01-20T12:52:00.002-07:00

Tim Lee provides some interesting insight into how borders obstruct migration even during the worst humanitarian tragedies such as the earthquake in Haiti:

Obviously, no similar amenities were available to native Haitians. Many slept on the streets, and there remains a very real danger of mass starvation if aid doesn’t arrive in time. And of course most Haitians don’t have the option of hopping on a jet bound for the United States. That’s a tragedy because evacuation is crucial to crisis management. Hundreds of thousands of people fled New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Evacuation was not only a good decision for many of the people who evacuated; it also eased the load on overwhelmed emergency workers.

The difference, of course, is that American immigration law prevents the vast majority of Haitians from coming to the United States. True, the American government has grudgingly allowed Haitians who are already here illegally to stay for another 18 months. But the our immigration policy remains essentially hostile to Haitian immigrants:

[Homeland Security Secretary Janet] Napolitano warned that no new arrivals would get amnesty and the U.S. Coast Guard and other authorities would move quickly to stop new migrants. “People should not leave Haiti with the false belief that they will be entitled to TPS in the United States,” she said. She also said, “We are seeing no signs of any sort of migration of that nature at this point.”

In the wake of Katrina, Gov. Perry put out the welcome mat for Katrina refugees and even airlifted some refugees to other states whose emergency facilities weren’t so overtaxed. If he had instead tried to block people from fleeing to Texas from New Orleans in the days after Katrina, (something that, fortunately, he didn’t have the authority to do) we would all have castigated him for his callousness. Whatever minor inconveniences Texans might have suffered from the presence of New Orleanians would clearly be outweighed by the scale of the human tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina.

For reasons that aren’t clear to me, most Americans have very different intuitions about human beings in Haiti who are, if anything, in even more desperate straits. Not only are we not putting out the welcome mat, we’re actually spending taxpayer dollars to prevent Haitians from reaching our shores.

Haitians Granted TPS!

2010-01-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

At 5 P.M. this evening, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that she was extending TPS to all Haitians currently in the United States:

“As part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to assist Haiti following Tuesday’s devastating earthquake, I am announcing the designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. This is a disaster of historic proportions and this designation will allow eligible Haitian nationals in the United States to continue living and working in our country for the next 18 months. Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this Administration’s continuing efforts to support Haiti’s recovery. [. . .] Haitians in the U.S. who are eligible to apply for TPS should call USCIS toll-free at (800) 375-5283.”

Israel to Build a Wall on Egyptian Border to Keep Migrants Out

2010-01-14T21:52:00.006-07:00

Another wall is going up in the Middle East. Israel is to start construction of a security barrier along the 266km border with Egypt to stop the flow of undocumented migrants. Looks like the US is not alone.

First there was the security barrier that Israel built along its border with the West Bank. More recently Egypt started building an underground barrier of its own on its border with Gaza to prevent smuggling. And now Israel says it’s building a wall on its border with Egypt.

The New York Times reports:

Thousands of African and other migrants have come to Israel through its porous border with Egypt over the last few years, fleeing conflict back home or searching for a better life in the Jewish state.

Netanyahu said Israel would continue to accept refugees from conflict zones but "we cannot let tens of thousands of illegal workers infiltrate into Israel through the southern border and inundate our country with illegal aliens."

The project will cost 1 billion shekels ($270 million) and take two years to complete. The barrier will not be erected along the whole border, which is 266 km (166 miles) long.
Advanced surveillance equipment will help border control officers to spot infiltrators.
Egyptian security sources in North Sinai said Israel had not informed the Egyptian authorities of its plan.
Israel is also building a controversial barrier in and around the occupied West Bank. It says the razor-tipped fences and towering concrete walls are needed to stop suicide bombers from infiltrating its cities. Palestinians it a land grab because it cuts through the West Bank in places.

Here is the story from PRI's "The World:"

Earthquake in Haiti Changes Immigration Policy in the US

2010-01-14T12:33:00.005-07:00

Responding to the devastation from the Haiti, the Obama administration has temporarily suspended deportations of undocumented immigrants from that country. About 30,000 Haitians in the United States are facing deportation orders.

While this is a decent move, some advocates are urging more action From Foreign Policy:

Now, immigrants' rights advocates and Florida lawmakers are pushing the administration to grant Haitians Temporary Protected Status, a special dispensation given to immigrants who cannot return to their homelands:

On Wednesday, South Florida's three Cuban-American Republican members of Congress -- Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen -- sent a joint letter to Obama requesting TPS for Haitian nationals, along with immediate humanitarian aid for Haiti. They have organized a news conference on Thursday to talk about the issue.

"How much does Haiti have to suffer before Haitians in the United States are granted TPS pursuant to law?'' said Lincoln Diaz-Balart Wednesday. ``The reason TPS exists in the statute as an option for the president is precisely for moments such as this in Haiti.''

The other countries whose nationals are currently eligible for TPS are El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan. Given Haiti's traumatic recent history and promximity to the U.S., I have to wonder why isn't already on that list.

From the New York Times:

Lawmakers and immigrant advocacy groups renewed calls for the administration to grant Haiti a special status that would shield Haitian immigrants in this country from deportation for an extended period and allow them to work legally. The Haitian government and advocates here have been asking Washington to grant the status, known as temporary protected status, since late 2008.
Haiti has sought the status after a punishing series of natural disasters, starting with floods in 2004 that left more than 5,000 people dead or missing. In 2008, four big storms killed at least 800 people and destroyed most of Haiti’s food crops.
The Bush administration decided against granting Haitians the temporary status in December 2008, and the Obama administration decided last March to continue deporting Haitians.
Among those calling on Wednesday for the Obama administration to reconsider were Senators Schumer and Gillibrand New York, both Democrats, and Representatives Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart of south Florida, both Republicans, as well as John C. Favalora, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Miami.

Via Immigration Impact:

A TPS designation based on a natural disaster requires first that the affected country request the designation, that DHS and the State Department determine that a substantial but temporary disruption of living conditions has taken place, and finally that the country is temporarily unable to handle the return of its citizens who are abroad.
Given Haiti’s chronic poverty, civil unrest, and lack of infrastructure, coupled with frequent and punishing tropical storms and hurricanes, it seems that granting TPS for Haiti would have been an easy policy decision many times over in the last decade. Thus far, however, nationals of Haiti living in the U.S. have never been eligible for TPS. Haiti’s proximity to the U.S., politicians’ fear of mass exodus, and trumped up national security claims, such as those made under Attorney General John Ashcroft, have kept Haitians in limbo for years.

During a national call with advocates on Wednesday, the White House acknowledged the many voices already calling for TPS, but said it intended to focus on immediate relief efforts in the coming days. In President Obama’s pledge of support yesterday, he stated that a response to Haiti’s devastating loss will “require every element of our national capacity” and that “Haiti must be a top priority for [U.S. diplomatic, developmental and military] departments and agencies”—which begs the question, “Doesn’t granting TPS to unauthorized Haitians currently in the U.S. count as a “top priority?”

Past administrations, however, have a history of denying Haitians protection. As reported in the L.A. Times, DHS deported 30,000 Haitians in February 2008, as first ordered by the Bush administration, which left 600 Haitians languishing in detention centers after the Haitian government stopped issuing travel documents. To say nothing of the fact that the U.S. has generously offered TPS to other nations in need following national disasters—namely to “82,000 Hondurans and 5,000 Nicaraguans after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and to 260,000 Salvadorans after an earthquake in 2001,” according to Think Progress’s Wonk Room.

Meanwhile, both Republican and Democratic leaders continue to urge the Administration to grant TPS to Haitians in the U.S. According the L.A. Times:

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen wrote a letter to Obama arguing that “the combined destruction from today’s catastrophic earthquake and the previous storms clearly makes forced repatriation of Haitians hazardous to their safety at this time…We strongly believe that it is for such a situation that Congress created TPS.” Even Broward Democrat Alcee Hastings added his name to the effort, calling it “not only immoral, but irresponsible” to send the illegal Haitians back home.”

The problem, however, is that a TPS designation takes time. Both the State Department and DHS have lengthy review procedures that analyze and calculate a range of requirements, followed by even more analysis within the White House itself. And the longer the Administration waits to consider whether or not to grant TPS, the more likely it is that desperate Haitians will make their way to the country anyway, simply hoping that this time the U.S. will treat them well. Instead, a quick decision to grant TPS, coupled with relief measures designed to help people rebuild their lives in Haiti, is a much better prescription for managing the flow of desperate human souls who emerge from the rubble of Port au Prince.

On a side note if you want to make a quick donation to the relief effort, text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate to the Red Cross or if you are looking for a particularly good organization to donate too- donate to Paul Farmer's organization: Partners in Health.

Exporting Psychology

2010-01-13T15:36:00.002-07:00

I had the opportunity to meet with Ethan Watters a few years ago when he had written a very interesting article on PTSD in refugee populations. He has a new book out Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche."

Here is an excerpt via NPR Talk of the Nation:

Author Ethan Watters thinks that America is "homogenizing the way the world goes mad." In Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche, he describes how American definitions and treatments of mental illness have spread to other cultures around the world.
"[McDonald's] golden arches do not represent our most troubling impact on other cultures," Watters writes. "Rather, it is how we are flattening the landscape of the human psyche itself. We are engaged in the grand project of Americanizing the world's understanding of the human mind."
The premise of this book is that the virus is us. Over the past thirty years, we Americans have been industriously exporting our ideas about mental illness. Our definitions and treatments have become the international standards. Although this has often been done with the best of intentions, we've failed to foresee the full impact of these efforts. It turns out that how a people in a culture think about mental illnesses — how they categorize and prioritize the symptoms, attempt to heal them, and set expectations for their course and outcome — influences the diseases themselves. In teaching the rest of the world to think like us, we have been, for better and worse, homogenizing the way the world goes mad.

Some thoughts from my trip to Bangladesh

2010-01-12T17:58:00.004-07:00

I recently just returned from a trip to Bangladesh. In addition to rediscovering my family roots, I have some thoughts to share about the country and its people:

Bangladesh is not a "poor" country. Contrary to the images of starving children, hardly anyone is going hungry. Not to mention everyone has a cell phone or two, even those living in the slums or the villages.
The number of beggars on the streets has drastically declined- and more people sell things as opposed to outright begging. Now, whether that is due to government policy or a general decline in poverty is up for discussion.
The country is experiencing two different issues: a rapid population increase and rise in wealth, which are causing new problems. For example, as the population increases and more and more people are able to afford and buy cars, the streets are increasingly congested. Traffic jams are a a huge problem- it takes one hour to get somewhere that should take ten minutes, and I am not exaggerating. The roads and infrastructure are the same as before, but the changing demographics and livelihoods has made them unfit for present day needs.
Cities are creeping into the villages- with a very thin line separating the two
Within the last 8 years- the last time I was there- there has been considerable change in the number of women in hijab- while you used to see one or two people when you went out, now at least 20-50% of the women are covering their heads depending on where you are.
The healthiest looking people are the working class because they eat a healthier diet and are constantly exercising due to their job or having to walk or bike places. Most of the elite class -especially elite women- were all overweight (diabetes and heart disease is a major source of death among the elite). Its not hard to imagine why that is, it is nearly impossible to exercise outdoors, go on walks, etc. due to safety or the pollution.

What if "The Wire" had included a season on Immigration?

2010-01-11T16:14:00.003-07:00

Via David Simon, one of the creators of The Wire:

Q: The police department, schools, industry, the media—these are all institutions that were addressed on The Wire. I’ve always wondered if there were a couple more institutions that would have been dealt with if there had a season 6, like the finance industry or health care, maybe?
A: Immigration was a theme that I would have done. The problem was that there was actually a delay of almost two years between season 3 and season 4. It took HBO awhile to renew the show. They were on the fence about it. By the time they did and we got back together and got into their schedule, it had been two years. For us to then stop and to retool and to do the research on immigration…

Q: Is there a large Latino population in Baltimore?
A: Just in the last decade. Baltimore had almost no Latino population when I was a reporter there, like minuscule. Then, suddenly, Central Americans began showing up in Southeast Baltimore. They’ve created an incredibly vibrant immigrant community.

Q: It would have been fascinating to see how The Wire would have treated this.
A: All you’ve got to do is watch the national debate and realize that immigration is this incredibly potent source of friction and ideology, and maybe always has been in American life. So I would have loved to have done that, but none of us knew Spanish and none of us had done any research on it. It would have taken us a little time, as it always did. But we had researched the school system and we were ready to do
that.

(HT: Jonathan Dingel)

Links I like

2009-12-16T18:58:00.010-07:00

As the post-Khmer Rouge generation of Cambodians grows up, they’re producing a flurry of films that mimic the vintage style of the 1960s – widely considered the country’s golden era. Much of the revival is owed to educated filmmaker refugees who are repatriating to Cambodia from France and the United States and opening the country’s first film institutes at local universities.
Hundreds of Somali refugees are being forced at gunpoint to join rebels fighting in northern Yemen
Paddington Bear is launching a campaign to to highlight the British Government's continued arrest and detention of hundreds of child asylum-seekers in prison-like conditions.
A disabled athlete who has won five gold medals for Britain was set to be deported to Nigeria after losing his legal battle to live in the UK.
British Muslims feel a greater sense of patriotism than their counterparts living in mainland Europe, according to a study by the Open Society Institute
Rather than living in rows of neatly pegged white canvas UN tents set up in fields as the public might imagine it, aid officials have revealed that more than 50 per cent of the planet's 10.5 million refugees are now battling to get by in urban areas.
The proportion of the population that is foreign-born has almost doubled in the past two decades to 11 per cent, or 6.7 million people.

ICE to Halt Detention of Asylum Seekers

2009-12-16T18:45:00.004-07:00

Its about time, but according to an AP article, ICE plans on halting the detention of asylum seekers in the US as of January 4, if they meet certain criteria [They must establish their identities, they cannot be dangerous or a flight risk, and they must have a credible fear of persecution or torture].

The Obama administration it will stop detaining asylum seekers who have a credible fear of persecution in their home countries.
To be released into the U.S., the asylum seekers will have to establish the credible fear and their identities and show they are not dangerous or a flight risk, said John Morton, Department of Human Services assistant secretary overseeing ICE.
Foreigners who arrive at a port of entry and are found to have a credible fear will automatically be considered for release into the U.S., Morton said.
Asylum seekers still will spend time in detention while they undergo interviews and their information is checked, but the administration hopes to reduce the length of their stay with a policy change, ICE said.
Their stay in the U.S. will be considered temporary until a final decision is made on their asylum claim.
Currently, foreigners who come to the U.S. without valid documents can be immediately removed from the country, without a hearing. Also, requests for release must be made in writing, ICE said.

Judge Posner Ruling on PSG based on Gang Membership

2009-12-16T18:39:00.001-07:00

See Judge Posner's latest asylum decision for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, see Download TG13OC9G[1]. The case involves a particular social group claim by a Salvadoran based on gang membership.

(HT: ImmigrationProf)

CIR- and ASAP

2009-12-15T15:55:00.008-07:00

Its not just that we need CIR ASAP, but that is actually the name of the bill that Congressman Luis Gutierrez introduced today (Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity). With 89 co-sponsors, (that's 40% of the votes needed to pass this bill in the House) the bill outlines the progressive side of a CIR Bill. While, we expect a bill out by Senator Schumer in early 2010, the momentum behind CIR-ASAP is unprecedented.

Here is a description of the bill.

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) released a summary of key provisions in the bill, which includes:

A legalization program for qualified undocumented immigrants (and their spouses and children) who would first receive a conditional nonimmigrant visa which is valid for six years, after which they could apply for legal permanent residence and eventually become U.S. citizens. The DREAM Act and AgJOBS are also included.

Promotion of family unity through measures designed to keep U.S. families together. The bill contains several measures designed to reduce long backlogs in family and employment immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing as well as other measures prevent families from being separated.

Reforming the legal immigration system and creating new legal channels through the Prevent Unauthorized Migration Visa (PUM Visa) that seeks to provide for safe, humanitarian migration. A new Labor Commission would also be created to make recommendations on future legal immigration flows. The bill reforms temporary worker programs and includes measures to protect U.S. workers.

Reforming enforcement activities by seeking to ensure due process, judicial review, and other protections during enforcement activities. Repeals the 287(g) program.

Border security provisions which seek to enhance border security and achieve effective immigration enforcement in close collaboration with border communities.

Improving conditions of detention provisions which seek to improve detention conditions, and to protect U.S. citizens, LPRs, and vulnerable populations.

Improving the naturalization process and integration to encourage citizenship among immigrant communities by providing for uniform administration of the naturalization exam, creating incentives for English language acquisition programs and requiring timely response on background checks and evaluating their efficiency.

On a side note, I would like to thank the four Representatives from Colorado who co-sponsored the bill, Representative Perlmutter, Polis, Salazar, and Degette.

2008 Raid Violated 4th Amendment Right to Privacy

2009-12-15T09:56:00.005-07:00

Remember the case of Amalia Cerrillo in Weld County, Colorado, who helped thousands of immigrants, regardless of status pay their taxes but whose business was raided by law enforcement seeking to use tax returns to criminally prosecute undocumented immigrants with identity fraud?

Well, the The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the 2008 raid of the local tax preparer's office aimed at building identity-theft cases against hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants violated their Fourth Amendment right to privacy. From The Denver Post:

The 4-3 ruling was the latest and most devastating legal blow against Operation Numbers Game, an investigation launched by Weld County Sheriff John Cooke and District Attorney Ken Buck that aimed to use tax returns to identify and prosecute illegal immigrants.

The raid on Amalia's Tax and Translation, a business that caters to Spanish-speaking clients, led to the seizure and review of some 4,900 tax returns. Deputies said they found about 1,300 suspects in identity-theft and criminal-impersonation cases.
Prosecutors around the country have been watching the case closely, reportedly the first in the United States in which law enforcement sought to use tax returns — generally considered confidential under federal law — to take suspected illegal immigrants to criminal court.
The court majority ruled that the defendant in this case, Ramon Gutierrez, as a taxpayer "has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her tax returns and return information, even when that information is in the custody of a tax preparer."

The ruling also said that Gutierrez, who was among more than 70 people charged with criminal impersonation and identity theft, was a victim of an "exploratory search" and that police had no probable cause to search Gutierrez's tax records.

Climate Change A Reality in Kiribati

2009-12-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

This video from the UN Development Program offers a pretty vivid reminder about why provisions for adaptation to the effects of climate change must be included in a final outcome in Copenhagen. As you can see the citizens of Kiribati will, in all likelihood, lose their homes and even their country because of rising sea levels.

More Refugees Fleeing to Israel from Egypt

2009-12-13T20:16:00.003-07:00

Via The National:

Many once fled no farther than Egypt, but the increasingly dismal situation for refugees there has sent many running for the border.

Previously abundant resettlement programmes in Egypt have been slashed, asylum-seekers are detained and often denied access to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) or even deported.

At the same time, rumours of high wages and a sense of security in Israel have spread as far as the highlands of Eritrea and the villages of Darfur.

Last year, Israel adopted a policy of ‘hot returns’ – quickly sending illegal border crossers back to Egypt without processing refugees’ claims. The policy is now being challenged in Israel’s Supreme Court, but this year alone over 200 new arrivals were promptly deported to Egypt – a policy human rights groups and the UNHCR says is illegal under international law. Others have been held in detention centres for months.
For those that do manage to make it to Tel Aviv, work and residence permits are being restricted and earlier this year the government cracked down on illegal migrants with mass arrests.

Changing realities will not, however, necessarily dissuade people from making the journey.

“People talk. It doesn’t take long for a message to get passed back,” said Mr Kagan of Cairo’s Center for Migration and Refugee Studies. “There is a ‘the-streets-are-paved-with-gold’ phenomenon in terms of what people back home learn about destination countries. They might not learn about all the hardships.

Isreal is searching to find solutions, but has not had the best record for their treatment of refugees.

Human Trafficking in America

2009-12-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine sent me this article today. The Kansas City Star:

America declared war on human trafficking nearly a decade ago. With a new law and much fanfare, the government pledged to end such human rights abuses at home and prodded the rest of the world to follow its example. But the United States is failing to find and help tens of thousands of human trafficking victims in America.
But an investigation by The Kansas City Star found that, in spite of all the rhetoric from the Bush and Obama administrations, the United States is failing to find and help tens of thousands of human trafficking victims in America.
The Star also found that the government is doing little to stop the flow of trafficking along the porous U.S.-Mexico border and that when victims are identified, many are denied assistance.
The United States also has violated its own policies by deporting countless victims who should be offered sanctuary, but sometimes end up back in the hands of traffickers.
After spending millions of taxpayer dollars, America appears to be losing the war in its own backyard.
Even some top federal anti-trafficking authorities in the Bush and Obama administrations acknowledged serious problems.
“The current system is not yet picking up all the victims of human trafficking crimes,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told The Star two weeks ago. “It has been a growing problem and in a world of growing problems, it’s time for the nations of the world to take it on.”
America’s failure to live up to its own high standards isn’t for lack of will or good intentions or even money. The Star’s investigation pointed to problems that are more systemic: an uncoordinated, inconsistent approach to finding victims; politically charged arguments over how to define trafficking; and a continuing disbelief among some in local law enforcement that it even exists.

Climate Refugees in Pictures

2009-12-13T20:07:00.002-07:00

Two news stories popped up today highlighting the documentation of climate refugees:

The Examiner has a slide show that highlights different country's "climate refugees"

Via ABC:

As developed and developing nations try and work out a climate deal in Copenhagen, award-winning filmmaker Michael Nash will be screening his new documentary film, "Climate Refugees", a project that took him and his film crew around the world for nearly three years documenting the plight of the people who have been forced to migrate, and giving a haunting picture of the future.
They also talked to scientists, aids groups and politicians from both spectrums of the aisle, including Sen John Kerry, D-Mass., and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. "Climate Refugees" will premiere at next year's Sundance Film Festival.

P Visas only Granted to "Culturally Unique"

2009-12-11T15:09:00.003-07:00

Apparently the the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services only allows visas to cultural groups that are "culturally unique." What does this mean? The Wall Street Journal:

When Jordan Peimer booked an Argentine band that fuses Jewish Klezmer music with tango, he thought he had the perfect act to headline his "Fiesta Hanukkah" concert.
That was before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services weighed in with some cultural commentary of its own. The band couldn't travel to the U.S., the agency ruled, because it didn't satisfy a "culturally unique" requirement for a performer visa called P-3.

"The evidence repeatedly suggests the group performs a hybrid or fusion style of music...[which] cannot be considered culturally unique to one particular country, nation, society, class, ethnicity, religion, tribe or other group of persons," read the denial. It was signed by caseworker CSC4672/WS24533.
In fact, immigration law gives an anonymous group of government bureaucrats a lot of cultural clout: They can decide which foreign ballerinas, musicians and artists qualify as "outstanding," or special enough to deserve a visa to enter the U.S.
Los Angeles concert promoter Grand Performances booked an Indian music ensemble called Jaipur Kawa Brass Band for a summer gig. U.S. consular authorities approved visas for six members of the band, but rejected two, including the band's only competent English speaker. No explanation was given.

The U.S. sponsor for the all-male Brazilian hip-hop company Grupo de Rua applied for a P-1 visa, and submitted articles about the dance company's performances in Tokyo, Berlin, Paris and the Edinburgh Art Festival. Immigration officer number AA0089 requested "evidence the group had achieved international recognition and acclaim."
Artists who wish to visit the U.S. for a performance typically need a P-1 visa; a P-3 visa, issued to entertainers participating in a culturally unique program; or an O-1 visa, for individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts, education or sciences. Once a visa is approved, artists visit a local U.S. consular office to get it stamped in their passport.

Immigration authorities say that in weeding out applicants they deem marginal, they are simply carrying out the intent of Congress in creating the visa categories. The P category is meant to promote the exchange of culture and the arts. The O category is sometimes called the "genius visa. "

Each year, more than 20,000 O and P petitions arrive at the offices of Citizenship and Immigration Services in St. Albans, Vt., and in Laguna Niguel, Calif., where 28 adjudicators review them. The artists' requests represent a small fraction of the visa caseload. The California office alone receives more than 1.3 million visa applications each year.

Supreme Court to Look at Fragmented Immigration Policy

2009-12-11T14:39:00.002-07:00

In the absence of Federal Immigration Reform, many states and municipalities have over the years passed laws attempting to "fix" their own local problems, but this has resulted in a patchwork of laws that have no uniformity nationally. Via a New York Times Editorial:

The Supreme Court is now weighing whether to consider a challenge to Arizona’s immigration law. Before deciding, the justices have asked the solicitor general, Elena Kagan, to provide the views of the Obama administration. This is a chance for the court to weigh in against the improper splintering of national immigration policy, and Ms. Kagan should urge the court to seize that opportunity.
At issue is a problematic ruling last year by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The ruling upheld Arizona’s state-based employer sanctions law, which provides for the suspension or revocation of business licenses when firms are found to have knowingly hired illegal immigrants.
The state’s approach may not sound unreasonable. But like the more extreme Hazleton, Pa., ordinance struck down by a federal judge in 2007, the Arizona scheme has a crucial legal flaw. It usurps the federal government’s right to set immigration policy.
Arizona has broad authority to regulate companies doing business within the state. But that authority does not include the right to penalize firms for immigration violations that have not been determined by the federal government nor to impose penalties vastly harsher than Congress intended when it created the current employer sanctions system more than 20 years ago.
When the Hazleton decision was handed down, then-Senator Barack Obama hailed it as a “victory for all Americans” that underscored the need for national immigration reform. In that same spirit, President Obama should now want the Supreme Court to grab the Arizona case to vindicate the nation’s interest in having uniform immigration policies, and to stop the spread of local laws that can make achieving real worthwhile national reform harder.
The Arizona statute was signed into law by Arizona’s former governor, Janet Napolitano, who now leads the Department of Homeland Security. But that awkward fact should not prevent the administration from taking a principled stance in favor of Supreme Court review.

How to engage people to care...

2009-12-09T12:28:00.002-07:00

Nick Kristof takes on the age old question of how to keep people engaged about the world's humanitarian problems:

Anyone who writes about global poverty, genocide or disease wrestles with the question of how to connect better with readers. I’ve increasingly felt that we do a pretty wretched job at this, and I finally put all my thoughts down on paper in this Outside article. The bottom line is that we increasingly have evidence from research in social psychology about what makes readers care — and the answers have to do with story-telling and a sense of success. Guilt-tripping people doesn’t work, nor does jumping and down about millions of people dying. From those of you who work on these kinds of causes, I’d welcome your thoughts on the Outside article or on how we can do a better job connecting with readers on these issues.

Who Benefits from Detaining Young People in the UK?

2009-12-08T15:02:00.002-07:00

Who benefits from detaining young people in the UK?

From the Guardian:

Clearly not the children who, according to every study ever written on this issue, suffer acutely from being taken from their homes on the orders of the UK Border Agency and placed in a confined space for an indeterminate period.
Many argue that society benefits because it is protected from the asylum seekers and their families. Sambrook wonders how that can be when there is no evidence that asylum seekers are likely to abscond.
So who benefits? Clearly the private companies that run so much of this operation have a lot to gain. G4S, the company that operates Tinlsey House, one of three detention centres where last month 10-year-old Adeoti Ogunsola tried to strangle herself after being forcibly redetained, recently reported rising profits and growth in government business which had offset weakness in commercial sectors.
As Sambrook reports: "Last year G4S handed chief executive Nick Buckles a £1.4m pay package. That's £3,835 every day. He owns £4m in G4S shares, tipped by the Daily Telegraph recently as, 'a solid buy for these uncertain times'."
Someone else who may reasonably be said to benefit from this policy is Christopher Hyman, the chief executive of Serco, who also earns in the region of £3,000 a day. His company runs the notorious Yarl's Wood detention centre where children have been detained far beyond the 28-day with charge maximum allowed for terror suspects. "Traumatised child inmates, who must carry ID cards at all times, refer to Yarl's Wood as 'prison' and 'the camp'," says Sambrook.
Among the indirect beneficiaries she also identifies John Reid, the former home secretary, who is paid £50,000 a year as a consultant to G4S for, among other things, hosting government and security industry breakfasts.

Net Migration to the UK Drops by 1/3

2009-12-08T15:00:00.001-07:00

From the Guardian:

Net migration – the number of people who come to live in Britain minus the number who move abroad – fell by more than a third to 163,000 last year, its lowest level since Poland joined the European Union.
The Office for National Statistics said the fall from 233,000 in 2007 was mainly driven by a rise in emigration to a 17-year high: 427,000 people left Britain to live abroad, up from 341,000 the previous year. The increase was mainly due to the number of Poles returning home.
Immigration reached 590,000, with the largest single group comprising 85,000 British citizens returning to live in the UK. That total compares with 574,000 in 2007 and 596,000 in 2006.
Asylum figures show a further fall in the number of fresh claims for refugee status between July and September this year to 5,055 – a decline of 24% compared with the same period in 2008.
Refugee welfare groups said the fall in asylum numbers was not necessarily a matter of celebration but raised fears that the tightening up of Britain's borders was denying sanctuary to those who needed protection.
The top three countries from where asylum seekers came were Afghanistan (790), Iran (540) and Zimbabwe (525).
A total of 7,110 people were held in immigration detention between July and September this year – more than half of them asylum seekers. They included 315 children, 240 of them under 11. Of those detained, 365 had been held for more than 12 months.

The UK needs a Gender Sensitive Asylum System

2009-12-08T12:38:00.004-07:00

We need a Gender Sensitive Asylum System:

Last week the government launched its strategy to end violence against women and girls. This rightly refers to the progress made by the police, Crown Prosecution Service and courts in dealing with violence against women and girls. For example, if you report a rape nowadays you can ask for a female police officer to be present at your interview and you get supported by a specially trained officer throughout the police investigation and at any subsequent trial. Contrast this treatment with that in the asylum system. Rani, who escaped Sri Lanka after her husband was murdered and she was raped by soldiers, told me that at her asylum interview:
I was happy with a lady interviewer but not a male translator ... Because he was a man I felt ashamed. If it was a woman I would have said more.
A gender-sensitive system should prevent this taking place. This week we at Asylum Aid have launched Every Single Woman, a new campaign under the Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum, which highlights that the criminal justice system has at least 26 laws or policies on working with women victims of crime while the UK Border Agency has just two.
Cecilia had the misfortune to spend time in both prison and an asylum detention centre. When I asked her the difference between them, her answer shocked me:
I'd prefer, rather than going in a detention centre ... to be in prison for the rest of my life.
She talked about male staff at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, appearing unannounced, entering her room and searching through her possessions, including her underwear. Having herself experienced rape in Cameroon, this was particularly frightening. In prison, a search was always undertaken by a female prison officer and always after she had been warned that this would take place. In fact, UK prison policy is that there should be at least 60% female staff in a women's prison because "women who have been abused by men may feel safer in a predominantly female environment". No such policy exists in detention centres for women. At Tinsley House, near Gatwick Airport, there is room for 116 men and five women. With such a disproportionate number of males to females, women can feel intimidated, scared and isolated. Quite often a woman can be the only female detainee surrounded by 116 men. Women would never be placed in a men's prison in this way.
If a young woman is homeless and pregnant in the UK she is eligible for housing benefit, income support and one-off maternity grants worth £690. But not if she is a refused asylum seeker. Rahel is from Ethiopia and found herself without any support after her asylum claim was refused. For the first three months of her pregnancy she slept at Victoria Station in a sleeping bag given to her by the Red Cross. Only when she became so ill that she had to be hospitalised was she offered basic accommodation and vouchers to pay for food.

When Governments Dont Communicate with Each Other

2009-12-07T13:06:00.002-07:00

There are few people in the Inambari River area who support a Brazilian and Peruvian government sponsored hydroelectric dam. The funny thing is that this dam imposes on another project (the Inter-Oceanic Highway) The Economist reports:

Inambari is one of up to six proposed hydroelectricity schemes on Peru’s jungle rivers, costing around $16 billion, contained in an agreement signed in April by the president, Alan García, and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Inambari dam would be the first to be built. It would generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity—twice the output of Peru’s largest existing hydroelectric plant, and almost half its current electricity consumption. Most of the power would be exported to Brazil to start with, but the proportions would slowly reverse and after 30 years Peru would own the $4 billion project.

The dam would create a lake of up to 450 square kms (175 square miles), flooding some 60 villages, as well as roads and forest. Egasur, a Brazilian-owned consortium promoting the scheme, says that people displaced by the dam would be rehoused in better conditions.

Peru’s environment minister, Antonio Brack, has dropped his earlier opposition to the scheme. He says it offers benefits, including fish farming. The government claims local politicians are whipping up dissent ahead of local elections next year.

But for whatever reason, opposition is growing. Locals are keener on another big project, the paving of the grandly named Inter-Oceanic Highway linking Pacific ports in southern Peru to the Brazilian city of Rio Branco, from where a highway goes on to São Paulo, 3,600 kms (2,250 miles) from Cusco. The two governments agreed in 2005 to asphalt the road. Work is proceeding rapidly and both presidents would like it to be finished before they leave office in 2011. Inconveniently, the Inambari dam would flood 120 kms of the highway, on which upgrading work has already begun. It seems that in both Peru and Brazil the ministries of transport and of energy don’t talk to each other.

Shift in Young People's Morals and Values

2009-12-02T23:18:00.002-07:00

Many people think that the morals and values of young people have declined over the past decade or two. But a new survey seems to indicate that this is actually not the case at all. More American teens today say they would make responsible decisions on everything from cheating on tests to cyberbullying, smoking and sex than teens did 20 years ago.

Via San Francisco Chronicle:

Girl Scouts of the USA just released the findings of a nationwide random sample of schools and 3,263 girls and boys from the third through twelfth grades, asking the same questions as a 1989 survey, with some updates for relevance.

The 2009 survey, conducted with Harris Interactive (formerly Louis Harris Inc., the same firm that worked on the 1989 study) shows a marked shift in values and civic involvement among teens and tweens. This study focuses on self-reported attitudes and beliefs. And we all know that attitudes don't always translate into behaviors. But knowing and caring about good behavior is a step in the right direction.
he findings on views about diversity and civic engagement are striking. Among 7th- to 12th-graders, nearly six in 10 (59 percent) say that being around people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds is important to them. This appears to be particularly important to girls (63 percent versus 55 percent of boys) and youth from diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds.
Youth are more accepting of gay relationships. Fifty-nine percent of teenagers agree with the statement, "Gay and lesbian relationships are OK, if that is a person's choice." Only 31 percent agreed in 1989. And when asked whether they would continue a friendship with a gay or lesbian friend, 48% said they would, compared to just 12% in 1989.

Compared to 20 years ago, youth today are more likely to say they intend to vote in the future (84 percent vs. 77 percent), as well as give to charity (76 percent vs. 63 percent). Some 79 percent say they will volunteer in their communities. And here's some good news -- youth exhibit a strong sense of community and global responsibility in their attitudes toward environmental stewardship. Fully 78% of 7th- to 12th-graders -- girls and boys across all age groups -- agree that everyone has a responsibility to take care of the environment.
Nearly two out of three young people (62 percent) surveyed in 2009, say they would not cheat on a test compared to about half in 1989. And only 18 percent say they believe smoking is acceptable if a person finds it enjoyable. In 1989, more than a quarter of those surveyed thought smoking was acceptable.

Some might think that these statistics actually show a moral decline (accepting gay marriage etc.) but, it simply demonstrates a shift in morality and values towards a more accepting community and tolerance for diversity, which is great news for the future.

Immigrants Help Local Economies

2009-12-02T14:12:00.003-07:00

Via change.org:

A new report, Immigrants and the Economy," released by the Fiscal Policy Institute concludes that immigrants in the United States, regardless of immigration status, contribute to the economy in proportion to their population.

While focusing on just fiscal issues such as taxes and budgets in 25 metro cities, the research found that immigrants, regardless of legal status, make up 20 percent of the population and are responsible for 20 percent of economic output in 25 cities combined.
Countering claims of job losses among native workers, the fiscal study also concludes that both native and immigrant workers struggle at the bottom end of the wage specturum, throwing the cause-and-effect scenario out the window.

Also, check out another report released by the Migration Policy Institute on the economic benefits of illegal immigration, which concludes that the overall impact of illegal immigration is positively small and that enforcement-only policies quite expensive.

From the report:

The most striking finding in the analysis of 25 metro ar¬eas is how closely immigrant share of economic output matches immigrant share of the population. From the Pittsburgh metro area, where immigrants make up 3 percent of the population and 4 percent of economic output, to the Miami metro area, where immigrants represent 37 percent of all residents and 38 percent of economic out¬put, immigrants are playing a consistently proportionate role in local economies.

Happy HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - Thank you President Obama for Removing HIV Exclusion

2009-12-01T15:18:00.008-07:00

As a part of HIV/Aids Awareness Day and in case anyone did not follow- On October 30, 2009, President Obama lifted the archaic policy of banning HIV positive individuals from entering the US.

Via New York Times:

At a White House ceremony, Mr. Obama announced that a rule canceling the ban would be published on Monday and would take effect after a routine 60-day waiting period. The president had promised to end the ban before the end of the year.
“If we want to be a global leader in combating H.I.V./AIDS, we need to act like it,” Mr. Obama said. “Now, we talk about reducing the stigma of this disease, yet we’ve treated a visitor living with it as a threat.”
The United States is one of only about a dozen countries that bar people who have H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.
President George W. Bush started the process last year when he signed legislation, passed by Congress in July 2008, that repealed the statute on which the ban was based. But the ban remained in effect.
It was enacted in 1987 at a time of widespread fear that H.I.V. could be transmitted by physical or respiratory contact. The ban was further strengthened by Congress in 1993 as an amendment offered by Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina.
Because of the restriction, no major international conference on the AIDS epidemic has been held in the United States since 1990. Public health officials here have long said there was no scientific or medical basis for the ban.

According to the organization, Immigration Equality, the 11 other countries that ban HIV-positive travellers and immigrants are: Armenia, Brunei, Iraq, Libya, Moldova, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Sudan.

See my old posts here and here.

Women's Shelter for Muslim Women in Baltimore

2009-12-01T15:01:00.001-07:00

I liked this story on NPR:

As families come together over the holidays, the victims of domestic abuse are often sequestered in shelters — a situation that's especially difficult for Muslim women, because few facilities meet their cultural and religious needs.
The women are here for many reasons. It's a sanctuary and an escape. It's also a place where they can live and pray without having their faith questioned.
"My biggest problem was that if you send a Muslim woman to be counseled in a shelter that's run by Christians, then what the people say is the reason why you're being beat is because of that religion. We do not want Islam to be the focal point of domestic violence," Hanif said.
Indeed, domestic violence knows no religion, but not all shelters are sensitive to Muslims, Hanif said.
"There may be situations — such as, there would be men that were there, or there wasn't any place for them to pray, or maybe there was an issue with the food," Hanif explained.
At Muslima Anisah, people take their shoes off at the door. There's no pork in the kitchen. A section at the front of the house is reserved for prayers.
"This is the prayer area; we pray five times a day," Hanif said, showing off the area.
Hanif is a nurse by trade, not a social worker. Running a battered women's shelter wasn't part of her plan. But over the years, she treated dozens of abused Muslim women at a health clinic.
One memory stayed with her: a woman who came in with a broken jaw.
"One of the Muslim women, her jaw was wired, and I remember her saying that now she could lose some weight because she had to suck her food through a straw," Hanif recalled. "We didn't inquire about it. We laughed with her. I remember we didn't do anything about it."
Now, it has been 12 years since Hanif set up this home in a residential neighborhood in Baltimore. She lives there even though she has three grown children.
Hanif is African-American, but most of the women she takes care of are immigrants.
"They have nowhere to go. Society doesn't want them. Their family doesn't want them, and the man who beat them doesn't want them," Hanif said.
Hanif said American women can turn to their community for help; they know the legal system better, and they know their rights. Most of the immigrants, including the Kurdish woman, speak little English and have even fewer resources.

Trafficking of Men in the US

2009-12-01T14:58:00.002-07:00

Via CNN:

Thirty Thai men who were "tricked into a life of forced labor" after being promised lucrative jobs in the United States are just one symptom of the problem of modern-day slavery, CNN reported Monday.
According to the State Department, there are as many as 200,000 forced laborers in the US, with some 17,500 arriving every year.

"This is a hidden crime," Louis C. de Baca, the State Department's ambassador for human trafficking, told CNN. "The very nature of this crime masks it from us."

CNN reported on the case of 30 Thai men, who were promised jobs picking tobacco on North Carolina by a company called Million Express Manpower. The company required the men to pay the equivalent of $11,000 for the necessary visa and transportation.

But when they arrived in the US, they discovered there were no jobs waiting, and their passports were seized. The men "realized they were trapped," reports CNN's Sean Callebs.
The case of the 30 Thai men is somewhat unusual, as human trafficking often focuses on women and children. The Guardian recently reported on the problem of women and teenage girls being trafficked to the United States for sex and servitude:

In one recent incident a 16-year-old Mexican girl was found to have been trafficked across the US border. Doctors noticed the heavily pregnant girl showed clear signs of physical abuse when she was brought into a hospital in Dayton to give birth. The police were called but the couple who had brought her had already fled. When the girl's story emerged, it became clear she had been kept against her will in the nearby city of Springfield and used for labour and sex. "I thought slavery ended a few centuries ago. But here it is alive and well," said Springfield's sheriff, Gene Kelly.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently launched a 14-city pilot project, "Hidden in Plain Sight," to combat human trafficking. The project involves setting up billboards across the city with an 800 number that victims of human trafficking can call to get help.

Swiss Vote Bans Minarets on Mosques

2009-11-30T14:43:00.003-07:00

This is truly a step backwards towards integration in Europe. And we thought the Swiss were neutral.

Via Anthony Clark Arend:

This is truly disturbing. The New York Times is reporting:

In a vote that displayed a widespread anxiety about Islam and undermined the country’s reputation for religious tolerance, the Swiss on Sunday overwhelmingly imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets, the prayer towers of mosques, in a referendum drawn up by the far right and opposed by the government.

The referendum, which passed with a clear majority of 57.5 percent of the voters and in 22 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, was a victory for the right. The vote against was 42.5 percent. Because the ban gained a majority of votes and passed in a majority of the cantons, it will be added to the Constitution.

The Swiss Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but the rightist Swiss People’s Party, or S.V.P., and a small religious party had proposed inserting a single sentence banning the construction of minarets, leading to the referendum.

The Swiss government said it would respect the vote and sought to reassure the Muslim population — mostly immigrants from other parts of Europe, like Kosovo and Turkey — that the minaret ban was “not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture.”

Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, the justice minister, said the result “reflects fears among the population of Islamic fundamentalist tendencies.”

While such concerns “have to be taken seriously,” she said in a statement, “The Federal Council takes the view that a ban on the construction of new minarets is not a feasible means of countering extremist tendencies.”

The government must now draft a supporting law on the ban, a process that could take at least a year and could put Switzerland in breach of international conventions on human rights.

For the record, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides:

Article 18

1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.

3. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

Paragraph 3 is what is know as a “clawback clause.” Note how much discretion it seems to allow to the state to limit the exercise of the right. It is an unfortunate provision of the Convention, but one that the Swiss would likely use as a justification for the ban.

Pro Immigrant PACs on the Rise

2009-11-28T13:45:00.001-07:00

The Associated Press reported that, "for the first time, pro-immigration forces are raising more political donations than their immigration-control counterparts." Immigrants' List and ImmigrationPAC have raised $100,000 combined this election cycle, more than the established groups that back enforcement-only policies.

Is Secure Communities really creating Secure Communities?

2009-11-25T13:01:00.002-07:00

The new IPC report, The Secure Communities Program: Unanswered Questions and Continuing Concerns highlights that it may not indeed be living up to its name. Via Immigration Impact:

So how does Secure Communities work? When individuals are arrested and booked into jail, their fingerprints are sent to federal databases and are checked against immigration databases, in addition to the other ones that are standard following an arrest. This allows ICE to search for an individual’s criminal and immigration history. If there is a “hit,” meaning that the arrested person is matched to a record indicating an immigration violation, ICE evaluates each case to determine if enforcement action is needed and whether it has the resources to process the case. If ICE wishes to proceed, it will issue a detainer—a request from ICE that the arresting agency notify ICE before it releases the person so that ICE can transfer him/her to ICE custody.
ICE reports that as of August 31, 2009, 82,890 fingerprint submissions resulted in a database match. As a result of Secure Communities, ICE had issued 16,631 detainers.

Who are the people being identified through Secure Communities? At first the program claims to prioritize “the most dangerous criminal aliens” —those convicted of Level 1 crimes (major drug offenses and violent offenses), as compared to Level 2 (minor drug offenses and property offenses) or 3 (other offenses) convictions. However, the data ICE has released so far paints a somewhat different picture.

Detainers are issued at the point of booking into jail—not conviction—so immigrants are being identified pre-conviction and are being deported even if the criminal charges are dropped. So they’re not all criminals.

Since its inception, Secure Communities had identified more than 111,000 criminal aliens in local custody, of which more than 11,000 were charged or convicted with Level 1 crimes, while more than 100,000 had been charged or convicted of Level 2 and 3 crimes. So they’re not the most dangerous.

More than four thousand of those who received “hits” are U.S. citizens. So they’re not even all immigrants.

It turns out that the vast majority of immigrants tagged have been charged or convicted of low level crimes such as traffic violations. In other words, while a few really bad guys have been captured, many more people who were simply charged with misdemeanors have been detained through Secure Communities. Local taxpayers are paying to detain them, and the federal government spends scarce federal dollars to deport them. We need to ask whether Secure Communities is really prioritizing the “worst of the worst,” or spreading too wide a net.

There are also concerns that police officers working in areas that have Secure Communities in their local jails have an incentive, or at least the ability, to make arrests based on race or ethnicity, or to make pretextual arrests of persons they suspect to be in violation of immigration laws, in order to have them run through immigration databases once they are jailed. Experience with the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), a similar jail-based program, has shown that arrests of Hispanics for traffic offenses increased dramatically after CAP was implemented. Is this really what ICE has in mind?

And if immigrants are afraid to report crimes to the police because they know there’s an ICE presence in the local jail, the community is not made any safer.

The Administration has big plans for Secure Communities, which is currently operating in 81 jurisdictions across nine states. ICE plans to have a Secure Communities presence in every state by 2011, and plans to implement the program in each of the 3,100 state and local jails across the country by 2013. The FY2010 DHS appropriations bill contains $1.5 billion for identifying and removing criminal aliens, including $200 million for Secure Communities.

Improving Access to Counsel for Immigrants

2009-11-25T12:56:00.003-07:00

Via Immigration Impact:

The Department of Justice now has an opportunity to develop a new framework that meaningfully protects the right to counsel. Soon after coming into office, Attorney General Holder vacated a decision issued by former Attorney General Mukasey that would have made it more difficult for immigrants to obtain a remedy when their lawyer was incompetent. Attorney General Holder directed the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—the agency within the Department of Justice that houses the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals—to initiate rulemaking procedures to evaluate and possibly modify the current framework for evaluating ineffective assistance of counsel claims.

This month, the American Immigration Council (formerly the American Immigration Law Foundation) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association sent a letter to EOIR recommending steps the agency can take to better protect victims of ineffective assistance of counsel and help ensure that all immigrants in removal proceedings are afforded a fair hearing. The letter recommends that EOIR’s new framework strive to achieve the following:

Ensure that all noncitizens in removal proceeding have a fair opportunity to be heard

Promote quality representation and ensure that the immigration bar meets ethical and professional standards

Reduce the need for litigation and promote judicial efficiency.

Language and cultural barriers and lack of knowledge about the immigration system mean that immigrants must have access to competent counsel. However, these realities also mean that immigrants are susceptible to fraudulent practices. Victims of ineffective assistance of counsel may not immediately realize that their lawyer did something wrong, and they may not be equipped to bring appropriate claims to the immigration agencies. EOIR’s new framework must reflect these realities and the challenges that immigrants in removal proceedings face.

Detaining 'Unadjusted Refugees'

2009-11-25T12:51:00.002-07:00

Great Analysis of the DHS's policy on detaining "unadjusted refugees" via Immigration Impact:

Despite [President Obama's] commitment to helping refugees resettle in the U.S. permanently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its sub-agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have adopted a policy of incarcerating refugees who have not adjusted to permanent resident status after one year of residency in the U.S. (“unadjusted refugees”). Often ICE comes in contact with unadjusted refugees who have had some contact with local law enforcement; however ICE also has detained refugees who have no criminal charges pending against them. In recent months, advocates have alerted DHS and ICE about such detained refugees in regions including Minneapolis, MN; Florence, AZ; Eloy, AZ; York, PA; Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA.
ICE defends this detention policy by citing section 209(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which states that refugees who have not acquired permanent resident status after one year “shall return or be returned to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security for inspection and examination for admission.” ICE says “return to custody” means that refugees who have not applied for permanent resident status after one year may be detained and held while they complete their adjustment application and while ICE’s sister organization, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), adjudicates it. This interpretation is particularly unfair since the law prohibits refugees from applying for permanent residence until one year after they have been admitted to the U.S. as refugees. In essence, ICE detains refugees for not doing what the law bars them from doing.

ICE’s interpretation of the law has particularly harsh consequences for refugees. First, the refugee is not in removal proceedings, so he or she cannot request bond before an Immigration Judge. Without an opportunity to be released, the refugee must complete the adjustment application process in detention—for example, he or she must appear for the required USCIS interview and obtain vaccinations while detained. In some cases, the process can take over a year.

Second, even if USCIS denies the refugee’s application for adjustment and he or she is placed in removal proceedings, ICE has charged the refugee as an “arriving alien.” Under the relevant law, “arriving aliens” may not ask an Immigration Judge for a bond hearing and are entirely dependant on ICE—the prosecutor in the case—for release from detention. The interpretation of refugees as “arriving aliens” is incorrect because refugees have already been admitted to the U.S. as a refugee. Despite this, when the agency charges them as “arriving aliens,” refugees are unable to seek release from detention from a neutral decision-maker—neither during the pendency of the adjustment application, nor during removal proceedings.

Lou Dobbs Considering Running for President?

2009-11-25T12:43:00.003-07:00

After leaving CNN, Lou Dobbs has said he has not dimissed a run for the presidency. But, his hateful speech toward immigrants is something he has had to confront since leaving. In his latest political maneuvre, he talks to Telemundo’s María Celeste.

Wait....all of sudden he is for legalization? A Clear attempt to position himself "as a champion of that fast-growing ethnic bloc." I think the people are smarter than you, Lou. No one is going to fall for this lame attempt at reconciliation.

Higher Immigration = Lower Crime?

2009-11-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Via CATO:

Yes, you read that right. The story is more complicated than a short headline can covey, but that is the gist of an article of mine in the just-out December issue of Commentary magazine. [Subscription needed.]

The past 15 years have witnessed two undeniable trends: dramatically rising levels of immigration, both low-skilled and high-skilled, and an equally dramatic plunge in crime rates nationally. I don’t argue that increased immigration in the past 15 years is the primary cause of falling crime rates, but I do argue that the evidence punches a gaping hole in the Lou-Dobbs contention that immigrants have clogged our prisons and unleashed a new wave of crime.

In the Commentary article, and in an earlier Cato Free Trade Bulletin, I cite Census data that show that incarceration rates for immigrants are significantly lower than for native-born Americans. The contrast is especially sharp between immigrants without a high-school diploma and their native-born counterparts. Along with their lower propensity to commit crimes, immigrants are also more likely to be employed than similarly educated Americans.

Or as the subhead of the magazine article nicely puts it, “Today’s ‘underclass’ of newcomers seeks a day’s work, not a drug deal.”

Climate Change News

2009-11-24T12:59:00.003-07:00

Two articles from BBC outline some dangerous effects of climate change.
'Climate' is a Major cause of conflict in Africa:

Climate has been a major driver of armed conflict in Africa, research shows- and future warming is likely to increase the number of deaths from war. US researchers found that across the continent, conflict was about 50% more likely in unusually warm years. Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they suggest strife arises when the food supply is scarce in warm conditions.

The researchers used databases of temperatures across sub-Saharan Africa for the period between 1981 and 2002, and looked for correlations between above average warmth and civil conflict in the same country that left at least 1,000 people dead.

If temperatures rise across the continent as computer models project, future conflicts are likely to become more common, researchers suggest. Their study shows an increase of about 50% over the next 20 years.
"Our findings provide strong impetus to ramp up investments in African adaptation to climate change by such steps as developing crop varieties less sensitive to extreme heat and promoting insurance plans to help protect farmers from adverse effects of the hotter climate," said Dr Burke.
Nana Poku, Professor of African Studies at the UK's Bradford University, suggested that it also pointed up the need to improve mechanisms for avoiding and resolving conflict in the continent.

The effect of climate change on children written by Lord David Putnam:

What price today's decision makers will place on the well-being of future generations when carving out their response to climate change? A new paper released by Unicef UK - Climate Change, Child's Rights and Intergenerational Justice - makes it clear that their responsibility is huge, particularly when it comes to protecting the rights and future well-being of children.
With the potential rise of up to 160,000 child deaths a year in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia directly resulting from climate change, it is children, the most vulnerable children, who will be caught at the centre of the storm.
They will unquestionably carry the greatest burden - both as children and as future adults - and yet they are the least culpable for its damage.
So what exactly does this mean? It means that the implications of climate change for children must be at the top of the agenda at Copenhagen, and that the voices and opinions of children and young people are heard, respected and represented - a key right as outlined in the CRC.
The youth delegates being granted official recognition in Copenhagen are a welcome and crucial step forward in ensuring this happens, but more needs to be done to embed children into the core of the outcome of negotiations.

Where the Public Stands on Immigration Reform?

2009-11-24T07:04:00.001-07:00

A Pew Research Center article says that immigration is a middle-tier issue of importance to most Americans. According to Pew numbers, immigration rates below such issues as the economy, jobs, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.But, numbers indicate a majority of people favor a "path to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants.

Men Married to Smart Women Live Longer

2009-11-19T11:47:00.003-07:00

Encouraging to know that I will make my spouse, whoever he may be, live longer :)
From the Times Online:

There is a lingering suspicion among girls (as the unpopularity of science subjects demonstrates) that boys don’t value cleverness as an essential quality in a life partner. Given a choice between gorgeous or brainy, there is no guarantee they’ll do the right thing, because men think they’re clever enough for two. Well, it turns out they’re wrong. Swedish scientists have discovered that long life and good health have nothing to do with a man’s education and everything to do with his wife’s. Men married to smart women live longer — simple.

I do have a few questions about this article though. What about gay couples, lesbian couples, transexual couples? Also, it struck me as a little arbitrary about how "smart" was defined in the article. In all its possible that the article has a gender bias, which should not be overlooked.

(HT: Jacques of All Trades)

The Perils of Migrating through Mexico

2009-11-18T23:01:00.003-07:00

While the US- Mexican border is a dangerous place more migrants, more and more, traveling through Mexico to get to the border has become an even more perilous journey. NPR reports:

Despite the downturn in the U.S. economy and tough new security measures along the southern border, migrants continue to try to get to the United States. And each year, tens of thousands of them are robbed, kidnapped and even killed attempting to cross Mexico.

Sanchez says that in the past she rarely heard of anyone trying to kidnap migrants, but now it is common. Los Zetas, the enforcement arm of one of the Mexican drug cartels, charges fees for migrants to pass, and they abduct others.

In a report issued earlier this year, Mexico's Human Rights Commission said roughly 1,500 migrants get kidnapped each month trying to cross Mexico.

Goodman, 37, says he was deported four months ago to El Salvador for driving without a license. The last time he made the journey from El Salvador to the U.S. he was 14. He is not worried about crossing from Tijuana back into San Diego; he says that will be easy. Right now, his big concern is getting from Mexico's southern tip to its northernmost city.

If you are not convinced, just watch the movie "Sin Nombre"

Immigrant Children and Integration

2009-11-18T22:59:00.001-07:00

Via ImmigrationProf Blog:

There are 16 million children in immigrant families in the United States, one of the fastest-growing segments of the population. It’s an old American story made new in the age of globalization, when waves of human displacement in recent decades have led to immigration on a scale not seen since Ellis Island. But a country that has been so good for so long at integrating new Americans is stumbling under the challenge.

That is the conclusion of Professors Marcelo and Carola Suárez-Orozco, fellows at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and co-directors of immigration studies at New York University. They have done basic research in immigration for more than 20 years, five of them studying 400 children from China, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Central America and Mexico.a country that has been so good for so long at integrating new Americans is stumbling under the challenge. The results of their research, released this month, show the stark effects of what Marcelo Suárez-Orozco calls “the age of global vertigo.” Dislocation breeds a host of difficulties, starting with family separation. Nearly half of the children in their sample had at some point lost contact with one or both parents, either through migration directly or through divorce or death. The absent parent was most often the father for long stretches or permanently. For 49 percent of the Central American children, separations lasted more than five years. Click here for the rest of the piece.

Civic Engagement Games on the Internet

2009-11-18T22:53:00.002-07:00

Peter Levine points out several online civic engagement games:

Impact Inc. where you can try your hand at running a non profit
Redistricting the Nation where you can try redistricting different parts of the country
Do I have a Right? where you run a law firm and must give advice to clients using the Constitution and Bill or Rights
Supreme Decision where you can try to be on the US Supreme Court

I would just add one more

Publi.us or Fantasy Congress

Obama Administration Sends Mixed Messages around Immigration Reform

2009-11-18T10:59:00.003-07:00

Last Friday , Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano made a detailed statement on immigration reform to the Center for American Progress. Among other things, the Secretary stated:

"Let me be clear: when I talk about `immigration reform,' I’m referring to what I call the `three-legged stool' that includes a commitment to serious and effective enforcement, improved legal flows for families and workers, and a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here. That’s the way that this problem has to be solved, because we need all three aspects to build a successful system. This approach has at its heart the conviction that we must demand responsibility and accountability from everyone involved in the system: immigrants, employers and government. And that begins with fair, reliable enforcement."

But on Sunday David Axelrod, the top political advisor to President Obama, refused to make any such commitment when he appeared on the State of the Union this past Sunday with John King:

KING: The secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, says you will, early next year, come forward with a plan for comprehensive immigration reform that would have a plan in it, a path in it for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in this country to have a pathway to status -- to legal status. Will you make the political commitment that no matter what the politics of January and February, the administration will go forward with this early next year?

AXELROD: John, what the president has said is, and he said it to both Republicans and Democratic members of Congress who have worked on this issue is, come to him, let's come together around something that both parties, or at least elements of both parties say they can agree on, so we don't reach the same impasse we've reached before and then he'll be willing to go forward on it.

Women to Suffer Most from Climate Change

2009-11-18T09:21:00.003-07:00

According to a new study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), women in developing countries will be the most vulnerable to climate change. The BBC reports:

Women do most of the agricultural work, and are therefore affected by weather-related natural disasters impacting on food, energy and water, it said. The report suggested family planning, reproductive healthcare and "gender relations" could influence how the world adapts to rising seas, worsening storms and severe droughts.

Describing "a cycle of deprivation", the report said that women in developing countries did a larger share of farming and had less access to income-earning opportunities. They also managed households and cared for families, which limited their chances of moving around and increased "their vulnerability to sudden weather-related natural disasters".

I cant help but wonder, if while women are 'the most vulnerable to climate change' are they also not the most resilient to climate change? In other words, would they not be the key to finding particular and unique coping mechanisms to climate induced problems?

Canada's Asylum Rulings

2009-09-09T08:24:00.003-06:00

Two interesting cases have popped up in Canada related to granting asylum. Both are controversial.

In the first, Canada granted asylum to Brandon Huntley on the basis that black criminals are targeting white South Africans with impunity because of the state’s inability, or unwillingness, to protect them. Huntley first came to Canada on a six-month work permit in 2004 to work as a carnival attendant. He returned home to South Africa and came back to work in Canada in 2005 for a year and stayed illegally for an additional year until he made a refugee claim in April 2008.

Via ImmigrationProf Blog:

The consensus, quite rightly, is that Huntley, an unemployed irrigation system salesman, might have taken Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board for a ride, in the process embarrassing South Africa in the eyes of the world — and possibly even undermining the position of genuine refugees everywhere.

Black and white citizens joined in the chorus of protests against the decision, pointing out that crime affects all of us. South African officials have also taken up the matter with their Canadian counterparts, suggesting the board should, at the very least, have sought our government’s opinion before ruling.

The Canadian government has now applied for leave to appeal the board’s ruling in the federal court. Should the court overturn the ruling, Huntley, who is still a South African citizen, faces the prospect of being deported. Click here for the rest of the piece.

The second is the case of a lesbian who deserted the U.S. army argued before the Federal Court in Ottawa that she should be allowed to remain in Canada as a refugee. CBC News reports:

Pte. Bethany Smith, also known as Skyler James, is seeking a judicial review of a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board to reject a refugee claim. Smith said she feared for her life due to the treatment she received in the army as a result of her sexual orientation.

"I had to endure not only verbal and physical harassment, but death threats and harassment letters on my door every day," Smith told reporters Tuesday outside the court. Following the hearing, she said she was staying positive and hoping for the best.

Smith, who now lives in Ottawa, said she was treated as "less than human" by other soldiers at the base in Fort Campbell, Ky., after they saw her holding hands with another woman at a local mall and found out she was a lesbian. One soldier who worked with her on the base's fleet of vehicles would pick her up, shake her and throw her to the ground on a daily basis, she told CBC News.
Fearing for her life, she asked her first sergeant for a discharge, which is usually granted automatically to soldiers who admit to homosexuality.

"He told me straight up, 'We'll figure out the paperwork when we get back from deployment," she recalled. At the time, Smith was scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan.

Her lawyer, Jamie Liew, suggested the military went against its own policies because it needed more soldiers for its overseas deployments.

After being denied a discharge, Smith, who was 19 years old at the time, drove to the border at Cornwall, Ont., with another soldier. The War Resister Support Campaign, a group that has helped other U.S. deserters, helped her settle in Ottawa.
If Smith returns to the U.S., Liew believes that in addition to threats to her life, Smith would face military charges of desertion, absence without leave and indecency.

If the Federal Court rules in Smith's favour, she will be able to make her case again before a different IRB member, said Liew. She said the previous refugee board decision erred by not dealing with whether Smith would be persecuted if she returns to the U.S.

Response to my Obama Education Speech Post

2009-09-07T19:49:00.003-06:00

I think the "stay in school" speech can be seen as a form of propaganda--some see schools as mechanisms for recreating inequality across generations and the way the poor/those with least power are taught that school failure and their low socioeconomic status is their own fault, not the fault of public policies and those who hold on to their own privilege so they can pass it on to their own children. Schools can become a way to socially certify and justify people's low s.e.s.--and to get children to participate in their own oppression.

These ideas probably won't be part of the discussion when students are given an opportunity to discuss and critically evaluate the President's message in class.

I'm with you on the way the Post overlooks young people's ability to think for themselves. On the other hand, when it comes to schools, how much can any of us think for ourselves when we were socialized within them 5 days a week for 16+ years to believe in their goodness and necessity.

My professor from college makes a valid point. However, I dont think we should underestimate life experience and the "non-school" arena as parts of our lives that inform the way we think and that shape our values. I can say with near 100% certainty that the curriculum in my public school did not lead me to have the values that I have today. My social studies classes, history classes and civics classes did not indoctrinate me with liberal propaganda. Rather I attribute my values largely to my life experience and family. For this reason, I do think that young people can think for themselves. Students have organized against systematic oppression at public schools, so I would not underestimate their capacity to think and act for themselves.

Europe Moves to Open Its Doors to More Refugees

2009-09-07T19:45:00.002-06:00

Via Time Magazine:

In an effort to help spread the load across Europe, the European Commission unveiled new plans on Wednesday for resettling refugees, arguing that the European Union should "take on a greater share of the burden of meeting resettlement needs worldwide." The scheme could save lives as it aims to discourage people, mainly Africans, from trying to reach Europe illegally, crowded onto rickety boats or hidden in trucks. The Amsterdam-based NGO United Against Racism estimates that, since 1993, over 13,250 hopeful refugees have died while trying to reach Europe.
The proposal is also about helping the E.U. meet its political and moral obligations towards refugees who cannot return to their home countries. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that for 2010 alone, out of about 10 million refugees worldwide, 203,000 need permanent resettlement. Yet last year, only 6.7% of the refugees resettled globally were accepted by the E.U. - a total of just 4,375. By comparison, over 60,000 refugees were resettled to the United States. The Commission says these low numbers harm the E.U.'s international standing and give the impression of a "Fortress Europe" when it comes to refugees.
Only 10 of the E.U.'s 27 member states regularly accept resettled refugees, while some of the others resettle on an ad-hoc basis. The rates for granting refugee status also differ widely across Europe: Sweden has given asylum to 80% of Iraqi refugees who have applied, while the U.K. and Germany have each only accepted about 10% of applicants from Iraq. Greece has stopped taking Iraqi asylum applications altogether.

Immigrants Targets of Wage Theft

2009-09-07T19:41:00.002-06:00

Recent stories by NPR:

Many Low Wage Workers Denied Pay

New Orleans: A Day's Work Doesn't Mean a Day's Pay

New York Tackles Wage Theft Against Immigrants

Restriction of Legalization?

2009-09-05T21:16:00.004-06:00

Legalization obviously says CATO, that is if we want to add $180 billion to the US economy:

As Congress prepares to tackle immigration reform, a new study from the Cato Institute estimates that the difference in the impact on U.S. households between the most and least restrictive policies would be about a quarter of a trillion dollars. Using a model of the U.S. economy developed for the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. agencies, economists Peter Dixon and Maureen Rimmer conclude that increased restriction of illegal immigration would cost U.S. households $80 billion a year, while legalization through a temporary visa program would raise incomes by $180 billion.

Staying in School is Liberal Propoganda

2009-09-03T15:44:00.007-06:00

Apparently listening to the President is liberal propaganda these days, especially if he is speaking directly to young people. The Denver Post:

President Barack Obama's plan to address the nation's students during the school day Tuesday has polarized parents over whether it's OK for their kids to listen to the speech.

On one side are parents who say the webcast speech to K-12 students is "political recruiting" and "spreading the liberal agenda."

On the other are those who say listening to presidential speeches is an important part of American culture and the education process.

The White House officially announced the speech Wednesday morning, and the U.S. Department of Education followed up with a letter to school principals and a lesson plan for discussing the talk. The White House said the speech will address the importance of studying and staying in school.

I dont know if "staying in school" is liberal propaganda, but it seems to me that a president that is pretty popular among young people, is a good role model to be spreading the message about the importance of school. Also, people that assume that by listening to him, young people will become brainwashed also assume that young people cannot think for themselves. Here is a newsflash: we can and we do.

A Billion Young People and Counting

2009-08-30T15:15:00.002-06:00

It is possible that the world population could reach 7 billion by 2011. One of the largest segments of that population with be youth. The New York Times reports:

What’s most notable in the new analysis is confirmation that while fertility rates are dropping in many places, some of the world’s most turbulent and poverty-stricken regions are seeing explosive population growth leading to enormous numbers of teenagers and children. (More evidence that puberty rules planet Earth at the moment?)
Such a youth bulge can be an asset if education and economic activity are there to build a work force. But without prospects, the result can be higher risks of conflict. Look at the population projection for Uganda, showing that country heading to a population of 96 million in 2050 from 31 million today. How does a country like Uganda build schools fast enough, train teachers fast enough and improve sanitation fast enough to harness the potential in its youth? Ideas welcome.
Below you can see a novel tool for assessing population and education scenarios in sub-Saharan Africa (and elsewhere).

Often an automatic assumption towards a rising youth population is the youth bulge principle described in this article that states that young boys in particular from the global south can be dangerous to social order if they are not employed, disciplined or under parental control. Otherwise they are very prone to engaging in violent activity. I dont think this is a completely fair characterization because it places blame on individual youth and describe them a certain way without taking into consideration the context of their environment or their life experiences.

Gated Communities and Nation States

2009-08-27T20:50:00.001-06:00

How nation states are like gated communities.

Born to Midwives = No Passports?

2009-08-27T20:43:00.002-06:00

"In its crackdown on passport applicants, the U.S. Department of State is targeting people born to midwives or parteras, along the Texas- Mexico border. The US State Department sites the history of fraudulent birth certificates along the border." And now many born legally are being denied passports. Watch this video.

UNHCR Opens Office in Calais

2009-08-27T20:37:00.002-06:00

Tightening of security between Dover and Calais has caused a "jungle like atmosphere in Calais." So much so that UNHCR has opened an office there. The Telegraph reports:

Security has been tightened at the port and far fewer illegal migrants get through to Britain now, according to the UK's Border Control Agency. It told The Sunday Telegraph that effective control of Calais port and the routes across the Channel was a success story.

But the fact that it is harder to reach Britain merely means that the migrants - almost all of them men and boys - hang around in Calais for even longer, months instead of weeks, as they attempt to stow away on lorries or in cars.
Meanwhile they [asylum seekers] live in conditions which are so appalling that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees opened an office in the town [Calais], only the second in Europe for an agency which is more typically found in troublespots like Congo or Pakistan.

UN officials feel they must do something for the inhabitants of the stinking "jungles" where desperate men and boys fight each other with knives and suffer diseases like scabies and TB, as the filth, frustration and violence take their toll.

The UNHCR works with hard-pressed charities that try to help the migrants and encourages them to apply for asylum in France. But only 120 enquiries have been made in the past month.

Marie-Ange Lascure, UNHCR's spokeswoman, said migrants were arriving in bigger numbers than a few years ago. "They want to go to England because the people smugglers tell them it is a beautiful place, where they can easily earn money to send home to their families," she said.

French police frequently raid the camps, and sometimes destroy them. Sixteen vanloads of CRS riot police arrived on Thursday as bulldozers levelled a derelict warehouse which 30 Sudanese from the war-torn province of Darfur had been using as a temporary home.

Many of the Afghans, who are now the majority of migrants at Calais, said they had fled the Taliban. Samim Siddique, 24, from Khost, rolled up his trouser leg to show a bayonet scar where he had been tortured by terrorists who wanted him to carry a bomb into the university where he was studying.

Senator Ted Kennedy's Legacy on Immigration Reform

2009-08-26T14:36:00.008-06:00

Senator Ted Kennedy was a friend to immigrants and immigration advocates. Tirelessly championing for immigration reform, he has an impressive record for fighting for the rights of undocumented workers, refugees, and all other immigrants. Here is an interview with him about immigration reform and some highlights of his career:

The 1965 overhaul was first proposed by his brother, President John F. Kennedy, and it was the first piece of legislation that Kennedy managed on the floor of the Senate.
In 1965, his party’s leaders gave him the job of pushing a bill to eliminate the quota system that had made it virtually impossible for anyone from anywhere but western Europe to immigrate to the USA. After winning that legislative battle, Kennedy “remained the Senate’s most impassioned advocate for widening opportunities for America’s newcomers.”
Kennedy held hearings on the plight of refugees during the Vietnam war, which revealed that the U.S. government had no coherent policy for refugees.
Kennedy helped bring a close to the exploitive Bracero program, which supplied the U.S. cheap and temporary labor during World War II in the form of Mexican farm laborers who did not have proper protections or rights
He was the architect of the Refuge Act of 1980, a piece of legislation that, since its passage, has fostered a new life for hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylees, sheltering them from persecution in their home countries.
He helped shape the 1986 bill that granted amnesty to an estimated 2.7 million people living undocumented in the USA and established penalties against employers who hired undocumented immigrants.
He helped shape the 1990 bill that revised the legal immigration system to allow for more immigrants and more high-skilled workers.
"He fashioned the modern-day legal system of immigration. He created humane refugee and asylum policies. And he has set the stage for a 21st century solution to the problem of illegal immigration," said Frank Sharry, an immigrant rights advocate who worked with Kennedy on legislation.
Senator Kennedy also helped author the AgJobs bill of 2003, which gave undocumented farmers residency so they could continue working in the U.S.
By creating an unlikely partnership with John McCain, Kennedy set the tone for a bipartisan approach to immigration reform, resulting in passage of immigration reform in the Senate in 2006. While that legislation ultimately failed, he came back with renewed vigor in 2007 to start the process again.
Senator Kennedy was the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, & Border Security. Senator Kennedy, always the supreme negotiator, sat down with Members from both sides of the aisle, Secretary Chertoff, and Secretary Gutierrez to hammer out a deal. That deal, S. 1348, met with lukewarm support from many immigration advocates and was pilloried by those on the far right, who turned the Senate’s efforts to find a way out of our immigration mess into a personal vendetta against immigrants.
Senator Kennedy persisted, tirelessly working to “bring the twelve million out of the shadows.” This was his mantra and his assessment that our last, best chance to reform immigration could be at this moment. Twice in 2007, the Senator gave very moving speeches.
In the last two years, he was worked tirelessly to expand resettlement opportunities for Iraqi refugees, particularly those who worked for the United States and had to flee the country to escape threats against their lives.
The history of his involvement with leaders like Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez can be seen at the website of the United Farmworkers.

From Farm Fields to Outer Space

2009-08-25T15:20:00.001-06:00

Via the Californian.com:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — He toiled in California's farm fields alongside his Mexican migrant worker parents and didn't learn English until he was 12. Now Jose Hernandez, NASA astronaut, is about to rocket into orbit.

His parents will be in Florida next week for space shuttle Discovery's launch, as will his two older brothers and sister, who also worked the cucumber, sugar beet and tomato fields back in the 1960s and 1970s.

In a recent interview, Hernandez reflected:

A lot of kids loved summer vacation. We dreaded it because we knew what that meant. That meant we were going to be working seven days a week in the fields.

The Californian continues, "Hernandez, 47, vividly recalls being dusty, sweaty and tired in the back seat of the family's car after a hard day of labor. Before starting the engine, his father would look back at his children and tell them, 'Remember this feeling because if you guys don't do well in school, this is your future.' All four took it to heart. Each graduated from high school, "a moral victory" for third-grade educated Salvador and Julia Hernandez, now 71 and 67 years old, respectively. Each went to college, "the icing on the cake," according to their youngest child."

The newly-launching astronaut, Jose Hernandez, said this of his parents' pride:

And of course now being an astronaut, to them that's just unbelievable. I think they're higher in orbit than we're going to be in.

(HT: America's Voice)

The Ninth Circuit's Latest on FGM

2009-08-25T07:04:00.000-06:00

Via ImmigrationProfBlog:

The Ninth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge McKeown (joined by Judges Fletcher and Smith), ruled today that "[t]he BIA’s(Board of Immigration Appeals) determination concerning the persecution Annisa suffered when she was forced to undergo female genital mutilation and the dismissal of that procedure as a lesser form of circumcision was erroneous. Female genital mutilation `constitutes persecution sufficient to support an asylum claim.' Abebe v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir. 2005) (en banc). The BIA’s conclusion to the contrary is at odds with Ninth Circuit law and represents a misunderstanding of the BIA’s own precedent. The BIA also erred in failing to consider whether the threat that Anakarina would be forced to undergo female genital mutilation in the future could be a ground for relief in this matter. Substantial evidence supports the rejection of Benyamin’s other proffered basis for relief. We grant the petition for review and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."

Benyamin v. Holder, Aug. 24, 2009. Download 05-71488[1]

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco criticized immigration officials who, in ordering the family deported, decided that the girl had suffered no serious harm when her genitals were mutilated as a newborn.

Any form of female genital mutilation is "horrifically brutal" and amounts to persecution under established precedents in federal courts and the Justice Department's immigration courts, the court said.

The 3-0 ruling gives Bob Benito Benyamin, his wife, Anabella Rodriguez, and their three daughters another chance to challenge deportation to Indonesia, where the oldest daughter underwent forced circumcision at 5 days old in 1992 at the orders of a grandmother. The family said she has felt pain from the procedure ever since.
Federal courts have granted asylum to women who fled their countries after being genitally mutilated or threatened with mutilation. In this case, the parents argued that one of their younger daughters would face ritual mutilation if deported to Indonesia, and that sparing her from deportation would be meaningless if the rest of her family was deported.

In denying asylum, immigration judges cited a State Department report that said female genital mutilation as practiced in Indonesia "involves minimal short-term pain, suffering and complications."

Contrasting the procedure to a court's description of mutilation in Ethiopia, where the genitals are cut with knives and recovery takes 40 days, immigration courts said the Indonesian girl had not been persecuted and that neither she nor her family was entitled to asylum.

But the appeals court said its rulings and a World Health Organization report have found that even in its least drastic form, the genital mutilation of women and girls causes physical and psychological harm and the risk of serious complications.

An immigration review board's "attempt to parse the distinction between differing forms of female genital mutilation is ... a threat to the rights of women in a civilized society," Judge Margaret McKeown said in the court ruling.

The court returned the case to the immigration board to decide whether the younger daughter faced a likelihood of genital mutilation in Indonesia. If so, the board must decide whether the entire family is eligible for asylum or whether the parents and their daughters might instead be sent to Venezuela, the mother's native country. The younger daughter was born there.

HBO Documents Child Migrants In 'Which Way Home'

2009-08-24T09:47:00.001-06:00

Via NPR:

Filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa's new documentary, Which Way Home, follows child migrants as they leave their families behind and follow a perilous trail, train-hopping and hiking their way across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Percentage of Women Who Think it is Ok for their Husbands to Hit Them From Around the World

2009-08-23T19:32:00.008-06:00

Global Health Magazine posted this screenshot today.

The information used in this graphic comes from data assembled on the UNICEF site Child Info: Monitoring the Situation of Women and Children and collected between 2001 and 2007. The percentages above represent women aged 15–49 who responded that a husband or partner is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances. See a chart with more country info and sources here. There appears to be no data on the U.S.

I want to stress one important point. Before we start blaming these women for their ignorance, we need to understand that their differing views are due to differences in culture. They were not raised with same values and convictions of those in the western world, and thus should not necessarily be looked down upon because of what they think. It is a matter of cultural relativism. That is not to say that I condone domestic violence. Rather, what I am saying is lets not blame these women for thinking the way they do.

(HT: Huffington Post)

Transforming Martha's VIneyard

2009-08-20T19:33:00.003-06:00

How did Brazilian immigrants transform Martha's Vineyard? The Financial Times reports:

Today, Martha’s Vineyard – summer retreat for the likes of Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein, Spike Lee and now the Obamas – depends on thousands of Brazilians to do the hard labour. Unlike earlier influxes, these newcomers are mostly illegal (estimates are as high as 70 per cent); but until recently, their efforts were welcome and their legal status largely ignored. The immigrants build, garden and scrub the summer residents’ trophy homes – so that they can build their own trophy homes back in Brazil. Nobody, including the immigrants themselves, expected them to put down roots on the island.
But that’s what they did. An estimated 3,000 Brazilians live on Martha’s Vineyard, a considerable presence on an island with a winter population of 15,000 (rising to 100,000 in the summer). For the most part, the Brazilians have created a parallel society. They’ve built three evangelical churches, opened landscaping companies and moped shops, and started four small groceries that offer Amazonian fruit juices, cheese from Minas Gerais and manioc flour. But for all the speed of the change – realignments of local economies and identities over the course of a couple of decades – we are just beginning to see the repercussions. One telling indicator: of all the babies born on the island in 2007, nearly one-third were to Brazilian mothers.

Here is some more from the BBC.

Posner on 'Particular Social Group'

2009-08-20T19:32:00.002-06:00

Via ImmigrationProf Blog:

For an excellent opinion by Judge Richard Posner (joined by Judges Ripple and Wood), frequent critic of the rulings of the Board of Immigration Appeals, on the definition of "particular social group" for purposes of asylum, see Download 08-3197 opn The case involves the question whether defectors of the Mungiki in Kenya are members of a particular social group. The court disagrees with the reasoning of the BIA and vacates the ruling and remands the case to the Board.

Senator Lindsey Graham on Immigration

2009-08-20T19:23:00.002-06:00

Today's meeting at the White House about CIR was a success and demonstrated that the administration is committed to passing CIR. It appears the efforts are bipartisan.
Via Immigration Impact:

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chairman of the Immigration, Refugee and Border Security Subcommittee, has tapped Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to help garner GOP support for a comprehensive immigration bill this year. While not always voting in favor of common sense solutions to our broken immigration system, Senator Graham has shown himself to be at least one Republican leader who understands the importance of our nation’s changing demographic—especially in his home state of South Carolina—on future electoral races.

In 2007, Sen. Graham supported S.1639, an immigration bill co-sponsored by Sens. Jon McCain and Ted Kennedy, despite cries of “Grahamnesty” from his own party. While the bill ultimately failed, Sen. Graham was booed at the 2007 GOP Party Convention where he defended the bill. He also defended himself in an interview shortly thereafter on Fox’s Hannity & Colmes:

The 12 million need to be dealt with now. And they can be made right with the law. They can pay fines. They’ll have to go back to their home country before they can become citizens. They’ll have to learn English. I’m tired of putting problems off. I want to secure the border. I want to verify who is here through tamper-proof I.D., and I want to deal with the 12 million now.
While it’s true that Sen. Graham has opposed the Dream Act, voted for more border fencing, and stronger enforcement measures in the past, he does realize the high price involved with doing nothing at all. In a speech at NCLR’s 2007 Capital Awards, Sen. Graham acknowledged that empty anti-immigrant rhetoric is not going to fix our broken system.

Perhaps Sen. Graham hopes that members of his own flailing party realize, as he said during Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing, that “elections have consequences”—especially considering that the immigrant population in his home state of South Carolina has grown roughly 40% in the last ten years.

Popular Destination for Refugees: North Dakota

2009-08-20T19:17:00.001-06:00

It’s always difficult to be an immigrant or refugee coming to a new country. It can be even tougher during times of recession. But what’s it like to be in the refugee placement business these days? In some states, businesses here lean heavily on refugee workers. The World’s Jason Margolis reports from North Dakota.

Review of Jimmy Baca's New Book

2009-08-20T19:13:00.003-06:00

During my senior of college, I took a class called "Poetry of American Prisoners" in which we read a lot of Jimmy Baca's prison poetry and he came to our class as guest speaker. If I remember correctly one theme that emerged from this class the Jimmy's poetry was that of ethical reading- what does it mean to read the poetry of someone who has committed crimes?

From NPR:
Poet Jimmy Santiago Baca has produced his first novel, A Glass of Water. The book goes over the well-worn path of Mexican immigrants to the United States.

Comic Book Civil War: 'Unknown Soldier'

2009-08-16T20:56:00.003-06:00

'Unknown Soldier' is not your normal comic book. From the New York Times:

The series, written by Joshua Dysart and illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli, is set in Uganda and includes a reference guide with more than 20 entries, including background on the brutal rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army; the peace activist Abdulkadir Yahya Ali, who was killed; and the Acholi, an ethnic group from the northern part of the country.
Unknown Soldier, published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics, is about Dr. Lwanga Moses, a Ugandan whose family fled the country for the United States when he was 7. He returns as an adult in 2002 with his wife, Sera, also a physician, hoping to put their medical skills to use in a part of the country that has experienced civil war for 15 years. He finds a world filled with violence, boys used as soldiers and girls punished for innocent acts like riding bicycles. Along the way he also encounters an Angelina Jolie-type character in Margaret Wells, an actress and activist.

Chris Blattman thinks it is "Tasteful. Thoughtful. Compelling. Gripping. Historically accurate"

International Star Shah Rukh Khan Stopped at New Jersey Airport

2009-08-16T10:41:00.009-06:00

Ironic Story of the Day: Being stopped at the airport because your last name is Khan while being here promoting a film about racial profiling in the US called "My Name is Khan." That is what happened to international star Shah Rukh Khan. The Guardian reports:

Shah Rukh Khan, India's most popular actor, was held at Liberty International airport in Newark on Saturday as he tried to enter the United States. He says he was quizzed for two hours by a US official who apparently had no idea that Khan was one of the world’s most famous men.

Khan’s next film, My Name is Khan, is about an innocent Muslim’s experiences of being mistakenly identified as a terrorist in the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In it, the actor plays a man with Asperger’s syndrome, whose behaviour – and ethnicity – raises the suspicions of the US authorities. The fictional Khan then sets off on a trip across the US to find President Obama and persuade him that he is not a terrorist.

The suggestion that the real Khan, who was named one of the world’s 50 most influential men by Newsweek magazine this year, fell victim to the same kind of racial profiling depicted in the film has met with outrage in India.

Some more from the The New York Times; NPR

Some are accusing the star of a publicity stunt. However, I would not be surprised if it actually did happen, because this type of profiling happens frequently at American airports.

Fighting Sexual Violence in the Congo

2009-08-13T16:21:00.004-06:00

There has recently been a lot of clamor around Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the Congo in which she stated that we must punish those that commit sexual violence against women. She even committed $17 million to fight the epidemic of sexual violence there. But unfortunately there has been little talk about real solutions and it seems that there is much controversy about how this money would be spent.

NPR reported on the visit and interviewed Anneke Van Woudenberg from Human Rights Watch about the visit. Here is what she had to say:

And I think much more of the money needs to go to stopping rape. That means ensuring that there's justice. It means better protection mechanisms for women and girls. We shouldn't just be helping the victims. We need to ensure that there are less victims in the future.

I dont think anyone would disagree with this. But it remains to be seen just what this means. What does better protection look like? How can women get justice when there are so many perpetrators and the government is not protecting its people but are in some cases the perpetrators themselves?

Moreover here is how the money is being spent, learned via Wronging Rights:

We learned from the New York Times today that the U.S. government is launching a $17 million plan to combat sexual violence in the Congo. (And yes, we probably should just go ahead and change the blog's name to "Wronging Rapes.")

The new initiative includes training for local gynecologists, assistance to the Congolese police force and, wait for it... "supply[ing] rape victims with video cameras to document violence."

The article does not explain the logic or logistics behind what TexasinAfrica is calling "Camcorders for the Congo" so we're left with a number of questions:

(1) Who are we giving these cameras to? Victims who report past rapes, on the assumption that they will soon be raped again? People who appear to be promising candidates for future rapes? Or, is the American government going to go back in time and hand out cameras to documented rape victims so they can be ready to hit "record" when the violence begins?

(2) In what way is the lack of film evidence impeding the fight against sexual violence in the Congo? Seriously, just let us know. Open-minded bloggers that we are, we are amenable to the possibility that someone looked into this question and found that, in a country without a functioning government, economy, police force, judiciary, army, system of land tenure, prosecutor's office, criminal defense bar, or -we can't help but point out- power grid on which to charge portable electronic devices, the real impediment to the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes is the dearth of video footage. We eagerly await receipt of that study.

(3) Where is the footage gathered from these cameras going to go? We are aware that there is plenty of demand for that sort of thing (this blog gets a lot of Google hits from people in search of "Africa rape porn") but remain a little fuzzy on how filling that niche is going to combat the problem at hand.

And by the way, those camcorders had better not contain any conflict coltan. Because if they do, then it's only a matter of time before we all have to read another Enough Project report pointing out the direct link between violence against women in the Congo and the video camera that you sent to be used to film violence against women in the Congo.

Here is some more analysis.

"Green" Immigrants

2009-08-13T16:13:00.007-06:00

An article by Ali Modarres makes the case that immigrants use public transportation more than native born populations- thereby being more 'green.'

Clearly in terms of using public transportation, immigrants are a bit greener than those born here. But why? Is this habit formed elsewhere? In that case, are recent immigrants even more likely to use public transportation than those who immigrated earlier? Or is it their income that affects their transportation choices?

Recent arrivals are clearly less likely to drive to work and have a higher propensity toward using public transportation, compared to all foreign-born individuals (and significantly more than the native-born). Additionally, over 6% of the immigrants who have arrived since 2000 walk to work.
Overall, more than a quarter of the immigrants who have arrived since 2000 use an alternative mode of transportation to work. If the rest of America could do the same, we’d be a bit ‘greener’ already. However, it seems that as immigrants stay longer, they eventually tend to use cars more often because automobile usage allows for access to better jobs, better shops, and better schools.Even so, their rates are still slightly better than the native-born.

New Curriculum for High School Students about Refugees

2009-08-13T16:11:00.002-06:00

Mary Ann Zehr of Education Week reports:

Resource: Curriculum on Refugee and Migration Issues

Jesuit Refugee Services/USA has designed a free curriculum to teach high school students about refugee and migration issues. The lessons are intended to help students explore issues such as why people are forcibly displaced from their homes and how the United States and the world as a whole have responded, or haven't responded, to refugees.

Frankly, this is the first curriculum on refugee and migration issues that's ever come across my desk. The recommended books and reports accompanying the curriculum could provide opportunities for both teachers and students to learn more about displaced people, many of whom are in our schools here in the United States.

(HT: ImmigrationProf Blog)

State and Local Responses to Federal Nonaction

2009-08-13T11:19:00.002-06:00

Some good analysis by Immigration Impact:

Governors and mayors, state legislatures and city councils are playing an increasingly critical role in U.S. immigration policy. As a result of Congress’s inaction, states and localities are feeling pressure to take action on immigration, and many of the policies that directly impact immigrants’ lives—law enforcement, public benefits, driver’s licenses—are being driven by new state and local laws. Some state and local immigration policies have been positive and have helped to integrate immigrants into American communities. Others, however, have had a harmful impact on immigrants as well as on public health and safety.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation’s 50 states, recently published two documents that highlight the role that states play in immigration policy. One is a report on recent state activity, and the other is NCSL’s official immigration policy statement.

In 2005, 300 bills were introduced, 38 laws were enacted, and 6 vetoed.
In 2006, 570 bills were introduced, 84 laws were enacted, and 6 vetoed.
In 2007, 1,562 bills were introduced, 240 laws were enacted, and 12 vetoed.
In 2008, 1,305 bills were introduced, 206 were enacted, and 3 vetoed.

Despite the fact that state budget crises are causing states to retreat on many issues, the amount of state legislation related to immigration introduced in the first half of 2009 outpaced the same time period in 2008. According to the NCSL, more than 1,400 bills have been introduced in all 50 states. At least 144 bills and resolutions have been enacted in 44 states. A total of 285 bills and resolutions have passed state legislatures—23 are pending the Governor’s approval and 3 have been vetoed.

By contrast, in the first half of 2008, 1,267 bills were considered in 45 states, and 175 laws and resolutions were enacted in 29 states.
The bills deal with issues ranging from education to employment, health, human trafficking, driver’s licenses, law enforcement, and public benefits. The issue of ID documents/driver’s licenses topped the list with 33 laws enacted; 22 health laws and 14 education laws were enacted.

The good news is that many of the laws and resolutions passed have been positive and aimed at immigrant integration. Some celebrate the U.S.’s heritage as a nation of immigrants. Some urge Congress to take action and expedite naturalization, enact comprehensive immigration reform, and extend health care benefits.

New Book by Monica Ali

2009-08-13T11:15:00.003-06:00

For those that have read Brick Lane, Monica Ali is out with another book about immigrant integration. The New York Times book review:

In “Brick Lane” she explored, with comic gusto and pathos, the Bangladeshi immigrants and British no-hopers living in Tower Hamlets, an East London housing project. This time around, she ties her story to two self-contained social structures that allow her to trace Britain’s fault lines: the busy kitchen of a hotel restaurant in central London, where Gabriel Lightfoot, her main character, is executive chef, and an old mill town in the north of England, where Gabriel’s dying father has worked all his life.

Gabriel’s kitchen is immigrant Britain on display. “Every corner of the earth was represented here,” he reflects at one point. “Hispanic, Asian, African, Baltic and most places in between.” These are the drones who toil unseen in glittering London, desperate strivers, many with horrible stories to tell, or forget. As the novel begins, a Ukrainian kitchen worker turns up dead in one of the hotel’s subterranean passageways. His former lover, a sullen, waiflike pot-scrubber named Lena, becomes Gabriel’s personal reclamation project and his entryway to the underground economy, a shadowy world of illegal immigration schemes, slave labor and forced prostitution. This is the new Britain.

Immigration Roundup

2009-08-13T11:10:00.002-06:00

The week has been filled with not so great news. The administration has decided to focus on strengthening its effort on enforcement and Obama announced delays on immigration reform until 2010. However, the administration also announced plans to reform detention. But there appears to be very little change from the Bush era policies.

Here is some analysis on Napolitano and immigration by FIRM and some more by immigration impact.

Two Immigrant Groups on Education

2009-08-03T16:18:00.002-06:00

NPR had a double special on immigrant children and education. They looked at Chinese Americans and Dominican Americans. Here are the stories:

Immigration Raids Violating the Fourth Amendment

2009-08-03T16:15:00.002-06:00

Edward Schumacher-Matos writes in today’s Washington Post that Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams conducting immigration raids are routinely violating the Fourth Amendment. After discussing a wrong-door immigration raid on a former Marine and his wife in Arizona, Schumacher-Matos explains:
It would be easy to dismiss the episode as isolated, but 100 seven-member teams of ICE agents across the country are regularly making similar house calls, usually in the pre-dawn hours, in SWAT-like raids with shotguns and automatic rifles, sometimes crawling through open windows. In place of search warrants issued by a judge, ICE agents carry administrative warrants issued by one of their own officials that require that they “knock and talk” to gain entry into a home, a policy often abused…

The raids are supposed to be aimed at fugitive illegal immigrants who have committed criminal acts, but it appears they’re being used to rope up non-criminal undocumented workers (illegal immigration is a violation of civil law, not criminal law).

The “knock and talk” warrants require the police to get permission before entering. But that didn’t happen in the wrong-door example Schumacher-Matos used to lead off his column. And it doesn’t appear to be happening elsewhere, either.

The Cardozo study examined 700 arrests between 2006 and 2008 on Long Island and in New Jersey and found that agents said they had not received informed consent to enter the homes in 86 percent of the Long Island cases and 24 percent of the New Jersey ones. Conflicting information in the New Jersey arrest records suggests that the reported consent there was often fabricated or misreported, the Cardozo study says.

Two-thirds of the arrests were happenstance — they were mostly of Latinos whose only crime was a civil one of working here illegally. “The high percentage of collateral arrests is consistent with allegations that ICE agents are using home raids for purported targets as a pretext to enter homes” and arrest as many people as they can to meet quotas that in 2006 were increased eightfold to 1,000 a year per team, the report said.

Violations were so flagrant on Long Island that local police withdrew their support and accused ICE of being reckless and dangerous, and of undermining a relationship of trust with the Latino community that had been helping to reduce crime. Mounting evidence elsewhere suggests that the raids are out of control nationally.

(HT: Radley Balko)