Two items seem to keep appearing in the news on a regular basis, one of these of course is Zimbabwe, the other are the pirates around Somalia with their hijacking of vessels and the demand for millions of dollars in ransom.
I wonder, when I look at these two situations in particular, what the hell the United Nations was created for? If memory serves, there was a great deal of displeasure with the former international body that was developed after the First World War ie. The League of Nations because they were simply unable to take any action internationally that could prevent the horrors that are represented today by the Zimbabwean and Somali situations.
In the case of Somalia, if ever the description of a failed state could be applied it should be here. Half the country is in the hands of rebels the other just less than half is in the hands of pirates while the remainder is in the hands of the so-called government. In a situation like this, if the legitimate government of Somalia called upon the United Nations for assistance I wonder what would happen? Would United Nations actually get support from the nations around the world who would come in with their military and other forces ready to blow the crap out of the rebels and the pirates at the same time as restoring some form of democracy Somalia as an end result?
Unlikely.
Of course it could be argued that it's a 'been there done that' situation, after all the Ethiopians were in there trying to assist for some time and didn't seem to get any support from anyone else.
Now there are forces from various nations in the form of naval vessels steaming around the Gulf but apparently not doing much good if the current news about the hijacking of a German tanker is true.
Zimbabwe, a country that was once the breadbasket of its locale is now greatest failed state of all within the region with an economy that has completely failed and a government that is in tatters. In this case of course it would be difficult to receive a request from the official government to the United Nations for assistance after all the current head of government seems to be the problem together with his military and other commanders. This is another failed state in Africa with a different facade and it's another place where millions of people are starving and from which they are fleeing in their thousands and being foisted on the world as refugees.
As countries around the world settle them into their own societies and train them in their languages and hopefully integrate them into their ways of life, I wonder how many of them will see work over the next few years as economic depression rather than a so-called recession hits most of the "developed"world?
This is not the time to be a refugee, this is not the time to be an immigrant, this is not the time to be homeless, this is not the time to be dependent on charity. As those who in the past have enjoyed a reasonable way of life contemplate their immediate future of poverty or at least least less economic freedom than they have known, so their thoughts are likely to turn to the preservation of their income and their assets for their own use and not to charity.
The next few years are likely to see a great deal of "me me me" without any reference to "you."
On this particular occasion I do not want to be a prophet to the future, but what I see around me is a lot of doom and gloom for a lot of people. I'm not sure what the Rudd government can do on this occasion, even with the surplus that it had to spend from previous years economies and I am certainly not sure what if anything the current opposition is likely to bring the subject.
If you want to see more about the Somali hijackings try the following link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7847351.stm
As for Zimbabwe don't bother to look, the news is just too depressing!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
One last thing about refugees
I was focused the other day not the only on the destruction that had taken place in the Gaza refugee camps, as a result of the Israeli military operation, but on some interesting commentary that has come out in the papers since then. There was the example a picture of an old man sitting on his lonesome with a green flag unfurled above his head. What was he doing there on his own? Simple, he had responded to a call for Hamas supporters to demonstrate on the streets of Gaza. Why were there no others with him? That's not really a question that I can answer from here in Australia, however there are people in the Middle East with far more local knowledge of the subject than I, suggesting that while the armed Hamas supporters are now claiming a victory in the midst of the death and destruction that has taken place, there is some recognition by the general population that if he destruction that has taken place is seen as a victory it would be interesting to see what a loss would look like.
Policemen are reappearing on the streets wearing their weapons, Hamas fighters are also appearing with their arms and this has set people to wondering where they were when the fighting was going on. They seemed to have melted into the background at that point, and the general population in Gaza seems to be voting with its feet when a called upon to congregate in celebration of the great "victory" that was won over the last few days. Hence the lonesome old man with his green flag unfurled perhaps.
At the same time as all this was going on in Gaza there was also a meeting of the Arabic countries of the Middle East to see what they would think they could or would be able to do to support the Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia was at the forefront of trying to mend fences and bring unity to the representatives surrounding the conference table. A Syrian representatives apparently was interested only in trying to label " the Israeli entity" as a terrorist organisation rather than discuss what if any needs the Palestinian refugees had in Gaza.
What the Syrian representatives did not mention, I suspect, was the way in which Palestinian refugees are being treated within Syria and elsewhere in Arabic countries - this story from the archives about Iraq is just one example.
Similarly there are other Arab countries around the Middle East who will accept Palestinian refugees, but who have not accepted that these same people should become part and parcel of their citizenry and lose their status of refugee over time.
Australia has accepted refugees from all sorts of countries over the years including no doubt some from the former Palestine. Have these people being put into refugee camps and forced to stay there? I think not. They have been integrated into the communities into which they were eventually settled and have become part and parcel of the Australian way of life. They have retained the right of return to their country of origin and some have no doubt taken up this option. For most others though, Australia is a country that has accepted people from everywhere in the world and actually spent loads of resources helping them to settle in this country. This investment in human beings from all over the world has been repaid many fold by well integrated citizens who have participated with gusto in the life of Australia and have indeed made their unique contributions from within their cultures to the developing Australian culture that today people find both interesting and welcoming when they visit or as they grow up in it.
Australia is today a truly multicultural society thanks to all of those people who have come to our shores regardless of their condition at the time.
I suspect that many countries in the world could learn from what has been achieved in Australia
As I reminisce about the past I look at what is being provided to refugees elsewhere in the world today and think that many of the services that were pioneered in this country could perhaps be mentioned in discussions with representatives of those countries and that some of the lessons that have been learned "along the way" passed on to them as a way of trying to assist them by providing opportunities to learn from the difficulties as well as the successes of our past.
There appear to be certain countries in the world who are not dealing successfully with their refugees, if by "success" we mean the successful integration of refugees into the host population. If we do not mean success in these terms, then I for one would be interested in finding out what the meaning is in those places. Where we have successive years of countries that open their doors to refugees, presumably they mean to give them refuge and then allow them to make the choice of staying in the host country or returning to their home country as and when conditions change. Maintaining their refugee status for decades at a time is not what I would consider as being the goal of a refugee policy.
Still, what would I know, I am just an arm chair blogger after all.
Policemen are reappearing on the streets wearing their weapons, Hamas fighters are also appearing with their arms and this has set people to wondering where they were when the fighting was going on. They seemed to have melted into the background at that point, and the general population in Gaza seems to be voting with its feet when a called upon to congregate in celebration of the great "victory" that was won over the last few days. Hence the lonesome old man with his green flag unfurled perhaps.
At the same time as all this was going on in Gaza there was also a meeting of the Arabic countries of the Middle East to see what they would think they could or would be able to do to support the Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia was at the forefront of trying to mend fences and bring unity to the representatives surrounding the conference table. A Syrian representatives apparently was interested only in trying to label " the Israeli entity" as a terrorist organisation rather than discuss what if any needs the Palestinian refugees had in Gaza.
What the Syrian representatives did not mention, I suspect, was the way in which Palestinian refugees are being treated within Syria and elsewhere in Arabic countries - this story from the archives about Iraq is just one example.
In 2006 the UNWRA produced a publication that shows that there were over 119,000 registered Palestinian refugees in Syria in that year. What is shameful about this is that it supports the reality that the Syrian population has not absorbed these people since 1948 in some cases and 1967 in others. Why they have not been assimilated into the general population is not a question I can answer, but it may be something the Syrian government can and perhaps should be asked.BBSNews 2007-04-24 - RAMADI, (IRIN) -- Palestinians living in Iraq's Anbar province have come under increasing pressure from militants to leave or be killed, NGOs and Palestinians say.
The remaining displaced from Ramadi still receive assistance from aid agencies but many have returned to the city. [Date picture taken: 11/13/2006] Image Afif Sarhan/IRIN
Palestinians in the capital, Baghdad, have long been threatened by armed groups and harassed by authorities but threats to them in other provinces are a new development, aid workers say. Sunni-dominated Anbar used to protect Palestinians, who are predominantly Sunni too, but times have changed."Palestinians had been looking for safety and had found it in Anbar province but now they are being targeted [there also]. The threats they have received are an effrontery against the feelings of Muslim Arabs. They have nowhere to go and might be killed if they try to go to another place," Mahmoud Aydan, a media officer for the Ramadi council, said.
"We believe that there are about 150 families taking refuge in different cities of Anbar province but they haven't been registered with the National Food Programme which makes it harder to know their exact location," Aydan said.
A spokesman for the Baghdad-based Palestinian Muslims Association (PMA) said he was concerned about the fate of Palestinians in Anbar governorate after militants left threatening notes on the doors of Palestinians taking refuge in the area.
"At least 17 families have fled Ramadi [capital of Anbar and about 100 km west of Baghdad] after militants gave them a week to leave their homes or become the next victims of violence in Iraq," Ahmed Muffitlak, a spokesman for PMA, said.
Palestinians have nowhere to go
"But they don't have anywhere to go. Some families told me they are going to try to reach the al-Waleed camp near the Syrian border. Others expect to be accepted in Baghdad's Sunni neighbourhoods," he added.
In Baghdad, Palestinians - especially those in the mainly Palestinian neighbourhoods of Baladiat, Hurriyah and Iskan - continue to be discriminated against and continue to receive threats to leave the country.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in a press statement in March that at least 186 Palestinians have been murdered in Baghdad between April 2004 and January 2007, while about 15,000 Palestinians remain in Iraq, fewer than half the number who had lived there previously.
Muffitlak reiterated the PMA's call for the protection of Palestinian refugees in Iraq and has urged the Iraqi government and international NGOs to assist the threatened families in Anbar.
"They should do something before more Palestinians are killed. It is the minimum they can do to save so discriminated against a community, which cannot even return to its original land," added Muffitlak, who is in Ramadi trying to persuade the local authorities to protect Palestinians.
Ahmed Raki, a 43-year-old Palestinian father of three lives in Ramadi. He is looking for a place at al-Waleed camp on the Syrian border, which has become a makeshift home for hundreds of Palestinians fleeing violence.
"There are dozens of [Palestinian] families living with Iraqis in Ramadi, Fallujah and al-Qaim and the threats have been delivered to their homes. We don't have money, goods and some elderly people are very sick, requiring urgent medical assistance. But they will be forced to flee the area to save their lives," said Raki.
"Two girls from our community were raped last week by militants who told them that it was a message to the Palestinians in Anbar to leave the area," Raki added. "I have to leave before my two daughters meet the same fate."
Similarly there are other Arab countries around the Middle East who will accept Palestinian refugees, but who have not accepted that these same people should become part and parcel of their citizenry and lose their status of refugee over time.
Australia has accepted refugees from all sorts of countries over the years including no doubt some from the former Palestine. Have these people being put into refugee camps and forced to stay there? I think not. They have been integrated into the communities into which they were eventually settled and have become part and parcel of the Australian way of life. They have retained the right of return to their country of origin and some have no doubt taken up this option. For most others though, Australia is a country that has accepted people from everywhere in the world and actually spent loads of resources helping them to settle in this country. This investment in human beings from all over the world has been repaid many fold by well integrated citizens who have participated with gusto in the life of Australia and have indeed made their unique contributions from within their cultures to the developing Australian culture that today people find both interesting and welcoming when they visit or as they grow up in it.
Australia is today a truly multicultural society thanks to all of those people who have come to our shores regardless of their condition at the time.
I suspect that many countries in the world could learn from what has been achieved in Australia
As I reminisce about the past I look at what is being provided to refugees elsewhere in the world today and think that many of the services that were pioneered in this country could perhaps be mentioned in discussions with representatives of those countries and that some of the lessons that have been learned "along the way" passed on to them as a way of trying to assist them by providing opportunities to learn from the difficulties as well as the successes of our past.
There appear to be certain countries in the world who are not dealing successfully with their refugees, if by "success" we mean the successful integration of refugees into the host population. If we do not mean success in these terms, then I for one would be interested in finding out what the meaning is in those places. Where we have successive years of countries that open their doors to refugees, presumably they mean to give them refuge and then allow them to make the choice of staying in the host country or returning to their home country as and when conditions change. Maintaining their refugee status for decades at a time is not what I would consider as being the goal of a refugee policy.
Still, what would I know, I am just an arm chair blogger after all.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Following the blog:
Unbeknown to me, there have been some changes at Blogger, that now enable you to show that you follow this blog so that other readers can see that you too are a reader and hence a follower.
I have added a widget to my blog that enables you, my readers, to become identified as 'followers' of his blog and hence to be recognised as such.
All you have to do to become a follower is press on the link on the left side of the blog entitled Follow this blog.
The pop-up dialogue box that follows enables you to fill in your details if you wish or to indicate if you wish to follow the blog anonymously. Given these two options as a reader, you are now able to identify yourself and by doing so immediately promote your own blog or your Web page as well as yourself.
I for one would like to know who my readers are and of course I would like to be able to read their blogs or web pages so that I can get an idea of what they are thinking about and how they feel about things in general. Information such as this would enable me to direct my comments about things in my 'audience' that would also enable me to contact individuals if they wish to be identified sufficiently formed in to do so.
So far, as this is a new feature only four of my readers have identified themselves. Check it out, you too can identify yourself as a reader of Pete's Place either anonymously or with your personal details being made available.
Since this is under your complete control the level of identifications is up to you. Try it and invite me into your blog by using the follower widget.
Have fun.
If you want to see what Blogger has to say on the subject visit their help page at http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en-au&answer=104226
Garpet
I have added a widget to my blog that enables you, my readers, to become identified as 'followers' of his blog and hence to be recognised as such.
All you have to do to become a follower is press on the link on the left side of the blog entitled Follow this blog.
The pop-up dialogue box that follows enables you to fill in your details if you wish or to indicate if you wish to follow the blog anonymously. Given these two options as a reader, you are now able to identify yourself and by doing so immediately promote your own blog or your Web page as well as yourself.
I for one would like to know who my readers are and of course I would like to be able to read their blogs or web pages so that I can get an idea of what they are thinking about and how they feel about things in general. Information such as this would enable me to direct my comments about things in my 'audience' that would also enable me to contact individuals if they wish to be identified sufficiently formed in to do so.
So far, as this is a new feature only four of my readers have identified themselves. Check it out, you too can identify yourself as a reader of Pete's Place either anonymously or with your personal details being made available.
Since this is under your complete control the level of identifications is up to you. Try it and invite me into your blog by using the follower widget.
Have fun.
If you want to see what Blogger has to say on the subject visit their help page at http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en-au&answer=104226
Garpet
A final look at the Gaza situation
One of my collaborators has recently posted me an article from the New York Times way back in 2000 that may make some sense about recent proceedings, please check it out.
Gas Deposits Off Israel and Gaza Opening Vision of Joint Ventures
By WILLIAM A. ORME JR.
Published: September 15, 2000
I never know whether these stories can be relied upon. However if there is truth in this story, then less useful minds than mine can find some rationale behind what's been going on in Gaza. The question really is what value will be found from the supporters of Israel and/or the supporters of those living in Gaza. Will they finance further exploration and drilling and then at what cost.
Watch this space I guess is the best we can hope for at this point.
Thanks to Robbie my informant in this case for digging around in his archives. Given my previous understanding about the gas situation in that part of the world this is the last thing I would have expected. It is also amazing to me that in the years since the story first appeared I have never heard anything more about it. Are there any of my readers out there who have?
If so let us know. Show us how clever you are with your Googling. :-)
Of course if it's true, then both sides have to stop being greedy and actually learn how to share a cake or manna from heaven, if you prefer. Otherwise they might blow it all up before either side can benefit from the proceeds.
Of course there are others who are looking at what has been achieved and if we go to the New York Times once again we will be able to look at their version of reality in 2008.
Gas Deposits Off Israel and Gaza Opening Vision of Joint Ventures
By WILLIAM A. ORME JR.
Published: September 15, 2000
I never know whether these stories can be relied upon. However if there is truth in this story, then less useful minds than mine can find some rationale behind what's been going on in Gaza. The question really is what value will be found from the supporters of Israel and/or the supporters of those living in Gaza. Will they finance further exploration and drilling and then at what cost.
Watch this space I guess is the best we can hope for at this point.
Thanks to Robbie my informant in this case for digging around in his archives. Given my previous understanding about the gas situation in that part of the world this is the last thing I would have expected. It is also amazing to me that in the years since the story first appeared I have never heard anything more about it. Are there any of my readers out there who have?
If so let us know. Show us how clever you are with your Googling. :-)
Of course if it's true, then both sides have to stop being greedy and actually learn how to share a cake or manna from heaven, if you prefer. Otherwise they might blow it all up before either side can benefit from the proceeds.
Of course there are others who are looking at what has been achieved and if we go to the New York Times once again we will be able to look at their version of reality in 2008.
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