20th edition – Duality – Pike & Hurricane

Deutschland Under the Star-Spangled Banner

Michael Schätzlein — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 10:31:38 +0000

When in America, have you ever eaten a hot dog at a baseball game? Or, have you ever watched the American Walt Disney classic Snow White and The Seven Dwarves? Some wildly popular “American” foods and past-times are actually, well, quite German. Although Germans were one of the largest and most industrious ethnic groups to immigrate to the USA, German culture seems to have all but disappeared due to Americanisation. How did this happen?

Germans were involved in the colonisation of the New World from the very beginning. However, while the first German settler arrived in Jamestown in 1608, it would take another 75 years until the first permanent German settlement, fittingly named Germantown, would be established. In the early phases of colonisation, it was mainly people of religious sects, such as the Mennonites, and paupers from the Palatinate region in Germany who arrived in the New World, fleeing persecution, poverty and military conscription. In order to pay for their trip, many of them ended up in working camps on arrival, as a form of indentured servitude, before moving on westwards.

The German settlers spread out over the entire Midwest and northern parts of the USA, a lot of them settling down in Pennsylvania. Germans acquired renown as successful farmers and keepers of livestock, but also branched out in other fields. Germans made history in America: the first Bible to be printed in the USA was German, the first millionaire in the New World, John Jacob Astor, made his fortune by trading fur and real estates, and John Peter Zenger, a printer and journalist, was hailed as the hero defending the freedom of press against the colonial overlords in New York.

Today, in some pockets of the United States, German culture and language continue to thrive. The Texas and Pennsylvanian German dialects are obvious examples of this perseverance of German heritage in the USA. In Pennsylvania, especially, the Old Order Amish and Mennonites still speak German in every-day life. Pennsylvanian German, or Deitsch, is a dialect that came into being when various south-western German dialects and the present-day dialect of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate were combined. Over the years, usage of the dialect has declined, although there is also a revivalist movement that tries to pass on this relic of a bygone era.

Through a forum for learners of German, I met Daniel Kauffman*, an American of German descent who grew up in Pennsylvania, the American state that initially attracted the most Palatinates. Although he never had a formal education in Deitsch, Daniel was able to pick it up from his father and his grandmother. After his grandmother passed away, however, possibilities to use the language became scarcer and scarcer. Today, he only uses it when travelling through Amish country. Listening to a recording of him speaking PA German, I can hear which area his ancestors came from, and I can understand all of it.

During the 1800s, immigration to the New World rose sharply. After the failed German Revolution of 1848, political enemies of the ruling elites and people hoping for societal change left the country in flocks. Towards the end of the century, emigration from Germany intensified. During that period, Hamburg gained importance as an emigration harbour.

Despite German expatriates’ separation from their homeland, German immigrants continued to practice German traditions and culture: establishing singing societies, German churches and synagogues all over the country. Due to the many adherents of sectarian denominations, religious life was fruitful. But this clinging to traditions also proved to be fatal when the First and Second World War came around. Germans lobbied against America’s participation in World War II, and as a result, the non-German population grew wary of the German Americans. Many were accused of spying on the USA or endorsing the German war effort. A special census listing only German Americans was made, and more than 4,000 of them were imprisoned. German Americans faced discrimination and persecution from vigilante mobs.

The German American community reacted with resignation to this stigma. German names were anglicised, the usage of German in everyday speech was limited, and German traditions were relinquished. Within a couple of decades, German Americans had assimilated so well that they went mostly unnoticed, which was in contrast to Italian and Irish Americans. Post-war German-American relations were focussing on the declared enemy, the Soviet Union, and reunification. The stigma only faded away slowly. Real efforts to improve the relations between the two peoples was only made in the early 1980s under the Reagan Administration, but it wasn’t until 2010 when a congressional caucus was formed for German Americans.

When the 2000 census was called, more than 42 million Americans claimed German or partially German ancestry, making up about 15 percent of the USA’s 282 million inhabitants and dwarfing any other ethnic background, with descendants of Irish and African Americans making up 11 and 9 percent respectively.

To Daniel, German culture in the USA manifests most where it has been amalgamated into American culture. Almost every American sends their child off to kindergarten. American Christians, Catholics, and, even, unreligious folks go on Easter egg hunts in spring or make gingerbread houses and gather under a Christmas tree in winter. One example that is more specific to Pennsylvania is the Butzemann, or Butz, which is a German bogeyman written in common folklore that scares kids into behaving. German cultural societies, such as the Delaware Sängerbund (singing society), continue to exist, and, in autumn, many American universities, restaurants, and festival grounds have their own Oktoberfest.

In the end, however, Daniel felt that he was slowly losing his dialect in America, so he packed up his things and went on a sojourn to reconnect with his ancestral roots. He is now living in Austria where he studies German. His studies are funded, in part, by a grant he received from one of the last remaining vestiges of German culture in America: Sängerbund. In less direct ways, however, German influence is apparent in many areas of American culture. Although most Americans may assume that their sausages and hamburgers from 7-11 are an American invention or that some of their beloved tales and children’s stories were from the genius of Walt Disney, German culture created part of the foundation for American cuisine, folklore, and traditions just as the Italian pizza at Domino’s and the Mexican burrito at Chipotle perpetuate the melting pot of American life. In this fragmented way, German culture and Daniel’s heritage live on.

By Michael Schätzlein

Image Credit:

Picture 1: Ted Knudsen licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2: spablab licensed under

CC BY 2.0

* Names were changed to preserve anonymity.

The post Deutschland Under the Star-Spangled Banner appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Malmö University for Refugees – Helping the Community

Suzanne Snowden — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 10:04:59 +0000

The end of summer saw a flurry of media activity around the European refugee crisis and the city of Malmö geared up for the arrival of refugees at the Central Station. By the start of October, the arrival point at Malmö Central was moved to the backside of the station, away from the main street – did this mean this emergency is over? Far from it and for both refugees and the city of Malmö, the hard work is only just beginning.

To support the City’s efforts the Student Union of Malmö högskola (MAH) held a meeting on the 10th of September where over 100 students and staff congregated to hear what they could do for the refugees in Malmö. This resulted in the formation of the volunteer group “Malmö University for Refugees” (MUFR) of which I am a part of. One of the first big activities the group participated inalongside of 4000 other Malmö residents was the “Refugees Welcome” rally on September 13th, to listen to Government and charities perspectives on the newly arriving refugees.

On October 12th, the Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, told an 800 strong delegation of cross-party politicians and charities, that helping new arrivals to integrate into Swedish society was a key concern. “It is a huge task for the whole of Swedish society,” said Löfven.

Fortunately, the MUFR likes a challenge and the initiative, led by volunteer students and staff and supported strongly by the Student Union, has been gaining momentum each week with focus on various aspects of integration for refugees in Malmö.

Part of the MUFR initiative has been to investigate what is currently being done by other organisations in Malmö and ensuring that the most accurate and relevant information is passed on. Following this preliminary investigation, the groups has been identifying how students and staff can lend expertise through volunteering, either with existing initiatives within the community or creating something that is organic from within MAH that is either not currently offered in Malmö, or a volunteer service that they believe should be offered more widely.

With this in mind, MUFR has looked at the needs and categorised them into four main focus groups, being led by student volunteers from Malmö University. These focus groups are:

- Work with minors: This group will focus on activities, projects etc. that are related to helping refugee minors. If you are interested in being part of this work contact Marzia Mattes.

- Work with women: This group will focus on activities, projects and initiatives that will assist refugee women with the different challenges they may face in Sweden. If you are interested in being part of this group contact Sofia Kristoffersen.

- Language Cafe: This group will organise a weekly language cafe for refugees, where students can teach Swedish and/or English to refugees on a volunteer basis. The language cafe is currently looking for volunteers to sign up to help the refugees practice their Swedish (mostly basic conversations). Of course, it would also be advantageous to have some English speakers for refugees who want to practice their English plus anyone with Arabic, Persian, Kurdish or Pashto is a bonus! If you are interested in being part of this group contact Marisol Pérez.

Rights and Frequently Asked Questions: This group will focus on arranging a “FAQ” document for refugees in which refugees can find information about their rights and possibilities in Sweden. This will be a document to look back to when questions arise, in order to ensure the right information is passed on. This work will require a lot of research and also cooperation with legal entities in Malmö/Sweden. If you are interested in being part of this group contact Paul Hattig.

Working in conjunction with these four main focus groups is an Information Technology (IT) group that is being supported by the multinational technological and consulting corporation IBM who is keen to see where they can support our needs in this area. In the spirit of this, IBM has invited us to participate in an Open Hack they are running in conjunction with students at Lund University on 4th-6th of December. “Hacking” in this instance is used in the sense of exploratory programming and an Open Hack or a “Hackathon” (a word that combines Hack and Marathon) takes place over many hours or days and is usually competitive. Open Hacks are used as a way to quickly develop innovative new technology or software by challenging the best, brightest and most creative people to be involved in the Open Hack – mainly IT developers, coders, software designers etc. This IBM Open Hack is a “Hack for Humanity” (focusing on Humanitarian issues) and IBM is hoping to use real life challenges from MUFR in this exercise. If you or anyone you know would like to join the Hack, just click here.

Initiatives like the ones above have given the MUFR a positive reputation that has been growing, enabling them to be involved in other community activities for refugees. This includes involvement in an initiative by local dentists to visit transit homes for refugee children to teach them about dental health and hygiene and distribute toothbrushes to all the children which has been an extremely successful endeavor. Whilst visiting these transit homes, we also take the opportunity to deliver any donated shoes, clothes or toys for the children staying there. For any information regarding this initiative or any others outside of the four focus groups, feel free to contact me personally.

Formal MUFR meetings take place every Thursday at the Student Union building and consist of not only MAH students and staff, but also include invited guests from various organisations such as IBM, Individuell Människohjälp and others who are keen to partner with MAH to ensure that our initiatives are valuable to the refugee community and truly meet their needs.

If you are interested in getting involved with MUFR within the scope of any of these focus groups or initiatives or would like to propose a new focus group, join the Malmö University for Refugees Facebook page, contact any relevant groups as outlined above and come along to any Thursday meeting held from 12:00 to 13:00 in the Student Union at MAH.

By Suzanne Snowden.

Image Credit:

Picture 1&2: Malmö University for Refugees

The post Malmö University for Refugees – Helping the Community appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Memories from the Middle East

Céline Sonnenberg — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 17:19:07 +0000

It is almost 12:00 PM, I have been on the road from Sweden to Germany for over 9 hours, and that alone is reason enough to be exhausted. But this time I got to enjoy not only a 30-minute delay and continuous anxiety about missing my connecting train, but also a drunken musician as my seat neighbour, who refused to stop playing music on a night train and absolutely had to pay his 80 Euro ticket in coins.

But just as the train finally enters my rail destination a woman with a hijab approaches me, holding the hand of a little girl, her husband anxiously waits behind her with their second daughter. They are from Iraq and according to the badges around their neck should now be in a refugee home close to Hanover and not about a hundred kilometres south of it. In the next minutes we establish not only that the family took the wrong train and that there is no train back for them tonight, but also that their third child is in the refugee camp they cannot get to.

I realise how luxurious having one stressful day of traveling is in comparison. After many calls and a lot of discussion, she and her family are finally safe on the way to a closer refugee camp for the night. But this occurrence makes me think. How can such an organised country as Germany allow a family of four to get lost, without anyone to contact for information? What would their situation be like if they stayed in a Middle Eastern refugee camp? Would it be any better?

Working with countries in the Middle East to improve the situation for refugees and, ultimately, keeping refugees from coming to Europe is not a new plan. The sudden readiness of the EU to cooperate with Erdogan to decrease the influx of refugees shows the dedication of Western countries to solve the crisis close to its base, as far away from Europe´s borders as possible.

But how realistic is this plan? When refugees in rich countries like Germany freeze in tents in late October and are missing shoes for the cold months in Sweden, how are poorer countries like Lebanon supposed to take care of the refugees from Syria and Iraq effectively?

Cassandra Carr is a Canadian student who worked with the Lebanese humanitarian organisation called  Blue Mission. With first-hand experience working in a camp, Cassandra has answers to some of my questions.

The Organisation offers psychosocial support, primary health care services, and informal education as well as access to libraries in 18 Lebanese refugee camps.
When I think of these camps, I imagine stability, but this contradicts the common notion of squalid and unequipped tent cities in the worst cases.

Cassandra says that “the camps are not permanent or set up by any organisation, at least not the ones we were active in. They just popped up or disappeared ungoverned, often in abandoned or half destroyed buildings, or were just people gathering with their tents.” Most of the refugees Cassandra worked with are Syrians and the majority are women and children.

She continues by saying that “the situation is really bad. Obviously some camps are off worse than others, but just in general there are so many sick people. And while there were organisations offering primary health care and medicine distribution, access to doctors and nurses was sparse. Many people needed a lot more than primary health care, but could not afford going to a hospital or doctor, who would offer that.”

Poor sanitation and overfilled camps lead to growing sickness within them, and Cassandra tells me that sometimes as many as 30 families use one bathroom. But the poor medical care is not only due to a lack of resourced. Cultural differences also play a huge role: “Lebanon in general is a lot more liberal, when it comes to contact between men and women, so it was not immediately obvious that many Syrian refugee women were not seeking medical care, simply because we had a male doctor, while the idea of masculinity kept a lot of Syrian men from talking to a female counsellor.”

With struggles to fulfil the basic needs of refugees, integration is far off. For example many of the refugee children cannot even attend Lebanese schools due to losing certificates and transcripts during their journey to Lebanon. Currently, Cassandra does not know of any programmes that can alleviate this issue and integrate refugees into Lebanese society.

Additional historical context makes interaction between the Lebanese public and the refugees even more difficult. Syria occupied Lebanon from 1976 to 2005 during the Lebanese civil war. Many Lebanese feel that even letting Syrian refugees into their country is a huge breech of national unity and trust in the Lebanese government. These underlying regional conflicts are not rare in the Middle East and are only fuelled further by religious disputes between Shiites and Sunnites.

Another huge challenge is the lack of infrastructure and cooperation between humanitarian organisations. Many of the local organisations compete for funding and numbers. Cassandra points out that “there is a huge lack of communication and often numerous organisations offer the same services in the same camps. There is no common approach and no coordination. The funds are being cut so programmes are not only decreasing in quality, programmes focus more on competing with other humanitarian groups for money rather than on working together.” Cassandra sees that the ineffectiveness of humanitarian work in the region is due to the constant threat of conflict or even war. “There is no certainty for peace, for a still functioning system even the next day, so a lot of work that is done is very short-sighted.”

It may seem like a good approach on paper as the EU supports Syria and Iraq´s neighbouring countries to take in the flow of refugees they do not want, but a lot is ignored when planning these refugee camps and the allocation of resources.: The poor infrastructure and coordination, competition between humanitarian groups, ethnic tensions, and the lack of training and background-expertise of many aid workers create long-term problems that do not have a quick fix.

For many refugees living under these circumstances, Cassandra believes that staying is simply not an option. “If organisations could somehow stabilize refugees’ lives by creating long-term opportunities for work and study, and gave access to health care, I think refugees might want to stay long-term.”

However this is a long-term process as currently “refugees simply can´t sustain themselves in Lebanon”, making a further flight to Europe so much more attractive. If the European Union really wants to make their dream of keeping refugees within the Middle Eastern region, there is a lot to be done.

By Céline Sonnenberg

Image credit:

Picture 1&2: World Bank Photo Collection, Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 

The post Memories from the Middle East appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Transforming our World

Sarah Pfaffernoschke — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 17:15:40 +0000

The weekend of September 25, 2015 was historic: not only did Pope Francis give a speech to the US Congress for the first time in papal history, 136 heads of state, 30 ministers, and 9000 delegates gathered in New York City at the United Nations Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. It was a most historic weekend as all 193 UN member states turned in their written agreement to a document officially called ‘Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.
In this document, the world speaks with one voice to promise a more just, healthful, and peaceable global whole. What can we expect from this optimistic agenda? Will the world be a better place in 15 years?

The so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an ambitious set of 17 goals and 169 targets with the objective of making the world more equal and sustainable so that future generations will be able to live on our planet in a fairer and hopefully more peaceful way. Although their adoption is an encouraging sign of good-will, the agreement over the global indicators for measuring success and implementation, due by March 2016, will either
reinforce or dampen hopes for the agenda.
These goals, however, are nothing innovative or ground-breaking. In 2000, the world had made its first set of promises to the poorest and most disadvantaged of the worlds populous.
For an overview of the achievement of the MDGs see an analysis in The Guardian.
Those Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at, amongst other points, lifting everyone out of extreme poverty while eradicating hunger, diseases, and illiteracy.
The goals sought to increase access to health care and clean water for everyone.
In essence, these benchmarks have barely been fulfilled. To concede, most goals achieved a trend in the right

direction, however. Most significantly, extreme poverty reduced dramatically: almost half of the worlds population in 1990 lived in extreme poverty and the figure has dropped to 14% of the total population in 2015. With regards to primary education for children around the globe, clear progress was made. Currently, 91% of all
children are enrolled in school.
Nevertheless, despite the positive trends, progress has been uneven as the poorest are still living in the periphery where they are vulnerable to starvation, disease, sexual violence, illiteracy, displacement, and other travesties. It is well known that large gaps persist between the worlds wealthiest and poorest. In the end, a lot of work remains to be done.
Hunger and poverty persist as well as the lack of basic services.

The SDGs, which will be enacted for the next 15 years until the end of 2030, can thus be seen as ‘only’ a follow-up to those Millennium Development Goals expiring at the end of this year. However, the SDGs are more than just an updated version of the MDGs. They are designed to be more inclusive and universal, addressing the developing as well as the developed world in an effort to integrate every nation in this process of transforming our world for the better. The adoption of the SDGs comes at a time when international collective action is urgently needed. We see new conflicts arising through the Middle East and Africa more frequently than wars being settled. The number of refugees is as high as during World War II. The international community does not seem to be able or willing to devote enough energy and time to discuss issues in a diplomatic way and somehow seem to drift apart as they choose
sides and fund conflicts and even wars. Although it is a well-worn cliché, the United Nations needs to remember that the SDGs are at the mercy of individual states who predominantly focus on their own interests and monetary awards. And beyond that, the seemingly-intractable challenges of poverty, hunger, spread of disease, access to clean water, gender inequality, environmental degradation, lack of education, child mortality and so on and so
forth are still far from being resolved.

In line with this dilemma, we have to ask ourselves: What are the SDGs actually worth? Are they mere empty sentiments only speaking to a far-reaching desire for global peace and prosperity? How much persistent effort and funding can we actually expect from the United Nations member states? And, will all 193 members seriously devote themselves to the achievement and implementation of these ambitious goals?
It is probably naïve and utopian to believe in the absolute fulfilmentof the goals by 2030.
The adoption of the SDGs is just the first step in a series of more difficult achievements. International devotion to the implementation of the goals coupled with the willingness of each government to make national laws cohesive with goals is as indispensable as an ambition to see global and private sectors contributing their part to the achievement. There must be a refocusing of priorities and a transformation in the ways of conducting business.
In laymans terms, we must reinvent the wheel. Some sceptics have argued that the fulfilment of the agenda is an 18th goal in itself, implying that it is nearly impossible to achieve success in 2030-because escalating factors work against the agenda. What naysayers ignore, however, is the fact that almost all countries of the world made a considerable effort to produce a document in which they commit themselves to cooperation in order to jointly
work on the positive and sustainable transformation of the world, which alone is a significant success.

The unanimous adoption by the UN’s 193 member states is a first step, but indeed a major one. The second step will be the UN member states agreement over the set of global indicators for the measurement, monitoring, and review of the
implementation of the SDGs, which is due by March 2016. The third, is in the hands of the policy makers, private
businesses, and the civil society and will continuously demand and encourage national leaders to work on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It remains to be seen whether this historic weekend last month will once be remembered as the weekend where the world at the UN Summit adopted these Sustainable Development Goals whole-heartedly, setting an agenda which did transform the world into a better place, or whether it was just an empty promise to those who are still living in extreme poverty, without access to health care, education and clean water.

By Sarah Pfaffernoschke

Image Credit:

Picture 1: Sarah Pfaffernoschke

Picture 2: United Nations Photo licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The post Transforming our World appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Sankara’s Heirs

Paul Hattig — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 17:13:58 +0000

Night falls fast in the Land of the Incorruptible. The quietude that covers Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, and the gloriously starlit West African sky stretching from horizon to horizon contradict the turmoil of the country. Burkina Faso is among the poorest in the world according to the Human Development Index, the literacy rate is the second lowest in the world, and almost half of the country lives below the poverty level. Public dissatisfaction culminated in a revolution in October 2014, sweeping President Blaise Campaoré out of office after 27 years. The country appeared to be on the way to democracy, following the example of the young reformer who ruled the country 30 years ago: Thomas Sankara.

One night while in Burkina Faso, I decide to go to one of the many cinemas in “Africa’s movie capital.” My new friend Jacky, who sells T-shirts of Thomas Sankara on the streets of Ouagadougou, joins me. This summer, all of the cinemas show the same movie: “Capitaine Thomas Sankara.”

By the time we arrive at “Cine Neerwaya” it is midnight and the last screening of the day is about to start. A beamer buzzes quietly in the middle of the room, a tired operator materialises out of the gloomy shade in the back of the auditorium and inserts the disk. Suddenly, a charismatic voice fills the auditorium: “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas!” The voice is belonging to, of course, Thomas Sankara.

The young president, nicknamed “Africa’s Ché Guevara,” governed Burkina Faso in the 1980s. Not only did Sankara give the country the name it carries to this day – Burkina Faso, The Land of The Incorruptible – he also fought for women’s rights, against desertification and other environmental issues, criticised France’s former president, François Mitterrand, for the imperialist role former colonist countries on the world stage, and tried to break the country’s dependence on foreign aid, claiming “the hand that feeds you controls you” and forbade forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Also, he declared a dream of his: to see Burkinabe astronauts trained in an African space program that could compete with Soviet plans. Lastly, within two years, he doubled the amount of children going to school through a education reforms. On the 15^th of October 1987 Thomas Sankara was assassinated by Blaise Campaoré, prematurely ending Burkina Faso’s positive evolution.

When Sankara died his property consisted of a house that was yet to be paid for, $350 USD in his bank account, several bikes and two guitars. Testimony of a lifestyle that was in stark contrast to many African leaders then and now. His lifestyle as well as his political agenda made him suspicious to international organisations, such as the World Bank, and Burkinabe feudal lords who he had previously disowned. Campaoré made sure not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor and started to privatise what Sankara had nationalised. As opposed to Sankara’s regime Campaoré’s government relied on oligarchical and dictatorial governance as well as several international allies who had disregarded Burkina Faso during Sankara’s regime. Campaoré distinguished himself as a corrupt leader who favoured nepotism although he was a valued ally internationally because of Burkina Faso’s rich resources.

Now when I stroll the dusty streets of Ouagadougou, 27 years after the coup d’état that murdered Burkina Faso’s visionary, Sankara, I come upon news stands on every street corner. Crowds of people gather in front of these to catch the latest scandals about Campaoré: corruption, depletion of the country’s resources, and murders of outspoken journalists. Burkinabe civilians tag the walls of their hometown with “Justice pour Sankara”, and “Justice pour notre morts” – Justice for Sankara and Justice for our dead. What has happened?

In late 2013 Campaoré, who was still president, tried to initiate a constitutional amendment to extend his term limits. The opposition organized protests and the people assembled on the streets. During the last weeks of October 2014, days before the amendment was called to vote, Burkina Faso saw the biggest demonstration in its nation’s history. Protestors demanded, as Sankara once demanded, : “La patrie où la mort!” – The fatherland or death. Bowing to public pressure Campaoré resigned. A transitional government was initiated and headed by the military leader Yakouba Zida. Along with transitional President Michel Kafando, Prime Minister Zida was commissioned to organise free and fair democratic elections. The rule of one of Africa’s last “big men” of the likes of Mobutu, Eyadema or Omar Bongo ended.

The summer after the revolution is a summer of hope and anxiety. Wherever I go, whoever I ask, I always get similar answers: the elections will be a step forward for the country, but the move towards democracy is a perilous one. Pierre, who used to be involved with a gold mining venture in Tiébélé, which is close to the Ghanaian boarder, now runs a small hostel. He says Burkina Faso should take precautionary measures to not replicate the devolution of the Arab Spring. The ongoing civil war in Mali, their northern neighbour and the growing extremism in West Africa with “Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” in the north and “Boko Haram” in the east of Burkina Faso, create an unstable and hostile environment for democratization to take root, Pierre warns.

Most Burkinabe are, however, proud and confident when they talk about the revolution. They talk about unity, prosperity, democracy. Hopes are up, and so the spirit of Thomas Sankara lives on.

Four months later. Almost one year has passed since Campaoré resigned. 11^th of October 2015. The day the people of Burkina Faso, the Bobo and the Dioula, the Mossi and the Lobi and all the other peoples in the country, have been looking for over the past year. The day that incited so much hope, so much optimism, and so much tension. The day of elections has come. But the situation has changed.

A month before the election, the Régiment de sécurité présidentiel, an elite troupe commissioned to protect the president, under Campaorés associate General Diendéré Gilbert, bursts into a cabinet meeting and arrests the transitional government. Diendéré announces elections came too early for the country. The beacon of hope the revolution has become for African countries in the grip of rulers unwilling to give up power, from Rwanda to Congo Republic, seems extinguished.

Burkinabe have now taken to the streets once again. In Bobo–Dioulasso, the country’s second largest city, a crowd of women marched to demand President Kafando’s release. In Ouagadougou, once more stones flew against the seat of government. But this time, the protesters have strong allies from Washington D.C. to Paris. A delegation of African governments have called for a mediation. A tentative peace agreement has been made between Diendéré and Kafando which raises hope that elections may be rescheduled for the 22^nd of November. While the situation in Burkina Faso remains uncertain, hope is spreading once more. But with hope here are no promises.

Yet confidence is fitting. As I pass the throng of Burkinabe after the movie I see dedication and an unshakeable will for democracy. Sankara may not be here to lead them, but whatever may happen this November, the people have learned one thing: “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas!”

By Paul Hattig

Image Credit:

Picture 1&2: Paul Hattig

The post Sankara’s Heirs appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Two Faces of Sri Lanka

Viivi Lepistö — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 11:35:10 +0000

As the holiday season is approaching, Sri Lanka is booming as one of Asia’s top destinations for low-price family holidays, all-inclusive resorts and authentic south Asian culture. The Sri Lankan government’s efforts to

promote tourism are paying off – attracting 1.5 million tourists in 2014, the flow of foreign visitors is expected to rise considerably, and with the tourists come foreign investors as well as international attention. Sri Lanka is a newbie in the Asian tourist scene, but its image as a dreamy holiday destination contradicts with the critique the country has received from the UN in the past couple of years.

Since the end of the 26-year civil war in 2009 the political situation has remained unstable. The war took place between two ethnic groups, the Hindu Tamil minority and the mostly Buddhist Sinhalese majority. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sought a separate land in the North of Sri Lanka and the war ended with the government forces defeating the Tamil separatists. The estimation of casualties during the last phases of the war vary between 9,000 (numbers by Sri Lankan government) and 40,000 (numbers in the UN report of 2015) and no one seems to know the number of disappearances. It has been argued that Tamils who remained in custody have faced abuse and other degrading treatment.

The distinction between the Tamil territory and the rest of the island state has left Sri Lanka with problems such as a high number of internally displaced persons in the northern parts of the country, economic inequality between the areas and violence against minorities. Moreover, this is attributed to actions of the government. The Tamils are trapped in the northern parts of the country where reconstruction and support is needed the most, even though they are no longer interested in having their own separate land.

The Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena, elected earlier this year, is on a mission to build ‘a modern Sri Lankan nation’ based on justice and truth. The UN is naturally a little sceptic towards such promises. The government elected in August 2015 doesn’t want to take part in any investigation regarding the violations during and after the war, which obviously stands in direct contradiction with their promises of truth and reconciliation. As the UN is setting up bodies to inspect war crimes, forced disappearances and human rights violations, Sri Lanka is under pressure to face its history.

While others are busy solving war crimes, the tourism industry continues to fill the Sri Lankan beaches with new resorts and restaurants. According to Lonely Planet, Sri Lanka is described by “endless beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming people, oodles of elephants, rolling surf, cheap prices, fun trains, famous tea and flavourful food.” The coastline south of the capital Colombo attracts family holiday goers, New Year’s Eve beach parties and young travellers on a budget. Whale watching, swimming with turtles, and
the country’s eight UNESCO Heritage sites are the main attractions. This development can be observed in the war-torn north-east as well, where locals are still struggling to recover from the war. The newly built hotels and resorts are mostly financed by foreign companies who only invest in the tourism sector leaving very little options for the locals. In some cases they even prevent the locals from continuing their traditional way of making a living, as in the fishing industry, to give an example.

Foreign investment can be classified as a difficult topic without doubt. Questions regarding land rights, appreciating the original culture and contributing to developing the country in general are only a few examples among many social and economic issues of foreign involvement. All this applies to post-civil war Sri Lanka. The government prefers to send an image of a country that is back to normal and has a blooming industry, while the locals hardly profit from the development. The growing tourism industry risks to do serious harm to the already fragile nation.

Sri Lanka is clearly struggling to solve the effects of the war that lasted for nearly three decades. The question is whether foreign investments and the incoming flow of tourists are the right way. Sri Lanka could use tourism that is environmentally and culturally conscious as well as sustainable and socially just. However, this does not obviate the need for implementing measures by the UN to finally start unravelling the crimes committed by both parties during and after the civil war. Apart from seeking justice for the human rights violations committed during and after the war, the international community should advise the Sri Lankan government to invest in its people and infrastructure, and to balance the geographical and ethnic inequality that continues to divide the country.

By Viivi Lepistö

Image credit:

Picture 1: Sergio Carbajo licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2: Sergio Carbajo licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The post Two Faces of Sri Lanka appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Living Without Existing

Pam Tannous — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 09:28:03 +0000

Due to self-determination, states have the right to define citizenship within their borders. A person who has no recognised nationality or citizenship is regarded as stateless. Gender inequality, which has undermined women´s dignity and equal status as citizens mostly in Middle Eastern and North African states, has made it difficult and sometimes impossible for women to pass on their nationality to their children. In the case of Lebanon, the inability for women to transfer their citizenship has far-reaching consequences that may result in stateless children.

Only three years ago, just 100 States adhered to the United Nation’s two statelessness treaties: the 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. As of today, critical mass on this issue is nearly attainable as the total number of accessions has risen to 144. However, 27 countries, including Lebanon, deny mothers the ability to pass on their citizenship to their children and to a foreign-born husband. Under the current Lebanese law, children can only receive citizenship through their father. Consequently, marriage to a foreign husband and children born to a Lebanese mother and foreign father would not be registered under the Lebanese government.

Today, approximately 76, 000 women are married to non-Lebanese men, making their children foreigners in their own country. As a result, these children are disenfranchised. They are barred from residency permits to remain in their own country, prohibited from working unless they apply for work permits, and are unable to access fundamental government services such as public education and health care.

Battling for citizenship rights, many have attempted to send proposals for new naturalization laws to the Lebanese parliament, but, not only were they never approved, the parliament said they did not receive them . While justifying unfair citizenship laws, the Lebanese government claims that excluding matrilineal citizenship and other jus sanguinis naturalization rights avoids possible sectarian imbalance. This widespread fear of naturalising children and spouses not purely of Lebanese descent, particularly of Palestinian descent, exposes the blatant discriminatory ethos of Lebanese politicians. This is because the government fears multiculturalism and as a result bars greater citizenship rights. The government and others who are against liberalizing citizenship rights argue that by introducing new ethnic minorities to Lebanon may aggravate pre-existing tensions among Lebanese Shias, Sunnis, and Christians. They conclude that granting naturalization to more individuals will lead to an increasingly unstable government and economy that is already pressured.

Today, around 200, 000 men, women, and children, mostly of Palestinian origin, are stateless, although a female family member is Lebanese. The United Nations Refugee Agency considers Lebanon as one of the seven worst countries when it comes to safeguards against statelessness.

Although, to most individuals and governments, citizenship, just like DNA, is a matter of heritage and is something a parent passes to a child without thought or effort. However, every one in seven countries has laws or policies prohibiting or limiting the rights of women to pass citizenship to a child or non-citizen spouse. The U.N. tracks these laws as a part of its work to monitor stateless populations, and particularly children who may become stateless if they cannot acquire nationality from either parent.

The U.N. assumes that citizenship is a basic right for everyone since it is proof of existence and guarantees basic rights to civil, political, and social engagement.

Almost exactly a year ago, in an attempt to end statelessness around the globe, the United Nations launched the UNHCR #IBELONG Campaign to End Statelessness by 2024 and it aims to make citizenship a fundamental right by shining light on this issue to encourage states to reform their naturalization laws.

Most victims of statelessness in Lebanon and the rest of the world are children that are faced with a challenging future in the country where they were born. The #IBELONG campaign created an Open Letter, a 10-point Global Action Plan to End Statelessness by 2024, and a petition that has signatories calling for states like Lebanon to rectify this dire situation. But where are we almost exactly a year after the #IBelong Campaign was launched on November 4, 2014? Citizenship rights are still denied and more individuals are categorized as stateless, with no state to belong to. Moreover, approximately 10 million individuals are stateless around the world and the number escalates as a baby is born stateless every 10 minutes. Although there are more states in adherence to the two United Nations’ statelessness treaties than ever before, progress is glacial.

Lebanon denies women´s rights to transfer her citizenship, but, at the same time, claims to be the most liberalised country in the Middle East. Among others, rampant ethnic tensions and a refugee crisis, the Lebanese government has to balance many issues, but it does not work in their favour to forget about women’s rights and deny them the right to pass on their citizenship to their children and spouses. As the UNHCR Open Letter states: “Ending statelessness would right these terrible wrongs. But it would also strengthen society in countries where stateless people are found, by making it possible to draw on their energy and talents. It is both an obligation and an opportunity for governments everywhere to put an end to this exclusion.” Time will only tell if by 2024 the UNHCR and #IBelong Campaign end statelessness for good.

By Pamela Tannous

Image Credit:

Picture 1: A.h. king licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Picture 2: r. nial bradshaw licensed under CC BY 2.0

The post Living Without Existing appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.