Daily Archives: September 27, 2021

Bishop Robert Brennan| Special to The Columbus Dispatch

The recent canonization of St. Margaret of Castello is a moment of hope and inspiration for people all over the world, but it has local significance here in Columbus, where the parish of St. Patrick has long housed the shrine of St. Margaret visited by people nearby and from around the country.

Born with severe physical challenges -including but not limited to blindness and stunted growth and physical development -Margaret suffered terrible rejection from her own family even to the point where her own parents left her praying at a shrine in Castello, Italy, never to return to her.

Left on her own in a cruel society, Margaret became a source of strength and hope to many people in her calling as a Dominican sister. Her power to transform lives went far beyond what might be expected from her physical stature, especially in the 14th century.

Margaret, now St. Margaret, teaches us that the core of human dignity is not based on family status, physical appearances or strength. It is not granted by any government or agency. Rather it is bestowed on each of us by God who created us.

The first pages of the Judeo-Christian scriptures take us to the heart of human dignity. God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27). What sets the human person apart from all of creation is the fact of being created in the very image and likeness of God.

Consequently, I need to look into the eye of every individual I encounter and see deep within the very image and likeness of God. You might call it the spark of the divine fire. This is an extraordinary claim and as such informs all the moral teaching, public witness and social services for the church in every age. Every person, created in the image and likeness of God, is of inestimable value and deserves profound respect. Such respect goes deeper and is more demanding than tolerance. It is rooted in truth and dignity.

This reality forms the foundation for the churchs defense of human life at its most vulnerable stage, its very beginning. The church witnesses to the inviolable dignity of human life at every stage from conception to its natural end. The pro-life stance of the church forms a foundation that frames all other moral stances.

This approach to human dignity requires an absolute rejection of racism, antisemitism and every prejudice based on ethnicity or religion. I cant speak to current theories on racial justice except to say that the Catholic approach will always be built on human dignity.

Similarly, the recognition of human dignity leaves no room for violence, oppression, human trafficking and other crimes against human life. It must inform the Churchs teaching on the human person, marriage and the family, immigration, violence in our community, capital punishment, care for the poor, the environment, respect for those who protect and serve us, the way we speak to and about one another, and now, even our response to a global pandemic.

These are not isolated issues but rather applications of the truth of human dignity. This witness sometimes means going against the grain of systems of thought that change with every generation, instead being rooted in the eternal truths. It means commitment to difficult truths. It means walking patiently with every person, meeting them where they are at a particular moment while speaking the truth in love. Indeed, people of good will may disagree on tactics, but the principle of the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God, must be the core.

To be sure, the sad reality is that we dont always hit the mark, do we? Institutionally, the church, like every community and organization, frequently needs to examine its collective conscience, be honest about history and pursue reform. That is not to reject the past but rather to seek mercy and learn from mistakes.

At the same time, as individuals, none of us is perfect. I need always to admit my failures, confess my sins and seek mercy. Repentance and mercy involve new beginnings and resolving tomoveforward in the truth and love of God.

I look forward to visiting St. Patricks in Columbus soon to celebrate our newly named saint and pray at the shrine. St. Margaret teaches me -indeed she teaches all of us -that God can accomplish important things through every one of us and thus to open our eyes in amazement to the image of God all around us in what Pope Francis refers to as the saints next door.

The Most Rev. Robert Brennan is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.

Keeping the Faith is a column featuring the perspectives of a variety of faith leaders from the Columbus area.

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Keeping the faith: Respect for human dignity must be at heart of actions, moral principles - The Columbus Dispatch

Its unprecedented the last major humanitarian effort like this was after the Vietnam War, said Jeff Kinney, with the Worcester-based Ascentria Care Alliance, which is working to bring about 400 evacuees to Worcester and Western Massachusetts.

But this one is massive because it happened so fast, and the resettlement is going to have to happen so fast, Kinney said.

The challenge facing Massachusetts has sparked what is being dubbed an all hands on deck response as cities like Worcester are organizing community-level efforts to provide temporary housing, line up volunteers to collect donations, and identify businesses willing to offer work to evacuees.

Meg Gallo, with the Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center in Boston, said the effort has been a huge undertaking. The organization is working to bring about 150 to 250 people to the state between now and March, she said.

But they have been getting help, according to Gallo.

The people of Massachusetts have been absolutely phenomenal; there has been an outpouring of support, she said.

A family of three was the first to arrive in Massachusetts on Friday, followed by another family Sunday night, according to advocates.

The family that arrived Sunday was greeted with hugs and handshakes from Mariam Gas, founder of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center in Boston, and Mary Truong, director of the office of refugees and immigrants at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The family included a mother and father with three young children, a boy and two girls. Gallo asked that their names not be published out of concern for the safety of relatives still in Afghanistan.

Now that theyve reached Massachusetts, and are expected to resettle in Worcester, the father said he was looking forward to enrolling his children in school.

That is very important to me, he said, speaking through a translator. I [also] want my wife to be calm and not scared. We just want to start a peaceful life here in America.

Gallo said the father had worked with the United States while living in Afghanistan.

The father said he was living in fear as he watched the Taliban topple different areas of Afghanistan before they took the capital city of Kabul in August.

It was very scary for me and my family, he said. Im so grateful to the people that helped me get out of there with my family. Im so happy. And Im thankful to the people that are welcoming us here.

Those new arrivals are expected to join hundreds of Afghan refugees and Special Interest Visa holders who worked with the US government already living in the state. Massachusetts has welcomed more than 15,000 refugees from around the world over the past decade, according to advocates.

The new evacuees from Afghanistan include people who fled the Taliban-controlled country due to the threat of persecution, including the oppression of women, violence, and death.

Many of them assisted American military and government officials during the war, along with their families, said Tim Garvin, president and chief executive of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, which is part of the Worcester area response.

In their own way, they are American patriots, Garvin said. Im proud about what we are doing to support them.

Governor Charlie Baker, and other leaders, said they support efforts to bring evacuees to the state. Last month, Baker said in a tweet that the state would be ready to assist Afghan refugees seeking safety and peace in America.

In a statement released over the weekend, a Baker spokesman reiterated that support.

Massachusetts is pleased to welcome the first Afghan evacuees to the Commonwealth, and looks forward to working with the federal government and local nonprofits who serve these populations as additional evacuees arrive in the coming weeks and months, the statement said.

Daniel Pereira, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said Sunday that the United States has a responsibility to Afghans who seek to resettle here.

We fully support the right of these Afghan refugees to come to Boston, to Massachusetts and we hope that all of the organizations and the government here can help them build a new life here in the Commonwealth, he said.

Another challenge is a bureaucratic issue.

Many of the Afghan evacuees dont qualify for refugee status under US law, and are instead considered humanitarian parolees, said Jeffrey Thielman, the president and chief executive officer of the International Institute of New England. The difference means that many evacuees dont qualify for refugee benefits, making their transition to new lives in the United States all the more difficult.

Massachusetts officials are trying to address some of the shortcomings.

State lawmakers are working on legislation that would offer Afghan evacuees access to MassHealth coverage, advocates said Sunday.

State lawmakers are also considering a $12 million proposal to provide more financial aid to Afghan evacuees, and fund services, including more caseworkers to help them access essential services.

Thielman said the additional funding is vital to help people with the transition from learning English and job skills, to navigating school systems and health care and also to hire case workers and other staff to assist.

His organization is seeking to place about 200 people in Boston, Lowell, and New Bedford, plus 50 more in New Hampshire.

The funding proposal is backed by Ascentria, IINE, along with other resettlement groups working to bring Afghan evacuees to the state Catholic Charities offices in Boston and Springfield, Jewish Family Services in Metrowest and Western Massachusetts, and the Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center.

The proposed funding would include $7.5 million to cover the cost of individual one-time $5,000 payments for each of up to 1,500 Afghan evacuees in Massachusetts, according to the organizations. Most of the money would help cover the costs of clothing, food, and housing, while one-quarter would support resettlement providers to aid them, according to the proposal.

Another $4.5 million would be allocated for legal assistance to help people with their immigration status and provide an eventual pathway to citizenship, the groups said.

Currently, the evacuees would receive a one-time payment of roughly $1,000 per person through a federal program, according to Thielman.

Evacuees left Afghanistan very quickly, and they have not had a lot of time to adjust for life in this country, Thielman said. If we want people to have an accelerated process of integration in our state, weve got to provide them with extra resources and it will come back to help us.

As the state prepares for the influx of newcomers, some communities are getting ready to greet the new residents.

Advocates said they anticipated those families arriving over the weekend would relocate temporarily in the coming days to apartments in Worcester, where the city anticipated taking in about 200 evacuees, according to Mayor Joseph Petty.

Petty said city officials have been preparing to address the needs of evacuees during weekly meetings with organizations like the United Way of Central Massachusetts, local businesses, and representatives with the offices of officials like state Senator Harriette Chandler, US Representative James McGovern, and US Senator Edward Markey.

The citys school department will play a key role in assisting evacuees by working with children and their families, Petty said. Worcester officials are also working with local landlords to find apartments that can serve as new homes for the citys new residents.

Worcester has a history of over 100 years of taking refugees... it makes us a welcoming community here, Petty said. It pays dividends in the long run by accepting people here, and making them feel wanted and part of the culture.

Globe correspondent Charlie McKenna contributed to this report.

John Hilliard can be reached at john.hilliard@globe.com. Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickStoico.

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As the first Afghan families arrived in Mass. this weekend, the state faces a historic humanitarian challenge - The Boston Globe

The Tanintharyi Region in southern Myanmar is a beautiful and rich expanse of rainforest, ocean, and mangroves where we still have wild tigers and elephants, and where the forest provides all that we need in life. It is my home land. Our Indigenous communities depend on the forest for food, water, medicine, and our forests depend on Indigenous communities, who manage, conserve and protect them with great care.

The Myanmar military coup risks all our recent progress after 10 years of rebuilding our lives, following 70 years of civil war. Our people plan to fight to protect our lands and win back our lives. We want the rest of the world to understand why.

Our Territory and Our Struggle

Though it is a rich, green land, our territory and our communities have also been terrorized and traumatized by decades of armed conflict at the hands of the Myanmar military. In 1948, our Karen people began our fight for greater autonomy, for self-determination, and for our basic rights against fascist oppression by the Myanmar military. The resulting civil war saw villages burned, people were killed, raped and tortured, and over 80,000 were displaced into the forest and along the Thai-Myanmar border. Relentless oppression of our people and our Karen identity meant that we never had a chance to develop, to forge our own destiny, to manage and protect our territory.

In 2012, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Myanmar military signed a ceasefire agreement, bringing to a halt 70 years of brutal civil war in our territory. During this time of relative peace, communities were able to re-establish their livelihoods, manage and protect their lands and forests, participate in political processes, and finally live and breathe without the fear of being shot, abducted, and tortured. We were able to mobilize our communities, develop new institutions, and create new ideas for a collective and peaceful future.

While the ceasefire stopped the bullets flying and the soldiers destroying our villages, we experienced a barrage of new challenges. Suddenly new laws, concessions, development projects, and national parks threatened to confiscate our lands the lands that we had already been displaced from so many times before. 1.7 million acres of land were handed to crony companies for oil palm concessions, 3.5 million acres were earmarked for the Ridge to Reef project, a large-scale conservation program funded by the GEF, and other parts of our region were taken for special economic zones, infrastructure development, and mining operations. For us, it felt like the rug was being pulled from under our feet, just when we could finally stand.

In response to these new challenges, Indigenous communities and civil society organizations started to create their own conservation areas proving their ability to conserve their own resources and protect their lands and forests from those who wished to destroy them. Communities across the region mobilized, strengthened their customary tenure systems, and documented their boundaries and land use systems. We showed policy makers how we govern our territories, and sought to have our rights recognized, and respected. We built networks with Indigenous communities throughout the country, creating new spaces of inter-ethnic solidarity, and started to join international platforms with other Indigenous activists from across the globe. We campaigned against mega projects with great success our campaigns halted mining operations, suspended palm oil concessions and cancelled conservation projects. We knew that united, we could win.

Together with my community, we developed new visions for what our territory should look like, and how conservation and development should be carried out. We developed a grassroots alternative to the Ridge to Reef Project, a Landscape of Life that proved that communities were best placed to protect and conserve our territory, and that a peaceful future would include harmony between our Karen people and their forests and biodiversity.

See related: Deforestation surge continues amid deepening uncertainty in Myanmar

Our futures are again uncertain

On February 1st 2021, however, the military staged a coup, arrested members of the elected NLD government, and brutally cracked down on resistance. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) site, over 1,000 people have been killed and nearly 7,000 have been detained or arrested, and the military has started brutal campaigns in ethnic areas once more, dropping bombs on our forests and burning down our villages.

Under the military regime, we cannot protect our land, forest and biodiversity those who attempt to defend their territories will be detained, tortured, or killed and we cannot protect ourselves. Environmental defenders have been targeted by the military for the work that they have done protecting their lands from theft and destruction by military companies and their cronies. Recently, Kyaw Min Htut, a forest defender from Sagaing region was arrested and beaten, along with his family, because of his leading role in organizing his community and protecting surrounding natural resources.

Further, in Tanintharyi Region the offices of many environmental civil society groups have been raided and many environmental defenders have had to flee, hiding from arrest or murder at the hands of the junta. Defending forests and the environment in Myanmar in 2021 is a crime punishable by death.

Despite attacks by the military and decades of destructive development, we still have a lot of forest in our Indigenous territories in Myanmar. Without forests, we cannot survive, and without us, our forests cannot survive. We contribute a lot to climate change mitigation internationally, and our efforts to protect our forests are clear. Attacks by the military on Indigenous peoples and environmental defenders means that the forests are at risk and for this reason we want to say to the world this coup doesnt just affect our country, but the future of the globe.

See related: Environmental activist well-hated by junta is latest to be arrested

Since the coup, our divided nation has become united. We have united in revolution against the military who has stolen our futures from us. We stand together to change the path of history, and until the end of the world we will not give up our efforts. Over 400,000 workers have joined the civil disobedience movement going on permanent strike, youth from across the country have joined the armed resistance, and ethnic armed groups are continuing the struggle to defend their territories together we cannot and must not lose. Our fight is for the future of our people, our nation, our forests, our world.

While our struggle has disappeared from international headlines, we call upon international governments, global social movements, international Indigenous organizations and the international community to stand in solidarity with us and help us to raise our voice the world depends upon it.

If we do not speak out, our futures will be lost, and our forests will be destroyed. Until the end of the world, we will not let it happen.

Esther Wah (real name redacted for safety) is an Indigenous Karen activist.

Related listening from Mongabays podcast: Indigenous land rights and the global push for land privatization, listen here:

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Following coup, Myanmar's Indigenous vow to protect forests 'until the end of the world' (commentary) - Mongabay.com

To the editor:

(re: The election is over move on, Aug. 26)

A president lowers the capital gains tax from 28 percent to 20 percent. He puts a two-year limit on welfare.

I wrote at that time in October 1996 that this will probably not only mean an increase in the working poor, but an explosion in the working homeless. I wasnt a prophet. I simply knew that if you force people to take jobs that dont pay a living wage, they cant afford rent.

He also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that helped export jobs, among other things.

But somehow Helen Morik and Ira Bigeleisen think Bill Clinton was progressive.

Another president started a 30-year, $1 trillion nuclear modernization in 2016. Apparently he feels we cant blow up the world enough times over. He supported a coup in Honduras in 2009, and then opposed letting those fleeing the new, brutal government immigrate to the United States.

He supported the Ukraine coup in 2015 and Saudi Arabias brutal war against Yemen. He fired Shirley Sherrod from the agriculture department based on a dishonestly edited Breitbart video that falsely made her appear to be a racist. But Morik and Bigeleisen considered Barack Obama a progressive.

The following week, theres a letter from Andrea Tekirian (re: Just dont believe the government, Sept. 2) that ignores reality. Despite the governments track record with the truth, you can believe them when they say wear a mask and get vaccinated. Nearly 100 percent of those currently getting the virus are not vaccinated, and nearly 100 percent of those vaccinated are not getting the virus.

If everyone without a legitimate medical reason to decline the vaccine got it, the pandemic would be over.

Also on fantasyland are some union leaders. If they fought as hard against wage freezes and raises that dont keep up with inflation as they do against vaccine mandates, their workers would be living much better. Communication Workers of America president Gloria Middleton has filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the city for requiring all education department employees to be vaccinated. She says our job is to protect the rights of our members.

I didnt realize getting a horrible disease and possibly dying was a labor right.

Moving on to other nonsense, I could never figure out how Trump supporters could fall for someone telling them hell take away their health insurance and replace it with something better without being told what the replacement would be. Also, who falls for someone saying the election is only rigged if he loses?

In baseball, I could never understand how the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to pay Trevor Bauer more money $28 million. This is based on one great season, and another great partial season.

As for the Houston Astros cheating scandal being talked about, how about this? If Billy Martin were alive and managed the New York Yankees in 2017, he would have noticed the trash can banging before every breaking pitch. He would have told the catcher to call for that pitch, and then told the pitcher to throw a high, inside fastball.

After the Astros batter wound up on his butt, that nonsense would have ended.

Now lets deal with music. Someones got to insist that Rock & Roll Hall of Fame officials explain how the boring Doobie Brothers can be inducted while one of the greatest singers of all time, Patti LaBelle, is still not in.

Then theres political correctness run amok. So the Dixie Chicks have to change their name because Dixie is now taboo? What about a Black female singing trio from the 1960s, The Dixie Cups, whose hits included two of my all-time favorites Chapel of Love and People Say?

What about the Black gospel group the Dixie Hummingbirds, who Paul Simon fans may remember for their contributions to the classic albums, There Goes Rhymin Simon and Live Rhymin?

Also, should all the great recordings some straight-out masterpieces attacking racism, sexism and oppression by John Lennon, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Randy Newman and The Temptations that use the n-word be banned?

Then theres Bill Cosby released on a legal technicality. Even in the unlikely event that all 70 women are lying about being raped, he admits to having sex with them. He also admits to giving them Quaaludes. So the man who used his classic television show to preach against consensual fornication and marijuana use thinks repeatedly cheating on his wife is OK.

As for climate change, we need to make public transit less time-consuming. People will not travel two hours when they can drive somewhere in 30 minutes. Also, some trips are not available by public transit. You have to drive or take a cab.

Finally, with John Lennons birthday coming Oct. 9, will someone give him a real tribute? Perhaps this year, one of the few radio stations that still play Lennons recordings, could do just that.

Richard Warren

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Dismissing fantasyland nonsense - The Riverdale Press

Chinese Ambassador To The United States Explains Democracy To The Carter Center & Bush Foundation

The US-China relationship is between the two major nations of the world, as the first and second biggest economies. It is in all our interests that these two nations find common ground for dealing with the worlds main challenges.This speech by Ambassador Qin Gang last week is important in explaining Chinese thinking.

Speech by Ambassador Qin Gang At the Conversation Jointly Held by The Carter Center and The George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations2021/09/22

Dear Mr. Neil Bush,Ms. Barbara Smith,Mr. David J. Firestein,

Ladies and Gentlemen,My Friends,

I want to thank The Carter Center and The George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations for hosting this event. Its my great pleasure to meet with you online.

I wish to thank President Carter for his warm letter and thank Mr. Neil Bush for his kind remarks. We will never forget that 42 years ago, President Carter and Mr. Deng Xiaoping made the historic decision of establishing diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Facing the difficulties in China-US relations after the Cold War, President George H.W. Bush stayed committed to engagement and dialogue with China to increase mutual understanding and trust. Thanks to generations of Chinese and American leaders and people, China-US relations have made remarkable progress.

However, today, some Americans misunderstanding and misjudgment about China is building up. A fundamental one is to define Americas relations with China as democracy versus authoritarianism, and to stoke up ideological confrontation, which has led to serious difficulties in China-US relations. Let me share with you my view here.

What is democracy?

As a political system, the word democracy originated in ancient Greece. It means rule by the people, or sovereignty of the people. So, a basic criterion of democracy should be whether the people have the right to govern their country, whether their needs are met, and whether they have a sense of fulfillment and happiness. At the center of democracy is people. President Lincoln defines democracy as of the people, by the people, for the people. Whatever political system a country chooses, its purpose is to select appropriate persons to govern the country and create a better life for the people.

In ancient Greece, Plato believed that citizens need to receive various kinds of education at early ages. When they grow up, they would be evaluated to see if they are qualified to be politicians in the future, and those selected would be put to the bottom of society to get prepared for ruling the state. After a long time, the middle-aged candidates, who have survived all the trials and tribulations, no longer engage in empty talk, and they become determined and experienced. When they are ready, they would undertake governing positions, but they can only lead simple lives to prevent corruption.

Is China a democracy?

The idea of people first has been deep in the genes of the Chinese since ancient times. Dr. Henry Kissinger said to me, China is a communist and Confucian country. Confucius, an ancient Chinese thinker who lived at the same time as ancient Greece, raised the idea that people are the foundation of a country. Mencius, Confucius follower, said, To a state, the people are the most important thing. The state comes second. The ruler is the least important. An ancient Chinese ruler believed that the people are to the monarch what water is to boat, and he cautioned that the water can carry the boat; it can also overturn the boat. 100 years ago, the Communist Party of China (CPC) was established as a political party for the poor, and its founding mission is to pursue happiness for the people. With the slogans of anti-dictatorship, anti-autocracy, and anti-oppression, it enabled the people to become master of their own country and won the peoples hearts. As the governing party, it has remained faithful to its founding mission: people-centered and serving the people whole-heartedly.

What China has today is whole-process democracy. Chinas Constitution prescribes that all power belongs to the people. The people have the right to election, and they can be broadly involved in national governance according to law. They exercise state power through the National Peoples Congress and local peoples congresses at different levels, equivalent to Americas Congress and state legislatures. Deputies to the peoples congresses at the county and township levels are directly elected. Those above the county level are indirectly elected. People elect deputies, who will politically represent them and elect leaders. Deputies maintain close contact with the people, and all major legislations and decisions are made through scientific and democratic processes and extensive consultations. China also has a unique political consultation system and corresponding institutions, which are important ways for the people to exercise democracy. Any matters that concern peoples keen interests are broadly discussed by peoples congress, the government, political consultative conference, social organizations, and industry associations, before major decisions are made, to make sure what the people want are reflected in the final decisions. In China, government officials have many meetings to attend, and they do many field visits. Meetings are for discussing problems and exploring solutions, and field visits are for getting firsthand knowledge of things on the ground. Decisions are made through discussions and debates, which are extensive and intense, just like those on the Capitol Hill. Let me give you an example. The Civil Code is the first law of China with code in its name and is regarded as an encyclopedia of social life. When drafting it, there had been ten rounds of collection of public opinions, and over one million opinions were gathered from more than 420,000 people. Another example is the five-year plans on economic and social development. When formulating the current 14th Five-Year Plan, there were also full public consultations. Over 1,000 suggestions were summarized from more than one million online posts, and 366 edits were made to the draft based on them. After the deliberations by the national-level peoples congress and political consultation conference, another 55 adjustments were made before the adoption of the Plan. There are seldom fierce arguments or long-pending bills in peoples congresses in China because most of the problems and conflicts of interests have been resolved and suggestions accepted in consultations, which also make implementation of the policies easier.

In China, talents were chosen based on their abilities and merit since ancient times. Another Chinese philosopher, who was a contemporary of Plato, once said, Prime ministers must have served as local officials; great generals must have risen from the ranks. China had an imperial examination system over 1,400 years ago. Whoever passed the exams, regardless of their age and wealth, could be appointed as officials. They usually started from positions at the lowest level of government, and then got promoted or deposed based on their performance. This is the original form of the civil service system in the West today. Nowadays, a Chinese must pass all kinds of exams in his or her lifetime. At work, there are additional trainings, assessments, and selections, as well as oversight from superiors, colleagues, the public and the media. CPC members are also subject to Party disciplines, which are stricter than the law. Any violation will result in serious punishment. Take the Chinese Embassy in the US for example. There is a quarterly assessment of each diplomat from his or her supervisor. Lower-level diplomats can exercise their right of oversight of their supervisors at any time, and once a year, they can grade their supervisors performances. In such a system, officials who are incompetent, or not clean, or disapproved by the people have no chance to be promoted. The incumbent members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the top leadership of China, have all had long years of work experience from grassroots up to higher levels in different localities. President Xi Jinping became a farmer in a poor village in Northwestern China at the age of 16. He was appointed Party Secretary of Shanghai, the biggest city in China, at 54. The decades in between saw him work on various posts and in different places, and the populations he served varied from several hundred to several hundred thousand, millions and to tens of millions. As he rose through the ranks, he has got to know the peoples kitchen table concerns. He deeply loves the people, cares about the people, and has become capable of managing complexities and getting things done for the people. At the same time, he is loved, trusted, and supported by the people. Therefore, you often find Chinas senior officials elected with an overwhelming majority of votes or even unanimously.

How to evaluate if a system is democratic?

There are many political systems in the world. Whether a system is democratic depends on whether it can represent the overall interests of the people and whether the people are satisfied. Democracy is not for embellishment; it should deliver. Samuel Huntington writes, The most important political distinction among countries concerns not their form of government, but their degree of government. According to a survey done by Harvard Kennedy School for 10 years in a row, the Chinese peoples satisfaction of the CPC has been over 90% for each of the 10 years. Some people wonder why. The answer can be long, but I try to provide a brief explanation. Changchun, a provincial city in Northeastern China, has had a Mayors Hotline for 22 years, which citizens can use to report problems that need the governments attention, and that Hotline works 24/7. Over the years, more than nine million problems have been reported and then resolved through the Hotline, and peoples satisfaction rating has remained above 90%. There are many similar hotlines and high satisfaction ratings across China. If you know about them, is it still hard to understand the results of Harvard surveys?

When some people are busy fanning up the battle between democracy and authoritarianism, and putting together an alliance of democracies, what is happening on the land of China? Well, absolute poverty has become a thing of the past, and 1.4 billion people are striving towards common prosperity. China has become the worlds second largest economy and biggest trading nation and contributes over 30% to global economic growth annually. Every day, 16,000 companies are created in China. Every day, over 120 foreign enterprises are rushing to China, one of the biggest consumer markets and the top investment destination in the world. Almost every Chinese has basic medical insurance and old-age pension insurance. Products from remote areas are sold across the country through live streaming. Farmers in deep mountains and young people in cities take high-speed trains to look for jobs elsewhere and pursue their dreams. Green and low-carbon living has become a new fashion. The Chinese are driving 50% of the worlds new-energy vehicles, on the biggest network of expressways in the world. 10% of the Chinese population have visited other countries to open up their eyes. Chinese astronauts have safely returned to Earth after several months stay in our space station. The rights and freedoms of the Chinese are fully protected by the Constitution, and they are on their way to ballot stations. Muslims in Xinjiang and other places go to mosques nearby. One billion Chinese netizens get connected with the world for information and engagement at the click of a mouse. China has signed 26 international instruments on human rights. COVID-19 has been basically put under control in China, with 1.1 billion people fully vaccinated. China has provided vaccines to over 100 countries and international organizations and will supply altogether two billion doses by the end of this year. The Belt and Road Initiative, guided by the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, will take tens of millions of people of other countries out of poverty. Over 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are on duty worldwide. President Xi Jinping yesterday proposed a Global Development Initiative. China is working with other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Im not saying China is perfect. There are many difficulties and challenges on our way ahead, such as how to make our development more balanced and adequate and ensure fairness and justice in a market economy. We are deepening reform, improving socialist democracy, and modernizing national governance. These efforts are to meet the peoples aspiration for a better life and make greater contribution to mankind.

My friends, isnt it obvious that China is just pursuing peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom, which are common values of mankind? Isnt it obvious that both Chinas people-center philosophy and President Lincolns of the people, by the people, for the people are for the sake of the people? Shall we understand Chinas socialist whole-process democracy as this: from the people to the people, with the people, for the people?

China and the US are different in history, culture, and political system. But just as President Carter said, both the American and Chinese people desire peace and prosperity, and leaders in Washington and Beijing share one common goal: to create peaceful and stable conditions for their people to pursue happiness. This is the biggest commonality between China and the US. We never say that our system is the best, because we know only the suited is the best. Whether it is good or not should not be judged by what we say, but what we do. Our two countries should not and cannot change each other. Instead, we should break ideological barriers, discard zero-sum mentality, respect other countries, and accommodate each other without losing our own distinctions, so as to get along with each other in peace.

President Xi stressed, China and the United States need to show broad vision and shoulder great responsibilities. The two countries should look ahead and press forward and bring China-US relations back to the right track of stable development as soon as possible, for the good of the people in both countries and around the world. Lets demonstrate strategic courage and political resolve to chart a new course in China-US relations.

Thank you.

China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done so since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.

Dezan Shira & Associates has offices in Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, United States, Germany, Italy, India, and Russia, in addition to our trade research facilities along the Belt & Road Initiative. We also have partner firms assisting foreign investors in The Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh.

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Chinese Ambassador To The United States Explains Democracy To The Carter Center & Bush Foundation - China Briefing

Its up to individuals to ensure governments live up to their promises of reconciliation. Weve already seen that, without oversight, they are happy to keep the status quo. Larry Brown, NUPGE President

Ottawa (27 Sept. 2021) September 30, 2021, marks the first observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Previously observed as Orange Shirt Day, this is the first year the day will be observed as a federal statutory holiday.

Orange Shirt Day is the legacy of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad and the St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion events as a way to commemorate the residential school experience. Its a way to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. The date of September 30 was chosen because that is the time of year in which children were taken to residential schools. The colour orange was chosen because of Webstads personal experience of her brand-new orange shirt being taken from her on her first day at a residential school.

So far, more than 1,300 suspected graves have been found at former residential school sites in Canada. It is estimated that over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Mtis children attended residential schools in Canada. Residential schools were funded by the Canadian government and operated in partnership with Christian churches of different denominations.

Unmarked graves should not have been needed to spur the government into fast-tracking the bill to recognize the federal statutory holiday. The testimony from survivors about the heinous abuse inflicted on them and their peers at residential schools should have been enough. Observing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is long overdue.

The Catholic church ran 60 per cent of residential schools in Canada. Pope Francis has so far refused to apologize for the role the Catholic church played in Canadas residential school system, even after the United, Presbyterian and Anglican churches issued apologies for their role. Having no unified central agency to deal with means some Catholic entities are refusing to release any records related to residential schools. These records would be invaluable in identifying the children in the unmarked graves, as well as assisting survivors with legal battles and closure.

First Nation, Mtis, and Inuit delegations are scheduled to meet with Pope Francis in Rome between December 17 and 20, though the trip isnt endorsed by all Indigenous people. Assembly of First Nations National Chief, RoseAnne Archibald, is in favour of the Pope making the apology in Canada as opposed to in the Vatican. And some are ambivalent towards an apology, feeling that rings hollow after so much time has passed.

Many of the documents on residential schools kept by the Canadian government were destroyed in the 1930s and 1940s. Though the government has handed over many documents pertaining to residential schools to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, some documents remain sealed and are the subject of legal battles (CBC News).

The era of residential schools may be over, but the effects are still felt to the present day. Indeed, the colonial mindset that created the residential school system still exists, whether the government admits to it or not. Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, Cindy Blackstock, toldCTV Newsthat governments have been continuously underfunding public services on reserves for Indigenous children since the time of confederation to the point where the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found the government guilty of discrimination.

There are currently more Indigenous children in the child welfare system today than there were in the residential school system at their peak. The former MP for Nunavut, Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, made it impossible for her colleagues in the House of Commons to ignore this reality when she said colonization is not over. It has a new name. Children are still being separated from their communities. Foster care is the new residential school system. The suicide epidemic is the new form of Indigenous genocide (Global News).

Its disgraceful that many provincial governments have chosen to not make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a statutory holiday. Though these governments claim they are working with survivors and Indigenous groups to honour the day, they are sending a clear message that those administrations do not believe every child is equal and that the deaths of Indigenous children at the hands of the government and churches do not matter.

This September 30, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) urges all members to commit themselves to reconciliation. Participate in community events online or in person. Make it a priority to read material or watch programming from Indigenous academics, activists, organizations, and leaders, or take time to listen to presentations. Talk to your children about the importance of reconciliation. Write to your MP and MPP and ask what steps theyve taken towards reconciliation.

For reconciliation to truly happen, we all need to work together. Individuals, institutions, organizations, companies, and governments all have a role to play, said NUPGE President, Larry Brown. Its up to individuals to ensure governments live up to their promises of reconciliation. Weve already seen that, without oversight, they are happy to keep the status quo.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is about recognizing our past but also our present, said NUPGE Secretary-Treasurer, Bert Blundon. Our present systems that serve Indigenous people mirror the ones of the past. We cant have reconciliation until we end current systems of oppression.

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 390,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good.

While our Components are located from coast-to-coast, the office of the National Union of Public and General Employees is situated on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Mtis communities.

We recognize and acknowledge the crimes that have been committed and the harm that has been done.

And, we dedicate ourselves, as a union, to moving forward in partnership with Indigenous Peoples in a spirit of reconciliation and striving for justice. NUPGE

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National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2021 | National Union of Public and General Employees - National Union of Public and General Employees

The destructive influence of rightwing evangelical Christianity is one of the most underrated factors in the devolution of American politics. Despite falling rates of religious participation among the general public, Christian conservatives have, to paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, poisoned everything.

By conquering the Republican Party, the religious right has taken over the Supreme Court. The horror of this is currently on full display in Texas, where the state government has deputized random citizens to report women (or anyone who assists them) to authorities for even inquiring about how to obtain an abortion. For the McCarthyite act of naming names to draconian law enforcement agencies, Texans can receive a $10,000 reward if they file a civil lawsuit against the people they name.

Meanwhile, white evangelical Christians81 percent of whom voted for Donald Trump in 2020are the most zealous and deranged in their objections to the COVID-19 vaccine. As if enabling the spread of a deadly disease wasnt poisonous enough, many Christian conservatives express blanket opposition to anything deemed remotely progressive, such as Black Lives Matter, trans rights, and measures to mitigate climate change.

It often mystifies observers of U.S. politics how so many Christians could routinely behave according to an agenda of hatred, paranoia, and oppression.

One of the most shocking images of the January 6 insurrection was a group of young men, including the so-called QAnon shaman, standing at the head of the Senate Chamber, praying to Jesus that their efforts to dismantle democracy would prevail. They were not alone. In the company of white supremacists and violent militia groups, large numbers of Christian nationalists carried crosses and religious banners as they stormed the Capitol building and cheered for the execution of one of their brethren, Vice President Mike Pence.

It often mystifies observers of U.S. politics how so many Christians could routinely behave according to an agenda of hatred, paranoia, and oppression. Randall Balmer, a historian of U.S. religion and professor at Dartmouth College, puts an end to the mystery in his riveting and important new book, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company). At a breezy pace and in clever prose, Balmer examines the impetus of the religious right, tracing exactly how its adherents entered politics and why they have developed into an enemy of multiracial democracy.

The book opens with Balmer, for research purposes, begrudgingly attending a 1990 closed-door conference of evangelical leaders to mark the tenth anniversary of Ronald Reagans election to the presidency. In the middle of an otherwise dull and self-congratulatory event, Paul Weyricha Republican strategist and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, who, perhaps more than anyone else, was responsible for the politicization of evangelicalsgives an impassioned soliloquy in which he declared that abortion had nothing whatsoever to do with the emergence of the Religious Right.

The initial issue that galvanized Christian conservatives into political action, by Weyrichs own admission, was the federal governments removal of tax exemptions from religious schools that refused to admit Black students. Balmer writes that Moral Majority leader Ed Dobson, one of the Reverend Jerry Falwells leading surrogates, quickly concurred. Surrounding them on the stage were rightwing power brokers such as Richard Viguerie, the pioneer of direct mail fundraising for the Republican Party; Ralph Reed, then executive director of the Christian Coalition; and Donald Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association. No one objected to Weyrichs assessment.

Evangelical Christians were largely apolitical in the 1960s and 1970s, due to their theological doctrine that the world is irredeemably corrupt and the belief that a Christians sole duty is to evangelize for the faith while waiting on the apocalypse. The Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973yet, Jerry Falwells first reference to abortion did not appear in a sermon until 1978. Six years before Roe v. Wade, Ronald Reagan, who would become an icon for the Protestant right, championed and signed the most liberal pro-abortion law in the country in 1967 while he was governor of California.

Contrary to popular belief, it was not Reagan but Jimmy Carter who first attracted the electoral support of evangelical Christians because of his own born again testimony. Without regard for ideology, Christian Conservatives were compelled to vote a fellow evangelical into the highest office in the United States. Less than four years later, the flock would choose Reagan as its shepherd, helping to lead the country off a cliff of union busting, exploitation of the poor, and racial demagoguery.

Balmer marshals a staggering amount of evidence to prove that the Religious Right turned away from Carter (and forever into the arms of the Republican Party) because of the federal governments revocation of tax exempt status for religious schools that discriminated against students and families of color.

Following the Brown v. Board decision, Balmer shows that there was a mass exodus out of public schools in the South, and many Christian alternatives, including Jerry Falwells own Lynchburg Christian School, opened with the explicit promise to enforce a whites only admission policy.

It was actually not Carter but President Gerald Ford who began to investigate and punish Christian segregation academies, to use Balmers appellation; Carter enhanced the policy by devoting more funding and personnel, including lawyers in his newly created Department of Education, to the cause of racial integration.

As Balmer notes throughout the book, Falwell, James Dobson, several administrators from Bob Jones University, Grover Norquist, and many other rightwing luminaries are on public record confirming Balmers thesis: The real roots of the Religious Right lay not in the defense of a fetus but in the defense of racial segregation.

The birth of the religious right is critical in comprehending U.S. politics for several reasons. First, it demonstrates the centrality of racism to the Republican Party, both among its leaders and its foot soldiers. Reagan barely attempted to disguise his hostility to Black people in his public statements, decrying welfare queens and praising states rights in a Southern city infamous for hate crimes against civil rights activists.

The increasingly reactionary GOP is not a blue-collar protest party, but a white nationalist and theocratic insurgency.

Decades later, Donald Trump tore off the thin mask that Reagan had worn with his wry smile. No amount of propaganda or delusional leftwing theorizing about the consequences of the real failures of the Democratic Party can conceal the truth of what the Republican Party is today. The increasingly reactionary GOP is not a blue-collar protest party, to quote Thomas Frank, but a white nationalist and theocratic insurgency.

Second, the Religious Rights commitment to Jim Crow exposes the deceit of its favorite weasel term religious freedom, which is regularly invoked to justify sexism, homophobia, and opposition to mask and vaccine mandates.

The book ends where it begins, with the nauseating candor of Paul Weyrich. He told Balmer, and other journalists on various occasions, that he knew a transition to abortion was ultimately necessary because overt appeals to racism would have undermined the nationwide popularity of the Religious Right.

Cooperating with the advice of his handlers, Reagan, as a presidential candidate, turned on a dime into one of the most obstinate forces against reproductive freedom. His running mate, George H.W. Bush, did the same.

Abortion now has members of the Religious Right in combat mode, and theyve finally succeeded in establishing their dystopic dream in Texas. As long as the rightwing Supreme Court refuses to hear challenges to the Texas law, many other states in the South and the Midwest are likely to enact their own versions, leaving women in a desperate position where their health, constitutional rights, and bodily autonomy exist under the control of Christian nationalists and the politicians who pander to them.

Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right provides a rich irony to anyone looking to better understand the Christian conservative insurgency and its fanatical opposition to democracy and public health. It is a phrase belonging to Charles Darwin that best summarizes the religious right: They bear the stamp of their lowly origin.

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How the Religious Right Continues to 'Poison Everything' - Progressive.org

On Aug. 30 at 3:17 p.m., the last C-17 full of Americans left Kabul and Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie announced, the completion of our mission in Afghanistan.

Over the course of the last year, in a deal orchestrated by President Trump and carried out by President Biden, the US withdrew from Afghanistan. Taliban troops conquered ceded provinces with ease, capturing cities without firing a shot. On Sept. 11, 2001, Afghanistan was ruled entirely by the Taliban; on Sep. 11, 2021, it was once again. What do we leave behind?

To many, this is the end of a period of American oppression in Afghanistan. They are not entirely wrong. The very last drone strike in Afghanistan, in retaliation to an ISIS-K bombing at the Kabul airport that killed over 50 people, killed ten people, 7 of them children, in an attempt to prevent a potential car bomb being loaded with unidentified devices.

They were water bottles. This was not the only such tragedy during the war. In addition to the many other victims of miscalculated drone strikes, torture (enhanced interrogation) was prevalent, and American alliances with brutal regional warlords killed many and heightened Taliban sympathies.

Some would go one step further and suggest that the entire situation in Afghanistan can be attributed to American funding of mujahideen fighters during the brutal Soviet occupation in the 1980s, citing these groups as precursors to the Taliban. This accusation is wrong in my opinion, or at least only partly true.

After the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, Mullah Omar and some other former mujahideen founded the Taliban in 1994, recruiting young refugees in Pakistan radicalized by Saudi madrassas.

The Taliban went on to overthrow the mujahideen-formed government, with some joining them but many more fleeing to form the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. Thus, to consider the two groups one and the same is as offensive as to paint the French Resistance as Nazi collaborators.

That misconception aside, it is nevertheless clear that the American occupation was filled with atrocities and cruelty. But it was not merely a 20-year exercise in butchery.

The Taliban was a fundamentalist terrorist organization known for keeping women under effective house arrest, forcing religious minorities like Hindus and Sikhs to wear yellow labels, and banning basic self-expression like music under pain of death.

Public executions and dismemberment were common.

Ever since the US drove back the Taliban from Afghanistans urban areas, the people of Kabul, Kandahar, Mazhar-i-Sharif and many other cities have had the opportunity to enjoy new freedoms. Phrases like American University at Kabul and Afghan Womens Robotics Team would have sounded absurd back in 2001.

Yet, for an entire generation of Afghans, they were merely a part of daily life. Those days are gone now.

The War in Afghanistan began with a demand that the Taliban hand over bin Laden; when it was not met, the United States overthrew the Taliban with the help of the Northern Alliance and began the process of nation-building.

The newly formed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a deeply flawed democracy where bureaucracy ran on bribes. Minorities perceived it to be partial to the Pashtun ethnic group.

Furthermore, it only had power in the cities; many rural areas remained under Taliban control, where they waited to strike back, ensuring this government collapsed during the American withdrawal.

But did this swift collapse signify a need for a longer occupation to strengthen the fledgling government, or that the venture was doomed from the start, and we should have left earlier?

Across the political spectrum, the answer is the latter. President Biden certainly thinks so, as did his chief opponent to the left, Senator Sanders. On the right, it was former President Trump who started the process that Biden completed.

Aside from a handful of exceptions Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya in the post-communist, post domino-theory world, the appetite for foreign interventions that are based not on ending an impending threat to the United States, but on spreading freedom, has disappeared.

When looking at Americas most successful interventions abroad, save for Germany and Japan following World War II, very little actual nation-building was done by the military.

Kuwait and Korea saw previous governments returned to power after an invasion.

Bosnia and Kosovo, though subsumed by first Yugoslavia, then an attempt by Serbia, had strong national identities; even Libya and Iraq, previously strong centralized nations led by a dictator, stumbled into civil disunity and are still now nearly failed states. Afghanistan, barely a nation since the communist coup in 1978 and subsequent Soviet occupation, never stood a chance.

Victory in Afghanistan would have consisted of sending in a much larger force to crush the last vestiges of the Taliban, no doubt with many civilian casualties, and nation-build or remaining in the current long state of violent stalemate until the Taliban were worn down.

Either option would be opposed by the American public, tired of the Forever War and more worried about China than a return of Al Qaeda. In the end, withdrawal was the only feasible option, though it could have been executed better. Yet when I look back on the Afghanistan of the last twenty years an Afghanistan that was corrupt, urban-centric, unequal, but had hope for a brighter future and then see the current Afghanistan, an Afghanistan where universities are being burned and journalists hunted, I cannot help but wish otherwise.

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Looking back on the history of Afghanistan - Technique

By Galen Fitzkee

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is currently facing the compounding crises of political unrest following the assassination of President Jovenel Mose, the effects of a destructive 7.2 magnitude earthquake, and the aftermath of Tropical Storm Grace. These events, as terrible as they are individually, also exacerbate existing problems like gang violence and food insecurity throughout the region.

A close examination of the history of Haiti reveals that these terrible living conditions were originally spawned within a context of colonialization and failed United States policy. Despite a significant slave revolt and formal declaration of independence in 1804, the US refused to recognize Haiti as a country for the next 60 years, fearing similar slave uprisings in southern states (A History of United States Policy Towards Haiti by Ann Crawford-Roberts, Brown University Library, https://library.brown.edu/create/modernlatinamerica/chapters/chapter-14-the-united-states-and-latin-america/moments-in-u-s-latin-american-relations/a-history-of-united-states-policy-towards-haiti).

After finally acknowledging the nation, the US intervened militarily, politically, and economically seeking to further our own interests. Coups, US-backed oppressive dictatorships, and unbalanced trade policies destabilized and impoverished Haiti, leaving leadership unable to respond to the needs of their citizens.

Following the 2010 earthquake, an unprecedented number of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) flooded the island, circumventing the government yet again and failing to empower Haitians to guide their own recovery. Themes of corruption and injustice are present throughout this timeline.

As a result, the situation in Haiti today is truly miserable and it should come as no surprise that upwards of 12,000 migrants, mostly Haitian, have decided to flee their homeland in search of jobs and safety. Pushed by lack of opportunities elsewhere and potentially pulled by promises of a more humane immigration system under the current administration, many Haitians made the dangerous trek to the US border in Del Rio, Texas to claim asylum and seek a better life (How Thousands of Haitian Migrants Ended up at the Texas Border by Joe Parkin Daniels and Tom Phillips, The Guardian, Sept. 18, 2021, http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/18/haiti-migrants-us-texas-violence).

When they arrived at the border, however, it was announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would begin expelling Haitians back to where their arduous journey began, potentially putting their lives at risk.

The Biden administration has largely relied on a policy known as Title 42 to justify expulsions in the name of public health, against the better judgements of many public health officials (Q&A: US Title 42 Policy to Expel Migrants at the Border, Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/08/qa-us-title-42-policy-expel-migrants-border#). The policy has the unique distinction of being both immoral and illegal because it denies migrants the opportunity to claim asylum and transports them back to a country reeling from political and social crises.

Striking images of border patrol agents on horseback violently mistreating Haitians went viral earlier this week, prompting further questions about accountability and oversight of our immigration process as a whole and reminding us that our immigration policy is often used to discriminate against people of color.

When addressing these issues as a church, we first must recognize that the founding members of the Church of the Brethren were immigrants themselves, seeking religious, political, and economic freedom. As noted by a 1983 Annual Conference statement about this topic, this history often has framed our response to immigrants and refugees from around the world. In practice, Brethren have called on the federal government to efficiently process immigrants claims for status by standards of fair procedure, to adequately fund the agency to assure its proper operation, and to seek staff who will be sensitive to cultural differences (Undocumented Persons and Refugees in the United States, 1982 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference statement, http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1982-refugees).

Brethren take seriously the biblical calls to welcome the stranger and alien (Leviticus 19:34, Matthew 25:35), especially those fleeing violence and oppression. Brethren even have taken the critical step of addressing the root causes of mass migration, which do not get nearly enough attention on the government level. In partnership with LEglise des Freres dHaiti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti), we have implemented programs like the Haiti Medical Project and have provided grants through the Global Food Initiative (GFI) and Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) seeking to improve the physical and spiritual lives of many Haitians.

Recently, Brethren Disaster Ministries directed an EDF grant of $75,000 to relief and recovery efforts of the Haitian Brethren following the recent earthquake in southwest Haiti. In the long run, this type of effort will surely be the most effective way to reduce immigration and ultimately prevent abuses on our southern border. (Contribute financial support to the EDF at https://churchofthebrethren.givingfuel.com/bdm. Contribute financial support to the GFI at https://churchofthebrethren.givingfuel.com/gfi.)

In the present context, our emotional and spiritual reaction to the crisis at the border, our past Annual Conference statements, and our partners in Haiti spur us to speak out against our immigration system. It is clear, first of all, that the illegal and immoral expulsion of Haitian asylum seekers must halt immediately. Haitians at the border deserve to be welcomed with dignity and given the chance to make their case for asylum. Title 42, the flawed policy used to circumvent due process for desperate immigrants, should be repealed to prevent future abuses. Alternatively, structures for accountability must be set in place so that immigrants are protected from harm, as suggested years ago by Church of the Brethren statements. At the bare minimum, our immigration policies must recognize the humanity of Haitian immigrants and have compassion for their plight.

Todays Action Alert from the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy offers ways to get involved, go to https://mailchi.mp/brethren.org/afghanistan-10136605?e=df09813496.

Galen Fitzkee is a Brethren Volunteer Service worker serving at the Church of the Brethrens Office of Peacebuilding and Policy in Washington, D.C.

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Haitians at the border: A Brethren response News - Church of the Brethren Newsline

The recent visit by President Muhammadu Buhari to Imo State in particular, but, in a sense, to the Southeast geopolitical zone was a good opportunity to assuage frayed nerves, assure the Ndigbo of his concern for their welfare and the many issues that bother the people; above all, to offer concrete evidence of his governments efforts to assuage the myriad complaints of the Igbo ethnic nationality.

The general and the specific concerns of the Southeast were well articulated by the representatives who spoke at the different opportunities the presidential visit offered. President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Prof. George Obiozor itemised issues considered most urgent and imperative. He directly told the President that the security of Ndigbo in Nigeria and beyond has become a compelling primary responsibility of serious concern for Ndigbo. He regretted that the territory has turned a theatre of conflict, and he asked for zonal and state police to complement the existing federal security architecture. Buhari agreed saying that if there is no security, there is nothing anyone can do, no matter how much you try or the initiative you have. Indeed, he went on to acknowledge, rightly and in line with Section 14(2) (b) of the Constitution, that security is number one priority But the President didnt say in clear terms what exactly he would do about this overarching, deadly threat to both state power and citizens fundamental rights. On this, it was an opportunity missed to speak to Nigerians in general, from the Southeast.

The decentralisation of the police structure has been suggested time without number by reasonable men and women. Buhari did not utter a word on this even though the manifesto of the APC upon which Buhari rode into power promised this and even more. The political party canvassed for votes with a promise to establish a well-trained, adequately equipped and goals-driven Serious Crime Squad to combat terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, militants, ethno-religious and communal clashes nationwide. In respect of Obiozors request to the president, Buhari and his partys campaign promise in 2015 was to begin widespread consultations to amend the Constitution to enable states and local governments to employ State and Community Police to address the peculiar needs of each community. Nigerians believed them. Six years after and in defiance of all reason, promises have not been kept.

The people of the Southeast region, through Obiozor, requested the release of Igbo youths detained by various security agencies across the country. Buhari was silent on this, again missing a chance to offer a review of their cases and to act on it with dispatch. The Ndigbo demanded federal infrastructure in the region especially transportation infrastructure to move people and goods more efficiently, more safely. Buhari reportedly promised to complete key ongoing projects including the Second Niger Bridge and railway lines. An Igbo leader is quoted to regret that the President missed the opportunity of this visit to reintegrate Igbo people, earn their support and improve his relationship with them. This cannot be truer.

A presidential visit to any people is a chance to iron out social and political thorny issues, demonstrate that you care, approve people-benefitting projects and generate thereby, maximum political support. Instead, Mr. Buhari adopted what can be considered a presumptuous, talk-down posture that was altogether unhelpful to a calming, oneness spirit. Arguing on the premise of the mobile, ubiquitous nature of an enterprising Igbo people, the president said therefore that it is unthinkable for me that any Igbo man would consider himself not to be a part of Nigeria

This is a conclusion based on false premise. But beside this, it can be argued that if secessionist thoughts are unthinkable for Buhari, it appears not so for some who are sufficiently dissatisfied with their lot in what is supposed to be a federation of willing units. Obiozor pointed out to their august visitor that the issue of secession would not arise at all in an atmosphere of good governance based on equity, justice and fairness to all citizens. He was right. Indeed, demand by sections of Nigeria to pull out of what a revered politician once described as a mere geographical expression, is the culmination of a long running frustration from feeling cheated.

Buhari visited a people aggrieved for a number of reasons. Like a father relating to his children, it is the moral and legal duty of a leader to listen to the people and discuss and work on a mutually beneficial way forward in the highest interest of a united and greater country. After all, this is the intendment of the oath the President swore to: to act always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Feelings of alienation and oppression are thick in the Nigerian air. How can it be morally defensible, or legally justified in the context of Sections 14 (3-4) and 15 (2-4) of the extant constitution that federal positions are glaringly skewed in favour of a section of the country and against other parts of the federation, that in the ministries, departments, and agencies of government, those juicy posts, in terms of funding, power and prestige are occupied by persons from one section of the country, to the detriment and chagrin of other federating units? The APC manifesto on which the electorate voted the party into power committed an APC government to prevent abuse of executive, legislative, and public offices through greater accountability, transparency, and strict enforcement of anti-corruption laws

This President could have done much better than he did in Imo State. His visit only served to at one level, highlight the promises to the electorate waiting to be kept by his party; and at another level, Buharis urgent and imperative obligation toriseto the demands of his presidential oathof office. As leader of APC, he is duty-bound to do the needful to redeem the partys reputation and the honour ofits members.

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Buhari's missed opportunities in Imo State | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News Opinion The Guardian Nigeria News Nigeria and World...