UNITY

Bismillah. The following is from Caroline Bates, a human rights lawyer currently based in Islamabad. Please see the ASP website for more information: http://acidsurvivorspakistan.org, and consider making a donation.

The easiest way to donate is probably via the Acid Survivors Trust International – http://www.asti.org.uk, click the large DONATE button on the right, select online card payment and choose Acid Survivors Pakistan as the beneficiary.

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Dear all,

My lovely friend Valerie Khan works with an amazing NGO based in Islamabad providing support and rehabilitation to survivors of acid attacks. As you may know, sadly, acid attacks on women are frequent and often result from refusal of marriage proposals or family disputes over perceived female behaviour. Sadly there is little help for survivors and reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation is rarely, if ever, available. Women are condemned to painful and often helpless lives, ostracised by their families and communities.

Acid Survivors Pakistan does great work in Pakistan supporting survivors. It provides the only rehabilitation centre in the country and has recently supported a survivor in taking her claim for support to the Supreme Court. Pakistan’s Chief Justice rebuked the Government for its failure to support victims or provide them with assistance to rebuild their lives. Sadly the Government has failed to respond. There will be a press conference in Islamabad this week to highlight the Government’s lack of response.

The NGO and rehab centre is now facing a funding crisis. Its annual running costs are small and its overheads minimal. It survives on costs of around Rs. 350,000 per month (less than £3,000). Whilst it has made various grant applications to international organisations these could take months to be realised. In the meantime it has sufficient funds for only two more months of work.

Acid Survivors is a transparent organisation and is willing to provide copies of its accounts to potential donors. It currently has the support of DFID to screen a documentary on its work to the Pakistani community in the UK and it hopes that organisations linked to the Muslim community in the UK and France will also provide its work with the opportunity to be screened (those of you with links to such organisations and to mosques will be pestered by me at a later date-you know who you are!)

If any of you have not yet decided what to do with your zakat this year then please think about making a donation to this very worthy work. If you are interested I can put you in touch with them directly.

You can see Valerie speak about the work of the organisation on its website (http://acidsurvivorspakistan.org) and I can also provide links to its short films. Please give generously if you can.

Eid mubarak,

Caroline

Bismillah. This is from Katie Paterson, a musician and artist with interest in astronomy whom I met at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in 2008.
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Ancient Darkness TV

Katie Paterson

Manhattan Neighborhood Network

Sunday, November 22 11:59pm

An image of ‘ancient darkness’ from deep space will be transmitted on New York television station MNN. Broadcast for one minute, it will reveal darkness from the furthest point of the observed universe, 13.2 billion years ago, shortly after the Big Bang, and before Earth existed, when stars, galaxies and the first light was beginning to form.

Commissioned by Performa 09. Special thanks to Professor Richard Ellis and the W.M. Keck Observatory.

http://performa-arts.org/blog/katie-paterson

Bismillah. The Times was an interesting read on Tues 17 Nov. They had the following, amongst others:

1. A review of Yusuf Islam’s first night on his comeback trail, dubbing him, “the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens.”

2. The story with awesome photos of a crocodile bitten to death by a herd of hippos.

3. A report on the British Council-sponsored conference in Alexandria evolution as part of Darwin year. Prof. Nidhal Guessoum, an astronomer who is also active in ICOP, lamented the hold of anti-scientific, anti-evolution ideas on Muslim scholars and students. Guessoum correctly said that this was like him teaching his students that planets and stars were not related, etc. I met Guessoum at the UAE conference on Islamic astronomy in Dec 2007.

The article mentioned that Adnan Oktar (aka Harun Yahya) had offered a massive reward (trillions, sic) to anyone who could provide a fossil proving evolution. A strange challenge, since it is not a question of a single fossil, but thousands.
Here is a good article on a new species of Darwin’s finches that has been “seen” evolving:

http://www.wired. com/wiredscience /2009/11/ speciation- in-action/ ?utm_source= feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign= Feed:%20wired/ index%20( Wired:%20Index% 203%20(Top% 20Stories% 202))

The link to “12 Elegant Examples of Evolution” at the bottom of the above page is also worth seeing.

Bismillah. The crescent-visibility maps and calculations at Websurf and http://www.crescentmoonwatch.org make the following clear:

* Eid al-Adha 1430 (10th Dhul Hijjah) should be on Friday 27 Nov 2009 or Saturday 28 Nov 2009 throughout the whole world. *

1) Conjunction occurred on Mon 16 Nov 2009, but the moon was invisible throught the world.

2) The crescent will be visible tonight (Tues 17 Nov) over Southern Africa and the Americas, God-willing. For countries to which this sighting applies (including all of Europe, Africa and the Americas according to the method suggested by many of us), Eid would be on Fri 27 Nov.

3) The crescent will be visible on Wed 18 Nov over most of the world (including Mecca). This would give us Eid on Sat 28 Nov, and is perhaps the more sensible date for Saudi Arabia.

4) Many Muslim congregations follow Saudi Arabia for the date of Eid al-Adha. It is anybody’s guess as to whether Saudi will announce Eid for 27 or 28 Nov. Both dates have some astronomical and legal justification, so there really should be no big arguments, apart from those over impossible claims of moonsighting that the Saudis and Nigerians are good at.

May Allah bless the people of the world during the coming month of the great Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca).

Bismillah. Overall a good piece by Johann Hari, but there are a number of inaccuracies and misquotes.

Bismillah. From Alan Ereira:

I’m writing to update you on the new Kogi film, in the hope that you might be able to make a helpful suggestion. I’m sending this to everyone on the mailing list, and it’s probably completely inappropriate to send it to you, but I don’t think I should pre-judge that by leaving you out. So I apologise for annoying you with it if I am just wasting your time.

In April, the Kogi Mamas summoned me back to Colombia and, in a very remarkable meeting high on their mountain, said that the global situation has deteriorated massively and they are now really certain that the world will die unless we change our behaviour. In particular, they spoke about the role of sacred sites in managing the care of nature and the environment, something they say we cannot understand and which they must now demonstrate. They insist that their “spiritual” activities at these sites have visible material results at locations far from the sites themselves, and they want to demonstrate this.

Almost simultaneously I was told that the BBC want to commission Bruce Parry (“Tribe”, “Amazon”) to make a film with the Kogi, and the company they are commissioning, Indus Films, asked if I could help this happen. I took Bruce to the Kogi and they agreed. Filming has to start at the beginning of January and the programme transmitted before the next financial year.The budget is £270k, and the BBC have offered £180k, which Indus hope to push up to £200k, for UK transmission rights. So we could possibly make it work if we can sell rest-of-the-world TV rights, and whole world DVD and theatric rights, for £70k. I am now thrashing around looking for a distributor whose heart is in the right place and pocket deep enough.

It’s a 1-hour film, but we will shoot enough to make a longer version for cinema release if anyone wants that.

Any thoughts most gratefully received.

Alan
_______________
Alan Ereira
Tairona Heritage Trust
90 Summerlee Avenue
London N2 9QH
UK
http://www.taironatrust.org

The Pakistani newspaper Jang reported today that the great cricketer Wasim Akram’s wife Huma, 42, departed for the next world yesterday. She was on a flight from Pakistan to Singapore, going for an operation on a brain tumour. Emergency landing in Chennai/Madras when she fell further ill. Admitted to hospital there but died. She leaves two sons with Wasim, Taimur and Akbar. May Allah accept her good deeds and admit her into Paradise.

The same newspaper interviewed a top Singaporean neuro-surgeon a few weeks ago when he visited Karachi. I’m wondering if Mrs. Akram was headed for the same hospital where this chap is based?

In that interview, Dr. Priyam Palay (?) said that:

* Brain tumours were becoming more frequent across all age groups, worldwide. (U: better diagnosis may be at least a partial explanation here.)

* Job-satisfaction is very high when helping to save lives. He met a Karachi girl whose tumour he’d removed a decade earlier.

* Pakistan has some very good neurosurgeons but not the latest technology nor always the awareness of it.

* The US, UK, Germany, Japan and Singapore are the best countries for the treatment of brain tumours.

* The quality of medical training in Singapore is on a par with the US, the best in the world.

U: Often, the priority for developing countries is not superficial religion or politics or unwanted, usurious billion-dollar loans from outside that enslave entire nations for decades. What they really need is sustainable healthcare, education and employment.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve learnt about charities helping to build children’s cancer units in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Malawi and other places: very worthy causes.

Unilever, IUF Settlement Resolves Conflict over Precarious Work at Lipton Pakistan

A negotiated settlement between Unilever and the IUF has resolved the long, difficult conflict over the rights of precarious workers at the company’s directly-owned Lipton/Brooke Bond tea factory in Khanewal, Pakistan.

http://www.iuf.org/den6281

Sugar Union Leaders Sentenced to Prison in Iran – Act Now!

In a drive to destroy the independent union established last year by workers at the giant Haft Tapeh plantation/refining sugar complex in southern Iran, a court on October 12 sentenced 6 union leaders to immediate prison terms on charges stemming from October 2007. Three leaders convicted for their union activity last year for “endangering national security” in connection with worker action in 2008 had their sentences overturned on appeal in September.

Two union officers, president Ali Nejati and communications officer Reza Rekhshah, both of whom face lengthy prison sentences, were still awaiting the outcome of their appeal when the court in the city of Dezful sentenced the six leaders on the similar 2007 charges.

Send a message to the government of Iran – freedom for the Haft Tapeh leaders!

http://www.iuf.org/den6280

Nestlé Hong Kong still refuses union recognition, steps up casual hiring

Eight months after strike action against union-busting forced Nestlé Hong Kong management to agree to union recognition and formal negotiations, the IUF-affiliated Hong Kong Nestlé Workers Union is still denied these basic rights.

http://www.iuf.org/den6279

Death by outsourcing

http://www.iuf.org/den6276

Support the Nestlé Indonesia workers!
http://www.nespressure.org

Ron Oswald
General Secretary, IUF

International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) 8, rampe du Pont-Rouge 1213 Petit Lancy, Switzerland

Tel: +41 22 793 22 33
Fax: +41 22 793 22 38

web-site: http://www.iuf.org

Bismillah. From the Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ), http://www.carj.org.uk with slight editing- their thought-provoking discussion paper is appended below. Comments welcome, here or at the CARJ site.
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National Meeting of the Changing Face of Britain programme on Saturday 7 November at Westminster Cathedral, Victoria Street London, SW1

This programme marks the 25th Anniversary of the Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ). The Celebration is an Inter-Faith event and we would welcome the participation of more different community members, so please feel free to circulate the flyer among your networks.

PROGRAMME
10.30 – 11.00am Tea/Coffee in Cathedral Hall (CH)

11.00am – 12.45pm National meeting on the CFB programme, speakers include:

 Rt Hon John Battle Member of Parliament for Leeds West, Chair of the All Party Group on Poverty, Member of the International Development Select Committee

 Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Church of England Vicar at Holy Trinity Dalston and All Saints Haggerston and Chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen

 Dr Usama Hasan, Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University and Imam at the Al-Tawhid mosque in Leyton (CH)

12.45 – 1.30pm Lunch in Cathedral Hall

2.00 – 3.30pm Mass in Cathedral with Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, other Bishops and clergy

3.30 – 4.00pm Tea/Coffee in Cathedral Hall

4.00 – 5.00pm Event hosted by Young People on the Changing Face of Britain theme, with music, presentations, debate (CH)

We have invited all communities to participate in the Celebration including people from parishes, religious communities, other Christian denominations, other Faith communities, schools, civil society, politicians and the media.

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The Changing Face of Britain Discussion Paper

1. The Changing Face of Britain Programme

During 2009, to mark its 25th Anniversary, CARJ is organising a Programme of local events culminating in a national celebration at Westminster Cathedral on 7 November 2009. The Programme will explore the theme: The Changing Face of Britain.

The Programme will have a twofold aim, relating to the theme. It will:

 celebrate the ways in which the Church and the wider society have changed for the better over those 25 years
 attempt to read ‘the signs of the times’ and discern in our the new situation the challenges that we are called to address in the future.

The Programme will also include a 25th Anniversary Appeal for funds for the future work of CARJ.

The Programme was launched at the celebration of the feast of St Martin de Porres on 1 November 2008.

2. Celebrating What Has Been Achieved

CARJ wishes to acknowledge and to celebrate all that has changed for the better over the past 25 years and the progress that we have all made toward becoming ‘a truly diverse Church in a truly diverse society.’

 overt discrimination has been made illegal and largely banned from mainstream society

 people of different backgrounds live and work in all sectors of society

 educational disadvantage is being steadily overcome

 our churches and schools are communities of every language, nation, colour and culture.

 The Race Relations Act 1976 and the CRE are being replaced by a new Single Equalities Act and the newly formed Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

3. Future Challenges We Face

Some of the challenges we face in the coming years may seem obvious. However, we need to look below the surface, to read the signs of the times and to discern what role we are called to play in our developing society. The following are some of the issues we will wish to reflect upon and the groups who may need our support:

Second and third generation black British
The riots of the early 1980s, which were examined in the Scarman Inquiry, suggest something of the situation 25 years ago – alienated black youth, racism in the police, over-representation in prisons, high incidence of mental illness, educational under-achievement, the emergence of black consciousness, black power and black pride. Some of this remains, but there has also been positive development. Second and third generation black British today need our support to resist becoming alienated and to achieve their full potential.

Islam in British society

The Muslim community are currently in the forefront of public attention, partly because of terrorism but also because they are visibly committed to their faith and culture which some see as alien. Some second generation Muslims are becoming westernised under their traditional clothing – making their way in school and into jobs across society. Others are experiencing varying degrees of alienation and are sometimes under attack by groups like the British National Party (BNP). Issues of community cohesion often focus around divisions between Muslim communities and others. In some places, Muslim communities are residentially segregated and their physical and geographical separation reinforce cultural differences. Some schools are more segregated than their local neighbourhoods.

New Migrants

Migrants arriving in the UK since 1990 come from many parts of the world – Africa, Asia and Latin America – but especially from Eastern Europe. Some are undocumented. Others are from new accession countries in the EU. They come with a variety of needs and contributions to make to both the church and wider society. Many are not visible but they suffer from sporadic prejudice – including stereotyping and media criticism.

Asylum seekers and refugees

Asylum seekers and refugees are sometimes among the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. They suffer from the memory of past traumas, the current danger of being returned, lack of work or benefits, a variety of prejudices and other problems. There are a growing number of church projects to cater for their needs, but the situation is patchy and sometimes uncoordinated.

Dalits

The Dalit diaspora communities in the UK reportedly number some 200,000; and they experience caste prejudice and caste discrimination (often reinforcing poverty) in a variety of partially hidden forms.

Gypsies and Travellers

The communities of Gypsies and Travellers are said to be similar in size to the Bangladeshi community in the UK. They are culturally separated because of their life-style and they often suffer very serious levels of prejudice, discrimination and disadvantage. They experience problems accessing health care, problems with the police, educational under-achievement and difficult relations with local resident communities.

Poor, white, vulnerable and marginalised communities

This is not a single group but together make up a very vulnerable and fairly sizeable section of the white population. They are a breeding ground for the BNP and for the growth of the everyday racism of ordinary people. They are seen by some to be the ‘neglected poor’ as compared to black and minority ethnic groups.

4. Issues arising from these and other developments

These and other developments have substantially changed the environment of race relations in the UK since 1984. The following are only a few of these developments:

New equalities legislation

The Race Relations Act 1976 and the CRE are being replaced by a new Single Equalities Act and the newly formed Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC). This legislation and the new Commission will deal with discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age.

Community cohesion

Community cohesion has emerged as an important concern at local and national level. How do we construct a common identity and citizenship while welcoming and appreciating our diversity? What place do local parishes and schools play in reinforcing divisions or in promoting cohesion.

Segregation

In some places faith and ethnic communities are residentially segregated and their physical and geographical separation reinforces other differences. Some schools are more segregated than their local neighbourhoods.

Policy on immigration, asylum, terrorism and human rights

Legislation on immigration and asylum is the subject of constant debate. The tension between human rights and protection from terrorism is becoming more and more serious, and in times of recession especially, migrants and asylum seekers are likely to be stereotyped as outsiders and as competition for employment.

Educational underachievement

Many from black and minority ethnic groups, along with white working class boys, suffer educational underachievement, which locks them into disadvantage and inequality and leads to alienation.

Caste discrimination in the UK

Voice of Dalit International (VODI) and Castewatch UK are only two of the organisations working to highlight the often hidden prejudice and discrimination which Dalits face in this country particularly from within South Asian communities.

Cultural and religious diversity and marginalisation

Some ethnic and religious groups find themselves marginalised, partly by choice and partly by prejudice, cultural segregation and economic disadvantage. This is especially true of Gypsies and Travellers and of some groups in Muslim, black Christian, Jewish and other communities.

Action for local groups

With all these developments and vulnerable groups in mind, the question we wish to ask of one another during our year of reflection and discernment is what role can we best play and what specific initiatives can we take to support vulnerable and marginalised groups, to encourage dialogue and to bring about a fairer and more equal society, where all live together as good neighbours and work together for the common good?

This paper is intended as a discussion starter. This and other materials produced by CARJ will be used to initiate a process of discernment (trying to read the signs of the times) in local groups. Local groups are invited to make the process their own by reflecting on their local situation. The discussion will then have to move on to how the situation is to be addressed.

Above all the aim of these discussions is to enable local groups and the Church nationally to begin fashioning a vision of how we want to work in the coming years to build a truly inclusive church in a truly inclusive society.

5. Get involved

For more information and to find out how you can participate in the 25th Anniversary programme of events and the special Appeal for the 25th Anniversary, please contact:

Rosie Bairwal
Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ)
9 Henry Road, London N4 2LH
020 8802 8080
info@carj.org.uk
http://www.carj.org.uk