From horror to hopelessness International community neglected Somali journalists

The Somali Journalists Rights Agency (SOJRA) today broadly reveals the current situation of state of press freedom in Somalia which is a devastating one, with a lot of worry. Many Somalia media are not able to report about the events as it is, because of fear of persecution.

All regions of the country have experienced the worst press freedom violation, and an attack of journalists is definitely violating their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and press.

At beginning this year 2009, the existence and occupation of Somali journalists have been in risk from corner to corner in Somalia, the Somali journalists rights agency (SOJRA) observed, documented and reported on plentiful luggage’s of harass against journalists, media professionals and media stations.

On 01 January, in this year a journalist Hassan Mayow Hassan was killed in Afgoie town, South Somalia by well known criminal who was one of the soldiers of the region of the transitional federal government administration.

The Journalist Hassan Mayow Hassan has been a reporter for Shabelle radio in Afgoie town, 30km from south Mogadishu.

This murder confirmed us that this year will be like the last two years which are the worst years for press freedom in Somalia. And Somalia is now one of the deadliest place in the world for the press.

On 16 Friday January SOJRA Welcomes with the safely and an conditional release of Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, freelance photojournalist on Thursday night 15 January after 146 days in custody by kidnappers who abducted him with Canadian journalist Amanda Lindout and Australian journalist Nigel Brenan on 23 August 2008 at Elasha Biyaha area between Afgoye district and the capital of Mogadishu. Whereas other his two foreign journalists are in captivity.

It is great mourning for Somali Media as the UN special envoy for Somalia gave wrong definition about the Somalia media’s tough peace role in the country by comparing it with Radio Mille Colline which supported or incited the Rwanda Genocide.

The special envoy Oulad Abdalla said the Somalia media are just like Radio Mille Colline because they are inciting the insecurity, instead all the international human rights and media are appreciating and reporting the insecurity that the Somali media is operating.

Ould Abdalla has never sent a condolence statement to the families who lost their beloved ones. But he started responding angrily to the Somali media which reported about the incident by naming them as radio Mille Colline in Rwanda.

Somali media is mourning about the wrong definition made by the UN special envoy Ould Abdalla and is trying now to know whether the special envoy is inciter of the killings of innocent Somalis or a peace envoy?

Somali media role in the peace process in well known by all Somali people including the newly elected Somali president H. E President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who in his first speech thanked the Somali media for their role in the peace and security of the country and requested their effort to be doubled.

Soon after the election of president Sharif on 31st January 2009 the Somali media directors convened a meeting to support Djibouti political agreement at one of the radio stations meeting room (Radio Koran Karim meeting room, north Mogadishu).

The media issued a communiqué that composed four articles:

Not to host the Islamic awareness direct from the Mosque to the radio centre organized by Somali Ulumos, as it was used into political issues and out of its agenda here in after it is decided to send the journalists and cover it then release it after while editing.

Not to accept any press conference holding through telephones, Since the Ethiopian troops have moved out and was the cause of organizing press conference holding by phones thus for Islamic forces and any one wishing to have a press conference have to request from administrations of the media centers. Then will be sending a journalist, even though regions.

Not to interview a person whom the society does not know him in the politics or the issue that he/she is talking about, As well as having no known rank and name of famous and not to propagate a new group or person whom cannot voting any additional profit to the society. All sides agreed that people to be referred should be the famous known leaders and not to make a famous in our centres for a person not bringing any profit for the society.

Finally has agreed that to make strong any one operating for the peace issues and not host to the society for news can create problems and unit-peace issues.

Since the above articles are implemented the media centres was opposed a press conference holding through telephones organized by a part of the Mukawama and other political groups reasoning that people whom was spoke was not appropriate leaders.

The special envoy’s speech has increased the insecurity of the Somali journalist and it became reason that many anti-media freedom groups use as reason to eliminate the small press freedom that existed in Somalia for the last 18 years.

On February, 04 the director of Hornafric radio Mr. Said Tahlil Ahmed, was assassinated by unknown gunmen and he was on the way for press conference of Al-shabaab group and he was a member of mre than 10 media directors at that particular day, there is also some Al-shabaab militia men who accompanied with them. As well as on that day the director of Shabelle radio was also injured with his hands and all Somali journalists feel fear some of them decided to flee the country and seek place of safety.

On Saturday, 7 February 2009, a man with table knife attacked a journalist Hassan Bulhan Ali who was the director of Abudwaak radio based in Abudwaak district in Galgaduud region of central Somalia.The attacker, who is known in the district of Abudwaq, stabbed Hassan Bulhan five times at a difference sides particularly the abdominal edges and chest at a tribal reconciliation meeting in the district.

SOJRA planned to bring Hassan Bulhan in Nairobi, Kenya as he cannot be treating in Galkayo and for moment he is in Nairobi, Kenya, in collaboration with Somali Coalition for Freedom of Expression (SOCFEX).

SOJRA condemned on Thursday 26 march the long-term arrest of journalist Jama Ayanle Fayte , who works for News website called laasqorey.net and was also member of African Media Network (www.africamedianetwork.ning.com ),in Bossasso by Puntland police following the orders of Puntland’s Deputy Police Commissioner Mohamed Said Jaqanaf.

Although sentenced him two years in prison on 30th March 2009 but released on Wednesday 15 April, 2009 by way of a presidential pardon.

On 9th April, 2009 the Somali Journalist Rights Agency (SOJRA) condemned the closure of Mandeeq Radio Station in Balad-hawo district of Gedo region by Alshabab Islamic militia group in Balad-hawo district.

The Al-Shabaab officials stated that the Radio will remain off air for 24 hours and must present to Al-Shabaab all their programs that they have been airing and the agenda of the every day program. After talks between Al-shabaab and the administration of the radio Mandeeq rear on the air later than two days.

SOJRA condemned unlawful arrest of journalist Muhyadin Hassan Mohammed in Baidoa of Bay region.

Al-Shabaab forces arrested Muhyadin Hassan Mohamed, who is reporter of Radio Shabelle in Bay regions, from his home on Friday night, April 17, 2009.

Al-shabaab accused the journalist of reporting “false news” against their work and actions in the region. Although was released next day.

While the current situation of state of press freedom in Somalia is a devastating one, Nur Muse Hussein, known as “INJI”, was wounded after when he was trying to cover up fighting in Beledweyn between militias loyal to Hiran Regional Administration and Hisbul Islam, an Islamic movement that operates in southern central regions of Somalia.Attacks, intimidating and harming of the journalists violate their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and press.

Conclusion SOJRA will also planning to bring in Nairobi a journalist Yassin in order to threat him in Nairobi for an operation of bullets existing in his right leg.

For that reason the Somali Journalist Rights Agency (SOJRA) is kindly requesting and call the national unity government of Somalia to run off no hesitation about its purpose to force its authority, implement the commandment and act against all those who mischief freedom of information.

Staff Benda Bilili: Voices Of The Congo

Staff Benda Bilili are like nothing you have ever seen or heard before. A group of paraplegic street musicians who live around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, Congo, they make music of astonishing power and beauty. The band's mesmerising rumba-rooted grooves, overlaid with vibrant vocals, remind you at times of Cuban nonchalance, at other times of the Godfather of Soul himself. You can hear echoes of old-school rhythm and blues, then reggae, then no-holds barred funk...

Four senior singer/guitarists sitting on tricycles, occasionally dancing on the floor of the stage, arms raised in joyful supplication, are the core or the band, backed by a younger, all-acoustic rhythm section pounding out tight beats. Over the top of this are weird, infectious guitar-like solos performed by a 17 year-old prodigy on a one-string electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can.

STAFF BENDA BILILI MOTO MOINDO LIVE
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Children of the Streets

They look up with their pale and sunken faces,
And their look is dread to see,
For they mind you of their angels in high places,
With eyes turned on Deity;—
"How long," they say, "how long, O cruel nation,
Will you stand, to move the world, on a child's heart,—
Stifle down with a mailed heel its palpitation,
And tread onward to your throne amid the mart?
Our blood splashes upward, O gold-heaper,
And its purple shows your path!
But the child's sob in the silence curses deeper
Than the strong man in his wrath."

From The Cry Of The Children by Elizabeth Barrett Browning









The United Nations estimates the population of street children worldwide at 150 million, with the number rising daily.” unprecedented in the history of civilization”.

These forgotten and ignored children are the helpless victims of violence, trafficking, sexual exploitations, addictions and a myriad of other problems. They are at the mercy of a merciless world. They take to the streets for numerous reasons, poverty, neglect, abuse, to name a few.

What can we do for them? The realization that street children exist in every part of the globe is where we begin. Educate ourselves and others how to care for, how to reach out to these most sad and precious of our humanity. Let’s remove our blinders. A good starting point is probably right in our own back yard.



UNICEF has defined three types of street children: Street-Living, Street-Working, Street-Family.
*
Street Living Children: children who ran away from their families and live alone on the streets.
*
Street Working Children: children who spend most of their time on the streets, fending for themselves, but returning home on a regular basis.
*
Children from Street Families: children who live on the streets with their families.


Street Kids International

Street Kids International is a non-profit agency founded in Canada, with operations in Canada and the UK. It is a global leader in developing and disseminating the strategies and tools needed to give street kids around the world the choices, skills, and opportunities to make a better life for themselves.

Working With Street Children PDF




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This is the first part of the documentary, "Forgotten Angels," by Michael Brewer about the street children of Haiti. Visit his website Haitian Street Kids at http://www.hski.org to make a donation and more.

Free the Slaves

Free the Slaves liberates slaves around the world, helps them rebuild their lives and researches real world solutions to eradicate slavery forever.

Free the Slaves is a not for profit organization made up of people who don't want to live in a world with slavery. And they're willing to do something about it.

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Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery

Image via Wikipedia

Today’s Human Trafficking and Slavery are hidden deep in the conscience of modern society. By their very nature they breed in the world’s underground, out of the conceptual grasp of the general public. Unfortunately, the reality is, they are alive and well. Some statistics suggest, growing at a rapid rate, due to the world wide economic depression.

They are highly profitable and impossible to combat without awareness of their existence, yet in “civilized circles”, the concept of human trafficking and slavery are ideas that belong to ancient history or some very remote corner of the planet. The reality is that they could be happening down the road from where you live, and probably are.

The hope is to make as many as we can aware with knowledge and facts of these most despicable of human conditions and save as many as we can from such an awful fate.

For the millions of children and adults around the world who suffer in silence, human trafficking and slavery, are some of the greatest human rights challenges of our time.



Definitions of human trafficking courtesy of Safestate.org include:

Federal. Federal law defines trafficking in persons as “sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age”; or “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery

California. California law defines human trafficking as “all acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport, harboring, transfer, sale or receipt of persons, within national or across international borders, through force, coercion, fraud or deception, to place persons in situations of slavery or slavery like conditions, forced labor or services, such as forced prostitution or sexual services, domestic servitude, bonded sweatshop labor, or other debt bondage.”

International Labor Organization. The ILO, an agency of the United Nations, defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” - SOURCE: Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.


FACT SHEET FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES:

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery. Victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Victims are young children, teenagers, men and women.

After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest growing.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) defines “Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons” as:

* Sex Trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act , in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person forced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years; or

* Labor Trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.

Trafficking Victims
Approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders worldwide, according to the U.S. Department of State. These estimates include women, men and children. Victims are generally trafficked into the U.S. from Asia, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe. Many victims trafficked into the United States do not speak and understand English and are therefore isolated and unable to communicate with service providers, law enforcement and others who might be able to help them.

How Victims Are Trafficked
Many victims of trafficking are exploited for purposes of commercial sex, including prostitution, stripping, pornography and live-sex shows. However, trafficking also takes place as labor exploitation, such as domestic servitude, sweatshop factories, or migrant agricultural work. Traffickers use force, fraud and coercion to compel women, men and children to engage in these activities.

Force involves the use of rape, beatings and confinement to control victims. Forceful violence is used especially during the early stages of victimization, known as the ‘seasoning process’, which is used to break victim’s resistance to make them easier to control.

Fraud often involves false offers that induce people into trafficking situations. For example, women and children will reply to advertisements promising jobs as waitresses, maids and dancers in other countries and are then trafficked for purposes of prostitution once they arrive at their destinations.

Coercion involves threats of serious harm to, or physical restraint of, any person; any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; or the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.

Victims of trafficking are often subjected to debt-bondage, usually in the context of paying off transportation fees into the destination countries. Traffickers often threaten victims with injury or death, or the safety of the victims’ family back home. Traffickers commonly take away the victims’ travel documents and isolate them to make escape more difficult.

Victims do not realize that their debts are often legally unenforceable and, in any event, that it is illegal for traffickers to dictate how they have to pay off their debts. In many cases, the victims are trapped into a cycle of debt because they have to pay for all living expenses in addition to the initial transportation expenses. Fines for not meeting daily quotas of service or “bad” behavior are also used by some trafficking operations to increase debt. Most trafficked victims rarely see the money they are supposedly earning and may not even know the specific amount of their debt. Even if the victims sense that debt-bondage is unjust, it is difficult for them to find help because of language, social, and physical barriers that keep them from obtaining assistance.




Documentary clip from "Playground" by Libby Spears


It examines U.S. child sex trade


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The Encyclopaedia Britannica Widget On Slave Trade