Consider the following Watermelon Tomato Salad with Feta & Toasted Almonds recipe by Chef Charles Wiley of ZuZu for light spring or Ramadan meals.
Yield: 6-8 Servings
1 each Watermelon (4-1/2 lb seedless, will yield 3 lb trimmed) very cold As needed Kosher salt ¼ tsp Black peppercorns 2 Tbsp Olive oil 1 Tbsp vinegar 3 Tbsp Basil & mint, chopped 1 lb Tomatoes, cored and cut in ¾ inch chunks 4-6 oz Feta cheese ¼ cup Almonds, toasted 1/2 cup Tender greens
Directions: 1. Peel the watermelon and cut into fourths lengthwise, then cut each fourth into 9-10 slices. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with salt. 2. Crack the peppercorns on a cutting board with the bottom of a skillet or in a mortar and pestle. It should not be too fine; set aside. 3. Whisk together the oil, vinegar and herbs in a large mixing bowl; add the tomatoes and toss. Check seasoning and arrange on top of the melon. Top with the cheese, peppercorns, almonds and greens.
Special note from the chef: “The melon can be peeled ahead of time and refrigerated, however the dish should be assembled at the last minute and served immediately as the salt will draw the liquid out of the melon fairly quickly.â€
HKSCA Needs to Work as a Bridge to Establish Business & Investment with Karachi, Pakistan: A Special Proactive Meeting with Consul General of Pakistan on the Occasion of the 5th Anniversary
“Mayor Annise Parker of Houston seems to be keen to lead a high profile business and investment delegation to Karachi & other cities of Pakistan; and to make this a fruitful reality, the Houston Karachi Sister City Association and Pakistan Chamber of Commerce USA needs to play the roles of bridges & do a collaborative effort.â€
These were the feelings expressed by Honorable Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood at the 5th Anniversary Meeting of Board of Directors of the Houston Karachi Sister City Association (HKSCA), which is a non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation one individual and one community at a time.
A Special cake was cut on this occasion to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the formation of HKSCA, which was accomplished with the signing of a MoU in 2009 between the then Mayor Bill White of Houston and Nazimae Aala Mustafa Kamal of Karachi at the City Hall in Houston.
Earlier the Honorable Consul General, all the HKSCA Board Members, & Guests were welcomed by President Muhammad Saeed Sheikh. Program started with invocation; adopting of the agenda; which was followed by the welcoming remarks of HKSCA President Mr. Sheikh.
After the various reports about the history, educational, trade, cultural, healthcare, and humanitarian endeavors & future plans of HKSCA were presented; Honorable Consul General Afzaal Mahmood gave some candid remarks, and suggestions, so that the work of HKSCA can be further enhanced:
“We are public servants at the Consulate. We have a limited staff of seven to eight persons. That is not our whole team. Our Consulate’s team includes all the organizations of Pakistan and all the Pakistanis in Houston & beyond, and we can work together to serve both USA & Pakistan. Consulate needs to be used a Secretariat and Clearing House by organizations’ like HKSCA, so that the task of bridge can be played effectively & efficiently by HKSCA in taking business & investment to Karachi & Pakistan. HKSCA needs to maintain a good database, and share with the Consulate, so as to work as a team. There is need to promote food & culture of Pakistan; and for this, Consulate can provide In-Kind assistance to HKSCA, who should also involve the Pakistani Student Association (PSA), as without youth, sustainability of an organization is not possible.â€
Karachi is the 17th Sister City of Houston and the 100th Muslim city to enter the overall Sister City network. The Sister City Association is a voluntary organization created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of the Sister City International (SCI) organization. SCI’s goal is to develop municipal partnerships between U.S. cities, counties, and states with similar jurisdictions in other nations. SCI also works with ordinary citizens to participate in people-to-people exchanges and to build long-term partnerships between the U.S. and international municipalities. Currently, President Barack Obama serves as Honorary Chair of Sister Cities International, and locally, City of Houston Mayor Annise Parker is the Honorary Chair Person of HKSCA. Similarly there is a counterpart of HKSCA called the Karachi Houston Sister City Association (KHSCA) in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
“The idea of enhancing the healthcare system in Karachi through tele-medicine between a major hospital in Karachi with a salient hospital in Houston is fantastic, and Consulate will facilitate it thorough the various ministries of Pakistan. Also Ambassador of Pakistan is expected to visit Houston in the month of June 2014. HKSCA should work towards getting the statue of Mr. Jinnah, Founding Father of Pakistan placed in Hermann Park, Houston; and assist to achieve the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Status with the US similar to recently accorded by the European Union to Pakistani trade:†Added Honorable Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood.
For more information about HKSCA and getting involved, one can call +1.281.948.1840.
The prestigious Truman Scholarship recipients for 2014 were announced last week and there are quite a few Muslim students among them. They are among 59 students selected from 655 nominations from nearly 300 institutionsannounced as recipients by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Each one will receive up to $30,000 in scholarship money for their graduate studies, as well as “priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government, according to the Truman Scholarship’s website.
A few of them along with their profiles are as follows:
Safiya Subegdjo (Tufts University)
Safiya is a junior studying International Relations and Leadership Studies. She plans to obtain graduate degrees in public health and medicine, aspiring to be a global health diplomat. For four years, Safiya has worked with resettled refugees in the greater Boston area and currently coordinates the Tufts University Refugee Assistance Program. Through the Institute for Global Leadership, Safiya traveled to Jordan with a team of student researchers, assessing the challenges of a temporary health system for Syrian refugees. She also worked on implementing health education initiatives at the Foundation for Mother and Child Health in Jakarta, Indonesia. Safiya is a Tisch Scholar for Citizenship and Public Service and a volunteer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Sarah Mirza (University of Georgia)
Sarah studies Spanish and human geography. She hopes to obtain a Master’s degree in Geography with a focus on labor and migration and, later, to attend law school and specialize in immigration law. These degrees will help further her work in community organizing, which is currently informed by her experiences as a founding member of the Undocumented Student Alliance at UGA and as an intern at Workers Defense Project in Austin, TX.
Rana Abdelhamid, Middlebury College
Rana is a Posse Scholar pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in International Politics and Economics. She speaks Arabic and Spanish and is passionate about female empowerment. Prior to starting college, she founded New York City’s Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE). This self-defense, entrepreneurship and leadership organization has reached over 150 women through its fellowship and summer programs. As an organizer and human rights activist, she also serves as the Student Activist Coordinator and Co-Chair of the National Youth Action Committee for Amnesty International USA. At Middlebury, she has been elected to the Student Government Association for the past three years, works as a research assistant in the Political Science department and is a fellow for the Center for Social Entrepreneurship.
Yusef Al-Jarani, University of Chicago
Yusef is American by nationality, Libyan by memory, Muslim by religion, Western by culture, and universalistic by principle. He believes that in this era of globalism and economic interdependence, security and prosperity are no longer components of a zero-sum game where one country’s loss is another’s gain. Alleviating youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa can advance the economic and security interests of the U.S., our allies, and the region. He hopes to use the knowledge and skills he has gained through the great education this country afforded him to honor Truman’s legacy and engage with the world. In doing so, he hopes to help a people who so desperately need it and, in turn, give back to the country that supported him, invested in him, and allowed him to do the same for others in need.
Hira Baig, Rice University
Hira, a Sugar Land, TX native, is pursing degrees in Political Science and Policy Studies. Currently working for Teach for America, Hira also interned for the U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Commission, the U.S. House of Representatives, the World Affairs Council of Houston, and various political campaigns. Hira has traveled to London and Shanghai to research the impacts of Islamophobia on Muslim communities. Chosen as a coach for Interfaith Youth Core’s Leadership Institutes, Hira is spending her junior year traveling the country to help coach future interfaith leaders. With interests in religion, public policy and politics, Hira will pursue law school and a career at the Department of State.
Rahfin Faruk, Southern Methodist University
Rahfin, an SMU President’s Scholar, is an Economics, Political Science, Public Policy and Religious Studies major with a minor in Mathematics. He intends to pursue a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Policy in order to work in the social enterprise sector. Rahfin, the former editor in chief of the SMU student newspaper, has been published in The Dallas Morning News and The Huffington Post. He founded a zero-interest micro finance initiative focused on financial inclusion, and he has interned at Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and the U.S. Department of State.
Syed Imaad helps develop MRI sensor
CAMBRIDGE,MA–Syed Imaad, a recent master’s degree recipient from the prestigious MIT, is part of a team that has has invented an injectable device that reveals oxygen levels over several weeks and can be read with magnetic resonance imagigs (MRI).
Using this kind of sensor, doctors may be able to better determine radiation doses and to monitor whether treatments are having the desired effect, according to the researchers, who describe the device in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The team was led by professor Michael Cima.
Shawn Ahmed’s research links aging to cellular interactions
University of North carolina professor Shawn Ahmed, PhD, shows that tweaking specific cellular mechanisms helps tiny worms overcome infertility through a pathway of cellular interactions that result in long life. The finding gives clues to how the molecular interactions in cells of one organism affect progeny many generations later.
The evidence for what causes aging has typically been limited to the study of a single organism’s lifespan; our cells divide many times throughout our lives and eventually cause organs and our bodies to age and break down. But new research from the UNC School of Medicine suggests that how we age might depend on cellular interactions that we inherit from ancestors throughout many generations.
By studying the reproductive cells of nematodes – tiny worms found in soil and compost bins – Shawn Ahmed, PhD, an associate professor of genetics, identified the Piwi/piRNA genome silencing pathway, the loss of which results in infertility after many generations. He also found a signaling pathway – a series of molecular interactions inside cells – that he could tweak to overcome infertility while also causing the worms to live longer adult lives.
The research, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Cambridge and described in a paper published in the journal Cell Reports, suggests that it’s possible to manipulate the aging process of progeny before they’re even born.
The finding gives scientists a deeper understanding of what may govern aging and age-related diseases, such as some cancers and neurodegenerative conditions
Islamic Awareness Week held at UT-Arlington
ARLINGTON,TX–Muslim students at the University of Texas-Arlington held several events last week to create awareness about Islam and Muslims in the wider community. A series of talks on Islam+Women, Islam+Science, and Islam+Prayer were addressed by prominent speakers.
“We’re just trying to introduce Islam to the overall campus of UTA, trying to get some exposure so that people can know more about us and actually apply a face to Muslims on campus,†an event coordinator told the student newspaper.
The talks were well attended and sparked serious discussions.
Dearborn, MI–In preparation for their upcoming Fundraising Dinner, My Orphans sent one of their volunteers to Iraq and Lebanon to produce his next short film.
My Orphans is a non-profit project of I.M.A.M. (Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya, the liaison office of the Grand Scholar Sayed Ali Al-Sistani), headquartered in Dearborn, MI since 2010. This orphan organization was established to serve the needs of orphans in war-torn and poverty-stricken nations. They are currently supporting orphans in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon. Mahmoud Hammoud, a film director, producer, and My Orphans volunteer, is visiting these orphanages to illustrate the daily struggles in the lives of orphans, showing how donations have impacted and improved their lives. My Orphans has hosted three annual fundraising dinners in Dearborn, and several other fundraising events across the nation. Hammoud volunteers as the organization’s Media Manager, and has been producing media works for My Orphans at a budget of almost nothing. His work for My Orphans includes two documentaries, one short film, and one commercial. His latest film for the organization, Reflections, has contributed to the best year in donations that the organization has seen. It also has achieved generating even more public awareness of the dire situation, and the high level of need and attention to orphan care. Hammoud’s ability to compassionately illustrate a painful story of devastation, coupled with his eye for seizing the moment in filming, has stunned viewers all over the world.
As The Muslim Observer reported from their 2013 fundraising dinner, after this film, there was not a dry-eye in the house, from the men and women alike. Crowds at these fundraising dinners were left in utter silence. When asked what his goals were through his media works, Hammoud response, “After visiting orphans overseas, I realized the only knowledge and experience most people have with orphans, is limited to pictures and stories. I aim to bring the vision of orphan care to people through media. As much as we speak about the suffering of orphans and show people pictures, nothing speaks closer to peoples’ minds and hearts like actual footage (aside from actually being there).â€
After seeing the Reflections documentary, most people do not believe that this is real, unexaggerated footage. “In filming, exaggeration is a technique used to magnify a story. I have to do the opposite here. Because the suffering of these orphans is so great, when I film, I cannot immediately present the magnitude of the situation, because it may discourage people. Rather, I must present it lightly so that I gradually deliver an immense and horribly sad condition to people,†Hammoud responded.
My Orphan’s 4th Annual Fundraising Dinner will be on Friday, May 2nd at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, MI. The Muslim Observer will be covering it once again. Hammoud is getting new footage to create another film for this dinner. Here, he plans to dive into the experiences of the lives of each individual orphan, while highlighting the improvements and accomplishments resulting from generous donors. As with any other non-profit organization, My Orphans is running on a tight budget. Though they have another financial concern, to make sure that as much of each and every dollar donated goes towards the orphans in need. So how was Hammoud able to produce the first three films at a budget of almost nothing? He described how he noticed that since this filming was for the sake of orphans, some situations became easier and certain doors seemed to open. Also, due to the lack of a budget for this project, he was forced to handle tasks that could have been performed by an additional crew and resources, such as interviewing, lighting, and editing.
Volunteerism itself is always a rewarding, learning experience. But volunteering to help better the lives of orphans is a whole other type feeling. The My Orphans volunteers describe it as bitter sweet because even though they have the rewarding feeling, they know that there is so much more that needs to be done, and how fortunate they truly are. From Hammoud’s experiences, he is able to take that a step farther. “When an orphan looks through the camera, I become embarrassed to look through the lens. I have to make sure I deliver their story with such integrity and respect. I have developed an awareness and compassion towards them, which I realized we need them more than they need us.â€
When asked what he wanted people to know when reading this interview, Hammoud simply responded with, “The phrase that My Orphans uses at the end of our media productions: ‘We are not asking you to stop enjoying what you have…We are asking you to enjoy what you have by sharing with others in need.’â€
To view the My Orphans films done by Hammoud, check out their website and YouTube page at www.myorphans.us or www.youtube.com/myorphans. They are also always looking for volunteers in producing films and raising awareness of orphan care. If you are interested in supporting and volunteering, please contact INFO@MYORPHANS.US.
Comments of Mr. Falk at the Term Out of his Duties of Human Rights Rapporteur on The Occupied (Palestinian) Territories
By Geoffrey Cook, TMO
Geneva (Switzerland)–Your reporter had the privilege to hear the eighty-three year-old Professor Richard Falk, Esq. (emeritus) of International Law now retired from Princeton University in New Jersey.
Since your author is writing to an Islamic audience, I shall quote Wikipedia, “Falk was born into an assimilationist New York Jewish family — which all but repudiated the ethnic side of Jewishness. Defining himself as “an American Jew,†he says that having an outsider status, with a sense of not belonging, may have influenced his later role as a critic of American foreign policy. His being Jewish signifies above all for Falk, ‘to be preoccupied with overcoming injustice and thirsting for justice in the world, and that means being respectful toward other peoples regardless of their nationality or religion, and empathetic in the face of human suffering whoever and wherever victimization is encountered.’â€
Your commentator makes this quote because, like Judge Goldstone, it most assuredly does not mean to be Jewish to be anti-Islamic. It is Zionism in the Middle East that is repressing Muslims there (or here), and not Judaism! In fact, it is your author’s opinion that progressive Jews and Muslims are “natural allies†in finding peace and justice in the Holy land!
Dr. Falk was talking to us while he was awaiting the presentation of his Report to the United Nations in this city on the Lake of the same name on his findings on the conditions within the Occupied Territories in regards to human rights garnered during his six-year tenure as the (U.N.’s) Special Rapporteur on the Occupied (or Palestinian) Territories.
In the estimation of your writer, Dr. Falk is one of the moral giants of this Century! On the eve of his testimony before he was to be termed (six-years) from his office, he stated that the situation there on the Mediterranean and the Jordan (riverine) Valley is as severe as ever. Especially, within Gaza which is living under great distress. Conditions have deteriorated for that mini-“State†Since the coup in Cairo. The treatment of the Strip by its surrounding neighbors violates the Geneva Convention, Article 33 of 1949 which outlines the “the status and treatment of protected persons…â€
Falk describes the West Bank as under a state of Apartheid (which is the systematic persecution of one racial [ethnic/sectarian] group by another and was recognized as a Crime against Humanity by the U.N. [in 1976].) Dr. Falk denounced other policies of the Israelis, also, as Crimes against Humanity as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’s Explanatory Memorandum [1998 and put into force as of 2002] as “are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack…â€) There has been a total lack of responsibility by the occupiers (the Israelis) to respect the Fourth (Geneva) Convention. (See http://www. icrc. org /applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Comment.xsp?view Comments=LookUpCOMART&articleUNID= 78EB50EAD6EE7 AA1C12563CD0051B9D) within the territories of which they occupy. This prolonged Occupation resembles a de facto annexation that he concludes will be difficult to reverse. At this time — at cessation of his tenure — he concludes that he does not perceive any prospect for change in the immediate future because of the steady expansion of the Israeli Settlements upon traditional Palestinian lands.
He predicts there is a potential prospect for change because of the international outrage that has been generated in opposition to the brutality of the Israeli policies against the Palestinians.
For the present, though, there has to be a signal from Tel Aviv to a commitment for peace to proceed; therefore, “We must stand in solidarity for justice and sustainable peace between both peoples!â€
TASK #3: Learn to be happy with less. Find the good in unpleasant situations, but most of all, appreciate all you have, and learn not to need unnecessary things. Drink water from the river of life one cup at a time.
Gain a broader perspective in order not to be overwhelmed by the vastness of life. What you are learning is making you more and more aware of how much there is to learn! It can be really frightening to look at the vastness of the universe and the minuteness of yourself. One can’t help but wonder, “What’s the use? My existences is inconsequential to the universe!†But you must have faith in what your inner voice is telling you, what the universal spirit is telling you through the voice of Psyche – that there is a reason for your existence, because you were born.
Everyone has a purpose which they learn upon giving up their false ego and hearing the true voice of the spirit. You have a place in this world, and you are inseparable from this world. Don’t let life in the world be a prison. Let it be a door to even greater things! You are beautiful because you are a part of this grand scheme of the universe. It is a wonderful thing to discover, and worth all the pain and agony.
TASK #4: This is your hardest part of the journey. The last dry stretch of land! [insert warning about loss of friends.] It defies all rational thought. Understand that, and go on. Do not attempt this last task until you have completed the first 3 tasks [See Journey Towards Self-Realization: Part VI] as best as you possibly can. You will know when you are ready for the fourth task.
First, it is a very good idea to find a pillar of strength to guide you. A religion, a book such as “Siddhartha,†Mohammad, the Bible, a prophet or guru of some sort. Someone pure, whom you can trust absolutely. Someone who has already gone through it.
As hard as it might be, concentrate all of your energy on the inner journey. You’re ALMOST there! Though others may need your help now, it is better to finish this quest first, and then go back and help them. Don’t try to pull in others with you, or try to convert them to your way of thinking. This is your journey, and it will be your treasure, which you can share with them.
Give up control over your fate. Whatever happens is destined to happen. The universe is like a big clock, and the voice which guides you will guide you correctly. Have faith in it; absolute trust, for if you let go of it, you’ve lost your lifeline.
Meditate, journey into the labyrinth of your mind, remembering, accepting, remembering, shuddering, remembering! Don’t stay too long in the underworld or you’ll stay there forever. Stay until you have what you need, and get out again. The voice will guide you.
Then – you will find it. The thing that will rip you apart, shatter your old self – no longer will you be the same! You will experience incredible suffering, because the wound is now exposed: Don’t give in! Expose every bit of it and cling to your faith and love of life and the wisdom you’ve gained through your other tasks.
You will be utterly demolished and weak, and terribly, terribly uncertain and afraid. Don’t worry. Sit, and wait. Meditate calmly. Now you are trying to heal the wound.
Let your feminine and masculine traits act together to create a new birth inside you. Create art, let compassion flow from within you. It may be hard to get started, but once it’s going it is like rain falling on the desert! Flowers bloom, the parched earth begins to heal once more.
Now, the same aspects of your personality, whose struggling imprisoned the Psyche before, can act as life-savers. They can give you strength to go on. No longer is there separation, but peace within. There is meaning and harmony in all that you see. A love for the universe which is indestructible.
Compassion, selfless giving is the healing river, which smooths out all the rocks and jagged stones. Let it flow – through you and motivate you, for in this love there is strength and beauty. There is a balance inside you as long as you are going, flowing on the river, knowing what is important and worthwhile, giving and loving a symphony of life and nature!
If you want this truth, it is yours. If your true desire is to be set free from the prison of your self, you will be liberated.
It’s never an easy path, but remember the first step is to say: “I am a seeker.â€
Acknowledge that you want this something, and that you are willing to go through pain to find yourself. Your true self. The rest will follow. The Lord provides for those who seek.
There are many things that can be said about the situation in the Ukraine, and more specifically about the Crimea. The first thing to note is that in the international order the big powers do what they will and the small ones do what they must.
Thus, the Monroe Doctrine has involved the U.S. in invasions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti and in organizing the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Guatemala, replacing it with a vicious dictatorship. It forced Cuba to grant it control of Guantanamo, as the price for granting Cuban independence—or, more accurately, dependence.
While it acts to secure its Latin perimeter, it also surrounds Russia with bases and secret prison-torture centres. Russia is not much concerned with what the U.S. does in the Americas, but it does not much like its invading what it sees as its security zone. All this is not said in defense of Russian actions, simply to understand its behavior in context.
The most important thing about the big power bullying exhibited by both the U.S. and Russia is the impact on international security.
Russia had every reason to be concerned about American behavior in the Ukraine. American and other Western funding of oppositional efforts in the Ukraine helped to undermine the Ukrainian government that was friendly to Russia. Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, went in person to the Ukraine last December and handed out cookies to demonstrators in Maidan Square, demonstrators engaged in trying to topple the government. A telephone conversation between her and U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, intercepted and widely distributed, has the two of them plotting out just which individuals should be taking power in the Ukraine and which international organizations should be involved in arranging the transfer of power. She proposed involving the U.N. to mediate and help establish what might be termed “order.†Why not the European Union? “Fuck the EU,†she told the ambassador.
Vladimir Putin’s actions in the Crimea are parallel to those of the U.S. in the world. Nuland might well take lessons from him, and perhaps she has. Nevertheless, Russia’s intervention is a danger to world peace and security equivalent to that of the American refusal to abide by the decision of the International Court of Justice.
When the Ukraine became independent in 1991, it had a truly massive stockpile of nuclear weapons. Three years later, it shipped these to Russia, in exchange for the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, which it signed along with Russia, the U.S., and Britain. The memorandum made the Ukraine a non-nuclear power in exchange for a guarantee of its territorial integrity.
Regardless of what one might think of the various players on the political stage in the Ukraine, the Russian invasion of the Crimea is a serious blow to international security. Now any country considering giving up nuclear weapons will think at least twice before doing so. If the Ukraine had kept nuclear arms, a Russian invasion would have been far less likely.
A masked woman demonstrator shouts slogans against Egypt’s former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and against a law restricting demonstrations near El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, April 26, 2014. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
CAIRO (Reuters) – In a courthouse near Cairo, a peremptory message hangs above the judge presiding over one of a series of trials involving Egypt’s briefly powerful and now almost impotent Muslim Brotherhood.
“In the name of God the Mercifulâ€, it reads, “Allah commands you to render trust to whom it is due, and when you judge between people to judge with justiceâ€.
The chaotic scenes in the court do not appear to measure up.
A metal cage held 33 members of the Brotherhood – outlawed as a terrorist organization after the army last July deposed Mohamed Mursi, the elected president who ruled in the Brotherhood’s name for one tumultuous year.
Among them was Mohamed Badie, supreme guide of the Brotherhood. It is the most influential mainstream Islamist organization in the world and its confrontation with the army-backed authorities in Cairo has created a country more divided than at any time since the group was founded in Egypt in 1928.
Dressed in white robes and facing a string of charges, some of which carry the death penalty, the Brothers kept up a barrage of chants, from Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) to “Down, down with military ruleâ€.
The judge, heavily moustached and wearing black sunglasses, looked bored as he scornfully dismissed pleas from lawyers asking for more respectful treatment of their clients.
The judge brusquely ordered defendants and lawyers to be shut up. Scuffles broke out. A phalanx of policemen separated the caged Brothers from lawyers and journalists.
Badie then rose to proclaim that “the people will not accept an army tyrantâ€, referring to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who carried out last July’s coup after mass protests against the divisive Mursi and who recently resigned from the military to contest a presidential election on May 26-27.
Before the curtain came down on this judicial mayhem, the Brotherhood’s spiritual leader forecast the inevitable demise of Sisi, despite forecasts that he will win next month’s election.
REMINISCENT OF MUBARAK ERA
It was thought scenes like this had been brought to an end when President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in the 2011 Tahrir Square revolt. But now history seems to be repeating itself, with the army bent on eradicating the Islamists militarily.
Mubarak’s army-backed dictatorship, the continuation of a police state established by Gamal Abdel Nasser with the ousting of the monarchy in 1952, had faced down an Islamist insurgency that targeted him, his ministers and tourists in the 1990s.
In 30 years of Mubarak rule, military tribunals with scant respect for civil law sentenced 90 Islamist militants to death, of whom 68 were executed. In nine months of Sisi’s army-led government, courts have condemned 529 Islamists to death.
Nor was Egypt so polarized then as it is now. Over 1,000 Mursi supporters were shot dead after last July’s coup, and some 16,000 Brothers, and leaders of the secular youth movement that sparked the Tahrir revolt, have been rounded up and jailed.
Officials privately agree that Egypt needs not just the iron fist but a whole new outlook from its rulers, including an overhaul of the nation’s religious and political institutions.
The pent-up anger among the Tahrir Square youth, close watchers say, is likely to explode again if Sisi or his future government fail to create jobs in the Arab world’s most populous country of 85 million people. “This country is known to turn on a sixpence very quickly. Sisi is now a total hero, he can be tomorrow’s villain. He knows that,†said a European diplomat. “I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.â€
Sisi’s security establishment has already destroyed nearly all opposition, Islamist and secular. Besides the 529 Islamists sentenced to death, almost 1,000 more have been brought before the courts.
Defense lawyers say Egypt’s judiciary is handing down politically motivated sentences to wipe out the Brotherhood, which won a series of elections after the fall of Mubarak.
DISTANT DREAM?
The crackdown, the most brutal in Egypt’s modern history, is fuelling a violent Islamist insurgency across the country.
Since the coup, insurgent attacks have spread from the ungoverned badlands of the Sinai peninsula into the cities, with a rash of attacks on police, security targets and judges.
Alaa Abdel Fattah, a secular young software engineer and blogger at the heart of the 2011 Tahrir rebellion who is now being prosecuted for demonstrating against the new post-coup order, says Egypt is a dark place now.
“The country is more militarized now than under Mubarak (and) the scale of violence, repression, corruption and direct military control is unprecedented,†Fattah says. “We are already in a much worse position than during Mubarak’s time.â€
“The hope that existed after the downfall of Mubarak has become a distant memory,†he said.
Warning that Sisi has to resolve huge problems that will not evaporate, he says “there is despair among a young generation; they are offering nothing. There is no future, no jobs for graduates and no way outâ€.
For now, Sisi enjoys the adulation of the majority of Egyptians, who see him as a savior following three decades of Mubarak and three turbulent years since his demise. They appear to believe he is the man to improve their lot.
“People on the street tell me: Don’t talk to me about democracy, talk to me about bread and butter,†said Khaled Dawoud, an activist and spokesman for the liberal Dostour Party.
The economic pressures in Egypt, where millions endure poverty and unemployment, remain the most serious threat to its stability.
GROWING INSURGENCY
Sisi, politicians say, is aware of how dangerous the situation is but depends on his generals and army intelligence for information about the state of the country.
A youth boycott this year of a referendum on a new constitution drawn up by a panel named by the military-backed interim government sent shockwaves through the establishment.
There are fears that Sisi’s rise to power will provoke more Islamist protests and tempt him to use force to silence all dissent.
“When Sisi becomes president the Brotherhood won’t stop protesting, we won’t see any let-up in the crackdown, and as long as you have instability we won’t have economic recovery,†said Dawoud.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaeddine, a moderate in the army-backed government, said Egypt’s future depends on rebuilding national consensus on issues such as a budget deficit estimated at 11 percent of GDP, fuel subsidies that eat up one quarter of the budget, and addressing acute poverty while maintaining growth.
“Egypt totally collapsed. If you don’t have a national approach you cannot do anything,†he said.
Sisi has defended his crackdown, saying he has to eradicate terrorism, protect national interests and the economy, including the country’s industrial base, which has been hit by instability.
Egypt’s battle with the fundamentalists dates back 60 years. Presidents Nasser and Anwar Sadat tried to crush them but each time the crackdowns failed to eradicate political Islam.
The confrontation with the Brotherhood is particularly hard because of their wider popular base. The movement is embedded in society and spread across Egypt’s villages and towns.
STUCK IN A TIME WARP
The Egyptian authorities accuse them of fomenting a jihadi insurgency which appears to be gathering force since the coup, accusations the Brotherhood dismisses.
Ahead of next month’s polls, those who have worked with Sisi say he did not oust Mursi to advance his own presidential ambitions, but has found himself almost obliged to step forward at a critical juncture of Egypt’s history.
They describe him as pragmatic and driven by what he sees as the national interest of Egypt. He regards the army as the only reliable institution able to protect Egypt, take it through a divisive period and prevent a breakdown of the whole system.
That is why, they argue, he has taken control of billions of dollars in aid from the Gulf rushed to Egypt after the coup, and intends to supervise what Cairo hopes will be a further wave of investment from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“I don’t believe Sisi had a plan from the outset to push them out of power and take over. It was a progression of events – there was a political crisis and millions went to the streets – in which the army felt it had no choice,†the European diplomat said.
Looking forward, there is a consensus among diplomats extending even to some officials, that the military solution will not solve the problem and is making a bad situation worse.
But the Brotherhood is determined to present itself as a victim stripped of legitimate power rather than a movement that can learn from its mistakes and negotiate a return to mainstream politics.
“The Muslim Brotherhood is stubborn and fossilized. It needs to change and move on to a new policy. It is still where it was before July. It is stuck in a bunker,†the European diplomat said.
Yet many Egyptians have no faith in the army either.
“We tried the military for 60 years and where did we get to? We got corruption, no proper healthcare or education, no real political power or parties. This was the achievement of Mubarak so why do you want to repeat that again?†said Dawoud.
(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy and Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Giles Elgood)
WASHINGTON – The US Monday urged Egypt to stop mass trials and sentencing of its nationals, as a court handed down death sentence to another 683 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, reports IANS.
“The United States is deeply troubled by the continued use of mass trials and sentencing in Egypt, and particularly by today’s death sentence against 683 defendants,†Xinhua quoted White House spokesperson Jay Carney as saying in a statement.
“We urge the Egyptian government to end the use of mass trials, reverse this and previous mass sentences, and ensure that every citizen is afforded due process.â€
The Brotherhood’s top leader Mohamed Badie is among the defendants accused of inciting violence and murdering policemen in conflicts sparked by the Egyptian military’s ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the first elected president of Egypt, in July last year.
The same court sentenced 529 Brotherhood members and supporters to death last month, as the interim government has branded the group, to which Morsi belongs, a terrorist organisation.
“Today’s verdict, like the one last month, defies even the most basic standards of international justice,†Carney said. “A fair and transparent criminal justice system free of intimidation and political retribution is an important part of any democracy, and the Egyptian people deserve no less.â€
Washington has partially lifted its freeze on assistance to Egypt, enacted after Morsi’s removal, with plans to deliver 10 Apache helicopters and some $650 million in military aid this year.
I was really surprised to see the letter of the Jewish Community Relations Council of metropolitan Detroit reacting on the publication of an article in the Muslim Observer. If the Council has facts contrary to what were presented in the article, it should have stated rather than accusing the Observer to incite Muslim hatred against Jews. The article was discussing the state of Israel, a political entity and not Judaism or Jews. This is the kind of language such organizations have used to shut people up and silence their perspectives.
Ahmed Nadeem, Fontana CA
Dear Editor,
I am not surprised to see the partisan response of the Jewish Community Council of Detroit. Rather than acknowledging the truth that the Palestinians have ben reduced to sub human status as a result of continuous aggression on the part of Israel, the Council adopted the terror techniques of name calling. I strongly protest their arrogant attitude.
Zubair Ahmed, Atlanta GA
Dear Editor,
It is a shame that the Jewish Council of Detroit would ignore the ground reality in Israel. If it claims to speak the truth, then it must acknowledge the truth and the truth is that Israel has been brutal to Palestinians during the last several decades of occupation. It is an apartheid state and it challenges all the norms of justice in the world. Jews should be the first to acknowledge that. They are mandated by their religion to stand for justice.
Afraz Khan, Chicago IL
Dear Editor,
The Muslim Observer is doing a great job by exposing the injustices of the state of Israel. I hope you would publish more articles that shows the true face of Israel that has denied the Palestinians their human rights.
Ibn Omar, Detroit
Dear Editor,
Isrel is an apartheid society. It discriminates against Arabs, Muslims and Christians alike. Arabs include Druze, Christians and Muslims and atheists as well. This is what one finds in israel on a regular basis:
In Hebron, the slogans “Arabs to the crematoria†and “Arabs – sub-humans†were once spray-painted on a wall, and anti-Arab graffiti has been spray-painted in Jerusalem. In the 1980s and 1990s “Geography books for the elementary and junior high schools stereotype Arabs negatively, as primitive, dirty, agitated, aggressive, and hostile to Jews … history books in the elementary schools hardly mention Arabs … history textbooks of the high schools, the majority of which cover the Arab-Jewish conflict, stereotype the Arabs negatively. Arabs are presented as intransigent and uncompromising. Jewish groups must stand against this bigotry.
Abdullah Shakoor Dawson, NYC
Dear Editor,
I saw the recent letter complaining about a Chris Hedges story.
However I was so shocked because it is simply true that Palestinians are routinely abused by Israelis, especially when they travel.
A Palestinian comedian, Maysoon Zayid, who has cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair, was deprived by Israeli security personnel of her feminine hygiene products and forced to wait until she bled on her clothes in front of other passengers, before leaving Israel to return to the United States. She was unable to clean herself before boarding her airplane–forced to endure hours of air travel covered in her own filth–Israelis did this to humiliate her.
Other Palestinians are sexually abused with rifles by settlers. Others are murdered, whether by settlers or IDF forces. This is aside from other provocations.
To be honest I blame Palestinians for much of what goes wrong, but it is absolutely a fact that Palestinian lives can be taken at any time for no reason by Israelis, without consequence, especially when the Palestinians go through Israeli security as they have to do for international travel.
Chris Hedges is an internationally known journalist, formerly of the New York Times. I have met him. While he may politically stand aside from where I stand, and his beliefs may be different from mine, it is unlikely that he would make factual allegations that are untrue in an article. He may make extreme inferences based on the available facts but he would never fabricate the facts themselves.
I find it hard to believe that you yourself, Mr. Cohen, believe it is safe for Palestinians to travel through Israeli security.
The secretary of state said that if Israel doesn’t make peace soon, it could become ‘an apartheid state,’ like the old South Africa. Jewish leaders are fuming over the comparison. If there’s no two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon, Israel risks becoming “an apartheid state,†Secretary of State John Kerry told a room of influential world leaders in a closed-door meeting Friday.
Senior American officials have rarely, if ever, used the term “apartheid†in reference to Israel, and President Obama has previously rejected the idea that the word should apply to the Jewish state. Kerry’s use of the loaded term is already rankling Jewish leaders in America—and it could attract unwanted attention in Israel, as well.
It wasn’t the only controversial comment on the Middle East that Kerry made during his remarks to the Trilateral Commission, a recording of which was obtained by The Daily Beast. Kerry also repeated his warning that a failure of Middle East peace talks could lead to a resumption of Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens. He suggested that a change in either the Israeli or Palestinian leadership could make achieving a peace deal more feasible. He lashed out against Israeli settlement-building. And Kerry said that both Israeli and Palestinian leaders share the blame for the current impasse in the talks.
Kerry also said that at some point, he might unveil his own peace deal and tell both sides to “take it or leave it.â€
“A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second-class citizens—or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state,†Kerry told the group of senior officials and experts from the U.S., Western Europe, Russia, and Japan. “Once you put that frame in your mind, that reality, which is the bottom line, you understand how imperative it is to get to the two-state solution, which both leaders, even yesterday, said they remain deeply committed to.†According to the 1998 Rome Statute, the “crime of apartheid†is defined as “inhumane acts… committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.†The term is most often used in reference to the system of racial segregation and oppression that governed South Africa from 1948 until 1994.
Former president Jimmy Carter came under fire in 2007 for titling his book on Middle East peace Palestine: Peace or Apartheid. Carter has said publicly that his views on Israeli treatment of the Palestinians are a main cause of his poor relationship with President Obama and his lack of current communication with the White House. But Carter explained after publishing the book that he was referring to apartheid-type policies in the West Bank, not Israel proper, and he was not accusing Israel of institutionalized racism.
“Apartheid is a word that is an accurate description of what has been going on in the West Bank, and it’s based on the desire or avarice of a minority of Israelis for Palestinian land,†Carter said.
“Injecting a term like apartheid into the discussion doesn’t advance that goal [of peace],†Obama said. “It’s emotionally loaded, historically inaccurate, and it’s not what I believe.â€
Leading experts, including Richard Goldstone, a former justice of the South African Constitutional Court who led the United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict of 2008 and 2009, have argued that comparisons between the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians and “apartheid†are offensive and wrong.
“One particularly pernicious and enduring canard that is surfacing again is that Israel pursues ‘apartheid’ policies,†Goldstone wrote in The New York Times in 2011. “It is an unfair and inaccurate slander against Israel, calculated to retard rather than advance peace negotiations.â€
In a 2008 interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, then-Sen. Barack Obama shot down the notion that the word “apartheid†was acceptable in a discussion about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians:
“There’s no doubt that Israel and the Palestinians have tough issues to work out to get to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security, but injecting a term like apartheid into the discussion doesn’t advance that goal,†Obama said. “It’s emotionally loaded, historically inaccurate, and it’s not what I believe.â€
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told The Daily Beast that Kerry was simply repeating his view, shared by others, that a two-state solution is the only way for Israel to remain a Jewish state in peace with the Palestinians.
“Secretary Kerry, like Justice Minister Livni, and previous Israeli Prime Ministers Olmert and Barak, was reiterating why there’s no such thing as a one-state solution if you believe, as he does, in the principle of a Jewish State. He was talking about the kind of future Israel wants and the kind of future both Israelis and Palestinians would want to envision,†she said. “The only way to have two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two-state solution. And without a two-state solution, the level of prosperity and security the Israeli and Palestinian people deserve isn’t possible.â€
But leaders of pro-Israel organizations told The Daily Beast that Kerry’s reference to “apartheid†was appalling and inappropriately alarmist because of its racial connotations and historical context.
“One particularly pernicious and enduring canard that is surfacing again is that Israel pursues ‘apartheid’ policies,†Goldstone wrote in The New York Times in 2011. “It is an unfair and inaccurate slander against Israel, calculated to retard rather than advance peace negotiations.â€
Yet Israel’s leaders have employed the term, as well. In 2010, for example, former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak used language very similar to Kerry’s. “As long as in this territory west of the Jordan River there is only one political entity called Israel it is going to be either non-Jewish, or non-democratic,†Barak said. “If this bloc of millions of ¬Palestinians cannot vote, that will be an apartheid state.â€
“While we’ve heard Secretary Kerry express his understandable fears about alternative prospects for Israel to a two-state deal and we understand the stakes involved in reaching that deal, the use of the word ‘apartheid’ is not helpful at all. It takes the discussion to an entirely different dimension,†said David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, an organization that has been supportive of Kerry’s peace process initiative. “In trying to make his point, Kerry reaches into diplomatic vocabulary to raise the stakes, but in doing so he invokes notions that have no place in the discussion.â€
Kerry has used dire warnings twice in the past to paint a picture of doom for Israel if the current peace process fails. Last November, Kerry warned of a third intifada of Palestinian violence and increased isolation of Israel if the peace process failed. In March, Democrats and Republican alike criticized Kerry for suggesting that if peace talks fail, it would bolster the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
“It’s in the Palestinian playbook to tie Israel to these extreme notions of time being on the Palestinian side, that demographics are on the Palestinian side, and that Israel has to confront notions of the Jewishness of the state,†Harris said.
Kerry on Friday repeated his warning that a dissolution of the peace process might lead to more Palestinian violence. “People grow so frustrated with their lot in life that they begin to take other choices and go to dark places they’ve been before, which forces confrontation,†he said.
The secretary of state also implied, but did not say outright, that if the governments of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu or Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas left power, there could be a change in the prospects for peace. If “there is a change of government or a change of heart,†Kerry said, “something will happen.â€
Kerry criticized Israeli settlement construction as being unhelpful to the peace process and he also criticized Palestinian leaders for making statements that declined to recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.
“There is a fundamental confrontation and it is over settlements. Fourteen thousand new settlement units announced since we began negotiations. It’s very difficult for any leader to deal under that cloud,†Kerry said.
He acknowledged that the formal negotiating process that he initiated and led since last summer may soon stop. But he maintained that his efforts to push for a final settlement will continue in one form or another.
“The reports of the demise of the peace process have consistently been misunderstood and misreported. And even we are now getting to the moment of obvious confrontation and hiatus, but I would far from declare it dead,†Kerry said. “You would say this thing is going to hell in a handbasket, and who knows, it might at some point, but I don’t think it is right now, yet.â€
Kerry gave both Israeli and Palestinian leaders credit for sticking with the peace process for this long. But he added that both sides were to blame for the current impasse in the talks; neither leader was ready to make the tough decisions necessary for achieving peace.
“There’s a period here where there needs to be some regrouping. I don’t think it’s unhealthy for both of them to have to stare over the abyss and understand where the real tensions are and what the real critical decisions are that have to be made,†he said. “Neither party is quite ready to make it at this point in time. That doesn’t mean they don’t have to make these decisions.â€
Kerry said that he was considering, at some point, publicly laying out a comprehensive U.S. plan for a final agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, in a last-ditch effort to forge a deal before the Obama administration leaves office in 2017.
“We have enough time to do any number of things, including the potential at some point in time that we will just put something out there. ‘Here it is, folks. This is what it looks like. Take it or leave it,’†Kerry said.
The death toll from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the Kingdom reached 102 on Sunday with 10 new deaths during the past 24 hours as authorities scrambled to reassure an increasingly edgy population.
Public fears have been fueled by a rapid rise in the number of fatalities from the deadly coronavirus, with 39 people dying this month, almost a third of the 102 deaths registered since the virus emerged in April 2012.
The Health Ministry said 10 new deaths occurred during the past 24 hours while 16 new confirmed cases have been reported in Jeddah (8), Tabuk (6) and Riyadh (2).
The new fatalities included a nine-month-old Saudi child Riyadh, a 65-year-old Saudi woman, a 61-year-old Indonesian woman, and a 55-year-old Saudi man in Jeddah in addition to three new deaths (all Saudis) in Riyadh and one (an expat) in Jeddah.
Newly confirmed cases include three doctors (Saudi, Egyptian and Syrian) and six Filipino nurses.
A 63-year-old woman, who had also suffered chronic illness, died of MERS on Saturday in Jeddah, and a 78-year-old man died in Riyadh, the Health Ministry said.
It said the total number of cases diagnosed since the virus was first recorded in the Kingdom has reached 339, representing the bulk of infections registered globally. The ministry has set up fourth specialized medical center in Najran following three in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
Labor Minister and Acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih has instructed the health departments in the Kingdom to allocate one hospital for the treatment of MERS cases. In Najran, they have identified King Khaled Hospital for the purpose.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Khaled Al-Faisal urged school authorities to take precautionary measures to prevent the virus from spreading. He said no MERS cases have been reported among schools across the Kingdom.
The number of Saudis and expats visiting hospitals has declined, following reports of MERS deaths among doctors and nurses.
“I’ve decided to keep my six-year-old daughter at home and not send her to school,†said Umm Muntaha. “Prevention is better than cure,†she maintained. A. Aziz, an Indian expat, has also stopped sending his son to school. “It’s safe this way. I don’t want to take any chances,†he said.
Schools remain open despite rumors of possible closures, but many have asked parents to equip their children with masks and disinfectants.
The ministry has not taken any “additional precautions†at airports apart from the “usual preventive measures,†a ministry official said.
About 1.3 million Rohingya live in the predominantly Buddhist country of 60 million, almost all of them in Rakhine state.
About 1.3 million Rohingya live in the predominantly Buddhist country of 60 million, almost all of them in Rakhine state.
SITTWE, Myanmar: The two children stood on the beach, at the end of the only world they knew, torn between land and sea.
They couldn’t go back to their tiny Muslim village in Myanmar’s northwest Rakhine because it had been devoured in a fire set by an angry Buddhist mob. In the smoke and chaos, the siblings became separated from their family. And after seven months of searching, they had lost hope of finding anyone alive.
The only way was forward.
Hungry and scared, they eyed a rickety wooden fishing boat in the darkness. Mohamad Husein, just 15, dug into his pocket and pulled out a little wad of money for the captain. He and his 9-year-old sister, Senwara Begum, climbed on board, cramming themselves tightly between the other ethnic Rohingya in the small hull.
As the ship pushed off, they didn’t realize they were among hundreds, if not thousands of children joining one of the world’s biggest boat exoduses since the Vietnam War. They only understood it wasn’t safe to stay in a country that didn’t want them.
Mohamad had no idea where they were headed. And as Senwara looked back in tears, she wondered if she would ever see her parents again.
Neither could imagine the horrors that lay ahead.
From Malaysia to Australia, countries easily reachable by boat have been implementing policies and practices to ensure that Rohingya Muslims don’t wash up on their shores — from shoving them back to sea, where they risk being sold as slaves, to flat out barring the refugees from stepping onto their soil.
Despite pleas from the United Nations, which considers the Rohingya to be among the most persecuted groups on earth, many governments in the region have refused to sign refugee conventions and protocols, meaning they are not obligated to help. The countries said they fear adopting the international agreements could attract a flood of immigrants they cannot support.
However, rights groups said they are failing members of the religious minority at their most vulnerable hour, even as more women and children join the increasing mass departure.
“The sense of desperation and hopelessness is growing,†warned Vivian Tan of the UN Refugee Agency.
About 1.3 million Rohingya live in the predominantly Buddhist country of 60 million, almost all of them in Rakhine state. Myanmar considers them illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, though some families have lived here for generations.
When the country was under military rule, young men took to the seas on small, dilapidated boats every year in search of a better life. But since the bumpy transition to democracy in 2011, sectarian violence has killed up to 280 Rohingya and forced more than 140,000 others from their homes. Now, people of all ages are fleeing, many on massive cargo ships.
Women and children made up 5 per cent to 15 per cent of the estimated 75,000 passengers who have left since the riots began in mid-June 2012, said Chris Lewa of the nonprofit Arakan Project, a group that has tracked the boat journeys for a decade. The year before, around 9,000 people fled, most of them men.
It’s a dangerous voyage: Nearly 2,000 Rohingya have died or gone missing in the past two years, Lewa said. Unaccompanied children like Senwara and her brother are among the most at risk.
The Associated Press reported from Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand on their plight, interviewing family members, witnesses and aid groups. Data were collected from the UN, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and news reports at the time.
The relief the two children felt after making it safely away from land quickly faded. Their small boat was packed with 63 people, including 14 children and 10 women, one seven months pregnant. There were no life jackets, and neither sibling could swim. The sun baked their skin.
Senwara took small sips of water from a shared tin can inside the hull piled with aching, crumpled arms and legs. With each roiling set of waves came the stench of vomit.
Nearly two weeks passed. Then suddenly a boat approached with at least a dozen Myanmar soldiers on board.
They ordered the Rohingya men to remove their shirts and lie down, one by one. Their hands were bound. Then they were punched, kicked and bludgeoned with wooden planks and iron rods, passengers on the boat said.
They howled and begged God for mercy.
“Tell us, do you have your Allah?†one Rohingya survivor quoted the soldiers as saying. “There is no Allah!â€
The police began flogging Mohamad before he even stood up, striking his little sister in the process. They tied his hands, lit a match and laughed as the smell of burnt flesh wafted from his blistering arm. Senwara watched helplessly.
As they stomped him with boots and lashed him with clubs, his mind kept flashing back to home: What had he done? Why had he left? Would he die here?
After what seemed like hours, the beating stopped. Mohamad suspected an exchange of money finally prompted the soldiers to order the Rohingya to leave.
“Go straight out of Myanmar territory to the sea!†a witness recalled the commander saying. “If we see you again, we will kill you all!â€
The Myanmar government denied that the Navy seized any ships during that period.
The refugees plodded on, but the boat was falling apart. A sarong stuffed in a hole could not stop water from bubbling through. The sticky rice and bits of bread Mohamad had brought for his sister were gone.
When they finally floated ashore, someone said they were in Thailand. Senwara didn’t even know where that was.
Thailand is the first stop for almost all Rohingya fleeing by sea, but it does not offer them asylum. Up until a few years ago, the country had a “push back†policy of towing migrants out to sea and leaving them, often with little or no food, water or fuel. But after photos leaked of the military dragging one such boat in 2009, the government changed course.
Under its new “help on†policy, Thai authorities give basic supplies to migrants in its waters before sending them on. Other times, however, they direct the boat to traffickers who hold the asylum seekers for ransom, according to human rights groups that have interviewed scores of escapees.
Those who cannot get money are sometimes sold as slaves to work on fishing boats or in other industries without pay. Others flee, usually back into the hands of agents, where the cycle continues.
Royal Thai navy spokesman Rear Admiral Karn Dee-ubon denied cooperation with traffickers and allegations of boats being towed out to sea. He insisted the navy always follows humanitarian principles, but added that other Thai agencies could be involved in such activities.
After the children’s boat entered Thai waters, all of its passengers were marched into the jungle where their hands were tied and they were told not to leave, survivors said. They were given rice and dry fish crawling with bugs.
Days later, they were put on another small boat without an engine. Then, survivors said, Thai troops pulled them far out to sea, cut the rope and left them to drift without food or water.
The boat rolled with the wind and currents. Senwara drank sea water and ate a paste of ground-up wood. She vomited, and diarrhoea poured out of her.
The next day, someone spotted what looked like a shadowy tree in the distance. The men used a little boy’s mirror to flash signals in its direction.
When the boat came near, Indonesian fishermen smiled and spoke a language no one understood. The Rohingya could only make out that the crew was Muslim.
Indonesia has been sympathetic to the Rohingya, and its president has sent a letter to his Myanmar counterpart calling for an end to the crisis. Protesters in cities across the world’s most populous Muslim nation have condemned the violence.
Yet Indonesia has not opened its doors to the Rohingya. It only allows them to stay until they can be resettled elsewhere, which can take years. In the meantime, they are kept in overcrowded detention centres and shelters, and no one can legally work.
The Indonesian and Malaysian governments fear that letting the Rohingya stay could lead to a greater influx of illegal migrants.
“At stake is national interest,†said Yan Welly, an Indonesian immigration official. “Let alone a flood of immigrants could affect efforts in coping with problems of our own people.â€
The number of Rohingya housed in Indonesia jumped from 439 in 2012 to 795 last year. About 20 percent of the children who arrived were traveling alone, according to U.N. data.
Some go the official route: They register with the U.N. Refugee Agency when they arrive and wait to be resettled in another country. However, no Rohingya in Indonesia were referred for placement last year.
Ultimately, it is up to accepting nations, with their own policies and criteria, to decide whom to accept. To avoid the long delay, many asylum seekers run away and never get recorded.
In the past, thousands paid smugglers to take them by boat across a deadly stretch of ocean to Australia’s Christmas Island. But that country recently took a hard line, transferring everyone arriving by sea to impoverished Papua New Guinea or the tiny Pacific island of Nauru. Australia’s new policies also include towing vessels back into Indonesian waters, which has left the two governments sparring.
The boat carrying Mohamad and Senwara only made it as far as Indonesia.
After nearly a month and hundreds of miles at sea, they were rescued off Aceh’s coast in the west. UN and news reports confirm the rickety ship arrived in late February 2013 and was towed because it had no engine.
The asylum seekers were transferred to a filthy detention centre with about 300 people — double its capacity — including more than 100 Rohingya. They soon clashed with 11 Buddhists from Myanmar picked up for fishing illegally in Indonesian waters, according to a police report obtained by The AP. The Rohingya complained the Buddhists were harassing their women.
A riot broke out in April 2013, and the nightmare the children thought they had escaped began replaying itself. Men threw splintered chairs and spewed rage into a darkness so black, it was impossible to see who was fighting whom. Eight Buddhist fishermen were beaten to death.
Senwara slept through the brawl in a separate quarter for women. But when she awoke the next morning, her brother was gone.
She was now all alone.
After a few months in jail with other Rohingya arrested for the fight, Mohamad was released due to his age. He soon left for neighbouring Malaysia on a small boat to find work and avoid further trouble.
For many fleeing Rohingya, Malaysia, is the preferred destination. Around 33,000 are registered there and an equal number are undocumented, according to the Rohingya Society of Malaysia. Those numbers have swelled with the violence in Myanmar.
But increasingly, migrants risk getting caught up in group arrests and sent to detention centers. Up to 1,000 have been detained in a nationwide crackdown, the Society said.
Those who arrive in the Muslim-majority country are not eligible for free health care or education, relying mainly on help from the U.N. and aid groups. But it usually doesn’t take long to get illegal work on construction sites or in factories.
Mohamad found a job as a street sweeper in the city of Alor Setar, earning about $70 a month. He now lives in a tiny hovel with about 17 other Rohingya men sleeping on every inch of floor.
For the first time, he is earning a living on his own. But he remains tortured with guilt for leaving his little sister behind.
Soon after the detention centre riot, Senwara was registered as an asylum seeker. She was moved to temporary UN housing in Medan that’s made of small concrete dorm-style rooms with a large play area in front. A Rohingya woman who knew Senwara’s parents from childhood took the girl in.
Although Senwara smiles around her new foster parents, she remains hurt and angry that her brother left.
Mostly, her heart aches for home.
Senwara’s parents didn’t learn the children were safe until more than eight months after their village was burned.
On that awful night, rioters lit bottles and lobbed them into the mosque. Panicked Rohingya raced outside, slicing their bare feet on shards of broken glass left to make them bleed.
Senwara’s mother, Anowar Begum, and father, Mohamad Idris, fled with two babies into a lake. They used bamboo stalks to guide them through the muddy chest-high water in the darkness.
Later, they searched frantically and found five more of their nine children. But Senwara and Mohamad had vanished. Everyone feared they were dead.
After moving from place to place, the family ended up in a squalid camp with tens of thousands of other homeless Rohingya on the outskirts of Rakhine state’s capital, Sittwe.
They had given up hope for Senwara and Mohamad by the time an unknown Rohingya called from Indonesia to say they were safe. Today, 22 months after their separation, it’s only through technology that the family, now scattered across three countries, can remain in touch.
Mohamad, in Malaysia, watches a video clip of his sister playing soccer in Indonesia. While the other young men in his simple, two-room flat sit on the floor chatting and scraping curry from their plates, the teenager retreats into silence. Even as he breaks down, he cannot look away from the little girl on the screen.
Back in Myanmar, a Skype video call pops up on a laptop. From inside the camp, Anowar stares at her daughter and sobs quietly into her headscarf. In Indonesia, Senwara quickly wipes away her own tears.
Two birthdays have passed since she left home. As her father asks how she’s been, his weathered face trembles.
They then go through the questions every parent wants to know: Is she well? How is she doing in school? Is she getting enough to eat?
“It’s really good to see you here and healthy,†her father says, balancing a baby on his knee.
Soon her favourite sister, who looks just like her, starts making jokes. The whole family laughs, breaking the sadness for a few minutes.
“I’m fine,†Senwara says, trying to sound upbeat. “I’m with a family that is taking good care of me. They love me. I’m learning things, English and religion.â€
Her father reminds her to be a good girl. He is desperate to see his children again, but believes they are better off far away. The family often goes hungry, and there’s no money for medicine.
When it’s time to say goodbye, Senwara keeps staring at the screen even after the faces disappear. She still doesn’t understand why her village was burned or what forced her to leave home. She only knows one thing.
“I don’t think I will ever be able to see my parents,†she says, softly. “For the rest of my life.â€
Residents cheered the community board’s unanimous decision to change the name of 204th Street at 35th Avenue in Bayside to Salman Hamdani way.
More than a decade after the tragic events of 9/11 an unsung American Muslim hero was finally honored after the Queen’s Borough in New York decided to name a street after him.
It means so much to me that anyone passes by here, no matter if they live in the neighborhood or just driving by, and like, ‘Oh,’ they’ll look up, maybe see the sign, they’ll research it and they’ll find out my brother’s story,†said Zeshan Hamdani, Salman Hamdani’s brother, told NY1.
After Salman Hamdani’s death, there was xenophobic speculation that because he was Muslim, he was somehow involved in the attacks, but he was cleared when it came to light that he was a first responder.
“He ended up down at Ground Zero just trying to help save lives, and then he was, you know, the buildings came down, and he was gone,†Zeshan Hamdani said. “Gave us a bag, said it was him, just body parts.â€
The Hamdani family was happy that their son was getting recognition but they also want him to be treated on par with other first responders. Salman Hamdani’s mother Talat Hamdani said the family wants him to be recognized by the New York City administration, Mayor de Blasio’s office, as a cadet that gave his life that day.
The family said this is the first step in the process.
Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohamed Mursi, standing trial on charges of violence that broke out in Alexandria last year, react after two fellow supporters were sentenced to death, in a court in Alexandria in this March 29, 2014 file photo.
REUTERS/Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper/Files
(Reuters) – U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid, said on Tuesday he would not approve sending funds to the Egyptian military, denouncing a “sham trial†in which a court sentenced 683 people to death.
The decision by Leahy, the longest-serving U.S. senator and an influential foreign policy voice, could further complicate the Obama administration’s difficult relationship with Egypt, one of Washington’s most important strategic allies in the Middle East.
The Pentagon said last week it would deliver 10 Apache attack helicopters and $650 million to Egypt’s military, relaxing a suspension of aid imposed after Egypt’s military ousted President Mohamed Mursi on July 3 and violently suppressed protesters.
“I’m not prepared to sign off on the delivery of additional aid for the Egyptian military,†Leahy said in a speech on the Senate floor, explaining why he would hold up the $650 million. “I’m not prepared to do that until we see convincing evidence the government is committed to the rule of law.â€
An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced the leader of the Mursi’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and 682 supporters to death, intensifying a crackdown on the Islamist movement that could trigger protests and political violence ahead of an election next month.
Leahy said he would be watching the situation in Egypt with “growing dismay†even if he were not chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, denouncing “a sham trial lasting barely an hour.â€
“It’s an appalling abuse of the justice system, which is fundamental to any democracy. Nobody, nobody, can justify this. It does not show democracy. It shows a dictatorship run amok. It is a total violation of human rights,†the Vermont Democrat said.
The Apaches are not subject to legislative approval, congressional aides said.
THE LEAHY LAW
Washington normally sends $1.5 billion in mostly military aid to Egypt each year, but a U.S. law intended to promote international human rights, written by Leahy, bars funding for governments brought to power via military coup.
The Obama administration wavered for months last year over what to call the July events in Cairo. But it cut aid off in October to demonstrate unhappiness after the ouster of Mursi, who emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood to become Egypt’s first democratically elected leader after a popular uprising ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
Administration officials did not comment specifically on Leahy’s remarks, but said they would discuss the issue with members of Congress.
Secretary of State John Kerry had an hour-long meeting on Tuesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy in Washington and made clear the United States was “deeply disturbed†by recent events in Egypt, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
“These actions represent a setback and make it more challenging to move forward,†she said at a briefing. Psaki said the State Department will be briefing members of Congress and hearing their concerns.
(Additional reporting by Missy Ryan, Doina Chiacu and Jeff Mason; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Mohammad Zargham)