USA/Vietnam: Working to combat child labour
14 Mar 2015
A majority of countries have adopted legislation to prohibit or place restrictions on the employment of children, much of it guided by standards adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO). In spite of these efforts child labour continues to exist on a massive scale, in appalling conditions, particularly in the developing world. Progress has been slow,or even apparently non-existent because child labour is an immensely complex issue. In December an ILO project was approved to combat child labour in Vietnam, based on donations from the United States Department of Labour and the Government of Vietnam. The project will be implemented over five years in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang and other locations. It aims, among other things to, improve the monitoring and enforcement of laws and to raise awareness of child labour in Vietnam.
Syria: A lost generation
14 Mar 2015
Children are especially vulnerable to malnutrition and diseases related to poor sanitation. With the breakdown of health systems there have been outbreaks of highly contagious diseases like measles and even polio. The lack of immunizations only adds to the dangers children face in a country at war. They are also extremely vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Many of the children have had no schooling for more than three years. The schools that do exist lack teachers. Many schools have been bombed and shut down. The horrific things children have witnessed and experienced have traumatized them with emotional scarring to last a lifetime. They are faced daily with nightmares and isolating behaviours that continue the cycle of damage.
Iraq: Israeli Arab slain by IS child
14 Mar 2015
A new IS video shows a child executing an Israeli Arab man accused of spying for Israel. The child shot him in the head with a hand gun. ‘So we fight in Iraq and our eyes are on Jerusalem,’ said a voice in Arabic at the conclusion of the video released on YouTube. The video also contained a lengthy confession by the victim who identified himself as Mohammed Said Ismail Musallam from Jerusalem. The Israeli government is investigating the authenticity of the video. IS has long expressed enmity toward Israel, but this would mark the first time they have killed an Israeli citizen. The use of a child executioner adds a twist to a propaganda campaign employing shock tactics to attract potential recruits and frighten enemies. The video comes a week before Israel’s general elections, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has campaigned on a platform of protecting the country from Islamists.
Across the nations children are becoming traumatised through street violence, wars, domestic violence, kidnapping, child labour and trafficking. See the six Prayer Alert articles below. In South Africa the Petra Institute near White River, Mpumalanga, have developed a children’s ministry designed specifically to help traumatised children through the medium of play. It’s called the Walking with Wounded Children Course. The institute’s play therapy training model can be applied to any country or culture. To date the Institute has trained more than 13,000 people throughout Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Far East. Back in South Africa Petra recently presented their course in Modimolle (Nylstroom) to fifteen participants, eleven of whom were staff from an orphanage. After training the participants put their new skills to practice with non-competitive games that overcomes age, colour and gender differences. Children became relaxed and uninhibited and shared their emotions which is hugely therapeutic.
Global: Racism and equality
06 Mar 2015
Following unrest in Ferguson in America when an unarmed black man was killed by a white police officer, an inquiry reported that black residents routinely have their constitutional rights violated through unjustified arrests, traffic stops and other actions carried out by a racially biased police department. But USA is not the only country that needs to crack down on racism. In France recently a mayor was in a racism row after a dead Roma baby was refused a cemetery place. The Telegraph reported this week that British Sikhs are often the silent victims of backlash against Islamic extremism. In Russia a report by two anti-discrimination organizations said there had been more than 200 cases of discriminatory behaviour linked to Russian soccer over two seasons, while English police are probing reports of soccer fans' racism on trains and in Switzerland UEFA has charged Feyenoord with racist behaviour by fans. See also
Laos: Pastors in prison for praying for the sick
06 Mar 2015
Five church leaders in Laos were imprisoned last week for being ‘illegal doctors’ after they prayed for a sick woman who later died. They are currently in Savannakhet Provincial Prison serving a nine months sentence. They were also fined for emotional damages and forced to pay for funeral expenses. On the day the woman died, her family received permission from the village chief to hold a Christian burial ceremony on private property. (Christians are denied burial rights in village cemeteries). However the chief suddenly reversed his decision and banned the burial ceremony until the family recanted their Christian faith, which they refused to do. Laos is a landlocked country surrounded by Burma, the People's Republic of China, Vietnam and Thailand to the west. It is ruled by a Marxist and communist government. Its population was estimated to be around 6.8 million in July 2014 and 3.1% is Christian.
A young woman running away from her Afghan village and an arranged marriage is comparable to crossing a busy street blindfolded - there is a strong likelihood that she will be killed for bringing shame on her family. Over the last decade about 20 emergency women’s shelters have sprung up. They have cared for and protected several thousand women across Afghanistan from abuse or death at the hands of their relatives. As the shelters have grown, so has the opposition of powerful conservative imams and the Afghan government. They see shelters as Western assaults on Afghan culture. As the Western presence in Afghanistan dwindles this clash of ideas of the place of women means many gains women made after 2001 are at risk. Although the Taliban’s harsh restrictions on women alienated many Afghans, the idea that women must submit to men remains widely held.
A group of Christian leaders in the Eastern Free State town of Harrismith aim to help people get out of debt and into ‘a spacious financial space’ through an innovative programme that will provide interest free loans and financial mentoring. It’s called Fruits of Righteousness Programme. The vision is to empower the Body of Christ and to bring freedom in the financial sphere. Debt is a huge problem affecting many people in South Africa. After apartheid ended the international development community promoted the microcredit model to bring new jobs, incomes, empowerment and dignity to the poorest black communities and townships. However, the microcredit model has inflicted untold damage on the South African society. Unemployment is high, many of the poorest were forced to repay their microloan by selling household assets, borrowing from friends and family or taking out new microloans to repay old ones. Many are in chronic poverty. See also: