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	<title>Mideast Youth &#187; Awareness</title>
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	<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com</link>
	<description>Thinking Ahead</description>
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	<itunes:summary>Thinking Ahead</itunes:summary>
	<itunes:author>Mideast Youth</itunes:author>
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	<itunes:subtitle>Thinking Ahead</itunes:subtitle>
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		<title>Mideast Youth &#187; Awareness</title>
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		<title>Freedom Is Not A Political Agenda</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/02/11/freedom-is-not-a-political-agenda/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/02/11/freedom-is-not-a-political-agenda/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:54:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Current Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Foreign Affairs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamophobia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mideastyouth.com/?p=14973</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s tragic when some people gain from a human rights violation to further a political agenda, but it happens every day. And not just here. This is actually common practice for the governments of the USA and Israel, and elsewhere &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.mideastyouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/propaganda.jpg" alt="" title="propaganda" width="420" height="315" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-14974" />It&#8217;s tragic when some people gain from a human rights violation to further a political agenda, but it happens every day. And not just here. This is actually common practice for the governments of the USA and Israel, and elsewhere across Europe (right-wing political parties.) It&#8217;s discouraging for us because it gives many of us the feeling that we shouldn&#8217;t be in involved loudly in human rights issues so that we don&#8217;t give these imperialist governments more reasons to attack/occupy us. </p>
<p>There is no better example than Iran. The Iranian government is not a victim of this, they deserve any revealing coverage that comes their way. It&#8217;s a country that thrives on its own people&#8217;s blood and by executing people at such a fast rate that it&#8217;s difficult to be shocked or even shaken by such news anymore. People hear about it so often that it&#8217;s numbing. They hear about it mostly because it&#8217;s accessible. U.S and Israeli media report it every day as a strategy to empower itself. It&#8217;s a brutal psychological war that uses real lives and real personal stories, real people, to give itself more power. The more it happens, the more they celebrate it. It shows from their energetic coverage of such news. For their convenience, such news helps to divert your attention away from their own crimes and their own dirty games that play a big role in today&#8217;s political and human rights crisis across our countries. Protesters shot and killed in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain? Move along people, nothing to see here. </p>
<p>Many of my activist friends in Iran share this same feeling. These governments (also oppressive) taking advantage of these activists who risk their own freedoms to expose these stories and who, as a consequence, have to witness these stories being used against them. We all know that the U.S and Israel, and their allies, have no interest in human rights and in us as human beings. They have an interest in their political and economic status, and to maintain Israel&#8217;s role as a superpower in the region, one that also thrives on blood and murder. But the U.S regards that as &#8220;necessary crimes&#8221; for Israel&#8217;s &#8220;survival,&#8221; though Iran and Syria can claim the same thing. They kill for the survival of their current government and current structure and to protect the current people in power. You can justify anything if you try to and sometimes it would even make sense, it just would never be right. Especially if it means you end up putting even more people in danger than they already were, which is what both the U.S and Israel are doing with its narrow coverage. </p>
<p>Some people ask why others are so focused on Israel when there are crimes happening in their own countries or other neighboring ones. The answer is that coverage of these issues gets in the wrong hands all too often. These are powerful hands who call the shots (literally.) In one instance you still want the entire world to know what crimes your government is committing and in another you don&#8217;t want to empower occupying and imperialist forces to use that as justice for their interference. A lot of people feel that the latter is an important struggle because the human rights movements feels incomplete without it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for us, this will happen regardless of our fight against it. That doesn&#8217;t mean we can sit back and watch it happen, but we should expose it and discourage it and even refrain from speaking with certain journalists at certain papers and state our reasons why so that they understand that we&#8217;re not going to help their agendas that are in direct competition with ours. And our agenda is the simplest demand that is the hardest to fight for: to be free. Free from tyrannical regimes and free from occupying foreign forces. </p>
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		<title>Gulf Media: Where Racism and Classism Meet</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/02/08/gulf-media-where-racism-and-classism-meet/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/02/08/gulf-media-where-racism-and-classism-meet/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:09:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Esra'a (Bahrain)</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Assholes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gulf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Migrant Workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Racism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UAE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Women]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bahrain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migrant rights]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mideastyouth.com/?p=14934</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s been a series of articles popping up left and right about the inconveniences of having a &#8220;demanding&#8221; or &#8220;expensive&#8221; maid. The most recent set of such articles were published by Emirates 24/7, based in the UAE, a country which &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-14936" title="" src="http://www.mideastyouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Screen-shot-2012-02-08-at-4.11.49-PM.png" alt="" width="367" height="216" />There&#8217;s been a series of articles popping up left and right about the inconveniences of having a <a href="http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/pampered-dubai-maids-sniff-at-flying-budget-2012-02-01-1.440738">&#8220;demanding&#8221;</a> or <a href="http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/dubai-maids-pay-doubles-even-as-residents-salaries-stagnate-2012-02-07-1.441700">&#8220;expensive&#8221;</a> maid. The most recent set of such articles were published by Emirates 24/7, based in the UAE, a country which has one of the worst records for migrant rights violations. To be fair, the paper has <a href="http://www.emirates247.com/crime/local/crime-maid-snatched-and-raped-2012-02-07-1.441737">published</a> several <a href="http://www.emirates247.com/crime/region/housemaid-commits-suicide-in-saudi-arabia-2012-01-31-1.440459">articles</a> revolving around maid abuse or suicides (mostly cases outside of the UAE) but none seem to be accompanied by a serious piece discussing the frequency of the abuse, providing thorough and consistent coverage concerning the suicide rates amongst maids in the UAE/Gulf, and offering possible solutions for this ongoing problem or demanding changes in the legal system (such as abolishing the sponsorship law) that would make some of these issues preventable. Instead, they report each tragic case in a cold summary and move on. Yet the articles that provide racist drivel are lengthier, get much healthier traffic and are featured more prominently on the website. How come? It&#8217;s something to be concerned about.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not saying we should provide a one-sided view about maids in the Gulf. Complaints will exist and some are legitimate. However, journalists, columnists, bloggers and editors need to be extremely alert and cautious about how they are framing these issues. Maids lack a lot of legal rights in our countries, thanks in part to the sponsorship system which leaves them completely vulnerable to abuse, but they also suffer from a considerable amount of racist discrimination throughout our societies. Look no further than an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VluY5SWfjSI">average mall</a> or an airport anywhere from Doha to Manama to witness the despicable treatment of South Asian workers. It&#8217;s common enough that it&#8217;s impossible to deny.</p>
<p>We need to highlight our outrage to these editors who don&#8217;t know any better than to publish this propaganda that seemingly encourage racism and normalizes classism. Why push for the <a href="http://my.telegraph.co.uk/expat/annabelkantaria/10145884/dubai%E2%80%99s-pampered-housemaids/">idea that maids are &#8220;pampered&#8221;</a> when they have incredibly demanding jobs under little to no protection? Why complain about the expenses involved in hiring a maid when they get the least amount of compensation which amount to nothing in comparison to the average salary in the Gulf? And more importantly, why amplify these self-absorbed voices instead of the <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2011/10/08/sri-lankan-housemaids-in-saudi-arabia-plead-to-be-returned-home/">voices of victims</a> and <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2011/10/24/family-of-a-maid-who-died-in-jordan-demanding-investigation/">their families</a> that are barely recognized? Thousands of families are still demanding justice for their siblings, mothers, fathers, sons or daughters who have disappeared without trace upon arriving to our countries. They are forgotten and dismissed.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.mideastyouth.com/2011/12/15/we-wont-accept-racism-against-migrant-workers-in-the-media-as-the-norm/">previous article</a> I took similar issue with one of the other pieces published by this same paper. Sadly other local papers appear to have been inspired to be following a similar trend. This is a grave problem.</p>
<p>For a publication called Emirates 24/7 the editors should consider creating a section to discuss the &#8220;24/7 workers&#8221; who work insane hours on a daily basis to provide for complete strangers, sometimes under deplorable conditions. They spend years doing this. Some don&#8217;t come out of it alive. Some take <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2012/02/06/profusion-of-domestic-worker-suicides-in-just-one-week/">their own lives.</a> Some patiently go through each day despite not having their salaries paid on time or in full. Some get beaten to death. <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2011/04/30/uae-maid-jailed-for-being-raped-another-is-repeatedly-raped-by-a-policeman/">Some</a> <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2011/05/08/kuwait-maids-raped-and-beaten-others-commit-suicide/">get</a> <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2011/06/11/domestic-workers-raped-murdered-and-commit-suicide-in-kuwait/">raped.</a></p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t to generalize and claim that all domestic workers go through these issues, but they do happen in such frequency that we should be alarmed and informed enough to take action. We should never dismiss these as the &#8220;few&#8221; cases &#8211; there&#8217;s enough of these cases that makes this OUR problem. Every single week for <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/">an entire year</a> there&#8217;s one story after another about these incidents and yet the outcry remains largely invisible particularly in these media outlets, who instead publish these horrid stories about maids being &#8220;pampered.&#8221;</p>
<p>So I have a few questions for Shuchita Kapur, one of the authors of such offensive and unnecessary op-ed pieces. You think it&#8217;s tough having to &#8220;pamper&#8221; a maid? Having to provide for her the way she gave up years of her life to provide for you? Having to grant this individual who catered to your every need a decent request? Go through one day as a maid and I assure you, you will never complain again. I&#8217;m confident it will change the tone of your stories when you realize the challenges and physical/psychological pressures involved in the job. When you are turned away from public spaces, mocked, dismissed, and harassed because the entire community around you deems you so pitiful to the point of worthlessness. When the idea of reuniting with your family is a distant dream that may or may never happen depending on nothing but pure &#8220;luck&#8221; because your protection is <strong>never</strong> guaranteed. </p>
<p>Shuchita, I doubt you have the strength required to endure this pain.</p>
<p>It might appear from the influx of tragic stories that these maids are weak and helpless. Make no mistake in assuming that. Most have the inspiring courage, determination, and patience necessary to survive decades of abuse, imprisoned in a household where they are taken advantage of, mistreated and never appreciated, all the while missing out on watching their own families grow. How many of us can go through that?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s time for us to urgently take a stance against <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2011/11/12/trivializing-abuse/">trivializing abuse</a> of migrant workers in <a href="http://www.migrant-rights.org/2012/01/24/reversing-the-blame-in-saudi-another-case-of-irresponsible-media/">the media.</a></p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>Dear Those Who Celebrate the Censorship of RojTV: An Open Letter</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/26/dear-those-who-celebrate-the-censorship-of-rojtv-an-open-letter/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/26/dear-those-who-celebrate-the-censorship-of-rojtv-an-open-letter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:02:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alliance for Kurdish Rights</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freedom of Speech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kurdistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kurds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Syria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mideastyouth.com/?p=14737</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear those who celebrate the censorship of RojTV, When an entire people are systematically oppressed and marginalized, small actions to make their story heard can have dramatic consequences. Similarly, small actions to silence their voice can have dramatic and tragic &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dear those who celebrate the censorship of RojTV,</p>
<p>When an entire people are systematically oppressed and marginalized, small actions to make their story heard can have dramatic consequences. Similarly, small actions to silence their voice can have dramatic and tragic consequences.</p>
<p>RojTV is one of the only international Kurdish language channels available to Kurds. It broadcasted everything from children&#8217;s programmes to Kurdish music and film. But most importantly, it filled the large gap of Kurdish news and politics, information that is ignored or censored from mainstream media. <a title="The trial of Roj TV" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2011/08/13/the-trial-of-roj-tv/" target="_blank">For over a year</a>, RojTV had been embroiled in a long legal battle after being accused of violating Danish anti-terrorism laws. Perhaps you&#8217;ve read an article related to the case over the last year, or had been following it avidly. Or maybe the first time you ever heard of RojTV and its legal battle was when the case was closed. Kurds celebrated when RojTV kept its license, despite being found guilty of &#8220;terrorism&#8221; and charged a hefty fine.</p>
<p>Kurdish celebration was short lived, however. On January 19, Eutelsat Communications decided to stop broadcasting RojTV, effectively <a title="Kurdish channel RojTV suspended by Eutelsat" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2012/01/22/kurdish-channel-rojtv-suspended-by-eutelsat/" target="_blank">shutting down</a> one of the biggest sources of Kurdish news in the world.</p>
<p>With the closing of RojTV, Kurds lose a powerful voice, one that frequently was the only one on their side. With the closing of RojTV, Turkey will no longer be held accountable for the arrest of hundreds of <a title="36 journalists sent to prison in Turkey" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2011/12/24/36-journalists-sent-to-prison-in-turkey/" target="_blank">journalists</a>, <a title="More than 60 Kurdish activists put in custody this week" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2012/01/13/more-than-60-kurdish-activists-put-in-custody-this-week/" target="_blank">activists</a>, <a title="Mass Arrests of Kurdish Intellectuals in Istanbul" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2011/11/02/mass-arrests-of-kurdish-intellectuals-in-istanbul/" target="_blank">academics</a>, and even <a title="Children jailed for being part of KCK in Turkey" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2011/12/11/children-jailed-for-being-part-of-kck-in-turkey/" target="_blank">children</a>. Iran can continue to hide <a title="New civilian casualty as a result of increasing Iranian aggression" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2011/09/10/20-year-old-worker-casualty-in-renewed-iranian-offensive/" target="_blank">the murder</a> of Kurdish migrant workers on the Iranian border, and the <a title="Database of Political Prisoners in Iran lists a large number of Kurds" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2012/01/09/database-of-political-prisoners-in-iran-lists-a-large-number-of-kurds-and-other-activists-at-risk/" target="_blank">arbitrary detention</a> and<a title="Kurdish activists in Iran sentenced to death" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2012/01/18/kurdish-activists-in-iran-sentenced-to-death/" target="_blank"> execution</a> of Kurdish activists. Images of Turkish massacres, like <a title="35 Kurdish civillians killed by Turkish warplanes – Video" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2011/12/29/35-kurdish-civillians-killed-by-turkish-warplanes-video/" target="_blank">the most recent in Roboski</a>, will no longer flicker across the screens of thousands of people, who can then mobilize to demand justice for their dead.</p>
<p>To you, perhaps, the only emotion you felt was &#8220;good riddance&#8221;. RojTV was provocative, some say. Or worse, an incitement to terrorism. Its messages had no place in anyone&#8217;s living room, you claim.</p>
<p>Dear reader, we&#8217;re here to tell you your claims are wrong.</p>
<p>Differences in political opinions should flourish. We&#8217;re not telling you to think exactly like us. But the dangers in silencing any political opinion are always more dangerous than any political opinion itself. The censorship of RojTV by the Danish courts, Eutelsat Communications, and by the pressures of Turkey itself extend far beyond the closure of this one Kurdish station. With the closing of RojTV, the voice of the Kurds has been silenced, and because Kurds are humans, who proudly claim their basic human rights, a voice of humanity has been silenced.</p>
<p>For you see, the Kurdish struggle isn&#8217;t just the Kurdish struggle, just like the Palestinian struggle isn&#8217;t just the Palestinian struggle, and the Egyptian struggle and Bahraini and Syrian. Wherever people sacrifice their time, and their lives, for greater freedom for their people, all of us who are invested in human rights and social justice gain. We, the authors of this letter, aren&#8217;t Kurds. One of us is Bahraini, the other Syrian. We&#8217;re from two countries run by dictatorships. Our people understand very sharply how valuable freedom is. It is only because we value freedom in our own countries that we feel a duty to stand with the Kurds. We cannot advocate for our own voices while we accept the silencing of others.</p>
<p>This is what motivates us. This is our cause. We are not terrorists, nor advocates of terrorists. Odds are, the word doesn&#8217;t mean what you think it means anyway. But either way, there is no political agenda behind our efforts. We merely speak up against violations of human rights, something the Kurds suffer far too often.</p>
<p>And because we speak up, we, as Arabs, are the target of some of the same attacks that Kurds face themselves. We receive hate mail and threatening comments, usually in the name of extremist Turkish nationalists. Our site has faced numerous hacking attempts. All because we stand up for Kurds. If we, as non-Kurds, face this abuse, then what do our Kurdish brothers and sisters have to put up with, simply for claiming their right to their rich historical and cultural background? For asking to live with dignity?</p>
<p>We realize we are reaching out to an unfamiliar audience. You may have never met a Kurd, or have your own opinions regarding the Kurdish struggle. Regardless of anything else, everyone has a basic human right to a voice, and a voice that is heard. Despite centuries of abuse, despite their very language being banned, the Kurdish voice has never been louder. At the very least, you have an obligation to hear them out. Banning TV stations and imprisoning journalists won&#8217;t silence the Kurds, but it will lay the foundations for a dangerous world where we all surrender our basic human rights to the people in power, where surveillance and censorship are valued more highly than dignity and liberty.</p>
<p>The Kurds are facing a painful battle for their freedom, one they&#8217;ve paid for with their lives. With your support, crimes against the Kurdish people will no longer weigh on humanity&#8217;s conscience. Speak up for a world where everyone can be heard regardless of ethnicity or faith. Freedom is non-negotiable. If these crimes are allowed to go unnoticed and unpunished, you could be next.</p>
<p>In solidarity,<br />
S. Boulad<br />
E. Al Shafei<br />
<a href="http://www.kurdishrights.org"><strong>The Alliance for Kurdish Rights</strong></a></p>
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		<title>Silicon Valley companies don&#8217;t get the full range of dangers involved with online advocacy</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/20/silicon-valley-companies-dont-get-the-full-range-of-dangers-involved-with-online-advocacy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/20/silicon-valley-companies-dont-get-the-full-range-of-dangers-involved-with-online-advocacy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:47:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Esra'a (Bahrain)</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bahrain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Censorship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freedom of Speech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mideastyouth.com/?p=14676</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many prominent internet companies brag about offering services that help people “connect” with one another, making information more “open” and “transparent” and that they seemingly promote freedom]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many prominent internet companies brag about offering services that help people &#8220;connect&#8221; with one another, making information more &#8220;open&#8221; and &#8220;transparent&#8221; and that they seemingly promote freedom of speech, access to information, and are sympathetic to the various struggles for human rights. </p>
<p>It therefore baffles me how little consideration they have for those individuals who need to be protected online especially if they use the internet as a resource to engage in risky (but necessary) activities. Anything from discouraging anonymity on the likes of Facebook and Google+ to requiring legit photos on sites like LinkedIn, not realizing that some of us live in areas where human rights advocacy is not just frowned upon but severely punishable by our governments. Anything you do to protect yourself &#8211; these companies consider to be against their &#8220;user agreement&#8221; forcing you to reveal sensitive information, making this field 10 times more dangerous just so these companies can be more &#8220;relevant&#8221; and therefore profitable. The problem is that we can&#8217;t just simply quit these services. We need them as tools to empower our work.</p>
<p>Every other week I&#8217;d get an email from an internet service stating that my account has been deleted or disabled. </p>
<p>Why? &#8220;You&#8217;re not using a real photo.&#8221; No, I use an avatar, which they deleted, and then another avatar, which they also deleted, and attempted to keep it empty, which they didn&#8217;t allow, and then finally resorted to just having a logo &#8211; but uh oh! Disabled again. This is despite my several attempts at communicating this to customer service reps at these companies. <strong>They couldn&#8217;t care less. </strong> Regardless of what their CEOs say at tech conferences. Irrelevant. They do not abide by these values when it comes to managing their companies and reviewing their user agreements and privacy policies. Do we matter?</p>
<p>Despite all that is being said about the future of the internet, and how great and open it&#8217;s going to be specifically in light of the SOPA debates, this remains to be a huge issue. We talk about censorship but we don&#8217;t expose the double standards of some of these online companies. Sure we can simply stop using their services &#8211; it&#8217;s theirs and they can do whatever they want to their terms of agreement (which to be fair we had to agree on before signing up on the site), but it&#8217;s still alienating, it&#8217;s still dangerous and the more and more companies that adopt these policies the more we risk losing in this struggle against censorship and surveillance. </p>
<p>I want internet companies to realize that they&#8217;re not doing their service a favor by alienating many of us who prefer to keep ourselves protected. There is certain information that we really prefer to simply not share. It&#8217;s not because we&#8217;re stubborn. It&#8217;s because not all of us are courageous enough to share every aspect of our lives, checking in from every location, uploading every photo, revealing our physical addresses or phone numbers. Some of us have a lot of reason to be scared shitless of the likelihood of being an easier target by ruthless regimes and armed groups if we <em>did</em> share all of these bits and pieces that these services require.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re not asking you to recreate your products to be more fitting for our needs. We&#8217;re not asking you to make your products more tempting for spambots and potentially abusive users. </p>
<p>We&#8217;re asking you to be considerate.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re asking you to make an exception.</p>
<p>For some of us out there, our lives literally depend on these little exceptions.</p>
<p>Respect our privacy if you want users to be loyal to your service. After all, you need us to keep churning up those big checks, don&#8217;t you? And we could also your help in staying connected without having to magnify the risks involved in our sensitive online activities. </p>
<p>Please don&#8217;t ban me from every service you produce simply for wanting to stay safe.</p>
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		<title>Stabbing of human rights activist fuels Gaza fears</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/20/stabbing-of-human-rights-activist-fuels-gaza-fears/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/20/stabbing-of-human-rights-activist-fuels-gaza-fears/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:12:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Lynfield</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Jerusalem – An assault on a human rights activist after he voiced extraordinarily blunt criticism of Gaza&#8217;s ruling Hamas movement has heightened concern about the safety of independent voices in the troubled coastal enclave. The stabbing by three masked men &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Jerusalem – An assault on a human rights activist after he voiced extraordinarily blunt criticism of Gaza&#8217;s ruling Hamas movement has heightened concern about the safety of independent voices in the troubled coastal enclave.</p>
<p>The stabbing by three masked men Friday night of Mahmoud Abu Rahma, international affairs director of al-Mezan Human Rights Center, is seen as one of the more serious incidents of internal violence since the Islamic militant group&#8217;s armed takeover of Gaza in 2007. Hamas leaders have condemned the attack, which wounded Abu Rahma in the hand, back and leg, and insist it is not related to his criticism, human rights activists counter that the assault is the latest in a series of episodes undermining free expression for which the government bears ultimate responsibility.</p>
<p>&#8221;From what we have heard from Mahmoud and al-Mezan and according to the investigations they have made, this is a continuation of the attack on freedom of expression,&#8221; said Jaber Wishah, deputy director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). &#8221;As long as the authority is the responsible body, the full responsibility falls on its shoulders to stop such attacks.&#8221;</p>
<p>Abu Rahma had received numerous death threats since January 1. That was when he published an article on the Maan news agency website accusing resistance groups of causing death and injury by deploying and training next to schools and homes, a charge frequently leveled by Israel but until now not publicly voiced by Palestinians.</p>
<p>On January 3, Abu Rahma was roughed up by unarmed men, and on Friday he escaped being stabbed in the chest only because he was able to use his laptop as a shield, his brother Imad said, adding that the assailants shouted at him that he was a &#8221;collaborator&#8221; with Israel.</p>
<p>In his article, Mr. Abu Rahma wrote:&#8221;Many citizens fall victim to the continuous negligence of the resistance groups, who show little or no care for people&#8217;s life and well being, or worse, fail to take responsibility for shocking acts by their members.Numerous people were injured by live fire coming from resistance group training sites including children, and at least one man lost an eye.&#8221;</p>
<p>He added that there is a training site in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya &#8221;that threatens people every day including a girl who was injured inside her school when an explosion occurred in this site.&#8221;&#8217;</p>
<p>Abu Rahma also criticized the &#8221;misfiring&#8221; of rockets aimed at Israel that &#8221;fall on houses and kill [Gaza] civilians&#8221;<br />
&#8221;Many children have been killed or maimed by explosive devices left in the streets or on farms,&#8221; he added. &#8221;And there is the young man who was shot in the legs for daring to criticize a local resistance leader.&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8221;Who will protect the people from the wrongful acts of the resistance and government?&#8221; Abu Rahma asked.<br />
The assault on Abu Rahma follows a string of attacks against media outlets last year, including an attempt to set fire to the Maan offices in July and an incident in March, during which armed men entered the offices of Reuters and threatened employees with guns. According to Reuters account, the men struck one journalist on the arm with a metal bar and threatened to throw another out the window of the high rise. They took away a video camera apparently after they spotted a reporter filming a demonstration from a building. The group smashed a television set and other equipment before leaving and also seized videotapes from nearby offices of CNN and the Japanese station NHK. Reuters reported that the men said they came from Hamas internal security, but senior Hamas officials condemned the action and denied the group was involved in it.<br />
&#8221;We are seeing a silencing of the press,&#8221; says Wishah, from PCHR.&#8221;These acts cause internal censorship which is even more harmful than external censorship.&#8221;</p>
<p>Salah Bardawil, a Hamas legislator, termed the attack against Abu Rahma &#8221;a deplorable act.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8221;Any attack on a Palestinian citizen is a crime and an attack on a human rights activist is a bigger crime,&#8221; he said. Bardawil stressed, however, that he thought the attack was the work of criminal elements and not political or related to Abu Rahma&#8217;s article.</p>
<p>He said Hamas works to uphold freedom of expression &#8221;but on the ground there are some transgressions and we in the legislative council are working to correct this.&#8221; Bardawil took issue with Abu Rahma&#8217;s assertion that fighters endanger the lives of civilians by positioning themselves close to homes. &#8221;These are the houses of our children and we don&#8217;t ever allow any resistance training that endangers civilians,&#8221; he said.</p>
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		<title>Can you help Kurds to have a remembrance day for the Genocide?</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/19/can-you-help-kurds-to-have-a-remembrance-day-for-the-genocide/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/19/can-you-help-kurds-to-have-a-remembrance-day-for-the-genocide/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:28:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Laween Atroshi</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Dear Friends of Kurdistan, I have set up an e-petition urging the British Government to recognize the Genocide inflicted upon the Kurdish population by the former regime of Saddam Hussein. If we get 100,000 signatures than they will debate this &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/19/can-you-help-kurds-to-have-a-remembrance-day-for-the-genocide/kurdish-flag-007/" rel="attachment wp-att-14637"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14637 alignleft" src="http://www.mideastyouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Kurdish-flag-007-300x180.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="180" /></a><strong>Dear Friends of Kurdistan, </strong></p>
<p>I have set up an e-petition urging the British Government to recognize the Genocide inflicted upon the Kurdish population by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.</p>
<p>If we get 100,000 signatures than they will debate this cause in the British Parliament, thus please sign and pass on your petition.</p>
<p><a href="http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/25526">http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/25526</a></p>
<p>I would like to thank you all for the support and for being a friend to Kurdistan.</p>
<p>Laween Atroshi</p>
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		<title>First time in History the invisible nation: Iraqi Kurdistan nominated for UN Public Service Award</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/19/first-time-in-history-the-invisible-nation-iraqi-kurdistan-nominated-for-un-public-service-award/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/19/first-time-in-history-the-invisible-nation-iraqi-kurdistan-nominated-for-un-public-service-award/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:18:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Laween Atroshi</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mideastyouth.com/?p=14631</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Throughout history the kurds have been forgotten and stigmatized as having a high record of unemployment, lack of human rights and primitive education. To treat this misperception as Kurdish professionals we have a ethical &#38; moral duty to represent Kurdistan &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/19/first-time-in-history-the-invisible-nation-iraqi-kurdistan-nominated-for-un-public-service-award/laweenatroshi/" rel="attachment wp-att-14630"><img class="size-full wp-image-14630 alignleft" src="http://www.mideastyouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LaweenAtroshi.jpg" alt="" width="123" height="114" /></a>Throughout history the kurds have been forgotten and stigmatized as having a high record of unemployment, lack of human rights and primitive education. To treat this misperception as Kurdish professionals we have a ethical &amp; moral duty to represent Kurdistan within different intellectual platforms.</p>
<p>As a British &#8211; Born Kurdish Health professional whereby having graduated in the cutting edge field of Biomedical Informatics I wanted to prove locally, nationally and internationally that this is not an accurate reflection of the Kurdish people.</p>
<p>Indeed, after visiting Kurdistan for the first time in July 2011 &amp; October 2011 it was quite hard not to notice the wealth of talent, determination and skills that stem from the Kurdish professionals.</p>
<p>After visiting different universities and hospitals it was clear professionals and the youth were very dynamic and keen to grow. Moreover, the influx of girls being encouraged to study and work was overwhelming and an area that carries my support. As with any system, there will be flaws but a reform is happening and I always think of the saying &#8216;Rome was not built in a day&#8217;.</p>
<p>My message to my fellow Kurds has always been to study and utilize the knowledge gained effectively and contribute it back to Kurdistan. For Kurdish Anfal recognition I started an e-petition on the British Government website urging them to recognize and remember the Kurdish Anfal. Indeed,www.ekurd.net the weapon of defense for our forefathers was riffles but now it&#8217;s the pen and it should be used to protect Kurdistan and show the world the talent this forgotten nation holds.</p>
<p>However, actions speak louder then words so I nominated the Slemani Autism Centre a project initiated by a non-political NGO called Kurdistan Save The Children working collaboratively with the Ministry of Labour &amp; Social Affairs for the most prestigious award of public service from the United Nations. This is the first time in history that Iraq has been nominated for such an award and my rationale for doing so was because it promotes and integrates disability into society. it acts as a platform to encourage community partnership &amp; serves as an educational tool in reforming the stigmatization of disabilities.</p>
<p>We may not win the award but at least we are striving hard to try and compete intellectually at that platform and will be recognized for attempting.</p>
<p>Kurdistan may not be independent at the moment but by working collaboratively as one voice we can claim independence at other channels, nationally and internationally which will gradually lead to Kurdistan&#8217;s independence by having people informed on our capabilities and peaceful rich culture.</p>
<p>Thus, as Kurds we must never give up, never be pessimistic and always support each other and aim high, with the hope we may become recognized for our good qualities and talented workforce.</p>
<p>Laween Atroshi<br />
UK Health Informatician &amp; Ambassador For Peace (UPF)<br />
All views &amp; opinions are of my own and do not reflect my employers or any organization whom I have a direct or indirect affiliation with.</p>
<p>Tweet me @laweenatroshi and let me know your opinions, I could be wrong but this is how I feel from my experience. My views do not reflect any individual or institution. www.laweenatroshi.com</p>
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		<title>One Kurdish boy dead, mass arrests, and more massive protests in Syria</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/08/one-kurdish-boy-dead-mass-arrests-and-more-massive-protests-in-syria/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/08/one-kurdish-boy-dead-mass-arrests-and-more-massive-protests-in-syria/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:04:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alliance for Kurdish Rights</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mideastyouth.com/?p=14517</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The death of a Kurdish youth in Harasta on Thursday morning and the injury of three protesters in Qamişlo were a result of the sniper fire of the Syrian regime, which has killed over 5,000 civilians since the start of &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.mideastyouth.com/2012/01/08/one-kurdish-boy-dead-mass-arrests-and-more-massive-protests-in-syria/hamas-talks-out-of-both-sides-of-its-mouth/" rel="attachment wp-att-2756"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2756" title="kurdish haircut" src="http://kurdishrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/kurdish-haircut-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>The <a href="http://sawtalkurd.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post_08.html" target="_blank">death of a Kurdish youth</a> in Harasta on Thursday morning and the <a href="http://www.kurdwatch.org/index?aid=2366" target="_blank">injury of three protesters</a> in Qamişlo were a result of the sniper fire of the Syrian regime, which has killed over 5,000 civilians since the start of major anti-government protests 10 months ago. In Syria&#8217;s Kurdish north, protesters in Qamishlo, Amoude, and Hasakeh have continued to take to the streets in defiance of Bashar al Assad&#8217;s brutal regime. Over 50 Kurdish activists were detained arbitrarily in December, with no word as to their location or state of well-being. In addition,  <a href="http://www.kurdwatch.org/index?aid=2360" target="_blank">students </a>and <a href="http://www.kurdwatch.org/index?aid=2341" target="_blank">activists</a> have been detained by the Syrian regime.</p>
<p>The involvement of the Arab League, and its recent dispatch of observers to different regions in Syria, have fueled protests throughout the country, including in the Kurdish region. On December 23rd, named &#8220;the Friday of the Protocol of Death&#8221; in a mockery of the &#8220;protocols&#8221; that Bashar al Assad supposedly agreed to with the Arab League, Kurdish protesters filled the streets of Qamishlo, waving giant Kurdish flags and Syrian independence flags. This last Friday, the Friday of &#8220;God Will Grant Us Victory&#8221;, resulted in protests in essentially every Kurdish region of Syria, from Amûdê, Kobanî, Dirbêsî, Hasakeh, Dêrik, Tirbesipî, to Qamişlo.</p>
<p>In this clever protest from Amûdê, a protester dressed as the late Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi in a mockery of him.</p>
<p><iframe width="586" height="440" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pOA4BD6J4Ts?fs=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Also in Amûdê, protesters had criticism for both the Syrian regime and for the crimes of Turkey after <a title="35 Kurdish civillians killed by Turkish warplanes – Video" href="http://kurdishrights.org/2011/12/29/35-kurdish-civillians-killed-by-turkish-warplanes-video/" target="_blank">an air strike killed 35 Kurdish villagers</a>.</p>
<p><iframe width="586" height="440" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rEKmIE0tOPY?fs=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>The Kurdish cities of Syria have also been enthusiastic participants in the Dignity Strike, which continues to unfold in various stages. In Qamishlo, entire streets have been completely shut down at different points, and even some merchants in Aleppo (which has been the most reluctant city in participating in the protests) shut down their businesses at great risk to themselves, especially in the Kurdish region of Kobanî (Ein al-Arab).</p>
<p>Although Kurds have been enthusiastic participants of the Syrian revolution, the question of the Kurdish role in a future free Syria remains to be seen. The main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, displayed some problematic tendencies in its supposed inclusion of Kurds, including a disturbing statement by SNC president Burhan Ghalioun where he compared Kurds in Syria to immigrants in France. Since then, however, the Syrian National Council has made explicit overtures to Kurdish organizations, including the Kurdish youth organizing committee. The SNC also made a strong statement during its first congress in Tunisia that it will seek constitutional recognition of the national Kurdish identity, and stated that it will seek a democratic resolution to the issue of the denial of Kurdish human rights.</p>
<p>As the Syrian opposition takes shape, a <a href="http://www.kurdwatch.org/index?aid=2374" target="_blank">second Kurdish opposition coalition</a> has been formed, explicitly outlining their position on many key issues. Some of their positions are to ensure &#8220;dialogue with all Kurdish political powers outside of the coalition, coordination of the efforts to ensure the unity of the Kurds&#8221; and &#8220;[rejecting] violence and the encouragement of forgiveness, reconciliation, and tolerance among all citizens, as well as respect for all international treaties and conventions, as well as for human rights&#8221;.</p>
<p>Protest in support of the Kurdish National Council in Kobanî (Ein al-Arab):</p>
<p><iframe width="586" height="440" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lmwys0lvsfQ?fs=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>One of the highlights of Kurdish participation in the Syrian revolution has been the emergence and celebration of the Kurdish identity within Syria. Protesters continue to chant in both Kurdish and Arabic, and wave Kurdish and Syrian independence flags. As the regime weakens, Kurdish involvement in a new and free Syria should be of upmost importance.</p>
<p><iframe width="586" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kEDgISNLzVk?fs=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>beautiful hoisted flags in Derbasiyeh sit-in protest</p>
<p><iframe width="586" height="440" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/87WuWY_LjPs?fs=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Crowdvoice&#8217;s page &#8220;<a href="http://crowdvoice.org/kurdish-protests-against--assad#" target="_blank">Kurdish Protests Against Assad</a>&#8221; contains a comprehensive collection of the latest videos, pictures, and blogs from Kurdish protests in Syria.</p>
<p><iframe style="overflow: hidden; border: none; width: 100%; height: 400px;" src="http://crowdvoice.org/widget/kurdish-protests-against--assad?size=small&amp;scope=this&amp;show_description=1&amp;rtl=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="320" height="240"></iframe></p>
<p>This post was cross-posted from our website <a href="http://kurdishrights.org">KurdishRights.org</a>. For ongoing updates follow us on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/kurdishrights">@KurdishRights</a>.</p>
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		<title>Kurdish Youth contribute in Human Rights talks at the House of Lords</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2011/12/29/kurds-human-rights-talk-uk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2011/12/29/kurds-human-rights-talk-uk/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:55:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>DaroonMK</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Human Rights Day 2011 was warmly welcomed in London&#8217;s House of Lords where a board of delegates came together from across Europe in discussion and reflection of the developments and progress made within the global community on the agenda of human rights. &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">Human Rights Day 2011 was warmly welcomed in London&#8217;s House of Lords where a board of delegates came together from across Europe in discussion and reflection of the developments and progress made within the global community on the agenda of human rights.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The commemoration was filled with formative and heated discussions with contents ranging from academic, ethnic and religious perspectives.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Among the contributors was Laween Atroshi, a 22 year old British Kurd and Peace ambassador. Here he discusses the successful and applause worthy developments the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq has made thus far in its running. Laween raises points such as our strong education system, and the legal laws implemented within the region which condemn honour crimes and honour killings as well as other acts of human injustice.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">He also mentions and makes a request for the UK Labour Party to consider Kurdistan&#8217;s cause and struggle for independence and the not so long-ago history of our Halabja genocide.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://youtu.be/GqHZ03UCvK0">Laween Atroshi on Kurdistan&#8217;s Rights &amp; Development</a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
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<enclosure url="http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/12/state5741.htm" length="17173" type="text/html" />
			<itunes:keywords>House of Lords,Human Rights Commemoration,Kurdish Youth,Kurdistan,Kurds,london,UK</itunes:keywords>
		<itunes:subtitle>Human Rights Day 2011 was warmly welcomed in London&#039;s House of Lords where a board of delegates came together from across Europe in discussion and reflection of the developments and progress made within the global community on the agenda of human right...</itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary>Human Rights Day 2011 was warmly welcomed in London&#039;s House of Lords where a board of delegates came together from across Europe in discussion and reflection of the developments and progress made within the global community on the agenda of human rights.
The commemoration was filled with formative and heated discussions with contents ranging from academic, ethnic and religious perspectives.
Among the contributors was Laween Atroshi, a 22 year old British Kurd and Peace ambassador. Here he discusses the successful and applause worthy developments the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq has made thus far in its running. Laween raises points such as our strong education system, and the legal laws implemented within the region which condemn honour crimes and honour killings as well as other acts of human injustice.
He also mentions and makes a request for the UK Labour Party to consider Kurdistan&#039;s cause and struggle for independence and the not so long-ago history of our Halabja genocide.
Laween Atroshi on Kurdistan&#039;s Rights &amp; Development</itunes:summary>
		<itunes:author>Mideast Youth</itunes:author>
		<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Program of activities in Bethlehem area</title>
		<link>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2011/12/22/program-of-activities-in-bethlehem-area/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mideastyouth.com/2011/12/22/program-of-activities-in-bethlehem-area/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:25:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mazin Qumsiyeh (Palestine)</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mideastyouth.com/?p=14365</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Below is a program of selected activities in the Bethlehem area starting tomorrow and over the Holidays (your participation if around would be appreciated). I also included a link to the best and most detailed account of the colonial destruction &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Below is a program of selected activities in the Bethlehem area starting tomorrow and over the Holidays (your participation if around would be appreciated).  I also included a link to the best and most detailed account of the colonial destruction in the Bethlehem area.  The district of Bethlehem was burdened with over 45,000 refugees denied their inalienable rights to return to their homes and lands from which they were removed in 1948.   Israeli colonial settlement activity since 1967 meant that 180,000 Bethlehemites have access to only 13% of the original district size. And since 2002, Jerusalem was isolated from Bethlehem which resulted in the destruction of the economy of both metropolitan areas for their native people. Contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel continues to expand colonial settlements and has recently approved thousands of Jewish only homes to be built on Palestinian lands of Bethlehem.</p>
<p>We native Christian and Muslim Palestinians remember that Jesus, the Aramaic speaking Palestinian born in this town spoke truth to powers and asked us to be a &#8220;light unto the world&#8221;.  Join us in working for Peace and Justice this Christmas and the New Year.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to ALL</p>
<p>Cartoons for Christmas showing what Palestinians (Christians and Muslims) are thinking about -<br />
From the PLO:</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B3kOhKUZx7g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>From ARIJ: </p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f1ikjC5T7NE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/bethfs.pdf">Data/Report</a> on Bethlehem geopolitical status.</p>
<p>If you still want to make a year-end donation, I encourage you to do so to one of the many deserving Palestinian Charities in Palestine or to groups that do good work for Palestine abroad and have presence in the streets of your country (not ones that merely hold conventions).</p>
<p><strong>PROGRAM</strong><br />
<strong><br />
Friday 23/12/2011</strong><br />
18:00 – 21:00 Shepherds&#8217; Nights Festival, Greek Catholic School, Beit Sahour (include Wajd Musical Band –Tunes for Peace Group, Baqoun Troupe for Palestinian Popular Heritage, and more)</p>
<p><strong>Saturday Dec 24:</strong><br />
8:00  Orientation for Internationals about the advocacy work (Palestinian Center for Rapprochement)<br />
10:00  Nativity Square &#8211; Christmas Card Distributtion to Tourist<br />
16:00 – 20:00 Shepherds&#8217; Nights Festival, Greek Catholic School (include Keefak Hey Band, Roni Rock, Children Show &#038; Gifts, Sheibat Band – Rock and Roll)</p>
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