We Are Fighting Back #68 5/2/2006
In the News
Kenyan principal teaches self-reliance through farming
In the remote town of Makutano, 80 miles east of Nairobi, school Principal, Joseph Mbindyo of the Father Malewa High School has found one way for the local community to help themselves in the face of severe drought conditions. Kenya, along with Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti have been hit hard by droughts over the last three years. As an alternative to outside aid, Principal Mbindyo, parents, students, and other townspeople have planted and harvested produce on the school grounds.
The project began in September 2004 with the construction of plastic-lined trenches stretching through 26 acres of land around the school. Principal Mbindyo applied his experience as the son of a farmer and his graduate degree in agriculture from the University of Nairobi to great benefit.
The techniques he is sharing with his students and their families have the potential to create a wonderful ripple effect in his community, that hopefully will inspire groups in the neighboring areas. Rows of the drought-tolerant sesbania shrub have been planted in with maize crops to provide shade and lock nutrients into the soil. Student Petronilla Mula says he has passed this technique on to his father who is starting to see benefits from it. Mula also expressed an interest in studying agriculture at the university level so he can “learn more and more ways to bring food to Kenyans.”
Principal Mbindyo opted to grow tomatoes, watermelons, cabbages, eggplants, capsicums and French beans, most of which can be sold for a good price at the local markets. Part of the money earned goes to buy staple foods including maize and beans, for school lunches. Additional money earned goes to purchasing more seed or is saved to invest in a borehole to tap into ground water reserves.
Sources:
http://csmonitor.com/2006/0418/p04s01-woaf.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060426/sc_afp/kenyaeafricadrought_060426170816
Also in the News:
U.N and U.S. impose sanctions on four Sudanese nationals
Abductions from refugee camps for displaced Sudanese from the Darfur region of Sudan are on the rise. The United Nations High Commission for refugees estimates that about 4,700 refugees were abducted from Chadian camps in the month of March alone. Increasingly children have become the targets of abductions. Those taken are being forced to fight with various rebel Chadian and Sudanese groups from the surrounding areas.
The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on four Sudanese nationals believed to have committed war crimes in the region. The sanctions ban foreign travel and freeze any assets the accused may have in other countries. President Bush has also prohibited U.S. companies from having any dealings with the four Sudanese implicated. Among the four sanctioned are the leader of the government backed Janjaweed, Sheik Musa Hilal and a commander for the Sudanese Liberation Army, Adam Yacub Shant. There was an April 30th deadline for parties to accept a peace deal presented by mediators from the African Union at talks on Tuesday in Abuja, Nigeria. Reports put the current number of war deaths in Sudan at 100,000 to 200,000, with over 2 million refugees.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/africa/index.html
http://csmonitor.com/2006/0428/p06s02-woeu.html
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32997
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BC575500-8F71-4DAB-BABD-008C9829F1C4.htm
http://allafrica.com/stories/200604280425.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4942026.stm
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/sdn-190406-editorial-eng
http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/130670/1/
http://alternet.org/story/35611/
Protests force Nepalese King Gyanendra to reopen parliament
Weeks of protests in Katmandu pushed King Gyanendra to re-instate parliament after declaring absolute power over one year ago. Protestors endured weeks of physical brutality, rubber bullets, and live ammunition while calling for a return to democratic government. Reports say some 15 people were killed, 5,000 injured, and about 1,000 jailed. The King’s efforts to subdue the people only served to bring more people to the streets resulting in the eventual capitulation by King Gyanendra.
Sources:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6758B491-6AE2-4232-BC25-2B519BA23569.htm
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4951556.stm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060428/wl_nm/nepal_dc_88
The Bhopali hunger strike ended on a victorious note on April 17th in India where the Prime Minister has agreed to four out of six demands of the group. Victims and family members of the 1984 Union Carbide factory gas leak have been struggling and fighting for justice for many years now and are elated at the turn of events.
Sources:
http://www.bhopal.net/index1.html
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=43490
Blue Diamond Growers forced to rehire workers
Blue Diamond Growers will re-hire two employees who were fired during a union organizing campaign at its Sacramento California plant. The National Labor Relations Board determined that the company had violated a federal labor law even though the company said the two employees were fired due to “violation of company quality and safety standards.”
Sources:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/04/17/daily20.html?from_rss=1
College dining goes organic
Earlier this month University of California at Berkeley opened the first certified organic kitchen on an American college campus. The Crossroads dining commons has a fully certified organic salad bar. Chuck Davies, Executive Chef of Cal Dining lists some of the menu options “rotating salads ranging from pasta and grains, kidney and garbanzo beans to fresh spinach, carrot and cucumber slices, sunflower seeds, and anything else that adds to its appeal.” The University is planning to have organic salad bars available in all four campus dining areas managed by Cal Dining by spring 2007.
Source:
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/04/03_organic.shtml
The Goldman Environmental Prize
A ceremony to acknowledge the six recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize was held in San Francisco on April 24th. These annual awards are given to people around the world who have worked at the grassroots level to “protect or enhance the natural environment.” This year’s winners are Craig Lewis of Kentucky, Silas Siakor of Liberia, Tarcisio Feitosa Da Silva from Brazil, Olya Melen of Ukraine and Yu Xiaogang of China and Anne Kajir of Papua New Guinea. To learn more about the current recipients, their inspiring stories, and the great things they have done, click on the web link below.
Source: