Last month, seven defectors were gunned down by North Korean border guards as they crossed the frozen Yalu river along the country’s border with China. Five of them were killed instantly; the other two were dragged, wounded, back across the border with permission from Chinese authorities. This incident is reportedly the first of its kind – observers say that North Korean border guards have never shot refugees once they made it to the Chinese side – and may indicate that border guards have been ordered to crack down on the rapidly increasing numbers of defectors.

From the time of the Korean armistice to the early 90s, there were few known defectors from North Korea, and most of these were either military personnel or political figures. According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification, there were an estimated 14,000 defectors between 1953 and 2005, and only 607 of those escaped before 1989. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, however, North Korea lost its largest trading partner, which set off a period of industrial decline, and the subsequent decline of its communist neighbors made the problem worse. This also took its toll on the country’s input-heavy agricultural system, whose output began to decline at an alarming rate. Then, when a series of natural disasters (including severe flooding and a major drought) hit the country during the 90s, leading to widespread famine. The pace of defection began to pick up in 1994 and has increased steadily ever since as food insecurity and economic decay continues to plague the country. Videos obtained by the Sunday Telegraph with footage from North Korea, show harrowing footage of people starving and fed up with corrupt officials.

For those who flee, there are few options, and they never truly feel safe. Even among refugees, who are already overlooked and marginalized, North Koreans are invisible. China, where the vast majority of defectors flee, considers them illegal economic migrants; refugee agencies such as UNHCR are denied access to them, and it is illegal to even try to count them. Chinese citizens who provide assistance to them are harshly punished. Many of those who flee remain in the border areas, hiding in safehouses or with family members. Others work to save up enough money to flee to neighboring Thailand, or to make it to a South Korean embassy, where they will be granted amnesty and allowed to settle in South Korea. They are hunted the entire way by Chinese authorities, who deport as many as 300 defectors per week. Even when they are resettled, whether in South Korea close by or even as far away as the U.S. (which has officially resettled 100 or so North Korean refugees), defectors are guarded and work tirelessly to keep their identities hidden, as family members who stay behind are often punished if the regime discovers that a relative escaped.

As long as the North Korean regime remains what it is, little stands to change for defectors in any kind of major way. There are, however, some concrete ways to make the transition substantially easier for those who choose to leave. While South Korea accepts asylum seekers from the North and is the leading country for resettlement, the South Korean government is reluctant to make moves that risk provoking the North; in light of last year’s sinking of the Cheonan and the January shelling Yeonpyong, it is not difficult to understand why. Also, both China and South Korea maintain that a large exodus of asylum seekers would destabilize North Korea and force them to deal with the economic consequences, citing the re-absorption of East Germany as an example. If both of these countries started small, however, coordinated with other nations and emphasized resettlement as a humanitarian initiative (rather than a political move), then they could diminish the risk of angering the North and would greatly relieve the suffering of a population that has suffered under the repressive burdens of the Kim regime. Unfortunately, it does not look like China will be changing its tune any time soon. While the status quo is maintained, defectors will continue to brave the dangers and take their chances to obtain a shaky freedom – and those who stay behind will be left behind.

This BBC video-clip describes the latest ingenious project from Sugata Mitra, an Indian-born professor at Newcastle University. You’ll most likely know Mitra from his Hole in the Wall computers set into the walls of buildings in India’s poorest slums. Mitra’s new project uses the “UK Granny Cloud” — a large group of British grannies who’ve agreed to volunteer an hour a week to tutor Indian classrooms over Skype video conferences — to supplement education in Indian schools where there is a shortage of teachers. (pulled from Boing Boing)

A miracle peeved the massive analysis. A baby boy was fortunately rescued in a pit latrine, half a meter deep, on eighth of January, 2010 at six o’clock in the morning. His biological mother is a Ugandan. Naboya, the boy’s mother is an orphan, of sixteen years old living in Kakuma refugee camp.
She surprisingly delivered in a latrine on seventh of January, 2010 at eight o’clock in the evening. This girl had obtained credible maximum of nine months pregnancy, keeping the secret in her heart not anticipating an emergency, thus the message not delivered to her relatives.

She was an active girl learning in Anjelina Joli Primary School, located under Kalemchuch hill alongside Lodwar-Lokichoggio road. She did her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) last year. The pregnancy was not detected because her belly didn’t appear like that of a pregnant woman or a girl. They thought it was her normal stomach when she has eaten to satisfaction. It was so bad for all her relatives believed in her as a lady who could not meddle in sex.

No body knew she could deliver on that day. “Her delivery emerged, as she demanded going to the latrine,” said the child development worker like she was told.
On reaching the latrine she released the child into the pit. She stood up and discovered her libian Minora, in pain. The latter discovered the blood coming out and told Eveline in the morning about it.
According to the eye witness, Eveline, and the staff concern with the welfare of children, she delivered in the evening and the child was rescued the following morning at six. This was after spending forteen hours in the pit with dried waste products which had taken many years without being used rather than the normally used one.

Eveline, followed up where she had gone to that evening. She visited the latrine and found the blood surrounding the pit. Moreover, she saw the child looking up to the reflected light inside the latrine. She ran calling on neighbours extensively and the community members to rescue the baby. Anxious, they came with no confidence of getting the baby alive and fortunatley rescued him. This lucky baby boy, has a jaw injury but not fractured.

Immediately, the police was called. Ashamed of herself, Naboya-the mother and her son were rushed to IRC main hospital. They’re not discharged yet undertaking treatment.

A very interesting discussion by Michael Barutciski and Catherine Dauvergne on Australian asylum policies. In French and English.

http://globalbrief.ca/blog/2010/10/13/asylum-the-tamil-boat-and-the-australian-way/

By Nyak Simon, Thor Dak and Sabbath De Yecouba

As the polling dragged this morning, at eight o’clock, amazement overrode southern Sudan refugees to march and run into the polling center, former Rajaf Primary School.

This delight was a reminder of the last civil war which had lost lives of Southerners. Some military drilled with woods or metals and sang military songs. “We don’t need results, we’re independent today,” said Peter in this group of delighted women, disables and young people celebrating referendum day before the results. Peter from Nairobi called on phone saying,”Let them cast votes first and celebrate later.” These two groups carried the flag of Southern Sudan and the cross which they said led them during the civil war.

This made the center unstable and the hands of influencers were felt. These were reported as men and a lady from an anonymous Southern Sudanese community. According to the report from the voters, men were seated in the queue neither moving forward to vote nor leaving. They influenced the people outside to vote for unity using their mother tongue and Arabic not understood by some Sudanese. The lady in the room influenced people from her tribe to cast votes of unity as well. She was said to be in a red T-shirt. Young men began opening windows and one of them said,”My dear friend, we don’t need unity.” Not only him, but others were eager to see and torture her.

Eventually, Mr. Manyok, in-charge of the center, classified this as an allegation yet others were insisting he was depending his staffs. “If it was perfect, I could have reported as a person in-charge,” he said.

This however didn’t affect willingness to vote. Sooner as the second group flagged in, Elizabeth said,”We need to vote for independence. I believe in God to bring peace.” Most of the voters were yearning,”Close that of unity.” This was not to confuse them vote for unity because the box had two different openings; one for unity and the other for separation. Aged, disables and some recognized personnel’s were directly taken into the voting room.

Aged are willing to vote for freedom of their children, grand children and grand-grand children.

Civic educators are restless, encouraging people to vote. Most of the voters put ahead God to decide for what’s good for them casting their votes. “Be calm and vote. A citizen should do the best for their nation,” shouted Victoria, in Clinic-two, the next referendum center.

The center in clinic two is much organized. Augustino Loro, the head of that center assured the RRN Journalists to have collected information if they had permits or Identity cards showing their working with the NGOs. “Go and contact SSRC representatives in Nairobi by mail or the organization you are working with to give you either a permit or an Identity document,” he urged.

There is not much to say about the first day even though challenges emerged. Security is tight. They check people entering into the polling centres. Only those with voting cards are free to move in and out to vote. Different observers were available including various media groups.

The message still goes to the people to vote first and celebrate later.

Overconfidence is another enemy.

Better those who danced and sang after casting their votes successfully.
 

Copyright 2011 Jessica Keralis

Add Laurent Gbagbo to a long list of heads of state who do not understand the concept of losing gracefully.

On November 28, 2010, opposition leader and former Ivorian prime minister Alassane Ouattara was declared the winner in a run-off election against incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo. Despite several incidents of violence, the election was largely considered to be free and fair. The UN’s Independent Electoral Commission announced Ouattara as the winner on December 2, but unfortunately, this was not good enough for Gbagbo. Immediately after the Commission’s announcement, Paul Yao N’Dre, the president of the country’s Constitutional Council (and an ally of Gbagbo), declared the results invalid and, the next day, proclaimed Gbagbo to be the winner of the election. The Council threw out half a million votes from seven regions in the north (Ouattara’s support base), stating that “[t]he irregularities are of such a nature that they invalidate the vote.” The result is, as usual, chaos: both Gbagbo and Ouattara have declared themselves president and taken the oath of office. The military has closed the borders and implemented an overnight curfew; international news sources are suspended. Although the UN, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the U.S., and France have all recognized Ouattara as the winner, Gbagbo insists that he won and proclaims that he is “not looking to be loved by them.” He retains control of the country’s military, and the golden rule of international politics is (as we all know) whoever has the guns makes the rules. Gbagbo has also demanded that the UN peacekeeping force, which is guarding Ouattara and his newly-appointed cabinet in a hotel in Abidjan, leave the country. Youssoufou Bamba, Ouattara’s appointed UN envoy, has appealed to the UN to take action, warning that Côte d’Ivoire is “on the brink of genocide.”

As the pressure, and violence, escalates, Ivorians are leaving the country in droves. As 2010 came to a close, over 18,000 refugees had fled to neighboring Liberia, Guinea, and Ghana. UNHCR estimates that 400-500 Ivorians cross the border into Liberia every day; 55% are women, and 62% are children. Families have reported walking several hours, even days, through the bush to get to barges that will take them to neighboring countries. No political alliance predominates: the group contains both Gbagbo’s and Ouattara’s supporters, who have said that they are seeking asylum due to fear of another civil war. Many refugees show up injured, malnourished, or ill with conditions such as malaria, respiratory infections, and diarrhea. Some have even reported being prevented from leaving the country by armed forces and having to travel extra distance to cross the border. UNHCR has spent $53 million to position aid and emergency services to assist up to 30,000 refugees, but they are struggling to deal with the influx of the displaced. Some houses have up to 20 family members crammed into one room. Others sleep in corridors, on verandas, or just outside.

Unfortunately, this kind of election fall-out is par for the course in Africa (and elsewhere); the world saw the same story in Zimbabwe and Kenya. What is different this time, however, is the response: African voices, in addition to international ones, are calling for Gbagbo to step down. ECOWAS has been attempting to negotiate a transfer of power. They have offered Gbagbo amnesty if he steps down, but if he does not, they will oust him by force. The outcome of this standoff will have significant implications for the future of African politics: if ECOWAS follows through and makes Gbagbo face the music, other leaders may think twice about ignoring election results. If they back down, however, and broker some kind of power-sharing agreement (à la Zimbabwe), then it will only reinforce the standard protocol of ignoring election results if you control the military. In addition to the political statement it will make, the ultimate result of the Ivorian election will determine the fate of a ballooning population of refugees whose memories of the country’s last civil war are all too fresh.

Lad detests referendum to secure heavenly kingdom

An anonymous lad has detested referendum to reserve a position in the heavenly kingdom. Inflated with fear, he based his argument on two scriptures; Jeremiah 10:23 and Daniel 2:44 in the Bible.

“In Jeremiah, it’s stated that man has no right to direct his steps,” he explained. “Divine leadership will crash an earthly one.”

In addition, Daniel has written God would set a kingdom which will overshadow the existing kingdom which he thought would be from Southern Sudanese’ in near future. For this he could not lose eternal life with this misconception. He said he would not take side even after referendum.

“Because of atrocities which perpetuate, why can’t they (Southern Sudanese) be a government?” he gave his opinion. His imagery is that North and South are like water and oil which cannot mix freely.

In contact with Sudanese chairmen, Equatoria chairman interrogated. “Why do you investigate me like that?” he muffled on phone. “Come to my home, we talk it over secretly. Keep it in pocket brother,” he repeated severally. Minority like Anyuak has a single choice. “My people are registered all because they need freedom,” boasted Ogwang, Anyuak’s chairman in Kakuma.

As viewed, repatriation is likely to be declared if referendum favours Southern Sudanese. Exhibition day is scheduled for 6th January 2011 and referendum a week and a day away. Here the dilemma is whether the vote of a person who dies before January 9th will be cast or not!

Lam Tungwar of South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) in Nairobi came with a round off answer. “Of course, the name,” he answered to, if they can identify the card of a deceased. For sure, is Southern Sudan good to support weak people supported by UNHCR?

Awan who’s a Dinka chairman who recently came from Sudan said no!
“In Sudan many people passed away due to lack of medical facilities as well as lack of knowledge to care for the aged,” he evidenced. “Children who were schooling in Kakuma after repatriation died, others became conductors to call passengers into vehicles all below eighteen years.” This leader, advanced that Southern Sudanese anticipated government’s support, they didn’t get back home. Once these people are taken back suffering continues. These include orphans, widows and widowers. Their last job of cultivation is neither commercial nor subsistence nowadays.

In Southern Sudan currently one can’t harvest three sacks from their farms unlike previous years when they filled granaries. Surety is their constant infiltration into refugee camps in spite of any outcome of referendum. A friend in Southern Sudan told me on the Facebook chatting, “Life is half good here. It’s just how the day presents itself.”

Nhial, Nuer’s chairman said that they would manage to let the ongoing ration cards verification continue and not affected by referendum. The vision of some Southern Sudanese is that it is better others have refused registration in lieu of casting votes of greed to overshadow theirs. Nhial and Awan will be available in referendum centers instructing people to vote not for a specific choice.

The security outside UNHCR’s compound-2 joked that they wanted an email from me to contact Dr. Qassim. “Do you know Dr. Qassim is the head of sub-office? It takes steps to get him,” joked a guard. “Better you big, but a small person like you?”
“An ordinary person like me,” said another from the General Service Unit (GSU). Unfortunately, the phone call was unanswered, so I took back a message that Dr. Kassim and all the staff had gone on holidays and never returned yet.

We should keep on asking: Will Southern Sudanese without bias achieve their dream?

Last night at one o’clock were gun shots in group eleven, zone six in Kakuma refugee camp.
This was an attempt to loot a shop located along the road opposite, Jebel Marra Primary School and the booth which provides water to zone six. This is an area occupied by Somali new arrivals from Dadaab.

The criminals broke the gate. Meanwhile the shop was fenced out. They were unable to break the second gate to get people to ask for money as their normal routine. In a while came an ambulance heading for the hospital which they targeted with bullets to return to Kakuma town where it came. The thieves shot four bullets, luckily nobody was harmed as Shemal, a neighbour said. While they had not got anyone to threaten or shoot dead, they made their way to their dwelling shooting two bullets in the air again.

The nearest police located at Rajaf Primary School didn’t go to rescue. The rest of the people were praying specially the Sudanese churches till the guns were silent. “Police from Kakuma 4 came,” said Shemal. “These police here are not police.”

These Somali men claimed that these people had been buying and monitoring the shop. Only shops located in Oromo community and Ethiopian community in zone five were said to be safe. They were fenced at the time when shooting at night was on daily basis. Besides, they are populated thus the few bullets believed to be in their guns (criminals) eventually get finished and they are caught. None of the criminals was identified.

Refugee communities always device a mechanism of defense by throwing stones or holding spears or swords. Whoever comes to your home shooting is a murderer. Before you are killed you have to protect yourself. These Somali told me that they protected themselves and that’s why the thieves were unable to take anything. Whichever means they used, they didn’t tell.

Kakuma Refugee Camp in history had had these night attacks on Christmas day which led to loss of several lives. Three quarters of the graves you will find at the cemetery are believed to be from these attacks. Only a few can survive their bullets. In 2004, was a moment a Sudanese was accused by a national who claimed his wife and another man were killed in Kakuma two phase two. They were said to have been thrown into a pit. Conversely, it was believed that they were caught at night trying to rob a certain home.

In 2008, when Sudanese were repatriated, the crime rate was high. Fences were made to prevent robbers, but they came up with camels’ skin. The skin helped them pass over thorny fences to steal whatever they needed. The defense mechanism was also there using spears which scared them. Each and every community in the camp planned to buy whistles agreed by community and group leaders. When they attacked a home, a whistle was blown to scare them. That made it easier to get the communities protected and security too was tight. Only a few communities still have this defense mechanism.

The current Somali community which was relocated to Kakuma from Dadaab are now suffering this hardship they claim to be the reason for their relocation from Dadaab. These attacks did and most of them still occur in December though the rest of the months can have.

This morning, a certain Somali family had begun to close the gate, enclosing the shop.
This issue in spite of security persists. I never know when it ends.

Copyright 2010 Jessica Keralis

In Iraq, the media focuses primarily on sectarian violence between the two major sects of Islam, the Sunni and the Shi’a. The country’s political life (and strife) is defined by relations between the Sunni and Shiite political parties. With Muslims comprising 97% of the population, it is easy to overlook the country’s tiny Christian minority. Unfortunately, it is precisely this disregard that makes them an easy target for extremists – which is why they are fleeing in droves.

Iraqi Christians have been leaving in a steady exodus after the October 31 attack on the Our Lady of Salvation cathedral in Bagdad. A group of Sunni insurgents stormed the cathedral during Mass, taking the church’s construction and cleaning crew and 100 worshippers hostage. After a four-hour stand-off with Iraqi defense forces, 58 victims were killed, including two priests. It was the second time the cathedral had been targeted.

No single population has been spared by the violence in post-war Iraq: thousands of Sunni and Shiite Arabs have been killed alongside Christians and Kurds. However, minority groups, including Christians, have been explicitly targeted by insurgents and have been driven out in disproportionate numbers: despite making up only 3% of the country’s pre-invasion population, they comprise 40% of the country’s refugees. More than half of them have already left Iraq, despite pleas from Christian leaders to stay. Compounding the problem is the government’s inability to protect them – or perhaps its apathy. While Christians and other minority groups are protected on paper, the legal protections in the constitution have done little to stop violence or discrimination against them. Christians have a grand total of 5 seats (and almost no political influence) in the new 325-seat parliament. And with the political stand-off that has left the country with no effective government for most of 2010, they have simply slipped through the cracks. Even worse is the fact that Iraqi refugees continue to be forcibly repatriated, despite the obvious danger and repeated insistence by UNHCR that they not be made to return to the most dangerous parts of the country.

The Kurdish Regional Government has offered safe haven to Christian refugees, providing assistance with housing and jobs. Those that can afford it have fled to this semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq; some have moved in with relatives. Still others hide in monasteries and churches. After each wave of attacks, fewer and fewer return to their homes and jobs. “I expect that a month from now not a single Christian will be left in Mosul,” said Nelson P. Khoshaba, an engineer who works for the city.

The conference hosted by Kwani trust which began last Sunday, the twelfth of December at Kifaru garden ended yesterday, the Seventeen of December, in Nairobi, Kenya. Kwani trust got the prince Claus award for their work of bringing up writers who spearhead writing as their profession. Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong’o got homage too.

From the conference the following deductions are evident:

A publishing house is not Magical. Anybody who needs assistance as a writer can deliver their manuscript despite their social backgrounds, a publisher encouraged writers.

Funding is the major setback to publishing of new books, deduced from speeches delivered by various writers at the conference.

Writers give their manuscripts and need to get it published tomorrow. Book publishing is a process, they should wait, partly quoted as a complaint from a publisher.

There is no school of writing, is it there? Drawn from an answer to the question of qualification in writing by a famous female writer.

Writers begin writing if something burns from within them and need to express it, taken from various speeches given by successful writers.

Curiosity makes good writers; this shone in the words of successful writers and the older ones.

Current Kenya is better than the olden Kenya of neocolonialism and Mau Mau, evidenced in the stories of struggle by writers. If these refugees are here, then Kenya is now Kenya, said a female writer in her speech on the first day of the conference.

I came to learn my father being a writer after reading “A grain of wheat,” I got used to writing. When I read “The River between” I became an expert, said an essayist, a journalist and an author.

I call it grace if the successful can look back to training up and coming writers who aspire to be successful writers. Kwani trust continues with its work. Wish this becomes the tradition of all journals and publishers worldwide. It makes it easier for the young writers to learn and succeed.

Kwani trust holds an open Mic where those interested welcome poets and spoken word artists every Tuesday each month in Nairobi at club sound on Kaunda Street from 7-9 pm. The rest of the evening becomes open to anyone. Sign-ups happen from 5-7 pm.
There is a great welcome, yonder.