Modern Slavery

In the news – human rights

Durig the last few weeks the war in Ukraine has been all over the news – rightfully so… but what is getting lost when so much focus is on this conflict? Here a couple of items I don’t think we should miss out on:

One of very few women ever to lead a national football organization, Norwegian Lise Klaveness spoke to the FIFA Congress in Quatar last week about human rights violations. She talked about the importance of helping migrant workers in Qatar, do more to protect LGBTQ+ supporters at the World Cup, and more in general to make the global game welcoming to all. According to The Guardian, 6500 migrant workers have died in Quatar since they were awarded the World Cup in 2010. In the past 10 years, Qatar has put in place a massive building program, preparing for the football tournament in 2022. In addition to seven new stadiums, dozens of major projects have been completed or are under way, including a new airport, roads, public transport systems, hotels as well as a new city, which will host the coming World Cup final.

See the full speech below:

Another important news item regarding human rights violations came, not unexpectedly, from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. “Following a U-turn over re-opening girls’ secondary schools in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the UN human rights chief shared her “profound frustration and disappointment” that six months after the Taliban seized power, high school girls have yet to return to the classroom.” Read the UN report here:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114482

UNICEF Afghanistan

@UNICEFAfg

“Millions of secondary-school girls around Afghanistan woke up hopeful today that they will be able to go back to school and resume their learning. It did not take long for their hopes to be shattered.” statement by @unicefchief

unicef.org

Girls in Afghanistan must go back to school without any further delays

2:58 PM · Mar 23, 2022

Girl Rising

“One girl with courage is a revolution”

Girl Rising is a film about the benefits of educating girls. It introduces nine girls from around the world in their struggle to get an education and achieve their dreams.

The film was released in 2013 and is part of the Girl Rising campaign.

As we watch the film, take notes, as you are to to discuss the film in your groups afterwards. Also, take a note of violations of human rights that you see in the film.

Discussion questions:

Which girls’ stories made the greatest impression on you? Why?
“One girl with courage is a revolution”. After watching the film, what does that phrase imply – do you agree or can you think of a better catchphrase?
Girl Rising is neither pure journalism, nor fiction. The filmmakers have tried to go beyond the facts into the human experience. Did you find yourself getting lost in the stories in a way that was interesting or effective? Why or why not?
The girls of Girl Rising live in very difficult circumstances. Give examples of violations of their human rights as they are portrayed in the film. Despite these violations, they do not consider themselves as victims. Are you able, through the storytelling, to relate to their lives in a way that lets you empathize rather than sympathize? Why or why not?
What are the messages from the film that you think will resonate most strongly with people who are not already familiar with this issue?

MV5BODk5ZGM0MTYtNjJkYy00MDUxLTkzMTMtNzExZWM0NDUxOGJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTcyODc4ODM@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_

Ingunn

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Today we are going to follow the awards ceremony and listen to the Nobel lectures taking place in the City Hall in Oslo: NRK’s coverage of the awards ceremony

The Nobel Peace Prize 2018 was awarded jointly to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.” We have earlier seen that Denis Mukwege has worked relentlessly for women who have been raped and sexually assaulted in conflicts in The Democratic Republic of Congo. Nadia Murad from Iraq was kept a sexual prisoners of the IS and continues to be one of the strongest spokespersons against sexualized violence. She belongs to the Yezidi minority, which you can read more about here. To learn more about her activism, read this article from the Guardian

Bilderesultat for nadia murad pictures Bilderesultat for Denis Mukwege

Did you know that there are more slaves in the world today than it was back before slavery was “abolished?”

Did you know that slaves are much cheaper today than ever before?

Did you know that people are born into slavery, live their whole lives in slavery, without ever knowing that they are slaves?

Poverty, hunger, desperation are all things some people know to take advantage of. Every day, they manage to lure men, women and children into slavery. Slavery exists everywhere, even though it is forbidden everywhere.

We will look closer at modern slavery since it can be closely linked to poverty, and we will use photographer Lisa Kristine’s TED talk as an introduction. lisa_kristine_human_slavery_14

Photo: https://www.lisakristine.com/shop-image-collection/modern-day-slavery/

Poverty

What is poverty?
Try to make up your own definition of this term
Who are the poor?
Why does poverty exist?
Will we ever be able to eradicate poverty?

Take 15 minutes to write down your thoughts on these questions, and then discuss with a classmate.

Quotation-Nelson-Mandela-Like-slavery-and-apartheid-poverty-is-not-natural-It-is-54-63-43

We are going to read to hand-out texts today, and work with them (one factual and one fictional.) The short story “A Real Lady” is written by an Indian freelance journalist and blogger, Nita J. Kulkarni. If you want to check out her blog, you can find it here. Kulkarni writes about life, politics, different issues, movies, literature etc, with a main focus on India, but not just that. Her blog is definitely worth the visit.