A report by the Cluster Munition Coalition finds significant progress has been made in stigmatizing and eliminating these weapons since the global treaty banning cluster munitions came into force 10 years ago. Activists note that over the past decade, 1.5 million cluster bombs containing more than 178 million bomblets have been destroyed. This represents 99% of all stocks declared by the 110 state parties to the treaty.The director of Human Rights Watch’s Arms Division, Stephen Goose, says no state party to the convention has used or produced cluster munitions for the past 10 years. However, during this period, he says the Cluster Munition Monitor has documented the sporadic use of these weapons by eight countries that have not signed the treaty. He says Syria has used cluster munitions without stop since 2012.“We have documented more than 686 cluster munition attacks in Syria since July of 2012,” said Goosei. “This is the real black spot on the issue of cluster munitions around the world, with the degree to which Syria, with great assistance from Russia has been a regular user of cluster munitions.” The Monitor reports cluster bombs were used by Libya and Syria in 2019. This year, it notes the use of these weapons by Syria and by Armenia and Azerbaijan in the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.The Monitor has identified at least 4,315 cluster munition casualties in 20 countries and other areas during the past decade, although the real total is probably higher. Editor and research leader of the Monitor Loren Persi says more than 80% of the global casualties have been recorded in Syria, with children accounting for half of them.“One of the things to keep in mind is that the success of the convention is such that apart from this use in Syria, the number of casualties in most affected countries from the remnants of cluster munitions has actually been decreasing significantly over this period from hundreds of casualties recorded in some countries, particularly in Laos the most affected,” said Persi.Persi says Laos has reported just five casualties this year. He calls this a milestone and a sign of the ban treaty’s great success in preventing casualties from cluster munitions globally.
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Month: November 2020
Tigray Leader: Ethiopian Forces Conducting Offensive to Capture Mekelle
The Tigray regional government said Saturday that Ethiopian government forces are already conducting a military offensive to capture the regional capital, Mekelle.Reuters is reporting that in a text message to the news agency, Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), said Mekelle was under “heavy bombardment.”French news agency AFP said aid workers confirmed heavy shelling hit the capital of Tigray.Reuters also is quoting Billene Seyoum, a spokeswoman for the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s office as saying that that Ethiopian forces would not “bombard” civilian areas, adding, “the safety of Ethiopians in Mekelle and Tigray region continues as priority for the federal government.”Friday Ethiopia’s news agency said Ethiopian forces were advancing in several towns near Tigray’s regional capital. Ethiopian Forces Claim Gains in Tigray RegionEthiopian PM rejects call from African Union for negotiations with regional leaders Lieutenant-General Hassan Ibrahim said in a statement Friday that federal forces have captured Wikro “and will control Mekelle in a few days.” There was no independent confirmation of the government claims. Phone and internet connections to the region have been down since the government’s military offensive began in early November.Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, following a meeting with African Union envoys, again ruled out negotiating with leaders of the Tigray region.Abiy met Friday in Addis Ababa with three AU envoys — former Presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa.A statement issued after the meeting said Abiy appreciated the commitment of the AU envoys “to the principle of African solutions to African problems.” He said his government was committed to the “protection and security of civilians” but made no mentions of holding talks with the TPLF.Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for ending a two-decade standoff with Eritrea, announced a military offensive against the regional government in Tigray on November 4 saying it was in response to an attack by Tigray forces on a government military base. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed since then.More than 43,000 refugees have fled to Sudan.The International Rescue Committee said Friday it is extremely concerned about an impending humanitarian disaster, noting that a half-million people live in the Tigrayan regional capital of Mekelle.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed Friday the need to ensure the protection of civilians, human rights and aid access, according to U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq.A Vatican statement Friday said Pope Francis has renewed a call for an end to the conflict and for political dialog to resolve it. The pope appealed to both sides for the protection of civilians.
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Hundreds of ‘Zombie Mink’ Resurfacing from Mass Graves
Denmark’s government said on Friday it wants to dig up mink that were culled to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, after hundreds resurfaced from mass graves.Denmark ordered all farmed mink to be culled early this month after finding that 12 people had been infected by a mutated strain of the virus that causes COVID-19, which passed from humans to mink and back to humans.The decision led to 17 million animals being destroyed and to the resignation last week of Food and Agriculture Minister Morgens Jensen, after it was determined that the order was illegal.Dead mink were tipped into trenches at a military area in western Denmark and covered with 2 meters of soil. But hundreds have begun resurfacing, pushed out of the ground by what authorities say is gas from their decomposition. Newspapers have referred to them as the “zombie mink.”Jensen’s replacement, Rasmus Prehn, said on Friday he supported the idea of digging up the animals and incinerating them. He said he had asked the environmental protection agency to investigate whether it could be done, and parliament would be briefed on the issue on Monday.The macabre burial sites, guarded 24 hours a day to keep people and animals away, have drawn complaints from area residents about possible health risks.Authorities say there is no risk of the graves spreading the coronavirus, but locals worry about the risk of contaminating drinking water and a bathing lake less than 200 meters away.
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Family of Jailed Oil Exec Asks for Venezuelan Leader’s Mercy
The family of a Houston-based Citgo oil executive convicted and ordered to prison in Venezuela alongside five others appealed directly to President Nicolás Maduro on Friday for mercy.In an open letter, relatives of José Pereira, 63, wrote to Maduro that Pereira has a long list of health problems that need medical attention.They ask for Maduro to free him — and the other five — so they can return home to their families in the United States.”Our purpose for this letter is not to enter into legal tirades about the case,” the letter says. “We only want to implore to your humanitarian and compassionate side.”The letter came a day after the Thanksgiving Day verdict finding all six guilty of corruption charges. They’ve been held for three years in Venezuela.In a statement Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “The United States unequivocally condemns the wrongful convictions of the Citgo 6,” and that “these six individuals should be immediately returned to the United States.”The so-called Citgo 6 are employees of Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. They had been lured to Venezuela in November 2017 for a business meeting and were arrested.In addition to Pereira, the others convicted were Gustavo Cárdenas, Jorge Toledo, brothers Jose Luis Zambrano and Alirio Zambrano, and Tomeu Vadell — all now U.S. citizens. The judge sentenced them to eight years, 10 months.They were also charged with financial crimes stemming from a never-executed proposal to refinance some $4 billion in Citgo bonds by offering a 50% stake in the company as collateral. Maduro at the time accused them of “treason.” They all pleaded innocence.Jose Pereira, a permanent U.S. resident, had been promoted to interim Citgo president shortly before the arrest. He received the longest sentence of 13 years.”We ask solemnly and respectfully that you intercede in our case,” they asked Maduro. “So we can achieve freedom for these six men and allow them to return home to their loved ones.”Relatives say the men were wrongly convicted, and the defense lawyers vowed to appeal verdicts.Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice announced the verdicts and prison sentences, but officials in Maduro’s government have not commented on the trial’s outcome.
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700 Gang Members in Central America Arrested in US-assisted Actions
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have brought criminal charges against more than 700 members of cross-border criminal organizations, primarily the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs, in a U.S.-assisted effort, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.”The U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners in Central America are committed to continued collaboration in locating and arresting gang members and associates engaged in transnational crimes,” said U.S. Attorney General William Barr, according to the statement.The charges resulted from a one-week coordinated law enforcement action under Operation Regional Shield, a DOJ-led initiative to combat transnational organized crime that brings together authorities from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the United States.Tackling transnational human smuggling networks and gangs, including MS-13, is a priority for U.S. President Donald Trump.Prosecutors in El Salvador this week filed criminal charges against 1,152 members of organized crime groups in the country, primarily MS-13 and 18th Street gangs, the statement said.The national civil police captured 572 of the defendants on charges involving terrorism, murder, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, human trafficking and human smuggling, among others.In Guatemala, authorities executed 80 search warrants, arrested 40 individuals and served 29 arrest warrants against people already in custody, all of whom are members of the 18th Street gang and MS-13, the DOJ said. Guatemalan authorities seized drugs and a firearm, and filed charges of extortion, illicit association, conspiracy to commit murder and extortive obstruction.In Honduras, the one-week joint operation resulted in the arrest of more than 75 MS-13 and 18th Street gang members and five police officers and the execution of more than 10 search warrants.
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US Sanctions Chinese, Russian Firms Over Iran Dealings
The U.S. announced economic sanctions Friday on Chinese and Russian companies that Washington said had supported the development of Iran’s missile program.The four firms, accused of “transferring sensitive technology and items to Iran’s missile program,” will be subject to restrictions on U.S. government aid and on their exports for two years, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.The sanctions, imposed Wednesday, were against two China-based companies, Chengdu Best New Materials and Zibo Elim Trade, as well as Russia-based Nilco Group and Joint Stock Company Elecon.”We will continue to work to impede Iran’s missile development efforts and use our sanctions authorities to spotlight the foreign suppliers, such as these entities in the PRC (China) and Russia, that provide missile-related materials and technology to Iran,” Pompeo added.President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal established three years earlier under then-President Barack Obama.Trump has since reimposed crippling sanctions on the Islamic republic in what he calls a campaign of “maximum pressure.”The Trump administration has also since shown its determination to sanction any foreign country or company that does not comply with its Iran policies.
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Ethiopian Forces Claim Gains in Tigray Region
Ethiopian forces are making gains in several towns near Tigray’s regional capital, one day after the government said it was beginning the “final phase” of an offensive in the northern region, the country’s news agency said Friday.Lieutenant General Hassan Ibrahim said in a statement Friday that federal forces had captured Wikro “and will control Mekelle in a few days,” according to the Reuters news agency.There was no independent confirmation of the government claims. Phone and internet connections to the region have been down since the government’s military offensive began in early November.The continued fighting came as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, following a meeting with African Union envoys, again ruled out negotiating with leaders of the Tigray region.Abiy met with three AU envoys — former Presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa — in Addis Ababa on Friday.A statement issued after the meeting said Abiy appreciated the commitment of the AU envoys “to the principle of African solutions to African problems.” He said his government was committed to the “protection and security of civilians” but made no mention of holding talks with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed greets an African Union envoy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nov. 27, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media.Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for ending a two-decade standoff with Eritrea, announced a military offensive against the regional government in Tigray on November 4, calling it a response to an attack by Tigray forces.Calls for negotiations have been growing as the conflict has spilled into neighboring Eritrea and threatens the stability of the wider Horn of Africa region.Tigray officials have accused Eritrean troops of entering the conflict on the side of Abiy’s government in Ethiopia. Eritrean officials deny any involvement.The French news agency AFP, citing diplomats, reported that Tigrayan forces had fired at least one rocket toward neighboring Eritrea on Friday, the second such attack since the conflict broke out.Eritrea has long been at odds with the TPLF, experts said, and they fear it could be drawn into the conflict between the TPLF and Ethiopia’s federal government.Thousands of people are believed to have been killed since Abiy sent the national defense force into Tigray after accusing local forces there of attacking a military base.More than 43,000 refugees have fled to Sudan.Disaster fearedThe International Rescue Committee said Friday that it was extremely concerned about an impending humanitarian disaster, noting that a half-million people live in the Tigrayan regional capital of Mekelle.George Readings, IRC lead crisis analyst, said that “500,000 people are at risk as violence in Mekelle escalates.”U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed Friday the need to ensure the protection of civilians, human rights and aid access, according to U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq.A Vatican statement Friday said Pope Francis renewed a call for an end to the conflict and for political dialogue to resolve it. The pope appealed to both sides for the protection of civilians.
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Burkina’s Kabore Says Opposition Leader Congratulated Him on Victory
Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said Friday he had received the congratulations of the leader of the opposition, a day after official results showed he was reelected by a landslide.”I have received on Friday evening the congratulations of the presidential candidate, Zephirin Diabre,” Kabore wrote on Twitter. “I salute his approach which is in line with the republican spirit of our political class,” he said, accompanying his tweet with a photo of the two.When the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) announced Kabore’s landslide victory Thursday, the opposition had said it “reserved the right” to challenge the results.Diabre’s Union for Progress and Change (UPC) said on its website before Kabore’s tweet it wished to “point out the major shortcomings” that had “marred” the ballot.”Considering the difficult situation our country is going through” it reaffirmed its “renewed desire to always preserve peace, stability and security in Burkina Faso by placing the interest of the nation above all other considerations.”Eddie Komboigo, the champion of ousted president Blaise Campaore’s party, came in second in Sunday’s vote with 15.48% of the ballot.He was followed in the 13-candidate field by Diabre, who had been considered by pundits to be the best-placed opposition hopeful, with 12.46% of votes cast.
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Macron Calls Images of Police Beating Black Man Shameful for France
President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that images showing Paris police beating up a Black music producer were shameful for France and that government would have to find a way to restore public confidence in the force.Prosecutors are investigating the violent arrest of Michel Zecler, who said he was also racially abused by the officers, after CCTV footage of the incident was released. The police watchdog is also investigating.Four police officers were being held for questioning as part of the investigation, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.The beating inside the entrance of a building was captured on closed circuit television and mobile phone footage, which has circulated widely online and has made headlines around Europe.”The images we have all seen of the aggression against Michel Zecler are unacceptable. They are shameful for all of us. France should never allow violence or brutality, no matter who it comes from. France should never let hate or racism prosper,” Macron said in a statement on his Facebook page.’Respect the law’He added that the police force should be exemplary.”Those whose job it is to apply the law should respect the law,” he said, adding that he has asked the government to urgently make proposals about how to restore confidence in the police.The beating of Zecler risks inflaming racial tension, with allegations of repeated police brutality against Black and ethnic communities at the forefront of many people’s minds after the death of Black American George Floyd in Minneapolis in May added fuel to the “Black Lives Matter” movement.Dominique Sopo, president of anti-racism group SOS Racisme, told Reuters Zecler had been the target of a “racist attack.””For police officers to act that way, they must have a tremendous feeling of impunity. This situation is a symptom of an impunity that has been going on for too long,” he said.Paris police already faced criticism this week after social media photos and videos showed officers hitting protesters as they cleared out an illegal migrants’ campsite in a central Paris square.Incident at studioThe music producer told reporters he was set upon by police at his studio in Paris’s 17th arrondissement on Saturday.He said he had been walking in the street without a face mask — against French COVID-19 health protocols — and, upon seeing a police car, went into his nearby studio to avoid being fined. However, he said, the police followed him inside and began to assault and racially abuse him.Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France 2 television on Thursday that the officers would be punished if the alleged wrongdoing was confirmed.Zecler’s arrest came amid fierce debate in France over legislation that would limit journalists’ ability to document French police officers at work.Around 3,500 people marched against the bill in the western city of Nantes, where police used tear gas and made several arrests. Many in the march also protested against police violence, some with their faces bandaged in support of Zecler. A similar demonstration is planned in Paris on Saturday.The outrage generated by Floyd’s death in the U.S. in May has resonated in France, particularly in deprived city suburbs where police often clash with youths from ethnic minority backgrounds.Protests in Paris in June focused on unsolved cases of people dying during police operations, such as Adama Traore, who died in police detention near Paris in 2016.
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Cher Visits Pakistan to Mark Freedom for ‘Loneliest Elephant’
Oscar-winning American singer-actor Cher briefly visited Pakistan Friday to mark the newly-found freedom of a 35-year-old elephant named Kaavan, who she campaigned to move out of captivity.Cher’s arrival in Islamabad and other activities, however, were kept from the media for reasons not immediately known.Kaavan, dubbed the world’s loneliest elephant, will be flown out of Pakistan on Sunday aboard a special cargo plane to better living conditions in a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.The elephant’s departure will effectively cap a years-long campaign by animal rights activists, including Cher, to rescue Kaavan who was gifted to Pakistan by Sri Lanka in 1985 when he was one year old.Kaavan was held in chains for years in an insufficient enclosure and was forced to perform in front of visitors in the poorly managed Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.Volunteers paint an image of an elephant named “Kaavan” on a crate to be used to be transported Kaavan to a sanctuary in Cambodia, at the Maragzar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan, Nov. 27, 2020.Kaavan lost his partner elephant, Saheli, in 2012. She died due to a leg infection caused by the chains. Campaigners say the heartbreaking image of Kaavan standing above the dead body of his partner shocked the world.In 2016, Cher, who co-founded a wildlife protection charity named Free The Wild, or FTW, launched a #SaveKaavan campaign for his relocation.Her charity, together with Austria-based FOUR PAWS, a global animal welfare group, has worked on Kaavan’s transfer to Cambodia.Cher’s co-founder, Mark Cowne said they could not interact with media during the visit to Islamabad because of pressing engagements.”Cher had arrived and is so grateful for the help and support from the people of Pakistan to allow Kaavan to move to Cambodia and live out the rest of his life in peace and with dignity,” Cowne said in an email to VOA. In this photo provided by Pakistan’s Press Information Department, Cher, left, talks to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during their meeting in Islamabad, Nov. 27, 2020.The American celebrity visited the Zoo during her brief stay and also met with Prime Minister Imran Khan.”We made a beeline for Islamabad Zoo, said hello to Kaavan, took a stroll through the quieter parts of the Zoo and then reveled in the big boy’s (Kaavan’s) bath time,” said a message posted on the FTW website along with Cher’s pictures.Just Came From Meeting To Thank Prime Minister Imran Kahn For Making It Possible For Me To Take Kaavan To Cambodia. Kaavan Will Be Able To Leave For Cambodia On The 29. Think Documentary Will Be Heartwarming🙏🏻.— Cher (@cher) November 27, 2020Khan’s office quoted him as telling Cher that it was “indeed a happy moment that after giving joy and happiness to Pakistanis for years, Kaavan will now be able to retire with other elephants in a specialized sanctuary in Cambodia.”The Islamabad zoo held a formal farewell party for Kaavan earlier this week, where musicians performed in front of the elephant’s enclosure. Zookeepers say the animal loves music.A petition was signed by 200,000 people and Four Paws came to Pakistan to assess the health status of Kaavan and submitted a report regarding the conditions not only of the elephant but all the animals living in what it denounced as the notorious zoo.The campaign prompted a high court in Islamabad earlier this year to order the relocation of all animals at the Zoo to better living conditions.”We are committed to performing the heaviest rescue we ever did. Kaavan will be loaded in a custom-built crate onto a heavy-duty cargo plane,” according to a Four Paws statement.Wildlife veterinarians and experts will also accompany the elephant on his journey to Cambodia, where a special enclosure has to be built for Kaavan to settle in and to get familiarized with other elephants living there.An initial medical examination in September showed Kaavan’s nails had cracked and were overgrown due to improper care and an insufficient enclosure with flooring that damaged its feet. The elephant also developed a stereotypical behavior because of his loneliness, the cause of his shaking head back and forth for hours.Dr. Amir Khalil of Four Paws, who has been leading the relocation mission since August, told VOA that Kaavan is fit enough to fly to Cambodia on Sunday, an eight-hour flight from Islamabad.”A lot of medical attention is needed for the elephant during the long journey. He still is suffering from stereotype behavior and still there are huge air cracks in his nails,” said the Egyptian veterinarian.With the relocation of Kaavan, not only will Pakistan’s last Asian elephant leave the country, but the infamous zoo in Islamabad will finally close, according to the Four Paws.
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8 Dead After Cyclone Hits Somalia’s Puntland; Spread of Locusts Feared
A cyclone that hit parts of Somalia this week killed eight people and displaced thousands, flooded farmlands and could worsen a locust plague, an official and U.N. agencies said.The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Thursday that Tropical Cyclone Gati made landfall in the semiautonomous Puntland region Sunday and subsided Tuesday, but moderate and light rain continued to fall.The cyclone killed eight Yemeni fishermen, Mohamed Yusuf Boli, commissioner for the coastal district of Hafun, told Reuters.”It also destroyed many boats and houses. The town is in water and in bad situation,” Boli added.In addition to the deaths, UNOCHA said the cyclone had displaced 42,000 people from their homes.”The cyclone has disrupted livelihoods by destroying fishing gear, killing livestock, and flooding agricultural land and crops,” the agency said in a report.The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said earlier this week that the cyclone could also allow immature desert locust swarms in Hargeisa and Jigjiga in Ethiopia to mature faster and lay eggs.The effect of the cyclone could also allow the swarms to move southeast to Ogaden region and lay eggs there, too, the FAO said.The insect plague hitting Somalia is part of a once-in-a-generation succession of swarms that have swept across East Africa and the Red Sea region since late 2019, driven by unusual weather patterns.
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Blast Kills at Least 7 in Mogadishu After US Defense Secretary Visit
A huge blast went off in Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least seven people, hours after U.S. acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller made an unannounced visit to the Somali capital.Witnesses said a suicide bomber blew himself up at Gelato Devino, a popular ice cream shop along the road to the airport.Amin Ambulance, one of Mogadishu’s ambulance services, said at least seven people had been killed in the attack. Somali police said another 10 people had been wounded.FILE – National Counterterrorism Center Director Christopher Miller testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 24, 2020.The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. Al-Shabab frequently carries out attacks in Mogadishu as part of its bid to overthrow the Somali government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law.The Pentagon said Friday that Miller celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday with U.S. military personnel and contractors in Mogadishu and at Camp Lemonnier in nearby Djibouti.Miller’s surprise visit came following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to withdraw most of the 750 U.S. military personnel who are in Mogadishu, training and supporting the Somali army.Somali government officials and opposition leaders strongly condemned Friday’s attack. Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble sent his condolences to the families of the victims and called on Somalis to unite against terrorism.Somali police said among those killed were young professionals, including a staffer from the Somali Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Nairobi’s Iconic Minibuses Launch Contact Tracing for COVID-19
As Kenya sees a jump in confirmed cases of COVID-19, the country’s colorful public transport buses, called matatus, have launched a registration system in the capital for passenger contact tracing. If a rider tests positive for the virus, other commuters will get an alert that they should go for testing. Ruud Elmendorp reports from Nairobi.Producer: Jason Godman
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In Santa’s Mailbag, a Peek into Children’s Pandemic Worries
Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the greeting card he sent to Santa and marked “I (heart) u.” Alina, 5, asked in her Santa letter written with an adult’s help that he please use the front door when he drops in, because the back door is reserved for Grandma and Grandpa to minimize their risk of contamination. And spilling out her heavy little heart to “Dear Father Christmas,” 10-year-old Lola wrote that she is wishing “that my aunt never has cancer again and that this virus no longer exists.” “My mother is a care-giver and sometimes I am scared for her,” Lola explained, signing off her handwritten letter with, “Take care of yourself Father Christmas, and of the Elves.” The emotional toll wrought by the pandemic is jumping off pages in the deluge of “Dear Santa” letters now pouring into a post office in southwest France that sorts and responds to his mail from around the world.
Arriving by the tens of thousands, the letters, notes and cards — some mere scribbles, other elaborate labors of love in colored pens — are revealing windows into the tender minds of their young authors, and of adult Santa fans also asking for respite and happiness, at the tail end of a year of sickness and tumult. Like this letter from young Zoe, who limited her requests to a music player and amusement park tickets because “this year has been very different from others because of COVID-19.” “That’s why I am not asking you for many thing(s) to avoid infection,” Zoe wrote, signing off with “Merci!” and a heart. In theory, and often in practice, any letter addressed “Pere Noel” — French for Father Christmas — and slipped into any post box around the world is likely to wend its way to the sorting office in France’s Bordeaux region that has been handling his mail since 1962. Toiling out of sight among vineyards, his secretariat of workers (who call themselves “elves”) spends the months of November and December slicing open envelopes decorated with hearts, stickers and colors, and spreading Santa magic by responding on his behalf. From the first letters opened at the secretariat from Nov. 12, it quickly became apparent how the pandemic is weighing on children, says the chief elf, Jamila Hajji. Along with the usual pleas for toys and gadgets were also requests for vaccines, for visits from grandparents, for life to return to the way it was. One letter in three mentions the pandemic in some way, Hajji says. “The kids have been very affected by COVID, more than we think. They are very worried. And what they want most of all, apart from presents, is really to be able to have a normal life, the end of COVID, a vaccine,” she says. “The letters to Father Christmas are a sort of release for them. All this year, they have been in lockdowns, they have been deprived of school, deprived of their grandpas and grandmas. Their parents have been occupied by the health crisis and whatnot. So we, of course, can tell that the children are putting into words everything they have felt during this period.” “We are like elf therapists,” she adds. Replying to 12,000 letters per day, the team of 60 elves sets aside some that move them or catch the eye. Lola’s is among those that have stood out so far, with its heartfelt confession to Santa that “this year more than the others, I need magic and to believe in you.” The elves say their sense is that children are confiding worries that they may not have shared with parents. Emma Barron, a psychiatrist specializing in the mental health of children and adolescents at the Robert Debré pediatric hospital in Paris, says landmark dates, including birthdays and holidays like Christmas, provide structure in childhood. Amid the pandemic’s uncertainty, the Dec. 25 anchor of Christmas is particularly important to kids this year. “Children are quite surprising in that they can adapt to many things,” Barron says. “But rhythms, rituals and things like that are an integral part of children’s mental stability.” As the letters flood in, it’s also clear that this goes beyond childhood. Santa is proving a beacon to adults, too, with some writing to him for the first time since they were kids. One asked for “a pandemic of love.” A 77-year-old lamented that “lockdown is no fun! I live alone.” A grandparent asked Santa to “say ‘Hi’ to my two grandkids that I won’t be able to see this year because of the health situation.” “Your mission will be hard this year,” wrote Anne-Marie, another adult suppliant. “You will need to sprinkle stars across the entire world, to calm everyone and revive our childhood souls, so we can dream, at last, and let go.”
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UN Ramps Up Aid as Ethiopian Refugees in Eastern Sudan Top 43,000
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to review aid operations aimed at helping growing numbers of refugees fleeing conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. More than 43,000 Ethiopians have crossed the border into Eastern Sudan this month. Conditions in Tigray are becoming more dangerous and growing numbers of refugees are fleeing to Sudan in search of protection and shelter. This large influx is putting an enormous burden upon the Sudanese government and aid agencies. The U.N. refugee chief is meeting with officials in Khartoum to see how his agency can best support the government and meet the overwhelming needs of the refugees.The UNHCR continues to ramp up its relief effort together with Sudan’s Commission on Refugees, local authorities and other humanitarian agencies. UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch says new camp sites are being built and work is going ahead to erect more shelters and improve services.He tells VOA the UNHCR has helped to relocate nearly 10,000 refugees away from the border inside Sudan. However, he notes many refugees want to stay close to the border in hopes of seeing family members who have become separated from them during their flight.“That is why one important service that we humanitarians working with authorities are providing is family tracing services,” said Baloch. “We have been able to get some family members reunited but worries are there that many are left behind. And those who are fleeing they talk about the conflict, hearing gunshots. Some have just fled even before in anticipation of the conflict reaching them.” The UNHCR is raising concern for the safety of civilians caught in conflict inside Ethiopia’s Tigray, particularly in the capital Mekele, home to more than 500,000 people. These concerns are widely shared by humanitarians and activists since the Ethiopian prime minister announced plans to launch a so-called final phase in Tigray’s northern region. Fearing many civilian casualties, the United Nations is warning of possible war crimes if the Ethiopian army attacks Mekele.Baloch says the worsening situation of some 96,000 Eritrean refugees in four camps in Tigray is also very worrying. Before the start of the conflict in early November, he says the UNHCR had regular access to the refugees.“Since the start of it, we have lost access,” said Baloch. “We had done, and these refugees rely on humanitarian distributions. We had done the distribution we had done before the start of the conflict. According to what they have had, is they will be running out of food as of Monday.” The UNHCR is calling for unconditional and unhindered humanitarian access to reach these desperate people with life-saving aid as soon as possible.
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Cher in Pakistan to Help ‘World’s Loneliest Elephant’
Iconic singer and actress Cher is in Pakistan to celebrate the departure of Kaavan, dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant,” who will soon leave a Pakistani zoo for better conditions after years of lobbying by animal rights groups and activists.Because of security concerns, Cher’s schedule was not made public. However, she met Friday with Prime Minister Imran Khan and was expected to visit Kaavan later in the trip, according to the prime minister’s office. Khan’s office released a video of the singer sitting with the prime minister outside on the expansive grounds of Khan’s residence.Kaavan, the elephant has languished in the zoo for 35 years, and lost his partner in 2012. He was diagnosed by veterinarians as both overweight and malnourished, and also suffers behavioral issues due to his isolation.Kaavan is set to leave for a sanctuary in Cambodia on Sunday, said Martin Bauer of Four Paws International, a global animal welfare group that’s led the charge to save him since 2016.Cher took up Kaavan’s cause and has been a loud voice advocating for his resettlement. Four Paws, which often carries out animal rescue missions, has provided the medical treatment needed before Kaavan can travel and will accompany him to the sanctuary.Even after he’s in Cambodia, he’ll require years of physical and even psychological assistance, Bauer said.Because of the abysmal living conditions blamed on systemic negligence, Pakistan’s high court in May ordered the closure of Marghazar Zoo in the capital of Islamabad, where Kaavan has lived for much of his life.A medical examination in September showed Kaavan’s nails were cracked and overgrown — the result of years of living in an improper enclosure with flooring that damaged his feet.The elephant has also developed stereotypical behavior, shaking his head back and forth for hours, which the medical team of wildlife veterinarians and experts blamed on his utter boredom.For the past three months, a Four Paws team including veterinarian Dr. Amil Khalil and the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board has been readying Kaavan to leave.Khalil first met Kaavan in 2016, and returned to the zoo in August, where he was heartbroken at the animal’s condition. Khalil has spent the last three months trying to get him ready for his trip to Cambodia.Kaavan was put on a diet of fruit and vegetables, and as a result has lost half a ton (450 kilograms), he said. Previously, Kaavan was eating 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of pure sugar cane every day, with an occasional fruit and vegetable.The veterinarian said this was the first time in 30 years that he developed an strong emotional bond with a rescue animal. Now, the “world’s loneliest elephant” comes lumbering over when he hears Khalil’s voice.“I was always moving, so never allowed myself to develop an emotional attachment,” but with Kaavan he couldn’t resist, Khalil said. He said he has pampered and protected him for the past three months, cajoling him into losing weight as well as being less fidgety and more relaxed so he can make the trip to Cambodia.Khalil said there are many elephants at the sanctuary, but in particular three female elephants are awaiting Kaavan’s arrival.Khalil joked that Kaavan might just find a girlfriend there — who knows?Bauer lauded the powerful impact celebrity voices can have for animal rights.“Celebrities lending their voices to good causes are always welcomed, as they help starting public discourse and raising pressure on responsible authorities,” he said.“Around the globe there are animal lovers, famous and not famous, and the support of every single one of them is crucial,” he added.
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