Fwd: Fw: Voice Newsletter September, 2012

[SOLAR GENERATION]

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From: hilary zhou <hilar...@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 18, 2012 at 11:55 AM
Subject: Fw: Voice Newsletter September, 2012
To: solar generation <solargen...@gmail.com>

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From: Oxfam International Youth Partnerships <iypv...@enews.oxfam.org.au>
To: hilar...@yahoo.com
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 7:22 AM
Subject: Voice Newsletter September, 2012

Having trouble displaying this message? View the online version here To ensure delivery of the Voice newsletter, please add the email address iypv...@enews.oxfam.org.au to your contacts list.  Issue # 28 – September 2012 Unsubscribe September Voice: Forcibly Displaced Persons To read the Voice newsletter in full, please click HERE! http://oiyp.oxfam.org.au/ IN THIS VOICE: Your Voice Pg.1-3 Action Partner Stories: Pg.4–11 Root causes of flight and displacement  Toelau Motusaga-Afamasaga, 2010 Action Partner from Samoa, shares how access to land is a major cause for displacement for women and children all around the world Amuri Ngumoja, 2010 Action Partner from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reveals how he and many others in his community in eastern DRC were forced to seek refuge in Tanzania at the time of the First Congo War Kuntal De, 2010 Facilitator from India, shares that there are 60 million landless families in India because of visionless projects of mining companies, hydro-electric projects and Special Economic Zones Titilola Aisha Kazeem, 2010 Action Partner from Nigeria, explains how 30,000 people belonging to the Makoko community on the Lagos waterfront have recently been evicted from their homes by state and federal authorities because of climate change What is identity and belonging to someone who has been forcibly displaced? Owiny Hakiim (aka Big Deal), 2010 Action Partner from Uganda, is seeking an identity and a place to belong, which has been the driving force behind his story of displacement Patrick Geovany Pavón Hernández, 2010 Action Partner from Honduras, was forced to flee Honduras for Spain to seek political asylum following death threats targeted at him and his association with the LGBTI community Shyamal Bikash Chakma, 2010 Kaleidoscope volunteer from India, can empathise with many of the identity struggles shared here by Action Partners because he belongs to the Chakma ethnic minority group belonging to Mizoram in north-eastern India Yogitha Karunanandham, 2010 Action Partner from Sri Lanka, who works for MTV Channel, shares the powerful impact the media has on shaping public perception and in turn, the identity of people seeking asylum How should we as youth, as well as the international community, respond? Ahmad Barclay, Palestinian youth, with the support of Ramzi Jaber, 2010 Action Partner from Palestine, have responded to displacement of Palestinian community by creating an initiative called #3awada – meaning ‘return’ in Arabic - as a way of envisioning a return to a Palestinian identity and restoring the rights of the people. Edgar Enrique Figueroa, 2010 Action Partner from Panama, is a journalist and uses this skill to tell the stories of people seeking a better life in Panama to raise awareness and educate readers Amuri Ngumoja, 2010 Action Partner from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has drawn so much strength from what has often been a desperate situation and has developed a project to address the prejudice between members of different ethnic groups living within the Tanzanian refugee camp OIYP News and Updates Pg. 12-14 • Important Announcement about OIYP Program • OIYP Food Justice Discussion Forum Report • International Youth Day • Global Youth Forum at ICPD • New video by Iguanazul • Post-2015 UN Development Agenda Resources Pg.15-16 Stay Informed Pg.17 Disclaimer: The content of this Voice newsletter and associated blogs and resources is produced by young leaders (known as Action Partners) in the OIYP program. The views and positions contained in this newsletter are those of the Action Partners themselves and are not those of Oxfam   Your Voice Say this city has ten million souls, Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes: Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us. Once we had a country and we thought it fair, Look in the atlas and you'll find it there: We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now. In the village churchyard there grows an old yew, Every spring it blossoms anew: Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that. The consul banged the table and said, "If you've got no passport you're officially dead": But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive. Went to a committee; they offered me a chair; Asked me politely to return next year: But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day? Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said; "If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread": He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me. Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay, Saw the fish swimming as if they were free: Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away. Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees; They had no politicians and sang at their ease: They weren't the human race, my dear, they weren't the human race. Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors, A thousand windows and a thousand doors: Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours. Stood on a great plain in the falling snow; Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro: Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me (By WH Auden, 2003) This poem shares the anguish, despair and hopelessness of someone who has been forcibly displaced from the place they call home. Stripped of choice, freedom and identity, many forcibly displaced persons are ruthlessly abused both in their homeland, as well as their place of refuge where they have sought protection. The forced movement of people, displaced (or uprooted) within their own countries and across borders, is a historical issue that has received renewed attention since the end of the Cold War. With many serious human rights violations around the world reaching boiling point, the number of people in crisis situations who are forced to flee their homes in search of safety is rapidly increasing. In fact, every minute of every day, eight people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror with recent statistics suggesting 42.5 million were newly or remained forcibly displaced in 2011 according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR); the United Nations agency  mandated to provide protection and assistance to refugees. Shockingly children and young people account for almost half of these displaced persons, which include refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced, stateless and returnee persons (Centre for Refugee Research 2011). This pattern of human displacement has also been referred to as forced migration, which means “the movements of refugees and internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects” by the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration. Whether people have been forced to migrate due to persecution, to flee war, to escape famine, or because of a major development project, each and every person, regardless of who they are and where they come from, has the right to receive assistance and the right to protection from abuse. These rights are enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which underpins all human rights laws and conventions, and states that everyone has the freedom to seek asylum from persecution (Oxfam Australia), which is further supported by the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1976 Protocol (hereby referred to as Refugee Convention); the cornerstone for the international  protection of refugees. However, due to the failure of the international human rights regime to guarantee and protect the rights of all forcibly displaced persons, many lack access to adequate livelihoods, health services, shelter, education and legal redress and are subject to severe discrimination, security abuses, religious repression and loss of citizenship. On top of this,there is an overwhelming loss of identity and belonging as shared by Amuri Ngumoja, 2010 Action Partner Democratic Republic of Congo. Amuri says being a refugee often implies “you are among the most unlucky people in the world because you do not belong anywhere, which makes us feel even more exploited, excluded and neglected. I remember one day in Dar es salaam, Tanzania, someone asked to give the number of people waiting outside the office and a man replied ‘there are 3 people and 2 refugees’… To some, we are not human anymore.” In this Voice The purpose of this edition of the VOICE newsletter is to create a safe space for Action Partners, M&Ms and Facilitators who identify as someone who has been forcibly displaced, are working in this area or know of someone who has been impacted by forced displacement, to share the actions they are taking, what they have learnt and how we as young people, as well as the international community, should respond. We would like to acknowledge that many of the stories in this newsletter are very personal and thank each person sincerely for opening the door to their world. The topic of forced displacement is explored in the following sections: • The root causes of flight and displacement • What is identity and belonging to someone who has been forcibly displaced? • How should we as youth, as well as the international community, respond? HAVE YOUR SAY! The next edition of the VOICE newsletter for October will feature stories from the 14 Action Partners who were selected during Round # 1 of the Grants Program for the 2010-2013 cycle. The Action Partners will share their significant reflections and experiences as an OIYP grantee. And don't forget to read the Important Announcement about the OIYP Program on Pg.13 OIYP Program Officer, Leah Davies Oxfam Australia works with communities to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. 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