Children

“The greatest Glory of a free-born People, Is to transmit that Freedom to their Children.” -William Harvard, author

Today we Americans gather and celebrate as a nation, our independence our freedom, taking pride in our country and our history. We honor those who have fought and died to give us the ability to walk this land without fear of persecution. A nation built on the back of injustice we stand for justice, the right to free speech, the right of religious choice, the right to live our lives how we choose to live. We may not always agree with each other, and we know that in no way is our country perfect, but we know that our children and their children live in a country where their opportunities are endless.

Thus while we sit here today with our friends and family celebrating our independence, let us remember the countless millions of children who are not so privileged. Those children around the world who are not free from the daily ravages of war and conflict, those who face gender inequality, children denied an education, children sold into slavery, those who suffer needlessly from preventable diseases and poverty. Forget not that these children are not always in some land far away, but here in our own back yard…here in the land of freedom.

Use your freedom and your voice to help those who cannot celebrate today among the summer fun of BBQ’s and sit under the night sky ablaze with fireworks. Remember that freedom is not free, and it is the right of every man, woman and child.

Congo warlord accused of recruiting child soldiers set free
Judges at the Hague released a Congolese warlord, held on charges of coercing thousands of children into military service, after prosecutors withheld evidence supplied by the UN that would seem to exonerate him on certain of the charges.

Egypt launches campaign to slow population growth
A new campaign in Egypt attempts to dissuade citizens from having large families as the country struggles with population growth. Birth control is legal but frowned upon by some Egyptians, while abortion remains outlawed and vasectomies are not commonly performed. Egypt’s population has nearly doubled since Hosni Mubarak assumed the presidency in 1981.

Fistula crisis in Uganda
Experts say that, though many women in the Teso subregion of Uganda suffer from fistula, many cases are neither known, reported, nor treated, due to ignorance, limited materials, and limited personnel. It is estimated that nearly 3% of Ugandan women suffer from fistula.

Low-tech filters give Sri Lanka safer water
The introduction of clay pots fortified with low-tech filters by the American Red Cross has provided thousands of Sri Lankan families with access to safe drinking water and is helping to prevent the spread of disease. Water-borne diseases are the country’s number one cause of malnutrition.

Abortion rate on the rise in Middle East
Despite legal and religious restrictions against abortion in much of the Arab world, changing social values and economic realities as well as demographic shifts have contributed to an apparent increase in the number of the procedures in the Middle East.

Chinese protest corruption in case of girl’s death
Images of riots in China’s southwestern Guizhou province showed cars burning and cell-phone cameras snapping, as protesters responded with violence to evidence of police corruption. Following the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl by an individual with government connections, police called the death a suicide and brutally killed the girl’s uncle, who pressed for justice. Chinese government officials deployed paramilitary soldiers and riot police after 10,000 individuals took to the streets.

Leaders call for funds for women at Glasgow summit
Some participants at the 8th Civicus World Assembly in Scotland say not enough money is going to aid women in the developing world as outlined under the United Nation’s eight Millennium Development Goals. Activists stress that worldwide gender equality is an integral part of the program’s success.

ZIMBABWE: AIDS organisations still grounded
As Zimbabwe’s political crisis deepens ahead of the presidential run-off election on Friday 27 June, and the status of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) remains uncertain, the situation for HIV-positive Zimbabweans is more precarious than ever.

Today marks the start to the Junior 8 Summit, which will be held in Chitose City, Hokkaido, Japan, from 2-9 July. The J8 is a youth event run parallel to the annual Group of 8 Summit of world leaders. The J8 takes place every year and allows young people from around the world the opportunity to meet share their ideas, concerns and recommendations on how we can work to solve pressing global issues which are set before the G8.

At the J8 Summit, a team of young people represents each of the G8 countries, which include; Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition another delegation of young people will represent the non-G8 countries, by providing one participant from each region of the world.

The J8 is an amazing opportunity for young people around the world to get involved in the decisions of our global world for which they will soon inherent responsibility for. The summit is also an opportunity for world leaders to hear the voices of youth, and see the power for which young people have for change. The participants in the J8 are to serve as representative of youth around the world, but are also able to share their own ideas.

The G8 leaders will gather in Japan next week, as the Group of Eight summit takes place on July 7-9 in the Japanese town of Toyako. On this years G8 agenda climate change tops the list as a UN-backed deadline approaches for a new global treaty. Also priorities on the G8 agenda are poverty and HIV/AIDS, as while the progress has been seen in some areas in recent years, such as providing life saving medications and increasing children’s access to schools, the increasing of promised funds to fight extreme poverty have been missed. Therefore as the world looks at the current food prices and shortages, the need for action has become even more pressing.

Kids to learn more about the J 8 Summit and how you can send a message to world leaders click here, and find your countries J8 page. Have your say and see what others are saying by going to UNICEF’s Voices of Youth forum, young people just like this:

“My country comprises of intelligent youths who when given the right environment and state of mind, the sky is just the beginning, so to improve my country, i would invest in education, improving the state of mind of the average Nigerian child and positioning him to influence the world.”

More on the issues at this years G8 Summit:

Confronting Climate Change: A Strategy for U.S. Foreign Policy
A new Independent Task Force report says U.S. climate policy must focus on the largest economies and emitters.

News Release: U.S. must overhaul climate change strategy, says CFR Task Force report.

Backgrounder: Economic Challenges for Climate Change Policy

Ban urges G8 to move forward with Africa aid promises
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the G8 countries Monday to follow through with pledges to increase aid to Africa $25 billion. Reports surfaced that some countries might backtrack on the promises. “When it comes to climate change…and the global food crisis, these campaigns should be led by the industrialized countries — they have the capacity, they have the resources, and I hope the leadership demonstrates their political will,” Ban said ahead of a G8 summit next week.

Sadly the case of infanticide in India is not a new story, but the long term effects of what one may consider the worst form of gender inequality are beginning to rear their ugly head. As a result, showing a noticeable effect on the Indian population, especially in the more densely populated states in the northwest of the country, such as Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Infanticide and selective abortions of female fetuses has now shown signs that it is tilting the gender ratio in these regions, leaving the female to male ratio out of balance.

India’s population has continually increased over the years, but the ratio of females to males has steadily decreased, leaving over one quarter of Indian states have an adult population with fewer than 900 women for every 1,000 men. The decrease in females has lead many regions missing suitable brides, causing men to look else where for women. Many find themselves in what has become more of a desperate search for a wife, leaving many to marry out side of their class or culture, creating an obstacle that goes beyond language for many new wives. A great majority of the wives sought outside of the region are significantly younger, and are arranged into marriages of what some are now calling “…neither marriages of convenience, nor of choice”.

The following article, Killing of baby girls triggers social upheaval in India, found that “social workers documenting the impact of female infanticide and feticide on society insist that such marriages are on the rise”. Significant studies and research are needed to adequately track the trend, however it appears that the hard search for a wife in many states will continue. With this desperation comes the increase and likelihood of human trafficking, which as well is not new to Indian society. “Which analysts say, is on the rise.” leading to an increase in the number of stories such as that of “Sonia, a young woman from Banaras who was sold for $1,000 before a sea of curious faces. The business in trafficking women for marriages wouldn’t be thriving quite so much if female feticide and infanticide were under control.”

Some researchers have suggested that this decrease in female population could cause an increase in all forms of sexual exploitation and violence of women and girls. “Initially sold as wives, many are then resold into sex work or as slaves,” says Raj Singh Chaudhury, an activist from Shakti Vahini (Gulf News). Women and girls are sold for as little as $40, the younger the girl the higher the price that can be sought, leaving girls as a human commodity fueled by the toxic combination of desperation, gender inequality, and poverty.

India is not alone in it’s preference for males, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), regions where son preference is most apparent include; Asia (China, Bangladesh, India, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan), the Middle East (Iran, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey) and most parts of Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Liberia, Madagascar, Senegal), as well as Latin America (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay). China is likely the most notoriously known for such practices due to its stringent once child policy. “As in India, sex imbalances in China may be exacerbating the trade of women, both internally and across borders. According to official Chinese statistics from 1990 to 1999, on average 8,000 women per year were rescued from forced marriages by authorities (“Broken Bodies - Broken Dreams: Violence against Women (IRIN)).”

The last census in India was done in 2001, the next is due in 2011, the results of this census may be a shocking eye opener to the legacy of infanticide and feticide, as well as to India’s growing internal trafficking problem.

On April 30th, 2008 India’s Infanticide Shame and on October 29th, 2007 I posted India’s Missing Girls, please see both post for more information and background on the topic.