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We, Canada's Indigenous peoples, don't have access to clean drinking water
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Residents of an Indigenous community in Canada now finally have access to clean drinking water after almost 25 years of no access at all. The government is finally running a water treatment facility where they live.
Where is the community?
The Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is on the Manitoba-Ontario border.
Why did it take so long?
There was no way, literally. Until recently, the only way to get in or out of the community was across the lake. Meaning, getting construction material was 'too expensive'. Then finally, in 2019, a road was built; it's literally called the 'Freedom Road'.
Why this matters: For generations, Canada (one of the wealthiest nations in the world) has been unwilling to guarantee access to clean water for Indigenous peoples. It's one of the longest-running crises in Canada. Indigenous leaders even sued the government for it. "It’s the end of years of struggles trying to get the basic necessities of life, clean drinking water," said residents.
What's next?
There are a lot of other communities (like the Curve Lake First Nation) waiting for this good news. 'We're on it,' said the government. Shameful, tbh. "The emotional and spiritual damage of not having clean water, having to look at all of the water surrounding us on a daily basis and unable to use it, is almost unquantifiable," say residents of other communities.
Zoom out: New Zealand doesn't treat its Indigenous people well either. The entire country is in the middle of a housing crisis, and Māori (31%) or Pacific (21%) ethnicities are mostly affected by it.
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We mourn the death of Algeria's ex-president – but he was a controversial man
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Abdelaziz Bouteflika died on Friday. He was the country's longest-serving president. Algeria started mourning on Saturday (until today). Flags are currently flying at half-mast.
Why this matters: Algeria is the biggest country on the African continent (not where most people live, however).
Who was Bouteflika?
He (finally) resigned in 2019 because nobody would let him run for a fifth term. Way back, he really wanted Algeria to become independent of France. As a Pisces (if you know, you know), he fought against the French military in 1956. And when the country became independent in 1962, he became the country's first foreign minister at just 25 years old. He kept that job for 16 years. At some point, he was accused of corruption, then went into exile, came back later and all the charges were dropped.
Tell me about some of his achievements
His supporters believe he is a 'national hero.' (I mean, look at this video of him.) He was elected president in 1999, 'ended'* a really brutal civil war (estimates say between 44,000 and 200,000 people died), opened up the country to the international community and 'survived' the mass protests of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011 because he made a lot of promises to the people.
*not really. As Tahar (last name unknown) writes on Twitter, 'The peace he brought was flawed. The amnesty he brokered was an agreement that shielded military officers from being held accountable for the war crimes committed during the civil war. An amnesty that didn't provide justice or close the book on a very bloody civil war.' Here's Human Rights Watch saying the same thing.
What about the negative stuff?
He was a stubborn man (*cough* Pisces). As such, he didn't want to resign as president even when he was really sick and had a stroke in 2013. People in Algeria never knew who was actually running the country at the time. Real power (most likely) rested with generals and businessmen.
Zoom out: In the United States, a woman ran the country for six months in 1919 while her husband (the real president) Woodrow Wilson had a stroke once and was unable to rule. Her name: Edith Wilson, the de-facto first female president of the United States.
Speaking of longest-serving leaders, this is Angela Merkel's last week as chancellor of Germany. We're taking to the polls next Monday. Let's not idolize Merkel but also thank her for not being like Donald Trump? The bar's so low, I know but also, idolizing politicians is so 2008.
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Content warning: Rape, violence.
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We are still in the middle of a really big rape crisis (again) in India
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It happened again: A man assaulted and raped a 34-year-old woman in Mumbai, India. Days later, she died of her injuries. The entire country is in shock at the moment.
Tell me more
He had left her lying unconscious inside an open mini bus in Sakinaka, Mumbai. 'He probably used an iron rod to beat her,' said police.
Why this matters: Rape is sadly very common in India. In 2019, more than 32,000 rapes against women were reported – one every 17 minutes. In 2020, that number was still very high, at 28,000. Activists say, 'the number is even bigger.' High-profile cases continue to make headlines. Not enough is being done about it.
Did they catch the man?
Yes. Police arrested him after he confessed to the crime himself. He hasn't been charged yet and will stay with police until Tuesday. But he likely faces the death penalty.
What do you know about the woman?
She was homeless (like him) and "belonged to a particular caste" (unlike him), said police.
What do people say?
'This is very similar to what happened back in 2012; when 23-year-old student Nirbhaya was gang-raped and murdered in New Delhi,' said human rights activist Yogita Bhayana. After her death, millions of women in India protested for tougher laws on sexual assault.
- Btw, 'Nirbhaya' is not her real name. It's a pseudonym, meaning 'fearless.'
"After Nirbhaya, we thought things would change but we keep hearing of (rape) cases every single day. Not a single day goes by where we don't hear of one. As activists, we push and probe the government and nation so much, but when we hear of such brutality, we really feel so helpless. I have no words to describe it," says Bhayana.
What now?
Police said, 'we'll increase security in certain areas of Mumbai and if women are traveling alone at night, we'll pay extra attention.' About time. In Mumbai alone, at least 550 cases of rape were reported until July this year.
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We beat the deadly Marburg virus in Guinea
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Guinea said, 'we beat another deadly virus! First Ebola, now Marburg virus!!!!'
Why this matters: Guinea knows its ways around Ebola and other seriously infectious diseases. "Today we can point to the growing expertise in outbreak response in Guinea and the region that has saved lives," says Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Africa.
Tell me about the Marburg virus
It’s part of the same family as the Ebola virus. You get it from fruit bats. If you catch it, expect to get a headache, vomit blood, have muscle pains and bleed out of different openings of your body. You can infect others very easily, through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.
How dangerous is it?
There have been 12 major Marburg outbreaks since 1967, mostly in southern and eastern Africa. And in West Africa, the first case was here, in Guinea, last month. However, the Marburg disease was first reported in 1967 in laboratory workers in Germany and Yugoslavia (now Serbia), transmitted from green monkeys imported from Uganda to Europe. Some outbreaks have been 88% deadly.
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OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING
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Brazil: My favorite (Brazilian) photographer of all time, Sebastião Salgado, received the Praemium Imperiale 2021 award. If you're in London, please go check his exhibition at the Science Museum in London from 13 October. If not, check out his art here.
Technology: The new iPhone is out: iPhone 13. John Naughton wrote this opinion piece for The Guardian and told me not to buy it. Why? He quoted this report, "buying one new phone takes as much energy as recharging and operating a smartphone for an entire decade." Personally, I do need a new one unfortunately. I have the iPhone 8 at the moment but I feel so bad after reading this article. Will you buy it?
Environment: A new United Nations report says, "90% of global farm subsidies damage people and planet." Looking at you, meat and dairy industry.
Italy: The country is talking about whether or not to decriminalize cannabis. 'We'll decide that in a referendum next year.'
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Taxi drivers in Thailand want you to pay attention to how much the coronavirus pandemic (it's not over yet) has affected their ability to make a living... and put vegetable gardens on top of their not-in-use cars, look.
"The vegetable garden is both an act of protest and a way to feed my staff during this tough time," said one driver.
Many people now can’t afford the daily payments on the taxis, even after the charge was cut by half to 300 baht (US$9.09), So they have walked away, leaving the cars in long, silent rows.
Extremely smart 'marketing campaign'.
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If you enjoy this newsletter, you have this newsletter's patrons to thank at least in part. Patreon makes an important contribution to helping me stay freelancing and scour the internet for underrepresented news and perspectives. So, thank you so much to everyone supporting me there.
That's it. 'See' you next week. And again, thank you for your patience,
Sham
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