|
We investigated why so many people died at Kabul International Airport on August 26, 2021 – 'the U.S. military is also to blame'
|
|
Refresher: Last August, the Taliban took control over Afghanistan (again). Thousands of people rushed to the airport, hoping to leave the country; you probably remember some of the super-dramatic pictures and videos that went viral.
On August 26, 2021, at least 180 people (mostly Afghan civilians, 13 members of the U.S. military) died at Kabul International Airport. Up until now, it was reported that all deaths were linked to the massive bomb blast, which ISIS-K took responsibility for.
Now, CNN, Pro Publica and Alive in Afghanistan have all released reports, (I paraphrase) 'we found out that U.S. military also shot a number of Afghan civilians right after the blast. Even though they claimed nobody was hit by them firing shots.' The United States, specifically the Department of Defense (short DoD), is now facing some tough questions.
- Good to know: Alive in Afghanistan is a news agency that was launched in the days after the fall of Kabul, aimed at bringing the perspective of the most marginalized Afghans to the world.
Wait. How did CNN find this out?
By compiling hospital records of gunshot wounds, video evidence and 19 eyewitness accounts by Afghan civilians. The latter was something that the DoD apparently didn't need to come to a conclusion.
Why did CNN do its own investigation?
Democracy Now! spoke to Nick Paton Walsh, an investigative reporter and one of the co-authors of the CNN report. He spent four months trying to find out what happened outside the airport, interviewing more than 100 people. 'Something just didn't add up,' people kept telling him.
Why this matters: This is why journalism is important. Fact-checking everything that everyone (including your own government) says has happened.
What are the August 26 survivors calling for?
"They’d just like the truth of what occurred, I think, to be recognized. Many of them are still scared. Many of them were reluctant initially to speak about this. Many of them are still living with the fear of the Taliban in the society that is now Afghanistan. And so I think they simply wanted the recognition of the truth of how the people, often close to them, who they saw die, died, and also for recognition to what they say they witnessed themselves," Nick Paton Walsh told Democracy Now!.
- Good to know: Speaking of August, Sangar Paykhar of the Afghan Eye Podcast shared a video on Twitter that went viral, showing a lot of the Afghan civilians that were evacuated by the U.S. military protesting that they have been stuck at detention camps in the United Arab Emirates. There's so much of what happened during those weeks last August that we still need to unpack.
|
|
|
NORTH AMERICA / THE CARIBBEAN
|
|
|
We should talk about ending the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba – this time for real
|
|
|
On February 3, 1962 – 60 years ago – the United States banned American businesses from conducting trade or business in or with Cuba, "as long as the Cuban government refuses to move toward democratization and greater respect for human rights."
Let's take a quick look at (the consequences of) this historic decision.
Why this matters: The United States embargo against Cuba is the most enduring trade embargo in modern history. And it has got a lot of critics. Rightly so as the decision impacts a lot of people. Cuba is the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti, with over 11 million inhabitants.
Wait. The economic sanctions are still in place?
Yes. And a lot of people are saying, 'they shouldn't tbh.' The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution every year since 1992 demanding the end of this embargo (only United States and Israel say no). Plus, experts like William M. LeoGrande (professor of government at American University School of Public Affairs) keep saying, 'it just doesn't work. Cuba's government has never done what the U.S. told it to do.'
So, what are the other consequences of this embargo?
The embargo has often been criticised for its effects on food, clean water, medicine, and other economic needs of the Cuban population. Specifically, the Cuban government claims that it has lost some US$150 billion because of this ban.
How's life like in Cuba at the moment?
The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in 30 years. Inflation is at 70 percent, there's not enough food (they import a lot of their food needs), medicine is also difficult to come by, and COVID-19 really took a toll on the one industry that generates $$$: tourism. 'We believe the sanctions are the reason for this crisis,' says the government. 'The embargo is a virus, too.'
- Fun fact: Cuba developed its own COVID-19 vaccine Soberana. It's got a 92.4% efficacy. As of last November, 89% of Cuba’s population — including children as young as 2 — has received at least one dose of Soberana 02 or another Cuban vaccine called Abdala.
Really? The sanctions alone?
Others say, 'that's not entirely true. We have structural problems. Some of them have been caused by our own government.' Also, other countries than the United States are allowed to conduct business with the Cuban government. Some lobby groups outside of the country say, 'Cuba just needs to become a representative democracy, and all will be fine.'
Cuba is a not representative democracy?
Not really. Last year, on July 11, thousands of people in Cuba took to the streets protesting against food and medicine shortages, inflation, and the lack of freedom. Security forces arrested more than 600 people. The government is now trying them. So far, 172 protestors have been charged with crimes. Some are facing up to 30 years in prison.
What now?
The current U.S. administration keeps saying, 'Cuba is a top priority'. Nothing has happened yet.
- Did you know that, over the years, a lot of people from Cuba have migrated to Florida, United States? Their votes are extremely important to U.S. politicians, so they normally try and make this group of people with very anti-Cuban views happy.
|
|
|
We are worried about the safety of some 213 million Muslims in India
|
|
|
The Karnataka High Court in Bangalore, India confirmed what a school had told students in the city of Udupi, in Karnataka state: 'Stop wearing hijab in class' until the court makes a final ruling on whether a school there can ban it altogether (not known when). Protests started, schools have been closed. The situation is tense.
Why this matters: Minority rights are in danger in India. Specifically, anti-Muslim hate is becoming a really big problem in the country, and Muslims make up about 15 percent of the country; that's some 213 million people (according to Pew Research Center 2020).
Why target Muslims now?
So, this whole thing started at a college preparatory institution for girls last September. When some Muslim students had showed up in hijabs, teachers whose class they tried to attend turned them away and marked them absent for the day. 'It hasn't been like this before,' the girls say. The students stood their ground and continued to wear their head scarves. This is not the first time, btw.
What happened then?
It escalated. “Whenever students would go in hijab, they wouldn’t be allowed inside the compound, too, let alone the classroom," students' parents and their lawyer Mohammed Tahir told The New York Times. And recently, groups of boys and men wearing saffron (Hindu nationalists typically wear saffron) stand at the campus gates, shouting slogans such as 'Hail Lord Ram' (a Hindu god). Protests spread to at least a dozen other campuses in the state. It's super intense, look. Human rights organization Amnesty International has warned about this, time and time again.
How do the girls feel?
Not great. In an interview with Scroll.in, a 19-year-old Muslim student describes what it felt like when she was told she could not enter the school in a hijab. Here are some excerpts:
- "It is horrible here, with the police and the boys in saffron shawls. Muslim girls feel unsafe on campus. We cannot go alone to college."
- "We do not have a problem with them wearing what they want. But do not make us take off our hijabs. We do not feel complete without it."
- "I am 19 years old and have worn this my entire life. I have studied in this college for six months and wearing a hijab had never been an issue till now."
- "I had read on social media the discrimination that Muslims in the country face but now I have experienced it for the first time. I was made to realise that I am a Muslim. Someone who dresses differently. I have never thought about these things before."
Good to know: The government in the state of Karnataka is controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He's known to be a Hindu nationalist and people say 'ever since he's been elected Prime Minister, eight years ago, there's been more hate speech and violence towards religious minorities.'
A quick history lesson: Anti-Muslim hate in India has been hiding under the surface for decades now, even before Modi. In 2002, a train fire killed 59 Hindu pilgrims. Although nobody knew really why, violent mobs blamed the Muslim community for it, leaving more than 1,000 people dead, many burned alive.
|
|
|
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING
|
|
|
First, the bad news
Libya: Someone tried to kill the country's prime minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah.
Australia: The government officially listed the koala as an endangered species. :(
Brazil: The data is out: Five times more of the Amazon rainforest disappeared than last January.
Madagascar: For the second time in two weeks, Madagascar was hit by a cyclone. At least seven people died, and some 45,000 people lost their homes. This is another reminder that climate change affects poor countries in the worst possible way.
The neutral
Global: Trade between Africa and China reached an all-time high last year.
And now, the good news
France: Archaeologists found a human tooth in the Grotte Mandrin near Malataverne, France. The cool part about it: Now, we know that Homo sapiens arrived around 10,000 years earlier than we previously thought.
New Zealand: The minimum wage per hour is rising to 12,4€. Germany is currently talking about raising it to 12€.
Spain: Environmental defenders finally won the 14-year legal battle against an extremely controversial luxury development project. The country's highest court decided that the golf resort, four-star hotel and nearly 200 houses that were built in a protected area in a reservoir in the Extremadura region must be destroyed. Entirely.
Italy: The country made protecting the environment a part of its Constitution. They're not the first: Chile did it before them.
Nigeria: Chidiebere Ibe, a famous medical student and illustrator from Nigeria created an image (look) of a Black pregnant woman and a Black fetus. The picture went viral, with many saying, 'omg we need more accurate life-depicting medical illustrations'.
Africa: The continent is the fastest growing region for venture capital investment. More than 600 tech companies with the majority of their operations and users in Africa raised US$5.2 billion from venture capitalists in 2021, according to a report from Partech, a VC firm that tracks this data every year.
|
|
|
(I missed this news but I'll be damned if I don't include it anyway) In late January, someone showed a Hentai video (p0rn anime) during a meeting of the senate in Italy. It was by accident.
|
|
That's it from me for this week. If you want to stay connected on social media, follow me on Twitter or on Instagram.
Bye,
Sham
|
|
|
|
