CHILD PROSTITUTION TRADE FLOURISHES IN IRAQ
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[Time Magazine]
The man on the phone with the 14-year-old Iraqi girl called himself Sa'ad. He was calling long distance from Dubai and telling her wonderful things about the place. He was also about to buy her. Safah, the teenager, was well aware of the impending transaction. In the weeks after she was kidnapped and imprisoned in a dark house in Baghdad's middle-class Karada district, Safah heard her captors haggling with Sa'ad over her price. It was finally settled at $10,000.
Staring at a floor strewn with empty whiskey bottles, the orphan listened as Sa'ad described the life awaiting her: a beautiful home, expensive clothes, parties with pop stars. Why, she'd be joining two other very happy teenage Iraqi girls living with Sa'ad in his harem. Safah knew that she was running out of time. A fake passport with her photo and assumed name had already been forged for her. But even if she escaped, she had no family who would take her in. She was even likely to end up in prison. What was she to do? Safah is part of a seldom-discussed aspect of the epidemic of kidnappings in Iraq: sex trafficking.
No one knows how many young women have been kidnapped and sold since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq, based in Baghdad, estimates from anecdotal evidence that more than 2,000 Iraqi women have gone missing in that period. A Western official in Baghdad who monitors the status of women in Iraq thinks that figure may be inflated but admits that sex trafficking, virtually nonexistent under Saddam, has become a serious issue. The collapse of law and order and the absence of a stable government have allowed criminal gangs, alongside terrorists, to run amuck. Meanwhile, some aid workers say, bureaucrats in the ministries have either paralyzed with red tape or frozen the assets of charities that might have provided refuge for these girls. As a result, sex trafficking has been allowed to fester unchecked.
"It is a problem, definitely," says the official, who has heard specific reports from Iraqi aid workers about girls being kidnapped and sold to brothels. "Unfortunately, the security situation doesn't allow us to follow up on this." The U.S. State Department's June 2005 trafficking report says the extent of the problem in Iraq is "difficult to appropriately gauge" but cites an unknown number of Iraqi women and girls being sent to Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Persian Gulf countries for sexual exploitation. Statistics are further made murky by tribal tradition. Families are usually so shamed by the disappearance of a daughter that they do not report kidnappings. And the resulting stigma of compromised chastity is such that even if the girl should resurface, she may never be taken back by her relations.
A visit to the Khadamiyah Women's Prison in the northern part of Baghdad immediately produces several tales of abduction and abandonment. A stunning 18-year-old nicknamed Amna, her black hair pulled back in a ponytail, says she was taken from an orphanage by an armed gang just after the U.S. invasion and sent to brothels in Samarra, al-Qaim on the border with Syria, and Mosul in the north before she was taken back to Baghdad, drugged with pills, dressed in a suicide belt and sent to bomb a cleric's office in Khadamiyah, where she turned herself in to the police. A judge gave her a seven-year jail sentence "for her sake" to protect her from the gang, according to the prison director.
Two other girls, Asmah, 14, and Shadah, 15, were taken all the way to the United Arab Emirates before they could escape their kidnappers and report them to a Dubai police station. The sisters were then sent back to Iraq but, like many other girls who have escaped their kidnappers and buyers, were sent to prison because they carried fake passports. There, they wait for the bureaucracy to sort out their innocence. What happened to the gang that took them? The sisters hear rumors that the men paid their way out of jail and are back on the streets. "I don't know what to do if the prison administration decides to release me," says Asmah, pushing back her gray head scarf to adjust her black hair. "We have no one to protect us." Women's advocates are trying to set up halfway houses for kidnap survivors.
The locations are secret to keep the women safe from both trafficking gangs trying to cover their tracks and outraged relatives who may try to kill the women to restore their clans' reputation. But the new Iraqi government has set up several bureaucratic roadblocks. Even organizations that do not receive government money have to secure permission from four ministries and the Baghdad city council for every shelter they hope to operate. Wringing her hands in exasperation, activist Yanar Mohammed says, "They want to close our women's shelter and deny our ability to open more."
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Burj Dubai, The World's Tallest Building
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[Agence France-Presse, July 21, 2007]
Burj Dubai, a tower rising in the booming Gulf emirate, today became the tallest building in the world at 512.1m, developers said. Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower, now surpasses Taiwan's Taipei 101 which is 508m tall, and has 141 storeys, more than any other building in the world, Emaar Properties said. The skyscraper, being built by South Korea's Samsung and scheduled for completion next year, is one of a string of grandiose projects taking shape in Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates.
Emaar Properties did not reveal the final projected height or number of storeys of the tower, which Emaar has kept secret since launching the project in January 2004. But Emaar officials have said the skyscraper, which will have cost $US 1 billion ($1.14 billion) by the time it is completed at the end of 2008, will be more than 700m tall and have more than 160 storeys.
Burj Dubai is the centrepiece of a $US 20 billion ($22.77 billion) venture featuring the construction of a new district, Downtown Burj Dubai, that will house 30,000 apartments and the world's largest shopping mall. Emaar, in which the Dubai government has a 32.5 per cent stake, is seeing its profits climb thanks to a construction boom. It posted a first half net profit of $US 893 million ($1.02 billion) for an on-year rise of seven per cent.
But the real estate giant is facing competition in Dubai itself, where the city state's other property development major, Nakheel, has announced it will build Al-Burj or The Tower -- whose projected height also remains a closely guarded secret. Nakheel is behind such feats as three palm tree-shaped man-made islands and The World, a cluster of some 300 islands looking like a blurred vision of the planet's nations being built off Dubai's coast.
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MARRIAGE OF GAMAL MUBARAK RENEWS SPECULATION ABOUT HIS POLITICAL AMBITION
[Inter Press Service, May 8, 2007]
The marriage last week of Gamal Mubarak, son of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, and influential member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), has led to renewed speculation about the presidential scion's political ambitions.
While the younger Mubarak continues to deny any intention to run for president, many political observers took the wedding as a sign that "inheritance" of the highest office is imminent.
"The wedding was intended to augment Gamal Mubarak's popular standing in advance of the coming inheritance of the presidency," Abdel-Halim Kandil, editor-in-chief of opposition weekly Al-Karama told IPS.
On May 4, 44-year-old Gamal was married to Khadiga al-Gamal, 24, daughter of wealthy Egyptian construction magnate Mohamed al-Gamal. The couple had been engaged since early last year. The wedding into a business family is seen as significant because Gamal spearheads the business policy unit of government, which in turn has become politically powerful.
The wedding ceremony was held at the Red Sea resort town Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Along with the President and first lady, the event was attended by some 500 guests, including leading NDP members as well as friends and relatives of the bride and groom. A handful of major political figures from around the region were also in attendance. These reportedly included Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal and Saad al-Hariri, head of Lebanon's Future movement, and said to be a personal acquaintance of the groom. Security arrangements were extremely tight, particularly in light of the fact that a major regional conference on Iraq had been convened in Sharm el-Sheikh a day earlier
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Ever since he was appointed head of the NDP's influential Policies Committee in 2002, speculation about Gamal's political trajectory has mounted. Composed largely of prominent businessmen, the committee is responsible for setting the ruling party's political agenda. It was closely involved in drafting recent amendments to the national constitution.
According to some local commentators, the Policies Committee -- like its unelected chief -- enjoys excessive influence over party policy and the legislative process. "Draft laws drawn up by the Policies Committee go straight to parliament, where they are rubber-stamped into law by the NDP-dominated assembly," Ahmed Thabet, professor of political science at Cairo University told IPS.
The influence of Gamal and his circle of pro-business associates extends into the cabinet as well. In 2004, a major ministerial reshuffle saw several economic portfolios go to figures closely associated with Gamal. Known collectively as the 'economy group', they include finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, trade and industry minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid and investment minister Mahmoud Mohieldin.
Gamal himself is an investment banker by profession. After receiving a masters degree in business administration from the American University in Cairo, he worked in London for the Bank of America for almost 10 years. In contrast to the party's older cadres, this faction of relatively young self-styled reformers has led the charge towards trade liberalisation and Egypt's integration into the global economy. Its members have consistently called for -- and in many cases achieved -- tariff reductions on imports, the privatisation of state assets and the opening of the country to foreign investment. In terms of foreign policy, this 'new generation' is also known for its closeness to the U.S., Cairo's long-time patron. Gamal and his pro-business associates have visited Washington on a number of occasions for closed-door consultations with counterparts in the Bush administration.
They have also shown a degree of readiness to cooperate with Israel -- with which Egypt shares a peace treaty -- in spite of Tel Aviv's massively unpopular policies on the issue of Palestine. This cooperation has taken the form of a trilateral trade deal between Egypt, Israel and the U.S. penned in 2004, as well as a 2005 agreement for the sale of Egyptian natural gas to the Jewish state.
The influence of this young generation of "reformist" leaders has been felt in other vital state institutions as well, including the sprawling state media apparatuses. In 2005, several executive positions within government-owned publishing houses were filled by members of Gamal's business-friendly circle. New postings included the editorships-in-chief of the big three state dailies, including the internationally recognised Al-Ahram. In February of last year, Gamal was also appointed assistant secretary-general of the NDP, further fuelling speculation about his political ambitions.
Critics note that, in the five years since his political debut, the younger Mubarak has, with the help of friendly state media, achieved an unrivalled public profile. "Gamal's recent statements sound like those of a president or prime minister," said Thabet. "And he is given massive official receptions whenever he travels around the country, not unlike a president or PM."
In spite of his meteoric rise within the ruling the party, however, Gamal has consistently stated that he has no intention to make a bid for the presidency. "I have no aspirations for an executive position of this kind," he said in a May 1 interview on an Egyptian satellite television channel. "I think I can best help the party by continuing to serve on the Policies Committee." He added: "Neither the NDP, nor anyone else, can force a nomination on someone if they are not willing."
But despite these denials, the recent nuptials have again fired speculation about Gamal's political future. According to many analysts and opposition figures, he is being groomed to take the place of his aging father, who turned 79 the same day as the wedding. "General opinion doesn't believe the denials regarding his political ambitions," said Kandil. "In 1994, President Mubarak promised that neither of his two sons would enter politics, but Gamal did -- just like he privatised the public sector after saying he wouldn't."
Such conjecture, however, has been accompanied by a degree of uncertainty as to the role of Egypt's powerful armed forces in any possible succession scenario. According to some analysts, the country's discreet but powerful military institutions would oppose the appointment of Gamal to the presidency. "The military wouldn't let Gamal take the presidency because he has nothing to offer other than the fact that he's the president's son," said Kandil. "Those who back Gamal for president are those powerful members of the business community who stand to benefit from his policies."
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ISRAEL'S WEST BANK WALL GOES DEEP INTO PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
[theunjustmedia.com, June 11, 2007]
The Wall is Israel’s provocative solution to the Palestinian problem in the West Bank. It is a wall ostensibly built for Israel’s security, yet its path does not follow the borders between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Instead, at many points it goes deep into the heart of Palestinian territory. The Wall is being built, despite an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice that condemned it.
It is being built despite a similar wall coming down almost two decades ago between East and West Berlin. Then, the whole world breathed a sigh of relief that such barbarity had finally come to an end – in the West at least. Israel’s Prison Wall - much higher and longer and begun only 4 years ago – hardly raises a whimper of protest where it counts, despite it being built contrary to the Court’s ruling.
It is a wall, the like of which most people cannot imagine – 8 metres high in places and up to 100 metres wide in others and running 720 kilometres the length and breadth of the West Bank – a wall in some places and electrified razor fencing with ditches and a no-man’s land in others. Already 180 kilometres of wall run right through thousands upon thousands of acres of private land – Palestinian land. Half of that wall encircles East Jerusalem, isolating the city from the rest of the occupied West Bank and separating it from its Palestinian neighbourhoods which are dependent on Jerusalem for their survival.
Read the full article HERE
Other stories about the Israel wall:
WEST BANK BARRIER
ISRAEL’S WALL IN THE WEST BANK
Further pictures:
Israel's Apartheid Wall strangles Qalqiliya
25-foot wall is built down the middle of the main street in Abu Dis, a town adjacent to and now cut off from East Jerusalem
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Palestinian Members Of Fatah Demonstrate In Jenin
VIOLENT CLASHES BETWEEN HAMAS AND FATAH
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[SMH, May 18 2007] IBRAHIM BARZAK describes a day caught with his family in the factional crossfire in Gaza City.
With battles raging outside my building and my windows blown out by bullets, I sit in a dark hallway outside my apartment with my wife and baby. It is dangerous inside and outside. Today I have seen people shot before my eyes. I heard the screams of terrified women and children in a burning building, and I argued with gunmen who wanted to take over my home. I have witnessed a lot in my years as a journalist in Gaza, but this is the worst it has been.
Much of the fighting is taking place right here in my neighbourhood. I went outside a few times to report, just around the house. I saw a building on fire after Hamas gunmen attacked, and I heard the screams of people who could not get out because of the gun battles. I saw Hamas gunmen going in and out of the building, and they were exchanging fire with Fatah forces. There has been another battle going on all day at a nearby 12-storey building.
My building is across from a Palestinian government complex, and both sides are fighting for control of the area. They are taking over rooftops. My flat is on the top floor of this five-storey building. This morning some Fatah gunmen tried to force their way into my apartment so they could shoot from my windows, overlooking the Palestinian government compound. I had an argument with them, and they left.
There have been clashes between Hamas and Fatah before, but there are dangerous new elements this time. Now they are arresting or even shooting people for the way they look. If you have a beard you may be arrested by Fatah security for looking Islamic. If you have a chain around your neck or on your arm, Hamas gunmen may shoot you because you look secular.
The random use of weapons and explosives is out of control. People who consider themselves the elite -- the politicians -- sit with the Egyptian mediators at night and then come out with statements about a truce, and in the morning we see the opposite has occurred. These people are not controlling anything. I saw several people shot in front of my home today. I am preparing for even worse violence.
Right now there are three couples, neighbours, sitting here on the floor. It is dark because there is no electricity. We are chatting, trying to calm ourselves over the crazy clashes and the sounds of heavy gunfire and explosions that have not let up since 2am in our neighbourhood.
Each of us has a baby, and they are playing. My baby, Hikmet, is nine months old. I am astonished by his behaviour. In the morning he was scared by the gunfire and he cried and called "mama" which is his first word. Then he fell asleep for three hours. Since he woke up he has been calm despite all the shooting.
Associated Press: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
* Forty-four people have been killed in Gaza this week. The widening hostilities between Hamas and Fatah may bring down a two-month-old unity government between the two factions.
* Hamas accused masked Fatah fighters of shooting and critically wounding a Hamas member in Gaza City yesterday despite the declaration of a ceasefire. Fatah separately accused Hamas gunmen of abducting five Fatah members in violation of the ceasefire.
* On Wednesday at least 25 Palestinians died in clashes. Terrified residents hid indoors as masked gunmen fought street to street.
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INCREASE IN BEHEADING EXECUTIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA
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[Agence France-Presse, May 15, 2007]
Saudi authorities announced the 74th execution of the year today, doubling the total number of beheadings carried out in 2006 less than five months into 2007. Saudi national Ahmed al-Harbi was beheaded near the holy city of Mecca for stabbing compatriot Abdo al-Marhabi to death following a disagreement, the interior ministry said.
Earlier in the day, the ministry announced the execution of Indian national Abu Bakr Aburat in the capital Riyadh for heroin smuggling.
For the whole of 2006, 37 people were executed in the conservative Gulf state, while 83 were put to death in 2005 and 35 the year before, according to AFP tallies based on official statements. Executions are usually carried out in public in Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict form of sharia, or Islamic law.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry the death penalty.
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