Here are some editorials I wrote for The Gulf Today. (Posted for my records)
Cultural
diversity
under
attack
The
breaching by Daesh militants of the perimetre of Palmyra in Syria, an ancient
city termed by Unesco as the “birthplace of human civilisation,” puts at risk
the local civilian population as well as one of the most significant sites in
the Middle East.
Arab
League chief Nabil Al Arabi has rightly stated that Daesh's capture of this
historic city is an eminent threat to one of the most important heritage sites
in the world.
Top
United Nations officials have also warned that continued attack from militant
groups espousing virulent forms of intolerance puts global cultural diversity
under attack. And, they are absolutely correct.
In fact,
with the conflict engulfing both Syria and Iraq and Daesh extremists fanning
across a region rich in archaeological and cultural legacy, there is increasing
worry over the practice of cultural cleansing which risks destroying millennia
of history.
In what
should also come as a serious concern for the world community, Maamoun
Abdulkarim, the head of the Antiquities and Museum Department in the Syrian
capital Damascus, has been quoted as saying, “There are arrests and
liquidations in Palmyra. Fighters are moving in residential areas, terrifying
people and taking revenge.”
Known in
Syria as "the pearl of the desert,” Palmyra is home to colonnaded alleys
and elaborately decorated tombs. Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a
great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient
world.
From the
1st to the 2nd century, the art and architecture of Palmyra, standing at the
crossroads of several civilisations, married Graeco-Roman techniques with local
traditions.
Dating
back to the Neolithic, the aesthetic city was first attested in the early
second millennium as a caravan stop for travellers crossing the Syrian desert.
Any
damage to such precious heritage sites would undoubtedly prove to be a colossal
loss for entire humanity and the world community needs to act before it is too
late.
Daesh had
sparked international outrage this year when it blew up the ancient Assyrian
city of Nimrud and smashed artefacts in the Mosul museum, both in Iraq.
The best
way for the international community to fight back is by effectively espousing
the need for openness and acceptance of the world’s diverse traditions.
Militants
should not be allowed to get away with cultural cleansing. The international
community should initiate rapid action to protect innocent civilians and the
irreplaceable cultural heritage of Palmyra.
Job
insecurity a
global
concern
An
observation by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that only a fourth
of the global workforce have stable contracts, while 75 per cent are employed
on temporary or short-term contracts in informal jobs indicates a growing job
insecurity worldwide.
To add to
the worry, the ILO flagship annual report, World Employment and Social Outlook
2015 representing 84 per cent of the global workforce, also notes that women
are disproportionately represented among those in temporary and part-time forms
of wage and salaried employment.
What is
increasingly clear is that the global economy is not creating a sufficient
number of jobs and the trend is indeed too scary.
ILO
estimates that global unemployment figures reached 201 million in 2014, over 30
million higher than before the start of the global crisis in 2008.
The first
edition of the new, annual flagship report, entitled The Changing Nature of
Jobs, shows that while wage and salaried work is growing worldwide, it still
accounts for only half of global employment, with wide variations across
regions.
For
example, in the developed economies and Central and South-Eastern Europe,
around eight in ten workers are employees, where as in South Asia and
Sub-Saharan Africa the figure is closer to two in ten.
Growing
inequality is proving to be another bane. Income disparity is increasing or
remains high in the majority of countries – a trend that is aggravated by the
rising incidence of non-permanent forms of employment, growing unemployment and
inactivity.
The
income gap between permanent and non-permanent workers has increased over the
past decade.
Interestingly,
an estimate based on some 40 countries with available data finds that more than
one in five jobs worldwide is linked to global supply chains.
This
effectively highlights the increasing importance of global supply chains in
shaping some of the employment and income patterns that are observed in labour
markets today.
Also,
despite the positive steps made towards improving pension coverage, social
protection, such as unemployment benefits, is still mainly available only for
regular employees.
Providing
jobs to more than 40 million additional people who enter the global labour
market every year will certainly prove to be a daunting challenge.
As top
ILO officials point out, the only way forward is to find ways to stimulate
investment opportunities and boost job creation and productivity, while
ensuring adequate income security to all types of workers, not just those on stable
contracts.
India
feels the heat
of global
warming
Meddling
with nature can have a devastating effect on humanity and this has been proved
several times. Scientists have vociferously stated that climate change is the
reason behind various challenges like aggressive weather, prolonged droughts
and intense flooding.
Now comes
the news that around 800 people have died due to a major heat wave that has
swept across India, melting roads in New Delhi even as temperatures neared 50
degrees Celsius.
Large
parts of India have endured days of scorching heat, prompting fears of power
cuts as energy-guzzling air conditioners work overtime.
It is the
poorest sections of the society that pay a heavy price during such times.
Unable to
stay indoors due to inevitable circumstances, several sections like labourers,
farmers, slum-dwellers and the homeless are forced to endure the baking weather
conditions.
Hundreds
of such people die at the height of summer every year across the country, while
thousands suffer power cuts from an overburdened electricity grid.
India's
power industry is known to be struggling for long to meet rapidly-rising
demand.
There is
growing fear that the hot, dry conditions could plunge the worst-affected
states into drought before monsoon rains arrive.
This climate
phenomenon is not about India alone. It is a global challenge.
Last year
was the warmest since records began in the 19th century and average world
temperatures have already risen by about 0.85C, raising the risk of heat waves,
floods and rising world sea levels as polar ice melts.
Scientists
say much sharper emissions cuts are needed in coming decades to keep global
warming within 2 degrees C of pre-industrial times.
This
calls for a sustained, worldwide shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources
to power homes, cars and industries.
UN
officials had earlier expressed alarm about the high temperatures in vast areas
of the ocean surface, including in the northern hemisphere.
The
Indian authorities need to do more to protect lives. A massive health and
safety awareness campaign should be launched targeting especially those working
outdoors to help them identify the initial symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
People
should also be educated on the importance of adequate hydration. Drinking water
tanks should be provided at the worst-affected areas and medical facilities
should be put in place.
People
need to take their own precautions too. Even a simple act of wearing a cap
while venturing out could go a long way in protecting one from the furnace-like
conditions.
Nobel
laureate’s
not-so-noble
silence
The
entire world knows about the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The
United Nations has called the Rohingya one of the most persecuted groups in the
world. It is in this context that Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s long
silence on the subject is deafening.
It‘s not
that no one is taking note of her stance.
An
international gathering in Oslo to discuss the plight of Rohingya Muslims
boasts a star-studded cast, with three Nobel Peace Prize laureates among those
calling on the world to wake up to the unfolding tragedy. And Suu Kyi is not
among them. She just is not even invited.
Desmond
Tutu, who won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to South Africa's
brutal apartheid regime, explained the situation very well when he stated,
"If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you
are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."
The
Rohingya have faced decades of state-sanctioned discrimination in Myanmar,
which is predominantly Buddhist. In the past three years, Rohingya were
targeted by violent mobs of Buddhist extremists, leaving hundreds dead and
sparking an exodus of more than 120,000 people.
Over the
past several weeks, the world has watched with horror news reports about
hundreds of Rohingya drifting in over-crowded vessels in the Andaman Sea,
half-starved, disease-stricken and dying.
More than
seven boats carrying around 2,600 people are thought to be still at sea,
according to data from UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration.
The
United States has cautioned that the deadly pattern of migration across the Bay
of Bengal would continue unless Myanmar ends discrimination against the
Rohingya, a mostly stateless minority of 1.1 million people who live in
apartheid-like conditions, mostly in the western state of Rakhine.
The
popular daughter of Myanmar's late independence hero, Aung San, seems to share
the "anti-Rohingya" sentiment of much of the population, though she
denies that.
The
treatment of the Rohingya not only violates human rights norms, but complicates
Myanmar’s relations with its neighbours. It is clear that the distinct ethnic
group has been singled out for systematic and most severe forms of
state-directed repression.
Suu Kyi’s
failure so far to sternly denounce religious bigotry in Myanmar raises uneasy
questions about her stature. After all, as Tutu powerfully put it, “If you are
neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Dawn of a
new era
in UAE
space quest
When it
comes to goals and achievements, the UAE always sets its sights high. The
launch of the Strategic Plan for the UAE Space Agency on Monday is aimed at
establishing a new international standing for the nation in the space sector.
As the
country’s space ambitions soar and highly-talented Emiratis are trained to
become leaders in the space sector, a loud and clear message is being sent out
to the world: Emiratis are willing and able to take on any challenge. The sky’s
the limit, literally.
The
launch and placing into orbit of Dubai Sat 1 and Dubai Sat 2 are already among
the remarkable feats. The UAE then decided to enter the space race with a
project to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021 in the Arab World’s
first-ever mission to another planet.
It is not
just that. The UAE Space Agency is also working on the establishment of the
first Space Research Centre in the Middle East.
As His
Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime
Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai noted, “The Hope Probe and the UAE Space
Agency are milestones for the development of the UAE. Building a new space
sector that is integrated and comprehensive is a value-added step for our
national economy, technical knowledge, human capital, and international
reputation.”
Interestingly,
Chairman of the UAE Space Agency Dr Khalifa Mohammed Al Rumaithi has
highlighted that the path to space dates back to 1976, when the late Sheikh
Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan met the NASA team responsible for the Apollo Moon
programme.
That
meeting inspired nearly three decades of efforts guiding the UAE towards space
and will be realised with the arrival the Hope Probe at the red planet in the
coming years.
Money
spent on such projects is hugely worthwhile. As of 2012, space was a $304
billion global sector. These activities included commercial space products and
services and direct-to-home television. Satellite radio and radio programming
are also made available via space assets.
The UAE’s
investments in space technologies already exceed Dhs20 billion. The major
advancements made in the field in such a short span are indeed a great
accomplishment.
The
inspiration undoubtedly comes from the visionary leadership. It was Sheikh
Mohammed who mentioned, “The moment we stop taking on such challenges is the
moment we stop moving forward."
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