Azaranica

Monday, March 28, 2011

Asylum seeker dies at Curtin

ADRIAN BEATTIE, The West Australian March 28, 2011, 6:27 pm

Officials at the Curtin detention centre near Derby are investigating the apparent suicide of an asylum seeker.
An Afghani male, aged about 19 or 20, was found dead about 3pm today.
It is believed he hanged himself.
A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration confirmed that there had been a death and said that detainees and detention centre staff tried to revive the man by administering CPR.
He said that officers from the Western Australia Police would investigate the circumstances of the death. He said the department wished to extend its sympathy to the man's family and friends.
The West Australian understands the asylum seeker was a recent arrival at Curtin and was a member of the Hazara community, an ethnic and religious minority in Afghanistan.
Victoria Martin-Iverson from the Refugee Action Network said: "This is what happens when our Immigration Detention Centres become mental illness factories. This young man is not the first to end his life in this way, having reached the end of his coping mechanism."
Ms Martin-Iverson said that this latest suicide by an asylum seeker was the sixth in seven months within detention centres on the Australian mainland.
New figures from the UN's refugee agency show there was a huge jump in the number of people applying for asylum in Australia last year even though the rest of the Western world saw a decrease in claims.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees said the number of asylum applications in Australia and New Zealand increased by 30 per cent during 2010 from the previous year, while around the world asylum applications fell by 5 per cent.
The large drop was attributed almost entirely to the collapse in asylum applications in southern European countries such as Italy and Greece due to new hard line policies.

Source,

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/9089760/asylum-seeker-dies-at-curtin/

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Building Historical Narratives: The Bamiyan Project to Convene Groundbreaking Conference Focusing on Areas Emerging From Conflict

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At the invitation of The Bamiyan Project, 25 scholars, activists and media personages from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Bosnia will meet in the inspiring setting of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia and Washington, D.C. for a multi-day conference beginning on March 28 and running through March 31, 2011, to begin crafting a new, forward looking, democratic narrative for their respective countries, utilizing the rich material their histories provide and following a template premised on tolerance, inclusiveness and constructive social cohesion.
Invited participants include Honey Al Sayyed, Syria's most popular talk radio personality; Bosnian investigative journalist Esad Hecimovic; Iraqi blogger Karzan; and a group of Afghan and Iraqi scholars, educators, archaeologists and historians.
The Bamiyan Project, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to the support and encouragement of cultural activism to prevent, restore and overcome the threats posed to civilization's achievements by war, conflict and social division.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia, a sponsor of the Narratives Conference, operates the largest living history museum in the world. In Colonial Williamsburg’s 301 - acre Historic Area stand hundreds of restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings. Costumed interpreters tell the stories of the men and women of Williamsburg – black, white, and Native American – during the American Revolution and the challenges they faced in creating a new nation. In this historic place, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation helps the future learn from the past.
For additional information on the conference or to arrange interviews with selected participants, please contact Dr. Cheryl Benard, the President and founder of The Bamiyan Project at (202) 670-7087 or Kristen Cordell at (202) 674-6337.

SOURCE The Bamiyan Project

Thursday, March 24, 2011

NO safety guaranteed for those deported Afghan refugees! by Afghan MPs

School in Hazarajat Afghanistan

Afghans to be deported after bids rejected

Sally Neighbour

From: The Australian

March 25, 2011 12:00AM

DOZENS of failed Afghan asylum-seekers are facing deportation after the federal government persuaded authorities in Kabul to agree to their forced repatriation, despite fears for their safety.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said his department was finalising plans to return a "small caseload" of about 50 people whose claims for refugee status had been rejected.
The Afghans are mostly men and are held on the mainland.
Mr Bowen said his department was "nearing the end of the process" and involuntary repatriations of Afghans would begin "over the coming months".
The move comes despite deep concerns held within the Afghan embassy in Australia about forcing asylum-seekers to return to the country, still embroiled in war and where ethnic Hazaras, who make up the bulk of those seeking asylum, still face persecution.
In January, the Gillard government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Afghan government, allowing for asylum-seekers whose claims had been rejected to be sent home.

But Kabul's envoy to Australia, Amanullah Jayhoon, insisted the deal applied only to voluntary returns. "It is very clear about voluntary readmitting. The word 'force' has not been used in any part of it," Dr Jayhoon said.
However, after further discussions with Kabul, Mr Bowen says the agreement has now been cemented and deportations will begin shortly. "The agreement very clearly allows for involuntary returns," Mr Bowen said.
Dr Jayhoon was not available to comment yesterday.
A diplomatic source said there had been "very little consultation" over the MOU and the Afghan government had been given "very, very little say" in the decision.
"I can't see any reason why the Afghan government would want them back, but they have to say it."
The source said the decision was "very unfortunate" as failed asylum-seekers, particularly Hazaras, could face retribution for having fled their homeland.
"The way they get treated back home in Afghanistan is a disgrace," the source said. "If it's found they tried to escape, they could be killed."
The plan for forced repatriations comes as the government moves to cut the number of asylum-seekers being held in overcrowded, under-staffed immigration detention centres around Australia, following last week's riots and fires at Christmas Island.
Detainee numbers are at a record high after the arrival of 207 boats carrying 10,326 people since the beginning of 2009.
Afghans have been by far the biggest single group, making up 46 per cent of "irregular maritime arrivals" in the past two years.
Until last year, Afghan asylum-seekers enjoyed a success rate as high as 96 per cent, which was one factor that prompted the government to freeze new applications from Afghans and Sri Lankans last April.
The freeze on Afghans was lifted late last year, but their claims are now being rejected at a rate of about 50 per cent because the government argues it is safe for them to return home.
The MOU was endorsed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, but The Australian understands there is concern at high levels within the UNHCR about the agreement.
The chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, Paul Power, says the council has received expert advice that it is still dangerous for ethnic Hazaras to be returned to Afghanistan.
He said the council was concerned a UNHCR offer to undertake "ad hoc monitoring" of returnees would not be sufficient to guarantee their safety.

Source,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/afghans-to-be-deported-after-bids-rejected/story-fn59niix-1226027701488

Fears foreign aid will follow troops out of Afghanistan

Julius Cavendish, Kabul

March 24 2011

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AFGHANS fear aid will dry up when foreign troops are replaced by the country's own forces later this year.
President Hamid Karzai announced on Tuesday that Afghanistan would take responsibility for security in seven areas by the middle of the year, including Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand where British troops are operating.
''The Afghan nation doesn't want the defence of this country to be in the hands of others any more,'' he told hundreds of dignitaries, police and soldiers. ''This is our responsibility to raise our flag with honour and pride.''
Afghan forces are also due to take charge of security in Kabul and Panjshir provinces, Herat city in the west, Mazar-e-Sharif in the north and Mehtar Lam to the east of Kabul as part of the strategy to start bringing NATO troops home.
The choice of Lashkar Gah has raised eyebrows in some quarters, with civilians in the city questioning whether their security forces are ready to take on the Taliban alone.
In Bamian, one of Afghanistan's poorest but more peaceful provinces, there were fears that the departure of foreign troops would also bring an end to aid from overseas.
''Are you sure they are leaving? That's not good. They help people, they make roads, clinics,'' said Mohammad Nazuk Mir Chakaree, a 20-year-old graduate in Bamian, where a contingent from the New Zealand armed forces is based.
Bamian is desperately poor and many people live in caves. Leprosy is not unusual.
The billions of dollars Afghanistan receives in international aid has mainly bypassed Bamian and gone to provinces where the insurgency is stronger. Its people fear the departure of foreign troops will mean even less assistance.
''The worry for all these years has been that the aid goes to the south [even though] places like Dai Kundi and Bamian are poorer,'' said activist Wajma Frogh. ''When the foreigners withdraw [we worry that] we'll get even less support for development. I have met people who have said, 'Maybe they want us to take up arms,' so they get more development money.''
While Afghan forces have grown to an estimated 159,000 troops and 118,000 police, independent analysts such as the International Crisis Group question whether they are strong enough to maintain peace.
In a November report, the group said the Afghan military and police ''remain dangerously fragmented and highly politicised''.

Source,
http://www.smh.com.au/world/fears-foreign-aid-will-follow-troops-out-of-afghanistan-20110323-1c6ov.html

Women suffer with no female doctors in Daikundi

Two years ago, the Ministry of Public Health announced that an Afghan woman dies every 20 minutes in child birth or while pregnant

By Hadi Ghafari

Many women in central Daikundi province are dying unnecessarily because there are no female doctors in any of the districts.

The provincial council has accused the nongovernmental organisation contracted for the last four years to provide health services in Daikundi of not doing its job.

Women suffer with no female doctors in Daikundi

PAN, Mar. 23, 2010: For the province of 380,000 people, there are 15 nurses and midwives, two hospitals, 13 basic healthcare centres, eight public healthcare centres and 15 mobile healthcare centres. There was one female doctor in the main hospital in Nily two years ago, but she is no longer there.

Tahira Muradi, a member of the provincial council, said she had heard of at least 12 women who suffered from pregnancy-related illnesses and because they could not share them with a male doctor, the illness either got worse or the women died. The most common illnesses include uterine inflammation, bleeding and a breached birth.

Five women traveled to Nily city, the provincial capital, seeking treatment, but there was no female surgeon and their families would not let them be seen by a male doctor, she said.

She said the problem existed throughout Daikundi.

For the province of 380,000 people, there are 15 nurses and midwives, two hospitals, 13 basic healthcare centres, eight public healthcare centres and 15 mobile healthcare centres. There was one female doctor in the main hospital in Nily two years ago, but she is no longer there.

The nurses and midwives are based in the district centres, but for women in the villages, this can still be too far. There is no public transport and so many people travel by donkey. Reaching a district centre can take hours, or sometimes a whole day.

Travelling to another province is out of the question as the cost is too high and many of the roads are impassable.

There are no provincial statistics for the number of women dying either in childbirth or from complications relating to their pregnancy.

However, Muradi said anecdotal evidence suggested women either died at home or on the way to the clinic.

Two years ago, the Ministry of Public Health announced that an Afghan woman dies every 20 minutes in child birth or while pregnant. However, they claim that this number has fallen due to improved health services.

Muradi asked the ministry to pay more attention to the health of women.

Hussain Ali Muntazeri, head of the provincial council, said part of the problem was that health services provided by Bakhtar Development Network (BDN), an Afghan non-governmental organisation contracted by the government, are insufficient and of low quality.

Many people say that the clinics run by BDN have no medicine and that its management is involved in corruption. BDN is supervised by the Ministry of Public Health and Muntazeri said they had contacted the ministry to alert them to the complaints of residents.

“If this organisation cannot provide health services for people, then the ministry should give the contract to another organisation,” he said.

Dr. Mohammad Amin, a member of the provincial health department, said it was true that there was a lack of female doctors in the province. Under their contract with the health ministry, BDN is responsible for employing female doctors as well as providing health services, he said.

He said there were many families who would not let their wives be seen by a male doctor due to tradition and custom.

BDN did hire a female doctor for Tajikistan two years ago, but she stayed only one year.

Qurban Ali Uruzgani, the governor of Daikundi, said he asked the ministry to cancel BDN’s contract and give it to someone who can provide health services and employ female doctors.

However, Ghulam Ali Muhibeyar, head of BDN in Daikundi, said the governor and other officials were entitled to their personal opinions. However, he insisted BDN was making efforts to solve the health problems of people in Daikundi.

Muhibeyar did not answer a question about why his company has not hired more female doctors.

Last year, BDN officials said the problem was that female doctors were not prepared to work in the remote province of Daikundi for the low salary offered to them.

Two years ago Raihana Azad, a member of the provincial council, raised the issue of the province’s health problems with Kai Eide, then the UN’s representative to Afghanistan. She said that many surgeries were taking place in rooms lit with hurricane or hand-held lights. Nothing was done about the situation.

Suraya Dalil, the acting minister of public health, has said that within the next five years 95 percent of Afghans will have access to health services, that the mortality rate of mothers and infants will decrease 50 percent and that 450 new healthcare centres will be built throughout Afghanistan.

She did not specify how Daikundi’s health services would improve.