Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

Country

United States of AmericaUS Virgin IslandsUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsCanadaMexico, United Mexican StatesBahamas, Commonwealth of theCuba, Republic ofDominican RepublicHaiti, Republic ofJamaicaAfghanistanAlbania, People's Socialist Republic ofAlgeria, People's Democratic Republic ofAmerican SamoaAndorra, Principality ofAngola, Republic ofAnguillaAntarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S)Antigua and BarbudaArgentina, Argentine RepublicArmeniaArubaAustralia, Commonwealth ofAustria, Republic ofAzerbaijan, Republic ofBahrain, Kingdom ofBangladesh, People's Republic ofBarbadosBelarusBelgium, Kingdom ofBelizeBenin, People's Republic ofBermudaBhutan, Kingdom ofBolivia, Republic ofBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana, Republic ofBouvet Island (Bouvetoya)Brazil, Federative Republic ofBritish Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago)British Virgin IslandsBrunei DarussalamBulgaria, People's Republic ofBurkina FasoBurundi, Republic ofCambodia, Kingdom ofCameroon, United Republic ofCape Verde, Republic ofCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChad, Republic ofChile, Republic ofChina, People's Republic ofChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombia, Republic ofComoros, Union of theCongo, Democratic Republic ofCongo, People's Republic ofCook IslandsCosta Rica, Republic ofCote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of theCyprus, Republic ofCzech RepublicDenmark, Kingdom ofDjibouti, Republic ofDominica, Commonwealth ofEcuador, Republic ofEgypt, Arab Republic ofEl Salvador, Republic ofEquatorial Guinea, Republic ofEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaeroe IslandsFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Fiji, Republic of the Fiji IslandsFinland, Republic ofFrance, French RepublicFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabon, Gabonese RepublicGambia, Republic of theGeorgiaGermanyGhana, Republic ofGibraltarGreece, Hellenic RepublicGreenlandGrenadaGuadaloupeGuamGuatemala, Republic ofGuinea, RevolutionaryPeople's Rep'c ofGuinea-Bissau, Republic ofGuyana, Republic ofHeard and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)Honduras, Republic ofHong Kong, Special Administrative Region of ChinaHrvatska (Croatia)Hungary, Hungarian People's RepublicIceland, Republic ofIndia, Republic ofIndonesia, Republic ofIran, Islamic Republic ofIraq, Republic ofIrelandIsrael, State ofItaly, Italian RepublicJapanJordan, Hashemite Kingdom ofKazakhstan, Republic ofKenya, Republic ofKiribati, Republic ofKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwait, State ofKyrgyz RepublicLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanon, Lebanese RepublicLesotho, Kingdom ofLiberia, Republic ofLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtenstein, Principality ofLithuaniaLuxembourg, Grand Duchy ofMacao, Special Administrative Region of ChinaMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascar, Republic ofMalawi, Republic ofMalaysiaMaldives, Republic ofMali, Republic ofMalta, Republic ofMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritania, Islamic Republic ofMauritiusMayotteMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonaco, Principality ofMongolia, Mongolian People's RepublicMontserratMorocco, Kingdom ofMozambique, People's Republic ofMyanmarNamibiaNauru, Republic ofNepal, Kingdom ofNetherlands AntillesNetherlands, Kingdom of theNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaragua, Republic ofNiger, Republic of theNigeria, Federal Republic ofNiue, Republic ofNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorway, Kingdom ofOman, Sultanate ofPakistan, Islamic Republic ofPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanama, Republic ofPapua New GuineaParaguay, Republic ofPeru, Republic ofPhilippines, Republic of thePitcairn IslandPoland, Polish People's RepublicPortugal, Portuguese RepublicPuerto RicoQatar, State ofReunionRomania, Socialist Republic ofRussian FederationRwanda, Rwandese RepublicSamoa, Independent State ofSan Marino, Republic ofSao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic ofSaudi Arabia, Kingdom ofSenegal, Republic ofSerbia and MontenegroSeychelles, Republic ofSierra Leone, Republic ofSingapore, Republic ofSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomalia, Somali RepublicSouth Africa, Republic ofSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSpain, Spanish StateSri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic ofSt. HelenaSt. Kitts and NevisSt. LuciaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudan, Democratic Republic of theSuriname, Republic ofSvalbard & Jan Mayen IslandsSwaziland, Kingdom ofSweden, Kingdom ofSwitzerland, Swiss ConfederationSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailand, Kingdom ofTimor-Leste, Democratic Republic ofTogo, Togolese RepublicTokelau (Tokelau Islands)Tonga, Kingdom ofTrinidad and Tobago, Republic ofTunisia, Republic ofTurkey, Republic ofTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUganda, Republic ofUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Kingdom of Great Britain & N. IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

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Hanoverton United controls the action and East Palestine in affair - Richland Source

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

"I am pleased that Ireland, through this donation of vaccines, is able to show solidarity with the people of Uganda, to help protect them from COVID-19. Its only by acting together as a global community that we can each be safe from this awful virus. Reducing the impact of the pandemic will help protect hard won gains in the fight against poverty and inequality, gains in which Irish Aid has been proud to help achieve. That is why, in addition to the donation today, Ireland has also committed to share another 1 million vaccine doses in the coming months, with more next year. These donations will be through the global COVAX facility, so that they reach those who need them most. In addition and through the Irish Aid budget, I have committed 7million to COVAX this year, which will also help accelerate vaccination efforts in low and middle income countries."

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Minister for Health and Minister for International Development and Diaspora announce donation of over 335000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Uganda - Gov.ie

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

Speaker of the NPP Youth Diaspora, Kwadjo Owusu Afriyie

Speaker of the NPP Youth Diaspora, Kwadjo Owusu Afriyie, has said that the election of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives will deepen democracy and accountability in the local government.

Kwadjo Owusu Afriyie, therefore, described appointing MMDCES as undemocratic, adding that the process in which MMDCEs were superimposed on the assembly is not the best way to go.

He said when they are chosen by the locals, activities at the local level would be regulated and appointees would be answerable to the people. He said the election of the MMDCEs would also spur them to work very hard since anything short of development would let them lose their jobs in four years time.

In an interview with newsmen on Tuesday, September 29, 2021, Mr. Owusu Afriyie appealed to the assembly members to approve the nominees as we see to correct our mistakes on appointments.

According to him if MMDCEs are elected would give the electorates the opportunity to elect a competent, hardworking, and God-fearing candidate of their choice to enhance good governance.

Ghana has implemented the current decentralization and local government system where MMDCEs are appointed by the President and endorsed by Assembly Members since 1988.

Though significant progress has been made critics say there are a few grey areas that require improvement for participatory governance and local democracy to be deepened.

One of such grey area according to critics of the system is the need to popularly elect MMDCEs on partisan basis to be in tandem with the mode of electing national-level leaders.

The NPP Youth Diaspora Speaker noted that international best practice aimed at deepening local democracy through popular participation in governance should be chosen by the local people," adding that "allowing citizens to popularly elect their own mayors, as well as local chairpersons, has been long overdue hence locals should be given the opportunity to elect their own leaders on the ground."

Mr. Owusu Afriyie added that almost all the MMDCES allegedly pay bribes to be approved or confirmed by the Assembly Members thereby making the appointees susceptible to corruption.

He indicated that, when MMDCEs are chosen by the locals, activities at the local level are regulated and it makes appointees more answerable to the people.

He added that the practice has been adopted by many countries like Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, and the Gambia and is considered as an international best practice aimed at deepening local democracy through popular participation in governance.

He cited the recent approvals and rejections of some MMDCEs that could've been averted if we agreed to vote them.

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Election of MMDCEs will deepen Ghana's democratic process NPP Diaspora - GhanaWeb

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

In the diaspora, we live a dual identity existence. It is the hyphenated reality. In this country, we enjoy the freedom of the benchmark democracy of the modern world and have built a strong sustainable national heritage presence. The first 70 years of our post-genocide life was about building infrastructure and making the generational transfer from the survivors to those born in the diaspora. Since the independence of Armenia in 1991 and essentially since the earthquake in 1988, the diaspora has embraced an additional responsibility of assisting in the nation building process of a young democracy in Armenia after decades of oppression.

Life within the US diaspora is constantly full of challenges. We use convenient terms such as diaspora, but the existence and maintenance of the institution are complex and dependent on the continuous commitment of those who define it. At the core of these concerns is the ability to sustain what has been built for multiple generations. Parents worry about their children retaining their heritage; institutions are concerned about sustainability along with other threatening factors. Sociologists maintain that ethnic identity diminishes in a dispersed state after the first native born generation, beginning with the reduced use of the mother tongue and limited attraction to the infrastructural institutions such as the church and cultural groups. Armenians seem to have defied this logic with the fourth and fifth generations born on these shores. Certainly our clannish nature has been a contributor as Armenians almost obsessively look for each other wherever they settle. Another factor has been the continuous pattern of immigration that replenishes the depleted ranks due to assimilation. The migration of Armenians from Egypt in the late 50s and 60s and Lebanon and Syria in the late 60s and 70s provided the American Armenian community with a boost in active participants who filled many needs in the linguistic, cultural and political domains. This has hidden some of the obvious impact of second, third and fourth generations born in America. The last 20 years have seen immigrants from Baku and Armenia bring reinforcements to these shores. A third factor has certainly been the presence of a centralized institution such as the church that has provided access and diverse programming. These are some of the Armenian factors in our American-based life that have provided sustenance to our communities and identity. As a hyphenated community, we are also subject to the societal risks in our places of residence.

Regardless of the demographic makeup of the community in America (particularly in the eastern regions), our people live their lives in an American and Armenian reality. Unlike the west coast (especially Los Angeles), a small percentage of Armenian children in the eastern region attend Armenian day schools. The vast majority of families send their children to the public schools, or perhaps American private schools, and live in communities sparsely populated by Armenians. The Armenian life is a Friday-Sunday existence. This is when AYF meetings, ACYOA meetings, church services and Armenian family life take place. Of course, there are exceptions, but generally most of the pertinent activity is in the weekend window. It has been this way for years and, if anything, has become more challenging.

I grew up in a small town with no Armenians and was an American kid during the week. On Friday, we morphed into Armenians as activities flourished and family gatherings were plentiful. There were fewer time conflicts, but our parents made our faith and heritage a priority. On Monday, the reverse would take place. Our non-Armenian friends knew they we were rarely available on weekends as it was Armenian time. It worked well primarily because life was more simple back then, but the decision to participate still resided in the family. The alternatives were limited. Since that time, we have become more dispersed. Affluence and fear have driven Armenians further away from their traditional cultural centers. We may have lived in a town with no Armenians, but we were five to ten minutes from the church. Today, many travel 30 to 60 minutes, or they dont make the trip at all. This requires our community to adopt new approaches to outreach, or we will accelerate assimilation. This has been the subject of past columns and will continue to be a central theme.

Lets take a closer look at how lifestyles have changed for the typical American Armenian family. Two generations ago, most couples married in their early 20s, and children came shortly thereafter. Today, it is clear that with undergraduate education assumed and advanced degrees common, settling in life happens much later, typically in their 30s. With their personal lives maturing at a different rate, participating in Armenian community life takes on a different curve also. Most of the younger people that I have met are bright, educated and innovative but not typically joiners of organizations. There are a few core reasons. One frequently mentioned and again the subject of continuing dialogue is their identity with these legacy organizations. The organizations that are making the generational transfer have either managed to reinvent themselves for this generation without compromising their mission or establish entirely new groups that fit the social/flexible lifestyle of this generation. The AGBU YP and Armenian network groups are examples that have appeal. Legacy groups like the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) have also had success with smart recruiting. Others such as Homenetmen connect with immigrant families who identify with their previous locations.

Another contributor which is more problematic is the impact on the American family in todays society. Face to face communication has been replaced by technology because it serves our craving for more efficiency. There was a time not too long ago when families sat at a table together for dinner. They didnt simply satisfy their hunger, but also shared what was going on in their lives. Some call it bonding. It was an integral part of the family culture. This rarely happens today, because schedules are so overloaded that common time is a rarity. In fact, we have designed shared meals today out of our kitchens with the introduction of the island and peninsula that operate more like a diner counter with your parents as the short order cook. Many young people today use their phones primarily for non-verbal communication such as texting, social media and surfing the internet. Refrigerator doors have become more than a climate barrier to your food. They are a bulletin board of your life. Free time is considered wasteful, and we wonder why anxiety and stress are problematic.

Is there any time left for God and our heritage?

There is no doubt that parenting is more challenging and far more complicated. Parents are more involved in the educational system. Peer pressure is significant and constant. Time is in short supply, and exhaustion is common. Despite our sociological changes, the basic role of parents to prepare their children for the future remains intact. We must acknowledge that we cannot decouple these behavioral lifestyle choices from the impact on participation in the Armenian community. With the complexity of our lives, our choices are forced into short term horizons. Is there any time left for God and our heritage? By the time the weekend arrives, families work to get caught up. Between entering family life later and the incredible density of commitments, community participation takes an unintended backseat. What is the long term impact of this dilemma? The most damaging aspect of this challenge is that we are not addressing it as a community. A serious discussion about the choices we make and collective support would make us all stronger and more effective. There is no avoiding it. If we choose to ignore the issues, we will continue to be a communal victim. Immigration is also not a cure. The children of immigrants from Armenia or the Middle East are generationally comparable to my fathers generationthe first born in this country from the survivors. As the generations continued, the impact of the American lifestyle has taken effect. The same will happen with successive generations of more recent arrivals. They simply are operating in a different window. The exceptions are those who are strong enough to do it all or have made conscious decisions to prioritize their faith and heritage. This is the core cause of why we see less students in our Sunday Schools and wide variations in attendance week to week. Choices!

Is it possible that our faith and heritage are simply not important to a growing segment of our community in the diaspora? If that is true, then we are failing. Leadership is required, but this week we are talking about the other side of the equation: the choices we make as parents. How can we help our friends, relatives and siblings make the right choices? We shouldnt patronize those we care about; instead, we should have difficult discussions that will make their lives happier. That is respect and love.

One question I ask myself constantly is how do we convince people in their prime parenting years to be concerned about their legacy and impact? When you are older or become grandparents, we all think about the next generation and what we are leaving behind. This applies to family life but also to community life. Who thinks about their legacy when they are 40? Not many people I suspect, but that is when you have the greatest impact on your most significant gift to the futureyour children. We all make mistakes parenting. It is the classic earn while you learn job. When my children were of youth sports age, I was active as a coach. One year, the leagues (basketball and baseball) faced a shortage of facilities and an increase of players. The leagues proposed Sunday morning games. I was deeply committed to the sports, but they had crossed a red line with me. I informed them that my son and I would not participate in any games Sunday morning. It was not one of my most popular comments. After vigorous debate and a few awkward moments, they found a solution by scheduling later in the day to avoid the Sunday morning. The league committed to no games before 2 pm. Our son developing a relationship with God and the Armenian church was of paramount importance. There were a few things I didnt handle well, but thats one that I am convinced made a difference in the life of our now married father of two next generation American Armenians. We always need to keep what is important in front of us. But how do we know what is important? This is where friendships and communal interaction can be beneficial. We cant go through this alone. The overload feeling we fall into is not success. Make the choices with balance based on what is in the long term interests of your childs development and your families happiness.

Stepan was raised in the Armenian community of Indian Orchard, MA at the St. Gregory Parish. A former member of the AYF Central Executive and the Eastern Prelacy Executive Council, he also served many years as a delegate to the Eastern Diocesan Assembly. Currently , he serves as a member of the board and executive committee of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). He also serves on the board of the Armenian Heritage Foundation. Stepan is a retired executive in the computer storage industry and resides in the Boston area with his wife Susan. He has spent many years as a volunteer teacher of Armenian history and contemporary issues to the young generation and adults at schools, camps and churches. His interests include the Armenian diaspora, Armenia, sports and reading.

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American Armenian Lifestyle Dilemma: Choices and Overload - Armenian Weekly

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

By Lukman Olabiyi

Coalition of Yoruba groups in diaspora under the auspices of , Yoruba One Voice (YOV) has declared that there is no going back on agitation for session due to approaching of President Muhammadu Buhari on his alleged agenda to suppress other regions in order to favour the Northern region.

The coalition stated that the Buhari-led administration has succeeded in spreading pain, misery, heightened insecurity, and continued asset-stripping of the economies of Southern states, in favour of the moribund economies of the Northern States.

YOV made this known in a speech delivered by its Secretary General, Dr. Sina Okanlomo, in commemoration of the one year anniversary of the groups global rally to seek the actualisation of the Yoruba nation.

Okanlomo dismissed the October 1 national broadcast by Buhari,saying the two major highlights of the administration successes were the inhumane kidnapping and torture of Nnamdi Kanu and his illegal and forceful removal from Kenya to Nigeria, as well as the brutal and uncivil invasion of the premises of Chief Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Sunday Igboho, where several lives and property were lost, thus culminating in the exit of the Yoruba Nation activist to the Republic of Benin where he has remained incarcerated ever since.

Between October of last year and now, nothing positive has come out of the Buhari-led administration. Upuntil now, national wealth is still being diverted in obscene ways to cater for the needs of the Fulani in foreign countries, where petroleum refineries, railroads and other developmental infrastructure built with Nigerian money have become the norm. All these were done without recourse to national security, other than the evil plan to relocate national wealth for selfish use.

The Fulani-led administration has become emboldened in its utter and disgraceful disregard for human rights and international law. As major sponsors of illegal kidnappings, banditry and Boko Haram, they continue to employ state resources in the maiming, kidnapping and killing of opposition elements

We must rise against any form of coercion regarding economic or social enslavement. We must collectively and roundly denounce the e-Naira project. It is nothing more than stealth to capture diaspora money, as well as act as a conduit for illegal data mining designed to aggregate personal data for selfish use. We must, be particularly reminded of the trade-offs between International Data Protection Regulations and free for all systems where guarantees to privacy laws are practically non -existent. In other words, adoption of the e-Naira will provide a much easier route for Fulani colonialists to dip their dirty hands into your money, divest you of your financial assets at will and siphon same for the development of Fulani communities in neighbouring African countries, Okanlomo said.

The YOV scribe,however, applauded the patriotic spirit of the Yoruba nation agitators, saying such efforts would not go unnoticed.

He said: You have shown through peaceful means rallies, debates, diplomacy and cross-cultural networking, that you are unprepared to continue to accept the second class citizenry toga that was unduly bestowed upon each ethnic group other than the Fulani since independence. With one undiluted voice, you matched to the United Nations to demand a referendum to give effect to our joint aspiration of a Yoruba Nation. Brothers and sisters, your efforts have not gone unnoticed and your actions have not gone in vain.

As we gather today proudly, I wish to remind our brothers and sisters that we still have steeper hills to climb on our journey towards the promised land. We must move forward unapologetically, with the belief and conviction that victory is near. We must realise, that the fight in which we find ourselves is a fight for the souls of generations unborn

We are the only ones who will decide whether the future generation generation is born into servitude and slavery or born into freedom and prosperity. Let us, through our voices,say no to injustice, and grab culture. Let us continue to demand at every turn, nothing less than A Yoruba Nation.

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No going back on agitation for secession - Coalition of Yoruba groups in diaspora The Sun Nigeria - Daily Sun

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

Sri Lanka and the UK have discussed relations with the Tamil diaspora based in the UK.

The focus on the diaspora comes after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had said recently that he is willing to have talks with the Tamil diaspora.

Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris and British Minister of State for South Asia, United Nations and the Commonwealth Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon had discussions at the Sri Lanka Mission in New York.

The Ministers discussed a wide range of issues including trade, investment opportunities available in the Port City and elsewhere, resumption of tourism, and matters relating to development and reconciliation with particular reference to relations with the diaspora.

Minister Peiris briefed Lord Ahmad in detail about the substantial progress on the ground in a variety of sectors by domestic institutions, despite constraints imposed by the Covid pandemic.

Lord Ahmad accepted with pleasure the invitation by Minister Peiris to visit Sri Lanka at his early convenience. (Colombo Gazette)

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Sri Lanka and UK discuss relations with the diaspora - Colombo Gazette

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

This summer, Bahar Jalali watched anxiously as the United States withdrew its military from Afghanistan and the Taliban began to reassert control over the country. Women were told to stay home and to cover themselves an early indicator that other rights, protections and services for women would soon be eliminated, including, this week, the right to attend Kabul University.

Ms. Jalali, a visiting associate professor at Loyola University Maryland, is a member of the Afghan diaspora born in Kabul, raised in the United States, but connected still to her home country, where she returned in 2009 to teach at the American University of Afghanistan. She left again in 2016 after surviving a violent attack at the university by the Taliban.

When reports surfaced this summer that, with the Taliban takeover, Afghan women were shredding their education degrees and that safe houses for women were closing their doors, she was distraught.

Then, on Sept. 11, she saw images of hundreds of women in Kabul wearing all black in full veils and long robes in a pro-Taliban demonstration. (The timing of the demonstration on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks along with the presence of Taliban fighters and official Taliban statements released afterward suggest that the demonstration was organized by the Taliban.)

It confirmed my fears that our culture, our heritage is coming under attack, Ms. Jalali, 46, said in a phone interview. One of the biggest concerns that I have, now that the Taliban are back in power, is Afghan sovereignty, Afghan identity, Afghan culture, Afghan heritage. Even before the Taliban came to power, 43 years of war really transformed our culture to the point where very important aspects of it are lost.

Compelled to speak out, she tweeted a photo of herself from 2005, wearing an emerald green dress with delicate embroidery a traditional outfit that she wore for her first wedding. This is Afghan culture, she wrote in the caption.

The tweet went viral, and soon, women across the world started sharing photos of themselves in their own traditional Afghan clothing, often with the hashtag #DoNotTouchMyClothes.

Ms. Jalali shared another photo, of her as a teenager in the United States in the 1990s, wearing a blue-and-gold Afghan kuchi, a dress that the nomads of Afghanistan wore, she said. Kuchi women wear this dress on a daily basis. It is their everyday attire.

Ms. Jalali wasnt expecting her tweets to go viral, but she now hopes that the hashtag can teach the world more about Afghan culture. Im just hoping that the world will see through these dresses that the real Afghan culture is colorful and vibrant and alive and animated and really meant to celebrate life, she said.

Zarifa Ghafari, an activist who became one of Afghanistans first female mayors at age 26 in 2019 and had to flee the country in August, shared a photo on Twitter of the vibrant Afghan clothing she wore earlier this month for the Geneva PeaceTalks. With my traditional colorful dress and a powerful msg from every part of my country representing Afghanistan in particular Afghan women at #GenevaPeaceTalks, she wrote.

It is important to create awareness and to show the true colors of women in Afghanistan, Ms. Ghafari wrote later, in an emailed statement. Taliban are trying to erase womens presence erase them from the walls, from the streets, from schools, from work, from government.

We are so much more than a dress, an outfit, she wrote. But my mother, grand-mother and older generations have worn similar dresses with bright colors. This is our beautiful heritage, our rich culture, our joy of life.

Sophia Moruwat, 25, a dialogue coordinator in Norway who lived in Afghanistan until 2002, also participated. This is how Afghan women dress, she wrote in a tweet accompanying a photo of herself in a bright yellow Afghan kuchi and handmade jewelry, fashioned from melted glass and coins.

In an interview, Ms. Moruwat noted that the term for Afghan traditional clothing is gand.

My gand is my Afghan identity, she said. Its one thing among many that symbolizes being an Afghan. My gand is what has had me stay connected to my country and my culture the past 20 years weve been away from our homeland.

Who are the Taliban? The Taliban arose in 1994 amid the turmoil that came after the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including floggings, amputations and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Heres more on their origin story and their record as rulers.

Who are the Taliban leaders? These arethe top leaders of the Taliban, men who have spent years on the run, in hiding, in jail and dodging American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to govern, including whether they will be as tolerant as they claim to be. One spokesman told The Timesthat the group wanted to forget its past, but that there would be some restrictions.

Ms. Moruwat said that her own memories, flashbacks and encounters with these terrorists is what made her want to take a stand, adding that her sister was forced into marriage at age 13 and couldnt pursue an education or a career. After years of struggle and oppression, Ms. Moruwats sister was finally able to pursue an education and get a university degree, Ms. Moruwat said.

Seeing the image of women covered from head to toe brought a fire to the already existing fear within me, Ms. Moruwat said. This was a step towards erasing women from society once again.

In the 1990s, during the first Taliban rule, Afghan womens access to education, work and health care were severely restricted. Burqa coverings were mandatory, women werent allowed to be seen in public without men, and almost all female education was banned.

Since the Taliban seized power in August, they have tried to appear more flexible. Still, while schools have reopened for male students, a date for the return of female students has not been announced. In addition to requiring that women wear a hijab in schools, female students will not be allowed to study alongside male students, the Talibans higher education minister, Abdul Baqi Haqqani, announced earlier this month.

Its alarming to me because I feel like women will no longer have a role in society, and wed lose all the progress weve made over the last 20 years since we took back control from the Taliban, said Marjan Yahia, 28, who was born in Kabul and moved to Canada when she was 6.

Ms. Yahia, now a part-time makeup artist and student in Virginia, also joined the social media campaign with an Instagram post that showed her wearing an ornate kuchi with coins and mirrors sewn into it.

It was a gift from her father, who bought it for her during a visit to Afghanistan, Ms. Yahia said. The dress is special to me because it symbolizes freedom, she said. Before the Taliban took rule in Afghanistan, women had the freedom to express themselves through clothing, and its sad to see the freedom be taken away from them.

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#DoNotTouchMyClothes: Afghan Women Protest Taliban Restrictions on Rights - The New York Times

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

Sylvia del Villard dancing

Stories like Sylvia del Villard's journey from Puerto Rico's capital of San Juan to the segregated South in the 1950's are not too common. So it fits that during Afro-Latino awareness month from September 15 to October 15 light is shed on Villard's story.

"The experience she had in Tennessee made a big impact on her and made her realize the value of Black Culture," Artist, Oxil Febles said.

Villard (1928-1990) took a chance to study in the South, in the midst of Brown v Board of Education, and before a 6-year-old Ruby Bridges would be chastised for daring to get educated. Villard was born and raised in Puerto Rico and moved to study sociology and anthropology in Tennessee at the HBU of Fisk University.

"Her mission was to include African history, not as an oddity, not as exotica but as an integral part of what it is to be Puerto Rican," said Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, President, and Founder of Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute.

It was very uncommon for Latinos to migrate to non-coastal states during the first half of the 20th century. So uncommon in fact, according to Latinx, there were fewer than 6,000 Latinos in Tennessee despite a population of more than three million in 1950.

Of that small population, there was not a census on Puerto Ricans, a US commonwealth in Tennessee or in Missouri until around 1960. The census showed in 1960, 300 Puerto Ricans in Tennessee and 1,200 in Missouri, which is significantly less than one percent of both states' population.

Sylvia del Villard

Villard though initially disturbed by the South's flagrant racism, this same experience later empowered and fueled her.

"In Puerto Rico, racism existed there just as it did it the mainland US, Moreno Vega said.

Villard would become well-known in Puerto Rico primarily for Afro-Boricua Ballet where she would dance to Afro-Antillean and Negro Spirituals. Villard danced in Puerto Rico for Compaa Asociacin Latinoamericana de Cultura. She performed inValley Without Echo, inPalesiana y Aquelarre,Palesanisima,Witches of Salem,The Boy Friend,The Crucible, andKwamina.

Villard also acted inLos Traidores de San ngel,The Time We Lost, andLife of Sin.

"Many Puerto Rican people said what she was performing was not Puerto Rican," Moreno Vega said.

She explained Villard pushed diversity and the African culture to the fore-front of entertainment at a time when eurocentrism was predominant.

After Villard left the South because of the racism she completed her studies in Puerto Rico then moved to New York, where she became an actress, dancer, and choreographer, embracing and incorporating her African roots in her work and art.

"She was our Angela Davis," Moreno Vega said. "The Black movement of the late 60s was something she took to Puerto Rico."

Villard encouraged and inspired Afro-Latinos to embrace their African heritage.

Later Villard founded the Afro-Boricua El Coqui Theater in 1968 in Puerto Rico, a milestone and became an important aspect of Black Puerto Rican culture.

She did not shy away from using her voice either and was arguably ahead of her time publicly condemning blackface in the 1970s. She took a stance and faced backlash from the Puerto Rican television industry when she called out actress Angela Mayer's 1974 film featuring blackface. Villard went as far as to publicly call the blackface repulsive and said Blacks are "tired" of it.

Sylvia del Villard performing

Moreno Vega shared Villard's legacy on Black representation.

"There were no Black studies in Puerto Rico," Moreno Vega said. "She was a pioneer; she walked that reality, talked that reality and she performed that reality. Her intent was to provide a lesson on the journey of African descendants."

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Trailblazing Afro-Latina empowered by the South's racism changed Black representation on her Island - St. Louis American

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

Dear President Joe Biden and Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal,

I am writing to you as a Tunisian American to call your attention to the fact that a significant segments of the Tunisian diaspora in the United States, are fearful of the political influence garnered by the Tunisian Ennahda Islamist party over your administration.

We are very concerned by the influence of Ennahda party on your administrations perception of recent events in Tunisia, and for not holding the Islamist party responsible for the catastrophic economic, financial, and sanitary situation of Tunisia after more than a decade of their rule. A situation that has enticed the Tunisian president, elected with 72% of the votes, to take steps to attempt to put an end to an era of a corrupt political class that turned the new democratic process into a failed state. For these reasons, I am writing to you about recent media stories by the Ennahda Party via opinion pieces written by their leader Cheikh Gannouchi and others in several outlets, and the lobbying activities of Washington based think tanks.

I can assure all of you that the media reports on recent events in Tunisia are very biased in favor of the Islamists party Ennahda. These reports fail to point out that the Ennahda leaders have held power since 2011, after the Arab Spring revolution in Tunisia that instituted a democratic system, but have failed on all fronts, and refuse to take responsibility for their actions. Their ten-year-rule was characterized by incompetence and poor governance, and by an increase in insecurity, nepotism, and corruption, as well as by the lack of any coherent vision for the economic development of Tunisia, which was just a decade ago an emerging economy, but is now relegated into a lower-middle income economy.

I must stress that our community of Tunisian American professionals have an intimate knowledge of what has been going on in Tunisia for the last ten years. The ruling Ennahda party has wasted billions of dollars borrowed from the IMF and other institutions without addressing any of the socioeconomic ills that drove the Arab Spring uprisings, rather they have only exacerbated them.

On July 25 after ten years of failures on all fronts, political turmoil, terrorism, rampant corruption, weak rule of law, high crime, increased violence against women, political assassinations, nepotism, incompetence, national bankruptcy, economic collapse, highest COVID-19 death rate in Africa, healthcare system collapse, and the lack of any vision for the development of the country Tunisian President Kais Saied decided to put an end to the countrys descent into further political, economic and sanitary turmoil.

The presidents intervention to temporarily freeze the parliament and dismiss the government according to the terms of the constitution, have saved the country and the region from instability, violence and even civil war. This intervention was supported by more than 87% of Tunisians because it is perceived as an attempt to put an end to the rule of a corrupt political class that turned the new hard-fought democratic state in Tunisia into a mafia state, with Ennahdas consent, if not complicity.

We know that the administration is being lobbied by various entities, including some mainstream think tanks in Washington D.C. and other Islamist sympathizers to intervene in Tunisian political affairs on the side of the Islamist party Ennahda. However, given its history and ideology, Ennahdas continued rule will only bring chaos and instability not only to Tunisia, but the whole region.

We urge you to reach out to others on the political scene in Tunisia, where the majority of Tunisians share Americas ideals of secular republicanism, liberty and equality. We urge you to limit the influence of the Tunisian Islamists and their allies on your future policies toward Tunisia.

Tarek Abichou, Ph.D., P.E. is a Professor of civil engineering at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL.

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Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

The U.S.-Israeli bond is a flexible and wide bridge. Many lanes permit a variety of exchanges in both directions. At the most general are shared cultural and moral concerns; more narrowly there are security and economic issues. But while Israelis have embraced American pop culture and like to build economic and cultural connections, American history and politics are lost on most, especially American political trends. This can be damaging.

It is ironic and sad that most Israelis still do not fully appreciate the American side of the Zionist enterprise, going back to the days of Louis Brandeis, Henrietta Szold, Stephen Wise, and Golda Myerson, to Colonel David Daniel Mickey Marcus and Eddie Jacobson, I.L Kenen, the United Jewish Appeal, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and the Soviet Jewry movement, all of whose contributions are still visible in Israel today.

The same pertains to Israeli leaders. Evenbefore Naftali Bennett became Israeli prime minister, now Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid has been arguing that Benjamin Netanyahu destroyed bipartisan U.S. support for Israel. In June during a meeting in Italy, Lapid told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that during the Netanyahu years, mistakes were made.

With the attempt to remove support for the Iron Dome missile defense system from the U.S. Congress budget bill, even more Israeli officials, speaking to Axios, anonymously blamed the development on Netanyahu. No evidence in support of this allegation was offered. Apparently, there is a straight line from Netanyahus divisive speech to the U.S. Congress in 2015 to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and the Squad opposing funding for the Iron Dome system, which was then approved by a vote of 420-9.

Still, Israels Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai has called for a long-term fix in Israels ties with the Democratic Party, stating, Long-term developments in the US are changing the Democratic Party and strengthening the progressive and anti-Israel axis Shai went on to slam Netanyahu over his opposition to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The Bennett administration believes that everything Netanyahu did was wrong and is happy to use Netanyahu as a fig leaf for centrist Democrats opposing the progressives. But it is nave to argue that Netanyahu is what eroded U.S. bipartisan support for Israel.

What Lapid and many others have apparently not understood is the shift in American politics that has seen the rise of the far Left, which has taken control in numerous cities from San Francisco to Portland to Minneapolis, and which is represented in the Congress by the Squad and dozens of other ideologically aligned representatives.

The Democratic National Committees late decision to back Joe Biden was an attempt by the mainstream Democratic establishment to undercut the strong progressive wing of the party led by Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) while retaining control. This was quickly squandered over a number of issues, not least of all Israel, giving the Squad the upper hand in a closely divided Congress. Only the senior leadership, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), remains familiar in the old terms of an unshakeable commitment to Israel, even though they have lost the spotlight to the progressives and to figures around Biden who continually move his policies to the left. With the mid-terms now thirteen months away, disastrous poll numbers for the party and for Biden himself, and economic forecasts being revised downwards, pressure is increasing from the Left.

In spite of all the problemsan open southern border, lowering economic forecasts, and plummeting popularitypressure on Israel remains a key progressive policy. In part, this reflects the influence of the progressives true godfather, Barack Obama.

Tough love was the message thatBarack Obamahas been selling around since his talk in Jerusalem in 2013. In his speech during Jewish American Heritage Month at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington in 2016 hestated:

Its precisely because, yes, I have high expectations for Israel the same way I have high expectations for the United States of America -- that I feel a responsibility to speak out honestly about what I think will lead to long-term security and to the preservation of a true democracy in the Jewish homeland.

These messages have carried over into the Biden administration but have now evolved thanks to the progressives and their campus-influenced worldview. Israel (like the United States) was born from sin and the world would be better off without it. Pending that, the U.S.-Israel relationship should be dramatically downgraded. Netanyahus courtship of Republicans and Donald Trump was unhelpful, but it was Obama who set the U.S.-Israeli relationship on a downward trajectory.

The Democratic generation gap is palpable; old-timers like Schumer and Nancy are genuinely pro-Israel, while the young guardexemplified by Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)is not. Indeed, they may exemplify the new Democratic Party more than anything, where far-left identity politics meets demographic shifts, socialist economics, and obsessive hatred of Israel. Tlaib and Omar also espouse a conspiratorial mindset and a willingness to consort with Islamists who support Hamas and Hezbollah.

But the debate over Israel also reveals something about America itself. The very fact that there is a debatewith progressive Democrats at the firing, older Democrats perplexed, and Republicans are competing to see who can go further in defending Israelreflects the oversized place that Israel has in American political and cultural life. This is not the result of nefarious Jewish power but is genuinely rooted in the American experience. It might not be healthy.

Former Israeli ambassador to the United States, American-born Michael Oren, was right when he wrote about the Obama years,

After a half decade of tensions, we must begin the process of repair. The greatest single quality in a leader, I have long observed, is clear-sightedness. The foreign relations field is dense with fog, and the ability to see through it is essential. American and Israeli leaders must discern their confluent interests and work to realize them. They must restore those three nos no surprises, no daylight, no public altercations in their relations. They must revisit the meaning of ally.

The United States and Israel need a reality check on the alliance and a better understanding of the politics and culture in both Jerusalem and Washington. The fact is that the Israeli political arena leans much more to the Right whereas the loudest voices in U.S. politics currently lean Left means extra efforts are necessary to explain positions to one another.

Asaf Romirowsky is executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), and a senior non-resident fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA).

Image: Reuters.

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Bipartisan Support for Israel Is BrokenHere's How to Fix It - The National Interest

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