Climate Change is a Threat to Rich and Poor Alike

From Miami and Puerto Rico to Barbuda and Havana, the devastation of this year’s hurricane season across Latin America and the Caribbean serves as a reminder that the impacts of climate change know no borders.

In recent weeks, Category 5 hurricanes have brought normal life to a standstill for millions in the

Caribbean and on the American mainland. Harvey, Irma and Maria have been particularly damaging. The 3.4 million inhabitants of Puerto Rico have been scrambling for basic necessities including food and water, the island of Barbuda has been rendered uninhabitable, and dozens of people are missing or dead on the UNESCO world heritage island of Dominica.

The impact is not confined to this region. The record floods across Bangladesh, India and Nepal have made life miserable for some 40 million people.  More than 1,200 people have died and many people have lost their homes, crops have been destroyed, and many workplaces have been inundated. Meanwhile, in Africa, over the last 18 months 20 countries have declared drought emergencies, with major displacement taking place across the Horn region.

For those countries that are least developed the impact of disasters can be severe, stripping away livelihoods and progress on health and education; for developed and middle-income countries the economic losses from infrastructure alone can be massive; for both, these events reiterate the need to act on a changing climate that threatens only more frequent and more severe disasters.

A (shocking) sign of things to come? 

The effects of a warmer climate on these recent weather events, both their severity and their frequency, has been revelatory for many, even the overwhelming majority that accept the science is settled on human-caused global warming.

While the silent catastrophe of 4.2 million people dying prematurely each year from ambient pollution, mostly related to the use of fossil fuels, gets relatively little media attention, the effect of heat-trapping greenhouse gases on extreme weather events is coming into sharper focus.

It could not be otherwise when the impacts of these weather events are so profound. During the last two years over 40 million people, mainly in countries which contribute least to global warming, were forced either permanently or temporarily from their homes by disasters.

There is clear consensus: rising temperatures are increasing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, leading to more intense rainfall and flooding in some places, and drought in others. Some areas experience both, as was the case this year in California, where record floods followed years of intense drought.

TOPEX/Poseidon, the first satellite to precisely measure rising sea levels, was launched two weeks before Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida 25 years ago. Those measurements have observed a global increase of 3.4 millimeters per year since then; that’s a total of 85 millimeters over 25 years, or 3.34 inches.

Rising and warming seas are contributing to the intensity of tropical storms worldwide. We will continue to live with the abnormal and often unforeseen consequences of existing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, for many, many years to come.

In 2009, Swiss Re published a case study focused on Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, which envisaged a moderate sea level rise scenario for the 2030s which matches what has already taken place today. If a storm on the scale of Andrew had hit this wealthy corner of the US today, the economic damage would range from US$100 billion to US$300 billion. Now the estimates suggest that the economic losses from Harvey, Irma and Maria could surpass those numbers.

Reduce disaster risk now; tackle climate change in the long-term

Miami is working hard on expanding its flood protection programme; US$ 400 million is earmarked to finance sea pumps, improved roads and seawalls. Yet, this level of expenditure is beyond the reach of most low and middle-income countries that stand to lose large chunks of their GDP every time they are hit by floods and storms.

While the Paris Agreement has set the world on a long-term path towards a low-carbon future, it is a windy path that reflects pragmatism and realities in each individual country. Thus, while carbon emissions are expected to drop as countries meet their self-declared targets, the impacts of climate change may be felt for some time, leaving the world with little choice but to invest, simultaneously, in efforts to adapt to climate change and reduce disaster risk.  The benefits of doing so makes economic sense when compared to the cost of rebuilding.

This will require international cooperation on a previously unprecedented scale as we tackle the critical task of making the planet a more resilient place to the lagging effects of greenhouse gas emissions that we will experience for years to come. Restoring the ecological balance between emissions and the natural absorptive capacity of the planet is the long-term goal. It is critical to remember that the long-term reduction of emissions is THE most important risk reduction tactic we have, and we must deliver on that ambition.

The November UN Climate Conference in Bonn presided over by the small island of Fiji, provides an opportunity to not only accelerate emission reductions but to also boost the serious work of ensuring that the management of climate risk is integrated into disaster risk management as a whole.  Poverty, rapid urbanization, poor land use, ecosystems decline and other risk factors will amplify the impacts of climate change. Today on International Day for Disaster Reduction, we call for them to be addressed in a holistic way.

Source: UNDP

Black History Month: Revisiting the Most Reprehensible Period in Human History

Source: BBC

The buying and selling of people as if they were commodities is undoubtedly the most shameful episode in the history of mankind. From the early 16th century right through to the 19th century, people of colour were captured and transported between continents and forced to work as slaves in very abhorrent conditions. According to UNESCO, ‘the slave trade and slavery constitute one of the darkest chapters in the history of the world’. This ‘dehumanising enterprise’ challenged the very basis of human civilisation and requires a somber reflection from every decent human being, regardless of race or skin colour.

Merchant ships loaded with goods such as textiles, weapons and gunpowder were often navigated between European and American ports targeting the African continent with the sole aim of trading such goods in exchange for indigenous people. As a consequent, innocent men, women and children were kidnapped and traded as slaves which ultimately led to the separation of millions of families. People whose only crimes happened to be the colour of their skins were chained and bundled onto ships, and then transported to unknown destination in journeys which often lasted for months.

From the seventeenth century on slaves became the focus of trade between Europe and Africa. Europe’s conquest and colonisation of North and South America and the Caribbean islands from the fifteenth century onward created an insatiable demand for African labourers, who were deemed more fit to work in the tropical conditions of the New World. The numbers of slaves imported across the Atlantic Ocean steadily increased, from approximately 5,000 slaves a year in the sixteenth century to over 100,000 slaves a year by the end of the eighteenth century (Bortolot, 2003).

The Transatlantic Slave Trade, often known as the Triangular Trade, connected the economies of three continents - Europe,America and Africa. It is estimated that between 25 to 30 million people (men, women and children) were deported from their homes and sold as slaves in the different slave trading systems. In the transatlantic slave trade alone the estimate of those deported is believed to be approximately 17 million. These figures exclude those who died aboard the ships and in the course of wars and raids connected to the trade (UNESCO, 2017).

It is disheartening to learn that such a cruel enterprise was allowed to run for hundreds of years. However, some common sense finally began to prevail in the late 18th century as an anti-slavery movement led by abolitionist - Thomas Clarkson garnered momentum in the United Kingdom. Owing to growing pressure, British member of parliament - William Wilberforce was persuaded to took the fight for abolishing slavery to  parliament. Following a tireless campaign which lasted for about 18 years, Wilberforce finally succeeded in having ‘The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act’ passed by the British Parliament on 25 March 1807. Subsequently, all the slaves in the British Empire were formally set free by 1838 (BBC, 2017).

The Persecution of the Rohingya

Government troops are slaughtering the Rohingya and driving them out of Myanmar. Why are these people so hated? Here's everything you need to know:

What's going on?

Hundreds of thousands of desperate Rohingya people are fleeing a vicious military purge in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Troops have burned scores of villages, beheading men, raping women, and even killing children. In some places, Buddhist militias and mobs have joined in the attacks against the Muslim-majority Rohingya. The Myanmar army and government call their assault a counterterrorist operation, but the U.N. has labeled it a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing." With more than 420,000 people chased into Bangladesh since August and tens of thousands following them every week, the exodus is the world's most rapid and intense refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The influx of brutalized families has overwhelmed aid efforts, and thousands of hungry people are camping in the open, exposed to monsoon rains. About 60 percent are children, and many have lost their parents to massacres back home. "The sheer scale of it is beyond belief," Tejshree Thapa of Human Rights Watch told Newsweek. "I've never seen a group this devastated, this destroyed."

Who are the Rohingya?

They are often described as the world's most persecuted people. Muslims have lived in the coastal Rakhine area, separated from the rest of Myanmar by a mountain range, since at least the 12th century. The Rohingya are believed to be descended from those early Arab and Mughal traders. But since populations have been driven back and forth across the border of what is now Bangladesh at least four times since the late 1700s, there was significant mixing with South Asian Muslims. During more than a century of British colonial rule, from 1824 to 1948, many Muslims in what is now India and Bangladesh relocated to Burma, then a British Indian province, to work, and they, too, were absorbed into the Rohingya. The Rohingya language, Rohingyalish, is close to the Chittagonian dialect spoken in southern Bangladesh.

Why do the Burmese reject them?

Mistrust goes back decades, and has its roots in ethnic and religious enmity as well as political differences. During World War II, the Rohingya supported the British while Burmese nationalists supported the Japanese. The British promised the Rohingya their own state but did not deliver. In 1948 the Rohingya were left in newly independent Burma amid a Buddhist majority that now saw them as disloyal and potentially dangerous foreigners. When a military junta took over Burma in 1962, it labeled the Rohingya "Bengalis" and excluded them from citizenship, leaving them stateless, with no access to government health care, education, or most jobs. Periodic waves of mass persecution over the following decades have given rise to a Rohingya resistance movement, and growing radicalization among Myanmar's young Muslim men. In recent years, the radicals have formed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), known locally as Al Yaqin, or the "Faith" movement.

How did the current purge begin?

ARSA militants killed nine border police last October. The enraged government sent troops pouring into Rakhine state, and refugees say the soldiers raped, killed, and burned their way through Rohingya villages. The current exodus began in earnest in August, after ARSA militants attacked police posts, killing 12 and sparking the ongoing massive crackdown. Many fleeing Rohingya are furious at ARSA, who remain a small minority of their population. "We are the ones who are suffering because of Al Yaqin," said refugee Noor Kamal. "They disappeared after the attack. We were the ones left behind for the military to kill." Even the country's civilian leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has cited the ARSA attacks in condemning the Rohingya as "terrorists."

What is Bangladesh's position?

Bangladesh is one of the few countries that never ratified the U.N. Convention on Refugees, and has consistently insisted that the Rohingya must return to Myanmar. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said last week that her country is currently sheltering more than 800,000 Rohingya. She has called on the U.N. to supervise safe zones in Rakhine so those families can "return to their homeland in safety, security, and dignity." But that will be difficult: In the same speech, Hasina accused Myanmar of laying landmines along the border to prevent the Rohingya from returning.

And the international community?

The U.S., Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other countries have strongly denounced Myanmar's crackdown and pledged millions in emergency aid. But Myanmar won't allow aid agencies in to help the 800,000 displaced Rohingya still trapped in Rakhine. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, the U.N. refugee agency is rushing in supplies to feed and shelter the masses of people, mostly by expanding the existing camps housing Rohingya driven out in past purges. But caring for so many displaced people at once is an overwhelming challenge, and hunger and disease are rampant, while clean water and toilets are virtually nonexistent. "When you walk through the settlement, you have to wade through streams of dirty water and human feces," said Kate White, the emergency medical coordinator of Doctors Without Borders. "A public health emergency could be just around the corner."

An international icon's silence

Aung San Suu Kyi won international acclaim for her principled opposition to the authoritarian regime that has ruled Myanmar for decades, and for her demand for democratic elections. But the country's de facto civilian leader, now 72, has deeply disappointed many of her admirers by refusing to criticize the military for its brutal oppression of the Rohingya. Suu Kyi, a Buddhist nationalist, said the Muslim group had brought the crackdown on itself by supporting terrorism, and claimed, against all evidence, that security forces were exercising restraint and avoiding "the harming of innocent civilians." Critics say she has become complicit in the ethnic cleansing and did not deserve her Nobel Prize. Her defenders contend that Suu Kyi has to be circumspect, because the military would use the Rohingya issue to undermine her popularity and by extension civilian rule, only recently restored. "The army, they are watching her every word," said U Win Htein, a former Myanmar military officer. "One misstep on the Muslim issue, and they can make their move."

Reproduced Article, Source: The Week

Five Fundamental Mistakes that led to the Ultimate Downfall of Yahya Jammeh

A young Lieutenant Yahya A.J.J Jammeh

On the fateful day of July 22nd 1994, a fresh-faced 29 year old lieutenant from the Gambia Armed Forces going by the name Yahya Jammeh; overthrew the democratically elected PPP government and assume the mantle of leadership in the Republic of The Gambia. Roll on the years and here is a 51 year old man with the lengthiest name that ever exist, thanks by and large to his self-acclaimed and unmerited titles. Having controversially won 4 consecutive general elections and subsequently ruling the country for 22 odd years, his 5th attempt to the presidency was scuppered by a coalition of opposition parties including one independent candidate.

Jammeh waves a last good-bye

Having initially conceding defeat and congratulating President-elect Adama Barrow live on national television, Jammeh change his mind a week later citing irregularities on the part of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

After series of negotiations with ECOWAS for him to respect the verdict of the Gambian people, Jammeh insisted on annulling the election results and calling for a fresh election. To support his course, the national assembly tabled a bill in which the majority voted to extend Jammeh's grip on power. As a consequent, he blatantly declared a 90 days state of emergency. All the while, Mr.

Jammeh on his way to exile

Jammeh thought he was getting away with his unscrupulous plot. But with military intervention from ECOWAS forces looming large, he finally succumbed and relinquished power but not without causing a great deal of anxiety and panic in the country. Below we revisit five fundamental mistakes  that has ultimately led to the downfall of a leader who once vowed to rule The Gambia for ‘a billion years’ God willing  - as he loved to say:

The Death of Solo Sendeng

With elections on the horizon, political activist and commentators continue to call for a level playing field in the Gambian political arena. As a consequent, a handful of United Democratic Party (UDP) militants took to the streets on Thursday 14th April 2016 to exercise their constitutional right. Soon after displaying their banner at the Westfield Junction, which simply read ‘we need political reforms’, they were forcefully arrested by officers from the Police Intervention Unit (PIU). Bombarded in police trucks and whisked away to the National Intelligent Agency (NIA), they were reportedly tortured overnight which led to the untimely demise of Ebrima Solo Sendeng. This unfortunate incident greatly reshaped Gambian politics and in no small measure contributed to the downfall of Yahya Jammeh.

Clamp Down on the UDP

H.E Adama Barrow taking oath

Upon hearing rumours about the death of one of their militants in the hands of the security forces, the UDP party executive organised an emergency meeting and embarked on a reactive demonstration to demand the unconditional release of their party militants. They were similarly met with force leading to the arrest and subsequent incarceration of the party leader - Lawyer Ousainou Darboe together with most of his executive members. These events generated a lot of anger and resentments both within and outside The Gambia. Though sad at the time, it turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Because in the absence of Lawyer Darboe, cometh the saviour Adama Barrow who was subsequently chosen to lead the coalition which ended the 22 year reign of Yahya Jammeh and his APRC government.

Taking a Swipe at the Mandinkas

Throughout the history of mankind, tribal and racial divide have become synonymous with violence, instigating the most brutal of atrocities the world has ever witnessed. Too much blood have been spilt and so many innocent lives lost as a result of senseless and unprovoked attacks to certain groups in certain societies whose only crimes happened to be the tribe they belong or the colour of their skin. Accusing the biggest ethnic group in The Gambia of tribalism, and also labelling them as foreigners was therefore a catastrophic blow to Yahya Jammeh’s popularity. I said at the time that this will go down as one of the most miscalculated and misguided statement he has ever made and I have been proven right. Angered by such remarks understandably, the Mandinkas went out in their numbers on December 1st 2016 and expressed their concerns through the ballot box.

Declaring The Gambia an Islamic State

Declaring The Gambia an Islamic State was one of the dumbest mistakes Yahya Jammeh has ever made. The country has forever been a secular state even though its population is about 90% Muslim. It therefore goes without saying that Christians and people of other faiths in the country must have felt deeply marginalised by such proclamation. Despite his efforts to sugar-coat the type of Islamic State he envisioned for the Gambia, his popularity severely diminished amongst members of minority religious groups who have nothing but enjoyed the most harmonious of relationships with Muslims throughout the history of the Gambia.

Attacking Senegalese Leaders

Another fundamental mistake that came back to hunt Yahya Jammeh was to alienate himself from his Senegalese counterparts and publicly attacking them. During one of his so-called ‘meet the people's tour’ in 2015, Jammeh took to the podium in Farafenni town center right at the border with our sisterly neighbours and start trading insults to Senegalese leaders both past and present. From Abdou Diouf right down to Macky Sall via Abdoulaye Wade, Jammeh badmouthed them in the most undiplomatic manner ever imaginable. He accused President Sall of ‘sinister plots’ against his government and threatened to deal with him. That was a grave mistake Mr. Jammeh as the rest we all know is history!