eyes_on_mag_issue_2 by Eyes on Humanity

EYES ON HUMANITY

EDITOR’S LETTER

Reaching the second issue of our magazine, taking one step forward to reaching our goal, Eyes on Humanity is our hope; it is the pureness we are aiming for. Peace is our shining tomorrow. Every human has rights and freedoms, but when anyone’s rights and freedoms are being used exceeding its limits to become inconsistent with other people’s rights and freedoms it I would categorize it as the real definition to “human rights violation”. When we look around we can see humans with no food or shelter, they are being deprived from the most basic rights which they should get while we see others protesting for certain authorities they were not entitled to own, or some terms which they might not understand their meaning such as “democracy”. As humanity managed to overcome major misfortunes like wars and the economic crisis we find people who exploit the name of human rights nowadays. Humanity is not a name to be converted to a political tool. It is what everybody has in common which stresses any human to make a move when seeing another human abused in any sort of way. Humanity is not to be confused by politics for politics can be the reason why humanity disappears. We might be different and unique just like how our own fingers differ however we live together in this universe, we all have the same needs and aim to get the same rights. Understanding the actual and real meaning of human rights is the first step which leads to a world with less human right violations, it would lead to a bright future, a peaceful universe where everyone is happy, and generations which know exactly what they should have and what they shouldn’t. The future where we are looking at, the path is visible and our efforts and hard work is what will take us there. -Fatima BuHassan

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JOSEPH KONY The New Face of Warlords By: Fatima Al Rumaihi

It was Nelson Mandela, the president of the African National Congress who once said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others”. Joseph Rao Kony is the new face of warlords worldwide as the International Criminal Court proclaimed him for war crimes in 2005. “Who is Joseph Kony?” A simple question that has been whirling in our minds for the past few years. He is defined as the ‘WORLD’S WORST WAR CRIMINAL’ by invisible children. But why? Let us take a quick review at his history. Joseph Rao Kony born in 1961 in Odek in Northern Uganda is the head of a brutal army called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) formerly

known as the United Holy Salvation Army. It is believed that he has had 88 wives as of 2007 and 42 children as of 2006. A lot of kids were seized to Kony’s group the (LRA) giving them no choice but to kill their own parents, brothers or sisters. Over 30,000 children and women were abducted turning boys into soldiers pushing them to mutilate people’s faces and turning women into sex slaves for officers. Joseph Kony leaves them with no choice but to fight for him. He is not supported by anyone and he constantly uses peace talks to regain his power and strength. His name was listed for the first time in the war crime list of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2005. After, former president George W. Bush and President Barack Obama signed a law in the years 2008 and 2010 to track Joseph Kony and the LRA down. The USA soldiers were sent over to Uganda in October 2011 to help save the lives of the people.

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KONY 2012 Finally Joseph Kony has been

generation must be introduced

introduced worldwide on March

to a better world ‘we want to live

2012 in a documentary that was

by each other’s happiness not

shared on YouTube & Facebook

by each other’s misery’.

by filmmaker Jason Russell, as he believed that it’s important

It is important that we put our

to make Joseph Kony famous

hands together and support

by introducing him to people, in

each other in tracking Joseph

the manner that it would make it

Kony down

easier to track him down. Kony

thousands

2012 is a campaign group by

shouldn’t forget about those

invisible

2012

running for their lives out there

stands for 20 celebrity members

as we are here enjoying our

and 12 political members. The

lives with families and friends.

documentary has been viewed

Seeing a gun in a child’s hand

more than 80 million times as

pointing at you is something

of 17 March quickly drawing

that should be questioned by

attention from celebrities like

people whether they want to live

Angelina Jolie, George Clooney

in a harsh world like this or put

(“I’d like indicted war criminals

an end to it. The people tracked

to enjoy the same level of

by Kony live in fear all under one

celebrity as me that seems

shelter and they themselves are

fair”- GC), billionaires like Bill

wondering whether this shall

Gates and even Senators and

pass on forever or is there a

Presidents. It’s important how

voice out there that will speak

we all see each other and how

and help us all. Greed has

we are capable of protecting

changed the lives of many

each other. Joseph Kony has

people causing war and hatred

been there for 20 years and not

as we all think too much and

many people have cared but we

feel too little forgetting about

should starting from now as we

ourselves and the people we

are shaping human history, Kony

may harm. “Only the unloved

must be stopped for the future

hate” - Charlie Chaplin.

children

and

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saving of

lives

children.

of We

ARE WE FOR SALE? By: Ali Al Araifi

A growing problem that is violating our freedom and our dignity is sadly a business for some but a fear for many. Human Trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry that is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world. With over two million women and children sold into sexual slavery each year. This tragic problem is affecting many innocent lives that now look back to the world as an evil place. Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring and receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other In the service of the one and only purpose of all criminal acts, the green bill. Studies have indicated that approximately 45% of victims that are trafficked turn into criminals and drug smugglers and arm dealers. Human Trafficking has impacted on many, for example, Trafficked children are significantly

more likely to develop mental health problems, abuse substances, engage in prostitution as adults, and either commit or be victimized by violent crimes later on life. Is it possible to believe that an average slave around the world is sold for $90? Is that what Human beings are worth, can this possibly be happening, can this be the world where all seems well. In addition, according to some estimates, approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation, and 19% involves in labor exploitation. It is estimated that there are approximately 27 million slaves around the world and nearly half of them are under the age of 18. Unfortunately Human Trafficking is a flourished underground business in the benefit of only a paucity of unworthy vile people. We all must give more attention to this up growing crisis to help wiping off this sickening image and to stop such barbarous savage act against humanity.

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“OUR LIFE BEGINS TO END

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THE DAY WE BECOME SILENT ABOUT THINGS THAT MATTERS” -Martin Luther King Jr.

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However, awareness does exist, as there are now organizations and groups that are coming together to help prevent Human Trafficking from spreading. Such as the ‘Somaly Mam Foundation’ which is an organization, that is dedicated to combating the global sex slave trade through supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration of the victims through raising global awareness on this issue. The Foundation funds more than 10 effective organizations in various parts of the world that are combating sexual slavery and Human Trafficking in the field. These include groups that are rescuing girls from brothels, offering them shelter and safety, providing them with basic education, and helping them reintegrate into new communities when their healing processes are complete. Somaly Mam Foundation has been proved to being very effective and supporting many that have managed to run away. Somaly herself is one of the fewness survivors of Human Trafficking, and survival is what led her to start an organization and prevent others from living her painful experience.

“I’ve committed my life to fighting this horrible scourge on humanity. Seeing innocent young women and children whose lives have been forever scarred 5 leaves no doubt that they need a champion who is willing to invest all their time and energy towards eradicating the shameful practice of human trafficking. I cannot wage this fight alone and call upon anyone who cares about the innocent victims to donate their time, money and advocacy to this important cause. Each contribution means everything to the victims and know that I will be forever grateful for those who help make such an important difference.”Somaly Mamm The Somaly Mam Foundation is committed to rescuing and supporting victims of Human Trafficking to date, Somaly Mam has saved over 7,000 girls from sexual slavery. The Somaly Mam Foundation supports over ten shelters in four countries, providing resources and funding to six victim service providers. 10

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By funding organizations such as AFESIP in Cambodia, the Somaly Mam Foundation supports efforts to rescue victims and provide them with food, shelter, and medical/psychological care. AFESIP has provided comprehensive services to thousands of sex trafficking victims in Cambodia since. This positive approach has encouraged many to do more to help fight for this cause, however we need to ask ourselves what we can do for the sake of Humanity? Our youth needs more awareness on this unfortunate matter, that has possibly left mothers hearts broken, who are still in search of their loved ones. The United States Declaration of Independence states “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. “Yet the greatest superpower in the world still fails to tackle the growing problem. But being the superpower that it is, the Unites States has the ability to stop such actions from taking place by placing tighter measures and possibly consisting a patrol center to specifically tackle such violations in which it could also urge other developing countries to prevent and deal with Human Trafficking. I merely believe that nothing is impossible for the protection of Humanity; therefore much could be done in the form of solutions to help deal with such arising issues. Such as increasing security measures and make more regulations and legislations with the help of the United Nations to make Human Trafficking a very hard to establish business. In addition, all countries must have laws aiming to prevent Trafficking and to solve its damaging results, by making this subject more alerted, schools must have more educational approaches to warn there students of possible attacks and the Trafficking effects and and guide them through the steps to salvation. Each and every one of us must have the right to live freely. Let us all work to provide for others what we wish for ourselves. Therefore help spread awareness and make this world a better place for all.

IRAN, BLOOD & ISLAM? By: Ahmed Al Araifi, Fatima BuHassan

Since Iran’s crackdown against antigovernment protests following the 2009 presidential election the human rights crisis in the country has only deepened. There is a broad-based campaign underway to severely weaken civil society by targeting journalists, lawyers, rights activists, and students. The number of executions has risen sharply since 2010, and authorities tightly restricted access to information by blocking websites, slowing down internet speeds, and jamming foreign satellite broadcasts. In March 2011 the UN Human Rights Council appointed a Special Reporter on Iran in response to the worsening rights situation in Iran, but authorities have so far refused to allow him access to the country. The message which I would really want to deliver through my article is that Iran and similar countries which claim to represent certain religions are ruining their reputation for it follows nothing from what it says. I was reading an article written by a human rights activist about execution in Iran.The article recite the stories of the executions that took place in Iran evidenced with photos, and the most shocking part was when I scrolled down to catch a glimpse on the comments where all the people were attacking Islam and not Iran! Why would anyone judge a religion which millions believe in for the behavior of one government? I read the harshest comments literally full of hatred

towards Islam, Muslims, Prophet Mohammed, and Quran; of which I quote:

“It actually annoys me that Muslims are so bloody cruel I know that I am generalizing but they really do destroy their reputation and they wonder why we hate them all if a Muslim got on my plane I would be scared for my life that’s what things have come to concerning them if they want that that’s their fault. “ “Sharia law, Muslims following Satan to the end. Whoever wrote the koran set a curse upon this earth” I think that such comments are the clearest example of human rights violations when people attack each others’ beliefs; this is where racism comes from. Every person has the right to practice the religion of his choice as long as it doesn’t interfere with others beliefs. When a blogger comments describing Quran as something which have set a curse upon earth, then racism is taking over. Even I myself would wonder whether this article should be about Iran or racism. As much as I try to be non bias, but when I evidence a situation whereby I feel violated I cannot hide the fact that I am a Muslim and that these comments accusing Muslims of being terrorists really did violate me. EYES ON HUMANITY

I think people should never generalize and I consider it unfair when a country speaks by the name of a religion. The Iranian government does not represent Islam; in fact many Iranians refuse to be represented by the Iranian government for the fact that it violates human rights every day. The violations committed by Iran’s government on prisoners are no secret and Islam or any other religion for that matter, will never allow the kind of torture and killing practiced in Iranian prisons. Executions in Iran are being done with cranes. By using a crane, the loss of consciousness is avoided. The crane allows the person to be lifted up slowly, so they strangle as they dangle. The hands are tied behind their backs, but the feet are left free to kick, as the person slowly strangles and suffocates. The strangulation part takes about 3 minutes.The whole execution from beginning to end takes about 25 minutes. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always denied accusations of the violation of human rights in the country. The Iranian Government claims to be a champion of human rights and ironically demands 12

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that they be implemented and respected in other countries worldwide; however, reality unveils the opposite. Iranian prisons witness the cruelest forms of mental and physical torture. The kind of brutal treatment inmates receive is dedicated to inflict a notion that they are beneath humanity and do not deserve it. Accounts such as the one of ‘Leyla’s’ are living examples of the ruthless treatment thegovernment conducts. ‘Leyla’ was supposedly abducted and repeatedly raped because of the participation of her fiancé in Prodemocracy demonstrations in Tehran. Arbitrary procedures exist in the framework of a very cruel regime that does not recognize human rights when an opposing view is presented or called for.The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center recorded the ordeals of five former convicts in Iranian prisons.These were published in a report titled ‘Surviving Rape in Iran’s Prisons’. The report includes witness statements of people that allegedly on looked these screaming violations of human rights and suffered in silence. Prison rape is considered an act of torture and a defilement of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights. This disgraceful act is forbidden under International and Iranian laws. Iranian law, exemplified by the constitution, outlawed rape and prohibits it. Article 38 of the Iranian constitution specifically mentions that ‘all forms of torture for the purpose of extracting confessions or acquiring information are forbidden’. This contradictory scenario Iranians have to live with cannot be explained. The law is theoretically against the violation of human rights in prisons but what really happens is the reverse. This can only be explained by both corrupt and inadequate chains of command and purposeful disrespect for prisoners.The respect every human being should be entitled to is deprived in Iranian prisons; with these many allegations that end up containing very similar details that hint that these unfortunate allegations do happen. Rape is not the only form of abuse used, although common, rape is merely one of many various techniques that are used in Iranian prisons. Some accounts point out that victims have their fingernails pulled out; others are subjected to waterboarding

techniques that impose the worst of feelings and affect prisoners on a psychological level. In the same way, some techniques that are used involve severe beatings and verbal abuse that force a victim to suffer in different ways. Alternatively, the repressive theme the Iranian government is said to have embarked on can also be illustrated through white torture and how political prisoners undergo extreme cases of isolation and sensory deprivation. Through these techniques, victims break down and experience hallucinations and anxiety attacks. On the other hand, the Iranian government has always stated that it is a supporter of human rights and will ‘fight for them everywhere’. The Government has called for human rights to be addressed in neighboring Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and criticized what it dubbed ‘discrimination against shiaa’s’. Although, critics and scholars stress that Iran is in no position to be a liberator before it liberates its own people.

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WOMEN ABUSE AROUND THE WORLD By: Fatima Al Hajj

“Around the world at least one woman out of three has been beaten, forced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime” according to the United Nations report that decries ongoing prejudice against women. Women abuse refers to several forms of violence, abuse, mistreatment and neglect that women experience in their dependent relationships. Any woman may experience abuse regardless of her age, race, ethnicity, education, cultural identity, socioeconomic status, occupation, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities, or personality. Girls and women around the world are denied from access to education and health care, this is also considered as an economic abuse. This abuse basically refers to preventing a woman from working and controlling her occupational choices. Financial abuse is also related to economic abuse, since it also includes preventing a woman from achieving or maintaining financial independence, denying or controlling her access to financial resources, or exploiting her financially. In 2009, Canadian women were four times more likely to report being denied access to family income; were more than twice as likely to report having their property damaged or their possessions destroyed. This thereby, indicates that women’s legal rights are not protected. Along with those abuses, women’s medical concerns are not prioritized as much as men’s are. Canadian women are denied opportunities in the workplace and receive less pay than men for the same work. Canadian experts concluded several theories about what causes woman abuse. Most common theories determined that the long-standing power imbalance between men and women in society continues to be a central factor. Thus, mistreatment and abuse of women are linked together to the social and economic reality of women’s lives. The web of discriminatory attitudes, values, behaviours, structures and institutions are the major factors that isolate and marginalize women apart from men. 14

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Violence against women has been called “the most pervasive yet least recognized human rights abuse in the world”. Despite the fact that many countries around the world have started to imply women’s rights, there is no actual progress. The United Nations estimated that around the world, there are 80 million unwanted pregnancies, 20 million unsafe abortions, 500.000 maternal deaths and 333 million new sexually transmitted diseases each year. Sexual abuse is the most common assault found in all the countries around the world. It may include rape, unwanted sexual touching, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, or forcing a woman to participate in any unwanted, unsafe, degrading or offensive sexual activity. Sexual abuse may have profound effects on a woman’s reproductive health both directly and indirectly.Those effects may include: unwanted pregnancies and restricted access to family planning information and contraceptives; unsafe abortion or injuries sustained during a legal abortion after an unwanted pregnancy; complications

from

frequent;

high-risk

pregnancies and lack of follow-up care; sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; persistent gynaecological and psychological problems. In eastern and southern Africa, 17 to 22% of girls aged 15 to 19 are HIV-positive, compared to 3 to 7% of boys of similar age. This pattern—seen in many other regions of the world—is evidence that girls are being infected with HIV by a much

attention of the world’s press when she barged into the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli on March 26, 2011 and spelled out her horror experience of the gang-rape by drunken Gadhafi militiamen to foreign reporters. Visibly distraught, she claimed they had tied her up, defecated and urinated on her and showed reporters scratches on her face and a bloodied thigh. Obeidi said after that,

older cohort of men.

she was detained for three days when she was

Rape in time of war is most common assault. It

drink, then released. “They asked if I wanted to

has been extensively documented in recent civil conflicts including Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and has been used systematically as an instrument of torture or ethnic domination. Iman Al-Obeidi, a 28 year old gang-rape victim during the Gadhafi regime’s clutches. She came to the

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beaten and left to lie on the floor with no food or go to the police, but I didn’t go because that’s not where I would find justice,” she said. Instead, she headed straight for the Rixos Hotel where she knew the foreign journalists were staying. Obeidi was one of few that had the courage and talk about their crucial experience. Many prefer to remain silent due to the consequences of

discrimination that would come after. Around the

their responsibilities, and a commitment by the

world, 1 in 4 women have experienced rape or

international community at large to the elimination

attempted rape. Thus, 1 in 7 women have been

of violence against women”. Due to that, in 2007,

coerced into sex, rising to 1 in 3 among divorced

the theme of the International Women’s Day was

and separated women.

“Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls”. Thus, on 25 February 2008, Mr. Ban

Fortunately, several nations and societies are now

Ki-moon

aware of the concept of women abuse. Some

Global Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against

have neglected it and claimed that women’s

Women”.

rights are taken into consideration and women

campaign, he called violence against women

abuse has been eliminated. However, the United

an issue that “cannot wait”. Thereby, societies,

Nations system continues to raise awareness

nations and communities aim to appreciate

to the issue of violence against women. The

the women’s rule in each society and desire to

General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination

eliminate women abuse. International Women’s

of Violence against Women enclosed “a clear

Day is observed on 8 March. The theme of the

and

violence

2009 observance was “women and men united

against women [and] a clear statement of the

to end violence against women and girls”. The

rights to be applied to ensure the elimination

International Day for the Elimination of Violence

of violence against women in all its forms”. It

against Women is observed on 25 November.

comprehensive

definition

launched “The

Secretary-General’s

In launching the multi-year global

signified “a commitment by States in respect of

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IS ANYONE AN OUTSIDER IN BAHRAIN? By: Noora Al Balooshi

Bahrain was once and still known as one of the most diverse countries within the GCC as well as the Arab World. With the majority of the population being Bahraini, we cannot help but find Saudis, Palestinians and Omani, as well as inhabitants from foreign origin that include Americans, Indians, British, Iranians and Pakistanis. This blend of nationalities naturally gave practitioners of different religions a green card within an Islamic based country. Through detailed research, we have found that there are seven different religious groups currently in Bahrain. The classification naturally begins with the most popular and dominating 18

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religion, Islam. Islam the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its devotees to be the precise word of God and by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah and composed of Hadith) of Prophet Muhammad, considered by them to be the last among the prophets . Islam’s beliefs on harming oneself and others are that it is forbidden, as the Prophet said: “There shall be no infliction of harm on oneself or others”. He also said: “God will inflict harm on anyone who harms others”. Speaking to his companions, the Prophet once said: “By God, he is not a believer”. They said, “Who is this ill-advised loser, Messenger of God?” He said: “The one whose neighbor does

not feel safe against his designs”. Commenting on this hadith Imam Ibn Taimiyah said: “If this is the case when a neighbor simply does not feel safe against evil which may be perpetrated by his neighbor, what would it be like when such evil designs are actually perpetrated, in addition to that feeling of unsafety?” The Prophet said: “When you restrain yourself from harming others, your action constitutes an act of benefaction that is credited to you. Islam was by the far the religion that was most effected by the events of February 14th, as it was dominated by the ongoing Sunni and Shaii struggle. Both sectors have always had this inner struggle that has currently risen to a more visible conflict. Many Muslims could not reach out to their mosques to perform their prayers due to the fear of harm, many long-established relationships

between the two religious sectors were ended bitterly, and a number of mixed marriages ended in divorce. Next comes the second and most popular faith in the country, Christianity. According to the Bible, everyone has sinned, and the types of things that are considered sin include: Any actions that have resulted in the deliberate harm of others, or their accidental harm through our negligence or indifference to the consequences of our actions; any words we have spoken to hurt others or which have been likely to harm their reputation without good reason; any thoughts we have had of harming others or seeking selfish pleasure, or doing anything else we know in our heart of hearts to be wrong; and any time we have acted from selfish motives; are all considered to be sins . Both Orthodox and Catholic Christians were

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affected by the events of February 14th. During the events, they were forced to close down their churches due to security problems and many Christians living in Saudi and other GCC countries couldn’t attend their regular prayers due to road blockage and fear of harm. Judaism is also a monotheistic religion that is found in the country and it is originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. Rabbinic Judaism holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in

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the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. The Karaites, a movement that flourished in the medieval period, which retains several thousand followers today and maintains that only the Written Torah was revealed, historically challenged this assertion. In rabbinic and subsequent Jewish terminology, to speak evil of another, even though it to be true is to be guilty of the offense of Lashon ha-ra “ the evil tongue “. According to Rabbis’, someone is quick to react in a fit or rage is not worthy to be alive. For one Moses lost his temper, his wisdom departed him. Due to the religiously and politically driven movements that took place during February 14th, Jewish owned businesses within the business sector have had to suffer the downfall of the country’s economy.

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh gurus. It is the fifthlargest organized religion in the world, with over 30 million Sikhs and one of the most steadily growing. To Sikhs, Bragging, lying, slander,“backstabbing”, etc. are not permitted.The Guru Granth Sahib tells the Sikh,“Your mouth has not stopped slandering and gossiping about others. Your service is useless and fruitless” Which basically translates to any form of harm to be prohibited. Sikhs being an absolute minority and relatively limited numbers, were living in fear after some of their fellow Indians were brutally murdered and were victimized by those who lost their track of peaceful demonstration. Hinduism has a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of “daily morality” based on the notion of karma, dharma, and societal norms.

Hinduism is a conglomeration of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid common set of beliefs. Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its direct roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India and, as such, Hinduism is often called the “oldest living religion” or the “oldest living major religion” in the world. Demographically, Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion. Hindu religion is the mandate to avoid harming other living things. Life in all its forms is viewed as sacred. There is a decent number of Hindu-Residents in Bahrain, working in the various fields and mainly as labor workers. These same labor workers were affected in a number of cases in which their housings were attacked and some brutally tortured. Their dignities were stripped off, and after a number of these repeated scenarios, they were very reluctant to visit their temples in fear of repeated harm.

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Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning “the awakened one” in Sanskrit and Pali). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end ignorance (avidya), craving (tanha), and suffering (dukkha) of dependent origination, realize sunyata, and attain Nirvana. According to Buddhist ethics and the five precepts, in order to live a better life in which one is happy, without worries is to refrain from taking life (non-violence towards sentient life forms), or ahimsa , and to refrain from lying (speaking truth always) . As a relatively large population within the religious sector, they live in continues fear if being harmed. As their religion states that they may not harm any living being, they didn’t have the ability of self-defense when needed. The religion was founded by Zarathushtra in Persia - modern-day Iran. It may have been the world’s first monotheistic faith. It was once the religion of the Persian Empire but has since been reduced in numbers to fewer than 200,000 today. With the exception of religious conservatives, most religious historians believe the Jewish, Christian and Muslim beliefs concerning God and Satan, the soul, heaven and hell, the virgin birth of the savior, the slaughter of the innocents, resurrection, the final judgment, etc. were all derived from Zoroastrianism. According to the Avesta, When men think evil thoughts, they attract evil themselves .When Ahirman enters a person; Vohuman departs from there, leaving him entirely to the evil. What awaits such a fallen and contaminated person is agonizing suffering in Hell. This was the least effected religion, due to it being practiced relatively discretely, as the

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number of practitioners is limited in Bahrain. But as most of the residents in Bahrain, they were reluctant to perform their rituals or proceed to their prayers in fear of harm. As we all can clearly tell, all these religions are against harming one’s self and others, as well as how they all were affected by the events of February 14th. Many were humiliated, abused, and kept from being able to practice their religion peacefully. Yet, if we look back to the times of those events and to present day, We see that a lot has progressed since then. All these religious practitioners slowly began putting their fears aside, and went back to practicing their religion as if nothing had ever happened. We can all say , that one consistent prayer is being repeated , and that prayer is that Bahrain returns to it previous glory and that we all may live in peace as we have for many decades .

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ANGELINA JOLIE By: Fatima Al Hajj

Angelina Jolie, the mother to six children and a natural beauty, needs no introduction as humanitarian spokes person to the world. She is also the famous Oscar-winning actress who is listed on numerous “most beautiful women” lists. Angelina Jolie, whose net worth is estimated to be $120 million has been engaging in countless humanitarian charity work. Since 2001, Jolie has been practicing on field missions in more than twenty countries around the world including Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Cambodia, Pakistan, Thailand, Ecuador, Kosovo, Kenya, Namibia, Sri Lanka, North Caucasus, Jordan, Egypt, New Delhi, Costa Rica, Chad, Syria, and Iraq. Thus, she organized a trip to Haiti to help survivors of the natural disaster. Because of her recognized charity work around the world, in 2001 Jolie was named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. In 2003, as a reward for her significant contributions, Jolie was awarded the “Citizen of the World Award” by the United Nations Correspondents Association. She has also met with the members of the Congress at least twenty times to discuss humanitarian interests in the United States. In 2005, Angelina emerged due to her contribution with UNHCR and with refugees. Therefore, she was awarded the Global Humanitarian Award by the United Nations Association of the USA. Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni honored Jolie a Cambodian citizenship in view of her conservation attributions in the country.

During 2005 and 2006, Jolie continued her involvement in advocating humanitarian issues on a political approach. She constantly participated in World Refugee Day in Washington DC, addressed to raising awareness of the situation of refugees internationally. In 2006, Jolie was more and more engaged in many advocating approaches that raised awareness to humanitarian concerns. Due to her previous attributions, she was a guest speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The forum was attended by the top international business and political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists in order to discuss the international health and the environment issues. Along with the corporation of her husband, Brad Pitt, she established the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, in order to support the victims of international humanitarian crises. During the launch of the foundation, the couple donated around $1 million to Doctors Without Borders and Global Action for Children. According to tax records, the couple donated minimum of $8 million to charity in 2006 only. Jolie has also contributed to the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which supported the fund of education programs for children affected by conflict. Thanks to those contributions, the foundation scheduled annual meetings that gathered more than 100 current and former heads of state, 14 Nobel Peace Prize winners, hundreds of leading global CEOs, major philanthropists and foundation heads, directors of the most effective non-governmental organizations, and prominent members of the media.

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In 2007, many organizations and corporations recognized Jolie’s attributions; therefore, around 19 organizations specified $148 million to educate 350,000 out-of-schools in conflict children. Later on, those organizations aimed to help improve the quality of schooling for nearly 700,000 additional children. During 2008 and 2009, Jolie collaborated with the Microsoft Corporation aiming to establish “Kids in Need of Defense” a pro bono movement of law firms, corporate law departments, NGOs and volunteers commissioned to provide legal counsel to unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States. In 2010, Jolie established a program called the Jolie Legal Fellows, which admits lawyers to support governmental child protection efforts in Haiti. In 2011, Jolie was granted gold pin reserved for the most long-serving staff by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, due to decades of attributions as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Charities & Foundations Supported Afghanistan Relief Organization, Alliance For The Lost Boys, Cancer Schmancer Movement, Care to Learn, Clinton Global Initiative, Daniel Pearl Foundation, Direct Change, Doctors Without Borders, Global Action for Children, Human Rights Watch, Jolie-Pitt Foundation, Kids in Need of Defense, Millennium Promise Alliance, Millennium Villages, Muhammad Ali Center, ONE Campaign, Peace One Day, Reporters Without Borders, Sophie’s Gift, SOS Children’s Villages, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Millennium Project and Yéle Haiti Foundation. Causes Supported Adoption, Fostering, Orphans, AIDS, At-Risk/ DisadvantagedYouths, Cancer, Children, Creative Arts, Disaster Relief, Economic/Business Support, Education, Environment, Health, Homelessness, Human Rights, Hunger, Peace, Poverty, Refugees, Water and Women.

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WHY CAN’T THEY BE RECOGNIZED? By: Ahmed Al Araifi

The Palestinian-Israeli dilemma has been going on for over 6 decades. Throughout these years the amount of people loosing their lives has never stopped. Numerous peace treaties have been drafted, resolutions discussed and initiatives presented that highlight the importance of peaceful co-existence. However, the journey for peace always seemed a hesitant one for both counter parts.The Israeli Government, which was declared and recognized on the 29th of November of 1947, continues to have a firm standing point when it comes to an Independent Palestinian State. However, this position is not based on a well-founded argument that forces us to ask many questions that need to be addressed. Why can’t the Palestinian people have the right to a state? Why can’t they have a nationality of their own? Why can’t they have a homeland they can belong too? There are many Why’s and no convincing answers.

discussion platform and remain dominant. Many Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish State, a matter Israel will not tolerate. In the same way, Israel does not recognize Hamas as a frontier for Palestine even though it does represent a weighty portion of the people. Yet, the political aspect of this predicament is not as important as the humane side. President Abbas stated in his Statehood bid speech that ‘The time has come for my courageous and proud people, after decades of displacement and colonial occupation and ceaseless suffering, to live like other peoples of the earth, free in a sovereign and independent homeland’. The key elements that his speech focused on were related to the suffering of his people throughout the past six decades. He pointed out their struggle to live freely and stressed upon their rights to live as human beings equal to all.

Mahmoud Abbas announced the Palestinian proposal for an independent state on the 23rd of September 2011. Abbas gave a speech in front of the United Nations General Assembly making a UN statehood bid forThe State of Palestine.The ceremonial hall witnessed a euphoric echo of applause as many stood for this long-anticipated event. Nonetheless, the Israeli government represented by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared willingness to ‘negotiate’ and blamed Palestinians for the obstacles that exist in the path of peace.

The demand for an independent state is not newborn. In 1979, The Israeli Government signed an agreement with the Egyptian government dubbed the ‘1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty’. The treaty covered topics such as the normalization of relations between Egypt and Israel and the demilitarization of Sinai. In the same agreement, it was stated that Israel would ‘recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” supporting the establishment of a sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, nothing came of this agreement and promises soon deteriorated.

Many consider the hurdles; that apparently never fail to appear, overrated and solvable. Although, these impediments are the main points on the

Moreover, the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangement commonly known as the Oslo accords was another effort to resolve

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the conflict. The talks took into consideration: conditions of Palestinian Elections, withdrawal of Israeli forces, economic cooperation and regional development. Israel did in fact sign the Accords and looked forward to reaching a final-status agreement. The time frame agreed upon was five years; these years saw no progress at all. The Israeli part of the equation is considered the more empowered and able. Even with this being said, it is obvious that the Israeli Government has not been willing in the past to reach an agreement and the current scenario seems to show this as well. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published a report named ‘Suffering in Isolation’ in 2003. The report sheds light on the Al-Mawasi Bedouin area in Palestine and how it is suffering because of the arbitrary Israeli actions that isolated and cut off the town. The detailed report mentions that ‘Medical equipment and supplies

have been almost entirely prevented from entering the area, and as a result, the two small clinics in the Mawasi can only provide a prescription service, distributing limited amounts of basic medicine’. It is concluded from this account that human rights violations have led to significant deterioration in public services such as health and education. Additionally, the report outlined major human rights violations in regard to human security and pointed out how the people of AlMawasi suffered in isolation. The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories confirmed that in 2011 over 105 Palestinians were killed; 37 of which were ‘non-combatants’. The death toll of Palestinians since the beginning of the conflict until now is estimated to exceed expectations. Israel has always blamed the late Yasser Arafat for prolonging the conflict and escalating it. The Israeli Government considered him as a EYES ON HUMANITY

stumbling block in the face of peace. Arafat died in 2004 and since then peace has failed to show up. They started running out of excuses and the Palestinian state became closer to reality. However, the fact that an independent state will be legally recognized worldwide, and Palestinians will be protected by international treaties and conventions threatens Israel. The Israeli government does not want to loose any superiority in this conflict by the establishment of the Palestinian State. Regardless of human rights, Israel believes that its security comes second to none and at any cost; even if that means killing innocent people. 3.2 Million people live in the West Bank. They have lived without there civil rights for as long as they can remember and will simply not endure

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this suffering anymore. Palestinians are human beings, they deserve a right to live peacefully and with dignity just as the people of Israel do. They deserve to be recognized, appreciated and respected all over the world. Unfortunately, this is not the case and should not be accepted. How many Palestinians and Israelis have to die before the conflict is resolved? Human Rights are for all human beings, a statement that is more said than believed and adopted. The International Arena must wake up from this long overdue slumber and solve this dilemma.There is no reason statehood should be denied otherwise why doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Israel give up the rights of its citizens to have a state and dissolve it? Palestine deserves its recognition just like France, Nigeria and Singapore and its people deserve to be referred to as the citizens of the State of Palestine.

A SYRIAN NIGHTMARE By: Dr. Hanadi Buhazzaa

“When good men do nothing, evil prevails” -Edmund Burke I remember I was watching the news on TV as I do every night since the so called Arab Spring started. I got weary just listening to the news of how many people are being killed in an Iraqi blast, in football match riots in Egypt and in a sudden erupting fight in a Libyan town. Day after day it is just getting worse. The world around me all of a sudden seems full of dead bodies when I suddenly heard a sound of someone weeping. I looked up at the TV and Bashar Alassad was giving a speech, he was saying something about protecting Syria from the conspiracy from others including some Arab states but I couldn’t focus, the sound of the weeping was getting louder and more insistent. I had to find out what is going on, yet part of me wanted to listen to Bashar speech hoping he will ends up making some sense as normal intelligent humans tend to do. The weeping was increasing and I felt I was surrounded by it so I walked to where I believed the sound was coming from. I found a child of not more than 6 years lying in the middle of the street so I ran to see why is he lying there, only to find blood all over his little body. still the sound I was hearing was going on and this child was dead. I looked around, no one was there. the surrounding building were demolished there was a low mud-wall few meters behind me and it seemed that there where the weeping sound was coming from so I walked towards it wondering where on earth I was?!! This was a war zone. When I reached the wall an arm pulled me down only to be missed by random gun shots. Few people were hiding behind that debilitating mud-wall and another body of a man was there. I am not even sure if he was alive or

dead. An old woman was weeping and a youth told me that this man was the dead boy father. They were caught in the middle of firings on that road from the Syrian army forces. The father tried to shield his son with his own body but he got injured and the boy was dead. The dead boy was Fedaa Mohammed Etheya and the place was a small town in Daraa in Syria. It didn’t make any sense to me. Bashar Alassad was continuing his speech saying he will continue dealing with opponents of the regime with an “iron fist”. So this child death and injured father was what he meant by that?!

I felt sick to my stomach as I walked around the small roads with bodies of civilians, men, women and children lying around while the living were hiding till they get a chance to take the bodies for burial. Many of them died just trying to do that. I wanted to die there and then but suddenly many people were surrounding me holding the Syrian revolution flag chanting “Bashar it is time to leave” and walking while knowing they may be shot at in any moment. In the midst of such courageous people I felt

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safe and ashamed in the same time. These people were running even of bare necessities like bread, food and fuel to warm their homes in the harsh winter. Most of them had more than one member of their family and friends killed over the last months of the revolution. They still come out chanting in one voice “The people want to topple the regime” on their way to bury their dead. I felt so isolated and far away, crying as I hear the sound of clashes between the Syrian forces and what is now known as the free army of Syria who had to take the responsibility of defending the people whom the regime is killing. More and more people are killed every day; more people disappear without anyone knowing where they are. I kept running from one house to another which was being demolished by the army, I felt hunted by death. All around me buildings were bombarded even mosques and convents and I was in a park which was turned into a graveyard. So many graves were dug in a hurry here and a young girl was crying her heart out at one of the graves. She told me her mother and brother were buried here and has no idea where her dad was but she said (we have nothing more to lose. we lost everything. Hama has been through worse but this time all Syria is with us). I wanted to say something back but I choked on my own tears. A park turned into a graveyard! A mosque bombarded and whole families killed. All I know is I wanted to run and escape the smell of death lingering in the air and the blood of children turning the earth an ugly red, so I ran and suddenly clashed with a man wearing an army uniform he said: (don’t worry, I belong to the Syrian free army and I will protect you) and there and then he was shot in the head. I felt his warm blood all over my face and I woke up to the noise of the loud clapping to Bashar Alassad speech by people who seem to be living in a different planet. What a terrible nightmare?? My heart was

pounding, my whole body was shaking. Still Alassad speech lasted for 93 very long minutes without making any sense at all but what shocked me was that my terrible nightmare wasn’t just that, it was the Syrian people daily life for almost a year.They bury their dead and the next day they go out in the streets demanding freedom. Their babies die out of cold and hunger, whole families where killed some at the same time and Bashar still talking about terrorists groups which I finally fathomed that he is describing his army troops. When university students staged a peaceful protest they were beaten up and forced to sign a statement saying they will never participate again but the real sad part is in those universities and quieter areas in Syria, undercover police is everywhere. People know they are being watched and if they were merely suspected not based on any kind of evidence they will be taken from their homes, universities, schools and even hospitals. It is like the regime turned Syria into one great high security prison and what support it is the mentality that everyone who speaks up deserve to die worse than any criminal and the regime actually feels righteous about it. Death in Syria by being shot in the streets is way better than being caught by the Syrian security forces that have been torturing even children and mutilating their bodies. Burning their bodies with fire and acid, cutting of their genitals, beating them and kicking them, raping them and all that before they mercifully kill them. Some bodies will be returned to their families but many more will not, leaving their families in despair not knowing if their loved ones are peacefully dead or being tortured in the different centers all over Syria. Yes, here being shot dead in the streets was the easy way out in compare to other options yet they are still protesting. All they demand is freedom and human dignity. They kept chanting not for any other intervention except from God, they felt they are all alone in this world.

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I am not going to even pretend that I am neutral and impartial on this issue because if I was then I won’t be human. For me it is not a political situation and I really don’t care who wins what or if Bashar leaves or stays. All I am concerned about is that this is a human disaster; scores of people are killed everyday all over Syria. In one day the death toll ranges from tens to over a hundred that even the UN announced that it will stop counting because of the increasing number day after day. I call this mass murder but for the first time in my life I am not even concerned with the killers and justice right now is not one of my priorities. The killing has to be stopped. It is all any decent human being belonging to any race, country, religion and tribe will demand. People are not supposed to be killed, tortured and their bodies mutilated for any reason what so ever. Politics are dirty games played by the big people? In our world but human rights shouldn’t be tarnished by such filth.

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Human rights shouldn’t be used for any political agenda. I want the Syrian regime to stop killing its own people even if it was forced to, not because I care about politics but because such a horrible act of mass murder and brutal repression shouldn’t be allowed anywhere in the world. The Syrians are being killed for almost a year and what the rest of the world is doing? The answer is watching and I hate to admit it. I looked all around hoping to find someone who will do something to stop these crimes against humanity committed every hour of the day and the night for months against civilians who are simply asking for their rights. All I found were speeches, from the Arab League which ends up giving the Syrian regime more time to kill more people, and then in the security council the speeches went on and on and even a single decision is threatened by the Syrian regime allies such as china and Russia who are simply thinking of their own arm sales instead of the death toll of the Syrian people. They say the international family is divided which

means some countries like the former mentioned plus Lebanon and Iran are actually supportive to the Syrian regime. Lebanon as a government, do not really have a say and Iran because the Iranian regime is repressing and killing its own people and committing its own massacres. What kind of family is this? A family who differ on stopping one of their members from killing his own offspring because they wanted a better life?? Even animal families do way better than this. So animal rights groups donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to face such a dilemma, they protect animals against human cruelty but who will protect humans from human cruelty?! The Syrian regime got away with massacres before, in 1982 over 20.000 people were reported killed in Hama and guess what the world did? Nothing. 20.000 lives of men, women and children were sacrificed by their own regime and the whole world stood there watching. So why would the Syrian regime feel threatened in any way this time by any of the parties? He got away with mass murdering his own people more than once in front of the international so called family, so why wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t this happen again? The Syrian regime head is acting in such an arrogant way that implies he will not care if he has to exterminate his own people to stay in power while we are all watching. As an ordinary human being, as an international citizen I am enraged, I am beyond rage at the atrocities committed in Syria and I know very well I am not alone. Ordinary people all over the world feels this way, we all want this massacre in Syria to stop right this very moment. Every day passes by without any action taken is threatening to us all because it means one thing , that this tragedy can and will happen again in different parts of the world and more humans including children will be tortured and killed because today we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop it in Syria.

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JOURNALISM... MAINSTREAM CORRUPTION By: Noora Al Balooshi

Broken trust is like a broken mirror. No

false accusations about the real victims. To show

matter how much you try to fix it and make it look

to what extent each journalist is bias, we have an

flawless, you will always be able to see the cracks

article by each one.

within. Just as we see the bias flaws in these journalists’ articles and stories; Nicholas Kristoff,

In “The God Gulf,” Nicholas Kristof warns that

Amber Lyon, and Robert Fisk. What do all three

“Church

journalists have in common? They all create an

Democrats” are increasingly divided over the

image for the people at fault. By creating this

issue of faith.“A new Great Awakening is sweeping

image, they make it seem as if these violators are

the country, with Americans increasingly telling

the real victims at hand. They have shown time

pollsters that they believe in prayer and miracles,

and time again, through many articles and news

while only 28 percent say they believe in evolution.

coverage, the manipulation of information and

All this is good news for Bush Republicans, who

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Going

Republicans”

and “Secular

are in tune with heartland religious values, and bad news for Dean Democrats who don’t know John from Job.” Those two sentences reveal Kristof’s fanatical fascination with evangelical Christianity. In another recent column, Kristof related his shock that more Americans believe in the virgin birth of Christ than in the theory of evolution. From his social location in the editorial offices of The New York Times, this is absolutely inconceivable. It is as if Kristof has been told that a majority of Americans believe in the Tooth Fairy and deny the existence of gravity. So far as Nicholas Kristof is concerned, a lack of support for the theory of evolution is a sign that America is going religiously insane. The rejection of evolution is heresy among the cultural elite, who scratch their heads in amazement that millions of Americans do not share their secular outlook. The stark reality that a majority of Americans claim to believe in prayer and miracles is enough to send Kristof and his peers running to break the glass on the religion alarm. As you can see, Nicholas Kristof clearly shows lack of faith, and openly mocks religious individuals. In the case of Amber Lyon ,The group“Anonymous” claims to be an arm of the “Occupy Movement” and has made headlines for stealing credit card numbers and publishing personal information of police officers. Explaining the cause behind Anonymous and noting how they call themselves the “Air Force” of the Occupy Movement is more like free publicity for the group than a critical investigation. Though CNN mentioned members’ arrests at the hands of the FBI, Lyon also pointed out during the 3 p.m. hour of Newsroom how “the majority of them are just average Joe Americans.” The segment began with intense footage of Occupy protesters in a standoff with police officers and voice-over commentary explaining how Anonymous sees the world. “It’s a dark and disturbing vision. A world where riot police attack with impunity”, Lyon narrated. “Where democracy is corrupted by greed and dissent is crushed”, EYES ON HUMANITY

she added. So is the audience supposed to feel sympathy for hackers and thieves? Lyon made sure to get their side of the story as to why they are engaging in illegal activity, after reporting that they published personal information of police officers. After Lyon noted that the FBI has made more than a dozen arrests of group members, a brief clip from an Anonymous broadcast blared “we are living in a police state”. “But there’s no indication that has cramped Anonymous’ style”, Lyon said of the arrests, reporting that the group hacked into a security research firm on Christmas Day, crashed the website, and stole credit card information from its clients in order to donate $1 million to charity. Amazingly, Lyon still cast the group members as ordinary Americans, carrying out their daily business and... wanting to start a revolution? And there it is ladies and gentlemen; she applauds criminals and thieves, and condemns police officers that were just trying to keep the peace intact. Last but certainly not least, we have Robert Fisk. Here, we have stories that have been heard but never published, from Private Eye. “Hugh Pope, a former independent colleague of Fisk’s, recently published a memoir of his three decades of reporting in the Middle East, dining with al Qaeda. When they were both covering the Iraqi Kurd refugee crisis in 1991, he writes, Fisk reported that Turkish troops were on a “rampage of looting”, stealing refugees’ “blankets, sheets and food”, and that British forces “cocked their weapons in a confrontation with the Turkish troops”. For his book, Pope telephoned Fisk’s main named source, a British military doctor. He also spoke to a senior British diplomat who had run the relief operation in Turkey in 1991. “Both flatly denied there was anything near a clash and thought the charges of theft and tensions were sensationalised”. In a later account of the “clash”, Pope writes, Fisk “meticulously describes 36

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a flight to the refugee camp in the crew bay of an Apache helicopter. The trouble is, Apaches have no crew bay.” When Pope’s book came out Ian Black, diplomatic editor of the Guardian drily noted that he was “not the first journalist to wonder with envy and irritation how Fisk ‘managed to get an amazing sounding story from a dull day’. Meanwhile the leading Egyptian blogger Issandr El Amrani noted that “if you hang around journalists with several decades of Middle East experience, particularly ones who were in Beirut in the 1980s, you keep hearing these stories again and again about Fisk”. Indeed you do. “It has been common knowledge for years among British and American reporters that Bob can just make things up or lifts others’ work without attribution and embellish it”, writes Jamie Dettmer, another former Middle East correspondent, in his review of Pope’s book. “I recall him doing it to me on a story in Kuwait about the killings of Palestinians at the hands of Kuwaitis following the liberation of the emirate. I remember also the time Fisk filed a datelined Cairo story about a riot there when he was in fact at the time in Cyprus”. To cover a war story is interesting itself, but to manipulate statements to make it sound worse then it really is, is simply appalling. After reading all these articles, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Racism? Fascism? Fame-seekers perhaps? It seems to us that these reporters would stop at nothing until they have their“ideal” stories.They are in need of reality checks very soon. Wake up my fellow journalists, for what you are doing goes completely against the code of conduct and ethics of journalism! Just remember, what goes around, comes around, and that one day you shall look back regretting what you built your so called “fame” upon.

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CHOSEN TWEETS

Tweets: 1.

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Comments: 1. Made in Syria: killing children killing of women 5. When did ppl become so sectarian? Don’t killing everything poor no one defends them

be selective support human rights freedom and

Comment: we all know who to blame!!!!

democracy everywhere

2. Only in Bahrain human rights activists’ are 6. Asma Assad is the Middle East version of looking for attention they lie lie and lie more #

Marie Antoinette. That story didn’t end well for

Pinocchio

Marie in France.

Comment:

Pinocchio

looks

you

have

Comment: women to women, cake to bullet

competition.

7. Felt saddened after watching a program on 3. I want every protester to answer me this

child labour for me this mood might be short

question honestly why are you destroy your own

lived for them its their live, answer

country #Bahrain

Comment: real human rights case.

Comment: guess they don’t have anything better

8. Many women want equality but some just

to do.

want to be pampered and taken care of. Who are

4. We fight for our own language we fight for our we to say that’s wrong? own education we fight for our own rights. When

Comment:

Moro

shall we fight for our nation owned by all of us?

disappointed.

Angela

would

@eyesonhumanity_ EYES ON HUMANITY

HUMANITY LENSES By: Eman Salem

Title : Freedom of speech Name : Eman Salem Country : Kingdom of Bahrain All people have the right to speak , express and have the right to let others get their messages no matter who they are or no matter what their age is, everyone have the freedom of speech for what is good for them and there families

Title : Little Girl Name : Jia Qureshi Country : Pakistan Millions of Poor and Hungry People are Suffering Due to Poverty and Natural Disasters In Different Parts of the world.. Hundreds of them have Lost their homes,and even Family Members but they still keep on living ,a hope that someone will Help them and Support them even when there is no ear who can listen to their Cries..Even when they have broken Apart.. they still live and Hope .. for a Better tomorrow ... Let us Help those who are in need SERVE HUMANITY

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Title : Seeking for Peace Name : Faisal Al-Khudairy Country : Kingdom of Saudia Arabia Homeless let me think about myself and the society I live in. So many people complain every day about little annoying things in their life. And other people like the old man on the picture donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even waste a thought about those little things. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more important to survive.

Title : Violent Acts Name : Grandedus Country : Finland See yourself in others ?then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do !! From this photo I like people to know If you see yourself in others, you are less likely to harm them, less likely to perform violent acts against them, for if you do you are harming yourself.

If you think your photographic skills are good enough, send us some of your work & you might just make it in the next issue! Photographs must stick to the theme of Humanity. Esalim@eyesonhumanity.com EYES ON HUMANITY

FACT BOX

Facts about human rights violation: By: Haya Salem

According to (UNICEF), over the past 30 years, over 30 million children have been sexually exploited through human trafficking

Parents in countries such as China and India sometimes use sex determination tests to find out if their fetus is a girl. Of 8,000 fetuses aborted at a Bombay clinic, 7,999 were female.

It is impossible to measure the true magnitude of violence against children worldwide. There is a lack of data on the exact number of child victims because so much happens in secret and is not reported.

About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. FGM is a procedure that intentionally alters or injures genital organs for nonmedical reasons. In many cultures, especially in Africa, FGM is often considered a part of preparing a girl for womanhood.

During the Holocaust of World War II Hitlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Final Solution resulted in the death of 6 million or 78% of European Jews. The Final Solution was Nazi Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan of systematic execution against European Jews.

The number of chronically hungry people worldwide grows by an average of four million people per year.

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Interview With Mohammed Alarab • As always Human Rights is the article that many unsung, especially protestors everywhere. Everyone claims to be the closest to human rights, but the truth is that the fuel of any political operation is human rights violations. We haven’t found any political operation either in the west nor the east which has been completed without having human rights violations on its sidelines. Even in sports, events, and international festivals a human rights violation would take place in order to provide the right environment for the arriving guests for this particular event. What is the role of governments to enhance the role of human rights in countries?

Mohammed Alarab is a writer, a journalist, and the Manager of Al Arabiya and MBC Office in Bahrain. He is known for his fearless reports on different human rights and political issues. Eyes on Humanity met with him at the location of their station in Bahrain where we had a talk about his views of human rights violations around the world. As a media person, what is your view of what’s going on around the world of human rights violations? 44

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• We need the right human rights education. Starting with the telecommunications companies, these companies are disturbing the privacy of everyone by sending advertising messages while I haven’t given them the authorization to send me anything. Basically human rights start with the right education of human rights. Everyone should know what they should give and what they should have. Everyone’s relationship with god is something private; nobody should interfere with how others communicate with god or how they pray, at the same time nobody should interfere in how you communicate with your own family. I would only disagree with you whenever I see you intersect with other people’s rights. Human rights take place whenever somebody violates other people’s rights. I always quote the British Prime Minister during the events which took place in London when he was asked about human rights he answered: “Security and then Human Rights”. Meaning if you use your rights to the point where

you abuse other people’s rights, your rights should pause and security and law is the judge. The Arab Spring, what was its impact on Arab countries? • Arab Spring is not a subject which we can discuss at the moment for we haven’t seen the results of the changes which took place in some Arab countries, we cannot talk today about an Arab Spring which brought good to the country it took place in for as we can see these countries aren’t stable yet. For example Egypt is drowning in its debt and the Egyptian citizen is not benefiting from the revolution, we can still see Egyptians below the poverty line, and the salary margin did not increase, Egyptians did not get their rights, and what made the situation worse is the insecurity. So we cannot call it a spring until we see its flowers blossom. Until this minute and starting from the spring of the Tunisian revolution all we can see is human rights violations, killing, blood, weakness in the standard of living, and tension in diplomatic and political relations. When they called it spring, I’m waiting for flowers. Can governments correct themselves for when it comes to human rights violations which has taken place in their countries? • First of all I would like to I applaud Bahrain Independent commission of Inquiry which was ordered by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain. This is one of the things that governments do to correct errors that may have occurred. Reconciliation with oneself and reconciliation with the people is the only way to fix things that have occurred. State of Platonism Utopia does not exist, every country has its own gaps and flaws, only some governments try to convince themselves they’re right while others try to work hard with transparency to overcome their mistakes. Countries that are recon ciliated with themselves and recon ciliated with the people deal with each situation with full transparency

and specify the problem for it to be solved for when it comes to these human rights violations. As I mentioned previously human rights violations take place everywhere, there are some people who gets over it easily as if nothing happened and others put it under the microscope of investigation to prevent it from happening again and this is the right thing. What do you think of how the media is handling cases related to violence against women? • Unfortunately, and even though we have entered a new era in which women are not only making half the society, but shares men everything and every field, we still in a way use a masculine logic for when it comes to women’s issues, meaning what men are allowed to women are not allowed to. Until today we discuss simple things which are related to women’s personal freedom, behavior, and role in the society; whereby we should have been over these discussions a long time ago. Despite all the achievements women has accomplished politically and despite the success in the Arab World, women did not get the appreciation they deserve from men in particular. We still find men who treat women as the speaker to their voices; they still use women to support their political views just because they are related to them. I personally call for more rights for women and more authorities. In Bahrain they have reached a good stage of women appreciation while some societies still consider the word women a disgrace. As a media person, what are the obstacles which you had to go through for when it comes to human rights cases? • The most difficult cases a media person can face nowadays are human rights cases because the victim becomes extravagant in describing the crime that occurred on him, and the accused becomes extravagant proving his innocence and mostly the voice of reason goes missing. There

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is always a slayer and there is always slain, we have to always look for witnesses. And witnesses everywhere divides into two categories, one defending the slain and the other defends the slayer, here comes an old journalism rule which is: I hear everything people say and I believe what my eyes see. I have to live the experience of the injustice which the victim went through so that I can describe his issue. When does a media person abuse himself when he talks the language of human rights? • A media person is different than a human rights activist. The job of a media person is to deliver exactly what happened, if what went on had a human rights violation all what he did is deliver the picture, and if what went on did not have a human rights violation then he should speak up and say so. Some media people drops his personal view on what he does, here he rips himself off his media outfit and gets into the outfit of a human rights activist or a lawyer or a social worker. A media person should remain in the middle, and with the acceleration of the events, it is difficult for the media person to remain in the middle. The media person who tries to keep the same standard of reputation the least he can do is to apply the creative way with such circumstances which is to deliver the picture and let it speak for itself. For example when I film a person somewhere holding a Molotov bomb in his hand, no one can call me unprofessional, and no one can come and say that he is holding a rose for what the picture itself is saying, or when I see a security person hitting a protester on his head, I cannot justify what he is doing for no matter what this protestor is doing the law should decide how this person should be punished. This is why I apply displaying the picture itself in my coverage because the picture is worth one thousand words. Not anyone can call himself a media person while they are a part of a conflict for a certain agenda.

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Do you think the world can accomplish something in the human rights field in the near future? • I expect as time progress us, these violations will increase. The activity operation which human rights organizations are going through has only one explanation which is the human rights violation increase. We get violated in a way or the other; I’ll give you an example: Why do the cosmetics companies advertise white ladies as a symbol of beauty in their commercials? This is one of the seen racism against a certain segment existing on the globe. We have different colors in the world, why would they only display the white to be the symbol of beauty? First of all it is marginalization to the rest of the colors secondly it is a use of the color itself. We have very dangerous racism signs which we do not know the source of or who is responsible of spreading this racist views. Until now and after all what we have accomplished, we still talk the language of he’s white and he’s black. Until now the society is forcing the women to wear a certain type of cosmetics and wearing a certain type of outfit which has been proven to be harmful for her health such as high heels and makeup. Even the certain formalities which forces a man to wear leather shoes even though he might have a certain disease which prevents him from wearing such shoes. All I want to say that we have reached a level where the traditional violations are the violations seen, while the non-traditional violations started to develop taking bigger shapes. Today there is something which I have noticed in our world that there is a consumption of what others produce with no knowledge of its benefit or non benefit. Even referring to some countries as “third world countries” is called a violation of human rights. Who gave anyone the right to categorize countries as second and third and so on? Meaning even on the news we violate in one way or another human rights.

UN Most Wanted List 1.

Osama Bin Laden 3.

Joaquin Guzman 4.

Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov 5.

Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar 6.

Matteo Messina Denaro

Felicien Kabuga

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Manuel Marulanda 9.

Joseph Kony 10.

James J. Bulger 12.

11.

Noel Cunningham

Omid Tahvili

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Alfonso Cano

14.

13.

Asil Nadir 15.

Andrei Lugovol 16.

Augustin Bizimana

Omar Hassan Al-Bashir 18.

17.

Dr. Aeibert Heim

Ratko Miadic

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THE 10 MILLION OTHERS By: Sumaiya Farooq

Spokesperson for

The European Ahwazi

Human Rights

Organisation, and well spoken journalist.

Every human being is entitled to their

not only because meat is a novelty but because

fundamental human rights, according to the

they are scared of baby-napping’s which happen

Universal Declaration of Human rights that is.

regularly. The biggest threat to Iran is the womb

According to Iran however, most probably not.

of a Ahwazi Arab woman but one woman who

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is

was determined to increase the population went

composed of a Preamble and thirty articles. Article

through an alarming ordeal. Hamida, 35 who

1 and 2 form the principle of the Declaration.

escaped to Germany with her family was just one

Article 1 states, “All human beings are born free

of many women who after trying for a child for

and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed

years surprisingly could not conceive. Hamida,

with reason and conscience and should act

a healthy, fertile woman who gave birth to 5 kids

towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

in 11 years was horrified to find that after she

To a 10 million Arab population living in the once

and her husband visited a German doctor, it

flourishing country of Al-Ahwaz, bordering the

was discovered a medical procedure had been

Arabian Gulf, article 1 could be no further from the

performed on her to prevent her from having

truth. Because, the truth of the matter is, is that

any more children. Previously in Ahwaz, Hamida

Ahwazi Arabs are NOT born free, and are definitely

like so many Arab fertile women were taken for

not equal nor born with dignity and rights. The

surgery after giving birth for what Iranian medics

Sunni Ahwazi population cannot register birth

informed them was a required check-up of the

certificates to their Arab new-borns unless they

womb. Little did they know that this procedure

choose Persian names. Naming your child after

was carried out deliberately to prevent Ahwazi

a companion of the Prophet Muhammad such

women bearing more children. As sad as it is, Iran

as Talha, Zubair, Abdur Rahman or even worse

ensures that when Arabs come into this world,

for the Iranian Authorities names like; Abu Bakr,

they are born with no dignity and in very poor

Omar, Ayesha is a major crime and can have you

and unclean conditions. Article 2 of the Universal

hanged – in public. Parents don’t dare celebrate

Declaration states the basic principle of equality

the birth of the child in the traditional Arab way,

and non-discrimination, that is, “Everyone is

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entitled to all the rights and freedoms, without

arrest, torture and execute them, therefore the

distinction of any kind, such as race, colour,

plight of the Ahwazi people is less known.

sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Of course, the non-Islamic, non-republic Regime of Iran violates this altogether.The Ahwazi Arab struggle, despite what some say is also, a fight to practice religion freely. Ahwazi Arabs because of their Sunni beliefs are persecuted heavily. In fact, any Sunni in Iran is considered less than a human, an infidel, a dis-believer. Throughout the occupation, the Arabs have had to secretly practice their faith and pray in secret. Sunni Imams have been hanged, Sunni scholars have been imprisoned and killed and anybody caught practicing or preaching receives the same punishment. Ahwazi children are sent to hide-outs in the night to study, memorise the holy Qura’n and have Islamic study circles in a bid by determined parents to maintain their Islamic knowledge and practices. Books like Sahih ul Bukhari and other Arabic resources are burned and anybody caught possessing them are persecuted. The struggle is not only a religious one; it is a fight against social, racial,

The Oil rich Ahwazi Arab homeland produces

economic, political and cultural marginalisation

90% of Iran’s oil output and 10% of Opec’s

and persecution. Arabic is a forbidden language

global production. Tehran expropriates all the

in Ahwaz. When one young girl spoke in Arabic

oil revenues, leaving the region in disgraceful

accidently on the street, she was run over by an

conditions, with near-African levels of poverty.

Iranian Guard’s motorbike. Arabs are careful to

Ahwazi Arabs are discriminated against so badly,

only communicate in Arabic inside their homes.

that the un-employment rate in Ahwazi is 71%

No Arabic literature or music is permitted and

according to ISNA, Iranian news agency.

of course, Arabic Satellites for T.V are most-

Most Ahwazi children can’t afford to go to

definitely banned. The red kuffiyah-style scarf

school and are illiterate whilst those that do,

that is traditional to Ahwazi’s carries the death

have to shave their heads off as to segregate

penalty for anybody caught wearing it and the

them physically from the Persian students. This

traditional Arabic kameez (deshdasheh) worn

Nazi-style persecution continues through to the

by men is illegal to wear too. All in all, any sign

public sector, where Arabs are mistreated and

of Arabic or Arab traditions is forbidden heavily.

humiliated at Police stations, Banks and other

The response of the Ahmadinejad administration

public places.

to those who have highlighted the suffering of

Ever since Ahwaz was occupied by Iran in 1925,

Ahwazi Arabs is to ignore, silence, intimidate,

Iran has been dispossessing Arabs of their EYES ON HUMANITY

lands. This is linked to incentives that encourage

the jobs and houses allocated for them could

Iranians from all over Iran to settle there with zero

not be allocated to the local population.

interest loans for land for Persian settlers, not available to Arabs, all in an attempt to facilitate the relocation of non-Arabs to cities of Al-Ahwaz. According to an open letter, dated 26 April 2005, addressed to former President Khatami by Jasem Shadidzadeh, a former member of the Majles (Iran’s parliament) for Ahwaz province who was banned from standing in the 2004 elections, alleged that more than 120,000 hectares of Arab lands had been confiscated for use in the government’s “Sugar Cane Development Plan”, established in the 1990s. In addition, around 47,000 hectares of Arab farmland in the Jofir region has reportedly been confiscated under the Isargaran Agricultural Development Plan and given to non-Arabs, including the families of members of the security forces. The Shilat Corporation (a state-owned fisheries company) has reportedly received a further 25,000 hectares, and 6,000 hectares were reportedly confiscated under directives from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Revolutionary Guard Corps in order to resettle non-Arab veterans of the Iran-Iraq war. Much or all of this land has reportedly been expropriated

Land confiscation and population transfer are

without consultation or adequate compensation

not the only threat to the Ahwazi natives, Iran

and as such amounts to forced eviction which is

continue to round up people and convict them of

prohibited under international human rights law.

crimes they have never committed such as being

Large development projects are still deliberately

homo-sexual and handling drugs and giving

carried out by Iran in Ahwaz which in effect is a

them harsh sentences. The land that was once

cover-mission to drive Ahwazi’s out of their homes

luscious in crops and water is now deliberately

and farmlands. In an interview following his visit

wrecked and vandalised by Iran all in an attempt

to Iran in July 2005, the UN Special Rapporteur

to make lives even more unbearable. Livestock

on the Right to Adequate Housing highlighted

don’t survive and water is rapidly drying up. The

his concern over the effects of “the displacement

drinking water and irrigation water is poor due

of entire villages - with thousands of people

to a horrendous sewage system and industrial

not consulted on the projects, informed of the

contamination. The poor Ahwazi people have

impending displacement, nor offered adequate

to put up with horrid stenches as a result of

resettlement

also

the open sewers and pollution. A recent report

questioned the government’s policy of bringing

(Sep, 2011) from the World Health Organisation

in people from other provinces and asked why

ranked cities around the world based on the

and

compensation”.

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cities’ detected levels of air pollution. The WHO surveyed data from nearly 1100 cities across 91 countries– including capital cities and cities with more than 100, 000 residents. Of that list, Ahwaz City had the dubious distinction of having the dirtiest air in the world, meaning Ahwazi’s are breathing the most polluted air in the world. Even, more polluted and dirtier than the cities in Pakistan, India and China that came in the top ten. Ahwazi’s have stood up in defiance during many of their revolutions which were obviously not broadcast to the rest of the world as media is not allowed. However, their last uprising which began on 14th April 2011, amidst the Arab Spring, was broadcast all around the world with the help of social media. Iran, heavy handed as always cracked down on activists and protesters and at the end of the 3 week revolt. “Iran has made it impossible to confirm the scale of the deadly violence against protesters in Ahwaz province, making transparent and independent investigations into alleged killings and arrests there absolutely essential,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. ”Iran’s wall of silence around Ahwaz certainly makes it seem that the government is trying to hide what its security forces have been doing there.” Human Rights Watch confirmed 48 deaths, but other sources claimed up to a 100 deaths.

In summary, Iran does not allow Ahwazi Arabs to exercise the rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights making the plight of the Ahwazi Arabs a universal issue that needs to be addressed immediately and closely by the international community. Are Ahwazi people not deserving? Are they not endowed to Human rights that the rest of us enjoy? Iran continues to pursue the campaign of disinformation, constantly denying the ethnic persecution and oppression and occupation. It makes every attempt to conceal its crimes from the outside world with the help of excellent PR. So, the 10 million others are left with no voice, no choice. Sumaiya Farooq, written exclusively for Eyes On Humanity magazine.

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Democracy and Human Rights Organizations By: Layla Rajab Zayed

Essence and content of democracy is

the human, respect for human rights and human

distinguish between them in because of sex, origin, language or creed..

dignity as an end, not means. One of the main goals of democracy is helping a human in his

So passed the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa

social life, the protection of community rights,

may God preserve him in 2009 a royal order

freedom, and community participation.

number“46” constructing the National Foundation for Human Rights. This initiative is constructing

The reality is that the Kingdom of Bahrain is a

enterprise

member of the Human Rights Council and its

institutions working in this area human rights in

membership has a high human rights obligations

Bahrain with the launch of the reform project of

and the Kingdom of Bahrain Standards signatory

His Majesty the King. Democracy is not elections,

to international conventions and treaties such

but along with that, builds the institutions and

as the Convention are also bound by the

mechanisms conducive to the stability of a

International Covenant on Civil and Political

peaceful democracy.

property

rights. To

regulate

the

Rights. And Bahrain signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

The main objective of the establishment of

against Women “CEDAW” with reservations on

such human rights organizations are taking the

some articles, and promulgate the law of the

promotion and development and protection

provisions of the family apartment first, “Sunni”.

of human rights and this is what we hope of

And economic agreements and a variety of

all human rights organizations operating in the

social, mostly including the items emphasize

Kingdom of Bahrain, in line with the Standards

the importance of respecting human rights, and

of international, private and global interest in

some are even unconditional respect for human

increasing the role of these national institutions.

rights.

As well as senior leadership interested in human rights system and the mobility of human rights in

There are a lot of accomplishments over these

the Kingdom Bahrain, whether civil or official .

years in the field of human rights, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain “Part III” public rights

It is important that everyone believes that

and duties, the article“18” emphasizes that people

everyone has the right, and that these rights are

are equal in human dignity, and citizens are equal

equal, and there is no individual above the law.

before the law in public rights and duties, do not

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