Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Wealth in Dubai: Generous Strides in the Global Poverty Effort

Wealth in Dubai: Making Generous Strides in the Global Poverty EffortFrom a small pearl fishing village to one of the richest cities in the world, Dubai has made quite the journey. Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and is home to the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.

People believe that wealth in Dubai stems from its oil industry. However, it only accounts for about 7 percent of its total revenue. The big bucks are in Dubai’s real estate.  Reports show that most of the state’s $82.11 billion in revenue come from its investment in real estate, airlines, and sea ports.

Dubai has shown that its population has no plans to hold onto its wealth.  The city has made tremendous strides toward the eradication of global poverty and plans to continue to do so until it is eliminated.  Forty-six years after the foundation of the UAE, international aid provided by its government and non-governmental organizations has been estimated at $15.23 billion.  This international support using wealth in Dubai makes it one of the world’s largest contributors to foreign aid.

“Foreign aid and assistance are one of the basic pillars of our foreign policy.  For we believe that there is no true benefit for us from the wealth that we have unless it does not also reach those in need, wherever they may be, and regardless of their nationality or beliefs,” founder and former president of the UAE Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan said.

The majority of Dubai’s foreign aid goes to programs that focus on the assistance of the poor, healthcare, energy generation, transport and storage.  In recent years, the state has put an emphasis on the pursuit of solar energy.

Dubai’s leaders say that sustainability and clean energy are priorities for any long-term resolution to issues created by poverty.  They say that further investment in solar energy will lead to its use in emergency operations, schools, refugee camps and other aid processes of this kind.

– Emily Trosclair

Photo: Flickr

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4 Girls’ Education Organizations That You Should Know About

4 Girls' Education Organizations That You Should Know AboutEducation inequality is an issue all around the globe, with many countries showing a disparity in literacy rates between men and women. The 1990 World Declaration on Education for All mandates gender equality and education as essential elements of an advanced world, but insufficient action has been taken to develop education systems according to these standards. Since then, many female-run, nonprofit girls’ education organizations have sprung up to create opportunities for women in developing countries.

The plight of many uneducated women in developing countries is a woeful one. Many face poverty, female genital mutilation and early marriage. Access to education opens doors for women, empowering them to provide for themselves and their families and enabling them to participate in politics and the working world. Below are four girls’ education organizations working actively to improve women’s lives.

4 Girls’ Education Organizations That You Should Know About

  1. Educate Girls: Educate Girls, an organization based in India, works with government schools to develop educational models and access in “educationally backward” areas of the country. Founded by Safeena Husain in 2007, the nonprofit seeks to grow and maintain enrollment rates among girls, partnering with organizations like UNICEF to address issues in specific school districts.The ultimate goal is to provide a quality education to 2.5 million girls, that they may acquire the skills and tools to participate in the workforce as adults.
  2. She’s the First: She’s the First (STF) was founded by Tammy Tibbetts and Christen Brandt in 2009 to help girls in developing countries complete their education. Based in New York City, its team helps girls to graduate high school by helping to cover tuition and boarding costs, as well as offering individual guidance and providing essential resources like uniforms and medicine.STF selects girls to support based on financial need and academic potential. It currently hosts 881 scholars, who, along with their mentors, make up a dynamic network of strong and supportive women.
  3. Camfed: Camfed, short for “Campaign for Female Education,” aims to reduce global poverty via education for girls. Founded by Ann Cotton in 1993, the nonprofit concentrates on rural regions of sub-Saharan Africa and provides support to individuals in need. Nearly two million students in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Ghana have attended school with Camfed’s help.Staunchly apolitical, the organization partners with government ministries and other nonprofits to create resources and awareness. In the long term, Camfed hopes to spark systemic change by molding strong female leaders.
  4. Forum for African Women Educationalists: The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) is a pan-African nonprofit that encourages policy changes to make learning environments more accessible to girls. Partnering with government and private organizations across the continent, FAWE works to create community awareness and ensure equal treatment between boys and girls in school.FAWE has introduced a variety of educational models since its inception, including a 2007 gender-responsive pedagogy model tailored for teacher training colleges in Ethiopia, Senegal, and Tanzania. Their central objective is to seamlessly integrate women into the social and political fabric of their countries.

While there remains room for gender equality in schools to improve, these girls’ education organizations have made significant strides in creating access and increasing the quality of schooling for girls, an achievement that serves to develop the world as a whole.

– Madeline Forwerck

Photo: Flickr

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Exploring How Foreign Aid Builds Alliances


Over the past 20 years, terrorist attacks have become more common, and groups such as the Islamic State and al Qaeda have become global enemies. These occurrences raise the question: What is the best way to fight? Exploring how foreign aid builds alliances with a look at recent history may have the answer.

Less than 80 years ago, Germany, Italy and Japan declared war on the U.S. as a part of WWII. In response, the U.S.temporarily ended diplomatic relations with these nations. When the war ended, much of Europe was destroyed, and the continent faced wide-spread famine. In these conditions, the U.S. gave extensive foreign aid to these and other nations, helping to rebuild their communities, economies and daily  lives. Today, these three countries are some of our closest allies, giving evidence that foreign aid helps forge alliances.

The U.S. government feared that the Soviet Union could take advantage of Europe’s frailty and institute communism throughout the continent. In response, the new secretary of state, George Marshall, constructed the European Recovery Program, commonly called the Marshall Plan.

The Marshall plan appropriated $13 billion to 16 European nations. This was aimed at providing food to prevent famine as well as sending other basic necessities and supplies to begin rebuilding. These shipments allowed Europe to reestablish its economy and fueled the coal and steel industries that are so important today. This investment also made a path for the eventual creation of the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO).

Below are three examples of benefits when foreign aid builds alliances.

1. Germany is one of our leading trade partners

As of today, Germany no longer receives U.S. foreign aid and has the largest European economy. Not only do both the U.S. and Germany remain in NATO, but the countries work together to expand global trade. Germany is also a large supplier of goods for the U.S. They exported $125 billion worth of goods, while the U.S. exported $50 billion to Germany.

Beyond economic ties, Germany also works with the U.S. at the U.N. Germany has been integral to fighting the Islamic State and al Qaeda and to maintaining peace in Africa and the Balkans.

2. Italy helps the U.S. agenda on human rights, democracy and disease control

Italy is now a prosperous nation that no longer requires foreign aid.

Italy is a member of the U.N., the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, G8, G20 and many other international organizations. In these roles, Italy works with the U.S. to cultivate democracy throughout the world and reduce conflict and terrorism. Italy also helps the U.S. in human rights, drug trafficking, human trafficking and fighting epidemics such as ebola. Rebuilding Italy after WWII helped create this strong alliance and gave the U.S. a powerful partner when negotiating complex international issues.

3. Japan partners with the U.S. to research innovative technology

The U.S. occupied Japan as a part of the treaty of surrender following WWII. This involved restructuring Japan’s political, social and economic systems. The country was demilitarized as the U.S. promised to protect it from any future conflict.

The beginning of the occupation focused on political and social reforms. Meanwhile, the Japanese economy began to collapse. At this point, the U.S. focused on rebuilding the economy through taxes restructured to reduce inflation. The Korean War soon began, and at the suggestion of occupying forces, the U.N. used Japan as its primary supplier during the war. As a result, Japan’s economy developed back into a healthy, sustainable one.

Japan remains a successful democracy and still has a robust economy. Japan no longer receives foreign aid and now offers aid to other developing nations. Moreover, they echo the voice of the U.S. agenda in East Asia. Japan supports political and military efforts of the U.S. in North Korea.

Japan also works with the U.S. in researching medicine and space travel. Together the two countries form the U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement. For 25 years they have worked on advancing computer and energy technologies.

Less than 80 years ago these three countries were so devastated that their civilizations could have collapsed entirely. They are now world leaders along with the U.S. When foreign aid builds alliances, it creates strong countries and resilient partnerships. Foreign aid is able to turn our most sincere enemies into our friends.

– Mary Katherine Crowley

Photo: Flickr

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Major Diseases in Burkina Faso: Improvements Left to be Made

Top Diseases in Burkina Faso
The major diseases in Burkina Faso are also some of the largest killers in the world. They are incredibly dangerous, common throughout the country, and may be separated into categories as follows: food or waterborne diseases; vector-borne diseases; water contact diseases; aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases; respiratory disease and animal contact diseases. Below are the most common diseases in Burkina Faso.

Hepatitis A
This is a form of viral hepatitis. It is transmitted by food and causes jaundice and fever. Most who die from it are children aged one to four. Although the death rate from hepatitis A is Burkina Faso is lower than any other country in Western sub-Saharan Africa, it is their most dangerous food and waterborne disease.

Hepatitis E
The deadliness of this disease in Burkina Faso is most common at age 80. At this age, hepatitis E kills 4.3 out of 100,000 people. The virus targets the liver and is most commonly transmitted through the fecal-oral route.

Typhoid Fever
This is another of many diseases in Burkina Faso commonly spread through fecal-oral routes. Those infected experience high fevers and, if left untreated, mortality rates can reach 20 percent of the infected population. The annual mortality rate for typhoid fever in Burkina Faso has decreased 5 percent since 1990. It is like hepatitis A in that it mostly kills young children aged one to four.

Malaria
Malaria affects more people in Burkina Faso than in other countries of Western sub-Saharan Africa, although the mortality rate dropped 26 percent between 1990 and 2013. That decline is significant, but the death rate from Malaria decreased 49 percent in Sierra Leone and 51 percent in Gambia over the same period.

Dengue Fever
This disease is commonly spread through mosquitoes. Dengue fever is less common than it used to be, with a 52 percent decrease since 1990. It will occasionally cause shock and hemorrhage, leading to death in 5 percent of cases. While one of the less common diseases in Burkina Faso, it is still prevalent.

This is only the beginning of the list for diseases in Burkina Faso. While the country is fighting for better and stronger health care and prevention systems for these diseases, its citizens continue to die of entirely preventable causes. Burkina Faso is on its way to saving a lot of lives with their improvements in health care system, and help from countries like the United States can only help them from here.

– Rilee Pickle

Photo: Flickr

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New Feminism in Latin America

New Feminism in Latin America
In the past few years, social justice movements have evolved all over the globe, and a rise in feminism in Latin America is no exception. Women from several countries across Central and South America have formed alliances and staged protests over issues including street harassment, the wage gap, rape and femicide.

Veronica Gago, professor of social sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, notes networks of feminist allies being forged across international borders in Latin America. In addition to organizing marches against gendered injustice in their countries, Latin American feminists work to create spaces where activists can discuss these issues.

Femicide is perhaps the central issue, with a number of countries organizing protests to increase awareness of the thousands of women who are killed by romantic partners each year.

Mujeres de la Matria Latinoamericana (MuMaLa), an influential feminist collective in Latin America, estimated that in 2013, 13 women were killed per day in Brazil. According to data from the Ministry of Health, rates at which women are killed by partners is not only high, but on the rise, and activists are paying attention to this trend.

Feminists in Argentina, where women are killed by partners at one of the highest rates in the world, have been particularly active in the past few years. In 2016, MuMaLa and another major contributor to feminism in Latin America called Ni Una Menos organized a protest following the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl, citing hypermasculine culture as the cause of such violent acts. Women gathered and held an hour-long strike with signs reading, “If you touch one of us, we all react.”

Just last month, feminists in Argentina organized a nude flash mob in which participants marched on government buildings to protest gendered violence. The protest itself was a work of art, featuring a string quartet and percussionist who provided background music for the demonstration. One hundred and twenty women crowded beneath a banner reading “Femicide is Genocide,” cast off their clothing and fell into a pile, later returning to their feet and punctuating the protest with shrieks of rage.

Many Latin American feminists turn to art in order to express their goals, using music, poetry and graffiti to gain the attention of both the government and the public.

Feminism in Latin America manifests in a number of forms. With the continued efforts of collectives like MuMaLa and Ni Una Menos as well as individuals, rates of femicide could decline.

– Madeline Forwerck

Photo: Flickr

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Girls’ Education in Tanzania Is on the Rise


In Tanzania, a sub-Saharan African country known for its national parks, diverse game and scenic wilderness, approximately two million young people were illiterate in 2011. Girls’ education in Tanzania, in particular, is an issue, as both adolescent and adult women demonstrate lower literacy rates than their male counterparts.

In 2012, literacy among women aged 15 to 24 was just 72.8 percent, while literacy among men in the same age group sat at 76.5 percent. The disparity becomes statistically significant among adults is even wider among adults: 75.5 percent of men and only 60.8 percent of women are literate.

In the country’s poorest areas, it is especially difficult for women to support themselves and their families, let alone further their education. In the northwest Tanzanian village of Kitenga, for instance, there is no running water or electricity, disease rates are high and scarce access to education, all of which are obstacles for girls who want to learn.

Enter the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa (IHSA), an organization committed to improving girls’ education in Tanzania. After partnering with the Girls’ Education Collaborative (GEC), which offers financial and logistical support, they launched the Kitenga Village Project. This project aims to raise the community from poverty by establishing basic resources, and, in January, it achieved its central objective when it opened the Kitenga School for Girls to educate girls in the community.

The school opened not only to encourage literacy but also to combat female genital mutilation and early marriage, both problems more likely to be faced by adolescent Tanzanian women without an education.

Currently, enrollment at the school stands at 59 girls from a variety of backgrounds. Having won the full support of the government, the GEC and the IHSA intend to accommodate a larger student body in the future. Plans for expansion include a library and housing for 1,500 boarding students.

The Kitenga School for Girls’ central vision is to provide girls from destitute families with an exceptional range of knowledge and skills. Students will have access to career and leadership coaching, health studies and life skills training, as well as a safe and secure environment.

Though women in poverty continue to face gendered hardships, access to schools creates greater opportunities. With the innovative efforts of organizations like the GEC and the IHSA, girls’ education in Tanzania is likely to continue growing.

– Madeline Forwerck

Photo: Flickr

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The Importance of Community Cooperation in Global Development


When outside aid organizations enter developing countries with the best intentions to help, it is important that these organizations partner with local businesses and individuals. Community cooperation is essential to effective and long-term global development. The alternative is short-lived relief that lasts only as long as the aid organization’s presence persists in the region.

Community cooperation, however, ensures that no vacuums are left in communities after aid is inevitably retracted. Creating self-sustaining communities is key to long term relief.

There are many organizations that have grasped hold of this idea. The following are a few examples of such:

Global Water Partnership (GWP)

Global Water Partnership is a global action network whose goal is to reach a water-secure world. The organization has over 3,000 partners in 183 countries. It focuses on educating countries and communities about water management. GWP believes that good governance concerning water management can only be accomplished with collaborative efforts.

Save the Children

Save the Children believes that education helps children to reach their full potential. Through its education programs, Save the Children has helped train teachers and parents on effective teaching practices, encouraged education practices outside of the classroom and ensured that students continue learning after crises occur.

World Vision

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that seeks to “empower people out of poverty.” Partnering with locals is the core of World Vision’s approach to global development. Local partnerships allow “programs to be more effective by benefiting from greater legitimacy, local knowledge, resources, and long-term ownership.”

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE)

CARE is a humanitarian aid organization that works around the globe to “save lives, defeat poverty and achieves social justice.” The organization’s approach to aid often involves partnering with locals. For instance, one of its facets for gender-based violence (GBV) relief involves equipping local activists with the tools needed to provide case managers for women and children who are survivors of GBV. CARE’s economic development programs also involve local education by teaching women and families sound financial habits and by creating entrepreneurs.

The purpose of many nonprofit and aid organizations is to effectually become unneeded. A nonprofit fighting illiteracy wants everyone to eventually know how to read. Once literacy rates reach 100 percent (or 99 percent, accounting for margin of error), aid can withdraw from regions around the world.

The longevity of the impact of these organizations is dependent on their ability to prepare future generations. If the hypothetical literacy-focused nonprofit withdrew without leaving behind any local teachers then future generations would be left in a disadvantageous state.

A helping hand without explanation and aid without education is hurtful in the long term. Community cooperation is key to effective relief.

– Rebeca Ilisoi

Photo: Flickr

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Ten Facts About Refugees in Ireland

Refugees in Ireland
The UN believes the world is experiencing the worst refugee crisis since World War II. At the end of 2015, 63.5 million refugees had been reported. That means that one out of every 113 people on the planet is a refugee. The tremendous number of people seeking refugee status is partially a result of the Syrian civil war and the long-standing war in Afghanistan. While Italy, Greece and Turkey initially received the most refugees, there are now more people coming to these shores than these countries can be expected to take in. Other European Union (EU) member nations are being asked to resettle some of these refugees. Ireland is one country that has agreed to do so. What is the refugee climate like in Ireland? Discussed below are the leading facts about refugees in Ireland.

 

Top 10 Facts About Refugees in Ireland

 

  1. A recent poll revealed that 87 percent of the Irish are sympathetic to Syrian refugees. Despite this, approximately one-third of the citizens are worried about the burden that Syrian refugees could place upon the welfare, education, healthcare and housing systems. One-fourth of the Irish were concerned that Syrian refugees could cost their government too much money.
  2. After countries like Turkey were struggling to accommodate the large influx of refugees safely, the European Commission devised a plan in which other EU member states would begin accepting pre-screened refugees. Ireland was not obligated to participate, but the country volunteered to receive up to 4,000 refugees. As of May 2017, Ireland has taken in 273 refugees.
  3. The top 10 countries of origin for refugees in Ireland are Syria, Pakistan, Albania, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Afghanistan, South Africa, Iraq, Libya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A little more than half of the refugees are men; women and children almost equally make up the remainder.
  4. In 2016, Ireland received 2,245 applications for asylum from refugees. The country gave 20.8 percent of these people refugee status.
  5. The country is helping to relieve the crisis in additional ways. Ireland has deployed border patrol to Greece to aid in processing refugees. Ireland has also deployed naval ships to find and save refugees who leave their countries by sea. Often, ships carrying refugees are dangerously overcrowded, and they are sometimes shipwrecked. In 2015, the Irish Navy saved 8,592 refugees from the Mediterranean Sea.
  6. While refugees are awaiting status approval, they are housed by Ireland’s Reception and Integration Agency. Here they live in hostel-like settings. Typically, one family shares one room, and individuals are roomed with other refugees of the same sex. Most rooms have televisions, bathroom quarters are shared and meals are served on-site at specific times.
  7. Those awaiting refugee status in Ireland are not authorized to work, so the Irish government provides them with living stipends. Each adult receives €19.10 per week, and each child receives €15.60. This allowance is to cover any extra living expenses such as cell phones, internet service, clothes and toiletries.
  8. Primary and secondary education are provided for children awaiting refugee status. To attend a university they must pay the non-EU resident tuition fees, ranging from €9,750 for a business degree to €52,000 for a pre-medical degree. According to the Irish Refugee Council, this is usually unaffordable for a child seeking refugee status, whether or not they have support from their parents.
  9. On average, refugees in Ireland spend three to four years awaiting refugee status. Some have lived with the Reception and Integration Agency for 10 years.
  10. Each refugee in Ireland has his or her own story. George Labbad came to Ireland as a teenager from Aleppo, Syria in 2001 to learn English. Labbad eventually returned to Syria to attend a university, so he could take over the restaurant his family had owned for more than 30 years. After the Syrian civil war erupted, Labbad’s family was forced to close their restaurant, which had employed nearly 180 people. Eventually, all of Labbad’s family gained refugee status in Ireland. Labbad laments some, missing his home and the future he planned for, but he has made connections in Ireland and sees the country as his new home. Ireland is his future now.

With each refugee having a unique story, 10 facts about refugees in Ireland cannot begin to sum them all up. Some have left a family in their country of origin, while others have left loved ones in new EU countries. All the same, refugees remember what their homeland was to them while resettling in places like Ireland.

– Mary Katherine Crowley

Photo: Flickr

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How to Be a Citizen Lobbyist: Three Simple Steps to Get Started


To most, the word “lobbyist” usually inspires images of big corporations influencing politicians. However, this image is not entirely accurate. Lobbying is actually a useful tool that average people can and should use. It is a form of advocacy that focuses on educating or influencing representatives in our government. You do not need money or power to lobby.  You need only a voice, and by following these three steps, you can learn how to be a citizen lobbyist.

Step 1: Know who you are and the power you have.
American citizens ages 18 and older have the power to vote and are essential pieces of the country’s democratic system. However, few know that they are also constituents. Essentially, a constituent is a member of a community or a part of a whole.

Every citizen is a constituent to three individuals in Congress, and it’s paramount to know whose constituent you are. These three individuals are the two senators representing your state and the congressman or congresswoman representing your district. These representatives represent you and your interests in the legislation they vote for, and it’s important to know you have the power to influence their vote.

Members of Congress will listen to their constituents over other citizens because those are the people they are elected by and represent. For example, senators are not too interested in listening to citizens of another state. They would rather like to know what their constituents are thinking and worrying about. You can find out who your three representatives in Congress are on the Borgen Project’s Who Are My Leaders? page.

Step 2: Know what you can do as a constituent.
Members of Congress are voted in by their constituents, and it would be foolish of them not to listen to their constituents. Now that you know you have this power over them, it is helpful to know how to use it. Using this power is easy.

Simply put, it’s all about getting your word out. Representatives are not mind-readers; they are politicians. The best way to get politicians to vote on something you may be passionate about is to talk to them about it. You don’t have to walk into their office and proclaim your dream of a poverty-free world. An email, call or written letter all get the job done, and you can always do all three. You can even write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper discussing a certain bill or use social media to contact your representatives.

If you are the outgoing, adventurous type, try attending events where your representatives will be speaking or schedule a meeting with them. The more you meet with your representatives or attend their town hall meetings, the more they and their staff will get to know you and your cause.

Step 3: Practice.
Now that you know how to be a citizen lobbyist, it is your job to practice being an active citizen.

If you are shy, start out with phone calls or emails. They can be as simple as mentioning you are a constituent, your name and the bill you would like them to support. For the more outgoing, show up at the next town hall meeting.

Once you get a representative to support a piece of legislation, ask them to co-sponsor it as well. Co-sponsoring is like getting your representative to represent the issue to other members of Congress and asking them to support the bill as well.

By following these three easy steps, you too can learn how to be a citizen lobbyist.

– James Hardison

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Shia Refugees in Bahrain


Bahrain is a small Muslim country located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Bahrain has only been independent of imperial governance for 42 years. It has been governed by a Sunni-led constitutional monarchy since its release from British rule and Iranian influence in 1971. Although many of the violent conflicts in the Middle East dwarf the issues in Bahrain, the country’s refugee problem has grown since 2011. Shia refugees in Bahrain today face displacement, religious segregation and suppression of free speech.

Until recently, Sunni and Shia Muslims have lived in relative peace since Bahrain’s formal independence. In comparison to many other Islamic countries in the Middle East, Bahrain experienced little violence along religious lines. Whether this was because the nation is in its infancy, or because of the absolute rule of the government, remains to be seen. However, it is clear that a stark divide between the two sects of Islam was revived in light of recent political turmoil.

The dominant sect of Shia Muslims began a series of protests in 2011 which have occurred through to the present day. Dissatisfied with their representation in the government since independence, protesters hope to galvanize political reform. The royal family’s militant suppression of free speech caused most protests to subside and created a mass of Shia refugees.

Government analysts noted the possibility that the religious divide between Sunni and Shia has been rehashed as a political tactic to suppress dissenters. Bahraini dissenters are displeased with the lack of democratic representation in the government. As local Bahraini historians and politicians suggested, pitting the two sects of Islam against each other appears to be an attempt to consolidate power within the royal family.

Civil unrest in Bahrain and the royal family’s purported desire to consolidate power within the country led to the marginalization of Shia Muslims. Below are ten facts about Shia refugees in Bahrain which indicate the disenfranchisement, poverty and exploitation they suffer.

10 Facts About Shia Refugees in Bahrain

  1. Most Bahraini refugees are Shia Muslims. Unlike most instances of political scapegoating, the situation in Bahrain is peculiar in that the Shia sect of Islam is the religious majority.
  2. The official reason for the exile of many Shia Muslims is the sect’s purported allegiance to Iran’s political agenda. However, there is no hard evidence that Bahraini Shia Muslims are advancing an Iranian political agenda. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of Bahraini exiles are noted political dissenters who are critical of Bahrain’s royal family.
  3. Shia refugees live in ghettos which are becoming increasingly common in Bahrain. The slums are often purposely masked by new infrastructure. This infrastructure is funded by donations from Arab nations seeking to quell the civil unrest boiling beneath the surface.
  4. Political dissidents in Bahrain can receive sentences of up to five years in prison, which may include torture depending on the dissident’s level of cooperation. The Security Law of Bahrain, which passed in 1975, states that any political prisoner may be imprisoned for up to three years if the ruling party deems the dissident a threat to the ultimate goals of the nation.
  5. Routine and institutionalized discrimination against Shia Muslims bars the religious group from easily obtaining the most basic human necessities, such as food, shelter and water.
  6. Since 2012, the Sunni ruling family has been tinkering with the citizen naturalization process to disrupt the demographics of Bahrain and weaken the voice of the Shia in the nation’s political institutions.
  7. The right to fair trial is regularly kept from Shia Muslims, which serves to exacerbate the injustices which cause extreme poverty in ghettos.
  8. Health care for Shia refugees is minimal, but there is an even more chronic lack of medical care for persons living with HIV/AIDS, posing a serious threat to public health.
  9. While the egregious human rights violations carried out against the Shia in Bahrain have subsided somewhat recently, the institutions which facilitated these abuses of power remain intact. Work must still be done in order to alleviate the poverty and oppression of Shia Muslims in Bahrain.
  10. Bahrain has not agreed to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. This means that the treatment of refugees in Bahrain is not monitored, and information concerning refugees in Bahrain is disorganized and largely missing.

– Linford Spencer

Photo: Flickr