ADVOCATING DEMOCRACY

"THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR EVIL TO TRIUMP IS WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING"
Edmund Burke. British Statesman. (1729-1798)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Call God if necessary to save us illegal aliens

Call God if necessary to save us illegal aliens

We are all aware that people move or migrate from their original homestead due to circumstances beyond their control. The well-known circumstance that causes huge number of people to migrate throughout the world are conflicts, wars, political unrest, and perhaps economic scarcity in some cases. To escape from political oppression and marginalization is not a crime, but a humiliation that no human beings will chose if the circumstances are not beyond control. Every human being held their pride high in their original homestead but because of circumstances beyond their control, they are forced to abandon their homestead and look for safer places to continue with their livelihood.

Many refugees and asylum seekers who have been rejected for claiming asylum found themselves without any choice and where to go. Although asking asylum is not a crime, after the asylum case is turned down or rejected, the asylum seeker automatically becomes illegal alien, and in all cases a criminal. Because the state will treat them as less human being, they are kept in humiliating facilities where they can only eat and sleep for the rest of their lives. Those who found it difficult to live in places where one just eat and sleep decided to live on the streets, where the degree of humiliation seemed more acceptable to them than what others called paradise; eat and sleep. On the streets one have no bed to sleep as he/she wants, but have a degree of human dignity, providing what he can in freedom, eat what he can find, but hiding in disguise.

When a refugee or asylum seeker find himself rejected and not able to return to his country, there is no other choice left, given that all countries in Europe have signed Dublin 2 convention, and wherever you go, you will be taken back to your first country of asylum, it became obvious that one has to accept all kinds of treatment he/she will get from the first country of asylum. There are all kinds of treatments as we have seen at Lier ventemottak for the last four years, until it was burnt down. The return facilities can be found throughout Europe; confinement of people in extremely inhumane conditions with very little opportunity, access to medical treatment etc. Many people are put to sleep in one small room. There is no privacy, no sleep or no peace in the mind. Everyone is angry to everybody. Everybody react as they feel. Somebody is praying and another one listens to music. It is just chaos in one single room, and fighting happens every day. Therefore, most people went into mental stress, mental disorder and extreme depression yet have not been described or label as a crime against humanity by any psychological experts.

Psychologists and anthropologists in this country were charged to evaluate those return centres, and they have concluded their research and their recommendation have condemned treatment of human beings in return centres, saying it is dangerous and destroying people. Over 25 non-governmental organizations have criticized the system for breaking people mentally, but all those criticisms went in deaf government ears. It seems the government and some politicians are determined to destroy us all. We know we are just powerless people clinging to our dear lives and we shall continue to cling on our lives until the last moment of our deportation, though individually. It is clear that failing asylum case is a crime punishable by any measure desirable by the government as we are seeing it, and no organizations or Church personalities can stop the government from doing what they desire.

When the police arrested Maria Amelia on the 12th January, we received the information in less than 2 hours the same night and the entire emotions and feelings emerging from people who are in the same situation was overwhelming. Given that we all live in fear of the police deportation, some people are at the brink of suicide. But for some people, police arrest is not something new, and they have been available for more than four years waiting for deportation. We are just wondering why we are treated like this, but hoped history will judge what we have done wrong in this world. We don’t even understand what democracy means. We were told that people in democratic governments have democratic values of sympathy, love, and respect for human beings, but that is not what we saw in this country. If Maria Amelia, who has integrated so well through her education, could be treated as we have seen in the last few days, then we have all the reasons to believe that democracy does not exist, but it can emerge where you stand if you are lucky.

We have been living as illegal aliens for many years in this country. To tell the truth; we sleep tirelessly and we wake up when we feel hungry. Many times we wake up in the morning already tired, without doing any work. We sit down or move around inside the room or the compound and get back to bed. These happens twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, twelve months a year, for over four years, yet our crimes are that we have asked asylum in this country. Although people know that asking asylum or refuge is not a crime, it is clear that it is a crime in this country. We feel so humiliated, without dignity and less humans. We have missed everything in life because we were coward individuals from our respective countries. We know people are tired of our situations in Norway, but would love to if this situation will be address or not.

In conclusion, we want the people to know that the government have no sympathy on illegal aliens and are determine to continue torturing them until they all perished. We appeal to the people of good will, those who live in freedom on the other side of the wall, to call God if necessary, because the government has decided not to listen to any humans, Organizations, Churches, and individual personalities like the Bishops and other well-known members of the society, given that Maria Amelia uproar without success did not bear any fruit. Problems are caused by people and it is always solved by the people. On behalf of all illegal alien, we wish you all a happy new year and prosperous lives.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Life after Lier Ventemottak

It is January 2011, and the night is very long, and the day is very short. I live here in Rognan, Saltdal nordland. I was sent here in August 2010, from Haslemoen transit camp, where I was temporary kept, after the ventemottak got burnt on July 6th 2010.

It has been 4 years living at Lier ventemottak. I found it difficult to return home voluntarily for fear I would be arrested and killed by the Bashir security organs. I am enduring life in ventemottak because I don't want to go and be recruited into army and sent to kill my fellow brothers in Darfur, given that the war is still going on there.

I have chosen to endure pain for the good of my people. I know and believe that, any president that is described as commited genocide in Darfur will spare my single individual life.

In my patience, tomorrow January 9th, 2011, south Sudanese will go to the pole station to decide our political future, and I am excited to see my people go free after decades of oppression, discrimination and marginalization.

Free independent south Sudan has been our dream since 1955, just a year before Sudan got independent from Britain on January 1st, 1956. Anya-Nya guerrila, led by Saturnino Ohure, a Catholic priest, from Torit, mutinied in Torit, Eastern Equatoria state 1955 and led a 17 years war against Khartoum, demanding total freedom. In 1972, they reached an agreement in Addis Abeba.

In 1982, Anya-Nya 2, led by Kerebino Kyanyin Bol, started war again.

In 1983, south Sudanese army, battalian 105 and 106 mutinied in Bor town, starting the last phase of civil war that has lasted for more than 20 years, The Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, led by Col. Dr. John Garang de Mabior. They signed peace in Nairobi, Kenya on January 9th 2005. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) granted south Sudanese with two option; Unity or total seperation (independence.

Tomorrow the world will witness the creation of the new country through the ballots, and each south Sudanese is excited to vot for independent south Sudan, after long years of marginalisation by the north.

After 7 years seeking asylum in Norway without any success, I have spent 4 of that years in ventemottak, in a place called Lier, where I was sent to live on October 4th, 2006, untill it was set on fire July 6th 2010. Although I am stil enduring life in ventemottak at Rognan, now, where I am writing from now, I have hope that south Sudan will be independent and I could return home safely. It is the choice people in the south will make for independent south, that will enable me to travel home without any fear. The home I have missed since August 10th, 1986. It is my hope that the referendum with be peaceful and successful.

Long Live SPLA/M, Long live south Sudan, Long Live the people of south Sudan.

Godt å være politisk uavhengig,

Jeg har lært at folk alltid holdt deres stolthet høyere enn noe annet, og derfor de ikke vil innrømme feil, fordi feil blir sett av alle som en skam. Det er normalt å føle på denne måten, men hvorfor skal vi underlagt andre inn i tilstanden vi ikke liker? I mitt syn er det ikke bare, det er fordommer og diskriminering av noen lov prinsipper over hele verden.

Det er godt å være politisk uavhengig, men jeg er klar over at det ikke er nøytrale mennesker av naturen av politikk eller religion, snarere mennesker av natur er en politisk og religiøst vesen. Å være politisk uavhengig betyr ikke at man ikke er en politisk aktør, deltar vi i vår egen måte, og jeg oppfordrer realistisk uavhengig sinn til å delta i å bringe endring hvor det er feil eller svikt.

Likevel, i hver mann og kvinnes liv det kommer en tid av utrolig utfordring ... en tid da hver ressurs vi har er smakt. En tid da vår tro, våre verdier, vår tålmodighet, vår medfølelse, vår evne til å vedvare, er alle presset til våre grenser og utover. Noen mennesker bruker slike tester som en muligheter til å bli bedre mennesker, mens andre la disse livserfaring å ødelegge dem. Jeg bare lurer, etter å ha lest fra mange respondence, hvis folk har noen gang reflektert over hva som skaper forskjellen i måten mennesker reagerer på livets utfordring! Jeg er alltid muligheten fascinert av hva som utløser mennesker til å oppføre seg som de gjør, og det er min målestokk. I en slik tid, vil noen mennesker fremstå som ledere, mens andre vil krympe og trekke seg fra politisk deltakelse.

De fleste welknown tallene i historien som, M. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler, etc. hadde en ting til felles, og det er individuelle evne til å kommunisere effektivt og å kunne påvirke millioner av liv. Som individuelle og politisk uavhengig, har du fortsatt muligheten til å kommunisere din mening å endre det som ikke er riktig.

Det er mange ideer å dele her, men på grunn av tid begrense, ønsker jeg å komme tilbake til mitt arbeid ... og jeg vil takke Elin Brodin for å bringe dette utfordrende tema fremover, og alle de som deler sine tanker i den forbindelse.

Godt å være politisk uavhengig,

Jeg har lært at folk alltid holdt deres stolthet høyere enn noe annet, og derfor de ikke vil innrømme feil, fordi feil blir sett av alle som en skam. Det er normalt å føle på denne måten, men hvorfor skal vi underlagt andre inn i tilstanden vi ikke liker? I mitt syn er det ikke bare, det er fordommer og diskriminering av noen lov prinsipper over hele verden.

Det er godt å være politisk uavhengig, men jeg er klar over at det ikke er nøytrale mennesker av naturen av politikk eller religion, snarere mennesker av natur er en politisk og religiøst vesen. Å være politisk uavhengig betyr ikke at man ikke er en politisk aktør, deltar vi i vår egen måte, og jeg oppfordrer realistisk uavhengig sinn til å delta i å bringe endring hvor det er feil eller svikt.

Likevel, i hver mann og kvinnes liv det kommer en tid av utrolig utfordring ... en tid da hver ressurs vi har er smakt. En tid da vår tro, våre verdier, vår tålmodighet, vår medfølelse, vår evne til å vedvare, er alle presset til våre grenser og utover. Noen mennesker bruker slike tester som en muligheter til å bli bedre mennesker, mens andre la disse livserfaring å ødelegge dem. Jeg bare lurer, etter å ha lest fra mange respondence, hvis folk har noen gang reflektert over hva som skaper forskjellen i måten mennesker reagerer på livets utfordring! Jeg er alltid muligheten fascinert av hva som utløser mennesker til å oppføre seg som de gjør, og det er min målestokk. I en slik tid, vil noen mennesker fremstå som ledere, mens andre vil krympe og trekke seg fra politisk deltakelse.

De fleste welknown tallene i historien som, M. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler, etc. hadde en ting til felles, og det er individuelle evne til å kommunisere effektivt og å kunne påvirke millioner av liv. Som individuelle og politisk uavhengig, har du fortsatt muligheten til å kommunisere din mening å endre det som ikke er riktig.

Det er mange ideer å dele her, men på grunn av tid begrense, ønsker jeg å komme tilbake til mitt arbeid ... og jeg vil takke Elin Brodin for å bringe dette utfordrende tema fremover, og alle de som deler sine tanker i den forbindelse.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Who is really responsible for holding refugees and asylum seekers hostage?

I believe that political power is all about guiding people through various institutions to provide services as needed. Most government that has received full democracy believe that the core of democratic values was formulated and signed by international law to ease the suffering of people after World War II, and that's what we know as "No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”

The question is not nations signed the international human rights do so follow international law? The answer is no! Why? Because political power and economic power is supposed to itch conventions do not protect national interests as we see it today in the western democratic states.

Their national interests are that refugees and asylum seekers are invading their countries, threatening their cultural values and economy. They are not seen as fleeing for their lives, but as criminals, and therefore should be denied access to safety, economic benefits, a fear many sound mind would described it as prejudice and discrimination. As a result, they have built physical and invisible wall, that anthropologist called global apartheid. Instead of building a global village as economists believe would ease suffering; they are building walls to separate the rich from the poor.

Thousands of refugees and asylum seekers across Europe who found themselves in this new asylum and refugee politics are hostages, in asylum camps for over 5 years without any hope in life. They are living through psychological and mental torture, yet any form of torture is described by international law as a crime. I am wondering if such treatment will make the world a better place.

Who is really responsible for holding refugees and asylum seekers hostage? What justification can we give to make people believe that human rights are being respected by those who signed it? It is easy to criticise others, but difficult to accept our own failures, because we have the economic power to cover up shame, as I observed here in this country. I am wondering to what democracy exactly mean!

My life has change for the better

After reading books from IIGL, my life has changed.

I have always perceived a government as a political organization comprising the individuals and institutions authorized to formulate public policies and conduct affairs of state. Governments are empowered to establish and regulate the interrelationships of the people within their territorial confines, the relations of the people with the community as a whole, and the dealings of the community with other political entities.

In the theory of political science, the function of government is to secure the common welfare of the members of the social aggregate over which it exercises control. In different historical epochs, governments have endeavored to achieve the common welfare by various means. Among primitive peoples, systems of social control were rudimentary; they arose directly from ideas of right and wrong common to the members of a social group and were enforced on individuals primarily through group pressure. Among more civilized peoples, governments assumed institutional forms; they rested on defined legal bases, imposing penalties on violators of the law and using force to establish themselves and discharge their functions.

This is where I started to see myself as primary asset and focus in any government, and as a human resource with the entire responsibilities to organize, plan and execute, I am the source and core of the entire problem in the process of governing. At this point the question in my mind as an individual is, “what is wrong with us as human beings?

I have followed International Institute for Global Leadership (IIGL) and I can now say without doubt that I have found the answer. After reading the books that were sent to me I realized that human being has a giant resource beneath his/her unconscious self that only IIGL method can awaken it. Such a sleeping giant resource in us requires special tools that I have use to awaken my sleeping giant. My eyes are widely open and I can perceive my limitations, potentials and self-esteem more clearly than ever before. It has changed my life.

The IIGL courses have taken me through my sleeping giant (unconscious self) and I have discovered most of my potentials, weakness, self-esteem, communication ability, etc. It was an amazing and practical experience that has changed my life entirely since I started reading the books that I believe were precise to my needs. I have learnt through some of the books that my previous behaviors were influenced greatly by negative cultural and traditional values. The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection (Gandhi) and it is true that no one is perfect, but we can change our habits, behavior and gained self-esteem, and I believe that if we all make such effort, we can make this world better and comfortable place for everybody.

The debate over globalization focuses in particular on how it can be regulated to address growing income and wealth inequalities, labor rights, health and environmental problems, and issues regarding cultural diversity and national sovereignty is true but we must first change our habits and those negative cultural values and behavior. The world needs honest and responsible citizens for it to be a better place and I believethat IIGL can bring us there. I have learned that democratic values are manifested by individuals through love, compassion and sympathy and not greed, hatred and prejudice. The misery and suffering of people on this world is because people don’t want to change, yet we understand the words of Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.”

In conclusion, although I am still struggling with myself to be where I want to be, I see myself as a responsible citizen, ready to implement the change I want to see in the world.