March 2014Issue 12

Sewing the seeds for the futureTools for Solidarity’s latest African venture

Trócaire ProjectLegal assistance for unions and their members in Colombia

Pakistan ProjectIncome Generating Goat Scheme

GazaHeavy flooding adds to a Public Health Crisis

Ref A4_0330 © Karl Schembri/Oxfam

Subjected to an Israeli blockade since 2007 that has devastated its economy and created soaring unemployment, Gaza has been dealt a series of recent blows that have exacerbated the effects of the blockade.

In July 2013, Egypt’s elected President, Mohammed Morsi, was overthrown by a military coup in an increasingly fractured country attempting the transition to democracy after almost thirty years of oppressive government rule by military leader President

In the shadow of a public health catastropheIn December last Amnesty International warned that the Gaza Strip was ‘in the shadow of a public health catastrophe’ given the deteriorating living conditions for the region’s 1.7 million people, most of whom are refugees.

Hosni Mubarek. The Hamas government in Gaza benefited from close links with Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, particularly through the reopening of the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza and revenues derived from a sharp increase in black market activity through border tunnels at Rafah on Gaza’s Southern border. Since the coup, Egypt’s new military ruler, General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, has cooled relations with Hamas, restricted access through the crossing, and ordered the closure of the tunnels to prevent ‘dangerous elements’ from entering the Sinai region near Gaza. Cairo has accused Hamas of not doing enough to

secure the border between Gaza and Egypt which has been used by Islamic militants to launch attacks on Egyptian troops in Sinai.

Open air prisonThe border crossing is open on average four hours a day and can be closed for days on end in the event of a security incident in Sinai. These closures have worsened an already bleak existence for the vast majority of Gazans. A recent United Nations’ report shows a 71 percent drop on the number of daily travellers through the Rafah crossing since July 2013 from nearly 1,400 to 398. Behind every

by Stephen McCloskey, Director , Centre for Global Education

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© Alun McDonald/Oxfam

In the shadow of a public health catastropheIn December last Amnesty International warned that the Gaza Strip was ‘in the shadow of a public health catastrophe’ given the deteriorating living conditions for the region’s 1.7 million people, most of whom are refugees.

commuter refused entry into Egypt is a narrative of frustration and sometimes tragedy for those trapped in what British Prime Minister David Cameron described as an ‘open air prison’. Families can be separated, medical treatment denied, students prevented from pursuing academic pathways, and workers denied their livelihoods. The Rafah crossing is in effect a ‘gateway to the outside world’ for Gazans living in the strangled social and economic conditions imposed by Israel’s blockade.

Gaza’s other main lifeline has been the smuggling tunnels with the ‘annual value of the goods smuggled from Egypt to Gaza

estimated at $1 billion’. The UN estimates that only 10 of the 300 tunnels remain open which has reduced to a trickle the amount of fuel and construction materials going into the stricken territory. With only a fraction of Gaza’s fuel needs being imported through Israel’s ‘official crossings’, the territory had become heavily reliant on fuel smuggled through the tunnels to operate schools and hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, and the Gaza power plant.

Power outagesThe knock-on effects of the tunnel closures have included

power outages of 12-16 hours a day with the UN reporting that the Gaza power plant ‘may shut down if adequate supplies are not urgently made available’. Moreover, the construction sector which accounted for 80 percent of Gaza’s growth in the first quarter of 2013 has been decimated by the tunnel closures. Nabil Abu Muaileq, the Chairman of the Palestinian Contractors’ Union, has said that ’60% of construction relies on the tunnels’ and 50% of projects had consequently ‘stalled’. ‘Gaza’, he said, ‘is on the verge of an economic and social crisis because the unemployment rate will increase as a result of

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the halt in the work of labourers, technicians, companies and factories’. Since September 2013, Israel has admitted 50 truckloads of construction material a day through the Kerem Shalom Crossing in addition to an existing volume of 20 truckloads but this is woefully short of what is needed. The Ministry of National Economy in Gaza estimates that Israel admits 20 tons of cement and 10 tons of steel bars each day when it needs 4,000 and 1,500 tons respectively.

FloodsWhere this not enough to contend with, Gaza was subjected to flooding after four days of torrential rain in December which left many homes accessible only by boat. Some 5,000 people in Northern Gaza were displaced in what the UN called a ‘disaster area’. Given the lack of fuel available to Gaza’s only power plant, the territory was left without sewerage and water treatment plants. Children had to navigate lakes of raw sewage on their way to school exacerbating a sanitation crisis in Gaza caused by 90 percent of water from its underground aquifer being already unsafe to drink. According to Amnesty International ‘Some 65 per cent of Gaza’s population only receive water once every three or four days given the increasing infiltration of sewage and sea water into the domestic supply’. Amnesty describes this deteriorating humanitarian situation as ‘an assault on the dignity of Palestinians in Gaza’

There is also a scarcity of food in Gaza caused by a flatlining economy, spikes in food prices and

increasing unemployment. According to the UN mission in Gaza, the number of food insecure households in the region has risen from 44 percent in 2011 to 57 percent in 2012 with 800,000 Gazans dependent on food aid. In August 2012, the UN warned that by 2020 Gaza would be rendered uninhabitable by the scarcity of water and food, and lack of housing, schools and hospitals. Many first hand observers of Gaza’s rapid social and economic deterioration argue that the territory is already without a safe and humane environment for its people, some of whom have been driven to the very edge of despair. With its growing dependence on candlelight, horse and cart, and underground tunnels to sustain life, Gaza is retreating into a medieval society grinding slowly to a halt. In an interview to the Guardian, Hazem Balousha, a citizen of Gaza said: ‘We wake up in the night worrying about small things: cooking gas, the next power cut, how to find fuel for the car. We no longer care about the big things, the important things, the future – we just try to get through each day’. The Director of the UN’s operations in Gaza, Robert Turner, said of the current situation: ‘So much pressure has built up. How far can Gaza bend before it snaps?’ In a departing dispatch for the Guardian in January 2014, its outgoing Jerusalem correspondent, Harriet Sherwood, summed up the current situation in Gaza thus:

“Power cuts, fuel shortages, price rises, job losses, Israeli air strikes, untreated sewage in the streets and the sea, internal political repression, the near-impossibility of leaving, the lack of hope or horizon

An example of an educational/psycho-social programme now operating in marginalised areas of Gaza with support from the NIPSA Developing World Fund.

4 March 2014

– these have chipped away at the resilience and fortitude of Gazans, crushing their spirit”.

Military StrikesIsraeli air strikes and extrajudicial killings add another layer of foreboding on to the lives of Gaza’s citizens particularly in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, which claimed 1,383 victims (333 children) and Operation Pillar of Defence, from 14 to 21 November 2012, which killed 167 including 32 children. Both operations took the form of aerial bombardments by fighter aircraft, armed drones and helicopters and resulted in heavy civilian casualties, particularly among young people. The NGO Defence for Children International has monitored the number of children killed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the start of the Second Intifada in 2000 which totals 1,401. 73 percent of this total, or 1,033 children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip alone and none of these children were involved in hostilities when their lives were taken.

Unsurprisingly, many of Gaza’s young people suffer symptoms of conflict-related trauma that often manifest themselves through behavioural changes, difficulties with concentrating in school, bedwetting, loss of appetite, apathy and becoming withdrawn. Moreover, the psychological problems related to life under constant threat of violence combined with the added strain of material deprivation can contribute to a difficult domestic life. Children are very much on the front line of Israel’s siege of Gaza and since 2011 the Centre for Global Education, a Belfast based development non-governmental

organisation has worked in the Gaza Strip to help alleviate the psychological effects of trauma through education.

NIPSA’s support to GazaIn 2013, the Centre received a two-year grant from NIPSA’s Developing World Fund to deliver psycho-social services to 300 children aged between 7 and 10 years in partnership with three community centres operating in marginalised areas of Gaza. The project will train nine facilitators (three for each centre) to work with 100 children in each of the rural community organisations. The first month of the project will involve recruiting the facilitators and training them in preparation for working with the children.

The children will then be recruited by the community centres through consultation with psychotherapists and educators in surrounding schools to enrol young people with particularly acute psychological and behavioural problems. The activities with young people will be delivered in four groups of 25 in each centre over a period of five months per annum; one group will be trained in the morning and one in the afternoon three days a week. The project will strengthen the literacy and numeracy skills of children who are under-performing in school as a result of longstanding psychological problems. It will also offer alternative and therapeutic educational activities that provide expressional opportunities for pupils dealing with trauma.

Trained psychotherapists will make two visits per month to each participating centre to provide expert advice on the training delivered to young people and offer consultations with facilitators

on children with specific learning needs. The psychotherapists will also advise on the role of the families in continuing the psychosocial support of children at home. With this in mind each centre will deliver four workshops per month with the parents of the children participating in the programme. The workshops will advise parents on how to manage young people in times of crisis and how to use play and therapeutic learning in domestic life to alleviate stress. The project will culminate with a Celebration Day in each centre showcasing the work of the project and its outcomes for children and parents alike.

NIPSA and the Centre for Global Education intend that the outcomes of the project should be sustainable and benefit children’s psychological development over the long-term. Through the training of their staff each community centre participating in the project will accrue skills and experiential learning that will benefit their organisations for years to come. NIPSA members can be assured that their union is making a real difference to the lives of young people living in a highly stressed and materially difficult environment. This is a time to heighten our solidarity with the people of Gaza as their living conditions have worsened markedly over the past year. Their humanitarian crisis rarely permeates the mainstream media and the world’s largest powers have remained largely ineffectual in, or unwilling to, take effective action that will lift the siege. Gazans are therefore dependent on civil society movements across the world leading governments and decision-makers toward action that will end their collective punishment.

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Container at WORI compound, Jinja, Eastern Uganda.

The Refurbishment: inside of the container fitted out as a sewing machine repair workshop and storage facility.

NIPSA supports Tools for Solidarity with its new venture a Small Scale Sewing and Tools Centre in Jinja, Eastern Uganda

Sewing the seeds for the futureNIPSA is working with Tools for Solidarity (TFS) to develop a Tools and Sewing centre in Uganda in 2014. Working with a local NGO in Uganda, the Women’s Rights Initiative (WORI) the project aims to develop a centre to provide high quality sewing machines, hand tools and training in the Busoga sub-region of Eastern Uganda.

WORI was founded in 2007 by three women with an interest in creating a safe space for exchanging ideas about human rights, agricultural practices, reproductive health and rights and HIV/AIDS in an effort to empower women (and youths) in rural communities to improve their livelihoods. Striving for gender equality is now their means for viable and sustainable rural development.

Having been approached by WORI in 2010 TFS met with them the following year. TFS was immediately impressed by their integrity and passion to improve the lives of the people in the communities in which they work. Coupled with their capacity to deliver a project in-country the decision was made to work together on a pilot project.

The pilot project was completed in 2013 and involved the delivery of 35 sewing machines and a shipping container that had been specially fitted out by TFS to serve as a workshop for the pilot and to be a valuable resource for the future. A baseline survey was conducted to assess what local

6 March 2014

Kisa Kya Murama Women’s Group: this group is five years old and has 40 members. They received two brother electric Zig Zag machines during the pilot and are using them to train up their members in tailoring skills.

NIPSA supports Tools for Solidarity with its new venture a Small Scale Sewing and Tools Centre in Jinja, Eastern Uganda

Sewing the seeds for the futureartisans wanted and needed and establish how TFS could help. Based on the success of the pilot project and baseline findings the decision was made to establish a more comprehensive Tools and Sewing Centre and run a project over three years.

Uganda is one of the least developed countries in the world and women face particular challenges in the economic

sphere. Women are paid half as much as their male counterparts for the same work and on average work seven hours less per week when in paid employment. Many of the barriers to women in the labour market have been identified as structural nature and it is believed the move away from non-paid family work can help to break down these barriers (UNDP Uganda 2013.) In prioritising

women the program hopes to help address this issue.

Over the next three years with the support from NIPSA’s Developing World Fund, TFS will be sending hundreds of sewing machines and thousands of tools to WORI and implementing training programmes to help improve the lives of local artisans, their families and communities.

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Members from Colombian civil society rally around the topics of freedom and sovereignty at a regional conference.

In recent years Colombian civil society has advanced in carrying out processes of comprehensive legal assistance to unions and their members despite the difficult conditions of the national context. This has been evidenced by one of the leading organisations in this struggle – the Lawyers Collective José Alvear Restrepo (CCAJAR). A Colombian human rights NGO, CCAJAR has worked in partnership with Trócaire and NIPSA for the past two years.

Colombia continues to experience a grave situation of systematic human rights abuse that has had a direct impact on the civilian population. Those who have been most targeted include the communities, organisations and individuals who have committed themselves to the defence and enforcement of collective rights. Unions and workers have been particularly affected over the past 20 years, as a

result of the implementation of arbitrary labour policies, extended work hours, the elimination of labour contracts, decreased wages and ongoing persecution of those who organise to defend the right to fair and decent work, as enshrined in Article 25 of the Colombian Constitution.

According to the annual report prepared by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on the violations of union rights in Colombia, in 2010, 443 attacks against the lives, liberty and integrity of unions were carried out. In 2010, 29 unionists were murdered. Furthermore, according to the National Union School (ENS), between 1986 and June 2012, 2,927 unionists were killed in Colombia. During that same period of time, 12,448 acts of violence against unionists were carried out. These statistics, which have been confirmed by the Centre for Research

NIPSA supports Comprehensive legal assistance for unions and their members in Colombia

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March 2014

Colombian men attending a regional conference on freedom and sovereignty.

and Popular Education (CINEP), show how Colombia continues to remain an unfavourable context in terms of the free exercise of union rights. This has led to killings, attacks, disappearances, arbitrary detention, and other human rights violations that seek to weaken and exterminate unionised and their leaders.

This is where the Lawyers Collective José Alvear Restrepo-CCAJAR comes into play. CCAJAR is an organisation with 35 years of experience in the protection and promotion of human rights in Colombia. CCAJAR has carried out this work through the development and implementation of comprehensive strategies that include organisational strengthening, legal processes, research, visibility and advocacy. CCAJAR has taken it upon itself to defend trade unions and their members as one of its priority work areas. It views the union struggle as strategic for the defence of human rights. The search for truth, justice and full compensation is intended to help those who have been victims of State and parastatal actors that have sought to fragment human rights organisations in Colombia through violence.

With the support of NIPSA, CCAJAR has succeeded in providing comprehensive legal assistance and support to unions and their members and organisations throughout Colombia. This

NIPSA supports Comprehensive legal assistance for unions and their members in Colombia

Trócaire Project

two year initiative has helped support victims of systematic persecution, harassment, forced disappearances and torture, while also addressing the cases of those who have been murdered. Court cases have been brought to the national and international courts that have contributed significantly to the fight against impunity.

Through legal strategies, advocacy, social mobilisation, reporting and reclaiming the rights of victims, the NIPSA funded project has helped keep the momentum for research on high-profile cases of crimes against trade unions. These include the cases of Freytter Jorge Romero, Hugo Iguarán and Juan Carlos Ramirez. CCAJAR has also strengthened organisational litigation strategies to continue to provide mechanisms and

tools for the enforcement of rights. Legal accompaniment for victims and their families has aided people on the individual level, while training activities with trade unions have helped strengthen the movement’s organisational processes. This has involved addressing issues related to legal protection mechanisms, analysing and updating information regarding the local context and forging the path towards collective redress for the enforcement of trade union rights.

In addition, it is worth noting that through the implementation of this project, a total of six Colombian cases has advanced through various legal proceedings that may not have done so otherwise. This has involved the formation of teams to support

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Speakers share knowledge and concerns with State-sponsored human rights abuses at a conference on freedom and sovereignty.

Working groups discuss strategies for effectively addressing human rights violations in Colombia.

data collection, documentation and the organisation of cases. Continuous advocacy meetings have been carried out with judicial authorities to monitor and push forward cases. Some cases were even presented before the Inter-American human rights system, while strategic communications were sent to thematic working groups of the United Nations. This work has made visible the systematic violation of trade union rights while enabling unions and their members to demand that their rights be protected and promoted.

Despite the significant progress of the legal actions, the Colombian context remains one of harassment and stigmatisation of the union movement and human rights defenders. This poses a significant challenge for organisations like CCAJAR that wish to continue pushing the six high-profile cases through a legal system where impunity is rife.

CCAJAR remains committed to the defence of these six cases, with the intention of holding those accountable who planned the persecution and crimes against trade unionists. CCAJAR will also continue to advocate for the defence of labour rights with the goal of strengthening, protecting and accompanying the Colombian trade union movement. Accordingly, it will continue to drive actions to achieve a sense of truth and justice for the families of the victims. Justice will remain at the focus of its work, as CCAJAR believes that justice is the key for ensuring the non-repetition of past human rights violations. It is through justice that social peace can be consolidated and impunity can be dissolved.

10 March 2014

Ms Shahkel is the TNJ Project coordinator distributed goats to Ms Nadia Babi a member of the Taraqee Women’s Cooperative Credit Society.

Mr Qamar Zaman (Executive Director) with beneficiaries of the Taraqee Women’s Cooperative Credit Society”(TWCCS).

Income Generating Goat Scheme for Women Workers in Pakistan

New ProjectNIPSA are delighted to be supporting an income generating goat scheme for 80 marginalised women workers and their families in Chak Jhumra Dioceses Faisalabad-Pakistan.

The main objection of the project, which the NIPSA Developing World Fund is supporting with Tanzeeme-Nau-Jawana TNJ (Youth Association) in Pakistan, is to stimulate economic growth of women and their families in order to increase the income and resources of vulnerable families. Each woman will be given three taddy goats. The other objectives include:

● To enlighten 80 women with more say in community affairs

● To pave the way of sustainable development

● To increase level of environmental awareness among 80 households

● To increase source of income for marginalised women workers and help them earn a respectable wage and also educate their children.

● In the long run the project will make them self-reliant, increase their level of self-confidence and help to alleviate poverty as well.

NIPSA are supporting this project for one year at a total cost of £9,876.00. During the one year, the families will have more goats from the reproductive cycle of initial set. In addition to that, they will be able to sell other by-products like milk, ghee and mutton. At the completion of the project each woman will return 3 kids to the implementing partner. These will then be used by the implementing partner for replication of a similar project with other beneficiary women workers.

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