The Palestine Red Crescent says Israel has imposed a curfew around Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, and that gunfire and The Israeli military says its ground forces have encircled Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip’s largest city.

The International Court of Justice says it will decide this Friday on South Africa’s requested provisional measures against Israel in genocide case.

UNRWA reports “mass casualties” as training centre sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people in Khan Younis catches fire after being struck amid fierce fighting.

Israeli forces continue tank-and-drone strikes on Khan Younis city with at least 210 people killed over the past 24 hours.

At least 25,700 people have been killed and 63,740 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.

WHO laments killing of Palestinians in Israeli strike on UNRWA shelter

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has offered his condolences to those killed after Israeli tanks shelled a URWA facility sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza earlier today, lamenting the “horrendous” heavy bombardment of Khan Younis.

“The ongoing heavy bombardment, evacuation orders and killing of civilians in Khan Younis, Gaza is just horrendous,” Ghebreyesus said in a social media post.

“WHO team joined an UNRWA mission to help those who were injured in today’s blast at the training centre where civilians were sheltering. Our deep condolences to the families who lost loved ones.”

Troops have also reportedly advanced deeper into remaining parts of the city, where they believe Hamas leaders are hiding in tunnels with hostages.

Residents said tanks had shut the last road out of the city to the Mediterranean coast, effectively stopping them from fleeing southwards.

There was also intense fighting around the city’s two main hospitals.

It came as funerals took place for some of the 24 Israeli soldiers killed on Monday on the deadliest day for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza 12 weeks ago.

At least 195 Palestinians were also killed in Gaza over the previous 24 hours, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry says more than 25,400 people have been killed – mostly children and women – during the war between Hamas and Israel.

It was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,300 people were killed – most of them civilians – and about 250 others taken hostage.

Israeli ground forces expanded their operation into southern Gaza in early December, after largely taking control of Hamas strongholds in the north.

Within days they were said to have reached the « heart » of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of people who had fled northern areas were sheltering.

But the troops have since faced fierce resistance from Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. It is considered to be one of the two strongest in the group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and other countries.

The Israeli operation has expanded and intensified in recent days, with dozens of people reported killed in air and artillery strikes on Monday alone as tanks pushed into the west and centre of the city.

On Tuesday, the IDF put out a statement saying that over the past day its troops had « carried out an extensive operation during which they encircled Khan Yunis and deepened the operation in the area ».

The troops had « engaged in close-quarters combat, directed [air] strikes, and used intelligence to co-ordinate fire, resulting in the elimination of dozens of terrorists », it added.

The IDF also ordered residents of western Khan Younis to move immediately to the al-Mawasi area, on the Mediterranean coast, for their own safety.

However, some witnesses said tanks had blocked the road leading there, preventing them from joining the estimated million people currently sheltering to the south in Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

« I am trying to leave for Rafah but the tanks are now very near to the coast and are firing toward the west, » Shaban, an electrical engineer with four children, told Reuters news agency.

The World Health Organization meanwhile said it was deeply concerned by reports of attacks on hospitals in Khan Younis.

On Tuesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said a civilian had been killed by an Israeli drone at the entrance of Al-Amal Hospital, which it runs, and that others had been injured when shells struck its nearby headquarters.

« The situation remains extremely dangerous. Early this morning, there was direct artillery shelling of the Palestine Red Crescent’s headquarters on the fourth floor. Israeli drones did not stop firing at people at al-Amal Hospital, » spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh told the BBC from Ramallah.

« [There is] panic and fear among thousands of displaced people who are taking shelter inside our facilities. »

There was no immediate comment from the IDF, but it has previously accused Hamas fighters of embedding themselves among the civilian population and operating in and around medical facilities.

Ms Farsakh also said ambulances were « facing significant challenges to reach wounded people and transport them to hospitals », adding that they were now being told to take critical cases to Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

And she warned that Al-Amal and the nearby Nasser Medical Complex – the largest of the 14 hospitals still partly working in Gaza – were « overwhelmed and overcrowded ».

Dr Haytham Ahmad, who works in Nasser’s emergency department, told the BBC that multiple amputations were being performed, and that in some cases, patients were not being given anaesthetic because of a shortage of supplies.

« These cases have severe crush injuries and there is just some skin and muscle still connected. We try to use limited anaesthetic in this situation, » he said.

A World Health Organization spokesman said Nasser was « now basically besieged » and that there was « no way in and out » for its 400 patients, as well as the medical staff treating them and displaced civilians.

Gaza’s health ministry alleged that Israeli forces had fired « heavily on the upper floors of the specialised surgery building and the emergency building » of the hospital.

One video filmed by a Palestinian journalist appeared to show gunfire hitting the hospital’s western corner, while in another clip smoke is seen rising from an area to the south.

The IDF told AFP news agency that it was « not aware of the event ».

Later, UN Secretary General António Guterres said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was « appalling » and that the entire population was « enduring destruction at a scale and speed without parallel in recent history ».

He also once again appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said it was « engaging in serious discussions with both sides » on a potential deal, and a Palestinian official told the BBC that a Hamas delegation had arrived in Cairo on Tuesday morning to « discuss new proposals » with Egypt’s intelligence minister.

Israel has not denied that it has proposed a two-month truce, involving the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. But there are reports that has already been rejected by Hamas, which demands a permanent ceasefire.

World Opinions + Agencies

L’article Khan Younis: Israel says forces have encircled Gaza’s second city.. Video est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Mediator Qatar says 13 Israelis, including dual nationals, 10 Thais and one Filipino released in Gaza.

Group of 39 Palestinian women and children transported from two Israeli jails to Ofer prison ahead of expected release.

After seven weeks of war, Palestinians in bombarded Gaza welcome first pause in fighting with mixed feelings.

Israeli army says northern Gaza is out of bounds, blocks displaced Palestinians from returning home.

More than 14,800 people killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas’s attacks stands at about 1,200.

A big crowd has gathered around the Red Cross vehicle at the Beitunia checkpoint in the West Bank, where 39 Palestinians freed from Israeli prison are set to be released.

We are hearing the release of the Palestinian prisoners has been delayed due to scuffles between some Palestinian men and Israeli forces.

The crowd around the car are chanting « where are the prisoners, where are the prisoners? »

Those Palestinian women and teenage boys were transferred earlier today from two jails in northern Israel to a military courts complex in the occupied West Bank.

Once the Palestinian side is satisfied that their release has taken place, the deal remains on track. Around the same time as today’s release of hostages in Gaza, it’s thought that Hamas was also due to hand the list of the next group of hostages it will release tomorrow.

Qatar has said it has an “operations room” in Doha co-ordinating messages and making sure the releases in Gaza take place in a “safe” environment. So as today’s hostages are transferred to hospitals to be reunited with their loved ones, the whole process starts again ahead of another set of releases expected tomorrow.

With many moving parts, lots can still go wrong.

This is all about the sides verifying what has been agreed, before honouring their next set of commitments under the deal. And at the same time, a very delicate temporary ceasefire needs to stay in place for four days, or potentially even longer.

Emergency service tells Israeli Army Radio captives in ‘good’ health

Eli Bin, the director general of Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom, has told Army Radio he had spoken to the Red Cross delegation overseeing the captive release.

He said he was told an initial assessment indicated the captives were in “good and reasonable” health.

The released Israeli captives were set to be brought to hospitals in Israel after being brought from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah crossing.

World Opinions – Agencies

L’article ‘Where are the prisoners?’ chant crowd in West Bank waiting for Palestinians’ release.. Video est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

In the Gaza Strip, children’s ages are measured by how many Israeli assaults they have been through.

About half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is under 18, and the current offensive is Israel’s fifth major one in 15 years.

The constant trauma has resulted in four out of five children in Gaza living with depression, grief and fear, according to a 2022 report by Save the Children.

More than half struggle with suicidal thoughts and the trauma of witnessing the deaths of other children.

As the death toll mounts – about 500 children have been killed so far in seven days – parents try their best to create a sense of normalcy to help their children cope.

The current assault’s nonstop bombing has killed more than 1,500 Palestinians in total, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Samah Jabr, a 35-year-old mother of four in Gaza City, is worried about her eldest son, Qusay, 13.

“He is very agitated and lashes out a lot these days. He jumps at any sound,” she said. “He can’t bear anyone speaking loudly, even if they’re joking. I try to tell him that this war will end.”

Jabr hugs Qusay as often as she can, holding him close and talking soothingly about what they will do after the war. She hopes this will give him the strength to get through this time.

“The sound of the missiles is terrifying, and our house shakes so hard,” Jabr said.

She taught her children, who never leave her side, how to spot the light that accompanies a missile so they are prepared for the deafening sound that will follow.

In the southern city of Rafah, Ahlam Wadi says her son Omar, 10, sleeps with his hands covering his ears.

“I’m worried about him,” the 30-year-old said. “I’m scared he will be damaged in the long run. I try to distract him by talking to him constantly, but he can only hear the bombs and missiles.”

Wadi and her children stay together in one room, and her husband tries to distract them by telling them about his own childhood.

“He tells them that he lived through these events before he got married and that he was very strong and not afraid,” she said.

“My second son, Saeed, who is seven, asks me whether I was also strong and fearless. I tell him I tried hard to be brave.

“I’m worried that he will have these panic attacks for the rest of his life,” she said of the attacks that grip her little boy.

Fear of loss

Manal Salem, who lives in Gaza City, said she gets her three children to talk to their grandparents every day to tell them what they heard during the night and whether that scared them or they felt brave.

“Their grandmother tells them they must bear these difficult days because it is only temporary and that they will get through this war and be happy together again,” Salem said.

“They reply by telling their grandparents to be safe because they love them so much and want to see them again.”

Salem’s daughter Mai, who is six, has separation anxiety because her father, a doctor who works in the Al-Shifa Hospital emergency room, doesn’t come home every night.

“Mai thinks her dad will be hit by a missile whenever he’s not at home with her,” Salem said. “I keep reassuring her that he’s fine, that she must stay strong.

“I also try to calm her down by letting her talk to her dad on the phone, but sometimes he can’t respond because so many casualties are coming in.”

In Khan Younis, Rawand Khalaf tries to distract her five children, nine to 14 years old, through play.

“I sit with all of them in one room and invent games with their toys, so they will not focus too hard on the sounds of explosions,” Khalaf said.

“My kids have their toys with them all the time for comfort, and I keep telling them everything will be fine.”

Her eldest son, Aaed, tells Al Jazeera that he cannot get the images of children killed or under the rubble out of his head, much less the images of injured children screaming in pain.

“I can’t imagine how children with such small bodies can bear these huge missiles,” he said. “I can’t understand how nobody does anything to help them. The children of Gaza have a right to live.

World Opinions + Agencies

L’article Gaza’s terrified children all too aware Israel’s bombs steal their joy.. Video est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

As they mark six years of exodus in Bangladesh, young refugees demand the tools that would allow them to take charge of their lives and futures.

Six years have now elapsed since the world watched 700,000 Rohingya flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh in search of safety. About half of them were children and young people. What was expected to be a short-term refuge has become another protracted crisis. Those who fled as children have now reached the age of adolescence; those who were teenagers are now adults.

Like most children, they aspire to become doctors, engineers, teachers, sports stars, and artists – a stark contrast to their reality. Living in the world’s biggest refugee camp, surrounded by barbed-wire fences, Rohingya refugees are blocked from accessing formal education, earning an income, and moving freely through or beyond the camp.

In such conditions, what hope they can have to build the kind of future they dream of? There should be scope for them to improve their lives, be it through education or paid work.

Many of the young Rohingya I have met as part of my work at these camps tell me they feel forgotten by the world. They tell me the barriers between them and the life they want for themselves engulf them with a sense of despair. They say their voices go unheard and that they have lost the right to dream. This sense of helplessness has a visceral impact on their mental health.

A 2022 survey of 317 refugee youth and adolescents across 11 camps conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) found that 96 percent of the respondents were unemployed and that they constantly feel anxious and stressed.

Amin is a young Rohingya I know well. Six years ago, he was a high-school student in his home country. He planned to go to university and become a lawyer. Then one day, his village was burned down, and his relatives were killed before his eyes. Scared for their lives, he and his family walked for 10 days before crossing the border to reach safety in Bangladesh.

Like many others, Amin assumed he would only be in Bangladesh for a short time. But the vastly different reality has struck him hard. Now, with every passing year, little by little, his aspiration to become a lawyer is drifting away and he feels ever more helpless. He does not even know if he will ever be able to resume his education.

Life for girls and young Rohingya women is even more challenging. They spend most of their time within the four walls of congested bamboo homes. Learning centres, providing limited non-formal education, work as a safe space for women and girls. There they can learn to read and build friendships and bonds with other young people. However, many girls are not allowed by their families to attend. Instead, it’s very common for girls to get married before they turn 18 due to social pressure and safety concerns.

Fifteen-year-old Ayesha told me she misses her life before she fled. Back then, she had the freedom to spend time with her friends in the garden outside their home. Now she says her home is too crowded and she barely has any privacy. She has to spend the entire day at home. It feels like a prison to her.

Sadly, there are thousands of stories like those of Amin and Ayesha. At the age of energy and enthusiasm, young Rohingya spend their days by roadside shops or inside their shelters. With nowhere to channel their energy, they are growing weary and restless.

The recent cuts that reduced food rations to just 27 cents a day have become a bitter cherry on top of their situation. The community, especially the young generation, is even more desperate for employment than before.

“How long are we going to be aid-dependent like this?” one young refugee asked me. “We do not enjoy being totally aid dependent. This is our age of working and earning. This latest ration cut is an indication that it is high time we start earning our own money.”

It is critical that donors and decision-makers listen to these young people. They have the right to determine their own future, and to influence how aid dollars are invested in programmes to support them.

A recent assessment conducted by NRC found that Rohingya youth and adolescents are eager to receive vocational training and build technical knowledge, which will help them earn money to support themselves and their families. Some of this training is available, but much more must be provided, and existing initiatives expanded.

For example, some Rohingya youth are being trained on how to repair solar panels while others are trained in tailoring. Alongside this training, the youth now need opportunities to use their newfound skills to earn a living for themselves. And to do that donors, governments and private institutions must put their hands in their pockets and invest further in these initiatives.

Given the opportunity, these young people will be a huge asset to their community and Bangladesh. But the government and donor community must work to provide the tools. Only that way, can young Rohingya have a real chance to take charge of their own futures.

By Sadia Rahman Communications Officer for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Bangladesh/ ALjazeera

L’article Analysis. Rohingya youth long for a future beyond the barbed wire est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Momina Khatun is convinced she is cursed.

She’s one of hundreds of women in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam who married under the age of 18 – and are now stuck in limbo after their husbands were arrested in a crackdown on child marriage.

The state government claims it wants to eradicate the illegal practice, but Ms Khatun and other women whose husbands are in custody say they have been left helpless.

Ms Khatun, who is expecting a baby, didn’t have an easy start in life, but marriage turned out better than she expected.

Her father remarried when she was eight. A few months later her mother abandoned her too, leaving her to live with her paternal aunt in a tiny village in the state.

« Life was difficult there. I was treated like I was a burden to her family, » Ms Khatun said. Last year, when her aunt’s family decided to get her married at the age of 17, she was delirious with fear.

« We were always told that the man we marry will determine the quality of our life. I was young and worried what would happen if my husband was a bad person. »

But Yakub Ali, the farmer she married, turned out to be a kind man who took away the « loneliness and replaced it with genuine love and affection », Ms Khatun said.

« There wasn’t much, we were poor. At least there was peace. »

But their happiness was short-lived.

On 4 February, Mr Ali was arrested from their home and charged with marrying Ms Khatun when she was a minor.

A week on, the 22-year-old remains in custody. Ms Khatun, who is seven months pregnant, has not been able to meet her husband since his arrest.

« Where do I go? I have no one. My child and I will die hungry and lonely, » she said.

Ms Khatun and hundreds of other women in Assam have been protesting after their male relatives were arrested in connection with cases of child marriage.

More than 8,100 people have been named in police complaints so far, including the parents of grooms and priests who performed the marriage ceremonies. It was not immediately clear how the police arrived at the figures – the BBC has contacted officials for comment – but at least 2,500 people have been arrested since last week.

Women like Ms Khatun see the action as a « cruel interference in their lives ».

Mostly uneducated and poor, they say the arrested men are primary breadwinners for their families and that they depend on them to survive. Videos of women, wailing outside police stations and rolling on the ground, have cascaded over social media, fuelling feelings of anger and outrage.

Those like Mr Ali, who are accused of marrying girls aged 14-18, are being charged under a law that bans child marriage and carries a sentence of two years and a fine.

Men accused of marrying girls below 14 have been charged under a more stringent law that protects children from sexual offences, a non-bailable felony carrying jail terms ranging from seven years to life.

Reports say that districts with higher Muslim populations in Assam have seen more arrests than others, though hundreds of Hindu men have also been arrested.

Under Muslim personal law in India, girls can get married once they reach puberty. The conflict between this and India’s Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, which bars all marriages of women below the age of 18, is being challenged in the Supreme Court. »There is a line of precedent that special laws will override general personal laws of any religion, » according to Dr Arghya Sengupta, research director of Vidhi Legal, a think-thank.

But he added that « the unjustness of the situation » also needs to be factored in. « The personal law of Muslims has allowed girls who have attained puberty to marry of their own free will for decades. So to suddenly throw their husbands in jail for a practice which, in their eyes, was never wrong may be unjust. »

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma maintains that his government is at « war » against child marriage and isn’t targeting any one community. But critics say the retrospective arrests are the latest attempt of the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to marginalise minorities, especially Bengali-speaking Muslims.

The community, which migrated from what was once East Pakistan and is now Bangladesh, has long faced discrimination in the multi-ethnic state, where linguistic identity and citizenship are the biggest political fault lines.

The Hindu-nationalist BJP government, which is also in power nationally, has announced a slew of policies, including a controversial citizenship law, that critics say discriminates particularly against Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Experts say the arrests could push illegal marriages underground, making them harder to report.

« Child marriages are more a social malaise than a religious one, and are rooted in poverty and patriarchy, » says Dr Abdul Azad, lecturer and researcher at Vrije University, Amsterdam.

« It is only through social and economic upliftment of communities that the practice can be truly eradicated – not by explicitly targeting a single community. »

Although illegal, child marriage is widespread in many parts of India mainly due to patriarchal customs, lack of education and poverty.

Very few cases are actually reported. In Assam, only 155 cases of child marriage were registered in 2021, and 138 in 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

The latest crackdown started on 23 January, when Mr Sarma expressed alarm over the soaring underage pregnancy rate in Assam and promised to put an end to the problem.

The sudden nature of the move has shattered many families.

Khalidul Rashid, a resident of Dhubri district in Assam, breaks down before he even begins speaking.

He says his 23-year-old daughter Kulsoom Khan took her own life on 4 February. The eldest of four, Kulsoom was married off when she was 14. In 2020, when her husband died of Covid-19, she moved back to her parent’s home with her two children.

Everything was fine in her life, her father says, but when she heard last week about the arrests, she became vey tense.

On Friday, she asked her father for her marriage certificate. « I told her that her husband was dead and she had nothing to worry about, » Mr Rashid says.

But Kulsoom was afraid the police would arrest her parents.

« So she took her life – to protect us, » Mr Rashid says.

Dr Kalam says that while most of the child marriages in Assam occur among the marginalised communities, a powerful social movement against the practice has taken shape in recent years.

Now the government’s « aggressive approach », he says, will weaken this movement.

« Our society has become so divided that such brutal actions are gaining support, » Dr Kalam says.

Masud Zaman, a lawyer based in Dhubri district who is fighting on behalf of eight women protesters, agrees with the assessment.

A Muslim-dominated area, Dhubri has recorded the highest number of arrests.

« The common perception is that child marriage is a problem of Muslim society. But child marriage rates are high in Dhubri because it’s one of the poorest districts of Assam, where most families are illiterate. Not because Muslims live here, » Mr Zaman says.

He accused the government of turning a social issue into a communal one, at the expense of women’s lives.

While both Hindu and Muslim men have been rounded up in the recent arrests, the lawyer alleges there has been selective treatment in the way bail is being given.

« In Majuli – which is predominantly home to tribal communities – 24 men got bail within a day. We argued on behalf of [Muslim] men accused of the same offences on the same grounds, but couldn’t get bail. »

The BBC saw a copy of one of the bail orders passed by a district court in Majuli, which states the arrests had been made on « vague and insufficient grounds ».

Mr Zaman added that it was insensitive to think money – the government has announced financial compensation for the affected women – could alleviate their grief.

« What about the emotional bond between a wife and her husband? How will the government compensate women for that? »

It’s a question that haunts Ms Khatun.

« Does suffering ever end in a woman’s life? » she says.

World Opinions – BBC News

L’article Assam: India child brides desperate after mass arrests est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

A 10-year-old Vietnamese boy who fell into the narrow open shaft of a concrete pillar at a construction site on New Year’s Eve has been confirmed dead, state media said on Wednesday.

Rescuers spent nearly 100 hours trying to free Ly Hao Nam from the 35-metre-long support pillar driven into the ground, but without success, online newspaper VnExpress cited a local government official as saying.

“The authorities have determined that the victim has died and are trying to recover his body for the funeral,” the deputy chair of the southern province of Dong Thap, Doan Tan Buu, was quoted as saying.

The boy was heard crying for help shortly after he fell into the hollow concrete pile, which has a diameter of 25cm, on Saturday at a bridge construction site in the Mekong delta province where he had been searching with friends for scrap iron.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Vietnamese prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, had urged the rescuers and local authorities to mobilise all equipment and forces needed, the government said.

World Opinions + Agencies

L’article Vietnamese boy trapped in 35-metre concrete pillar dies est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

To avoid ‘youth-washing’ politicians and corporations, young people now are more likely to coalesce around radical policies or campaigns.

Between 2016 and 2020, children were the vital force at the centre of the climate movement. Youth strikers organised record-breaking mass mobilisations and protests between geography and double maths. In the US, young people from the Sunrise Movement occupied Nancy Pelosi’s office demanding climate action. Youth activists got extraordinary media attention, invitations to speak at climate summits, and to address the UN. Teenagers such as Vanessa Nakate and Greta Thunberg became household names; both of them appeared on the cover of Time magazine, the latter as person of the year in 2019.

This coincided with a moment in climate politics that was awash with ideas around children, the future, and intergenerational justice. Extinction Rebellion activists used the next generation as a proxy for the future: climate action in the present was a moral necessity for our children and grandchildren. Politicians also adopted this framing. At the same time, young people were taking matters into their own hands. For a time, it seemed that a climate movement was emerging in which children acted simultaneously as the spark, inspiration and energy. This wave seemed unstoppable.

But that moment has passed. Young people’s climate activism is rarely headline news any more and Thunberg has taken a step back from the movement spotlight. There are fewer older eco-warriors in the limelight talking about their grandchildren, and politicians seem to care less about photo-ops with young activists blocking roads.

Of course, youth organising has not simply disappeared – young people still populate much of the activist scene and movements such as Green New Deal Rising remain explicitly for under-35s. But media focus and activists themselves are placing less emphasis on age; it is often incidental, and less central to activists’ strategy.

The political terrain has changed since the age of the youth activist icon. The events of the past couple of years have thrown down challenges for climate organising more broadly: the pandemic was a major chiller for activism and came hot on the heels of the 2019 general election, the biggest Tory victory since 1987 and a crushing experience for the left and wider green movement.

But the climate movement is not just moving across a different political landscape; it has also taken a different form. There has been a critical repositioning in parts of the UK climate movement, recognising climate breakdown is not a future issue, but a devastating present reality for millions in the global south. And on the whole, young activists have grown out of organising along generational lines, instead moving into issue-oriented movements.

From the beginning, youth strikers were holding together a complex coalition of children, allied around their age and the tactic of striking, rather than an explicit political agenda. After sustaining impressive turnout at protests but achieving little political shift, UK organisers were burning out, as was the shock of the strikes.

This was compounded by the feeling that world leaders and corporations were “youth-washing” by co-opting child climate activists – inviting them on to platforms and into private meetings to burnish their own images but ignoring their demands. Despite the increase in representation on the world stage, importantly including indigenous young people and children from the global south, it’s hard to say how much world leaders took their voices into account. Children were seen, but their demands – from urging for financing for loss and damage, an end to the racist Home Office or an end to capitalism itself – were not heard. The UK Youth Climate Coalition was so frustrated with this co-optation it set up a campaign in 2019 to call out youth-washing.

Some adults were youth-washing to cover their problematic policies or business models, others to divest action on to a younger generation. Thunberg spoke out about it in her now-famous speech to the UN: “You all come to us young people for hope. How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” Ultimately, what is lacking is real decision-making power for young people.

So now, instead of using youth as a rallying flag, young people across the country are building movements around radical policies or clear political campaigns. These are both harder to co-opt, and more coherent than the loose association of a movement based on age alone. Given the fragmented politics and the fleeting nature of childhood itself, building youth-led movements around strong campaign foundations – from Stop Jackdaw to Just Stop Oil – is proving more sustainable.

The climate movement still needs powerful ideas and metaphors that can unite big coalitions, but children are no longer its future. That focus was temporary, and besides kept attention off the millions for whom climate breakdown isn’t the future but the present. It’s a good thing that young activists are now viewed less as angelic saviours, and more as political actors in their own right.

By Eleanor Salter writes about climate, culture and politics – theguardian.com

L’article Children aren’t the future: where have all the young climate activists gone? est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

The shortages and currency crunch in Lebanon could lead to a collapse of the mains water supply in Lebanon within a month, the UN’s Children Fund warned Friday.

« More than four million people, including one million refugees, are at immediate risk of losing access to safe water in Lebanon, » UNICEF said.

The UN agency said that maintenance costs incurred in US dollars, funding shortages and the parallel collapse of the power grid were rapidly destroying the water sector.

« UNICEF estimates that most water pumping will gradually cease across the country in the next four to six weeks, » it said.

« A loss of access to the public water supply could force households to make extremely difficult decisions regarding their basic water, sanitation and hygiene needs, » UNICEF Representative in Lebanon Yukie Mokuo said.

Lebanon’s meltdown, which started with a financial crisis caused by state corruption and mismanagement, is fast spreading to every aspect of daily life.

The Lebanese pound, which for years was pegged to the US dollar, has lost more than 90 percent of its value over the past 18 months.

Electricity in most places is barely available an hour a day while the fuel needed to power generators is also in short supply.

Basic medicines have been missing from pharmacy shelves for months and private hospitals warned on Thursday they were « hours away » from losing all power supply.

World Opinions News & Agencies

L’article Over four million people in Lebanon could lose access to safe water within a month: UNICEF est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.