U.S. Virgin Islands Didn’t Make The Cut
Hurricanes have devastated the Caribbean over the past month. Two U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have been hit the hardest. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas, and Hurricane Irma hit South Florida, there wasn’t much wavering about when the president would visit or his administration’s urgency in responding with aid. The president actually received praise for his response in Houston and South Florida.
However, his administration responded much differently when Hurrican Maria struck Puerto Rico. [As a reminder, these are U.S. citizens – they pay taxes, have social security numbers, etc. According to a recent poll by Morning Consult, 54% of American’s did not know this.]
Many reports state that Peurto Ricans were still waiting for aid a week after the hurricane hit. It took Trump two weeks to visit the island, and it’s safe to say his visit didn’t receive the same praise and welcome he had previously received in Houston. Carmen Yulin Cruz, San Juan Mayor, heavily criticized the president and his administration for their lack of aid and urgency prior to his visit. In typical Trump fashion, he responded with no regard for her anguish and called her a “nasty mayor,” and joked that sending them aid would throw his administration’s budget “a little out of whack.”
All things being unequal in his treatment of Houston/South Florida Vs. Peurto Rico, at least he visited all three U.S. states/territories.
The same can’t be said for the U.S. Virgin Islands, which was ravished by Hurricane Maria as well. Where is the U.S. media coverage? With the exception of MSNBC’s Joy Reed giving Rep. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands time to detail their recovery efforts, U.S. news organizations have barely covered their devastation. Their devastation was obviously not as bad, not as important, or maybe they’re just lower on the list of priorities for this administration. And instead of the president visiting the capital of U.S. Virgin Islands, or one of their most affected areas, which is roughly a 30 min flight from Puerto Rico, Vice President Mike Pence is visiting instead.
Granted, the Vegas shooting is a tragedy and needed to be addressed. But if you’re a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands, of whom 76% are African-American, how should they feel or perceive the president and his administration’s lack of aid and recognition in their time of need? The one state/territory that is overwhelmingly African-American receives the least aid, hardly any U.S. media coverage, less recognition from the president’s administration, and not even a visit from the president himself?
The president did meet with Gov. Kenneth Mapp of the U.S. Virgin Islands on a Navy amphibious assault ship “offshore,” but never stepped on land to visit residents or see the damage for himself. I guess if you’re a U.S. citizen in the U.S. Virgin Islands, that’ll have to be good enough.
This president is constantly called a racist regarding his rhetoric and how he treats and responds to black and brown people differently. It’s hard to argue that his response to Puerto Rico and even worse the U.S. Virgin Islands doesn’t add to that long list and justify anyone calling him a racist.
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Catalonia: The Rebel State
This is a developing story. We will continue to update this article to provide you the most up to date information about Catalonia and its struggle for independence.
[Catalonia’s fight for Independence + historical context.]
Developing News:
In a TV address, Spain’s King Felipe VI condemned organizers of Catalonia’s independence referendum for having put themselves “outside the law;” stating that the situation in Spain was “extremely serious” and calling for unity.
Hundreds of thousands in Catalonia have been protesting since the Spanish police violence that took place during Sunday’s historic vote for independence, in which 893 people were hurt.
Meanwhile, Catalonia’s leader has told multiple news organizations that the region would declare its independence in a matter of days.
In one of his first interviews since the referendum, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said his government would “act at the end of this week or the beginning of the next.”
When probed on what he would do if the Spanish government were to intervene or try to take control of the Catalonia’s government, Mr. Puigdemont said it would be “an error which changes everything.”
As of now, there is no contact between Mr. Puigdemont and the government in Madrid. These comments were made shortly after the Kings televised speech.
Context…
Over the past few weeks the northeastern region of Spain, known as Catalonia has been fighting a great fight for independence against Spain. This is the breakdown of what is happening currently, and what brought about this dangerous split.
As of now, reports state that 893 people and 33 police officers have been hurt since Sunday, Oct 1st, as the Catalan referendum for more autonomy has been passed by the Catalan government. The protests leading to this day have been violent and without regard to human safety or democratic values. What has led to this split? Well, here’s a bit of a history lesson that will explain why Catalonia has always viewed itself as a free state.
History…
Catalonians have always believed that their state is a separate nation from the very beginning. With a population of 7.5 million people, it is the wealthiest of Spain’s 17 semi-autonomous regions. In the 12th century, its kingdom came under the rule of the neighboring Spanish kingdom of Aragon. In the 15th century, when King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile married and united their domains, it became part of a unified Spain. Throughout its history, Catalonia has always had varying degrees of autonomy protecting its distinct culture, language, law, and customs. That all came to a grinding halt when the war of the Spanish Succession took place during 1702-1714 when Catalonia fell to Felipe V’s Franco-Castillian army after a 15-month siege. As a result, the nation-state lost its charters and institutions, and Catalonia was officially abolished. With the state being heavily oppressed by the ruling class, the Catalans have had difficulty maintaining their culture and language ever since.
Fast forward to 1931, relief came in the form of new elections that brought broad autonomy to Catalonia, which again fell apart when Spain fell into civil war during the mid-1930’s and the succeeding Franco regime. Franco’s ultra-conservative rule curtailed the states autonomy and restricted the use of the Catalan language as well. After the end of the dictatorship in 1978, Spain had a democratic transition and Catalonia became one of its 17 autonomous communities. In this period of finally gaining back some control, Catalonia established its own parliament (Generalitat), Police force (Mossos d’esquadra), and education system; but calls for full independence have still continued.
The Euro economic crisis saw high unemployment among the Catalonia youth and further exposed the mass inequality between the rich and poor.
3 Reasons for the split…
Money:
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Pro-independence supporters claim that Catalonia is being robbed by Spain when the central government taxes the region. Catalans state that the gap in what they pay in taxes and what they get back in services is an insult.
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Spain’s financial crisis and the austerity that followed has only fueled this discontent. Catalans claim that Catalonia would be much more sufficient and prosperous on its own.
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The counter-argument comes from Xavier Albiol, who is the leader of the Catalan Branch of Spain’s ruling People’s party. He states that in many countries the wealthy regions prop up the poorer ones, “At the moment Spain is the country in the EU which is growing the most; more jobs are being created and that directly benefits Catalonia, all told, united we are strong.”
Language:
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Under General Franco’s dictatorship, Catalan could not be used in any official context. Since Democracy was restored in 1978, the language has rebounded, which has sparked a new surge of pride in the Catalan culture and identity.
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However, in 2010, the Spanish courts rejected a change to the constitution that would have given the Catalan language preferential status, further alienating the state’s uniqueness, which many Catalans viewed as an insult, again strengthening pro-independence feelings.
Respect:
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“First of all, we are democrats which means that when we demand to be treated a mature society, we mean this. When we demand that the opinion of the people should be taken into account, we mean this.” – Raul Romeva (Member of the Catalan parliament which favors independence)
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As you can see the Catalonia’s pro-independence leaders see the referendum as a democratic right, and Madrid’s refusal to acknowledge this infuriates them.
Do all Catalans want independence?
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Catalans seem to be divided about leaving Spain.
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With 49.4% of its population wanting to stay
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And 41.1 of its population wanting to break away from Spain.
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This break in unity within the state itself has caused mass debates to take part in towns and villages across Catalonia. Though the referendum has now gone in favor for Independence, Spanish authorities have dismissed the referendum as unconstitutional and a ‘farce’; 90% of those who came out and braved against the brutal tactics of the Spanish police voted in favor of the split. Though, protests leading after the vote have only been able to turn out about 42% of supporters due to the police crackdown.
The Catalan President stopped short of declaring independence from Spain on Monday – a move that would have further deepened the crisis, and has instead requested for an international arbiter to mediate the issue, ideally someone from the European Union. “This moment needs mediation,” Catalan President Puigdemont said, “We only received violence and repression as an answer.” Puigdemont said Catalonia did not want a “traumatic break” with Madrid. “We want a new understanding with the Spanish State,” he said.
When the governing body of a nation fails to listen to its people, regardless of how small or big the population of those said people are, unrest and calls for extreme action will take place. Spain has the opportunity to heal the pain and anger it has caused with the Catalan state by simply addressing this problem for what it is – a call to be understood and listened to by the Catalan people. Taking it for anything else will only stiffen the resolve of the pro-independence supporters and further divide the Catalan state from a peaceful resolution.
Catalonia: The Rebel State Update
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Terror in Barcelona
Terror in Barcelona
As the story unfolds, citizens of 24 nations were among those killed and injured in Barcelona including one Belgian national confirmed to be among the dead. This attack, the latest in a wave of vehicle “terror” across Europe in recent times, caused panic in Spain’s largest city and drew swift condemnation from leaders around the world.
“It was clearly a terror attack, intended to kill as many people as possible.” – Josep Lluis Trapero, Senior Police Official.
A few hours later, police said they had killed “four suspected terrorists” and left another injured in Cambrils, a city that is 79 miles south of Barcelona. The region’s government of Catalonia, where both Barcelona and Cambrils are located, verified the incident in the early hours of Friday, which the local authorities had earlier stated as a “possible terrorist attack.”
How it unfolded…
A white Fiat van, which was reported rented, plowed into pedestrians outside a Jewish restaurant on a busy street in Barcelona a little after 5 pm on Thursday (8/17/17). The Vehicle moved onto the promenade and charged down the busy walkway in central Barcelona for 500 meters, going back and forth as it ran pedestrians down and turned a beautiful tourist destination into a nightmare killing zone.
Eyewitness Testimonies…
Aamer Anwar a lawyer and Rector from the University of Glasglow was walking in La Ramblas when he heard screaming. He said a shopkeeper told him five or six people were badly injured and described the scene as “chaos.”
Aamer’s witness account:
“I was walking down Las Ramblas for something to eat. Part of the street was in the shade so I decided to keep walking down and literally within 10 seconds there was a crashing noise. I turned around and people were screaming – I could see a woman screaming with her kids – people started running and jumping into shops. I ran for about 50-100 meters and turned around to see what was happening.”
British tourist Keith Welling, who had come to Barcelona on Wednesday with his wife and 9-year older daughter, said they saw the van drive right past them down the avenue and took refuge in a restaurant when panic broke out and the crowd started to run.
“People were shouting and we heard a bang and someone cried that it was a gunshot. My family and I ran into the restaurant along with roughly 40 other people.”
Cambrils…
Locals of the Spanish seaside resort of Cambrils fled in terror in the early hours of Friday after five terrorists wearing suicide bomb vests launched the second vehicle attack in the country just after a few hours from the first. As of now, six people have been hurt in the second attack, when attackers drove into pedestrians before being shot and killed by the security forces. Of the six civilians caught in the Cambrils attack, two are said to be in serious condition. As of now, one has unfortunately died per an official Twitter account.
This time the Vehicle used was an Audi A3. It rammed into people on the seaside promenade of the tourist city of Cambrils. Police said the suspects in Cambrils carried bomb belts, which were detonated safely by a police bomb squad. Media reports said a car crashed into a police vehicle and nearby civilians. Police shot the attackers, one who was waving a knife around. For now, police have not said how the attack was being carried out. A police officer and five civilians have been injured, one which has now passed away due to serious injuries.
Isil claims responsibility…
According to the jihadist organization’s propaganda outlet Amaq, “Soldiers” of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have announced that they orchestrated the deadly van attack. Amaq said they had launched the attack in response to calls to target states taking part in the US-led coalition battling the jihadist group in Iraq and Syria.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the attack was “jihadist terrorism” which required a swift global response. At a news conference in Barcelona, Rajoy said:
“Today the fight against terrorism is the principal priority for free and open societies like ours, it is a global threat and the response has to be global.”
Isil, which once controlled a self-declared “caliphate” across large parts of Iraq and Syria, has now suffered major losses in recent months. Coalition-backed Iraqi forces recaptured its Iraqi stronghold Mosul in July.
More to come as the story develops.
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Al-Aqsa Crisis… Israeli Palestinian Fighting Continues
On July 14th the Israeli government made the decision to shut down Al Aqsa Mosque, the 3rd holiest site in Islam, after a clash that left three Palestinians and two Israeli officers dead. For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Friday prayers were canceled. The Israeli government then proceeded to install security cameras and metal detectors at the mosque before reopening it. Palestinians rejected these measures as violations of their rights and of the status quo, and refused to pray in the mosque, opting to pray in the streets instead.
Amid continued protests, the Israeli government continued to add restrictions – preventing men under the age of 50 from entering the compound. Palestinians organized demonstrations in “a day of anger” and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas froze contact with his Israeli counterparts. The Israelis were worried about an escalating security situation and elected to install new security cameras to replace the metal detectors – a measure also rejected by the Palestinians as a move that expanded Israeli control over the holy site.
As of July 27th, Israel removed all the security measures and Palestinians planned to resume prayer in the mosque. The conflict seemed to have temporarily subsided – until minutes after worshippers returned to the mosque Israeli police wounded dozens with stun grenades and rubber bullets. The official Israeli reports states that they were attacked with stones but Amnesty International reports that Israeli actions were unprovoked. Palestinian Muslims have now returned to the mosque and services have resumed as usual but tensions are still simmering.
To Palestinians, this is about much more than just metal detectors and security cameras. This is a system that devalues Palestinians and enforces a systemic repression of a people who have been denied even the fundamental right to have a state. They are fighting to retain a status quo that disadvantages them to begin with because they fear what would happen to them if the status quo was done away with entirely. The Palestinians already face a lack of sovereignty and they see this as a further undermining of their identities. In case you think all this status quos talk is ridiculous, consider this fact: there is a ladder in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem that has not been moved in centuries because to move it would be to undermine the status quo, and that would cause a conflict between the different churches that reside there.
It’s not as if the response was strange or unexpected by the Israelis. It’s a known fact that any interference with Al Aqsa inflames tensions and escalates the conflict. The second intifada (the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation) was in part spurred by Ariel Sharon’s visit to the compound after the failure of peace negotiations and is called the Al-Aqsa intifada for that very reason. Jerusalem has always been and continues to be the line in the sand that cannot be crossed without inciting a violent reaction on both sides.
One important takeaway: Palestinian leadership had very little to do with the mass mobilization of the last two weeks. In fact, Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority struggled to make themselves relevant regarding this tense situation. This is in part because the Palestinian citizens of East Jerusalem are relatively isolated from the Palestinian Authority, separated by an Israeli checkpoint from the West Bank. This may, however, also be a sign of Mahmoud Abbas’s shrinking support, and the resulting weakness of the Palestinian Authority, with two-thirds of Palestinians calling for the octogenarian leader to resign. Abbas’s decision to cut off ties with Israeli government pending resolution of the conflict seemed reactionary and an attempt to satisfy his quickly shrinking base.
Long term, this further underscores the importance and the tensions surrounding Jerusalem and final status negotiations. Both sides claim the city as their capital, although the majority of the international community officially recognizes neither. The Palestinian capital, East Jerusalem, is under Israeli occupation and effectively cut off from the Palestinian Authority, and the Israeli government will not allow them to fund projects within the city. If there is to be any hope of a final settlement to the conflict, Jerusalem must be addressed and the status of its religious institutions, holy to the worlds three Abrahamic faiths, must be taken into account.
Venezuela: A Nation Divided And Why It Matters, Pt. II
(Part I includes reasons 1 and 2)
Here are reasons 3 – 5 why the crisis in Venezuela matters to not just you, but to everyone else in the world.
III. It could turn Venezuelans to hate America in the region
- Dictators in Latin America love to find sentiment to rage against the United States. From Fidel Castro’s passionate denunciations of the American “imperialists” to Venezuelans late president Hugo Chavez, who spoke out against George W. Bush at the UN in 2006.
- So it’s no surprise that Maduro is using the same rhetoric to stoke up flames of anti-American sentiment throughout the region.
- Latin Americans are cautious and sensitive to what some consider “imperialist” policies coming from Washington, making it very easy for leaders like Maduro to build up dissent for the United States.
- With this being said, it is important for the U.S. to play an active role in Latin America so that it can combat the negative remarks and false images that dictators are trying to create.
IV. It has created unimaginable suffering
- Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” There is a fundamental human reason why we should care and pay attention to what is currently taking place in Venezuela. Venezuelans are going through unimaginable suffering, and it’s unfathomable to many of us.
- High inflation, especially soaring food prices means that many people are not just skipping meals, but are not eating all together. According to a national survey conducted by three of the country’s major universities, the percentage of malnourished Venezuelans is increasing.
- Some have jokingly dubbed this the “Maduro diet” who has said that doing without “makes you tough.” WTF?
- There have also been shortages on basic goods such as toilet paper and medical supplies. Venezuela can’t pay to import goods because its government is desperately strapped for cash after years of foolish spending. The sight of people sifting through trash to find food is unfortunately a common sight.
V. This could ultimately hurt us in our pocketbook.
- This crisis in Caracas could hit American citizens where it hurts the most: The gas pump.
- The US is the main buyer of Venezuelan oil, so there’s a very intimate relationship between both governments, in that regard at least.
- If President Trump decided to actually follow through on his threat to place heavy sanctions on Venezuelan oil, or bar shipments to the U.S., Venezuela would be crippled because at this point that is their only source of income. Its humanitarian crisis would worsen. But surprisingly, the sanctions would hurt us as well, because Venezuela is third in oil exports to the U.S., right behind Saudi Arabia and Canada.
- Sanctions would force the U.S. to buy oil elsewhere, which means that it would inadvertently force you and I to shell out more money when we decide to visit our local BP or Mobil gas station.
So pay attention, this is bigger than our media is leading you to believe. This crisis in Venezuela can definitely get out of control, if it already hasn’t.
Venezuela: A Nation Divided And Why It Matters, Pt. I
As of this year, you have probably seen the news reports: The Vice specials, and AJ+’s coverage of the protests in the streets, the long lines at the stores. But you probably have not paid enough attention to the actual chaos gripping Venezuela.
How are the events taking place in a socialist nation of 30 million people, thousands of miles away, relevant to you in the U.S.?
Here are 5 reasons why the crisis in Venezuela matters to not just you, but to everyone else in the world.
I. It’s creating thousands of new refugees
- The lack of food and medicine, soaring inflation, political instability, and violence are all key ingredients of creating refugees. This has and is currently taking place in Venezuela, and has forced tens of thousands of its citizens to flee. These same refugees are now the top asylum seekers in the U.S., ahead of citizens from countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and China. This is, in fact, the first time that Venezuelans have topped the list.
- As of now, more than 21,600 Venezuelans have sought asylum so far in 2017. That number has increased by as much as four times since 2015 when 5,605 Venezuelans applied for asylum.
- What makes this all the more challenging is that with the current American political climate, a wave of new asylum-seekers would not be welcomed with open arms.
- There is currently a rise in xenophobia in the U.S., and a flood of Venezuelans from across the social strata into our country creates an opportunity for U.S. politicians to use them as pawns for their political agendas.
II. It’s an attack on democracy – which is disconcerting
- Observers of this conflict have noted that what is currently going on politically in Venezuela over the last few years is an attack on the people’s ability to choose how they wish to be governed, which is also an attack on their presumed liberties.
- President Nicolas Maduro filled the Venezuelan Supreme court with his supporters so that he would be able to block any impeachment attempts after the country’s opposition leaders won a majority of seats in the National Assembly in 2015.
- To make matters worse, the Maduro-backed Supreme court then briefly tried to deconstruct the National Assembly and grab hold of its legislative powers, which only ignited a wave of violent protests that have continued almost every day since March 2017. As many as 100 people have been killed since then.
- Last week the country held an election that was highly controversial to create a new lawmaking body, named the Constituent Assembly. The 545-seat legislative body, packed with Maduro’s supporters, would finally have the power to rewrite the country’s 1999 constitution and promptly take control of all branches of Venezuela’s government under Maduro.
- With what is currently taking place in our own country, this should make ALL Americans sit up and pay attention. Having a leader try and bend the will of the government to suit his needs is something we all have become quite accustomed to in the U.S.
Part II includes reasons 3 – 5.
“1995: 8,000 Muslims Killed in U.N. Safe Haven”
This week marks the 22nd anniversary of the genocide in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, where 8,372 Muslim men were killed in an area that was designated as a U.N. “safe haven.” Most of their bodies were thrown into mass graves, and some of their bodies are still being discovered today. Countless women, many of whom were the wives and mothers of the men killed, were tortured and raped by Serbian soldiers. This genocide has been called the worst mass murder in Europe since World War II.
My grandfather was born and raised in Bosnia, so as you can imagine, I heard about this massacre at a very young age. I recall learning about the Srebrenica massacre in high school, but it wasn’t called a massacre. My history textbook devoted just two sentences in a sidebar mentioning the massacre, and they referred to it as an “ethnic cleansing.” The word “cleansing” implies that the killing of 8,372 Muslims made Bosnia purer. I couldn’t help but think that if the victims were a group other than Muslims, the coverage and the historic context of this massacre may have been dramatically different.
Winston Churchill said, “History is written by the victors.” This was obvious to me considering that our history textbook devoted multiple sections to other genocides, notably the Holocaust. Are the numbers between the Holocaust and the Srebrenica genocide comparable? No. But both involved large groups of people being killed for no other reason besides their religion. The Holocaust is a well-known historic occurrence that almost everyone can recall learning about in school; yet, the Srebrenica genocide is something obscure-sounding that most people have never even heard of before.
Let’s switch gears and fast-forward to 2017. ISIS (or ISIL) is in the Middle East systematically massacring a minority religious group called the Yazidis (ISIS is responsible for killing many other people and groups of people, but their massacre of the Yazidis is the only one officially classified as a genocide by the U.N.). A minority group is being systematically killed for no other reason besides their religion. After the Holocaust, the world said, “NEVER AGAIN.” Fifty years later, the genocide at Srebrenica happened, and much of the world didn’t even know, let alone bat an eye. Twenty-two years later, in a world abundant with media outlets and 24-hour news cycles, much of the world doesn’t know about a genocide happening right in front of them. If we don’t know enough about our history to learn from it, how can we prevent it from happening again?