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August 18, 2007

Arctic sea ice shrinks to lowest level on record

Filed under: General,global islands,weather — admin @ 8:16 am

There was less sea ice in the Arctic on Friday than ever before on record, and the melting is continuing, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported.

“Today is a historic day,” said Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist at the centre. “This is the least sea ice we’ve ever seen in the satellite record and we have another month left to go in the melt season this year.”

Satellite measurements showed 5.2 million square kilometres of ice in the Arctic, falling below the Sept. 21, 2005, record minimum of 5.3 million square kilometres, the agency said.

Sea ice is particularly low in the East Siberian side of the Arctic and the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, the centre said. Ice in the Canadian archipelago is also quite low, it said.

Along the Atlantic side of the Arctic Ocean, the amount of sea ice is not as unusually low, but there is still less than normal, according to the centre, located in Boulder, Colo.

The snow and ice centre is part of the Co-operative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado. It receives support from NASA, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation.

Scientists began monitoring the extent of Arctic sea ice in the 1970s when satellite images became available.

The polar regions have long been of concern to climate specialists studying global warming because those regions are expected to feel the impact of climate change sooner and to a greater extent than other areas.

Sea ice in the Arctic helps keep those regions cool by reflecting sunlight that might be absorbed by darker land or ocean surfaces.

Arctic snow and ice reflect 80 per cent of the sunlight they receive, compared with only 10 per cent by open ocean water. That, in turn, causes the ocean to heat up and raises Arctic temperatures.

‘Very strong evidence’ of greenhouse warming

Unusually clear sky conditions have prevailed in the Arctic in June and July, promoting more sunshine at the time when the sun is highest in the sky over the region. The centre said this led to an unusually high amount of solar energy being absorbed by the Arctic ice surface, accelerating the melting process. Fairly strong winds also brought in some warm air from the south.

But, Serreze said in a telephone interview, while some natural variability is involved in the melting, “we simply can’t explain everything through natural processes.”

“It is very strong evidence that we are starting to see an effect of greenhouse warming,” he said.

The puzzling thing, he said, is that the melting is actually occurring faster than computer climate models have predicted.

Several years ago he would have predicted a complete melt of Arctic sea ice in summer would occur by the year 2070 to 2100, Serreze said. But at the rates now occurring, a complete melt could happen by 2030, he said Friday.

There will still be ice in winter, he said, but it could be gone in summer.

Inside Thailand’s Amulet Craze

Filed under: General,global islands,thailand — admin @ 5:20 am

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Thailand — Not so long ago, Nakhon Si Thammarat was a sleepy town with no obvious tourist attractions — or tourists. Its economy revolved around shrimp farming and fishing.

Now this provincial capital in southern Thailand is crawling with thousands of visitors each week. The big draw: amulets, some as small as three centimeters wide, called Jatukam Ramathep.

Thais are big believers in the supernatural. Amulets, which come in various materials and sizes and are usually worn around the neck, are basically lucky charms thought to have magical powers that protect from physical and spiritual harm as well as bring good fortune. Thailand is predominantly a Buddhist country and the amulets usually depict famous monks or the Buddha.
[Amulet map]

Thailand has seen its share of amulet crazes over the years. But the Jatukam Ramathep medallion — which depicts a mythical figure that resembles a Hindu god with multiple arms and heads — has set new heights in the annals of amulet history. And at its birthplace in the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat, most buyers seem to be snapping them up more for their supposed power to deliver instant riches than for their promise of good health.

“Every province has its amulets, so I’ve asked myself, ‘Why this one, and why has it become so popular now?'” asks Patrick Jory, a history professor from Australia who teaches at Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The answer, he thinks, lies in Thailand’s weak economy and the political instability gripping the country, particularly a Muslim insurgency in the area around Nakhon Si Thammarat, a Buddhist stronghold that so far hasn’t seen conflict. There is “this sense that maybe we’re losing the south,” Mr. Jory says, so many Thais are turning to the supernatural world for help. Popular demand for Jatukam Ramathep amulets also might be a way of expressing solidarity with the beleaguered Buddhists in the southernmost provinces, he adds.

Nithit Somsimme, who has traveled to Nakhon Si Thammarat to shop for an amulet, is a believer. Mr. Nithit owns a real-estate valuation business in northeast Thailand. After his father-in-law gave him a Jatukam Ramathep amulet a few years ago, his business boomed — an outcome he attributes “100%” to the amulet. Mr. Nithit now plans to expand his business, and he wants to buy another amulet before going ahead. He’s willing to pay up to 100,000 baht ($3,200) — in cash — for the right one. “It has to be a special one,” he says before strolling off to peruse the town’s wares, which include medallions with auspicious-sounding names such as “Enormously Super Rich” and “Get Rich Quickly.”

Gold and Ivory

To the untrained eye, Jatukam Ramathep amulets might not look like much: the most popular size is five centimeters in diameter but they can be bigger. Most are decorated with a many-armed Hindu-esque god on one side and on the other, a demon-god eating the moon or a mandala, a geometric pattern that represents the universe.

Some are fashioned out of ivory and gilded in gold, silver or bronze. Typically, though, they’re made of more humble materials, such as dried jasmine, tree bark, sacred soil, medicinal herbs and holy water, all of which are mixed together and pressed into a mold, often by monks. The amulets are then glazed or touched up with gold and silver paint. They are often marketed in series, and prices start at less than $2 (about double the price of other kinds of amulets), and can go up to several thousand dollars. And as prices have climbed, speculators and investors have jumped in.

Fake plastic versions abound, especially in Bangkok’s night markets. But unless a Jatukam Ramathep amulet is registered and consecrated at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, a 13th century temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat, it isn’t regarded as being official, and is believed to have fewer magical powers.

As to who exactly Jatukam Ramathep is, no one knows for sure, says Narong Bunsuaikhwan, a sociologist from Walailak University. Some people say it’s the spirit of a 17th-century king. Others believe the figure represents two princes from the 13th century. And there is a coterie of academics and local town officials who are bent on proving that the figure is a genuine Hindu god.

But there is one thing most people agree on: It was the death about a year ago of the man who created the amulet, Phantarak Rajadej, the town’s former police chief, that sparked the current craze. An imposing figure with a handlebar moustache, he was said to have practiced black magic and could disappear into thin air at will. According to one story, the police chief created the amulet 20 years ago as a way to raise money for a city shrine.

Mamat Pengsut, a senior government official from a nearby district, swears by a Jatukam Ramathep amulet for its protective powers. Mr. Mamat wears one around his neck on a heavy chain. A few weeks ago, he contends, the amulet saved him — and eight other people who each were wearing one as well — from harm in a three-car pileup. Another person, the only one in the accident who wasn’t wearing a Jatukam Ramathep amulet, sustained a shoulder injury.

Stories like that keep people pouring into Nakhon Si Thammarat to buy the medallions.

The extent of the craze is far-reaching — stoked by marketing campaigns. According to Neilsen Media Research in Thailand, amulet purveyors spent $5 million between January and March this year alone on TV, radio and newspaper advertising for Jatukam Ramathep amulets. It’s even swept up tourists from Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong who are beating a path to Nakhon Si Thammarat.

In Bangkok, for instance — 780 kilometers north of Nakhon si Thammarat — Chinese-Thai businessmen in suits as well as noodle vendors proudly wear the medallions, sometimes more than one. Military figures and politicians are also believers. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont presided over several unofficial Jatukam Ramathep amulet blessing ceremonies in June at a beach getaway destination near Bangkok favored by Thai high society.

About 70% of the people buying Jatukam Ramathep amulets are speculators who are betting that their value will skyrocket, says Paka-on Tipayathanabaja, a senior researcher for Kasikorn Research Center, a Bangkok financial-information company, who has tracked the amulet market for the past five years.

Consider the gain an investor could have made on the first edition of a Jatukam Ramathep amulet. When it was issued in 1987, the amulet cost about $1.30, says Mr. Narong, the sociologist from Walailak University who has a collection of rare Jatukam Ramathep pieces he says is worth more than $160,000. Today, Mr. Narong says that same medallion has been appraised by amulet experts at nearly $13,000. “Look at me,” says Mr. Narong, chuckling. “Even Ph.D.s have lucky charms.”

Online Amulets

Thailand’s amulet trade is well established. Every major Thai town has shops that specialize in selling medallions. Amulets also are sold on eBay. There are magazines — almost 40 in all, available at mainstream bookstores nationwide — and Web sites devoted to the lucky charms. The opinions of amulet appraisers are quoted in publications, on Web sites and in Thai-language mass media. Kasikorn Research Center estimates that the total amulet market will be worth about $1.5 billion this year, more than double the total in 2005, driven largely by the demand for Jatukam Ramathep amulets. By comparison, according to the latest government figures available, in 2005 Thais spent $1.8 billion on books and newspapers.

“I feel a little weird about it,” says Watcharapong Radomsittipat, an amulet expert who has been in the business for 15 years. “Like people are too crazy about it. It’s almost overshadowing Buddhism.”

Not everyone has succumbed to Jatukam Ramathep fever though. To Buddhist purists, the big emphasis the amulet puts on wealth is anathema. They argue it is unseemly for monks to participate in such an overtly commercial venture.

At Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, for instance, the temple where all true Jatukam Ramathep amulets are blessed, sponsors give the temple $1,600 to $3,200 for each incantation ceremony. The temple holds the ceremonies, during which many amulets are blessed at once, four or five times a day. Officials at the temple say they have no idea how much money such services bring in.

As much as the Jatukam Ramathep amulet frenzy reflects “a degree of hopelessness in Thai society,” says Mettanando Bhikku, an Oxford- and Harvard-educated physician-turned-monk, “it also reflects the decadence of monks’ morality.”

Moral issues aside, Nakhon Si Thammarat’s economy is booming. While local government authorities won’t say how much the town has earned, the amulet’s effect is impossible to miss: Along the road from the airport, billboards advertise the latest series of Jatukam Ramathep amulets. In town, nearly every business along the main drag has banners emblazoned with images of medallions as well as glass display cases holding a dozen or so for sale.

Besides tourists, the craze is attracting attention from another quarter: Thailand’s tax authorities recently sent a team to town to study imposing a special tax on shops that sell the amulets.

August 15, 2007

5,749 Enforced Disappearances in Sri Lanka – Amnesty International

Filed under: General,global islands,sri lanka — admin @ 8:08 pm

“Enforced disappearances are not a thing of the past. They continue all over the world – in Algeria, Colombia, Nepal, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, the former Yugoslavia – to name but a few countries. The USA, sometimes acting with the complicity of other governments, has carried out enforced disappearances of terror suspects. Those who commit these crimes have done so with almost complete impunity.

”In Sri Lanka, the Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University, Sivasubramanium Raveendranath, was reportedly abducted while at a conference in the capital, Colombo, on 15 December 2006. He was in an area of the capital tightly controlled by the army; it is likely that his captors were military agents. He has not been heard from since.

”There are currently 5,749 outstanding cases of enforced disappearance in Sri Lanka being reviewed by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Since 2006, hundreds of people have reportedly been abducted and forcibly disappeared by the security forces or armed groups in areas in the north and east of Sri Lanka, as well as in Colombo. Often taken in “for questioning” and held incommunicado, no records of their detention are available. Many cases implicate members of the security forces, others implicate armed groups including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Karuna group.”

Bangladesh’s Refugees Dream of Pakistan

Filed under: bangladesh,General,global islands — admin @ 4:45 am

DHAKA, Bangladesh – They call themselves the forgotten refugees, dreaming of a land many have never seen – Pakistan.

Crowded into impoverished shanty camps across Bangladesh, they are remnants of the mass migration that accompanied the break-up of the Indian subcontinent along religious lines at independence from Britain in 1947.

Bangladesh is often the forgotten third country of partition. The departing British lumped what is now Bangladesh together with Pakistan because of their shared Islamic religion. But the two regions are more than 1,600 miles apart on either side of India and have a different languages, cultures and histories.

Bangladesh – then known as East Pakistan – revolted and won its independence with India’s help in 1971. The nine-month conflict pitted East Pakistan’s Bangla-speaking majority against Urdu-speaking Muslims who had fled from India at partition and wanted to remain part of Pakistan.

Calling themselves “stranded Pakistanis,” about 500,000 Urdu-speakers decided to depart for Pakistan rather than join newly independent Bangladesh. But in 1993, Pakistan halted the repatriation process, saying it did not have the money or land to house them.

That left some 250,000 refugees and their descendants to languish in 70 government-run camps across Bangladesh. They are not citizens and cannot vote or apply for government jobs.

“I’ve been dreaming of going to Pakistan for years,” said Mosammat Rahima, 50, standing outside the tiny hut she shares with seven other family members. “There they speak my language, Urdu.”

Rahima’s camp has become another sprawling slum in the capital of Dhaka, a city of 10 million people. Many live without electricity, water or adequate health care. Illiteracy, unemployment and malnutrition are rampant.

“Can you imagine, we have only 150 toilets for 25,000 people of the camp?” says Abdul Jabbar Khan, who has led protests and a media campaign for repatriation to Pakistan.

“Nobody thinks of us, not Bangladesh, not Pakistan,” he added. “We know there’s no hill of gold for us in Pakistan. But still we want to try our fate there. We aren’t accepted here, we’ll never be.”

Barred from applying for government jobs, many in the camp eke out livings as day laborers or cleaners.

Rahima and her 60-year-old husband often sleep outside when their shack becomes too crowded on muggy nights.

“Do you think we’re human beings?” she said. “Even dogs at many homes in this city live in better places.”

Bangladesh and Pakistan say they are looking for a solution, though it appears remote.

“Both governments believe that we need to resolve this issue,” Iftekhar A. Chowdhury, foreign affairs adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government said. “On a recent visit to Pakistan, I raised the issue with my Pakistan counterpart, and he was of the same opinion.”

As the years pass with no solution, however, the dream of Pakistan grows increasingly less appealing to younger generations. Many youth now speak Bangla and feel accepting Bangladeshi citizenship would give them a chance at a better life.

“Why shall we call ourselves Pakistanis? This is absurd,” says Sahid Ali Babul, 25. “We should be given Bangladeshi nationality, since we were born and brought up here.”

August 14, 2007

Battered jeans earn big bucks for Sri Lanka

Filed under: General,global islands,sri lanka — admin @ 6:46 am

The denims look tattered and frayed, but shoppers in Europe and the United States are prepared to pay good money for “distressed” jeans and Sri Lanka is cashing in. In the industrial town of Avissawella east of the capital Colombo, it takes workers around 13 minutes to cut and sew basic five-pocket denims. They then spend another four days torturing the pants by dying, bleaching, and sandpapering them to get a “distressed” look. “Each garment is dyed or dipped around 16 and sometimes as many as 30 times to achieve the proper torn, tattered look,” explains Indrajith Kumarasiri, chief executive of Sri Lanka’s Brandix Denim. “We earn more money by making denims look dirty and torn, the classic clean look doesn’t bring us much,” Kumarasiri said during a visit to the 10-million dollar plant, which can make over three million pairs of jeans a year. Basic denim jeans cost around six dollars to make, but the shabbier “premium” ones cost twice as much. “In many ways, premium denims are replacing the little black dress as the wear-anywhere fashion staple,” he said. Overseas buyers such as Levis, Gap and Pierre Cardin are now regular buyers of premium jeans from Sri Lanka where they can be made for as little as 12 dollars a pair, and often sell for over 100 dollars. Buyers have been gradually shifting production out of Europe to low-cost countries such as Sri Lanka, explains Ajith Dias, chairman of the Sri Lanka Joint Apparel Association Forum. “Retaining the business and growing the order book is tough with India and China competing with us on price and quicker lead times,” Dias said. Sri Lanka’s three-billion dollar garment industry accounts for more than half its annual seven billion dollars of export earnings, and it provides jobs for nearly one million people. Nearly all the garments are shipped to the United States and the European Union. But Dias said casual wear, including jeans, are they key to Sri Lanka’s success in the price-sensitive global apparel market, and now account for 16 percent of total garment export earnings. “We have invested millions to install high-tech plants, develop a sound raw material base and design garments, to ensure we remain competitive, by doing everything from fabric to retail hangers,” Dias said. Brandix, Sri Lanka’s biggest exporter with annual sales in excess of 320 million dollars, and MAS Holdings, are also expanding overseas. In an attempt to get an advantage over the competition, Sri Lanka is trying to position itself as an ethical manufacturer in the hope of getting greater access to the US and European markets at lower duty rates. “We have high labour standards. We don’t employ child labour, we provide rural employment and we empower women. There are no anti-dumping cases against us on trading practices,” said Suresh Mirchandani, chief executive of Favourite Garments. While eco-friendly and ethically-made clothes are becoming increasingly fashionable, their manufacture provides challenges for Sri Lanka. Big-name brands are now adding organic-cotton clothes to their collection. “The joke is that one day we’ll have a shirt we can eat,” said Prasanna Hettiarachchi, general manager of MAS Holdings. He said Levis recently launched eco-jeans using organic cotton, natural dyes, a coconut shell button on the waist band and a price tag made of recycled paper printed with environmentally friendly soy ink. The price tag is a cool 250 dollars. “We are also working on an eco garment,” said Brandix Denim’s Kumarasiri. And when asked what made a perfect pair of jeans, he had a quick answer. “Same as always. It comes down to how your behind looks when you wear them,” grins Kumarasiri. “No matter how good the wash, the detail or the label, if it doesn’t look good on your behind, it won’t sell.”

August 10, 2007

Floods death toll rises to 521 in South Asia

Filed under: bangladesh,General,global islands,india,weather — admin @ 5:49 am

NEW DELHI: The death toll from two weeks of heavy rains across South Asia rose sharply as rescuers reached remote submerged villages in northern India amid a respite in the annual monsoon.

The rains across much of northern India, Bangladesh and Nepal have flooded rivers and submerged villages and farmland, killing at least 521 people and stranding some 19 million more, officials said.

Though the rains have abated, dozens of villages and much farmland remain under water across northern India.

Heavy rains since Tuesday also lashed Gujarat, killing at least 15 people, said D A Satya, a top state official.

Even though the rains have ceased in Gujarat, several villages remain under water and more than 22,000 people have been evacuated and moved to higher ground in Rajkot, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Surat and Porbander districts, where 945 villages were left without electricity, Satya said.

In Bihar, 29 people were reported dead from rain-related causes in the last two weeks, according to Manoj Srivastava, a member of the state disaster management committee.

Another 16 deaths were reported in northern Uttar Pradesh state on Thursday, state relief commissioner Umesh Sinha told reporters. Nearly 2,300 villages remained submerged, he added.

The causes for the deaths ranged from electrocution and house collapses to snake bites and boats capsizing.

With flood waters receding and thousands of villagers returning to their homes, aid workers have rushed food, clean drinking water and medicine to flood-hit areas to ward off an epidemic.

Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for cholera and gastroenteritis in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

International aid agencies have warned that stagnant waters left by the floods are a lethal breeding ground for germs causing diarrhea, waterborne diseases, and various skin diseases, with children, who make up 40 per cent of South Asia’s population, particularly susceptible.

In Bangladesh, there were 1,400 reported cases of diarrhea this week, said Fadela Chaib, a spokeswoman for the Word Health Organization.

The World Food Program and UNICEF have been distributing emergency food supplies to thousands of people in Bangladesh and Nepal, WFP spokesman Simon Pluess said in Geneva. India has not requested any aid, he said.

On Thursday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an appeal for US$1.7 million (euro1.24 million) to help those affected by flooding in southern Nepal.

More than 21,500 families, or around 127,000 people, have been displaced by floods and landslides, while at least 26,500 houses have been damaged or destroyed, according to the Nepal Red Cross Society.

August 9, 2007

Dangerous Tourism

Filed under: General,global islands,india — admin @ 4:07 pm

THE “Incredible India” campaign to promote tourism in India urges people to experience the emerald islands of Andaman and Nicobar. The campaign became aggressive after the tsunami of December 26, 2004 caused severe damage to people, places and aqua marine life around the 572 islands that form Andaman and Nicobar. The government handed out attractive packages and discounts to visit the islands. The results were for everyone to see — the tourism figures that had declined post-tsunami recovered within a year.
While the picture postcard images of the virgin beaches are true, the increasing numbers of visitors to the islands are posing several challenges to the fragile ecology of the cluster.

On December 26, 2004, the tidal wave that swept over the islands, left after killing over 1,000 people, leaving over 3,000 missing and putting the damages at over Rs1,000 crore. A constant and huge flow of funds, relief operations, reconstruction and redevelopment followed. The tsunami had hit when the tourism season was at its peak causing the numbers to drop.

Since tourism is recognized as one of the main occupations along with coconut cultivation, the government undertook special efforts to restore the falling figures in 2005. In 1980, less than 10,000 tourists visited the islands but by 2004, the number had crossed 100,000. In 2005, the number dipped to 50,000 but it is estimated that the following year, over 130,000 travellers visited the islands.

According to the tourism policy and vision statement of the administration, there are plans to increase access to the islands that are not open yet but have potential. But even with the existing facilities, the islands are facing a crisis. In November 2006, even before the peak season had set in, the lack of adequate accommodation meant that tourists had to be accommodated in temples and airport premises. Many new resorts and hotels are being constructed to accommodate the rising figures.

Syed Liyakhat from Equitable Tourism, an NGO based in Bangalore, cautions about the pressure on the islands, “If the population of the islands is put at 3,56,265 according to 2001 census or even just over 4,00,000, then the tourists comprise of more than 25 per cent. One has to see if the place is equipped to handle this kind of pressure.”

Zubair Ahmed, who runs the weekly *Light of Andamans*, says, “It is important that any tourism activity helps the local economy but that is not the case here. There are talks about opening up of islands. Tourism activity will be closer to the sea and on the beach. This may result in flouting of rules.”

After tsunami, stricter Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules were brought to make the structures safe and avoid any risk of damages due to unusual sea activity. No construction activity is permitted within 200 meters of the coastline. Even fishing communities that lived within this distances are being relocated. However, with upcoming beach resorts, these rules may be relaxed.

Samir Acharya, who runs Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology (SANE), says, “To cater to the large number of tourist arrivals, there is a mushrooming growth of accommodation and such accommodations are coming up without proper planning and frequently in violation of the law of the land. In Havelock Island, in most popular tourist destination outside Port Blair, 90 per cent of all tourist facilities stand in violation of CRZ.”

A study done by Equitable Tourism in 2002 states, “The tourism vision, if not anything else, is only rhetoric on sustainable ecotourism with little substance to back it up. On the contrary, the vision seeks to relax CRZ and other environmental guidelines for projects on the coast and obtain clearances for tourism projects on forest lands.”

The other concern expressed by environmentalists is of the high volume of low-budget tourists that arrive having availed of the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) given by government and public sector companies. LTC tourists are proving to be burden on the islands, as they do not contribute to the local economy. To promote tourism, the government subsidises travel by air as well as by ship. The expenditure borne by the administration and not the tourists is not helping the economy, say locals. More than 90 per cent of tourists are domestic tourists and of the foreign tourists, most of them are backpackers.

Samir Acharya disapproves of the tourists who visit. “Most of the tourists are LTC tourists who come here solely for the privilege of flying and not for the destination. Among the foreign tourist arrivals, a great majority are backpackers and a dollar-a-day tourists. Their main contribution is to enjoy the subsidies and privileges given to the Islanders at Indian taxpayers cost. For example a ship passage by bunk class from Chennai or Kolkata to Port Blair costs only Rs. 1,500 after allowing a Rs. 6,000 subsidy,” he says.

With rich but delicate and fragile aqua culture, the islands need ecologically conscious tourists, who are sensitised about the environmental challenges. There have been several incidents where corals have been broken or damaged intentionally or unintentionally by tourists who go for diving and other aqua sports. Resorts like the Jungle Resort by the Barefoot Group,
encourages low volume high-end tourists where the facilities provided are expensive but keep environmental concerns in mind.

Tourist activity also results in over-consumption of available resources like water and electricity. The local population bears the brunt to provide for the extra. Pankaj Sekhsaria of Kalpavriksh says, “The A&N administration needs to extremely careful with the way they are promoting tourism in the islands. We have seen in the last few months that fresh water is a serious constraint, particularly in parts of Port Blair and it seems evident that the administration has not considered matters such as this and the limited infrastructure in the islands to cater to this kind of tourist rush.”

All the 38 inhabited islands depend mostly on rainwater. Despite getting good rains during the monsoons, by April the islands face severe water shortage. Moreover, the tsunami wave, which swept over the few fresh water springs, has perhaps caused permanent damage to those springs, thus making most inhabitants dependent on the administration supply.

Acharya provides details of water rationing, “The shortage of water in Andamans is a matter of record. Post tsunami it is increasingly worsening. Water rationing is an annual feature here starting usually from February and continuing till the onset of the monsoons. This year, the authorities were forced to resort to rationing a full month in advance in January itself. During water rationing, the average Port Blair family gets water only for half an hour every alternate day. At present we are getting water half an hour a day in three days. Many rural areas and the poorer folk in town are worse off. Since tourists are also human beings, obviously, they consume quite a bit of water. In fact even in middle class hotels and resorts an average tourist consumes two to three times the quantity that an average Port Blairian gets.”

Another problem is waste management. There is no dedicated waste management plan to deal with increasing number of tourists and the commensurate increase in disposables like bottled water. As of now large amounts of garbage and sewage finds their way into the sea. As Sekhsaria points out, “There needs to be an assessment of volume of tourists that the islands can presently handle, of what resources will be needed and what is available. It is asking for trouble otherwise. We also have no idea whether the administration has waste management and disposal systems in place to deal with the huge tourist rush.”

Of the total area, nearly 86 per cent is forest cover and with the stricter CRZ rules, the land available for development is less than eight per cent of the total land. Though this seems like sufficient forest cover, cutting down of trees will result in several rare species of flora and fauna going extinct. The islands also are home to 22 per cent mangroves cover of India and the recent tsunami has caused permanent damage to large areas of cultivation as well as mangroves. Despite the damage caused by tsunami to the coral reefs and marine life, the archipelago is still home to several rare species. However, if the forests and sanctuaries are denotified and are made open to public, there is a risk to some of the near-extinct and rare species.

If the settlers are this apprehensive about unplanned tourism, one can only imagine its impact on the tribal population. The islands have some of the oldest aboriginal tribes in the world with whom “friendly contact” has yet to be established. Anthropologists and environmental groups have time and again criticised the ATR (Andaman Trunk Road), which cuts through the Jarawa reserve. Not only is maintaining this road an expensive affair, it has also exposed the Jarawa community to the passing traffic resulting in exploitation of Jarawas for exchange of tobacco and money. There is a possibility of opening up of 15 islands and more access to reserved sanctuaries as a part of promotion of tourism industry. This will result in reducing the natural habitat for these tribes and they will be forced to assimilate with the passing tourist traffic and local population.

Apart from the direct impact of unchecked tourism, another form of pressure is from the migratory population. Mohammad Jadwet, President of Andaman Chamber of Commerce, says lack of skilled labour is an obstacle for tourism activity. “There is lack of skilled labour and for everything one has to bring people from the mainland. Be it hospitality industry in terms of cooks or management or be it construction. Even labour is brought from mainland.” This may result in several hundred people resettling on the islands, which has already crossed the maximum brim 400,000 mark. The Andamans and Nicobar islands leave tourists breathless with excitement. Yet it is these very visitors that could, in the long run, lead to the destruction of what makes these islands unique.

“Hello Kitty” To Punish Bad Cops In Thailand

Filed under: General,global islands,police,thailand — admin @ 5:46 am

Bangkok, Thailand – “Hello Kitty” – the Japanese animation character has found a new job in the Thai police department. The cute round-faced cat will now punish any officer in Bangkok who is late, parks in the wrong place or commits other minor transgressions.

The bad cops breaking the rules will be made to wear the large, bright pink Hello Kitty armband, which has two hearts embroidered on it.

However, if the offense is more serious, traditional disciplinary action would be taken. Since Hello Kitty is considered an icon for young girls, it would be considered less manly if macho police officers are seen with it. Invented by a Japanese company in 1974, the character has been popular for years with children and young women.

August 6, 2007

Caught without a country

Filed under: General,global islands,thailand — admin @ 3:50 am

Everyone has the right to a nationality, according to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but an estimated 11 million people across the world do not enjoy such status.

What is statelessness?

The UN defines a stateless person as someone who is not a national of any state under its laws.

That means:

No citizenship
No passport
No refugee status
No ability to claim asylum

Stateless people often have minimal, if any, access to basic rights such as education and healthcare.

Five years ago, the Thai police arrested Afang Chue Mua and threatened to deport her, to send her to back to Myanmar.

The problem is that she is not from Myanmar. She was born in Thailand and so were her parents.

They are members of an ethnic minority called the Akha, one of seven hill tribes that live in northern Thailand, near the border with Myanmar and Laos.

Afang said: “We belong to this country. We have no doubt about our nationality – we are Thai.”

Thailand’s small hill tribes are one of its biggest tourist attractions.

The tribes bring in millions of dollars each year, but half of them – nearly one million people – still are not accepted as citizens.

In fact, their children, born and raised in Thailand, are treated like illegal immigrants, refugees in their own country. They are denied equal access to schooling, to medical care.

The Akha can not get good jobs. Without proper documents, they can not travel, even within Thailand and they are vulnerable to arrest and deportation to countries they have never even seen.

There are a quarter-million refugees in Thailand from Myanmar and Laos, as well as from China, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Most of them belong to the same ethnic minority groups as the hill tribes in Thailand, so there is some room for confusion.

Kumpol, a Thai official from the government registration unit in Chiang Rai, told Al Jazeera: “Fifty per cent of the citizenship applications we receive are fraudulent.”

But Somchart Piphatraradon, who runs a hill tribe citizenship project, says the problems run deeper.

Piphatraradon, of the Mirror foundation, said: “There’s no clear cut government policy to solve this problem because they think it’s a small matter.

“There’s also prejudice towards ethnic minorities. And there’s corruption. Citizenship is a source of money for those with power.”

Afang, now an ethnic minority rights activist, has applied for Thai citizenship and she is working to help others get it too. She visits hill tribe villages to explain the procedure.

She said: “I used to cry a lot, like when I was in jail and they called me an illegal immigrant. I’m not an illegal immigrant.”

“I used to get angry because I was young and didn’t know the law. Now, I know the law, I know what to do.”

She says she will always be Akha, but the Akha do not have their own country, so she needs to be Thai.

August 3, 2007

Mass hysteria spreading in alarming way in Bangladesh

Filed under: bangladesh,General,global islands — admin @ 4:51 am

DHAKA, Aug. 2 — With some 90 more reported struck by mass hysteria on Wednesday, the total number of the students afflicted by the mass psychogenic illness in Bangladesh has exceeded 550 since July 14.

The mysterious illness has been spreading rapidly during the last 18 days, striking students of dozens of schools in different parts across the country, causing panic in the areas.

Mass hysteria, a sort of temporary psychiatric problem, usually affects specific groups of children or people, spreading quickly from one person to another, Bangladesh Health Adviser Matiur Rahman told a press briefing earlier on July 19.

In the first outbreak in capital Dhaka, eight girls from the same class of grade eight in Hazrat Shah Ali Model High School in Mirpur residential fell unconscious in the morning on July 24.

“The girls fainted within 15-20 minute one by one and they were immediately sent to hospital,” MA Hamid, the school teacher who was giving a mathematics class to the girls, told Xinhua on Thursday.

“The girls felt vomiting tendency, headache and weakness before they fainted,” headmaster of the school Md. Mustafiz Billah said.

“They also got breathing problems,” MA Hamid said.

Doctor Ataur Rahman of Selina General Hospital and Diagnostic Center who received the sick girls said that the students remained unconscious for about half an hour. He said they only gave sedative to one student whose condition was serious. For others, they just gave saline or spread fresh water on their faces.

“No treatment was needed as it’s not a physical disease and has no risk of death,” he said. However, the girls were kept in the clinic for 24 hours for observations.

In terms of the cause, the doctor said some of these girls didn’t have their breakfast in the morning and that some didn’t even take their supper on the previous night. That might be the cause as they are too weak, he added.

Some psychological impact might have acted because reports about the disease from different parts of the country are being published in newspapers almost everyday, he said.

The headmaster said their half-yearly examination is ahead. This might be another reason.

Experts said an outbreak of the mass psychogenic illness is at a time of anxiety and worry. The illness is aggravated by malnutrition, tension and lack of tolerance. The victims are mostly students aged between 13 and 25.

The illness usually occurs in closed communities, like schools and factories and it tends to occur more frequently among adolescent girls. Emotional factors sometimes make adolescents, with low level of tolerance for stress, to feel headache, nausea, convulsion, pain in the chest and abdomen, and difficulty in breathing.

However, experts said people don’t need to panic since no one died of the seizures. The disease has no long-term complication and remits almost automatically after a few hours of the appearance of symptoms. Counseling, nutritious food and proper health care for the sick students are very important.

The government has attached importance to the disease and called upon all especially the mass media to create public awareness so that the common people can easily cope with the disease themselves without getting unduly worried.

The government decided to raise awareness about the illness by forming a platform comprising representatives from all affected sections of the population, the Health Adviser announced on July 24 at a seminar.

A seminar on “Mass Psychogenic Illness” was held at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in line with the government’s plan to launch the awareness program.

The adviser said a platform of doctors, teachers and parents of students will initiate an awareness raising program, rendering support to emotionally distressed adolescents.

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