PRESS RELEASE
sudan
Kairos observes the South Sudan referendum
Despite having its funding cut, Kairos carries on.
sudan
Kairos observes the South Sudan referendum
John Lewis, the human rights co-ordinator with Kairos, has been in South Sudan to monitor the recent referendum for secession from the north of the country. He has been blogging about his experience; below is his final blog post. Read the entire blog by clicking here.
From Congo to Guantanamo: Omar Khadr, the invisible child soldier
Last week, when my teenage daughter came back from school, she proudly showed me her newly bought t-shirt. This t-shirt had an intriguing slogan: "The invisible children."
After asking her few questions and to my incredulous look, she told me the following: "An organisation from the U.S. came to our school and spoke to us about child soldiers in Congo and other African countries. This organisation is on a school tour in North America. It sells crafts and other items in order to help raise money that will be used to award these kids scholarships... Isn't that great?" She was very enthusiastic.
Federal Court allows Abousfian Abdelrazik to sue foreign affairs minister
The Sudanese-Canadian was trapped in Khartoum for years, imprisoned, and tortured.
Related rabble.ca story:
Sanctions-busting telethon supporters risked jail for Abdelrazik
Viewers tuning in to Wednesday evening's rabble.ca videocast from Montreal could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled across a surreal version of the infamous PBS fund drives that annually dominate American airwaves.
Indeed, the perky pitches from energetic hosts, a phone bank of pledge takers, and a large map of Canada with pins marking the city of each donation would have seemed familiar to anyone who enjoys public television or radio.
Abdelrazik and the sanctions-busting telethon
Abousfian Abdelrazik's extraordinary story first hit the news on April 28, 2008, the day the Sudanese-born Canadian walked into the Canadian embassy in Khartoum and informed staff that he wouldn't leave until he was booked on a plane back to Montreal.
His decision to go public was a courageous one. If the embassy threw him out -- as the consul indeed threatened to do -- it was almost certain that Sudan would arrest him again, and he would pay the heavy price of torture or even death.
But, after five years of exile, including two ghastly prison terms, Abdelrazik was desperate, and his gamble paid off. The Embassy granted him "temporary safe haven" and Canadians across the country began mobilizing in support of him.
December 12, 2011 |
The past year proved that in trying times, the collective will of people can be asserted and can bring about change. Yet the journey ahead is long.
