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no-passaran · 3 months

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Genocide experts warn that India is about to genocide the Shompen people

Who are the Shompen?

The Shompen are an indigenous culture that lives in the Great Nicobar Island, which is nowadays owned by India. The Shompen and their ancestors are believed to have been living in this island for around 10,000 years. Like other tribes in the nearby islands, the Shompen are isolated from the rest of the world, as they chose to be left alone, with the exception of a few members who occasionally take part in exchanges with foreigners and go on quarantine before returning to their tribe. There are between 100 and 400 Shompen people, who are hunter-gatherers and nomadic agricultors and rely on their island's rainforest for survival.

Why is there risk of genocide?

India has announced a huge construction mega-project that will completely change the Great Nicobar Island to turn it into "the Hong Kong of India".

Nowadays, the island has 8,500 inhabitants, and over 95% of its surface is made up of national parks, protected forests and tribal reserve areas. Much of the island is covered by the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, described by UNESCO as covering “unique and threatened tropical evergreen forest ecosystems. It is home to very rich ecosystems, including 650 species of angiosperms, ferns, gymnosperms, and bryophytes, among others. In terms of fauna, there are over 1800 species, some of which are endemic to this area. It has one of the best-preserved tropical rain forests in the world.”

The Indian project aims to destroy this natural environment to create an international shipping terminal with the capacity to handle 14.2 million TEUs (unit of cargo capacity), an international airport that will handle a peak hour traffic of 4,000 passengers and that will be used as a joint civilian-military airport under the control of the Indian Navy, a gas and solar power plant, a military base, an industrial park, and townships aimed at bringing in tourism, including commercial, industrial and residential zones as well as other tourism-related activities.

This project means the destruction of the island's pristine rainforests, as it involves cutting down over 852,000 trees and endangers the local fauna such as leatherback turtles, saltwater crocodiles, Nicobar crab-eating macaque and migratory birds. The erosion resulting from deforestation will be huge in this highly-seismic area. Experts also warn about the effects that this project will have on local flora and fauna as a result of pollution from the terminal project, coastal surface runoff, ballasts from ships, physical collisions with ships, coastal construction, oil spills, etc.

The indigenous people are not only affected because their environment and food source will be destroyed. On top of this, the demographic change will be a catastrophe for them. After the creation of this project, the Great Nicobar Island -which now has 8,500 inhabitants- will receive a population of 650,000 settlers. Remember that the Shompen and Nicobarese people who live on this island are isolated, which means they do not have an immune system that can resist outsider illnesses. Academics believe they could die of disease if they come in contact with outsiders (think of the arrival of Europeans to the Americas after Christopher Columbus and the way that common European illnesses were lethal for indigenous Americans with no immunization against them).

And on top of all of this, the project might destroy the environment and the indigenous people just to turn out to be useless and sooner or later be abandoned. The naturalist Uday Mondal explains that “after all the destruction, the financial viability of the project remains questionable as all the construction material will have to be shipped to this remote island and it will have to compete with already well-established ports.” However, this project is important to India because they want to use the island as a military and commercial post to stop China's expansion in the region, since the Nicobar islands are located on one of the world's busiest sea routes.

Last year, 70 former government officials and ambassadors wrote to the Indian president saying the project would “virtually destroy the unique ecology of this island and the habitat of vulnerable tribal groups”. India's response has been to say that the indigenous tribes will be relocated "if needed", but that doesn't solve the problem. As a spokesperson for human rights group Survival International said: “The Shompen are nomadic and have clearly defined territories. Four of their semi-permanent settlements are set to be directly devastated by the project, along with their southern hunting and foraging territories. The Shompen will undoubtedly try to move away from the area destroyed, but there will be little space for them to go. To avoid a genocide, this deadly mega-project must be scrapped.”

On 7 February 2024, 39 scholars from 13 countries published an open letter to the Indian president warning that “If the project goes ahead, even in a limited form, we believe it will be a death sentence for the Shompen, tantamount to the international crime of genocide.”

How to help

The NGO Survival International has launched this campaign:

From this site, you just need to add your name and email and you will send an email to India's Tribal Affairs Minister and to the companies currently vying to build the first stage of the project.

Share it with your friends and acquittances and on social media.

Sources:

India’s plan for untouched Nicobar isles will be ‘death sentence’ for isolated tribe, 7 Feb 2024. The Guardian.

‘It will destroy them’: Indian mega-development could cause ‘genocide’ and ‘ecocide’, says charity, 8 Feb 2024. Geographical.

Genocide experts call on India's government to scrap the Great Nicobar mega-project, Feb 2024. Survival International.

The container terminal that could sink the Great Nicobar Island, 20 July 2022. Mongabay.

[Maps] Environmental path cleared for Great Nicobar mega project, 10 Oct 2022. Mongabay.

#shompen #genocide #stop genocide #india #indigenous #indigenous peoples #indigenous rights #human rights #anthropology #stateless nations #end occupation #andaman and nicobar islands #nicobar islands #great nicobar #💬#asia #geopolitics #ecocide #sustainability

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violottie · 9 days

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"The thobe is the bullet that will scatter into the faces of our enemies.

"Meet Samira, the Palestinians woman wielding her traditional dress as a weapon of strength and defiance." from The Tatreez Circle, 14/Apr/2024:

#tatreez #palestinian culture #palestinian art #palestinian thobe #palestinian heritage #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #i stand with palestine #rafah #save rafah #human rights #indigenous rights #indigenous #indigenous land

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bfpnola · 1 year

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original instagram post

#reaux speaks #indigenous #bipoc #black lives matter #united kingdom #united states #human rights #chagos archipelago #chagossian #citizenship #mauritius

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starlightshadowsworld · 6 months

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It's important to recognise that what's happening in Palestine, what we are witnessing and what people are experiencing, are not isolated to Palestine.

You may hear people talk about the war in Sudan, the silent holocaust in Congo.

It's because these and so many more atrocities in the world are linked. They are preperuated by the same systems.

[Video Transcript:

So as a Palestinian when I say Free Palestine, I am not just talking about Palestine. I started nursing school in 2015 at Saint Louis, just a few miles away from where Michael Brown was killed by police.

Being in that city at that time, watching Black Lives Matter being born, stirred up a lot of feelings for me as a Palestinian.

I saw a country justifying a child being murdered by the state, in the street. I saw the people protesting that murder being vilified.

Standing there, protesting, watching a militarised police force with tear gas and rubber bullets matching towards me.

And I thought, this is that.

As a Palestinian to understand what is going on in Palestine is to understand the de facto aphartied that black Americans experience here in the states.

It's not an accident that when my grandfather came here, he was told to sit and the back of the bus. And it's not an accident that he marched with MLK.

It has been black and Palestinian solidarity, and it continues to be black and Palestinian solidarity.

Because yes, Free Palestine is about Palestine ceasefire now and the military occupation of the Palestinian people. It's also about resisting the global colonial hegemonic structure.

Because the shit happening there is happening here. If it isn't Palestinian women and babies being killed by bombs in Gaza, it's black women and babies being killed in American hospitals.

If its not Palestinian girls missing in the rubble. It is missing and murdered indigenous women here in the United States.

The rage I feel when I hear the names Michael Brown and Treyvon Martin is the same rage I feel when I hear the names Shireen Abu Akleh and Ahmad Manasra.

That's not to say that allyship is transactional, it is to say that the only thing we have is each other.

There's a reason that when people ask me about Free Palestine, I will point them to books on Black Lives matter.

When I say Free Palestine, yes I mean Free Palestine but I also mean Black Lives Matter, I also mean abolition now. I also mean reparations, I also mean land back.

This movement cannot lose steam, not just because there is currently a genocide being perpetuated against my people. And every minute we don't do something Palestinian lives are being lost.

But because this is a global struggle for justice. It does not start and end with Palestine, we will not be free until all of us are free.

The world is waking up, there has never been global solidarity for Palestine like this.

And we have them so scared. The violence is so disproportional because we are challenging a global power structure. Don't let the momentum die because this is about all of us.

Ceasefire now.

End the occupation.

But know what I mean when I say, Free Palestine.

End Transcript.]

Books shown in the video:

"When they call you a terrorist a black lives matter memoir" by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & asha bandele.

"Freedom is a constant struggle. Ferguson, Palestine and the foundations of a movement" by Angela Y. Davis

#free palestine #free gaza #black lives matter #usa #us #america #indigenous people #native american #free sudan #free congo #blm #human rights

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allthecanadianpolitics · 14 days

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The Canadian and Ecuadorian governments continue to forge ahead with free trade agreement (FTA) plans, despite opposition from social movements and Indigenous Peoples within Ecuador, along with rampant instability. In these negotiations, the spotlight is on the Canadian mining industry. Canadian mining investments in Ecuador are valued at $1.8 billion, with Canada’s trade commissioner noting that Canadian companies are “leading investors” in Ecuador’s mining sector. The trade commissioner also praises Ecuador’s “mining-friendly legal framework.” On March 5, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa met with Justin Trudeau in Ottawa. Both leaders welcomed “the imminent launch of negotiations toward a Canada-Ecuador free trade agreement.” The day before, Noboa spoke at the 2024 convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), an annual event that promotes Canadian mining interests globally. March 4 was “Ecuador Day” at PDAC, and Noboa used the opportunity to promote his country as a “mining destination” to Canadian investors. This is despite what MiningWatch Canada calls “serious human rights violations [that shed] light on the state of conflict over mining projects in peasant and Indigenous territories” in Ecuador.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland @allthegeopolitics

#Indigenous #ecuador #neoliberalism #capitalism #Minining #Human Rights #Justin Trudeau

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darkwhimsycreations · 1 year

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An excellent video detailing what fascism is and how to confront it

#us politics #reproductive rights #transrightarehumanrights #activism #internet censorship #blacklivesmatter #net neutrality #human rights #indigenous americans #climate change #lgbtq #i believe in you #power to the people #makethechange

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decolonize-the-left · 4 months

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Have you heard of the American Indian Movement? Did you know natives had a movement/group in the 70's-80's dedicated to native liberation?

No? It's a part of history they don't teach you in school, but come close and look so I can show you.

Watch this, it's not long I promise. This is Russel Means, a prominent native activists and one of the leaders of AIM. AIM sought to help natives with things like tribal sovereignty, housing, healthcare, and food security.

Here he is testifying to the US government.

youtube

The transcript ^

A little excerpt of the end:

"The American Indian people’s right to self-determination is recognized and will be implemented through the following policies:

The American Indian individual shall have the right to choose his or her citizenship and the American Indian nations have the right to choose their level of citizenship and autonomy up to absolute independence;

The American Indian will have their just property rights restored which include rights of easement, access, hunting, fishing, prayer, and water;

The BIA will be abolished with the American Indian tribal members deciding the extent and nature of their governments, if any;

Negotiations will be undertaken to exchange otherwise unclaimed and un-owned federal property for any and all government obligations to the American Indian nations, and to fully -- and to hold fully liable those responsible for any and all damages which have resulted from the resource development on or near our reservation lands including the -- including damages done by careless and inexcusable disposal of uranium mill tailings and other mineral and toxic wastes.

I want to thank you, gentlemen, for inviting me here. It's been a high honor, especially since I'm the only one invited here today to testify that doesn't receive money from the federal government. Also, I want to make -- I was introduced as a former founder and leader of American Indian movement to the tribal chairwoman that you have here, a former associates for the American Indian Movement back in the days when we were gross militants and so I just wanted to let you in on that, that the American Indian Movement is a very proud continuing part of American Indian Society.

Thank you."

"The American Indian Movement remains based in Minneapolis with several branches nationwide. The organization prides itself on fighting for the rights of Native peoples outlined in treaties and helping to preserve indigenous traditions and spiritual practices. The organization also has fought for the interests of aboriginal peoples in Canada, Latin America and worldwide. “At the heart of AIM is deep spirituality and a belief in the connectedness of all Indian people,” the group states on its website."

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rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world · 2 months

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#palestine #human rights #free palestine #israel #Gaza #colonialism #anti colonialism #colonial violence #colonization #settler colonialism #military industrial complex #indigenous rights #land back

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she-is-ovarit · 11 months

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Are we ready to move on from the whole, "ok boomer", "middle aged women are Karens", "I'm not sure we should trust this person because of their age", and "this group that I don't like is probably made up of old people" thinking that is prevailing through our cultures and countries like a plague?

Have we forgotten that the boomer generation was the generation of people that managed to unify by the hundreds of thousands to bring change for several different human rights groups?

We have gay and lesbian elders still alive, who survived the AIDs crisis and were activists for gay liberation and women's liberation in the 70s and 80s, that we can connect with and learn from. They won't be around forever. Many of us are wandering around calling them "cis gays" and "terfs", holy shit. Are we ready to actively listen to them as opposed to attempting to do most of the talking? Are we ready to experience that they might disagree with our own beliefs and perceptions?

We have women who are still alive in our parents and grandparents generations, who were alive when it was legal in America to beat wives and children in public and experienced about the same level of decency as a trashcan by men. Are we ready to listen to their stories, to hear about what their lives were like when they were young women?

We have men and women who were still alive during the height of the struggles against residential boarding schools and civil rights, who still carry experiences from the effects of the Holocaust with them. Are we going to hear what they have to say, or are we going to just performatively listen?

Can we implement the perspective of age into our activism and thoughtful discussions, and actually attempt to incorporate intergenerational knowledge into these conversations? Consider the needs and rights of our elders? Someday these rights will apply to us. Are we really against "boomers", "Karens", and "old 'cis' XYZ people", or are we against the wealthy and powerful, the disrespectful, the entitled, and the violent who permeate all generations? This was who the boomers were protesting for human rights and an end to wars by the way, not those who were older than them as a group.

This intergenerational disconnect will be one of the things that hurts us the most. The millennial generation (my generation) has especially poisonous thinking pertaining to the boomer generation, and it is deeply depressing. We devalue them, we pretend to listen but don't actually hear them, and we dismiss them sometimes directly on the grounds of them being older. Distance yourselves and cut off ties from abusive family members if you need to, but let's refrain from aiming vitriol on elder people. It is terrifying how much of a lack of a relationship we now have with the generation that quite literally built the infrastructure and ideological framework pertaining to the rights of groups we talk about today.

They won't be around forever.

#ageism #discrimination #baby boomer generation #LGB #LGBT #feminism #women's rights #gay rights #civil rights #human rights #Indigenous rights #history

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no-passaran · 27 days

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Do you have 1 minute? Add your name, surname and email to send a pre-written email to India's Tribal Affairs Minister, other Indian government ministers, and the companies vying to build the project:

#shompen #great nicobar island #indigenous #india #genocide #stop genocide #andaman and nicobar islands #asia #human rights #💬#stateless nations #indigenous rights #land back

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thehealingsystem · 3 months

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Hey, can we talk about the violence against queer natives for a second?

Nex Benedict was a 16 year old nonbinary student who was brutally murdered by three of their female classmates. Not only that, they were a Native American living on a Cherokee reservation, though not enrolled in the tribe, and their actual heritage is that of Choctaw.

Their death was not properly reported on until the blog post that genderkoolaid shared was made. Their nonbinary identity had remained unacknowledged, and it took even longer for their native one to be.

They were a victim of the rising anti-trans rhetoric spreading throughout places like the US. They were beaten in a bathroom after Oklahoma had banned trans people from restrooms, designating them to only use that of their assigned sex. Nex was attacked in the girls bathroom.

A native, two-sprit, nonbinary teenager. Whose identity and the actual circumstances behind the incident, a hate crime, wasn't even published beforehand. They died tragically, a death that could've been easily prevented.

Do you know how scary that is? I'm just like them. A native, two-spirit, nonbinary teenager. I have to keep on hearing stories of people my age, who live in the same country, who share my identity, getting murdered. Not even just murdered, but erased.

I know for an absolute fact that if I died tragically, who I am will not be remembered. My deadname will be on everything. I would not be counted in trans statistics, nonetheless statistics on transmascs. My identity would not be respected. My native heritage wouldn't matter. I didn't get to be enrolled. And Nex had supportive family and friends, people who stood up for them. Not all trans kids get to have that.

I've had to think about this before many times. From the other trans youth deaths I've seen. From nearly becoming one of them. When is it enough? Why do the people in power do nothing to stop kids like me from being killed? Why do they only want to make our lives worse?

I'm very lucky to live in a state that has not wavered on it's protections on LGBTQ+ residents. Though I am reminded often that that can easily change, if things keep going like this.

I could've easily been them. I can still easily be them. There are many other kids who can be them. Everyone should be doing more to protect trans youth, and protect queer natives. We're so often forgotten about. I'm part of small tribes, and tribes who barely even exist anymore. My elders desperately trying to keep it alive. Please do not erase us. I'm queer, I'm native. Nex Benedict should have been protected, youth like me should be protected. I wish the best for their family and I hope their memory is never forgotten.

#nex benedict #protect trans kids #trans rights are human rights #transgender #nonbinary #two spirit #native american #indigenous #tw hate crime #tw murder #transphobia #exorsexism #racism #anti-indigenous racism

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violottie · 26 days

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"Ps/ this is not a permanent withdrawal or a ceasefire and the Israeli army can get back to the heart of the city in a minute as they did in Gaza city - Alshifa’a hospital massacre. This video is the first in a series showing khanyounis city after the destruction." from Bisan, 10/Apr/2024:

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intersectionalpraxis · 5 months

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After a spring 2023 research mission, Amnesty is expressing concern about reports of heavy-handed police raids, aggressive and intrusive surveillance tactics, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detention, racial discrimination, and criminalization of pipeline opponents. The conduct amounts to "a concerted effort by the state to remove Wet'suwet'en land defenders from their ancestral territory to allow pipeline construction to proceed," the non-governmental organization says in its report. The report says significant police and private security presence has imposed heavy surveillance and control, where Wet'suwet'en are regularly followed, filmed and photographed.

RCMP raids enforcing a court-ordered injunction against blockades and activist camps were disproportionate, deploying semi-automatic weapons, helicopters and dogs against unarmed activists, the report says.Amnesty met with officials from Coastal GasLink and the company said it followed all procedures in line with international human rights standards and domestic consultation and permitting processes, Gebresilassie said.In a statement, parent company TC Energy cited Coastal GasLink's agreements with 20 First Nations along the pipeline route and equity option agreements with 17 of them as evidence of its respect for Indigenous rights. It said it has taken "extraordinary measures" to consult with all Indigenous groups, including the hereditary chiefs. Security measures were necessary given "significant acts of violence," the company said.

The RCMP has racist foundations -they were created to enforce laws that terrorized, suppressed, and forced Indigenous people out from their communities, and within -and they still continue to do this. They also, despite denying it so wholeheartedly; are guilty of racial profiling, have systemic racism in its ranks right now, and have biases and/or have ingrained anti-Indigenous racism.

Thus, it confounds me every single time I react their statements (or lack thereof) about being insistent they aren't violating Indigenous people's rights. I am not at all surprised Amnesty found out that they -like their colonizing buddies in the gas company -were committing human rights violations. This pipeline should have NEVER been built to begin with, and I need more people to know just how disgraceful the RCMP truly is. My solidarity is with Wet'suwet'en land defenders.

#feminist #feminism #social justice #indigenous #indigenous land rights #indigenouslandback #canada #current events #indigenous solidarity #rcmp #human rights #human rights violations #amnesty international #climate justice #colonial violence #colonialism #settler colonialism

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allthecanadianpolitics · 15 days

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Canada's failure to provide First Nations with clean drinking water constitutes a flagrant human rights violation, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to water and sanitation says.

The official, following a whirlwind formal Canadian tour, expressed a litany of concerns in a preliminary report delivered verbally on Friday in Ottawa.

"I finish this almost two-week visit with mixed feelings: admiration but also frustration and even indignation," Pedro Arrojo-Agudo told reporters at the Lord Elgin hotel.

"I have witnessed the marginalization of First Nations on reserves, where in many cases the human rights to drinking water and sanitation are not respected."

Arrojo-Agudo's brisk tour of Canada included stops in Ontario, Nunavut, British Columbia and Alberta. He met with government officials, civil society groups, Indigenous people and others in Ottawa, Iqaluit, Toronto, Fort McMurray, Alta., Vancouver and Smithers, B.C.

Tagging: @vague-humanoid, @newsfromstolenland, @palipunk

#cdnpoli #human rights abuses #Indigenous persecution #water

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alwaysbewoke · 4 months

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being anti-genocide is not allowed on meta

like i said before, i don't mess with shaun king like that, but that being said, many things about one thing can be true at the same time. it is very clear that there is a wave of censorship happening across social media against pro-palestinian content in favor of israeli propaganda. so whether or not you like shaun or not, it is very clear what is happening and why. there is clearly a genocide happening in gaza that is being perpetuated by colonizing power. a genocide against an indigenous population for land, resources, and power. basically the same thing america did to the natives here. had it not been for people like shaun king (flawed as he may be), many people would not be aware of the heinous acts of israel against the palestinian people right now. so even as someone who is not a shaun king fan, i am not so myopic in my view of things to not realize that he served a positive purpose when it comes to the israeli genocide of palestinians.

on a much larger scale, whenever a platform or a power attacks someone popular, one of the goals is to send a message to everyone else that they are not safe and that they should back off. it's like a football coach picking on and cursing out their hall of fame quarterback. when everyone else who isn't as popular or powerful sees that on the team, they immediately realize that they must fall in line or worse can happen to them. that's the goal of banning shaun king from ig. however as a black man who understands how connected all oppressive systems are, we cannot slow down. may i remind all my brothers and sisters that israel is where police forces like the nypd go and train in abusive violent tactics, which they then come back to america and overwhelmingly exercise on black and brown bodies. so if you think this does not affect you, you are sadly and deeply mistaken. additionally, this kind of censorship is going to spread. if we don't fight back, it won't be long before you will be arrested for speaking out against israel. this is what israel wants, and they have the money and political power to make it happen. you can either sit back and let it happen or you can fight back. however, make no mistake, it's coming, and this is the first major blow that the enemy has struck in their offensive against our free speech.

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decolonize-the-left · 1 year

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Y'all I can't explain to you the pit I have in my stomach when I think about rising fascism, illness, inflation, and social unrest going into the 2024 elections. Especially when mixed with the widespread nihilism, burnout, and purity culture we're seeing

I am stressed

And I'm so fucking sick and tired of screaming in my corner of the internet for ANYONE to listen that fascism is here. That we NEED to keep fighting and yeah it's exhausting and it sucks but it wouldn't so suck much IF ENOUGH PEOPLE would just fucking listen and help spread the word. I could give my voice a break.

Like there no way EVERYONE is just not seeing/hearing. We're being intentionally and systematically ignored.

And the fact that I'm not the only one screaming and still people just choose to scroll or buy another "silly little treat" to help them cope instead of thinking for two seconds that they wouldn't HAVE to cope in Hell Timeline if they just supported the people demanding rights that would benefit EVERYONE

Like respectfully, you are so valid for hating it here and wanting to escape into your oat milk frappuccinos with extra whip, trust me so do I, but if things get worse people will die en fucking masse, do you understand?

Because we chose a Starbucks drink instead. Do you get it?

We HAVE to do something.

We can't just do nothing cuz that's easier.

And I know so, so many of us do what we can to make the changes we can. This post isn't about us.

It's about how we're going to fall into fascism because of people who think passively letting fascism happen and watching their neighbors be dragged away is a more emotionally acceptable consequence than actively making themselves uncomfortable in the name of human rights.

Hence the passport.

We've been screaming about this for decades trying to warn y'all and now fascism is undeniably here again and STILL most people won't give us the time of day. W h y?

My whole family are queer/neurodivergent natives of color.

I shouldnt feel like I have to run from where my people came from. Where my ancestors and living family still fight to protect.

But I'm very, very scared that if I don't our lives will be on the line. And with one genocide already in our history our survival is crucial to me.

How long am I supposed to wait for allies to help when I can see the mob marching towards me with pitchforks?

How close do I let them get until I'm allowed to admit no allies are showing up?

The awful answer to what most of you would do if fascism returned and you were forced to accept it or aid your fellow humans....

You'd accept it.

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