Ava DuVernay joins the film academy’s Board of Governors

PressNewsAgency
-
0
Ava DuVernay joins the film academy’s Board of Governors

By: AP |

Published: June 11, 2020 8:45:42 am





The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has increased the number of women and people of color on the board. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay has been elected to the film academy’s Board of Governors for the first time.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its new members Wednesday, which include the Selma filmmaker, A Star is Born producer Lynette Howell Taylor and casting director Debra Zane. The academy has increased the number of women and people of color on the board.

Incumbent governors reelected include Whoopi Goldberg, Dolemite Is My Name screenwriter Larry Karaszewski and Participant Media CEO David Linde among others.

The organization that puts on the Oscars said that the number of women on the 54-person board has gone from 25 to 26 and people of color from 11 to 12.

The Board of Governors represent each of the academy’s 17 branches and work to set the organization’s strategy, finances and “fulfillment of its mission.”

DuVernay, who was nominated for her documentary 13th, has been an active and vocal member of the film academy for years. She recently backed up David Oyelowo’s assertion that members of the academy threatened to squash Selma’s awards chances after they wore T-shirts with the words I Can’t Breathe to the film’s New York premiere in 2014 in honor of Eric Garner.

The academy responded on Twitter condemning the threats, writing, “Ava & David, we hear you. Unacceptable. We’re committed to progress.”

The Oscars this year are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the pandemic. In April, over a month after theaters closed and a number of film festivals were cancelled as a safety precaution, the Academy announced revised eligibility requirements for this year, allowing movies that debuted on a streaming service to be considered for an Oscar.

Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson told the AP at the time that their response to COVID-19 will continue to be fluid. No decisions have been made yet as to plans for the annual Governors Awards, which are typically held in the fall in Los Angeles. And at the moment the 93rd Academy Awards are still a go, set for Feb. 28, 2021, in Los Angeles.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Entertainment News, download Indian Express App.



Source link

Trump picks Tulsa on Juneteenth for return to campaign rallies

PressNewsAgency
-
0
Trump picks Tulsa on Juneteenth for return to campaign rallies

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is planning to hold his first rally of the coronavirus era on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And he says he’s planning more events in Florida, Texas and Arizona as well.

Trump made the announcement as he met with a handful of African American supporters Wednesday afternoon for a roundtable discussion.

Trump’s signature rallies often draw tens of thousands of people but have been on hiatus since March 2 because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 110,000 people in the U.S.

“A beautiful new venue, brand new. We’re looking forward to it,” Trump said during a White House event. “They’ve done a great job with COVID, as you know, the state of Oklahoma.”

The rally will take place on Juneteenth, the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Tulsa has its own troubling history on race. Its once-thriving African American business community was decimated in 1921, when a racist white mob killed hundreds of black residents. Black residents attempted to rebuild in the decades that followed, only to see their work erased during urban renewal of the 1960s.

Trump’s campaign has been eager to resume rallies as it tries to move past the pandemic, even as cases continue to rise in some parts of the country. He has focused most of his rallies this year on battleground states, although Oklahoma is reliably Republican.

Trump carried Oklahoma by more than 36 percentage points in 2016, more than doubling the vote the total of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Oklahoma was among the earliest states to begin loosening coronavirus restrictions, with salons, spas and barbershops reopening in late April. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s most recent reopening phase places no limits on group gathering sizes as of June 1 and leaves the decision about how closely to adhere to social distancing guidelines up to business owners and local officials.

Stitt said the state was honored that the president was visiting.

“The President is making Oklahoma his first campaign stop since March 2, and his visit here confirms Oklahoma is the national example in responsibly and safely reopening,” Stitt said in a statement issued Wednesday by his office.

State health officials say 47 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Tulsa County on Tuesday, the most recent county data available. That brought the overall total of cases reported to the county to 1,308. The number of current active cases was put at 274, an 13% increase from Monday. One new death brought the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 973.

In a statement, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said the city was still working to confirm details about the Trump visit and the rally venue.

Campaign officials did not respond to questions about why Tulsa was chosen and what safety precautions would be taken for those who attend.

Trump’s reelection prospects will greatly turn on how the country grades his administration’s response to the coronavirus as well as its response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody after an officer pressed his knee onto Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes.

A Trump campaign spokesperson tweeted a movie trailer-style video earlier Wednesday that advertised: “This month we’re back.”

Associated Press writers Kat Stafford in Detroit and Terry Wallace in Dallas contributed to this report.

Source link

‘I Know How They Feel’: Tiffany Haddish Talks Of Her Pain At George Floyd’s Memorial

PressNewsAgency
-
0
‘I Know How They Feel’: Tiffany Haddish Talks Of Her Pain At George Floyd’s Memorial

Tiffany Haddish opened up on Wednesday about the pain she felt attending George Floyd’s memorial service in Minneapolis, saying that it felt as though she was mourning not only Floyd’s death, but the deaths of her own friends and others who have died at the hands of police. 

In an interview on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” the actor and comedian shared some of the emotional weight she carried as she attended last Thursday’s service.

“But the thing that made me really want to be there is I have watched my friends be slaughtered by the police,” she told Meyers via video call. “I have watched people be murdered in front of me. And as a 13-year-old, 14-year-old girl, you know, and there was nothing I could do, except, ‘No, don’t do that!.’ Just yelling out. What does that do?”

“And so I wanted to be there in support of the family because I understand how they feel,” she added. “And being there was like being there for all my friends whose funerals I already went to, all my friends who passed away, all the people that I went to school with who’ve passed away, have been locked up for no reason just ’cause they can’t afford a good lawyer or, you know, accused of things that they didn’t do.”

She said the service left her feeling overwhelmed with a tremendous amount of pain, and she cried “not just for Floyd but for all of those people that passed away. All the tears that I ever wanted to cry were coming out.”

Watch her full interview on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” above.



Source by [author_name]

View Host Has No Time For Meghan McCain’s ‘Gone With The Wind’ Lament

PressNewsAgency
-
0
View Host Has No Time For Meghan McCain’s ‘Gone With The Wind’ Lament

Sunny Hostin of “The View” managed to put the controversy over HBO Max’s decision to pull “Gone With the Wind” from its offerings into proper perspective during Wednesday’s show.

In the process, she also put co-host Meghan McCain in her place, prompting an apology from the show’s token Republican.

After the new streaming channel announced Tuesday that it was removing “GWTW” from its list of available films until its historical context can be put in proper perspective, McCain noticed that it was a trending topic.

In a tweet, she seemed excited about ginning up some kind of viral culture war debate with friends and colleagues on the show, especially Oscar-winning Whoopi Goldberg.

On the show, Goldberg said she didn’t believe in censoring the film, but it was important to note that the values of “GWTW” are not the same ones as in contemporary society.

But Hostin didn’t even think the conversation about the film was really necessary, considering the more pressing issues of the day.

“Well, we have had this discussion many times before, and, you know, my biggest concern right now isn’t the availability of ‘Gone With the Wind’ on HBO,” Hostin said, accompanied by an award-worthy eye roll.

Hostin pointed out that, yes, the movie glorifies the Confederacy and the Antebellum South without providing the true horrors of slavery, but expressed frustration that HBO’s move was so important to conservatives over more pressing issues.

“Nobody is in favor of censorship, and someone like Megyn Kelly spent all morning tweeting about this,” Hostin said. “I would like to see that same energy from people on the right rather than talking about this issue, talking about the voter suppression that happened yesterday in Georgia, talking about the 112,000 Americans that are still dead from COVID,” rather than lamenting over “Gone With the Wind.”

She added: 

“I think this is much ado about nothing. I think this is a big distraction, and again, it’s a discussion we have had so many times before.”

Hostin’s side-eye toward the topic apparently struck a nerve with McCain, who apologized for bringing up the topic, while trying to justify it.

“I mean, I guess I should apologise that we’re doing this topic because it was my doing,” McCain said. “I was on Twitter last night, and it was a conversation that’s been trending, and I actually just thought it would be interesting to talk to you, Whoopi [Goldberg], because you’re an Academy Award winner, I believe only the second black Academy Award winner after Hattie McDaniel who won an Oscar, and it’s important to talk about censorship in film and books right now because we need to talk about what’s appropriate and what’s not.”

McCain then conceded that her feelings about “Gone With the Wind” are probably different than her co-hosts, but said she “would like to know what it means for people who are friends of Hattie McDaniel if it’s removed.”

She added, “I know this seems like a trite and stupid conversation to some of you, but I was interested in it,” she said. “So it’s my fault this is a topic today.”

You can see the complete segment below:



Source by [author_name]

This Is How Trans Harry Potter Fans Feel About JK Rowling’s Recent Tweets

PressNewsAgency
-
0
This Is How Trans Harry Potter Fans Feel About JK Rowling’s Recent Tweets

“Trans women are women,” wrote Daniel Radcliffe in an unprecedented public response to a series of controversial tweets by Harry Potter author JK Rowling in recent weeks about biological sex and transgender people. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

Many trans people have built parts of their identities around the characters and the universe that Rowling created with Harry Potter – a fantastical alternative to their real life ‘muggle’ world when it felt harsher and less inclusive than Harry’s. 

Now, following a week of unease and shock, trans Harry Potter fans have shared with HuffPost how they feel about the author’s recent comments, with responses ranging from anger and disappointment to a sense of alienation. 

It is not the first time Rowling has attracted criticism for her comments on trans issues, but this recent upset was prompted when she shared a link to an article citing “people who menstruate” in its headline that, by not specifically referring to women, implied that some trans men menstruate, too. ″‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people,” wrote Rowling above the link. “Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” 

Following the backlash, Rowling asserted that she “respects every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them” in a follow-up tweet. “The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,” she wrote.

Additional tweets to her critics included: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.” 

The Potter fans who have spoken to HuffPost UK have all shared their names, but some were not comfortable sharing photos for publication. Trans lives are at threat – as statistics from the Human Rights Campaign show, the rate of trans murders worldwide is still shockingly disproportionate to cisgender people. 

Black trans people are even more disproportionately targeted across the world. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, trans people of colour, including some who spoke to HuffPost UK, have called out Rowling’s insensitive timing.

‘I encourage JK Rowling to listen to her characters’

Teddy Lamb, 30, UK: “JK Rowling created my childhood. That’s a big statement, but it’s true. I remember the nights I queued up outside bookshops in fancy dress, I remember the plays I put on for my parents in the living room, I remember desperately waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter when I turned 11.

“She created a world where maybe I could fit it, a world where Hagrid said: ‘I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. “Never be ashamed,” my ol’ dad used to say, “there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with.”’

“As far as I’m concerned, that world still exists, but JK does not. That world is owned by the readers, the fans, the millions of queer fanfic stories, the cast of The Cursed Child, and the queer friendships I made by deciding we would be Hufflepoofs. 

“JK Rowling created a magical world, but morally it was rather simple, with the core message being ‘Nazi’s are Bad’, which while obviously true, isn’t exactly rocket science. In her world, you are either ‘Mudblood’ or a ‘Pureblood’ – which she [now] seems to be equating to gender, where there is no black and white.

“As a non-binary trans femme, I exist in the grey area and I encourage JK Rowling to listen to her characters and explore the grey.”

‘I’ve been a huge Harry Potter fan since grade school’

Niko, 16, US: “I’m honestly really disappointed in JK Rowling, I’ve been a huge fan of Harry Potter since I was in grade school – and I’m a transgender boy. Her actions are really disheartening to her transgender fans. I’ve always seen her as a huge role model since I’m a writer myself.

“If she believes that it is menstruation that makes a person a woman does that mean that people biologically female that no longer menstruate aren’t considered women to her? My extended family has reproductive issues and some of them don’t menstruate because of issues like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Does that make them men, then?”

“If someone is attracted to me they are attracted to me because of my personality and not what my genitals are and they should be able to see around that. Men who are only attracted to men and me are gay. End of story.”

‘I have divorced the author from the books’

Karla Beauty Marx, 24, South Africa: “As a child and young adult, Harry Potter empowered me to be myself and never accept racism, discrimination or the oppression of anyone. I, like so many other trans people, found a home at Hogwarts. Rowling is now making this home a hostile one. I refuse to have my love Harry Potter taken away. 

“Harry Potter taught me about accepting myself, standing up against discrimination and resisting oppression and oppressive systems. Yet Rowling’s tweets show the opposite of this: they actively discriminate against and contribute to the oppression of trans people. As a transgender non-binary person, they have been incredibly upsetting, damaging and invalidating, not only to me but to the entire trans community.

“JK Rowling has aligned herself with Dolores Umbridge. But Minerva McGonagall, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, the Weasleys, Harry and all the characters who fought against Voldemort would stand against her.”

“I have, for a long time, divorced the author from the books. The fanbase is a huge element of why I love Harry Potter. Fans make this world one in which trans and non-binary witches and wizards would be validated and celebrated. Rowling cannot strip me of my humanity and the validity of my gender, nor can she take away a defining factor of my childhood and adult life.”

‘Please, Ms Rowling, march with us’

Alex Combs, 30s, US: “When I first heard JK Rowling had made another trans-related tweet, I didn’t want to read it. I feel very sad to see the author of the books I and many others found meaning in, using her platform to amplify anti-trans voices and agendas. I finally did read her tweets in order to write this response. In her recent statements, JK said she would march with trans people ‘if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans.’

“Then please, Ms Rowling, march with us! Trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people experience abuse and discrimination at disproportionate rates at every level of our lives. Systems that are backed by a history of anti-trans laws affect our ability to maintain employment, access health care, and to even exist in public. And we continue to be bombarded with an endless stream of legislation that will further marginalise us.

“Right now, people are marching to bring attention to anti-Black racism. Black trans people are murdered at shockingly high rates with little to no effort directed towards bringing them justice. Black trans people are disproportionately targets of state violence and incarceration, where they face the torture of solitary confinement or else suffer violent sexual abuse by guards and other inmates. 

“I hope the author will take the time to reflect on the realities of how transphobia is affecting the lives of trans people she knows and loves as well as those outside of her social sphere. I, for instance, edited a Harry Potter fanzine called Trans-Affirming Magical Care, which is sold out but still available as a PDF.”  

‘No one’s trying to take away anything from her’ 

Bella Snowden, 31, US: “I will start by saying I never really got in to the Harry Potter books, I’ve always been a visual person. But when I first saw the Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone movie trailer I couldn’t believe my little eyes. I was 11. Now I am 31, a pansexual Black non-binary trans woman who has bipolar disorder.

“Black trans women are being killed all over the world. It’s getting worse every year so I had to really think hard about living my truth. I loved Harry Potter movies so much that me and my mom would watch them on DVD. It was our mother and son bonding time. Of course, she really didn’t know it was really mother and daughter bonding. 

“No one is trying to take away anything from [JK Rowling] or any other cis women. I get that you’ve lived being perceived as a girl and a women your whole life and all the sexism and danger that comes with that, but trans women are women. That shouldn’t be determined by your ability to have kids.

“We have always been here but cis people have silenced us and killed us for daring to live as freely as they do. But now we have a voice and we’re going to bring this transphobic, homophobic, sexist, classiest and racist system down and burn it to the ground and build a better and more peaceful loving world around us that’s willing to listen as well as talk.”

‘She has failed her readers’ 

Lark Malakai, 33, host of The Gayly Prophet: ”For me, JK Rowling’s trans antagonism isn’t just personally painful – it’s an attack on the community.

“I’m the transgender host of a queer-focused Harry Potter podcast. My co-host, Jessie, and I work so hard to create a safe space – our work isn’t just making episodes of the show, it’s helping folks find a safe way to hold on to these books that meant so much to so many of us in our formative years.

“A big part of that is figuring out ways to engage in the fandom without contributing financially to JK Rowling in any way. It also includes reading ourselves into the text through fan works, and using it as a jumping off point to connect to and support other queer and trans people. 

“The worst part of JK Rowling’s most recent attack on the trans community is that it came in the midst of a global uprising in defence of Black lives. By using her platform to spread hate instead of speaking out against racism is a profound act of violence on so many levels that to say that she should be ashamed of herself is completely inadequate.

“She has failed her readers, and the only way we can hold on to the piece of our identities that belongs to Harry Potter is to claim it for ourselves, fully apart from anything to do with the author.” 

‘Most of us are just trying to live normal lives’

Zoé, 27, South Africa: “In honesty I doubt I will make an active effort to read JK Rowling’s future work. If there is however a movie and my friends wish to see it I might go with them. But I don’t really see a reason to support her work anymore. With regards to other trans people supporting her, well I feel this to be a very personal matter.

“Some may wish to give her another chance, others may not. Really who am I to judge. I can’t really vouch for her being ignorant or knowledgeable. But I’m fairly sure she would have looked into this after disappointing her fans the first time.

“Most of us are just trying to live normal lives. When we are wronged simply for being ourselves it does leave a mark. I doubt I’ll continue supporting her but I am willing to forgive if she genuinely was apologetic.” 



Source by [author_name]

LeBron James Is Fighting For Black Voting Rights With ‘More Than A Vote’ Initiative

PressNewsAgency
-
0
LeBron James Is Fighting For Black Voting Rights With ‘More Than A Vote’ Initiative

Spurred by the death of George Floyd, a Black man in Minnesota who was killed by a white police officer, NBA superstar LeBron James said Wednesday that he’s launching a new initiative with a group of other renowned African American athletes and celebrities aimed at protecting Black voting rights.

James told The New York Times in an interview that Floyd’s death convinced him that he needed “to get out and do a little bit more” to empower and inspire African Americans across the nation to vote in the November election — and also to draw attention to efforts to suppress the votes of minority groups.

“Yes, we want you to go out and vote, but we’re also going to give you the tutorial,” James said of the initiative, dubbed “More Than a Vote.” “We’re going to give you the background of how to vote and what they’re trying to do, the other side, to stop you from voting.”

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Laker questioned on Twitter whether “how we vote is … structurally racist” after allegations of voter suppression plagued Georgia’s statewide primary elections.

According to the Times, James has already roped in several Black celebrities to be part of the voting rights project, including former and current basketball stars Trae Young, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jalen Rose and Draymond Green, as well as NFL player Alvin Kamara and comedian Kevin Hart.



Source by [author_name]

Canadian woman mauled to death by her pet pitbull dog

PressNewsAgency
-
0
Canadian woman mauled to death by her pet pitbull dog

She flagged down a moving car and they both called emergency as the dog, believed to be a large pitbull, ran away.

The dog was later killed when it was struck by a car.

The young victim has not been named, but it is believed she was new to the area.

But local councillor Steve Streatch said the region was resilient.

“We have definitely had more than our share over the last few months,” he told the National Post.

“It only adds to our resolve and the character of a community that I’m very proud to represent and live in.”

Source by [author_name]

Netflix Axes 4 Chris Lilley Shows Amid Blackface Criticism

PressNewsAgency
-
0
Netflix Axes 4 Chris Lilley Shows Amid Blackface Criticism

Netflix has yanked four of Chris Lilley’s shows from its library including “Summer Heights High”, “Jonah From Tonga” and “Angry Boys” amid blackface backlash. 

The shows see Lilley in dark make-up playing characters including Tongan schoolboy Jonah, Black rapper S.mouse and Asian characters. 

His most recent comedy series, the Netflix original Lunatics, is still available to stream, despite controversy over one of the characters, Jana Melhoopen-Jonks.

Lilley has been accused of using blackface for the role – but a producer for the show has insisted that the character is “not a woman of colour”. 

Rapper Briggs has been calling Lilley out on his use of blackface for years and now wants Netflix to find more First Nations content. 

Last week, the streaming service took down “Little Britain” and “Come Fly With Me”, with the UK’s BBC iPlayer and BritBox following suit in recent days.

It’s now been revealed that Netflix has removed a number of other shows from its catalogue worldwide. 

“The League Of Gentlemen” – in which Reece Shearsmith uses blackface make-up to play the character Papa Lazarou – has been pulled in the UK, a week before its intended expiry date of June 19.

Canadian series “The Drunk And On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour”, which features two characters in blackface as well as an Asian character portrayed by a white actor, has also been pulled.

Netflix provided no further comment when contacted by HuffPost. 

While the BBC followed suit when it came to the removal of “Little Britain”, “The League Of Gentlemen” and many of Chris Lilley’s shows are still available to watch on BBC iPlayer at the time of writing.

A BBC rep told Metro: “The change only affects Little Britain. There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review.”



Source by [author_name]

Transmitting Data At The Speed Of Light (VIDEO)

PressNewsAgency
-
0
Transmitting Data At The Speed Of Light (VIDEO)

AsianScientist (Jun. 8, 2020) – In the vast worlds of Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, spaceships whizz from one part of the universe to another in the blink of an eye. Their ultra-fast travel is powered by a science fiction staple known as “warp speed,” which is said to be faster than the speed of light. With light reaching speeds of nearly 300,000 km/s in a vacuum, it’s no wonder these fictitious spaceships can achieve interstellar travel with relative ease.

Though warp speeds still remain firmly in the domain of science fiction, there’s another significantly more down-to-earth application that stands to benefit from exploiting the speed of light: data transmission.

“There’s nothing else that you can use as a medium for data transmission that’s faster than light,” said Associate Professor Dawn Tan from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, where she runs the Photonics Devices and Systems Group.

Studying and harnessing the properties of light and its particles—called photons—falls under a branch of physics known as photonics. Pioneered in the 1960s, innovations in photonics have given rise to now-ubiquitous technologies such as lasers and fiber optics. The latter, in particular, has revolutionized data transmission by enabling the high-speed, high-bandwidth transfer of data in popular activities like video streaming and online gaming.

But Tan has set her sights on pushing the limits of data transfer even further. Her specialization lies in silicon photonics, an emerging field at the intersection of photonics and electronics. Simply put, silicon photonics utilizes light to transmit data in computer chips.

“Silicon photonics lets you transmit data at high speeds with less heat than electronics, which means lower power consumption,” she explained. “It’s also cheaper to manufacture because [silicon] photonics can use the same infrastructure as electronics but achieve a similar or even better performance.”

One problem that her research seeks to address is optical dispersion, which dampens data transmission in fiber optic communications.

“As light propagates, it disperses and becomes weaker,” said Tan.

Left unaccounted for, optical dispersion causes light to spread out and the information it carries to degrade over long distances.

As a result, part of Tan’s silicon photonics research aims to build better optical amplifiers. Similar to how audio systems have amplifiers that increase a sound’s volume, optical amplifiers make light brighter—boosting its ability to propagate.

“Without periodic amplifcation, there won’t be enough light for the receiver to receive and read the data,” she added.

Ultimately, Tan and her research group seek to shine a light on the many real-life applications of photonics.

“We hope to harness the invisible wavelengths of light in practical ways to benefit mankind,” she concluded.

———

Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: x.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.



Source link

‘Under water or under a knee, we can’t breathe’

PressNewsAgency
-
0
‘Under water or under a knee, we can’t breathe’

Judith Sunderland is deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

An estimated 20,000 people died on the overcrowded, brutal slave ships owned by Edward Colston, the 17th-century slave trader whose statue protesters toppled and threw into the harbor in Bristol, England, earlier this week.

That tragic figure finds a strange echo in Europe’s more recent history. Since 2014, more than 20,000 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea. As protesters mobilize against racism in Europe in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the United States, it’s important not to forget the victims of modern indifference and hate on this side of the Atlantic.

To be sure, we shouldn’t carelessly equate the slave trade of the 17th century across the Atlantic Ocean and boat migration across the Mediterranean Sea in the 21st century. At a minimum, that would deny the agency, determination and courage of so many people on these modern-day voyages across the seas.

But there are certainly parallels. Now as then, black and brown human beings are packed into the hull of boats for frightening journeys to uncertain futures. Thousands never make it — they drown or die of dehydration or exposure or simply disappear.

European governments have abdicated their responsibilities to carry out search and rescue operations at sea, and then obstructed and criminalized the nongovernmental groups that stepped in to save lives.

The grim connection wasn’t lost on migrants’ rights activists or demonstrators in Italy — one of the countries so many of the deceased were trying to reach. At a recent protest there, one sign read: “From the Mediterranean to Minneapolis under water or under a knee, I can’t breathe.”

Since 2014, the European Union and its member countries have focused on stopping the boats from reaching Europe rather than saving lives. Europe’s indifference and attempts to outsource its responsibilities to its neighbors is clear across the Mediterranean, from the Western sector between Spain and Morocco to the Eastern part between Greece and Turkey.

European governments have abdicated their responsibilities to carry out search and rescue operations at sea, and then obstructed and criminalized the nongovernmental groups that stepped in to save lives. In the central Mediterranean, by far the deadliest stretch, Italy and Malta have shamelessly squabbled and dithered over rescues, even as they closed their ports and struck bilateral deals with Libya to block the boats.

This is all part of the overall EU strategy to outsource migration control to Libyan authorities. A central plank of this effort has been to fund, train and empower Libyan Coast Guard forces to intercept boats and to ignore that they then drag their occupants back to arbitrary detention and abuse in Libya.

The evidence of brutality against migrants there is overwhelming, especially against those in nightmarish arbitrary detention. They are treated as commodities, pressed into forced labor and sold among trafficking networks, their bodies brutalized to extort money out of distraught relatives back home.

The EU’s failure to prioritize rescue operations and the willingness of EU governments to condemn people to abuse in Libya give lie to the periodic spectacles of compassion over tragedies at sea.

Instead of platitudes, European leaders should offer ships and life jackets and safe ports to those rescued at sea. They should support, not obstruct, the efforts of NGOs and rescue groups.

Just as justice for George Floyd requires addressing structural racism, ending deaths in the Mediterranean requires coming up with a different approach to human mobility.

Europe should adopt policies that respond not only to the needs of those fleeing persecution and violence but also to the aspirations of those seeking to better their lives. This means creating more safe and legal pathways to minimize the need for people to resort to dangerous journeys.

Europe should also adopt border governance policies and migration cooperation arrangements that are based on respect for human rights and human dignity, not exclusion and violence. And Europe should work toward creating inclusive societies where discrimination and racism have no place, and newcomers and people of immigrant origin alike experience just and fair treatment.

Whether you believe protesters were right or wrong to throw a statue into a harbor, we can all agree that no more human beings should be left to sink into the sea.



Source by [author_name]

1...66,64966,65066,651...67,194Page 66,650 of 67,194