Don't Love Concepts – Love People, Pope Francis tells Aid Workers Istanbul, Turkey.

May 24, 2016 / 04:44 pm.
Addressing a global summit on humanitarian aid, Pope Francis offered encouragement and a reminder – don’t ever forget that each suffering person you encounter has a name. “(T)here must be no family without a home, no refugee without a welcome, no person without dignity, no young man or woman without a future, no elderly person without a dignified old age,” the Pope said. “‘Leaving no one behind’ and ‘doing one’s very best’ demands that we do not give up and that we take responsibility for our decisions and actions regarding the victims themselves,” he said to the World Humanitarian Summit meeting May 23 in Istanbul. “No one loves a concept, no one loves an idea. We love persons. Self-sacrifice, true self-giving, flows from love towards men and women, the children and elderly, peoples and communities… faces, those faces and names which fill our hearts,” he said. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, read the Pope’s message to U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and summit attendees. The first-of-its-kind summit gathered together leaders or delegates from 175 countries to craft non-binding commitments on humanitarian aid. At least 130 million people are in need of humanitarian aid around the world, while about 60 million people are displaced by conflict each year, the U.N. estimates. There is also a $15 billion shortfall between aid pledged and aid that is actually delivered. Representatives of various humanitarian groups spoke during the summit. Sean Callahan, chief operating officer of Catholic Relief Services, emphasized the importance of disaster risk reduction. “Our collective unwillingness to prevent or prepare adequately for disasters is a systemic moral failure,” he said. “It is the time to reform the global humanitarian system.” Callahan said CRS, the U.S. branch of Caritas Internationalis, is working to cooperate with local partners and promote peace, while cultivating the ability to “transition quickly between disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and development.” “Our comprehensive approach provides urgent lifesaving assistance with a focus on full recovery – respecting people’s inherent dignity, helping them get back on their feet, and strengthening their long-term resilience,” he said. “We call on all stakeholders to contribute to systemic reforms that both ends need and improves global humanitarian action.” Cardinal Parolin addressed the summit in several sessions. His remarks in the leader’s session said heavy reliance on military intervention and “selfish” economic policies is “shortsighted, counterproductive and never the right solution for these challenges.” He urged better education to encourage respect for the human person and to help prevent genocide. “The Holy See is doing its part to build a real and concrete fraternity, among peoples and nations,” he said. During a leadership roundtable to prevent and end conflicts, Cardinal Parolin said the Holy See is “firmly convinced of the fundamentally inhumane nature of war and of the urgent necessity to prevent and to end armed conflicts and violence among peoples and States.” At a summit roundtable focused on helping displaced persons, the cardinal noted Catholic institutions’ efforts to help relieve displaced persons’ physical sufferings and address their material and physical needs. “The Holy See is committed to advocating for the protection and proper assistance to forced migrants, internally displaced peoples and victims of trafficking, and to working to find durable solutions and reconcile communities,” he said. In his message to the summit, Pope Francis voiced hope that the gathering would make real contributions to lessen the sufferings of millions of people. He called for “a true and profound respect” for those who suffer due to violence, persecution, natural disasters and other calamities. He especially noted the victims who are most vulnerable and live “in conditions of misery and exploitation.” He asked the summit: “Let us hear the cry of the victims and those suffering. Let us allow them to teach us a lesson in humanity. Let us change our ways of life, politics, economic choices, behaviors and attitudes of cultural superiority.” “Learning from victims and those who suffer, we will be able to build a more humane world,” he continued. The Pope also noted the obstacles to peace. “We cannot deny that many interests today prevent solutions to conflicts, and that military, economic and geopolitical strategies displace persons and peoples and impose the god of money, the god of power,” he said. “At the same time, humanitarian efforts are frequently conditioned by commercial and ideological constraints.” He called for a renewed commitment to “protect each person in their daily life and to protect their dignity and human rights, their security and their comprehensive needs.” The Pope also recognized relief workers who “serve their neighbor and contribute to consoling the sufferings of the victims of war and calamity, of the displaced and refugees, and who care for society, particularly through courageous choices in favor of peace, respect, healing and forgiveness.” “This is the way in which human lives are saved,” he said.

Source:catholicnewsagency.com

Zika crisis on the increase by 'massive' failures on mosquito control, says WHO chief

By Monica Isidi     

(FILES) This file photo taken on May 07, 2016 shows a mosquito in Mexico City.
The Zika virus strain linked to surging cases of neurological disorders and birth defects in Latin America has for the first time been found in Africa, the World Health Organization said on May 20, 2016. The UN health agency announced that the Zika virus strain circulating in Cape Verde had been shown to be the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas.
/ AFP PHOTO / YURI CORTEZ

The spiralling crisis surrounding the Zika virus is the result of decades of policy failures on mosquito control and poor access to family planning services, the World Health Organization said Monday.

“The spread of Zika… (is) the price being paid for a massive policy failure that dropped the ball on mosquito control in the 1970s,” WHO chief Margaret Chan told the opening of the UN health agency’s annual assembly.

Those failures have allowed the mosquito-borne virus to spread rapidly and create “a significant threat to global health,” Chan said.

Experts agree that Zika is behind a surge in Latin America in cases of the birth defect microcephaly — babies born with abnormally small heads and brains — after their mothers were infected with the virus.

The virus, which also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito but has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact.

“Zika shows an extreme consequence of the failure to provide universal access to sexual and family planning services,” Chan said, pointing out that Latin America and the Caribbean, hit hard by the outbreak, “have the highest proportion of unintended pregnancies anywhere in the world.”

That is a problem when a single mosquito bite during pregnancy can cause severe brain abnormalities in newborns, she said, hinting at a feeling of impotence faced with the virus now present in 60 countries worldwide.

In Brazil, the hardest-hit country, more than 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika, and nearly 1,400 cases of microcephaly have been registered since the outbreak began last year.

“With no vaccines and no reliable and widely available diagnostic tests, to protect women of childbearing age, all we can offer is advice,” Chan said.

“Avoid mosquito bites, delay pregnancy, do not travel to areas with ongoing transmission.”

Source: m.guardian.ng

Photos: Edo pensioners protest non-payment

Edo State pensioners, protest the non-payment of their pension arrears in Benin, the state capital on Monday.

See some pictures of the  protest.

Ekiti - Fayose Makes History, Bans Cattle Grazing

PRESS RELEASE

By Press Release

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has banned grazing and rearing of cattle in the state, saying those interested in cattle farming should get their own private cattle ranch.

The governor, who became the first ever state executive to take such a drastic measure in the country, also said a bill to make the movement of cattle from one location to another criminal in the state would soon be sent to the State House of Assembly.

Governor Fayose, who made this known when he visited Oke-Ako in Ikole local government area of the State that was invaded last Friday by Fulani herdsmen that killed two residents of the town and injured others, warned that government would henceforth confiscate any cattle seen anywhere in the State apart from ranch created for them by their owners.

He described the Fulani herdsmen that attacked Oke-Ako and other communities in the country as "agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly."

The governor said, "We will not leave our lands for Fulani herdsmen and in a system where the leadership of the country looks the other way while our people are being killed, we will have no option than to defend ourselves by whatever means."

I have come here to commiserate with the people of Oke-Ako over the murder of two of our people by these evil Fulani herdsmen. "I am also here to assure that this will be the last time your community will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise.

"I have directed that cattle rearing and grazing should stop in Ekiti State and those interested in cattle farming should henceforth do so in their own cattle ranch.

"No more movement of cattle from one location to another in the State and any cattle seen anywhere in Ekiti State apart from the ranch created for them by their owners will be confiscated by the government and their owners will be prosecuted.

"A bill to this effect will be sent to House of Assembly for passage into law to criminalise cattle owners whose cattle are found moving from one location the other in the State.

"If President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the patron of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has refused to call the herdsmen to order, we in Ekiti will no longer harbour herdsmen who go about killing our people, destroying our farmlands and raping our women.

"If the same President Buhari that was so concerned about the killing of Fulani herdsmen in in Saki, Oke Ogun Area of Oyo State such that he, as a private citizen led Arewa to Ibadan on October 13, 2000, to confront the then Governor of Oyo State, late Alhaji Lam Adesina is now keeping silent when the same herdsmen are killing our people, we must rise and defend ourselves."

"It is our duty to protect our people and we are going to do that without fear or favour.

The governor said the activities of Fulani herdsmen was inimical to the revival of agriculture in the country saying, "one wonders how Nigerians can go back to farming when those already in the farms are losing billions of naira worth of crops to destruction of their farmlands by the Fulani Herdsmen and the Federal Government is not doing anything about it."

Source: anallafrica.com

Labour Suspends Strike.

By Monica Isidi

The Ayuba Wabba led-faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) held a meeting on Sunday in Abuja on the on-going protest action against the increase in pump price of petroleum products and hike in electricity tariff.

A communique Wabba co-signed with Peter Ozo-Eson, NLC general secretary, said NEC reviewed the protest action and its impact across the nation, noting the sacrifices of its members, response of the generality of Nigerians, government’s attitude and the brutality of the police in some states.

It stated that NEC took special notice of the Ebonyi State Police Command “where our members were intimidated, harassed, arrested and detained unjustly.”

It reads: “After an exhaustive deliberation, NEC noted its protest action was informed by the twin issues of the unjustified and illegal hike in electricity tariff and increase in the pump price of petroleum products. NEC adjudged the protest action to be a success in spite of both internal and external challenges.

“NEC reiterated the correctness of its position on the twin-issues of electricity tariff hike and astronomical increase in the pump price of PMS and the hardship they portend for Nigerian masses.

“NEC also acknowledged that the temptation to compare the strike action with that of 2012 could be compelling but that the scenario had changed as both the actors and the terrain were different.

“NEC said before it had embarked on the action, it had anticipated a probable outcome and therefore was not surprised by government’s negative response. Nonetheless, it felt fulfilled by having the presence of mind and courage to identify its mission and fulfilling it, stressing that if a similar situation arises again, it will still rise and stand with the people. 

46 Killed and Catholic Church Burned down in Nigeria - Please PRAY

— Hell was let loose last Monday in Ukpabi-Nimbo, in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, when dare-devil herdsmen, numbering over 500, unleashed terror on hapless natives, killing 46 and burning the Christ Holy Catholic Church, Odozi-Obodo. 11 houses were razed while 14 victims are lying critically ill at Hospitals.
APRIL 23: HOW IT STARTED The herdsmen were believed to have hatched the plot to attack Ukpabi-Nimbo, last weekend,and notified the natives. The development triggered tension in the community. The herdsmen, it was learnt, were bent on taking over portions of the vast fertile land in the community for cattle grazing, a stance the community opposed. The herdsmen allegedly told the natives that their kinsman, Muhammadu Buhari, is the President and so, they takeover land wherever they wanted to graze their cattle at the expense of the host community. The herdsmen, it was learnt, assembled about 500 other herdsmen to launch the attack. It was gathered that the herdsmen in a neighbouring town had imported the 500 others from Nasarawa State to help them invade Ukpabi-Nimbo on the grounds that some of their cattle were missing.
 The herdsmen were alleged to have consistently raped,maimed and killed victims from the communities situated on the Nsukka-Adani-Umulokpa expressroad in the council area. Those kidnapped allegedly paid ransoms ranging from N500,000 to about N5 million before they regained their freedom.
APRIL 25: BLACK MONDAY At about 5.15 am, the assailants struck,casualty figure immediately stood at 40,while six more bodies were recovered the following day. The affected villages of Nimbo Ngwoko, Ugwuijoro, Ekwuru, Ebor, Enugu Nimbo, Umuome and Ugwuachara became deserted as blood littered everywhere. Christ Holy Catholic Church, Odozi-Obodo, at Onu-Eke, Nimbo and 11 houses were razed even as 14 victims are lying in critical conditions at Royal Cross Hospital, Nsukka, Nsukka District General Hospital and Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka.

 A member, Board of Governors, Civil Liberty Organization, CLO, told Sunday Vanguard that the killings are targeted at the South-East, the South-West, and the South-South geopolitical zones to reduce the Christian population. It is a grand plan to Islamize Nigeria. The pertinent question is that since when have herdsmen begun to rear cattle with guns? Who bought the guns for them and taught them how to use the guns. Why has Buhari not condemned or commiserated with Benue and Enugu State people over the killings?"

The traditional ruler of Ukpabi-Nimbo, Igwe John Akor, who said: 

"The killing,raping,kidnapping of my subjects have come to a head. There is no week that passes that we do not experience kidnapping and killing by herdsmen. It has got out of hand. It was a black Monday. We have been doing our best to have peace with the herdsmen but to no avail. We have called several meetings with those of them from Kogi State,Adani and Enugu. We are appealing to the federal, state and local with governments to come to our aid by giving us adequate security presence. Again,our vast fertile land is what they take advantage of. They harass our people and kill insisting that they own the land and their cattle must graze there. They hold our men at gun point in their farmland and rape their wives,destroy the farms and livestock. Our people have not be going to farm for the past eight months because they are scared not to fall victim to the herdsmen's siege. 

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, expressed outrage over the Ukpabi-Nimbo attack. The CAN leader maintained that it would be wrong "for our people to fold their hands and watch helplessly while our women are being raped, our men are being killed and our ancestral land is being taken away." While calling for investigation of security agencies in the state, he announced one-day of mourning to commiserate with all those who lost their lives in the attack. "In honour of those whose lives were snuffed away by these herdsmen, CAN declares one-day of mourning. 

Within this period, we ask our people to pray fervently and ask God to take control", he added.