The Arms Trade Is Killing Thousands Of Women And Children

The drums of war are beating ever louder as arms traders supply weapons for the war in the Middle East while the superpowers line up in confrontational posturing in a show of might and military power. “Might is right” is the military thinking behind the three biggest military powers that are vying for prestige and power in the world. The United States, Russia and China, despite being in the middle of a pandemic that is killing hundreds of thousands and infecting over a million, continue to build up their armed forces and supply weapons to nations of the Saudi-led coalition making war on the Houthi in Yemen.

The most devastating war is that in Yemen where thousands of civilians including many children have been killed and wounded, driven to near starvation by the air attacks of a Saudi-led coalition of Arab nations against Houthi rebels and backed by Iran that took power in Yemen in 2015. The indiscriminate air strikes against hospitals, clinics, schools, markets, mosques, houses and festival occasions are gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws.

Abdullah al-Ibbi was in his home in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, with his extended family when suddenly it was hit by a missile fired from a coalition fighter jet. The building collapsed in dust and rubble like a house of cards killing 27 members of his family. He was gravely injured and barely survived by chance. The youngest child killed was two years old.

The UN has said that as many as 10,000 people have been killed in the war and two-thirds of them have been civilians. The injured total so far is 55,000 and it is increasing daily. In bringing evidence of war crimes and a halt to the arms trade by the British government, Amnesty International has visited Yemen and carefully documented as many as 42 indiscriminate air strikes and they meticulously documented and confirmed the killing of 518 civilians and 433 wounded. The evidence was presented in October 2019. In a successful court case, the judged ruled that the UK arms trade to the coalition for the war in Yemen was illegal. The arms manufacturers, however, find ways to supply weapons nevertheless likely using other countries as intermediaries. Deadly cluster bombs banned under international law but still manufactured in the United States, the UK, and Brazil have been found in Yemen. When dropped, they scatter dozens of smaller bomblets that explode when touched. The exploded remains of missiles supplied by western countries have been found and documented as evidence of war crimes against the suppliers.

If not killed by bombs and bullets supplied by the arms manufacturing nations, then cholera, Covid-19, typhoid and starvation have killed thousands more. There is an estimated 22 million people in need of humanitarian aid. It is a horrific war bringing death and destruction.

A school bus filled with children received a direct hit by a missile-firing coalition jet fighter when it was stopped in the market area of Dahyan. At least 29 children were killed outright and 30 were wounded with serious injuries, a terrible war crime among many for which no one has been held accountable. Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council said that it was a “grotesque, shameful” attack and it showed, he said, a “blatant disregard for the rules of war.”

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates have the most fighter jets and troops in the fighting while Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Morocco have given their support. It is a war against their traditional enemy, Iran, that is supporting the rebels. The Houthi rebels are responsible for many civilian deaths also.

Behind the coalition are the suppliers of arms, jet planes, missiles, weapons of all kinds. The Saudi Arabian spending spree is a boon for the arms suppliers who welcome war and weapons sales. A goggle search will show that the main US companies in the arms trade selling to Saudi Arabia are: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, General Electric, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Honeywell and Jacobs Engineering Group. The US and the UK are biggest suppliers of jets and missiles and munitions to Saudi Arabia. The Saudis also buy weapons from France, Italy and Spain. Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have announced that they will stop selling weapons to members of the coalition but if they have done so or not is not clear since billions of dollars in contracts are on offer or have been signed.

So the war rages on. Money is made by all and the carnage in Yemen continues as the world watches helplessly and too paralyzed to intervene as the arms traders and manufacturers do their dirty, death-dealing business with the approval of their respective governments that issue the weapons export licenses.

Russia is busy arming and supporting the tyrant Bashar Al-Assad in Syria who is going after the last remaining opposition rebels in Ilibid. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has given support to the rebels that are holding the province. Assad’s army, armed and backed by Russian planes, advance and allegedly intentionally bomb hospitals, mosques and markets. Thousands more civilians are fleeing to the Turkish border where over 1.5 million have taken shelter for the past several years of the nine-year civil war. It is now a stand-off between Syria and Turkey.

In Asia, the United States Navy and the Chinese are escalating from a war of words and consulate closures to near confrontations in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea. Two US aircraft carriers and support destroyers are patrolling the international waters claimed exclusively by China where it has grabbed and occupied islands belonging to the nations in the region.

The US Navy is planning to return to Subic Bay, Philippines which it lost in 1991, on a purely commercial deal where US and Australian shipyard companies will buy the former Hanjin ship repair facility and provide repair services to the US Navy. This will deny the port and yards to Chinese investors who were negotiating with the Philippine government to take them over. Washington and the Philippine navy oppose the Chinese bid. The rivalry will continue for years to come.

The Empowerment of Women and Children

There is a rising tide of people power in the world today and it is female power. Women are standing up and speaking out as never before and more people are sitting up and listening to what they have to say. Their message is basic, straightforward and its most important words are: freedom from abuse, equality, justice, education.

Across the world, the “#MeToo Movement” is empowering women and girls to stand up and challenge those who have harassed, abused or exploited them. Women themselves are challenging the historical oppression they endured for so long in submissive docility. They are now speaking out, holding their abusers, mostly men, to account and finding the courage to call them out and bring them to justice.

It takes bravery, too, to shake of the shackles of slavery and walk free. We are in a new age but the real struggle for the rights and equality of women and children lies ahead. Jenny, a 14-year old girl from a poor slum in Manila had very little in this world. The poor are the most vulnerable. She was not well-loved at home, feared her strict father and joined a street gang. They introduced her to Juan Gonzales. He appeared to befriend her, gave her money, a cell phone, new clothes and brought her to fast food restaurants. He was grooming her and one day he brought her to a hotel room and sexually violated her. Then, he warned to tell no one and gave her money. She was confused, shocked and felt guilt and obligated because he paid her.

The abuse went on for many months and Jenny was scared and submissive and wanted to end it and had nowhere to turn. One day in a school seminar, she heard about the rights of girls to be free and self-reliant and how to report any physical or sexual abuse. She sent a text message. “I want to be free, help me,” it said.

Jenny contacted the Preda Foundation charity that helps sexually exploited women and girls. Soon, she was in care and protected from the threats of Gonzales. Jenny had Emotional Release Therapy for weeks. She poured out her anger and hatred of Gonzales. In time, she grew in self-confidence, was empowered and determined to file a criminal complaint against Gonzales and with the help of Preda, courageously gave clear powerful testimony against him.

A few weeks ago, the court decision was promulgated. He was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced to life in prison. Justice was done and many more children will be saved from his abuse. It was made possible by the public awareness and advocacy campaign for the rights of women and children. We all should be advocates inviting victims to tell their story, listening, believing and helping them. There are many thousands of similar cases like that of Jenny and they can be helped if they are believed, encouraged and supported when they want healing and justice.

While many women and girls are fighting back against violence and sexual abuse, many more are unable. It is estimated that 35 percent of women and girls worldwide have suffered sexual or physical violence from a male. In some countries, research puts that figure at 70 percent. It causes misery, depression, and powerlessness.

       

Where does it all begin if not in the home? It is a vicious circle of violence begetting violence. Those male children who witnessed their mother being beaten by their father or her live-in partner and experienced violence themselves were found to be highly likely to perpetuate violence against women themselves in adult life. It is what children experience, see and hear from their parents that have the most profound influence on them in later life.   

Last  6 March, twenty minors  ages 14 to 17 were admitted into the Preda home for abused and trafficked girls. They had been rescued from a sex hotel and a resort where foreigners of all nationalities were supplied with trafficked children for their sexual gratification.  Many of the girls had suffered sexual violence. They are now recovering and following the example of Jenny.

Think about this: it is reliably estimated that 71 percent of trafficking victims worldwide are women and girls. Out of every four children trafficked, three of them are girls, the majority of them are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Statistics do tell the truth. When we look at the extent of abuse worldwide, we see a horrific reality.

It has been established in 2018 that approximately 15 million girls have experienced sexual violence and rape at least once if not more in their lives and 9 million of these adolescent girls were sexually assaulted in the past year alone. Unlike Jenny and the other children in care at Preda, only one percent ever asked for help. Migrants and refugees in Europe and the United States are also at risk. They need help and protection.

Less that 40 percent of exploited women and children ever seek out help. Most of those who do ask help from teachers, family and friends. Less than 10 percent of these women and minors asked help from the police.

It’s not so long ago when women and child abuse was ignored totally. Now, there are laws to protect them but it is seldom implemented. Local governments give permits to the sex bars and hotels to operate. It’s legalized sexual exploitation.

There is much to do to educate society on women and children’s rights and eradicate misogynist attitudes and provide genuine help and support for abused women and children everywhere. May the wave of protest keep rising until the evil is overcome. 

The Voice of Women Say, “Time’s Up!”

It is a great beginning to the New Year. Prominent women and men in Hollywood and London have launched a movement to end sexual harassment in the workplace and society. They aim to challenge every act of sexual harassment and abuse that comes to light. It is called “Time’s Up.”

Months ago, it began with the hash tag “MeToo” tag that encouraged abused women no matter their station in life to speak out and challenge their abusers. It is now a defining moment in history. Since the human race began, women were always considered by men to be inferior, the so-called weaker sex, which was a way to establish, falsely of course, that they somehow had lesser rights than men and were expected to be docile and subservient. It gave permission for the males to dominate them and to do much as they pleased especially when they were in positions of ascendency and power over the women.

The women suffered and endured the humiliation and harassment and feared if they complained they would be further discriminated against, harassed and even fired from their job or their careers would be stymied. The slogan was, it seems, “play along or pay the price.”

Now no more will western women have to “play-along” and cover up their anguish, intimidation and feelings of humiliation and being exploited and used as the play things of abusive men. The “Time’s Up” group is composed of well-known producers, actresses, writers and studio executives. The action has raised as much as US $13 million for legal cases against individuals who are accused of harassment or companies who allow or ignore such harassment in the workplace.

The legal fund will help the poorer women and men and youth in low-paid jobs who are sexually molested and abused and are afraid and unable to take legal action due to the high costs. They are usually afraid to speak out and are likely to lose their employment. But the movement has a strong following and is there to help everyone in need.

The “Time’s Up” is to challenge the gross indecency and silence that surrounds the culture of sexual harassment. It has gone unchallenged for centuries. It’s a defining moment in the age of women’s freedom. The “Time’s Up” movement published a full-page letter in The New York Times and the Spanish newspaper La Opinion to declare that  “Time’s Up” for the abusers and they will be challenged, exposed, and forced to step down from their preeminent pedestals of power.

One of the gagging techniques the abusive men used was to get the victims to take money and sign a non-disclosure agreement and threatened them. This ensured the silence of the victims. This is now being targeted to totally discredit the practice and have it banned.

Those abused are encouraged to never to sign anything but to seek the help of “Time’s Up.” It is an encouraging and historical time for the rights of women to be vindicated and protected and justice be done and be seen by all to be done. Thousands of men prone to commit acts of lasciviousness, sexual abuse and harassment can quake in their boots if this really takes off. Not only is the name-and-shame campaign empowering women to take a stand and point their accusing finger but it is backed up with legal action.  Others take a more subtle approach to their empowerment and survival.

Are women smarter than men? You would imagine that they are still subservient to men in Afghanistan as some of the women are seen to walk five meters or more behind their husbands or male guardians. Normally it is a humiliation. I read somewhere the following story. A woman’s rights advocate visiting her friend in Afghanistan said, “After all this struggle for equality of women, you still walk behind your husband.” “We are much smarter,” the woman replied. “How is that so?” the perplexed advocate asked. The woman smiled and looked at the advocate and said one word. “Landmines.”

So the day is fast approaching when there will be some change in the western world when women speak out for their rights and expose the harassment and abuse they endured. But it will take a long time for it to enter the mainstream of other cultures and change them forever. But change comes slowly like a river eating its way through a canyon. We have to take legal action and enforce the rule of law to protect women and children.

Preda Foundation has been promoting and supporting the new proposed law in Ireland. It will be presented soon in the Dail, sponsored by Maureen O’Sullivan TD and other parliamentarians that will effectively curb the travel to foreign developing countries of convicted pedophiles. In Australia, where such a law is in place, it was revealed that as many as 800 convicted pedophiles travelled to poor countries before it was enacted. These are countries where the children are vulnerable, poor and easily available for abusers and law enforcement is weak. But stopping them may indeed be the only way to protect the children. Who could be against such a law?  We need the same for the UK and the EU. Ireland can give the lead and then it will be a much safer world for children.

Speaking Out Against Abuse

The front cover of Time Magazine for its last issue of 2017 shows a group of brave women who eventually found the courage to speak out against the sexual exploitation and harassment  they suffered at the hands of abusive males and made the hash tag #MeToo trend on social media. There is a growing movement to name and shame the women abusers by going public, talking to the media and signing affidavits.  Women have been trying to expose the abuse for many years using other hash tags but none has been so successful as #MeToo.

It came to light when some women began to speak out against the well-known Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein. That became world news and many more women then found the courage to tell their story also to the media. He was forced to leave his position and go abroad and has since lost all prestige and power.

According to Twitter, as many as 1.7 million women and men used the #MeToo hash tag in 85 countries around the world. Many better known media personalities and politicians have stepped down or have been fired from their posts as a result of a number of similar allegations being made against them.

This is a movement that could greatly help the dignity of women and to change the male perception of them as objects or lesser human beings that can be used to satisfy their lustful desires and whims. This is a challenge to men to respect and to speak out against abuse and sexual harassment where they know of it.

They ought to take a stand on behalf of women and children and to teach their own children to do likewise. The next generation could be very different if they did so and break down the machismo-dominated attitude that makes some men believe that they are superior and can abuse those weaker and more vulnerable than them. The culture of silence and looking the other way when adults know of sexual abuse and harassment have to change. It is making them complicit and as it is tantamount to approving the abuse. This kind of social media and community education is vital to empower women and children. 

In the Philippines the public attitude is slowly changing from indifference to child sexual abuse to that of concern and knowledge of how awful a crime it is and the need to report it and take fast action to help children and women victims to get help. This is not coming from the leadership but from the grassroots. Local and national leadership support the sex industry and the abuse of women and children as witnessed by the local government giving operating permits and licenses to sex bars and clubs where children and women are sexually exploited with impunity. The national leadership allows it despite that fact the sex bars are rife with illegal drugs. They are not a battlefield for the war on drugs. That can be easily won by legislation canceling all the operating permits and closing them down.

There is the growing knowledge that child sexual abuse is a serious crime especially by children themselves. When eight-year old Jessica was on her way to school in Bacong, Bataan, her neighbor Reynaldo Quiambao accosted her and asked her to go buy him a cigarette. She did it and when she came back to him he took her inside his house, into a bedroom and raped her. She was crying and begging to be let go. After the act of sexual abuse, he gave her twenty pesos (about  $0.40). She went to school and was crying. Her teacher told her to stop crying and asked why but she was afraid of her teacher. When she went home she was crying and courageously told her elder sister Juliet. That was in August 2011. Her mother was very angry and immediately they went to the police and reported the incident. They responded and as it was within the legal time frame the accused was arrested and jailed under the inquest procedure.

The family sought the help of the Preda Foundation legal team and since Jessa was still traumatized she was admitted to the Preda Home for Girls. There, she felt safe and secure from her attacker and was welcomed by the other children who had similar experiences. She took the Emotional Expression Therapy and overcame the trauma and began to be happy and play and study again in Preda. She was empowered even at that early age and she was able to testify in court and point out the abuser and tell her story. It was like another #MeToo.

However, it took from February 2012 until October 2017 for the court to decide that the accused was guilty and he received a life sentence. Jessa is now back with her family and continuing her studies with the help of Preda Foundation. It is a happy conclusion to a very serious and traumatic experience for the child who will remain with her all her life but yet she was able to cope with it and overcome the negative effects. The sentence to life in prison for her abuser will help her believe that justice has been done and she has won the greatest victory of her young life. 

We need many more such victories. There has to be more empowerment of young and older children and women to enable them to speak out and tell when they are abused. It is shocking that statistics shows one-in-four children worldwide are victims of sexual harassment or abuse. Every minute a women is raped. It is all around us. We just have to find it ourselves and take action to defend the victims.

Women In Power and Out of It

The rise of women into to high public office has given a new dimension to the global political scene. In the United States for the first time in history, a woman, Hilary Clinton, has been nominated to run for the Office of the President.

The decisions and direction women in powerful positions bring to their national governments can determine the fate of millions of people. Theresa May in the United Kingdom has recently become prime minister.

Angela Merkel, the prime minister of Germany, is the most powerful woman in the European Union. The women leaders in Bangladesh, Brazil and other countries have the historical opportunity to combat the exploitation of the most vulnerable women and children.

But they are not without opposition, mostly male, who degrade and denounce them like Donald Trump who holds no punches in insulting Hilary Clinton on her way to the likely position of the most powerful woman in the world.

Despite the rise to position of influence for some, millions of women still struggle in other countries for their identity, freedom and dignity. They are routinely degraded and subjected to exploitation and domestic violence by their spouses or partners. Many endure the physical and verbal abuse for the sake of the children and because they are dependent. Poverty and illiteracy are for women and children the bars of a prison cage.

Many are driven from the home and take to living on the streets and are exploited and abused and forced by pimps, human traffickers, poverty, debts or drugs to be “working girls,” exploited children. They are the currency of the traffickers. They are sexually exploited and trapped in a cycle of poverty, homelessness and drug dependency. Many are of low literacy level and many have been sexually abused as children.

Many young girls “rescued” from sex bars and the streets where they were pressured to be sex workers had experienced sexual abuse in their home from a parent or relative or a neighbor. They were not believed or helped and ran away from home and were soon taken into sexually exploitative situations.

There are thousands of vulnerable children all over the world. In Europe, thousands of migrant, unaccompanied children- boys and girls- are missing. Some are as young as 12 years old and are sexually abused by their traffickers or others, a recent report reveals. They need protection, therapy and education.

Young women of the street who are sex workers are vulnerable and abused and although many may say they do it voluntarily, they have background circumstances that preclude free choice. They need to be helped and respected and not to be stigmatized or made into objects of ridicule or fun. In many countries, they are treated as criminals. The law in Sweden and France does not criminalize them but gives them the social assistance and an alternative lifestyle. It is the customers who exploit their vulnerability and dependency who are dealt with as criminals and rightly so.

The modern trend is to show compassion, understanding and to give them the social help they need to regain trust and dignity. Alternatives have to be provided by government and civil society and therapy and counseling when possible to boost their self-esteem and motivate them to a life of respect through training, education and work with dignity. Too often the street “working girls” are ignored and their plight treated lightly and without understanding. They have to be seen as vulnerable and abused, not ignored as if this is their normal role in society.

Pope Francis had this to say about the street people victimized by the people traffickers. “The human trafficking . . . is a crime against humanity . . . It holds tens of millions in inhumane and humiliating bondage . . . This modern slavery continues to be an atrocious scourge that is present throughout the world on a broad scale, even as tourism. This crime of “lèse humanity” masquerades behind seemingly acceptable customs, but in reality claims its victims through prostitution, human trafficking, forced labour, slave labour, mutilation, the sale of organs, the consumption of drugs and child labour. It hides behind closed doors, in particular places, in the streets, automobiles, factories, the countryside, in fishing boats and many other places.”

In the Philippines, what can be done is to curb and control child pornography on the internet as mandated by Philippine law but universally ignored by the Internet Server Providers (ISPs) .Local officials can refuse city permits to the sex bars. They can enact local laws or ordinances to criminalize the customers and exploiters, not the women and stop jailing the children. All these will help fight the modern slavery and build a community that has profound respect for street women and children.