Development Close-up

11/09/2020

A deep dive into 25 years of humanitarian data

Staggering numbers - staggering changes in the humanitarian system over the past couple of decades. Have a look at the telling illustrations in this article.

The good, the bad, and the buzzwords: 25 years of humanitarian data.

09/04/2020

POV International

This page has been quiet for a while, and my sharing today is unfortunately only in Danish.

In Europe we have been busy dealing with the Corona crisis, which is now spreading into the African continent. In this article, you may read about how different countries prepare for the pandemic and how it affects people and countries, not least economically.

Stay safe out there.

CORONAKRISE I AFRIKA: STILHED FØR STORM

”Vi er bange,” skriver en ven fra Den Demokratiske Republik Congo på Skype. ”Vi er mere bange for corona, end vi var for ebola.”

På det afrikanske kontinent er ”kun” 535 mennesker døde af corona indtil den 8. april, men for mange ser det ud til, at der allerede nu gøres mere for at forhindre coronasmitten sammenlignet med, hvad der blev gjort under ebolakrisen.

Nogle lande har lukket helt ned for alle aktiviteter. Andre har valgt at tage hensyn til, at en stor del af befolkningen lever fra dag til dag.

Lotte Ladegaard skriver om situationen på det afrikanske kontinent, hvor man ikke har økonomiske hjælpepakker, hvor sundhedssystemerne er mangelfulde, og hvor mange lever udsat.

▶▶ ▶▶ https://pov.international/stilhed-for-storm-pa-det-afrikanske-kontinent/

24/09/2019

Greta Thunberg and 15 other children filed a complaint against five countries over the climate crisis

Some adults ridicule children and youth when they raise their voices. However, real change has almost always come from the youngest generation.

It wasn't middle-aged or old men who let women enter the labour market some 40-50 years ago. The demand came from youth.

It's rarely middle-aged or old persons who fight and oust dictators. Students from university fought against Ershad's regime in Bangladesh in the 1980s. Today, youth are rallying against Chinese influence in Hong Kong. Many other young people, also me, were part of the peace movement during the Cold War.

Now, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and 15 other children have filed a complaint with the United Nations alleging that five of the world's major economies have violated their human rights by not taking adequate action to stop the unfolding climate crisis.

I bow deeply in respect. Thanks for doing what the rest of us have failed to do in due time.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and 15 other children filed a complaint with the United Nation alleging that five of the world's leading economies have violated their human rights by not taking adequate action to stop the unfolding climate crisis.

09/08/2019

Fra ekstrem fattigdom til ekstrem ulighed • POV

Here are the good news: There are fewer people living in extreme poverty - on less than 1.9 US dollars a day - in the world compared to 25 years ago. Unfortunately, money is not the only indicator of poverty. Inequality and shortness of opportunities are also obstacles preventing people from living decent lives. I have been writing about this on POINT of VIEW International. In Danish only.

FATTIGDOM // ULIGHED – Den ekstreme fattigdom i verden skrumper, og uligheden vokser. Det bliver især tydeligt, når man gør fattigdommen op i mangel på muligheder frem for i mangel på kroner. I dag er milliarder af mennesker fattige på uddannelse, sundhed og rimelige levevilkår. Færre menn...

17/07/2019

Harassment of pro-government journalists growing in Syria | Reporters without borders

While journalism is a dangerous profession in numerous countries the safest are generally the reporters who write in favor of the regime. No so in Syria any longer.

Until now, these journalists were privileged. The intelligence had chosen them and had allowed them to access combat zones and population resettlements so that they could play a key role in providing media coverage from the official viewpoint.

The most emblematic case is that of Wissam Al-Tair, the editor of Damascus Now, the most influential pro-government media outlet on Facebook, with more than 2.7 million followers. There was widespread surprise when he was arrested on 15 December 2018 and his page stopped functioning for several days.

Sonel Ali, a Sham FM journalist who was arrested in the same raid, in which equipment was seized, was quickly freed. But not Al-Tair.

No one knows for sure where Al-Tair is or why he is being held.

The pro-government journalist who was arrested last week in Aleppo is the latest in a steadily growing list of journalists to fall victim to the Assad regime, a list that includes those who are supposedly its supporters. A pro-government stance does not suffice to protect media personnel from arrest...

13/02/2019

Freedom in the World 2019 Map

Political rights and civil liberties are declining for an alarming 13 consecutive years. The decline have touched all parts of the world and affected Free, Partly Free, and Not Free countries alike.

Every region except Asia-Pacific has a lower average score for 2018 than it did in 2005, and even Asia declined when countries with less than 1 million people are excluded.

The end of the Cold War facilitated a wave of democratization in the late 20th century, but a large share of countries that made progress during that time were unable to maintain it.

Social and economic changes related to globalization have contributed to a crisis of confidence in the political systems of long-standing democracies.

Challenges to American democracy are testing the stability of its constitutional system and threatening to undermine political rights and civil liberties worldwide, according to Freedom in the World 2019.

23/01/2019

Army: ‘No knowledge’ of dead activists stuffed with concrete

Oooops... It's no news that Thai activists demanding elections, a goodbye to the army government and less power to the royal family are in danger. But dead activists stuffed with concrete is a new and scary development. A Thai version of the Khashoggi case? Or the actions of neighbouring governments equally - or even more - unwilling to allow dissent?

The Thai army said on Wednesday it had no knowledge of two exiled critics of the military and royal family whose bodies police say were found "stuffed with concrete" along the Mekong River border with Laos.

02/01/2019

A deeper look at the Bangladesh election

Sad development: Bangladesh has been gradually sliding back into authoritarianism over the last decade, after experiencing a chaotic democratic moment for about two decades in the 1990s and 2000s, when the country's two major political parties took turns in power. There were teething pains in that nascent democracy, but people still rejoiced over their ability to elect and change their political leadership.

What happened during elections on December 30 clearly shows that Bangladesh has officially become a one-party state of an exotic variety.

The outcome of the December 30 vote should not come as a surprise given the level of state capture in Bangladesh.

21/12/2018

Bangladesh: Crackdown as Elections Loom

"A blanket of fear" is covering Bangladesh ahead of the elections on 30 December. Opposition party members are persecuted, imprisoned, monitored and disappeared. Media impose strong self-censorship. Social media are under scrutiny and critical voices are violently silenced, according to Human Rights Watch.

Bangladesh security forces have been arresting and intimidating opposition figures and threatening freedom of expression in advance of national elections on December 30.

14/12/2018

“Nowhere to go” on the front lines of climate change

In Europe we might not feel the real impact of climate change yet. But it's out there. Anyone who's been to eroding Bangladesh or drought affected East Africa would know that it's been happening for quite a while. Apparently, it might even be too late to entirely change our shared destiny. Irin News has met people in different corners of the world. Read their stories and consider if we shouldn't at least try to reduce our climate destruction. Just a bit.

Vanishing land, climate migrants, and a warming world: Vulnerable communities grapple with climate threats while the cost of coping soars

05/12/2018

POV International

Last night was memorable. I was invited to join a meeting between Danish youth in a vulnerable part of Copenhagen City and the UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wikramanayake. Unfortunately, my article about their discussions is only in Danish. But please do have a look at the pictures of all these lovely young people who so would like to be taken seriously rather than being stereotyped by know-it-all adults.

Lotte Ladegaard
VOKSNES FORDOMME OG STEREOTYPER OVERDØVER UNGES EGNE STEMMER

REPORTAGE // UNGE – Over hele verden kæmper unge for at blive hørt og taget alvorligt. I aftes mødtes FN’s særlige udsending for unge, Jayathma Wickramanayake, med frustrerede unge fra Tingbjerg og Brøndby Strand. Alle taler om unge, fordi unge er kommet på FN’s og Udenrigsministeriets dagsorden. Få giver dem plads til at deltage i beslutningsprocesser.

Regeringen har klassificeret Tingbjerg som ”hård ghetto,” og det gør ondt på de unge, som elsker at leve her, og som ikke kan genkende sig selv i regeringens og mediernes beskrivelse af deres bydel.

”Når medierne skriver negativt om os, fremstår det som om, vi alle var en person fremfor en stor gruppe af mennesker. Når de skriver positivt, er det altid om enkeltpersoner,” siger de unge.

Jayathma bekræfter, at det desværre er helt almindeligt, at unge mennesker opfattes og beskrives stereotypt.

”Når jeg er til møde med en hvid mand, taler folk til ham, fordi de tror, han er chefen. Så må jeg høfligt forklare, at det er den her brune, unge kvinde, som er bossen.”

Mød Jayathma og de danske unge her og find ud af, hvor de hver især endte med at spise aftensmad.



LÆS REPORTAGEN PÅ DETTE LINK:

▶▶https://pov.international/fn-ungeudsending-hvad-unge-taenker/

16/11/2018

Khmer Rouge’s Slaughter in Cambodia Is Ruled a Genocide

Genocide. Murder, extermination, enslavement, imprisonment, torture, persecution on political grounds and other inhumane acts against human dignity.

Finally, after four decades, the two most senior surviving members of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan have been found guilty of their roles in the killing of a fifth of Cambodia's population.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has made clear he would prefer the tribunal to cease its high-profile work. A onetime Khmer Rouge cadre who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, Hun Sen has muzzled the media, thrown opposition leaders in jail and warned that Western-style democracy may be a plot to foil Cambodia’s autonomy.

Four decades after the Communist movement’s reign of terror, two surviving senior leaders are held accountable in a genocide verdict that opens the door for other rulings.

31/10/2018

The non-confrontational question that helps men become feminists

"Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Ask." And "Do you really want to be that guy?" Men and women experience the world on different planes, says Cornell University Mukoma Wa Ngugi who has worked out this very meaningful list of questions that men ought to ask themselves when considering their relationship with women. Worth to read for men and women alike.

Cornell professor Mukoma Wa Ngugi also provides an essential reading list for anyone invested in gender equality.

05/09/2018

Cult of Misogyny Flourishes Online

"Captioned 'You Can See,' it shows the silhouettes of a man and woman, both holding knives. While the woman is soaked in blood from head to toe, the man cries and bleeds from a wounded heart. The message is clear: Male attackers are the victims of female guile." In Thailand, rampant online sexism is rooted in the real world. Patriarchy and misogyny, tolerating or even supporting men’s violence toward their partners, is deeply intertwined with Thai cultural values.

Men proclaim love for the women they hurt or kill, attempting to justify their crimes. And in today’s hypertoxic online discourse, many leap to their support.

03/09/2018

POV International

Vidste du, at man kan kurere jalousi over at have fået en ny lillesøster med lyst rugbrød? Det lykkedes i hvert fald for den tidligere DR-radiovært Monica Krog-Meyer. I "Barndomsfortællinger" får du hendes og fjorten andres levende, morsomme og rørende fortællinger om at vokse op. Blandt andet min egen og min søsters fortællinger, som viser, hvor forskelligt man kan opleve den samme familie.

Fortællingerne strækker sig fra det hårde slid i mark og stald på Mors i 30’erne til at vokse op i Albertslunds progressive nybyggeri i 80’erne. Tilsammen tegner de et billede af et samfund i hastig forandring og viser, hvordan barndommen præger os som voksne og ikke mindst hvor forskellige livsvilkår, vi hver især har. Og så er ”de gode gamle dage” måske ikke altid så gode endda?

Jeg har redigeret og delvist skrevet "Barndomsfortællinger," som kan købes i boghandlerne og hos Forlaget Pressto.

BARNDOMSFORTÆLLINGER
SÆRRABAT TIL POV-LÆSERE: 150 KR. INKL. FORSENDELSE

NY BOG - Forlaget Pressto står bag en ny bog, ”Barndomsfortællinger”, efter idé af konsulent Lotte Ladegaard, der har redigeret erindringer og barndomshistorier af bl.a. Monica Krog-Meyer, Kim Fupz Aakeson, Annegrethe Felter Rasmussen, Lone Theils, Thomas Milsted og Mimi Vibeke Jakobsen.

Fortællingerne strækker sig fra det hårde slid i mark og stald på Mors i 30’erne til at vokse op i Albertslunds progressive nybyggeri i 80’erne. Tilsammen tegner de et billede af et samfund i hastig forandring og viser, hvordan barndommen præger os som voksne og ikke mindst hvor forskellige livsvilkår, vi hver især har. Og så er ”de gode gamle dage” måske ikke altid så gode endda?

Flere af teksterne har tidligere været bragt på POV, heriblandt Jens Ulrichs ”Historien om mig og Simon”, der kan læses nedenfor.

Bestiller du "Barndomsfortællinger" på linket i kommentarfeltet, skal du blot skrive POV i feltet ”Rabatkode”, så får du den for 150 kr. inkl. fragt mod 199,00 kr. hos boghandlerne.

▶▶https://pov.international/jens_ulrich_barndomsfortaelling/

28/08/2018

UK MP Tulip Siddiq seeks release of Shahidul Alam

British member of parliament Tulip Siddiq, who is the niece of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has called on her aunt to release arrested photojournalist Shahidul Alam, according to the British newspaper The Times.

Shahidul Alam, 63, was arrested on August 5 in Bangladesh after reporting on schoolchildren’s protests about poor road safety in the country and he has since claimed that he has been tortured, reports The Times.

He has UK residency and his work has been displayed at Tate Modern, the Whitechapel Gallery, MoMA in New York and the Pompidou in Paris, the report said.

He was charged with making “provocative comments” under section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act and placed on a seven-day remand. He was initially denied access to a lawyer and was allegedly beaten up by law enforcers.

British MP Tulip Siddiq, who is the niece of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has called on her aunt to release arrested photojournalist Shahidul Alam, according to the British newspaper The Times.

22/08/2018

MUHAMMED's story

The third little docu video about cool kids in Somaliland. Meet Muhammed who is working hard to change his life; from out-of-school in a remote village to aiming at joining formal school in order to become a doctor.

Mini documentary about Somaliland in transition and about Muhammed who is studying hard to join the formal school system. He dreams about becoming a doctor.

21/08/2018

HODAN's story

Yesterday, you had the opportunity to meet Naima from Somaliland here. Today, you may get to know Hodan. She is working as a cook in a big hotel restaurant. Her dream? To become the first female executive chef in Somaliland.

Mini documentary about Somaliland in transition and about Hodan who is is working in a restaurant. She dreams about becoming the first female executive chef.

20/08/2018

NAIMA's story

How much do you know about Somaliland? How much do you know about education in Somaliland? In collaboration with Kim Dang Trong I have produced three little docu-videos about two children and a young woman with ambitions. It takes less than four minutes to get to know Naima and her dreams for a better future in a country affected severely by climate change.

The next two videos will follow during the week to come.

Mini documentary about Somaliland in transition and about Naima who is studying hard to become a teacher as "you can't trust lifestock, you can trust educati...

20/08/2018

Al Jazeera English

Being a journalist in Bangladesh activist has become a dangerous profession. A very sad development in a country where you could speak out your opinion relatively freely just a few years ago. Not so any longer. Famous photographer Shahidul Alam is among the latest victims of the repressive regime:

"The arrest of Shahidul Alam, the silencing of one voice; the chilling of others is something the government knew would draw criticism. It's a price that, in an election year, the authorities were clearly willing to pay for a message they seemingly wanted to send. The heat is on in Bangladesh. And journalists are among the many who are feeling it."

The heat is on in Bangladesh. And journalists are among the many who are feeling it.

09/08/2018

A Bangladeshi Photographer's Arrest Is a Worrying Sign for Press Freedom

Shahidul Alam is very well known amongst everyone who has the slightest interest in Bangladesh and in photography, and he is an old acquaintance of mine. He has been training hundreds of vulnerable children and youth in photography and video. Now he has been arrested following an interview with Al Jazeera.

Reporters Without Borders called the day where Shahidul Alam was arrested a “dark day for press freedom” in Bangladesh. Twenty-three journalists, including Alam, were attacked while reporting on student protests that day. Bangladesh ranks 146 out of 180 countries in its 2018 press freedom index. Yet dozens of journalists and citizen journalists have been reporting on the increasing violence on the streets of Dhaka - despite the danger.

Alam was officially charged by police for making “provocative comments"

23/07/2018

Cambodia to probe election boycott call

Cambodian authorities are struggling to ensure that Prime Minister Hun Sen will win yet another election. Now, they claim that calls to boycott the vote are illegal, but rights groups argue the calls are not against the law. The main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved last year, part of a wide-ranging crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen who is looking to secure his grip on power after a 2013 election which his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) only narrowly won. Hun Sen has been in power for 33 years. Previously, he was a commander for the genocidal Khmers Rouges.

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's election organisers said on Monday they will investigate a complaint against about 30 former opposition party members for calling for a boycott of Sunday's general election.

11/07/2018

OHRMS®» SOS Børnebyerne : Kommunikationschef

One of my very good collaborating partners, SOS Children's Villages Denmark, has a very interesting vacancy: As head of communication. A job for you?

SOS Børnebyerne: Kommunikationschef

28/05/2018

www.lotteladegaard.mono.net

Children have the right to play and to education that develops them to their fullest potential, according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Research also shows that children who engage in play have better language skills than children who do not. The former also have better social skills, more empathy, more imagination and more of the subtle capacity to understand what others mean. Less aggressive, they show more self-control and higher levels of thinking. Yet, many children are deprived of these rights.

During the past couple of years I have been attached to an SOS project on learning through play in Kenya. Have a look at what we found out and what we did.

30/04/2018

220 millioner af verdens børn findes ikke - POV

You do not exist if you are not registered. While most children in Denmark are registered immidiately after birth, 220 million children below the age of five years elsewhere are not registered and are therefore not ensured that their rights to survival, development, protection and participation are fulfilled either. What more is, as adults these children cannot vote, run for elections or apply for a passport. I have written about this at POINT of VIEW International. In Danish only.

USYNLIGE BØRN – I Danmark tager de fleste af os for givet, at vi registreres ved fødslen, får et personnummer (...)

25/04/2018

RSF Index 2018: Hatred of journalism threatens democracies

Literally a dark situation for the freedom of speech. Journalism and journalists are endangered species in large parts of the world.

The climate of hatred is steadily more visible in the Index, which evaluates the level of press freedom in 180 countries each year. Hostility towards the media from political leaders is no longer limited to authoritarian countries such as Turkey (down two at 157th) and Egypt (161st), where “media-...

19/03/2018

Myanmar levels former Rohingya villages to build camp for returnees

If you were ever in doubt about what is going on in Myanmar have a look at these satellite photos: “Burnt Rohingya homes and markets are being bulldozed, and surrounding trees and farmland cleared away,” Matt Wells, Amnesty’s senior crisis advisor, told IRIN. “Where Rohingya villages stood months earlier, the Myanmar authorities are constructing new security force bases, roads, and other infrastructure.”

Myanmar authorities have refused to allow independent investigations into last year’s violence and continue to place heavy restrictions on aid groups operating throughout Rakhine. The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, says it has been barred from accessing the worst-hit parts of northern Rakhine since last August, when Myanmar’s military crackdown began.

Satellite images show new roads, buildings, helicopter pads emerging over torched and emptied land

30/01/2018

Africa is not poor, we are stealing its wealth

Africa is rich, but we steal its wealth. That's the essence of a report released by several campaign groups. So it's time to change the way we talk about Africa. We also have to stop making it poorer.

It's time to change the way we talk and think about Africa.