Guest post: What I’ve been reading this week

Change…and more of the same

This is a guest post by David Mentiply. David is is a postgraduate student of International History at the University of Sheffield, UK.

To Shrink a U.S. Car, Chrysler Goes to Poland (New York Times)

Chrysler engineers from Detroit are making monthly pilgrimages to the southern Polish town of Tychy to learn how to run a successful car plant. The Fiat plant in Tychy is thriving in the economic downturn and hired as many as 1,700 new workers last year. “We are lucky there is a crisis,” said the director of the Tychy plant, Zdzislaw Arlet, unable to resist a gibe at the bigger cars and trucks. “Everybody wants to build small cars now.”

Lives on the Line (New Statesman)

Meanwhile, Richard Dowden argues that the world recession will have long lasting consequences for Africa and its international relations:

The global financial crisis seems likely to push Africa closer to China and other Asian countries, and away from its historical western partners. Already, African rulers are using their new-found friendship with China to resist western pressure on economic policies, as well as human rights and democracy.

Lula Squanders Brazil’s Surplus (Newsweek)

And over in Brazil, President Lula is bucking the consensus of ‘cautious regulation’, as set by Larry Summers and pursued by the Obama administration since January. He is indulging in a touch of countercyclical stimulus. To the concern of Newsweek’s Mac Margolis, Lula has been:

spraying public money around with gusto…pumping up the public payroll, rolling over debt, ordering government banks to ease consumer-lending rates, and even proposing a law to increase the minimum wage every year until 2023.

Starbucks to open ’stealth cafes’ in rebranding move (The Daily Telegraph)

Even Starbucks are going against the grain.

Restocked Real Madrid making $40 million gamble (Sports Illustrated)

Some things, however, do not change. In the world of multimillion dollar football, Real Madrid are spending big. Again. With the signings of Kaka and Ronaldo, reportedly funded by Caja Madrid and Banco Santander, to the tune of $250million, the question surely is, does it make economic sense?

Media and the World Economic Forum on the Middle East 2009 in Jordan

This is a guest post by Kyle Christie, a blogger, political analyst and student of journalism. He writes at The Christie Communiqués and Through the Middle East.

Yesterday saw the end of the World Economic Forum’s meeting on the Middle East, held on the banks of the dead sea in Jordan. A range of panel discussions took place, and you can find reports on ‘Sustainability in the Middle East, Middle East E-Living‘ and ‘Closing the food gap among them.

If you really want, you can also see photos from Flickr of the conference.

There was also a panel discussion on ‘Race for an Audience: Media in the Middle East‘, the (hour and a half long) video of which can be seen here (sorry, embedding didn’t work).

By the end of the forum, the participants challenged themselves in two areas, as the Dubai Chronicle reports:

Energy – increase conservation; develop alternative energies; and utilize smart grids.

Youth – with 65% of the Arab world’s population under the age of 25, the region must develop this bulge by “providing them with education and developing, retaining and attracting talent,” said Samir Brikho, Chief Executive Officer, Amec, United Kingdom, and Co-Chair of the meeting.

For a critical opinon of the World Economic Forum, see ‘Leftist Youth’ writing at 7iber.com, a Jordanian website for young citizen journalists.

Unfortunately, there was little talk of micro-payment projects or, beyond the above discussion which is well worth watching, much discussion of the role of the media in the Middle East. Obviously the World Economic Forum can be expected to have other things on it’s mind – petrodollars and the wider recession – but press freedom and a focus on developing the Middle East (where there is still widespread poverty) are issues worthy of greater, more expansive debate.

Prayer Camp Violations in Ghana

This is a guest post by Alex Young, a blogger, political analyst and postgraduate student. He writes at Global Justice: Tipping the Scales. This article was originally published by The Daily Guide of Ghana.

The provision of services for those suffering from Mental Health problems in Ghana is hugely insufficient. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 10% of people in Ghana suffer from Mental Health problems. This amounts to 2,000,000 with an estimated 650,000 people suffering from severe mental health problems ranging from depression to schizophrenia.

Dr Akwasi Osei of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital informs me that there are only 4 psychiatrists practicing in the whole of Ghana and that conditions at existing mental health facilities are stretched. For the 1100 patients currently at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, there are only 500 beds, 250 nurses and seven doctors.

Prayer Camps emerged in the 1920’s and are now common across Ghana having been popularized by word of mouth. These camps are private facilities run by self professed ‘prophets’ and healers where mentally ill people are taken in attempts to cure their mental illness. People site various reasons for attending prayer camps, among them lack of access to psychiatric care, financial difficulty, social stigmatization and ignorance of the fact that mental illness is a medical condition requiring medical attention. The stigma attached to mental illness is often transferred to the whole family causing some sufferers to be rejected by their families or forced into prayer camps to avoid the association of their illness with the family.

A report by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiate (CHRI) indicates that some of these prayer camps are engaging in inhumane treatment of inmates and that this treatment often constitutes grave Human Rights violations.

Daniel Asare Korang a project officer at CHRI described the cramped living conditions and poor access to nutrition and sanitation which he saw at the camp. Whilst documenting the Human Rights Abuses he witnessed beatings, humiliation and verbal abuse of the inmates as well as forced fasting and forced ingestion of ‘concoctions’ intended to heal the patients.

A male inmate of the Akofafa Prayer camp in Hohoe Volta region reported “sometimes they chain me up or lock me up in a room. I have been beaten before and most times I am afraid this would happen again”.

These activities are conducted to drive out evil spirits, thought to be the cause of the mental illness. Mr. Asare emphasized that people do not have the relevant medical knowledge and believe that evil spirits are the cause of mental illness; because of this they often do not believe the hospitals can help them. Dr Anna Puklo-Dzadey speaking at Pantang Hospital expressed concern that attendance at prayer camps can prevent people from receiving proper medical treatment.

Although the treatment a great number of inmates receive is abusive, forms of social care can be beneficial for people with mental illness. In the past decade or so, researchers across a range of disciplines have started to explore and acknowledge the positive contribution spirituality can make to mental health.

Evidence collected by the Mental Health Foundation shows a positive association between church attendance and lower levels of depression amongst adults, children and young people. It also shows that belief in a transcendent being is associated with reduced depressive symptoms. In relation to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) studies show that religion and spirituality are usually, although not always, beneficial to people in dealing with the aftermath of trauma.

In recognition of this there is an obvious role for spirituality and religious support for mentally ill people. However, this should not replace proper medical care of the mentally ill and is not an endorsement of human rights violations, it is important to note that chains, beatings and forced fasting are conspicuously absent in the healings described in the gospels. Dr Osei and CHRI call for proper regulation of the prayer camps In order that they no longer perpetrate human rights violations.

Mr Asare also spoke with great anticipation of the new Mental Health Bill. He said it constitutes a great opportunity to change the actual situation in Mental Health care because it addresses the problems raised by the prayer camps in a number of ways. The Bill creates a legal framework for mental health care by establishing a Mental Health Authority, with the mandate of promoting mental healthcare. In addition, the Bill establishes a number of Visiting Committees to monitor prayer camps and medical facilities to protect against the human rights violations described in CHRI’s report.

Brain drain in Ghana

This is a guest post by Alex Young, a blogger, political analyst and postgraduate student. He writes at Global Justice: Tipping the Scales. This article was originally published by The Daily Guide of Ghana.

The economic, political, and social difficulties of the past three decades have created a new diaspora of Ghanaians searching for opportunities elsewhere. As a result, Ghana is often highlighted as a nation struggling with the effects of brain drain. This phenomenon describes the exodus of people with useful skills from a host country depriving it of their talents. The loss of human capital is a great worry to those pursuing development and growth in Ghana.

By the mid 1990s, it was estimated that between two and four million Ghanaians were living abroad. Skilled workers and professionals dominated early flows from Ghana, but, by the 1980s, many semiskilled and unskilled workers chose to leave as well. A worrying trend in Ghanaian emigration is the loss of high level students and skilled workers. A study of the brain drain by the IMF estimated that by 1990, 15 percent of Ghanaians with tertiary education had migrated to USA and a further 10 percent to other OECD countries.

Low pay and lack of opportunity are often cited as reasons for emigration. In an interview with Mark – a Ghanaian man who is now living in the US – I learnt that “there are so many more opportunities in the US”, and that for him “the quality of life far exceeds what I had back in Ghana”. Another factor influencing migration is the high population growth rate in Ghana within the last three decades, a factor that has generally increased the domestic supply of labour and as a result increased unemployment levels.

The loss of medical health professionals in the brain drain is highlighted as a particular problem.  Between 1995 and 2002, 482 of the 602 GP’s and medical officers (69.4%) that trained in Ghana left to practice in other countries. 1553 nurses and midwives (19.7%) also emigrated.

In 1998, the United Kingdom enacted the National Health Service (NHS) Plan, which included the recruitment of foreign health care workers. As of May 2003, 2,468 Ghanaian nurses had sought verification for the program. In addition to the nurses, the Ghanaian Health Service estimates there are 300 Ghanaian-trained doctors working in the UK.

The United Kingdom’s recruitment scheme has been controversial because it poses serious challenges for health care provision in the migrants’ home countries. In light of the controversy, NHS has made a commitment that developing countries will not be targeted for recruitment, unless there is an explicit government-to-government agreement with the UK to support recruitment activities.

Those considering emigration should be wary. Kofi, a Ghanaian man living in the UK told me that there are “many false assumptions” about the opportunities available to immigrants in the UK. It is difficult to get skilled work as employers often require local experience or relevant qualifications.  He worked several low paid jobs in London for years before he found better work at the Eurostar train company. He also explained that people underestimate the cost of living in wealthier countries.

Also, pressure to emigrate can have disastrous consequences with people perishing as they attempt to leave Ghana for greener pastures.  Particular examples that come to mind are the case of the two Ghanaian boys who died whilst stowing away on a flight to the UK in 2002, and that of the 7 Ghanaian men with Kingsley Ofusu documented in the film Deadly Voyage staring Omar Epps.

However, emigration is not all bad news as many Ghanaians who chose to make the long journey abroad send their hard earned wages back to Ghana. Emigrants often return to Ghana with renewed energy and new skills for investment in both businesses and state sector work.

In fact, Ghanaian workers are known for not forgetting their home land and are unique in the amount of time they continue to send money home for their families.  The Central Bank of Ghana estimated that $1.27 billion in remittances flowed into the country between January and November 2005. The remittances comprise about 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and more than 40 percent of total exports. Thus, Ghana has become highly dependent on remittance transfers.

It is notable that these remittances are often received in the poorer regions -and by women- helping to spread wealth to those who commonly miss out.

Migration can be a form of poverty alleviation as migrants tend to return with more capital and education than they had on departure.  Return migration can also be a path to job creation. In 2001, researchers from the UK-based ‘Sussex Centre for Migration Research’ interviewed 152 Ghanaian returnees. Over 55 percent of those surveyed were self-employed on return, and the vast majority of these individuals employed other Ghanaians in their business.

As we have seen migration can promote development in the economy through remittances and through returning migrants skills. Nevertheless, in areas like health care, any income flows to the country cannot compensate for the loss of those specific skills to the health of Ghanaian people.

Hezbollah at the World Social Forum

This is a guest post by Kyle Christie, a blogger, political analyst and student of journalism. He writes at The Christie Communiqués.

Representatives from Hezbollah have attended this year’s World Social Forum in January through a front organisation, according to Gulf News and the LA Times.

It appears this is part of a concerted effort by the group to fraternise with and encourage support from anti-capitalist, left-leaning groups in the West.

To summarise, the World Social Forum is:

“an open meeting place where social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organizations opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, for formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action.”

The Respect party, Transform! and the Global Progressive Forum are among the signatories to the ‘Global Call to Action’ issued in 2007 in Berlin by the WSF.

It appears that representatives from the Center for Strategic Studies in Beirut, who are affiliated to Hezbollah, were invited to ‘an exclusive decision-making meeting of the organisers of the forum’ in 2007.

Hezbollah flag. Photo by Paul Keller.

Among the modern far-left, there has been strong opposition to Israel for years, a position apparently taken due to the nation’s treatment of the Palestinians but certainly enhanced by American support for Israel. As I’ve stated before, I believe that engagement with Islamist democratic groups is both necessary and a positive step towards moderating the stances of these organisations. However, this is within the framework of a democratic system, which Lebanon has, not through an unaccountable forum which will only embolden a terrorist group by helping Hezbollah convince itself it has international support.

The WSF’s Charter of Principles states that it is:

“opposed to neoliberalism and to domination of the world by capital and any form of imperialism”

Presumably this doesn’t includes imperialism through a non-governmental, often sectarian uprising in a democratic nation, as demonstrated by Hezbollah.

The alternatives suggested at the WSF will:

“respect universal human rights, and those of all citizens – men and women – of all nations and the environment and will rest on democratic international systems and institutions at the service of social justice, equality and the sovereignty of peoples.”

The ‘party of God’, by targeting Israeli civilians, does surely not respect human rights. By holding the Lebanese government hostage after it attempts to dismantle Hezbollah spying cameras at Beirut airport, does not respect democratic systems, or the sovereignty of its people.

The charter goes on to exclude military organisations from the forum. Although this is also a definition with regards to Hezbollah made by Western nations – with the UK and Australia declaring that the ‘Hezbollah external security organisation’ only is to be defined as a terrorist group, whilst Israel, the US, the Netherlands and Canada giving this definition to the entire organisation – this does not justify the WSF willingness to accept Hezbollah representatives without any apparent questioning of their military wing. Would they accept FARC representatives or those from the Tamil Tigers? What of Hamas?

The WSF is ‘opposed to the use of violence as a means of control by the state‘ (my italics). What of an organisation using violence as a means of control against its own, legitimate state?

The hypocrisy which is evident when comparing the charter to the actions of Hezbollah is disgraceful coming from such a conglomeration of groups as the WSF. It is clear that many of those organisations affiliated with the WSF do some fantastic charity work in the third world. However, I fail to see why it is necessary to consult with representatives from a group whose leader has referred to Israel as a ‘cancer’ and launches attacks on unarmed civilians in order to effectively challenge the ‘neo-liberal’ world. Though I disagree with much of what they say, I recognise their right to organise, debate and consult with a range of groups worldwide. What cannot be accepted is their grooming of a terrorist organisation whose usefulness is as much in their anti-American rhetoric as it is in seeing them as a legitimate partner in an alternative world order.