Central African Republic: Persistent, widespread violence exacerbates major humanitarian crisis

A day doesn't pass without news about the Central African Republic and the violence, instability and insecurity crippling a nation that has had little to celebrate since achieving independence in 1962. 

Friday, two aid agencies – the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Office of Migration (IOM) – gave more evidence of the misery facing natives fleeing the violence and inter-communal hatred.

“Every day, the plight of the Central African people gets worse,” said Peter Maurer, president of the ICRC, following a three-day visit to the country.

“Their suffering is compounded by repeated acts of violence against civilians, pillaging, killings and sexual violence,”  Maurer said in a statement distributed by the African Press Organization.

“With poverty widespread and state institutions crippled by years of instability and crisis, the country’s existing dependence on humanitarian aid will only grow unless efforts are stepped up to restore security.”

With the situation in the Central Africcan Repubic (CAR) in a downward spiral, the IOM on Friday appealed for $56.5 million to bring life-saving assistance to the country and region.

The scope of IOM’s appeal has been broadened from CAR to Chad and Cameroon, which are carrying a heavy burden of an influx of migrants and returnees fleeing this terrible conflict.

“Security is deteriorating,” said Giuseppe Loprete, chief of mission for the IOM in the country. “Attacks against the Muslim population in Bangui and outside are continuing and road movements are not safe for anyone, including aid workers. Muslim colleagues are particularly at risk, due to the numerous check points set by anti-Balaka armed groups.”

The situation today appears to be spinning out of control. Despite the presence of thousands of international peacekeeping forces, deadly attacks continue across the region. Thousands have been killed in the last year.

A cycle of tit-for-tat religious killing rages between a Séléka rebel alliance, made up largely of Muslims, and so-called anti-balaka forces, made up of local vigilantes, Christian defence militias and soldiers loyal to the regime toppled by Séléka rebels.

In the course of his visit, Maurer was able to see for himself the situation in the capital Bangui and in Kaga Bandoro and in Ndélé in the north of the country.

Displaced people and local residents are living in extremely difficult conditions, at the mercy of indiscriminate attacks against men and women of all ages, including very young children.

Since December 2013, the violence has been at an unprecedented level, with fighting particularly intense in certain parts of Bangui and in the west of the country.

About 1 million out of a population of  4.5 million have fled their homes to seek refuge elsewhere in the country or in neighboring countries, leaving everything behind and enduring extreme hardship.

They are completely dependent on humanitarian aid. In M’Poko, where the biggest settlement of displaced people has sprung up near Bangui airport, water is supplied by the ICRC, while other humanitarian organizations provide food and medical care.

- By Gary Rawlins

A Millennial in Budapest Part One

The city of Eger was created as a byproduct of early Christian and Muslim rule. It is the 19th largest city in Hungary and located along the Eger Stream and on the hills of the Bukk Mountains. This city is known for its medieval castles and historic Turkish architecture. The first recorded Christian King of Hungary was St. Stephen who ruled from 997-1038 A.D. This city was an extension of his power. 

Eger Skyline

Castle construction is underway 

-Photos by Gaby Lebo

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A Southern Metropolis

Atlanta, Georgia is one of the south's most beautiful cities but it is not as beloved as Miami. It has a storied history of racial segregation, racial progress, and cultural rebirth that other cities in the southern part of the U.S does not have. It is home to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN, and The world of Coke-Cola.

CNN Center

Centennial Olympic Park 

Manga/Anime Convention Bus

Underground Atlanta entertainment complex

-Photos by Ricky Riley

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Sundance's miniseries 'The Red Road:' why you should watch | TheCelebrityCafe.com

Sundance's miniseries 'The Red Road:' why you should watch | TheCelebrityCafe.com

"It's not only what you know, it's who you know"

Louay With an Indian Guru in the Himalayas

There are some people you sort of bumped into in the course of your life that, often without noticing, change your route... Like a strong wind redressing the shape of a tree. They take you for a ride in their own path and make you see the world from a different seat... You feel so comfortable that you see no good in wearing a seat belt and there you are taken to discover the wonders of the world. It's not only what you know, it's who you know. I am not talking here about what we usually call "Daddy's friend, or Dad knows somebody influential"; It's about people you surround yourself with, it's a matter of who you go out to see every afternoon, who you hang out with or, better, who you invest time with and why.. in order to get something from them? Or simply for their company, for their joy of life, for their positive attitude, for their secret hidden magnificent energy that gets into you and makes you (feel) better. So it's up to you. You don't often just bump into them at the end. You wish it was that easy!

I hear a lot of people saying, "Well, you know it's hard to find nice/interesting people these days." "Oh what are you talking about, do they even exist?" Then they sit and wait for them to appear, for their guardian angel to show up from the skies and bring blessings to them. Hello, easy come easy go. Now, if diamonds were to sort of dig their way out of the ground in Africa, people wouldn't spend time, half of the body in the mud looking for them, aching their backs and brain in the process. But they know where they are, they know where to look and what they are looking for. Do you know where to look for people? In bars? Buses? Restaurants? Facebook? It's really about where you put yourself, the opportunity to meet this kind of incredible people is out there, and you only need to book your rendezvous.

I have been myself putting several experiences as a priority, digging for such people who challenge everything and are challenge, who question the mere existence of the least noticeable phenomena, which would, one way or another, shape my personality. I have done quite a lot of travelling around, social work, volunteering... and during certain trips in the most deprived regions in Morocco for instance, I have met diamond people. During these experiences you meet people who have developed certain sensitivity, and this, for me, is a key word.

When we're sensitive in the sense that something or somebody triggers a certain feeling inside, we are more likely to take action. So violence makes us sensitive, injustice makes us sensitive, poverty makes us sensitive, sensitive enough to counter-attack, to fight against poverty, to offer help, to speak about injustice, to serve a cause; also sensitive towards positive things, people like that see the beauty in every aspect of life. Everything triggers a certain emotion, because they are aware of its impermanence and transience. They embrace nature, they say what they think, they say thank you, sorry and they mean it. They look at the cup "fully full". 

They flip a tragedy into a moral story, a mistake into a lesson, pain and suffering into humility and tolerance. Many people hide their emotions and their sensitivity, as a means most probably to "protect themselves" from the outside world they usually refrain from doing stuff, new stuff, from being involved in things outside their comfort zone.

Be with people who defy conventionality, who are courageous to talk about the unsaid, to raise questions, to make mistakes, to dare doing new stuff every time, those crazy enough to see life as a set of opportunities  and moments to grab and grasp.

Be with people who are careless to fit in, who are weird enough not to cope with the conventional life path, not to consider  everybody's opinion, those who instead of wondering when their next holiday would be in order to escape their realities, build a life they don't have to run away from, a life that suits their aspirations and dreams, be with people who know how to appreciate themselves, want to discover more of who they are by experiencing new, weird, risky, challenging stuff every time, who redefine their limits by continuously stretching them, be with people who make jokes about themselves, who laugh about their own downfalls and take the challenge to work on them, be with those wonderful people who challenge the status-quo, who do not wish to fit into boxes. Be with people who know why they do what they do, those who want to serve a cause, to solve a problem, to help a community, those who share a lot even if (especially when) they don't have much, be with people who see life as an adventure, a happy adventure, an orgasmic release of positive energy.

So who do you want to be with? Who would you look up to be around? Who do you invest time and energy being around?

It's up to you!

-By Louay Benaabdelaali

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The Shadow Game Part Two: Mr. Meiyappan

This is President Gurunath Meiyappan

Indian Cricket has been rife with nepotism in recent times and we fans tolerated this as long as the team was being improved and the emphasis was on development, but as with any case of favoritism in such matters, this has come back to bite the BCCI. Mr. Srinivasan, the head of CSK’s parent company-India Cements, installed his son-in-law Mr. Meiyappan as CSK’s team principal and when he was arrested, denied that Meiyappan was the head of CSK and insinuated instead that he was simply a highly enthusiastic Cricket fan who travelled with the team. This was proved false by the Mudgal Report, compiled by an independent, Indian Supreme Court directed panel, which reaffirms what we fans already knew- that Meiyappan was indeed the principal of CSK and that he was definitely involved in betting and passing over confidential team information to bookies.

A known, yet, disheartening confirmation, this threatens the credibility of CSK’s performances over IPL’s 6 year history and recent reports surfacing in the press threaten to compound the misery being piled on CSK, its supporters and the Indian Cricket community as a whole. There have been murmurings in the smaller press circles that the initial investigator of the scandal, IPS officer Sampath Kumar, has named the Indian Cricket team Captain M S Dhoni and several other players as being involved in the scandal and has submitted a report to that nature to the SC panel investigating the case. If Dhoni’s alleged connections happen to be proven true, then the reputation of the national team and the BCCI will take a huge hit and India’s most successful captain would face a permanent ban from the sport and will have to bow out of the game in disgrace.

However, a twist in the story appeared last week when Officer Kumar was suspended following directions from Crime Branch- Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) of the Indian Police. The reason for the suspension appears to be a case of accepting a Rs. 5.3 million ($ 88,000 approx.) bribe from a bookie to not name him in his report. CB-CID sources have said that Officer Kumar has since turned over Rs. 3 million ($ 50,000 approx.) to the CID. While this puts his report’s credibility into question, it should not be forgotten that it was this report that exposed the entire scandal in the first place and investigations based on this report led to the arrests of a number of bookies culminating in Meiyappan’s arrest.

As a fan of Indian Cricket and CSK, I hope that Dhoni is not involved and that CSK would not be dismissed from the league due to the avarice of one man. It very well maybe the case that come next year’s World Cup and IPL, we will see the absence of India’s most successful captain and its most successful franchise.

-By Ajay Venkataraman 

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The Shadow Game: Match fixing and Betting Scandals rock Indian Cricket

As a fan of the Indian Cricket team and the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise, I was extremely surprised (and, a little angry) when news broke, in 2013, about CSK’s owner being potentially involved in betting and match fixing. For those of you unaware, betting is illegal in India and carries heavy fines and imprisonment if you are caught indulging. So, it does not stretch one’s imagination that something like match fixing would go hand in hand with betting.

Indian police arrested Gurunath Meiyappan, CSK’s team principal, in May 2013 following the conclusion of the sixth edition of the IPL, after investigating his links to previously arrested bookies. For me, this came out of nowhere and made no sense, mainly because of CSK’s on field success since the IPL’s inception till date. CSK is arguably the IPL’s best performing franchise having been crowned champions twice in 5 finals appearances and fielding Indian Cricket’s most popular player (and national team Captain) in M S Dhoni. The arrest of CSK’s owner came following the arrest of three players (including a national team player) from the Rajastan Royals franchise.

As a follower of Indian Cricket this back to back blow takes me back to the year 2000 when Indian Cricket was rocked by a match fixing scandal which resulted in the permanent ban of then India Captain Mohammed Azaruddin and a 5 year ban for popular batsman Ajay Jadeja, leaving the sport’s reputation in shambles, in India. Since then, I’ve watched (and, cheered) India recover admirably and become giants in the sport, culminating in their World Cup triumph in 2011, the pinnacle achievement in Cricket. This blow will surely bring back the uproar that was caused by the previous scandal, and at a time when the highest authority in world cricket has inducted the head of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI)- N Srinivasan (whose son-in-law is Mr. Meiyappan) to be its next President...

-By Ajay Venkataraman 

Read part two of The Shadow Game Monday on the Atlantic Post Blog.

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