Continent Watch

North America, United States
Brad Paladini
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, children as young as 13 working are allowed to work in agriculture for an unlimited number of hours if they have their parent’s permission to do so. Working in agriculture is four times as dangerous as any other working environment for youths. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard of California is currently working to introduce legislation to limit the number of hours children can work.

Oceania, Fiji
Ali Byler
Amnesty International released a report in September detailing the increasingly severe human rights violations that are taking place in Fiji. President Ratu Josefa Iloilo enacted the Public Emergency Regulations (PER) terminating Fiji’s Constitution in April 2009 and bestowing upon himself the ultimate power to make laws. The PER grants military personnel immunity from liability if “the use of such force cause harm or death to any person”, which has resulted in severe abuse of human rights in the forms of unfair arrests, beatings, detainments, and overall inhumane treatment of anyone expressing views inconsistent with those of the current government. The most common targets of this abuse have been political activists, clergy, lawyers, journalists, and government critics.

South America, Peru
Jessica Ponce
Peru has become the desired destination for asylum seekers, usually escaping political persecution, in Latin America,. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez arrested two particular men who opposed his law that would bring political indoctrination into Venezuelan schools. Both men were charged with conspiring to commit and instigate crimes during a demonstration and both requested asylum in Peru to avoid going to trial in a country where the justice system does not provide fair trials and is severely controlled by the government.

Africa, Guinea
Bhavani Peesapati
Mass protests are currently taking place in Guinea to protest rumors that Junta head Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara intends to run for president in an election scheduled for next January. Guinean soldiers have responded by using tear gas, firing ammunition into crowds, and publicly raping women. Human rights groups are estimating that over 150 civilians have been killed and are working with the UN and the African Union to try and subdue the violence.

Asia, Burma
Amy Kim
Burma’s military government has more than doubled its political prisoner population in the last two years, reaching a total of more than 2,200 prisoners. These prisoners have been sentenced to long prison terms resulting from unfair trials for speaking out against military rule and from criticism of government actions or policies, specifically of the obstacles to humanitarian relief following Cyclone Nargis, which dealt a devastating blow to Burma in May 2008. The activists have been charged per Burma’s archaic penal code which criminalizes free expression, peaceful demonstration, and forming of independent organizations. There are 43 known political activist prisons with poor medical and sanitation conditions and more than 50 labor camps where prisoners are subjected to hard labor. Moreover, the government has a practice of transferring prisoners to remote areas, placing huge burdens on family members desiring to visit and bring essentials, such as medicine and food. The Human Rights Watch has a global campaign, “2100 by 2010,” asking for the release of 2,100 political prisoners by the scheduled 2010 elections.

Middle East, Turkey
Arine Harapeti
For years, the Turkish lobby has been pressuring world governments and media, especially in the U.S., to exclude the Armenian Genocide from history, and recent events have shown exactly how far they are willing to go. David Krikorian, a candidate for the Ohio 2nd congressional district elections for 2010, exposed the current Congresswoman holding that seat, Jean Schmidt, along with many other Congressman of taking bribes from the Turkish lobby to further the campaign of denial. Former FBI linguist, S. Edmonds, testified as to these facts during the Ohio Elections Commission hearings which are still in progress. These hearings are expected to expose the corrupt, illegal and immoral actions, not only of the Turkish still in progress. These hearings are expected to expose the corrupt, illegal and immoral actions, not only of the Turkish campaign, but also of U.S. elected officials working to hide the truth.

Nick Vujicic - A Life Without Limbs

Join IHRLS on Thursday, April 16 at 12:00 in 3A for an event not to be missed!

Meet Nick Vujicic!

Imagine being born without arms. No arms to wrap around a friend, no hands to hold the ones you love, no fingers to experience touch. No way to lift and carry things. How much more difficult would life be if you were living without arms and hands? Or what about legs? Imagine if instead of no arms, you had no legs. No ability to dance, walk, run, or even stand. Now put both of those scenarios together… no arms and no legs. What would you do? How would that affect your everyday life?

Meet Nick Vujicic. Born in 1982 in Brisbane, Australia, without any medical explanation or warning, Nicholas Vujicic came into the world with neither arms nor legs. Imagine the shock his parents felt when they saw their first born, brand new baby boy for the first time only to find he was what the world would consider imperfect and abnormal. A limbless son was not what nurse Dushka Vujicic, and her husband Pastor Boris Vujicic had been expecting. How would their son live a normal happy life? What could he ever do or become when living with such a massive disability? Little did they or anyone else know that this beautiful limbless baby would one day be someone who would inspire and motivate people from all walks of life. God uses Nick to touch lives and bring the hope of Jesus Christ to people across the globe.

Throughout his childhood Nick dealt not only with the typical challenges of school and adolescence such as bullying and self-esteem issues; he also struggled with depression and loneliness. He constantly questioned why he was different to all the other kids surrounding him; why he was the one born without arms and legs. He wondered what the purpose behind his life was, or if he even had a purpose. According to Nick the victory over his struggles throughout his journey, as well as the strength and passion he has for life can be credited to his faith in God. His family, his friends and the many people he has encountered during his life have also encouraged him along the way.

After school Nick went on with further study and obtained a double bachelor degree majoring in accounting and financial planning. By the age of 19 Nick started to fulfill his dream of being able to encourage other people and bring them the gospel of Jesus, through motivational speaking and sharing his testimony about how God changed his life and gave him a future and a hope. “I found the purpose of my existence, and also the purpose of my circumstance… There’s a purpose for why you’re in the fire.” Nick wholeheartedly believes that there is a purpose in each of the struggles we encounter in our lives and that our attitude towards those struggles, along with our faith and trust in the Lord can be the keys to overcoming the challenges we face.

Now at 25 years old this limbless young man has accomplished more than most people even twice his age. Nick recently made the massive move from Brisbane, Australia to California, USA, where he is the president of an international non-profit organization; Life Without Limbs, and also has his own motivational speaking company; Attitude Is Altitude. Since his first speaking engagement back when he was 19, Nick has traveled around the world, sharing his story with millions of people, speaking to a range of different groups such as students, teachers, youth, business men and women, entrepreneurs, and church congregations of all sizes. He has also told his story and been interviewed on various televised programs worldwide.

“If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart!”

http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

New IHRLS Board!

Welcome 2009-10 Board!

Here are our new leaders:

President : Camille Lucidi
Vice President : Vienna Munro
Esteemed Secretary : Shelly Caterino
Esteemed Treasurer : Jennifer Cullimore
Web Dude Extraordinaire : Justin Trauben


We love you! You will carry the torch far and bright!

With love,

Jessie
Outgoing President IHRLS