XUNICEF News and Views

Recent press reports indicate that Russian forces have continued to transfer children - both orphans and those with families - for resettlement in Russia.  Some 1,800 Ukrainian children were transferred to Russia in July alone.  UNICEF has remained surprisingly silent so far despite recent statements by  Russian officials confirming the transfer of children from recently occupied parts of Ukraine and their settlement with  Russian families across Russia.  Earlier this year UNICEF did speak out.  In June Afshan Khan, RD for  Europe and Central Asia said, " Ukrainian children should not be adopted in Russia, where several thousand young people are believed to have been moved since Moscow's February invasion. We're reiterating, including to the Russian Federation, that adoption should never occur during or immediately after emergencies," This followed a joint statement by Catherine Russell and Filippo Grandi in March stating that, "Adoption should not occur durin

People in 42 different countries across the world faced reprisals and intimidation on the basis of their cooperation with the United Nations to defend human rights, according to the annual UN report on the issue, which also highlights other disturbing trends. For a third of the countries named in the report, individuals and groups either refrained from cooperation, or only agreed to report on an anonymous basis, for fear of reprisals . “Shocking though this number is, many cases of reprisals are not even reported,” Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights ( OHCHR ) Ilze Brands Kehris told the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday. The report, Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights , details how victims of rights violations, human rights defenders and journalists have suffered reprisals and intimidation by States and non-State actors – including by being detained, targeted by restrictive legislation and surveilled both

The XUNICEF Editorial Team was deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of all our XUNICEF families living in Florida. The scenes of the area in the path of Hurricane Ian, one of the deadliest to make landfall there were horrific and alarming.  Our thanks go to Oscar Fernandez who quickly extrapolated a list of Floridian members in our network. Early 29th morning, we emailed XUNICEF friends, enquired into their well-being with the hope that they and their loved ones were spared Ian’s wrath that has left catastrophic damage in its wake. We also requested them to share any news they receive from other XUNICEFers. Madan Aurora, XUNICEF focal point responded that the 28th night was scary with some areas devastated. However, he had not yet heard any reports from UN retirees. Bilge Ogun who is still in Italy indicated that her home on the East Coast of Florida was saved from the eye of the storm, but she expressed her concern for other UNICEF colleagues. Marty Rajendran indicated th

We began to receive a high volume of visitors in Herat. The UNICEF-western region office (Herat) caught the eye of the colleagues in Kabul and NYHQ, somewhat. One morning (2007), our project assistant GH informed me about the arrival of my first visitor of the day. There were no early hour appointments scheduled, though. In a minute, she ushered in a boy-guest to my office––11 or 12 years old, small for his age, fiery-calmness trapped in his eyes. He smiled at me rather nervously. “Hello,” I said and extended my hand. He shook it gently. A shy smile hovered on his face, lighted up his eyes.   The Editor and His Assistant “What brings you here?” It was refreshing to begin the day with a child than bigoted adults. Physical contacts between women and men were/(are) restricted in Afghanistan unless they were close family members. But if a woman extended her hand first, it was decency (for a man, though not a relative) to do a handshake––I was briefed early when I joined the Herat-office. M

The Lancet has an interesting comment about the status of the health system in Afghanistan. The comment is accessible to all free of charge. The authors Najibullah Safi, Palwasha Anwari and Helah Safim state that the political transition in mid-August, 2021 and the temporary pausing of funding to the health system from the World Bank and other donors have jeopardised the gains made in the past two decades.They add that access to primary health care, particularly for women and children, remains a major concern in Afghanistan. Restriction on women's movements without Mahram (unmarriageable male kin or husband) has reduced access of women and children to health-care services. However, with the financing of some health services and reduced active conflict in the country, there are signs that women are accessing some services. Improvement of public health, the authors continue, requires a multisectoral approach. Besides other sectors, education, particularly for girls, is crucial to e

Photo by Luzma Buschwick (1) Albert Einstein's wife often suggested that he dress more professionally when he headed off to work. "Why should I?" he would invariably argue. "Everyone knows me there." (2) When the time came for Einstein to attend his first major conference, she begged him to dress up a bit. "Why should I?" said Einstein. "No one knows me there!" (3) Albert Einstein was often asked to explain the general theory of relativity. "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour," he once declared. "Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity!" (4) When Albert Einstein was working in Princeton university, one day he was going back home he forgot his home address. The driver of the cab did not recognize him. Einstein asked the driver if he knows Einstein's home. The driver said "Who does not know Einstein's address? Everyone in Princeton k

When you are bored just think about a few things that don't make sense ... 1. If poison expires, is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous? 2. Which letter is silent in the word "Scent," the S or the C? 3. Do twins ever realize that one of them is unplanned? 4. Why is the letter W, in English, called double U? Shouldn't it be called double V? 5. Maybe oxygen is slowly killing you and It just takes 75-100 years to fully work. 6. Every time you clean something, you just make something else dirty. 7. The word "swims" upside-down is still "swims" 8. 100 years ago everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has cars and only the rich own horses. 9. If you replace "W" with "T" in "What, Where and When", you get the answer to each of them. Six great confusions still unresolved 😄😂 1. At a movie theatre, which arm rest is yours? 2. If people evolve from monkeys, why are monkeys still around? 3. W

This week I continue the" thematic" approach with another presentation on the 1975 International Women's Year (IWY). Although near to fifty years have passed since that historic UN Event, and while much progress has been made all over the world, the issue of gender parity is still relevant in varying degrees in many places. Also in many countries we are seeing  a reversal of situations regarding women after much work and development, so that it is still an issue that requires more effort on many fronts. For IWY there was much philatelic materials issued by many countries, some of which I am showing this week. The first item is a stamp issued by the Republic of Rwanda for IWY. The design is a reproduction of a Mary Cassatt oil painting entitled, "the Child's Bath" in which a mother is helping her child wash its feet in a basin.The painting was done in 1893 and the US artist was apparently inspired by Japanese woodblocks using her favourite theme of women and

There is much thinking and researching in the medical world about the number of steps one person ought to do daily. I am personally not militant about it, but I personally consider the number of steps, as reported by your pace counting device, this be an iPhone or other, a motivating goal. There is no doubt that walking is one of the best ways to maintain good health. It requires no special equipment, and many people continue walking well into old age or while living with a chronic health condition. Walking with others can be a rewarding social activity, and variations like weighted walking, Nordic walking, and even walking backward, have their own benefits. Medical News Today ,  reported on two new studies that highlight how walking helps us maintain a healthy mind. First, researchers found that walking around 4,000 steps per day may reduce a person’s risk of developing dementia by 25%, while walking 10,000 steps could halve it. In the second study, researchers in Germany compared wa

Deported Ukrainian children arrive in Murmansk “The kids are very positive and nice, and my first meeting with them was very warm-hearted and emotional,” Governor Andrei Chibis said as he welcomed the newcomers. “I believe that our North will be a good home for them,” the governor underlined. In the group were several kids aged only 6-7 years, a video from the governor’s office shows. According to Chibis, the kids will live in foster families in the towns of Kandalaksha, Kovdor., Polyarnye Zori and Olenegorsk. The Ukrainian youngsters are part of a big group of kids that have been moved from occupied lands to Russian regions. Many of them forcefully, against their will. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in June expressed her concern about the children that are being “forcibly deported” from the occupied areas and taken to Russia for adoption. The UN agency has looked into allegations that youngsters are being taken from orphanages in Donbas In a sta

New data: The Power of Education to End Child Marriage  A girl who is married in childhood faces lifelong consequences.  Girls married young are far less likely to stay in school - according to the latest data, a staggering 87 per cent of married adolescent girls are out of school.  While keeping girls in school is widely acknowledged as one of the best protections against child marriage, new data reveal just how impactful education can be in the efforts to eliminate this harmful practice. On the occasion of the Transforming Education Summit at the 77th United Nations General Assembly, UNICEF released new analysis entitled “The Power of Education to End Child Marriage”. Among the key findings:The girls most at risk of becoming child brides are those with little or no education. Every year of schooling matters, but advancing through secondary school is especially protective. If all girls were to complete secondary school, the level of child marriage would likely fall by two thirds (66 p

In his strongest, gloomiest speech since taking the helm of the United Nations in 2017, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the six-day gathering telling leaders that the survival of humanity and the planet are at stake, and nations aren’t tackling the challenges to reverse course. “We are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction,” he said. “Our world is in peril — and paralyzed.”  The war in Ukraine and its global fallout transfixed the meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly this year. When it wasn’t out front, it lurked in the background of virtually every speech. There were near-unanimous calls for an end to the seven-month war, with rich and poor countries decrying the fallout from the conflict — widespread shortages and rising prices not only for food but for energy, inflation hitting the cost of living everywhere, and growing global inequality. The speeches and side meetings produced no breakthroughs toward peace, but they did put the top diplomats from

SDG, ECOSOC, P5+1: Seeking meaning in the UN's coded lingo The Sec-Gen. Perm Reps. The SDGs. ECOSOC, UNDP, OCHA. Stockholm+50. Welcome to UNGA . The United Nations, like many large institutions, has its own language. For the dignitaries, bureaucrats, journalists and officials who walk these halls regularly, this alphanumeric soup has meaning and perhaps even facilitates communication. But during the handful of days every year when scores of world leaders descend on the U.N. campus in New York, so, too, do many people unfamiliar with these semantic shortcuts. One organizational chart of the U.N. system lists more than 70 acronyms, from DESA to WFP. The Group of 77 confusingly has 134 members — a contradiction explained on its website as a choice meant to honor the “historical significance” of the original name. To visitors, it can sometimes seem that language is being used to obscure meaning rather than elucidate it. Those visitors must go uptown to go back down in order to access

I slept badly because my tooth ached.  Actually, it felt like it was on fire. How to find a dentist that you feel you can trust not to infect you with hepatitis ?  Well, just phone the ABC - the Albanian-British Collaboration or some such title - so I did.  I had been told that ‘even’ the British Embassy uses the ABC but was hoping that this was not a commentary on how inexpensive it would be.  I get a charming lady on the other end who says that they don't do anything themselves but only recommend well trained dentists who speak English.   'You have a problem with your teeth ?'  'Well, er, yes.'   'Then phone Mr XYZ (which, luckily, was spelled out as it was completely unpronounceable) after 4pm weekdays and 12 noon on Saturdays.  He is British trained - as if this makes him an angel of mercy.  My experience of British dentists suggests otherwise. The time is 09:00 and the fire feels like it is being fed high octane fuel.  As there seems nothing else I can do,

An interesting article about the young African woman appointed to be the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador on climate, with some very relevant comments about how once again, actions by Africans are being sidelined. Hope all’s well, Janet ‘Africa Is on the Frontlines but Not the Front Pages’: Vanessa Nakate on Her Climate Fight Vanessa Nakate knows what it’s like to be Black and overlooked. In January 2020, an Associated Press photographer cropped Nakate from a picture of youth climate activists at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, leaving her friend Greta Thunberg and three other white young women in the shot. It triggered widespread outrage , rightly so, but Nakate regards that very personal experience as a symbol of how the voices and experiences of Black – and Brown and Indigenous – communities are routinely erased. “Africa is on the frontlines of the climate crisis but it’s not on the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Every activist who speaks out is telling a story ab

This week we test your memory on who were the first Representatives in five UNICEF country offices. Refresh your memory and re-read their articles by clicking on the links given below. 1.  Laos - who was the first UNICEF Representative? Not sure?  Check the article "Children on Both Sides" which appeared in our Quarterly of June 2021   2. Sudan - who was the first UNICEF Representative? Not sure? - check the article "Suddenly, Sudan and its Sudd" which appeared as a feature article on our website on August 24, 2022. 3. Namibia - who was the first UNICEF Representative? Not sure? - check the article "Present at the Birth" which appeared in our June 2021 Quarterly. 4. Russia - who was the first UNICEF Representative? Not sure? - check the article "Pillow Talk in Moscow" which appeared in our Quarterly of  September 2021. 5. China - who was the first UNICEF Representative? Not sure - check the article "The Doctor from Neuchâtel" which a

The movement against vaccinations is expanding and is the cause of deadly outbreaks of fully preventable  diseases like measles. In addition, the COVID 19 pandemic brought disruptions of routine immunizations in several countries in Africa as the New York Times World (@nytimesworld) tweeted on Saturday Sep 24, 2022 reporting about Zimbabwe: In Zimbabwe, Covid disrupted routine immunizations, the public health system has been crippled by political and economic crises, and an evangelical church warns parents against vaccinations. Now more than 700 children have died in a measles outbreak. https://t.co/ltHQ5ZeWRU ( https://twitter.com/nytimesworld/status/1573854844149972997?t=J15EfsDAJkWqmxZ5aOiFKA&s=03 )

The Toronto Reunion team of Mahendra Sheth, Mahboob Shareef, and Niloufar Pourzand continue planning the August/September 2023 Reunion and will be sharing more information in due course.  If you plan to join the reunion, please send an email to:       Mahboob Sharif mahboobshareef9@gmail.com cc: Mahendra Sheth mahensheth@gmail.com       Niloufar Pourzand nilypourzand@gmail.com> If you need a Canadian visa, please note that you should begin the process of applying early. There is a backlog of visa applications at embassies and the process can take up to six months.

Welcome to a brief overview of articles that appeared last week on our website. Please don't stop here - be sure to browse the full list of articles that appeared this week. xunicefnewsandviews.blogspot.com Our Feature of the Week Wales and Borders Photo Tour by David Bull David Bull takes us on a tour to Wales, a region  he likes and where he goes often. His breathtaking photographs, taken in all seasons, make you want to visit Wales. David  has many little stories to tell, and he gives us a lot of background information to many of his pictures. You may also marvel at some of the spellings of the names of the characters he is talking about, and try to pronounce  Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn. Click here Our Columnists This Week  Fouad Kronfol:  Soliloquy 70: The International Women's Year, 1975    Gianni Murzi:  Speeding Up Your Daily Walk Could Have Big Benefits  Ken Gibbs: Arranging the Furniture  Nuzhat Shahzadi:  Something New, Something Old, Something whatever  Rame