From the Editors for the period 2 June to 7 July, 2024

 

Yes, we are back - Our one month pause was a chance for the editors at News & Views to relax a bit. Of course, it was impossible to relax completely, given that all around us the world continued to explode - Gaza, West Bank, South Lebanon, Sudan, DRC and elsewhere.

We hope that you too have found opportunities to take a break and enjoy time with your friends and family.

Pause or no pause, our members continued to send in articles for posting. Some were urgent or at least ‘time bound’, so we posted those as they arrived. Others were less urgent. These we kept for this week - our ‘catch up’. As a result, we have plenty of articles for you to browse this week. Our last editorial and last reminder email to members kklnwere dated 2 June, so be sure to look back through earlier articles.

In addition to some R&R, the pause gave us an opportunity to ponder our situation as editors and consider possible changes. We have lost two of our editors, bringing our already team down to only five volunteers. We are also trying to reckon with the continuing lack of articles and comments sent in by our members. It seems clear that we will need to make some major changes in how we operate. As a result, we have begun organizing some ‘listening sessions’ with our columnists and most frequent contributors. If you would like to join such a session in coming weeks, please let us know.

Those we recently lost:
Pierrette Vu Thi
Leopoldo ‘Pol’Moselina
Simon Mhaka

This Week's Feature - Jim Mohan recently discovered a report he wrote 14 years ago of a trip he made back then with Argentine friends around several countries in Europe. Travel with Jim and his friends on A Rapid Tour of Europe.

Our Columnists and Frequent Contributors
In “Divertissements” Ken Gibbs recalls ‘the Bnani Bunch’ and other pleasures of expat family life in Dhaka in the 1980’s.
Ramesh Shrestha in “Future of Truth” probes the way in which the internet and more recently artificial intelligence have damaged our understanding of truth and falsehood. He sees AI programs now manipulating truth and leading society across a bridge between reality and fiction.

Robert Cohen shared the latest innovation by Thailand's Mr. Condom and the Elderly Country Club,
Kul Gautam shared his thoughts on recent reports and articles: Can Myanmar Bounce Back?, and the 2024 SDG report.  Plus an update on the release of the English version of “Colossal Love: My Life’s Journey” by our colleague Ram Prasad Koirala - a book Kul reviewed when it was first published in Nepali.
Nuzhat Shahzadi n “Six Color Rainbow Flag”  celebrates Pride Month and recalls the stories of abuse she learned about while heading an HIV/AIDs project. Nuzhat also notes the announcement that Thailand will soon become the first southeast Asian country to recognize same-sex marriage and only the third in Asia.

Nuzhat is helping in our efforts to encourage members to share articles more often. She is suggesting a simpler format in which members give us short ‘slices’ of their daily lives. This week she offers us Man at the Giant Store as an example of how we can capture some small moment of a day in a paragraph or two. You may recall that Myra Rudin made a similar suggestion with regard to photos - just snap a photo each day of something that caught your attention - and share it. What caught your eye this week? Share your own daily ‘slice of life’ either an article or a photo.

Other 'not to miss' articles by our members
The 2025 XUNICEF Reunion is ON!! By Ces Adorna and the Philippines Reunion Team
Reflections on learning post-retirement - a year at the UPEACE by Marjan Montazemi
“My University of the World” wins a gold medal by Neill McKee - congratulations Neill!!

Articles which raise issues worth considering
Advocacy - is the value of using child advocates worth the risks?
Succession at OCHA - yet another appointment of an agency chief to a post ‘owned’ by tradition by a single nationality?
UN audit shows billions not included in conflict of interest reports

Wither OCHA? - As Martin Griffiths steps down as 'fixer-in-chief, a look at his record'
Is the UN Becoming Irrelevant? By Mark Malloch-Brown

One bit of good news - UNJSPF reports its earnings up 3.29 %  this year over 2023.

Articles on major UN / UNICEF news for the month
Gaza - As in other recent months, Palestine and especially Gaza, remains the center of UN concern and action. 

- Children lost - Of the 38,514 Palestinians killed since the war began, at least 13,800 were children. SCF reports that another 21,000 children are lost - either disappeared, detained or buried under the rubble. Meanwhile, amid the famine, at least 34 children have died from malnutrition. See ‘Faces of the Famine’

- The Black List - For the first time the SG has added Israel’s military, Hamas, and Palestine’s Islamic Jihad to the ‘black list’ of governments and organizations committing serious violations against children in armed conflict. This was the first time that Israel has been included in the annual Black Llist.

 - Water - The only positive news we can report was that UNICEF managed to reach agreement with Israel on repairs to the main water desalination plant at Khan Yunis. How this work might proceed amid repeated evacuations and attacks in the area is a question so far unanswered. However, that any UN agency could agree with Israel on anything in Gaza is remarkable. Congrats to all those involved!

Sudan - the war and famine continue unabated. Towns throughout the west and central parts of the country have repeatedly changed hands between the two armies. Particularly worrisome has been the situation around Al Fasher in Darfur, where the city has been under siege and continued attack. MSF, one of the few NGOs, operating there was finally forced to close its operations.

Yemen - 13 UN staff and an undetermined number of NGO workers were arrested and held under unclear charges. Those detained include staff of UN Human Rights, WHO and at least one UNICEF staff member. Negotiations for their release have so far not succeeded.

Comments We Received

This week's summary is unusually long, but keep in mind that it covers a full month of news and opinions.

Tom McDermott

Editor for this week