BANGLADESH, January 6, 2019 (LA Times): In the world’s largest refugee camp, where 1.1 million Rohingya Muslim refugees reside, 105 families have been stranded — caught in a war that was not theirs. Unlike the rest of the refugees, these families are Rohingya Hindus — a small minority within a minority that had lived peacefully for generations in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state alongside Muslims and members of the Buddhist majority. In the violence that engulfed Rakhine beginning in August 2017 — when Rohingya Muslim militants attacked police checkpoints and the army responded by killing or maiming thousands of Muslim civilians — 99 Hindus were killed and burned in mass graves. The Hindu villages were attacked by members of a militant group called the Arakhan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, that was also responsible for the attacks against the police. Hindus who survived fled in the only direction they could: across the Naf River and into Bangladesh’s sprawling refugee camps meant for Rohingya Muslims, the very people they blame for the violence against them.
Fifteen months into the crisis, the Hindus’ minority status has sharpened: While Rohingya Muslims have categorically rejected a plan that would repatriate the refugees, Hindus are ready to return to Myanmar, a view that has placed them at odds with the vast majority of people in the camps [where Hindus have even been attacked]. In May 2018, the United Nations struck a deal with the Myanmar government under which refugees would be allowed to return to Rakhine, although not necessarily to their original villages. The deal was widely criticized for not meeting the Rohingya Muslims’ main demands: a restoration of citizenship rights that they have been denied for decades, freedom of movement and guarantees of safety. Within hours, the Hindu families were packed and ready to go. But many Muslim refugees protested the terms. Human rights group assailed the plan as unworkable. The United Nations refugee agency has shelved the plan — a welcome move for the majority of refugees, but one that has pushed the Hindus to the edge of their endurance.
More at ”source”.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, September 19, 2018 (AP News): The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine–a nonprofit with 12,000 doctor members–applauds California Gov. Jerry Brown for signing into law a landmark bill that guarantees patients a healthful plant-based option at every meal. Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) authored Senate Bill 1138, which was co-sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Social Compassion in Legislation. ”Whether to protect animals, our climate or our health, those of us who choose to eat a vegan diet can celebrate today with Gov. Brown’s signing of SB 1138,” says Sen. Skinner. ”SB 1138 ensures that people in hospitals, healthcare facilities, or prison have access to plant-based meals.”
SB 1138 will require licensed California health care facilities and state prisons to make available plant-based meal options containing no animal products or by-products, including meat, poultry, fish, dairy, or eggs. ”Thanks to Sen. Nancy Skinner and Gov. Jerry Brown for passing this historic law that will provide plant-based options to hospital patients looking to fight heart disease, diabetes, and obesity–or who simply want a more healthful meal,” says Physicians Committee president Neal Barnard, M.D., F.A.C.C. ”Now, it’s time for California hospitals to start putting into practice the plant-based meals recommended by the American Medical Association and the American College of Cardiology.”
All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.
— Swami Vivekananda, (1863-1902) founder Ramakrishna Mission
