[ ‘SHARE’ Sept-Oct 2014 ] TAKING ACTION
Written by: Samantha Wong
It is hard to maintain one’s beliefs and dreams in a stifling society. Instead of blindly following the world in aiming for a good job, it is better to spend time identifying one’s purpose in life and run towards one’s goal. I decided to spend my gap year seeing and delving into Father God’s world, and I had the precious opportunity of spending three months at CEDAR.
[ ‘SHARE’ Jul-Aug 2014 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS
Dropping out of school after a few short years, child labour and early marriage seem to be the only options for many Bangladeshi girls.
With little access to birth control, Bangladeshi families are large, so it is already hard to feed the household, let alone provide education for the children. Because of the male-dominant culture, girls, especially the older ones, are usually forced to give up school. Further, a dowry is obligatory, the amount of which increases as the bride gets older, and hence impoverished families try to marry off their girls young so to ease their financial burden.
Trisna is the second oldest child in her family – the eldest sister is already married and her younger siblings are at school. The whole family’s livelihood depends on the father’s meagre income as a security guard.
The parents do want education for Trisna but they lack the means – they even considered marrying off Trisna to alleviate the family burden.
In places like India, Nepal and Bangladesh, many girls drop out of school and earn income by sewing. Trisna belongs to a girls group in a youth development program of CEDAR’s partner, PARI. Through regular meetings, members learn about legal protections for underage girls and the shortcomings of early marriage; members also enhance their sewing skills there.
Yet Trisna’s biggest wish is to return to school. Encouraged by her group members, Trisna has started to save up money from her sewing for her own school fees. Her parents gladly let Trisna continue school if fees are not a problem, because they know that education leads to a better life.
Trisna’s father says, “I never imagine that anyone would help my daughter like this. Trisna has learned a lot from the group and I am very grateful for PARI’s help that Trisna can have a brighter future.”
‘Join Hands Join Hearts’ Children Ministry Scheme
[ePrayer – Pray for the Migrant Workers in Qatar]
According to the Nepal officials, among those Nepali migrant workers involving in the construction work for the World Cup event in Qatar, at least 185 died last year. Many of them died because of acute heart disease and injuries at work. The total deaths of Nepali migrant workers total to 382 in the last two years, in Qatar alone. An Amnesty International report released last November informs us that migrant workers in Qatar suffer a series of abuses such as working 12 hours per day during the summer months when temperatures regularly reach 45C, long delay in receiving their wage payment, harsh and dangerous working conditions, and squalid and overcrowded living environment. FIFA and Ministry of Labour in Qatar promised to take action to ensure the safety of workers but no improvements are made so far.
Qatar is an Arab country locating in south west of Asia. The decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was made in December 2010, and since then, Qatar has made use of migrant workers to fulfill the huge construction need. At present, over 2 million migrant workers are working in the country and one sixth of them are Nepali. Others come from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. According to the official 2013 statistics, Qatar has a population of about 2 million but only 10 percent of them are Qatari citizens. The number of migrant workers is expected to rise further with burgeoning construction demands.
Migrant workers are subject to a labor system which is the source of trafficking and forced labor. Qatar follows the kafala sponsorship system in regulating the non-technical migrant workers. This system ties a migrant worker’s legal status to his sponsoring employer The sponsor is a legal control to secure the funding in obtaining the working visa, accommodation, and other legal benefits. If a migrant worker wants to change job or exit the country, he needs to obtain consent from his sponsor. Qatar prohibits migrant workers from unionizing or striking, and this makes them very difficult to seek assistance if face unjust treatment. Despite all these, tens of thousands of impoverished Nepalis continue to head every year to Qatar fighting for a job. [Guardian#1][Guardian#2][Asiaone][HRW]
Meditate on Scripture:
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’ Leviticus 23:22
‘For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.’ Deuteronomy 10:17-19
The Israelites were oppressed as forced labours in Egypt, and God rescued and brought them out of Egypt. God ordered the Israelites to love the foreigners since they should know how it feels to be foreigners as they were foreigners in Egypt before. Though we might not experience foreigner’s life now, God watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow. Hence, we should reflect His nature and character in our manners and behaviours. We should also learn how to see the world through His eyes, understand and remember the needs of the poor. May His justice and mercy prevail.
Pray for the Migrant Workers in Qatar:
[ ‘SHARE’ Jan-Feb 2014 – Who Is Willing to Be Their Neighbour? ] FOCUS ~ SOCIAL CONCERN
Interviewed and written by> Jojo & Tiffany
In September 2013 the HKSAR Government has set the poverty line for Hong Kong to be 50% of median monthly household income, and the Policy Address in January 2014 has announced a series of poverty amelioration measures. A poverty line may help the Government set appropriate poverty alleviation policies, but data and a line cannot define or reflect the real situation of poverty and the voices and expectations of marginalised groups.
The three interviewees below are from different origins and backgrounds. You may see from their sharing how the personal experiences and life expectations of different social groups among them display the uniqueness in life value that is beyond numbers and a line.
[ePrayer – Pray for victims of human trafficking in Nepal]
Human trafficking affects over 20 million people worldwide. Women are particularly vulnerable. 80% of those trafficked domestically and internationally for labour and sexual exploitation are women and girls, and 98% of sex slaves are female.
Nepal is a high-risk country for trafficking. Female make up 86% of the total number of trafficking victims (12,000 annually) from Nepal. This is because they are especially vulnerable due to limited economic opportunities, illiteracy or low education, and low socioeconomic and cultural status. Nepali girls face dangers of being sold and transported across borders to neighboring countries like India, where there is high demand for cheap girls for sexual slavery.
On the other hand, girls also face dangers in their own communities. Within Nepal, there exists a culture of bonded (or indentured) servitude for lower-class families. Since access to currency is low, families will exchange labour for room and board, creating a bonded servitude arrangement. A family who is indebted to their landlord will often bond their daughter to him for labour. Bonded girls, some of whom are very young, often work in harsh conditions and are commonly abused physically and sexually. [UNODC, IRIN News, childreach, SIS]
Pray for victims of human trafficking in Nepal:
