Daily Archives: March 31, 2020

By KHAKHUDU AGUNDAMore by this Author

The word curfew has not been so animatedly spoken about in the country for a long time.

It is, of course, something that does not happen often. And when it does, the peoples lives are drastically changed.

Ironically, the tough measures imposed are for the direct benefit of those who see them as a form of oppression.

However, when the curfew is finally lifted, it is a moment of celebration for all, as they look forward to resuming their normal lives.

I have in my life witnessed only one curfew. Therefore, the one that begins tonight, as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, evokes harrowing memories.

Nearly 40 years ago, precisely on August 1, 1982, some elements in the Kenya Air Force attempted to overthrow the second President of Kenya, Daniel arap Moi.

I was then a student at the University of Nairobi and lived in the Halls of Residence on Lower State House Road. A 6pm-to-7am curfew would then be declared.

The coup attempt happened early in the morning on August 1, and for six hours, some disorderly Air Force rebels were literally in power, having announced the takeover on the Voice of Kenya Radio, just across Uhuru Highway, from our Halls of Residence.

On August 2, President Moi announced that the attempt by junior Air Force officers to overthrow his government had been crushed.

He then advised Kenyans to stay at home "until this trouble is over". However, some sporadic firing could still be heard amid a mopping-up operation by loyal soldiers, mostly from the infantry, led by Major-General Mahmoud Mohamed.

He would later be promoted to a full general and appointed the Chief of Defence Forces.

The University of Nairobi had been a vibrant place for robust academic and social life. It had been boisterous, highly politicised, funny, and interesting, and then the gloom descended.

The worst thing about a curfew is the great uncertainty about personal safety and even whether there will be food.

Suddenly, your freedom to move about and enjoy yourself is gone. The short distance between the Main Campus on University Way, for us, became a no-go zone during the nearly five days.

It was a dusk-to-dawn curfew that turned the once vibrant university community into a rather life-less place.

We could not party anymore and worse, we could not even move around and did not know for how long this denial of freedom would go on.

It was as if death lurked everywhere. You could not even venture into the city centre. Nightlife was dead. There were no lectures. Nothing.

Unlike today, there were no mobile phones and, therefore, many of us who had relatives in the citys residential areas could not visit them.

My father and part of our family lived at Jericho Estate in the Eastlands. It felt like being marooned on a remote island, with anxiety heightened by reports of killings in the mop-up operation against the Air Force rebels who had been overpowered and driven out the old Voice of Kenya, where they had announced the takeover.

It was scaring. Some people, who will never shy away from taking advantage of such adversities, were out looting the shops and the city centre looked like a ghost town.

It didnt help matters that some university student leaders had foolishly appeared to endorse the coup.

However, it was not surprising, as the relations between the students and the increasingly oppressive government, which had been strained, were at their worst.

Being confined to our rooms and hardly venturing out felt like being in a jail.

Hardly was there any physical presence of the soldiers or the GSU, but the students dared not move around, and they knew that being identified as one, and therefore, a rebel sympathiser could spell doom. It felt like being abandoned on an island for eternity.

It was the first attempted coup in Kenya, which had been independent for 19 years, and considered a haven of peace in a sea of regional turbulence.

Next door, Uganda presented the worst-case scenario, having endured military dictatorship and a struggle for the restoration of democracy and human rights raging.

No wonder when the curfew was called off, the students poured out of the Halls of Residence in a mad rush, headed for the residential areas and many to try and find a way to head upcountry.

Scores of student leaders and many others had been arrested, quickly tried and jailed, some for up to six months or more.

On August 7, 1982, the government eased the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed after the abortive Sunday coup as much of Nairobi returned to normal.

Most government offices were back in operation. Businesses reopened, traffic returned to normal and tourists were returning.

The deathly silence, with gloom hovering over all, remains etched in my mind.

See the rest here:

Under the curfew lurks gloom, fear and anxiety - Daily Nation

The Herald

Elliot Ziwira Senior WriterMusic is neither provocative nor defeatist, for it tells a tale in many ways through its evocation of the sensuous neurons; it appeals to the heart.

Since time immemorial women have managed to keep their heads above the rising tornadoes of their existence through song.

They have made it possible for their feelings to be discernible, even to a society that seemed to be impenetrable as a product of their realisation that a story does not die because it is not told, but dies if it is told to deaf ears; the heart listens.

In the book Women Musicians of Zimbabwe: A Celebration of Womens Struggle for Voice and Artistic Expression: 1930s-2013 (2013) Joyce Jenje Makwenda captures more than 75 years of the musical expression of womens travails.

The 1930s belonged to Laina Mattaka and Evelyn Juba, who were reported as the pioneers of township jazz music by the African Daily News.

Their music was a fusion of negro spirituals, gospel and traditional music.

The 1940s and 50s saw the rise of Reni Nyamundanda and the De Black Evening Follies, Faith Dauti with the Milton Brothers and the Gay Gaieties and Dorothy Masuka. Dorothy Masuka rode on the crest of a new wave of expansion and investment in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which created opportunities for entertainment.

Township music suffered a temporary glitch in the 1960s and 70s which saw new genres of music dominating.

Susan Chenjerai and Susan Mapfumo rose to prominence around this period.

The liberation struggle inspired songstresses like The Two Singing Nuns, the Chataika Sisters, who sang mostly gospel songs with their brother, Jordan, and Virginia Sillah.

As the flame of Independence illuminated the airwaves in 1980, more opportunities opened up for musical expression and women rose to the occasion.

Traditional instruments like the mbira and ngoma were on a rebound with the likes of Beaulah Dyoko, Stella Chiweshe, Elizabeth Ncube, Francisca Muchena, Irene Chigamba, Taruwona Mushore and Chiwoniso Maraire taking mbira music to the international stage.

In the 1980s, the appreciation for gospel music grew as Shuvai Wutawunashe made her mark.

Busi Ncube and Rozalla Miller, the Queen of Rave, of the Everyone is Free fame became household names.

Township jazz made a rebound around this period and its flame continues to glow in the hands of Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, Dudu Manhenga, Patience Musa, Rute Mbangwa, Nomsa Mhlanga and Hope Masike.

Jenje Makwenda reiterates how Independence, which Zimbabweans will be celebrating for the 40th time on April 18, 2020, revolutionised the airwaves to create space for local artistes.

She notes how urban grooves popularised by Memory Zaranyika, Plaxedes Wenyika, Betty Makaya, Pauline Gundidza, Portia Njazi aka Tia, Tambudzayi Hwaramba and Kudzai Sevenzo, benefited from the Governments 75 percent local content directive to local stations.

She cites Selmor Mtukudzi, one of the beneficiaries of the initiative: The 75 percent introduced by Government meant that we could get to listen to my music, people would get to hear of me, even though I hadnt recorded, then it gave me hope that in the event that I want to record and do something, I would have a listener-ship, because then our music was not played much. We used to hear musicians like Beyonce and everyone else, but ours was not played.

Although Governments directive is commendable, and society has been forthcoming in giving an ear to womens plight highlighted through music, a lot still needs to be done for that musical appreciation to be fully articulated.

The music industry still remains the preserve of men to a great extent because of stereotypical inclinations steeped in patriarchal societies.

Women musicians do not only suffer financial barricades, but are considered morally bankrupt.

A woman may rise to the apex before she marries, but once matrimony comes, her decline also becomes inevitable.

The challenges that come with wifehood and motherhood may be baneful to her career and as a result the suffering and oppression of her ilk will continue unabated, as the voice that should come to the defence of their toil is stifled.

Laina Gumboreshumba, whose musical career started at an early age and is working on a PhD in Music at Rhodes University, says: I think the demands of a musical career and the demands of marriage for a woman as expected by the husband and the society at large clash As a result many men are not comfortable with their wives tackling the heavy schedule and working odd hours.

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Celebrating womanhood through music - The Herald

The Socio-economic vulnerabilities of the marginalized are spiralling out of control by the imprudent Social Distancing measures. Prime Minister Narendra Modis sudden announcement of a 21-day nationwide lockdown has taken a serious toll on the vulnerable sections of the society. Disturbing visuals of the exodus of migrant workers from the metro cities to their home states caught the BJP government off guard. The Modi government had barely thought through the impact of a national lockdown equipped with strict social distancing measures. While the social distancing measures are effective ways to slow the community transmission of coronavirus pandemic, it is also meant to put large sections of the working class at greater risk. As the chores across the country, "If we dont die of the coronavirus, we will die of hunger" already started growing among the poor migrant labourers and unstable contract workers amidst safe distancing policies, the whole idea of social distance may fall through without adequately addressing the livelihood concerns of the have nots of the state. Indias exponential slowdown of the growth has been creating adverse impacts on the per capita incomes of the weaker sections of the society. Hence, a phase-wise roll out of cluster based isolation at an early stage would have prepared Indias poor and destitute to cope with national lockdown effects. The consequences of drastic actions by the Modi government substantially generated social vulnerabilities and gave birth to ethical concerns that reinforce the process of otherness on the economically marginal classes. Now there is a growing need for social safeguarding to secure the livelihoods.

Coronavirus Pandemic: Follow All The Live Updates Here

Social Vulnerabilities

As social distancing has become a global buzzword in the wake of Coronavirus pandemic, the privileged rich and upper middle class communities are responding to it seamlessly whereas many marginalised groups are susceptible to potential harm. On March 24 evening, immediately after the Prime Ministers announcement of 21-day national lockdown, brought migrant workers, and contract workers in the metro cities and farmers, poor groceryowners, in the rural areas to a standstill. The painful transition of market economy in the developing countries like India has experienced steep emergence of new proletariats in the large informal sectors. They largely live on the sharp debt trap, that daily engulf them in socio-economic uncertainties. With the growth of rentier capitalism in Indias post reform era, a shrinking of Salariat class and the massive growth of Informal sector workforce today constitute a large number of fragile labor force in the country. The post national shutdown has sent shockwaves to them and revealed their vulnerabilities wide in the open. The hardest hit among all are the interstate migrant laborers and contract workers of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. They found themselves literally jobless overnight and stranded at various locations of the country. These migrant workers today are in immediate need of a national safety net and integrated social protection system. Governments economic relief package is too late and too little armed with short-sighted planning and no innovative ideas so far to deal with long-term livelihood crises may meet with large scale hunger deaths in the rural areas. Hence, it is the moral duty of the government to protect the social vulnerabilities looming out of the social distancing measures.

Ethical Concerns

Amid the disturbing visuals of police beating poor migrant workers, and small traders, there are significant ethical concerns such as harm in forms of physical and mental pains that might form as vulnerability. As police get their quarantine powers from their executive bosses, its firm orders with arbitrary use of force to enforce Public Good at the cost of human dignity and individual rights may further push the poor to the margins. Stringent police actions also as a major disrupting force for the working class and make their livelihood suffer overwhelmingly during the lockdown. The moral marker of the gap followed in Social Distancing may potentially amplify the socio economic gaps between the privileged class and marginalized sections. Needless to say, before this Covid outbreak distance used to be largely a state of mind, but the epithet social has added a physical process of social-cultural disassociation.

Brookings Economist Richard Reeves, In his book, Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It, claimed "members of the upper middle class are doing very well and should be asked to contribute a greater share to the common good. This requires them first to look in the mirror and see that they are not the victims of inequality, but the victors." He identifies income and wealth as a crucial dimension which virtually segregates top 20% with the rest 80%. Reevess prophecy is truer than ever in the global outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. The Mass exodus of migrant workers from the metro cities to their home states is clearly reflexive of deeply rooted income segregation structure of India.

Distanced by Class-caste model

Maintaining distance is historically entrenched in various forms of normative isolations by the upper caste groups in the Hindu social order. It goes back to the centuries old untouchable practices against the lower caste communities of the Indian subcontinent. Also, the sexual agency of Hindu women has had been historically suppressed. These archaic trajectories will manifold as well as embolden the gaps between the upper and lower caste groups in the public sphere. On the other, upper class and upper middle class perennially act selfishly and hoard as well as do panic buying since wealth is concentrated in their pockets. There is a consistency in the behaviours of privileged upper class which is directly linked with their social positioning and greed that automatically puts marginalized at the bottom and aggravate the economic gulf. Hence, the distancing models enforced by the govt will intensify double edged exclusion and work as major disrupter in their livelihood amid the India shutdown. In fact, Indian State and societys credibility has historically been lessened through the unfolding of epistemic violence and long drawn prejudice in dealing with marginal groups. At a time like this harm caused by social distance without social safeguards will have spill over effects.

Reinforcing otherness

Finally, while privileged locations of upper class and upper castes create a safety net around them, daily wage earners are otherised by the harsh social distancing provisions in the absence of adequate social safeguards. Social locations of the marginalized classes results in more oppression and exploitation without intersecting endeavours and understanding of the nature of continuous process of otheration. Therefore, The deep seated apathy towards the marginal sections hit hard by the widespread Covid-19 outbreak in India and will reproduce otherness as well as accelerate the process of othering. Even, amid the self-quarantines, the empowered sections experiences are prioritised by the institutional dispensations. The rerunning of the Ramayana confirms the behavioural dynamics of the government while unwavering vigilance of police on street vendors, poor laborers affirm the case in point. Traditionally unequal societies widened up the hierarchies and produced asymmetrical social relations. Multilayered matrix of domination augment their sufferings.

Governments knee jerk reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in ever growing indifference towards the plural specificities of vulnerability. Political elites opportunism in subtle promotion of social cleavages reinforce subtly the process of othering. The underpinning cheer over the thrashing of working class by the police is testament of privileged sensibilities of class and caste entitlements. Thus, this is a grave reminder to the social safeguarding measures for the sustainable livelihood of the marginal castes and classes.

(Subhajit Naskar is an Assistant Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations in Jadavpur University. He has completed integrated MPhil/PhD from the Centre for South Asian Studies of School of International Studies (SIS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The rest is here:

Why India Needs Aggressive Social Safeguarding Measures To Protect Marginalised In The Time Of Corona - Outlook India

Just as the coronavirus is more dangerous to people with underlying medical conditions, the Middle East and North Africa faces a crisis caused not by the coronavirus alone, but also by their already existing economic, social and political fragility. Combined with the new reality sweeping the world, they form a perfect storm that threatens the region in ways that are more dangerous than anything it has faced for decades.

Throughout the region it is hard to find a single country that one can honestly say is strong enough to face what is about to happen. Country after country has been struggling for years with fundamental challenges; civil wars in Iraq, Syria and Libya, major debt crises in Lebanon, Egypt and elsewhere, overburdened budgets and great poverty in Egypt and Morocco, countries that depend on foreign aid, tourism and investments, such as Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt even oil-rich economies are facing budget constraints as oil prices collapse because of over supply and slowing economic activity.

In the face of this storm, governments throughout the region have some immediate concerns, many of which carry within them the seeds of deeper challenges to come soon if this global crisis persists.

Thousands of Arabs seek medical care in Europe, the US and elsewhere every year because healthcare systems in almost all Arab countries are weak, and incapable of handling a pandemic. These fragile healthcare systems will be put under enormous additional pressure as more cases of COVID-19 are diagnosed. Combined with travel bans preventing anyone from leaving their own countries, and increasing difficulty in procuring medical equipment and medicines as supply chains stall, this is a real ticking bomb.

Another pressing issue will be how the region copes with inevitable shortages of food and medical supplies. Much of the region, if not all, depends heavily on imported goods, not only in the medical sector but also food and basic necessities. This dependency will be increasingly difficult to overcome as the global supply chain comes under intensified pressure and is interrupted, in some parts at least, for the foreseeable future. The lack of any long-term food security will be exposed and there will be major shortages.

The old traditional ways of obtaining hard currency and help in financing government budgets foreign aid, international loans, tourism, foreign direct investment, transfers and remittances from expats, or even exporting labor to other countries will no longer work. As countries around the world close their borders, take their own strict economic measures, increase their own debt and set their own economic incentive packaging to minimize the impact of the crises on their own people and labor forces, it will be more difficult for developing countries to find help.

All resources need to be focused on these efforts to prevent a temporary health crisis from becoming a major economic, social, and political tsunami that will overwhelm governments in the region.

Hafed Al-Ghwell

There is a weak underlying foundation to much of the regions political and economic systems, with oppression, corruption, top-down decision making and lack of freedom of information and debate all serving to deny both governments and societies the proper tools to address weaknesses in the system and reach consensus on how to tackle these challenges in a unified manner. This lack of the proper tools of governance means that as economic and social pressure builds, the chances of uprisings will increase, exposing the region to another potential cycle of revolts and chaos.

The regions top priority at the moment, in the face of these challenges, is to do anything it can to stop the spread of COVID-19. All resources need to be focused on these efforts to prevent a temporary health crisis from becoming a major economic, social, and political tsunami that will overwhelm governments in the region.

The second priority is to strengthen social safety nets for the most vulnerable in society; those who have no financial capacity to withstand even a short-term disruption to their incomes. This should include a combination of fiscal policy tools as recommended by the International Monetary Fund, such as a mix of targeted policies on hard-hit sectors and populations, including tax relief, government fees and cash transfers, and reprioritizing spending within the existing fiscal budgets, tight as they may be.

Historical evidence suggests that developing countries with much less global connectivity, such as those in the Arab world, tend to feel the full impact of such global crises a little later than more globalized economies. With that in mind, the Arab world is well advised to scale up its combined response to the pandemic much more quickly than it is doing now. The full force of this storm is yet to come.

The only real protection only from the disease and from its consequences is to reduce the level of its penetration and spread. The region will simply not be able to protect itself from the cascading wave of political, economic, and social earthquake that is coming, if it fails in doing this.

* Hafed Al-Ghwell is a non-resident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute at the John Hopkins University School of Advanced InternationalStudies. He is also senior adviser at the international economic consultancy Maxwell Stamp and at the geopolitical risk advisory firm OxfordAnalytica, a member of the Strategic Advisory Solutions International Group in Washington DC and a former adviser to the board of the WorldBank Group. Twitter: @HafedAlGhwell

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point-of-view

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This region is ill prepared for the tsunami that is coming - Arab News

I wish our esteemed brothers and sisters of the Spiritual Shouter Baptist Community a joyful and safe Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day 2020.

For many years I have joined this community in a communal celebration. This year, as a result of the COVID 19 threat, like many of my brothers and sisters in the Baptist faith I too will be engaging in prayer for my community, country and the world from the confines of my home.

I believe that together, you and I, and our Lord, will persevere and live to see the sun rise again over our beloved country. What our country needs now are our prayers.

Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day is a national event where we celebrate the courage of a people who fought not only to practice what they believed in, but who united and stood up for their way of life. Today, we all stand proud of the accomplishments of our Spiritual Shouter Baptist brothers and sisters who for 34 years after the enactment of the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance in 1917 valiantly kept their beliefs alive despite major oppression until it was finally repealed in 1951.

Sixty-nine years since the repeal of this Ordinance, the people of our twin-island Republic have been truly blessed with the beautiful, enriching contributions by the Spiritual Shouter Baptist Community towards our national culture, music, artwork, cuisine and belief system. As a result, on this special day, we should not only celebrate the accomplishments of this community but thank them for their contributions, as without them, we would not have developed into the nation we are today.

Their courage should continue to inspire us as a nation. It was in recognition of their contributions that on 26 January 1996, Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation was declared a public holiday by the then UNC Government led by Basdeo Panday. The Government I led continued to honour the community and delivered on a promise to build the first Spiritual Baptist school the St Barbaras Spiritual Baptist Primary school and an Early Childhood Care and Education Centre.

The capacity of the Baptist community to persist and prosper in times of significant adversity is an example for Trinidad and Tobago as a whole. Today, as we face trying times and challenges in our nation, we can look to Spiritual Shouter Baptists for inspiration, and as they did, seek to keep hope and faith alive.

Today, we are facing one of the most vulnerable and uncertain times with the COVID-19 crisis. Let us replicate the courage our Spiritual Baptist community demonstrated between 1917 to 1951 and beyond, to fight to ensure the liberation of our nation from hardship, suffering and ill effects which this virus brings with it.

Like our Spiritual Shouter Baptist brothers and sisters, we must unite in purpose to ensure the way of life that defines us and the future which we desire will not slip away from our grasp but instead become a reality through unity, social responsibility and being our brothers keeper.

Further, while we fight this global pandemic, our problems as a people did not begin with COVID-19. We must remember that in the past years, inequality, high unemployment, crime, absence of opportunity for youth and institutional break down have oppressed the full liberation of our people from realising their true potential.

Therefore, our fight as a nation must be to unite in purpose to achieve true national liberation where all can enjoy the fruits of their labour, manifest peacefully in their beliefs and achieve their goals.

I have no doubt that with the strength, determination and indomitable spirit of our people that we will overcome this crisis, and emerge stronger and more united.

May God bless our nation on this special day.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP

Leader of the Opposition

30th March, 2020

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Kamla: Let the courage of the Shouter Baptist inspire us to achieve national liberation - unctt.org

March 26, 2020| By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

Surrey/Brampton: The British Columbia Gurdwaras Council (BCGC) and Ontario Gurdwaras Committee (OGC) are very concerned over the recent attack and mass incident of violence that occurred at Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib in Kabul, Afghanistan. This attack has resulted in the murder of dozens of Sikhs from an already very vulnerable and marginalized minority community in Afghanistan and again shows the need for Canada and the world to step in and protect minority communities in Afghanistan that have been continuous targets of oppression, intimidation, and murder for almost 3 decades.

Reports have been coming in regarding a gunman firing on Sikh worshippers inside the Gurdwara. About 150-200 Sikhs were trapped inside the Gurdwara Sahib at the time of the attack which later the Islamic State claimed responsibility for. The Islamic State has targeted Sikhs and other religious minorities before in Afghanistan. In June of 2018 the Islamic State carried out a bombing targeting the Sikh community where 19 Sikhs were killed and dozens injured. After this recent attack and the ongoing persecution of Sikhs within India, the question of religious freedom and the safety/security of the Sikh community internationally is in the minds of Sikhs across the world.

Images of Sikhs killed in attack on Gurdwara Sahib in Kabul

The threat Afghan Sikhs face is all too real and we need to work with the Government of Canada to have the marginalized minority community of Afghan Sikhs resettled in Canada before more are killed. The Canadian Sikh community is prepared to cover the costs related to resettlement and to ensure a successful integration into Canada through resources, education, and a sense of community said Amarjit Singh Mann, Spokesperson of the OGC.

For many years now, Gurdwaras across Canada along with other organizations including the Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation have been actively lobbying the Government of Canada to quickly process the refugee claims of Afghan Sikhs so that they may come to Canada and live their lives in peace. Although a dozen or so families have been resettled, more needs to be done as the Sikh community of Canada has repeatedly made this request but the process is proving to be slow and inefficient especially when the preservation of lives is concerned.

Moninder Singh, Spokesperson for the BCGC, stated Sikhs have long been targeted with violence, oppression, and intimidation in India and we are seeing the plight of our community in countries like Afghanistan deteriorating steadily over several decades. The number of Sikhs in Afghanistan continues to dwindle due to these types of attacks and daily harassment and intimidation forcing Sikh families who have lived in Afghanistan for hundreds of years to rethink their future and flee as refugees. As a proclaimed leader in furthering the cause of human rights in the world, we again call upon the Government of Canada to expedite the refugee claims process of Afghan Sikhs so horrendous acts of violence like this can be avoided.

The BCGC and OGC ask that the Government of Canada strongly condemn this attack on the Sikh community in Afghanistan and ask the same from their international partners as the ongoing murder, oppression, and forced migration of Afghan Sikhs over the last several decades is a crisis that must be dealt with urgently. We urge all federal political parties to see this as a joint humanitarian issue and all jointly move it to the immediate resettlement of Afghan Sikhs to Canada and the Sikh community is prepared to work with you every step of the way.

Related Topics: Attack on Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Kabul (Afghanistan), Gurdwaras in Ontario, Ontario Gurdwaras Committee, Ontario Gurudwara Committee, Sikh Diaspora, Sikh News Afghanistan, Sikh News Canada, Sikhs in Afghanistan, Sikhs in Canada

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Canadian Sikhs Demand Action Following Attack on Sikhs in Kabul - Sikh Siyasat News

Do you have something to say? Send us a letter by clicking here!THINKING OF YOU

As a senior, I am writing to encourage our seniors to know that they are loved and not forgotten. Not being able to get out or see family and friends is very hard. Every day we need to be thankful for so many blessings. We have time, so lets pray for each other, our first responders, service people, government, doctors, nurses, care workers, cashiers, grocers, truckers, pastors, news people and so many more doing so much to look after all of us. Lets be the encouragers for the younger people to let them know its okay, we will get through this if we all do our part. To everyone else out there, lets not only wash our hands but let us wash our hearts to think of others instead of complaining. No one is more important than the other. Lets all pray for comfort, peace and healing and realize we are so blessed to be living in such a great country as Canada.

B. ALEXANDER

(Thanks for sharing the positivity.)

Thank you Andrew Scheer for refusing to give the Trudeau government emergency taxing and spending authority which would have amounted to taxation without representation, an affront to our very democracy. Shame on Trudeau for incorporating this into the $82 billion COVID-19 relief Bill, as well as the Bloc Party that was ready to agree. I cannot imagine anything scarier than giving Trudeau/Morneau the ability for uncontrolled taxation and fettered discretion to spend. Canada is already buried under a mountain of debt a Direct result of Trudeaus reckless spending? How we ever dig out of the huge fiscal mess after COVID-19 is a big question on Canadian minds, without any answers.

Larry Comeau

(Thankfully, the process worked, and the opposition was able to hold the governments feet to the fire.)

With his failed attempt to subvert our democracy and legislate dictatorial powers for himself, Trudeau has only continued his legacy of failure on every issue. He is the classic weak leader, frozen by indecision and indifference, then finally over reacting. Will this weakness of Justin Trudeau now plunge our nation into years of anarchy, oppression and poverty?

Iain G. Foulds

(It certainly was a stumble.)

Re: Fourth horseman. I like your response to Al Willeys letter. Too bad we couldnt have that horseman committed before he does more damage.

MURAY McANDREWS

(Only time will tell.)

Re: Notley reiterates call for UCP to ban evictions days before rent payments due. And, of course, Rachel Notley and her NDP have a far better plan than that of Premier (Jason) Kenney and the UCP provincial government. Just like all the great plans she had for the province during the NDP reign for four very long years.

DONALD K. MUNROE

(Shes trying to help Albertans during a time of great stress. Cant fault that.)

Sign of the times for the grocery stores: You touch it, you buy it! Please leave our precious young ones at home or youll go broke.

RICK RHEU BOTTOM

(We all need to stop that horrible habit.)

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Letters March, 26: No one is more important than the other - Edmonton Sun