Monthly Archives: July 2022

On July 16, Sabine Schormann, managing director and CEO of Documenta 15, the worlds leading exhibition of contemporary art, resigned under massive political pressure. Previously, accusations of anti-Semitism against the art exhibition in Kassel had come to a head.

Accusations had already been raised before the opening of Documenta, hosted this year by the Indonesian artists collective Ruangrupa, which, in addition to making general criticisms of colonialism, is also critical of the Israeli governments Palestinian policy.

The accusations of anti-Semitism reached hurricane force when the exhibition briefly featured a huge, 20-year-old banner by the Indonesian collective Taring Padi, directed against the social conditions in Indonesia shaped by the Suharto dictatorship.

Among hundreds of figures and scenes on the banner, critics found two displaying anti-Semitic tropes. In a row of marching soldiers or policemen, one figure bears a pigs face, a scarf with a Star of David and a helmet with the words Mossadreference to the notorious Israeli foreign intelligence agencys involvement in Suhartos 1965 coup, which killed between 400,000 and 1 million, including Communists and students critical of the government.

The second figure, a man in a suit and tie with shark-like teeth, a cigar in his mouth and suggested temple curls (peyes) with an SS rune on his hat, fatally resembles Nazi caricatures of Jewish capitalists.

The curators and the artists themselves apologized several times and distanced themselves from anti-Semitism. They made clear that the banner was created from the perspective of the traumatic experience with the Suharto dictatorship. Its effect in Germany, which was responsible for the Holocaust, had not been clear to them. The offending banner was first partially covered and shortly after completely removed.

But the campaign against the exhibition, its management and the Documenta supervisory board continued unabated. The removed work, as well as several others dealing with the oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli government, served as a pretext to raise the charge of anti-Semitism against the entire exhibition. There were calls for those responsible to be recalled, for the exhibition to be cleaned up, or even for it to be closed altogether.

That anti-Semitism exists in Germany is beyond doubt. Last year, the Federal Interior Ministry recorded 3,027 anti-Semitic crimes, 84 percent of which it attributed to right-wing perpetrators. But criticism of the Israeli governments Palestinian policy is not anti-Semitism. One can only consistently combat anti-Semitism by rejecting all forms of oppression.

The campaign against Documenta is not about anti-Semitism, but about banning all criticism of war and militarism, colonial oppression, and exploitation. At a time when Germanyin the words of German Chancellor Olaf Scholzwants to become a geopolitical player again, no such criticism is to be tolerated, not even through the means of art.

This is not the first time that cultural events and institutions have been silenced under the false pretext of anti-Semitism. Others in the crosshairs include the Ruhrtriennale music and arts festival and the Jewish Museumin Berlin. In Britain, similar claims of anti-Semitism have assisted in the process of purging the Labour Party of left-wing elements and transforming it into a second edition of the reactionary Tory Party.

Since January, there have been accusations of anti-Semitism against the Ruangrupa curatorial team, a break-in at their exhibition space and even death threats. Consequently, Documenta managing director Sabine Schormann tried for a long time to protect the artists and the artistic direction, and with it the Ruangrupa collective experiment of not allowing hierarchies in art. She was concerned with showing the committed art of artist collectives, especially from the Southern Hemisphere, and rejecting any form of censorship.

Schormann explained that she considered an intervention by the exhibition management in the competencies of the curators as a step towards censorship. She said that artists concerns about not being welcome in Germany were justified. On the Documenta website, she wrote, We focused on educating and acting in the spirit of Documenta fifteen.

The demand that external experts with decision-making powers review the exhibition, raised again after the removal of the Taring Padi banner, had put enormous strain on the relationship of trust with Ruangrupa and the artists, Schormann explained.

But the pressure from political circles and the media grew. Claudia Roth (Green Party), federal government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, announced through her spokesperson that Ms. Schormanns statements and accounts of the events of the past months were wide of the mark and that the culture commissioner was very surprised and alienated by Schormanns statements.

Accordingly, Roth welcomed the decision of the Documenta supervisory board to force Schormann to resign: It is right and necessary that now a reappraisal can take place of how it was possible for anti-Semitic imagery to be exhibited, as well as to draw the necessary consequences for the art exhibition, she told the Frankfurter Rundschau.

Members of the Bundestag (federal parliament) from all parties welcomed Sabine Schormanns resignation. It is significant that the Alternative for Germany (AfD)a party that maintains close ties to neo-Nazi networks, trivializes the Nazi regime and counts numerous anti-Semites in its rankswas particularly vocal about this, especially in Hesse, the state which hosts the exhibition.

The cultural policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Marc Jongen, called for the overdue resignation of the Documenta director to be followed by the resignation of Culture Commissioner Roth when it comes to dealing with the events. The AfD parliamentary group in the Hesse state parliament had previously demanded the closure of Documenta and the cancellation of funding for the renowned international art exhibition.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) cultural policy spokesman in the Bundestag, Helge Lindh, described the termination of Schormanns employment contract in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper as an overdue liberation from a vicious circle of mismanagement and miscommunication.

Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) member of parliament Linda Teuteberg, responsible for Jewish life, followed suit and made clear that this was not about art, the Documenta anti-Semitism scandal makes an announcement and points beyond the art show: Israel-related anti-Semitism, like every manifestation of anti-Semitism, is unacceptable, as are trivializations with reference to the global South, she said.

Green Party member of the Bundestag Marlene Schnberger also called for an examination of the artworks.

The federal governments anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, demanded that the necessary structural consequences be drawn for the future. Anti-Semitism must not be accepted in any form in cultural life, no matter where the cultural workers come from. The BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] resolution of the Bundestag should be the binding guideline in the future for the use of public funds in cultural promotion.

The Bundestag resolution against the BDS campaign does not serve to combat anti-Semitism, but to suppress freedom of expression. It was therefore publicly condemned by 30 leading German cultural institutions and more than 1,000 artists from Germany, Israel and around the world.

The Bundestag resolution calls for denying public space and financial support to organizations and individuals who sympathize with the goals of BDS or have any connection to BDS. Numerous critics of Israels Palestine policy are affected.

As the WSWS wrote, The accusation of anti-Semitism against leftists and intellectuals plays into the hands of right-wing radicals and fascistssuch as Donald Trump, Viktor Orbn, Matteo Salvini, Rodrigo Duterte and the AfDwho identify with the racist policies of the Israeli government and have been greeted jubilantly as state guests in Jerusalem.

The attacks on Documenta are not about anti-Semitism, but rather involve the suppression of disliked art and opinions. This same process is evident in the poisonous debate surrounding the Hijacking Memory conference held a month ago at the House of World Cultures (HWK) in Berlin, which explored Holocaust memory and its political instrumentalization.

Susan Neiman, director of the Einstein Forum and one of the three organizers of the conference, noted there, No Jewish person, anywhere, will doubt the real danger of anti-Semitism. But the instrumentalization of the accusation of anti-Semitism was cynically used for nationalist purposes, she said.

Co-organizer Emily Dische-Becker, who also worked on the Documenta concept, told the Berliner Zeitung, We have observed that right-wing actors internationally, but also in Germany, are appropriating the commemoration of the Holocaust to conduct nationalist, xenophobic, right-wing populist politics.

After that, a similar campaign as in the case of Documenta broke out. Green Party politician Volker Beck questioned state funding for the HWK. Die Welt ran the headline, House of Cultures: a think tank of the new anti-Semitism. The executive director of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Daniel Botmann, also joined in, accusing the HKW, the Einstein Forum and the Centre for Research on Anti-Semitism (ZfA) of anti-Semitic tendencies.

Once again, the far-right AfD spoke out most clearly about what was at stake. It demanded that post-colonialism should no longer be the yardstick of our cultural and remembrance policies because it was inherently anti-Semitic.

The World Socialist Web Site disagrees with theories of post-colonialism that attribute colonial oppression to psychological and cultural factors rather than to the imperialist division of the world by monopolistic banks and corporations. But the point at stake is the banning of any criticism of colonial and imperialist oppression.

The political parties that today condemn Documenta for being anti-Semitic have themselves a long history of imperialist crimes and are preparing new ones.

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (Christian Democratic Union) maintained close relations with Indonesian dictator and mass murderer Suharto, whom he called his friend. Christian Social Union chairman Franz-Josef Strau maintained close relations with Chilean dictator Pinochet. Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Green Party Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock appeared in Berlin just last week alongside the Butcher of Cairo, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom they celebrated as a new ally in the fight against climate change.

Anti-Semitism served the Nazis as a means of directing the rage of petty-bourgeoisie strata of the population threatened with social ruin against the Jews. Socialists, on the other hand, fought the poison of anti-Semitism in the strongest possible terms. Now, the mendacious anti-Semitism campaign is being used to criminalize anyone who speaks out against oppression and militarism.

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The Documenta 15 exhibition and the false accusations of anti-Semitism - WSWS

In the wake of the recent eruption of communal violence in Bangladesh against Hindu minorities, a countless arguments and numerous criticisms have been brought to light. Something odd is happeningBangladesh is being painted by elements as a violent state from which Hindus are persecuting and fleeing away, into India continuously.Hindus are being tortured in BangladeshSome claimed that Bangladesh has become quite a case of ethnic cleansing- subtly but forcefully ousting Hindu minorities across the border. Some even went further claiming that Bangladesh has failed to form a state where different religious and ethnic groups can coexist based on the principle of secularism- one of the four fundamental pillars of the liberation war in 1971. To cast evidence to those criticisms, most of them point fingers to the continuous decline of Hindu minority population in Bangladesh- a case drawn to demonstrate Bangladesh as a prolific ground of persecution against Hindu. But an objective discernment to those allegations, especially through comprehensivestatistical appraisal, relative systemic endeavors and broader political landscape, makes them, in most part, lose their grounds.

A country of communal harmony like Bangladesh is rare in the world. Despite being a Muslim majority country, for thousands of years other religions have been living together in a very peaceful and harmonious environment. In the 50 years of independence, there were no communal riots like in another South Asian country. In Bangladesh and there were no incidents of killing, oppression or torture of people of different religions. Dont happen again. Even if there are some isolated incidents, the fuel and motivation of some anti-Bangladeshi people are behind it, only common people can understand. Those who are behind these incidents must be investigated and judicial action must be taken against them till date. The reason for this is not difficult to understand. Domestic and foreign conspirators always remain elusive. However, the government should be alert and aware of the fact that those behind-the-scenes. Some vested quarters have become active and may try to destabilize the government by questioning the communal harmony in the upcoming national elections. It is true that Bangladesh government tries to take all measures to maintain communal harmony in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony as people of different faiths have been living on this soil in peace from time immemorial. Members of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian communities have been living here from time immemorial in amity and peace

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said already the government will ensure strict action against people who disturb communal harmony in the country.

No communal disharmony will be allowed here. Government is firm to ensure punishment for those who ransack communal harmony creating anarchy, he said.

Khan said this while addressing Indian media personnel in Dhaka on Saturday in a view of the recent attack on the Hindu community in Narail over a social media post.

He said that Bangladesh was trying to achieve a long-lasting development but a vested quarter was trying to dismantle things.

Todays Bangladesh is Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibs non-communal Bangladesh. We are a united nation. No communal disharmony will be placed here and will never get the opportunity too to root here.

The government will take stern action against all such evils, the home minister said, claiming the number of minority communities, including Hindus was increasing in Bangladesh.

Statistics and Apparent Assumptions

According tothe BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) data, the percentage of Hindu community to total population was 13.5% in 1974, on Bangladeshs first population census, which, as of the latest census in 2011, stands at 8.5% , and again increases to 10.7% in 2015. Ostensibly, these statistical figures, continuous decline in percentage, seem to confer voice to predominant arguments about the decline of Hindu population. But, mere percentage estimation tells only the half truth about the broader demographic landscape of Hindu minority in Bangladesh. If we take the increase in total number, other than mere percentage, over the years along with other factors that have contributed to decline, into account, it will substantially clarify the whole picture and weaken the predominant narratives about persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.

Taking the total number into account, in 1974, the number of Hindu populations was 10.31 million which hit slightly above 12.7 million in2011 and 17 million in 2015. It is seen that the total number has remained increasing whereas percentage to total Muslim population, due to relatively higher growth in the number of Muslim populations from 65.24 million in 1974 to135.4million in 2011, has kept decreasing. It is true that growth in numbers is a little slow among Hindu population and could hit 22 million by 2011 only if it increased linearly in terms of percentage as reported in 1974 (13.5%). But that is not because of any systematic persecution against the minority rather, in most part, of international economic migration, relatively lower birth and high mortality rate among Hindu population, higher rate of contraceptive use and particular political reality in the history of Bangladesh.

According to the study paper prepared by researchers from ICDDR, Bs Health Systems and Population Studies Division and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), studying the population data of 1989-2016 of Matlab Upazila in Chadpur to find out why Hindus have lower population growth than Muslims, the birth rate of Hindu populace in every thousand falls short by 3 points comparing to Muslims. While the probability of having a child among the Muslim women is 35, it is 32 among Hindu women.

The study found that the tendency to late marriage and having not more than 2 children and relatively higher use of contraceptives also contribute to the low birth rate among Hindu populace. Even higher numbers of deaths, 4 more than that ofMuslims in every ten thousand, can also be subscribed to the decrease in percentage. Finally, researchers concluded that 71 percent of low growth rate may be attributed to the the low rates of fertility and 23 percent to the international out-migration by Hindus.

In the report, they also observed that, since 2006, more Hindus have been opting for countries other than India for out-migration. Only 36 percent of the migrating Hindus of Matlab went to India between 2005 and 2012, but the bigger portion of them went to the states other than India for better living- a countervailing evidence against predominant propaganda that more Hindus have been leaving for India due to persecution.

Political Upheaval and Systemic liability

To be true, the percentage of Hindu minority comparing with that of Muslim has declined over last 50 years. But this estimation has overlooked a subtle but solid point: a fundamental political upheaval and constitution of Bangladesh from 1975 to 1991. Just take the number into account, from 1974 to 1991, percentage of Hindu minority to total population came down from 13.5 to 10.5 in 16 years. But, after the end of anti-secularism fueled military rule in 1991 and installation of constitutional democracy, percentage decline got little slower- 10.5 in 1991 to 8.5 in 2011 within 20 years of time span. In 2011, after the 15th amendment of Bangladesh constitution, secularism was restored which especially which has contribution to increase of percentage of Hindu people to total populace to 10.7% point in 2015. Unlike, its two bordering states- Myanmar and India, the former denying Muslim Rohingya minority of citizenship since 1982 out of pathological hatred and the latter rendering Muslims stateless through anti-Muslim laws, Bangladesh has never, particularly since 1991, intended to promote any discriminatory policy, be it in practice or by laws. Praiseworthy and prompt action taken by the Government of Bangladesh against the menace of recent Durga Puja incident, is a glaring example of this.

Minority is such a phenomenon which every country must possess, be it ethnic or linguistic or religious. But state sanctioned discriminatory policy, inherent ethnic or religious tension or historical schism mobilized by for political score usually contribute to violence against minorities. However, in Bangladesh mostly politically cornered vested groups have played out on minority to stoke crisis and tame the situation to their end. Besides long cherished pluralistic sentiment in Bangladesh is, rather in times, menaced by spill-over effectof politics and policies in proximate neighbors, of course by political fringe groups.

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The Persecution Narrative Against Hindu Minority In Bangladesh: False Information Concerning Treatment Of Minorities? OpEd - Eurasia Review

Shes seeking to make effective industrial action illegal, so people will have to use other means to take action and respond to the employers."

RMT boss Mick Lynch has taken apart Liz Truss over her plans to effectively ban meaningful industrial action as rail strikes continued today.

Truss who is the favourite to replace Boris Johnson, has said that she would introduce minimum service levels on critical national infrastructure in the first 30 days of government under her leadership. As a result, teachers, postal workers and those working in the energy sector could be prevented from going on strike.

The Tory leadership hopeful has also proposed raising the minimum threshold for voting in favour of strike action from 40 to 50 percent. Other measures include raising the minimum notice period for strike action from two weeks to four weeks and implementing a cooling-off period so that unions can no longer strike as many times as they like in the six-month period after a ballot.

Speaking to the BBC Lynch said he thought Truss was a right-wing fundamentalist, warning that the country would have one of the most extreme leaders should she win the race to replace Johnson.

Lynch said: This is a direct attack on one of the main pillars of our democracy one of the founding basis of any democracy is the right for a trade union to freely organise and take appropriate industrial action.

Shes seeking to make effective industrial action illegal, so people will have to use other means to take action and respond to the employers.

Whose been held to ransom at the moment is the British worker right across the economy.

He said Truss wants the unions to surrender so we have a low-paid, cowed workforce in the UK.

The rest of the country, if you believe in democracy and believe in a liberal economy, cannot support what shes standing for, because its oppression of working people.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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Mick Lynch takes apart Liz Truss over plans to effectively ban industrial action - Left Foot Forward

Uzbekistan has assumed a leadership role in crafting an approach to the Taliban-led Afghanistan. Driving Tashkents behavior is a concern about instability spilling northwards. Uzbeks, however, are not simply looking to mitigate risk; rather, they are pursuing an ambitious agenda to promote economic connectivity and regional development. Though Uzbekistans connectivity project is unlikely to bear fruit anytime soon, incremental progress will provide a modus vivendi for dealing with Afghanistan, and Central and South Asia more broadly. Washington and its allies should support Tashkents efforts or face the alternative of more warfare in two contiguous but increasingly unstable strategic regions. This is in nobodys interest.

From July 25-26 Uzbekistan will be hosting an international conference on Afghanistan. Delegations from the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Indonesia will participate. Major international organizations, including the United Nations, Food & Agricultural Organization, European Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Economic Cooperation Organization, will also take part. The conference is pursuing two key objectives. First, to prevent further deterioration of the socio-economic situation in Afghanistan and, second, to develop the transit potential of Afghanistan and revive its role as a key link between Central and South Asia. Two days later, from July 28-29, Tashkent will also host the foreign ministers meeting of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Considering the uncertainty of Afghanistans internal stability, the latter goal will be particularly challenging to achieve. Nevertheless, regional connectivity is a critical long-term development instrument through which Afghanistan, even if ruled by the Taliban, can make progress toward stabilizing its socio-economic situation. More importantly, promoting the concept of Afghanistan as a transit state facilitating trade between Central and South Asia could incentivize the Taliban regime to move away from ideological oppression and cater to the needs of Afghanistans 40 million people. At the very least, the Taliban regime, which is struggling with massive governance and economic challenges, could be incentivized to reduce its emphasis on ideology.

Of all of Afghanistans neighbors, Uzbekistan is best placed to lead this effort. Even though Pakistan has the most direct influence in Afghanistan, it is a severely weakened state facing a major domestic Talibanization problem. Iran also has considerable influence in Afghanistan, however, Tehran would only further radicalize the Taliban. In many ways, the Iranian regime represents the only model for the Taliban to emulate as they reinforce their theocratic government. The Iranians have an interest in leveraging international isolation of the Taliban to encourage Afghanistans new rulers to embrace ideological geopolitics. Meanwhile, the other two Central Asian states that border Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, both lack the capacity to shape the future of Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan already has a head start in engaging with the Taliban regime, especially with regard to providing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. These measures have allowed Tashkent to establish a close working relationship with Afghanistans Taliban rulers through which the Uzbek government has gained significant clout.

Additionally, Uzbekistan has also gained an appreciation of the challenge of trying to influence the Taliban away from its medieval theocratic ideals. As a secular Muslim state that, in the past six years under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has pursued a policy to allow for more space for Islam in civil society, dealing with the Taliban is a challenge that Tashkent has shown remarkable diplomatic skill in handling.

We have to also appreciate that Tashkent doesnt just have to worry about an Islamist regime on its southern flank. Russias war in Ukraine has major implications for the country and the region. Recent unrest in the western autonomous region of Karakalpakstan, possibly instigated by Russia, was an unpleasant surprise. Similarly, Kazakhstan experienced domestic upheaval earlier this year that has led to domestic political and economic changes in Central Asias largest state. Clearly, Uzbekistan is living in a tough neighborhood.

Therefore, the United States and its Western allies should support Uzbekistans initiative to promote stability and connectivity in Afghanistan, especially at a time when there is a need to diversify hydrocarbon imports and reduce reliance on Russian energy. It would also provide a way to counter Chinas regional Belt & Road Initiative projects. For Central Asia to provide electricity and gas to South Asia, stability in Afghanistan is a necessity. The international community must assist Uzbekistan in its efforts to convince the Taliban that it is in their interest to cooperate and reap the benefits of regional geoeconomics.

In the short-term, land-locked Uzbekistan could establish trade routes that traverse the more secure parts of Afghanistan through Pakistan to reach the Indian Ocean and beyond, as well as through India and Bangladesh to Southeast Asia. Uzbekistan will need help from its allies and partners in the West to do this. The Tashkent Conference has the potential to not only help Uzbekistan manage Afghanistan but enhance security and stability across Central & South Asia.

Kamran Bokhari, Ph.D., is the director of analytical development at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, DC. Bokhari is also a national security and foreign policy specialist at the University of Ottawa's Professional Development Institute. He has served as the coordinator for Central Asia studies at the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service Institute (FSI). Follow him on Twitter at @KamranBokhari.

Image: Reuters.

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Uzbekistan Faces Headwinds in Stabilizing Central and South Asia - The National Interest Online

In his poem The Truly Great, Stephen Spender ends with these lines:

The names of those who in their lives fought for life,Who wore at their hearts the fires centre.Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sunAnd left the vivid air signed with their honour.

Those whom we humans credit as having left the vivid air signed with their honour come from all sorts of backgrounds, circumstances, and experiences. Theodore Roosevelt, for example, was born into a wealthy family in Manhattan, lived a privileged youth, and entered Harvard University. Margaret Thatcher, an equally adept politician and Great Britains first female prime minister, grew up in a small town in Lincolnshire, England, the daughter of a grocer.

Whatever their circumstances, these same heroic figures usually faced battles of their own as they came of age. Roosevelt may have led a silver-spoon childhood, but he was a weak, sickly boy until his father took him in hand and pushed him to excel athletically. This encouragement paid dividends, as even today he is remembered as one of our most energetic of presidents, an explorer, a hunter, a cowboy, and a soldier. As a girl, Thatcher was more serious about school and life than many of her classmates. She pushed herself hard academically, and so displayed early signs of the personality that would later earn her the nickname of Iron Lady.

And some of the truly great who wore at their hearts the fires centre were forged by suffering and loss, shaped and beaten into steel between a hammer and anvil not of their own making.

Karol Jozef Wojtyla (19202005), known in boyhood to his family and friends as Lolek, was born in Wadowice, Poland, to Karol and Emilia Wojtyla, the third and last of this couples children. An older sister had lived only a few weeks after her birth, and his beloved brother Edmund, a physician, fell ill and died while treating patients for scarlet fever when Lolek was only 12 years old. Meanwhile, his mother had passed away three years earlier of kidney failure and congenital heart disease.

Fortunately, the boy was blessed with an upstanding father, a recently retired noncommissioned officer in the Polish army.

In his massive Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, George Weigel writes: Karol Wojtyla had many mentors in his youth and adolescence. The most influential of them was his father.

As Weigel then tells us, his fathers high reputation with his superiors in the army was based on a combination of intelligence, diligence, dependability, and above all, honesty. It was the father who passed these virtues to the young Karol and who undoubtedly encouraged his son in his schoolworkhe would graduate as valedictorian of his classand on the athletic field, where Lolek excelled in soccer. Just as importantly, the elder Wojtyla was a devout Catholic later remembered by his son as a man of constant prayer. Father and son regularly read the Bible and prayed the rosary together.

In a short autobiography written years later about these early days and his religious formation, the son wrote of his father: We never spoke about a vocation to the priesthood, but his example was in a way my first seminary, a kind of domestic seminary.

Wojtyla graduated high school as a model student and son, an enthusiastic athlete, and a passionate advocate of Polish history and literature. By that time, he had also fallen in love with the theater, where he both acted in plays and participated in poetry recitations. When in 1938 he entered Jagiellonian University in Krakowhe and his father rented a basement apartment, which friends quickly dubbed the catacombshe excelled in his studies of literature and philology while continuing to pursue his theatrical interests.

A year later, the Nazis launched their blitzkrieg into Poland, and Wojtylas life, like those of his countrymen, was forever changed.

Once their tanks and troops had rolled across Poland, the Nazis waged a war on Polish culture, intending to erase it. In the case of Jagiellonian University, for instance, where Wojtyla had enrolled for the fall semester, the Germans arrested dozens of deans and professors, shipped them off to concentration camps, and then wrecked the libraries and laboratories. Males between the ages of 14 and 60 were required to have work papers and a job. Like his classmates, Wojtyla was forced to find employment.

One of his acquaintances, Mieczyslaw Malinski, would write of that time: The police arrested people who were caught walking the streets without passes, and fired at any who did not stop when challenged. We were hungry for five years without a break, and each winter we were desperately cold.

While Wojtyla daily endured these harsh years of Nazi occupation, forces came into play that would create the man who as priest and bishop would later push back against the postwar communist government of Poland. Along with President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as Pope John Paul II, Wojtyla also helped bring about the fall of the Soviet Union, using talents and skills he had acquired under the Nazi regime.

After a stint as a messenger for a restaurant, Wojtyla began working for the Solvay chemical company, where for almost three years he served as a manual laborer, first in a quarry mining limestone and then in a plants water purification system. Toiling alongside workers from a social class largely unfamiliar to him, Wojtyla learned the hearts of many of these men, their aspirations, their views on the urban proletariat, and their care for others. Four decades later, when dockworkers and then others rose to demand a union and to protest their government in Soviet-controlled Poland, the pope heard and understood their cries for freedom and justice.

During these years of fear and oppression, the young man who was so entranced with literature also turned to a new vocation: the priesthood. Two events in particular moved him in this direction. Along with other young Poles, he joined and led a Living Rosary group, which was an underground religious organization founded by a tailor, Jan Tyranowski. With so many priests sent off to camps, where a sizable number of them perished, the Church called on lay leaders to provide solace and guidance for parishioners. Largely self-educated in theology and regarded by many as a mystic, Tyranowski exerted an enormous influence on Wojtyla, guiding him in his reading, particularly in the works of St. John of the Cross, and in his prayer life.

Wojtyla was fortunate to find such a mentor, for in early 1941 he returned from work to find his ailing father dead of heart failure. That death deeply affected the now orphaned son. I never felt so alone, he later said, and friends would remember that he began spending hours in prayer offered up not only for his father but also as a means of discernment for his vocation. After nearly a year of such contemplation, he asked to be received into the local seminary. Like his fellow seminarians, he continued to work a job while furtively pursuing his theological studies underground so as to avoid the Gestapo and its efforts to shutter such enterprises.

Of the lessons that Wojtyla learned from Nazi oppression, the third and perhaps the most significant for non-Catholics, and for that matter, for readers who value traditional culture, is the path of resistance selected by Wojtyla.

Many other Polesmen and women, young and oldresisted the Nazis by forming guerrilla outfits or by sabotage. As Weigel points out in Witness to Hope, however, Wojtyla and other like-minded friends deliberately chose the power of resistance through culture, through the power of the word.

These Polish patriots, most of them quite young, formed what they called the Rhapsodic Theater. They performed plays, some of them original, and offered dramatic readings. They frequently gathered and rehearsed in the Wojtylas apartmentand often played to small audiences of 30 or fewer people.

And as Weigel reports, near the apartment they walked past posters announcing an ever-increasing list of executions by firing squads, their virtually certain fate if they had been caught. Yet they persisted, striving to preserve their culture from extinction.

That defense of culture might serve as an example to us all.

On Oct. 16 of 1978, white smoke appeared above the Sistine Chapel announcing that a new pope had been chosen, and the man who would become the first non-Italian pope stepped to the balcony. Later at his inaugural Mass, this new pope, who had taken the name John Paul II, would declare the words that perhaps summed up his entire life: Be not afraid.

Much later, in the summer of 2017, Lech Walesa, who was a co-founder of the trade union Solidarity, a leader in the Polish battles against the nations communist government and the Soviet Union, and later president of Poland, delivered an address to some students and faculty at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, followed by a press conference. Having obtained a press card from the Smoky Mountain News, where I normally wrote book reviews, I attended Walesas lecture and the press conference. To my astonishment, both events were sparsely attended, and as one of only two print journalists present, I had the opportunity to ask some questions.

When I asked Mr. Walesa how much influence the pope had on events in Poland during the Solidarity protests, he answered through an interpreter: Before the pope first visited Poland, I had 10 supporters. After the pope left Poland, I had 10 million supporters.

The man who had walked out of the fire had brought light to a darkened world.

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In the Forge: The Making of John Paul II - The Epoch Times

The win by Banyana Banyana in the Womens Africa Cup of Nations, Wafcon 2022, is perfect timing as we draw close to the commemoration of Womens Month in August. It is prudent that we constantly remember the contribution women made in the advent of our constitutional democracy as ratified 26 years ago.

The historic march of 9 August 1956 was not only to protest the atrocious pass laws but a struggle waged against the patriarchal, classist and racist society brought to South Africa by colonialists as presented in the apartheid governance system. The march, led by the Federation of Women in South Africa, including the ANCs Womens league, brought together more than 20 000 women from across the country to converge on the Union Buildings.

The solidarity exhibited by these women was one of the most remarkable occurrences during the apartheid regime and it triumphed by destabilising the system. The women of 1956 categorically posited that the pass laws not only affected their movements, but yielded humiliation, and the arrests of women were further destroying their already damaged families. These pass laws were internal passports that restricted black peoples movement, advances for new employment and limited urbanisation.

The march was preceded by a series of petitions and demonstrations from the early 1900s. It was premised on the fact that women had borne the brunt of the pass laws. Their frustrations resulted in a coordinated effort, and motivation garnered through the various petitions, including the one presented in 1914, and they took to the streets of Pretoria to submit a petition against the pass laws. Today, we are appreciating the fruits of their spirit of their resilience and immense dedication to fight until the apartheid system was defeated.

As we commemorate and reflect on history, we must refuse to forget the role women played in the struggle, including the adoption of the Freedom Charter in Kliptown in 1955. The Freedom Charter is the manifesto that guided, propelled, and later reflected, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996.

One of the most appalling phenomena we are constantly subjected to in South Africa is whether the country is ready to have its first female president. This question is fundamentally problematic as it seeks to divorce women from critical leadership positions and erase them from history. This march was an indication of women taking up space and showing the government of the time that the role of women is not only to raise children and coordinate homes but to lead society, just like their male counterparts. This is reflected in the words of former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton: When women participate in the economy, everyone benefits.

The roles we have seen women play in our everyday lives, even during the period when only men were forced to be migrant labourers, include managing their own farms, maintaining their households and leading communities. These are the skills that are often forgotten and used to undermine the role of women.

The win for South Africa brought to us by our Banyana Banyana is a clear indication that the South African government must take a conscious decision to support womens football, not only by broadcasting, but by financial backing, just like with the mens football teams.

Furthermore, the country must prioritise gender equality at all levels of our society. Yet, we dont see gender equality being practised to its full extent. Our society consists mainly of women yet, in leadership positions, that demographic is not reflected instead strategic leadership positions are largely occupied by men.

It is factually incorrect to say that women do not support each other and choose to elect men to leadership positions. It has been proved that the current political terrain is not conducive and is hostile for women and, as a result, hinders the upward trajectory of women, particularly for critical leadership positions.

It is believed that, over the years, women have lost trust in their ability to exude strength and to exercise leadership; it seems they have been conditioned to believe leadership roles are only for men. They themselves have taken a back seat due to society conditioning women to believe their roles are simply in the household and to raise children. However, we see with every political and community organisation that women tend to be present, but representation becomes a different story.

Gender equality is a global challenge, however, the focus in this article is to navigate the South African context. In an attempt to address gender disparity, the government has established numerous policies and innovations which sought to empower women. Fair enough, in the cabinet, parliament and constitutional court, the three governance spheres, we have seen gender quotas and the presence of women. It would definitely be an injustice if we did not question the quality and power of the positions to which women are appointed.

We are still very far from reaching total equality at all levels of society. The patriarchy still rears its ugly head in our society. We need to develop strategies which will address such challenges from the roots. Just like in the many years before 1956, society must be organised to root out the toxins that perpetuate patriarchy. Yes, women need to unite, show the selflessness, resilience and courage shown by the women of 1956.

This should begin by establishing a society that sees women as human beings, just like men; that supports womens organisations and football teams, such as Banyana Banyana, and acknowledges the role of women in this new South Africa. As the late Mama Albertina Sisulu posited: Women are the people who are going to relieve us from all this oppression and depression. This needs a united society, united for the single goal of an equal and equitable society.

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The womens march of 1956 must inspire equality in our society - Mail and Guardian