Dr Sawraj Singh

SARKOZY, the French President attacked Burqa which is a religious symbol for the Muslim women and said that it was not acceptable in France.  He is trying to enforce the western concepts of woman’s liberation on the other cultures.  The western arrogance manifests itself when the westerners believe that their values are universal values.  I have always wondered how Bush, a man who seems to have below average intelligence, can become President of the leading country of the World.  However, Sarkozy becoming President of France is even a greater wonder.

France is a country which has the most liberal and revolutionary traditions.  Even the word Socialism was developed in France.  A person such as Sarkozy who is an extreme rightist, stubborn, arrogant, anti Muslim, anti minority, anti third world and American stooge, becoming President of France is nothing less than the eighth wonder of the World.  One can only hope that the French will learn from the Americans and put Sarkozy in the proper perspective as America has done for Bush.  Bush became the most disliked President in the American history.

Sarkozy was the only leader of a major European country who advocated boycotting the Beijing Olympics.  When the Chinese wanted to punish France economically, he did not mind turning around and apologizing to China.  Sarkozy has kept France on a roller coaster ride as far as relations with China are concerned.  He takes a tough stand against China and then has no qualms about begging China’s forgiveness.

Sarkozy is an east European immigrant to France; therefore he probably does not know the French history very well. Burqa became a very important symbol of resistance to France in Algeria. The Algerian revolutionaries used Burqa as a rallying point for the struggle against the French colonialists and France was kicked out of Algeria.  His reaction against Burqa can get France in trouble with many Islamic countries who may like to kick the French out of those countries. Can Sarkozy see the beating Bush took in Iraq and the westerners are taking in Afghanistan and Somalia from the Islamic radicals.  By alienating China and the Islamic countries, Sarkozy may do the biggest damage to France’s future.

Some zealots are pressing President Obama to take a tougher stand against the Islamic government of Iran.  These Americans should read the history of America’s involvement in Iran.  In 1953, the CIA unseated the nationalist Prime Minister of Iran who was democratically elected and replaced him with “Shah”, the most brutal dictator. The irony is that the Shah was not even a genuine Shah because he had no royal blood.  In Chile, the dually elected President Salvador Allende was overthrown and killed by the most brutal and ruthless dictator   Pinochet with the help of CIA. The atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Napalm bombs on Vietnam and the cluster bombs on Iraq do not speak very well about the democracy or human rights.

The era of western domination is over. Sarkozy and people like him should accept the realities of the present times and be prepared to live in a multipolar world where we should tolerate, accept and celebrate Diversity.  We should finally accept the fact that the western values are not the universal values.  Let different people follow their own cultural and religious values.  No matter how they look to us but the other people have an equal right to follow their way of life.

[The writer is a doctor by profession and is Chairman Washington State Network for Human Rights]

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Time for ‘Heavy Lifting' To Begin

AT a bipartisan meeting with congressional lawmakers yesterday, President Obama pledged "that he would push for a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration system by early next year." "It's going to require some heavy lifting," Obama said. "It's going to require a victory of practicality and common sense and good policymaking over short-term politics. That's what I'm committed to doing as president." Before the meeting, which had been delayed twice, the New York Times reported that although they agreed with the need for comprehensive immigration reform, some lawmakers, such as Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), "refused to put their political capital at risk without some assurances that Mr. Obama will spend some of his own." The meeting at the White House appears to have put those concerns to rest. " I don't think he could have be[en] clearer today or more committed today that he wanted to make comprehensive immigration reform a reality," said  Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), who had previously expressed frustration with Obama's commitment to the issue. "A lot of cynicism and a lot of doubt were left behind." According to Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Obama told the lawmakers that he was "ready to speak out publicly, ready to use whatever capital he had left to make sure immigration reform happens." Substantively, Obama announced at the meeting that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will lead a group of lawmakers on the issue from the House and Senate "to start systematically working through" what the Associated Press calls "the stickiest, most emotional questions."

COMPREHENSIVE REFORM CAN'T BE DELAYED: Acknowledging that "there is not by any means consensus across the table" about the particulars of immigration reform, Obama said he was encouraged that "after all the overheated rhetoric and the occasional demagoguery on all sides around this issue, we've got a responsible set of leaders sitting around the table who want to actively get something done and not put it off until a year, two years, three years, five years from now, but to start working on this thing right now." Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agreed with the sense of urgency. "We've got one more chance to do this," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), adding, "If we fail this time, no politician's going to take this up for a generation, and that'd be a shame for the country." "We've all shouted at each other on television enough. Now it's time to get down to work. I think the time politically is ripe," Weiner said. Earlier this month, when the Reform Immigration for America campaign was officially launched, Center for American Progress President and CEO John Podesta refuted "opponents of reform" who argue that "at a time when American workers are hurting, the best solution isn't reform -- but deportation." "This argument fails to recognize the critical role that immigrants play in economic growth," Podesta said. "We need solutions that restore the rule of law while aiding our economy by making taxpayers of all immigrants. So, to those opponents of reform we say this -- immigration reform and economic recovery are not at odds with each other, but rather go hand in hand."

PRINCIPLES FOR REFORM: Earlier this week, the Center for American Progress released a set of principles for immigration reform, which provide guidelines for an approach that "would require immigrants to register and become legal, pay taxes, learn English, and pass criminal background checks." Recognizing that "lasting solutions flow from policies that defend the bedrock American values of opportunity, equality, fairness, compassion, and a commitment to the common good," CAP argues that "five key principles for reform should guide the president and Congress." First, resolve the status of the undocumented, as it is "morally and economically unacceptable for the wealthiest nation on earth to have 12 million people living and functioning in an underground economy." Second, enhance legal immigration channels and labor mobility, so that employment-based immigration and family-based immigration complement each other and are "not pitted against one another in a zero-sum game." Third, any reforms must also protect American workers by safeguarding their ability to defend their rights, including the rights to change jobs freely and organize without fear and to earn a fair wage. Fourth, an inclusive American identity should be fostered by ensuring that newcomers have access to programs that "facilitate their integration into the nation's social and cultural fabric." Finally, smart enforcement policies and safeguards should be adopted, remembering that "a workable system would tolerate neither deliberate unlawful presence nor the violation of an individual's rights."

HARD WORK AHEAD: As President Obama noted, "comprehensive immigration reform is difficult" because it is such "a sensitive and politically volatile issue." Though the lawmakers in the meeting were "united by a common interest in solving the problem," as Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL) put it, points of tension did emerge. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), whom Obama praised by name in the meeting, "drew an early line in the sand" over the issue of a guest-worker program, saying he would not support any reform bill that does not contain a guest-worker measure. However, such a program is opposed by many labor unions, who have proposed that "an independent commission study labor market needs and decide how many immigrant workers should be allowed into the country." Ana Avendano, the Director of the Immigrant Worker Program at the AFL-CIO, pushed back against McCain's position, telling the Los Angeles Times that "just because McCain said no [on Thursday] doesn't mean we're not going to continue pushing policies that are good for working people in the United States." Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), chairman of a Senate committee on immigration, said that the tension over a guest-worker program is representative of the fact that "both parties, left and right, are going to have to give in some to get immigration reform." [Courtesy American Progress Org]

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Trouble for Indian students in Australia

Rupinder Gill

INDIAN students are going through a rough time at the moment.

At least 17 Indian students have fled Australia following a rise in the number of violent attacks against the community in the past month and many others are being asked by their worried parents to return home.
 
Australia government does believe the attacks and robberies are racially motivated but instead crimes of opportunity against soft targets: students who typically travel alone at night on public transportation.
 
But hundreds of Indian students see it differently. They have reacted with protests in at least three Australian cities. Police say at one point Indian students decided to take the law into their own hands and retaliate which has been condemned in both India and Australia..
 
The crime rate in Melbourne is high. Most of these crimes are petty robberies that happen late at night. Because many Indian students have part-time jobs that finish late in the evening, they often become victims of these petty crimes.

There's been a huge increase in the number of Indian students recently. They don't mix with Australian people and the only Australians they know are drunken teenagers or homeless racists in the streets or on the trains. That's how they get a wrong impression about Australia as a whole.
 
According to Victoria police sources, in 2007-08, there were 36,765 victims of crimes such as robberies and assaults, of which 24,260 were Caucasian and 1,447 were people of Indian origin
 
Back in early 2000, Indian students were preferring USA for their further studies but since 9/11 and strict USA visa policies; Australia has become the next popular country for Indian students
 
Education of foreign students has become big business in Australia, generating 15..5 billion Australian dollars (US$12.54 billion) in 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said last week. Foreigners now make up 25% of students, up from just fewer than 10% in 1997.

International students are a financial cornerstone of the Australian education industry. The education industry had a turn-over of A$6.9 billion in 2005. Indian students alone spent A$ 585 million, double what they spent only two years ago.1 In 2005, 344,815 full-time international students were enrolled in Australian higher education programmes. The number of Indian students (27,661) was second only to Chinese students (81,184) but represented an annual increase (33.5%) that outpaced all others.

The issue has attracted prominent media coverage in India - prompting the Indian government to convey its concern in high-level meetings with Australian officials.
 
The crisis comes as Australian authorities face a political vacuum in liaising with overseas students since the sector lost confidence in the peak National Liaison Committee, which had been championing the student safety issue.
 
Mr Singh has said he will talk to the Australian government to take "stock of the situation and provide adequate security for Indian students".
 
Kevin Rudd spoke to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, reassuring him that discrimination and victimisation of overseas students would not be tolerated. Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard also announced a round table on overseas student welfare aimed at deciding what more needs to be done “to promote and protect” Australia’s reputation as a safe destination for quality teaching and research.”

A big "take a stand against racism" demo called by Trades Hall back in the Hanson/Howard upsurge of racism back in 1996 played an important role in changing the atmosphere on the streets of Melbourne. For instance, socialists noticed immediately that large numbers of people from non-Anglo backgrounds started coming up to our anti-Hanson street stalls, where previously they were not confident to do this.
 
If the government cannot ensure the safety of the students who pay the fees, then they should give up the education trade.
 
What else should the Government do?
 
Provide more staff at train stations and on trains and cheaper accommodation for international students. Expensive, remote housing means students having to take crappy low paid jobs, often late at night, which means more time on late night trains.
 
The Government should end its own discrimination against international students. For instance, international students aren't eligible for a concession fare on public transport. In this and other ways the Government is sending a message that international students are not humans with the same rights as everyone, but cash cows to be milked by governments, ruthless businessmen operating private colleges, and thugs on trains alike.
 
A full work right for international students while they are in Australia is one important part of the solution. Many international students have to work long hours to support themselves, and to pay high fees to private colleges or Australian universities. Restrictions on the number of hours that international students are allowed to work don't change this: it just mean that international students end up taking cash jobs for low pay, under fear of being reported to the authorities. More late night trips on trains, more poverty, more fear.
 
Members of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha and the Punjab Students Union was hold a protest march and raise their voice against the racial attacks on the Indian student community in Australia in front of the Australian Embassy in Delhi on June 24.The members urged the Australian government to ensure safety of the Indian students in Australia.
 
China has joined India in asking Australia to provide improved protection for foreign students after a series of violent racist assaults on Indian students Down Under.
 
“There are over 130,000 Chinese students in Australia. They have, on the whole, had a good study and living environment in Australia, but attacks on Chinese students also occurred in recent years,” said a spokesman of the China’s Embassy in Canberra. 
 
To sum up, we can say that these incidents are rooted in sociological, economic, historical and ethical soil of developed cultural, pluralistic societies. The lasting and amicable solution therefore can only be found in the roots and not in stems.

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