THE CHILD SOLDIERS: WE CANNOT TURN A BLIND EYE

Whenever I see pictures and videos of children, some even just toddlers, bearing weapons like brave soldiers ready to face war with the enemies, I ask myself, “What kind of conscience do people have to expose such children to danger?” They are taught to hate the enemy and fight with all their might at the cost of the children’s innocent lives.

Just days ago videos of Syrian child soldiers were featured in the Vocativ by writer Versha Sharma. One video showed an innocent infant in a stroller holding a gun. Others just barely years older, are holding heavy weapons almost as tall as they are. The young combatants seem so eager to fight the enemies to gain their freedom from an oppressive government. Anyone under a suppressed environment would if they understood what they are fighting for. But for these young soldiers, the realization that they are in danger do not sink in until they actually have to pull the trigger, throw grenades and get shot at. Then the nightmare and trauma they are already in worsen.

(Source: Vocativ)

Children have always been an attraction in conflict zones because of their vulnerability and impressionable minds. They are eager to discover and follow what they are told without many questions. They resist less, therefore much easier to condition and train. Their small size and agility also make them stealthier and less suspicious to their hostile enemies. They are used as messengers, baits, even shields. Not anyone would suspect or just kill an innocent child, so they can roam around with some freedom and even avoid checkpoints. But when they are out there in the warzone and witness their companions killed or being shot at, they cry in fear…because they are after all, children who still need to be protected and understand the ways of the world.


How these child soldiers are recruited vary. Many children in African nations like Sudan, Congo, and Sierra Leone are kidnapped by rebel groups. They are brainwashed and manipulated to hate the enemies. Those too young and cannot be assigned for combat are left in the camp to do chores. They prepare the food, tend to the wounded and serve the soldiers. It is much worse for the female recruits. They become sex slaves of soldiers as well though there have been reported incidents of males going through the same ordeal. The children are exposed to all kinds of danger including sexualized violence which has become a common weapon of war.

I cannot say which is much worse: the children kidnapped by rebels and forced to be child soldiers, or parents volunteering their own children to fight like soldiers and allowing them to be at the forefront of conflict zones. I have never lived near a conflict zone area. I don’t know what goes on in the minds of families who voluntarily let their children be exposed to the dangers of war as child soldiers. It is traumatic enough that the children are in the midst of conflict but it is so much worse that they are sent to the frontlines to fight. I can understand that that children may have to be taught to defend themselves but I cannot comprehend why they would risk their own children’s lives by actually sending them to war when they should be playing with toys and not guns or going to school.

In April 2011, the United Nations’ (UN) reported that there were 600 child soldiers in conflict areas in Southern Philippines who were being reintegrated and rehabilitated to local communities. I can’t help thinking how fortunate they are to have a chance at a better life and will soon be able to live as normal children again. Others never make it and become part of the “collateral damage.”

There are over 250,000 child soldiers in the world. Whatever the reason, there is no justification at throwing these children in a situation where their young minds, bodies and emotions cannot cope. They cannot just be thrown to the wolves to be devoured by the violence of war because they are obedient, impressionable and easily manipulated. The UN and several NGOs continue to work in coordination with governments and rebel groups to bring these children back into the mainstream of society. These children deserve a future. We cannot just turn a blind eye and do nothing.

Sources:
1. UN finds 600 child soldiers in Philippines (channelnewsasia.com) -
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1121569/1/.html
2. Child Soldiers In Syria: Sick Mascots or the New Face of Global Jihad? -
http://feed.vocativ.com/child-soldiers-in-syria-sick-mascots-or-the-new-face-of-global-jihad/

BECAUSE THEY WERE BORN THE “WRONG” SEX…

“Murdering girls is still sometimes believed to be a wiser course than raising them," says a mother who poisoned her second female child.

According to Gendercide Watch, the low status accorded to women in most parts of the world is “the most brutal and destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias that pervades patriarchal societies.”  

In India, data from 2001 vs 2011 shows Kerala has the highest sex ratio at 1,084 females for every 1000 males but Haryana has the lowest sex ratio among states at 877 females for every 1000 males and Daman & Diu has the lowest among all states and territories at 618 females for every 1000 males.

In China, the ratio of male vs female showed three consecutive falls in more than 30 years at 199.5 males to 100 females in 2009, 117.9 males to 100 females in 2010 and 117.8 males to 100 females in 2011.

I can go on and on about statistics and trends but what do they really amount to? What do they say or imply? It simple. It’s as the Gendercide watch put it – it’s the low status accorded to women in a very patriarchal society. Women are expected to tend to the home, serve food to the family while the man of the house supposedly toils to provide food on the table and education for the children. So the female child is sacrificed because having one is more burdensome for many reasons.

Even in this modern day and age, there is no denying that most societies, even in very developed countries like the United States or United Kingdom, the patriarchal system exists though not to the degree as India or China where female infanticide is in shocking numbers because of the strong preference for male children.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

Admittedly this strong preference for male children is a compelling factor that contributes to the problem of female infanticide.  Economic considerations such as dowry payments, the belief that the son has a greater earning potential, and the increased accessibility of ultrasound scans have also contributed to the growing number of sex-selective abortions.  It is estimated that annually half a million girls are victims of female infanticide.

In India, as a family gets wealthier, it is unwilling to part with its wealth when daughters are married off because of the dowry system that prevails despite its prohibition by law. In China, the one-child policy has aggravated the disparity between male and female since the birth of a daughter would mean having to dispense with having a son.

CONSEQUENCES

The continuous trend of decreasing number of females may lead to consequences that can cross boarders if the gap between the male and female ratio continues to widen. It can lead to human trafficking, female slavery and a host of other crimes against women as the need to match the number of males in certain areas can no longer be met locally. Since female children are either aborted or abandoned and never declared, this also creates a social problem as the number of unregistered births grows. They will be unable to claim health or government benefits as they are legally non-existent.  

In 2008 alone, India recorded 6.4 million legal abortions. The unrecorded abortions cannot be estimated. But while the law provides for a maximum punishment of three years in prison and a fine of 10,000 rupees, doctors involved in illegal abortions were fined a measly 1,000 rupees.    

Is it much worse in China? Though the Chinese government has denied that female infanticide was contributory to the widening gap between male and female ratio, statistics indicate otherwise. Zhejiang's birth gender ratio in 2010 was 118.13 males for every 100 females with 30,000 more boys born than girls every year.  In some places, the gap is even wider at 130 males to 100 females.

If the trend continues, by 2020, Indian and Chinese men will have to find wives outside their regions. This can lead to various complications when other factors like cultural differences, religion, economic and social status come into play.

Katherine Tranter stated in her article that “according to China’s National Population and Family Planning Commission, female trafficking, illegal marriages, and prostitution are rampant in areas that have excess numbers of men. Studies conducted in India and China  also found that crime levels have risen as sex ratios have become more distorted.”  

This is further confirmed by Gendercide Watch stating that kidnapping and slave-trading of women have increased. There are regular reports of women being abducted in such places as northern Vietnam to “feed the demand in China." (Jonathan Manthorpe, "China battles slave trading in women: Female infanticide fuels a brisk trade in wives," The Vancouver Sun, January 11, 1999.).

CONCLUSION

Solutions to eliminate the pervasive problem of female infanticide require political will. There has to be a change in the belief that having a female child is the “wrong sex.”  Media and government play a major role in promoting change in the perception of females. Gender equality should be strongly emphasized. Law enforcers should never be tolerant of violations against gender-based crimes and should have strict regulations enforced to protect the rights of each individual regardless of gender. This includes the drive against trafficking of females.

All these solutions are common proposals openly campaigned by many organized groups. But the reality is that the problem has long been in existence and its immediate solution cannot be achieved short-term without political will. What is significant is that with the growing number of concerned civic groups and the presence of technology to provide broader reach, the path to reaching its realization is another step closer.

We should never forget that being female is not being born the “wrong sex.”

It is our equal right to have a life in this world and no one has the right to ever take that away from us.

 

Sources:

1. http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/south-asia/technology-affluence-appear-to-increase-female-foeticide-in-india#ixzz2NgjLEUyV
2. http://www.indiatimes.com/life-and-style/chinese-people-protest-female-foeticide-31949.html
3. http://www.aiia.asn.au/access-monthly-access/ma-issue-21/697-missing-girls-in-india-and-china)
4. http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html  
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_states_and_territories_ranking_by_sex_ratio

THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE…

"I would honestly give my life if I could bring them back." Eric said.

"It was what I'd been waiting to hear, but I still wanted him punished." - Meagan's mother

That was the reaction of Meagan's mother to Eric’s words.  Eric had been drunk-driving and he killed Meagan and her friend instantly when his car hit them. When I read about Meagan’s mother forgiving the man who killed her daughter and friend in an accident because he was drunk while driving, I thought there must have been something so compelling that made her do it. As I finished the article, I understood. There was remorse from the person and he had asked for forgiveness. Though Meagan’s mother had forgiven him, she nevertheless wanted him to pay for his mistake. Eric will be released in November after serving his shortened 11-year sentence. The victim’s mother also helped in the appeal to shorten it.  They now work together spreading the word on anti-drunk driving even as he is finishing his sentence for what he had done, wearing a prison uniform and in shackles while talking before a crowd. I found their joint effort – victim and offender working together for the same cause, simply amazing. Not many could easily forgive as this mother had done. But then, not many offenders can genuinely be remorseful and want to turn their lives around as he did.

The other day, a colleague told me about the traumatic experience her friend’s family is going through. Her friend and her daughters were waiting to cross the street to go to Church early Sunday morning when they were side-swiped by a speeding car. The driver tried to escape but a good Samaritan followed the driver in his motorcycle until he was cornered and apprehended. The driver was drunk, driving without a license and with female passengers after coming from a party. What is so irritating about it is that the driver’s parents had so easily name-dropped their political lineage, the father being the grandson of a late senator and vice president. Should that have made them holier than thou and untouchable? Should that have made the authorities fear that they are treading on a dangerous path if the driver, the great grandson of a politician was apprehended?

Isn’t it even more sickening when the driver’s mother approached the victim’s mother that all their expenses will be paid if no case is filed against her son? I wonder how her face looked when the victim’s mother replied “You love your son and want him to be free but my child died and the other is fighting for her life…” Well, the victim’s mother left and hadn’t been heard from. No help was extended to pay for all the expenses caused by her son’s drunk-driving. The victim’s church extended the help the victim’s family needed. 

I wonder? Does the value of human life mean so little that people can just offer money in exchange for a lost or damaged life as if others’ lives don’t matter?  That people can just be paid off so others who have victimized people can go scot-free without getting punished? That if the aggrieved refuses to accept the “bribe,” it is the aggrieved who will suffer?

I can understand only too well a mother’s love for her child. But children will never learn if we tolerate their wayward ways and bribe their way to freedom without making them realize their mistakes and suffer the consequences. There is forgiveness but there should also be justice. The value of human life cannot be disregarded.

By Lylin Aguas

Trafficking and the Baby Farms…

Just the other day a picture was posted by Women’s Rights News saying that the United Nations statistics reveal that 10 children a day are trafficked in Nigeria.  That’s Nigeria ALONE! Can you imagine how many more there are in other countries like Cambodia, Thailand and other nations where millions are impoverished?

What is utterly abhorring are stories of babies actually being “bred” so they can be sold as soon as they are born. The David Smith story about a Nigerian “baby farm” raided last June 2011 is not new. Nigeria has been identified for these “baby farms” that have become quite profitable for the “professional” criminals. “Professional” because these places are run by licensed doctors or medical practitioners who use their professional skills to “breed” babies for sale to the highest bidder.     

I went back to an old article I wrote on “baby farms” thinking it may have been the same one mentioned. It wasn’t. The story I wrote happened in 2008 but it was really no different from the July 2011 story…only the cost of the babies in 2008 was less than it was in the June 2011 raid. The pregnant mothers-to-be were kept in the so-called clinics or hospitals until they gave birth. Some had unwanted pregnancies and went to these places hoping to get an abortion but ended up being detained there against their will until they gave birth. In 2008, the mothers were paid $170 and the babies were sold from $2,500 to $3,800. Today the mothers are paid almost the same as in 2008 but the babies now cost as much as $6,400 each when sold. Lucrative? Ohhhh yes.

What is even more repulsive is that some of these girls are also molested and abused while in these clinics or hospitals. Stories of men “hired” to impregnate women in such places were also reported by the victims themselves.  Some of them who had given birth and paid after their babies were born actually came back or stayed to voluntarily be impregnated again so they can sell their babies. That’s 9 months of free food and lodging for the mother and about $170 once she gives birth. Then what? She goes hungry again when the money runs out…then gets herself impregnated again? It’s such a vicious cycle but it is happening because people are so desperate to survive and there doesn’t seem to be many options open for them.  Worse, there are people who can be so manipulative and can without conscience exploit unassuming young women who may have just approached them for assistance.   

That these manipulative people have no conscience is even putting it mildly. They’re heartless money-hungry criminals who exploit the dire state of poverty these women are in, so they could profit from them. It’s an entirely different kind of human trafficking but trafficking nevertheless. The women are abused, raped, impregnated, many kept against their will until they give birth and paid an insultingly low fee. To say that these women may have also been used as prostitutes even while they were pregnant is not entirely impossible. These operators have total control of them while inside their so-called clinics. Some had even said they were also drugged at times and found out later that the operator had raped them.

The “baby farms” discovered in Enugu, Nigeria in 2008 and in Aba in 2011 also in Nigeria, show that the problem continues to proliferate to this day. But to say that this is happening because millions are impoverished is not entirely accurate. Many of these women are kept in these farms against their will. It exists because there are people who are willing to “feed” these criminals’ thirst for profit.  Where there are no buyers, there would be no business. But there are, and that is so tragic for the victims.  

Trafficking babies isn’t unique to Nigeria. The existence of “baby farms” has of course highlighted the situation there. But trafficking of babies happens everywhere and in many forms. I have watched a documentary where a mother with nine children would get pregnant to sell her baby. She had no qualms letting the reporter know that she had done it several times and would do it again for a fee. Others would kidnap babies to sell them to people willing to buy them.

The human world has become more and more inhuman, uncaring of others, forgetting that profit is temporary and this could all be run out, that respect and compassion for others are essential.  But how can you tell this to criminals? Trafficking is something ordinary to them…part of their business. They are so used to it that no emotions are involved when they “go about their business.”

There are several NGOs in Nigeria working with local and international authorities to arrest this problem but so much still has to be done. It is undoubtedly difficult for instance to change a people’s belief overnight, on witchcraft rituals where newborn babies are used for sacrifice. There are also childless couples who in desperation resort to adopting newborn babies, maybe not knowing that these babies were “bred” because people like them were willing to buy the babies.

There is a need to be vigilant to curb this problem and it has to be a concerted effort between the citizens and government. That is already being done now. The social and legal structures are already there that can make the change happen. It may take a while, but it can happen. It will happen…  

    

By Lylin Aguas

LET IT NOT BE IN VAIN

These last few days, the world was abuzz on the tragic fate that has befallen the medical student who was gang-raped by 6 men in a moving bus in the center of Delhi. News of her death has caused so much outrage at how authorities handled the incident. 

I felt so much disappointment at the thought that there could actually be men who can be so brutal as to subject a helpless woman to such torture. But there are such people, and not just in India.  I asked myself if they would have done the same thing if they were not under the influence of alcohol…but one was sober enough to be able to drive around the major streets of Delhi without being noticed of driving under the influence. There is NO EXCUSE for what was done to her and she and her family deserve justice.

Statistics show that there is an incidence of rape every 18 hours in Delhi. Over 24,000 rape cases in India in 2011 and less than 26% convictions.  Just days before the Delhi incident, a 17-year old teenager was also gang-raped. She committed suicide in despair that no one, not even the authorities who are expected to help and protect her, did anything to charge the criminals. Pathetic is not a strong enough word to describe what the police had done. Instead of charging the criminals, the police suggested that the victim marry one of her rapists and to drop the case against her rapists. Is that not adding insult and more humiliation to the injury inflicted on her? It is tragic enough that the victims suffered so much from these criminals. But it is so much worse that the very people expected to protect them have shamelessly dishonored themselves from the very people they have SWORN TO PROTECT.   

The article posted by Olga Khazan and Rama Lakshmi on December 29, 2012 in the Washington Post put it quite directly, “It will be hard to end discrimination against women at police stations when it starts in the crib.” It is not just the handling of the rape incidents by authorities that is flawed and despicable. The mindset of a highly patriarchal society HAS TO CHANGE. Women are neither objects nor chattel to be abused, sold or traded. No man will exist without women bearing and giving them life. WHEN will these men even realize that? To make matters worse, some women even seem to accept the state of women being in a lower social stature than men. Do the women have to rise up in arms against such men to defend themselves from brutal violence and at the very least be treated with respect? Is that why there are men who take such pain in making sure girls are deprived of an education, sold in brothels, or made to work at home to do chores? To make sure they do not surpass the superiority of men? Because they’re dispensable?  JUST GIRLS?
As outrage burst in the streets of India, the gang-rapes continued. A10-year old was gang-raped and fished out from a canal in Bihar state's Saharsa district. Another 14 -year old schoolgirl was in critical condition in Banka district of Bihar after she was raped by four men. Gang-rapes seem to have become so common. Delhi has earned itself the title of being the “rape capital” of India. Not a title to be proud of. Or is it to the men who think violating women makes them superior and strong?  

The truth cannot be ignored. Women have EVERY RIGHT to be educated, to be respected, to walk the streets at night and live without fear because their gender exposes them to people who never learned what respect for human life is.

WE HAVE TO LEARN TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS AND BE INDEPENDENT!  We cannot just take things sitting down and accept a degrading fate of being dependent on men for our daily food and survival.   

Let the memories of what happened to Aruna Shanbaug, Hanufa Khatoon, Bhanwari Devi and many others like them, some nameless and never to be found ever be forgotten. They deserve no less. Do not let all they suffered for be in vain.

LET IT NOT BE IN VAIN

By Lylin Aguas

Sources:

1. India Bus Gang Rape: Outrage Spreads Over Public Sexual Assault - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/29/india-rape-victim-dies-sexual-violence-proble/      

2. 2. 10 reasons why India has a sexual violence problem - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/19/india-bus-gang-rape_n_2329002.html?ref=topbar

2. 
   

Being Gay is Being Human

I still remember the shock when I chanced upon a video shared online some months back. It showed a man from a place in Africa being beaten and tortured to death. Why? - because he was gay. He was surrounded by several men no less than twenty. Some were participants to the torture, others spectators and taking a video of what was going on. 

As the victim struggled to run away, people followed him, hurting him every chance they could get. Finally he was too weak to run and fell to the ground. Someone set fire to a tire. Another poured gasoline on the victim. Then someone set him on fire. People watched. Some laughed and jeered and others were unemotional. Some maybe with a little bit sense of guilt for being there and doing nothing…but they could do nothing, maybe out of fear that they too would suffer the same fate if they tried to defend the victim.   
Having a different sexual preference does not make a person a criminal. It is just a different belief and perspective and they should be respected for their beliefs, as I expect them to respect mine. I do not have to agree with their beliefs or way of life as they do not have to agree with mine. And as long as they do not pose a danger to society like violent criminals do, then they are certainly entitled to their own space as I am. They are as human as I am. 

It’s so tragic that people can be so discriminated upon for their sexual preferences. And it is even worse that some African nations like Uganda have laws that prosecute people for being gay. The revision of the law is now up for debate in Uganda and if passed, it would still send every gay, lesbian or transgender person in Africa to jail – for life.  

How a government can tolerate and even support such a law is abominable.  But many are unaware that it exists. It is our role to create awareness that such an inhuman law exists so that others can be the voice of the many voiceless people who stand to suffer from such a law. It can cause a negative effect among other African nations if people do not come together to make a stand so the lawmakers would listen.
Together people can make a difference…and the African citizens can and have done so in the past. TOGETHER with the rest of the world, WE CAN….     


By Lylin Aguas

Sexual Violence...The New Weapon of War

It was called Slavery during the civil war, Comfort Women in World War II, and today they are considered the modern day sex slaves. During the civil war, the women were discriminated upon and abused because of their race. In World War II, the Comfort Women who were victims of the Japanese military sexual violence were abducted, lured with promises of work and brought in “comfort stations” to be raped, abused, or punished for whatever reason. It is said that approximately three quarters of comfort women died, and most survivors were left infertile due to sexual trauma or sexually transmitted disease.  

In the Bosnian war in the 1990s, sexualized violence was also rampant. There were “rape camps” where women were repeatedly tortured and violated, some by as many as 20 men a day – an “ethnic cleansing” of children and adults through sexual violence because of their religion. In other nations like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Libya or Egypt, the males and females suffer the same fate under what is now called the new weapon of war – sexual violence.

Though historically the majority of the victims were female, sexual violence during conflicts of war does not discriminate on gender or age. By using sexual violence as a form of weapon to humiliate and strip them of their dignity, the victims to a large extent lose their spirit and will to fight, shaming and bringing dishonor to their families.

For some who were able to escape their abusers, there was a glimmer of hope to start a new life, but the tragic and violent experience will always remain a deep scar in their memories. Some never really recovered from the trauma. Many continue to suffer in silence for fear of further humiliation and being ostracized by their own families and the society they live in. Others never survived the torture and abuses inflicted on them. They perished from the systematic acts of sexual violence... the nameless and faceless John and Jane Does, forever buried into obscurity and never to be found again.

To this day, the debate continues on the number of actual victims. The difficulty in coming out with an accurate statistical data is largely due to the fact that such violence is kept by the victims and their families, many resorting to honor killing to protect the family’s reputation. Some simply disappeared. Others were too emotionally and psychologically distraught to report and recount the horrors of their experience.

And to add to what is already an acknowledged concern by the international community, there were people expected to be protectors of the victims - the “peacekeepers,” who also turned out to be involved in abuses or exploitation. The victims were left to fend for themselves the best they can under the circumstances where such “peacekeepers” were involved in sexual abuses. Such was the case recently reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the sexual violations committed by UN peacekeepers were termed a grave betrayal of trust. UN Peacekeepers reported as sexually and violently violating young girls were not really questioned  “so long as they wear that iconic blue beret or blue helmet.” How such criminal acts can be tolerated is deplorable and should be punishable and never tolerated.   

Developments:

Though there have been developments in addressing the growing concern on the use of sexual violence as a tool or weapon during conflicts of war, the pace is still going way too slow.

In Sierra Leone, former Liberian President Charles Taylor became the first head of state since World War II to be convicted by an international war crimes court on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was convicted of kidnapping children and turning them into child soldiers and sex slaves aside from the notoriety of hacking off the limbs of their enemies and carving their groups' initials into opponents.

The Dayton Accords signed after the Bosnia-Herzegovina war provided for restitution for survivors of sexualized violence. Victims were supposed to be allowed to return to their former homes as long as the return would be “safe and dignified.” But “no rules have been put in place to provide alternatives for the many women whose former homes are the site of extreme trauma and sometimes months of repeated rape.”   Though the Accord was enacted, it failed in the sense that some victims ended up returning to communities only to be vulnerable to the very people who committed abuses against them and their families.  

The victims of war through sexual slavery should not be viewed as dishonour to the family. Nor should they be treated as mere victims of sexual violence or another number added to the growing statistics of such violence. Rather they should be provided with the means to recover from their trauma to be able to start a new life again. Family support and professional therapy to help them cope are critical to their recovery. Some may never be able to cope and live through the degrading and inhuman experience they went through. The road to recovery won’t be easy for these victims but with the support from their families, government and Non-Government Organizations, they have a chance...

Sources and Readings:

• Int'l Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia was 1st intl tribunal in Europe to convict rape as crime against humanity http://ow.ly/cSTns  
• Sudan's activists face rape--1 fights back. The story of this remarkable 25-year-old woman embodies courage: http://tinyurl.com/c5fb3mt #DRC
• When the numbers don’t add up: Researchers and media struggle with stats on sexualized violence http://ow.ly/cSSxQ #VAW
• Rape casualties should be considered wounded combatants rather than mere victims of sexual violence.  - http://www.stopdemand.org/afawcs0153418/CATID=5/ID=378/SID=572773169/Libya-Hidden-deaths-of-Libyan-rape-survivors.html
• Bosnia's Women - The Long Road to Recovery: http://ow.ly/cSuuo #VAW
• Women Under Siege Project: http://ow.ly/cSINo
• Stories of Comfort Women -  http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2011/06/04/134271795/comfort-women-untold-stories-of-wartime-abuse
• Peacekeepers gone wild: How much more abuse will the UN ignore in Congo? - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/peacekeepers-gone-wild-how-much-more-abuse-will-the-un-ignore-in-congo/article4462151/?cmpid=rss1  
• Dayton Accord -  Amnesty International reported in 2009 - http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/conflicts/profile/bosnia#witness

By Lylin Aguas

Deltawomen Honors Volunteers with PRESIDENT’S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD

For Immediate Release                                                           Contact:  Elsie Ijorogu-Reed

06/22/2012                                                                             

Deltawomen Honors Volunteers with

President’s Volunteer Service Award

 Award is a Prestigious National Honor for Volunteer Service

Houston, Texas– Deltawomen today announced it has awarded 5 volunteers with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor offered in recognition of volunteer service.

Established in 2003, the Award is available on an annual basis to individuals, groups and families who have met or exceeded requirements for volunteer service and have demonstrated exemplary citizenship through volunteering.  As one of thousands of Certifying Organizations participating in the Award program, Deltawomen confers the award to recognize the outstanding achievements of its volunteers, and today honors the following volunteers:

• Dr. Kalra (Bronze)
• Elaheh Zohrevandi (Bronze, Silver, Gold)
• Kirthi Jayakumar (Bronze, Silver, Gold)
• Simisola Ogun (Bronze, Silver)
• Lylin Aguas (Bronze)

Deltawomen has a long history of volunteer service, and more than 140 volunteers perform community service each year on behalf of the organization.

“In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush created the USA Freedom Corps, and called on every American to make a lifelong commitment to volunteer service.  The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes individuals and families who have answered that call,” said Elsie Ijorogu-Reed of Deltawomen. 

“America’s volunteers work to make our communities stronger and safer. As a Certifying Organization for the Award program, Deltawomen is proud to be aligned with this prestigious volunteer award, and we are especially proud of our volunteers who have made volunteer service a central part of their lives.”

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is an award for volunteer service that every American – from every age and every walk of life – can aspire to achieve.  To be eligible to receive the Award, individuals, families and groups submit a record of their annual volunteer service hours to participating Certifying Organizations, such as Deltawomen, that will verify the service and deliver the Award. Award eligibility for individuals and groups is based on hour requirements varying by age. 

“These recipients of the President’s Volunteer Service Award are role models for all Americans and people all over the world,” Elsie Ijorogu-Reed said.  “Each volunteer hour contributed makes a difference in improving the quality of life for others, and I encourage everyone to contribute to our community by volunteering.  Volunteers bring us closer together as families, as communities and as a Nation, through their commitment.”

The Award is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, a group created by President Bush to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers are making to our Nation.  Chaired by two-time Super Bowl Champion Darrell Green, with former U.S. Senators Bob Dole and John Glenn as honorary co-chairs, the Council comprises leaders in government, media, entertainment, business, education, nonprofits and volunteer service organizations, and community volunteering.

For more information about volunteering for Deltawomen send an email to ereed@deltawomen.org

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