Embedded Files
As you may know March was Women’s History Month. While it may not seem like much happened on this side of the world, in Mexico it was a month for speaking up and mourning those who were lost from femicide. Specifically on March 8th, which was international Women’s DAY. The streets were filled with powerful women wearing purple and carrying signs referring to and honouring these women, saying things like “we fight for those who can't anymore”. Around the world Women’s History Month is a time to reflect on the courage of women in past and present generations and celebrate the contributions women bring to society. We celebrate women’s efforts and bravery that afforded us to get to where we are today, and to talk about how the fight isn't over. Each year Women’s History Month has a theme, this year's theme is Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope. This theme is a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during these difficult times. More information at: https://www.womenshistorymonth.gov/
One of the things that we celebrate during Women’s History Month is making our voice heard, one way to do this is through VOTING. Speaking of voting, that is our next topic of discussion! The majority of countries have a minimum voting age of 18 for national elections, the U.S. aligns with most other places in this. Out of 237 countries and territories for which the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network has data, 205 have a minimum voting age of 18. Knowing this and knowing the mid term elections in the United States are this year (November 8th), we want to bring this topic back into discussion and encourage those turning 18 this year (and those who already are) to register to vote!
Most countries and territories allow voters who live abroad to cast ballots in certain capacities. That’s the case in the U.S. and another 151 of the 216 countries and territories evaluated by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, at least for national legislative, European Parliament or presidential elections. Many also allow external voting for legislative elections, presidential elections or referendums. Almost every country in Europe provides some form of external voting, and many allow citizens to vote from abroad for multiple types of elections. Most European Union countries also allow citizens abroad to vote in European Parliamentary elections.
Around the world, 55 countries and territories do not allow any voting from abroad. Many of these countries are located in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. So if your home country isn't located in any of these regions we encourage you to register to vote!! If you have any questions we will be happy to help you, we also will be having a stand with information and members willing to help this week monday-wednesday before spring break. For more information about voting abroad in different countries check out: https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/voting-abroad
On March 29th, President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Act that named lynching a federal hate crime. The bill is named after 14 year old Emmett Louis Till who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by lynching in 1955 when he was accused of whistling at a white woman. His murder became a symbol for the horrifc treatment of black people in the american south, and also was a catalyst to the civil rights movement. Biden and Kamala gave speeches, and I would like to share what Kamala said, because not only was what she said was true, but I feel it's one of the rare times I have heard presidential authority not sugar coat the truth of our society. Her words are as follows: “Today, we are gathered to do unfinished business, to acknowledge the horror in this part of our history. To state inequidad that lynching is and has always been a hate crime, and to make clear that the federal government may now prosecute these crimes as such. Lynching is not a relic of the past. Racial acts of terror still occur in our nation. And when they do, we must all have the courage to name them and hold the perpetrators to account.”
And finally, some information on something we have all been worrying about recently; the situation in Ukraine. Over 4.1 million Ukrainians have fled their country, and some of the countries that border Ukraine have been very accommodating and welcoming to the refugees. This is the story we all are aware of but one that isn't talked about as frequently is what happens at the border, specifically to African people. Africans who have been living in Ukraine say that the border guards have made it extremely difficult to cross into neighbouring countries. They have had to endure long waits (days), huddling in the cold without food or shelter, they have been pushed to the back of the line by Ukrainian authorities and sometimes even been beaten. All of this while white Ukrainians were let through without discrimination.
A 24-year-old doctor from Nigeria who lived in western Ukraine named Chineye Mbagwu, said she spent more than two days stranded at the Poland-Ukraine border as the guards let Ukrainians cross but blocked foreigners. “The Ukrainian border guards were not letting us through,” she said in a phone interview. “They were beating people up with sticks and tearing off their jackets,” she added. “They would slap them, beat them and push them to the end of the queue. It was awful.”
The Deputy Interior Minister of Ukraine denied that his country was obstructing foreigners from leaving as he said the following; “We are first to release women and children. Foreign men must wait for women and children to come forward. We will release all foreigners without hindrance, same goes for blacks.”. This differs from the tons of stories from Africans posted on social media. Ms. Mbagwu said she managed to reach Warsaw, but she crossed the border only by struggling and pushing her way through. “They would say ‘only women and children can pass through,’' she said. “But they were letting some Ukrainian men through. And whenever a Black lady would try to pass, they said: ‘Our women first,’” Of course the white Ukrainians are also dealing with struggles as this is not an easy situation to go through. Everyone has had to wait in the cold without proper shelter and little food, but racial discrimination indeed makes it harder for the African Ukrainian residents.
Page updated
Report abuse