#MeToo Advocates Battle Culture of Shame in Bosnia
Fear and shame still prevent most women in patriarchal Bosnia from speaking out against sexual violence and harassment – but there are faint signs of change.
Profiting from war and occupation
My activism began when I worked, as part of the peace movement, to oppose the war in Iraq. As the occupation of Iraq continued I joined War on Want and my campaigning focused on holding to account companies profiting from the war and abusing human rights. Working with oil industry experts at Platform we supported Iraqi activists and trade unions in their successful bid to stop an unfair oil privatisation law being passed. The government was forced to act, although failed to deliver, to address the issue of Private Military and Security Companies after our campaign to highlight the abuses of civilians in Iraq. Iraq is not the only place where corporations have seen the opportunity to profit from conflict. With the report Banking on Bloodshed we exposed for the first time the extent of UK high street banks investments in the arms trade. As well as supporting Palestinian human rights by challenging companies profiting from Israel’s occupation.
Workers rights and supply chain exploitation
War on Want has done much to make people in the UK aware of the exploitation of workers in supply chains and hold companies to account. Working with The National Garment Workers' Federation (NGWF) in Bangladesh, our work to highlight the cost of fast fashion on the workers who make our clothes made front page news and encouraged people across the UK to get involved and take action. In the wake of the horrific Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh in 2013 and the death of over 1000 people, we channeled this support and worked with trade unions and activists in Bangladesh and around the world to ensure fashion retailers signed up to the legally binding Bangladesh Safety Accord.
Refugee and migrant rights on the Balkan route
In 2015 over one million refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean and travelled along the Balkan route on their way to destination countries further north. I led Oxfam’s campaigning and policy work on migrants and refugees on the Balkan route. In November 2015 I worked with Oxfam and the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights to expose the shocking abuse of migrants and refugees traveling through Bulgaria. The report “Safe Passage” received significant international media coverage and led to the suspension of four police officers and sacking of two others. In March 2016 the Balkan route was closed down, leaving thousands in limbo, forcing them to turn to smugglers and leaving them vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation and abuse. With Oxfam, IOM and partners such as The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Macedonia Young Lawyers Association & Atina I’ve continued to champion the rights of those stuck at Europe’s borders.
Denying Srebrenica
In today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina remembering genocide and challenging hate can feel like an act of defiance.
Paris, May 1968: My Dad The Accidental Revolutionary
In a diary, hidden out of sight for half a century, my dad documented the debates, barricades and tear gas of Paris in May 1968 My dad is well known for his storytelling. When I was growing up his hitchhiking stories were a favourite. Waking up in a tent in a policeman’s garden in Belgrade, sleeping on rooftops in Istanbul or under bridges in Paris. An enduring favourite was the time he spent in Paris during May 68, picturing him watching a Brando film, when the cinema filled with tear gas and he was forced to get to his lodgings through streets filled with rioters. I was always fascinated yet a little incredulous. I was never entirely sure if it was just family lore, born of a vivid imagination. Until a few months ago he dug out his hitchhiking diaries. In his recognisably loopy handwriting he had documented each day of his journey through Europe, including the remarkable account of how he stumbled upon the Paris barricades. May ’68 was France’s moment of rebellion at the epicentre of a [...]
The aid industry is long overdue its #MeToo moment
I recently worked for Oxfam and the love and trust many people have felt for Oxfam is not, in my experience, misplaced. And neither is the shock and anger at what happened with Oxfam in Haiti. In the name of the women involved, cynical attempts have been made to use this situation to cut funding for much needed humanitarian and development work. However, we must be careful not to minimise what has happened and dismiss the outrage as a Daily Mail witch-hunt or a right wing conspiracy. Whilst I feel the urge to protect all that is good in the work Oxfam and the aid industry does, I am alarmed when I hear people trying to reduce this to a story about a handful of staff in one organisation. The reality is, Oxfam is an international player in the global aid industry. The abuse of women in Chad and Haiti and the subsequent ‘cover up’ exposed by The Times is not a one off in the sector. There have been warnings for years, but few were listening. Until now. [...]
‘We are hungry in three languages’: The forgotten promise of the Bosnian Spring
t is four years since thousands of Bosnians took part in protests in major towns and cities across the country. For a few turbulent weeks there was a genuine sense of anticipation, fear and excitement. People began to ask – is this the Bosnian spring? A workers’ protest at the Dita chemical factory in Tuzla on the 4th February sparked national protests. Inspired by the protests in Tuzla and angered by the polices brutal response, by the 7th February, around 10,000 people were protesting in Tuzla and further protests had sprung up across the country. The protests were an expression of pent up frustration and rage at the ethno nationalist political elites, corruption and clientalism that have dominated the country since the war. As well as corrupt privatisation, economic stagnation and high levels of unemployment that have ensured it is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Activists and protests leaders channelled the growing anger into political forums. They organised grassroots assemblies called plenums. Plenum meetings went on for days, as people were given the space to speak as citizens, [...]
“Dear Sisters…” – Oxfam International
Women refugees walking through Serbia and Macedonia have written powerful letters for those who might follow them. The Open Letters project was organised by Atina with the support of UN WOMEN and Oxfam to support the women and girls stuck in a state of limbo after the border closed. “I left my injured country to meet with my husband who went to save himself from the war and he was killed. I left with my children, but I saw the worst of the world. I crossed that hungry sea that was thirsty for the bodies of children and women from Syria, only to reach the land that was kingdom of famine, and another state where death lurks at every step. I lived out in the open, where it was cold, and where I had nothing to warm my children with. We have waited for more than three months for them to open the borders, to reach that country without any life conditions.” So reads an open letter of Amira, from Syria, who has been travelling alone with her six children while [...]
Women and Children Stuck in the Mud of No Man’s Land
Border profiling increases the tragedy for vulnerable people in Macedonia As thousands of people continue arriving in Europe seeking safety and security, Ruth Tanner, Oxfam’s Advocacy Advisor in South East Europe, recently visited the our program for people on the move in Macedonia. Vulnerable people on the move, from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere are facing arbitrary profiling at borders on the basis of nationality. This pushback denies the right to an individual assessment of protection needs and constitutes a violation of international and EU law. Authorities have now closed their borders to all, creating a further humanitarian crisis. Last week I visited the Tabanovce camp in Macedonia. The camp itself is not very big, given the number of people living there. It consists of two neat rows of white containers, and some larger tents, including a food tent feeding hundreds of people with hot soup as we arrive. The place is designed to be a rest stop for a few hours or a night before people continue their journey, but is now home to over a thousand people. Conditions for [...]