NYMHM: Taking on child labor; cancer and cost-cutting for nuclear
workers
nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net
nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net
Wed Apr 11 16:05:08 PDT 2007
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NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * April 11, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 15
Important but overlooked news from around the world.
NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org.
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THIS WEEK:
A United Nations fund for Gulf War refugees is under fire, gays
in Chile face murderous bigotry, "honor" killings take their
toll on Jordan's women, cost-cutting at the Labor Department
hit funds for nuclear and chemical workers ... and activists
use outreach and education to take on child labor worldwide.
QUOTED:
"I think they want him to hurry up and die because it's costing
them too much money. How can a doctor in Washington, D.C.,
determine what kind of help my husband needs?"
-- Verna Keaton's husband Addison got cancer in a government
uranium plant. The Labor Department now seeks to cancel his home
care and move him to a hospice (see "Labor & Health," below).
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TOP STORIES
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> U.N. Fund Fails Pakistani Gulf War Refugees
Thousands of rural Pakistanis displaced from Kuwait by the first
Gulf War never found out about a $263 million compensation fund
set up by the United Nations. Now the program has closed, after
95 percent of claims were rejected as duplicates or false.
Critics say a third-party foundation mismanaged the funds, and
many war victims were never allowed to submit their claims.
> Bigotry Stalks Gays in Chile
Two transgender prostitutes were murdered in Chile in March, the
latest in a spate of killings dating back five years. Activists
say that many cases aren't prosecuted, and that one accused
murderer never served time after paying bail of $925 and telling
reporters, "turns out it's cheap to kill a faggot," the Santiago
Times reports.
> Honor's Deadly Jordan Toll
A women's advocate says there is "no political will" to combat the
killing of women and girls by their relatives for affronts to
family honor. They are strangled or beaten to death for falling
in love with the wrong man, teenage flirtation, hosting male guests
and more, the U.N news agency reports.
Those who commit "honor killings" are exempt from Jordan's death
penalty, and perpetrators are often treated sympathetically by
their communities. Lawmakers voted against a reform bill over
fears of angering their constituents.
Sources:
"Pakistan: no compensation for thousands of Gulf War victims"
ADNKronos (Italy), April 6, 2007
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Trends&loid=8.0.402576674&par=0
"Honor killings still tolerated in Jordan"
IRIN (U.N.), April 6, 2007
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=20282
"Transgender murders in Chile increasing"
Santiago Times (Chile), April 4, 2007
http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/2740.cfm
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CHILD LABOR
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> Labor Groups Tackle Child Exploitation
Cheap labor from children working in slavelike conditions is
booming worldwide. But in India, Africa and Turkey, activists
are taking on the problem with education and outreach.
An estimated 100,000 boys under 14 are sent to work in Delhi's
sari mills by their impoverished and misinformed parents. A
local advocacy group, which says the boys are kept in filthy
conditions and live and work in the same rooms, is pressuring
clothing designers to commit to child-labor-free textiles.
Poverty also drives West African parents to send their children
to work on Ivory Coast cocoa farms, where they suffer abuse and
miss out on school. The farms supply cocoa to nearly half the
world, including companies such as Cadbury and Nestle.
Now, a campaign by rights activists has led one British industry
group to promise to certify and monitor cocoa suppliers.
In Turkey, social workers are reaching out to families of
children illegally employed in the furniture, textile, automotive
and agricultural industries.
Their solution? Find work for the parents, and persuade them to
send their children back to school.
Sources:
"Children robbed of childhood in zari units"
Indo Asian News Service, April 8, 2007
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20070408/46302.htm
"Scandal of child slaves behind your Easter eggs"
Scotsman (U.K.), April 7, 2007
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=534532007
"Throwing a wrench in the works of child labor"
Today's Zaman (Turkey), March 22, 2007
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=106212
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LABOR & HEALTH
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> Cost-Cutting Hits Fund for Nuclear and Chemical Workers
Two federal programs for nuclear and chemical workers with cancer
and other diseases are under fire for cutting costs without
regard for patient needs.
In Colorado, Harold Hinton is dying of lung disease contracted
while producing weapons-grade uranium, and under a Labor
Department cost-cutting measure will lose the live-in nurse his
doctor recommended. A government spokesman said Hinton's medical
provider pressured the doctor into calling for 24/7 home care.
Officials have paid $1.8 billion to 20,000 claimants, and
thousands of other cases are still pending. Advocacy groups
are pressuring Congress to speed up the process.
Another Labor Department program for workers sickened by toxic
chemicals has locked out thousands of potential claimants, and
hundreds of former Energy Department employees now dying of
cancer have had claims denied because they were subcontractors or
"worked in the wrong building," the Ventura County Star reports.
Two members of a presidential commission to oversee claims under
the programs were removed last year amid complaints that the
panel was "essentially a worker advocacy organization," according
to the Center for Public Integrity.
In Congressional hearings held in March 2006, both Republicans
and Democrats noted the administration seemed "preoccupied with
payouts" rather than serving the sick.
Sources:
"Cold War, hellish consequences"
Rocky Mountain News (CO), April 7, 2007
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5470027,00.html
"Ill nuclear workers get a boost"
Knoxville News Sentinel (TN), March 29, 2007
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_5449124,00.html
"Workers' claims denied"
Ventura County Star (CA), March 18, 2007
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/sv/article/0,1375,VCS_239_5426659,00.html
"Radiation panel fairness questioned"
Center for Public Integrity (D.C)., March 29, 2007
http://www.publicintegrity.org/shadow/report.aspx?aid=824
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Editors: Julia Scott, Josh Wilson
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