Demonstrations in Tunisia began on Sunday January after the government announced an increase in value-added tax and social contributions, while also increasing prices of consumer goods to cut their budget deficit. The austerity measures were made in response to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s call to the Tunisian government to take “urgent action and decisive measures” to reduce its deficit late 2016. Tunisia is currently in a four year loan program with the IMF tied to economic and social reforms worth around $2.8 billion. Protesters have taken to the streets to rally in at least 10 different areas.

January 7th was also the seventh anniversary of the the ousting of autocratic President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, While the protests were started by the 2018 Finance Act, protesters argue that economic and social conditions since since Ben Ali’s deposition have not improved, prompting public discontent

The government accused demonstrators of sabotaging and setting fire to police cars, while other protesters tried to take over stores and blocked roads. Over 800 people had been arrested so far on suspicions of violence and vandalism, including young protesters aged 15 to 20Demonstrators accused police of a violent crackdown. While the Tunisian Interior Ministry mentioned that 97 members of security force members have been injured as of January 14th, the statement failed to include how many protesters had been hurt.

In response to the protests, the Tunisian government is to increase welfare payments and support for poor families by 170 million Tunisian dinars, or $87.3 million CAD. Mohamed Trabelsi, minister of social affairs told reporters, “this will concern about 250,000 families.”

Current President Beji Caid Essebsi visited the Tunis district of Ettadhamen , opening a youth centre in the area. Youth in Ettadhamen have been in clash with the police since the anti-austerity protests. Eddebsi’s speech promised to address youth unemployment, which stands at more than 35% according to the UN International Labour Organization. “We feel for you, these are our families,” he said. “Be modest, your country does not have a lot of means.”

However, meeting adequate living conditions remain a concern as prices of basic goods such as food products are rising by more than 10% annually.

Written with material from CNN news, Al Jazeera, Gulf news, and the Telegraph

Update on Myanmar

The violence that erupted over five months ago in the western Rakhine state of Myanmar, leading to the migration of over 650,000 ethnic Rohingya to Bangladesh, may finally have an end in sight as the Myanmar and Bangladesh governments have arranged for the return of these refugees to their homes.

Although the Rohingya have been heavily persecuted in Myanmar for decades, the current violence can be traced back to the state of emergency declared in Rakhine in 2012, which allowed military control in the province. Tensions between the military and the Rohingya resulted in Rohingya militants attacking government forces in August of 2017. In response, security forces launched an attack, described by the UN as ethnic cleansing, that killed over 6,000 in the first month alone. Many Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in response to the violence. However, in an agreement on Tuesday, January 15, Myanmar and Bangladesh provided details regarding the repatriation deal signed in November 2017. The repatriation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will begin as early as next week, and will be carried out over the next two years.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be assisting Bangladesh and Myanmar with the repatriation process, but urges the governments to ensure the voluntary return of the Rohingya minority to their homes. International aid organizations such as Amnesty International have raised concerns about the repatriation, claiming that the return of the Rohingya is “premature” due to the “years of entrenched discrimination and abuse.” The organization stressed the importance of international protection for the Rohingya in the process, “the Rohingya have an absolute right to return to and reside in Myanmar, but there must be no rush to return people to a system of apartheid. Any forcible returns would be a violation of international law.”

One of the major challenges to repatriation is the lack of accountability within the Myanmar government. The incumbent State Chancellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has failed to condemn the violence against the Rohingya. Regarding the military-led ethnic cleansing, Suu Kyi has disputed the UN’s characterization of the violence.

In addition to the failure of the Myanmese leaders to address the persecution of the Rohingya people, the repatriation plan will result in them being transferred from refugee camps in Bangladesh to camps in Myanmar, as their homes were burned down when they were forced to flee. As a result, those who opt to return will effectively be living in a limbo state until the Myanmar government develops a concrete plan to relocate them.

At this critical juncture the government will have to develop additional social programs to integrate the Rohingya into Myanmese society to prevent the situation from deteriorating into violence once more.

Written with material from CNN news, Al Jazeera, Gulf news, and the Telegraph

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Distinguishing racism and racial discrimination

The workshop began with a discussion about the difference between racial discrimination and racism. Mousseau defined racial discrimination as “discrimination based on aspects such as race and skin colour, which is a manifestation of prejudice.” They noted that “prejudice is the idea, and discrimination is acting upon that idea.” They also stressed that “anyone can be discriminatory towards anyone of any other group; [however], racism is understood as the systemic institutionalization of these prejudices. This is present everywhere…I live in fear of my life and I think of these things consistently.”

Mousseau continued by discussing their own experiences with racism, citing one of their first experiences at McGill. “When I got to McGill the first thing I did was buy a McGill lanyard, a McGill hoodie, and I kept my student card in the front of my wallet.”

“The reason for this is I have not worn a hoodie since Trayvon Martin died. I am terrified of what any interaction with the Montreal police can look like for me in this way. And I know that, as unfortunate as it is…it is more unacceptable to kill a McGill student than it is to kill a Black person.”

“As unfortunate as it is…it is more unacceptable to kill a McGill student than it is to kill a Black person.”

Violence against Indigenous populations

Mousseau discussed Indigenous residential schools as an example of racialized violence. “As Sir John A. MacDonald…said, this was the attempt to ‘kill the Indian in the child.’” Mousseau also spoke of the Sixties Scoop, “where social workers actively targeted Indigenous communities, found the smallest reason to pull children from their homes, and adopted them into white families.”

“A person that I adore and respect, Nakuset, who is the Executive Director of the Native Women’s Shelter in Montreal, was taken from her community and adopted into a Jewish family in Montreal and was told that she was brown because she was from Israel. That’s the reality of her life. She had to go through trying to understand that and go through these aspects of racialization.”

“We are on stolen land…the reason why we are here as settlers, irrespective of our issues of racialization, is because of the inherent violence that was committed against Indigenous populations, this act of cultural genocide being one of them.”

“We are on stolen land…the reason why we are here as settlers, irrespective of our issues of racialization, is because of the inherent violence that was committed against Indigenous populations, this act of cultural genocide being one of them.”

SSMU closure unveiling racism and disregard on campus

When asked about systemic racism at McGill, Mousseau talked about the SSMU building closure and the effect that it is having on student groups. For example, the Muslim Students’ Association will no longer have a space to pray. “When SSMU tells folks, ‘Oh, oops, surprise! Your building is being shut down,’ [and] there is a prayer space so many students on our campus rely on [that is] being taken away from them, that’s an issue.”

Mousseau also talked about the importance of SSMU as a space for marginalized groups to organize. “[Soon] there [will] no longer [be a] specific hub [for] Black queer [people]. [Right now] you can walk between Queer McGill and the Black Student Network in order to try to organize something. That is a barrier to making sure that our services are represented. This is just an example of some of the violence that exists against racialized folks at McGill. It’s often times coming from a place like ‘we didn’t even think about it that way.’”

“I try to give this workshop in order to try to raise consciousness on these issues and try to force people trying to organizing on campus to think more about the [role] racism plays in their organizing.”

Educate yourself

An anonymous participant added to the conversation, “You need to call out your white friends for their racism. Direct them to specific resources. Educate yourself. You can not surround yourself with people of colour for the sole purpose of having them educate you. Do your own educating.”

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