I have marched from Auschwitz to Birkenau. I have seen the walls stained blue in the gas chambers of Majdenek. I was spit on in Krakow and encountered neo-Nazis in Warsaw. I have seen swastikas painted on the walls of Verona. And none of these experiences prepared me to sit in a room as people applauded a man as he said that “the word Zionism personifies racism” and “governments must be encouraged at eradicating this barbaric racism.”
Please, have no doubt. “His Excellency”, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the face of evil. It takes evil to speak about the rights of all nations while simultaneously calling for the destrution of one nation. It takes evil to speak of love and brotherhood and peace while you are calling for the eradication of a people. It takes evil to accuse the United States and Israel of “uunbridled racism that is posing the most serious threat against the international peace” while you are funding the rockets that are shattering the peace process.
Please, make no mistake. Ahmadinejad does not care about the people of Gaza. He does not care about the people of the West. He does not even care about his own people. He oppresses and tortures and murders his own people. His country executes children, oppresses religious minorities and declares that a woman is only worth half that of a man. He imprisons and kills those that would dare to dissent from his regime.
Sitting in the room as people applauded this man multiple times during his speech was both frightening and painful. As he started in on the hateful section of his speech, and spoke about the formation of the racist, Zionist regime after the start of WWII, the applause swelled. Many nations, including most of the European Union, walked out. But the applause seemingly continued as diplomats streamed from the room. And then the speech continued. And then the applause continued.
In his language today, Ahmadinejad was calling for a holy war. He refered to the Durban Review Campaign as a “holy and humanitarian campaign”. But there is nothing holy about his words and there is nothing holy about his actions. All he represents is hypocrisy and hatred. It is a shame that so many people sat there today and applauded him. It is a shame that the Durban Review Conference gave him a forum from which to espouse his hatred. It is a shame that he was allowed to further sidetrack the world’s attention from where it belongs – on the victims of racism and genocide. As I exited the room after the applause died down to get air, I could only try to be thankful that my government was not there to lend legitimacy to this evil and that so many people representing so many countries chose to get up and walk out at his first hate-filled words. But after sitting there surrounded by those who would applaud evil – that seems like a small consolation prize.
To watch the speech, please clink on the link on the right side of the page.
For other takes on today, please check out:
Durban II Dispatch: In Search of Anti-Semites http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/20/durban-ii-dispatch-in-search-of-anti-semites.aspx
Durban II Dispatch: Live-blogging Ahmedinejad http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/20/durban-ii-dispatch-live-blogging-ahmedinejad.aspx
Durban II Dispatch: Following Ahmedinejad http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/20/durban-ii-dispatch-following-ahmedinejad.aspx
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Doing What Is Right
As an introductory note, I am writing this entry without access to the video or exact transcript of the events I am describing. Because of that, unfortunately, I have no choice but to paraphrase Dr. El Hagog’s powerful words. I hope tomorrow to be able to update this post with the transcript and/or video from today’s events.
Today, I attended the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy. The experience was incredible. While I hope to be able to write about many aspects of this experience, tonight I will focus on what was – for me – the most moving moment of the day.
Dr. Ashraf El Hagog is a Palestinian doctor who worked in Libya. He, along with five Bulgarian nurses, were scapegoated by the Libyan government after 450 children were infected with HIV and hepatitis from tainted blood. They were imprisoned, tortured and sentenced to death. They remained on death row in Libya for nine years. Eventually – with the help of France and Bulgeria – they were extradited to Bulgaria and pardoned. Dr. El Hagog is now a proud Bulgarian citizen.
As a side note, Libya is chairing the Durban Review Conference which is just another example of the truly perverse nature of this conference. Dr. El Hagog – speaking on behalf of UN Watch – confronted the Libyan chair at Friday’s preperation session. This exchange is described in detail in Zvika Kreiger’s blog for New Republic at http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/19/durban-ii-dispatch-libya-on-trial.aspx
In describing his experience, Dr. El Hagog noted that he – a Palestinian Muslim – had been imprisoned by Libya, a country that he felt was his “big brother” (using this with its affectionate – and not Orwellian – meaning). He was then scapegoated by this big brother because he – as a foreigner – was still an outsider even though he is Muslim. The Libyan government – to discredit him – accused him of working for CIA or Mossad. They accused him of really being a Jew or a Christian. They attacked him because – as a foreigner without a state of his own – he was vulnarable and he could be scapegoated. They tortured him and threatened his family, forcing him to confess to atrocities that he did not commit.
The person who first came to help Dr. El Hagog was not a Muslim. It was not a Christian. It was not even an Arab. The first peson who came to Dr. El Hagog’s aid was a Jew, a Bulgarian government official. Dr. El Hagog eloquently spoke about his supposed enemy coming to his rescue. He implied that he used to believe things about Jews that he did not believe anymore because of the actions of this one man.
Dr. El Hagog’s words (which I again, I apoligize I cannot bring to you word for word at this time) brought me to tears. His story reminded me that, in life, we often focus on “us” versus “them”. For some, the “us” may be Israelis and the “them” may be Palestinians. The “us” may be Jews and the “them” may be Muslims. The “us” may be Americans and the “them” may be the rest of the world. But – in the end – the real “us” that matters is those who would chose to help people and the “them” is those that chose to harm people. In this case, the Libyan government chose to persecute Dr. El Hagog and the five Bulgarian nurses. And to this Bulgarian government official, it did not matter that he was Jewish and Dr. El Hagog is Muslim. It did not matter that he was Bulgarian and that Dr. El Hagog was Palestinian. It only mattered that Dr. El Hagog was suffering a horrible injustice.
Injustice does not change – it cannot change – because of the identity of the victim. Whether the victims are the Darfurians of the Sudan, the Tutsis of Rwanda or Hitler's 11 million victims during WWII, victims of injustice need the actions of the just. The powerless need the protection of the powerful.
This is the true tragedy of the Durban Review Conference. The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances should be the forum where the world comes together and sets out the standards by which majorities must treat minorities, by which the governors should treat the governed and by which victims can seek redress against those that victimize them. Instead, it will likely being a sideshow – starting with tomorrow’s speech by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And because of this sideshow, it is the voices of the real victims – like Dr. El Hagog – that will not be heard.
Today, I attended the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy. The experience was incredible. While I hope to be able to write about many aspects of this experience, tonight I will focus on what was – for me – the most moving moment of the day.
Dr. Ashraf El Hagog is a Palestinian doctor who worked in Libya. He, along with five Bulgarian nurses, were scapegoated by the Libyan government after 450 children were infected with HIV and hepatitis from tainted blood. They were imprisoned, tortured and sentenced to death. They remained on death row in Libya for nine years. Eventually – with the help of France and Bulgeria – they were extradited to Bulgaria and pardoned. Dr. El Hagog is now a proud Bulgarian citizen.
As a side note, Libya is chairing the Durban Review Conference which is just another example of the truly perverse nature of this conference. Dr. El Hagog – speaking on behalf of UN Watch – confronted the Libyan chair at Friday’s preperation session. This exchange is described in detail in Zvika Kreiger’s blog for New Republic at http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/19/durban-ii-dispatch-libya-on-trial.aspx
In describing his experience, Dr. El Hagog noted that he – a Palestinian Muslim – had been imprisoned by Libya, a country that he felt was his “big brother” (using this with its affectionate – and not Orwellian – meaning). He was then scapegoated by this big brother because he – as a foreigner – was still an outsider even though he is Muslim. The Libyan government – to discredit him – accused him of working for CIA or Mossad. They accused him of really being a Jew or a Christian. They attacked him because – as a foreigner without a state of his own – he was vulnarable and he could be scapegoated. They tortured him and threatened his family, forcing him to confess to atrocities that he did not commit.
The person who first came to help Dr. El Hagog was not a Muslim. It was not a Christian. It was not even an Arab. The first peson who came to Dr. El Hagog’s aid was a Jew, a Bulgarian government official. Dr. El Hagog eloquently spoke about his supposed enemy coming to his rescue. He implied that he used to believe things about Jews that he did not believe anymore because of the actions of this one man.
Dr. El Hagog’s words (which I again, I apoligize I cannot bring to you word for word at this time) brought me to tears. His story reminded me that, in life, we often focus on “us” versus “them”. For some, the “us” may be Israelis and the “them” may be Palestinians. The “us” may be Jews and the “them” may be Muslims. The “us” may be Americans and the “them” may be the rest of the world. But – in the end – the real “us” that matters is those who would chose to help people and the “them” is those that chose to harm people. In this case, the Libyan government chose to persecute Dr. El Hagog and the five Bulgarian nurses. And to this Bulgarian government official, it did not matter that he was Jewish and Dr. El Hagog is Muslim. It did not matter that he was Bulgarian and that Dr. El Hagog was Palestinian. It only mattered that Dr. El Hagog was suffering a horrible injustice.
Injustice does not change – it cannot change – because of the identity of the victim. Whether the victims are the Darfurians of the Sudan, the Tutsis of Rwanda or Hitler's 11 million victims during WWII, victims of injustice need the actions of the just. The powerless need the protection of the powerful.
This is the true tragedy of the Durban Review Conference. The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances should be the forum where the world comes together and sets out the standards by which majorities must treat minorities, by which the governors should treat the governed and by which victims can seek redress against those that victimize them. Instead, it will likely being a sideshow – starting with tomorrow’s speech by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And because of this sideshow, it is the voices of the real victims – like Dr. El Hagog – that will not be heard.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Updated Draft Document
I have included a link (on the right hand side of the page) for the April 15 Draft Outcome Document. This has a few changes (bolded) from the last draft - however, the one I want to draw your attention to is paragraph 7 which now states:
"[T]hat poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion and economic disparities as well as foreign occupation are closely associated with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and contribute to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices which in turn generate more poverty"
Viewing this change in context, foreign occupation appears to mean Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. This change to the text is - at best - problematic and - most likely - just another attempt to make the conference about Israel instead of focusing on the numerous problems of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other similar intolerances that are occurring around the world.
By declaring that all foreign occupations are "closely associated" with racism - it brings up numerous issues completely unrelated to Israel. As stated by UN Watch on their blog, "Shall we now define the NATO occupation of parts of the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as racist? What about the American, Russian, British and French occupation of post-war Germany?" (See http://blog.unwatch.org/) Such a universal declaration is unproductive and, frankly, incorrect. While some foreign occupations may be racist, others are not. While the point of this conference should not be to argue about the Israel - I will say that the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians is neither racial nor is it religious. Twenty percent of Israeli citizens are Arabs (including both Muslim and Christian Arabs). The dispute between Israel and the territories is a political one between two groups with competing national interests. It is not about race and it is not about religion. It is - fundamentally - about land.
As there are new draft declarations throughout the week, I will post them. Hope everyone is well. If you are interested, check out http://genevasummit.org/ tomorrow.
"[T]hat poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion and economic disparities as well as foreign occupation are closely associated with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and contribute to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices which in turn generate more poverty"
Viewing this change in context, foreign occupation appears to mean Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. This change to the text is - at best - problematic and - most likely - just another attempt to make the conference about Israel instead of focusing on the numerous problems of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other similar intolerances that are occurring around the world.
By declaring that all foreign occupations are "closely associated" with racism - it brings up numerous issues completely unrelated to Israel. As stated by UN Watch on their blog, "Shall we now define the NATO occupation of parts of the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as racist? What about the American, Russian, British and French occupation of post-war Germany?" (See http://blog.unwatch.org/) Such a universal declaration is unproductive and, frankly, incorrect. While some foreign occupations may be racist, others are not. While the point of this conference should not be to argue about the Israel - I will say that the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians is neither racial nor is it religious. Twenty percent of Israeli citizens are Arabs (including both Muslim and Christian Arabs). The dispute between Israel and the territories is a political one between two groups with competing national interests. It is not about race and it is not about religion. It is - fundamentally - about land.
As there are new draft declarations throughout the week, I will post them. Hope everyone is well. If you are interested, check out http://genevasummit.org/ tomorrow.
Welcome to Geneva...
After three flights, 18 hours and one almost-lost bag, I have safely arrived at my hotel in Geneva. While the Durban Review Conference doesn't start until Monday, there is a very exciting event taking place tomorrow. More than 30 human rights and anti-racism NGOs will be holding the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy. For more information about the event - check out www.genevasummit.org. There will also be a live interactive broadcast of the summit for anyone interested in waking up at 2 a.m., EST.
The big news of the week has been the fact that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be speaking at the Durban Review Conference on Monday. Iran's human rights record is abysmal. The Iranian government discriminates against minority groups and imprisons their leaders. Homosexual acts can be punished by death. Woman are arrested for violating dress code - including wearing a hajib that is too colorful or a coat that is too tight. President Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever happened and says that Israel should be wiped off the map. Yet, this is the man that will speak at the first day of the Durban Review Conference. Why?
Thank you for reading the blog. I will update tomorrow with news from the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, TOlerance and Democracy.
The big news of the week has been the fact that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be speaking at the Durban Review Conference on Monday. Iran's human rights record is abysmal. The Iranian government discriminates against minority groups and imprisons their leaders. Homosexual acts can be punished by death. Woman are arrested for violating dress code - including wearing a hajib that is too colorful or a coat that is too tight. President Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever happened and says that Israel should be wiped off the map. Yet, this is the man that will speak at the first day of the Durban Review Conference. Why?
Thank you for reading the blog. I will update tomorrow with news from the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, TOlerance and Democracy.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
How To Receive E-mail Updates
A few people have requested to receive e-mail updates when I post. If you would like to receive e-mail updates, please go to
http://groups.google.com/group/alicias-durban-blog and join the group. If you join the group, you will be automatically e-mailed when I post.
http://groups.google.com/group/alicias-durban-blog and join the group. If you join the group, you will be automatically e-mailed when I post.
Preparing for Durban
Thank you for checking out my blog to track my experience at the Durban Review Conference. The Durban Review Conference will be taking place from April 20-24 in Geneva, Switzerland. I will be leaving for Geneva this Friday. I will be leaving for Geneva this Friday.
Many of my friends have asked - What is the Durban Review Conference and why are you going?
The short explanation is I have been selected by American Jewish Committee (http://www.ajc.org/) to serve as a delegate of UN Watch (http://www.unwatch.org/) to the Durban Review Conference to bear witness to what occurs at the conference.
The Durban Review Conference is a United Nations conference and part of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR). There have been three prior WCAR meetings - 1978, 1983 and 2001.
During the 2001 Conference, instead of focusing on issues of racism around the globe - the conference took a disturbing turn and decided to focus solely on Israel. For a disturbing account of the experience of one student at the Conference, please read the Durban Diaries (http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/{6DEB65DA-BE5B-4CAE-8056-8BF0BEDF4D17}/Durban%20Diaries.pdf)
For visual examples of what took place in 2001:
I think the trend of anti-Israel activity - especially at the expensive of focusing on racism and human rights violations around the world - is deeply troubling. That the United Nations would support this anti-Israel activity is appalling. As the US government reevaluates its relationship with United Nations Human Rights Council, I think it is imperative that Americans take the time to learn more about this organization and how it has ignored human rights violations around the world to focus - almost exclusively - on the defamation of Israel.
I look forward to the experience and hope you will check out my blog throughout the week as I update you on my experience at the Durban Review Conference.
Many of my friends have asked - What is the Durban Review Conference and why are you going?
The short explanation is I have been selected by American Jewish Committee (http://www.ajc.org/) to serve as a delegate of UN Watch (http://www.unwatch.org/) to the Durban Review Conference to bear witness to what occurs at the conference.
The Durban Review Conference is a United Nations conference and part of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR). There have been three prior WCAR meetings - 1978, 1983 and 2001.
During the 2001 Conference, instead of focusing on issues of racism around the globe - the conference took a disturbing turn and decided to focus solely on Israel. For a disturbing account of the experience of one student at the Conference, please read the Durban Diaries (http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/{6DEB65DA-BE5B-4CAE-8056-8BF0BEDF4D17}/Durban%20Diaries.pdf)
For visual examples of what took place in 2001:
I think the trend of anti-Israel activity - especially at the expensive of focusing on racism and human rights violations around the world - is deeply troubling. That the United Nations would support this anti-Israel activity is appalling. As the US government reevaluates its relationship with United Nations Human Rights Council, I think it is imperative that Americans take the time to learn more about this organization and how it has ignored human rights violations around the world to focus - almost exclusively - on the defamation of Israel.
I look forward to the experience and hope you will check out my blog throughout the week as I update you on my experience at the Durban Review Conference.
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