Al Jazeera English published this video item, entitled “Can Tanzania’s Maasai evictions be stopped? | The Stream” – below is their description.
On Thursday: we discuss three stories making headlines around the globe.
Maasai/Tanzania Land update
Tanzania is moving forward with the planned eviction of over 150,000 indigenous Maasai people from their ancestral lands in the Ngorongoro conservation area.
For years, the government has tried to gain control of the land in an attempt to create a trophy hunting corridor for tourism companies. Human rights organisations are accusing Tanzanian authorities of using violence as a means to push the Maasai, a semi-nomadic ethnic group, off the land. Activists say at least 31 people were injured earlier this month when security forces began their evictions and UN human rights experts warn the violence could escalate.
Tanzania has denied the evictions have started, instead insisting police were demarcating the area as part of a previous agreement with locals to keep part of the land for the Maasai and allocate the rest for conservation efforts. Gerson Msigwa, a government spokesperson, did acknowledge the violence but claims it erupted as villagers attacked police, killing one officer.
We discuss if these evictions can be stopped and what recourse the Maasai have.
Libya Migrants
Hope of a better life is vanishing for the roughly 600,000 migrants stuck in Libya. According to a new report by Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the majority of refugee and asylum seekers are “victims of arbitrary detention, torture, and violence, including sexual violence”.
For many, their only chance at a better life is a treacherous journey across the Mediterranean sea. That’s one of the reasons the international medical humanitarian organisation is urging countries in Europe and North America to help evacuate and protect migrants trapped there. The report, titled Out of Libya, also outlines the failures and weaknesses of existing programmes to help, namely those set up by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). MSF claims the few legal pathways set up by those groups are too slow and restrictive.
We discuss the MSF report and ask what needs to be done to protect migrants in Libya.
Roe v. Wade and the Impact on Women’s Healthcare
On June 24th the United States Supreme Court issued a reversal of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that granted women the constitutional right to an abortion. While it’s seen as a victory for many conservatives, the majority of the country disapproves of the court’s decision.
According to a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted after the ruling, 59 percent of Americans were not in favour of the court’s reversal. Many court observers feel the decision has set off a seismic shift in regard to women’s reproductive rights and healthcare. Roughly a dozen states had already enacted laws to thwart abortion in preparation for the high court’s reversal.
We discuss what impact this decision will have on women’s health.
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