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FOR PUBLICATION
AHRC-ART-005-2010
January 15, 2010
An Article Series on Human Rights and Culture by the Asian Human Rights Commission
HUMAN RIGHTS & CULTURE - Vol. 2, ISSUE NO. 33
Welcome to Vol. 2, Issue No. 33.
In this issue we are pleased to bring you the reproduction of a painting with the accompanying poem, Masked, by Rita Loyd. Next we have a further selection of the work of our new contributor, Ms. Hasina Kharbhih from her collection, Unknown Destination. We then have another poem from our regular contributor, Airyn R. Lentija. Next we are pleased to present a brief introduction to the book, Rohingyas: Tears Down the Cheeks by Mr. A.R. Farooq.
Publications -- We are pleased to announce the release of the following publications, they are the book, The Phantom Limb: Failing judicial systems, torture and human rights work in Sri Lanka and the latest issue of Article 2. We are also announcing the publication of the forthcoming issue of Ethic in Action. Details of these publications may be found in the Publications section.
As always, the AHRC is grateful to all our contributors and we would like to remind our readers that your comments on this issue and contributions for future issues may be sent to ahrc@ahrc.asia.
You may view the previous issues at: http://newsletters.ahrchk.net/hrc/.
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"MASKED"
Rita Loyd
At times I hide behind a mask,
disguising who I am
and the frailties that I possess.
But then
the voice of my spirit emerges
and reminds me that
we all fall short of perfection.
And that those who appear perfect
are wearing a mask as well.
So, instead of hiding,
I am prompted to embrace
my imperfections with love.
and with this inner shift
of self acceptance,
a radiance shines forth
surpassing any physical adornment
I could ever possibly hide behind.
The painting and accompanying poem were created by Rita Loyd whose work may be found at http://www.nurturingart.com/mask.html. HR&C is grateful to WUNRN - http://www.wunrn.com for submitting this piece.
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Three poems by Ms. Kharbhih
Tomorrow
Tomorrow you may not live to see life
Death and decay are there for everyone
People who buzz like bees
Are always in search of nectar
And desert like the cunning insect.
Shattered
A cage of destiny
Confused, lonely, shattered
I wish
I could explain my desire
To ease the agony
I know
This vacuum will be filled
Companion of lineliness
They pave a path of glee
Why do I drink
Tears of loneliness
Lost Vision of Hope
Desperate she presses her hands
On the cold chest.
The pieces of her broken
Heart,
Not to be scattered.
The dream that got lost in
The way,
In the lost island¡¦s,
The thorn of the dead spring
In her desolate embrace
She is waiting ¡V hoping
Her empty gaze
Who is rebelling
Against
The steps of silence
Disturbs the sleep.
She Woke up
She followed sounds
His sound, His sound
And set off on a quest
And seek some peace
And sleep and rest.
 Hasina Kharbhih is the founder and president of Impulse NGO Network, an organisation working for chuild rights issues, especially child labour and combating trafficking of woman and children. The organisation is also involved in adolescent health and HIV education training, curriculum building, a village adoption programme and income generating. Hasina was the second person from india to be awarded the Commonwelth Youth Programme Asia Award in 2000, for social development. She has travelled widely through Asia as well as the US and Sweden. She has been a freelance journalist for almost 10 years, writing for newspapers and magazines and is presently writing for Wash Rag, a New York based magazine. In addition to editing books, her poems have been published widely in anthologies in India, China, Japan, Korea, USA, Canada, Ireland and also translated into French. (From the About the Author section in Ms. Kharbhih¡¦s book, Unknown Destination)
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Yet Another DH's Rantings
Airyn Lentija
Swallowing the pride in solitary times
you can't say no
beacomes an artistic ways
to us,Overseas Contract Workers.
i'm not so sentimental
or hungry for anything
that a normal individual
sometimes feel but am neither blind
nor deaf to this unique art.
The art of kicking your butt
out of bed even your eyes
refuse to open because it's winter
and your body is frezing.
Not even a little less of
four hours sleep cured your tiredness.
And here you go again
forcing yourself to get up
before the break of dawn.
The art of keeping quiet
at times when employers
are inconsiderate and giving you task
not stated in the contract you signed
like supervising their son's homework,
cleaning their parent's hause,
painting from roof top to walls
and going to their friend's hause for diner
and clean all their mess after.
The art of swallowing the pain
with eyes closed
and follow the commands of the "highnesses"
with rambling stomach
because the fridge is empty
of the things for you
but full of foods exclusive for them.
That's where the art of hiding biscuits
on the pockets follows.
Eating them in silence while your hands,
your tired hands never stops stroking back and forth
brushing the dust from ceiling to floor.
All these and more of the other
normal maltreatment of employers to employee,
who left their paradise back home
for the sake of a better future
seeking greener pastures on a foreign land
with tears and sweat as their weapons.
You will be lucky enough if you hear stories
of our kind who enjoys the fruit
of their labors back home,
our kind whos families are in the right direction...
towards success...a better future.
But for those who almost shed their blood
from day one until their contracts end
serving their heartless employers
working to the bones
just to hear bad news at the end of the day...
unfaithful husband...pregnant daughter...
an addict son...a broken family.
Few of the bad prices
for the unlucky dollar earners,
who every time open their eyes
in the morning and saw a pale light
of the sun that gives them hope,
reminds them of a new day after the night,
but oftentimes that sun losses its rays
and greets them with pain instead
and the only thing these dollar earners do
is to get up...take a deep breath...
and sadly sigh : "Yet another hell on earth."
 Ms. Airyn Lentija works as a domestic helper in Hong Kong. She has enjoyed reading and writing poetry since her days in elementary school. This is Airyn¡¦s third submission and we look forward to receiving more of her work in the future. Further details of Airyn¡¦s work may be found at: http://poetsforhumanrights.ning.com/profile/airyn?xgs=1
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Rohingyas: Tears Down the Cheeks
Human Rights & Culture received the following email from Mr. A.R. Farooq, the author of Rohingyas: Tears Down the Cheeks and are therefore forwarding some information on this book to our readers.
Dear Sirs,
With a view to draw your kind attention to the plight of the oppressed Rohingya community, I am attaching herewith my book ¡V Rohingyas: Tears Down the Cheeks.
Your kind sympathy to this oppressed down-trodden community of the 21st century, may be of great help for them to get rid of their sufferings through the decades.
With thanks and best regards.
AR Farooq
Norway
 From the Foreword:
The Rohingya community of Arakan, Burma (Myanmar) is one of the most down-trodden ethnic minorities of the world. They are victims of political oppression, economic exploitation and cultural slavery in their ancestral land - Arakan - where they have been living for centuries.
Since the beginning of the 20th century the Rohingyas have been groaning under the crushing wheels of tyranny decades after decades. Ignoring all the irrefutable historical evidences of Rohingyas¡¦ glorious past in Arakan, the Rohingyas have been suddenly made an illegal immigrant community in Arakan by the Burmese military regime through an amendment to the Burma citizenship law in 1982.
With the loss of their legitimate right as the bonafide citizens of Burma, the Rohingyas have become homeless in their own home. The authority has been subjecting them to severe persecutions including serious restrictions of their movement even from village to village, ban on their marriage without government permission, religious persecution, extortion, land confiscation and restrictions on access to education. Arakan State is a closed zone for the media and so there is no scope for the world media to cover what is going on with the Rohingyas inside Arakan.
A 1fe with fear ¡X is the life of Rohingyas. They pass their life in sub-human condition with half naked body full of hunger and grief. Tears are their permanent companions. They cry in corners and eventually die in silence.
Rohingyas want peace. They want their legitimate right as the ethnic community of Arakan. They want a society which would be free from political oppression, economic exploitation, social anarchy and cultural slavery through the restoration of democracy in Burma. They are in quest of justice and peace. They want to achieve their goals through all peaceful and lawful means.
Rohingyas: Tears Down the Cheeks is a collection of some of my articles which have been published by different news media. Despite my limited knowledge and linguistic limitations, I have tried to tell the stories of agonies of the oppressed Rohingyas. I have also tried to tell the stories of agonies of the people of Burma who have been groaning under the military rule decades after decades.
I strongly believe that the Rohingyas, with some 3.5 million population, whose historical presence in Arakan started nearly a millennium ago, will never disappear from the world, simply because they have a language of their own which they will never forget and start using a different language as their mother tongue. As long as they exist in the world, they will speak in their Rohingya language and so their history will run for all the time to come.
Finally, I take my hat off to all the brilliant sons of the Rohingya Mother for all their contributions and sacrifices for the peace and human rights of their oppressed community in the past, present and also in the future. I also take my hat off to all those who struggle through all lawful and peaceful means to bring a smile to the distressed humanity.
From the core of my heart all that I wish and pray is a peaceful life for the groaning Rohingyas, a peaceful life for the suffering people of Burma and a peaceful life for the distressed humanity around the world.
Ahmedur Rahman Farooq November 10, 2009
2975, Vang I Valdres, Norway
Some prepublication comments:
Rohingyas: Tears Down the Cheeks is a good record of the touching and sad events. I may have different opinion in various aspects of interpretation of the events. Nevertheless, I view that it is a good account in terms of tactics between the junta and anti junta.
Dr ShWe Lu Maung
The book ¡X Rohingyas: Tears Down the Cheeks ¡X is a brave attempt by Farooq to fill the gap in our understanding of the plight of the Rohingya people. In this book aside from providing information about the history, culture and politics around the Rohingya people Farooq offers a firsthand account of Rohingya life inside Arakan.
Dr Habib Siddiqui
The Rohingyas are probably the most friendless people in the world. They just have no one advocating for them at all. Hardly any of them have legal status anywhere in the world.
Kitty McKinsey - A spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
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Publications
The Phantom Limb: Failing judicial systems, torture and human rights work in Sri Lanka
A Study of Police Torture in Sri Lanka by Morten Koch Andersen and Basil Fernando
 The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you about the publication of a new book on the failing judicial systems and the issue of the endemic torture practiced at police stations in Sri Lanka.
This study is a result of the cooperation between the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT).
The study was done in January 2008 and the data was processed during April and May 2008 at the AHRC office in Hong Kong. The idea and outline of the study was developed by Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission and the processing and analysis of the data and the writing of the report was completed by Morten Koch Andersen of RCT.
The study seeks to explore the routine use of torture by the police and illuminate the widespread violence and human rights violations that are part of everyday life in Sri Lanka. It seeks to show the apparent neglect of the Sri Lankan state to stop these atrocities and provide adequate protection and remedies for the victims by ignoring publicly available information provided by state commissioned investigations and reports on the continuously declining state of affairs in the police force and the general deteriorating of human rights in the country.
Much human rights reporting that focus on crisis and immediate risks, dangers and sufferings tend to overlook historic processes and social ordering systems -- such as caste -- in their (often case based) illustrative descriptions of repressive practices, misuse and mismanagement of authority and the inadequacy of the justice system to protect the citizens. However, it is the proposition of the study that to investigate torture practices and the apparent inability to change the current state of affairs one has to explore the logics based in deep rooted social systems and attitudes. This insight offers an explanation for the socioeconomic bias in the enactment of torture and the reluctance and resistance to change in the criminal justice and political system. In this regard, caste as an ever present social ordering system in South Asia and Sri Lanka appears to be a viable and fundamental issue to include in the analysis to understand current human rights abuses.
The argument is that a 'debris' of the caste system somehow orders social perceptions, relations and actions in the unfolding of the criminal justice system, especially in the images of the mariginalized laboring poor. To do this, we will look into the interconnectedness of the early judicial system and administration and the caste system.
[Published in November 2009 jointly by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Hong Kong and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT), Denmark. 80 pages, ISBN: 978-962-8314-47-8]
Article 2, Vol.8. No.4 is now available.
 Article 2 is a quarterly publication of the Asian Legal Resource Centre
This issue covers the following:
An essay on abysmal lawlessness & the zero status of Sri Lankans
By Basil Fernando, Director, Asian Human Rights Commission & Asian Legal Resource Centre, Hong Kong, with staff of the commission
The distinction between genuine and counterfeit actions for justice
The lost meaning of legality
The predominance of the security apparatus
The disappearance of truth through propaganda
The superman controller
Destroyed public institutions
The zero status of citizens
 Further information on Article 2 may be found at: www.article2.org
We are also pleased to announce that the next issue of Ethics in Action will be available shortly. This issues presents the report on the Prevention of Police Torture in Sri Lanka project. The report was prepared and written by a group of evaluators from RCT Denmark.
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The Asian Human Rights Commission is regularly issuing this article series on Human Rights and Culture in which various cultural expressions, poems, stories, pictures and other forms of cultural expression that are based on the theme of justice, will be published. A pivotal issue in modern literature is justice, particularly the enormous unleashing of injustice under fascist, communist and other authoritarian regime including those that pursue an unbridled market economy have generated responses from created writers. This search for justice is at the very essence of being human. Human beings are part of nature and part of each other. Perhaps the lines of John Donne are most relevant: ¡§... any man¡¦s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde;¡¨
Contemporary mass culture promotes violence and destruction. There are those who are opposed to mass culture and want to reclaim the best traditions of human culture within which justice remains a core issue. This column will provide space for those who wish to share their creative initiatives.
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Posted on 2010-01-15
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