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#forcedrelocation — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #forcedrelocation, aggregated by home.social.

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  1. #GazaSoupKitchen Update

    August 10, 2026 by #HaniAlmadhoun, Organizer

    "Dear friends, allies, and supporters,

    This is my note to you. I like to check in every now and then, and as you have come to know, these messages are where I speak directly from the heart.

    Many of you let me know how much you appreciate these updates, so first off—thank you. Thank you for being here, for your patience, and for walking this heavy road with us. You put your heart and your resources into this work, and you make every single day of survival possible.

    As you can imagine, living and working in #Gaza right now means navigating a strange, tense age of hoping to see real peace. On the ground, we have felt a reduction in constant air strikes compared to past months, but there is no commitment or guarantee that the bombing is truly over. We made no mistake in hearing the news this week when Prime Minister #Netanyahu made it clear he does not support the 15-point peace plan authored by the President of the United States. The political reality remains deeply painful, but while politicians stall, you and I continue to act.

    Here is a quick, direct update on the relief and programs your generosity is powering on the ground today:

    - The Orphan Learning Academy: Today, we held a small celebration for the children with face painting and pizza. Seeing their smiles in the photos was just heartwarming. This small initiative gives these kids a sanctuary—a place to belong, to laugh, and to learn. We currently serve at least 50 children who are missing one or both parents. As you will tell us, navigating a genocide without a mother or father nearby is an unimaginable burden. While caretakers step in, nothing replaces the embrace of a parent, and giving these kids a moment of peace means everything.

    - #KhanYunis Learning Center: Miss Fatma is still teaching four days a week, bringing around 40 children together each session for English, math, and basic education. She constantly brings them small treats out of her own pocket, inspiring them to keep learning, keep growing, and keep their young minds engaged.

    - #FrontlineMedicalCare: Our medical point continues to treat an average of 60 patients every single day. Dr. Majd—our doctor who is brave enough to work right on the yellow line—is an absolute gift. Her courage, skill, and deep care under extreme conditions keep our entire team hopeful. On top of this, our hospital meal distribution continues steadily as planned, delivering at least 250 hot meals daily across two different hospitals to support patients, medical staff, and families in care.

    - #Water Distribution: We have now scaled up to 14 water trucks running daily, bringing clean water all the way from #Rafah in the south to Mashru' #BeitLahiya in the north. Access to clean water haunts me constantly as I see desperate families forced to decide whether to buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of water. Because of your commitment, our team doesn't hesitate—when a neighborhood needs water, they make the call and send the truck. Trucking water is a relatively inexpensive way to save lives, with fuel being our primary cost.

    - #CommunityKitchens: We are now operating 25 kitchens spanning from #Mawasi and Rafah all the way to #Mashru' Beit Lahiya. Rather than opening new sites, several kitchens have expanded, with some now providing hot meals for up to 1,500 people a day (averaging about 1,000 per kitchen). Food exists in local markets, but because people have lost their jobs and livelihoods, buying it is nearly impossible. Despite severe banking disruptions, fluctuating prices, and daily insecurities, your support keeps these stoves burning.
    One thing we are closely watching this week is market volatility: produce prices went up by about 10%. We aren't entirely sure what to make of this shift just yet or if it's a temporary spike. For now, we are keeping our food packages and portions exactly as they are, but if this price surge continues, we may have to make a few operational trade-offs to keep expanding our reach.

    - Targeted #FoodParcels: Alongside our daily meals, we produce targeted lists to serve specific groups. Last week, we focused on homemakers. This week, based on a direct request from the local community, we pledged to register and serve 1,500 people across two categories: the elderly and newlywed couples. This is on top of our evergreen support for nursing mothers, expecting moms, and workers who have lost their income.

    Remember, you pay for all of this. You make this life-saving work possible, and you deserve every shout-out there is.

    I’ll be the first to admit that I often feel small in the face of such massive hardship. But I want you to know that as long as we have the resources you provide, we will keep cooking, trucking water, and dispatching aid. The moment we start worrying about resources, as you can imagine, is the moment we speak up and ask for help.

    Please keep sharing our work, commenting, and spreading the word. Speak out first against the ongoing injustice, and then share the tangible, life-saving solutions that you and I are creating together on the ground.

    Thank you for being here with us.

    Hani "

    FMI and to donate:
    gofundme.com/f/Hot-meals-in-ga

    #ForcedRelocation #GazaCity #KhanYounes #NorthGaza #GazaAid #GazaFundraisers #FreePalestine #Fundraisers #FoodIsLife #WaterIsLife #GoFundMe #BaitLahiya #KhanYounes #Palestine #Genocide #Starvation #IsraeliWarCrimes #NorthernGaza
    Remember #ChefMahmoud
    #HumanRightsAreNeverWrong #IsraeliWarCrimes #BibiIsAWarCriminal #USAIDCuts #HumanitarianZones

  2. #ForcedRelocation is nothing new... The #USA is quite good at it... Unfortunately!

    Mapping how the U.S. forcibly took #IndigenousLands

    Not long after the #GreatAmericanExperiment began, the newly established nation set its sights west. Here's how a series of conflicts, forged treaties, and #ForcedMigration led to the loss of a majority of Indigenous lands.

    By Erin Blakemore
    Published July 8, 2026

    "For the citizens of the newly established United States, the vast territory of North America (and the land of plenty it represented) seemed theirs for the taking. But these lands, some of the richest on Earth, had already been settled and stewarded for thousands of years by #IndigenousPeoples. Though their numbers had already dwindled due to new diseases and conflict with settlers, in 1776 approximately 250,000 #IndigenousPeople still lived within the territory delimited by the current borders of the U.S. The young nation, however, was intent on expansion—and set its sights on Indigenous land. Over the years, tribal interests and sovereignty would be trampled time and time again. Although land loss is the most visible consequence of dispossession, Indigenous customs, culture, and language (all firmly rooted in the land) were also under attack."

    Read more:
    nationalgeographic.com/history

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/B2yzj

    #NativeAmericans #NativeAmericanHistory #AmericanHistory #ForcedRelocation #TrailOfTears #Genocide #1830IndianRemovalAct #IndianRemovalAct #CulturalGenocide #StolenChildren #StolenLand #ForcedDisplacement #CorporateGreed #Capitalism

  3. #GazaSoupKitchen Update

    July 7, 2026 by #HaniAlmadhoun, Organizer

    "Hi friends, Salam, and Greetings,

    First, thank you for being the bright light that keeps our kitchens burning. When people ask me why we keep fighting so hard, it’s because of what you are making possible on the ground. I see the impact in photos from my desk, but our team carries the joy of these families in their hearts every single day. Please, tell your friends and your children about your connection to Gaza through the Gaza Soup Kitchen. Let them know how you chose to lift an entire community when things were at their absolute darkest.

    Let me tell you a quick story from earlier this week. One of our chefs sent over a photo of a little boy standing outside our site with an empty metal pot, giving him a massive fist bump. This little guy had actually beaten the chef to the kitchen. When asked why, he smiled and said he wanted to make sure the chef saw him first so he wouldn't have to wait in a massive line later. That boy, with his empty pot and his hope, is exactly where your generosity lands.

    Because you stand behind us, our team just opened Kitchen Number 24 late last week in Tel El Hawa. It used to be a posh neighborhood, but the families there are struggling now and reached out to ask us for a hot kitchen. Because of your support, we said yes. We immediately hired local heads of households who were desperate for work to staff it. Every single one of our 24 kitchens operates independently—the local teams decide what to cook based on what their specific neighbors need. And because the summer heat is completely brutal right now, your funding allowed us to add 4 more water trucks to our fleet to keep these neighborhoods hydrated and safe from heat illness.

    Look at what you’ve helped our teams accomplish over the last month alone:

    * Over 10,000 canisters of baby formula and diapers successfully distributed to registered families and makeshift camps.
    * An average of 60 patients treated daily at our medical point—the northernmost lifeline still operating in the area.
    * Two wide-open learning centers where kids show up with clean clothes and combed hair, a beautiful testament to the resilience of their parents.

    It breaks my heart that the Gaza Soup Kitchen has become a household name where thousands look to us just to register for basic survival parcels, but your support allows us to carry that heavy responsibility. We are using our online system to find the people everyone else forgets. Three weeks ago, we did a targeted distribution for local lifeguards. Two weeks ago, it was day laborers who can't find work. Last week, it was the healthcare workers and kindergarten teachers who have essentially been volunteering for free. This week, we are using your funds to deliver directly to the sanitation workers and hospital janitors—the invisible heroes keeping the shelters clean.

    Our flexible initiative teams are moving just as fast. This week, they rushed fresh fruits, veggies, and clothing to newly displaced families. Down in Rafah, the team set up a station making slushies and cotton candy, just to give the kids a few minutes to feel like kids again. In the Middle Area, we managed to break into a totally isolated community we had never been able to reach before.

    We are pushing forward because the news out here is getting darker. We heard talk this week about plans to rebrand camps into "#HumanitarianZones" to forcibly relocate #Palestinians. It is a terrifying, dystopian strategy that heavily mirrors what the US did to Japanese-Americans during WWII, or the strategic hamlets in Vietnam.

    I see a few diplomatic moves on the horizon that give me a sliver of optimism, but my deepest fear is that this prolonged status quo will just stretch on. We will see what the next few weeks bring. But no matter what, I choose to remain hopeful because I see what you do for us every single day.

    Gaza holds a permanent place in our hearts, and you are helping us keep that heart beating.

    Thank you for choosing to be here with us.

    Hani"

    To donate:
    gofundme.com/f/Hot-meals-in-ga

    #ForcedRelocation #GazaCity #KhanYounes #NorthGaza #GazaAid #GazaFundraisers #FreePalestine #Fundraisers #FoodIsLife #WaterIsLife #GoFundMe #BeitLahiya #BaitLahiya #KhanYounes #Palestine #Genocide #Starvation #IsraeliWarCrimes #NorthernGaza
    Remember #ChefMahmoud
    #HumanRightsAreNeverWrong #IsraeliWarCrimes #BibiIsAWarCriminal

  4. #OnThisDayInHistory: May 28, 1830, #AndrewJackson Signs #IndianRemovalAct

    by Levi Rickert May 28, 2026

    "On this day in 1830 — 196 years ago — President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law.

    "The Act created a process that allowed the president to exchange lands west of the Mississippi River for the homelands of Native tribes in the eastern United States. In return, tribes were promised financial assistance, supplies for relocation, and the guarantee that they could live on their new lands under the protection of the United States government “forever.”

    "In practice, however, the Indian Removal Act became a tool of #coercion and #dispossession. Under Jackson and his supporters, #NativeNations were pressured, bribed, and forced into signing #RemovalTreaties that stripped them of their ancestral territories across the Southeast.

    "By the end of his presidency, Jackson had signed nearly 70 removal treaties, leading to the forced relocation of approximately 50,000 #NativeAmericans to what was then called #IndianTerritory, in present-day #Oklahoma. Entire nations were uprooted from lands they had inhabited for generations and pushed into unfamiliar territory designated by the federal government.

    "The policy culminated in the Trail of Tears — one of the darkest chapters in American history. Thousands of Native people died from disease, #starvation, and exposure during the forced marches west, including nearly one-quarter of the #CherokeeNation.

    "Because of his central role in Native removal and the suffering it caused, many Native Americans remember Jackson as the '#IndianKiller' president and continue to oppose efforts to honor him, including his image remaining on the twenty-dollar bill."

    nativenewsonline.net/currents/

    #USHistory #USPol #Genocide #TrailOfTears #NativeAmericans #NativeAmericanHistory #ForcedRelocation #HumanRightsViolations

  5. Answer: "No."

    Most #CriticalMinerals are on #IndigenousLands. Will miners respect #TribalSovereignty?

    by Taylar Dawn Stagner, March 26, 2025

    "#Mining — whether for #FossilFuels or, increasingly, the critical minerals in high demand today — has a long history of perpetuating violence against #IndigenousPeople. Forcibly removing tribal communities to get to natural resources tied to their homelands has been the rule, not the exception, for centuries.

    "Today, more than half of the mineral deposits needed for a global energy transition — including #lithium, #cobalt, #copper, and #nickel to make things like #batteries and #SolarPanels — are found near or beneath Indigenous lands.

    "In 2007, the United Nations adopted a resolution called the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [#UNDRIP] that included the right to free, prior, and informed consent to the use of their lands, a concept known as #FPIC. This principle protects #IndigenousPeoples from being forcibly relocated, provides suitable avenues for redress of past injustices, and gives tribes and communities the right to consent to — and the right to refuse — #extractive industry projects like #mining.

    "There’s a lot at stake: When followed, FPIC promises a process that gives Indigenous peoples a voice in how their homelands are used, as well as the right to say no to development altogether. And when it’s not, which is the vast majority of the time, #TribalCommunities are further #disenfranchised, facing #violence and #ForcedRelocation as their #sovereignty and rights are ignored.

    "There are an estimated 5,000 tribal communities around the world, encompassing roughly 476 million people across 90 countries, according to the U.N. Different tribes have different opinions on mining, but rarely is their legal right to refuse extraction projects recognized, even under the 2007 declaration.

    "Grist talked with five experts to better understand what free, prior, and informed consent should look like in this new era of mineral extraction. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity."

    Read more:
    ictnews.org/news/most-critical

    #CanPol #CanadaPol #BigOilAndGas #LandBack #IndigenousSovereignty #TribalSovereignty #LithiumMining #RecycleLithium #LithiumAlternatives #RecycleCopper

  6. How communities in #SacrificeZones suffer environmental injustices in #Mexico, #Chile, #Nigeria and #Indonesia (analysis)

    Daniela Sepulveda and Angélica Arellano, 9 Apr 2025

    "Across continents, 'sacrifice zones' resemble wounds carved deep into the fabric of our planet. These are regions where ecosystems and livelihoods have been ravaged by fossil fuel and other industries that promise progress but leave devastation in their wake. These are places where big business and transnational corporations are contaminating the rivers, darkening the skies, and making the soil barren; where the toll of development is paid in human suffering and ecological destruction.

    "What unites these 'sacrifice zones' is the shared story of areas where prosperity for the few is built on the suffering of many, and where communities fight to mend the fractures inflicted upon their land, health and dignity.

    "Here are four case studies highlighting the experiences of communities and civil society organizations collaborating with us in the Coalition for Human Rights in Development’s Community Resource Exchange.

    #Tula, #Mexico

    "In the #TulaTepejiApaxco region, where the #Toltec plains once supported rich #biodiversity and #CulturalHeritage, the water and air are now saturated with pollution. This devastated landscape was declared both in 1975 and again in 2005 by the U.N. as one of the most polluted places on Earth, marking it as an #EnvironmentalDisaster zone. Since the early 20th century, the arrival of #CementPlants, #refineries, #ChemicalFactories, a #coal-fired power plant and #LimeKilns has transformed the region. Backed by all levels of government, these industries have destroyed the area’s ecological balance and ruined the health of its people, poisoning the water, air and soil with #ToxicWaste.

    "Prominent among these polluters are cement giants like #Holcim, #CEMEX, #CementosFortaleza and #Clarimex, whose operations release harmful gases that exacerbate the region’s environmental and public health crises. One of the epicenters of this environmental catastrophe is the #TulaRiver, which receives 150,000 liters (nearly 40,000 gallons) of untreated wastewater every second from Mexico City and the Valley of Mexico. These 'black waters' are teeming with industrial and hospital waste plus sewage, overwhelming the river and its tributaries.

    "The #EndhóDam, originally built to support local #agriculture, has become a toxic dumping ground, poisoning thousands of people who rely on wells for drinking water. Despite decades of warnings, local and national governments have allowed this contamination to persist. The poisoned waters have killed fish, flooded the land with toxic sludge, and led to a surge in cancer, leukemia, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases among the 15,000 inhabitants living along its banks. In 2021, a devastating flood related to the overflowing Tula River left 17 dead and displaced thousands, a stark reminder of the ongoing risks of government inaction.

    "The region now faces a massive public health crisis, and the recent declaration by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to designate the area as an ecological restoration zone is a necessary but overdue step. This declaration covers municipalities such as #Atitalaquia,TepejiDelRío, #Tepetitlán and Tlahuelilpan, where 498 businesses have been identified as generators of hazardous waste, including 14 that produce hydrocarbons. The study, based on a water, air and soil analysis, could mark the beginning of recovery if it is implemented with urgency and seriousness.

    "Over the years, organizations like #RedDeConcienciaAmbiental '#QueremosVivir' have resisted, bringing visibility to the devastation and fighting to halt deforestation and continued pollution. In the words of one of the leaders of Queremos Vivir ('We want to live'), 'There needs to be a legal solution, because it’s that urgent. We believe there is still a way to reverse it, and we have time to show the newly elected president #ClaudiaSheinbaum the dire situation we’re in.'

    "Their demands include a reduction in the water flow of the Tula River through holistic water management solutions, and government accountability for decades of environmental neglect, calling for reparations for both industrial pollution and the catastrophic 2021 floods.

    "While they welcome Sheinbaum’s promises to clean the river and launch a circular economy project, they emphasize that meaningful environmental justice must not be delayed any longer. After stating the communities’ demands through tears, the Queremos Vivir leader said, 'Are we really just going to be destined to be a sacrifice zone? The damage is so severe, the degradation we are in, that if we don’t protect it, don’t defend it, then what are we going to do?' "

    Read more:
    news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-

    #SEZs #Antofagasta #Nigeria #Indonesia #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #CorporateColonialism
    #Exploitation #RaceToTheBottom
    #HumanRightsViolations
    #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation
    #EconomicSacrificZones
    #ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #TraditionalLifestyles #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism #Exploitation

  7. #SEZs in #India: Balancing Economic Growth and #Environmental Concerns

    July 27, 2024

    "Picture this: vast stretches of industrial land buzzing with activity, modern factories producing goods for global markets, and thousands of job opportunities emerging overnight. This is the promise of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India. But behind this gleaming facade lies a complex web of environmental challenges and social concerns that demand our attention. SEZs represent one of India’s most ambitious economic policies, designed to accelerate industrial growth and boost exports, yet they often come at a significant cost to the environment and local communities.

    [...]

    "[T]he rapid expansion of SEZs has raised significant environmental red flags. The most pressing concern is land acquisition, which often involves converting fertile agricultural land into industrial zones. This conversion not only reduces the country’s agricultural capacity but also disrupts local ecosystems and biodiversity.

    "The establishment of SEZs typically requires large tracts of land – sometimes spanning thousands of acres. Much of this land is acquired from agricultural areas, leading to the displacement of farming communities who have depended on these lands for generations. For instance, the proposed #RaigadSEZ in #Maharashtra would have required over 14,000 hectares of #agricultural land, leading to massive #protests from local farmers.

    "The conversion of agricultural land to #IndustrialUse has long-term implications for #FoodSecurity. As India’s population continues to grow, the loss of productive #farmland could exacerbate food shortage issues in the future. Moreover, agricultural land often has better soil quality and water retention capacity compared to industrial land, making this conversion environmentally costly.

    "Industrial activities within SEZs generate various forms of #pollution. Air pollution from #manufacturing processes, water #contamination from industrial effluents, and #SoilDegradation from chemical usage are common problems. The concentration of industries in SEZs can create pollution hotspots that affect air and water quality in surrounding areas.

    "#WaterScarcity is another critical issue. SEZs require substantial water resources for industrial processes, often competing with local communities for this precious resource. In water-stressed regions, this competition can lead to conflicts and further environmental degradation.
    Human rights and social displacement

    "The human cost of SEZ development cannot be overlooked. Land acquisition for SEZs often involves displacing local communities, particularly small farmers and agricultural workers. These communities frequently receive inadequate compensation and struggle to find alternative livelihoods.

    "The displacement process can be traumatic for local communities who have strong cultural and emotional ties to their land. Traditional occupations like #farming, #fishing, and #SmallScaleTrading are disrupted, forcing people to adapt to entirely new economic realities. The promised employment opportunities in SEZs often don’t materialize for displaced communities, as they may lack the required skills for industrial jobs.

    "Women in these communities face particular challenges, as they often have limited access to alternative employment opportunities and may lose traditional income sources like kitchen gardening or small-scale agricultural activities. The social fabric of rural communities can be severely disrupted, leading to increased poverty and social inequality."

    csr.education/urban-planning-d

    #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #CorporateColonialism
    #IMFLoanSharks #Exploitation #WorldBank #RaceToTheBottom
    #HumanRightsViolations
    #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation
    #EconomicSacrificZones
    #ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #TraditionalLifestyles #EnvironmentalRacism #Exploitation
    #CorporateColonialism

  8. The #environmental burdens of #SpecialEconomicZones on the coastal and marine #environment: A remote sensing assessment in #Myanmar

    Thiri Shwesin Aung, Indra Overland, Roman Vakulchuk, Yanhua Xie
    November 2022

    "Special economic zones (#SEZs) are unusual parts of the world economy in terms of law, institutions, and economic functions (Chaisse and Dimitropoulos 2021). SEZs are geographically delimited areas created to facilitate industrial activities through fiscal and regulatory incentives and infrastructure support (UNCTAD 2019). Such zones carve out jurisdiction as a subset of the overall state jurisdiction for the purposes of enacting different laws and regulations that are more trade and investment friendly (Zeng 2021). Since the year 2000, SEZs have mushroomed in developing countries to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), accelerate industrialization and create jobs (Aiyer 2017). There are 5400 SEZs in 147 economies around the world. Asia is home to three quarters of them (UNIDO 2015). They have been a core element of the economic development strategy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and currently all ASEAN member states have SEZs (Aggarwal 2022).

    "As part of an export-oriented development strategy, the zones commonly include industrial mega-areas that accommodate large-scale infrastructure, deep-sea ports, logistical infrastructure for oil and gas, hotels and tourism, and industrial complexes (Aggarwal 2022). They are primarily defined by a specific regulatory regime and a dedicated governance mechanism designed to relieve customs and tariffs and reduce the burden on businesses from permits, licenses, employment laws, and land access. In return, host governments expect investors to create positive spillover effects, such as facilitating innovation, boosting employment, raising exports, and diversifying the economy. The global experience of SEZs have been mixed, with some countries achieving successful economic outcomes, while others struggle to overcome market failures, institutional constraints, and social and environmental costs (Aggarwal 2022; Zeng 2021).

    "The lax regulatory regimes of SEZs often raise concerns about environmental, social, and #HumanRights standards, as well as possible conflicts over #LandRights (Brussevich 2020). Several SEZs have failed to yield the expected economic benefits while having severe adverse impacts on the environment and local communities (Adunbi 2019; Aritenang and Chandramidi 2020; Chaisse and Ji 2020). On the other hand, while SEZs can be hotspots for environmental #mismanagement, they can also provide opportunities for implementing environmental policies specifically designed to regulate industries within the zones. Also, certain environmental advantages may ensue from the introduction of foreign financial resources and environmental technologies that are otherwise not readily available (Richardson 2004).

    "However, according to the 'race to the bottom' literature, most SEZs have a net negative impact on the environment and local communities (Richardson 2004; UNIDO 2015; ZENG and DOUGLAS, 2012).

    "Despite this contradiction, existing studies focusing on the direct and indirect impacts of SEZs have been rare (#WorldBank, 2017). Particularly, the magnitude and intensity of SEZ impacts on the environment remain understudied.
    SEZs tend to be located in remote regions. As such, SEZ-related information and data are generally scarce, making it difficult to assess the environmental consequences of such zones. Many SEZs are also located in countries where there is limited scope for independent environmental assessment due to #authoritarian rule, #corruption, and/or #secrecy surrounding deals with foreign investors. Recent improvements in access to satellite data and computing platforms for machine learning have greatly improved the ability to comprehensively assess SEZs in any location in the world in near real time (Ali et al., 2020; Jensen et al., 2019). This article demonstrates how these technologies can be applied to provide evidence related to the environmental impacts of SEZs. The method is tried out on the Kyaukpyu SEZ in Myanmar. Myanmar is an authoritarian country and the #KyaukpyuSEZ is a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative (#BRI) located in an inaccessible part of #Myanmar. This is precisely the type of case where independent access can be limited and a remote sensing approach can be useful.

    "From 2010 onwards, Myanmar was navigating its economic transformation and a partial loosening of military rule. SEZ development was prioritized as a critical element of the country's industrialization (Oxfam 2017). The three most notable ongoing SEZ projects are the Kyaukpyu SEZ in the rural but strategically important Rakhine State, which is also the largest SEZ in Myanmar, the Thilawa SEZ on the outskirts of Myanmar's former capital Yangon, and the Dawei SEZ in the Tanintharyi Region. Tanintharyi is a long narrow southern territory of Myanmar bordering the Andaman Sea to the west and Thailand to the east.

    "Although they are expected to encourage economic growth and reduce poverty, all three SEZ projects continue to face local opposition, particularly the Kyaukpyu and Dawei SEZs. The International Commission of Jurists (2017) has reported that SEZs in Myanmar are linked to human rights violations and environmental abuses (Donateo 2017). Although Myanmar's SEZ law adopted in 2014 reaffirms the applicability of environmental regulations to SEZ development, it does not clearly delineate responsibilities between developers and the state (DICA 2014). The law also does not conform with international human rights standards (MCRB 2018)."

    Read more:
    sciencedirect.com/science/arti

    #RaceToTheBottom #HumanRightsViolations #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EconomicSacrificZones #ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #HumanRightsViolations #EnvironmentalDegradation #IndigenousPeoples #ForestPeoples #SaveTheForests #Exploitation #CorporateColonialism

  9. Dine' tell Navajo Council 'NO COAL!'

    The Monster has returned, and it is even more grotesque than the one before. Dine' remember forced relocation, the loss of water and medicine plants, and the loss of loved ones. Navajos say 'No!; to Trump and Navajo President Nygren's push for coal.

    By #BrendaNorrell, @bsnorrell.blogspot.com June 1, 2025

    #ForestLake, #NavajoNation -- "Dine' told the #NavajoNationCouncil that the #CoalIndustry has cost them their aquifer water, and their health. Combined with #UraniumMining, they have lost their loved ones to widespread #cancer and #BlackLungDisease killing their people.

    "Dine' remembered #ForcedRelocation and the stripping of the #forest by #PeabodyCoal, during a hearing on Friday. The Navajo Council was told to stand up for #FutureGenerations, or step aside.

    " 'The Navajo Nation has provided coal to the big cities for decades, while the people of #BlackMesa have nothing to show for it," Dine' from Black Mesa told the Council.

    " 'We are supposed to be the Protectors of the Earth.'

    "#LouiseBenally [#KleeBenally's aunt] of Big Mountain told the hearing that you can't trust what #Trump is telling you because he'll change whatever he says in the next sentence. Louise said he has no concept of what being a human is.

    " 'Keep your prayers and your language, those are the things that really matter for us #IndigenousPeople,' said Louise. She and her family spent their lives resisting forced relocation brought by Peabody Coal's mining on Black Mesa.

    " 'Everyone was opposed to another #CoalMining, it's not good for anything, and it is causing #GreenhouseGases to continue to rise,' Louise told Censored News.

    " 'Doctor Nygren doesn't know that. He needs a hogan level of education.'

    " '#ClimateChange is so, important to every living thing, we need to be finding solutions not making things worse.' "

    Read more:
    bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/05

    #EO14241 #Diné #Dineh #Dineteh #NavajoNation #WaterIsLife #DirtyCoal #TrumpSucks #AirIsLife #NoCoalMining
    #BigCoal #USPol #NativeAmericanNews #CorporateColonialism #RememberKleeBenally
    #BuuNygrenSoldOutHisPeople

  10. via @bsnorrell.blogspot.com

    #NavajoNation Targeted Again for Sacrifice Zone: '#Energy Companies Preying on the People'

    #Diné ask: Why is the Navajo Nation allowing energy companies to prey on communities and individuals?

    By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, May 23, 2024

    "Dine' on the Navajo Nation are now targeted with a push to revitalize dirty coal energy, and a hydropower project that would pump precious water from their aquifer. Dine' question why the Navajo Nation government is allowing energy companies to prey on the communities and individuals.

    "#LouiseBenally of #BigMountain [#KleeBenally's aunt] said the bottom line is greed. 'They want to eat up everything but, don't know that even their lives depend on it too. Poisoning the natural cycle will come back and destroy them too.'

    "The new stampede of parasitic energy companies to the Navajo Nation comes at the same time that #radioactive #uranium trucks, covered only with tarps, are traveling across the Navajo Nation, from the #GrandCanyon uranium mine to the mill in the #WhiteMesaUte community in Utah.

    "At the same time, more than 500 #UraniumMines, and scattered radioactive debris, remain on the Navajo Nation, and was never cleaned up by the U.S. government. Dirty coal mines and power plants left the legacy of death and #ForcedRelocation.

    Navajo Council Plans Meeting on Revitalizing Coal Industry

    "Citing #Trump's push for new #CoalMining, the #NavajoNationCouncil plans to hold a public hearing on
    revitalizing the coal industry.

    "The Navajo Nation Council announced the public hearing, stating that on April 8 President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled, 'Reinvigorating America’s #BeautifulCleanCoal Industry
    and Amending Executive Order 14241' aimed at reversing past federal policies, to boost the coal industry and to strengthen the country’s national energy security, according to the White House.

    "The public hearing is scheduled in Forest Lake Chapter on Friday, May 30. Louise Benally and her family spent their lives battling #PeabodyCoal and resisting forced relocation at Big Mountain on #BlackMesa. She said what Trump is doing is another chapter in the assault on the land and people.

    " 'Pl 93-531 is a law created by #BarryGoldwater to target our rights to water and land base to be taken away. He developed that law so, with what Trump is trying to do is no different.'

    " 'They want to eat up everything but, don't know that even their lives depend on it too. Poisoning the natural cycle will come back and destroy them too.'

    " 'The American political system is not our government as traditional people which is where all our modern day problems come from in the form of an endless greed to keep eating up the earth and the natural resources.'

    "Louise questioned Navajo Nation President #BuuNygren's support of Trump and coal mining in Washington, and Nygren's agreement for uranium trucks to cross the Navajo Nation. 'The Navajo Nation government is at a crossroads. Buu has been taken by Trump, and the people he is supposed to be responsible for are in question.'

    " 'He has been taken into the bag of greed -- uranium and coal yet, there is no water. We want accountability.' "

    Read more:
    bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/05

    #Diné #Dineh #BuuNygrenSoldOutHisPeople
    #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #EnergyFuels
    #Dineteh #NukingTheNavajo
    #Havasupai #UraniumMines
    #EnvironmentalRacism #WhiteMesaMill #NukingTheNavajo #NukingTheUte #Ute #Paiute #Hopi #BidiiRoots #DineCARE #Havasupai #PinyonPlainUraniumMine #AirIsLife #UraniumMine #UraniumTransport #RadioactiveDust #RememberKleeBenally #BigCoal #DishonoringTheMemoryOfKleeBenally
    #HaulNo #NoMiningWithoutConsent

  11. #VoicesOfDecolonization - #Wabanaki #Sustenance and #SelfDetermination

    by Jillian Kerr, 7 November 2024

    "Before #colonization, the Wabanaki region was rich in food; Wabanaki Tribes had excellent knowledge of their environment and knew where to find each resource, when it was abundant, and in what quantities. They utilized natural resources and foods respectfully, creating little or no waste. This sustainable approach to food and natural resources made the Wabanaki among the healthiest people in the world. However, the arrival of Europeans disrupted this harmony, forcing the Wabanaki out of their homelands. Europeans imposed a different understanding of nature and harvesting, which led to unhealthy and unsustainable practices. The Wabanaki continue to strive for the restoration of their traditional foodways as a way to practice #FoodSovereignty.

    "To develop food sovereignty and economic stability, the #Mikmaq Nation in Aroostook County constructed an indoor fish hatchery on the site of Micmac Farms in Caribou, Maine. This farm, which previously only grew and sold fresh or preserved fruits and vegetables, now receives Nesowadnehunk Brook Trout eggs from the Maine State Hatchery in Enfield, Maine. The grown fish are then sold back to Maine’s Soil and Water Conservation District for public consumption throughout the state. In addition, they generously donate food to the local food bank and provide discounts for Tribal members, demonstrating a sustainable model for food sovereignty for the Mi’kmaq Nation.

    "The Houlton Band of #Maliseet Indians launched a food sovereignty initiative to increase access to nutritious food, improve food sovereignty, and strengthen connections to Wabanaki culture by sharing traditional food production, storage, and preparation approaches. The lessons learned add to current knowledge about developing, implementing, and evaluating a model rooted in the principles of food sovereignty. Opportunities to learn and share knowledge about traditional storage and recipes are provided to community members, and existing partnerships have been leveraged to develop a sustainable model. Additional community gardens were also created to increase food production capacity, increasing food sovereignty for the Maliseet.

    "One way the #Passamaquoddy Tribe fights for food sovereignty is by restoring the watershed of the Skutik River, which was renamed the St. Croix River by colonists. The Skutik River is at the heart of the ancestral home of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.. This crucial watershed is the natural spawning ground and ancient homeland for many species of sea-run fish, including Atlantic salmon and sea-run alewife (river herring), a vital food source. Historically, the number of fish swimming up the Skutik River was massive and sustained the Passamaquoddy for thousands of years. Yet now, the alewife population is too small to feed or sustain the Tribe.

    "The large amount of pollution produced by colonization upset the productivity and natural balance of the Skutik River and the life cycles of the native fishery, straining the river’s ecosystem. For many years, Maine law blocked sea-run alewives from accessing their natural and ancient spawning ground in the Skutik watershed, which diminished this important traditional sustenance food source and disturbed the cultural practices of Passamaquoddy Tribal members. The Passamaquoddy established the Skutik Watershed Strategic Sea-run Fish and River Restoration Plan to mitigate the damage and find a better way forward. They developed a collaborative of Skutik stewards, also known as the Skutik River Keepers, who work with various agencies to give the river the best chance at restoring the watershed, thereby giving the Passamaquoddy more access to traditional foods and strengthening their food sovereignty.

    "The #PenobscotNation fights for food sovereignty in various ways, including rebuilding outlets on Tribal trust lands. The Penobscot ancestral homeland is located within the drainage area of the Penobscot River and its many tributaries, lakes, and ponds. The area was the fishing place for spearing and netting fish, like salmon and alewives. It was a primary nourishing source of food, medicine, connection, joy, and spirituality for the Penobscot during spring and early summer. The mills and mill dams built by colonizers upset the river's natural ecosystem, cutting off fish from places required to complete their life cycle. As a result, the river no longer contained the fish that had historically fed the Penobscot Tribe. The Penobscot successfully rebuilt outlets on Tribal trust lands in Mattamiscontis Stream, and they have completed many stream connectivity projects. This resulted in growing populations of alewives and blueback herring in the newly restored system, making more fish available as a food source for the Tribe.

    "The land is a cornerstone of Native life. Before colonization, Wabanaki Tribes had developed an environmentally friendly and communal food system to protect the land and environment, using natural resources without harming the environment that provided bountiful food sources. However, centuries of colonization have separated the Wabanaki and other Native communities from their homelands and traditional foods. Natives were physically, culturally, and spiritually tied to their homelands, and forced relocation into unknown lands made it impossible to access traditional foods and harvest adequate nutrition from the land for survival. The lack of knowledge of unknown lands led to a dependence on government-issued rations and commodities. These rations and commodities consisted of dairy, processed wheat, sugars, etc., all foreign to the Native diet. The government's aim in providing these rations and commodities to Natives was not to provide nutrition but to prevent starvation.

    "#ForcedRelocation and other federal policies devastated many Tribes’ food systems, disrupting their hunting, fishing, farming, and harvesting traditions. The disruption continues today as the federal government still decides what foods they will distribute to Native communities. The government also makes agreements with the producers, a system that favors large-scale vendors, leading to missed opportunities for Native farmers. Problems with food quality also still exist; many traditional foods are still unavailable, and it is not uncommon for produce to travel long distances and arrive spoiled. Despite this upheaval, the Wabanaki have shown remarkable resilience and are determined to restore their traditional food practices and reclaim their food sovereignty."

    Source [includes references]:
    wabanakireach.org/wabanaki_sus

    #WabanakiConfederacy #MaineFirstNations #LandBack #sovereignty #Wabanakik #WabanakiAlliance #Decolonize #IndigenousPeoplesDay #IndigenousFoodSovereignty

  12. Boo hiss...! #Israel’s #Netanyahu signals he’s moving ahead with #Trump’s idea to transfer #Palestinians from #Gaza

    By MATTHEW LEE and NATALIE MELZER
    Updated 5:05 PM EST, February 16, 2025

    JERUSALEM (AP) — "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday signaled that he was moving ahead with U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, calling it 'the only viable plan to enable a different future' for the region." [BULLSHIT!!!]

    apnews.com/article/israel-pale
    #BibiIsAWarCriminal #Colonialism #FreePalestine #ForcedRelocation #Genocide #CorporateColonialism

  13. WTAF! "#Israel says it has begun preparations for the departure of #Palestinians from #Gaza despite international rejection of President Donald #Trump’s plan to empty the territory of its population. #Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes against the proposal, warning it would put its peace deal with Israel at risk, officials said.

    "The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. U.S. officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out. "

    apnews.com/article/israel-pale
    #SettlerColonialism #Genocide #ForcedRelocation #USPol #WorldPol #IsraeliWarCrimes #IsraeliSettlers #Colonialism #Palestine #FreePalestine

  14. ‘Tis the Season to Talk #ClimateCollapse, #NuclearColonialism, and Freeing #LeonardPeltier

    by Desiree Hellegers, December 11, 2024

    "I don’t know about you, but personally, the whole festive holiday thing seems to be falling a bit flat this year. Don’t get me wrong, like every other year, I do plan to really go to town on a pumpkin pie or two. But this year, the annual deluge of Black Friday ads egging us on to higher levels of consumption–with corresponding carbon emissions and solid and liquid waste–seemed particularly hollow, morbid–predatory, even–falling as Black Friday did this year on November 29, the date the U.N. first recognized in 1977 as International Day of #Solidarity with the #PalestinianPeople. This year all the excess, forced pageantry, and planned obsolescence of Black Friday seems in such stark and ironic contrast to the poverty in #Gaza.

    From #Plymouth to Palestine

    "Winter is coming soon to Gaza where hundreds of thousands of shell-shocked people are struggling against the odds to care for themselves and their families–from infants to elders and recent amputees on crutches and in wheelchairs, as well as people with other disabilities– eking out lives in the streets, tents, and precarious ruins of shelled out apartments. In The Guardian, Kaamil Ahmed and Ana Lucía González Paz describe Gaza as a 'sonic hellscape' filled variously with the 'incessant buzzing of drones' and 'more violent intrusions: Israeli missile strikes, sirens, gunfire and the screams of frightened people.' And the situation is unlikely to get better under Herr Trump.

    "The man who as president moved the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem stands to personally profit from, as reported in The Guardian, investment his son-in-law Jared Kushner has in the removal of Palestinians from Gaza and its development as an Israeli waterfront resort. And no doubt Trump is also well aware of the profits to be had from exploiting Gaza’s offshore marine gas fields. But, if Jewish-led protests at the Thanksgiving Parade in New York City, and more recently in the Canadian Parliament, are anything to go by, solidarity actions against the unfolding genocide to Gaza are likely to continue to build in the run up to Hanukkah and the January inauguration.

    "But in the lead up to Christmas, Joe Biden seems as willing as ever to continue the seemingly limitless supply of U.S. weapons to help annihilate Gaza. I’m just speculating here, (so, please, sir, do not to put me to the dunking stool!) but Jesus himself might be the first to observe that giving birth in a manger sounds pretty idyllic right now to women in Gaza weakened by hunger, giving birth in the rubble of buildings that used to be apartments, universities and hospitals. No sterile sheets, no antiseptic, nothing to dull the pain, nothing to stop the next forced removal, the next relocation. The #PalestinianTrailOfTears."

    Read more:
    counterpunch.org/2024/12/11/ti

    #FreePalestine #IsraeliWarCrimes #WorldPol #USPol #Colonialism #TrailOfTears #ForcedRelocation #Genocide #FreeLeonardPeltier

  15. Alrighty then. This article is a good segue into today's #SolarPunkSunday session! Tune in for posts about #Sustainability, #SolarPunk, #RightToRepair, and related topics!

    #Wabanaki Sustenance and Self-Determination, by Jillian Kerr, November 7, 2024

    "Before #colonization, the Wabanaki region was rich in food; Wabanaki Tribes had excellent knowledge of their environment and knew where to find each resource, when it was abundant, and in what quantities. They utilized natural resources and foods respectfully, creating little or no waste. This sustainable approach to food and natural resources made the Wabanaki among the healthiest people in the world. However, the arrival of Europeans disrupted this harmony, forcing the Wabanaki out of their homelands. Europeans imposed a different understanding of nature and harvesting, which led to unhealthy and unsustainable practices. The Wabanaki continue to strive for the restoration of their traditional foodways as a way to practice food sovereignty.

    "To develop food sovereignty and economic stability, the Mi’kmaq Nation in Aroostook County constructed an indoor fish hatchery on the site of Micmac Farms in Caribou, Maine. This farm, which previously only grew and sold fresh or preserved fruits and vegetables, now receives Nesowadnehunk Brook Trout eggs from the Maine State Hatchery in Enfield, Maine. The grown fish are then sold back to Maine’s Soil and Water Conservation District for public consumption throughout the state. In addition, they generously donate food to the local food bank and provide discounts for Tribal members, demonstrating a sustainable model for food sovereignty for the Mi’kmaq Nation.

    "The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians launched a food sovereignty initiative to increase access to nutritious food, improve food sovereignty, and strengthen connections to Wabanaki culture by sharing traditional food production, storage, and preparation approaches. The lessons learned add to current knowledge about developing, implementing, and evaluating a model rooted in the principles of food sovereignty. Opportunities to learn and share knowledge about traditional storage and recipes are provided to community members, and existing partnerships have been leveraged to develop a sustainable model. Additional community gardens were also created to increase food production capacity, increasing food sovereignty for the Maliseet.

    "One way the Passamaquoddy Tribe fights for food sovereignty is by restoring the watershed of the Skutik River, which was renamed the St. Croix River by colonists. The Skutik River is at the heart of the ancestral home of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.. This crucial watershed is the natural spawning ground and ancient homeland for many species of sea-run fish, including Atlantic salmon and sea-run alewife (river herring), a vital food source. Historically, the number of fish swimming up the Skutik River was massive and sustained the Passamaquoddy for thousands of years. Yet now, the alewife population is too small to feed or sustain the Tribe.

    "The large amount of pollution produced by colonization upset the productivity and natural balance of the Skutik River and the life cycles of the native fishery, straining the river’s ecosystem. For many years, Maine law blocked sea-run alewives from accessing their natural and ancient spawning ground in the Skutik watershed, which diminished this important traditional sustenance food source and disturbed the cultural practices of Passamaquoddy Tribal members. The Passamaquoddy established the Skutik Watershed Strategic Sea-run Fish and River Restoration Plan to mitigate the damage and find a better way forward. They developed a collaborative of Skutik stewards, also known as the Skutik River Keepers, who work with various agencies to give the river the best chance at restoring the watershed, thereby giving the Passamaquoddy more access to traditional foods and strengthening their food sovereignty.

    "The Penobscot Nation fights for food sovereignty in various ways, including rebuilding outlets on Tribal trust lands. The Penobscot ancestral homeland is located within the drainage area of the Penobscot River and its many tributaries, lakes, and ponds. The area was the fishing place for spearing and netting fish, like salmon and alewives. It was a primary nourishing source of food, medicine, connection, joy, and spirituality for the Penobscot during spring and early summer. The mills and mill dams built by colonizers upset the river's natural ecosystem, cutting off fish from places required to complete their life cycle. As a result, the river no longer contained the fish that had historically fed the Penobscot Tribe. The Penobscot successfully rebuilt outlets on Tribal trust lands in Mattamiscontis Stream, and they have completed many stream connectivity projects. This resulted in growing populations of alewives and blueback herring in the newly restored system, making more fish available as a food source for the Tribe.

    "The land is a cornerstone of Native life. Before colonization, Wabanaki Tribes had developed an environmentally friendly and communal food system to protect the land and environment, using natural resources without harming the environment that provided bountiful food sources. However, centuries of colonization have separated the Wabanaki and other Native communities from their homelands and traditional foods. Natives were physically, culturally, and spiritually tied to their homelands, and forced relocation into unknown lands made it impossible to access traditional foods and harvest adequate nutrition from the land for survival. The lack of knowledge of unknown lands led to a dependence on government-issued rations and commodities. These rations and commodities consisted of dairy, processed wheat, sugars, etc., all foreign to the Native diet. The government's aim in providing these rations and commodities to Natives was not to provide nutrition but to prevent starvation.

    "Forced relocation and other federal policies devastated many Tribes’ food systems, disrupting their hunting, fishing, farming, and harvesting traditions. The disruption continues today as the federal government still decides what foods they will distribute to Native communities. The government also makes agreements with the producers, a system that favors large-scale vendors, leading to missed opportunities for Native farmers. Problems with food quality also still exist; many traditional foods are still unavailable, and it is not uncommon for produce to travel long distances and arrive spoiled. Despite this upheaval, the Wabanaki have shown remarkable resilience and are determined to restore their traditional food practices and reclaim their food sovereignty."

    Original article (includes sources):
    wabanakireach.org/wabanaki_sus

    #FoodSovereignty #WabanakiConfederacy #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyTribe #HoultonBandOfMaliseets #AroostookCountyMikmaqNation #Mikmaq #Maine #MaineTribes #NativeAmericanKnowledge #TraditionalKnowledge #WaterIsLife #Wabanaki #EnvironmentalStewards #PenobscotRiver #CaribouMaine #ForcedRelocation #LandBack #OceansAreLife #CommunityGardens #MicMacFarms #Decolonize #Colonialism #SettlerColonialism

  16. Causing major harms through development projects

    "World Bank-funded projects have also continually been found to be in direct, serious violation of international human rights standards. Major recurring issues include mass evictions and the forced displacement of peoples and communities for major infrastructure and agricultural projects (see Observer Spring 2015), violations of the rights of indigenous and forest peoples, targeting of human rights defenders, triggering local food insecurity, and serious labour rights violations, such as child and forced labour reportedly being used in Bank-funded projects (see Observer Winter 2016). The IFC has also been shown on several occasions to have invested in companies that avoid or evade taxes (see Observer Autumn 2016). More recently, the Bank has also acknowledged that its projects can create an environment that can foster gender-based violence, including sexual abuse and the spread of HIV/AIDS (see Observer Spring 2017).

    "To safeguard against risks like these, the World Bank launched its revised Environmental and Social Framework in 2018, although it applies only to its project lending and not to its DPF.

    "Many in civil society remain unconvinced that the safeguards are fit for purpose if the Bank is to deliver on its mandate to implement policies that benefit the poorest, especially as the Bank is set to focus on more complex and difficult environments from 2018."

    #ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #HumanRightsViolations #EnvironmentalDegradation #IndigenousPeoples #ForestPeoples #SaveTheForests #Exploitation #CorporateColonialism
    #IMFLoanSharks #WorldBank #GenderBasedViolence #ManCamps

  17. One of many earlier #British #ColonialCrimes in #SouthEastAsia. The #BriggsPlan in #Malaysia.

    The Nazi regime during WWII forever gave the term #ConcentrationCamp a name symbolic of #atrocity, so when British #colonizers once again visited the idea of #ForcedRelocation of #IndigenousPeoples to isolate them they needed another name for the enclaves. They came up with #NewVillages. The New Villages were created under the Briggs Plan, which was developed to combat the communist insurgency in #Malaya during the 1950 #MalayanEmergency. The plan was prepared by Sir Harold Briggs, a British General who was the Director of Operations in Malaya.

    #Britain lost the Malayan Peninsula and their fortress at Singapore to the Japanese during WWII and reoccupied their former dominion after the fall of Japan. Among the many difficulties the British encountered was the presence of roughly a half-million #Chinese in rural Malaya, most working as farmers working small plots of land for their own sustenance on land they did not own or lease. The British administration regarded these Chinese as squatters and found them a problem because they were physically distant from the machinery of British authority, which most of the Malayan population was not happy to see return to their country.

    When the Malayan #CommunistParty received support from armed #guerrillas from Malaya and #China, the British, intent on restoring #Imperial rule to the peninsula, looked with additional distrust upon these rural Chinese. While some of the Chinese were certainly sympathetic to the communists, most were indifferent. The British concern was that the communist #insurgents would receive support from the squatters in the form of food, neglecting the fact that the majority of the Chinese squatters were barely able to grow enough to support themselves. The Briggs plan required the forced relocation of the Chinese.

    The New Villages isolated the Chinese, and they were guarded by Malayan police and British Military Police and some troops. The Chinese could not leave the villages except under escort and nobody was allowed in without the permission of the guards, making them effectively prisons. The villages were built with running water and electricity, amenities absent from most Malayan villages, and health care and some educational facilities were provided. This caused resentment towards the British from the Malay outside the villages, who didn’t receive the same amenities, and the Chinese, who resented the forced relocation settlement.

    Although the New Villages, of which 450 were built, were an improvement over the forced detention camps of the Boer War, and death rates in the villages were roughly the same as for the rest of the country, there were racially motivated #CollectivePunishments directed towards the Chinese population in the villages. #Deportation without trial by the administration was a common punishment for the Chinese. Law within the villages was the decision of the British. Many of the villages are still standing and in recent years have been restored to serve as tourist destinations by the Malaysian government with support from China.

    #AsianMastodon #SouthEastAsia #TootSEA #ColonialismInAsia #Decolonization #DecolonialLearning #ColonizerCrimes #ColonialViolence #Decolonize #AsianHistory #MalaysianHistory #LearnYourColonialHistory

  18. I knew Klee's grandmother, #RobertaBlackgoat -- and supported her with #MutualAid and telling her side of the story in the early days of the web. Rest in Power, Klee!
    💔 :anarchoheart2:

    #KleeBenally 'Carry On'

    By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, April 9, 2024

    "Klee, discussing resource extraction, and how the #NavajoTribalCouncil was created to sign #oil and #gas leases, quotes our friend, the gentle, soft-spoken farmer from Shiprock, who received his doctorate degree before passing, Larry Emerson.

    "'There is no point in trying to #decolonize the Navajo government -- it was not right for us from the start. Its structure and process is a replica of the American system, and the American system appears to be edging toward the possibility of failure like the great #RomanEmpire.'

    "Writing on these monsters, oil and gas extraction, and coal mining, Klee quotes #LouiseBenally of #BigMountain, his aunt, whose family spent their lives resisting coal mining, #ForcedRelocation, and the machinery of the tribal government.

    "Louise said, 'The natural laws and the Indigenous Peoples were already here in a good relationship before the coming of the #colonial society who draws laws and boundaries. However, we #IndigenousPeoples will always have ties with these lands, we will continue to live that way with #nature and we will carry on.'

    "Klee shares the words of his grandmother, Roberta Blackgoat, who never gave up the fight. 'The Coal they strip mine is the Earth's liver."
    Although many have passed, and too many have died from broken hearts, there are those who live on, carry on.

    "Klee writes, 'The remaining resisters to forced relocation have outlived the monster that was consuming our lands, stealing our water, and polluting our lungs.'

    "Before passing, Klee described the monsters, the rage against the machine, and the ways of restoring balance and harmony. Klee Benally's book, 'No Spiritual Surrender: Indigenous Anarchy in the Defense of the Sacred,' can be ordered at: detritusbooks.com/products/no-
    at April 09, 2024

    bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/04

    #PeabodyCoal #BigMountainResistance #LandBack #LandBackNow #IndigenousPeoples #Dineh #NoUraniumMining #DefendTheSacred #EnvironmentalRacism #CulturalGenocide #Colonialism #CorporateColonialism #BigOilAndGas #RageAgainstTheMachine #IndigenousAnarchy #EarthDefenders #WaterIsLife

  19. #Netanyahu has said that the #IDF are developing a plan to *evacuate* #civilians from #Rafah, although the #UnitedNations — by far the largest distributor of #aid in #Gaza — has said that nowhere is safe & that it will not be party to #ForcedRelocation, itself a violation of #InternationalLaw.

    #LawsOfWar #InternationalHumanitarianLaw #HumanitarianLaw #HumanRights #Law #war #HumanitarianCrisis #Palestinians #geopolitics #ForeignPolicy

  20. Diné elders resist eviction from Big Mountain

    Debra O'Gara and Guerry Hoddersen, August 1986

    "Forced relocation. The words bring to mind the Trail of Tears, Nazi concentration camps, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Past atrocities, not present and future ones.

    "But on the #BlackMesa surrounding Big Mountain in northeastern Arizona, over 11,000 #Diné (Navajo) are facing a new holocaust: removal by armed U.S. troops from their ancestral homelands in an area jointly held by the Navajo and Hopi nations.

    "The U.S. media bills the government’s role as peacemaker in a #Hopi vs. #Navajo war. But the reality is very different at Big Mountain.

    "For over 50 years, #mining companies have sought to exploit the rich mineral resources that lie beneath the land now occupied by the #Navajos. To do this they first secured the assistance of the federal government, which in the 1920s and ’30s unilaterally replaced the traditional forms of government, based on clan elders, with malleable tribal councils. Over the years these councils have been only too willing to negotiate mineral leases, and the elite who run the councils have gotten rich doing it.

    "Now, giant energy #corporations like #PeabodyCoal, #KerrMcGee, and #Exxon want unhampered access to the estimated 44 billion tons of high-grade #coal and deposits of oil, natural gas, and #uranium found on and around #BigMountain.

    "There’s only one problem: the traditional Diné who live on the land will not move voluntarily.

    "So once again the energy moguls have turned to their servants in the government and the Hopi council for help.

    "Forced relocation, the holocaust hatched in corporate boardrooms, has in fact gathered formidable support: it is endorsed by Congress, covered up by the press, and sanctioned by a phony tribal leadership."
    #CulturalGenocide #ForcedRelocation #NativeAmericans #EnvironmentalRacism #ThackerPass
    socialism.com/fs-article/dine-