Tag Archive for: Hope

WSDOT security at Camp Hope

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An initial group of security officers have arrived at the homeless encampment, with more on the way.

SPOKANE, Wash. — As conflicts over the homeless encampment near I-90 and Freya Street reach a head, occupants at the camp are finding themselves in the middle as the city and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) hash out what happens next. 

As part of a four-step plan to clear the encampment, WSDOT has hired security to patrol the area. Contracted by Security Services Northwest, this security is part of the Right of Way Safety Initiative to address safety at homeless encampments across Washington. 

According to WSDOT, an initial set of security is onsite at the camp and more will arrive in the coming days. The security will provide a 24/7 patrol around the encampment and will work with staff on-site at the encampment to control access at the entry gate.

“While security is a significant component in the plans of the state agencies and outreach partners, it is important to note that security staff are not law enforcement,” WSDOT said in a statement. 

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s deadline to clear the homeless camp is steadily approaching, and now both occupants and non-profit organizations are racing to find long-term solutions that appease both sides of the coin. Introducing security and fencing to the encampment is WSDOT’s second step in clearing the site. 

WSDOT’s next move is to now help residents transition to appropriate shelter and housing. Once residents are moved off the site, clean-up and restoration of the WSDOT land will begin.

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The hope and the hype – humanitarian protection in the digital space – World

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INTRODUCTION

Despite the many steps taken at regulatory and policy level to limit human suffering during war, civilians living in conflict zones and violent environments remain the principal victims of abuses and of the effects of violence. This reality is unfortunately showing no sign of abating. Some of the factors fueling violence include rivalrous dynamics, protracted ethnic, religious and sectarian tensions, weak rule of law, unequal access to resources, poverty and the impact of climate change, to name a few. In addition to these underlying drivers, the role of exponential digital technology, that is technology that grows and improves exponentially, should be looked at closely.

Humanitarian organizations, such as the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), work relentlessly toward ensuring the protection of the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to prevent human suffering. Although conflicts and related humanitarian harms are still manifesting primarily in the physical world, recent technological developments have introduced new layers of complexity to the way conflicts and violence play out and the way in which they may adversely affect the lives and safety of civilian populations on the ground.

“Protecting people” is at the heart of the ICRC’s mandate. It is a complex area of work that must constantly adapt to evolving realities. This has led to new activities, as well as continuous reflections and engagement on the development and application of international humanitarian law (IHL), humanitarian policies and programs, and operational standards. Understanding new digital challenges and their different implications is therefore critical for the ICRC and humanitarian protection responders, as they begin to devise ways to address these challenges.

DIGITAL RISKS: WHAT HAVE WE OBSERVED?

While digital technologies can help improve the lives of individuals and communities affected by war and violence, depending on their uses they can also create additional and dire risks.

Technological advances have enabled new means and methods of warfare, such as cyber-attacks, which today can disrupt or compromise…

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Young Zambians hope for brighter future as Hichilema wins vote | Elections News

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Lusaka, Zambia – As Zambia’s opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was proclaimed victor of the presidential elections on Sunday, the Zambian capital, Lusaka, erupted in celebrations that lasted late into the night as supporters sung, danced and waved his party’s flags.

Hichilema, 59, of the United Party for National Development (UPND) won by a landslide 2.8 million votes, trailed by incumbent Edgar Lungu’s 1.8 million ballots.

The turnout in the August 12 general election was the highest since the 1991 ballot when Zambia held its first multiparty elections, with those below 40 years of age constituting more than half the electorate.

After the celebrations, street sweeper Joseph Phiri, 28, collected rubbish at the independence roundabout and scraped away tattered posters of Lungu from walls.

Like many younger Zambians, Phiri hopes the election of a new leader will see an end to growing authoritarianism in the country and to better economic prospects.

Under Lungu, who came to power in 2015, the authorities were often criticised for the suppression of freedom of expression, assembly and association.

Phiri remembers the running battles between the police and protesters when he became a street cleaner in the capital, two years ago.

“Whenever people came here to protest they would be quickly arrested, there was no peace. Everyone would be chased by the police even if you were working, it’s like we were being controlled by the police and there was no freedom for anyone. I hope it will be different now,” he told Al Jazeera.

As the sweeper cleared away the litter of an intense presidential campaign, droves of motorists whizzed past hooting and chanting “Forward! Forward!”, the slogan of the UPND.

Many of the red-clad supporters hope Hichilema, popularly known as HH, will usher in an era of greater freedom and prosperity.

Lungu has rejected the result, saying the election was not free and fair and alleging electoral violence in three provinces which culminated in the alleged murder of a candidate for the ruling Patriotic Front.

Officials from the UPND dismissed Lungu’s statement as people “trying to throw out the entire election just to cling on to their…

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Under the shadow of uncertainty, students of foreign universities hope to pursue their dreams

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PUNE Anush Chauthai, a 25-year-old student, was all set to fly to Canada on March 28, 2020 to pursue a university specialised course in Digital Forensic and Cyber Security when the lockdown in India grounded his plan.

Anush is among the many students pursuing degrees or wanting to study from the foreign universities whose plans have been disrupted by the Covid pandemic. Their period of uncertainty has now changed into anxiety as the virus-related restrictions have extended in many parts of the world.

“I had begun the application process for permanent citizenship in Canada two years back. After I received the clearance documents around March 13-14 last year, I had planned to leave on March 28, but all flights after March 20 were cancelled,” said Anush of Sinhgad road, who did his Masters in Computer Network from New Zealand.

Like, Anush, another student Rohit Mahajan, a city architect, who wanted to pursue a post graduate degree in Construction Management from a university in the United States, had to postpone his date of joining the course due to the pandemic.

“I had applied in August last year for the spring batch. It was supposed to start in January 2021. I had finalised to join the Texas A&M university. With the Covid outbreak, I waited till October-November hoping that the number of positive cases will drop. By December, I decided that come what may, I will go to the US and I started applying for the visa dates, but could not get the dates. I was told that there was a lot of backlog of previous applications as the visa offices were closed. Hence, I differed my intake to fall in July-end,” said Rohit.

Meanwhile, most of the students who were studying in China and returned to India after they were evacuated last year are continuing their education online. Though, after a year, they are trying to get adjusted to the routine of virtual classes.

On January 31, 2020, Jaydip Devkate, a 21-year-medical student from Pimpri-Chinchwad, left his college located in Xianning city in Hubei province in China with her 30 batchmates to return to India. He was looking forward to resume offline studies when the Covid situation would normalise.

“We are still waiting for the official…

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