The recently tragic explosion of a cooker bomb near Jama Masjid in New Delhi, has yet again put us all in a shock. This was a second act of violence after attacking 5 Taiwanese media crew only 3 hours earlier. With about 30 injured (the numbers have not yet been confirmed) it makes me concerned about the meaning of such an operation. Not sure as to how it must be classified, either as an ethnic violence or a religious attack or an a terrorist act, or perhaps it can also be classified as a political agenda? With the approaching commonwealth games, it puts Delhi and people around in more danger and the security forces under more pressure.

As the innocents were injured, religious explorers vulnerable and the Article 19 of the universal declaration of human rights under risk (media crew; freedom of expression and information) the development, human rights and democracy is nowhere close to be achieved!

If you want to learn the basics of social media, here is a book by Raj Anand an internationally renowned thought leader on social media, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The book is being published on 3rd August 2010. Please get a copy, learn a little bit more about social media. Here is some more information on the book.

Facebook, twitter, linkendin, hi5, orkut are all very well-known internet sites, that we use quite often. These forms of social media are not only a realm of the geeks but has now started to play a very important role in every field, medicine or human rights. Working for a human rights organisation, one might think less of the importance of social media, we are wrong. Social media has now become one of the tools for development. Here are some examples:

Blogs that are written by Tibetans living outside of Tibet and China are more out-reached that most newspapers, such as ‘Tibet will be Free’. My Iranian friends who do not have the right to speak their mind, write blogs to practice their rights outside and inside of Iran. Amnesty International has a fantastic network of blogger (both outsiders and insiders) that use social media to gather opinions.
These days mobile phones used to upload videos and pictures speak louder than the press.

Social media has become voice of the voiceless, rights of those who are denied freedom of expression, a source of information and lets not forget a way to bring friends and families closer!

Every organisation is bringing reform to their ‘communications department’ or IT department or making new social media departments. It is now being included as a tool to raise and spread awareness. It is a part of the free of expression and information movement via social media.

The national council has given much importance to the RTI Act which has been prepared by the high court. The draft has been submitted to the parliament. RTI act will not only uplift the rights of its citizen, but also promote transparency, good governance in the country.

Only recently Anuradha Koirala from Maiti Nepal, an organisation I highly look upto, got awarded the CNN hero of the week. Its yet another struggle, and a long way to go, but very condidently she says “we are going to end sex-trafficking.” For more information click here for the website of Maiti Nepal and click here for CNN heros.

In the summer of 2005, as a student I took a part time job at Express, in Mall of America, Minneapolis, USA. Express is a renowned clothing store having sister companies such as Victoria’s secret, Yankee Candles & Co and Limited.

After 3 weeks of working in the stores as a sales agent, I was asked by my manager if I always had a nose piercing, because no face piercing was allowed whilst working with some social exceptions. Now, coming from a Brahmin Nepalese family, its a social requirement to have a nose piercing. I had my nose pierced when I was only 15/16 years old. Ever since that time, I had never taken my nose diamond stud out.

After explaining to my manager about my cultural values, she asked me to stick a band-aid on my nose, until she made a phone call to her boss and explained my situation. After cutting a small piece of band-aid and helping me stick it over my nose stud, she left to what I thought was to make a phone call.

After 2 hours of waiting, I didn’t find her anywhere. I finished my shift and with a heavy heart, feeling disrespected and embarrassed for having a piece of band-aid stuck to my nose, which by the way didn’t even match my skin colour, I left my job.

Not having the courage to do anything about it. The next day I went to my manager (different from the day before) and gave an un-explained notice to quit.

The more I thought about this incident and the more I spoke to my friends about it, I realised that it was a serious matter of racial and cultural discrimination.

This incident is one of the many examples of still existing racial, social and cultural discrimination. Just like I didn’t have the courage to speak out against it, many don’t either, because they are scared to take an action when they are a minority in a country. But, does this really mean that we must be silent about it?

Now, if something of that level were to happen to me, I would not quit. My voice would be louder than my action (of mere quitting). By speaking out and taking an action, I believe that people will learn the importance of equality and equal respect.

Locally produced by Red Cross.

A fantastic read for those who are not only feminists or social workers, but who care and who believe that change is possible, is Half the Sky. This book is not only an easy read and well written, but makes you appretiate the changes people have been able to bring about in this world. Often times we read articles, or come across social issues such as education, poverty, violence. We read them in awe and get back to our normal lives, feeling lucky to be where we are. The book talks about few of those who actually took it one step further and collected money, spread awareness and changed hundreds of lives, lives of women and girls worldwide.

They also have a website, Half the Sky movement where you can read short stories of those people (included in the book) who have made small but important changes.

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn have put stories of many people with faces (pictures of the person in the story) and given a detail account of what they have done. It has been a rough and not always a successful story. Its not a fairy tale after all. Nevertheless, this book give courage and touches the readers, to go out and help make a differences.

Must read for everyone.

Often times, we like to blame our mishaps in life onto someone or something else. “I can not get a job because the job market is not good”, “I fell down because the floor was slippery” and so on. Not once do we think, that I was not paying attention to where I was walking when I slipped, or my CV or my work experience is not good enough to get me a job! We find a sense of comfort in blaming things to something else. But when something like death or natural disasters happen, who do we blame it on? No one can predict death and or natural calamities. Sometimes, we humans must realise that there are things that are out of our control, regardless of how much we learn or achieve in life.

There is an article on BBC, Why does God allow natural disasters? discussing of the reasons why God creates natural disasters, if God exists. There is a question that many people ask, “why does it happen?” and those who believe in a super natural ‘God’ ask “Why does God make these things happen?”

Asking God such questions and blaming God for Haiti earthquake is not reasonable. There are somethings in life that can never be explained, such as why innocent girls get rapped, why newly born babies get infected with HIV and AIDs at birth, or why innocent Haitians have died in this earthquake. Yes, its not fair- but it happens and we can’t stop it, lets not blame God or anything/ anyone else for it.

Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui from DR Congo are put on trial in the International Criminal Court (the Hague) for killing and trying to wipe out the village of Bogoro, Congo in 2006.

“They deny guilt on ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including charges of murder, rape, sexual slavery, using child soldiers, attacking civilians, pillaging and destruction of property.”

Ethnic cleansing has now been bought into light, by the ICC, by putting people responsible into trial. Those resposible from the 1st trial in ICC have been punished, now we will have to wait to hear the results of this trial.