More than 1,000 Queue for Food in Geneva amid Virus Shutdown

More than 1,000 people queued up, on Saturday, to get free food parcels in Geneva, Switzerland amid coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown.

It is underscoring the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the working poor and undocumented immigrants even in wealthy Switzerland.

The line of people stretched for more than one kilometre (half a mile) outside an ice rink where volunteers were handing out around 1,500 parcels to people who started queuing as early as 5.00 a.m.

“At the end of the month, my pockets are empty.

“We have to pay the bills, the insurance, everything,’’ said Ingrid Berala, a Geneva resident from Nicaragua who works part-time.

“This is great because there is food for a week; a week of relief…I don’t know for next week.’’

In a nation of nearly 8.6 million, 660,000 people in Switzerland were poor in 2018, charity Caritas says, particularly single parents and those with a low level of education unable to find work after losing a job.

More than 1.1 million people were at risk of poverty, which means they have less than 60 per cent of the median income, which was 6,538 Swiss francs ($6,736) for a full-time job in 2018.

The Swiss bank, UBS has calculated that Geneva is the second-most expensive global city for a family of three to live in, behind only Zurich.

While average incomes are also high, that helps little for people struggling to make ends meet.

“I think a lot of people are aware of this, but it is different to see this with your own eyes,’’ said Silvana Matromatteo, Head of the Aid Group Geneva Solidarity Caravan.

“We had people in tears who said: ‘It is not possible that it is happening in my country’.

“But it is here and maybe the COVID-19 brought everything out and this is good, because we will be able to take measures to support all these workers, because they are workers above all,’’ Matromatteo said.

Patrick Wieland, Chief of Mission for the Doctors Without Borders group, said a survey last week showed just over half the food recipients interviewed were undocumented, while others had attained legal status, were Swiss or were seeking asylum.

Just over three per cent had been tested positive for COVID-19, three times the overall rate in Geneva, which he attributed to poor and overcrowded housing.

“In Geneva, one of the richest cities in the world, there have always been people living precariously, especially all the people who work as housekeepers, in agriculture, on construction sites or in hotels and they found themselves overnight without a job because of COVID-19,’’ he said.

One illegal immigrant, who called himself Fernando, said he lost his restaurant job during the crisis and had no pay.

“I’m very grateful to receive this help and if the situation changes for me, I am committing to do the same thing that they are doing for me,’’ he said. (Reuters/NAN)

COVID-19: Stranded Nigerians Depart U.S. for Abuja

By Harrison Arubu

The first batch of Nigerians stranded in the United States due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is on their way back home.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 160 Nigerians, including eight infants, made the first batch of evacuees.

They are returning aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 aircraft under the special flight arrangements by the Federal Government for nationals stranded abroad.

In line with the government’s pre-departure infection prevention control guidelines, temperature checks were conducted on the passengers by a special medical team.

The plane departed the Newark International Airport, New Jersey, on Saturday around 8:20 p.m. local time (1:20 a.m. in Nigeria on Sunday).

It is expected to arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, around noon on Sunday.

On arrival, the evacuees would be quarantined for 14 days in Abuja before leaving for their respective destinations in the country.

At the airport to coordinate the departure activities were officials of the Nigerian consulate in New York, led by the Consul-General, Mr Benaoyagha Okoyen.

Also, around to bid the evacuees farewell was Amb. Tijani Muhammad-Bande, President of the United Nations General Assembly and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

He was joined by Amb. Samson Itegboje, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, among others.

Speaking to newsmen, Okoyen lauded the evacuees for their cooperation and orderly conduct throughout the process.

“It was successful and we are happy that everything was orderly. As you must have observed, the boarding was also orderly,”  he said.

Some of the passengers, who spoke to NAN, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for the special flight arrangement.

Dr Jatto Ibrahim, a consultant orthopedic surgeon at the  Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jigawa, said he was in the U.S. for a training programme in February.

Ibrahim said he was stranded after his return British Airways flight scheduled for April 10 was suspended following  Federal Government’s travel restrictions on U.S. and 12 other countries with high COVID-19 burden, on March 18.

Another evacuee, Mr Chidi Ikegbu, a businessman from Imo, said a business engagement took him to the U.S. in March.

However, Ikegbu, who travelled through Ethiopian Airlines, said he had to pay for the special flight after the airline refused to let him use his return ticket for the flight.

“I called the airline but they said our return tickets were valid until December, and so we had to wait for the return flight after the restrictions were lifted in Nigeria.

“They said but if we wanted to go now through the special flight, then we had to pay for it,” he said.

Reacting to this, Mr Million Legesse, the Traffic and Sales Manager of Ethiopian Airlines, New York, said any of the evacuees with a return ticket could use it for a U.S.-Nigeria flight in the future.

“But if the passengers are no longer going to use the return tickets, we would refund them based on our refund policy,” Legesse said.

Dr Iwuozo Obilo, a U.S.-based Nigerian medical doctor, who was part of the medical team that screened the passengers, said their temperatures were normal.

“Temperature taking is one of the criteria to determine COVID-19 symptoms.

“Although, it is not enough because there are people with the virus who are not symptomatic, it will give us an overview of their health.

“Since, they will be be quarantined for 14 days in Nigeria, at least we are sure none of them has fever that will affect them during the flight,” Obilo told NAN.

COVID-19: Coca-Cola sales drop by 25 % in April

Coca-Cola saw sales volumes of its soft drinks decline by a quarter so far in April, as people stay home to help stem the contagion of the new coronavirus.

Consumers appear to have stocked up on drinks to consume at home in March, as the orders went into effect, but with bars, restaurants and other venues closed, sales have declined.

“The impact to the second quarter will be material,” the company said in an earnings report, pointing to the broad range of industries being hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

The duration of the lockdowns as well as their severity will likely be the key drivers of consumption. However, the company said it ultimately expects a recovery.

First quarter net revenue for Coca-Cola declined by one per cent to 8.6 billion dollars.

NAN

Animal lover donates pregnant python to Jos wildlife park

By Blessing Odega

An animal lover, Mr Zendi Mikuk has donated a pregnant African rock python to the Jos Wild life park in  Nigeria, believed to be the Africa’s largest snake.

Presenting the snake in Jos, Mikuk,  said  the African Rock Python is Africa’s largest snake.

NAN reports that a  female python lays 30 to  50 large eggs.

The African Rock Python feeds on small antelope, monkeys, guineafowl and domestic animals with fish, monitor lizards and crocodiles also eaten.

”I am an animal lover. I am supporting the Plateau tourism corporation to restock the park with animals.

“I will also collaborate with the management of the wildlife park for the upkeep of the python and its off springs,’’ he said.

Mikuk appealed to members of the public not to kill  any wild animal.

“I am appealing to the tourism corporation to enlighten the masses on the importance of conserving the wildlife instead of using it for meat and hide,’’ he added.

The acting General Manager of the Jos Wild life Park, Mrs Salome Bidda, who received the python, commended Mikuk for his donation.

“I call on members of the public to emulate this gesture which would help in preserving the park. It is a goldmine which makes the habitation complete.

“I appeal to members of the public to help support the preservation of the wildlife by making donations in cash or kind as their gestures would go a long way,’’ Bidda said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that few minutes after the snake was donated, it laid eggs.

The Forgotten Veteran of British Colonial Army

Jaston Khosa was one of 600,000 men from African countries who fought for Britain. He was quietly buried on VE Day after a life of abject poverty

In a crowded, Zambian slum on VE Day, a family gathered to bury one of the last veterans of Britain’s colonial army. Jaston Khosa of the Northern Rhodesia Regiment was laid to rest on the day the world commemorated the end of the war in which he fought.

The 95-year-old great-grandfather was among 600,000 Africans who fought for the British during World War Two, on battlefields across their own continent as well as Asia and the Middle East. Although their service has largely been forgotten, the mobilisation of this huge army from Britain’s colonies triggered the largest single movement of African men overseas since the slave trade.

In a eulogy to her father, M’tundu Khosa wrote: “Young man, you were a soldier. You are still a soldier to me. You have fought for your health till the last hour. My hero, always.”

My father died a proud soldier,” she told The Guardian after the funeral. “He would always talk about his war experiences. He was a strong, beautiful man and a friend to everyone, regardless of who they were. We will always remember him and we will meet on the other side.”

From his home in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, Khosa enlisted and was sent to Somaliland in East Africa to rout Italian forces, which had formed the Axis alliance with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. But more than seven decades on from his wartime service, Khosa died in poverty, in a dilapidated house in a squalid shantytown.

In late 2018, Khosa was invited to meet Prince Harry at a veterans’ event in Lusaka and spoke with the royal about his years fighting for Britain as well as his current state of destitution. At the time, he said he hoped that his meeting with the prince would raise awareness of the plight of Africa’s war veterans.

“He can try to report it to UK when he goes back and say that Mr Khosa, his house is not good,” he said. “I was a soldier of the British Empire.”But the elderly veteran’s fortunes did not change. His health deteriorated, and he died on Tuesday evening at home surrounded by his family.

Fearful of the coronavirus and unable to afford medical care, his family decided against taking him to hospital. So his diagnosis is not clear; relatives believe he succumbed to cancer or kidney problems.

Khosa was a keen supporter of the yearly Poppy Appeal fundraising event and enjoyed regaling friends and family with wartime tales. But he remained critical of the derisory level of state support for veterans.

“He was smart, he was always polite and he was never afraid to say how useless the government were,” said Mike Reeve-Tucker, a member of the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League in Zambia. “They’ve done bugger all for them.” He added: “As long as I can remember Mr Khosa has laid the wreath at the annual Cenotaph Parade in Lusaka and was always smartly turned out. He was an amazing guy.”

Khosa never lost his fighting spirit and was known to berate his country’s leader at Armistice Day events. “Whenever he saw [the Zambian president] Lungu, he always had a real bloody go at him,” reminisced Reeve-Tucker, a former lieutenant colonel in the British Army. At one parade, he added, Khosa and other former servicemen became so vocal that a Zambian veterans’ representative had to intervene and give a stern reprimand: “Boys, stop it — the war’s over, okay.”

Almost one and a half million African soldiers drawn from European colonies fought in the war. Britain’s African troops also faced discrimination. Some men were forcibly recruited even though the official line was that enlistment would be voluntary. Others faced beatings and floggings. The number who died is unknown.

All of Britain’s soldiers were paid an end-of-war bonus based on rank, length of service and colonial origins. Black Africans soldiers were paid up to three times less than their white counterparts.

Despite systemic prejudice, many individual British officers feel a deep loyalty to African comrades and raise funds through regimental associations and the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League. In 2018, the British government also announced a £12million package to help penniless veterans and war widows from Commonwealth nations.

Khosa, like many others, never escaped poverty. After the war, he found work at a game reserve and as a mechanic. In old age, he had to farm to survive.But he never lost hope that his military service would count for something.

“British and ourself, we suffered together,” said Khosa in an interview last year. “After when we come back, I will never have forgotten you and you will have never forgotten me because we suffered together.”

theguardian.com

Donald Trump Needs China More Than Biden

Ozy.com

China doesn’t want to see me elected,” President Donald Trump claimed last Thursday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has insisted there is “enormous evidence” the coronavirus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. And Trump’s re-election campaign has already tried to portray presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as soft on Beijing. “China would like to see Sleepy Joe Biden; they would take this country for a ride like you’ve never seen before,” Trump has said.

 

Join the dots, and the signals are clear: Trump hopes to flip the 2016 narrative, when his victory was tainted by Russian intelligence efforts to assist him. This time, Trump wants the world to believe that China would like Biden to defeat him. At a time he faces uncomfortable questions over his handling of the crisis, that’s a very dangerous ploy from the president — for America, for the world and for Trump himself.

 

Let’s leave aside the fact that there’s no evidence China has any favorite in the U.S. elections (Yes, Trump has challenged China economically more than most predecessors, but he has also thrilled rival nations by destabilizing the American political system). Let’s also ignore the reality that scientists have found no link between the virus and the lab in Wuhan, and have — including America’s top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci — said that they believe the animal-to-human transmission that sparked the pandemic likely occurred in one of the central Chinese city’s wet markets.

 

What makes Trump’s campaign strategy worrying for America and the world is that China is no Russia. His administration is reportedly preparing an arsenal of punishments for Beijing, from enhanced tariffs on Chinese goods to sanctions against the world’s second-largest economy. When the U.S. threatened other nations to dramatically cut trade with Russia or face sanctions, after the 2016 interference and Moscow’s earlier annexation of Crimea, the choice for the world was inconvenient but easy. Washington was asking countries to pick between two very unequal partners: Russia’s international trade volume is only a tenth of America’s. 

 But if Trump were to impose a similar set of demands in the case of Beijing, it would be very different. China and the U.S. are neck and neck as nations that engage in the most international trade. More countries count China as their top source of imports, rather than the U.S. It’s the third-largest market for American exports (after Canada and Mexico). As the global economy tries to claw its way out of a historic recession — which the IMF estimates will be the worst we’ve seen since the Great Depression — American companies and other nations simply cannot afford to give up on Chinese goods and the country’s market. And any move to renege on the $1.1 trillion that China owns in American debt — another weapon Trump is reportedly mulling — would destroy the credibility of the dollar, and spook other countries into selling off their U.S. debts.For sure, the world must seek accountability from China for its attempts at covering up the coronavirus threat. But that needs to be done in a manner that at the same time allows cooperation with Beijing in reviving the global economy. A decade is a lifetime in today’s world of quickfire presidential tweets, but it’s important to remember that it was coordinated action between the U.S., China, Europe and India that dragged the world out of the 2008 recession.

 

With multiple countries — from Australia to Germany — questioning China’s approach to the pandemic, the Trump administration could lend its weight to a global diplomatic campaign pressuring Beijing to answer questions it has so far avoided. The crisis has also made many manufacturers rethink their dependence on China’s supply chains. Focusing on facilitating their shift to other countries, including to the U.S. through tax breaks and other incentives, would make more sense for Washington than overt economic coercion against Beijing.

 

By instead turning China into a political punching bag, Trump risks hurting his own re-election chances. Already, his campaign’s targeting of Biden has pushed the former vice president into also taking hawkish, anti-China positions. “Trump rolled over for the Chinese,” says one Biden campaign ad that tries to paint the president as weak against Beijing. “He took their word for it.” Another ad, paid for by the pro-Biden super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, alleges that “everyone knew they lied about the virus — China,” and claims “President Trump gave China his trust.”

 

 

If this tit-for-tat over China continues to spiral, Trump will feel pressure to outdo Biden and to keep ramping up rhetoric — and actions — against Beijing. That will further narrow the window for cooperation between the world’s two biggest economies that’s critical at a moment of global crisis. Ultimately, Trump needs signs of an economic recovery by November to overcome the decline in ratings that he has suffered since the pandemic began. And for that, he requires China’s help — far more than Biden does.

 

Charu Sudan Kasturi, OZY AuthorContact Charu Sudan Kasturi

Why Prostitution Should Be Legalised in Nigeria

Yemi Olakitan

 Prostitution is common practice in Nigeria, especially in the major cities. A naïve young man can easily be lured by these women of easy virtues who stand on the red zones of Lagos looking for clients to patronize them. This is not to say that prostitutes target young men alone. Older, married men also patronize prostitutes in Nigeria. There is no age or status barrier. Clients come from the poor, the low, the high and the mighty. 

The practice of sex work is so commonplace in Nigeria that nearly every community has a brothel, particularly in Lagos and Abuja. Hundreds of beautiful young women can be found in the clubs and brothels selling sex. 

This is an irony because nearly everybody condemns prostitution in Nigeria. The imams, the pastors, the lecturers, the doctors, the lawyers, all condemn sex workers, yet their population is increasing.

This is despite the fact that we live in a very religious country. Nigeria has some of the largest churches in the world, the synagogue Church of all Nations, Living Faith Church, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, to mention but a few, with populations hitting five million in one church. The Muslims may not have very large churches but their population is closely following the Christian population in Nigeria. 

 If we have a very large population of religious people, the question to ask is: who are the people patronising them? If we have very religious people who lay claim to high morality, who are the clients of our equally large population of sex workers? Who patronises them? They must be patronised by ghosts!  

In the words of Mr Ayo Ogunjobi, social commentator and blogger, Nigeria must stop the hypocrisy. The government must recognise that some things are with us and deal with them accordingly so that our brothels will not be a haven for much more heinous crimes. It is an irony that a country that has anti-prostitution laws should have such high numbers of sex workers. 

Reports say prostitution began to boom in the early 1980s when street prostitution become a common sight on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Oshodi and later Kuramo Beach in Lagos. It started slowly after Nigeria's independence in 1960. The common description of prostitution as the oldest profession in the world is really an understatement in Nigeria! The Association of Nigerian sex workers says it has about, 1,000,000 members working in different parts of the country but not all prostitutes have registered.

The question is why? Why do young, beautiful and promising Nigerian women go into prostitution? The first answer should be poverty. There is no social welfare programme in Nigeria.  The result is that they struggle to provide for themselves. Many of them, without an education or any other means of livelihood except their bodies!

We can also find an answer to this question in peer pressure. ''My friends are all doing it why shouldn't I?''

In a chat with Aisha from Benin on why she is practising prostitution. She explained,

 ‘’ I have no one to take care of me except my mother who is living in the village. Since my father died, we have been alone. If I don't do that who will take care of me? Aisha said she has a daughter and she pays her school fee from the proceeds of prostitution’’ 

The fact remains that prostitutes are very poor in Nigeria. Many are led into the profession as a result of extreme poverty. The money they make does not really deliver them from the chains of lack. They work, they earn, they spend it. Most of it on riotous living because of bad company. Alcohol and marijuana are easy to come by in the country.

 However, it has been argued that there are those who choose to practice prostitution, not because they are poor but because they love the profession. There are also those who do not spend their earnings from sex work on frivolous things but on things of value such as education, or  a small business. 

A young woman named, Precious will fall into this category, she agreed that economic factors pushed her into sex work. According to her, she later discovered that she loves sex and enjoyed satisfying her clients especially when good money is involved. The question was posed whether she will live the profession if offered a better job. She replied, ‘’a better job will not change anything, I love sex.’’

Precious is a classic example of the argument that some women willingly go into sex work not necessarily because of poverty as she clearly stated that if given a lucrative job she will continue her sex work because she loves sex.

In another story, Comfort, a full time prostitute from Eastern Nigeria, used the proceeds from sex work to get herself an education. Now, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications Studies and a National Certificate of Education, NCE. However, Comfort continues to work in the sex industry. When asked why? She said, she has not got another job yet but as soon as she has an alternative job, she will live the sex work. As we can see from the scenario of Comfort, she wanted an education, not having the money to pay for tuition, she becomes a sex worker. Comfort is a victim of circumstances. 

In another case, Patience from Edo state worked as a full-time sex worker in Lagos for many years. She set up a hairdressing salon from her savings. In an interview with the writer, she said, she had trained as a hairdresser in Benin but did not have the money to set herself up in business. She decided to come to Lagos to do prostitution in order to save up for her dream business. Today, she has a successful hairdressing salon. When asked whether she still wants to do sex work. She said, no. According to her, she wanted to get married and have children. 

In 1987, the Women's Center in Nigeria wrote a press release about the harassment, assault and rape of prostitute by law enforcement members. Here is another problem Prostitutes face in Nigeria. Law enforcement officer regularly harasses them for sex and money. These policemen take advantage of the law.  Prostitution is illegal in Nigeria. However, this is only in the books not in practice. As a result, policemen regularly exploit sex workers, arrest them, then demand a bribe. Most of the time, these bribes may be in cash or in kind.

The illegality of prostitution is really a problem in the sense that, unscrupulous people take advantage of it. The Federal Government should rather legalize prostitution if it cannot enforce its laws. What is the point of law in the books that have no teeth in practice?

Prostitution should be legalized, monitored and regulated. It is nearly impossible to eradicate prostitution.  Who can stop two adults who have decided to have sex? They will always find a way.

 This is the reason why it is called the oldest profession in the world. The government should rather regulate it in order to eradicate the more severe crimes of child prostitution, human trafficking, rape and extortion by law enforcement officers, armed robbery and so on. 

A sex worker who is robbed by a client cannot report the offence. Why should she report when she can be arrested and exploited by policemen?

These things are all hidden in prostitution. It will be easier for them to tackle these things when prostitution is legalized so that prostitutes can cooperate with the government in order to expose the criminals hidden among them.

Human trafficking and other offences hid behind prostitution will easily be reported by the sex workers if they are free to work straight to the police station without fear of harassment.

Another big problem is Transnational commercial sex work which started during British colonial West Africa. It began to grow into a transcontinental business in the 1980s. Starting in the mid-1980s, the trafficking of Nigerian Women to European countries such as Italy began to gain attraction, according to reports. 

Young women are usually lured into transnational sex workers by very wealthy individuals who operate variously criminal activities including organ harvesting. 

 In many of the cases, there were examples of coercion.  For example, a trafficked person  is asked to swear an oath to a juju priest. Some personal items such as bodily fluids are taken by the priests for keeping or used to administer the oath and seal the agreement. This keeps the victim in extreme phobia and mental bondage. In addition to the fact that prostitution is illegal in Nigeria.

 When the women reach the country of the destination they are immediately indebted to the trafficker for transport and lodging fees and will have to pay off the debt before they are freed, if ever. The US Department of State Office dedicated to Monitoring and Combating Trafficking in Persons ranks Nigeria as a 'Tier 2 Watch List country.

The illegal status of prostitution only sweeps the activities of the sex industry under the carpet as we have seen in Nigeria. The way forward is that government must show interest in sex work in Nigeria and protect its citizens.  

They should show an active interest in the sex workers so as to be able to cooperate with them to fish out human traffickers, drug traffickers, armed robbers and paedophiles etc. This is because brothels are the hidden places of various criminals since prostitutes can not report them for fear of harassment.

The government can also provide counselling resources and rehabilitation programs for those who are in the sex business by circumstances and not by choice. 

 There are many young women in the trade who want to get out of the profession but are trapped by circumstances beyond their control. Government can offer scholarships to those who want to go to school but do not have the means. They can provide access to health care, thereby preventing the spread of infectious diseases. 

Only by decriminalising prostitution can government do all these and many more. They can also encourage social workers to operate among prostitutes. The Nigerian government must realise that prostitutes are humans beings They are not from the moon.

(Names are changed) by Yemi Olakitan