Stray Bullets - A Banquet Of Hunger In Paris, Islamic Tension In Europe, And Congolese Women Stand Up To Sexual Terrorism

Woman Faces Fine For Tearing Veil:

Marlene Ruby [1], a 63 year old retired French woman, may face a two month suspended sentence or a £659 fine for tearing the full Islamic veil from the face of a tourist from the United Arab Emirates. Ruby told newspaper Le Parisien, “I tore her niqab off and I shouted. I wanted to create a bit of a scandal. I think it is unacceptable for the niqab to be worn in the country of human rights. It’s a muzzle.” Last month, France passed a law that prohibited the wearing of a full-face veil in public, with the law due to come into effect in 2011. Last week, Jacques Myard, a senior ally of President Sarkozy, said that Britain is “losing the battle against Islamic extremism” [2] by failing to follow France’s ban on the burka, which “makes radicals extremely comfortable.” Also last week, an Al-Qaeda group in North Africa has demanded that France revokes its veil ban [3], as well as demanding over £6 million in return for five French hostages. 

[4]

Empty Plates Mark World Food Day:

Action Against Hunger [5], a French non-governmental organisation, has marked World Food Day by hosting a Banquet Against Hunger featuring ten thousand empty plates at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower [6] last week. The Food and Agriculture Organisation [7] of the UN estimates that there are over 925 million people who are undernourished in 2010. It’s estimated that between 3.5 million and five million children die each year from malnutrition related causes. World Food Day was established in 1979 to raise awareness about the issues behind poverty and hunger. Francois Danel [8], AAH executive director, told CBC News, “Ten thousand children won’t participate in any banquet, they won’t have any meal today, as they are dying from starvation. This is a huge figure and unacceptable.”
German Chancellor Claims Multiculturalism in Germany has Utterly Failed:

 Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has declared that multiculturalism has “utterly failed” [9] in Germany. Merkel made the statement during a speech to the young member of her Christian Democratic Union party. Earlier this year, the Friedrich Ebert foundation for Political Education released a poll that found one third of German people believed their country was “overrun by foreigners”, and over half believed the religious practice for Muslims should be significantly restricted [10]. Germany has over 4 million practising Muslims living in the country. Earlier in the month, Merkel stated that Muslims living in Germany should conform to “fundamental German values,” while President Wulff stated, “Christianity belongs in Germany. Judaism belongs in Germany. And by now, Islam belongs in Germany.”
[10]

Anti-Rape March Held in ‘Rape Capital of the World’: 

The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen over 1,700 women [11] march through the town of Bukavu to protest against sexual violence. Led by [12]DR Congo’s first lady [12], the march gave women a chance to say, “e [13]nough of the war, of the rape, enough of nobody paying attention to what's happening to them [13],” [13]according to an activist present at the protest. DR Congo has been named the “rape capital of the world” by the UN, and over 300 civilians were raped by armed militia between July and August. The UN believes that over 15,000 women were raped in eastern Congo last year [11]. Miriam Nobre, a representaive of World March For Women, who organised the march, said, “Coming here is important because violence towards women is used   systematically as a weapon of war.”

Words: Richard Lemmer

Photos: Flickr users - philippeleroyer [14], Simon Blackley [15] and Anirudh Koul [16]