JAKARTA — Actions by the government of Indonesia often cause concern for human rights advocates. However, the National Commission on Human Rights in Indonesia enjoys a degree of independence from government, holding United Nations accreditation. Still, serious concerns remain. Capital Punishment Indonesia is one of 33 countries worldwide that use the death penalty for drug offenses. President Joko Widodo is an advocate for the death penalty in drug trafficking cases, symbolizing his resolve as a leader. Indonesia executed four convicted drug traffickers in 2016 and ordered a last-minute delay in the executions of 10 other death row prisoners. The government…
Author: Yana Emets
Yana Emets
Yana lives in Missoula, MT. Her academic interests include philosophy, aesthetics, art, history, science and literature. Yana has recently become interested in film and photography genres and is now planning to develop them into her future career. Yana is originally from Eastern Russia, Magadan, learnt English in one year in Boston, MA, did rhythmic gymnastics for 10 years, and has a rat pet.
MOGADISHU — Somalia is a country in the Horn of Africa with an estimated population of 16.3 million. The temperature is hot year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. The country struggles with the most humanitarian indicators, suffering from poor governance, protracted internal conflict, underdevelopment, economic decline, poverty, social and gender inequality and environmental decline. It’s no surprise that hunger in Somalia is off the charts. Civil war and famine have raised its mortality rate, but Somalia’s high fertility rate and large number of people of reproductive age produce rapid population growth. Each generation is larger than the one…
SEATTLE — The Federated States of Micronesia is a country in the western Pacific Ocean with a population of 102,000 people, of whom nearly 78 percent are rural. It is composed of more than 600 islands and islets in the Caroline Islands archipelago and is divided roughly along cultural and linguistic lines into four states: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae (west to east). The capital is Palikir, on the island of Pohnpei. Farming and fishing are the principal economic activities of Micronesia. The main staples are breadfruit, taros, coconuts and bananas, but yams, cassava and sweet potatoes also are grown…
Georgia is located in the Caucasus, a region at the border of Europe and Asia, and has garnered international attention for its tense relations with neighboring Russia. After breaking up from the USSR,hunger in Georgia was exacerbated by the collapse of basic social services, ineffective government, rising unemployment, corruption, armed conflict and the displacement of citizens. As unsolved conflict still remains, the country’s unstable economy has contributed to widespread food insecurity among the most vulnerable communities in the past. However, the majority of the population suffers from ‘hidden’ hunger in Georgia; a lack of vitamins and minerals (usually vitamin A), iodine,…
SEATTLE — Belarus remained part of the USSR for seven decades until it attained independence in 1991. Following this, Belarus continued to maintain a political and economic relationship with Russian Federation. Alexander Lukashenko, the first elected president of the country, has steadily consolidated his power since 1994 and prioritized education in national policy. The Republic of Belarus has a comparatively advanced system of education. Adult literacy among the population is 99.7 percent, and 98 percent of Belarusians have completed primary, secondary and tertiary education. The republic’s higher educational institutions correlate with standards of the EU and the United States university…