by Rose-Anne Clermont
- Germany -

January 30th marks the 75th "anniversary" of Hitler's rise to power. Today, appropriately, we begin a nine-part series by Rose-Anne Clermont conceived as "Parallel Histories from Different Worlds." The series begins with the early experiences of two of the women closest to Clermont whose lives were tranformed under brutal dictatorships more than 50 years ago.

In the next part of this series, the two women Clermont interviewed, Barbara and Renée, talk about the challenge of growing up in poverty, with scarce food and resources. - Ed.

• Barbara and her brother, Michael in 1937 in Germany. •

by Constance Manika
- Zimbabwe -

In my last article I wrote that the situation here is so dire that many Zimbabweans, including myself, can now only pray for divine intervention to rid us of this dictator, Robert Mugabe.

Based on events that are currently unfolding, I think God may be answering our prayers in a way that we couldn’t have ever imagined!

I reported previously that by using former war veterans to help him garner support, Mugabe was "endorsed" as the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s (ZANU PF) candidate for the harmonized March elections.

Mugabe joined the presidential and parliamentary elections through a constitutional amendment. In previous years these two elections were held two years apart. When I vote in March I will drop two ballot papers: one for president and one for a legislator or member of parliament.

The “harmonization” is part of Mugabe’s exit plan; after these elections are held simultaneously, he can elect his trusted party members into ministerial posts and then retire. By doing so, Mugabe will have ensured that he will not be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

by Neeta Lal
- India -

With a booming economy, an exponentially growing Information Technology (IT) sector and surging economic prosperity amongst its 300 million-plus middle class, India seems poised for superpower status.

• Women in India are increasingly marginalized despite the country's economic growth. Photograph by Sarah McGowan. •

Of 128 countries evaluated by the WEF, India ranks way down at 114th, followed, among others, by Yemen, Chad, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Botswana are all positioned better than India. In terms of economic participation and opportunity, India, with its surging economy, has done even worse than last year – it is now ranked at the 122nd position. Meanwhile, its overall rank has slipped from 102nd to 114th this year. In other words, Indian women are even more marginalized than they were a year ago!

It’s interesting to analyze the WEF report: while India scores an overall 59.4 percent on gender equality, it only manages an abysmal 39.8 percent on economic participation and opportunity. In terms of wage equality, India ranks 59th, with 67 percent gender equality; shockingly, given India’s high tech boom, for professional and technical workers, it comes in at 97th (down in the 27th percentile). While India has a 36 percent female participation in the overall labor force, for professional and technical workers the figure is an abysmal 21 percent!

by Katharine Daniels
Founder & Executive Editor, The WIP
- USA -

On Tuesday Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop in Salinas, California. Otherwise known as ‘the lettuce capital of the world’ or John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Salinas just happens to be the farm town I call home.

Nearly 3,000 of Senator Clinton’s supporters showed up at the Hartnell College gymnasium to hear her speak. She was greeted in true Salinas Valley fashion, with mariachis and shouts for Viva la Causa (“Long Live Our Cause"). Clinton’s campaign stop was pulled together in just twenty-four hours following an official endorsement by the United Farm Workers of America, the union co-founded by Dolores Huerta and César Chávez that today represents more than 27,000 farm workers.

by Nomi Prins
- USA -

As the middle and poorer classes get crushed under a mounting pile of debt, and living costs grow faster than wages, we’re becoming a country of two classes: the top 1% and everyone else. Similarly, we are two economies. The national one is comprised of items like GDP (Gross Domestic Product), corporate profits, stock market performance and CNBC. Then, there’s the other one in which most people live: stretching to afford health care, a mortgage, commuting costs, education, kids, parents, and the credit cards that act as temporary pain killers.

The rhetoric surrounding George W. Bush’s economic stimulus package, as boastfully “bi-partisan” as it is (we are, after all, in an election year), indicates a complete lack of comprehension of the difference between this ‘national’ economy and the ‘people’s’ economy, and the extent of the gap between the two.

by Roshi Pejhan
Community Outreach & Development, The WIP
- USA -

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

by Eva Sohlman
- Sweden -

How does a society best deal with its immigrant minorities? This is a question which has become increasingly urgent as more people than ever leave their home countries due to conflict, climate change and globalization. But as they aspire for a brighter future in new lands, these “new” citizens risk being discriminated against, marginalized and even isolated.

The French riots in 2005 and late last year served as a brutal wake-up call and reminder about what can happen if a society lets its immigrant communities drift in the periphery without integration. But while some countries have tried to deal with racism and ethnic discrimination such as Britain, which suffered race riots in the 1980s, some of the initiatives did not always have the intended effect – as in the case of multiculturalism.

Speaking at his offices in the majestic Littauer building at Harvard University, Amartya Sen, Indian economist, philosopher and winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics tackles the topic in a rare interview.

by Tess Raposas
- Philippines -

Maria was 16 when she first came to visit the Philippines from California and decided to remain here. Witty and talented, she became a popular movie icon. Then barely in her twenties, she plunged into an early marriage with an upcoming politician from the north. Nineteen years later, her body was found slumped on the stairwell of the 13th floor where she had fallen from the 23rd floor of the condominium unit where she was staying. She was only 38. Why?

Maria was also a mother of six whose life became an archetype of marital wretchedness. Even if she had wanted out of her marriage, it would have been impossible for her to opt for divorce: the Philippines is one of only two countries in the world where divorce is not allowed. (The other country is Malta, another Catholic stronghold, like the Philippines.)

by Neeta Lal
- India -

While Benazir Bhutto’s tragic assassination has rudely jolted Pakistan – a country already torn asunder by political instability and terrorism – it has also had a strong resonance across all of Asia especially in India. As its immediate neighbor, India has always shared a volatile relationship with the Muslim nation.

What does Bhutto’s death really signify for India? For one, it will have far-reaching political ramifications. The death of Pakistan Peoples’ Party’s (PPP) charismatic leader, a frontrunner for the 2008 elections, will deal a severe blow to Indo-Pak peace talks. It will also mean a go-slow on bilateral talks on many key issues: like the Kashmir imbroglio, terrorism, the Siachen glacier - called the ultimate symbol in the dispute over Kashmir, and the much-needed strengthening of cultural ties between its people. None of these developments augur well for the sub-continent in these times of heightened political tension and unrest.

by Eva Sohlman
- Sweden -

Harold Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, is one of America’s most prominent and provocative intellectuals. Unabashedly, he has always spoken up for what he calls “the fight for truth and beauty” making a lot of foes in the process, but also some friends. As one of the first critical voices against the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, Bloom landed in the hot seat with the satire “MacBush” in 2004. Lately, he sparked worldwide outrage by calling Harry Potter “garbage”. Speaking at his home in New Haven where he is recovering from a recent health scare, a pale and weak Bloom seems to have symbolically embodied what he calls the “poor state of the nation”.

“I am 77 years old and I have never seen this country in such a bad state. It is madness. What we are seeing is the fall of the Roman Empire, only now it is the fall of America, the glory of our Empire. This war is what Parthya was to Rome.

by Constance Manika
- Zimbabwe -

In Zimbabwe 2007 closed on a very sad note. December was a very eventful month: it was President Mugabe’s busiest and most desperate month, as he fought to stamp out the criticism of his leadership arising even from within his own party, in order to cling to power.

• In a desperate bid to maintain power, Mugabe coordinated a massive march aimed at intimidating his rivals. Photograph by Sibongile Mlilo. •

It required an “extraordinary special congress” in order for Mugabe to be able to be chosen to stand in the March 2008 election; however some within the party ranks were opposed to Mugabe’s re-election, while others supported his appointment.

Katharine Daniels
Founder & Executive Editor, The WIP
- USA -

Every year this nation’s priorities move further and further away from the concerns of the majority of American citizens, making daily life harder and harder. The prices we pay for housing, utilities, medications, transportation and food are all going up. Meanwhile, big business interests, profiting every time we lose, monopolize our policymakers’ attention. While companies boasting record profits are rewarded with tax breaks, ordinary citizens struggle each day to get basic needs met for themselves and their families.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

When thinking of Afghanistan, it is difficult not to be overwhelmed by despair. Violence claimed over 6,000 lives in 2007 alone. The quality of life for women continues to decline as a result of continuing violence and the country’s shattered infrastructure. Good news about Afghanistan rarely makes the nightly news. However, after watching the documentary The Beauty Academy of Kabul, which is widely available on DVD, I felt more hopeful about the future of Afghan women, because the film depicts a possible alternative to the oppression and poverty that characterize most women’s lives there.

by Imelda V. Abaño
- Philippines -

At the December UN conference in Bali, Indonesia, experts and concerned people alike discussed how poor women in developing countries bear the brunt of climate change in a wide range of ways. They have to walk to fetch water or wood for fuel and carry it back to the household. They have to work longer hours in the fields to till the soil, which has hardened due to severe drought, and yet they receive fewer benefits because of low wages and low crop production. And despite their efforts, they have little decision making power because in these areas, women are considered merely as housewives. In India, as one example, women have very little bargaining power when marketing their crops. When children or spouses fall ill from diseases, it is women who care for them. It is women who will do without or with less when food is scarce.

"Life has been hard, since heavy rains always wash away many of our crops and cause flooding in our village," said Mariana Dau from a farming village in Sumatra, Indonesia who talked about how climate change has affected their family’s life and also their financial security.

by Michelle Chen
- USA -

Angela Greene has a tough job: she and her workcrew scale the rooftops of Richmond, California to run wires, lay racks, and bend metal piping. Yet in the end, when she unfurls a gleaming solar panel over her community, it feels easy to save the planet.

After being laid off from her former job at a printing business, Greene went through a vocational training program and then joined Solar Richmond, an organization that is bringing sustainable energy along with new jobs to the heavily black and Latino port city.