W-May 16, 2008: Tropical cyclone Nargis hit Burma (South-East Asia) with unprecedented violence last week. Sofar, as many as 22'000 deaths and 41'000 disappeared have been reported. But the disaster could reach the 2004-Tsunami death toll of over 200'000 without appropriate humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake stroke Chengdu (Central China) with nuclear bomb-like destruction effects. Revised estimates believe the quake's toll could top 50'000 deaths. These last two natural disasters pressured authorities of both countries to act quickly by issuing calls for international emergency assistance in a move to dampen international criticism to their poor human-right records. References. Comment from JL: Often, requests for international assistance are not issued to help the victims, but to put a human face on a tough and rigid leadership which, after issuing the request, puts unacceptable conditions for the access of humanitarian assistance to the victims. Therefore, Jerry Lee advocates the creation of an international law that empowers existing humanitarian organizations to directly assist, with or without the cooperation of local authorities, the victims of natural disasters wherever they may be and for a period of six months, extendable to a full year. To be followed...
A-May 4, 2008: Elisabeth Fritzl, 42, was held captive in the basement of her father's house in Amstetten (Austria-Europe) for 24 years. She was 19 years old when she was chained in a 420 square-feet cellar (39 sqm) by her father, Joseph. Elisabeth's screams remained unheared from the outside, because the walls and ceiling of the cellar had been reinforced to make the place soundproof. Along the years, Elisabeth developed a forced incestuous relationship with her father that lead to the birth of seven children, of which three will grow up in the cellar. This is one of many horror stories that exist in the world, most of which will remain unreported. Meanwhile, somewhere in France, Lydia Gouardo, was baring six children from her adoptive father. Her lawyer, Alain Mikowski, explained, Lydia's father started raping her when she was just ten years old. More often than not, crimes are committed by ex convicted. In the case of Joseph Fritzl, a police file shows that the man who sexually abused his daughter for more than two decades had received a 18-month jail sentence for an attempted rape on a 21-year-old woman in a forest near the city of Linz in September 1967 and a sexual assault on a 24-year woman in Linz one month later. References. Comment from JL. While Globwatch reports on specific cases of sexual abuses, thousands of crimes are committed every day around the world without anybody knowing anything about them. Globwatch believes, crime is a mental disease that worsens over time, if no appropriate assistance is offered. Therefore, Jerry Lee proposes the creation of a Crime Prevention Agency (CPA) uniting the departments of police and those linked to social assistance. The CPA would follow up and assess the degree of reinsersion of individuals who committed offenses and crimes in the past. An estimated fifty percent of the crimes committed around the world could be prevented with the CPA. See GW's Crime Prevention Agency, policy on Death Penalty and its Zing-Zang file.
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