project third world: october 2015

PROJECT THIRD WORLD 1

P T WPROJECT THIRD WORLDthe Black and WHite Edition

HEALTH|EDUCATION|WORLD|CHARITY

Feature StOryUSAMA HASAN

British astronomer, lecturer

Theologian and Former Jihadist

VOLUME 3 EDITION 4 OCTOBER 2015

Contents

"The past few months have been quiet on the surface of Project Third World, but under that surface, the water is heating and the temperatures are rising. With this magazine, we close our year focus on our Word Issues and move into a focus on World Solutions for 2016.

Perhaps the biggest issue grappling the world is not only extremism and terrorism, but also violence, and is

something the world-over needs to address, and we will do our part through education.

Our projects in Kenya and India are moving, and we hope with the efforts of this year, we will be able to push our projects to improve and continue to be supported in 2016 and reach new milestones.

Our Brazil project is almost ready to be officially announced, but until then, read our article from our Brazil Project Manager on his

OCTOBER Editionhistory of volunteering and why Brazil is an important project to support.

Finally, with all that is about to start in Project Third World's circles, we ask that anyone interested in volunteering, in any shape or form, from any part of the world, please email into [email protected] and be part of the change and be part of the solution that we hope to bring into this world".

Contents An End to the Means

Editorial

Edward WattsFilm maker

14

4

38

42

46

54

68

80

84

Morning TerrorA Small Dose of Large Terror

Terror in PeshawarRecent travesty

Violence, it's a RiotViolence in Sport

Psychology of ViolenceInside the Mind

EbolaYou know the drill

VolunteeringFrom the Heart

Usama HasanFeature Interview

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OCT 2015

Edward Watts has directed and self-shot twenty television documentaries for broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4 and PBS in America, covering subjects as diverse as war crimes in the Congo to the colourful lives of residents in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.

His film-making aspires to bring out the humanity and courage of fascinating characters who live in extraordinary, challenging circumstances. He has an eye for the unexpected: the intimacy and humour found even in the bleakest places and he creates his films on a strong foundation of riveting narrative story-telling and striking, cinematic images.

Over the next 6 months, we will be discussing with Edward his vast range of experiences and what he learnt from his incredible range of work, including his experiences in Pakistan, China and Rio de Janeiro. In this edition, we discussed his latest film, Escape from ISIS, which exposed the brutal treatment of the estimated 4 million women living under the rule of the Islamic State and, for the first time on television, told the extraordinary story of an underground network trying to save those it can.

It was released in the US and UK in July 2015 to widespread critical acclaims and released in Australia in early October.

EDWARD

WATTS


OCT 2015

Most recently you have become an international name for your documentary ‘Escape from ISIS’. What were your aims with this documentary and what elements of ISIS were initially hoping to address?

The original inspiration for the documentary came from the UK’s Channel Four, who wanted to do something about women under ISIS. The feeling was that we knew a lot about ISIS’s extreme acts of terrorism but we don’t hear a lot about the ‘mundane’ difficulties that people have to deal with inside ISIS territory. Women in particular labour under a very tough regime, and we wanted to show and explore this. Everything flowed from that.

Logistically, filming and creating such a documentary would be incredibly difficult. How did you go about filming in the regions occupied by ISIS and regions surrounding this? How close were you to the ISIS activities?

It was one of the toughest films I had to make for reasons that were perhaps not obvious. For the most part, I was out there on my own, which I wanted because I like to work alone, but it was tough and exhausting; being away from everyone and having to rely on myself for a lot of things, even though I had a very good ‘fixer’ and made good friends out there.

It was a difficult story to be around every day. We in the ‘West’ can dip in-and-out of the horror of ISIS whilst those who live there are living it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They hear new stories of horror, they follow the course of the conflict, and they have family members and friends who are getting injured or they have relatives trapped in ISIS territory still suffering inside Islamic State. It was a dark world to live in for a long period of time. How did you ensure your safety and your crews safety in this documentary, and in general, how have you secured your safety with all the documentaries you have made?


OCT 2015

EDWARD WATTS6

I had a fixer who I met there and was a very good guy, along with our driver, who became part of my little Iraqi gang which made it easier. They were very experienced and I felt a lot safer with them. They knew the lie of the land very well.

In Iraq there was at least a frontline between us and ISIS. so we had a fairly formidable military force between us and them, Even so when we were on the frontline it was edgy because obviously you could be hit by ISIS incoming fire.

Turkey was even more nerve-racking because at that time ISIS was moving quite freely between Syria and Turkey, so there were places we went where we knew there were also ISIS members present. It wasn’t fun. We were in the same streets as them. Arranging these meetings with ex-ISIS members were very tense and edgy. We researched it carefully, we trusted them, but there was still an element of uncertainty, so we used a lot of security precautions.

The majority of it comes down to your personal relationships and knowing the right people, the people in charge and who can help you. The same system worked in my documentary in Rio. In Rio, to film in favelas controlled by drug traffickers , we needed to have permission from the boss of the area so they knew what we were doing and had approved it. It all comes down to the right people, like having the right ‘fixer’ who understands danger and isn’t afraid. In Turkey I was working with a really great guy who is a producer and journalist himself and could assess the risk and make contact with the right people. Part of the process is that people will approach you saying “I can get you this interview or I can get you access to a certain place” and you then have to talk to others and see if he’s reliable and can be trusted. Building up that trust is essential, and that’s how the business works. It’s done with human relationships your own gut instincts and research.

Fixer Hassan Ashwor tries his hand at filming in a ruined prison from Saddam Hussein's era

A 18 year old girl who was kidnapped by ISIS (not in film)


OCT 2015


How did you obtain the footage from within ISIS territory?

The filming within ISIS territory was co-ordinated by my producer Evan Williams and a group of amazing young activists who are from one of the first major cities to fall to ISIS. They took it upon themselves to show what ISIS was doing in their hometown. They were already working before we came along, but Evan made contact with them and explained what we were trying to do and what we were trying to show and built that trust and relationship with them. They needed to trust us to not jeopardise their safety and to trust that we were going to use their footage in the right manner and give them proper credit.

What did you discover in filming this documentary and what was your response as a human-being to this? Did it change your course of filming?

The big thing that changed for me was the rescues. We had heard about the rescues as rumours. It was vague and unclear how they works, how they happen, or even if they were really happening at all . When we arrived there and met one of the main characters, I began to understand that this was on a much bigger scale than we could ever have imagined. There was a big shift in direction, where I basically said to the people backing the documentary, Channel 4 and PBS in America, that we needed to stay in Iraq for much longer than we were planning to. The

rescues were such a complicated operation that we needed more time to give us a chance to film the whole process of a rescue. We would often catch the beginning of one, or the end of one, but not a whole one. The process of filming had a powerful effect on me. When I encountered people who had suffered the types of indignities, violence and cruelties that ISIS had imposed, it affected me emotionally. So that led me to drive myself even harder than I would normally do.

I was trying to minimise the disruption caused by the filming There were times when I was told I couldn’t join and couldn’t film because it was either too dangerous for me, or having me there would make it too complicated. The most important part was to ensure that the rescues happened, not for my filming to happen. It was a process of gaining the trust of the rescue network for them to getused to me and the process of filming. It took time for them to trust me to trust that I wouldn’t jeopardise anything that they were doing or their security. After a while they did get used to having me around and felt relaxed having me present. After a while my presence didn’t impact their work at all.

My fixer helped to build that trust by translating endlessly, which would allow me to blend in with the conversation and I could joke with them a bit and become one of them thanks to him. It made things a bit more easy and free for them and me.


OCT 2015

The Australian government several weeks ago suggested on taking refugees from Syria who are from prosecuted minorities, and in particular, Christians in Syria; do you have any comment on this proposal given what you found in your documentary?

I welcome any government taking steps to take in the refugees, which is what they are doing. Frankly I think all Syrians from all creeds and ethnicities need as much help as we can give them. The Syrian people have suffered so much for so long and have been so under-supported for so

long. I have been hearing that the UN organisations supporting refugees in the region are running short of funds. The International Rescue Committee has said that it is doing no health-care at all in 2016. The World Food Programme has had massive cuts. The amount of food funding per-day for people has reduced significantly over the past few years. The situation is so dire and needs a lot of help. I personally would encourage the Australian Government to take in Syrians from all creeds and religions and do what they can to fund those agencies so that we can feed and help people out there.

Khaleel Al Dakhi, a lawyer who works to rescue women kidnapped by ISIS

OCT 2015JUNE 2015

You addressed the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs after filming this documentary. What did you discuss in this hearing and did you expect this documentary to have the impact it did?

They were interested and engaged in the issue of ISIS, which was very exciting. I think after the war in Iraq, there is reluctance from Britain and America to get too deeply involved in the region again. I think that has underpinned public opinion as well as our government’s policy. What I found very exciting about this trip to the Foreign Affairs Committee was the fact that this section of US government was really engaged and saying “we can’t leave our fellow man to suffer from ISIS’s cruelty”. They are interested in stopping ISIS; not for our own benefits necessarily, but because we cannot tolerate this kind of horror and evil. I know evil is an extreme word, but I do think what ISIS are doing is evil.

They wanted from me to have a better understanding of the true reality of what it is like there. It is so hard to get information from inside the Islamic State and from Iraq and what the reality is like on the ground. So that’s what I hope I was able to give in my own small way.

How difficult is for people to escape from the ISIS community?

It’s so difficult to get out of the dictatorship of ISIS. It couldn’t be tougher. You’d have the threat of very extreme violence against you if you attemptit, and that is part of their terrible power: the use of cruelty and violence against their own population. It would take an enormous amount of bravery just to attempt to escape, let alone the logistic challenges of actually doing it.

A boy displaced by ISIS pictured in a camp, Dohuk, Northern Iraq

EDWARD WATTS10

There’s no-through traffic between the territory controlled by Islamic State and the outside world, there comes a point where anyone moving in a certain area is clearly an Islamic State fighter, or a person trying to escape. It’s incredibly dangerous to go into that area. When we filmed the rescue seen in the documentary, and we were coming out of the mountains, there were people who were worried that we might be targeted by Coalition Airstrikes if they saw a bunch of guys in no-man’s-land, as they might assume we were Islamic State fighters. That gives you an idea of how difficult it is to be around there or leave there.

ISIS also try hard to stop people leaving. Only a couple of weeks ago they released a propaganda video saying on the lines of “if you want to be a migrant and leave here, you’re going to end up drowning”. My personal view is that Islamic State are in trouble. There are blockades on their area and they can’t trade with anyone apart from inside their own territory, and the pressure from the military and the surrounding nations means they are in trouble. They’re desperately trying to stop people leaving as a result.

Their whole raison d’être is that people come to Islamic State to live. They need people to stay in order to justify their own existence. My own impression is that people who get there become disillusioned pretty quickly.

I read a report recently that there is an increase in the number of defectors from Islamic State. We met a couple of the female defectors who told us that though people in Syria might not support the Islamic State group, they are beginning to accept their very extreme interpretation of Islam. That is a much more complicated issue. People might not like the organisation, but the much more dangerous thing is that the longer Islamic State lasts, the more their ideas take root within those areas under their control. This extreme interpretation of Islam was alien to the area before their takeover. The idea that these ideas may now be taking root in Syria is scary.

Aeida Meghi who was captured by ISIS with her two children, Hin and Haron

Secret filming shows women on the streets of ISIS controlled Raqqa in Syria

OCT 2015

You have covered many world issues; from your time in film-making, which of the world issues do you feel are most urgent to be addressed and why?

Definitely the situations in Syria and Iraq. There is a World War going on in the Middle East. The Russians have just started their first airstrikes, just another sign of how serious this situation has become. Unless we really start debating how this conflict can be brought to some kind of conclusion, it is going to get worse and keep escalating and promoting a culture of violence which will have ramifications globally, not just in the region. Everything ties back to it; such as the refugee crisis. It is the epicentre of everything that is causing the world a lot of problems at the moment.

Global Inequality is another issue. Conflict is being driving both internally within countries and between countries because of inequality. We need to think about that.

The other issue is what I was referring to with organisations such as the World Food Programme that are vital to the survival of millions of people, that aren’t receiving the funding they need. We need to get our priorities straight and stop being so introspective. We need to start understanding that at a time like this, we need to start pulling together, rather than pulling for our own selfish interests.

What do you feel are the best strategies for tackling these world issues?

ISIS is a problem with a thousand faces We need to cut off their sources of funding which includes selling looted antiquities on the black-market. This needs to be stopped. They also get money from illegal sales of oil; that also needs to stop. We need to work on our messages and communication strategies, so that we stop ISIS propaganda reaching young and vulnerable people who might fall for their lies and think it is a good idea to go out and join ISIS.

The sad truth is that the military component cannot be underestimated. ISIS have no qualms with using extreme violence to further their aims. The military component to our strategy is quite poorly thought-out at the moment. Certainly when I was on the frontlines earlier this year the Kurdish forces were saying that they weren’t getting the support they needed to have an impact. ISIS still control many of the major cities of Iraq. I just think we need a sea-change in our thinking when it comes to the military thinking and military effort that will be required to kick ISIS out. ■

Director Edward Watts with anti-ISIS militia, close to the frontline, north Iraq


I SUPPORT GOAL 16

PEACE ANDJUSTICE

#GlobalGoals


OCT 2015

I SUPPORT GOAL 16

PEACE ANDJUSTICE

#GlobalGoals


OCT 2015

“Does the ends justify the means? This is perhaps one of the most eminent debate topics in history, particularly in converse of the writings of Machiavelli. It is also one of the most pressing questions that any campaigner or activist should ask themselves; whether that be in regards to personal life, individual careers, charity organisations, political movements, or even an extremist organisations. It is a topic which can be the focal point for the story-teller, such as many of William Shakespeare’s plays. Many of Shakespeare’s plays revolved around protagonists using different means to reach a desired goal or end. The play “All’s Well That Ends Well” almost answers the debate in its own title.

AN ENDSTO THE MEANS


OCT 2015

Cinema and literature are some of the great sources of entertainment and art in our modern world. The fiction portrayed often provides mirrors to our own realities; illustrating the same characters, themes, conflicts, partnerships and life stories as those in our own world.

Some of the most admired works-of-art are depictions of ‘true stories’. The film ‘Gandhi’ in 1982 was the winner of eight Academy Awards and ‘Titanic’ was the winner of eleven Academy Awards. Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the most hailed actors of all time is renowned for his ability to portray his characters with accuracy and realism, many of which are historic figures or characters.

DANIEL DAY - LEWIS | BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

Humans have loved tales and stories for millennia. From the time Homo sapiens discovered the ability of story-telling through pictures, to the time Louis Lumiere designed the portable motion-picture camera, humans have made it a part of their legacy to draw, write and film stories and tales; whether that be to entertain, teach or expose.

Storytelling is part of our culture- the Mahābhārata Hindu scriptures and the Old and New Testament are filled with allegories, fables and parables; whilst folk-tales such as Jungle Book and modern mythology such Superman question our ways of living and question our ways of seeing the world. Although all have varying perspectives, all share one objective- to help its audiences further understand the world and themselves.

These artworks are certainly well-positioned and well-equipped to present many world issues. The X-Men movies and comics subtly explore racism and the idealistic conflicts between Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X; Batman’s Joker shows a terrifying and psychological form of terrorism that goes deeper than culture or race; Elysium highlighted the issues of ‘class warfare’; George Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984 questioned politics and power; and Russell Crowe’s performance as John Nash in a ‘Beautiful Mind’ helped audiences understand his psychological disorder.

AN ENDS TO A MEANS16

OCT 2015

Film and literature art forms have certainly helped enlighten audiences on their world and ability to view it with a different lens. The fatal flaw in any of these depictions- be it literature or film, is also why they are so great: they all have incredibly-executed beginnings, middles and ends. It is no surprise that the most heralds stories, be it book or movie, all have brilliant storyboards and plot-lines. It is in this love of conclusive story-telling that the lines between fiction and reality begin to fade away.

Most storyboards will have their protagonist seek some form of ‘ends’, whether that be gaining ‘true love’, conquering castles, defeating evils, solving mysteries, or simply achieving a life-goal. To all of these ends, the protagonist is subsequently equipped with a means of reaching these ends. something which can be the focal point for the story-teller, such as many of William Shakespeare’s plays. The means can often be determination, retribution, courage, vengeance, nobility, sacrifice, perseverance, power, authority, justice, rebellion, revolution and more.

The different combinations of means and ends have been deliberation points for questioning whether the ends justifies the means. Regardless of which combination of means and ends, there will always be an ‘end’ in the world of story-telling. Within this

definitive and fictitious world, where existence can be created as easily as it is ceased, the concept of an ‘end’ is granted.

In reality, the notion of any true ‘end’ seldom occurs. Society has often been consumed by the false reality of an absolute end to anything. Compartmentalising, dividing and cutting history into small stories has always been an interesting aspect of the nature of the human mind and how humans look at their own species.

The two great wars of the 20th century highlight this nature. Although a generalisation, it is fair to say that most would divide the 20th century as such: The Great War (WW1) was one of the greatest human conflicts to have occurred, commencing in 1914 to 1918; whilst World War II was a separate yet great human conflict commencing in 1939 and ceasing in 1945. Then the ‘Cold War’, which was an unofficial war considered by some historians to have commenced in 1947 till 1952, followed by other separate events such as the Vietnam War and the Afghan War.

At a glance, it would seem that these events were all isolated individual events that had a specific start, middle, and end. Whilst that could be said for the military battle aspects of the wars, it does not necessarily represent what led to these events, or what consequences arose from these events.


OCT 2015

For The Great War, the start of the conflict began away from the battlefield many years before 1914, with many of the European Nations expanding imperialism across the globe, raging a great arms-race to rapidly expand and develop their huge armies and military arsenal, generating suspicion and tension between nations. These nations also continued developing alliances with other nations and signing treaties, causing further political tension. In reality, the start of The Great War began at the time of all these contributing factors along with several others. In order to represent the true story of The Great War, we should look to the factors leading to the military conflict, and not simply the military war period alone. If we look at these factors, then we must ask: when did Imperialism start? Political Alliances? Development of Military? Many of these date back to the time of the Middle Ages and possibly even as far back as Ancient Rome if we consider the history of many of the involved nations. As such, the lead up to The Great War was hundreds of years in the making, if not more, with no definitive ‘beginning’.

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE...

Western Imperialism in Asia


OCT 2015

What about end? The end of the military aspects of the Great War ended in 1918, but this brought about a new conflict. The ‘Traité de Versailles’ was a political treaty thought to end such a devastating conflict and cease it from ever occurring again. At the end of the Great War, Germany was forced to take the fall for all the devastation that occurred between 1914 and 1918, and plummeted Germany into the greatest state of depression of the time. Poverty swept Germany, society struggled, and an entire nation felt hard done by. One German soldier from The Great War who felt that the treaty was unjust and who felt Germany should never have surrendered to The Triple Entente was Adolf Hitler.

So begins the story of WWII. Though, did it start at the beginning of WWI? Yet, did it not start then at all the factors leading to WWI? In some regards, World War II could be seen as an extension of The Great War rather than a separate war, as the events of The Great War were the kindling and Woodstock for the bonfire that was to come with WWII; and Adolf Hitler ‘the flame’ as history goes. Yet, as all the consequences of the Great War followed from that which lead to the Great War, did WWII start with all the factors leading to The Great War?

Hitler’s radical, hard-line and extremist ways in fact proved to be overall beneficial to Germany in the years leading into 1939, and helped their poverty-stricken, economically-broken nation become one of the most powerful nations at unprecedented speed.


OCT 2015

It is no wonder the nation were behind Hitler, who took Germany from the Great Depression to the Nuremberg Rally within a couple of years. With power in Hitler’s hand from in-hindsight, the misguided support of his nation, Hitler’s actions of intolerance, racism and extremism forced the bloodshed and battle known as the Second World War. The battles of WWII swept the globe, and it wasn’t until a week after the death of Hitler that Germany surrendered

and the fighting of WWII ended. Did this mean that no consequences came about? Did WWII have no further implications? Just as there is no clear start or finish for The Great War, so too is it for WWII? Well, before and during the time of WWII, much was happening in Europe’s East, where a new political superpower was forming- The Soviet Union. The Russian communist regime’s Hammer and Sickle was born, dictated by the infamous Joseph Stalin.

Hitler rally from the back


OCT 2015

The transformation of Europe during WWII was of great opportunity for Stalin, who was able to expand his reign of communism. With the dismantled Nazi-Occupied areas of Europe, Stalin had clear path to claim many of the Eastern European nations for his own Union, and spread the views of communism across all he could claim. With the pro-movement for democracy surging from America and the West of Europe, and Stalin’s pro-movement for Communism spreading through Eastern Europe and slowly into Asia, the Berlin Wall was built, and another conflict developed.

The colour gradients of WWII slowly mixed and changed into the colours of what was termed ‘The Cold War’- a war of political ideologies, predominantly led by America and Russia. WWII had significant consequences for the nations of Asia, including Korea, China and Vietnam, which were all in political disarray from the effects of WWII. Part of the consequences of this was that many of these Asian nations were politically vulnerable and divided between pro-communist movements and anti-communist movements, such as Vietnam. The tension between the political ideologies essentially led to the war of America’s Democracy against the Marxist Political movement of Russia with the battle-ground being Vietnam. So, the Vietnam War was fought, and eventually the fighting elements of the war, much like The Great War and WWII had an end.

The war was seen as a victory for Russia and communist ideologies, and a blow for America and democratic ideologies. Was this the end of the story?

Perhaps the most significant event to have occurred following the Vietnam War was the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

In 1978, The Afghanistan Centrist Government was overthrown and the new political movement in Afghanistan, which had very little popular support, formed close ties with the Soviet Union who wanted to continue the spread of communism through Asia. This pro-soviet government of Afghanistan began extensive land and social reforms that were resented by devout Muslims and anti-Communist populations.

Following a string of internal conflicts and coups within the Afghan government, a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan occurred in December of 1979, where the Soviet military locked into heavy conflict to support the communist movement of Afghanistan. As this was not a choice of the people, the Mujahideen Rebellion developed in rebellion, and as Russia intervened with the affairs, the United States of America supported this rebellion group heavily, still with the outcome of Vietnam very strongly on their mind. As such, the Afghan War started with the desperation of America and the Hammer and Sickle.


OCT 2015

PORTRAIT OF ADOLF HITLER

PORTRAIT OF JOSEPH STALIN


OCT 2015

The war was devastating for Afghanistan, who had refugees predominantly fleeing to Pakistan and Iran. Eventually the Soviet Union disintegrated in the late 1980’s leading it to sign an accord with the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and agreed to withdraw its troops. Sounds like the end of the story? Well, it is hardly ‘breaking news’ to realise that today, Afghanistan is rather animus towards America. Consider the events of September 11th 2001; consider the new fear that arose from Terror as a result, along with the new found power in wielding terror; consider how such actions, events and ‘means’ have led to this year’s most distressing issue: ISIS.

A long story perhaps, but nevertheless, the string of great wars of the 20th century all have very specific ‘beginnings’, ‘middles’ and ‘ends’ for their military battles, but the stories of all these conflicts never truly had a definitive beginning or end, as one event or conflict seamlessly led to another; in a sense, each major war was simply a battle of a much deeper and much more pressing war still-to-end. All these occurrences were strings of thread woven and intertwined together. Bookmarks can be made, checkpoints can be created, chapters can be formed, but the history book is an endless continuum back into the past, with the continuum of future chapters still to be written.

Northern Iraq offensive ( June 2014 )

Russian Honour Guards

World Trade Center collapsed following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack September 16 2001

Holy Crusades


OCT 2015

Does the ends justify the means? Well, what is the end? This apparent ‘end’ is still hard to find conclusively, even when we stretch as far back as the 11th century. In the 11th century, religion and politics were often one entity- known as theocracy, which was prominent throughout parts of Europe and parts of the Middle East. The Crusades of the middle ages is a topic that has perhaps been given a cold shoulder, yet today’s political and social climate has many of its roots wrapped deep into this period.

Soviet soldiers in korea after the Manchuria Offensive, October 1945.

12th bomb group World War II


OCT 2015

It would seem contradictory for Pope Urban II, who controlled and reigned over the Roman Catholic Church, to call for the First Crusade in 1095. How could an entity such as the Roman Catholic Church, which claimed itself to be an advocate for peace, officially sanction war? Although the intentions of Pope Urban II are unclear, It seems the Catholic Church believed that the ends justified the means; historians believe these means that the Pope employed was in hope for: a check on the spread of Islam which was seen as a threat to Catholicism, provide aid to fellow Christians in the east, deploy Christian mercenaries to protect Christendom, conquer pagan areas, recapture formerly Christian territories and spread catholic dominance over the world; and for the crusaders themselves, the aims were to please God and gain redemption and expiation for sins. Scholars have also suggested that this period was a time when people expected the apocalypse, particularly after the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, and suggest that society at that time considered that the world as a whole would have a definitive end.

The first Crusade was declared following the Sermon of Pope Urban II at Cleremont, France. It was a time when two-thirds of the ancient Christian world had been conquered by Islam; such as, Palestine, Syria, Egypt and Anatolia; but most significant of all, Jerusalem- Holy city to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Christianity was beginning to lose power and strength in Europe prior to the First Crusades. The Sermon received overwhelming support from Christians, and the haunting cries at the Sermon of “Deus le volt”- “God Wills It”, would be something

that has Christians and others alike today shudder when heard. “Deus le volt”- the tragic rationale that led approximated 4,000 mounted Knights and 25,000 infantry including peasants and mercenaries alike to march through horror and peril, death and disease, famine and pain, to the gates of Jerusalem.

Pope Urban II Preaching the First Crusade


OCT 2015

Crusaders and Muslims do battle.

By the time the first crusade of Christians reached Jerusalem, only approximately 1,500 Knights and 12,000 foot soldiers had survived the enduring natural dangers, conflicts and battles, famines and diseases that they confronted. For the survivors, it was a period of euphoria for surviving against all odds, and reaching ‘the promised land’ Pope Urban II preached for, and was proof in the eyes of the crusaders that God had supported them, and helped them survive through miracles; but it was also a period of insane rage, frustration, and hatred against Islam, who they believed were the reason for all the suffering they had endured on what was a treacherous and ruthless three year pilgrimage to the Holy city.

The mix of hatred, euphoria, desperation, poverty, ignorance, exhaustion, poor health, hope and belief with the echoing message “Deus le volt”, lead to one of the darkest days in Christian history, that saw these their crusaders butcher, ransack and violate the city of Jerusalem, along with hundreds of men, women and children- Muslim and Jewish alike. Historic texts from the time have described the city of Jerusalem being completely covered in red from the blood of all the people within the city. The Crusaders did not spare a single life that day, for “Deus le volt”- God Wills It.

Deus le vo

lt

Salahuddin Ayyubi

OCT 2015

Sieges of Jerusalem by Christians were followed with counter-sieges by Islamic forces, and throughout the centuries, this great period of war brought Richard the Lionheart of England, and Salahuddin Ayyubi of Egypt and Syria to becoming legends. The military battles of the Crusades continued as long as the 13th century, with little signs of end; perhaps making it the longest military conflict in history. Jerusalem, a city which was once relatively at-peace politically, has since been a city of conflict, religious dispute, violence, political unrest and tragedy ever-since.

The Crusades were not simply a fight against two global empires, but of two ideologies, Christianity and Islam, and in a sense involved a third ideology, Judaism, which in their own rights, all birthed from the same dynasty of Theology. Whilst the military and political warfare eventually ceased along with the diminishment of theocracy in most parts of the world, the ancient war in regards to ideologies still remains today.

In the 11th century, 1905, the ruthless Christian crusaders chanted “Deus Le Volt” in their march for Christian dominance, and suppression of Islamic spread by violence and devastation. These crusaders, firmly in the belief that they were carrying out the will of God and their religion.

Today in 2015, we have seen extremists marching to this same beat, “In šā Allāh”- “if God wills it” and “Allahu Akbar”- God is Greatest, whilst mercilessly killing innocent Christians and those of other faiths, and even their own, for they too believe that they are carrying out the will of God and their religion. An ancient, war, handed from generation to generation, along with an ancient hatred, passed down from generation to generation, is the forefront of our world’s security threat, and drives fear into the hearts of all, thousands of years later.

The Crusades have not been referenced to expose the tyranny which Christianity and Islam have actioned in history, for all religions have all had in some manner a black mark against their name; dating as old as Hinduism- the oldest religion in current existence, thought to have originated as early as the 3rd–2nd millennium BC, to some of the youngest religions- Taoism and Zoroastrianism. Such is said to be the nature of power, irrespective of the form: religious, political, economic or otherwise. As Lord Acton once said, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Nor are the readers of this to conclude that terrorism is spawned from religion, as terrorism too comes in many forms; religion is simply one of the more outstanding factors being discussed.

Richard the Lionheart

Salahuddin

Ayyubi


OCT 2015

Rather, the nature of Crusades epitomises the fallacious view that our words, actions, and impact in this world have an end. In reality, whilst a chapter in the book of human history might end, the human race still continues. Furthermore, each chapter in the book of human history can coalesce seamlessly into the next without any definitive title or heading. For the book of human history is not merely a record of events in human history, but more importantly, is a continuous diary that when reviewed, emphasises the influence of time and reveals the nature of humanity. It is a record of how the actions from day-to-day, year-to-year, century-to-century, impact everything that comes thereafter. From this perspective, history for humans has seldom changed bar its clothing and environment, for the thinking of humans seldom changes; but this is a topic for another day.

The difference between a movie based on a true story, such as Gandhi, and the life and impact of Gandhi himself distinguish this notion of having an end or not. The true importance of Gandhi does not come from the fact that in ‘the end’, (or at least the end that Indian society wanted), he managed to topple the British Empire and bring Independence for his home nation of India. For this end, an iconic moment of independence, came to a swift end itself, when India broke politically and socially with the partitioning of India and its then-state of Pakistan. If the movie of Gandhi were to continue past its own end, it would show the tragedy, loss, hatred and violence that broke within India and the new country of Pakistan, which still continues today.

Mahatma Gandhi


OCT 2015

slowly deserted Gandhi, along with the people of the nation and the surrounding regions who he had given so much for.

India and Pakistan headed for partition despite Gandhi’s sacrifice to the country, and his many supporters and powerful friends were leaving him. It was in this failure to bring a united India, and perhaps a feeling of betrayal from all whom he had helped, that makes the true end of Gandhi’s own life a tragedy. Gandhi certainly would not have wished for any other life, but it was said by one of Gandhi’s disciples during the time of partitioning, that Gandhi began to lose faith in his cause. “He was a disappointed man. He was a man in distress. He found that whoever the people were with him to start with, now were deserting him. The desertion by other leaders, I think, hurt him very much. He wanted to die. His attitude was ‘Let me die’”.

Still today, Hindu’s and Muslims have a tense relationship in the region, as they also did prior to Gandhi’s story and prior to independence. The true importance of Gandhi however, was neither about independence or unity, but rather, Gandhi’s journey and stance through it all. Gandhi is foremost known for his pacifist principles and revolutionary means of non-violence. Everything Gandhi did to bring peace for India, against the incredible might of the British Empire, came purely and absolutely through non-violent means.

Gandhi’s own end too is itself marked by tragedy and sorrow. Gandhi’s true aim was to bring independence for his home nation of India, and create a united and peaceful nation. The movie of Gandhi suggests that gaining independence for India was the ‘end’ of his story. Aside of the fact that the movie ends with enactment of Gandhi’s assassination, the movie ultimately ends on a high with India independent and a Gandhi who seemed pleased with his achievements. The movie ends with a seemingly positive tone and air of success. Understandably, this end is to pay homage to this great revolutionary human being. In reality, shortly after Gandhi gained independence, tensions grew within Indian society, politics became chaotic and impractical, and a few incidences across the country of India sparked nationwide violence and chaos between the Hindu, Sikhs and Muslim communities of India, including Pakistan, Punjab and Bengal provinces, all at the time part of India, thus considered India and people of India.

Independence had been achieved, but Gandhi felt his mission was yet to be achieved- peace within a united India. Gandhi campaigned to bring peace to the communities of India, and hoped that his friends, Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first prime-minister of India and founder of Pakistan respectively, would help bring this peace to the country; along with assistance from the British Viceroy. Unfortunately, these British, Indian and Pakistani leaders


OCT 2015

Undoubtedly choosing an incredibly difficult means, Gandhi opted to fast, nearly leading to his own death, give up his own financial wealth to unhinge the economic need Britain had for India, and peacefully protest the British rule of India despite violent acts from the British. Gandhi stayed by his means to the point that he nearly fast to death when Indians began acts of violence against the British, and did not stop his fast until all Indians ceased their violent attempts to reach their desired goal.

Certainly, Gandhi could have chosen means that were easier, and could have easily given into the violence of his own supporters to potentially reach a swifter end to British rule, but Gandhi did not at all believe that the ends justified the means. It is ironic, that through Gandhi’s means, Britain and India came to ‘end’ on mutual agreement that was overall peaceful under the climate at the time; only to have within the space of months, those means completely changed in the pursuit of a divided country. In the case of Gandhi’s means of peace, unity and non-violence, India began to thrive; and when this means changed to violence and separation, India and all the regions that separated from it, fell.

Mahatma Gandhi leaves Presidency Jail in Calcutta

Gandhi on the Salt March

Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu during the March.

’Let me die’

30

MARTIN LUTHER KING

Whilst Gandhi’s means ceased in India and its newly surrounded nations, it did not fall short throughout the history books. In fact, Gandhi’s means were passed on in history, very shortly after his death. Martin Luther King Jr openly advocated the ‘means’ by which Gandhi used to gain independence in India. Martin Luther learned from Gandhi’s example of protesting against racism in Colonial South Africa, and felt it was an example worth replicating in America. Martin Luther King Jr argued that Gandhian philosophy was “the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom”. For not only do wrong and ill means simply lead to a never-ending-future of wrong and ill, but good and valiant means also leads to a never-ending future of good and valour. The father of India, is perhaps the father of modern political thinking too. Since the time of Gandhi, there has undoubtedly been an insurgence of nonviolent means of solving matters, particularly within politics. Many of the great leaders of the world now lead through Gandhi’s example, which has brought peace and unity to many parts of the world, even if was not fully accomplished by Gandhi himself in India the way he intended. Whilst Gandhi’s life may end, his means live on. The event or the life ends, whilst the means continue, whether the means are of good, or of evil.

OCT 2015

The New Testament claims under the writing of Matthew that Jesus stated “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword”. Different translations word this message differently, but all have the same message: the means throughout life will govern any potential end that might occur. Though this may be true, it focuses its attention to the end of the wielder of the sword, rather than the means itself. What is to become of the life of the sword? The wielder may die, but the sword may be picked up by another. The reality of this conundrum is exemplified by acclaimed artist and director Plan ‘Ben Drews’ B, who’s film

‘Ill Manors’ illustrates the vicious cycle of living a life with drugs, crime and gangs. The movie starts in London with a network of individuals who use crime, prostitution and drugs as a means of making a living. The underlying message of the movie is clear: that this means of living is simply passed on from individual to individual, or from generation to generation in a never-ending cycle. The movie opens with a prelude to show that this harsh life and means of living were brought about by the parents and upbringing of all these characters and the interactions they had with their environment and community.


OCT 2015

Although by the end of the movie, the central protagonist gives up this means of living, making a living through the means of drugs and crime have already been passed onto the youth of the community, as they had been passed on to all the central characters before the movie had even started. Individuals born into this community saw drugs and crime as a viable means of living even

after those before them had perished or given up these means. The movie enforces that although individuals may have an end or end their means, the means themselves will always survive so long as there are individuals who are affected or involved into the means. The environment and the lives of all in this community are thus products and consequences of this means of living.


OCT 2015

Humans have always succumbed to depicting events and existence throughout history with beginnings, middles and ends. They have done the same with literature and movies, and this pattern of thinking is sown into how humans think on a social and personal level. We depict primary school as the beginning of education, high school as the middle, and tertiary studies as the end of education. We often suggest our 20’s and 30’s to be the end of our good health, and we pursue our careers as a means to an end. Humans naturally have an image of the ‘end’ they would like.

This ‘end’ image can often be captured with a Kodak camera - picturesque setting, tailored garments, grand house, prestigious career title or social status, beautiful partner, honourable children, all posing in affectionate ways and smiles all-around.

This ‘end’ is just the skeleton framework; then the flesh, or colours and dressing are added; for some it might include the flag of America, or the flag of ISIS,

for others, their business empire, or their stethoscope, or a particular brand, country, environment, or setting which gives their ‘end moment’ their full picture and setting. Yet this 2-dimensional, still capture, of a microsecond in history does not depict any end. It is just a single moment in a continuum of moments.

So what were the means of getting to this single moment, so often perused as the end goal? Perhaps it required the destruction of the Amazon and the world’s wildlife, where the means came via profiting from consumables- toys, clothes, food, buildings and more. Perhaps it required corruption and disregard for human rights or the lives of humans, with the ascension of political power. Perhaps it required immoral actions, such as the slaughtering of many humans and animals alike to force an ideology onto the world. Perhaps the means required indirectly sending competitor’s out-of-business and leaving them poor with no income. Perhaps it required disregarding health and happiness for others.


OCT 2015

Perhaps it required abandoning family and friends altogether. Perhaps the means lead to hatred, anger and tensions that would last for years to come within families, friends, cities, nations, countries, or across the globe. Perhaps the means has led to others or future generations to believe that violence is an appropriate means of obtaining what you want? Perhaps the means has led to others or future generations believing it is okay to do wrong, so long as the end they experience, and their own end goals is ‘good’- and carry the lines of Shakespeare “All’s Well That Ends Well” for the individual or community at the time of that individual’s death?

Humans have always liked learning from examples, and in order to fulfill their own goals, and own desires, they will also learn the means by which others have used to reach that same goal or same desire. This ‘end’ moment so many strive for, in itself, will end.

What remains, what is carried on, and what has everlasting impact, are the means themselves. History shows, that whilst the aimed ‘end’ may change context from chapter to chapter, the story still remains more-or-less the same; for the means, the journey, the process itself, of reaching that end, has rarely changed for humans.

It is also the means that has made the bulk of any human’s life, and when the means have changed, the course of history and the lives of all to come thereafter, has often changed. For this reason, it is not the end which anyone should ever focus on, but

the means. It is the means which make life, it is the means which influences and changes the world and it is the means which revolutionise and change humanity, not the events and the ‘ends’ themselves. The desired ‘end’ or ‘goal’ might be of good intentions, but if the means themselves are not good, then it is likely that these ill means will once again be used by those who desire the same good intentions and The ALS Association were criticised for their ‘ice bucket challenge’ which saw litres of water ‘wasted’ in the pursuit of raising money for ALS victims. Many communities around the world live in poverty and do not have access to clean drinking water, and this action was seen to aggravate the divide between this wealth and poverty and seen to aggravate another world issue.


OCT 2015

A very sincere and genuine attempt to improve the lives of those with ALS, marked down by the means used. Many non-profits and charity organisations have perhaps fallen short in this manner. In the aims of achieving the desired end-goal for their own cause, they may negatively affect or inhibit the progress of other causes, or perhaps exacerbate another issue, or their means contradict their desired end.

Project Third World rarely has, or perhaps ever will, give a definitive ‘end goal’. Where Project Third World focuses its attention is to ‘how’ it aims to make the world a better place. What ‘means’ will Project Third World use for charity, volunteering, health and education. Whilst some may question why Project Third World has chosen to make its journey an arguably difficult endeavour, by limiting what we

are willing to do for the goal of charity or global development, one need not look further than Gandhi’s example of why it is ‘how’ we act, and the means we employ to live our lives and progress our lives, that is more important than trying to reach and accomplish the end goal.

For these reasons, Project Third World will not throw lavish parties of alcohol and food, will not simply ask for as many money donations as possible, and will not break away from its principles and values; for it is the views and values, and the means by which Project Third World operates, the means and mechanisms by which we fundraise and help others, educate others and develop the health of others, that will change the world for better. It is the belief of Project Third World, that having a world where all live a life through the means of fostering good health, developing our own education, being responsible for ourselves and the world and the consequences of our actions, and taking proactive steps as individuals to develop the world, that is the actual success and ‘end’ goal.

By providing an example for positive means of fundraising and human development, that hopefully acknowledges and positively helps simultaneously tackle other issues including gender inequality, racism, poverty, over-consumerism, environmental destruction, climate change, animal welfare and more all purely through volunteering; we hope to inspire a new method of thinking and a new approach to human development, and even living itself.


OCT 2015

How a life lives, is perhaps more important than the final outcome of that life, for it is how that life lives that will carry onto the next generation. How humanity lives today, will continue onto humanity of tomorrow. With no end for our species, all we have are our means, and therefore, the only end that can be attained, are the means themselves. For this reason, global health and education that Project Third World strives for, are not the ends that Project Third World ends for, but the means by which Project Third World operates.

So the next time a political organisation presents itself, or a religious organisation presents itself, or an extremist group, or a business, or a charity, or even an individual who comes with an objective or goal, question the means by which they do so, for the soul of all of these entities lies in the means, not in their pursued ends. Will we act through peace, non-violence, compassion and humility, or through violence, apathy, hatred and ego? We have seen the potential of these opposing means throughout history.

Put an end to the ‘means’ that are immoral, irrational, unjust, misleading or set bad examples. Live by the means of the world in which you want to live. It is highly likely that famine, poverty, environmental damage, animal cruelty, human rights, racism, terrorism, war and violence will never see a definitive end unless the means by which we live change and the means by which we act change. The big question to answer: “what is the change that is needed?” To answer this, we may need a new method of thinking. This, brought through health and education, may find new means needed for a better future. ■

PTW


OCT 2015


OCT 2015

It is any parent’s nightmare to send their child to school in the morning and not have them return home at the end of the day. This nightmare became the reality of hundreds of families in north-eastern Pakistan late last year.

On Tuesday the 16th of December 2014, The Army Public School in the city of Peshawar was attacked by the Pakistani Taliban. The violence was carried out by nine gun-wielding militants affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a terrorist group operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan and allied with Al Qaeda.

148 innocent lives were lost. 132 students were killed while another 121 students and three staff members were left wounded [1]. The school’s principal, Tahira Kazi, was also killed in the attack in a horrific display of terror in which

TERROR IN Peshawar

The Context and Consequences of the Peshawar School Massacre

she was set on fire and burned to death.The terror commenced when seven gunmen wearing explosive vests used a ladder to climb over a rear wall surrounding the campus grounds and made their way into the school. After gaining access to the premises, they entered the hall where students were gathered in assembly and began shooting at random from the stage of the auditorium.

The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack and branded it a revenge act for a Pakistani military offensive known as Operation Zarb-e-Azb which targeted the Taliban safe havens in northwest Pakistan in a region known as North Waziristan. This operation was launched six months prior to the Peshawar attack. TTP statements indicated that the attack was intended to target the children of members of the Pakistani army.


OCT 2015

The UN Security Council described the event as a “depraved and savage” terrorist attack against children. “The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed,” a UN statement read.

Following the horrors of December 16, the Pakistani government recognised a three day mourning period and soon commenced their speedy response to the attack. Just days after the occurrence, the federal government led by Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif reintroduced the death penalty for incarcerated terrorists. To do this, the government lifted a ban on executions that had been in place since 2008. According to local news channel ‘ARY News’, the country has executed 163 death row prisoners after lifting of the ban on executions in December 2014.

The act of terror, which has been referred to as ‘Pakistan’s 9/11’ in the press has led to further advances in counter-terrorism initiatives in the region. In January 2015, the National Action Plan against Terrorism was established as part of the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan.

Candlelight Vigil in London for the victims of the Peshawar school siege


OCT 2015

Under the plan, civilian terrorism suspects will be tried in specialised military courts where standards for evidence are lower and sentences cannot be appealed in civilian courts. There will be a complete ban on airing the views of terrorists and terrorist organizations in the print and electronic media and the spreading of hate in the media will be made punishable before the law.

The government also intends to eliminate all sources of funding for terrorist organisations, dismantle terrorist communication networks, diminish their influence on the internet and social media and reduce sectarianism in the region.

This is a significant step for counter-terrorism in Pakistan as it is a unified national response. “It’s the first time that all state institutions are responding to the threat," said Amir Rana, a security analyst involved in consultations with the government over its counter-terrorism policy.

While the National Action Plan has received widespread support since January, the Pakistani military has been accused of playing “a double-game with jihadist organisations as a matter of policy, and that this is the main source of terrorism in-and-from the country” as written in an Indian social science journal Economic and Political Weekly.

“There is still the possibility that Peshawar might be a turning point in this policy of the Pakistani military but only proof of action on the ground will tell us either way,” EPW wrote.


OCT 2015

This horrifying attack unquestionably exposed the necessity for the strengthening of counter-terrorism efforts in the region. The question remains as to what needs to be done to prevent the further losses of innocent lives in the future. ■

Kellie Vella

INDIA

AFGHANISTAN

PAKISTAN

PESHAWARISLAMABAD

357 kmDistance from Peshawar to Afghanistan


OCT 2015

An early Thursday morning attack in April 2015 claimed the lives of 148 innocent people and left 79 people injured. This unfortunate incident took place at Garissa University College in Kenya and shocked the whole country. According to CNN, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta stated that “This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies”.

MorningTerror

Woman is escorted away from the University

after she was found searching for the bodies of

loved ones.

43

OCT 2015

The Garissa University began operating in the early 1990’s as a Teacher Training institute with a current staff of 75 and an expansion plan of 200 in total number by the end of this year. However, this is not certain as the future of the university now seems too bleak to predict. According to BBC news, some students were shot while preparing for exams in their classrooms.

MORNING TERROR44

OCT 2015

Mohamed Mohamud

The horror that the victims suffered cannot be expressed in words, the antagonizing pain and suffering has left a lasting impact on its victims. A survivor of the horrific attack claimed she was lucky to be alive as she escaped through a fence with other students but a few of her friends did not. She stated to CNN that she fled into a nearby field with “bullets following us”. CNN news further stated that the attackers chose who to attack; they were not targeting the Muslim students. The intruders wasted no time in making their way into the hostel where most of the students were still asleep as it was around 5.30am.

The unspeakable event lasted for 4 hours and ended after the 4 attackers were killed.

The man behind considered responsible for the attack, Mohamed Mohamud alias Dulyadin or Gamadhere is wanted by the government on a reward of USD $215,000. He claimed responsibility for the attack in Makka, Kenya which witnessed 28 deaths in November last year.

http://www.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/original_images/Apr2015/kenya39.jpg


Mohamed Mohamud

http://www.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/original_images/Apr2015/kenya39.jpg

Prashneel R. Goundar

The blood-red Kenyan sunrise on Thursday 2nd April has written another chapter in the pages of history. The BBC news reported that the security should have been heightened at the campus as it was found that only 2 guards were on duty when the

incident took place, which is considered much less than the average security need. BBC further stated, the university students had raised concerns last year on security issues of inadequate security personals. Whether this incident occurred as a matter of inadequate

security, pure negligence, an attack fueled by religious motives or a different hidden agenda; such immoral and unjustifiable events point out the treacherous and violent nature of extremist humans, and how important stopping education is to them. ■


OCT 2015

Violence- It’s all around us. Turn on the news and you’ll see a riot in America, you’ll hear how ISIS have attacked another innocent individual, you’ll hear about bullying through violence at schools, and you’ll see how an incident in sport can result in a retaliation with serious implications– all involving violence.

It’s always been said that violence has been used as the last resort to resolve an issue. However, today it seems like violence is the first point-of-call on a disagreement between two parties. It seems people are constantly searching for a quick answer to their problems and unfortunately, violence tends is becoming the ‘quickest’ answer available.

violence...It's a riot.

My specialty isn’t world issues or current affairs, so I’ll stick to what I know, and that is sport; and does violence occur in sport? Of course it does. Okay, hold on a minute; what’s the definition of violence? The Oxford English Dictionary defines violence for one as ‘A behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something’. A sport as simple as boxing or rugby indirectly condones violence through its rules and objectives. Yet in social contexts, we tends to frown upon and associate violence with acts of brutality. We are brought up being taught that violence is bad and it should be avoided where possible. Yet we are encouraged to play contact sports and inflict our strength on opponents. Sport seems slightly contradictory to what we normally associate ‘violence’ with. I personally play football and despite not being physically intimidating (which is hard for me to say), when I lay a tackle I have a clear intent to hurt my opponent. It would be a bit embarrassing if my opponent ever jumped up after a tackle laughing, wouldn’t it? Just to be clear, this has never happened to me, yet.

My beloved Australian Rules Football (AFL) is a fast paced, high impact contact sport. It involves various types of injuries from dislocated shoulders to torn hamstrings. However, the most concerning and most serious injuries are concussions.

VIOLENCE, IT'S A RIOT48

OCT 2015

Former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou told News Limited in 2011: "Because our players are so well-tuned and superb athletes, some [AFL] injuries are resembling car crashes. We can't have that in games”. With the increased numbers and awareness of concussions in AFL, a rule change occurred. The protection of the head by umpires is now enforced greater than ever on the football field. A player who elects to apply a bump in any situation is liable if he makes forceful contact with the head. Often, suspensions of players are due to contact with the head – a strong message from the AFL ensuring that head high contact must be minimized where possible.

The Australian National Rugby League (NRL) recently saw Alex McKinnon land awkwardly on his head during a game against Melbourne Storm in 2014. Fractures to the C4 and C5 vertebrae - are consistent with quadriplegia but specialist Dr Peter Larkins, a former Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) president says the potential for McKinnon to be left a quadriplegic is still up in the air. Life changing incidents like that of McKinnon’s has led many people to now ask “how can this be avoided?”

Sport is an instinctive activity, where decisions are made within moments rather than seconds. Can injury and damage be avoided? Unfortunately no, however; can we put measures in place to ensure the percentage of these incidences are less

common? Yes. Sports Medicine Australia Chief Executive Nello Marino said Alex McKinnon’s devastating case further emphasized how vital it is to improve safety measures in football, including more policing of "lift tackles".

When times are ripe, rules changes often occur to see a more enjoyable game for our spectators. The AFL are constantly changing the rules to make the game ‘faster’ and more ‘intense’, and then are caught out trying to counter-act the problems which arise, such as the increased muscle related injuries which can arise from increased intensity and fatigue. Alex McKinnon’s injury was a wakeup call for all sporting codes to make the rule changing committees realize that safety needs to be a higher priority of their respective games. The AFL’s ‘head high’ contact rule is an example of a rule change and the NRL’s ‘lift tackle’ rule is also a reflection of change. Before all else, safety is a priority.

Alex Mckinnon


OCT 2015

The American National Football League (NFL) has their own problems with head high tackles and high impact injuries. Concussion and its apparent link to neurological damage is one of the biggest issue facing the favorite sport of Americans. However, it’s not always the injury during the career which has the greatest impact on an athlete’s health; rather the injuries in their later years which are beginning to prove an issue.

Studies being conducted are investigating the correlations with high-impact injuries to the skull and medical conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, and correlations with high-impact injuries to the limbs with medical conditions including arthritis and muscular disorders. Often when a player is sidelined through a concussion injury, we as spectators write it off as not a big deal – “he’ll be back next week.” Yet, concussion is a major issue in large sporting codes and can have repercussions occurring years after retirement. Eliminating potential for head injuries is a focal point for Sports Doctors and Rules Committees within sport.

Violence in sport has a lot to do with the athlete and their mindset, much like violence itself. It’s fair to say that athletes who reach the highest level in their respective sports are competitive, driven and somewhat aggressive, however; do these characteristics translate to life outside the sporting field too? We occasionally flick on the news and hear sad stories about how athletes have violent issues off-field. Do we hear more about it because they are role models? Or is it that sportsmen have a tendency to take their aggressiveness to areas where they shouldn’t?


OCT 2015

An American College Footballer was noted for stating that he felt he was “much more aggressive than the average person”, which a fitness coach believes played a large role in his success at sport.

America’s Bureau of Justice and Statistics was analysed to find of all the reasons any NFL player was arrested in 2014, 55.4% were domestic-violence related. This is not to say that all who are arrested are found to be guilty, as even football (soccer) goalkeeper Hope Solo, who represented America in the recent Women’s World Cup, was arrested for Domestic Violence but never charged; but the fact that initial arrests are even being made for domestic-violence related incidences is concerning. The correlations between violence and sport might not end with just the players; as some studies are being investigated for the correlation between supporters of sports and domestic violence occurrences too.

A high profile example of a professional athlete in domestic violence is Floyd Mayweather. While dominating the world of boxing for over 20 years, Mayweather hasn’t been short of controversy when it comes to his domestic violence charges. Mayweather pleaded guilty to domestic battery in a deal that spared him felony charges. He served two months of a three-month sentence. Police wrote in their incident report that Mayweather threatened violence on his sons if they called the police, and also threatened to kill and pour acid on his female partner.

OCT 2015

How about other sports that would be considered ‘violent’? The range of martial arts including popular forms such as ninjutsu, jiu jitsu, taekwondo and Kung Fu, originating in Japan, India, South Korea and China respectively hundreds of years ago, are all based on hand-to-hand combat. Yet a study reviewing 27 journals within the past 15 years found no conclusive evidence or statistically relevant correlations for individuals engaging with various martial arts forms and a higher prevalence of social or domestic violence.

This review did not include the adapted sport of MMA, becoming more popular for its commercial ‘cage fighting’ style competitions, professionalised by the organisation UFC. The sport is perhaps the most controversial professional sport today for its high levels of violence and tendency to draw blood from opponents and inflict severe and brutal injuries to opponents. The British Medical Journal in 2006 published a 10 year review of MMA competitions which found that out of 642 matches, 182 were stopped because of head impact, 106 because of musculoskeletal stress, 91 for neck chokes, 83 for miscellaneous trauma and only 173 because of expiration of match time. 7 were stopped because of disqualifications.

The study concluded that further research and development is warranted to delineate the morbidity associated with participation in mixed martial arts. The sport is also being investigated for its psychological impact outside the ring or octagon with some psychologists

believing that the sport has strong correlations with occurrences of social and domestic violence.

Why might there be such a big difference in studies from different sports? For one, it might be the teachings and the attitudes of the different sporting codes and the different sporting competitions. For instance, the Jiu Jitsu international Federation states that it teaches the principles of commitment and to serve the traditions of honour, selflessness and contribution to the development of the Art of Jiu Jitsu and of the wellbeing of others. Many Martial Arts aim to teach their students self-defence, rather than confrontation, and to disarm opponents, rather than attack opponents.

Many state that they teach discipline and control, both mentally and physically and teach pupils to always avoid confrontation or fights, such as Taekwondo and Ninjutsu, and practice is often done under controlled environments with significant protection to the individuals participating. This is a significant contrast to sports including boxing and MMA, where many professional athletes will have little-to-no protection at all, and inflicting damage to your opponent is an advantage in winning a fight. It is highly plausible that the mentality and the mid-set, along with the practice and the education within the sports of the athletes will play a significant role in whether the individual is prone to acts of violence in and out of the sporting arena.


OCT 2015

Is there a direct correlation with sports and violence at home or in society? Well, many other factors go into domestic violence other than just the profession of the athlete alone. Are the two correlated? Perhaps- and many studies are looking into this plausible correlation. It could be that the urge to violence within the individual also leads that individual to choose a career which executes that urge. Should it be reviewed and taken seriously? Most certainly, especially when it affects the health and wellbeing for individuals on the field and off the field in society. ■

Jay Himat

Racial Violence | Cultural Violence | Gender Violence Domestic Violence | Gang Violence | Physical Violence

Psychological Violence | War | Terrorism |

All violence consists in some people forcing

others, under threat of suffering or death,

to do what they do not want to do. - Leo Tolstoy

I object to violence because when it

appears to do good, the good is only

temporary; the evil it does is permanent. Mahatma Gandhi

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OCT 2015

Why are people violent? A brief overview on the psychology behind violence, with a look at Honour Killings of Women in Pakistan and Psychopaths.

Violence is constantly under scrutiny and most of us have asked ourselves “how can someone do such a thing?” Although violence itself is observable and relatively easy to question, recognize and identify, to understand the processes behind violent behaviour is complex and multifaceted.

The Psychology of

VIOLENCE


OCT 2015

Violence lives in us as a potential tendency, with the decision of not being violent attributed to acts of good, and violence generally being attributed to acts of “evil”. It can be considered as a cultivated and/or learned behaviour as a result of deeper cognitive processes related to who we are, shaped by life experience and personality. It is looked upon as a destructive human behaviour (Davidson, Putnam & Larson, 2000) which stimulates investigation from both a social and biological viewpoints, and has many foundations in behavioural, cognitive, social and humanist theories of psychology. The way that violence is cultivated in a person or group can lead to the various different types of violence that exists in our world.

In this article we will apply knowledge and research on the psychology of violence and apply them to cases such as Honour Killings and Psychopaths. We also look at the relationship of aggression and emotion with violence and eventually hope to form some understanding of just how and why people are so violent, and why it exists in our world in our world today.

What is Violence? According to the American Psychological Association (2015), violence is an extreme form of aggression such as assault, rape or murder which is caused

by elements such as frustration, exposure to violent media, violence in the home/neighbourhood and tendency to see other people’s actions as hostile even when they are not. Aggression is defined as a hostile injurious or destructive behaviour often caused by frustration (Seiver, 2008). According to Anderson and Huesmann (2003) all violence is aggression, but much aggression is not violence.

Human aggression is more specifically is defined as behaviour directed toward another individual carried out with the proximate intent to cause harm, with violence being a form of physical aggression at the high end of the aggression spectrum (Anderson & Huesmann, 2003).

The different types of aggression include affective (emotionally impulsive and thoughtless), instrumental (premediated means of obtaining a goal other than harming someone) impulsive (thoughtless and reactive), premeditated (thoughtful, deliberate and instrumental proactive aggression, occurring without provocation with little or no affect) and reactive (response to prior provocation and usually accompanied by anger (Anderson & Huesmann, 2003.) We may not all be violent, we can all get aggressive.

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OCT 2015

Aggression and Management

Not all aggression can be detrimental and result in acts of violence, it is how we cultivate the aggression that determines how it is expressed.

Anger is often hear of and known to prompt aggression or aggressive behaviours . The emotion of anger might come to mind for most of you when you think about aggression, yet anger, like any other emotion, is neither good nor bad. If you harness your anger and use it as fuel to assist your performances in sport, creative art or other positive activities it can be beneficial for you and for society. When anger becomes aggression and then proceeds to violence, then there is clearly something wrong in the decision making processes on what to do with that aggression fuel. This is supported by the evidence above that usually those who are violent are unable to make these kinds of progressive decisions and instead resort to violence.

Maternal aggression studies suggested that anxiety and fear help mothers more aggressively face intruders that might harm their offspring (Society for Neuroscience, 2007). In some ways, threats to what is important to us lead us to become more aggressive, for we feel the need to protect what we have or value. This is

how violent behaviour comes to be like a “restorative” measure, a way for people to regain or gain control of something which may be lost. To restore something through violence can be instrumental or reactive, depending on how the violence is bred /cultivated within a person. Love, happiness, joy, sadness, anger etc. all play a role in determining our behaviour, and their importance with violence lies in their ability to help suppress hostility or be used productively.

To minimise violence we must control aggression, and we do this by controlling our emotions. Some effective ways of doing this is meditation, yoga or practicing one’s religion which usually brings a mind back into emotional balance.


OCT 2015

Causes of aggression

Causes of aggression which lead to violence can be summarized as personlogical factors (attitudes, beliefs and behavioural tendencies) and situational factors (features of the present situation that increase or inhibit aggression such as an insult, uncomfortable temperature, presence of a weapon, or presence of one’s religious leader), which both are present together in most situations.

We cannot however just say that every act of violence is due to aggression itself. Media, extreme social environments (poverty, living near a violent neighbour, exposure to media, bad parenting etc), low arousal ,social stress, alcohol, drugs bad moods and pain or discomfort (to name a few) all contribute to violent behaviour (Anderson & Huesman, 2003) and intensify its relationship with aggression. Developing strategies to harness aggression and use it positively is one way we can prevent some cases of violence occurring or violent behaviour from developing.


OCT 2015

Types of ViolenceMore simply, violent acts have been summarized in recent literature as either instrumental or reactive with Instrumental violence understood as means to attain a goal, and reactive violence as a response to a perceived threat or provocation (Walsh, Swogger & Kosson, 2009) .

Why is the distinction between reactive and instrumental violence important? One reason identified in research is it helps within criminal profiling and deciding whether someone needs to be locked away or aided psychologically, and also helps identify situations in which individuals or groups can become more violent (Walsh et. al 2009). We are better able to assess violence and better equipped to manage it in our world, however as mentioned this is not an easy task and most likely the reason we have “well-reasoned” global violence still occurring and an issue of ethical debate. Arguably reactive violence can be viewed as goal oriented in terms of

wanting to achieve a feeling of safety, security or other kind of emotional or internal goal , and instrumental violence can lead to a general reactive behaviour of violence such as in warfare , where soldiers do not go into much cognitive detail about who or why they are killing or torturing any particular group or individual from the opposition, or like how a gamer shoots a computerized version of an enemy- the distinction is important. These are cases where the terms can overlap, which tells us that violent behaviour comes from integrating processes inside the mind depending on how one experiences or understands violence. This is a key point I would like to highlight in this article, violence has different meanings and understandings for different people which is very much dependent on the kind of exposure, interaction and intentions behind violence they are faced with.


OCT 2015

Honour Killings in Pakistan

It is one thing when violence and aggression is used in circumstances to survive or in self-defence, but when the social and environmental conditions lead violence to become an integrated part of lifestyle for cultures and communities as instrumental means of obtaining social order we have a dangerous and consequential breach of human rights and ethics.

One example of this scenario is illustrated in the Honour Killings of Women in countries such as Pakistan who share a high prevalence of this practice. Honour killings are known to be acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought dishonour upon the family”

(Hussain,2006). It is not the only country which experiences honour killings, nor does the entire country commit or support honour killings, though Pakistan has the highest number of honour killings in the world (Knudsen, 2004) with the majority of victims known to be girls and women, which is why although mainly conducted by men (Dyer, 2015). These incidences usually occur in the underdeveloped and impoverished towns or villages in Pakistan, which is supported by our research that extreme environments contribute to violence.

The two main factors contributing to honour killings of women are the commodification of women and perceptions of honour. In Pakistan, the role of honour is considered a multidimensional term of familial respect (izzat) and social prestige (ghairat) and due to it being bestowed socially, it is an ethereal quality which can be both lost and regained (Knudsen, 2004).


OCT 2015

Adultery, romance and even flirting can compromise honour and female chastity to become a reason for violence or killing her. Women have been socialised into carrying the burden of sexual violations and honour for both females and males, and aggression has been fostered through the population’s perception. These held beliefs are the personological factors which contribute to violence.

Failure for women to comply with their responsibilities, or even suspicion of sexual deviancy which is unfounded is considered enough to justify punishing a woman (Meetoo & Mirza, 2007). Killing the woman removes the offensive act, redeems family honour and resurrects its prestige. Honour also applies to the man, however a man can remove his dishonour by paying a demand fee (Knudsen, 2004) so the violence is greatly associated with the female.

Following on from Anderson’s and Huesmann’s (2003) review on types of aggression is made to be affective because of it becoming a collective ideology and norm, instrumental as socialising women to be associated with family honour, premeditated as sons, fathers or mothers who carry out the killing usually plan to do so, and reactive as a result of the provocation and anger felt towards losing honour. The instrumental aspect of violence here is the killing

of women in the name of regaining honour and to remove pain and discomfort of shame, however is also reactive because a woman poses a threat to a family’s honour. This is an example where aggression, instead of being controlled or suppressed, is targeted towards women and used to cultivate violence for instrumental purpose of political matters.

Honour Killings of women in Pakistan reflect a violent situation of how personological, situational and contributors work in shaping the understanding of violence as a societal norm and thus contributing to the prevalence of violence in the world. It is also evident how violence and power control share a link with each other and characterize much of the other global issues of ethics and inequality.

Neaurolgyof ViolenceIt is beneficial to look into the way the brain is wired in those who are violent to get an idea of what could lead someone to behave violently by identifying which areas of the brain are related to violent behaviour. Chemical imbalances and abnormalities in the neural structures


OCT 2015

of the brain have been found related to aggression and are thus in part responsible and predictive of violent behaviour. These abnormalities and imbalances occur mainly at the pre-frontal cortex (frontal lobe), the region of the brain which controls personality, decision making and social behaviour, also linked back to evolutionary ideologies of desire for personal advantage, social power and dominance ( Elbert, Weierstall & Schauer, 1997).

Psychological studies have shown that damages in the prefrontal cortex can result in violent behaviour, and have more specifically attributed to damages of regions which are responsible for making moral judgements. These areas are situated not only in the pre-frontal cortex but the amygdala too (Society for Neuroscience, 2007).

The Amygdala is the part of the brain which is crucial for learning to associate stimuli with punishments and reward , as well as being activated when there is threat (which is why facial signs of fear are impaired when this region of the brain is damaged) (Davidson, et. al 2006). Accidents which involve brain injury or acts of violence themselves can therefore contribute to the prevalence of violence and violent behaviour in individuals. Violence can come about not only from emotion, aggression or environments, but

through unfortunate circumstances of injury or accidents. This is another problem we face in trying to reduce violence.

Furthermore, if moral judgement can be clouded in violent individuals and moral understanding cab be reconstructed, violence can become a rational means of fulfilling a purpose for many people. This is especially dangerous in situations like collective violence, such as terrorism and genocide, those that involve conflicts between nations and groups (World Health Organization, 2015) which receive high levels of political and public attention, but leave a large number of people questioning how such violent acts can be carried out. Because we are social creatures, and our decisions, personality and emotional ranges vary, it should come as no surprise that different levels of activation or impairment in these brain regions could be present in those who conduct or carry out ware fare or global scale violence.

More so, emotional dysfunction is linked to violent behaviour which can help explain why it can be hard to supress or control aggression and violent behaviour. Emotion is normally regulated in the human brain by a complex circuit which consists of the orbital frontal cortex, amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and other connected regions.

PSYCH OF VIOLENCE62

OCT 2015

As we saw before, emotions like anger can be regulated and used productively, however impairments in this circuit and its proximity with moral decision making and overall judgment factors mean damage to this circuit can cause violent behaviour. This deficiency is mainly related to an increased chance of impulsive violence or aggression (Davidson et. al, 2000).

Environmental contributions can affect the structure and function of this circuitry (Davidson, et.al 2006) which can help explain how people in different situations and families, such as those in environments where honour killings are conducted, can come to have emotional variances and levels of emotional tolerance in relation to violence.

This is another indicator of how individuals and greater societies become very used to violence as a lifestyle. In addition to this point up, Davidson et.al (2000) writes that this circuit responsible for emotional regulation is dramatically shaped by early social influences. Research has demonstrated that the relationship between violence experienced in childhood leads to an increased likelihood of that child growing into an adult of delinquency, criminality and violent behaviour (Widom, 1993).

Imagine the children who grow up in the environment of Honour Killings- they grow up and are shaped by their knowledge of violence to be dissociated from killing women and have an obscured view of violence in general. This is also how violence spreads- these children grow to be adults who foster this violence along for generations. If it is not social environments or cognitive injury encouraging violence in children, its other kinds of exposure like Games or Violent film in which these emotions or normal cognitive process are somewhat muted or interfered with or impaired.

A prime example of executors of violence, or a personality of violence and emotional, neurobiological and circumstantial influences are Psychopaths, the violent personality.


OCT 2015

Psychopaths the cold blooded killersWe are often intrigued by the thinking patterns and cognition of Psychopaths, as their thinking patterns seem to be so far from “normal” in order for them to commit “cold blooded crime.”

Psychopaths quite “scary” or “disturbing” to a general population is the premeditation and intention to cause harm which we associate with them which often comes about as a result of an “abnormal personality,” and therefore cases of abnormal or “creative” executions of violence. Normal individuals can voluntarily regulate their negative affect (emotions or aggression in this case) and can also profit from restraint-producing cues in their environment (Davidson, Putnam & Larson 2000), however psychopaths involuntary play servant to their irregularly functioning internal neural networks.

Their relationship with violence is well recognized (Walsh et. al 2009) and as the neuroscientific implications can support. Studies have shown that Psychopaths are linked to instrumental violence (Walsh et. al 2009) with homicides committed by Psychopathic offenders were found to be correlated with instrumental violence more so than homicides committed by non-psychopathic offenders (Woodworth & Porter, 2002). This suggests that violence is being used instrumentally by Psychopaths to obtain a goal- and this goal is known to be murder or killing, an extreme act of violence in itself.

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OCT 2015

Investigation by Pitchford (2001) support that models of and acts of violence need realise the possibility that a large proportion of such acts are committed by individuals whose psychology is very different to that of the general population. Not everyone may be a psychopath, but psychopathic tendencies or personalities could most likely be identified in those who are of participate or execute violence.

Rule-breaking behaviour has been found common to people with psychopathic tendencies as a result of the damage in this neural circuitry of the brain (Society For Neurosceince, 2007). This is how Psychopaths come to be considered as “cold blooded” associated with them being “cold-hearted “, they are impaired within the empathetic and emotive nature and literally are.

Hypoemotionality (reduced emotional response) , another trait associated with psychopaths, has been thought to predispose them to violence, because it prevents them from experiencing emotions that naturally inhibit the execution of violent impulses (Herpertz, Werth, Lukas ,Qunaibi, Schuerken & Kunert, 2001). This demonstrates that despite psychopaths being able to outwardly express characters which are charming, kind, friendly etc. which we associate with low levels of aggression and high levels of kindness, it does not necessarily come from emotion, and if it did, this emotion is supressed or inhibited in a way that makes them desensitized to violence.

Psychopaths are known to being experts at impression management (Pitchford, 2001)

which is said to result from a cognitive impairments we looked at which interfere with decision making, judgement and morality, in combination with the low emotional and empathetic arousal that psychopaths experience. I would go further and say that their ability to manipulate emotional expression is a result of their muted or disturbed emotional circuit- for emotions don’t get in the way of their expression as much as they do with people in general. For example, when we are sad we might find it harder to hide it than a psychopath would.

With the information we have gathered on cognitive impairment, psychopath appear as characters who reflect an inability to recognise their behaviour in terms of rewarding or punishing, have troubles with identifying fear in others, have impairment in moral decision making and can come across as normal whilst having the “sick mind” generally associated with them.

Dr Thomas CreamTried as 'Jack the Ripper'

OCT 2015

Oskar Dirlewanger

Robert Stroud

Ted Bundy

Cart Stayner

Geoffrey Dummer

Ottis Toole


OCT 2015

They make an immoral decision of violence because they literally may not see it as “immoral,” or have no concept of morality to even think about violence in those terms like most of us do. Violence means something else to them, and what they are left with is a tool to exercise power. Seeing as psychopaths are associated with grandiosity (over the top or lavish behaviour and an inflated view of themselves), it is no wonder why their power – control is executed through violence.

Grandiosity itself is known to reduce fear of being apprehended and facing consequences which is what desensitises them to violence of all sorts of kinds (Walsh et. al 2000). Grandiose and manipulative behaviour are thought to contribute to instrumental violence in a psychopath due to is link with reduced fear of being apprehended and facing consequences (Walsh e. al 2001). This further adds to why a psychopath would think that violence is reasonable means of attaining goals or pleasure (Walsh et. al 2000).

In addition to how psychopaths come to be so violent, previous studies have indicated that threat to ego (associated with high self-esteem) is related to increased violent behaviour, with the higher (and especially the more inflated) the self-esteem, the greater the vulnerability to ego threats. (Baumeister et. al, 1996). Grandiosity is an exaggerated form of ego , so violence for a psychopath may be a natural fulfilment of their personality as a constant verification of

their ego- a small cycle of violence within the mind of a psychopath. This quote effectively summarizes the description of a psychopath’s state of mind.

The [psychopath] is unfamiliar with the primary facts or data of what might be called personal values and is altogether incapable of understanding such matters. It is impossible for him to take even a slight interest in the tragedy or joy or the striving of humanity as presented in serious literature or art. He is also indifferent to all these matters in life itself. Beauty and ugliness, except in a very superficial sense, goodness, evil, love, horror, and humour have no actual meaning, no power to move him. He is, furthermore, lacking in the ability to see that others are moved. It is as though he were colour-blind, despite his sharp intelligence, to this aspect of human existence. It cannot be explained to him because there is nothing in his orbit of awareness that can bridge the gap with comparison. He can repeat the words and say glibly that he understands, and there is no way for him to realize that he does not understand (Cleckley, 1941, p. 90 quoted in Hare, 1993, pp. 27-28).

Evidently a psychopath’s mentality is impaired to the point where violence is given a new meaning to them. Rather than viewing a psychopath as someone who understands what violence is yet does it anyway , a psychopath is someone who is disordered in cognitive view of violence as a result of impaired cognitive functioning, which can also be induced by any of the other factors we learned could facilitate violence such as environment.


OCT 2015

WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE?Violence represents a deviation from a balanced normal and healthy individual in various degrees. It also represents a great act of injustice which unfortunately shapes much of our reality. This article has shown how violence has been normalised in certain cases in a way that makes our world a violent place to live through internal regulation of the mind and social regulation of environment , culture and societies. To minimise violence is a challenge due to the many intertwining facets which weaves its pandemic web. ■

Esma Voloder


OCT 2015

Ebola Just another virus?

Since the recent outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa in the previous year, this virus has been responsible for thousands of deaths in that region; so should we all panic? There was initially much media attention devoted to the outbreak; in some cases causing hysteria around the world, but is it warranted? To understand this, we must delve deeper into what this virus is, how it works, what can be done to stop the virus, and whether it lives up to the fear it has gained over the last year. In other words is it the most pressing matter the world faces at the moment, in particular Wester Africa?

OCT 2015

Throughout history there has always been a constant battle between rapidly evolving pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, and us humans. Given viral biology, there is a high probability that viruses were present on this world well before humans, maybe even in the beginning, during the conception of this world. Perhaps viruses killed dinosaurs too. For this reason it is fair to say that humans and viruses have coexisted since the earliest Homo sapiens walked this earth.

Virus in general viruses are small infectious agents, smaller even when compared to the likes of bacteria, and just like every other virus it relies on the host to survive and replicate. They can, and will, invade living cells that make up tissues of organisms in order to do so. In saying that, viruses are generally specific to the type/s of organisms and cells they infect. For example, common cold viruses normally infect cells of the upper respiratory tract and the HIV virus infects cells of the immune system, which makes it impossible for a person’s immune system to fight the virus alone without any pharmacological assistance.

Once they invade their specific targets they use the machinery inside the cells to replicate and produce more copies of themselves. Once the virus has replicated into many copies of itself, it then releases from the infected cell in order to go and infect more of the surrounding cells, generally destroying the host cell during this process. However, this is not always the case as with the Herpes Simplex Virus which lays dormant until an opportunity presents itself; at an instance being when the host’s immune system is depressed. The immune system through different mechanisms tries to combat the viral

infection, regardless of the type of virus- the most notable defence mechanisms being white blood cells. Our immune system is often victorious, which is why we are able to survive or remain unaffected by many infections, but this is not always the case; as mentioned prior, some viruses target our immune cells, and others can lay dormant waiting for an opportunistic time to attack and therefore initially avoid detection from our immune cells.

At the present there are countless numbers of viruses out there in the environment, not even our best and most renowned scientists can dream of identifying all of the viruses that are out there. Viruses are often thought of as infectious agents, which to the most part is true. However, the relationship we have with viruses could even been seen as a mutually beneficial relationship to some extent, as believe it or not, there are some viruses out there that target bacteria too, known as bacteriophages.

In terms of their infectious properties, there are some viruses that can cause minor ailments, such as viruses that cause the symptoms associated with the common cold. Some are slightly more debilitating, such as the seasonal influenza virus, however; provided an individual has a competent immune system, that individual should eventually overcome the infection. Then there are viruses that prior to vaccinations claimed the lives of many people around the world, an example being small pox, where the World Health Organisation estimates that small pox was responsible for 300-500 million deaths in the 20th century, making it the single most greatest “mass-murderer” in human history; this number being drastically reduced with the introduction of vaccines.

EBOLA70

OCT 2015

On that note, what is Ebola? Ebola is a virus. The Ebola virus itself tends to favour skin cells, (formally known as epithelial cells), immune cells and liver cells. Epithelial cells are not only found on the outside of your body, but make the lining of other components of our biology- an example being blood vessels. What the Ebola virus does is damage these cells, and when these cells are destroyed the chances of bleeding increases, as there are more gaps through which the blood can escape into the surrounding environment. What compounds the issue of profused bleeding is that the Ebola virus

also targets the liver, which is implicated in the synthesis of proteins involved in the blood clotting process, and finally, by suppressing immune cells it allows itself to continue on this destructive path. The overall result is profuse internal and external bleeding, which accounts for a majority of deaths caused by the virus. After 2-21 days (with an average of 8 to 10 days) after initial contact with the Ebola virus, an individual will start to develop symptoms such as: fever fatigue, muscle pain, and a sore throat, which is similar for most viral infections, therefore these symptoms are not a definite sign of a person being infected with Ebola. This period also provides the best opportunity to monitor an individual suspected of contracting the virus and if need be provide supportive treatment, which is the only treatment available at the moment; it is also the period when a patient is most contagious. The internal and external bleeding occurs sometime after these initial symptoms, with oozing of blood from the gums and the anus being the first signs of bleeding-out.

The question still looms: how did the Ebola virus start to infect humans in the first place? It is thought that some animals tend to be natural reservoirs for the virus, and what this means is that the hosts that harbor the Ebola virus do so in a manner where they are not negatively affected. This is similar to how we have bacteria lining our stomachs, also referred to as our natural gut flora, which for the most part do not cause any infections.

CDC worker incinerates medical waste from Ebola patients in Zaire in 1976.


OCT 2015

Some of the animals that are thought to harbor the virus include: fruit bats, monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas. The former two tend to be sold at open markets for public consumption in West African countries; in some cases even consumed raw, which increases the probability of the virus mutating in a manner enabling it to infect the consumer. From then on in it can spread from human to human through direct contact with infected body fluids, meaning that a handshake or a hug does not spread the virus, provided that there is no exchanging of body fluids. The virus is not spread through airborne contact, however, it can be spread through direct contact with surfaces and

materials such as bedding and clothing contaminated with infected fluids. This also includes the likes of people contracting the virus through contact with deceased individuals as the virus may still be present in the deceased individual’s body.

So in saying all the above, what do the numbers suggest? Data collated by the World Health Organisation on the 1st of July 2015 suggests that there have been 27,479 cases (including: suspected, probable and confirmed) of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (all in Western Africa). Of these 27, 479 cases, the total causality count is estimated to be 11, 217 with the mortality rate roughly equating to 41%.

EBOLA72

OCT 2015

This means that of the people that have been infected by the Ebola virus, 41 % of them have died due to the complications that manifest after contracting this virus. Conversely, another way of looking at this figure is that 59 % of people who contract the virus survive. Though this may seem quite grim from afar, there are a number of facts that should be pointed-out. Firstly, starting with the treatment.

At the present moment treatment is based on supporting the infected individual, through the replenishment of fluids, electrolytes, and clotting proteins. In other words there is no cure or medicines that can really help combat the Ebola virus. The best thing that can be done at the moment is centered on prevention and control more than anything else, which includes:

• Reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission through minimising the consumption and trade of raw meat. Animals and animal products should be handled with gloves and other appropriate protective clothing.

• Reducing the risk of human-to-human transmission from direct or close contact with people with Ebola symptoms, particularly minimising contact with their bodily fluids. Regular hand washing is required after visiting patients in hospital, as well as after taking care of patients at home.

• Outbreak containment measures, including prompt and safe burial of the dead, identifying people who may have been in contact with someone infected with Ebola and monitoring their health for 21 days,

• Separating the healthy from the sick to prevent further spread,

• Good hygiene and maintaining a clean environment.

• Reducing the risk of possible sexual transmission, because the risk of sexual transmission cannot be ruled out, men and women who have recovered from Ebola should abstain from all forms of sex for at least three months after onset of symptoms. If sexual abstinence is not possible, male or female condom use is recommended.


OCT 2015

These countries located in Western Africa are underdeveloped countries with very little access to primary health care professionals; therefore these supportive treatments are not readily accessible despite global involvement and support. Additionally, attrition in these countries is another major issue, alongside almost non-existent public health measures (to help prevent the spread of the virus). Implementing all these factors to reduce the spread of the virus would contribute significantly to the reduction of infection and mortality rates associated with this virus.

Another contributing factor is the lack of public education in these areas in regards to the Ebola virus and around the world in general. What may also be contributing to the mortality rates is the presence of other infections, such as HIV. The World Health Organisation predicts that 2.1 million individuals were newly infected with HIV in the year of 2013, with the disease being more prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. So if an individual already has this infection, chances are their immune system is already deficient, therefore increasing the likelihood of these individuals contracting and dying from the Ebola infection.

Another aspect that should also be mentioned is that this is not the first Ebola outbreak to occur; there had been two simultaneous outbreaks previously in 1976. One in Nzara, Sudan, and the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name. What this means is that the virus can be controlled through measures mentioned previously to the point where perhaps it could be eradicated and this is certainly the goal going into the future.


OCT 2015

The above figures were obtained from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and shows the following trend in Ebola cases in different countries of Wester Africa. It should be mentioned that on the x-axis we have months and the y-axis we have the total number of deaths due to the Ebola virus. Initially it showcases the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the month of March in the year 2014, peaking around December that same year. Since the start of 2015 the numbers of cases seems to be steadying a welcoming trend.

As the above graph showcases, the number of reported deaths due to Ebola are plateauing across the three West African countries. Hopefully this number will continue to decrease until no deaths are reported due to Ebola. This is certainly something that can be attained, already there is an abundance of international support, with vaccines already undergoing clinical testing, and you can learn about vaccinations and their effectiveness in our previous edition of PTW magazine.

With addressing the other issues above, such as improving education, and access to primary health care, the number of deaths due to Ebola will surely decrease and hopefully, will eventually reach and stay at zero.


OCT 2015

In conclusion, Ebola is a virus, a virus that can be combated and controlled if the issues in this article are addressed. It is only a matter of time before this day comes to the front, but it will take a global effort and cooperation between the health-care facilities, resources and research and development from all over the globe. Whilst this deadly disease is affecting those in underdeveloped countries, the developed and developing countries of the world can play a strong part through health and education to combat this disease and give hope to the people in West Africa. ■

Daniel Kocoski


OCT 2015

There are many reasons for why people choose to be vegetarian. While the choice may be cultural or religious for some, for others it may be for ecological reasons or more commonly now for health reasons. The vegetarian food-style has been called "a healthier way to eat" for several reasons including decrease in incidence of chronic diseases.

However, it is important to consider that much of the reason why vegetarians are considered, on average, to be healthier than the general population is that they are more invested in living a healthy lifestyle therefore on average they smoke and drink less with a higher level of physical activity.

Do you think a vegetarian diet is for you? Which one is right for you?


OCT 2015

The Vegetarian Society defines a vegetarian as: "Someone who lives on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with, or without, the use of dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish* or by-products of slaughter." These are the true vegetarians that avoid all foods of animal origin however nowadays there are many different categories of vegetarians and ‘semi-vegetarians’

Starting from the most restrictive and working our way down, the types of vegetarian are as follows:

• Vegan: Vegans do not consume any animal products or by-products; so vegans of course do not consume red or white meat, fish or fowl. They also do not consume eggs or dairy. Vegans do not use honey or beeswax, gelatin and any other animal by-product ingredients or products. Vegans typically do not use animal products such as silk, leather and wool, as well.

• Lacto Vegetarian: Lacto-vegetarians do not eat red or white meat, fish, fowl or eggs. However, lacto-vegetarians do consume dairy products such as cheese, milk and yogurt.

• Ovo Vegetarian: Ovo-vegetarians do not eat red or white meat, fish, fowl or dairy products. However, ovo-vegetarians do consume egg products.

• Lacto-ovo vegetarian: Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not consume red meat, white meat, fish or fowl. However, lacto-ovo vegetarians do consume dairy products and egg products. This is the most common type of vegetarian.

• Pollotarian: Much like the Pescatarian, this “semi-vegetarian” diet restricts meat consumption to poultry and fowl only. Pollotarians do not consume red meat or fish and seafood

• Pescatarian: While technically not a type of vegetarian, these individuals do restrict their meat consumption to fish and seafood only. Pescatarians do not consume red meat, white meat or fowl. This is considered a “semi-vegetarian” diet.

• Flexitarian – A plant-based diet with the occasional meat item on the menu. These folks do their best to limit meat intake as much as possible and they have an almost entirely plant-based diet. This is also a “semi-vegetarian” diet.


OCT 2015

As we can see there are many different options when it comes to choosing a vegetarian diet. If you are trying to decide on a vegetarian diet, try ease into it and start at the bottom of the list with the least restrictive type ‘Flexitarian’ and then gradually reduce meat over time and move your way up the list until you are at a type which suits your lifestyle and preferences. Most of these options are healthier than a typical Australian diet so take your time and explore the different possibilities before making your decision as you want it to be a “healthy lifestyle change” that suits your body and not a “diet fad”. ■

Sonia Kauhra


OCT 2015

Hello....Is it me you are looking for?

OCT 2015

My name is Alex and I am from Brazil. I study Mechanical Engineering focused on petroleum. I have done volunteering activities in India and Brazil.

I became involved with philanthropy when I was 17 years old. Even though, Brazil is a developing country there are still a lot of poor areas and people living in extreme circumstances who need help. I had never been in contact with this big part of our society in Brazil, however; there was a point in my life in which I grouped some friends together and we decided to help as much as we could. So, we started volunteering as Professors in a Girls Orphanage and School in the city we lived and studied in.

Volunteering

PROJECT THIRD WORLD 81Volunteering

We were responsible to take care of two classes, one with girls aged three-to-five years old, and another class with girls aged six-to-eleven years old. While two friends took care of the class with the oldest girls, two of my friends, Stefany and Tatiana, and I took care of the class with younger ones.

On our first week we didn’t know what to expect since the environment was quite different for all of us. Teaching was outlandish, but still organized because the children didn’t trust us and they kept seated and quiet all the time. Soon we lifted their confidence, and we could start educational classes to specifically help them with their biggest difficulties and weaknesses.

VOLUNTEERING82

OCT 2015

We were responsible to take care of two classes, one with girls aged three-to-five years old, and another class with girls aged six-to-eleven years old. While two friends took care of the class with the old-est girls, two of my friends, Stefany and Tatiana, and I took care of the class with younger ones.

On our first week we didn’t know what to expect since the environment was quite different for all of us. Teaching was out-landish, but still organized because the children didn’t trust us and they kept seated and quiet all the time. Soon we lifted their confidence, and we could start educational classes to specifically help them with their biggest difficulties and weaknesses.

We discovered that many kids lived in an inappropriate environment, which justi-fied some behaviours such as occasionally using unsuitable and unacceptable words. We started working on their discipline, giving them classwork to do and, at the end of the class, we established a time to have fun and play around with them. Aside of that, there was a differently-abled child in our class who was 5 years old that time. Tati, who is finishing today her bachelor degree in Occupational Thera-py, took the main responsibility of taking care of this child.

At the beginning, it was tough, since their surroundings almost forced them to be undisciplined. We strived to change that by teaching them discipline, togeth-er with good manners. When we started, we did not know if our style of teaching would work, but we were applying a long term solution, which we believed will be long lasting. We gave the class assign-ments at the beginning of the day, such as puzzles, drawing a story or even do a little act of a story.

Finally, our last month of teaching had come. The difference was substantial. Everyone could see how better the kids were, as much as we could realise how much better we were after that experi-ence. All the class became really close to us and besides that they were having fun while learning new subjects. We achieved our goal with the class.

I realized that the world can change for the better, if there are people willing to help as much as they can. That is why I joined Project Third World, because they are thinking in ways to implement long term solutions that can change the future in places that do not receive any help or any kind of acknowledgment. ■

PROJECT THIRD WORLD 83Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) in Rio de Janeiro


OCT 2015

Usama

HASANDr Usama Hasan is Senior Researcher at Quilliam and was a founding advisor to the organisation in 2008. As a teenager Usama became a radical salafi activist and, whilst still a Cambridge undergraduate, briefly took part (1990-1) in the ‘Jihad’ against Communist forces in Afghanistan. However following the 7/7 bombings in London, Usama took it upon himself to start campaigning against extremism and for religious reform within Muslim circles. Quilliam is the world’s first counter-extremism think tank set up to address the unique challenges of citizenship, identity, and belonging in a globalised world. Quilliam stands for religious freedom, equality, human rights and democracy. As Quilliam Senior Researcher, Dr Usama engages in ongoing reform, outreach and media work. He aims to address key questions on gender rights, minority rights, personal freedoms, penal codes; seeking to harmonise tradition and reason, faith and science, and developing the Sharia in keeping with the original Prophetic spirit of mercy, and away from rigid ritualism. Before joining Quilliam, Dr Usama was a Senior Lecturer in Engineering at Middlesex University, 2003-2012. He holds a PhD, MSc & MA in Physics and Artificial Intelligence from the Universities of

Cambridge & London and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.


OCT 2015

HASAN

Where do you feel your extremist views were coming from? What were some of the aspects in your life that caused these views to manifest the way they did?

Extremist interpretations of religion; an “us-versus-them” worldview; experiencing regular racism in Britain because my family and I were brown-skinned; being told that we didn’t belong here and belonged somewhere else, eg Pakistan; world events from 1979 onwards that showed that Islam could be (mis-)used as a political force. This made our adoption of extremist, over-politicised misinterpretations of Islam very reasonable in our view and gave us a strong feeling of power and camaraderie: we were a kind of “Muslim power” movement.

What was your relationship to society when you were looking at joining in the jihad? Did you feel you belonged with everyday society and your family/friends and the extremists at the same time?

Not with everyday society, but had strong support from family and friends (in our salafi-jihadist group).

From an outsiders view, it’s hard to see much ‘political structure’ or ‘hierarchy’ from terrorist organisations, but from your own experiences, how structured and technical are these extremist organisations?

There is plenty of hierarchical structure: usually, an emir or overall head, with regional emirs and also a majlis al-shura (consultative body). There may be female emirs (emirahs) also for women only, but always subservient to the men. The shura may be mixed gender, but there is usually very strict gender-segregation.

How did you become involved in extremism in an active way and what were your roles and objectives? What were your views and values, and did you ever question these?

I was a more academic and scholarly sort as well as an activist/religious scholar, so my main role was to motivate people religiously but also intellectually and provide rational arguments for our positions. I gradually began to question these with experience, and with listening to other people with different viewpoints.


OCT 2015

What kind of feelings and emotions went through you as you started to become more involved with extremism?

We were convinced that we had the only true interpretation of Islam, and therefore were the only humans blessed with the right path. There was unfortunately demonization of people who weren’t Muslim or of other Muslims who did not share our narrow and superficial interpretations.

What caused you to change your views, values and belief in what you were doing and how did you leave extremism?

This was a gradual process for me: I learnt from life experiences, numerous conversations, travelling abroad, seeing the reality of war and the hypocrisy of warlords, getting married, having children, working in UK industry for 8 years, living in rural UK where I was the only Muslim for miles: I got to know adult non-Muslim colleagues for the first time (having isolated myself in Muslim communities since leaving school, including at top UK universities), and realised how they were ordinary human beings just like me.

You yourself changed your way of life; do you feel this is something that can happen to all involved in extremism? How can you tell if they have genuinely changed?

There are thousands of examples like this: humans develop and change all the time. Life is a journey. By people’s fruits, anyone can see how they are internally, and whether or not they’ve changed.


Do you feel the media misrepresents the issues of terrorism, extremism and religion; or ill-informs the public about what's happening?

Good quality media does a good job, increasing understanding, dialogue and bridge-building; bad media does a dangerous and damaging job.

Why are extremist groups able to become as big as they are and recruit as many as they are doing so? What can be done about it?

Extremist and terrorist groups are basically glorified gangs, and a gangster/terrorist image and lifestyle appears cool to many young people. It is anti-establishment and against the status quo. Many youth are naïve and idealistic, and easy prey to clever and cool narratives and

propaganda by extremist groups. We need to understand their psychology and cult-like characteristics of these groups and use positive means to provide better alternatives, as well as addressing grievances and showing people the barren nature of extremism as opposed to the enriching nature of true religion.

Why have extremist groups increasingly been targeting schools and universities, school children, museums, historical sites and religious areas?

Extremists and terrorists of all religions and political philosophies are opposed to modern, global civilisation that pollutes, in their view, the purity of their utopian vision. Unfortunately, anything linked to global civilisation becomes a legitimate target.


OCT 2015

Extremists seem to employ or utilize gender inequality, gender and sex discrimination, human rights violations, violence, racism, prejudice, corruption, animal cruelty and poverty to their advantage; is this true, and what can be done against this; what needs to be done to tackle this issue more effectively and what can people do in their daily lives?

We need to promote universal human rights more assertively; the UDHR is a great collective human undertaking that should be celebrated. We need to celebrate the oneness of humanity, and recognise that colour, ethnicity, language, tribe and religion should be a source of enriching diversity and variety, not an excuse for peddling hate and violence. One of the last revelations of the Qur’an was “O humanity! We have created you from male and female, and made you nations and tribes that you may learn to know each other.” (49:13) All religions can be divisive, and all can be inclusive also. We must stress the inclusivist interpretations of all religions; the alternative is exclusivist interpretations that sow conflict. ■

project third world: october 2015

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