Items in the world that stick in the mind...........

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/destitution-and-hunger-in-greek-prisons-not-even-one-grain-of-rice-left-in-warehouses_062012

All indications suggest that basic services in Greece have begun to break down, with reports from several Greek prisons and military installations indicating that prisoners are malnourished and starving. Food shortages caused by austerity related spending cuts and truck stoppages are also reportedly reducing daily rations for soldiers stationed in the area of Corinth, Greece.

We may very well be seeing the cracks in a society on the verge of complete meltdown.

At a time when the entire country is being tested by the economic crisis, some people are quite literally on the verge of destitution and hunger. At a time when the empty state coffers can not support any concept of a welfare state, with “frozen” financing towards education and health, the prison system could not be an exception.

The financing for many prisons has decreased to a minimum for some months now, resulting in hundreds of detainees being malnourished and surviving on the charity of local communities.

The latest example is the prison in Corinth where after the supply stoppage from the nearby military camp, the prisoners are at the mercy of God because, as reported by prison staff, not even one grain of rice has been left in their warehouses. When a few days earlier the commander of the camp announced to the prison management the transportation stoppage, citing lack of food supplies even for the soldiers, he shut down the last source of supply for 84 prisoners. The response of some Corinth citizens was immediate as they took it upon themselves to support the prisoners, since all protests to the Justice ministry were fruitless.

…

The prisons in Patra and Alikarnassos have also been experiencing food supply problems lately, as the prisoners who cannot afford to buy food from the prison canteen are left without food.

and.....

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/06/20126395043107628.html

Suicide bomber targets Nigeria church

At least 15 killed and dozens injured as bomb detonates at barricade outside church in city of Bauchi. Last Modified: 04 Jun 2012 00:51 inShare13 Email Print Share Feedback

A suicide car bomber has struck near a church on the outskirts of the northern Nigeria, in the city of Bauchi, with witnesses and officials reporting at least 15 fatalities, not counting the suicide bomber, and more than 30 people injured. The bomber targeted the Living Faith church on Sunday morning, in the neighbourhood near the airport in Bauchi, the capital of Bauchi state after driving into a church compound. Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from Abuja, said the bomb was detonated at a police checkpoint. "In this instance, the attacker tried to get past a barricade and police moved in to investigate. In that process, the device went off. Police say eight people were killed, including the bomber, and the Red Cross said more than 30 people being treated in hospital." "Police tend to feel they were able to thwart the attack somewhat, and the [death toll] would have been much worse if, indeed, the suicide bomber had been able to penetrate the building," our correspondent added. The timed blast caught many people outside the church without any cover to protect themselves from the explosion, causing heavy casualties, witnesses said. Mohammed Ladan, the Bauchi state police commissioner said security personnel stationed near the church compound stopped the car from getting any closer to worshippers than it did. The blast from the car destroyed part of the church walls on worshippers still inside while others suffered burns in the blast. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast but Boko Haram, an Islamic rebel group, has targeted churches in prior sectarian attacks in Bauchi province. The group has been largely quiet since claiming a suicide car bombing and another attack at offices of the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay on April 26 that killed at least seven people. Boko Haram opposes Western-style education and wants Nigeria, which is roughly divided between the predominantly Muslim north and Christian south, to adopt Sharia law throughout the country. and...... http://www.businessinsider.com/village-elders-in-india-have-ordered-that-a-young-women-be-ostracized-for-60-years-after-she-took-a-menial-job-2012-6 Village elders in south-east India have ordered a young woman to be ostracised for 60 years because she took a menial job as a sweeper despite belonging to a higher caste. Pinki Rajak, a 22-year-old member of the Dhobi community, which traditionally washes and irons clothes, caused outrage among her group's elders when she accepted a lowly sweeper's job at a local school near Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Ms Rajak's plight has highlighted the continuing power of caste in rural India where strict segregation is maintained between 'higher' and 'lower' castes. Sweeping work in India, including shoe polishing, is reserved for members of the Chamar 'untouchable' caste, along with other 'dirty' jobs like 'night-soil carrying' of human waste and tannery work. The Dhobis however are regarded as a 'cleansing' caste, said Dr Vidhu Verma, a caste expert at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Ms Rajak broke her community's strict caste rules because her elders believed she had stigmatised them by associating them with one of India's lowliest and most shunned castes. Some higher castes still believe it is polluting to even lay eyes on a chamar while others insist on calling a priest to 'purify' their homes if a Dalit has crossed the threshold. Violence against Dalits or untouchables remains common in India. Despite government policies to reserve government jobs and college places for Dalits and other 'backward' castes, many lower caste students face abuse from higher caste students and teachers. The discrimination and persecution suffered by India's 65 million 'untouchables' was declared an abuse of human rights in 2011. Ms Rajak and her family, including her father who is himself a Dhobi community elder remain determined to defy the elders' order and have defended her right to make a living as best she can. The first villager to obey the community or Samaj's order was her violent husband, she said, after the elders said he could no longer live with her while she was working as a sweeper. Her father, who owns a small bicycle repair shop and is himself an elder of the Dhobi community told the Hindustan Times he was standing by his daughter. "Instead of appreciating her efforts to find a job, the community is punishing us," Budhulal Rajak told the Hindustan Times. Ms Rajak remains defiant and insists she will not give up her job however great the 'stigma.' "No one can live without money. Why should the caste system be tied to employment?" she asked. and.... http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/14/200577.html Moroccan girl commits suicide after being forced to marry her rapist Wednesday, 14 March 2012 Moroccan feminists have long demanded changes to a law that exempts a rapist from punishment if he agrees to marry his victim. (File Photo) inShare105 By AL ARABIYA A 16-year-old Moroccan girl has committed suicide after a judge ordered her to marry her rapist, according to Moroccan media reports. Last year Amina al-Filali’s parents filed charges against their daughter’s rapist, a man 10 years older than her but it was only recently that a judge in the northern city of Tangier decided that instead of punishing him, the two must be married.

The court’s decision to forcibly marry Amina to her rapist was supposed to “resolve” the damage of sexual violation against her, but it led to more suffering in the unwelcoming home of her rapist/husband’s family.

“After I filed a complaint against him, he said he will marry her. And when he married her and took her to his family's home he mistreated her, beating her and leaving her starve with no food,” Zahra Mallim, Amina’s mother told the Morocco's 2M TV.

Traumatized by the painful experience of rape, Amina decided to end her life by consuming rat poison in the house of her husband’s family, according to the Moroccan daily al-Massae.

According to the newspaper, this type of forced marriage is rooted in local rural traditions to safeguard the honor of girls who are raped.

Moroccan penal code exempts a rapist from punishment if he agrees to marry his victim.

“When the judge said they will marry, I did not agree, but I could not challenge the law. I wanted that man (the rapist) to go to prison,” Lahsan al-Filali, Amina’s father, told the 2M.

“At first I did not agree to this marriage, but when the court of family affairs called me and pressured me, I agreed,” he added.

Feminists have long demanded an amendment to this article.

Hafida Elbaz, director of the Women’s Solidarity Association told a-Massae that the article provides an opportunity for a perpetrator to avoid punishment.

The story has widely spread on Twitter and on Facebook with many in Morocco demanding action against the judge who issued the ruling.
sometimes you see news items that touch your soul - but we don't always speak on that aspect.....