Significant Move Towards Ban on Fracking Welcomed by Afri

Afri
Outside Leinster House following the passing of the private members bill (presented by Tony McLoughlin TD for Sligo-Leitrim)
banning fracking from Ireland. Here members of ‘Love Leitrim’ and supporters who campaigned to have fracking banned. Photo by Derek Speirs.

31st May 2017

Afri has welcomed the completion of the Bill to ban fracking which today passed all stages in the Dáil and will now go to the Seanad. “This is a victory for people power and for community resistance”, according to Joe Murray. Afri would especially like to congratulate Love Leitrim who led this persistent, determined and successful campaign.

We also pay tribute to the community in Rossport for the part they played in this success as it was John Monaghan who first alerted the community in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim, to the dangers of fracking and who urged the community to organise and resist.

Film by Dearbhla Glynn on fracking

The Future For Shale?

Afri
Susan Carton delighted to accept the gift of painting “Fracking Mother Earth” from Gary White Deer. Photo: Dervilla Keegan

The Future For Shale?

Sunday evening March 9th saw the launch of a short documentary by award winning film maker Dearbhla Glynn in an event organised by Afri.  Dearbhla’s work as an independent documentary maker has previously shone a spotlight on human rights injustices in the Congo and Gaza.

Members of Love Leitrim Eddie Mitchell and Chair Susan Carton were at hand for a Questions and Answers session after the film. The audience were also treated to a traditional music session from well known musicians Steve Cooney and Paddy Keenan in the Glens Centre venue.

An unexpected highlight of the evening was when renowned Choctaw artist Gary White Deer made a presentation of his painting entitled “Fracking Mother Earth” to Love Leitrim.

By Dervilla Keegan, Love Leitrim

The Future for Shale?

Afri

The Future for Shale? An Evening of Film, Conversation and Music on the theme of Fracking

Premiere of short film on fracking by Dearbhla Glynn

Speakers and discussion

Followed by music with Paddy Keenan and Steve Cooney

Also exhibition of Gary White Deer’s paintings

6pm Sunday 9th March 2014 in the Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim

Admission free but donations welcome

To see who is going: https://www.facebook.com/events/430931410343192/

Afri wishes to acknowledge the support of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

Iraqi doctor petitions WHO for open-access review of birth defect data

Afri
Dr Samira Alani, who has worked at Fallujah General Hospital since 1997, has been documenting cases of congenital birth defects at the hospital since 2006, when a sharp increase in rates led her to begin recording data on the developing health crisis. Credit: Donna Mulhearn.

International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons

Fallujah paediatrician Dr Samira Alaani has launched a Change.org petition calling for official data on rates of congenital birth defects in Iraq to be submitted for peer review in the open-access journal PLoS One after repeated publication delays by the World Health Organisation and Iraqi government (Petition is available here: www.change.org/act4iraq).

Results from the nationwide study, undertaken by the Iraqi Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2012, are now long overdue. Iraqi researchers interviewed by the BBC earlier this year claimed it will link increased incidence rates of birth defects with areas subject to heavy fighting in the 2003 war – a hugely significant and politically sensitive conclusion.

Dr Alaani is calling for the data to be submitted to the leading open-access journal PloS One after persistent delays from the WHO and MoH in the analysis of the data. Publication in PLoS One would allow independent scrutiny of the data and reduce fears that the WHO’s internal process had been subject to politicisation because of the controversial nature of the study. The research was prompted by concerns from maternity hospitals across Iraq that rates of congenital birth defects were unusually high. This is the first time that rates have been recorded and analysed nationwide.

“We began logging these cases in 2006 and we have determined that 144 babies are born with a deformity for every 1000 live births. We believe it has to be related to contamination caused by the fighting in our city, even now, nearly 10 years later,” said Dr Samira Alaani, a paediatrician at Fallujah General Hospital. “It is not unique to Fallujah; hospitals throughout the Anbar Governorate and many other regions of Iraq are recording spiralling increases. Every day I see the strain this fear puts on expectant mothers and their families.” Continue reading “Iraqi doctor petitions WHO for open-access review of birth defect data” →

A Decade On and Depleted Uranium Contamination Still Blights Iraq

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To mark the 10th anniversary of the 2003 invasion, a new report has highlighted continuing uncertainties over the impact and legacy of the use of 400 tonnes of depleted uranium (DU) weapons in Iraq. The report reveals the extent of DU’s use in civilian areas for the first time.

In a State of Uncertainty published by Dutch peace organisation IKV Pax Christi, has sought to do what the US has so far refused to do – reveal how widely the weapons were used in Iraq, and in what circumstances. It also analyses the costs and technical burdens associated with DU use, arguing that a decade on, many contamination problems remain unresolved – leaving civilians at risk of chronic DU exposure.

Continue reading “A Decade On and Depleted Uranium Contamination Still Blights Iraq” →

Ban Depleted Uranium Film

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4 minute documentary filmed and directed by Dearbhla Glynn, with the support of Afri, outlines some issues posed by use of the Depleted Uranium Weapons.
It brings us to Basrah, Southern Iraq, where much of destruction was caused during Gulf War in 1991. The ammunition used during the Gulf War contained DU.
Depleted uranium is a waste product of the uranium enrichment process, used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons and nuclear reactor fuel. Once exposed it stays in the environment for up to 400 million years.

DU becomes internalized through inhalation, ingestion and contact with the skin. Alpha radiation inside the body is the most potent carcinogenic agent known to science – twenty times more damaging than x-rays or gamma rays, causing cancerous diseases, congenital anomalies and malignancies. DU use is not an issue known or spoken about outside of the military, and there is very little understanding of it or consequences of using the DU weapons.

There are short interviews with Dr. Hamdan, Dean of Basrah Medical school, Dr. Hassan, Head of Oncology, Laura Bush Hospital, Dennis Haliday, former UN humanitarian coordinator, outlining some of these issue in the documentary.

To find out what you can do to stop the use of this terrible weapon, please go here: http://www.afri.ie/ban-depleted-uranium/