Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
I’m not going to try to compete with the horrifying news that is coming out this week, with all its implications, and new facets being examined at least daily. In fact, I’m not going to comment on anything going on in the United States at all. I picked up a story regarding Australia – certainly not wanting to pick on Lona or Animae – but it’s been going on for five years now, very few people outside Australia are aware of it, and it hasn’t been picked up by any other place I go for news, although it’s an AP story, so one would think they would all have received it.
It appears that Australia is having its own issues with refugees and other unexpected immigrants. Now, unlike the US, Australia does not share a land border with any other nation. Oz is therefore unable to set up border checkpoints and keep people from crossing the border.
So, instead, to prevent people coming in boats from staying, they re-boat them.
Australia drew a line in the sand on July 19, 2013, to stem a rising tide of asylum seekers brought by people smugglers on long and treacherous ocean voyages. No refugees who attempted to reach its shores by boat from that date forward would ever be allowed to make Australia their home.
Five years later, the polarizing policy — both lauded as a template for other countries and condemned as a cruel abrogation of Australia’s international obligations — appears to have succeeded as a deterrent. The rickety fishing boats that were arriving from Indonesian ports at a rate of more than one a day have virtually stopped.
Not that there aren’t other immigration detention facilities, including some operated by the government and some by contractors (in other words, “private prisons.”) But facilities on Australian land (even if that land is an island) are easier to see. People confined in Papua New Guinea are easier to forget. Some have been forgotten for five years.
I am not trying to badmouth the Australian people – just as in the US, there are Australians who are outraged by this situation. In fact, our own Animae has posted a petition to the government to end this suffering – a petition which is close to 30,000 signatures but of course still needs more. On the other hand, many Australians, like Americans, DO approve of this tough refugee policy. which makes it difficult to make changes without repercussions. One expert says of the government “They’ve really painted themselves into a corner.”
Megaera, I assume that, however you all parcel this out, you will be on this situation,since it really exemplifies “grudging” (and stubbornness.) Good luck. You and whoever works with you will need to be creative.
But I don’t want to just stay in Australia – there is a trend surfacing in Ghana which has worldwide implications – and scary ones at that.
We pink (“white”) people are generally aware that our group demonstrates bias against people of color, and that that bias on our part, even if unconscious (or maybe expecially if unconscious) negatively affects their lives. Some of us are also aware that, among people of color, there exists a cultural preference for lighter sking over darker skin – but not every pink person knows even that. We who do tend to just accept it as a fact and not think about it much. But I’m going to make you think about it now.
Products to whiten or lighten the skin have become a multiBillion-dollar market. The cosmetics market in West Africa is dominated by products like these. The use of such products has spread to, and taken hold in, the Caribbean countries and even parts of Asia (as well as throughout the so-called “African diaspora,” which most certainly includes the United States.) Estimates are that 70% of West African women use some kind of bleaching cream, as well as about 35% in South Africa. Some of these products contain hydroquinone, a topical ingredient that disrupts the synthesis and production of melanin, leaving the skin less protected from West Africa’s intense sunshine. Last year Ghana banned such products – but I have no information on this particular black market, so I have no way to know how much may still be getting used in Ghana. Nor do I know how many or which countries have NOT banned hydroquinone. I’m guessing that it’s not banned everywhere.
Per Lafayette College Professor Yaba Blay:
While it’s true that skin bleaching represents a multifaceted phenomenon, with a complexity of historical, cultural, sociopolitical, and psychological forces motivating the practice, the large majority of scholars who examine skin bleaching at the very least acknowledge the institutions of colonialism and enslavement historically, and global White supremacy contemporarily, as dominant and culpable instigators of the penchant for skin bleaching.
But so far I have only discussed people, primarily women, endangering their own skin, that is not the trend which most concerns me. Rather, it’s this:
A disturbing skin bleaching trend in Ghana has officials worried for the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies….
Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority (FDA) said using Glutathione tablets for skin bleaching purposes is “dangerous” and emphasized that “… no product has been approved by the FDA in the form of a tablet to lighten the skin of the unborn child,” BBC Africa reported. The trend continues to grow, however, with pills being smuggled into the country inside airport luggage, oftentimes in large quantities.
Anyone besides me remember thalidomide?
Of course it is only natural that any woman would want only the best for her child. If cultural preferences for lighter skin over darker are that strong, it is natural that a mother might want to lighten the skin color of her child, if possible.
But it isn’t.
Earlier this year, health officials issued a stern warning against women taking pills during pregnancy to lighten the skin of their unborn children while still in utero. Health experts warned that the illegal drugs could lead to birth defects, as well as cause damage to the baby’s limbs and internal organs.
This makes me want to cry … not that crying will do any good. Alecto and Tisiphone, maybe you can figure out a way, or ways, to do some good.
The Furies and I will be back.
Cross posted to Care2 HERE.
15 Responses to “Everyday Erinyes #129”
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Gawd, what a story !!! I feel a deep sadness in reading this, with the plights of immigrants and refugees worldwide. I knew it was bad all over, but to the extents, and the lengths that officials will go to do this is appalling and chilling. Utterly and completely sickening. *Signed petition yesterday.
I remember reading about the effects of thalidomide in children when I was younger. Sadly, it seems like the smugglers are still thriving on getting the glutathione tabs in. How unfortunate!
Furies, you’ve got your work cut out. Mete your comeuppance as you will. These are definitely worthy challenges.
Thanks, Joanne, for sharing.
Since we are more or less all in touch, I figured many of us would already have signed. But I still wanted to promote it if I can.
Excellent article, JD.
Isn’t a shame that Australia has some of the same problems with their PM that we do with our Fuhrer.
I signed Animae’s petition. In fact, this morning I asked her, if she would like to write us an article about him.
Well, we can certainly do that. I didn’t touch on government personalities, party because it hasn’t been the same administration there for the full five years any more than it has here. It could be quite exciting.
You know more about it than I.
But not as much as Lona or Animae. I do take the hint, and am hereby soliciting input from you know who you are.
One down, one to go!
We all need to put our heads together and come up with a better solution to the problem of refugees. We can start by putting ourselves in their shoes. How would you like to be one of them? So – how can we help them? It takes more than charity, more than tents and soup kitchens. We need ways to help them establish new homes. Thinking caps on, everybody!
Megaera, as you might expect, I’m well aware of Australia’s inhuman immigration policies which are as schizophrenic as those of the US. Both are reasonable enough when it comes to immigrants trying to enter the country legally, i.e. filling in all the necessary papers, go through a lengthy and expensive vetting process and then have their passports stamped by customs when they’re allowed in. Australia doesn’t have a ban on immigrants from Muslim countries yet, and certainly no travel ban, but who knows what will happen the way things are going in the world.
Illegal immigrants are another story, however. Those are people not vetted, but most of all not cherry-picked based on special skills, work potential, connections, age or just financial fortune. Then the stories get very similar to those in the US and sadly also to the new developments in the EU. It’s an utter disgrace how those people are treated, but as you mentioned, Joanne, the Aussie government has painted itself into a corner, and new elections next year won’t help, because the opposition had taken this hard line upon itself too in the hope to get more votes. Now it is splitting a country in halves, much like the immigration issue is dividing almost all countries in the EU and dividing the EU itself. It’s a world-wide trend, and that doesn’t bode well for the future or for a useful point of intervention for the Furies.
Alecto and Tisiphone: This story makes me so mad, because it has little to do with government but everything with it being a multiBillion-dollar market. The Ghanese FDA has no qualms condemning these bleaching creams and certainly not those diabolical pills (yes, I clearly remember the side effects of thalidomide), but the pharmaceutical industry has no problems with unconscionably pushing those pills on women just to make a few bucks. Their CEO’s won’t have to live with the effects these pills have on the lives of mothers and affected children. I wish Meagra would be able to do the one thing necessary: if the pills and creams are not proven to be safe, their production should be terminated and the stock destroyed.
Thanks so much for this!
I had NO idea the extent – and toxicity – of skin bleaching that was going on!
What a sad, sad story – and eye-opener!
I had no idea either. I was only beginning to get a hint of the extent of “light supremacy,” if I can call it that, and the bleaching just boggled my mind.
The Atlanta Black Star, where I got this, I allow to send me pop-ups, which I can click on if interested and delete if not, and many of them include celebrity gossip specifically regarding celebrities and fans of color. I don’t click on those (I don’t read “white” gossip either), but the headlines alone were starting to get it through to me that something was up that I’d never known about.
Racism and greed! Damn! this all makes me think, once again, of how much better off the planet would be if we just all disappeared! We are so good at mucking things up!
If the use of these pills is not new, then there ought to be people already born whose mothers used the stuff, and results ought to be available as to the literal damage, or lack thereof. If it is new, then the FDA of Ghana, or whatever responsible agency, needs to track such births, and use the results of such an investigation to notify, or warn women, with the evidence thus gleaned, if the warnings are valid.
Photos of Thalidomide babies were, as I recall, very effective in stopping its use during pregnancy. Photos of Glutathione-damaged babies, ought to elicit a similar response, if babies are disfigured, or worse, due to its use.
That is an excellent idea. Some birth defects, including damage to internal organs probably would not show up in photos, but some would. I don’t know how long the pills have been in use; I think it’s the creams that have been used longer; but activists should definitely look into that if it’s not already being done.