Session 2: Bullied Groups

1st Global Conference

Friday 6th November – Sunday 8th November 2009
Salzburg, Austria

Violence and Intimidation in Street Level Drugs Trading
David Francis
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

As the father of a heroin and methadone-dependent son, I would like to share my knowledge of his experience at the tail end of the drugs supply chain, in one small, Scottish, inner city area. I want to show how drugs suppliers have cultivated an atmosphere of fear throughout the community, in order to control their illegal business. I will describe the threatening and violent methods used by dealers to manage their customer relations, keep the competition at bay and discourage local people from reporting their criminal activity. I will relate some of the enterprising activities adopted by drug users to obtain money for buying drugs. I will point to the self-serving collusion of others, including the authorities and operators of apparently respectable businesses. I will show how easy it is for children to get caught up in the drugs culture and how they learn that bullying pays.

Involvement in drugs, particularly heroin and crack cocaine, arguably prevents young people from growing up, trapping them in a squalid and violent, extended adolescence. The Scottish Government’s treatment programme, currently under review, is largely restricted to prescribing the heroin substitute methadone, which is itself addictive and often does little more than keep users stable for a few hours between fixes. Our criminal justice system is clogged up with drug-dependent thieves. Domestic abuse is rife and female addicts often suffer the additional risks associated with prostitution. Yet for many people there is no way out. I will tell the stories of some who find it utterly impossible to break away from drug-taking when everything and everyone around them reminds them of their addiction and threatens their desire to change. I will also tell the stories of some who have succeeded in moving on and point the way toward changes that could improve the lives of many.

Download Draft Conference Paper (pdf)

Homophobic-bullying in Christian Churches and Boundaries of Sexual Tolerance
Alex Dubov
Department of Theology, Andrews University, Michigan, USA

Traditionally, Christian churches see their social agenda as that of promoting political, religious, and social justice. However, the majority of incidents of sexual intolerance suffered by homosexual people is supported and, sometimes, even generated by the church. There is an increasing need to address the issue of homophobic-bullying due to its peculiarity and impacts. Homophobic abuse is challenging in terms of address and access to help. The goal of this paper is to explore how religious orientation is linked to attitudes, both tolerant and intolerant, towards homosexuals, alongside of the causes for sexual intolerance as a prevailing attitude found in Christian churches. Without entering theological debates on the issue of homosexuality, the study intends to model a moral attitude of tolerance and trace the boundaries of acceptance. It starts with defining homophobic abuse and looking at its religious manifestations, such as the beliefs that homosexuals are beyond God’s grace, they are enemies of the family, and their orientation is a matter of choice to which anyone can be converted. Furthermore, it includes incapability of both laity and clergy to see beyond someone’s sexual orientation.

The discussion continues with the analysis of some potential causes for discrimination like fears, stereotypes, certain religious beliefs (procreation, sin), feeling of repulsion at the thought of such practices, and ignorance. The research includes an attempt to explore the limits of tolerance in contrast to assimilation, to examine a “love the sinner –hate the sin” paradigm, and to suggest a balanced approach to the church’s attitude towards homosexuals. Data have been collected from books, journal articles, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. The implications of the findings include recommendations regarding the positive dialogue on the subject of sexuality within the church, inclusiveness, and the taking of responsibility for the use of offensive language by church representatives.

Children Deal with the Trauma of Living in Refugee Camps
Waseed Ahmad
Pakistan

Nabila Bibi sits in a tent in the blistering heat thinking about the dolls she left behind at home in the Pakistani mountains where the army and Taliban rebels are killing each other.

Rosy-cheeked Nabila understands nothing about Islamist insurgents and Pakistan’s latest military offensive against them, which the United Nations said has displaced around 2.5 million people this month alone.

She is more concerned about her ‘lonely’ dolls. ‘I am very upset to be here. I feel all alone because my dolls are not with me. Is there someone who can bring these dolls from my house?’ Nabila asks her elder sister.

Nabila, 12, and her family were living outside the town of Mingora in the northwest Swat valley until they fled to the Shah Mansoor camp in fear of their lives.

The dusty camp was set up by the government in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) with the help of the UN refugee agency on the outskirts of the town of Swabi, sheltering about 1,200 families in the same number of tents.

‘It is very hot here. I have no friends nor is there any proper playing field like the one I had in front of my house,’ said Nabila, who is taking classes at a temporary school in the camp.

The UN children’s agency UNICEF, deeply concerned about the psychological toll on children displaced by the operation to flush out the militants, said it was providing education and recreation in 13 camps where families are holed up.

‘It is vital for children to cope with the trauma of displacement,’ UNICEF spokeswoman Antonia Paradela told AFP.

She said counselling services for women and children are available in all those camps, with trained staff identifying children who have been damaged mentally and helping them cope with a predicament which is none of their doing.

‘Children have also been provided toys, pencils and drawing paper to help them regain confidence,’ Paradela said.

But for all these initiatives, many youngsters in Yar Hussain look unsettled and some plain unhappy.

‘I miss my friends with whom I used to play cricket. I am a big fan of leg spinner cricketing hero Shahid Afridi,’ said Nauman Ali, 16, a carpenter from Mingora, Swat’s main town.

‘I wish he would visit me in this camp. I like him because he is also a good batsman. He has a lovely style of hitting sixes.’ Nauman looked sceptical when asked if he thought he would go home soon.

‘I really don’t know when I will be able to go back home and play cricket with my friends.’ Jawad Khan, a third grade pupil, said he wanted to become a doctor.

‘How can I continue my studies in an area where bombs and grenades explode daily? Stories about a group of people who slit the throats of their brothers scare me a lot,’ said Jawad, apparently referring to Taliban rebels.

‘I have a few friends from my area in this camp and we all agree these are dirty people,’ he added while carrying his half-naked infant sister.