Mehdi Rizvi

Gaza: The dictates of conscience or dictated conscience

rabble staff — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:47:59 +0000

Thursday, August 21, 2014

"War is organized murder, nothing else."

- Harry Patch, last survivor of the First World War

The recent painful round of hostilities in Gaza followed by efforts to restore peace in the area, have resulted in a temporary but highly inflammable ceasefire. The month-long conflict telecast a live dance of death and destruction on TV screens around the globe. The terrible tragedy has created a challenge for all who love and respect human life, irrespective of colour, cast and creed.

The miseries, sufferings and violation of human rights in Gaza have taken the precious lives of nearly 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, along with 70 Israeli soldiers and four innocent Israeli civilians.

Are we following the dictates of conscience or dictated conscience? This is the question that arises when we try to apply the principles in the Declaration of Human Rights to the situation in Gaza.

Observing Yom Ashura in a multicultural Canada

rabble staff — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 13:32:49 +0000

Thursday, December 12, 2013

When I came to Canada nearly 15 years ago, I could not have imagined that the place which is now my new home would be so accepting, accommodating and tolerant of other cultures. Here we learn how to earn respect by giving respect to others. This is the beauty of Canadian society, which allows hundreds of cultures to co-exist peacefully.

Yom Ashura is a day of mourning observed by the Muslim community every year on the 10th of Moharram, the first month of the lunar calendar. This year, it was observed on Thursday, November 14.

Racism in academia: Addressing racial oppression in post-secondary education

rabble staff — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 13:36:12 +0000

Thursday, November 14, 2013

A version of this paper was read at a seminar on "Racism in Academia" held at The Centre of Excellence for Research (CERIS) on Immigration and Settlement, York University, on November 21, 2012.

During the 2010 Metropolis conference held in Montreal, Dr. Luin Goldring, Director of CERIS asked me to suggest a topic for a university seminar. I immediately proposed the topic "Racism in Academia," as I had written on the same issue a few years back.

My observations and inferences were based on the real experiences of Dr. Shiva Sadeghi, Faculty Associate and senior researcher at the University of Toronto. She was very disappointed, discouraged and disgusted with her job experiences and the painful realities faced by some communities on campus.

Racism is not new to Canada. But in the last 40 years with the landing of new waves of non-Caucasian immigrants, racism has taken a new direction, confronting new targets.