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Protection of Khasi Villages Overturned by Court Order March 19th, 2010

A January victory by the Khasi people in stopping logging on their lands has been overturned by a High Court decision issued in late February. Four indigenous villages in Bangladesh, with their 500 Khasi residents, will be destroyed if logging by a local tea estate owner is allowed to continue.

An Oblate priest, Fr. Joseph Gomes, OMI and other colleagues from the environmental community have been working with the Khasi people to protect the forest and their villages. We urge all parties in a position to do so, to raise serious concerns with the Government of Bangladesh regarding this situation.

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Spring 2010 Issue of JPIC Report Available March 18th, 2010

The Spring 2010 issue of JPIC Report, the newsletter of the US Justice, Peace/Integrity of Creation Office of the Missionary Oblates is now available on line.

This issue features updates on Sri Lanka, Haiti, logging in Bangladesh, immigration, financial regulatory reform, an Eco-Tips page and more.

Read the Spring 2010 Issue (Download PDF)

Protest the Attack on Bangladeshi Indigenous Peoples’ Advocate and Oblate Friend: Sanjeeb Drong January 24th, 2010

Sanjeeb Drong survives but fears further attacks…

Mr Sanjeeb Drong, an important advocate for human rights and indigenous peoples in Bangladesh and SE Asia, and good friend of the Oblates, was brutally attacked last Friday by a group of hired thugs. He and his wife were travelling home from a meeting with the Bishop and a Diocesan Committee. Sanjeeb fled from his attackers and was rescued by the Bishop and several priests who then took him to a hospital. He is now safe in Dhaka. His wife was unharmed.

Please call on US government officials and your elected representatives to press for an inquiry in Bangladesh. Use our suggested letter.

Read our Action Alert, learn more…

Victory after Long Fight to Save Bangladeshi Indigenous Villages and Forest January 20th, 2010

The indigenous Khasi people of Bangladesh have won a significant victory after a long struggle to protect the forest on which they depend for their survival. The indigenous community organized against rampant logging from a local tea estate owner who had secured permission to log the forest allegedly through his political connections. Thousands of trees and many Khasi villages will be saved as a result.

The Oblates have been supportive of the efforts to protect the forest, with Fr. Joseph Gomes, OMI working closely with the Khasi people. APRA (Adibasi Poribesh Roskhya Andolon or Save Indigenous Environment Movement) of BAPA (Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon or Bangladesh Environment Movement). Fr. Gomes was joined by Sharif Jamil, National Coordinator, APRA, Joint Secretary, BAPA in successfully arguing on behalf of the Khasi people before a government panel charged with investigating the logging controversy.

Read the full account…

BANGLADESH ‘Country’s climate-fund demands too low’ December 15th, 2009

Prominent Church people say the claim by Bangladesh for 15 percent of any climate change adaptation fund that may be pledged at the Copenhagen talks, may not be enough.

“Our people are not only suffering from sea-level rise and cyclones but also more people each day become refugees because of river erosion which is an effect of climate change too,” Benedict Alo D’Rozario, executive director of Caritas Bangladesh, told UCA News.

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Khasi People Continue to Protest Destruction of their Forest May 20th, 2009

The Khasi people of Sylhet, supported by the Oblates there, have been fighting the cutting of the forest on which the people depend for their living. These efforts are also critically important for protecting area ecosystems.

On May 9th, the Khasi people staged a large public gathering to protest the continued logging as well as tea plantation expansion plans by a powerful landowner.

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