His name was Alireza Fazeli Monfared and he was only 20 years old. He was homosexual and due to the difficulties he faced because of his sexual orientation, he was about to flee his native Iran to Turkey, but he could not do it. On May 4, family members beheaded him after accusing him of dishonoring his family.
Today, May 17, is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. A day to recognize that while the rights of LGBTTTIQ+ people have advanced significantly in recent decades, progress has been slow and uneven in various parts of the world.
According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report issued Nov. 17, 2020, of all hate crimes in the U.S., those based on sexual orientation account for 16.7 percent, the third largest category after race and religion.
The report also shows an increase in hate crimes based on gender identity, they went from 2.2 percent in 2018 to 2.7 percent in 2019.
According to Human Rights Watch, because hate crimes are not required to be reported to the FBI, these alarming statistics probably represent only a fraction of such violence.
The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw attention to the violence and discrimination suffered by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and all those with diverse sexual orientations, gender and sex identities or expressions.
The date May 17 was chosen specifically to commemorate the World Health Organization's decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
The Day represents an important annual global milestone to draw the attention of decision-makers, the media, the public, corporations, opinion leaders, local authorities, among others, to the alarming situation faced by people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sexual characteristics.
The day is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal.
Many different entities participate in the global mobilization around May 17 and as a consequence it receives many different denominations. Some organizations add Lesbophobia or Intersexphobia as distinct focuses. Acronyms also vary, from the initial IDAHO to IDAHOTB or IDAHOBIT.
In California, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA, the total LGBTQ+ population over the age of 13 is 1,859,000, the percentage of the state's LGBTQ+ workforce is 6.0 percent, the total number of LGBTTTIQ+ workers is 1,194,000, and the percentage of LGBTTTIQ+ adults - age 25 and older - raising children is 24 percent.
California is one of the states that provides full protection to the LGBTTTIQ+ community; that is, discrimination against this community is prohibited in private employment, housing and public establishments. Also, conversion therapies are prohibited in their entirety.
Thirty-one years after the World Health Organization declassified "homosexuality" as a mental disorder, U.S. President Joseph Biden noted that LGBTTTIQ+ Americans still lack basic protections in 25 U.S. states and continue to face discrimination in housing, education and public services.
In that sense, during a statement issued today, May 17, by the White House, as part of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the U.S. president said that his administration will always support the LGBTTTIQ+ community, so it will continue to implement executive orders to promote equality and equity.
He said he will continue to urge Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would uphold fundamental civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity for all Americans.
Biden said discriminatory policies targeting LGBTTTIQ+ Americans have been reversed, and historic appointments of LGBTTTIQ+ Americans to the highest levels of government have been made.
She noted that an epidemic of violence still continues against the community, with a particular impact on the transgender community, specifically transgender women and girls of color.
He said courageous activists in the U.S. and around the world have stood up for progress and won.
However, he pointed out that despite this progress, both COVID-19 and growing authoritarianism around the world continue to widen economic, social and security gaps for LGBTTTIQ+ people, as some 70 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships.
In this regard, he stressed that in the American union, marriage equality and greater protection against hate crimes are the law of the land, while abroad, governments, civil society and international organizations such as the United Nations finally recognize that LGBTTTIQ+ people deserve the utmost dignity and equality.
"All people are entitled to dignity and equality, no matter who they are, who they love, or how they identify, and we will continue to engage with allies and partners to advance the human rights of LGBTTTIQ+ people here at home and in every corner of the world," Biden said.
I could start writing this review with the following sentence:
On July 16, 1990, Liliana Rivera Garza was a victim of femicide in Mexico City.
And although in that year that feels so distant the term "femicide" did not exist either in Mexican law or in our collective imagination, the phrase would not be incorrect. Because that is what happened to the younger sister, the only sister, of writer and academic Cristina Rivera Garza: an ex-boyfriend, a man of tiny spirit, heart and reason, who did not understand, who did not want to accept that she no longer wanted anything to do with him, broke into her apartment in Azcapotzalco during the early hours of the morning and murdered her with impunity.
Three decades later, with that vocation of archivist and detective that has animated at least two of his previous works (No one will see me cry, 1999, and Autobiography of cottonShe is convinced that the right word to use to describe her sister's murder is "love," and her heart is on fire. femicideno crime of passion -for there is no longer room for euphemisms-, Cristina Rivera Garza undertakes the writing of Liliana's invincible summer (Random House Literature, 2021).
I write that "with the vocation of archivist and detective", because it all began with the opening, reading and organization of Liliana's archives: her notebooks and the rest of the things that for so many years remained hidden, silent, immersed in the dry darkness of boxes labeled with her name.
Opening those boxes, and the animal scream, the shock that such an event produced in Cristina's body, were the first steps to unravel what happened during the last hours that her sister was alive.
In July 1990 Liliana was a 20 year old girl, an architecture student, beautiful, brilliant, passionate about her career, living alone for the first time and tasting the freedom that every human being deserves.
A young woman planning to do postgraduate studies in the UK, she had a bright horizon ahead of her.
As in Autobiography of cotton, Cristina Rivera Garza narrates part of her research in the first person. There it was about tracking down, by car, driving along highways and roads taken over by the narco, what was left of Estación Camarón, the town from which her grandparents were expelled by a strike and the devastation of the cotton harvest, which was their way of life.
Here, the writer recounts the long walks, subway rides and Uber rides through Mexico City, from the Roma neighborhood to Azcapotzalco, in search of the file on her sister's femicide, and later, in the desire to know the apartment where she was murdered. Even if it had already changed, even if the layout of the space was not the same as when Liliana lived there. This part, in Liliana's invincible summer, is the narration of the monster of bureaucracy in the prosecutor's offices, where they send the writer from one office to another because the file is not there; of the tiredness of the feet that walk along avenues looking for Liliana's trail; there where she passed to go to school, the stairs of the subway station that she stepped on so many times, the sidewalks where she walked, the campus of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana -UAM- Azcapotzalco where she studied and shared the time of the breaks with her classmates.
The first line of Liliana's portrait is drawn from the words of her diaries. Cristina says that
Liliana was by far the real writer in the family.
Because the young woman filled her notebooks with transcriptions of poems and songs, but also with her reflections and the narration of her moods, some anecdotes, the most important things of her days.
The first time Liliana wrote Angel Gonzalez Ramos' name was on a Sunday, June 10, 1984.
Angel is the man whose description matches the one given by neighbors to the police with the one who entered the young student's apartment that morning when all the pain in the world took place.
Angel is the individual who exercised against Liliana a continuous violence that she did not know how to name, although towards the end of her days she was already determined to banish from her life, to begin to walk towards another side.
Angel is the guy who managed to escape through the roofs of the neighboring houses when the police came for him, to execute the arrest warrant against him for the murder of Liliana.
Angel is, therefore, the unpunished feminicide.
The second part of Liliana's portrait is constructed from the testimonies of her friends and classmates. They agree on her attractive, determined and generous character, on her talent for architecture, on her leadership. Also, in the dark and insistent presence of a guy who visited her from Toluca, who didn't get involved with her group of friends, who she never wanted to talk about, someone from her past who insisted on continuing in her present. "Sometimes he would pick her up at the university," some say; "he would arrive on his motorcycle and they would leave, skidding, both of them without helmets," others say.
Another trace is the one the writer makes of her sister: through Cristina Rivera Garza's story we get to know the girl Liliana was; her sisterly quarrels, her will to believe in love once she reached adolescence, her unquenchable thirst for freedom.
The next line, almost certainly the most loving, is that of her parents' testimonies. Ilda Garza Bermea and Antonio Rivera Peña are the sketchers. Liliana in the womb ("she came pierced," says the mother), Liliana as a baby ("she sucked the finger of her left hand," writes the father), Liliana as a child, Liliana as a teenager in love with a man who did not convince either of them:
But how he made her suffer in high school. I don't remember when they broke up for the first time, or if it was the first time, but Lili cried a lot.
Ilda, the mother, remembers.
I confronted Angel several times. One of the ones I remember most had to do with the fact that he would come to see her at the house in front of the house. Liliana was already in college and for us it was a luxury to have her in the house. Your mother cooked something special (...) That day I couldn't help it. Through the window I saw that he was there on the sidewalk, on one side of the lawn, with a biker shorts, a dirty T-shirt, all unkempt. I came out immediately and told him that was no way to visit a girlfriend. I told him that when I was young, I wore my best clothes to see Ilda. Shoes shined. Clean hair. I also told her that, if she wanted to continue visiting Liliana at home, she had to show more respect for her...
Antonio, the father, writes.
For the story of the feminicide of her beloved sister, the author resorts to the omniscient narrator who looks at everything with the necessary distance to describe the discovery of the body of the young student by her friend Manolo, the arrival of the police, of Ana, a very close friend, and of the reporter who covered the story for the newspaper. La PrensaTomás Rojas Madrid.
What happened next - how she was told in Houston, where she lived; how she bought the plane ticket by phone; how she flew to Mexico City; how she took care of her sister's funeral because her parents were away in Europe - Cristina Rivera Garza writes as if the words were moving with difficulty through a dense fog, as if on a stage where no one is recognizable. Everything is confusing. The edges are blurred. I don't know who is who. The grieving sister moves like a zombie through the scenarios she will now have to face, oblivious to everything but the pain that overcomes her: "Someone is approaching through the crowd at the airport". "Someone opens the door of an office. "Someone mentions the word money. "Someone says: this is an injustice." "Someone says: I will miss her," she writes.
Undoubtedly, at the origin of this book is the need to name.
For the first time I know I can pronounce your name without falling to my knees (...) The air of your full name: Liliana Rivera Garza.
The author writes.
There is the need to say, with all its letters, that the patriarchy killed Liliana. That what happened to her was a feminicide. That her murderer is free, living with impunity.
But also, and above all, that justice will come for her and for all the women who die every day at the hands of their partners, their parents, their colleagues, their so-called friends, their brothers, their schoolmates.
The need to say it and repeat it: that we are forever angry and that we are going to throw the patriarchy away.
U.S. President Joseph Biden spoke Saturday morning with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas separately, calling on both nations to reach a just and lasting resolution to their conflict.
During his call with the Palestinian president, Biden conveyed the U.S. commitment to strengthening the bilateral partnership.
They discussed the current tensions in Jerusalem and the West Bank and expressed their shared desire for Jerusalem to be a place of peaceful coexistence for people of all religions and backgrounds.
President Biden updated President Abbas on the U.S. diplomatic engagement on the ongoing conflict and stressed the need for Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel.
They also expressed their shared concern that innocent civilians, including children, have tragically lost their lives amid the ongoing violence, a White House statement said.
Similarly, Biden expressed support for measures that would allow the Palestinian people to enjoy the dignity, security, freedom and economic opportunity they deserve.
In that regard, he highlighted the recent decision by the United States to resume assistance to the Palestinian people, including economic and humanitarian assistance to benefit Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
In his other conversation, with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, the president reaffirmed his strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza.
In this regard, he condemned these indiscriminate attacks on towns and cities throughout Israel, and updated the prime minister on high-level U.S. engagement with regional partners on this issue and discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts.
The President noted that this current period of conflict has tragically claimed the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including children. He expressed concern for the safety of journalists and reinforced the need to ensure their protection.
Biden shared his deep concern about inter-communal violence in Israel and welcomed statements by the prime minister and other leaders opposing such acts of hatred and encouraged further action to hold violent extremists accountable and restore calm.
At the time, they spoke of the current tensions in Jerusalem and expressed their shared desire for Jerusalem to be a place of peaceful coexistence for people of all religions and backgrounds.
Finally, the president expressed concern about the violent clashes in the West Bank and expressed support for measures to allow the Palestinian people to enjoy the dignity, security, freedom and economic opportunity they deserve and affirmed his support for a two-state solution.
The leaders agreed to continue close consultation between their teams and to stay in touch in the coming days.
Last Friday, U.S. President Joseph Biden met with six "dreamers" at the White House, all of whom work in health care, education, and agriculture, to discuss their experiences on the front lines of the battle against the HIV/AIDS-19 pandemic.
In turn, the U.S. president and the beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), discussed the need for immigration reform, in addition to the young people expressed their fears about the possibility that their future could change by the decision of a Texas court if Congress does not act.
During the meeting, Biden reiterated his support for "dreamers," as DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, farmworkers and other essential immigrant workers are known.
In that regard, Biden stressed that there is strong White House support for the Dreams and Promises Act and the Agricultural Workforce Modernization Act, two bills that have already passed the House with bipartisan support and are awaiting action in the Senate.
It should be noted that since 2012, DACA has protected many young undocumented immigrants from deportation, and in 2017 Donald Trump's administration announced plans to end the program, plunging thousands of "dreamers" into uncertainty.
As of December 2019, there were 649,070 active DACA recipients in the United States, according to government statistics. Of those, 81 percent were born in Mexico, and the rest from more than 190 countries around the world.
According to reports, the largest number of DACA beneficiaries live in California, as there are 184,880 recipients of the program living there, followed by Texas where 107,020 beneficiaries are known to live. Between the two states alone, they account for 45 percent of the program's participants.
An estimated 29,000 "dreamers" are health care workers, and they have been on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19, so it's only fair for Democratic supporters to give them legal immigration status.
According to the latest available data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the average age of DACA recipients is 26, however, to be eligible for the program, applicants must have arrived in this country before the age of 16 and have lived in the U.S. since June 15, 2007.
Israeli bombing "killed at least 10 Palestinians from large family, most of them children": The Associated Press.
Photo: LouDematteis.
Pamela Cruz, con información de Manuel Ortiz. Península 360 Press [P360P]. Photographs: Lou Dematteis
Hundreds of people demonstrated in downtown San Francisco to show their support for the Palestinians in the face of Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip, where the jihadist organization Hamas is located.
This demonstration is in addition to hundreds that have been held throughout this day in various cities in the U.S. and around the world.
Thus, in London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Mexico City, Madrid and hundreds of other cities, demands are being made to stop Israel's attacks on Palestine, where at least 139 people have been killed by the attacks according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health based in Gaza.
It should be noted that 15 May is a day of mourning for Palestinian Arabs, which is known as Nakba Day - the day of catastrophe - and evokes the expulsion of a large part of the Palestinian population from their homes the day after Israel declared its independence.
The day takes on special relevance this year due to the escalation of the conflict that seems to have no solution.
Just hours ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue to "respond vigorously" in Gaza "until the safety of our people is restored and restored," while noting that the country is trying to avoid civilian casualties from its attacks.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas for committing a "double war crime" by "attacking our civilians and hiding behind Palestinian civilians."
For his part, the spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qurda, called on the international community on the need to stop the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.
"We monitor these violations against Palestinian families, and this is a blatant violation," al-Qurda said in the Health Ministry statement.
It should be noted that on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the 12-story building in Gaza City that housed the offices of the Associated Press and other media outlets. "We are shocked and appalled by the incredibly disturbing attack on the building," said Gary Pruitt, president and CEO of the AP.
Hours later, according to the AP news agency, an Israeli bombardment of a "densely populated refugee camp in the city killed at least 10 Palestinians from a large family, most of them children".
Photo: Lou Dematteis
Users on social networks condemned the attacks and call for a ceasefire, daily, kills dozens of people.
Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Student leaders at the Communities United rally on May 15 rouse the crowd to stand against anti-Asian hate and to unite in support of all marginalized groups
Noah Braunstein
The past year has seen a tumultuous series of events with our nation wrestling with issues rooted in identity and tolerance -- events borne out through contentious politics, hate crimes, and pandemic fueled racism and xenophobia.
As a young person in high school, I strive to channel my education and efforts into a path where I can contribute to a cohesive, accepting nation that is tolerant and inclusive for all.
I have been inspired by the many celebration months including African American History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, and more.
But one event amidst recent rallies stands out for me as an inspiration that embraces Inclusivity for all, and a chance for all marginalized communities to unite together -- working through Unity toward a tolerant nation that embraces rights, safety, and opportunity for all. It is a tribute to this movement, Communities United, that my story recognizes the recent May 15, 2021 rally proclaimed “Communities United Day” by cities in San Mateo County. This is a recap of this significant event.
Billy Pollina stood on the damp grass at San Mateo's Central Park and looked at some 300 people gathered on an overcast Saturday morning. The energy of the crowd -- of all ages and ethnicities -- easily cut through the weather. Their resolve was clear: Uniting against hate and injustice.
"As I recently planned with Millbrae Councilmember, Anders Fung, and community organizer Anthony Leung how to promote the #StopAsianHate efforts," said Pollina, film producer, and community activist, "I recalled the 2009 grassroots LGBTQ+ fight for marriage equality and how we were successful with the support of allies from other marginalized communities. This is the moment the idea for Communities United was born."
Fung, Leung, Pollina and student leaders collaborated with the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) to produce the May 15 Communities United event -- to spotlight violence against Asians and to inspire a united front against discrimination and hate.
"This rally was an event that we wanted to put together because we wanted to be inclusive. We wanted to do something that was a little bit different than all the other rallies and events that were going on," Leung said.
The Communities United rally featured an impressive range of speakers and public officials to support the rally's theme of inclusivity -- including Congresswoman Jackie Speier, California Deputy Attorney General Eric Chang, State Senator Josh Becker, and numerous regional and local officials.
Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Dozens of civic officials and community leaders stood together to show unity against discrimination and hate.
The speakers emphasized both Asian solidarity against discrimination and the need for marginalized communities to unify in support of each other.
Speakers recounted their family stories of immigrating to the United States, personal stories of encounters with injustice, and stories of how to love and be loving in the face of hatred.
David Campos, the vice-chair of the California Democratic Party, described his history as an immigrant, followed by reflection about the need for all to speak up against discrimination and injustices.
"The American dream is very powerful but very fragile. During the Nazi movement, so many people remained silent and held back. When you see injustice against one person, make sure you speak up because injustice against one is injustice against all of us," Campos said.
Campos' words about injustices were furthered by San Carlos' Mayor, Laura Parmer-Lohan. She referred to her experience as only one of seven women to have ever served on San Carlos' Council and also spoke passionately about her experience fighting for rights with a same-sex partner.
"My story is one of unity and love, and advocacy for what we can accomplish together when those from marginalized communities stand together," Parmer-Lohan said.
California Deputy Attorney General Eric Chang followed by describing the challenges his parents faced as immigrants. He challenged the crowd to lead the world by setting positive examples and taking action.
"It's time to walk away from the old past into something new. Here in the Bay Area, our ideas are often more than just ideas. Our ideas can change entire industries. Our ideas can change the world. Let's lead by example -- Vote, unite, change the world," Chang said.
Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Zane Jiang, 2013 Winner of Sing Tao Mic King Singing Competition, rouses the crowd with his vocal rendition of “You Raise Me Up”
Zane Jiang singing "You raise me up" at the May 15th Communities United Rally. pic.twitter.com/aQ0klIqoKO
Cheerleaders kept the crowd enthusiastic, as did chants from the crowd led by student organizers, including Mills High School's Lilian Chang, Aragon High School's Grace Xia, and Notre Dame High School's Lauren Fitzgerald. Pointing to the audience, the three young activists had the crowd chanting "Don't give up the fight! Get your rights.
Credit: Noah Braunstein.
State SenatorJosh Becker addressed the crowd, showing his support for the AAPI community while emphasizing the power of unity and the importance of taking a stance against hate crimes
The power of youth organizers being key at this event was not lost on State Senator Josh Becker.
"Whether it's been from the cities of Millbrae, Palo Alto, or San Carlos, it's been youth-led, and that's what's most exciting," Becker said.
Leung, who served as the emcee for the event, left words of advice for attendees, including many students and young people.
"What you need to do is put yourself out there. For some people, it's being an activist. For some people, it's working on policy. And for others, it's donating their time and effort to be involved in their communities," Leung said.
The event concluded with all 20 cities in San Mateo County adopting a proclamation for May 15 to be "Communities United Day."
Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manalo proclaims May 15 “Communities United Day”
Organizers are optimistic for future Communities United events. Leung described the group's plans to pursue non-profit status, and Pollina spoke about plans for growth.
“We are exploring reforms and improvements for healthcare, housing, equal rights, prison reform, better law enforcement relationships with the community at large and financial equity,” Pollina said.
Xia encouraged all to find out about upcoming efforts, "Anyone is welcome to join."
While born out of troubling recent events of violence, Communities United is fired up to create change to live in a better, more just world.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Community members from throughout the Bay Area rally around speakers and entertainers encouraging unity from disenfranchised groupsCredit: Jeff Gee.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier recognizes Daly City Councilman Anders Fung for his commitment and efforts regarding civil rights, social justice, and the current violence directed against the API community with a flag that was flown at the Capitol.Credit: Noah Braunstein.
“Unity Against Hate” signs were in abundance by those at the Communities United rally.Credit: Noah Braunstein.
David Campos, Vice Chair of the Democratic Party, describes his history as an immigrant and encourages, “When you see injustice against one person make sure you speak up because injustice against one is injustice against all of us”.Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Homemade signs expressed sentiments against hate and hate crimes.Credit: Noah Braunstein.
“Stop Asian Hate” was a key theme of the rally reflected on many signsCredit: Noah Braunstein.
San Carlos Mayor Laura Parmer-Lohan urges unity, “It is tremendous what we can do when those from marginalized communities stand together”Credit: Noah Braunstein.
San Mateo City Councilmember Diane Papan emphasizes the need for California to lead with diversity and acceptance, “California is mighty and diverse and we have to get it right -- this nation’s success depends on California getting it right”Credit: Jeff Gee.
Student activist Lilian Chang challenged the crowd to work together against injustice, “How do we propose next steps unless we stand together?”Credit: Noah Braunstein.
California Deputy Attorney General Eric Chang urges progress away from racism and hate, “It’s time to walk away from the old past into something new”Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Keith Koo, Managing Partner, Guardian Insight Group Host “Silicon Valley Insider” Radio Show and Podcast, asserted that businesses need to take action, “Companies have a role to play with diversity”Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Sato Bon, Founder of Asians Are Visible, spoke about the power of words and urged that “Asians must be visible” and not silentCredit: Noah Braunstein.
All 20 cities in San Mateo County adopted a proclamation for May 15th, 2021 to be “Communities United Day”Credit: Noah Braunstein.
Organizer Billy Pollina explains that “May 15 was the beginning of Communities United, and that plans for the future of Communities United are optimistic”.
In an effort to adapt to the social conditions following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Casa Círculo Cultural (CCC) organization not only continued its online activities, but also launched the innovative Casa Círculo Cultural Mobile program.
This program conducts cultural and artistic activities in parks and public places in Redwood City, following the hygiene and safety measures recommended by health specialists.
"I really like the activities that Casa Círculo Cultural is doing because they are doing them outdoors and the kids really enjoy it because they have been spending a lot of time at home taking online classes," said Alma Cristal's mom. "For them, it's super important to get out, so thank you so much to Casa Círculo Cultural for taking the time and thinking about the little ones," she added. Alma is a 5-year-old who attended CCC's painting and crafts class at Spinas Park in Redwood City on Saturday, May 15.
"I made a mouse, a wolf and a cow," Alma told us. "They taught me that when you mix paints together, you make different colors. I love to paint a lot because I make pretty things.
"My daughter is having so much fun making a rock family," said Maria, who also took her little girl to CCC classes at the park. "Thank you for doing this activity for the kids because it keeps them busy and fun."
The CCC-Mobile program uses a medium-sized RV-type vehicle, which transports tents and all the materials needed for outdoor activities.
This program contributes to the emotional and physical health of the city's inhabitants. It also facilitates the necessary reappropriation of our parks as ideal spaces for coexistence and community communication, which unfortunately was fragmented during the pandemic.
Today, more than 120 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that they will no longer have to wear masks in any environment, news that seemed to be the announcement that the country reached the light after a long dark tunnel, however, experts believe that there is still a long way to go.
Harvard Communicable Disease Center director Dr. Marc Lipsitch said it is "quite unlikely, even with existing vaccines, that the country will reach a level of herd immunity where transmission is almost impossible on a sustained basis and where the virus essentially disappears."
He said this during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services, in which he said that there are still misunderstandings about what herd immunity is, so he clarified that this is simply the existence of people in a population that are totally or partially immune and that stop transmission by hindering the passage of the virus through them.
He explained that while the United States is at a point where the virus cannot be transmitted in a sustained way, where each case is not even replaced, at the beginning of the pandemic each COVID-19-positive person could infect four to five people.
Given this, he said that to reach a point where social behavior is normal, the kind we had before the pandemic and without masks, transmission should be reduced by a factor of an equal number of people, however, the variants of the virus have increased transmissibility.
In that sense, he said, to achieve a reduction in transmission by a factor of five means immunizing four-fifths of the population so that what were five infections become one.
"On that notion, we need to immunize eighty percent of the population. That means fully immunizing them, meaning they have to be fully protected against the ability to transmit the virus and the vaccines we have certainly protect to a large extent, but they don't seem to be 100 percent protective. They're very good, but they're not 100 percent.
However, he stressed that the task will not be easy due to the levels of reluctance of the population to obtain the vaccine, coupled with the continuing challenges of access to immunization.
Added to that, he said, "the fact that we're not vaccinating our entire population because children under the age of 12 are not eligible, I think it's very unlikely that, as a nation, we're going to uniformly reach the required coverage of probably 85 or 90 percent.
That is why, he said, vaccination of those most vulnerable should continue to be a priority, especially when it is not yet known how long immunity will last with the vaccine and whether revaccination will be necessary.
For Ben Newman, head of virology at Texas A&M University's Global Health Research Complex, "bubbles are beautiful, but they don't last long in this world," and a bubble that can create any vaccine is fragile.
"Unfortunately we know that immunity declines and we know from the limited studies that exist that there is a certain rate at which B cells, T cells and antibodies will decline over time. But we don't know exactly what is the point at which a person stops being protected. We just know it's a matter of time, and that's why I would oppose any of the partial solutions," he said.
Faced with this, he explained that the only way out is "a single global solution, which would be to vaccinate, literally, everyone. And not just vaccinate them, but vaccinate them within a certain window. The window, maybe six months or a year, and that's the challenge.
However, unlike Lipsitch, he believes that vaccines should not only go to small groups or vulnerable groups, or take partial measures "as we have done so far", but should be applied collectively.
"I really don't like the way this has been handled so far and what I'm seeing is the greater reluctance of people with proximity to solutions and the greater desire for solutions from people who are further away and I think that's a terrible thing," he stressed.
"I think when a lot of people calculate whether or not to take precautions or get vaccinated, they're thinking about the original versions of the virus and yes, at least in this particular place and time, there's about a 100 percent chance that you're going to run into something that grows faster and has the potential to spread further and maybe hit harder than one would expect," he added.
And that is because, he explained, "we have underestimated as a world, not even as the United States, the virus time and time again. We've relaxed restrictions and we've seen the virus come back.
That's why he felt that the CDC's announcement that those who are fully vaccinated can stop wearing masks may not be the path to the most rapid extinction of the virus, so he called on everyone to get the vaccine and keep wearing masks until infection numbers drop much further.
Peter Maybarduk, director of the Public Citizen's Access to Medicines Group, emphasized the international project COVAX - Global Access Fund for COVID-19 Vaccines - an alliance driven by public and private actors with the objective of guaranteeing equitable access to the vaccines that are developed against the COVID-19 coronavirus, being one of the pillars of the accelerated access to tools against the deadly virus.
COVAX is co-led by the Gavi Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), the Coalition for Promoting Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of vaccines against EVID-19 and to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines for all countries worldwide.
During the press conference, he explained that COVAX's goal is to vaccinate, essentially, 20 percent of the world, preferably this year, which means two billion doses.
This, he said under two main streams: one for self-funded countries. These are rich countries that essentially buy into the COVAX fund because that way they have access to a broader portfolio of vaccines than they would necessarily be able to buy on their own.
So far, COVAX has only been able to ship 64 million doses to countries that urgently need the vaccine to get by - that's about a quarter of the doses that have been administered in the United States.
"Hardly enough doses for even one of the largest middle-income countries in the world, let alone 92 countries."
Thus, only 340 million people in the world are fully vaccinated, less than 5 percent of the world's population, "so we have a long way to go, but we expect a rapid increase".
And is that the production volumes of vaccines licensed by COVAX are far from what is needed, however, according to estimates, it is believed that there will be 10 billion doses by the end of this year.
He added that it is true that the U.S. is prioritizing its own access to raw materials for vaccine production, which puts producers abroad in dilemmas and does not allow other countries access to inoculation in a timely manner.
"We shouldn't just cross our fingers and assume it's all going to work, more doses are needed and we believe it's critically important to urgently increase manufacturing capacity," he said.
Funding is important for COVAX to continue to help other countries obtain the necessary vaccines, however, income has yet to be injected into the fund. So far, it is believed that many people around the world, especially in adverse conditions, will not be able to get vaccinated until 2023.
According to analyses with engineers at Imperial College, it is possible to produce eight billion doses of RNA vaccines in a year and make up the global shortfall. "If we invest significantly and the investment required could be twenty-five billion dollars. That's not a small amount of money."
In that sense, he pointed out that it is necessary that governments with ample economic capacity such as the U.S. can sit at the table with large pharmaceutical companies to help make more doses available for the COVAX fund and thus support the most vulnerable nations, and finally all, together, get out of a pandemic that many still do not see, not even close, that things will get better.
"It has to be a much more integrated effort. We think it's quite feasible, but it's a political decision that has to be made," Maybarduk said.
Thousands of miles south of the country, Brazil is living its own reality with the pandemic, one very different from that of the American Union.
Dr. Rosane Guerra, who works in the Department of Pathology, Center for Biological and Health Sciences at the Federal University of Maranhao (UFMA), Brazil, stressed that the current situation in the country to stop COVID-19 infections "is not good".
"Now we don't have any drugs to prevent or control the worst symptoms of this disease. The problem is mutations and we have a large number of people affected every day."
He explained that, along with India, are the countries with the highest levels of infection by COVID-19 in the world, so the possibility of having new variants has increased every day to the four that have already been detected so far.
And the government is not helping much to stop the pandemic, because although President Jair Bolsonaro was infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, he minimized the disease by saying that the disease was not serious and only generated the symptoms of a mild flu.
Guerra detailed that the president's words are added to those of the minister of health, who, in his opinion, does not know about the issue and has done nothing to stop the advance of the coronavirus in the country.
Areas like the Amazon, he said, suffer tremendously from the virus, and 70 percent of people in this area are believed to have tested positive for COVID-19.
The fact is that the Brazilian variant of the virus has spread the disease more rapidly, a situation that does not help at all.
Vaccination is the hope, yet so far, only 17 million people have received at least one dose of immunization.
Thus, for Guerra, maintaining an immunization bubble for a country is impossible, since not everyone is vaccinated and migration exposes everyone.
