The different faces of restraint
By Martine van Bijlert
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - 11:44 AM
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When anger erupted last Tuesday over the U.S. military's mishandling of a large number of Qurans, it was clear that this was going to be big and bad - but nobody knew how bad. After three days of protests across the country, some of which turned violent, last Friday was going to be the litmus test: Would the whole country erupt into anger? Would it set off chain reactions that would be difficult to undo? Would the police and army maintain discipline? The day ended in a mixed picture: relief over the sense of restraint that prevailed in many areas; and sadness and resignation over the reports of violence and deaths coming from a handful of places.
All in all, it was not as bad as could be feared: people did not join in large numbers, the police and the army held together, most leaders used their influence to defuse rather than to ignite. In the following days the intensity and spread of the protests waned and by Monday no more protests or riots were reported. Afghanistan, it seemed, was not in the mood for protracted rage and all the violence that comes with it.
We have seen this pattern before: after incidents provoking wide-spread anger there are several days of demonstrations, some violent, with provinces taking their turn to express their outrage. And although some areas have multiple days of violence, in most places the protests start dwindling after there has been a significant gathering or flare-up. But there were reasons why it could be different this time: nastier, more widespread, more difficult to contain.
The Quran burning on Afghan soil was potentially far more emotive than other incidents in the past, like for instance the outrage over particularly tragic cases of civilian casualties or fatal car accidents involving U.S. forces (not the same sense of desecration and mostly felt locally) or last year's Quran burning in Florida (in a far-away country). There was also the issue of cumulative anger - people asking: how often should we forgive, how long can we tolerate - and of conflicted loyalties, particularly on the part of the police and the army who could be called on to protect internationals from angry attacks.
If Afghanistan was going to erupt into even more violence over the Quran burnings, it would have been on Friday. On Fridays you don't have to gather people, they naturally congregate in mosques. And it doesn't take much to get an angry crowd, just a passionate sermon and a few people who help heat up the mood. So on Friday most of us, Afghan and foreign, were waiting - to see what the day would bring and what the country would look like at the end of it.
Throughout the day protests were reported in about half of Afghanistan's provinces. There were escalations in the vicinity of American or government sites. Attempts to storm military bases in Baghlan and Khost turned violent and several protesters were shot. Towards the end of the day demonstrations escalated in Herat and Kabul - two cities that also experienced violent demonstrations in the past (2004 and 2011 in Herat and 2006 in Kabul). In Herat demonstrators tried to march towards the U.S. Consulate and clashed with the army when it tried to stop them. In Kabul the protests turned ugly and chaotic in the well-known hotspot of Pul-e Charkhi at the edge of town.
But the outright majority of the population either stayed inside or went home peacefully after attending Friday prayers. Most demonstrations ended without incident and none of them were massive (the largest seem to have counted a few thousand demonstrators). There was anger, for sure, but there was also a lot of restraint. Across the country people have been calling for calm and patience in their communities, not wanting to see more bloodshed. They did not manage to pre-empt all violence and there were still nasty riots in the days after, but it will be difficult to argue that the rioters were acting on behalf of the whole population.
After a week of violence, with around thirty dead and many more injured, it may be difficult to explain to the rest of the world, but in a way this is what relative restraint looks like - in a country awash with weapons and frustration, and that has suffered for decades from the young men itching for a fight and the leaders accustomed to using religiously fuelled violence as a political tool.
Despite the heavy hand of conservative religious power, the main debates have not been fully settled. There is a sprouting vocal new generation - not automatically democratically-minded or un-implicated in political deals, as is sometimes assumed, but certainly with a mind of their own and many of them determined to make something more out of their country than is currently on the books. And among the older generation, many are not sure they want to rally to the same rhetoric as they used to, having seen what can come of it. Afghanistan is still very violent and deeply conservative, but it would be a mistake to paint the whole population with the same brush.
But where do you go from here - with relationships so damaged and trust so badly undermined? The burning of the Qurans has greatly exacerbated lingering resentment and suspicion among Afghans towards the international presence. And the murder of two senior military advisers in the Ministry of Interior has left the international military feeling very exposed and angry over what they consider the much too feeble response of the Afghan government. Patience at home is running dangerously low, as angry stereotypes fill the comment sections of news sites. It has always been a complex relationship, coloured by high hopes, misunderstandings, and an increasingly resentful dependency. If it is allowed to settle, it will be possible to patch things up and to muddle on. But it will remain a relationship under a cloud and under very difficult circumstances.
For a discussion of the different faces of anger, click here.
Martine van Bijlert is the co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, which published an earlier version of this piece on February 24, 2012. The original article can be found here.
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'But where do you go from here....'
...The way out of Afghanistan and Pakistan is easy and of course leave Iran alone on the way out.
Pakistan is willing to provide a save exit. Its has rescued US asses before in Modgadishu/Somalia when US marines were trapped by Somali rebels and marine casualties were rising.
Major General Thomas M. Montgomery, Deputy Commander of the United Nations Forces in Somalia in a television interview thanked the people and Pakistan Army for sending:
“such splendid soldiers to Somalia who we feel proud to serve with. Pakistani soldiers have been completely dependable even in the most difficult circumstances. They have shouldered a huge and dangerous load for UNOSOM and the Somali people”.
We saved US marines lives before we can do it again.
Based on the ocular neural system, the Lateral Restraint Network Model on the processing of the image is presented in paper. The mathematic model of the network is also presented. In the network model, in addition to the negative feedback of the ocular neural cell, an ocular neural cell is only excited by the corresponding light spot in the field of vision and inhibited by the other light spot. The network has its advantages on the processing of image. It can detect the edge, sharp-angle, end-point, flexure, crotch and junction in the image. The learning algorithm of the network model is discussed and the convergence of the algorithm is proven too. In the end of the paper, some examples are introduced about the application of the network.
Based on the ocular neural system, the Lateral Restraint Network Model on the processing of the image is presented in paper. The mathematic model of the network is also presented. In the network model, in addition to the negative feedback of the ocular neural cell, an ocular neural cell is only excited by the corresponding light spot in the field of vision and inhibited by the other light spot. The network has its advantages on the processing of image. It can detect the edge, sharp-angle, end-point, flexure, crotch and junction in the image. The learning algorithm of the network model is discussed and the convergence of the algorithm is proven too. In the end of the paper, some examples are introduced about the application of the network.
Thankyou
December 1--In a crowded and tense meeting, 13 hospital staff and 2 DSS staff at the Walker Home and School in Needham faced the outraged parents of nine-year-old, foster child Tara Gavigan, who was placed there on September 2, 1999.
The parents, Heidi and Paul Gavigan, claimed that Tara, who is diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, has been bruised, drugged and subjected to physical restraints since DSS took her in September, 1997.
Tara's Father Inspects Bruises on Her Legs On a recording that was made by the parents and given to Massachusetts News, Tara’s father wanted to know about the child’s "oppositional" behavior, which doctors claim is the reason for their use of restraints. "Does Tara say I don’t want to do this task because, ‘I don’t want to do it,’ or is it based on ‘I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home?’"
A doctor responded, "Some of the time I think she’s impulsive. She says, ‘No, I don’t want to do that.’ But some of the time I think she’s trying to get home the best way she can."
"So in other words, she’s being impulsive, which all children are, and she wants to go home," Heidi interjected. "So let’s find a way to cure her of that, let’s drug her a little bit more, let’s hold her down a little bit more; and if that doesn’t work, we’ll put her in a mental institution."
The doctor would only concede they have a responsibility to communicate with the child’s parents for the foreseeable future about whatever happens to the girl and they would do so. "We share your concern in spades about restraints," he said.
Heidi answered, "But you’re not willing to stop it."
The doctor replied, "We cannot keep her safe without restraining her."
"Then send her home where we can," Heidi demanded.
"That is not an option."
"Here’s the thing, doctor. We’re going to see her today. I have a camera; if I see a bruise, I’m taking pictures of all the bruises. I am my daughter’s mother, I have to protect her. I have to keep her safe. If I see my child injured and bruised, I have to report that to the police just like you would report that if you saw my child injured and bruised."
The doctor asked her, "Then what will happen? They’ll come and there will be a big fuss, and then…"
"Don’t you understand if something happens to my daughter, I have to have something on record about the abuse?" asked Heidi.
On the tape, Heidi repeatedly demanded to know if the reason that the Walker staff was restraining Tara was because overmedication was causing her to wake up at night with behavioral problems. She expressed her fear that Tara’s medication combined with difficulty breathing from restraints might kill her.
"I’m going to bury you people legally if you keep bruising her," she told him, continuing:
"Before Tara was put on any medication at all and before she was put into state custody, she slept from 8 o’clock at night until 6 o’clock in the morning without interruption every night of her life."
Turning to the DSS supervisor, Heidi asked, "What if she went to school, Miss Parker, and she had the bruises on her that we’re going to see today? What would happen then, Miss Parker?"
"I’m not sure."
"Don’t tell me you’re not sure. Would we have the option to say to you, ‘Well, we had to restrain her?’ I don’t think so."
A ‘Power Thing’
Heidi tells Massachusetts News, "It’s a power thing. These restraints aren’t used for protecting children as they claim. They’re used as punishment when children defy caregivers, for infractions like stepping out of bed even. From what I’ve seen, kids don’t struggle until they get restrained. Tara was not an out-of-control monster. We never had to restrain her."
The meeting resulted after the pair’s sparse visiting privileges were totally stopped by Walker Home when the couple reported the institution to the police Sept.12th for allegedly bruising their daughter. Needham Police confirmed they sent three cruisers to the facility on that date at 2:39 p.m. They said any more information is not a public record on that type of call.
Reports of abuse that are generated by calls against foster caregivers are handled internally by DSS. Critics charge such reports about DSS vendors are routinely screened out.
A Walker Home official told Masachusetts News he was not at liberty to discuss the case but did acknowledge knowing the people in question adding, Heidi is "an interesting woman who cares a lot about her child."
Federal Regulations on Restraints
New federal regulations regarding restraints were put into effect this summer in response to a 1998 Hartford Courant series which exposed a "regulatory black hole" leading to at least 146 known deaths nationally in the past decade from improper restraints, including many children. The Courant reported on June 26th this year the measures "will, for the first time, give mental patients protections against being restrained for punishment or for the convenience of often poorly trained staff."
thanks
professional web design
He went to supposedly build business, problem is that we are exporting jobs to India not goods to India. Most products that we can export to India, they can make cheaper than we can ship them there. The goods they cannot make, most of them cannot afford. Same problem with Indonesia. The whole trip is a waste of money, just a $2 billion vacation for Obama. The guy had no experience doing this kind of thing before and his last stop in S. Korea just proves it. Everyone wanted Obama to close a enconomic deal with them and he walked out with nothing. In fact the Chinese leader in a separate meeting gave him a hard time and he had to explain some things. The man is all sizzle and no substance!.
"Is rio orange war always forfait bloque inevitable ?"
MaximB
May/June 2013
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