AUGUST 2 - 8, 1987 THE MICHIGAN CITIZEN
3
SH GTO IS) - In
South Afric -occupied amibia
every prisoner rele d from
detention is vie ed as tiny
victory for Amne y Interna­
tion . But the n tur of ami­
bi it If m e the challenge
for that world acclaimed human
right organization monumental.
That' the ssment of
ami Cyllah, frica re
coordin tor of Amne y' office
here. Cyllah quietly le ed
through me replete ith infor­
m tion on amibian being
held incomrnuni do without
trial of torture, unwarranted
re t and extrajudicial execut­
ion.
He leans b in hi
chair and sigh deeply. Ye
it i ery difficult, Often we
et no t all from
official there" ckno ledged
Cyllah. "The que ion of ra e
- the bite minority ruling
the BI c mai ority - h m de
amibi quite diffi ult and
quite uni ue. The offi ials
are b . ally clone of South
fric ."
For th I 10 year the
London-b d organization ha
dvance a global appeal of
con ience for amibia.
1982 Amne y report ex­
ten ively documented wide-
re d human rights violations.
Te imony in 1985 to a Hou
subcommittee revealed pervasive
and systematic torture. And
report dating back to 1977
h ve expo d graphically brutal
treatment· in one of the world'
last colonie .
y
ro p ha
ambia
f
w
•
In
South frica has generally
dismissed the allegation as in­
valid although the 1982 report
spurred the apartheid govern­
men to estalbish a board of
inquiry on human rights abu .
The bo rd reportedly addre d
40 complaints over a three­
month period, but Amne y as
denied information on the
nature of the complaints and
hether any action were taken.
The mo t recent amibian
urgent acti n" - printed
rele on individual human
rights violations circulated inter­
nationally to thousands of
Amnesty member government
official and the public at
large - documented the case
of five detain es.
It i believed that they have
been held since January under
the South African Terrorism
Act which gives authoriti s
sweeping powers to detain
prisoners without charge or
aece to lawyers and relatives.
Joseph atofa a shopkeeper
from the northern village of
Engolo, had been detained with­
out trial from May 1984 until
September 1985. The Wind­
hoek Supreme Court ordered
his release. Katofa had report­
edly planned to e th author­
ities for torture and unlawful
detention t that time.
"There are a few small
victories," says Cyllah of the
ongoing human rights campaign
in amibia. en and if
one Amnesty Challenge per n
is released from pri n we
consider that a vi tory."
Women's
etwork to meet
FORT WA E - The Fort
ayne and Indiana State Chap­
ters of the Minority Women's
etworks will host a regional
conference for minority omen
and teens in Fort Wayne In­
diana August 13-15 1987.
The eighth annual c n­
ference entitled "The Femini­
zation of Le dership and
Power' ill provide a platf rm
to improve the economic statu
of minority women by sharing
informati n. Ie dership ills
re urces and empl yment
opportunitie .
Minority omen and teens
in the midwest region ill be
attending from: Illinois In-
dian ichig n inne ta
Ohio and i on in.
Workshops pe ers and c u­
cuse have been planned to
ddress: The rosion of Affir-
. mative cti n; Women Build-
ing a Political Power Ba .
Women Finance and m­
ployment.
The sp n ring agencie f r
the tate nd local networ
are the A nd the Fort
yne omen' Bureau re pee­
tively. For more inform tion
contact aren . J arne M
c/o Fort ayne omen'
Bureau, P. O. Box 10554,
Fort Wayne 46853.
Communl y BabyShower
reaches ou to high ris
HIGHlAND PARK - In an
effort 0 reach p egnant
omen and mothers with
children under one-year of
age, the Wayne County
Department of Health will
host a Community Baby
Shower.
omen and children are in­
vited to the American Legion
Hall in Highland Park on
August 6, from 9 a.m, to 2 p.m,
"My Baby's Sick; Should I
Ta e Her to the Doctor?",
"Why Prenatal Care?", 'When
Should I Begin to Discipline
My Baby" are among the
topics that will be discussed
There will be a dramatic
presenation by the orthem
Branch Y.W.CA, lunch, door
pr�, gift bags and displays
to VISIt
Infant mortality rates in
Detroit are highest among
African Americans.
In 1985 there were 499
children who died before their
first birthday in Wayne Coun­
ty. In Detroit the rate of infant
deaths per 1000 live births was
19.9, compared to 9.4 for all
the rest of Wayne County.
The Health Dep studies
reveal that mothers who had
less than five prenatal visits
l?st their babies at rates 7-10
tunes greater than women who
�� five or more pre-natar
VISIts.
ewborns weighing under
five pounds were at ris for
dea!h 10-15 times greater than
babies of normal weight
Teachers
Continued from Page 1
smaller pr portions f the
nati n's total college enrollment
according to the .. Depart:
ment of Education.
In 1976 more than one in
three Blac high sch 01 grad-
uate 33.5 percent ent n t
college. By 19 3 only 27
percent became collegian.
Publi ho Is mean hile
are educating higher proportions
of minority student . 19 6
study by the Educational Te t­
ing Servi e for the me ie
Ta For e on Teaching n ted
that minority students m de up
the majority of the enr llment
in 23 of the nation's 25 large t
di tricts in 19 5.
College survey
Continued from Page 1
ber 642 are Black or 10.4 per­
cent of the workforce. Wayne
County had 31 percent of all
Black employees among the
colleges.
- Three colleges did not have
affirmative action plans --­
Southwestern in Dowagiac,
Monroe County and West
Shore in Scottville.
The total number of Black
employees among the colleges
surveyed was 10.4 percent of
the total full-time employees.
The percentage of Blacks in
Michigan is 12.9 percent
Sixteen colleges have full
time minority employment
below the minority population
of the county or service area:
Henry Ford, Delta, St.Clair,
Oakland, Macomb, West
Shore, us egon, Montcalm,
Lansing, Lake Michigan, Glen
Oaks, Kalamazoo Valley, Kel­
logg, Mott, Monroe and Jack­
son.
o data was submitted by
Southwestern.
The reports notes that the
community colleges ar "par­
ticularly suited to meeting the
education needs of Michigan's
minority students.
The . fact that the colleges
are set up to serve the local
needs means it can tailor
programs to specific needs,
the MDCR report notes.
Students can begin
cademic ork locally and
then transfer to a four year
college. The system is affor­
dable and more accessible
with easier entry requirements.
According to the report, the
MDCR will use the survey as
a beginning point for addition­
al monitoring.
Harper holds
Community Fair
D TROT - The Harper-
Grati t ulti- ervi e
gen ie and Community un-
cil invite the publi t th
9th annual c mmunity fair n
aturday ugu t from 1 ..
p.m.-S p.m. at 96 I Harp r.
dmission i free.
tivitie in lude a d n e
conte t gospel choir baz ar.
inf rm tion and entert inment.
There ill be fo d fun and
prize.
CORRECTIO
The July U issu of
The Michigan Citizen car­
ried an article about the
controversy surrounding
the death of Jackson
Prison inmate 0 car
Rowls Jr. The article's
author noted a march in
front of the Jac on
County Prosecutor's of­
fice July 8 and 9 was con­
ducted to protes the han­
dling of the Rowls' case.
The articl erred in stat­
ing that the NAACP par­
ticipated in the march.