Two women were arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand for
allegedly attempting to smuggle approximately 109 live animals back to
their home country of India on Monday.
The Bangkok Post identified the women as Nithya Raja, 38, and Zakia Sulthana Ebrahim, 24.
This
incident, while dramatic, is not unusual. TRAFFIC, a worldwide wildlife
and plant trafficking watchdog group, published a report in March 2022
focusing specifically on wildlife trafficking through India's airports.
The report stated that this phenomenon is the “fourth largest illegal trade worldwide
after arms, drugs and human trafficking, and frequently links with
other forms of serious crime such as fraud, money laundering and
corruption.”
The report explains that India is subject to a number of strict
agreements, both national and international, restricting wildlife trade.
However, illegal wildlife trafficking via India's airports is rampant and only continues to increase
Wisdom a Laysan albatross incubates her egg in Midway Atoll National
Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial. (credit: Handout
via Reuters)
In addition, the report explained that the most common modes of smuggling were:
via checked luggage or carry-on items
concealment in clothing or wearables
wrong declaration of protected species
Finally,
it was found that, of the illegal wildlife seized at airports, 46% were
reptiles, 18% were mammals, 10% were categorized as marine life and 8%
were birds. The remaining 18% included insects, amphibians and timber.
Legal ramifications
The bags seized on Monday in Thailand contained mostly reptiles. The Bangkok Post reported that the women were carrying two white porcupines, two armadillos, 35 turtles, 50 lizards and 20 snakes.
The suspects were detained and charged under Thailand's Wildlife
Preservation and Protection Act, The Animal Epidemic Act of 2015, and
the Customs Act, according to ABC News. The Bangkok Post reported that they were then turned over to the Suvarabhumi Airport police station for legal action.
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The easiest way to open a Coconut is to whisper it a joke & it will crack up with laughter
Woke California school board members call for people to BOYCOTT Fourth of July because 'there is no reason to celebrate'
AnaMarie Avila Farias, a member of Contra Costa County Board of Education, shared a fading image of the US flag along with the caption: 'BOYCOTT 4TH OF JULY'
'I haven't celebrated 4th of July since 2016 and I don't think it's a holiday to celebrate' she wrote on a Facebook post. 'What do you think?'
The local school board member later confessed to not 'feeling particularly patriotic' thanks to abortion rights being overturned last week
In response to a comment on her post suggesting she 'maybe have a funeral and bury the Constitution and the Flag,' Farias wrote: 'Please invite me!'
A woke California school board member is calling for people to boycott the Fourth of July, claiming 'there is no reason to celebrate' America's Independence Day.
AnaMarie Avila Farias, a third-generation Contra Costa County resident and member of the county's board of education, shared a fading blue and white image of the United States flag on June 28, along with the words 'BOYCOTT 4TH OF JULY,' on Facebook.
'I haven't celebrated 4th of July since 2016 and I don't think it's a holiday to celebrate' Farias wrote in a Facebook post. 'What do you think?'
The elected official's stance on the federal holiday prompted a mixed bag of reactions from people on her private page, some agreeing with her while others were critical.
'Why boycott the 4th of July? Without what our forefathers did we as Americans would not have the freedoms that we have today,' one user wrote.
Another agreed him with him, only to ask: 'Why? The holiday celebrates declaring independence from Britain's tyrant King George III. You wish we were still subjects of Britain?'
AnaMarie Avila Farias, a school board member of the Contra Costa County Board of Education, said on her Facebook page that she didn't think the Fourth of July was a 'holiday to celebrate.' She shared a picture of a fading American flag with the words: 'BOYCOTT 4TH OF JULY'
Avila Farias responded to a few comments under the controversial post, on one replying: 'I am not feeling particularly patriotic.' She later added: 'Lastly, last Friday women's reproductive rights were taken away. We are not in a place of progress or celebration when human rights are being taken away.'
'I am not feeling particularly patriotic,' Avila Farias replied.
'I am especially not interested in celebrating a holiday centered around freedom from oppressive government when that freedom is not a reality for so many people in this country. Lastly, last Friday women's reproductive rights were taken away. We are not in a place of progress or celebration when human rights are being taken away,' she said.
The woke school board member didn't stop expressing her opinion there.
Under another comment that suggested she 'maybe have a funeral and bury the Constitution and the Flag?' Avila Farias replied: 'Please invite me!'
The mother-of-two, who is also a member of the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County (DPCCC), also shared a blog post from the online-publishing platform, 'Medium,' written by Dana P. Saxon - founder of Ancestors Unknown, a 'curriculum and special programming for schools and youth orgs.'
Her blog post is titled: '9 Reasons Why I Don't Celebrate the 4th of July.' In it she writes: 'After 1776, it took nearly another 100 years before my ancestors technically gained their freedom in 1865. And a whole heap of pain, trauma, and oppression maintained during those years when only white Americans were liberated from someone else's rule.'
She then went on to cite the three-fifths compromise, the 1787 fugitive slave clause and Frederick Douglass' 1852 famous speech: 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' as reasons not to celebrate the federal holiday.
The local school board member also asked to be invited to 'a funeral and bury [of] the Constitution and the flag'
Avila Farias, who is a registered Democrat, previously shared posts advocating for abortion and the separation of church and state
Avila Farias has also previously shared pro-abortion, separation between state and church, and pro-gun control posts on her profile in the past.
However, despite being outspoken, Avila Farias has the right to free speech, another school board member told Fox News.
'It's her personal Facebook page; she is entitled to say whatever Facebook will allow her to say,' Mike Maxwell told the news outlet via email. 'And while I also am disappointed with the recent developments in honoring rights among Americans, I do not agree with her statement.'
'As long as she is not making the statement on behalf of the Board and County, go for it. But the smart voters will connect who is making that statement,' he added.
The school board member has two children and is a third generation Contra Cost County resident
A member of the Contra Costa Republican Party (CCRP), however, wasn't too pleased with Avila Farias' activity on social media.
'This type of rhetoric is absolutely disgusting,' chairman of the local GOP affiliate Matt Shupe told Fox News.
'The greatness in America is that people from all different political persuasions, opinions, perspectives are able to have their voice heard and respected, and at the end of the day, we all love this country, regardless of who the president is or who runs Congress.'
'The fact that Contra Costa County Democrats are basically protesting this country and its foundation and its core and don't believe in it anymore, I think speaks more volumes to their very twisted thinking and sad ideology at this point,' he added.
'Most Americans don't want this type of rhetoric in our education system.'
Poland completes £294m, 18ft-high metal wall topped with barbed wire along 115 miles of its border with Belarus after EU warned Lukashenko could stage a 'hybrid attack' by pushing migrants across the frontier
The metal wall on Poland's northern frontier with Belarus has been built to deter migrants from entering
The West has accused Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately trying to engineer a migrant crisis
But human rights groups have criticised the huge wall after Poland took in millions of Ukrainian refugees
Poland has completed its 116-mile long steel wall along the Belarus border to stop migrants from entering, after accusing Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging an influx to 'destabilise' the region.
The 18ft-high fence covers nearly half the length of Poland's border with the Russian ally, and cost nearly £300million to build.
Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross into Poland from Belarus since last summer.
The West has accused the Belarusian regime of orchestrating the influx with Russia in a 'hybrid' attack, a type of warfare using non-military tactics - a charge Minsk denies.
'The barrier we've built separates us from the bleak dictatorship of (Belarus leader Alexander) Lukashenko,' Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told reporters.
A view of the newly built border wall at the Polish Belarussian border in Kuznica, Poland, today after five months of construction
The 18ft-high fence covers nearly half the length of Poland's border with the Russian ally, and cost nearly £300million to build
A border guard officer walks by the wall erected to prevent migrant-crossing on the Polish-Belarusian border amid the migrant crisis near Kuznica
Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki arrives for a press briefing by the metal border wall today after construction was finished
Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross into Poland from Belarus since last summer
'Belarus... shares responsibility for Russia's aggression against Ukraine,' he added, speaking in front of the wall in Poland's border town of Kuznica.
The migrant wave at the Belarus border 'was part of a wider scenario, a scenario to destabilise the whole region, all of Central and Eastern Europe,' he said.
'The first sign of the war in Ukraine was Alexander Lukashenko's attack on the Polish border with Belarus,' Morawiecki said.
'It was thanks to (our) political foresight and the anticipation of what may happen that we may focus now on helping Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its sovereignty.
'It was groundwork for the war in Ukraine.'
Poland had earlier set up a no-access zone at the border, which expires Friday, banning non-residents, including migrants, aid workers and media from the area.
It also sent thousands of troops and police officers to reinforce border guard patrols at the height of the crisis, and approved a law allowing migrants to be forced back into Belarus.
Poland had earlier set up a no-access zone at the border, which expires Friday, banning non-residents, including migrants, aid workers and media from the area
It also sent thousands of troops and police officers to reinforce border guard patrols at the height of the crisis, and approved a law allowing migrants to be forced back into Belarus
At least 20 people have died at the Polish-Belarus border, where over the winter the migrants and refugees - many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East - faced squalid, freezing conditions
These so-called 'pushbacks', and the government's overall harsh anti-migration stance, drew condemnation from activists and aids organisations.
At least 20 people have died at the Polish-Belarus border, where over the winter the migrants and refugees - many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East - faced squalid, freezing conditions.
But since Russia's invasion, Poland has opened its arms to refugees from Ukraine, allowing more than four million so far to cross over from the war-torn country.
One of the asylum-seekers was 32-year-old Ali, who left Syria late last year after reading on social media that the easiest way into the EU was to fly to Belarus and walk into Poland.
Ali, from a village outside Hama in western Syria, flew to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and set out to find an unguarded spot in the forest where he could sneak over into the EU.
'I was looking for a place where I can live in safety, away from the oppression and hopelessness back home,' he said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in Berlin.
Ali, who didn't give his last name, fearing repercussions for his family, was not prepared for the violence and sub-zero temperatures that awaited him in the vast forests and swamps.
Since Russia's invasion, Poland has opened its arms to refugees from Ukraine, allowing more than four million so far to cross over from the war-torn country
Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU - until its Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk
A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland 'unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus'
'There were nights when I went to sleep on the bare ground in the woods thinking I would not wake up again,' Ali said.
'If you give a lift to a refugee at the Ukrainian border you are a hero. If you do it at the Belarus border you are a smuggler and could end up in jail for eight years,' said Natalia Gebert, founder and CEO of Dom Otwarty, or Open House, a Polish NGO that helps refugees.
Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU - until its Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk.
Soon, people from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and African countries flocked to the EU's eastern edge, entering Poland and neighboring Lithuania and Latvia.
Though migration slowed in the winter, people continued to try to enter the EU through Poland, a route seen as less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea, where many have drowned in past years, Gebert said.
Ali, whose small makeup business in Syria was destroyed when Sunni extremists learned he belonged to the Alawite religious minority, says he got pushed back six times by Polish border guards.
But Belarusian guards beat him, stole his money and forced him to take off all his clothes in the middle of the winter. He wanted to give up and return to Minsk, but the guards wouldn't let him.
They made him and others lie on the cold ground, screamed at them, approached closely with a snarling dog and kicked Ali repeatedly in the chest.
While some Poles support the government's tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants
The project has raised concerns from human rights and environmental activists fearing that migrants fleeing conflict will not be able to apply for asylum
The West has accused the Belarusian regime of orchestrating the influx with Russia in a 'hybrid' attack, a type of warfare using non-military tactics - a charge Minsk denies
Polish border patrol officers broke his phone's SIM card, he said. He went without water and food for days, lost in the swamps.
A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland 'unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces.'
Amnesty International has also detailed serious human rights abuses.
While some Poles support the government's tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants trapped in the forest, several requiring medical help.
Ali spent 16 days in the forests, before he and others used pliers to open a hole in a border fence. Some villagers gave him food and water, but soon he was apprehended by police and taken to a detention center.
Over the next three months, he was moved through several closed camps.
Guards carried batons and stun guns, he said, and every time before they moved him to a different camp they made him and other detainees strip naked in public. Nobody addressed him by his name, but by an identification number.
In March, he was handed his papers and taken to the Debak center for foreigners in Otrebusy southwest of Warsaw, where he was told: 'Go away, go to Germany.'
Ali arrived in Berlin in April and applied for asylum. Rights activists and psychologists have documented his account and also those of other asylum-seekers who say they suffered abuse by both Belarusian and Polish border guards.
'I feel better here. People call me by my name again,' Ali said. 'But I'm worried all the time that the Germans will send me back to Poland.'
![The local school board member also asked to be invited to 'a funeral and bury [of] the Constitution and the flag'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/06/30/15/59716887-10969267-image-a-5_1656597981731.jpg)
