Welcome To CrewForum

CrewForum would like to bring to your attention a charitable organisation for abandoned babies infected by HIV+ in Bucharest called JUSTRI. With your help and generosity we hope that we can make a difference to the lives of these sick babies and children in whatever way that help takes. What follows is a short article by Gary Wells which describes the work of the organisation and the needs of the children.


I am a cabin crew member working on the Worldwide fleet. I was recently invited by a friend, who is the Director of the charity JUSTRI, to accompany him on a visit to Bucharest to witness the great work the charity does and also the challenges it faces. The charity is currently working with two hospitals in Bucharest which are caring for babies that have been abandoned, in most cases by parents that are HIV+. Many of the babies themselves have also been infected with HIV.

If you go to www.justri.org/web/romania you will see some pictures from the abandoned babies' room we renovated recently at Matei Bals Hospital in Bucharest. There are currently 7 abandoned babies cared for at Matei Bals- 21 in the last year- a statistic that is increasing; there are many more, older children in the HIV clinic.

Romania has a very troubled recent history; over a period of about four years from the late 1980's to the early 1990's approximately 10,000 babies were infected with HIV. These 10,000 were expected to live short lives and not much thought was invested in their futures, you can only imagine the psychological effects this has had on them. However, about 7,000 did survive and the are now 20-24 years old and, themselves are having babies, the likes of which we are seeing abandoned at Matei Bals Hospital.

The people who work there are a fantastic, hard working, caring team but there are unfortunately few or no resources for the children's rooms, clothing, nappies or even basic medical equipment. When we arrived they only had one thermometer for the entire children's ward- no weighing scales and only 2 bottles / warmers / sterilisers for feeding. So along with decorating the room we have now supplied them with thermometers, weighing scales and new bottles / sterilisation / warmer units.

The hospital's main concern is to keep these babies alive. The doctors and nurses work extremely hard, often working months at a time with no pay but they do not have any time to care for the babies' emotional and developmental needs. The only time these babies have human contact is when they are being fed. There is a volunteer who comes when she can to spend a bit of time with them but this is not nearly enough and it reflects in the babies' slow development.

If you would like to help there are several ways which you can:-

If you are on the shorthaul fleet and have a Bucharest rostered perhaps you will consider taking some learning toys/tools, nappies (all sizes) or clothes (age 0-5 years), the winters in Bucharest are very harsh and these are desperately needed. These items can be left with the hotel's concierge for collection by one of the team. Please clearly mark all donations "CrewForum/Alina Dumitriu" as there are other airlines staying at the hotel supporting other charities.

If you are on longhaul you can also donate either by emailing me, gary@justri.org I can arrange to meet you in the Crew Report Centre to collect or you can post to:-

JUSTRI
Unit 3.35, Canterbury Court
Kennington Business Park
1-3, Brixton Road
London SW9 6DE

You donations will be taken to Romania every month.

Financial donations are also most welcome (www.justri.org/romania) towards:-

Buying disposable nappies locally
Refitting more baby rooms at the hospital
Essential items for babies
A part time carer to spend 1-2 hours a day with the babies, playing with them and stimulating them etc every day (presently the only time they have is
during feeding).

I know times are difficult for us all but these babies have nothing and no voice. Anything you can do, no matter how small, will make a difference to their lives.

Thank you.

Gary Wells gary@justri.org

Security: Police officer in court over data breach

A senior Merseyside police officer is in court facing allegations of accessing confidential data in breach of section 55 of the Data Protection Act, notes a Liverpool Echo report. Detective Chief Inspector Mike Lawlor worked at the headquarters of the Intelligence and Security Bureau, and was arrested and suspended from his role in June pending an investigation.

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Fighting Back: Resisting 'Union-Busting' and 'Strike-Breaking' in the BA Dispute

By Prof Keith Ewing

Published in September 2011

The story of this publication relates to a dispute that had huge implications for UNITE and BASSA members whose lives were turned upside down by the demands of the employer.

But the nature of the dispute and the conduct of BA also have massive implications for british trade unionism generally.

The main problem highlighted by the dispute is the extent to which the law is tilted so heavily in favour of employers. Quite apart from the alleged union-busting and strike breaking activities of the employer, the disupte vividly illustrates the extent to which employers generally are supported by law when forcing through changes, and supported by law when the union tries to mobilise resistance to these changes.

Having exposed the limitations of British labour law, this dispute, argues the author, shold now provide a launch-pad for its reform.

To buy the book and to continue reading - please follow the link below.

Click here