In response to the kidnapping and murder of Chechen rights
worker, Natalia Estemirova in 2009 and after a few years of work, an all-new
smart bracelet has been invented to enhance the safety of rights workers in foreign
countries. Built with cell phone technology, the bracelet is designed to be
triggered either manually by the wearer, or automatically if removed forcefully.
Warnings are sent out through twitter
and Facebook with the information of the owner and where they were at when they
were attacked. It also sends out a signal to other nearby workers so that they
are able to take immediate action to help the person in danger. Civil Rights
Defenders are pushing for people to sign up as monitors of the bracelets of individual
rights workers through social media, in hopes that global involvement will help
in deterring attacks on aid workers. 55 of these new high techy bracelets will
be distributed by the end of 2014.
I believe that these bracelets will be of good use and may
become very popular over the next decade or so. There are millions, if not
billions, of people who get on Facebook or Twitter regularly, so sending out a
broadcast of a person’s last whereabouts before their abductions should deter a
crook from committing such act. Also, there are probably thousands of people
who would like to be aid workers in other, less safe, countries, but won’t do
it in fear for their lives. The new smart bracelets will give them a better
sense of security and may inspire more people to enter this field of work.
Terry Johnson
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