Yana Mintoff
Encyclopedia
Yana Mintoff is a political activist, economist and educator. Joan Mintoff was born on 21 August 1951, the daughter of the former Prime Minister of Malta
Prime Minister of Malta
The Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government of Malta.-Establishment of the office and developments:The office of "Head of Ministry" was created as soon as Malta was granted autonomous government in 1921. The 1921 constitution was suspended twice before being revoked...

, Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff is a Maltese politician, journalist and architect, who served as leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958 and again, post-Independence, from 1971 to...

 and Moyra De Vere Bentinck, by whom she is descended from both Dutch and British nobility.

In 1968, at the age of 17, Yana Mintoff, travelled to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 on her own, outraged by the Soviet occupation of that country and its harsh repression. She worked at Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...

 as a youth volunteer and opposed the Soviet military presence.

In 1973 to 1974, while working as a teacher in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, she was swept up in the student protests against the oppressive military Junta that had taken power in a CIA-backed coup. She was amongst the students who were attacked by the army outside the Athens Polytechnic
National Technical University of Athens
The National Technical University of Athens , sometimes simply known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions of Greece....

. Many students were killed and she was shot at three times before managing to escape.

In 1974 she contributed to the Granada television documentary series World in Action. The subject was a scandal involving British architect John Poulson
John Poulson
John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson was a British architect and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced out was Conservative Home Secretary Reginald Maudling...

 and the building of a "white elephant" hospital on the Maltese Island of Gozo
Gozo
Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...

, opened by Queen Elizabeth II. Her research into the bribery and corruption of local officials led the trail to the British Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...

 Reginald Maudling
Reginald Maudling
Reginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965...

. He resigned after this documentary was broadcast.

As a teacher and an activist in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, she worked for workers' rights, women's rights, and was an activist for Irish and Palestinian causes.

On 6 July 1978 Yana Mintoff took part in a demonstration in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. To protest against Britain's military presence in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, three bags of horse manure were hurled from the public gallery during a debate on Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 devolution. Yana Mintoff and a man were dragged off by police, arrested and later she was fined.

On her return to Malta, she helped establish the Association of Women of the Mediterranean Region, an organization to unite women in nineteen Mediterranean countries in the cause of Justice, Equality and Peace. Dr. Bland helped compile four books of collected works:
  • Militarism in the Mediterranean, Malta 1994
  • Health in the Mediterranean, including interviews with Tuareg Nuclear test Victims, Malta 1995
  • Nobody Can Imagine Our Longing: Refugees and Immigrants in the Mediterranean, Plain View Press, Austin TX 1996
  • In Search of Peace, Plain View Press, 1998

An economist by training, her publications include an article published in the International Journal of Health Services, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, MD, USA.

In Texas, Yana Bland worked with the Foundation for a Compassionate Society and was invited to speak at the UN Alternative Forum in Beijing China in 1995, on the subject of women and peace. She also worked on a study of the health effects of military pollution at Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio Texas, where she won two Environmental Justice awards. In addition to being an activist in the cause of peace, Yana Bland has been a teacher, administrator and the founder of two schools during the past thirty years.

Dr. Yana Mintoff Bland is the Superintendent of the Katherine Anne Porter School, a charter school, in Wimberley, Texas
Wimberley, Texas
Wimberley is a small town in Hays County, Texas, United States. Prior to its incorporation in May 2000, it was a census-designated place . The population was 2,626 at the 2010 census.-History:...

.

She married David P. Bland in 1991. Her children are Cetta S. Mainwaring and Daniel X. Mainwaring.
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