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The Streets of Lima Are Alive With the Sound of Music · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Photo by author Juan Arellano, used with permission.
The article by Juan Arellano was originally published in Spanish on his Globalizado blog and translated into English for Global Voices by Victoria Robertson.
Big cities are home to different kinds of people who work outdoors, in plazas, parks, avenues, and side streets. Among the denizens of these urban jungles, musicians, or buskers, occupy a privileged position: they are not just tolerated but often openly embraced on account of the joy they bring to impersonal public spaces.
Lima, the capital of Peru, is no stranger to this phenomenon. While street performers are sometimes dislodged from commercial spaces and certain areas of the city’s historic center by the police, most of Lima’s musicians enjoy a good deal of freedom in plying their trade and earning a few bucks. They are even accepted in many restaurants and on local public transit, the mini buses and vans known as micros or combis.
But whether the value of busking is truly appreciated is another question. A while back I read an article [GP1] on the topic in the blog Lima es Linda (Lima is beautiful), which suggested, “Limeños don’t value street performance because they consider it a form of panhandling rather than contributing to society.” At the same time, the article asserted, “street music livens up, inspires and motivates people (locals and tourists alike), and our city really needs that.”
Personally, I never paid the phenomenon much attention until a few years ago—maybe because I was just one more urbanite rushing along the city’s streets oblivious to what was really going on around me. But more recently, when I come across a street musician and happened to have a camera on me, I recorded the performance.
Here are a few of the talented people I have encountered on the streets of Lima.
The Asháninka people are the most populous indigenous group in the Peruvian Amazon and were the victims of forced migration during the period of terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s. Of those who were not actively exterminated, many relocated to Lima’s Ate district, where a small group of them continues to live alongside members of other indigenous communities originally from Peru’s forest regions. Together they maintain close ties to the land and their culture.
One day walking through Lima’s Central Market, I came across a small gathering of Asháninka performing a typical musical number, which on this occasion included a graceful dancer interpreting Amazonian rhythms. It was an unusual sight given the generally cool climate of Lima, but on that summer day the musicians performed as they would in the warm tropical atmosphere of their forest home. Unfortunately I was able to catch only a snippet:
Asháninka music is very diverse, as demonstrated by this song by Yéssica Sánchez Comanti I recorded at an Amazonian poetry and storytelling recital.
Although the Peruvian valse, derived from the European waltz, was a form primarily cultivated in Lima and the coastal cities in the late 19th century, it later made its way into the country’s interior. La Contamanina, which refers to the city of Contamana on the shores of the Ucayali river in the northern Loreto region, was apparently composed in Iquitos, the largest urban settlement in the Peruvian Amazon—or at least that is what blogger Manuel Acosta Ojeda contends:
“It is said that originally the valse featured music without lyrics, that the beautiful melody was created by an Italian violinist who travelled from Ecuador to Iquitos at the beginning of the 20th century in search of fortune during the rubber boom, and that its original title was Leonor. Don Alejandro Mera del Águila added the lyrics to describe the passion that the beautiful young Leonor Olórtegui Reyes inspired in the Italian traveller. Although his love was requited, the couple’s romance did not receive the blessing of Leonor’s family, and she was spirited away from the city.”
Several different versions of the lyrics exist, but one of the best known is performed by the group Dúo Loreto. In my urban wanderings, I recorded an instrumental version that, in keeping with the serendipitous theme of my encounters, was played by a blind saxophonist on a street in the heart of Lima that just happens to be called Ucayali.
I was not familiar with the musical saw until I met Miguel Ángel, but from what I gleaned on YouTube, it is a popular instrument in many parts of the world.
Here Miguel Ángel is playing Love Hurts, the 70s rock ballad that was a hit for the Scottish band Nazareth, although it was actually composed by Boudleaux Bryant and first recorded back in the 60s by the Everly Brothers.
In this next video, Miguel briefly and humorously explains what a musical saw is and how it is played. Other blog posts provide explanations and samples of the instrument sometimes called a singing saw in English.
Ever since I first listened to Miles Davis play his trumpet with a mute, I was fascinated by the sound that resulted. I had no idea that I might one day come across someone playing a muted trumpet on the streets of my capital city, but this year my new friend let me capture the following performance. He was one of the few artists I met who indicated he sometimes had problems with municipal officials ejecting him from certain public spaces.
There are plenty of other styles of street music played for passers-by in Lima, including popular interpretations courtesy of the military bands of the Peruvian Navy and the Government Palace. The City of Lima itself also organizes a variety of street events featuring rock groups.
Whether an official concert or an impromptu performance by a street musician, Peru’s capital is alive with the welcome sounds of voices and instruments. Enjoy!

author: Juan Arellano


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Massive Participation in Earthquake Drill in Mexico · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

On September 19, 1985, the center, South and West regions of Mexico, in particular the Federal District, were struck by a powerful earthquake, considered the most lethal in Mexican written history. Conmemorating the event 29 year later, the Secretary for Civil Protection of Federal District organized an earthquake drill, for the population to know how to act in these events. The people participated massively, in the capital and in other cities of the country.
Realizamos con éxito el simulacro de evacuación por sismo, recordando el ocurrido en 1985, en la ciudad de México. pic.twitter.com/wQUM6h5Zpd
— UTTAB (@UTTAB) septiembre 19, 2014
We carried out successfully the evacuation due to earthquake, remembering what happened in 1985 in Mexico City.
Estiman que 17 mil edificios fueron evacuados por simulacro http://t.co/4bfislAT6R pic.twitter.com/ls9WPrgkUM
— Metrópoli (@Univ_Metropoli) septiembre 19, 2014
An estimated of 17,000 buildings were evacuated during the drill.
El @GobYucatan de @RolandoZapataB ha realizado simulacro histórico en Palacio. pic.twitter.com/CNVfBqrhx7
— YUCATAN AL MINUTO (@YUCATANALMINUTO) septiembre 19, 2014
Rolando Zapata's Yucatán government has carried out historic drill in the Palace.
Tlalnepantla se une al Mega Simulacro Sísmico organizado en el Estado de México @Pablo_Basanez pic.twitter.com/CZxA9661v2
— Edgardo Garza (@egygarza) septiembre 19, 2014
Tlalnepantla joins the megaearthquake driill organized in the State of Mexico.
El #simulacro no sólo es honor a las víctimas del terremoto, también lo es de la #sociedad vs la burocracia pic.twitter.com/8NjQ4xbrD1
— Venancio Queupumil (@VQ_Cabrera) septiembre 19, 2014
The drill is not only to honor the victims of the earthquake, it's also about society vs bureaucracy.

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Run! The Muslims Are Coming! · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

By Sami Shah
Oh Muslims, you so crazy. But just how crazy? That's the question everyone has these days.
As ISIS/ISIL/IS/FuckNutBuggerFucks continue their march across Iraq/Levant/Babylonia/Assyria, and enthusiastic nut-jobs around the world get inspired by YouTube calls-to-arms and begin cutting heads off on a freelance basis, things are going to get bad for the average Muslim.
Sami Shah. Used with permission.
But Sami, I hear you ask, what is an “average Muslim”? Is the guy in a balaclava carrying a Kalashnikov and a bag full of heads an “average Muslim”? Or is it the sweet man who lives next door to me, with three kids and a friendly wife? How do we identify them? Classify them? Defeat them in battle? Prevent them from forming into a single, mega Kaiju-Muslim?
I can't provide all the answers, but I can help with some of your queries. So, without further ado (and with much blatant and shameless self-promotion), let me present an excerpt from my book I, MIGRANT, which answers all your questions.
(works best if read in British Broadcaster David Attenborough voice)
My parents are the perfect living example of this type of believer. They believe fervently in Allah, the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. Both pray five times a day, give to the poor, have performed Hajj and end all praise with the grateful invocations of Allah’s grace. Both my mother and father know certain passages of the Quran by heart, especially those that aid in searching for lost everyday items, and generally find pride in being a Muslim. Mommy doesn't wear a hijab and Daddy doesn’t have a beard. Nor do they think that the West was created by Satan and should be defeated in battle by inflicting maximum civilian casualties through random and creative acts of murderous suicide.
They do, however, think that America hates Muslims, that its support of Israel is evidence of this, further proven by the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. These are their opinions and, by and large, are no more toxic or damaging to the environment than my mother’s belief that all men are inherently lazy and my father’s belief that all women give terrible advice.
Chances are, if you were to randomly pick one hundred Muslims from around the world, they would all be like my parents. Islam is a part of their life, but it doesn't get in the way.
Judged unfavourably by all other forms of Muslims, these are the second most common kind. They are Muslims by birth and by name. They may even go so far as to appreciate the sanctity of the Quran, Allah and his Prophet, but it ends there. They have no patience for actually practising rituals and in general will be reluctant even to publicly identify themselves as Muslim.
Some of them drink, despite the prohibitions. But none of them will ever eat pork. Pork is the final frontier for the Muslim. Sure, they may lustily eye a strip of bacon if they ever encounter one, maybe even pause to consider a side of ribs after seeing it on a television show, but on average the safest place for a pig is in a Muslim country. For alcohol though, there are all kinds of ready justifications provided. “The Quran only outlaws a specific type of booze,” they may say, pointing to the literal prohibition against wine made from fermented dates. Or “Islam is all about moderation,” they may argue, just before passing out in a puddle of vodka and vomit.
In a Venn diagram of the beliefs shared between Good and Bad Muslims, the only overlap would be that they too think that America hates Muslims, that its support of Israel is evidence of this, further proven by the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Currently occupying every possible government job in any Muslim country you survey, another name for this breed of Muslim is “Hypocritical Bastards”.
They are different from the Bad Muslims in that, while they may commit every sin and indulge every prohibition, they present themselves as symbols of Islamic virtue. You can usually recognize them by the aggressively overt way they express their love for Islam. The men will have long, pious beards, with which they demonstrate both their commitment and masculinity; they have permanently bruised foreheads, to provide evidence of a lifetime spent prostrating on a prayer mat. Their women will wear the hijab—not wrapped tight, as is custom, but instead floating several inches above an immense hairstyle that defies both the laws of physics and style.
They will always have in their hands a string of prayer beads on an endless rotation through ceaseless fingers. Every prayer is read by both genders and every Hajj attended. Their commitment to the charade may even go so far as to shun alcohol and be completely loving and devoted husbands/wives. But put a rupee in front of them and they will serve up a round of bacon and ham while marrying a Kafir and swearing an oath to Satan.
They can also be counted in the club of people who believe that America hates Muslims, that its support of Israel is evidence of this, further proven by the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The only difference here is that most of them tend to be quite willing to cozy up to their enemy if the price is right. Actually, that's not true. It's not if the price is right—it's if there is any price at all.
Tends to talk about “Jihad” a lot. Your average mosque imam is a good example. In appearances not that different from the “Terrible Muslim”, only with a greater commitment to the lifestyle. The men will not just sport beards, but have shaved upper lips as well. This stylish look is rooted in the belief that the Prophet wore his beard in the same way, although there is no actual evidence to prove this. Nor is there any to prove that his pyjamas ended several inches above his ankles, but that is also a popular sartorial choice amongst this lot.
Now I should also provide some clarification about my introduction to this class of Muslim. The Frightening Muslim may say “jihad” a lot and talk about fighting the West and how the Muslim Ummah needs to rise up in revolt, but chances are you will never find one anywhere near a front line.
They are classified as Frightening, by the way, only by westerners who see the stuff of terroristic nightmares in their appearance. For their fellow Muslims, this kind tends to be annoying at most and ridiculous at best. We tolerate them because on average they are useful in teaching your children the Quran (as long as you strictly supervise that the education is limited to Arabic rote memorization and does not include any kind of opinion-forming rhetoric or casual molestation). Their opinions range from far-fetched conspiracies—in which Islamic sects other than the one they belong to are plotting their downfall—to the belief that America hates Muslims, that its support of Israel is evidence of this, further proven by the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. An example of the Frightening Muslim is the entire country of Saudi Arabia.
They believe that America hates Muslims, that its support of Israel is evidence of this, further proven by the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The only difference is, they want to do something about it. And that something includes killing Westerners, killing active supporters of the West, killing passive supporters of the West, killing anyone who is in the way of getting to the actives, passives and westerners and finally just killing everyone. Examples of the Downright Crazy Muslim are Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al Zwahiri, all of Al Qaeda, the Taliban.
Sami Shah is a stand up comedian, illustrator, graphic designer and columnist living in Western Australia. His work has been profiled in the New York Times, Comedy Central, NPR’s The World and Laughspin Magazine, and he has performed on the BBC Asian Network and for TEDx Melbourne. Sami is the author of I, MIGRANT: A Comedian's Journey From Karachi to the Outback.

author: Guest Contributor


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Threats to Press Freedom in the Fight Against Ebola in Liberia  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

The body of a victim of Ebola virus is seen covered with a sheet at the back of a truck in Monrovia, Liberia -Public Domain
The Press Union of Liberia is concerned about the threat to freedom of information as a result of the actions taken by the government to limit the expansion of the Ebola virus. The union wrote a letter to the Minister of Justice to draw his attention to the challenges media workers are currently facing. Here is an excerpt of the letter:
The Press Union of Liberia’s attention is specifically drawn to several circumstances that do not only restrain journalists in their obligation to seek out and share useful news and information with the public, but significantly threaten even media participation in the global fight against Ebola. By all accounts, the media space in Liberia has been a significant partner in the fight to strengthen awareness in our society about the impact and challenges of the epidemic. Notwithstanding the loss of revenue due to the emergency nature of the epidemic and the effect on general life, the media has remained committed to this fight. Unfortunately, several actions against media by government actors, especially during these times, have simply given room to growing skepticism about the disease, and further exacerbating the denials within the community. We think this is unfair and improper.
Follow our in-depth coverage: The Struggle to #StopEbola in West Africa

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Turkey’s ‘School of Nature’: Reminding Us of What We Forgot · Global Voices
Ezgi Irmak Yücel

The view from the porch at the School of Nature. Photo by Güneş Sönmez, used with permission.
Located in the high reaches of Eski Orhanlı, an abandoned mountain village close to the town of Seferihisar, Doğa Okulu, or School of Nature, is not a regular school. There is no fixed teaching staff, nor is there a curriculum. At Doğa Okulu everyone is nature's student, re-engaging with the primeval knowledge inherent to natural living by imitating nature itself: experimenting, experiencing and evolving collectively without rigid schedules.
An hour from the Aegean coast in the province of Izmir, Eski Orhanlı looks out over a fertile valley. The climate and soil provide a home to free-growing olive trees and grape vines, as well as the region's trademark oaks. The village was inhabited for thousands of years before it was vacated in the 1980s, as Eski Orhanlı's locals decided to constitute a new village in the valley, with better transport access to the fields where they work.
One school replaces another
Eski Orhanlı's derelict primary school was donated to Doğa Okulu for research purposes. It was restored with help from Doğa Derneği (a prominent Turkish environmental NGO), villagers of the region and Seferihisar‘s municipal government. The very creation of Doğa Okulu turned out to be the first lesson the school offered humankind: volunteers blended ancient crafts with sustainable solutions from the present in order to reconstruct the timeworn building. Doğa Okulu opened its gates in February 2014.
This wall art was created by a Doğa Okulu architect expressing the nature surrounding the school. Photo taken from Doğa Okulu and used with permission.
The concrete structure of the old school was replaced with the soil and stones of the village. Power for the school comes from solar panels and crushed olive seeds, or prina. The school's website refers to the building as “the living building”  as it “breathes” through clay plaster. The place where Eski Orhanlı's children once learned to read and write now hosts workshops, master-apprentice courses and no shortage of conversations. The new residents of Orhanlı train urbanites in crafts such as producing olive oil by hand, using that same olive oil in turn to create natural soap.
Raziye, a Turkish folklorist and a volunteer at Doğa Okulu writes in her blog post:
Orhanlı’da köy sakinleri hala kendi sabununu yapmaya devam ediyor. Biz de köy sakinlerinden Pembe Teyze’yle konuşup sabun yapmaya karar verdik. Hem sabun yaptık hem de sabun hakkında değerli bilgiler öğrendik. Mesela öyle her aklına estiğinde sabun yapılmazmış. Sabun, yaz ağzı denilen ilkbaharda ve güzün katımaya (sertleşmeye) uygun zamanlarda yapılırmış. “Sabahın bereketi üzerimize olsun” diyerek erken vakitlerde avluda ateşi yaktık.
The residents of Orhanlı continue to produce their own soap. Talking to one of the inhabitants, Aunt Pembe, we decided to do so as well. Now we have learned how to make it, we are also learning essential information about soap. Apparently, one cannot make soap whenever he or she pleases. The appropriate time to produce soap is at the dawn of the summer, spring time and when fall starts to get harsher. Saying “shall the abundance of morning be upon us”, we built a fire early in the morning.
Master-apprentice courses are typically two or three-day events with a wide range of topics. For example, the First Steps into Nature course, running June 20-21, was an introductory course for newbie nature enthusiasts. Attendants came to understand the key points of living in nature, recognizing many of their urban habits as unnatural and unsustainable.
One of the participants in the course, Merve Ozayitgu, tweets:
Orhanlı köyü Doğa Okulu'ndan günaydın!Yerel tohumlardan patlıcan, biber,domates fidelerim ekilip dikilmeyi bekliyor. pic.twitter.com/92R0a3sFpN
— Merve Özayıtgu (@merveozayitgu) June 22, 2014
Good morning from Doğa Okulu, Orhanlı! My aubergine, pepper and tomato seedlings from local seeds are waiting to be planted.
MAGMA, an emerging Turkish geographical magazine, is another key supporter of Doğa Okulu. The magazine's co-founders Kemal Tayfur and Özcan Yüksek held an evironmentally-themed writing and editing apprenticeship in July.
On social media students of the school pine for the Doğa Okulu experience long after they depart.
Bu gece hepimizin rüyasındasın Doğa Okulu. @Doganinaskina #doğanınsofrasında pic.twitter.com/0zxfDuxRZZ
— Sururi Uras (@SururiUras) August 17, 2014
Tonight, you are in our dreams, School of Nature.
Other recent courses include one on the production of natural clay plaster and adobe September 5-7, while a course on birdwatching will follow later this autumn.
An ordinary lesson/chat in Doğa Okulu
by @doganinaskina
A hub for activism
Other than re-teaching the life lessons of Anatolia's ancestors, Doğa Okulu conducts environmentally-focused research projects with the support of Doğa Derneği volunteers and academics. The Seferihisar Natural Heritage Project is one such project, aiming to map the flora and fauna of Seferihisar. Seferihisar's local government initiated the project March 2013 and since then participants have gathered crucial information about the nature surrounding Seferihisar. A colony of Cory's shearwater was discovered in gulf of Sığacık, for instance.
Moreover, the school provides a platform for ecological causes such as Alakır Kardeşliği (Brotherhood of Alakır), which opposes the construction of a giant Hydro Electric Dam in the Alakır Valley.
Ozcan Yuksek of MAGMA tweets against the construction of the dam, indicating the area is legally protected land:
Alakır 1.Derece Doğal SİT Alanı! Derhal vadideki doğa düşmanı projeler iptal edilsin! https://t.co/rK6gnfTSNp pic.twitter.com/WsvddtUGAD
— özcan yüksek (@ozcanyuksek) July 7, 2014
Alakır is a 1st degree naturally protected area! This project is against nature and should be cancelled immediately!
Changing the mindset
Some visitors spend months on end at Doğa Okulu. Sevcan Gizem Gürüz writes in her blog post about the beginning of her half year's experience there.
İlk vardığımda yolun üzerindeki dere yatağında çalışan çocuk ve gençler gördüm. Gülümsüyorlardı. Şehirdekilerin aksine. Bir kısmı fidan dikiyor, bir kısmı çöp topluyordu. Üzerlerinde şalvar ve uzun sarı çizmeler. Oysa benim üzerimde yeni aldığım kot pantolon, ayağımdaysa kırmızı “Converse”ler…
O an fidan dikmek zor geldiği için çöp toplamaya karar verdim. Derenin öte tarafındaki çöplere yöneldim. Bir cesaret, ilk adım… Eyvah! Daha ilk adımda çoraplarıma kadar ıslandım. Neyse dedim ve o anı Instagram’da ölümsüzleştirmek adına telefonuma sarıldım. Olamaz! Hayatında ilk defa inek gören köpeğim Roma avaz avaz havlıyordu, susması için ona doğru hamle yaparken ayağım taşa takıldı ve kendimi derenin soğuk sularında otururken buldum. Hayır! O da ne? Yanımda yüzen telefonum mu yoksa?  Hay aksi… Belli ki buraya alışmam biraz zaman alacak!
Yine derin bir nefes aldım ve  bir solukta geri verdim. İlk iş bir şalvar ve bir çift çizme almam gerekiyordu. Kendime “Onlar gibi olmalıyım” dedim. Şimdi düşünüyordum da… Ne kadar yanılmışım. Onlar ve ben… Her kör nokta bu ayrımla başlıyor zaten. Doğada ayrım yok. Her şey bir. Biz de biriz…
When I first arrived, I saw children and teenagers working along the river bed on my way to the village. Unlike the people of the city, they were smiling. Some were planting trees, some were collecting garbage [that had fallen into the river]. They wore shalwar and long yellow boots, while I had my brand new jeans on me, red “Converse” shoes underneath…
I decided to collect garbage because I found it difficult to plant trees at the time. I headed for the garbage across the river. With a wisp of courage, a first step…Ooops! My socks were soaked in water. “Whatever,” I thought, taking hold of my phone to immortalize the moment on Instagram. No way! My dog, Roma, who had just seen a cow for the first time in her life was barking continuously. Just as I moved to calm her, I stumbled on a rock and found myself sitting in the cold stream of the river. Oh, no! What is that? My phone swimming next to me? Damn… Apparently, I will need more time to get used to things around here!
I took a deep breath again and exhaled. The first thing I needed to do was get a shalwar and a pair of boots. “I need to be like them,” I said to myself. Now I am thinking… How wrong I was. Them and me… Every deadlock begins with discrimination. There is no discrimination in nature. Everything is one. We are one…
Thanks to the efforts of its local government, Seferihisar became the first place in Turkey to join the Cittaslow/Slow Food movement. Cittaslows are culturally and ecologically protected settlements that aim to shield local environments and culinary traditions from the pervasive nature of globalization. Every week Seferihisar municipality supports local production by facilitating slow food bazaars, where producers sell their products directly to consumers. In order to increase food diversity and quality, there are regional festivals where producers can meet to exchange crops.
Age and origin are not barriers at Doğa Okulu. Here residents enjoy a chat in the amphi. Photo by Güneş Sönmez, used with permission.

author: Ezgi Irmak Yücel


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Ice Bucket Challenge, Meet Ukraine’s ‘Blood Bucket’ Challenge · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Can this blood bucket challenge video make the Ukrainian cause go viral? Screenshot from YouTube.com.
A group of European youths are attempting to draw attention to the conflict in Ukraine by putting a gory twist on the infamous Ice Bucket Challenge. This time around, the buckets are filled with metaphorical blood.
The initial meme, #IceBucketChallenge, took Silicon Valley, the US, and the rest of the world by storm earlier this year, raising awareness about the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and soliciting donations to research. There have since been many spinoffs of the challenge for other causes, with various substances ending up in buckets: rice, rubble from destroyed buildings, bullets, and even potatoes.
A few days ago, the intrepid activists of the Ukrainian FEMEN movement staged an anti-war performance at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an old Orthodox Christian monastery complex in the Ukrainian capital. In typical FEMEN fashion, a couple of topless female activists with “Stop Putin's War” written on their bodies faced the cameras, as a bucket of red liquid was poured over their heads. The bucket was inscribed with “Blood of Ukraine,” FEMEN made a scene, and ended up on the nightly news. The video made it to social networks, but did not cause much of a stir, as Ukrainians have seemingly become immune to the mostly naked activists’ stunts.
A FEMEN activist protesting against war in Ukraine. Screenshot courtesy of tsn.ua.
The idea of a “Blood Bucket” Challenge as a means of drawing the world's eyes to Ukraine must have appealed to some netizens, since a few days later a group of students from Vilnius, Lithuania, posted a group video of people pouring buckets of red over themselves, interspersed with short messages drawing attention to the cost of the conflict in Ukraine. The video, shot in an abandoned factory in Vilnius, features over 20 people. The description under the video speaks for itself:
We have made a short clip “The Blood Challenge”, calling the Europe not to stay indifferent about war in Ukraine. With a people from Portugal, France, Ukraine, Romania etc.
Comments on the YouTube video page range from the obligatory name-calling between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian users to placing the blame for the bloody conflict (on Putin, Obama, and everyone in between). As user FdGod32 points out, the imagery in the video leaves much room for interpretation:
Русские думают что это против Украины, Украинцы думают что это против Русских, гениально. А на самом деле то что?
Russians think this is against Ukraine, Ukrainians think this is against Russians, genius. What is it about, really?
The term “blood bucket” challenge, used by the authors of the video, is not new, and has been used previously by activists in the US drawing attention to indiscriminate shootings of Black teens and by an Ohio University student voicing criticism of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. The Twitter hashtag #bloodbucketchallenge was also adopted for the pro-Ukraine video and has enjoyed moderate popularity so far, with dozens of Twitter users sharing the video and its message.
https://t.co/rBW8S8bKjg #Lithuania. They know they could be next. Aciu! #BloodBucketChallenge #Ukraine #Russia pic.twitter.com/evCk4cTlED
— Taras Revunets (@Ukroblogger) September 18, 2014
The video itself has over 60,000 views on YouTube, but it is far from the millions of views some of the original Ice Bucket challenge videos boast. It seems even FEMEN's initial provocative stunt has not managed to make the idea of buckets full of fake blood appealing to Ukraine's supporters online. Ukrainians themselves, meanwhile, have probably seen more than enough real blood of those whose lives have been lost in the conflict to be enchanted by the metaphor.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Minority Scholar Ilham Tohti Denies Chinese Authorities’ Accusation That He Led a Double Life at Separatism Trial   · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Maya Wang posted two photos on Twitter comparing the appearance of Ilham Tohti before and after his detention.
Ilham Tohti, a prominent Uyghur scholar in China who founded a website that promoted understanding between the ethnic minority and the country's Han Chinese majority, was put on trial for two days on charges of separatism this week.
Ilham, who is an advocate for peaceful ethnic reconciliation between the Uyghur Muslims and the Han Chinese, was arrested in January. The relationship between the two groups has been tumultuous; ethnic tensions have at times resulted in deadly clashes between Uyghur activists and authorities.
The state's propaganda machine has claimed that Ilham was connected to the World Uyghur Congress, an overseas group that has been labelled as an extreme separatist group by the Chinese Communist Party. He is also accused of inciting his students to support separatism and spreading dissent through the the website he founded, Uyghur Online, which covered social issues from a Uyghur perspective.
Ilham has denied the accusations. During the trial, his lawyers shot down authorities’ insistence that Ilham belonged to a separatist group.
The Urumqi Intermediate People's Court's verdict is expected to be released next week.
Some believe his arrest and prosecution could provoke or worsen ethnic conflicts in the western Xinjiang region, where the Uyghur people mainly live. During Ilham's eight-month detention, his family was forbidden to see him and his lawyers, Liu Xiaoyuan and Li Fangping, told the media that he was chained with leg irons and denied access to food and warm clothes.
Maya Wang, a human right activist, posted an update on the trial and tweeted two photos comparing Ilham's current appearance with how he looked before his detention:
Lawyer says Tohti's verdict likely announced next week, Xinjiang TV shows a screenshot of Tohti on trial pic.twitter.com/3vGtFSOoBm
— Maya Wang 王松莲 (@wang_maya) September 19, 2014
As the court proceedings were closed to the public, Ilham's lawyers reported the details of the trial on Twitter and Twitter-like Sina Weibo. Most of Li Fangping's updates were deleted by Weibo censors, but were retweeted by Tibetan writer Woser on Twitter.
Liu Xiaoyuan pointed out that the arrangement of the trial was unfair. The Xinjiang court had denied all the lawyers’ requests for summoning witnesses to the case:
早在伊力哈木案庭前会议上，我们申请了十几个证人出庭作证，但法庭没有通知任何一个证人出庭。
— 刘晓原律师 (@liu_xiaoyuan) September 18, 2014
Before Ilham Tohti's trial, we had applied to the court to summon more than a dozen witnesses, but the court refused to send out the orders.
Ilham decided to speak for himself at court and Liu recorded his self-defense:
伊力哈木说：我一直以来拥护国家统一，反对分裂，从没想过分裂国家，没有参与任何分裂活动，更没有组织什么所谓的分裂组织。我提倡依法治疆，包括落实和完善民族区域自治制度，尊重法制，尊重人权，让各民族公正地分享发展的成果，平等就业，消除歧视，包括地域歧视，民族歧视，性别歧视，身份歧视等等
— 刘晓原律师 (@liu_xiaoyuan) September 18, 2014
Ilham Tohti said: I support the unity of the country and oppose separatism. The idea of separating the country has never occurred to me and I have never been involved in any separatist activities. There is no separatist group. I advocate for the rule of law in Xinjiang and the implementation of ethnic autonomy with respect to the law and human rights so that all ethnic groups can enjoy the fruits of development, equal job opportunities and eliminate regional, ethnic, gender and identity discrimination.
Li Fangping revealed that the prosecutor argued that Ilham lives a double life and his public speech did not represent what he believes. Li explained how he rebuked that argument in court (via Woeser's Twitter):
转李方平律师：伊力哈木曾在各个场合（包括境外媒体）公开表达”维吾尔族未来在中国”，明确表达反对分裂的观点，甚至被捕40天前还在这样表达。但公诉人却答辩这正说明伊的两面性（明面是反分裂、私下是分裂）和隐蔽性。（2-1）
— འོད་ཟེར།唯色Woeser (@degewa) September 19, 2014
RT Lawyer Li Fangping: Ilham Tohti said on many occasions (to overseas media as well) that the future of the Uyghur people depends on China, and that he opposes separatist views. He had openly recited his position just 40 days before his arrest. But the prosecutor used that as an evidence to tell a story of Ilham's hidden double life (oppose separatism in public but engage in a separatist organization in private).
转李方平律师：我反问公诉人，北京、新疆对伊力哈木的全程监控，他还有隐蔽空间吗？况且他的文章、网站、课堂都是公开的，哪来的两面性？（2-2）
— འོད་ཟེར།唯色Woeser (@degewa) September 19, 2014
RT Lawyer Li Fangping: My question to the prosecutor was: given the fact that Ilham Tohti had been under surveillance in Beijing and Xinjiang, how could he have a double life? Moreover, his writings, online publications and university classes, all these activities took place in the public. Where is his other life?
Indeed, Ilham had been under 24-hour surveillance since he was released from his different detention following the July 2009 Urumqi riots.
The separatism charge was built upon Ilham's involvement in Uyghur Online, which was blocked by authorities in 2008. Officials accused him of actively organizing his students to promote separatist thought. Ilham explained how the website operated in court, as reported by Liu Xiaoyuan:
伊力哈木说，自己只是创办了维吾尔在线网站，网站的编辑、翻译、版主、技术人员都是学生，被指控的七个学生中，有六个人是近两年才加入。自己根本没有组织成立过八个人的分裂国家犯罪集团。我在证据中发现，这七个人也没有承认，参与网站工作是从事分裂国家犯罪活动。
— 刘晓原律师 (@liu_xiaoyuan) September 18, 2014
Ilham Tohti said: He founded Uyghur Online. But the website's editors, translators, administrators and technical support are all performed by students. Among the seven students who are charged, six of them joined the website two years ago. I have never organized any separatist group. I found in the evidence that the seven students have never admitted their involvement in the website's is separatist activities.
Li Fangping also questioned in court the existence of the so-called separatist group (via Woeser's Twitter):
转李方平律师：【集团何来？】几乎所有的学生刚进入时都说老师是一个有良知、有责任感的人。关押一段时间后，学生们经过”反思”，认为自己受骗了，现在才发现老师有或可能有分裂新疆的目的。（2-1）
— འོད་ཟེར།唯色Woeser (@degewa) September 19, 2014
RT Lawyer Li Fangping: Where is the separatist group? Almost all students said at the early stage of their detention that their teacher [Ilham Tohti] is a person with conscience and responsibility. But after a period of time, the students “reflected” and believed that they were cheated, then discovered that their teacher had or might have the intention to separate Xinjiang.
转李方平律师：【集团何来？】…学生们纷纷表示:自己没有从事分裂活动；与老师划清界限；要求宽大处理；希望回到校园完成学业，等等。既然没有分裂国家的共同故意，集团从何而来？（2-2）
— འོད་ཟེར།唯色Woeser (@degewa) September 19, 2014
RT Lawyer Li Fangping: Where is the separatist group?… The students all said that they had never involved in any separatist activities. They drew a line between themselves and their teacher, asked the court to be lenient and expressed their wish to return to school, etc. If they don't have any intention to separate the country, can we call it a separatist group?
Ilham's household registration is in Beijing. According to common practice, the trial should then be held in Beijing. The current arrangement may indicate that his case is tainted with political considerations outside the rule of law. In China, all legal authorities, including the police and the court, are under the supervision of Politics and Law Commission of Communist Party of China.
Ilham made his final appeal during the trial:
伊力哈木最后陈述有三点：要求将案件移送北京市第一中级人民法院管辖；如果乌鲁木齐市中级法院坚持继续行使案件管辖权，请求排除法外权力干涉，公平公正地作出判决；我是无罪的，从来没有组织成立分裂国家的犯罪集团，从来没有从事分裂国家的犯罪活动。
— 刘晓原律师 (@liu_xiaoyuan) September 18, 2014
Ilham Tohti has three major points in his final appeal: He demanded that the case be transfer to Beijing Intermediate People's Court; if the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court insisted to hold the trial, he pleaded the court to rule out intervention that comes from outside the judiciary. I am innocent and have never engaged in the organization of criminal groups that wish to divide the country and have never engaged in any criminal activities that divide the country.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Iranian Judiciary Sets 1-Month Deadline to Block Viber · Global Voices
Farid

Iranian judiciary has set a one-month deadline for Hassan Rohani's government to block or to control messaging applications Viber, WhatsApp and TangoMe.
Iran judiciary sets 1-month deadline for communications ministry to block messaging apps @Viber, @WhatsApp & @TangoMe
— Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) September 20, 2014

author: Farid


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Newspapers Predict Spain’s Conservative Party Will Shelve Their Restrictive Abortion Bill to Save Face in Elections · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

Demonstration against Justice Minister Gallardon's abortion bill in February 2014. Photo uploaded to Twitter by Javier López. Used with permission.
A proposed law that would make Spain one of the most restrictive European countries on abortion is without a doubt the most controversial legislation put forward by the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy since his Partido Popular (PP) came to power with an absolute majority in 2011.
Christened “The Organic Law for the Protection of the Life of the Unborn and the Rights of the Pregnant Woman” by its promoter, Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, the legislation has not only found opposition across the Spanish political landscape, it has also faced a criticism within the ranks of the ruling PP.
It now looks as though the bill may have finally stalled—at least, according several national newspapers.
In an article titled “The Abortion Law Won't See the Light,” Lucía Méndez for El Mundo explains that the reason for this policy shift lies in several upcoming elections:
la ley del aborto ha sido muy perjudicial para los intereses electorales del PP, ya que una sólida mayoría de sus votantes se han sentido sumamente incómodos con el tema. Ni querían ni esperaban que el Gobierno legislara de forma tan restrictiva sobre una cuestión que afecta de lleno a las mujeres, por lo que la conclusión de los expertos es clara: hay que reconducir la situación y pasar la página para no abrir otra vez una controversia que haga daño al PP en un año clave con dos convocatorias electorales: las municipales y las generales.
The abortion bill has been very damaging to the electoral interests of the PP, since a solid majority of its voters have felt extremely uncomfortable with the subject. They neither wanted nor expected the government to legislate so narrowly on an issue that affects women in every respect. So the verdict of the experts is clear: the situation must be corrected and the page turned in order to avoid another controversy that could damage the PP in a pivotal year when both a municipal and a general election are pending.
El diario asserts that the massive loss of votes in the most recent elections may have been what provoked a strong reaction against the bill within the Popular Party:
Según fuentes de la cúpula del PP citadas por el medio, “no existe consenso en torno a este proyecto, y si no se logra un acuerdo, cosa que parece muy difícil, la ley no se aprueba y en paz”. Otros interlocutores son incluso más contundentes: “Esa ley nunca llegará al Parlamento”.
According to sources in the upper echelons of PP quoted in the media, “There is no consensus on this project, and if an agreement, which seems very difficult, is not achieved, the law won't pass and that will be that.” When asked, others are even more blunt: ” The law will never reach Parliament.”
The first law on abortion in Spain dates back to 1985 and was approved during the mandate of the first socialist government following the end of Francisco Franco's nearly 40-year dictatorship. This law decriminalized abortion in three circumstances: rape, fetal malformation, and danger to the life of the mother. In 2010, new legislation, which is currently in force, extended the reproductive rights of Spanish women, allowing them to freely abort in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, until week 22 in cases of danger to the mother, and at any time in cases of severe fetal malformation.
With Gallardón's proposed reform, the 2010 law—which is similar to those in most European countries—would have been seen its scope reduced dramatically to well before the 1985 provisions. For example, the PP bill would remove the exemption for malformation and the right of minors to have abortions without the consent of their guardians, and it would go so far as to require a woman to prove her mental or physical state was at risk by means of reports by two physicians in different medical health centers, turning an already stressful time into an obstacle course. And if that were not enough, the bill would impose a seven-day period of mandatory reflection.
Many people accuse Gallardón of legislating in a sectarian and partisan way, taking into account only the will of the most reactionary sector of society, led by the Catholic Church in the person of former Archbishop of Madrid and President of the Episcopal Conference Antonio María Rouco Varela—and doing so against the wishes of the vast majority of Spanish people, who see no need to amend the current law.
In defence of his project, Gallardón went so far as to declare in Parliament that motherhood “is what makes a woman a real woman,” which led socialist MP Patricia Hernandez to quip, “Being a mother doesn't make a woman more of a woman just as being a minister doesn't make a man smarter.”
After news of the alleged suspension of the bill, many netizens attributed the PP's U-turn to the proximity of the municipal elections, many even taking for granted that the bill would be taken up again if the PP wins the impending municipal vote. According to commenter Otrociudadano in El diario:
Lo hacen por el descalabro electoral que se avecina, no por ideas y conciencia social. Otra mayoría absoluta y lo encajan al día siguiente.
They're doing it because of the looming disaster in the polls, not because of ideas or social conscience. Another absolute majority and they'll dump it back on us the next day.
Sciuro in newspaper Público y mason33 in El Mundo also think it is just an election maneuvre:
Ya se sabe, la postura oficial del PP respecto del aborto es “radicalmente en contra en los dos años siguientes a unas elecciones y respeto democrático el resto del tiempo”.
We all know the official position of the PP regarding abortion is “radically against it in the two years following an election and respect for democracy the rest of the time.”
Mas claro, el agua! La ley del aborto les ha perjudicado electoralmente y la retiran por ahora. Hasta despues de las elecciones. Habra algun ingenuo que pique? Lo que importa es el poder. No tienen ni espina dorsal!
Crystal clear! The abortion bill has damaged them politically and they are shelving it for now. Until after the elections. Is anyone gonna fall for this? What counts is power. They have no backbone!
Twitter users also take for granted that the reprieve is motivated by the elections:
Archbishop Rouco and various government ministers visit London, a city in which thousands of Spanish women received abortions before the 1985 law. [Spoof of 1960s Spanish film] Image uploaded to Twitter by no_pasaran#. Used with permission.
El PP renuncia a la reforma electoral en Ayuntamientos y a la reforma de la ley del aborto, todo en unos días. No hay miedo no, hay pavor
— Borja Ventura (@borjaventura) September 12, 2014
The PP is dropping the municipal electoral reform and the abortion law reform, all in a matter of days. They aren't afraid, they're terrified.
EL ABORTO LIBRE ES UN GENOCIDIO NAZI, pero oye, si nos quita muchos votos lo dejamos como está. #Principios
— Els quatre gats (@Els_quatre_gats) September 13, 2014
THE RIGHT TO ABORTION IS NAZI GENOCIDE, but listen, if it means we lose votes, we'll leave it as is.
El frenazo a la ley del aborto es electoralista, no ideológico. Así que ya sabemos qué pasará si vuelven a ganar.
— Miky Injun (@miky_co) September 13, 2014
Putting the brakes on the abortion law is electoral pandering, not ideology. So we know what will happen if they win again.
Perhaps the proximity of the election is not the only reason, as Javier Lezaola points out on Twitter:
Pues parece q se va confirmando q la supuesta ley del aborto era poco más q una maniobra de distracción para colar las políticas del FMI
— Javier Lezaola (@JavierLezaola) September 13, 2014
So it looks like it's true that the abortion bill was just a distraction tactic to sneak in IMF policies.

author: Lourdes Sada


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Thailand’s Prime Minister Apologizes for Suggesting Bikinis Raise the Murder Rate Among Tourists · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Prayuth Chan-ocha 29th Prime Minister of Thailand and chief of the army. Photo by Vichan Poti, Copyright @Demotix (9/4/2014)
Thailand's Prime Minister has apologized for suggesting that tourists visiting his country might not be safe if they wear bikinis. When he made the “bikini gaffe,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was speaking to television reporters about the brutal murder of two British tourists at a popular beach destination south of Thailand. Prayuth later clarified that he didn’t mean to offend anyone and only wished to express his concern about the safety of tourists.
Earlier this week, the dead bodies of Hannah Witheridge (age 23) and David Miller (age 24) were found on the beach resort island of Koh Tao, just south of Thailand. Initial reports indicate that the young Britons were probably murdered. A police investigation is now underway.
Thai authorities were busy working the murder case when Prayuth delivered his now infamous remark:
There are always problems with tourist safety. They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want, they can wear bikinis and walk everywhere…Can they be safe in bikinis… unless they are not beautiful?
Thailand's mass media did not widely report Prayuth's statement, but it triggered strong and angry reactions in other countries, especially in the United Kingdom. Many have accused the Thai leader of “blaming the victim” instead of solving the crime. Prayuth was quick to apologize:
I am sorry that my statement caused uneasiness. I affirm that I did not look down on or criticize anyone. I simply wanted to warn them to be careful at certain places and certain times.
He added that he was under intense pressure during the interview:
I admit that sometimes I speak too strongly. It was because I felt pressured and sad for the victims. I feel sorry for them, no matter if they are Thais or foreigners. I don't want this kind of loss to ever happen again.
Careful not to bear too much responsibility for the tragedy, Prayuth then shifted to blaming migrant workers for violent crimes and warned both the public and tourists to be vigilant against illegal aliens:
I insist that Thailand is safe, although there are some not-good people here. Therefore, they have to be careful. Their country and our country do not have equal safety. I admit I am worried for them.
We have to help take care of [our nation] and not let not-good people mingle with us, such as unregistered alien workers. We can't let them work like that. It's dangerous and it can cause damage to the country.
The scene of the murders is one of Thailand's most famous island resorts. Many online have shared photographs from the picturesque location, when remembering the two victims.
It's now 3 days since 2 British tourists found dead at end of this Thai beach. Total confusion over police inquiry pic.twitter.com/pJ2JK3ZxXM
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) September 18, 2014
Families of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge pay tribute to the murdered tourists http://t.co/vijl2O05UY pic.twitter.com/W6zHGbKvHH
— IBTimes UK (@IBTimesUK) September 16, 2014
Prayuth is the army chief who launched a coup last May in a bid to stop the violent clashes between the country’s major political parties. After drafting an interim constitution, the army appointed members of the legislative assembly, who subsequently installed Prayuth as prime minister.
In an editorial, the Bangkok Post lamented the absence of public outcry in Thailand against Prayuth’s statement, saying the local media's silence gives the country “little chance to fight rape culture.”
Blogging for the Asian Correspondent, Saksith Saiyasombut noted that the “half-baked joke is inappropriate,” calling on Prayuth to be more careful with his public statements in the future:
…this is a lesson for the outgoing army chief, junta leader and prime minister that he is now under much, much more public scrutiny now that he has took (over) this position and that he has to choose his words more carefully.
Prayuth promises a quick investigation, assuring tourists that Thailand remains safe for tourists.
That the prime minister actually apologized suggests the enormity of international backlash to his gaffe. Of course, inadequate reporting about Prayuth's comments by the local press reflects the sorry state of media freedom in Thailand today. Unfortunately, many Internet users it seems are still unable to criticize openly the policies and actions of army officials. Or perhaps civic forces inside Thailand compelled Prayuth to apologize for his blunder, after all. If the latter is true, maybe this incident will inspire more citizens to challenge the other controversial policies of the country's military-backed regime.

author: Mong Palatino


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Camping Next to Kyrgyzstan’s Most Notorious Gangster at the ‘World Nomad Games’ · Global Voices
Chris Rickleton

Many Kyrgyz doubt the difference between a convicted criminal like Kolbayev (left) and an MP like Tekebayev (right). Image remixed by author.
Last week Kyrgyzstan held the first-ever edition of the World Nomad Games. By most accounts, the event, featuring competitors from 19 different countries, was a reasonable success. Men wrestled with men, horses wrestled with horses, and goat carcasses were slung around with a vengeance in an ancient game of polo still played across remote Eurasian locales, ranging from Afghanistan to parts of Siberia.
But not everyone came away from the experience smiling.
Omurbek Tekebayev, a long-time Kyrgyz MP with a tarnished reputation, was seemingly shocked to find that when he bedded down for an evening in a yurt camp created by the organizers of the event, the country’s most notorious gangster was hanging out in the next door yurt. (A yurta, in Russian, boz üý in Kyrgyz, or ger in Mongolian, is a traditional nomadic dwelling. Tekebayev’s comments below, are reported by local news agency vb.kg).
Недавно в Кырчыне мы были гостями в юрте, а по соседству сидел Кольбаев со своими ребятами. Он что, хочет с властью соперничать? Эту юрту, оказывается, выделили нам, депутатам, там губернаторы еще были, а он пришел туда. Нам тут же выделили другую юрту. Если он лидер в криминальном мире, то пусть будет там, а не соперничает с властью. Правоохранительные органы прямо там же должны были скрутить ему руки и задержать.
Just the other day we were guests at a yurt in the village of Kyrchyn [near the site of the World Nomad Games] and we found out that Kolbayev was sitting with his guys in the neighboring yurt. What is this? He wants to be a rival to the government now? The yurt where they were sitting was allocated for MPs, but he came and took it. So we asked to be given another yurt somewhere else. If he is a leader in the criminal world, then let him stay there instead of trying to compete with the government. Police should have arrested him right there and then.
The target of Tekebayev’s indignation, Kamchi Kolbayev, is a convicted felon thought to be Kyrgyzstan’s principal ‘Thief-in-Law’, a title unique to the post-Soviet underworld that implies extensive informal authority over criminal activity in a given country or region, and — perhaps most importantly — an unrivaled status among inmates in the prisons where the Thief has served time.
Kolbayev, who recently spent one-and-a-half years in jail on kidnapping and criminal conspiracy charges, is viewed by the U.S. government as a lynchpin in the Eurasian heroin trade. Prior to his sentencing he was briefly based in Dubai from where he allegedly coordinated mass insubordination —  thousands of prisoners stitched up their mouths following a deadly riot — in Kyrgyzstan’s jails in 2012.
The object at the source of all the consternation, a Kyrgyz yurt. Image from Wikipedia.
The Issyk-Kul province where the World Nomadic Games were held is very much Kolbayev’s home turf. So much so that the hippodrome where many of the key sporting events took place was recently named in honor of Kolbayev’s father. The hippodrome is state property and the national government never gave permission to rename it, but that has not stopped the rebranding going ahead.
That criminals continue to have such influence in Kyrgyzstan owes much to the failures of MPs like Tekebayev to build public faith in the national political elite. As the main author of Kyrgyzstan’s current parliamentary constitution and the head of a major party in the legislature, Tekebayev is a prominent politician. He is also thoroughly compromised by allegations that he participated in looting during the country’s 2010 revolution and an infamous video of him naked with an unknown woman – not his wife — that Russian TV popularized in the run-up to Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections that year. (The Kremlin was never Tekebayev’s biggest fan).
That background may explain why Tekebayev’s indignation was met with a backlash of irony and invective from commenters on vb.kg, where his quotes appeared:
Sem said:
Лучшебы они там депутатами и губернаторами с опгешниками перестреляли друг друга.Народ вздохнулбы с облегчением!
It would have been better if those MPs and governors and criminals had all had a shootout. The people would have died from happiness!
Anotherreader made an unflattering comparison between the Thief-in-Law and the lawmaker:
Кольбаев вор и к его чести это не скрывает и сроки за сию деятельность переодически отбывает. А вот “политик” Текебаев свою мародерскую деятельность депутатским мандатом прикрывает, Так, что вору в законе должно быть стыдно за соседство с Теке!
Kolbayev is a Thief-in-Law and to his honour he does not hide it and periodically does time in acknowledgement of his activities. But this “politician” Tekebaev hides his looting activities behind his parliamentary mandate. In this sense, the Thief-in-Law should be ashamed to be found next to Tekebayev.
Others were openly supportive of Kolbayev:
Камчы, грохнул бы ты этого Текебашу, все бы тебе спасибо сказали.
Kamchi [Kolbayev] if you had killed that Tekebayev, everyone would have thanked you.
На его месте надо радоваться тому, что Кольбаев ему рога не отломил!
In [Tekebayev's] place he should be glad that Kolbayev did not break him.
One of the crime lord's many female admirers weighed in:
Я хочу замуж за Камчи, красивый мужчина. Хочу чтобы мой муж был внешностью похож на него. Импозантный мужчинка. Камчи я люблю тебя!
I want to marry Kamchi [Kolbaev], beautiful man. I want my husband to look like him. An imposing man. Kamchi, I love you!
Even as one commenter thanked Tekebayev for being “the only politician brave enough to utter Kolbayev's name”, another suggested that Tekebayev's real opposition to Kolbayev lay in the MP's patronage of a separate criminal group.
Kyzyl Asker summed up the common feeling that in Kyrgyzstan, the line between the political and criminal elite blurred so long ago that it was no longer worth drawing:
Да ладно тут цирк опять дешевый разыгрывать ! Они там всех за баранов держат что ли ? Депутаты, менты, бандюки – все в одной колоде, начиная со Акаевских времен ! Не было у нас Закона за эти 20 лет.
Whatever, here comes the circus again! Do they take us all for stupid sheep? MPs, cops, bandits – all part of the same pack, beginning from the era of [first president Askar] Akayev! We haven't had laws in our society for the last 20 years.
If the MP was looking to score political points by taking on the mob boss, he failed dismally.

author: Chris Rickleton


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Cambodian Garment Workers Are Pressuring H&M, Walmart and Zara to Make Their Suppliers Pay a Living Wage · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Cambodian workers urge global clothing brands to give a $177 monthly minimum wage. Photo from Licadho
After launching a nationwide strike last December, Cambodia’s garment workers are back in the streets demanding a monthly minimum wage of 177 US dollars.
Last year’s strike was organized to pressure the government to raise the monthly wage, which at that time stood at 80 dollars. Garment workers wanted to double the wages they were receiving, but the government only allowed an increase of 15 to 20 dollars. The strike mobilized tens of thousands of workers across the country, but it was violently dispersed by state forces in January, which resulted in the death of five workers.
The current monthly minimum wage received by Cambodian garment workers is pegged at 100 dollars. Export earnings of the garment sector represent about a third of the country’s 15.25-billion-dollar GDP last year. There are more than 600,000 garment workers in Cambodia, and the majority of them are female. But aside from receiving low wages, workers also suffer from poor working conditions, which often result in mass fainting incidents in various sweatshop factories.
This week, garment workers have revived the campaign for a wage increase, but this time they directed their appeal to the global clothing brands that buy and sub-contract supply from Cambodia. The campaign, dubbed as “The buyer must provide basic wages $177”, is aimed at pressuring global brands such as H&M, Walmart, Levi’s, Gap Puma, C&A, Adidas and Zara to directly negotiate a higher wage for workers with their suppliers.
#WeNeed177 Post the green logo to all brands sourcing from Cambodia demanding they raise the minimum wage to 177$ pic.twitter.com/7CnJSRIXmb
— CNV Internationaal (@CNV_Internat) September 17, 2014
More than 500 garment workers gathered at Canadia Industrial Park in Phnom Penh, the country’s capital, to press for higher wages. According to garment unions, about 300 factories across the country have joined the protest.
This video shows workers holding banners as they demand international companies not to starve the garment workers of Cambodia
Union leaders explained that the 177-dollar minimum wage demand is based on the average monthly spending of garment workers. One of the workers who participated in the rally echoed the sentiment of her fellow workers to English-language newspaper The Cambodia Daily:
We want a higher wage because today we don’t have enough money to support ourselves because everything is very expensive, like rent, electricity, water and food.
Cambodian workers demand a monthly minimum wage of $177. Photo from Licadho
The Community Legal Education Center, a local human rights group, is supporting the campaign as it urged the brands and their suppliers “to meet their responsibility and ensure human dignity for their Cambodian workers.”
The government responded by deploying police and army units in the protest site. Meanwhile, the opposition assured workers that they will bring the wage campaign inside the parliament.
A soldier films protesting #garment workers in #phnompenh as they continue to demand a wage increase. #cambodia. pic.twitter.com/YxiuWZzLku
— Luc Forsyth (@LucForsyth) September 17, 2014
The wage increase campaign is supported by labor unions in many countries. In Canada, there is an online petition urging consumers not to buy clothes “tainted with exploitation and repression.”
Hopefully, the planned series of protests will remain peaceful and the government will respect the right of workers to demand better living and working conditions. It is also important for global clothing brands to prove their commitment to improve the welfare of workers in Cambodia's garment factories.


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Egyptian Leftist Activist Mahinour El-Masry Freed after Spending 125 Days in Jail  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A Free Mahinour poster. Shared on Twitter by @HaniShukrallah
After spending 125 days in prison, leftist Egyptian activist Mahinour El-Masry was ordered to be released from prison today.
An Alexandria court suspended El-Masry's six-month sentence, reports Mada Masr. In May, the activist was jailed after an appeals court sentenced her for two years, along with eight other activists, for breaking Egypt's controversial protests law, which bans protests in the country. Mahinour was arrested for protesting outside a court in December in which two policemen accused of murdering Khaled Saeed were being tried. Saeed is considered the Mohamed Bouazizi of the Egyptian revolution.
In July, Mahinour's sentence was slashed to six months, and more good news followed today when the Misdemeanors Courth threw out the case altogether.
Mahinour started a hunger strike on August 25 in solidarity with fellow Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abd ElFattah, who was subsequently released on September 15, 2014, and other political detainees.
Netizens welcomed news of Mahinour's release.
In a part of the world where good news is hard to come by, prolific Egyptian blogger Zeinobia describes her release as “the good news of the day”:
Mahinour El-Masry is released from detention pending trial. The good news of the day
— Zeinobia (@Zeinobia) September 21, 2014
Yasmine Khalifa shares similar sentiments:
Amidst the crappy news of multiple explosions across Egypt there is a glimmer of happy news that Mahinour will be released.
— Yąsmine Khalifa (@jazkhalifa) September 21, 2014
But fellow activist Mona Seif knows what would upset Mahinour. She tweets:
ماهينور هتخرج و هتبقى مقهورة اللي معاها في نفس القضية لسة محبوسين. خاصة اسلام اللي ماكانش مشارك في الوقفة ..الحرية لاسلام و عمر و لؤي و ناصر
— Mona Seif (@Monasosh) September 21, 2014
Mahinour will be released but she will be upset that those with her in the same case are still detained, especially Islam, who wasn't even taking part in the protest. Freedom for Islam, Omar, Luay and Nasser.
While in prison, Mahinour won the 2014 Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize, the annual award given by lawyers to a lawyer for their defense of human rights. Incidentally, the first recipient of the the award in 1985 was South African leader Nelson Mandela while he was in prison.
Lawyer Gamal Eid said he believed her release was part of a government maneuver to improve its image. He tweets:
بعد الف مبروك لماهينور المصري رأيي الشخصي :مناورة سياسية لنظام مستبد ماهينور حتسلم جائزة دولية حقوقية الشهر الجي! وتحسين صورة قبل سفر الرئيس
— Gamal Eid (@gamaleid) September 21, 2014
After congratulating Mahinour, I believe that her release from prison is a political ploy by an oppressive regime. Mahinour will receive an international award next month. And it is to improve the [country's] image before the president travels abroad
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi is travelling to the US today to take part in the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
But this isn't the end of the road for Mahinour with the Egyptian judicial system. She is still on trial in the Raml police station case, where she is accused with 12 other defendents of damaging the police station and injuring policemen.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Industrial Pollution Kills Hundreds of Wild Birds in Inner Mongolia · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

More than 500 dead wild water birds appeared in the lake areas of Inner Mongolia since this summer as a result of water pollution. The poisonous water, as reported by local herdsmen, came from factories from a nearby eco-industrial area. Annie Lee from China Hush wrote a photo feature on the situation.


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Macedonian Media Stonewalls Popular Hip-Hop Artist’s Pro-Freedom Song · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

A still from Toni Zen's video clip “Under Control.”
Toni Zen was once, not so long ago, Macedonia's biggest hip hop star, a media darling whose every move was followed. Since releasing a song about freedom of speech, however, Zen seems to have been dropped by Macedonian media.
Often praised for his good looks by media at home, always interesting as the bodybuilding buddy of [then] prime minister's chief bodyguard – who was also featured in one of Toni's music videos – and in the spotlight of regional media abroad during his participation in regional version of Survivor reality show, Zen could often be seen on front pages and television screens. He even appeared as kids’ idol on notebooks, making spectacular concerts in Skopje's biggest arena.
Zen was a popular staple that the country's media members seems to love to talk about until March 2013, when the hip-hop artist released the video for his new song, titled “Under Control” (Под контрола), featured below. The musician has since seldom been seen in Macedonian and regional media, although the song has been quite popular among his fans.
…Медиумски притисок
со бомбардирање реклами
вака се прави
„Не размислувајте сами!“
Слободата на говорот
затворена во шахта
во канализација
фрлена целата правда
Нè скараа нè степаа
од коренот нè сменија
фаќаат сеири
додека дигаат империја…
…Знам дека не е вака
како што ни зборат
ние не сме вакви
не држат под контрола
Се знае дека
сè е под контрола…
…Media pressure
bombardment with commercials
this is how you do it
“Do not think on your own!”
Freedom of speech
closed in a shaft
as justice
goes down the drain
They made us quarrel and fight among ourselves
they changed us from the root
and have fun regarding our misery
while building their empire…
…I know the things
are not as they say
this is not us
they keep us under control
It is known
Everything is under control…
Zen's song and the ambitious, well-executed video directly refer to the stifling of freedom of speech and social disparity in Macedonia, with audio and visual references to works by American comedian George Carlin and British author George Orwell. The music video received critical acclaim and was selected the best video of 2013 by the jury of popular annual manifestation Zlatna Buba Mara. Very few people have been able to see, however, as it has been completely absent from mainstream Macedonian media. The artist's performing career has also come to a near stop and he now rarely appears at public events.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Rooftop Farming in Hong Kong · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

“Go Green Hong Kong” discussed the benefit of rooftop farming in Hong Kong – Green roofs can help reduce three of the four top problems facing the society in the next 50 years: energy, water, and environment.


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As Political Pressure From Beijing Mounts, Hong Kong Students Demand Democracy With Class Boycott · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Thousands of students joined the class boycott assembly at the Chinese University campus on 22 September. Image from inmediahk.net.
Student activist groups in Hong Kong have begun to boycott their classes for at least one week to demand that Beijing allow the city to hold a genuine democratic election in 2017 for its next chief executive.
The Federation of University Student Unions and Scholarism, a high school student activist group, are also hoping the boycott will build momentum for a massive sit-in dubbed Occupy Central which will likely take place in the financial district around the same time as China's National Day on 1 October 2014. The protest intends to make it clear to the Chinese government that Hong Kong's people will not accept its undemocratic plans for the election of the city's top leader.
Former British colony Hong Kong enjoys a certain amount of autonomy from China as a special administrative region under the “one country, two systems” principle. Beijing has promised the city a direct vote in 2017, but says a nominating committee stacked with pro-Beijing members will select the candidates.
To contain the spread of protests in recent weeks since the nominating committee was announced, pro-Beijing groups and media outlets have ramped up the pressure on those demanding democracy, insisting that nothing will change Beijing's decision. As high school students also joined the class boycott, the pro-Beijing camp has also accused Occupy Central organizers of “using” innocent students as their political tools and set up a hotline for students and parents to report those who incite class boycotts at schools.
A top Beijing official has claimed that China is prepared to adopt “prompt and harsh” action if the planned sit-in becomes out of control.
Furthermore, a fabricated written record of a seminar in which protest organizers spoke to the English-speaking community of Hong Kong has spread the suggestion on social media that foreign forces are operating behind the scenes. The record put words into the mouth of seminar participants that only a Hong Kong version of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests complete with the bloody crackdown could pressure the Beijing government into introducing genuine democratic change and that the US government would be prepared to support the students in the strike by helping them to enter top universities. Some believe that the fabrication is meant to put the blame on the organizers for a possible violent crackdown on the sit-in.
Pro-democracy groups have responded by taking out an advertisement in international newspapers urging Beijing not to stage a violent crackdown in Hong Kong.
The advertisement in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal urged: “Don't Stage a Tiananmen Crackdown in Hong Kong. The Whole World is Watching.” Image from Hong Wrong.
T-rexx, a indie music singer and news commentator, described the political pressure dissents are facing these days on citizen media platform inmediahk.net:
前幾天，有網上平台的街訪訪問了一個中六生，談政改看法，那學生說不支持假普選，希望可以公民提名選特首。片段旋即被反佔中人士放上網嘲諷，不出半日，這青年已被一班老而不「問候」得體無完膚。這種壓力不是人人受得起，捱不到當日黃昏，這青年電郵到網站，希望他們把片段刪除，不要再播。
A few days ago, an online platform interviewed an upper high school student about his view on the electoral reform. The student said he would not support fake universal suffrage and wanted citizen nomination for the chief executive election. Soon after the video was uploaded, anti-Occupy Central groups started bullying him with foul language. Not so many people can withstand that kind of pressure and in less than 24 hours, the student emailed the website and requested that they take down the video.
In fact, T-rexx himself has become a target of political threats:
昨天，如常有人在網上罵我的文章，新動作是焚燒有我舊照片的學校年刊，還把燒書照片放上臉書廣傳。看了焚書照，我忽然想，明天我出街是否要擔心被人坑儒？
Yesterday, as usual, people attacked me online because of what I had written. Their latest tactic was burning my photo from the yearbook [implying that they know the real identity of the writer] of my old school and uploading the photo of them burning it onto Facebook. I looked at the photo and wondered if I should be worried that I would be physically attacked by someone when I was walking in streets tomorrow.
Though the kind of pressure mentioned in T-rexx's post is more psychological, actual political prosecution is becoming more common. On September 20, the Hong Kong police decided to prosecute more than 18 activists who had participated in a protest against land acquisition for the controversial Northeast New Territories development project in June under charges such as “illegal gathering” and “forced entry into the building of the Legislative Council”. The prosecution was highly selective as more than a few thousand people were involved in the June protests outside the Legislative Council, the city's legislature, but the police zeroed in on those who are more likely to take up leading roles in the upcoming massive sit-in.
Photo from Yellow Ribbon Photo Mosaic Campaign.
Many worry that the above tactics may weaken Occupy Central's mobilization and impact. Political scientist Ma Ngau, who is a also supporter of pro-democracy movement, is not optimistic. He pointed out in an interview with inmediahk.net:
兩個運動同樣強調「可控性」、「不影響日常生活」，對於當權者的危機未必太大。他認為歷史上的公民抗命運動則是不斷製造危機，令政府「收唔到科」，面臨鎮壓與民主化之間的選擇。佔中之後，馬嶽認為深入各層面的不合作運動將是關鍵，港人亦要有活在威權體制下的心理準備。
The two protests [class boycott and Occupy Central] both put too much stress on “under [organizers’] control” and “would not affect everyday life”. The authorities won't feel the pressure of the crisis. Looking at past political history of the world, civil disobedience means continuous attempts to create crisis to the extent that the government loses control and has to choose between launching a violent crackdown or democratizing. After Occupy Central, whether or not that civil disobedience can penetrate into all levels of society is the key and Hong Kong's people need to be psychologically prepared to withstand the pressure from the authoritarian rule.
Ma is among the 500-plus university professors who have expressed their support for the student action and will give “street lectures” to the protesting students.
In addition to local mobilization, international groups had joined the Yellow Ribbon campaign initiated by the Civic Human Rights Front of Hong Kong and organized a Global Solidarity Day to show their support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. For more, read Hong Wrong's “International Groups Organise Pro-democracy Yellow Ribbon Solidarity Events.”


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Central Asia and South Korea Are More Connected Than You Might Think · Global Voices
Zukhra Iakupbaeva

In Gwanghui-dong, Seoul, a Russian-speaking church of Koryo-saram members occupies the floor upstairs from a restaurant serving Kyrgyz cuisine. Photo and caption from Wikipedia.
When people think of Central Asia, they tend to think of a sphere of Russian influence, or, more recently, Chinese economic domination. But there is also a place for South Korea in Central Asia, and, increasingly, for Central Asians in South Korea.
A better migrant life
There are over 4,000 Kyrgyz and 14,000 Uzbek citizens who work as labor migrants in South Korea according to the two governments. While many work in factories or in the fishing industry, there are also those that run small and medium enterprises providing restaurant services for their countrymen and Koreans, and still more that ensure deliveries of Korean textiles and cosmetics to the Central Asian republics.
Korean socks and tights are exported to Central Asian countries. Photo by Zukhra Iakupbaeva
In an old discussion thread on the Asiana forum, users discussed the salaries of Central Asian workers in South Korea. Typically, these salaries vary from $800 to $1,200, at least twice what the average Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tajik, Turkmen or Uzbek might earn in Russia, where the vast majority of the region's surplus labour heads.
Chala Manap a reader of the local Kyrgyz news service Knews surmises:
россия и корея – две разные картины. корея – 800 долларов и заводская профессия, россия – 300 долларов и профессия дворника. лучше бы все кыргызы ехали в корею ( хотя в идеале лучше бы зарабатывали дома), по крайней мерестали бы ценными кадрами, когда у нас запустят заводы. и главное, все это без всяких таможенных союзов и прочих одкб… да и никто не требует сдать экзамен по корейскому языку и истории кореи
Russia and Korea are two different cases. Korea offers 800 USD for work at a factory while Russia offers 300 USD for work as a street sweep. It is better if Kyrgyz go to Korea (although in an ideal world it would be better if they earned at home) as they will be valued there. Importantly, there is no Customs Union or CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]. No one is required to pass a Korean language test or a History of Korea test [as is the case in Russia].
This commenter is misinformed, however. As this author learned, Kyrgyz migrants destined for South Korea do have to pass tests in specialized Korean language centers that are based in Bishkek and Osh, Kyrgyzstan's two biggest cities. The process is the same in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, two countries where South Korean companies have strategic economic interests.
A spot of Central Asia in Seoul?
An advertisement of remittance services in Uzbek. Photo by Zukhra Iakupbaeva
Dongdaemun is one of the main places in Seoul where Kyrgyz and Uzbeks work.
It is a ‘Central Asian village’ in the capital with a series of restaurants featuring regional cuisine, textile houses, cosmetics shops, legal offices and hair salons. Most of the shop signs are in Cyrillic. One can even find a branch  of a Korean bank advertising money transfer services in Uzbek.
Larisa, the owner of the Kyrgyz restaurant “Ala-Too” (Big mountain in Kyrgyz) shared the story of her restaurant opening in an interview with the author:
My Kyrgyz friends in Seoul asked me to open a restaurant catering to their national cuisine after the turn of the millennium. They were observing how restaurants with different kinds of cuisine were popping up all over Seoul, all except Kyrgyz ones. After negotiations with Kalygul Turdaliev, leader of the Kyrgyz community in South Korea, I decided to open two Kyrgyz restaurants.
The Koryo Saram – Koreans better at speaking Russian than Korean
Despite her Russian name, Larisa is ethnically Korean. Her parents were forcibly transferred from the edges of the Soviet empire to its giant interior by Josef Stalin in the early 1940s. Larisa's family were moved to Uzbekistan, and she grew up speaking Russian and surrounded by Soviet culture. Stalin, for his part, thought the Koreans on the eastern margins of the Union might cooperate with a potential Japanese invasion.
After the break-up of the Soviet Union, Larisa moved to South Korea “to learn Korean.” Having married a South Korean man, she founded a bakery shop. Her Kyrgyz friends subsequently succeeded in persuading her to move into the restaurant business.
A sign for the Kyrgyz restaurant “Ala-Too” in Seoul. Photo by Zukhra Iakupbaeva.
For over 14 years she has been providing Kyrgyz national food for Kyrgyz people based in Seoul, also holding events for the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Seoul.
Tied by trade
Besides Kyrgyz and Uzbek restaraunts, Dongdaemun hosts several textile shops. These outlets are starting points for the export of Korean socks and tights to some of the biggest bazaars in Central Asia. The conduits of this trade are typically ethnic Koreans from Central Asia and other Central Asian traders.
Korean cosmetics are also exported to Central Asia. Yulia, a shop assistant at a Korean cosmetics shop in Seoul — Uzbekistan-born, like Larisa — told the author:
It is easier to export cosmetics to Kyrgyzstan rather than to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The customs clearance for cosmetics to Kyrgyzstan costs $1.50 per kg whereas the same customs clearance in Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan will cost $8-9 per kg.
Back in Bishkek there are plenty of stores offering Korean cosmetics to consumers. But one user of the popular Diesel forum writes of her suspicions that local wholesalers are using ‘brand Korea’ to sell an inferior product at an inflated price:
Как то знакомая мне поведала, что её подруга кореянка (южная) рассказала что та корейская косметика у нас, в самой Корее продаётся как в подземке. То есть грубо говоря “ширпотрёб”. Ну а вообще зашла я как то в корейский магазинчик по Советской и начала расспрашивать продавщиц о биби креме. Вообщем показали они мне пару дохлых тюбиков за 1000 с чем то сом…девочка знакомая отправила с кореи, цены по сравнению с бишем: земля и небо. А еще все свежее, максимум 3-4 месяца назад произведено
A friend told me that her friend who is a Korean (South) said that that the Korean cosmetics sold here in Kyrgyzstan are sold in Korea's subways, and are, in other words, goods for mass-consumption. I went to the Korean store on Soviet street and started asking sellers about BB cream. They showed me a couple of old tubes of cream for over 1000 soms [~$20] … Later my girlfriend sent me some creams from Korea. The prices there are much cheaper. And everything is fresh, maximum 3-4 months since its manufacturing date.
South Korea's economic partnership with Uzbekistan alone is worth $8 billion in bilateral projects, encompassing gas processing, renewable energy and textiles. South Korea's Daewoo International Group, which has key textile factories in the country, has faced substantial criticism over its support for forced child labor in the republic's cotton fields.
A cosmetics shop in Seoul warns potential shoppers to smile for the hidden security camera in Russian. Photo by Zukhra Iakupbaeva.

author: Zukhra Iakupbaeva


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CPJ Calls on Obama to Defend the Right to Report in the Digital Age · Global Voices
Committee to Protect Journalists

Right to Report campaign image by Committee to Protect Journalists. Free for reuse.
Global Voices is joining more than 60 other media and press freedom organizations in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists’ campaign for the Right to Report in the Digital Age, targeting the Obama administration. Revelations about surveillance, intimidation, and exploitation of the press have raised unsettling questions about the rights and safety of journalists’ ability to report in the digital age. The revelations also give ammunition to governments seeking to tighten restrictions on media and the Internet.
Although the petition is directed at Obama, journalists around the world are affected, both directly and indirectly. Reports that the NSA and allied spy agencies surveilled journalists–including a report that the NSA hacked Al-Jazeera–create a chilling effect on the press. Border crossing has long posed a risk for journalists, especially with respect to the search of electronic devices.
Recent revelations about mass surveillance of online platforms in Egypt and the UK, surveillance of journalists in Ethiopia, and harassment of journalists and whistleblowers around the world (often under the auspices of anti-state charges) underscore the fact that the issues raised in the Right to Report campaign are borderless. From Azerbaijan to Zambia, governments are targeting journalists with communications surveillance and need little excuse to continue doing so. The NSA spying revelations unquestionably undercut the US government’s legitimacy in arguing to the contrary.
“In Pakistan, where freedom of expression is largely perceived as a Western notion, the Snowden revelations have had a damaging effect,” Sana Saleem, director of the Pakistani digital rights group Bolo Bhi and an author for Global Voices, wrote in a recent blog post for CPJ. “From the policy landscape to the public narrative regarding free speech and privacy, the Snowden revelations have strengthened the state's argument for surveillance.”
The first stage in the campaign is an open petition. The campaign seeks three key commitments from the Obama administration:
Dozens of leading media outlets from the Associated Press to Huffington Post to Vice News, along with professional journalist associations such as the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism and the Society of Professional Journalists, and global and national rights groups like Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and IFEX are all lending their support to the campaign.
Prominent journalists from around the world including Christiane Amanpour, Arianna Huffington, Xiao Qiang and Ahmed Rashid have also signed on to show their support, as well as hundreds of other journalists, bloggers and citizens who recognize that US surveillance and harassment of journalists has an impact beyond national borders.
Visit CPJ’s Right to Report campaign page to learn more about the effort and find ways to get involved.

author: Committee to Protect Journalists


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In Crimea, No Room for Blogger Liza Bogutskaya And Her Pro-Ukrainian Views · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Blogger Liza Bogutskaya braves the roads in Crimea in a car decorated with Ukrainian embroidery patterns and dresses in Ukrainian colors. Image from Facebook.
This article is part of an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page.
Liza Bogutskaya's Facebook profile has over 20,000 followers. Although the Simferopol native's page was originally primarily a social outlet that she didn't use for political discussions, her outspokenness against what she sees as Russia's illegal occupation of her native Crimea has made her a favorite of pro-Ukrainians online. It has also made her an enemy of the Russian state that now administers Crimea.
On Monday, September 8, Bogutskaya was awoken early in the morning by strange voices outside her door, followed by gunshots.
Когда я еще спала, я услышала голоса у себя во дворе. У меня частный дом, и приватный дом. Моя собака отреагировала. И ествественно выскочила на улицу. Я тогда услышала выстрелы. Стреляли в мою собаку. Они не убили собаку, но они прострелили щеку моей собаке.
While I was still sleeping I heard voices outside my house. I have a detached house, not an apartment. My dog reacted. Naturally she launched herself towards the street. I then heard shots. They were shooting at my dog. They didn't kill my dog, but they grazed her cheek.
It soon turned out that the strangers outside Bogutskaya's home were Russian government officials who came there to search her property.
Моя дочь успела схватить мой телефон и убежала быстро в другую комнату. Зашла в телефоне на мою страничку Фейсбука и написала что у нас дома обыск.
My daughter managed to grab my phone and ran quickly into another room. She went onto my Facebook page on my phone and wrote that our home was being searched.
The men searching Bogutskaya's home claimed they were searching for weapons, drugs or “forbidden literature.” Bogutskaya described the investigators as
Четыре человека в масках… автоматчики крупного телосложения такого… человек в штатском… и два свидетеля, которых они привезли со собой… Это их лица, это не независимые лица.
Four people in masks… men armed with machine guns, with big bulky builds… a person in civilian clothing, and two “witnesses” who they brought with them… These were their people, they weren't impartial individuals.
Though the investigators “neither found, nor planted” any illegal material in Bogutskaya's house, they did confiscate her electronic equipment.
Они изъяли у меня компьютеры. Изъяли другие носители информаций, флеш-карты изъяли… и естественно все телефоны изъяли.
They confiscated my computers. Confiscated other information devices, confiscated USB-sticks and naturally they confiscated all the phones.
When asked by RuNet Echo if she thought the search of her property was related to what she wrote online, Bogutskaya was unequivocable. “It's undoubtedly related,” she said.
After her house was searched, Liza Bogutskaya was detained and questioned for hours. Image from Shevket Namatullaev on Facebook.
Bogutskaya believes the search was also related to the local elections that took place in Crimea on Sunday, September 14 and her willingness to write about the plight of Crimean Tatars, whose homes and mosques have undergone raids in recent weeks and whose leaders have been banned from Crimea. Bogutskaya also thinks the search was linked to her high visibility in Sevastopol (she drives a car with traditional Ukrainian folk patterns and often wears blue and yellow clothing).
Ну естественно это я все пишу, об этом я говорю… и всегда говорила достаточно смело и достаточно жестко. И разумеется что нынешним властям не нравится мое поведение и не нравится то, что я пишу обо всем и очень свободно передвигаюсь по городам, очень свободно себя чувствую.
Well naturally I write everything. I speak about [their plight]… and have always spoken quite bravely and quite harshly. And it stands to reason that the current authorities didn't like my behaviour and didn't like that I wrote about everything, traveled around the cities quite freely, feeling myself to be very much at liberty.
After being questioned as a “witness” for several hours, Bogutskaya was released. No longer feeling that she could write freely and talk about what was going on in Crimea, she has left the territory and is now in Kyiv. It had become clear to her that
Нужно уехать, потому, что мне не дадут возможность больше писать там. Я уеду. Смогу дальше писать. Смогу дальше говорить и я смогу доносить свои мысли до моих читателей.
I had to leave because I wouldn't have been given the possibility to keep writing there. I left. I will be able to write more. I will be able to say more and I will be able to get my thoughts across to my readers.
Bogutskaya believes her Facebook updates, which often receive thousands of likes, mainly appeal to her readers because of their emotional resonance, as compared to rather dry traditional reporting or analysis.
Я пишу свои статьи сердцем. Я стараюсь повлиять на эмоции людей, я стараюсь взывать к их эмоциям. Надо действовать так, чтобы люди могли оценить все, что происходит… Я думаю что, из-за того что я пишу сердцем… очень много рассказываю о своей семье, очень много рассказываю о своем прошлом, люди мне сочувствуют и понимают, что я не абстракт.
I write with my heart. I try to affect people's emotions. I try to appeal to people's emotions. You need to act this way, so that people can evaluate what's happening… I think that because I write from the heart… I talk a lot about my family, I talk a lot about my past, people sympathise with me and understand that I'm not an abstraction.
Bogutskaya is defiant, but her case clearly shows that the Russian and Crimean authorities are not going to tolerate such open dissent anymore. While Russia has introduced a plethora of laws targeted at bringing the blogosphere under control, Bogutskaya's case shows that, while laws forcing bloggers to register or proposed internet kill switches may be cause for concern, at the end of the day, old school intimidation can be just as effective.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


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Describing Pain in Hospitals Without Indigenous Language Services · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Image on flickr by user Buen Rumbo ((CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Without medical professionals fluent in indigenous languages or without proper interpretation services in Mexican hospitals, there is a risk that patients will not be able to adequately describe what ails them, writes Yásnaya Aguilar in her regular blog column for EstePaís. She provides examples how the Mixe language allows her to more accurately describe her pain to a nurse or doctor that can speak the same language, and how a translation into Spanish can still be somewhat limiting. She writes,
En mixe por ejemplo tengo un conjunto de palabras distinto para nombrar el dolor físico: pëjkp, jäjp, pä’mp, we’tsp… Apenas hallo equivalentes para alguna en español. Las diferencias todavía son más grandes y hay momentos en los que sólo puedo describir un dolor en español o sólo alcanzo a nombrarlo en mixe. Hablar ambas lenguas me permite tener a mi servicio un inventario más nutrido de palabras para describir mi dolor, aunque en general, cuando algo me duele mucho, el mixe toma el control de mis pensamientos.
For example, in mixe I have a group of distinct words available to me to describe physical pain: pëjkp, jäjp, pä’mp, we’tsp. I'm barely able to find the equivalent words for these words in Spanish. The differences are very large and there are times when I can only describe the pain in Spanish and there are other times when I can only describe the pain in Mixe. Being able to speak both languages allows me to have at my disposal a richer inventory of words to describe my pain, although generally, when something is causing me a lot of pain, the Mixe language takes control of my thoughts.
The universal right to health care cannot be guaranteed when the majority of hospitals have no medical practitioners that speak indigenous languages and because interpretation can only go so far since they do not have the same knowledge of the human body. And she adds that this could potentially cause misdiagnoses and without these language services, “there is no way to build bridges of empathy and to effectively understand that your ‘it hurts’ could also be the same as mine.”

author: Eduardo Avila