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‘Asa Ayo’? No, Thanks. Armenian Opposition Gets Creative Ahead of Crunch Referendum · Global Voices
Karena Avedissian

Widely shared image of sheep huddled close to a poster for the ‘Yes’ campaign before Armenia's December 6 referendum.
Armenia’s referendum on December 6 will determine whether or not the country switches its form of government from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary one. But in a particularly turbulent year for Armenian politics, most people view it as being about much more than just that.
Changes to the constitution were first sent to the parliament by members of the ruling Republican Party in August. Proponents of the proposed system say it will promote stability. Yet its critics argue it will weaken democratic institutions and erode constitutional protections of social and economic rights, while empowering the political elite surrounding incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, whose second and final term expires in 2018.
Specifically, the changes would mean a weakened president elected by the parliament every seven years rather than one elected by the people every five. The Prime Minister, meanwhile, would grow more powerful.
With fewer elections, the system advocated by the ‘Yes’ campaign seems designed to limit democratic participation in the South Caucasus country. Paradoxically, however, it has provided impetus for a growing grassroots civic opposition that has mobilized around the ‘No’ campaign.
The ‘No’ movement has emerged from a conglomerate of civic activists in loose collaboration with opposition political parties such as the Armenian National Congress, a faction in the Armenian parliament.
Powered mostly by social media, the counter campaign is emblematic of rising public frustration with a regime overwhelmingly perceived by the public as corrupt, self-serving, and out-of-touch.
In this sense the counter-campaign has picked up where the Electric Yerevan protests in June of this year left off. The protests — spurred by a looming hike in the price of electricity tariffs — created debate around social, economic, and political problems in Armenia in a way that formal politics and traditional Diasporan organizations have generally failed to do.
They were met with police violence widely condemned by rights monitors. Nevertheless, they forced the government into a corner in unprecedented fashion, with the hike demanded by the Russian energy company that controls Armenia's electricity grid now government-subsidized rather than borne directly by citizens.
Like Electric Yerevan, the ‘No’ initiative has become a vehicle for the misgivings and anxieties of the Armenian public vis-a-vis the ruling elite. But for the moment — bar a peaceful pre-referendum rally in the capital's freedom square on December 1 — it is largely playing itself out on television and online, and in particular, on Facebook.
One of the initiative's Facebook pages features campaign information and promotional materials encouraging a ‘No’ vote.
Among the materials are a series of positive and cheerful videos that represent a shift towards more sophisticated political campaign tactics, reminiscent of those captured in the movie ‘No‘ about the 1988 referendum in Chile.
Another group page features photos of individual supporters holding small signs that say ‘No’, while supporters are currently changing their profile and cover photos on Facebook to show themselves doing the same.
The ‘No’ campaign has also seized on public fears that the vote will be subject to violations.
A cartoon created by Armenian media outlet MediaLab that shows a dead person in a coffin casting a ‘yes’ ballot with the text saying, “We are carrying out the last wishes of the deceased”, has been widely shared by Facebook users in the run-up to the vote.
The cartoon gathered even more traction following the later discovery of a man on a voter list in a Yerevan neighborhood who was born in 1895, and would have been 120 years old at the time of the referendum.
A recently published survey that found inaccuracies in voter lists ahead of the referendum, seems to confirm initial misgivings about the likelihood of voter fraud.
In addition to these tactics, ‘No’ campaigners have subverted mundane regime-sanctioned messaging in a humorous display of dissent. Most commonly this has involved digitally altering images of the government’s Asa Ayo (‘Say Yes’) slogan, playing on the word ayo (yes).
On December 6th, say ‘Hello! Is it you, hello is it you, how I’ve missed you.’
On December 6th, say ‘Abo! Come over and let’s play a round of backgammon.’
Now say ‘Eyjafjallajökull.’ Then they will accept a constitution like Iceland’s.
Anger and frustration have also reconfigured social space offline. Armenian political graffiti has been a feature of public dissent since at least 2010, so it is no surprise that new examples of street art focussed on the referendum topic have been popping up around the city.
In a convergence of two protest mediums, many of these have been photographed and shared by Armenian social media users.
Despite signs of growing civic empowerment in Armenia, referendum nay sayers still face a highly unequal struggle.
F*ck the changes. Graffiti in Yerevan.
The government’s apparent shutdown of a ‘No’ campaign meeting at the Yerevan Double Tree Hotel on November 27, for example, is an example not only of the coercive power wielded by Sargsyan’s regime, but also its deeply rooted fear of a potentially stronger mobilization.
Armenia's political elite and its citizenry, already long ago disconnected from one another's realities, stand to grow even further apart if the reforms pass.
The smaller number of elections proposed by the ‘Yes’ camp will mean fewer opportunities for the public to voice their will through formal political processes, shifting the emphasis towards civic disobedience as a means of expressing discontent.
Given the social explosion unleashed during Electric Yerevan, it seems likely that a ‘Yes’ vote on December 6 could set the stage for more protests.

author: Karena Avedissian


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Jimmy Morales, the New Face of Guatemala’s Military Old Guard · Global Voices
NACLA

Guatemala's President-elect Jimmy Morales, despite political inexperience, has close ties to Guatemala's military dictatorship (Jeff Abbott)
This post by Jeff Abbott was originally published in NACLA website and reproduced here under our content-sharing agreement.
It is almost a bad joke: Jimmy Morales, a former TV comedian who regularly performed in blackface and was famous for having once played a campesino who almost became president, has actually become…Guatemala's president.
The October 25 run-off election wasn’t even close, as Morales, running under the banner of the tiny National Convergence Front (FCN) party, captured nearly 70 percent of the vote.
Morales had campaigned as an outsider candidate, the antithesis of a career politician. His campaign slogan, “not corrupt or a thief,” looked to ease voters’ minds following the revelation of a massive corruption scandal within the administration of ex-general Otto Pérez Molina. But unbeknownst to many Guatemalans, their new president’s backers represent the same forces that carried out some of the worst crimes of the country’s 36-year-long internal armed conflict.
In fact, the FCN was founded by the same military interests that cast shadows over Pérez Molina’s cabinet. Retired Generals Jose Luis Quilo Ayuso and Luis Felipe Miranda Trejo, from the Association of Military Veterans of Guatemala (AVEMILGUA), founded the party in 2004 to rebuild the prestige and respect for the military that they felt had been tarnished since the signing of the peace accords in 1996, and to represent the nationalistic interests of the Guatemalan military.
Both founders were deeply involved in the government’s counterinsurgency campaign against Marxist guerrillas during the 1980s— a campaign which Guatemala’s United Nations-backed truth commission, the Historic Clarification Commission (CEH), called genocide. Miranda Trejo served as chief of intelligence at Military Base 21 in Cobán from 1979 to 1983, during which time hundreds of men, women, and children were buried in clandestine graves at the base. In this same period, Quilo Ayuso received training in Argentina, before returning to Guatemala in 1983 to take command of the Second Battalion in the department of El Quiche.
It is worth nothing that in addition to “restoring dignity” to the military, Morales’ party was also formed to protect Guatemala’s armed forces. “In 2004, there were criminal prosecutions against retired military,” Quilo Ayuso told the Guatemalan investigative website Plaza Pública. “We intended through political means to stop these prosecutions. War, internal armed conflict, these are now legal situations, as well as a political issues.”
Although Quilo Ayuso and Trejido Miranda claim they are no longer a part of the FCN, according to a report from the Guatemalan daily newspaper La Hora, Quilo Ayuso continues to finance the party.
Jimmy Morales’s “right-hand man,” Edgar Justino Ovalle Maldonado, is another retired colonel who was highly involved in the counterinsurgency. Ovalle Maldonado was listed as a member of the FCN’s Executive Committee in 2011. He also recruited Morales to the FCN after a failed run for mayor of the municipality of Mixco.
What’s more, both Quilo Ayuso and Ovalle Maldonado spent several years training at the notorious School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia. Ovalle Maldonado spent 1973 specifically studying counterinsurgency there, and on two subsequent training missions he traveled to Colombia for further training. In September 1981, Ovalle Maldonado was deployed as an operations officer for the Ixil Task Force in the western highlands of Guatemala. In that year and those that followed, the Guatemalan military’s genocide against the indigenous Ixil Mayans reached its climax.
Between July 1981 and December 1982, the military massacred civilian populations in the Ixil Triangle. In 415 separate incidents, tens of thousands of people are believed to have to been killed while hundreds of towns and villages were destroyed.
Declassified CIA cables from the early 1980s highlight the military’s scorched earth campaign against civilian populations in the Ixil Triangle, where Ovalle Maldonado was a commander. “Commanding officers of the units involved have been instructed to destroy all towns and villages which are cooperating with the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), and eliminate all sources of resistance,” the CIA stated in a February 1982 cable. But, as the cable also notes, the army had “yet to encounter any major guerrilla force in the area” at the time of mission.
The February 1982 CIA cable also writes of the “well-documented belief by the army that the entire Ixil population is pro-EGP [guerrilla],” adding that this belief has “created a situation in which the army can be expected to give no quarter to combatants and non-combatants alike.”  Their reasoning was simple: because of the civilians’ ethnicity, the Guatemalan high command considered them to be the internal enemy.
In 1983, as the Ixil Triangle campaign against the indigenous Q’eqchi began to wind down, Ovalle Maldonado was transferred to special operations in the municipality of Cobán.
Today, these are the men supporting Guatemala’s new president. In an interview with VICE News, a leader of the Ixil Indigenous Authority commented that Jimmy Morales was “the figure for all the ex-generals from the war.”
According to the community leader, Morales represents “the continuation of the administration of Otto Pérez Molina,” even if “the majority of people don't understand this connection.”
These shadowy figures from the past seek to continue the culture of impunity that has reigned supreme in Guatemala for centuries. Their return to power in the form of Morales threatens to derail any attempt to hold the old guard of military officials responsible for the crimes and genocide they committed against Guatemala’s Mayan people.
Despite Morales’ claims that he is defying Guatemala’s political status quo, he now echoes the party line, and has even gone so far as to deny, on a number of occasions, that the genocide ever happened.
Today, abuses and impunity continue through conflicts over the expansion of mega-projects across Guatemala, and through the criminalization and prosecution of the leaders of the country’s social movements. The Morales victory will not change that situation. Under its new President-elect, Guatemala is likely to see not only the further disruption of human rights trials of former military leaders, but a deepening criminalization of indigenous movements who seek to defend their lands against the expansion of extractive projects in the areas of mining, hydro-electricity development, and monoculture agriculture.
The Morales administration will come under intense scrutiny both by civil society who participated in the nearly five months of protests leading to Peréz Molina’s resignation, and multilateral anti-corruption bodies such as the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), who have uncovered multi-million dollar corruption cases involving the highest seats of government. The massive mobilization of civil society signals that the population will not hesitate to return to the streets in protest at the first signs of corruption in the new administration.
Jeff Abbott is an independent journalist currently based out of Guatemala. He has covered human rights and social moments in Central America and Mexico. His work has appeared at VICE News, Truthout, and Upside Down World. Follow him on twitter @palabrasdeabajo.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: NACLA


text:
Natalia Antonova: Journalist and Playwright Caught Between Russia, Ukraine, and the West · Global Voices
Nevena Borisova

A journalist and playwright with a complex national identity, Natalia Antonova was born in Soviet Ukraine, has roots in modern-day Russia, and was raised in the United States. Today, her time and mind are split between Moscow and other places. In addition to freelancing for newspapers like The Guardian and writing a column for The Moscow Times, Antonova maintains a personal blog, which she updates once or twice a month, publishing personal reflections on world events and breaking news. Antonova's past and identity are far from simple, and the uncertain future of Russia and Ukraine promises a tomorrow as complicated as today.
Natalia Antonova. Personal archive.
Natalia Antonova (NA): I was born in Ukraine, I grew up mostly in the US, but Russian was my first language and I have Russian heritage. I think I'm really lucky to exist at this intersection of cultures. My complicated identity tends to annoy people who wish to place everyone they encounter into a particular box, but I say, screw that. I like having a lot of different “homelands.”  I like being exposed to competing opinions and ideologies, even if they sometimes make me uncomfortable.
NB: Drawing on your dual experience as a journalist and playwright, how would you describe the “Russian soul”?
NA: I don't really believe in the notion of a “Russian soul.” I think it's an outdated and annoyingly sentimental concept, especially since the Russia of today contains so many different cultures. However, I think there is definitely something about the unpredictability of life in Russia that impacts the way the majority the population lives their life. The absence of a flexible, dynamic political system feeds into this, too. I think a lot of people on the outside don't really understand Russia in this context. This means that interactions with the country, both from individuals and governments, tend to break down.
NB: And how does your playwriting relate to your journalism?
NA: I write plays about people—real-life stories. A lot of them have plots that I pick up during the course of my work as a journalist, but there is always a dose of unreality in all of them. I think the human brain processes life really strangely at times—and I also think (since I've gotten into science journalism especially) that there is this really cool, intricate, oftentimes unfathomable design to the universe—and I think in all of the work that I do, I aim to deal with my own emotions on this weird subject. And I process those emotions through my characters.
NB: The Russian-American filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky has said that Russia is good at building colossal projects, like space rockets, but not so skilled at day-to-day production. Do you agree?
NA: I think Andrei is right. Successive Russian governments have always been too preoccupied with these hazy notions of “greatness” to make everyday life in Russia as comfortable as it is in the West, and ordinary people have internalized this same preoccupation.
There is a historic context to this, as well. Russia simply didn't develop as efficiently as Western countries did. Everything from the Mongol invasion to Russia's harsh environmental climate has been a factor here. When your country is confronted with examples of day-to-day life being better elsewhere, you tend to want to compensate for that. This is why you meet so many people who couldn't care less that the roof of their child's school is leaking, but take a lot of pride in their country's huge nuclear arsenal. It may seem irrational, but it's actually quite self-explanatory in the wider context.
Today, the idea of a comfortable life in Russia is being treated with suspicion, because a lot of the people who turned out for the 2011-2012 protests in Moscow were at least nominally middle-class. In the eyes of some Russian officials, these people got “too comfortable” and started getting fancy ideas about democracy and accountability. How dare they!
NB: How would you describe life in Moscow nowadays? What about life outside the capital?
NA: The average Russian, both in Moscow and outside Moscow, are busy getting by, just like they have always been. Obviously, it's tougher now, since the ruble has taken such a dive. But hey, that's the brave new world Russia lives in. In this world, television provides much comfort and assurance, although I was stunned to read recently that the number of Russians who believe everything that's reported on television is 59 percent (up from 47 percent in 2012). To be honest, I thought that number would be even higher today.
NB: How do you find living in Moscow?
NA: I don't spend all of my time in Moscow nowadays, but whenever I'm back, I like to visit with fellow theater folk and go to cheap little cafes downtown to write and people-watch. I've been paying a lot of attention to the way that Russian cuisine has been forced to evolve since the sanctions and counter-sanctions hit. It's been quite interesting. A lot of business have been forced to get very creative. And I'd also like to mention that in spite of all the recent political awfulness, there are a lot of people doing a lot of good work here: hospice doctors, disability rights activists, environmentalists, and so on. So I like to catch up with what's happening on those fronts whenever I'm in town.
NB: What about the freedom of the press in Russia? How do you see the situation?
NA: I think the country would be better off if it had a healthy, vibrant, and free media market, but such a market would also require more official accountability, and Russian officials are too paranoid to see how accountability could actually be a good thing. They prefer a less flexible system, forgetting that rigid systems are ultimately more brittle and fragile.
There is this great saying that perfectly characterizes their mentality: “You die today, and I'll die tomorrow.” It's all very stark, desperate, and based on the expectation of violence. I think it's the direct result of Russia never quite dealing with the trauma of the 21st century—from the Terror and millions of deaths in WWII (some of them the result of official incompetence—even Stalin admitted as such, and actually thought he might be arrested after the war was over), to the Gulag and the horrific quagmire in Afghanistan. The list goes on. A traumatized society doesn't want to know the truth about itself. This is why both Russian politicians and ordinary Russians insist that a free, robust media market is a bad thing.
NB: How has the conflict in Syria affected the situation in Ukraine?
NA: I think that Russia has shifted its attention to Syria in pursuit of that glory stuff that I've already mentioned. Russia wants to sit at the big kid's table in relation to the global policy, hence the Syrian gamble. Who knows how that will turn out? What we know is that less attention is now being paid to Ukraine, which, for Ukraine, is a good thing.
NB: And how does this affect present relations between Russia and Ukraine?
NA: Of course, the political relationship is completely broken down between Russia and Ukraine—but business relationships continue to exist. That's because money matters to the people involved so much more than politics. And maybe money will eventually normalize relations between the two countries, though it could take decades (and a lot of changes with Russia), at this point.
NB: What about Ukraine itself?
NA: I've stopped making predictions about the conflict in east Ukraine, because whenever I do, some horrible new twist happens. (Honestly, I've become superstitious about it.) I think Ukraine itself needs to find its own way—by strengthening democratic institutions and passing more reforms and making them stick. It's going to be a lengthy, oftentimes thankless, task, but it's do or die at this point.

author: Nevena Borisova


text:
On Cats, Street Music and Being Amazonian: Global Voices Instagram is in Stunning Peru · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

This week skilled story-teller Juan Arellano has been bringing us stunning pictures and poignant tales from Peru on our Global Voices Instagram account.
“I heard it from blocks away. An Amazonian melody is not something that escapes my ears in the heart of the city, despite the noise there. When I finally could see him I realized he was alone, nobody at his side, nobody watching. [..] He looked at me for a split second and continued playing. I couldn't ask his name or have a brief chat with him. The lively melodies of the jungle emerged unstoppable from his flute while he looked on in a trance, and for me it was as if the sun had risen in that hazy and cold day of my Lima, ever indifferent.” Juan recounts on Instagram. Here's a story he wrote on street music in Lima.
Lima-based Juan is our Spanish Translation Manager and our current guide for #InstaGV, a new initiative to show the beauty, diversity and expansiveness of our community on Instagram.
Every week, you are being introduced to a unique member of our community through our @globalvoicesonline Instagram account. Next week, Pernille from our Sub Saharan Africa team will take us on the road to northern Uganda.
In a couple of months, through the unique lens of the Global Voices community, you will meet people, see places and read stories from Bangladesh, Morocco, Lebanon, Peru, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.  Within the year, we hope to cover a few dozen countries through our hundreds of contributors from over 160 countries.
Here are seven vibrant photos and stories shared by Juan from Peru on @globalvoicesonline this week. Juan is one Global Voices oldest contributors. He has written more than 500 stories and translated more than 5000 stories for Global Voices since 2005. He has been blogging since 2001 and is the founder of Blogsperu.com, the first directory of Peruvian bloggers.
Half of me is amazonian, not by birth, not by a decision, just life took me there and the land seduced me with her beauty and mystery. But what it is to be Amazonian? in my case it is to feel cold when the temperature is 20 degrees and the other people are hot, is to sense that a friend is near if you hear someone talking with the characteristic accent of the region, is always want to have fun and dance and take some beers. But those are feelings I can’t share with you, so I will share some images, like this one. The image you see is a common sight when reaching the city of Iquitos by plane, the idle meanders the rivers run in its way through the lowland tropical forests. Meanders that when you are navigating them seem to never end, like the Amazonia itself. But sometimes one of this meanders takes you to a desolate place without greenery, then you realize that the Amazon jungle, besides beautiful is fragile, and deforestation caused by man can destroy it. You can read the Global Voices coverage of Amazonia here: https://globalvoices.org/?s=amazonia #Amazon #Amazonia #AmazonJungle #Peru #Loreto  #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #instacool #FromAPlane #rivers #jungle #clouds
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Another thing I like about the historic center of Lima is that almost any given weekend you can find a parade, procession, or other cultural activities. The photo that I bring now shows a dancer of Huaconada, a ritual dance from the village of Mito in the region of Junin, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage. The dance is a synthesis of several Andean and Spanish elements, and now it has modern elements too, its origin can be traced to over 1,500 years. This dance takes place the first days of January each year. During those days huacones (dancers) become the highest authority in town and supposedly can impart punishment with their "thunderous" (whips). While taking this pictures I accidentally was given a whiplash (by rebound, so it did not hit me so hard), and I can tell you that it still hurts! #dancer #huaconada #mito #Junin #Lima #peru #instagv #dayinthelifeofgv #instacool #streetparade #heritage #tradition #culture
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I am a book worm, really. But I rarely go to a bookstore and buy a bestseller. Instead I prefer to go to the second hand stalls and stores that are tucked around parts of downtown Lima. You can find truly jewels there. My Lawrence Durrell collection? Almost all of it came from the vendors at Grau Avenue. My Bernard Cornwell series? Bought in a store that sells bargain books, new and sealed. My Hanif Kureishi books? I got them all in the crowded corridors of the Amazonas Book Fair, and Abelardo sold me all of them. I don’t remember how many years have passed since I met Abelardo the bookseller, but certainly more than the years I have with my girlfriend. No offense intended. But I do remember Abelardo’s belly was not so big when I met him (mine neither). The fact that almost every time I go to his stall he has a beer in his hand must have something to do with that. Now that I think that also must be the reason why every time books are becoming more expensive. I don’t buy anything without a good haggle, but Abelardo is sometimes a hard nut to crack. For die hard collectors like me and also for people who do not have a big reading budget, Abelardo and other booksellers like him keep alive the flames of culture, knowledge and good entertainment in Lima. Read Global Voices posts on books: https://globalvoices.org/?s=books&se=internal #Books #Lima #Peru #bookworm #libros #instagv #dayinthelifeofGV #instabooks #instacool #librero
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Iquitos is famous among Peruvians for its warmth and festive atmosphere, but it also hides the long time gone opulence of the rubber barons and the poverty of those who live in outlying areas of the city, usually on the banks of the three rivers that surround Iquitos, periodically flooded areas, if not in the river itself. But even the poorest of the iquiteños can enjoy the beautiful sunsets in this city, as the one I now share with you. Read Global Voices coverage on Iquitos: https://globalvoices.org/?s=iquitos #Iquitos #Loreto #Peru #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #instacool #sunset #atardecer #instasunset #sunsetoftheday
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This image shows why I love my city, Lima. You got more than 2000 years of history in one single shot. Huaca Pucllana is a pre hispanic remain belonging to several coastal cultures of ancient Peru. It is basically a pyramid made of adobe and clay, and other surrounding structures. Near its left limits, crossing the street, you can see some houses from different years of the 20th century, and at the bottom a very modern building, all glass and steel. Read more about “Huacas” in Global Voices: https://globalvoices.org/?s=huaca #Huaca #Pucllana #Miraflores #Lima #Peru #archaeology #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #History #Pyramid #instacool
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You all know that Internet was created to share pictures of cats, well, to share other things too but better we get on with cats. The Kennedy park of the touristic Limean district of Miraflores is as if Internet had materialized there. That is, there are cats everywhere, of all possible types. Of course they not appeared out of the blue and hacked the site, their domination plan started long ago. It's almost 20 years now since the first pioneers cats began to sharpen their claws on the trees of the park. Today it is estimated that there are over 100, and they are just that because lately they are sterilized or suffer terrorist attacks of the infidels. Cats rely on hearted neighbors and generous pocket tourists which usually leave offerings, I mean, food, and take photos with them, as in the photo that I now share with you that shows… wait, Isn't that our own @Catirestrepow ? This is embarrasing. Global Voices coverage on Cats: https://globalvoices.org/?s=cats&se=internal Facebook page of Kennedy Park Cats: https://www.facebook.com/gatosparquekennedylima #GatosParqueKennedy #Miraflores #Lima #Peru #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV  #gatos #cats #catoftheday #instacats #instacool #instagood
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In a previous publication I told you that many people in Iquitos live in flood zones. Well, here I show you one. This photo was taken a couple of years ago in the growing season, or winter, when there are more rains and the rivers overflow. What you see is a street of the neighborhood of Belén. This street is like any other in low water season, but with the swollen river it looks like this. Neighbors are usually prepared for these events, but they always need help to strengthen their homes. Besides that, respiratory diseases are prevalent among children and elderly in those seasons. #Belen #Iquitos #Loreto #Peru #dayinthelifeofgv #instagv #amazonia #flood #charapa #river #rios
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author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


text:
Remembering Uruguay’s Disappeared Through the Eyes of a Photographer · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

One of Miradas Ausentes pictures in Montevideo | Photo: Juan Urruzola/Reproduced under authorisation
When Juan Urruzola returned to Uruguay after 12 years in exile, he got back into his old habit of wandering through the streets of Montevideo. The sky, the pedestrian promenade know as la rambla, the river, the sea, the grey — everything remained pretty much as he remembered. Except many of the faces he used to see every now and then were no longer there.
It was 1987. The dictatorship that had expelled him to live in Spain — after two years in prison — was no longer in power. But the wounds it created hadn't healed.
Similar to what happened in neighboring Argentina and Brazil as well as in nearby Chile, in 1973 Uruguay experienced a civil-military coup that plunged the country into military dictatorship for the next 12 years. The repression — imposed with the support of other dictatorships in Latin America — included methods of torture, murder and disappearances. As a result, in Uruguay there are still 192 people who disappeared during the dictatorship and have yet to be found.
To Urruzola, the worst part was that only a few people seemed to care about remembering all of it. As he shared with Global Voices in an interview via email:
A partir de mi regreso definitivo me rencontré con la impunidad y los vacíos de memoria de nuestra sociedad, una gran parte de la sociedad luchaba por saber y por encontrar respuestas a lo sucedido de 1972 a 1985 y otra parte de la sociedad empecinadamente quería tapar lo sucedido, ocultar y liberar a los represores de enfrentarse  la justicia…todo eso me llevo naturalmente a introducir los temas de memoria en mis trabajos
Since I returned for good, I found myself confronted once more with the impunity and lack of memory that we can find in our society. A large part of society was fighting to know more and to find answers to what happened between 1972 and 1985. The other part was trying hard to cover it all up and to free the oppressors from facing justice. All of this took me, naturally, to bring the subject of memory to be part of my work.
It was through photography, a craft he learned in exile, that Urruzola found a way to fill in the blanks. He began with Montevideo 12, a collection depicting his own re-encounter with his hometown. But it would take him more than a decade to collect the pictures that compose his most recognised work: Miradas Ausentes (Absent Looks), a collection of photographs in which Urruzola holds up portraits of people who disappeared during the dictatorship against the backdrop of the capital's landscapes.
According to the photographer, the criteria to select the series’ characters was purely incidental. He received a package with several pictures from the Organización de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos (Organization for Families of Detained and Disappeared Peoples) to be used at the memorial in honor of those who fought against the dictatorship. After a while, Urruzola saw he could do more with the portraits:
Yo salía a la calle con las fotos en un bolsillo y sacaba una con mi mano y la ponía delante de la cámara cuando el paisaje me gustaba y hacía la foto, a veces si el fondo era oscuro o claro, buscaba sin elegir otra foto más clara o más oscura. [La idea era] que se despegara del fondo de ciudad….
I would go out with the photos in my pocket, then with one hand I’d hold it up and put it in front of the camera whenever the landscape pleased me and I'd take the photo. Sometimes, if the background was dark or light, I tried to use another photo that was darker or lighter. [The idea] was for them to pop against the city’s background.
Urruzola says he still doesn’t know if it was fate or coincidence that the man in his favorite picture — the one that he would often showcase in most of his exhibitions — happened to be a portrait of the first disappeared person “found” in Uruguay. The man in the photo was Fernando Miranda, whose remains were found by anthropologists from the Universidad de la República in March 2006 at a former army installation. Miranda was a notary who taught civil law at the university and was a delegate for the Communist Party and FIDEL, the National Liberation Leftist Front. He was 56 years old, married and with two kids when he was taken from his own home in 1975.
Fernando Miranda, the first victim of enforced disappearance during the dictatorship period in Uruguay to be found after so many years. | Photo: Juan Urruzola/Reproduced with authorization.
Miradas Ausentes was later turned into a poster campaign first in Porto Alegre, during the Mercosul’s Arts Biennial. The same initiative was taken to Montevideo, but with very different results:
Siempre hubo de todo en cuanto a las reacciones de la gente […] Desde gente que se emociona hasta gente que las rompe. La memoria es algo muy necesario para algunos y muy negado por otros. Eso hace interesante el arte “político” o el arte de denuncia: incorporar al imaginario elementos y temas que implican debate, discusión, etc…
There were all kind of reactions from people. From those who became emotional to those who tore [the pictures] up. Memory is something that can be quite necessary for some, but also something that needs to be denied by others. This is what makes “political” art or protest art interesting: They incorporate elements and subjects of debate and discussion into the imaginary.
Urruzola was arrested for the first time at the age of 15 for “anti-social behaviour”. The second time was in 1971, accused of being “a student and a leftist”. Many of his friends faced the same accusation. Some went to exile, while others disappeared inside the military headquarters. It is to them that Urruzola dedicates his life's work. To cherish the memory of those he will never forget, and help his country do the same.
Juan Urruzola's work in the streets of Montevideo. Image published with permission.
The Internet has helped bring his work to a new and broader public. More of Urruzola's story can be seen in this Spanish-language video, shared by Sebastian Alonso on Vimeo.
In the interview, the artist talks about memory and reparations, but, above anything else, he states the importance of keeping historical memory alive:
La desaparición forzada es una cosa terrible, en America Latina tenemos cientos de miles de desaparecidos, en particular de las poblaciones indigenas. Países como Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, lo usaron masivamente y más cerca Chile, Argentina, Brasil, Bolivia. En fin, es una deuda seguir denunciando el tema. Buscar a un familiar que ha desaparecido es un dolor que no se acaba nunca. Se queda dentro para siempre.
Forced disappearance is a terrible thing, in Latin America we have hundreds of thousands disappeared people, especially among indigenous communities, countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, they used it massively, and so did nearby countries Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia. Anyway, it is a debt to keep denouncing this matter. Searching for a loved one who has disappeared is a never-ending agony. It stays with you forever.

author: Fernanda Canofre


text:
Saber Hussain’s Pedal-Powered Library: A Story of Hope from Afghanistan · Global Voices
Bismellah Alizada

Photo shared on Twitter by the Qessa Academy.
In Afghanistan, education begins at home.
That is the message of Saber Hussaini, a 35-year-old author and storyteller who has been on his bike for more than a month, distributing volumes of children's books in villages where there is a demand for reading materials and a program of learning that local government cannot satisfy.
Don't expect to read Saber's story on CNN, or even mainstream media in Afghanistan, however.
Positive stories about the country of 30 million people do not sell, leaving worthy tales unfairly ignored and a country misrepresented. Yet there are still individuals and organizations who, no matter the violence and war, are committed to working hard for a brighter, more peaceful future.
In late October, Saber Hussaini, a 35-year-old author and storyteller, initiated a mobile library covering five villages a day in central Bamiyan, a mostly Hazara-populated province in the middle of Afghanistan where the smattering of poorly stocked libraries does not include a single children's book.
Saber Hussaini decided to distribute his 200 volumes of children's books to schoolchildren in his free time in order to respond symbolically to the unquenchable thirst to read in cut-off Bamiyan.
Saber’s mobile-library, with a rough capacity of fifteen books, quickly attracted many children. Soon the story books and the books of illustrations he carried on the back of his bicycle substituted plastic pistols and other time-wasting toys.
Saber now plans to expand the number of services he offers and open a children’s foundation in Bamiyan.
#MyAfghanHero is Saber Hussaini, man who runs his own children's mobile library for 5 #Bamiyan villages pic.twitter.com/Vp5V7soZbt
— Ahmad Shuja احمدشجاع (@AhmadShuja) October 22, 2015
Saber represents a war-weary generation that hungers and strives for education and finds his ideal in the book and the pen.
People of his age are too young to have known a time where violence and conflict were not pervasive, but not too old to believe that Afghanistan's future is something different.
Facebook user Saeid Madadi  praised Saber, referencing the words of a popular poem:
In the morning, I woke up to this news. I smiled. “Bamiyan is a world of miracles.”
Saber Hussaini, of course, is far from the only hero increasing access to education in Afghanistan. Zainab Karimi, a 50-year-old woman that also hails from Bamiyan province has taught 500 women to read and write over the last five years at her own expense.
As an adult, Zainab joined literacy courses that enabled her to pursue her education until 12th grade. She then turned teacher, determined to teach in the villages of her region until illiteracy was eradicated.
Zainab's teen years coincided with incessant war in Afghanistan. Teaching hundreds of women of her age, she keenly proves that war cannot crush the human will to learn.
Bamiyan province has the highest rate of girls education in the country. Of its 135,000 students, nearly half are girls. CBS
— Esmatullah Kohsar (@EKohsar) January 12, 2013
Hemmed in by majestic mountains in a country that is already landlocked, Bamiyan is one of the most deprived provinces in Afghanistan. All the universities across the country are woefully underfunded, with only $1,000 available for books at each.
Bamiyan University seems somehow to have suffered doubly. Yet despite its poverty the province is number one in terms of providing access to education for boys and girls.
Of all provinces in #Afghanistan #Bamiyan rocks when it comes to focus on education&gender equality despite poverty. pic.twitter.com/OPBkgE9CjM
— shafi شفيع شريفى (@ShafiSharifi) April 1, 2014
Students in Bamiyan are very active, with students at Bamiyan State University speaking out regularly against poor conditions there.
In 2013, they held a demonstration to draw attention to the degraded state of the students’ dormitory. More recently, in early April, they went on strike, protesting the unfair distribution of the higher education budget, which they argued disadvantages Bamiyan.
On both occasions the government ignored them. But they have become used to that. In Afghanistan, the right to an education is not a right you are born with. It is a right you struggle and fight for.

author: Bismellah Alizada


text:
The Global Voices Community Remembers ‘Kind’, ‘Curious’ and ‘Witty’ Gershom Ndhlovu · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gershom Ndhlovu speaking at Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2015 in Cebu, Philippines. Photo by Jeremy Clarke. Used under a Creative Commons License
Humble. Jovial. Patient. Fearless. Following the passing of Global Voices contributor Gershom Ndhlovu in the United Kingdom on Sunday, November 22, 2015, at the age of 51, his friends at GV shared their messages of remembrance of the dedicated Zambian journalist.
Gershom, who will be buried in the UK on December 10, 2015, joined GV in 2010. In that time, he worked with many community members and attended two summits, one in Nairobi, Kenya, and the other in Cebu, Philippines.
Jillian York, a volunteer representative for the Global Voices Board of Directors, wrote on Facebook:
We took this photo in Cebu in January…the last of the party people, the “bad kids”, hanging on for one more drink the night before work started. Today I learned that Gershom Ndhlovu, second from left, passed away yesterday from unknown causes. I'd met him twice—in Nairobi in 2012 and in Cebu—and while I didn't know him well, I won't forget his spirit, his attitude, and his willingness to be one of the bad kids with us.
Gershom at a birthday party in Cebu, Phiippines. Photo taken by Jeremy Clarke. Released under Creative Commons.
Lova Rakotomalala, GV editor of the Francophone region, wrote on the GV Google group, where most of these messages were shared:
Gershom,
I still cannot believe that you are no longer among us. Writing to say farewell is terribly difficult because we it means your departure is real and I am not sure I am ready to accept it just yet. The only time we got the chance to really talk was at the roof top bar of the hotel in Cebu. We were unwinding from one of the workshop and we just sat there, observing pedestrians trying to cross the intense traffic on one of the main road. You said it felt like home and I knew exactly what you meant. We both called the Southern African region home but as is the case with GV, the bar in Cebu was were we discussed the merits of Mosilager,a Zambian brew and THB, the Malagasy beer and why on earth those beers are not better recognized/marketed. I did not have a chance to get to know you better but I know I will miss you and the unique perspective you brought to the community.
Heartfelt condolences to your family from your extended one at GV. Veloma soava dia,
Albert Kisima, Tanzanian Swahili translator at GV's Lingua project:
It is hard to believe that Gershom you are gone. For the first time, I met with you in Cebu where among other things, we had some discussions about African countries political trends including Zambia and Tanzania. I learned that you were such a humble, charming and thoughtful person. May your soul rest in eternal peace our one and only one Gershom.
Boukary Konaté, French translator at GV Lingua:
Hi all.
It has been a very sad news when I learnt about Gershom death. I met him in Kenya during Global Voices meet up 2012. He was a very kind a sociable man.
Nigerian contributor Nwachukwu Egbunike:
Dear Gershom,
You took leave for this journey beyond without farewells. What can I say, who dares takes a fight to God's house?
Was it not five days ago that you sent that DM on Twitter telling me that you've been in hospital for nine days? I tried calling but to no avail.
When we met in Cebu this January you were the same jovial and happy fellow – just like our first offline meeting in Nairobi in 2012. You loved your country Zambia. Your posts about the political climate there were both thorough and incisive. A passion that once marked you for an unmerited inline hate.
Gershom you were both a friend and colleague. The age difference didn't count. Your passion for the work Global Voices does, especially the SSA team was legendary. Ever willing and available to ponder issues affecting the community off list.
Sleep well my friend… Nodu mma!
Zambia-based blogger Brenda Zulu:
Ba Gershom Ndhlovu ,
It is sad news to hear of your death. My plans to bring you home as resource person to help train Zambian Journalists in Reporting Elections using new media particularly on Online Radio which is not practiced in Zambia have now been shattered. As political Blogger your works are all over the Internet for our reference to read your opinion on different issues. You supported our right to access to the Internet even as Zambian Bloggers Network we picketed to educate people on Internet Rights. Will greatly miss you and thanks for access to CrossFire BlogRadio. Global Voices and Zambian Bloggers Network mourn you. Rest in Peace
Ellery Biddle, the GV Advocacy director:
This is such sad news! When I think of the first few months of my job as an editor, I always think of Gershom because he was so generous and understanding as both a person and author, during that time and ever after. I was anxious my first time working with Gershom — I was very fresh to the work and knew practically nothing about Zambia, while Gershom was a seasoned journalist and very much my senior. But this did not phase him at all. He was kind and patient, always happy to explain to me the complex political and cultural landscape of his country and help decipher linguistic particularities of social media in Zambia. For the first year that I worked with GV, we regularly worked on stories about the ever-embattled anonymously-run news site the Zambian Watchdog.
These were regularly among our most-read stories on Advox. I was always so proud of this, and I know Gershom was too — it was a clear demonstration of the value that GVers like Gershom bring to the media landscape, especially when it comes to reporting on countries that are all but forgotten by western media.
Australia-based contributor Kevin Rennie:
Gershom was my roommate in Cebu [the location of Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2015]. His easy-going, gentle personality, his wit and humour ensured that we had a very special time. At a loss for words. Vale, my friend!
Contributor Gabriela Garcia Calderon Orbe from Peru:
I remember in Nairobi, I shared the seat with Gershom on the vehicle that took a bunch of us from one hotel to the other. When he knew I came from Peru, he started asking me if I had visited La Paz, in Bolivia, as he was intrigued about how people lived in that city, located over 4,100 meters.
I'll always remember this curiosity as I felt related to it!
Global Voices Ugandan author Prudence Nyamishana:
Gershom was an amazing man. When we met in Cebu, he kept referring to me as Nyabo – lady in Luganda. GV has lost a great writer. I will greatly miss Gershom.
Portuguese editor Manuel Ribeiro:
I just met Gershom at the summit in Cebu. He attended GV Radio workshop… He talked about one of his live debates he hosted on his program from London about Zambia's political issues that made headlines all over the country…
I didn't know him much but pretty sure he was a respected and fearless journalist like it says on this headline shared by Rezwan on Facebook:
http://zambiareports.com/2015/11/23/respected-uk-based-journalist-gershom-ndhlovu-dies/
My respects to his family…
Jeremy Clark, GV's technical lead:
Such sad news! Like the others I didn't get much time to talk to Gershom but his grace and wisdom was obvious as soon as you got close. We've lost a great leader and thinker.
Author Saffah Faroog from Egypt:
Sad to hear this news. I met Gershom in Nairobi. He was a very friendly and humble person. May he rest in peace.
French-language translator Claire Ulrich:
Gershom, I remember our first mails, while I was translating your post about Zambia, asking for help, or context. I remember your ‘easiness’ when we met during the GV summits. Gershom, this is not easy, so let me tell you, in few words: you are a gentleman.
US-based Global Voices member Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo:
It is very sad to learn of Gershom's passing. Even if he was a fellow Zambian, I only got to know him when I became a contributor on GV. Having been away from home and trying to connect with current affairs back home was very difficult for me, often I looked up to Gershom to see what he was doing and how he was doing it. I was forever impressed by his ability to participate fully in occurrences back home even when he was not there. I learned a few things from him about networking. Further, Gershom was very helpful in providing me a platform when I wanted to reach out to the people back home with a message about education and reaching out to the community. Throughout the years since then, we remained in touch. I am grateful for the down to earth man Gershom was and how he was not begrudging of knowledge or the need to help others when need arose. We have lost a man who knew a lot about Zambian politics and the former years. I am so glad I bought a copy of his book about Zambia being declared a Christian Nation. He shared a lot of insights in that book, some I did not agree with, but I was glad he could share and I was waiting for an opportunity to have a full discussion with him about the work. It seems I will not be doing that, but in his honor I hope to some day write a review for that work to add to his Amazon collection, because I would like young Zambians to read that work for themselves and in it find some of our history as a country. Rest in peace Gershom. So long, farewell.
Italy-based author and translator Abdoulaye Bah:
It is with deep sorrow that I learned of the sudden death of our colleague Gershom Ndhlovu.
Translating his posts about Zambia in french was for me a unique experience. I often found myself smiling when translating his witty reports on politics in Zambia or the authorities’ attempts at censoring Zambia Watchdog.
The posts were full of humor while dealing with very serious topics. That's one of the reason why I was curious to know him in person. The latest Global Voices summit gave me this opportunity. I found him even more brilliant in person than online.
Rest in peace, my friend!

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Ugandan Teen Who Danced in Viral Music Video ‘Sitya Loss’ Dies in Bike Accident · Global Voices
James Propa

A screenshot of the Jambole video from YouTube showing Alex Ssempijja (in a red shirt) dancing.
A member of Ugandan dance group the Ghetto Kids, Alex Ssempijja, died on November 30, 2015 at the age of 14 after a bicycle accident. Alex danced in the popular Ugandan music video for the song “Sitya Loss”. The video, which went viral, received over 15 million views.
Alex was riding the bicycle with his fellow dancer, 12-year-old Patricia Nabakooza in Makindye, a Kampala surburb, when the brakes malfunctioned. The pair were thrown onto stones and a house veranda on the roadside, which cut Alex's throat. He was later pronounced dead in the hospital.
Patricia is currently in the intensive care unit at Case Clinic Kampala where doctors say she is responding well to medication despite online rumors that she also passed away. The #PrayForPatricia hashtag is being used to send quick recovery messages to her.
The kids troupe got international recognition after appearing in the Sitya Loss video in 2014. The song also saw the musician behind the hit track, Eddy Kenzo, win the BET Viewer's Choice Best New International Artist.
The YouTube video below is the music video for the song Sitya Loss:
The group has appeared in many other of Eddy Kenzo's videos, including Zivuga, So Good and Jambole.
The YouTube video below shows the group dancing to the song Jambole:
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) profiled the group early this year:
Eddy Kenzo's tribute message to Alex, which he shared on Facebook.
Many Ugandan celebrities and netizens took to social media to express their shock and offer their condolences to the fallen young superstar.
Kenzo shared a photo and message on Facebook expressing “how much I needed you” in his musical career. He also alluded to rumors circulating that he was somehow involved in Alex's death. He asked the family to let the body of Alex spend a night at his office premises because he felt it was a better place for his fans to pay their last respects.
Kenzo also shared his photo with Patricia and Alex, saying:
Alex my young brother your legacy you left as a dancer in this industry will always trend your skills going to inspire a lot of kids from the ghetto and you will always be remembered as a great man who once lived in this dancing fraternity.#Alex may your soul rest in peace….my young brother..you will forever be my super star. I can't stop crying my Salongo banange.
L-R Eddy Kenzo, Patricia and Alex.
Photo from Eddy Kenzo Facebook page.
Another Ugandan artist, Jose Chameleone, posted the following on Facebook:
I am really saddened by the Death of a youngstar Alex Ssempijja. All of us are with your Family, Fans and Friends in this sudden loss! You are gone to soon and left us the Memories of your always happy Character from since we Watched you dance in “Sitya Loss” May the lord strengthen Eddy Kenzo and team as we all pray God Rests your Young Soul in Eternal peace.We pray for The Lil’ Patricia who is hospitalized. May the Lord lay his healing Hands on you.
Ugandan musician Juliana Kanyomozi  said:
RIP Alex (of Sitya Loss), in your short life, you have impacted the world through dance, more than some will ever do in a lifetime. Your purpose on earth has been fulfilled. Continue to dance with the rest of the angels in heaven.
We continue to lift Patricia up in prayer.
Eddy Kenzo, praying for you bro. Be strong.
On Twitter, publicist Eddy Pro tweeted:
Oh GOD!!! I cant believe that Alex the sitya loss star is gone. Rest In Peace brother. #GoneTooSoon #RIP pic.twitter.com/ND3bFCP477
— Eddy Pro (@Iameddypro) December 1, 2015
While Geosteady, a Ugandan artist, could not believe the news:
It's unbelievable for the loss of Alex (I call him Salongo) one of the dancers in Sitya loss. Ooooooh… https://t.co/tuKHxv4Jzn — Geosteady imagine (@geosteadyOffici) November 30, 2015
Alex was laid to rest on December 2, 2015, in Kibibi at his ancestral home, about 100 kilometers from the capital, Kampala.

author: James Propa


text:
While India’s National Media Bungles Its Chennai Flood Coverage, Social Media Steps Up · Global Voices
Rezwan

Powerbanks for Chennai flood victims being packed in Bangalore. Screenshot courtesy Facebook page of Brave New World
Several states in South India are experiencing severe floods due to excessive rain. Chennai, the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, has been the hardest hit. Although the annual monsoon season lasts from June to September, Chennai saw an extended rainy season, with November becoming the wettest month in the past century with 1218.6 mm of rain – three times its monthly rainfall.
Most of the city was submerged under water after 374 mm rainfall was recorded on 1 December alone. More than 280 people have died in the past week, with hundreds of thousands stranded without electricity and food. The flooding has affected business in the city, which boasts an auto manufacturing and IT hub, as companies closed with instructions for employees to stay home or work from home.
The situation is terrible indeed, but India's national media outlets were slow to give the Chennai floods coverage, for which they were much criticised.
Front pgs of national newspapers today: @IndianExpress & @timesofindia don't even have a mention of #ChennaiFloods pic.twitter.com/0JCgafjt04
— Shilpa Kannan (@shilpakannan) December 2, 2015
India's state-run Press Information Bureau also faced online mockery after tweeting an edited image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surveying deadly Chennai floods.
In a video blog, journalist and TV presenter Rajdeep Sardesai blamed the lacking coverage on the “tyranny of distance” — referring to the fact that many of the national outlets are headquartered in Delhi, nearly 2,000 km away from Chennai:
For a long time, there has been a sense that southern India believes that the national capital located in Delhi and the “national media” has ignored its concerns and what's happened in Chennai perhaps only confirms their worst fears. In fact, what is more troubling in a way is that the nature of the coverage only confirms a north-south divide, where events that take place in and around the national capital get far more coverage or perhaps disproportionate coverage than what happens in the southern part of India.
[…]
I think the solution is changing mindsets. All of us have to recognize that if we want to be national, then news from every part of the country must get space.
Prime Minister Modi announced an additional 10 billion rupees (about 150 million US dollars) would be allocated for flood relief efforts, alongside the 9.4 billion rupees already released.The army and the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to rescue people stranded in their flooded properties. More than 10,000 policemen and swimmers are also taking part in the rescue effort. The inundated airport, poor road connections, lack of electricity and breakdown of telecommunication links has severely hampered rescue operations.
The extent of damage was evident in social media as people shared photos and videos with hashtags such as #Chennairains and #Chennaifloods:
Ford BMW Production disrupted by #ChennaiRains https://t.co/tYsuEblNMR pic.twitter.com/ORqVriLd06
— Offstumped Report (@offstumped) December 3, 2015
Limited flights from naval base near Chennai today https://t.co/zQ50bwVq2b #ChennaiRains pic.twitter.com/gPJOZwKYe5
— NDTV (@ndtv) December 4, 2015
We had to cancel 23 trains,11 were diverted and 8 trains were partially cancelled due to heavy rains: Anil Saxena, Railway PRO #ChennaiRains
— ANI (@ANI_news) December 2, 2015
The first time since 1878 when the @the_hindu wasn't published. #ChennaiRains https://t.co/gWNtSIOjWI
— Saikat Datta (@saikatd) December 2, 2015
People also used social media to share useful information and coordinate help for those affected.
All mosques in chennai are open to everyone, food and shelter is provided. #chennairains #chennairainshelp
— Mohsin Shaikh  (@MohsinRexman) December 1, 2015
The website Chennairains.org was created to offer information such as a crowdsourced list of places and people offering shelter as well as aid available.
Poster explaining how power banks will help the flood victims. Image via Bangalore for Chennai
Facebook activated their “safety” button, in which people located in the area can notify their friends that they are all right.
Tweets and Facebook updates were used to coordinate volunteers to collect and distribute aid to the flood victims.
One initiative, Bangalore for Chennai, is working to provide power for the stranded flood victims without electricity.
While officials at the India Meteorological Department have pointed to an exceptionally strong El Niño weather phenomenon, they could not suppress the fact that Chennai has failed in maintaining an effective storm water drainage system. According to The Indian Express, there are more than 150,000 illegal structures in the city and more than 300 tanks, canals and lakes have disappeared in the past decade due to rapid urbanisation.
As per latest reports, the flooding risks getting worse as more rains are expected through the weekend in Tamilnadu region. Chennai’s international airport, which was closed on December 2 because the runway was under seven feet of water, will remain shutdown until Sunday, December 6.

author: Rezwan


text:
Why Doesn’t It Rain in Guinea-Bissau Like It Used To? · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

“Zé wants to know why”, a short film by Bagabaga Studios
Rainfall decrease and sea level rise are threatening the soil fertility and the subsistence of the people of Guinea-Bissau, a recently released video by Bagabaga Studios reports.
At the end of August, a small community of 435 inhabitants located in a remote area of difficult access on the north coast of Guinea-Bissau called Elalab saw most of its rice crops destroyed by sea water. “For Felupes people — Elalab’s main ethnic group — this cereal represents wealth and autonomous livelihood,” the synopsis of the video explains.
A news report from the website O Democrata adds that “the floods broke the protective dikes that served as a barrier and prevented the entry of salt water in the areas of fresh water where the base of the diet of Guinean was cultivated and already grown.”
Bagabaga, a Portuguese digital media co-op, visited the region and spoke with one of the residents of Elalab village, Zé, who has “never heard of global warming but easily points out changes to the seasons and how it affects his everyday life.” Zé makes his living from fishing and rice production, and “doesn’t understand why all this is happening.” Thus he asks:
When we were young, the heat only arrived during the dry season. Now everything has changed. The rice fields have become saltier. Fish aren’t of size anymore. Even the acajou tree, that blessed all with shade, has died. During the days of our parents generation the salt water didn’t reach the village. After plowing the land, all the rice has died. Everything is ruined. Everything. That’s how life is unfolding. That’s how we’re struggling to survive. This is the punishment we’re facing at our home. In August, sea level has reached the highest in its history. It’s one of many villages in Guinea-Bissau threatened by extinction. People ask themselves: why did it once rain so much and now it doesn’t?
The short video was released in the same week that the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) began, bringing together decision-makers from 195 countries for 12 days to reach a binding agreement towards the reduction of worldwide carbon emissions.
Guinea-Bissau's President José Mário Vaz addressed the summit stressing that the small West African nation is one of the most vulnerable countries concerning the effect of sea level rise. A map of the impact of climate change by the Center for Global Development ranks Guinea-Bissau third in terms of overall vulnerability to sea level rise and eighth on overall vulnerability to agricultural productivity loss.
“The effects of climate change are being felt by people across Africa,” an article published by Global Voices partner 350.org, on August 28, explains. “Evidence shows that the change in temperature has affected the health, livelihoods, food productivity, water availability, and overall security of the African people.”

author: Sara Moreira


text:
A Citizen Reporter’s Journey Through the Rubble of Aleppo Air Strikes · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Rami Jarrah, a Syrian political activist and citizen journalist. Credit: Courtesy Rami Jarrah
This article by Joyce Hackel for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on December 2, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Rami Jarrah is a rare voice in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo.
He's a Syrian citizen journalist, documenting the civilian cost of air strikes. Often, that means he's rushing to the aftermath of a bombing, as he did the other day when he encountered a panicked father, frantically searching for his loved ones.
“He was saying, ‘Where's my son, where's my children, my son Hassan?'” says Jarrah, of the citizen media project ANA Press.
Bystanders like Jarrah understood that the man's children and his wife had been obliterated during the Russian air strike.
“The man was continuously shouting, ‘ISIS are not here! Why does this happen to us?’ Jarrah added. “He grabbed his other son, and he was shaking his son and shaking him around, saying, ‘You want to kill him as well?'”
Jarrah is British and Syrian. He fled Damascus in 2011, and moved first to Egypt then Turkey. Now in Aleppo, he's posting vignettes of the residents.
“They're human beings. They breathe like us, they love like us. They one day want to do something that's very similar to what you want to do,” he says.
Jarrah is quick to admit he's not an impartial observer.
“To be totally honest, journalism in my situation is for the sake of activism,” he says. “As a media activist, what I'm aiming to do is to actually create that opposition information to what's being amplified by the Syrian regime and its counterparts.”
There are no foreign journalists in Aleppo, and Jarrah doesn't take his own security for granted.
“It is something to worry about. ISIS do have hidden cells. I'm already not in their good books,” he notes. “We have a journalist that works for us that was kidnapped, this was in October 2013, and we haven't seen him since.”
He acknowledges his time in Aleppo may be changing him.
“I'm not a believer at all. However I understand why people acquire in these situations something to believe in,” he says. “Someone was asking me the other day, ‘Are there shelters in Aleppo and are people using them?’ It was a research group. And I said, ‘Well, if there were thousands of shelters, let's say a shelter under every single building, I don't think that people would go to them.’ Because this war has gone on for long enough for people to get used to the situation,” he says, adding, ” I worry that I will get used to seeing the bloodshed. I worry about that.”

author: PRI/PRX's The World


text:
New Appointments to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal May Be Unconstitutional · Global Voices
Anna Gotowska

A Polish National Assembly sitting on June 4th 2014. Photo by Katarzyna Czerwińska, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Several dozen people spontaneously gathered on Wednesday, November 25 in front of the Polish Parliament building, ignoring the late hour and below-zero temperature, to protest the latest resolution passed by Parliament during a special night sitting.
It wasn't the first time since the recent elections that an important decision was brought in a rush, during the night, making it impossible for either the public or the opposition to discuss the bill before it was put to the vote.
Twitter user Piotr Witwicki wrote:
Jak tak dalej pójdzie, to trzeba będzie w porządku obrad Sejmu zmienić “porządek dzienny” na “porządki nocne”
— Piotr Witwicki (@PiotrWitwicki) November 25, 2015
If all this is to go on, we should change Parliament's agenda from a daily agenda to a nightly one
The highly controversial resolution passed by the newly elected ruling party, Law and Justice, cancels the appointment of five judges to the Constitutional Tribunal, who had been appointed by the previous parliament. Many authorities on the country's constitution have gone as far as claiming that the new resolution is unconstitutional and, hence, illegal. This decision not only seems to ignore provisions of Poland's Constitution, but also breaks one of the oldest rules of any legal state — that laws cannot and should not be retroactively applied. What makes things even more complicated is the fact that such a decision could only be made null and void by the Constitutional Tribunal itself, if it were to discover the incompatibility between the act of choice itself, and the law on which it was based.
Marcin Deutschmann attached a video from the demonstration, saying:
Początek… bardzo szybko… https://t.co/3mbEmYYFx4
— Marcin Deutschmann (@DMarcin93) November 26, 2015
And so it begins…Quite fast…
Artur Górczyński wrote:
Pod Sejmem demonstracja ok. 40 osób….szybko ludzie mają dość.
— Artur Górczyński (@ArturGorczynski) November 25, 2015
Around 40 people gathered in front of the Parliament, people are getting fed up quite fast.
Irena Szczepańska added:
Idę spać, trzymając kciuki za tych, co się zbierają pod sejmem.
— Irena Szczepanska (@Irena63iren) November 26, 2015
I go to sleep keeping my fingers crossed for those in front of the Parliament.
Although the decision is mostly seen as unconstitutional, it has its supporters.
Sylwia2404 wrote:
Nitras pisze że pod Sejmem gromadzą się tłumy.. Są obecni Stefan,Ligia i rodziny tych którzy stracili posadki #ASZdziennik
— Sylwia Bujała (@Sylwia2404) November 26, 2015
Nitras [another Twitter user] writes that crowds are gathering in front of the Parliament. The only ones present were Stefan, Ligia and families of those who have just lost their cushy jobs
Many people seem to think the protest is temporary, doubting the ability of citizens to get politically involved.
Maciek90legia asked:
Dzisiejsze wydarzenia na trawniku pod sejmem i w sejmie (nie wiem ocb) będą miały jakiś wpływ na życie szaraka czy to zwykłe pierdolamento?
— maciek90 (@maciek90legia) November 26, 2015
So as for tonight's events both on the lawn in front of the Parliament and in the Parliament itself (I have no clue what's going on) are they going to influence an average guy or is it just bullshit?
Krzysztof Karnkowski wrote:
Już kiedyś PO zwołało protest, ba, całe miasteczko pod sejmem. Trwało dzielnie do pierwszej kropli deszczu.
— Krzysztof Karnkowski (@karnkowski) November 26, 2015
There was a protest once, called by the [former ruling party, now opposition] Civic Platform, there were a lot of them in front of the Parliament building. It lasted bravely till the first drop of rain.
Attaching a picture of events in Jakowice, Marcin Strzymiński noted:
Na protest przeciw budowie linii wysokiego napięcia w Jankowicach przyszło więcej ludzi niż na protest pod Sejmem pic.twitter.com/AviBrOs6ON
— Marcin Strzymiński (@MStrzyminski) November 26, 2015
More people have come to protest the construction of a power line in Jankowice city than to protest in front of the Parliament.
The following day, November 26, almost 200 people gathered in front of the Parliament building. “Keep your hands off of the Tribunal,” was the only demand of the protesters. The protests and discussion continued into the early days of December, as Parliament prepared to vote on the appointment of five new judges on December 2.
Ahead of the December 2 vote, legislative expert and member of Law and Justice Stanislaw Piotrowicz accused the former ruling party Civic Platform of appointing certain individuals to the Constitutional Tribunal in order to use the tribunal to “block reforms” that Law and Justice has promised in its recent campaign. The accusations against Civic Platform of politicizing the Tribunal are not unfounded, as the previous choice of the judges was made in the transition period, and two out of five judges would rightfully be elected by the new Parliament (with Law and Justice majority) if it wasn't for a convenient transitional provision in the new law regulating the Tribunal, passed on 25 June by Civic Platform, giving it the right to choose all five judges.
The newly appointed judges still remain to be confirmed by President Duda, which he reportedly began doing as soon as the appointments reached his desk. On December 3, however, just as President Duda had confirmed four of the five judges, a new ruling came from the existing Constitutional Tribunal, stating that three out of five judges appointed to the court by the previous ruling party — which the controversial November 25 vote had aimed to remove — were in fact legally nominated and should keep their appointments.
The new resolutions are part of a wider debate about the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal, which has been going on in Poland since June 2015 — starting with these new developments have caused a major political row in the country. Many experts see current events as an effort to break the balance in the tripartite division of power and as a true threat to Polish democracy.
In the words of Twitter user Marcin Chałupka:
Protest pod Sejmem w obronie demokracji Civic protest at Polish Parliament against nondemocratic laws @krytyka pic.twitter.com/JUA5sCXcU8
— Marcin Chałupka (@MrChalupka) November 26, 2015

author: Anna Gotowska


text:
Nine Consecutive Years of Protests Against Police Repression in Argentina · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

Cap March, Córdoba, Argentina, 18th November 2015, the picture is courtesy of Noelia Esteban
The ninth edition of the “Marcha de la Gorra” or “Cap March” was carried out this past 18th of November. The protest, in which young representatives of social organisations and victims of abuse by those in authority march against the actions of the questionable Cordoba Province Police, took place in the province's capital.
For nine years this march has sought to end police abuse in the second largest city in Argentina. One of the participants’ main claims is the repeal of the Offences Code and the end of unjustified controls, humiliation and abuse of authority, as well as the plea for justice for the victims of police violence:
The name of this mobilisation, “Cap March”, is an allusion to the stigma attached to young people coming from modest areas for the way they look and dress, as is demonstrated by the following stories circulating on Twitter:
Hoy, la novena Marcha de la Gorra https://t.co/LJffrXFC5h pic.twitter.com/DFNiRo97nQ
— DíaaDía.com.ar (@diaadiacomar) November 18, 2015
Today, the ninth Cap March
As explained in a blog named Resisting the Offense Code, there is a Cordoban province law that punishes certain conduct that “impairs daily life, so as to facilitate coexistence”. Nonetheless, this definition is ambiguous since it allows room for interpretation when identifying disturbing behaviour. Or, as in most cases, it limits “the exercise of rights that appear in the National Constitution”.
An example of this is the figure of the “marauder” (art. 98), that arrests anyone who shows “a suspicious attitude” nearby buildings or vehicles. It is the police's responsibility to determine what “suspicious” means, and as such: any stroll on the street can become a “maraud”, states the blog. Another offense refers to “tumultuous public meetings” (art. 99), in which officers decide what qualifies as a disturbance and can arrest anyone at the march (even if they do not take part in or cause the turmoil). The blog goes on to state that “this can limit the right to free expression and the right to petition the authorities (art. 14 of the Constitution)”.
Even though official data concerning the quantity of arrests is scarce, poorly systematized and not regularly updated, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Córdoba National University, in 2011 there was a total of 42,700 arrests for infringements to the Offense Code.
This figure reflects an increase in the number of arrests in comparison to previous years. At present, social organisations estimate that there is an arrest every 7 minutes due to “violations of the Offense Code”:
[CÓRDOBA] Una nueva Marcha de la Gorra. Conocé los números del abuso policial → https://t.co/ARYkegphns pic.twitter.com/2GRCh0v9sv
— Infojus Noticias (@InfojusNoticias) November 22, 2015
New Cap March. Find out the numbers of police abuse
These numbers reflect a notion of government based on bulky investment in security to the detriment of health and education, just as the report by the investigation group Llano en Llamas indicates:
[…] The same happens if we comparatively analyse the expenditure per capita in 2015: the ‘Initial and Primary Education’ category registers a total of $1,311 per inhabitant; the budget for the ‘Health’ category implies $1,734 annual spending per person; and for the ‘Security and Justice Services’ category, the amount is $2,255 per capita.
The outcome of this “security” policy is measured by the quantity of arrests carried out by the provincial police. As such, there have been complaints concerning institutionalised practices to incentivize arrests amongst police officers, with or without motive, in order to account for the effectiveness of police authority, therefore justifying the high level of spending on security.
The “Cap March” protests against this repressive security policy, which is intended to replace the social and educational policy. During the latest protest, participants publicised a document in which they explicitly expose their complaints and requests, particularly against the governor of the province, José Manuel de la Sota, who is responsible for the security policy that is in force:
DLS [abbreviation of de la Sota] you are mistaken: We are family and friends of victims of an easy trigger, never of police officers who steal guns and plant them in our neighbourhoods, nor of the murderers commanded by criminals like you and Julio César Suárez.
We are the biggest and most systematic March in Córdoba and the COUNTRY, who claims its popular cultures and strongly repudiates this police State that excludes us, represses us, persecutes us, stigmatises and kills us.
The ninth edition of the march counted on the support of educational, social and workers’ organisations, such as:
El Programa de Derechos Humanos de la FFyH adhiere a la 9° @MarchadelaGorra que se realizará el 18 de noviembre https://t.co/lXOvp1xfEK
— FFyH – UNC (@ffyh_unc) November 16, 2015
The Human Rights Programme of the FFyH adheres to the 9th Cap March that will take place on the 18th November
[HOY] 9° marcha de la gorra en Córdoba <17hs,Colón y Cañada, ciudad de Córdoba> https://t.co/sZwqQ9idDA
— CELS (@CELS_Argentina) November 18, 2015
[TODAY] 9th cap march in Cordoba <17hs,Colón and Cañada, city of Cordoba
Ni un pibe menos: La novena Marcha de la Gorra ‘merodea’ por Córdoba https://t.co/4cd3MP2k5W pic.twitter.com/nGO8g4ttKd
— Agencia CTA (@agenciaCTA) November 13, 2015
Not one lad less: The ninth cap march “marauds” for Cordoba
On this occasion, even some sectors of the Catholic Church supported the protest:
25 sacerdotes católicos en la marcha de la gorra pic.twitter.com/xGWaevmDZS
— sergiocarreras (@soysergio) November 18, 2015
25 catholic priests at the cap march
The magnitude and significance of this march is not solely for the most modest areas, it involves all Cordoban citizens collectively, especially the youth. The claims and questioning of the legitimacy of the police authority overcome educational, economic and social barriers.
Even though the march took place in a peaceful and festive environment, an outdoor broadcast unit belonging to a local television channel, Canal 12, was criticized for its coverage on the subject, which ended in vandalism.
Vandalismo en la marcha de la gorra – El Show de la Mañana – Córdoba https://t.co/z2ID19mH5e pic.twitter.com/UsRLARArb1
— El Show de la Mañana (@centromediatv) November 19, 2015
Vandalism in the cap march – The Morning Show – Cordoba
In sum, the topicality of the claims of citizenship in the so-called mediterranean province of Argentina was reasserted by new complaints of young individuals being arrested without any motive. In this context, young engineering students also denounced new police abuse against them on social media.

author: Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez


text:
On Volunteer Day, Ukrainians Honor Grassroots Efforts with a Social Media Campaign · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Volunteers participating in “The Real Ones” photo exhibition. Photo from Справжні on Facebook
December 5 is International Volunteer Day, and this year, Ukrainians came out in force on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere to say a heartfelt “thank you” to their country's volunteer community for all the work they have done—and are still doing.
Volunteering, while present in Ukraine in the past, was never an overly popular pastime. The grassroots civic initiatives blossomed during the Euromaidan protests: citizens volunteered to help with transportation, cooking, medical needs and IT support. After the protests, there was hardly a lull for volunteers, since many of them shifted gears to help out during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, doing everything from assisting refugees to clothing, arming and feeding the Ukrainian army and volunteer battalions. It's fair to say that volunteering today has become part of Ukrainian culture and the everyday lifestyle, shifting perceptions of the value of unpaid work, along with charity and fundraising.
This Saturday, to mark the ocassion, Ukrainian social media users promoted a hashtag, #ДякуюВолонтерам (#ThankYouVolunteers) and used it to voice their appreciation for the work of countless volunteers supporting the internally displaced, the wounded, and other groups.
Journalist Khrystyna Bondarenko recalled the many conversations she had had with people who had suddenly found themselves taking up the volunteer mantle and marvelled at the diversity of the Ukrainian volunteer community.
Знаете, я видела и знаю многих волонтеров. Это очень разные люди.
Это домохозяйки с огромным стажем варения борщей и ничего другого, это бизнесмены бросившие на самотек свой бизнес, это айтишники, оторвавшиеся от своих компов и биткоинов, это журналисты, артисты, музыканты и просто хорошие люди.
Друзья. Спасибо, что вы есть.
[…]
Умение помогать безвозмездно, пожалуй, очень важный дар для человека. Берегите его.
You know, I've seen and I know many volunteers. These are very different people.
These are housewives with huge experience of making borsch and nothing else, these are businessmen who left their business to run itself, these are IT professionals who pulled themselves away from their computers and bitcoins, these are journalists, artists, musicians and simply good people.
Friends. Thank you for being there.
[…]
The ability to help without compensation is probably the most important gift for mankind. Treasure it.
User Liliya Rudnitskaya shared a thoughtful quote about the nature of volunteering.
Image from Liliya Rudnitskaya on Facebook.
Якщо волонтерство – це абсолютний прояв демократії, коли замість періодичного голосування, людина постійно своїми діями не те що обирає, а створює країну, або громаду, в якій хоче жити, тоді завдяки нашим волонтерам – Україна найдемократичніша країна світу.
If volunteering is indeed the ultimate exercise of democracy, when instead of voting periodically, a person uses their constant action to not just choose, but to build up the country or the community they want to live in, than thanks to our volunteers Ukraine is the most democratic country in the world.
Oleksandr Yabchanka, an activist with Reanimation Package of Reforms initiative, summed up the crucial role many see volunteers playing in post-Euromaidan Ukraine.
Впевнений, колись у книжках світової історії говоритимуть про український феномен.
Зробити Революцію без лідерів, а радше всупереч їм. Зупинити збройну експансію за відсутності власного війська. Робити зміни в країні, за спротиву керівництва країни.
На мою думку це ї є феномен українця – точніше феномен українського волонтера. Низький уклін вам
I'm sure one day the world history books will mention the Ukrainian phenomenon.
To create a Revolution without leaders, and even in spite of them. To stop armed expansion with your own army absent. To institute change in the country while the country's authorities are opposing the change.
To my mind, this is the phenomenon of the Ukrainian—or, to be more precise, of the Ukrainian volunteer. I'm bowing low to you
The civic organization The People's Project (that provides various support to the Ukrainian army) posted a special video to honor Ukrainian volunteers and to address those supporting volunteer efforts as well.
З Днем Волонтера, друзі! Головний подарунок – це ваша небайдужість! Це і ВАШЕ свято! https://t.co/ysZ34hg0S8#волонтеры #волонтер
— Народний проект (@Nbattalion) December 4, 2015
Happy Volunteer Day, friends! Our main gift is your concern and attention! This is YOUR holiday too!
Volunteers themselves also took to social networks to talk about their work and their perceptions of volunteering. Iryna Guk, a volunteer with the People's Home Front project, wrote on Facebook that although she valued the tremendous efforts of fellow volunteers, she didn't feel like celebrating being a volunteer, since many of those working on grassroots initiatives in the current crisis did not consciously choose to do so, but were pushed into the work by circumstance or driven by necessity, and often had to fight the government every step of the way to achieve their goals.
Так от, ці інші – трошки партизани, трошки військові, трошки контрабандисти. Трошки медики, трошки водії, трошки кулібіни. Трошки психологи, трошки піарники, трошки соцробітники, трошки кухарі, трошки доглядальники.
Трошки міністерство. Трошки державозамінник.
[…]
До чого це все. Нема ніякого “професійного свята”. Яке блін свято, який день волонтера?
So these others (the new volunteers) are a little bit partisans, a little bit contraband carriers. A little bit medics, a little bit drivers, a little bit Kulibins.
A little bit psychologists, a little bit PR professionals, a little bit social workers, a little bit cooks, a little bit caretakers.
A little bit ministries. A little bit replacements for the state.
[…]
What I'm leading up to is there is no “professional holiday.” What holiday are we talking about, man, what volunteer day?
A comment made by President Petro Poroshenko in a video address on the eve of Volunteer Day got him in hot water with social media users. Poroshenko said:
Я хочу подякувати волонтерам, які в перший час, дні і місяці війни, коли було найважче, віддавали останнє. І без цього внеску ми б все одно перемогли, але було б набагато важче.
I'd like to thank the volunteers, who in the first hours, days, and months of the war, when things were hardest, gave their all. We would have won without their contribution, but it would have been much harder.
Netizens were outraged at Poroshenko's words and the disappointment was so audible in the Facebook comments and elsewhere, that Poroshenko's Facebook post with the video was soon edited to add a note to express his gratitude and to stress that “without volunteers, without all of the Ukrainian people, our victory would be impossible.”
Ukraine celebrated its volunteers offline as well: a photo exhibition called “The Real Ones” presented portraits of 13 volunteers and asked them to talk about what they do now and what they would be doing if the conflict hadn't happened.
“If it wasn't for the war, I'd move to Turkey to go to college and would work on Ukrainian archives there.” – Kateryna Nikolaenko, Ukrainian military portal. Image from Radio Svoboda.
Earlier, in November 2015, the Euromaidan SOS volunteer and activist community held an award ceremony for Volunteer Awards 2015, where a number of individual Ukrainian activists and volunteer initiatives were honored for their work.

author: Tanya Lokot


text:
Student Protesters in São Paulo Celebrate Victory, As Governor Backs Down and Education Secretary Resigns · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

São Paulo's students movements appears to score a major victory, as the government backs down on its “reorganization” plan for schools. Photo: Agência Brasil CC 3.0.
After two months of protesting in the streets and occupying almost 200 schools throughout the state of São Paulo, Governor Geraldo Alckmin announced today he is postponing the state's reorganization plan until at least 2017. In what protesters are also hailing as a victory, Education Secretary Herman Voorwald (known in social media as Herman “Voldemort”) has resigned from office.
Under the state's “reorganization plan,” 43 percent of the schools in Sao Paulo would have been required to offer only one of the three levels of education in the Brazilian system, instead of offering primary through secondary education all under the same roof.
The new policy would have necessitated the closure of 93 different schools across the state, and more than 300,000 students were expected to need to transfer to new schools.
Students who opposed the program claimed the changes were simply a disguised cut to education spending. The plan's opponents also faulted state officials for failing to hold wider and more public consultations with the education system's stakeholders, given the radical changes the “reorganization” would have required.
São Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin announced on a press conference this afteroon the suspension of his reorganization policy
At a press conference today, December 4, Governor Alckmin said he “got the message from students and their families in relation to the plan,” adding:
“Nossa decisão é adiar a reorganização e rediscuti-la escola por escola, com a comunidade, com os estudantes e, em especial, com os pais dos alunos”.
Our decision is to postpone the reorganization and re-discuss it on a school-by-school basis, as well as with the community, the students, and, especially, with the parents.
Alckmin assures students will have guaranteed enrollment at their current schools for the 2016 school year (which in Brazil runs from March through December).
Education Secretary Voorwald's resignation comes after a government review board concluded that he “failed to establish bridges of dialogue with the movement to demobilize the occupations.”
What else might have prompted the Governor's Office to capitulate to demonstrators? Early on December 4, the research institute Datafolha released the results of a poll showing Alckmin's popularity at a record low. In the survey, 30 percent of the Governor's constituents rated his government as “bad or very bad,” with just 28 percent saying it is “good or very good.” Last year, following Alckmin's reelection, those figures were 48 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
The Facebook page “Don't Close my School,” which has been the student movement's main public channel of communication, posted a statement claiming victory, though the group says it intends to continue its occupation of schools until the authorities agree to several immediate concessions: (1) the government's official newspaper of record must publish the Governor's order to suspend the “reorganization” plan; (2) all the student protesters currently in police custody must be released; and (3) there must be amnesty for any protesters charged with crimes committed as part of the occupation movement.
É preciso comemorar! Pela segunda vez na história recente do Estado de SP, a juventude dobra a espinha de um governador truculento. Só nós sabemos o quanto lutamos para finalmente desmoralizar Alckmin, convencer toda a sociedade e derrotar a reorganização.
Em 2016, vamos seguir lutando para assegurar mais direitos e derrotar de vez o projeto de reorganização. A coragem e a força que demonstrou o movimento secundarista é irreversível. Ressignificamos o espaço das escolas públicas, que passaram a ter vida política, cultural e em consonância com os sonhos e necessidades de estudantes e das comunidades locais. Nunca a escola pública foi tão ocupada e bem aproveitada como sob o controle dos estudantes.
It is time to celebrate! For the second time in the recent history of the state of São Paulo, the youth bends a stubborn governor. Only we know how much we've fought to demoralize Alckmin finally and to persuade everyone to defeat the reorganization.
In 2016, we will keep on fighting to guarantee more rights and to defeat once and for all the project of reorganization. The courage and the strength that the students’ movement has shown is irreversible. We re-signified public schools, which now have a political and cultural life in consonance with the dreams and needs of the students and local communities. Never before have public schools been so occupied nor have they so well fulfilled their potential, as when they were under the control of the students.
Some protesters are still holding out for more. Demonstrators at at least one other school in São Paulo told the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo that they won't end their movement until the government's reorganization campaign is de facto canceled (rather than just postponed for a year).
In widely a shared post on Facebook, journalist and media activist Bruno Torturra argued that Alckmin's words must be taken with a grain of salt:
Repara como ele falou dos pais, não tanto dos alunos. Será esse o novo diálogo. E sua maior arma.
Quem quiser saber para onde sopra o vento a partir dos Bandeirantes, precisa sair das redes e ligar o noticiário de rádio. É onde a narrativa oficialista e o senso comum do paulista são martelados full time.
Há dias tem sido essa a tônica. Os pais estão preocupados. Os pais estão com saudades e aflitos ao verem seus filhos nessa situação. E mais importante: famílias estão vendo seus filhos sendo educados por “movimentos sociais”.
O governo vai empoderar novas associações de pais e alienar os “exacerbados políticos”. Vai posar de republicano citando o Papa…
As férias estão aí. Quando as aulas voltarem, ele descobriu uma forma de segurar a molecada em casa ano que vem terceirizando a repressão para a família – sempre ela – que agora pode ir às ruas tranquila, e fazer selfie com a Força Tática, para pedir o impeachment.
Escreve, Alckmin não perdeu. Ele deu um baita xeque no movimento.
Foco no tabuleiro, turma.
Notice how he talked about the parents, not the students. This will be the new dialogue and his strongest weapon.
Whoever wants to know to where do the winds from the [govervor's residence] Bandeirantes Palace blow needs to get out of the internet and turn on the radio. That's where the official narrative and common sense of the paulista are broadcasted full-time.
This has been the tone for days. The parents are worried. The parents miss their children. They are afflicted when they see them being educated by “social movements”.
The government will empower new association of parents and will alienate the “radicalized”. He will pose as a republican citing the Pope…
School is out. When classes are back, he will have found out a way to hold the kids at home, outsourcing the repression to the family — always the family — that, now, can go back to the streets in peace, take selfies with the police and ask for [President Dilma Rousseff's] impeachment.
Write it down, Alckmin hasn't lost. He has done quite of check mate on the movement.
Eyes on the game board, kids.
Over the next several days, assemblies at occupied schools are planned where demonstrators will decide the movement's next steps.
Violent crackdowns on last week's protests. Photo: Juventude Às Ruas / Facebook.
For two months, students have been protesting against the reorganization, and for at least three weeks they've occupied dozens of schools across the state. The struggle reached a turning point earlier this week, when independent media collective Jornalistas Livres (Free Journalists) leaked a recording where Fernando Padula, the chief of staff of the state's Secretariat of Education, told school directors, “We will fight until the end and we will win. We will demoralize and disqualify the movement.”
Padula's statements appeared to show the authorities’ complete unwillingness to negotiate with the occupy movement, leading to a rapid escalation of protests. Police responded in kind. On December 3, for instance, protesters reported in a Facebook post that law enforcement officers arrested 14 people at a rally earlier that day.
A number of videos and photos of students being beaten and arrested have emerged online, like footage posted by the Internet collective Juventude às Ruas (Youth on the Streets) from a protest in São Paulo city center.
The same group posted a video of a student being carried upside-down by four police officers, as well as photos and videos of other arrests:
Another video shows the exact moment when a police officer fired a bomb into the middle of a peaceful demonstration, while protesters sang “no violence.”
Global Voices Brazil editor Taisa Sganzerla collaborated with this post.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia