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Asteroid Named in Honor of Peru · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

The Committee of Small Objects Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union gave astronomers authorization to name the asteroid identified with the number 1995 SG5 as Qoyllurwasi in honor of Perú.
Qoyllurwasi means house of the stars in Quechua language, where qoyllur means star and wasi is house.
The asteroid was discovered on September 20, 1995 and it has just been named.
On Twitter, Jois Koo (@joiskoo) [es] refered to the asteroid's shape:
@elcomercio #Qoyllurwasi Tiene forma de pan francés :D :P
— Jois Koo (@joiskoo) August 29, 2013
@elcomercio #Qoyllurwasi Has the shape of a French bread :D :P
The bread known in Peru as French bread has a very particular shape that can be seen here.


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Brazil’s Occupy Cocó Park Fights to Save Nature Reserve from Construction · Global Voices
Luciane Salles

[All links lead to pages in Portuguese unless otherwise noted.]
A federal regional court in Brazil has delivered a blow to opponents of overpass construction in the urban area of Fortaleza, which they say would harm the local ecosystem, by overturning an earlier ruling that put a stop to the project, paving the way for construction to begin.
The proposed construction project in Cocó Park, Fortaleza's largest natural reserve, sparked an Occupy movement to attempt to stop it, but members of the occupation were eventually forcibly removed from the park. A Federal Justice court ruling on 8 August, 2013 had prohibited the construction of the two overpasses alongside the park, but it was knocked down by the Federal Regional Court of the 5th Region (TRF5).
That decision was made on 14 August 2013 by federal judge Edilson Pereira Nobre Júnior, acting president of the TRF5, after the city government, which supports the construction, petitioned in the same court against the project's suspension. According to his ruling, “the city government claims the justification of damage to the environment is not sufficient for interrupting the project”, the federal judge argued:
a paralisação da construção dos viadutos causará maior prejuízo à ordem e à economia públicas, tanto por impossibilitar que a sociedade possa usufruir de melhorias no trânsito da região, como por impor severos prejuízos a serem suportados com verbas públicas.
the interruption of the overpass construction project will cause more damage to public order and economy, both for preventing society from enjoying the improvements to local traffic congestion, as well as for imposing severe losses to be borne by public coffers.
On 13 August, one day before the ruling was suspended, public prosecutor Oscar Costa Filho and other opponents to the construction over the trees of Cocó Park had a meeting in the city of Recife [en] with the TRF5 president to tell him that the overpass construction had not gone through an Environmental Impact Assessment, but that argument didn't seem to affect the judge's decision.
In Fortaleza, over the past 15 years the traffic intersection of Engenheiro Santana Jr Avenue and Antonio Sales Avenue has been a very heavy one. To alleviate the situation, the city government proposed building two overpasses on site, taking over a bit of Cocó Park's area and about one hundred trees.
Civil guards attack demonstrator. Photo taken from the Facebook page “Dunas do Cocó” [Dunes of the Cocó]
On 12 July 2013, ten citizens outraged by the destruction of trees stood in front of the bulldozers to protect the remaining dozens of trees required to begin the construction.
The Occupy Cocó was cleared with violence by agents of the city's civil guard very early in the morning, around 3 a.m. on 8 August. There was a clash among the civil guard and about 200 protesters, who were camping in the grounds of Cocó Park for 28 days. Approximately 300 agents of the Special Operations Group of the city's civil guard of Fortaleza took part of the operation to clear Occupy Cocó.
During the operation, teargas bombs and rubber bullets were used by the civil guard, and protesters say police acted with exaggeration. University professor Geová Alencar denounced the police action:
Reiniciamos o manifesto no meio da rua, gritando palavras de ordem e, de repente, a polícia veio para cima, jogando bombas de efeito moral. Todos nós corremos sem entender.
We took the protest to the middle of the street, shouting rallying cries, and all of a sudden the police ran towards us, throwing bombs. We all ran, with no clue why they did that.
The Rapadura Mídia collective shared on Facebook a series of five videos with the live coverage of the early morning clearing on 8 August. A short documentary produced by Canal Popular presents testimonials of protesters after the clearing of Occupy Cocó Park. This short video shows the trees cut down as well as the presence of civil guard agents and the protesters:
Guards used pepper spray to disband protesters. Photo taken from the Facebook page “Dunas do Cocó” [Dunes of the Cocó]
The Brazilian section of Greenpeace released a statement on the case:
De fato, a obra é polêmica. Em primeiro lugar, por confiar na expansão do espaço viário como forma de solucionar o problema de congestionamento, o que significa insistir em uma falácia muito criticada pelos especialistas – os carros se comportam como gases, quanto mais espaço há, mais espaço ocuparão, pelo fato de que a melhora no tráfego estimula mais pessoas a utilizarem o carro, levando ao congestionamento novamente. Em segundo, mas não menos importante, por não ter contado com participação popular e ser uma obra que não considera um planejamento de médio e longo prazo da mobilidade da cidade, voltado para a priorização de outros meios de transporte – como a bicicleta, transporte coletivo e andar a pé – que não o carro.
It is indeed a controversial project. First of all, for believing the expansion of road space is the solution for the problems related to traffic congestion means insisting on a fallacy widely criticized by experts – cars behave like gases. The more space available, the more space they will fill. The reason is that a better traffic situations stimulate more people to use their car, leading to traffic congestion once again. Second of all, but not less important, for not opening a construction project that doesn't involve a plan of urban mobility over the medium- and long-term, prioritizing other means of transportation – such as bicycles, public transport and walking – besides a car to public participation.
On Twitter, citizens demonstrated their outrage with the hashtags #SalveCocó [Save Cocó], #SalveoCocó [Save the Cocó] e #OcupeCocó [Occupy Cocó].
Se a mobilidade urbana depender da derrubada de árvores, prefiro andar a pé #salveococó
— Matheus Lima (@Matt__Lima) August 14, 2013
If urban mobility relies on cutting down trees, I'd rather walk
O maior projeto do cruzamento entre Engenheiro Santana Júnior e Antônio Sales? A luta do povo…A voz de quem ainda sonha! #SalveOCocó
— Diego Rabelo (@dhyegorabelo) August 11, 2013
What's the largest project of the Engenheiro Santana Jr and Antonio Sales Avenue traffic intersection? The people's struggle… The voice of those who keep the dream alive!
See the park's location on the map:
Cocó Park map, in Fortaleza, Brazil. Image taken from the blog Fátima e Cocó
Background on the story
The Cocó Park was created through a state decree in 1989, but sections of its 1,046 hectares have since been taken by private endeavors, which precludes its formalization.
In January 2013, a court authorized the construction of residential condos in an area adjacent to the park based on a Term of Conduct Adjustment (TAC, in Portuguese) issued by the city government's previous administration. The new administration (which now proposes the overpass project) contested the TAC, and the license for construction was canceled.
On February 2013, Global Voices reported [en] about the Cocó Park:
The approval of the construction of 14 residential blocks in the dunes of the Coco River provoked outrage in Fortaleza, Brazil. A petition has reached 5,000 signatures and two acts were organized via Facebook. In 2009, an Area of Relevant Ecological Interest was created at the Dunes of Coco to protect the site after denouncements of a real estate project by the movement Save the Coco Dunes.
While the park's delimitation isn't conducted, demonstrators have mobilized with movements SOS Cocó and Salvem as Dunas do Cocó [Save the Cocó Dunes] and the Cocó Defense Movement, to protect it.
Movement Salvem o Parque do Cocó [Save the Cocó Park]. Image from the Facebook profile Dunas do Cocó
On 2 August, protesters who occupied the park's grounds went to the Federal Public Defender's office with lawyers of the National Network of People's Lawyers, known as RENAP in Portuguese, to denounce threats of forced eviction of the Occupy Cocó. As the federal public attorney Dinarte de Pascoa Freitas stated after the meeting, such threats had been made at late hours in the night, contradicting the Code of Civil Procedure, which requires both a prior warning to protesters and that the eviction must be conducted during working hours:
(…) “vimos também homens armados a paisana circulando o local e quando passamos na frente do prédio do pelotão especial da Guarda Municipal foi possível perceber uma forte movimentação à 1 hora da manhã”, afirmou um dos manifestantes que preferiu não se identificar.
“Cocó is not a condo's garden” Photo from the Facebook page ‘Cocó Dunes’
(…) “we have also seen armed men in plainclothes wandering about in the grounds of the park, and when we drove past the special forces of the city's civil guard, we were able to notice intense activity at 1 a.m.”, declared a protester who wanted to remain anonymous.
On that same day, very early in the morning, 12 vehicles of the civil guard had parked next to the occupation site. Through social networks, several supporters were mobilized to leave their homes and be present on site. Police patrol continued to show up at very early hours from before midnight to 2 a.m., intimidating those favorable of the park's defense.
When the violent clearing took place, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Ceará demanded explanation from the Municipality's Secretariat of Security about the operation, questioning through a letter whether there was a judicial warrant to justify the action. The letter reminded that it was also necessary to preserve the physical integrity of both the occupying demonstrators and the natural heritage of the Cocó Park
“Estamos preocupados com o conflito e a violência que se instalou. O cidadão precisa ser protegido no seu direito”, disse o promotor de Justiça José Francisco de Oliveira Filho à Globo.
“We're worried with the conflict and violence “that took place. Citizens must be protected in their right”, said the prosecutor José Francisco de Oliveira Filho to website G1.
The president of the Human Rights Commission of the Ceará Legislative Assembly considered it an “aggressive action”. She proposed to file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's office.
The Ceará section of the Architects's Institute of Brazil released a note in which it considers the city government's intervention project inadequate in regards to the National Policy of Urban Mobility guidelines, approved in 2012, and also to the Urban Mobility Plan of the Municipality. The institution states that international experience shows that overpasses and high lines contribute to promoting degradation and decay in surrounding areas, and presents in video an alternative solution to the proposed road overpasses:

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Luciane Salles


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China: Will Former Head of Public Security be Purged? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

After the trial of Bo Xilai, some China observers believed that the former head of Public Security Zhou Yongkang will be the next to fall. Sinostand listed out a number of reason why Zhou could be the next target, of course there is always political risk.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Chinese Professor Suspended for Teaching Constitutionalism  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

An outspoken law professor was suspended in China from his teaching position for teaching and writing articles about constitutionalism.
In June 2013, Professor Zhang Xuezhong of East China University of Politics and Law in Shanghai published an article entitled “The Origin and Perils of the Anti-constitutionalism Campaign in 2013″ (《2013反宪政逆流的根源及危险》). On August 17, Zhang was notified by the university that his qualifications to teach at school had been revoked. The decision was made by the university’s communist party committee, according to China Change, a human rights website.
“The university made it clear to me that the article was in violation of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, and at the same time, it also violated the teachers’ ethical code,” Zhang explained in a statement via his WeChat account.
Professor Zhong Xuezhong. Photo from Sina Weibo
Chinese newspaper Southern Weekend was heavily censored earlier this year when it called for constitutional rule in China.
Zhang Xuezhong is a high profile liberal in China. In September 2012, Zhang was temporarily suspended for his support for those opposed to the “national education” courses in Hong Kong schools. In May 2013, when the Chinese Communist Party issued an instruction to educational institutions banning the teaching of seven sensitive topics, Zhang was one of the first professors to reveal the issue on popular microblogging site Sina Weibo. The “Seven Speak-Nots” policy prohibits discussion of “universal values, civil society, citizen rights, judicial independence, freedom of the press, past mistakes of the communist party, and the privileged capitalist class” in university settings. Zhang’s Weibo account has since been deleted.
In March 2013, Zhang published a book titled [h] “The New Common Sense—The Nature and Consequences of One-Party Rule.”
Many Weibo users showed support for Zhang and his notion on constitutionalism, yet most comments were soon deleted.
Lawyer Zhang Quan wrote [zh]:
实行人民约法、宪法限政是必要的，这是人类社会发展方向。只有天赋人权，不存在天赋党权。权力没有限制，迟早会出问题。但宪政的方式、进程可以商讨。
It is necessary to implement constitution to limit the government’s power, which is the direction of development of human society. Fundamentally it’s about human rights, not party rights. With unlimited power, sooner or later there will be problems. But the way and process to constitutional rule can be discussed.
Web user “Lixing Zheren” criticized [zh]:
大学拒绝思想自由、学术自由的精神，意味着一个民族在拒绝文明。但我不客气的说，从张雪忠老师的遭遇和风范中，我们也看到了中国知识分子为利逐言的懦弱。一个学校成千上万名教师和学生，竟然只有一个人如同中世纪的伽利略在抗争！这不是时代和民族的悲哀？
The university’s denial of freedom of thought and the spirit of academic freedom means that a nation is in denial of civilization. I can bluntly say that from Professor Zhang Xuezhong’s experience, Chinese intellectuals have showed their cowardice because for a school of thousands of teachers and students, there’s only one man fighting like Galileo in the Middle Ages! Isn't it the tragedy of the times and the nation?
Web user “Wang Dongcheng” echoed [zh] the same sentiment:
对于大学教师来说，“独立之思想，自由之精神”就是师德。张雪忠的言行，说明他有良好的师德。现下的高校讲台上发清声者本来就不多，因此就愈显张雪忠之宝贵。
For university teachers, the ethical code is “independence of thought and freedom of spirit”. Zhang Xuezhong's words and deeds showed that he has followed the ethics. At a time when not many university lectures voice their real opinions, Zhang Xuezhong is in particular valuable.

author: Abby Liu


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PHOTOS: Oil Spill Devastates Thousands of Fishermen in Cebu, Philippines · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Coconut husks used to remove oil. Photo from Facebook of Lizzy Oi
Two weeks ago, more than 90 people died when a passenger ship sank off the coast of Philippine province Cebu after it collided with a cargo ship. But the impact of the collision is still being felt today after 120,000 liters of oil from the sunken ship spilled into the shorelines of the coastal towns of Talisay, Cordova, and Lapu-Lapu.
Aside from affecting more than 300 hectares of mangroves, the oil spill also displaced more than 3,000 fisherfolk and threatened to undermine the tourism business in the area.
Lizzy Oi visited a fishing village in Cordova and shared what she witnessed:
This is the face of Cordova today after the oil spill killed the livelihood of thousands of fishermen in the Municipality. 80% of its population depends mainly on fishing for their daily needs and now when everything was vanished by the devastating man-made tragedy, they seem to lose hope knowing that this problem will last for many months and even years.
Cordova, Cebu. Photo from Facebook of Lizzy Oi
Oil spill also reached Mactan beaches. Photo by @shai_ong
meylou also sympathized with the affected residents:
This is truly tragic. My condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Pity for the barangays who were affected, fishermen who cannot go out to go fishing, dead mangrove critters. It will take years for the mangroves to recover, but clean up will need to be done diligently or the mangroves will perish :-( . Thank you to all the volunteers
The disaster struck during the mangrove ‘fruiting’ season:
Sadaba: #Cebu #OilSpill happened during the peak of mangrove fruiting| @santinocdn
— Cebu Daily News (@cebudailynews) August 30, 2013
Clean-up operations were immediately undertaken by residents. Tishiana Mann noted some ingenious ways of removing oil from the water:
Lots of people invented interesting ways to help contain the oil spill: for example, local salons sent human hair, and business owners of coconut distribution centers sent heaps of coconut husk to act as absorbants. They even thought of using saw dust to absorb the oil, but when you threw it into the water, the wind would just blow it away.
Hair donations and free haircuts were initiated to help in the clean-up drive. Concerned citizens also collected chicken feathers.
In other relevant news… wanted to get a haircut to donate my hair to the oil spill in Cebu last weekend. Boo me. Now thats proactive.
— Janina (@eenasmag) August 28, 2013
Public, dept. stores also encouraged to donate stockings to be used in hair booms top contain #oilspill. #Cebu via @originalJGA
— Sun.Star Cebu (@sunstarcebu) August 20, 2013
#Cebuseamishap Free hair cutting at Cebu City Hall lobby. Human hair to be used as oil spill boom. @TheFreemanNews pic.twitter.com/VEmv52oFS5
— Jessa Agua (@DyesaTubig) August 22, 2013
Cebu City VM Labella said the city will be collecting ‘absorbers’ (human hair, chicken feathers) to contain the #OilSpill
— Cebu Daily News (@cebudailynews) August 19, 2013
But a scientist has warned that using hair could worsen the situation.
Christina Garcia Frasco believes there is a need for stricter maritime regulation:
The loss of life to disasters at sea is staggering. The damage to the marine environment is far-reaching. Even more disturbing is what little has been done to avoid such tragedies. As the seafaring public continues to risk life and limb when they board the ships that navigate our waters, it is clear that the need for stricter maritime regulation and sea traffic management is not only imminent but also absolute.

author: Mong Palatino


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Putin’s Kiss: Redux · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

President Putin visited the large Siberian city of Khabarovsk last Friday to meet with the people [ru] affected by massive flooding of the Amur River. A Russia Today-produced video (posted to YouTube) shows one of these meetings at a local community center, where people told him of their troubles and fears that the neighboring Chinese (Amur runs along the Russian-Chinese border) would come to take over their houses. As the president chatted with the flood victims, a toddler kept trying to catch his attention. Here is Moskovsky Komsomolets retelling [ru] the story:
- Все будет хорошо, не расстраивайся! – посоветовал мальчику Путин.
– Я не плакаю! – обиделся Анатолий.
“Everything will be fine… don't be sad!” Putin advised the boy.
“I not crying!” Anatoly took offence.
The little boy kept pestering Putin, and pulling on his sleeve throughout the meeting. Finally, Putin turned back to the boy, said “I understand, here, let me kiss you,” and gave him a smooch on the cheek.
Do politicians like children even when not campaigning? YouTube screenshot.
Over at an anti-Putin group on the popular social media website VKontakte, one user recalled that Putin had once kissed a child on the stomach, commenting [ru]:
опять детей целует
куда мирзулина смотрит ваще?!
Безобразие.
again with kissing children
where is Mirzulina [sic] looking, man?!
It’s a disgrace.
Mizulina is the sponsor of the federal law outlawing “homosexual propaganda.” Another user jeered:
Вова педофил.
Vova [Vladimir] is a pedophile.
Some Russians still equate homosexuality with pedophilia. The rumor that Putin “likes children” was actively spread on the internet after the “stomach” incident.
One compared Putin’s kiss to a werewolf bite, one that would eventually turn the victim into a second Putin:
он укусил ребенка! Теперь, каждую ночь, как только взойдет луна, ребенок будет воровать деньги, тайно переписывать на себя недвижимость и колоться ботоксом
he bit a child! Now, every night, as soon as the moon rises, the child will start stealing money, secretly transferring property ownership to himself, and injecting himself with botox
Still another mocked:
ПОЦЕЛУЙ ИУДЫ
JUDAS’ KISS
Meanwhile, others joked about the toddler's baby talk when speaking to Putin, making bad puns with the word “Плотина” (Dam), which the boy kept repeating. One viewer asked:
Ребенок говорит путину: “Палачина”?
Did the kid tell Putin: “Butcher”? [“plotina”(dam)->”palach”(butcher, executioner)->”palachina”(immense butcher)]
Another joked:
Ребенок, по сути сказал, не “платина”, а “плати На”.
The child, in fact, did not say “dam”, but “pay us”. [“plotina”->”plati na[m]”] (this pun can also be interpreted as “pay Na[valny]”, or “plati Na[h]” (“pay up f*cker”))
Another comment was tongue-in-cheek:
у мальчика мож проблемы с дикцией?
maybe the kid has problems with diction?
In the end, such jokes are mean-spirited, exploitative, and not very constructive. But, for some Russians who feel they no longer have a voice in their country, jeers and spite seem to be the only recourse left.

author: Nina Jobe


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Saudi Activist Tried, Separated from His Lawyers · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia
The fourth session of the ongoing trial of Umar al-Saeed took place earlier today, September 1, in the Saudi Arabian city of Buraydah. al-Saeed is an associate member of the country's leading human rights organization, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). The judge continued to separate the detained activist from his lawyers so he can “know his true personality, and whether he is just a follower.” He was forced to speak loudly when he wanted to consult his lawyers on anything.
In a previous session, al-Saeed complained about prison harassment and demanded investigation. Today, the judge said that he had nothing to do with this request but he could suspend the hearing sessions until The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution could investigate. The lawyers said that all their previous attempts to contact the Bureau turned to be useless.
In addition, the lawyers demanded that the handcuffs be removed from the defendant during the hearing session, but the judge refused while giving no explanation. They also objected when the judge said that al-Saeed might be just a follower.
The lawyers finally asked for one-month suspension so they can try to stop prison harassment. The upcoming session will be held on October 29.
Women are still banned from attending political public trials. One judge said that “men are good enough.”
On Twitter, netizens exchanged what happened in the trial under the hashtag #عمر_السعيد, which translates to al-Saeed's name in Arabic.
This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia

author: Anas Soliman


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Trinidad & Tobago: Adobe by Subscription  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Whether or not you like Adobe's new subscription model for its creative software doesn't matter much, according to Mark Lyndersay, who points out that users really have no choice.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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China: Rural Superstition Leads to Horrible Baby Girl Abuse · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In some rural areas of China, people believe by sticking needles to the body of new born baby girl, the next child would be boy. Off-beat China highlighted two recent horrible stories of piercing of new born baby girls.


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Colombia Starts New Week Amid Agrarian Strike · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

Uncertainty reigns in Colombia after almost two weeks since the start of the agrarian strike.
Although negotiations between the government and the protesters have moved forward, citizens across the country held massive protests on August 29, most of which ended with riots.
Roads are still blocked in some parts of the country, even though on Friday, August 30, protesters released a statement [es] where they expressed their decision to lift the blockades and reiterated their invitation to continue to dialogue with the government.
To date, as Virna Gutierrez indicates, the situation persists:
#14DiasdePARO Bloqueos siguen en #Caquetá mis DERECHOS vulnerados. Estamos secuestrados.Muchos adultos y niños sufriendo estas consecuencias
— Virna Gutiérrez (@VirnAGutierreZ) September 2, 2013
Blockades continue in Caquetá. My rights are being violated. We are [as if] kidnapped. Many adults and children are suffering from these consequences.
You can follow citizen reports and reactions through the following Twitter hashtags: #ParoAgrario, #MePongoLaRuana (referring to wearing the ruana, a garment worn by Colombian farmers), #ParoNacional and #paroagrariocolombia.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Haze Returns to Indonesia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Haze in Sumatra. Photo by @jgblogs
Nearly 500 forest fires were recorded in Sumatra Island last August which caused a thick haze to descend on Riau in Indonesia and even in some parts of Malaysia. The burning of forests is blamed on the operations of oil palm plantations, wood suppliers’ concessions, and pulpwood plantations. Several schools were closed in Riau during the return of the deadly haze last week.
The haze pollution is a recurring problem in the region caused mainly by forest fires in Indonesia. Last June, the haze covered Singapore and many areas in Malaysia.
Forest fire hotspots in Riau, Indonesia. Yellow areas are palm oil plantations. Image from Eyes on the Forest.
On Twitter, Indonesians expressed their concern about the return of the haze in Sumatra.
If Indonesia Prez dtg, pls tell Msian palm oil owners in Sumatra to burn more fires so tht SBY can see with his own eyes what Haze is.
— Dr Wan Norashikin (@drshikin) August 31, 2013
SBY refers to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
#haze #Sumatra land burning bad for 2 days in #Medan, left a layer of black dust on my motorcycle in 8 hours #health #environment #Indonesia
— SumatraEEC (@SumatraEEC) August 27, 2013
In Penang, Malaysia, the haze affected many residents. Fortunately, the haze was already gone last weekend.
Haze is stopping me from jogging ):
— June (@SScarsorrow) August 29, 2013
Finally, no more haze. Yeay. I can finally see the sunrise. Alhamdulillah. Morning suria
— Ameera Nadia Shafiee (@ameeranadia90) August 30, 2013


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Iran: RouhaniMeter Site Filtered  · Global Voices
Farid

RouhaniMeter was launched by Canada based Asl 19 group to monitor the performance of the recently elected president Rouhani by documenting what has been achieved as opposed to his promises. Iranian authorities filtered RouhaniMeter last week.

author: Farid


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Iran:“Massacre” of 52 unarmed Iranian dissidents in Iraq · Global Voices
Farid

Iraqi security forces carried out a “massacre” of 52 unarmed Iranian dissidents early Sunday at their camp north of Baghdad,Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, the Iranian exiles said. Netizens in Balatarin, a popular link sharing site, shared several photos, films and posts regarding this attack.


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Meet Aminata Touré, the New Iron Lady of Senegal   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Aminata Touré was introduced as the new prime minister of Senegal after Abdoul Mbaye was dismissed by president Macky Sall [fr]. Assirou News states that [fr] Touré is a human rights activist and a former coordinator for the UNFPA. Boubacar Kante reports that she is also known as Senegal's “Iron Lady” for her tough stance on corruption [fr]: she led the investigation against prominent religious leader Cheikh Béthio Thioune for accessory to murder.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Political Cartoon on School Open Day in China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Independent politica cartoonist @baidiucao posted his work on China School Open Day. The red scarf, representing the ideological control of the Chinese Communist Party becomes a hanging rope.


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Protests Rock Nepal as Dispute Over Buddha Statue Continues · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Protests once again erupted in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley 29 August, 2013 demanding the installation of a 17-foot statue of Buddha in Kakrebihar, a Hindu-Buddhist temple near the city of Birendranagar.
This time, the protests were peaceful. Last month when the protests began, 17 people including four police officers were wounded during clashes over the statue. Not long after, the anger over the statue's removal escalated into a national issue, but the matter had appeared to have settled down until now.
The demonstrations began at the statue's short-lived unveiling on May 11, 2013 on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, the birthday of Buddha. It had already been erected under a tree at the temple Kakrebihar, with the cloth that had covered its face removed after performing religious rituals and worship, when local government officials arrived and intervened, stating that the statue was against forestry policy. After a violent fracas, the officials along with the help of police uninstalled the statue and took it to the district police office where it was discarded in a corner. Photos of the incident are available on Nepali blog Mysansar.
Pragya Ghimirey uploaded a video to YouTube which shows the situation getting out of hand as locals chasing police and then trying to install the statue:
The district administration in consultation with Department of Archaeology had originally given permission to the Buddhist Monastery Establishment and Conservation Committee to establish the Buddha statue on 24 February, 2008, according to the Mysansar.
The protests grew so large that the Surkhet Valley was closed for an indefinite period by the agitated group. The movement took a decisive turn when the Buddhists staged a protest in front of Singha Durbar, the administrative helm of the country on 30 July 2013. The traffic in the Kathmandu Valley came to a halt due to the demonstrations.
The government called protesters in for a dialogue, but the talks ended without any agreement. However, the protesters continued with their demands, reported online portals Setopati [ne] and Hamrakura [ne]. Some Buddhists started a fast unto death program demanding an idol of the Lord Buddha be installed at Kakrebihar, which is in Surkhet district.
Meanwhile, a group claiming to be a joint committee of different ethnicities and religions issued a press release on 31 July, 2013 and organized a rally on the following Friday evening to put pressure on protesters not to install the Buddha statue in Kakrebihar. The group organised a strike on 3 August, 2013, stating that in order to keep the communal harmony intact the demand of Buddha statue installation should be withdrawn. They have also filed a petition to the court.
Historic Buddhist site
Situated in the south of Birendranagar Municipality of Surkhet district in mid-western Nepal, Kakrebihar takes its name from its shape like a cucumber seed in Nepali language (kakro), according to locals, and the Sanskrit or Pali word for Buddhist monastery (vihara).
Once a sprawling centre of religious activities, the area is in dire straits with priceless ancient sculptures lying around in ruins. The standing structures are adorned with love-lorn messages and mindless graffiti in spite of a caretaker who makes the visitors sign a log book at the entrance of the main site.
Kakre Bihar, near Surkhet. Image from Flickr by The Great Himalaya Trail. CC NY-ND 2.0
In a research note (PDF), Dilli Raj Sharma noted:
The historic site of Kakrebihar offers a marvellous collection of monumental art comparable in the whole region, which confirms the fact that the region has a higher advancement of the Buddhist Mahayana tradition that might have been under the inspiration of western part of India particularly of Gujarat during the medieval period. The Mahayana knowledge in practice might have been blended with Hindu ideology and popularized it as a social harmony of the region.
“Don't choose war in the name of Buddha”
The incident has hit hard the social media platforms and the walls of Facebook and Twitter users were awash with the discussion on Kakrebihar incident.
Milan Bagale (@Sabdachitra) tweeted:
काक्रेविहार बुद्धमूर्ति:शान्तिको विकल्पमा महाशान्ति खोज्नु बुद्धहरुले।बुद्धको नाममा युद्ध रोज्नुहुने छैन।बुद्धको जय होस्।युद्धको पराजय होस्!
— शब्दचित्र (@Sabdachittra) August 29, 2013
Kakrebihar Buddha statue: Buddhas, chose greater peace over peace. Don't chose war in the name of Buddha. Long live Buddha. War be defeated
Former Nepalese Ambassador to Japan Dr. Bishnu Hari Nepal (@drbishnuhnepal) wrote:
#Nepal-#Eye-had long debate wt experts/#KakreBihar-conclusion was-#GoN is hesitant cuz-#Tibetan infiltration as monks http://t.co/HGi6YslRBy
— Dr.Bishnu Hari Nepal (@drbishnuhnepal) August 5, 2013
Toronto-based Nepali photographer Surendra Lawoti (@SurendraLawoti) reported:
Buddhists show force in Kathmandu for a viable secularism in Nepal. End to Hindu hegemony. #KakreBihar pic.twitter.com/UppmpfGhdO
— Surendra Lawoti (@SurendraLawoti) August 29, 2013
Buddha, the light of Asia, preached peace all his life. Let his followers not choose war over peace.

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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Russian Flooding Snaps Volunteers into Action · Global Voices
Valentina Lukin

Protracted flooding of the Amur River has buried swaths of the Russian-Chinese border under water, affecting more than 100 thousand people in roughly 185 towns. As the water approaches Khabarovsk [ru], the number of victims is only poised to rise.
Like other natural disasters to hit Russia in recent years, the flooding along the Amur has prompted a wave of humanitarian relief efforts. Celebrities like Russian singer Nikolay Baskov, donated 300 thousand rubles, have encouraged [ru] this trend.
Flooding along the Amur near Khabarovsk. 18 August 2013, screen capture from YouTube.
Entertainers, however, aren't the only Russians working to raise awareness and help collect aid for victims. LiveJournal user SPP 43, who calls himself “President FSB,” has promoted food donations in Kirov, writing:
Вот уже третий день в Кирове работает пункт сбора гуманитарной помощи для пострадавших от наводнения на Дальнем Востоке. 31 августа… Собрали за день примерно около тонны гуманитарки.
This is the third day in Kirov of a food collection point for humanitarian aid to victims in the Far East. August 31 … In a day, we collected roughly one ton of humanitarian aid.
Additionally, the Moscow-based Charitable Foundation “Traditions” (In Russian: Благотворительный фонд «Предание») launched an fundraiser to support volunteers working in flood-affected regions.
The most vivid volunteer organization belongs to photojournalist Mitya Aleshkovsky: Amur 13, a crowdfunded volunteer coordination portal. Despite spending over 230 thousand rubles a day, Amur 13's administrators say they have struggled financially to deliver aid and volunteers to the distant region. (Amur 13 will cease operations on September 5, 2013, when the Russian Army will take control of rescue and rebuilding work.)
Dozens of prominent public figures have used Twitter to endorse and promote Aleshkovsky's project, including former Finance Minister Alexey Kurdin:
- Окажите любую посильную помощь операции Амур '13. Поможем пострадавшим от паводка! amur13.ru August 28, 2013
Give whatever you can to the Amur 13 operation. Help the flood victims! amur13.ru
To understand better the difficulty of transporting air and volunteers, consider the flight from Moscow to Blagoveshchensk, the biggest city in Amur Oblast affected by the floods. It lasts more than 7 hours. Amur 13 was able to acquire from Aeroflot and Transaero 40 free seats for its volunteers on each charter flight to Blagoveshchensk. This has brought the Amur region new volunteers every day for weeks now. According to blogger and Amur-13-member Natalya Malafay, volunteers from Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and even Belgia have all converged in today's humanitarian undertaking.
Amur 13 has boosted its visibility with the cooperation of actors like Gosha Kutsenko, who became popular by appearing in Russian films, like “Night Watch” (2004) and “11 Studies in Beauty” (2012). Once Kutsenko joined Amur 13, online donations to the organization rose noticabley.
One of the Amur 13’s volunteers, apparently en route to the Amur region, wrote proudly on Instagram, for instance:
Летим с Гошей Куценко, командой волонтёров, журналистамии грузом гуманитарки в отдаленные районы.
Flying with Gosha Kutsenko, the team of volunteers, journalists, and a load of humanitarian aid to remote areas.
Other volunteer reports online also celebrate the presence of the celebrity:
Гоша общается с женщиной, она – учитель, эвакуирована вместе с больным мужем.
Gosha is talking to a woman. She is a teacher, evacuated with a sick husband.
Thanks to its popularity, Amur 13 has already collected and transported 7,000 tons of goods to Blagoveshchensk, after collecting more than 2 million rubles online.

author: Valentina Lukin


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Ten Cities Chinese People Want to Escape · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The living standard in major Chinese cities is getting more and more unbearable to middle class. Shanghai has topped the ten cities that Chinese most want to escape because marriage cost is too high. Rachel Wang from Tea Leaf Nation picked up netizens’ comments on their discontent about city life.


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When Reality TV Meets Humanitarian Action in Italy  · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

RAI 1, the flagship television channel of the national public service broadcaster and the most watched channel in Italy, is developing a humanitarian aid show in reality form. The first episode is planned to be broadcast next 4 December 2013.
“The Mission”, which is presented as a social experience, will show eight celebrities over two weeks working for the Italian NGO Intersos in refugee camps in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali. All of this will take place under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
On the blog African Voices, Carlo Catteneo explained more about the premise of the show in a post entitled  “Mission” by RAI 1. A time bomb?:
The goal of RAI would be to propose, through this social experiment, as a means of advertising the cause of the most excluded and the engagement of humanitarian workers in order to create greater awareness in the audience. From the rumors collected production will not be focused on the suffering and desperation of refugees but rather on the positive and concrete commitment of humanitarian workers on the stories of refugees and the reasons for fleeing from their native countries. Each episode of The Mission will be introduced by an accurate explanation of the social, historical, political and cultural development of each country visited in order to offer the public with adequate information and to avoid the spectacularization of refugees. Laura Lucci, head of UNHCR Italy ensures that they are focusing on a program of information. The presence of UNHCR will ensure that they are only collected the stories of refugees volunteers standing up supervisor of the right of privacy and personal freedom of each individual. The increase of awareness and private story telling by refugees will help, according intentions of the promoters, to make public opinion more open and sensible on issues such as illegal immigration and the reasons that lead to the desperate search of a better life through the Mediterranean.
Cattaneo also published a copy of the official authorisation to shoot the programme from the DRC:
Many Italians – whether humanitarian or not – have already begun to criticise the programme several months before it is to be broadcast. There is intense debate on the Internet. An online petition [it] asking for the programme not be be broadcast has already been signed by more than 91,000 people. They agree that the show plays with the lives of the refugees, and downplays the consequences of conflicts.
The site Afriqinfos [fr] argued that the world of reality TV is about to cross another line by going to refugee camps in Africa [fr]:
Change.org et Activism.org ont lancé chacun une pétition visant à annuler la mise en place de The Mission : « ça vous dirait de voir votre mère, qui a survécu à des violences inimaginables, être tournée en ridicule comme comparse d’un reality show ? » argumente la première organisation.
Change.org and Activism.org have each launched a petition to cancel the broadcasting of The Mission: “How would you like to see your mother, who has survived unimaginable violence, becoming an object of ridicule as an extra on a reality TV show?” argues the first of these organisations.
In addition to the recurrent criticisms, notably relating to the celebrities’ wages for the show [it], another argument against this show is that the celebrities chosen are second-class, B-listers [it] or attempting a comeback.
As zaccunu09 writes in the article Sfiga Africa: ci mancava Albano [it] (Poor Africa: Albano on top of everything else) of l'Espresso magazine [editor's note: Albano is an Italian singer who was popular in the 1970s and 80s]:
Che bella idea questa di Leone,figlio dell'ex Presidente della Repubblica,ed è superfluo dire perché oggi si trova a quel posto !, forte di un'autorità che non sappiamo bene da dove venga ,ha organizzato questa ridicola messinscena con personaggi che hanno un seguito da ridere se non fosse per la Rai che continua a farli apparire sulla scena televisiva,il più delle volte a sproposito. Albano, ci basta la presunzione e l'atteggiamento malandrino;il rampollo ruspante di casa Savoia,che non si sa a che titolo calca la scena Rai e con quali meriti se non una eredità che più scalcinata ed inquietante non poteva essere; Barale, ma esiste veramente? ,Cocuzza per più cocuzza non poteva essere,forse ho dimenticato qualcuno ma sicuramente sarà all'altezza degli altri. VIVA LA RAI ………
What a great idea from Leone – son of the ex-President of the Republic [Giovanni Leone] – and we don't need to ask how he's got that job today [director of RAI 1][it]! Relying on his authority from no one knows where, he has organised this farce with personalities who would no longer exist in the public sphere if RAI didn't take care of their media appearances by exhibiting them inappropriately as often as possible. We've had enough of Al Bano‘s complacency and mischief, and as for the direct descendant of the House of Savoy, we don't know how or why he is shown on RAI if not solely because of a legacy which could not be more pathetic and disturbing. Barale, does she even really exist? Cocuzza [the name of a RAI personality which also means thoughtless], you can't get any more thoughtless, I might have forgotten someone [it], but no doubt they will be at the same level as the others. LONG LIVE RAI……..
At Articolotre.com, Albano addressed some of these criticisms:
Io difendo questo programma, e non capisco davvero cosa ci vediate di male: ce l'avete con me? Non capisco perché si parli di reality quando si tratta di realtà. Non sarebbe stato uno spettacolo, ma un'indagine, un'occasione per accendere i riflettori sulla gente che soffre. A me piaceva proprio l'idea di andare in un luogo in cui le persone sono abbandonate. Io voglio accendere qual faro, far vedere cosa succede. Continuano a morire dappertutto, ma se non proviamo ad accendere le luci che succederà?
I defend this programme, and I don't really understand what you see as negative: do you have a problem with me? I don't understand why we are talking about reality TV when this is about reality. It won't be a spectacle, but an investigation, an opportunity to highlight the issue of these people who are suffering. Personally, I really liked the idea of going to a place where people have been abandoned. I want to shine a light on the problem, to see what is happening. People are continuing to die everywhere, but if we don't highlight the problems, what will happen?
While with Invisible Children's Stop Kony 2012 campaign, a great majority of African comments were negative, this time they seem to give a more nuanced view, particularly on Facebook [fr]:
Aragone Diger : Sortir les réfugiés de l'ombre, c'est aussi montrer les tares de la guerre et ainsi conscientiser les populations de pays impliqués dans les guerres surtout en Afrique.
Aragone Diger: Bringing refugees out of the shadows also means showing the destruction of war, and making people living in the countries affected, especially in Africa, more aware.
Renaud-Désiré Essoh Lath:Moi j'aime ça montre que dans la vie y'a pas que Kardashians et y'a des problèmes plus sérieux !!
Renaud-Désiré Essoh Lath:Personally, I like that it shows that there is more to life than the Kardashians and that there are more serious issues!!
Following rumours that the show would be cancelled, RAI published an official denial. Thanks to the debate it has started, “The Mission” has benefited from publicity that just can't be bought.

author: Anna Gueye


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Assassination Attempt Against Burkina Faso President   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Romuald Tuina (also spelled Tuyna) an ex-deserted soldier was killed after he opened fire  [fr] on the office of the president of Burkina Faso Blaise Campaoré, Mathieu Somda reports. Tuina was in uniform when he tried to enter the presidential palace. He then shot the light down in the palace by firing at the central generator before he was gunned down by security guards. It is still unclear whether Tuina was acting alone out of revenge or had ulterior motives.
Mug shot of Romuald Tuina after he tried to rob a bank in 2012 via paalga with permission


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New York Times Doesn’t Understand Fukushima’s Radiation Risks – Japanese Blogger · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

When TEPCO inspected the radiation level in the bottom flange of the tank on August 22, 2013, it was 100 mSv/h. But the result on August 31 revealed it is 1,800mSv/h dose equivalent at 70 micrometer. Image taken on August 22, from handouts by TEPCO
Four more leaks have been discovered in the contaminated water tanks inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) [ja]. The maximum radiation level found was “1,800 millisieverts per hour dose equivalent at 70 micrometer” in the bottom of the tank in B Group H3 Area.
So how horrific is “1,800 millisieverts per hour dose equivalent at 70 micrometer”? The New York Times says it is “enough to give a lethal dose in about four hours“, but an anonymous Japanese blogger who blogs at ex-skf.blogspot.jp has criticized mainstream media for purposefully omitting “dose equivalent” information to mislead readers by mixing up exposure to gamma radiation, which is highly penetrating and can travel deep into human tissue, and exposure to beta radiation, which is lighter and not as penetrating.
The blogger at ex-skf.blogspot.jp explains:
1,800 millisieverts/hour is “dose equivalent at 70 micrometer”, to show the beta radiation exposure at very close proximity for particular organs – skin, and eye lens.
[…]
The “1,800 millisieverts/hour that would kill a person in 4 hours” would be gamma radiation.
In this case, RO waste water is extremely high in beta nuclides including strontium but not so much at all in gamma nuclides. You wouldn't die just by being near this water for four hours.
1,800 millisieverts/hour dose equivalent is still very high, as the annual limit for equivalent dose for skin is 500 millisieverts. The same for lens is 300 millisieverts.
But to purposefully omit “dose equivalent” information from the original information from TEPCO and add sensational claim of killing one in four hours of exposure is another low for the media.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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The Fight to Save Traditional Medicine in São Tomé and Príncipe · Global Voices
Mário Lopes

Diversity on the table. Rural area of S. João, São João of Angolares, São Tomé e Principe. Photo by Maria Cartas on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
[All links lead to Portuguese-language pages unless otherwise noted.]
It is still through the use of traditional medicine that nearly 80 percent of the population of developing countries ensures its citizens’ primary health care, according [en] to the World Health Organization, which established Traditional African Medicine Day on August 31, 2003. In São Tomé and Príncipe, the use of medicinal plants as a resource to cure various illnesses and diseases is no exception.
The second smallest country in Africa after Seychelles, is considered the “el dorado” by many international researchers, recognized worldwide as one of the major African hot spots of biodiversity [en], with at least 148 species of plants exclusive to its location.
With an immense natural richness, great importance is given to the medicinal plants on the islands instead of the industrialized medications, forging the individual uses of the latter.
The viability of the therapeutic benefits of commonly used plants has already been proven by researchers that were in the region, such as Maria do Céu Madureira, who in the last few years has been one of the prominent faces in the collection, sensitization, and the spread (with the proper credits) of the intellectual richness still relevant in the islands.
Scientific facts and traditional recipes about the use of multiple plants were published in a book (PDF), with the coordination of a researcher in the fields of pharmacology and ethnobotany, titled “Estudo Etnofarmacológico de Plantas Medicinais de S. Tomé e Príncipe” (Ethnopharmalogical Study of Medicinal Plants of S. Tomé and Príncipe).
In an article about “Plantas Medicinais e Medicina Tradicional de S. Tomé e Príncipe” (Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine of S. Tomé e Príncipe) (PDF, 2012), available in the repository of the Center of African Studies of the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL), Maria do Céu Madureira affirms:
Em S. Tomé e Príncipe um grande número de medicamentos derivados de plantas
tem sido utilizado desde há séculos pela medicina tradicional.  De facto, há muitos locais em que é praticamente inexistente, ou mesmo nula a prática de medicina ocidental… Aqui, a medicina tradicional reveste-se de uma importância decisiva, já que é, por vezes, a única alternativa terapêutica a que as populações podem ter acesso.
In S. Tomé and Príncipe, a large number of medications are derived from plants that have been used for centuries in traditional medicine. In fact, there are many places in which Western medicine is practically nonexistent, or at least invalid… Here, traditional medicine is especially important, since sometimes it is the only therapeutic option that populations can access.
Sun Pontes and Maria do Céu Madureira at the first TEDx São Tomé conference, 06/20/2013. Used with permission.
Those who possess profound knowledge about the subject are traditional therapists, usually known by various local terms such as “tchiladô ventosa” (applier of suction cups), “stlijon mato”, (surgeon of the forest), or “patlela” (traditional midwife). These people, almost all centenarians (except for some rare exceptions), are the carriers of knowledge that was passed down to them by their ancestors through oral transmission, and today are numerically in extinction.
At the beginning of August, Global Voices reported on the documentary project Soya Kutu (Short Histories) that has produced short animated features involving a set of “traditional doctors”, children, and young people. The short videos tell stories about medicinal plants and their traditional uses, giving value to the cultural references with which they are associated.
One example is the most typical dish of the country, Calulu, which contains medicinal herbs with beneficial effects for malaria, colic, roundworms, diarrhea, dysentery, and headaches, among others, as shown in the video “After the day of the Bocado (Mouthful)“:
Young students in a tourism course described their perception of the importance of traditional medicine for the São Tomé and Principe population in a project undertaken for the subject History of Heritage:
Constatamos que a nossa terra está enriquecida de cura para todo o tipo de moléstias e doenças. Desde as mais insignificantes ervas daninhas, até as árvores de grandes portes, constituem uma fonte de remédios para todos os males.
We testify that our land is enriched with remedies for all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. From the most insignificant weeds, to the trees with the largest statures, is constituted a source of remedies for all illnesses.
Alberto, Txiladô-Ventosa (Applier of Suction Cups). Photo by Maria do Céu Madureira in the article “Plantas Medicinais e Medicina Tradicional de S. Tomé e Príncipe” (Medicinal Plants and Traditional medicine of S. Tomé and Príncipe). Used with permission.
Without neglecting the imminent worry about the loss of this immaterial heritage, they affirmed that “traditional medicine has acquired a significant place in the society of São Tomé and Príncipe” because:
(…) faz parte da crença do povo são-tomense, pois desde há muito tempo que as pessoas acreditam nos tratamentos e nos efeitos da medicina tradicional. Esta crença foi-nos transmitida pelos nossos avós, tornando-se assim, a nossa tradição «quá cú bé mé nu, dona mu cá fé, ele só çá vede, ele só cá buá dá nom» – (o que eu vi minha mãe e minha avó a fazerem, é para mim verdadeiro e melhor para nós)
(…) it is a part of the beliefs of the people of São Tomé and Príncipe, because for a long time people have believed in the treatments and in the effects of traditional medicine. This belief was passed down to us by our grandparents, and thus becoming our tradition «quá cú bé mé nu, dona mu cá fé, ele só çá vede, ele só cá buá dá nom»- (what I saw my mother and my grandmother do, is to me true and the best for us)
According to them, the practice has gradually diminished in the country for various reasons such as the disinterest of newer generations, the refusal of older people to pass on knowledge to the younger ones, and the diminished credibility of traditional medicine in the face of scientific medicine. That's why, they affirmed, “it's necessary to preserve this knowledge, so that it doesn't disappear.”
While many of the curious and foreign specialists continue to make expeditions to São Tomé and Príncipe in search of “traditional doctors” of the islands so that they will share share their knowledge, there are those who criticize the “appropriation of traditional knowledge” for the uses of the pharmaceutical industry. Xavier Muñoz, geographer and president of the Caué-Amigos (Caué- Friends) Association of S.Tomé e Príncipe based in Barcelona, wrote in 2008:
As diferentes espécies de plantas medicinais que escondem os matos húmidos africanos estão a dar dia a dia novas fórmulas de princípios ativos farmacológicos nos laboratórios das grandes multinacionais, que são imediatamente patentados, baixos [sic] marcas industriais e produzidos com os anos a grande escala. Posso concordar que os custos de desenvolvimento dos produtos farmacológicos nessas empresas podem ser altos, mas isso não deveria supôr a apropriação dos direitos sobre a base do conhecimento que é originário muito frequentemente do saber tradicional local.
The different species of medicinal plants hidden in the humid African jungle can produce day-to-day new formulas of active pharmacological elements in huge multinational laboratories, that are immediately patented under industrial brands and produced for years to come on a large scale. I can agree that the costs of development of pharmacological products in these businesses can be high, but this shouldn't mean that ownership rights can be assumed over the basis of knowledge which frequently originates in the traditional location.
He believes that this knowledge should be valued and preserved, as does Brigida Rocha Brito, doctor of African Studies, who appeals for teamwork between the different kinds of knowledge:
Também defendo que as medicinas tradicionais são de preservar, bem como o conhecimento dos mais velhos. Acredito que este pode vir a ser um excelente trabalho de parceria entre a investigação científica e a sabedoria tradicional de carácter popular.
I also defend that traditional medicine should be preserved, as much as the knowledge of the elderly. I believe that this could come to be an excellent project of partnership between scientific research and popular traditional knowledge.

author: Mário Lopes


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The Influence of Francophone Africa on the French Language · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

The news site Afrik.com features an article on the way in which African slang has influenced the French language [fr], and informs us that Verlan is no longer a preferred language of rappers :
For a long time, there have been certain words, such as [Arabic greetings] “Salam alaykum” or “hamdu’llah”, which everyone could understand, even though they are not part of the French language. Nowadays, we are witnessing a new wave of words of African origin (black and Maghreb, among others), which fit well into the language spoken by many young people, whether they are originally from Africa or from Europe. As surprising as it may seem, this “enrichment” comes from the “bzèze” (breasts) of their mothers. Since most of them incorporate words spoken in the mother language of their parents.
For example, Ivorians have invented a slang called Nouchi [fr]. On his blog, Behem writes in his article “Top 10 most-common expressions in Nouchi” [fr] :
This is a common language created in the 1980s, which is based on French, incorporating parts of the many vernacular languages found in our country. Poorly-educated youths in Abidjan, who had not learned French well, had to invent a language which incorporated their various dialects. So, this language was associated with the image of juvenile delinquents. This can be seen in its etymology:  The word “nou”, in the language of the Malinké ethnic group, in the north part of Côte d’Ivoire, means “the nose”. Meanwhile, the word “chi” means “hair”. The conjunction “Nouchi” means “moustache”, in reference to moustachioed thugs whom everyone was afraid of. Today, in Abidjan, “Nouchi” still means “a thug”.
For a long time, Nouchi was the preserve of street children, but later it managed to expand its presence, to the point that it is spoken today by all segments of the population. The President of the Republic himself is no exception. Nouchi has also been exported abroad, thanks to Ivorian Zouglou music, and thus it has reached the entire world.


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A Mayor’s Struggle Against The Pillaging of Bangui, Central African Republic · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The Mayor of Bangui, Catherine Semba-Panza participates in the clean up of the city via La Nouvelle Centrafrique Infos
Catherine Samba-Panza does not waiver in the face of the ongoing massive struggle before her. Olivier Tallès reports [fr] that the Mayor of Bangui was powerless witnessing the looting and vandalizing of the capital city of the Central African Republic by the Séléka Rebels when they took control of the country in March 2013. Despite the occasional rebel attacks, she has led the recovery efforts that includes restoring power to administrative buildings, paying public officers’ salaries and providing primary cares for the most fragile population.


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Belgrade Philharmonic’s Quirky Director is Serbia’s New Minister of Culture · Global Voices
Tamara Gocmanac

Outspoken pianist and conductor Ivan Tasovac is once again turning heads in Serbia, not for his wild grey hair, sharp tongue or bold choices, but for his appointment as the country's minister of culture.
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić completed the reshuffle of his government on August 29, 2013 putting an end to two months of negotiations with his coalition partner and deputy prime minister, Aleksandar Vučić. The 18-member cabinet will include 11 new ministers and several independent experts. Among some of the more surprising choices is Tasovac as Minister of Culture. The very opinionated Tasovac accepted the nomination and assumed office on September 2.
Ivan Tasovac at a 2009 press conference for the premiere of the film “Age of Stupid”. Photo courtesy of Media Center Belgrade, used with permission.
Tasovac has been the director of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra since March 2001. Under his leadership, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has become one of the most respected cultural institutions not just in Serbia but in other parts of the world. He is very popular on Twitter with about 40,000 followers, and he is admired for his quick wit and vibrant personality in popular Serbian culture. Tasovac in recent years has become very popular among Serbian netizens because of his fearlessness, sharp mind and because he is among those who do things differently, break the rules and bring necessary change to the establishment.
The new minister of culture in recent years has attracted public attention with his unusual, extraordinary approach to promoting the Philharmonic: by introducing pop music to the repertoire and performing classical music and jazz on the streets of Belgrade. The video below shows an impromptu performance in which a part of the Philharmonic Orchestra plays in a downtown Belgrade street strewn with cafes and bars. This was in fact part of a guerrilla campaign under the controversial slogan “Thanks for not coming”, referring to the dwindling attendance of audiences to Philharmonic concerts in previous years. The campaign attracted a lot of attention in the entire country and that season was sold out for the Belgrade Philharmonic:
Some at the time had fierce, critical reactions to the somewhat aggressive form of advertisement. Tasovac recorded a video statement after those reactions and released it to the public on YouTube, for which he received several standing ovations on social networks at the time:
Reactions, however, are diverse. Some believe that Tasovac will strongly contribute to the development of culture in Serbia, while others are skeptical. Popular Serbian actor, Branislav Trifunović, referring to the fact that Tasovac was being praised by the very politicians he usually criticizes, tweeted:
Ako Tasovac opstane do kraja vec mogu da se zakunem da ce svi ovi koji ga hvale vrlo brzo poceti da ga pljuju jer nece biti milostiv!
— Branislav Trifunovic (@BrankoBranislav) August 30, 2013
If Tasovac survives until the end then I can swear that all these people praising him now will soon begin to insult him because he won't be merciful!
As soon as the nomination was made public, online media and social media users began collecting the new minister's tweets in which he criticized, often humorously, the current government and many of its individual members. Igor Lazarević, a management consultant from Belgrade, tweeted one of the popular collections:
Tako je tvitovao Tasovac: http://t.co/0Uke5g3wLy
— Igor Lazarević (@Lazariques) August 29, 2013
Thus tweeted Tasovac: http://t.co/0Uke5g3wLy
Others, like user @Schatzglue on Twitter, posed the question:
Kako će sad Tasovac da nastavi da pljuje vlast po tviterima ako će i on biti vlast?
— Нерон (@Schatzglue) August 31, 2013
How will Tasovac continue to spit on the establishment on Twitter now if he will be the establishment too?
Similarly, Twitter user Nikola from the Bačka region of Serbia, wrote:
Cim je Tasovac postao ministar kulture, dirigentsku palicu predao je Vucicu.
— Nikola (@laptopstoptop) August 31, 2013
As soon as Tasovac became Minister of Culture, he handed his conductor's baton to [First Deputy Prime Minister] Vucicu.
Aside from his musical talent and excellence, Tasovac is best known for his rowdy hair and his many fans have always liked that he refused to tame his hair to fit the norm. Many took to that particular feature when commenting on his new position in the new government:
http://t.co/0wpPxAsZaf #Tasovac nece imati istu frizuru za 33 dana-ili se dize jos vise ili ostaje bez kose!! pic.twitter.com/ZTkk3YMk6u
— dimitrijevicslobodan (@srpska52) August 30, 2013
http://t.co/0wpPxAsZaf Tasovac won't have the same hairdo in 33 days – it will either be standing even higher on his head or he'll be left without any hair!! pic.twitter.com/ZTkk3YMk6u
Slucajno sam naleteo na najveci uslov koji je Tasovac postavio Dacicu da bi bio ministar kulture. pic.twitter.com/eBIMdqi1K7
— Marko Zekic (@ZekaFizio) August 31, 2013
I accidentally ran into the biggest condition Tasovac has given [Prime Minister] Dacic to become Minister of Culture. pic.twitter.com/eBIMdqi1K7
Slatki su :) TASOMANIJA: Ovako bi izgledala vlada da je Tasovac premijer! – Telegraf.rs http://t.co/4NIcqr9OiV via @telegrafrs
— Lazy DJ (@tvittaki) August 31, 2013
They're cute :) TASOMANIJA: This is what the government would look like if Tasovac was Prime Minister! – Telegraf.rs http://t.co/4NIcqr9OiV via @telegrafrs
Although the vast majority of users seem happy with the choice, many are still surprised and in disbelief. Jasmina Adamović is sceptical:
Gledam vesti…Tasovac je dirigovao,a drugi svirali. Sad će on da svira kako drugi diriguju. Baš je život čudan.
— Jasmina (@JaAdamovic) August 30, 2013
Watching the news… Tasovac conducted, while others played. Now he will be playing as others conduct. Indeed life is strange.
And perhaps this tweet by Twitter user @DonDragonson sums up the overall sentiment best:
Ministar Tasovac. E, kad sam i to docekao. Amin.
— DonDragonson (@DonDragonson) August 30, 2013
Minister Tasovac. Well, I've lived to see that too. Amen.

author: Tamara Gocmanac


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Crowdsourcing Jamaican Patois · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

We may not think of Jamaica as a bilingual society, but local bloggers are assuring us that it is. English and Patois—or Patwa, as it's often written—are widely spoken, but the Jamaican mother tongue—passed on primarily by oral tradition—gets much less respect. So do its speakers, regardless of the fact that Patois is the first—and in some cases, only—language of many Jamaicans.
But there is change afoot. The Jamaica Language Unit at the University of the West Indies is agitating for freedom from language discrimination to be included in the country's Charter of Rights; the Patois Bible project, despite its naysayers, is forcing people to reconsider the way they view themselves and one another through language. And now, photographer and database developer Varun Baker (who is also the son of blogger Annie Paul) has started a website, Patwa.org, in an effort to use technology to help instil a sense of identity and pride in the indigenous language of Jamaica…
Global Voices: What motivated you to do this project?
Varun Baker: The initial motivation for this project was to build the first online audio dictionary for Patois – the Jamaican Language. I wanted to create the best tools to record and share the Jamaican language, and also to strengthen cultural identity in the Caribbean by increasing dialog around how we recognize Patois in Jamaica. It is interesting to see if technology can help create tangible artifacts from the intangible cultural heritage of Jamaican language.
GV: Can you describe the process you used and the stages the project passed though in order to get it done (or at least get it online)?
VB: One weekend over two years ago I built the first prototype of the online audio dictionary by using a free content management system called Drupal. After getting a list of words, I needed audio recordings to go along with each word so that people can hear how Patois words are used in a sentence. Grafton Music Studios here in Kingston graciously agreed to let me use their facilities to record the audio for the project. Recording artist and friend Wipa Demus also agreed to help with the project and we tried to get audio snippets for 600 words by reading the words to Demus and asking him to ‘freestyle’ a sentence using each word. I ended up with about 450 usable mp3 files so I added them all to the website.
Earlier this year I wanted to make it easier for people to contribute to the project by adding words that might not yet be in the dictionary. With so many people on Facebook I decided to build a Facebook app that allows people to add words directly to the online dictionary through a simple webform.
Varun Baker, creator of patwa.org. Image courtesy Varun Baker.
GV: What technology did you use?
VB: I used Drupal for the website and I used open source audio editing software called Audacity to edit the audio files.
GV: Are there any similar projects in existence that you know of?
VB: Well in terms of adding audio to online dictionaries, dictionary.com has audio files associated with its words. Along the lines of contributing to Caribbean identity, I think wiwords.com is a cool project. I like how they use images to add to the dictionary content. This is a time when a lot of print media is moving online and the Internet allows for exciting new ways of mashing up content that has traditionally been restricted to physical pieces of paper.
Also to give a bit more context, in the decade before Jamaica gained independence from Britain in 1962, Jamaican linguist, Frederick Cassidy, was the first to use an audio recording device to reliably document Jamaican language usage. He went on to become the Chief Editor for the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE).
GV: How long did it take to amass a number of audio samples large enough to put everything online?
VB: We recorded everything in one night, it was a very very long session and I have a lot of respect for recording artists who, like me, have no problem working through the night until the next morning. Editing the audio into smaller clips took a while, spending a few hours a day on it, I was finished within a week. After this was done, it was just a matter of spending a few hours importing them into the online platform.
GV: Why did you choose Wippa Demus as the voice for the samples?
VB: He's a friend and I always thought he has the voice of a character. If I were a cartoonist, I'd definitely make a cartoon version of Demus.
GV: How much traffic has the site received so far, and how many submissions?
VB: The site currently gets about 1500 hits a month. There were no submissions until the Facebook application went live in March. About 10 crowd sourced submissions have been added to the dictionary so far, so I feel like it's still early days.
GV: What are your future plans for Patwa.org?
VB: Well, this has always been a weekend project for me. I would like to spend more time on it, improve SEO, and continue to build Patwa-related tools. The website is a constant work in progress so I hope to have an improved version out soon. It would be cool to also add the ability for others to record their own Patwa audio clips and share it through the website. I would also like to improve the quality of the content by consulting a lexicographer to build an improved dictionary.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Colombia Prepares for Nationwide Pot-Banging Protests · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

Colombians have planned a national “cacerolazo” for 6 p.m. Colombian time today, September 4, 2013. A cacerolazo is a form of popular protest in which people express their agreement with an issue by making noise and banging pots (cacerolas), pans and kitchen utensils, or other items that can be used to create sound.
Using the Twitter hashtag #CacerolazoPor users express their reasons to take to the streets.
Paola Ochoa Rivera invites the protest to move from the virtual to the physical:
#CacerolazoPor más protestas en la calle y menos twitter
— Paola Ochoa Rivera (@VisosVioleta) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor more protests in the street and fewer on Twitter
Tefy expresses her hope for a more fair nation:
#CacerolazoPor un país mas justo
— tefy (@teffypuentes) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor a more just country
Meanwhile, Tatu García discusses the dignity of Colombian society:
#CacerolazoPor la dignidad de mi Pueblo
— Tatu Garcia (@tatugarcia17) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor the dignity of my society
Santiago mentions his disagreement with the national government's efforts and strategies:
#CacerolazoPor el mal gobierno de Santos y por arrodillado al imperio y sus multinacionales
— santiago (@santilandia0102) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor Santos's bad government and for kneeling in front of the empire and multinationals
And Stephanie states that participation in the “cacerolazo” is an act of solidarity with the nation's farmers, who have been on strike since August 19:
#CacerolazoPor #YaEsHora de solidarizarse con los campesinos y sus justas luchas salir de las pantallas a la realidad VIVA EL PARO AGRARIO
— stephanie (@stephanieconh) September 4, 2013
It is time to act in solidarity with the farmers and their justified struggles, get away from the screens and into reality LONG LIVE THE AGRARIAN STRIKE
For Camila Andrea, the protest serves as a call to work toward a better country:
#CacerolazoPor Tener un mejor país para todos y para las personas de un futuro !!
— Camila Andrea (@CamiAndreDiaz) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor To have a better country for everyone and people in the future!!
And in Catalina Gualdron's opinion, the protest is justified by the complex reality of life in Colombia:
#CacerolazoPor Un pueblo lleno de malos servicios, en salud, educación, agro… #YaEsHora del cambio! @JuanManSantos @marchapatriota
— Cata Gualdron † (@Cata_G95) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor A country filled with terrible services, in health, education, agriculture… #YaEsHora It's time for a change!
However, Juan Sebastián believes that many people simply tweet about the cacerolazo to get favorites for their tweets:
#CacerolazoPor Falta de Fav's (?).
— Juɑn Sebɑstiɑn. (@JuanSebastiann_) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor Lack of Favorites (?).
Finally, the Fuerza Común account shares this poster:
#CacerolazoPor las calles, por veredas. Vamos con toda contra las políticas que han despojado a Colombia @PaisComun pic.twitter.com/VPDZuoE3gM
— Fuerza Común (@fuerzacomun) September 4, 2013
#CacerolazoPor the streets, through side walks. We go all-out against the policies that have stripped Colombia of everything @PaisComun pic.twitter.com/VPDZuoE3gM
Stay tuned for further posts about Colombia's agricultural strike, which has already been in effect for 17 days.


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Could Guantánamo Be Returned to Cuba? · Global Voices
Elaine Díaz

Michael Parmly, ex-representative of the United States in Cuba, suggested to President Barack Obama that the Guantánamo military base be returned to the island's authorities, along with other recommendations mentioned in a 26 page report which the news agency Reuters had access to and which will be published shortly at the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs.
Entering the Guantánamo province, Cuba. (Photo: Ángel Baldrich)
The negotiation of an agreement with Cuban President Raúl Castro about the naval base could contribute to the establishment of a direct relationship with the Cuban government and with Cuban citizens, thinks Parmly, who was Chief of Mission of the United States Interests Section in Havana between 2005 and 2008.
Most of the prisoners at Guantánamo could be moved to jails on United States soil, while the most problematic cases would stay on the island, notes Parmly.
According to the diplomat, the naval base is a “historic anomaly”:
The current partisan tensions on the (Capitol) Hill ensure that it would be an uphill climb, but it is the thesis of this paper that a similar bold step, akin to the Panama Canal, is called for regarding Guantánamo.

author: Elaine Díaz


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Croatia’s EU Membership Off to Rocky Start Over Extradition Law  · Global Voices
Tamara Gocmanac

New European Union member Croatia backtracked somewhat in its first row with the bloc's executive arm on 28 August, 2013, agreeing to fully apply the EU extradition law but only after Brussels raised the prospect of sanctions.
Croatia had previously angered the European Commission over its resistance to implementing the EU law, with Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding warning that it could even face consequences after the Croatian government changed its extradition laws just a few days before acceding to the bloc on July 1. In Croatia, the amended extradition law has been dubbed the “Perković Law” because it prevents authorities from extraditing alleged former spy, Josip Perković, for the 1983 assassination of a Croatian dissident in Germany.
There are speculations that the Croatian government amended the country's extradition law just ahead of accession for the purpose of preventing Germany from extraditing Perković. As Global Voices reported on the eve of Croatia's accession to the EU, when Angela Merkel canceled an official visit to Croatia:
The current Croatian opposition, however, sees other reasons for Merkel cancelling her trip [hr], citing the Croatian government's recent legislative amendments that aim to put a time limit on European arrest warrants, in which case Germany would not be able to extradite former Yugoslavia State Security Administration agent Josip Perković, who is wanted for murder and lives in Croatia.
The European Commission could still put Croatia under monitoring and suspending the new member's access to EU funds, and the case could slow down Croatia's Schengen accession.
Viviane Reding, Vice President and Commissioner, Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, European Commission, Brussels; photo courtesy of World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, January 2013, used under Creative Commons 2.0 license.
Croatia failed to meet the deadline to abolish the law by 23 August. Soon, the spokeswoman for the Justice Commissioner Reding expressed the “deep regret” of the European Commission regarding Croatia's decision.
Those interested in geopolitics, history and current events in Europe quickly took notice on social networks and expressed their opinions, mostly dismay. John Schindler, a professor at the Naval War College and Senior Fellow at Boston University, said:
More really dumb moves by Zagreb / RT @45lines PM slams EC spox statement in strongest terms #CroatiaEU #Perkovic http://t.co/AgDZAEEsrP …
— John Schindler (@20committee) August 27, 2013
Following angry statements from the Commission, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic published a letter that he sent to Brussels. In this letter to Commission President Manuel Barroso, published on the government website, he stated:
On behalf of my government, the justice minister said that Croatia will take necessary measures to bring the law on judicial cooperation in line with the European legislation it had accepted in accession talks.[…] Croatia has always fulfilled its obligations and will continue to do so.
Croatian Justice Minister Orsat Miljenić confirmed to the media that his Ministry had addressed a letter to European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding concerning the application of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).
The government of the Republic of Croatia published the letter on it's official Twitter account:
Pismo predsjednika #VladaRH predsjedniku @EU_Commission @BarrosoEU http://t.co/vdRMyHXlJw #EU #croatiaEU
— Vlada R. Hrvatske (@VladaRH) August 28, 2013
The letter from President of #VladaRH to the President of@EU_Commission @BarrosoEU http://t.co/vdRMyHXlJw #EU #croatiaEU
— Vlada R. Hrvatske (@VladaRH) August 28, 2013
Mina Andreeva, a spokeswoman for EU Justice Commissioner Reding, confirmed Croatia had responded to a letter Reding sent in July outlining EU concerns.
The letter, sent by Croatia's justice ministry, “appears to indicate a constructive approach on this matter,” Andreeva said at a press briefing.
She said Croatian authorities had indicated that they would bring their legislation implementing the EU arrest warrant “in line with” EU law. Andreeva said that European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso had received “similar assurances” from Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović.
“The commission welcomes this constructive approach,” she said. The EU's executive is “in contact with the Croatian authorities to clarify their intention.”


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Derailment of ‘La Bestia’, Another Tragedy in a Broken Immigration System · Global Voices
NACLA

Migrants on “la Bestia”. Photo by Peter Haden on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
This post is part of our series on Latin America: Migrant Journeys in collaboration with The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). Stay tuned for more articles and podcasts.
On August 25, 2013 a cargo train derailed in southern Mexico killing 11 Central American migrants who were hitching a ride on top of the freight cars. At least 250 Central Americans were estimated to have been riding on the train before it derailed, injuring another 18 migrants.
Each year thousands of Central Americans hitch rides on northbound Mexican freight trains for a chance at reaching the U.S. border in search of work and a better life. Migrants often ride the trains to escape Mexican immigration officials who scour buses at checkpoints in search of Central Americans to deport.
Known among migrants as ‘la bestia’ (the beast), the Mexican train offers Central Americans an alternative way of reaching the U.S., but it is a route fraught with dangers. Gangs and corrupt Mexican officials maraud the train lines and extort or kidnap migrants, oftentimes capturing and forcing them to work for organized crime groups.
While train derailments of la bestia are common, the biggest challenge, which many migrants passing through Mexico face, comes from the gangs who prey upon their vulnerable situation. For most Central American migrants, the vast majority of whom come from Honduras, currently the country with the world’s highest murder rate, their experience with gang-related violence often begins before they even leave their countries of origin.
In the last year, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a small migrant shelter in Mexico City. Last March, we received a Honduran woman at the shelter, named Juana Morelos, who was traveling on la bestia with her seven-year-old son. Juana left Honduras because a local gang who extorted money from a small store she owned began making death threats on her family when she could no longer afford to pay them off. Afraid for her life, Juana fled from Honduras with her son and started hopping Mexican freight trains north towards the U.S. border.
Juana and her son spent several months in Mexico City, during which I gave her a crash course in basic English, before she and her son continued their dangerous journey towards Texas. When Juana finally arrived at the U.S. border, we received news at the shelter that she had tried crossing with a coyote [people smuggler] and was deported. I was concerned about Juana’s safety, but once I heard she had arrived at the border, where the threat of kidnapping often increases, I became even more terrified.
Juana reached the border two months after the “Gang of 8” senators released their proposal for a new comprehensive immigration reform bill, which passed in the Senate last June, and includes an increase of 3,500 Border Patrol agents and 4.5 billion dollars to add new surveillance systems, aerial drones, and the construction of more fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border. Instead of addressing the reasons why Juana and the hundreds of migrants on board the Mexican train that derailed last week migrate north to the U.S., the current immigration reform bill offers them a closed door in their attempt to flee violence largely caused by America’s consumption of illegal drugs.
The current immigration reform bill greatly resembles the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which legalized almost three million undocumented migrants in the U.S. and quintupled the number of Border Patrol agents to almost 22,000. Today, an estimated 11 million people live in the U.S. without legal residency, signifying that IRCA did little to solve the problems which force people to migrate in the first place.
While visiting a small town in the central Mexican state of Querétaro this year, I met an 81-year-old man, named Jose Ramírez, who gained U.S. citizenship through IRCA. As a young man, Ramírez would spend half of each year doing farm work in the U.S. and return home to visit his wife and children. When crossing the border became more costly and dangerous, Ramírez could no longer justify returning to Mexico as often, so he moved his entire family to Florida. The increase in border security over the last half-century that was supposed to keep people like Ramírez out of the U.S. became exactly what motivated him to resettle his family to Florida.
While it’s true that many people from Mexico and Central America enter the U.S. without authorization and settle permanently, it doesn’t mean that they want to. Like most men and women from small town USA, Latin American migrant workers often come from rural areas where locals value home and family. If you offered most residents in rural America a job that paid up to seven times their current income, but that involved relocating to a foreign country with a different language, and risking your life by walking through a desert to get there, most would probably opt to stay home. But for people like Juana Morelos, lack of economic opportunities and violence caused by the drug trade often leave them with no choice.
Increasing security along our southern border will keep many future immigrants out of our country, but it won’t stop them from trying to enter it. During my research on migration in Mexico over the last year, I met many Mexicans who worked decades in the U.S. with fake documents just to save enough money to buy land and start a business back home. What if instead of investing billions of dollars in drones and fences, we used some of that money to partner with the Mexican government and create loans for these would-be entrepreneurs to start small businesses and employ their neighbors?
A truly comprehensive immigration reform bill should also include a plan to decrease the violence in Central America which forces many locals to migrate. Honduras and El Salvador currently have the highest murder rates in the world. This violence is mainly caused by cartels that have begun using Central America to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
Photos of migrants standing alongside the overturned train at the site of la bestia derailment last week are an easy story for media outlets seeking a gripping response from their readers or viewers. But the train accident is just one incident in a vast chain of violence and increasing danger which follows migrants from Central America to the U.S. border. It’s an issue which many U.S. politicians currently want to solve by militarizing the southern frontier, but just like when IRCA became law 25 years ago, the real problems that must be addressed remain far away from the U.S. border.
Several days after Juana was deported, she and her son tried crossing the U.S. border again. Back at the shelter in Mexico City, one of Juana’s relatives told me that his time they made it safely to Houston.
As the House prepares to vote on immigration reform later this year, thousands more migrants, like Juana and her son, continue to enter the U.S. with smugglers. If the current immigration reform bill passes the House, it will offer citizenship only to undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. in 2011 or earlier. Without a change of focus on how our nation approaches immigration in the future, the derailing of la bestia will continue to be just a small incident among a much greater tragedy, and Juana and her son will become part of the next generation of undocumented immigrants forced to live in our shadows.
Some names in this story have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.
Levi Bridges is a journalist and Fulbright Scholar based in Mexico City. He writes at www.bridgesandborders.com and tweets @levi_bridges.

author: NACLA


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Drums of War on Syria Getting Louder  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The Revolutionaries of Manbij” in Aleppo, Syria. Photo by Dona Bozzi. Copyright Demotix, July 23, 2013.
The drums of war are getting louder as US lawmakers prepare to vote on a “punitive” bombing campaign on Syria. Online, everyone has become an overnight expert on Syria.
Palestinian Iyad El-Baghdadi notes:
Isn't it amazing how everyone's conscience suddenly woke up when it comes to the horrible suffering of #Syria‘s people?
— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) September 1, 2013
Syrian Mohja Khaf says she is against the war. She reasons:
My axis is women& men of the grassroots Syrian revolution. US strikes will not help their legitimate struggle for a free,democratic #Syria
— Mohja Kahf (@ProfKahf) August 29, 2013
US strikes are not a magical bullet that will take out the Butcher of #Syria and save the day.
— Mohja Kahf (@ProfKahf) August 29, 2013
U.S. strike is not a prayer-answer to the Syrian humanitarian crisis—it means more civilian agonies. #Syria
— Mohja Kahf (@ProfKahf) August 29, 2013
And she adds:
Let no one deny the horrific massacres of Syrian civilians by assad, no matter what position one has on the imminent U.S. strikes #Syria
— Mohja Kahf (@ProfKahf) August 29, 2013
Kahf reminds us:
No matter your position on US strikes #Syria, DO NOT DENY that young Syrians took to streets in genuine grassroots REVOLUTION. Goddammit.
— Mohja Kahf (@ProfKahf) September 4, 2013
And Syrian Amal Hanano adds:
Reminder: thousands of Syrians were killed for chanting: the people want to topple the regime. #Syria
— Amal Hanano (@AmalHanano) August 30, 2013
Syrian Maysaloon is surprised with the double standards applied by different countries:
Saud al Faisal says that Assad's use of poison gas cannot be tolerated. Funnily they didn't mind when Saddam used it #Pt #PotKettleBlack
— Maysaloon (@Maysaloon) September 1, 2013
And Dima Khatib adds [ar]:
مجرد ألا يثق المرء بالأميركان لا يعني أنه أصبح يساند نظام الأسد ولا يدافع عنه. كفى ممارسة للإرهاب الفكري والإقصاء باسم النضال من أجل الحرية
— Dima Khatib أنا ديمة (@Dima_Khatib) September 1, 2013
Just because someone doesn't trust the Americans doesn't mean he is siding with the Assad regime. Stop exercising intellectual terrorism and obliterating others in the name of fighting for freedom
According to Michael Hanna, a war on Syria could last for years:
If we want to have serious discussion about Syria, we should begin with understanding that this war, on current trajectory, will last years.
— Michael Hanna (@mwhanna1) September 2, 2013
From Bahrain, writer Ali Al Saeed tweets:
#Obama‘s message to evil dictators of the world: It's cool to slaughter your people as long as you don't use chemical weapons. #Syria #Assad
— Ali Al Saeed (@alialsaeed) September 4, 2013
In an earlier tweet, he wonders:
How is killing 100,000 & displacing 2 million people is fine, but using poison gas on 1000 requires military strike? #Syria #SyriaCrisis
— Ali Al Saeed (@alialsaeed) September 4, 2013
In Amman, the capital of Jordan, Ali Dahmash, witnessed an anti-war demonstration outside the US Embassy:
Just passed by the US Embassy in #Amman and there were a few 100 people peacefully protesting Obama decision to bomb #Syria – #Jordan #Jo
— Ali Dahmash (@AliDahmash) September 1, 2013
Commentator Marc Lynch adds:
Saddest part of Obama admin Syria war push is seeing them peddling the same arguments they spent two years effectively smacking down.
— Marc Lynch (@abuaardvark) September 4, 2013
While UAE commentator Sultan Al Qassemi asks:
Why do the Gulf States ($123B arms purchases from the US in 2010) & Turkey (Nato's second largest army) outsource their Syria war to the US?
— שחררו את פלסטין (@SultanAlQassemi) September 1, 2013
And it's fine to be confused, says Ms. Entropy, from Egypt:
Unlike many of the instant experts on #Syria, I know only enough about the context to grasp my ignorance – itself enough to break my heart.
— Ms. Entropy (@MsEntropy) September 1, 2013

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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“In Damascus All is Quiet”: Russians Report from Syria · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

A Syrian market, as shown on Russian news channel NTV on September 3, 2013. The footage was presumably taken by Anhar Kochneva. YouTube screenshot.
In Russia, support for Bashar al-Assad's regime cuts across political lines. Deep suspicions of Western motives for military intervention, combined with a domestic history of Islamist rebel groups, lead even the staunchest Kremlin opponents to see eye to eye with Vladimir Putin on the Syrian conflict. For example, Maria Baronova, an opposition activist currently on trial for participating in a rally turned violent last year, tweeted this about the August 21 chemical attacks near Damascus:
Господа, я надеюсь все понимают, что история с использованием химического оружия – это какая-то крайне мутная американская тема?
— Maria Baronova (@ponny1) August 26, 2013
Gentlemen, I hope everyone understands that the story with chemical weapon use is some kind of shady American scheme?
Baronova was likely getting her information from photographer Sergey Ponomarev, who was in Damascus during the time of the attacks and tweeted shortly after, questioning MSF reports of poison gas casualties:
@AltePute @ponny1 я был в трех больницах, мне сказали что там пострадавших нет. если известно каким больницам помогает msf я бы туда съездил
— Sergey Ponomarev (@SergeyPonomarev) August 25, 2013
@AltePute @ponny1 I've been to three hospitals, they told me there were no victims there. if someone knows which hospitals the MSF works with, I'd go there
Another Russian tweeting from Damascus was Komsomolskaya Pravda journalist, Nigina Beroeva. She also doubted the use of chemical weapons:
@madoleroyer мы были здесь, если бы атака была такой силы,что погибли 1300 человек,газ дошел бы до нас
— Beroeva (@NiBeroeva) August 25, 2013
@madoleroyer we were here, if the attack was so strong that 1300 people died, the gas would have gotten to us as well
Later, Beroeva cited a local source:
Поговорила с человеком, который живет с семьей с рядом с зоной военных действий.говорит, химического оружия не было.они бы почувствовали.
— Beroeva (@NiBeroeva) August 21, 2013
I talked to a man who lives with his family near the war zone. he says, there was no chemical weapons use. they would have felt it.
Besides for journalists like Beroeva and Ponomarev, who come to Syria on relatively short reporting stints, there are Russian bloggers actually living and blogging in the country. Just like the majority of the Russian public, these bloggers support the Assad regime. The most prominent one is probably Anhar Kochneva, a Russian-Palestinian woman living in Damascus. Kochneva worked with the tourist industry before the start of the conflict, but quickly started writing about the war for a Russian audience. She gained particular notoriety last year, when she was kidnapped by an alleged rebel group [ru], spent 152 days in captivity, and then managed to escape on her own.
In spite of her rather negative experience with the Syrian conflict, Kochneva is eager to reassure [ru] readers about the stability of the regime:
Ничего плохого не происходит. Люди ходят в кафе и рестораны, шастают по магазинчикам и даже посещают достопримечательности. Давайте, будем показывать ПРАВДУ. А не делать все, чтобы во всем мире сложилось впечатление. что в Сирии камня на камне не осталось!
Nothing bad is happening. People sit at cafes and restaurants, go shopping and even visit local sights. Let's tell the TRUTH. And not do everything possible so that the world starts thinking that Syria is completely razed to the ground!
On August 29, when the world was expecting an imminent bombing campaign against Assad, she wrote [ru]:
Хомс, Хама, Тель-Калях, Месьяф, Беньяс, Джебла, Латакия, Тартус… ВЕЗДЕ ВСЕ ПОД КОНТРОЛЕМ ГОСУДАРСТВА. В Дамаске все тоже спокойно.
Homs, Hama, Tel Kalyah, Masyaf, Banias, Jableh, Lattakia, Tartus… EVERYTHING IS UNDER GOVERNMENT CONTROL. In Damascus all is quiet.
In general, Beroeva and Ponomarev seem to agree. Beroeva tweeted shortly after the gas attacks:
И не поверите, в Дамаске все спокойно. Люди сидят в кафе, ходят по улица и очень далеки от всемирной истерии
— Beroeva (@NiBeroeva) August 26, 2013
You won't believe it, but all is quiet in Damascus. People sit in cafes, walk the streets, and are far from a universal hysteria
Ponomarev also said that the country is basically “unchanged” since 2009, while jokingly extolling the virtues of armed conflict in driving down local hotel prices:
Отели за 300€ в даунтауне сейчас стоят 50-70$, ужин на троих с вином 20$
— Sergey Ponomarev (@SergeyPonomarev) August 11, 2013
Downtown hotels [formerly] €300 [per night] now cost $50-70, dinner for three with wine — $20
There is something strangely familiar to a Russian audience within this narrative — the conflict, when portrayed in this fashion, seems less like an all out war and more like the slow-burning violence in Dagestan and Ingushetia. Yes, there are bandits/terrorists/rebels/jihadists but they are far away, geographically isolated. Sure, somewhere people are dying, but 90% of the population aren't affected — at least until their summer vacation plans are derailed by military action near a resort. This, Russians can empathize with.

author: Andrey Tselikov