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European Union Slams China Over Missing Hong Kong Booksellers · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

Causeway Bay Books. Kris Cheng / HKFP.
This post was written by Kris Cheng and originally published on Hong Kong Free Press on April 26, 2016. The version below is published on Global Voices under a partnership agreement.
The European Union says the missing bookseller case poses the “most serious challenge” to Hong Kong’s constitutional law and the “one country, two systems” principle — the set-up in which the city comes under communist China's sovereignty, but is largely free to run its own political and economic affairs — since the UK handed the former colony of Hong Kong over to China in 1997.
In its annual report, the EU urged Beijing to restore the trust of Hong Kong residents and the international community in the arrangements concerning the city’s autonomy.
Five Hong Kong booksellers who sold gossipy titles critical of the Chinese government went missing in Thailand, China and Hong Kong in 2015 and eventually all showed up on the mainland saying they were voluntarily collaborating in an official investigation. Two of the missing people hold EU citizenship. The report said:
The case involves a serious violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms and raises grave concerns about the rule of law under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and the mainland authorities’ application of [People's Republic of China] laws to acts carried out by Hong Kong residents on Hong Kong soil.
The yearly report was issued by the European Commission and European Union External Action Service on April 25.
It said Lee Bo, a British national who disappeared from Hong Kong, “seems to have been an abducted”:
Despite repeated requests for information and explanation by top officials of the Hong Kong [special administrative region] as well as by the EU and other members of the international community, the [People's Republic of China] authorities failed to provide any credible explanation.
It was not the first time the EU issued a statement on the incident – the first was a call for investigation published in January. The European Parliament also adopted a resolution in February expressing “grave concern” about the disappearances.
The EU also said in the report that it hoped Hong Kong would be able to resume the electoral reform process and reach an agreement on an election system that is democratic, fair, open and transparent:
Universal suffrage would give the government greater public support and legitimacy for its efforts to reach Hong Kong’s economic objectives and tackle social challenges, such as the socioeconomic and generational divides in Hong Kong society.
The government’s political reform package, which proposed that candidates for chief executive, as the city's top leader is called, should be vetted by a nomination committee, was voted down in June 2015 by the Legislative Council.
It also mentioned the rejection of the appointment of liberal law scholar Johannes Chan Man-mun as the pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong by its governing council “because of his links to opposition groups”:
This practice threatens independent university governance and could in the long run harm academic freedom in Hong Kong. […] The controversy prompted calls for the removal of the Chief Executive as ex officio Chancellor of all universities in Hong Kong.
The report highlighted other challenges for Hong Kong including the difficulty in recruiting judges, the shortage of support staff in the courts and the low fees paid to lawyers in legal aid cases, especially criminal cases.
A government spokesperson told local public broadcaster RTHK that the Basic Law, as Hong Kong's constitutional framework is called, and the one country, two systems principle have been working well since Hong Kong was made a special administrative region of China, and that foreign governments and legislatures should not interfere with Hong Kong’s internal affairs.

author: Hong Kong Free Press


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Here’s a Map That Shows You What the Japanese Really Think of Europe · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Nick Kapur's map of Japanese stereotypes based on Google autocomplete suggestions.
Nick Kapur, a US-based professional historian specializing in Japan, has made a map of Japanese stereotypes of European countries, based on Japanese Google autocomplete suggestions.
Not every country in Europe was represented by Japanese-language Google autocomplete:
@XENON312O @MegaMogwai I searched for Slovenia but unfortunately the autocomplete didn't return any non-tourism related results in Japanese.
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) April 25, 2016
Google autocomplete also delivered some mysterious results that Kapur then incorporated into his map:
@Paninodesu Yeah, I was confused by that myself, actually, but after digging around, it seems to be some sort of “polandball” reference.
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) April 25, 2016
Kapur's map is similar to another map from 2015 that used Baidu, China's dominant search engine, to finish half-written questions about different provinces in China.
A map of China, by stereotype: http://t.co/isRo4hkPTB pic.twitter.com/vhuADJsWGm
— FP's Tea Leaf Nation (@TeaLeafNation) March 4, 2014

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nevin Thompson


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Imprisoned Iranian Cartoonist Hadi Heidari Goes Free · Global Voices
Tori Egherman

Hadi Heidari announced his release from Evin Prison with a cartoon on his Instagram account.
Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari has been freed from prison. The artist announced his release on Tuesday, April 26, in a post on Instagram, where he also thanks his friends and supporters from standing by him during his incarceration.
A photo posted by Hadi Heidari l هادی حیدری (@hadi_heidari) on
سلام بر آزادى! | به لطف خداوند بزرگ پس از گذراندن ايام حبس، امشب از زندان اوين آزاد شدم. از همه شما دوستاني كه در اين مدت مهر و لطف خود را شامل حال بنده و خانواده ام كرديد بى نهايت ممنونم. اميدوارم لايق محبت هايتان باشم.
Hello to freedom! By the grace of God, I was released from Evin Prison tonight after serving time. Thank you all for the kindness. I am extremely grateful to all my friends who supported me and my family during this time. Thank you. I hope I am worthy of your kindness.
Heidari gained international attention for his cartoon marking the November 2015 attacks in Paris, which left more than 120 people dead. Shortly after the publication of the cartoon, he was arrested.
Hadi Heidari's cartoon “France cried” captured the emotions following the November 13 Paris Attacks. Image from Heidari's Facebook page.
Heidari's release marks the end of only his most recent problems with the Iranian authorities. He was first arrested in 2009 in the wake of presidential elections and again in December 2010.
That said, Heidari is no stranger to controversy. His cartoon, The Blindfolded Men, published in Shargh News, also landed the newspaper's publisher in prison in 2012. Some saw the cartoon as an insult to the veterans of the Iran-Iraq war. The day after the cartoon was published, Heidari was summoned to testify in court. (The newspaper and the publisher were ultimately acquitted of all charges.)
Global Voices reported on Heidari's arrest in 2015 here.
Iran still has artists locked up, though. For instance, Atena Farghadani, another cartoonist, remains in prison. On Monday, April 25, she heard that her 12-year sentence has been reduced to 18 months. She is scheduled to be freed from prison in mid-May.

author: Tori Egherman


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Indigenous Echoes, Broadcasting the Voices of Mexican Diversity on the Web · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

XETAR, “The Voice of Sierra Tarahumara” (Indigenous Cultural Broadcasting System). CDI image used with permission.
A project called Indigenous Echoes brings together a number of regional radio stations in Mexico with the goal of making their broadcasts available online, thus breaking down boundaries and encouraging the preservation of languages that are in danger of falling into disuse or becoming extinct.
According to the official statistics, about 6.7% of Mexico's population over the age of five speak an indigenous language in Mexico, and that percentage has declined every decade since records began.
Decades ago, the Indigenous Cultural Broadcasting System was created to promote indigenous community radio stations, and now the network of stations are expanding their reach through Indigenous Echoes. The federal government agency in charge of the project is called the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (abbreviated as CDI), which describes the initiative in the following way:
Gracias a los enlaces en vivo con las transmisiones locales de cada una de las emisoras del Sistema, se amplían los horizontes de difusión de los pueblos indígenas de México para llevar mensajes a lugares remotos. Gracias a Ecos Indígenas es posible escuchar una gama infinita de voces y manifestaciones musicales de todas las regiones del país, las palabras y las lenguas de muchos mexicanos, y llevar a todos los puntos del planeta un mensaje de la diversidad y pluriculturalidad mexicana.
Links to live local transmissions from each of the stations in the System expand the messages of the indigenous peoples in Mexico to remote locations. Thanks to Indigenous Echoes, it is possible to listen to an infinite range of voices and musical events from all regions of the country and to the words and languages of many Mexicans, and to bring to all parts of the world a message of Mexican diversity and multiculturalism.
The commission also describes what languages are included in this space:
La emisora transmite cada jornada en las lenguas: maya, náhuatl, p'urepecha, pames, tanek, mayo, yaqui, guarijio, mazateco, cuicateco, chinanteca, zapoteca, mixe, mixteco, triqui y muchas más. Actualmente el número de lenguas y las variantes regionales integra más de 36 lenguas indígenas vivas distintas.
The station broadcasts every day in the following languages: Mayan, Náhuatl, P'urepecha, Pame, Tanek, Mayo, Yaqui, Guarijio, Mazatec, Cuicatec, Chinantec, Zapotec, Mixe, Mixtec, Triqui and many more. Currently, the number of languages and regional variants include more than 36 different indigenous languages still spoken.
You can listen to Indigenous Echoes by clicking this link.
The CDI regularly uses social media, including Twitter, to promote Indigenous Echoes, such as the following tweet about XECARH, a station located in the Mezquital Valley in Hidalgo (in the central eastern part of the country):
Escucha “La Voz Del Pueblo Hñahñu” transmitiendo en hñähñu, náhuatl y español por https://t.co/QBsV3nQ3YC pic.twitter.com/kYbnOzjm3d
— CDI México (@CDI_mx) April 4, 2016
Listen to “La Voz Del Pueblo Hñahñu” (“The Voice of the Hñahñu”) broadcasting in Hñähñu, Náhuatl and Spanish
XECARH is a station that opened in 1999 and has sought through its work to strengthen the identity of the Otomí people residing in the region.
Indigenous radio in Mexico has been studied for many years. In 2010, Dr. Inés Cornejo recounted in an article for Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales (Mexican Magazine of Political and Social Sciences):
Las radios culturales indigenistas se han dedicado generalmente a la producción y a diversas tareas más que a la investigación propiamente dicha, pues existía una idea proclive a “hacer” la radio más que a investigarla. Cabe mencionar que en cada emisora se ha realizado la investigación de campo que mejor ha funcionado en la producción radiofónica, y cada una de éstas lo ha hecho con diferentes grados de sistematización.
Indigenous cultural radios have generally dedicated themselves to production and various tasks rather than actual research, because the idea was to “do” radio, rather than to investigate it. It is noteworthy that each station has carried out field research that has worked best in radio production, and each of them has done so with varying degrees of systematization.
In the past, Global Voices has written about Mexican efforts to preserve indigenous languages, such as a resolution of Mexico's judiciary which recognized the right of the indigenous peoples in the country to transmit their “invaluable cultural identity, but without their language, it is difficult to achieve this,” as well as a daily newspaper with national circulation which launched an edition in Mayan language (the second indigenous language of the country, after Náhuatl).

author: J. Tadeo


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Macedonian Protesters ‘Congratulate’ Pardoned Ex-Interior Minister at Her PhD Graduation · Global Voices
Anastasija Petrеvska

“Congratulations on Your Pardon.” Photo: Meta.mk News Agency, used with permission.
Amid nationwide protests against impunity, a group of demonstrators paid a surprise visit to Macedonia's former Minister of Interior Affairs Gordana Jankuloska, a key election fraud suspect who was pardoned by a blanket amnesty issued by the country's president earlier in April.
Jankuloska resigned as minister following a deadly shootout in the Macedonian town of Kumanovo between police and a militant group in May 2015. Afterward, she finished her PhD thesis on the “suppression of transnational financial crime.” At around the time some protesters were being interrogated in police stations on suspicions of participating in a mob or rioting, Jankuloska was attending a public ceremony to formally receive her doctoral degree at Bitola University in the Macedonian city of Bitola.
At the ceremony, the protesters unfurled a banner reading “Congratulations on your pardon!” This caused a bit of dismay among the university management and the audience, including the families and friends of 13 other PhD candidates.
Jankuloska's voice appears in secretly wiretapped conversations leaked to the public by the political opposition in early 2015. In one of them, which were recorded by the secret service under the control of the then-prime minister's cousin, Jankuloska talks to another member of the ruling party about manufacturing ID cards for phantom voters. She says:
Тие им се испечатени, луѓево си ги имаат. Има една ризична работа, ама таа ја знаевме ние и затоа инсистиравме да дадат повеќе адреси Комитетиве. Како што знаеш, имаме по 50 души у стан од 40 квадрати. Е сега, тоа е.
They are printed, people already have them. There’s one tricky thing, but we knew about it and that’s why I insisted the committees give us more addresses. As you know, we have 50 people in an apartment of only 40 square meters. It is what it is.
In another set of wiretaps, Jankuloska, her then deputy Ivo Kotevski and VMRO-DPMNE party official Martin Protoger discuss the murder of Martin Neškovski at the hands of a police officer in June 2011 during street celebrations for the ruling party's re-election victory. Many Macedonians suspected at the time that authorities and sympathetic media were trying to cover up the killing, and massive protests calling for justice lasted for three months.
The wiretaps seemed to confirm those suspicions. In their conversations, the three admit that after then-Prime Minister Gruevski's bodyguard Igor Spasov killed Neškovski, a number of police officers and officials were involved in an organized attempt to deceive the public. It appears that Jankuloska and her colleagues were not informed about all aspects of the case at first, but then actively worked on “damage control”.
Except for Spasov, who was later convicted for the murder, those who helped to cover up the crime enjoyed full impunity on Jankuloska's watch. She describes her subordinates who tried to hide who was responsible for the killing on their own as “feeble-minded” and “idiots.” Some of her quotes from the wiretaps were shared as memes, like the one below:
“I am nervous, you can't hide a murder.” Gordana Jankuloska, Minister of Interior about the murder of Martin Neškovski.” Widely shared meme with a quote from leaked wiretaps.

author: Anastasija Petrеvska


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Mexico’s Controversial ‘Telecom Law’ Is Now in the Supreme Court’s Court · Global Voices
Giovanna Salazar

Image: Pixabay / Public Domain
The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) in Mexico will soon discuss the constitutionality of Articles 189 and 190 of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Act (known simply as the “Telecom Law”), which went into effect in August 2014. These articles state that, among other things, telecommunication companies must maintain records of their users’ metadata for a period of two years, and grant unrestricted access to the proper state authorities.
As defined by the NGO Derechos Digitales (Digital Rights), metadata is information that puts into context other data, such as the information we exchange when we communicate. FayerWayer Magazine adds that the stored metadata makes it possible to know many of the behaviors and habits of a user, including:
Nombre y domicilio del suscriptor
Tipo de comunicación -voz, datos, conferencia- y servicios- suplementarios, de mensajería o multimedia- empleados
En telefonía móvil: datos para conocer el origen y destino de las comunicaciones
Fecha, hora y duración de la comunicación
Fecha, hora y ubicación de la primera activación del equipo
Datos de identificación y características técnicas de los equipos
Geolocalización digitalizada
The subscriber’s name and address
The type of communication (voice transmission, voicemail, conference) and additional services employed, such as messaging or multimedia.
Data about the origin and destination of mobile communications.
The date, time, and duration of communication.
The date, time, and location of the first service activation.
Identification data and technical characteristics of the device.
The geographical position of the lines.
In 2014, when the telecom law was passed, it was billed as a much-needed reform of the telecommunications sector, which continues to be dominated by monopolies. To date, authorities have not discussed in depth why the two articles in question were included, beyond justifying them for vague reasons of “security”.
At the time, the Network in Defense of Digital Rights (R3D) filed a writ of amparo (a legal instrument that aims to defend fundamental rights and counter arbitrariness) against the legislation's “Collaboration With Justice” articles, arguing that they violate human rights. Other organizations dedicated to defending digital rights, free expression, and transparency (such as Article 19 and FUNDAR) also supported the amparo.
R3D later published a paper titled “Frequently Asked Questions About the Unconstitutional Nature of Articles 189 and 190 of the LFTR,” noting that the content of the articles violates citizens’ right to the inviolability of private communications and the right to protection of personal data. The organization also says “there is an absence of clarification about who constitutes the competent authorities.”
The following video is part of R3D’s informational materials developed to show the importance of what the court will discuss:
La conservación masiva e indiscriminada de metadatos nos asume a todos como presuntos delincuentes y nos pone en mayor riesgo […]
En otros países la retención de metadatos ya fue prohibida. En abril de 2014, el Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea invalidó su ley de retención de datos argumentado que “constituye una injerencia de gran magnitud y especial gravedad en los derechos fundamentales al respecto de la vida privada…”
It is thus possible to deduce things like your personal relationships, your political and religious preferences, or health status.
Metadata conservation assumes we are all criminal suspects and puts us at greater risk.
In other countries metadata retention has already been prohibited. In April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union overruled its data retention law arguing that it “constitutes an interference of a large magnitude and is particularly serious with respect to the fundamental rights to privacy…”
The Supreme Court was scheduled to settle the amparo on Wednesday, March 20, 2016, but a resolution was postponed, as announced by Ivan Martinez, an advocacy writer for R3D:
Corte pospuso decisión una semana más sobre el amparo de @r3dmx.
¡No hay que bajar la guardia! #LeyStalker#LeyTelecom
— Iván (@protoplasmakid) April 20, 2016
Court postponed decision regarding the amparo of @r3dmx another week.
Don’t let your guard down! Stalker Law. Telecom Law.
In preparation for the hearing, more than a dozen national and international organizations for the defense of digital rights have urged the court to protect the right to privacy and reject the constitutionality of the telecom law. A joint statement from these groups says Mexico faces a “historic opportunity”:
La SCJN posee una oportunidad histórica para establecer un precedente de protección a la privacidad en México y replicar las tendencias internacionales en el tema. Por el contrario, en caso de validar la vigilancia sin controles que facilita la Ley de Telecomunicaciones, la SCJN estaría enviando un mensaje sumamente peligroso de que todo se vale con el pretexto de proteger la seguridad, incluso medidas que, lejos de proteger la seguridad, la comprometerán aún más, sobre todo en el contexto de crisis en materia de derechos humanos por el que atraviesa el país.
The Supreme Court has a historic opportunity to set a precedent for privacy protection in Mexico and to replicate international trends on the issue. On the other hand, in the event that it validates the surveillance without limitations that is facilitated by the Telecommunications Act, the Supreme Court would be sending a very dangerous message that anything goes on the pretext of protecting safety, including measures that, far from protecting safety, would endanger it even more, especially in the context of crisis in the matter of human rights that is faced by this country.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation says the indiscriminate and massive retention of data allowed by the Telecom Act is “a serious state interference and full-scale invasion of privacy in the communications of millions of Mexican citizens,” arguing that judicial oversight in such policing measures is a necessity:
A dos años de la reformas de la Ley Telecom, el estado mexicano no se ha puesto a la altura de sus compromisos internacionales en materia de derechos humanos en el entorno digital, al poseer un instrumento legal que abre la puerta de manera desproporcionada a la vigilancia de las comunicaciones de una población entera e incluso autoriza el acceso a los datos retenidos sin autorización judicial.
Two years after the Telecom Law was reformed, the Mexican state has still not caught up to its international human rights obligations; mandatory data retention is an unnecessary and disproportionate measure that affects the privacy rights of millions of Mexicans. The Telecom law also allows warrantless access to the retained metadata, contrary to international human rights standards. Determinations related to communications surveillance must be made by a competent judicial authority that is impartial and independent.
Using the hashtag #LeyTelecom (Telecom Law), Internet users have discussed the controversial legislation on Twitter:
¿Cómo puede obtener tus datos el gobierno y qué puede hacer con ellos? Te explicamos las facultades de #LeyTelecompic.twitter.com/GDWyw9UmsL
— ARTICLE 19 MX-CA (@article19mex) April 7, 2016
How can the government obtain your information and what can it do with it? We explain the capabilities of the Telecom Law.
No a la retención de metadatos que legalizó la #LeyTelecom en #Mexico porque posibilita el control y la vigilancia pic.twitter.com/eYaGFeFAhZ
— Rancho Electrónico (@hackrancho) April 20, 2016
No to the retention of metadata allowed by #Mexico with the Telecom Law because it facilitates control and surveillance.
Twitter users also shared the hashtag #LeyStalker (Stalker Law) to characterize the law as invasive and spy-like.
Feliz día. Les deseo hagan algo por el mundo que quieren ver.
Especialmente uno que respete privacidad, @SCJN. Seguir @r3dmx#LeyStalker <3
— Mariel García M (@faeriedevilish) April 20, 2016
Happy day. I hope you are all working on behalf of the world you want to see.
Especially one that respects privacy, @SCJN. Follow @r3dmx #LeyStalker <3
Concerns about granting the Mexican government greater spying powers are especially high, in light of the 2015 leaks, which revealed that several of the country's state institutions are some of the Italian company Hacking Team‘s biggest buyers of surveillance technology in the world. (And much of this equipment was purchased to intercept communications illegally.)
There are also worries that officials will abuse any new surveillance powers and put citizens at risk, if the court upholds the law's constitutionality. Carlos Brito, the director of Advocacy at R3D, says this danger is real, pointing to the federal police in Mexico currently being investigated for kidnapping and extortion:
¿Estas personas pueden acceder a metadatos y geolocalización de #LeyTelecom? Sí. La #LeyStalker los faculta @SCJNpic.twitter.com/2AaCT7qGlb
— Carlos Brito (@Britovsky) April 20, 2016
These people can access metadata and geolocation through the #TelecomLaw? Yes. The Stalker Law authorizes them to.
Following the same logic, others online have recalled the recent cyberattack on the National Electoral Institute's database, which resulted in the massive leak of 93.4 million voters’ information.
#OJO – Base datos del INE con 93.4 millones de registros aparece en Amazon… y así quieren retención de metadatos https://t.co/zBepmerYZh
— Carlos Brito (@Britovsky) April 22, 2016
Beware – INE's database with 93.4 million registrations is on Amazon… and they still want to retain metadata.
According to the public policy analyst and Internet law specialist Gisela Pérez de Ancha:
En un país con un serio déficit democrático y en el que funcionarios públicos son los principales responsables de agresiones a periodistas y disidentes, la medida [prevista por la Ley Telecom] podría ser utilizada fácilmente para perseguir voces incómodas dentro del marco de la legalidad formal.
In a country with a serious democratic deficit and in which public officials are primarily responsible for attacks on journalists and dissidents, the measures [allowed by the Telecom Law] could easily be used to pursue uncomfortable opinions within the framework of formal legality.
In their collaboration for Nexos Magazine, Luis Fernando García, the director of R3D, and Ana Gaitán Uribe, a lawyer for R3D, asked Mexicans to think about the risks of handing so much power over to people who have inspired such little confidence:
Es entendible que demandemos mayor seguridad ante el miedo de ser víctimas de un delito, pero debemos preguntarnos si dichas medidas realmente nos hacen estar más seguros, rescatar a más víctimas, atrapar a más criminales. O si, por el contrario, fomentan un clima de opresión en el que nuestra expectativa de privacidad se erosione. Preguntémonos, también, cuál es el daño que se ocasionaría cuando las personas equivocadas tienen un fácil acceso a todos nuestros datos sensibles. Particularmente en un país en donde la diferencia entre el Estado y la delincuencia es frecuentemente inexistente.
It is understandable that we demand greater security in the face of the fear of being victims of crime, but we must ask whether these measures really make us safer, rescue more victims, catch more criminals. Or if, on the contrary, they foster a climate of oppression in which our expectation of privacy erodes. We should ask ourselves as well, what's the harm that would be caused when the wrong people have easy access to all of our sensitive data. Particularly in a country where the difference between the state and crime is often nonexistent.
Mexico has to wait until Wednesday, April 27, 2016, for the court to announce its decision. If the court upholds the legislation, R3D says it's prepared to take the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

author: Giovanna Salazar


text:
Syria: What Forgiveness Doesn’t Mean · Global Voices
مرسيل شحوارو

“I wish that only one of the advocates of “forgive and forget” could guarantee that this forgiveness would spare Syria from this madness happening again, and not be more like a reward for the murderers,” writes Marcell Shehwaro. Children in an Aleppo street, in Syria. Photograph shared by IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
This post is part of a special series of articles by blogger and activist Marcell Shehwaro, describing the realities of life in Syria during the ongoing armed conflict between forces loyal to the current regime, and those seeking to oust it.
In the beginning I was beautiful, as I was filled only with the powerful beauty of the revolution, with the pure belief that we were here to make a change and that hatred could never be a way to make change; and that we had no alternative but to be patient and wait for the others to break the walls of silence and humiliation and join us. We believed that everyone had their own prophecy, and we had to wait for their first cries of birth. And we waited.
We had enough luxury, comfort, clarity of vision, and extra room for more grief. I used to follow the pictures of dead State army soldiers being spread on social media. I would be upset by people who ridiculed their deaths. I used to read the comments of the mothers, brothers, sisters, friends, girlfriends. The deceased were handsome young men in their twenties. I would become so obsessed that I visited their personal pages to learn about the real person behind the face of the victim, or the murderer, or both.
“We had enough luxury, comfort, clarity of vision, and extra room for more grief. I used to follow the pictures of dead State army soldiers being spread on social media. I would be upset by people who ridiculed their deaths. I used to read the comments of the mothers, brothers, sisters, friends, girlfriends.”
Some were so brainwashed. They considered us thugs or vandals backed by Israel, out to disturb the security of the country. A country they believed would combat its enemies thanks to the wisdom of Mr. President, about whom the only thing they knew about was that he was irreplaceable. They were so obsessed with protecting the country that they destroyed it.
Others were awash in sectarian speech loaded with excessive fear and hatred. They believed we were going to slay them all, and that our aim was not democracy, but that we were driven by malice towards them and their families and sects. A malice they believed would swallow them if they didn’t swallow it first.
While others—whose pages were the most painful to browse—were fidgety before their deaths. They’d count the hours to the day of their departure, which they were never allowed to take their mothers to witness, to see them waiting patiently for the promises of their discharge from the army which were never fulfilled.
Back then I was able to see them, like us, as victims of a regime that forced us to take to the streets to overthrow it, and forced them to kill us in order for it to retain control of the presidential chair.
Little by little the list grew too long for me to be able to follow their personal profiles and their sacrifices. Detainees and martyrs. I was running from one funeral to the other. They were killing too many of us, and the burden grew heavy on my shoulders. Poverty and brainwashing were not an enough excuse anymore. Fear was no longer a sufficient excuse for turning into a ruthless killing machine. To me, he began to merge with the murderer and his face and work and everything about him. To me they all became Bashar Al Assad, not just his victims. Little by little he receded, tucked in his palace while the most truthful manifestation of him and his regime was that torturer in the prison, that soldier on the field, that chopper in the sky.
We had only a little energy left, and it was not enough for us to fight against ourselves and combat the easy notion of considering them merely “murderers”. The effort to consider them just like us became exhausting, as we were becoming more like them—murderers—than they were becoming more like us—victims.
“To me they all became Bashar Al Assad, not just his victims. Little by little he receded, tucked in his palace while the most truthful manifestation of him and his regime was that torturer in the prison, that soldier on the field, that chopper in the sky.”
They were that person who has the ability to enjoy torturing somebody to the death. They were that person that gave the order to use chemical weapons, or to knife a child to death in Houleh in Homs. A massacre that took away any ability we had to combat hatred. Our hatred became part of our battle for existence. We needed anger to survive, to regain the realization that the violence meted out to us was not “normal” or “ordinary”. We needed anger to release our lives and refuse to surrender to death. “Life is worth living”: true, maybe, but in this life there is no longer enough goodness to allow both the murderer and the victim to live together.
From that day onward we were no longer bothered about killing them.
Afterward, it was very logical for ISIS to emerge from our hatred. With their presence, we became scared again in the areas we thought we had already paid enough blood to regain. In Syria nothing is free; everything has a price, especially your rights. Again I am back to square one, trying to sympathize with this new enemy. This time my justification was that they were victims of violence and hatred. Victims with a righteous cause against a world that had ignored them and everything that had happened to them.
Some of them were radicalized, and to them we were infidels backed by the US to destroy the Levant. Others were moved by hatred, fear and anger, believing that no one was protecting the State of Islam but them. Others were so fascinated by the images of foreign fighters equipped with full gear, compared to their clumsy weapons and sporadic supply. They were teenagers who believed that ISIS is a real life Counter Strike game. Some of them were, till yesterday, “one of us”, victims like us, until they grew bored of playing this role and realized that they were dead either way, and decided they didn’t want to die as victims, but as murderers.
“Others were moved by hatred, fear and anger, believing that no one was protecting the State of Islam but them. Others were so fascinated by the images of foreign fighters equipped with full gear, compared to their clumsy weapons and sporadic supply. They were teenagers who believed that ISIS is a real life Counter Strike game. . . .”
In time—faster this time—I became accustomed to the cycle of victim/murderer. I lost my sympathy towards them and the guilt I felt wondering whether there was something we could do to prevent them from becoming crazier.
They became our enemies. I had very little ability left to grieve. The little I had was not enough to distribute among the hundreds of victims who died every day even though they hadn’t killed anyone. And I am haunted by an obsession with what, today, can be considered just? How do we decide who is the victim of an oppressive regime, a local or a universal one, and who is the maker of this regime and its prophet? What is the just punishment for a pawn in the game of power, money and fear?
I wish the soul of the revolution was enough for me to be able to pardon them all, if only in the “court in my head”.
I wish that only one of the advocates of “forgive and forget” could guarantee that this forgiveness would spare Syria from this madness happening again, and not be more like a reward for the murderers.
I wish that this forgiveness did not mean complicity by us in forgetting the rights of those who are gone, the rights of those victims, because they are weakest. I wish I could hate the regime a thousandfold, and find its angels of death a thousand excuses. I wish I could hate ISIS to death and find its teenage soldiers a thousand excuses.
But I’m bound to be angry. I am enraged at having survived. I am enraged at my inability to change what has been and what will become.
You can grieve either side as much as you want, at any level of sorrow or hypocrisy. Whether it’s the person who is still fighting on the front for the regime, or the one who vowed allegiance to ISIS. You can even grief them both if you still have room on your shoulders. But you cannot exploit this cycle of victim/murderer and lock us inside it. Pressure us to death so that we forget who we were and what we have lost. Force us to forgive and forget. You cannot do all of that without proving to us, for once, how this forgiveness will prevent the history from repeating itself.
You cannot do all this without telling us how your stand, at equal distances from all parties, could guarantee a little, and only a little, justice.

author: مرسيل شحوارو


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Your Skin Is Gonna Hate Japan’s Yellow Sand · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Beware the Yellow Dust. Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Yellow dust, or kosa (黄砂), is a traditional harbinger of spring in East Asia. Powerful spring westerly winds pick up sand, dust, and sediment from arid regions of the Asian continent, including the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and the Loess Plateau in China.
【25日にかけて黄砂とPM2.5に要注意】全国的に飛散が継続する見込み。特に呼吸器系疾患の方は外出を控えたり、マスク等で自己防衛を。気象庁が黄砂に関する全般気象情報発表。屋外では黄砂の付着への影響や視程悪化による交通障害に要注意 pic.twitter.com/QYlvmoh8Ax
— 大竹（気象予報士） (@ohtakepapa) April 24, 2016
There is a “Yellow Sand” and PM 2.5 warning for April 25, 2016. People experiencing respiratory illness should avoid going outdoors, or should take precautions by wearing a mask. The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a general alert for Yellow Sand. Yellow Sand particulate has made visibility poor, so please be aware of driving conditions.
The dust is transported throughout northeast Asia, including to the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and even the Russian Far East.
In Japan, yellow dust traditionally announces its arrival by leaving cars, windows, and clothes hung out to dry coated with a noticeable layer of grime. The wind-blown dust also creates a blue or yellowish haze that can obstruct the sun. Efforts to reduce particulate emissions in Japan over the last fifty years, combined with an ongoing trend that sees manufacturing (and the polluting power generation needed to power it) offshored to China, has resulted in very high air quality in Japan, even in urban areas like Tokyo.
The arrival of Yellow Sand each spring is unwelcome, not only because of hazy skies and a fine film of grit over everything, but also because the dust can also cause severe allergic reactions that ruin spring for many people.
今日も花粉と黄砂がヤバイです…😱 pic.twitter.com/zd1Yhxe0nP
— 執事ஆ【ちゃっこௐ】 (@chacko0329) April 15, 2016
The combination of pollen and Yellow Sand today is awful!
窓汚いなーと思ってウォッシャーしたら、黄色かったΣ(□｀；)
黄砂コノヤロウ( ･᷄ὢ･᷅ ) pic.twitter.com/aWsb1VQ7ca
— 忍@あんマルとろ (@sinobu_s4) April 15, 2016
My windshield was dirty so I thought I would try to use the windshield wipers to get the dust off. But the Yellow Sand is everywhere! You damned Yellow Sand!
This news report captures the images—and angst—of the yellow sand phenomenon in Japan:
According to the above report, Yellow Sand is smaller than a grain of pollen, and typically contains many pollutants. These microparticles enter the skin through the pores and end up under the skin, causing inflammation.
“Yellow Sand contains many pollutants.” Image is cross-section of epidermis. Pollen (orange) and Yellow Sand, PM 2.5 microparticles (purple) enter the skin through the pores. Image from ANN official YouTube channel.
Twitter users are busy this month swapping tips on how to deal with skin irritation caused by the current wave of Yellow Sand:
ここ数日どうも皮膚の調子が良くないと思ったら、黄砂飛んで来てんのか
— パラダイスさん (@paradisemaker) April 23, 2016
My skin has been in terrible condition for the past few days. I wonder if it's because of the arrival of Yellow Sand?
@ann1951809
こんにちは😊
病院、行き帰りだけでも疲れたり…大丈夫ですか？ 花粉も何だか黄砂か排気ガスかいっしょになってるように思います。もう、しばらく目や鼻や皮膚や違和感があるだろうけど保ちこたえましょうね😁
広島はお天気が良くて暑いです。のんびり過ごします🍀
— のりこ (@6RGevzrGPZ9i1yy) April 14, 2016
[…] I think (getting sick) must be a combination of pollen allergies, Yellow Sand and pollution from automobiles. It seems like that for the next while, eyes, nose, skin and everything is going to be irritated, so let's take care. […]
車の排気ガスや工業地帯からの煙に含まれる物質には「シミ」を作らせる成分が
見つかっています。また、黄砂やPM2,5も皮膚呼吸を妨げアレルギーや気管支炎などの
原因になるのです。#beautyjp
— ビューティーハックス24 (@beautyhacks24) April 9, 2016
There's some research that liver spots (シミ, shimi) and other skin blotches are caused by particulate from automobile exhaust, industrial emissions and so on. As well, Yellow Sand and PM 2.5 particles also contribute to the problem by causing allergic reactions.
While pollution may be a more recent concern, Yellow Sand has long affected Japan and Japanese culture. In fact, there's even an obscure word that can be used to describe the arrival of the Yellow Sand: tsuchiburu (霾, つちぶる).
Tsuchifuru. Screencap from ANN official YouTube channel.
While not a common word (and likely unknown to most Japanese television viewers), tsuchiburu means the “descent of Yellow Sand” and combines the characters for ‘rain’ (雨, あめ) and ‘raccoon dog,’ (狸, タヌキ), an animal known in Japanese mythology for reveling in dirt.


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Five Cameroonian Data Journalists Take Stock of Paul Biya’s 33 Governments · Global Voices
Gail

The team of data journalists (used with their permission)
Their average age may be only 30, but with their website Les Gouvernements de Paul Biya, five data journalists have retraced the 34 years that their country's president has been in power, offering a fascinating look into Cameroon's government.
Les Gouvernements de Paul Biya is a journalism project compiling data and numbers about the 299 ministers who have served under Paul Biya's regime since he became president of the Republic of Cameroon on November 6, 1982.
In 34 years of power, Paul Biya has formed 32 government teams, including 13 in the 1980s alone, which was marked by coups in 1983 and 1984.
Gender parity in Biya's governments, according to the Les Gouvernements de Paul Biya project.
Les Gouvernements de Paul Biya offers many interpretive frameworks for the data, from the size of each government by year of reorganization, to gender parity, to the lifespan and geographical origins of high-up officials.
Project infographic (used with their permission): “What is the representation by region and department?”
As an example, according to the project, the Centre region, where President Biya's late first wife was from, has the most representatives, with 82 elected officials (28.1% of the total). Another example: No woman from the Far North has been elected since the beginning of Biya's reign.
Cameroon's Far North region, in addition to suffering attacks and damage caused by Boko Haram, has the country's lowest rate of female literacy: 17.4% compared to the national average of over 50%, according to a study conducted and published in March 2012 by the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and the Family.
Statistics on the number of women in Biya's governments
It goes without saying, then, that this research, for which it took six months to collect and process the data, is a source that, as the website says, “can potentially provide material for rigorous analysis by journalists, hagiographers and other historians”.
Speaking of history, this data journalism project is related to Les Circuits de la Mémoire, another initiative launched through the Yes Africa foundation by young Cameroonians in search of their historical and cultural heritage. This heritage could have a real impact if young people in Cameroon make their voices heard in coming elections, especially as observers are anticipating an early election by 2018.

author: Gail


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Five Years Ago, a Tsunami Devastated Japan. Now a Filmmaker Looks Back. · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Screencap from Funakoshi, by Estelle Hebert.
The Canadian filmmaker Estelle Hebert has produced a one-hour documentary about one village's struggle to revive after a massive tsunami devastated much of Japan on March 11, 2011.
In her introduction to her hour-long documentary, Hebert says:
[…] Many survivors thought it simpler and more convenient relocating to urban areas with friends or family members. Returning home meant returning to empty plots of land and piles of rubble, not knowing when or if government support would ever make its way to less populated towns. As a result, hundreds of small villages along the east coast were left abandoned.
For Funakoshi, a fishing town home to about 350 people prior to the disaster, the story differs a little. A handful of locals decided they were to not leave their hometown abandoned, and work towards revival.
Funakoshi follows community leader and fisherman Koichi Nakasato, working towards keeping his washed-away hometown alive alongside a group of devoted residents despite the personal challenges of dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy.
The documentary is available in its entirety on Vimeo with English subtitles. There is a version of the documentary with French subtitles, as well.
Hebert, who participated as a teacher on Japan's Exchange and Teaching Programme, says she learned of the sheer scale of the devastation when she visited Miyagi Prefecture as a volunteer following the disaster.
And it was as we drove away from Funakoshi that I began to think this could be a great story, one that should be documented, and one that should not be forgotten. A lot of the times in the media, you don’t necessarily hear about the long-term recovery projects after natural disasters. How do these people cope? How long does it take for them to have a sense of normalcy in their life? What kind of long-term support are they provided with? Will Funakoshi ever be rebuilt? How are the fishermen managing despite having lost so much?
Hebert says she traveled to the village of Funakoshi over the course of the year in order to “document what [was] happening, to provide viewers with a personal, intimate and in-depth look at members of this small Japanese community as they attempt to rebuild their lives despite the grand toll of destruction that surrounds them.”


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#MedeHollín: The Campaign Against Pollution That Changed the Name of a Colombian City · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

As part of the protest, a number of different sculptures in the city were covered with face masks. Photograph by Sergio Gonzalez. Published with permission.
Since March 2016, the city of Medellín, Colombia, has been affected by air pollution. The environmental problem is caused by different factors, including the El Niño weather phenomenon, a rise in the number of car parks, and the geographic location of the city itself (located in a valley) which causes the smog to stay trapped between the mountains.
Medellín, which has historically held the nickname of “City of Eternal Spring,” was quickly and sarcastically renamed by web users #Medehollín, “hollín” meaning “soot” in English. Spanish-language Wikipedia defines soot as:
…partículas sólidas de tamaño muy pequeño, desde unos 100 nanómetros (100 nm) hasta 5 micras (5 μm) como máximo. En su mayoría compuestas de carbono impuro, pulverizado, y generalmente de colores oscuros más bien negruzcos resultantes de la combustión incompleta de un material (madera, carbón, etc). Su aspecto es similar a la ceniza pero con un tono más negro.
…tiny solid particles, from 100 nanometres (100 nm) to 5 microns (5 μm) maximum. Mostly composed of impure coal, crushed, and generally dark in colour or blackish resulting from the incomplete combustion of a material (wood, coal, etc). It looks similar to ash, but blacker in tone.
The incident caused such a stir, that one of the country's national newspapers, Revista Semana, published a piece explaining the origin of the hashtag.
Así nació el hashtag ‘#MedeHollín‘ –> https://t.co/Fml6WWAXOY (foto vía @JFValenciaF) pic.twitter.com/u47pKp9SFw
— Revista Semana (@RevistaSemana) April 4, 2016
How the hashtag ‘#MedeHollín‘ came to be
However, while some find it all amusing, the city's mayor, Federico Gutiérrez, was quick to issue a call to stop “degrading” Medellín by naming it as such:
Señores @RevistaSemana con todo respeto. Estamos viviendo una emergencia ambiental. Somos #Medellín NO #Medehollín . De esta también salimos
— Federico Gutiérrez (@FicoGutierrez) April 3, 2016
Ladies and Gentlemen @RevistaSemana, with all due respect, we are experiencing an environmental emergency. We are #Medellín NOT #Medehollín. We will get through this too.
Citizen commentary ranges from calls to protect the environment, use of masks to protect yourself and opt for a bicycle, to the publication of up-to-date figures on the situation as its happening.
Those living in Medellín like Juan Herrera thought that the problem is caused by a lack of care for their environment by the residents themselves:
No hacen falta las palabras. #Medehollin lo siento mucho, esta gente no te quiere como tanto dicen. pic.twitter.com/QvUpceFkqG
— Juan Herrera (@herrerajuans) April 1, 2016
No need for words. #Medehollin I'm so sorry, these people don't love you as much as they say.
Meanwhile, Daniel Urrea published a photo on Instagram reluctantly wearing a face mask:
El nuevo juguete. Cero divertido: muy necesario. Indignación. #Medehollín
A photo posted by George Falconer (@danielup_) on
New toy. Not fun: very necessary. Indignation. #Medehollín
Daniel Suárez shared that deaths due to respiratory causes in the city have increased:
En #Medehollin se dispararon las muertes por enfermedades respiratorias, causantes por contamina pic.twitter.com/XzUJn5NW2q
— Daniel Suárez (@Danielsuarezvoz) 14 de abril de 2016
In #Medehollin deaths from respiratory illnesses are going up, caused by pollution.
A Change.org petition is also channeling residents’ responses to the situation. In the petition's explanation, its creator Pablo Montoya unpacked the environmental, economic, governmental and societal reasons which are behind the pollution crisis in Medellín:
Para mí, una de las razones principales de esta crisis, no solo ambiental sino también social, es la gran cantidad de carros y motocicletas que entran a Medellín y sus municipios aledaños.
Cantidad que hace tiempos excedió, y con demasía, las capacidades mismas que tiene nuestro espacio para enfrentarla. Se sabe que el arribo del flujo automotriz se hace sin ningún control, o con controles pírricos en los que están directamente comprometidas la empresa privada y las autoridades estatales. No es necesario describir ahora este contubernio corrupto que solo funciona en aras de enriquecer a algunos.
For me, one of the biggest reasons for this crisis, not only environmental but also social, is the large number of cars and motorbikes which come into Medellín and its neighbouring towns.
It is a number which exceeds, by a long way, our capacity to deal with it. It is known that the flow of traffic happens without any control, or with controls which come at too great a cost in which private businesses and state authorities are directly compromised. This corrupt conspiracy which only serves to make a few people richer goes without saying.
By way of protest, face masks were added to various sculptures:
¡Me encanta esto! La ciudad le pide al Alcalde que tome decisiones reales y valientes. #RespiraVida #Medehollín pic.twitter.com/C7xvmGAvU0
— María (@MarieMontoya) April 8, 2016
I love this! The city is asking the mayor to make real and brave decisions.
Similarly, some buses were stuck with a message: “Please don't make us live in Medehollín”:
#Medehollin se mueve por la ciudad. pic.twitter.com/TmfhR8Cpkk
— Óscar Marín (@oskymarin) 9 de abril de 2016
#Medehollin is moving through the city.
And the group SiCLas are campaigning to promote the use of bicycles:
Saca la bici, no nos obligues a vivir en #Medehollín. Vamos #PedaleandoPorElAire de nuestras ciudades contaminadas pic.twitter.com/4KxCJHgCSy
— Colectivo SiCLas (@SiCLas) 8 de abril de 2016
Get out the bikes, we don't have to live in #Medehollín. Let's go #PedallingThroughTheAir away from our polluted cities.
Finally, the environmental emergency provoked a question: How do we think of current transportation in the city? A response came from the transport secretary by way of a tweet:
“Nuestra prioridad es: 1ero el peatón, después el ciclista, luego el transporte público y por último el vehículo particular” @FicoGutierrez
— Secretaría Movilidad (@sttmed) April 8, 2016
“Our priority is: First the pedestrian, then cyclists, then public transport, and finally private vehicles.” @FicoGutierrez
In the face of high pollution levels on 1 and 2 April, the government has taken measures such as No Car Day, free entry on the city's metro system, and a halt on open-air activities. Although by the time this post was published, the environmental emergency was over, it is certain that the subject will have to be included on the public agenda in a permanent way, as Twitter user Kenny Valenzuela pointed out:
@FicoGutierrez Ojo, seguimos viviendo en #MedeHollin las medidas no pueden ser pasajeras ante una crisis ya situada.https://t.co/2tXbXlIAC4
— Kenny Valenzuela (@kennydelavega) 9 de abril de 2016
@FicoGutierrez Look, We are still living in #MedeHollin measures cannot be temporary for a crisis that is already here.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Russia’s Vilest Website Grows a Heart · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

The RuNet's grinch opts for compassion, for a change. Image: YouTube
One of the vilest, most mean-spirited corners of the Russian Internet—a website whose fans just last week coordinated an online attack to deanonymize women who have appeared in pornography—is now behind one of the sweetest, most compassionate flashmobs in RuNet history.
Earlier today, on April 28, users of the Russian imageboard “Dvach” (2chan) began flocking to YouTube, to shower a single video in “likes” and supportive comments. The video belongs to a disabled woman living in Kazakhstan who identifies herself as Yelena Ovechkina. In late March, she appealed to the World Wide Web with a heartfelt two-minute-long speech, arguing that “invalids are people, too.” Throughout the video, Ovechkina shakes and stammers, smiling and appearing to fight back tears.
A Dvach user drew the community’s attention to the video, claiming to have discovered it randomly. In the month since Ovechkina published her video, he was the only person on YouTube to have watched it. “Anon, I’m sad,” he told his fellow Dvach users, explaining the situation and attaching a screencap showing that the YouTube video had just one view. “Write some kind words to this lady in the comments,” he asked. “For just a sec, let’s be a little nicer. Without the bullshit.”
At the time of this writing, Ovechkina’s video has more than 15,700 views, with thousands more pouring in by the hour. There are now also 3,720 “upvotes” and 612 comments. The “top comments” listed by YouTube are warmhearted messages like “Wishing you all the best! Hi from Irkutsk!” “Good luck to you!” and “You are a beautiful woman!”
Ovechkina says she is from Karaganda, Kazakhstan’s fourth largest city. Her only other YouTube video shows her leaving her home, which is an arduous task that involves transitioning from her wheelchair to crutches, in order to descend the stairs in her apartment building. (There does not appear to be a functioning elevator.) Ovechkina says she loves the Internet, especially because it lets her reach out to fellow disabled people and learn more about their lives. But most of the information available about disabled people is depressing, she complains, and that’s why she decided to record videos about her own life, which she says is a happy one. “I want to show the other side of disabled people’s lives. After all, it’s not all lousy, hard, and sad,” she says, smiling.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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The Fight to Control the Narrative in Burundi’s Crisis · Global Voices
Liam Anderson

President Jacob Zuma visits Burundi, 25 Feb 2016. Photo Credit: GovernmentZA. Flickr, CC licence.
Burundi‘s year-long political crisis, sparked by the president’s controversial third term, has created a “climate of fear, distrust, and lawlessness”, in the words of Human Rights Watch. UN special rapporteur Christof Heyns described the violence moving from “overt” to “covert”, with arrests, disappearances, torture, and assassinations.
In the tense uncertainty, controlling the narrative is central to legitimacy. Government ministers challenge criticisms with counter-claims to discredit human rights investigators and opposition. People with views that differ from the official line are labeled ‘putschist-terrorists’ and protests are framed as ‘insurrection’, while international criticism is rejected as misinformed or imperialistic.
The space for a free, independent press has shrunk considerably. Burundi’s Reporters Without Borders 2016 Press Freedom ranking fell 11 places to 156 out of 180, which Alexandre Niyungeko, Burundian Journalists’ Union’s president, commented was still lenient.
Five radio stations were forcibly closed in May 2015 during a failed coup in May 2015, which tried to take power away from President Pierre Nkurunziza, making access to independent coverage difficult, especially as many Burundians rely on radio. Independent broadcaster Isanganiro and pro-government Rema radio stations were recently permitted to reopen – after months of forced silence – although under a potentially restrictive ‘agreement’. Isanganiro shared this video showing damages to its offices from the attack, allegedly by police, that resulted in its temporary shutter.
The disagreement over Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term last year, which first manifested in protests and citizen campaigns, eventually morphed into clashes and armed rebellions. The government has responded with a heavy hand, pushing dissenters into exile or silence.
Ministers downplay violence and economic problems, saying the country is 99% secure, despite deaths and the ongoing refugee flight, leaving some districts almost empty. Assassinations such as those of Colonel Darius Ikurakure and General Athanase Kararuza and arrests imply military divisions, and some note that politicians have heavy guards assigned to them, despite their claims of security. The International Monetary Fund estimated Burundi’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 7% in 2015, and food prices have multiplied.
Kenyan journalist Victor Ndula satirized this with a cartoon of Nkurunziza in a bath tub full of the country's blood:
NKURUNZIZA l'état c'est moi (“I am the state”)
#Burundi #AU @TheStarKenya pic.twitter.com/sO4iatKNs8
— VICTOR NDULA (@ndula_victor) 25 janvier 2016
The underground journalist collective SOS Médias Burundi summarized the deadly insecurity:
#BurundiCrisis – Bilan du 1er trimestre 2016 (source sécuritaire) #Bujumbura #Burundi pic.twitter.com/qG6CQ5hjzc
— SOS Médias Burundi (@SOSMediasBDI) 14 avril 2016
Tweet: #BurundiCrisis – Assessment of the first quarter 2016 (security source)
Image: 46 deaths including 8 police officers and 2 soldiers; 115 grenades thrown; 112 in Bujumbura; 215 injured; 150 rebels arrested (security source)
Dissenting voices risk violence and many have fled, from ruling party members and military to journalists. Reduced media, insecurity, and increased police control make verifying information difficult, especially outside of the capital of Bujumbura. Crucially, SOS Médias Burundi highlighted the varying death toll figures.
For example, by 1 April, 2016, 381 people had been killed in the crisis, according to the Commission Nationale Indépendante des Droits de l'Homme (the National Independent Human Rights Commission, the state-sanctioned human rights body). But the United Nations says 474, and the Association Burundaise pour la Protection des Droits Humains et des Personnes Détenues (Burundian Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons, a prominent national human rights organization) listed 690. Others warn of much higher numbers.
Despite harassment and shutdowns, though, reporters have presented large amounts of evidence of violence by security agents and the government’s Imbonerakure youth-wing, as well as by rebel and unidentified attackers. Reporters are continually working to uncover facts, and SOS Médias Burundi announced an online form to collect testimonies.
Men presented by police as surrendered rebels have admitted to wide-ranging crimes, from political killings and staging videos for foreign reporters, to murdering Catholic nuns and even burning down a supermarket. These “revelations” have been questioned though. Scrutinizing contradictions and missing evidence, leading independent newspaper Iwacu highlighted suspicions of staged confessions, to conveniently clear security services of various cases while blaming opposition.
Amid calls for inclusive, internationally mediated dialogue, the government held sessions of an internal inter-Burundian dialogue, but with most opposition and many civilians in exile, remaining opposition parties called it a “masquerade”, seeing it as achieving little but echoing official rhetoric.
Human rights organizations and the government have repeatedly come into conflict. Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa of the Association Burundaise pour la Protection des Droits Humains et des Personnes Détenues was even shot in an apparent assassination attempt, though he survived. And Marie-Claudette Kwizera of Burundian human rights organisation Ligue ITEKA disappeared.
Security services are accused of responding to a December rebel attack by arbitrarily attacking ‘rebellious’ neighbourhoods, killing possibly over 100 people. Amnesty International’s report showed satellite images of suspected mass graves, matching eyewitnesses’ accounts. These were denied, and the government subsequently announced it found several mass graves perpetrated by rebels. Iwacu, however, wrote that there were serious weaknesses in the testimony and evidence offered by the government.
A detainee presented by police also accused Human Rights Watch, which has criticized several government official inquiries into extrajudicial killings for omitting security services abuses, and therefore entrenching impunity, of staging rape footage. The organisation denied the allegation, highlighting that they have not even specifically reported on the subject.
Reporting mistakes can definitely occur, such as French TV programme “le Grand Soir 3″ airing of false video footage of violence, which caused significant controversy. This does not by extension invalidate other evidence, though.
Independently reported testimonies implicated Rwanda in training insurgents, which it denies, an interference which could be seriously inflammatory. Government figures used these accusations to blame the crisis more generally on Rwanda, though, trying to rhetorically externalize the crisis’ underlying problems.
On 12 March police presented a detainee as a Rwandan military spy, although his own family told reporter Esdras Ndikumana he was not a soldier. Rwanda's President Kagame was even accused of attempting to “export genocide”, and other statements implicated Rwanda’s government in the 1994 plane crash which killed the Rwandan and Burundian presidents.
Government representatives have also referenced international ‘plots’, implicating actors from the Vatican to European Union. Burundi ambassador to the UN Albert Shingiro rejected the organisation's reports on the crisis as “biased“, which in turn faced some scepticism:
@AShingiro @willynyamitwe @UNHumanRights prove it !!! Your illegal gvt has lost credibility …U will one day face the music too…
— Mycerinos (@mycerinos1) 19 avril 2016
Diplomatic isolation continues with the International Organisation of La Francophonie, which represents the world's French-speaking countries, suspending cooperation, followed by the EU halting aid. International pressure has gone little beyond sanctions, although long-stalled talks are scheduled for 2 May, to be led by Tanzanian ex-President Benjamin Mkapa, and International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced a preliminary examination of the crisis.
Following the African Union delegation in February, two communiques were released, muddling their position. South Africa's President Jacob Zuma’s communique broadly called all ‘important’ actors to dialogue while the AU’s communique more specifically called for dialogue without pre-conditions, and linked international aid to improving security. This confusion allowed ministers to essentially choose their preferred AU statement, and bypass pressure for broad dialogue.
@nyamitwe @jacobzuma how does a declaration from a member of delegation supercedes that of the organ that delegated him?@AU_PSD @DlaminiZuma
— Chris (@christc77) 2 mars 2016
The struggle for narrative is central to the crisis. Government critics are rejected as plotting or linked to insurgency, who become ‘terrorists’; a tag used in many contexts to justify broader clampdowns on political dissent, violent and peaceful.
Similarly, government supporters and security services employees become collectively associated with authorities’ repressive tactics. Louise Riziki, a Yaga blogger, recounted, for example, how a policeman from Musaga, a ‘rebellious’ Bujumburan district, felt trapped between social ostracization and keeping his job to support his family. In this way, political affiliation is reduced to a binary, divisive, dangerous choice.
Security services’ repression and retaliatory rebel attacks point to each other as justification. While the narrative is fought for, though, people continue fearing deadly attacks and a suffocating recession.

author: Liam Anderson


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Cambodia Cancels Screening of Film About Murdered Environmentalist Chut Wutty · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Image from ‘I am Chut Wutty’ Facebook page
The Cambodian government has stopped the public screening of a documentary about the life and struggle of Chut Wutty, an environmentalist who was killed in 2012 while exposing the activities of an illegal logging plantation.
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts said the screening of the film “I am Chut Wutty” does not have a permit from authorities.
The producers of the film made the announcement on Facebook:
Our screening this week at Meta House has been cancelled by order of Mr. Sin Chan Saya, Department of Cinema and Cultural Diffusion –– why is that Mr. Sin Chan Saya? Are you not proud to share this story of Cambodia's forest defenders?
Before his death, Chut Wutty was a leader of a network resisting the deforestation of Prey Lang, an important forest reserve in Cambodia and home of the indigenous group Kuy.
Chut Wutty and other environmentalists have been criticizing the decision of the government to grant numerous land concessions to foreign investors with little regard for the welfare of residents and the state of environment.
Chut Wutty was killed in April 2012 in Koh Kong province by a soldier guarding a logging plantation. A government probe revealed that the shooting was an accident; but human rights groups believe it was intended to silence the protests of farmers and indigenous tribes. Environmental groups, human rights advocates, and the political opposition condemned his death.
In 2014, even United States President Barack Obama recognized the work of various individuals and groups for continuing the struggle of Chut Wutty.
The director of the film believes the decision of the Cambodian government to stop the public screening of the documentary is not merely related to a bureaucratic procedure, but a political act meant to downplay efforts to commemorate the death anniversary of Chut Wutty this week.
A full version of the film, subtitled in Khmer and English, is available on Vimeo to rent or buy. A trailer for the film is below:
Private screenings were also held across the country to discuss the continuing fight of Cambodians against land rights violations.
Chak Sopheap, a human rights activist, linked the ban to the culture of impunity in the country:
Rather than supporting these important investigative initiatives, the government is displaying its intent to silence the calls for justice, instead siding with the perpetrators of these terrible crimes. This ban provides yet another example of Cambodia's pervasive culture of impunity, and the lengths that the government will go to preserve it.
Kalyanee Mam, who also attended a private screening of the film, warned the government that it cannot stop the people from pursuing justice:
Just as no government can ban the right to honor and respect the land, no government can prevent us from gathering and expressing our love for this land through the screening of a film. Chut Wutty lit a candle in our hearts, which will continue to burn as long as we continue to express our love for the land.

author: Mong Palatino


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Fighting Fear and Hopelessness From House Arrest in Macedonia · Global Voices
Goran Rizaov

Borjan Eftimov (on the left) participating in a protest a few days before he was summoned for questioning by police. Afterwards, he was detained and placed under house arrest. Photo used with permission.
Facing street protests with crowds in the thousands, Macedonian officials are intensifying the police response to the so-called “I Protest” movement (#протестирам | #protestoj). Half a dozen prominent demonstrators have already been detained and placed under house arrest on charges of participating in riots.
Among those arrested is a 19-year-old law student named Borjan Eftimov, whom police summoned for questioning in mid-April. After he voluntarily reported to the police station, he was charged with ransacking a presidential public outreach office on April 13 and placed under house arrest for eight days. Eftimov admits to throwing stones at the building's window and removing a chair from inside, but law enforcement officers have refused to let him plead guilty formally.
“In fact, I haven't made an official statement to plead guilty yet, and the prosecutor is avoiding it because, if I confess to the crime, there is no basis for my detention,” Eftimov wrote in a recent Facebook status from his home.
In late April, after Eftimov served eight days under house arrest, prosecutors asked a court to extend his detention for another 30 days. “Their justification was that I would repeat the crime or flee the country,” Eftimov told Global Voices.
The Macedonian regime wants to instill fear in protesters, says 19-year-old law student Borjan Eftimov, encouraging more people to join the demonstrations. Photo used with permission.
“I'm ashamed to be a law student in a country where the students are beaten… and those in power are breaking all the laws but in the same time enormous detention sentences are given for participating in a mob while for the criminals in power there's no sentences, no prosecution nor detention, just blanket pardoning,” Eftimov wrote on Facebook, referring to President Gjorge Ivanov's decision to issue blanket legal protection to more than 50 top politicians. It was this act that triggered the mass protests now sweeping Macedonia.
On April 12, President Gjorge Ivanov announced his decision to extend legal immunity to all politicians and their associates then under investigation from the Special Public Prosecutor's Office for suspected corruption, illegal wiretapping, election fraud, misuse of power, and even the cover-up of murder. Revelations about the alleged crimes came last year in leaked wiretaps released by the leader of Macedonia's political opposition, Zoran Zaev, who accuses former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of ordering police to wiretap the conversations of more than 20,000 citizens.
Many protesters are also infuriated that Macedonia's courts typically refuse their appeals, when charges by the Special Public Prosecutor's Office are involved. Critics say this is a consequence of the judiciary's widespread corruption. Internet users and several websites have worked to spread Eftimov's story, re-sharing it on social media and posting screenshots of his Facebook status.
The Macedonian regime wants to instill fear in protesters, Eftimov believes, and he encourages more people to join the demonstrations. “If you don't want to be the next one to suffer psychological torture and oppression in the regime's labyrinths, go out into the streets with our colleagues and comrades, so together we can be the change we desperately desire,” Eftimov wrote online, before adding, “We will suffer but we will never give up!”

author: Goran Rizaov


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Meet the Anti-Discrimination Non-Profit Behind the Jamaican Version of a ‘Privilege Walk’ · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Young Jamaican girl sporting a Respect Jamaica t-shirt. Photo courtesy Respect Jamaica, used with permission.
You may know that Jamaica boasts the fastest man in the world, has an international reputation for being homophobic and was the first Caribbean nation to decriminalise marijuana for personal use, but if you've never heard about Respect Jamaica, you're missing out on one of the most game-changing movements on the island.
An anti-discrimination initiative that promotes the inclusion of all people regardless of racial identity, religion, class, sexual orientation, age, political affiliation or special needs, Respect Jamaica has attracted the support of several high-profile companies, as well as the government.
In fact, in support of the national development plan, Vision 2030, Respect Jamaica has been calling on citizens to stand in support of the marginalised and vulnerable to bring about genuine nation building. One project that brought to light some of the issues Jamaica is grappling with was the Privilege Walk — Respect Jamaica's version of the fairly common social experiment born out of from Peggy McIntosh’s article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.
Global Voices spoke with Respect Jamaica's activation specialist, Jordanne Edwards, who told us more about the organisation, what it is hoping to accomplish and what the Privilege Walk revealed.
Global Voices (GV): What sort of work does Respect Jamaica do, and why was it necessary to have this type of initiative?
Jordanne Edwards of the NGO Respect Jamaica. Photo courtesy the subject, used with permission.
Jordanne Edwards (JE): We believe that everyone, no matter who they are, is deserving of respect. Our island home, the land we live in, must also be given due consideration. It is what we depend on for our most basic needs — food, water, and shelter. We must, therefore, have respect for the environment, as it is an essential part of our vision for Jamaica.
Our work centres around social media: establishing a digital platform that creates a social movement, channeling the programme’s message, corporate engagement (getting corporate support to build the programmes and influence the message — and practice — of equality, inclusion and youth engagement), and empowering, challenging and mobilising young Jamaicans to become social advocates. This is necessary in changing the course [of] human rights development in Jamaica.
Respect Jamaica volunteers at the Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica 2015 coastal clean up. Photo courtesy Respect Jamaica, used with permission.
GV: The organisation has been vocal on everything from domestic and sexual violence to the rights of the LGBT and differently abled communities. What is your ultimate goal?
JE: Yes, we focus on a number of human rights issues. Our ultimate goal is to foster a culture of equality and social inclusion in Jamaica.
GV: How difficult are some of these issues to talk about — especially within the social, cultural, religious and political context of Caribbean societies?
JE: As with any programmes tackling behavioural change, it can be challenging to have open, authentic and healthy discussions around social issues, particularly those that have been considered taboo. Our culture is critically informed by religious beliefs (particularly those relating to Christianity), and general socialisation from family, media and peers. Our beliefs and experiences are, understandably, very personal to us. It is what helps to build our identity, so you will find that people become defensive when confronted with issues that challenge their perceptions. For example, sexual orientation, race and class, gender roles and identity and political affiliation can be difficult conversations to have. Talking about gender-based violence (GBV) can be hard — approximately one in three women have been abused in Jamaica — and so sometimes, when we are having conversations about GBV, we have to recognise the sensitivity behind it.
Some of Respect Jamaica's youth ambassadors. Photo courtesy Respect Jamaica, used with permission.
GV: What does a respectful Jamaica look like and how far away is it from the current reality?
JE: A respectful Jamaica looks harmonious, productive and vibrant. It’s from the little things like having basic manners — saying ‘good morning’, acknowledging someone else’s presence — to the bigger things like having better infrastructure in place for people with special needs to have equal access to goods and services, to serious measures being taken to address climate change. Official research has not been done to conclude how far [away] we are from reaching our vision 2030 goals, but I can see us achieving many milestones: [there has been] a jump in the literacy rates to over 85% percent, we had our first gay pride event last year, companies are becoming green, the previous government had started planning for a Human Rights Institute of Jamaica and organisations tackling issues relating to discrimination and equality are becoming more vocal and effective. Jamaicans are more informed about their rights and so we can observe a progressive shift in the way people respond to human rights discourse.
International speaker, Jehmu Greene, talks about the power of youth voices in social change at the National Youth Forum in November 2015. Photo courtesy Respect Jamaica, used with permission.
GV: Can you share some of your successes thus far?
JE: Just recently, we reached 60,000 followers on our Facebook page. That to me, indicates how open Jamaicans are becoming about participating in conversations that [deal with] diversity and inclusion. Our youth ambassadors have also achieved many milestones. Last November, they planned and executed a national forum with over 250 youth, representing every region across the island. The aim of the forum was to empower young Jamaicans to become advocates within their communities. We had breakout sessions with young people having very active dialogue about issues relating to the stigma and discrimination that they face and challenging each other to formulate solutions. Everyone — including our ambassadors — left feeling so empowered, that I think having these events is an effective way show young people that their voice and work matters and can challenge the status quo.
GV: The Privilege Walk video, which was recorded by Jamaican filmmaker Allison Harrison, was a really daring initiative. Tell us about that.
JE: I knew about it [the Privilege Walk] during my undergraduate studies in social work, then a colleague sent us a BuzzFeed video that explained the concept of privilege through doing the exercise. We were so inspired by it, we knew we had to do something similar. We were very curious to see how it would play out in a Jamaican context and so we tailored the instructions to our local realities. The purpose of the Privilege Walk activity is to learn to recognise how power and privilege can affect our lives even when we are not aware it is happening. The purpose is not to blame anyone for having more power or privilege or for receiving more help in achieving goals, but to have an opportunity to identify both obstacles and benefits experienced in our life. This is essential to developing the compassion we need to create a more equal society. People are often oblivious to the experiences and struggles of others; they are not aware of what discrimination feels like, so they assume other people manoeuvre life the way they do. Knowing how your identity influences your social status is so important in helping you to advocate for yourself, and also being an ally for other marginalised groups, because we can use the power that comes along with our privilege to influence change. We live better together when we understand each other's experiences and we are able to collectively challenge the system that structurally disadvantages other people.
GV: Many regional territories grapple with these insidious and often accepted forms of privilege and prejudice. Can you describe the most common forms Jamaica faces?
JE: I would say […] privilege versus oppression and prejudice versus inclusiveness can be found within the lines of race and class relations in Jamaica — the uptown versus downtown culture and the systemic barriers poor people face in gaining equal access to facilities and opportunities. It is a class struggle, but with our growing focus on education and equality, these issues are being addressed which is the most important thing.
The 2014 Peace For Champs march in downtown Kingston. Photo courtesy Respect Jamaica, used with permission.
GV: Is the Privilege Walk part of a wider awareness campaign, and do you plan to roll out the concept in other countries?
JE: Interesting question. We certainly want our work to inform the discourse of best practices used to address human rights — so yes, we would like to see this exercise, along with other projects we have done, to be adapted in other programmes of a similar nature in countries across the world. We had an organisation from Central America contact us to provide information on how they could adapt this exercise for an event they were hosting on gender equality. So I think we are gradually building a regional and global network. It is a lot of responsibility and work, but we aim to build a more strategic approach to building a wider campaign.
GV: What has the reaction to the video been like?
JE: It has been fantastic! We have been getting emails asking us to advise on how to conduct a Privilege Walk exercise. It really has resonated. Most people who have watched the video find themselves in a critical process of self-reflection, unmapping the ways in which they are privileged and oppressed. This process is an inception of becoming more socially conscious in a way that helps us to navigate how we respond to social justice.
Jamaican filmmaker Allison Harrison. Photo courtesy the filmmaker, used with permission.
GV: Why did you want to work on the project and what was your filmmaking approach? What did you learn?
Allison Harrison (AH): I became a filmmaker because I believe in the power of storytelling. My company actively seeks out projects that tackle social problems, improve people’s lives, their communities, and the environment. When Respect Jamaica contacted me about conducting a social experiment that explored privilege in Jamaica, I knew it would stir up some conversations about how we, as a people, view and relate to each other. Twelve Jamaicans from 12 different backgrounds placed in one room is bound to be interesting and I knew this was an opportunity for me to be a part of something bigger.
Going into the project, we wanted a documentary style of shooting, real life reportage. Not intrusive at all. It was important to not only capture the participants’ responses on camera but [also] what happened off camera, when they had to confront some of the more sensitive questions or realise how much further ahead or behind they were to each other as the exercise progressed. The size of the room was important as well. The space we used was big enough to allow free movement, but participants had to stay close enough to each other which in and of itself exposes vulnerabilities and encourages the sharing of personal space.
It was a tremendous experience. One key takeaway for me was that showing respect doesn't always mean how I interact with others, but also how I view and express myself through my work and in any given circumstance. The exercise definitely opened up discussions among the participants as well as crew members on the importance of celebrating similarities and differences in equal measure.
Jamaican filmmaker Allison Harrison, at work on Respect Jamaica's Privilege Walk video. Photo courtesy the filmmaker, used with permission.
GV: Respect Jamaica seems to use new/social media very well! How has it helped and do you think it can be better harnessed by other NGOs and lobby groups?
JE: Social media is one of the major components of Respect Jamaica. It has created a virtual safe space for people to learn, speak about and understand concepts relation to human rights. I think it has also been very useful in building a sense of community where people are interested in hearing more about real stories of everyday people and their experiences. It is a space to engage people (especially youth) who otherwise would not be able to participate in our initiatives. We have been building relationships with other NGOs in Jamaica and have online partnerships in which we share content and participate in things like Twitter chats. Building digital networks with organisations in your field helps to build a collective, cohesive message. For example, the hashtag #KickOutGBV that we used on social media for our discussions around gender-based violence was originally used by @WeChange and @UWIMUN, which have been two of our strongest supporters.
GV: What are the benefits of respect? How does that one virtue have the potential to change Caribbean societies?
JE: Respect informs how we relate to each other. When we truly respect ourselves, we are able to respect both people who we agree and disagree with. It’s a basic understanding that despite who you are, we all deserve the same access and equal opportunities.
GV: In the end, do you think we are all more alike than we are different?
JE: Yes. Humans want the same things from life. We may chose different paths, but we have similar goals. We have this common will to do something greater than ourselves. Whether it’s being a parent, a leader of a top company, a giving friend or neighbour, we want to be part of something that makes us feel validated. I think that is the core of who we are and once we recognise it, we find that it can be a beautiful experience to know people who are not exactly like you. At the Privilege Walk, everyone was theoretically different: different life experiences, body image, skills and talents, yet everyone got along so well. They were open to learning more about each other’s lives and the most powerful thing was seeing them laugh! There you had a room filled with completely different people, but everyone was laughing at the same joke. They found it — that common space of humanity, at the core of who we are, where everyone is welcomed and everyone just gets it.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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South Africa Bans Several Sports Bodies From Hosting Global Events Over Lack of Diversity · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bryan Habana is one of the few non-white South Africans to play for the South Africa national rugby union team. The team was a symbol of racial segregation during apartheid era. Creative Commons image by Wikipedia user Sahmejil.
South Africa’s minister of sport and recreation has banned several sports bodies from bidding on and hosting international events because of their failure to reach their transformation target, which ensures racial diversity on teams.
Fikile Mbalula made the announcement after receiving the results of transformation in sport report for 2014/2015. He said he will review the decision, which targets Athletics South Africa (ASA), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Netball South Africa (NSA) and South African Rugby (Saru), based on the results of the 2016/2017 Transformation Barometer.
In its third year, the report is released every year to sporting bodies and to the public by the Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport.
Under apartheid, the South African system of white minority rule, participation in sports was based on segregation. Mixed sport was not permitted and participation in international competitions was limited only to white South Africans. This led to a international sports boycott of South Africa until the end of apartheid in 1994.
Sports transformation targets for South African sports bodies are meant to correct the injustices in sports caused by apartheid.
The last national census in the country in 2011 shows that black South Africans stood at 79.2%, white at 8.9%, colored (a term for South Africans of mixed ethnic origin) at 8.9%, and Indian or other Asian at 2.5%. The transformation target of national teams in South Africa is 60% black African, Indian and Coloured.
Afriforum, a civil rights organisation which usually defends the rights of Afrikaners, plans to file a complaint with international sports bodies saying that such bodies expressly forbid any form of political interference in sport. Afrikaners are the descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa who dominated South Africa's politics before the end of apartheid in 1994.
The decision by Minister Mbalula has received mixed reactions on Twitter.
Matiba Sibanyoni and Loyiso Sidimba supported the decision:
I'm 100% behind Fikile Mbalula on penalizing Cricket and Rugby in SA!!! It’s been over 20yrs n still not enough black people in these teams!
— Matiba Sibanyoni (@matibax) April 26, 2016
Mbalula's decision is probably two decades late. The ANC has incentivised the exclusion of black people in SA.
— Ndiyangqukuza (@LoyisoSidimba) April 26, 2016
ANC refers to the African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela which has ruled since the end of apartheid.
Sure Kamhunga asked those who are opposing the ban:
So people wanted Fikile Mbalula to pat sports federations on the back and say yes guys you doing well…
— Sure Kamhunga (@SureKamhunga) April 26, 2016
Criticising the ban, Noxolo wrote:
@Unathi_Kwaza @MYANC so what transformation is Mbalula talking about if leaners in townships are not involved in extra mural activities?
— Noxolo (@noxyraa) April 26, 2016
The term township in South Africa usually means underdeveloped urban living areas predominantly occupied by non-white South Africans.
John Thorpe simply asked:
What's the difference between #Apartheid and #Transformation? Don't ask @MbalulaFikile Fikile Mbalula – he can't tell you.
— Mr. John Thorpe (@JohnThorpe999) April 26, 2016
Adrian said winning in sports in more important than color:
@MbalulaFikile #Mbalula All we want is a winning nation irrespective of colour, less talk more assistance from your department!
— Adrian (@GUNNERS28) April 26, 2016
The government needs to take responsibility for the lack of diversity, Kalubi argued:
Government trying to shift blame again. There's no rugby or cricket in township schools,yet #Mbalula expects #transformation
— Kalubi (@KalubiTapalo) April 26, 2016
LesetjaMO asked the minister:
Ok. Mbalula can cry loudest about transformation but if his Govt refuses to build sport facilities in villages, how will we transform sport?
— LesetjaMO (@MoLesetja) April 26, 2016
By not hosting global sporting event, David Küsel thought there will be negative impact on the economy:
The ban on hosting global sporting events is another nail in the coffin for economic development and job creation. Thanks @MYANC & #Mbalula
— David Küsel (@david_kusel) April 26, 2016
Some South Africans wondered why Bafana Bafana, South Africa's national soccer team, which is predominantly black, has not been transformed.
Can we also transform Bafana Bafana… but that ain't my business though *sips Irish coffee* #Transformation #Mbalula
— Lethabo Sekele (@LethaboSekele) April 26, 2016
Shimmy called for fairness in transformation:
But @BafanaBafana only has one white player dean furman is this transformation one sided ? We need white players in football also.My mbalula
— shimmy (@shimmy_fbi) April 26, 2016
However, others pointed out that Bafana Bafana reflects South Africa racial composition. Max Africa said one white soccer player is more than enough:
White people make up 8.9% of SA's population. 1 white player in #Bafana is 9.1% of team, which is more than enough #Transformation #Mbalula
— MaxAfrica (@MaxAfrika) April 26, 2016
A national team should reflect a nation's demographics. So this noise about Bafana is misguided #Transformation #Mbalula
— MaxAfrica (@MaxAfrika) April 26, 2016

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Sudan Is a Dangerous Place to Work as a Journalist · Global Voices
Ayo Awokoya

A South Sudanese journalist gathering news through the door at the State House during the swearing in of First Vice President Riek Machar on April 26, 2015. Only a few journalists were allowed to enter the hall. Photo released under Creative Commons by the United Nations Advance Mission in the Sudan (UNAMIS).
With recent allegations of arbitrary arrests and increasing reports of the suppression of media, the South Sudanese government faces new challenges to their political authority and legitimacy.
South Sudan has become one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. Seven journalists were killed in 2015 alone and five newspapers have been forced to close over the last 12 months. In August 2015, three media outlets were shut down in three days.
The government’s relationship with the local media has further deteriorated after it was reported in March 2016 that journalist Joseph Afandy was abducted, tortured, burned and left for dead. Just prior to his abduction, Afandy had been detained for two months without charge by the authorities for criticising the ruling party.
In the latest World Press Freedom Index, South Sudan dropped 15 places and is now ranked 140 out of 180, compared its ranking of 125 in 2015. The steady decline in the respect for media freedom in the country is disturbing, and the situation has worsened as a result of the civil war.
That conflict, which has devastated the world's youngest nation,began on 15 December 2013, when President Salva Kiir fired Riek Machar — who was then his deputy and had served as the country's first vice-president since its independence in 2011 — accusing him of planning a coup. After fleeing the capital Juba in 2013, Machar returned this month and was sworn in as Kiir's first vice-president in what some hoped was a sign of reconciliation.
International rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have condemned the wave of violence leveled against journalists, requesting an end to the crackdown on media and demanding the release of individuals detained without just cause.
During a recent human rights workshop, one local journalist, Alfred Taban, blamed the Sudan People's Liberation Army for failing to protect the rights of its citizens to exercise their freedom of speech and expression.
The dire situation has evoked a wave of concern over South Sudan’s future and whether the government will be held accountable:
South Sudan: 7 journalists killed in 2015. No killers brought to justice. No explanation from government: Taban Juba Monitor #JournoSafe
— Maria Ronderos (@mtronderos) February 5, 2016
In response to an article on the suppression of media, one reader commented on the President Kiir’s belligerent rhetoric to journalists who publish negative reports:
A President threatened to kill journalists ?
A President threatened to kill his own citizens ?
A President threatened to kill ?
This guy should be locked up forever.
Another reader lamented about the increasing suppression of free speech within the country:
Sad days we live in that people cannot voice their opinion, write and share facts about what is truly happening around the world. Who will step up to hold this President accountable for these atrocities? Really, he is the President, so does that mean he can do whatever he wishes?
President Kiir has previously threatened reporters on writing negative articles against South Sudan, with the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Michael Makuei, reportedly intimidating media outlets for criticising the creation of 28 regional states over the previous 10.
Journalist Peter Julius Moi was killed days after President Kiir said that journalists who reported against the country would be targeted.
Though government representatives have defended the way the government deals with private media, many South Sudanese see the restrictions on local media as means to consolidate power. There is a cry for greater transparency in the way in which South Sudan is represented, positive or not:
The crackdown of media houses in south sudan is another radical move taken by government in south sudan and it a act of violation of rights.
— Col.majok mabior (@majokmabior2) August 5, 2015
This comes at a time when the warring factions have agreed to form a government of national unity, which South Sudanese and the international community hopewill bring an end to violence. If the control over media continues to tighten, the peace South Sudan hopes to establish may be short-lived.

author: Ayo Awokoya


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Tackling Child Marriage in India, One Wedding Tent at a Time · Global Voices
Rezwan

Is this child marriage? Image from Flickr by Naga Rick (2009) CC BY-NC-ND
Tent vendors in the western Indian state of Rajasthan are taking a stand against child marriage. More than 47,000 of them have declared that they will not supply tents for ceremonies where children figure as the bride or groom and will ask for birth certificates to ensure ages. If they find out that a child marriage is taking place, they say they will inform local police.
As in other parts of the world, child marriage is a grave problem in India. The Child Marriage Act of 2006 bans the practice, fixing the legal age of marriage to 18 for girls and 21 for boys. Despite this, India ranks 13 in the Child Marriage Hot Spots report by the International Centre For Research On Women. The 2011 census revealed that nearly 17 million Indian children between the ages of 10 and 19 — representing 6% of that age group — are married.
The government is taking many steps to curb child marriage, including announcing incentives to delay marriages. However, in villages with poor economic conditions, girls are often married off before the legal age because it means one less mouth to feed in the family. Secret footage recently released of a five-year-old girl crying as she's forced to wed an 11-year-old boy in a mass ceremony in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, has caused massive outrage on social media.
Online, people applauded the tent vendors’ announcement and spoke out against child marriage. Kiran Agarwal commented on Facebook that the community must work together to condemn this ancient practice:
How can we call ourselves progressive where such evil custom of society thrives. We all shall be vigilante in our respective localities so that our local authorities can take necessary steps to curb it.
And Mimu Chakraborty wrote:
India will call developed country on that day when they will think about child education not about her marriage after birth of a girl child

author: Rezwan