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Chiloé Fishermen to the World: ‘Communities Must Unite!’ · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

Community protest in Chiloé. Photograph by Victor Bahamonde. Used with permission.
The maritime phenomenon known as “red tide,” the excessive accumulation of algae which causes elevated concentrations of toxins, has been affecting fishing on the southern Chilean island of Chiloé for months. Fisherman from the area have been protesting since May 3, 2016, because they feel that the government isn't doing enough to alleviate the economic loss created by this environmental disaster and want to find definitive solutions.
To understand better the conflict and the possible solutions envisaged, Global Voices interviewed Víctor Bahamonde (V.B.), a professor of history and a member of the Pensar Chiloé (Thinking Chiloé) organization. GV also interviewed Richar Ojeda (R.O.), the leader of the Sindicato de Recolectores de Orilla, Mar de Todos, Marichiweu (a Mapuche word which means “ten times victorious”) (Shore Harvesters, Ocean for Everyone, Marichiweu Union) of Ancud.
This interview was conducted in part by Patricio Cabello (P.C.), a professor of journalism at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.
Patricio Cabello (PC): We are receiving information about what is happening in Chiloé through different news sources, but we would like to hear how both of you would summarize the situation from your point of view.
RO: Desde que se inició todo esto, desde indicaron zona de catástrofe hasta hoy, hemos sentido que el gobierno no se ha manifestado correctamente con nosotros. Nos ha bypasseado muchas veces. No se ha sentado con una propuesta clara tampoco. Hoy día el tema de los bonos fueron ya depositados personas que no necesariamente estaban dentro del rango más vulnerable de la pesca artesanal. Entonces, creo que el gobierno aquí no ha dado la talla. No nos ha tomado en cuenta a muchos sindicatos. Eso más o menos.
Y respecto al movimiento, bueno, nosotros seguimos movilizados, dando una respuesta al gobierno y nos mantendremos así hasta que ellos nos presenten una propuesta clara y nos beneficien ojala a todos.
Richar Ojeda (RO): Since the beginning of all of this, since the area was recognized as a catastrophe zone, until today, we've felt that the government has not behaved properly with us. They have bypassed us many times. They have not come up with a clear proposal either. Now, the financial aid that was promised was deposited into accounts of people who aren't necessarily among the most vulnerable in the traditional fishing community. So, I think the government hasn't been able to measure up. They haven't taken into consideration a lot of the unions. This is more or less the situation.
And in relation to the movement in general, we are still mobilized, we are still responding to the government and we will stay this way until they give us a clear proposal which will, hopefully, benefit all of us.
Víctor Bahamonde (VB): La gente considera que hay un conflicto mucho mayor que específicamente la marea roja y que tiene que ver con la contaminación, y por sobre todo con la industria salmonera que ha estado por 40 años en este lugar y que hoy día ha cambiado las lógicas culturales y económicas, además de generarnos un conflicto ambiental que ya es insostenible.
Víctor Bahamonde (VB): People think that there is a greater conflict than just specifically the red tide and it has to do with contamination. But above all, the salmon industry which has been here for 40 years, has changed the current cultural and economic logic, and also has generated an environmental conflict that is now unsustainable.
PC: How are you organized? Is there an assembly of unions? Who is articulating the protests? Who is joining in?
VB: Hoy día tenemos muchos tipos de organización. Tenemos, por ejemplo, las asambleas de barricada que son los espacios donde la gente, la comunidad en general y los pescadores estaban sosteniendo las tomas en diferentes comunas; se hicieron espacios o instancias de diálogo o participación, como las mesas de trabajo provinciales y locales, donde la gente también está haciendo otro tipo de propuestas por sobre el bono.
VB: Nowadays we have a lot of different organizations. For instance, we have the assembly of barricades which are places where people, the general community, and the fisherman, were maintaining the protests in different municipalities; there are dialogue spaces or participation forums, similar to the provincial and local roundtables, where people are also making different proposals besides the financial aid.
Protests in Ancud. Photo by Victor Bahamonde. Used with permission.
PC: We've been told that some of the protests are ‘costumbrists’ (local artistic representations). It is interesting to me that they are protesting this way; it seems more like a party than a conflict. Are these same types of protests happening in Ancud?
RO: La comunidad se ha manifestado en masa en apoyo a nosotros, los pescadores. La forma de manifestarse de la gente ha sido muy positiva porque ellos quieren levantar el ánimo de la gente que está bastante decaído, que está en los puestos de barricada, que tienen que amanecerse, que no ha comido. Estamos muy agradecidos también y contentos de que se hagan partícipes de algo que es vital como es el tema de la contaminación.
RO: The community has come out “en masse” to support us fisherman. The way that the people have been protesting has been really positive because they want to boost morale of everyone, which is pretty down, [the morale] of who those who are at the barricades, who have to stay up all night, and who haven't eaten. We are really grateful and happy, as well, that they are participating in something as vital as the issue of contamination.
VB: Si bien se hacen marchas, no son las que comúnmente estamos acostumbrados a participar. En general lidera la marcha un grupo folklórico. Y también han participado diferentes actores de la comunidad, incluyendo los niños. Ayer hubo una marcha que convocó la barra del equipo de básquetbol de acá, llegaron con la indumentaria que llevan al gimnasio. Se han hecho show artísticos abajo donde están las barricadas. Hoy día caminas por las calles de Ancud y la comunidad, los comercios incluso, tienen banderas negras. Se han hecho misas también en las barricadas. Incluso, los comités de capilla, gente ligada a la iglesia, también están organizando los cortes de ruta. En otras ciudades hemos visto que se han instalado juegos para niños en la mitad de la calle para que jueguen. Entonces, si bien pareciera que la barricada es un método violento porque lo que estamos haciendo es cortar el paso a la gente, pero sobre todo a los camioneros que transportan salmones o temas productivos dentro Chiloé y en la Décima región, la gente está participando de manera pacífica.
La comunidad es la que está dando diferentes luces de cómo podría modificarse, podría ampliarse y entrar a participar del conflicto que también es una de las cosas yo creo que se han visto en la última semana. Si bien se reconoce que el actor principal acá es el pescador artesanal, sus organizaciones y sus negociadores, también la gente ha puesto temas sobre la mesa que tienen que ver con derechos que se han visto afectados: el tema de la salud, de la educación, de la conectividad interior, de los caminos rurales. Son cosas que hoy día la gente también está poniendo sobre la mesa y que quizás no se resuelvan ahora, pero la gente está movilizada. Es como un sentir que ha existido en Chiloé desde hace muchos años. La gente está sacando toda la rabia que tiene acumulada en esta movilización.
VB: Even though they are protesting, these aren't the typical protests that we are used to. In general, a folkloric group leads the march. And many different members of the community have joined in, including children. Yesterday, there was a march brought together by the fans of our local basketball team. They came with the same clothes that they wear to the basketball courts. People have put on shows down by the barricades. Nowadays you can walk through the streets of Ancud and the communities—even the businesses, have black flags. They have performed masses at the barricades, as well. Even chapel committees, people connected to the church, are organizing the roadblocks. In other cities we have seen playgrounds put up for children to play in the street. So even though barricades seem like a violent method—because we are stopping people from circulating on the roads, especially truck drivers that are transporting salmon and other products inside Chiloé and the Los Lagos region—people are participating in a peaceful way.
The community is shedding a different light on how it can transform, expand, and participate in the conflict, which is also one of the things that I think can be seen this past week. Even though it's known that the key player here is the small-scale traditional fisherman, their organizations, and their negotiators, the community has also put ideas on the table about the rights that they have seen affected: the issue of health, education, transportation connection to the interior, and rural roads. These issues perhaps won't be resolved now, but people are mobilized. It's a feeling that has existed in Chiloé for many years. People are taking out their built up anger in this mobilization.
Temporary library installed in Ancud. Photo by Victor Bahamonde. Used with permission.
PC: How has the relationship with government representatives been? Is there some kind of organization? Some contact? Are you working with them, or not?
VB: Al principio la gente, las mesas de trabajo que se hicieron contemplaban también la participación de las municipalidades. Los diputados en general se han mantenido a la distancia, hasta cuando ya el conflicto estalla y hay que buscar más soluciones a corto plazo para que se destrabe, digamos, la negociación. Algunos actores como diputados, senadores yo no he visto por lo menos, algunos concejales, algunos cores (consejeros regionales), se han hecho partícipes de este conflicto pero dejando que los pescadores tomen el liderazgo. Algunos pescadores si han sido más cercanos a que puedan participar de manera más directa, pero yo creo que la gran mayoría de la ciudadanía y de los pescadores, han cortado ese tipo de relaciones porque en el fondo también estamos en un año electoral y sabemos que cada cual está por intereses particulares. Y además, que yo creo que en general la gente considera que las autoridades que tenemos hoy día también son responsables de lo que está pasando, porque ellos fueron los que de alguna manera abrieron las puertas a los salmoneros, y a que este tipo de situaciones no fueran controladas en su momento, lo que hace que tengamos una crisis que no tiene vuelta atrás. Si no se toman medidas hoy que sean estructurales va a ser muy difícil poder mantener la misma relación económica que se tenía con el mar a lo que conocíamos hasta hoy.
VB: In the beginning, the people considered including the municipalities in the working roundtables they made. In general, congressmen kept their distance until the dispute blew up and short-term solutions had to be found to, let's say, unlock the negotiations. Some players like congressmen (I haven't seen any senators myself), some councilmen, and some regional advisers have become involved in this conflict but have allowed the fisherman to take leadership. Some fishermen are eager to have a closer relationship with them and allowing more direct participation but, I think the majority of the residents and the fisherman have cut off these types of relationships because we are in an election year and we know that everyone is there for political interests. Also, I think that generally people believe the authorities we have today are also responsible for what is happening because, to a certain extent, they were the ones who opened the door to the salmon industry, and these situations weren't controlled at the time, which has put us in a crisis with no return in sight. If they don't take structural measures today, it will be very difficult to maintain the same economic relationship with the ocean that we have had up until now.
Global Voices (GV): In relation to structural measures and taking into account the fact that the salmon industry has been in the area for decades, what long-term solution or measure from the government are you hoping to achieve to not only solve the problem today but to avoid the same situation in the future?
RO: Nosotros aquí con todas las cosas que hemos logrado investigar y todo lo que sabemos, consideramos que a estas alturas del partido ya es irreparable el daño que han causado las salmoneras. Entonces, pensando en eso, nosotros creemos que la única solución que queda aquí es que se vayan. Es que se erradique por completo el tema de las salmoneras porque todo el mundo conoce la contaminación que han hecho, por lo tanto, creo que cumplieron su ciclo. Ya de aquí para adelante seguirían contaminando todavía mucho más aún las aguas que por ahí quedan “limpias”.
RO: With all of the research that we have done here and all of the things we know, at this stage in the game we think the damage caused by the salmon industry is irreparable. So with this in mind, we believe that the only solution we have left is for them to leave. We should completely eradicate the salmon industry because everybody knows about the contamination it has caused and as a result, I think it has outlived their use. It will continue contaminating the water that is still “clean”.
VB: Yo creo que en general, lo que se espera un poco del Estado es que pueda generar políticas de largo plazo en este rubro. Entendiendo que el mar ya no va a ser lo mismo que antes, hay que hacer una reconversión económica completa de la región. Pero de eso no solamente tiene responsabilidad el Estado, tienen que participar directamente de la decisión las comunidades de Chiloé, o las comunidades de la Décima región.
El Estado decidió unilateralmente que las aguas de Chiloé y los fiordos del sur eran aptos para la salmonicultura y ofrecieron este lugar para que llegaran los salmoneros hace 40 años, y evidentemente se equivocaron. Entonces, yo creo que hoy día no podemos estar esperando que aquellos que decidieron que la salmonicultura esté en este lugar, que aquellos que generaron las condiciones más óptimas para que los salmoneros se siguieran quedando, por ejemplo con subsidios y concesiones acuícolas con capacidad de hipoteca, vuelvan a reconvertir esta región económicamente hacia un área que nosotros consideremos que es sustentable, o que puedan considerar por lo menos la opinión de las comunidades que viven este lugar.
Ya hay varios pescadores y organizaciones sindicales de pescadores están pensando que harán de aquí en adelante. No solamente tendremos que ver lo que está ofreciendo el Estado y las inversiones que se podrían dar en distintas áreas. Porque también sabemos que culturalmente no podemos pasar de ser pescadores artesanales a comerciantes o telefonistas de un call center, como se trató de hacer en la reconversión de Lota, cuando se cerró la mina del carbón. Yo creo que aquí hay que tomar políticas mucho más serias, aprender de las experiencias de reconversión que han existido y operar con la mejor de las voluntades en torno a que aquí no solamente estamos esperando a que el gobierno nos proponga, si no que la gente también tiene que tomar decisiones, y la gente tiene que tener posturas claras para ver hacia dónde va la región.
VB: In general, I think what is expected of the state is that they generate long-term policies in this industry. Taking into account that the ocean is not going to be the same as it was before, we have to do a complete economic restructuring in the region. This is not only the responsibility of the state; the Chiloé and Los Lagos communities have to participate directly in the decisions.
The state unilaterally decided that the Chiloé's waters and the southern fjords were suitable for salmon farming and invited the salmon industry here forty years ago, and they obviously made a mistake. So nowadays, I don't think we can expect the people who allowed the salmon farms to come here, the people who created the optimal conditions for the salmon industry to stay, such as subsidies and aquaculture concessions with mortgage rights, to be the same people who restructure the economy in the region towards an industry that we think is sustainable, or at least consider the opinion of the communities that live here.
There are already a number of fisherman and union organizations for fisherman that are thinking about what to do in the future. We don't only have to see what is being offered by the state and the investment that they can make in different areas. Because we also know that, culturally speaking, we can't just move from being fisherman to salesmen or call center operators like they tried to do after closing the coal mines in Lota. I think that serious policies need to be made which learn from previous restructuring experiences and work with the best intentions, keeping in mind that we are not just going to wait for the government to propose ideas, but the people also have to make decisions with clear ideas about the direction that the region needs to go.
“I'm from Ancud and now I can't eat luche (type of seaweed).”  Photo by Victor Bahamonde. Used with permission.
GV: A lot has been said about the lack of traditional media coverage about this dispute, how has citizen media (social media, alternative newspapers, community radio) helped or hurt your cause? How can they be used to help your cause in the long-term?
VB: Lo que nosotros podemos evidenciar es que son los medios ciudadanos, los medios comunitarios o los medios alternativos los que han dado una cobertura mucho más certera del conflicto. Yo creo que los medios masivos como la televisión, o algunos medios de radio que tienen cobertura nacional, lo que han hecho hasta ahora es construir noticias en donde no las hay. Cuando ellos se encuentran con un conflicto que ha sido bien manejado por la comunidad, donde no hay enfrentamiento con carabineros, donde no hay lo que normalmente se espera de un conflicto de esta envergadura, empiezan a crear noticias y a especular con la información.
Porque también sabemos que en los medios de comunicación no se ha hablado nada de la salmonicultura. Que en el fondo cuándo aparecen este tipo de situaciones, lo que hacen los medios de comunicación masiva es proteger al sector industrial al cual afecta, entonces son los medios ciudadanos, los medios comunitarios son los que han dado la información o al menos ampliado la discusión. Y aunque todavía no tenemos certezas desde el punto de vista científico, si sabemos cuál es la sensación de la población en general, y de más o menos que opina la gente de las responsabilidades que aquí existen. Por ejemplo, nadie ha dicho a los medios masivos que aquí la responsabilidad del vertimiento de los salmones es de Sernapesca pero también de la Armada. Son ellos los que autorizaron que los salmoneros contaminaran. Y no es solamente hablo de la coyuntura de la salmonicultura en torno al vertimiento de salmones, si no son 40 años de contaminación estructural ya que cambiaron el ecosistema completo de la zona de Chiloé. Entonces eso no se está informando en los medios de comunicación masiva, si se está informando en los medios de comunicación alternativos. Son los medios ciudadanos los que generalmente están preguntando dónde está la fuente, hacia dónde va el conflicto, qué es lo que más o menos se analiza, lo que se entiende, cuáles son las salidas posibles
A nosotros en específico nos han entrevistado más de los medios vinculados a las comunidades, de los medios alternativos que los medios masivos, porque los medios masivos se quedan con dos o tres dirigentes que son afines a lo que ellos quieren mostrar en la televisión o en la radio.
VB: What we can see is that citizen media, community media, and alternative media have provided more accurate coverage of the dispute. I think that traditional media, like television or some radio channels with national coverage, have created news stories where there were none. When they come face to face with a dispute that has been well managed by the community, without police confrontations or any of the other things you might expect from a dispute of this magnitude, they begin to create news stories and speculate about the facts.
We know that the traditional media has not talked about the salmon industry at all. We know that when these situations happen, big media outlets protect the industrial sector affected; and so citizen and community media are the ones that share the facts or at least expand the discussion. And although we don't have proof from a scientific standpoint, we know the opinion of the public in general, and more or less what the people think about the responsibilities that exist here. For example, nobody told the big media outlets that the people responsible for the salmon dumping are Sernapesca (a government entity) and also the Navy. They are the ones who allow the salmon industry to contaminate. I'm not only talking about the situation surrounding salmon dumping on salmon farms, but also the 40 years of structural contamination that has completely changed the ecosystem in the Chiloé area. This is not being reported in big media outlets but it is being reported in alternative news outlets. Generally, citizen media asks where is the source, where is the dispute heading, what is being analyzed, what is being understood, and what are the possible outcomes.
We've been interviewed more by media outlets with ties to the community, by alternative media than big outlets, because the latter stay with the two or three leaders which are aligned with the kind of information that they want to show on the television or the radio.
“If there isn't justice for the people, there won't be peace for the government.” Photo by Victora Bahamonde. Used with permission.
GV: This interview will be translated into different languages because our organization has the opportunity to break language barriers to tell stories. What message do you want to send to the international community?
VB: Hoy día, la comunidad internacional, aquellas personas que se interesan en este tipo de conflictos porque aparecen en medios de comunicación, no tiene que solamente solidarizar intentando resolver algunas cosas en apoyo a las comunidades que se están movilizando. Yo creo que si bien la solidaridad y empatía con el conflicto es importante, uno de los llamados que hemos estado haciendo es a la organización. Si en el fondo esto está ocurriendo porque la misma comunidad se ha desorganizado, el tejido industrial se ha descompuesto. Por lo tanto, hoy día en los proyectos industriales, en el capitalismo en general, se logran posicionar este tipo de actividades económicas y ambientales porque la gente se desorganizó en cierto momento.
Entonces yo creo que para resolver este conflicto, que además tiene que ver con el cambio climático que tenemos en todo el planeta, son las mismas comunidades que vivimos y nos asustamos con estos conflictos, las que tenemos que solucionarlos proponiendo alternativas a este modelo. No podemos esperar que el cambio se dé en una reunión de la ONU o en un acuerdo internacional entre países. Si bien ese puede ser un camino, quienes ejecutan las políticas de verdad en los territorios son las comunidades organizadas. Por lo tanto, la gente debe tomar conciencia para que quizá esto no pase desapercibido. Que también las personas que están en otros territorios, en otros países, en otras latitudes puedan tomar experiencia de lo que ha ocurrido acá para que no vuelva a pasar en sus lugares. Estamos a tiempo de poder hacerlo, pero si no estamos organizados, vamos a seguir esperando desde los mismos que han afectado los territorios socialmente y ambientalmente que se nos entregue una propuesta que sabemos de antemano que siempre va a ser insatisfactoria.
VB: Nowadays, the international community, or those people who are interested in these types of disputes because they appear in news outlets, don't only have to show solidarity and try to resolve some situations in support of the communities that are mobilizing. I think that even though solidarity and empathy with an issue is important, one of the calls to action that we have been trying to make is to organize. See, this is all happening because the very same community became disorganized and the industrial fabric has come undone. Thus, industrial projects, and in capitalism in general, are able to position these types of economic and environmental activities because the people stopped organizing.
I think that in order to resolve this conflict, which is also related to climate change all over the planet, the very communities that live with and are scared by these conflicts are the ones who need to propose alternative solutions to the existing model. We can't wait for a change to happen in a meeting at the United Nations or with an international agreement between countries. Although this can be one pathway, the people who are really carrying out the policies in each region are the organized communities. Therefore, people should become more aware so that this doesn't go by unnoticed. People in other areas, in other countries, in other latitudes can learn from our experience and not allow this to happen in their communities. We still have time to make this happen, but if we aren't organized we are going to keep waiting for those who affected the environment and social fabric of our territories, to hand us proposals that are never going to be good enough.
On May 19, after this interview was published in Spanish, the fishermen of Chiloé reached an agreement with the government after almost three weeks of protests.
Barricade in Chiloé. Photo by Victor Bahamonde. Used with permission.

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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Ghanaian Minister Vows Not to Ban Whatsapp, Skype and Viber Calls · Global Voices
Kofi Yeboah

An MTN vehicle in Kampala, Uganda. Photo by futureatlas. (CC Generic 2.0)
Increased use of Whatsapp, Skype, Viber and other mobile apps for calls in Ghana is decreasing the revenues made by telecommunication companies. There have been many calls to by telecommunications companies in Ghana asking the National Communications Authority to restrict subscribers from using the Internet for calls.
One such call recently went viral. In an article published by CitiFM Online, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Ebenezer Twum Asante said:
In as much as Sim Boxing is illegal and we must all fight very hard to stop it, there is a much bigger issue with over the top calls generated through the internet media. So when you make a whatsapp call you are making the call through the internet and bypassing the traditional channel. If you compare that one to Sim Boxing, my position is OTT [over-the-top content] is more expensive. I think we must apply the same level of seriousness to OTT calls since it has a bigger revenue threats”.
The term “OTT” (Over-The-Top) describes Internet-based (typically third-party) applications that allow mobile phone users to communicate using messaging, voice and/or video over Internet protocol technology, rather than the more traditional methods of call and text over telephone networks. Skype, WhatsApp and Viber are among just a few examples of technologies that ride “on top” of a user's data plan, meaning that they typically cost less than (they're often free) similar services provided by a telecom operator.
Asante's statement stirred up a lot of discomfort among mobile phone and social media users in Ghana. Maximus Ametorgoh, a digital marketing lead and Managing Director for Pop Out, wondered how such a regulation would be implemented:
I don't understand this call for regulation of selected OTTs because they affect cellular calls… Government is expected to monitor the activities of these OTTs? How? What should the regulation entail?
Theo Acheampong, an economist, pointed out on his Facebook page that telecommunication companies needs to prepare to meet the disruptive technologies that are going to be developed to challenge the traditional way of making calls:
Our telcos are beginning to sound like sore losers. Why must Over-The-Top (OTT) calls made through social media networks such as WhatsApp be redirected through the traditional channels just for revenue making purposes? Isn't the cost of providing the service covered by the internet bundles consumers buy to access these apps and programmes; therefore, why must they pay an extra dime? Methinks the telcos need to smell the coffee because the traditional ‘voice game’ is over, and with it, the monopoly profits they used to make. It's all about data! Welcome to the world of disruptive technologies! The consumer is KING…
As a result of the social media uproar, Asante spoke to the media to clarify what he meant by regulating OTT calls. He said:
We have never mentioned anywhere that OTT should be banned. We do not stand for that, we are rather interested in all the things we need to do to expand internet usage including the medium of OTT.  The only thing that we raised was around regulation. Regulation should not be equated to a ban. With regulation, all that we are saying is that, just as a company like MTN is regulated by the NCA, so should we also have all the OTTs; the major ones also regulated so that whatever you do on that platform it will be within the laws of Ghana.
In response to this call, the Minister for Communications, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, who spoke at the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day in Accra assured Ghanaians that, the government is not considering any ban on internet calls. He stated that:
The other focus of today’s discussions is on OTT Services, of which there was a lot of media discussion last week. The reality of today’s telecommunication Industry is that consumers are in control. Consumers love innovation, flexibility, efficiency, comfort, and more often than not, low-cost alternatives and will always seek them out to enhance their livelihoods.
Our mandate should be to seek a balanced approach such that all stakeholders in this industry have their needs fulfilled. It is also imperative for us to learn from other countries and understand why they have or have not encouraged this trend of affairs.
But in all this, I wish to state emphatically that Government is not and has not in any way considered a ban on OTT services. We believe that as an emerging trend, the regulator, together with operators and consumers should find a middle ground which befits our peculiar situation.
To this end we wish to reiterate that we recognise the media as development partners and as such, we need your support in communicating accurate and verified messages to the public.
In a tweet posted by Joy FM, one of Ghana's most popular radio stations, indicated that:
The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications is backing calls for regulating internet call apps like WhatsApp. #JoySMS
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) May 18, 2016
Nene Odonkor (@nenedonkor) responded to the tweet saying:
We have short-sighted people in Ghana. We are already paying for the Internet to make those calls. Greed will cripple us. @Joy997FM #joysms
— Nene Odonkor (@neneodonkor) May 18, 2016
Maxwell Atiah (@maxwell_atiah) pointed out the reason why there should not be a ban on the internet calls:
@Citi973 @benkoku they couldn't even ban the use of these social media, we pay with our own money data is costly thou #CitiCBS
— atiah Maxwell (@maxwell_atiah) May 18, 2016
Many social media users are urging the telecommunication companies to develop innovative ideas and provide quality Internet services to boost their revenue instead of asking government to restrict Internet calls.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Kofi Yeboah


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Global Voices Interviews Activists From ‘Defense of Democracy’ Committee Who Say Poland Is in Peril · Global Voices
Kasia Odrozek

One of the biggest KOD's anti-government demonstrations took place on May 7, 2016, in Warsaw. Photo used with permission.
Jarek Marciniak divides Polish people in three categories: those who have no idea how a democratic state works (80 percent), those who have a general but unspecific idea (15 percent), and those who are experts (5 percent). He is a board member and one of the founders of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD), a civic movement initiated in opposition to the actions of Poland's current conservative government led by the Law and Justice party (PIS).
KOD accuses the government of destroying the country's democratic foundations. Marciniak wants the organisation to play a major role in creating a civil society and enabling Polish citizens to make their own conscious political decisions.
But not everybody sees KOD in this role. The controversial politics of the current government have caused a deep divide in the society, and KOD has come to symbolize this polarisation, with its activists both loved and hated by the public. For many Poles, KOD activists are the country's true defenders, and they're often compared to the historical KOR movement (the Workers’ Defense Committee active during Communist times). For other Poles, however, KOD is made up of “traitors” bent on damaging the country's image beyond its borders.
On the one hand, KOD organises massive demonstrations (between 45,000 and 240,000 people attended the last one, depending on who you ask), and the group counts many prominent names among its patrons and supporters. On the other hand, KOD has been accused over-representing wealthy, middle-class Poles afraid of losing their privileges.
Global Voices’ Kasia Odrozek recently met up with three KOD activists in Berlin, who are currently completing a European Tour, to discuss their motivations, plans, and supporters. In addition to speaking to Jarek Marciniak, Odrozek also sat down with Artur Sierawski, the leader of KOD Youth, and Aleksandra Śniegocka-Goździk, who heads KOD's women's group and international media.
Kasia Odrozek (KO): You call yourself the Committee for the Defense of Democracy. Why does Polish democracy need defenders these days?
Zaczęło się od tego, że w listopadzie staliśmy się świadkami dwóch bardzo niepokojących wydarzeń. Pierwszym z nich to było ułaskawienie człowieka, który był oskarżony o nadużycia władzy, kiedy pełnił funkcję szefa Centralnego Biura Antykorupcyjnego. Okazało się, że pan prezydent postanowił go ułaskawić, by następnego dnia mógł objąć urząd ministerialny. To już trochę wzburzyło nas wszystkich i wywołało dość szeroką dyskusję, że jest to działanie bardzo mocno na granicy prawa (wyrok był w tym momencie jeszcze nieprawomocny – przyp.red.). Za chwilę okazało się, że prezydent nie chce przyjąć ślubowania od 3 legalnie wybranych sędziów. Wiec mówimy o naruszeniu pewnych podstawowych zasad systemu demokratycznego. Politycy muszą prowadzić politykę w ramach prawa, które obowiązuje. Kiedy to odwrócimy, to konsekwencje mogą być opłakane.
Jarek Marciniak (JM): It all started in November when two very unsettling things happened: the president pardoned a man accused of abusing his powers while he was the Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, so he could be appointed a minister. This action was in a legal grey zone [the sentence wasn't legally binding yet]. This was already disturbing and started a public debate. Not long after this, the president refused to swear in three judges of the Constitutional Tribunal. So we're talking about an infringement on some basic rules of Poland's democratic system. The politicians have to shape their politics within the current rule of law. If we reverse it, the consequences would be deplorable.
KO: When you say “us”, who do you mean? Who are the people of KOD?
KOD to jest dosyć duża grupa ludzi, która wyznaje podobne wartości. Dla których demokracja, rządy prawa, równość, wolność to są idee, którymi chcą się posiłkować w swoim życiu. Do tego mamy europejskie wartości, które też są nam bliskie. Ten katalog tutaj możnaby rozwijać i podawać go w poszczególnych przykładach i mówić, dlaczego to jest istotne. Ale wszyscy widzimy, jak dobrze rozwija się Polska od momentu przystąpienia do Unii Europejskiej, jak dużą wartością jest Unia Europejska, bo mamy prawie 80 lat bez wojny w Europie i możemy skupić się na rozwoju, na współpracy z innymi. Mamy parę dobrych rzeczy, jak na przykład strefa Schengen, możemy jeździć, pracować gdzie chcemy, możemy studiować gdzie chcemy.
JM: KOD is a pretty big group of people who cherish similar values: democracy, the rule of law, equality, and freedom. European values are also close to our hearts. I could expand this list and give you many examples showing why this is important, but everybody can see how well Poland has developed since joining the European Union. We've had almost 80 years without a war and we can concentrate on development and cooperation with others. And we have a couple of great things, like the Schengen Area, which allows us to go and work or study wherever we want [within the Schengen Area].
Artur, Aleksandra and Jarek: Polish democracy activists on a European Tour. Image used with permission.
KO: Tell me more about the people who support KOD.
Zaczęło się od pierwszego weekendu, to było tak że w czwartek, to był chyba 19 listopad, Mateusz założył grupę, ja założyłem fanpage i ludzie zaczęli przychodzić spontanicznie, sami z siebie. Po weekendzie okazało się, że na fanpage'u jest 8.000 osób a na grupie prawie 30.000 osób. W tej chwili mamy 220.000 na fanpage’u, to ci którzy śledzą co robimy, użytkowników facebook'a, z drugiej strony mamy 60.000 osób które bierze udział w dyskusjach na grupie. Okazuje się, że jak zaczęliśmy organizować protest, przyszło 1.000 na samym początku, przy pierwszym proteście, a potem było gdzieś tam 50, 80, 100.000 w lutym i teraz mamy 240.000 w maju. Coś, czego nie sposób spotkać gdzie indziej. To są ludzie przeróżni: to są i tacy, którzy prowadzą fajny biznes, i ci którzy są lekarzami, prawnikami ale również tacy, którzy pracują w markecie, jeżdżą jako dostawca ciężarówką. Przekrój jest naprawdę szeroki. W większej części są to osoby, które pamiętają lata 80te i które pamiętają walkę o nasz wolność, ale nie brakuje też młodych osób.
JM: It all started on a weekend, I think it was Thursday, November 19, when Mateusz [Kijowski, the leader of KOD] created a group on Facebook and I started a fanpage. People started to join spontaneously. After the weekend, it turned out that we had 8,000 fans on the fanpage and almost 30,000 in the group. Right now we have 220,000 on the fanpage—people who follow what we do—and on the other hand we have 60,000 people who take part in discussions inside the Facebook group. It turned out that, when we started to organise a protest, 1,000 people came, and then there was 50,000, 80,000, and even 100,000 in February and then we had 240,000 in May. It's something you can't find anywhere else. These are all sorts of people: ones that have a successful business, and doctors and lawyers, but it's also the people who work in a supermarket or drive a truck for a living. The variety is really great. Mostly these are people who remember the 1980s and the fight for our freedom. But we also attract young people.
KO: What about your education mission?
To jest priorytetowa sprawa dla KODu: edukacja, i to nie tylko młodych ludzi o tym, czym jest istota demokracji. I stworzenie, próba kreacji społeczeństwa obywatelskiego.
Artur Sierawski (AS): This is one of the highest priorities for KOD: education about the essence of democracy, and not only for young people. We are attempting to create a civil society.
KO: What exactly will you do (or what are you already doing) to approach the pretty big group of people whose opinion about the current government differs so radically from yours?
JM: Ja mogę podać przykład z tej kampanii z życia wzięty: kiedy zbieraliśmy podpisy pod naszą inicjatywą ustawodawczą dotyczącą Trybunału Konstytucyjnego wielokrotnie spotykaliśmy ludzi o drastycznie odmiennych przekonaniach. I zauważyłem, że w momencie w którym zaczyna się z nimi prowadzić rzeczową rozmowę, na poziomie argumentów, po pierwsze oni przestają o nas mysleć jak o jakichś zdrajcach, którzy są oderwani od koryta, którzy pragną czegoś złego dla Polski, bo widzą, że jesteśmy ludźmi których celem jest funkcjonujące państwo i silna Polska. Silna Polska, która jest częścią Europy. I Europa, która jest też silna dzięki temu, że Polska tam jest. W tym momencie, w którym zaczynamy rozmowę, to są rzeczy, co do których mamy odmienne opinie, ale oni widzą, że wielokrotnie powtarzali przekaz, który usłyszeli w swoich mediach.
JM: I have a very recent example. While collecting signatures under our legislative initiative regarding the Constitutional Tribunal many times we met people with drastically different opinions. I noticed that once we start a genuine conversation, using arguments, these people stop seeing us as traitors who want something bad for Poland. They see that we want a strong Poland—a strong Poland that's part of Europe. And a strong Europe, also! Because Poland is part of it! Of course we have different opinions about many things, but they start to realise that often they were just repeating what the media tells them.
KO: For example?
W Polsce panuje takie mylne przekonanie, że większość może wszystko. Jak zaczynam dyskusję z paroma osobami, to oni potwierdzają ”większość może wszystko”, “czyli obecna sytuacja ci się podoba?” “tak, podoba mi się”, “czyli mamy ultrakatolicki czy ultraprawicowy rząd i on wprowadza pewnego typu zakazy i jest super”, “tak, bo większość ma rację”. Mówię “OK, to teraz wyobraź sobie, że za 4 lata zmienia się sytuacja, przychodzi do władzy ultralewacki rząd i mówi, że można mieć przy odpowiednich dochodach tylko jedno dziecko, a jeśli chcesz więcej, musisz dokonać aborcji, aborcji możesz dokonywać na życzenie do 5 miesiąca, małżeństwa między osobami homoseksualnymi można zawierać w kościele i kościół musi to respektować. Pytam: Czy to jest OK? A on mówi, że nie. No to pytam, a czym to się różni? Demokracja liberalna polega na tym, że większość rządzi, ale dba o mniejszość. Są pewne prawa, zasady, które są niezmienne. I nieważne kto będzie przy władzy, muszą być zachowane.
JM: In Poland, we still have this mistaken belief that the majority is allowed to do anything it wants. When I start to discuss that with people, many confirm it. I ask them, “So you like the current situation?” and they say, “Yes”. “We have an ultra-Catholic, ultra-right-wing government and it is introducing certain types of bans and that is okay”. “Yes, because the majority is right”. I say, “All right, then imagine now that in four years the situation changes and an ultra-left government gains power. They say that with a certain income you are allowed to have only one child, you can get abortion up to fifth month, marriage between same sex couples can be performed in churches, and the church needs to respect that. Is that okay for you?” I hear, “No”. So what's the difference? Liberal democracy is about the majority ruling but taking care of the minorities, too. There are certain laws—rules that are immutable. And no matter who is in power they should be preserved.
KO: But not everybody is ready to talk.
To jest problem, o którym wielokrotnie juz mówiliśmy. Od momentu kiedy zaczęliśmy żyć w świecie facebook'a, twitter'a, personalizowanych stron w Internecie, zaczęliśmy się otaczać ludźmi, którzy mają podobne poglądy. I tu trzeba znaleźć ten wspólny grunt, gdzie ludzie żyjący w takich bańkach zaczną ze sobą w końcu rozmawiać. Może właśnie takie kluby demokracji, widziałem coś podobnego we Włoszech, gdzie ludzie mogą się spotkać i mogą się na przykład nauczyć jak lepić pierogi, a przy tym rozmawiają.
JM: This is a problem we have talked about many times. From the moment we started to live in the world of Facebook, Twitter, and personalised websites, we started to be surrounded by people who share opinions very similar to our own. We need to find a common ground where people who live in separate bubbles start to talk to each other. Maybe creating democratic clubs could be a solution. I've seen something similar in Italy, where different people can meet, cook together, and talk about different topics. We have to bring the society together to function in one place, regardless of our different political sympathies.
KO: And you think somebody would come to such a club, for example a government supporter?
Być może tego nie trzeba robić pod logiem KODu, być może niech to się nazywa klub demokracji w centrum miasta, który ma uczyć demokracji.
JM: Maybe it doesn't have to be done with a KOD logo. This might be a democratic club in the town center educating people about democracy.
KO: The images of several thousand people marching in defence of democracy are very inspiring, but even after the biggest demonstration the question remains: what do they bring in terms of actual politics? Support for PIS has declined only minimally since the election.
Ludzie, którzy zagłosowali na PIS liczą na dobrą zmianę. Na to, że będzie im się żyło lepiej, że wszystko będzie funkcjonowało lepiej. Oni nie rozumieją, a dalej mówimy tu o tych 80% ludzi, którzy nie rozumieją jak działa państwo, oni nie rozumieją dlaczego z Trybunałem Konstytucyjnym coś się wydarzyło. W ich życiu, w ich ekonomii nie zaszła żadna zmiana, co więcej dostali 500 zł na dziecko. Wiec jest spełnienie obietnicy wyborczej. Mają lepiej w życiu? No część z nich ma lepiej w życiu. Nie wszyscy rozumieją, jak to funkcjonuje, nie wszyscy widzą, jakie są konsekwencje tego, że to 500 zł zostało przyznane. Za to widzą ten pozytyw i chcą utrzymania tego poziomu w sondażach. Tutaj trzeba zwrócić uwagę na to, w jaki sposób są wykonywane te sondaże. Rozmawiałem z jednym z profesorów, który się tym zajmuje. Pierwsze pytanie jest takie: czy weźmiesz udział w następnych wyborach? Jeśli odpowiedź brzmi nie, to nie odpowiadasz na kolejne pytania. Wiec mozna powiedzieć, że pasywna część społeczeństwa nie jest uwzględniana.
JM: People who voted for PIS hope for the “good change” [the election slogan for PIS]. They hope for a better life—that everything will work better. They don't understand, and I mean the 80 percent who don't understand how a democratic state works, why something relevant happened with the Constitutional Tribunal. Nothing really changed in their lives, and they even received 500 zl for a child. So the campaign promise was fulfilled. Do they have a better life? Yes, some of them do. Not everybody understands the budgetary consequences of the fact that they received the 500 zl. But they see the positive changes in their lives and they continue to support PIS in the polls. You also have to consider how the surveys are conducted. I talked to a professor who is an expert in this area. The first question is: will you take part in the election? If the answer is no, you are not answering the next one. So one can say that the opinion of the passive part of the society is not considered in the results of these polls.
KO: And you assume they wouldn't be supporting the governing party?
Istnieją badania, które mówią, że to się niby rozkłada podobnie. Ale widać po marszach, ze coraz więcej osób się angażuje. Wydaje mi się, że z czasem kiedy bedą pojawiać się nowe sondaże, to po pierwsze efekt tego 500 zł zniknie, bo jak ludzie coś dostają to się do tego przyzwyczajają, po drugie my to odczujemy w swojej gospodarce czy nam się to podoba czy nie. Nie można pompować wydatków w nieskończoność, no chyba że zaczniemy dodrukowywać pieniądze.
JM: There is some research saying that supposedly it would lead to a similar result. But even from the number of people taking part in the demonstrations you can see that more people [are willing to] get involved. I think that with time the poll results will change. First of all, the effect of the 500 zl will disappear because people lose their excitement about such gifts and, second, we will feel it in our economy, whether we like it or not. You can't raise the expenses infinitely unless you start printing money.
KO: So do you think that PIS will destroy themselves? How do you define success and does the way there involve becoming a political party?
Nie chcemy być partią polityczną, nie zamierzamy, chcemy dalej pozostać ruchem obywatelskim. Dlatego cieszymy się takim poparciem społeczeństwa, bo ludzie nam zaufali, zaufali obywatelom, którzy są zaniepokojeni o swój kraj. Jeżeli nagle stalibyśmy się partią polityczną, to jestem pewien, ze stracilibyśmy dużą część poparcia.
AS: We don't want to be a political party. We want to remain a civic movement. People trusted us as citizens worried about our country, that's why we received so much support. If we were to become a party, I'm sure we would lose lots of support.
KO: But maybe you would have a more measurable influence on what's going on in politics?
Ale my mamy wymierny wpływ! Jeśli chodzi o kilka ustaw, czy projektów ustaw, chociażby likwidację gimnazjów czy ustawę antyaborcyjną. Rząd zacząl się raczkiem wycofywać, jak zobaczył że społecześstwo twardą ręką powiedziało: nie.
Aleksandra Śniegocka-Goździk (ASG): But we do have measurable influence! Regarding just a couple of legislative projects, consider the elimination of gimnazjum [junior high-school] or the law aimed at sharpening the anti-abortion law. The government started to withdraw their plans once society clearly said: no.
JM: Naszym celem jest zwiększenie liczby wyborców, niech w przyszłych wyborach pójdzie do wyborów choćby 65 albo 70%. Nigdy nie chcemy stać się partią polityczną, ale zdajemy sobie sprawę z tego, ze bez działania z politykami na pewnym gruncie nie da się tego zrobić, dlatego stworzyliśmy niedawno koalicję, która nazywa się “Wolność, Równość, Demokracja”, do której przystąpiły partie. My jesteśmy płaszczyzną porozumienia. Doszliśmy do wniosku, ze są cztery wartości, co do których możemy się zgodzić wszyscy i wszędzie, są to: Trybunał, konstytucja, wartości unijne, mowa nienawiści, której się sprzeciwiamy.
JM: Our goal is to increase the number of voters to let's say 65 percent or 70 percent in the next election. We don't want to become a political party, but we do realise that without cooperation with politicians in some dimension, we will not be able to [increase voter turnout]. This is why in the last days we created a coalition named “Freedom, Equality, Democracy,” and several parties have joined. We are the platform for seeking a broad consensus. We came to the conclusion that there are four values that we all can agree on: the Constitutional Tribunal, the Constitution, the European Union's values, and the rejection of hate speech.
KO: When will you be able to say that KOD has fulfilled its mission and you can “go home now”?
Ja na początku myślałem, że taki moment będzie, że obronimy Trybunał i będziemy mogli pójść do domu i zająć się tym co chcemy. Ale wydarzenia tych ostatnich miesięcy dowodzą tego, że w Polsce jest potrzeba zbudowania społeczeństwa obywatelskiego i to jest na pewno rola dla KODu, który będzie to społeczeństwo budował przez długie lata i potem monitorował, czy to wszystko jest przestrzegane i funkcjonuje w należytej formie.
JM: I first thought that this would happen after we defended the Constitutional Court. But the developments in recent months proved that Poland needs to create a strong civic society and this is our role. We will build this society for many years to come and then we need to make sure that everything is working the way it should.
I patrzył na ręce każdej władzy, nawet jeśli ta władza się zmieni.
AS: And keep an eye on any authorities, no matter who this might be in the future.

author: Kasia Odrozek


text:
GV Face: Is That El Chapo on Your T-Shirt? The Glamorization of Violence in Latin America · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

T-shirts, songs, fame, and even a Rolling Stones interview. Who wins and who loses in the glamorization of violence?
In places where opportunities are rare and discrimination and poverty is rampant, images where violence is normalized, and even glamorized, can become powerful.
In this episode of GV Face, we explore the issues that play out when images of cartel criminals like El Chapo Guzman are reappropriated and glamorized in pop culture and entertainment. We speak to Elizabeth Rivera and Laura Vidal, our Latin America editors and Robert Valencia, a long-time GV contributor.
We present and discuss some of the ways this fascination has translated into new ways of telling stories, and even aesthetic experiences that cross borders. Both Hollywood and Latin American TV stations have taken the narco-phenomenon to the small screen and spread the images that have rapidly become stereotypical.
As a result, some views coming from the US to Latin America have shown surprise at old realities that have been part of the Latin American region for years. This has brought the expansion of new incomplete images, and the absence of the real victims of the so called “war on drugs”, the everyday citizens.
Feature image: Chapo graffiti uploaded on March 27, 2016 to Flickr by Julia d** P** K****. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


text:
In Japan, the Panama Papers Are Met With a Collective Shrug · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

On May 8, 2016 the ICIJ published the names of at least 250 entities and individuals listed in the Panama Papers. Image from Panama Papers website.
When the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the names of about 240,000 entities and their shareholders on May 9 as part of the leaked documents known as the Panama Papers, there were about 230-240 Japanese names on the list and 20 companies.
The Japanese citizens who appear in the leaks include the owner of the UCC beverage company, the family that founded SECOM, Japan's oldest private security company, and Mikitani Hiroshi, CEO and co-founder of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten.
However, there has been comparatively little significant media coverage and analysis so far in Japan about the Panama Papers or why prominent people, some reportedly connected to the government, may be sending assets to tax havens overseas. Neither does the government itself seem interested in digging into the leaks. This, despite rising income disparity in Japan and increasing rates of poverty,
A different money-driven scandal has overshadowed the Panama Papers news in recent days — allegations that the Japanese Olympic Committee may have paid bribes in order to get enough votes to host the 2020 games in Tokyo. Advertising giant Dentsu has been linked to the alleged payments.
Before the Olympic bribe story came to lead the headlines, tabloids such as Shuukan Gendai and Nikkan Gendai were the most critical of Japan's media in their treatment of the Panama Papers release, generally treating people named in the documents as “ultra rich celebrities dodging taxes.”
The tweet below shows weekly tabloid Shukan Gendai's table of contents for its May 21, 2016 issue (published on May 9); the Panama Papers dominates the spread:
週刊現代 5／21号 広告
海外に資産を移して逃税 セコム創業者、UCC代表のほかにもまだまだいたスクープ「パナマ文書」ついに大公開！
これが税金を払わない「日本人大金持ち」リストだ pic.twitter.com/lJ8EyWI1DR
— 即原発廃止トンちゃん (@hiyohiyo145) May 9, 2016
Translation of both tweet and Shukan Gendai's front page: BIG SCOOP: HERE'S THAT LIST OF TAX-EVADING SUPER-RICH! Panama Papers list finally revealed! SECOM founder, UCC director and others move assets overseas to avoid taxes.
Daily tabloid Nikkan Gendai emphasized the affluence of those named in the Panama Papers. It posted to Twitter a list of organizations and individuals named in the release side by side with a photo of Rakuten CEO Mikitani Hiroshi:
“パナマ文書”完全公開 実名さらされた創業者たちの言い分 https://t.co/tkiznrf7z0 #日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL　三木谷　孫　などの金持ちは　国民から利益を吸い上げそれを脱税する方法を選んでいた　楽天などつかうなアマゾンのほうが早くて明瞭
— pacem (@pacemken) May 11, 2016
Nikkan Gendai tweet: Hear what CEOs and company founders exposed by the Panama Papers have to say: https://t.co/tkiznrf7z0 #NikkanGendai Digital
@pacemken's tweet: While rich elites such as Mikitani Hiroshi suck up profits from Japanese citizens, they are also choosing ways to avoid paying taxes.  Don't use Rakuten, use Amazon instead.
Among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Japan has a relatively high incidence of income inequality (although there is some debate whether or not inequality is rising or falling).
Despite this fact, examining whether or not Japan's richest citizens are paying their fair share is generally not part of the national conversation at the moment.
Sankei Shimbun, one of Japan's leading national dailies, emphasized in a tweet the relatively low number of Japanese names included so far among those exposed worldwide in the Panama Papers:
【パナマ文書の衝撃】中国関与突出２・８万件　「租税回避ネットワーク」浮き彫りhttps://t.co/WVkvUn3xgu pic.twitter.com/vH4BRmI0N1
— 産経ニュース (@Sankei_news) May 11, 2016
Graph title: Addresses of individuals, entities listed in Panama Papers (by country)
Countries in graph, from left to right: China, Hong Kong, USA, Singapore, Russia, UK, Switzerland, Japan
Graph source: ICIJ
Tweet: 28,000 Chinese names exposed in Panama Papers. “Network of tax havens” brought into sharp detail.
In the days following the May 9 revelations of Japanese names included in the Panama Papers, a common complaint in the media has been that there seems to be very little official interest in investigating whether or not the “ultra rich” in Japan are avoiding taxes.
For example, Nikkan Gendai published:
このままでは世界から笑われる【安倍官邸も国税庁もヤル気ゼロ】パナマ文書徹底調査　「問題あったら対応する」　こんな政府に怒りもせず黙っていたら、損をして、笑いものになるのは日本国民だ（日刊ゲンダイ） pic.twitter.com/NJTvIVbWVi
— KK (@Trapelus) May 11, 2016
Right-side headline in image: The Abe government and the tax office appear to have zero interest [in investigating tax evasion].
Top headline in image: If this keeps up, Japan will be the laughing-stock of the world.
Subheading in image: Investigating Panama Papers could be delicate.
@Trapelus's tweet: We'll be the laughing stock of the world: “The Abe government and the tax office appear to have zero interest [in investigating tax evasion]. Investigating Panama Papers could be delicate.” If the government doesn't get mad and stays quiet, it's the Japanese people who will have the last laugh.
According to Nikkan Gendai in a story published on May 11, this reluctance may be in part due the fact that some names on the list are connected to the government. The tabloid notes that the sister-in-law of Kato Katsunobu, a junior member of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's cabinet, is the director of a Japanese company named in the Panama Papers.
In the same news story, Nikkan Gendai quotes Takatori Shuichi, the parliamentary vice-minister of health, labour and welfare, as stating:
「報道で名前があっただけ。現時点では特別の調査は考えていない」
Some names have simply been reported by the media. At this time we're not thinking of conducting any special investigation at this time.
Sankei News suggested that tax avoidance is “old news.” A feature article published on May 16 read:
【パナマ文書の衝撃】「タックスヘイブンはもう古い」と金融のプロはせせら笑った　租税回避とマネーロンダリングの主流はいま… – 産経ニュース https://t.co/4ZtdYfDdwJ @Sankei_newsさんから
— ゆかたん/岡田有花 (@yukatan) May 16, 2016
Tweet, quoting Sankei article: Impact of Panama Papers: “Tax evasion is already old news,” scoffs finance pro. [There are countless methods of] laundering money and evading taxes.
Sankei article synopsis: “Tax evasion is old news.” When Iceland's prime minister was forced to resign, the true extent of tax havens [around the globe] was uncovered. While repercussions from the Panama Papers continue to reverberate around the globe, one finance expert says “it's nothing new at all.”
There are some who think Japan could be doing more to deal with the problem of tax havens and tax evasion. The Sankei article concludes with a cautionary note by someone else active in Japan's finance industry:
ただ、タックスヘイブン対策だけでは不十分と指摘する声もある。外資系証券会社元幹部は「日本は金融のセンターでなくなって久しい。租税回避どころか資本逃避が進んでいることの対策を考えるべきだ」と話している
There are those who say Japan is not doing enough in its efforts to tackle tax avoidance. The former chief of an international investment firm says, “Japan has long since ceased to be an international finance center (which attracts Japanese capital). I really think Japan should be investigating all the ways in which capital is being moved offshore from Japan.”

author: Nevin Thompson


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‘Soldiers’ Mothers’ Launch Mobile App to Protect Draftees’ Rights in Russia · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Russian army draftees. Courtesy image from mil.ru.
Human rights activists have launched a new mobile app for Russian draftees that provides useful information about the most pressing issues of the military draft, and allows them to defend their rights independently.
Draftee Online was launched by Soldiers’ Mothers of Saint Petersburg, a non-profit founded by the mothers of young men drafted into the Russian army to counter abuse and rights violations that draftees habitually face in the military.
The app allows any draftee, including those who intend to do army service and those who are filing for an exemption, to have quick access to legal advice and examples of the most common violations of draftee rights. In case of a violation, users can find templates of the necessary declarations and complaints and contact information for relevant supervisory bodies, as well as the number for a human rights hotline. Draftees can also use the app to get in touch with the organization's own lawyers through a special contact form.
An important feature of the Draftee Online app is the “emergency button”—a special feature that allows a user to inconspicuously send an urgent text message to their family in the event they are illegally detained and forcefully drafted into the army.
The app is currently available for Android devices on Google Play.
The Soldiers’ Mothers of Saint Petersburg was founded in 1991 to raise awareness of rights violations in the army and provide legal assistance to Russian draftees and their families. In August 2014, the NGO was labeled a “foreign agent” under a 2012 law that requires Russian non-profits to accept the label if they receive funding from abroad and engage in obliquely defined political activity. The NGO claimed it had stopped receiving foreign grant money months before the label was applied. In October 2015, Russia's Justice Ministry removed Soldiers’ Mothers of Saint Petersburg from the “foreign agents” list.

author: Tanya Lokot


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The Arkana Alliance: An Organization that Builds Bridges with the Shipibo Communities of Ucayali in Peru · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Photo of the work being done with the kids at the intercultural elementary school of the Shipibo urban community in Bena Jema (in central Peru) to paint a mural showing the four worlds of the Shipibo cosmovision. Photography from the Facebook page of the Arkana Alliance, February 2015, used with permission.
Alianza Arkana / The Arkana Alliance (AA), in its own words, “is a grassroots alliance regenerating the Peruvian Amazon by supporting its indigenous people and their traditions. One of its projects, “Chariboan Joi” — which in the Shipibo language means “Voices Soaring Like the Maracaná Macaw” — was among the grantees of the 2014 Rising Voices Amazonia initiative that aimed at “disseminating on the internet stories, traditional knowledge and everyday experiences.”
According to the Arkana Alliance, “The wellbeing of life on Earth depends on the resilience of the Amazon rainforest and its people. Community alliances for regeneration are essential to growing this resilience. The Arkana Alliance creates mutual relationships with communities in the Peruvian Amazon to cultivate sustainable solutions and creatively confront the array of eco-social challenges we face today.”
In practice, the group that makes up the Arkana Alliance is quite diverse. It consists, on the one hand, of foreigners coming mostly from European countries, and on the other, of members of the Shipibo indigenous communities from the region. This gives us a vision of the intercultural work promoted by the AA.
According to Dr. Paul Roberts, one of the founders of the Arkana Alliance, the idea is “to build solid long-term partnerships with indigenous organizations and communities, aiming at strengthening the Shipibo culture.” An example of these partnerships was the “Seeds for the Amazon” program launched by AA a few years ago, an indigenous youth-led community program for the regeneration of the Peruvian Amazon.
However, Dr. Roberts says it is not so easy to carry out this intercultural work:
Toma tiempo para crear confianza con los shipibos. Además los shipibos han visto que muchas ONG vienen y salen después de poco tiempo, entonces creemos que debemos estar aquí por mucho tiempo más.
It takes time to build trust with the Shipibo. Moreover, the Shipibo have seen that many NGOs come and leave after a short time; this is why we believe that we should be here for much longer.
One way to succeed has been to involve the Shipibos themselves in the management of the projects:
Creo que algo muy importante es que hemos integrado más shipibos a que trabajen con Alianza Arkana. Tanto como personal y como asesores de la organización. Incluso estamos involucrando mucho más las organizaciones y comunidades con quienes trabajamos en la búsqueda y elaboración de propuestas para obtener fondos.
I think that something very important is that we have involved more Shipibos to work with the Arkana Alliance, both as part of the staff and as consultants for the organization. We are even involving more organizations and communities with whom we work on research and development of fundraising proposals.
Roberts also mentions another example of their work:
Hemos iniciado un proyecto que es un servicio de salud básica en la comunidad urbana de Bena Jema donde hay muchos problemas de salud. Este proyecto está liderado por dos mujeres — una mujer shipibo que sabe mucho de la medicina tradicional de las plantas y una mujer alemana que es partera y además practica la homeopatía. Me da mucha alegría ver cómo este proyecto está avanzando. Para mi es un buen ejemplo de un trabajo intercultural — en este caso en salud.
We have started a project that is a basic health service in the urban community of Bena Jema where there are many health problems. This project is led by two women — a Shipibo woman who knows a lot about traditional medicinal plants, and a German woman who is a midwife and also practices homeopathy. It gives me great joy to see how this project is progressing. For me, this is a good example of intercultural work — in this case, related to health.
The Arkana Alliance is also involved in the struggles of several other indigenous communities, not only of the Shipibo. Thus, it helps to spread throughout the world the message of indigenous leaders. An example is the following video in which, during an interview about the 40 years of pollution in the Peruvian Amazon, Alfonso Lopez, leader of the Kukama community, asked the international community to support his people's struggle in defending the environment, its life and rivers:
Artisans from Bena Jema. One of the main activities of the women in these indigenous communities is the making of handicrafts, painting, weaving and jewelry with seeds. This type of activity implies that the mother and the female relatives have the task of caring for and supporting the family. Image created by children of the Shipibo community in Bena Jema during a workshop organized by the Arkana Alliance. Photo used with permission.
A good way to learn about the activities of the Arkana Alliance is through its blog, published in Spanish and English. For example, this post about its major achievements in 2015 is very interesting, or another post on the publication of “Learning from the Peruvian Amazon” (which can be downloaded for free) written by Dr. Paul Roberts, Director of Intercultural Education for the Arkana Alliance, and Laura Dev, PhD student at the University of Berkeley, California.
You can also follow the Arkana Alliance on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.
Some of the Arkana Alliance team members in February 2015. Photo from the Facebook page of the Arkana Alliance, used with permission.

author: Juan Arellano


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The Iranian State Versus Kim Kardashian · Global Voices
Tori Egherman

Kim Kardashian takes on Tehran. Photo edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Kim Kardashian has become the Iranian state's newest enemy. Tehran made this announcement in the wake of arrests of eight Instagram models—a campaign that began earlier this year, when Iranian authorities launched a series of operations they called “Spider.”
Accounts were blocked and the models arrested and put on trial. The most well-known of the models on trial, Elham Arab, had appeared on a popular Iranian television program called Honeymoon.
A photo posted by Elham Arab (@elhamarab__) on
The case of Elham Arab and the other models has received international attention. Her public apology was broadcast on Iranian state television, and it's also accessible on a new Instagram account called Elham Arabofficial.
“All people love beauty and fame. They would like to be seen, but it is important to know what price they will pay to be seen.”
Mostafa Alizadeh, the spokesman for Iran's Organized Cyberspace Crimes Unit, has claimed that Instagram and Kim Kardashian are conspiring to influence Iranian society.
IranWire reports:
“Ms. Kim Kardashian is a popular fashion model so Instagram’s CEO tells her, ‘make this native,’” Alizadeh said. “There is no doubt that financial support is involved as well. We are taking this very seriously.”
One of the images shared widely on Telegram originated in a tweet from Omid Memarian, where he shared an image of prominent figures who have been labeled enemies of Iran's revolution. The image begins with Uncle Sam in 1978 and ends with Kim Kardashian in 2016.
سير تحول دشمنان نظام بعد از انقلاب! جان سالم به در بردن نظام از رشدي و پوپر و سوروس و رسيدن به #كارداشيان. چه تحولي! pic.twitter.com/tmmLSxfAoR
— Omid Memarian (@Omid_M) May 18, 2016
The evolution of enemies of the revolution! Having survived the onslaught of Popper and Soros, it's now facing #Kardashian. What a transformation!
1978: Uncle Sam
1988: Salman Rushdie
1997: Karl Popper
2004: George Soros
2016: Kim Kardashian
The following cartoon also made the rounds on Telegram, showing a young man eating ice cream. In the cartoon, his mother says she wants him to find a wife.
“Dear son, it's time to find you a wife.”
“No I prefer Kim [a flavor of ice cream in Iran].”
Given Kim Kardashian's reputation for her ample posterior, it's perhaps no surprise that many young Iranians have started sharing on Telegram the following picture of a plump tomato:
گوجه ی #کیم_کارداشیان پروژه ی #نفوذ گوجه ای یکی از ابزار های رخنه به جوانان توسط کارداشیانِ #جاسوس کشف شد
#Kim_Kardashian tomato – the tomato #influence project – one of the tools to influence the youth discovered by the #spy Kardashian.
Another image shared widely on Telegram shows a manipulated photo featuring Kim Kardashian, US President Barack Obama, and her husband, Kanye West. In the photo, the color of Kardashian's sweater has been changed from the original color. This kind of manipulation is often the work of Iran's censors. This led many to question whether this Telegram post originated with Iranian authorities.
عکس لو رفته از یکی از جلسات کیم کارداشیان با رییس‌جمهور آمریکا برای #نفوذ در بین جوانان ایران
Photo leaked from a meeting with Kim Kardashian and the president to discuss influencing Iran's youth.
The original image was shared by Kim Kardashian on Instagram:
#FBF POTUS
A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on
Another message shared on Telegram sarcastically complains about the influence of Kim Kardashian. The message expresses the wish that more young women would dress like parliament member Fatemeh Alia instead of Kim Kardashian. Fatemeh Alia is famous for her strict hejab and hardline stance.
Women in Iran's Parliament. Photo from Dar Sahn.
جوانان ما به جای فاطمه آلیا، کیم کارداشیان را الگوی خود قرار داده اند،خب این #غلط_است_دیگر
Our young people are copying Kim Kardashian instead of Fatemeh Alia. #That_is_just_wrong
Telegram users are also sharing a cartoon published on IranWire showing the Iranian version of Godzilla: Kim Kardashian.
Haji! Haji! We need backup. Our youth are dropping like flies.
It's tempting to laugh at the absurdity of making an enemy out of Kim Kardashian and Instagram. It is funny. Yet, the crackdown on hair salons and Instagram models has very real effects. It follows a pattern of control over cultural expression and women's appearance that dates back to the start of Iran's cultural revolution.
In the early 1980s, women were followed on the street by militia members. They were arrested for showing a single strand of hair. At the gate to the universities, their fingernails were checked for traces of nail polish. Guards sniffed at them to make sure women students wore no perfume.
Women have continually pushed the limits of physical and cultural expression in Iran. They have challenged the restrictions against them at every turn.
Hadi Ghaemi of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran states:
“This kind of stifling and intimidation will only deprive Iranians of the cultural and artistic vitality that is rightfully theirs and further alienate the country’s youth.”
“The Revolutionary Guards’ assault on Iran’s fashion industry testifies to the fear of hardliners who try to control every aspect of people’s lives and squash any visible challenge to their narrow world view.”
The intention of these types of actions against young women in Iran is to remind families of their need to control their daughters. No one is safe. Nothing is private. There is no place for personal expression.
It's not actually a laughing matter at all.

author: Tori Egherman


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Venezuela: Research Confirms Censorship of News Platforms, Currency Websites · Global Voices
Marianne Díaz Hernández

Homepage for IPYS “Navegar con Libertad” (browse freely) portal.
A recent study conducted by the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) in Venezuela has confirmed that at least 43 different websites are being blocked in the country, shedding new light on the filtering practices of the Venezuelan government.
The research focused on documenting incidents surrounding web access and net neutrality, zeroing in on the treatment of national networks during the 2015 elections. The organization measured connection speeds and blocking over 48 days (from November 25, 2015, to January 14, 2016) and gathered 6.4 million data points. They found that 44% of the websites blocked are related to the black market of currency, while 19% are media-related, 12% are blogs that are critical of the ruling party, and 9% are related to gambling. Some URL shorteners, anonymization and circumvention tools and hosting services were found to be blocked as well.
The study also confirmed that all local Internet service providers using DNS (domain name system) blocking, technique through which domain name servers respond incorrectly to requests for a particular domain. When a website is blocked via DNS, the server will reply incorrectly or will deny the request when that website is called upon. The study did not find evidence of other kinds of technical censorship, including IP blocking or keyword blocking. However it is important to keep in mind that the study is a pilot test of only a small proportion of websites that are currently unavailable in the country. Previous research has indicated that roughly 1500 websites were blocked in Venezuela at some point during 2015.
What is the Domain Name System?
At its core, the Internet is a network of computers that can send messages between one another. Every computer and website connected to the Internet has an Internet Protocol (IP) address — a seemingly random set of numbers. The Domain Name System links each IP address to a website URL, allowing users to enter an easy-to-remember name rather than having to remember and type in a long string of numbers.
For example, if a user wants to visit our website, she can type globalvoices.org into her browser. This tells her computer to send a request to a domain name server that will then find the corresponding IP address and thus give the user access Global Voices. When a website is blocked using the DNS, the server will either deny the request or send back the wrong information.
In 90% of cases, the websites in the study were being blocked consistently across all five of Venezuela's largest ISPs. All appeared to constitute some violation of the notoriously broad Law on Social Responsibility on Radio, Television and Electronic Media, suggesting that the websites were blocked in compliance with an administrative measure under the aforementioned law. More specifically, the Institute inferred that the websites are considered to promote disobedience of the law, disavow authorities, or “foster unrest” within society.
The study also indicated that the mobile service company Movistar had the most websites blocked, among them  websites that were not blocked by the state-owned telecom CANTV. This could be a consequence of Venezuela's Law on Social Responsibility, wherein ISPs can risk being issued a penalty if they don’t comply with their obligations regarding forbidden content.
While the government’s practices regarding Internet blocking are not exactly a secret (this is a government that issued a web blocking order on national television back in 2014), the specific procedures, reasons, and particular websites currently blocked, along with all telecommunications information, is considered a “state secret”. This terminology was used in a 2014 Supreme Court ruling in response to a request for information concerning online censorship filed by Caracas NGO Espacio Público. However, it is known that the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), a body that responds to the Executive branch, has issued procedures against at least nine ISPs for allowing access to certain websites. In a handful of other cases, such measures have been public, such as in the case of the Colombian news channel NTN24, which after providing coverage of the 2014 protests was blocked by all providers following an order issued by CONATEL.
IPYS is currently developing a system for monitoring the limitations to Internet access and net neutrality in Venezuela, drawing from the lessons learned in this pilot study. The entire report (in Spanish) and the original data is available on their website.

author: Marianne Díaz Hernández


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What Is Latin American Social Media Laughing at? One Critic Offers a Clue · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Screenshot from Omar Rincón's interview with Nicaraguan newspaper Confidencial
In an interview conducted in Nicaragua for the newspaper Confidencial, renowned researcher and Colombian media critic Omar Rincón explained the ways in which many Latin Americans have a laugh on social media.
Rincón discussed how the general themes of online comedy have evolved over time and how memes have managed to rescue local forms of humor. He pointed out the differences between different types of humor – the kind that takes place within social media and the kind that happens spontaneously on the street. He emphasized the fundamentals of what he calls “good humor,” which is based on the ability to laugh at oneself: “If you're capable of laughing at yourself, it means your don’t take yourself so seriously.”
According to Rincón, humor and power don’t mix. That’s why various Latin American leaders, like late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and current Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, have adopted communication strategies that aren't compatible with forums for dialogue and are aggressive in their responses to criticism. Both Chávez and Correa hosted television programs that seek to communicate with their citizens. However, these programs have given rise to disputes with the critics of their governments, inside and outside of the country:
Creo que por eso quieren dominar tanto las pantallas. Tener buen sentido del humor es autocriticarse, y estos “telepresidentes” que es como llamo a los políticos obsesionados con la pantalla no aceptan ningún tipo de crítica […] El humor es la herramienta de los débiles porque ante el humor no se puede responder. […] Ningún autoritario o poderoso acepta el humor, lo persiguen desesperadamente. Desde [el caso] Charlie Hebdo [el medio humorístico francés atacado por fundamentalistas religiosos] pasando por Correa […y por] por Uribe a quien nunca se le conoce sonrisa. […] Chavez tenía “mal humor” le gustaba burlarse y hacer chistes, pero no recibirlos; y la base del humor es saber reírse de uno mismo. En eso ha hecho un mejor trabajo Obama.
I think that’s why they want so badly to dominate the screens. Having a good sense of humor is self-criticism, and these “telepresidents,” which is what I call politicians who are obsessed with the screen, don’t accept any type of criticism […] Humor is the tool of the weak because in the face of humor, there is no response […] No authoritarian or powerful person accepts humor, they desperately persecute it. From [the case of] Charlie Hebdo [the French satirical magazine attacked by extremists] to Correa and [former Colombian President] Uribe, who has never been known to smile. […] Chávez was grouchy. He liked to dish it out – making fun of others and telling jokes – but he couldn’t take it, and the foundation of humor is knowing how to laugh at oneself. Obama has done a better job of that.
However, not all politicians in Latin America have failed in the same way. For Rincón, some have managed to become recognized personalities in global conversations despite not exploiting mass communication resources:
Yo hago la diferencia entre los “reyes locales”, gente que domina en su comarca, pero mundialmente no son nadie (…) [y quienes logran hacerse nombre internacionalmente…] El héroe del buen humor es [José “Pepe”] Mujica [el ex-presidente de Uruguay]. Eso lo hace un pop star. Mujica fue un tipo de un país re-pequeñito, que se volvió un pop star mundializado, que es lo que en realidad funciona.
I make the distinction between “local kings,” people who dominate their region, but worldwide are nobody [and those who manage to make a name for themselves internationally…] The hero of good humor is [former President of Uruguay José “Pepe”] Mujica. That’s what makes a pop star. Mujica was just a guy from a tiny country who became a global pop star, which is what actually works.
The bridges created by social media and their users also reach more traditional genres, like cartoons. In this sense, jokes are made not only about political events, but also to newer “serious” issues like pop culture.
Las redes sociales redescubrieron la caricatura, pero llevada a niveles distintos. (…) En video, en youtube hay caricaturas sobre no solamente los políticos, sino también sobre la cultura pop. Quienes tienen mayor subscripción son quienes hacen caricaturas de una realidad pop. La caricatura refleja la capacidad que tenemos de ironizar sobre realidades que nos tomamos muy en serio, y como el mundo contemporáneo se está tomando muy en serio el mundo pop y de la farándula, entonces la caricatura está yendo más hacia el espectáculo.
Social networks rediscovered the cartoon, but have taken it to a whole different level. […] On video, on YouTube, there are cartoons not only about politicians, but also about pop culture. Those who have larger subscriptions are those who make pop reality cartoons. Cartoons reflect our ability to satirize the realities we take very seriously, and since the contemporary world is taking the pop world and show business very seriously, it’s becoming a spectacle.
According to Rincón, Latin Americans are very good at pointing out details: “We’re able to produce something very quickly out of something real that’s happened. And say something that seems humorous and ironic at the time. What we are bad at is arguing for it…writing a few paragraphs.”
La caricatura tiene la ventaja de tener la capacidad visual de descubrir algo. Pero el texto es complementario. En los memes se parte de que la foto en sí misma no es la que produce [el impacto], sino que es la frase, es la espontaneidad latinoamericana de la frase rápida. Por eso ha gustado mucho en América Latina.
Cartoons have the advantage of being able to convey something visually. But text is complementary. In memes, the photo itself is not what produces [the impact], but rather the phrase – the Latin American spontaneity of the quick phrase. That's why it’s so popular in Latin America.
He continued with a reference to the use of written and oral language, and how people make bridges in everyday life:
Lo que están recuperando los memes es la espontaneidad oral y rápida de los latinoamericanos. A la foto se le pone encima una frase y esa frase puede funcionar. (…). Por ejemplo, cuando hay un evento, como un evento deportivo, o un evento político, pues es muy fácil tomar una foto de cualquier cosa y poner una frase [corta] encima de eso que llama la atención de la foto en la que está. Es casi como una “oralidad visual”: Arrancas en lo oral, terminas escribiendo, pero en el fondo es para crear un impacto visual. Por eso es tan fácil [encontrar memes en la región], la gente es muy ingeniosa en las frases que dice. Un teórico decía algo muy importante: América Latina se acostumbró a hablar en sus textos. Nosotros no decimos nunca lo que pensamos en primer instancia, sino en sub-textos. Entonces las frases, los tonitos son los que funcionan, y el meme recupera eso, entonces es muy fácil y muy divertido hacerlo. ¿Qué hace que un meme conecte? Que pueda conectarse con las ironías del mundo local de cada región.
What memes are recovering is the oral and rapid spontaneity of Latin Americans. A phrase or sentence is superimposed upon a photo and that sentence can work. […] For example, when there’s an event such as a sporting event, or a political event, it is very easy to take a picture of anything and put a [short] sentence on it that draws attention to said photo. It is almost like a “visual orality”: You start with the oral and you end up writing, but ultimately the idea is to create a visual impact. That’s why it’s so easy to [find memes in the region], people are very ingenious in the phrases they use. One theory said something very important: Latin America became accustomed to speaking in their texts. We never say what we initially think, only in sub-texts. So phrases, undertones are what is working, and the meme restores that, and makes it very easy and fun. What makes a meme relevant? Whether or not it can connect with regional ironies.
However, there are memes that engage stereotypes and open questions of cultural order:
Los memes que en Colombia [que] molestan mucho, [son los que] siempre [son adaptados] a la droga. La gente se molesta mucho, pero la respuesta son memes con Pablo Escobar, nuestro más grande narcotraficante […] eso habla mucho de la identidad de Colombia.
The memes that bother people in Colombia a lot, [are those that] always [are related] to drugs. It upsets people, but the response is memes with Pablo Escobar, our biggest drug trafficker […] that says a lot about Colombian identity.
As for the relationship between social media and traditional media regarding memes and humor, Rincón says:
Los memes se vuelven famosos cuando los retoman los medios de comunicación. Los memes se están volviendo cada vez más importantes porque los medios de prensa y TV es lo que le da densidad a las redes. […] y esto además es una fuente rápida de información en un mundo en el que los medios cuentan cada vez con menos recursos humanos. Pero eso también tiene que ver con la necesidad de producir. La gente quiere producir información. Quiere producir comentario, quiere tener opinión pública. Y de pronto la gente, los jóvenes sobre todo, no son capaces de tener una opinión pública muy elaborada, pero tienen la posibilidad de hacer una frase que parezca simpática.
Memes become famous when the media get a hold of them. Memes are becoming increasingly important because the press and TV give density to social networks […] and this is also a quick source of information in a world where the media have increasingly fewer human resources. But that also has to do with the need to produce. People want to produce information. The want to produce commentary and have public opinion. And suddenly people, especially young people, are not able to have an elaborate public opinion, but they do have the potential to make a phrase that seems nice.
Rincón elaborates more on humor and its levels in other texts that are more opinionated and more critical of the media in the region in general, and in Colombia in particular. For Rincón, less developed humor is the “type that gets ratings. Humor that is sexist, homophobic and makes fun of others”:
Lo cierto es que en esa pobreza que es nuestra televisión, este programa tiene un ‘rating’ aceptable. Los colombianos reconocemos que no tenemos más humor que la burla, hacer el ridículo o practicar nuestros sexismos o racismos. Nos reímos mucho de los demás, lástima que el buen humor sea reírse de uno mismo.
What’s true is that in the impoverished environment that is our television, this program has an acceptable rating. Colombians recognize that all we have is mocking others, ridiculing or being sexist or racist. We laugh a lot at the expense of others, it’s a shame that “good humor” is actually that laughing at yourself.

author: Laura Vidal


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A New Campaign Encourages Latin American Indigenous Communities to Create Their Own Media · Global Voices
Giovanna Salazar

Screenshot of the video for the campaign “Por nuestros propios medios” (“By our own media”). Available on Vimeo.
An educational campaign called “Komunikatuz Eraldatu, Peoples Owning Their Communication” (Komunikatuz Eraldatu, los pueblos dueños de su comunicación, in Spanish) is counteracting the distorted image of indigenous peoples and communities that mainstream media regularly portray.
The campaign was launched by Mugarik Gabe, a non-governmental organization from the Basque Country of Spain that has worked in the areas of development and social equality since 1987. This NGO is present in a number of countries in Latin America, and one of their main goals is to advocate for indigenous communities’ rights.
According to Mugarik Gabe:
Con esta nueva campaña queremos mostrar cómo los pueblos indígenas de Latinoamérica han creado medios de comunicación para defender sus derechos y reforzar sus lenguas y su identidad como tales.
Y unir todo ello también con la labor que han hecho y hacen con el mismo objetivo actores del ámbito de la comunicación alternativa y los medios de comunicación locales de Euskal Herria.
With this new campaign we want to show how indigenous peoples of Latin America have created ways of communication to defend their rights and strengthen their language and identity.
This campaign also connects them with others who have done and are doing work with the same objective within alternative media and local media of Euskal Herria [the Basque Country].
“Komunikatuz Eraldatu, Peoples Owning Their Communication” is planning to hold a series of conferences in May 2016 on indigenous peoples, popular media and communication for social change, which will consist of lectures, discussions and screenings of documentaries, with the participation of journalists and communicators from Euskal Herria (as the Basque Country is called in the Basque language), Bolivia, Mexico and Argentina.
The campaign brochure contains more information in Spanish on this topic. More updates can be found on the Twitter and Facebook accounts of Mugarik Gabe.
The video below also presents an animated explanation of the campaign and its goals. It shows how mainstream media tends to portrait indigenous communities and the ways in which these representations can change with the creation of alternative media that tell their own stories:
At the end of the video, the narrator sums up why it is important for indigenous communities to have a say in how they are presented to the world:
Al construir nuestros propios medios de comunicación los pueblos indígenas somos protagonistas de nuestra historia, vamos tejiendo nuestra propia palabra, escapamos del olvido, celebramos la vida, celebramos un mundo, donde a pesar de las injusticias, predomina la esperanza.
By creating our own media, we, the indigenous peoples, are protagonists of our own history, we write our own words, we escape oblivion, we celebrate life and a world where, despite the injustices, hope prevails.

author: Giovanna Salazar


text:
A Novel About the ‘Anonymous People Who Every Day Live, Love, Resist and Struggle’ for Syria · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Leila Nachawati Rego. Photo courtesy of Leila.
Leila Nachawati Rego, a Syrian-Galician journalist and activist, is taking a punt on telling other stories; those stories that we don't read, see, or hear. Syria, one of her native countries — and greatest passions — has been immersed in a grueling and bloody war, but still love and resistance flourish there. This belief, among other things, is the basis of her first novel “Cuando la revolución termine” (When the Revolution Is Over).
In an email, Leila (@leila_na) spoke to Global Voices, another one of her great passions where she volunteers as a writer, about her new novel, literature, identities, and her memories of another Damascus.
Global Voices (GV): Why do you feel that this is a story which is better told through literature than journalism?
Leila Nachawati (LN): Llevo años escribiendo artículos y ensayos sobre Siria y oriente medio, y cuanto más pasaba el tiempo más me parecía que la región no se entiende, se interpreta en claves geostratégicas y religiosas/identitarias. Creo que una novela puede llegar a un público más amplio y hacer que la gente empatice con un contexto que consideran lejano y en realidad no lo es tanto. Las críticas de la novela hasta el momento han destacado el hecho de que la novela muestra cómo era Siria antes de 2011, cómo se vivía, qué se comía, cómo se divertía la gente… y luego qué reivindican a partir de las protestas de 2011, qué reclaman… y eso es importante porque acerca y facilita la empatía, algo que no siempre se da con análisis y coberturas de medios de comunicación de masas.
Leila Nachawati (LN): I have been writing articles and essays about Syria and the Middle East for years, and the more time passed, the more I realized that the region wasn't understood, it is interpreted in terms of religion, identity or geopolitics. I think that a novel can reach a wider public and make people empathise with a context that they consider to be far away, yet in reality is closer than they think. Reviews of the novel so far have highlighted the fact that the novel portrays Syria before 2011, how people lived, what people ate, how people enjoyed themselves, and this is important as it creates empathy, which is not always something you get with coverage and analysis from mass media.
Cuando la revolución termine by Leila Nachawati Rego
GV: Your novel is political, yet also a love story; love for children, friends, partners, for countries, and for cities. For a long time now, the only stories we read about Syria are horror stories, tales of death and devastation. What are we not reading about Syria? What other stories need to be told?
LN: Leemos a diario historias en las que los protagonistas son los que destruyen (ya sea Asad o ISIS /Daesh, y escuchamos poco a los que resisten, a los que construyen y reconstruyen en un contexto cada vez más difícil. Mi novela es un homenaje a esa gente anónima que día a día vive, se enamora, resiste y lucha por su país, por una sociedad mejor aunque todos los vientos soplen en contra.
LN: Daily we read stories in which the protagonists are those that destroy Syria (be it [Syrian President] Assad or ISIS/Daesh) yet we hear little of those who resist, construct and reconstruct the country, in an increasingly difficult context. My novel is a homage to those anonymous people who every day live, love, resist and struggle for their country, for a better society, even if the odds are against them.
GV: You are Syrian-Galician. How do you navigate your identities?
LN: Creo que quienes vivimos a caballo entre dos culturas tenemos esa doble visión que nos permite ser una especie de puente, de traductores de entornos distintos que en realidad tienen mucho en común. La “distancia media” de la que hablaba Aristóteles.
LN: I think that those of us who spend our lives between two cultures have a double vision which allows us to be a sort of bridge, translators of different environments which actually have a lot in common. The “happy medium” that Aristotle talked about.
GV: Tell us about your memories of Damascus.
LN: Damasco para mí es ruido de tornos, de obras sin acabar, de bocinas de coche en el tráfico en hora punta, de olor a arguile de dos manzanas, de cebolla friéndose en mantequilla, de naranjas y jazmín. De sonrisas y miradas cómplices, de silencios que hablan más que cualquier grito, de susurros, de deseo reprimido de cambio.
LN: To me, Damascus is the sound of lathes, of construction that is never finished, of car horns in rush hour traffic, the smell of double-apple shisha, of onion frying in butter, of oranges and jasmine. Of smiles and knowing glances, of silences that speak more than any scream, of whispers, of the suppressed desire for change.
Leila points to a poster appealing for the freedom of Syrian software developer Bassel Khartabil. Photo courtesy of Leila.
GV: How has belonging to the Global Voices community influenced your life? The protagonist in your novel is also a GV author.
LN: Global Voices marcó un antes y un después en mi vida, me permitió conocer a toda una generación de activistas que me abrió los ojos a unas luchas y deseos de cambio, de justicia social, que parte de lo local y a la vez es muy global, basada en unas redes de solidaridad muy fuertes y unos vínculos que se crean más allá de las diferencias culturales. En la novela, Global Voices marca un punto de inflexión en la trayectoria de la protagonista, que dice: “Antes de 2011, en todos mis viajes a Siria, no había conocido a un solo activista. Conocería a muchos a partir de entonces”
LN: Global Voices marked a before and after in my life, it allowed me to meet a whole generation of activists who opened my eyes to struggles and desires for change, to social justice, both local and global at once, based in strong networks of solidarity and bonds formed regardless of cultural differences. In the novel, Global Voices marks a turning point in the path of the protagonist, who says, “Before 2011, in all my travels to Syria, I hadn't met a single activist. From then on, I would know many.”

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle