text:
One Man’s Harrowing Experience Spurs Bangladesh’s High Court to Ensure Emergency Treatment for All · Global Voices
Pantha Rahman Reza

Road accident in Bangladesh can be fatal due to lack of emergency services. Image from Flickr by Global Panorama. CC BY-SA
Road accidents are a major problem in Bangladesh. Statistics show that every year, nearly 4,000 people die in around 20,000 road crashes across the country. And some of those deaths might have been prevented had nearby hospitals not refused to give emergency treatment to them, instead diverting them to government hospitals.
In the absence of countrywide health insurance coverage and affordable health care, private medical clinics and hospitals often turn away unknown accident victims because of financial insecurity they represent. In this context, the High Court of Bangladesh handed down a landmark ruling directing the government to ensure that all doctors and hospitals — no matter private or government-run —  provide emergency medical service to accident victims.
It all started with a Facebook post. Saif Kamal, a social entrepreneur and a participant in the World Economic Forum's Global Shaper Community, wrote about transport worker Arafat, who was involved in a traffic accident on 22 January 2016 on Airport Road near Banani, Dhaka. Kamal was there when it happened and described:
In a few seconds what I see – the experience is surreal. A man trying to get onto a bus which was moving through the traffic. He slips and the same bus runs him over. He in on the road and raises his hand. I press the brakes of my car. The car behind me hits mine. Vehicles still running like crazy around me. Honking goes on.. I cant get off the car yet.
I get off and run to the man. A bus was approaching us from the left. I pull his hands to save it from being run over… People on the walkway, first look. As I begin to scream for help. They block the road from at least one side. I rush to get water from my car. His lower body was smashed. There was no blood but white mass.. I had never seen human muscle this close.
He tried to get immediate medical help for the victim, driving him to three nearby private hospitals, which all refused to admit him. Bangladesh doesn't have any 911 emergency number to report road accidents. Also, less than 10 percent of accident victims are served by ambulances due to lack of vehicles and road congestion.
Kamal  continued:
Dodging the traffic, I rush through as quick I can to Lab Aid in Gulshan 2. They tell me NO. Then I went to Shikder Medical. I asked if there is an emergency. They tell me yes. I park the car. The security takes a look at the man and says ” no we cant serve here, take him to Sahabuddin”. I get to Shahabuddin. I scream for help at the emergency. They get the stretcher. The doctor stands casually at the door waiting for assistants to pull the person out. I lose it and scream at him. He then comes and checks the patient. Who is still alive and gasping. The doctor refuses to serve tells me to take him to Dhaka Medical (government) ASAP. I asked why? “I will give you the money but please help. He will die by the time I get him there. Its heavy traffic”. He refuses!
Then with the help of the police, Kamal headed to Kurmitola General Hospital, but the victim died on the way. Kamal filed a writ petition to the High Court in response to the ordeal with the help of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust.
Many lauded Kamal's initiative. Afra Subah Hasan responded on Facebook to Kamal's post:
So, whom do we claim to be the actual killer? The bus driver? The screwed up traffic system of Bangladesh? The amazing crowd out there who didn't bother to come and help? The doctors whose first and foremost duty is to “serve” their patients? OR US because we the so called educated society can actually work as one team to bring a change, but we are too busy to care?
And the saddest part, events like this are so common here in Bangladesh but a man like Mr.Saif Kamal is too hard to be found.
Outrage over the callousness of hospitals refusing life-saving, emergency treatment isn't new. In an earlier post for the website Sachalayatan titled “Can a hospital refuse to admit a critical accident victim?” blogger Himu observed:
হাসপাতাল একজন সংকটাপন্ন রোগীকে ভর্তিতে অস্বীকৃতি জানানোর মানে তার মৃত্যুকে ত্বরান্বিত করা। হাসপাতাল কোনো মুদি দোকান নয়, কোনো ফাস্ট ফুডের দোকানও নয় যে কাস্টোমারকে পছন্দ না হলে রাস্তা দেখতে বলবে।
If a hospital refuses a critical accident victim, that in reality expedites the victim's demise. A hospital is not a grocery or a fast food place that can deny a customer whom they don't like.
Shanto, a commenter on the above post, explained one of the reasons behind the refusals:
লক্ষ্য করলে দেখা যাবে রোগী ভর্তির ব্যাপারে অস্বীকৃতি জানায় সব প্রাইভেট মেডিক্যাল হাসপাতাল। এখানে বাণিজ্য একটা বড় ইস্যু। যদি কোন রোগী এই হাসপাতালে মারা যায় এবং এই খবরটা সংবাদপত্রে আসে তাহলে হাসপাতার বা ক্লিনিকটির বদনাম রটে যাবে, সেক্ষেত্রে হাসপাতাল বা ক্লিনিক কর্তৃপক্ষ বেশী সংকটাপন্ন রোগীকে ভর্তি করতে অস্বীকৃতি জানায়।
If you notice, you will see most of the private medical hospitals refuse to admit those patients (and redirect them to a government hospital). Commerce plays a big role here. If any victim dies in hospital with lack of treatment (which may be expensive) and if that information is leaked to a newspaper then the hospital or clinic will get a bad reputation. So they refuse to admit critical accident patients.
The annual economic wastage due to traffic accidents in Bangladesh is estimated to be 2 percent of gross domestic product. About 30 percent of the national health budget is spent on victims of road accidents.
Another user, Kadamati, wrote that doctors avoid police cases:
মোটর গাড়ীর ধাক্কায় আহত বন্ধুকে নিকটস্থ কোন ক্লিনিকে ভর্তি করাতে পারিনি, পুলিশ কেইসের দোহাই দিয়ে ফেরত পাঠিয়েছে। এ সবের আসলেই আইন থাকা উচিত।
I could not admit my friend to a hospital who was hit by a car. They told me that its a police case and I should first lodge a complaint. There should be a clear law regarding this.
Odin, a physician, commented:
নৈতিক দৃষ্টিতে হাসপাতালের এই অস্বীকৃতি জ্ঞাপন মোটেও সমর্থনযোগ্য না। আইনী ব্যপারটা সম্বন্ধে আমার ধারণা নাই, তবে যেইসব ‘হাসপাতাল’ (ক্লিনিক বা নার্সিং হোম না) চব্বিশ ঘন্টা ইমার্জেন্সি সুবিধা দেয়ার কথা বলে তারা এইরকম করলে অবশ্যই আইনত দণ্ডনীয় হয়া উচিত।
In principle, we cannot support the refusal of hospitals to admit critical patients. I don't know about the legal issues (or the complications), but those hospital which advertise that they have a 24-hour emergency service and do not admit critical patients should be brought under law.
On Facebook, advocate Ziaur Rahman wondered about the value placed on life in Bangladesh:
Saif Kamal raises some critical questions and Bangladesh needs to respond. We need to respond. Where is our value system with so many religious worship places? The desperate condition in the traffic system and human traffic in the roads are scary. [..] The government and the public in general need to address these issues because the scary life that this poor conductor faced may be awaiting you or your dear ones.
On 10 February 2016, about three weeks after Saif Kamal's experience, the High Court directed respective government ministries and authorities to explain why hospitals and clinics, whether governmental or private, refusing to provide emergency medical services to critically injured people should not be declared a violation of the fundamental right to access emergency health care. It also ordered the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges to work towards ensuring emergency treatment for all.
According to the Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, one of the main causes of traffic accidents is the poor condition of the road. Sixty percent of the country's main roads are in bad condition. Moreover, accident incidents occur due to unfit cars and inexperienced drivers. Reportedly, a total of 85 percent of the people in road accidents who die do so before they reach the hospital; many could have been saved with faster access to medical care.
Bangladesh's health policy says that “every citizen has the basic right to adequate health care.” But the absence of health insurance, inadequate hospitals, and the lack of doctors and medicine are the main impediments to making that noble goal a reality. Hopefully, the court order is the first step towards better medical care for road accident victims.

author: Pantha Rahman Reza


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Stranger Than Fiction? Two Puppeteers Charged With ‘Glorifying Terrorism’ in Spain · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

A protest rally demanding the release of the puppeteers. Photo Eldiario.es under license CC-BY-SA.
A puppet show with political content, mistakenly scheduled as children's entertainment during Madrid's Carnival celebrations, ended in “glorifying terrorism” charges against two artists, the sacking of the festivities’ artistic director, and a legal complaint accusing the judge and prosecutor on the case of perverting the course of justice.
During the Spanish capital's recent Carnival celebrations, the Madrid City Council organized a puppet show as part of the children's activities. It seems that the organizers made a mistake; they later admitted that they had not seen the play, and the story turned out to be totally inappropriate for children. Actually, the play, entitled “La bruja y don Cristóbal ” (The Witch and Mr. Cristobal) is a political satire created by the group Títeres desde abajo (Puppets From Below) for an adult audience.
Some attendees were unpleasantly surprised by the show and gave the puppeteers a telling-off, complaining about the violence of some scenes. Online newspaper eldiario.es spoke to a mother who attended the function, and this is her version of the story:
(Los artistas) avisaron de que la obra era antipedagógica y de que contenía actos atroces, inmorales e irreverentes. (…) No se entendía bien la broma, pero no pensé que era ninguna provocación ni enaltecimiento del terrorismo. Estaba dentro de la trama (…) Los niños no se enteraron de nada, la obra de los títeres era ininteligible
[The artists] warned the public that the play was anti-pedagogical and contained heinous, immoral and irreverent acts. […] The jokes were difficult to understand, but I did not think it was a provocation or an apology of terrorism. It was part of the plot […] The kids didn't understand anything, the whole play didn't make much sense for them.
In the story, a corrupt cop takes advantage of the unconscious protagonist to place a placard near her that read “Alka-Gora ETA” (a combination of the words “gora ETA” and Al-Qaeda) to falsely accuse her of terrorism. In Basque, “gora ETA” means “long live” or “hail” ETA, the militant separatist movement in Spain's north believed to be responsible for more than 800 deaths over the last 40 years.
The display of the placard was enough reason for the National High Court Officer to ask for the detention of the puppeteers Raul Garcia and Alfonso Lazaro, accusing them of “glorifying terrorism and committing a crime against the exercise of fundamental rights and public freedom.”
Judge Ismael Moreno ordered their detention without bail in a decision that has been described as “delusional” and “surreal” by netizens, political commentators and progressive sectors of the judiciary.
Popular Twitter user Gerardo Tecé, in an article for the website ctxt, said:
(…) el juez Ismael Moreno deja de lado que se tratara de una obra teatral satírica para señalar a los dos detenidos como responsables de los delitos que en la ficción suceden. Tal cual. Siguiendo este razonamiento jurídico, Francis Ford Coppola podría ser acusado por los delitos que suceden en El Padrino.
[…] Judge Ismael Moreno ignored the fact that it was a satirical play and accuses the two detainees of the crimes committed in the play. Just like that. Following this legal reasoning, Francis Ford Coppola could be charged for the crimes that happen in The Godfather.
While mainstream media criticized the play based on the alleged violence that the kids could have been exposed to, online media and people on social networks defended freedom of expression and highlighted the absurdity of incriminating the artists for fictional crimes in the work they perform.
A page called “Libertad titiriteros” (Freedom for the Puppeteers) was created on Facebook, and in a few days had nearly 23,000 followers. Many netizens uploaded photos showing messages with words that satirized the placard that led the two puppeteers to prison. On February 11, however, Facebook blocked the page with the message that it reportedly violated the social network's Community Standards or Terms and Policies.
Screenshots of some photos are still circulating on the Internet. Below is a collage of four calling for the puppeteers’ freedom and playing with the word ETA and the Spanish words marioneta (marionette), panceta (bacon), croqueta (croquette) and chancleta (flip-flop):
Photos uploaded by Facebook users from the Libertad Titiriteros page, currently blocked. Author's collage.
On Twitter, hundreds of Internet users protested against the detention using various hashtags, such as #LibertadTitiriteros (Freedom for the Puppeteers), #palabrasconeta (Words With ETA) or #ficciónSinFianza (Fiction Without Bail):
Los actores que han hecho de nazis hacían apología del nazismo? En serio a este nivel hemos llegado en este país? #LibertadTitiriteros
— GeekIndignado (@GeekIndignado) February 6, 2016
Were the actors playing Nazi characters doing an apology of Nazism? Did we reach a level as low as that, in this country? #LibertadTitiriteros
Tenemos imágenes del jefe de cúpula terrorista:#ficciónSinFianza pic.twitter.com/3NnXydI7CB
— ElNota Lebowski (@elNota_Lebowski) February 10, 2016
Images from the terrorist leadership: #ficciónSinFianza
Others mentioned that children are exposed to violent play-acting that has nothing to do with puppetry:
A ver cómo lo hace Carmena en Semana Santa para que no detengan a los que clavan a uno en una cruz delante de los niños.
— Anacleto Panceto (@Xuxipc) February 7, 2016
Let's see what [Madrid Mayor Manuela] Carmena does to stop the people who play the Holy Week Crucifixion in front of the kids from being detained.
Political platform Ganemos Madrid, part of the coalition that runs the city of Madrid, which includes the current councilor for culture (the person ultimately responsible for the Carnival festivities), has issued a strong statement accusing Mayor Manuela Carmena's of “cowardice and acceptance of the ideology which have caused economic and social deterioration and reduction of freedoms in our country” for not publicly denouncing the imprisonment of the puppeteers.
Desde Ganemos Madrid creemos que no hemos llegado a las instituciones para aferrarnos al poder sino para llevar adelante los compromisos programáticos asumidos ante quienes nos dieron su apoyo, y que hoy claman por pasar a la acción para defender nuestros derechos civiles y, entre ellos, el de una cultura libre y sin censuras.
We, from Ganemos Madrid, believe that we have not arrived in government to cling to power but to carry out the commitments made to those who gave us their support, and who are now are crying out for action in defense of our civil rights and freedom of expression.
Indeed, the politicians of both sides of the aisle have not risen in defense of freedom of expression, with the exception of Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona, who shortly after learning about the incident, wrote a comment on her Facebook page criticizing the detention of the two artists:
Una torpeza no es un delito. La sátira no es un delito. En una democracia sana, en un estado de derecho, hay que proteger toda libertad de expresión, hasta la que no nos guste, hasta la que nos moleste.
Clumsiness is not a crime. Satire is not a crime. In a democracy, where there is rule of law, we we must protect all freedom of expression, even the ones we do not like or agreed with.
After four days of detention and after countless protest rallies in many Spanish cities, the judge and the prosecutor backed down and decided to release Garcia and Lazarus on bail, but they are forbidden from leaving the country and must report daily to the nearest courthouse.
The case has had a strong impact not only in Spain, where even Amnesty International issued a statement demanding that the charges be dropped, but also abroad, where several media outlets have echoed the news.
On the other hand, political party Contrapoder has filed charges against the judge and the prosecutor who indicted the puppeteers, accusing them of perverting the course of justice and describing their actions as “total nonsense that should be included as part of a display on judicial errors and horrors.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Lourdes Sada


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Three Important Hashtags Muslim Women Used to Battle Islamophobia and Sexism · Global Voices
Sohini Chatterjee

Uploaded by Flickr user theflavv. Taken on March 17, 2011 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
With Islamophobia sharply on the rise, the stereotyping of Muslim women seems to be everywhere. In news and media messaging, Islam is often portrayed as oppressive against women and accompanied by the clarion call to “save” Muslim women — usually through the dismissal of their religion.
The stereotype of the “helpless” Muslim woman, devoid of her own agency and oppressed by her faith, is used by liberals and conservatives alike.
Pointing out that faith is an important aspect of a believer's identity and denying a theist their right to practice and believe is in itself oppressive, Muslim women are turning to Twitter to take on people who use them as pawns to justify misogyny, racism, cultural imperialism, and militarism.
In Islam, the onus of how a woman covers her body or chooses to wear the hijab — as a symbol of her piety or symbolic pride in her faith and culture — falls exclusively on her.  So, when one man pointed out to a hijabi Muslim woman that she should not be wearing makeup with her headscarf, because it lacks an element of “respectability”, the woman took to Twitter to express her angst.
Humaira Mayet, a 20-year old living in London, who goes by @LondonRaani on Twitter, used the hashtag #NotYourRespectableHijabi to speak out against people who judge women on their appearance, often on religious terms.
Swiftly following Mayet, other hijab-wearing women started tweeting with the hashtag #NotYourRespectableHijabi and posted pictures wearing makeup, as an act of decrying and defying blatant religious and moral policing, telling the world that their faith is not for anyone to regulate.
hi hi hi I'm very religious and i hate it when people say I disrespect hijab✨#NotYourRespectableHijabi pic.twitter.com/3KiuZXhMNN
— لُجَيْن. (@pixieluj) November 30, 2015
How I felt when I read that Hijabis can't wear makeup 😒 #NotYourRespectableHijabi pic.twitter.com/AYZfWG6DKl
— melakkhaleel (@melakkhaleel) November 30, 2015
Bottom line: if you're not a (Muslim) female, you don't get to speak about hijab. #NotYourRespectableHijabi
— Afreen (@afreen_nh) November 30, 2015
Turning the clock to the new year of new hopes: 2016. An article quoted UK Prime Minster David  Cameron, saying that Muslim women in the UK, owing to their lack of knowledge and understanding of the English language, are not able to speak up against their oppressors and stand up to protect their rights. He went on to conjecture that Muslim clerics take advantage of this “traditional submissiveness” of Muslim women to oppress them. Cameron then got around to suggesting that the English language could “empower” Muslim women in the UK and help them play more constructive roles in British societies, and also help fight religious extremism.
Muslim women who were outraged at being perceived as and being called “traditionally submissive”, took to Twitter to list their achievements and bust Cameron's claims.
#TraditionallySubmissive How's that for English speaking skills? pic.twitter.com/uQKPm3Hmzf
— Afrah 幸福 (@infinitesimalll) January 24, 2016
Count me in! I'm #traditionallysubmissive too. pic.twitter.com/RmNxQ0bXGu
— Manal Khalife (@iammanalk) January 30, 2016
Dear British PM, I speak two languages, pick up languages quickly, work at an airline and I'm a college graduate. #TraditionallySubmissive
— Mariam (@nofiltermariam) January 30, 2016
The campaign was important because Cameron's opinions are unfortunately shared by many who harbour dangerous misconceptions about Muslim communities, simply because they are culturally distant from their own socio-cultural landscapes. Often these misconceptions are so deeply embedded — in the psyche of a large segment of a population — that they run the risk of being institutionalized, like the way Cameron suggested.
With Muslim women vehemently debunking such ill-formed assumptions they made the world hear their voice contrary to what Cameron thought they were capable of. And this was not first time that they had done so.
In 2014, tired of hearing that an individual cannot be a Muslim and Feminist at the same time, Noorulan Shahid, started the Twitter hashtag #lifeofamuslimfeminist, affirming the significant duality of her identity.
Many Muslim women swiftly followed, tweeting their faith in Islam and feminism. Some also revealed that misogyny plagues the community as much from within, as it does from the outside. This was a revolutionary virtual movement to break yet another commonly held stereotype about Muslim women: that their religious identity keeps them from making legitimate demands for equal rights.
Muslim women of the 21st century, whose imposing presence in the virtual space can hardly be overseen, proved with this hashtag that they are self-assured politically aware individuals, who are with the world in its fight against oppression and discrimination. These women expressed their despair of white supremacist tendencies within feminism, which have scuttled for long the development of a nuanced understanding of feminist intersectionality. Two years after it was started, this powerful trend can still be found alive, being tweeted about to this day. If David Cameron had managed to follow this trend, he probably would not have made the mistake of thinking Muslim women are “traditionally submissive”.
“White feminists argue women should be able to dress how they want to, yet refuse to let me wear my hijab in peace #lifeofamuslimfeminist“
— متو (@xomattouxo) December 11, 2014
I CANNOT AND WILL NOT CHOOSE ONE IDENTITY. AND YOU WILL DEAL. (2/2) #BeingBlackAndMuslim #LifeOfAMuslimFeminist #intersectionality
— The Miseducation Of (@ABeau2ifulMind) February 20, 2015
#ispeakformyself #lifeofamuslimfeminist pic.twitter.com/DVo8LBEAVw
— I Speak for Myself (@Ispeakforme2014) March 27, 2014
Some of my fave Qur'anic/Islamic stories are those of strong,single mothers #Hajra #Maryam #Amina #Khadija .. #lifeofamuslimfeminist #rabata
— Saimah (@saimahta) March 2, 2014
I need feminism because people (including other feminists) think my religion oppresses me. #lifeofamuslimfeminist pic.twitter.com/xj1AHHdNip
— Hira (@hirab11) January 11, 2014
These women have busted myths, fought misogyny and stereotypes alike, with more gumption than they are traditionally given credit for.

author: Sohini Chatterjee


text:
A Blogger Exposes Personal Data Protection Flaw on Macedonia’s Election Commission Website · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Part of the home page of Macedonian State Election Commission website, www.sec.mk.
Ensuring that the next elections are free and fair is crucial to the return of democracy and stability in Macedonia. A young female blogger contributed to this process by discovering a flaw related to the government's voters’ registry web app.
One of the reforms needed to end the current political crisis in Macedonia, as stipulated within an agreement that was overseen by the European Union and the United States, is the restoration of the State Election Commission (SEC) to good and honest working order. It also requires a “clean-up” of the voters’ registry, ensuring that only people with the right to vote can do so. The first official investigation that the Special Public Prosecutor has launched as part of this effort is looking into the creation of “phantom voters,” as well as votes in the name of dead or absent citizens.
The web application that enables citizens to check if they are in the voters’ registry has been active for years. The SEC is supposed to clean up the database behind it, but as software developer Kalina Zografska found out, that would have only solved part of the problem.
Kalina Zografska. Photo used with her permission.
On the morning of February 10, Zografska published a blog post titled “Would you like to have a copy of the voters’ registry? Click here!” reporting that she had discovered a flaw that “leaves the voters’ registry free for the taking, including sensitive personal data of all citizens, such as the Unique Master Citizen Numbers, names, area of residence” on the official government body's website.
In the blog post, Zografska explained that the application utilizes a very simple URL to trigger the display of citizens’ data, using the Unique Master Citizen Number as input. In all former Yugoslav countries, this ID number has a fixed, predictable format, consisting of the date of birth and other basic elements. Therefore, a simple script can target the application with requests using changed parameters and extract data on all citizens.
This ID number consists of 13 digits in the form “DD MM YYY RR BBB K” (without blank spaces) where “DD MM YYY” is day of birth, “RR BBB” refers to region of birth/registration and gender, and K is checksum. Since the SEC application used the URL format of ‘http://electorallist.gov.mk/Found.aspx?value= [ ID Number format ]’ a simple software can just try all ID number combinations for the dates of the last 80 years or more, and extract data for the “hits” that actually coincide with real citizens’ IDs.
Иако официјалната форма е навидум зад captcha, со околку 2мин на страницава со view source се наоѓа голиот линк.
Ова остава простор за:
Грешката е на многу аматерско ниво од аспект на професионални принципи на работење со лични податоци на отворен веб. Грешката е противзаконска на Законот за заштита на лични податоци. И не е грешка од Државната изборната комисија која се појавува првпат.
Ни требаат податоци и системи на кои може да им веруваме и заштита што е загарантирана, како минимум.
Even though the official form is seemingly protected by a captcha form, one can find the naked link in two minutes with the “view source” option.
This opens up the possibility of:
The mishap is at a very amateurish level from the perspective of professional principles of working with personal data on the open Web. The mishap is against the Law on Personal Data Protection. And this is not the first time that the State Election Commission has made such a mistake.
We need data and systems we can trust, guaranteeing protection as a minimum.
The Macedonian Law on Personal Data Protection, which was adopted in 2005, is based on the related European Union directives and is aligned with EU data protection standards. It requires that data controllers, such as government institutions, take measures to ensure the protection of citizen's private data that they store and process. In particular, data such as the Unique Master Citizen Number, name or address enjoy the highest level of legal protection.
Zografska announced her findings in the tweet below, causing quite a stir online, with a flurry of retweets and mentions of the profiles of state institutions.
Сакате копија од избирачки список? Клик овде! https://t.co/Jkr1qer0Mj
— Kalina Zografska (@kzograf) February 10, 2016
Would you like to have a copy of the voters’ registry? Click here!
Within hours of the blog post's publication, the SEC shut down access to the voters’ registry application. The button inviting citizens to check if they are on the voters list is still present on the home page of their website, but clicking on it just redirects to the same page.
Screenshot of Macedonian State Election Commission website. The dysfunctional button for the voters’ registry app is on the left within the field with blue background.
When journalists from independent news organization Meta.mk asked the SEC why the application became inaccessible, their initial response was that “there is some problem with the Internet connection.” A week later on February 17, with the application still not working, Meta.mk asked again. This time, the SEC admitted that the list is “currently offline due to a security problem.” Government officials did not provide details as to whether the problem is the one pointed out by Zografska, but added that their IT department is developing new ways for citizens to confirm their presence in the voters’ registry.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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A House in the Hills Raises Temperatures in Jamaica’s Election Campaign · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Screenshot of a drone image of Beverly Hills, the residential area in which Andrew Holness lives. Taken from Kingston Jamaica – Beverly Hills Aerial Video and uploaded to YouTube by Zomian Drone-maica Thompson.
General elections in Jamaica will take place on February 25 — just over a week away — but the online conversation and rhetoric surrounding the polls has soared, fuelled by a statement from the ruling People's National Party (PNP) that it would not participate in planned televised political debates with the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). That is, unless JLP leader Andrew Holness answered a series of questions regarding the source of funds for the construction of his home in an upscale Kingston neighborhood.
The PNP also sought an apology from Holness for describing a violent incident at a JLP rally as “an act of terror.” While the opposition leader has now responded in a two-page statement first shared on Twitter, his answers were not enough to satisfy the PNP, and the situation remains a political stalemate.
Immediate tweets from civil society and the private sector ranged from expressing surprise and bafflement to voicing disapproval about the ruling party's refusal to participate. Several influential groups, including The Press Association of Jamaica, National Integrity Action and The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica expressed their concern. Many suggested that if debates did not take place, the Jamaican electorate would be less well informed and the country's democracy the poorer for it. According to media surveys, three debates preceding the previous elections in 2011 had reasonably good viewership and influenced the vote of some 20% of those surveyed.
Economics professor at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus, Dr. Damien King, asserted:
To the PNP, who won't debate unless Andrew declares finances: A public debate is not a favour to the opposition; it's a service to the ppl.
— Damien King (@DamienWKing) February 13, 2016
Influential talk show host Cliff Hughes added:
#HoldTheDebates is an imperative. Our young n fledgling democracy must be nurtured n enriched. The PNP is wrong not to debate.
— Cliff Hughes (@cliffnationwide) February 13, 2016
As the Twitter discussion heated up, UWI's student leadership program conducted a Twitter chat with the hashtag #HoldTheDebate.
Local bloggers have also expressed their views. Satirical blog The Ungrateful Soup, observing the situation comically, referred to the prime minister's past remarks about the role religious guidance plays in her decision-making:
Explaining that she, like the rest of us, would love to get the national debates underway, Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller has revealed that God, ‘who continues to procrastinate’, has yet to touch her with the answers she will be required to provide so that those debates can actually happen.
‘He hasn’t even given me the questions yet,’ said the frustrated Prime Minister, apologizing to the country on behalf of her Lord, Saviour, Economics Advisor and Political Strategist for His tardiness once again. ‘A national debate is a critical facet of our democratic system. You hear that God? A critical facet!’
Young blogger Jay Brown, an “ordinary Jamaican who is simply looking at ways to make us once again the Jewel of the Caribbean”,  questioned the value of political debates for either party, who would do better to engage in grassroots activities than to seek to persuade those on social media:
Why therefore would the PNP who are only marginally ahead want to engage in a debate on national television that is hardly likely to generate any additional potential voters regardless of the outcome.
A better strategy for the PNP is therefore to go after the grass root folks, the ray ray politics folks, those who care not about fiscal deficit, debt/gdp ratio, or surplus. These people want to see their leader running and jumping and prancing on stage with music blaring, cussing out the opposition while lighting up a big head while gulping down a Guinness.
The people who choose to exercise their votes on election day are those who are inclined to attend mass meetings and not those who listen to debates from the comfort of their living rooms.
I can guarantee you that 90% of those who live on social media are not even on the voters list and even if they are there, they will NOT vote, so why waste time talking to those folks.
The JLP has better use the next few days to get on the road and try to appeal to those who are the ‘real’ voters because on the day of the election, its not what happens on Twitter or periscope or facebook that counts, its how many X’s are beside the bell and are in the ballot boxes.
Retired economist and regular commentator and blogger Dennis G. Jones saw the need for a debate, concluding that debates have value, especially for an undecided voter such as himself:
You see, people like me want to politicians contend in public against each other, and the leaders, especially. I felt it was like a child’s game being played when I read the statement where, no matter what you said, there was a reason to not do something…It’s so like the child who wants to play outside and not do homework.
Meanwhile, local LGBT rights group J-FLAG has launched an online petition urging politicians to focus on human rights:
Read our full #VoteJustice call to action here https://t.co/u2pgcY6B0R
We are the change we seek ! #VoteJustice #VoteJustice
— J-FLAG (@equality_JA) February 17, 2016
Amidst competing lawsuits and accusations flying between the two political parties, civil society organizations are anxious for key issues to be addressed by politicians vying for office. The issue of the national debate has led to a wider discussion on transparency and accountability in government.
An informal Twitter poll conducted by anti-corruption advisor Greg Christie asked the following question: Who, in the Jamaica Parliament, should take the lead in publicly disclosing their assets, income, liabilities? 93% of the 220 Twitter users who voted said that the prime minister should be the first to do so. According to the Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act, lawmakers are required to declare their assets and liabilities to an integrity commission, but the commission's reports haven't been tabled in Parliament since 2009.
Since the Jamaica Debates Commission, which has administered televised debates in three past elections, is not permitted to hold an “empty chair” debate with only one party participating, this tweeted photograph from Opposition Leader Andrew Holness (in green) proved meaningless, if amusing:
#Debate #EmptyChair #Whereisportia pic.twitter.com/iJ1HhLNDTl
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) February 13, 2016
As the discussion intensified, high-profile entrepreneur Yaneek Page observed on Twitter:
This mud slinging re who owns what, where & how. Forget ‘badmind’. Real issues re corruption/governance/debt/unjust enrichment #JaVotes2016
— #FutureServicesJa (@yaneekpage) February 16, 2016
Some commentators seem resigned to the current situation. Radio talk show host Emily Shields tweeted:
Jamaica's current situation – Bye bye issues. Hello lawsuits #voteja2016
— Emily Shields (@emilymshields) February 16, 2016
Another young man, PNP politician Damion Crawford, tweeted humorously — but with a hint of frustration — about the impasse:
Jamaica's problem is that we make dogs eat hay and horse eat bone
— Damion Crawford, MP. (@DamionCrawford) February 17, 2016
New developments are occurring every few hours, with social media fueling the “debate over the debates”. The hashtag #HoldTheDebates remains current, although the Jamaica Debates Commission is now running out of options with little time remaining.
The current state of play is that with both JLP leader Holness refusing to apologize and PNP campaign manager Peter Phillips refusing to retract his demands, there is the possibility that two debates may still go ahead — but not between the two leaders. Meanwhile, lawyers for both sides are very busy.

author: Emma Lewis


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A New Poster Shows Just How Desperate Japan’s Hated Opposition Party Is for Votes · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Main slogan: “I may hate the Democrats, but I love democracy more.” — Democratic Party of Japan. Image widely shared in social media.
An election poster described by some as “masochistic” points out just how desperate Japan's main opposition party is to somehow appeal to voters ahead of elections planned for summer 2016.
The poster, created the Democratic Party of Japan (sometimes referred to as the Democrats, but usually as the DPJ in English-language media), has been widely panned across traditional and social media.
The main message of the poster?
「民主党は嫌いだけど、民主主義は守りたい」
“I may hate the Democrats, but I love democracy more.”
The unspoken plea is for voters to hold their nose and vote for the Democrats in the upcoming House of Councillors (the upper house of Japan's bicameral parliament) elections.
The DPJ is also acknowledging fears that if Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and the Liberal Democratic Party are elected again in 2016, they may continue to pursue “undemocratic” policies that curtail civil liberties and militarize Japan, with no opposition to stop them.
However, many Japanese came to distrust the Democratic Party of Japan because of its oddball political leadership, infighting and perceived incompetence dealing with the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that struck Japan in March 2011.
The poster's fine print reads:
「すぐに信じなくてもいい。野党として、止める役割をやらせてください」
You don't have to trust us right away. Just let us do our job (standing up for democracy) as Japan's opposition party.
Predictably, the DPJ's poster has been met with skepticism. Left-leaning news site Asahi calls the poster “masochistic” (“自虐的な新ポスター”).
Commenters on social media have lampooned the poster:
このポスター見て誰が投票したがるんだよw
「民主党は嫌いだけど、民主主義は守りたい」…民主党が参院選向け新ポスター　支持率低迷の現状踏まえ　「すぐに信じなくていい」とも https://t.co/la9AtWs4om pic.twitter.com/wyvSA5tWZs
— 世界の中心で、何かを叫ぶ (@center_of_world) January 27, 2016
Who would want to vote [for the Democratic Party of Japan] after seeing this poster LOL?
Kan Naoto, a senior DPJ politician who was prime minister during the Tohoku triple disaster in March 2011, has produced a more provocative election poster:
民主党・菅直人の新ポスターだそうで。
センス悪いわぁ…。 pic.twitter.com/04kjewDBHE
— 壮麻　陣 (@JinSohma) February 7, 2016
Poster caption: “STOP the rampaging Abe government.”
This appears to be Kan Naoto of the DPJ's new election poster… It's kind of tacky…
Japan's DPJ has been left wandering in the political wilderness since 2012.
After winning a landslide election and assuming power in 2009, the DPJ's win at the polls, defeating the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), appeared to a new era of genuine competitive electoral politics in Japan.
The LDP had governed Japan almost without interruption since the end of World War II. The success of the DPJ, with its strong support in Japan's cities and progressive policies, led many to believe that Japan might finally transition to a stable two-party system
However, once elected the party embarked on what was widely perceived as several years of lackluster, ineffective government and vicious political infighting.
Public distrust of the DPJ was cemented following what was widely perceived to be a weak and confused response to Japan's 2011 “triple disaster”, when a massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident wreaked havoc on northeastern Japan.
The LDP, led by Abe Shinzo, swept back to power in 2012. Since then the DPJ has struggled to redefine itself.
There are fears the DPJ itself is on the verge of breaking up, leaving Japan without an effective opposition.
However, according to recent polls conducted by national broadcaster NHK, the DPJ enjoys no more than 10% support, likely not enough to prevent Abe Shinzo and the Liberal Democratic Party from achieving the supermajority in parliament needed to radically change Japan's Constitution.
Still, in the lead-up to “double” lower and upper House elections planned for summer 2016, there may yet be an opportunity for Japan's beleaguered opposition party. A sharply rising yen and a tanking stock market have effectively put an end to “Abenomics”, the flagship initiative of Abe Shinzo's government.

author: Nevin Thompson


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A Voice From the Front Lines of El Niño in Kenya · Global Voices
350.org

In the arid and dry region of Isiolo in Kenya, a new irrigation scheme has been set up to help communities to learn and adopt new ways and to find an alternative to livestock keeping in order to diversify sources of income to attain self-reliance and resilience to recurring droughts.
EU/ECHO/Martin Karimi. CC BY-ND 2.0
In this two-part series, young voices from Kenya share their struggle and hopes, as the devastating drought pervading the Horn of Africa was followed by unusually heavy rains, in a world that is warmer now than any time in recorded history.
The testimonies in this series were collected by the Climate Impacts Program at 350.org, an organisation building a global climate movement, and are published on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Part one is written by Kay Seven, a performing artist from the Kajiado County, not far from the Tanzanian border.
Kenya is a drought-prone country, primarily because of its peculiar eco-climatic conditions. Rainfall patterns, especially rain failure or erratic rainfall are frequently the cause of natural disasters, where rural livelihoods continuously struggle to adapt.
Though not located in the north-eastern part, usually the most impacted by drought and flooding, Kajiado County has suffered this year above-average rainfall from El Niño phenomenon. After critical dry conditions, we have started experiencing rainfall in our district. With enhanced rainfall, we are expecting our crops to grow well. However, we are concerned that too much rainfall can cause devastating damages to our crops.
Kay Seven, a performing artist from the Kajiado County, not far from the Tanzanian border, describes some of the effects of the prolonged drought in his community. Photo: Kay Seven
Last year, Kenya’s meteorological department warned that parts of the East African country may see above-average rainfall from El Niño during the October-to-December rainy season. The heavy rains were detrimental for flood-prone areas and coastal lowlands but in a certain way helpful for parched farmland and pastoral communities west of the country.
East Africans and large communities across the Horn of Africa have already suffered this year from torrential rains and droughts, which experts said could be linked to the evolving El Niño. Meanwhile, floods in northwestern Tanzania killed dozens and left hundreds homeless. The severe weather also killed livestock and destroyed crops of maize and cotton.
Some communities in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Somalia are still recovering from previous El Niño events; particularly the one of 1997-1998 which left victims estimated at 2,000 people and triggered widespread animal disease outbreaks. The Horn of Africa was also hit by a severe drought in 2011-2012 which led to dire food insecurity that threatened the livelihoods of over 10 million people. An estimated 260,000 people, half of them children, died from famine in Somalia, which was one of the worst-affected areas.
In a region that has been regularly exposed to effects of extreme weather events and is experiencing El Niño in a more frequent way, it is imperative for locals to get adequately prepared in order to increase their resilience capacity. It is a matter of survival for about 80% of the populations made of farmers and pastoralists communities whose well-being and income largely depend on the stability or not of the climatic patterns.
“We are losing young lives due to pest diseases, malnutrition and famine. Our food security is more and more threatened while our economy is severely affected. Worse, the long periods of drought have caused repeated conflicts between farmers and pastoralists fighting for the scarce resources.” -Words from a song by Kay Seven
In the midst of the crisis, the local government has come up with a series of strategies to curb drought effects and support the most affected communities. Those strategies include a food storage programme in counties, the formation of small groups called Sacco (a framework where farmers are exposed to farming education and training), increased modern irrigation and reforestation programmes.
While these efforts have not yet produced tangible results, communities do not lose hope. They believe in the action and solidarity spirits from bottom up to face such disasters and build stronger and resilient communities that are capable of ensuring food security for all and restoring an ecosystem life free from droughts and famine. Though the challenge is still big, the Kajiado community is determined to embrace renewable energy and resist the development of fossil fuels while strengthening its disaster preparedness. In the words of a song of mine:
We have a responsibility to ensure whoever gets in the womb next gets a better place to spend the rest of his or her life when they are born. We can ensure decline in mortality rate due to famine, flooding or any climatic deserters by becoming responsible in our communities. Let’s join hands, let’s do this…if we join hands we can do this.
Mwenda tezi na Omo,Marejeo ni Ghamani [in Swahili, meaning ‘We can run as much as we can from our problems, but we will always go back because we didn’t take time to solve them’].


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Colombia Introduces Harsher Prison Sentences for Acid Attacks · Global Voices
Lully

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Natalia Ponce de Leon during the enactment ceremony of the law. Photo: Casa de Nariño-Presidency of Colombia.
At the beginning of 2016, Colombia passed Law 1773, also known as the Natalia Ponce de León Law, which has toughened sentences and taken judicial benefits away from the perpetrators of attacks using acid and other chemicals. The law is named after a victim of one of these attacks, whose case sparked the debate over the lack of legislation in Colombia on this type of violence.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos emphasised the importance of legislation like this which manages to “combine measures and link institutions to face up to this type of attack on human integrity in the best way possible”.
Natalia Ponce de León, now a symbol of the fight against acid attacks in Colombia, was the special guest at the enactment ceremony. During the ceremony she revealed her face, normally covered with a mask, after its 20 operations. She expressed her gratitude to all those who made it possible for this law to be passed, something she had fought for through the foundation she runs.
In 2014, when she was 33, Ponce de León was attacked in the entrance to her apartment building in Bogotá by a young man who had been obsessed with her. As she stated in a report by newspaper El País:
Él intentó matarme, tuve quemaduras en todo el cuerpo, me destruyó la cara totalmente, perdí la calidad de mi vista, tragué ácido lo cual afectó mis vías respiratorias, no pude volver a trabajar, ahora estoy dedicada a mi recuperación, me han sometido a 16 cirugías y me faltan muchas más, hay días de depresión, de tristeza. Pero la vida sigue y aquí estoy para continuar y esperando que se haga justicia.”
He tried to kill me. I had burns all over my body, my face was totally destroyed, I lost a lot of vision, and I swallowed enough acid to affect my airways. I can't go back to work; I can only focus on my recovery. I've had 16 operations already and I need a lot more. I do have days of depression or sadness, but life goes on and I'm here to carry on and wait for justice.
The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia said 190 attacks involving acid or a corrosive substances have been recorded since 2012.
Ponce de León also appealed to Colombians to join her new initiative to create a care unit for burns victims.
The new law treats acid attacks as a specific crime. It increases prison sentences from 12 years and 5 months to 20 years for the cases where the victims are left with reversible damage. For cases like Ponce de León's when victims are left with permanent damage, sentences have gone from 20 years and 9 months to 30 years or more, depending on the severity of the harm. If the attack leaves the victim's face deformed, the punishment is up to a third longer.
Ponce de León's efforts and foundation have generally been supported on social media. Twitter user Ricardo Galán's reflection draws attention to her attacker, who is currently in prison waiting for judgement.
Alguien sabe si @FiscaliaCol llamó a juicio al agresor de Natalia Ponce? De que le sirve una Ley con su nombre, en completa impunidad?
— Ricardo Galán (@RicardoGalanO) enero 19, 2016
Does anyone know if Colombia's attorney general has brought Natalia Ponce's attacker to justice? What is the point of a law with her name, given complete impunity?
Juan Davíd C tweeted at the country's president, mentioning another law that has been passed:
@JuanManSantos lo bueno hay que destacarlo y me alegra que haya firmado la ley contra el maltrato animal y contra ataques con ácido, gracias
— Juan David C. (@JuanDavidC_) enero 6, 2016
@JuanManSantos the good has to be highlighted, and I'm happy that you've signed laws against mistreatment of animals and against acid attacks, thank you
Others celebrated, like Alina Mican:
Ley #NataliaPonce que gran paso contra la impunidad y la prevención de ataques con ácido en Colombia.@Carlos_Guevara @MovimientoMIRA cumplió
— Alina Mican (@Alisamic) enero 19, 2016
The Natalia Ponce law is a huge step against impunity and for the prevention of acid attacks in Colombia. @Carlos_Guevara @MovimientoMIRA succeeded
However, others protested against the name the law was given:
Ley contra ataques con acido no deberia llamarse natalia ponce. X respeto a las mil mujeres q fueron atacadas antes (finjan que les importa)
— EscorpionXCO (@EscorpionXCO) enero 17, 2016
The law against acid attacks shouldn't be called Natalia Ponce, out of respect for the women that were attacked before (pretend that you care).
And user Jesús Adel, among others, expressed his solidarity but didn't entirely support the new law. He would prefer to see tougher sentences:
NATALIA PONCE DE LEON Valiente mujer que el Señor le ayude en su vida, su agresor debería estar deporvida en una cárcel.
— Jesus Adel (@valderramamas) enero 19, 2016
God bless Natalia Ponce de León, such a brave lady, her attacker should be in prison for life.
Twitter users have made their support public using the tags #NoMoreAcidAttacks (#NoMásAtaquesConÁcido) and #NoMoreAcid (#NoMásÁcido). Jorge Peñuela tweeted:
#NataliaPonce el rostro de la fortaleza,la lucha y el perdón.#NoMásAtaquesConÁcido por el respeto a la vida,por el derecho a vivir en paz.
— jorge peñuela (@JorgePh_01) enero 19, 2016
#NataliaPonce is the face of strength, struggle and forgiveness. #NoMoreAcidAttacks for the respect for life, and the right to live in peace.
Felipe Potes wrote the following:
Toca tener un corazón muy oscuro para tirarle #ácido a alguien…..NO MÁS! #NomasAcido
— Felipe Potes (@potesituation) enero 19, 2016
You have to have such a dark heart to throw acid at someone… NO MORE! #NoMoreAcid.
Finally, in November Natalia Ponce summed up her strength on Twitter:
De las cenizas renace el Ave Fénix y también la Fundación Natalia Ponce de León #NoMásÁcido #FundaciónNPDL
— NataliaPonceDeLeón (@OrgNPDL) noviembre 26, 2015
From the ashes the phoenix is reborn, and so is the Natalia Ponce de León Foundation #NoMoreAcid #NPDLFoundation.
Every year about 1,500 cases of acid violence are recorded worldwide, according to Acid Survivors Trust, but the real figure is probably far higher.

author: Lully


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Hungary’s Teachers Are Mad As Hell and They’re Not Taking It Anymore · Global Voices
Sara Heltai

Sign reads, “Once there was a huge spectacle. They called it the school for sheep. Those got the highest accolades, who didn't speak, but only bleat.” (Excerpt from a poem by Sándor Weöres.) Image: István Huszti / Index.hu. Used with permission.
On February 13, around 30,000 teachers, students, and their supporters gathered in front of the Hungarian parliament building in the drizzling rain. The protesters rallied against the ongoing centralization of the education system, workloads on teachers they say are unsustainable, and mandatory textbooks they argue are inaccurate. Demonstrators demanded system-wide reforms, laid out in a 25-point manifesto, which they say will give teachers the respect and students the future they deserve.
The gathering on February 13 was the largest protest in Hungary since demonstrations against the Internet tax in 2014, which drew tens of thousands of people. A recent survey conducted by the Budapest-based Publicus Institute found that more than three quarters of the nation support the teachers’ cause, while more than half the country blames the Fidesz government for the declining state of the education.
“The tool for the eradication of poverty is knowledge, and those in power knowingly push our next generation into deprivation,” said the Teachers’ Union president at Kossuth Square.
Earlier in the year, a Hungarian regional newspaper published an open letter written by the faculty of a high school in Miskolc, a city in the country's northeast, which was soon signed by staff at other institutions across the country. The letter laments the wave of short-lived reforms, which it deems to be reckless experimentation with students’ future.
The text also highlights how educators are losing their right to influence the education system, as a result of forced centralization. Teachers decry that students are being buried under too many classroom hours, poor quality textbooks, and unnecessary paperwork, and they accuse the government of wanting to raise a generation that is “no longer able to ask questions.”
A second, more structured letter was published on January 26, followed by mass protests in nearly a dozen cities by teachers and students demanding the rollback of reforms.
Ott voltunk. #miskolc #oktatás #függetlendiákparlament pic.twitter.com/ZTL4lvN83H
— Eni Kalovics (@enikalovics) February 4, 2016
We were there. #Miskolc #education #IndependentStudentParliament
Ezrek vonultak az utcára a szakadó esőben Miskolcon
Big protest in the rain in Miskolc #hungary https://t.co/nmWXrti0Ta
— Szalay Dániel (@dszalay) February 3, 2016
Big protest in the rain in Miskolc. #Hungary
Pillanatok a bp-i szimpátiatüntetésről #oktatas #budapest #miskolc #Hungary #protest #education pic.twitter.com/K9XVDA2vsC
— Patrik Veres (@patveres) February 3, 2016
Moments from the sympathy demonstration in BP #Budapest #Miskolc #Hungary #protest #education
Leaked information from a recent party meeting suggests, not surprisingly, that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán believes external forces are to blame for inciting teachers’ discontent. Suspicions are usually reserved for George Soros, the Hungarian-born entrepreneur and philanthropist, whom the prime minister frequently blames for political unrest in Hungary and sometimes even problems throughout Europe. (Disclosure: Global Voices receives funding from The Open Society Institute, whose founder and chairman is George Soros.)
The crowd that gathered in Kossuth Square said it was homegrown problems, however, that brought them out to protest — problems that students and educators face, when trying to attend school or teach the curriculum.
Vikória Szűcs, the president of the Nursery Workers Democratic Union, spoke about low wages and the futile promises of the government, warning that “the country bleeds from a thousand wounds and it is coming crashing down. We are struggling for raises of a hundred to thousand forints [$0.36 to $3.6 USD], and meanwhile the leaders of the country earn five millions [$18,000 USD].” After her speech, the crowd chanted, “Get out, Orbán!”
“We should take responsibility together for quality civil services, so our children won't grow up to be subjects, but independent, creative people,” said a representative from the Civil and Public Servants Union.
Throughout the speeches the crowd repeated the anti-government slogans, “Traitors!” “It is time!” and “Mafia, Mafia!”
“Tens of thousands of us are here, so that our children don't suffer the same fate as we did. So that they are not forced abroad, because in this Canaan they have no place,” László Mendrey, the president of the Democratic Union of Pedagogues said, referring to campaign promises made by Orbán in 2012.
“The government looks down on us, they don't think that different professions are able to hold hands and say ‘no’ in solidarity to the destruction of education and the robbing of the country.”
A student shared his vision for a “happy, successful and cohesive Hungary,” while a parent compared attending school 30 years ago and now, highlighting the dismal facilities, crumbling buildings, overworked teachers, and apathetic students.
Istvánné Galló, the president of the Teachers’ Union closed the demonstration. She decried the systemic destruction of the education system, where children are deprived of the freedom to study and teachers have lost the freedom to teach.
A szegénység felszámolásának eszköze a tudás. A hatalom tudatosan taszítja szegénységbe a felnövekvő generációt. Milyen ország lesz ez így 10-20 év múlva? A kormány figyelmét erre felhívta a pedagógusok sztrájkbizottsága, de az a füle botját se mozdította. De most elfogyott a türelem, elég volt, nem hagyjuk!
The tool for the eradication of poverty is knowledge and those in power knowingly push the next generation into deprivation. How will our country look in a decade or two? The strike committee was trying to get the attention of the government, but they didn't listen. Now our patience has run out, it was enough!
Finally, the crowd observed five minutes of silence for their compatriots now enduring deep poverty, racism, and the Quaestor financial scandal, in addition to recognizing the many victims of current government policies.
Twitter user @AAH_hun posted the following video of the 5 minutes of silence, writing “With silence against Viktor Orbán: 30.000 + teachers and parents, powerful resilience against [Hungary's] illiberalism….”
Unknown to those at the square, the new educational undersecretary, László Palkovics, was holding a press conference during the demonstration. He declared that it is baseless for teachers to hold a protest, because there isn't a question broached by the unions that the public education roundtable had not already addressed.
To add insult to injury, in an interview published on the day of the protest, former Higher Education Undersecretary István Klinghammer said, “We need educators who are smart, morally sound, and who pass these values onto their students. This is why I'm pissed, when I see unshaven, unkempt faculty staff walking around in their checkered shirts.”
Teachers fired back by donning checkered shirts en masse, posing for group photographs, in response to Klinghammer's insult.
“To KlikHammer with love :) – from the faculty of Sashegyi Arany János Elementary and High School.” Source: Klári Szuhai / Facebook
Kockás ingem revolverem… #klikhammer #kockasing pic.twitter.com/nlCrOy4PiT
— Yoscha (@Yoscha_hu) February 16, 2016
My checkered shirt is my revolver. #Klikhammer #checkeredshirt

author: Sara Heltai


text:
The Racist Portrayal of the Philippines in Historical Cartoons as US Troops Invaded · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Illustration shows Uncle Sam offering on one hand a soldier and on the other a “school teacher” to a group of reluctant Filipinos, telling them that the choice is theirs. 1901. Keppler, Udo J. Image and caption from the United States Library of Congress
When the United States invaded the Philippines in 1899, it claimed that it was a mission to introduce modern civilization and democracy in the former colony of Spain. Perhaps to convince the American public that the war effort should be supported, Filipinos were represented in the press as savages who need to be educated about self-rule. This racist representation of Filipinos was reflected in several newspaper and magazine cartoons published during the late 1890s and early 1900s.
In the past decade, Filipino-American scholars reviewed these cartoons and other propaganda materials that expose how the United States government tried to hide its colonial agenda by describing the occupation as an act of benevolence.
What the cartoons failed to illustrate is that a Philippine Republic was already existing when American soldiers arrived in 1898. Furthermore, Filipino revolutionaries had already defeated the Spanish colonial forces, which ruled the Philippines for more than 300 years. The cartoons also didn’t show that the subsequent war between Filipino and American troops killed more than a million people in the country. The war ended in 1901, but it was only in 1946 when the Philippines gained its independence.
Updated Feb. 20, 2016: Puck and Judge, two satirical magazines, turned this characterization of the Philippines and other countries into illustrations. Let’s take a look at some of these cartoons, which are archived in the U.S. Library of Congress.
The text at the bottom of the image reads:
Print shows Uncle Sam as a teacher, standing behind a desk in front of his new students who are labeled “Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii, [and] Philippines”; they do not look happy to be there. At the rear of the classroom are students holding books labeled “California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, [and] Alaska”. At the far left, an African-American boy cleans the windows, and in the background, a Native boy sits by himself, reading an upside-down book labeled “ABC”, an a Chinese boy stands just outside the door. A book on Uncle Sam's desk is titled “U.S. First Lessons in Self-Government”. 1899. Dalrymple, Louis. Image and caption from the United States Library of Congress
Uncle Sam (to his new class in Civilization): Now, children, you've got to learn these lessons whether you want to or not! But just take a look at the class ahead of you, and remember that, in a little while, you will feel as glad to be here as they are!
The text at the bottom of the image reads:
Print shows Uncle Sam and Columbia standing at the entrance to the “U.S. Foundling Asylum” as a basket of crying children labeled “Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hawaii, [and] Philippine” is presented to them by arms labeled “Manifest Destiny”. Within the walls of the asylum are four children labeled “Texas, New Mexico, Cal. [and] Alaska” playing together. 1898. Keppler, Udo J. Image and caption from the United States Library of Congress
Uncle Sam — Gosh! I wish they wouldn't come quite so many in a bunch; but, if I've got to take them, I guess I can do as well by them as I've done by the others!
The leader of the newly established Philippine Republic was described as a dictator:
Print shows a large gloved fist with an American flag on it crashing down on Emilio Aguinaldo, who is riding on a rocking horse labeled “Dictatorship” next to a large sword labeled “Aguinaldo” on the “Philippines”. 1899. Dalrymple, Louis. Image and caption from the United States Library of Congress
The U.S. government insisted that its aim was to educate Filipinos:
Illustration shows Uncle Sam standing at center, gesturing to the left toward American soldiers boarding ships to return to America after defeating the Spanish in the Philippines, and gesturing to the right toward a group of matronly women, one labeled “Daughters of the Revolution”, who have just arrived to educate the peoples of the Philippines. 1900. Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.). Image and caption from the United States Library of Congress
The text at the bottom of the image reads:
Uncle Sam: You have seen what my sons can do in war — now see what my daughters can do in peace.
The next two cartoons depict Filipinos as barbarians who needed to be rescued by American civilization:
Print shows an elderly woman labeled “Spain”, possibly María Cristina, Queen Regent, struggling to maintain control of two diminutive figures, one labeled “Cuba”, armed with a gun and sword, and the other labeled “Philippine Islands”, armed with a crude hatchet and knife. 1896. Pughe, J. S. (John S.). Image and caption from the United States Library of Congress
Print shows Filipinos receiving the “bath” of civilization as provided by the U.S. government. Image from the Facebook page of Berna Ellorin

author: Mong Palatino


text:
This Writer and Activist Wants to Rescue the West’s Knowledge of Russia, One Translation at a Time · Global Voices
Katia Krasavina

Thomas Campbell's blog, The Russian Reader.
Not all stories make it to news headlines, and many remain hidden behind language barriers. St. Petersburg-based writer and activist Thomas Campbell does his part to bridge that gap through his blog “The Russian Reader.” Last week, Campbell visited New York University, where he described the experience of running his website and monitoring the Russian blogosphere.
When Campbell first started The Russian Reader, he focused on art and underground culture in St. Petersburg. But over the years the blog became more and more politicized. Campbell names the Bolotnaya Square rallies in late 2011 and their aftermath as the pivotal moment in his work's transformation. He got especially engrossed in the case of Aleksey Gaskarov, who, Campbell says, was targeted specifically for being affiliated with the leftist activist movement. (In 2014, Gaskarov was convicted of inciting mass riots and sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony.)
Even though The Russian Reader has been providing political commentary on activism, grassroots movements, and political debates inside Russia since 2012, Campbell only recently formulated a mission statement. He aims to “give people a glimpse into a Russian society that is smart, brave, independently minded, strong, and willing to get a few lumps on the head (or worse) to build a country that is democratic, egalitarian, LGBTQI-friendly, vigorously environmentalist, progressively urbanist, anti-xenophobic, pro-immigrant, and any number of other good things.” It's this side of Russia, Campbell says, that's often missing in the Western media's typically one-dimensional depiction of Russia.
The Russia Reader consists mostly of translations of texts originally written in Russian. Campbell selects stories he thinks are either poorly represented in the Western media, or not covered at all. Some of these stories are simply too small for the mainstream media (both Russia's and the West's), but Campbell insists that even news on this scale is integral to Russia's contemporary history. Some of these “small” stories include the case of Valery Brinikh, who was convicted of incitement for writing a piece called “The Silence of the Lamb” about the difficulties of convincing people to protest, and the story of Oleg Shevkun, the blind editor of the VOS radio, who was fired for expressing on air his disapproval of Russia's actions in Crimea.
Campbell also translates opinion pieces, which he says shed light on the vigorous debates now underway inside Russia, though they are largely unknown in the West. For instance, he has translated a series of texts by Ivan Ovsyannikov, discussing leftism and nationalism, as well as an article on self-censorship by Victoria Lomasko. Considering the volume of work (The Russian Reader featured 220 posts in 2015), Campbell rarely asks authors for permission to translate, often lifting their texts from social networks. He says he wants to build a core of such “involuntary op-ed writers” and rely on them for eloquent commentary.
Campbell’s work is primarily editorial. He tells a story less through his own writing, than by carefully arranging already available information. In so-called “collage pieces,” he captures the zeitgeist by combining articles and op-eds with screenshots of discussions taking place on social networks—like a post about a kindergarten that celebrated Militia Day by staging ISIS-style photos of children with weapons.
Campbell also assembles collections of texts on particular subjects. His dossier on “pollocracy” (poll-ocracy, as in sociological studies) and the use of surveys as a propaganda tool aims to debunk the idea of Russians’ universal support for the current government. He's also translated a collection of articles about migrant workers, trying to humanize the people customarily treated with great hostility in Russia. And there is a series of texts about the grassroots urban preservation movement in St. Petersburg, where activists discuss issues that often lead them to become political protesters.
Campbell says he's tried to grow his blog by engaging other translators, but he says he discovered an “ideological gap” with “young kids who want plurality of opinion.” Campbell doesn’t hide his leftist bias and refuses to give a platform to the writers he considers nationalist, like journalist Yulia Latynina and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny. Here, the editorial choices outweigh the zeitgeist.

author: Katia Krasavina


text:
Venezuela’s President Finally Discovers Facebook, a Decade After the Social Network’s Arrival · Global Voices
Juan Ernesto Páez-Pumar

President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro during a campaign event. Photo: Joka Madruga under licence from Creative Commons.
Snooping on other people´s lives, searching for childhood friends, keeping in contact with loved ones far away, finding the love of your life, or simply putting yourself on display in a virtual showcase — these are some of the ways that Facebook users inside and outside of Venezuela have used the social network.
Mark Zuckerberg's platform hit the scene in Venezuela in 2007 and has since grown rapidly in popularity. An estimated 40% of the 30 million people living in this South American country have an account.
On 9 February, one more very important person became a Facebook user — none other than the president of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro.
Los invito a tod@s a activarse en mi cuenta de Facebook que a partir de hoy llevaré para comunicarme a diario… https://t.co/oLjq0bh5GT
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) febrero 9, 2016
I invite everyone to “friend” me on Facebook, which as of today I will use to communicate on a daily basis…
The arrival of Maduro to the social network, nearly one decade after Facebook fever hit the country, has happened at a very particular juncture in Venezuelan history.  An unprecedented economic crisis is inflicting terrible hardship on Venezuelans, due to explosive inflation and scarcity of the most basic consumer items.
Venezuela es el país con la inflación más alta del mundo y con niveles de escasez de un país en guerra. https://t.co/fOiIeeqJyh
— Miguel Velarde (@MiguelVelarde) febrero 5, 2016
Venezuela is a country with the highest inflation rate in the world and the kind of scarcity found in a war-torn country.
Many have taken advantage of the first hours of this virtual window to petition the president on a variety of matters, which has created political polarization. With roughly 170,000 followers, the president's page is full of impassioned comments:
Screenshot of the Facebook wall of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
One Facebook user, identifying themself as Geo Loyal, states:
Yo no seré hipócrita ni hala bola, usted sabe que el país esta mal, por culpa de su ineptitud y la de su gabinete. Sabe que el país está en la quiebra porque se robaron todo el capital que tenían para invertirlo en Venezuela. Sea consiente y haga algo bueno en su vida como renunciar y pegarse un tiro, ya que ni usted ni ninguno de los suyos sirven para nada. ¡Pudrase [sic], Nicolas Maduro!
I refuse to be a hypocrite or a brown-noser, you know that the country is in a bad way, due to your and your cabinet's ineptitude. You know that the country is at the edge of bankruptcy because, instead of being invested in Venezuela, the capital we did have was stolen. Take some responsibility and do something useful with your life like resigning as president and shooting yourself, because neither you or any of the others from your party are good for anything. Go to hell Nicolas Maduro!
Arelis Angarita later comments:
Se le saluda mi presidente en verdad no quisiera estar en sus zapatos ,le ha tocado una guerra muy fuerte siempre sere leal , a pesar de las dificultades y saldre a defender el legado de mi amado gigante Chavez
I salute you my president, truthfully I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, you have had to deal with very difficult situations that you aren't responsible for, I will always be a loyal supporter, despite the difficulties, and I will always defend the legacy of my beloved Chavez.
“President, the social security system is plagued with people aligned with the opposition, starting with Rotondaro Saquelo [sic], institutional obstruction, please, directors from the opposition, boss of ‘opposing personnel’, stop asking GOD to bless you, united, struggle, and we will be victorious,” points out José Ontiveros.
Ruben D. Sanchez leaves commentary aimed directly at Maduro supporters:
Entre aquí por curiosidad pero no puedo mantenerme un minuto mas en esta pagina al ver tantos comentarios de gente tan ignorantes que aun creen que este señor es lo mejor que le ha pasado a nuestro pobre país
I came here just out of curiosity but I can't stay one minute longer on this page after seeing so many comments from such ignorant people who still believe that this man is the best thing that has happened to our poor country.
The position that Chavismo, the dominant left-wing political ideology in Venezuela, holds regarding the virtual world has hardly been consistent over the last 17 years. Initially, the government demonized the microblogging network Twitter, accusing it of being a “tool of imperialist penetration used to lie to Venezuelans”.
But this vision changed in April 2010 when former President Hugo Chávez created his Twitter account, @chavezcandanga, which created a furor at the time. For two years afterward, it was an important source of information such as announcements and the president's points of view for the international community.
Hace rato conversé con nuestra Compañera Presidenta Dilma… Y con los CompañerosPresidentes Putin, Luckashenko, Evo y Rafael Correa!!!
— Hugo Chávez Frías (@chavezcandanga) octubre 8, 2012
I just talked with our Comrade President Dilma… And with Comrades President Putin, Luckashenko, Evo and Rafael Correa!!!
Nevertheless, more than a few Twitter users have been jailed for expressing their opinions, and the network was even disabled in 2014 during public protests in February of that year.
Chavez's political heir, Nicolás Maduro, has continued using Twitter along the same lines as his predecessor, opening his own profile, @NicolasMaduro, once he became Venezuela´s official head of state. As of today he has 2.7 million followers.
This participation in the digital age is seen as a chance to wage an ideological “counteroffensive” and forms part of the state's political communication strategy. Chavismo has stopped ignoring and stigmatizing virtual platforms, and instead signed up.

author: Juan Ernesto Páez-Pumar


text:
Violence Claims 49 Lives in an Overcrowded, Underguarded Mexican Prison · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Nearly 50 people were killed at Mexico's overcrowded Topo Chico prison on February 11, 2016. Screencap: YouTube / World News
At least 49 inmates died in a fight (or riot, according to some reports) at the Topo Chico correctional facility in Monterrey, Mexico, last week, demonstrating once again the precarious conditions in the nation's prisons.
Topo Chico was built to accommodate 2,600 prisoners, but it was holding roughly 3,800 men when violence broke out on February 11, according to the newspaper La Jornada. In addition to being overcrowded with prisoners, Topo Chico was also reportedly understaffed with guards, many of whom have been implicated in corruption, says La Jornada.
The local newspaper Diario del Pacífico says this situation is nothing new. Last July, it reported that prisons throughout the state were at least 40 percent overcrowded, according to an investigation by Nuevo León's governor elect, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón. Many of those prisoners, moreover, were convicted by federal courts. At three prisons in Nuevo León (Apodaca, Topo Chico, and Cadereyta), 1,600 of the 8,120 prisoner population were said to be incarcerated under federal authority.
At Topo Chico, nonviolent and violent offenders were housed in the same general population. The prisoner population included members of the drug cartel Los Zetas, which has been accused of multiple homicides, kidnappings, and drug trafficking, among other crimes. Mexico's judicial system favors “preventive detention,” which allows suspects to be imprisoned for the duration of their trials, meaning that not all the inmates at Topo Chico were convicted felons.
Last year, Jaime “El Bronco” Rodríguez was elected governor of the state of Nuevo León, winning as Mexico's first gubernatorial candidate to run as an independent. When he first commented on the killings at Topo Chico last week, he denied claims that some prisoners had tried to escape, and he also said no firearms were involved in the bloodshed. Later on, he made statements contradicting these remarks.
Unsurprisingly, the fatal events caught the attention of Mexico's Internet users, who commented on the failure of the country's prison system:
#TopoChico es una gran desgracia provocada por todos los partidos gobernantes. Han permitido por años la corrupción y la impunidad
— Quiubo Compa (@ayeshabo) February 11, 2016
#TopoChico is a tragedy caused by all the governing parties. They have allowed corruption and impunity for years.
Twitter user E Páramo argued that the killed prisoners deserve to be mourned no less than the disappeared Ayotzinapa students:
Los 49 de #TopoChico no valen menos (tampoco más) que los 43 de Ayotzinapa #PresunciónDeInocencia
— E Páramo (@Param0_) February 12, 2016
The 49 in #TopoChico are worth no less (nor more) than the 43 in Ayotzinapa. #PresumptionOfInnocence
The human rights group Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team published the results of its scientific investigation, conducted using the evidence they were able to view from the Ayotzinapa case.
El examen multidisciplinario de la evidencia Biológica y No Biológica recuperada en el Basurero de Cocula y la información adicional reunida, no respalda la hipótesis de que hubo un fuego de la magnitud requerida y de la duración informada en la madrugada del 27 de septiembre de 2014 que habría arrojado como resultado la incineración en masa de los 43 estudiantes desaparecidos.
The multidisciplinary examination of the biological and nonbiological evidence recovered from the Cocula Dump, and the additional information gathered, does not support the hypothesis that there was a fire of the required magnitude for the stated duration on the early morning of the September 27, 2014, that could have led to the mass incineration of the 43 missing students.
The group's findings contradict the “historic truth” offered by Mexican authorities, who claim that state agents abducted and killed the students, then incinerating their bodies in a large bonfire at the Cocula Dump. The report dealt another blow to the credibility of the Mexican justice system, as the country hosted Pope Francis and politicians did their best to focus on other issues, “sweeping under the rug” such unpleasant matters.
HUMOR
¡Bienvenido a México, @Pontifex_es!
Cartón de @_JOTAEME. Más en https://t.co/4YkwqjPUMb pic.twitter.com/DYiikr4MKO
— POLÍTICO México (@politicomx) February 12, 2016
Image title: Cleaning the house.
Image text: Welcome!
Tweet: HUMOR
Welcome to Mexico, @Pontifex_es!
Cartoon from @_JOTAEME. More at https://t.co/4YkwqjPUMb

author: J. Tadeo


text:
Welcome to Manchay, the Neighbourhood in Lima Resisting the Arrival of Public Transport · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Image of public transport in Lima. Taken from Flickr account of Jorge Leal under Creative Commons licence.
This post was originally published on Juan Arellano's blog ‘Globalizado’ and is republished here with permission.
Residents of Manchay in the southeastern Lima district of Pachacámac blocked access roads to their neighbourhood on February 1 in protest against the Integrated Transport System of Lima's new shuttle buses known as ‘Blue Routes’, which were introduced on 28 January.
The residents say the new shuttle buses mean they will be forced to pay more for public transport. Fares on the privately owned vehicles — combis, a type of privately owned mini bus, and microbuses — that served as public transport in the absence of government-run options were 0.5 Peruvian soles (about 0.15 US dollars). The official new shuttle buses, which service the same routes, however, will charge 1.2 Peruvian soles (about 0.35 US dollars).
Pobladores bloquean acceso a zona de Manchay en protesta a corredor azul pic.twitter.com/b0uiC7v8Vt
— Martín Málaga (@martinmalaga5) February 1, 2016
Residents block access to Manchay in protest against the ‘Blue Routes’
Pobladores de Manchay bloquean la av. Víctor Malásquez como protesta contra el corredor azul. @RPPNoticias pic.twitter.com/NdCP9tCPXi
— Katherine Soto G. (@Katherin3Soto) February 1, 2016
Manchay residents block Avenida Victor Malásquez in protest against the ‘Blue Routes’. @RPPNoticias
Confrontations with police soon erupted and resulted in at least 40 injuries that day, which brought the neighbourhood medical post to a standstill. The volume of patients was such that various people had to be diverted to medical centres in neighbouring districts.
#Urgente Personas en los cerros esperando a la policía, sigue bloqueado el acceso a Manchay. pic.twitter.com/qptCMgSu6P
— Luis Enrique Rosales (@LuisRosalesPeru) February 1, 2016
#Urgent People in the hills waiting for police's arrival, still blocking access to Manchay.
Policia en helicóptero lanza bombas lacrimógenas en Vía Solidaridad para dispersar manifestantes en Manchay. pic.twitter.com/LS0XGoHrsM
— Luis Enrique Rosales (@LuisRosalesPeru) February 1, 2016
Police in helicopters drop tear gas bombs on Solidarity Way to disperse protesters in Manchay.
The protests continued on February 2, even increasing in volume, as Manchay residents returned to block access roads. A group of them even tried to attack the council building, resulting in the predictable police response. Clashes between protesters and police trying to open the blocked roads and avoid damage to council premises resulted in various injuries and arrests.
#WasapEC | #Manchay: la Av. Víctor Malasquez sigue bloqueada por los vecinos como protesta contra el #CorredorAzul pic.twitter.com/hQi9jqZMCC
— WasapEC (@wasapEC) February 2, 2016
#WasapEC | #Manchay: Víctor Malasquez Avenue remains blocked by residents protesting against #CorredorAzul
Sigue la protesta en #Manchay pic.twitter.com/aOABpI3Uh6
— Joe Olivas Panizo (@jolivp) February 2, 2016
Protests continue in Manchay
Nevertheless, despite the violent protests and police repression, representatives of Lima Council and the protesters were able to enter into discussion, agreeing on a return of the combis and a suspension of the official public transport service.
#Manchay dobló el brazo a Protransporte e hizo respetar “la china” para viajar por la zona
— Joe Olivas Panizo (@jolivp) February 2, 2016
#Manchay socked it to Protransporte [the division of the Municipality of Lima that handles public transport for the city] and commands respect for la china [a nickname for a 50 cents coin, the cost of the ride] to travel in the area
La “china” no murio Manchay la resucito. La protesta del pueblo dio sus frutos https://t.co/YFvTCxKZoi
— josecito ortiz (@vladym1) February 2, 2016
The china is not dead; Manchay has resuscitated it. The neighbourhood's protest has brought results.
La gente de Manchay le dice no a la modernidad y quiere seguir usando el transporte informal por siempre. La Municipalidad de Lima hace caso
— Alfredo Canchanya (@alfredcanchanya) February 3, 2016
The people of Manchay refute modernity and want to continue using informal transport forever: The Municipality of Lima pays attention.
Facebook user Lia Valderrama commented on the thoughtlessness of introducing a reform in the transport system without previous consultation with the population that would supposedly benefit:
cómo le vas a subir más del 100% de pasaje, además le quitas la fuente de economía, su trabajo, a un sector que vive del transporte. Yo entiendo que las reformas no son fáciles, pero no se puede seguir cometiendo la torpeza de (la exalcaldesa) Susana Villarán […] la autoridad no está para imponer reformas no consultadas a la población, la intervención social se da antes de la ejecución para no estar lamentando situaciones y tener que llegar a la desfachatez de enviar helicópteros para atacar desde los cielos a la población que protesta.
How are you going to increase the fare by more than 100%, and at the same time take away the source of economy, in a sector that survives on transport. I understand that reforms are not easy but we cannot continue committing the ineptitude of (ex-mayor) Susana Villarán […] no-one has the right to introduce reforms that have not first been consulted with the public, on top of this regretful situation they have the audacity to send helicopters to attack a protesting population from the skies.
On the other hand, journalist Pedro Ortíz Bisso commented in the newspaper El Comercio that whilst the residents were justfied in their protests, the fact that the council gave in quite so easily to their qualms “may end any chance of future public transport reform” in Lima. A subject which, he added, appears to be of little importance to the current city government..
Location of Manchay in the greater Lima area.
What is it about life in Manchay that makes the residents protest so energetically against a fare rise that would to others seem negligible? Manchay remains a marginal area in Lima, nestled between mountains and desert and, as its absence from the map bears witness, it is not considered to be an area of any importance. Many of its population are originally inhabitants of the Andean areas displaced by the violence perpetuated by the militant communist group Shining Path in the 1980s. The poverty rate is high, yet these residents are forced to spend more on basic services such as transport or water than the residents of far more central areas of Lima. The cumulative effect of this apparently small rise in the cost of transport, over the length of the working week, represents a serious weakening to their purchasing power.
But the problems of Manchay are not limited to transport, water or extreme poverty. Social delinquency is rife and teenagers become gang members as a way to survive. Furthermore, a great number of residents do not own the deeds to their properties. To top it all off, Manchay is geologically the area of Lima most vulnerable to a high magnitude earthquake.
The following video from YouTub user Cristian suelto en la B shows, in his own words, “the best of Manchay — because if we showed the worst, we would be showing simply the worst place to live and one of the poorest places in Lima. You would think that there had been an earthquake, ladies and gentlemen, but not at all, that's just the way Manchay is.”
A few years ago, the blog Cuestiones Sociales (Social Issues) studied the quality of life in some of these areas of Lima, including Manchay, and observed:
Estamos hablando de un asentamiento humano en las afueras de Lima, donde las personas mantienen una vida es muy precaria. La gran parte de dicha población vive diariamente con 5 soles, no tiene la posibilidad de acceder a un servicio tan básico como lo es el de agua potable, viven en casas de material endeble, alejados muchas veces de algo tan simple que todos vemos a diario como una berma asfaltada. El problema es la indiferencia tan grande por parte del estado, el apoyo es muy escaso, las municipalidades no ejecutan el presupuesto anual asignado, no hay una buena administración pública y las personas cada vez se hacen más pobres.
We are talking about a squat on the outskirts of Lima, where the people lead a very precarious life. Most of the population live on 5 soles a day (about 1.50 US dollars) and lack access to services as basic as drinking water. They live in homes built from unstable material, often a long way from things we take for granted, such as surfaced roads. The problem is that the government shows such indifference, there is very little support, the council does not spend the annual budget assigned to the area, there is a poor public administration and the population becomes poorer and poorer.
In reality, these problems are the same in any squat settlement on the outskirts of Lima or of any other large city in the country. In the case of Manchay, however, various groups such as the Catholic Church and NGOs are at least carrying out significant social work intervention to try to better the situation.
Popular discussion of shanty towns like these usually swings between two perspectives. First, that no one is forcing these people to live there, in unurbanised sites with the minimum conditions of a dignified life, and as such, they are responsible for their poverty and suffering. Second, that it was a lack of security or opportunity — in effect, the absence of the state — that led residents to first settle there seeking a better life, and so it is the state's responsibility to look after them.
As is always the case, it is easier to comment, even to judge, from a detached and comfortable life. Nevertheless, it is quite possible to leave this comfort zone and learn about these issues, even from far away. For example, the video below, uploaded to YouTube by Efraín M. Díaz-Horna, was made by a foreigner visitor to Lima and depicts a Chocolatada, an activity (generally around Christmas time) where apart from preparing hot chocolate for guests — usually children and their mothers — organisers often give gifts to the participants.
Although calm has now returned to Manchay, as have the combis, it's unknown how long that will last. It has been announced that the protesters who were detained in the confrontations with police will be tried for crimes of disturbance and obstruction of channels of communication under the new law of blatancy, which allows very quick trials (sometimes just a number of days) for crimes which can be proven beyond all doubt.
On the other hand, the residents of Manchay have set a precedent, causing people in other areas of Lima who also feel aggrieved by reforms in public transport to threaten to protest and block access roads as a way of demanding a return to informal collective transport. Some of these unhappy residents are, obviously, the owners and associations of combis and microbuses.
Transport reform in Lima was pioneered by ex-Mayor Susana Villarán to reduce the informality of the existing situation and the number of accidents caused by the private provision of public transport, arising from disproportionate competition between combis and microbus drivers. The reform has ultimately suffered from serious failings in its conception and implementation.
As a final thought, here is a reflection from economist Patricia Teullet in her column for newspaper Peru21, which focuses on topics of public transport and quality of life:
¿Cuántas horas pasan las personas en transporte público yendo y volviendo del trabajo o del centro de estudios? En muchos casos, son dos horas de ida y dos de vuelta, probablemente de pie, y agravado por el calor de verano. ¿Y cuánto gasta cuando tiene que tomar dos o tres vehículos?
¿A qué hora tiene que despertarse esa mujer que en la madrugada o aun a oscuras está limpiando las calles, jalando un enorme basurero? ¿O el padre de familia con un trabajo eventual que depende de la suerte de estar donde debe en el momento adecuado? Sin ánimo de disculparlos por su comportamiento entre irresponsable y salvaje, ¿cuánta presión sienten los choferes de micro cuando tienen que competir en la captura de pasajeros? ¿Y los taxistas que los esquivan dando vueltas durante horas? Todos somos, en algún momento, víctimas y culpables de los accidentes que diariamente ocurren.
How many hours do people spend on public transport, going to and from their place of work or study? In many cases, two hours each way, probably on foot, and worsened by the heat of the summer. And how much does each person that has to take two or three vehicles spend on doing so?
What time does this women who cleans the street in the dark, pulling an enormous rubbish bin, have to get up who in the middle of the night? Or the family man with a casual job who depends on the luck of being in the right place at the right time? Without excusing their behaviour, which ranges from irresponsible to savage, how much pressure do the micro-bus drivers face as they compete to pick up passengers? And the taxi drivers circling up and down for hours, in search of a fare? We are all, at some point, both victims and perpetrators of the accidents that occur everyday.

author: Juan Arellano