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Workers Celebrate Labor Day by Joining Street Protests Across Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Filipino workers march in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, to campaign for higher wages. Photo from Facebook page of Buhay Manggagawa
Thousands of workers across Southeast Asia participated in various Labor Day rallies last Friday: In Cambodia, workers reiterated their petition to raise the monthly minimum wage from 128 US Dollars to 177 US Dollars. In the Philippines, protesters targeted the labor export policy. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, more than 10,000 people joined a protest against the implementation of a new consumer goods tax. And in Singapore, labor unions raised the issue of wage inequality.
Cambodian Workers Demand ‘Living Wage’
There were several protest actions organized by labor groups to press their demand for a living wage of $177. Many of those who joined the rallies were women workers in the garment sector who also declared their opposition to “repressive” draft legislation on labor unions. The protests were peacefully conducted despite the refusal of Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s capital) city officials to grant permission to these activities.
A worker wearing a sticker that features the logos of major apparel brands, including H&M, Walmart, Levi’s, Gap Puma, C&A, Adidas and Zara, that outsource their production in factories in Cambodia. Photo from the Facebook page of Licadho, a human rights group
Women workers join a rally in support of the living wage demand. Photo from the Facebook page of Licadho, a human rights group
Filipino Workers Target Labor Export Policy
Filipino workers marched near the presidential palace in Manila to campaign for the granting of a national minimum wage. They also urged the government to focus more on creating domestic jobs by stimulating the local economy instead of encouraging people to leave the country. There are already more than 12 million overseas Filipino workers. Many of these workers are abused and some become victims of human trafficking like Mary Jane Veloso, currently jailed in Indonesia for the crime of drug trafficking. Her case revealed the hardships faced by many overseas workers; and it also highlighted the continuing poverty in rural areas which forces people to migrate and seek better opportunities.
An infographic by a research institution about the issue of labor migration in the Philippines. Photo from Facebook page of Carlos Maningat
Activists decry the Philippines’ labor export policy. Photo from the Facebook page of Mykel Andrada
Protest Against High Taxes and Political Repression in Malaysia
In Malaysia, more than 10,000 people (organizers claim the size of the rally peaked at 20,000) joined a protest against the government’s decision to charge a higher Goods and Services Tax (GST) despite the economic difficulties experienced by ordinary workers. The GST was implemented last April 1. Protesters said the GST has an inflationary effect which can hurt the poor.
But the rally became another indicator of worsening political repression in the country when the police arrested 36 people for unlawful assembly and sedition. Commenting on the arrest, the watchdog Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism asked: “How are questions related to public accountability and public money, deemed seditious?”
Charles Santiago, a Member of the Parliament, defended the protest:
The increasing cost of living, escalating prices of essential goods, and the GST-linked price increases deal a further blow to the middle and working classes.
The people who took to the streets on Friday did so to bring these pressing issues to the attention of the government so that necessary steps could be taken to alleviate the sufferings of the poor.
Protest against the Goods and Services Tax in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. Photo by Adam Solvieg, Copyright @Demotix (5/1/2015)
Singaporeans Speak Out Against Wage Inequality
Around 400 hundred Singaporeans joined a Labor Day rally in a public park to speak out against wage inequality, media restriction, and the government policy of encouraging the entry of more foreign workers. The organizers also proposed the establishment of a minimum wage system for Singaporean workers. During the conclusion to the event, labor leaders showed solidarity for a teenager who is facing several criminal charges for making a video that criticized the country’s founding prime minister.
Via @sexiespider: #AmosYee banana used as rallying symbol in @GohGilbert‘s annual May Day protest at Hong Lim Park. pic.twitter.com/LK0w64JVUO
— Shah Kyle Malinda (@shahkylemalinda) May 1, 2015

author: Mong Palatino


text:
World Press Freedom Day 2015: “Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality, and Media Safety in the Digital Age” · Global Voices
Faten Bushehri

World Press Freedom across the world as per Reporters Without Borders. Widely shared.
As the international community celebrates World Press Freedom Day, spare a thought for the 27 journalists that have already been killed doing their job since the beginning of 2015.
World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993 following the recommendation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) general conference. May 3 was designated as WPFD because the date marks the anniversary of the 1991 Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles put together by newspaper journalists in Africa.
This year's theme is “Let Journalism Thrive! Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality, & Media Safety in the Digital Age”.
The first area of focus is concerned with having more quality journalism, ensuring reporting across the globe is more accurate and independent amid continuing advances in technology and commercial dominance.
However, government corruption and censorship stand in the way of balanced, accurate reporting, especially reporting that seeks to expose that very same corruption.
When it comes to Gaza,Palestine,there isn't really much to celebrate on #WorldPressFreedomDay as there's info control pic.twitter.com/TP7H4Cxzv6
— TodayInCapitol (@TodayInCapitol) May 3, 2015
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documents the deaths of journalists around the world, and investigates the motives behind their killings. For 2014 CPJ confirmed the killing of 72 journalists and media workers, whose death was connected to an investigated motive, and 19 journalists killed for unknown reasons.
Most of these journalists were covering topics related to human rights, politics and war, with Syria, where 17 journalists lost their lives, proving last year's deadliest country for representatives of the press.
According to CPJ's website, a total of 1,123 journalists have been killed since 1992.
10 #Egyptian #journalists reside in heaven since January 25 #WorldPressFreedomDay pic.twitter.com/tSY4tvYMHk
— Amr No 2 CC (@Cairo67Unedited) May 3, 2015
The second focus of WPFD this year is gender equality. Twenty years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Change – the fourth largest worldwide women-focused conference ever held — gender inequality in the media persists.
Women have always been behind in terms of reaching the top positions in the media industry. Despite being prominent at news desks across the world, all too few women journalists are able to reach decision-making posts.
This year, many women are among the spotlight speakers at the main WPFD event in Riga, Latvia, including female journalists and media executives from the host country, Colombia, Egypt, and other jurisdictions.
Digital safety is the WPFD 2015's third focus, a topic of growing concern because of the risks journalists are exposed to through digital communication, which makes it difficult for them to protect themselves and the sources they use.
On Twitter people heralded the importance of #worldpressfreedomday:
#WorldPressFreedomDay Long live press freedom! pic.twitter.com/VYaofV8p17
— SayingTruth (@SayingTruth1) May 3, 2015
The Indian media's performance has faced a barrage of criticism over its coverage of the recent earthquake in Nepal, which has claimed over 7,000 lives, with #GoHomeIndianMedia trending worldwide:
On #WorldPressFreedomDay you have managed to #Abuse the Freedom ! https://t.co/2CHNGX5kok
— শশাঙ্ক (@Shawshanko) May 3, 2015
#GoHomeIndianMedia #WorldPressFreedomDay #NepalQuake pic.twitter.com/xLwjVTfJy7
— पावक (@GuragainP) May 3, 2015
In Turkey #DünyaBasınÖzgürlüğüGünü — World Press Freedom Day — is a popular topic:
Türkiye basın özgürlüğünde Afrika Ülkelerinin gerisinde 180 ülke arasından 149’uncu sırada. #DünyaBasınÖzgürlüğüGünü pic.twitter.com/0xlVj0z9Zw
— sosyokopa₺⭐ (@enjineer) May 3, 2015
Ranked 149 of 180 [in Reporters Without Borders press freedom index], Turkey finds itself behind many African countries in press freedom.
The United States has also seen a steady decline in the free press, according to the same index, just scraping into Reporters Without Borders top 50 in 2015 (49th place) compared to 20th in 2010.
Nordic countries like Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden join the Netherlands at the top of the advocacy group's free press rankings.
But other parts of Europe, including the Balkans and Eastern Europe are going backwards. Secretary General of the Council of Europe and former Norwegian foreign minister Thorbjørn Jagland writes for Open Security:
The safety of journalists is deteriorating in over a third of European states. Investigative journalists have been killed, imprisoned and harassed. Media outlets have been shut down—including, dramatically, the Crimean Tatar TV station ATR which was forced off air. Cyber-terrorists have attacked national television networks.
People from other parts of the world expressed how important freedom of press is in their countries:
#Somalia is one of most dangerous places for journalists. Let's ACT “together” to change that. #WorldPressFreedomDay pic.twitter.com/5U2ZWitxY3
— Mohamed Mascud (@MohamedMascud) May 3, 2015
Burundian journalists celebrated #WorldPressFreedomDay they've been #silenced NO #freedomofSpeech #StopNkurunziza pic.twitter.com/A9qra3vuUO
— larissa kamp (@lalykamp) May 3, 2015
On #WorldPressFreedomDay remember Gaza brave journalists trying to get the truth out about Palestine against all odds pic.twitter.com/UxxBlL82zg
— TodayInCapitol (@TodayInCapitol) May 3, 2015
People in Dhaka, Bangladesh formed a human chain to commemorate the day:
National journalists Association Human chain in front in National press club at Dhaka in Bangladesh on the occasion of World press freedom Day 2015. Demanding better reporting gender equality and media safety in the digital age. Demotix ID: 7513880. Photo taken by SK Hasan Ali.
A few days ago, renowned CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour was named UNESCO’s goodwill ambassador for freedom of expression and journalist safety. In her acceptance speech, Amanpour emphasized the important role of journalists as “pillars of reform, freedom and democracy”, whose task is to “strengthen civil society.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Faten Bushehri


text:
Yemeni Refugees Face Hardship and Humiliation · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

Photographs posted on Facebook by Fahd Aqlan of his trip from Yemen to Egypt via Djibouti
Now in its second month since the Saudi-led war coalition of Arab states launched a military campaign against Yemen, Yemenis are still facing the horrors of war in the country, while others are facing hardship and humiliation seeking refuge abroad. These are some of the stories that have been shared on social media that would not be heard otherwise.
Thousands of Yemenis are stranded abroad, unable to return home, since Saudi-led coalition forces started bombing the country on March 26. Another 300,000 are internally displaced in Yemen, with little to no help. Yemenis who were out of the country for medical treatment and other reasons when war broke out in their country, were prevented from returning to their homeland for a whole month, by order of the war coalition on Yemen. The imposed embargo on Yemeni air, land and sea, caused Yemenis to be stranded overseas. With new visa requirements imposed on them by countries that previously welcomed them, and no resources to support them.
Arab coalition forces have been pounding Yemen with airstrikes since March 26. Their assault has not been limited to military sites or the main target of the campaign, the Houthis, who had taken control of Yemen's capital Sana'a in January.
There is also massive destruction in the beautiful southern port city Aden, where the Houthis have been launching their response along with militias loyal to Yemen's former president, Ali Abdulla Saleh, who was forced to step down after three decades in power, following popular protests in 2011.
Fahd Aqlan, a Yemeni who has been living in Egypt for eight years and considers it his second home, was in Yemen to attend his brother's wedding before the war broke out. He writes on his Facebook page the story of his agonising and humiliating trip from Yemen back to Egypt through Djibouti in four parts.
The first part describes how he struggled to get to Taiz safely by land after his flight landed in Aden, with the Houthis advancing, just a few days before the airstrikes began.
The second part was about planning his trip to leave Yemen back to Cairo through the only means possible, by sea from the port city of Mokha, on a boat that transports herds, to Djibouti and from there on to Cairo.
The third part was about his struggle to get a fair treatment and take his passport back from the port authorities in Djibouti. Although he was just transiting with security clearance from Egypt and an air ticket to Cairo, instead he was treated as a refugee because there was nobody from his embassy to help him and was about to be deported to a camp before he managed to escape. He writes:
كان مندوبوا السفارات البريطانية والأمريكية والمصرية والاردنية يعملون كخلية نحل لإستكمال إجراءات الدخول لمواطنيهم وكنت
اشعر بالأسى لحالي كيمني حيث لا احد من السفارة اليمنية
Delegates from the British, American, Egyptian and Jordanian embassies where abuzz working to complete entry procedures for their fellow citizens and I was feeling distressed for my condition as a Yemeni where there was no one from the Yemeni embassy
The fourth and last part was about finally making it to the flight out of Djibouti heading to Cairo, having to purchase another ticket to Jordan, yet fearing rejection of entry at Cairo Airport because he was still missing the visa. Fahad was eventually admitted and was given a temporary visa valid for six months only. He concludes:
وصلت بيتي وانا غير مصدق ان كل شيء انتهى اخيرا ، ونمت كما لم أنم من قبل .
بعدها بأيام ذهبت الى مجمع التحرير لتسوية وضع اقامتي انا وأسرتي ، وضعوا على جوازاتهم اقامة غير محددة المدة وانا اقامة مؤقتة لمدة ستة أشهر فقط لأنني لم اكن داخل مصر عند تغيير القوانين !
I arrived home not believing that everything is finally over and I slept like I have never slept before.
A few days later I went to the Mogamma (an official building in Egypt) in Tahrir to legalise the situation of my stay and that of my family, they put on their passports a residency for an indefinite period and on mine a temporary stay for only six months because I was not in Egypt when the laws changed!
A similar story was also shared on Facebook by Nina A. Aqlan, who recounts the humiliation she faced during her trip out of Yemen. In her own words she describes the transit stop on a Saudi military base:
I couldn't believe my eyes, besides the desert that surrounded us, the military men and scorching heat of the sun. We stood there, outside the plane waiting on the bear grounds of the airport…We were in a military airport. Our baggage was all taken out of the plane and laid on the ground. The back door to a black SUV that was parked near us opened and one of the Saudi military men pulled on a leach of a German shepherd leading him out to sniff our bags. The majority of us, women and children, stood there. Watching. The sounds of children crying from the heat, the uncertainty and worry.
She adds:
Yemenis are now being stranded, displaced, starved, killed, mentally sabotaged, humiliated, and terrorized. Enduring inhumane conditions, no access to fuel, water, poor to non existent medical services, official warnings that telecom maybe suspended soon due to lack of fuel, not being able to leave and now major airports in the country completely destroyed, not able to even receive money transfers from abroad, no foreign hard currency except for Saudi Riyals, Yemenis stuck abroad not able to return back to Yemen, and not even allowed into any Arab country without a visa.
These stories are just two examples of lucky people, who had the means and managed to get out safely. Others face harsher and more terrifying experiences. With a war tearing their country apart and conditions imposed on them beyond their power, Yemenis are forced to face hardship and humiliation as refugees.
A heartbreaking photograph was posted on Twitter of an old Yemeni man sleeping on the sidewalk in Cairo. Most probably who went to Egypt for medical treatment and was humiliatingly stranded in the streets of Cairo after his money ran out.
#Yemen nationals stuck in #Egypt due to #Saudi imposed air blockade forced to sleep in streets. #اليمن pic.twitter.com/8hC7tuP3hc
— Yemen Post Newspaper (@YemenPostNews) April 24, 2015
Yemen_updates tweeted about Yemenis who were sick and denied entry to neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which is leading the military operations in Yemen and imposing sanctions:
#Saudi humiliates the #Yemenis by sanctions and at borders. We know families that are waiting for days in Tiwal border town to get access.
— Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) May 3, 2015
Sick people who need urgent medical help at the #Saudi borders were not allowed in. They returned back to #Sanaa. pic.twitter.com/QV7kFf22NV
— Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) May 3, 2015
When will Yemenis be treated with dignity, let alone as refugees by other Arab and neighbouring countries?
Read also: War Has Left Yemenis Stranded Abroad and Displaced at Home

author: Noon Arabia


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A US Lawyer Who Defends Puerto Rico’s Political Prisoners · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Event “Al mar por Oscar” (To the sea for Oscar), 2014, Puerto Rico. Photo Ricardo Alcaraz, used with permission.
Jan Susler does not like to talk about herself. She makes it very clear at the beginning of the interview. A civil rights lawyer, Susler says the limelight is reserved for her clients, who are also her friends. “I want this to be about Oscar López Rivera,” she explains, referring to the Puerto Rican political prisoner whom she represents.
But I insist.
Jan Susler has been practicing law for the past 39 years. She specializes in prisoners’ rights, police misconduct, and civil rights, and has worked at the firm People’s Law Office in Chicago since 1982. She was born in the United States, in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in a small town about three hours south, in a predominantly Jewish community with her mother, father, and siblings.
She has dedicated most of her professional career to representing Puerto Rican political prisoners: men and women who have fought for the island's independence from the United States.
She may be from Chicago, but many Puerto Ricans claim Susler as one of their own. And now, once again, like during the 1990s, she is at the forefront of a protracted battle, advocating for the immediate release of Oscar López Rivera, a 72-year-old man, who in May will have served 34 years of a 55-year sentence in US prisons, convicted of seditious conspiracy and related offenses.
These are urgent times, but Susler agreed to give me an interview and talk a little bit about herself, but more about her clients and friends.
Global Voices (GV): Why did you want to become a lawyer?
Jan Susler (JS): Partly it was because I had this great example with my dad. We always had dinner as a family, and he would come home and talk about his work. He was a general practitioner in a small town. He was antiracist and liberal in his views, and helped start the legal aid office. He understood that when you live in an unequal society you have a role to combat that. My mother also did that in her own way, she was an activist. She had a Masters in Education, was a teacher, and fought to have schools that offered the same education for all children, no matter where they were from.
Also, I come from a place that was very anti-semitic, Jewish people were not allowed to be part of the country club, etc. During Christmas in the public schools, they had a lot of religious stuff, and I was disturbed by that because I knew that there was a separation of church and state. I refused to participate in these activities, and became an advocate.
The other piece was somewhat of an accident of birth. I am a baby boomer, so I graduated from high school in 1967, a very hot time in the world. I remember sitting on the couch with my father and watching the Democratic Convention of 1968, and him saying “Oh my God, there is a police riot, they are beating people up.” So I am also very much a product of my times. When I was in college, there were army tanks. One of the things that inspired me a lot was seeing the resistance of the students on campus.
One other element is that of being a woman. My mother had a college degree, and she could not find work when she divorced my father [her biological father]. She all of sudden was dumped on the streets, and had to figure out a way to support her two children, me and my sister. She always told me I had to support myself and not depend on anyone.
Oscar Lopez Rivera and Jan Susler.
GV: How did you decide to specialize in political prisoners and inmates’ rights?
JS: When I graduated from high school I knew I wanted to do civil rights work. There was a legal clinic that provided services to prisoners in Southern Illinois, and I thought this would be a great way to contribute, and they were mostly Black people and people of color. This was a very racist part of the state. It was in that job that I got involved with the Puerto Rican independence movement and political prisoners. I was in the National Lawyers Guild, a very progressive organization. In 1980 the first wave of Puerto Rican political prisoners was arrested, and two of them were sent to a prison where I was doing my work. Michael Deutsch called me and said that he had two clients who were very far from their community, and said: “I need you to go there and see them.” That was in September 1980. They were Luis Rosa and Carlos Alberto Torres.
GV: How did that relationship with Puerto Rican political prisoners develop?
JS: It just grew, many of them were imprisoned in Illinois. And then many of them thought I should move to Chicago to be closer to the Puerto Rican community. Then I moved to Chicago, became part of the People’s Law Office, and became closer to the Puerto Rican community, the family of the prisoners, and I started traveling back and forth to the island.
GV: Do you feel like an adopted Puerto Rican?
JS: Some people say I was born in the wrong place. I love the Puerto Rican people, and the country. I respect and admire the amazing resistance of the people in the face of hundreds of years of colonialism, and I feel very loved and embraced. I feel very privileged to be able to have this amazing, close relationship with the Puerto Rican people. I am very blessed.
On the other hand, I am not Puerto Rican, and I feel that the not Puerto Rican adds a dimension of the work, for example you would not be interviewing me. Some people think how unique and exceptional it is that a person from the US is working on this, but I don’t think it should be an exception. After all it is my government that is colonizing Puerto Rico, and why aren’t more people offended by that relationship that is not only anti-ethical but it violates international law. At the United Nations Decolonizing Committee I am only one of few US people who speaks out for Puerto Rico, and I think that US people have an obligation to speak out for the injustices the government commits.
GV: These are cases that heavily depend on public opinion. What are the differences between both battlefields: the courts and public opinion?
JS: The Puerto Rican independence movement and the movement in support of the political prisoners movement are two different things. The independence movement is heavily involved in the campaign to release the prisoners, but the campaign is much broader. This involves a very rich working experience to have both. Oscar and other political prisoners took a very strong position when they were arrested in the Chicago cases, and said they rejected the court’s jurisdiction to try them as criminals because of international law. In law school you don’t learn how to represent people like that (laughs). They don’t teach you how to do creative lawyering when you are working with people who don’t want to go to court.
For example, when Alejandrina Torres was put in the underground torture chamber called the women’s high security unit in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1986. She would not sue in the US courts to challenge her prisoner conditions. So how can you be her lawyer when she won’t let you go to court? She still has legal rights, but you have to figure out how to be a lawyer creatively. This takes you to different forums, international tribunals, to conferences, the UN Decolonization Committee, all sorts of wonderful experiences and places that you advocate in, in a nontraditional way you learned in law school.
In the process, you become part of a movement, and with political prisoners this is very important because they are part of the movement. Your sensitivity to what your client wants, and your sensitivity to what the movement wants helps you develop into a more responsible person, and a more responsible attorney. The activism piece in combination with the legal avenues that are available is how public opinion gets formed.
“Oscar, national hero, we want you home, now.” March for Oscar 2013, Puerto Rico. Photo by Ricardo Alcaraz, used with permission.
GV: Who is Oscar López Rivera for you, besides being your client?
JS: I will give you one example: my goddaughter just went to Puerto Rico for her bachelorette party, and she sent me back a picture of an image of Oscar on the streets of Old San Juan. She said: “His face is pasted everywhere!”
I see him as bigger than life, a person who has inspired people to come together. When you are faced with someone who is a legend in his own time…I went to see him recently, and we are in the sitting room, and I am talking about the Summit of the Americas [in Panama, from April 10 to April 11]. There is lots of chaos in the sitting room. I am sitting with this man in a prison where he does not belong, and I am telling this man that his case is an issue in Panama. It is the combination of the mundane of being in the sitting room, the vending machines, realizing that he will be stripped after my visit, and at the same time this very man is being talked about among heads of state.
GV: How do you see the possibilities of Obama offering clemency to Oscar López Rivera before leaving office?
JS: Sometimes people ask me: When is Oscar coming home? And I say, that depends on the work we do, not only the lawyers. Obama needs to make a political decision, and it needs to be politically convenient to his party. And we need to make him understand that this is convenient for his party. He has been one of the most stingy presidents in modern history in giving commutations and pardons. He has been heavily criticized for this. He said recently in an interview that he understood that he needed to do that more. This is good news.
I am hoping that our work continues to be as consistent and creative as it has been, so we are relentless in keeping Oscar visible, because our window is closing. We have to make it known that we need Oscar home.
GV: Tell me something we might not know about Oscar López.
JS: He is somebody I have learned from a lot, not like a teacher, but when you share life experiences with someone that you care about, you grow. And I have grown enormously from my privileged relationship with him.
He probably does more pull ups and push ups and crunches than many of the youngsters around him. He takes very good care of himself, because he knows his jailers will not. He takes a lot of responsibility for what he eats, which is very difficult in prison, and even harder because he is a vegetarian. He is very disciplined. He understands how valuable time is. He has his own agenda, read, exercise, eat; he corresponds with many people. He is an autodidact, and he has a memory that is frightening. He never forgets anything he reads, he never forgets anything, he can talk about the history of Egypt, about volleyball (she laughs). He understands the world in a very complex way. He is a font of knowledge. Yes, so why is he in prison? He is a resource to the country, to Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico is being robbed of that resource.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


text:
Climate Change Is Behind Russia’s Shrinking Lake Baikal, Experts Say · Global Voices
350.org

Cove with Shamans Rock Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal, Russia. Photo by Flickr user amanderson2. CC BY 2.0
This article was written by Mikhail Matveev for 350.org, an organization building a global climate movement, and is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
In the very first days of 2015, Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources Sergei Donskoi officially declared Baikal an emergency zone because of a catastrophic drop in its water level. Baikal is the globe’s largest freshwater lake and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It is Russia’s pride and one of the most popular tourist destinations.
Apart from that, Baikal and the Angara river that it feeds are a source of water for many cities, and the decreased water level may drain their storage reservoirs. In order to preserve the water supply for the cities, the amount of water flowing through the hydropower plants’ dams has to be decreased, which means reduced power production.
The Russian minister put the reason for the shallowing of Baikal in plain words: “The climate”. So what on Earth has happened to the climate?
Experts believe that precipitation in the Baikal area fluctuates in a cycle that spans several decades. However, what is taking place now is clearly beyond the margins of the normal variation. In late March, for example, the lake’s water level fell to 9 cm lower than the critical level. Such a period of water shortage has not been seen for 100 years. According to the Ministry of Emergencies, the water inflow to the lake was only 65 per cent of the climatic norm in summer and autumn 2014.
The shallowing of the Baikal is unfolding against the background of dramatic climate change in Russia: according to the Russian Meteorological Centre (Rosgidromet), the increase in the average temperature is happening here 2.5 times faster than it is globally. Climate change leads to a sharp increase in the number of natural disasters, including droughts.
Increase in dangerous climatic events in Russia, according to Rosgidromet
Rosgidromet’s second report predicts situations like this in great detail as one of the possible outcomes of the climate change:
As a result of increased interannual variability of the runoff, above all seasonally, abnormally high-water as well as abnormally low-water years and seasons are possible. The financial damage caused by low water could be compared to that of floods, since it complicates the work of storage reservoirs, disrupts the water supply to cities and industrial facilities, decreases the production of hydropower, endangers river navigation and lowers the quality of the river water.
The drop in water level is only part of Baikal’s problems. The most terrible may still be concealed under the lake’s surface. In the autumn of 2014 the shores of the lake began to transform into odorous waterplant pulp.
The lake’s ecosystem formed thanks to the clean and incredibly cold water (typically < 10℃) and is noted for its thickets of freshwater sponges, creating something that resembles the reefs of the Carribean.
But these awesome sponges are dying and their habitat is being overtaken by the same waterplants (Spirogyra is their academic name) which are cast ashore by storms. The unique “reef-like” landscape gives way to the mud-carpeted bottom characteristic of a sun-warmed pond rather than the lukewarm and deep Baikal.
Experts argue about the causes of these problems. Researchers from the Institute of Limnology have sounded an alarm because of the water pollution and are calling for urgent measures to be taken to limit sewage discharge into the lake. In the meantime, the Irkutsk region’s deputy minister of environment and natural resources, Nina Abarinova, sees the root cause of the problem in the low water content and high temperature of the water.
The Baikal water is warming up indeed. According to a study published as early as 2008, the termperature of the Baikal surface water had soared by 1.21 degrees since 1946.
Based on all of this, each factor is linked to others, and climate change has a leading role. Even the water pollution is indirectly related to the climate: the dramatic decline in water inflow leads to the development of stagnant zones accumulating dirt. Strikingly, the nemesis of the Baikal “reefs” is similar to that of their kin in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian oceans; climate change and water pollution join forces to weaken the stability-loving sponges and corals while also creating excellent opportunities for the growth of the waterplants.
What is going on in the Baikal region is just one example of the massive evidence that global warming heralds nothing good even for the Russian cold. It’s too bad that today’s Russian society is barely prepared to acknowledge these global problems, even though reality is knocking on the door more and more loudly. The hope may be that the climatic activism in the region will raise awareness of perhaps the single most important problem of the 21st century, especially given there are first successful projects.
Update: When this text was in preparation, another disaster hit the region. Severe wildfires in Khakassia and Tyva (near Baikal) killed more than 30 people and left hundreds homeless. Governor of Khakassia blamed a “never seen before” climate anomaly – hot weather and strong wind – as the main cause of the disaster.


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Risking Their Lives to Save Pakistanis From Polio · Global Voices
Balochistan Point

Courtesy of Radio Tnn. Used with permission.
This article was written by Nadir Jailani for Balochistan Point and edited and re-published by Global Voices with permission.
Sajida Bibi knocks on each door in Killi Shakar Khan Quetta to ask if there are children below five in the house. At a gesture of compliance she enters. She squeezes the cheeks of a child, presses the slender plastic bottle, drops three dots of anti-poliomyelitis vaccine and marks the vaccine with a marker on the little finger before moving on to the next one.
As she walks house after house vaccinating hundreds of children in a day, she is accompanied by two other shadows besides her own: two constables of Balochistan Police follow her holding their AK-47s with the safety catch lowered and all set to cock and fire.
This is Pakistan’s fight against polio. The country is one of only three nations after Afghanistan and Nigeria with the polio virus still endemic on their soil. The anti-polio campaign started in 1993 in Pakistan under the program of National Immunization Days (NIDs) and has been going on ever since.
The addition of armed guards to the campaign, however, is a relatively recent development. Targeted attacks on field workers have hampered the process of immunization and have made it an unsafe job. Religious militant groups have targeted anti-polio workers seeing them as under-cover espionage. According to media reports more than 60 people have lost their lives in the anti-polio campaign in Pakistan since 2012.
“I feel afraid even in the presence of policemen around me” Sajida Bibi told this author, saying that she and her colleagues had no intention of harming anyone nor did they want to be part of a conflict. “We are ordinary people trying to support our families with the little amount we get through this campaign,” she said.
Hundreds of volunteers like Sajida take part in the polio eradication campaign across Balochistan by vaccinating children under five years of age. The Provincial Coordinator of the Expanded Program on Immunization Dr. Ishaq Panezai said that volunteers make up the bulk of vaccinators in the province. “We train the volunteers before each campaign and officials accompany them in the field to monitor their work,” Dr. Panezai said.
Last year 25 cases of polio were reported from Balochistan — the highest in the last three years. Sources from the provincial health department say that most of the cases are reported from the areas where people are reluctant to vaccinate their children.
Asad Khan an official of the health department accompanying a polio team on Samungli Road said: “We face problems in vaccinating every child because some people do not cooperate with us thinking that the vaccine causes infertility and that we are promoting a foreign cause.”
A nationwide awareness campaign in support of anti-polio vaccination has been viral on television channels. There are short advertisements featuring messages from notable scholars asking parents to have their children vaccinated. At the same time in some regions local imams rouse hostility against the anti-polio campaign.
Only three months into 2015 more than 20 cases of polio infection had surfaced. Three of the cases were reported from Balochistan’s Loralai, Qilla Abdullah and Quetta districts. The major cause cited by the government once again was the refusal of parents to allow the visiting team to administer a vaccination to their children.
Akbar Khan — whose name has been changed on request — a pensioner in Pishin District, said people are risking the lives of their children only because they have been told that it is forbidden in Islam to vaccinate children.
“Some people have been spreading misconceptions against vaccination of children,” Akbar said, adding that local religious scholars should clarify the matter so that the disease can be eradicated.
According to End Polio Pakistan, a group of polio eradication partners in Pakistan that comprises the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the government of Pakistan, the number of polio cases had dropped from 20,000 a year before the campaign started to only 58 in 2012.
But as the partners were preparing to declare Pakistan a polio-free country the number of polio cases jumped to 93 in 2013. In the following year it jumped again to a shocking 306.
The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) criticised the government's stance in its report and suggested travel restrictions for the country. The report cited that Pakistan had not done enough to fight the virus and had completely failed to keep its promise of eradicating polio in the country by December 2014.
While militancy and the refusal of families to participate in vaccination are cited as major impediments in the fight against polio, state incompetence has enabled the latest outbreak. Adequate planning and realistic awareness movements could prove more helpful in mobilizing support for the anti-polio campaign in the country.

author: Balochistan Point


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Hong Kong Civic Groups Demand Legal Protections Against Mobile App Surveillance · Global Voices
inmediahk.net

Protesters staged a sit-in outside government headquarters on September 27 at Admiralty, demanding CY Leung, chief executive of Hong Kong, to meet them to have a dialogue. Photo by P H Yang. Copyright Demotix
At the height of Hong Kong's Occupy Central movement in the final months of 2014, many activists and demonstrators suspected that police were recording their mobile instant message communications.
Although Hong Kong requires police to obtain court approval before monitoring a person's phone communications, these messages may have been surveilled with no official oversight of any kind.
Under Hong Kong's 2006 Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance (ICSO), police must prove to a judge that interception or surveillance are necessary to preventing or detecting serious crimes or protecting public security. And they must prove reasonable suspicion on the target. The Commissioner on Interception of Communication and Surveillance is responsible for supervising wiretap and other forms of communications interception and monitoring, a position established to ensure that law enforcement authorities complied with the law. The Commissioner is required to release an annual report informing the public of its activities.
When the 2013 Commissioner's report on Interception and Surveillance was released in early December 2014, surveillance chief Darryl Gordon Saw refused to comment on whether messages sent on WhatsApp and other Internet-based mobile applications could be intercepted under the policy. A senior police officer told the local press that online messaging applications are not covered by the ICSO. This has left many local advocates concerned that police surveillance of these private communication tools has not been overseen by any authority at all.
Since its enactment, the ICSO has been criticized by pro-democratic law makers who say the law gives enforcement units too much power. A former Surveillance Commissioner and high court judge Woo Kwok-hing openly criticized the ICSO of being full of loopholes and argued that the Commissioner does not have the teeth to oversee its implementation. It was against this background that the government finally decided to amend the law in 2013.
Several civic groups have spoken out to address the potential abuse of police power in the monitoring of internet based communications. Hong Kong's In-Media  urged the government and Legislative Council member to restrict the power and improve accountability on surveillance practice. It demanded that the ICSO be amended to:
Note: Hong Kong In-Media, a media freedom organization, it funds the operation of inmediahk.net, the author of this post.
According to the Security Bureau, the ICSO only covers law enforcement requests for online communications content — in other words, the actual text, images and other content sent in a message. Requests for user metadata — such as the time, date, and user identity — and other evidence from Internet service providers are not restricted by the ICSO. Since 2010, law enforcement on average sent more than 4,000 user data requests to local ISPs, mostly without a court order.
Legislative Council member Charles Mok also addressed the potential loopholes in the implementation of the ordinance:
執法機構以機密為由，拒絕向立法會提供截取通訊器材的清單，外間無法得知亦無從監察香港政府監控網絡通訊至何等程度。除了通訊內容外，用戶資料或元資料(Metadata)如通話紀錄、IP位置等不屬通訊內容的資料，能夠幫助分析被監控人士的人際網絡、行踨和生活習慣。這些資料也可能被警方在不受條例規管之下，向互聯網服務供應商大量索取。
Recently, law enforcement refused to provide the list of technology devices used to assist official interception and surveillance activities, claiming that such information is confidential. This prevents the public from monitoring the extent of the government surveillance activities. Moreover, apart from intercepting communication contents, user data, metadata such as communication records, and IP data are not defined as “communications content”. Yet such information can be used to analyze a target's social network, and to track his/her footprints and habits. Police can ask the Internet service providers (ISPs) for this data with no restriction from the ICSO.
Keyboard Frontline, a civic group on web freedom, urged that the ICSO should also restrict law enforcement collection of metadata, inform the target post-facto, and increase the supervision powers of the Surveillance commissioner.
Nevertheless, the constructive opinions put forward by pro-democracy law makers and civic groups are interpreted as “anti-government” by pro-establishment politicians. In a public hearing at the Legislative Council attended by a number of civic groups including Hong Kong Human Rights Watch, Hong Kong Journalist Association, Civic Right Observer, Labour Party and Hong Kong In-Media on May 2, Ng Leung-sing, a lawmaker representing the finance sector rebuked the critiques of civic groups:
它們都是反對政府施政，質疑為何條例會觸動這些團體，社會上其餘大量「為社會謀福祉」的團體則不用擔心，是「平生不作虧心事，夜半敲門也不驚」，關注人士是因為做不好的事怕踩中地雷。
They [the representatives of the civic groups] just want to obstruct the government's administration. Why should these groups care about the ordinance while the majority of groups that care about “social welfare” are not worried? The explanation is [answered by a Chinese saying]: “be an upright person and you will be fearless of the knocks late at night.” The reason why they care is because they are doing bad things and are worried that they will be punished for it.


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Iran’s Leading Women’s Magazine Suspended After Covering Cohabitation Outside of Marriage · Global Voices
Center for Human Rights in Iran

Shahla Sherkat hopes to convince the court to allow resumption of the Zanan-e Emrooz's monthly publication. Photo from ICHRI, and used with permission.
This post first appeared on iranhumanrights.org and is published here in collaboration with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
Iran’s Press Oversight Committee has decided to suspend publication of Iran’s premier women’s magazine, Zanan-e Emrooz (Today’s Women), and forward its case for prosecution to the Iranian judiciary.
In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the publication’s managing editor Shahla Sherkat said that she hoped to be able to convince the court to allow resumption of the monthly magazine’s publication.
The Mehr News Agency announced the decision by the Press Oversight Committee, stating that the reason for the ban was the publication’s promotion and justification of “white marriages,” a term used by state officials to describe the cohabitation of unmarried couples.
“I have not been formally served with the notice of the decision. I read about the ban on my publication in the news,” Sherkat said. “Considering the license has not been revoked, and it’s only suspended, I am hopeful I can convince the court with my reasoning, and that we can pursue our operation again,” she added.
Zanan-e Emrooz began publication in June 2014, and was suspended on the threshold of publishing its 11th issue. Prior to starting Zanan-e Emrooz, Sherkat spent 16 years as the managing editor of Iran’s prominent Zanan magazine, which was banned on February 17, 2008, for publishing content that angered many hardliners, such as advocating for equal rights for women in divorce, child custody, and inheritance, among other issues. After the ban on Zanan, Sherkat pursued a license for another women’s publication for almost seven years before she was finally granted one for Zanan-e Emrooz.
According to Mehr News, the Press Oversight Committee considered content in Zanan-e Emrooz magazine “against public chastity, based on Article 6, Item 2 of the Press Law.” Sherkat told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that she has never received any prior notices from government officials about her publication’s content.
“I read in the news that the reason for the ban is content about ‘white marriage,’ published in an issue. I will have to wait until the court date. I have always been hopeful, and I remain hopeful this time that everything will be resolved, so that we are able to resume work again,” she told the Campaign. Issue No. 5 of the publication, published over six months ago, reported on different viewpoints regarding cohabitation without marriage.
The hardline conservative Fars News Agency wrote that the reasons for the publication’s ban go beyond the issue of “white marriages.” Fars cited articles on women’s rights and the issue of women’s presence in sports stadiums as other reasons for the ban.

author: Center for Human Rights in Iran


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#NepalQuake Shook Nepal, But The Nepali Spirit Remains Undaunted · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

At a school inside Ratnapark camp, the main refugee camp in Kathmandu, children play, laugh and forget the disaster that hit Nepal. Image by Julien Brebion, Copyright Demotix (1/5/2015)
I still can’t imagine it was an earthquake. The futsal match between Practical Action and Handicap International was running at full throttle and 1-1 was the result. My three-and-a-half-year-old daughter was cheering for Practical Action, the charity I work for, together with the daughter of my colleague Sachin. Suddenly, people started running away from the futsal ground. I thought a fight had broken out. Then I heard sound of something collapsing. There was a huge roar. The spectators were running for safety. It was an earthquake. And it was big. Very big!
In spite of the hullabaloo, my main concern was the two little girls I had to take care of, who had no idea what was happening. I took hold of both and we ducked for cover. Both of them were terrified to the bones by the stampede. Sachin ran to us frantically from the futsal ground and helped me take the girls to a safe place.
All assembled were in a panic, trying to call their close relatives to no avail. During the stampede some of the spectators had suffered injuries. A wall next to the ground fell down and crushed my friend’s motorbike. As everybody was getting a handle on the situation, a frightening aftershock rocked the place. It was strong enough to send chills down everybody’s spines.
This is where we were when #NepalQuake started @PracticalAction #3rdAINFutsalTournament #postquakepic pic.twitter.com/FyrUpQlopU
— Iron Lion Zion (@prabingurung) April 27, 2015
There was nothing we could do. No calls were going through, but 3G service was still working in some mobile phones. Thanks to social media, the updates from around Kathmandu started pouring in. The first shock was the collapse of Dharahara, the famous minaret in the heart of Kathmandu. The pictures of destruction continued: Durbar High School, one of the first schools in Nepal, Kathmandu Durbar Square, apartments and houses. The list went on.
Durbar High School, the first high school of Nepal, was one of the important buildings damaged in the earthquake. Image by Sunil Sharma. Copyright Demotix (27/4/2015)
Annie Gowen, India correspondent for the Washington Post, tweeted:
The picturesque village of Barpak was at the epicenter of Nepal's earthquake. Now it's flattened. http://t.co/gcsDRyFaSj by @anupkaphle
— Annie Gowen (@anniegowen) April 27, 2015
The kids who had accompanied their parents to the match were inconsolable. They wanted to get back to their homes. But the continuous aftershocks and a rumour that even stronger quake was to happen prevented us from leaving the place.
Pillion-riding back to my place, I could see the devastation, though in bits and pieces. The traumatised Kathmanduites were out on the streets. Many walls had collapsed, and many houses had visible cracks. My little daughter pointed out instances of devastation, saying it was due to the earthquake.
The following days were horrific—living in tents throughout the day and night with rumours floating around of a bigger earthquake to hit the city, causing more fear and panic. We took refuge in a school compound nearby. I was disconnected from the world, as there was no electricity and no internet for two days, let alone a supply of water. The whole neighnourhood was crammed into the school compound. For the next few days we had no proper meals, just instant noodles, puffed rice, biscuits and random tidbits.
Tundikhel became a makeshift open camping space for public who feared returning their homes due to frequent aftershocks after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit Nepal on Saturday. Image by Sumit Shrestha. Copyright Demotix (25/4/2015)
The good thing about living in tents and together with the surrounding community was that we were able to bond. I had never spoken to my next-door neigbours, but after spending days and nights together I became good friends with many of them. The whole neighbourhood was suddenly talking to each other!
After putting up with hundreds of aftershocks and sleepless nights, I finally returned to my office on 28 April. However, I had not recovered sufficiently to resume my daily routine. I would once in a while get call from my wife and daughter asking me to get home early.
On my second day at work, I decided to visit the damaged sites. As I entered the New Road Gate, the once vibrant street, normally bustling with crowds, seemed more like a street in an abandoned city. The few people passing through the area did so in a hurry, in order to avoid the possibility of being struck by falling debris from the ruined buildings.
A man and his daughter searche for their belongings among the debris of a collapsed house at Sankhu village in Nepal. Image by Ritesh Shukla. Copyright Demotix (2/5/2015)
Even I hurried as I passed through the usually crowded street, now a lifeless thoroughfare. The buildings seemed like tall demons ready to devour me. Arriving at the Joshi Complex, my usual after-work hangout with friends for stress-buster chats over cups of tea, I was dumbfounded by the silence of the place. Even four days after the horrific tremor, none of the shops were open.
Arriving at Basantapur, I found a barricade with a “No Entry” sign. So I took a detour via Jhochhen, or Freak Street. As I reached the Basantapur Dabali, site of my weekend jaunts, I could barely contain myself. There was a lump in my throat and I tried hard to stop the tears trickling down. The nine-storey palace was nowhere to be seen. Sitting in front on the Dabali, I would often gaze at the beauty and grandeur of the place. It had all gone within a matter of minutes.
The nine-storey Dharahara, also known as Bhimsen Tower, lies in ruins. Image by Sunil Sharma. Copyright Demotix (27/4/2015)
Returning via Dharahara, the pride of Kathmandu rebuilt by Nepal’s first Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa after it was devastated in 1934 AD earthquake, I saw a short stump instead of the familiar  nine-storey, 61.88-metre-tall (203 ft) tower. Along with durbar squares in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur—all World Heritage Sites—Dharhara, Kal Mochan and many significant monuments were reduced to mounds of earth.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the 7.8 Richter scale earthquake that shook not only the country but also the confidence of Nepalis, has claimed lives of 6,250 and injured 14,357 as of May 1. Around eight million people have been affected, with 143,673 houses damaged and another 160,786 destroyed. The Gorkha, Sindhupalchok, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Dhading, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Dolakha, Ramechhap, and Sindhuli districts were been badly hit by the earthquake.
Can an earthquake be so ruthless? I still can’t imagine it was an earthquake: it was an Armageddon. But our never dying spirit hasn’t subsided. We will soon bounce back.
Journalist Ujjwal Acharya tweeted:
So many people tirelessly & voluntarily providing time & resources to help others after #NepalQuake. Humanism is alive! Salute to them all!
— Ujjwal Acharya (@UjjwalAcharya) April 30, 2015
For the relief work, the government has identified shelter, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), health and food as the major priorities. Practical Action has rushed to its work areas in Gorkha and Dhading, two of the most affected districts.
Practical Action South Asia Regional Director Achyut Luitel tweeted:
@PracticalAction mobilising teams for Gorkha & Dhading for WASH & temp shelters. Starting in 2 villages each. #NepalEarthquake #PrayforNepal
— Achyut Luitel (@achyutluitel) April 29, 2015
A version of this article appeared on Practical Action’s blog.

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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Pro-Russian Videos Get Fake Views With Help From Malware · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Some pro-Russian videos appear to have gone viral, and not in a good sense. Motherboard reports that a group of unknown hackers has been infecting Internet users’ computers with viruses and using them to inflate views on news videos with a pro-Russian slant, as well as some other content.
New research by security firm Trustwave shows that victims got infected by visiting a compromised website that installed an exploit kit (an off-the-shelf software package allowing for easy attacks) on their computer, along with a trojan virus. The infected computers would then stealthily rack up views on the videos.
The videos identified by the researchers all appear to be pro-Russian, such as a one from the Iranian English-language broadcaster PressTV that quotes a Russian Parliament member justifying the annexation of Crimea. The goal of the operation, according to Trustwave researchers Rami Kogan and Arseny Levin, was to artificially increase the popularity of a video and make it more visible to users of the site Dailymotion.
Trustwave experts say the suspicious videos all share the same traits: they all have a fairly high number of views (around 320K, most of them within minutes of each other) but no social media shares or comments. By artificially inflating the clip's popularity, the fraudsters also make the video more visible to other users of the video site.
Using bots to generate fake traffic to video clips is nothing new. It is a technique to raise a clip's popularity score and achieve higher visibility. However, this is the first time we've observed the tactic used to promote video clips with a seemingly political agenda.
Both Trustwave analysts and independent security researchers told Motherboard that using malware for political aims was new, but that such ‘invisible propaganda’ could be very effective, as only its results were visible,but not the fraudulent mechanisms behind them.
“We have seen hacks that are motivated by money and other ‘hacktivist’ attacks that are motivated by politics,” Karl Sigler, the threat intelligence manager at Trustwave, told Motherboard. “This current campaign shows that those two motivations are starting to evolve and blend together.”
While it is unclear who is behind the campaign, Trustware experts speculate that those who spread the exploit kit and the malware simply aimed to make money, and that someone else paid them to add fake views to pro-Russian propaganda videos.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Travelling Radio: Sound Postcards and Histories from Cali to Panama · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

Performers, communicators and scientists are working together on Hacia el Litoral. Acción Colectiva (On the Way to the Littoral: Collaborative Action), an initiative to give voice to the population dwelling in the lands located between Cali (Colombia) and the border with Panama:
Hacia el litoral. Acción colectiva es una práctica artística, una serie de movimientos sobre un territorio, geográfico y mental, un ejercicio de relectura del territorio y de frontera realizado por dos grupos, uno ubicado en Cali y otro en Ciudad de Panamá, conformado por artistas, comunicadores sociales, antropólogos, ingenieros, sociólogos, biólogos, entre diferentes actores que conforman un grupo interdisciplinar llamado a desarrollar proyectos y acciones en un viaje que comprende Ciudad de panamá, Jaqué, Punta Ardita, Juradó, Bahía solano, El Valle, Nuquí, Coquí y Cali. Con el proyecto La Radio Va–llena, Estación Viajera resultaron ganadores de la beca CreaDigital de los Ministerios de las TIC y de Cultura en Colombia, en la categoría cross y transmedia, año 2014.
‘On the Way to the Littoral: Collaborative Action’ is a creative practice, a series of movements over a land, geographically and mentally, an exercise in reinterpretation of the territory and frontiers elaborated by two groups, one located in Cali and the other in Panama City. The project is comprised of performers, social communicators, anthropologists, engineers, sociologists, biologists, creating an interdisciplinary group to develop designs and actions along a journey which takes in Panama City, Jaque, Punta Ardita, Juradom, Bahia Solano, El Valle, Nuqui, Coqui and Cali. With the project La Radio Va-llena and Estación Viajera (Travelling Station) they were winners of the CreaDigital grant awarded by the Ministries of ICT (Ministry of Information Technology and Communications) and Culture in Colombia, in the cross and trans-media categories for 2014.
Radio Va-llena gathers classical music excluded from mass media, sounds, voices and life histories of the region's population and their effects, demarcated by the frontier, allowing them to subvert surroundings marked by conflict and violence through a manifestation of cultural expressions.
Hacia el Litoral (On the way to the Littoral. Evelyn Soto's photo, used with permission.
The University del Valle (Cali) on May 14, 2015, alongside the Cinemateca of University in the teatrino of the Facultad de Artes Integradas (Integrated Arts Faculty) will be able to hear sound postcards, watch videos of different characters and photos of the travelling, as well as conversations with members of Radio Va-llena.

author: Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez


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Macedonian Journalists Protest Death Threats · Global Voices
Adrijana Selmani

Several journalists spoke at a protest in Skopje about the recent threats directed at journalist Borjan Jovanovski, holding the funeral wreath that had been delivered to his home as a death threat in April 2015. Photo by Vanco Dzambaski, used with permission.
Borjan Jovanovski, a prominent Macedonian news anchor, received a funeral wreath at his home on April 21. “Final Farewell,” read the message on the wreath. Jovanovski works for the independent news website Nova TV and is a well-known critic of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's conservative government. The wreath had been delivered directly to his wife.
Jovanovski duly reported the incident to police as a death threat, but the odds of finding the perpetuator are slim. According to recent ratings by the World Press Freedom Index and others, Macedonia's press freedom has been ranked “the worst in the Balkans” and threats and questionable defamation suits against journalists are becoming more common.
On April 22, several journalists in Macedonia demonstrated against the threat to Jovanovski, linking the incident to the country's deepening political crisis. Also on April 22, journalist Zoran Bojarovski received death threats via Facebook and reported them to police, who promptly launched an investigation.
OSCE Representative for Media Freedom Dunja Mijatović has called on the authorities to investigate the wreath sent to Jovanovski's home, noting that several groups have joined in condemning the threat, including the opposition SDSM political party, the Journalists’ Plenum, the Macedonian Institute for Media, the Agency for Audio and Audio-Visual Media Services, and both national journalists’ associations AJM and MAN.
Mijatović called on the Macedonian government to reverse the country's apparent trend of deteriorating press freedom. Recent developments include the conviction and subsequent parole of journalist Tomislav Kezarovski, the public labeling of another journalist, Jadranka Kostova, as an informant for foreign espionage agencies, and allegations that the government wiretapped the phones of more than 100 journalists.
The Journalists’ Association of Macedonia (ZNM) and the Macedonian Media Institute (MIM) also condemned the death threats, accusing state institutions of promoting an atmosphere of intolerance toward criticism of the government and politicians.
ZNM called it a “cowardly act directed against all journalists in Macedonia,” adding that this “incident is a consequence of the spreading of hate speech in media inspired by the conduct of the political parties.” ZNM highlighted that state institutions have so far failed to solve a single case where a journalist suffered violence, verbal threats, or hate speech.

author: Adrijana Selmani


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One French Journalist’s Take on the ‘Slow Death’ of Foreign Correspondents · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Anaïs Renevier in Beirut with her permission
Sometimes passion is just not enough.
This is the story of Anaïs Renevier, a young foreign correspondent for Francophone media based in Beirut, but it could be the story of any freelance journalist worldwide.
World news has always been Anaïs’ passion ever since she can remember. She would be following in the footsteps of her father, a lead engineer in television, but she wanted to pave her own way to get there. She went to Berlin to study cinematography and then interned for a regional French television station. In 2012, she decided to move to Lebanon to cover the news after her first visit to the country in 2009. Anaïs’ latest assignment was as a national correspondent for an international francophone television channel for their Lebanon coverage.
The job was demanding but thrilling. Soon, however, Anaïs said she realized that the news industry would keep demanding more from her without offering her much financial or moral support in return. In a blog post entitled “La petite mort des correspondants” (The slow death of correspondents), Anaïs explained why despite loving her work, she feels compelled to take a step back and contemplate all her career options:
A 27 ans, je retourne chez mes parents et je laisse derrière moi des correspondances pour des médias renommés, un réseau que j’ai construit pendant trois ans et un pays que je prenais plaisir à couvrir. Tout cela, car à 27 ans, je ne vis pas de mon métier [..] En moyenne, j’ai gagné environ 800 euros par mois pendant trois ans. Pour ces 800 euros, j’ai été pendant trois ans joignable 24h/24, 7 jours sur 7 : l’info n’attend pas. Pour ces 800 euros, j’ai été plusieurs fois prise dans des tirs croisés de snipers et une fois pourchassée par un hélicoptère du régime syrien (1). Pour ces 800 euros, j’ai été les yeux et les oreilles de plusieurs médias francophones au Liban. Et avec ces 800 euros, j’ai payé moi-même mon permis de résidence, ma caméra et mon assurance santé.  Ma situation financière n’est pourtant pas mon problème principal.  Nous sommes journalistes et nous sommes aussi des fantômes. Certains chefs sont-ils conscients que lorsqu’ils refusent un article sur la Syrie parce que «de toutes façons personne n’y comprend rien», c’est aussi nos sensibilités et nos vécus qu’ils heurtent? Petit à petit, ces voix s’éteindront, étouffées par une information de masse, des dépêches écrites à la hâte, des informations diffusées avant d’être vérifiées. C’est la petite mort des correspondants. Cette agonie peut encore être évitée, par le public en suivant et soutenant les médias qui font entendre nos voix, et par nous en pensant le journalisme autrement.
At 27, I am moving back to my parents’ house and leaving behind all my work for renowned media, a network that I built for three years and a country I enjoyed covering. All this because at the age of 27, I cannot make a living from my profession of choice […] On average, I earned about 800 euros per month for three years. For those 800 euros, I spent three years being available 24/7 because the news never waits. For 800 euros, I was repeatedly caught in crossfire between snipers and once chased by a helicopter from the Syrian regime. For those 800 euros, I was for a long time the eyes and ears of several Francophone media in Lebanon. And with those 800 euros, I had to pay for my own residence permit, my camera and my health insurance. My financial situation, however, was not my main issue. As foreign correspondents, we are journalists but we are also ghosts. Are newsroom editors aware that, for instance, when they refuse an article on Syria because “nobody understands what is going on there anyway,” it is also our very existence and our personal experiences that they insult? Gradually, these voices will be extinguished, choked by the mass media machine that post dispatches written hastily, with information disseminated before being fully verified. We are seeing the slow death of correspondents. Yet this disappearance can still be avoided if the public were to follow and support media that make those voices heard, and if we can imagine a new kind of journalism.
Global Voices caught up with Anaïs to unpack her analysis of the media and understand her career choices.
Global Voices (GV): Your post entitled “The slow death of correspondents” resonated with many people in the industry and elsewhere who struggle to make a living from a once robust industry. From your standpoint, what are the main causes of the malaise in journalism nowadays?
Anaïs Renevier (AR):  J'ai été surprise et touchée par l'étendue du partage alors qu'au départ je n'avais mis le lien que sur ma page Facebook, à destination de mes amis et contacts professionnels au Liban. C'est à la fois encourageant au plan personnel de le savoir autant partagé, mais aussi démotivant de voir que les correspondants au Liban ne sont pas les seuls à souffrir de cette précarité.
Je pense que dans le journalisme, l'argent est le nerf de la guerre, la première difficulté est donc le manque de moyens financiers dans les médias. Je l'ai connu à tous les niveaux : dans la télévision locale où j'ai travaillé en 2011-2012 (par manque de moyens nous faisions de longues journées de travail), dans de grands médias pour lesquels je collabore (j'ai souvent entendu «ton sujet nous intéresse, mais nous n'avons pas le budget») et également pour tous les nouveaux médias qui tentent d'inventer un nouveau modèle de journalisme.
Mais plus encore, l'instantanéité tue progressivement notre média. Il faut toujours que tout soit fait tout de suite, avec peu de temps pour vérifier les informations et creuser. Et le lendemain, le sujet est déjà oublié, noyé dans la masse des «dernières nouvelles». Malheureusement, les médias qui prennent le temps d'analyser et d'avoir du recul sont souvent ceux qui ont les moyens financiers les plus limités.
Dernier problème, nous sommes interchangeables. Nous sommes nombreux dans ce métier, tous passionnés, et acceptons parfois de travailler dans des conditions misérables. Nous savons que si nous refusons, quelqu'un d'autre prendra notre place (peut-être un stagiaire!)
Anaïs Renevier (AR): I was surprised and touched by the reach of the blog post because initially I had just put a link to the post on my Facebook page, to my friends and business contacts in Lebanon. This was both encouraging from a personal standpoint to know that it was shared by so many, but it is also disheartening to see that correspondents in Lebanon are not the only ones who feel such vulnerability in their careers.
I believe that in journalism, money is the name of the game, so the first challenge is the lack of financial means in the media. I knew of the financial challenges at all levels: at the local TV where I worked in 2011-2012 (because of lack of resources, we had to do long working days) and at the major media outlet for whom I worked (I heard the following sentence several times: “We are interested in your topic, but we do not have the budget to provide support for it”). I even heard it at the new digital media outlet trying to propose a new model of journalism.
But even more so than the financial challenges, it is the race for breaking news that is gradually killing the media. We always want everything done right away with little time to verify the information, provide context and dig deeper in the issue. And you know that the next day, that piece of news will already be forgotten, washed away by the latest wave of breaking news. Unfortunately, the media outlets who take the time to analyze and provide the bigger picture are often also those with the most limited means.
Finally, the other pressing challenge is that reporters are seemingly easily replaceable. There are many of us in the industry, all with a passion for our work and we often accept to work in dismal conditions. Because we know that if we refuse to take the job, someone else will (maybe even an intern).
Cover photo of Anaïs Renevier on Twitter
GV: Do you think journalism will evolve from this race for breaking or viral news?
AR: Je ne sais pas si cela va évoluer, mais je l'espère sincèrement. En France, de nombreux journaux et sites webs qui laissent la place à de longs reportages ont vu le jour ces dernières années. Ils ont bien compris le ras-le-bol des lecteurs de n'effleurer que la surface des choses. Espérons qu'ils obtiennent des financements suffisants pour perdurer. Nous sommes de nombreux journalistes à vouloir faire les choses différemment, et plus en profondeur.
AR: I don't know if it will change, but I sincerely hope so. In France, many newspapers and websites have given space to long-form reports in recent years. I think they sense that readers are fed up with information that barely scratches the surface of things. Hopefully they will get sufficient funding to continue. There are many journalists who would love to do things differently and with more depth.
GV: You have lived in Beirut since 2012 and you are now about to leave. What are the most striking memories you have from your stay in the country, professionally and personally?
AR: Il y a eu beaucoup de “premières fois” professionnelles au Liban ! Les premiers souvenirs qui me viennent en tête sont ceux de reportage en zone de conflit, et comment je me suis parfois retrouvée entre des tirs de snipers, pourchassée par un hélicoptère ou infiltrée avec des combattants, parfois sans savoir comment réagir (mais on apprend vite quels réflexes avoir dans de telles situations!). Nous sommes souvent exposés à des situations stressantes, comme cette fois où j'étais coincée dans le no man's land entre le Liban et la Syrie. Pour les besoins d'un reportage sur les réfugiés syriens interdits d'entrer au Liban, je suis sortie du pays et j'ai pénétré dans une zone tampon d'une dizaine de kilomètres entre les deux pays. Une fois repérée, j'ai été interrogée par la sûreté générale libanaise (ils m'ont demandé de supprimer mes images, j'ai fait semblant de le faire) et ensuite par l'armée syrienne (ils m'ont demandé de montrer mes images pour prouver que j'étais journaliste, si je les avais supprimées je serai peut-être dans une geôle syrienne à l'heure actuelle!). A mon retour au Liban, j'ai du régulariser ma situation (j'avais un tampon de sortie mais pas de tampon de retour dans le pays), j'ai eu à nouveau droit à 4 heures d'interrogatoire par la sûreté générale. Au final, la chaîne de télévision qui m'avait commandé le reportage m'a dit que ces images volées n'étaient «pas assez fortes».   Mais les souvenirs de mes reportages sont aussi des souvenirs de rencontres, avec des réfugiés, des artistes, des membres d'ONG, des gens passionnés et passionnants. Mon plus beau souvenir d'interview est celui de Marcel Khalifé, un des musiciens les plus célèbres du Liban. Au-delà de sa musique, ce que j'ai apprécié quand je l'ai rencontré c'est sa disponibilité, son accessibilité, sa sagesse et son humanité.  J'ai aussi de très beaux souvenirs personnels, comme cette soirée au bord d'une piscine avec la majeure partie des correspondants français, c'était au mois de novembre et nous avons tous fini à l'eau! Les souvenirs partagés avec eux sont importants, car ils ont été mes principaux soutiens ici et c'est aussi leur voix que je voulais faire entendre à travers mon article. II y a eu des moments de déprime mais il y a surtout eu beaucoup d'entraide. J'ai vécu en 3 ans ici des expériences que je n'aurais peut-être jamais vécues en 20 ans en France. J'ai surtout appris à relativiser mes propres problèmes face à cette détresse que nous côtoyons au quotidien.
AR: There were many “firsts” in Lebanon from a professional standpoint. The first memory that comes to mind is the reporting I did in conflict zones and how I sometimes found myself in the line of fire, chased by a helicopter or infiltrated with rebel fighters. Sometimes we do not always know how to react (but you have to learn the right reflexes quickly in such situations!). Reporters are often exposed to stressful situations, such as the time I was stuck in no man's land between Lebanon and Syria. I was reporting on Syrian refugees denied entry to Lebanon, I went out of the country and I entered a 10 km buffer zone between the two countries. Once identified by the Lebanese authorities, I was interrogated and asked to delete the images I took. I pretended to do it but I did not. Then Syrian soldiers asked me to show the photos to prove that I was a journalist. Had I removed the photos, I may be in a Syrian jail right now. Upon my return in Lebanon, I had to spend another four hours in interrogation with the Lebanese Security Agency. In the end, the television channel that had asked me for the report told me that these smuggled images were “not striking enough”. But memories of my stay there are also memories of encounters with refugees, artists, NGO workers, inspiring people everywhere. My best memory is an interview of Marcel Khalife, one of the most famous musicians of Lebanon. Beyond his music, I really enjoyed talking to him because of his wisdom and humanity. I also have memorable personal memories of evenings with the many fellow correspondents in November and we all ended up in the water somehow. Those memories with my colleagues are important because they are my main support sytem here. It is also their voices I wanted to share through my blogpost. There were depressing moments but there were also a lot of helping each other. I made friends with many journalists here, all passionate, motivated, and full of talent. What I have lived through here in three years, I would perhaps have never experienced in 20 years in France. I especially learned to take my own problems with philosophy in the face of the distress that others encounter everyday.
GV: You lived through some challenging events and you mentioned that you needed to find more balance in the way you conduct your career. A few of our contributors have also been trying to cope with traumatic experiences from covering the news. Do you feel that you and your colleagues are given enough support for stress management?
AR: Je n'ai jamais demandé directement à mes chefs du soutien pour ces situations de stress, car j'ai réussi à les gérer moi-mêmes. Je pense qu'ils auraient été réceptifs si je leur avais fait part de mes besoins. Cela dit, ce n'est pas le cas de tous les correspondants, certains ont du consulter des psychothérapeutes, parfois pour stress post-traumatique. Cela dit, les journalistes ici (locaux et internationaux) sont soutenus par la fondation SKEYES qui organise régulièrement des ateliers et des formations pour faire face à ces situations. Récemment, j'ai participé à une formation de l'ONG “Trauma Training for Journalists” qui fait un excellent travail de formation des pigistes en zone hostiles.
AR: I never had to ask my superiors for support in stressful situations because I managed them on my own. I think they would have all been receptive if I had told them of my needs. That said, this is not always the case; some reporters had to consult psychotherapists, sometimes for PTSD.  Journalists here (local and international) are supported by the SKeyes foundation which organizes regular workshops and training to deal with these situations. Recently I participated in a training by the NGO “Trauma Training for Journalists” which does an excellent job of training freelancers in hostile area.
GV: The political situation in Lebanon is complex. What concept do you wish the general public would understand better about the region? What common mistakes are made by outsiders about the country?
AR: La chose que j'entend le plus souvent quand je suis hors du Liban est : «mais il y a la guerre au Liban!» Il faut donc repartir de zéro et expliquer qu'il n'y a pas de conflit au Liban, et que la situation sécuritaire s'est plutôt améloriée depuis trois ans. Je pense que les médias français qui couvrent l'international de manière correcte démontrent très bien la complexité politique du Liban en faisant appel régulièrement à des experts pour des analyses. Ce que je regrette, c'est que certains sujets tombent dans l'oubli, comme le sort des réfugiés syriens. Je regrette aussi que dans de nombreux médias, on ne parle du Liban que négativement, quand il y a une urgence sécuritaire. Mais je crois que ce sont des frustrations que tous les correspondants, dans tous les pays du monde, connaissent! On a toujours l'impression qu'on ne parle pas assez du pays qu'on couvre, c'est symptomatique! Et au final, le Liban est plutôt bien couvert dans les médias français par rapport à d'autres pays.
AR: The thing I hear most often when I am out of Lebanon is “but there is war in Lebanon!” I often must start from scratch and explain that there is no conflict in Lebanon. In fact, the situation has steadily improved for the past three years. I think the French media covering international news usually do a good job unpacking Lebanon's political complexity. However, I wish that some topics would be covered more often, such as the plight of Syrian refugees. I also regret that in most media, Lebanon is too often described in a negative light, only when there is a security emergency. But I think these are frustrations that all reporters have felt at some point worldwide. We always feel like we do not talk enough of the country we cover.
GV: You mentioned you are about to leave Lebanon and maybe change careers. What are your future plans? What do you hope for Lebanon and the situation with refugees?
AR: Dans un premier temps, je vais poser mes valises chez mes parents en région parisienne, passer du temps avec mes proches et souffler. J'ai des idées de reportage en France, mais aussi à l'étranger, et bien sûr je reviendrai au Liban régulièrement, c'est mon pays de cœur! Il faudra juste que je trouve un nouvel équilibre dans la manière dont j'exerce mon métier. J'ai également des projets de films documentaires sur lesquels je vais pouvoir me concentrer.
Abandonner le journalisme maintenant ce serait un échec pour moi. Mais si dans quelques années je me rends compte que je n'arrive pas encore à vivre de mon métier, il sera temps de raccrocher et de devenir fleuriste, je suis passionnée par les fleurs exotiques! Mais quelle que soit la voie que je prends, je sais que je continuerai toujours à être journaliste dans l'âme.  J'espère que le pays continuera à tenir debout. Quand je suis arrivée, on parlait de «guerre civile imminente» après l'attentat de la place Sassine. Deux ans et demi après, le pays tient encore debout, même s'il est bancal. Pour les réfugiés, qu'ils soient syriens, irakiens ou palestiniens, il y a beaucoup à espèrer et beaucoup de choses doivent changer. Mais l'urgence est de débloquer des fonds pour aider le Liban, pays qui accueille le plus grand nombre d'entre eux.
AR: First, I will take a break at my parents’ place in Paris, spend time with my family and recharge. I have story ideas for France, but also abroad, and of course I will return to Lebanon regularly. It is my adopted country after all. I just need to find a new balance in the way I practice my profession. I also have documentary film projects on which I hope to dedicate more time. To completely give up on journalism now would be a failure for me. But if in a few years I realize that I can not even make a living with my job, it would be time to hang it up and become a florist, I am fascinated by exotic flowers! But whatever the path I take, I know I will always continue to be a journalist at heart. I hope that Lebanon will continue to stand tall. When I arrived, there was talk of “imminent civil war” after the attack on Sassine Square. Two and half years later, the country is still standing, although it still has its flaws. But the urgency is to release funds to help all refugees, whether Syrian, Iraqi or Palestinian. Lebanon is the country that hosts the largest number of refugees.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


text:
Radio Ambulante and Global Voices Latin America Join Forces · Global Voices
Global Voices Latin America

Radio Ambulante and Global Voices will work together to give coverage to Latin American initiatives and voices inside and outside of the region.
Radio Ambulante is joining forces with Global Voices Latin America to broaden the representation and spread of Latin American voices.
Radio Ambulante is a Spanish-language radio program that tells Latin American stories from anywhere Spanish is spoken, including the United States. They feature uniquely Latin American stories bringing the aesthetic of high-quality long-form journalism to radio, reaching as many as 60,000 listeners worldwide per episode.
Radio penetration is about 60 percent in Latin America, Using the region's most popular medium with new technologies, Radio Ambulante brings voice and visibility to important social issues in Spanish.
Starting in May this year, Global Voices will publish content from Radio Ambulante on its website, as we did with the Los 43 + 11 episode.
GV Radio, a new Global Voices initiative, will also broadcast Radio Ambulante episodes.
Through this alliance, we hope to increase the visibility of projects and initiatives that can inspire readers and listeners looking to understand regional and transnational spaces, covering both local and global issues.
In October 2014, Radio Ambulante received the Gabriel García Márquez award for ‘Innovation’ for its rigorous yet creative presentation of journalism. And most recently won the BOBS prize for top blogs in Spanish.

author: Global Voices Latin America


text:
Stark Photos Show Nepal’s Heritage Sites Before and After the Quake · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Historical Monuments after the earthquake at Kathmandu Durbar Square. Image by Ajaya Manandhar. Copyright Demotix (25/4/2015)
The earthquake that shook Nepal on April 25 has claimed more than 7,000 lives and injured twice as many people. Around 8 million people have been affected with at least 2 million displaced.
Besides the human casualties and property damage in the billions, the earthquake devastated world-renowned monuments—many of them World Heritage Sites. UNCESCO chief Irina Bokova told the Associated Press that it was “heartbreaking” to see the destruction of Nepal’s distinctive blend of Hinduism and Buddhism.
Social media users took to posting the before-and-after images of the major monuments and significant sites.
The three durbar squares in Kathmandu Valley—Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square—have been damaged to the extent that it would take years to restore the ancient temples.
This breaks my heart. Basantapur Durbar square, one of the historic places of Nepal, before and after. pic.twitter.com/OLqnoluqnz
— FG (@FunnyGooner) April 25, 2015
BEFORE/AFTER: King Yoga Narendra Malla, Patan Durbar Square #NepalEarthquake #Nepal #Peace pic.twitter.com/BJ8Exx3gJK
— JigmeUgen (@JigmeUgen) April 25, 2015
One of the temples in Bhaktapur #Nepal before and after the earthquake. Two weeks ago the first pic was taken. pic.twitter.com/3DRWJdHFyc
— Marymoon (@MaCasasfranco) April 28, 2015
Dharahara, also known as Bhimsen Tower, was built by Nepal’s first prime minister, Bhimsen Thapa. The tower, once a 13-story minaret, was brought down by an earthquake in 1934. Rebuilt to a nine-story tower, it collapsed in the quake last month.
Other before-after was wrong but this one isn't. Dharhara tower: before, after, before, after #NepalQuake pic.twitter.com/M4QbQFGKc8
— Susan Hough (@SeismoSue) April 25, 2015
Swayambhunath, known as the Monkey Temple to foreigners, also saw damage to its temples.
A monk walks past the collapsed monastery and shrines at Swoyambhunath Stupa, a UNESCO world heritage site pic.twitter.com/AOWMerX3em
— Tourej Ansari (@tourejansari) April 29, 2015
Spectacular view of Swoyambhunath also known as monkey temple. #Travel #Kathmandu #Buddhism #Nepal pic.twitter.com/CW6dKVzi1o
— Trekking Nepal (@serenitytreks) April 1, 2015
One of the most beautiful temples along the bank of Bagmati River, the Kalmochan temple, was reduced to a mound of earth.
Kalmochan in #Kathmandu, #Nepal. One of my favs. Good morning :) #HelloMonday #temple #architecture #VisitNepal pic.twitter.com/ENC33HthBT
— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) January 5, 2015
The Kalmochan Temple built in Mughal style by Jang Bahadur at Thapathali down, only the Garuda stands guard. pic.twitter.com/KWfv4a7PHB
— Kanak Mani Dixit (@KanakManiDixit) April 25, 2015
Sankhu, an old settlement famous among the Swasthani Bratakatha pilgrims, also suffered huge losses.
#Sankhu where I lived in #Nepal, has suffered #NepalEarthquake,its so heartbreaking, before and after. pic.twitter.com/hsC99e6AOq
— © Roshan Karki (@roshankarki5) April 27, 2015
The area around the Changu Narayan temple, a World Heritage Site just few kilometers away from the Kathmandu Valley, also suffered major damage.
#changunarayan I so wanna be there . look it is so beautiful. #Nepalquake ruins it pic.twitter.com/u0iaMEeZ7Z
— Sandesh Byanjankar (@DesanBenz) May 2, 2015
Changunarayan stands sustaining some bruises, but the premises suffer quite a lot. Need restoration. #NepalQuake pic.twitter.com/vQnfnhFZRl
— Ugendra Shrestha (@ugendras) April 29, 2015
Khokana, an open museum of Newar culture, saw large-scale destruction.
Beautiful Nepal! Clicked this morning at Khokana ! pic.twitter.com/qGf2utcOA8
— dinesh dc (@dineshdcdc) March 28, 2015
Sameer carefully carries his two baby goats through his destroyed neighborhood in Khokana in #Nepal #Nepalquake pic.twitter.com/axFhhheSgb
— Natalie Curtis (@NatalieCurtis) May 1, 2015
Bungamati, an old Newar settlement, was also hit.
Heart Breaking ! Bungmati Temple : Before and After #NepalEarthquake #NepalQuake pic.twitter.com/VEuaLllXXk
— salokya (@salokya) April 28, 2015
Langtang village, the nearest place to be in the lap of Himalayas from the Kathmandu Valley and a favourite spot for trekkers, was completely destroyed by an avalanche that followed the quake.
Langtang village, Nepal before and after the April 25 earthquake: pic.twitter.com/bIzFVdXwxS
— Hanover Geology (@HanoverGeology) April 30, 2015
Barpak, a tiny picturesque hamlet in the Gorkha district, was at the earthquake’s epicenter. The village, home to the Ghale people—famous for their valour and service to the British, Indian, and Nepali armies, was completely destroyed.
Wrenching to see old photos of #Barpak (@sirish_shrestha) given #NepalEarthquake destruction now (@thedarjchron). pic.twitter.com/mYlDYg5Ugv
— Andy Revkin (@Revkin) April 26, 2015
The earthquake has left an indelible scar in Nepal. Specialist equipment and people with specialist skills will be required to conserve what survived. Despite the devastation and destruction, Nepalis haven't lost their hopes to rebuild their historic monuments and sites.
Shashi Raj Pandey, for example, tweeted:
There is a strong presence of hope in people, and a desperation to come back from grave-turned-dreams to rebuild. #NepalQuake
— Shashi Raj Pandey (@shashirajpandey) April 29, 2015