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USA: In Census, Only Some Races Count · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Census photo by the US Department of Agriculture (flickr: USDAgov)
It's time for citizens and residents of the United States to stand up and be counted. All households will be receiving a form from the US Census that should be filled out and mailed back to the government before April 1st. The Census is meant to provide a detailed “portrait” of the country that helps determine how tax money is spent. The form has been translated in multiple languages to ensure diversity is represented in the responses, but some citizens complain that the question on race does not offer enough answers to give an accurate picture of their cultural and ethnic background.
Changing definitions
Every ten years the Census counts the number of people living in each household, as well as their gender and race.
The question on race has adapted over time to include the ever-changing racial and ethnic makeup of the country. In 1850, for example, the only choices were “white,” “black,” and “mulatto,” while 30 years later respondents were also given the options of “Chinese” and “Indian” (presumably meaning Native American).
2000 was the first year in which respondents were allowed to check more than one racial category; resulting in data showed that nearly 7 million Americans designate themselves being of two or more races.
Take a walk through the Census form to see the different categories offered today. Although the racial options are broad, not everyone feels as though they're being counted.
Are Arabs White?
This year, there has been controversy in the Arab-American community over the question of race, because “Arab” is not included. Arabs are supposed to check “White” as their race, or can write in “Arab” or their chosen ethnicity (e.g., Syrian, Saudi), though they will still be counted as officially white. Maytha at Kabobfest believes that this is dis-empowering to Arab Americans:
Because of the extreme variance in phenotype, in “gross morphology” (as Princeton professor Kwame Anthony Appiah terms it), nation-state identifications, overlapping religious identities, and the courts and federal governments’ inconsistent racial categorizing, it is my presumption that it has been a difficult task to say what category or label appropriately describes the experience of being “Arab” in America. but as the above images demonstrate, it has done the job of disempowering minority privilege and left little or no safeguard in moments of necessary minority rights protection.
Like Maytha, other Arab-American bloggers don't feel that they fit into the available boxes. Moroccan-American Sarah Alaoui explains why “white” doesn't describe her:
Because “white” does not only embody a color. What the term “white” means in the United States today is something that transcends any skin color. White means the suburbs and white means affluence and white means picket fences. Some people may argue then, that I do fit into the white category based on my definition of the term. But white also means no questions asked ever, no extra security checks at the airport or in that same category, no mispronunciations of my last name or being told it's a “cool” name as a precursor for the question of where I'm from. Being white means being untouchable in this country.
There are campaigns, however, advocating for Arabs to write in their race on the census (I wrote about the Yalla! Count campaign on my own blog here). Helen Samhan, writing for the Arab American News, explains one choice that Arab-Americans have on the Census:
One option is to choose the “Some Other Race” category and write in your ethnic identity or national origin. This gives voice to our concern about the limits of current racial categories, but allows us to be counted for the primary reasons the census is collected: congressional apportionment, and distribution of federal funds to states and localities. Imagine the impact on the cities of Dearborn, Michigan, or Paterson, New Jersey if their sizable Arab American populations sat out the 2010 Census? Funds available for schools, roads, hospitals and other assets serving the entire community would come up short.
Are Latinos Black or White?
Arabs are not the only people concerned with the census. There is much discussion amongst the Hispanic and Latino communities over a number of issues, including race. In an article in Puerto Rican* newspaper El Nuevo Día, Keila López Alicea writes (now archived) in an article entitled “No, yo no soy negro” (“No, I am not black”) [es]:
Café con leche, color chavito, trigueño, jabao… Todos son términos usados por los puertorriqueños para describir su color de piel, unos tonos producto de mezclas entre la raza blanca y la raza negra, pero que no son ni lo uno ni lo otro y, por lo tanto, no aparecen entre las opciones que ofrece en Censo de Puerto Rico.
An Argentinian blogger living in Texas and writing at Croníca de Nuestro Viaje a Houston reflects on the question of Hispanic origin, and says there is an explanation on the form that Latino is not considered a race.
y yo me pregunto, los que no son blancos, ni negros, solo “morochitos” en cual entrarían? en “Otros”?… No se, me llamo la atención esta pregunta y su correspondiente aclaración.
Gay couples may be happy to learn that there's a way to mark their partnerships in the census. Zona Diversa, a Puerto Rican LGBT blog, says [es] gay rights organizations in Puerto Rico have explained that although there is no question on sexual orientation or gender identity, people can highlight common law relationships and what gender combination they are made up of.
Important to be Counted
Other segments of the community have discussed boycotting the Census in an effort to pressure the government toward immigration reform. To that point, Beverly Pratt, writing for Racism Review, argues:
As an activist-in-training, I definitely respect everyone’s right to boycott. However, I find this boycott to ultimately be more detrimental than beneficial. If we in the Latina/o community want to strengthen our voice, then we need to participate in the official “voice-collector” while continuing our struggle through other peaceful and productive means. I, for one, am looking forward to being counted as a Mexican American living within the United States, knowing full well that scholars, politicians, and activists will study my identity as it resides within the communal whole of our nation.
Iranian-Americans are also working to have their racial and ethnic identities counted. In a public service ad starring Iranian-American comic Maz Jobrani (below), the community argues that Iranians should make “explicit declaration of our Nationality ‘Iranian’ or ‘Iranian American’ under the question 9 of the Census which asks ‘What is the Person’s Race?'”
*Residents of Puerto Rico also take part in the US Census.

author: Jillian C. York


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Venezuela: Concerns About Controls on the Internet · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Debate is heating up in Venezuela after a series of decrees and statements from President Hugo Chávez, who questioned how the Internet is being used in the country. Many are interpreting these statements and policy proposals by the Assembly that there is the desire by the government to control the Internet in Venezuela.
After almost a year of discussion regarding the decree that questioned the Internet as a priority, these concerns are appearing once again online. Much of the government's concerns were demonstrated when a bit of news was falsely declared in the forums of the site Noticiero Digital, an online Venezuelan newspaper that Diosdado Cabello, the Minister of Public Works and Housing had died.  The false information remained published for two days, and was picked up and republished on other blogs. It was two days until the site's administrators took the information down and made the correction.
This was one more example for the Chávez government to say that there should be some controls on what can be published online. He declared on television that the Internet should not be an open place where everyone can publish whatever they can, with no control whatsoever. He argued that every country should put its own norms and rules to avoid spreading false information and create uneasiness.
As usual, online movements are trying to figure out the future consequences and to clearly understand the intentions of the government, as well as the reactions of the people. As it has become a tradition in Venezuela's political dynamics, a great number of voices try to identify the problem and either clarify the real objectives or fight against them. For some, this is a misunderstanding caused by manipulation in media. For others, it is the approach of a dreaded shadow of repression already seen in Cuba and Iran, two of Venezuela's government's closest allies.
According to Reporters Without Borders [es], applying restrictions will not be a solution for false news over the web. They also argue that this is an excuse to control a space that the government has not been able to control before.
To respond to the legal maneuvers that have been taking place, the group Tod@s en Red [es](Everybody Online) created a document in which several points of discussion are suggested in order to underline the basic importance of the access to Internet. Their main goal is to circulate the document on the web and discuss it. They also suggest to spread the ideas through Twitter, Facebook, and also sign and comment on the site. Some of the points they underline are:
* Reivindicar la info-alfabetización como un derecho social, dado que el desarrollo de destrezas informáticas que le dan al ciudadano mayores posibilidades tanto para aprender autónomamente, como para colaborar en proyectos colaborativos o colectivos.
* Demandar los aportes del Estado y la contribución del sector privado para el desarrollo de infraestructura de red y ampliación del acceso a la conectividad para superar la brecha digital que aún persiste en Venezuela.
* Reconocer que Internet no es un lujo sino un recurso clave para el combate de la pobreza y el logro de los objetivos nacionales de desarrollo.
* To promote information literacy as a social right, since the development of skills in computers gives the citizen new possibilities to learn by him or herself and also to collaborate in group projects.
* To ask the State and the private sector to contribute to the development of infrastructure in order to amplify the access to technology and overcome the gap that is still existing in Venezuela.
* To recognize that Internet is not luxury, but a key tool to fight against poverty and to reach national objectives in development.
On the blog Webarticulista [es], Juan Páez Avila discusses:
(…no se puede) responsabilizar a la red de redes que se utiliza en el mundo civilizado no sólo para informar de lo que pueda interesarle a un forista bien o mal intencionado, sino para impulsar el desarrollo integral de las naciones. (…)
Y aunque el caso podría limitarse a la investigación del forista, porque la Constitución Nacional prohíbe el anonimato, lo  grave del mismo es que el Comandante en Jefe adelantó opinión y solicitó que además de investigar al noticiero se piense en regular el funcionamiento de Internet en nuestro país, lo cual, según la experiencia conocida constituye una orden para que se proceda a censurar al medio o a provocar la autocensura.
It's impossible to hold the web responsible for this. It is a tool used not only to inform a good or bad intentioned forum participant, but also to favor the development of nations.
Even when the case could be limited to investigation around the forum participant that made the comment (since the Constitution forbids anonymity) what is alarming is that the President made a point and suggested not only an investigation, but also to think about regulating how the Internet works in our country. This, according to already known experiences is an order to censure an specific media or cause self-censorship.
From the other side, Pascual Serrano discusses the real implications [es] of the President's speech.
En realidad el presidente venezolano denunciaba informaciones falsas (…). Chávez afirmó que los medios “no pueden ser libres para decir lo que te de la gana, hay que cumplir las leyes y la Constitución”, y pidió que la fiscalía actúe contra los medios que difundan falsedades en internet, tal y como sucede en países como Estados Unidos, España o Colombia.
La corresponsal de El País en Caracas, Mayte Rico, tituló “Chávez dice que Internet ‘no puede ser libre’”, en un claro ejemplo de manipulación. Hagamos el siguiente ejercicio. ¿Pensamos que los ciudadanos pueden ser libres para asesinar a sus vecinos que no les caigan bien? Evidentemente, responderíamos que no. ¿Eso quiere decir que pensamos que “los ciudadanos no pueden ser libres”?
What the Venezuelan president was actually condemning was the publishing of false information. He argued that media “can't be free to say whatever you feel like. It is necessary to follow the rules of the Constitution”. He also asked the Public Prosecutor's Office to act against media that publishes false information online, as it happens in the United States, Spain, or Colombia.
(Nevertheless), the correspondent of El País in Caracas, Mayte Rico titled the story “Chavez says Internet ‘Cannot be Free'”. This is a clear example of manipulation. Let's think about it. Here's an example: Do we think that citizens can be free to kill their neighbors if the don't like them? Of course not, “no”, will be the answer. Does that mean that we think that “citizens cannot be free”?
To prove his point, Pascual shares the link in which Chávez explains his reason in the video [es] with the source.
Mercedes Chacín also argues that there is a lot of manipulation and says [es]:
Hasta ahora, ningún país del mundo se había llevado una sola línea en la prensa internacional por implantar este tipo de soluciones. Sin embargo, Venezuela ha conseguido incluso portadas y primeras páginas (…) solamente por tomar las mismas decisiones que otros países, absolutamente justificadas y encaminadas a aumentar la eficiencia y la seguridad en sus comunicaciones.
(Según la prensa, Chávez) No solicita, no declara, no pide, no opina, el Presidente “ataca”.
Until now, no country in the world had been able to get a line in the international press for putting in practice this kind of solutions. Nevertheless, Venezuela receives headlines and front pages (…) just because they did what other nations, completely justified and in order to improve communication efficiency, chose to do.
(According to the press, Chavez…) doesn't ask for, doesn't think, doesn't declare; the President “attacks”.
From another point of view, César Carrillo underlines how important the Internet and free connection is vital for Chavez's project in his post “Revolution and Internet: Doubling the Score”,
(En internet) no existe la primera figura del actor, allí todos somos protagonistas, pero eso no  quita que aquellos que hacemos vida de internauta en las redes interlazadas de alcance global, estemos exentos de una buena cuota de responsabilidad de orden jurídico (…)
Se especula sobre un supuesto sensor (sic), mordaza o filtro a Internet dentro de la jurisdicción soberana de parte de nuestro gobierno revolucionario, de materializarse sería un craso error. Esta medida para nada favorece a nuestro proceso y eso antes de sumar, resta.
(On the Internet) there's not only one main actor. We are all the main character. But it does not mean that all of those that participate actively as web-surfers online connected to one another in a global reach and perspective can't be responsible according to the Law.
There are people speculating about a possible censor, a gag law, or a filter within the sovereign law from our revolutionary government. If that happens, it will be a terrible mistake. That measure won't favor our process. That doesn't add up, it subtracts.
In addition, Tomás Horacio Hernández reacts to the opinion of one of the government's spokespersons:
Que la defensora del Pueblo, Gabriela Ramírez afirme que: “Los portales web que se generen para la libre opinión deben estar plenamente apegados a la Constitución y la ley, a fin garantizar que no atenten contra la paz y el estado de derecho”  es tan absurdo y tan contradictorio como decir que uno como ser humano es libre ser, siempre y cuando el estado te lo permita. ¿Por que alguien me tiene que obligar a leer algo, imponerme lo que debo pensar al respecto y responsabilizar al medio si uno dice lo contrario al libreto?
The sources of most part of the debate are located in the documents in which the projects and decrees have been written. The group Todos en red has a space called “Papeles para el debate” (papers for debate) in which the main documents can be found.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Laura Vidal


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Argentina: Arrest Order Against Judge’s Father Creates Controversy · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

In early 2010, Judge María José Sarmiento ruled against the Argentinean Government, impeding it to use reserves transferred by the Central Bank to pay debt. The transfer of these reserves is under discussion in the Argentinean Congress and its final use is now pending for resolution in the Judicial system and in the Congress as well, much to the dismay of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
However, last week, the Argentinean province of Misiones demanded the arrest of the father of Judge Sarmiento, ex-military Colonel Luis Sarmiento, who is accused of several charges of torture and violation of human rights between 1973 and 1977. Even though the District Attorney of Misiones demanded the processing of the 85-year-old ex-military officer in February 2006, the judge publicly denied knowing her father was involved in violation of human rights. The Judge has stated that the arrest was “obviously related” to her ruling against the government.
On Twitter, there were quick reactions to the topic. For instance, the member of the Parliament, Patricia Bullrich (@PatoBullrich), from Coalición Cívica, Government opponent writes, “I was outraged by the detention of the father of judge Sarmiento! Plain and simple Fascism”. User Netsum (@ReydePilos) showed his “total solidarity with judge Sarmiento. This Government won't stop prosecuting its political enemies”.  Majo Garcia Menendez (@majogm) said it was “the father of judge Sarmiento issue was quite worrying. Things are getting shady, when are we going to react?”.
On the side of those who don't believe Judge Sarmiento's version, in particular the part where she claims not to know about the processing of her father before her ruling about the Central Bank reserves, user Ezequiel Pozzo (@Pozzoe) writes “Judge Sarmiento thinks judges are used with political aims. A thief thinks everyone else is a thief like him”. And José Duhalde (@joseduhalde) writes that “Judge Sarmiento said she didn't know her father was involved in a cause for the repression in Misiones. She lied”.
In blogs, as in Twitter, there were some posts from people who reported the judge was being pursued for her rulings, while others remarked the human rights cause came before the ruling. At the blog  Listao [es], they cite sources that speak of Luis Sarmiento's participation during the illegal repression between 1973 and 1977. And at Tribuna de Periodistas [es], they say the detention of the ex-military was an act of revenge from the President and her husband, ex-President Néstor Kirchner.
Finally, the arrest order against Luis Sarmiento was suspended, since the defendant's health is very deteriorated, because of his age, although the human rights violation charges will follow their course.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: BBC Azeri Facebook Diary · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
As part of the BBC Superpower Season, the BBC's Azeri service approached Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor to participate in its own reflection on the power of the Internet. Locked into a bitter stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, BBC Azeri were specifically interested in how new and social media could bring the two warring sides together.
What follows is part one of the series, originally published yesterday in Azerbaijani, translated or using the original texts in English. Two more parts will follow today and tomorrow.
The BBC Superpower season is in March. In these programs we discussed the power of Internet and the way it affects the lives of people.
The Internet has brought big changes to the lives of people starting from personal relations to business contacts. New media has opened up a new way not only for journalists. It has also inspired an audience and civil society towards free thought and social activism.
The wide use of social media has changed cultural and political values throughout the world. People are willing to communicate, participate and share their thoughts.
This new online project prepared by the Azeri service of the BBC within this Internet season is called Facebook diary.
Every day the participants of this project will follow social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and share their observations with readers of this site.
The first part of our Facebook diary is called Social media and conflict resolution.
As an observation, the main purpose of using Facebook is about the opportunities offered to users of social media as well as using it as a think-tank platform.
What opportunity does social media offer to peace activists from Armenia and Azerbaijan? Can new media tools change the current situation? What are the negative effects of social media in the light of nationalists using new media for an attack on the “enemy”?
Answers to these questions will be given by diarists writing on “Social media and conflict resolution” – Arzu Qeybullayeva from Azerbaijan and Onnik Krikorian from Armenia.
Focusing on the positive
Browsing through status updates on Facebook, I come across one by an Azeri friend of mine, who posted a link as his status. I was also inspired as the caption of it read “Organizer of this event is my friend, mets ashkhatavor (great worker) Georgi Vanyan!”
This is just one of numerous examples on Facebook. one of the most popular social networks used by millions today. Also part of a new phenomenon, new social media such as  Facebook has become a platform for Azerbaijanis and Armenians to share their similarities and differences, talk about politics, culture, life, and art etc.
The use of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs in the Caucasus, and especially in Armenia and Azerbaijan, have all in their own ways opened up new opportunities for youth living in the two countries.
I joined Facebook in 2005, back in the day when it was only available for students living and studying in the UK, Europe and the US. If I was told back then that in few years I would be holding trainings on new social media such as Facebook, I would probably have dismissed that idea as, and also found it, somewhat ridiculous.
However, fast forward five years, and I cannot conceal my excitement every time I talk about this to an audience of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian youth, sharing the positive experiences I have had and citing an incredible amount of positive feedback on my work on building cross-country dialogue.
As a result, I have met many Armenian talented young minds and also taken part in what was a spontaneous and unexpected trip to an ethnically Azeri-populated village in Georgia with a journalist from Yerevan, Onnik Krikorian. We then shared our experience on the Internet via Facebook, personal blogs, and of course, Twitter.
The amount of positive feedback we received was incredible, demonstrating that things can change in a positive way, and that not only can both Azerbaijanis and Armenians work together, but they can also co- exist together.
Onnik Krikorian is the Caucasus regional editor of Global Voices Online as well as a freelance journalist and photojournalist based in Yerevan, Armenia.
The Human Touch: Online personal communication between Armenians and Azerbaijanis
The Internet has changed lives the world over, especially when it comes to news and access to information, but the situation is not quite the same in the South Caucasus. Albeit slowly changing, going online had been the preserve for the fortunate few and until recently mainly via dial-up. Even so, costs still remain prohibitive for many, especially in the less well-developed regions of the three countries making up the South Caucasus.
Plagued by political instability and ethnic conflict, especially between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, those that did have access to the Internet were also more likely to use it to continue the war online rather than strive for peace. Yet, if the Internet was once used by both sides to spread negative propaganda and sometimes misinformation about the other, there is now the possibility to achieve the opposite.
Telephone lines may be monitored or blocked, but those Armenians and Azerbaijanis wanting to communicate with each other can now do so on a daily basis via email, blogs, and micro-blogging sites such as Twitter. They can also speak to each other thanks to Skype. Previously influenced by a usually less than objective and often nationalistic local media, Facebook in particular allows both to glimpse into the lives of each other free from negative stereotypes.
True, nationalists on both sides continue to use the same tools for the opposite purpose, but their previous monopoly on disseminating partisan propaganda is now being broken, especially as Internet penetration increases in both countries.
Over the coming days, Arzu Geybullayeva and I will be looking into both the positive and negative use of the Internet in the context of Armenian and Azerbaijani relations. Since we first made contact online a year and a half ago, it has become increasingly obvious that online tools offer an unprecedented opportunity to break the information blockade and restore open communication between the two sides.
However, to start the ball rolling, there's probably no better place to look than everyone's favourite Facebook as well as the newest (online) kid on the block, Twitter. Although those opposed to peace may have set up countless hate groups on Facebook, they have failed to counter huge progress in personal relations and communication via personal user pages. The same is true for Twitter, where alternative voices have drowned out the propagandists.
Both have also managed to remind others of one reality forgotten by many since the ceasefire agreement between the two warring countries was signed in 1994. That is, Armenians and Azerbaijanis have more in common than some would care to admit.
This weekend, for example, marked the beginning of Novruz, a festival celebrated in Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey, among others, marking the beginning of spring. Not only did many Azerbaijanis on Facebook update their status lines or post photos marking the holiday, but so too did some Armenians, especially those who recognize the Persian influence on both cultures.
One of those was Liana Aghajanian, an Iranian-Armenian now living in the U.S.
“[…] being Armenian doesn’t symbolize an all inclusive club where only one set of traditions are observed and one language spoken. We are an amazingly diverse group of ancient people, who have, through the years, influenced and been influenced by a set of beautifully rich and magnetizing cultures, and denying this would be doing a disservice. […] I guess what I’m trying to say is that simply speaking, diversity is good. Embrace it. […]”
After her post, a brief conversation followed with an Azerbaijani on Twitter, noting the similarities between Novruz and Trndez, an Armenian holiday likely with the same origin, but radically changed to fit into the church calendar after Armenia adopted Christianity in 301AD. This reality is a perfect counter to comments from former Armenian president Robert Kocharian in the 2000s saying that Armenians and Azerbaijanis were “ethnically incompatible.”
A year ago, such open communication was unheard of, but now there are many such examples of civil, polite and friendly discussions taking place as comments on blog posts, as tweets, and on the Facebook pages of like-minded individuals. Indeed, that will be the message Arzu and I share with the audience during our co-presentation next month at a social media conference in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Just don't expect such a reality to be conveyed by the local media in either country. For now, it’s only to be found online. Of course, the negative still exists as well, but more on that as our observations continue.
The original text in Azerbaijani is available on the BBC Azeri web site. Many thanks to Konul Khalilova for permission to post a version in English. The main collaboration between the BBC and Global Voices Online for the Superpower Season is here.
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Chile: President Piñera’s Unsold Shares in LAN Airlines · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Chilean president Sebastián Piñera made a campaign promise to sell all of his LAN Airlines shares by the time he took office on March 11, 2010. Almost two weeks after his inauguration (see video in Spanish of a debate where he made the promise), Piñera still holds 11.3% of the shares at LAN. Chilean journalists, bloggers, and social media users have widely discussed the issue online, keeping a watchful eye on any move that could signal the final sale of Piñera’s remaining shares in the company.
Radio Tierra [es], an Internet and AM frequency citizen radio, characterizes the issue as a conflict of interest. They report on what the government’s spokeswoman used as an explanation for Piñera's failure to sell by the promised deadline. However, the staff at Radio Tierra [es] wonders if there is another -business-related reason for the delay.
El conflicto de intereses entre el dinero y la política no quedó resuelto antes del 11 de marzo como lo prometió el Presidente Sebastián Piñera durante su campaña. De acuerdo a la vocera del nuevo Ejecutivo, Ena von Baer, el terremoto “ha variado” el rumbo fijado y el mandatario venderá sus acciones en LAN “lo antes posible”. […]
Tras el terremoto las acciones que le restaban por vender bajaron debido a la caída de la bolsas chilenas, por lo que ya instalado como máxima autoridad del país resulta inevitable preguntar ¿si acaso está esperando un mejor precio?
The conflict of interest between money and politics was not resolved before March 11 as President Sebastián Piñera promised during his campaign. According to the new executive’s spokeswoman, Ena von Baer, the earthquake “has altered” the path which was previously set, and the president will sell his shares in LAN “as soon as possible” […]
After the earthquake, the value of the remaining shares decreased because of a crash in the Chilean stock market, which makes it inevitable to ask now that he is already in office, is he waiting for a better price?
The online newspaper El Mostrador [es] has been recognized [es] for its investigative reporting on the issue. They’ve created a Facebook application and a blog or website widget which counts how many days have passed since Piñera has been in office without selling the remaining shares. It is called “Piñerómetro” which could be translated as “Piñerameter.” The application includes a Facebook page where users can post comments.
Facebook user Pepe Saavedra [es] wrote:
Los compromisos son para cumplirlos. Cuando no se cumplen se tiene que asumir las consecuencias, que en este caso son en contra de todos los ciudadanos de un país, que se traduce en una sola palabra: MENTIR
Commitments are meant to be kept. When they are not kept one has to assume the consequences, which in this case goes against all the citizens of a country, which translates into one word: LIES
Carlos Armando Vera Salazar [es] also commented on the application's Facebook page:
Pero que esperaban?? Que de un día para otro se olvidara que es un empresario y que lo mueve el fin del lucro.Hay mucha gente ingenua en Chile,principalmente los que votaron por él.
Piñera waves to the crowd on March 11, the day he took office. Image uploaded by Flickr user Globovisión and used under a Creative Commons license
El Mostrador reports [es] that an executive from the stock brokerage firm Celfin told them directly that one of the reasons the final transaction had not been completed was, as many had speculated, because of the drop in the price after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake.
Daniel Hojman [es], agreed that the shares’ fluctuating prices could be a reason for the delay, but he argues that Piñera’s actions should not surprise anyone; politicians act in questionable ways to obtain success. Hojman concludes that this event reminds the media and the general public that they are responsible for monitoring their leaders.
No se trata de un hecho aislado. Es uno más en la trayectoria del propio presidente y un adenda a una larga lista de ejemplos similares que involucran a altos líderes políticos de todo el espectro.  […] A pesar que los políticos son los únicos que se ponen las reglas a sí mismos, en definitiva, los medios y los ciudadanos comunes y corrientes son los únicos con la capacidad de monitorear y validar los liderazgos apropiados.
LAN Airlines. Photo uploaded by Flickr user jmiguel.rodriguez and used under a Creative Commons license.
On his blog Mauricio Rojas Gómez [es] argues that this issue is important, and that it could affect the president’s credibility:
Aunque parezca menor, no es un tema sin importancia cuando se trata de la probidad y transparencia de un jefe de Estado. […] Estamos frente a uno de esos escenarios donde algo no necesariamente es ilegal, pero sí afecta la legitimidad del discurso del gobernante.
José Zalaquett [es] also sees transparency as the main problem in the controversy.
La crítica tiene base porque él mismo tomó ese compromiso y no se divisan motivos razonables para que dilate su cumplimiento.
Sin embargo, más importante aún, es que se entregue información pública que demuestre que él no mantendrá algún tipo de interés en LAN, pese a la venta.  […] Se trata solamente de transparentar los detalles de las operaciones de venta.
The criticism has weight because he took on the commitment himself and there are no reasonable motives for the delay in following through with the promise.
Nevertheless, even more important, information should be made public showing that he will not keep any kind of interest in LAN despite the sale […] It is only about making the details of the sales transactions transparent.
Despite the widespread criticism, some of Piñera’s supporters have defended him citing envy from the part of his critics as the reason why they continue to pay attention to the issue. In an article published by El Vacanudo [es], a citizen newspaper, user Juan spoke up to stand by the new president:
Por favor, dejen al Presidente tranquilo. Más parece envidia y claro resentimiento cuando opinan de los bienes de Piñera. […] Entonces en la lógica de los bienes, deberíamos pedirles a todos quienes trabajan en el servicio público que se desprendan de todos sus recursos materiales ( constructoras, oficinas contables, corretaje de propiedades, empresas de asesorías, centros médicos). Me parece absurdo
El Presidente de Chile es Sebastián Piñera y me importan un comino sus bienes, solo quiero que tenga éxito y que chilito se recupere lo antes posible. Así, mis hijos cosecharán los frutos. Al final del periodo lo evaluaremos en las urnas.
Please, leave the President alone. I think envy and a clear resentment accompany the opinions about Piñera’s assets […] So following the logic of these assets, we should ask all those who work in public service to get rid of all their material resources (construction companies, accounting firms, real estate businesses, consulting firms, medical centers). I think it is absurd.
The president of Chile is Sebastián Piñera and I don’t care the least bit about his assets, I just want him to be successful so that Chile can recuperate as soon as possible. That way, my children will reap the fruits. At the end of the term, we will evaluate him in the voting booths.
Whether the most important issue is transparency or keeping campaign promises, many Chileans seem to agree on one thing: they want Sebastián Piñera to sell the remaining shares to avoid the potential conflicts of interest that could arise while he is in office. This tweet by political scientists and blogger Patricio Navia was widely re-tweeted by Chileans, showing they want a president, not a businessman, to govern their country:
Piñera tiene tremendo flanco abierto. Si no vende ya, se pasará 4 años a la defensiva. Una tontería. Hay que ser o
presidente o accionista

author: Silvia Viñas


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China and the U.S: Testimony on Internet control · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Rebecca MacKinnon posts her testimony for the U.S Congressional Executive China Commission on Google and Internet Control in China: A Nexus Between Human Rights and Trade.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Bride Dumped on Wedding Night Because She Isn’t a Virgin · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

PH from Veggie Discourse translated a local forum post and comments about a bride being dumped on the wedding night because the groom found out that she isn't a virgin.


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China: Official Nudity · Global Voices
Don Weinland

A township government in Sichuan Province is being called “China’s first completely nude government” after township officials issued salary and expenditure information online.  The reference to nudity recently found in many Chinese publications denotes an unprecedented level of transparency in local government.
The government of Baimiao Township in northeastern Sichuan disclosed its proposed 2010 expenditure Mar. 12, along with the salaries of local officials and 2009 expenditure information, reports Southern Weekend.
According to the Sichuan Daily Post, the online information includes items ranging from cars, entertainment and dining fees, to paper cups, stationery, and envelopes, and is posted on the townships website.
Officials at all levels of government in China have a reputation for running up high bills while wining and dining guests and other higher ranking cadres.  According to sources in the Chinese media, these transparency measures may help local citizens monitor the spending habits of their government.
This development comes at a time when counties across China begin to experiment with a similar system requiring officials to report their family income and investments.  Altai County in the western province of Xinjiang implemented an income-reporting system for officials in January 2009.
But Baimiao Township is the first governmental unit to post a comprehensive yearly expenditure, thus earning the name “completely nude government”.  According to online opinion, such developments may pressure other townships or higher levels of government to issue expenditure statements and increase transparency.  Some have labeled the move as hype.
A post at Qingming and Guyu calls the “naked government” move daring although still in need of more thorough reform.
尽管脱的不彻底，但是笔者还是要为白庙乡的勇气喝一声彩。无论如何，敢于把招待上级官员的烟酒费用都公布出来，如果这也叫作秀，那么我倒真希望这样作秀的官员多一些。
Although they haven’t stripped completely, the author would still like to cheer on Baimiao’s courage.  In any case, if daring to publicly disclose the fees for entertaining upper-level officials can be called a hype, then I really hope there are more of these hyped up officials.
Blogger Cao Rongxiang is pleased with this development in government transparency.  The author urges other local governments to do the same but says they lack the ingredients to make the reform.
除了为白庙乡政府的大胆之举叫好之外，也想疾呼全国所有的乡政府都公开自己的财务，以真正推进“三公”的治理。但细想之下，事情也不尽然。白庙乡政府之所以敢于详细公开自己的公务花费，是因为有“四气”，而这“四气”是否在全国各地、各级政府都具备，则不尽然。
Other than applauding the Baimiao government’s courageous feat, I’d also like to swiftly appeal to township governments across the nation to make their finances public as a real way of promoting control over corrupt government spending.  But after careful consideration, the reason the Baimiao Government dares to publicly declare their spending in detail is because they possess [four sentiments].  And it may not be the case that the country as a whole, at every level of government, possesses [these sentiments].
The author lists the sentiments as anger, oppression, vigor, and courage and says the recent public disclosure is a result of the local government sensing these frustrations and strengths in the people.
A post at Gaoyuan zhixin says the reform in Baimiao Township will increase understanding between the government and the people.
…政府没有勇气公示这些内容，加强群众监督也就成了一句空话…政府公开自己的事务，主动接受群众的监督，不但有利于拉近与群众的距离，而且在遇到一些问题时，也能够得到群众的理解和支持…
The government hasn’t had the courage to publicly declare this information.  Strengthening monitoring by the masses has become an empty phrase…The government openly declaring its affairs and actively accepting monitoring by the people not only helps in closing the distance between [the government] and the masses, but can also earn the peoples understanding and support when a problem is met with.
Not all online opinion is so optimistic.  Blogger Liu Changfeng is suspicious of the Baimiao government's call for transparency.
你说它是作秀没问题，当然了，除了质疑其是作秀外，你还完全可以怀疑这份明细表的真实性。也即是说，这份明细表可能不过是经过处理晒出来给大家看的，真实的数据也许并非完全如此。
Of course there’s no problem with calling this a hype.  Other than suspecting this of being a hype, you can completely doubt the genuineness of this detailed disclosure.  You could also say that this might be nothing more than something processed and trimmed up to show everyone, the real data perhaps not like this at all.
On a similar note, a recent Southern Weekend article said the entertainment and dining expenditure claimed in the Baimiao Government’s online disclosure was only one percent of proposed spending.  The number has raised eyebrows among those familiar with official dining habits.
Reform in China has often been a bottom-up process.  The Household Responsibility System, which ended communal farming and ushered in an era of bumper harvests, was initiated by farmers in 1978 only to be written into law by the central government in 1981.  Counties in the provinces of Xinjiang, Zhejiang, and Hunan are currently experimenting with income-reporting systems for officials while the country as a whole has been reluctant to enforce such regulations.
With attention from major Chinese media and growing support among the people, Baimiao’s “naked government” may be the forerunner in a grassroots trend throughout low-level government.

author: Don Weinland


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Côte d’Ivoire: War of Words between Political Figures · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Théophile Kouamouo has published a tense back and forth exchange between Venance Konan, editorialist and former ally of ex-President Bedié and members of the FPI, the party currently in charge (fr). The Ivorian government states that the peace process is in jeopardy a month before the scheduled presidential elections.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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El Salvador: 30th Anniversary of Assassination of Oscar Romero · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Each year on March 24, the people of El Salvador and around the world commemorate the life of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated by hitmen as he celebrated mass in a chapel of a San Salvador hospital. It is believed that he was targeted for his outspoken beliefs against the repressive Salvadoran government that had been committing human rights abuses during the Civil War that had been occurring.
Photo by Global Opportunity Garden and used under a Creative Commons license.
Traditionally, March has been the month where events are held to honor Romero, and the year 2010 is extra special because it marks the 30th anniversary of the murder. Carlos X. Colorado posts a guide on Tim's El Salvador Blog for what to expect during the celebrations, including a possible statement from the Vatican, which could provide a clue as to the current state of the beatification process. He also adds that this celebration is unique because:
Thirty will be the largest round-number yet associated with a Romero anniversary, and the rise to power of the Left, with a President (Mauricio Funes) who openly touts Romero as his moral guide, raise a lot of expectations about the magnitude of this year's event.
However, another piece of news is attracting the attention of Salvadoran bloggers. One of the assassination plotters, Álvaro Rafael Saravia, a former officer in the Salvadoran Armed Forces was interviewed by the online magazine El Faro [es]. In the interview, Saravia revealed more details of the murder. Even though Saravia did not provide new information, as pointed out by Reyzope of the blog El Trompudo [es] , the interview was interesting because Saravia implicated with names those that had been involved. Much of the information had been uncovered from unclassified documents and from investigations conducted by Truth Commissions. However, now there are firsthand public statements from individuals involved with the killing:
lo nuevo en todo esto es que uno de los participantes del asesinato, Saravia, incrimina a sus complices, a todo un grupo de personalidades públicas en este asesinato. Sus cómplices indirectos, gente que aún tiene participación en la cosa política y económica, […] Entonces, estos ya no son simples rumores, y las declaraciones pueden ser utilizadas como prueba en una eventual investigación y juicio que se inicie, si se quiere, para deducir responsables.
El Faro releases a video with audio of the interview accompanied by English subtitles:
Some bloggers take the opportunity to posts poems about Romero, such as this one [es] from Chichipate Canaverales and this poem [es] written by “Mariposa” on Sura's Blog.
One blogger, Raúl Fuentes of the blog Hunnapuh [es] was just 11 years-old when Romero was murdered, but he recalls his firsthand contact with Romero, when Fuentes was a member of a Children's Choir in the community of Santiago de Maria in the Department of Usulután, where Romero was serving as Bishop of that diocese. Fuentes recalls, “The image that I have of (Romero) is that he was a very humble and joyful person, and he was always in a good mood.” Yet, he writes about what he remembers about that night on March 24, 1980 [es]:
Cuando a los 11 años en una noche de marzo por eso de las 8 de la noche dieron la noticia en la radio de que lo habian asesinado, senti un estupor, casi no lo podia creer pero ya a esa edad sabia que matar en El Salvador de esa epoca era cosa de todos los dias.
As time passes on, many people remember Romero from what they are taught in school and stories passed on to them by their parents and grandparents. His legacy has motivated Salvadorans to follow his example, as Pocote posts thoughts on what Romero means to Salvadorans [es]:
A monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero le debemos los salvadoreños, los amantes de la justicia, de la solidaridad, de la paz social y del bien común, un fervor esencial y el ejemplo constante de una actitud: si renovó la palabra, el mensaje de la voz para los sin voz, el cumplir exactamente con el testimonio cristiano, no fue menos por su compromiso genuino con los humildes y desheredados que por su limpieza de ánimo, su generosidad y su desprendimiento. Los adjetivos no sobran: monseñor Romero fue un sacerdote bueno, tanto como el marquesote y un profeta excepcional.
Con el magnicidio de Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, todos los salvadoreños perdimos algo. Su desaparición física nos concierne y nos compromete: el fue un profeta, honrado, humilde, inteligente, talentoso y cordial.
We Salvadorans, lovers of justice, solidarity, social peace, and the common good, owe Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero an essential fervor and constant example of an attitude: he renewed the word, the message of being a voice for the voiceless, of being a Christian witness. He was no less for his genuine commitment to the poor and less privileged, than for his pure in spirit, his generosity and his selflessness. There are not enough adjectives to describe him: Monsignor Romero was a good priest and an exceptional prophet.
With the assassination of Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, all Salvadorans lost something. His physical disappearance concerns us and commits us: he was a prophet, honest, humble, intelligent, talented, and friendly.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Estonia: Blank pages of press freedom protest · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Paul Becker of GUS News comments on [GER] Estonia's four leading newspapers publishing issues with blank pages in protest against a government proposal that could curtail journalists’ ability to protect their sources.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Ghana: Do Ghana’s oil fields belong to Ivory Coast? · Global Voices
Mac-Jordan

We learn from Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne about a dispute that could break out between Ghana and neighboring Ivory Coast, if immediate steps are not taken to enter into appropriate negotiations to redefine the international boundary between the two nations.
Ghana's Western neighbor Ivory Coast is reportedly laying claims to portions of the huge oil wealth in the deep waters of the Western Region of Ghana.
In a move to save the situation, Ghana has begun an urgent move to pass a new law that seeks to establish the Ghana Boundary Commission to undertake negotiations to determine and demarcate Ghana’s land boundaries and de-limit Ghana’s maritime boundaries.
Ghana’s Parliament has therefore been tasked to race against time to pass the Ghana Boundary Commission Bill under a certificate of urgency.
The morning of the news; I twittered about it here;
West Africa: Ivory Coast lays claim to Ghana's oil http://bit.ly/djVBzu
The news of Ivory Coast’s claim to parts of Ghana’s oil fields comes just days after United States operator Vanco Energy struck oil in the deep-water Dzata-1 well, off Ghana’s Cape Three Points near Ivory Coast, further boosting the oil wealth in Ghana’s booming offshore Tano basin.
A few days after this news; another news item was on air from Vanco Energy dismissing the threat of Ghana’s Oil Find. A twitter update from Peacefmonline reads;
Vanco Ghana Dismisses Threat to Ghana’s Find …. http://bit.ly/bPLPEq
Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne once again reported on this new update from the Oil Firm.
He writes;
Petroleum exploration firm, Vanco Ghana Limited, has dismissed suggestions that its oil field in the Western Region is at the centre of a possible boundary dispute between Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The company said its oilfield, known as Gyata 1, is so far away from the maritime boundary between the two countries that it cannot be the subject of any dispute.
He also quoted the Country Manager of Vanco Energy; Mr. Kofi Afenu as saying;
The Ivorian authorities are only seeking negotiations with Ghana over the Jubilee oilfield, which is owned by Kosmos Energy.
Tatamkulua
posts an article from the Chronicle quoting Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, saying that Ghana's boundary with Ivory Coast had not been clearly demarcated.
Gayle writes about the topic remembering gas fields dispute between Australia and East Timor:
In Sunday’s post Making Sense of Oil Discoveries in Ghana: Part 1, I explained the oil exploration industry basics. And in my very first post on the subject, Making Sense of Ghana's Oil Discoveries: Introduction, I referred to the potentially problematic border issue:
“It gets quite complicated when the field also happens to sit in disputed areas like major gas fields between Australia and East Timor.
She hopes that the dispute will be resolved faster that Australia and East Timor:
Hopefully this can be resolved faster than Australia and East Timor could resolve their differences. It should be simpler as the issues in this case are less complex (not relating to agreements with a former invading nation, for starters), but rather between amicable neighbours. But they certainly need experienced, honest and independent experts to advise. If not, I won’t be the only person in Ghana throwing my hands in the air and cursing about lost opportunities.

author: Mac-Jordan


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Guyana: Virtual Love · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“What a la-la. The I-net become the We-net”: Guyana-Gyal notices that “rosemantic” things have been happening in cyberspace.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Haiti: Social Media Speaking  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaal Bell writes for The Huffington Post on how social media is helping Haitians share their stories post-earthquake.


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India: Mutation Of News And Entertainment · Global Voices
Rezwan

Harini Calamur at A Point of View informs that a private news channel in India is resorting to a reality show to conduct a nationwide hunt for an anchor for their news program.

author: Rezwan


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Jamaica: Blake Dies  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica Salt blogs about the death of Vivian Blake, “the convicted drug boss and reported head of the ’shower posse’”, saying: “This death is all the more relevant right now as Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke is facing an extradition order…”


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Japan: Live Streaming Tokyo Marathon · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Joseph Tame live streamed his run of the Tokyo Marathon with a hotel room “studio”, multiple live stream channels, Twitter, and GPS uplinks. Here's his full feature post chronicling the successful project.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Madagascar Update: Death Toll from Tropical Storm Hubert now at 78  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Tomavana writes that official report have raised the death toll from Tropical Storm Hubert in Madagascar from 36 last week to 78 and affected 145,000 people.  He adds that health experts on site fear an outbreak of Chikungunya because of the flood (fr).


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Moldova: Fear for a fifth column · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Zimbru of Morning in Moldova argues that Moldova's centre-right politicians underestimate the power of political forces aligned with Russia and thus put the country's democratization and plans to join the European Union in peril.


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Palestine: Anger At Opening Of Hurva Synagogue · Global Voices
Mays Dagher

Last week the rebuilt Hurva, or Ruin, Synagogue was opened in the old city of Jerusalem, amidst a wave of protests by Palestinians. The opening has been denounced by a number of Palestinian leaders as being part of a project to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is only 700 metres away.
Mohammed Abu Allan is critical of the attitude of the Palestinian Authority towards what is happening in Jerusalem; it has called for major national conference to make a decision about the steps to be taken. He says:
Ola Eliwat reminds her readers of what Golda Meir did and said 40 years ago at the time of a fire in Al-Aqsa Mosque. She says:
After listing a series of angry statements and questions,  Ola asks:
The blogger calling herself Hayat El Alam describes the patriotic feelings towards Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque that she has as a Gazan:

author: Mays Dagher


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Rio Tinto and Chinalco Sign a Joint Deal with Guinean Junta over Mining Project   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Baldeabdoulaye explains that mining companies Rio Tinto and Chinalco have come to an agreement on jointly developing an iron ore project in Guinea. The opposition criticizes the signing because they perceive the deal as a way for the military junta to take advantage of the current obscure political circumstances to make substantial profits (fr).


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Russia: Theorizing Stalin’s deportations · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Otto's Random Thoughts draws attention to Robert Blauner's ideas on internal colonialism and how they could be theoretically applied on Stalin's deportations.


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Russia-US: Towards a new Start of nuclear disarmament · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Nikolas Gvosdev of The (Ex) Washington Realist reflects upon what now seems a clear road ahead for a renewed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between Russia and the US, signifying a breakthtrough in nuclear disarmament.


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South Africa: Grandamas who play soccer · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa is a Country writes about Grandamas who play soccer in South Africa: “About 55 women take part in the games with the youngest 4 years old.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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The Trials of Being a Chinese Reporter · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

C. Custer from ChinaGeeks translated a telephone recording in which a Hong Kong reporter trying to confirm Google’s retreat from China with Chinese government officials.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Disconnected? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is afraid that the Prime Minister is “showing signs of ‘disconnect’”.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname: Alice Bangi · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A big bench for liming?  Trinidad's Alice Yard gets its own piece of traditional Surinamese outdoor furniture.


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Ukraine: Tons of Fish Die; Fishing Enthusiasts Start Grassroots Campaign · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Numerous volunteers and fishing protection agency employees worked hard for over a month this past winter, breaking the unusually thick ice that covered the Kyiv Reservoir, enriching the water with oxygen – in order to save the fish in the reservoir from suffocating. When in early March the ecological emergency seemed to have almost passed, it turned out that these people's efforts had been in vain: hundreds of tons of fish ended up being trapped and crushed to death by the ice, after Ukrainian authorities, in an attempt to reduce the impact of an anticipated spring flood, abruptly lowered the level of water in the reservoir, which is located to the north of the Ukrainian capital and known locally as the Kyiv Sea.
Some experts doubt whether such a drastic measure was justified and consider the damage done to the reservoir's ecosystem catastrophic. Also, as the dead fish is beginning to rot, the quality of Kyiv's residential and drinking water supplies may, at some point, be affected (RUS).
In the wake of the disaster, a group of Ukrainian fishing enthusiasts who frequent Rybalka.com (Fishing) – “an interactive portal for fishermen and hunters” (UKR, RUS) – launched a grassroots campaign to “consolidate experts and scientists (ichthyologists, hydrobiologists, ecologists), as well as active representatives of the fishing community” – and to ensure that further damage is avoided and the government takes steps to restore the ecosystem of the reservoir as much as possible over the next few years.
Ihor Tykholaz, an employee of the Kyiv branch of the state fishing protection agency and one of the initiators of the campaign, whose nickname is dozvil, wrote about the natural emergency made worse by the negligent and corrupt authorities (RUS) on his Rybalka.com blog – and posted some photos there as well:
[…] For over a month, hundreds of people were working on the Kyiv Reservoir suffocation problem, breaking ice in three steps: manually, with ice axes, with chainsaws; they were making thousands of holes with air filters made of canes, they were drawing air under the ice with compressors, pouring water over ice into the holes, […] deforming the ice cover.
[…]
We managed to stabilize the situation by the beginning of March, the level of oxygen in some spots even began to rise. And the thaw and melted water gave hope that […] it would be possible to avoid the death of fish!
But [warm weather] brought with it a trap for dozens or perhaps even hundreds tons of fish. Schools of fish began moving towards fresh water – the so-called “sweet water” – enriched with oxygen due to the melting of snow, the water that started to appear in the shallow parts of the reservoir (and shallow waters make up 40 percents of the reservoir's water space, approximately 50,000 hectares). In that desperate situation that was the only option for the fish: at the end of winter, fish migration always occurs in the areas with higher levels of oxygen in the water…
And here a soulless bureaucrat was waiting for the fish, someone who signed the decision to drain water from the reservoir to the level that was even lower than the “dead point.” An explanation: the usual average water level in the reservoir is 102.5 meters (above the level of the Baltic Sea), the “dead point” is 101.5 meters (below this mark, irreversible processes start taking place in the [water ecosystem]).
We wrote dozens of appeals to all kinds of authorities, spoke at all meetings about the situation with the flooding, but no one listened to our advice and requests.
[…]
It was all in vain, because at stake was the safety of rich [real estate developers]: the flood is ahead of us, and owners of the legendary Koncha-Zaspa mansions [expensive real estate south of Kyiv] perhaps fear it more than others. We aren't likely to ever find out who lobbied the interests of [the owners of] these elite plots. But there was pressure on members of the inter-departmental commission, some of its members told me about it [off the record] (I personally took part in two of these meetings).
[…]
Then it only gets worse. The inter-departmental commission of the [state water agency] decided to lower the level of water in the reservoir to 101 meters by April 1 – i.e., even lower than the “dead point” – what awaits us??? This cynical slaughter of the fish is taking place with the silent approval of dozens of officials who seen nothing but paperwork in their offices and jump up when their bosses call them on their phones… This half a meter will simply kill whatever remains alive [in the reservoir]…
This is truly a planned ecological catastrophe […]. […]
The fishing enthusiasts’ campaign initially started online – in this thread (RUS, UKR) on Rybalka.com, on March 15; as of now, the thread is 34 pages long. Some 70 people have now joined the campaign's Organizing Committee, following an offline meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, March 20 (photos on user vladf‘s Rybalka.com blog; video and some paperwork (UKR, RUS) on user org‘s blog). An online petition (RUS) – “Save the Future of the Kyiv Reservoir” – has already been signed by more than 1,400 people. An appeal to the country's leadership has been drafted; outreach and fundraising efforts are gaining speed.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ghana: Blogging for World Water Day · Global Voices
Mac-Jordan

World Water Day is a day observed on March 22 since 1993 when the United Nations General Assembly declared March, 22 as World Day for Water, according to Wikipedia.
As part of this year's observation of the day which was under the theme;
World Day for Water: Communicating Water Quality Challenges and Opportunities
The day was observed with a hash-tag #WWD on twitter.
Jemila Wunpini Abdulai, author of Circumspecte Blog and an active member of the Ghana Blogging Group suggested we make the day a Ghana Blogging Universal Day post. This means, all members shall write posts related to water and water issues on the day [March, 22] and throughout the week. Below is a round-up of the various posts by members on World Water Day.
Emmanuel K. Bensah presented two pictures in his post which he describes as “blue gold” which none of us could do without. He also shared his sentiments on why can't we invest into state-run systems rather than privatization;
I'm concerned on this day about the role of private management companies that purport to resolve our water problems–how effective are they in the long run? Is it not better to invest money into state-run systems to develop capacity?
Suffering at the Mercy of Water was the title of Gameli Adzaho‘s post. He shared his view on how important water is in our daily lives;
We all know how important water is in our daily lives. We use water to cook food, rehydrate our bodies, keep our bodies clean and so on. Water also plays important roles in both natural and man-made systems. Simply, water is life.
In his conclusion he says:
It is quite obvious that although water is essential for our survival on the planet, some natural and man-made factors have combined to make us suffer from this natural resource. This has created the situation whereby, although water is life, it has become sickness, suffering and even death for large swathes of the world's population
Nana Yaw Sarpong, a broadcast journalist, a concerned African and a believer in the third option of this world shared how his employer, Radio Universe on the campus of University of Ghana decided to run several reports on water issues. He also described how water runs only late in the night in Dansoman, a suburb of Accra where part of his family resides in his post entitled, Water Is Life:
If a Member of Parliament in Ghana's current government can get US$50,000 for a car of his/her choice, why can't he/she fix the water problems [burst pipes and so on] in his/her constituency? He asked!
He also stated how he can't comment on the same water issue among the rural folks in Ghana in the paragraph below;
I cannot begin to talk about our rural folks. It would seem as if I'm making a mockery of their plight, the country's plight. But if those in Sunyani, Takoradi, Accra, Tamale and Kumasi cannot get constant water supply, how could my grandmother in Ejisu-Juaben lift up her hand to be spotted? It is sad. They cannot boast of good, clean water from their pipes if those pipes exist at all. Except for their age-old technology of boiling water to make it safe for drinking, I wonder what the situation would be!
Jemila Wunpini Abdulai in her post described Water as Ghana’s “Forgotten Oil”. In her opening paragraph, she stated how “Ghana's Oil-find” is the main topic of discussion in the Ghanaian circles these days. She quoted from both the Bible and Quran to support her post on the importance of Water;
According to the Holy Bible (Genesis 1:6) God created (liquid) water on the second day, only after he created light – which could be interpreted as establishing his presence, since many religions refer to God as “the light”.
and
In Surah 11:7 (Prophet Hood), the Holy Qu'ran states the presence of water before anything else in the universe, with the exception of Allah's throne (presence). In Surah 21:30 (The Prophets) it emphasizes the fact that life wouldn't be possible without water.
She stressed on how women and girls suffer disproportionally when it comes to the water crisis as they are the ones who go hours in search of this essential element. Making the necessary investments in equal access to potable water is an investment in human rights.
Kajsa Hallberg Adu; Co-founder of Ghanablogging.com described in her opening paragraph how there's a lot to say about “Water in Ghana” in her blog-post; “World Water Day in Ghana“:
From abundance of water that makes this country so green, the lack of portable water which makes Ghana’s roads fill up with slow water tankers and trucks carrying “water sachets” – plasticbags with purified(?) water for drinking.
She shared links of other stories of erosion in Ghana. From plots and vacation homes disappearing to the sea at Prampram, to the city [town] of Keta slowly disappearing and economic development being hindered in Ada.
She sees them as;
Stories, but no information. Dramatic changes, but no reaction.
I learned from her post that; the seat of Ghana's current government – at the Christiansborg Castle in Osu, Accra is at a greater risk to Sea Erosion in this news article.
Water, Water, Everywhere, Nor any drop to drink – Samuel Taylor Coleridge; The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; was the title of Abena Serwaa's post on World Water Day. She's the author of Ramblings of a Procrastinator in Accra blog.
A comment by Maya Mame on her post shows that there's places in Ghana that don't experience any issue with water.
Funny, I checked your blog before I started writing as I suspected you might use a similar title, et voila! As if I knew… My parents house in Tema still (fingers crossed) manages without a polytank or even a Kuffour gallon, there's always water (except for three days in December 2007). You can imagine the disbelief I was met with whenever I told people we didn't have a tank!
Kwabena reacted to her comment by stating;
I always wonder why we can't provide water in this country. Water resources are in abundance. I heard the minister of works, housing & water resources and an mce on radio today going on and on about ‘plans’. We need to do a lot to provide water. I think the Ghana Water Company should be reorganized. I don't think it's difficult to build treatment plants and Luckily, I don't have much of a problem with water in Sunyani. Water flows all the time except during the dry season and when they have to do maintenance works. Not sure it's the same in the other suburbs. I sometimes think we're probably on the same line with the residency of the regional minister. In New Achimota, Accra, we had to dig up a well, buy a pump and some poly-tanks. Some sachet water is just nasty. I think people should stick to trusted brands like Voltic. I remember tasting smoke in one of those brands. I didn't know smoke had a taste till then.
In Maya's contribution to the World Water Day blog-posts, she shares the same title with Abena Serwaa but took a different angled in her writing. She describes how we struggle for water in Ghana yet, there are numerous water bodies found and surrounding Ghana;
With an ocean edging the entire southern border o the country, a lake so vast it provides us all with electricity (well, sometimes) and rivers and waterfalls all over our land, it is amazing that we struggle for water each day.
She also shares a couple of photos from Anderson Coopers blog-post on; “Obama's visit – and what it meant to Ghanaians” where photos depict water been used in various forms.
Abena Serwaa commended Maya for her post by sharing her view below;
Lovely piece Maya! I really worry about children having to go hunting for water before going to school. Just doesnt seem right. As for the broken pipes…dont get me started! absolutely unbelievable.
In my own opinion, I believe we need to protect and treat water very well. Access to safe drinking water is naturally critical in a humanitarian emergency.
If you've read this summary post till this far, then it's time to take action: join  The World’s Longest Toilet Queue. Help; let all “Demand Sanitation & Water For All.”
In my concluding remark, I have a question for you; my dear reader:
What are you doing to mark World Water Day?


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Zimbabwe: Farmers Field Day · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Cormac watches as farmers in Gokwe North in central Zimbabwe take part in an old tradition in rural Zimbabwe called Field Day


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“Brunei Foodies Go Pink” · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Senor Pablo blogs about the “Brunei Foodies Go Pink” event whose proceeds will go to the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group.

author: Mong Palatino


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Ada Lovelace Day: Celebrating Women in Technology and Transparency Worldwide · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Inspired by Ellen Miller's post on the Sunlight Foundation blog, which profiles the work of women who use technology to promote transparency in the United States, we decided to add to the list by profiling several women from around the world involved in the use of technology to make government more transparent and accountable. The following profiles were written and researched by Renata Avila, the lead of Creative Commons Guatemala, the Director of Primer Palabra, and our researcher for Spanish-language Latin America on the Technology for Transparency Network.
In Mexico, Irma Eréndida Sandoval heads up a laboratory to document corruption and research the best transparency policies. “Laboratorio de Documentación y Análisis de la Corrupción y la Transparencia” at UNAM, the Autonomous National Mexican University, is one of the most prestigious institutions in Latin America.
In Iceland, parliamentarian Birgitta Jónsdóttir is promoting the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, a proposal to create a global safe haven for investigative journalism in Iceland that would improve freedom of expression and transparency worldwide by protecting watchdog groups and whistleblowers from libel censorship.
It is important not only approve good laws to promote transparency and openness but also protect a free country from becoming less transparent. An activist from Germany, Franziska Heine, initiated the most successful e-petition in German history, aimed to prevent a law which would give the German police the right to create and maintain censorship lists with websites to be blocked by German ISPs. It was signed more than 134,000 times. Franziska is part of the anti-censorship movement and is engaged in several activities and organizations which fight against surveillance, data mining, censorship and other threats to civil rights.
But good laws and proactive citizens are not enough; tools are also important to enable women around the world to take action and promote transparency. Margarita Padilla, an IT engineer and the former director of the magazine Mundo Linux is making a difference. She creates and maintains systems with a social approach and also promotes openness with her website Sin Dominio.
Mercedes de Freitas from Venezuela is the Executive Director of Transparencia Venezuela, the local chapter of Transparency International and is former Ashoka Changemaker Fellow for her work in promoting civic participation to increase government accountability.
These are surely just a few examples of women around the world who are using technology to challenge corruption, improve the performance of institutions, and create better policy to engage citizens and hold public officials accountable. As a recent article by Alexandra Starr notes, both the fields of technology and government have long excluded women from participation despite their impressive track record for approaching both policy and technology with more realism and tact than their male counterparts.
Software companies and parliamentary buildings around the world are still mostly dominated by men, but this is changing quickly thanks to a new generation of women technologists, activists, and politicians. I would be remiss to not highlight the work of our female researchers and research reviewers who, it must be said, have proven themselves to be the hardest working members of our team on the Technology for Transparency Network.
Renata Avila, who wrote the profiles of all of the women above, is a lawyer, human rights activist, the country lead of Creative Commons Guatemala, and the director of Primer Palabra. She has worked with the Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation, Harvard University, the Public Voice, and Women in International Security. Twitter: @avilarenata.
Sopheap Chak is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. Meanwhile, she is also running the Cambodian Youth Network for Change, which mobilizes young activists around the country. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) where she helped lead the “Black Box Campaign” to fight against police corruption in Cambodia. Twitter: @jusminesophia.
Rebekah Heacock is currently a master's candidate at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, where she studies the intersection of ICT and development and edits SIPA’s blog, The Morningside Post. She previously lived and worked in Uganda, where she co-developed and directed a series of conferences on post-conflict development for American and African college students. Twitter: @rebekahredux.
Manuella Maia Ribeiro is a recent graduate of Public Policy Management from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Since 2007 she has been researching how governments can promote transparency, accountability and participation through the use of information and communication technologies. Twitter: @manuellamr.
Namita Singh is a researcher and consultant focused on participatory media. She studied mass media and mass communication at Delhi University and has a Master of Arts in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai. Namita will soon begin her Ph.D. research in the UK on the processes and impact of participatory video. Twitter: @namitasingh.
Carrie Yang is a a postgraduate student studying new media at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The focus of her research is on citizen journalism and new media product development. She studied English at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou, China. Twitter: @Carrie_Young.
Sylwia Presley is a blogger, photographer and activist who is passionate about social media marketing for the non-profit sector and social media for social change. She has organized numerous events including  Barcamp Transparency UK last summer in Oxford, which she hopes will be replicated in other European countries this year. Twitter: @presleysylwia.
Aparna Ray is an independent qualitative research consultant by profession who is keenly interested in people, cultures, communities and social media/software. She writes both in English and Bangla, (the latter being her mother-tongue), and covers the Bangla blog world on Global Voices. Twitter: @aparnaray.
Laura Vidal is a Venezuelan studying Science Education in Paris, France. She blogs at Sacando la Lengua about languages, literature and interactions in society, and deeply believes in the uniqueness and importance of every culture, and in the study of them as a mirror to our own.
Do you know other women working in the fields of technology and transparency? Please link to their websites, blogs, and Twitter accounts in the comments section below!

author: David Sasaki


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Africa: Notes From the Field · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

This is a roundup of blog posts of Concern US aid workers blogging from Sub-Saharan Africa. Concern US aid workers blog regularly about their work and challenges they face as they help to transform lives of people in Malawi, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Concern US is an affiliate of Concern Worldwide whose mission is to ensure that people living in extreme poverty are able to meet their basic social needs and achieve their rights.
Our roundup begins with Cormac Staunton from Dublin who shares takes part in an old tradition in Zimbabwe called Field Day:
I watch as Mr. Chinamo, an 83-year-old farmer from Gokwe North in central Zimbabwe, stands proudly in his field. Flanked by his wife Clara, he surveys his crop, picks up a bullhorn and begins to speak.
As many as 500 people are watching, the majority of them also farmers from the same district. This is the centerpiece of their “Field Day,” an age-old tradition in rural Zimbabwe.
Mr Chinamo has been selected by a panel of agricultural experts as the “most successful” of 366 famers in Concern’s Conservation Farming program, which I have come here from Dublin to learn more about and document. In addition to receiving a prize, the Chinamo family have the honor of hosting this year’s event.
Cormac continues to describe activities involved during Field Day:
As the crowds move from the field to the homestead, food is cooked in large pots for all the guests. The celebrations are a community-led ceremony, with singers and dancers from villages and schools, and speeches from community leaders and representatives of Concern’s team in Gokwe.
The highlight of the festivities is the presentation of the awards to all of the winners. In the end, Mr. Chinamo is hoisted by local villagers and given his prize, which includes seeds, fertilizer and cash.
These prizes come from donations from private companies as well as contributions from all the villages involved. The competition is designed to reinvigorate communities who had lost faith in farming for many years.
Seeing the success of this program, especially for 83-year-old Mr. Chinamo, is a spur and a tangible motivating example to others to show that despite the uncertainty, following the conservation farming methods can lead to a successful harvest.
Isla Gilmore discusses the challenges of living in rural Tanzania:
Water has always been readily available to me
As a city girl it’s hard to imagine life without clean water. Being in Tanzania I have had to adapt to not being able to drink it, and constantly being cautious about boiling, filtering and washing food in clean water. But I live in Dar es Salaam and I have access to all the water I need.
Life in rural villages in Tanzania is completely different
I visited Concern Tanzania’s water programme earlier this month. Biharamulo District is in Kagera Region, close to Rwanda. It looks a bit different to other parts of the country where we work because the villages are located in hills and valleys.
This means that the houses are spread out and many essential services are far away, including the water points. It’s a long way from the coast and major cities; it doesn’t rain much; and it is lagging behind in development. Many villagers live in extreme poverty.
We learn from Isla that women and children benefit the most from clean water:
Hadija faces problems most of us never have to experience. For women and children in rural areas the impact of clean, safe water is incredible. For Hadija’s children it is life changing. “I hope they can go on to secondary school”, she said, “and then who knows what else they can achieve”.
“Forced marriages still common for school girls in Malawi,” writes Joseph Scott.
Martha is a shy yet intelligent twelve-year-old girl from Nsanje, in Malawi. This year, she was supposed to earn her primary school leaving certificate (PSLC).
Her teachers believed she would make it to high school, as she had been the best student in her class since the first grade. Last school term, she was also at the top of her class.
Bursting with confidence, she eagerly presented her exam report card to her father. Like any other child who has done extremely well in class, Martha was expecting to be showered with praise. But that wasn’t to be; her father passively gazed at the piece of paper and folded it into his pocket.
What Martha didn’t know was that her father had already found a suitor in marriage for her, and that over the next few days, she would be the new housewife of a man old enough to be her grandfather. And for Martha, despite her excellent academic record, this was to be her last term in school.
Joseph argues that poverty and traditional customs are the cause for forced marriages in Malawi:
In Nsanje, where Concern is working, this scenario has abruptly cut short the dreams of many young girls. Some 12 percent of all females in the country are aged between 6-13 years, and it is estimated that 74 percent of the population here live below the poverty line.
Poverty and traditional customs allow parents to marry off their daughters when they think they have come of age. Since the suitor pays a bride price, the trend is now that the younger the girl, the higher the bride price.
“Some 12 percent of all children in Malawi do not survive to celebrate their fifth birthday,” notes Megan Christensen in her post about preventable deaths in Malawi:
In the United States, the majority of people benefit from robust water and sanitation departments, easy access to primary health clinics staffed with sufficient numbers of nurses and doctors and an ample source of food to ensure proper nutrition.
By contrast, in Malawi, we are grappling with some of the worst statistics in the world. Nearly 12 percent of all children in Malawi do not survive to celebrate their fifth birthday. Some 20 percent of children here are underweight, which predisposes them to other illnesses like pneumonia.
Diarrhea continues to be a common problem as a result of poor water, sanitation and hygiene, and contributes in too many cases to death. It is estimated during any given time that 30 percent of children aged under-five are suffering from diarrhea.
These deaths are preventable or what some have titled “stupid” deaths. Children should not be dying from poor nutrition, diarrhea or common infections that can easily be treated with antibiotics. It’s just one of the reasons that it is crucial this program gets underway soon.
Aoife Gleeson in Angola talks to Abraham, the Livelihood Program Manager for Concern Angola:
It’s nearly eight o’clock in the evening and I can’t believe I am still in the office. The working day here in Angola starts at 7.30am, so it feels longer than a typical day. I finished working a while ago but have been chatting with Abraham, the livelihood program manager for Concern in Angola.
His story is so compelling and he tells it in such an open and engaging way that I’ve found myself completely hooked.
Abraham was born in a small village in western Ethiopia. He is shy about revealing his age, and could confirm only, that he is over 50! Growing up, he led a simple village life and encouraged by his parents, who were both illiterate, attended the local missionary school.
Being a natural student he worked hard, and in time went on to win a coveted government scholarship to attend university – the first in his village to do so.
His interest in development and in helping people – as he put it: “improve their circumstances” is something that has always been in him. Abraham joined Concern five years ago and has been living and working in Angola ever since.
They discuss about the effect of civil war and the signs of healing around the country:
We talk about when he first came to Angola and he tells me that he remembers being really struck by the scars of war that were still so visible:
“There were abandoned tanks by the side of the road and in the middle of the town there was a building that was leaning sideways – like the leaning tower of Pisa – one half of it was blown up and people were still living in the other half.”
For me, the healing in Angola that Abraham speaks of is very evident. Old buildings are being torn down, new roads have been laid and modern shops and offices have been built. But what is not easy to see are the deeper issues that take much longer to resolve.
They discuss development work and its impact on the community:
Abraham tells me about a widow in one of these communities who was given two goats, two years ago: “Now she has 6 goats and has been able to send her kids to school,” he explains.
“She is currently replacing the grass roof of her home with metal sheeting – these goats really made a big difference to her life.”
Feargal O'Connell meets Ndoole, a 35 year-old woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo:
Ndoole is 35.  She has seven children and has been living in an informal camp for seven months since she was forced to flee conflict and her home village.  She fled to a place called Bukombo where other displaced families were taking refuge.  We ended up chatting with Ndoole because one of Concern’s drivers, Eddie, was helping her with her vouchers – the Cash Voucher Market is a new experience for all those participating, so some need a helping hand.
I was shocked when I heard her say she wanted to pay for school fees for four of her school-aged children: such a decision would reduce her spending power for essential food items.  I asked her why she was using 26 of her 28 vouchers on school fees.  Her response was profound: “I want my children to go to school so they will have a better life than I did”.


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: BBC Azeri Facebook Diary II · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
As part of the BBC Superpower Season, the BBC's Azeri service approached Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor to participate in its own reflection on the power of the Internet. Locked into a bitter stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, BBC Azeri were specifically interested in how new and social media could bring the two warring sides together.
What follows is part two of the series, originally published yesterday in Azerbaijani, translated or using the original texts in English. It followed one already republished in English on Global Voices Online yesterday. The third and final part will appear tomorrow.
The BBC Superpower season is in March. In these programs we discussed the power of Internet and the way it affects the lives of people.
The Internet has brought big changes to the lives of people starting from personal relations to business contacts. New media has opened up a new way not only for journalists. It has also inspired an audience and civil society towards free thought and social activism.
The wide use of social media has changed cultural and political values throughout the world. People are willing to communicate, participate and share their thoughts.
This new online project prepared by the Azeri service of the BBC within this Internet season is called Facebook diary.
Every day the participants of this project will follow social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and share their observations with readers of this site.
The first part of our Facebook diary is called Social media and conflict resolution.
As an observation, the main purpose of using Facebook is about the opportunities offered to users of social media as well as using it as a think-tank platform.
What opportunity does social media offer to peace activists from Armenia and Azerbaijan? Can new media tools change the current situation? What are the negative effects of social media in the light of nationalists using new media for an attack on the “enemy”?
Answers to these questions will be given by diarists writing on “Social media and conflict resolution” – Arzu Qeybullayeva from Azerbaijan and Onnik Krikorian from Armenia.
Negative Moments
While we talk of Facebook as an opportunity shared by all, there are unfortunately also times when it can become a war zone. I would like to share with you a discussion that took place on my wall, several weeks ago, regarding a link I posted on an incident that took place in Yerevan.
After posting this on my wall, I received a sad face smiley from Edgar, an Armenian friend of mine, who then sent me a link to the video from that incident.
However, it didn't take long before a young Azerbaijani boy posted this: “İ don't want both nations’ freedom.. good for us bad for them….main thing is our freedom…”
Edgar responded:
Araz jan, you seem to be a young guy with kind eyes and friendly smile. My advice to you: try to overcome the hatred in your heart, never treat things which have human dimension as purely political. Don't forget that democracy is an absolute category, which doesn't recognize any nationalities or borders. After all, the more democratic regimes we have in the region the less possible is the war here. The human history doesn't remember any case of war between two democratic countries.
Araz replied:
First of all don't say me “jan”…İ'm not your friend…Second yeah I have friendly smile but it is only for my nation–TURKS…I will never smile to you country and nation…I hate Armenia and all armenians….and now I only want to kill all of armenians which killed my citizens in Karabagh and even killed women and children in one night (Khojali)…why killed?? for friiendship?))You are such nation which can't live and make war as a human…In history turks didn't kill women and children in war…only you nation and fascist soldiers did it….Don't advice me about democracy and friendship…After the freedom of Karabagh and İravan,killing of minumum 30000 armenian soldiers, and then if İ have time İ will think about it….democracy and firendship…
After that, the conversation didn't lead anywhere and I tried explaining to Araz that another war wont change anything and nor would such negative attitudeseither. Perhaps, he is too young to see it the way I do, but I hope his mindset does change and that there are more real as well as virtual friendships on Facebook to share positive messages rather than ones full of hatred.
Onnik Krikorian is the Caucasus regional editor of Global Voices Online as well as a freelance journalist and photojournalist based in Yerevan, Armenia.
A Year of Change: Despite fears, alternative voices emerge online
A year ago, I could never imagined that I'd now be sitting in Yerevan getting ready to co-present on the role of new and social media in conflict transformation with Arzu Geybullayeva next month in Tbilisi, Georgia. What started out as a few email exchanges before connecting on Facebook eventually transformed itself into offline friendship as well as a project to show that ethnic Armenians and Azeris can and do co-exist together outside of the conflict zone.
True, after our initial contact, many other Armenians and Azeris have also been connecting, but I don't think either of us could have expected it to have happened so quickly and, more importantly, so easily. Certainly, I could never have imagined that last year I'd be genuinely cooperating with Azerbaijani bloggers and journalists. However, we did, and photos, articles, podcasts and videos were mainly disseminated via blogs and social networking sites.
Of course, not everyone is convinced that such moves are to be applauded or promoted. Unfortunately, fears about open communication between Armenians and Azerbaijanis still persist.
Last month, for example, a short message from Azerbaijan went out on Twitter. “Media report: Police & NatSec detains Baku resident for chatting with Armenians in Internet forums,“ it read. However, there was no link to the story although that didn't stop some Armenians from re-tweeting it. Finally, when the original story was tracked down, it was anything but what it initially had seemed.
Instead, two Azerbaijanis had quarreled about Armenians on a forum and decided to meet up to ‘discuss matters’ in person. This being the Caucasus where emotions often run wild, you can guess what happened next. A fight in a public space followed and the police intervened. After checking the story with a journalist friend to Baku, neither man was apparently taken for questioning by National Security.
Of course, it's understandable why many Armenians and Azerbaijanis believed the somewhat misleading tweet, but what about positive stories of Armenians and Azerbaijanis coming together? Why does everyone seem to focus on the negative? Why have a myriad of voices been ignored or drowned out by less tolerant ones in the local media? Instead, and speaking as a journalist, the Internet now allows me access to such some very important sources.
A few months ago, for example, after reading some of my blog posts, Zamira, an ethnic Azeri refugee contacted me by email. A few weeks later, I asked her about her own personal history. Her words were both touching and thought-provoking to say the least.
My family left Armenia during the displacement in 1988. I was only 4 when I left, but I don’t know if it's fortunate or unfortunate not being able to remember everything I left behind.
Our house, the garden, playground, my friends, my apple tree and rooster, which I really loved. After coming here I used to dream about our house a lot and then at some point everything faded away.
For many years we couldn’t adjust which influenced my psychology as a whole. You can't imagine how horrible it feels to be a refugee. I miss my home and hope that before I die I will have a chance to see it again.
This war made me become a peacemaker. My struggle is more complicated, though, because on the one hand I have to help those who are in conflict and on the other help myself.
We're now Facebook friends and regularly communicate with each other both openly and privately. There are other examples existing online on both sides as well, but so far not heard in the mainstream media. Some recent examples of videos posted on YouTube illustrate this point incredibly well.
Last month, for example, a small group of Armenian and Azerbaijani youth visiting Tbilisi held a flash mob and walked peacefully to the Georgian Parliament.  Their message, scrawled on large cards in Armenian, Azerbaijan, French, Georgian, German and French, was simple. It was a message of peace in the South Caucasus.
Or what about the YouTube video of a young man and woman dancing to a North Caucasian tune, location unknown, draped in the flags of their respective countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan?
Or my own video interview, shot on a simple mobile phone and uploaded to YouTube, with an ethnic Azeri living in Tbilisi next door to Armenian neighbors speaking of peaceful coexistence between ethnic groups?
Yet, with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan apparently involved in negotiations to finally end a conflict which threatens to destabilize the region and frustrate its long term development, isn't it about time the media objectively covered such examples as well?
Until they do, perhaps, this is where new and social media can step in.
The original text in Azerbaijani is available on the BBC Azeri web site. Many thanks to Konul Khalilova for permission to post a version in English. The main collaboration between the BBC and Global Voices Online for the Superpower Season is here.
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.


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Bangladesh: Disappearing Islands · Global Voices
Rezwan

Reacting on the news that disputed South Talpatti island in the Bay of Bengal has  submerged due to sea level rise, Mohammad Farhan Husain writes about the bleak future of Bangladesh in the face of global warming.


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Barbados: Drought Continues · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Monday was world water day and it has brought home to many of us that we must not take this precious commodity for granted”: my rustic bajan garden blogs about “the ravages of drought”.


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Bhutan: Sex And Society · Global Voices
Rezwan

Freedom In Bhutan writes about the reservations of the Hindu community to talk about sex issues in the context that “the Hindu tradition is full of sex”.