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Doctors in Panama Launch Strike Over Foreign Recruitment Law · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

Waiting at a hospital in Calidonia, Panamá. Photo from ORBIS UK on Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
[All links lead to pages in Spanish.]
A group of Panamanian doctors launched an indefinite strike after the National Assembly approved a bill in second debate that allows the recruitment and hiring of foreign medical personnel.
The indefinite strike, which began on September 27th, is the second thus far in 2013. The measure was announced by the Panamanian National Commission of Medical Negotiations (Comisión Médica Negociadora Nacional, or COMENENAL).
The medical profession argues that Law 611 seeks to privatize health care. However, Health Minister Javier Díaz made it clear that the intention of the law is to provide medical services in hard-to-access areas and to those with the greatest need without their having to rely on private clinics. La Estrella de Panamá quotes Diaz as saying, “And when a person can't get a medical specialist, what he has to do is go to a private clinic or move to the capital. It's incredible to me that what COMENENAL wants is to keep this bill from passing so that people will have to keep on going to the interior of the Republic to private clinics.”
Meanwhile, Mauro Zuñiga, a spokesman for the medical profession, made a statement to Telemetro, saying that “doctors, nurses, technicians, and health professionals are left totally unprotected under this bill, because employment stability is completely lost.”
COMENENAL also made it clear that, far from opposing the law in and of itself, it does oppose the government's approach. La Prensa cites Domingo Moreno, COMENENAL's president, as follows: “‘We are opposed to the recruitment process, we are opposed to the lack of controls, to the excessive flexibility, and that's the reason we're fighting’. He feels that we already have the tools to resolve the situation. However, the lack of creativity and initiative, the reluctance, all of this has led to the situation we are faced with today, he remarked.”
The medical profession has become unpopular among the citizenry because of its demands and its recurring labor strikes. One of the controversies is that some doctors work in both the public and private sectors at the same time, placing far more importance on their private clinics. With this strike, they will miss appointments and consultations which will often take months to be rescheduled.
Panamanians expressed their rejection of the measures taken by the physicians via Twitter.
There is a shortage of over 6,000 health professionals to fill positions in Panama, as Soraya Castellano tells us:
#Panamá: paro médico por aprobación ley que permite contratación médicos extranjeros. Déficit es de más de 6,000 profesionales de la salud
— Soraya Castellano (@scastellanor) September 27, 2013
health worker strike due to passing of a bill permitting the hiring of foreign doctors. Deficit of over 6,000 health professionals.
Julio R. Gatica points out the irony in cases of doctors who close their public clinics while keeping their private clinics open:
Estamos en “paro indefinido” médico, pero en el consultorio privado si te atendemos… Atentamente, Comenenal. #Ironico #Panama no? — Julio R. Gatica (@Mr_Gatik) September 27, 2013
We're in the midst of an “undefined health care strike,” but we'll take care of you in our private offices… Sincerely, COMENENAL. Ironic, right?
Francisco Alvarez decries this measure taken by doctors (which will only affect patients) who then blame the Ministry of Health (Minsa) for the consequences it could bring:
Deplorable como paro médico ilógico y demagógico afecta pacientes.Al deslindar responsabilidades ciudadanos saben donde mirar. @minsa_panama
— Fco Alvarez De Soto (@FAlvarezDeSoto) September 27, 2013
It's regrettable how this illogical and subversive health worker strike affects patients. When the responsibilities are spelled out clearly, the citizens know who's to blame. @minsa_panama
Other Panamanians look at the health worker protest with sympathy and see the new law as marking the beginning of a wave of imported laborers, as José Gutierrez expresses:
Hoy día intentan aprobar ley para traer médicos, mañana serán enfermera, maestros, abogados, ingenieros, transportistas, obreros etc #Panama
— Jammies Jons (@JoseGutierrez09) September 27, 2013
Today they're trying to approve a bill to import doctors, tomorrow it will be nurses, teachers, lawyers, engineers, transportation carriers, workers, and others.
One thing is certain: neither government nor doctors seem prepared to yield in the midst a crisis that reflects the practices of the current government and the medical profession's abuse of end users of their services. The indefinite strike will continue, and those most affected will be the patients.

author: Ariel Moreno


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Foreign Domestic Migrants’ Flashmob Dance in Hong Kong · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hundreds of foreign domestic workers and migrants had flashmob dance at the heart of the city on Sunday in respond to the call for “the Millions Migrants Mobilising Worldwide” action on the eve of the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development (UN HLD) in October 2013. Photo by Tom Grundy.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Oiwan Lam


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Gazans Call to End Rafah Border Suffering · Global Voices
Sarah Fahad

“In Gaza, all our dreams end at the Rafah Border.” Designed by Mohammed Abdulrahman. Shared on Twitter by @AlaaAlShokri
Dreams were made and crushed at the Rafah Border crossing, between Egypt and Gaza, Palestine, which has been bolted shut by the Egyptian authorities following the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi. As a result of the closure, Palestinian students cannot travel abroad to their universities outside Gaza, and remain stranded at the Rafah crossing, which is the main crossing for 1.7 million Palestinians of the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli blockade.
The Rafah crossing was opened on Wednesday and Thursday [18-19 September, 2013] for a brief period of time. On Wednesday, 333 passengers crossed; another 557 passengers entered Egypt through the crossing on Thursday. Overall, there were 1200 passengers waiting for a passage on those two days, according to the official page for news of the Rafah crossing, with hundreds of Palestinian students still waiting for permission to cross.
On Wednesday (September 18), a group of Palestinan students held a sit-in, demanding to open the crossing so that they can attend their missed lectures and exams. Many are still stranded at the border.
Among them is Shahd Abu Salamah, who blogs her ordeal. Abu Salamah, who studies in Turkey, tweets:
Dear #RafahBorder crossing, you've left me out of energy to do anything, out of relief, always anxious, sleepless. Set me free! Let me out.
— ShahdAbusalama (@ShahdAbusalama) September 29, 2013
On her blog, she explains:
I have tried many times to write about my experience at the closed Rafah border crossing with Egypt that has left thousands of people in Gaza stranded. Every time I start, a deep sigh comes over me. Shortly after I feel paralyzed, and finish by tearing apart my draft.  I have never found it this difficult to write about a personal experience. No words can capture all the suffering and pain our people in Gaza deal with collectively under this suffocating, inhumane Israeli-Egyptian siege.
As I write, I am supposed to be somewhere in the sky, among the clouds, flying to Istanbul to begin my graduate studies. But I could not catch my flight, as I am still trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip, sitting in darkness during the power cuts caused by fuel crisis, trying to squeeze out my thoughts during what is left of my laptop’s charge.
She ends her post saying:
This experience made me believe that human dignity has become a joke. International law is nothing but empty, powerless words printed in books. We are denied our right to freedom of movement, our right to pursue our education, our right to good medical care, and our right to be free or to live in peace and security. But no one in power bothers to act.
[…]
Our people’s tragedy caused by the ongoing closure of Rafah border continues, and the crisis is deepening. Living in Gaza under these circumstances is like being sentenced to a slow death. Act and set us free. It is time for these injustices we face on a daily basis to end.
Malaka Mohammed is a graduate in English literature from the Islamic University of Gaza. She is now studying for a master’s degree in international politics and law at the University of Sheffield in Britain. She shares her story on Electronic Intifada saying:
“After ten hours of protest and anticipation, the room of more than 1,800 passengers was brought to a standstill with an anti-climatic announcement made by one of the police officers: “You have to leave; we have finished our work for today. Come tomorrow and maybe you will be able to travel.””
Obaida Aainaldain, another student from Gaza wants to travel to study in Turkey, but he couldn't. He blogs his story [ar]:
ظللنا ننتظر الساعة تلو الاخرى، بلا فائدة، حتى إنتهى دوام الموظفين دون فائدة تذكر للطلاب سوى تسجيل أسمائهم بطريقة فوضوية مزعجة.
في سياق اخر وجدنا كثيرًا من الحالات الإنسانية العالقة، شخص كبير يبكي بكاءًا حارًا لأن مديره في العمل هدده بالطرد إن لم يصل خلال اسبوع، والآخر طالب طب يندب حظه لأنه تأخر عن إمتحانه المؤجل وعليه أن يعيد السنة كاملة
We have been waiting for time and again, without any use, until the employees completed their shift without any benefit for the students, except that they had asked us to register our names in an annoying chaotic way.
In another context, we found a lot of humanitarian cases, an old man crying because his manager threatened him with expulsion if he didn't arrive at work during a week.
And the other is a medical student who was lamenting his luck because he couldn't sit his delayed exam and now has to repeat the whole year.
Activists launched a petition on Avaaz to demand the opening of the border. The petition secured about 6,000 signatures in its first three days.
After Morsi's ousting, the crossing was closed more than three times. And while the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza is partially open for a few hours, the Taba crossing between Egypt and Israel is always open. So, Gaza remains under a doubled siege by Israel and Egypt, and Gazans remain trapped inside and out. The students are still trapped!

author: Sarah Fahad


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Heavy on the Politicking, Light on the Substance in Cameroon’s Elections · Global Voices
Philippe Menkoue

While some candidates running for seats in Cameroon's National Assembly [fr] and municipal council are doing their best sway voters with sweeping but vague promises typical of elections, others are trying to buy it with money and gifts, such as beer and pistachios.
Either way, many of those running for elections on 30 September 2013 are falling short of providing a well-defined platform so voters know where the candidates stand on the issues. Since the start of the electoral campaign 15 September 2013, many Cameroonians tuning into the races haven't heard anything concrete coming from the numerous candidates.
As Crescence Nyindi stated in an article [fr] published on the site Echos des Grands Lacs:
proposer des programmes cohérents n'est pas la chose la plus aisée pour certains partis politiques engagés dans la course.
Proposing coherent platforms is not the easiest thing for some political parties in the race.
Departments of Cameroon by region – Public domain
Some political parties’ manifestos are lacking in ambition and innovation, leaving something to be desired.
In an article [fr] on his personal blog, blogger Mathias Mouendé Ngamo presents the manifesto of the Cameroon People's Party (CPP) by Edith Kah Walla, “which aims for 132 seats in these municipal elections” in some administrative constituencies in the country, including that of Douala 1st district. The manifesto is divided into three main areas of focus: political, economic and social. As an example, the party intends to [fr]:
former par an 1000 jeunes en informatique, « afin de qu’ils correspondent au nouveau profil de l’emploi recherché par les entreprises.
Provide IT training to 1000 young people every year, “so that they can acquire new skills required by businesses.
The candidate seems to suggest that the country does not have enough trained and competent young people in these fields yet.
The same assumption seems to agree with this Social Democratic Front candidate, who promises [fr]:
du travail aux jeunes et une éducation plus accrue notamment.
Work for young people and more education.
Certain candidates from the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais), the leading political party, don't see the need for innovation either. They prefer to continue along the same track as the previous manifestos. This is notably the case for the CPDM candidate running for Mayor of Yaoundé 4th [fr], who wants to continue the work she began during her previous term.
View of Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon – Public domain
The worst offenders are those candidates who use unorthodox practices bordering on corruption to attract the sympathy of the electorate. They prefer to seduce them with beer and food, rather than with a plan of action worthy of the name, transforming their so-called electoral meetings into parties, as Joseph Olinga explains in this post [fr] picked up by cameroun24.net:
Un candidat à un siège à la représentation nationale bien connu du bataillon, est en campagne dans un marché de la ville de Douala. Après un tour des installations sommaires sur fond de youyous, le candidat à la députation interpelle une vendeuse de mets de pistache et lui achète tout son plateau. Un exploit qu’on ne vit pas tous les jours. La vieille dame visiblement éberluée promet «solennellement» d’accorder son suffrage au candidat. Les mets achetés sont aussitôt distribués aux badauds qui ont envahi le théâtre. Et, puisque que la consommation du piment nécessite une bonne bière, notre candidat visiblement au fait des us locaux débloque, séance tenante, une centaine de mille pour l’achat du « précieux liquide». Youyous, valses d’applaudissements et fin du meeting. Le tout dans une ambiance de bénédictions au bénéfice du candidat que la clameur confie à Dieu.
A well-known candidate for a seat at the national level is campaigning in a market in the village of Douala. Following a brief tour of the facilities, to a background of ululating cries, the candidate spoke to a market trader selling pistachios, and bought the entire tray. Something we don't see everyday. The old woman, visibly perplexed, “solemnly” promised her vote to the candidate. The food he bought was immediately given out to the bystanders nearby. And, seeing as these nuts always need good beer, the candidate, clearly aware of local customs, spent 100,000 CFA francs [about 1,134 US dollars] on buying the “precious liquid”. Ululations, waves of applause, and the meeting ends. All in an atmosphere of benediction to the candidate's benefit, entrusted to God by the crowds.
Recurring scenes during the campaign season, he underlines [fr]:
Un autre candidat bien connu de l’opposition gare son véhicule. Le « Messie » est aussitôt entouré par une horde de conducteurs de mototaxis, des vendeurs et quelques curieux. «J’espère que vous voterez pour nos listes aux municipales et aux législatives », leur lance-t-il (ndlr). Quelle question ? «Considérez que vous êtes déjà élu» scandent les populations. Une liasse de billets de banque est remise «au doyen». Distribution des affiches aux invités, salve d’applaudissements et fin de meeting. Le candidat se remet à bord de son véhicule escorté par une dizaine de mototaxis le tout sur une chanson populaire revue en l’honneur du désormais député.
Another well-known opposition candidate parks his car. The “Messiah” is soon surrounded by a horde of motorbike taxi drivers, traders and other curious members of the public. “I hope you'll be voting for our lists in the parliamentary and municipal elections,” he says to them (editor's note). Is it even a question? “Act as if you're already elected” chant the crowd. A wad of cash is given to the most senior person present. Posters are distributed, applause, and the meeting ends. The candidate gets back into his vehicle and is escorted by a dozen motorbike taxi drivers singing a popular song customised for the candidate, now honorary deputy.
Surreal scenes, which illustrate perfectly the mediocrity of some “politicars”, political schemers thirsty for power, as the blogger Franck William Batchou names them. Their behaviour is designed to mask the absence of political manifestos, and if widespread, could suggest that Cameroonians are not aware of the importance of these elections, and the significance of their vote. Thankfully, not all are fooled.
Faced with the inconsistency of most manifestos, people seem to have decided to take the matter into their own hands by asking the different candidates about subjects close to their hearts. This is particularly true of civil society organisations which, by means of the “health at the ballot box” (santé aux urnes) project, want to bring the candidates’ attention to the problems faced by many Cameroonians in accessing healthcare. Calls which we hope won't fall on deaf ears.
Whatever happens, voters will have the last word. Theoretically, at least.

author: Philippe Menkoue


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India: The Prime Minister Nominee & His Criminal Records · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Can a person with Criminal Records become the PM of India?” – asks Dr. Abdul Ruff while discussing the nomination of the right wing leader and Gujarat chief-minister Narendra Modi. He is the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance for the upcoming 2014 Indian general elections.

author: Rezwan


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Phuket-themed Stamps in Thailand · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Mark Jochim features Thailand stamps that showcase the beauty and culture of Phuket, a popular island tourism destination. Interestingly, he notes that Phuket-themed stamps do not include the famous beaches of Phuket.

author: Mong Palatino


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South Korea: President’s Failed Welfare Promise Sparks Criticism · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

President Park is under fire for her retreat on campaign promises of higher pension and tuition subsidies. Critics say her campaign pledges adopted against her own identity as a conservative candidate, helped Park to rake in more votes in the last presidential election. @metempirics gathered relevant links and web reactions [ko] in Storify.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Syrian-Palestinian Refugees of Rap: “The Age of Silence is Over” · Global Voices
Syria Untold

This post is cross-posted from Syria Untold.
Refugees Of Rap is a Syrian – Palestinian hip-hop band, one of the first in Syria. The four rappers, from Syrian, Palestinian and Algerian origin, started singing in 2005 in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, located on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus. They performed in different countries in the Middle East and in some of the most prestigious places in the region, like the Cairo Opera House, until they started receiving death threats from security officers, their studio was destroyed and they were forced to flee the country. They have just released their third album, The Age Of Silence, a powerful metaphor of where Syria was plunged for decades.
Refugees of Rap´s new album cover. Source: Refugees of Rap Facebook page
When the popular uprising started in Syria in March, 2011, Refugees of Rap used their music in the struggle against dictatorship. They soon became persecuted by the regime, which ended up destroying their brand new studio. “It was a UN-funded studio in the camp, we used to call it Sawt Al Shaab (The Voice of the People),” Yasser Jamous, one of the band members, said to Syria Untold. In May 2013 they left the country to save their lives, but they continue to use their lyrics to denounce the atrocities suffered by Syrians under the Assad regime.
“My brother and I finally managed to get visas to come to France and get out of Syria,” Yasser explained. “We took a flight to Paris before heading to Sweden, where some of our friends and relatives are living. We started touring around the country and in other countries, like Denmark, but unfortunately, because of a European migration law called Dublin 2, we were sent back to France.” They are now applying for asylum and hope to be recognized as refugees soon.
Refugees of Rap have collaborated with renowned artists from all over the world, such as Palestinian hip-hop band DAM, with the song “Afkar” (Thoughts), and have been featured in international media such as Rolling Stones, and the BBC, which did a documentary on their work in 2010.
To find out more about Refugees of Rap, check out their Facebook page,Twitter account, and Youtube channel.
This post is cross-posted from Syria Untold.

author: Syria Untold


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VIDEO: Filmpoem “Prayer of Fear” Stuns Egypt · Global Voices
Rayna St.

The Egyptian citizen collective Mosireen has been tirelessly documenting the #Jan25 revolution and the events that followed in images and documentaries. One of their very last creations is “Prayer of Fear”, a filmpoem by Mahmoud Ezzat narrated by Mosireen member Salma Said. Between roving and painful memories, the filmpoem stuns with its disarming sincerity and humanity.
…Are we winning?
Or in line for slaughter?
Is the question shameful?
Or is the silence worse?
Should we scavenge the spoils?
Or count the corpses?
Did we open the way?
Or is the path destroyed?…
Here is the video for the entire poem:

author: Rayna St.


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Why Indonesia Should Not Raise its Minimum Wage · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Rocky Intan explains why a minimum wage hike in Indonesia will harm the country's economy:
National and local leaders should resist pressure by some union leaders for an increase in the minimum wage. The increase has not been in line with inflation, unlike what the protesters claim. Moreover, the raise will result in further worker layoffs and damage our regional competitiveness in labor-intensive manufacturing.


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Abuse, Low Wages and Little Freedom: The Life of Hong Kong’s Foreign Maids · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A recent court case concerning the physical assault and torture of Indonesian maid Kartika Puspitasari by her employers has again unveiled the vulnerable condition of foreign maids in Hong Kong.
Currently there are more than 310,000 foreign maids working in Hong Kong, and the number constitutes 3 percent of the international city's population. But Hong Kong is rather notorious for its policy on foreign domestic workers (FDWs). In addition to the immigration ordinance that excludes foreign domestic workers from applying for permanent residency in Hong Kong after working in the city for seven years, the “fortnight regulation” that requires FDWs to find a new employer within two weeks upon termination of contract makes it very difficult for the maids to change and choose their employers.
Furthermore, they are not protected by the city's minimum wage policy, and they are exploited by middle-agencies and forced to work long hours and live with their employers in extremely poor living conditions.
Indonesian Maids Rally in Support of Abused Domestic Helper on September 15, 2013. Photo by Tom Grundy.
When the story of Kartika was first revealed, many found it hard to believe because the labour market is supposed to be “free”. Obviously such “common sense” is not applied to foreign maids who are less protected by law when compared to local citizens. Take a look at Hong Wrong blogger Tom Grundy's brief description of the case:
Between October 2010 and October 2012, Kartika Puspitasari was allegedly beaten with a chain and a shoe, scalded with a hot iron, tied to a chair, had her hair chopped off and was forced to wear a diaper and children’s clothes by her employers.
The employers were eventually sentenced to three years and three months and five and a half years respectively on September 18, 2013. The judge's decision was based on the hard evidence, in particular the 45 wounds found on the maid's body, but believed some of the testimonies were exaggerated and could not figure out why Kartika did not go to the police.
Rosa from left21 who followed the court case in detail explained why the story sounded so “incredible” to local people by examining the unequal power relation between employers and maids in Hong Kong:
僱主跟僱傭在法律案件前根本站在不同的起步點，法官在勞資審裁處公開道明「你要留下便得付錢」－意指由於根據條例僱傭不可在等待審訊期間繼續合法在港工作，政府亦不會在此等待期間支付她們生活費或簽證費，她們必須自己支付（或靠慈善機構的幫忙）進行訴訟的費用以贏得正義。在語言不通的重壓及失去工作的恐懼下，如此「你要留下便得付錢」的制度令外傭寧願保持沈默忍受虐待，也不願向僱主提出訴訟。
The employer and employee are unequal within the legal process. The judge from the Labour Tribunal openly said that “If you are to stay, you have to pay” – according to the law, the maids cannot work during the legal process and the government will not pay for their living expenses and visa fees. They have to pay (or seek help from charity organizations) in order to pay for the legal fees and seek justice. Confronted with the language barrier and the pressure of being unemployed, the legal system “if you are to stay, you have to pay” silences maids, and they choose to suffer in silence rather that confronting their employers in court.
Kartika對僱主的其中兩項指控被判不成立，因法官認為此印傭的某些證供不可信。他認為僱主不可能在離家旅行時把僱傭綁在家裡五天；他認為女僱主不可能逼僱傭穿著過小的衣服或透明膠袋在男僱主面前打掃；他也認為僱傭不可能沒有機會逃脫，而相信她曾有很多機會逃走卻沒有這樣做。
令人好奇的是，法官在確認了案件的壓倒性證據、清晰兩個僱主不人道的殘酷及漠視僱傭尊嚴的行為後，依然以「正常」僱主應有的「常識」推斷兩個被告曾作的行為，而否決受害人所提出的其他可能性。法官只專注於「硬體」的實物證據，其他軟性的無形力量，如威脅、心理壓力、虐待和飢餓／飢渴造成的弱勢、隔離等，則完全被忽略；這些無形的力量正是令僱傭極難逃走的障礙。
Two of the allegations were ruled as invalid because the judge found the testimony unreliable. He believed that it was impossible for the employers to tie the maid up for five days while they were traveling. He also found it impossible that the employer forced the maid to dress in undersized clothes or a transparent plastic bag and clean in front of the male employer. He could not believe that the maid did not have a chance to escape and believed that she chose not to do so.
Curiously enough, the judge believed in the evidence that proved the employers’ actions were cruel, inhumane and insulting, but still crafted his judgement according to the “common sense” of “normal” employment relations, and thus denied the victim's testimony. The judge focused on the “hard evidence” while ignoring the invisible power created by threats, psychological stress, torture, hunger, seclusion, etc. Such invisible forces makes it difficult for the maid to runaway.
However, instead of changing the extremely unequal power relation between the employers and the maid, the Hong Kong immigration department is making it harder for the maid to change their employers, as reported by Tom Grundy in early September:
In an attempt to combat the ‘non-problem’ of ‘job shopping’, the government has tightened rules to further entrap the city’s long-suffering domestic helpers. Last week, the Immigration Department responded to supposed ‘public concern‘,announcing that it will now make it harder for domestic workers to quit their contracts.
Sheila explained how unfair the immigration department's two-week rule is to the FDWs is in Stories Beyond Borders, a crowd source advocacy video project:
Many employers in Hong Kong do not understand that FDWs should have their own leisure time and private space. In an interview with citizen media platform inmediahk.net, Indonesian maid Ada talked about the difficulties confronted by her friends when they try to enroll in part-time study in Hong Kong:
Hong Kong-based Irish photographer Gráinne Quinlan's photo project on “Why do you do what you do?”. The team asked several foreign domestic workers to write down why they left their home country to work in another city. Photo via Tom Grundy.
「我相當幸運，家人非常支持我讀書」。而僱主給予她相當大的自由度，沒有反對，亦不干預她學習，只要不影響工作便可，所以她才能這樣享受學習，無顧慮地進修；相反，她身邊的朋友的處境卻是截然不同，因為不少僱主擔心外傭因學業而影響工作表現－－有朋友的僱主得悉她進修一事便反對，亦有朋友因害怕僱主反對進修，於是偷偷躲起來溫習，或趁僱主入睡時才敢翻開課本，也有些朋友需每數月被逼暫停學業一次。
“I am very lucky as my family supports my education”. The employers also give her some degree of freedom. They allow her to study provided that it would not affect her work. That's why she could enroll in a part-time degree without burden. Her friends’ experiences are very different. Many employers are worried that once they start studying, they won't be able to take care of work. Some of her friends employers openly opposed to their request for permission to study. Some of her friends are too afraid to ask and have to study in secret after their employers go to sleep. Some friends have to suspend their studies once every few months.
A number of non-government organizations in Hong Kong are working together to pressure the government to abolish the mandatory live-in rule passed in 2003. Vera So, contributing reporter from inmediahk.net, reported the civil society press conference:
關注外勞權益的移民工牧民中心代表Cynthia Ca Abdon-Tellez稱，難以接受刑事化外傭在外留宿的自由。她又指，強制留宿除令外傭被逼居於極狹小的空間如廚、雜物房、廁所等，更增加她們遭受家庭暴力的風險。
牧民中心於今年4月進行調查，訪問了3004名留宿外傭，發現約三成受訪外傭沒有自己的睡房，要睡在走廊或客廳；另外八成外傭表示曾經歷不同方面及程度的暴力：接近六成遭受言語暴力，而身體暴力及性暴力則分別佔18%及6%，情況嚴重。Cynthia指政策推出10年，絕對需要檢討。
Cynthia Ca Abdon-Tellez from Mission For Migrant Worker (MMW) said it is unacceptable that the freedom to live-out is being criminalized. The mandatory live-in rule forces the maid to live in spaces like the kitchen, toilet and storeroom and increase the risk of domestic violence.
In a survey conducted by MMW, among the 3,004 foreign domestic workers who they had interviewed, around 30 percent do not have their own room and have to sleep in the corridors or living room. 80 percent have experienced different degree of violence – 60 percent verbal violence, 18 percent physical violence and 6 percent sexual violence. The situation is very grave. Cynthia said the live-in rule has been implemented for ten years and it is time that it was reviewed.


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Chilean Singer Ana Tijoux Raps Against TPP · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“A puertas cerradas se decide nuestro porvenir y en cuatro paredes van dictando lo que llaman devenir”.
“Behind closed doors they decide our destiny and inside four walls they dictate what they call future”
TPP Abierto [es] shares ‘No al TPP’, the new single by Chilean musician Ana Tijoux, “specially prepared as harsh criticism of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement“:
Acoustic guitars, careful string arrangements, piano and a bossa rhythm come together in an eloquent and elegant act of protest, accompanied by a video in black and white directed by Fourd Alzamora.
Did you like it? then help us spread Anita's message among your friends, on social networks and where you want, so we can all say No to TPP!
And if you want to sing, you can download the lyrics here [es]. ;)

author: Silvia Viñas


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Dark Humor Reigns As Russia’s Winter Olympics City Floods · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

A YouTube user films himself amidst Sochi city officials’ post-rainfall cleanup efforts, 26 September 2013, screen capture.
Sochi, the site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, was hit by massive flooding last week, just as the International Olympic Committee wrapped up its final inspection visit. On the virtual side of things, videos and photos of the storm's damage soon inundated the Russian Internet, where bloggers raised yet another round of complaints about the Olympics’ injury both to the area's environment and the nation’s budget.
Popular LiveJournal user Andrei Malgin posted a few photos of the flooding on his blog [ru] with a short summary from the online news site Lenta.ru, receiving nearly 100 comments.
One of Malgin's readers observed [ru]:
Пожарные машины откачивают воду с центральных улиц.
и куда откачивают, интересно?
Fire trucks drained the water from the central streets.
And where did they pump it, I wonder?
Another reader joked [ru] in response:
На центральные площади
Into the central squares.
LiveJournal user antirobot_idiot mocked the incompetence of the local authorities, writing [ru]:
утрамбовывают ее в дома жителей
They rammed it into people’s homes.
Claiming to be a longtime Sochi resident, LJ user frauava bemoaned [ru]:
Все, что могли, нарушили. Я давно живу в Сочи – ТАКОГО не было никогда. ТАКИХ смерчей никто здесь не припомнит. НГарод горько шутит, что теперь они сгоняют тучи, чтобы на Красной Поляне смог выпасть снег к ОИ.
[The authorities] broke everything they could. I have lived in Sochi for a long time, and it was never like THIS before. Nobody here remembers windstorms like THIS. The people are now joking bitterly that they're driving the storm clouds to Krasnaya Polyana [the Olympic alpine resort], in order to get snow to fall at the Olympic Games.
Egor Grys, another blogger claiming to hail from Sochi, confirmed that the city rarely sees so much rainfall in September. He suggests that some of the construction for the Olympics is at least partly to blame for the flooding:
на самом деле город расположен вдоль узкой полоски берега, и вода с гор, по рекам должна быстро беспрепятственно стекать в море. возможно, массированная застройка этой полосы привела к ухудшению условий поверхностного стока воды.
In fact, the city is located on a narrow strip of shore, and water from the mountains should drain quickly and freely into the sea. It's possible that all the massive construction on this strip led to a deterioration of the conditions of water drainage on the surface.
In an interview with English-language daily The Moscow Times, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov alleged [en] that “the floods might have been triggered by a drastic change in the climate recently, which was in turn provoked by environmental damage caused by all the construction.”
On his Facebook wall (in a post that attracted 281 “likes” and 47 “shares”), journalist Yevgeny Levkovich suggested satirically [ru] that the flooding was punishment from God for the sins of Putin’s government, including mass theft, the ecological destruction caused by Olympic site construction, the Circassian Genocide, and Putin's recent divorce.
Blogger Igor Nemov alleged [ru] that local officials and builders are celebrating the flooding because of the opportunity the damage presents for repair work and new state contracts.
Эх, сейчас в честь наводнения в Сочи, наверняка местные чиновники и строители откупорили бутылочки элитного коньяка и шампанского. Это просто праздник какой-то для них.
Ah, in honor of the floods in Sochi, local officials and builders have surely uncorked bottles of fancy cognac and champagne. This is just a holiday for them.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee's visit to Sochi was declared a success [en] by Jean-Claude Killy, the delegation's leader and a former Olympic skier. “Our impression is unanimous, everything is very impressive,” he said.

author: Nina Jobe


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#EauSecours: The Hashtag Poking Fun at Water Shortage in Dakar, Senegal · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, has been plagued with water shortage for the past 15 days [fr]. Senegalese on social media are coping with this dire situation with humor and patience. The hashtag #eausecours (#H2OUT) is currently used on Twitter and Facebook to poke fun at the ongoing lack of clean water, as depicted by this unequivocal tweet :
I feel u guys #EauSecours pic.twitter.com/Olic1YqvAU
— Rainman (@Ares210) September 25, 2013

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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How is Lebanon Dealing with the Massive Influx of Syrian Refugees?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Surviving in Syria
“A classroom at a school for Syrian refugees in Lebanon near the border with Syria. 280 students attend,” tweets  Derek Stoffel (@DerekStoffelCBC)
Lebanon is now home to about one million Syrian refugees – or around a quarter of its own population.
In a series of tweets, Josh Wood, a freelance journalist based in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, shares with us this story, which he says “sums up how bad relations are between the Lebanese and the massive number of refugees” in the country:
Yesterday @mgdowney gave kids at refugee gathering in S. Lebanon a soccer ball to stop them swarming camera (and because he's a nice guy)1/3
— Josh Wood (@woodenbeirut) September 29, 2013
Today we return. Soccer ball was accidentally kicked over wall into hospital grounds. Policeman nearby cut it in half, threw it back. (2/3)
— Josh Wood (@woodenbeirut) September 29, 2013
The whole incident kind of summed up how bad relations are between Lebanese and the massive number of Syrian refugee now in country (3/3)
— Josh Wood (@woodenbeirut) September 29, 2013
He continues to explain:
Syrian refugee on Lebanese visitors to gathering: "They don't drink coffee or tea. They wash their hands after they shake hands with us"
— Josh Wood (@woodenbeirut) September 29, 2013
Earlier tonight, Wood tweets another snippet of the ordeal some refugees face in Lebanon:
Beirut: Refugee kid (8 years old maybe?) sleeps in box across the street from bars. Couple make out next to box.  Parents killed in Aleppo
— Josh Wood (@woodenbeirut) October 1, 2013
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt puts it in black and white:
Today 20-25% of total population of Lebanon are Syrian refugees. Would be app 2 million in Sweden. We must show solidarity.
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) September 23, 2013
Altogether, some two million Syrians have fled the war in their country to neighbouring countries, mostly Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq, over the past 30 months. Millions more are believed to have left their homes to other areas within Syria to escape the conflict.
Meanwhile, Syrian activist Amal Hanano says Syrian refugees should be helped to return to their homes. She explains:
The solution is not building permanent homes for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, it's helping the refugees go back to their homes. #Syria
— Amal Hanano (@AmalHanano) September 27, 2013
This post is part of our special coverage Surviving in Syria

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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‘Mainstream Media Isn’t Enough’: The Rise of Brazilian Media Collective Nigeria · Global Voices
Débora Medeiros

This post is part of our special coverage of  Brazil's Vinegar Revolt
[All links lead to Portuguese-language pages, except when otherwise noted.]
When protests sprang up all over Brazil earlier this year, media collective Coletivo Nigéria of Fortaleza also  took to the streets, cameras in hand. Filmmaker Pedro Rocha explains:
“We didn't know what would come of our coverage of the protests, we only knew that we had to be there,” explains Pedro Rocha about the documentary Com Vandalismo. Watch the film through the article published in August 2013 by Global Voices.
Começamos filmando pelo dever de registrar o que estava acontecendo. Não fazíamos a menor ideia no que aquilo ia dar.
We started filming because of the necessity to record what was happening. We didn't have the slightest idea what was going to happen.
This was the start of their recent project, according to Pedro Rocha, one of the four journalists that graduated two years ago and formed the collective, along with Roger Quentin, Yargo Gurjão, and Bruno Xavier. The result was the popular documentary “Com Vandalismo” (Vandalism) [en], which narrates the events of that period in the city of Fortaleza, with a critical focus on the mainstream media discourse constructed with regards to “vandalism.”
In an email interview with Global Voices, Pedro Rocha explains in more detail about this experience and reflects on the possible directions that online communications may take in the country after the protests.
Global Voices (GV): Do you think that with the protests and the intensive use of social networking tools, the Brazilian citizen media took a step forward?
Pedro Rocha (PR): Talvez a gente precise esperar um pouco mais. Ver como isso vai funcionar na Copa, por exemplo. Para usar uma palavrinha mágica sempre que se fala de megaeventos: precisamos ver qual será o “legado” desses protestos para a comunicação. De todo modo, se o ditado que diz que “a necessidade faz o homem” estiver certo, provavelmente esse amadurecimento irá se concretizar.
Até agora, o que vimos foram as pessoas correndo para as redes sociais em busca de informação, porque só com a grande mídia não dá – ainda mais agora que a relação entre essa mídia e os manifestantes está cada vez mais desgastada. Muitos manifestantes não concedem entrevistas a eles (se é que um dia essas entrevistas foram solicitadas) e hostilizam os repórteres de algumas emissoras. Por outro lado, a mídia alternativa, independente ou cidadã, seja qual for o nome, é quem está criando e ocupando esse espaço.
Perhaps we need to wait a little longer. To see how this will work during the World Cup, for example. To use the magic word that is always present when there is talk of mega-events: we need to see what will be the “legacy” of these protests for the media. Whichever way it goes, if the saying “necessity makes the man” turns out to be true, this progress will probably become concrete.
Until now, what we saw were people running to social networks in search of information, because just following the mainstream media isn't enough – even more so now that the relationship between this media and the demonstrators has become strained. Many protesters don't give interviews to them (if one of these interviews were to be requested) and are hostile towards reporters of these large networks. On the other hand, the alternative media, independent or citizen-based or whatever the name may be, is what is creating and occupying this space.
GV: How do these changes on the political and media landscape affect the future of what you as a collective are doing?
Bruno Xavier, one of the members of Nigeria, in action during the exhibition of one of the documentaries by the collective in a neighborhood restaurant. Photo used with permission.
PR: Primeiro, estamos nos questionando mais do que nunca sobre o nosso trabalho, sobre as ideias que nos orientam, sobre como devemos nos posicionar nessa história. Em segundo lugar, vem a forma como nos organizamos como produtora e/ou coletivo.
A “produtora” Nigéria trabalha com comunicação institucional pra movimentos sociais e terceiro setor principalmente. Nós sempre guiamos politicamente nosso trabalho. Porém, isso às vezes pode entrar em conflito com as exigências da cobertura das manifestações, quando atuamos mais como “coletivo” – de forma voluntária, por assim dizer. Quer dizer, às vezes temos que priorizar uma coisa ou outra ou nos dividir e sacrificar um pouco cada lado. Além disso, temos nossa produção jornalística propriamente dita, que requer um tratamento diferente dos vídeos institucionais ou mesmo dos vídeos das manifestações.
Na nossa opinião, todas estas diferentes formas de comunicação são importantes e se complementam, mas precisaremos cada vez mais pensar na forma como sustentar esses trabalhos. Por exemplo, a partir da repercussão Com Vandalismo – realizado sem nenhum financiamento e com a colaboração de várias outras pessoas além dos integrantes da Nigéria – estamos planejando uma forma de financiar a cobertura da Copa no próximo ano.
First, we are questioning more than ever the nature of our work, about the ideas that guide us and how to position ourselves in this story. Second, we question the way that we organize ourselves as producers and/or as a collective.
The media production collective Nigéria works primarily with institutional communication for social movements and the not-for-profit sector. We are always politically guided in our work. However, sometimes it possible to be in conflict with the demands of covering the protests, when we are acting more as a “collective”- in a voluntary way, as it were. In other words, we have to prioritize one thing or another, or we split up and sacrifice a little bit on each side. Aside from this, we have the journalistic production itself, which requires a different treatment than institutional videos or videos of the protests.
In our opinion, all of these different forms of communication are important and complement each other, but we need to think more and more about how to sustain these efforts. For example, because of the response to “Com Vandalismo” – filmed without any financial support and with the collaboration of many other people outside of Nigeria – we are planning to find a way to finance the coverage of the World Cup next year.
GV: In the documentary, you appear for a moment with some students of a social communications program. Has there been some exchange between the program and Nigeria?
PR: Sou professor do curso de jornalismo de uma faculdade particular aqui de Fortaleza. E já tinha convidado dois estudantes de lá, o Franzé e o Leandro, para serem bolsistas em um outro projeto da Nigéria sobre Direito à Moradia. Nós estávamos mapeando as ocupações irregulares em Fortaleza quando os protestos estouraram no país. Nessa história, eles acabaram compondo a equipe. Estiveram em todos os quatro dias que o documentário registrou e, no último, o Leandro acabou sendo detido comigo, depois de sermos encurralados pelo Batalhão de Choque. Não fomos para a delegacia porque a presidente do Sindicato dos Jornalistas do Ceará passou no local exatamente na hora.
I am professor in the journalism department of a private college here in Fortaleza. And I have already invited two students from there, Franzé and Leandro, to be scholarship participants in another project by Nigeria about the movement for Rights to Adequate Housing. We were mapping the irregular occupations in Fortaleza when the protests erupted in the country. In covering this story, they ended up becoming a part of the team. They were with us the whole time during the four days in which the documentary was filmed, and Leandro ended up getting arrested with me, after getting cornered by the riot police. We didn't go to the police station because the president of the Journalist's Union of Ceará passed by at that exact moment.
GV: What are the differences between work with Nigéria and your other professional experiences in the media?
PR: Os quatro integrantes da Nigéria têm percursos profissionais diferentes, mas, com exceção de um, tivemos passagens mais curtas ou mais longas pelos maiores grupos de comunicação do Ceará. E existe uma primeira grande diferença, que é a diferença entre ser empregado de uma grande empresa e ser sócio de seus amigos numa produtora. É verdade que isso impacta também na sua estabilidade financeira, mas isso é compensado por outros ganhos, como a ausência de hierarquia.
From left to right: Pedro Rocha, Yargo Gurjão, Bruno Xavier and Roger Quentin. Photo used with permission.
Por exemplo, a falta de hierarquia faz com que estejamos a todo momento debatendo – agora mesmo estamos tendo que encarar na prática conceitos como o “equilíbrio” em nossa produção jornalística, já que nos identificamos com as posições dos manifestantes, mas também queremos nos manter como um espaço em que o diálogo e o debate sejam possíveis. Esse tipo de organização nos dá também a liberdade de escolhermos no que queremos apostar e a responsabilidade de assumirmos esse risco. O Com Vandalismo foi um caso desses. Depois de tudo, alguns outros projetos atrasaram, foram deixados temporariamente de lado, mas valeu a pena.
The four members of Nigeria all have different professional trajectories, but, with the exception of one, we have had short or longer periods of working for the larger media organizations in Ceará. And a major difference exists, which is the difference between being employed by a large company and being an associate of your friends as a producer. It is true that this also impacts one's financial situation, but this is compensated by other gains, such as the absence of hierarchy.
For example, the lack of hierarchy means that we are debating all the time – right now we are having to confront concepts such as “balance” in the practice of our journalistic production. We have already identified with the position of the demonstrators, but we also want to maintain a space where dialogue and debate are possible. This type of organization also gives us the freedom to choose what we want to risk and the responsibility of assuming this risk. “Com Vandalism” was one of these cases. After everything, some other projects were delayed and pushed temporarily to the side, but it was worth it.
GV: What were the main challenges in covering the protests?
PR: Tirando o fato de que não conhecíamos gás lacrimogênio e bala de borracha, nem exatamente sabíamos como se portar diante daquele tipo de situação de confronto, o maior desafio a meu ver foi se orientar naquela revolta. Saber o que filmar, quem entrevistar, perceber o que estava em jogo – basicamente entender o que estava acontecendo no país. Se ainda hoje é difícil entender isso, não pense que foi mais fácil para quem estava lá na Alberto Craveiro, sob um sol infernal, no meio de um mar de gente correndo e tossindo gás lacrimogênio. Talvez por isso a repressão policial tenha se transformado numa pauta por si só, por ser um elemento imediato, inquestionável e, no final das contas, aglutinador, apesar de o objetivo ter sido a “dispersão” dos manifestantes. Talvez por isso também escolhemos nos apoiar num ponto específico, o “vandalismo”, para seguirmos documentando, sem nos perdermos em julgamentos sobre a história.
Apart from the fact that we weren't familiar with tear gas and rubber bullets, nor did we exactly know how to behave in the face of that kind of confrontation, the biggest challenge from my point of view was orienting oneself in the revolt. Knowing what to film, who to interview, perceiving what was at play – basically understanding what was happening in the country. If today it is still difficult to understand this, don't think that it was any easier for those who were there at Alberto Craveiro under an infernal sun, in the middle of a sea of people running and coughing up tear gas. Perhaps that's why police repression has become an issue in itself, if only because it is an undoubtedly immediate and, after everything, unifying element, in spite of its purpose to “disperse” protesters. Perhaps this is also why we choose to support a specific point, that of “vandalism”, to continue documenting without losing ourselves in judgement about the story.
GV: What do you as a group think about the collectives that emerged during the protests, such as Midia Ninja [“an alternative journalism phenomenon that emerged from the protests in Brazil”, Journalism in the Americas blog reported]?
PR: A Mídia Ninja é, sem dúvida, o maior fenômeno dessa comunicação que ganhou força com os protestos. As transmissões ao vivo, pra mim, são o elemento mais revolucionário nessa história toda. Em junho, você podia assistir o helicóptero da Record News sobrevoando São Paulo ou o Rio de Janeiro, ao mesmo tempo em que acompanhava um cara correndo pelas ruas com um celular entrevistando os manifestantes. Se você demorasse um pouco mais nessa dupla cobertura, iria perceber que algumas coisas na transmissão da TV estavam equivocadas.
Hoje nós temos transmissão ao vivo pela Internet aqui em Fortaleza e imagino que em quase toda cidade em que o 3G dê conta do serviço. Particularmente gosto de acreditar que os ninjas viraram uma espécie de confraria ou, simplesmente, uma rede, independente do grupo Mídia Ninja até. Por outro lado, existem coletivos, como a Nigéria, que não fazem cobertura ao vivo, mas registram e postam no mesmo dia ou no dia seguinte alguns vídeos, já com alguma edição e com uma qualidade melhor de imagem. Esse é outro tipo de cobertura que se junta às transmissões, aos relatos pessoais no Facebook, às charges de ilustradores independentes etc.
Se o Brasil tivesse uma TV pública de qualidade e um sistema de comunicação realmente democrático, ainda assim esse tipo de ação seria necessário. Ou seja, diante do monopólio comercial da comunicação brasileira, essa comunicação dos ninjas e dos coletivos é questão de sobrevivência e esperamos que só se fortaleça daqui pra frente.
Midia Ninja is, without a doubt, the biggest phenomenon of these forms of communication that gained support with the protests. The live transmissions, for me, were the most revolutionary element in this whole story. In June, you could watch coverage from the Record News helicopter flying above Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, and at the same time that you could see a guy running through the streets with a phone interviewing demonstrators. If you watched even a little bit of this double coverage, you were able to perceive that some things in the TV coverage were wrong.
Today we have live transmission by way of the Internet here in Fortaleza, and I imagine there is the same in every city that has 3G coverage. I particularly like to believe that the ninjas became their own kind of brotherhood, or simply a network independent of even Midia Ninja. On the hand, collectives exist, such as Nigeria, that don't do live coverage, but instead film and post videos on the same or on the following day that have been edited and have a better image quality. This is the other type of coverage that brings together all transmissions, from personal accounts on Facebook to cartoons by independent illustrators, etc.
If Brazil had quality public TV and a truly democratic system of communications, this type of action would still be necessary. In other words, in the face of the commercial monopoly of Brazilian communications, this type of coverage by the ninjas and collectives is a matter of survival, and we hope that it will be strengthened from here on out.
This post is part of our special coverage of Brazil's Vinegar Revolt

author: Débora Medeiros


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Spain Is Not Very Happy · Global Voices
Cheyenne Sánchez Prieto

It seems that Spain is not very happy. According to a study by Carlos III University in Madrid (uc3m) [es], Spaniards rank 49th in happiness out of the 112 countries polled.
This happiness index (pdf) is based not on subjective questions, but on “revealed preferences,” using migration as a standard; that is, what people do, not what they say. Per Juan de Dios Tena [es], a statistics professor at Carlos III University: “Migration flows are closely linked to psychological issues related to happiness,” that is, people tend to leave a country if it lacks the conditions for their happiness, in favor of someplace where they think they can be happy.
The researchers took into account both economic and non-economic factors of happiness, which overlap with what can be considered the determining factors of migration: absolute and relative income, demographic and social characteristics, social development, relationships with others and characteristics of the place where one lives, as well as variables like distance or a common border and language.
Considering all these factors, and led by Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, Spain is 49th out of the 112 countries in the ranking, followed by Mexico, Iran and Costa Rica, among others. In last place are countries like Afghanistan, South Africa and China.
Tena also claims that migration flows don't just depend on the possibility of finding work, as is commonly thought, but are also influenced by pollution, terrorism and economic inequality, variables that psychologists consider determinants of happiness.
The study concludes that well-being cannot be solely measured by per capita income and notes that good policies increase the willingness of people to live in their country, while bad ones reduce that willingness.
Here are some relevant Tweets:
España se aleja de las primeras posiciones del ranking d felicidad d la UC3M..ya ni nos reimos ,,claro q estamos no esta el temita para ello
— Beatriz Bonmatí (@b_bonmati) September 23, 2013
Spain is far from the top ranking of happiness per the UC3M.. we're not even laughing ,,clearly we are things aren't for that now
— Beatriz Bonmatí (@b_bonmati) September 23, 2013
@marianorajoy necesitamos más futbol, urgente!: Otro ranking de felicidad aleja a España de las primeras posiciones http://t.co/kNJqZKXZDZ
— Hrœrekr (@iGNUrante) September 23, 2013
@marianorajoy we need more soccer, it's urgent!: Another happiness ranking shows Spain far from the top http://t.co/kNJqZKXZDZ
— Hrœrekr (@iGNUrante) September 23, 2013
¿¿¿ A QUIEN LE EXTRAÑA ???? A ESTE PASO ACABAREMOS EN EL PUESTO 112 EN POCOS MESES…. http://t.co/ppWpTHl9TZ
— AutonomosEnLaLucha (@UNI_CAES) September 23, 2013
WHO THINKS THIS IS STRANGE???? AT THIS RATE WE WILL RANK 112 IN JUST A FEW MONTHS…. http://t.co/ppWpTHl9TZ
— AutonomosEnLaLucha (@UNI_CAES) September 23, 2013

author: Cheyenne Sánchez Prieto


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Tajik Children in Russia “Should Go to School”  · Global Voices
Mahina Shodizoda

A Russian lawmaker and member of the ruling party recently suggested [ru] that the children of labor migrants should be barred from Russian schools and kindergartens. LJ user prosto_vova explains [ru] why this is a bad idea. His list of reasons for not barring migrants’ children from Russian schools includes the following one (among several others):
Children are children. They should not be blamed for the fact that their parents have moved to an alien country in search of food for their family… Children should go to school – this is simply humane [to allow them to do so]
More than one million nationals of Tajikistan work in Russia. Although most of them leave their children at home, an increasing number of labor migrants take their families to Russia with them. Most of these children go to Russian schools.

author: Mahina Shodizoda


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Tajikistan: Voters Are Entitled to Know if Candidates are ‘Full’ or ‘Hungry’ · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

As Global Voices reported, some netizens say they will vote for the incumbent president during November 6 elections in Tajikistan because a “full leader is better than a hungry one”. Reflecting on this, Salimi Aioubzod suggests [tj] it is “sad” that voters in the country are more concerned about how “full” or “hungry” a presidential candidate is than about the candidate's platform. Yet the blogger argues that if the voters wish to know how “full” a candidate is, they have the right to know that:
…[I]t would be good if the Central Commission for Elections and Referendums of Tajikistan (CCERT) demanded that all presidential candidates declare their annual income and its sources…
Making public a candidate's income and its origins, their movables and real assets, and their bank accounts will allow [the voters] to see whether the candidate is “full” or “hungry”…

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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The 16-year-old Saudi who is Fighting in Syria · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

Since the civil war has broken in Syria, various Jihadist groups have been trying to attract young people to join their armies. The continuous reported footage of massacres over that period has provided an intense tool to mobilize thousands of ultraconservatives to join these groups; and Saudi Arabia has been one of the major sources of Jihadist fighters.
Moath, after arriving to Syria. via @twit_rima
Last week, one particular story received major attention within the Saudi Twittersphere when a 16-year-old, Moath al-Hamili, arrived to Syria to join these groups. Moath is the son of Reema al-Jourish, who has been known for her very active role in opposing the arbitrary imprisonment of her husband, Abdullah al-Hamili, who has been imprisoned for 10 years without a court ruling. In fact, a judge issued a release order for him, but he was kept imprisoned. Back in February, al-Jourish was one of the women who participated in a very publicized sit-in, before they were arrested and imprisoned for weeks. Her family's house was under siege, and her children were prohibited from contacting anyone. Moath was also arrested when he demanded the release of his mother.
On Wednesday, al-Jourish tweeted [ar]:
#نفير_معاذ_الهاملي الحمدالله الذي بنعمته تتم الصالحات ابشركم بوصول ابني معاذ لشام اسأل الله لناوله الثبات pic.twitter.com/gGg4jDCJZq
— ريما الجريش (@twit_rima) September 25, 2013
@twit_rima: Thank you, Allah, for all of your blessings. My son, Moath, has arrived to Syria. I ask Allah to give him strength.
She continued:
ابني أوذي في بلاد الحرمين بسبب نصرته للمعتقلين فلن اسلمة لقمة سائغة للطواغيت فأرض العزة أرحم به .. #نفير_معاذ_الهاملي
— ريما الجريش (@twit_rima) September 25, 2013
@twit_rima: My son has been harassed within [Saudi Arabia] for supporting prisoners. I would not let him be taken easily by the tyrants. The land of dignity and glory is more merciful for him.
al-Hayat newspaper published a short story [ar] about her, in which it stated:
وقالت: «اتصلت بي مندوبة من وزارة الداخلية اسمها أم محمد، كانت تحذرني من ابني معاذ».
She said: “A representative from the Interior Ministry whose name was Um Mohammad was warning me from my son, Moath.”
al-Jourish responded to the story by tweeting:
جريدة الحياة رتبو الكلام على مايريدون وليعلم الصحفي اني سجلت الاتصال اولا مندوبة الداخليه لم تحذرني من .. ابني بل هددتني به وقالت سوف يكون بجانب والده بسجن وهددتني بإبنتي ماريه ذات ١٣ عام وقالت سوف تخسرين ابنائك..ايضا اخبرت ان ذهاب ابني لسوريا احب الي من سجون المباحث لانه راى اثار التعذيب وسمع من والده ماحصل له داخل السجون…فلا اريد ان تتكرر مأسات والده من جديد يذهب الى ارض العزة ويستنشق هواء الحريه احب الي من سجون المباحث وتعذيب..ايضالم تذكر الصحيفه ان المباحث تضايقني وتحاول جاهده ان تمارس علي صنوف التعذيب النفسي ولم تذكران زوجي صدر بحقه افراج [1][2][3][4][5]
Al-Hayat newspaper reported my statements the way they wanted. I want to let the journalist know that I have recorded the phone call. First of all, the Interior [Ministry] representative did not warn me from my son, but rather threatened me. She said that he would be next to his father in the prison. She also threatened me by mentioning my daughter. She said that I would lose them. I also told [her] that I prefer having my son in Syria to having him in prisons of the secret police. He has witnessed the effects of torture and he heard from his father what had happened to him in prison. I do not want the tragedy of his father to be repeated. I prefer having him in the land of dignity and breathing freedom than being in the prisons of the secret police under torture. The newspaper didn't also mention that the secret police also harasses me and tries to psychologically torture me. It didn't also mention that my husband has a release order.
The Twittersphere reaction was mixed. Jihadist sympathizers were excited about the news and took it as a chance to encourage more young people to join the battle. On the other hand, so many people accused the mother of recklessness and endangering the life of her son.
Nada A writes:
ليس أسوأ من أم ترسل ابنها للموت بإسم جهاد مزعوم الا من يصفق لها! الى اين نسير ؛( #نفير_معاذ_الهاملي
— Nada.A (@nada0075) September 25, 2013
Worse than a woman who sends her child to die in the so-called Jihad are those who cheer for her. Where are we going?!
Several of those who had previously participated in peaceful political action have turned into these violent, ultraconservative groups after they had been arrested and sentenced to prison. Currently-imprisoned member of the defiant Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) Mohammad al-Qahtani has even reported that the Interior Ministry encourages prisoners to go fight in Syria:
فضيحة جديدة لوزارة الداخلية #السعودية عرضت على بعض الشباب الموقوفين على خلفية المظاهرات الموافقة على الذهاب للقتال في سوريا مقابل العفو #حسم
— Mohammad Al-Qahtani (@MFQahtani) January 30, 2013
@MFQahtani: A new scandal for the Saudi Interior Ministry: They offered to release some young prisoners who were arrested for demonstrating if they agreed to go to fight in Syria.
Furthermore, ACPRA member Abdullah al-Hamid has also reported similar incidences by judges:
قالت أم محمد الطلق: الذي قتل في سورية( في خطابها للملك)القاضي الحسني نهى ابني وزملاءه ال١٩عن المظاهرات وحرضهم قتال الشيعة هناك!!
— د. عبدالله الحامد (@Abubelal_1951) February 25, 2013
@Abubelal_1951: The mother of Mohammad al-Talaq, who was killed in Syria, said in her letter to the king: Judge al-Husni warned my son and his 19 fellow demonstrators from demonstrating and incited them to fight the Shiite there [in Syria]!

author: Anas Soliman


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Breaking Taboos: Tunisians Speak Up Against Homophobia  · Global Voices
Ahmed Medien

Many Tunisians took to their keyboards to lash out against homophobia after the country hosted its first conference on homosexuality. The conference was held on Friday (September 27, 2013), at the Ministry of Human Rights in the capital Tunis. It was led by psychology experts and leading Tunisian sexologist, Haithem Sherif. On Twitter, the hashtag #TnGay was trending. It ranked fifth, two spots behind Justin Bieber. Close call.
A screenshot of Twitter trending topics on Saturday (Sept 28).
Not to be confused, the role of the conference was to study “family perspectives with regards to early-age homosexuality.” The conference organizers asserted the event was not to diss homosexuality, but rather to open debate. The experts wanted to navigate with the attendees whether families play an active role in shaping the sexual orientation of their young children. Unfortunately, the Facebook page, set up for the event and which was quickly populated with comments and posts about the topic, was deleted a few hours after the end of the conference.
This did not stop Tunisians from expressing their opinion on the topic. Many turned to Twitter to vent off. Blogger Emna El Hammi tweets in disbelief [fr]:
Une conférence homophobe au ministère des droits de l'Homme. On aura tout vu dans ce pays. #Tunisie #TnGay
— Emna EL HAMMI (@Psycke) September 27, 2013
A homophobic conference at the ministry of human rights. We have seen it all in this country.
#TnGay: La “normalité” consisterait à se sentir bien dans sa peau et dans sa tête, dans une société équilibrée et TOLERANTE
@dahkys shares her perspective of what “normal” is:
— dyks (@dahkys) September 28, 2013
The “normal” is to feel good about oneself and live in a balanced, tolerant society.
Another Tunisian twitter user has different views
Vous allez un peu trop loin quand même, on est un pays MUSULMAN !! #TnGay
And Mocking Jay asks Tunisians to remember where they are:
— Mocking Jay (@Sonia_Tounes) September 27, 2013
You're going way too far here. This is a MUSLIM country.
The conference featured a video about early-age homosexuality, featuring Tunisia's Minister of Human Rights and Transitional Justice Samir Dilou. Monia Ben Hamadi quotes Dilou as saying:
Dilou: Dans un Etat arabe dont la religion est l'Islam, la famille est un homme, une femme et des enfants #TnGay
— Monia Ben Hamadi (@MoniaBH) September 27, 2013
Dilou: In an Arab country whose religion is Islam, family is a man, a woman and their children.
Dilou reiterated his views about homosexuality. Early in 2012 and only a few months after he was sworn in as minister, he referred to homosexuality, on a Tunisian talk show, as “psychological perverseness that ought to be treated.” Those statements have stirred outrage from LGBT groups in Tunisia at the time.
Other Twitter users lashed out on Islamist leaders, and their stance on homosexuality. Morsi Chaari tweets [fr]:
Les DH des islamistes c'est le droit à la pitié, la clémence, la compréhension, la non violence… à un traitement medical. #TnGay
— Morsi CHAARI (@MorsiChaari) September 27, 2013
The human rights of Islamists is the right to pity, clemency, understanding, non-violence….a medical treatment.
The conference also helped some LGBT rights advocacy Twitter users rise to prominence. @TNLGBT who was also present at the conference did not miss out the opportunity to react with those who were curious about the conference or had different opinions. These Twitter users still withhold their anonymity due to public pressure and state harassment of homosexual practices.
It is hard to recapture the overall reaction over social media regarding such a topic, which is still taboo in Tunisia. Global Voices Online spoke to Tunisia Live journalist Farah Samti, who attended the conference, and who writes frequently about the topic. We asked her if the conference was successful in stirring any kind of meaningful debate around the topic. She did not think so.
“I think the purpose behind holding such a conference was probably to try to show that the topic is being addressed and that it's no longer a taboo. But it wasn't particularly efficient or useful. It was one-sided and the speakers did not answer questions of those who opposed their views,” she replied on Facebook.
Is the topic being addressed enough, one might wonders. Can social media be effective platforms for such debate?
“Absolutely not. People are still scared, obviously. And that's why it's hard to speak for the LGBTQ community itself. And, that's why social media is the main way to speak their minds,” asserts Samti.

author: Ahmed Medien


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Video: Anti-fascist Solidarity from Turkey to Greece · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

“We made this video to tell you we are with us. We had nothing more in mind.”
A moving video with testimonials of anti-fascist solidarity from Turkish activists in the memory of Greek rapper Pavlos Fyssas, slain by neonazis in Athens last month, was uploaded on YouTube, subtitled in Greek. The video was set to a dirge written by Turkish composer Zülfü Livaneli and Greek lyricist Lefteris Papadopoulos, and performed by famous Greek singer and political Maria Farandouri, an icon of the struggle against the Greek military junta in the late 60's.

author: Asteris Masouras


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What Singapore Can Learn from Myanmar · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited Singapore where she attended a leadership summit aside from meeting her compatriots in the prosperous city state. During a press forum, Suu Kyi praised Singapore’s economic success but she also warned against the impact of materialism:
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi meets Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Image from Facebook
…what is work all about? What are human beings for? What are human lives about?
So I think perhaps Singapore could learn from us, a more relaxed way of life, perhaps warmer and closer relationships. I want to learn a lot from the standards that Singapore has been able to achieve but I wonder whether we want something more for our country.
Bertha Henson reacts:
We should do some furious thinking and soul searching.
Are we just a money-grubbing nation, efficiently churning out digits for the future workplace? Are we all about the Central Business District skyline? Is that really how other people see us? As calculative individuals who do not put much stock in human relationships?
Wonderpeace agrees with Suu Kyi:
Ms Aung acknowledged that material achievement is necessary to a certain extent to enable us to be free from want.  However, there are many intangible things which material achievement could not provide –  love, loyalty and spirituality…so many things that helped us survive that had little to do with material achievement.  She summed up that S'pore could learn from Myanmar a more relaxed way of life, warmer and closer family relationships.
Xuyun reminds Singapore leaders to go beyond the GDP in measuring quality of life:
Aung San Suu Kyi simply pricked the bubble of our materialistic minds, exposing our emptiness beyond that magnificent façade which we built our self-esteem on and from which defines our success.
(GDP) should not be pursued to the extent of reducing quality of life for the majority of the people in the process. And GDP alone does not define the spirit and the soul of a nation.
I may not guess what exactly Aung San Suu Kyi wants for her country. But it should be closer to the heart and further from the pockets.
On Twitter, @OccupySG echoed the message of Suu Kyi:
Aung San Suu Kyi says #Singapore to be too stressful and overly concentrated on materialistic achievements.
— Occupy Singapore (@occupysg) September 24, 2013


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“Without Papers You Are Nobody” in Kyrgyzstan · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Hundreds of people living in Kyrgyzstan do not have the country's identity documents. This makes these people ‘invisible’ to the authorities, as Diana Rahmanova writes [ru]:
In essence, you can say, “Here I am. I exist. I live. Here. Here is my body, my face. Look at me. I am not lying!”.
But these statements are of little help when you encounter any state institution, such as a hospital, police, or school…
As they say, without papers you are nobody. You are “invisible”, you do not exist!
The blogger also posts presentations and videos (in Russian) from a recent event focusing on the problems of people without identity documents in the country.


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Central African Republic: “Don’t Forget About Us!” · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

The Central African conflict between the Central African government and Seleka rebels has worsened alarmingly since December 2012. After months of conflict, Seleka rebels announced the taking of the presidential palace on March 24, 2013. President François Bozizé is taking refuge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Michel Djotodia, head of the rebellion, has named himself president of the Central African Republic. Several attempts by rebels to integrate have failed and the Seleka has been officially disbanded. Nevertheless, the ex-rebels continue to act ruthlessly in the region, looting and pillaging any town they pass through with impunity.
Humanitarian crisis
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic in certain towns, especially in the interior. The abuses of power committed by the rebels are making people angry. Camille Mandaba [fr], a resident of Bangui, described a rebel operation which was “presented as a disarmament operation”:
Ils m'ont mis à genoux, menacé de leur arme avant de piller mon domicile. L'argent, les matelas, la télévision, les vivres, les téléphones, le réfrigérateur, tout a été emporté.
The Right Reverend Nongo-Aziagbia [fr], Bishop of the town Bossangoa, also witnessed crimes by the ex-rebels who sometimes claimed to be representing the forces of law and order:
“La dignité humaine a été complètement bafouée. De part et d’autre, les exactions qui sont commises sont vraiment effroyables.”
Rebels in the CAR via wikipedia CC-BY-2.0
In the countryside, the abuses were even crueller. An image taken by United States satellite showed the destruction of entire villages:
Centrafrique @ONU_RCA Les satellites américains ne pouvaient filmer que les villages brulés de Bossangoa.Rien sur LRA pic.twitter.com/htIYOYdBuD
— ewalifete (@frugalisorg) September 24, 2013
A report from Human Rights Watch [fr] revealed more than 1,000 houses destroyed in at least 34 villages as well as summary executions:
Les premiers ont quitté leurs maisons, cinq d'entre eux, et ont été regroupés sous un arbre … ils étaient attachés ensemble par les bras. Ils ont ensuite été tués par balle l'un après l'autre.
The conflict spared no-one. Even children were recruited in the armed groups, as shown in this photo of a child soldier:
Centrafrique: Situation épouvantable dans le pays, les rebelles sélékas sont hors … – http://t.co/4XS1S5LVSQ pic.twitter.com/Il1y3Mzs9o
— Thierry Barbaut (@TBarbaut) June 28, 2013
Systematic Looting and Destruction
Several observers have suggested the conflict is becoming a battle between Christians and Muslims. The tension between the Christian civilians and the rebels, for the most part Muslim, has certainly been increased, but other observers believe that the conflict is more economic than religious in nature. Thierry Vircoulon, Central African specialist with the International Crisis Group (ICG) stated that:
la Séléka ne sont pas venus convertir les Centrafricains, ils sont venus les voler. Cela n'a rien à voir avec ce qui s'est passé au Mali.
An unnamed resident [fr] shared this point of view:
Les patrons militaires de la rébellion n'ont jamais eu l'ambition de reconstruire le pays. Ils savent qu'ils n'ont pas vocation à durer alors ils considèrent Bangui comme un butin
Beatrice Epaye [fr], ex-Member of Parliament, and now a Member of the National Transition Council, despaired of the catastrophic situation in the country:
Nous sommes les oubliés de l’Afrique, même ce conflit a été oublié. Mon appel c’est qu’on ne nous oublie pas. Il ne faut qu’on nous laisse nous entretuer et on en est déjà arrivés là.

author: Rakotomalala


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China: Netizens’ Reaction to Inheritance Tax Proposal · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese netizens expressed their discontent on the draft inheritance tax law as the proposed exclusion starts rather low at RMB 800,000 yuan. Instead of balancing the wealth gap, netizens believed that the new law is to steal money from the working middle class. More from Offbeat China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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“Lesbianism” and “War Games”: Russian Internet Censorship Continues · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

E-textbook “Lesbianism for Children.” An art piece hosted by counter-culture website Looo.ch. Screenshot.
Two months ago the Russian government activated a new weapon in its war on Internet freedom — a broadly framed anti-piracy law [Global Voices report] that makes it extremely easy to shut down any online resource on claims of copyright infringement. For now, this law has been exclusively used by copyright owners [ru] to target Russian torrent websites and filesharing forums [Global Voices report], making it harder for Russians to watch Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. Other websites, however, can still run afoul of proper censorship from Roskomnadzor, the agency that runs Russia's Internet blacklist registry.
Looo.ch [ru, NSFW], a counter-culture art blog and media platform with niche content and readership (its front page features male genitalia wrapped in a string of pearls and a young girl aiming a gun at her mouth) is the most recent victim of a Russian law banning the propaganda of homosexuality. It was presumably blocked for hosting an art project: two multimedia “textbooks” [ru, NSFW] titled “Homosexuality for Children” and “Lesbianism for Children,” which are meant to be a “satire of Russian homophobia” and contain erotic photos and texts explaining why homosexuality is “great.” Looo.ch itself says [ru] on their Facebook page that they received no reason for being included in the “forbidden websites” registry on September 19, 2013, and called on their users to access the website through TOR. Being on the blacklist means that Russian ISPs are obligated to block access to the website in question.
While the blocking of Looo.ch itself could have gone largely unnoticed, Roskomnadzor was hoisted by their own petard, cutting off internet access to SquareSpace [ru], a hosting platform similar to WordPress that hosts Looo.ch. Confusion over IP addresses of hosters and websites is a constant issue with the blacklist — Roskomnadzor has previously blocked entire websites over a single infringing page. Because of the latest blanket block thousands of websites (26,439 according to looo.ch) were cut off from the Russian market until the issue was resolved. Looo.ch and its “homosexuality propaganda” only gained in notoriety as a result, thinks [ru] nationalist blogger Egor Prosvirnin:
был сайт для леворадикальной интеллигенции с дневной посещаемостью в районе 3000 человек, такое развлечение для узкого круга. Теперь же пресловутый “Учебник гомосексуализма” висит на главной Хабрахабра (и тысяч новостных сайтов и блогов с аудиторией в миллионы посетителей), а 26 000 добропорядочных площадок, включая чисто коммерческие, блокированы в России, при этом файл с “Учебником” гуглится за секунду.
there was a website for radical-leftist intelligentsia with daily visits of around 3,000 people, a diversion for a narrow audience. Now the above mentioned “Homosexuality Textbook” is on the front page of [Russian tech blog] Habrahabr (and a thousand other news websites and blogs with an audience of millions), and 26,000 law-abiding websites [hosted by SquareSpace], including purely commercial ones, are blocked in Russia. At the same time the “Textbook” file can be instantaneously found through Google.
Increasing instances of down-times like this are prompting some websites to take pro-active measures. In mid-September users of the popular free internet depository of pirated books (real books this time, not kinky art-pieces), Flibusta.net (see this Global Voices report for more on Russian pirate libraries), found that they couldn't read or download any books through a regular web-browser. Instead they were taken to a sparse webpage [ru] that said “War games in progress” at the top.
What readers of flibusta.net saw when trying to download a book. Screenshot.
The page explained:
Уже принятые и еще запланированные законы против интернета в России так или иначе касаются каждого пользователя. И каждый должен уметь обходить цензуру и блокировки. Наряду с обычным интернетом существуют распределенные анонимные сети I2P и TOR. Их не так просто поставить под контроль. Самое время научиться ими пользоваться.
Anti-Internet laws already passed or in the planning stages in Russia in some ways affect all users. Every person should know how to counter censorship and blocks. Along with the regular Internet there are the anonymous webs of I2P and TOR. They aren't as easily controlled [by the government]. It's high time to learn how to use them.
The page, which remained in effect for several weeks, gave I2P and TOR addresses for Flibusta, as well as links to FAQs [ru] on how to install, configure and use the programs. Essentially, Flibusta has made the attempt to train their audience to become internet-savvy, an educated and sophisticated force of rule-breakers. Of course, people complained about the added bother — not the least because the TOR network was slow at the time [ru] on account of a bot-net problem.
There are plenty of online libraries to choose from, and because of that Flibusta probably lost users who preferred to take the easy way out. Since the new anti-piracy law only targets distribution of pirated video, Russian book pirates are safe from censorship for the moment, unlike artists creating avant-garde art. However, Flibusta's militaristic metaphor is apt — as the steady encroachment on Russian Internet freedoms continues, more people are going to feel like they are at war with the government. In the future they will probably react more positively when a grizzled Internet-wars veteran hands them a shovel and says: “This is as far as they come. Help me dig this trench, son.”

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Online Tool to Review Candidates Platforms in Madagascar  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Malagasy website Madatsara created a comparison website to review every presidential candidates platforms [fr]. The platforms were categorized into 9 main topics to help citizens make an informed decision during the elections. The presidential election is set to commence on October 25, 2013 :
Review of all candidates platforms for 2013 elections by Madatsara (with permission)


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PHOTOS: Life Inside Myanmar · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

College graduates leaving a beauty salon. Meiktila, 2013
Award-winning photographer Geoffrey Hiller first visited Myanmar in 1987; and he was ‘haunted’ by what he saw in the country:
After a frenetic trip, it wasn’t so much the monks and pagodas that haunted me, but the faces of the Burmese, painted in white, often smiling. I wanted to find out more about who they really were, plagued by a corrupt government and international sanctions.
He has since then returned to Myanmar several times and he witnessed the changes that have taken place in the country in recent years:
I returned yet again in 2013. My camera focused on capturing daily life, from the cramped streets of the colonial capital of Yangon, to dusty markets in Mandalay, to Muslims in Meikhtila, and river life in Pathein.
The face of Yangon has already changed, with new building construction and imported cars.
He plans to publish a book through a Kickstarter project that would include his photographs documenting life inside Myanmar from 1987 through the recent historic transition. The book, Burma in Transition, would also feature photos of Meiktila which Hiller visited before riots erupted in the town:
After my experience in this peaceful town, the news reports about the fighting and killing and burning of homes is unbelievable to me. I had talked with dozens of residents of Meiktila, both Buddhists and Muslims, and I never would have guessed such violence would erupt
Pledge to the book project can be made through Kickstarter until October 9.
Dalah, 2011
Woman smoking cheroot, Mandalay, 1987
A building in Yangon, 2012
A young man holding a photograph of Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her father, General Aung San. Yangon Ferry, 2012
Women workers in Meiktila, 2013
*All photos by Geoffrey Hiller

author: Mong Palatino


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Should Japan’s Children Be Reading This Comic About a Hiroshima A-Bomb Survivor? · Global Voices
Yuko Aoyagi

A watch stopped at 8:15 in the morning when atomic bomb was dropped. Taken at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum by Flickr user Fidel Ramos (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
One Japanese city's attempt to restrict access in school libraries to “Barefoot Gen“, a comic book series that illustrates the story of a boy named “Gen” who is a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima city in 1945, has thrust the book into the spotlight.
Mainstream media revealed on August 16, 2013 that the elementary and middle schools in Matsue city, the capital of Shinema Prefecture in the westernmost region of Japan's main island, had been restricting children's access [ja] to “Barefoot Gen” without teacher's permission since December 2012 on the request of the city's Board of Education.
After the news broke, the city received more than 2,200 letters of protests and opinions from all over the nation. The teacher's union also requested the the restriction order should be withdrawn. Following intense scrutiny, the city's Board of Education decided to take back [ja] the call for limited access at a special meeting on August 26, 2013, saying that decision should be made in schools, and that the process was not appropriate.
Comic books, known as “manga”, are usually considered distracting for students in school, and so most Japanese elementary and middle schools have very few in their libraries.
However, the “Barefoot Gen” series is a well-known exception. The series, which was published from 1973 to 1985, is based on the experience of the author Keiji Nakazawa, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. School libraries have featured the comic since the 1980s so that children can learn about the brutality of atomic bombs and the importance of peace. Children without wartime experience are often shocked by the horrible scenes and stories of war by reading the comic book freely available in schools.
The story goes like this: On the morning of August 6, 1945, the lives of people of Hiroshima, including that of 7-year-old protagonist Gen and his family, suddenly change when an atomic bomb is dropped to the city. Under the debris amid the raging flames, his younger brother cries for help, “Brother! Are you going away? It's not fair, not fair! It's hot!” His pregnant mother, after trying to rescue her burning family in vain, begins to laugh frantically. Many people are wandering the city with their burnt skin melted and hanging off. After the war, Gen and other survivors are faced with multiple hardships – serious food shortages, terrible discrimination against atomic bomb victims, gangs exploiting orphans, and atomic bomb aftereffects. The series can be shockingly tragic, such as when Gen feeds the milk he has gone through much trouble to acquire to his baby sister, and feed the milk only to be spilled out from her dead mouth.
Author Nakazawa said [ja] he “toned down the depiction from extremely harsh reality ” for readers. Yet, many readers say that vivid depiction of atomic horrors found in the comic book cause trauma or nightmares.
In August 2012, the request to restrict access to the book started with a citizen petition submitted to the Matsue city government, arguing that the comic book should be removed from school libraries because “the book offers the wrong version of history”.
In the last volume of the book, Gen explicitly accuses the emperor and the Japanese government of being responsible for aggression, blaming their conduct during wartime. Also in the comic book, there are scenes in which a character opposes singing the national anthem. The national anthem signifies the emperor, and the atomic bomb survivor directs his anger toward the emperor as a war criminal.
In December 2012, the petition was turned down by the Matsue city council, but the city's Board of Education requested for restricted access because they considered the comic's depiction of post-atomic Hiroshima “too extreme”.
Interpretations of wartime history are not unanimous among Japanese. Some believe that the war was not aggression, but was for the liberation of fellow Asian nations that were oppressed under Western imperialism. The petition organizer considered the Gen plots to be un-educational, disrespectful to the emperor and unpatriotic.
Children reading comic books at Hiroshima city library of comic books. Taken by Flickr user Ryan Latta (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Support for limited access
Nationalist blogger Boyakikokkuri, who also boycotts Chinese products, wrote [ja] in support of withdrawing the book from school libraries because he think that the book advocates a “distorted” interpretation of the history:
今回は残虐な描写のみが問題にされたようですが、それよりも、「日本軍がアジアで3000万人以上の人を残酷に殺した」とか、朝鮮人を“強制連行”したとか、支那軍お得意の「三光作戦」を日本軍がやったと断定するなど史実に反するセリフ、また、君が代斉唱を妨害したり、天皇を「殺人者」「戦争犯罪者」と呼ぶなど極端に偏った思想が語られていることの方が、大きな問題ではないでしょうか。 […]まだ判断力のつかない子供たちが、偏った歴史観や思想を刷りこまれないかと心配です。
It seems that this time that the Board of Education [of Matsue City] took the shocking illustrations of wartime into consideration, and thus opted to withdraw it. But I think there are bigger issues with this comic book. It writes that the Japanese army brutally killed more than 30 million people in Asia, and that Japan had abducted Koreans, and The Burn to Ash Strategy was operated by Japan but not by China. Calling the Japanese emperor a killer and war criminal is obviously such extreme, distorted thinking. […] I am concerned that such depictions would give children the wrong perception of history and ideas, especially when they are yet to make their own judgement.
Some think that making the comic book available in school is problematic. A comment by Twitter user Feynman Leighton wrote:
はだしのゲンは普通にR指定かZ指定(18禁)な漫画なのだから、子供に読ませようとする大人、それも、教育効果を狙って読ませようとする大人は、その時点で教育センスが無い。そもそも教育のために漫画読ませようとする発想が貧困。— FeynmanLeighton (@Feynman_L) August 26, 2013
I think Barefoot Gen should be R-rated, or should be restricted to those over 18 years old. Adults who wish to make children read such books, especially for educational purposes, I think have no taste in education at all. It's such a poor idea to make children read comic books for education.
Journalist Atsushi Matsumoto wrote in his column [ja] on ddnavi.com, a platform of commercial e-books:
残虐な表現やあるいは性的な表現についてはどうでしょうか？ […] 幅広い年齢の子供達が利用することになり、また蔵書点数に限りがある学校図書館に、どのような内容の本が備わっているべきか、は吟味されるべきです。 […]『はだしのゲン』だけに限った話ではなく、広く図書全般について、どのような本を備え、どのように読んでもらうのか、今回問題となったクローズドな形ではなく、オープンに議論し、検討が続いていくべきではないかと考えています。
How should we approach the expressions of violence or sexual depictions in books? […] School libraries have limited storage, and have users of a broad range of age. We should carefully consider what kind of books should be listed in such a place. […] The controversy is not limited to Barefoot Gen. We should have an open discussion on library books in general, and what kind of books should be stored and be read by children.
An education in war and peace
Twelve-year-old popular blogger Fūka Haruna commented on Twitter that children should decide for themselves whether to read the book:
はだしのゲンがいい本か悪い本かは、人による（ω）戦争を伝えるために読むべきだとおもう人もいれば、ﾄﾗｳﾏになるから読まない方がいいとおもう人もいる（ω）でも、それはおとなが決めていいことじゃなく、本を手に取るぼくたち自身が、決めること
— はるかぜちゃん✿春名風花 (@harukazechan) August 16, 2013
Whether the comic book Barefoot Gen is good or bad depends on the individual. Some think it's good to tell the story of war, others think it's bad because it can traumatize you. But the decision to read the book or not should be decided by us, the individual children who take up the book. Not how adults think it should be.
Hirotada Ototake, a former teacher and author who was born without arms and legs due to a genetic disorder, was cynical:
俺も松江市だと、「容姿が過激で、子どもが見るには不適切」とモザイクかけられちゃうのかな。
— 乙武 洋匡 (@h_ototake) August 19, 2013
I guess my appearance would be considered “too extreme for children” in Matsue City, and they'd limit access to viewing my picture, would they?
Social bookmarking service Hatena user fulci commented[ja] that the comic book would support education on the importance of peace because it illustrates the shocking consequences of the atomic bomb:
ケロイドまみれの人とかヒロポン中毒者とか、発達期の子供が読むとトラウマになる描写ばっかだからいいんじゃん。おかげで子供ながらに戦争・原爆とか絶対ダメだこれって思えたよ。
I think it's good because it has plenty of traumatic illustrations such as people with burnt blistered skin, methamphetamine addictions. For me as a child, it really made me think that war and atomic bombs are absolutely no good.
Hip Hop musician Utamaru wrote [ja] in Asahi Weekly Magazine:
[…]今の子どもも、少なくとも原爆が投下される前後の部分には触れてほしい。でも先生が読ませるんじゃなくて、小学校3、4年になったとき、うっかり手に取っちゃうところに置いておくのがいいんじゃないかな。
I at least want children of today to come in contact with the before and after of the dropping of the atomic bomb. However, instead of being made to read [Barefoot Gen] by teachers, it might be better to leave it in a place where it could be accidentally picked up and read by kids when the reach the third or fourth grade.
Physicist Makoto Kikuchi argued that there should be no enforcement either way:
「はだしのゲン」は読めっていわれるのも嫌だし、隠せっていわれるのも嫌だ
— 菊池誠 (@kikumaco) August 16, 2013
I don’t like [that people] are being told to read “Barefoot Gen” and I also don’t that [they] are being told to hide it.
Many students visit Hiroshima for school trip. Photo taken at Hiroshia Peace Memorial Park by Flickr user Magalie L'Abbé (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Popularity of “Barefoot Gen” surges
Between August 16 and 18, 2013, there were more than 250,000 tweets both supporting and opposing limiting access to the comic. According to an online poll on Yahoo! Japan[ja] in which more than 150,000 users answered the question, “Is restricting access to the “Barefoot Gen” comic book appropriate?”, 82 percent voted in favor of “no restriction should be made”. An online petition urging access to the book in school libraries collected [ja] more than 15,000 signatures in five days.
The fans of “Barefoot Gen” recommend reading the book regardless of political orientations. Critic Tomofusa Kure [ja] referred [ja] to Barefoot Gen as ” the manga with most unfortunate reader responses”:
「はだしのゲン」は二種類の政治屋たちによって誤解されてきた不幸な傑作だ。二種類の政治屋とは、「はだしのゲン」は反戦反核を訴えた良いマンガだと主張する政治屋と、反戦反核を訴えた悪いマンガだと主張する政治屋である。
“Barefoot Gen” is a unfortunate masterpiece that has been misunderstood by two types of politicians. Of these two types, one claims that “Barefoot Gen” is a good manga for its anti-war/anti-nuclear message. The other claims that it is a bad manga for doing the same thing.
Blogger Kuro pointed out[ja] that the political nature of the book is an “inevitable” given the time period in which the book was written:
[…]それはたとえば平安時代の文学作品に対して「方位や日時の吉凶を気にしてばかりいるのは誤った迷信である」などと批判することが無意味であるのと同様だ。
That’s as meaningless as criticizing a literary work from the Heian era for only focusing on disproved superstitions about auspicious directions and dates.
Anime critic Tsunehira Furuya also pointed out [ja] in his blog that the comic book is historically valuable:
被爆当時、広島市内を撮った写真は当時中国新聞の松重美人記者が残したわずか6枚の写真しかない。当時はカメラ撮影がスパイ行為に当たるとして、写真は厳重な制限があった。[…]当時の実相を伝えるのが最早、証言と絵しかない現在、これを物語にして見せた「はだしのゲン」にどれだけの歴史的意義があるか、計り知れない。
There are merely six pictures left of Hiroshima at the time of the bombing taken by Chugoku Newspaper reporter Yoshihito Matsushige. At that time, taking photos was equivalent to an act of spying and was severely restricted. At present, with only testimonials and photos to convey the true state of affairs at that time, the historical significance of using them to tell a story like “Barefoot Gen” is immeasurable.
Following the controversy, the sales of the comic book rose, both at retails and e-book [ja]. The publisher reprinted an additional 7,000 copies[ja] of each volume, which is three times more than annual copies. It seems more citizens felt that the comic book is a powerful way to tell the horrible story of war to younger generations as the nation commemorates the 68th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.

author: Yuko Aoyagi


text:
South Korea: Travel Writer, Different Culture, and Expat Community · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Occasional blogger, John Bocskay had an interview with travel writer Rolf Potts who championed the famed word ‘vegabond’. Potts, who spent several years in South Korea’s second largest city, Pusan, said:
Every second person at a given expat bar claimed to be a writer or artist, but you never saw much writing or art. It was all very bitter and petty and self-defeating, and I didn’t begin to write about Korea in a meaningful away until I learned to keep that expat crowd (friends and coworkers included) at arm’s-length and experience the city on quieter, more Korean terms.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Global Voices Català Wins at Catalonia Blog Awards · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

Global Voices Català has won [ca] an award at the Catalonia Blog Awards [ca] held annually in Catalonia by the association Societat de Tecnologia i Coneixement (STIC) [ca] (Technology and Knowledge Society) in the category of communications and new media. The awards ceremony was celebrated on September 28th, 2013, where journalist, blogger and Global Voices author Joan Antoni Guerrero Vall collected the prize on behalf of the Catalan team. Congratulations, everyone!
I aquí el guardó que acaba de guanyar @GlobalVoicesCat als #pbc13 un honor recollir-lo en nom d'un gran equip :) pic.twitter.com/PQyfsARlih
— Joan Antoni Guerrero (@joanantoni70) September 28, 2013
Here you are the award Global Voices Catalan just won at the #pbc13. It is an honour to collect on on behalf of a great team :)
The association STIC aims to promote interactivity and innovation within the context of Catalan culture and language by using the new communication and information technologies, with a special sensibility towards education, actions of solidarity that help reduce inequality and the defense of Catalan culture.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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Helping Balochistan Earthquake Victims · Global Voices
Rezwan

More than 300,000 people have been affected in the recent earthquake in six districts of the Balochistan province in Pakistan. Kashif Aziz at Chowrangi provides some info on how to help the Balochistan Earthquake victims.

author: Rezwan