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Latin American Art Show in Italy Promotes Compassion for Refugees and Immigrants · Global Voices
Carlos Esteban Cana

Exposition of migrant art on immigration. Photo used with permission. Photo courtesy Progetto 7LUNE.
The touring exhibition “MigrArte Postale” leaves its visitors feeling far from apathetic. Through the medium of acrylic, oil, collage, digital art and photography, the project explores the issue of immigration with 125 art postcards by 96 artists from 14 countries.
The exhibition is currently being displayed in a variety of locations and cultural events all over Italy. The project was put together by Progetto 7LUNE, a group of volunteers who aim to share contemporary Hispanic-American culture throughout Italy through free digital postcards, readings, poems and cultural events. Each postcard also contains a small poem written by the artist.
Global Voices spoke with Venetian writer and cultural manager Silvia Favaretto, who runs Progretto 7Lune along with her husband Daniele Rubin.
Global Voices (GV): How did MigrArte begin? What was the inspiration behind the project?
Silvia Favaretto (SF): El proyecto ha empezado a raíz de una propuesta de nuestra responsable del sector Artes, Carmen Parada, pintora mexicana, quien nos propuso emitir una convocatoria de Arte Postal (“Mail Art”) y nosotros pensamos que el tema de inmigración era muy urgente y muy necesario para representar.
Silvia Favaretto (SF): It was the leader of our Arts section, Carmen Parada, a Mexican painter, who came up with the idea for the project. She suggested that we do some work based on Mail Art, and we decided that immigration was a very pressing issue that really needed to be represented.
GV: Why did you choose the postcard format?
SF: Las postales de arte cumplen un viaje de miles de kilómetros, ocultadas en las bolsas de postales comunes, para llegar a su destino, exactamente como nuestros hermanos migrantes. No nos resistimos a la metáfora.
SF: Postcards make journeys thousands of miles long, bundled in big post bags in order to get to their destination, just like our migrant brothers and sisters.  We couldn't resist the metaphor.
The exhibition has touched a lot of people. Photo used with permission. Photo courtesy Progetto 7LUNE.
GV: Which countries are represented in the exhibition?
SF: Trece países de Hispanoamérica, y España: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia; Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, México, Venezuela, Uruguay. Nos duele no haber recibido testimonio de artistas de países tan importantes como Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Perú, República Dominicana y Paraguay.
SF: Thirteen countries from Latin America — Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia; Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Mexico, Venezuela, Uruguay — and Spain. It was a shame we didn't receive any testimonies from such important countries as Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Peru, Dominican Republic and Paraguay.
GV: Which places or cultural events has MigrArte been displayed at?
SF: En muchos festivales de Venecia y otras ciudades italianas, por ejemplo el Festival delle arti della Giudecca, la Rassegna Isole in rete, el Foro mundial de los jóvenes en Trieste, etc. Todavía las exposiciones no se han concluido y vamos a aceptar distintas propuestas.
SF: In many festivals in Venice and other Italian cities, such as the Festival of Arts in Giudecca, the Rassegna Isole in rete, the World Youth Forum in Trieste, etc. The exhibitions aren't over yet, and we are still accepting suggestions.
GV: What did you use to put up the exhibition? One hundred and twenty-five postcards is a considerable amount. What materials were involved?
SF: Según las posibilidades del sitio que nos hospedaba, colgamos las postales con pinzas a unas sogas, como ropa tendida o bien utilizamos una artesanía de mi papá, Maurizio Favaretto, un ‘árbol migrante’, colgando las postales como hojas. No tenemos financiaciones, con lo cual nos adaptamos a las necesidades con los medios que tenemos y la buena voluntad.
SF: Depending on the place hosting us, we would hang up the postcards using clothespins on pieces of rope like a clothes line; or we would use a ‘migrant tree,’ a sculpture made by my father, Maurizio Favaretto, with the postcards hanging like leaves. We don't receive funding, we adapt to what is needed using what we have available and people's good will.
GV: What has been the public's reaction to the postcards?
SF: Fue maravilloso verlo: Asombro, curiosidad y felicitaciones han sido la costumbre.
SF: It's been wonderful to see: mostly amazement, curiosity and congratulations.
GV: Some people might have reservations in addressing such a complex and current issue as what's presented in the postcards. What would you say to them?
SF: Nosotros, al revés, pensamos que las imágenes que muestran en el telediario, los niños muertos, los barcos repletos de humanidad desesperada no son eficaces en la comunicación de un mensaje de tolerancia e integración. Son imágenes frustrantes y tristes, algunas veces repulsivas. Al contrario las postales, que atraen la mirada por sus colores y formas, invitan a una reflexión, abren la conciencia, convocan a ser hermanos y acoger.
SF: We don't believe that the images on the news of dead children and boats full of despairing people are effective in communicating a message of tolerance and integration. The images are frustrating and sad, sometimes even repulsive. The postcards, on the other hand, attract attention because of their colors and shapes and they invite you to reflect, they open your mind, they encourage us to welcome one another with open arms.
The directors of Progetto 7LUNE, Daniele Rubin and Silvia Favaretto, together with vice-director Sarah Grimaldi. Photo courtesy Progetto 7LUNE.
GV: Did Progetto 7LUNE receive any sort of financial support to make MigrArte Postale possible?
SF: Ninguno. Lo cual nos dificulta al momento de aceptar invitaciones a ciudades que están lejos pues todo viaje lo pagamos con nuestros sueldos de profesores de secundaria y empleados.
SF: None, which did make it difficult to accept invitations for cities which are far away as we use our own wages as school teachers to pay for our trips.
GV: What are your future plans for this touring exhibition?
SF: Llegar a todos los lugares que podamos alcanzar con nuestros medios y a lo mejor encontrar financiación para editar un catálogo en papel y poder pagar los gastos de envío a cada uno de los 97 artistas participantes.
SF: To visit all the places we can with the resources we have, and perhaps find funding to make a paper catalog and be able to afford the costs to send them to each of the 97 participating artists.
GV: Is there an online space where people from all corners of the world can see MigrArte Postale and learn more about who's involved?
SF: Claro, tenemos un sitio, un blog, y un enlace en el que se puede descargar gratuitamente el catálogo virtual.
SF: Of course, we have a website, a blog and a link where you can download the virtual catalog for free.
GV: What is Progetto 7Lune aspiring to do with this project?
SF: El Progetto 7LUNE aspira a difundir el arte, la poesía, en general la cultura hispanoamericana contemporánea en Italia. Creemos que el arte que se está creando en América Latina merece ser conocida por acá, por su energía positiva, su atrevimiento, su fuerza.
SF: Progetto 7Lune is hoping to share contemporary Hispanic-American art, poetry and culture in Italy. We believe that the art which is being created in Latin America deserves to be known over here, for its positive energy, its boldness, its strength.
GV: Can Art — with a capital A — change lives? Stir consciences? And as a result, make the world a better place for everyone?
SF: Claro. El arte es belleza y conocimiento, representación de nuestros miedos y deseos. Los miedos y los deseos son los que más profundamente mueven al ser humano hacia un cambio. La conmoción es un arma poderosa hacia el cambio. La única arma por la que vale la pena apostar.
SF: Of course. Art is beauty and knowledge, a reflection of our fears and desires. Fear and desire is what most deeply moves a human being to make changes. Shock is a powerful weapon towards change. The only weapon worth making a bet on.

author: Carlos Esteban Cana


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At Japan’s Cafe de Monk, Tsunami Survivors Can Get Coffee, Cake and a Sympathetic Ear · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Taio Kaneta with his signature “Cafe de Monk” truck that he uses for his pop-up cafes. As a Buddhist monk, Kaneta wanted to offer something special to those still reeling from the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Credit: Naomi Gingold. Used with PRI's permission
This article and radio report by Naomi Gingold for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on October 23, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
When the triple disaster of a tsunami, earthquake and nuclear meltdown struck Japan in March 2011, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people were upended.
Taio Kaneta tells me it’s almost like they went into shock. “People lost their ability to feel, they became emotionless. It’s like their hearts froze to the point where they couldn't even cry.”
Kaneta is a Buddhist monk, and on this day, we’re driving out to one of the temporary housing facilities setup after the disaster. In Japan, Buddhist monks usually do funerals and deal with the bereaved. After the disaster, they and other religious practitioners were overwhelmed — not just by the number of people affected, but by how to attend to so many who’d lost so much.
Kaneta says he started volunteering, giving out food, but he began to think, anyone can do this — what can I do as a Buddhist monk do that others can't?
The solution was not simple, though. Kaneta notes that people in the disaster areas were suffering in different ways. They have different religious backgrounds and values, and most Japanese are secular, almost suspicious of anything that smacks of religion.
So he thought, “You’ve got to improvise, like in jazz. The base of what we do doesn't change. But you’ve got to groove with it.”
Kaneta, who is also a musician, says he wanted to create a place where people’s emotions could start to thaw. That’s how the charismatic monk began traveling around the area, setting up a rotating, pop-up café that he called “Café de Monk.”
The name is meant to be a triple entendre.
For starters, he is a monk. But the word ‘monku’ in Japanese means to complain.
“It’s like, let it out to the monks. We will share your burden,” he says. And in the background he plays Thelonius Monk.
At Cafe de Monk, coffee, cake, and a sympathetic ear. Credit: Naomi Gingold. Used with PRI's permission
On this day, Café de Monk has popped up at the Yokoyama temporary housing facility in Miyagi prefecture. Three other young monks join in; sometimes religious practitioners from other faiths come too. It’s casual, but there are a few ground rules.
For one, religion is not really on the table. Kaneta says they aren't there to preach.
“On the contrary, our job is to listen,” he says. “We draw out their suffering, sadness, happiness. Really listen.”
That kind of attention and care to their emotions and their stories is the first step they need to be able to stand on their own two feet again.
Visitors to the café eat cake, drink coffee. There’s art therapy, massages. They bead bracelets — bracelets that are technically Buddhist rosaries, but no one mentions that or seems to care.
In a lot of ways, it seems almost too ordinary — hanging out, drinking coffee. And that is kind of the point. This sense of normality has been lacking in their lives.
Most of the residents in the Yokoyama facility come from Minami-Sanriku, a town on Japan’s east coast that was largely destroyed by the tsunami.
The mountain scenery here is gorgeous, but life in these temporary housing units is not easy. They were never meant to be long-term housing: The units don’t retain heat or cold well; you can hear almost every sound from your neighbor; and people here are in limbo trying to figure out how to move on with their lives.
At the end of the day, Kaneta visits the home of café guest Eiko Oyama to talk and pray at the Buddhist shrine set up for her 2-year-old granddaughter. She passed away from a sudden fever after they came to live here.
Oyama says that sometimes they have other gatherings in the community room, but Café de Monk is completely different.
“When they do Café de Monk, a lot of people come. And we’re able to open our hearts to each other. And the monks, they’re really good at listening.”
Levi McLaughlin, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University who studies Buddhism in Japan, points out that the café doesn’t carry a stigma in the way that therapy or government aid may.
And although it isn’t a religious event, he says the café does “draw upon [the monks’] professional skills as religious practitioners to care for the dead and offer memorials and do other things … that a therapist wouldn’t be able to do.”
While it weaves in low-key Buddhist themes, McLaughlin says Kaneta and others freely cross boundaries of sects and religions in order to do what’s necessary to help people.
On the drive back to his temple from Yokoyama, I ask Kaneta if he ever gets tired. He’s been hosting these cafés around the region almost every week for the past four years.
He laughs, and says, “Of course I do. But there’s nothing you can really do about it.”
Sometimes, he’s says, he’s totally depleted, both physically and emotionally.
About a year ago he actually wasn't sure he could keep going. But he started going to more hot springs to unwind, and when he has time, he plays his guitar around town — doing jazz or covers of the Beatles.
He tells me he has a recent recording in the back, and when we get back to the temple, he hands me a CD:

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Bangladesh Book Publishers Suffer Fatal Attacks in Wake of Blogger Killings · Global Voices
Rezwan

An injured blogger is being taken to the hospital. Extremists attacked three bloggers in the office of Shuddhoshor Publications in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Image by Khandaker Azizur Rahman. Copyright Demotix (31/10/2015)
Two publishing houses in Dhaka, Bangladesh suffered brutal attacks on October 31 by armed assailants who took the life of one man and left two others in serious condition. In the wake of four assassinations of secular bloggers in Bangladesh this year alone, the attacks represent an increasingly powerful vector of threat against progressive, secular intellectuals in the country.
Both publishers had ties with Bangladeshi-American blogger and author Avijit Roy, who was attacked and killed while walking with his wife, Rafida Ahmed, in February 2015. Ahmed, who was badly injured in the attack, has since criticized Bangladesh's government for inaction and described the attack on her husband as “well planned, choreographed – a global act of terrorism.”
It remains unconfirmed who carried out the attacks on October 31, 2015. In the first incident, a gang of five or six assailants entered the office of Shuddhaswar Prokashani (Pure Voice Publication) at Lalmatia, claiming to be customers. Using machetes and a gun, they attacked Ahmedur Rashid Tutul and two other writers (also bloggers) Ranadipam Basu and Tareq Rahim, who were present at the time. The attackers locked the office from the outside and fled.
Ranadipam described the attack on Facebook, just moments later. The police arrived soon after and the men were rushed to the hospital. As per his latest report, Ranadipam has been released. Tutul and Tareq remain hospitalized and are under close observation.
Ahmedur Rashid Tutul had published multiple books written by Avijit Roy. He reported earlier in the year that he received threats two days after Roy's death in February.
The three bloggers also write on the Bangla blogging platform, Sachalayatan.
Faisal Arefin Dipan, a publisher of the slain writer-blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death hours after another publisher of Roy was attacked in Dhaka City. Image by SK Hasan Ali. Copyright Demotix (31/10/2015)
Approximately three hours later, the body of Faisal Arefin Dipan, who ran the publishing business Jagriti Prokashoni, was found dead in his office in Aziz Supermarket at Shahbag Square. Similar to the first incident, the killers locked the office and fled. Dipan was soon found by police and his father, who rushed to the office upon learning of the earlier attack. Dipan was found lying in a pool of blood, with deep cuts in his neck and upper shoulder.
Jagritp Prokashoni had published Avijit Roy's popular non-fiction book Biswaser Virus (Virus of Faith), which described violent religious extremism as a “virus”. The book was very popular with rationalists and freethinkers, but drew much criticism from the Islamist radicals, who claimed it promoted atheism.
Reflecting on the work of his contemporary, blogger Arifur Rahman writes about Ahmedur Rashid Tutul:
Ahmed is fearless in a sense, when Bangladesh is consistently sliding down the path of religious fanaticism, Government itself was banning books, he is hell bent on continuing to publish progressive and secular books. In the toxic and fearful atmosphere of curbed freedom of speech, his efforts in keeping the free thought alive is cherished and loved by so many! [..]
When his peers in publishing industry was afraid to publish books that could potentially ‘harm religious sentiment’, Ahmed continues to push the envelop and thereby helping to keep the dying candle of free speech in Bangladesh.
Protest in Dhaka after the attacks on the publishers. Image by Khurshed Alam Rinku. Copyright Demotix (31/10/2015)
The right to free expression is enshrined by Bangladesh’s constitution and international human rights doctrine to which Bangladesh is party. Atheists have the same rights as other citizens in Bangladesh. Under national law, any person who has a “deliberate” or “malicious” intention of “hurting religious sentiments” can be prosecuted. Yet Bangladesh’s secular government has done little to discourage these attacks or bring killers to justice.
The now seemingly routine attacks have taken a tremendous toll on the voices of writers and bloggers in the country. Ekush Tapader writes on Facebook:
বাংলাদেশে প্রতিষ্ঠিত কোন লেখক টু শব্দই করবে না, পুরষ্কার ফিরিয়ে দেয়া তো দূরে থাক। ইসলামী জঙ্গিদের চেয়েও করুণ মতাদর্শিক অবস্থা তাদের। কিছু করতে পারত কেবল ব্লগাররা। আবারও শাহবাগ মোড়ে টানা অবস্থান নিলে অনেক কিছুই পাল্টাত। কিন্তু সবাই বিভক্ত, বিছিন্ন…এতটাই দুঃসময় আমাদের
No established writer will condemn the killing, or return their awards in protest. Their ideological state is worse than the Islamist extremists. The bloggers could build a protest. If they could rally again and occupy like the #Shahbag protests. But they are divided, afraid, scattered… such a bad time for us.
After today's incidents, the police uttered what has become a typical refrain following such attacks: “The attackers could not be identified. Investigation is underway.”
In 2013, a group of conservative Muslim clerics submitted a list of 84 names of bloggers to a special government committee, accusing the bloggers of “atheism” and writing against Islam. Government officials responded by blocking critical websites and making arrests, of bloggers and leaders from the religious right, at the height of #Shahbag protests in 2013. Bangladesh's climate for free expression has become increasingly untenable for anyone critical of religious extremism.
The government, the judiciary, and police forces have taken no effective measures to deter extremists from targeting the bloggers and the publishers.
Bob Churchill, the Director of Communications of International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) comments:
We know what comes next because we’ve seen it before. In a few weeks or months, police and media will perform a merry dance, arresting and parading a few different groups or individuals detained in connection with the latest attack. They’ll parade someone for the cameras. Then there will be no trial, no true justice. And the same thing will happen again and again.
How many more times must we see these bloody and callous acts of hatred before the authorities wake up to the true problem. Officials must stop threatening to arrest, and stop blaming atheists themselves for writing books and blogs. To victim-blame them will continue to empower the fundamentalist killers and undermine the very basis of secular democracy itself.
Though there are many similarities with earlier outrages, today’s coordinated attacks may represent a significant emboldening and an up-step in the campaign to terrorize and silence the voices of humanists, atheists and secularists. The Bangaldeshi authorities must now accept that their failure to achieve justice and the appeasement of fundamentalist violence is not working, and is costing life after life.

author: Rezwan


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Netizens Think the Controversial Confucius Peace Prize Is Suspiciously Convenient for Chinese Authorities · Global Voices
Jack Hu

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe during a visit in August 2014. Photo from Xinhua.
When Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was awarded the Confucius Peace Prize in mid-September, human right activists, in particular those working in the African continent, scoffed at the idea of the word “peace” being associated with a leader regarded around the world as a dictator.
Some took the award as an attempt by China to use ancient Chinese thinker Confucius to justify their authoritarian governance model by associating a figure like Mugabe, who has been in power for 35 years.
The Chinese government, however, no longer has a part in the award, but despite authorities’ efforts, many netizens remained ignorant of the fact or skeptical.
The Confucius Peace Prize was initiated by a committee attached to the Association of Chinese Indigenous Arts under the supervision of the Chinese Ministry of Culture in 2010 after Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident and democracy activist who remains in jail, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The first Confucius prize was awarded to Taiwan politician Lien Chan for his contribution to peaceful dialogue between mainland China and Taiwan.
In 2011, the prize committee was registered as an independent organization, the China International Peace Studies Center, in Hong Kong, and it awarded the prize to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, igniting intense controversy.
For this year's award, Mugabe, 91, is reported to have prevailed against Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Qiao Wei, the president of the judging committee of the peace prize, said, “Mugabe is the founding leader of Zimbabwe and has been trying to stabilize the country’s political and economic order ever since the country was first founded. He brought benefit to the people of Zimbabwe.”
However, he rejected the prize, worth roughly US $80,000 dollars, after learning it has no official link to the Chinese government, according to Zimbabwean local media NewsDay.
Over the past decade, China has significantly expanded its investments in Africa, where it has been accused of cooperating with corrupt leaders at the expense of workers’ rights. Some observers theorized that the prize was a political gift — as revealed by the scandal surrounding Sam Pa, the most powerful middleman in China-Africa trade, the Hong Kong tycoon's businesses are associated with Chinese intelligence and state-owned companies. Pa was placed under US sanctions in 2014 for allegedly aiding Mugabe’s regime. In fact, Mugabe's family has a US $7.5 million extravagant villa in Hong Kong, and his daughter is now a student at City University.
Of course, all the above activities have no official association with the Chinese government, as both the Confucius Peace Prize and Pa's “Queensway” group are registered in Hong Kong.
While the Chinese government emphasizes that it has nothing to do with the prize, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece Global Times has been vocal in its praise of the Confucius Peace Prize, serving as the main media outlet to spread the news of the annual award. Hence, even mainland Chinese netizens are confused and believe that there is certain link between the prize and the party. Some have raised the question of why are all those authoritarian regimes and rogue governments supposed to be the “friends” of Chinese people?
All the same, comments that are critical of the prize have been censored on Chinese social media. Rong Jian, a cultural expert, questioned the credibility of the prize by checking out the background of the committee:
第六届孔子和平奖授予津布巴韦总统穆加贝，原以为这是谁恶搞的笑话，没当回事，谁知居然是真的。看看这些评委都是谁吧，主席叫谯达摩，看这名字，谁知道他的来历？是从哪个江湖出来的？再看看这几个教授，谁认识他们？还有一个孔子艺术家得主，谁听说过这人？真是世界奇葩多，中国妖孽盛。
I had thought it could be a joke that Zimbabwe's President Mugabe was awarded the Confucius Peace Prize. But it’s real. Let’s look at these committee judges. Who knows the president, Qiao Damo, and his experiences? Who knows the other professors? And there even is a Confucius Art Prize recipient. How many oddities there are in China!
The relatively tame comment was scrubbed from Twitter-like platform Weibo. He raised a more critical question next:
这个孔子和平奖的山寨性质已被确证无疑，但奇怪的是，这样一个有辱国格的垃圾奖，几乎招致所有获奖者，包括今年获奖者穆加贝的拒领，却在中国堂而皇之的举办了六届；更奇怪的是，我前几天发帖揭露，转发量甚大，却两次被屏。究竟是谁在纵容和保护这些个江湖骗子呢？
The copycat nature of the Confucius Peace Prize is clear. What's strange is such a garbage award has insulted the country and almost all the award's recipients, including Mugabe, who has refused to take the award. But the award ceremony has been hosted in China for six years. What's ever stranger is that when I questioned the credibility of the prize, the post was deleted twice. Who is protecting the scammers?
Lingxu Puzi, a well-known online commentator, mocked the Mugabe's “contribution” to the world, and was also censored on Weibo:
中国人民的老朋友、津巴布韦总统穆加贝荣获2015“孔子和平奖”。他在位28年，津巴布韦元从他1980年上位时的1:1.5美元，到今年贬值为350000000亿元:1美元。人均寿命从1980年的61.22岁，下降至2006年男性37岁、女性34岁。其所作所为，是孔孟之道的反面典型。他惟一的贡献是，彻底解决了该国的养老问题。
Zimbabwe's President Mugabe, “the old friend of Chinese people”, won the 2015 Confucius Peace Prize. Since he won the election in 1980, the country’s currency has sharply devalued from 1:$1.5 in 1980 to 35000000 billion:$1 [in 2015], the average longevity has fallen from 61.22 years [life expectancy was 59.1 in 1980] to male 37 years and female 34 years in 2006. What he has done is just the opposite of the model of Confucianism. His only contribution is that he thoroughly solved the country’s pension problem.
On Twitter, overseas Chinese dissent He Qinglian believed the prize accurately reflected the authoritarian nature of the Chinese government:
中国的「孔子和平奖」，本年度授予津巴布韦总统、被视为独裁者的穆加贝，引发国际舆论非议，津国反对派和人权活动者怒批并称感到「极度恶心」。评：此奖由中共国授给穆加贝，可谓名至实归，得其所哉。建议津巴布韦今后也设一个类似奖，授给中国主席习近平，这叫做互相抬轿。
— He Qinglian (@HeQinglian) October 24, 2015
China's Confucius Peace Prize was awarded to Zimbabwe's president, dictator Mugabe. The international community was shocked. The opposition party and human right activists found the award disgusting. Comment: It is consistent for the Chinese Communist Party to present the prize to Mugabe. Zimbabwe should have its own version of a peace prize and award it to Chinese President Xi Jinping. They shine a light on each other.
@MyDF pointed out that the communist party has a history of insulting the Confucius:
我党上一次羞辱孔子是1966年，炸开了孔子家族的墓地孔林，红卫兵从孔林中扒出了五具尸体：75代嫡孙孔祥珂及夫人，76代嫡孙孔令贻及其妻妾。这一次是把”2015年孔子和平奖“颁发给非洲独裁者，屠夫——穆加贝。 pic.twitter.com/97DymjdqeL
— 东先生 (@MyDF) October 24, 2015
The last time the party insulted Confucius was in 1966, when the red guard blew up the tombs in the Confucius linage and dug up five corpses: the 75th generation Kong Xiangke and his wife, the 76th generation Kong Lingye and his wife and concubines. This time the insult is awarding the African dictator, butcher Mugabe with the Confucius Peace Prize.
Indeed, in the past two decades, the Chinese government has actively promoted Confucius to educate the world about the Chinese model, characterized by an emperor-like autocratic ruling party.
China has funded and set up nearly 500 Confucius Institutes in the world since 2004, mainly in the West, including the US, Canada and Britain. These institutes facilitate many foreign college students to study Chinese; however, the classes must avoid discussion of sensitive topics, such as dissidents, Tibet, the Tiananmen democratic protest, and the Falun Gong, a religious sect outlawed in China. China aims to build worldwide 1,000 Confucius Institutes by 2020.

author: Jack Hu


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A School in the US Teaches Korean Dads ‘How to Hug’ · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

The Duranno Father School teaches stoic Korean dads how to be more involved and loving parents. The program includes a literal lesson on how to hug. Credit: Courtesy of the Duranno Father School
This article and radio report by Heidi Shin for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on October 28, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
“I’m not into the habit of hugging,” says Jason Chang, age 47. “Being a Korean guy, when I was growing up, my father and mother, we didn’t really hug.”
Chang is a student at the Duranno Father School in Centreville, Virginia — home to a growing Korean community. The Father School is a four-day retreat of sorts, designed to transform stoic Korean dads into more loving and involved parents. The oldest student is in his 70s, the youngest is just 27, and almost all have something in common — their wives made them come.
“She basically signed up and said, this is the start date. Go ahead and go,” Chang confesses. “But I’m glad I did it. They had homework, you know, that I normally wouldn’t do. It gave me some insights.”
Students are asked to reflect on their experiences with their own fathers — and what they're like as dads themselves. Credit: Heidi Shin. Used with PRI's permission
We’re in a church fellowship hall, where a live band plays modern Christian hymns, and the men sing along, followed by lectures and activities, including a lesson literally on how to hug. One arm here, bring the other person close, and no patting on the back. Then there are small group discussions that resemble both group therapy and a locker room huddle.
A volunteer in his 40s talks to a younger man in his 20s. “Do you think your father loved you?” he asks. The younger man pauses, and the older one answers for him. “Yes he did.  He just didn’t know how to communicate it.”
The Duranno Father School was started by a church in Seoul in the 1990s, as a response to an epidemic of absentee fathers in South Korea. Korean men work some of the longest hours in the developed world, Confucian values praised them for not expressing their emotions, and for some, it was the norm to physically discipline their kids.
By the third day, a few students have already dropped out. But those who remain are surprisingly honest in their sharing. Most say they’ve been disappointed by their own fathers, one worries about his teenage son, and another confesses he doesn’t see much of his grown children. A few admit with chagrin that they’ve turned out to be a lot like their own dads.
At the Father School graduation, men wash their wives’ feet, just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples in the Bible. Credit: Heidi Shin. Used with PRI's permission
And the school’s not just about being a better dad. The men are assigned homework, like writing letters to their wives, and sharing a list of 20 reasons why you love her. Give her the kind of the attention you did while you were dating, the instructor urges.
One of the men shares the heartfelt letter he’s written to his wife. Since coming to the US four years ago, he admits life has been harder than he expected. “Living in a small apartment with children, unable to speak the language or find work,” he says, “we grew tired, and said more hurtful words than we intended.”
As it turns out, parenting is hard, and the stresses of immigrant life only make it harder. So a version of the Duranno Father School launched in the US in the early 2000s. A Korean version meets the needs of more recent immigrants, while an English language school serves the next generation. Over the years, the school has expanded to more than 40 countries around the world, with more than 300,000 graduates.
In fact, the school is staffed entirely by graduates. The older men say they don’t want to see younger dads repeat their mistakes. They don aprons and serve up coffee, as they share their own stories during breaks. Frankly, they say it’s easy to revert to their old selves in a matter of months, but in coming back to volunteer, there’s a community that keeps them accountable, says alum Dave Lee.
“Even though I fall back on it sometimes,” he says, “through this school, it made me closer to my family — my wife and my children. I’m able to reflect back on things I’ve done wrong, or could have been done differently.”
A couple poses for their graduation photo at the Duranno Father School. Credit: Heidi Shin. Used with PRI's permission
Families are invited to join the fathers for their graduation ceremony. The men change into the school’s signature referee striped shirts, as a symbol of their transformation. At the close of the night, the men file in with towels over their shoulders. They kneel before their wives and wash their feet gently, just as Jesus washed his disciples’ feet in the Bible. Women lean forward in their chairs, dabbing their eyes with tissues.
I meet a woman in her 50s, as she links arms with her husband and waits in line for their graduation photos. She’s holding flowers and eager to talk about the changes she sees in her husband. “You know, Korean men, they enjoy drinking.” She says her husband has agreed to drink less, and she’s thrilled. “I’m so happy to hear about this. Yes very, very happy.”
Fathers put their arms around their children, and smile for the camera — their wives look relieved and hopeful. Meanwhile staff are already circulating, recruiting new graduates to join their ranks as Father School volunteers.


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How Successful Was Ghana’s #DumsorMustStop Vigil? · Global Voices
Kofi Yeboah

Akosombo Dam in Ghana as seen from Volta Hotel. The dam supplies electricity to Ghana and neighboring countries. Photo released under Creative Commons by Wikipedia user SandisterTei.
On May 16, 2015, Ghanaians stormed the streets of the capital Accra to participate in a vigil organised to publicly protest against the never-ending energy crisis popularly known as “Dumsor” in Ghana. The vigil, organised under the hashtag #DumsorMustStop, was the brainchild of Yvonne Nelson, one of Ghana's most famous actresses.
“Dumsor”, is a name in the local Twi language for the frequent power cuts –“dum” meaning off and “sor” meaning on. #DumsorMustStop was Ghana's second mass protest driven by popular frustration over government inefficiency and channelled by social media after #OccupyFlagStaffHouse, a movement protesting government corruption amid a weakening economy.
But did #DumsorMustStop achieve what it set out to achieve?
Ghana has been experiencing power outages for the past three years. Currently, Ghanaians experience 24 hours without power for every 12 hours of power. Ghana’s central bank announced in February that the country’s GDP growth had slowed due to energy supply constraints.
Chronic power cuts have severely affected many businesses leading to layoffs or closures and negatively impacting households that cannot afford to buy generators or other alternative energy sources.
According to Ghanaian journalist Sammy Darkor, the outages have also resulted in eight surprising consequences for Ghanaians, ranging from ‘babies delivered by phone light’ to ‘more time in the car’ where locals can go to cool off.
Ghana is not alone in its hours of darkness. Other countries on the continent such as Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia experience power outages as well.
Yvonne Nelson, the main organiser,  wrote the following prior to the vigil:
Vigil is on Saturday 16th May! Join me and other citizens of GHANA Strictly non-partisan. This is simply a discharge of your civic responsibility to God and country. This is for the many people who have lost their jobs because of dumsor. This is for the many people who have lost their lives because of dumsor. This is for the school children who have to study with lanterns and torches to write exams. This is for the sick people at the hospitals who have to endure dumsor on their sick beds. This is for the many patients who are unable to receive efficient healthcare because of dumsor. This is for you and I and the unborn generation of this great nation. #DumsorMustStop
Protesters walking on the street of Accra. Photo taken from Yvonne Nelson's Facebook page.
Ghana On The Go blog described the event and government's response:
On May 16, Ghanaians took the streets again, inspired by the #dumsormuststop campaign led by popular Ghanaian celebrities like Yvonne Nelson, Sarkodie, Lydia Forson, Efya, DKB, Sydney, and Van Vicker. Governmental response to the “Dumsor Must Stop” Vigil reflected the highly politicized nature of the energy crisis. Members of the ruling party National Democratic Congress (NDC) like Alhaji Halidu Haruna called female celebrities like Yvonne Nelson and Lydia Forson “unmarried prostitutes”. When floods devastated the capital, Ga traditional leaders argued that the dumsor protests had upset the gods, violating bans on drumming during the harvest festival of homowo in Accra. Other government officials, like NDC MP for Lower Manya Krobo, Ebenezer Teye Larbi, complained that the effects of dumsor were “exaggerated by people who cannot afford fridges or air conditions [sic] in their homes.” A number of NDC officials promised that the crisis would be alleviated by August, as the government was working assiduously on addressing the crisis and had plans in the works that would soon be revealed to the public.
@Wanlov, a famous Ghanaian musician, said the vigil included members of the opposition:
#DumSorMustStop had elements of anti-ndc not in regalia, but the lyrics of some chants attributed #DumSor to JJ, Attah Mills & Mahama only.
— Afro-Gypsy God (@wanlov) May 20, 2015
National Democratic Congress (NDC) is Ghana's ruling party, JJ is Ghana's former President Jerry Rawlings, Atta Mills is Ghana's former President John Atta Mills and Mahama is the current president.
Many of the people who joined the vigil have doubted the impact of the event, however. Six months after the famous #Dumsormuststop vigil, Ghana is still facing an unrelenting power crisis.
Daixy (@D41XY) expressed her discomfort:
This power situation eh? From frying pan to fire. Then they tease us with hope, dangling power barges before our eyes. #dumsormuststop
— Daixy (@D41XY) October 27, 2015
Jeneral Achere (@Afrohacker) questioned the impact of the vigil:
But really, what happened to #DumsorMustStop ? Was it a way to advertise an upcoming movie?
— Jeneral A c h e r e (@Afrohacker) October 24, 2015
Kwame Anim (@KwameAnim) wanted to know if the success of a protest is defined by the number of protesters:
How do you define the success of #DumsorMustStop is it by attendance or just by it happening? https://t.co/BHqxrzfRtS
— Kwame Anim ن (@KwameAnim) October 23, 2015
Currently the government has given no indication as to when the power outages in the country will end.

author: Kofi Yeboah


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The Sorry State of Indian Railways · Global Voices
Sourabh

Maharajas’ Express is the world’s leading luxury train. Delhi, India. Image by Himanshu Sharma. Copyright Demotix (4/10/2015)
Indian Railways is one of the largest train systems in the world, with more than 23 million passengers in India everyday using more than 12,000 trains across 7,112 stations. Journeys on Indian Railways are known for their romanticism and uniqueness — but that's not always the case.
Just ask India's commuters:
The Train#12488is running 12 hrs late. and you are talking bullet trains. oh please stop dreaming sir @sureshpprabhu sir. #IndianRailway
— Amit Kumar Ranjan (@akranjan_86) October 18, 2015
@sureshprabhu @NarenderModi Onboard Amritsar Shatabdi..#SwachhBharat in #IndianRailway D8 of travel: 20.10.15 pic.twitter.com/GNdSVbYqsg
— Chaitanya Mahajan (@mahajantalks) October 21, 2015
We really don't deserve to live in India. RIP Indian railway…. Waiting on an unknown station for more than hour…. RIP
— Nilabh choudhary (@NilabhC) October 16, 2015
The archaic and inefficient Indian train system is in dire need of a modern restructuring as is it is marred by a lot of problems including congestion, frequent delays, red tape, fatal accidents (10 major train accidents have been reported in 2015 so far, accounting for 115 deaths and more than 390 injuries), land acquisition and lack of funds.
There is also the question of services and the environment inside the train. Nikita Jain describes the experience in a blog on news outlet IBN Live:
Life in India doesn't stop for a train journey, it invades it. The train is a meeting place, a marketplace, a hotel and a restaurant. People seem to materialise from nowhere. They're selling drinks, food, newspapers, kids’ toys.
Many of the vendors could use some closer scrutiny, such as the supplier of food, as Nikita points out:
One of the biggest contract in Indian Railways is possibly turning out to be the biggest pain for passengers travelling on long distance journeys. While the passenger has to trust (and in many cases has no other option) the pantry car for supplying hygienic food, the contractors are doing their best to squeeze out money and serve just bearable food. All this under the nose of the government.
However, the Indian Railways recently took major steps into ushering a new phase – a modern one. Domino's Pizza and KFC have started supplying food on trains, collaboration with Google means that 500 railway stations will have WiFi services by next year and the launch of a new railway app will enable people to book season and platform tickets without hassle.
Solar power generation at the vaishnodevi railway station! Suresh Prabhu is showing what the Indian railways can be! https://t.co/x7rZEfGAQH
— Dhishan Kande (@nanokande) October 18, 2015
With cooperation from Japan, the construction of India’s first ever bullet train line is expected to start in 2017 and by 2024 the project should be operational. Exciting times? Maybe. But in India, there is a big difference between ‘planning’ and ‘executing’. Looking at the past, there have been many things planned but bureaucracy, mismanagement and corruption are remain bumps in the road.
The 162-year-old Indian Railways is cash-strapped, incurring a loss of 26,000 crore ($4.5 billion) every year on passenger fare subsidization. In September 2011, Rail Minister Dinesh Trivedi had appointed a special committee, Sam Pitroda Committe, to suggest ways and means to modernize Indian Railways. According to the report submitted by the Committee in February 2012, Indian Railways needs an investment of 5.6 trillion ($90 billlion) in the next five years for its modernization. The money should be spent on upgrading the railway infrastructure, expanding its network and adopting new technologies. In February’s railway budget, the government unveiled plans of investing $137 billion in the rail network in the next five years to build infrastructure.
India is looking to become a manufacturing hub like China but lags spectacularly in infrastructure. At the time of independence in 1947, India’s rail network was around 54,000 kilometers whereas China’s rail network was half of it. Since then, China has quadrupled its network to 1,10,000 kilometers, whereas India has managed to add just 11,000 kilometers in the same time. For a country with India’s ambitions, this is a very grim reading.
Mosquito Terminatorí train at work after it was flagged off in New on Friday in a joint operation, of the Northern Railway and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), to check mosquito breeding in water bodies along the railway track. Image by Himanshu Sharma. Copyright Demotix (18/09/2015)
Indian Railways is owned and operated by the state. In order to review the safety of Indian Railways and recommend improvements, a high level safety review committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar was appointed. The Kakodkar committee had criticized the enterprise for its lack of empowerment at the functional level and for it's “inadequate performance”. As railways have their own ministry, even the slightest of reform becomes a national event and undergoes extensive scrutiny. The political wheeling and dealing can get in the way.
The Sam Pitroda committee recommended an organizational restructuring which would give officials a license to make decisions which would, in turn, speed up the process of hanging projects.
That's not enough for Raj Bharath at Blogateurs, who suggests that that privatisation and better competition can lead to better infrastructure and hygiene facilities for Indian Railways:
Our Country has a very good experience of Privatization in Aviation Industry and that should be a good enough experience and reason to give it a try in Railways also.
Land acquisition for projects has always been a big problem in India. In order to change that and to revive the country’s economy, the government tried to replace The Land Acquisition Act of 1984 with a new bill which would make it easier for the government to acquire land. According to the amendment, if the land is acquired for national security, defence, or rural and social infrastructure, it would not require consent clause and the social impact assessments.
This, as expected, did not go well with majority of land owners in a country like India — farmers. The bill was referred to as undemocratic and anti-farmer. After months of protests and rallies when the bill was finally tabled in the Lok Sabha, the opposition managed to stop it in August 2015, and a new bill on the lines of the existing land acquisition laws is set to be worked upon.
According to NDTV, projects worth 53,000 crore ($9 billion) are currently stalled or surrendered because of land acquisition problems.

author: Sourabh


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Why Montenegro’s Opposition Leaders Want to Topple the Government · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Tents set up on the street in front of the Parliament building in Podgorica. Photo by Sloboda Traži Ljude Facebook page, used with permission.
Montenegro, a small country on the Adriatic coast that has remained fairly mysterious and somewhat unnoticed throughout the recent turbulent history of the Balkans, has been making headlines in international media during the month of October.
Led by political opposition leaders, thousands of Montenegrin citizens took to the streets over the weekend of October 17, 2015, to voice their dissatisfaction with a government that has been in power for almost three decades, only to be met with police violence.
But what might appear to be a sudden turn of events to the rest of the world are no surprise to those in the region.
Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has been running things in the country — in one way or another — since 1991. Some say Djukanovic has de facto been in power for a full 26 years, since he and Communist League members Momir Bulatović and Svetozar Marović ascended to power and took full institutional control in Montenegro in January 1989.
By some counts, he's Europe's longest-ruling non-royal leader. Djukanovic served as prime minister from 1991 to 1998, then as president of Montenegro from 1998 to 2002, and as prime minister again from 2003 to 2006, after which he announced that he was retiring from politics. He quickly came back from retirement and assumed the office of prime minister again in 2008, although skepticism that he didn't have a hand in political decisions during his short-lived retirement is rampant.
A protester in Montenegro holds an illustration that symbolizes Djukanović's almost 27 years of rule in the country – from his beginnings in the former Yugoslavia's communist party to the stronghold he has on the country today that many have called fascist. Photo by Sloboda Traži Ljude Facebook page, used with permission.
#Montenegro is the only country in Europe which did not have a change in power since the Berlin wall fell… #protesticg
— Milan Dinic (@MilanDinic1) October 24, 2015
He was an ally of Slobodan Milošević, the ironfisted “Butcher of the Balkans” who ruled Serbia, then the former Yugoslavia throughout the 1990s, though he would eventually fall out with Milošević.
Djukanovic and members of his regime have also been linked to facilitating illegal activities such as smuggling, car theft rings throughout Europe, money laundering, racketeering and more, accusations that they deny. In a recent piece, Balkanist magazine describes some of the activities that Djukanovic and his associates were allegedly involved in:
When harsh war sanctions befell Montenegro, Djukanovic’s solution for rescuing the country’s exchequer was to facilitate an international cigarette-smuggling ring, in collaboration with the Italian mafia. In the process, he and his crew of crooks took a substantial share of the spoils, amassing millions offshore.
Since the protests in Montenegro hit international media, many outlets have chalked Montenegrin people's dissatisfaction with their government up to “Serb nationalist” or “pro-Russian” waves within Montenegrin society. However, as with the 2014 Euromaidan protests in Ukraine and the smaller ongoing anti-government protests in Macedonia, the reasons behind the anti-government protests in Montenegro run much deeper.
While the country's GDP has been constantly growing over the past decade and it is the only non-European Union country to introduce the euro as its official currency, Montenegro also presents one of the most corrupt governments in Europe. According to World Bank data, over 11% of the country's population officially lives below the poverty line and most people are generally unhappy with the quality of life in the country.
On October 17, led by opposition leaders, people peacefully gathered by the hundreds in downtown Podgorica and other cities to protest. The organizers set up a website and Facebook page that serve not only to call on people to join the protests, but also provide up-to-date information about the protests and incidents of police brutality during the protests. Because media in the region are often politically influenced or state-run, the organizers have also provided live YouTube coverage of the protests, saying on their website, “Don't allow the media to serve up information, watch live video coverage of the protests or follow the live blog.”
Within hours, special police forces cracked down on the protesters, leaving over 120 people injured. Official police statements and state-owned media reported that the police action had been a response to attacks on police officers by some of the protesters.
The protests continued, however, and participants set up tents on the street and in the park across from the parliament building in Podgorica.
On the night of October 24, police cracked down on protesters again, this time using what many eyewitnesses have called excessive amounts of tear gas and physical force. Many protesters were arrested, while dozens were injured.
#BREAKING: Heavy clashes erupted in #Montenegro after anti government rally pic.twitter.com/KFFTx76yU1 via @AmichaiStein1
— Velina Tchakarova (@vtchakarova) October 24, 2015
To counter official reports that the force used by police was provoked by protesters’ attacks on officers, individuals filmed some of those who “provoked” attacks on police and posted the video to YouTube. This particular video shows several men in casual attire and hoodies, getting out of police jeeps on a parking lot in downtown Podgorica, and then heading in the direction of the protests. The claim made by organizers of the protests is that these men are police officers or hired by police to infiltrate the demonstrations and incite violence, so that police forces might have cause to react more harshly.
Other similar videos are available on the organizers’ YouTube channel, along with recordings collected showing beatings and damage of private property by police forces.
Another video, which has garnered over 150,000 views, shows some two dozen police officers surrounding a vehicle at a traffic light, beating the vehicle, then pulling its driver out onto the street and beating and kicking him. The man's name is Milorad Martinović, who happens to be the chairman of Montenegro's professional boxing association; and he was admitted to a local hospital with “serious physical injuries” after the beating.
Protesters were set on returning to the streets, however, and protests continued on October 31 . According to information being shared on social networks, demonstrations were scheduled not only in Podgorica but also for other cities across Montenegro. Protesters gathered to hear opposition leaders speak in a concert hall in Herceg Novi, while others continued to protest on the streets of Podgorica, Herceg Novi and other locations.
Seems there is no fear among the demonstrators in #Podgorica, maybe for the very first time for 25 years of Djukanovic rule #protesticg
— Marko Selakovic (@ljutomir) October 24, 2015
People gathered in Hergec Novi on October 31 to support weeks of protests in the capital of Podgorica. Photo by Sloboda Traži Ljude Facebook page, used with permission.

author: Danica Radisic


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Another Pretend Election Yields Predictable Results in Azerbaijan · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Mehriban Aliyeva, First Lady of Azerbaijan, does not make much use of her seat in parliament. Wikipedia image.
In a result that surprised nobody, the ruling party belonging to the ruling family cruised to a comfortable majority in Azerbaijan's November 1 parliamentary election.
Nevertheless, while there is nothing new about the New Azerbaijan Party loyal to President Ilham Aliyev recording a crushing electoral victory, there were some interesting features that marked this vote out from others in the past.
For one, ballot stuffing was no longer a hurried affair taking place in the final hours of election day. Already in the morning, independent observers were reporting serious violations:
saxtakarlıq. dairə 12,məntəqə 30 və 23. hər iki məntəqədə topa bülleten atıldı. #azvote15 #saxtasecki15
— Murad Rüstəm (@MuradRustem) November 1, 2015
Fraud. Precinct 12, at both polling stations 30 and 23, ballot stuffing. [Tweet from early on in the vote].
Carousel voting was also more efficient and better organised than in previous years. Women, students, and other mixed groups were responsible for going from one polling station to another and casting multiple votes:
Dairə 21 məntəqə 1 və 2. Karusel üçün gətirilən adamlar #AZvote2015 #monitoring15 #sechki15 #saxtasecki2015 pic.twitter.com/h8eU25Ir56
— Ulviyya Ali (@UlviyyaAli) November 1, 2015
[Journalist Ulviyya Ali took these pictures]: Precinct 21. Polling stations 1 and 2. People brought here for carousel voting.
This video footage below shows another dose of ballot stuffing in Surakhani's 3rd precinct. This time with the precinct chairman caught in the act.
32 saylı Suraxanı üçüncü seçki dairəsində məntəqə sədri qutuya topa bülleten atır #AZvote2015 #monitoring15 pic.twitter.com/1vAbIiZG3E
— Meydan TV (@MeydanTV) November 1, 2015
Some Azeri officials even laughed as they cheated the citizenry, according to local reporters. Certainly the shame factor vis-a-vis vote rigging has long ago disappeared.
It has been replaced by a brute determination and confidence, embodied in the claim of newly elected MP Aflatun Amashov that “if there were violations then they were minuscule, and they wont have impact on the outcome of the elections.”
These were moreover the first elections that were not observed by any credible international monitoring mission. OSCE’s ODIHR, OSCEPA and the European Parliament all cancelled their missions ahead of the election.
The only international observers present were the representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. But PACE’s past relations with Azerbaijan have been overshadowed by ‘caviar diplomacy’ and the compromised reports of prior monitoring missions.
Thus it was disappointing if not shocking when a PACE representative made the following statement:
PACE representative: Voting goes in line with international standards https://t.co/YckcfWyfat #Azerbaijan #AzerTAc — AzerTAg News Agency (@AzerTAc) November 1, 2015
Despite over 1,200 registered candidates, some 500 pulled out of the parliamentary race leaving 767 candidates running for the 125-seat parliament. Key opposition parties withdrew candidates from the race. The opposition bloc of the National Council boycotted the vote completely.
Perhaps the safest seat in the house went to President Iliyev's glamour-obsessed wife First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who ended up returning to office with 96.7% of votes.
Except that returning to office is a misnomer. Aliyeva has been an MP since 2005 but has rarely been seen in the legislature at her nominal place of work. No changes are expected.
According to the results announced by the Central Election Committee (CEC), New Azerbaijan did old Azerbaijan proud, securing 71 seats, while so-called independent parties and candidates — described by opposition parties outside the parliament as “fake opposition” — took the remaining seats.
The CIS observation mission — composed of representatives of other former Soviet states that also have problems holding free and fair elections — was satisfied with the outcome, noting the vote had been ‘organised well':
The parliamentary elections have been organized well in #Azerbaijan, the head of the #CIS Observation mission #AzVote #AzVote2015 #AzVote15‘ — Nigar Iskandarova (@NigarIskandar) November 1, 2015
That is one way of describing the process. Another was coined by a local Twitter user:
Temsili Azerbaycan seçimleri :) #Azerbaijan #AZvote2015 #secim2015 pic.twitter.com/R2tR6kw2yV
— MEHMET I.C (@MIRMAKC) November 1, 2015
[President Aliyev pictured] No! Stay home, we will fill [the ballots] out ourselves!

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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Mozambicans Start a Petition Against the High Cost of Internet · Global Voices
Dércio Tsandzana

Mobile networks in Mozambique. Photo: Brough Turner /Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
New regulations hindering internet access in Mozambique are upsetting Mozambican cybernauts and web surfers.
On October 26, three key local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) hiked pricesfor internet access bundles by about 75%.
This followed a resolution (19/CA/INCM/2015) by the Mozambique National Communication Institute (INCM), published July 29 to cut subsidies for Mozambican ISPs (which includes financial support for data service, text messages, and voice) by 75%, with an aim to:
Preservar o ambiente de uma regulação imparcial que assegure a consolidação e desenvolvimento [saudável] na competição entre as operadoras de telecomunicações e proteja os interesses dos consumidores”.
Uphold an environment of unbiased regulation that ensures consolidation and [healthy] development in the competition between telecommunications operators, and safeguards the interests of consumers.
The decision impacts over 25 million Mozambicans. Thanks to the new so-called competition in the telecommunications market, prices for connections have risen. According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet, the average price for internet access in Mozambique is equivalent to half a citizen's salary at national minimum wage.
Em #Moçambique, de acordo com a @webfoundation Internet de 1mb/s corresponde 50% do PIB per Capita. Loucura comparando com outros países
— Tomás Queface (@tomqueface) 21 outubro 2015
In #Moçambique, according to the @webfoundation, internet at 1mb/s equates to 50% of the per capita GDP. Craziness compared to other countries.
— Tomás Queface (@tomqueface) October 21 2015
In reaction to the measure taken by INCM, a group of citizens is promoting a public petition addressed to the Government of Mozambique, members of the National Assembly, and the Mozambique National Communication Institute (INCM).
The petition points out that Mozambique's President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi made promises that have gone unfulfilled:
O Presidente da República, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, mostrou estar interessado em expandir o acesso às Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC): “Quero que os Moçambicanos vivam num país cada vez mais iluminado, muito para além das sedes distritais, com fontes de energia diversificadas (…) e que tenham o acesso universal às tecnologias de informação e comunicação.” Estas lindas palavras trouxeram esperança para uma geração ávida em aceder às TIC's, mas [o] que se vê nos dias de hoje [é] uma atitude oposta por parte do Governo em limitar o acesso à Internet.
The President of the Republic, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, displayed an interest in expanding access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): “I want Mozambicans to live in an increasingly illuminated country, far beyond district headquarters, with diverse energy sources (…) and have universal access to information and communication technologies.” These fine words brought hope to a generation eager for access to ICT's, but what is seen today is the opposite attitude, on the part of the government, to limit internet access.
The text of the petition further underscores:
Segundo a Internet World Stats (IWS:2015), Moçambique continua sendo um dos países de África e do mundo com baixa percentagem da população com acesso à Internet, situando-se em apenas 5.9%, isto é, 94.1% da população não tem acesso à Internet. Estes dados são preocupantes quando pensamos em ter uma sociedade mais informada, que participe e exerça a sua cidadania através da Internet. Contudo, lembramos que a Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) publicou, em 2011, um relatório sobre promoção e protecção do direito à liberdade de opinião e expressão. No documento, a instituição ressalta que desconectar as pessoas da Internet é um crime e uma violação dos Direitos Humanos. Impedir o acesso à informação pela web infringe, segundo a ONU, o Pacto Internacional de Direitos Civis e Políticos, de 1966. De acordo com o Artigo, “todo cidadão possui direito à liberdade de expressão e de acesso à informação por qualquer tipo de veículo.”
According to Internet World Stats (IWS:2015), Mozambique continues to be a nation with one of the lowest percentages of internet access for its population, among all nations in Africa and the world, standing at merely 5.9%, meaning that 94.1% of the population does not have access to internet. These figures are alarming when we think of having a more well-informed society, one that may participate fully and exercise its citizenship via the internet. Yet, we recall that the United Nations (UN) published in 2011 a report on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. In the document, the organization emphasizes that to disconnect people from the internet is a crime and a violation of human rights. As per the UN, to prevent access to information on the Web infringes on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966. Pursuant to the article, “every citizen holds the right to freedom of expression and of access to information through any type of conduit.”
The petition received immediate support from the Mozambican newspaper, Jornal @Verdade:
Deviam antes baixar @AlexandreMZz: Petição contra o aumento dos preços de pacotes de Internet em #Moçambique https://t.co/iMyYy5WghT
— Verdade Democracia (@DemocraciaMZ) 27 outubro 2015
You should all first download @AlexandreMZz: The petition against the price hike on internet packages in #Moçambique
peticaopublica.com.br/pview.aspx?pi=BR86002 …
— Verdade Democracia (True Democracy) (@DemocraciaMZ) October 27 2015
Customers meanwhile poured complaints on service providers upping prices for their data service packages.
Mauro Justino Muianga raged:
A Vodacom diz que pode alterar as tarifas sem pré-aviso aos clientes, mas meus senhores, isso é uma pura falta de respeito para com os vossos fieis clientes. Moçambicano é compreensivo mas até esse ponto não dá. Já é hábito pedir licença e mesmo com “porta aberta”. Porque custa a vocês também copiarem esse hábito?
Vodacom says that it can alter the rates without giving customers advance notice, but ladies and gentlemen, that is a sheer lack of respect for your loyal customers. Mozambicans are very understanding, yes, but to that degree, no. Usually you ask permission, even if the “door is open”. Why is it so difficult for you to follow that practice?
Gilberto Manuel Manhiça, a computer programmer, lamented civil society's silence on the issue:
O que está a acontecer neste meu grande País é incrível pessoal. Esse nosso governo que tem infiltrados nas posições mais importante do País chega a chatear-nos muito na maior parte das vezes, por causa da nossa passividade. Tenho máxima certeza que esses infiltrados no governo têm acções nessas empresas que vendem serviços de dados e voz. Esses infiltrados Calaram a #MOVITEL para que fosse possível embutir preços altos de tal modo que a gente ficasse refém desses preços e sem alternativas nenhumas. Hoje temos esta tristeza da #Vodacom de diminuir o volume de dados para gastarmos mais.
What is happening in this great country is incredible, folks. This government of ours, that has its insiders in top positions in the country, gets to hassle us because of our passivity. I am completely certain that these government insiders have shares and stocks in these companies that sell data and voice services. These insiders silenced #MOVITEL to make it possible to embed high prices in such a way that people would be taken hostage by these new prices and left without any alternatives. Today we have […] #Vodacom decreasing the amount of data as it urges us to pay more.
Mauro Brito, an environmentalist and social activist called the decision “a measure to prohibit awareness and participation”:
Não compreendo. Aumentar os preços dos pacotes com que propósito? Não era suposto depois do mercado aberto e a multiplicidade de empresas provedoras de serviços de Internet, reduzir o preço por conta da concorrência? Isto parece-me claramente uma medida com vista a proibir o conhecimento, a participação, se somente 5.9% tem acesso numa altura em que os pacotes de Internet são caros e de baixa qualidade não quero imaginar se estes forem elevados dificultando ainda mais o acesso para grande maioria que não tem possibilidades financeiras. O que será do país?
I don't understand. Increase the package prices for what reason? Wasn't opening up the market to a multitude of internet service provider (ISPs) supposed to cause a reduction in prices due to competition? […] If only 5.9% have [internet] access now, at a level that is already expensive and of low quality…I don't want to imagine what [this figure] will become if internet becomes even more expensive, making access even more difficult for the great majority who lack financial means. What will become of the country?

author: Dércio Tsandzana


text:
Social Media Users Factcheck Mainstream News Coverage of Russian Plane Crash in Egypt · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

People lit candles and left flowers at Dvortsovaya Square in St. Petersburg on Sunday, November 1 during a day of national mourning for victims of a Metrojet crash over Egypt that killed all 224 on board. Photo by Nikolai Gontar for Demotix.
The news of a a Russian passenger plane crash in the Egyptian Sinai desert on October 31 has remained one of the top news stories in Russian and global media during the past weekend. Experts have called the catastrophe “the worst air disaster in Russian history.” The Metrojet crash, which killed all 224 people on board, has also been widely discussed on social media, generating heated discussions about flying over warzones, stories about Russia's abysmal air safety record, and speculations over the cause of the disaster.
As with any fast-moving breaking news story, social network users have been on alert for fakes and mistakes in mainstream media coverage of the crash. The average RuNet user has become more proficient in media literacy, given the ongoing information battles between Russia, Ukraine, and the West around the conflict in eastern Ukraine and, more recently, Russia's involvement in Syria. So it's no surprise that eagle-eyed news consumers spotted inaccuracies and even glaring errors in the Sinai crash reporting—and brought them to light on social media.
Reuters reporters were criticized by netizens for starting the wave of reports about survivors of the crash: their report of “screams” heard from the destroyed airplane on the ground quickly got picked up by dozens of other media outlets, many Russian media among them, but later turned out to be false.
Сейчас уже понятно, что недожурналисты из Reuters с легкостью вбросили про выживших, остальные подхватили pic.twitter.com/8cO2F8LKiQ
— Тот самый Терновский (@dternovskiy) October 31, 2015
Now it's clear that pseudo-journalists from Reuters threw in the false report about survivors, and everyone else picked it up. (screenshots show headlines and ledes from various Russian-language media)
Social media sleuths then discovered that Russian state TV Pervyy Kanal (Channel One) illustrated a report about a memorial gathering to honor the crash victims in downtown St.Petersburg with an image from 2013. After some reverse image searching, it turned out the photo was actually taken at a outdoor concert two years ago to celebrate the 20th anniversary of mobile provider Megafon.
Первый канал @channelone_rus пробил дно в желании схватить удачу за хвост и запостил фото 2013 г с 20-летия Мегафона pic.twitter.com/cYhsay6JeY
— Картофелевед (@pokatashkin) November 1, 2015
Pervyy Kanal @channelone_rus went through rock bottom in their desire to get lucky and posted a photo from the 2013 Megafon celebration.
The Vesti news bulletin on state TV was also berated for using an image from Ukraine as an illustration for their rolling coverage of mourning and related events in Russia. The image in the screenshot below was actually taken near the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, where citizens had brought flowers, candles, and toys to express their support for the victims’ families.
Самое правдивое в мире телевидение: берёт фотку из Киева, и пишет про Россию pic.twitter.com/N8oaJulhMa
— Мuд Роисси (@Fake_MIDRF) November 1, 2015
The most truthful television in the world: takes a photo from Kyiv and writes about Russia.
But the wildest debunking of the crash coverage on social media was done by the Russians who found their faces suddenly featured in multiple federal news reports—claiming they were among the passengers who boarded the tragic flight.
Yevgeny and Yulia Kostyanitsa were in for quite a shock when they saw an Instagram photo Yulia had taken a week before (but posted to her account on October 31) used in news reports about the Sinai crash. What was worse, the news reports pointed to the people in the photo as those among the crash victims—when they were actually very much alive. Russia's main TV channels—Pervyy Kanal, NTV, Rossiya-1—all carried the image, and online media spread the story further.
Yulia captured their shocked reaction and the ensuing desperate struggle to debunk the erroneous media reports in other Instagram images and on her VKontakte profile. “My God, what is with these people… I'm shocked!!! We're all right!!! Thank God, we're alive and well!!!” Yulia wrote on Instagram.
We're alive!!! This photo is a week old!!! It was made at night, not early in the morning!!! My hate for the media grows every second!!! (screenshot from Rossiya-1 TV channel)
Please don't MOURN us!!! We're ALIVE!!! (screenshot from NTV TV channel)
We wrote to Ren TV, Rossiya-1, Rossiya 24… But there's zero effect… Our photo continues to flash online and on TV screens!!! Thanks to all who wrote and asked after our health!!! We scared a bunch of you… but it's not our fault… (screenshot from Ren TV website)
When Russian media outlets finally began to publish stories clearing up the photo error, Yulia Kostyanitsa's tone on Instagram turned to one of relief and gratitude.
Other RuNet users were also seemingly out of words in their reaction to the Instagram mixup.
Извините, но это пиздец pic.twitter.com/VU7xK3rE4z
— Михаил Кондратьев (@Papochkin) November 1, 2015
I'm sorry, but this is f*cked up.
The heightened media literacy reflexes and improved civic media investigation skills could serve as an indication that Russian Internet users are becoming more adept at wading through the flood of news and information and more sophisticated in choosing who to trust on mainstream media and online. At the same time, the coverage of the Sinai crash (and other similar disasters) is proof that both casual social media users and professional journalists are still at risk of chasing after quick sensational stories and letting their critical thinking and investigative skills lapse.

author: Tanya Lokot


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A National Hotline Encourages Chinese to Report Suspected Spies · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A comic describing spies stealing national security for money. Image from Weibo.
On the anniversary of the passage of a counter-espionage law in China, the National Security Bureau of the northeast province Jilin launched a national hotline — 12339 — for ordinary people to report those suspected of endangering national security.
Local hotlines have been set up in other provinces since the the counter-espionage law was approved on November 1, 2014, but the establishment of national hotline could imply the central government's endorsement of a countrywide witch hunt for “spies”.
Yet, according to news reports, the national hotline was set up by a provincial national security bureau rather than directly by central authorities. It raises a few questions. If the decision was not made by Beijing, why was the news of the national hotline promoted on major news portals which are all under the Chinese Communist Party's control? Does the provincial national security bureau have the power to run a hotline without the approval of central authorities?
Chinese netizens, for their part, looked beyond the technical aspects of the politics involved. They wondered, can ordinary people really identify a spy?
The majority didn't seem to think so. Others theorized that the hotline is simply a mechanism to sow the seeds of distrust among people or even encourage people to attack each other, like what happened during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s, when Chairman Mao led a violent campaign to rid society of those deemed anti-communist. In a news thread within the headlines section of popular Chinese social media site Weibo, some referred to the situation as “white terror”, a tactic to instigate fear and keep people in silence:
欲加之罪何患无辞
It is so easy to find an excuse to put someone in jail.
文革的前奏
Prelude to the Cultural Revolution
白色恐怖，道路以目！鼓励告密，人心惶失！
White terror, big brother watching you in the streets. Encourage reporting on each others to threaten people.
Some offered up satirical remarks:
总感觉城管是间谍。国外敌对势力派来欺压老百姓的！同意的点赞
I have a feeling that the chengguan (City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau) are spies, they were sent by foreign enemy forces to suppress ordinary people! Click “like” if you agree.
这还需要举报吗？中央委员以上除了习近平李克强其他都是嫌疑人
Do we still need to report? Apart from [President] Xi Jinping and [Premier] Li Keqiang, all Chinese Communist Party Central Committee members are suspects.
最该被举报的是计生部门，妄图灭我大汉
Should report on the Birth Planning Department, it attempted to make the Han race go extinct [by killing so many unborn with the One-Child Policy].
我是间谍，求人举报。
I am spy, anyone going to report me?
However, some people expressed their support for the reporting system. A post on “How to identify spy around you”, published by an Internet analyst with the anonymous screen name “Between coming and going”, went viral on major social media platforms, including Weibo and WeChat:
12339间谍行为举报电话开通，请各位留意身边的各种可疑人员，包括但不限于为外国服务的间谍、内奸、策反人员、情报员、外围代理人等。分辨方式可参考以下信息：
1，工作性质模糊，身兼多职头衔众多且资金充裕的人。
2，在聚会活动中喜欢抛出争议性话题引起争论并暗中观察的人。这样的人往往会根据他人在争论中的表现，与其进一步取得联系，进而渗透策反活动。
3，驻外、涉外记者，家庭式传教人员，部分NGO组织成员。
4，按照名片信息，有正当工作，却上班时间不规律，对名片信息进行核查发现为空壳公司或新公司，及其他信息可疑的人。
5，拥有多国留学经历的留学生，或有跟年龄极不匹配的留学经历的人。
6，经常关心并向身边的人询问敏感问题，不限于政治、军事、舆论、商业等范围的人。
7，定期会去某些地方见人，交换物品或文件。
8，经常参与各类学术研讨会、商业会议，常抛出反动言论，并夸大外国好处的人。
The hotline for reporting spies, 12339, has been launched. Please pay attention to suspicious people around you, including and not limited to spies, traitors, instigators, informants and foreign agents. The description below can help you identify [a suspect]:
1. Nature of their work isn't clear; has several job titles and is resourceful.
2. Those who like to put forward controversial issues and observe others’ response in gatherings. They would then make contact according to an individual's stance and solicit him or her for anti-government activities.
3. Overseas correspondents and reporters, or journalists with overseas connection; members of family churches; some NGO organizers.
4. The person has a proper job on their name card, but their working hours are irregular. The company on their name card is a shell or a newly registered company or has other suspicious traits.
5. Those who studied overseas several times, or his or her age does not match his overseas educational background.
6. Those who pay attention to sensitive topics, including but not limited to politics, military affairs, public opinion or business.
7. Those who travel to meet certain people and exchange packages or documents with them.
8. Those who attend academic conferences and business meetings regularly, talk about anti-government issues and exaggerate the advantages of foreign countries.
Yang Hengjun, a prominent current affairs commentator and a former Chinese government official who has migrated to Australia, saw the above message online and criticized it as encouraging a witch hunt:
真正的间谍与情报策反人员不可能带着以上特征在中国活动，文革中就是靠这些类似的特征“抓间谍”，结果大家都知道。可对照这些特征，我反而发现一些热中于国家大事与国际事务的知识分子、网络意见领袖、公知与活跃网民，更具有“可疑的间谍特征”，公布电话与这些人的特征，是要干啥？真要让中国回到道路以目的时代？
The real spies and instigators would not have the above characteristics. On the other hand, during the Culture Revolution, such traits were used to take down spies. Everyone knows what the result of that was. According to these traits, intellectuals who are familiar with China and international affairs, online opinion leaders, public intellectuals and active netizens would fit in the profile. What the point of setting up the hotline and publicizing such profiling? You really want to return to the time when big brother was watching you on every street corner?
据我所知道，真正危害国家安全与国家利益的贪污腐败如此盛行，几乎我们每个人身边都有，甚至都多少受到过损害，可并没有如此方便的举报电话公布出来，更不用说告诉我们“可疑特征”了，而这些年，对中国的危害反而不那么明显的“间谍”倒成了热点。且不说“抓间谍”是很专业的国家强力部门的工作，普通人除非有了一些疑虑和确凿的证据，否则不应该动不动就举报他人——谁都知道，一旦沾上“间谍”嫌疑，相关部门不会给洗刷，往往让你受害很久
As far as I know, what really harms this country is corruption, and we are surrounded by it. Some of us have even been hurt. But there isn't any hotline for corruption announced with such fanfare. No one tells us how to profile the corrupt, but instead “spies” are the hot issue now. Let's put aside the fact that the identification of spies should be conducted by powerful government authorities. For ordinary people, unless they have concrete evidence, they should not report others. Everyone knows the authorities wouldn't lift a finger to clear a person's name after they were labeled a “spy”; on the other hand, the label is meant to torture the person for a lengthy period of time.
Wang pointed out that he actually fits the profile and invited others to report him:
我发现我倒是符合上面每一条。也罢，你们直接举报我吧，反正，作为一个作家，现在写什么都敏感，贴什么都屏蔽，老子都没法活了，还不如进去，有房住有饭吃，搞不好还能领奖呢。
Turns out that I fit the description entirely. Well, you can just report me. As a writer, everything becomes sensitive to write about. All posts are censored completely. I can't live like that anymore. It's better to live in jail, where you have food and a place to stay. Very likely I could win some awards [referring to overseas human right awards].

author: Oiwan Lam


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Australia’s Michelle Payne Becomes First Female Jockey to Win Melbourne Cup · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Michelle Payne wins the 2015 Melbourne Cup (author's screenshot).
Michelle Payne has made history by being the first female jockey to win the prestigious Melbourne Cup. Her horse, Prince of Penzance, was a 100 to 1 outsider.
Where were you when the first female won the Melbourne Cup? Well done Michelle Payne. One for the ages #MelbCup
— Ben Friedlander (@BennyB11) November 3, 2015
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's top race, worth over A$ 6 million (US $4.5 million). In the local cliché, it's ‘the race that stops a nation’. It is even a public holiday in Melbourne itself.
Australia-based Twitter user Red Under the Beds was jubilant:
CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHELLE PAYNE!!!! First woman to win the Melbourne Cup!! #MelbourneCup #Australia
— Reds Under the Beds (@Nettythe1st) November 3, 2015
Immediately after the race, Payne was quick to see the win as a triumph over chauvinism, saying, “But I gave it everything I got. I want to say to everyone else get stuffed, they think women aren't strong enough but we just beat the world.” Her words were picked up worldwide.
#socialmedia #tech Female jockey wins Australia's Melbourne Cup, tells chauvinists to ‘get stuffe… https://t.co/61qKvrfpvM di @mashable
— Fabio Incalcaterra (@fincalcaterra) November 3, 2015
Within minutes, Payne's Twitter followers jumped by 2,000 to over 12,000. This included the Victorian State Health minister Jill Hennessy, who tweeted:
I don't think we could feel more pride & joy for you & your supporters. @mj_payne #getstuffed #MelbourneCup
— Jill Hennessy MP (@JillHennessyMP) November 3, 2015
It was also a very personal, family moment for Payne. Her brother Stevie, who has Down syndrome, is the horse's strapper (the person who grooms and looks after racehorses). Prior to the race, she uploaded a photo to Instagram of her brother at the barrier draw:
Barrier 1 #gostevie #thedreamisalive 👌🏆 POP https://t.co/dTJAXOU8sg
— Michelle Payne (@mj_payne) October 31, 2015
BuzzFeed published photos of the duo trophy in hand:
Michelle Payne @mj_payne and her brother Stevie take out the biggest race in Australia: https://t.co/ieFG0Frr5m pic.twitter.com/ht7JbXNnuR
— Alex Lee (@alex_c_lee) November 3, 2015
The win overshadowed animal rights issues such as the use of the whip and the life threatening injury to three-time runner-up horse Red Cadeaux, who was last reported to be “alive and well” after surgery on its leg. Some even looked for positives:
Despite opinions on horse racing as a ‘sport’, I'm so happy for Michelle Payne and her family. She didn't needlessly whip the horse either.
— Jules The Red (@RedJules4) November 3, 2015
Zoe Norton Lodge seemed to sum up the feelings of those conflicted:
This is a very confusing time for feminists who hate animal cruelty #MelbourneCup
— Zoe Norton Lodge (@zoenl) November 3, 2015
Some went further:
Do horses really have to die just because you need an excuse to get drunk and wear a hat? It's a disgrace. #MelbourneCup #RedCadeaux
— Blake Erickson (@Blake_Erickson) November 3, 2015
Payne's last tweet before the race congratulated record-breaking race caller Greg Miles. She used a hashtag that seems appropriate for her:
Awesome story on @Racing on Greg Miles! Such a gentleman and what a great caller! #sohumble
— Michelle Payne (@mj_payne) November 2, 2015
Payne's milestone comes two years after that of Gai Waterhouse, who was the first woman trainer of a Melbourne Cup winner in 2013.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Five Facts About Mexico’s Día de Muertos · Global Voices
Lupita Peimbert

Altar made by a student at City College of San Francisco. Photo by Lupita Peimbert.
Across the United States people commemorate November 2 as the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos), a Mexican celebration that honors people who have passed away and makes death something to think differently about.
The exquisite aesthetic of this tradition — decorated skulls, flowers, elaborate altars — have seduced Americans, becoming one of the most popular costumes during Halloween. Pop culture has also endorsed this holiday with movies like “The Book of Life” by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and the upcoming “Coco” from Pixar studio.
Various companies interested in the large Hispanic market in the US have been adding the November 2 celebration to their marketing and community relations efforts. For example, the supermarket chain Trader Joe's decorates some of their stores with calaveritas (decorated skulls) and sells zempazuchitl flowers (marigolds), among other products.
day of the dead wine! @ Trader Joe's http://t.co/IhnhnARS
— Andie Mills (@AndieMills) September 28, 2012
Google's doodle on the day was made with papel picado, a typical decoration for Mexican festivities.
.@google celebra el #DiaDeMuertos con un doodle muy mexicano https://t.co/NYwnA2HsOApic.twitter.com/727s6Jf5zo
— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) November 2, 2015
Google celebrates the Day of the Dead with a very Mexican Doodle
For business, community, general culture, or personal purposes, here are five quick facts about this Mexican celebration.
Not before or after.
We grew up bringing flowers, food, and drinks to the cemetery to honor our departed loved ones. Drinking was all about them. Really.
But only a few countries in South America do.
San Francisco’s Mission District (home of the large Mexican community in the city) adopted the tradition in the 1970s, adding to it and transforming it over the years into a mix of jazzy processions New Orleans style with painted faces and costumes, and blessings by means of Aztec rituals and dancers.
With this Mexican-Latino festivity, people learn to not fear death and the dead, but instead to play with the concepts and to laugh about our mortality.

author: Lupita Peimbert


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Iran to Provide Universal Public Healthcare to Refugees · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

Pictures of Afghan children at a school run by a local mosque for Afghan orphans & refugees in Shiraz, Iran. Photo by Simon Monk (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
In an announcement from the United Nation mission in Iran, the Iranian government will include all of its registered refugees into its Salamat Insurance Scheme. This is a collaboration between the Ministry of Interior, responsible for immigrant affairs, the Iranian Health Insurance Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This plan is targeted at Iran's Afghan and Iraqi refugee population.
Iran's English daily Tehran Times, part of the Mehr News Agency owned by the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organisation, described the “gratitude” of Sivanka Dhanapala, the UNHCR Representative in Iran, for the program:
UNHCR’s Representative in Iran acknowledged the Iranian Government’s contribution, expressed UNHCR’s gratitude towards the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for all the services it has rendered to the largest protracted urban refugee population in the world for over three decades, and inclusion of the refugees in this Universal Insurance Scheme which is exemplary not only regionally but also globally, and added that such a services haven’t been provided before and I sincerely hope other countries will follow this example.
Half of the coverage for the program will come from the Iranian government, while the UNHCR will contribute with US $8.3 million. The program will be available to all registered refugees, who will receive access to a health insurance package for “hospitalization and temporary hospitalization”, as available to Iranian nationals.
According to the UNHCR website, Iran is home to one of “the world's largest and most protracted refugee populations.” Iran's Afghan refugee population nears 1 million, with an additional estimated 1.4 to 2 million unregistered refugees living and working in the country.
Iran's treatment of this demographic has been subject to past criticism, however, most notable in the 2013 Human Rights Watch report that detailed the mistreatment and sometimes abuse Afghans faced from both Iranian society and the government.
For their 2015 projection, the UNHCR detailed their expectations for Iran's intake for mostly Afghan, Iraqi and Pakistani refugees as outlined in the image below.
Chart from UNHCR country operations profile.
Iran has been criticized for not taking in any Syrian refugees throughout the civil war there. This reproach comes amidst the fact that it is heavily involved in the Syrian conflict as an ally and supporter of the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
Indeed, this development in instating universal public healthcare for refugee populations is a notable milestone for both Iran and the region. Iran can, however, still improve its image in bolstering its role in alleviating the neighbouring Syrian refugee crisis.

author: Mahsa Alimardani


text:
Meet the Flourishing Muslim Community in Buenaventura, Colombia · Global Voices
Mary Aviles

Buenaventura, the most important Colombian port on the Pacific Ocean, is home to the Shiite Muslim community. Image taken from Wikipedia and published under the licence of Creative Commons.
This Muslim community is unlike any other. Welcome to Buenaventura, home to almost 300 Colombian families of African descent who converted to Islam 40 years ago as a form of empowerment in the face of marginalization.
It's estimated that there are around 10,000 Muslims in the country, and the practice is relatively new to Colombia, according to a study by Rosario University in Bogotá. Buenaventura has the third biggest Muslim community in the country, after those in Maicao and Bogotá, and its existence “of almost four decades makes it an obligatory reference point when studying the presence of Islam in Colombia”, anthropologist Diego Giovanni Castellanos says on the Islam Community in Colombia website.
[La comunidad musulmana de Buenaventura] está conformada completamente por nativos [de Colombia]. Incluso dentro del islam colombiano, son la única comunidad predominantemente chiíta del país, siendo en el resto de lugares el sunismo la tendencia imperante”.
[The Muslim community of Buenaventura] consists entirely of natives [to Colombia]. Even amongst Colombian Islam, they are the only predominately Shiite community in the country, as the rest are mostly Sunni.
Around 400,000 people reside in Buenaventura, of whom 90% are Afro-Colombians. Despite living and working in the most important port in the Colombian Pacific, which generates about $1 million annually in Colombian tax revenues, the overwhelming majority of the population live in poverty and one-third are unemployed, according to Latin American think tank NACLA: “Sixty-five percent of Buenaventura’s households do not have a sewage system, and 45% do not have potable water. Life expectancy in Buenaventura is 51, compared with the national average of 62.”
Islam first arrived to the port in the late 1960s thanks to Esteban Mustafá Meléndez, an Afro-American of Panamanian origin. Every time he arrived at Buenaventura, he would preach about the need to defend the rights of Afro-descendants, according to Castellanos.
From there, the community grew, especially under the guidance of Sheikh Munir Uddin Valencia, who studied in Iran. The blog Islam in Colombia explains that since he assumed leadership of the Shiite community in Buenaventura, a mosque named the City of the Prophet Islamic Cultural Centre was built; the Silvia Zaynab Educational Institute was reopened; and a Muslim radio station which broadcasts from the mosque was created.
A documentary, “Islam in Buenaventura,” describes the life of this group of Afro-Colombians who worship at the City of the Prophet mosque, where ethnic and religious aspects mix and mutually influence each other in a unique way.
The film explores, among other topics, how Islam developed in Latin America, how Latin American converts’ practices differ from those of Muslim immigrants from the Middle East, and how the media has affected the perception of Muslims in Latin America.
Global Voices spoke to the director, Mercedes Vigón, whose work was the result of a project titled “Islam in Latin America”, a collaboration between Florida International University, where she teaches, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Investigation of Social Sciences.
Global Voices (GV): What was it about this community that most attracted your attention?
Mercedes Vigón (MV): Los miembros se sintieron muy honrados cuando los primeros periodistas se interesaron por ella. Sin embargo, unos días antes de que llegáramos, recibieron “el premio” por la candidez con la que recibieron a los primeros periodistas. Y es que resulta que un reportaje que les hicieron advertía a la audiencia nacional que existía en Buenaventura un grupo chiíta que seguía las enseñanzas del Ayatola de turno, con escuela y todo.
Cortaron la entrevista del sheij (Munir Valencia) de tal forma que parecía un fundamentalista, dispuesto a todo. Así que salirse de la norma resultaba extremadamente peligroso en Buenaventura, que de facto estaba manejada por los paramilitares con un sentido de justicia muy peculiar y un tanto brutal.
Me sorprendió que todavía nos brindasen su confianza y creyeran nuestra promesa de que tan solo queríamos contar su historia y dejar que la verdad combatiera tanto sensacionalismo. Después de esta primera reunión en la mezquita, y del intercambio de ideas, de cómo lo íbamos a hacer diferente, y de por qué debían confiar en nosotros, recibimos acceso total… sobretodo a las mujeres (ya que nuestro equipo estaba compuesto por mujeres en su mayoría: dos productoras, una camarógrafa, yo) y un antropólogo musulmán -nuestra llave de entrada- que ya había trabajado con ellos.
Mercedes Vigón (MV): The members felt very honored when the first journalists showed an interest in them. However, a few days before we arrived, they saw the consequence of the candor they showed the first journalists: a report warning the national audience that there was a Shiite group in Buenaventura that followed the teachings of Ayatollah, with a school and everything.
They had edited the interview with the Sheikh [Munir Valencia] in such a manner that he appeared to be a fundamentalist, ready for anything.
It surprised me that they were still willing to trust us and to believe our promise that we only wanted to tell their story and let the truth win over the sensationalism. After this first meeting and exchange of ideas in the mosque about how we were going to be different and why they should trust us, they gave us complete access… above all to the women (given that our team was mostly made up of women: two producers, a photographer and myself) and to a Muslim anthropologist — our way in — who had worked with them before.
GV: How have the women adapted to the religion?
MV: Las mujeres afrocolombianas son las que reciben la tierra y tienen una función muy importante más allá de la procreación y el cuidado tradicional de la familia. Se encargan de la educación y la creación de comunidades económicas independientes. Con la evolución hacia el chiísmo perdieron la participación directa, algo que una de las fundadoras resentía, pero a cambio tienen buena educación y capacidad para ser independientes.
MV: Afro-Colombian women are the ones who [work] the land, and they have a very important role, far beyond procreation and the traditional care of the family. They are in charge of education and the creation of economically independent communities. As the community evolved toward Shiism they lost direct participation [in the community decisions], which some of the founding women resented, but in exchange they are well educated and have the capacity to be independent.
GV: Islam has been seen by many as a means for discrimination in other parts of the world. Does this prejudice also exist in Colombia?
MV: Para la comunidad afrocolombiana había tres factores de discriminación: ser negros, ser musulmanes y ser chiítas. La comunidad comenzó como Nación del Islam durante la época de reinvindicación de derechos civiles en Estados Unidos. Luego, tras conseguir la aceptación del valor de las culturas afrocolombianas y recibir influencias de otros musulmanes quisieron aprender más y pasaron a ser sunitas, pero donde recibieron más apoyo en becas de estudio del islam fue a través de organizaciones educativas sin fin de lucro de Irak y terminaron siendo chiítas
MV: For this Afro-Colombian community there were three discriminatory factors: being black, being Muslim and being Shiite. The community began in the 1970s as an Islam Nation during the fight for civil rights in the United States. Then, after receiving acceptance from Afro-Colombian cultures and being influenced by other Muslims they wanted to learn more, and they became Sunni. However, when they received more support in the form of grants it was through organisations aiming to educate rather than make profits in Iraq, and in the end they became Shiite.

author: Mary Aviles