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The State of Blogging and Social Media in Kenya Today · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The cover of The State of Blogging and Social Media in Kenya 2015 Report.
The Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) released a report earlier this week about the state of blogging and social media in Kenya in 2015. The unveiling took place at Nailab, a start-up accelerator in Nairobi, Kenya, where the Cabinet Secretary for ICT Fred Matiang’i officially introduced the report.
BAKE is a community organization that represents a group of Kenyan online-content creators and seeks to empower innovation in this field and improve the quality of content created on the Web.
The report, which is available for download, seeks to validate the organization's work on prosecutions and episodes of intimidation to discourage dissidents online:
This report also seeks to highlight the significant gains made by bloggers in the promotion of free speech as well as in the creation of quality and diverse content about Kenya on the internet
According to the report, Kenyan blogging started in 2003 with Mental Acrobatics, the blog owned by the Godfather of Kenyan blogging, Daudi Were. The first Twitter account in Kenya was registered in March 2007 by @kamuiri. The country now has close to 1.2 million Twitter users and 15,000 registered blogs.
According to Digital Africa, there are 15 facts one needs to know about the state of Kenyan blogging and social media:
1. The first blog to be published in Kenya was mentalacrobatics.com by Daudi Were in 2003.
2. Kenya has 15,000 registered blogs with 3,000 being active blogs according to The Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) .
3. The first Twitter account in Kenya @kamuiri was registered on 28th March 2007
4. Kenya has close to 2.1 million users on Twitter with more than 700,000 monthly active users (MAUs)
5. There are 4.3 million Kenyans on Facebook
6. Kenya has a mobile penetration of 82.6%
7. There are 26.1 million Internet users in Kenya
8. The value of online advertising industry in Kenyan stood at Ksh.165 billion by the end of 2013 and is projected to rise to over Ksh.301 Billion by 2018.
9. Brands in Kenya are now appointing bloggers and influencers as brand ambassadors. The big challenge facing brand inﬂuencer relations and public relations is the issue of disclosure and this is due to the lack of a legal framework requiring them to disclose if their social media updates are brand endorsements
10.There is increasing pressure from the authorities to regulate bloggers and subject them to the same manner of strict regulation as journalists. There are about five Kenyans who have been prosecuted because of what they’ve published on microblogs.
One of the issues that stands out in the report is the Kenyan government's attempt to suppress online free expression. Shitemi Khamadi, for instance, argues that the use of social media defines Kenya's Internet freedom concerns:
More recently in 2015, blogger Abraham Mutai and web developer Geoffrey Andare have had their freedoms threatened in one way or the other through use of the law. Mutai’s blog was pulled down while his twitter account also suspended for some hours. Other cases included Nancy Mbindalah and Allan Wadi.
On Twitter, the hashtag #iFreeKe is the official tag for discussing the report, which many in Kenya and abroad and welcomed warmly.
Olé Laibuta refuted the idea that the “GOK” (Government of Kenya) is cracking down on the Web.
‘no amount of insults will prompt GOK to limit fundamental freedoms’ @FredMatiangi #ifreeke
— Olé Laibuta (@Olez) June 16, 2015
The Bloggers Association of Kenya noted the difficulty working with government institutions that do not have enough social media skills:
We're working with police who are very ignorant of how social media works – @BonifaceMwangi #iFreeKe
— BAKE (@BAKE_ke) June 16, 2015
The Ministry of Information, Communication, and Technology acknowledged the report by issuing the following statement:
CS @FredMatiangi : social media should be a credible and responsible tool for social engagement @thenailab #iFreeKE pic.twitter.com/Yny94QgDxn
— Ministry of ICT (@MoICTKenya) June 16, 2015
While Kenyan blogger Rayhab Gachango had an advise for African social media users:
We should use social media to unleash our potential and engage well in the democratic space. CS @FredMatiangi #iFreeKE cc @BAKE_ke
— Rayhab Gachango (@potentash) June 16, 2015
Kapkirwok had some advice to give and a warning to pronounce:
Many young upcoming keyboard worriors don't know rules of web 2.0 it impacts society and same time destroy #iFreeKE
— Kapkirwok® (@OriopLangat) June 16, 2015
Shiko-Msa said something that many Internet users would likely embrace:
You have the freedom alright, but you have responsibilities too. Do not go insulting people on social media. #iFreeKe
— Shiko-Msa (@Shiko_Msa) June 16, 2015
TechMoran interpreted the report to be a sign of the new media era of tomorrow:
Communication has moved to a new level. Were in a new era of media. Uhuru Kenyatta with a million followers is a media owner. #ifreeke
— TechMoran (@TechMoran) June 16, 2015
Writing about the same idea, Nailab explained:
Traditional media is fading so we need to pay attention to the next space that media is taking – @FredMatiangi #iFreeKE
— Nailab (@thenailab) June 16, 2015
After reading the report, Bankable decided to post the text about the B word in the report:
B for billion #ifreeke pic.twitter.com/pxBcbBfQAx
— bank·a·ble (@mbuguanjihia) June 16, 2015
The Committee to Protect Journalism focused particularly on online freedom:
The rights of bloggers and social media users in #Kenya under threat @bloggersafrica #KOT #Bloggingisnotacrime https://t.co/nBt9pbYPIE
— africa @pressfreedom (@africamedia_CPJ) June 17, 2015
Read the whole report here.


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The Tweet That United Government and Opposition Supporters in Venezuela · Global Voices
Global Voices Latin America

Santiago, Chile. 11 June 2015 – The Copa América in Chile. Photo by Fernando Lavoz. Copyright Demotix
In Venezuela, the division between pro-Chávez supporters and the opposition has reached unimaginable levels. Even in areas which should unite the country, like sports, they can be used for political gain. However, during the Copa América, the biggest football tournament on the continent, a tweet from former Mexican President Felipe Calderón almost managed the impossible: to bring together the two sides.
Qué pena, qué juego tan sucio del equipo de Venezuela. Parece que los entrenó Maduro… — Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon) June 14, 2015
It's a shame that the Venezuelan football team plays so dirty. [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro must have trained them…
Venezuela overcame one of the favourites, Colombia, 1-0. However, the real shock came from social media, where people came together to defend their national team, regardless of political affiliation.
Con un tuit desgraciado @FelipeCalderon logra unir a opositores y chavistas en #Venezuela. #LaVinotintoNosUne y se respeta. ¿Oyó manito?
— Luz Mely Reyes (@LuzMelyReyes) June 15, 2015
Felipe Calderon's unfortunate tweet manages to unite opposition groups and Chavistas in Venezuela. The Burgundy [Venezuelan football team] unites us and should be respected. You got that, bro?
Felipe Calderón debería pedir disculpas a toda Venezuela , es lo que corresponde por habernos ofendido a TODOS @FelipeCalderon
— Jose Grasso (@josegrasso) June 15, 2015
Felipe Calderón must apologize to the citizens of Venezuela, it's what should be done after offending ALL of us.
Vamos tropa palo con Felipe Calderon Venezuela se respeta pic.twitter.com/wzrH0s2baf
— yomer jose Rodriguez (@yomerjose28) June 14, 2015
Come on troop [a nickname for pro-government organized Twitter users], let's teach Felipe Calderon a lesson, respect for Venezuela

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Global Voices Latin America


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Iran Features Heavily in the Latest WikiLeaks From Saudi Arabia · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

Iran and Saudi Arabia have long challenged each other for geopolitical influence in the region, most recently during the ‘proxy war’ in Yemen. Wikimedia image.
The new trove of WikiLeaks covering documents from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs speak to a preoccupation with their regional rival Iran.
So far, 23 documents from the cache are daily briefs from the ministry on Iran.
Most fascinating find of #SaudiCables so far are the 23 Iran Daily Briefs (‘تقرير ايران اليومي’) from '06, '10, '11 https://t.co/T3DRHhL3X0
— Mahsa Alimardani (@maasalan) June 20, 2015
Social media users have also noted the focus on Iran in the cables. Of the 60,000 documents leaked so far, around 1,500 reference Iran or Iranian in English and Arabic. As more analysis of the documents emerge, the Foreign Ministry's specific concerns in relation to Iran become apparent.
This leaked document shows #Saudi concern over a homegrown Iranian jet fighter #SaudiCables #Iran pic.twitter.com/y73oVm4A6W — Darius Caspian (@DariusCaspian) June 20, 2015
#KSA was suspicious of #Iran #Egypt relationship during #Morsi presidency #SaudiCables #Saudileaks pic.twitter.com/CjYzaQBZQL
— Hassan Ridha (@sayed_ridha) June 20, 2015
#SaudiCables show overwhelming obsession of #SaudiArabia with regards to #Iran and Shiism. https://t.co/9gHrITV3HQ — Victor J. Willi (@victorjwilli) June 20, 2015
Real nugget from #SaudiCables: panic abt #Iran amid Arab Spring on full display, signed by then FM Faisal. https://t.co/DsKJNujyQq — Mohammad Ali Shabani (@mashabani) June 20, 2015
Leaked Saudi Foreign Ministry documents include cables on interference with the broadcast of IRIB's @alalam_news. https://t.co/vG853TJyKC — Collin Anderson (@CDA) June 19, 2015
This leaked document shows #Saudi concern over a homegrown Iranian jet fighter #SaudiCables #Iran pic.twitter.com/y73oVm4A6W
— Darius Caspian (@DariusCaspian) June 20, 2015
Some Saudi Arabian social media users have claimed the leaks as an Iranian hack; however, others have been quick to pour cold water on these claims.
In case you missed it, #Iran hacked into #Saudi government computers and forwarded tons of documents to wikileaks, which posted them online
— Hussain AbdulHussain (@hahussain) June 19, 2015
Arab liberal going nuts over #SaudiCables. No comment on the Saudi regime's destructive policies. Just Iran Iran Iran pic.twitter.com/37SqOie8Ip
— كريم (@ArabSecularist) June 20, 2015

author: Mahsa Alimardani


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How a Facebook User in Thailand Was Sentenced to 50 Years in Jail for ‘Defaming’ the Monarchy · Global Voices
Prachatai

Kai speaks about the case of her husband who is in jail for ‘defaming’ the monarchy. Photo from Prachatai
This is a version of an article written by Metta Wongwat about the testimony of a wife of a lèse majesté (anti-royal insult law) prisoner in Thailand. Some critics believe the lese majeste law is already outdated but the government insists it is necessary to protect the monarchy. This article is published on Global Voices as a part of a content-sharing agreement.
Tiensutham S., aka Yai Daengdueat, 58-years-old, graduated from a top-tier Thai university with a degree in chemical engineering and worked as a consultant to a number of large companies and construction projects.
Tiensutham was arrested at home on 18 December 2014 by dozens of plain-clothes military and police and taken with his wife to a military base for questioning. His wife was released, but Tiensutham was held and an arrest warrant was approved by a military court on 22 December. He was jailed the following day.
Military prosecutors charged him with five counts of defaming the monarchy based on Facebook posts written between July and the end of November last year. He confessed his guilt and on 31 March, 2015 was sentenced to 50 years prison, reduced to 25 as a result of his confession. Because of the length of the sentence, Tiensutham was moved from Bangkok Remand Prison to Khlong Prem Central Prison.
The details of the case are available on iLaw. This is the longest sentence ever handed down for defamation of the monarchy, exceeding previous records of 34 years for a former head of the Office of the Chief of Staff for the Crown Prince (no details available), and 30 years for a musician (reduced to 15 years, details here).
In the course of the arrest and investigation, the wife of Tiensutham, nicknamed Kai was forced to sign over Facebook accounts of interest to military personnel. She chose not to come forward, hoping that her silence might lessen her husband’s sentence. She only recently agreed to speak publicly.
Kai recounted their ordeal, with frequent interruptions for tears, as follows:
1. The Arrest
He had never participated in any demonstrations. He’s a cyber-warrior who cannot abide falsehood. He didn’t only read Thai news but attended to international affairs and loves democracy. During the prosperity of the Thaksin government he made good money and all his business moves were successful. Following the coup, however, things went sour and business dried up and he could find no work. He became anxious and upset and began to spend much more time on Facebook. Previously, he worked as a management consultant, bringing in hundreds of thousands of baht a month, with many companies seeking his services. He is an expert manager, although his degree is in engineering. He had constant work and was loved by his subordinates.
He used Facebook for a long time and the military says that they monitored him for at least three years. He made many posts. You can look at Facebook and find humorous posts. After the coup he heavily criticized the military, putting up graphics accusing them of deceiving the people. After his arrest, the military froze but did not close his Facebook account; they had us both sign over our Facebook accounts. They use the accounts to trick [others] via private messaging. But now everyone knows. At first, we suspected that we were among many who were detained at the military base.
They all came into the house. They were covered in dark shirts and didn’t show any badges. They were all out of uniform, both soldiers and police. Afterwards a soldier in camouflage drove up, entered [the house] and saw a photo of a child we are caring for who is in the cadet school. They were shocked and asked how the troops there could consider him a brother. He said that they would take everyone’s computers, iPhones, telephones, everything from the drawers and he took us both to the camp.
2. The Judgment
I was wrong in thinking that we weren’t news. First, Yai was just an ordinary citizen. Second, he wasn’t a leader or famous; he didn’t stand out in any way. If I raised an outcry that might rouse anger and he might receive a harsher sentence. If I were quiet [I thought] the sentence might be mild. Then he was sentenced. If I knew it was going to be like this I would have liked to have been in the news.
We borrowed 50,000 from relatives, added to the 20,000 in the bank that’s all we have. I tried to post bail with it four times without success.
The judgment was given in camera in the courtroom and I was not allowed in. Everyone but the lawyer had to wait outside. But the court read the verdict very quickly afterwards.
When Yai and the lawyer came out of the room I watched his face to guess what had happened. He shook his head. I didn’t think it would be so bad. I thought maybe three years per count, but I understood from his shaking his head that it was five. I asked. Tears welled up in Yai’s eyes and he said “Fifty years.” I was stunned, but a crowd was gathering in front of the room and he was taken downstairs. He said to wait and he’d tell me what happened.
3. Effects
With him here we could do almost anything. With just me, the family is incomplete. I only had a little education, but Yai has much learning and is a great benefit for both my children. He was expected to go far. I don’t know much about education, but I’m good at buying and selling. Yai taught me English, taught us a great deal so that we didn’t have to spend money on special schools. Now we don’t have him and I can’t afford special schools. I have nothing to give the children. It’s all over.
My children were never before interested in politics. We didn’t get involved. But now they question everything. They have more opinions than I do. They say, “Facebook belongs to another country, how can they arrest Father? Father didn’t kill anybody; the judgment is excessive.” As a result they’ve been trying to learn why their father is being punished so severely. Every day now they look for things to read. This is an effect of loss and pain, and intensifies their anger. I worry. I don’t want them to think that way. I tell them to concentrate on school and not get involved in politics; I’ve got no one.
4. At the Prison
We haven’t yet requested a royal pardon. We’re waiting for him to achieve the status of first-grade prisoner. He’s now in the middle rank. He is teaching English to the other prisoners and the prison personnel see that he has both English and computer knowledge. This should help him to attain first-grade status.
Visits at Klong Prem Central Prison? I don’t like to talk about it, but I have to tell the worst. I really detest the body checks. Aren’t there devices they can use? Do they have to grope with their hands [she brought her hand up as though to grope her breasts]? They’re females, but I still don’t like it. They grab everything. You can’t take in money. You can’t take in a notepad; you have to tear out a single sheet of paper.
Visits are limited to 30 minutes, but it’s not like Bangkok Remand Prison where there are private visits. Here it’s a competition. They let a hundred, two hundred relatives in at once. Then there’s a glass shield separating the relatives five meters from the prisoners. You talk by telephone; they can’t really see each other. There are reflections on the glass any you have to lean this way and that to get a glimpse.
Yai seems to be in better spirits, but I wonder if he’s in bad shape deep down. We can’t say much. Lèse majesté cases have both supporters and opponents there [in the prison]; when is asked [by other prisoners] he just says that he violated the computer crimes act.
Since 18 December [the day of the arrest] I’ve had no day without tears. But the tears have changed. At first I sobbed. Now the tears fall quietly.
For the past five months I have not missed a single visiting day. Do I have a wish? Just a little. If he is released that will be the greatest joy. I want everyone to have such joy. But he is suffering now.

author: Prachatai


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India’s Newest Superhero: None Other Than Boxing Champion Mary Kom · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Indian boxer Mary Kom during the World Series Boxing competition in Mumbai, India on March 2, 2012. Photo from Flickr user WorldSeriesBoxing. CC BY-ND 2.0
This article and radio report by producer David Leveille for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on June 12, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
The new animated TV series “Mary Kom Jr.” rolls out in 2016. According to its producers, the episodes will be set in rural villages in India's northeastern state of Manipur. The superhero will have powers inspired by the real Mary Kom, an Olympic boxer. The cartoon version will punch out villains and use her skillful self-defense moves and maybe her magic red boxing gloves to stop gender crime in its tracks.
“Mary Kom is a phenomenon in India,” says Adrija Bose, the social media editor at the Huffington Post in New Delhi. “She’s won the 2012 Olympic Bronze medal. She’s also the only woman boxer in the world to have won medals in six World Championships, and she comes from a very humble background … her parents were farmers.”
Mary Kom has to juggle a lot these days as she trains for the Brazil Olympics. She’s the mother of three children, and she’s campaigned to fight drug abuse in her home state, and to ban the use of Indian elephants in circuses. But the latest twist in her career is this new licensing deal with the TV production company ScreenYug Creations for the animated series. “I want girls to be confident, strong,” Mary Kom said in an interview. “Boxing teaches you how to be mentally tough as well as physically strong.”
The series come at a time when women are pushing back in India, when the Delhi gang rape is still fresh. The crime set off a chain reaction of grief and fury. Some Indian politicians are realizing that they’ve got to address the many issues women face, and there are renewed calls for tougher penalties for violence against women.  In rural India, girls face other challenges, they’re often considered a burden on families and have less access to education.
So where does superhero Mary Kom fit into this narrative?  Bose says Mary Kom is both a real and an imaginary fighter that women and girls can have as a role model.
“She’s going to be a superhero now for the country,” says Bose. “She is a fighter. When she’s out there, you know there is some hope. There’s somebody who’s fighting out there, so you know that you can, too. Women might feel like we may not be fighting in a boxing match, but when you see Mary Kom, you know you have to fight, so she’s an inspiration.”
As Bose points out, India has its share of incredible characters saving the world. For example, there’s Priya, a young woman who appears in the comic books series Shakti that was created in 2012 following the horrific Delhi gang rape. The animated series features the escapades of Priya, a gang-rape survivor herself, as she battles gender crimes in India with the blessings of Hindu goddess Parvati.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Infographic Shows Thailand Junta Arrested Hundreds in the Past Year for Criticizing the Government · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The free speech advocate iLaw uploaded an infographic which showed that 166 people have been arrested in the past year in Thailand for expressing an opinion against the military-backed government.
The army grabbed power in May 2014 but it vowed to restore civilian rule and conduct free elections next year. Protests and public gathering of five or more people are currently prohibited in Thailand.
The infographic also revealed that there are 68 political prisoners in the country.
Meanwhile, another infographic by iLaw showed that lese majeste (anti-royal insult law) cases have risen in the past year. Some scholars are petitioning the review of the law which they described as harsh and repressive.

author: Mong Palatino


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#SaudiCables: What We’ve Learned So Far About Lebanon · Global Voices
Elia J. Ayoub

Screenshot of one of the leaks
WikiLeaks has released the Saudi Cables, which include “more than half a million cables and other documents from the Saudi Foreign Ministry that contain secret communications from various Saudi Embassies around the world.” With regard to Lebanon, local newspaper Al Akhbar, which has been a partner of WikiLeaks since the United States diplomatic cables leak in 2010, has been reporting on some of the local scandals.
The Arab World is staying up all night tonight :”WikiLeaks Says It's Leaking Over 500,000 Saudi Documents” http://t.co/bLFgZ4LoNS
— Zied Mhirsi (@zizoo) June 19, 2015
Among the many revelations leaked in the cables are the implications of what Saudi Arabia's money had done for both Lebanese politics and journalism. According to cable ‘doc36598‘, Samir Geagea, the leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF), a Christian political party and part of the March 14 Alliance, sent a representative to request financial assistance from the Saudi government. Geagea is quoted as saying “I'm broke. I'm ready to do what the kingdom demands.” The request was made via an LF representative, Elie Abou Assi, who reported “difficulty of the financial situation of the party and to a certain extent have become unable to secure the salaries of employees in the party.”
Lebanese blogger Ramez Dagher of Moulahazat summarized it as such:
This cable is the diplomatic proof that Saudi Arabia helped the Lebanese Forces in their finances. In it, the Saudi foreign minister Saoud Al Faisal tells us that Samir Geagea’s man Elie Abou Assi met the Saudi ambassador and told him that the LF are struggling financially especially that they are countering two pro-Syrian foes (the Maronite patriarch and Aoun) and that Geagea is ready to travel to the KSA in order to solve the financial issues. The ambassador also said that the LF were ready to do as the Kingdom says. The wise Foreign minister also suggested that Sunni politicians be invited too (probably so that it doesn’t look fishy).
Another leak referred to Saudi Arabia's policy of “Buying Silence“. As detailed in the report:
one of the ways ‘neutralisation’ and ‘containment’ are ensured is by purchasing hundreds or thousands of subscriptions in targeted publications. These publications are then expected to return the favour by becoming an “asset” in the Kingdom’s propaganda strategy. A document listing the subscriptions that needed renewal by 1 January, 2010, details a series of contributory sums meant for two dozen publications in Damascus, Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Kuwait, Amman and Nouakchott. The sums range from $500 to 9,750 Kuwaiti Dinars ($33,000). The Kingdom effectively buys reverse ‘shares’ in the media outlets, where the cash ‘dividends’ flow the opposite way, from the shareholder to the media outlet. In return Saudi Arabia gets political ‘dividends – an obliging press.’
It is in this context that we discovered (doc83763) that the Saudi government paid MTV, one of the main TV stations in Lebanon (not to be confused with the American TV channel). MTV asked for $20 million but received $5 million.
We also found out that another member of parliament, Boutros Harb, requested money from Saudi Arabia in order to create a political party (doc32628).

author: Elia J. Ayoub


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Toyota Exec’s Arrest Highlights Japan’s Hard Line on Narcotics · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Toyota's First (Senior) Female Executive Arrested on Suspicion of Importing Narcotics. Screencap from official FNN YouTube channel.
The arrest of a high profile American executive at Toyota Japan on drug charges highlights Japan's hard line stance on narcotics and psychotropic drugs.
Toyota Managing Officer Julie Hamp was arrested by Japanese police on June 18 after customs officials discovered the narcotic Oxycodone in a care package sent by mail to Hamp from relatives in the United States.
Oxycodone is an opioid medication similar to morphine used to treat severe pain from arthritis and other chronic illnesses. Possession of such narcotics is generally illegal in Japan, where prescription of pain medications that contain narcotics (opiod analgesics) still lags far behind most Western countries.
While Oxycodone may be a common prescription drug in the United States, in Japan it is only used in the most extreme circumstances:
トヨタのアメリカ人の女性役員がオキシコドン密輸で逮捕されたけど、あれってがん性疼痛がない人が使ってもねむいだけだとおもうんだ。オキシコンチンもオキノームも使ったことなくて、強オピオイド剤はフェンタネル・パッチしか経験がないけど、がん性疼痛が治まってくると傾眠がひどかった。
— 森林 香 (@powershinrinkou) June 19, 2015
On the Toyota executive who was arrested for importing narcotics, [Oxycodone] is really only prescribed to relieve severe pain from cancer. If you don't have cancer all the drug would do would be to make you feel sleepy I think. Although I haven't used either Oxycontin or OxyNorm [other names for Oxycodone, the drug Hamp was arrrested for], I have used a fentanyl patch, and when the pain from cancer finally subsided I felt extremely drowsy.
At least two Japanese government websites state narcotics are illegal to bring into Japan.
The US Embassy in Japan's website also states:
It is illegal to bring into Japan some over-the-counter medicines commonly used in the United States, including inhalers and some allergy and sinus medications. Specifically, products that contain stimulants (medicines that contain Pseudoephedrine, such as Actifed, Sudafed, and Vicks inhalers), or Codeine are prohibited…
Heroin, cocaine, MDMA, opium, cannabis, stimulant drugs including some prescription medications such as Adderall, and including some medications available over-the-counter in the U.S. are prohibited in Japan. There are no exceptions in bringing these prohibited medications into Japan, even if the medication is legally obtained outside of Japan.
Julie Hamp, a former director at General Motors, is the Japanese automaker’s first non-Japanese female senior executive. Hamp was originally hired from GM in 2009 by Toyota to lead communications for the company's North American operations following a major crisis whereby Toyota vehicles were found to accelerate without warning.
After receiving criticism that the company responded too slowly and ultimately ineffectually to the crisis, Hamp was hired to help change corporate culture in Toyota.
Hamp was then promoted to managing officer in Tokyo in March 2015.
Following her arrest, Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, has stood behind Hamp, stating he believes Toyota's managing officer had no intention of breaking the law. In a June 19 news conference Toyoda also stated he thought the company could have done a better job onboarding Hamp when she moved into her new role in Tokyo. The Toyota president, who recruited Hamp to the company himself, then made a formal public apology in front of television cameras.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda: I believe Julie Hamp when she said she had no intention of breaking the law. Screencap from FNN official YouTube channel.
As Julie Hamp has been remanded in police custody, she does not have the opportunity to make a public statement.
Media reports suggest that police intercepted the drugs as part of a care package mailed to Hamp from family in the United States. According to police, the Oxycodone seemed to be concealed near the bottom of the care package, and appeared to be camouflaged to resemble a necklace.
Hamp's arrest also bears striking similarities to that of another American woman, Carrie Russell, who was arrested in March 2015 on suspicion of importing stimulants. Stimulants, like narcotics, are banned in Japan as illegal drugs.
In Russell's case, the young woman also received the drugs as part of a care package from home. Russell had recently relocated to Japan from South Korea. Russell's mother, a pharmacist in Oregon in the United States, had mailed Russell 180 Adderall pills. Adderall is used in the United States to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) and is popular among college students preparing for exams.
Customs officials in Japan became suspicious because Russell's mother sent the pills to her daughter without a prescription, and packed it in an old Tylenol bottle. Russell was arrested by Japanese police and spent 18 days in detention before being released after frantic efforts by the American embassy.
Policies and practice
In Japan, with the exception of alcohol, most drugs remain taboo and illegal, and zero-tolerance remains the government's official stance. When celebrities or other high profile figures in Japanese society are caught doing drugs, consequences can be severe.
After popular entertainer Ryo Aska was arrested for possession of MDMA by Tokyo police last year his long career was effectively ruined. The singer allegedly relied on mafia contacts to supply him with the drugs.
But beyond disgraced pop stars, stimulant use has always found a place in Japanese society.
Known as shabu or kakuseizei, methamphetamine was used by Japanese soldiers and factory workers during the Second World War, just as their contemporaries in the United States and Germany used the drug. Today the drug is considered to be widely used in Japan by long-haul truckers that need to stay awake.
Japanese authorities are also attempting to crack down on the growing acceptance of marijuana and synthetic designer drugs known as dappo habu.
According to the Tokyoite, a blog published by Time Out Tokyo:
Dappo habu are made up of ‘herbs’ spiked with chemicals and, when smoked, they cause hallucination and intoxication. So far, they have managed to escape being classed as illegal because they get sold as ‘herbal incense’.
For the past ten years such designer drugs have become popular in Tokyo's club scene. Stars and Stripes, an independent publication read by many people serving in the American armed forces, including service personnel stationed in Japan, has taken pains to warn its readership about the dangers posed by these quasi-legal synthetic drugs.
Hamp health fears
From the Japanese point of view Toyota executive Julie Hamp has definitely broken the law:
麻薬密輸で逮捕されたトヨタ初の女性役員、トヨタのイメージがダウンだ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ
— ゆず（安保法案反対） (@kyuzyou) June 19, 2015
Toyota's first female executive arrested for importing drugs… Toyota's reputation is RUINED!  (ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ
Another Twitter user expressed concern over whatever it is that is prompting Julie Hamp to take medication in the first place.
トヨタの女性役員逮捕事件は、間もなく釈放ということで解決するだろう。これは日米の法制度の違いによるもので、女性役員の単なる不注意だと思う。それよりもこの女性役員の体調不安が心配。ストレスの多い仕事で薬を使わないと眠れないのだろうか。 — 足立勉 (@adachitom) June 19, 2015
In the case of the female Toyota exec arrested for drugs, I'm pretty sure she'll be let off the hook momentarily. It's just a difference between Japanese and American laws – [Hamp] really just made a mistake. What's more worrying is Hamp's physical health. I'm sure she must have a stressful job, so perhaps she's taking this medication to sleep at night.
But in the fast-moving stimulant-powered world of stocks and shares, Hamp's opiate scandal has not made a major impression. As one Twitter user quipped:
トヨタ8269円+1.04％、女性役員逮捕の影響見られず。
— R-YM (@Ref116622) June 19, 2015
Toyota stock ended the day up 1.04% to 8269 yen. The arrest of the female executive didn't have any effect [on the stock price].

author: Nevin Thompson


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WikiLeaks to Publish 500,000 Leaked Documents the Saudi Government Doesn’t Want its Citizens to See · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

WikiLeaks started releasing more than half a million leaked Saudi documents, including some top secret information, which the Saudi government has warned its citizens not to exchange or access
WikiLeaks has started publishing more than half a million leaked documents from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A total of 61,000 documents, in Arabic, are already online, creating a rich fodder of information on the secret correspondence behind the scenes in the Saudi corridors of power.
Saudis are, however, being warned from going anywhere near the leaked documents, sharing them or believing their contents.
The information dump, dubbed the Saudi Cables, reveal secret communications from Saudi embassies, as well as “top secret” reports from other Saudi state institutions, including the Ministry of Interior and the Kingdom's General Intelligence Services, according to a press release made by the whistle-blowing site.
The massive cache of data also contains a large number of email communications between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign entities. The Saudi Cables are being published in tranches of tens of thousands of documents at a time over the coming weeks. Today WikiLeaks is releasing around 70,000 documents from the trove as the first tranche.
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks publisher, said:
The Saudi Cables lift the lid on a increasingly erratic and secretive dictatorship that has not only celebrated its 100th beheading this year, but which has also become a menace to its neighbours and itself.
Also Read: Buying Silence: How the Saudi Foreign Ministry Controls Arab media
Understandably, the Saudi government is not pleased and has reached out to its citizens to ignore the cache, waving it off as the malicious work of “enemies of the nation.” In two separate tweets, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns its citizens not to access the leaks.
It's first tweet reads:
عزيزي #المواطن_الواعي : لا تنشر أي وثائق قد تكون مزورة تساعد أعداء الوطن في تحقيق غاياتهم.
— وزارة الخارجية (@KSAMOFA) June 19, 2015
Dear Aware Citizen,
Don't spread any documents that may be forged and which will help the enemies of the state achieve their goals
A follow up tweet, a few minutes later, elaborates:
عزيزي #المواطن_الواعي : تجنب الدخول إلى أي موقع بغرض الحصول على وثائق أو معلومات مسربة قد تكون غير صحيحة، بقصد الإضرار بأمن الوطن.
— وزارة الخارجية (@KSAMOFA) June 19, 2015
Dear Aware Citizen,
Avoid entering any websites with the aim of accessing documents or leaked information, which may be fabricated, with the goal of harming national security.
Although the tweets, which have been retweeted a few thousand times, fail to mention the Saudi Cables, netizens on Twitter were quick to pick up on the cue.
Many shared screenshots of the ministry warnings with comments, like this Twitter user, who notes:
عزيزي المواطن : إن حكومتك أصبحت في ستين داهيه ، ونتمنى منك كعادتك أن تكون حماراً مطيعاً ، ولا تنشر غسيلنا .. وشكراً ! pic.twitter.com/I6t6UZQtph
— سِـرْحَـال (@Le3ders) June 19, 2015
Dear Citizen,
Your government is in deep trouble and expects you, as usual, to be an obedient donkey and not spread its dirty laundry.
Using tongue-in-cheek humor and describing her fellow Saudis as “aware citizens,” Saudi blogger Hala Aldoseri wonders what the wisdom behind banning Saudis from accessing the leaks is:
ماهي الحكمة من عدم الاطلاع يعني؟ حلال للعالم و حرام على #المواطن_الواعي
— هالة الدوسري (@Hala_Aldosari) June 20, 2015
What is the wisdom behind banning accessing? Is it permissible for the rest of the world and haram (religiously banned) on the aware citizen?
In a follow up tweet, she explains:
ماذا ستقول لنا تسريبات الويكيليكس غير ما نعرفه بالفعل؟ دور المال في تأمين الولاء، هاجس إيران و السنة، وصرفيات النافذين
— هالة الدوسري (@Hala_Aldosari) June 20, 2015
What will the WikiLeaks leaks tell us more than we know? About the role of money in securing allegiance, or the concern over Iran and Sunnis, or the running expenses of those in power?

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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A 68-Year-Old Book Is Fueling a Major Debate About Race in Costa Rica · Global Voices
Shirley Campbell Barr

Promotional banner for the orchestral adaptation of “Cocorí”. This new adaptation triggered a new wave of controversy about racism in Costa Rica. Photo taken from the Facebook profile for the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica.
How is it that a short children's story written in the late 1940s is generating a hurricane of controversy today that is dividing little Costa Rica?
The story, a book called Cocorí, is a collection of the adventures of a black child in the (almost isolated) Caribbean community in Costa Rica. At the time, the book won several international prizes and is probably the most translated Costa Rican book in history. For many years, it was required reading for children in primary school. Nonetheless, a few years ago, in response to pressure from various social groups, the book ceased to be compulsory. Today, it is available only as elective reading.
In the book, Cocorí is a black boy living with his mother in a port. One day, after the arrival of a ship to the coast, he meets a blonde girl. At their first meeting, both children are surprised. Cocorí is surprised by the girl's blonde hair and the girl confuses Cocorí with a monkey. Following this confusion, she thinks that Cocorí's skin has been filled with soot, since she has never seen a black boy. After exchanging a few snails for a rose, Cocorí promises to bring the girl a little squirrel monkey. Cocorí manages to capture the monkey and returns to the ship, but it's gone. Cocorí's sadness grows when he finds his rose withered with all of its petals on the ground. From there, he decides to wander the lands in search of an answer to the question: Why do certain things live for many years while others live for so few?
The trigger for the current controversy came during a scene in a musical by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ministry of Culture and Youth, performed for young students at the National Theater.
Online, many Internet users have spoken out against censoring the work of fiction, saying the unfiltered story is an important form of free expression:
No a la CENSURA de #Cocori tenemos derecho a escuchar la obra musical. pic.twitter.com/W3nDlhKRRN
— Marlene H.  (@Marlenetica) April 25, 2015
No to CENSORING #Cocori. we have the right to listen to the musical
Sobre censura a #Cocorí: "El arte políticamente correcto no existe" Carlos Rubio escritor y experto en literatura infantil @nacion
— María José Cubero (@mjcubero) April 24, 2015
Regarding censoring #Cocori: “Politically correct art does not exist” -Carlos Rubio, writer and expert in children's literature
En el día del Libro y derechos de autor, nos recibe la censura (mordaza) a #Cocorí
— Rocío (@Roalvarezolaso) April 23, 2015
In the day of books and copyrights, we get the censorship (gagging) of #Cocorí
Beyond the musical adaptation and discussions of the book, a larger debate about racism has erupted in Costa Rica. On blogs like Diego Delfino, the conversation has focused on the country's own unique experience with racism:
Definitivamente. Como entender sino que a los costarricenses les incomode tantísimo el solo sugerir que un libro pueda leerse diferente desde otros ojos y que tal vez sería oportuno escuchar a quienes lo aprecian de esa manera. Prefieren enfadarse, radicalizar la discusión y desacreditar por completo a quienes ya de por sí han sido históricamente marginados antes que entender que en toda aquella pluralidad de voces y opiniones abundan puntos de vista igualmente valiosos e interesantes, que en nada nos perjudicaría cuando menos, tomar en cuenta.
Is Costa Rica racist or not? Definitely. How is it possible to understand that Costa Ricans are so uncomfortable with the mere suggestion that a book could be read differently through different eyes and would it perhaps be opportune to listen to those who appreciate it that way? They prefer to get angry, radicalize the discussion, and completely discredit those who have already been historically marginalized before understanding that in all that plurality of voices and opinions, there is an abundance of equally valuable and interesting points of view, which wouldn't hurt to at least take into account.
On Facebook, Harold Robinson Davis responded to those who accuse Cocorí's critics of censoring popular Costa Rican culture:
Hay algunos que quisieran desviar el foco de la discusión, esgrimiendo argumentos espúreos de defensa de la “libre expresión” o combate a la “censura”. Esta falacia cae por su propio peso […] Quien quiera educarse o educar a sus hijos con los “valores” que este libro transmite, está libre de hacerlo en su propia casa. (Le advierto sin embargo que es una receta para el desastre: en este mundo globalizado, la diversidad y la tolerancia son cada día más valores imprescindibles para el éxito….o para la simple convivencia.
There are those who want to divert the focus of the discussion, citing illegitimate arguments in defense of “free speech” or fighting “censorship”. This falls falls under its own weight […] Whoever wants to educate their children with the “values” that this book conveys is free to do so in their own home. (I warn you though that this is a recipe for disaster: with each passing day in this globalized world, diversity and tolerance are essential values for success … or simply for coexistence)
Winston Washington shared his personal experience, also on Facebook:
A mis treinta y un años entiendo y perdono con algo de pena, a quienes me hicieron la vida de cuadritos con el bendito Cocorí. No somos Cocorí, ningún negro en Costa Rica es Cocorí, no nos gusta Cocorí, nos cae mal, bastante mal, [no] nos representa. Desde la caricatura es insoportable, con sus ojos ignorantes y su bemba colorada, al mejor estilo del vodevil de finales del SXIX y principios del SXX, con los “blancos” con la cara pintada de negro, haciendo parodia de las costumbres del afrodescendiente”.
At the age of 31, I understand and somewhat regretfully forgive those who made my life hell with the blessed Cocorí. We are not Cocorí, no black person in Costa Rica is Cocorí, we don't like Cocorí, he makes a bad impression on us, significantly bad, he does not represent us. The cartoon is unbearable, with his ignorant eyes and his red-colored lip, in the vaudeville style of the late 19th century and the start of the 20th, with the “whites” wearing blackface, parodying the customs of African descendants.
The Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Assembly has asked Minister of Culture Elizabeth Fonseca not to endorse these concerts, considering that the work contains racist connotations and spreads racist stereotypes against people of African descent. The Minister of Culture welcomed the initiative. Throughout this process, the debate has become more aggressive, focusing particularly on two public representatives: Epsy Campbell, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Assembly, and Maureen Clarke, from the National Liberation Party—both of whom are of African descent.
In defense of the book, various groups have emerged on Facebook, criticizing the representatives who claim its protagonist is depicted in a racist way. Some of the criticism has become abusive, and Campbell had to close her social media accounts. Her supporters even launched a petition calling for state protection, after she received certain physical threats.
Meme shared online criticizing the legislators asking that “Cocori” not be adapted with public funds.
How this controversy will end remains a mystery, for now. The debate continues, extending beyond the book and the story, pitting those who see it as part of Costa Rican tradition and identity against others who feel this particular tradition dehumanizes people of African descent.
Many in and sympathetic to the Afro-Costa Rican community hope today's debate results in new legislation that criminalizes discrimination in all forms and brings the country closer to the image it has tried to project abroad: a society that respects and celebrates diversity.

author: Shirley Campbell Barr


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A Picture Worth a Thousand Russian Expletives · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Some of them are smiling, a few are holding drinks, and one is even gesturing the “peace sign.” There are nine people in the photo, and the third one in from the right—the reason everyone is posing together—is Alexander Borodai, the former prime minister of the breakaway People’s Republic of Donetsk. The other eight people in the photo are some of the most accomplished journalists working in Russia today.
Alexander Boroday posing with Moscow liberal journalists, Holland representative, American journalists in a bar called Redaktsiya.
A photo posted by Max Avdeev (@maxavdeev) on
There’s Andrew Roth of The New York Times, Noah Sneider of The Economist, and Dutch superstar Olaf Koens. The two men to Borodai’s left are two of Russia’s most intrepid war correspondents: Ilya Barabanov and Pavel Kanygin. In February earlier this year, Barabanov was one of the first journalists to report firsthand how the Russian military assisted eastern Ukraine’s rebels in capturing Debaltseve. Just this past week, Kanygin was arrested in Donetsk, where he was beaten in rebel custody and lucky to be released before anything worse happened.
The photograph was taken on Thursday, June 18, outside a hip Moscow bar called “Redaktsiya.” That same evening, and for several days to follow, the “selfie with Borodai” would fuel a heated debate on the RuNet, where reporters, activists, and intellectuals have growled at one another and pontificated about ethics, the definition of terrorism, and the role journalists should play in society.
For those personally acquainted with the characters in this story (the nine people in the photo, as well as the other reporters present at the bar that night), the scandal is inherently interesting—full of disagreements, alliances, and boiling tempers. Pay close attention on Facebook to who has “liked” whose comments, and the factions and ideological fissures of Moscow’s intelligentsia leap off the screen.
But the debate about the photo with Borodai is more than just a hipster gladiator spectacle; it also reveals how contentious journalism in Russia is today. Whether you blame it on the war in Ukraine, the Putin regime, or a thousand years of Slavic history, the decision to pose for a picture with the former leader of the Donetsk rebels has forced many of Moscow’s “opinion-makers” to say exactly what they think a journalist should be.
Alexander Borodai. November 2014. Den TV. YouTube.
What people think about this, it turns out, helps a lot to explain why being “independent” and “liberal-minded” is so difficult in Russia: reporting the news isn’t everyone’s top priority. For many who work in the Russian media, ideological purity and moral righteousness—packaged mainly as “good taste”—is most important of all.
One of the biggest debates about the Borodai photo took place between radio show host Karina Orlova and former Moscow correspondent Julia Ioffe. Orlova, the target of several death threats connected to her work for the liberal radio station Echo of Moscow, faulted the journalists who chose to socialize with Borodai, rather than punch him in the face. “Believe it or not,” she later explained, “but I would have fucked him up.”
Orlova’s Facebook post went on to attract more than 150 comments, including more than a dozen from Ioffe, who challenged Orlova to explain why it is a journalist’s duty to commit violence against another person. Orlova responded by saying that the journalists who met Borodai at Redaktsiya should have taken revenge for all their colleagues who were kidnapped and beaten in Donetsk while he was still in charge. Ioffe countered, arguing that a journalist’s job is to inform the public, not dish out justice.
In a separate Facebook post, roughly an hour after the first, Orlova again laid into the people who posed with Borodai, faulting them for mistakes in the “fight against the regime.” Ioffe chimed in once more, this time suggesting that Orlova chose the wrong line of work, if she conflates journalism and revolution.
Here, veteran and war correspondent Arkady Babchenko came to Orlova’s defense, recalling how his first-ever newspaper editor once told him that attacking the authorities is a journalist’s “main duty.” Babchenko even authored a separate post shortly thereafter, opining on the nature of something he calls “professional deformation,” where journalists foolishly and automatically socialize with “newsmakers” wherever and whenever they encounter them.
Arkady Babchenko, August 2008. CC 3.0.
Babchenko says this sort of awkward, immoral socializing is a regular feature of journalism, but it’s not, he says, a “demand of the job.” Babchenko argues that the meeting at Redaktsiya was not an opportunity for journalists to get “insider” information. “I’m sorry, but these are just childish excuses,” he wrote on Facebook. “This just isn’t an adult conversation.”
According to Ilya Azar, the journalist who actually invited Borodai to the bar, he bumped into the former separatist leader by chance and asked him to come to Redaktsiya, where Azar knew Pavel Kanygin would be. Kanygin was fresh from rebel custody, still sporting a black eye thanks to a soldier who hit him in the face with the butt of a gun. Azar thought the two men should talk.
In a Facebook post the next day, Kanygin said the meeting with Borodai was informative. “He’s no friend of mine,” Kanygin wrote, “but he is a part of my work. He has information.”
Max Avdeev, the photographer responsible for the “Borodai selfie” (which admittedly isn’t a selfie at all), says he took the picture simply to mark the occasion, which he claims was an evening of discussion, not a drunken celebration. “We met a newsmaker and used the moment to ask questions,” Avdeev explained. “Kanygin asked about his beating, Olaf [Koens] about MH17, and so on.”
Why were most of the people in the photo smiling? “It’s the only reaction a sane person can have in such an awkward situation,” Avdeev says.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Bangladesh’s Monsoon Season Arrives, Bringing Joy, Headaches and Wonderful Photos · Global Voices
পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)

Bangladesh welcomes a monsoon after a scorching heat wave. Images by Reza Suman. Copyright Demotix (15/06/2015)
Somewhere there was someone knee-deep in water, somewhere a car had broken down in the middle of the road because of engine failure, and somewhere traffic congestion had become a nightmare for the city dwellers. This was how Bangladesh welcomed the beginning of the monsoon season this year as heavy rain saw drainpipes block and streets turn into rivers.
With the country's summer drawing to a close, a number of heat waves had made life unbearable, leading Facebook users to post about the soaring temperatures on their timelines. Then the monsoon season hit and scorching hot became soaking wet. Tension gave way to relief.
Bangladesh is a land of six seasons. Barsha (rainy) is one of them. It comprises the Bengali months of Ashar and Shrabon (mid-June to mid-August). The south-west monsoon from the Bay of Bengal strikes leading to intense rainfall in many parts of the country. Some 80% of the country's total annual rainfall occurs during Barsha.
People welcomed the monsoon on social media, while criticising drainage facilities in Dhaka, the 11th most populous city in the world with almost 17 million people according to a 2014 UN report.
Journalist Probhash Amin wrote:
বৃষ্টি আমার খুব প্রিয়। বিশেষ করে বৃষ্টি ভেজা সকালে ঘুরে বেড়াতে ভালো লাগে। বৃষ্টি ভেজা সকালটা সবুজের সাথে কাটাতে ভালো লাগে। আমি জানি বৃষ্টি হলে অনেক মানুষের অনেক অসুবিধা হয়, যেমন সকালে প্রসূনকে স্কুলে দিতে গিয়ে আমাকেও ভোগান্তিতে পড়তে হয়েছে। সকালের বৃষ্টি স্কুল আর অফিসগামী মানুষকে চরম দুর্ভোগে ফেলে। আর খোলা আকাশের নিচে যাদের বাস, তাদের দুর্ভোগের তো সীমা নেই।
I love rain. I like to walk in the wet morning especially where it is green. I know rain makes our regular life difficult. This morning I also faced troubles when I was taking my son Proshun to school. Students and office goers suffer most from the morning rain. For those people that live under the open skies, there is no end to their suffering.
Activist Akku Chowdhury wrote on Facebook:
What a beautiful monsoon day to start the morning with! Walked to work in the rain as the avenue is blocked for rain and the [Bangladeshi] PM's visit!
The advent of the monsoon always produces vivid images:
Flooding is a very common scenerio in rainy season in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Images by SK Hasan Ali. Copyright Demotix (11/06/2015)
Due to water clogging, frequent accidents occur on the street. Images by SK Hasan Ali. Copyright Demotix (11/06/2015).
The whole economy comes to a standstill. Images by SK Hasan Ali. Copyright Demotix (11/06/2015).
But life does not stop. People get to their destinations their own way. Images by SK Hasan Ali. Copyright Demotix (14/08/2014).
Despite its obvious drawbacks the monsoon season brings with it a unique beauty and unusual blessings. People celebrate the season in their own ways.
As a part of welcoming rainy season a monsoon festival is held at the Faculty of Fine Art at Dhaka University each year. Image by Reza Suman. Copyright Demotix (15/06/2015).
People welcome the rain by going out into the streets. Image by Bayejid Akter. Copyright Demotix (28/08/2010).
Rainy days are the source of endless fun for children! Images by Mohammad Asad. Copyright Demotix (23/08/2014).
In rainy season as rivers fill to the brim, people take part in boat races. Images by Indrajeet Ghosh. Copyright Demotix (28/09/2013).
Kadam, a rainy day flower. There are many poems and lyrics in Bengali literature where the Kadam flower is mentioned. Image by Zakir Hossain Chowdhuy. Copyright Demotix (18/05/2013).
Special Bengali cuisine for rainy days. Khichuri, Hilsa fish and fried egg. Images by Mohammad Asad. Copyright Demotix (14/08/2014).
Monsoon tourism in Bangladesh is a magnificent experience. Bisnakandi, Sylhet. Image by Anawar Shamim. Copyright Demotix (06/08/2014).

author: পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)


text:
Citizen Media Shows Why India Is Unlikely to Reach Its Millennium Goals Target for Maternal Mortality · Global Voices
Rezwan

In the hamlet of Indkatha, Jharkhand state in eastern India, women of the Ho tribe take lessons to reduce maternal mortality. Image by Freny Manecksha. Copyright Demotix (11/11/2008)
According to the UN Millennium Development Goals, India should bring down its maternal mortality rate (MMR) to 109 per 100,000 live births by 2015. This is a tough ask, as from an MMR of 437 per 100,000 live births in 1990-91 India has only achieved a reduction to 190 by 2013-2014.
Experts therefore believe that India is likely to miss its Millennium Development Goals target for MMR.
Safe birthing depends on how informed pregnant mothers are and whether the delivery is carried out by trained personnel and in institutional health facilities.
In many regions of India, a lack of health infrastructure to support institutional deliveries and pre- and post-natal care as well as a lack of awareness regarding existing schemes promoting institutional deliveries serve as major impediments to achieving the goal. Other factors such as early marriage of girls, poor nutrition among women and gender inequality increase maternal risk.
A report drafted by CommonHealth and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, a coalition for maternal-neonatal healthcare and safe abortion, says that the public health system has failed women belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority religious groups living in geographically remote areas, as well as migrants. The report shows that although the government runs several programmes, there is a great gap in accountability and governance and most of the programmes have been implemented poorly on the ground.
Citizen journalists from Video Volunteers — an international media and human rights NGO — have highlighted maternal healthcare problems at grassroots level in a series of videos.
Their stories reveal that while the government is encouraging women to deliver at institutions rather than at home, the public health system is crippled by shortages of health infrastructure, doctors, frontline health workers and medicine.
Corruption plays its part
In 2014, 56,000 women died during childbirth in India. The Indian government’s schemes Janani Suraksha Yojana and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram make provisions to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for women living below the poverty line, providing free antenatal check ups, IFA tablets, medicines, nutrition in health institutions, provisions for blood transfusion, and transport to and from health centres.
However, according to the above video, which comprises footage taken by the hidden camera of citizen journalist Mary Nisha from the Godda district of Jharkhand:
The 24-year-old woman in labour was kept waiting for the doctor for six hours. The doctor on duty did not turn up and she delivered in the presence of a nurse. She was forced to pay INR 400 for her delivery and even to use the toilet. She received neither free medicine nor nutrition.
Lack of functional institutions
This video follows three women in Khatti village, Gariaband district, Chhattisgarh. One lost her baby six days after it was born due to a lack of medical assistance. Another had a stillborn baby resulting from an unassisted home birth while a third, who is nine months pregnant, has no access to healthcare.
This video by Reena Ramteke from Khatti village in Garyaband District of the state of Chattisgarh shows that the state-run health facility in the locality is constantly shut.
Laleshwari, 21, says no health worker has ever contacted her. Purnima, 20, had a stillbirth despite the fact the health centre was close to her home. She says the sub-health centre is open twice a month and the nurse at the facility is not present most of the time it is open. What options did she have?
Not a single delivery has taken place in the past decade in the sub-health centre in Khatti village. Indrani, 22, lost her child within six days of the birth due to an infection following a home delivery. During the delivery she called the duty nurse of the sub-health centre but was told by the nurse that she was at a meeting.
Bharti Kumari reports from Telmocho village, Dhanbad district, Jharkhand, that the main medical facility is unusable for health workers and patients, lacking functioning toilets and featuring a roof that leaks during the monsoon.
The doctors of this facility also visit rarely. Thus, patients that can afford to have to visit a relatively costly private centre for childbirth.
Lack of manpower
Halima Ezaz from Dhanbad, Jharkhand, reports that one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) from Jharkhand looks after 14 sub-health centres. Ahilya Devi, a septuagenarian, has responsibility for looking after pregnant women and women with new born babies, giving them nutrients, vaccinations, performing deliveries and so on. But she is not supplied with proper tools to work in a region where the power supply is unstable:
Ahilya says:
We used to have rechargeable emergency lights, but those are broken. [If the lights go at night], we have to use candles and torches. How can we make stitches in this light?
Each of these videos highlights the obstacles to reducing the maternal mortality rate in India. Despite the government campaigns in place, India is lagging behind neighbours Bangladesh and Nepal in the fight against maternal mortality. There is also a huge disparity in terms of progress between different states in the vast country. Some states like Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have achieved their millennium development goals. But there are many — especially those with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as minority religious groups — who are left trailing.
Watch this YouTube playlist on maternal health in India to learn more.

author: Rezwan


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Colombia Negotiates a Difficult Peace and Works to Remember the Victims of Violent Years Past · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

Since 2012, in an effort to negotiate a peaceful end to a decades-long violent conflict, the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been taking part in a series of bilateral talks, most recently hosted by the Cuban city of Havana. And not surprisingly, there are those who support the process and those who are less enthusiastic. The talks have faced serious stumbling blocks, including a resumption of attacks on members of the military, but for the first time Colombians have begun to ask themselves important questions about what lies ahead for the country in a post-conflict era.
Image of the 2006 Colombia soy yo [I am Colombia] march in Medellín. Flickr photo by xmascarol under Creative Commons license.
One concrete example of how people have begun to put the violence in context are initiatives by both the government and local communities to preserve collective memory: to remember those who are missing, to restore the names and the dignity of those who have died, and to promote the message that the horror should never be repeated. Although there are many programs, Global Voices is focussing today on four in particular.
1. National Centre for Historical Memory (CNMH): On its official website, the CNMH, which is a government initiative, is defined as:
Establecimiento público del orden nacional, adscrito al DEPARTAMENTO PARA LA PROSPERIDAD SOCIAL (DPS), que tendrá como objeto reunir y recuperar todo el material documental, testimonios orales y por cualquier otro medio relativos a las violaciones de que trata el artículo 147 de la Ley de Víctimas y restitución de Tierras. La información recogida será puesta a disposición de los interesados, de los investigadores y de los ciudadanos en general, mediante actividades museísticas, pedagógicas y cuantas sean necesarias para proporcionar y enriquecer el conocimiento de la historia política y social de Colombia.
A national public institution, affiliated with the DEPARTMENT FOR SOCIAL PROSPERITY (DPS), the objective of which is to recover and collect all the documentary material, oral testimony, and any other information about violations according to Article 147 of Colombia's Victims and Land Restitution Act. The compiled information will be available to interested parties, investigators, and the general public through museum and educational activities as well as other means by which awareness of Colombia's political and social history can be enriched and disseminated.
The centre also underscores the importance of using Twitter to preserve collective memory, creating a special account with the following mandate:
Investigamos, con autonomía y énfasis en la voz de las víctimas, la evolución del conflicto armado en Colombia para que no haya olvido ni repetición.
We are investigating, independently and with particular attention to the victims’ voices, how the armed conflict in Colombia evolved so it will never again be repeated.
2. “Remembering is a pleasure.” That is the name of an initiative led by the community of Valle del Guamuez in the southwestern Department of Putumayo. It is word play on the name of the local rural police station, Inspección de El Placer, which was the focal point of kidnapping and repression beginning in the late 1990s. This initiative's goal is to “showcase the region's rich cultural heritage“ and bring attention to peaceful alternatives in an area once beset by violence.
Haven of Peace Community Centre, Pueblo Bello, Antioquia. The building was designed in collaboration with the local community. Photo used with permission.
3.  Salón del Nunca Más: This is a shared meeting space that declares “never again.” It is where people in the community can leave messages for missing and lost loved ones using logbooks and other media. The website reminds us:
“Los lugares de memoria son también lugares de consciencia. Quien visita un lugar de memoria, no puede irse igual, debe irse con interrogantes” Maritze Trigos
A place of memory is also a place of awareness. Whoever visits one cannot leave without being affected, without questioning.” Maritze Trigos
In the northern Colombian town of Granada, Antioquia, there is local construction underway that's aimed at recognizing the past:
” un proceso de construcción permanente de memoria. Estos son los pedazos de ladrillo que trajimos para la construcción de esta nuestra memoria. Este barro doloroso será transformado, y seremos fortalecidos en la unidad de nuestros sueños”.
“Building memory is an ongoing process. These are the shards of brick that we have brought to build our memory. This evocative clay will be transformed, and we will be strengthened by our collective dream.”
Paulina Villa Posada writes that the meeting room that says “never again” to war is transforming ideas of forgiveness into action.
Las fotos de los muertos y desaparecidos de #granada Antioquia el Salon del nunca mas es un ejercicio… https://t.co/cg1Cih4odq
— Paulina Villa Posada (@PaulinaVillaP) May 2, 2015
The pictures of #granada‘s dead and missing in the Salon del nunca mas is an exercise….
The Salón del Nunca Más can be seen on YouTube, in a video where community members discuss the logbook project to remember their loved ones:
4. Remanso de paz [haven of peace] Social and Community Centre: Built in the village of Pueblo Bello in the Department of Antioquia, once part of territories largely controlled by the paramilitary commander Carlos Castaño, the centre was unveiled in December 2014. Today it hosts a permanent round-table where members of the municipality come to create colourful patchwork quilts incorporating the names of victims of violence, as well as a tree of life, illustrating their hopes and dreams for change. Through its own memory meeting place, Pueblo Bello is highlighting important events in its history, such as the disappearance of 43 farm workers, who were arbitrarily removed from their houses without any kind of mediation after the community was accused of allowing cattle to be stolen from the paramilitary commander. The order was given to “take the men in exchange for the animals.”
Regional TV station Teleantioquia broadcast the following report about massacres that left a ghost town in their wake:
Meanwhile, the newspaper Ciudad Sur published the story of one of the women of Pueblo Bello who recounts the terrible events she and fellow residents experienced.
La mirada fija en los retratos de quienes ya no caminan las calles de Pueblo Bello, refleja el dolor que se niega a abandonar la memoria de Enaida Gutiérrez. Esta mujer de 50 años fue testigo de las cuatro masacres que las Farc y los paramilitares ejecutaron en este pequeño poblado del municipio de Turbo, en el Urabá antioqueño.
Eneida Gutiérrez stares at the photos of those who can no longer walk the streets of Pueblo Bello, her fixed gaze reflecting the pain she can never forget. This 50-year-old woman witnessed the four massacres that the FARC and their paramilitary opponents inflicted on this hamlet in Turbo, in the Uraba district of Antioquia.
As forward-looking as these measures may be, they also attest to the challenges Colombia faces both in the peace process and in terms of the repercussions it will have throughout the country. From major urban areas to mountain villages, there are many conversations to be had by all citizens about negotiating a roadmap to reconciliation.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Humorous #BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe Trends in Ghana · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

ICT in Ghana can mean Information Computer Technology. Photo released under Creative Commons by Wikipedia user SandisterTei.
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe is a trending Twitter hashtag for humorous descriptions of lessons learned from being a Ghanaian. Here are our selection of the best #BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe tweets:
Ghana, like many African countries experiences power cuts:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe it's morally wrong to have electricity for more than 12 hours
— Arphie_ (@AfiFaidoo) June 19, 2015
What is tea in Ghana?:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe that hot cocoa, coffee and tea are all “Tea” 😂😆😋😊
— Nilly (@Sirwaa) June 20, 2015
How do Ghanaians recycle ice cream containers:
😂😂😂”@Nharnah_: #BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe that the ice cream container in the fridge contains stew not ice cream”
— 5tH_jULy (@DatAndyGuy) June 20, 2015
One photo that every barber must own:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe every barbering shop must have Ludacris pic.
— kuukua! (@Berenice_Kuukua) June 19, 2015
The game of Truth or Dare the Ghanaian way:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe the first question to expect in a Truth or Dare is ‘Are You A Virgin?’ pic.twitter.com/zPWZxGkX5b
— Otafregya Gyan IV (@i_Floki) June 19, 2015
Is every Chinese a ‘Bruce Lee'?:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe that every asian is chinese and he is automatically a kung fu master pic.twitter.com/QGfUMFSO7L
— JUNIOR (@Danks_Jay) June 19, 2015
Beware of Ghanaian traffic rules:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe that if you are not a zebra, don't expect cars to stop for you at a zebra crossing .
— Del Piero (@_michael_loh) June 19, 2015
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe to look both left & right before crossing a one-way road
— M!CHΔΣL (@Taurus_Michael) June 19, 2015
What does ICT mean?:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe ICT means Information Computer Technology
— Jay (@JayTheHitch) June 21, 2015
You thought H2O means water?:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe H2O is a house number.
— Jay (@JayTheHitch) June 21, 2015
When you wish your father a Happy Father's Day:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe that when you wish your dad happy #fathersday, he'd reply with ‘just be a good boy and start studying hard’
— Walls (@Naughty_stan) June 21, 2015
How do you go to a party if you do not own a car [Troskie is a public minibus]?:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe to board troskie when going for a party stop half way and get on a cab for a cheaper fare
— #ProudGaGirl ☝ (@TatasJackieChan) June 19, 2015
Funny names from Ewe, a Ghanaian ethnic group:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe an Ewe man can name his child “ConvenantKeepingGodThereIsNoOneLikeYou Selassi Agbetor”
— BlackSkinBornKing (@muiz_gh) June 19, 2015
Being Ghanaian means knowing how to bargain:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe how to bargain even if there's a price tag.
— BLack UHurU (@sam_peekay) June 19, 2015
How are Ghanaian women expected to meet their future husbands?:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe dat as a girl, ur parents want u home always b@ sumhw expect u to find a man to marry before u're 30. I mean how?
— Amanda Dadson (@Cediwaa) June 19, 2015
Parents are always right:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe adults are always right even if they don't make sense 😊
— #BÉÑTÔÂ (@blaqsperm) June 21, 2015
If a child defend him/her self if A question is being ask by the Parents means u don't Respect #BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe
— Bobskinny (@bobskinnygh) June 21, 2015
OMO is not only the most popular detergent brand in Ghana:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe that every washing detergent is OMO
— scratch☆★2131 (@scratch_bubbles) June 21, 2015
What about plates and glasses for decoration?:
#BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe the cutlery, plates and glasses in a room divider are for decorative purposes
— Nana Yaw Boakye (@NanaYawBoakyeTG) June 20, 2015
Read more #BeingGhanaianHasTaughtMe tweets here.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Introducing Swaziland’s Most Prominent Poetry Movement · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sabelo Mkhabela blogs about Swaziland's growing poetry movement:
Swazi poet and visionary Themba Mavuso speaks with a humble, unrehearsed tone. He looks nothing like a poet – his hair is neatly combed and he spots a corporate office-ready white shirt and black chinos. Adding street to his attire is a pair of black Chucks.
Themba, along with Lusolotja Ginindza and Sicelo Shabalala, is a founding member of Swaziland’s prominent poetry movement, Rooted Soulz. The collective has helped unearth prominent poets such as Qibho Intalektual and The Last Man, among others. They’ve also showcased their roaster at one of Swaziland’s biggest arts festivals, Bushfire.
According to Mavuso, perhaps with the exception of typically elder praise poets (timbongi), “The poetry genre in Swaziland was previously non-existent prior to the birth of Rooted Soulz.” The group’s poetry sessions started out in a venue in the Swazi capital, Mbabane, where they were held until their audience became too big for the space and relocated to the Swazi Theatre.
Below is a YouTube video of poet and emcee Qibho Intalektual and his music partner Sands:


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Moscow Entrepreneur Crowdfunds Honey Business to Rescue Dying Ural Village · Global Voices
Maria Volkova

Screencap from the crowdfunding video for the local honey venture in a Russian village. Image from Boomstarter.ru.
Guzel Sanzhapova, the creator of Cocco Bello, ushers in hope for social entrepreneurship projects in Russia with her growing business venture based in a small village—and relies on online crowdfunding to support her entrepreneurial ideas.
Cocco Bello makes whipped honey with berries and nuts. The honey comes from an apiary owned by Sanzhapova's father, located in Malyy Turysh—a decaying village in the burrows of Ural. The berries and nuts are gathered by local residents, most of them elderly women. For many of the locals this is the only source of stable work for miles around.
In a recent interview, Sanzhapova said that her decision to pursue her honey-making venture had to do with her personal history and connection to the village.
Приезжая на пасеку, всегда содрогалась от того, что деревушка медленно умирает, и очень хотелось помочь. Но как — понятия не имела, пока не попросила бабушек собирать ягодки для производства.
When I would come to visit [my father’s] apiary, I would constantly be consumed with the thought that the village was slowly dying, and I really wanted to help. But I had no idea how to help until I asked the local grandmothers to help collect the berries.
To purchase equipment necessary for the creation of whipped honey, Snazhapova initially turned to crowdfunding in 2014. The project, promoted on local website Boomstarter, greatly resonated with the online community, with Snazhapova collecting over one million rubles ($18,500) for the fruition of her project, including the initial honey-processing equipment and a more elaborate production and packaging line. Almost a thousand Internet users joined the crowdfunding efforts in 2014.
Guzel Sanzhapova. Image from Boomstarter.ru.
Первую компанию мы продвигали по друзьям в социальных сетях, по своим пабликам. Также устраивали дегустации на маркетах, рассказывали людям историю.
We promoted the first campaign through friends on social networks, through the communities we were in. We also staged tastings in markets, told people the story.
The population of Malyy Turysh is well under a hundred citizens, and there have been no new work opportunities for years. In each crowdfunding appeal, Sanzhapova makes a point of explaining how many new jobs will be created for villagers, and how local natural resources will be used in the production process.
Конечно, для поднятия даже такой крохотной деревни нужны совсем другие суммы. Но мы готовы идти маленькими шажочками к благополучию всех жителей без исключения.
Certainly, in order to revive even such a tiny village you need quite different amounts of money. But we're prepared to make baby steps to achieve the wellbeing of all the inhabitants.
On June 20, Sanzhapova successfully finished the third round of crowdfunding, collecting over a million rubles from over 800 funders for a second production line to make honey mousse with berries and spices, and boost the production of whipped honey and herbal teas that is already in the works. The entrepreneur says the latest round of funding will help employ 30-40 seasonal workers who will collect berries, and will help increase the number of full-time jobs in the enterprise to seven. Those who pitched into the crowdfunding round will be rewarded with whipped honey and herbal tea created by local residents.
Besides setting up a local business to generate profit for the village, Sanzhapova also helps improve the living conditions for the locals. In August, Cocco Bello plans to invite volunteers to patch up some of the infrastructure in Malyy Turysh: put a new coat of paint on water wells, restore fallen fences, and, in Sanzhapova's own words, “to show the villagers they are not alone.”
Эта история, конечно, интересует всех, в том числе прессу, потому что таких крайне мало. Ведь легко сказать, что всё плохо, а мы пытаемся изменить ситуацию. […] Мне интересно использовать этот общественный резонанс и помочь, рассказать, научить людей, которые могут сделать что-то похожее в своей деревне.
This story of course makes everyone interested, especially the press, because of its rarity. It is so easy to say that everything is bad, but we are trying to change the situation. […] I want to use this publicity to help, to inspire, to teach people who can do something similar in their own village.
One of the local residents employed by Cocco Bello. Image from Boomstarter.ru.

author: Maria Volkova


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Saudi Cables Reveal How Saudi Arabia Saw Bahrain’s February 14 Uprising · Global Voices
Faten Bushehri

The Saudi Cables, released by WikiLeaks, includes a treasure trove of information in secret exchanges between Saudi diplomats on restive Bahrain
Saudi Arabia's meddling in Bahrain's internal affairs has been revealed in top secret documents released by whistle blowing site WikiLeaks from June 20.
WikiLeaks published the Saudi Cables, which contain about half a million confidential documents and correspondence between the Saudi government and its embassies worldwide.
It is no secret that the Saudi government has always shown full support for the Bahraini regime and sent the Peninsula Shield forces to crush the popular uprising in 2011.
Anti-government protests swept Bahrain's streets on February 14, 2011, with protesters calling for democratic reforms and more freedoms. This movement irked the Bahraini government and its neighbor Saudi Arabia, who acted quickly and forcefully having learnt Arab Spring lessons from elsewhere in the region.
Some of the cables reveal how the Saudi government kept close tabs on international media coverage on Bahrain, monitoring media outlets which covered the protests and documenting all that was reported.
From the many tweets circulating on social media with photographs of different documents, this user tweeted a document that shows the Saudi government's report on an article written by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times on Shorouk News in 2012, in which he states the Bahraini government did not allow journalists and witnesses to observe the crackdown in Bahrain:
من وثائق #ويكليكس_السعودية عن ثورة #البحرين تقارير سعودية ورصد للثورة في البحرين pic.twitter.com/0ybb6ksI3e
— ضياع البوصلة (@qa313) June 19, 2015
Some of the leaked documents from the Saudi Cables on WikiLeaks are the embassy's and Saudi intelligence's analysis of the revolution in Bahrain.
Another cable portrays the Shia community in Bahrain united against fragmented Sunni groups.
وثيقة: الاستخبارات السعودية ترصد ضعف وتشرذم القوى السنية بمواجهة القوى الشيعية في أحداث البحرين. #ويكليكس_السعودية pic.twitter.com/bMiOWtzRTl
— Jerez de la Frontera (@bWU8onma2) June 20, 2015
Saudi intelligence monitors the weakness and fragmentation of the Sunni forces versus Shiite forces in the events of Bahrain
The above document also states that officers and top officials not related to the Bahraini ruling family are complaining about having debts, not being appreciated and feeling that the government is willing to cut them loose in return for political gain.
It also mentions the Bahraini government's attempt to slow down the internet was not successful because Shiite activists have other ways of communicating, while those that work with international organizations have phones provided for them.
The Saudi government document described visa procedures as very lenient, making it easy for Iranian, Iraqi and Lebanese nationals with foreign citizenships to obtain entry visas and offer help and guidance to the Shiite opposition. It called on the Bahraini government to tighten its grip on these procedures and close that loop hole.
Another document that also shows Saudi Arabia's role in fueling the sectarian divide focuses on Bahrain's leading Shia cleric Isa Qassim, also the spiritual leader of the Alwefaq National Islamic Society, the largest political bloc in Bahrain.
تقرير المخابرات #السعودية عن ثورة شعب #البحرين والتحريض على #الشيخ_عيسى_قاسم . pic.twitter.com/Vp49Z0KPCq #ويكليكس_السعودية
— iProtestor | Bahrain (@iProtestor) June 20, 2015
Saudi intelligence reports on the revolution of the Bahraini people and incites against Shaikh Isa Qassim.
The following telegram named “Assessing the situation in the host country” was issued by the Saudi Embassy in Manama. The analysis states there was a split within the Bahraini ruling family over how to deal with the escalation of Shiite-led protests on the first anniversary of the February 14 revolution.
The telegram described the security and political environment in the country as still very dangerous a year on from the outbreak of the February 14 events. The report says the Shiite opposition is dragging the situation out and buying time while dealing with government security measures.
The assessment also mentioned that there was pressure from Sunni government loyalists who complained about the soft approach taken in dealing with the Shiite street protests and not punishing those suspected of taking part in the “coup attempt”.
The Saudi government also sent a letter to the British Foreign Minister William Hague, and a duplicate letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asking them to intervene in lifting the arms embargo on Bahrain, claiming the country is facing serious security challenges and violent acts supported by other regional forces.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the recent release of the leaked documents on WikiLeaks an “electronic attack“.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Saudis on Twitter not to consider accessing the WikiLeaks site:
عزيزي #المواطن_الواعي : تجنب الدخول إلى أي موقع بغرض الحصول على وثائق أو معلومات مسربة قد تكون غير صحيحة، بقصد الإضرار بأمن الوطن.
— وزارة الخارجية (@KSAMOFA) June 19, 2015
Dear informed citizen: Avoid access to any site in order to obtain documents or leaked information that may be incorrect for the purpose of harming homeland security.
Stay tuned as our Global Voices Online team digs up more documents from the leaked cache.
Also check out our coverage on Checkdesk Global Voices, where we are tracking citizen media reactions to the Saudi Cables.

author: Faten Bushehri


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This Nigerian Singer Has a Message for Boko Haram · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Nneka at Cargo, London in 2009. Photo by Flickr user Andy Lederer. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This article and radio report by producer April Peavey for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on June 18, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Nneka is a young singer from Nigeria and has her own brave response to guns and violence. The song is “Pray for You.” She wrote it about the presence of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group most infamous for kidnapping young girls, which led to the worldwide Twitter campaign #BringBackOurGirls.
She says it's a song about forgiveness. “Instead of being violent, instead of approaching the situation in a hostile manner, what we need is a peaceful resolution.” And Nneka maintains many Nigerians feel the same way.
Nneka speaks with passion. And it's that passion for political change that has her fans comparing her to Fela Kuti and Bob Marley. They were both singers who spoke their mind, were politically motivated and expressed their views through song.
Nneka reluctantly sees herself as a leader. And she admits that like many leaders she has flaws. And what's her flaw? “When I don't want to speak anymore because too much has been said already and nobody's reacting or practising what they preach.” And that's when Nneka gets into what she calls her “funk.” Funk is silence. “But in that silence at the end of the day I guess, I gain strength to scream again and sing.”


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Pope Francis’ Call to ‘Hear Both the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor’ Resonates in the Philippines · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The icon ‘Jesus of Creation’ was made by a Filipino Catholic priest in response to the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment titled ‘Laudato Si’. Photo from website of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Environmentalists, activists, and Catholic Church leaders in the Philippines are celebrating the publication of Pope Francis’ 200-page encyclical on the current ecological crisis titled “Laudato Si” (Praise Be). They lauded the pope for tackling climate change and the need to help poor nations, which are vulnerable to the harsh impact of extreme weather events.
The Philippines is the only Catholic-dominated nation in Asia aside from Timor-Leste. Last January, Pope Francis visited the Philippines and interacted with those who survived Typhoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines). Haiyan was the strongest typhoon in recorded history, which killed more than 6,000 people in the central part of the Philippines in 2013.
The encyclical was eagerly awaited by many who wanted to know the views of the pope on the climate debate. After the public release of the encyclical last week, environmentalists quickly commended the pope for promoting renewable energy and for highlighting the dirty and unsustainable conditions of the world’s major economies. Below are quotes from the official Twitter page of the pope which summarized some of the key points of the encyclical:
The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
A true “ecological debt” exists, particularly between the global north and south.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
We have to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. #LaudatoSi
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Referring to the pollution of the seas, Pope Francis quoted a line from a pastoral letter issued by Catholic bishops in the Philippines in 1988:
Who turned the wonderworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of colour and life?
The original quote was about the dirty Pasig River in Manila, capital of the Philippines, and the destruction of marine resources across the country:
How can fish swim in running sewers like the Pasig and so many more rivers which we have polluted? Who has turned the wonderworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of color and life? Imagine: only 5% of our corals are in their pristine state! The blast of dynamite can still be heard on our coastal waters.
Inspired by the encyclical, a Filipino Catholic priest made an icon (see photo above) called ‘Jesus of Creation’. Brother Jaazeal Jakosalem of the Order of Augustinian Recollects placed an ancient script from the Philippines into the icon to describe the beauty of creation. He explained the meaning of this work of art:
…the icon depicts Christ as the Son of the Creator, His Father, who participates in the work of creation, and whose redeeming love transforms all that is made. Besides the Son of the Creator, the icon also has the Poor Man of Assisi at the lower center in a way that calls attention to the message of his canticle where he refers to the sun as brother, to the moon as his sister, and to the earth—symbolized by the plant—as his mother.
Meanwhile, some academics translated a paragraph from the encyclical to remind the people about the link of poverty, governance, and environmental protection:
The translation refers to this quote from the pope’s encyclical: “For poor countries, the priorities must be to eliminate extreme poverty and to promote the social development of their people. At the same time, they need to acknowledge the scandalous level of consumption in some privileged sectors of their population and to combat corruption more effectively.”
The group People Surge, representing Haiyan survivors, supported the message of the pope:
We, the Yolanda (Haiyan) survivors are one with the Holy Father in seeking a “bold cultural revolution” and in demanding the world to hear “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”
A network of environmentalists, Kalikasan, also supported the pope’s encyclical, but they also urged the Vatican to divest from coal investments:
Coming from a region that has been labeled as among the ‘most vulnerable and least prepared’ to face the impacts of climate change, join us in asking Pope Francis’ leadership in the urgent need to usher in a fossil-fuel free future. We believe that religious institutions, that serve the public good, like the Roman Catholic Church, should divest from fossil fuels. Investing in fossil fuel companies serves to legitimise the current status quo of fossil fuel dependence, which drives climate change, hence fueling a cycle of profound injustice.
Journalist Tonyo Cruz was also impressed by the encyclical and wrote how this document could have a deep social impact:
Whether you’re a conservative or a progressive, a person of faith or an atheist, a climate change skeptic or an activist, the encyclical should really interest you. Not only does it show how Pope Francis views the world and his intellectual depth, but it could be a game-changer in the efforts to curb the climate crisis, which affects the Philippines and the word.
Grassroots environmentalist Rodne Galicha believed the encyclical will inspire the people to push for stronger climate action:
Pope Francis cannot solve the climate crisis alone. His encyclical will be a force to unite people of the world to make collaborative efforts, to ask world leaders… to sign… a strong agreement for climate action.
Agnes Brazal, a professor in a Catholic college, also agreed that local green groups will mobilize in response to the pope’s challenge, but she fears it will also intensify conflict in some areas:
Each diocese the church in the Philippines, in collaboration with other faiths and civil society organizations, can plan to educate and mobilize communities to protect the environment and the threatened resources and species in the area. This without doubt would leave a trail of ecological martyrs.


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Iranian Journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi Sent Into Exile After Six Years in Prison · Global Voices
Center for Human Rights in Iran

Ahmad Zeidabadi is sent to serve out a sentence in exile after being released from prison this past May. Photo taken by Fars News Agency, and published for distribution.
This post first appeared on iranhumanrights.org and is published here in collaboration with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
Ahmad Zeidabadi, a journalist who served six years in prison for his work, was transferred to the city of Gonabad in northeastern Iran on 22 May to begin serving his time in exile. The Tehran prosecutor’s office informed Zeidabadi’s family in late May that he would be exiled to Gonabad immediately upon release from Rajaee Shahr Prison.
The immediate enforcement of Zeidabadi’s exile after such a long prison sentence is unusual and particularly shocking to his family, as many thought that his exile sentence would not be enforced.
A source knowledgeable about his case told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his family was informed by the court that his five-year exile sentence had been changed to two years. The new decision, however, has not been officially announced by the court.
Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents arrested Zeidabadi, who is also secretary general of Iran’s nationwide Alumni Association (Advar), on June 12, 2009, and transferred him to the Guard’s Ward 2-A inside Evin Prison. He was put on trial on November 23, 2009, and was sentenced to six years in prison, five years in exile in Gonabad, and a lifetime ban on social and political activities on charges of “propaganda against the state,” “assembly and collusion to create riots after the presidential election,” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.”
In February 2010, along with a number of other political prisoners, he was transferred to Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, outside Tehran, where he served most of his prison term.
As a political analyst, he began his journalistic career at Etela’at Newspaper in 1989, and in the years prior to his arrest worked primarily with reformist newspapers. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Association of Iranian Journalists. The main reason for his 2009 prosecution was an open letter he had written to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, criticizing him for his lack of accountability.
According to the court order, Zeidabadi has to appear at the Gonabad governor’s office in person. “Earlier, an official inside the Tehran prosecutor’s office had informed Mr. Zeidabadi’s family about the enforcement of the journalist’s exile sentence, but the family did not believe it, as they didn’t think the officials would subject him to further torment after six years [in prison],” said the source.
In a May 19, 2015, post on her Facebook page, Zeidabadi’s wife, Mahdieh Mohammadi Gorgani, wrote, “We were waiting for Ahmad to be released on May 21 after six years in prison, but now they say they will take him to exile from prison. We feel so oppressed.”
In an April 28, 2015, interview with Charlie Rose, when Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, was asked about journalists imprisoned in Iran, he asserted:
We do not jail people for their opinions. The government has a plan to improve, enhance human rights in the country. As every government should. And I believe we have an obligation as a government to our own people to do that. But people who commit crimes, who violate the laws of the country, cannot hide by being a journalist, being a political activist. People have to observe the law.
However, when Iranian Member of Parliament Ali Motahari was asked about whether there were political prisoners in Iran during a May 12, 2015, visit to Zanjan University, he answered:
Some prisoners had no role in the events of 2009 [a reference to the widespread protests that followed the disputed presidential election in Iran that year], but they are in prison simply because they have reformist thinking, or were active during the reformist era, and I have personally never understood what crime they committed.

author: Center for Human Rights in Iran