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What Do People Tweet While Waiting for the Train to Go By? · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Shakuji Park Crossing, Seibu Ikebukuro Line, Tokyo. Screencap from YouTube user hitorikamonen.
By some estimates there are more than 3,000 kilometers of train lines snaking across Tokyo, giving Japan's capital city the highest railway density on the planet.
While this makes rail transportation easy and convenient for Tokyo residents, the 34,000 level rail crossings (踏切, fumikiri) in Tokyo can make for some long waits for motorist, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
One member of the prominent Japanese Internet meme-sharing community Matome Naver has curated a popular post about Tweets people send out while waiting for the train go by that captures different people's takes on one of the capital's most widely-shared experiences.
Some people take to reporting unusual or amusing things they see while waiting for the train to pass.
踏切でしな鉄の通過待ち。
お馬様の後ろに行儀よく並びました。 pic.twitter.com/FsCbN5b77O
— 監物大吉 (@daikichi_waniru) April 19, 2014
At the crossing waiting for the train to go by. People are lined up quite politely behind a horse.
Waiting for the level crossing gates to pull back up gives some a chance to observe their surroundings more closely.
踏切待ちしてたら横に猫 pic.twitter.com/1YcPUrxs2b
— ぺろり (@peroringa) January 11, 2015
Waiting for the train, I see a cat appear by my side…
Others choose to escape the mundanity by diving into a book.
ダイヤ乱れまくってて踏切が15分開かないので、踏切前で読書してる
— yagawa shunsuke (@yasnsk) November 11, 2013
The train schedules have converged in a perfect storm and the level crossing gates haven't opened in over 15 minutes. So I'm just reading a book.
And others engage in people-watching.
いま電車がしばらく止まってそばの踏切が下りたままだったんだけど、踏切の外で待ってるオッサンが暇つぶしに標識を何度もチョップしてた
— 大久保樹 (のアカウント) (@OTsatellite) June 19, 2012
There's a train stopped near the level crossing, so the crossing gate has descended. There's an old guy passing the time by practicing karate chops on the flags of the gate.
踏切前でスクワットしている奥様がいた
— ナミ (@namisono97) March 6, 2015
Someone is practicing her squats while waiting for the train to go by.
Attempts to bypass this common and time-consuming obstacle are often more hassle than waiting.
踏切閉まったので迂回して道なきところを進んだら、失敗して足の爪のとこから血が。壁を無理やり上るのは止めましょう。
— とーかい@砂糖漬 (@letexptokai) June 27, 2012
The level crossing gates are down, so I thought I would take a detour. However I failed miserably and now I have scraped my toes. I guess I should just not try to climb over a wall next time.
この踏切の電車待ちと、少し遠くの迂回路の選択にいつも迷って、だいたい失敗する
— もりもり (@morimori2Secret) August 19, 2011
Usually whenever I have to wait at this level crossing, I try taking a detour along a slightly longer route. And I get lost every time.
Sometimes people encounter rare trains:
赤ラピートktkr!!! (＠地元の踏切) 都会に出るのに携帯を家に忘れて取りに戻ったが故の偶然の出会い^^* pic.twitter.com/4QKPHjP2dY
— 松★スピード！ (@akko_35) May 8, 2014
Wow, it's the Red Rapide (at the level crossing near my house)! I was planning to go into town and I realized I forgot my phone… And by chance I saw this train!
Some people have the opportunity to observe the beauty that surrounds them.
朝の踏切で可愛いあしあと
はっけんした＼( ‘ω’)／ pic.twitter.com/yaXtq0xgeD
— ゆき (@aoyaaaa56) December 16, 2013
It's morning, I'm waiting at the crossing and I discover this cute paw print.
きのうの踏切越しの虹。
A photo posted by @kotobano_aya on
Yesterday I saw a rainbow above the level train crossing.
More Tweets (in Japanese) can be read here.

author: Nevin Thompson


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Young, Deaf Entrepreneurs Are Brewing Coffee With a Purpose in Jamaica · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

The official opening of Deaf Can! Coffee in Kingston, Jamaica on March 17, 2015. Image courtesy Deaf Can! Coffee, used with permission.
How about a cup of delicious, freshly roasted Jamaican High Mountain Coffee? A Honey Latte perhaps? Or a Nitro Cold Brew? The menu here might not be so out of the ordinary for a coffee place, but this cafe is anything but.
Carlyle Gabbidon, 27, and his colleague, Fabian Jackson, 21, two young men with irresistibly warm smiles, served us on a recent visit to the headquarters of social enterprise Deaf Can! Coffee. Both men are deaf.
Engage. Equip. Empower. This is the tagline of the venture, co-founder and mentor Blake Widmer told Global Voices:
Engagement is getting the young men involved and excited about the enterprise, ensuring they have a genuine sense of ownership. Once the interest is there, then it's important to be equipped — not just with the right skills — but the mindset and ‘I can’ attitude, along with the physical equipment. Empowerment just happens. It grows, naturally, as the business develops.
Deaf Can! Coffee headquarters is situated on the sprawling Kingston campus of the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf  — an educational institution with three schools on the island (the other two are in Montego Bay on Jamaica's north coast and in Knockpatrick, west of the capital). Walking there, we passed a large area of worn grass where sports are played and made our way to their new building where overseas volunteers were busy on a painting job.
The bright headquarters, with large windows and plenty of natural light, received funding for solar energy power from Digicel Foundation, which has a focus on disenfranchised youth in Jamaica. Deaf Can! Coffee had its grand opening on March 19, 2015. A year later, it opened its new, fully equipped training facility, also funded by the Digicel Foundation.
Here, students learn not only how to make coffee, but how to run all aspects of the business and have confidence in their skills. At present, Deaf Can! Coffee does not have a “drop in” cafe open to the public; however, it is very much mobile, packing all its equipment into a van and going out on the road to serve coffee at meetings, expos and commercial events. The venture also sells roasted coffee and merchandising including T-shirts and mugs bearing its striking logo: two fists placed on top of each other, with the top one turning in a grinding motion, representing the Jamaican Sign Language expression for coffee.
Gabbidon, the manager and head barista, who originally trained as a tiler, explained:
We work together as a team. The important thing is to keep developing, practicing, and improving, knowing that mistakes will come but they are learning experiences. We don't want to sit back and do nothing. We want the whole world to know about us, to know that we are just like any other person.
Both he and Jackson, whose parents moved from rural areas to the capital, Kingston, said they feel hurt by the labels that Jamaicans unfortunately still use for deaf people. Jackson commented:
We're not ‘disabled’. Everyone has their own talents. I hate it when people call us ‘dummy’. We are not dumb. Ironically, some people who call us dumb don't even have the literacy skills that we possess.
He continued:
We are always told, ‘You can't.’ But we don't want others to see us negatively. We want to challenge the world and tell them: ‘We can do anything!’ We are not nervous any more. We are very confident.
Evelyn Clarke, a deaf farmer from St. Elizabeth and the inspiration for Deaf Can! Coffee, trying something out during a visit to Kingston. Image by Emma Lewis, used with permission.
Inspiration for the venture came from a field trip that a group of 17 of the students took to the village of Top Hill in rural St. Elizabeth (the birthplace of Widmer's wife, Tashi Bent-Widmer). There, they met Evelyn Clarke, a deaf farmer who grows and roasts his own coffee. He became their role model.
The students went on to found a campus coffee shop with the help of faith-based Harvest Call of Jamaica. The doors of that cafe are now closed to the public, but Deaf Can! Coffee stays busy with its coffee catering services. During our visit, we got a chance to visit the original coffee shop, where we saw a traditional pestle and mortar that Clarke used to grind his coffee, as well as the students’ original equipment that they had saved for and bought with their own funds.
Not long after Deaf Can! Coffee was founded, Sidecar Coffee in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in the US, flew down to Jamaica to give the young men an intense two-day training in coffee-making. They also received instruction from a local trainer in coffee art. Afterward, the roles were reversed: when Clarke next stopped in, the students showed him their own coffee-roasting and preparation skills.
Strong partnerships like these have been key for Deaf Can! Coffee's development. Deaf graphic designer Justin Forbes is working on the logos for two of their new products, Nitro Cold Brew and Cold Coffee Energy Drink. Kemoy Campbell, an alumnus of the school currently studying computer science at Rochester Institute of Technology and a tech entrepreneur, designed Deaf Can! Coffee's dynamic website, and will be visiting in the summer on an internship to design a “self-order kiosk.” The beautiful, glossy counter of blue mahoe wood was made by residents at the Jamaica Deaf Village, still a work in progress in Central Jamaica. These are deaf people supporting and helping each other.
Carlyle Gabbidon, the chief barista. Photo by Deaf Can! Coffee, used with permission.
Deaf Can! Coffee even welcomed a very special guest in February: Claudia Gordon, the first deaf, black, female attorney-at-law in the United States. Born in rural Jamaica, she moved to the US at age 11 and became a government advocate for the deaf community, serving President Barack Obama's administration as associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement as an adviser on disability issues, among other positions.
Deaf Can! Coffee plans to branch out from drinks to a cafe menu in the near future. While we were there, supervisor Stephen McFarlane took us on a quick tour of some new equipment waiting to be put into service, including an oven for baking and a salad bar stand.
Creating “a collective, healthy and supportive culture in Deaf Can! Coffee” is the goal, co-founder Blake Widmer said:
It is a social enterprise with purpose, and we also want it to be sustainable. It must be an inclusive culture, too, that draws people to it…
With a number of Jamaican non-governmental organizations such as Respect Jamaica working towards a more inclusive and tolerant society, ventures like these can only help to break down the barriers of discrimination. Find out more about Deaf Can! Coffee on their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Emma Lewis


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Your Guide to This Sunday’s Presidential Election in Peru · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Debate presidencial 2016: Parte 1. Image: RPPNOTICIAS / YouTube
The original version of this article was published in Spanish on the blog Globalizado by Juan Arellano.
Peru's election this year has proven to be an unusual one. Candidates have been crossed off the list, some were disqualified, and others withdrew voluntarily (the field has dropped from 19 candidates to 10). Campaigns have focused more on attacks than presenting ideas and policy proposals. A debate organised by the electoral authority was poorly structured and offered more of the same, giving one more reason to criticise the National Jury of Elections, which many accuse of bias towards certain candidates.
In the past few years, Peruvian politics been defined by weak political parties, favoring a surge of independent and very individualistic political projects with limited reach at the local and regional levels. Meanwhile, the electorate seems to be waiting for the emergence of new, non-traditional politicians, also referred to as “outsiders“. In the country's current election, many believed Julio Guzmán fit this profile, but he was later barred by the National Jury of Elections.
The role of the media must also be mentioned, as different outlets side openly with preferred candidates, attacking their rivals. Polling agencies have also gotten involved in the process, allegedly playing with the statistics of their own sociological work, in order to manipulate public images.
Just days before Peru's presidential election, which is planned for Sunday, April 10, 2016, the only thing that is certain is that candidate Keiko Fujimori will make it to the runoff. Whom she'll face there remains a mystery. For those who are unfamiliar with Peruvian politics, here is a brief summary of the “surviving” candidates in these elections:
Keiko Fujimori. The daughter of ex-President Alberto Fujimori, currently jailed for corruption and human rights violations, is running on a right-wing platform in line with her father's style of government. She studied business administration, but has always been involved in politics since she became first lady at the age of 19. Her last name has been enough for her to maintain a sustained flow of supporters, which has kept her in first place in the polls since the presidential race began. In the last few weeks, a variety of civil rights groups have intensified the campaign against her, claiming a government led by her would be bad for human rights. There have been protests at her rallies and marches in many Peruvian cities, the most successful of which was held on Tuesday April 5—the anniversary of the coup staged by her father, with an estimated participation in Lima of 50,000 people.
¡Gracias amigos de #Pucallpa! ¡Ha sido un verdadero gusto cerrar nuestra campaña con ustedes! #JuntosHaciaElFuturo pic.twitter.com/PJXwRDDVco
— Keiko Fujimori (@KeikoFujimori) 7 de abril de 2016
Thank you to my friends in #Pucallpa! It has been a real pleasure to close our campaign with you! Together Towards The Future
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. Better known as PPK, Kuczynski is an economist who has been state minister several times, as well as cabinet president. His résumé and business record have earned him supporters, especially in Lima. Working against him are his advanced age—he is 77—and his well-earned reputation for lobbying. He's currently second in national polls. If he makes it to the second round, many believe that the choice between him and Keiko Fujimori would be very similar, given that he is also a right-wing candidate who seeks continuity with the fujimorist economic model. His support for Keiko Fujimori in previous presidential races further underscores this point.
¡Lleno total!
Muchas gracias por acompañarnos esta noche de Cierre de Campaña.#VoyConPPK pic.twitter.com/Gob4IOCloi
— PedroPablo Kuczynski (@ppkamigo) 7 de abril de 2016
Full house!
Thank you for joining us tonight for the closure of our campaign. I'm With PPK
Verónica Mendoza. “La Vero” is a psychologist and is currently a member of Congress. Her candidacy for the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) party is one of the two that can be called left-wing. From barely figuring in the polls a few months ago, she is now—depending on which survey you consult—in a virtual tie with PPK for second place. This frightens many in the right wing, who often call her “chavista” or “terruca” (terrorist)—words that frighten many of Peru's voters. If her upward trend continues and she makes it to the second round against Keiko Fujimori, Peru will have its first woman president. The economic side of her government plan is what concerns analysts the most, as it goes against the right-wing model that currently prevails.
Gracias, Cusco, mi tierra linda, tierra de gente luchadora y digna. Desde la Plaza Tupac Amaru decimos ¡sí se puede! pic.twitter.com/BR3dA0AgOc
— Verónika Mendoza (@Vero_Mendoza_F) 7 de abril de 2016
Thank you, Cusco, my beautiful land, land of courageous and noble people. From Tupac Amaru square we say yes we can!
Alfredo Barnechea. Or “Barney“, as his detractors have dubbed him, is a journalist and politician who rose up originally from among the young blood of the centre-left APRA party, but has for some time been a member of the centrist Acción Popular. His candidacy (a mix of liberalism and social democracy) added a relatively new face to the race, but this was not enough to ensure a quick take-off. When he managed to gain exposure, certain gestures—some would call them missteps—earned him the nickname “viceroy” for his supposed air of superiority and his aristocratic manners. According to the polls, his chances of getting through to the second round are decreasing, but he could yet be a surprise.
Otra reunión llena. Esto no hace más que llenar mi corazón de esperanza. Volvemos a la política decente. ¡Gracias! pic.twitter.com/zTxuFb0neQ
— Alfredo Barnechea (@ABarnecheaG) 7 de abril de 2016
Another full rally. This does nothing but fill my heart with hope. We have returned to decent politics. Thank you!
Alan García. For the man who has twice been president of the country, García's famous “gift of the gab” hasn't rescued him this time. Moreover, he probably won't get enough votes to pass the electoral threshold, which would mean that his party, APRA, would have to begin the process of electoral re-enrolment. To make matters worse, on the day of the debate, he had to share the podium with Fernando Olivera, an old rival, who did not hesitate to use his time to recite, one by one, all the allegations of corruption and other matters that—proven or not—now comprise García's reputation.
Trujillo.No hay tiempo para improvisar.Con experiencia y velocidad construiremos un gran Perú para nuestros hijos. pic.twitter.com/AznYNWnAiR
— Alan García (@AlanGarciaPeru) 7 de abril de 2016
Trujillo. There is no time to improvise. With experience and speed we will build a great Peru for our children.
Gregorio Santos. “El Goyo” is a candidate with a special characteristic: he is the first presidential candidate in Peru to be in prison during the electoral process. The former regional president of Cajamarca (and current president elect) is now under pretrial detention for corruption charges, although his supporters say it is a plot against him, due to his fierce opposition to mining in the region. Santos represents a more radical left wing platform than La Vero's, but his chances of victory are slim, appealing to just 3.2 percent of intended voters.
[VIDEO-ENTREVISTA] @Gregorio_Goyo: #Conga no va, mantengo firme mi posición -> https://t.co/yJq0eH4mQj pic.twitter.com/v79sD8i1jz
— Radio Nacional Perú (@RadioNacionalFM) 6 de abril de 2016
[VIDEO-INTERVIEW] @Gregorio_Goyo: #Conga (mining project) will not go ahead, I stand firm in my position
Alejandro Toledo. “El Cholo” is practically in his political sunset. The ex-president's candidacy has done nothing but fall in popularity. Furthermore, the Judicial Power has yet to decide whether to open proceedings against him for money laundering. Stubborn as always, Toledo has stated that he will not withdraw his candidacy.
Alegría en #Pachacútec Gracias Ventanilla! Gracias Callao! #VamosConTodo pic.twitter.com/q7TzjMHUHa
— Alejandro Toledo (@AlejandroToledo) 7 de abril de 2016
Joy in #Pachacútec Thank you Ventanilla! Thank you Callao! #Let'sGiveItOurAll
Ántero Flores Aráoz, Miguel Hilario, and Fernando Olivera are the remaining candidates, but according to the polls, they have no real chance of getting through to the second round.
Thus, the Peruvian voter has a difficult choice to make this Sunday. Vote for the candidate who represents fujimorism, which for many is a synonym for corruption? Vote for the lobbyist candidate, who will people fear will favour big companies at the expense of the poor? Or vote for the left-wing candidate, who is proposing heterodox measures of economic control at a time when growth is slowing down? Maybe the fundamental question is how it came to this.
In any case, as the saying goes, the last thing people lose is hope.

author: Juan Arellano


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Chinese Students Face Online Debt Trap · Global Voices
Patrick Wong

Chinese online shopping malls encouraging college students to pay by installment. But risks are hidden. (Photo: Patrick Wong)
“For Chinese college students, the most delicate issue after graduation is repaying loans, rather than splitting up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or facing unemployment,” a netizen recently remarked on China's Twitter equivalent Weibo.
Chinese online financial services have been booming in the past few years and many platforms are offering small loans to their customers for online shopping.
Such micro-credit services are very popular among college students. But many of them end up falling into the usury trap.
Du, a college student in Huai’an of Jiangsu province, an eastern part of China, bought an iPhone by instalments from an online loan firm but found he was unable to pay his debt on time.
To prevent a late payment, he borrowed one loan after another and eventually piled up debts of almost 80,000 yuan (approximately $12,380) in total.
He is one of many.
The growing market for internet financial services ranging from loans to investments lacks regulation and is full of traps for both investors and customers.
One online finance outfit Ezubao was charged by authorities earlier this year for illegally drawing funds worth 50 billion yuan ($7.8 billion) from 900 thousand people nationwide, according to the state-owned Xinhua news agency.
Hard-up college students often feel significant social pressure to keep pace with the country's rapidly changing fashions. Predatory loan firms have deliberately targeted this gullible group.
Many of the firms work in unison with online shopping platforms, by providing incentives for students to buy their goods in instalments.
The students in turn just need to show ID cards and fill out a short form as part of the credit application process, with approval typically taking less than 24 hours.
The college students usually overlook the loan firms’ demands for extra service fees for arranging the deal. When the students cannot afford to pay for their debts, their parents have to take them on — if they can afford to.
As the Southern Weekend reported last month, one college student bought an iPhone by signing a contract with Hi Cash, a popular Internet loan firm.
He ended up paying 50 percent more than the marked price because of hidden service fees, but worse was still to come.
To the student's horror, he later found out that the contract he signed was a fourth party agreement, which endorsed Hi Cash to utilize his information to apply for a loan in his name from another firm, a transaction about which he claims he had no knowledge.
Under the current practice, Internet loan firms are merely required to register under the Administrative Bureau of Industry and Commerce but are not subject to supervision by financial authorities.
Moreover, the online credit application, which only requires basic ID information, offers a lot of space for loopholes.
Zheng, a college student in Henan province of China, committed suicide after racking up debts of up to a million yuan (over $150,000) last month, according to the China Times.
The report said Zheng had used the ID cards of 28 fellow students to apply for loans in order to engage in online football gambling.
In an interview with state-owned Central Television, Zheng’s father said the loan firm should accept its share of the responsibility for his son's death.
In addition to the usual techniques for harassing debtors (persistent phone calls, lawyers’ letters etc) the loan firms reportedly resort to harassing family members and exposing the names of the student debtors to the public via online platforms.
Meanwhile, the government mouthpiece People’s Daily has called for responsibility to begin at home, telling students’ parents to “guide to their thoughts, cultivate their financial literacy and raise their consciousness of risk.”
To prevent the abusive use of students’ private information, Wang Xinrui and Guo Junlei, lawyers at Anli Partners in Beijing, wrote an article in the Financial Times urging the government to ensure protection of private data and extend regulatory control to online finance.
互联网金融涉及的身份信息、交易信息更为敏感，泄露后危害也更大，因此必须从立法和技术上加以更严格的限制，也要对泄露用户信息的行为进行更加严厉的惩罚。
The online finance industry involves sensitive information regarding identities and transactions. Leaks of information will jeopardize the public interest. The authorities should impose more restrictions to prevent information leaks and harshly punish those responsible.
Sheng Songcheng, the general director of the Statistics and Analysis Department at the People’s Bank of China, said in January that the bank will focus on monitoring Internet loans as part of a strengthened supervision system, while late last year the bank and other government financial departments issued a comprehensive guideline on promoting the healthy development of Internet finance.
The guidance specifies that online finance services should comply with the current legal framework, such as the Private Lending Provisions, which set an annual interest rate not exceeding 24% as legally blinding.
How the guidance will be implemented, however, remains to be seen.

author: Patrick Wong


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Egyptian President Sisi “Sells” Disputed Sanafir and Tiran Islands to Saudi Arabia · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Strait of Tiran and Tiran Island. Photograph by Marc Ryckaert. Source: Wikipedia. Used under CC BY 3.0
Egypt handed over the ownership of disputed Red Sea islands Sanafir and Tiran to Saudi Arabia after redrawing its maritime borders in an announcement that has angered many Egyptians who described the move as “unconstitutional.”
The deal was made during the visit of Saudi monarch King Salman to neighbouring Egypt. A total of 24 agreements are being signed between Saudi Arabia and Egypt during the visit, including a new maritime border which hands over the islands to Saudi Arabia. Overall, the new deals between the two countries will bolster economy and are reported to double Saudi investment in Egypt from US$30 billion to US$60 billion. Among them is a bridge connecting Saudi Arabia and Egypt through the Red Sea, passing through the islands which Egyptian president Abdul Fattah El Sisi is accused of selling to Saudi Arabia.
Protesters Arrested
Earlier today, 11 people were reportedly arrested for protesting against the move in downtown Cairo. According to Egyptian Streets:
Egypt’s decision to declare the two islands as Saudi Arabian has prompted outrage on social media. #Tiran_Sanafir (#تيران_صنافير) became the top trending hashtag in Egypt on Twitter, with more than 28,000 tweets posted in relation to the decision. Some social media users have accused President Sisi of ‘selling the country to Saudi Arabia’, while others have supported the decision, arguing that previous governments had also planned to ‘return the islands to Saudi Arabia’.
Lawyers Say Giving Up the Islands is “Unconstitutional”
Lawyers, among them former presidential candidate Khaled Ali, have since filed complaints against the move, saying Sisi's decision to give up the Red Sea islands of Sanafir and Tarin, without approval from Parliament, is “unconstitutional.”
In a post on Facebook, Ali explains:
رفعت اليوم دعوى قضائية ضد التنازل عن الجزيرتين، وهذه ليست قضية شخصية، ولهذا:
(١) القضية متاحة لكل من يرغب من المواطنين للإِنْضِمام إليها من خلال محاميه الخاص أو من خلال الاتصال بى أو بزملائى الأساتذة المحامين( د/ يوسف عواض ، محمد عادل سليمان، مالك عدلى، زياد العليمى)
(٢)القضية تحتاج إلى جهد بحثى وقانوني كبير على المستوى التاريخي والجغرافي والدولى والاستراتيجى والدستوري، لذلك ندعوا كل من لديه القدرة على تقديم المعاونة البحثية فى هذه القضية ألا يبخل علينا بعلمه أو بما تحت يديه من وثائق
I lodged a court case against giving up the islands today and this isn't a personal case. This is why the door is open for any citizen to join the case whether through their own lawyers or by contacting me or any of my colleagues. This case requires monumental research and legal efforts, on historical, geographical, international, strategic and constitutional grounds. We therefore invite all those among you who can contribute to the research this case requires to share their information or what they have in terms of documents
In an earlier post, he explained:
يجب أن يتحول غضب التنازل عن جزيرتي تيران وصنافير من الإدانة والشجب فقط إلى مطلب شعبى واضح، وأقترح أن نرفع معاً مطلب تعليق التوقيعات والتصديقات لحين عرض الأمر على إستفتاء شعبى إستنادا لنص المادة ١٥١ من الدستور
#الاستفتاء_هو_الفيصل
#عواد
The anger over giving up the islands of Sanafir and Tarin should change from condemnation to a clear public demand. I suggest we jointly lodge a complaint to suspend the signing of the [maritime agreement] until after a referendum is held in accordance to article 151 of the constitution.
The Islands were Egyptian before Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932
And while the Egyptian government insists that the islands have always been under Saudi sovereignty, netizens say otherwise.
Egyptian researcher at Free University of Berlin Taqadom Al-khatib digs up this old map by Carl Christian Franz Radefeld, which shows the island of Tiran under Egyptian sovereignty in the 18th century:
خريطة مصر التي رسمها Radefeld, Carl Christian fant (1788-1874) وستجد بها اسم تيران ويقول إنها تابعة للسيادة المصرية pic.twitter.com/6GKMb6d2iR
— Taqadum Al-khatib (@taqadum) April 10, 2016
This is a map of Egypt drawn by Carl Christian Franz Radefeld (1788 – 1874) mentioning Tiran and saying it falls under Egyptian sovereignty.
He shares other maps as well to prove his point.
خريطة سيناء أثناء حملة نابليون علي مصر 1798؛ويتحدث المستشرق الألماني Werner wildermuth عن جزر مصر داخل البحر الأحمر pic.twitter.com/vS1Gmsrqk7
— Taqadum Al-khatib (@taqadum) April 10, 2016
A map of Sinai during Napolean's campaign on Egypt in 1798 in which German orientalist Werner Wildermuth writes about Egyptian islands in the Red Sea
خريطة توضح حدود دولة مصر (1872-1915)والحجاز كان تحت السيادة المصرية لانه كان منطقة قبائل وليس دولة #عواد_باع_أرضه pic.twitter.com/wz3qJjFUJp
— Taqadum Al-khatib (@taqadum) April 10, 2016
A map showing the borders of the Egyptian state (1872-1915) where Hijaz was under Egyptian sovereignty because it was inhabited by tribes and wasn't a country
Lawyer Gamal Eid adds:
معلومة للبائع والساكت
1- وثائق مصرية من 1906 تثبت ملكية مصر لـ تيران وصنافير
2- 1906 كان هناك إمارة نجد+الحجاز+عسير
3- تاسست السعودية 1932
— Gamal Eid (@gamaleid) April 10, 2016
Here's some information for the seller and those keeping quiet:
1. There are Egyptian documents from 1906 proving that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir belong to Egypt
2. In 1906, there was only the emirates of Najd, Hijaz and Asir
3. Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932
And Hala shares this map showing a map of Egypt during the reign of Khedive Ismail, 80 years before the establishment of Saudi Arabia:
دى خريطه #مصر فى عهد الخديوى اسماعيل قبل السعوديه ب 80 سنه… #عواد_باع_أرضه pic.twitter.com/ClF1yzljXb
— حلا_المرابطة (@hala_just_1) April 10, 2016
Here's a map of Egypt from the reign of Khedive Ismail. 80 years before the founding of Saudi Arabia

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
In China, Alleged Assault Footage Helps Muffle Panama Talk · Global Voices
Liu Willow Jiang

Instead of reporting on the Panama Papers, mainland Chinese media outlets turned a minor assault incident into a round-the-clock news story. Screen capture from CCTV video.
In China, an apparent assault on a woman in a Beijing hotel is driving an online conversation about gender-based violence in the country, and — much to the suspicion of many netizens — taking the air out of the debate surrounding the Panama Papers leak, which Chinese media has conspicuously ignored.
The incident took place in Heyi Hotel on April 3. As shown via the hotel's CCTV footage, a woman is attacked by an unidentified man and dragged around a hotel corridor in full view of bystanders, including hotel staff.
She howled for help but the hotel staff did nothing to stop the man. The woman eventually broke away with the help of a hotel guest and the suspect ran off.
The video was uploaded by the victim under a newly registered user account Wanwan_2016 on China's Twitter equivalent Weibo on April 5, the day after the leak of  was revealed.
The Panama Papers documents were leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm that helps clients set up offshore shell companies to stash their money abroad, sometimes to illegally hide their money from tax authorities at home.
Referenced among the 11.5 million documents that comprise the leak are relatives of three members of the Chinese Communist party’s elite ruling council, the politburo standing committee, including relatives of China's strongman President Xi Jinping.
Within one week, the hashtag “Girl attacked at Heyi Hotel” was viewed 2.6 billion times and generated 2.6 million online discussions. Predictably, netizens piled in to criticize the bystanders, the hotel management and the police.
Mainstream media rushed to cover the event.
Headline News, the official news outlet of Sina news agency on Weibo, provided live updates from a press conference Heyi Hotel held to apologize for the incident.
Such intensive reporting on an everyday crime reminded many of attempts to divert the public conversation in China in the past.
Under comment threads of Headline News’ updates from the press conference, netizens braved the gauntlet of online censorship to remind other readers about news potentially more relevant to the public interest.
巴拿馬的事兒怎麼辦？
這個事是煙幕彈吧，讓大家忘記某些事。
成功的轉移了公眾關注巴拿馬的視線。
What about the incident that took place in Panama?
This event is a ploy, letting people forget something else.
It has successfully diverted the public’s attention from Panama.
Another Weibo user said:
突然炒出來住酒店的事被各種紅營銷號轉發引起大家輿論 來蓋住巴拿瑪事件嗎？ 這麼大的黑幕參與人都是位高權重的領導人 如果群眾都不聞不問的話 那是不是不會給大家個交代 讓國民心寒
This breaking news went viral after being reposted by many red-tainted commercial accounts and duly provoked public discussion. Is it intended to sidetrack attention from the incident in Panamaaaa [a typo to circumvent Weibo's hyper-sensitive word filter]? The people caught up in the scandal are important Chinese leaders, if the public ignores the event, then no further explanation is needed. That is upsetting.
Similar views were shared among netizens already in the know about the Panama Papers leak:
輿論焦點轉移法。明明是要弄個大新聞出來，然後大家就不關心8NAMA事件了。
That’s the typical way to divert public attention. Obviously if the media is overwhelmingly reporting this news item, then people won’t focus on the 8NAMA [a typo to circumvent Weibo's hyper-sensitive word filter] incident.
The suspect that attacked the girl was captured on April 7, but local outlets are still following the case. Meanwhile, an apparent oath of silence is being observed across the Chinese media space regarding the Panama Papers.
According to a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the other two members of the Chinese politburo other than Xi with links to the leak are Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and party secretariat secretary Liu Yunshan.
So far there has been no official comment concerning top government officials’ links to the scandal. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said vaguely on April 8 that “explanations and clarifications” are needed regarding the Panama Papers, but even Wang Yi's comment was not picked up by mainland Chinese media outlets.

author: Liu Willow Jiang


text:
The Naked Truth About Censorship In Uzbekistan · Global Voices
The Echo of Central Asia

Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's 78-year-old president, has been in power for over a quarter of a century. Wiki image.
Censorship was a key instrument for controlling the masses during Soviet times. These days Uzbekistan's ageing President Islam Karimov — who served as the First Secretary of Soviet Uzbekistan's Communist Party before independence — regularly rages against anything and everything connected to the old Union.
Nevertheless, the system he has fashioned in the Central Asian country of 30 million remains remarkably similar to the one it emerged from in 1991.
Currently Uzbekistan censors everything from televised and online content through to guides published by international organisations for students that are looking to hold and participate in debating competitions.
Its film and music industries face similar challenges.
Film in Uzbekistan is regulated by the state agency Uzbekkino. The agency recently published a list of over 700 films, many of them foreign, that had been banned for ‘eroticism’ or ‘indecency’.
That vice, viewed by the government as a threat to Uzbek values, is invoked with similar enthusiasm by Uzbeknavo, which controls the licenses for pop musicians in the country of 30 million people.
Recent times have seen a number of cases wherein women pop stars in particular have been effectively ostracized for donning “indecent” clothes and promoting values perceived as alien to the Uzbek people.
This January the government introduced regulations forcing artists to submit quarterly reports on their activities, almost a year after Deputy Prime Minister Elmira Basitkhanova announced the landlocked country was “not Robinson [Crusoe's] island” or “a democracy, where people can do whatever they want”.
Basitkhanova's comments were seen at the time as ushering in a new period of increased state control over the arts, and so it has proved.
In February 2015, two famous artists Rayhon and Lola Yuldasheva appeared on stage together for a duet that saw them cast provocative glances at one another and hold hands.
The performance stoked an uproar from conservatives, with a number of websites and newpapers publishing columns criticizing the performance as promoting same-sex sexual relationships.
Uzbeknavo subsequently suspended Lola Yuldasheva's license, ostensibly for her wearing a backless dress.
A month later the agency drew up rules that forbid stars from donning dresses that revealed bare shoulders and legs, according to the Uzbek service of RFE/RL.
Lola Yuldasheva before and after the ban. Image widely shared.
Given the pair's dance was fairly ordinary-looking by the standards of Western pop, it is no surprise that another popular singer Tamila lost her performing license shortly after a video seemingly of the star baring her bottom on camera appeared on the Telegram messenger service widely used in Uzbekistan on January 28 this year.
This was the second time Uzbeknavo had revoked Tamila's license in the space of a year. In fact, her license had only been re-activated in November after the agency suspended it in the summer of 2015 for her piercing her nose.
Summing up widely-held public sentiment towards the clip apparently filmed by an unknown male, one internet user blasted:
Осталось в порно сняться и на весь мир опозорить свою нацию. Такая девушка позор нации и культуры этого народа.
All that is left is for her to act in a porn movie and disgrace her nation in front of the whole world. This girl is a shame to the nation and its culture.
Uzbeknavo (locally Ozbeknavo) remonstrates with Tamilla in a widely shared cartoon that also appeared on the website of RFE/RL's Uzbek service.
Others, including her colleagues in the Uzbek pop world, were more supportive, however.
Russian website Lenta.ru, quoted the head of the licensing department at Uzbeknavo Odil Abdukahhorov as saying the regulator would “categorically forbid” Lola Yuldasheva and other Uzbek artists that had pledged support for Tamila from taking part in a meeting defending her.
The planned meeting did not go ahead.
Under President Karimov, now 78, Uzbekistan has trodden a line between what it views as the danger of growing Islamic observance — Uzbekistan is widely cited as one of the world's worst religious freedom offenders — and what local officials view as Western culture's immorality.
The result has been a deep-seated conservatism mostly lacking religious overtones and a state-led cultural protectionism that sets tight boundaries when it comes to defining what it means to be Uzbek.
In an article on growing ‘fashion censorship’ in Uzbekistan, Silk Road Reporters noted that members of the state Uzbek Women's Committee criticise women for wearing almost anything that isn't strictly ‘national’ clothing:
The Uzbek Officials have published in the state Mass Media the list of things, which are harmful to Uzbek women and her image of “True Uzbek Woman”: sexy dresses, makeup and music videos with erotic elements. After the meeting of Women's Committee “Saving our spirituality” , the government representatives have asked to ban the sale of certain products and forbid people to wear T-shirts with phrases such as “Kiss Me” or “I love New York.”
Most recently the country has made international news for banning the movie Deadpool from local cinemas.
In 2012, however, it created headlines by blocking Uzbek-language Wikipedia, which had more articles than the wikipedias in any of the other ex-Soviet Central Asian languages.
The decision to ban the online resource only in the country's state language — English, Russian and other language wikipedias remained available to local internet users — was curious, since much of the content blocked was innocuous, while more pernicious subject matter was still accessible in these other languages.
Nevertheless, writing on the Registan blog Sarah Kendzior had her own theory about the motivation for the block:
I have a suspicion that what prompted the Wikipedia ban at the end of January was the addition, on January 24, of the following entries: “seks”, “penis”, “gey”, and “jinsiy aloqa” (sexual relations), which come complete with helpful illustrations. This would be in keeping with the government’s aversion to overt sexual content, which they believe threatens national values […] Uzbekistan’s ban on Wikipedia has less to do with blocking access to information than it does with territorializing an ambiguous Uzbek ethnolinguistic virtual space.

author: The Echo of Central Asia


text:
This 23-Year-Old Woman Opened India’s First Rehab Clinic for Acid Attack Survivors · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Acid attack survivors and staff at the Make Love Not Scars Rehabilitation Center grand opening Credit: Avirat Sundra
This article by Isis Madrid originally appeared on PRI.org on April 1, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Ria Sharma wasn't always an activist. Just a few years back she was a fashion student at Leeds College of Art. But she felt uninspired by the work, and decided to branch into film. Her first project: A documentary about acid attack survivors.
“While I was shooting the documentary, I found myself in a government hospital burn ward,” says Sharma. “The things I saw in the ward left me forever changed. I had never witnessed so much misery all at once, I had never been surrounded by so much pain. When you are in that situation you have two options, you could either return to the comfort of your own life or you could try and make someone else’s life comfortable.”
The pioneering Delhiite, 23, now dedicates her life to helping acid attack survivors. She founded Make Love Not Scars in 2014 to support victims, who are mostly women. And on March 7, she launched the first-ever rehabilitation center of its kind in India to extend services to survivors of acid attacks.
Sharma (L) and a survivor at the Make Love Not Scars Rehabilitation Center grand opening Credit: Avirat Sundra
The groundbreaking New Delhi center supports survivors medically, legally, psychologically and financially. Providing access to yoga, poetry and a range of emotional support, the center is a place Sharma hopes women recovering from attacks will feel comfortable. In addition to providing a safe space for local women to bond as they receive treatment, training and support from professionals, the center is equipped with sleeping quarters for survivors who come from out of town.
Make Love Not Scars also offers vocational training, workshops in what Sharma calls “life coping skills,” legal advice, and mental health services.
Acid attacks are a problem all around the world, but particularly in India. There, an estimated 1,000 acid attacks are reported by women each year, often at the hands of a spurned suitor or disapproving family member. Most women don't report the incidents, however, and Acid Survivors Trust International says that the actual number is much higher.
An acid attack survivor at the Make Love Not Scars Rehabilitation Center grand opening Credit: Avirat Sundra
A liter of acid, available to anyone at stores across the country, costs as little as 33 cents in India.
Since founding MLNS in 2014, Sharma has learned that, more than anything else, acid attack survivors need help getting quality medical treatment. She and her co-workers fundraise for survivors who need help paying for treatment and legal representation. When possible, MLNS also appeals to the Indian government to provide free treatment.
Last month Sharma was awarded the British Council International Alumni Award by the mayor of London. But the path to esteem was anything but simple for Sharma and her co-workers. Early on, she fought against ageism and patriarchal values that demeaned her ability to succeed.
“[At first,] we struggled to be taken seriously,” she explains. “It was hard to get people to believe in our vision, because, at the end of the day no one wants to trust individuals that young with their money.”
The Make Love Not Scars Rehabilitation Center grand opening Credit: Avirat Sundra
Two years later, Sharma and her organization have gained international acclaim from the likes of the New York Times; teamed up with advertising heavyweights Ogilvy & Mather to design and mount billboards across Mumbai calling for a ban on selling acid; and now find themselves attracting big ticket donations from corporations.
But Sharma still experiences ageism.
“It's a constant struggle for me,” she says. “I prefer to take calls before I actually agree to a meeting because I don’t want people to judge me by my age or appearance.”
The MLNS center is a point of pride for Sharma, and not just because she fought so hard to open it. In addition to providing survivors with skills and resources, the center provides full-time employment for three Delhi women and a rotating team of teachers. One of these employees is herself an acid attack survivor.
Survivors at The Make Love Not Scars Rehabilitation Center grand opening Credit: Avirat Sundra
“I feel really good about the direction we are heading in,” says Sharma. “I think the existence of such a center is going to be extremely instrumental towards changing the lives and future of acid attack survivors.”
In ten years, Sharma hopes to see no need for the organization that she's fought so hard to establish. Her dream? By then, survivors will have gained the tools to live productive, independent lives — and acid attacks will have all but disappeared from the cultural sphere.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


text:
Abu Majid, Syrian Visionary · Global Voices
أسعد حنا

Abu Majid Karaman at his home in Aleppo. “I walked along the side of house where he had painted the fence with revolutionary flags. The main gate was also painted in revolutionary colours, indicating the extent to which he was attached to this revolution.” Photo from his daughter's Facebook page.
He watched as we approached his house. Sitting on a green plastic chair, he gazed at us as we got out of the cars. We were eight. He knew some of us, but not others, including me, but he knew very well that he was the one we were all there to see. As we approached he stood up and said in a loud, unshaken voice: “If you’re here to offer me condolences, go back to where you came from. But if you’re here to congratulate me then please come in and make yourself at home.”
Uncle Abu Majid Karaman shocked me with both his words and his strength. Abu Majid had lost two family members on the battlefields, the last of which was Oubada Abullaith, his son-in-law, a military leader in the Thowar Al Sham battalion, which fights under the Free Syrian Army. Oubada was martyred in a battle in Aleppo. Months before that Abu Majid’s son, Majid Karaman, was killed leading another battalion under the Free Syrian Army.
Despite all this loss, Abu Majid refused to accept any condolences for their deaths. “No condolences should be given over martyrs,” he said, “for we follow in their footsteps.”
His words were steadfast and powerful. The eyes of this 50-year-old man spoke even before his mouth did, sparkling with power, especially when he talked about the fundamentals of the revolution. The wrinkles on his face and his white beard spoke of his experience of life.
We talked about the battles in Aleppo, both the city and the rural parts, and he talked military tactics with the experience of a military officer. He was particularly interested in the welfare of civilians. Whenever we mentioned a region or an area, he would tell us the size of the civilian population there and the degree of danger they would face in the event that battles reached them.
The state of the city of Aleppo then was similar to what it is today. Part of the city is under the control of the Assad regime: the army and the militias of the National Defence Forces known as Shabbiha are holed up there. Another part is outside the control of the regime: that’s where the Free Syrian Army, the opposition’s military battalions, reside, as well as some Jihadi battalions and few civilians who have refused to leave their homes despite the daily shelling. Uncle Abu Majid and his family were among the latter. When I asked him about his reasons for staying, he recited a verse from Q’uran, “You will only get what God has decided for you.” He continued: “How can I leave my house? How can I leave the mattress on which the martyrs of my family once slept? Those martyrs left us, that’s true, but they entrusted this to us, and we should honour that.”
I shivered, listening to him. He spoke with a revolutionary fervour the likes of which I’d never heard before. He is the person who led the peaceful protests back in the days when protesters were defying the regime under its own rule. Back in the days when the activists of Aleppo distributed revolutionary pamphlets in neighbourhoods that supported the regime to try and open their eyes and sell them on the revolution. Abu Majid was also a member of all the revolutionary councils, and he was close with all journalists and activists in Aleppo. He enjoyed the love and respect of most of the Free Syrian Army fighters.
I walked along the side of house where he had painted the fence with revolutionary flags. The main gate was also painted in revolutionary colours, indicating the extent to which he was attached to this revolution. Uncle Abu Majid called me in to join them again. I went back in and found homemade sweets and coffee. He said: “Eat the sweets to celebrate the martyr. Eat the sweets to celebrate the groom.” I was at total loss. I didn’t know whether to hold the sweets or hold back my tears.
This visit took place last Ramadan. I decided to spend that month inside Syria after having left the country earlier to settle in Turkey. Despite being Christian, and despite the warnings I received about going there, I felt that I was among friends and family. I felt embraced by a revolution that doesn’t differentiate Muslim from Christian.
Abu Majid’s demands were clear and specific. His vision was of a democratic Syria that ensures the freedom of all its people. This was his charge. This was his crime.
Abu Majid was kidnapped some time ago. He was put into a car which all eyewitnesses confirmed belonged to the al-Nusra Front (the al-Qaeda branch in the Levant). Nusra has denied having anything to do with the matter, or holding Abu Majid captive.
Asaad Hanna is a Syrian journalist and activist.

author: أسعد حنا


text:
Iranian Blogger Struggles for Health and Freedom After 18 Days on Hunger Strike · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

Might be last post but I'm determined to gain my freedom bec I'm innocent.
The response to opinions is not prison. pic.twitter.com/esIZjSLh9j
— Hossein Ronaghi (@HosseinRonaghi) January 19, 2016
Jailed anti-censorship activist and blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki is struggling for his health and freedom. He began a hunger strike March 26, to protest prison authorities’ refusal to give him proper medical care and demand his release. His health now is deteriorating rapidly.
According to a correspondence between Maleki's father and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), authorities “have threatened him that if his family makes noise about his case he will be transferred to Rajaee Shahr Prison,” located in the northern city of Karaj. Rajaee Shahr is known for its poor conditions, particularly for political prisoners. Previous reports suggest that in-person visits would be limited there, if not impossible.
This Thursday, April 14 will mark Maleki's 20th day on a hunger strike. Supporters are calling on the global community of activists and technologists who stand up for freedom of expression and access to information to raise their voices on Maleki's behalf using the hashtag #NoJail4Hossein.
Maleki blogged under the nickname Babak Khorramdin, the name of an ancient Persian freedom fighter from Azerbaijan (Maleki is an ethnic Iranian Azeri). He is also a computer programmer who worked actively in setting up websites aimed at circumventing online censorship.
The networks of international actors working on Internet freedom and building innovative ways for Iranians to access the Internet is vast. Maleki is very much a part of this community, but unlike many of his fellow activists, his work landed him directly in the line of fire.
Maleki was arrested in December 2009, six months after Iran's disputed presidential elections. He was immediately incarcerated at the notorious Evin prison, serving 376 days in solitary confinement before seeing trial in 2010. This led to a 15-year sentence on charges of “spreading propaganda against the regime”, “membership of the Internet group Iran Proxy” and “insulting the Iranian supreme leader and the president.”
My main charge is defending freedom of speech (against censorship) for which I was handed an unjust 10-yr prison term. @proxyiran
— Hossein Ronaghi (@HosseinRonaghi) January 15, 2016
Maleki was released in 2015 on a temporary six-month furlough to receive medical treatment for kidney failure, but returned to prison on January 19, 2016. His return to prison came despite recommendations by the Medical Examiner that his health is unfit for the Iranian prison system. The denial of medical care is a routine practice for political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
Global Voices’ Advox and Iran teams are encouraging supporters to give as much exposure as possible to Maleki by sharing his case on social media, and using the hashtags #NoJail4Hossein. Appeals can also be sent tagging the President Hassan Rouhani  or the Supreme Leader. Tweets in English should be sent to @HassanRouhani and @Khamenei_ir. Tweets in Persian should be sent to @Rouhani_ir and @Khamenei_fa.

author: Mahsa Alimardani


text:
Japanese Social Media Goes Gaga Over Anime-Style English Textbook · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

A new English conversation textbook aimed at adult learners. Image widely shared on social media.
New Horizon, the standard English conversation textbook used in Japanese middle schools, has received an anime-style makeover, and the changes have gone viral in Japan under the hashtag #エレン先生 (#EllenSensei).
妹が、入学式から帰ってきてたから教科書見せてもらったけど、ガチで、エレン先生かわゆいwww pic.twitter.com/EIXkOC4E1Y
— TAIKI (@oreore11824649) April 8, 2016
After her middle school entrance ceremony today, my daughter came home with her new English textbook. Ellen Sensei is totally cute!
The new look is a total departure from the staid and anodyne New Horizon series.
英語の教科書「NEW HORIZON」今と昔 #エレン先生 pic.twitter.com/UOBJyHT7j8
— サムーれ (@samoore0727) April 9, 2016
New (left) and old (right) versions of the New Horizon English textbook. #EllenSensei
The cute anime-style good looks of “Ellen Sensei,” the English instructor who guides students through all three books, have even been turned into fan art, some of which is so risque that the creator of the character has called for restraint.
what is even happening anymore #エレン先生 pic.twitter.com/Sa5qQmRPVz
— IRL Ellen Baker (@Kirinodere) April 6, 2016
English is one of the most predominant foreign languages taught in Japan, and the country's government is making a push to improve students’ proficiency in it. Results so far are mixed —  there are huge disparities in English ability across different parts of Japan.
This isn't New Horizon's first foray into anime style. The publisher has a textbook aimed at adult learners that capitalizes on their nostalgia for the middle school textbooks, but with anime aesthetics.
というか、英語の教科書でお馴染みのNEWHORIZONの登場人物が大人になって帰ってきた大人向けNEWHORIZONって知ってます？内容がリア充過ぎて非リアの読者をめった刺しにします。 https://t.co/LiMmWal4Lg pic.twitter.com/xV82or937w
— ししとう (@sisitou2015) 2016年4月5日
Speaking of which, did you know there is a New Horizon textbook aimed at adult learners that features adult versions of the original characters? The themes and situations are totally realistic!
Published in 2011, this textbook delves into adult themes such as dating in order to teach English that might actually be useful on a day-to-day basis.
僕の中高生時代の英語の教科書のキャラ達がこんなに可愛かったら、絶対にもっと英語ペラッペラになってた（現実逃避） pic.twitter.com/wUP5JMk8ug
— ししとう (@sisitou2015) April 5, 2016
If the characters in my middle school English conversation textbooks had been this cute I would have totally become fluent in English.
According to the introduction, the textbook follows the adventures of the original characters from the middle school New Horizon textbook following their return to Japan, after spending years overseas.
The textbook also uses “Augmented Reality” (AR) technology that can be unlocked with a smartphone, as shown in the video below:
As Japanese online magazine Spotlight notes about the characters of the middle school textbook:
どうやらケンとユミ、ルーシーの三角関係の話のようですが、いろいろとドラマがあるようです。ストーリーにドキドキしながら英語の勉強もできるなんて、素晴らしい教材じゃないですか！
Apparently Yumi, Lucy and Ken form a love triangle that results in plenty of drama. You can follow the twists and turns of the plot while practicing English, making the textbook a great learning.


text:
‘I Don’t Want to be Burned Alive’: A Doctor’s Account of the US Airstrike That Destroyed MSF Hospital in Afghanistan · Global Voices
Medecins Sans Frontieres

A man injured in a traffic accident is treated at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Kunduz Trauma Centre. Andrew Quilty/Oculi. Permission to use.
We were like two headless chickens running in total darkness – me and the surgeon who assisted me in an operation. The nurses who were with us a moment ago had run outside the building, braving the volley of gunshots coming from above. I was coughing, half-choked by dust swirling around the area. Behind my surgical mask, my mouth was gritty as if somebody forced me to eat sand. I could hear my breath rasping in and out. Layers of smoke coming from a nearby room made it hard to see where we are.
Dr. Evangeline Cua of MSF. Photo by MSF.
Fire licked at the roof at one end of the building, dancing and sparkling in the dark, reaching towards the branches of the trees nearby. The ICU was burning. Outside, only the constant humming from above pointed to the presence of something. An aircraft? Airstrike? Why the hospital? Why us? Then, without warning, another tremendous, earsplitting blast shook the building. The ceiling came crashing down on us and the last remaining lights were turned off, sending us to total darkness. I screamed in terror as wires pinned me to the ground. That was the last thing I could remember.
I woke up sobbing and disoriented. It had been months since I went home from Afghanistan and, except for a fading scar on my right knee, that awful incident at the Kunduz Trauma Center was almost forgotten, suppressed to memory. Debriefings, consults with psychiatrists, meditation techniques, pages upon pages of journal entries to unload myself of the horror of that night….all of these were swept aside when memories came rushing in a nightmare triggered by a firework.
******
Dr. Cua's MSF mission in Kunduz had been a largely uneventful one prior to an intensification of fighting between government and Taliban troops that led to the latter briefly capturing and holding the strategic northern city in late September of last year.
That unleashed a crescendo of violence that led to U.S warplanes dropping a bomb on the facility where she worked in  one of the worst single incidents of civilian casualties in the 14-year history of the Washington-led war in the country.
A total of 42 people died in the airstrike, which the United States government called an “avoidable mistake”. The hospital played an important role in the city, providing free medical care for anyone in need.
Below, Dr. Cua recalls how on the day of the strike the hospital was overwhelmed, working around the clock to save residents of the region caught in the crossfire of the Taliban-government conflict.
At least 24 of those patients would be killed by what MSF terms “precise and repeated U.S. airstrikes” that day, along with 14 MSF staff and 4 caretakers.
*****
There were at least a dozen people on the floor. And more were lying on the stretchers parked on both sides of the ER lobby. There were women with blood-spattered shalwar kameez, one of them pregnant, another staring blankly at the ceiling; men with tattered, bloody clothes and a little kid moaning in pain, blood pooling where his legs should have been.
I was startled when an old wrinkled man with a full beard and kind eyes stopped me, and uncharacteristically for an Afghan man, tried to touch my arm. With a pleading voice, he asked me in halting English, “Doctor, please. My son is out there. Could you please take a look at him? He’s a nice man, doctor. My youngest son.” He was saying the words to me proudly, with a hint of smile on his face. I managed to suppress a gasp when I saw him – the man on the stretcher near the wall. On his chest, a big gaping wound gave me a view to his partially exposed lung. He already had a glassy look in his eyes and had no palpable pulse. Trying to do something, anything, I adjusted his intravenous line. I gently covered his chest with hospital linen and, in a breaking voice, told the old man to excuse me and that I’ll ask one of the nurses to tend to his son.
The grateful look in his eyes, as if I had given his son a second lease on life, would haunt me forever.
*****
MSF considers what happened next a war crime, as the fully functioning hospital was protected under International Humanitarian Law.
Shortly after the mistaken bombardment of the hospital began, MSF sent a signal to the United States government informing it that its facility was under aerial attack.
In the report of a government investigation released in November, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan General John Campbell referred to the army's failure to respond immediately to the signal as “human process error.”
The fact that the AC-130 gunship conducting the strike confused the hospital with a building where Taliban forces were believed to be camped out is no consolation for the families of both victims and survivors of the tragedy.
The father of three-year-old Shaista, who lost a leg in the violence preceding the blast and was the only patient to escape the intensive care unit alive calls the attack “unforgivable” and compares Washington's apology to “a punch in the face, then later you say sorry.”
*****
The things that were constant in my nightmares were the roaring sound and panels of wood crashing down on us. And screams. Mine. Then me tripping down, landing on the floor.
“Get up! Come on.”
I slowly stood wincing in pain, trying to see him in the dark. Then I saw the unmistakable slanting roof. The basement! Thank God.
We ran and jumped into the hole.  To our horror, and big disappointment, we found ourselves inside the exhaust of the basement window. Surrounded with thick cement wall, about 7 feet below the ground, it was covered only by a thin sheet of roof above. An abyss. A dead end. The basement proper is on the other side of the wall!
We noticed fire darting in and out of the windows just above where we were hiding. Without any hesitation, he hoisted himself up the wall and successfully jumped out of that pit and ran into the open. I was left in the dark . . . alone.
I was already in panic. I was angry. I wanted to lash out at somebody, anybody. I wanted to punch someone in the face. I hated both sides involved in this stupid war. I wanted them to see all the damage they have been causing to civilians and let them imagine that those are their families. Let us see then if they would still continue this senseless war.
I was also afraid. I don't want to be burned alive. The tears came in a torrent, bringing all my frustrations to surface.
Then, surprisingly, there was calm and clarity. I was back to being a surgeon again. I saw a small piece of steel jutting out from the right corner. It was hot but I didn’t let go and in a few minutes I was out of the hole. With a sigh of relief, I saw my colleague sprawled on the ground near the rose garden, waiting, a big grin on his face when he saw me. When the volley of shots in the surroundings stopped, we started crawling towards a building, several meters from where we were. We were halfway there when a figure came out from the darkness. Fear gripped me. I did not survive the fire to just be kidnapped! No, please.
Then, the man who was wearing traditional Afghan attire uttered the words that I would always remember, “Follow me, there’s a safe place here.”
*****
Six months after the airstrike, there is no functioning hospital to replace the five-year-old facility in Kunduz that was the only one of its kind in Afghanistan's entire northeast.
MSF has not yet made a decision about re-opening the trauma hospital in the city. We first need to obtain clear reassurances from all parties to the conflict that our staff, patients and medical facilities will be safe from attack.
We need to know that the work of our doctors, nurses and other staff will be fully respected in Kunduz and in all places where we work in Afghanistan.
We require assurances that we can work according to our core principles and to international humanitarian law: namely, that we can safely treat all people in need, no matter who they are, or for which side they may fight.
Our ability to operate hospitals on the frontline in Afghanistan and in conflict zones everywhere depends on the reaffirmation of these fundamental principles.

author: Medecins Sans Frontieres


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Under Brazil’s Cybercrime Bill, Social Media Sites Could Become ‘Permanent Agents of Vigilance’ · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

A screen shows the vote tally as activists cheer for the bill from the upper level of the Chamber. March 2014. Photo shared by Carolina Rossini via Twitter.
Brazil's Congress is considering a new suite of legislation that would seriously harm freedom of expression online in the country. The result of a final report of the parliamentary Inquiry Commission on Cybercrimes (CPI dos Crimes Cibernéticos), the draft amendments have prompted widespread criticism from digital rights defenders.
Brazil rose to international attention in the area of digital rights after approving the Marco Civil, a ‘bill of rights’ for the Internet that explicitly protects the right to free expression online and guarantees network neutrality and data protection. The bill was developed by technology law experts through an open consultation process with civil society, a novel approach both in Brazil and globally. Though it was approved in 2014, in what many saw as part of a political response to the Snowden revelations, it has since suffered multiple attempts of alteration. This is the most significant so far.
The report proposes amendments to the Marco Civil that would require websites and social networks to take down defamatory content — i.e. posts that prove “harmful to personal honor” — within 48 hours of receiving notification from a claimant or person affected by said content. Websites could face civil and in some cases criminal penalties if they fail to oblige the request. The amendments also stipulate that websites and social networks must monitor user activity in order to prevent such content to be replicated across the web, an all but impossible task.
Currently, the Marco Civil only penalizes websites if they fail to remove non-consensual intimate images or videos. In all other cases, claimants must submit a court order to a company in order to have a piece of content removed from its website.
This particular amendment also marks a departure from multiple defamation law regimes in South America, in that it offers the same level of protection against defamation to private individuals as it does to public figures. In joint statement signed by 50 digital rights Brazilian and international organizations, advocates said that such a change would generate “chilling effects” on freedom of expression:
This proposal is ambiguous and may allow individuals, potential victims, and their legal representatives to request content takedown[s] directly to the platforms.
A petition released by the Institute for Technology and Society Rio, a digital rights group, with more than 10,000 signatures so far, says:
Se alguém falar mal de um político em uma rede social, a rede social será obrigada a remover o conteúdo em no máximo 48 horas. Se não remover, a empresa será co-responsabilizada por aquele conteúdo e terá de indenizar o político ofendido. Em outras palavras, as redes sociais se tornarão agentes de vigilância e censura permanentes dos seus usuários.
If somebody insults a politicians on a social media platform, the platform will be obligated to remove the content in a maximum of 48 hours. If it doesn't, the company will be co-responsible for that content and will have to compensate the offended politician. In other words, social media companies will become permanent agents of vigilance and censorship of its users.
Another amendment would allow courts to demand ISPs to block access to applications that are involved in a criminal investigation.
Researcher Sergio Amadeu Oliveira has said:
Esse procedimento permitirá que um juiz, por exemplo, mande proibir o acesso às redes P2P (peer-to-peer) ou coibir o acesso às novas tecnologias e implantar um obscurantismo digital inaceitável para um país que pretende avançar na era informacional.
This procedure would allow a judge, for example, to forbid access to P2P networks or hamper access to new technologies and implement a digital obscurantism unnacceptable for a country that wants to advance in the informational era.
And yet another proposed alteration to the Marco Civil would require ISPs and application providers to reveal user's IP addresses to law enforcement agencies without a court order. Currently Brazilian Law allows law enforcement agencies to have access, without a court order, to a user's personal address and parents’ names. The proposed change would include IP address in that data. Marco Civil is clear that IP addresses should only be provided with a judicial order.
The proposal also recommends broadening the concept of the crime of “invasion” or unauthorized access to electronic devices so that any invasion, regardless of motivation, would be considered a crime. Currently Brazilian Law considers this a crime only if it can be proven that the intention was to destroy data without authorization of the device's owner.
And another recommendation proposes that any crime committed on the Internet be investigated by Brazil's Federal Police, rather than the police for the jurisdiction in which the victim lives. Today, only crimes committed on the Internet related to child pornography or race discrimination fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Police.
The report's author, federal deputy Espiridião Amin from the conservative Progressive Party, says that “it's necessary to find a solution that balances freedom, innovation, free enterprise and security. It's unacceptable that gangs make use of these applications to perpetrate crimes and authorities have no access to those systems.”
The report should be submitted to a final vote on the commission on 12 April. If approved, the proposed bills will be debated in Brazil's lower house of congress.

author: Taisa Sganzerla


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A Breakdown of the Current Version of Brazil’s Cybercrimes Bill · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

Brasil's national congress. Photo by Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz via Wikimedia. Released to public domain.
After much pressure from Internet rights advocates, proponents of new cyber crime legislation in Brazil removed some of the most controversial elements of the bill on April 11. Critics of the draft amendments also managed to secure a postponing of the preliminary vote to the end of the month.
The amendments form an integral part of a report from the parliamentary Inquiry Commission on Cybercrimes (CPI dos Crimes Cibernéticos), released on March 31, and would modify key aspects of Marco Civil, Brazil's globally celebrated ‘bill of rights’ for the Internet — a first of its kind in the world when it comes to protection free expression online, network neutrality and data protection.
The Commission was established in August last year with the objective of proposing legislation to better tackle online crimes.
The report has prompted widespread criticism from digital rights defenders, from Brazil and elsewhere. On April 11, Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, released an open letter to Brazilian legislators asking them to “reconsider the report.” A petition released by the Institute for Technology and Society, from Rio de Janeiro, a digital rights group, has more than 18,000 signatures so far.
Following criticism, federal deputy Espiridiao Amin, who is the rapporteur of the commission, released on April 11 a new version of the report, with slight changes to the most controversial elements of the legislation. But for many critics, this was not not nearly enough to protect Marco Civil's very founding principles.
Among the proposals expressed in the report, free expression advocates find three matters particularly worrying: when and how Internet applications should be obliged to remove content; whether law enforcement agencies can request ISPs to reveal users’ IP addresses without a court order; and whether courts can demand that ISPs block traffic to applications in some circumstances.
The first matter was the most significantly modified in the new report. In the first version, a proposed change to the Marco Civil would require websites and social networks to take down defamatory content — i.e. posts that prove “harmful to personal honor” — within 48 hours of receiving notification from a claimant or person affected by said content — that is, without a court order.
In the new version, web applications would only be required to remove copies of the content already deemed illegal by a judge, without the need of new court order. The deadline of 48 hours was also removed.
The new text of Marco Civil's article 21 read as follows:
Os provedores de aplicação deverão tomar as providências técnicas, nos limites de suas aplicações, para assegurar que o conteúdo infringente, objeto da ordem judicial ou da notificação de que trata esta Seção, continue indisponível em caso de cópia, dispensada a necessidade de nova ordem judicial ou notificação para a retirada desses novos materiais.
Internet providers will have to take the technical measures, within the limits of their capabilities, to assure that the infringing content, subject of a court order or notification referenced in this Section, remains unavailable in case is has been copied, eliminating the need for a new court order or notification to remove those [reproductions] of said content.
In its justification, the report states that the current stipulations in Marco Civil make it difficult to remove criminal content when they are replicated — Marco Civil expressly mentions the “undeniable location of the material” when referring to the removal of a content. According to the report, the current system is “unfair to the victim, who is obligated to request a new court order against each occurrence of said content.”
For Internet rights advocate Oficina Antivigilancia, this still has some worrying aspects:
Nos preocupa o modo como esta obrigação será implementada, principalmente no que tange conteúdos em que o público intencionalmente deseja subverter o bloqueio, uma vez que técnicas sofisticadas (e outras até nem tanto, como “flipar”/espelhar a imagem de vídeos ou acelerar sutilmente a velocidade da reprodução) podem ser muito difíceis de se detectar tecnicamente, ainda mais dado o volume de novas postagens nas principais plataformas como Youtube, Facebook e Twitter.
It worries us the way in which this obligation will be implemented, mainly when it comes to content in which the public intentionally wants to subvert the blockade, once sophisticated techniques (and others not so much, like flipping/mirroring the image or accelerating the reproduction of videos) could be very hard to technically detect, especially considering the volume of new posts in the Internet's main platforms like Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.
Despite this apparent step forward, the new version has maintained the other two controversial proposals. Another modification of Marco Civil would allow law enforcement agencies to request ISPs and application providers to reveal users’ IP addresses without a court order in the case they're being subjected to a criminal investigation.
Article 10 of the Marco Civil, which treats of the protection of user data, will gain the following amendment:
A autoridade policial ou Ministério Público poderão requisitar ao provedor de conexão ou aplicação de internet, independentemente de autorização judicial, o endereço IP utilizado para a geração de conteúdo específico objeto de investigação criminal.
The police authority or the public prosecutor could request to the Internet access provider or the Internet application provider, regardless of judicial authorization, the IP address used for the generation of specific content object of criminal investigation.
The report says that “it's important to reinforce that what is being proposed is not to liberate access of police forces to the data of any internet users…Internet users that haven't committed any crime will have the guarantee of the preservation of its intimacy. But those that make use of the internet to practice crimes will be identified quickly.”
For Internet rights advocates, the problem with this idea is that it eliminates the accountability that is brought to the system by the court system. Many policies around the world state that only a judge is qualified to determine whether a content infringes the law or not, and if the user that created it is a criminal or not.
Twitter user @diegorrcc said:
Novo relatorio da #CPICiber sugere acesso s/ necessidade de ordem judicial a IP de autor de “conteúdo criminoso”. quem define isso? (1/2)
— diegorrcc (@diegorrcc) 12 April 2016
New report of #CPICiber suggests access without the need for a court order to the IP of the author of ‘criminal content’. Who defines this? (1/2)
Só ord judicial é capaz de definir se conteúdo on line é ilícito. Ñ basta mero arbítrio de policiais e procuradores. (2/2) #CPICiber
— diegorrcc (@diegorrcc) 12 April 2016
Only a court order is capable of defining if said content is illegal. Not enough mere will of police officers and prosecutors (2/2) #CPICiber
Finally, the report also maintained that the judicial system could demand that ISPs block entire Internet applications and websites. Language is vague on what circumstances such blocking could be used — it merely says that applications ‘related’ to criminal conduct could be subjected to censorship.
The amendment also would effectively open up an exception on the principle of net neutrality.
The report justifies the proposal as the only way the Brazilian judicial system would be able to remove applications that are hosted on foreign servers, in the case they violate rights guaranteed by the Brazilian law — such as websites that provide child pornography or copyrighted material.
In its justification, the report says:
A solução possível é se determinar aos provedores brasileiros de conexão, que obedecem à jurisdição brasileira, que neguem tráfego ao destino que tenha sido considerado ilegal no curso do processo judicial. Desta forma, ainda que o hospedeiro estrangeiro não possa ser obrigado a apagar o conteúdo ilegal de seus servidores, o acesso a esses será prejudicado pela medida técnica implementada por provedores brasileiros de conexão.
One possible solution is to stipulate that Brazilian Internet providers, those that follow the Brazilian law, deny traffic to the destination that has been considered illegal in the course of the judicial process. That way, although the foreign host cannot be obligated to remove the illegal content from its servers, access to it will be hampered by the technical measure implemented by the Brazilian Internet providers.
It also says that the practice is current in the European Union, United States and Chile, which is contested by some Internet advocates. It is also unclear whether such a disposition could trigger the blocking of applications that do not provide an illegal service, but could be used for criminal practices — this is what prompted the blockade of WhatsApp last year in Brazil.
Among other proposals questioned by Internet rights advocates are the broadening of the concept of the crime of “invasion” or unauthorized access to electronic devices and the allocation of 10% of the resources of Fistel — a fund that finances ANATEL, Brazilian's telecommunications regulation agency — to Brazil's Federal Police to improve its capacity of investigating online crimes.


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Australia’s ‘Stop the Clock’ Movement Fights to Keep Foreign Aid From Falling to Historic Lows · Global Voices
Fiona So

Image from Campaign for Australian Aid.
A coalition of aid groups is urging the Australian government to reverse cuts to foreign aid planned for May this year. Should the cuts go ahead, Australia's aid would dip to its lowest level since records began in 1960.
In a press release announcing Campaign for Australian Aid's pledge to “stop the clock” on further aid cuts, Campaign Director Tony Milne said:
We are calling on the Government to reverse the final scheduled $224 million cut to the aid budget so that Australia does not become the least generous we've ever been with the lowest aid budget ever.
Representing more than 65 development organizations, churches, businesses, and community groups, the campaign is calling attention to the vital role Australian aid has played in international development, from humanitarian assistance in Syria, to the provision of clean drinking water, to support for education programs throughout the Indo-Pacific:
Cutting #AustralianAid will affect real projects that save lives. Can you help #StopTheClock on #AustralianAid? https://t.co/MNdLCUr5Im
— World Vision AUS (@WorldVisionAus) April 11, 2016
Last year, #AustralianAid provided emergency food assistance for up to 4 million people in Syria. #StopTheClock https://t.co/dYVJooFZYm
— Save the Children (@savechildrenaus) April 11, 2016
Last year, Australian aid trained over 100,000 teachers in our region #AustralianAid#StopTheClockhttps://t.co/kAUntlcCjz
— Tim Lo Surdo (@timlosurdo) April 11, 2016
Members of the public are also petitioning Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison to stop the impending budget cuts:
Hey @ScottMorrisonMP it's time to #StopTheClock and cancel the $224m cuts to #AustralianAid in the budget ⏰🚫🔪 pic.twitter.com/o1bkgKKdTO
— Reed Fleming (@reedfleming) April 11, 2016
Some Internet users mentioned the so-called “Panama Papers” (where 800 Australians have been named, so far), pointing out the unfairness of overlooking tax evasion by the super-rich, while slashing foreign aid.
#Poverty and the #panamapapers – our advocates pointing out how unethical the #inequality is #AustralianAidpic.twitter.com/SK489awEqK
— RESULTS Australia (@RESULTS_AU) April 7, 2016
Australian aid has been in a downward spiral for some time now. Despite former Prime Minister John Howard's promise in 2000 to raise foreign aid to 0.7 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015, it was treated as an aspirational rather than a prescriptive goal. Aid levels fell to historic lows in 2003–2004. When the Labor Government under Kevin Rudd was elected in 2007, a commitment was made to increase the foreign aid budget to 0.5 percent of GNI by 2015. However, this target was deferred (largely in response to the global financial crisis) and ultimately never realized before former Liberal leader Tony Abbott came to office in 2013.
Unprecedented cuts to the aid budget were announced in December 2014 under Abbott. Adjusting for inflation, aid was reduced by 20 percent (or A$1 billion) in 2015–2016—the largest cuts ever in a single year. Future cuts will see Australian aid fall to 0.22 percent of GNI in 2017–2018—a new record low.
Australian aid generosity (as a percentage of Gross National Income), over time. Source: Development Policy Centre, Australian National University.
Excepting Cambodia, Nepal, and Timor-Leste, Australia's aid to countries in Asia was slashed by 40 percent; the Middle East by 43 percent; and Sub-Saharan Africa by 70 percent. The largest recipient of Australian aid today is Papua New Guinea, on which Australia relies heavily to detain, process, and resettle asylum seekers as part of its controversial offshore detention program.
While the government continues to mull over the upcoming May budget, it seems Australians’ attitudes towards aid have shifted. In a blog for the Development Policy Centre, Terrence Wood argues:
As the Turnbull government considers whether it really wants to follow through with the aid cuts Tony Abbott’s government had planned for next financial year, it may want to take note of recent public opinion polling — polling that suggests that most Australians no longer think Australia gives too much aid… Australians’ enthusiasm for aid cuts has waned.
However, Robin Davies, also of the Development Policy Centre, identified other pressures that could lead to an even tighter squeeze on the Australian aid budget. This includes current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's pledge at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris on November 30, 2015:
contribute at least $1 billion over the next five years from our existing aid budget both to build climate resilience and reduce emissions. [emphasis added]
At the time, his pledge drew fire from aid agencies for draining an already dwindling aid budget, while failing to commit effectively to any new funding.
Other Australian aid experts have warned that the quality of aid is just as important as its overall quantity:
The aid budget cuts may not be reversed, but the decline in perceived effectiveness can be. Stakeholders are realistic about the prospects for future aid volumes. But they expect a more effective aid program… Listening to their voices will go a long way to minimising those risks, and putting Australian aid once again on an upward trajectory, if not in terms of volume, then at least, and just as importantly, in terms of quality.

author: Fiona So


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Colorful Rickshaw Paintings Protest Violence Against Women in Bangladesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

Rickshaw painting with protest slogans by the participants of the event “Rongbaji”. Photo by Sabrina Aman Reevy. Used with permission
Three-wheeled rickshaws, one of the trademarks of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, are famous for their colourful, brightly painted exteriors. These vehicles have been in use since the 1940s, and the artworks adorning them can depict everything from movie stars, flowers or religious imagery.
At the beginning of April, group of about 50 women in Bangladesh used rickshaw painting as a way to protest against violence against women and other injustices that they face. The event was organised by Meye (Bangla for “girl”), a non-profit, women-led network of Bangla-speaking women which advocates women's rights, empowerment and leadership. Founded in 2011, Meye has created a community of about 5,000 women to date, mostly connected via social media.
In Bangladesh in recent years, there has been a worrying increase in the number of rape cases. When women do become victims of rape, they are often shamed and their modesty questioned. Street harassment of women also is commonplace. At home, as many as 87% of currently married women reported experiencing violence from their husband, including psychological violence, according to a 2011 survey by the Bangladeshi government.
Message at the bottom: বউয়ের দোয়া” (Bouer Doa – Prayers of my wife), a spinoff from the usual message found in the back of the rickshaws – “মায়ের দোয়া” (Mayer Doa – My mother's prayer) – emphasising the wife's contribution in a patriarchal society. Photo by Navida Ameen Nizhu. Used with permission.
Global Voices spoke to Trishia Nashtaran, a blogger and founder/coordinator of Meye, about the innovative protest.
Global Voices (GV): Please tell us about the rickshaw painting event.
Trishia Nashtaran (TN): None of us have forgotten the sexual assaults carried out against women on Pahela Baishakh (Bangla New Year celebrations) last year. Meye has responded to the violence then through ‘Arek Boishakh: A protest through celebration’ – urging women to once again reclaim the Dhaka University campus through colors, words and music.
This year, Meye welcomed the new year with a unique initiative they have named ‘Rongbaji’. Under the theme of ‘Let our words color rickshaws’, on the 1st of April, women voiced their protest through rickshaw paint at Nimtoli Gate, next to Bangladesh Asiatic Society. Before Bangla year 1423 arrives, the song in our hearts and the color in our souls took shape into words and images by adorning rickshaws — a transport that symbolizes the spirit of Dhaka. People of all gender were invited to lend a hand; because as we unite in celebration, we must also stand together when it’s time to protest an injustice.
“We have to protest to stop the crimes.” Photo: Navida Ameen Nizhu. Used with permission
GV: Why did you chose rickshaw painting?
TN: Because, rickshaws are an integral component of our city lives. The images painted on rickshaws have always been a colorful reflection of the historical, cultural, social issues of our times.
“নজর সামলে রাখুন” – “Check your indecent stare”. Image by Trishia Nashtaran. Used with permission.
GV: What does “Rongbaji”, the title of the event, mean?
TN: The literal meaning of the word “Rongbaji” is playing with colors. In colloquial language, “rongbaj” is a word referred to spoilt brats who would stand on roadside and catcall women. The name was chosen for the rickshaw painting event for both the literal meaning and the colloquial one for the sarcastic tone it bears.
1) “The shame is for the rapist not the victim.” 2) “If you insult a woman, you insult the nation.” Image by Navida Ameen Nizhu. Used with permission.
GV: What are you trying to achieve?
TN: We hope that the tradition of depicting messages of women in rickshaws we have started will be carried forward by the brilliant rickshaw painters (known in colloquial language as artist man) who help make our Dhaka rickshaws so very beautiful with their colorful strokes. Through the moving wheels of the rickshaws, our slogans will keep going forward and telling our stories throughout Dhaka. Some other organizations have already been planning to spread their protest in this way. We hope that words will thus roam around places and find their ways into people’s thought, leading us to a better tomorrow.
“You cannot love without consent.” Photo by Navida Ameen Nizhu. Used with permission.
Some of the participants at the event. Photo: Navida Ameen Nizhu. Used with permission.

author: Rezwan