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One Woman Challenges Perceptions of Somalia One Instagram Post at a Time · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Screenshot of Ugaaso Boocow's Instagram account.
This article and radio report by Bradley Campbell for The World as part of the Across Women's Lives project originally appeared on PRI.org on February 18, 2015, and is republished as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Somalia is another country torn apart by wars.
We've covered that in detail.
But there's much more to the country. That's what Ugaaso Boocow wants to show. The Toronto native moved to Mogadishu recently. That's where her parents are from. But to keep in touch with her friends and family back in Canada, she started posting pictures and short videos to Instagram.
And now, more than 47,000 people and counting are following her account. “I would post things that we didn't have in Canada, like perspiring pitchers of fruit juice, watermelon and mango, freshly squeezed lemon — the longest coastline in Africa,” she says. “Just to show that it's very much normal to be out here and to live here and to work here and to be a young women in this country.”
https://instagram.com/p/zP9MypMR2A/
Her photos are beautiful. But at first glance you don't notice the pictures also say a ton, especially ones showing a paved road or lights. “It's unbelievable the small things that I was posting that were meaningless if you were in Canada,” she says. “Why would you take a picture of a light? That's because we actually have lights here now. The roads are paved. We have buildings. They fascinated people for whatever reason.”
Her followers span continents and countries. There's her hometown crowd in Toronto. Others in Scandinavia. More in Nigeria. She wants people to have a positive connotation to the words, Somalia, Mogadishu, and East Africa.
She's in it for the long haul, too. Magadishu is her home. “Mogadishu has always been my home in my heart. I was not in Mogadishu for 20-some-odd years, but Mogadishu has always been, and will always be my home.”
https://instagram.com/p/wUZKBWsRwm/
https://instagram.com/p/y9m8DAsR2P/


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Spanish Mayor’s ’Pearls’ Inspire a Thousand Lame Excuses for Failing Class  · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

Mercedes Pérez, mayor of Redueña, at the People's Party 2015 National Convention. Screenshot from a YouTube video.
The attacks launched by the press loyal to the current government in Spain against the new left-wing political group Podemos are starting to border on surreal. The mayor of a small town outside of Madrid said in an interview published February 17 in newspaper ABC that Pablo Iglesias, secretary general of Podemos and a former political science professor at the Complutense University, had failed her three times for dressing casually in Zara brand clothing and wearing pearls.
2015 is an election year in Spain. Spaniards will choose their local and autonomous governments soon, with general elections being held by the end of the year. The conservative People's Party (PP), currently governing the country with a comfortable absolute majority, has suffered a dramatic decline in expected votes, a result of the unpopular austerity measures it has imposed and the corruption scandals that have plagued its politicians.
So it isn't surprising that PP members are intensifying their attacks against new political groups. Traditional media outlets also have an interest in maintaining the country's de facto two-party system, dominated by PP and the socialist PSOE party: the government passed the widely criticized “Google News tax,” a law that Spain's major newspapers lobbied for.
It seems, however, that in the absence of actual crimes comparable to those committed by the politicians in power, certain media outlets are willing to turn anything into news. That is what the very conservative newspaper ABC did when it decided to dedicate an entire page to a story about María de las Mercedes Pérez, PP mayor of Redueña. Under the headline “He failed me three times for wearing pearls,” Pérez stated that Pablo Iglesias treated students of a certain ideology offensively, used his classes to indoctrinate, and “was very in favor” of Basque militant organization ETA‘s fight.
What Mercedes Peréz and ABC perhaps didn't calculate was the impact that this interview would have on social networks. Within hours of its publication, many online newspapers were talking about the news, and hundreds of tweets and comments mocked the mayor and ABC. Many were convinced Pérez failed for other reasons:
Es increíble que una excusa que no serviría para justificar 3 suspensos seguidos ante ningún padre cuele entre determinada prensa #Perlitas
— Karlos (@casymo) February 17, 2015
It's amazing an excuse that no parent would accept as justification for three back-to-back failures could make it past certain media. #Pearls
De los creadores d “el perro se comió mis deberes” y “el profe me tiene manía” llega “P.Iglesias me suspendió por llevar collar de perlitas”
— elena núñez (@nez_elenuru) February 17, 2015
From the creators of “the dog ate my homework” and “the teacher hates me” comes “P.Iglesias failed me for wearing a pearl necklace.”
Writer Juan Gómez-Jurado took a look at the mayor's Twitter account and pointed out her grammatical errors and typos:
Querida @perezgonzalezm, una duda, ¿en 3º de la ESO también llevabas perlitas? Gracias de antemano. pic.twitter.com/E8otGwPc85
— Juan Gómez-Jurado (@JuanGomezJurado) February 17, 2015
My dear @perezgonzalezm, one question, in your third year of high school did you also wear pearls? Thank you in advance.
Others invented excuses inspired by the mayor's accusations:
Pablo Iglesias me suspendió por llevar los calzoncillos por encima de los pantalones.
— Deathmann (@DidakMortisanti) February 17, 2015
Pablos Iglesias failed me for wearing underwear over my pants.
“Me suspendió por ir a clase con Perlitas, mi tigre de Bengala albino”.
— Petete Potemkin (@Petetekin) February 17, 2015
He failed me for going to class with Pearls, my white Bengali tiger.
“Pablo Iglesias me suspendió por llevar un descompotronizador de escafurcias”.
— [Gelat] (@Gaphelion) February 17, 2015
“Pablo Iglesias gave me bad grades for taking a descompotronizator of escafurcias* to class”.
Pablo Iglesias me suspendió por darle pienso vegano a mi perro.
— Proscojoncio (@Proscojoncio) February 17, 2015
Pablo Iglesias failed me for giving my dog vegan food.
Twitter user PascÜ sarcastically reminded people of the accusations regarding the relationship of Podemos’ leadership with the Venezuelan government:
A mi Pablo Iglesias me suspendió tres veces por decir que el bigote de Maduro no era hipster.
— PascÜ (@pascu55) February 17, 2015
Pablo Iglesias failed me three times for saying that Maduro's mustache wasn't hipster.
Comments on news websites also exuded sarcasm about the mayor – now dubbed “Pearls” – and ABC's selection criteria. Dexys wrote in news site El Diario:
Tremendo drama humano que compite en intensidad con las decapitaciones del ISIS. Documento impactante sobre la decadencia de la patria y los peligros que la acechan en manos de aventureros sin escrúpulos. Me ha hecho llorar.
Tremendous human drama competing in intensity with the ISIS beheadings. Shocking document on the decline of the country and the dangers that lurk in the hands of unscrupulous adventurers. It has made me cry.
On popular website forocoches, user 917 made this harsh comment:
Verás cuando se descubra que Pablo Iglesias mató y se comió a un gatito para no morirse de hambre una vez que se perdió en la selva venezolana…
You will see when they discover that Pablo Iglesias once killed and ate a kitten to avoid dying of hunger after getting lost in the Venezuelan jungle…
Blogger Félix Población wrote on his blog Diario del Aire:
Hay noticias que resaltan en toda su evidencia el ridículo que están haciendo algunos medios de comunicación con tal de poner a sus equipos de reporteros a la busca y captura de alguna incidencia que pueda afectar al buen nombre de los promotores de Podemos, sin que hasta ahora consigan sus objetivos, antes bien al contrario.
There are news stories that clearly highlight the fools that certain media outlets are making of themselves just to send their teams of reporters to hunt for any incident that could affect the good name of Podemos supporters, and until now they haven't achieved their objectives, but rather the opposite.
Journalist and blogger Suanzes said he had the Podemos leader as a professor. While recognizing the ideological difference between Iglesias and himself, Suanzes defended his skills as a professor on his blog:
El debate en el aula era absolutamente libre y él disfrutaba mucho cuando le llevaban la contraria. Mi impresión es que no adoctrinaba. Su postura, sus ideas, su cosmovisión, estaba clarísima. (…) Y lejos de ser un problema, fue un aliciente. Para ambos.
En las clases me lo pasé realmente bien. Discutiendo, llevando la contraria y provocando. Y jamás hubo el más mínimo problema. Ni conmigo ni con nadie, que yo viera.
The classroom discussion was absolutely free and he really enjoyed it when people opposed him. My impression was not that he was indoctrinating. His position, his ideas, his worldview, were crystal clear. (…) And far from being a problem, it was an incentive. For both.
I had a really good time in class. Discussing, bringing forth opposing viewpoints, provoking. And there was never the slightest problem. Not with me nor with anyone else that I saw.
At night, the mayor made an appearance on the “El cascabel” television program, a political gathering on 13Tv with ultraconservative tendencies, not suspecting the “bashing” she was about to receive by people with her same beliefs. There she acknowledged that she had only failed the class twice, that there had been two different professors who failed her, and that perhaps she was not well prepared (video by Prodigi0Tv on YouTube):
After recognizing that she had not requested that her exam be reviewed either, one of the commentators suggested that she was making a grave accusation against a professor without having any evidence of misconduct. Another commentator stressed:
Ya no me puedo creer lo de las perlitas. (…) A mí, esto me parecen los 15 minutos de fama que todos necesitamos en la vida.
When it comes to the pearls, I cannot believe anything anymore. […] To me, it looks like the 15 minutes of fame that each of us needs in life.
*The intention of the twitter user was to write an excuse that made no sense, which is why the phrase was not translated.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Lourdes Sada


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Submissions Needed for White History Month 2015 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Organised by Africa is a Country blog, White History month 2015 is coming next month:
Last March was the inaugural White History Month here on Africa is a Country, and without tooting too loudly on our own vuvuzela, it was kind of brilliant. So we’re going to do it again.
We featured stuff like Kathleen Bomani’s Leather from Human Skin in 1880s Philadelphia and pulled together a wide range of material, from Britain’s mass torture regime in 1950s Kenya to that time the South African government sent a delegation to the USA to find out how “reservations” worked.
If you would like to participate, you should:
Get in touch using editorial [at] africasacountry [dot] com and let us know what you want to write about. Take a look at what was featured last year to get an idea of what we’re looking for.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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US Government Eases Sanctions to Allow Export of Personal Communications Tools to Sudan · Global Voices
Usamah Mohamed

Students at the University of Geneina, Sudan. Photo by Albert González Farran – UNAMID, used under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
The US government has issued a general license to amend US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions on Sudan. The general license authorizes the exportation and re-exportation to Sudan of “certain software, hardware and services incident to personal communications over the Internet.”
Under the new license, announced on January 17, 2015, Sudanese should be able to have access to, as well as purchase, personal communications technologies they were unable to use under the previous restrictions. This includes smartphones, tablets, laptops, network devices and a plethora of online services like web hosting, mobile app stores, and cloud storage services, among others.
The decision follows similar ones taken by the US government towards other sanctioned countries in recent years, including Cuba, Iran, and Syria, that aim to promote freedom of expression by enabling certain communications technologies to reach the citizens of those countries.
Sudanese on social media were ecstatic over the news, some joking about bidding VPNs farewell, while others were concerned about ensuring US corporations would comply with the new regulations.
Maha Elsanosi tweeted:
Good news in #Sudan for a change. Goodbye VPN, you will be missed?
— Maha Elsanosi (@MimzicalMimz) February 17, 2015
Twitter user @iYousif bid farewell to a common warning that pops up when accessing specific app stores and services from Sudan:
RIP Error 1009 — Mohabbatein (@iYousif) February 17, 2015
Twitter user @dabiggmoe noted that the fight isn't yet finished:
US partial #techsanctions lift is the 1st step. 2nd step we should push the tech companies and OTT players to comply with the new laws — MM (@dabiggmoe) February 18, 2015
But the general mood was perhaps caught by this peculiarly sentimental tweet:
ما كنت قايل نفسي هعيش لغاية الحظر الالكتروني يترفع *يبكي ويتمخت*
— MKMBHS||مَكَمْبَهَسْ (@mkmbhs) February 17, 2015
I didn't imagine I'd live to see the day the US digital sanctions on communications are lifted. *sobs and blows nose*
Human rights activist Dalia Haj-Omar described on Twitter the sanctions amendment as a ‘victory’, achieved by strenuous efforts by Sudanese civil society and a global network of US and non-US digital rights activists and organizations. Last year, Haj-Omar wrote about the ongoing campaign by Sudanese activists to lift the sanctions on digital communications to Sudan:
The campaign aims to educate the Sudanese public and American policy-makers about the negative impact of US sanctions on the free access to information communication technologies (ICTs) and the internet in Sudan. The launch marks a year-long advocacy effort that has included talks with US-based civil society groups and the US State Department.
A campaign to lift US digital sanctions on Sudan was launched last year by Sudanese activists aimed to shine light on how Sudanese people are affected by US sanctions on digital communications.
Journalists, political activists and human rights defenders in Sudan are particularly endangered by the worsening human rights situation in the country. Sudan has occupied the top rankings for violating freedom of expression and press freedom in human rights organizations’ freedom indexes over the past decade.
As for internet freedom, Sudan was classified ‘Not Free’ in Freedom House's Freedom on the Net index for 2013 and 2014.
In an op-Ed published on the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum's Facebook page, charge d'affairs Ambassador Jery Lanier reflected on the positive impact the exemptions will have on Sudanese people:
I believe these amendments will give Sudanese students, entrepreneurs, businesspeople, journalists, civic leaders, and others better access to the telecommunications tools they need to study, create, grow, and serve their communities. It will ease some of the difficulties in daily life faced by Sudanese people, and in a way that enhances their communications and relationship with the American people.
While a welcome step in the right direction, the new amendments are still limited in scope and the massive challenges faced by Sudanese citizens remain warranted. Young Sudanese professionals in particular are feeling increasingly isolated and unable to integrate into the global community to pursuit their innovative and entrepreneur aspirations.
“We need to push this forward now!”, Mohamed Hashim Kambal, Internet activist and coordinator of the ‘Lift US Digital Santions on Sudan’ campaign told Global Voices via Skype. Kambal cited several examples in which the sanctions still affect Sudanese citizens. “Even under the new general license, young professional engineers and developers cannot get certified by industry-established US and non-US providers and vendors from inside Sudan. Exam and certification centers can't open in Khartoum,” he explained. This has led many of these young professionals to give up on pursing their careers in Sudan, contributing to a reportedly  of skilled work force. Professionals in the fields of medicine, humanitarian development and peacekeeping face similar obstacles.
The US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation has criticized in the past what it described as US government's ‘piecemeal approach’ to the sanctions, arguing that it harms innovation and development in sanctioned countries.

author: Usamah Mohamed


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A Love Letter to Jailed Syrian-Palestinian Bassel Khartabil · Global Voices
Leila Nachawati

Bassel Safadi and his wife Noura. Photo from Noura Ghazi Safadi's Facebook page.
Update: On August 1, 2017, Bassel Khartabil's wife Noura Ghazi learned that her husband was executed by the Syrian regime almost two years ago in 2015. She wrote this love letter to him in February 2015, nine months before she received unconfirmed news that Bassel had been sentenced to death. Between then and August 1, neither Noura nor Bassel's supporters were able to confirm the execution or his whereabouts, and for the last two years Noura has been living in the hope of being reunited with him.
March 15 marks the third anniversary of the detention in Damascus of Bassel Khartabil—also known as Bassel Safadi—a well-known Syrian-Palestinian blogger and open-source software developer. A Creative Commons leader in Syria and active in projects like Mozilla Firefox and Wikipedia, he is credited with opening up the Syrian Internet and extending online access and knowledge to the public. According to the European Parliament, his detention is part of Syrian government efforts to restrict access to online communities and stifle freedom of expression in the country.
Bassel was arrested days before his wedding. His wife, Noura, chose February 14, Valentine's Day, to make this letter public:
I cannot write a poem on Valentines’ day, I really must see you, I need to steal words from your eyes, I can only think of your eyes now.
And when I really deal with your eyes, I have no words. I cannot think anymore, I am thinking of Syria, ouch Bassel. It hurts, Syria hurts.
Syria whenever I mention its name I cry
for Syria all the love
I wish we know how to love it, if we loved it we would have never reached where we were…
I think we all love it but we do not know how to love it,
we are not even learning how to love our Syria
Bassel, I am very afraid, I am afraid about the country that is being slaughtered, divided, bleeding, being destroyed..
Ouch Bassel, I am very afraid that our dream is changing from seeing ourselves being the generation freeing their country to the one witnessing its destruction. Ouch Bassel, I am very afraid …
I want to offer a rose
not red like blood
not white like the colour we never carried on our wedding day
I want to offer a blue rose, the colour I wore when we got married,
in the colour of the skirt I was wearing when you told me you loved me
Ouch Bassel, we owe this country soooo much
every moment I am tired
every moment I am weak
every moment I cry
I feel selfish and only thinking of me in Syria
I feel I want to desert it and leave and then I get back and promise my Syria to be strong
I want to say beautiful
I want to stay a human being,
I want to tattoo its name on my hand
Syria is worth it my dear Bassel
let us try this time for Syria’s sake
for Palestine’s sake
the Palestine I live through you
you are my beautiful other half that i live in you
you are my lovely Palestinian half
imagine
I miss myself in you
I miss everything in you
I miss Syria and Palestine in you
March 15, the day of Bassel's arrest, is also the day that commemorates the start of the Syrian popular uprising. In the spring of 2011, when citizens from across the region took to the streets to demand freedom, dignity and justice, anything seemed possible. Four years later, the dream of Bassel, Noura, and many others, has become a nightmare. Syria is under constant threat, though the suffering of its population no longer makes the news.
Just recently, government bombing killed more than 150 people, without making any headlines. Today, only the atrocities committed by Daesh (ISIS) are in the news, and the Syrian people are also their hostage and victim.
To those of us who know and love Syria, what happens in this country pains us deeply, and even more so as it becomes increasingly invisible to the rest of the world. We are hurt by the more than 200,000 killed, the hundreds of thousands of detainees, the displaced, the refugees, those who continue to suffer unimaginable torture in the government’s prisons, those who suffer the tyranny of groups such as ISIS who have their own agendas and interests, and who are enemies of Syrian richness and diversity. These unique and irreplaceable people, have become numbers and statistics so vast that the UN has failed to register them.
In particular, indifference hurts. The images that no longer provoke indignation, the documentation of atrocities that accumulate in unvisited video files. The selective empathy of those who classify the victims as imperialists or anti-imperialists, legitimate or illegitimate based on geo-strategic politics, and of those who add the denial of pain to the pain.
It hurts more than the loss of a loved one, because there is no therapy for the loss of a country. The wounds never heal. To those who love her, the hurt felt by Syria is never-ending.

author: Leila Nachawati


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Arrival of Yellow Dust Marks Start of Spring Headaches for Japan · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

PM2.5 smog caused by yellow dust in Oi, Fukui (map) in February 2014. Photo courtesy Shohei Guccio.
The southwestern Japanese city of Fukuoka is experiencing its first “yellow dust” day of the season, three months earlier than in past years. This is also the first time in five years South Korea has issued a yellow dust alert so early in the spring.
Yellow dust, or kosa (黄砂), is a traditional harbinger of spring in east Asia. Powerful spring westerly winds pick up sand, dust and sediment from arid regions of the Asian continent, including the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and the Loess Plateau in China.
The dust is transported throughout northeast Asia, including to the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and even the Russian Far East.
ANN broadcast news reports on the early arrival of the dust in Fukuoka, and how the dust is obscuring visibility in the normally clear skies of the season:
In Japan, yellow dust traditionally announces its arrival by leaving cars, windows, and clothes hung out to dry coated with a noticeable layer of grime. The wind-blow dust also creates a blue or yellowish haze that can obstruct the sun.
Dust obscures the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan in March 2001. Image provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE
It's possible that the yellow dust has already struck some cities in Japan earlier this month. This Twitter user reports a coating of the stuff on his car (although the dusting may be from cryptomeria pollen, another bane of early spring in Japan):
黄砂だ！ pm 2.5と花粉対策 広島地方 pic.twitter.com/2bs4t2Xdgr
— hajime (@tattachan1484) February 9, 2015
It's the yellow dust! Time for PM 2.5 and pollen countermeasures! (somewhere in Hiroshima)
Even further east, a Hankyu train rider somewhere near Osaka has also noticed the arrival of the continental dust:
うわ この黄色いのん 黄砂？ pic.twitter.com/0Fus7oXvPi
— 阪急京都線民 (@hankyu100) February 23, 2015
Agh! This must be yellow dust!
In recent years, yellow dust has also been responsible for a spike in reported respiratory ailments in Japan in spring.
The storms, thought to have once be a natural phenomenon, are now considered to be worsening in frequency and intensity as a result of overgrazing, deforestation, soil degradation and desertification in Central Asia and parts of China.
The fine particles of sediment that make up the yellow sand, as it is also known, act as an aerosol that collects industrial pollutants in China's heavily industrialized northeast.
The result is poor air quality and clouds of “PM 2.5 smog” all over northeast Asia. PM 2.5 fine particles are too small to be seen and are generally generated by industrial pollution. PM 2.5 particulate pollution is generally thought to be harmful to human health because these particles can be easily inhaled to then accumulate in the respiratory system.
Here is what PM 2.5 concentrations looked like northeast Asia on February 23, 2015:
Source: Air Pollution in Asia – Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map (February 23, 2015)
The pollution indices and color codes in the map above follow the EPA graduation, as defined by AirNow.
Numbers greater than 100 indicate air quality that is “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Numbers greater than 300 indicate air quality that is “hazardous for all.”
These satellite images shared on Twitter demonstrate the sudden scale of the yellow dust onslaught:
今日（23日）西日本で黄砂が観測されています．http://t.co/sINRq5OXC1 22日の衛星可視では，黄海あたりに黄砂っぽいのが見えます．19日と比べるとかなり茶色い．http://t.co/MARPwXwBJD pic.twitter.com/D7N9da4yKs
— 荒木健太郎 (@arakencloud) February 23, 2015
Today (February 23) Yellow Dust is clearly visible… On February Feb. 22 the Yellow Dust is clearly visible over the Yellow Sea [adjacent to Fukuoka]. Compared to February 22, it's really (noticeable).

author: Nevin Thompson


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‘Birdman’ Director Puts Mexico Front and Center at Oscars · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2015 Oscar winner for Best Director his film, Birdman. Photo taken from Tarlen Handayani's account on Flickr under the Creative Commons license.
Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu made history on February 22 when he won the 2015 Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director for Birdman, a satire about the entertainment industry. The film was also honored for Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.
Apart from Iñárritu's success at the mecca of movies, the issue most talked about on social networks has been the end of his acceptance speech, where the Birdman director mentioned the Mexican government and the situation of Mexican immigrants in the United States.
I want to dedicate this award for my fellow Mexicans, the ones who live in Mexico. I pray that we can find and build the government that we deserve. And the ones that live in this country who are part of the latest generation of immigrants in this country, I just pray that they can be treated with the same dignity and the respect of the ones who came before and [built] this incredible immigrant nation.
Iñárritu's clear allusion to Mexico having not found a government worthy of its citizens resonated deeply throughout the country. #ElGobiernoQueMerecemos (#TheGovernmentWeDeserve) quickly became a trending topic on Twitter.
Bien utilizado el foro de los #oscares por #Inarritu su llamado #ElGobiernoQueMerecemos debe de abrirnos los ojos.
— Pastelazo (@PastelazoMx) February 23, 2015
Good use of the #Oscar stage by #Inarritu. His call for #TheGovernmentWeDeserve ought to open our eyes.
Mexican writer and political analyst Denisse Dresser joined in on the praise:
Bravo a González Ińárritu por rogar que tengamos el gobierno que merecemos, y recordar que no hay que perder la esperanza de lograrlo.
— Denise Dresser (@DeniseDresserG) February 23, 2015
Bravo, González Iñárritu, for requesting that we have the government we deserve and remembering that we don't have to lose hope to achieve it.
Despite Iñárritu's jab at Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's government, he and his political party, the PRI, tweeted messages of congratulations from their official accounts:
Alejandro González Iñárritu, qué merecido reconocimiento a tu trabajo, entrega y talento. ¡Felicidades! México lo celebra junto contigo. — Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) February 23, 2015
Alejandro González Iñárritu, what a well-deserved recognition of your work, dedication, and talent. Congratulations! Mexico celebrates this together with you.
Coincidiendo en el orgullo mexicano, es un hecho que más que merecerlo estamos construyendo un mejor gobierno. Felicidades #GonzálezIñárritu — PRI (@PRI_Nacional) February 23, 2015
We are joining in on the wave of Mexican pride and, as a matter of fact, we not only deserve a better government, we are already building one. Congratulations, #GonzalezInarritu
To which many responded to with mockery and anger:
Es tan #imbecil#Epn que no se dio por aludido por #iñarritu solo falta que tuitee que el tambien reza para que logremos un buen gobierno!
— horacio villaseñor (@yamecnse) February 23, 2015
#EnriquePenaNieto is such an idiot that he didn't even realize #Iñarritu hinted at him. Next thing you know he's going to tweet that he is also praying that we achieve a good government!
@PRI_Nacional si el mensaje fue para ustedes!! Que cinismo!
— Fabricio Montano (@FabrizioMontano) February 23, 2015
@PRI_Nacional the message was for you!! What cynicism!
Others focused on the hopeful message of a Mexican succeeding in one of the most competitive industries:
Un mexicano de logros envía mensaje a millones de mexicanos que creen que no puede cambiar este país…Sí se puede! #ElGobiernoQueMerecemos
— Personal Jesus (@jesamepot) February 23, 2015
A successful Mexican sends a message to millions of Mexicans who think that they cannot change this country… Yes you can! #TheGovernmentWeDeserve
There were also self-critics:
#ElGobiernoQueMerecemos tenemos q forjarlo, hay muchos mexicanos q están enajenados con la pantalla chica. México no ha despertado del todo
— Triquitran (@Triquitran1) February 23, 2015
We must shape #TheGovernmentWeDeserve, there are many Mexicans that are blinded by the small screen. Mexico has not woken up from everything.
#ElGobiernoQueMerecemos no es el que pide un director de cine exitoso, es el que como ciudadanos deberíamos estar exigiendo.
— Rubén Rdz (@ElRubs_) February 23, 2015
#TheGovernmentWeDeserve is not one that a successful film director asks for, it is one that we as citizens should be demanding.
Jorge Ramos, a Mexican journalist based in the US, wondered why Mexicans’ talent for cinema doesn't seem to transfer to governance:
Si tenemos dos directores de cine de Oscar (Cuarón e Iñárritu) ¿Por qué no hemos podido conseguir un buen director de país?
— JORGE RAMOS (@jorgeramosnews) February 23, 2015
If we have two Oscar-winning film directors (Cuarón and Iñárritu), why haven't we been able to get a good director for the country?
People also commented on the issue of immigrants in the United States:
Que gusto escuchar a González Iñárritu hablando en defensa de los migrantes en un espacio tan importante y visible.
— Gabriela Cuevas. (@GabyCuevas) February 23, 2015
What a pleasure it was to hear González Iñárritu speaking in defense of immigrants in such an important and visible space.
Lloré con su dedicatoria: que tengamos el gobierno que nos merecemos; que se respeten a nuestros migrantes en EUA. #Iñarritu #Oscars2015
— Gabri Morales Casas (@gmoralescasas) February 23, 2015
I cried over his dedication: may we have the government we deserve; may our immigrants in the US be respected.
Urge que más mexicanos con acceso a las altas esferas de influencia en EUA usen su voz para abogar por una reforma migratoria #Iñárritu
— Compa Kri (@kridelgado) February 23, 2015
He urges more Mexicans with access to spheres of high influence in the US to use their voices to advocate for immigration reform.

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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Egyptian Blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah Sentenced to Five Years in Jail  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Alaa Abdel Fattah in a cage at his hearing today. Photograph shared by @amirahoweidy on Twitter
Prominent Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah, an icon of the Egyptian revolution, was sentenced to five years in prison today for allegedly taking part in a protest and “assaulting a policeman and stealing his walkie talkie.” He was also fined 100,000 Egyptian pounds (13,000 US dollars).
The verdict was delivered a few minutes after the hearing opened. It was received by chants from angry relatives and journalists calling for the overthrow of the military regime, now in control of Egypt.
Abd El Fattah is one of 25 defendants in what has become known as the Shura Council case. He was first arrested for this case on November 28, 2013. Last June, he was sentenced to 15 years in absentia and given a 100,000 Egyptian pound fine after being convicted of attacking a police officer and violating a 2013 protest law that prohibits unauthorized demonstrations. According to Mada Masr, which quoted the state-owned Ahram Gate website, they are accused of: “organizing an unauthorized protest outside the Shura Council in Cairo, attacking a police officer, stealing a walkie-talkie, hooliganism, aggression against police officers, blocking the road, crowding a public place and destruction of public property.”
After an appeal by his lawyers, Abd El Fattah was issued a retrial in August 2014. On September 15, 2014, the presiding judge recused himself from the case after an incident a week earlier, in which the prosecution presented a video depicting Manal Hassan, Abd El Fattah’s wife, dancing. Taken from Hassan’s laptop, which confiscated by police when Abd El Fattah was arrested and taken from his family’s home in November of 2013, the video bears no discernible relationship with his political activities.
The saga came to a complete circle today, with the new judge issuing a five year jail sentence against Abd El Fattah and another defendant Ahmed Abdel Rahman, who was passing by the protest, and was arrested along with Abdel Fattah, as he was helping some girls who were being harassed by the police. Abdel Rahman was also slapped a similar fine. Eighteen other defendants were sentenced to three years in prison and three years on probation, in addition to a similar fine.
Mohammed Aziz shares a sound bite of the verdict (Arabic) and its aftermath on SoundCloud here.
According to journalist Sherine Tadros, who was in court when the verdict was read:
Court erupts cheating against the military regime. Screaming. Crying
— Sherine Tadros (@SherineT) February 23, 2015
She further adds:
Another day in the court of injustice #egypt
— Sherine Tadros (@SherineT) February 23, 2015
Abd El Fattah has been jailed or investigated under every Egyptian head of state who has served during his lifetime. In 2006, he was arrested for taking part in a peaceful protest. In 2011, he spent two months in prison, missing the birth of his first child, Khaled. In 2013, he was arrested and detained for 115 days without trial. And he now faces five years in prison.
Abd El Fattah has long worked on technology and political activism projects with his wife, Manal Hassan. He comes from a family of prominent human rights advocates. His father, prominent human rights lawyer Ahmed Seif El Islam, was jailed multiple times under the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Alaa was detained when he died. Abd El Fattah’s sisters, Mona and Sanaa Seif, have both faced censure in connection with their activism on military trials in the country. Sanaa Seif is currently in jail serving a three-year sentence, also for allegedly violating the controversial protest law.
Just before the trial started, renowned Egyptian writer, Ahdaf Soueif, who is Abd El Fattah's aunt, tweeted:
Our poor hearts, each and every one of us. Tens of thousands of hearts. pic.twitter.com/ELjwD4uJiO
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) February 23, 2015
She also shared this photograph showing the heightened security in court:
Double security today with two soldiers at the end of each bench & a couple of roaming generals. pic.twitter.com/Ml1QZo76vY
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) February 23, 2015
And she adds:
They are in the cage. I think I saw @alaa and we waved at each other. pic.twitter.com/oUpIrysOKT
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) February 23, 2015
Relatives blew kisses and gestured with their hands to their loved ones, in cages with glass panelling, made to ensure they did not hear each other. Laura Dean shares this photograph from inside the court:
Family & friends blow kisses & mime at Shura council detainees bc they can't hear inside glass cage #Cairo pic.twitter.com/N2BLa71qUT
— Laura Dean لورا دين (@lauracdean) February 23, 2015
But not all journalists and relatives were allowed into the session. As journalist Omar Robert Hamilton reports:
The scene outside Egypt's premiere courtroom. Families, journalists prevented from entering. Verdict coming. #Shoura pic.twitter.com/Vw5ncriwRp
— Omar Robert Hamilton (@ORHamilton) February 23, 2015
Lessons from Alaa's Sentencing:
On social media, Abdel Fattah's sentencing caused an uproar.
Egyptian Mina Fayek notes:
The lesson Egyptian judiciary is giving: it's ok to kill, torture, oppress, steal public funds.. but protesting will get you jailed. #Egypt
— Mina Fayek (@minafayek) February 23, 2015
Lobna Darwish adds:
علموا ولادكم ما يقفوش يقولوا كلمة حق، ولو شافوا ناس مستقووين على ناس في الشارع يبصوا الناحية التانية، ومصر هتبقى قد الدنيا.
— Lobna Darwish (@lobna) February 23, 2015
Teach your children never to stand up for justice; if they see people bullying others on the street, ask them to turn to the other side. And Egypt will be mighty.
Hermas Fawzy cautions:
يا اللى ساكت ع الظلم بأى حجة اوعى تفكر أن لعنته بعيدة عنك
— H E R M A S هرماس (@HermasFawzy) February 23, 2015
Those of you remaining quiet over injustice, never forget that the curse is far from you
Libyan-American blogger Hend remarks:
The right to peaceful demonstration remains one of the most significant barometers of government authoritarianism in the Arab World.
— Hend (@LibyaLiberty) February 23, 2015
And Egyptian activist and blogger Ahmad Gharbeia wonders:
فيه أي حد اتحكم عليه منذ 2011 بسبب أي شيء له علاقة بالثورة غير الثوار؟
— Ahmad Gharbeia (@aGharbeia) February 23, 2015
Has anyone ever been sentenced since 2011 with any relation to the revolution other than the revolutionaries?
Despite a “revolution” activists continue to be punished for their work in an equally autocratic Egypt — an Egypt they created by leading demonstrations which called for the overthrow of the previous regime.
The Shura Council case will now go to the court of cassation, prolonging an agonising saga which started in November 2013.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Iranian Classroom Condemns Anti-Afghan Discrimination With ‘We Are Ashamed’ Campaign · Global Voices
Iran Voices

A elementary school teacher and his students have initiated the #ashamed campaign to end discrimination against Afghans in Iran. Students hold signs that say, “Iranian children support Afghan and Pakistani students”. Posted on the campaign's Facebook page.
This post first appeared on IranVoices.org and is translated into English and published here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
A teacher from Tabriz in Iran's Azarbaijan Province and his students have launched a Facebook campaign to combat discrimination towards Iran's Afghan children.
The campaign was created following the news of four Afghan students who were made to place their hands in toilets by their teacher as punishment for leaving their notebooks at home in Pakdasht, a village outside of Tehran. It protests against the status of Afghan refugees in Iran, who often face widespread discrimination and experience racist treatment from Iranians. The initiative is promoting a stop to racist behaviour by asking participants to join the campaign and use the hashtag #شرمساريم (#ashamed) on social media.
Elementary teacher Javad and his students kicked off the effort by releasing a photo of themselves stating, “Iranian students support Afghan and Pakistani students”.
The biggest goal of this campaign, according to its founders, is to change the word #ashamed to #proud. A call to action on the Facebook page asks:
Please support us in this campaign to assure our Afghans brothers and sisters in Iran that we are not advocating any fascism  and racist behaviour. This campaign asks all Iranians to stand up and object to all this inhuman behaviour by using #ashamed along with their photos and videos to support this campaign.
Social media users have been posting on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #شرمساريم, while the Facebook page has received about 20,000 likes since its launch in December.
Iran hosts the second biggest population of Afghan refugees and immigrants after Pakistan. While commended by the UN for its superior treatment of Afghan refugees compared to other host countries, many instances of discrimination and denial of refugee and citizenship status have been reported.

author: Iran Voices


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It’s a Lock In!: Tajikistan’s Ruling Party Holds Pre-election Rallies by Force · Global Voices
Censored Voice

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon stands between Vladimir Putin and Aleksandr Lukashenko as Russia wins the Ice Hockey World Championship. Photo by Ivan Uralsky. Demotix ID: 4848568.
The National Democratic Party of Tajikistan (NDPT), Tajikistan's ruling party, is taking parliamentary elections very seriously, despite the fact that its victory is not in doubt.
On February 22 — a day-off for the country — employees of state institutions, schoolchildren and university students were forced to go to a local park in Dushanbe at 8 ‘o’ clock in the morning, according to reports.
After waiting for a couple of hours under the rain outside the park, people were driven inside to listen to the the pre-parliamentary election campaign of the NDPT, chaired by long-term President Emomali Rahmon.
Then, somebody locked the gates.
Fabiano Mavlyanov, a Facebook user, described the moment and posted some photos in the public group Ya Dushanbinets (I am a Dushanbe resident), subsequently picked up by the Central Asian news service Ozodagon:
Внутри мы поняли, что нас, то есть весь город, собрали для агитации голосования за ДЕМОКРАТИЧЕСКУЮ ПАРТИЮ…мы поняли это по листовкам…пройдя круг мы решили выйти и в итоге натолкнулись на проблему, которая противоречит демократии – нас тупо не выпускали с парка…закрыв ворота нам запретили выходить…вопрос – и это та демократия, за которую мы должны голосовать?
Getting inside, we understood that they had gathered us — the entire city, that is — to take part in the pre-election campaign of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY. We understood this from the flyers they distributed. Milling around we decided to get out, and eventually ran into a problem that contradicts democracy — the gates had been closed and they did not let us out of the park. A question arises: is this the democracy we should be voting for?
Indifferents to the ruling party find the exits blocked. Photo from Ozodagon. Taken with permission.
The event was condemned by other users of the social network.
Behruz Uzakov, another member of the same Facebook group, wrote:
Это уже полный беспредел, как можно закрыт людей против их воли, тем более в выходной день?!. Уму непостижимо!
This is a complete mess, how can they close in people against their will, especially on a day-off?! It boggles the mind!
A reader of Ozodagon news service, criticized the involvement of students in the campaign:
чи шумо гусфанд хастед ки намедонед ки шуморо ба кучо ва чаро мебарад. агар донишчуяш хамин бошад вой бар холи дигарон!
Are you a flock of sheep to the extent that you don't know where you are going and why they are taking you there? If students behave like this, alas for the others!
However, another reader of the service, believes that the students were forced to go:
Аз касе напурси медонад ки унчо мачбуран бурдаанд. Хатто метавонам бо боварии комил гуям, ки бештари донишчуёни бечораро аз чониби деканат тахдид ба хорич кардаанд, ки агар нараванд хатман хорич мекунандашон. Пас кучост демократи?
Everyone knows that [the organizers] took [students] to the park by force. I am pretty confident that most of the students were threatened with expulsion by their deans if they refused to go the park. So, where is democracy?

author: Censored Voice


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The Stale Catch in Croatia’s “Fresh Start” Debt Erasure Program · Global Voices
Marinella Matejcic

Image: Public domain.
International mainstream media, including CNB, Mashable, derStandard, The Independent and others, reported at length in early February 2015 on the Croatian government's new program to erase the debt of its poorest citizens, with headlines like “This country has just canceled poor people's debt” and “Croatia wipes out debts for 60,000 people”.
The headlines aren't false, but many Croatian citizens fail to see the benefits and economic improvements outlined in newspapers worldwide.
Truth be told, Croatia's government has come up with what seems to be a brilliant idea to help poor citizens. They named the project “Fresh Start”, planned it meticulously, and launched the project in the first weeks of 2015. To envisage how this government plays the straight man with its citizens, it's important to point out that the last time the value of the Swiss Franc went up, Croatia's leaders decided that freezing the national currency would provide the necessary amortization and prevent fiscal oscillations to keep the market stable. In other words, they intervened in the country’s foreign exchange market to preserve the appearance of a stable economy (a common practice in many southeastern European countries).
The idea for “Fresh Start” was first presented to the public in early March 2014, by former Minister of Finance Slavko Linić, who has since been booted from the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
It is also important to keep in mind that 2015 is a parliamentary election year in Croatia, and that SDP, the current majority in government, have just suffered a great loss in the January 2015 presidential elections, which was won by a HDZ center-right party candidate.
Meanwhile, in the midst of planning austerity measures, Prime Minister Milanović hired Alexander Braun, a specialist in political and crisis consulting and senior vice president of US strategy consulting firm Penn Schoen Berland, for the rumored fee of some 300,000 euro.
To complete the picture of this situation, let's talk numbers: there are 4,284,889 people in Croatia (census 2011), 329,330 (15.7%) of whom are unemployed, according to the Croatian Employment Institute. 56,632 Croatians, most of them under 30, are involved in some kind of state-sponsored employment, and paid an average of 300 euro net per month. The Croatian public debt is now more than 53 billion euro, while the average wage is 703.97 euro, and the minimum wage is 398.31 euro. According to Novi list, an average four-person family in Croatia makes about 7,830 kn (1,014.40 euro) per month. In order to satisfy their needs and expenses, however, the same family needs some 11,130 kn (1,442.00 euro) per month. The numbers make it fairly obvious that many ordinary working people in Croatia aren't able to make ends meet. These people are not considered needy or among the poorest in the country.
“Fresh Start will erase up to 60,000 Croatian kuna per individual (about 8,000 euro or US$8,800), literally allowing their households to retrieve full stability overnight,” claims the Like Croatia website, adding that “not only the government is involved in this project, so are other legal bodies including banks and communications companies.”
All this is true. But what will come next? The 60,000 people mentioned time and again are in debt for a reason. Would it not be much wiser to reopen the factories destroyed in the post-war privatization process? Or create more jobs, something that voters have called for ahead of, during, and after several past elections? History seems determined to repeat itself in Croatia, where expenses keep growing and citizens simply don't earn enough to cover them, and lack knowledge about finances and employment opportunities.
As Vanja Tarczay from Zagreb tweeted, expressing a popular opinion on the matter:
@dpasaric @Mmatejci Ne sviđa mi se što otpisuju i telekome, osobito likovima koji imaju dugove kod više njih. To su muljatori a ne socijala.
— Vanja Tarczay (@vtarczay) February 9, 2015
@dpasaric @Mmatejci I don't like that communication companies are writing off [customers’] debts, especially to people who have debts at more than one company. They are the hustlers, not the poor.
In response to this author's question regarding which government institutions, banks, and companies would be wiping citizens’ debts, and whether interest would be wiped as well, the official Twitter account of the Government of Croatia replied:
@Mmatejci Ako npr. netko banci duguje do 10.000 kuna glavnice, a dužan je i nekoliko tisuća kuna kamata, sve se to briše.
— Vlada R. Hrvatske (@VladaRH) February 9, 2015
@Mmatejci If e.g. someone owes a bank 10,000 kuna in principal, and also owes a few thousand kuna in interest, all of that will be wiped.
@Mmatejci Popis možeš pronaći ovdje http://t.co/198eMmiP6Y Popis se stalno ažurira jer vjerovnici mogu potpisati sporazum do 30.5.
— Vlada R. Hrvatske (@VladaRH) February 9, 2015
@dpasaric @Mmatejci You can find the list [of institutions and companies] here http://t.co/198eMmiP6Y The list is constatly being updated as creditors can [still] sign the agreement until May 30
To be eligible for debt relief, citizens must be holders of bank accounts that have been frozen for longer than one year as of October 2014, and be owing up to 35,000 kn (4,534.91 euro) cumulatively, as documented by FINA, the national Financial Agency.
Croatian journalist Helena Puljiz posted a comment on the subject on the T-portal news and opinion site, under the subject heading “Everyone paying their bills in Croatia is a fool”:
Nova eksplozija tečaja švicarskog franka izazvala je veću podjelu među građanima nego verbalno napucavanje prozivkama tko je veća Hrvatica/Hrvat. Koliko god bila teška situacija za 60.000 građana koji su se zadužili u švicarskoj valuti i njihove obitelji i koliko god je loše zakonodavstvo krivo za hrvatsku zavrzlamu s francima, ostaje činjenica da su oni koji su se zaduživali u toj valuti to činili na vlastitu odgovornost. No malo je onih među njima koji su spremni priznati da su si, uz banke i vlast, i sami krivi za situaciju u kojoj su se našli. Nitko ih, naime, nije tjerao da se zadužuju u švicarskim francima, a rado se zaboravlja i kako među njima ima i ministara, spekulanata i pravih bogataša
New explosions of the Swiss franc have caused more division among the citizens than verbal brawling by calling out who is a greater Croat. No matter how difficult it is for the 60,000 citizens who are indebted in Swiss currency and their families, and as far as legalislation is guilty for Croatian fooling around with francs, the fact that people who took out loans in that currency did it on their own responsibility. But few are ready to admit that, along with banks and the administration, it they are also to blame for the situation they are in. Nobody, in reality, forced them to go into debt and it's gladly forgotten that there are ministers, speculators, and very wealthy people among them.
Croatian PM Zoran Milanović said:
Novi početak je isključivo motiviran željom da se ljudima pomogne, ali lijepo je vidjeti da je međunarodna javnost to prepoznala.
Fresh Start is exclusively motivated by will to help the people, but it's really nice to see that international public has recognized it”.
The Croatian public has also “recognized it”, but can perhaps be forgiven for giving it a less positive reception than the international media. Fresh Start is essentially a good project, but there are fears that the whole project was created just to score political points.
There are many in Croatia who have lost their jobs in recent years through no fault of their own. And people are now paying the price by being heavily in debt and having their accounts blocked. Fresh Start may offer some temporary relief, but they will have to continue living after their debts are wiped. That's something the government should start thinking about.

author: Marinella Matejcic


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The Translation Detail Everyone Missed in the China Internet’s Incredibly Surreal Anthem · Global Voices
88 Bar

Below is an edited version of “The Translation Detail Everyone Missed in the China Internet's Incredibly Surreal Anthem“ by Jason Li, originally published on the blog 88 Bar and republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
In case you missed it, the New York Times, ProPublica, the Guardian and the Atlantic all wrote about this incredibly surreal but voted best of event anthem celebrating China’s glorious Internet. Thanks to ProPublica, we have a subtitled YouTube video above.
As James Fallows at the Atlantic pointed out, one of the most stirring phrases in the song that is repeated eight times during the chorus is 网络强国. The New York Times and ProPublica both translated this as “Internet power,” while Fallows points out that:
English speakers might think of “Internet power” as comparable to “soft power” or “girl power” or “people power.” But to my amateur eye there is a more explicit connotation of China’s becoming a national power in cyberspace. I’m sure Chinese speakers will tell me if I’m wrong to read 强国 as meaning a powerful country, as in “rise and fall of the great powers” etc. Thus the refrain would emphasize “a powerful Internet country.” The impression I got from this was of a strongly nationalistic message about a supposedly borderless medium.
I wanted to add to the translation and confirm Fallows’ viewpoint by examining one of the lines from the chorus:
网络强国 告诉世界中国梦在崛起大中华
Both the New York Times (Paul Mozur) and ProPublica (Sisi Wei and Yue Qiu) translate this to some variant of: “An Internet power: Tell the world that the Chinese Dream is uplifting China.” (Emphasis mine.)
Actually, the line in Chinese does not end with the phrase “China” (中国) but “the greater Chinese” (大中华). Not only does “the greater Chinese” sometimes mean Greater China, but it also hints at overseas Chinese people (华人 or 华侨) and, as Fallows put it, the “borderless” greater Chinese culture/civilization.

author: 88 Bar


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Trinidad & Tobago Law Students Create Anti-Bullying Campaign  · Global Voices
Jason Nathu

Bullying. Wikipedia photo.
Sixteen students of the Hugh Wooding Law School participated in the school's Human Rights Law Clinic for the 2014/2015 academic year. The Student Attorneys, from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Guyana completed several individual and group projects, each with a human rights aim.
Among the projects this year was an anti-bullying campaign, which was launched at a local primary school in December 2014. As part of their assessment, the law students were required to administer and execute an educational and charitable project aimed at teaching and promoting human rights.
Students at the Gandhi Memorial Vedic School. Photo used with author's permission.
Student Attorneys Tamara Dolsingh, Rorey Gaya, Ryanka Ragbir and Veneeta Ramsingh undertook this project and chose the Gandhi Memorial Vedic School, as students of that school had recently participated in a walk against bullying.
The inspiration to execute the campaign came from the students’ past experience at a primary school, which they visited just one month before the launch of the campaign. At that school, the students delivered a presentation based on ‘children’s rights’ in line with the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. In giving this presentation, it was observed that the children were particularly interested in the methods of dealing with child abuse and, as a priority of the campaign, bullying.
Durng this experience the law students established that bullying was prevalent in primary schools in varying degrees.
In an effort to combat the issue of bullying, the law students created an , comprising a teacher’s manual, a student’s manual, a ‘sorry box’, a suggestion box, colouring sheets, DVD videos and various quotes on bullying.
At the school, the Student Attorneys addressed a standard five class which comprised 61 students. The primary school students were given a summary of the content of the manuals in the kit, namely explanations on the law, the effects of bullying, understanding bullying and ways to peacefully resolve it.
The Student Attorneys presented the kit, and explained how it was to be used. The primary school students voluntarily made a variety of suggestions on how to deal with bullying which were added to the suggestion box. Then, the ‘sorry box’ was demonstrated and some very brave students wrote their confessions in relation to bullying others and made anonymous apologies.
The law students also worked on a ‘pledge wall’ with the primary school pupils, where the young students came up and wrote individual pledges to stick on the wall. The primary school students’ pledges were short and simple but were useful in helping them to take an active role in eradicating bullying.
Pledge wall at the Gandhi Memorial Primary school following today's #antibullying campaign conducted by our students. pic.twitter.com/JRJGbpAQCu
— #HWLS Human Rights (@HWLSHumanRights) December 3, 2014
Following the success of the law students’ visit to the Gandhi Memorial Vedic School, they were invited to participate in a Working Group against Bullying hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization). They hope that by working together with these organizations, they will be able to apply their initiative on a grander scale and, in the process, reach out to more persons whose lives are affected by bullying.

author: Jason Nathu


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Uncertainty Over Saman Naseem’s Execution in Iran · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

Uncertainty exists over Saman Naseem's death after international pressure to prevent his execution. Image taken from the Amnesty International campaign to stop Saman Naseem's execution. Photo: Amnesty International.
Human rights activists are still in the dark about the status of Kurdish activist Saman Naseem, who was scheduled to be executed in Iran last week. Working until the last minute, several campaigns placed international pressure on Iran to stop the execution on February 19. His death sentence is reportedly unjustified under Iran's own laws and international obligations, given that Naseem was a minor (just 17 years old) when he was arrested.
Activists are still tweeting #SaveSaman. Meanwhile, conflicting reports about his execution and continued incarceration have circulated online.
Still no official confirmation from #Iran‘ian officials re whether Saman is alive or not. Unconscionable. http://t.co/9DUysoct28 #SaveSaman
— Faraz Sanei (@farazsanei) February 21, 2015
The International Campaign for Human Rights reported that Iran recently executed six prisoners on death row for drug trafficking. The United Nations has deemed drugged-related crimes to be ‘unqualified’ for capital punishment.

author: Mahsa Alimardani


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Cameroon Bloggers Rally Behind #StopBokoHaram Campaign · Global Voices
Dibussi Tande

Cameroon Bloggers Association's #StopBokoHaram campaign banner. Photo used with permission.
Violent militant group Boko Haram, which now occupies large swathes of Nigerian territory, has launched 114 attacks on Cameroonian soil in the past year, according to the Cameroon government. The group has killed hundreds of Cameroonian civilians, scores of soldiers, and lost over 1,000 fighters in the process.
The most deadly Boko Haram attack on Cameroonian soil occurred on February 4, 2015, in Fotokol, where it killed about 90 civilians, according to government sources (some sources put the number of dead at more than 500).
In reaction to the persistent and increasingly macabre Boko Haram attacks on Cameroon and neighboring countries, the Cameroon Bloggers Association recently launched a #StopBokoHaram campaign. According to the AfrIct blog:
The goal of the campaign is threefold: highlight the threat posed by the terrorist group in Cameroon, show support for Cameroonian troops who have so far held back the Boko Haram onslaught, and express solidarity with the people of the North region who have been hardest hit by Boko Haram.
In an interview with government-owned daily Cameroon Tribune, Florian Ngimbis, president of the bloggers association, further explained the rationale behind the campaign:
La blogosphère voudrait, au-delà des individualités fortes dont elle regorge, créer un vrai pole de conscience politique, non pas en créant un parti politique, mais en mettant la puissance de son réseau au service des causes nationales. C'est une modeste contribution à cette guerre qui n'est pas celle du Nord, mais bel et bien celle de tout notre pays et notre continent contre l’obscurantisme et le terrorisme.
The Cameroonian blogosphere would like to become, beyond the powerful personalities within its ranks, a real hub for political consciousness, not by creating a political party but by leveraging the strength of its network for national causes. It is our modest contribution to this war, which is not just a war that concerns the northern regions of the country, but the entire country and continent in the fight against obscurantism and terrorism.
The first part of the campaign has been primarily on social media with bloggers sharing their thoughts about the war against Boko Haram and explaining why they have joined the #StopBokoHaram campaign. Blogger Ulrich Tadajeu Kenfac explains that he has joined the campaign to preach the message of peace:
J’ai commencé à bloguer il y a quelques années pour « crier et forcer le monde à venir au monde » pour reprendre les mots de Sony Labou Tansi. Mais avec de tels désastres de notre espèce sur notre propre espèce, avec une pareille terreur qui décime des vies, terrorise des familles, on peut bien se demander avec Hölderlin « pourquoi des poètes en temps de détresse ? » Autrement dit, « pourquoi des blogueurs en temps de barbarie ? » Des blogueurs en temps de barbarie pour annoncer un message d’amour et de paix, un message de fraternité et d’humanité. C’est ce message que je passe aujourd’hui à travers mon blog. Que l’humain vive, que la paix et la fraternité soient nos valeurs pour que cesse Boko Haram et vive l’humain.
I began blogging a few years ago in order to “scream and force the world to come into the world,” to use the words of Sony Labou Tansi. Given the distress that our species has brought upon its own kind, given the terror that decimates lives and terrorizes families, we might wonder, along with Hölderlin, “what need is there for poets in times of distress?” In other words, “what need is there for bloggers in times of barbarism?” We need bloggers in times of barbarism to preach a message of love, a message of fraternity and humanity. That is my message today. Let the human live, and let peace and fraternity be our values. Let Boko Haram cease to exist so that humans may live.
For blogger Pulse Lounge, the campaign is an opportunity to speak up against Boko Haram:
Une amie m’a demandée implicitement quelle action je préconise, serai-je prête à prendre les armes ? J’ai souri. Question pertinente je l’avoue. Mon arme à moi ce sont mes mots, ma plume, ma facilité à poser mon ressenti, mes choix, mes idées à travers des textes. Mon action est celle d’inciter chaque camerounais peu importe sa géolocalisation d’oser parler, militer pour un retour de la paix au Nord du pays…
Le Cameroun est ma Terre, riche humainement et hospitalière. Je refuse que sa Liberté et son intégrité soient bafouées par des individus motivés par la haine gratuite et dont la force et le pseudo courage se cachent derrière des armes et la violence à des populations sans défense.
A friend asked me what actions I would recommend, and if I was ready to take up arms against Boko Haram. I smiled. Relevant question nonetheless. My words, my pen, and the ease with which I express my feelings, choices and ideas in my writings, are my weapons. My goal is to encourage every Cameroonian, wherever they are, to speak up and campaign for a return to peace in Northern Cameroon…
Cameroon is my homeland; welcoming and humanly. I refuse to allow its liberty and integrity besmirched by individuals driven by gratuitous hatred, and who hide their pseudo-courage behind weapons and violence against a defenseless population.
At the heart of the campaign is the bloggers’ use of Facebook and Twitter to publish updates from the war front along with patriotic messages to rally Cameroonians around the war effort:
Le Collectif des Blogueurs Camerounais apporte un soutien sans faille aux soldats de notre armée au front à l'Extrême-Nord. #StopBokoHaram
— Cameroonian Bloggers (@BloggersCM) January 21, 2015
The Cameroon Bloggers Association unconditionally supports soldiers at the front line in the Far North Region.
#JeSuis #LeBIR #LarméeTchadienne #LarméeNigérienne #LarméeNigeriane #StopBokoHaram pic.twitter.com/a7SGzHn98U pic.twitter.com/FxpVLS1hMr
— Cameroonian Bloggers (@BloggersCM) February 21, 2015
I Am
The BIR [Cameroon special forces]
The Chadian Army
The Nigerian Army
The Nigerien Army
#StopBokoHaram
Hundreds of Cameroonians have joined in, replacing their Facebook and Twitter profiles and cover pictures with special banners created for the campaign, and sending out thousands of tweets using the #StopBokoHaram hashtag. Many Twitter users have also expressed their support for the campaign or explained what it means to them.
User @DailyRetroCMR was fully behind the campaign:
Parce qu’aujourd’hui s’écrit aussi 1 page de notre histoire, de tt coeur avc les @BloggersCM ns disons #StopBokoHarampic.twitter.com/KdWBlAiA7k
— Daily Retro CMR (@DailyRetroCMR) January 22, 2015
Because today a new page of our history is being written, we wholeheartedly join @BloggersCM to say #StopBokoHaram.
And for Citizens Initiative, the campaign is a rallying point for anyone who is fighting against terrorism:
We are part of the #Cameroon‘s movement to #StopBokoHaram – Terror is gaining too much ground worldwide: Join us, wherever you are!
— Citizens Initiatives (@IGC_Cameroon) January 21, 2015
For @DarealBlueMagic, the campaign is about promoting those values that Cameroonians cherish and which are enshrined in their country’s coat of arms:
La paix n'a pas de prix. Cameroun : Paix- Travail- Patrie. Il n's'agit que d'ça #StopBokoHaram#Team237✊pic.twitter.com/xldWWN9jYx
— DAREAL #BLG (@DarealBlueMagic) January 19, 2015
Peace has no price. Cameroon: Peace-Work-Fatherland. That's what we’re all about. #StopBokoHaram #Team237
User @Camerlive seized this opportunity to reiterate Edward Burke’s warning about the pitfalls of inaction in the face of evil:
#StopBokoHaram Le mal n'a besoin que de l'inaction des gens de bien, AGISSONS! pic.twitter.com/dY5ligKrHB
— Camer Live | Esta (@CamerLive) January 19, 2015
#StopBokoHaram. All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. Let’s do something!
Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden” in Hausa. Blogger Fadimatou Bello issues an unequivocal rebuttal to that backward message:
Boko Harmaye Ha Kamaru, Lesdi am (L'école n'est pas un péché au #Cameroun, mon pays) #StopBokoHaram#BlogoCMhttp://t.co/zwIKLk7BqR
— FADY (@Akeelah_) January 21, 2015
Boko Harmaye Ha Kamaru, Lesdi am (Western education is not a sin in my country, Cameroon).
A number of Cameroonian musicians have also joined the campaign, the most notable being the collaborative effort by a group of urban musicians who produced a song titled Je Suis Kolofata (I am Kolofata) in honor of a town in the Far North region of Cameroon which has been repeatedly attacked by Boko Haram:
The #StopBokoHaram campaign has also garnered support outside Cameroon, for example, from the community of Togolese bloggers:
Total soutien aux confrères @BloggersCM actuellement mobilisé pour #StopBokoHaram ! Nous sommes tous concernés. #Blog228#Team237#Team228
— Blogueurs Togolais (@Blog228) January 22, 2015
Our total support for our @BloggersCM colleagues who have rallied to #StopBokoHaram. We're all affected. #Blog228 #Team237 #Team228
The most noteworthy foreign support has been from Guillaume Soro, former prime minister of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire and current president of the Ivorian National Assembly:
Le Pan @SOROKGUILLAUME apporte son soutien aux @BloggersCM . Tous ensemble contre la menace terroriste Boko Haram. #StopBokoHaram
— Service Comm PANCI (@SC_PANCI) January 20, 2015
The President of the National Assembly @SOROKGUILLAUME supports @BloggersCM. All of us together against the Boko Haram terrorist threat.
Thanks to the Cameroon bloggers’ campaign, many Cameroon have come to realize that the war against Boko Haram is not just “an affair of the North” but a war against a terrorist sect whose actions threaten Cameroon’s sovereignty and stability.
Public appreciation for the Cameroon Bloggers Association is summed up in a tweet from Georgie du Kamer:
@BloggersCM bravo les gars de tout cœur avec vous que le Seigneur vous protège patrie ou la mort nous vaincrons pic.twitter.com/oY8O9kyiDG
— georgie du kmer (@georgie300002) February 19, 2015
@BloggersCM Bravo, guys! We are wholeheartedly behind you. May God protect you. Our fatherland or death, we shall prevail!

author: Dibussi Tande


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Indigenous Tweets Highlight International Mother Language Day in Australia  · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Wamut,aka @kriolkantri on Twitter, and blogger of ten years, shared indigenous tweets on Storify: “February 21 is International Mother Language Day and this year, Australians showed off Aboriginal and Islander languages in a spectacular way and highlighted the amazing-yet-fragile linguistic diversity found across the continent”.
Happy International #MotherLanguage Day! We're tweeting our languages all day as a proud part of this initiative: http://t.co/fQSvzAiBKF
— Ngukurr Language Ctr (@NgukurrLC) February 20, 2015
For more details: Tweet in Your #Motherlanguage to Celebrate Linguistic Diversity Online

author: Kevin Rennie


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Read First-Hand Accounts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings, Translated to English · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Hiroshima, Japan, site of the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall and the recently translated first-hand accounts. Photo courtesy Wikicommons / Wikipedia user Aiden.
University students at Japan's Yokohama National University have translated testimony by atomic bombing survivors from Japanese into English.
August 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed hundreds of thousands of people. Days after the United States dropped the bombs, Japan surrendered, marking the end of World War II.
The testimony of survivors the atomc bombings has been captured on video with English translation then added as subtitles.
The work is done by the Network of Translators for the Globalization of the Testimonies of Atomic Bomb Survivors (NET-GAS). The organization is translating testimonies in videos kept by the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims into various languages. The video testimony is available for viewing at the museum Hiroshima, Japan.
Some of the video testimonies can also be viewed online here.
The website also features translated podcasts of first-hand accounts and translated memoirs of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.


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Rio’s Carnival Cozied Up to Equatorial Guinea’s Brutal Dictator. But Why is Everyone Surprised? · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

Samba School Beija-Flor parades in this year's carnival in Rio amid allegations it received funding from an African dictatorship. Image by Marcelo Fonseca. Copyright Demotix
Brazil's press and social media have been in a frenzy the past week after Beija-Flor samba school was crowned champion of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival amid allegations it received funding from Equatorial Guinea's dictatorship government.
The samba school Beija-Flor de Nilóponis went on parade at the Sapucaí Sambódromo on February 15 with the theme “A griot tells the story: a look at Africa and the rise of Equatorial Guinea. May we walk the trail of our happiness”, only days after newspaper O Globo reported it had received 3.5 million euros (about 4 million US dollars) from Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Though the story didn't mention any sources, it was enough to resonate worldwide.
What followed was a series of conflicting reports. First, Beija-Flor artistic director Fran Sérgio Oliveira told reporters that no money came from Equatorial Guinea's government, but rather from Brazilian contractors who currently have business in the African country. Among them, Odebrecht, Queiroz Galvão and Andrade Gutierrez – all of them currently under investigation for their role in a corruption scheme involving state-run oil company Petrobras.
He also added that Equatorial Guinea's people “are happy with the president”:
O governo da Guiné não nos deu dinheiro, e sim apoio cultural. Eles nos cederam livros, fotos e outros materiais. É um povo (da Guiné) que sofreu muito e que, através do seu presidente, está construindo um país novo, que pensa em saúde, infraestrutura, saneamento básico. O povo é superfeliz com isso, então não importa o regime.
Guiné's government didn't give us money, just cultural support. They gave us books, photos and other materials. They are a people who have suffered a lot and, through their president, are building a new country, that thinks about health, infrastructure and sanitation. The people are super happy with that, so the regime doesn't matter.
This version was first confirmed by Equatorial Guinea government in an official statement issued on February 19. The statement, signed by Information Minister Teobaldo Nchaso Matomba, says:
A iniciativa da homenagem não partiu do governo da Guiné Equatorial, nem da presidência. Trata-se de uma iniciativa que surgiu das empresas brasileiras que operam na Guiné Equatorial, conjuntamente com a Beija-Flor.
The homage initiative didn't come from the government of Equatorial Guinea, nor from its presidency. It's an initiative that came from Brazilian companies that have businesses in Equatorial Guinea, together with Beija Flor.
Odebrecht quickly denied it funded Beija Flor's parade, saying it have never had any contracts in Equatorial Guinea. According to O Globo, the other mentioned companies didn't comment.
In the same day, however, ambassador for Equatorial Guinea to Brazil Benigno Pedro Matute Tang gave another version of the facts, contradicting his own government's official statement. He told newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo that about 30 companies from Equatorial Guinea did some sort of crowdfunding for Beija-Flor's parade, raising a total amount of between 4 and 5 million reais (1.3 and 1.6 million dollars). He explained:
Foram financiadores culturais. Um deu 50 euros, outro deu 100 euros. Não temos como saber quanto cada um deu, o valor exato. O governo não tem nada a ver com isso. Somente pessoas do meio cultural. O que a imprensa divulgou é uma soma muito excessiva. Se quiserem, podemos verificar e fazer a estimativa em detalhes em vez de falar no ar.
It was a cultural funding. One gave 50 euros, the other 100 euros. We have no way to know how much each of them gave, the exact value. The government has nothing to do with that. It was only people from the culture business. The sum quoted by the press is very exaggerated. If you people want, we can verify and make the estimate in details instead of just speaking off the cuff.
In the end, Brazil's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office announced it will investigate the alleged donation.
Meanwhile, “Beija-Flor” was a trending topic worldwide on Twitter on February 19. Brazilians did not miss the opportunity to crack jokes:
ABRE ALAS que lá vem Beija-Flor 2016, minha gente pic.twitter.com/ezUENMJGQp
— Thiago Romariz (@thiagoromariz) February 18, 2015
MAKE WAY, people, Beija Flor 2016 is coming.
But others were critical:
Alô, Guiné Equatorial! Se não quiser ver sua sujeira exposta nos jornais, da próxima vez não invista na Beija-Flor. Mas no HSBC.
— Bruno Torturra (@torturra) February 19, 2015
Hey, Equatorial Guinea! If you don't want your dirt exposed in the newspapers, next time don't put your money on Beija Flor. But on HSBC instead. [This is a reference to the fact that Brazilian media is yet to publish a single story on the Swiss leaks, despite the revelation that some prominent Brazilian businessmen and politicians have money there].
On Facebook, activist group Coletivo Projetação posted a video of their “Dictator on the walkway” protest, in which they had projected messages condemning Obiang on a building wall while Beija-Flor paraded in Rio.
Obiang, who came to rule in 1979 in a bloody coup, is accused of a litany of human rights abuses. The country has Africa's highest GDP per capta (37,900 dollars), yet 77 percent of the population falls below the poverty line, 35 percent die before the age of 40, and 58 percent lack access to safe water, according NGO Global Witness.
The wealthy head of state is on the list of “Predators of Freedom of Information”, published by Reporters Without Borders in 2013, while Equatorial Guinea is ranked 168th out of 180 countries in the French organization's press freedom index.
Obiang “Jr.” in Salvador carnival in 2013, when Ilê Aiyê honored Equatorial Guinea. By their side, famous Brazilian TV presenter Regina Casé. Image by: Beto Jr/Agecom Salvador
Teodorín — who is likely to inherit his father's “throne” — has been under investigation by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Brazil since 2013 for money laundering. The investigation is being carried out in partnership with the United States and France, whose governments have already confiscated some of his real state.
Despite this, the two have been assiduous guests to Rio's glamorous Carnival for at least the past 10 years. This is likely part of the president's charm offensive that began in 2011 to use his petrodollars to target the worlds of show business, sport and international diplomacy.
This wasn't the first time a Brazilian Carnival paid tribute to Equatorial Guinea, either. In 2013, the parade theme of one of the most traditional Carnival blocos in Salvador (unlike Rio, blocos instead of samba schools are the star of Salvador's Carnival), Ilê Aiyê, was “Equatorial Guinea — from the ancestral heritage to the current generation”.
Ilê Aiyê, which was founded in 1974 in Curuzu, one of the most predominately Afro-Brazilian neighborhoods in Salvador, is renowned in the state of Bahia for its contribution to the self-determination of people of African descent. Salvador itself is already considered the “African capital” of Brazil, and the “blackest city outside of Africa in the world”, with at least a third of its population identifying as black.
Banner for Ilê Aiyê 2013 carnival. Strangely enough, Brazilian press didn't pay much attention at that time.
The institution denied that it had received funding from the dictatorship government for their parade, despite the theme, but this was never investigated by an independent party. Unlike the uproar surrounding Beija Flor samba school this year, the funding question was barely noticed by the Brazilian press at the time.
In a story from a Salvador TV station published in February 2013, a reporter interviewed Teodorín, who described the positive effect of having his country featured by Ilê Aiyê:
Muito positiva. Esta relação calorosa entre nossos irmãos da Bahia, o Ilê Aiyê que faz está homenagem importante à Guiné Equatorial. Nós somos um pequenos país com pouco mais de 1 milhão de pessoas. Agora, muitos brasileiros saberão da existência deste país
Very positive. This warm relation between our brothers from Bahia, Ilê Aiyê is making this important tribute to Equatorial Guinea. We were always a small country with little more than 1 million inhabitants. Now, many Brazilians will know about the existence of our country.
The story doesn't mention a single line about Equatorial Guinea's controversial regime.
In fact, a bid for music composers to participate in that year's homage is still available on the website of IRDEB, the public agency responsible for the state radio station where Ilê Aiyê hosts a program. It oddly calls Obiang's rise to power as a ‘coup of freedom':
Efetivamente o Golpe de Liberdade marca um grande rito, não só na história de Guiné Equatorial como, em geral, na história da humanidade. Não foi um simples golpe militar, como tantos outros na África, e sim uma verdadeira metamorfose social. O país a época do então Tenente Coronel Obiang, assistiu a partir daquele momento uma mudança determinante nas estruturas sociais que permitiu um novo momento histórico, político e cultural em Guiné Equatorial.
Effectively, the Coup of Freedom marks a great passage, not only in Equatorial Guinea's history but also in general, in the history of humanity. It wasn't just a simple coup, like so many others in Africa, but a real social transformation. The country in the age of the Colonel Tenant Obiang has seen from that moment on a determinant change in the country's social structures, which allowed a new historical, political and cultural moment in Equatorial Guinea.
Teodorín missed a court hearing in France while he was attending that Carnival in Salvador — where he threw a party in a luxurious mansion on a beach near the city, attended by celebrities and famous politicians.
About half of Equatorial Guinea's population lacks clean water or basic sanitation facilities, according official 2012 statistics quoted by HRW. Image by John & Mel Knots/Flickr, CC-BY-NC-SA
An international playboy, Teodorín seems to have in Brazil the same lifestyle he does in France and in the United States. Brazil's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office discovered that he has a 1500 m2 penthouse apartment in São Paulo worth 56 million reais (about 19.5 million dollars), as well as a luxury apartment in Ipanema — prime real estate in Rio de Janeiro. The office also found out he has at least eight luxury cars in Brazil, among them a Lamborghini Aventador, a Maserati and a Porsche Cayenne, together worth 30 million reais (about 10 million dollars).
João Luiz Mauad, the director of Liberal Institute (an organization presided over by Rodrigo Constantino, a right-wing columnist in Brazilian media), reminded readers that Equatorial Guinea has a solid and long-standing relationship with the Brazilian government. In the article titled “In Defense of Beija-Flor”, he wrote:
Para se ter uma idéia de quão estreitas são essas relações, somente nos últimos cinco anos dois presidentes brasileiros visitaram aquele país oficialmente, enquanto Obiang – o cruel ditador – também aqui esteve pelo menos uma vez, em visita oficial. Lula voou para lá, pela primeira vez, em 2010, quando assinou acordos de cooperação e perdoou 80% da dívida da Guiné com o Brasil. Posteriormente, já em 2013, Lula voltou lá, desta vez como “caixeiro viajante”, em missão oficial, acompanhado de diversos empresários tupiniquins, interessados em fazer negócios naquele país.
Sabe-se de alguns projetos em andamento na Guiné Equatorial, operados por empresas brasileiras, e de pelo menos um financiado pelo BNDES, com dinheiro dos pagadores de impostos de Pindorama.  O Itamarati, órgão de Estado encarregado das políticas com o exterior, tem uma página na internet somente para descrever os profícuos laços diplomáticos e comerciais com aquele país africano, cuja relação data de 1974 – mais de 40 anos, portanto. […]
Nunca ouvi ninguém criticar as empresas que lá estão fazendo obras faz tempo. Por que então todo esse alarido com o patrocínio recebido pela Beija-Flor?  A escola nada mais fez do que uma transação comercial com um “país amigo”.
To give an idea of how close those relationships are, just in the last five years two Brazilian presidents paid official visits to that country, while Obiang — the cruel dictator — has also been here at least once, also officially. Ex-president Lula went there for the first time in 2010 when it signed cooperation agreements and forgave 80% of Equatorial Guinea's debt with Brazil. In 2013, Lula went back there, this time as a “traveling salesman”, in an official mission together with many Brazilian entrepreneurs, interested in making business in that country.
There is knowledge of some projects in Equatorial Guinea, operated by Brazilian companies, and of at least one funded by BNDES [Brazilian Development Bank], with taxpayer's money. Itamaraty, the state agency responsible for foreign relations, has a webpage describing the prosperous diplomatic and commercial bonds with this African country, whose relationship dates back from 1974 — more than 40 years, then.
I've never heard anybody criticizing the Brazilian companies which have been operating there for so long. Why all this outcry now over Beija-Flor's sponsoring? The school did nothing more than a commercial transaction with a “friend nation”.
Obiang receives Brazil's former president Lula in an official visit to Malabo in 2010. Image by Blog do Planalto/Flickr (CC BY-NC)
Shady funding isn't anything new to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, either. “If it wasn't for the the dirty money, we wouldn't have the largest show on the planet,” Neguinho da Beija Flor, one of the 2015 winning samba school's veteran composers, said in an interview he gave Rádio Gaúcha on February 19.
Prominent activist from Equatorial Guinea Tutu Alicante, a resident of the United States, told Brazilian magazine Carta Capital that he hopes the Beija Flor scandal would help shed light on his country's corrupt and despot government:
A atenção dada a este escândalo pode alimentar uma discussão sobre as relações entre o governo brasileiro e o regime ditatorial de Obiang. Lula e Dilma estiveram por diversas vezes na Guiné Equatorial e isso é uma vergonha. Não há democracia no meu país. Não há espaço para a oposição ou qualquer organização social, e a mídia não é livre. E nenhuma dessas questões foi levantada por Lula, Dilma ou por qualquer diplomata do governo brasileiro.
The attention given to this scandal could feed a discussion on the relationship between the Brazilian government and Obiang's dictatorial regime. Lula and Dilma have been several times in Equatorial Guinea and this is shame. There is no democracy in my country. There is no space for an opposition or any social organization, and the media isn't free. And none of those questions have been raised by Lula, Dilma or any other diplomat from the Brazilian government.
As professor Sylvia Moretzsohn posted on her Facebook page, perhaps there is a bright side to all this:
Mas pensando bem tudo tem seu lado positivo. Por exemplo: quantos já tinham ouvido falar na Guiné Equatorial? Mais: quantos se preocupavam com o que se passava por lá? Então, de repente, ficamos sabendo que, 1. A Guiné Equatorial existe; 2. A Guiné Equatorial é governada há décadas por um ditador sanguinário típico; 3. Que o referido ditador é frequentador assíduo de nossas terras. Quem sabe devêssemos agradecer à Beija-Flor por essas informações. Tudo bem que o samba não falou de nada disso, mas aí também seria pedir demais. Pode ter sido até um toque de sutileza. Quem sabe?
But if you think about it, everything has its positive side. For instance: how many of us had heard of Equatorial Guinea before? More: how many were worried about what was going on there? So, all of a sudden, we know that: 1. Equatorial Guinea exists; 2. Equatorial Guinea has been governed for decades by a typical bloodthirsty dictator; 3. That the referred dictator is an assiduous visitor in our lands.
Maybe we should thank Beija-Flor for all this information.
It's true that their song didn't mention any of that, but now that would be too much to ask. Maybe they were just being subtle. Who knows?

author: Taisa Sganzerla


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Tanzanian Schools Will Teach Students in Swahili, Not English · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

School children in Arusha, Tanzania. Photo released under Creative Commons by Flickr user Colin J. McMechan.
Tanzania is set to make a historic shift away from English and replace it with Swahili as the language of instruction in the country’s schools.
The new education system launched by President Jakaya Kikwete on February 13, 2015, in line with National Vision 2025 will also extend basic education from seven years to 11 years, provide free education at primary and education levels and abolish national examinations for primary school levers.
This appears to be one of the first times that a country in Africa will teach students at all levels in an African language instead of a foreign language.
Commenting on the language shift, Atetaulwa Ngatara, the assistant director for policy at the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, said English will still be taught as a language, but for students to learn English it's not necessary that all their subjects be taught in it.
An article about the policy shift posted on Facebook by Oliver Stegen, a Swahili speaker of German origin and a linguistic advisor at language development non-profit SIL International, elicited mixed responses.
Nancy Petruzzi Maurer joked:
“Goood mauning teacha!” No more
Paul A Kijuu commented in Swahili saying that English has turned the educated class into robots:
Kwa upande wangu, Oliver Stegen mimi naona hii ni hatua nzuri sana. Shida yetu ni kulalamika. Elimu inapaswa itolewe kwa lugha inayoeleweka kwa mtumiaji. Kiingereza hakitusaidii zaidi ya kutufanya maroboti. Wasomi wetu hawafikiri kwa kujitegemea kwa sababu hakuna walichojifunza wanachokielewa.
On my side, Oliver Stegen I see this as the right move. Our problem is complaining. Education has to be given using the language that the user understands. English does not help us apart from turning us into robots. Our educated elites do not think independently because they do not understand what they studied.
Vera Wilhelmsen noted that not everyone needs to go to university but everyone deserves a good basic education:
I think it is important to consider what kind of basic education will benefit the most people. It is clear that per today not very many people make it to secondary school, and even fewer graduate from it. There is a problem when neither students not teachers are equipped to make the switch from Swahili to English in secondary school. Of course we have to watch for the effects, but I also do think it is a good step forward. Not everyone needs to go to university, but everyone deserves a good basic education!
However, not everyone was in support of the new education system. Steve Nicolle pointed out one possible effect of the new policy:
I suspect one effect of this legislation will be an increase in enrollments in private schools that continue to offer tuition in English. Keep an eye open for politicians opening new English medium schools in the near future!
Elly Gudo agreed with Steve Nicole, arguing that politicians will be the main beneficiaries of the policy:
I totally agree with Steve Nicolle. Having lived in Tanzania, I can tell you for sure that politicians are the highest beneficiaries of this new policy. Majority of Tanzanian middle and all upper classes who have identified with the global village will do anything to take their children to English Medium Schools. The common man's child will then be highly disadvantaged when it comes to University admission and by extension job acquisition. After 2 decades, the country will be highly classified. Tanzania needs a French-type Revolution in many facets.
Opposing the policy, Muddyb Mwanaharakati said the following in Swahili:
Oliver Stegen usichekelee. Wametia siasa ndani yake. Watoto zao wanasoma international schools. Sisi akina kajamba nani tutasoma zilezile S.t vichochoroni ili tubaki na Kiingereza chetu cha ya, ya, yes no yes no. Wakati watoto wao wanamwaga ngeli ya maana. Sijaifurahia hatua hii. Kwetu bado sana Oliver hata matangazo na sehemu nyingi ya masuala ya serikali yapo Kiingereza.
Oliver Stegen do not make me laugh. They have politicised the issue. Their children go to international schools [where the language of instruction is English]. We, the poor ones, will continue with going to under performing and poorly equipped schools and continue with our English of ya, ya, yes no yes no. At the same time their children are speaking English fluently. We are still very far, Oliver, even public notices and government information in many places are still in English.
Josephat Rugemalira observed that the new policy is not as radical as people think:
You need to read carefully what the policy says: it says Swahili will be used at all levels and ALSO says English will be used at all levels (that means including primary level). So my interpretation is that the only NEW thing made possible by such statements is that it is possible now for some people to establish Swahili medium secondary schools, and it is now official that local government authorities can convert existing primary schools to become English medium.
Reacting to the same article posted on Trending Kenya, Margaret Njeru explained that the new system does not kick out foreign or second languages but put them in their appropriate places in the learning process:
Indeed, bold and in the right direction. Education is about development, and that development can only come through a language a people make sense of. The world over, none of the so-called developed economies operates in a foreign language, and the use of the former colonial languages in many African countries has definitely contributed to the marginalization of the majority in the development process. If we have to define “our” development path, then the language choice must go hand-in-hand with it. And this does not in any way mean kicking out the foreign (or second languages), rather putting them in their appropriate place in the learning process.
Kwame Aboagye said it is time Africans used their languages:
It is about time that our African countries should speak our own dialects such as Twi, Yoruba, Swahili and Mandingo. English wasn't our original language in the first place and we need to wake-up and go back to our principals with pride.
The shift is monumental but it comes with significant challenges, noted Christina Higgins:
What good news indeed. Now the big test will be how to transition to Swahili in terms of materials, exams, and more. Despite challenges, this shift is truly monumental.