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Kenya: Life in Dadaab, the World’s Largest Refugee Camp · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.
An aerial photograph, posted on Oxfam International's Flickr page, of the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya,  illustrates how extensive the problem of displacement can be. The camp is home to 450,000 refugees, most of which have fled drought and a civil war in Somalia waged since 1991. A further 1,500 arrive every day.
Hoping to find respite from conflict, famine and natural disaster, 75 percent of all refugees are believed to reside in countries neighboring their own, sometimes creating a humanitarian crisis that can stretch the resources of national governments and international organizations.
An aerial view of the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab © Oxfam International
Not only is the international relief organization using the Internet to spread information and images about the situation in the camp on Twitter and Flickr, but it has also posted a video journal by actress and Oxfam Ambassador Scarlett Johansson on YouTube:
Of course, so serious is the situation in Dadaab that Oxfam is not the only international organization working in the camp and one aid worker, Amy Burke, is providing regular updates on the Lutheran World Relief blog:
The worst drought in 60 years has left millions of people at the brink of starvation. Their crops have died along with their livestock. Without any means to feed themselves, tens of thousands have flocked here to Dadaab, Kenya — home to the world’s largest refugee camp.
Refuge in Dadaab © Lutheran World Relief
With the media now reporting that cholera is once again spreading in the camp, Burke highlighted the danger at the beginning of November:
The rains are coming.
This may sound like a beautiful sentiment for the East African refugees who have suffered from severe droughts in the Horn of Africa during this past year. While the rains bring new life and revival, they also bring many waterborne diseases. It’s estimated that about 75,000 people in Dadaab alone could fall ill due to the spread of disease.
Indeed, accounts such as Burke's are crucial in getting information out from the camp once media attention has died down:
The headlines have ceased. The struggle is silent. Only the crisis remains.
While the drought in East Africa and the mass relocation of hundreds of thousands of people to the overcrowded refugee camps in Dadaab have stopped making headlines, the nature of the situation is still incredibly dire.
Refugees are real people, not just an overwhelming statistic. Each one of the 400,000 residing in Dadaab is a real person with a real life and real needs–but often, we push them and their plight to the back of our minds believing that there is nothing we can do.
A Forgotten Crisis © Lutheran World Relief
It's perhaps for that reason that Burke has also painted a more human picture of life in the camp, highlighting personal stories that many outside of Dadaab would consider ones of bravery and courage:
Ambiya lived in Somalia with her daughter, mother, and grandmother. Due to an increasing drought situation and famine spreading throughout her country, it was time to flee to a safer location. She was in no state to leave however; and after eating little to nothing for 18 days, 20-year-old Ambiya gave birth to her son Hamza.
[…] Being a new mother isn’t easy; making sure your baby is healthy, safe and that his or her needs are met is a full time responsibility. While this is stressful enough, imagine leaving your home country, walking by foot for at least a week, losing every one of your material possessions to a drought, and arriving to a new place in order to start a new life with nothing but the clothes on your back.
Without delay, the day after she gave birth, Ambiya left with her newborn, daughter, mother and grandmother on a long trek from Somalia to Kenya. […] Most people’s only goal is to survive the journey — a lofty, and in many cases, unobtainable hope. For Ambiya, her goal was to get her whole family to Dadaab alive, especially her one-day-old newborn.
[…] The problem with distancing ourselves from her story and her feat is that we tend to fictionalize her. Ambiya is a real person who persevered during what was probably the most difficult experience of her life. She represents pure strength. Her action was real and it was emblematic of how the love and strength of a mother extends beyond logic and self-preservation far into love and self-sacrifice.
East African Refugees: Strength from Love © Lutheran World Relief
Burke also posts accounts of how refugees are creating communities and attempting to make a living:
Refugees once artisans, tailors, farmers, etc. have found ways to utilize their skills and exchange resources within their new communities in Dadaab.
While aid remains a necessary and life-sustaining component to those living in Dadaab, markets have begun to spring up helping the refugees find ways to meet some of their own needs.
Trade is abundant while those lucky people who still own livestock sell milk and cheese, tailors with a few bits of extra fabric make garments, basket weavers once again take to their craft, and whoever has the means to buy seeds, grows a garden and sells the vegetables, etc.
The markets have helped improve individual livelihoods, built a larger community, and provided easier access to some resources. With the recent influx of people and new goods to trade, the markets are flourishing — creating within Dadaab a small market economy of its own.
Reuters Multimedia Producer Natasha Elkington has also put together a video of life in the camp with the same aim:
I wanted to see if I could tell their story through a different lens, showing their daily lives instead of just glaring down at their ribbed bodies and swollen eyes.
[…]
[…] Many of Dadaab’s children are dying. And then there are others who, despite living in the world’s oldest refugee camp, embrace their childhood; they play, go to school, care for their siblings and collect water for their families. I wanted to incorporate all of these aspects of life for Dadaab’s children into this project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GVUJpUMwDro
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of refugees has now reached approximately 43.7 million people worldwide, the highest in 15 years. The number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) has also risen and stood at 27.5 million at the end of 2010.
This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Maldives: Reactions To Defacing Of Monuments · Global Voices
Rezwan

Some SAARC countries have sent monuments to Maldives to celebrate the SAARC summit this year. Maldives’ religious party Adhaalath had called for removal of these alleged idols. Sri Lankan blogger Indrajit Samarajiva shares his reactions on the desecration of the Sri Lankan and Pakistani monuments.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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Mexico: Looking Beyond the Violent Portrait of Ciudad Juárez · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Richard Boren in the blog Border Wars shows that there's a lot more to Ciudad Juárez than the violence portrayed in the media. “The city is becoming increasingly more isolated from the world. […] The collateral damage from Juarez's one-sided portrait in the media is enormous, and one of the saddest aspects are those who become too afraid to visit their neighbor,” he writes.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Nepal: The Attitude Problem Of The Police · Global Voices
Rezwan

“They yell and they carry a little stick”, that is how Nepali describes the average police of Nepal.


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Nigeria: Celebrating Nigerian Fashion in Abuja  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Damilare Aiki shares photos from Mode Demarrage fashion show in Abuja, Nigeria: “The show truly lived up to its meaning ‘Fashion’s Start’ as it marks the beginning of a new age of fashion in Abuja.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Puerto Rico: Who’s Running the Medical School?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Gil the Jenius is calling for the firing of those who were allegedly responsible for the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine's recent loss of accreditation (which has since been reversed, pending probation), saying that leaving those involved in charge “would be very much like locking the door after the horse is gone, so why don't We focus on kicking the horses’ asses out first and then making sure the barn is run by competent people?”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Russia: Digital Oppression Hits Web Forums as Election Approaches · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
As the Russian parliamentary election comes closer, dispersed attacks on regional discussion boards have turned into a massive wave of digital oppression. These online forums are especially popular in the Russian regions, as compared to personalized blogs they are usually anonymous, self-governed, and allow hard criticism of the authorities.
In the first half of November 2011, five media outlets in different regions of Russia suffered either from indirect censorship or from clear self-censorship.
‘Kostroma Jedis’
On November 16, 2011, the server of the Kostroma Jedis Forum  (jedi.net.ru), the most popular forum in the Kostroma region with 12,000 daily visitors, was confiscated by the police (see the police statement here [ru] and here [ru]).
'Kostroma Jedi', Albert Stepantsev, surrounded by police. Photo uploaded by Maresyeva Pyata.
Police officer D.V. Shinov from the Kostroma region traveled several hundred kilometers from Kostroma to Dolgoprudny (where the data center which hosts the forum is located), in order to confiscate the web server on the grounds of an ongoing libel investigation against Kostroma governor Igor Slyunyaev [ru] (article 319 of the Penal Code [ru]). It is important to note that the law that de-criminalizes libelling (libel will become administrative violation) is almost signed [ru] by the president, which means, the authorities have ‘the last chance’ to prosecute their critics this way.
The only official document disclosed so far mentions a YouTube video posted by user Maresyeva Pyata (so far the only accused individual in the case) that uses parts from the movie ‘Downfall‘ to mock the regional governor (whom users use to call “The One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken”) and other officials.
According to the Jedi website [ru], Zh.V. Misheneva, a chief police investigator, explained that she thought these videos were hosted on the server. Forum users, however, believe [ru] that the police captured the server in order to de-anonymize forum users (using IP addresses), prevent users from communicating, and find compromising data that could be later publicised in order to destroy the reputations of forum users.
Offline in election run-up
Misheneva also said that the investigation procedures in such a case takes up to 16 days, which means the server will be brought to the datacenter only on December 1, in other words, three days before election day.
According to unconfirmed forum posts, the server owner and forum's main administrator Andrey Grechyukhin, or ‘Vanka,’ was detained for two days.
On November 20, forum users attempted to get together and sign a petition but were dispersed by the police (photos [ru], video). This video uploaded to YouTube by user SuperOplya shows the meeting with the police:
Closure of the website, however, was not able to prevent users from communicating. Some users moved to superjedi.ru (a site which existed before as a somewhat competing space), some to the newly created jedi.net.in (a domain located in India). As in the case of famous Russia sci-fi writer Leonid Kaganov's site, both websites were pushed out of the Russian territory and are hosted in Germany now.
This is not the first time forum posts have attracted the authorities’ attention. In April 2010, Kostroma prosecutor's office tried [ru] to prosecute forum user Prishelec for a profile picture that slightly resembled a swastika; the authorities claimed the image violated Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code that forbids public representation of Nazi symbols. According to Albert Stepantsev, active forum user, Prishelec received a small fine.
The situation is still ongoing. Updates are located here [ru].
The Kostroma discussion has revealed another case. Forum user Prodazhniy, referring to a closed discussion on spkostroma.ru, wrote [ru] that the police had pressured the newspaper ‘My City Kostroma.’ The newspaper that belongs to one of the active forum users, was approached almost simultaneously by the police and an anti-monopoly service. On November 21, police detained [ru] Viktor Yepifantsev, reporter of the newspaper for several hours.
Self-censorship on the rise
Forum closed due to maintenance. Screenshot from forum.miass.ru (taken on November 22, 2011)
Several thousand kilometers from Kostroma, Miass [ru] city forum (forum.miass.ru) removed all comments and left only one message: “This forum is closed due to maintenance.” Citizen reporters from ку-тв.рф [ru], called [ru] the administration and received a reply that “the forum administrator left and will be back only after December 4 (election day)”.
In Perm, the newspaper Chusovskoy Rabochiy (chrgazeta.ru), removed [ru] all comments that had been published since the newspaper's launch in 2003, also forbidding users to leave comments.
In Arzamas, in central Russia, mcn.nnov.ru (45,000 visitors per month) forum moderators introduced an ‘apolitical’ zone. After deleting several topics dedicated to the elections, the position was explained [ru]:
Форум объявляется зоной аполитичной по некоторым очевидным и не очень причинам, перечисляться здесь которые не будут (также по некоторым очевидным и не очень причинам). Темы о них будут удаляться.
These cases are only the few that received attention. It is unknown, however, to what degree regional discussion boards were either forced to switch to the ‘apolitical mode,’ or decided to do it as an act of self-censorship.
Being more obscure and mostly anonymous, regional forums are more vulnerable to pressure from the authorities compared to larger media outlets or popular bloggers. However, they represent the voices that are usually heard the least.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: PM Putin Gets Booed – “End of an Era” or “Wishful Thinking”? · Global Voices
Donna Welles

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
When Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stepped out to congratulate Mixed Martial Arts champion Fedor Emelianenko on Sunday, November 20, 2011, he was visibly taken aback when he received a less than warm response from Moscow spectators.
Putin's approval ratings have declined in recent months, but this public display of animosity towards him is perhaps the first of its kind during this election season, and it is remarkable because Putin's Russia has seen only a handful of incidents where the media captured a story that truly caught Putin off guard.
Blogger and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny posted in his LiveJournal [ru] two videos of Putin's speech at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex in a post entitled, “The End of an Era.” In the videos, Putin stepped on stage after Mr. Emelianenko defeated American Jeff Monson and did not say anything provocative. Speaking Russian, Putin simply referred to Mr. Emelianenko as a “genuine Russian hero,” he congratulated him on his victory, and thanked him graciously.
It appears from the video that the crowd was not reacting to Putin's words but rather they were reacting negatively to his presence. Navalny's post has generated nearly 3,000 comments.
Here is LJ user poo-lin's video from Olimpiysky, which has been viewed 558,688 times on YouTube and received 2,630 comments since Navalny re-posted it on his blog:
In the comments section to poo-lin's LiveJournal video entry [ru], LJ user largannn writes [ru]:
Thanks for the video! In the annals of history it will be [remembered] as “The beginning of the end of V.V. Putin's political career” )
Twitter users responded to the incident as well.
Valery Dementiev:
Audience booed #Putin http://t.co/DTzNdWfq (#Emelianenko [himself is a member – ru] of United #Russia party.)
Alec Luhn:
#Emelianenko win=litmus test 4 Russian media. Gazeta.ru:Putin is booed, Lenta.ru:crowd was booing Monson, Izvestiya:no mention of booing
Putin's United Russia party has been campaigning aggressively in recent months through a variety of mediums. Global Voices Author Alexey Sidorenko posted an article earlier this month, which described an incident of controversial campaigning in Russian schools by the United Russia party.
The Danger Room blog on Wired.com posted a video of a United Russia ad, which sparked controversy due to its blatant use of sex appeal, but also because it depicted irregular voting habits when more than one person occupied a voting booth:
[…] Titled with the double entendre (in English, at least), “Let’s Do It Together,” the ad follows a teenaged everyman as he chases after an attractive girl in a polling station. She flashes him a come-hither glare. The two set off into the polling booth to mark their ballots for Putin and who knows what else. Vote Vlad and this could be you. […]
Democracy Digest, a blog associated with World Movement for Democracy, contextualized Putin's current approval ratings by citing a Moscow Times article in a November 9 post:
[…] “With 61 percent of respondents expressing approval for Putin’s actions as prime minister, the October 28-November 1 poll indicates that Putin will have little trouble carrying out his plan to return to the Kremlin. But his approval rating, down from 66 percent in a Levada poll conducted October 21-24, was the lowest since August 2000, when he was dogged by the botched reaction to a naval disaster that killed all 118 crewmen aboard the Kursk submarine.” […]
Ekaterina Vinokurova wrote in Gazeta.ru blog last month about a study conducted by Moscow State University which analyzed public opinion toward politicians and political parties. The data shows that Putin's approval rating is the lowest it has been throughout the ten years the study has been conducted:
[…] According to the study, only 44.5 per cent of the population approve of Putin's political views at the start of the campaign. This contrasts against the 70 percent support, which was expressed by respondents in the 2004 campaign and 47% in the campaign of 2000.
Respondents were asked to assess different qualities of Putin from physical attractiveness to business performance. Compared with the year 2000 until the second term of Putin's admiration, voter approval has fallen by almost half: at the start of the campaign's second term and before the start of the campaign actually the third term of only 14% of respondents indicated that they like Putin's appearance against 28% in March 2000.
Most importantly in the eyes of voters, according to the study, the professional and business qualities of Putin have suffered in his years in power, in March 2000 they were praised by 69% of respondents and in the March 2004 – 64%. Before the current election campaign only 17.1% of the interviewees approve. […]
Gazeta.ru blog ran an editorial written by Andrei Kolesnikov earlier this month about Putin's relationship with the media. Mr. Kolesnikov reminded readers about the Kursk disaster in August 2000 when the Russian submarine sank off the Barents Sea losing all hands. The Kursk had been one of the first submarines commissioned after the fall of the Soviet Union and during the tragedy when the crew was stuck underwater, media outlets captured President Putin on vacation:
[…] In summer 2000 Putin, who just started to enjoy his presidency, saw on TV something he didn't like. (Maybe he'd prefer that nobody knew about this tragedy at all). A substantial part of Russian population didn't like that story. That same part of the Russian population forgave Putin the Kursk tragedy, and since then, his rating is like teflon, and the wool has been pulled over the eyes of the Russian audience so deeply that they hardly notice and their morally unexplainable indifference is huge. […]
Putin reacted to the Kursk incident by limiting the power of independent television stations. Mr. Kolesnikov continued in his editorial by reminding readers of the 2004 Beslan hostage crisis which in turn was followed by Putin's efforts to limit the power of the media:
[…] And then it happened again in 2004, when Chechen terrorists took a thousand schoolchildren hostages on the 1st of September and Izvestia national newspaper editor-in-chief did what every editor in the world was doing then – published the photographs showing the horror of what had happened.
After 2004, TV and print media controlled by Kremlin didn't make such mistakes anymore– and by that we mean in their professional work, they avoided offending the aesthetic feelings of Russia's National Leader. The curtain of stagnation fell over TV screens and across front pages, and the “Father of the People” still calls it ‘Social Stability’. Everything that crosses that line of TV series, where Comrade Stalin is a protagonist, the talk-shows with him again, the borders of dance reality shows and humor programs – it's all called “accruing of political capital”. […]
Yuri Mamchur described in RussiaBlog in December 2007 just how popular Putin was in anticipation of the 2008 Russian presidential election. He also suggested that with regard to Putin, sometimes election outcomes don't always reflect approval ratings.
Hugely so, judging from Russia's December 2 parliamentary elections. Putin's United Russia party and its allies captured 400 of 450 seats in the Duma, making it highly likely that Putin will remain in power when his term ends next year. With widespread reports of voting irregularities, the election was not exactly a pure measure of Putin's popularity. Many voters were forced to mark ballots in full view of soldiers, for instance, and United Russia reportedly bought votes with cash and vodka. Still, such tactics were probably not necessary. Pre-election surveys put Putin's approval rating above 70 percent, and by all accounts, most Russians revere him.
In the comments to Navalny's video post, many bloggers do not seem too impressed with the booing of Putin and call the “end of an era” interpretation of the incident “wishful thinking.” Others, like LJ user mig_25tt, agree [ru] with Navalny:
Here we go – the opinion of the electorate… Honest and objective.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.

author: Donna Welles


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Singapore: Proposed Youth Parliament · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Bloggers Majulah and angmohlian share their thoughts on the proposal to create a youth parliament in Singapore

author: Mong Palatino


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Sri Lanka: Mayhem In Parliament · Global Voices
Rezwan

On November 21st a brawl broke out between UPFA and UNP MPs during budget speech in Sri Lankan parliament. DBS Jeyaraj has the details.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Flood Damage  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

B.C. Pires comments on the flood damage in northern Trinidad over the weekend: “Somewhere between asking God for strength and not throwing rubbish in the river, there is a lesson to be learned.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Colman Commission  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Colman Commission was established about a year ago as a Public Enquiry into the failure of the CL Financial group”, explains Afra Raymond, adding: “The sole Commissioner, Sir Anthony Colman, has now made a statement which outlines his progress in this huge and complex matter…despite all the evidence about staggering sums of money and the heated public discussion that has sparked, I am perturbed by the way the essential information is being handled.”


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Yemen: Will Saleh Sign the GCC Deal that the Youth Oppose?  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Yemenis have patiently waited ten months too many for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. What started as a demand for a regime change, turned into an outcry for the regime's fall following the first drop of blood.
Yemenis have suffered greatly from Saleh's stalling in signing the GCC deal and have been paying the price with their lives. They have endured hardships, suffered from shortages in basic needs such as cooking gas, electricity, fuel and water, and have been subjected to the growing violence of the regime and the deteriorating economic and refugee crisis in the country as a result.
The world had been idly watching and waiting for Saleh to sign the deal while the Yemeni people have been dying and suffering for months. Yemeni activists started an online campaign to express to the world that like the millions who have been marching on the streets of Yemen for months, they too reject the GCC deal.
"No to GCC Deal"
The campaign is run under the hashtag #No2GCCdeal, where they express reasons for their rejection of the deal. They also started a “No to GCC deal” page on Facebook.
@Yemen4Change tweeted the news that the GCC deal will FINALLY be signed, which has been recurring and is no longer breaking news:
#Saleh has agreed to sign a plan to transfer power to his deputy, a senior opposition figure said #Yemen #JMP #GCC t.co/b29V0eHj
Yesterday, Monday Nov. 21, President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to sign a plan to transfer power to his deputy.
There were massive demonstrations across Yemen over the past few days demanding President Saleh's prosecution. This video shows a massive march yesterday [November 21] in the city of Ibb (video posted by yasser456029):
@ShathaAlHarazi, a Yemeni journalist blogs some of the Yemeni youth's reactions in her post:
reactions on GCC deal, #No2GCCdeal #Yemen t.co/Z9flj1Fx
In her post, Al Harazi explains:
it is worth mentioning that the deal is not clear to the public all what people talk about is that the deal guarantee impunity to Saleh although more than 2195 has died between February and August 2011
Many were wary of it, as @samwaddah tweeted asking:
What agreement are we talking about if #Saleh's forces are shelling #Taiz & Arhab at this very moment? Born dead already! #No2GCCdeal #Yemen
@Abajamal expressed his dismay [ar]:
@YemenFreeVoice affirms his rejection:
#No2GCCdeal because it's only an exist for Saleh and not a solution for #Yemen
@ibrahimAddali added [ar]:
Yemeni youth are demanding a swift and firm United Nations resolution that will stop the bloodshed in Yemen by freezing Saleh's assets and referring him to the International Criminal Court. Juan Cole, (@jricole) a Middle East specialist, quoted Yemeni Noble Prize laureate Tawakkul Karman in his tweet saying:
The democratic revolution of #Yemen needs the West to freeze #Saleh's accounts & indict him at ICC – Tawakkul #Karman
A mass women's rally in Taiz condemning crimes committed by forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh against civilians.
@YouthYemen shares this photograph from Facebook and explains:
The southern city of Taiz witnessed Tuesday a mass rally condemning crimes committed by forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh against civilians.
Many Yemenis strongly believe that President Saleh deserves no immunity after all the bloodshed he had caused over the past months.
This is another video showing a women's march in Sanaa yesterday also demanding Saleh's trial and vowing loyalty to the martyrs’ blood and the building of a new Yemen (video posted by ppryemen)
@shabadel tweeted:
#No2GCCdeal because it's a treason to the blood of the martyrs by giving #Saleh immunity from fair #trial. #ICC
President Saleh had already backed off from signing the GCC deal three times before, so the big question remains, will he sign the GCC deal or not this time?
Like many Yemenis, editor @blakehounshell wonders:
Will Saleh sign today? – Every Yemeni on my timeline
And many wonder if he ever does sign it, will he honor it?@RASEDYEMEN says:
#Yemen Will Saleh honor the deal now?! on.fb.me/trcz8Z #YF
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: Noon Arabia


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Brazil: Maximum Fine After Silence on Chevron’s Oil Spill · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

On 7 November, the Frade field oil platform, operated by the American drilling company Chevron-Texaco, began leaking crude oil. It is located in Bacia de Campos, 350km North from Rio de Janeiro. Last Monday, 21 November, Chevron was fined the maximum amount allowed by IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), $R50 million (approximately $28 million USD).
Though the oil spill is now believed to have been brought under control, further explanations from Chevron are expected in the next few days. Meanwhile, what began as scarce coverage by mainstream media has lead many bloggers to criticize the lack of journalistic depth on the intricacies of the environmental disaster.
Chevron's oil spill in Bacia de Campos, November 18, 2011. Photo by Rogério Santana, Government of Rio, for release
“Silence is criminal”
Journalist Fernando Brito, on the blog of the federal deputy Brizola Neto Tijolaço [pt], decided to “swim against the media tide” that he had considered to be mere re-publication of corporate press releases. He embarked on a thorough and tireless work of investigative journalism trying to shine a light on the case, with 25 posts with denouncements in just two weeks. What he saw as signs that something was wrong with the mainstream coverage was later explained in an interview [pt] for the blog Vi O mundo:
Primeira: a Chevron-Texaco  demorou para admitir o problema  e, quando o fez, foi por uma nota marota, dizendo que havia sido  detectado vazamento “entre o campo de Frade e o de Roncador – que é  operado pela Petrobras –  quando, na verdade, ele se deu bem próximo de  uma de suas plataformas de perfuração, a Sedco706 (…).
Segunda: a história de que falha geológica seria a causa.  É  improvável que falhas geológicas capazes de provocar um derramamento no  mar não tivessem sido detectadas nos estudos sísmicos que precedem a  perfuração.
Terceira: mesmo depois de a presidenta Dilma Rousseff ter determinado  em 11 de novembro a investigação rigorosa do caso, a nossa imprensa (…) continuou a dar  quase nenhuma importância ao caso da Chevron-Texaco, uma multinacional  com boas relações com o senhor José Serra.
First, Chevron-Texaco was slow to admit the problem and when it did, it was with a naughty note, saying that a leakage had been detected “between the Frade field and Roncador – which is operated by Petrobras – when, in fact, it happened very close to one of its drilling rigs, the Sedco706 (…).
Second, the story that a geological fault could be the cause. It is unlikely that faults capable of causing a spill at sea had not been detected in seismic surveys prior to drilling.
Third, even after the President Rousseff determined on 11 November a rigorous investigation of the case, our press (…) continued to give little or no importance to the case of Chevron-Texaco, a multinational company with good relations with Mr. José Serra. [Governor and Mayor of Sao Paulo, former Brazilian Presidency candidate ].
Giving further background to the third point above, economist Pedro Migão, from the blog Ouro de Tolo, recalls a post he wrote last year on “revelations by Wikileaks“:
sobre o lobby que as petrolíferas americanas estavam  fazendo junto a setores da imprensa e a políticos do PSDB para terem o  controle do pré sal – que é a última fronteira petrolífera mundial.
As public debate [pt] about the environmental dangers of offshore oil drilling had been sparked, Greenpeace Brazil started spreading the hashtag #VazaChevron (Spill Chevron, a play with words meaning Go Away Chevron), and took the opportunity to promote a petition [pt] against oil exploitation by Chevron planned for the Abrolhos region, a protected area in the state of Bahia.
Greenpeace Brazil's action urges transparency by Chevron on the causes and effects of the spill
Valéria Müller (@valeria47), tweeting from Porto Alegre, said [pt]:
Quando se tem dinheiro, dá até pra derramar petróleo no mar que não vira notícia. Taí a Chevron-Texaco pra provar isso. #VazaChevron
On Twitter, many have also commented on the amount of the fine, which is just about “half a day's profit” for Chevron, such as Mirinho Braga (@mirinhobraga), Mayor of Buzios, who asks:
A Chevron polui nosso mar…o IBAMA multa em milhoes a empresa. Os pescadores q são prejudicados recebem o que?
Chevron's logo with an oil spill. Shared on the blog Tijolaço.
Given Chevron's “track record of fraud related to an even larger oil disaster in neighboring Ecuador”, solidarity and awareness have come from activists in that country, where rainforests have also been contaminated by the company's spills, as Global Voices reported earlier this year.
On Wednesday, November 23, Chevron is expected to give further explanations about the disaster in a public hearing of the Environmental Committee of the Senate, along with Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeira, Minister of Mines and Energy Edison Lobao and representatives of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) and IBAMA.
At the time this article was published, Fernando Brito's last post concerning Chevron's “bet on taking risks”, leaves a question in the air:
Um carro não bate por estar em  velocidade imprudente, mas esta é o contexto que facilita a ocorrência do acidente.
No caso do autmóvel, porém, isso é motivo para ter a habilitação cassada. A Chevron-Texaco vai perder a carteira?
A car does not hit to be at reckless speed, but this is the context that facilitates the accident.
Concerning driving, however, this is a reason to have one's license revoked.  Will Chevron-Texaco lose its license?

author: Sara Moreira


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Cuba: Blogger and Scholar Ted Henken on New Media in Cuba · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

The first post in this two-post series featured highlights from a discussion between bloggers in Cuba, the United States (US), and Spain focusing on the use of new media in Cuba, where Internet access and technological tools are extremely scarce.
For this post, I interviewed City University of New York (CUNY) Professor of Sociology, Ted Henken, a Cuba expert who is the author of El Yuma, a blog that explores social currents in contemporary Cuba and closely follows the Cuban blogosphere.
I discussed with Henken his recent appearance on Radio Martí where he helped facilitate a dialogue between several of the most prominent Cuban bloggers writing today and his students at Baruch College in New York City. This was a unique event for Radio Martí. Funding and oversight of the station come from the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a US federal agency devoted to broadcasting radio and television into countries where media outlets independent of the state are either scarce or heavily censored.
Ted Henken (on the right) with blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo. Posted with permission of photographer.
Much of Radio Martí programming is explicitly anti-Castro and supportive of US policy towards Cuba; the station is seen by many as a symbol of the political gridlock that has defined US-Cuba policy for decades. Henken shared his perspective on the political nature of Radio Martí:
You can describe their goals in different ways. You can say that it’s intended as a way to overthrow the Cuban government, or as a way to get information to people.
Ted Henken is a unique contributor to the online conversation about Internet use and blogging in Cuba. He is both a scholar of, and active participant in, the Cuba-focused blogosphere. Henken also takes an objective approach to studying Cuban politics and culture; he does not come down firmly “for” or “against” the revolution.
In our conversation, he explained that while he had never wholly dismissed Radio and TV Martí, he has long been wary of the program. “In a perfect world, Radio Martí wouldn’t exist,” he told me. “But the world is not perfect.”
Yoani Sánchez and Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo [es], two of Cuba’s best-known “critical” bloggers were featured on the program. Both are members of the Voces Cubanas [es] blogging collective, where most bloggers are explicitly critical of the government. While members of this group are often thought of as “dissident” bloggers, many of them, including Sánchez, reject this label. Henken commented on the distinction between “citizens” and “dissidents.”
[E]ven though they have clear systemic criticisms of the government, their main thing is civic action, working [their voices] into the dominant discourse. To me that is what the story is.
[…]
People try to adopt them as political dissidents, and sometimes they’re presented that way because of their criticisms. Yoani [says], people try to call me a dissident but I think of myself really as a citizen.
According to Henken, under the Obama administration, Radio Martí producers are making greater efforts to diversify political viewpoints in their programming. As part of this effort, they have solicited interviews with bloggers who have been classified as supporters of the Cuban revolution, including Global Voices contributor and La Polémica Digital [es] author Elaine Díaz, who declined the opportunity [es].
Henken noted that many bloggers who are not explicitly against Cuban government policies “would not agree to do this, because of the repercussions it could have for them.”
He acknowledged that Radio Martí, a broadcast station that fits cleanly into the “old media” model of “one-to-many” communication, provided an unusual setting for discussing the power and importance of independent, citizen-driven social media. He paraphrased a quote from Reinaldo Escobar [es], husband of Yoani Sánchez, and an active blogger in Cuba, who acknowledges that Radio Martí is not the ideal venue for their message.
[T]he last thing we want to do is rely on the propaganda of a foreign government to get our voices out. […] [W]e need to communicate with other Cubans. We use the Internet, and that’s limited for all the reasons we know, and we listen to Radio Martí.
In the radio interview, Sánchez mentions that Cubans who want to speak out critically about their government have very limited options as far as different media are concerned. So, as Escobar says, they use any channel to which they can gain access.
“People like Yoani or Reinaldo will talk to anyone who wants to listen to them,” Henken told me. “They’re just responding to people who are interested in hearing what they have to say.”
Voces Cubanas CD, photo by jlori (CC BY-NC-SA)
Though scarce, the availability of access to cell phones and the Internet has strengthened communications between people in Cuba and the rest of the world. These new technologies, along with the old, have created a unique collage of new and old media spaces in which Cubans are able to initiate critical conversations about government policy, human rights, and the direction in which Cuba is headed, without having to rely on government entities for support.
Of course these media remain politicized, but civic dialogue in a politically complex space is better than no civic dialogue at all. Henken believes that what Sánchez and others are trying to do is exercise “real rights.”
[Yoani] tries to say what she really thinks. She tries to exercise real rights. This is in some way more radical. Luckily she’s eloquent and responsible. I think she appeals to a group of people who are, if not middle of the road, at least responsible.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Cuba: Giving Thanks, Cuban Style · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Thanksgiving, My Big Fat Cuban Family “opted to take a traditional Thanksgiving side dish (corn) and added a Cuban spin to it” – check out the mouth-watering recipe, here.


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Cuba: Siding with Syria  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bloggers comment on Cuba's opposition against a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Syria for human rights violations, here and here.


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Ethiopia: Is Ethiopian Blogosphere the Smallest in the World?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Markos wonders whether the Ethiopian blogosphere is the smallest in the world:  “A few months ago Joern and I made a little research and we found out that Ethiopia had less than 20 bloggers in the country. This is rather shocking stats compared to 160,000 (July 2008) Bloggers in Egypt. On contrary, Ethiopian love to socialize using social media like Facebook. 90.07% of internet users use Facebook in daily basis.”


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Ethiopia: Online Platform to Discuss Sustainable Technologies · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

GreenTech Ethiopia is an online platform to learn about and discuss environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies suitable for the Ethiopian context.


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Ghana: Startup Weekend Accra · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mac-Jordan blogs about Startup Weekend Accra: “Startup Weekends are 54-hour events where developers, designers, marketeers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups! Startup Weekends are weekend-long, hands-on experiences where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs find out if their startup ideas are viable.”


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India: The Decade Of Maids · Global Voices
Rezwan

AmreekanDesi takes a satirical look at the problems of the increasingly unmanageable service of Indian maids.


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Jamaica: Miami Book Fair Meetup · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Litblogger Geoffrey Philp meets some old literary friends at The Miami Book Fair International.


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South Korea: Comedian Sued for Making Fun of Politicians · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Politics is seen as a fair target for most comedy shows, but in South Korea a politician is suing a comedian. The lawsuit – claiming that the performer defamed all politicians – has drawn immediate criticism from various parts of Korean society, inundating social media with jokes and comments.
Choi Hyo-jong is the 26-year-old male comedian in question, from one of South Korea’s top comedy shows, ‘Gag Concert’, which airs on Sunday primetime network television. In one recent comedy segment, Choi pretended to tell children guaranteed ways [ko] to become a politician [note: the show is not actually for children].
Kids, first make friends with the head of the ruling party, so they can endorse you to an electorate which has traditionally been in favor of the ruling party. When you run for the (mayor/governor's) seat, be sure to visit the election committee and bring 200 million Korean Won (176,000 USD) with you.
During the campaign, go visit the local market place you hardly ever visit, and shake hands with old ladies there. That is no big deal, right? And sure eat the entire bowl of rice soup [locally made inexpensive soup, which usually the working class eat] that you rarely eat.
When you make campaign promises, say you will build a bridge or a subway station. Oh, you think that is too hard? No worries, you just need to say that without actually doing it.
If you tenaciously go on about others’ weaknesses like a dog, you can become a politician.
Image of Comedian Choi during the show, Image by Blogger Noi, Attribution Required, Used with Permission
Kang Yong-suk, a policymaker who was ousted from the ruling party after he made lewd remarks against several news announcers, sued Choi on November 17, 2011, for making his defamatory comments.
This move has shocked the Korean public. As a sign of support, several thousand net users have filed an online petition [ko] in Daum Agora, the nation's largest public forum, to protect Choi. Twitter users have encouraged each other [ko] to follow Choi's Twitter account (@hyojong66) to empower him with numerous followers. Their goal is make Choi have 100,000 followers.
The comedy community has expressed strong support for Choi and encouraged other comedians not to succumb to any censorship. Kim Mi-wha (@kimmiwha), a legendary figure in the Korean comedy community, tweeted [ko]:
효종아..기가막히고 코가막힌다 그쟈!! 강용석의원이 우릴 코미디언이라고 우습게 보나본데[…]”국회의원 모욕죄”로 고소했다고? 우리도 맞고소하자. 국회의원들..뻑하면”코미디하고있네” 라고 코미디언 모욕했으니!!
Another extremely well-known comedian, Nam Hee-seok (@Blove12), tweeted [ko]:
혹시 내 후배 가운데..개그 때문에.. 벌금 나오게 된다면..전액 내가 내주마..맘 놓고 하던거 해라.
Image of comedians at Gag Concert, Image by Blogger Noi, Attribution required, used with permission.
Famous culture critic, Chin Jung-kwon (@unheim), explained [ko] via Twitter two terms he has created to distinguish comedians from politicians.
개그맨들이 하는 개그는 미학적 개그입니다. 즉 개그맨들은 정말 바보가 아니라 멍청한 척 연기하는 거죠. 반면 강용석을 비롯한 국해의원들의 개그는 존재론적 개그입니다. 그건 연기가 아니에요. 삶이에요 삶… 리얼 라이프 잇셀프.
Chun Woo-yong (@histopian), a historian living in the Mapo area where Kang was elected as a policymaker, tweeted [ko] that he is shamed by the place:
어디 가서 마포 산다는 소리도 창피해서 못하는데[…]이런 ‘모욕감'은 어떻게 씻어야 할지.
Mr. Chun even half-jokingly asked his fellow Twitterers [ko] whether they knew any good lawyer so he can sue Kang for “defaming” the entire of Mapo's residents.
Twitter user @korea486 tweeted [ko] a link to a news article with a short comment:
“강용석 의원 왜 이래요?”의원실에 물었더니.우리라고 욕 먹는 걸 모르겠냐? 알면서도 하는 것””무소속 된 뒤 찾은 새 할 일은 블랙 마케팅, 확실히 자리매김될 것” j.mp/uVHuCd 확실이 맛이갔군.
Blogger Kim Na-young, however, provided another explanation to the case [ko]. According to Kim, such a lawsuit is not to restrict freedom of speech, but is Kang's shrewd attempt to invaliate the concept of group defamation, so Kang, who has himself been accused of group defamation, can stand on better ground in his next court appeal.
Last year, Kang made lewd remarks about various news announcers and was sentenced as guilty in a lawsuit that several female announcers filed against him. Kang even lost his appeal. If he accepts the court's decision, it means he is no longer eligible to hold his post.
자기가 유죄 판결 받은 “집단 모욕죄”가 애당초 말도 안되는 법이라는걸 보여주기 위해서랍니다.…아무런 관계도 없는 무고한 최효종을 끌어들여 본보기로 보이겠다는 겁니다…나 말고, 얘도 유죄 때려봐, 하는 식으로. 만약 최효종이 무죄를 받으면 왜 재는 무죄고 나는 유죄야? 하겠지요.
Whatever Kang's true intention, this is just another story idea for some creative types. Choi's colleague, Kim Won-hyo  (@wonhyokim), tweeted [ko] that he is thinking of a new comedy segment with fun titles, such as ‘Sue-back 60 minutes’ (parody of the American show 60 Minutes) or ‘Sue Anything’ (mimicking a Korean show titled ‘Ask Anything’).

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Latin America, USA: GOP Presidential Candidates on Latin America · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Bloggings by boz recaps the comments made by U.S. Republican presidential candidates on Latin America policy during the GOP debate held on November 22, 2011.


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Mozambique: More striking security guards · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

After the fateful G4S strike earlier this year, more security guards are on strike in Maputo. @Verdade newspaper photographer Miguel Mangueze tweeted a photo of a sign from the protest, depicting the Portuguese head of the company SOS, who they allege deprives them of pay over the holidays.

author: Janet Gunter


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Nicaragua: The Poor State of Roads in Nueva Guinea · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Ronald Hill [es] denounces the poor state of roads in Nueva Guinea, “the largest, most densely populated municipality and biggest economic hub of the Autonomous Region of the Southern Atlantic” in Nicaragua.


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Pakistan: Plans to Filter Around 1,500 Words in SMS Traffic · Global Voices
Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is the center of attention of the country's social media junkies and human right groups these days, for its infamous leaked PTA banned list of obscene words and phrases for SMS traffic. The list contains words like “Do it”, ”Tongue”,  “Jesus Christ”, “Tampon”, “Period”, “Satan”, “Monkey crotch”, “Deposit” and “Fairy”. Also banned are 50 different ways of using F word and also “Budweiser” and “Lund”.
The PTA has become a laughing stock and initially many believed the list to be a hoax. The list of 586 Urdu and 1,109 English words and phrases was sent to the mobile phone operators in the country on 14 November 2011, by the PTA.
Sources say that service providers were asked to implement the banned words under the “Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations, 2009” in 7 days. The letter circulated by the PTA says the mobile operators must also submit monthly reports on implementation of the ban. However, mobile operators deferred implementing the ban.
Wordle Image of the banned word list. Click on the image to enlarge.
The list was leaked and published online by Bytes for All (BFA), an Internet right group organization. BFA is ready to challenge the ban in the court. Bytes For All (BFA) expressed concern about unwarranted “moral policing” on Pakistanis:
We believe that this embarrassing and shameful directive by PTA is not all about banning abusive words; but about encouraging the act of moral policing by authorities.
Bytes for All fears that such efforts by PTA will boost and give place to booming filtering and monitoring industry, which is already a huge threat to the privacy rights of the citizens of Pakistan. We believe that with this filtering, the state can enforce its dictates by limiting or preventing access to its communications infrastructure but on the other hand violating the fundamental right of freedom of expression and access to information.
Words like “Jesus Christ” and “Satan” are also in the PTA list in the interest of the glory of Islam. Blogger Umair Tariq questions:
Sifting through these banned words, I discovered that even the word “Jesus Christ” might be forbidden, along with many other words of everyday usage. Why on earth has Jesus’s name been banned? Is it some kind of an abusive word? As much as rightists and McBurqas may like it, this list is totally ridiculous.
I want to ask the defenders of this list how they would have felt if the name of the Holy Prophet (SAW) was placed on a list of banned words elsewhere in the world.
Salim Khursheed Khokhar, a Christain MPA,  protested against it in the Sindh Assembly, saying if the government block the word Jesus Christ it would be like depriving Christians of their religious rights.
Youth Awareness blog was the first to comment on the list:
What the fuck :O , Never been a fan of words like ROFL, LMAO, LOL etc etc……but if you go through the list of “supposedly”  banned words by the PTA you will literally be ROFLYAO (The Y stands for your instead of M for my). I won’t write anything just go through this and imagine what baboons are running this country.
Shivam Vij became the talk of the town after he published his article on Firstpost.com:
“The English list begins with “A.S.S.” and ends with “YELLOWMAN”. Some words sound harmless (“CRAP” and “CRAPPY”), others bizarre (“JESUS CHRIST”, “FLATULENCE”, “MURDER”, “MONKEY CROTCH”). Many are commonly used obscene words (“FUCK YOU”) and care has been taken to account for alternative spellings (“BIATCH”, “MUTHAFUCKA”). While many spelling variations of ‘masturbation’ are on it, the correct spelling is not. Most words seem to be designed to prevent ‘sexting’ or sending sexually explicit texts (“SEXY”, “LICK ME”, “DO ME”, “S&M”, “LOTION”, “PORN”). The list comes down on anal sex as much as vaginal sex. But it isn’t just sex. By banning “DRUNKEN” they perhaps hope to reduce alcoholism.”
Many social media activists came up with the idea of typing numbers rather than the whole curse or banned words. The Pakistani Twittersphere is full of funny and interesting tweets about the PTA list.
On the one hand Pakistan mobile operators are still in talks with the PTA over the list, and on the other hand, the leaked list has started a debate about the benchmark of obscenity, private space and telecommunication laws in the country. The coming days are crucial for both perspectives.  It seems that this will only add more fire to the political turmoil the country is already facing.

author: Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman


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Pakistan: Twitter Reactions to the SMS Filtering Announcement · Global Voices
Sana Saleem

The Pakistan Telecom Authority's (PTA) possible attempt at SMS filtering for abusive contents, has had Twitter timelines flooded with reactions, mostly humorous. In a bid to enforce morality, the PTA has issued two lists containing over 1,000 ‘abusive words’ in English and 550 words in Urdu.
A scaned copy of the letter along with the lists has gone viral online and on Twitter it has generated an interesting response and attracted media attention.
The letter, dated November 14, 2011, suggests that SMS filtering should be considered under the “Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations, 2009″, it contains a reference to a meeting held on the same issue with mobile phone operators on the 18 October, in the capital, Islamabad. The letter was issued by Muhammad Talib Doger, Director General (Services) of PTA.
Cartoon by Jay Toons. Used with permission
Interestingly, one of the first reactions to the list came from a politician, Faisal Sabzwari:
@faisalsubzwari: :D :D :D just read PTA's letter 2 Telecoms and list of Urdu and English words ordered 2 b filtered, OMG khazana e mughalizzat :D #Pakistan
@faisalsubzwari:  Whoever wants 2 enjoy, send me email id
From what at first seemed to be one of the most comprehensive compilation of cuss words the list soon became subject to curiosity and a laughing stock with addition of words like “athletes foot”, “tongue”, “mango”, “taxi”  “murder”, “rape” and even “Jesus Christ”.
Here are some of the reactions from across the Twittersphere:
@nikelb: I feel my parents really did raised me well after reading the #PTABan list. I don't know 90% of these words and I thought I live to cuss.
@jadoon88: So you can't SMS people to work harder in Pakistan anymore. #PTABan
@samadk: Now instead of typing the whole gaali you just need to send the number. Thank you PTA for making is even lazier. #PTAbannedlist#YouAre341E
@karachikhatmal: The #PTABannedList is what Charles Dickens would have wrote if he lived in Federal-B-Area right now.
@karachikhatmal: It occurred to me that the #PTABannedListwas compiled using existing SMSes – making it an invaluable historical documentation of our times.
@Jemima_Khan: I'm going to make sure I include “monkey crotch” in every text to Pakistani friends from this day forth…
@talhawynne: BREAKING: The #PTABannedList is actually a list of names the chairman of PTA was known by in his school days and his neighborhood.
@hafsahsyed: Dear PTA, your #PTABannedList of words is wonderful. It has increased our abuse vocabulary exponentially. Thank you for educating us!
@shahidsaeed: The #PTABannedList is also an excellent opportunity for our street language and slang to evolve and grow by coming up with newer abuses
@muqadir: Restricting the youth from voicing their opinions by txt msgs is a new low that PTA has stooped to using #PTABannedList!
@baylinveil: The #PTAbannedlist was hilarious when it came out. It's not funny anymore when it's being used by non-Pakistanis to make fun of Pakistanis.
@nighatdad: It seems that each & every SMS will B filtered by mobile companies & will B delivered 2 other party only if it passes the filter list. #PTA
Two Twitter accounts @PTAbannedlist and @notextpaki were also set up.
There’s also been much debate about the ways in such extensive filtering could be implemented. With the PTA’s history of moral policing (an earlier crack down on porn), one can be sure that the ban will be implemented even if not in its entirety. A recent announcement confirms the same.
The PTA has now taken back its announcement on the ban, stating that it was only a ‘preliminary’ list and that they have decided to shelve it after facing strong opposition from civil society. However, as the website Outsports points out, it is interesting to note that the list was copied off a list of words that are not allowed to printed on NFL [American ‘National Football League’] jerseys. This explains the presence of words like “Jesus Christ”, “Athletes Foot” and “Neon Deon”.
So even though the PTA has decided to shelve the ban for now, there's no telling if they will come up with an edited and more relevant version of the list determined to morally police text messaging in Pakistan.

author: Sana Saleem


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Paraguay: Insecurity and Corruption · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Juan Edgardo Lezcano Benitez [es] blogs about insecurity and corruption in Paraguay. He says that the increasingly serious situation “makes it lawful to take any sort of actions to ‘defend what's ours’ because the institutions in charge are not properly fulfilling their role”


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Peruvian Amazon: The Challenges of a Wonder of Nature · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.
On November 11, 2011, it was announced that the Amazon rainforest had been declared provisionally as one of the world's seven new wonders of nature by the New 7 Wonders foundation. Citizens [es] of the Peruvian region of Loreto, especially those from Iquitos, celebrated [es] the announcement. Regional President Yvan Vásquez even jumped into [es] the waters of the Nanay river to celebrate. However, the confirmation or certification will not take place until 2012 [es].
Many say this nomination will benefit the region of Loreto and the city of Iquitos by incrementing tourism [es], resulting in a positive social and economic impact, but is the region prepared for this? Regional and local authorities say [es] they are working towards that.
Iquitos particularly is advertised as a travel destination, but the city is not actually working to become one. Its attractive and scenic urban spots look unkempt to foreigners, have a higher crime rate that the rest of the city, and lack the elements to persuade visitors to stay there. Many are also worried about its positioning as a sex destination.
Additionally, the city of Iquitos is facing traffic chaos and broken roads due to unfinished sewage works. There are also frequent reports [es] about assaults on vessels in the Amazon river, not to mention assaults [es] on tourists in general. Also, the Amazon as an ecosystem faces constant threats, like oil spills [es], deforestation [es], river contamination [es], and above all, the authorities’ indifference [es] to these issues.
Jorge Agurto, in Servindi, reflects [es] on this:
La red se inunda de comentarios elogiosos al Perú e insufla alientos a favor del turismo a fin de aprovechar la designación. Pocos se refieren a los pueblos indígenas que la protegen, menos a los graves problemas que atraviesan los bosques amazónicos por falta de un plan de desarrollo amazónico solvente, integral y responsable.
Quienes hoy celebran la distinción amazónica ¿acaso se indignaron cuando el 28 de abril de 2010 un decreto supremo del gobierno de Alan García -aún no derogado- declaró de “interés nacional y social” (1) la construcción de 20 centrales hidroeléctricas en la cuenca del río Marañón, en la amazonía norte del Perú, en los próximos 40 años?.
No es mi intención ser aguafiesta de la celebración por la amazonía pero considero que su valoración será más auténtica, completa y real si consideramos también la necesidad de enfrentar los riesgos reales y actuales que la degradan y amenazan. Y esto requiere construir un Plan de Desarrollo de la Amazonía Peruana con la participación de los pueblos indígenas, dueños ancestrales de los bosques amazónicos.
The Internet is flooding with positive comments towards Peru and support of tourism to take advantage of the nomination. Few mention the indigenous peoples that protect the rainforest, nor the problems that the Amazon rainforest is facing due to the lack of a solvent, comprehensive and responsible development plan.
Were those who are now celebrating outraged when on April 28, 2010, a supreme decree from the government of Alan García –which still hasn't been repealed– declared the construction of 20 hydroelectric plants in the next 40 years in the basin of the Marañón river, in the Peru's northern Amazon, a matter of “national and social interest”?
It's not my intention to spoil the celebration, but I think that this appreciation of the Amazon would be more authentic, complete and real if we also considered the need to face real and current dangers that degrade and threaten it. This requires coming up with a Development Plan for the Peruvian Amazon with the participation of the indigenous peoples, the ancestral owners of the Amazon rainforests.
A post on Faunatura in November 2008, identified [es] the Amazon's main problems:
- La falta de recursos de los gobiernos de los países que comparten la selva.
– Los saqueadores que son los que se encargan de la deforestación y extracción de recursos vegetales y especies animales, contaminación del agua – y medio ambiente porque además provocan incendios.
– Las Multinacionales que por explorar riquezas minerales (Petróleo, metales, minerales, gas natural…), desequilibran la ecología.
– La invasión masiva de inmigrantes que llegan diariamente a colaborar con el ya existente saqueo .
– La ausencia de leyes protectoras de la selva, y si existen esas leyes, no se cumplen.
In San Martín, another Amazon region, citizens are also concerned [es] about what their local government is doing to protect the rainforest, as Diario Voces explains:
Si es que fijamos nuestra atención en el Gobierno Regional de San Martín encontramos contradicciones increíbles. Mientras que algunas instituciones se encargan de cuidar las áreas naturales protegidas, también existen otras que invierten grandes sumas de dinero en la construcción de carreteras y puentes que ayudan a que la migración de agricultores avance y con ella el tráfico de tierras y la agresión contra el bosque.
On the Internet one finds several videos on tourism in the Amazon, like one [es] by PromPerú [es] about Loreto. Another promotional video [es], also by PromPerú, showcases Peru's Selva Central (Central Rainforest), a particularly beautiful area. Also about Iquitos, a television reportage [es] shows common places and stereotypes on the city's nightlife.
This video with images of the Peruvian Amazon region Madre de Dios, produced by Generación Verde MDD [es], illustrates the dangers that are threatening the rainforest in this area:
Finally, this video by Alerta Perú [es] denounces contamination in Andoas, in the northern rainforest of Loreto:
This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.
Post originally published on November 17, 2011, in Juan Arellano's personal blog [es].

author: Juan Arellano


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Russia: Drawing World Leaders’ Attention to St. Petersburg Anti-LGBT Bill · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

AllOut.org: “Political leaders in St. Petersburg are about to vote on law that will make it illegal for any person to write a book, publish an article or speak in public about being gay, lesbian or transgender. […] Join this call to leaders around the world to reach out to their counterparts in the Russian government – and ask them to reject this discriminatory and anti-democratic law.” So far, more than 158,000 people have supported this campaign; the goal is 175,000.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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South East Asian Social Network · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

South East Asian Social Network or SEASONed Bloggers is a newly created Facebook group whose goal is to connect bloggers in Southeast Asia and encourage them to “share their blogs, and share their thoughts about blogging in their countries.”


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South Korea: Video of Protests against Free Trade Deal with US · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korea's ruling party rammed a contested free trade deal with the United States through parliament, evoking once again mass protests against the agreement. Citizen journalist Aya posted videos of protesters being hit by water cannon.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Anya’s Designs for TRIBE?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Rumour has it, according to Trinidad Carnival Diary, that Project Runway winner Anya Ayoung-Chee will be designing a section for the band TRIBE's 2012 presentation: “The most important question may be exactly WHO will be in the section and how does one get in! Make it work.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Water Not the Only Problem · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jumbie's Watch comments on the recent flooding in Trinidad: “This is a country with 3 desalination plants…flashy skyscrapers, newly built motorways – and they can't solve a ‘water problem’.”


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Video: Doctor Who Fans Walk 500 Miles · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

More than 200 fans of the long-running British science fiction show Doctor Who from 25 different countries sent in video clips and Tumblr user Kyle from the US put together a tribute to the show. It was inspired by this video of the Doctor Who cast dancing to 500 Miles by The Pretenders.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Video: Stop Motion using Google Street View · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Theory's short film Address Is Approximate features a desk toy who escapes the confines of the urban office in the only way he can, using a toy car and Google's Street View application to go on a road trip to the Pacific Coast.


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Barbados: CL Financial Back in 2007 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press republishes an article and photos from the Monaco Revue that highlight the presence of Lawrence Duprey and other CL Financial executives at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix: “What was once an article about the elites having a good time in Monaco is now certain to be of interest to the Colman Commission inquiries into the CL Financial Fraud.”


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Cambodia: Reading Campaign · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Students of Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia have launched a campaign to promote reading in Cambodian schools. The country's literacy rate is one of the lowest in the region


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Caribbean: Giving Thanks · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Regional bloggers are wishing all Americans a happy Thanksgiving Day.


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Chile: Report Examines Media Coverage of Indigenous Peoples and their Struggle · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Instituto de la Communicación e Imagen (ICEI) has released a report analyzing how Chilean media covers indigenous peoples and the “indigenous conflict.” Ryan Seelau in Indigenous News explains “the data revealed, among other things, that Indigenous issues tend to be underreported and that Indigenous voices are underrepresented in the media.” The report is available online as a PDF file. [es]


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China: Inflation Comic · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A comic picture by Sick Chili using the concept of Tank man to mock the inflation in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Costa Rica: Environmental Activists Denounce Repression · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Diego Molina in Dame un campo [es] summarizes the experiences shared by environmental activists and lawyers during a conference on “Criminalization of the social-environmental protest” held in the University of Costa Rica. Participants denounced the repression they face as a consequence of their activism.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cuba: Photos of Violent Arrests  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense weighs in on photos showing the violent arrest of “two Cuban female activists, Yris Pérez Aguilera and Donaida Pérez Paseiro, as they tried to leave Yris’ home in Placetas so she could see a specialist for treatment of head injuries she suffered during a beating by a police official in May”; babalu laments that “Incidents like [these] are becoming more common across Cuba.”


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Egypt: Popular Justice Tackles Police Brutality · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Malek Mostafa, Ahmed Abd El-Fatah and Ahmed Harara are three Egyptians shot in the eye while protesting in Tahrir square. Harara lost his first eye while demonstrating in the Day of Rage on January 28, 2011, against former President Mubarak, and later lost his second eye after being shot during the second wave of the revolution against the Supreme Council of Armed Forces.
@linawardani: I went to see Ahmed Harara, I said hi and stretched my arm, he didn't answer, he couldn't see me he lost an eye Jan 28, the second nov 18
Neither those members of the country's security forces who killed or wounded hundreds of Egyptians during the first wave of revolution, nor those who did it again in the second wave have been punished yet. However, in the past two days people have started to share a video showing a police officer shooting [ar] and someone congratulating him for targeting one of the protester's eyes successfully.
Popular justice
Since then netizens have been sharing snapshots of the video showing the officer's face and deciding to dig deeper and reveal his identity.
A snapshot from the video showing the officer's face. Photo shared on Twitpic by @Sabrology
Later on, users on Twitter claimed that they were able to identify him [ar]:
As a way of naming and shaming the criminals, people also distributed leaflets [ar] and drew graffiti [ar] in the nearby streets [ar] about the officer with his name and crime written below it, asking people to find him.
Another blog post published more information [ar] about what is believed to be his address, mobile number [ar] and a reward for whoever can arrest him.
There are different opinions about what should be done with the officer once found. Doaa El-Shamy sees that threatening him is the best non-violent option [ar]:
Abdelrahman Ayyash suggests [ar]:
Ahmed Fikry made fun of the situation [ar]:
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights decided to pursue legal action against the officer, whilst Twitter user @MohHKamel [ar] believes that sharing the officer's information is a crime and should be stopped.
Other Twitter users have said that the address people are sharing [ar] is not in fact correct.
Another example of popular justice occurred when Twitter users such as @WagdyMez [ar] and @waelabbas [ar] reported that a pharmacy had refused to give some people medication when they discovered they were taking them to Tahrir square, the focal point for protests.
However, the exact opposite [ar] was reported [ar] by other users:
The question remains, whether popular justice is the best option when the legal system fails to protect people's rights. The examples in this post are certainly not the first initiatives of their kind; Piggipedia (@Piggipedia) used to profile those of Hosni Mubarak's security officers who were involved in torturing and suppressing dissent, by publishing their photos. Most probably, these will not be the last cases of popular justice in Egypt as well.
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

author: Tarek Amr


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Iran: Rojin Mohammadi, a female blogger arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Rojin Mohammadi,a feamle blogger and a medical student at Manila Medical School of Philippines got arrested [fa] upon her return to Iran and was transferred to Evin prison.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Map of Cambodian Flooding · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has uploaded a map showing the extent of flooding in Cambodia this year. 18 of the country's 24 provinces are affected by the worst flooding in a decade.


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Nigeria: Investigating Perceptions of Blackness, Gender and Place · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokari blogs about the Nigerian artist Toyin Odutola: “The Nigerian-born, American-raised artist employs a painstakingly thorough creative process that uses rudimentary tools – ballpoint pens, ink and paper – to investigate perceptions of ‘blackness’, gender and place.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Patrolling Cambodia’s Forest · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Some 300 activists visited the Prey Lang Forest to to prevent further illegal logging of the area. A slideshow of the journey which took several days on foot is now available online


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Portugal: A Peek into a Day of General Strike · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Throughout the day of general strike in Portugal, November 24, Twitter user @Shyznogud has curated online media content for the page “a peek into the strike” on Scoop.it. Journalist Paulo Querido (@PauloQuerido) noted that “there are more tweets against the #grevegeral (general strike, hashtag in use) than in favour. Makes one think about the society we've become. Apparently we deserve punishment.”


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Qatar: Opinions Divided Over Sale of Pork · Global Voices
Omar Chatriwala

News has been spreading in Qatar  that pork products are now available for purchase in the country, albeit only from the single Qatar Distribution Company store, and only to those with alcohol permits.
It marks an important shift in the conservative Muslim country, which has strict rules on the consumption of alcohol, and previously banned pork entirely. The change in government policy is a polarizing one, and Twitter has seen an outpouring of opinions from residents of Qatar, both citizens and expats.
Some have asked, what's the fuss?
@Marieboo713: I don't get why everyone is making a big fuss for #porkinqatar. If you don't like it, don't eat it…
@ThisisMK1: #PorkInQatar what difference gonna make? If ur religion ban it dnt buy it n dnt eat it! What's the fuss all abt! Isn't alcohol banned 2?
While others argue it's not necessary:
@chearn73: #PorkInQatar is a particularly bad idea if it makes locals resent us! I want to be accepted, not hated.
If not down right offensive:
@tharveyom: #PorkinQatar , its a muslim country so u should respect the morals and values of the people there!
@sewalef: Ppl don't get it. Its not about the pork – its about us feeling more & more like a minority – in our own country. #qatar #porkinqatar
Qatari national Fahad AlAssiry, meanwhile, argues there's no point comparing controls on pork and alcohol:
@FahadAlAssiry: The argument about alcohol not being denounced is invalid, breaking a principle once does not justify another instance. #porkinQatar
@FahadAlAssiry: The fact that alcohol is undeniably a significant component in most non-muslim lifestyles makes it slightly more justifiable. #porkinQatar
Others have expressed concerns over the impact the change might have:
@KhalidAlRabban: I never thought the day would come that I have to ask the waiter in a restaurant in Qatar what kind of meat is in their burgers #PorkInQatar
And questioned the priorities of national reforms:
@R_AlDosari: selling #porkinQatar has nothing to do with being civilized whatsoever!I think we need to redefine terms and concepts here in Qatar!
@R_AlDosari: you are okay with #porkinQatar BUT not ok with some tribes in Qatar and not Ok with the kids from non-Qatari father & not ok with bdoon!
@adriatomatic: #porkinqatar one fact about it it's only benefitting few, whereas if it was widespread, much more people would benefit wealth redistribution
But it also begs comparison as to how non-Muslim countries react to Muslim practices:
@LULW_: RT @ReyRevolver: RT @tamtoom_: if you don't want #PorkinQatar then don't expect non-muslim countries to offer halal food for your sorry asses. hypocrites.
@orcl8: Do not compare #PorkinQatar with halal food in West because halal food is not offensive or illegal in their religions #Qatar
Despite the controversy, the meat has already proven popular:
@blakehounshell: QDC says it sold 10% of its first shipping container in four hours #porkinqatar
@sandychoi: Dutch bacon: it's what's for dinner in #Doha #bacongate #freedompork http://pic.twitter.com/jVKEcDMW
And plenty of folks have felt free to joke about the issue:
@AishaAlJufairi: RT @KKAlThani: #PorkInQatar? As long as it's Halal, I don't mind.
@ammr: طلعت تأشيرتك خنزيري الحبيب #PorkInQatar #BoycottQAirways http://twitpic.com/7i1nyi #qatar #doha
Translation:
@danalthani: @shamozal “Dear pig! Your Doha visa has arrived! now you can be friends with their chickens and fish”#porkInQatar #BoycottQAirways
Some are trying to predict what will be next for Qatar:
@khalifa_MK: Cheerleaders next :D #porkinQatar
No matter how outlandish…
@Bo5alood_12: First they made alcohol legal ,then they say now you can buy #PorkinQatar ,next they will take prostitution as a real job!!!!
Others, meanwhile, are seeking to take action:
@Reem_abdulKarim: #PorkInQatar this is your chance to be real Angry Birds and start attacking those ugly pigs who are occupying your markets. ;p
@Jaber_AlMulla: http://twb.ly/uimRXk Please put the logo for “stop pork in Qatar” and share i
t #PorkInQatar
Most notable, perhaps, is the #BoycottQAirways hashtag, which has seen hundreds of angry tweets, predominantly in Arabic.
Qatar Distribution Company (QDC), which is the exclusive retailer of pork and alcohol products for home consumption in the country, is a service of the Qatar Airways Group. And that, obviously, has led to calls for a boycott against the country's only airline.
So what do you think of all of this? Should Muslim beliefs be respected by all in a conservative country, or does it come down to the right to make personal choices?

author: Omar Chatriwala


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Spain: Controversies in the General Elections · Global Voices
Chris Moya

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
The PP (Popular Party) of Spain won the recent elections with an ample majority. After 100% of the ballots were counted, the neoliberal party claimed the victory. The attendees of the celebration at Génova Street in Madrid (where the PP's general headquarter is located) gave a taste of what's to be expected from now on in Spain: social cuts and employment cuts, in order to make their constituents and the markets happy.
Let's not forget that the number of abstentions and blank votes reached 10,000,000 to thus become the second political force in the country, even though this is not reflected in the results or the mainstream media.
@VicenteVallesTV: Gritos de “quita el aborto” mientras Rajoy habla en el balcón de Génova.
@VicenteVallesTV: Screams saying “down with abortion” while Rajoy gives a speech at the Génova balcony.*
During the day, there were also various controversies. Many voting booths received members of the mareaverde [es] (Green Wave – public education defenders against cuts of teachers and education); when they approached to vote with a green t-shirt they were not allowed to exercise their right [es], because they were violating the act sent by the Electoral Board that warns officials from carrying slogans to voting centers, although it doesn't mention anything about the voters themselves.
T-shirts forbidden at various voting tables.
@democraciareal: #votodenuncia La Junta Electoral da orden de prohibir votar a quien lleve #camisetaverde #20n #mareaverde #votar #mesas20n
@democraciareal: #votodenuncia [complaint vote] The Electoral Board forbids voting to those who wear #camisetaverde [green t-shirt]#2on #mareaverde #votar #mesa2on
“If a voter goes to his/her voting table and is not allowed to vote because he/she is wearing a green wave t-shirt, the person has two options: Take off the t-shirt or present a complaint and leave without voting”, commented a voting table spokesperson.
Also, there was another incident reported where voters of a pro-animal rights political party (PACMA) didn't have ballots [es] to vote. Therefore, a representative of the Interior Ministry had to personally check the irregularities at the voting center, where the president firmly denied signing the complaint saying: “I don't sign for any anti-bullfighting.”
At least twice journalists were expelled from the voting booths [es] because the presidents did not want to be photographed, even though the photographers explained they were only taking pictures of the congressmen who went to vote.
In recent weeks there was an endless number of counter-campaign strategies, like the calling of the hacktivist group Anonymous using the hashtag #Op20N to “hack the elections” telling people to vote against the bipartisanship between PP and PSOE (Popular Party and Spanish Socialist Labor Party) [es] or vote blank. There was also Doriyakitu [es], a campaign that urged voters to present complaints against the system based on the Article 19 of the Electoral Law arguing an infringement of political pluralism, or the unfairness of the electoral law (D'hont Method ), among other issues.
You can check the results of the 2011 general elections on the official web page [es]

author: Chris Moya


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St. Lucia, Guyana: The Right to Vote · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Amala's View has been “watch[ing] from afar, the campaigning that went on for months [and] now comes to a heated close in two Caribbean nations”, saying: “As the voting day draws nigh, know with certainty that you are involved, know that your vote makes a difference and know beyond anything that it is a right you must exercise.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Thailand: Survival and Creativity During Floods · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The situation in Thailand is improving as floodwaters are receding but the death toll has now reached more than 600, according to Saksith Saiyasombut:
Now that the worst seems to be over and the tide are slowly, but steady receding in many parts of the country, a sense of normalcy returns to Bangkok. However, the suffering for many in the affected areas continue, there’s still conflict along the barriers and the death toll is now over 600.
Ladprao64 also observes that life is getting back to normal in many places:
Although many people are still struggling with flooded homes and workplaces on the vicinity of Bangkok, further north and some areas of the city itself, our little patch is getting back to normal. We went to Central Ladprao on Saturday – it had opened the day before – and had no real difficulty getting there. There was some water near the SCB Plaza and cars were using the two outside lanes but the inside ones would have been passable if necessary.
Apart from that, there was plenty of mud to show where the water had reached and the place is going to look rather shabby for a while.
The flood disaster in Thailand is the worst in the past five decades in terms of human casualties and damages in properties and infrastructures. But the disaster which flooded majority of the provinces for several weeks, including parts of Bangkok, also showed the inventive ways of people as they coped with the floods.
Thai Flood Hacks is a Tumblr account which gathers the interesting flood devices and approaches which were created by ordinary residents to survive the floods. For example, below is an improvised boat made of plastic tubs:
Worried about parking in flooded buildings? Below is some unique motorbike parking:
And car bags protect these vehicles:
Below is a water bottle swimming vest for cats:
This amphibious pickup truck seems ready for the flooded roads:
Universities also helped in manufacturing devices that could help save lives during the flooding. A popular example is the FloodDuck which gives a warning of electric current in the floodwater:
Clarice Africa identifies several crowdsourcing applications which provide useful information to residents. An example is the website Is my house flooded?, “where Bangkok residents who evacuated their respective homes can simply enter their postal address and find out the flood situation near their homes.”
Here’s a story of dog rescuers and volunteers as they search and help stranded dogs in the city:
We found several dogs in deserted houses & garages that were perched on floating cars. It was evident that they had not eaten in days. These dogs were terrified & our rescuers struggled to catch them with their nets & bare hands.
We also found puppies stranded on a pile of floating rubbish who were delighted to see us & promptly jumped in our boat where they enjoyed some food & affection. Their mother was in deep water nearby & although terrified, we finally managed to rescue her also.

author: Mong Palatino


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Thailand: Twenty-Year Imprisonment for Insulting Queen · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A 61-year-old man in Thailand was given a sentence of 20 years imprisonment after a criminal court has found him guilty of violating the country's Lese Majeste and Computer Crimes law. The man was accused of sending SMS which insulted the Queen


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Trinidad & Tobago: Plot Against the Prime Minister  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

ttgapers.com reports on an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other members of her Cabinet.  Limited Twitter commentary about it is here.


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Tunisia: Elected Constituent Assembly Holds Inaugural Session · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
November 22, 2011, was another turning point for Tunisia, the country which was the spark for the so-called Arab Spring. The constituent assembly, freely elected on October, 23 and responsible for taking charge of the draft of the new constitution, held its first session.
It was a long day not only for the 217 members of the assembly, but also for Tunisians who have been following the first session on television, radio and social media.
The inaugural session of Tunisia's democratically elected constituent assembly. Image by Ibtihel Zaatouri, copyright Demotix (22/11/11).
@sarah81m tweets [fr]:
Je crois j'ai jamais vu autant de monde suivre un debat parlamentaire pendant des heures… ca fait plaisir
During this session, Mustafa Ben Jaafar, president of the Democratic Forum for Work and Liberties, was elected president of the assembly by winning 145 votes.
Protests outside assembly headquarters
The families of Tunisian martyrs demanding justice. Image from Facebook page of Voices of the Arab Spring.
Hundreds of protesters, with different demands, gathered outside the headquarters of the assembly to put pressure on the representatives.
For instance, the families of those protesters who lost their lives during the revolution did not miss this opportunity to call for justice for those who were responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.
Other protesters, who have fears regarding the Islamist party Ennahdha, which won 89 seats, called for the protection of Tunisian women's rights – considered the most advanced in the Arab region.
Drafting a constitution that protects human rights and the rights of ethnic minorities, abolishes the death penalty, and refuses foreign intervention in the affairs of the Tunisian state, were among the demands of the protesters.
Protesters gathered outside the assembly. Image from the Facebook page Voices of the Arab Spring.
Journalist Olfa Riahi was there and shared her experience [fr] on her Facebook profile:
Une journée historique. Deux petites heures devant le parlement au Bardo pour voir comme nous sommes différents, passionnés, tous assoiffés d'une nouvelle Tunisie malgré des perceptions très diverses.(…) Les slogans retentissaient de chaque côté, dans l'adversité souvent mais presque jamais dans la violence
Slim Amamou (@slim404) tweets [fr]:
Beaucoup de monde a la manif. Qui a dit qu'il y aura 100 personnes? #22nov #tnac http://twitpic.com/7hrctr
A message from one protester to the expected Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali: ''Mr. Hamadi Jebali, I do not want to have to tell you 'Get Out'". Image posted on Facebook profile of Soukaina W Ajbetni Rouhi.
Though the protesters had different slogans and diverse demands, they all agreed that they will be closely watching the assembly and the new government, and will not accept any steps that might take them backwards.
Twitter reactions
”A historic day”, this is how November 22 was described – just like October 23 (Election Day) and January 14 (the day former President Zeine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia). Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
@neotunisien: Encore un jour historique pour la Tunisie #tnac Inchallah zina
@kepler1208: la démocratie reste un processus long et douloureux à établir…mais la #tunisie réussira INCHALAH à relever ce défi par excellence #TnAC
@inesTN: Pas eu le temps de l'écrire, mais je le fais maintenant FIERE D ETRE TUNISIENNE :)) #tnAC #Tunisie #tnelec
Live session
The inaugural session was televised, aired on radio, and tweeted live. This is a first for a country where parliamentary sessions and decision making processes used to take place behind closed doors.
Mabrouka Mbarek (@mabmbarek), a representative at the assembly for the Congress for the Republic (the party that came second in the election), was tweeting the session live via the hashtag #tnAC. She even tweeted her vote concerning the assembly presidency, saying [fr]:
Transparence et opengov : pour une vraie rupture avec l'ancien regime. Un vote ouvert car nous representons le peuple
In other Arab countries
As Tunisia peacefully takes another step forward in its democratic journey, bloodshed continues in other Arab countries, where protesters are being murdered for their democratic aspirations. Here are some of the reactions from Twitter:
@mabmbarek: Alors que l’ #TnAC se reunie pour la 1 ere fois auj, j'ai une pensee speciale pour #Egypte #Yemen et #Syria
@oussemos: نقول الحمد لله #tnAC و بعد نشوف #Tahrir كي نشوف
@H_a_z_e_m:  يجب ان لا ننسى اخواننا المصريين في نظالهم ضد قوات الامن و الجيش في وقت تجرى فيه اول جلسة للمجلس التأسيسي في بلادنا
The second session of the assembly took place on November 23. The assembly will also vote to choose a president and a prime minister. However, it is obvious already that Hamdi Jebali from  Ennahdha will become prime minister and Moncef Marzouki from the Congress for the Republic, president. This is due to the three-party coalition formed by Ennahdha, the Congress for the Republic, and the Democratic Forum for  Work and Liberties (20 seats).
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Zambia: Should “Tujilijili” be Banned? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zambian Economist asks his readers, “Should Tujilijili be banned?”: “Tujilijili is a strong alcohol sold in a sachet for about K1, 000 [Zambian Kwacha] per sachet. The alcoholic content is over 40 per cent, equivalent to whiskey and other known spirit brands like vodka and brandy.”


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Bahamas: Male Violence Against Women  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Womanish Words would like the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to be called what it really is – the International Day for the Elimination of Male Violence Against Women, and posts a rant poem in an “honest attempt to contribute to the naming and defining of male violence against women, of defining it so that we can recognize it, and stop it.”


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Cuba: News, 24/7 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuba will apparently soon have a 24-hour news channel; Regina Coyula says: “Despite so much supposed information, we are the most disinformed people in the world.”


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Ecuador: Preserving and Protecting Natural Medicines · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Ecuador's indigenous communities hold traditional knowledge of natural medicines and therapeutic use of plants. This documentary by iosphera shows the importance of preserving this knowledge from biopiracy for the future of these communities. (via cinealoido)


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Egypt: Summing up the Second Wave of Protests So Far · Global Voices
Miran Hosny

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Thursday 24 November, 2011, and Egypt’s latest stage of unrest has now merged into Day six: it’s 4.33 am in capital Cairo. Supposedly Tahrir Square, Egypt, is under a truce for the night. But every ceasefire called in Tahrir over the past five days has been followed by a “Ha! Gotcha!” crackdown from police and Central Security Forces (CSF).
@mfatta7: The police violated the ceasefire in Mohamed Mahmoud. The youth will not back down now until squash the interior ministry.
The sullied white flag falls and a new volley of gas is blasted at the crowds of protesters occupying the various streets leading into the square – Mohamed Mahmoud Street and Tahrir Square itself.
This video, uploaded to YouTube by user TWorkx on 23 November, 2011, shows a ceasefire attempt between the Ministry of Interior and protestors:
In Alexandria, the unrest has been limited to marches between Al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque and the suburb of Smouha, where the Security Directorate (Modereyet elAmn) is located. But despite the reportedly localised nature of the violence, at least one innocent passerby has been shot dead in the crossfire.
@RawyaRageh: Family telling us Sherif wasn't part of protest, & was just walking thru w his family when bullet hit his neck #Alexandria #Egypt #Smouha
At this point in time, the death toll in Egypt is allegedly just shy of 40 according to the Health Ministry as reported here, although this doesn’t seem to take into account the two deaths that occurred in Ismailia late on Wednesday night. Judging by Twitter reports from journalists on the ground in Alexandria and other cities, it is safe to assume that this death count is inaccurate. It’s certainly a number on the rise.
(List of Cairo’s fallen alone, as of Wednesday morning here. Numbers have most likely changed by now).
Ismailia’s non-violent protests reportedly came to a head close to midnight on Wednesday 23 November, according to this emotional call [ar] to Al Jazeera reporting at least one death from the field hospital.
Protestors on the scene also confirmed the death:
@MostafaAmin84: A 15 years old boy died in #Ismailia after security forces and army attacks on Al Mamar square
However, one man from Ismailia filmed himself driving throughout the city to prove that reports of clashes are merely hyped up rumours. All seems calm according to his footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hRfHkOf-ec
Video uploaded to YouTube by user DouWorld on 23 November.
Meanwhile, news of clashes in Tahrir throughout the night kept flowing, as CSF and police reportedly continued their attack-and-retreat dance with Egyptian protestors, blasting them with tear gas and other chemical gases that are as yet unidentifiable. The one thing that’s clear, is the unanimous reportage of the gases’ disturbing effects on the protestors.
But it’s not all bloodshed and mindless violence. The youth are responding to continuous state television media propaganda claims that imply they are aimless wastrels keen on aiding “foreign hands” in destroying the country, by putting together a list of their demands.
Actor Khaled Abol Naga, acknowledged to have been active in his opposition to the former regime during the revolution earlier this year, collected these points on his blog under a post titled, ‘From now on, our demands must be commands‘ [ar].
Although today makes it a total of five days of consecutive, sustained violence in Egypt, people are going about their daily lives as normal outside of Tahrir and the other protest hotspots of Egypt.
In fact, there are a great number of people furious at the protestors for disrupting the peace so close to the parliamentary elections set for 28 November.
The financial argument is another one that comes up consistently. People are fed up with poverty and the effect that protests are having on the stock market as well as their ability to work or find work.
@Sandra_Rizk: @mosaaberizing I have work to do I can't keep up with destroying Egypt and leave my job and work.. Excuse me for that.
Moreover, the same pertinent question arises – if the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) does in fact step down, who will lead the country?
@Sandra_Rizk: @mosaaberizing don't you want the army to leave? Why would they show up and help you! I don't get what you are doing to our country!
And finally, the one question that has caused people following the news out of Egypt much bewilderment: why now? Why did the people not wait for the elections, taking place in less than a week?
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Thumbnail and featured image shows mass rally in Tahrir square, Cairo, Egypt, by Nameer Galal, copyright Demotix (25/11/11).

author: Miran Hosny


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Greece: 2 Wheels, 610 Kilometres · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

Spyros Karatzoulis from Florina, Northern Greece, intends to start a bike marathon from Florina to Athens, in order to reach the Ministry of Education; his goal is to protest the lack of special school infrastructure in Florina for 33 disabled children (aged 14-28 years). On his blog [gr], he describes the route he plans to follow, as well as the reasons that led him to this initiative.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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Kenya: Mapping Mobile Money · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mapping mobile money in Kenya: “CrowdPesa is a Web and Mobile application with a mapping system that allows businesses to locate themselves in a map and facilitate users to find the location of the nearest financial service on their mobile phone.”


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Kenya: Meet Kenyan Innovator Daniel  Njuguna · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

John Karanja blogs about Kenyan innovator Daniel Njuguna who has managed to integrate his mobile phone  with home made appliances and gadgets that perform a number of domestic functions: “This innovation is a precursor to what has been described as the internet of things where appliances and gadgets will soon be interconnected through the Internet.”


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Latin American Students March for Education · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Inspired by the student movements in Colombia and Chile, students across the continent marched on November 24, 2011 to demand free, high-quality education. El Ciudadano [es] links to the Facebook events organized in each country; Kena Lorenzini posts pictures of the Chilean protests in her blog, and Mike shares pictures of the demonstrations held in Bogotá, Colombia.