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An effect of rising deforestation in Brazil, Amazon fires turn into a global crisis · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

Illustration by @byleylaali/Used with permission
In December 2017, while receiving an honor medal from the Brazilian government, Cacique Raoni, an indigenous Kayapo chief, said: “We must be united, because they want to reduce our lands”. Raoni Metuktire became an internationally recognizable face thirty years ago, when he toured with British musician Sting through 17 countries to denounce deforestation in the world's largest rainforest. Raoni was born in Mato Grosso, a state in Brazil's central west region where large swathes of the Amazon have been burning for the past week.
The Chapada dos Guimarães National Park is one of those areas; it burned for 10 days before the fire could be controlled on August 19. According to newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, in 2019 alone 12 percent of the park's area was consumed by wildfire. Brazil has had a record-breaking year in number of wild fires, and the state of Mato Grosso is the Brazilian state that recorded the highest amount of blazes.
Mato Grosso, a major farming state in Brazil, shares a border with Bolivia, where wild fires affected an area equivalent to approximately 745,000 football fields. After overseeing the region from a helicopter, Brazil’s environment minister, Ricardo Salles denied he had performed budgetary cuts in inspection operations, and blamed the dry weather and criminals for the situation (without presenting evidence).
The events described above capture the current scenario in Brazil, which has recently drawn the attention of the whole world. For the past two days, hashtags such as #PrayForTheAmazon and #ActfortheAmazon have been trending on Twitter. It is a scenario with activists who have long denounced deforestation and crimes against the Brazilian environment, usually committed for the sake of expanding cattle ranches and farms. The effects of the dry season, the lack of state action, and a government who refuses to take responsibility have all contributed to the plight of the Amazon region.
Smoke from wildfires in the #AmazonRainforest spreads across several Brazilian states in this natural-color image taken by a @NASAEarth instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite. Although it is fire season in Brazil, the number of fires may be record-setting: https://t.co/NVQrffzntr pic.twitter.com/4JTcBz9C8f
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2019
According to many experts interviewed by several Brazilian news outlets this week, the fires have more than just one cause. “Deforestation, seasonal burnings, lack of funding and inspection” are among those listed in a story gathered by news site UOL.
President Jair Bolsonaro has in more than one occasion blamed NGOs for the fire, without presenting evidence — he says he has “a hunch” that those groups are starting fires with the objective to harm his government and his image abroad. Bolsonaro says he has cut 40 percent of the budget destined to NGOs in Brazil.
Então, pode estar havendo, sim, pode, não estou afirmando, ação criminosa desses ‘ongueiros’ para chamar a atenção contra a minha pessoa, contra o governo do Brasil. Essa é a guerra que nós enfrentamos.
So, it might be happening, yes, I’m not affirming this, criminal action from these NGO people to draw attention against me, against Brazil’s government. This is the war we are facing.
Germany and Norway have both frozen donations to the Amazon Fund, which bankrolls recovery projects and monitors deforestation in the the region. Both countries, which are the fund's biggest donors, have justified their decisions on the grounds of the rapidly increasing deforestation during the Bolsonaro government.
In this current crisis, the Amazon Fund is a major funder of water trucks and firefighter's gear to combat the ongoing fires.
Between January and August 19, 2019, Brazil has seen 72,843 fires, an increase of 83 percent compared to the same period in 2018, according to data by Brazil's National Space Research Institute (Inpe). A report by the Amazon Environment Research Institute (Ipam), quoted by El Pais, says that 60 percent of the blazes started inside private properties, 16 percent in indigenous lands and one percent in protected areas.
The 10 towns within the Amazon region with the highest numbers of fires are also the ones with the highest rates of deforestation, according to both institutes. In addition, 52 percent of the fires identified in Brazil this year happened in the Amazon. Nasa has also declared that the fires “bear the signature of deforestation.”
In the #AmazonRainforest, fire season has arrived.
The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this images of several fires burning in the Brazilian states of Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, and Mato Grosso on August 11, 2019. pic.twitter.com/btulI01v5n
— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) August 21, 2019
When Inpe showed in July that deforestation in the Amazon was growing, the government protested. Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said the data was innacurate and that they would hire another firm to present alternative numbers. The Minister of Institutional Security, General Augusto Heleno, said the numbers were “manipulated”. And President Bolsonaro himself suggested Inpe's director could be working for an NGO. He also said:
Com toda a devastação que vocês nos acusam de estar fazendo e de ter feito no passado, a Amazônia já teria se extinguido.
If all the devastation that you accuse us of doing now and in the past [were true], the Amazon would be extinct already.
Finally, in August, the government fired Inpe’s director Ricardo Galvão for publicizing the data on deforestation.
The Amazon is a frequent topic in Bolsonaro's diatribes. During his presidential campaign, he frequently advocated for the area to be open to mining. He has echoed a view that dates back to the Brazilian military dictatorship period, which says that the Amazon should be “integrated” to the country through development in order to avoid it being “delivered” to foreign nations. Journalist Rubens Valente writes:
Em resumo, ela afirma que ONGs e indígenas pretendem, em conluio com países estrangeiros, dividir a região por meio da independência de algumas de suas áreas. Os ataques externos “ao Brasil”, ou seja, ao governo brasileiro, esconderiam um plano secreto internacional para tomar essas porções de terra exuberantes e ricas.
A partir dos anos 1980, essas ideias passaram a ser difundidas com mais intensidade em círculos militares (…)
Tal ficção encontra solo fértil no governo do presidente Jair Bolsonaro, capitão reformado, e tem pautado a relação do governo brasileiro com a Amazônia e países estrangeiros que incentivam projetos de preservação da região.
To summarise, this theory states that NGOs and indigenous people intend, in collusion with foreign countries, to divide the region through the independence of a few areas. The external attacks “on Brazil”, meaning, to the Brazilian government, would hide a secret international plan to take over those rich and exuberant portions of land.
From the 1980s on, those ideas began to be spread even more intensely in military circles (…)
Such fiction finds a fertile soil in the government of Jair Bolsonaro, a reformed captain, who has set the agenda on the relationship of the Brazilian government with the Amazon and the foreign countries that encourage the region's preservation.
Bolsonaro’s minister Salles defends that the solution for the Amazon's problems is “to monetize” the region by opening areas for commercial development. Under Salles’ tenure, fines for crimes against the flora have dropped 23 percent.
An estimate by professor Fabio Malini published on August 22 pointed that in only 14 hours, more than 2.5 million tweets about the fires were sent: 949,445 in English, 698,943 in Spanish and 593,873 in Portuguese.
10.2 milhões de tuítes sobre a Amazônia brasileira (7 dias). 4.3M apenas ontem.
O caso assemelha-se, em termos de volume de dados, à comoção online em casos de grandes ataques terroristas.
A rede abaixo tem 2.1M de RTs, capturados por 14h, até às 7h de ontem de Brasilia. pic.twitter.com/y7kJkG2vj3
— Fabio Malini (@fabiomalini) August 23, 2019
10.2 million tweets on the Brazilian Amazon in the past 7 days. 4.3 million just yesterday. The data is similar, in terms of volume, to the commotion seen after big terrorist attacks. This network has 2.1 million RTs, captured during 14 hours, until 7 pm yesterday, Brasilia time.
Many celebrities who tried to show support ended up using images that were either old or not from the Amazon. That includes the Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen and France's President Emmanuel Macron, who both posted an image from the 1990s when speaking on the matter.
Macron, who met Cacique Raoni this year, called a G7 meeting to discuss the situation. Bolsonaro reacted by saying that the French president was trying to use a domestic issue in Brazil for his own political gains in France:
- Lamento que o presidente Macron busque instrumentalizar uma questão interna do Brasil e de outros países amazônicos p/ ganhos políticos pessoais. O tom sensacionalista com que se refere à Amazônia (apelando até p/ fotos falsas) não contribui em nada para a solução do problema.
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) August 22, 2019
I’m sorry that president Macron seeks to weaponize an internal issue of Brazil and other Amazon countries for his personal political gains. The sensationalist tone with which he refers to the Amazon (even appealing to false pictures) does not contribute in any way to the solution of the problem.
- O Governo brasileiro segue aberto ao diálogo, com base em dados objetivos e no respeito mútuo. A sugestão do presidente francês, de que assuntos amazônicos sejam discutidos no G7 sem a participação dos países da região, evoca mentalidade colonialista descabida no século XXI.
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) August 22, 2019
The Brazilian government is still open to dialogue, based on objective data and mutual respect. The suggestion of the French president that the Amazon issues should be debated by the G7, without the participation of the countries of the region, evoques a colonialist mentality in the 21st century.
But there are signs that the criticism is producing effects. The Novo Party, of libertarian leanings, has been attempting to distance itself from Salles, its most prominent member. Calls for EU sanctions on certain Brazilian products are gaining strength. With protests around the world against his government, Bolsonaro decided to send the army to fight the fires and broadcasted the announcement on national TV and radio. Several cities registered people banging pots and pans while he was on air and protests took the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and São Paulo.
Indigenous congresswoman Joenia Wapichana and her party colleagues, also formally asked for the impeachment of the environment minister for crimes of responsibility.
August 2019 is continuing an active Amazon fire season, with large and intense fires burning in the region. @NASA satellites tracked actively burning fires across South America and captured images of smoke in the last week. https://t.co/EZKu01MPHg pic.twitter.com/VEoNZi2KJQ
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) August 23, 2019

author: Fernanda Canofre


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Nigeria’s reputation takes a hit as three online fraud cases make international headlines · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Photo by Mike Lawrence/CreditDebitPro. (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Nigeria has been in the global limelight recently, for all the wrong reasons. In the space of a few weeks international media has reported on three high-profile cases of online fraud committed by Nigerians.
The first case involves a celebrated young Nigerian entrepreneur who was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for online phishing of a UK based company. The second involves financial improprieties by employees of Jumia, an Africa-focused e-commerce platform that operates in several African countries. The third involves 80 Nigerians who were arrested by the FBI for online scams and money laundering.
Nigeria, you have a serious problem on your hands. In less than one week:
- Fraudster ‘Forbes CEO’ arrested
– Jumia fraud blamed on Nigerians
– 80 person indictment for fraud in L.A.
— Rebecca Enonchong (@africatechie) August 22, 2019
Obinwanne Okeke, popularly known as Invictus Obi, was arrested on August 6 in Alexandria, Virginia by the FBI, charged with conspiracy to commit fraud through a scam involving his company. Okeke's company, Invictus Group, has interests in construction, agriculture, oil and gas, telecoms and real estate.
Obinwanne Okeke “Invictus Obi”. Screenshot from WithinNigeria
Okeke was once celebrated as one of the Africa's youngest entrepreneurs and appeared on Forbes Africa's 2016 Under 30 List.
Okeke was arrested in connection with the hacking of an email account of belonging to the chief executive of a steel company Unatrac Holding Ltd. that resulted in a US$11 million wire fraud. According to the affidavit cited by Sahara Reporters:
Unatrac’s Chief Financial Officer received a phishing email containing a web link purportedly to the login page of the CFO’s online email account hosted by Microsoft Office365. When the CFO opened the link, it instead led him to a phishing website crafted to imitate the legitimate Office365 login page. Believing the page to be real, he entered his login credentials, which were captured by an unknown intruder who controlled the spoofed web page.
This 13-month investigation, which began in July 2018, eventually led to Okeke's arrest.
This Invictus Obi affidavit shows what I have always been saying that Nigerian 419 fraudsters are basic. Their victims are also basic too. How can a company where CFO can authorize millions of dollars in transfer have no endpoint security and transaction authorization security? pic.twitter.com/ELkvPYQZ5z
— Victor Asemota (@asemota) August 16, 2019
Jumia, Africa's largest e-commerce platform, revealed in its second-quarter earnings report on August 21 that it had “fired employees and suspended others after investigations of improper sales practices” at its Nigeria operation.
Marketwatch reported that Jumia had “found instances where independent sales agents and sellers worked with employees to profit from what sellers pay to use the online platform and commissions that sales agents earn.” According to Bloomberg, the fraud “amounted to as much as 4% of first-quarter sales.”
The report revealed that Jumia had:
…received information alleging that some of our independent sales consultants, members of our JForce programme in Nigeria, may have engaged in improper sales practices. In response, we launched a review of sales practices covering all our countries of operation and data from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019. We have terminated the employees and JForce agents involved, removed the sellers implicated and implemented measures designed to prevent similar instances in the future.
Berlin-based Jumia, which has been dubbed “Africa's Amazon”, was launched in Lagos, Nigeria in 2012 and operates in several African countries. The price of the company's shares, which began to be traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange in April this year, dropped after the release of the second-quarter report.
80 Nigerians arrested in a multimillion dollars fraud ring.
DEFENDANTS IN U.S. AND NIGERIA, INCLUDING 11 IN L.A. COUNTY, CHARGED IN CYBERFRAUD CONSPIRACY TO STEAL MILLIONS pic.twitter.com/CJvZsajWIu
— Nigeriatunes HD (@NigeriatunesHd) August 22, 2019
On August 22, Nigeria made headlines again on several US news outlets reporting on the three-year FBI investigation that, according to CNN, uncovered a “widespread conspiracy that stole millions of dollars from businesses and elderly individuals through a variety of scams then laundered the money.” Most of the 80 people charged with the crime were reportedly Nigerian, and a headline on the story on CBS Los Angeles’ web site referred to the series of scams as a “‘Sophisticated’ Nigerian Online Fraud, Money Laundering Scheme.”
According to CBS, “defendants targeted victims in the U.S. and across the globe in romance scams and with fake emails from known businesses, all in an effort to get money sent under false pretenses.”
The FBI said the schemes resulted in the fraudulent transfer of at least US$6 million.
In case you missed it.
Just few days after the arrest of Invictus Obi, the FBI arraigned 80 Nigerians in connection to what they described as the “largest fraud” in US history!
See #TheList here: pic.twitter.com/i1PvQ7Zvrp
— Wale Adetona (@iSlimfit) August 23, 2019
Advanced online fee scam, also known as “Nigerian prince fraud” or “419 scam” (after Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code which prescribes punishment for “obtaining property by false pretenses”) targets victims with romance or fake business email propositions. Unsuspecting victims send money to the fraudsters, who then vanish without a trace.
The 80 Nigerians involved in the scam have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
These events, naturally, have sparked a lively online conversation among Nigerians. Some have expressed embarrassment:
I’m watching right now on @ABC a press release by @FBILosAngeles on Nigerian internet scam syndicate. A heart shattering embarrassment to this country, those we call yahoo boys have scammed Americans to the tune of $1.1bn between Jan-July this year alone. This is a disaster! pic.twitter.com/RmIxH4coSs
— Ayò Bánkólé (@AyoBankole) August 22, 2019
Others, however, have engaged in ethnic profiling, noting that Obinwanne Okeke and most of the 80 Nigerians arrested in LA are Igbos from south-east Nigeria. #IgboYahooboys has been a trending hashtag on Twitter.
These #IgboYahooBoys keep bringing shame to our country, they keep dragging our country back. Read the list, Out of 77 Nigerians, none of them is from the North, Imagine if they are northerners. https://t.co/E2IlAzWoso
— Sarki. (@Waspapping_) August 23, 2019
77 Nigerians all charged by the FBI for massive fraud and none of them is from the north. The headline would've read “77 northerners, charged by the FBI for massive fraud” if the culprits were northerners. But since it's #IgboYahooBoys they're Nigerians smh https://t.co/zESbAlZ4qr
— Malam Musty ??♂ (@__yellows) August 23, 2019
Twitter user Emecheta's Buchi, however, warned against turning the situation into a tribal slug-fest:
The absolute last thing we need here is to turn this into a tribal thing.
Very quickly people will erect defence, everybody will develop siege mentality and it will degenerate into a slugfest of which tribe is more degenerate than the other.
Resist that temptation.
— Emecheta's Buchi (@buchionyegbule) August 22, 2019

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


text:
Videoblogging shaman walks to Moscow to ‘exorcise’ Putin · Global Voices
Maxim Edwards

Alexander Gabyshev explains the purpose of his journey in Sergey Braga’s YouTube video “Шаман Александр Якут идёт на Москву изгнать Путина,” 16 June 2019.
A shaman is walking from Siberia to Moscow, in an eccentric bid to banish the Russian President Vladimir Putin from power.
Alexander Gabyshev left Yakutsk, capital of the vast Sakha Republic, on 6 March this year. The 51-year old ethnic Yakut shaman calls his quest divinely ordained, and insists that Putin is a manifestation of dark forces which must be banished to save Russia from ruin. God has one condition: Gabyshev has to reach Moscow on foot, which should allow him to muster the strength needed for the final showdown.
Gabyshev expects to reach Moscow in 2021, as the Russian capital is over 4,800 kilometres away from Yakutsk. Although Gabyshev hopes to gather companions over the course of his journey, only his dog and a friend who is chronicling the journey are permanently by his side.
These chronicles, which take the form of short video addresses from roadside campsites and short exchanges with passing drivers and long-distance truckers, have won Gabyshev a huge following in Russia. They are the reason bloggers and journalists have started to join the shaman for spells of a few kilometres to hear his forceful opinions on the state of the country. Hundreds of other viewers have turned out along the way to offer Gabyshev moral and material support. He has also become more amenable to those offers, occasionally staying in locals’ homes along the way.
Gabyshev’s odyssey comes at a tense moment for Russia. In Moscow, thousands continue to protest against the electoral commission’s refusal to register independent opposition candidates for upcoming local elections. Popular anger is simmering over many more socio-economic issues, from the rising of the state pension age to wildfires in Siberia and pollution in Russia’s North. It is no surprise that some Russians wish that Gabyshev would hurry up and complete his mission.
У русского народа осталось всего два истинных заступника: выражение “иди на хуй” и якутский шаман Саня.
— Марина Молчанова (@molchalyga) July 13, 2019
The Russian nation only has two loyal allies left: the expression “go to hell” and the Yakut shaman Sanya [diminutive for Alexander].
— Марина Молчанова, Twitter, 13 July 2019
Gabyshev’s adventures and musings can now be followed on several YouTube channels, several pages on VKontakte, a popular Russian social media network, and at least one unofficial Twitter account (@putshamana) dedicated to the shaman.
Gabyshev’s speeches may tend to the theatrical (in one video from 20 August, he stated that Christ was also a “warrior shaman” and that “Putin is a beast, one shouldn’t negotiate with beasts”), but they are not simply the ravings of a fanatic. Rather, they are pieces of political commentary which deeply resonate with Russians concerned for the future of their country. Comments beneath Gabyshev’s videos and discussions about them on social media tend to be warm and supportive.
Gabyshev’s “delusional scenario” has a relatable and “clear political logic,” wrote the musician Artemy Troitsky in a column for independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta on 28 July. Troitsky juxtaposed the shaman’s earthy spirituality with the ostentatious churchgoing of Russia’s politicians, noting that “Putin’s entourage always sticks out on [Orthodox Christian holy site] Mount Athos and heads to Bari in private jets to see the relics of St Nicholas the miracle maker.”
“But miracle makers, blessed and holy fools, have always held authority in Russia, especially in hard times,” Troitsky observed.
“For freedom from illusions,” reads this image depicting Gabyshev’s long journey to Moscow. From the VKontakte group “Путь Шамана”
Accordingly, as the shaman has gained more sympathisers, he has become something of an opposition politician. When Gabyshev reached the city of Chita, he addressed a crowd of over 300 people on the city’s Ploshchad Truda (Labour Square) on 12 July. He told supporters and curious onlookers to “live freely” and “not take orders from Putin,” declaring that “popular assemblies” must be the source of power in Russia.
While he hopes to overthrow the authorities by force of numbers and divine intercession, Gabyshev openly wondered whether times ahead might call for less peaceful methods.
Curiously, the local authorities in Chita gave permission for Gabyshev’s fiery rally. Russian law demands that protesters request permission for rallies in advance; this was done on the shaman’s behalf by local politicians from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) and the popular Chita-based vlogger Alexey Zakruzhny, more widely known as Lyokha Kochegar. Nevertheless, the rally in Chita was fiercely opposed by local clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church, who according to local news site Chita.ru denounced it as a “provocation” and speculated about Gabyshev’s mental health.
The shaman’s rally was risky; others in Russia can, and have, been charged with “extremism” or “disrespect to the authorities” for making such statements, particularly online. While Gabyshev has not yet faced any legal repercussions for his activism, Lyokha Kochegar was less lucky. On 16 July, the vlogger was charged by police with violating the conditions of holding a rally: he allegedly announced the event before it had officially received permission from the authorities.
After the rally, Gabyshev took to the road again. On 18 August, he reached the border between the Zabaykalsky Krai, of which Chita is the regional capital, and the Republic of Buryatia. In coming months, the shaman’s route will take him to bigger cities such as Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. With the promise of even greater crowds, it remains to be seen whether the authorities will prove as indulgent.
Ultimately, Gabyshev may have an unlikely ally in the Russian constitution. Putin is nearing the end of a second consecutive term as president, making him ineligible to run as a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. Speculation is rife as to what tricks the longtime president may have to remain in office, or even whether he will need to in order to retain power. In any case, it is highly likely that Putin will still be present in the Kremlin when Gabyshev reaches its gates.
And what awaits the shaman then?
Badma Biurchiev, a journalist from Kalmykia, a region of southern Russia, sketched out the following scenario:
Россия. 2022 год. Якутский шаман наконец-то добрался до Центральной России. За это время он обрел огромную популярность. Он по-прежнему ночует под открытым небом, но теперь у него есть своя гвардия. Во время остановок его единомышленники выставляют по периметру посты. Получить аудиенцию у шамана можно по предварительной записи. В Москве у него уже есть офис, где ведется запись очереди и готовятся к публикации книги о шамане. Само учение передается строго из уст в уста.
Ноябрь 2022. Путин в очередной раз пропал. И на этот раз пауза сильно затянулась. Появились слухи, что он пытался получить аудиенцию шамана вне очереди и тот ему отказал.
Декабрь 2022. Слухи о контактах Путина с шаманом подтвердились. Двух стариков удалось снять известному блогеру во время встречи в лесу. Судя по нечетким кадрам, Путин поцеловал руку шаману.
31 декабря 2022. По телевидению транслируется запись прощального обращения Путина к россиянам. Заканчивается оно словами “Я устал, я ухожу”.
Russia. 2022. The Yakut shaman has finally made it to central Russia. Over this time he has achieved great popularity. To this day, he sleeps beneath the open skies, but nowadays he has his own guard. During his stops along the way, his supporters set up posts around the perimeter. You can now only get an audience with the shaman by appointment. In Moscow, he already has an office where the queue is recorded and books about the shaman are being prepared for publication. The shaman’s doctrine, however, are strictly transferred by mouth only.
November 2022. Putin has disappeared again. And this time, his absence dragged on. Rumours surfaced that he had attempted to get an audience with the shaman out of turn and that the latter had refused.
December 2022. Rumours about Putin’s contacts with the shaman have been confirmed. A famous blogger was able to photograph the two old men meeting in the forest. Judging by the grainy shots, Putin kissed the shaman’s hand.
31 December 2022. Putin’s farewell speech to the Russian people is broadcast on television. It ends with the words “I’m tired, I’m leaving.”
— Badma Biurchiev, Facebook, 18 August 2019

author: Maxim Edwards


text:
Indonesia sends in troops and cuts internet as West Papua protesters denounce racist treatment of students · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

A protest outside the Papuan governor's office in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province. Photo courtesy of Arnold Belau of Suara Papua. Used with permission.
Protests have broken out in the Indonesian province of West Papua after Indonesian soldiers were alleged to have racially abused Papuan students in Surabaya, the country's second-largest city. The government responded by sending in more troops and imposing internet restrictions.
On 16 August 2019, around 15 soldiers reportedly barged into a student dormitory in Surabaya and accused Papuan students of disrespecting the Indonesian flag. The soldiers’ actions were reportedly triggered by a photo shared on WhatsApp by a youth civil organization, of an Indonesian flag lying in a gutter ahead of the country's independence celebrations on August 17.
The soldiers allegedly hurled racist comments at the students, calling them ‘monkeys’. (Papuans are ethnically Melanesian, while the majority of  Indonesians are Austronesian. Papuans are frequently the targets of racism in Indonesia). Around 42 students were taken to police headquarters the following day for questioning, but were released later in the afternoon.
Reports about the incident triggered a riot in Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province, where protesters burned down the West Papua Legislative Council building. Protests soon spread to other districts across West Papua and Papua, as well as the capital city Jakarta and other major cities in Indonesia. Some protestors have called for a referendum on the independence of West Papua.
A map of Indonesia, with West Papua province highlighted in green. CC BY-SA 3.0
On Twitter, many Indonesian netizens used the hashtag #PapuaBukanMonyet (Papuans are not monkeys) to condemn the soldiers’ racist behaviour:
Ga usah teriak NKRI harga mati, kalau masih saling rasis, dan ga usah teriak damai-damai, teriak lah untuk tegaknya keadilan, karna sejatinya keadilan lah yg membawa kedamaian. #PapuaBukanMonyet #PapuaSaudaraKu #PapuaJugaIndonesia #PapuaDibelahNKRIDipecah
— Dily Salsabila Putri (@DilyPutri) August 21, 2019
Stop screaming that the unity of Indonesia is unarguable when we're still racist. Don't bother calling for peace, demand justice, because peace will come once justice is upheld. #PapuaIsNotMonkey #PapuaMyBrothers #PapuaIsIndonesia
#WestPapuans demand freedom! Thousands of #WestPapuan people marching against #racism today and calling for a #referendum after students in #Surabaya were racially abused as “monkeys”. #FreeWestPapua! #PapuaBukanMonyet #Papua #WestPapua #PapuaMerdeka #ReferendumYes #Jayapura pic.twitter.com/eZdKYu8Taz
— Free West Papua (@FreeWestPapua) August 19, 2019
On Instagram, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged Papuans to forgive and forget the controversial incident, assuring assured West Papuans that the government would uphold the dignity and prosperity of everyone in Papua and West Papua provinces.
But some netizens advised him to act swiftly and punish the soldiers who abused the Papuan students.
Memaafkan mulu bosen pak, tangkap penyulut api disurabaya semuanya mulai dari TNI, Polisi, juga ormas yg terlibat dalam ujaran kebencian. Buktikan bahwa anda adil dalam hal ini.
— ahkohxet (@andreasfranceso) August 19, 2019
[We're] tired of forgiving, arrest those in Surabaya who triggered this, the military officer, police and groups which spread hate. Show us you have a say in this.
A few days later, the president commanded the national police chief to take firm action against the officers in question. The media also reported that national police reinforcements had been sent to West Papua, where protests had escalated because of the incident.
On 19 August, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) announced that the government was conducting a systematic throttling of internet connectivity in West Papua and Papua provinces, in order to curb the spread of misinformation that could further inflame tensions in the region.
On 21 August, Kominfo issued another release announcing that the government has decided to block data service in both provinces until the situation had stabilized.
Journalist Arnold Belau, who was in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, on 19 August, tweeted about the internet outage the next day:
Sejak kemarin sore hingga pagi ini jaringan internt mati toal di Kota Jayapura. Kecuali wifi. @Telkomsel Ada masalah? Ikan ada gigit kabel optik lagi ka? Ato ada gempa besar kemarin? Aneh2 saja….
— Arnold Belau (@ArnoldBelau) August 20, 2019
Since yesterday evening the internet networks in Jayapura city is out, except wifi. What's going on Telkomsel? Another fish chewed on the fiber optic? Or another huge earthquake? Such antics..
Global Voices reached out to Belau on 22 August, and he confirmed the throttling of the internet in Papua:
Sejak Hari Selasa, di Tembagapura sampai Timika juga sama. Tak bisa akses internet. Hanya voice dan text message. Saat ini saya ada di Timika.
Since Tuesday, same thing happened in Tembagapura until Timika. Can't access the internet [properly]. [We're] only [able to send] voice and text messages. I'm currently in Timika.
President Joko Widodo defended the government's decision to block the internet in West Papua and Papua provinces, describe the move as serving ‘a common good’.
Indonesian NGO the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) pointed out, however, that internet throttling during a crisis situation is a direct violation of Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian chapter of the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network has launched a petition calling for an end to the government's censorship of the Internet in West Papua and Papua provinces. The petition states that:
Blocking and restricting access to the internet in Papua and West Papua instead will make it harder for people living outside of the two provinces to verify facts and what has happened, to check on the safety of friends and relatives because people in Papua have no or limited access to send messages

author: Juke Carolina


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Moscow’s revolution will be memed, online and on canvas · Global Voices
Emily Couch

Valentin Serov’s “Girl with Peaches” (1887), now with added Russian riot police. Image by Zimorodok_mult
When the celebrated Russian artist Valentin Serov sat down to paint 12-year-old Vera Mamontova in her father’s leafy Abramtsevo Estate, it is safe to assume that he never imagined that 132 years later, his painting would become an internet protest symbol.
If you follow the RuNet or read The Moscow Times, you will know that Serov’s Girl With Peaches (1887), along with other famous artworks, have become the basis of a series memes distributed by a Telegram Bot mocking the violence unleashed by Russian law enforcement agents during ongoing protests against local authorities in Moscow. Protesters are outraged that the electoral commission has refused to register independent opposition candidates seeking to run in September’s local elections. The standoff continues, and thousands have been detained.
The Telegram Bot (aka @zimorodok_mult) began broadcasting its art-inspired memes on 10 August, starting with the doctored image of Serov’s Girl With Peaches. In the weeks since, this user has posted photoshopped images of dozens of famous artworks, featuring figures begin are detained, beaten, or dragged away by marauding Russian riot police. It’s just one of several creative RuNet responses to protest movements, so begs deeper reflection.
Muscovites protested again today; many were detained. In response, Russian internet users are photoshopping riot police into famous artworks. Here they are, in Ilya Repin’s Ivan The Terrible and His Son… pic.twitter.com/wMO7wMbzzX
— RuNet Echo (@runetecho) August 11, 2019
Earlier this year Svetlana Shomova, a professor at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, published a paper entitled Hieroglyphics of Protest: Internet Memes and Protest Movement In Russia in which she argues that memes are a “mechanism of political participation for the masses.” In this article I consider how Shomova’s analysis applies to the current protests and, secondly, what their composition tells us about their dynamics.
One of the most prominent figures in the protests is Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer and activist with Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which is widely known for its YouTube videos documenting corruption among the Russian elite. Sobol was one of several figures linked to this movement whose candidacies were rejected by the electoral commission on seemingly spurious grounds.
In an interview with the Moscow Times last November, Sobol laid out her vision for Navalny’s YouTube presence. Justifying the channel’s shift towards comedy, she stated: ‘We need to give people variety and entertainment or they will get tired of us […] There is currently no Russian John Stewart or John Oliver.’
Memes, as Shomova writes, are part of the internet’s culture of laughter—they galvanise political engagement through entertainment, as envisaged by Sobol. All too frequently the terms “theatre” and “show business” are used to describe empty political gestures and policies. @Zimorodok_mult's memes demonstrate that ‘politics’ and ‘entertainment’ are far from antithetical.
Russian riot police detain Boyarina Morozova in this doctored image of Vasily Surikov’s famous painting from 1887. Image by @Zimorodok_mult. Fair use.
It’s no coincidence that the memes featured in this story are based on classic Russian works of art, the most popular being the riff on Valentin Serov’s “Girl With Peaches”, which has racked up more than 2,800 likes on Twitter.
Why does this matter?
If you have been following Russian politics since 2011, you will have noticed that the authorities have a penchant for equating political opposition with foreign influence. Think of Vladimir Putin’s claim that protesters on Bolotnaya Square (which were also motivated by electoral fraud) were acting on behalf of foreign powers, or the infamous “Foreign Agents Law” of 2012. The discursive device is clear: We, the authorities, are the guardians of Russia’s sovereignty—challenge us, and you challenge the nation. With Church and State locked in an unholy alliance since Pussy Riot’s punk prayer in 2012, the authorities have posited themselves not only as defenders of Russian sovereignty, but also of the Russian soul.
The Mona Lisa’s cameo in the image below can be seen as a wry nod to these accusations. Many of the artworks featured in the memes are housed in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, an institution founded specifically to showcase works by Russian artists. In @Zimorodok_mult’s memes, the paintings’ subjects are portrayed as victims of police oppression. By establishing a visual equivalence between the protesters and iconic figures of Russian art, the memes implicitly posit the former as the embodiment of the nation rather than its saboteur.
A van used to detain protesters in Moscow, edited by @Zimorodok_mult
Another striking element of the memes is their gender dynamic. It seems blindingly obvious to say that the works by Serov, Ivan Kramskoi, Vasily Tropinin and others all feature a woman or girl as their subject. Meanwhile, their aggressors all appear to be male police officers. Whether intentional or not, the contrast between female victim and male oppressor evokes the prominence in the current protests of women such as top Navalny associate Lyubov Sobol, and the “Tiananmen Teen”, a 17-year old girl who read the Russian constitution out loud to riot police (I've written more about this subject here). Indeed, the subjects’ serene appearance—Servov’s eats peaches, Kramskoy’s looks haughty, and Tropinin’s is engaged in making lace—particularly evokes the latter, tapping into assumptions about the social roles, and relative strength, of men and women.
Much has been written on “slacktivism”, the derogatory term for political and/or cause-based social media activity that performs social engagement without creating tangible change. You could argue that @Zimorodok_mult’s memes embody the term: they ride the wave of a pressing current issue without actively participating in it. But there’s also a good case to argue that these memes actually perform a role integral to political activism. While scrolling my way through @Zimorodok_mult’s Twitter feed, I was reminded of something that Pyotr Verzilov, Pussy Riot’s unofficial spokesperson, had said in the wake of last year’s 2018 World Cup “Pitch Invasion,” when four activists ran onto the pitch mid-match dressed as police.
The participants of Alexei Korzukhin’s “Sunday” (1881) were also detained by riot police added by @Zimorodok_mult.
“I know the Russian psychology,” Verzilov said, “a police uniform is sacred. Nobody will ask for your permit or accreditation.” The memes featured in the post fracture—if only in a small way—the inviolability of police authority. No longer distant and menacing figures, they become figures of fun whose images are controlled by ordinary citizens. Indeed, in a country in which online posts deemed to “disrespect” state symbols or the authorities can carry a jail sentence, the act of meme creation is in itself an instance of political activism.
The current protest wave has seen horrific police brutality—the bite of the state is by no means blunt. But as these memes, and others, spread from feed to feed, from iPhone to iPhone, the aura of authority that may prevent citizens from taking to the streets in the first place is gradually eroded. In short, they herald that awkward moment when the people are no longer afraid.
This post originally appeared on the author’s blog. It has been edited for clarity and house style.

author: Emily Couch


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‘White terror’ at Cathay Pacific: Flight attendant union head fired for supporting Hong Kong protests on social media · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Rebecca Sy. Image from inmediahk.net. Used with permission.
Airline Cathay Dragon, a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, has fired Rebecca Sy, the chair of its flight attendant union, after she confirmed the posting of three posts on her Facebook timeline in support of Hong Kong protesters.
The Cathay Pacific saga started on 9 August 2019 when the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) informed the airline that its staff members who had taken part in “illegal protests” and “violent actions” would be banned from China's airspace beginning 10 August.
On 14 August, the airline fired two pilots and two ground personnel who had taken part in the recent protests. Two days later, Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg announced his resignation from the company.
On 20 August, the company reminded its employees that social media content expressing support for anti-government protests in Hong Kong could violate CAAC’s new policy. The warning not only covers public posts but also private conversations on Facebook, Telegram and other apps since these messages could be exposed through doxxing by pro-government trolls or China’s immigration checkpoints.
On the same day, lawmaker Jeremy Tam from the pro-democracy Civic Party told the press that he had resigned from Cathay Pacific to “protect the company from unreasonable attacks”. Tam had been a pilot for the air carrier for nearly two decades.
Cathay Dragon fired Rebecca Sy, the chair of its Flight Attendant Union (FAU), after she confirmed that three screen captures of Facebook posts about the Hong Kong protests were from her account. Sy was still able to fly to Beijing and back to Hong Kong on 19 and 20 August. However, she was told not to work on a scheduled Hangzhou trip the following day.
FAU was one of the worker unions which participated in the 5 August general strike. Together with six other airline worker unions, the airport strike led to the cancellation of more than 200 flights. As head of the FAU, Sy has been vocal about her support of the protests.
The company said the decision to fire Sy was not related to her union activities but did not explain the reason behind her dismissal. In a statement issued on 23 August, it affirmed the company's compliance with Chinese regulations:
We are a leading international airline with global operations and therefore we are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we operate.
Sy was not the only victim of what has been described as politically-motivated dismissal. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) said that at least 14 airline personnel had been sacked in relation to recent protests and eight of the cases were related with their online speech. The union coalition plans to stage a protest outside Cathay Pacific’s office building on 26 August.
Sy described the crackdown on free speech as ‘white terror':
This is not just about me. This is about the whole industry. This is about Hong Kong. When will this white terror end?
It is unclear how Cathay Pacific obtained the screen captures of Sy's Facebook messages. However, in the past few weeks, Chinese immigration has started inspecting the mobile phones of travelers for images and chats related to Hong Kong protests at border checkpoints. When suspicious content is identified, the travelers would be questioned and interrogated. Although majority of the questioned travelers were not detained or arrested upon checking, it is likely that the Chinese government could use the data for other purposes.
The pressure exerted by Beijing authorities on Cathay Pacific is seen by some analysts as a warning intended for other multinational companies in Hong Kong that they have to be in compliance with China's Hong Kong policy or else they risk being sidelined from the Chinese market.
In addition to Cathay Pacific, a number of international accounting firms have issued a warning to their personnel about social media posts and conversations supporting the protests.
Over the years, China has cultivated close relations with local business leaders by appointing them as representatives of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and giving them extra voting rights in the functional election of the legislative council and the election committee of the city’s Chief Executive.
However, the participation of professional groups and labor unions in the protests has shown how Beijing can also export other coercive measures to force the business sector to support its political goals by disciplining their workforce.
But even if the international firms do not control the political behavior of their employees, Beijing could mobilize party affiliated media outlets and online patriots to put political pressure, or to submit ‘evidence’ to corporations and force them into taking disciplinary action against their ‘errant’ employees.
If such trend continues, there are fears that Hong Kong could face a brain drain by forcing skilled professionals to leave and settle in other places where there is freedom of expression.

author: Oiwan Lam


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A study of Bulgarian far-right proto-militias dismantles the theory of the lone-wolf extremist · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

A widely shared photo of the members of BNO Shipka and their guest German far-right politician Tatjana Festerling showing a “Fortress Europe” banner. Photo from their Facebook page, fair use.
For the past four years, Bulgarian journalist and analyst Ruslan Trad (also a Global Voices contributor) and his colleage Kiril Aramov, a fellow at the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas, Austin, have been studying right-wing extremist groups in Bulgaria under the banner of the Borderline Watch Project.
In May 2019, Trad and Aramazov published a research study titled “Self-Appointed Defenders Of “Fortress Europe”: Analyzing Bulgarian Border Patrols” on the renowned open source investigative journalism site Bellingcat. The pair are also in the process of writing a book.
Global Voices spoke with Ruslan about their work.
Global Voices: Who exactly are the groups you studied?
Ruslan Trad: Our research has been on the proto-militias that patrol the Bulgarian-Turkish border—the so-called Shipka Bulgarian National Movement (BNO). In 2016, I published an article on these militias on Global Voices that formed the basis for the Bellingcat study.
Since 2016, these patrols have turned from “migrant hunters” into proto-militias with links in far-right circles across Europe. Today, the organization conducts training camps, trainings, and attracts young people to their cause. Our investigations of their paramilitary training camps revealed that the Bulgarian groups serve mainly as hosts. Participants in the camps include citizens of Denmark, Romania, the UK and other countries, who receive training from Russian military instructors. So the goals of these groups are also global in scope.
Ruslan Trad. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
GV: How would you characterize the BNO’s ideology?
RT: Our research shows that the members of such groups don’t necessarily believe the narratives promoted by their networks about “migrant invasion”, “islamization” and similar ideas. Besides, at present there are only about 600 refugees in the country; even at the peak of the refugee crisis all the migrants who entered Bulgaria could have been housed in a few apartment blocks.
Political and media rhetoric created an image of fear which was exploited effectively by these movements. A member of one such group laughed in my face when I asked him about what they describe as a “migrant invasion.” He said: “[Europe has] 500 million people and hundreds of years of history. A mere one million refugees can’t change that. All the migrants in the world can’t change that. But some of us really believe there’s a danger—that’s a good stimulus for building partnerships. People who are confused are easily guided.”
Their members believe that the state is not doing its job, that we are facing the Apocalypse, as represented by the refugee crisis. They justify their existence by talking about the “inadequacy” of the government. The BNO organization itself openly calls for a change of political order and does not approve of the Constitution.
BNO is also sympathetic to the Syrian government and has participated in joint demonstrations with members of pro-Assad Syrians in Varna.
GV: What’s do Bulgarians think about the BNO?
RT: Many Bulgarians consider BNO a group of unbalanced people who imagine themselves to be defending Bulgaria against the “invaders” coming across the Turkish border. Although a considerable part of Bulgarian society is looks at events at the border with concern, few would engage in extreme and violent actions personally.
For four years now, however, the BNO has been able to conduct its border patrols and run its traning camps without serious action being taken against it, even though its members have been involved in a clash with Ukrainians in Burgas, and have harassed and threatened journalists and public figures.
GV: What takes place in the training camps?
RT: The camps train participants in military and political skills. In the regions where the BNO operates in Burgas and Strandzha, military instructors, members of far-right groups from European countries and other personalities arrive, who in any other situation would elicit a response from the security forces. This includes a prominent Russian military instructor. In a video published in May, the BNO defends the presence of this instructor, claiming he was “on holiday in Bulgaria.”
Although it is unclear how many far-right extremists have been trained in Bulgaria, the intelligence services are aware that these things are happening. Some members of these groups post pictures of their visit to Bulgaria. One of these pictures shows the AR-15, a weapon produced in Bulgaria by Arsenal. Brenton Tarrant, who killed 50 people in two New Zealand mosques in New Zealand, used an AR-51.
There are intelligence reports stating that Tarrant visited the Balkans region months before the massacre in Christchurch, and had ties with the local nationalist groups and was inspired by the BNO and Serbian nationalist groups.
Trainees in these camps include people with ideological leanings similar to Tarrant, who is said to have inspired the shooter who recently killed 20 people in El Paso, Texas. The perpetrator of the August mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio also seems to have been inspired by such groups. Far from being “lone wolves”, these individuals are often connected to right-wing groups in other countries in a kind of extremist international.
Both the El Paso and Ohio attackers, for instance, were fans of Anders Breivik, the Norwegian far-right terrorist who killed 77 people in 2011. Brevik was linked to the Knights Templar International (KTI), which has been collecting bulletproof vests and other gear to help the Shipka Bulgarian National Movement (BNO Shipka) in the Strandzha Mountain region, on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey. (The Knights Templar, the Catholic military organization, has denied any connection with the KTI, saying that there were other smaller groups with the same name).
The KTI has strong ties in Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. They are highly anti-democratic, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic, and maintain close contacts with Russian groups via far-right forums such as the International Russian Conservative Forum. Hungarian media revealed the organization's intentions to ally itself with radical factions in and in the Republika Srpska and Kosovo they have had clashes with the authorities.
GV: How has your research been received in Bulgaria?
RT: Our research was and still is largely ignored in Bulgaria, but it gained high visibility abroad. But both of my colleague and I have received threats from far-right extremists because of our work.
GV: What conclusions do you draw from all of this?
RT: The conclusions are not pleasant. Far-right extremists are coming to Bulgaria, receiving military training from a man linked to Russian military intelligence right under the nose of the Bulgarian government. These people are stockpiling weapons—for what reason, it's unclear. They conduct military tactics meetings and trainings in secret. Research studies have also shown that far-right groups have a unified ideology and have strong transnational communications networks. This goes against the widely-shared theory of the self-radicalized extremist. The recent attacks by far-right extremists in the US show us the extent of the problem, and how dangerous it is for the authorities to keep ignoring it.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Inspired by the 1989 ‘Baltic Way,’ Hong Kong protesters form human chain to demand freedom and democracy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Human Chain at Tsim Sha Shui. Source: Hong Kong Free Press. Used with permission.
Inspired by the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way, more than 200,000 people formed a human chain on 23 August 2019 across the city to mark the “Hong Kong’s Way” to freedom and democracy.
The Baltic Way was a peaceful political demonstration that took place on 23 August 1989 when two million people formed a human chain across former Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Seven months later, Lithuania became the first Soviet state to declare independence. All three Baltic states were later recognized by most Western countries by the end of 1991.
The Hong Kong Way was conceptualized as a collective action to show the Hong Kong people’s will in the struggle for democracy and freedom.
The anti-extradition protests have been going on for more than two months and the protest agenda has expanded already from the withdrawal of the bill to an independent investigation of the police force and the establishment of a democratic political system.
The principle of “One Country Two Systems” and “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” is protected by the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Basic Law which serves as the city's constitution. However, the universal suffrage of the Legislative Council and Chief Executive has been deferred after Beijing imposed a highly manipulative candidate screening mechanism on the city’s election system in a decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People Congress on 31 August 2014.
Beijing's change of its Hong Kong policy triggered massive pro-democracy protests in 2014, which lasted for three months and came to be known as the “Umbrella Revolution.” But the peaceful protests dit not deter Beijing's direct intervention in Hong Kong. Six pan-democratic lawmakers were disqualified over protests during their oath-taking and a number of district election candidates were disqualified over their public speeches.
Worse still, as reflected in the political crisis of anti-extradition protests, the current Chief Executive Carrie Lam has failed to answer the people's demand even after one million people had taken to the street on 9 June. Backed by Chinese government, she ignored the public demand for the complete withdrawal of the amendment bill and chose to clamp down the peaceful protest on 12 June with the police using more than 150 tear gas canisters, which pushed protesters to take more disruptive actions.
People's protests in the past two months have been labelled as a “Color Revolution” instigated by hostile foreign governments. The Chinese government even denounced disruptive protests as acts of terrorism. Yet, despite threats of military intervention by China, 1.7 million people peacefully took to the streets again during heavy rainfall on 18 August.
Such determination marks the “Hong Kong Way” in the struggle for democracy under a repressive regime. Youth activist Joshua Wong explains the meaning of the Hong Kong human chain on Twitter:
The Baltic Way have shown the power of solidarity & non-violent movement. We hope HK Way could let the world to see our demand in freedom and democracy. HKers are facing what Baltic were facing from USSR 30 yrs ago, we must win in this battle! pic.twitter.com/Z6dtTenOek
— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 (@joshuawongcf) August 23, 2019
Without a centralized organization, the city-wide action was coordinated through various social media platforms. Protesters went to a subway station of their own selection at 7 p.m. and formed a 60-kilometer human chain from 8-9 p.m. Over 210,000 people participated in the action. [Note: original estimation was 135,000 but as parallel chains had appeared in many districts, the figure was later adjusted to 210,000.]
We did it! An estimated 135,000 people in Hong Kong formed 60km of human chains to encircle city in #HongKongWay in support of democracy #baltijasceļš30 pic.twitter.com/uFNsO7fmRk
— Missy Lao (@missy_lao) August 23, 2019
In addition to the human chain along three major subway lines, a large number of hikers decided to form a chain on the ridge of Lion Rock, a mountain located at the center of Kowloon peninsula. The mountain has been viewed as a symbol of core values shared by Hong Kong people since 1970s when the term “Lion Rock Spirit” became popular through a TV series depicting the livelihoods of the grassroots during that period.
Along the ridge of Lion Rock and many parts of HK saw HKers holding hands in line to show the world our uncompromising thirst for freedom, reminding them of the Baltic Way 30 yrs ago.
The light of freedom transcends time, place. Truly magnificent.#StandwithHongKong #BalticWay pic.twitter.com/lBIyAZkxGq
— Just an ordinary Hongkonger (@JustHongkonger) August 24, 2019
All Along the Lion Rock tower…#hongkongway #香港之路
Free usage. Credit required. pic.twitter.com/zaq10aslfz
— Edwin Lee (@falloutmediahk) August 23, 2019
Hong Kong’s peaceful action got support from several groups in the former Baltic States:
Lithuanians made this Baltic Way human chain in parallel with the #HKWay today in supporting #HongKongers. Thank you for joining hands with us, Lithuania! ? @Adomenas#FreedomHK #antiELAB #WeConnect #StandWithHK pic.twitter.com/RY5hxa83sC
— Freedom HK (@FreedomHKG) August 23, 2019


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Interview with Erick Huerta, a researcher helping to bring internet access to indigenous communities in Mexico · Global Voices
Giovanna Salazar

Photograph by Carlos Baca, from the public Facebook page of CITSAC. Used with permission.
At the end of June 2019, the Research Center in Technologies and Community Knowledges (CITSAC) was officially launched in Mexico City (CITSAC for its Spanish acronym).
One of the current projects at CITSAC is the installation of a satellite-based network that will provide community cellphone and Internet service at affordable prices in Metlaltónoc (in the state of Guerrero), one of the poorest municipalities in the country.
CITSAC is also working with the Tosepan Titataniske cooperative (one of the largest indigenous cooperatives nationwide, based in the state of Puebla, Mexico) to design their cellular coverage system.
CITSAC is based on the partnership between two organizations that have promoted communication and telecommunications processes for rural and indigenous communities in Mexico and the region: Networks for Diversity, Equity and Sustainability A.C. (REDES A.C.) and Rhizomatica. Both are main drivers of the first community cellular network and the first indigenous telecommunications network through Telecomunicaciones Indígenas Comunitarias (Indigenous Community Telecommunications).
Lately, different partnerships between companies have been set up to provide internet in the region; even the Mexican government has shown interest in partnering with Facebook to bring connectivity to rural areas.
A 2017 research by Global Voices on Facebook's Free Basics mobile application (which aims to “close the digital divide”) found that the service doesn't sufficiently supply the local needs of the communities they aim to connect, while potentially violating their rights.
On the occasion of the launch of the CITSAC, Global Voices interviewed Erick Huerta, deputy general coordinator of REDES, A.C. and a researcher for this initiative.
Global Voices (GV): How did this initiative arise?
Erick Huerta: Buscábamos darle forma y sistematizar el trabajo que ya veníamos haciendo desde REDES y Rhizomatica, así como poder integrar a esos trabajos una red de universidades y grupos con los que ya hemos colaborado, pero estando en posibilidades de brindarles una estructura, a través de la cual podríamos operar colectivamente de mejor manera.
Básicamente, lo que hacemos en el CITSAC es hacer investigación con y para las comunidades indígenas. Este es el objetivo.
Erick Huerta: We sought to organize and systematize the work we had already been doing at REDES and Rhizomatica, as well as to integrate a network of universities and groups with which we have already collaborated, and also to provide them with a structure through which we could better operate collectively.
Our main objective at CITSAC is research with and for indigenous communities.
GV: What kind of research do you do?
EV: Tenemos dos fines principales: una es trabajar en la atención a los problemas y aspiraciones de las comunidades indígenas en comunicación, la cual tiene que ver mucho con temas de investigación-acción; es decir, se trabaja mucho con las comunidades, que ubican una acción o problemática, y se constituye un grupo de investigación para trabajar en esos temas. De ahí surge, por ejemplo, la Guía para el Diseño de Estrategias de Comunicación para la Defensa del Territorio, la cual presentamos en el evento de lanzamiento del Centro.
La otra parte es la investigación en términos de desarrollo regulatorio, que tiene que ver con la posibilidad de que estas comunidades accedan a servicios de cuarta generación o LTE. Para ello necesitamos que haya espectro. El problema es que la mayoría del espectro LTE se encuentra concesionado y, por tanto, necesitamos desarrollar sistemas de espectro compartido que permitan que el espectro existente —en donde no se está utilizando— se pueda compartir, y que lo puedan utilizar estas comunidades.
Otra forma de investigación que tenemos es de índole técnica (ya sea cualitativa o cuantitativa) de política y derecho comparado, que se requiere para sostener las propuestas de las comunidades de política pública o de regulación, frente a los gobiernos. En ese sentido, documentamos y constituimos los argumentos jurídico-políticos, e integramos aquellos temas tecnológicos que se requieran desarrollar y que se necesitan para las comunidades. De esta manera, hacemos investigación que tenga incidencia en las políticas públicas o en la regulación, o en la tecnología. Esto le sirve a los gobiernos para poder desarrollar este tipo de políticas públicas, y le sirve a las comunidades porque tienen argumentos jurídico, políticos, legales, técnicos y/o económicos para defenderlos.
EV: Our research has two main purposes: one is to work on the issues and aspirations of indigenous communities related to communication; this is an action-research, which means that communities identify an action or problem, and a research group is formed to work on these issues. A result of this kind of research, for example, is the Guide for the Design of Communication Strategies for the Defense of the Territory, which we presented at the launch of the Center.
The other purpose is research in terms of regulatory development, regarding the possibility of these communities to access fourth generation (4G) services (or Long-Term Evolution, LTE). For this we need to have spectrum. The problem is that most LTE spectrum is under concession and, therefore, we need to develop shared spectrum systems that would allow the existing spectrum—which is not being used—to be shared, so that these communities can use it.
We also do technical research (either qualitative or quantitative) of policy and comparative law, which is required to support the proposals for public policy or regulatory communities vis-à-vis governments. To achieve this, we document and establish legal-political arguments, and integrate those technological issues that need to be developed and which communities need. In this way, we do research that has an impact on public policies, regulation, or technology. This helps governments develop this type of public policy, and it serves communities because in this way they have legal, political, technical and/or economic arguments to defend them.
GV: What are some of the main problems and challenges you have encountered so far?
EV: Hay muchísimos problemas en las comunidades relacionados con la defensa de su territorio (básicamente el despojo por parte de empresas y gobiernos que desean los recursos de las comunidades). Las comunidades en estos procesos quedan muy devastadas y divididas, incluso con criminalidad que no tenían. Vimos que la comunicación que se estaba llevando a cabo, entraba en estos procesos, y acababa dividiendo a las propias comunidades. Por ello, estuvimos trabajando, durante 5 años aproximadamente, en identificar una Guía para poder tener una comunicación más efectiva que fortaleciera a las comunidades en estos procesos. De ahí surgió la Guía para el Diseño de Estrategias de Comunicación para la Defensa del Territorio que te comentaba, con una serie de resultados de una investigación que se hizo en campo, con las comunidades, y que está sustentada en la experiencia.
Por otro lado, en toda América Latina la regulación que hay para las redes comunitarias es muy pobre, muchos gobiernos no saben ni qué son, no conocen los problemas legales que enfrentan, ni su importancia, ni los lugares que atienden, entonces las políticas, a veces, les son desfavorables. Aquí, entonces, trabajamos en compilar experiencias, sistematizarlas, darles estructura jurídica, ver qué políticas les han funcionado, y preparamos un documento de investigación, como el caso del reporte Redes Comunitarias en América Latina. Desafíos, Regulaciones y Soluciones.
EV: There are many problems in the communities related to the defense of their territory (basically, land dispossession by companies and governments that want the resources of these communities). These issues affect the communities very much, they are devastated and divided, also because of the criminality that they did not have before. The type of communication that was occurring ended up dividing the communities themselves. Therefore, for approximately five years, we have been working on a Guide that would enable a more effective communication that would strengthen the communities involved in these processes. The Guide for the Design of Communication Strategies for the Defense of the Territory includes the results of a field-based research focused on the experiences of these communities.
On the other hand, throughout Latin America, the regulation for community networks is very poor, many governments do not know what they are, what legal problems they face, their significance, or the places they serve, so the policies, sometimes, are unfavorable for these community networks. We work on compiling experiences, systematizing them, giving them legal structure, identifying what policies have worked for them, and preparing a research document, for example, the “Community Networks in Latin America. Challenges, Regulations and Solutions” report.
GV: Could you talk more about the collaboration with academic groups and universities that you mentioned?
EV: Nuestra idea es también ir generando tanto esquemas de formación para la academia, o de introducción para los jóvenes para que puedan trabajar esto dentro de las comunidades, que les permitan acercarse a sus realidades, conocerlas, quererlas, sentirse comprometidos, y que, una vez que concluyan su formación profesional, su ejercicio profesional esté comprometido con las realidades de las comunidades. Este es un objetivo a largo plazo del Centro.
Sentimos que nosotros (tanto los que formamos parte de REDES, A.C., como los que formamos parte de TIC) tuvimos oportunidades de irnos adentrando a las comunidades y sentir ese compromiso con la zona y querer trabajar por ellos.
Una de las cosas que fomentan la desigualdad social es, precisamente, que la mayoría de nosotros y de los estudiantes, nos formamos no para trabajar en beneficio de las comunidades, sino muchas veces para trabajar en contra de estas. Por ello necesitábamos dedicar un espacio para la formación, si bien no dentro de la academia, por lo menos, de alguna forma relacionado con ésta, que les permita comprometerse y llegar a estas realidades, y también acceder a todo el conocimiento que se va generando en esta práctica.
Por otro lado, hay Centros que las propias comunidades están desarrollando, por ejemplo, en sus propias Universidades, bajo sus propias necesidades y realidades. Nos gusta trabajar con estos Centros porque están generando este conocimiento, g
Photograph by Javier de la Cruz, from the public Facebook page of CITSAC. Used with permission.
enerando investigación relacionada directamente con la realidad de las comunidades, y nosotros podemos quizás también participar y aportar: ya sea en la sistematización o formación técnica, que permita aprovechar mejor todos estos saberes, o incluso, colocarlos y defenderlos fuera de lo comunitario.
EV: Our idea is to generate both training programs for academia and introduce young people to the work within the communities. This would allow them to better know the situation of these communities, care about them, so that, once their training ends, their  professional practice could be committed to the realities of the communities. This is a long-term objective of the Center.
We (who are part of REDES, A.C., and of ICT) have had opportunities to be involved with the communities, feel committed to the area and want to work for them.
One of the problems that foster social inequality is precisely that most of us and the students do not train to work for the benefit of communities, but often to work against their interests. This is why we needed a kind of training, that, although not within academia, but related to it, allows the students to commit to and reach these realities, and also access all the knowledge involved in this practice.
On the other hand, there are Centers that communities themselves are developing, for example, in their own Universities, for their own needs and realities. We like to work with these Centers because they are generating this knowledge and research directly related to the reality of the communities, to which we may also be able to participate and contribute: either in the systematization or technical training, which allows us to make better use of all this knowledge, or defend them outside of the community.

author: Giovanna Salazar


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In Nigeria, disability activists say social stigma is greatest obstacle to human rights · Global Voices
Adetomiwa Isiaka

In April 2014, Nigerian doctor Mariam Florence Ogo examines a 12-year-old child affected by polio during a supportive supervision visit at an underserved mobile settlement in Manjekin, Adamawa, Nigeria. Transmission of Polio program. Photo by Mariam Florence Ogo. Used with permission via Flickr: CC BY 2.0.
Irene Patrick-Ogbogu, 43, started using a wheelchair seven years ago. In that time, she has experienced a decline in her capacity to exercise her free will.
“I can’t go out like I used to, I can’t do most things in public spaces, and people just look at you with pity,” Patrick-Ogbogu told me during a phone interview on August 10.
In Nigeria today, people with any form of disability are often treated with disparagement. While a new law passed in 2018 offers new hope for disability inclusion, Nigerians with impairments continue to face a host of barriers and mistreatment, including verbal and sexual abuse, employment discrimination and limited access to public spaces and public transportation.
Patrick-Ogbogu is the founder and director of the Disability Rights Advocacy Centre (DRAC), an organisation working to change how disability is addressed in Nigeria. She is also one of around 27 million Nigerians with a physical disability. Experiencing first-hand the discrimination against persons with disabilities ignited her desire for change.
According to human rights activist Ekaete Umoh, social stigma is the toughest nut to crack, as perception dictates action.
Discrimination also threatens the rights of a person with disabilities, impacting access to healthcare, financial inclusion and education. #RampUpNigeria, a social media campaign introduced by disability rights activist Blessing Ocheido to highlight Nigeria’s almost non-existent wheelchair accessibility, is tackling the problem.
Hello @gtbank @gtbank_help I was at your Kuto branch in Abeokuta, Ogun state this morning and I was attended to outside the banking hall because the building has no ramp and the mantrap security door is also not accessible. The is quite unfortunate. #RampUpNigeria pic.twitter.com/maEQAdEud0
— Ibrahim O. OMOTOSHO ♿ (@HeemOnWheels) January 21, 2019
In other countries, cash machines have earphone slots and braille so visually impaired people can access their money without assistance. In Nigeria, however, few machines have these features, and the height of cash machines make them inaccessible to wheelchair users. Restaurants, hospitals and other public places are all almost entirely inaccessible to a person with alternative needs, — though occasionally you find the odd church with a sign language interpreter.
These much-needed, but difficult-to-access spaces impede independence. And it is because of these structural obstructions, Umoh notes, not the impairment, that disability becomes a liability and the stigma further emphasised.
“Many people see disability as a charity issue rather than a human rights issue.” —Ekaete Umoh
Like Patrick-Ogbogu, Umoh contracted poliomyelitis (polio) in the 1980s, when the virus affected hundreds of children worldwide. Though Umoh does not use a wheelchair, the illness affected the muscles in one of her legs, leaving one visibly smaller than the other.
Umoh says her disability rights advocacy started with family interventions. “I would visit family homes and tell them ‘look at me. Is anything wrong with me?’ And help them understand disability.” The focus on families was fueled by her experiences in university, where, confined to a single block reserved for students with disabilities, physical or otherwise, she discovered that families are part of the problem.
“Families added to the low self-esteem [children] developed by living in this society. You hear of families hiding [disabled] people away, [some] abusing their children”. — Ekaete Umoh
A deaf children’s educator in Lagos who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of working with families, told me that when deaf children are born to the average Nigerian family, the lucky ones end up in the care of institutions, because parents are unsure of how to care for them — some even end up being adopted by teachers. Those who live with their families are sidelined and never learn to communicate properly, which affects development and further limits their life choices.
Familial and societal biases affect persons with every category of disability, but gender is also a factor. Research suggests that women with disabilities are 10 times more likely to experience domestic violence, abuse, and sexual assault. Disabled women are also overlooked by women’s rights activists, says Umoh. It is for this reason that both Umoh and Patrick-Ogbogu are especially concerned about disabled women’s rights.
Of all the stigmas, religious and cultural beliefs might be the most jarring. CNN reports that in Nigeria, disability is often considered a supernatural consequence of evil or witchcraft, and disabled persons are often ostracized or exiled as a result.
Disability rights activists all agree that their efforts would be more fruitful with the law on their side.
On January 23, 2019, almost 20 years after it was first proposed, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
The act vests the commission with responsibility for the “education, health care, social, economic and civil rights”of disabled peopleUnder the new laws, anybody caught discriminating against persons with disabilities in Nigeria risks a fine of “100,000 Nigerian naira [$276 USD] or six months imprisonment or both.”
Umoh explained that this is a win is not just for people with disabilities, but for the entire country, creating more jobs and business opportunities. One example is the manufacture of prosthetic limbs to help amputees function comfortably in society.
Umoh runs Family Centred Initiative For Challenged Persons, a 19-year-old nonprofit focused on educating families about disability and advocating for policy changes and the rights of girls with disabilities. She speculates that the disability bill was overlooked for so many years due to an unfortunate mix of a dysfunctional judiciary system and social stigma. Ogbodo-Patrick concurs: “Once, [the bill] got to the president's office; his excuse was that there was no budget for the bill’s demands”.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has pointed out that with no laws against discrimination until now, people with disabilities have long been overlooked for by employers. Now, employers who overlook applicants based on disability face a 250,000 Nigerian naira ($690 USD) fine.
Patrick-Ogbogu is confident that the new laws will improve the situation of disabled people. She has been working with the government to create opportunities for persons with disabilities since DRAC was established in 2011 and in that time, she has witnessed changes in perception. DRAC’s Idris Agboluaje, says he, too, has witnessed changes in the attitudes of educators and police officers toward persons with disabilities, making it easier for people with disabilities to exercise their rights.
The goal, Umoh says, is to normalise disability, which will address the isolation and segregation disabled people experience. “How are children going to understand their peers if they can’t interact [with them]?” she asks.
Umoh believes that the Ministry of Education needs to get involved: “[Democratic] rights for disabled people should be included in the social studies curriculum.” The deaf children’s educator agrees, suggesting that sign language should be a language option in Nigerian schools, alongside foreign languages like French.
Patrick-Ogbogu is especially vocal about the need for public representation such as the senate, while Umoh is passionate about the need for collaborations between people with disabilities and their allies. She believes that with more public and private organisations advocating for disability rights, the barriers —internal and external— that block opportunities and create ceilings can be dismantled.
Patrick-Ogbogu stresses that more than anything, the disability bill is about visibility. “This is an opportunity for people with disabilities to be seen as what they are: people with the right and ability to exercise their human rights.”

author: Adetomiwa Isiaka


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‘Kingston Creative’ breathes new life into Jamaica’s downtown district · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Artists and their work on Water Lane, in downtown Kingston, Jamaica. Photo by Stuart Reeves, used with permission.
Founded in 1692, the densely populated, 22.7 square kilometre city of Kingston, Jamaica — now called “downtown” — is where you will find the country's Houses of Parliament, Supreme Court, the Institute of Jamaica (a long-standing cultural and scientific organisation) and a number of important heritage sites.
Yet, Jamaica’s capital city has become neglected over the past few decades, as both commercial and residential districts moved into “uptown” St. Andrew, leaving sections of the old city in decay. In addition, the perception of higher crime rates in downtown Kingston kept many uptowners away — an absence that has had a domino effect. Although it is now under refurbishment, cultural sites like the historic Ward Theatre have suffered, for both financial support and audience patronage.
Enter Kingston Creative, a collaborative effort with a 10-year vision to “nurture artists and creative entrepreneurs, build community and collaborate with others in a creative space.” The collective aims to provide training, resources and an environment that empowers entrepreneurs to generate economic and social value from their businesses, and forge pathways to reach global markets while positively impacting their own local communities.
With the involvement of 100 volunteers, more than 20 community groups and 100 engaged stakeholders, Kingston Creative is a 700-strong organisation that has managed to secure local corporate sponsorship for its ongoing #PaintTheCity mural project.
A sight to see on Water Lane: the street, lined with murals, is perfect for photographs and video shoots alike, attracting both people and business to the area. Photo by Stuart Reeves, used with permission.
But the initiative doesn't stop at art. Veteran guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith, for example, has incorporated his evolving “Inna Di Yard Binghistra Movement” — a musical concept included in his monthly Groundation jam sessions — into the project. Groundation most popularly refers to the Rastafarian holy day which marks Haile Selassie’s first visit to Jamaica in 1966, but Smith has expanded the term to encompass his vision of keeping the roots of reggae music alive with a classical music infusion. His efforts have been quite successful: A recent session he hosted on Water Lane featured a Kumina group led by Rastafarian drummer Bongo Shem and attracted a good turnout.
Kumina drummers. Photo by Stuart Reeves, used with permission.
Art Walks, which take place on the last Sunday of each month have also become increasingly popular. Each walk has a different theme (children, food, dance, literature, etc.) and participants are never disappointed. On August 25, 2019, Kingston Creative unveiled an augmented reality mural by artist Bernard Hoyes. Some of the action was captured in this tweet thread:
Happening at the Artwalk❕(A Thread) #Artwalk #MoodforFood #Creative #AugmentedReality #Mural #PainttheCity pic.twitter.com/MVWFVl5eFO
— Kingston Creative (@kgncreative) August 25, 2019
Jamaican artist Bernard Hoyes stands in front of his mural. Photo by Stuart Reeves, used with permission.
Kingston Creative co-founder Andrea Dempster-Chung tweeted:
Saw so many happy people just enjoying their city and the KC volunteers blew me away with their passion and heart. Big up Minister @fayvalwilliams @NextGenCreators @tTechLimited @7AMMAG @iamevaflow @IoJ_jamaica and all the chefs for coming through! #kingstoncreative #moodforfood pic.twitter.com/BgOnHM28Qb
— Andrea Dempster-Chung (@dempsterchung) August 26, 2019
When Kingston Creative first partnered with Jamaica's business community in November 2018 to help bring its dream of a revitalised capital to life, then-state minister for culture, gender, entertainment and sport, Alando Terrelonge, noted:
I am pleased that the Kingston Art District is now a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network and look forward to partnering with local and international creative enthusiasts as we move to further develop and capitalise on our creative industries for the cultural prosperity of our people and our nation.
The vision may be ambitious, but it is gradually getting the buy-in necessary to transform Jamaica's capital.

author: Emma Lewis


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Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum: The Congolese scientist behind the cure for Ebola · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Sierra Leone: Health workers prepare to enter an area where Ebola patients get treatment. Flickr image by EC/ECHO/Cyprien Fabre, August 2, 2014. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
On August 12, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a positive development in the clinical trials of drugs being tested for the treatment of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR of Congo).
WHO asserted that the Ebola drugs showed “advances that will bring patients a better chance of survival,” and further affirmed that “two out of the four drugs being tested are more effective in treating Ebola.”
Who is the man behind the Ebola cure? Esteemed professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, director-general of the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) DR of Congo, who invested a substantial part of his adult life treating the virus.
While the international media has often focused heavily on the deadly, contagious nature of Ebola in DR of Congo, less has been said about the Congolese scientist who discovered its cure.
Muyembe-Tamfum declared: “We will no longer say that EVD [Ebola virus disease] is not curable.”
Based on Muyembe-Tamfum's tireless work, scientists tested four drugs for Ebola treatment: ZMapp, remdesivir, mAb114 and REGN-EB3. The results from the clinical trials conducted in 499 study participants showed that patients treated with “REGN-EB3 or mAb114 had a greater chance of survival” when compared to those treated with the two other drugs.
The trials were conducted under the auspices of the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), the DR Congo Ministry of Health and three medical humanitarian organizations: the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), the International Medical Corps (IMC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Muyembe-Tamfum has been researching Ebola since its first known outbreak in DR of Congo in 1976 when he became the first researcher to travel to the area of the first outbreak.
Dr Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director general of the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale in the Democratic Republic of #Congo and his team have discovered a new Ebola treatment that can cure symptoms in just an hour ✊???
— Rosebell Kagumire ♉ (@RosebellK) August 13, 2019
A professor of microbiology at Kinshasa University Medical School in DR of Congo, he has been working for the past 40 years on a cure for the disease. In 1995, he worked with WHO in implementing detection protocols and control measures in the first documented urban outbreak of Ebola in Kikwit, DR of Congo.
Professor Muyembe-Tamfum (seated with the microphone) speaking at a public education event in Beni, North Kivu, DR of Congo, in September 2018. Photo MONUSCO/Aqueel Khan (CC BY-SA 2.0)
With this discovery, people infected with Ebola will now have more trust in the possibility of recovery and will be more likely to go to the hospital for treatment.
“Now that 90 percent of their patients can go into the treatment center and come out completely cured, they will start believing it and building trust in the population and community.” — Jean-Jacque Muyembe-Tamfum
The first recorded cases of Ebola occurred in 1976 near the Ebola River in DR of Congo. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since then, the Ebola virus has “emerged periodically from its natural reservoir (which remains unknown)” to infect people in Africa.
Ebola virus outbreaks since 1976. Map from the Centres of Disease Prevention and Control
Between 2014 and 2016 there were more than 28,600 recorded cases of Ebola within West Africa. According to a WHO 2015 report:
Ebola's ravaging of African countries generated global panic and hysteria in 2015 when two patients died in the United States and one each in Spain and Germany. Gaby‐Fleur Böl, a researcher at the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Berlin, Germany, identified other cases in Spain, Germany, the UK, Italy and Switzerland. At that time, an Ebola infection was considered a death sentence due to the lack of an effective treatment.
As  Böl asserted, the high mortality rate of Ebola and also “the sometimes‐exaggerated media coverage” of the epidemic created hysteria around the world.
This position was further corroborated by a 2017 study in which Hal Roberts, Brittany Seymour, Sands Alden Fish II, Emily Robinson and Ethan Zuckerman analyzed over 109,000 stories published in US mainstream/regional media and blogs between July to November 2014, with a focus on Ebola coverage.
They discovered that three distinct peaks in Ebola coverage in the United States media and blogs “occurred around July 27, September 28, and 15 October 2014″:
On July 27, reports broke of the first infections of American doctors in Liberia. On September 30, media widely reported the infection of Thomas Duncan in Texas as the first infection on US soil. On October 12, Ebola coverage intensified with the first infection of a health care worker in the United States. After October 12, a series of other US infection-related events led to continuous coverage that gradually lessened in intensity over time.
US media may have covered Ebola so intensively because of the presence of the disease in the US. In addition, with a more interconnected army of digital networks, the Ebola epidemic became more amplified in Europe and the US.
However, what remains to be seen is if the discovery of a cure by an African from DR of Congo to this “African” epidemic will also garner as much coverage as it did in 2017.


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Mozambique signs third peace accord amid divisions in opposition and public indifference · Global Voices
Alexandre Nhampossa

Signing the accord, 6 August 2019 . Screengrab, video by Televisão de Moçambique
Mozambique’s government and the opposition party RENAMO signed, on 6 August, the Maputo Peace and National Reconciliation Accord, amid general public disaffection and internal splits in the party and its armed wing.
This is the third such agreement signed between the conflicting parties since 1992, ending 16 years of civil war between government forces and the armed movement RENAMO, which then became a political party.
The 1992 peace agreement granted RENAMO permission to maintain an armed guard to protect the then party leader Afonso Dhlakama.
It was with these weapons that violence broke out again in 2013, which only ended with the 2014 peace agreement. Then, in 2015, clashes started once more, which were stopped with the signing of a ceasefire agreement in 2016.
Both outbreaks of violent clashes were caused by RENAMO's rejection of election results as it accused the ruling party FRELIMO of fraud. FRELIMO has been in power since Mozambique's first multiparty elections in 1992.
The 2019 agreement provides for around 5,000 RENAMO guerrillas to surrender their weapons, intending to ensure security for the upcoming visit of Pope Francis, scheduled for 4 to 6 September, and the general elections scheduled for 15 October.
The agreement was signed in Peace Plaza by the Mozambican president, and FRELIMO leader, Filipe Nyusi, and the leader of RENAMO Ossufo Momade. The event was witnessed by the heads of state of South Africa, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Namibia.
“We want to consolidate our march towards definitive peace”, Nyusi said at the event, adding “this is an agreement that proves that we do not want more war”. Ossufo Momade reiterated that the ceasefire must mark the beginning of a new era, characterised by free, transparent elections and government alternation.
The European Union, represented at the ceremony by its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, provided 60 million euros to help bring peace.
In a message released on 17 August, the self-proclaimed military council of RENAMO announced that it considers the recent agreement “null”. It also declared that the faction would dismiss Ossufo Momade as leader of RENAMO. The note said:
A Junta Militar da RENAMO determina e manda publicar oficialmente a partir de hoje a destituição imediata do atual presidente da RENAMO, Ossufo Momade, e anuncia a nulidade de todos os acordos que Momade assinou com o Governo da FRELIMO.
The RENAMO Military Council has decided and officially announces the immediate dismissal from today of the current president of RENAMO, Ossufo Momade, and announces the invalidity of all the agreements that Momade signed with the FRELIMO government.
The group, led by Major General Mariano Nhongo, argues that Ossufo Momade is “in the service of FRELIMO,” and accuses him of “violating the spirit of the peace agreements” concluded by former party president Afonso Dhlakama, who died on 3 May 2018.
João Machava, the armed faction’s spokesman, told the press that RENAMO’s military wing was not consulted by Momade on the agreement.
In a previous message released on 3 August, the Council also warned that it will not surrender its weapons until a new president has been elected by RENAMO.
This third peace agreement met little general enthusiasm, as the newspaper @Verdade reported. Businesses did not close, not even a few metres from the place it was signed. While the ceremony that ended Mozambique’s third civil war took place, the majority of Maputo's residents were at work, or trapped in the capital’s chaotic traffic
The Brazilian newspaper Nexo Jornal wrote:
Apesar do carácter histórico que as autoridades se esforçaram para imprimir no momento da assinatura do acordo, a verdade é que, dentro e fora de Moçambique, a notícia foi recebida com um optimismo cauteloso. A desconfiança é explicada pelo fato de esse ser ser o terceiro acordo do tipo firmado no país em quatro décadas. Nas vezes passadas, os acordos, que prometiam trazer uma paz definitiva, estabeleceram apenas tréguas temporárias.
Despite the historic image that the authorities endeavoured to evoke at the time of signing the accord, the truth is that, inside and outside Mozambique, the news was received with a cautious optimism. The distrust is explained by the fact that this is the third agreement of its kind signed in the country in four decades. In past occasions, the agreements, which promised to bring a definitive peace, established only temporary truces.
Hours before the signature, armed men attacked a passenger bus and a truck in Nhamapadza, in central Sofala province, injuring the driver and the assistant of one of the vehicles. It is not known who carried out the attack.

author: Alexandre Nhampossa