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Syria: “Two Years Later, We are All So Terribly Wrong” · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

In a must-read post on Facebook, Syrian Hiba Diewati reflects on the situation in her country, on the third anniversary of the Syrian revolution.
She recalls the early days of the revolution, including her own imprisonment for four days for protesting against the regime:
I would have loved to share something lighthearted today. Two years ago we stepped out into the Damascene sun and I started heating up in my San Francisco sweatshirt; I then realized how cold it had been those few days underground.
Two years ago, we thought a four-day prison sentence was nothing if but a celebration. And it was worth it because it would all soon be over, the revolution would be victorious, and we could stop this double life and move on to all working together to building and beautifying the Syria we dreamed of; a democracy, equality, peace from constant threats, and freedom.
Two years ago I was surrounded by friends, so many of them they were kicked out of the courthouse and told to wait outside. Amidst the hugs and laughs after our release, one of them jokingly told me, “Lucky, the revolution is almost over and I still haven't gotten detained; not fair!”
Hiba continues:
Two years later, one of the five young people I was captured with for peaceful protesting is gone again. He is a medical student, a field doctor, and has been detained under horrible conditions for almost a year now.
The friends who stood outside the courthouse on Al-Nasr Street, or “Victory” Street, are now scattered all over the world. Some are in America, others in Berlin, Istanbul, Iraq, Beirut and Amman, to name a few. Others are still in Damascus. Others yet are in the “liberated” areas.
In her note, she describes the situation in Syria today as follows:
Two years later, children in southern Damascus are eating crumbs off the street as they starve under siege. Aleppo, or what is left of it, is crumbling under TNT barrel bombs. Beautiful Kessab is getting bombed by Assad, despite all the warning signs. Mortar shells are falling on central Damascus , presumably by rebels who have no idea what they're doing. A dozen or more prisoners die under torture everyday. Zehran Alloush of the cursed “Islamic Front” is calling for ethnic cleansing of the coast. Civil society activists are detained and slaughtered by ISIS. Syrians break records in art and in refugees. Reporters are flying in fighter jets. Fighters are everywhere and food is nowhere.
Hiba adds:
Two years ago we never thought it would all fall apart. Two years ago we wouldn't have dreamed of the epidemic of hate and loss.
Two years ago, a Palestinian friend stood outside Damascus University and relayed his prediction of events. He had a sense of authority about him, the black and white koffiya, the leather jacket, chain smoking, and a head full of Marx, history and politics.
“The Americans will fly in and bomb us here in Damascus a few times. Nothing as bad as what the regime is doing to Homs now, but it will hurt, we are the capital after all. There will be collateral damage, maybe us even, but Assad will leave and we can start cleaning up this mess.”
She concludes:
Two years later, we are all so terribly wrong.


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Syrian Dad Appeals to British Foreign Office to Reunite Him with His Son · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian father Wael Zain claims his British son, aged five, is stranded in Syria and that the British Foreign Office is not helping reunite them. Photograph shared on Twitter.
Wael Zain, a Syrian living and working in London, has turned to Twitter to draw attention to the plight of his five-year-old son, Maudh, who holds a British nationality, and who has been stranded in Syria for three years.
In a series of tweets, Zain explains that his son, whom he claims was recently shot at, is with his mother in a village in Deraa, and needs medical attention. He also claims that the British Foreign Office has turned a deaf ear to his ordeal.
Originally from Deraa, Syria, Zain tweets:
Please help my 5yr old son (British) in Syria come home. @foreignoffice has abandoned him. @guardian @bbclysedoucet pic.twitter.com/VJ0ZWvYxnG
— Wael Zain (@Wael_Zain) April 20, 2014
He explains:
@bbclysedoucet with his mother in a village near Nawa in Deraa. Has been there for over 3 years. 2 weeks ago he was shot at.. He needs help
— Wael Zain (@Wael_Zain) April 20, 2014
In other tweets, addressed to British Foreign Secretary William Hague, Zain appeals:
@WilliamJHague my 5 year old British son stuck in #Syria has been abandoned by your office.
— Wael Zain (@Wael_Zain) April 19, 2014
He further adds:
The British government pledged to help vulnerable Syrian refugees mainly women + children but refuse to help a British child. @williamjhague
— Wael Zain (@Wael_Zain) April 19, 2014
Zain says he has not seen his son for three years and shares this last photograph he has of him:
last picture I have of my son in #Syria. haven't seen him for 3 yrs. needs urgent medical treatment. @WilliamJHague pic.twitter.com/S76FoALkNO
— Wael Zain (@Wael_Zain) April 19, 2014

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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The Africanized Experience of Lisbon · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

The media and racial stereotypes [pt], through the perspective and experience of two specialists in the area of the study of race, both Afroportuguese, born in Lisbon, Portugal. is the topic of a new podcast. An interview with Grada Kilomba, academic of Santomean origin at the Humboldt University Berlin, translated into Portuguese in the first program of Radio AfroLis, touches on the nature of racism in Europe.
The role of the media, of black and white in the struggle against racism is also analyzed in this program by the researcher in the area of religious studies and white studies, Elisabete Cátia Suzana, University of Uppsala (Sweden).
Radio Afrolis presents itself as an “africanized experience of Lisbon” that intends to “reveal facets of an emerging black consciousness in Portugal”
Para alguns afrodescendentes a cidade de Lisboa é claramente a sua cidade. Para outros Lisboa é uma cidade como outra qualquer, apesar de terem nascido ou de sempre terem vivido nela. Outros há que rejeitam Lisboa porque sentem que não é o seu lugar.
No caso dos afrodescendentes negros, a questão da pertença relaciona-se com a sua fraca representação nos media, assim como em espaços sociais diversificados, mas principalmente, com o racismo. E surge a questão: Eu como negro ou negra, africano, africana devo/ posso/quero assumir-me como lisboeta? E serão precisamente as inúmeras combinações de respostas que vamos apresentar nos episódios do nossos podcast.
Acompanhem-nos por serem afrodescententes, por interesse na temática, pela vontade de conhecer outras vivências de Lisboa, ou até mesmo por quererem acrescentar algo à discussão!
For some of African descent the city of Lisbon is clearly their city. For others Lisbon is a city like any other, in spite of being born there or having always lived there. Others reject Lisbon because they feel it is not their place.
In the case of African-descended black people, the question of belonging relates to their poor representation in the media, as well as in other kinds of social spaces, but principally, it relates to racism. The question arises: as a black person, African, should I/can I/do I want to assert by identity as a Lisbonite? It will be precisely the numerous combinations of responses that we will present in the episodes of our podcast.
Follow along as African-descended Portuguese, or because you are interested in the topic, wanting to get to know other experiences of Lisbon, or even because you'd like to add something to the discussion!
Follow on Facebook, Soundcloud and the blog radioafrolis.com.

author: Sara Moreira


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Caribbean: The Writing & Politics of Gabriel García Márquez · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The literary fraternity is only just starting to adjust to the idea of life without “Gabo” – the inimitable Colombian-born author who was beloved by the world – Gabriel García Márquez, who passed away last Thursday in Mexico City.
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, García Márquez left a profound impression on readers and aspiring writers alike, with novels like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. Ever since his death was announced, many Caribbean netizens have been expressing their grief on Facebook, while others – mostly with ties to Cuba – have taken to the blogosphere to discuss García Márquez's passing.
Havana Times published an in-depth post about the author's life, including his controversial friendship with Fidel Castro:
The death of García Marquez, the father of the literary genre known as ‘magical realism’ leaves a huge void. ‘Gabo’ was one of last great survivors of the 1960s and 70s “boom” of Latin American literature.
García Marquez was born on March 6, 1927 in Aracataca, a city in the northern Colombian department of Magdalena. His childhood experiences in this banana plantation town were inspiration for his work. [He] is survived by his wife of a lifetime, Mercedes Barcha…and his sons.
Gabo, as he was also called, was a journalist, screenwriter, short story writer and novelist, socialist sympathizer and close friend of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
His relationship with the Cuban leader earned him criticism in the literary and political world.
In a follow-up post, the blog focused on the alleged role of the author in the story of the Cuban Five. Cuban diaspora blog Babalu was merciless in its criticism of the Gabo-Castro alliance:
The Colombian novelist…lambasted Latin American dictators constantly, especially those who ruled through military juntas, yet he praised the one tyrant who raised oppression and the art of military dictatorship to new heights.
The late Gabriel García Márquez, image by Ver en vivo En Directo, used under a CC license.
Capitol Hill Cubans was more measured, praising the writer's talent and accomplishments but echoing the same argument when it came to his politics:
Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 87, died last night at his home in Mexico City.
Known as ‘Gabo’, he was one of the most popular and talented Latin American novelists of our time. His writings include…Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Autumn of the Patriarch, both with strong political undertones and stinging critiques of Latin American dictators.
Unfortunately, Gabo's criticism spared dictators of the left.
His intimate friendship with Latin America's longest-serving, deadliest and only totalitarian dictator, Cuba's Fidel Castro, was legendary.
Throughout his life, Gabo's condemnation of dictators always stopped short of Havana, where he was provided a home with all of the privileges and luxuries denied to ordinary Cubans.
His double-standard became emblematic. It is practiced today by some of Latin America's leaders, including Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica — all of whom were once themselves victims of military dictatorships and scorned those who coddled their repressors.
Yet inconceivably, these Latin American leaders now coddle the sole remaining military dictatorship of the Americas.
Goodbye Gabo.
May your literary legacy live forever.
But close an unfortunate chapter in Latin America's ideological double-standard.
Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, Kris Rampersad talked about García Márquez's literary legacy:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez influenced us in more ways than we cared to know. His literary genre of magic realism became a medium for writers and artists of the post colonial world trying to grapple with and articulate the experiences of becoming independent in the post colonial world … trying to seize the magic of the moment full with hope and longing in being architects of our own destiny yet fighting off the realism of potential failure from inherited weaknesses of colonial mentality and frailty of humans especially in the face of new found power; the failure of the dream of independence that ranged from corruption of the American dream as well as the still birth of our dreaming into being our ideal post colonial societies.
She even turned the discussion about the author's politics on its head, saying:
If only the political world read more they probably have worked harder to shape a better world driven by the conscience of the likes of Marquez. RIP.
The image used in this post is by Ver en vivo En Directo, used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license. Visit Ver en vivo En Directo's flickr photostream.
The thumbnail is by Ross Angus, used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license. Visit Ross Angus’ flickr photostream.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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East Timorese Protect Land Rights Against Australian Cement Plant Deal · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

The announcement of a new cement plant project by an Australian company in Baucau, northeast of East Timor, has led local community groups to set up a non-governmental organization “to protect and preserve the communities’ rights to their culture, development and traditional land rights.”
According to the community organization, Kapeliwa, the government of East Timor gave the largest construction company in Western Australia, BGC, permission to construct [tet] a cement plant with the annual capacity of 1.5 million tons in Baucau, as well as a license to extract limestone for 100 years. The construction project was awarded to the South Korean company POSCO E&C, from East Timor’s TL Cement (“a special purpose corporation wholly owned by BGC”), in December 2013.
Kapeliwa was publicly launched on April 19, 2014, by a group of intellectuals from Kaisido, Parlamento, Lialailesu and Osowa – four villages located in the northeast coast of Timor-Leste, Baucau district. The four villages, situated near the airport of the country's second city, are part of the administrative area of Suco Tirilolo, where the minority ethno-lingusitic community Uaima'a live.
In the first public meeting with the community members and leaders of the four villages, the group's founders presented the “potential positive and negative impact of the proposed cement factory in and on Uaima'a land known as Kaisido.” The group claims that there is lack of information about this project and that there hasn't been a proper viability study for the development.


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#EPNvsInternet: Mass Campaign against Mexican Communications Bill · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

“Censored”. Imaged openly shared on Twitter.
A joint mass action between civil organizations and activist is pushing to revert the Telecommunications Bill proposal sent by president Enrique Peña Nieto for Congress’ approval. The Netizen Report published by Global Voices Advocacy this month summarizes the reason:
Billed as an effort to break up Mexico’s notorious telecommunications and broadcast monopolies, the law covers a broad range of electronic communications issues [es] — and treads heavily in human rights territory. At the behest of the “competent” authorities, the law authorizes telecommunications companies to “block, inhibit, or eliminate” communications services “at critical moments for public and national security.” The law also authorizes Internet service providers to offer service packages that “respond to market demands” and differentiating in “capacity, speed, and quality”  – a measure that could preclude protections for net neutrality in the country. To top it off, security measures in the law would allow authorities to track user activity in real time using geolocation tools, without obtaining prior court approval.
In search for global support, the website “YoSoyRed” uploaded this YouTube video to raise awareness of the bill's threat:
The Global Action Day Against Censorship in Mexico calls for a “worlwide storm of messages, videos, blog posts, press articles, songs and anything that can help support” the cause. On top of this action, there will be a protest on April 22, 2014 called #MarchaContraElSilencio (Protest against silence). Besides, on April 26, there's a plan for a human chain sit up starting from the officila residence of the President of Mexico, Los Pinos, to the Televisa's [es] (main TV broadcaster) headquarters inChapultepec, covering a distance of aproximately 7 kms.
Hashtag #EPNvsInternet became worldwide trending topic. @YoSoyRed documented it:
Ya somos tendencia Global #EPNvsInternet pic.twitter.com/9CmnwwArVD
— YoSoyRed.com (@YoSoyRed_) abril 21, 2014
We are global trending #EPNvsInternet
EPN stands for Mexican President's name, Enrique Peña Nieto. Here we collected some of the tweets that were shared under this hashtag:
Sigan con los HTs. No debemos permitir que censuren el Internet, nuestra libertad de expresión. #EPNvsInternet #ContraElSilencioMX
— Kal-El (@Ray_thetraveler) abril 21, 2014
Keep the HTs coming. We cannot allow them to censor the Internet, our freedom of expression. #EPNvsInternet #ContraElSilencioMX [against silence]
Las redes sociales se han convertido en la herramienta por excelencia de los mov sociales, EPN lo sabe y los quiere detener. #EPNvsInternet
— Daniela Garduño (@DanielaNitza) April 21, 2014
Social networks have turned into the most oustanding tool for social movements, EPN knows it and wants to stop them. #EPNvsInternet
Culpo a mi escaso tiempo libre por no informarme lo suficiente sobre #EPNvsInternet. No tenía idea de la magnitud de esa “ley”.
— Ana Vega (@anavotrad) abril 21, 2014
I blame my scarce free time for not being well informed about #EPNvsInternet. I didn't know the magnitude of this “law”.
“Citizens to the Center”. Taken from the press kit at the website http://internetparatodos.mx
On the other hand, the CFree Internet for All Association and ContingenteMX gave a press conference where they presented:
1. An open letter from digital leaders and organizations around the world stating the risks of the Telecommunications Bill reform.
2. A technical proposal regarding web freedom and neutrality ropuesta técnica sobre libertad y neutralidad aligned to international standards presented by ContingenteMx to the Congress.
This is not the first protest [es] against the Telecommunications Bill and in favor of a public internet that respects net neutrality and freedom of expression. Speaking of which, the Association  pointed out [es]:
Why are we not using the hashtag #ContraElSilencioMx again? Because the peñabots (bots hired by Peña Nieto's government) flooded it with spam so it wouldn't become a Trending Topic. The hashtag has to be new and never used before.
The overall purport of this campaign was summarized by Twitter user, Silvia Villarreal:
Porque la democracia supone opiniones en contra, y la madurez y tolerancia para escucharlas.#EPNvsInternet
— Silvia Villarreal (@silviaevillarre) April 21, 2014
Because democracy admits adverse comments, and the maturity and tolerance to listen to them. #EPNvsInternet

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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French Economist Piketty Links Inequality to Instability of Democracies · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

French economist and Associate Chair at the Paris School of Economics, Thomas Piketty recently published a book called “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” that has generated quite a buzz among fellow economists and political leaders. Piketty's central thesis is that inequality is not an accident, but one of the consequences of the excess of capitalism. Piketty also opines that inequality could threaten the democratic process as recently seen in Greece. Critics of his thesis on inequality also abound.
Increase in the annual income of the top 1% of wealthy persons in the U.S. before economic crises using data initially published as Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez (2003) on wikimedia commons CC-NC-3.0

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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French NGO Tackles the ‘Roma Question’ Through Community Building Projects · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

A poster of PEROU's community construction project called “Le chantier de la Base de Vie.” (A construction site for a new living area)  Source: Journal de l'Ambassade du PEROU à Ris-Orangis, used with permission.
[All links lead to French-language pages except where noted.]
The non-profit Embassy of PEROU has nothing to do with the similarly spelled Latin American country, but it does have plenty to do with diplomacy.
Ris-Orangis and Grigny, two cities in the department of Essonne on the outskirts of Paris, are home to many Roma families. Demolitions of Roma camps reached a new high in France in total numbers and media visibility in 2013. PEROU, (a French acronym for Hub for the Exploration of Urban Resources) aims to bring together residents of these suburbs and their shantytown neighbors, including the Roma community as well as others, by building community centers together and improving the general living conditions in the shantytowns.
The NGO, which strives to mix social activities with architectural design, wants to serve ostracized communities that the government usually sees as social or ethnic problems needing to be solved instead of as fully fledged residents. By doing so, they hope to emphasize the absurdities and indignities of the current urban and social policies in France.
Coordinator Sebastien Thiery addressed the so-called “Roma question”, or the debate over how to deal with Roma and migrant communities, in an exchange on “Le Monde des Livres”, a weekly forum on cultural issues on Le Monde.fr :
Surtout, elle [La question rom] empêche de concevoir que la politique de violence et de non-accès aux droits ne cible pas seulement ces prétendus Roms, mais aussi les SDF à Paris ou les migrants à Calais. “Rom” est l'une de ces catégories qui naturalisent la précarité des personnes ainsi désignées : du côté du rebut humain par essence – ou pire, par volonté – elles “méritent” donc la violence qui s'abat sur elles.
Most importantly, it [the Roma question] gets in the way of understanding that the policy of violence and lack of access to rights does not target only these alleged Roma, but also the homeless in Paris or the migrants in Calais. “Roma” is a category that naturalizes the insecurity of the people with that label: They are the dregs of society by virtue of their essence – or worse, by their own free will – and they therefore “deserve” the violence that is inflicted on them.
In an interview published on the site “Questions de Classes,” Thiery explained what PEROU is:
Le PEROU – Pôle d’exploration des ressources urbaines est un collectif d’architectes, artistes et chercheurs qui souhaite contribuer à rénover le répertoire des savoirs sur la grande précarité urbaine, et peut-être par là-même à rénover le répertoire des actions publiques conduites pour y répondre. Notre méthode est pragmatique : agir sur les situations de cette grande précarité urbaine, transformer l’espace comme les représentations qui y sont associées.
PEROU (Hub for the Exploration of Urban Resources) is a collective of architects, artists and researchers who want to contribute to updating the knowledge base on severe urban insecurity and use this information to improve the set of public policies addressing the issue. Our method is practical: taking action in situations of severe urban insecurity, transforming the space as well as the perceptions that are associated with it.
The organization's blog Le Journal de l'Ambassade du PEROU à Ris-Orangis… et à Grigny seeks to shed light on the daily life of these disadvantaged families and to understand how language plays a role in discrimination, as explained in the journal's initial appeal in 2012:
Il en va ainsi d'Amnesty International qui, dans son tout dernier rapport intitulé “Chassés de toutes parts. Les expulsions forcées de Roms en Île-de-France” (lire ici), utilise l'expression “campements informels roms”. Voici une expression ahurissante à divers titres, et en premier lieu en raison de l'évocation appuyée de ce nomadisme hors-sujet, certes contrebalancée par l'étrange expression “expulsions forcées” (connaît-on des expulsions non forcées ?), qui raconte que si ces populations voyagent effectivement, ça n'est pas en raison d'un goût pour le nomadisme, mais à cause d'un destin d'indésirables qui, depuis des siècles peut-être, leur a inculqué un certain savoir-fuir.
In their latest report [en], entitled “Told to move on: Forced evictions of Roma in France,” Amnesty International uses the expression “informal Roma settlements.” This is an appalling expression for several reasons, most importantly because it imposes an off-topic implication of nomadism. True, it is counterbalanced by the strange expression “forced evictions” (is there any such thing as non-forced evictions?) which implies that if these populations do indeed travel, it is not because of a preference for the nomadic lifestyle, but because of a destiny of undesirables which, perhaps for centuries, has instilled in them a certain knack for fleeing.
How to overturn these perceptions? By transforming their space, by building:
Evacuer les déchets, faire disparaître les rats, mettre à distance la boue, renforcer les baraques, les isoler de telle sorte à ce qu'elles ne puissent prendre feu, donner à l'espace, à partir des savoirs et savoir-faire des personnes habitant là, une qualité à distance des clichés assassins qui colportent qu'ici tout est branlant, tels sont les enjeux premiers d'une action qui, transformant l'espace, vise la transformation des regards portés sur ceux qui les habitent. Construire, c'est s'émanciper de la figure sulfureuse du dévastateur.
Clear out the debris, get rid of the rats, clean out the mud, reinforce the shanties and insulate them so that they can't catch fire, and based on the knowledge and abilities of the people living there, give the space a quality that is a far cry from the deadly clichés that claim everything here is in shambles. Those are the stakes in an action that, by transforming the space, aims to transform the perceptions of those who live there. To build is to liberate one's self from the demonic figure of the destroyer.
Here is how the program began:
Dans une quinzaine de jours, le PEROU inaugurera son ambassade au coeur du bidonville situé en lisière de la Nationale 7 à Ris-Orangis. L'ambassade c'est un lieu de vie, de plaisir, de travail, d'imagination d'un autre avenir. C'est un lieu pour les enfants, un lieu de l'enfance, un lieu à partir duquel doivent s'inventer d'autres lieux, de nouveaux horizons.
Within two weeks, PEROU will open its embassy in the heart of the slum located along the Nationale 7 highway in Ris-Orangis. The embassy is a place of life, pleasure, work, and imagining a different future. It's a place for children, a place of childhood, a place that must serve as the source for other places and new horizons.
Roméo, a resident of one of the shantytowns near Ris-Orangis, posted the following description of their daily lives in December 24, 2012:
[…] Avec son mari et ses cinq enfants, vit ici Ekaterina, soeur de Roméo. Son sourire est délicat, ses gestes légers. Elle traverse sa petite baraque telle une danseuse, et attrape en bout de scène la tasse de café qu'elle s'empresse de nous offrir.
Roméo vit avec sa femme et ses parents dans la baraque d'à côté. Leur poêle a fonctionné toute la journée, et la chaleur est ici torride. Ils sont réunis autour d'on ne sait quelle discussion, comme écrasés par le sujet. On entre, ils s'animent, se lèvent presque tous pour nous céder un fauteuil. On commence à parler, et la discussion menace de ne jamais finir tant ils paraissent avides de nos paroles.
[…] Romeo's sister Ekaterina lives here with her husband and her five children. Her smile is delicate, her movements light. She crosses her small shack like a dancer, and at the end of the stage, picks up the cup of coffee that she offers us eagerly.
Romeo lives with his wife and his parents in the shack next door. Their stove has been running all day, and the temperature in the room is sweltering. They are gathered in some kind of discussion, as if weighed down by the topic. We enter and they light up, almost everyone rising to offer us a chair. We begin to talk, and they seem so riveted by our words that the discussion may never end.
Through their actions, the NGO wishes to take a stand against urban policies in France :
22 fire extinguishers, to avoid the worst.
From a photo series by Margot Crayssac and Mabel Miranda. Used with permission.
Eric Fassin, dans l'ouvrage collectif qu'il publie cette semaine aux éditions La Fabrique (Roms et riverains. Une politique municipale de la race) analyse ce qui tient lieu aujourd'hui de politique à l'endroit des bidonvilles : laisser se dégrader la situation jusqu'à ce que l'expulsion s'impose, ou rendre le quotidien des familles invivable jusqu'au cauchemar afin que l'auto-expulsion s'impose.
Par les actes, nous nous opposons à telle lâcheté. C'est pourquoi, inlassablement, nous avons construit à Ris-Orangis. C'est pourquoi inlassablement nous construisons à Grigny. C'est pourquoi nous avons installé 22 extincteurs le week-end dernier sur les baraques du bidonville de la Folie. Pour éviter le pire. Ce que, si tant est que nous demeurions en République, toute municipalité se devrait de faire. Exactement, il nous en a coûté 437 euros.
In an anthology published by La Fabrique this week (“Roma and Residents: A Municipal Policy of Race”), Eric Fassin analyzes what passes for public policy in the slums today: letting the situation deteriorate until eviction takes place, or making the families’ daily lives so unlivable that they are forced to exile themselves. We are taking a stand against this cowardice. This is why we did the construction in Ris-Orangis. This is why we are working tirelessly on the construction in Grigny. This is why we installed 22 fire extinguishers on the shacks in the La Folie slum last weekend. To avoid the worst. If we remain in the country, this is what every city should be doing. It cost exactly 437 euros (604 US dollars).
PEROU's work is documented in written updates and PDF image galleries on the association's site. To round out its project, the organization even has “its own employment agency:”
Photo studio in La Folie set up by Rafael Trapet to take portraits. The images will be included on participants’ CVs, which were put together by students from the ENSAD [en]. March 1, 2014. Used with permission.
Ce site Internet, forme d’agence pour l’emploi du PEROU, est alors conçu pour colporter cette parole [de quarante adultes européens vivant à Grigny sous la menace d’une énième expulsion] et faciliter les relations de travail auxquelles aspirent nos concitoyens européens ici représentés. Afin que leur éloignement n’ait plus lieu.
PEROU's employment agency website was conceived in order to spread the word [of 40 European adults living in Grigny under the threat of yet another eviction] and facilitate the work relationships sought by our fellow Europeans represented here. So that they will no longer be kept at a distance.
Two recent books illustrate the “municipal policy of race” and “the municipal art of destroying a slum:”
On Saturday, copies of PEROU's new book, “Considering That It Is Likely That Such Events May Reoccur: On the Municipal Art of Destroying a Slum,” were distributed to families so that they will be able to read about the mass eviction of the Ris-Orangis slum, among other issues. The book was translated into Romanian by Ramona Strachinaru and Marina Nicusor. Photo: Laurent Malone, used with permission. La Folie, Grigny, March 29, 2014.
“Une véritable guerre aux pauvres a lieu aujourd'hui” Sébastien Thiéry dans @MondedesLivreshttp://t.co/WibN4XaHxIpic.twitter.com/9ztunQraYz
— Laurent Margantin (@L_Margantin) April 11, 2014
A war against the poor is taking place today.
“Ils sont assimilés à des rats sur des tracts, on emploie à leur propos le mot “extermination”” @MondedesLivres pic.twitter.com/LwfnnSGko9
— Laurent Margantin (@L_Margantin) April 11, 2014
Official documents put [Roma people] in the same category as rats. The word “extermination” is used in reference to them.
The book “Considering That It Is Likely That Such Events May Reoccur: On the Municipal Art of Destroying a Slum” was compiled and presented by Sebastien Thiery. The book takes its title from the municipal statement that ordered the destruction of the makeshift homes of Ris, which PEROU had worked for months to consolidate and improve. In the book, artists, philosophers, writers and landscapers parody and dissect the legalese in order to show its staggering effect. The book is supplemented by a film, which shows images of the “illicit settlement” accompanied by a reading of the endless municipal order:
CONSIDERANT by Perou Paris on Vimeo.
PEROU continues to work because “we still need to work on hospitality.” Together. With love and good humor.

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Grenada, Antigua: Life Lessons  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Kara Stevens, blogging at Groundation Grenada, shares five lessons about finances and life from Lessons her “Superhero Antiguan Grandpa”.


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VIDEO: Judging Boyfriends by Their Housing in Hong Kong · Global Voices
Hunter

Hong Kong is the world's most expensive place to live due to its rocketing property prices. For an outsider, the prices are just an unreasonable figure. For local residents, they become a nightmare that affects every aspect of life, sometimes even people's relationships.
This nightmare is depicted in an online short story called “Girlfriend brings you home for dinner” [zk] posted anonymously under the pseudonym “Golden Godfather” in popular online forum Golden Forum earlier this year.
Inspired by the story, Ronnie Chau, a political commentary video producer, later turned it into a mini-film titled “Public housing, Private-ownership apartment, Private apartment” that has gone viral in Hong Kong.
The video plays with some stereotypes of Hong Kong Chinese families in which the mother expects her daughter to improve her life by picking a relatively wealthy boyfriend. As the residential address of a person can reflect a person's economic status in Hong Kong, the first question the mother in the video asks the boyfriend is where he lives. There are three scenarios – public housing, government-subsidized housing under the private-ownership scheme, and a private apartment. And the mother reacts accordingly.
Within a short period of time, the video receives more than 100,000 views and many comments. While the video is clearly exaggerating the relationship between people by playing with the materialistic stereotype of the “Chinese mother”, many netizens believed it depicted reality:
KHL1U1001016: freaking true…
Allan Wong: sooooooo realistic…
James Chou2: It's sad and funny because it's true. HK SAR people do judge people by where they live and their work…
Angelina Lo, playing the mother in the video, is keen to know where exactly her daughter's boyfriend lives. Screen capture from YouTube.
The mother, portrayed by Angelina Lo, an experienced artist in Hong Kong, has become the focus of the discussion on YouTube:
whwong2881: That guy should said : Na I don't like your daughter because you are a fuxking gold digger
abcnoman011: They are not gold digger , it just that the price of a apartment in hk is so unreasonable high , that a normal person can hardly afford . The mother is just want to make sure that the daughter is dating someone that have a private apartment or at least own one, so the daughter do not have to suffer later in live , it is sad but truth , the mother have a a good reason to do that , she may went through hell in the past to save up money to buy an apartment , so she do not want her daughter to go through what she had gone through . Sad !!!!!!!!
tsz ng2: fantastic actress, Ms LO, same set up three tone of performance.
As a mother she just hope her child get the best future.
However our society is deeply affected by the western culture and lost our the fundamental believe of human being.
We need more people to be alert and rectify our society back to the right track.
Of course, the ultimate problem is the crazy property prices because of the unlimited flow of investment and speculative capital in the city:
asuka k: Don't blame auntie, but the government!

author: Hunter


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International Organizations, Activists and Authors Against #LeyTelecom · Global Voices
Jacobo Nájera

Several digital rights international organizations sent the Mexican Congress a letter expressing international support [es] for the defense of the freedom of expression and Internet freedom in Mexico. The letter is signed by Electronic Frontier Foundation, Vía Libre, Digital Rights NGO, among other academics and experts.
According to the signers, each regulation refered to telecommunications and broadcastiong approved by Mexican Congress should comply constitutional regulations and international rules about human rights signed by Mexico. They also issued a call for the observance of the UN resolution about right to privacy in the digital era on the complimentary law on telecommunicatons, the joint declaration about surveillance programs and their impact in freedom of expresson and the 13 principles [es] about human rights, in order to ensure the respect of human rights in the internet.
ContingenteMX posted this video on YouTube:

author: Jacobo Nájera


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Jamaica Names Poet Laureate · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp is thrilled to hear that Mervyn Morris has been named Poet Laureate of Jamaica by the country's National Library, saying:
It speaks to the years of commitment to his craft and the guidance that he has given and continues to give to poets and to the people of Jamaica.


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Meet Mamy and Zo, Editors of Global Voices in Malagasy · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

Zo and Mamy. Photo used with their permission
Project Lingua's Global Voices in Malagasy, which is the official language of Madagascar, is one of the most active Global Voices translation teams. Created in 2007, the project has produced more than 6,500 translations so far. All GV Malagasy translators and editors reside in Madagascar.
In this interview conducted by Global Voices Lebanese author Thalia Rhame, Global Voices in Malagasy editors Mamy and Zo talk about themselves and their efforts to bring world news to the so-called Red Island in the Indian Ocean.
Mamy (MA): My real name is Maminirina Radifera Ranaivoson, but everyone knows me as Avylavitra online. I’m an employee of a large company in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar. I am a father of three daughters. The two eldest (Candy and Miora) are already members of the GV Lingua Malagasy team, while my youngest (13 years old) is practicing by translating what she can and helping her sisters.
Zo (ZO): My name is Andriamifidisoa Zo, my pseudonym online is Jentilisa [in English, this means “gentile.” In Hebrew, “Goyim.”] – in Malagasy, it can also mean “gentle”. As I've written in my bio on Global Voices in Malagasy, I'm a blogger since early 2006 and I write only in academic Malagasy (with no French or English words). I was born and live here in Madagascar. In my personal blog (VETO=Vaovao Eto an-TOerana – Local News), I strive to inform all Malagasies and anyone who knows or is studying the Malagasy language about what is going on in the country. My blog was awarded with a BOMB (Best of Malagasy Blog) Award in 2007 in the category of Malagasy language. Here at Global Voices, I try to translate international stories into Malagasy. But I'm not a journalist! I'm doing it to promote the Malagasy language even though I don't always share the same point of view expressed in some of these stories.
MA: I love writing since I was a young student. But it was only in October 30, 2007 at 07:58 that I got Internet access at home and created my first blog on Skyrock (http://avylavitra.skyrock.com/). At that time, it was just a photo blog. Later, I chose to write and report with pictures as much as possible, instead of just telling stories. I created three other blogs on WordPress, but the one which is the most read is Gazetyavylavitra. It won the Best of Malagasy Blogs award in 2009. I believe what my friends noticed the most is the quality of Malagasy language I use and the content of my writing, so they decided to ask me to work with GV. Mialy Andriamananjara and Lova Rakotomalala contacted me to become a translator first. Jentilisa (Zo) also convinced me to do it.
ZO: In early 2007, Global Voices author Mialy Andriamananjara invited me to join GVO French, but I gently refused arguing that I would accept if the task was to translate from English into Malagasy. Before that, I knew nothing about Global Voices. Months after that first exchange, Mialy invited me again, but this time to join GV in Malagasy and I accepted. I was among the first to join GV in Malagasy since its beginning. That is one of reasons I accepted to join to Global Voices Community.
Ma: My first translation for GV dates back to March 10, 2008. Now I have translated 1,208 posts. I haven't counted the number of posts I have also edited. Over these years with GV Malagasy, I feel that Jentilisa and I are doing our best to make it work: translating from English to Malagasy so that Malagasy people can have access to international news. News about culture, way of life, development, politics, economics, etc. One needs to make new discoveries in order to compare and improve.
GV in Malagasy is currently one of the most active GV Lingua projects. The reason for the dynamic there is simple: we seek to provide a high quality translation so we check every single detail in order to ensure that the translation remains true to the original post. Because of this attention to detail, the frequency of publication is a bit up and down for everyone: it depends on the text length, the correction to be applied and of course, Internet access.
ZO: We are a dozen of translators in the community and there are more women than men. As I said before, we started on September 12, 2007. We always pick long posts to translate and just a few “quick reads”. We try to finish our translation as soon as possible to keep up with the news cycle and be the first to have the news in Malagasy language. There are times translators are very fast and editors can't keep pace. I believe we come in third when it comes to number of posts published daily (2.89 posts per day).
But even though we try to keep up with the pace of news in producing translated texts, we still need to make sure that the quality of work is top notch (the right word at the right place). We, as editors, know that translators have the ability to understand what the text is saying  but they tend to translate literally. However, the Malagasy language should not follow the grammatical rules of the original text. Whenever we follow Westerners’ manner in structuring a sentence, the Malagasy translation becomes very difficult to read or understand for Malagasy readers. Sometimes, we need to reconstruct the sentence to facilitate the reading of text.
MA: We can say GV is fairly well known, both among citizens and netizens. Our Facebook page helps us promote the website. We also have a Twitter account. GV in Malagasy also takes part in various activities, like the blogging training for journalists at Malagasy Press Center / WWF Antsakaviro, where I worked with Candy, Lalah Ariniaina and the American embassy. I also was a guest speaker last month at the IT meet up about social networks. It is an event organised by the co-working hub HabakaMG every two weeks. Regarding the readers, they mostly come from towns where there is Internet access, and the majority lives in Antananarivo. But they are also many readers from Europe, and a few from Canada and the US.
The members of the GV Malagasy team. Used with their permission
MA: We noticed that netizens start talking and comparing international news to what happens here in Madagascar, especially when it comes to political issues. However, they still mince their words carefully when it comes to expressing themselves publicly, most of them preferring to speak through social networks. In fact, most people are afraid of government censorship, they fear that they could be subject to threats or arrested if one dares to report things about those who are currently in power.
ZO: You know, Madagascar is still recovering from a major political and social crisis. In general, Malagasy netizens don't discuss and don't put their comment directly but they take these news as examples of what Malagasy citizens should do or not when arguing with each other and when there is similarity with the contemporary history of Madagascar.
MA: The most faced challenges are the translation of technical, economical, scientific and legal terms. Well, the terms that we don’t use daily. As we know, Madagascar was a French colony in the past, and the reader always refer to the French word when there is a difficult Malagasy word they can’t understand.
Among articles that have been most read were those which dealt with political issues, and I think this is one of them: Madagasikara: Hisy ve ny fanapahan-kevitra hialàna amin'ny olana? (Madagascar: A Resolution to the Political Crisis?)
GV: Would you please list the top five Malagasy netizens (bloggers, Twitter users or others) that you would recommend to GV readers?
MA: On Twitter: @Malgachie, @wakeupmada, @Njivatahiry, @MdgMediaCenter, @rrvaly
Top blogs:
@jentilisa: http://jentilisa.blaogy.com/
alain rajaonarivony: http://alainrajaonarivony.over-blog.com/
@dadandry: http://andrydago.wordpress.com/ & http://dadandry.blogspot.com/
@saveoursmile: http://madafan.com/ & http://saveoursmile.wordpress.com/
@ariniaina: http://ariniaina.wordpress.com/  & http://ariniaina.mondoblog.org/
ZO: Let me list six Malagasy bloggers who are not GV contributors so that they can be better known by the public. Most of them are newcomers in the blogosphere and I think they deserve to be promoted.
- Anosibe [fr] (the title of the blog is the name of a dangerous district in the capital city of Madagascar.)
- tonnsligagasurun [fr]
- Lay Andriamialy [fr]
- En campagne profonde [fr]
- Life Audit [fr-mg]
- Mandimby Maharo [mg-en-fr]

author: Thalia Rahme


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So Long, Mr. Durov, and Thanks for All the Fish · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Pavel Durov, ousted from Vkontakte, for good. Images mixed by author.
After more than a year of rumors, the stockholders of Russia’s largest online social network, Vkontakte, have finally fired founder and CEO Pavel Durov. Befitting the oddity that VK’s internal politics has become, the company today terminated its creator’s employment on a technicality, claiming that Durov never rescinded his March 21, 2014, resignation. Publicly at least, Durov did indeed void his decision to quit VK, saying it was partly an April Fools joke and partly a tactical maneuver to see how his adversaries would respond.
Vkontakte now says Durov never formally retracted his resignation. Acting Director Dmitri Sergeev (a man who just last March defended Durov against accusations of misusing company funds) told the press today that a month has passed since Durov informed VK’s board of directors of his intention to resign, entering the resignation into effect.
There have been several occasions over the last year when Durov’s ouster from Vkontakte appeared to be a done deal. Each of those times, the now-29-year-old tech maverick managed to keep his job. With some caution, it seems we can at last announce that Durov is at the end of his rope. Last week, maybe in anticipation of today’s news, he revealed that the Russian government has pressured Vkontakte to share personal data about the VK community organizers of Euromaidan groups and to shut down Alexey Navalny’s anti-corruption group. On both occasions, Durov says he told federal authorities to get lost. Today, perhaps, the Russian establishment responded in kind.
In an statement published to his Vkontakte page today, Durov slammed the decision to “accept his resignation,” declaring that the company is now under the control of Alisher Usmanov, who is co-owner of Mail.ru Group (VK’s majority shareholder), and Igor Sechin, who is rumored to be connected to UCP (VK’s minority shareholder). Curiously, Durov omits any mention of Ilya Sherbovich, UCP’s president, skipping directly to Sechin, the company’s alleged silovik godfather.
What follows is a full translation of Durov’s April 21, 2014, statement.
Судя по новостям, в результате моего публичного отказа на прошлой неделе, сегодня меня уволили с должности генерального директора ВКонтакте. Интересно, что у акционеров не хватило смелости сделать это прямо, и о своем загадочном увольнении я узнаю из прессы.
Как сообщается, совет директоров ВКонтакте сегодня *внезапно* обнаружил, что отзыв моего заявления об уходе с поста генерального директора 3 апреля (который они до этого публично приняли), оказался оформлен “не по всем правилам”, поэтому я автоматически освобождаюсь от должности. Насколько я понимаю, эта непрозрачная позиция является общей для всех акционеров.
Таким образом, сегодня ВКонтакте переходит под полный контроль Игоря Сечина и Алишера Усманова. Наверное, в российских условиях нечто подобное было неизбежно, но я рад, что мы продержались 7 с половиной лет. Мы многое успели. И часть того, что было сделано, уже не обратить вспять.
Judging by the news, as a result of my refusal last week [to cooperate with the Kremlin], today they’ve fired me from my post as general director of Vkontakte. Interestingly, the shareholders didn’t have the courage to do this directly, and I learned about my own dismissal from the press.
It’s being reported that VK’s board of directors today *suddenly* determined that the withdrawal of my letter of resignation (which they publicly accepted until now) appears to have been formatted “not entirely according to the rules,” and therefore I am automatically dismissed from my position. As I understand it, all the shareholders share this non-transparent position.
As a result, Vkontakte today goes under the total control of Igor Sechin and Alisher Usmanov. Most likely, in the Russian context, something like this was inevitable from the start, but I’m glad that we lasted seven and a half years. We accomplished a lot. And some of what we managed is already impossible to undo.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Will there be a Popular Consultation for Yasuní? · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

(All links are in Spanish, otherwise noted as [en] for English)
Following the president's decision last year to exploit the oil fields in Parque Nacional Yasuní [en] [Yasuní National Park] an oppositional movement began and became quickly organized. It started carrying out marches for collecting signatures in order to hold a popular consultation regarding Yasuni's fate.
On Saturday, April 12th the Yasunidos collective, along with other organizations, presented almost 750,000 signatures before the CNE [National Electoral Board, for its Spanish name] so that it may be passed on to the Consulta Popular del Yasuní ITT [The Yasuní ITT Popular Consultation]. The CNE accounted for receiving the signatures and indicates that the minimum signatures required were 583,324. It also announced that the signature verification procedure started on Monday, April 14th.
However, on Thursday, April 17th an incident occurred involving Yasunidos members. They blocked the boxes, containing the forms of the collected signatures, from being transferred between the CNE and the signature verification center. They claimed there were irregularities in the procedure.
Quieren sacar las cajas sin nuestro consentimiento pese a la petición de aplazar el proceso hasta obtener garantías pic.twitter.com/OjvUomKMkT
— Yasunidos (@Yasunidos) April 17, 2014
They want to take the boxes away without our consent despite the petition to postpone the procedure until we're certain.
On Friday, April 18th the CNE announced that the procedure is advancing in accordance to the established timetable and that the presence of supervisors guarantees its transparency and proper conduct. Nevertheless, activists continue to denounce irregularities with the procedure.
Militares @FFAAECUADOR nos cierran la puerta a #Yasunidos #DefiendeTuFirma #Yasuní pic.twitter.com/MIRPg8i1hg
— Yasunidos (@Yasunidos) April 18, 2014
The military @FFAAECUADOR closes the door on #Yasunidos #DefiendeTuFirma [Defend your signature] #Yasuní

author: Juan Arellano


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Chile: “Strength Built with Hands” · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

The author of blog Palabras para gastar shares his impressions after a visit to cerro Merced [es], in Valparaíso, days after the devastating fire that destroyed the area:
There it was, a crowd moving along like ants, solving on the go, communicating with each other; not even asking for a lending hand but offering both. There ir was, besides the monument that commemorate the 1906 earthquake and the “Plaza del Recuerdo” [Remembrance Square], a stack of debris, rusted and scorched cans. Twisted as should be our conscience.
[…]
And facing this shocking setting, solidarity shows itself in all its splendor. No alms; solidarity. Equal treat, like brothers.
[…]
Strength, Valpo! Strength built with hands, no one that just gets pronounced or written. A mound of strength, damn it!

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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French Newspaper Publishes Chart on What Nationalities Commit Crimes · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The newspaper Le Progrès based in Lyon, France published an infographic [fr]entitled “”Délinquance : à chacun sa spécialité – principales nationalités impliquées” (Crimes: To each his own- the main nationalities implicated [for each type of crimes]) (see image in the twitter update below):
Dans son édition du jour, Le Progrès ose publier un comparatif de la délinquance dans le Rhône, par nationalité. pic.twitter.com/Op08FO6P78
— Romain Charbonnier (@rcharbonnier) April 22, 2014
In its daily publication, newspaper Le Progrès dared to publish a comparison of crime rates in the Rhône by nationality
Thibeau Perezat notes that the newspaper did not mention the sources of the data. Global Voices contributor Julie Owono comments that the newspaper failed to distinguish that “Africans” or “Roma” are not nationalities.


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Guyana: The Walter Rodney Enquiry · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Two different narratives are taking hold in Guyana when it comes to the Commission of Enquiry into the death of political activist Walter Rodney: Barbados Underground reports that the Guyana Trades Union Congress is looking after its interest in arriving at the truth, while propaganda press, which is not in support of the enquiry, suggests that the process is being boycotted.


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Iran’s New Wave of Women Fashion Designers · Global Voices
Denise Ajiri

Radaa Brand designed by Iranian fashion designer Maryam Vahidzadeh. Spring 2013 collection
Years ago, Iranian women, especially the younger generation, avidly sought the right “brands” – meaning foreign, most preferably western labels. Foreign brands seemed cooler, more fashionable and were therefore more expensive. There were few domestic brands out there, and the ones that were, weren't regarded as tasteful by the young generation’s standards.
But a few years ago, things began to change. Domestic designers emerged with their own unique ideas. Colourful local designs for women started to appear and catch interest.
Nowadays, there are dozens of local brands, registered and unregistered, in Iran. Like others in the global fashion industry, the new designs hit the market every season. Like other fashion designers, they have their own models, but unlike others in the business, they are not so much into advertising around town. Their professional photos have instead made a home on social media.
Poosh, a registered Iranian brand for women
Poosh (also known as Pooshema) designs a range of products, from clothes to accessories to handmade purses to shoes. Farnaz Abdoli is the main designer behind the brand who manages a group of clothing designers who make up Poosh.
“As a young girl I wasn’t able to find my desired streetwear. I would always think, why should I be forced to follow a specific format when it comes to street clothing? Why shouldn’t I put on something that is likeable and at the same time doesn’t clash with the Islamic dress code?” Abdoli said.
With this idea in mind, Abdoli, who has a degree in graphic design, decided to create her own style. She participated in several fashion designing workshops in Tehran, Istanbul and Dubai, launched some clothing exhibitions, and three years ago established the Poosh brand.
“Ahead of each season I check out the fashion trends around the world and try to be in line with that… I am in contact with Iranian designers who live abroad, I discuss my ideas with them and sometimes get their advice,” she said.
Poosh is an officially registered brand in Iran, meaning that it has all the necessary permissions from the Union for Clothing, Administration of Public Places and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Abdoli explained that getting all the permissions was a time-consuming and expensive process, which she said might be the reason why there are not a lot of official women’s brands out there.
“It is a sensitive area,” she said. “You are under a lot of pressure in order not to pass the red lines. Therefore most of the people don’t feel like taking the risk and investing on it. That’s why now we have a lot of designers who work underground and only advertise on social media such as Facebook and Instagram.”
Poosh has taken all the administrative steps. It is an official brand which has its official shop in the west of Tehran, but it still uses social media as one of its advertising tools and has more than 85,000 followers on Facebook.
“Most of our Facebook followers live abroad,” she said. “We take a lot of orders from other countries, especially United States and Canada and a lot of them are not even Iranian. They knew about us through pieces produced and published on English media.”
But sending out the orders is not an easy task. “Due to sanctions, accepting foreign currency through banking is not possible. Therefore those who have an intermediary in Iran have a chance to buy our products,” she said.
Poosh chooses its models from a range of requests that it receives. It has a professional fashion photography team who know how not to cross the line, although Abdoli pointed out that there are no specific guidelines with regards to fashion photography of women in Iran.
“We don’t need to submit each of our photos for a permission, but anyway we are under supervision. We might get a warning sometimes, but until today we didn’t have any problems with regards to our photos.”
Anar Design, a mixture of modern and traditional design
Anousheh Assefi said although she has not registered her brand “Anar” (meaning “pomegranate” in Farsi), she has her own salon and runs a show on shawls and manteaus – a type of long or short overcoat that has become a staple of Iranian women's fashion – on a seasonal basis.
Born in 1983, Assefi has a bachelor’s in textile design and also holds a master’s in illustration. She established Anar Design along with her friend in 2006, and after her friend left Iran she worked alone.
Assefi, who teaches fashion design in several Iranian institutions, believes the shift in some Iranians’ taste from foreign brands to domestic ones in past few years is due to the greater variety of fabrics than before.
“Little by little people got used to colours and started to put on colourful manteaus in order to look different,” she explained.
She added, “Besides, the kind of manteau that we wear in Iran is somehow an Iranian invention and therefore can’t be imported… The imported manteau-like pieces might not have the same delicacy and quality.”
Anar Design advertises on social media. The brand has more than 3,800 followers on Facebook who are informed about new designs and upcoming shows.
Anar Design is a mixture of colour, western and eastern design. “Due to my job I am aware of fashion trends in the world,” she explained. “Besides, I am interested in mixing modern and traditional design into each other, for example creating patchwork by using nowadays silk textiles.”
Assefi’s models are her friends. “They should be well-shaped and attractive. Besides, they should feel comfortable with their photos being taken and distributed online. I usually edit the photos myself, but sometimes my friends come to assist.”
Although in some photos, the models do not wear a headscarf, she says nobody has ever warned them to follow the Islamic dress code.
Radaa, easy to wear
Maryam Vahidzadeh is 24 and lives in the southern city of Shiraz. Her brand Radaa (meaning “robe”) was established in summer of 2012. She has recently officially registered her brand and the final steps are in process.
“My designs do not have a signature theme. I only believe that one must feel comfortable in her clothes… I pick the fabrics which don’t need regular ironing and my themes are not raw and characterless. I can say they are more modern and comfortable rather than classic and formal, ” Vahidzadeh said.
Vahidzadeh, who has a university degree in architecture, said after seeing that people were showing interest in domestic design, she also thought of building her own brand.
“In recent years a lot of Iranian designers started to work actively and publicly… unlike few years ago, now domestic brands are more favourable than foreign ones,” she said. “I find it great that we are able to design based on our own taste and are not forced to put on foreign designs which are based on different taste and style.”
Being a registered brand, Radaa is allowed to advertise publicly, but it is still very active on Facebook, where it has around 13,500 followers.
Vahidzadeh said she is interested in expanding her work and distribution area. She has received some orders from foreign countries such as UK, but explained that due to high postal expenses and some restrictions, she was not able to send out her products.
She added, “I have also been offered to collaborate with some designers in the Netherlands and Sweden, but back then it was not possible to do so.”
Radaa’s models are among Vahidzadeh’s friends. She said there are not many people in Shiraz who are interested in modeling and she mostly receives modeling requests from Tehran.
Nowadays there are dozens of fashion designers focused on women’s clothing in Iran. Although there might not be established guidelines when it comes to women’s fashion and fashion photography, the new wave of designers are motivated more than ever to satisfy the fashion savvy women of Iran.

author: Denise Ajiri


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Tweet Against García Márquez Generates Outrage in Colombia  · Global Voices
Lully

(All links are in Spanish, otherwise noted as [en] for English)
“They will soon be together in hell” was the phrase tweeted by elected Colombian congresswoman of the Centro Democrático [en] [Democratic Center], María Fernanda Cabal. It was accompanied by a photo which alluded to the ideology of the recently deceased laureate writer and journalist, Gabriel García Márquez.
They will soon be together in hell.
Cabal's polemic tweet has stirred up general outrage and offended Aracataca, birthplace of García Márquez, for going against the Colombian Nobel laureate's memory. Many Twitter users have criticized her standing and asked for respect:
Aracataca espera a la señora Cabal para dar un debate sobre el infierno. pic.twitter.com/cvUB3Ziu3C
— Gonzalo Guillén (@HELIODOPTERO) abril 20, 2014
Aracataca awaits Ms. Cabal to give a debate on hell.
Que le digan a maria fernanda cabal que el infierno ya esta reservado pa uribe y sus complices mafiosos
— Javier Danilo (@javierdanilomur) abril 20, 2014
Let them tell María Fernanda Cabal that hell has already been reserved for [ex Colombian presidente Alvaro] Uribe and his mafia accomplices.
No hay nada más desagradable que atacar a un genio después de muerto, es como yo hablar mal de Hawking porque es ateo. #GraciasGabo
— Omar Pacheco R. (@OmarPachecoOp) abril 18, 2014
There is nothing more unpleasant than to attack a genius after his death, it's like me bad-mouthing Hawking for being an atheist. #GraciasGabo [Thanks Gabo]
Following an angry reply issued towards María Fernanda Cabal, Armando Benedetti, senator for the Partido de Unidad Nacional [en] (Social Party of National Unity) began an online campaign where people are supposed to vote for or against it:
Está Usted de acuerdo con que María Fernanda Cabal pague una penitencia por su agravio a nuestro Nobel, posesionándose 3 meses después del 20 de Julio?
Do you agree that María Fernanda Cabal should pay for her insult against our Nobel laureate by taking office three months after July 20th?
But the controversial tweet wasn't enough for María Fernanda Cabal. Instead, she threw back others infused with harsh ideological criticism:
Q amistad tan productiva! Los comunistas millonarios… @_El_Patriota @drvargasquemba @juancamelo @ricardopuentesm pic.twitter.com/Jid43ZxlV3
— Maria Fernanda Cabal (@MariaFdaCabal) abril 17, 2014
What a productive friendship! The communist millionares…
Tan comico..le habra contado como ordeno asesinar a Gaitan? @MackenzieEdo @_El_Patriota @juancamelo @drvargasquemba pic.twitter.com/QRwkzBO8mH
— Maria Fernanda Cabal (@MariaFdaCabal) abril 17, 2014
So funny… could he have told him how he ordered Gaitan's assassination?
“@NicolasMaduro: Fue Amigo sincero y leal de los líderes revolucionarios pic.twitter.com/g0Z4WXR998” // que han llenado de sangre y miseria
— Maria Fernanda Cabal (@MariaFdaCabal) abril 18, 2014
He was a sincere and loyal friend to the revolutionary leaders that have caused blood and misery.
María Fernanda Cabal removed the tweet after seeing the reactions against it. The Centro Democrático published a statement on its behalf expressing condolences to the Nobel laureate's family. The congresswoman also tweeted a letter apologizing with Gabo's family while at the same time is emphatic on her ideology and criticism:
Comunicado de Maria Fernanda Cabal a propósito de los mensajes publicados desde mi cuenta de Twitter con (cont) http://t.co/g9Y9SBEFrr
— Maria Fernanda Cabal (@MariaFdaCabal) abril 19, 2014
A statement from María Fernanda Cabal in reference to the published messages from my Twitter account (continued)
Nevertheless, the reactions continue:
Jajaja! Entre más habla más mete las de caminar http://t.co/zjNaAgWwnk
— Antonio Morales Rive (@amoralesan) abril 19, 2014
Hahaha! The more she talks, the more she talks the more mess she makes.
Esta vieja es muy ignorante, maria fernanda cabal
— Andrés Uribe (@SoyEse_Loco) abril 20, 2014
This a very ignorant woman, María Fernanda Cabal.
Twitter user @DJChiflamicas, in a joking and sarcastic tone, mentions the congresswoman and former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez [en], leader of her political party:
Pronto estarán juntos en el infierno, no mentira yo sí estudié y no creo en eso @MariaFdaCabal pic.twitter.com/Zauy8l5oF6
— DJ Chiflamicas (@DJChiflamicas) abril 18, 2014
Soon they will be together in hell, it's not a lie, I did study and I don't believe in that.
John Alexander Mosquera questions Ms. Cabal's actions in his blog and emphasizes how she contradicts herself by wanting to adjust her harsh criticism towards Gabo:
Queriendo obviar el hecho que la violencia oficial, común y política del país obligo a Gabriel García Márquez a vivir en el exilio; y pretendiendo mitigar la indignación causada por semejante desfachatez de trino, horas después la congresista electa Fernanda Cabal publica en su cuenta de twitter “Jamás cuestionaría la grandeza literaria de Gabo. Eso es indiscutible. Su afinidad con el castrismo sí. Y su indiferencia con Colombia”; con esto habrá querido decir que los escritos de Gabo estaban distanciados con su forma de ver el mundo. Ante esto solo queda decir que por muy fantásticas que fueran sus historias, los personajes de Gabo jamás estuvieron demasiado lejos de la realidad y en palabras del autor “A los demonios no hay que creerles ni cuando dicen la verdad”, no podemos olvidar quienes son y con quien tienen nexos.
By wanting to avoid the fact that the country's official, common, and political violence obligated Gabriel García Márquez to live in exile and by hoping to smooth over the outrage caused by such disrespect, elected congresswoman Fernanda Cabal, publishes this hours later on her Twitter account: “I would never question Gabo's literary greatness. That is indisputable. His affinity towards Castro's regime and his indifference towards Colombia, however, is disputable.” She may have meant to say that Gabo's view of the world and his writings were separate from each other. Therefore, it is only left to say that no matter how fantastical his stories were, Gabo's characters were never too far from reality and in the author's words, “There is no reason to believe demons [tell the truth], not even when they tell the truth.” We can't forget who they are and who they have connections with.
On the website, Las 2 Orillas, Javier Mauricio Santoyo throws harsh criticism towards Ms. Cabal and has a firm opinion regarding Jaime Garzón and the far right [en]:
Es mejor un funeral para el Nobel lejos de este país, con políticos y mafias, que no quieren a personas de su talla, que fueron capaces de matar a Jaime Garzón, y ahora quieren pisotear el recuerdo y la obra del verdadero Gran Colombiano.
It would be better to hold the Nobel laureate's funeral far away from this country; away from politicians and mafias that reject people like him, that were capable of killing Jaime Garzón, and that now want to trample the memory and work of the true Great Colombian.

author: Lully


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Verifying Social Media Content, and Other Tales from Nigeria’s First #GVMeetUp  · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Participants at the Lagos #GVMeetUp. Photo by Kosi Ibekwe. Used with permission.
Social media has pushed the traditional gatekeepers of information aside and upped the immediacy with which news is reported. This has empowered many people to voice their views and share their experiences, giving the world a wealth of perspectives that might have otherwise gone unheard, but it often can be difficult to establish the credibility of a news item.
This was the crux of the conversation at the first Nigeria #GVMeetUp held at the School of Media and Communication of Pan Atlantic University in Victoria Island, Lagos on April 17, 2014. Global Voices Online curates and provides context to netizens’ conversations around the world, so verifying information found on social media is of particular concern to its writers and editors.
Many people on the Internet spread falsehoods without meaning to, Global Voices Managing Editor Solana Larsen said, speaking to the meetup in a prerecorded video presentation. It's often the case that they “do not understand how information shows up on the Internet or how they accidentally take part in spreading misinformation”.
As such, the first step in verification of information from social media is to estimate the credibility of the netizen. According to Larsen, this is built upon trust. If a user lacks a credible voice, then invariably whatever news comes from them cannot be trusted.
Philosophy of @globalvoices is to look for local voices online. – Solana #GVMeetUp
— Olufemi Bellos (@FemiBellos) April 17, 2014
Dr. Eugene Ohu of the Lagos Business School stressed that there are various players to take into account: the witness (a social media user, news curator or citizen journalist), the amplifiers (those who have many followers and distribute news or influence news consumption) and validators (those netizens who judge the value or content of a news item).
Dr Eugene Ohu speaking at @globalvoices @SMC_PAU #GVMeetUp @LBSNigeria pic.twitter.com/yky92OkoOp
— SMC (@SMC_PAU) April 17, 2014
Ohu said citizen journalists must possess certain characteristics, such as a natural skepticism. Before accepting a news item, they try to assess the source. “As such the credibility of the source is essential” in determining the veracity of the news, he said.
“A good citizen journalist should only amplify news when he or she has authenticated the source,” Ohu said. When in doubt, he or she can crowdsource by asking followers who know more or are in the location of the event to validate the news story. He added that communicating with a source should always be done with tact, finesse and loads of courtesy, and citizen journalists should accept mistakes and apologize when they are wrong.
Lagos #GVMeetUp at School of Media and Communication. Photo by Kosi Ibekwe. Used with permission.
In the end, netizens can either spread facts or fallacy. And in Web 2.0 where the division between news producer and news consumer is ever blurred, tact is essential in validating the veracity of news on social media platforms.
Talk today at the #GVMeetup, and the work @globalvoices is doing to represent citizen voices in today's media landscape. Impressive work.
— KT (@baroka) April 17, 2014
Earlier today at the #GVMeetUp. And @tonypox vexed! cc @FailedRift @gbengaosowe @greatise @Divinepee @WordsworthGwary pic.twitter.com/i45Dl92NrO
— Nwachukwu Egbunike (@feathersproject) April 17, 2014
Following the Lagos Global Voices #MeetUp, its dozen participants were more convinced about their power in producing news, but nonetheless went home pondering the grave responsibility that this power has conferred on netizens in Nigeria’s blogosphere.

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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‘Vote No’ Campaign Urges South Africans to Shun Big Political Parties · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Former South Africa's intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils is leading a campaign against the ANC. Photo released under Creative Commons by Flickr user Russell Tribunal
A group of politicians in South Africa are pushing voters to boycott large political parties come election day.
Former South African intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils, former South African Communist Party leader Vishwas Satgar and former deputy health and defence minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge launched their “Vukani! Sidikwe! (Wake Up! We Are Fed up!) Vote No” campaign in Johannesburg on April 15, 2014. The campaign calls on South African voters to vote for small parties during May 7 elections or simply write “No” on the ballot.
According to Business Day Live, the campaign has attracted high-profile signatories, such as former director-general of environmental affairs Horst Kleinschmidt, former vice-chancellor of the University of South Africa Barney Pityana, and award-winning cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro.
It is supported by organisations such as the Awethu Platform, the Democratic Left Front and Democracy From Below.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is facing its toughest test in this year's elections due to rising cost of living, unemployment and corruption scandals. The main challengers are the main opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) and Electronic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the radical leftist party formed by the former ANC youth leader Julius Malema.
South Africa netizens appeared deeply divided about the campaign on Twitter. Some supported the effort:
Sidikwe vukani. Vote no. Retweet if we want to protect our democracy.
— Conscious Amma (@ConsciousAmma) April 13, 2014
This Sidikiwe Vukani has a v clear message: “Spoil your ballot! Ok, don't, but vote for anyone except the ANC. But not the DA, or the EFF!”
— Alistair Fairweather (@afairweather) April 16, 2014
Together with Madlala-Routledge and Kasrils I say “Sidikiwe! Vukani!” “We are fed up! Wake up!”. #VoteEFF
— Azania Afrika © (@SAYoungLion) April 15, 2014
This anc peoples thnk south africa youth we are blind.noo you are wrong we got some two bright eyes and we see everything about ANC#VoteNo
— Mr Fantastic4life (@kedikhedira) April 16, 2014
Others suggested that:
This hashtag #NoVote is misleading. It should be ‘NoANCvote’.
— Sentletse (@Sentletse) April 16, 2014
Instead of promoting #novote have the option of having a #nobody box on the ballot papers, then #noparty is good enough can be quantified…
— Frans Joubert (@fransjoubert) April 17, 2014
While others opposed the campaign, questioning its logic and motives:
I don't buy this #NOVote campaign, I'm sure its the #ANC strategy for ppl not to vote for opposition parties! At #EFF we say ppl must vote!
— Fighter Ndumi (@NdumisoNgalo) April 13, 2014
The problem I have with the #NOVote campaign is that nobody will count these votes, so how can u make a mark if u're not measured?
— Emy Casaletti-Bwalya (@Emy_Casaletti) April 15, 2014
I don't get this #NOVote campaign! If you're unhappy with a party, vote for another. Make your point by weakening the party u once supported
— Shahan Ramkissoon (@ShahanR) April 14, 2014
So, the ‘Sidikwe Vukani – Vote No’ campaign was launched yesterday. I won't be wasting my vote on any minority party, no way #SAPolitics
— Retha Sabasaba (@manowam) April 15, 2014
The so called ”Sidikiwe Vukani” anti-ANC campaign led by cde Khumalo remains the most counter-revolutionary offensive I've seen post 1994.
— Sipho Phendu (@Siphophendu76) April 13, 2014
My view on the sidikiwe vukani campaign is – instead of spoiling your vote – ask which party is the best guarantor of the constitution NOW!
— Lucille Meyer (@lucille_meyer) April 13, 2014
@Sneekyboy Hope people realize the Lies …. There are no guarantees in a #NoVote it has to be a #Yes
— Velvet Rose (@VeIvetRose) April 17, 2014
So while I feel encouraged that Cde Kasrils is finally outraged, I think he took too long and his #NoVote campaign is irresponsible.
— UngovernableCadre (@kaysexwale) April 14, 2014
Before organising the campaign, Ronnie Kasrils was a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC for 20 years and a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party (SACP) for 21 years. He was the founding member of ANC's military wing Umkontho we Sizwe.
The ANC spokesperson @ANC_KKhoza took a jab at their former member:
Ronnie Kasrils is at pains to reinvent himself. He has reached his political sell-by-date!
— ANC Communications (@ANC_KKhoza) April 20, 2014

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Who Benefits from Trafficking Women from Madagascar to the Middle East?  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Aaron Ross reports on his investigation in the heart of the ongoing human trafficking of young women from Madagascar to Middle Eastern countries:
For some enterprising businessmen, the collapse heralded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So-called placement agencies sprang up in Antananarivo and other cities across Madagascar, promising the good life in Middle Eastern “Eldorados,” where monthly salaries usually ran around $200. The agencies would pocket upward of $2,000 for each successful transaction [..] As Madagascar’s economy spiraled downward, the number of migrants grew anyway. Some headed clandestinely to Lebanon with the collusion of government officials. Of late, however, the most popular destinations have been Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Ross also details the consequences from of economic sanctions of the coup in his report. The topic was also discussed by national observers here.


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A Peek at Hong Kong’s Collaborative Sharing Economy  · Global Voices
Ronald Yick

Hong Kong is often considered a global financial center and the city's stock exchange one of the most important in the world. But the city is also home to many alternative exchanges based not on money and stocks, but on sharing.
Social media has helped sharing activities gain in popularity. Many media outlets have dedicated coverage to the rise of the sharing economy in the last few years, highlighting car-sharing services and companies like Airbnb, which connects homeowners and apartment residents with people seeking cheap lodging.
A number of exciting Hong Kong-specific cases were recently presented at a local festival known as ShareFest.
ShareFest first emerged in the US and has since spread to more than 20 cities. It connects local sharing projects and introduces people to resources that help them to construct a socio-economic system based on the sharing of services and goods.
Poster for ShareFest in Hong Kong. Source: Facebook event by ShareFest
The organizers of Hong Kong's ShareFest, who are scholars and policy advocates, were inspired by the 2012 ShareFest in Seoul. The Korean event was organized with the hope to solve the economical, social, and environmental problems through “sharing” by encouraging the community to utilize idle resources, including spaces, materials and skills, according to the event's official website sharehub.kr.
Oh Yes It's Free
Hong Kong's consumption culture encourages people to buy useless new products, then throw them away before they are worn out. One of the initiatives highlighted at Hong Kong's ShareFest was the Facebook group “Oh Yes It's Free” (now moved to a wiki site [zh]). Similar to the global “buy-nothing day” initiative, the project discourages consumption and encourages reciprocity within the city.
One of its founders, Yat-ching, explained at the festival that the initiative is based on “the act of giving away usable unwanted items to others instead of disposing of them in landfills.”
Like-minded people who met through the platform have set up different groups according to their residential locations and needs. For example, new Facebook group Oh Yes Can Fix aims to crowdsource knowledge on how to mend household items.
Hong Kong Green Map
To extend the reach of a sharing community, mapping technology is key. Mira Luna, organizing director for Shareable, a non-profit organization promoting the culture of sharing, explained the significance of mapping for building a sharing economy:
to make community assets more visible, which creates a foundation for further community development. Higher awareness of shared assets can lead to more collaborations between sharing projects and new project ideas to fill in the gaps.
Hong Kong Green Map, which is part of the global Green Map System, uses mapping tools to create an index of natural, cultural and sustainable resources in the community.
Initially, the Hong Kong Green Map project was kicked off as a Facebook group. Then members began working together to organize local tours and create Google Maps that showed the location of organic farms, local grocery stores, and recycling bins for clothing, batteries, glass, metals and other materials in a number of districts in Hong Kong.
Lam Lai-shan, one of the founders, said that they are trying to get people from different districts to get involved in the mapping project. The goal is to provide a guide for people to live a green and sustainable life.
Book X Change
Lam Lai-shan explained her idea for the Hong Kong Green Map. The group was designing a webpage displaying locations of green services. Photo by Ronald Yick.
Book X Change introduces itself as a platform to exchange books and meet new friends:
The Book Xchange for Changes aims to build up a platform for individuals who concern environmental and social issues which happens around us, and is passionate to /interested in building a better world. Bring your favorite books about sustainability, social problems, innovations… , and meet some like-minded new friends — sparks of change are ignited when there are connections.
Members regularly exchange books and invite guest speakers to share ideas. The group has recently tried out an online borrowing site.

author: Ronald Yick


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Brazil Scores Before “the Internet World Cup” Begins: Marco Civil Approved by the Senate · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

In the eve of the global Internet governance event hosted in Brazil, NETmundial, the Brazilian Senate approved the one-of-kind bill of rights for Internet users, known as “Marco Civil”. The final sanction is now in the hands of President Dilma Rousseff. According to a press release [pt] by the Senate, the quick approval, without amendments, was motivated by the interest that “the bill becomes law during NETmundial,” which starts today April 23, 2014, in São Paulo.
“Marco Civil could have a revolutionary effect on the current Internet policy environment,” Global Voices Advocacy editor Ellery Biddle wrote after the approval of the bill in the lower house of Congress, on March 25. Brazil is reaching a turning point while leading a pioneer role in the definition of Internet policies. The participatory process that was carried out for the creation and discussion of the bill -“driven by the public interest, as opposed to the interests of businesses or government” – surely adds perspective to the global multistakeholder meeting on the future of internet governance that will bring together government representatives, policy makers and civil society groups from around the world on April 23-24.
Venezuelan lawyer and writer Marianne Diaz (@mariannedh), who is in São Paulo to cover the event, describes NETmundial as “the Internet World Cup” in a preview article for Advox.org. The games have just started.
NETmundial counts on 33 remote participation hubs in 23 countries and will be livestreamed from the website NETmundial.br. Follow @NETmundial2014 on Twitter and the hashtag #NETmundial2014 for updates.


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China Clamp Down on Slash Fiction  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China recently launched a crackdown on online pornographic content: “Cleaning the Web 2014″. According to the campaign, all online texts, pictures, videos, and ads with pornographic content will be deleted in order to “create a healthy cyberspace”.
According to Offbeat China, since the launch of “Cleaning the Web 2014″, many Chinese fiction-sharing websites have removed their slash collections, including jjwxc.net, the most popular self-publishing website in China. Websites dedicated to slash, such as dmxsw.com, have been shut down. At least 20 writers have reportedly been arrested for producing slash fiction.

author: Abby Liu


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Coasters, Combis and Chaos: Public Transportation in Lima  · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Combi and Coaster minibuses in Lima. Photo by Flickr user Solangel Giannopoulou. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The city of Lima is home to 8,693,387 residents as of January 2014, according to the Peruvian National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI by its name in Spanish). By late June, the total population in all 43 of the capital's districts is expected to hit 8,755,262, representing 28.4 percent of the country's 30.8 million people.
With such a populated city, public transportation is a must, but Lima's public transportation system is insufficient and disorganized. The current set-up is a crowded mix of old and modern, served by the city-owned Metropolitano bus rapid transit system, only a few years old, and older, privately run minibuses such as Toyota Coasters and the notoriously aggressive smaller vehicles known as “combis.”
The government faces the mighty challenge of reforming transportation. Columbia University urban planning doctorate student Matteo Stiglich explained on his blog Lugares comunes [es] in October 2012:
La reforma del sistema de transporte público que está implementando la Municipalidad de Lima es necesaria y, si es que logra ser ejecutada como está siendo planeada, puede convertirse en uno de los mayores logros de la presente gestión.
En primer lugar, la reforma corre el riesgo de convertirse en una mayor regulación del transporte no-privado (transporte público y taxis) sin tocar a los principales generadores de congestión vehicular: los autos privados.
[…] La reforma del transporte, tanto en el discurso como en la práctica, no considera el hecho de que el tráfico privado sea el principal causante per cápita de la congestión. Si menos gente viajara en auto privado y más en transporte público (incluyendo colectivos), los tiempos de viaje de todos, en promedio, se reducirían.
The reform to the public transportation system embraced by Lima government is by all means necessary and if they manage to carry it out as planned, it might become one of main achievements by the current administration.
In the first place, the reform runs the risk of becoming more regulation for non-private transportation (public transportation and taxis) without addressing the main generators of traffic jams: private vehicles.
[…] The transportation reform, as much in discourse as in practice, doesn't consider the fact that private traffic might be the main cause per capita of traffic jams. If less people used their cars and used public transportation instead (including shared buses), average travel time would be reduced for everybody.
The blog Munay described what a ride is like [es] in one of Lima's coasters:
Nos encontramos en un espacio reducido y la única situación que deseamos controlar es la de encontrar un asiento. Estamos alertas ante cualquier movimiento y todos se abalanzan ante la inesperada desocupación de un espacio, que lamentablemente no será para ti si es que no estás alerta. Es una lucha constante.
We find ourselves in a reduced space and the only situation we want to control is finding a seat. We keep an eye out for any movement, and everybody leaps after an unexpected vacancy that unfortunately won't be for you if you are not paying attention. It's a constant struggle.
In a survey conducted [es] between April 4 and 8, 2014, 47 percent of Lima residents [es] consider public transportation as awful and another 36 percent think of it as just fair. Seventy-five percent think the city government hasn't done anything [es] to improve service.
On Twitter, opinions vary:
Al próximo cobrador de combi que me diga, Habla, vas? le voy a arrancar la lengua con alicate oxidado.
— Yuri Vásquez (@PerritoVR) abril 21, 2014
To the next combi collector that tells me, “So, you coming?”, I'm going to pull out his tongue with rusty pliers.
Combis are usually manned by two people: the driver and the collector, who takes passengers’ payment and announces the route by shouting it out loud.
Other tweets mentioned the high rate of car accidents caused by these vehicles:
#ALos40Debo seguir vivo de milagro con tanta combi asesina suelta. :/
— Symian™ ♔ (@Simio_Alpha) abril 21, 2014
At age 40, it's some miracle that I'm still alive with so many killer combis on the go. :/
Una combi de transporte público protagonizó un nuevo accidente de tránsito en las vías de Lima Metropolitana. En… http://t.co/NLx7gu8iWY
— Justo Medio (@justomedio) abril 21, 2014
A public transportation combi was responsible for a new car accident in Metropolitan Lima roads.
Combi con deuda de S/. 38.000 por multas chocó contra camioneta dejando 13 heridos http://t.co/ZoanyoEYNO @GTULima @PoliciaPeru
— El Comercio (@elcomercio) abril 21, 2014
A combi owing S/.38.000 (US$13,600) in fines crashed with a truck, with the result of 13 injured passengers.
Well-known journalist Beto Ortiz tweeted:
En Lima da lo mismo andar en combi o manejando tu auto.Igual te atracas en el tráfico.Viajas a 10 km/h.Son 50 minutos de J.Prado a Larcomar!
— beto ortiz (@malditaternura) marzo 27, 2014
In Lima, it's the same to use a combi or drive your own car. You'll be stuck un traffic anyway. You travel 10 km/h. 50 minutes from J.Prado to Larcomar!
But maybe it's cartoonist Andrés Edery [es] who best depicted the situation:
Combi Perú I pic.twitter.com/cfr4VFh22l
— Andrés Edery (@otravezandres) abril 19, 2014
- Where you see a “reckless race to get a passenger”, we see “free competition”.
– These are the rules of the market.


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Cycling to Save Archeological Heritage · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

(Links are in English, otherwise noted [es] for Spanish)
How can two apparently very distinct interests, such as cycling and archeology, come together? Nils Castro shares his experience in an article [es] as a guest blogger on Lima Milenaria.
Niles mentions that even though he had already created the Facebook group Círculo Ciclísta Protector de las Huacas [es] [The Protective Cycling Circle for Las Huacas], it wasn't until later that a pyramid suffered damage from the complex archeological site El Paraíso [Paradise]. This launched the Visitas Ciclistas Guiadas [Guided Cycling Visits] throughout Lima's diverse huacas. Its first visit recruited 70 people and up to now has done nine more. He adds:
The first lesson that we learned from these nine outings is that a many people from Lima don't know their city nor the pre-hispanic heritage that it houses. However, at the same time, there is limited scientific investigation and the government organizations involved have bureaucracy and an insufficient budget like potholes in their protection efforts.
Nevertheless, our cycling trips have shown us that each time there are more civil citizens willing to reverse this situation. Diverse collectives and activists look to preserve our material and immaterial heritage. They are getting networks together in order to make our historical riches visible.
This Sunday, April 27th, Nils invites people to join a new cycling trip [es] through several huacas located in the Rímac River valley.


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How Dmitry Tymchuk Broke the Russian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Russian bloggers not sure what to make of Dmitry Tymchuk (pictured on the laptop). Images mixed by author.
Dmitry Tymchuk is many things. He claims to have traveled on “official assignments” to Iraq, Kosovo, and Lebanon. He identifies himself as a colonel in the Ukrainian army reserve. Since 2008, he has been chief editor of flot2017.com, a website that lobbies for the expulsion of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol. According to Tymchuk’s Facebook profile, he has also served as director of the “Center of Military-Political Research” in Kiev for the past six years.
Earlier this year, he and other officers in the army reserve created a group called “InfoResist,” regularly reporting and commenting on events in Ukraine’s turbulent southeast. “InfoResist” doesn’t yet have its own website (though another group promptly hijacked the name and Web address). (April 25 update: Tymchuk's InfoResist now does have its own, Russian-language website.) So far, Tymchuk publishes InfoResist’s many news bulletins to his personal Facebook page, where he has an astounding 77,420 followers. (Two months ago, he had half as many followers.) Since March 2014, the newspaper KyivPost has published nearly forty of his articles (translated into English by the group Voices of Ukraine). Two days ago, the Huffington Post published a translation of Tymchuk’s “dispatch from Donetsk.”
On March 3, 2014, an article by Artem Sannikov appeared on the pro-Russian website Peacekeeper.ru claiming that Dmitry Tymchuk might not be a real person at all. The “Center of Military-Political Research,” it seems, has no website. (Internet searches reveal that an institute with this name does exist, but it belongs, ironically, to the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation.) Tymchuk’s Facebook posts, Peacekeeper.ru points out, regularly attract thousands of “shares,” but only a few dozen comments. “Such signs,” Sannikov explains, “usually indicate some kind of artificial inflation.” The article goes on to suggest that Tymchuk’s persona could be part of a larger NATO operation to infiltrate and manipulate online social media.
There is currently a single Wikipedia entry for Dmitry Tymchuk. Written in Russian and already targeted by moderators for deletion, Tymchuk’s Wikipedia page describes him as “a virtual personage of informational war, in whose name anti-Russian pronouncements are published and then cited in the Ukrainian mass media.”
Suspicions about Tymchuk’s identity dovetail with a popular RuNet meme that emerged roughly two months ago, when the online debate about Russia’s absorption of Crimea was especially heated. Commenting on YouTube, a user named Dmitry Kakegotam endorsed a video’s anti-annexation message, writing in the feminine voice, “Believe me! I’m a Crimean woman myself! I’ve lived here for 50 years. I’m the daughter of an officer!” Another user soon responded, “You forgot to log out, Khokhol,” implying that the man had been posting pro-Kiev messages under various false identities. The exchange perfectly captured the widespread suspicion among Russians that nefarious agents are responsible for much of the pro-Ukrainian outpourings online.
Dmitry Tymchuk, in the flesh. Interview with Hromadske.TV, 27 March 2014, YouTube screen capture.
Dmitry Tymchuk is, in fact, a real person. His Facebook posts attract so many shares and so few comments because the ability to comment on his posts is restricted to his friends. (He has almost 80 thousand followers, but just 5 thousand friends.) Since Sannikov’s article was published, Tymchuk has appeared in person for several interviews and conferences. When he granted an interview to Ukraine’s premier Internet television station, Hromadske.TV, the host even poked Tymchuk in the arm, to confirm for viewers that he isn’t an Internet phantom invented by NATO.
Tymchuk has been publishing pro-Ukrainian, anti-Russian memos and opinion pieces for nearly six years. In August 2008, when Russia was at war with Georgia, he wrote that Ukraine should study the conflict, in anticipation of facing future Russia aggression. In December 2008, when Ukraine finally withdrew the last of its armed contingent from the multinational force deployed to Iraq, Tymchuk wrote that Ukraine had gained military experience that would be valuable in future conflicts closer to home.
In other words, Tymchuk is your standard patriotic blogger. Certainly more energetic and better informed than the average Internet user, Tymchuk has scribbled away on obscure websites for nearly six years, consistently thrashing what he perceives to be Ukraine’s aggressive neighbor to the east. After annexing roughly four percent of Ukraine’s population, and threatening to “liberate” still more, Russia has made Tymchuk a star of Ukraine’s political scene.
Rather than acknowledge Moscow's role in promoting Tymchuk, some Russian bloggers prefer to blame NATO. Life, after all, is simpler with your head in the sand.


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