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Iran’s Headscarf Laws Collide With the Women of Air France · Global Voices
Tori Egherman

It's been eight years since Air France flew from Paris to Tehran, and reinstating the route is causing some problems with the airline's female crew, who are demanding the right to refuse to fly to Tehran, if they are forced to wear Islamic covering (a hijab) and modify their public behavior. These demands have reopened discussions about mandatory hijabs inside and outside Iran.
Talking to French Radio RFI, union representative Françoise Redolfi insisted that the women should have a right to refuse to work the Paris-Tehran route:
We are forced to wear ostentatious religious signs. This choice should be left to the women. They should have a right to say whether they do or do not want to fly this route.
Ultimately, the Air France crew did receive permission to turn down assignments to Iran because of the hijab requirement.
In solidarity with the Air France flight attendants and women in Iran, My Stealthy Freedom has launched a campaign asking foreign women visiting Iran to remove their headscarves and share photographs of the act. And the submissions have been rolling in.
“From France and Italy; visiting beautiful Iran.This is our photo where I removed the veil. Wish you success in your campaign.” Photo: My Stealthy Freedom / Facebook
My Stealthy Freedom was launched by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad. She calls it a “movement,” writing:
This page does not belong to any political group and the initiative reflects the concerns of Iranian women, who face legal and social restrictions.
All of the photos and captions posted have been sent by women from all over Iran and this is a site dedicated to Iranian women inside the country who want to share their “stealthily” taken photos without the veil.
While the Air France flight attendants’ protest had to compete on social media with the release of the first of the “Panama Papers,” the story did gain some attention online.
Middle East analyst and commentator Holly Dagres tweeted a picture taken in 2004 of Air France staff in hijabs.
#AirFrance flight attendants didn't mind the headscarf in 2004 when stopping in #Iran. What changed? Ht @DanOmidvar pic.twitter.com/wg6UuGg7Q5
— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) April 4, 2016
Freelance journalist Ali Alimadadi speculated that the Paris-Tehran line was doomed if women refused to wear a scarf and slacks.
#AirFrance Hostesses not willing to wear veil and pants. Direct line to #Iran may NOT last so much. pic.twitter.com/2hgFQAv9vf
— Ali Alimadadi (@alialimadadi110) April 2, 2016
Internet users widely shared Sharokh Haydari's cartoon of an Air France plane wearing a headscarf.
Cartoon from #ShahrokhHaydari: “A Hejab for Air France.” Company's attendants face Iran's covering policies pic.twitter.com/rc00t2L6A2
— Tavaana توانا (@Tavaana) April 5, 2016
Mr. Tickle wondered if a cardboard Ayatollah Khomeini would be the next requirement for the Air France crew. His tweet included a photograph taken at an event marking the anniversary of Khomeini's arrival in Iran.
I wonder if Air France stewardesses will be required to disembark with cardboard Ayatollah Khomeini cut-out 2? 😛https://t.co/huAmokvOWJ
— Mr. Tickle (@MrTickle3) April 3, 2016
The award for cultural insensitivity likely goes to the French Minister for Women’s Rights and Families Laurence Rossignol. When asked about Muslim women who choose to wear hijabs, Rossignol replie, “Of course there are women who choose it…There were American negroes who were in favor of slavery.”
On Slate, Christina Cauterucci writes:
Now that the dispute between Air France and its female flight attendants has been settled, French lawmakers should take note of its implications. In the days after Air France announced its Tehran dress code, one flight attendant’s union contacted France’s minister for women’s rights and families, Laurence Rossignol, seeking support for their protest of the headscarf policy. Rossignol recently likened Muslim women who wear headscarves or veils to “American negroes who were in favor of slavery.” If she and other women’s rights advocates are so repelled by the idea of non-Muslim French women being forced to don a headscarf in an Islamic nation, they’d be wise to imagine how Muslim women feel when France forces them to take theirs off.
It's worth noting, however, that the Air France crew is not solely opposed to forced hijabs. They are also opposed to the demand that they change their behavior. In a message posted on My Stealthy Freedom, a member of the Air France crew wrote:
AF female flight crew are upset about being imposed a certain uniform on board (no dresses just pants and a tunic) and about having to wear a veil once in Iran as well as not being allowed to smoke and associate with male crew members in a familiar way. No woman should should be told how to dress or how to behave.
On My Stealthy Freedom and other social media sites, many are commenting about the double standard expected by the Iranian government. Female leaders and diplomats visiting Iran are forced to wear a headscarf. Yet, Iranian leaders and diplomats in the West demand that the events they attend be free of alcohol and refuse to shake hands with women.
The author in Iran. Photo taken by Kamran Ashtary.
I am not a neutral observer on this topic. After living in Iran for four years, I came to two conclusions. One, I would do everything possible to avoid being forced to wear a hijab again. Two, I would never ask anyone to remove theirs.
In an essay I wrote for Tehran Bureau, I recounted how my sister-in-law defended me to Iran's morality police:
In the streets, my sisters-in-law applauded each breach of hijab. The most observant among them, Forough, applauded the loudest. When a woman approached us to reproach me for my slack covering, Forough said to her, “When I go visit her no one asks me to take my scarf off. I’m not asking her to fix hers.”

author: Tori Egherman


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Liberia Is Handing Over Public Primary Education to a Private American Company · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Students in Bong County, Liberia, study by candlelight. These students missed school during Liberia's civil war. Public Domain photo by United States Agency for International Development (USAID)4.
Liberia is poised to set another first for Africa. The country was the first in Africa to have a female president when  Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected in 2006.
Now, the country is embarking on what some are calling another first in Africa: outsourcing its entire pre-primary and primary education system to a private American company.
Education in Liberia was severely affected by the First Liberian Civil War and Second Liberian Civil War between 1989 and 2003. It is estimated that 50% of young women and 68% of young men have completed primary school or, if not, are able to read a whole sentence. The situation was exacerbated during the recent Ebola crisis.
Liberian Education Minister George Werner announced in January 2016 that pre-primary and primary public education would be outsourced to Bridge International Academies, a private US-based company, for a five-year period. The government of Liberia will pay over $65 million.
Bridge International Academies describes itself as the world’s largest education innovation company, currently operational in Kenya and Uganda. The company's teaching methodology centers around teachers — who aren't required to have a college degree as they receive five weeks of training — reading the scripted lesson from a hand-held tablet. Class sizes can be as large as 60 students.
Unlike the company's schools in Kenya and Uganda, where families pay tuition of about $6 per term, parents in Libera would not pay for the schools out of pocket.
The move has drawn international and local criticism. Education experts plan to exert pressure on the Liberia government not to go ahead with the plan.
Opposing the plan, Kishore Sing, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the right to education, said in press release in March:
It is ironic that Liberia does not have resources to meet its core obligations to provide a free primary education to every child, but it can find huge sums of money to subcontract a private company to do so on its behalf.
Writing for the South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper, Christine Mungai argued that Bridge International Academies’ approach to teaching discourages exchange between teacher and student and “suppresses critical thinking.” She also took issue with the company’s claim that its students do better than their comparable peers at government schools, pointing out the data comes from a study commissioned by the company itself.
However, privatised public education might be a good bet for Liberia, whose system is currently “in shambles,” she concedes:
In that case, an education system, which is modelled on accountability, standardisation, analytical rigour, and policy changes that can be backed with rich data sets – albeit private – is far better than what Liberia has at the moment.
Reacting to the news, Jan Resseger, an American public education expert and blogger, questioned the motives of the company's investors, which include the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group:
One must also examine the motivation of some of the so-called investors described as backing the work of Bridge International Academies, for example Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Are these tech-philanthropists supporting such an international education venture as part of their philanthropic aid work or is the purpose to expand the worldwide market for the kind of education technology that has created their personal fortunes?
Global Education Monitoring Report, which is published by UNESCO, expressed concern over the issue:
Thinking of schools only as places to learn how to read may appear a reasonable idea in a country where most children cannot achieve even that. However, it risks reducing appreciably the purpose of education. Policy-makers need to be aware that good teaching cannot be delivered by just anybody out of a script.
The National Teachers’ Association of Liberia, among other civil society organizations, have sent a letter to Liberian Education Minister George K. Werner explaining their concerns that the privatisation plan poses a “serious threat” and represents the “commercialisation of education services in Liberia.” Others, meanwhile, have expressed their opinion on social media:
Mind-blowing. Obscene. https://t.co/g6cmuAlpWb
— Bill Michaelson (@UnderBill) April 4, 2016
Update 9 April 2016: Lucy Bradlow, Director of Public Relations for Bridge International Academies, sent a statement to Global Voices explaining why the company is partnering with the government of Liberia.
The company believes that its partnership with the government of Liberia will ensure that children in free, government owned and monitored schools have all the learning materials they need to progress in school and it will guarantee to parents that their children will have a safe and welcoming place to spend the school day.
The partnership will also provide the government the tools it needs to collect data about attendance and learning outcomes in Liberian primary schools.
The statement points out that 42% of children in Liberia are out of school, and only 20% of children enrolled in primary school complete secondary school and that a Liberian girl has a higher chance of being married before the age of 18 than being able to read.
“Bridge International Academies is honored to serve the Liberian people as the first of many partners under Partnership Schools for Liberia. In a pilot program, Bridge will implement its tried and tested model in 50 public primary schools, accessing approximately 20,000 children for the 2016 – 2017 academic year,” the statement reads.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Maldives Media Crackdown Triggers Forced Newspaper Closure, Journalist Arrests · Global Voices
Rezwan

Journalists in Maldives demonstrate for media freedom on April 3, 2016. Photo shared on Twitter by Zaheena Rasheed (@ZaheenaR).
Police in Maldives arrested sixteen journalists on 3 April 2016 amid protests against the government following the official shutdown of the country's oldest printed newspaper. Riot police used brute force and pepper spray and strip-searched both male and female journalists, who hailed from several local media organizations.
Maldives address threats to press freedom #FindMoyameehaa #killdefamationbill end action against Haveeru, Raajje TV pic.twitter.com/RJN3tgKOTa
— Zaheena Rasheed (@ZaheenaR) April 3, 2016
Journalists in #Maldives say police have attacked them with pepper spray. (Photos via @ppl_powers) pic.twitter.com/QrQ211yLw7
— Steven L Herman (@W7VOA) April 3, 2016
Around 50 journalists rallied near the president's office on Sunday, demonstrating about a number of issues including the recent court decision to close the newspaper Haveeru, the largest and oldest newspaper in the country, over a contentious ownership dispute. Several of the arrested journalists work at Haveeru. They were carrying placards and chanting, “Stop obstructing press freedom.”
Mohamed Hamdhoon posted the list of the arrested journalists in Facebook.
Screenshot of Haveeru Online English site
Journalist Ali Naafiz writes about the importance of the newspaper in Facebook:
An institution older than almost half of the population has been killed. The largest written archive in the country has been torn apart. The de facto ‘training institute’ of journalists in the nation has been destroyed. The livelihood of dozens is shrouded in confusion. And above all, thousands have been barred from their primary source of information. If this doesn't concern those in power, I wonder what will? #IAmHaveeru #IStandWithHaveeru
The journalists also demanded that the government reconsider a bill recently submitted to parliament that would criminalize defamation — this despite the fact that defamation was decriminalized in 2009. They fear that the law would be used by journalists’ political opponents to prevent reporting on serious accusations of corruption and the integrity of government officials.
Other issues included the recent restrictions on media coverage of criminal court proceedings, and the government’s failure to protect journalists. There have been no significant progress in the investigation into the 2014 mysterious disappearance of Ahmed Rilwan, a journalist, blogger and human rights advocate who once worked with multiple independent news sites.
After a state of emergency was declared on 4 November 2015, Reportieres Sans Frontieres condemned a series of attacks on journalists, TV channels and news websites. Maldives is ranked 112 out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2015 World Press Freedom Index.
On Twitter, media freedom advocates pointed to changes in media regulatory agencies in the country that appear to give the ruling party increased power over television and radio broadcasters:
Four gov. activists and a failed print journalist will regulate #Maldives broadcasters starting today. #pressfreedom pic.twitter.com/k7NaPCLYEJ
— Mohamed Junayd (@mjunayd) April 5, 2016
Ongoing crackdown on free media in Maldives; autocratic regime appoints party activists to Broadcasting Commission https://t.co/AXkeW5MCdk
— Yameen Rasheed (@yaamyn) April 4, 2016
The crackdown also has sparked outrage on social media and people took to social media to share the images and videos of the protests:
Salute to the brave journalists who are fighting for press freedom. #JournalismNotACrime pic.twitter.com/dlEJhbd9n4
— Azmeel (azoo) (@azoobloodlust) April 3, 2016
Those detained have not been served lunch nor given any food and were given only hot water to drink. #JournalismNotACrime
— Hisaan (@hisaanhussain) April 3, 2016
Maldives journalists continue protest for a second day despite Sunday's mass arrests pic.twitter.com/AI1C1k76CK
— Zaheena Rasheed (@ZaheenaR) April 4, 2016
Stop the harassment of media.
#JournalismNotACrime #SaveMaldives pic.twitter.com/krerp6bSn9
— Maldives Voice (@maldivesvoice2) April 4, 2016
#JournalismNotACrime #Maldives @Travel @IBT2016 @BBCBreaking @evattey pic.twitter.com/tWVGvdjiR5
— Ablho (@ablho) April 5, 2016
Free @sampathmasiw @MrLeevaan two Journalists of @Raajje_tv arrested #JournalismNotACrime pic.twitter.com/OJn4sUBPWW
— nauha ibrahim (@princessnau) April 3, 2016
All the journalists were released hours after being arrested. Among them was Haveeru reporter Ali Naafiz. After his release, he wrote on Facebook:
If being pepper sprayed at close range, and spending almost 12 hours in police custody with nothing to eat except on demand and sharing a 25 by 18 foot cell with 17 men is what it takes for us to get our voices heard, I, for one, am prepared to do it again. Thank you everyone for the support and well wishes. #IAmHaveeru #IStandWithHaveeru.
The US ambassador to the Maldives met some of the protesting journalists and tweeted about it:
Appreciated the opportunity to meet with #Maldives journalists arrested during Sunday's protest. pic.twitter.com/nYjmaMitN9
— Amb Atul Keshap (@USAmbKeshap) April 4, 2016
The island nation of Maldives, which is famous as a tourist destination, became a multiparty democracy in 2008 after many years of autocratic rule. However, political unrest has escalated since the alleged coup that toppled the country's first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Rasheed.
Did any good come out of the recent protests by the journalists? Perhaps. Although the reasons behind it were unclear, two individuals were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the disappearance of Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla, who has been missing for 606 days.

author: Rezwan


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Meme vs. Movie Theatre—Dawn of Consumer Justice in Trinidad & Tobago? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The first frame of the storytelling meme recounting a cinema-going experience to see the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This and all other featured meme frames courtesy Warren Le Platte.
Despite mostly underwhelming critical reviews, the Batman v Superman movie is still managing to attract movie-goers around the globe, including in Trinidad and Tobago. But for one superhero film fan, the actual cinema experience was worse than the scathing critical response.
Warren Le Platte, designer, photographer and visual artist, was one of the early birds in line at one of Port of Spain's most popular movie-going destinations — so eager was he to take in the visual mastery he anticipated in the film.
But after a slew of technical foibles and other mishaps, he left the theatre feeling frustrated without having seen the end of the movie. Much to the delight of Facebook users, however, he channelled that frustration into a story-like meme that humourously chronicled his strife and provided uniquely crafted commentary on customer service in the country. [Please note that the meme heavily uses local slang. In the first frame, the artist makes an off-colour joke about domestic violence, which is a serious problem in Trinidad and Tobago.] At the time of publication, his post has garnered over 1,200 shares.
Movie-goer, Batman fan and visual artist Warren Le Platte; self-portrait. Image used with permission.
Global Voices (GV): Your meme might be one of the most original complaint “letters” ever. How did you get the idea to chronicle your movie-going experience as a series of images and text?
Warren Le Platte (WLP): Well… thing is… it wasn’t even a complaint letter really. On my way home I was just thinking, ‘This might make a good lil’ story’, and since I’m known for my humour (sometimes), I figured I’d try and make it creative. I once saw a similar approach done on Facebook where the person was telling a story and he used a lot of Carlton (from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) memes, they even put Carlton’s face on a Power Ranger!
GV: Given the sometimes sub-par customer service experience in Trinidad and Tobago, many people are liking and sharing your post. What do you think posting the meme on social media has accomplished?
WLP: There was a bunch of us in the theatre, and after every ‘Braps’ [sound mimicking the blacking out of the movie] more and more people left. However, I was in the ‘badmind’ [Trinidadian slang meaning ‘malicious’ or in this case, ‘stubborn’] section and we say we not leaving till the movie done! So much for that plan… Hopefully my post causes at least some kind of conversation about customer service… bad AND good and who knows? Maybe it might reach back to people who can influence direct change, for the better. And clearly by the amount of shares at least SOME people can relate to the treatment my cinema-mates and I experienced.
GV: Is it your hope that the cinema will refund you the ticket money? Or has the experience of just creating the meme been cathartic enough?
WLP: I seriously doubt that the cinema would refund anyone. That’s the policy of many businesses and if ‘Starboy’ [tongue-in-cheek reference to the usher] had simply said that, I might have accepted it… I mean, he just wukkin dey [working there] right? BUT… don't tell me the reason you're not refunding me my money is because we saw the entire movie till the credits rolled (even though there were ‘stops’ in between). That is one of the things that pissed me off about that whole scene. Added to which, the other thing that really [upset me] was — because we spent four hours plus at the cinema and didn’t even get to see the end of the movie — the place I was planning to buy my soup from was closed by the time I left. I'm still hating on that one.
GV: A hungry man is an angry man. But let's forget dinner for a moment and get back to the movie. What kind of commentary are you providing about customer service and consumer rights in this country?
WLP: We all know that things happen… things you can’t always control… cool… but take responsibility for it nah! The same way ‘Miss Lady’ [a reference to another employee] came in to talk to the two arguing patrons earlier in the evening, she could have come back in to talk to us when they KNEW the screen was giving trouble. I’m sure most of us would have understood.
GV: Trinbagonians — like most Caribbean folk — have a knack for laughing when times get tough, but what was the vibe like in the cinema while the technical difficulties were happening?
WLP: Well, I don't know about the REST of the cinema, but I was laughing and telling jokes during the ‘Braps’ sessions. Even joked with a guy sitting next to me that maybe two more people should start fighting so that the supervisor might come back. Also, they never announced that we would not be getting cash refunds, they were just handing out the movie passes when we came up to the desk, I had to ask about refunds.
GV: As a consumer, how does it make you feel when employees offer illogical excuses for poorly delivered service?
WLP: It confuses me. I wonder if they really feel we're THAT schupid [slang for ‘stupid’]. But I just take it as an indicator that they probably don't need my business anymore… so… peace out homie.
GV: The meme made reference to the Globe cinema — which is pretty much “everyman’s” movie theatre — while the theatre you chose has the reputation of being more elite. What might have been different had you seen the movie at Globe?
WLP: First of all… I had shares in Globe, my boys and I were ALWAYS in there… right in the middle of the cinema. The highlight for us was usually during the trailers where, depending on the trailer, we would scream ‘SHHHHIIIIIT!!’ Sigh… those were fun times. To my knowledge, as long as I had frequented Globe, the screen NEVER went down 5 times in a row; granted, in Globe there WAS the occasional cuss-out between patrons, so in THAT respect the cinemas were similar in this instance [Laughs].
GV: You’re a designer and photographer, so obviously this is your medium of choice. What do projects like this say about the power of visual communication and new media?
WLP: A good story can get you far. If you add interesting visuals…well…better fete; but if your story is weak you might end up like Zach Snyder’s movie, Sucker Punch: great visuals but disappointing movie overall. Social media just allows you the opportunity to share your content with more people globally. Granted, when I was putting this together I never thought it would get over 1,000 shares in less than 24 hours…
GV: How long did it take you to put the whole thing together? Walk us through the process of its creation.
WLP: I’m somewhat of a meme banton, so I had quite a few images saved. It took maybe a little over an hour from start to finish. I actually started writing the story in my head on the way home. Then I sat down and put text and images together. I think the story could have been better though, because I left out a few details… but I was really tired so… daz meh story and ah stickin to it.
GV: You also chose to write the text in local slang, which made it relatable nationally — but do you think the meme has the power to travel?
WLP: Of course! The world is becoming a smaller place so we understand each other a lot better; also, I try to spell out my ‘Trini words’ just how they sound (easier said than done sometimes). But images usually convey more meaning that words most times, that’s why memes are so popular in the first place… at least I think so… especially in the case of the ones I chose to use, because they displayed certain emotions that words may not have expressed as effectively.
GV: So you never found out who won — Superman or Batman. Who were you rooting for, and who do you think the real winner of this battle is?
WLP: I’m a Batman fan, so ‘Go, Team Batfleck‘… but hands down the cinema win… dey rough we up and send we packing (with the option to come back for more abuse, of course.)
Check out Warren's full meme story, here.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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San Juan Market and Its Lion Meat Are One of Mexico City’s Best Kept Secrets · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Stores in San Juan Market. Photo: J. Tadeo
One of the places least explored by the tourists who visit Mexico City is the Ernesto Pugibet Market. Better known by the name “San Juan”, and located within walking distance of the Historical Centre, the market stands out from others in the city for its variety of gourmet products, as well as exotic meats like alligator and lion.
The is how the website Visit Mexico describes the market:
En unas cuantas palabras: lo que hace único a este sitio es que aquí es posible encontrar manjares que no se venden en ningún otro lado.
In a few words, what makes this place unique is that you can find delicacies that cannot be bought anywhere else.
The market’s history goes back more than a century to when it went by a different name. It became established thanks to a donation from a well-known trader in the area. The San Juan website states:
Sus orígenes se remontan a hace casi 120 años, cuando se conocía como mercado Iturbide. Ahí se expendía toda clase de víveres y enseres para los pocos habitantes de la capital. Tiempo después, el señor Ernesto Pugibet –quien le da nombre a la calle donde se ubica el mercado hoy día– donó el terreno para la creación de este espacio comercial.
The market's origins go back almost 120 years, to when it was known as the Iturbide Market. Here, all kinds of essentials and provisions were sold to the capital's few residents. Sometime later, Mr Ernesto Pugibet, who gave his name to the street in which the market is located, donated the land to create this commercial space.
Today, the San Juan Market offers the opportunity to purchase not only fresh produce but also meals and snacks that can be eaten at the market. Especially common are sandwiches and baguettes with cheeses and cured meats, such as salamis, a wide range of chorizos, roast beef, and more—all of which are imported. Generally, the people who run the stores offer their customers samples of the products, and why not? also a complimentary glass of wine to go with their sandwiches.
Sandwich served in a store selling cured meats in San Juan Market. Photo: J. Tadeo
The fact that you can eat at the market has turned it into a convenient spot for visitors who are looking for something different to what the rest of the city traditionally offers.
Residents of the capital and visitors who wish to purchase food to cook can obtain exotic fresh meats, such as those mentioned on the Mexico Desconocido website:
Armadillo, iguana, zorrillo, venado; mucho y buen conejo, lechón, cabrito y carnero aquí se venden. De Honduras llega carne de tepezcuintle y de Texas la de jabalí; también de avestruz, búfalo, cocodrilo de Florida… Hasta de león. Procede de leones de criadero, es una carne algo dura y un poco ácida, diferente a todas, de color grisáceo.
Armadillo, lizard, skunk, suckling pig, goat, venison, mutton as well as plenty of top quality rabbit are all sold here. There is tepezcuintle [a type of large rodent] from Honduras, wild boar from Texas, ostrich, buffalo, as well as alligator from Florida… Even lion, which comes from captive bred lions. It is a somewhat firm meat and is a little tart, different to all others and a sort of greyish colour.
San Juan Market in Mexico City. Photo: J. Tadeo
However, what’s on offer is not limited to animals that walk on land. As the website mentions:
Las pescaderías son los locales más famosos de San Juan. Anguilas, mantarrayas y tenazas de cangrejo moro se asoman en los limpios locales entre el atún y el salmón frescos; menos comunes son el percebe –molusco que crece en las rocas– esmedregal –pescado para la comida cantonesa– cigala, langostino danés, cangrejo de Alaska…
It is the seafood stores that are the most well-known in San Juan. Eels, manta rays, and Florida stone crabs all turn up amongst the fresh tuna and salmon in the immaculate stores. Less common are the barnacles (a rock-dwelling mollusc), cobia (a fish used in Cantonese cuisine), langoustine, Danish langoustine, Alaskan crab…
The majority of the meats on offer in the San Juan Market are foreign to traditional Mexican cuisine, therefore their sale inspires curiosity in the capital's residents and visitors, and it certainly sparks creativity among the chefs and foodies who come to the market to stock up on ingredients.
It is also one of the places where you can find everything required under the one roof to prepare the traditional Christmas and New Year dishes mentioned in this earlier story.
Twitter users like FatiRomFlowers have taken advantage of the service to share images and comments about their culinary experiences in San Juan:
Los mejores #mariscos EVER @mercadosanjuan #almejachocolata pic.twitter.com/a7VtB1ovny
— FatiRomFlowers (@Florerobrillant) January 12, 2016
The best shellfish EVER @mercadosanjuan #almejachocolata pic.twitter.com/a7VtB1ovny
— FatiRomFlowers (@Florerobrillant) January 12, 2016
VYV shared the following images of her visit to the market with her followers:
Quedé encantada con el @mercadosanjuan encuentras de todo super fresco y la gente super amable. #CDMX pic.twitter.com/MoZ0hzrL8H
— VYV (@sfmakesmerich) March 24, 2016
I was delighted with the @mercadosanjuan. Everything is super fresh and the people are lovely. #CDMX pic.twitter.com/MoZ0hzrL8H
— VYV (@sfmakesmerich) March 24, 2016
San Juan holds the number one position on the website HelloDF for the “the 10 markets in Mexico City that everyone must see” and should not be confused with the San Juan Municipal Market in the Juarez Pantitlán community in the neighbouring State of Mexico. People who are interested in following the San Juan traders on Twitter can do so by following the account @mercadosanjuan.

author: J. Tadeo


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The Russian Art of Meta-Stalking · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Photo: Shane Huang / Flickr / CC 2.0. Edited by Kevin Rothrock.
The next time you ride the subway in St. Petersburg, watch out for 21-year-old photographer Egor Tsvetkov. He recently unveiled a new project called “YOUR FACE IS BIG DATA,” which he created by semi-secretly photographing passengers seated across from him on the city’s metro, without asking their permission.
Using these pictures, Tsvetkov turned to an online service called FindFace, which allows you to upload random photographs of a person’s face. Using facial recognition technology, FindFace then searches the image database of Vkontakte, Russia’s most popular social network. If it finds a match, it does its best to identify the person in the picture. Any photo posted and tagged on Vkontakte can be found this way, provided that the user has opted to make his or her postings public. (Most users do.)
FindFace was launched this February by the Moscow-based company N-Tech.lab, which says the service was designed to facilitate online dating, allowing users to photograph anyone on the street, locate their social media profile, and learn more about them, before trying to get acquainted directly.
Tsvetkov says FindFace was able to find social media accounts for 70 percent of the young people he photographed, though it worked only half as often with pictures of older individuals.
Below is one example of an image juxtaposition created by Tsvetkov. Global Voices obscured the face of the subject for privacy reasons.
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / Birdinflight.com
Tsvetkov told the website Bird In Flight that he wanted to explore how the Internet has broken the state’s monopoly on identifying individuals through photos and videos. His art project isn’t mere curiosity, however. Tsvetkov says his work exposes how “digital narcissism” often “provokes” online stalking. In other words, publishing photographs of yourself online allows strangers to track you down on the Internet, where they can learn information you’d not likely share with a stranger you met on the train.
“People today are losing the freedom to do something in public and be certain that no one will know about it,” Tsvetkov told the website Apparat.cc, adding, “It's pretty scary. Besides social networks’ photo bases, there are a lot of other institutions: banks, gyms [and so on].” “Now, in a matter of seconds, a quick anonymous search for a person’s social media page can turn an impersonal object into a close friend,” the photographer warned.
But could the project exacerbate the very problem that Tsvetkov is seeking to highlight? Global Voices Advocacy Director Ellery Roberts Biddle, who specializes in issues of online harassment and digital privacy, had this to say about the project's real-life implications:
This is ethically problematic on a few levels. Tsvetkov did not have permission to take or publish these photos. And he made no effort to obscure the identities of his unknowing subjects.
He could argue that the photos taken on the metro are no more or less revealing than the images that the subjects themselves posted on VK, but choosing to post your photo on a semi-public social media platform is not the same thing as choosing to post it elsewhere in the Internet. Context matters — a photo of a woman in a pretty dress may seem perfectly innocent in the context of a social network, but when displayed in a series of images presented through a stalker-like lens, the image starts to say something different.
Tsvetkov is also making their images more prominent and easier to find. Various legal cases have taken into account the idea of “discoverability”—that the impact or power of a piece of online content may be affected by how easily it can be found or “discovered”.
Asked if his project is itself dangerous for the people he photographed, Tsvetkov told RuNet Echo that it's too early to say. “I think we should wait and see how it develops,” he said. “In theory, this service [FindFace] could be used by a serial killer or a collector trying to hunt down a debtor.”
RuNet Echo was able to locate Tsvetkov’s Vkontakte account using FindFace and the picture published in his interview with Bird in Flight. Tsvetkov seems to practice what he preaches, more or less, sharing very little personal information publicly, though he has published about a dozen selfies, including one snapshot of a visa he received to travel to Europe.
More photographs from Tsvetkov's project are available below. On the left, you'll find the pictures he recorded candidly on the subway. On the right are photographs those individuals have shared publicly on Vkontakte. RuNet Echo has obscured all faces for privacy reasons.
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / Birdinflight.com
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / Birdinflight.com
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / Birdinflight.com
To see more, check out Tsvetkov's interview at Birdinflight.com.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Russian Censors Have New Advice for Media Outlets On How to Cover Suicide · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

The Russian state media regulator is working on new recommendations for media on covering the sensitive topic. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Roscomnadzor, the Russian state media regulator, is preparing to publish a new set of recommendations on how to properly cover instances of suicide in the mass media.
The agency's spokesman Vadim Ampelonsky told reporters that the new advisory would likely see the light by the end of May, according to an Interfax news agency report. “We plan to publish the recommendations by the end of spring,” Ampelonsky reportedly said. “I don't know yet when the work will be finalized, but I think by the time spring is over we'll have something to show the public.”
Media coverage and online content containing mentions of suicide in Russia are currently governed by the law “On Protecting Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development.” The law brands as “harmful” material which “may elicit fear, horror, or panic in children”, or depicts violence, unlawful activities, substance abuse, or self-harm, including mentions of suicide. The Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare is tasked with tracking violations of the law and can censor information containing “propaganda of suicide” or otherwise harmful to children by recommending that it be added to the Russian Internet blacklist.
According to Roscomnadzor's spokesman, the agency has already held an inaugural meeting of the group working on the set of recommendations, which includes journalists, psychologists, representatives of religious groups, as well as experts from Roscomnadzor and the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare. The working group allegedly based its advice to Russian media outlets reporting on instances of suicide on “recommendations from the World Health Organization” (most likely referring to this guide for media professionals), but Ampelonsky noted that the expert cohort was also working on “another document that would be in line with the requirements” of Russian legislation.
Although it is unclear what exactly the new recommendations will contain, they will likely add more restrictions to a growing set of regulations governing what Russian mass media and online platforms are allowed to publish. A case in point is the ongoing discussion of the plight of cancer patients in Russia who routinely lack pain medications that the state should provide them with. Stories about Russians with advanced forms of cancer taking their own lives make depressingly regular appearances on the pages of Russian media outlets: one investigation found that in Moscow in February 2015 alone 11 cancer patients had died by suicide.
The Russian legal system does not recognize the notion of assisted suicide and prohibits the practice of euthanasia: in Russia's criminal code euthanasia is treated as a premeditated murder.
Meanwhile, the Russian state has been policing coverage of cancer patient's deaths: in March 2015, Roscomnadzor issued an official warning to the Orthodox news website “Pravoslavie i Mir” (Orthodoxy and the World) about a news story on the deaths of two cancer patients who had ended their own lives. The censor demanded that the editors remove the description of the means with which the suicide was performed, as the agency believed the content violated the law aimed at protecting children from “harmful information.” When the website removed the details, Roscomnadzor sent them another warning, demanding they also remove the reported reason for the suicide (i.e., the pain the patients had endured for lack of medication). The website's editor, Anna Danilova, disputed the agency's demands in a Facebook post and said all of their suicide-related stories had been examined by qualified psychologists.
Some of Roscomnadzor's guidelines for regulating reporting on the issue align with world and industry standards. Many international organizations and media outlets have rules for reporting on suicide responsibly (Global Voices has a guide on this as well). The World Health Organization's own guidelines contain the following recommendations, among others:
- Avoid language which sensationalizes or normalizes suicide, or presents it as a solution to problems
– Avoid prominent placement and undue repetition of stories about suicide
– Avoid explicit description of the method used in a completed or attempted suicide
– Avoid providing detailed information about the site of a completed or attempted suicide
– Provide information about where to seek help
Suicide is an important public health issue, so it's crucial not to cover it simplistically or ignore it wholesale. But the way it’s covered and how that coverage is policed by the state also has the power to help or hurt the country's citizens and their human rights. In the context of Russia's history of state censorship and control over the media agenda and free expression, the censors’ attempts to obscure the reasons of cancer patients’ deaths in media reports ostensibly aimed at suicide prevention might seem arbitrary or even a symptom of their desire to control the narrative and avoid a difficult debate about responsibility for people's wellbeing.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Secular Activist Targeted and Killed in Bangladesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

Secular activist Nazimuddin Samad. Image from his Facebook page
A 28-year-old law student was murdered by three assailants in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 7, 2016. The young man was most likely targeted for his critiques of religious conservatism.
On Wednesday night around 9pm, Nazimuddin Samad was walking home with a friend along Hrishikesh Das Road in the Laksmibazar section of Dhaka. Three men approached on a motorcycle, wielding machetes. After an altercation in front of many people, they hacked and then shot him to death. The assailants shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) just before launching the deadly assault. They then fled the scene and have yet to be identified. As of April 8, no one had publicly claimed responsibility for the killing.
Nazimuddin Samad was a student of law in the Jagannath University and a vocal critic of religious extremism. Participating in an online discussion mostly through Facebook, Samad had served as an organizer with Ganajagaran Mancha, the group that has been demanding justice for the war crimes of 1971 and the banning of religious politics in the country. According to the Guardian, he lived in the northeastern city of Sylhet, though most of his family members are in London. He had moved to Dhaka for studies two months ago.
He joins the growing list of bloggers whose lives have been lost in similar targeted killings for their progressive and secular views. Police sporadically have arrested some individuals, including members of a banned group called the Ansarullah Bangla Team for these murders. In December 2015, two people were convicted and sentenced to death for the 2013 killing of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death on the street at the height of the Shahbag Square protests. No one else has been prosecuted for the killings of six other men, all of whom were targeted for sharing these political beliefs.
In an interview with BBC on 8 April 2016, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said: “I cannot tell just now why it happened or how it happened. I have to know first…..We have to look at his blog whether there is any objectionable stuff.”
When asked whether the killing would somehow be justified if objectionable content was found on Nazimuddin's blog, he replied, “I didn’t want to say that. If you look at the blogs of those who were killed earlier, hurting religion like this, hurting people’s beliefs, its not acceptable anywhere in the world.”
Nazimuddin was an active participant in the 2013 Shahbag Square protests, in which hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis demonstrated against impunity for war criminals. At the height of the protests, which were largely organized online, the government formed a nine-member committee to track bloggers and Facebook users who made derogatory remarks about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. On March 31, representatives of hardliner Muslim clerics submitted a list of 84 bloggers and online activists to a committee formed by the Home Ministry, accusing the bloggers of atheism and writing against Islam. Nazimuddin's name was number 13 on that list.
The list had two categories: secular and atheist bloggers, deemed by the extremists as enemies of Islam, and leaders of the outspoken Ganajagaran Mancha, a group demanding justice for war crimes, of which Nazimuddin was a part.
Nazimuddin had an active voice on Facebook. In August 2015, when the blogger Niloy Neel was killed, Nazimuddin posted some angry comments on Facebook, and was later trolled by Islamists. He quipped:
তোকে কে বলেছে আমার ওয়ালে এসে ঢু মেরে আমার লেখা পড়তে?আমি কি তোকে বাধ্য করেছি আমার লেখা পড়তে?ফেসবুক আমাকে এই অঞ্চলটি দিয়েছে এখানে যা খুশি তা লেখার,বলার।এবং আমার মননে,মস্তিষ্কে যা চিন্তা আসে,ভাব আসে আমি সেটা এখানে প্রকাশ করবোই।তোকে তো কেউ বাধ্য করেনি এটা দেখার বা পড়ার জন্য।
তাহলে কেন এই কুপাকুপি,খুনাখুনি করিস?
Who told you to come to my Facebook wall and read what I write? Did I compel you to read what I write? Facebook has provided me the space to say what I want. The thoughts and emotions that come to my mind, I will share them here. Nobody told you to come and read these.
Then why do you kill people with machetes?
He stopped updating Facebook after his family pressured him. He wrote in a post on August 8, 2015:
আর কিছু লিখবো না।
আর এখানে থাকবো না।
তোমাদের নরক তোমাদের ই থাক।এই নরকে পড়ে সবাই জ্বলে-পুড়ে মরে যাক।তবু কিছু বলব না।তবু কিছু লিখব না।
এখানে জীবনের দাম নেই।নেই ওই অসভ্য জঙ্গিদের কাছে এবং নেই এই সভ্য সরকারের কাছে।
I will not write anything. I will not be here anymore. You stay in this hellhole. You can burn in the rising fire and I will not say anything. I will not write anything. There is no value of life here. Neither the barbarian extremists nor the civilized government value our lives.
He came back to Facebook the following year. On January 22, 2016, he wrote:
যারা শতভাগ ধর্ম মানতে চায় তারাই হয় জঙ্গি।আর যারা ধর্মের বেশিরভাগ নীতি অমান্য করে চলে তারাই হয় মডারেট ধার্মিক। এই মডারেট ধার্মিকগুলা হয় জগাখিচুড়ী টাইপের।জঙ্গিবাদ ও ধর্মের মাঝখানে এই মডারেটরাই তফাত দেখিয়ে ধর্মকে বাঁচিয়ে রাখে।নতুবা ধর্ম এই বিশ্বমানবতা ও শান্তির এক চিরশত্রু হিসেবেই চিহ্নিত হতো।
Those who want to follow the religious scriptures 100 percent become extremists. Those who follow the religion but ignore many of its (old) practices become moderately religious. These moderate persons are in a mess, kind of a mismatch. They keep religion alive by alienating the extremists from the religion. If they were not there, religions would be termed as enemies of humanity and peace.
In recent days, he had supported a petition to remove Islam as Bangladesh’s state religion and soon received more threats on Facebook. Nazimuddin replied to a comment by a teacher where he was told to be vigilant as people were fearing he would be attacked:
ভয় আমার নিজেরও হয় স্যার। অকালে মরে যাওয়ার ভয়। কিন্তু কি করবো স্যার। মাথা নত করে চুপ হয়ে বেঁচে থাকার চেয়ে এ মরণই বোধ হয় ভালো।
I also fear for life, sir. Fear of dying young. But what to do, sir. This death would be better than keeping silent with our heads down.
After his death, Facebook marked his account as “Remembering Nazimuddin Samad.” However, it is plain to see that many supporters of Islamists are still trolling his account. One commenter Dulal Zahish wrote:
ধর্ম নিয়ে কটূক্তি করা যদি নাস্তিকদের বাক স্বাধীনতা হয়,তাহলে চাপাতি দিয়া কোপানো মৌলবাদীদের স্বাধীনতা হবে না কেন ?
If making foul comments about religion is the freedom of speech of the atheists, so why its not a freedom of action of the fundamentalists to use machetes to hack atheists?
With this growing intolerance and repression against atheists, is there any way to stop these killings? Exiled Bangladeshi journalist, Tasneem Khalil, who previously worked for The Daily Star and CNN, and served as a consultant for Human Rights Watch, spoke to human rights activists Maryam Namazie and Fariborz Pooya in an online show about the killings of secular bloggers.
Khalil explains that there is a growing movement of free thinkers who write together on slain blogger Avijit Roy's Mukto Mona blog. Some of them are targeted for killings by followers of Anwar al-Awlaki. The perpetrators of the Paris attacks follow the same ideology. He fears that they are not going to stop anytime soon.
Adit Hasan Khan wrote in an op-ed for the Daily Star that violent crime and religious extremism deserve more attention than sports and viral videos, urging the public to call for accountability and justice in the investigations of these killings.


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West Indies Fans Rally Against the Region’s ‘Corrupted’ Cricket Board After T20 Victories · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

West Indies Cricket Medal, with the original crest of the West Indies Cricket Board of Control. The ‘Control’ was dropped from its official name in 1996, but many would argue that the organisation still hangs on to the sentiment in terms of its behaviour towards the players. Photo by Mark Morgan, used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Caribbean cricket fans had a lot to celebrate this week, what with the two outstanding wins in the recent T20 (short for Twenty20 cricket, a short version of the game) tournament in Kolkata, India. The region's women's team beat Australia in the final for its maiden title, while the ‘Windies’ men — a blend of ‘West Indies’, since it comprises players from various regional territories — as the team is popularly called, powered through to an exciting four-wicket win over England.
The jubilation coming out of the regional blogosphere was intense. The Caribbean loves its cricket, but in recent years, cricket has not really loved it back — the West Indies cricket team has been mired in controversy for some time now, with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) coming under heavy fire by the players for alleged mismanagement.
West Indies cricketer Dwayne Bravo playing at the World Twenty20 Super8s: West Indies v South Africa @ The Oval, 2009. Photo by JJ Hall, used under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license.
Much of the bickering has been over money; the issue of player's fees came to an ugly head during the team's One Day International 2014-15 tour of India. The team abandoned the tour mid-way; Trinidadian cricketer Dwayne Bravo, who was captaining the team, fell out of favour with the WICB; and the Board of Control for Cricket in India ended up suing the WICB for US$42 million in lost revenue as a result of its team's walkout.
This week's triumphs have only served to rub salt in the gaping wound of lost trust between the WICB and the players, but really, all the signs were there since that ill-fated tour of India.
Enter the West Indies Players’ Association, led by Jamaican cricketer Wavell Hinds. The association proudly claims to be “the voice” of West Indian cricket players — except that 14 out of the 15 players that won the T20 tournament have vehemently stated that the association does not represent them, undermining the organisation's legitimacy in negotiating their contracts.
With a lack of confidence in Hinds’ leadership — especially after he agreed to a slash in players’ fees without due consultation with the cricketers themselves — the situation has reached an impasse. The players want to negotiate directly with the WICB, and the board's position is that the players’ association is the authorised negotiating body.
Darren Sammy, who captained the winning T20 team, playing at the Prime Ministers 11 Cricket match in Canberra 2010. Photo by NAPARAZZI, used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.
Dwayne Bravo has once again taken a stand, calling the WICB “the most unprofessional board in the world”, and its president, Dave Cameron, “immature”, “small-minded” and “arrogant”, “at war” with the West Indies cricket players.
T20 captain Darren Sammy was also scathing in his post-win remarks, accusing the WICB of a lack of support — the team allegedly didn't even have proper uniforms — but noting that the challenges strengthened the squad's resolve:
We started this journey … we all know we had … people were wondering whether we would play this tournament. We had a lot of issues, we felt disrespected by our board, [cricket columnist] Mark Nicholas described our team as a team with no brains. [Nicholas subsequently gave a heartfelt apology]. All these things before the tournament just brought this team together. […]
Sammy also thanked the heads of CARICOM, an organization for regional cooperation, for their messages of support. “…and I'm yet to hear from our own cricket board. That is very disappointing,” he said.
Most Caribbean social media users are of the opinion that the WICB board should go. In fact, there is an online petition circulating to that effect (thus far it has garnered nearly 6,500 signatories), which refers to the 2015 recommendation of the CARICOM Cricket Review Panel, which “strongly recommends the immediate dissolution of the West Indies Cricket Board and the appointment of an Interim Board whose structure and composition will be radically different from the now proven, obsolete governance framework.”
Sports journalist Lasana Liburd asked, prior to the team's T20 win:
Are the West Indies cricket team fighting to be crowned as the world’s best Twenty20 outfit because of the mechanisms of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)? Or should that be despite the mechanisms of the WICB?
He went on to explain the role of the WICB:
The role of the administrator certainly influences what happens on the pitch but it won’t be measured by match winning shots or game turning bowling performances.
The administrator’s job is essentially to give the team under their care the best possible chance of success. Or, to put it another way, to take away any excuse that outfit might have for non-performance.
It was the job of Cameron and his Board—not [the West Indies Players’ Association]’s, although they do have their part to play—to ensure Sammy and his crew went to India in the right frame of mind for success.
Did they?
Many well-respected cricketing figures are standing solidly with the West Indies players including legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who tweeted after the match:
WI players emerged true champions overcoming challenges on & off the field. West Indian Board should support them & address their concerns.
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) April 3, 2016
Fans have also been expressing their support of the team. On Facebook, Serenity Akosua Fletcher wrote of the T20 win:
I hope this is the first step to many of us as we stop vilifying players on behalf of WICB who refuse to act in the interest of players, fans and the regional game in a whole. The WICB represents the self-interest, corrupt kind of governance that rules our countries and gets away with it because of our respect for positions.
One Jamaican politician and cricket fan, Toraino Beckford, added:
Let us not allow the West Indies Cricket Board to intimidate our players for speaking their mind. The historic victories didn't come from bureaucrats of the WICB, it came from the players they clearly want to muzzle.
Let us stand by the teams and the players who generated such pride for us as Caribbean people.
Following a statement from the WICB reprimanding Sammy on his unflattering comments about the lack of board support after the T20 win, Facebook user Akhir Hafiz Bacchus defended the West Indies captain, saying:
Indeed Sammy has spoken the truth and every west indies cricket fan along with every head of government of the Caribbean should throw their support behind him. Thump up to you Darren Sammy for leading our guys to victory during those crucial times in light of not being supported by the corrupted WICB.


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Five Years After Revolution, Egyptians See #PanamaPapers as Further Vindication of Mubarak’s Ouster · Global Voices
Salma Essam

Politicians and their families and friends have been stashing millions of dollars away from prying eyes, reveal the Panama Papers. Photo credit: Ervins Strauhmanis. Source: Flickr. Photograph used under (CC BY 2.0)
Among the names contained in the Panama Papers, the enormous trove of confidential documents revealing how the world's elite exploit tax havens, is Alaa Mubarak, son of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, and other associates of Egypt's former autocratic leader.
Hosni Mubarak was ousted in the 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the January 25 revolution. He and his sons were tried and convicted on corruption charges in May 2015. While Hosni Mubarak remains in prison, his sons Alaa and Gamal were released in October.
The Panama Papers documents are from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm that helps clients set up offshore shell companies to stash their money abroad, sometimes to illegally hide their money from tax authorities at home. In one leaked letter to the director of financial investigation agency in the British Virgin Islands, Mossack Fonseca listed Alaa Mubarak as the owner of Pan World Investments company, established in 1996 and registered at his London address.
Former president Hosni Mubarak, centre, and his sons, Alaa, left, and Gamal
The inclusion of Alaa's name as well as the names of other associates of Hosni Mubarak in the Panama Papers were greeted on Egyptian social media by some as further confirmation of the popular uprising in 2011.
Esraa, a journalist at Egyptian newspaper “Elyoum7″, tweeted:
كل يوم ازداد فخرا لمشاركتي في ثورة يناير العظيمة لسقوط نظام سارق فاسد #مش_آسفين_يا_حرامي #وثائق_بنما
— مش هبطل أحلم لمصر (@Esraa2008) April 5, 2016
Every day I become even prouder of taking part in the great January revolution that toppled a corrupt regime.
While the anti-government 6 April movement didn't mince words:
#وثائق_بنما
تفضح الديكتاتورية والفساد لكثير ممن يعتلون كراسي الحكم في المنطقة#PanamaPapers
— A6Mحركة شباب 6 أبريل (@shabab6april) April 3, 2016
The Panama Papers exposes the regime's dictatorship and reveals the corruption of many who rule in the region.
And Sonia Makin hoped:
ويشاء القدير أن #مبارك يعيش علشان يشوف فضيحته دولية وبالوثائق!!!#وثائق_بنما
#panamaleaks
— Sonia Makin (@soniamakin) April 3, 2016
God wills that Mubarak stays alive till he witnesses his international scandal contained in the documents
The letter in which Alaa's name appears also reveals that the director of the company is another company named Primary Management Limited, which is registered at an address in the Bahamas. According to the leaks, the British Virgin Islands authorities, famous for being a tax haven resort, decided to freeze Pan World Investments activities, calling Mubarak a “high-risk” client.
A letter leaked from the Mossack Foresca on Alaa Mobarak's property in the British Virgin Islands known for tax havens.
Though Alaa's name appeared in the leaks, Egypt's Illicit Gains Authority lists him as joint owner of Pan World Investments with his brother Gama, according to independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr. The Mubaraks adopted a hard-to-trace strategy to keep their investment and information on their wealth under wraps. In a simple sense, Alaa and Gamal invested in a company which, in turn, invested in another company; a tactic that ensures complexity to any efforts trying to reveal who the main owner is. Prominent Egyptian journalist Hossam Bahgat explained in an article published yesterday:
Between 1996 and 2008, Pan World Investment owned a 50 percent stake in the Bullion Company, which was registered in Cyprus. Bullion owned a 35 percent stake in another investment company registered in the British Virgin Islands called EFG Hermes Private Equity, which owned two funds under the name EFG Capital Partners. Those funds invested remotely in several Egyptian companies, including Suez Cement, the National Bank of Egypt, Talaat Mostafa Holding and Alexandria for Mineral Oils. EFG Hermes Equity also owned a third fund under the name of Horus Food and Agribusiness, which in turn invested in Edita Food Industries, Alwadi Holding, Misr October for Food Industries (El-Misreieen) and other companies. All these companies accepted investments from funds that were tied to other funds, which in turn were tied to companies that all led back to Pan World. Gamal and Alaa Mubarak then collected the profits and transferred them to their offshore accounts
The Panama Papers also reveal a list of Egyptian names owning shares in a company registered in the Caribbean Cayman Islands, another tax haven, under the name Egypt Fund Ltd Inc. A quick examination of the list, posted on journalist Osama Diab's Facebook account, shows individuals that were either part of or closely tied to Mubarak's regime.
In addition, the list includes major banks owned by the government — Banque du Caire and Bank of Alexandria — as well as big companies like Cellelia Assets Corp., owned by Hussein Salem, who was said to be close to the Mubaraks and who fled Egypt following the 2011 uprising. Also featured are steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, who was charged with political corruption and monopolistic practices in major convictions following the revolution and was subsequently released on bail, and Orascom Investment and Development, owned by the wealthy Egyptian Sawiris family.
The fact that the Mubaraks had holdings abroad wasn't a secret. In March 2013, EIPR-British Cornerstone research uncovered Hosni Mubarak's ownership of Cyprus-based companies and four bank accounts tied to Bullion Company. A month later, EIPR and British Cornerstone addressed the European Commission urging it to freeze the assets of Mubarak and his associates in Cyprus. They also demanded that the British Virgin Islands freeze the Mubaraks’ assets on their territory including Pan World Investments.
Prominent Egyptian journalist and political activist Wael Abas tweeted to his 316,000 followers to remember where all that money came from in the first place:
مهم جدا واحنا بنتكلم على #وثائق_بنما ما نقولش اموال الدولة ! لا نقول اموال الشعب ! دي اموال الشعب حصيلة انتاجه وضرايبه اللي بيدفعها !
— Wael Abbas (@waelabbas) April 4, 2016
It becomes important not to say “the money of the state” when we refer to the Panama Papers. We should say “the money of the people”. This is the outcome of the people's production and taxes they pay.

author: Salma Essam


text:
‘Let’s Not Give In to Fear’: An Interview With Hugues Lawson-Body, Photographer of Celebrities and Parisian Youth · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

Hugues Lawson Body. Used with his permission
We live in an age where certain topics of conversation are difficult to raise in a public forum, let alone at the dinner table: immigration, sexism, social inequality, racism and the right to marriage for all.
Hugues Lawson-Body is one of those people who has the gift of being able to broach these serious subjects whilst keeping the conversation lighthearted.
Lawson-Body was born in Togo and raised in the Marais district of Paris. Globalisation and cosmopolitanism are not textbook theories for him, but concepts that form a part of his daily life through the portraits that he compiles of his immediate environment.
Lawson-Body says he likes the diversity in the portraits that he photographs: he has photographed sporting greats such as Tony Parker, Roger Federer and Magic Johnson, as well as cinematic legends such as Spike Lee and Michel Gondry. He has also photographed the youth of the Parisian region, as shown in his book les Jeunes Parisiens (Parisian Youth).
He is also the creator of the successful web series “Barber Show“, which documents the African community in Paris and offers a rare insight into a close-knit community rich in culture. Here is a glimpse of one episode of the show via Instagram (the caption of the video reads: “You've either got swag with the ladies or you haven't”):
Paris-75010-00:00
A video posted by Lawson-body (@hugueslawsonbody) on
Global Voices spoke with this modern and cosmopolitan artist.
Global Voices (GV): You have had an unusual career path. You were born in Togo and grew up in Paris, where you developed your ‘perspective’. Your career and work show an ability to transgress different social circles. How would you describe yourself in just two sentences?
Hugues Lawson-Body (HLB): Le mot clé est l’adaptation ! Je pars sans aucun a priori. J’aime les gens, et j’adore discuter avec des inconnus. Mon métier me le rend du coup tellement bien. Il colle à ma personnalité ou l’inverse !
Hugues Lawson-Body (HLB): The key word is adaptation! I start without any preconceptions. I like people and I love chatting to strangers. My job lets me do this as I see fit. Therefore, It has become part of my personality — or perhaps the other way around!
GV: What are the elements of a successful photo?
HLB: Tout dépend du style de la photo, mais si on ambitionne de faire du portrait il ne faut pas craindre de “rencontrer” les gens ! De les diriger et surtout il faut OSER ! Oser créer des émotions, des accidents, des photos ratés, au début du moins ! Et surtout il faut s’entrainer pour être toujours meilleur la fois suivante.
HLB: It all depends on the style of photo, but if you are trying to take portraits then you can't be scared to “meet” people! To direct them and above all to DARE! Dare to create emotions, accidents, failed photos, at least at the beginning! And above all you have to practice so that you will always be better next time.
GV: You have photographed big stars like Spike Lee, Gary Kasparov, Michel Gondry, Roger Federer. Do you have an anecdote that has particularly struck you about them? A quality that you find amongst most of them?
HLB:  J’ai eu la chance d’avoir la confiance des gens qui m’engageait pour réaliser ces portraits et de me trouver souvent au bon endroit !
Les 4 personnalités que vous m’avez cites sont finalement très différentes les unes des autres. Elles sont motivées par des objectifs différents, mais elles n’ont pas peur du boulot ! C’est cela selon moi leur point commun ; Le travail, le travail et pour finir le travail. Même si ces personnalités semblent être de véritables génies et donnent l’impression d’avoir une facilité naturelle à pratiquer leur profession. Le talent ne suffit pas : Ceux sont des grands bosseurs !
HLB: I've been lucky to have the trust of the people who enlisted me to take these portraits and to find myself in the right place at the right time! The four names that you have mentioned are all very different from one another. They are driven by different goals, but they are not scared of hard work! In my opinion, that's what they have in common; Work, work and more work. Even if these celebrities seem to be complete geniuses and give the impression of having a natural ability to do their job. Talent alone is not enough: these guys are hard workers!
GV: Headlines the world over are becoming dominated by the rise of the extremes: Donald Trump in the USA, Le Pen (who you have also photographed) in France and the rising anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe. How do you explain this phenomenon and how can we stop it?
HLB: L’arrêter je ne sais sincèrement pas mais je crois que les gens souffrent et que la facilité surtout en période de crise est de trouver des boucs émissaires. On a tous peur de perdre nos avantages, notre vie tranquille. Les Le Pen en ont fait leur fond de commerce, de père en fille. Même si je suis persuadé qu’ils croient à 90 % à leur histoire, c’est surtout une affaire de business. Le pouvoir est un sacré fuel également.
Je crois que changer les mentalités prend du temps, de l’éducation et beaucoup de patience. L’homme adore reproduire ses erreurs ou l’histoire bégaye, au choix.
HLB: I really don't know how we can stop it but I think that people are suffering and it's easy to look for scapegoats, especially in times of crisis. We are all scared of losing our benefits, our quiet life. The Le Pen family have made their wealth in that trade of fear, from the father to his daughter (editor's note: Marine Le Pen, daughter of Mr Le Pen, is currently the leader of the far right party in France). Even if I do subscribe to the idea that they believe 90% of their rhetoric, it's first a business affair before anything else for them and power is a great catalyst for business.
I think it takes time to change mentalities, education and lots of patience. We love to make the same mistakes over and over.
GV: Do you miss Togo? Do you go back often?
HLB:  Le Togo de mon enfance me manque, cela fait longtemps que je n’ai pas eu l’occasion d’y retourner. J’en garde des souvenirs forts. Je pense que je vais le redécouvrir. Même si je me sens en lien permanent avec ma culture togolaise. C’est d’autant plus important pour moi aujourd’hui car j’ai 2 filles à qui je dois transmettre cette culture qui est aussi leur héritage.
HLB:  I miss the Togo of my childhood, it's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to go back. I hold strong memories of it. I think that I'm going to rediscover it. Even if I feel a permanent link with my Togolese culture. It's even more important for me today because I have to share this culture with my two daughters — it's their heritage as well.
GV: One of your favourite themes is urban youth; however, it seems to be poorly received. What do you try to show through your portraits and why is it misunderstood?
HLB:  Je traite la jeunesse dans sa globalité. Je me vois dans l’obligation de l’illustrer dans toute sa diversité : loin des clichés, juste la réalité. J’essaie de prendre des photos des jeunes tels qu’ils sont. La jeunesse a tout autant de valeur que le monde adulte. Elle souffre d’être négligée et a besoin d’être inspiré. Nous, adultes, devons entendre l’espoir de cette jeunesse et lui répondre en tenant nos promesses et nos engagements. Si nous continuons à prétendre que les jeunes sont transparents, nous allons créer une rupture. Des jeunes gens frustrés en quête de reconnaissance et d’existence qui risquent de s’exprimer dans la violence ! Notre responsabilité d’adulte doit passer par le dialogue, de découvrir cette jeunesse et d’embrasser sa diversité et sa singularité.
HLB: I deal with youth in its entirety. I feel obliged to portray it in all its diversity: far from clichés, just the reality. I try to photograph young people just as they are. They are just as important as the adult generation, yet they suffer from neglect and need to be inspired. We adults must understand the hopes of the youth and respond to them by keeping our promises and commitments. If we continue to claim that they are transparent, we are going to create a rupture. These are frustrated young people seeking recognition and purpose, who risk expressing themselves through violence! Our responsibility as adults should take place through dialogue, learning about this generation and embracing its diversity and singularity.
GV: A message that you want to share with the readers of Global Voices?
HLB:  Rien ni personne ne doit entraver notre liberté, ne cédons pas à la peur !
HLB:  Nothing or no one can come in the way of our freedom. We won't give in to fear!

author: Rakotomalala


text:
Photos: Protesting Farmers Asking for Rice Violently Dispersed by Police in the Philippines · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Police and farmers face off a day before the dispersal of the protest. Source: Kilab Multimedia / Facebook
Two people were killed and scores were wounded after police dispersed a barricade set up by farmers demanding rice and food aid in North Cotabato, a province located in the southern part of the Philippines.
Last year, experts warned that many parts of the Philippines will experience a severe drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon. They urged the government to prepare and adopt mitigation efforts to lend assistance to farmers and other vulnerable sectors of the population.
As swathes of land began to dry up because of El Niño, many farmers found themselves unable to produce enough food crops to sell. The incidence of hunger rose in rural areas.
North Cotabato is one of the provinces reeling from the negative impact of El Niño. Its provincial government already declared a state of calamity last January 2016, which allowed it to access calamity funds and other forms of assistance from the national government.
Two months later, farmers in the province complained that they have yet to receive rice rationing and other food subsidies from their local government. On March 28, more than 5,000 farmers decided to act by protesting on the main highway. They vowed to stay put and maintain a barricade until the government released 15,000 sacks of rice. They also demanded the immediate disbursement of the calamity funds to help them survive and alleviate their suffering.
After failing to convince the farmers to end their protest, the local government ordered the police on April 1 to dismantle the barricade, disperse the rally, and arrest the leaders of the group. Violence ensued, which led to the death of two farmers. Initial estimates put the wounded at 116, while 87 were missing. Some who were reported missing were later discovered to have been arrested by the police.
The hashtag #BigasHindiBala (Rice not bullets) trended as netizens actively commented on the issue. The police were criticized for using guns during the dispersal because it is a violation of the law. Many questioned why the government had to resort to violence when hungry farmers were simply asking for food.
Local authorities and the police said the protesters were illegally occupying the road and inconveniencing the public. The police added that they only acted in self-defense against the unruly protesters. The governor insisted that rice is available but procedures must be followed if farmers wanted to get it from the municipal government.
When the government rejected the demand of farmers, a rice donation campaign was launched, inspiring many individuals, groups, and institutions to offer assistance to the protesting farmers.
Since the violent dispersal on April 1, the president of the country has not yet spoken about the issue. But his subordinates have announced that there will be an impartial probe into the incident. However, they also openly wondered if leftist agitators manipulated the farmers to join the protest.
Nevertheless, the question many have remains unanswered: Is it right to shoot hungry farmers who were simply demanding food from the government?
A dry field in North Cotabato. Source: Tudla Productions / Facebook
Police opened fire on protesters, which killed two farmers. Firetrucks were also deployed to dismantle the protest. Source: Kilab Multimedia / Facebook
After the dispersal of the protest, farmers sought refuge in the compound of the United Methodist Church. Source: Kilab Multimedia / Facebook
Rice donation started to arrive for the farmers who were dispersed in North Cotabato. Source: Kilab Multimedia / Facebook
Workers in Manila held a protest in front of the national police headquarters to condemn the violent dismantling of protests in Kidapawan. Source: Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement) / Facebook
An artist depicts how police attacked protesting farmers in Kidapawan. The placard reads ‘Justice for the farmers of Kidapawan’. Source: Karlo Mongaya / Facebook
Activists held a protest in front of the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, California in the United States to show support to the Kidapawan farmers. Source: Megan Zapanta / Facebook

author: Mong Palatino


text:
The Week That Was at Global Voices Podcast: What Panama Papers? · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

This week, we take you to Azerbaijan, Chile, Philippines, Poland and China.
First, we head to Poland where the period got political, after the country's female prime minister supported a bill proposing a complete ban on abortion. Soon, a Facebook event called “A Heavy Period for the Government” went up encouraging women to post detailed descriptions of their periods on the prime minister's official Facebook page. Our contributor Anna Gotowska brought us the story.
Then we head to Chile, where our contributor Shirley Campbell told us how Afro-Chileans in the country are fighting for recognition on the census. On to Nagorno Karabakh, which is smoldering after clashes erupted between Azeri and Armenian forces on April 2. This story was reported by our contributor Winston Obertan.
Our southeast Asia editor Mong Palatino introduced us to Gregorio Y. Zara, an engineer from the Philippines. Zara was the inventor of a two-way television telephone, also known as a videophone.
We end the episode with an interview with Oiwan Lam, our northeast Asia editor, about the Panama Papers. Last week's leaks exposed how the world’s elite take advantage of tax havens — sometimes illegally. The story has been making headlines around the world — except in China — where web censors have been working overtime to make sure Chinese know little to nothing about the leaks.
In this episode of the Week that Was at Global Voices, we featured Creative Commons licensed music from the Free Music Archive, including Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0); Halbi Gijh by Thiaz Itch (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); Mario Bava Sleeps In a Little Later Than He Expected To by Chris Zabriskie (CC BY 4.0); Can I Talk To You by Podington Bear (CC BY-NC 3.0); and At the Lab We Work and Play by Good Old Neon (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Listeners also heard Cumbia Bichera by El Remolón, used with music label Pueblo Nuevo‘s permission.
The Week That Was podcast is hosted by Global Voices News Editor Lauren Finch and me — Managing Editor at Global Voices. Expect to hear our voices again in two weeks.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


text:
Meet Three Artists Painting the Streets of Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

“Out the Box,” done for Red Bull's One Upon A Town project, Kachelhoffer, Western Cape, South Africa 2015. Credit: Photo courtesy of Falko One
This article by Kenny Sokan originally appeared on PRI.org on April 7, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
It starts with a blank wall — a concrete canvas. Can in hand, a stroke of color, then another and another until what a wall becomes a work of art. The tag is the finisher, letting the world know the mural's creator.
Graffiti was cultivated in the streets of New York in the 1970s, and in the '80s the art form made its way to Africa. There, it's a less established medium, but has a growing community of vibrant artists. Still, they don't get as much media attention or representation at international festivals as artists from Europe or North America.
“There’s a lot of underrepresentation. When you go to festivals they just put you on like a footnote and it ends there,” says Kenyan street artist Wisetwo. “If you do your research well, there’s a lot of good artists in Nairobi, there’s lots of good artists in Tunisia.”
Here are three artists working to get Africa's graffiti community more visibility.
In 1988, nearing the end of apartheid in South Africa, grafitti artist Falko One began his journey into the subculture in Cape Town at one of the only clubs where people of color people could go to party. There he was introduced to the world of hip hop and grafitti.
Today Falko is credited with much of the development of graffiti in his country. Through a letter exchange in the '90s, Falko helped facilitate a network between budding South African graffiti artists and industry veterans in Europe so they could learn from one another. In 1996, he started the first graffiti competition in South Africa, called Battle With Vapours, which continued to be hosted for several years.
“One Vision” in Johannesburg, South Africa 2015. Credit: Photo courtesy of Falko One
His work decorates building all over the Cape Flats, the country and other towns and cities across the globe. His art, he says, has been described as fantasy and poetic. He says it's an interpretation of the world around him.
“What influences me in general is social and political observations that I make,” says Falko. “But I don’t spoon-feed it. It’s not blatant. I do realize that the communities I go into, I am a visitor … I don’t like going into communities and forcing my point of view on everybody. … I do a little artwork, placing visual aesthetics firstly and then afterwards I’ll add in a little message, and it varies from area to area.”
He studied graphic design but didn't finish school.
“Family Time,” done for the 2015 City Of Gold graffiti festival in Johannesburg, South Africa 2015. Credit: Photo courtesy of Falko One
“Graffiti was not something I consciously decided to do,” says Falko. “It was elements and people around me that forced me to do graffiti.”
He met King Jamo, one of the hip-hop performers from club The Base, his second night going there. King Jamo showed him the flag for his crew, with the word Zulu written in graffiti. He told Falko they were looking for young graffiti artists to join his team. From then on, Falko says, he was hooked.
“I have a pretty obsessive personality,” he says. “And once I got into it, it was all I could think of.”
“Big Heart,” done for the 2014 City of Gold Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa. Credit: Photo courtesy of Falko One
In the bustling city of Nairobi, Kenyan artist Wisetwo has been working in street art for more than a decade.
From childhood he had an interest in art, as he believes all children do.
“Isn’t every child just interested in painting?” he asks. “Then it just depends on how far society hits you and brainwashes you and tells you science and business is more important than art.”
Although not convinced he should put away his paintbrushes and spray cans, Wisetwo went to college and got a degree in international relations — just “as a back-up plan,” he says.
A mural for the Itinerrance Gallery's 2013 Djerbahood open-air museum project in the village of Erriadh, Djerba, Tunisia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Wisetwo
But painting is his passion, and it’s taken him all over the world — from Canada to Yemen. Most of the work he does is for his own pleasure, shown in festivals and the gallery of the streets, but he has done commissioned work, usually in his home city, for NGOs such as the United Nations.
Wisetwo has done political work in the past but prefers to steer clear of politics in his art. In 2013, around the time of the Kenyan presidential elections, with the permission of the Rift Valley Railway, a group of Kenyan artists painted a 10-car commuter train with peace messages. Kibera, the slum the rail runs through, experienced a lot of violence during the 2007 election. It was called the Kibera Peace Train, aimed at promoting peace.
“Trying to merge the [politics and art] is not an easy task,” Wisetwo says. “That’s not the concept of my expression. This world has too many problems. Trying to fix them is not my thing. I just paint, make places look beautiful.”
“Nostalgic” in Tunis, Tunisia 2015. Credit: Photo courtesy of Wisetwo
Last year Wisetwo had his first solo exhibition in Paris.
His show featured murals of African masks with patterned work influenced by the cultures of ancient civilizations such as the Mayans, Aztecs and Mesopotamia and embraces Egyptian hieroglyphs. It’s this work that Wisetwo says truly represents his style.
“If you look at street art and graffiti, you find a lot of American and European influence. Just that I am raised in a different continent doesn’t mean I should adopt an American culture of painting or a European culture of painting,” says Wisetwo. “People do that all the time. So I just decided to put it true to the roots, paint where I am coming from and what interests me a lot from ancient texts and ancient cultures. This is the best way I can express myself.”
“Resilience of the Soul” in Rochester, New York 2013. Credit: Photo courtesy of Wisetwo
Vajo out of Gabès, Tunisia, is a force to be reckoned with. He was propelled to the international stage in 2011 during the Tunisian Revolution, also known as the Jasmine Revolution, which was the first in a wave of uprisings in the Arab world called the Arab Spring.
“Does age matter when it comes to love?” A mural for the Djerbahood project in the village of Erriadh, Djerba, Tunisia 2014. Credit: Photo courtesy of Vajo
Vajo was featured in a documentary called PUSH Tunisia, which brought together a collection of Tunisian skateboarders, activists and street artists.
They came to be known as The Bedouins. The group promoted peace in the war-torn country through their crafts. They turned the ransacked mansion of a member of the former ruling family into a hangout for creative minds.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Vajo
In summer of 2014 Vajo participated in Djerbahood, a project organized by the Parisian Itinerrance Gallery involving 150 artists of 30 different nationalities. They turned the village of Erriadh on the of island of Djerba, Tunisia into an “open-air museum”, freely painting as many walls as they liked. The island is a mjor attraction for the country and the works of these artists have made it even more so.
Vajo is also trying to keep the medium going: he participated in a workshop funded by Tunisia's US embassy to give children a crash course in the art of graffiti.
“Monster” in Tunis, Tunisia 2013. Credit: Photo courtesy of Vajo

author: PRI/PRX's The World


text:
Thai Army’s ‘Attitude Adjustment’ Camp Helps Critics to Be Healthy and Obedient · Global Voices
Prachatai

This edited article is from Prachatai, an independent news site in Thailand, and is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. Since grabbing power in 2014, the army continues to rule Thailand. It has imposed strict controls on the media, public protests are banned, and an interim constitution it approved gave broad powers to the military. Those who criticize the military-backed government are ‘invited’ to undergo ‘attitude-adjustment’ sessions in army camps for several days.
Tired from work and a bad lifestyle? The Thai junta’s brand new attitude adjustment camp, aimed primarily at the country's civic and opposition leaders, will take you for a health check-up, “adjust” you to a new healthy lifestyle and, above all, help you achieve the type of attitude that complements the junta’s nation-building strategy.
The camp is available at your nearest military base.
The camp follows the “Training Curriculum for Leaders in Creative Nation-Building”, which is at least seven days long, depending on the ability of the trainee to adjust her or his attitude.
The daily activities involve waking up at 5 am, taking a bath, having a short break for leisure time, and working out in the morning.
Later, the trainees will attend lectures on the goals of the junta’s administration, followed by a “discussion session.”
In the evening, there will be recreational activities to reduce stress, and they will go to bed at 9.30 pm, said Gen. Piyapong Klinphan, the junta’s spokesperson and a supervisor of the project cited by the Thai News Agency
After finishing the camp sessions, instead of receiving a certificate, trainees have to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) stating that they will stop all political activities and stop instigating conflict.
Those who violate the MOU may be invited to take the course again.
Gen. Piyapong said that people that could be invited to the camp include those who criticize the junta in public forums and social media and who may be deemed threats to national security.
He added that the junta is monitoring groups of activists and considering whether or not they will be invited to take part in the course.
A health check-up will be provided to ensure the public that the trainees are treated well in the military camp, not beaten or tortured as media like to report.
The general added that the program is an attempt to build understanding with the dissidents, which will help the country “transit” to a “brighter future”. The junta, however, hopes that no one has to attend the course.
On Wednesday, April 7, Watana Muangsuk, a Pheu Thai (political party of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra) politician who has been taken to two attitude adjustment sessions in the past month, posted an article titled ‘Politician’s Indoctrination Session’, on his Facebook page.
Watana said that the course aims to silence voices against the referendum and the draft constitution. Some critics believe the proposed constitution would reinforce military rule in the country. Watana urges the junta to believe in people’s maturity and let the public have a free political discussion.
The upcoming charter referendum is very significant for the future of the country. To let the public freely discuss the content of the draft is the only way to ensure the quality of the referendum and acceptance from the people.

author: Prachatai


text:
‘They Call Me Haj Agha’—Gaming Iran’s Revolution · Global Voices
Tori Egherman

Screenshot from the game 1979 Revolution
Iran's 1979 revolution is now a game. Designer Navid Khonsari has combined the experiences of his own family with meticulous research to produce a choose-your-own-adventure game. Every choice you make takes you down a different narrative path.
Khonsari knows a thing or two about gaming. He worked on the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto series. This game is voiced by a few well-known actors and even includes his grandfather's home movie footage.
In an interview for Canadian broadcaster CBC, Khonsari recounted his own childhood memories of Iran's revolution.
I saw hope. I saw the possibility of change. I saw people coming together and embracing each other. Strangers.
A few months later he was hiding in the house as guns were shot into the air and violence became more prevalent.
US news outlet Fox News has already announced that the game “angers Tehran.” If that's the case, it might mean that Tehranis are lining up to play.
Khonsari plays this anger down. He feels that he's telling a story of people on a “journey of change” and not taking a political stance.
Global Voices discussed 1979 Revolution; Black Friday with Khonsari.
Global Voices: What was the spark behind the game?
Khonsari: The spark came from a trip I made to Iran. When I arrived in a small village in the South, I was approached by young Iranians who knew of me from my work on the Grand Theft Auto games. I was shocked by the huge cultural export and power of video games to communicate. These kids explained how they felt like they knew America based on their game experience. Their favorite activities included shopping, eating, working out, listening to music, going to clubs. They felt as though they had walked on American soil based on the experience in the game. It made me think, what if I created a game that exposed audiences to REAL EVENTS, and offered players the chance to put themselves into a world that is represented with historical integrity? What if I could give people both a very engaging and meaningful experience?
Making a game like this offers the opportunity to portray history not as black and white, but with shades of gray.  Having lived through the revolution the event seemed like the ideal first step in defining this new genre: Vérité Games.
Because 1978/79 in Iran was an active and wild time where ideas were clashing and the stakes were very high for everyone, it seemed like an amazing environment and thrilling climate to recreate for audiences.
Global Voices: Can you discuss the role of women in the game?
Khonsari: In researching and developing 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, it was important for us to not overlook the crucial role of woman who participated and made great sacrifices during the revolution — and also received the most collateral damage.  We interviewed a number of women who participated or were living in Tehran during the revolution. They came from varying religious ideologies and economic classes. We wanted to inform an authentic representation of all the characters in 1979 Revolution.
One of the main characters we've written into the game is Bibi Golestan.  As young engineer she witnessed great poverty and inequality in villages outside of Tehran. This motivated her to become an active leader within the Tudeh Party [Iran's communist party].  We also represent women in various other roles.  This includes Shirin Shirazi, the mother of main player protagonist Reza Shirazi. She bitterly watches the demise of her “way of life” during the revolution.  1979's characters reflect the complicated issues facing woman of varied classes and ideologies.
The game has just been made available on gaming store Steam, and social media users have been weighing in on the new release. Singapore-based gaming account @StoryConscious uploaded video of themselves trying to pick the spy out of the lineup in 1979 Revolution:
Watch our #letsplay #1979revolution – https://t.co/fhP2mHwPTh when we panic we get confused! #YouTubeGamers #games pic.twitter.com/hwFtthpYdr
— We love story games (@StoryConscious) April 8, 2016
They also shared footage of the game play on YouTube:
Like many others, Arman Ghorbani was looking forward to learning more about the times his parents lived through.
My parents lived the #1979Revolution in #Iran and I've studied it deeply so I can't wait to experience @1979theGame. https://t.co/y040nvUI7k
— Arman Ghorbani (@ArmanSays) April 7, 2016
While Kevin Miston was amused by a line spoken by one of the game's characters: “They call me Haj Agha.”
Oh Oh Oh! Asadollah Lajevardi… Haj Agha! #1979Revolutionpic.twitter.com/yXU4FRPuoh
— Kevin Miston (@KevinMiston)
April 5, 2016


text:
This is How Africa Tweeted in 2015 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A screenshot of a graph showing how Africa tweets.
Portland, a London-based communications agency, has analysed 1.6 billion geo-located tweets and the top 5,000 hashtags on the continent for the third “How Africa Tweets” report.
The report consists of 12 case studies touching on how Twitter relates to topics such as terrorism in Africa, the Ebola response, and economic development on the continent.
The company used the social media analysis tool Sysomos to collect and analyse the 5,000 top hashtags. However, it was unable to collect information on South Sudan and the Republic of Congo due to lack of data on social media.
“Our previous studies showed that Twitter in Africa was much more of a space for social interaction or frivolous banter. This study, our third, demonstrates that the platform is coming of age with the prevalence of serious debate about politics and government,” Mark Flanagan, Portland’s Senior Partner for Content and Digital Strategy is quoted in a press statement.
Key findings:
Some tweeps have been sharing key findings on Twitter using the hashtag #HowAfricaTweets.
First cases of #Ebola were being discussed on social media before any official announcement was made by WHO or others.” #HowAfricaTweets
— Rosebell Kagumire (@RosebellK) April 7, 2016
Africans were especially vocal on a handful of international events on Twitter incl Islamic State, #BlackLivesMatter – #HowAfricaTweets
— Rosebell Kagumire (@RosebellK) April 7, 2016
“Gabon is a French-speaking country in central Africa, but three of its top ten tweets had to do with events in Nigeria” #HowAfricaTweets
— Djelissah (@Melsse) April 7, 2016
#howafricatweets
Top five hashtags from Uganda
1. #Uganda
2. #UgandaDecides
3. #News
4. #Latest
5. #MUFC
— Pru Nyamishana (@nyapru1) April 6, 2016
The small island of Comoros had the highest level of Tweets Per Capita of 0.77 across the continent. #howafricatweets
— Grace Natabaalo (@Natabaalo) April 6, 2016
The report has generally received positive response. However, Mwesigwa Daniel, a True Africa contributor, tweeted:
The #HowAfricaTweets report is another a piece of cheap popularity. So much left out.
— Mwesigwa Daniel (@valanchee) April 7, 2016
Responding to Reed Kramer tweet, Demba Kandeh, a Global Voices author, observed:
@reedkramer @PortlandComms @twitter interesting findings; sounds like comparing apples n oranges, #AfricaIsNotACountry #HowAfricaTweets
— Demba Kandeh (@saadems) April 7, 2016