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Making Wasted Uneaten Food a Thing of the Past in Argentina · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Volunteers with Proyecto Plato Lleno. Image used with permission.
The Proyecto Plato Lleno (Full Plate Project) is a volunteer initiative in Argentina that rescues unconsumed food at different events, receptions, and parties that would otherwise end up in the trash bin. The group has already collected 24,000 kilos (26.5 tons) of food, which has gone to fill 48,000 plates and the same number of hungry bellies.
The project started during a chat between two friends. Alexis Vidal, an event designer, and Paula Martino, who worked at a sustainable events agency, realized that there is a lot of unconsumed food that's thrown away when events have finished, so they decided to do something about it. The result was the Full Plate Project, created in 2013.
According to the project's Facebook page:
El proyecto surge como consecuencia de una alianza […] para organizar eventos con enfoque sustentable, ante la pregunta “¿Qué podríamos hacer con la comida que no se llega a consumir en los eventos -que es muchísima- y que termina siempre en la basura?”
Poco a poco fueron dando forma a este Proyecto de carácter 100% solidario para que la comida elaborada que no llega a consumirse en cada evento pueda ser destinada a Hogares, Comedores, Instituciones, etc, la clave para lograrlo era…VOLUNTAD!
The project is the product of an alliance […] to organize events with a sustainable approach, to the question “what could we do with the food that nobody eats at events (and there is a lot of it) that always ends up in the trash bin?”
Little by little, this 100-percent volunteer project came together, so prepared food that goes uneaten at various events can be sent to institutions, diners, and so on. The key for that was … THE WILL TO DO IT!
Packed before being delivered. Image used with permission.
As they told the Argentinian newspaper La Nación, the project's volunteers “arrive during a party, pack what's been cooked but not consumed, and then they take it directly to social institutions, so it can be delivered as soon as possible or frozen to be delivered later.”
Besides Buenos Aires, the project is also active in Mendoza, La Plata, and Posadas. The Mendoza group started to operate in October, when four residents heard of the initiative that started in the Argentinian capital, and they decided to bring it to their province. In their very first night of volunteering, they rescued 30 kilos (66 pounds) of food, which helped feed 60 people, in a matter of just hours.
The project's representatives told the news site Elsol:
El grupo […] se presenta en un evento y realizan un operativo en el que el cuidado de la comida es el factor principal. Los voluntarios llevan la vestimenta apropiada para la tarea (cofias, barbijos, etcétera) y los platos son envasados al vacío para que luego se los deposite en una conservadora. Luego, la comida se entrega a un comedor previamente contactado por Plato Lleno.
The group […] shows up at an event and carries out an operation where taking care of the food is the main factor. The volunteers wear the adequate garment for the activity (caps, face masks, and so on), the plates are vacuum-packed, and then they are placed in a refrigerator. Then, the food is delivered to a kitchen that has been previously contacted by the project.
The packing process for any food collected is very rigorous, as you can see from the following pamphlet on the project's “Rules of Packing”:
This animated video below demonstrates how the project treats all rescued food. Notice that most of the activity presented is carried out at night, so recipients can have the food early the next morning:
[1. Put on the cap, the facemask. and the apron. 2. Locate, clear .and clean up the workspace. 3. Place in your workspace all your gear. 4. Wash your hands. 5. Put on gloves. 6. Start the initial packing process with minimal risk for food. 7. Start the final packaging. 8. Seal the containers and prepare to take them to the vehicle. 9. Dispose of gloves and masks. 10. Wash your hands.] Image used with permission.
The project also uses Twitter to share its work and activities:
¿Nos ayudas a que @PlatoLleno pueda seguir trabajando?#LaComidaNoSeTira pic.twitter.com/FNCbaLXSI9
— ProyectoPlatoLleno (@PlatoLleno) febrero 2, 2016
Join us!
Now you can join us as a food rescuer with your debit card!!!
You can monthly rescue: 1 kilo/$24; 2 kilos/$48; 5 kilos/$120.
It's easy: e-mail us at proyectoplatolleno@gmail.com your banking information and how many kilos you want to rescue.
The amount will be automatically debited from your account.
Thanks!
—————-
Can you help us so Full Plate can keep on working?
¿Tenés un Restaurante y no sabés que hacer con la comida que no llega a servirse? Te contamos que podés colaborar… https://t.co/R1lihYrIAS
— Plato Lleno Mendoza (@platolleno_mza) febrero 2, 2016
Do you have a restaurant and don't know what to do with uneaten food? We want to tell you that you can collaborate.
#LaComidaNoSeTira #PlatoLleno pic.twitter.com/jbpVhIoWIV
— ProyectoPlatoLleno (@PlatoLleno) enero 30, 2016
Project Full Plate is a support initiative carried out by volunteers with the ultimate purpose of preventing the waste of food that goes uneaten at events.
Our aim is try to give a use to excess food that would otherwise end up in the trash!
——————–
Don't dispose of food.
#LaComidaNoSeTira Mendocinos rescatan alimentos para ayudar a comedores https://t.co/mR8t6ZSywE pic.twitter.com/PrpswFUU4s
— ElSol .com.ar (@elsolonline) febrero 3, 2016
In Mendoza, people rescue food to help kitchens.
In 2015, the prevalence of undernourishment in Argentina was below 5 percent of the population, according to latest State of Food Insecurity in the World report by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. Nevertheless, the Catholic University of Argentina’s Social Observatory points out that two in ten Argentinian children were still malnourished in 2015, and half of these kids suffer from “severe food insecurity”—a situation occurring primarily in low-income households in small villages, according to the Panam Post newspaper.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Netizen Report: The EU Wrestles With Facebook Over Privacy · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

Photo by Flickr user Laura Ferreira. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
In the latest development in the negotiations between the United States and European Union over data transfer rules, Reuters reports France’s data protection authority gave Facebook three months to stop tracking non-users’ Web activity without their consent, and ordered Facebook to cease some transfers of personal data to the United States or face fines. In response, Facebook asserted it does not use the now-defunct Safe Harbor agreement to move data to the United States and instead has set up alternative legal structures to keep its data transfers in line with EU law. Despite this, Facebook was forced last year to stop tracking Belgian non-users after it was taken to court by the Belgian regulator. Last week, the United States and European Union agreed upon a new legal framework to replace Safe Harbor, but as it is not yet operational, several European data protection authorities are still deciding whether data transfers should be restricted.
Indian regulators officially banned “differential pricing”or discriminatory tariffs placed on data services depending on their content. This means that Internet users in India are guaranteed equal access to any website they want, regardless of how they connect to the Internet, ays Global Voices’ Subhashish Panigrahi. The decision is a particular blow to Facebook’s Free Basics application, which uses differential pricing mechanisms to make accessing Facebook, WhatsApp and a limited number of other websites free to users who do not pay for mobile data plans. Though Facebook promotes the program as a means to increasing digital access, it has come under backlash in India and a number of other countries. Internet policy expert Pranesh Prakash emphasizedthat though the ruling is a win for open access in India, these efforts must continue until India is truly and equally connected.
In an effort to combat groups like ISIS that recruit online, Google has launched apilot schemeto point users who search for extremist terms toward anti-radicalization links. It announced the new effort on February 2 at a meeting with the U.K. Home Affairs Select Committee on Countering Extremism. Representatives of Twitter and Facebook were also challenged by members of Parliament on their role in combatting the spread of terrorist material. Twitter announcedthat it had suspended 125,000 accounts associated with extremism since mid-2015 in response to pressure from the US government. However, as the New York Times’ Mike Isaac notes, “these companies must walk a fine line between bearing responsibility for their platforms and avoiding becoming the arbiter of what constitutes free speech.”
The Ukrainian censorship body, National Expert Commission for Protection of Public Morality, dissolved last year, but its legacy lives on as a database of “explicit content” that no one in the government seems to know what to do with. The database includes a sizeable amount of content “containing elements of sexual nature and erotica,” but the commission was also well known for its attempt to ban Spongebob Squarepants, Shrek, and Teletubbies. Users have suggested the team responsible for dissolving the commission make the content more widely available, so they can see where taxpayers’ money went.
Hacking human rights workers, journalists, and NGOs has become common practice for governments around the world, according to Amnesty International’s Morgan Marquis-Boire and Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Eva Galperin. In a post for Amnesty International, the two provide a brief history of government hacking and give suggestions for NGOs and human rights organizations to protect themselves.
Two Russian Internet service providers are taking the Federal Security Service to court to challenge the surveillance system employed by Russian federal police to spy on Internet use. ISPs play a critical role in making surveillance possible, by installing expensive equipment that provides police access—making this case a significant affront to Russia’s invasive surveillance apparatus.
Messaging app Telegram’s growing influence is being characterized as a major factor in the dissemination and spread of information leading up to Iran’s Feb. 26 parliamentary elections, but  the platform’s susceptibility to state manipulation is also becoming more apparent. After the arrest of former BBC journalist Bahman Doroshafaei, the government took over his Telegram account and started to message his contacts. Some believe this was an effort to extract sensitive information or to distribute spyware. Fatemeh Shams, a friend of Doroshafaei, posted the following warning to her Facebook account:
Someone has been talking to me for two hours from Bahman's hacked Telegram account and now is chatting with my friends with my account..If anyone messaged you on Telegram [from my account] please ignore it. I've lost access to my account.
Mahsa Alimardani, Ellery Roberts Biddle, Hae-in Lim and Sarah Myers West contributed to this report.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Netizen Report Team


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The Complicated Mess That Is Pakistan International Airlines’ Privatisation · Global Voices
Aisha

PIA employees protest outside Islamabad airport. Photo Courtesy: Awami Workers Party Facebook Page
The government's plan to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country's national carrier, as part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has touched off conversations around the country not only about the financial wisdom of doing so, but also about police brutality, corruption and workers’ rights.
Two people were killed in protests against the privatisation in Karachi, where police used aggressive force to break up the gathering. Beforehand, Pakistanis and opposition parties were already questioning the ruling party PMLN's management of the airline and wondering what would become of PIA workers. Not to mention the poor quality of the airline from a customer service perspective.
The proposed privatisation has touched a nerve in a variety of ways. Let's take a look at a few of them.
Once considered amongst the best airlines in the region, PIA has plummeted to below standard service and passengers have continued to complain. Blogger Alizay Abid recounts her experience:
Photo: #PIA #Sucks – waiting since 30 mins but no sign of luggage 😡 (at Allama Iqbal International Airport) http://t.co/lZBaPiZOsn
— Alizay Abid (@Alizay_A) January 18, 2015
Delays seem to be a pattern with PIA, as Ali Hassan points out:
@AirportPakistan‘s tweets regarding flight cancellations and delays just show how much #PIA sucks
— Ali Hassan (@enspec) April 26, 2014
The travel horror stories have long been circulated, Ahmer Murad says:
Heard so many people tell so many horror stories about #PIA recently. What's been done to the national flag carrier is terrible.
— Ahmer Murad (@AhmerMurad) December 26, 2013
But does consistent bad service mean there's no option but to privatise? According to media reports, the reasoning boils down to hefty losses. During the first two quarters of 2015 alone, the airline was at loss of about 80 billion rupees (about 1.1 billion US dollars).
National Assembly Member Mazia Hameed, who belongs to the ruling party PMLN, has been defending the government's decision to privatise on social media. Hameed tweeted:
This why gov is privatizing #PIA it has thousands of employees it can't afford #PIAStrike pic.twitter.com/puUFfEgZeu
— Maiza Hameed (@MaizaHameed) February 4, 2016
Employees are deeply upset over authorities’ decision, as they fear loss of jobs as a result of a possible corporate takeover. Organisations and political parties focused on workers’ rights feel that the decision to privatise is being dictated under a condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme:
Aasim Sajjad: “All working class people should unite against the IMF-dictated privatization plan” #PIAStrike pic.twitter.com/nocsV6Xukw
— AWP Islamabad (@AWPIslamabad) February 3, 2016
The past few years PIA workers have gone on strike multiple times on various issues ranging from working conditions to wages. Last week, February 2, 2016, the Joint Action Committee of PIA Employees announced a strike after negotiations with government officials collapsed. Workers gathered at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad and Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, Karachi, starting a sit-down that lasted six days and saw the death of two PIA staffers.
Protest of PIA Employees at Benazir Bhutto International Airport against PIA Privatization … #mohafizalert pic.twitter.com/aNamL51leT
— Mohafiz (@MohafizOfficial) February 1, 2016
Awami Workers Party also joined the sit in at Benazir Bhutto Airport, singing in protest with the workers:
In solidarity, netizens pointed out that the ruling party, now overseeing this privatisation plan, was once itself against the privatisation while in opposition:
“Those protesting against PIA Privatization are against Pakistan”—PMNS
Look who's talking😱👇😱#IsupportPIAprotestors pic.twitter.com/lKLqG3BQRD
— Aasia Ishaque (@aasia_ishaque) February 2, 2016
In order to disperse the crowd, authorities swiftly began crack down on protests. The authorities’ use of force in Karachi, where two people died, was widely criticised:
2 killed, 18 injured in firing on PIA employees. Whatever one may think about the PIA protest, this is absurdly fascistic handling by govt.
— Hasan Zaidi (@hyzaidi) February 2, 2016
In response, Nasir Jaffar, the CEO of PIA, handed in his resignation, which is yet to be accepted by Prime Minister Sharif. While law enforcement agencies continue to deny any involvement in the death of protesters, instead pointing fingers at unknown gunmen, a review committee has been formed to investigate the matter.
The government has the power to step in over workers’ strikes, thanks to the Pakistan Essential Service Maintenance Act of 1952. When invoked, strikes can result in dismissal of service, imprisonment for a maximum period of one year and a fine for the employees.
As political parties continue to release statements against the use of force by state authorities, some are blaming the previous government for contributing to the abysmal state of the airliner:
Those claiming PIA is an ‘asset’ need to peruse its financials.And also count # of redundant employees added by PPP. https://t.co/BpDt7xiF9Q
— Asad Khawaja (@asadmkh) February 2, 2016
Even though the workers have called an end to the strike, political part Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called for a nationwide protest against the privatisation and killing of two employees.
Despite the fact that protests have ended, the state of the country's national airline raises some serious questions. While some commentators feel that privatisation might seem a viable option, others blame overstaffing and years of neglect for the continued deterioration of the national airliner and demand more introspection.
It's clear that the issue is far from over, as employees continue to mourn the death of their colleagues, a conversation around the government's economic plans, police brutality, corruption and workers’ rights is currently underway.

author: Aisha


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The Next Time You’re in Moscow, Don’t Bother Trying the Shawarma · Global Voices
Morvan Lallouet

Don't bother trying the Shawarma in Moscow. (Mayor Sobyanin swings in on a wrecking ball.) Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Moscow awoke earlier this week to find that the city has a new face. Before dawn on February 9, the mayor's office launched a massive campaign to tear down roughly a hundred small businesses, which officials say were constructed illegally. What is rubble today was shops, cafes, and kiosks last week.
Moscow has been at war for years with the businesses that colonized the city's empty spaces in the 1990s. This week's demolitions are yet another episode in that long battle, but they stand out for their sheer scale.
На Чистых стали сносить и второй павильон #ночьдлинныхковшей pic.twitter.com/9szvMkQlNn
— Саша Усольцев (@usolt) February 9, 2016
Chistye Prudy subway station. #NightOfTheLongDiggers [a joke adapting the “Night of the Long Knives”—the murderous Nazi purge that took place in 1934]
At least 104 buildings are slated for demolition, and many of them located in the very center of Moscow, in such well-known and touristy places as Chistye Prudy, Kropotkinskaya, Arbatskaya, or Pushkin Square.
The bulldozers and diggers worked through the night, with heavy police support, and, by sunrise, ruins scattered the city. Given the speed and secrecy of the campaign, supporters, critics, and Internet jokesters alike later compared it to a military operation.
Сегодня ночью возле метро Новослободская точечным ударом был уничтожен штаб ИГИЛ pic.twitter.com/i3IuFGDz5h
— Дядюшка Шу (@Shulz) February 9, 2016
Last night near the Novoslobodskaya Metro Station, a precision airstrike destroyed a Daesh [ISIS] headquarters.
In a blog post on Vkontakte, Russia's most popular social network, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin justified the demolitions on the grounds of public safety:
Сегодня снесли строения, незаконно возведенные на инженерных коммуникациях и над технической зоной метро, опасные для москвичей. Объекты возведены, в основном, в 90-е годы при явном попустительстве либо содействии чиновников.
Места, где находились эти объекты, благоустроим.
Прежним владельцам при их желании предоставим возможность построить торговые объекты в других местах и уже на законных основаниях.
Today we tore down buildings constructed with illegal access to utility lines above the technical zones of the Moscow Metro, which caused a safety hazard to Muscovites. The buildings were erected mainly in the 1990s obviously with either the connivance or complicity of officials. The former owners of these buildings will be offered the opportunity to build their shops in other places, if they wish, this time on legal grounds.
The ultra-nationalist National Liberation Movement offered its own, rather bizarre justification for the demolitions:
[…] московское метро, это стратегический военный объект №1 в Москве. В случае ракетно-ядерного удара США/НАТО – подходы в метро должны быть максимально освобождены, чтобы успело спастись максимально большее количество людей. Поэтому, всегда думайте головой, а не эмоциями, когда видите то или иное событие.
The Moscow Metro is the number one strategic target in Moscow. In the event of a nuclear missile attack by the US or NATO, the entrances to the metro must be as accessible as possible, in order to rescue as many people as possible. So you should always be thinking with your head, and not with your emotions, when you're looking at various incidents.
On aesthetic grounds, the now-demolished buildings were almost universally reviled, and most often described with such terms as “monstrous” or “evil.” These makeshift mini-malls are more and more glaring—especially in the center of Moscow—where the city has seen the beginnings of “hipsterization.” Starting with the complete revamping of Gorky Park and the former Soviet exhibition center VDNKh, the city has shown some willingness to raise public spaces to so-called European standards.
Advocates of such urban transformation have made these eyesore businesses into symbols of everything that went wrong with the city in the post-Soviet period: the anarchy, poverty, and corruption of former Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
Among such advocates is Ilya Varlamov, a popular blogger and photographer, and perhaps Russia's loudest proponent of bicycle lanes, pedestrian zones, and everything else said to make a city “civilized.” Varlamov's new website, Moslenta.ru, which is dedicated entriely to Moscow, has carried live reports from the demolitions, documenting what's been crushed to rubble.
While many regard the city's makeshift mini malls as odious, not all Muscovites applauded their destruction. Mayor Sobyanin's tactics (midnight demolition crews, playing fast and loose with legal documentation and court proceedings) illustrate many of the dilemmas with Russian jurisprudence.
Maxim Katz, a liberal activist in Varlamov's camp, summed up the situation as follows:
1. Строения сейчас находятся в собственности, их постройка с властями была согласована и это никакой не самострой, конечно,
2. Согласования эти получены в нарушении действующих тогда правил с помощью заноса мешков с наличными в кабинеты тех людей, которые отвечают за выдачу согласований (и в более высокие кабинеты),
3. Мэрия придумала сложную юридическую закавыку позволяющую ей снести эти объекты без решений судов так как они находятся рядом с коммуникациями.
1. These buildings were legally owned, and their construction had the consent of the city. They were hardly “unauthorized constructions” or anything like that.
2. They obtained this consent by violating the laws that existed at the time, bringing bags of cash to the offices of the people who granted such permits (and to even higher-ranking people).
3. The mayor's office came up with a complicated legal scheme allowing it to tear down these buildings with a court order, focusing on their proximity to utility lines.
Anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny (who challenged Sobyanin in Moscow's mayoral race in 2013, and nearly forced a runoff election) is calling for prosecutions against officials responsible for granting the businesses permits in the first place:
Заявлено, что снесут 104 объекта. Мне дайте, пожалуйста, 104 уголовных дела или административных дела или хотя бы дисциплинарных дела против бывших и нынешних чиновников, разрешивших или «не заметивших» строительство.
[The city has] announced the demolition of 104 buildings. So I'd like, pretty please, 104 criminal cases, or administrative cases, or at least some disciplinary actions against the former and current state officials who allowed or “didn't notice” these [illegal] buildings.
While the city's discussion has touched on many important political issues, Muscovites also display a certain nostalgia for a fading era of cheap shawarmas and tacky stores that sprung up from the wreckage of the USSR.
pic.twitter.com/wUXNylSPn9
— Politicana.ru (@PoliticanaRu) February 9, 2016
“Next time you're in Moscow, try the shawarma.”
Whatever comes next for the city of Moscow remains unclear. The business owners are unlikely to win compensation, though they've already promised to sue. President Putin's chief of staff has recommended leaving the spaces around the metro stations unoccupied, to restore the Soviet-era grandeur. Some suspect that city officials will eventually sell new crooked permits to a whole new slew of entrepreneurs, restarting the cycle of lawlessness and corruption. So far, only one thing is for sure: Mayor Sobyanin remains committed to further demolitions.

author: Morvan Lallouet


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The Ugliness of Counterterrorism at France’s Borders · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Police on patrol in Paris. Photo: Rama. CC 2.0.
Ever since the Paris attacks last November and the state of emergency that followed, France’s borders have been heavily secured, risking abuse by police who have been given carte blanche to protect the nation.
In late 2015, Dieretou Diallo, a Guinean student and blogger living in Nice, France, underwent a humiliating ordeal when she traveled from Paris to Dakar to participate in the launch of Africtivistes, a pan-African pro-democracy league. She told her story on her blog, “From You to Me”:
Embarquement pour Dakar, catastrophe. Je tombe sur un douanier plein d’aigreur et raciste. Je ne pense pas ressembler à quelque extrémiste dans mon jean, mon débardeur et mes escarpins. Pourtant je fais l’objet d’une fouille mesquine, désagréable, et plus loin d’abus de pouvoir avec cette phrase lancée avec dédain face à mon impatience : “Je prends autant de temps que je veux, je peux décider que l’on descende vos bagages de la soute pour les fouiller sans explications, je le fais si j’en ai envie et vous raterez votre avion puis c’est tout”. Il me balance les yeux méchants : “Vous parlez français ou pas ?” Ce à quoi je rétorque du tac au tac “: Je ne sais pas, essayez pour voir.”
Dieretou Diallo, blogueuse Guinéenne. Avec sa permission
La couleur de notre entretien est donnée. Questions poussées: objet de mon voyage, durée de mon voyage, raison de ma présence en France, date d’arrivée en France et j’en passe. Mon bagage de cabine est minutieusement retourné, mon passeport est ausculté sous toutes ses facettes, mes chaussures sont renversées, histoire de voir si quelque chose y est caché, ma trousse de maquillage est passée au peigne fin.
Exaspérée, j’avance cinglante : “Vous voulez pas que je me foute à poil non plus ? Est-ce que j’ai l’air d’une terroriste?” . Je ne me laisse pas faire et cela le met de mauvaise humeur car annihilant la piteuse autorité qu’il veut imposer, il s’acharne, je m’énerve : “J’ai hâte de finir mes études et de me barrer d’ici”. Il répond : “Oui c’est ça, partez tous !”. Sourire ironique, je lui réponds que je resterai, rien que pour le plaisir de faire chier des gens comme lui. Je bous de colère, d’impuissance.  Plus de quarante cinq minutes d’élucubrations, de va-et-vient au bout desquelles je suis au bord des larmes, je n’ai pas d’énergie pour lutter en ce moment. Je trouve tout de même l’ultime force de lancer  : « Si l’avion part, et que vous ne trouvez rien dans mes bagages en soute par la suite, je ne répondrai plus de moi. Je ferai un scandale, je m’en fiche d’aller au commissariat. Je viens de perdre mon père et la dernière chose dont j’ai besoin, c’est qu’on me traite comme une moins que rien.”
The departure for Dakar was a catastrophe. I came across a bitter, racist customs official. I don’t think I look like an extremist in my jeans, tank top, and heels, yet I was subjected to a mean-spirited pat-down and, what’s more, an abuse of power, as my impatience was met with the contemptuous reply of, “I’ll take as much time as I want. I can have your bags taken down and searched without cause. I’ll do it if I feel like it and then you’ll miss your plane, that’s all.” He jabbed me, a spiteful look in his eyes, and asked, “You speak French, or no?” To which I replied, tit for tat, “I don’t know, try me!”
Dieretou Diallo, Guinean blogger. Used with her permission.
That gives you the tone of our encounter. I was questioned about the purpose of my trip, the length of my trip, the reason for my residence in France, and the date of my arrival in France, to name a few. My carry-on was carefully scrutinized, my passport examined from every angle, my shoes turned upside down (supposedly to see if anything was hidden in them), and my makeup bag was gone over with a fine-tooth comb.
Exasperated, I got testy. “You want me to strip down? Do I look like a terrorist?” But I didn’t lose my temper, and that irritated him by destroying the pitiful authority he was clinging to. I got annoyed and said, “I can’t wait to finish my studies and get out of here.” He responded, “Yes, do—get out!” Smiling dryly, I replied that I would stay, just to piss off people like him. I was burning with anger and powerlessness. After more than 45 minutes of idiotic back-and-forth that left me on the verge of tears, I had no more energy to fight. All the same, I found the strength to say, “If my plane leaves and you’ve found nothing in my bags, you won’t be hearing from just me. I’ll make a scandal, I don’t care if I have to go to the police. I just lost my father, and the last thing I need is to be treated like scum.”

author: Abdoulaye Bah


text:
The Troubling Rise of Internet-Related Arrests in Cambodia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A group of women bloggers in Cambodia conducting a training seminar. Photo from the Facebook page of The Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
A human rights group in Cambodia has released a report showing an increase of Internet-related arrests made by the Cambodian government from August 2015 to January 2016.
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights monitored seven cases wherein social media users accused of defamation or inciting violence were arrested by authorities. It also noted that 24 Internet users have been publicly threatened since August 2015 because of comments or posts they uploaded on various social media platforms, most especially on Facebook.
One of those arrested was a student who called for a ‘color revolution’ on Facebook to reform Cambodian society. Another case involved an opposition politician accused of promoting treason.
The human rights group acknowledged that not all cases involve “sensible or constructive criticism” of the government, but still it is worried that Internet users are arrested for simply commenting on social media:
Although not all of the following cases involve sensible or constructive criticism, they do plainly illustrate a deeply troubling trend, whereby those who criticize the political elite are routinely being arrested for expressing their views on social media.
It also warned that the high-profile arrests done by the government could lead to self-censorship and prevent ordinary citizens from criticizing public officials:
The creation of a culture of self-censorship is particularly worrying in the political domain, as the expression and tolerance of diverse views is essential to maintaining a healthy democracy.
Last year, the Cambodian Centre for Independent Media also observed “a pattern of increasing government restrictions of online freedom of expression.”
The Internet, once Cambodia’s last open and free medium for press freedom and free expression, is now becoming increasingly restrictive and subject to the government controls that have for so long limited the country’s mainstream media.
A government spokesman denied that rights are being violated and defended the decision to prosecute those who “disrespect” Cambodian officials. The official added that there’s no crackdown of free speech in the country but only lawful arrests done by the government to protect the privacy of individuals, national security, and Cambodian heritage. This reasoning echoes the statement of Prime Minister Hun Sen last January who lambasted Internet users for doctoring an image of his wife:
All actions that ruin my honor and my family’s honor, as a prime minister of a country, those must be responsible before the law. If I want to take action against you, we will get [you] within seven hours at the most.
Hun Sen has been in power for thirty years already making him the longest-serving leader in Southeast Asia.
The release of the report coincided with Hun Sen’s endorsement of Facebook as a mechanism to monitor the complaints and suggestions of ordinary citizens. He even instructed his Cabinet to form special committees to collate the views and proposals made by Facebook users on his official page.
Many Cambodians are amused by Hun Sen’s sudden interest on Facebook and even welcomed the chance to interact with the prime minister through social media. But the report of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights is a timely reminder that even if it is interesting to see Hun Sen actively posting selfies on his timeline, it should not distract us from urging the government to be more tolerant of dissenting views.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Hong Kongers’ Long-Simmering Distrust of Government Boils Over in the ‘Fishball Riots’ · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

After clashing with the police, protesters turned violent and fought back. Image from inmediahk.net's facebook page.
On the first day of the Year of the Monkey, February 8, a violent clash between police and protesters took place in the Hong Kong neighborhood Mong Kok. The fighting began after police attempted to disperse the crowd who had gathered to prevent authorities from clearing away the unlicensed food vendors at the night market there.
In the recent past, authorities would look the other way on these vendors selling during the Lunar New Year as many shops are closed for the holiday, meaning their unlicensed stalls wouldn't obstruct business. But the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) with the help of police have now decided to crack down during the festival.
Many see the vanishing of street vendors as a result of unjust policies that serve the rich and marginalize the poor. The protests have been dubbed the Fishball Revolution or the Fishball Riot by media outlets, since fishball is one of the most common street foods in Hong Kong.
While the protesters managed to safeguard the street vendors, the police continued to patrol in Mong Kok after officers from the FEHD had left before midnight. Then, minor skirmishes broke out in several spots and tensions escalated when riot police arrived. A full-on melee eventually erupted, with police pepper-spraying protesters and protesters fighting back by throwing bottles and bricks.
At around 2 a.m, a team of police, which had been left without back-up, was surrounded by protesters, who attacked them reportedly in retaliation for being beaten by police during one of the clashes. One officer fired off two warning shots to stop demonstrators from charging forward after one of his colleagues stumbled across some objects littering the street and fell down. The two gun shots triggered inflamed passions even more.
Below is a video clip uploaded by the Epoch Times to YouTube:
Why did protesters decide to pick up bricks and fight police? One participant told the Initium, an online investigative reporting site, that his actions were triggered by the shots fired into the air:
「凌晨2時，我從新聞上得知警員向天開槍，位置就在我家樓下，我再也忍不住了，馬上跑到街上。[…] 突然間，我整個臉、眼睛、手臂都有火灼的感覺，我中了胡椒噴霧。我慌忙向後逃，這時警員向前推進，警棍一下一下地打在我的背部，我現在還是隱隱作痛。」
被噴胡椒噴霧後，黃賢偉身邊的示威者替他洗眼，逐漸回復視力後，他再度走上最前線。「當時我很憤怒，整個身體都在震[…]」
At 2 a.m., I learned from the news that a cop shot in the air near where I live. I couldn't stop myself from running to the street […] My face, eyes and arms were burned from pepper spray. I was scared and started to escape. But the police charged forward and hit my back with their batons. I can still feel the pain now. […] I was very angry and shaking […]
He said his anger went deeper than just the warning shots, but stemmed from his frustration over social injustice in Hong Kong:
沒有想過事情會發展成這樣，也沒有想過會有人當面攻擊警察，襲警要坐牢的！但我一直很討厭香港政府。我在香港大學畢業，一直任低薪工作，買不起樓，只能在旺角租住劏房。去年，我開始轉職地盤工人，工作辛苦危險，但每個月可以賺到3萬，這是我比我之前的薪金多一半。但要買房子，我仍然付不起100萬首期，我32歲了，人生已經沒有希望。
I never imagined people would attack the cops like this. Those who assault police will be jailed. But I really hate the Hong Kong government. I graduated from Hong Kong University, but my salary was very low and I could not afford to buy an apartment. That's why I ended up living in small compartmental room in Mong Kok. Last year, I decided to take up construction work. It is very hard work and dangerous. But I managed to earn 30,000 Hong Kong dollars a month [about 3,800 US dollars], double my past salary. Yet, I still could not afford the 1 million for the downpayment on an apartment. Now I am 32, there is no hope in my life.
He said he decided to fight back with glass bottles and bricks when he ran into an isolated police team:
[…] 我知道不用怕，只要有一兩個人反擊，就可以帶動整個反擊力量。[…]我把幾個盾牌都扔破了 […] We need to fight back（我們需要還擊）！我們要明確表示We can fight back and we will fight back（我們可以還擊，而且我們會還擊），而不是像傻瓜一樣的等被拘捕的『和平佔中』。
[…] I knew I did not need to be scared. It took one or two people to launch the attack and others would join in fighting back. […] I managed to crush a few shields […] We need to fight back! We have to tell the world that we can fight back and we will fight back. We will not act like the fools in the Occupy Central protest, sitting there and waiting for the cops to arrest them.
Occupy Central, also dubbed the Umbrella Protests, was a movement that camped out in downtown Hong Kong for three months in 2014 demanding the right of the people to nominate their candidates for the city's top leader.
Joshua Wong, the leader of student activist group Scholarism, was witness to the police firing shots into the air. He believed that the tension between police and protesters that has built up since the Umbrella Protests led to the violent outburst:
昨晚，我在旺角目擊警察向天開槍。由鳴槍一刻開始，警力隨之升級，群眾武力不斷上升，縱火和擲磚也是由此而起。示威者選擇使用超出公眾預算的武力攻擊警方，當然不只為了表達針對特定議題的訴求，亦不是純粹因為不滿小販政策走上街頭，而是面對著威權政府的強硬管制，目睹著警方作為國家機器的維穩技倆，不少年輕人已經絕望地走頭無路。
過去2年積存不滿政府縱容警民不信任白熱化，從暗角7警（7名警員將一名示威者抬到陰暗角落拳打腳踢近4分鐘）、警察以警棍毆打路人、警察控告女示威者以胸襲警，甚至是近期的銅鑼灣書店老闆「被消失」事件，均積存了社會受壓迫青年的怒吼，結果在既有體制走進死胡同後，就選擇使用武力表達不滿，捍衛他們心裡相信的社會價值。
Last night I saw the police firing shots into the air. After the shots, the violence from the police and the crowds escalated. It was the turning point for people, who began throwing bricks and setting fires. The protesters who chose to attack the police did not have any specific agenda in mind; the anger is not specific to the street vendor policy. It is a desperate response to the heavy-handed policies and stability maintenance tactics of the state apparatus.
For two years, the public distrust towards the government and the police has escalated. Protesters were beaten up by seven cops in a dark corner [during the Occupy Central protests]. The beating up of passerby in street. The “breast attack” charge against a woman protester. The “disappearance” of publishers and bookstore staffs. all these are accumulative and transformed into youth's anger. There is no other choice within the pre-existing political system to resolve these tensions. That's why they're using violent means to defend their values.
Trey Menefee, a scholar based in Hong Kong, also saw the riot happen. He applied political scientist Charles Tilly's “regimes make repertoires” theory to explain why some Hong Kong protesters chose to drop the umbrellas (used during Occupy Central as a non-violent defense against police using tear gas) and pick up bricks:
[…] the Fishball Riot highlighted […] two important contexts. First, over the past year, we witnessed the Hong Kong police force transform into a tool of political repression. The police were not in Mong Kok because of hawkers and fishballs. […] They showed up because ‘localist’ groups, like Hong Kong Indigenous, were there to protest. Had there been anti-localist protesters there that night, we would probably have seen another new habit: police turning a blind eye to their violence, if not outright protecting them. Protests involving Localists groups are becoming ‘forbidden performances.’ […]
Localists advocate the protection of local culture and identity in the face of growing influence from mainland China. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, but is supposed to enjoy a high degree of autonomy.
Menefee continued:
The failure of the Umbrella Movement was nearly total. The regime didn’t even offer token concessions. The aftermath of the Umbrella Movement saw major infighting within the dissident camp with ‘left plastics’ on one side wanting to continue with social movement repertoire on one side, and ‘yungmo’ [meaning militant] Localists on the other arguing that that only a more aggressive repertoire was was worth the effort.
Following Charles Tilly's theory, the rioting is then a response to Hong Kong's transformation from a pseudo-democratic but liberal regime into a repressive one. This could be the reason why local university student groups still stand with the violent protesters and condemn the police's actions.
In addition, the mainland Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ latest comment on the riot backs up Trey Menefee's observation. The spokesperson concluded that the riot was plotted by a “local radical separatist organization” and praised the police for taking “effective measures”.
Thus far, a total of 36 people have been charged with rioting, a serious crime with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The charge can be based on a person's presence at a riot, even though he or she did not take any aggressive action.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Italy’s Gesture of ‘Respectful’ Self-Censorship for Iran Ends Up Offending Italians · Global Voices
Marisa Petricca

Before and after. Photo via femaleworld.it, shared under Creative Commons license.
As soon as a nuclear agreement was signed in Vienna between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries putting an end to the trade sanctions against the Islamic Republic, the visits of western industrialists and political representatives looking for contracts began in Tehran.
Then it was Iranian President Hassan Rouhani‘s turn to visit European countries, accompanied by six ministers and 120 entrepreneurs of various economic sectors. He concluded his first stop-over in Rome, signing contracts for a total value of more than 17 billions euros in a wide range of sectors.
This official visit in the Italian capital aimed to strengthen the relationship between Italy and Iran after the end of the sanctions. A gesture of “respect” towards Iran, however, seemed to undermine that very relationship, at least in the public's eyes: Many naked sculptures in the Capitoline Museums were covered up by large white panels so as “to not offend the sensitivity of the Iranian President”, as Italian news website Ansa explained.
A number of Italians found the decision to be disrespectful of their culture, something which they should be proud of, not hide away, even if the reasons behind the gesture didn't go unnoticed. News outlet Blitz Quotidiano elaborated:
La copertura sarebbe stata decisa come forma di rispetto alla cultura e sensibilità iraniana. Tanto che durante le cerimonie istituzionali non è stato servito nemmeno il vino. E’ infatti la prima in Europa all’indomani del rientro di Teheran nel consesso della comunità internazionale e da protagonista in molti dossier, grazie all’accordo sul nucleare che lo stesso Rouhani giudica “un miracolo politico”. Una visita sulla quale però non mancano le polemiche per l’accoglienza riservata al capo di uno Stato nei primi posti della lista nera dei diritti umani. “Anche nei settori su cui sono più marcate le nostre distanze, come sui diritti umani, abbiamo dimostrato di saper dialogare e discutere”, assicura il premier Matteo Renzi. Il direttore generale di Amnesty International Italia, Gianni Rufini, aveva invitato Renzi a sollevare le preoccupazioni in merito, in particolare sull’uso massiccio della pena capitale in Iran, citando le mille condanne a morte eseguite solo nel 2015.
The covering was decided on as a form of respect for Iranian culture and sensitivity. In fact, during the institutional ceremonies even wine was been served. This is the first visit in Europe after the end of the sanctions against Tehran, thanks to the nuclear agreement that Rohani himself considers “a political miracle”. But this visit generated debate over the welcome given to a government that leads the black lists regarding human rights. “We demonstrated that we could talk and discuss even topics where the distance between our stances is huge, like human rights,” said Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Gianni Ruffini, general manager of Amnesty International Italy, had invited Renzi to talk about these problems, especially about the massive number of death sentences in Iran, citing thousands of cases that took place only in 2015.
“Amore e Psiche” with the colors of the Italian flag. Image via Giovanni Pascali on Facebook.
In a now-deleted post on Facebook, an Italian actor was indignant and published an image featuring the statue “Amore and Psyche”, which is housed in the museum, draped in the colors of the Italian flag:
Animi liberi! pubblichiamo tutti le statue bisfrattate: “Amore e Psiche” dipinti coi colori della bandiera italiana, “casualmente” gli stessi dell'iran. Contro questi psicotici, Vinca l'Amore
Free souls! Let's publish all the covered-up sculptures “Amore and Psyche” with the colors of the Italian flag, which by chance are the same as the Iranian ones. Against this psychos, may Love win!
Despite the debates surrounding the covered sculptures, the meetings were positive, including the signing of agreements relating to culture between the two nations:
Rouhani e Mattarella si sono trovati d'accordo sulla necessità di rafforzare velocemente la cooperazione culturale e quella universitaria tra i due Paesi. A conferma del grande interesse dell'Iran per l'Italia si ricorda che la fiera del libro di Teheran del 2017 sarà dedicata proprio all'Italia.
Rouhani and Mattarella agree on the necessity to strengthen cultural and academic cooperation. In order to confirm the interest that Iran has in Italy, one need only remember that the book fair that will take place in Tehran in 2017 will be dedicated to Italy.
But about human rights issue in Iran, some, like Italian writer Roberto Saviano, contested the narrative used by Italian politicians to introduce Rouhani. Saviano argued on Facebook that it is much too simplistic and ignores the question of democratic development in Iran:
La persona che vedete in questa foto, accanto al Primo Ministro Matteo Renzi, è Hassan Rouhani, Presidente della Repubblica Islamica Iraniana. Durante gli incontri di ieri con il Presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella e con il Primo Ministro Matteo Renzi, non c’è stato alcun accenno alla mancanza di democrazia che vige in Iran e Rouhani è stato presentato come un presidente moderato e riformista, mentre ogni giorno in Iran vengono condannate a morte tre persone.
Renzi dopo l'incontro ha dichiarato: “Anche nei settori su cui sono più marcate le nostre distanze, come sui diritti umani, abbiamo dimostrato di saper dialogare e discutere”.
Eppure non si è discusso affatto delle esecuzioni capitali, delle impiccagioni, delle torture, di discriminazione della donna, delle persecuzioni di omosessuali e giornalisti. Non è accettabile che i vertici del nostro Paese parlino con superficialità di “distanza” sui diritti umani: bene il dialogo, anzi necessario, ma senza censure, senta timore di urtare suscettibilità di un capo di stato che utilizza come arma principale la paura.
The person in this photo near the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is Hassan Rouhani, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. During the meetings with President Sergio Mattarella and with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, there has not been any mention of the lack of democracy in Iran and Rouhani has been introduced like a moderate and reformer president, while every day in Iran three people are sentenced to death.
Renzi declared after the meeting: “We demonstrated that we could talk and discuss even topics where the distance between our stances is huge, like human rights.”
However, they did not talk about death sentences, hangings, torture, discrimination against women, the persecution of homosexuals and journalists. It is not acceptable that the people occupying the highest positions in our nation talk about “distance” with superficiality: dialogue is good, even necessary, but without censorship, without worrying about offending the sensibilities of a head of state who uses fear as a weapon.
Most social media users were, however, focused on the covered-up statues, and commented angrily on Twitter under the hashtag #statuecoperte (covered-up statues):
#Rohani a #Roma:coperte statue di nudi #museicapitolini. Vergognoso oscurare nostra #cultura, dove arriveremo? https://t.co/eClZakbZj6
— Angela Sorice (@AngelaSorice) enero 26, 2016
#Rohani in #Rome: naked sculptures covered in the Capitoline Museum. It is a shame to cover up our culture, where will end up?
Statue coperte, ridicolo internazionale. Però Renzi fa la “voce grossa” con l'Europa? ma mi faccia il piacere. pic.twitter.com/wHEnQdUCts
— Carla Vistarini (@charliecarla) enero 26, 2016
Covered-up sculptures, international ridicule. But Renzi is “strong” with Europe? Please, this is foolish
Statue coperte, ridicolo internazionale. Però Renzi fa la “voce grossa” con l'Europa? ma mi faccia il piacere. pic.twitter.com/wHEnQdUCts
— Carla Vistarini (@charliecarla) enero 26, 2016
They are demented…it is like if the Statue of Liberty being covered if the Iranians visited.
This wasn't the first instance of censorship of art over the fear of offending a high-profile figure. In June 2015, in Turin posters of an exhibition of Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka's work were covered, too, because the event's location was deemed too close to the place where the Holy Shroud — a piece of cloth that some Christians believe to be the burial shroud of Jesus — is preserved and where Pope Francis was going to visit.
The news about the covered-up sculptures inspired funny memes and gifs, like the following from journalist Giulio Finotti and journalist and Global Voices editor Annalisa Merelli:
Musei, è psicosi #statuecoperte. #statue pic.twitter.com/yH2fExXyAf
— Giulio Finotti (@Giurnal) enero 27, 2016
Museums, it's a psychosis [the image shows the two Riace bronzes hiding away at the museum]
Exactly right. @ItalianPolitics pic.twitter.com/1ZTo7uGZ9g
— Annalisa Merelli (@missanabeem) enero 28, 2016
The international press also picked up on the popular outrage against the choice to cover the statues. In the words of Vittorio Sgarbi, as reported by the UK newspaper The Telegraph:
Vittorio Sgarbi, an art critic and well-known TV personality, said only “ignorant goats” would have decided to hide the statues away.
“I don’t think President Rouhani would have been surprised to find there were nude statues in Rome,” he said.

author: Marisa Petricca


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It’s Halftime in Russia · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

“Who are you rooting for?” Screenshot from AvtoVAZ commercial. Youtube.
With oil prices tumbling and Russia’s economy fallen on hard times, the carmaker AvtoVAZ is falling back on one of the industry’s most dependable marketing tactics: appealing to consumers’ sense of patriotism.
At halftime during the Super Bowl in 2012, when advertising space in the US is more expensive than at any time of the year, Chrysler ran a two-minute commercial called “It's Halftime in America,” featuring narration by Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood, where he grimly described the American auto industry’s rebound from the late-2000s recession.
With a similarly somber, yet patriotic tone, AvtoVAZ is now promoting the Lada Vesta, a small family sedan released last year. The car company’s new advertisement, called “Who are you rooting for?” depicts a young boy fighting in a martial arts contest and his father cheering spiritedly. After a bitter struggle, the boy eventually wins, but it’s revealed that the father isn’t present at the match, but is in fact back home watching English soccer on television with his friends. His son comes home (presumably with mom, who’s never shown onscreen) and hangs his first-place medal on the door to the living room, where his dad is still perched in front of the TV.
The final seconds of the advertisement show the words, “Who are you rooting for?” and finally the slogan “Yes—it’s a Lada.”
Last November, AvtoVAZ ran another patriotic commercial, titled “There’s only one path—your own.” That advertisement’s narration included the following ode to Russian perseverance:
Почему мы любим? Почему мы здесь? Можно попытаться найти слова. Объяснить, передать…Бесполезно. Это люди, природа, воздух, характер. Мы здесь и поэтому мы любим. Мы любим и поэтому мы здесь. Порой мы ненавидим то, что нам так близко. Именно поэтому мы хотим и будем это менять. Сами. Есть только один путь. Свой. Новая Lada Vesta.
Why do we love? Why are we here? You can try to find the words. You can try to explain it. But it’s useless. This is people. It’s nature. It’s the air, and it’s our character. We’re here because we love. We love because we’re here. Sometimes we hate what’s closest to us. That is why we want to change it. And we will. We’ll do it ourselves. There’s only one path—your own. The new Lada Vesta.
While Chrysler reported $1.7 billion in profits in 2012, AvtoVAZ lost 73.6 billion rubles ($939 million) in 2015—almost three times more than it lost the year before. Gross revenues are also down 8 percent, according to the news agency RIA Novosti. The carmaker says it needs shareholders to refinance the company’s debt and take out additional loans, or it will have to start mothballing production plants. AvtoVAZ has already announced plans to transition to a four-day workweek, in order to cut labor costs by 20 percent.
Russia’s entire car industry is suffering, thanks to an ongoing economic recession. In 2015, sales of light commercial vehicles dropped 36 percent, and business is expected to shrink a bit more in 2016. According to the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, experts say Russia’s auto industry won’t recover to its levels in 2012 for another six years, at the soonest.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Living the Spanish Language as the Descendant of Afro-Caribbean Migrants in Costa Rica · Global Voices
Shirley Campbell Barr

Offloading bananas in Costa Rica in the early 20th century. It was around this time that migrations for the construction of the Costa Rican railroad and the development of the banana industry took place. Without knowing it, many families in Costa Rica were beginning the story of a complex and profound ethnic heritage. Photograph taken from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
This post, which will be published in two parts, is a version of one previously published on the site Afroféminas. The original post in Spanish can be seen here.
When I was little, my mother told me how she and others had been forbidden from speaking Spanish at home. Stop talking that monkey language, they were told, with “monkey language” referring to Spanish.
And it is from the black population of Costa Rica that I descend: those who came to my country from the British Caribbean at the end of the 19th century, as part of the migrant workforce. They came in search of a better quality of life, both as part of the contingent of workers who constructed the Costa Rican railroad to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as those who worked on the banana plantations. This migration, which began during the latter half of the 19th century, extended over several decades and in the beginning was mainly comprised of young men. Later, whole families came over with the hope of gathering up enough money to later return to their home countries.
With this migration came teachers who founded small local schools whose purpose was to ensure that children learned “proper” English. At the time, and indeed for many years after, Costa Rica’s African descendants would say with pride that they were “subjects of the British Crown” and that their goal during this migration was never to establish themselves, but rather to earn money and then return to their home country, which ultimately never happened.
My parents’ English, though tinged with the musicality and characteristic accent of the Caribbean, was always very well spoken, with excellent grammar and vocabulary. They could move from a conversation in the best British English to colloquial English Creole, which was already “hybridized” by accents and words from Spanish. In that language, or in both, my parents’ generation learned stories, songs, and history.
They learned of mythical images that took the form of animals, learned of supernatural beings that gave hidden lessons, recreated and imagined history, transported us to ancestral places, and promoted communication between grandmothers and grandfathers, uncles and neighbours. They established communication between entire villages with rites and rituals that recreated the experiences of long ago. It was in this language that my mother sang to me my first songs and my father taught me my first prayers.
For them, English not only gave them the privilege of receiving and transmitting culture and ancestral knowledge, but also — according to them — granted them a status that made them feel part of a kind of “royalty” in a country of “peasants and people without education,” by being “subjects” of the British crown.
The entirety of this story takes place, however, in a country whose official language is Spanish. For this reason, several generations of the black population have been forced to fight to this day in order to conserve the language they brought with them, and with it all of their accumulated history, wisdom, and identity. They struggle against the rejection of the mestizo majority as well as the governments in office, who have for years denied them Costa Rican nationality, despite being born in the country.
Spanish would nevertheless soon become part of this people’s culture, owing to the difficulty of remaining isolated and the necessity and importance of integrating into the Costa Rican educational system. The aim was also to make progress, and for their education to be recognized by the system. Today, my parents and my friends’ parents speak Spanish with a characteristic English accent. My generation, for its part — even those who maintain English as their mother tongue — has already lost this accent, which was at one time so typical.
When it comes to the next generation of African-descended Costa Ricans, English hasn’t always been the mother tongue. Furthermore, the existence of multiple schools and institutions that give English classes has made speaking the language much more common, and no longer the heritage of African descendants as it was 30 years ago.
After a certain point that I can’t remember, my parents decided not to speak to us in English. I don’t know if it was an agreed-upon, conscious decision; simply that my brothers, sisters, and I grew up without being able to speak English. This provoked taunting from our African-descended friends on multiple occasions, and made us feel, at other times, excluded from an ethnicity that was often associated with the ability to speak the language.
The majority of our African-descended friends spoke English, so that we as part of that generation were an exception to the rule. We grew up listening to my mother and father communicate in English, and the communication with aunts and uncles, close friends, and other members of our extended family was always in that language too. Nevertheless, they never communicated in English with us. I tend to think that the reason was related to having migrated to the capital, where we were an obvious minority; or, I don’t know, perhaps it was a timid attempt to protect us, giving us one less reason to be different.
This is exactly where the new part of my story begins.
To be continued in part two.

author: Shirley Campbell Barr


text:
Satirists React to Arrest of Prominent Egyptian Cartoonist Islam Gawish · Global Voices
Mohamed Hassan

Cartoonist Islam Gawish. Photograph from his Facebook page. Photograph by Mostafa Darwish.
Less than two weeks after the fifth anniversary of the January 25 revolution, Egypt is not showing any signs of improvement in its treatment of human rights advocates. On the evening of January 31, security forces raided the workplace of satirist and cartoonist Islam Gawish.
Islam is a prominent cartoonist whose work had been featured in many media outlets. His satirical material is mostly related to social phenomena and rarely involves politics. The 26-year-old, who publishes his cartoons on a Facebook page called Elwarka, which has 1.75 million followers, was arrested after his workplace was raided by police, as reported by albidaiah:
وأوضح المصدر، في اتصال مع «البداية»، أنه جاري حاليا تحرير محضر ضد رسام الكاريكاتير بتهم إدارة موقع «أخبار مصر» بدون ترخيص، وإدارة صفحة «ورقة» بدون ترخيص، وبث بيانات على شبكة الانترنت على غير الحقيقة، وبدون الحصول على إذن من وزارة الاتصالات بالمخالفة لقانون الاتصالات 10 لسنة 2003، وحيازة برامج مقلدة ومنسوخة، بالمخالفة لقانون 82 لسنة 2002، وعرضه على النيابة.
ومن جانبه، قال محمد الزيات، زميل إسلام جاويش، في تصريحات لـ«البداية» إن قوة من مباحث المصنفات اقتحمت شركة أيجيبشن نتورك لتكنولوجيا المعلومات بأبراج الشرطة بمدينة نصر وقبضوا على إسلام.
A source clarified to albidaiah that Islam is now being charged with operating the website “Egypt News” without a license, running “Elwarka” [his cartoon Facebook page] without a license, publishing false news on the Internet and publishing news without a license from the Ministry of Telecommunications in violation of Communications Law no. 10 of 2003, and using unlicensed software in violation of law 82 of 2002. He will be referred to the Public Prosecution. Islam's workmate Mohamed Alzayat told elbidaiah that a group of the intelligence officials stormed the Egyptians Network Technology offices in Nasr city and arrested Islam.
There are almost 27 million Facebook users in Egypt and we can't confirm how many of them are licensed, since there isn't a public announcement that they should be, how to get this license or where to get it from. That has not slipped the minds of other satirists though as comical account hantarisha tweeted this Photoshopped photograph of his “Tweeting License,” which allows him to use the Internet:
The Tweeting license
Thank God I have a license
[Photoshopped image says: licensed to change the avatar and tweet no more than 6 political tweets a day]
Cartoonists were quick to respond to their mate being arrested, offering solidarity on social media. Among the news being circulated while Gawish was being held is that he was arrested for making fun of Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi in his cartoons – charges mentioned to Gawish when he was arrested but then dropped after the backlash his arrest created on social media.
Journalist Hossam Alsokari hits back on Facebook sharing cartoons by other cartoonists who reacted to Gawish's arrest by drawing even more cartoons featuring El Sisi.
#نصيحة.. إغلط في أي حد بس تجنب رسامي الكاريكاتير..
شارك بوضع رسوم أو روابط في التعليقات وسيتم تحديث البوست دوريا
(رسم أنديل من مدى مصر، وعبده البرماوي وهشام رحمة ومهاب من زائد 18، وأيضا صورة عمرو نوهان الذي حوكم عسكريا وحوكم عليه بالسجني سنتين)
Public Service Announcement: You can mess with anyone but cartoonists. Attached are cartoons by Andeel from Mada Masr, Abda Elbermawi, Hesham Rahma and Mohab from Plus 18. Also the picture made by Amr Nohan [featuring President Sisi wearing Mickey Mouse ears], who was tried in a military court and sentenced to two years.
Cartoon by Andeel from Mada Masr. The cartoon shows Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi covering his face and saying: “I don't like to be drawn.” The comment below reads: “Islam Gawish was arrested and accused of drawing the president.”
Cartoon by Hisham Rahma, which also features El Sisi. The caption reads: “Ban all laughter!”
Egyptian Facebook user Amr Nohan was sentenced to three years in prison by a military court for adding Mickey Mouse ears to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's image.
Islam's arrest brought prominent activists to Twitter, the satirists and recently Emmy awards host Bassem Youssef tweeted:
لو اسلام جاويش كان اختلس ٣٧ مليون جنيه كان زمانهم بيتصالحوا معاه و رجع بيته #كفاية_بقى
— Dr Bassem Youssef (@DrBassemYoussef) January 31, 2016
if Islam had embezzled 37 million they would have already been reconciling with him and sending him back home. Enough is enough.
And Islam's story went viral:
#اسلام_جاويش ترند عالمي pic.twitter.com/Rusfq2eTiM
— AlyaaGad AfhamTVأفهم (@AlyaaGad) January 31, 2016
Islam Gawish is trending worldwide
After being interrogated and questioned by the Pubic Prosecution, Gawish was released and all charges were dropped. On his Facebook page, the cartoonist pledges to continue doing what he loves doing most – drawing cartoons:
عمومًا هفضل أرسم أفكاري.. مش هأبطل رسم، وهكمل اللي أنا حابه وهفضل شغال فيه، وأنا لا بطبّل لحد ولا بشتم حد، ولا منحاز فكريًا لحد وليا أرائي سواء الفكرية أو السياسية الخاصة، ولا متطرف في الحوار ولا بدعي البطولة والمثالية
وبشكركم جميعًا..
I will continue drawing my ideas. I will not stop drawing. And I will continue doing what I like and continue working in this direction. I am not cheering for anyone, nor am I insulting anyone. And I am not biased to anyone. I have my own opinions, whether intellectual or political and I am not extremist in my ideas and don't claim to be a hero and a role model. Thank you all.

author: Mohamed Hassan


text:
When a Syrian Town Has So Many Foreign Fighters That English and German Are Common Languages · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

ISIS (Daesh) group foreign fighters after Eid Al Adha prayers in #Aleppo. Source: @Terror_Monitor
Manbij is one of the largest cities in the Aleppo province. Located in the north of the Aleppo countryside in northern Syria, the territory has been under ISIS (Daesh in Arabic) control since March 2014. Manbij is populated by so many foreign fighters that English and German are now commonly spoken languages in the small town.
Manbij, nicknamed Little London by Jihadis, is half an hour's drive from the Turkish border, and the first stop for foreign fighters travelling to Syria to join the ISIS. According to a recent report in the Telegraph, the town has the largest number of Europeans than any other town in Syria. Britons top the list, followed by Germans and the French.
Needless to say, this invasion of foreign Jihadis is not welcome by locals. In November 2014, Goha's Nail revealed on his blog a real experience on how locals fit into ISIS’ governance scheme:
IS seems reluctant to integrate potentially less committed members too closely. While some IS administrators are Syrians, many are foreigners. For their part, Manbijis are keen on keeping the group at arms length; they appreciate some aspects of IS governance, but do not want to get too close. They expect, however, that the IS focus on education and indoctrination of children is part of a long-term strategy to more closely link the group with the populations it governs.
#ISIS released videos showing children, some of them British, being trained and indoctrinated in the town of Manbij pic.twitter.com/PziZVUtyXJ
— Jenna Abrams (@Jenn_Abrams) January 11, 2016
The estimated number of foreigners fighting with ISIS in Syria and Iraq was about 12,000 in June 2014. However, according to a December 2015 report by the Soufan Group (an international strategic consultancy firm), the figure has nearly tripled and is now roughly 31,000, consisting of both Arab nationals, like Tunisians and Saudis, and as many as 5,000 recruits from EU nations. France alone is said to have contributed 1,800 fighters, and the UK supplied another 760.
An Assessment of the Flow of Foreign Fighters into Syria & Iraq @TheSoufanGroup Dec 2015 https://t.co/NWSMiydppl pic.twitter.com/dEdVI0ob3Q
— eTajikistan (@eTajikistan) January 13, 2016
People have reached ISIS-controlled territory from at least 86 countries—with a near 300 per cent increase in new recruits from Russia and Central Asia. The Soufan Group says that roughly 150 and 130 people came from the US and Canada, respectively, which amounts to almost no change when compared against past trends, despite ISIS launching a more active recruitment campaign in North America that heavily leverages social media. The Soufan Group says Western nations still face the threat of trained fighters returning home.
The big concern is that an estimated 20 per cent or 30 per cent of these fighters are returning to their Western countries of origin, meaning these countries will all be coping with significant influxes of now-seasoned fighters with international contacts.
In a blog post, British Mujāhidīn in Syria (pietervanostaeyen) writes:
I have no idea whatever caused the rush on British foreign fighters in Syria, but suddenly the hunt for the “bearded European” has been re-opened. It all started with a video by Vice, featuring an interview with two Brits who currently fight in Syria. The interview as such, is highly interesting as these guys explain what made them leave their home towns in the UK for Jihād in war-torn Syria.
After almost two years of ISIS control, Manbijs were not happier under Islamic control and went on protest according to Syria Post Facebook page which posted the video below with a comment:
#شاهدأبطال #منبج رغم التشديد الأمني لتنظيم #داعش يتظاهرون مطالبين بخروجه من المدينة.#سوريا_بوست #خاص #حصري #منبج
Posted by سوريا بوست Syria Post on 16 نوفمبر، 2015
“See the heroes of Manbij, who despite the top security in the city, took the streets asking the extremist group to leave the city.”
Indeed, citizens living under ISIS control are suffering greatly, thanks in no small part to airstrikes by the US-led international coalition, which are forcing people to flee the area for their lives. Al-Souria Net reported on its Facebook page in Arabic on October 2015 that many people are begging on the streets to make ends meet:
انتشار ظاهرة التسول في مناطق سيطرة “#تنظيم_الدولة” بريف #حلب الشمالي
More people are begging in the areas under ISIS control in Northern Aleppo
Due to large-scale security measures by the government, access to aid has narrowed, leading to mass begging, especially by women, children, and displaced persons:
[…] في مدينة منبج عائلات ظهر الفقر عليها وبدأت ظاهرة التسول بالانتشار وذلك للحصول على ما يسد رمق العائلة في المنزل وخصوصاً تلك العائلات التي نزحت من الرقة ودير الزور.
[…] in the city of Manbij, poor families are beginning to appear who start begging in order to get something to feed their relatives at home—families who were displaced from Al Raqqa and Deir al-Zour, in particular. […]
And many are saying the promised prosperity of Islamic state is just a lie:
[…] “كل الازدهار الذي نسمع عنه لدولة البغدادي هو وهم بوهم، ويتم توزيع هذه الخيرات على عناصره فقط وبخاصة المهاجرين منهم”.
“All we were hearing about the prosperity of the State of al-Baghdadi is an illusion, and any goods are distributed only to their own members—particularly the immigrants.”
وينقل الناشط أحمد عن أحد سكان مدينة منبج، ويدعى أبو جاسم، قوله: “بأنه ونتيجة للضرائب التي تفرضها القوة الأمنية على المواطنين في مناطق منبج والباب وجرابلس إضافة للتضيق الكبير على الناس في هذه المدن فإن كل شيء يجب أن تعمله يتوجب وجود موافقة أمنية وكأننا في دولة الأسد”.
According to an activist named Ahmed, speaking on behalf of Abu Jassim (a Manbij local): “As a result of the taxes imposed by the security forces on citizens in the areas Manbij and Bab and Jarables, any official document you need requires a security approval as if we are in State of Assad.”

author: Rami Alhames


text:
A Colombian Official Takes Short-Lived Legal Action Against a Journalist Over His Tweets · Global Voices
Lully

Every citizen has a right to question their civil servants, but some are asking whether there is a limit to this that does not constitute repression of freedom of expression. Image taken from the Flickr account of Ministerio TIC Colombia under a Creative Commons license.
A government official filed a writ for the protection of constitutional rights, or “tutela” in Spanish, against a journalist who criticized her job performance on Twitter, which reopened a debate about freedom of expression on the Internet in Colombia.
Cristina Plazas, director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF for its initials in Spanish), began legal proceedings in January in which she seeks to protect her reputation, obtain a correction from journalist Gonzalo Guillén and have his Twitter account shut down.
Guillén had published criticism of Plazas’ management of the institute and denounced alleged irregularities such as in La Guajira, where he says children of the Wayúu people, who suffer from a lack of water in the areas where they live, are not being cared for.
Guillén has called Plaza “corrupt” and says that she uses the institute as a “political fortress” while the Wayúu children are dying from undernourishment and lack of response from the ICBF.
Plazas had this response to the allegations:
Todo ciudadano tiene derecho a cuestionar las decisiones de los funcionarios públicos, pero… pic.twitter.com/ejkiDyf57Y
— Cristina Plazas M. (@cristinaplazasm) enero 22, 2016
Video: Every citizen has the right to question and criticize the decisions and actions of all public officials, but no one can abuse this right to systematically bully, harass or defame another person, as Mr. Gonzalo Guillén has been doing to me using his Twitter account. I filed this writ of protection to ask the Colombian justice system to protect my rights in the face of this harassment by this man.
Tweet: Every citizen has the right to question the decisions of public officials, but…
However, the official withdrew the writ of protection following reactions throughout the country, as well as condemnation from the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP for its initials in Spanish), which was emphatic on the matter:
“(l) La libertad de expresión se aplica a Internet del mismo modo que a todos los medios de comunicación. Las restricciones a la libertad de expresión en Internet solo resultan aceptables cuando cumplen con los estándares internacionales…”. Al respecto la Relatoría para la Libertad de Expresión de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos ha dicho: “(…) todas las medidas que puedan de una u otra forma afectar el acceso y uso de Internet deben interpretarse a la luz de la primacía de la libertad de expresión”.
“(I) Freedom of expression applies to the Internet the same way it applies to all media. Restrictions on freedom of expression on the Internet are only acceptable when they meet international standards…”. On this matter the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression has said “(…) all measures that may in one way or another affect the access to and use of the Internet must be interpreted in light of the primacy of freedom of expression.”
In its message, FLIP also addressed the country's judiciary:
Se deben aplicar los mismos parámetros de tiempo, modo y requisitos. De esta forma se debe tener en cuenta que la rectificación mediante tutela exige, como requisito de procedibilidad, que haya existido una solicitud previa. También hay que tener en cuenta que sobre las expresiones de opinión no procede una rectificación, por lo que en este caso se debe hacer una distinción muy precisa de cuáles declaraciones corresponden a opiniones y cuáles son información susceptible de rectificarse.
Por otra parte, preocupa que se solicite la eliminación de la cuenta de Twitter de Gonzalo Guillén. Esto porque pide que se le ordene a la red social el bloqueo más allá de lo que pueda suceder con la rectificación, pues aún si el periodista rectifica podría ver limitada su expresión con el cierre de su cuenta. Se encuentra entonces que el bloqueo y la eliminación terminarían siendo una actuación desmedida contra la libertad de expresión. Hay que recordar que la Corte Interamericana ha señalado que toda limitación a la libertad de expresión debe ser necesaria y proporcional, es decir que debe ser la única y más efectiva, algo que en este caso no se cumple.
The same criteria of time, manner and requirements must be applied. Thus one must keep in mind that correction through a writ of protection requires, as a prerequisite for admissibility, the existence of a prior request. It is also important to note that corrections do not proceed on expressions of opinion, and thus in this case a very clear distinction must be made as to which declarations correspond to opinions and which are information subject to correction.
Meanwhile, the request to eliminate Gonzalo Guillén's Twitter account is concerning. This is because the complainant asks that the social network be ordered to block the account, beyond what may occur with the correction, so that even if the journalist issues a correction he could see his freedom of expression limited through the closure of his account. Thus, it is found that the blocking and elimination of his account would be a disproportionate action against freedom of expression. It must be recalled that the Inter-American Court has indicated that any limitation of freedom of expression must be necessary and proportionate, that is, it must be the only and most effective means, something which is not true in this case.
Likewise, the foundation made mention of the responsibility of the Internet intermediary:
Esta es una acción indebida de acuerdo a los estándares nacionales e internacionales. En su sentencia 277 de 2015, la Corte Constitucional señaló: “imponer responsabilidades a los intermediarios de Internet por los contenidos transmitidos limitaría de forma importante la difusión de ideas por este medio de comunicación, pues les daría el poder para regular el flujo de información en la red. En cuanto a quienes generan la información, la Relatoría para la Libertad de Prensa ha indicado que las responsabilidades ulteriores solamente pueden ser impuestas a los autores de lo expresado en internet, es decir, a quienes son directamente responsables de la expresión ofensiva”.
This is a wrongful action according to national and international standards. In ruling number 277 of 2015, the Constitutional Court indicated that: “imposing responsibility on Internet intermediaries for content transmitted would significantly limit the spread of ideas via this medium, as it would give them the power to regulate the flow of information online. With respect to those who generate the information, the Rapporteur for Freedom of the Press has indicated that ultimate responsibility can only be accorded to the authors of what is expressed on the Internet, that is, those who are directly responsible for the offensive expression.”
Upon hearing of the withdrawal of the writ of protection, Guillén celebrated on Twitter, making reference to the Mexican television show “El Chavo del 8″:
La prestigiosa jurista @cristinaplazasm acaba de retirar la tutela en mi contra reconociendo que la hizo pésimamente pic.twitter.com/PbXmG20S9z
— Gonzalo Guillén (@HELIODOPTERO) enero 26, 2016
Image: What an idiot!!! Give him zero!!!
Tweet: Prestigious jurist @cristinaplazasm has just withdrawn the writ of protection against me recognizing that she did it terribly pic.twitter.com/PbXmG20S9z
People on both sides of the issue have also spoken out on Twitter. Journalist Rafael Chica Guzmán supported Plazas’ position:
Soy Periodista,Amo la libertad de Prensa, pero expreso admiración a @cristinaplazasm que se atrevió a buscar Límites a insultos en Twitter
— RAFAEL CHICA GUZMAN (@CHICACERETE) enero 25, 2016
I am a Journalist, I love freedom of the Press, but I express my admiration for @cristinaplazasm who dared to seek Limits to insults on Twitter
Journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima was in favor of freedom of expression with limitations:
La libertad de expresión es uno de los derechos fundamentales de toda persona, pero también tiene sus límites! @FLIP_org @cristinaplazasm
— Jineth Bedoya Lima (@jbedoyalima) enero 23, 2016
Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights of every person, but it also has its limits! @FLIP_org @cristinaplazasm
Estebán Giraldo expressed his support for the director for daring to denounce what he considers harassment:
@cristinaplazasm Hay personas que hacen del bullying un estilo de vida. En las escuelas, lugares de trabajo, familias. No hay que callar.
— Esteban Giraldo (@estebanpsicolog) enero 23, 2016
@cristinaplazasm There are people who make bullying a way of life. In schools, places of work, families. We must not be silent.
Journalist Lucía Esparza Baena defended the need to use social media with respect:
De acuerdo. Las redes no están hechas xa matonear sino para expresarse con respeto. Apoyo a @cristinaplazasm https://t.co/VVM48h37kU
— Lucia Esparza Baena (@LuciaEBaena) enero 23, 2016
I agree. Social media is not made for bullying but rather for respectful expression. I support @cristinaplazasm https://t.co/VVM48h37kU
Juan Carlos Pastrana clarified the scope of the complaint given that it relates to a journalist:
Tutelas contra periodistas deben ser ante juez de circuito. Juez municipal no es competente pic.twitter.com/RPPbJnUgsl
— Juan Carlos Pastrana (@jcpastrana) enero 28, 2016
Image: Plazas’ big 180-degree turn became known after Guillén published a copy of the filing presented before municipal criminal court no. 5 which supervises Bogotá. In that filing, Plazas Michelsen requests that the judicial complaint filed last Tuesday, which sparked a big controversy, be withdrawn.
Tweet: Writs of protection against journalists must be made before a circuit judge. Municipal judges do not have jurisdiction
Jairo Andrés Rivera wrote in favor of freedom of expression, and also reminded readers of the reason behind Guillén's original criticism: the children who have died in La Guajira:
Mi solidaridad con @HELIODOPTERO Que el país conozca y sienta la tragedia de la Guajira. La libertad de hablar y el deber de insistir.
— Jairo Andres Rivera (@jairoriverah) enero 26, 2016
My solidarity with @HELIODOPTERO (Gonzalo Guillén). May the country understand and feel the tragedy in La Guajira. Freedom to speak and the duty to insist.
On this matter, Guillén continues to condemn the actions of the ICBF:
Niño que muere de hambre entre una tinaja en Guajira ante indolencia inhumana de @ICBFColombia y @cristinaplazasm pic.twitter.com/jUG2UADS0j
— Gonzalo Guillén (@HELIODOPTERO) enero 27, 2016
A child dies of hunger in a tub in La Guajira in the face of inhumane indifference from @ICBFColombia and @cristinaplazasm
Doctores @AbogadosFenix: Doña @cristinaplazasm tiene una mazamorra jurídica en la cabeza. ¿Podría enjuiciarse a la U. que la hizo abogada?
— Gonzalo Guillén (@HELIODOPTERO) enero 27, 2016
@AbogadosFenix: Mrs @cristinaplazasm has a juridical mess in her head. Could the university that made her a lawyer be prosecuted?
Despite having withdrawn the writ of protection, the director has vowed to keep pursuing the matter:
Acciones legales en contra de Gonzalo Guillén continúan.
— Cristina Plazas M. (@cristinaplazasm) January 27, 2016
Legal action against Gonzalo Guillén will continue.

author: Lully


text:
‘Citizens Everywhere Must Recognize That Their Countries’ Natural Resources Belong to Them’ · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Clare Short, chair of the EITI, with T&T EITI Steering Committee Chair Victor Hart, at the energy conference. Photo by The EITI, used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Ever heard of the EITI? Neither did I before my stepfather, Victor Hart, became chairperson of its multi-stakeholder group Steering Committee in Trinidad and Tobago. An acronym for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the EITI seeks to bring transparency and accountability to the exploitation of a country’s natural resources. Its mission is to help ensure that the derived revenues due to governments from companies who are key players in the extractive industries are correctly paid — rather than lost through corruption or mismanagement — thus protecting the inheritance of future generations.
Between December 2015 and January 2016, the 49 countries implementing the initiative held elections for the appointment of a new EITI International Board (2016-2019). Hart was elected as the director for Region 6 — Europe and the Americas — comprising, in addition to the Caribbean twin island republic, Norway, Albania, the UK, USA, Peru, Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala. It is the first time in the EITI's 13-year history that a representative from the Caribbean has been elected to the international board. Elected to serve with him as alternate director is Maria Isabel Ulloa, Colombia's vice-minister of mines.
The new board will be appointed at the 7th EITI Global Conference and Members’ Meeting in Lima, Peru, which is scheduled to take place on February 22-24.
Global Voices sat down with Mr. Hart to discuss his appointment and what it means for both Trinidad and Tobago, as an economy that still relies heavily on the extractive sector (oil and natural gas), as well as the wider Caribbean.
Global Voices (GV): What are some of the ideas you want to bring to the EITI now that you sit on its international board?
Victor Hart, chair of the TTEITI Steering Committee. Photo courtesy the interviewee, used with permission.
VH: We'd like to introduce things like peer mentorship and a business simulation model to assist new Candidate Country members in implementing the new EITI Standard. This would help them get familiar with the requirements of the implementation process, anticipate problems and find solutions. We are also suggesting that there should be special consideration for small countries with limited institutional capacity.
On the national level, we're sensitizing the nation’s youth to the fact that the EITI is about protecting their legacy. The TTEITI formed a Youth Advisory Committee which targets youngsters from secondary and tertiary level institutions, as well as representatives of Civil Society Youth Organizations interested in issues of transparency, accountability, participatory democracy etc. Liberia is an EITI member country that has similar initiatives, so we are in discussions about arranging educational exchange-visits of youth members between the two countries.
We also want to spread the EITI message to Trinidad and Tobago's resource-rich neighbours, to encourage new membership and build a strong EITI Americas Region. The TTEITI Steering Committee has already encouraged CARICOM countries — including Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic — to participate in EITI capacity building workshops in Trinidad and Tobago.
Victor Hart (L) and Clare Short (R) at a meeting at the Ministry of Energy. Photo by The EITI, used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
GV: Before your election to the international board, you've served as chair of the Trinidad and Tobago chapter of EITI since 2010. What has been your mission in that role?
VH: My mission has been to awaken civil society to the fact that the country’s natural resources belong to the people and that they have a right to information on their exploitation — and a duty to use the published EITI data to hold the government and the [energy] companies accountable for their stewardship.
GV: Can you share some of the milestones of your journey thus far?
VH: The multi-stakeholder Steering Committee that I chair was formed on December 8, 2010 and gained EITI Membership in record time on March 1, 2011. In January 2015, Trinidad and Tobago was elevated to EITI Compliant Country status — the highest level of membership — which attests to the fact that we had met the stringent requirements of the EITI Standard and introduced the necessary checks and balances into the country’s revenue governance and management systems.
As a colleague mentioned to me, this really highlights the impact that Trinidad and Tobago has made on the EITI and continues to show the country as an example to the rest of the world.
Clare Short and Victor Hart with representatives of the Pt. Lisas Energy Association. Photo by The EITI, used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
GV: Tell us about the experiences that have shaped your life and why you care so deeply about doing this kind of work in your ‘retirement’ years.
VH: The main event that has shaped my life [in this regard] has been my service on the Commission of Enquiry into the corruption allegations of the Piarco Airport Development Project. It opened my eyes to corruption in our country and the harm it could do if left unchecked. During the enquiry, I resolved to spend my retirement years in fighting corruption by promoting transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors. [Prior to his appointment with the EITI, Hart served as chair of the Trinidad and Tobago chapter of Transparency International (TI).]
GV: Has new media been a help to the EITI’s cause? Do you think social media can be better harnessed by other anti-corruption groups?
VH: The biggest challenge I have faced is awakening civil society members from their slumber and getting them involved in the fight to promote transparency and accountability so as to reduce corruption in Trinidad and Tobago. We are using social media to get the message across and partnering with NGOs that have a crucial role to play in the process. However, progress has been slow and the fight goes on because this is a battle that can and has to be won for our children’s sake.
GV: Why should the average Caribbean citizen care about the work of the EITI?
VH: Citizens everywhere must recognize that their countries’ natural resources belong to them — not the government who manages them or the companies that extract and market them. The wealth derived from the exploitation is the people’s patrimony and their children’s inheritance. It is in their self-interest to learn more about the EITI and to lend it their support.
The EITI ensures that the Treasury collects what is due from the extractive companies to fund the government's provision of infrastructure, health, education, pensions, etc. for the benefit of citizens. When people recognize this, they will want to learn more about the EITI and seek to protect it, if and when there are threats by government and/or companies to disband it because too much transparency is getting in the way of corrupt practices.
The data provided in the EITI Reports can empower individual citizens and civil society organistions to demand more of government and companies and to hold them accountable for their stewardship in exploiting the people's natural resources. Lobbying — say, for better infrastructure, schools or more Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects for the people in the areas where energy companies are generating large profits — can be done with greater conviction and confidence based on the credible EITI data. Thus, over time, their lives will be improved. The TTEITI Steering Committee holds forums across the country — citizens should attend to learn more about the EITI.
GV: What does the future of the Caribbean look like when it comes to transparency and good governance?
VH: Transparency and good governance are virtues that the people of the Caribbean, like those in so many other parts of the world, need and must aspire to achieving. However, it is not going to be handed to us on a platter. We have to demand it of our leaders in the public and private sectors and be prepared to fight for it.
GV: What do you want your legacy to be?
VH: That I was passionate in the fight for a corruption-free society and gave it my all.
You can find out more about the EITI in Trinidad and Tobago here, like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Haiti’s Electoral Crisis and Unsteady Future · Global Voices
Atiba Rogers

Post-elections protest, Jacmel, #Haiti, August 2015. Photo by Georgia Popplewell, used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.
The presidential elections in Haiti are being dragged out for quite some time now.
When the legislative elections took place on August 9, 2015, many protestors took to the streets over their suspicions that the results were fraudulent; the unrest was followed by the first round of presidential elections on October 25 — but because the incumbent, Michel Martelly, was constitutionally barred from contesting this election and no other candidate won a majority vote during the first round, a runoff was supposed to be held on December 27. That election never happened.
Fast forward to 2016: oppositional presidential candidate Jude Celestin and government-backed rival candidate Jovenel Moïse, who came out on top in the first round of polling, were expected to go head-to-head on January 24. Surprisingly, Celestin announced on January 18 that he would not be participating in the planned election. He proceeded to call for a boycott. Soon afterwards, a group of eight (called the ‘G8′) Haitian opposition presidential candidates, did the same.
It was initially hoped that this runoff election would help revive citizens’ faith in the electoral process and restore civil order in one of the most unstable countries in the region — or at least that seems to be the most common narrative about the situation.
A second straight day of protests over elections starting along Grand Rue. #Haiti #HaitiElections pic.twitter.com/91PVaj8kFd
— Jacqueline Charles (@Jacquiecharles) January 19, 2016
While rumors swirl that violence is the cause of the electoral delays, the blog Dady Chery was quick to assert:
The fight for Haiti is on. Since Haitians scuttled the fraudulent elections and started to make their own plans, the foreign occupation has become desperate to concoct a pseudo-Haitian solution to the electoral impasse. A disinformation campaign from mainstream news organs like the Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian, and the Miami Herald is the vanguard of a colonial attempt to take Haiti.
As of right now, the only person running for Haiti's rigged election is Moïse, the founder of Agritrans, a private banana plantation that has allegedly been dispossessing about 800 peasants who were legally farming, by destroying houses and crops. The company then exports the bananas to Germany, despite the fact that Haiti does not have enough food to feed itself.
A report by Joshua Steckley and Bevery Bellogger fears that Moïse is only seizing land for his benefit:
A Moïse presidency would ensure that political decisions prioritize free trade and private enterprise over support for the destitute majority. This, in turn, would likely give a green light to massive land grabs that are planned or in process, while peasants working the land would be dispossessed.
Nevertheless, the politician has people standing by his side:
Supporters of @moisejovenel took to the streets today in Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince in support of him. #Haiti pic.twitter.com/3EDZrrdeHy
— Jacqueline Charles (@Jacquiecharles) January 24, 2016
Twitter user Daniella Bien-Aime was concerned about the authenticity of it all:
@Jacquiecharles Is anyone wondering why all over sudden these people are protesting for him? Are they getting paid? @nytimes
— Daniella Bien-Aime (@dbienaime) January 25, 2016
To further complicate matters, opposition protesters began to clash with pro-Martelly ex-soldiers. These former members of the armed forces, known as the Forces Armees D'Haiti (FADH), supported Martelly based on his promises to restore the country's army.
My, my my. I wonder where they are going? Ex-Fadh. #Haiti pic.twitter.com/6zIvelP7V1
— Jacqueline Charles (@Jacquiecharles) February 5, 2016
However, on February 7 — the last day of Martelly's term in office — he stepped down, leaving an interim government. He signed an agreement with two parliamentary leaders — Senator Jocelerme Privert and Lower House Leader Cholzer Chancy — which states that Prime Minister Evans Paul will run the country until an interim president can be picked by the legislature. In the event that an interim president is chosen, that person will serve for 120 days while new elections are organized. These new elections are to be held no later than April 24, with a new president to be inaugurated by May 14.
Blogger Stanley Lucas was concerned about what will become of his country now that there is no longer a president…
Without support from the international community to isolate the perpetrators of violence and corruption from the system, this – or any – brokered agreement is doomed for failure and Haiti will slip back into chaos for a decade or more. The OAS (Organization of American States) should actually leverage the Democratic Charter and conduct an investigation identifying the damaging actors and remove them from the process.
…while Twitter user Saheed-Caesar Badmus tweeted about what could have led to a plausible solution to begin with:
@Jacquiecharles If all these people protesting actually voted, there might have been a different outcome
— Saheed-Caesar Badmus (@SCBadmus) January 27, 2016
Update: On the morning of Sunday February 14, the Haitian parliament chose Jocelerme Privert as the country's interim president.

author: Atiba Rogers