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Vietnam: Video of a Child Laborer in a Garment Factory · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Blue Dragon uploads a short video of a kid working in a garment factory in Central Vietnam.


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Vietnamese Students in the US · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Rahul Choudaha notes that the number of Vietnamese students in the United States had grown by more than six times in a decade.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Yemen: A Parallel Revolution from the Streets to the Institutions · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Over the past few weeks, Yemen's revolution spread from the streets to institutions across the country, calling for an end to corruption in the governmental and public sectors.
@SupportYemen tweeted a link to the Washington Post article entitled ‘Strikes spread across Yemen as government employees rally against corruption':
Yemen's Revolution of Change spreads from the squares to the institutions to fight corruption. #Yemen #SupportYemen fb.me/11GwFAZIR
The article points out:
The strikes are following a pattern. Workers lock the gates to an institution, and then they storm the offices of their supervisors, demanding their replacement with bosses who are not tainted with corruption allegations. So far the scenario has played out in 18 state agencies.
@iiamelii tweets the same article published by the New York Times under a different title:
In #Yemen, Anti-Corruption Strikers Demand Dismissal of Managers: nyti.ms/vzVuh8
This video, posted by kashmim, shows soldiers striking and preventing police chief Mohammed al-Qawsi, a relative of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, from entering the main police headquarters, chanting “leave, leave” and carrying a poster saying “we are the soldiers of the people, not the soldiers of al-Qawsi”:
More “revolutionary” acts follow. @Yemen411 tweets in disbelief:
FIRST TIME EVER, like EVERRR: #Yemen Military Weekly paper 26 Sept. accuses “On Print” its editor with corruption
In this video, posted by karot439, the people of al-Baydha march to demand the dismissal of their corrupt governor:
The most followed news page of the Yemeni revolution on Facebook @NewsOfYemeniRev tweets:
NYR | Uprising Against Corruption |Strikes are spreading to the banking sector in Yemen that witnesses the first… fb.me/1iEYwEb2v
@ArabsUnite writes about the spread of the strikes to the academic sector:
#Sanaa UNI Students protested at University campus demanding dismissal of the University's president for corruption: youtu.be/je884esy8p0
And NYR provides links to videos of student protests in Taiz, Dhamar and Sanaa on Facebook:
NYR | Uprising Against Corruption | Students protests in a number of schools and cities in Yemen demanding the dismissal of the corrupted in the Ministry of Education as well as school principles.
Taiz |
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usPj9gRWYX4&feature=youtu.be
Dhamar |
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkIAEshMLI
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkIAEshMLI
Sana'a |
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHxPcPVvZlc
#Yemen #yf *2
@abubakrabdullah shares the link to his well written piece in Aljazeera English about the parallel revolution:
My piece for @AJEnglish on the anti-corruption strikes & protests in #Yemen aljazeera.com/indepth/opinio…
Brian Whitaker writes about Yemen's ‘Parallel Revolution‘ in his blog:
Even if Yemen's political transition leaves a lot to be desired, a general clean-up at the administrative level – which is what the Parallel Revolution is seeking – could make a huge difference to the way the country is run.
While I also wrote a post about the parallel revolution on my blog here. I note:
The “parallel revolution” demanded the immediate dismissal of “the untouchables”, the corrupt officials who  unlawfully exerted their authority, embezzled and terrorized their subordinates. Some of the institutions affected so far include, the National Airlines “Yemenia”, the State TV in Sanaa and Aden, the Police Headquarters, the Military Economic Institution, the Armed Forces Moral Guidance Department, the Agriculture and Irrigation office, the Coast Guard, the Naval Academy, the Traffic Police, Sanaa University, the Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the Thawrah Hospital in Taiz, the Central Organization of Control and Audit in both Aden and Taiz, and the Finance Office in Taiz.
The revolution in Yemen, through admirable passive resistance methods, is gradually bringing about the change desired to the most armed nation in the world and the poorest country in the Arab world, proving that Yemeni determination and perseverance is what will hopefully turn the slogan “the people want to topple the regime” into a reality.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: Noon Arabia


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Yemen: A Year of Revolution and a Story of Struggle · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Yemen's Revolution is the longest ongoing revolution of the Arab Spring. It started with a protest on February 3, 2011, and has been ongoing ever since. Here are the posts covering the main events that happened in Yemen throughout this year and the videos that tell the story of Yemen's struggle for freedom, democracy and justice.
February 2011
03 Feb – Yemen: Thousands Protest on Day of Rage
One of the first pictures to emerge online of protesters in Sanaa. Photo Credit: @al3ini on Twitter.
11 Feb – Yemen: Protests Continue Away from International Media Eyes
19 Feb – Yemen: Another Life Claimed on Eighth Day of Protests
22 Feb – Yemen: Bullets, Screams and Sirens (Video)
The video that follows, uploaded on YouTube by EBNShams, shows the mayhem and chaos as ‘thugs’ attack the protesters at the Sanaa University square on the night of February 22. You can hear gunshots clearly in the background. The protesters are also heard chanting: “The People Want to Overthrow the Regime” – which has been the rallying call of protesters against despots reigning across the Arab world during this so-called Arab Spring.
22 Feb – Yemen: Walking the Walk, One More Protester Dies
24 Feb – Yemen: At the Boiling Point? (Video)
25 Feb – Yemen: “Our blood is not cheap” (Videos)
March 2011
01 Mar – Yemen: Thousands Protest on Day of Wrath
04 Mar – Yemen: More Protesters Killed as Political Plans Multiply (Videos)
The next video, uploaded by SuperSouthyemen, shows a protester tearing up a huge poster of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, as protesters on the ground cheer him on:
07 Mar – Yemen: Protesters Vulnerable to Violent Attacks
09 Mar – Yemen: Did Government Use Nerve Gas on Protesters? (Videos)
19 Mar – Yemen: Friday Massacre in Sanaa
21 Mar – Yemen: Game Over for Ali Abdullah Saleh?
25 Mar – Yemen: Crowds Call for Saleh to Step Down in Sanaa
April 2011
05 Apr – Yemen: Crackdown on Protestors Continues
22 Apr – Yemen: Millions Protest on Last Chance Friday
This video, uploaded by alymene1, shows protesters during the Friday Prayers sermon in the capital Sanaa, on what was called Last Chance Friday.
Like their counterparts across the Arab world, Yemeni protesters had a different name for each Friday of protest in their country.
May 2011
29 May – Taiz Massacre.
On this day, security forces attacked protesters and burnt sit-in tents in Taiz's Freedom Square, killing 15 people, including four women and three children. Fifty others were injured in the attack.
June 2011
03 Jun – Yemen: Confusion in Sanaa Amid Conflicting News on Saleh
August 2011
09 Aug – Yemen: Pressing Humanitarian Needs and Deteriorating Economic Situation
September 2011
18 Sept – Yemen to the Rest of the World: Silence Kills!
A young female protester is seen in this video, uploaded on YouTube by FiredoglakeTV, appealing to the world community to stand by the side of the Yemeni people, who are determined to overthrow the regime:
18 Sept – Yemen: A Massacre Streamed Live Online
24 Sept – Yemen: Bloodbath in Sanaa as Saleh Returns
This video, uploaded on YouTube by 1119801, shows thousands of protesters waving their shoes as they protested Saleh's return. Their chant [ar] was:
October 2011
02 Oct – Yemen: Friday of Victory for Syria and Yemen
07 Oct – Yemen: Celebrating the Bravery of Revolutionary Women
The following video features the message of a female protester to the world, urging the world to stand besides Yemeni youth and people to build a democratic Yemen:
07 Oct – Yemen: Celebrating Tawakkol Karman
This video, posted by belaquood on March 5, shows Karman, rallying crowds at rallies in Sanaa.
11 Oct – Yemen: Saleh Stepping Down? Unlikely!
17 Oct – Yemen: Azizah Abdo, Yemen's First Female Martyr
26 Oct – Yemen: Yemeni Women Burn their Veils
This video, uploaded on YouTube by YouthYemeni, shows women burning their veils on 60th Street, the epicentre of protests in Sanaa, in protest against the killing of women during the Yemeni revolution. The burning of the veils by the women in the tribal tradition is a plea for help. Yemen is a tribal society and the killing of women is a big shame in Yemen and in Islam in general, so this was a clear and loud message by the Yemeni women for their tribes and the world at large to intervene to stop the killing of protesters.
November 2011
11 Nov – Yemen: Taiz is Bleeding while the UN Envoy is in Sanaa
22 Nov – Yemen: Will Saleh Sign the GCC Deal that the Youth Oppose?
25 Nov – Yemen: Mixed Reactions as Saleh Finally Signs GCC Deal
December 2011
04 Dec – Yemen: Taiz is Bleeding
24 Dec – Yemen: The Amazing Life March Arrives in Sanaa
Yemeni protesters culminated the year with a grand march from Taiz to Sanaa, covering all the 264km separating the two cities by foot. This video, by moathdamar, shows the first leg of the march, which stopped at Damar on December 22:
31 Dec – Should the US Grant Saleh a Visa?
Yemen's massive peaceful marches have been a symbol of Yemeni steadfast and resilience. The life march from Taiz to Sanaa was the lifeline from the heart of Yemen's revolution, Taiz, swelling with the flow of revolutionary zeal on it's route to the heart of Change Square in Sanaa. Although it was met by violence by the security forces, resulting in 13 deaths, it nevertheless pumped life back into the revolution. While the politicians talked the talk, the Yemeni people walked the walk by striking, demonstrating and spreading the revolution from the squares to the government, military and public sectors, demanding the resignations and accountability of corrupt heads.
Yemen's revolution of change is a struggle that will only end when it reaches what it set for – freedom, democracy and justice. So brace yourself for more posts in 2012 to continue the story of Yemen's struggle.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.


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Zambia: Opposition Leader Addresses Facebook Parliament in a First · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Zambia’s opposition National Restoration Party (NAREP) president Elias Chipimo Jr. has become the country’s first politician to “address” the make believe 1,318 member Facebook Zambian parliament after he was allowed by the “Speaker” to post his end of year message.
The Hon Speaker first posted the following message before he posted Chipimo’s speech:
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Hon Members. May we welcome Hon Elias Chipimo, NAREP President to officially address this House by delivering end of year message from NAREP. As usual, the House ll proceed to debate his address.
Once we get hold of UPND President, Hon HaKainde Hichilema, and also Republican President, H. E. Michael C. Sata, we shall let them address the House.
President Chipimo, its an honour to have you in the House. You may address this august House.
Part of Chipimo's post reads:
President for the National Restoration Party (NAREP) Elias Chipimo. Photo courtesy of Elias Chipimo Facebook page.
Year-end message from the National Restoration Party (NAREP)
Looking beyond 2011: What the PF administration can start to do in its next 90 days in office
Zambia faces many challenges ranging from poor healthcare, dilapidated and inadequate infrastructure, limited access to quality education and an economy that is still not meeting the development needs of the majority of the people in spite of its strong performance over the last few years. Tackling these problems will no doubt require long-term focus, energy and vision. There are, however, 3 pressing issues that require a clear, committed and immediate response: (1) unemployment; (2) corruption; and (3) excessive presidential and executive power. Although the fight against corruption has been boosted by the PF administration, there has been a lamentable failure to find a formula for addressing each of these issues in a sustainable manner […] As far as globally defining moments go, the year 2011 belonged almost exclusively to the Arab Spring – that sense of democratic consciousness that seemed to emanate spontaneously from the streets of Tunis and spread like a virus through North Africa and the Middle East. Sub-Saharan Africa, and indeed Zambia, was not unaffected by these events. Remote though the idea may seem, the sentiments that prompted the democratic revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya were similar to those that resulted in the conclusive Patriotic Front (PF) victory on 23 September. Clearly, after 20 in power, something must went seriously wrong within the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) – the party that brought an end to UNIP’s 27 year rule.
A number of “Members of Parliament” in debating the “speech”, hailed the move to engage politicians in the virtual parliament. One member, Rodger Chali praised the opposition politician for being new media savvy:
Mr Speaker Sir, let me thank Hon. Chipimo for his submission and for being one the the leaders who understands the power of new media. Let me submit however that, Zambia is not lacking intelligent presidents , but a system which allows provinces and districts to flourish without looking to Lusaka. I would therefore wish to challenge Hon. Chipimo to champion the cause of a free Zambia from Lusaka control. This is the only agenda which will bring prosperity. If he can deliver this one issue before 2016, i can trust him to be president. Mr Speaker , I would not what to hear that the hon. can only do this if elected president.
Kasololo Chisenga said:

Hon Zapp Speaker Sir indeed presidential candidate Hon.Elias Chipimo raises some important points that are worth debati ng in the house. I am particularly taken by his suggestion of growing biofules [bio-fuel] and coming up with a ‘new economy ‘ in Z…ambia. This is indeed innovaribve and is what is expected from a youthful leader such as him. It is my hope that such ideas can be ytaken seriously to reduce the leve of unemployment in the land.
On the same issue of bio-fuel, Nicholas Mutalama added:
Hon. Speaker Sir, the exploration of bio-fuel is now extensive in the West and farmers busy utilising this initiative through government and privately funded programmes. Why does it take us so long to jump on sustainable opportunities such… as these to move forward. Sir, the previous regimes together with the current administration have focused on programmes that hardly produce anything worthy…..! This we can do or maybe just maybe, we are waiting for another investor or donor to come to our rescue when clearly through serious fiscal responsibility and accountability would give us the much needed funds for the initial investment.
Zambian People's Parliament (ZAPP) was formed shortly after the September 20 elections which saw an opposition party, the Patriotic Front (PF), unseat the ruling MMD that had been in power for 20 years. The group was formed on the back of another Facebook group, the Zambian Peoples Pact which campaigned against the former ruling party. The following is the group’s description:
The Zambian People’s Parliament (ZAPP) is a replication of the Zambian Parliament comprising a cross-section of citizens who constructively discuss, analyze, debate, persuade and agree on issues which border on democratic governance. Specifically, ZAPP is a place where citizens contribute their voice on Zambia’s democratic governance, political and socioeconomic development.
The essence of these online debates shall be to enable citizens make input into parliamentary and government’s policy and decision-making and provide a fora for issue-based discussion by politically-minded citizens, leaders in our communities and experts thus enabling the group to mold an opinion and influence decision-making.
Mission Statement
The Mission of ZAPP is to engage citizens, leaders in parliament and government, public and private sectors in jointly setting policy direction and ensuring decisions made at all levels reflect the will of the Zambian people to be governed according to democratic tenets.
Vision Statement
ZAPP’s Vision is a leading platform for both ordinary and empowered Zambians who freely express themselves and are heard in Zambia’s democratic governance and promotion of socioeconomic activities of the nation.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Africa: A Mashable Anthology of African Modernity · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bunmi Oloruntoba and Emmanuel Iduma come up with 3bute: “3bute [pronounced: tribute] is an online anthology devoted to the question of African modernity. Along that theme, we look on the web for what writers–especially African bloggers–have written and we recycle/ adapt selected writing into 3 pages of narrative art.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: Startups in Africa 2011 and Beyond · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Erik believes that 2011 was a great year for startups in Africa: “The past few years have been about building an infrastructure that improves the chances of the technology startups in Africa to succeed. Seeing this buildout in action in 2011 was exciting, but it should be recognized for what it really was: a setup for 2012 and beyond.”


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Arab World: A Year In Pictures – Our Authors’ Selection · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

This post is part of our special coverage:
Since Mohamed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in the small city of Sidi Bouzid on December 2010, a wave of unprecedented popular protests is sweeping the Arab world. The region has seen unprecedented events that no one could ever imagine witnessing in a lifetime.
Three Arab dictators have been toppled, some others forced to engage in reforms, while in other places the confrontation is proving to be painful and bloody.
In any case, 2011 is likely to remain engraved in the history of the Arab world as the year when people started raising against their oppressive regimes.
As we bid farewell to 2011 and look ahead to 2012, we asked our authors to share with you pictures that in their eyes have marked the past year in their respective countries. The following selection represents their choices.
Tunisia
Photo by Talel Nacer, used with permission
On January, 14, 2011 thousands of protesters gathered near the Interior Ministry building in Tunis calling for the fall of the regime of dictator Zeine El Abidine Ben Ali. Later on the same day, Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia.
Afef Abroughi
Syria
Author unkown
A powerful message from “the occupied city of Kafar Nabel”, Syria.
Leila Nachawati
Lebanon
Photo by Krikorian. Used with permission
Even though Lebanon has not witnessed a revolution in 2011, the Land of the Cedars was highly affected by the developpements and turmoil in the area. But for Lebanese it's the high cost of living that is haunting them the most. Following each wage increase by the government and even before the plan is approved by parliament, prices soar tremendously.
Thalia Rahme
Palestine
Photo by Jillian C. York, used under a CC license (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Palestine: “Marching United Towards Freedom”
Jillian C. York
Yemen
Copyright Shohdi Al-Sofi, used with permission
The peaceful massive marches of Yemen which never stopped throughout the year are a testimony of Yemenis’ steadfast and resilience and prove ultimately, like the billboard reads, that “victory is to the people”.
Noon Arabia
Bahrain
Picture posted on Twitter by @almakna
The above photograph, shared by @almakna on Twitter, shows the number of areas reportedly tear gassed by the Bahrain authorities in one night. On that particular day, I myself choked on the tear gas, spending the night and the following day sick and closely followed tweets and complaints by Twitter users from across the country.
Amira Al Hussaini
Picture posted on Twitter by @SanabisVoice
This photograph, from the Sanabis Voice, shows empty teargas canisters, collected from a small area, in one day. Such photographs are found in abundance online, shared by netizens on social networking sites, and tell a story that has been recurring for 11 months – a story not much of the world cares about.
Amira Al Hussaini
Egypt
Picture by rouelshimi, used under CC license (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
January 25, the first wave of protesters go to Tahrir square. It's the dawn of the revolution.
Tarek Amr
Morocco
Copyright Amine Hachimoto. Used with permission.
The little girl looking up at this Moroccan Superman pausing in front of the parliament seems to be wondering if he can fly. Maybe he's an ultra-nationalist trying to make a point? Or maybe he's a supporter of the pro-reforms group February 20? It doesn't really matter. Because behind this amazing photo by Amine Hachimoto lies a new reality in Morocco: 2011 is the year when the street has become the theater of nonviolent political expression. Something that is likely to continue in the years to come.
Hisham Almiraat
This post is part of our special coverage:

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Bahamas: Remembering the Zybines · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogworld pays tribut to Alex and Violette Zybine, “dancers who worked in The Bahamas during the 1960s and 1970s”, who died in a tragic accident.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bermuda: Wishing for Change  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“This year will be an eventful one. We will have our elections as will our American friends. The power of the people to make progressive change was demonstrated with fervor last year and this year shows no sign of abating”: Respice Finem hopes for change in 2012.


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Bolivia: Women Weaving Hope in El Alto · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In Americas Quarterly [es], blogger Cecilia Lanza praises the artisan women of El Alto who have created their own workshops and small businesses.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cameroon: Violent Clashes Between Motorbike Taxi Drivers and Douala Citizens · Global Voices
Julie Owono

On December 31, 2011, in the popular district of Deido in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, riots broke out between the inhabitants of the district and motorbike taxi drivers, also know as “benskiners”. The violence is ongoing according to this article in the daily newspaper Le Jour and several testimonies by Cameroonian netizens.
Elie Kopter explains the reason for the riots on Facebook [fr]:
un jeune homme de deido rentrait de boîte avec sa copine (05h du mat ) ; elle se fait arracher son sac à main par le passager d'une mototaxi et comme son copain tentait de s'interposer il reçoit un coup de couteau à la base du cou , et en décède . Les jeunes du quartier alertés décident de faire la peau aux conducteurs de moto qui arpentent le quartier . En réaction les conducteurs de moto saccagent les kiosques et autres commerces dans le quartier . Les forces de l'ordre s'interposent pour ramener le calme
The following video posted on YouTube by user on January 3, 2012, shows inhabitants destroying a taxi motorbike in Deido:
User Gefcasting shared a video recorded from Cameroonian private television channel Equinoxe TV which reported the event on January 3, 2012:
According to a government report, the riots have already caused the death of four people. The day after in Deido, confusion still seems to reign [fr]:
Les motos-taxis men qui ont donné hier l’impression de reculer sont revenus en nombre.
Massés par centaines aux portes du quartier, ils ont tenté de casser les barrières de police afin d’aller en découdre avec leurs vis-à-vis, eux aussi sur le pied de guerre.
Des commerces ont à nouveau été incendiés, des motos vandalisées, sous le regard des forces de l’ordre quelque peu débordées.
The motorbike taxi drivers who seemingly were laying low yesterday, are now back in great numbers. Hundreds of them gathered at the gates of the district as they tried to break police barriers and go after their rivals.
Some shops were vandalized in the process and more motorbikes were burned as the police forces looked on, seemingly overwhelmed by the situation.

author: Julie Owono


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Chile: Controversy Over Change from ‘Dictatorship’ to ‘Military Government’ in School Textbooks · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Greg Weeks explains the controversy over a decision to use ‘military government’ instead of ‘dictatorship’ in school textbooks: “Even if children don't bother reading them, their teachers will be using them to frame their own discussions in the classroom. They are a critical part of the construction of national identity, so revisions–subtle or otherwise–are a high-stake endeavor.”


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Chile: Would Cheaper Books Promote More Reading? · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Enzo Abbagliati blogs [es] about a recurring discussion in Chile: removing or decreasing the IVA (value added tax) on books to promote more reading.


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China: Chinese People’s Character · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The term Suzhi (Chinese people's character) has often been used to justify the undemocratic political system. C. Custer from ChinaGeeks looks into famous Chinese writer Han Han's most recent argument on his article “On Revolution” and compares it with American people's Suzhi back in the eighteenth century.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Street Children · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Annie Lee from China Hush translates a feature story from Sohu.com on the problem of street children in China. Many of the children have been abused by their family while there isn't any functioning social welfare system to deal with the situation.


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China: What do Chinese people envision as the best life? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Ministry of Tofu translates a documentary video produced by Chinese news portal Net Ease on Chinese people's envision of the best life.


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Cuba: Adios, 2011 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y explains why she's relieved to see the end of 2011.


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Cuba: Protest & Confrontation · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Pedazos de La Isla reports on a New Year's Day protest by Cuban dissidents and the response by the authorities.


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Iran: Site displaying currency exchange rate got filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mesghal, a site displaying currency exchange rate got filtered as rial, Iran's national currency, continues to fall. 2lar writes [fa] it seems Islamic Republic's economists find the best way to control dollar's rise, is filtering Mesghal.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Identity card control and cameras in internet cafe · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian police ordered [fa] internet cafes to install cameras and ask clients to provide identity card and phone number.


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Jamaica: Portia’s Driving the Bus  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It’s an obvious thing but one that only a leader who inspires and moves the people can achieve. If anyone is capable of doing this it’s Portia Simpson-Miller”: Active Voice republishes the account she wrote of the new Prime Minister's swearing-in.


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Kuwait: The Stateless Find A Voice Online · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on openDemocracy, Bidoun activist and Global Voices author Mona Kareem, profiled here, says that social media is providing the stateless with a voice online.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Mexico Wake Up! Artists United for Peace Go Viral · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The violence and impunity Mexico has been facing these past years have prompted artists, creators and media to join forces and launch a campaign to change statistics into names and stories. Through a collaborative project they are asking viewers to research other casualties and give voices to the victims of violence.
Artists have recorded several videos telling some of the stories of people who were murdered in Mexico. For example, singer Ely Guerra recorded herself speaking as Marisela Escobedo, a mother who fought to see justice for her daughter's death. Although her daughter's husband confessed to killing his wife, the authorities declared that there wasn't enough evidence.
After she managed to get him to trial once again, he was declared innocent a second time.  Marisela Escobedo was murdered in front of the Justice Palace, where she was protesting and rallying for justice  for her daughter. Both  Marisela and her daughter's murders are still unpunished.
The full story in English can be found in the video's description:
Proyecto Ambulante [es] website describes the next video [es]:
Leonardo Amador Rivas trabajaba en la discoteca News Divine y perdió la vida el 20 de Junio del 2008, junto a otros 11 jóvenes. Un operativo de la policía en el lugar, sin organización, actuando con negligencia y regidos por la criminalización de estos jóvenes, acabó con sus vidas.
Piro Pendas (Ritmo Peligroso), músico mexicano, le da voz a la historia de Leonardo, que es la historia de nuestro país.
Leonardo Amador Rivas worked in the News Divine disco where he lost his live on June 20th 2008 along with 11 other young men. A police operation in the place, without any organization, acting negligently and ruled by the criminalizing of these young men, ended their lives.
Piro Pendas (Ritmo Peligroso), Mexican musician, gives voice to Leonardo's story, which is the story of our country.
Fifteen year old Victoria Castro from El Salvador was one of 72 migrants massacred in Mexico while trying to get to the United States. She tells her story through Diana García, a Mexican actress.
A call for citizen videos has been made through social network Facebook, hoping that viewers will take the time to research the story of one of the victims of violence and tell their story. All videos end with a commentary on how these crimes are only possible through the lawlessness and corruption of the Mexican State and urge their country to wake up. There is no deadline for the videos, since it is an ongoing project.
Los invitamos a participar en un video colectivo que pretende darle voz y vida a los que la perdieron en manos de la guerra contra el narco, de la impunidad y corrupción, en manos de la violencia que se vive actualmente en nuestro país. Los nombres se cambian por números y esto nos hace ajenos a la tragedia. Cada víctima tiene nombre y detrás de él existe una vida, una historia, una familia. La tragedia es nuestra, no de alguien más.
Carlo Avilés gives voice to Juan Carlos Medrano, who when celebrating the triumph of his basketball team was murdered when an armed group arrived at the house were they were celebrating and started shooting. His best friend carried him to the hospital, but he didn't recover and died 48 hours after. Fourteen other youth were killed and about 20 others injured. All of them were between 15 and 20 years old.
Mexican online magazine Marvin [es] described the project:
Utilizando herramientas como YouTube y las redes sociales para crear fenómenos virales, “Nuestras vidas, nuestros nombres” pretende generar una consciencia colectiva acerca de las tragedias que vivimos a diario en nuestro país. La violencia no es solamente la que vemos en los medios, la violencia inicia en los hogares, y desde ahí es desde donde se tiene que generar una cultura anti-violencia.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Mozambique: Stand-up comedy show gains online following · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Mozambique's first stand-up comedy show Improriso shares jokes on one of the most popular tweets in the country (@ImprorisoMoz) and posts videos on its Youtube channel. Newspaper O País published a photo album of an improv performance in 2011.

author: Janet Gunter


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New Qatar Envoy Appointed in Libya  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Qatar has appointed a new envoy to Libya. Sultan Al Qassemi, a commentator from the UAE, sheds more light on Qatari-Libyan relations since the beginning of the Libyan uprising in February under the subtitles: The Marriage, The Honeymoon and The Divorce.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Nigeria: To The Streets, Oh Nigerians! · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations in Nigeria reacts to the increase in the price of fuel: “We are hereby calling on all Nigerians to rise up together to challenge this illegal and inhuman policy of petrol price hike by the Goodluck administration by joining forces with the organized labour, civil society groups and other pro masses organizations…”


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Pakistan: Influence Of Social Media · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Social Media has been constantly following and commenting on the political happenings in Pakistan and is slowly building a strong grip on the electronic media within the country,” comments Fouad Bajwa at Internet's Governance blog.

author: Rezwan


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Paraguay: Children use Computers as Instruments in Christmas Orchestra · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The children of Caacupé in Paraguay were part of a unique Christmas concert: they played Silent Night using their special “one laptop per child” program laptops as musical instruments. They learned how to play music on their XO computers during their “Vacations with Technology” program.


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Peruvians Debate Possible Pardon for Alberto Fujimori · Global Voices
Isabel Guerra

One of the most debated topics right now in Peru, especially on social networks, is the possibility that ex-President Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a sentence of 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity and corruption, may receive a humanitarian pardon from President Ollanta Humana, based on  alleged poor health.
This is not the first time that this issue has divided Peruvians, and this time it has resurfaced after the announcement that supporters and family members of the ex-president were considering a formal request for clemency  after Christmas, claiming that his health was precarious. His son, Kenji Fujimori, Congress member, stated : “My family's decision (about the pardon) is clear(…) One look at my father will tell you his health isn't good”.
In April 2009, Alberto Fujimori was found guilty of the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta murders, and of the kidnappings of the businessman Samuel Dyer and the journalist Gustavo Gorriti. The sentence (which came after a high-profile trial that lasted almost 16 months), indicated that the ex-president was the “perpetrator”  of attempted murder, murder with malice aforethought and aggravated kidnapping. Fujimori claimed his innocence.
Protest against possible pardon for Fujimori, July 15, 2011. The Advocacy Project (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
At the time, the sentence caused a worldwide reaction and was considered a milestone, since it was the first time a president was convicted of human rights violations by a court in his own country. Groups of human rights activists, union representatives, groups representing families of missing Peruvians, and bloggers, expressed their satisfaction with the sentence, but there was also a large group of Fujimori supporters who were not happy with it.
Fujimori and his family announced they would appeal the decision. Silvio Rendón noted in GranComboClub [es]:
…el juicio no fue por “aprobar una estrategia” ni por avalarla, ni por defenderla, sino por ordenar asesinatos. A Fujimori le han dado 25 años, la pena máxima posible, por asesino. No por aprobador, defensor o avalador de estrategias que enmarcaron  asesinatos cometidos por otros. Considero importante que como sociedad  tengamos muy claro el  contenido de la sentencia al ex-presidente…
…The judgment was not for adopting, endorsing, or defending a strategy, but for ordering murders. Fujimori has been sentenced to 25 years, the maximum sentence possible for murder.. Not for approving, supporting, or endorsing strategies for murders committed by others. I think it's important that as a society we are very clear about the ex-president's sentence.
Since the beginning of 2011, as part of the recent electoral campaign, there were rumors about political reasons to pardon Fujimori. The general comment, especially during the second round, was that  APRA, outgoing President ALan Garcia's party, would have given its support to Force 2011, Keiko Fujimori's party, in return for shelving and not investigating certain corruption scandals [es] in which some of its most high-profile members were involved. There was even speculation that Garcia would approve the pardon before leaving office, prompting fiery pronouncements for and against: including, with an eye toward the election,  a march organized via social networks against the pardon, [es] called “March for Dignity,  Fujimori Never Again”.
The journalist and blogger Claudia Cisneros posted [es] at the time:
Tenemos todo el derecho a protestar, a desconfiar y a impedir que una  vez más el poder sea usado entre agrupaciones políticas para limpiarse  mutuamente sus culpas y delitos. (…) Si esta vez Alan se atreve a usar el poder que el pueblo le ha dado  para representarnos y lo hace para burlarse de la lucha anticorrupción,  no será olvidado jamás. No solo sería un insulto a la igualdad de  derechos ante la ley de miles de enfermos presos en el país, sería un  insulto al sistema judicial y legal, a la justicia peruana…
Garcia did not pardon Fujimori, and the case laid dormant until President-elect Humala declared, before taking charge of the country, that he “would give him the pardon for humanitarian reasons”, because “nobody should die  in prison“.
As part of the heated debate between the pardon supporters and those opposing it [es] Twitter hashtags were created: #FujimoriLibertad and #noalindulto as well as #terrorismonuncamas, #indulto, #terrorismo o #caviares.
As far as Fujimori's health is concerned, medical sources say “he does not have an active cancer“, and that he suffers from “disorders normal for his age, but that none is life-threatening”, making it clear he is not terminal, which would render a request for a humanitarian pardon without merit.
Many social network users openly objected to the pardon, like Doc Holliday (@TheGunMan) [es] and Martha (@Marta_dm) [es] who tweeted:
Lo unico q digo es q si@Ollanta_HumalaT da indulto va a perder mucho apoyo empezando por mi. Cc @NadineHeredia #noalindulto
All I can say is that if @Ollanta_HumalaT grants the pardon, he's going to lose a lot of support, starting with me. Cc @NadineHeredia #noalindulto
Marco Silva Santisteban [es] writes on Facebook:
¿Crees que Fujimori pensó en la depresión y el dolor de  sus víctimas inocentes entre las que había un niño de ocho años?  Justicia no es venganza, indulto es impunidad..
Do you think Fujimori thought about the depression and pain of his innocent victims, one of whom was an eight year old child? Justice is not revenge, pardon is impunity.
Others openly expressed their support in favor of the pardon, like Sydney Fernández de Castro [es]:
Y así, el Poder Judicial se convirtió en Terrucos  Airlines. Ollanta, ahí está tu línea aérea de bandera. La Berenson de  vacaciones navideñas en New York (tremenda atea) y Mellado seguro  veraneando en Viña. Y calladitos los caviares.  Sí al indulto a  Fujimori!!!
And so, the judiciary became Terrucos (terrorists) Airlines. Ollanta, there's your national airline. Berenson gets a Christmas vacation in New York (tremendous atheist) and Mellado is surely summering in Viña.  And the “caviars” (translator note: leftist “burgeoisie”) say nothing. Yes to a pardon for Fujimori!
And Malumarket (@Malumarket) [es]:
Gracias Fujimori!!! Por haber logrado que podamos pasar la navidad sin terrucos, sin coches bomba y sin miedo!!#FujimoriLIBERTAD
Thank you Fujiromi!  For having achieved a Christmas without terrorists, without car bombs and without fear! #FujimoriLIBERTAD
It was even said that APRA was still aligned with Fujimori, and that APRA Congress members were negotiating their support of Humala in exchange for the pardon for their leader. Fujimorist congress members, led by Martha Chávez, denied that report [es].
But the rumors gained more strength after a known APRA jurist, Javier Valle Riestra (an ex prime minister for Fujimori, [es] in 1998) published an article about it and stated on local television that Fujmori should be released even if he was healthy: “…The pardon and amnesty would contribute to national peace(…) Fujimori could be an athlete and still should be released…”. [es]
Jurists and human rights activists argue that those convicted of crimes of the magnitude of those committed by Fujimori cannot avail themselves of pardons. The blogger Herbert Mujica [es] notes:
En el caso de Fujimori, no es solo una ley que prohíbe  el indulto por el delito de secuestro que ha sido condenado, sino dos.  La Ley 26478, promulgada por él mismo en 1995 antes de su condena; y la Ley 28760,  dada durante el gobierno de Alejandro Toledo. Ambas son leyes expresas  que la Comisión de Gracias Presidenciales debe acatar, salvo que sus 5  miembros quieran asumir su responsabilidad penal por encubrimiento  personal, delito previsto en el Artículo 404° del Código Penal. Igual  suerte correría el Presidente Ollanta si concede el indulto pese a todo,  violando leyes prohibitivas expresas. Su rol presidencial es  cumplirlas. La Constitución no le faculta violar las leyes aprobadas por  el Congreso y promulgadas por el mismo Presidente.
In the case of Fujimori, it isn't only one law that prohibits the pardon because of the crime of kidnapping for which he was convicted, but two. Law 26478, enacted by Fujimori himself in 1995 before his conviction; and Law 28760, enacted during Alejandro Toledo's government. Both laws specify that the Commission of Presidential Pardons must comply, unless its five members want to assume criminal responsibility for aiding and abetting, a crime under Article 404 of the Penal Code. This would apply as well if President Ollanta grants the pardon in spite of everything, violating laws expressly prohibiting it.  His presidential role is to follow them. The Constitution does not provide for violating laws passed by Congress and enacted by the President himself.
In the meantime, in spite of everything, some are showing their support of Fujimori, voting for him for “El Peruano del Año 2011” (Peruvian of the Year 2011) [es] on an online poll from a local radio station.
Prensa Alternativa (@PrensaAlterna) [es] tweets:
La defensa de los DDHH es la piedra angular de toda sociedad democratica.Quedarse callado es hacerle el juego al autoritarismo #NoAlIndulto
The defense of DDHH (human rights) is the cornerstone of a democratic society. To keep quiet is playing into authoritarianism. #NoAlIndulto
The impact and repercussions in public opinion have been so serious that even promoters of the pardon are starting to believe that it would be better to wait for a more favorable climate, [es] although a recent polls shows that 42% believe Fujimori should be pardoned (while 27% think he should continue to be imprisoned, and 26% think he should be given house arrest.)
Undoubtedly, this issue is not over and will last a long time, and Twitter user Omar (@omarzev) [es] predicts:
Nos espera una dura batalla contra el indulto a Fujimori #noalindulto

author: Isabel Guerra


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Singapore: Ministers to Take a Pay Cut · Global Voices
Kirsten Han

Singapore's government ministers are some of the highest paid in the world, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong famously earning more than Barack Obama, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy combined. Although the government has often defended the high salaries, saying that it attracts the best talent and prevents corruption, their pay packets have gained the resentment of many Singaporeans, further fueling accusations of the divide between the governing elite and the people.
High ministerial pay was a hot issue in the 2011 General Elections, and after the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won with their lowest vote share in history, Prime Miniser Lee convened a committee to review ministerial salaries. The committee has recently submitted their finished report to the prime minister, and a press conference was called on 4 January, 2012, to reveal the committee's recommendations to the public.
Unlike in the General and Presidential elections where efforts were made to engage with new media, news wires, online media and bloggers were not allowed to attend the press conference. Only local media – referring to Singapore's state-owned media organisations Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp – were invited.
@tocsg: MICA-approved local media (SPH, MediaCorp) are already at NKF building for the press conference for unveiling the ministerial salary report.
This move by the government raised questions and suspicions of media spin:
@vinyarb: how come no news on the ministerial salary yet ah? post con meeting to agree to what to write?
President Tony Tan Keng Yam
However, reports soon came out announcing recommendations of fairly hefty cuts – a 36% pay cut for the prime minister, and a 51% pay cut for the president, among other things.
Prime Minister Lee, who used to earn S$3 million (approximately US$2.3 million), will now earn about S$2.2 million (approximately US$1.7 million). The president, who used to earn more than the prime minister, will now earn less at about S$1.54 million (approximately US$1.2 million).
Although Singaporeans were pleased to hear that the government is set to accept these recommended cuts, many still noted that Singaporean leaders are still among the highest paid in the world. Netizens react using the #ministerpaycut hashtag
@mrbrown: Obama ruminates on the Singapore #ministerpaycut
@BeccaDBus: Hmm, no mention of cuts for MPs. Only ministers. Really? y'all think TPL is worth 15K monthly? really?
@qwm82: The fact that it is pegged to the top 1000 earners means that it is still seriously flawed #ministerpaycut
@RealSingaporean: After the #ministerpaycut, the easiest way to become a millionaire in Singapore, is still to join politics.
Some Singaporeans feel that on top of the pay cut, the attitude towards being in government should change.
@jiw3n: Paycut or not, you're elected by us to serve/ lead us. You don't do it for the money. You do it because you want to. #ministerpaycut

author: Kirsten Han


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Slovakia: Medical Doctors’ Protest · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

One of the most important Slovak events in 2011 was the protest of over 2,000 medical doctors employed by state hospitals; 1,200 of them (from the total of 6,500) temporarily cancelled their job contracts later. It was not the first such protest. Medical doctors had already been protesting in 2006, demanding a 25% wage raise and cancellation of the transformation of hospitals to (state-owned) stock companies.
In 2009, too, doctors were not satisfied with their wages. But the head of their trade union declared that in the time of crisis they wanted to be with the rest of the society. At the time of the emerging euro crisis of 2011 this solidarity was no longer there. That's why some people labeled their protest as political, even also the former Prime Minister asked them to not desert their patients.
Demanding 1.5-3 times of the country's average wage and adhering to labor laws to eliminate overtime work, doctors again requested to stop transforming hospitals: in their understanding, the transformation was a preparation for an imminent privatization. They were also afraid that it could harm professional training of medical students and young doctors.
The government offered them a smaller wage raise (300 euro per month on the average, which is comparable to the local minimal wage) and refused to stop the hospital reform, naming it a crucial step towards higher efficiency.
Katarína Ragáčová wrote an text [sk] about how she had lost her child during the 2006 protest, because of the inactivity of the hospital staff, noting that hers was the third child lost during that day.
According to some sources, over 20 percent of the country's doctors hold a second job in the private sector, which weakens the overtime claim of their protest. Also, 25 percent of the Slovak households have had experience with medical corruption, which means that the doctors’ actual income is often bigger than their official income. Asking for even more may appear immoral if you compare the doctors’ official monthly average salary of 1500 euro with the 770 euro a month that Slovakia's teachers are paid.
So it was not so surprising that the majority of the population interpreted the protesters’ demands as private interest and did not support the doctors’ protest.
At the beginning of December, the most radical group of some 1,200 doctors actually did quit their jobs. A state of emergency was declared in the affected hospitals, which temporarily made it possible to call the doctors back to work, against their will.
The trade unions recommended these doctors to visit their own doctors and declare inability to work because of tiredness and stress. The head of the union compared the help of 25 Czech army doctors to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact forces in 1968.
After a few days, the government and the trade union came to an agreement, which, among other things, allowed the doctors who had quit – and who immediately became healthy again – to return to their jobs.
The head of the union said that the lower negotiated wage growth (1.25-2.3 times the average wage) was proof that their requests were not just about the money. The PM claimed, however, that nearly all of the negotiations were about the wages.
The Association of Slovak Hospitals expressed its opinion that higher wages would bring collapse to the country's smaller hospitals. They believe it might happen a few weeks after the March 10 early parliamentary elections.
Below are some views [sk] translated from the discussion under the article on the outcome of the negotiations:
vlasok:
Congratulations to those doctors who held out until the end, despite the massive anti-campaign in the media, the incompetent minister and his strikebreakers
GeoRW:
It is especially necessary to say thank you to those unknown doctors who stayed with the patients. Probably the society will never know their names, but these are the noble heroes, not those who, despite the government's concessions, were willing to let patients die and achieved nothing but frustration and aversion to the medical profession in the society.
morgul2:
and now it's time for the teachers [to protest]
Yoishi Snipo:
And healthcare [quality] will further go down … and doctors will receive salaries that most of them do not deserve and patients will continue to die in hospitals, because doctors … did not receive [bribes] from them
praxon:
Doctors did not quit their jobs because their families are starving, but because they want more.
Kvantový mechanik:
I want some government to finally restore order in healthcare. It's clear that doctors will really squeal. The better measures for the patient, the more squealing by the Slovak physicians.
maico123:
The best would be to publish [the names of] the doctors who did not accept the previous government's compromise 300€ and who in the state of emergency declared [their] illness! I do not want such filth to treat people, because they do not care about patients but just about the money.
gomezbandido:
The government has been defeated and the taxpayers are losing with it … It is just a question of time until doctors do it again – they already know that the government and the public are weak.
nikonus:
Everything bad is good for something. I believe that most people will change their view on doctors and will stop perceiving them as some sort of a special caste. Pity that this will also affect the doctors who deserve the highest respect.
noreplay:
they will miraculously recover – it's enough to put 200 or 500 euro banknotes on their foreheads and all illnesses would be gone!
ufffffo:
I congratulate citizens of Slovakia. Doctors have saved their hospitals. Many citizens already understand this, many will understand later.

author: Tibor Blazko


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South Africa: Remembering Henry Nxumalo · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

M. Keita remembers Henry Nxumalo, the pioneer of undercover investigative journalism in South Africa: “Just over 55 years ago, on New Year's Eve 1957, trailblazing South African journalist Henry Nxumalo was murdered while investigating suspicious deaths at an abortion clinic in Sophiatown, a suburb west of Johannesburg.”


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UAE: Several Islamists’ Citizenships Revoked  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The UAE has revoked the citizenship of several Islamists. Sultan Al Qassemi has more in this blog post.


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Zambia: Meet Chibwe Katebe – Zambian Comedian · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Alumanda Shakankale blogs about Zambia's leading stand-up comedian: “Finalist in the MNET talent show “Stand up Zambia” Chibwe is no stranger in the international spotlight. He has performed at different forums locally and internationally.”


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Africa: 2012: Africa’s Election Trail · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jemilla looks at Africa's election trail in 2012: “Youssou Ndour – world renowned Senegalese musician – just announced his candidature for Senegal's presidential election on February 26, 2012! I'll admit, the first person I thought of when I read the news was Wyclef Jean who put in a similar bid for Haiti's presidential seat in 2010.”


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Africa: Recapping Mighty African’s 2011 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mighty Africa blogs about his highlights and lowlights in 2011: “After 10 years in the USA, I returned home to Ghana. I abandoned my dream of going home with the US’ money, the lure of creating impact in Ghana was too large. And I could make money doing it. The time had come.”


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Bolivia: Netizens Defend Blogger’s Creative Commons Licensed Work · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Netizens are speaking out against website elSistema [es] for copyrighting a post by blogger Pablo Rivero which he had published under a Creative Commons license in his personal blog [es]. Mario Duran Chuquimia is covering the issue in his blog [es] and through his Facebook account [es].


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Brazil: Domestic Work in Transition · Global Voices
Luis Henrique

Discussing GDP and interest rates is not enough to apprehend the profound changes that Brazilian society has been facing recently. New trends in the social fabric are emerging and citizen media has been keeping track of them.
One such example is domestic work. During 2011, the subject came up as a debate around social inclusion, bad work conditions, social hierarchies, gender issues and empowerment.
New trends
Social inclusion seems to be a key element to many of the changes. Research [pt] by Instituto Data Popular has put into perspective the rise of the ‘C Class’, “the new middle class” – a social group that has taken advantage of more access to education, revenue increase and social programs. Now finally seen as a relevant market niche, this is the reason why many companies are interested in understanding this group's characteristics.
Untitled (Performance documentation). Painting by Ana Teresa Fernandez, used with permission.
The research has identified empowerment trends in women's career profiles; in comparison with the previous generation, the number of women involved with domestic work has decreased by a half as they pursue other employment options concerning their own career development.
Marketing consultant Luiz Marinho, on his blog presented [pt] some data that reflects this process: in the last nine years, the number of domestic workers has only increased 9% while the population has had a 13.5% growth. Domestic workers’ rising wages are also influenced by this fact.
To put that in numbers, Espinho no dedo (Thorn in the finger) [pt], a blog on philoshphy and politics, has replicated data published in an article on the matter by BBC Brasil: while the Brazilian average went up by 25%, the domestic worker got a 43.5% wage increase in the same period.
It is important to take into consideration that the issue of domestic work in Brazil goes far beyond a market approach to the matter. There are many social and cultural traits linked to the role of domestic workers, their self-esteem, their rights as workers, and also prejudice and gender issues.
Social transformation
Cristina P. Rodrigues, on the blog Somos Andando (We are walking) [pt], wrote some reflections about a recent article by The Economist, regarding domestic work in Brazil, saying that Brazil, in a way, is freeing its domestic workers as part of a process of social transformation in which the poor will not abide by the rich's rules anymore.
Comba Marques Porto, on Consciência feminista (Feminist conscience) [pt], argues that the home, where the most intimate interpersonal relations take place, is also the stage where subtle gender discrimination occurs. Since the beginning of Brazilian history, domestic duties were always responsibility of women, “a patriarchal heritage that made its way into modern times, setting inequalities incompatible with the new democratic ways”:
A figura da criada chega aos meados do século XX pela permanência do modelo de desmedida exploração da força de trabalho no âmbito doméstico. Segue-se, assim, uma constante de tratamentos desiguais, de descumprimento das leis, fatos somente explicáveis pelo desvalor conferido ao trabalho nos setores do mercado em que há concentração da mão de obra feminina.
The role of the maidservant [role played by slaves during slavery times] reached the mid-20th century due to the continued exploitation of domestic workers. What followed was a default pattern of unequal treatment, not abiding by the laws, facts that can only be explained by the undervalued character of those tasks in a market with predominance of female workers.
In a post for a blogging carnival on domestic work, journalist Luka adds that [pt] domestic work is invisible and somewhat marginalized, usually performed by women due to a gender division of work in which it's the role of women to care for the private space and the families. She wonders if that is not a reason why this type of employment is so precarious.
Michell Niero, in O Patifúndio [pt], comments on the “maid´s little room”, still present in modern residential buildings.
A presença do “quartinho de empregada” nas plantas residenciais, longe de ser tratada como um aspecto “atrasado” da sociedade do país, representa um dentre tantos elementos formadores da modernidade brasileira, avessa a rupturas e adepta a repaginações de processos que se mantém inalterados na sua essência.
Untitled (Performance documentation at San Diego/Tijuana border). Painting by Ana Teresa Fernandez, used with permission.
Even today, there is much evidence of a persistent clash in the relations between domestic workers and those who hire them. Michell Niero, in O Patifúndio [pt] talks about the multitasking nature of domestic work, one that leads to  the incorporation  of extra activities with no concern about the limits  of the worker's contract, because usually such a contract doesn't  formally exist. So, taking care of the children, educating and  entertaining them, all become part of the daily routine.
Na ausência da mãe, a empregada se ocupa de tarefas maternas (…)
That is apparently the case of the blogger behind Sem Empregada (Living without a maid) [pt], who explains why she misses her maid:
Às vésperas de completar quatro anos sem empregada, pela primeira vez, estou cogitando voltar a ter uma na minha vida… as meninas estão em recuperação no colégio, com perigo real de repetir de ano (…). Um absurdo. Eu e meu marido estamos nos perguntando se isso tudo não está acontecendo porque não tem ninguém dentro de casa para cobrar horário de estudo, fiscalizar se estão na internet ou vendo televisão.
Revelar-se (Unfold) [pt] complains:
E então que, logo que me mudei, minha querida funcionária me pediu demissão com um bilhete na geladeira. Sim, um bilhete!!! E ela saiu da minha casa em uma 2a feira à tarde deixando louça na pia, uma pilha de roupa pra lavar e passar.
Writer and translator Maria do Sol, on the blog Família Floresta (Forest family) [pt] says that counting on the services of a domestic worker holds an element of glamour, the idea of being free to enjoy life and family without getting too involved with routine tasks. But she reminds herself and the readers that is an ideal and far from reality.
Jeanne Callegari on the blog Blogueiras Feministas (Feminist bloggers) [pt] presents an alternative approach to a future without domestic workers: acknowledge that counting on a domestic worker is a privilege that tends to disappear and start taking care of your stuff, “and it's good that it goes that way”.

author: Luis Henrique


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Central America: LibreBus Project Presents its Documentary · Global Voices
Jenny Cascante Gonzalez

Several months have passed since the LibreBus [es] collective project traveled across the streets of five different Central America countries looking for free culture and knowledge sharing enthusiasts.
As Jane Park explained in October, 2011:
Librebus, a project inspired by  Free Culture principles, consisted of a regional tour spanning most of  May of this year [2011] to explore Central American shared culture and digital  communities. Twenty-seven “librenautas” [free navigators] with different nationalities,  backgrounds and skills, from the free software community, Creative  Commons chapters, freedom of speech activists and natural commons  experts, shared their “open” knowledge with others in a variety of  activities, from roundtables to public data hackathons and the first  Central American CC Salon in Guatemala.
Conversations were held in each city with representatives of diverse communities that promote the use of information technology and communication. LibreBus ‘free navigators’ also organized meetings with digital natives whose contributions complemented to the discussion on free software and the defense of freedom of speech and content sharing.
Musicians, artists and users in general were able to learn about the cultural commons licenses. Also, participants had the opportunity to learn about the development of knowledge and technological constraints that farmers face in the region because of the legislation and use of transgenic seeds.
A documentary [es] showing the different interactions that took place during the tour through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, is now available online. The organizers are open to arranging a similar tour in the future, under the same flag: free collective knowledge.
These are some extracts from the documentary:
El 16 de mayo de 2011 LibreBus dejó de ser un viaje por Centroamérica para convertirse en un compromiso.
LibreBus leaving Honduras. Image by Flickr user LibreBus (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
24 personas subieron y bajaron en el trayecto pero son muchos más los que comparten la filosofía de ser librenauta.
Ser librenauta es seguir un camino: el del conocimiento libre para todos y todas.
Information on presentations related to free software, photographs of the trip, and posts published by some participants can be found on the LibreBus [es] website. You can also follow the project on Twitter @Librebus [es] and Facebook [es].

author: Jenny Cascante Gonzalez


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China 2011: From Jasmine Crackdowns to Grassroots Uprisings · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

2011 began with a series of crackdowns by the Chinese authorities to prevent the Arab Jasmine Revolution from landing in mainland China. It ended with a series of uprisings in grassroots communities where people have been devastated by corrupt local governments and illegal land acquisitions.
Jasmine crackdowns
The Jasmine uprising in the Arab world has reminded the Chinese people of their own political history in fighting against authoritarian rule. The downfall of Mubarak in Egypt has of course alerted the illegitimate authoritarian regime in China.
Without confronting any real threat, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started off the year with a heavy-handed crackdown, targeting online opinion leaders and human rights activists in February 2011. Amongst them are blogger-activist Liu Di, prominent artist-activist Ai Weiwei, Sichuan writer Ran Yunfei, Shanghai lawyer Li Tiantian, Sichuan legal activist Li Shuangde and Beijing activist Wang Lihong.
Christian Bale, image from Weibo
Even though the atmosphere has been tense, info-activists continued to campaign for all the political detainees. The Free Chen Guangcheng campaign has been ongoing for months since September 2011, and the most recent development was actor-activist Christian Bale's rough encounter with village guards when he attempted to pay Chen a visit.
Grassroots conflicts
Social conflicts kept bursting in on the grassroots communities throughout 2011. The first case at the beginning of the year was the citizen investigation of the suspected murder of Qian Yunhui, a village head in Zhejiang province who opposed forced land acquisitions in Yueqing county. While official investigation concluded it as an accident, many netizens believed that it was a murder as the county government has too much embedded interests in the developmental projects.
While rural areas were ruined by land seizure, urban areas were threatened by property bubbles. The majority of city dwellers believed that the government should introduce policy to cool down the property market. They displayed their anger towards the unrealistic Communist Party propaganda, which claimed that generous rental subsidies are available to help low-income families in Beijing.
Instead of helping the poor, many cities have adopted the policy to clear the “unwanted” people. The income disparity and social injustice has resulted in bitter resentment among the “unwanted” poor towards the rich and the government officials.
Netizens’ reactions on the murder case of Yao Jiaxin reflected the popular feeling. Taxi drivers were among the first social groups to taste the effect of inflation on their living. On the other hand, as the society became more unstable and the economy was taking a downturn, the rich fled, bosses run away and civil servants committed suicides.
Children are the most vulnerable social group in such an unjust society. In the rural areas, 58 million children have been left behind by their parents, who went to the cities in search of jobs. Many became the victims of kidnapping. Most terribly, child rapists are protected by the “underage prostitution law”.
Food safety remains an unresolved problem. Poisonous milk scandals kept popping up throughout the year. Mainland Chinese crossing the border for milk powder has resulted in a shortage in Hong Kong. When Japan was facing a nuclear radiation crisis after the earthquake, Chinese people's immediate response was the panic buying of sea salt. However, the impact of radiation is probably less than that of the chemicals found in watermelons and vinegar.
Overdevelopment and uprisings
Many of the grassroots conflicts were the results of unrestrained development. The impact of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the country's environment is yet to be evaluated.
Thousands of people blocked the entrance of an express road. Photos widely circulated in Weibo.
In August, a large scale not-in-my-backyard mobilization took place in Dalian and the local government was forced to accept residents’ demand to relocate a chemical factory. The year ended with two successful uprisings in Guangdong province at Wukan and Haimen. Both were against major developmental projects which generated profit by seizing people's land.
China Model
On one hand, the Chinese authority is very proud of the rise of China as a strong nation. A number of movies, such as Beginning of the Great Revival, have been produced to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the CCP.
On the other hand, in order to confront social and political discontents without harsh repressions, the CCP tries to explore different governance models to solve its legitimacy crisis. Some scholars advocated the restoration of Confucianism as the state ideology.
The CCP is unwilling to give up its one-party dictatorship model and introduce political reform. It prefers brainwashing education and red propaganda rather than rational change of the political process, and depends on the stability machine for maintaining social and political order. Thus, rights defense actions were taken as insane, independent candidates’ campaigns in local elections were suppressed, micro-blogging platforms were under attack, and activists were subject to daily monitoring.
The China Model seemed to have entered Hong Kong with the visit of China's future premier Li Keqiang in August 2011. It is the first time in the city's history that a citizen was arrested for wearing a political T-shirt.
Geopolitics
The costly space race tells Chinese people and the world that the nation is on the rise. Yet in terms of international politics, some scholars believe that China is being boxed-in geopolitically. The Mekong river massacre and the U.S diplomatic strategy in Asia Pacific have alerted the nationalists of China's marginalized diplomatic position in the world.
However, the imaginary enemy game can  never solve the internal social conflicts. Even though some intellectuals may find another revolution too remote and unrealistic, democracy and freedom have definitely become an aspiration of the commons in the year of the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution.


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Cuba: State of the Blogosphere  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Regina Coulya takes issue with blog graphs that do not paint an authentic picture of the Cuban blogosphere, saying: “The lack of real spaces (not virtual) to freely issue an opinion independent of the government, has resulted in the polarization of the most visible blogs made in Cuba. They reflect the social dichotomy that runs like an underground river. And attacks do nothing to establish what we need which is a culture of dialogue.”


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El Salvador: Blogger Challenges Youth to Transform Country · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Fernando Marroquin says [es] youth in El Salvador talk too much -about politics, governance, etc.– but do too little or nothing to change the situation: “We don't act, we are spectators with bad seats”. He concludes his post by challenging other young Salvadorans to join him in taking action to transform the country.


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Ghana: Help Fundraise for Quadriplegic  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gayle asks friends, visitors, readers to help fundraise for quadriplegic in Ghana: “We know many of you support worthy causes, especially if you are connected with Ghana already. However, we're hoping you may be able to help out supporting our brother (literally).”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Iraq: 162,000 People Killed · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Mojo says about 162,000 people were killed in Iraq up to the end of last year (2011). They include 114,212 civilians, according to Iraq Body Count, an anti-war group. Click here for the details.


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Jamaica: Portia in Power  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica Salt says of the outcome of the recent national elections: “It’s not surprising she won after the debacle of the one term Bruce Golding JLP government”, while B.C. Pires quips that God is the new Jamaican Prime Minister.


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Kenya: When History Caught Up With Kenyan Lawyer · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

John Kamau says that history has caught up with Nancy Baraza, the Kenyan lawyer who wants to be deputy chief justice: “History caught up with Nancy Baraza this week. It will soon catch up with many others aspiring for high office.”


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Nigeria: Protests, Fuel Subsidy Removal and the Role of Social Media · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Victoria discusses protests, fuel subsidy removal and the role of social media in Nigeria: “Follow #occupynigeria for just a couple minutes and you'll see precisely what I'm talking about — in a highly mobile country of more than 150 million, tweets are coming in so fast at times its almost impossible to keep up with the conversation.”


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Philippines: Ailing Economy Welcomes 2012 · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Jose Carlos Maningat calls for a rethinking of the ailing Philippine economy come 2012: “For a change, can we also discuss social justice? Can we move forward to pressing concerns on food sovereignty, corporate land-grabbing and resource plunder?”

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Philippines: Vacation at Camiguin · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

I Wander goes to vacation in the southern Philippine island of Camiguin, “also known as the “island of fire” due to the presence of not one, or two but seven volcanoes in just 230 square kilometers of land!”


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Puerto Rico: Emigration Nation?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Over a 6-year period, covering 2005 to 2010, more than 178,000 of My Brethren left Our Island, a reported 28,000 in 2010 alone”: Gil the Jenius wonders “what…this historic reversal of Our population dynamic mean[s].”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Russia: Demographic Crisis Means “No One Left To Draft” · Global Voices
Donna Welles

Russia is endowed with some of the greatest stores of natural resources in the world, and yet the demographic crisis that has plagued the country since the fall of the Soviet Union may leave Russia with no youth to defend their homeland.
The total life expectancy of Russia is #161 in the world, which places it behind Belarus, North Korea, and Mongolia, whereas Russia's total fertility rate is 196th in the world. Currently there are about 138 million people in Russia and many believe that if that number falls near or below 100 million, Russia will not be able to function as an industrialized nation.
In Nov. 2011, War News Update Blog posted an article from RIA Novosti entitled “Russian Military Has ‘No One Left To Draft'”:
Russia has no conscript-age young men left to recruit, Russia's chief of the General Staff complained on Thursday.
The current conscript service crisis in the Russian Armed Forces is mainly due to demographic decline, bullying and brutal treatment of conscripts.
General Nikolai Makarov said only 11.7% of young men aged 18-27 were eligible for the army service but 60% of them had health problems and could not be drafted under law.
A Russian Naval Honor Guard welcomes Navy. Adm. Mike Mullen to St. Petersburg, Russia on May 6, 2011. (Department of Defense photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released/CC BY 2.0)
Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences Blog posted an abstract and an introduction to a paper written by Christopher Hoeppler of McMaster University, which discussed how the fall of the Soviet Union has effected Russia's population:
The Russian Federation experienced a surge in death rates of almost 40 percent since 1992, with numbers rising from 11 to 15.5 per thousand […]. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought with it many social, political, and economic changes that continue to affect Russia to this day. Although all countries progress along the demographic transition model differently, general trends are shown. Nonetheless, Russia appears to be experiencing a unique transition of its own. Each country experiences population decline for varying reasons, such as disease diffusion as experienced by Africa with the AIDS epidemic; others can be caused by societal advancements that lead to lower fertility rates.
Population decline was evident in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, which is why it serves as an interesting case study. On the surface it is counterintuitive that the state of the country would worsen after the fall of the communist party; however it is likely that political turmoil was responsible for the onset of the demographic problem in Russia. A number of factors including economic, lifestyle, health care, and disease incidence have contributed to Russia's decrease in population. […]
Al Fin Blog contextualized several periodicals in a Nov. 2011 post entitled, “A Steady Loss of Talent Makes Russia's Demographic Collapse Worse”:
Beautiful young Russian women compete to be mail order brides for European, North American, and Australian men. Ambitious and competent young Russian men compete for overseas positions — anything to escape the dreary dead-end that Russia has come to represent to so many of its young.
One quote from The Moscow News put the emigration in its historical context:
Russia has not seen anything like it since 1917, Newsru.com reported. Over 1.25 million people have left in the last 10 years, the news portal reported. “The country is hemorrhaging intellectual potential,” Newsru.com cited political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin as saying. “The most active, the cleverest and the most mobile are leaving.”
Another quote came from World Crunch, which talked about how specifically people who possess a high level of human capital are leaving Russia:
Not for the first time, Russian scientists are taking their considerable knowledge and moving abroad. Some of the brainy emigrants cite funding problems and Russian red tape as reasons to move. For others, heading West is simply a lifestyle choice.
…Russian graduate students prefer just about any small, unknown laboratory in Europe over the brand-new Russian scientific complex [Skolkovo]. “A stable trend has been established: 100% of working young people who get the opportunity to work abroad leave Russia,” said one scientific analyst. “If a young researcher gets the opportunity to enter the international arena, he or she will do it.”
Indeed, the trend extends beyond scientists. In October, 2011, a survey found that 22% of Russian citizens in general were prepared to leave the country. The only thing that sets the scientists apart is that they tend to be much more welcome by the receiving countries. “It’s not even really about the lack of financing for scientific projects, but general quality of life,” said one of the scientists. “If regular people are not coming back to Russia, then why would scientists do so?”
Global Economy Matters Blog argued that some of the efforts made by the Russian government to address these demographic issues have been successful, quoting a Population Reference Bureau article in May 2011:
Back in 2000, Russia achieved what Russians consider a dubious milestone, deaths (2,225,300) outnumbered births (1,266,800) by an astounding 958,500. The crude birth rate had sunk to 8.7 births per 1,000 population. Along with a crude death rate of 15.3, natural increase hit an all-time low of –6.6 per 1,000, or –0.7 percent rounded off. The total fertility rate (TFR) bottomed out at 1.195 children per woman. The crisis, as it was seen to be, was definitely noticed, but nothing really effective was done until 2007 when Vladimir Putin announced a baby bonus of the equivalent of $9,000 for second and further births. Putin has been an outspoken advocate for raising the birth rate and improving health conditions in order to avoid the consequences of sustained very low fertility. The program must have worked since births in 2007 jumped to 1,610,100 from 1,479,600 the previous year and have rising ever since. This is one of the very few “success stories” in the industrialized countries’ efforts to raise the birth rate.
Some groups advocate a societal approach to curtailing population decline rather than a governmental one. International Religious Organizations have taken notice of Russia's demographic problems and have integrated them into their worldwide campaign against abortion, as illustrated by a United Families International Aug 2011 post:
“Mother Russia” is experiencing an unprecedented decline in population.  In the last 20 years, it is estimated that an astounding 80 million unborn Russian children have been aborted.  On average, a Russian woman over the course of her reproductive life will have seven abortions.
Combing that high abortion rate with a fertility rate of 1.2 (a fertility rate of 2.1 is needed for replacement of population), Russia stands to lose over one-third of its population every generation. “We’re losing almost three quarters of a million people every year,” said Alexey Komov, chairman of the Moscow Demographic Summit that was held this last June.
The post included a video produced by the Population Research Institute, which argued that government programs aimed at curtailing demographic decline date back to Caesar Augustus of Rome, but that all such programs invariably fail:
Ultimately it’s a matter of faith and spirit that determines how many children people decide to have,” said Phillip Longman, lecturer and author of The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity.  “That’s not something the government can really do. That’s something society can do.

author: Donna Welles


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Rwanda: How Free Eggs Affected Farmers · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A View From the Cave explains how free eggs for communities in Kigali, Rwanda from a church in Atlanta affected farmers: “However, the influx of eggs meant that prices suddenly dropped due to large supply of freely distributed eggs.  Farmers who sold eggs in the market could no longer compete…”


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Southeast Asia: The Great Floods of 2011 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.
Storms battered the Southeast Asian region in 2011, which caused heavy flooding in many countries, displaced thousands of residents and workers, destroyed millions worth of agricultural crops, and killed more than 2,000 people. Global Voices was able to report the impact of some of these flood disasters in the past year.
Thailand
Heavy rains inundated many provinces of Thailand for several months. The flooding was the worst to hit the country in the past 50 years. Dams overflowed, industrial estates were flooded, and thousands of residents were trapped in their homes. Many towns, including parts of Bangkok, became ‘waterworlds’ for several weeks.
Flooded temple. Photo from Pailin C
Global Voices featured the mapping tools and other disaster monitoring platforms used during the floods. We also highlighted the role of social media in spreading awareness, but also confusion, during the disaster, as well as the inventive ways of people as they coped with the floods.
Saksith Saiyasombut recalls the early signs of this flooding disaster:
790.
This is the current death toll of what has been described as the “worst floods in decades“. Floods are an annual occurrence in Thailand during the rainy season. When the water was sweeping through Chiang Mai already back in late September, this natural disaster was somehow going to be different. But it took some considerable time, despite the unprecedented damage it has created in Ayutthaya to the ancient temples and the vital industrial parks, until the capital was drowned in fear of what was to come.
This animated video about the Thailand flooding went viral meanwhile:
Philippines
Next to Thailand, the Philippines suffered the most from flooding. But the number of casualties is higher in the Philippines. A state of national calamity was declared by the president after tropical storm Sendong (international name: Washi) devastated many parts of north Mindanao Island, located in the southern part of the country.
According to the government, more than 1,400 people died and 1,000 more are still missing after Sendong triggered flashfloods in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan last month.
Flood victims have utilized Facebook to help search for their missing loved ones. Photos and profiles of missing relatives and friends continue to be posted online. Blogs and social media networks have also been used to mobilize assistance for relief operations.
An unprecedented flooding disaster also hit Davao City last June. Many were unprepared when the floods swept the town since Davao is located in a supposedly typhoon-free zone.
Overview of flood impact. Photo from Tony Alejo
Cambodia
While Thailand’s flooding nightmare was widely reported in the global news, Cambodia’s flooding woes were not highlighted. But the flooding which hit the country last year was the worst in a decade.
Last October, Global Voices reported the extent of flood damage in Cambodia: 400,000 hectares of rice paddies were flooded, over 250,000 hectares of rice crops were completely lost, 3,000 kilometers of road infrastructures were destroyed, 300-400 kilometers of dams were damaged, over 247 were killed, more than 1,000 schools were flooded, the estimated loss could cost Cambodia over $400 million.
But aside from flood warnings, authorities and media networks in Cambodia and Thailand also published crocodile alerts to remind the people to watch out for crocodiles which escaped from flooded parks and farms.
Meanwhile, Singapore also experienced some flooding last year but authorities used the word ‘ponding’ instead of flooding to describe the situation in the city.
Aside from floods, there were other natural disasters that hit the region. A 6.8 earthquake hit northeast Myanmar on March 24 which was felt in nearby Thailand and as far away as Vietnam and China. The quake killed at least 70 people and destroyed more than 240 buildings in Myanmar alone.
Flood hashtags: #thaiflood, #bkkflood, #thaifloodeng, #sendong, #prayformindanao
This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.

author: Mong Palatino


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Trinidad & Tobago: Culture of Corruption · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Upon hearing news that the country may be about to embark upon a massive public sector investment program, aka_lol says: “I don’t expect the Government to be able to spend 24 billion in 2012 unless the wheels of the economy are greased with corruption. That is how things work in our country.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Oath of Office  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Afra Raymond reports that “the former Minister of Finance…is once again in the news, due to her dispute with the Integrity Commission as well as her expected testimony at the next session of the Colman Commission.”


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Argentina: Netizens React to Increase in Subway Price · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Argentine Post reports: “Subway ticket prices more than doubled today [January 6] to 2.50 pesos (58 US cents) from 1.10 previously. The increase comes just days after the federal government turned over  management of the subway system to the City of Buenos Aires.” iProfesional gathers some Twitter reactions [es], while Fabio analyses the issue extensively in his blog [es].

author: Silvia Viñas


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Bahamas: Storytelling  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A Global Voices post gets Womanish Words “thinking about stories, how powerful they are, how the act of telling them is also incredibly powerful.”


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Bolivia: Site Removes Blogger’s Posts and Apologizes · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Website elSistema has issued a public apology [es] on their Facebook page after copyrighting blogger Pablo Rivero's posts that were originally published in his blog under a Creative Commons license. The site also removed the content. Pablo explains his position and shares his final comments on the incident in his blog [es].


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Cuba: The Justice System · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Laritza Diversent reports on the trial of the former policemen who killed a black teen for stealing fruit from a tree.


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Cuba: Tradition of the Three Kings · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I know we've been exiled for 50 years now, but some traditions we still keep. Even if they are now mostly just as a nod to our heritage”: My big, fat, Cuban family and babalu celebrate Three Kings Day.


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Egypt: Revolutionary Stencils  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Flickr, evianoo shares those revolutionary stencils.


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Global Voices Most Read Posts in 2011 · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.
Our top 20 list of most read posts on Global Voices for 2011 includes four from Japan, three from Egypt, and two from the Philippines. But only one story is about a giant crocodile!
It's been an incredible year for the reach and recognition of citizen media around the world, and that means Global Voices is no longer as lonely a media voice when it comes to reporting tweets and blog posts. Still, where mainstream media interest wanes, we're the ones who strive to continue documenting what local bloggers everywhere need the world to know.
Self Defence Forces arrive at the scene of the tsunami in Japan. Image by cosmobot, copyright Demotix (13/03/11).
Some of our proudest moments of 2011 will never be reflected on a top 20 list like the one below. This year we exceeded 500 active volunteer authors and translators of countless languages and countries, and we've published more than 2,600 long posts and 6,300 short ones in English alone.
Inevitably, many of the stories that don't get as wide a readership as they deserve are from countries that tend to be overlooked in international media. Unique coverage from across Africa, the Caucasus, Macedonia, the Russian language Internet, Latin America and indigenous rights are among some of the highlights. See the 2011 regional reviews by our editors and authors for a glance of what you may have missed.
Our Middle East and North Africa team deserves special mention this year. Throughout protests, blackouts, threats, they have managed to pull though and keep writing. The bloody images still proliferate, but our authors seek out constructive voices and angles for dialogue. So often, they've shared local humor and context that is difficult to appreciate from abroad without a guide.
Perhaps for the first time ever, China doesn't figure on our top 20 list of the year. These are particularly chilling times to blog about controversial subjects – something Global Voices authors in many other countries unfortunately also experience. This makes the stories that do come from anywhere free speech is frowned on even more precious.
Most read posts on Global Voices in 2011
Our most visited special coverage pages were:
In 2011 the world has learned more about the transformative power of online citizen media. We believe the best way to support these emerging voices on a global scale is to listen. Thanks for reading Global Voices! And please consider supporting our work with a donation.
This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

author: Solana Larsen


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Governments Need to Act with ‘CARE’ to Protect Human Rights Online · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Argentine academic and blogger Eduardo Bertoni answers the question, “What can governments do to protect human rights online?” with an acronym: “governments should act with CARE.  This means that governments should Coordinate their policies with other countries; Apply international human rights standards, especially freedom of expression ones; Regulate the Internet with responsibility; and take into account the Economic impact of their policies.”


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Hungary: Memories of Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Twenty-eight young Roma people came together in August 2011 for the first ever Roma Pride Summer Camp where they learned about their language, history, role models and achievements, in an effort to build their sense of civic duty and social responsibility.
The Roma people are Europe's largest minority, suffering from illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and discrimination. The Open Society Institute decided to strengthen their outreach efforts with the Roma community beyond the  scholarships, internships and training opportunities they've been facilitating.  They had found that the benefits for these young Roma were not being reflected in the rest of the Roma community:
Too many young Roma today do know enough about their own history, achievements, and identity to develop a sense of pride regarding their heritage. Few schools currently teach Roma history and language. On top of this, mainstream society—supported by the educational system—focuses on assimilation, denying young Roma the opportunity to explore their own ethnicity and creating an environment that rewards them for suppressing their heritage. It has to be mentioned that pride does not come only with knowing your language and history but also knowing other people you can identify yourself with. Outside of their families and communities, many young Roma do not often have many Roma role models to look up to. This is also a big reason why many of them are not part of the Roma cause.
So they brought about the Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp in Budapest, where 28 former beneficiaries of their programs came together to learn about each other, about their differences and similarities as Roma youth from across borders and nations. This next video shows an overview of the Summer Camp and interviews with participants who explain what impact the camp had for them:
Barvalipe participant Alina Serban was interviewed in RomaWoman.org where she explained why the experience was so important for her: it brought together so many different people who also happen to be Roma. That is what being Roma is about for her, not just one single identity, not one single stereotype:
Violeta Naydenova is the program coordinator for Open Society Foundations Roma Initiatives and was the Barvalipe camp director. She described the impact of one of the summer camp's activities where the 20 Euro camp fee the participants had to pay was used to buy sewing machines for a charity serving Roma women and children as well as school supplies for an impoverished community:
I was honored to read in their camp evaluations that this action was one of the most liked, following the Roma history and language classes, debate sessions, and trip to Auschwitz. It proved that once people are given the possibility to learn about their heritage many people embrace it, like it, and feel proud about it.


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Jamaica: “Official” Languages · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Under the Saltire Flag is proud of the job his uncle has done as Chairman of Jamaica’s electoral committee, following the country's recent general elections, noting that he “made one unfortunate comment leading up to the elections. He said that all electoral officers should speak ONLY in English”. The blogger explains: “I think it is both sad and utterly ironic, that in our most democratic moment, some Jamaicans were not allowed to speak in their most demotic language.”


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Nepal: Not a Territory of India! · Global Voices
Pradeep Singh

…not to forget the Nepal territory because Nepal territory is also a part of India…
A recent remark by a moderator of an Indian TV channel had outraged many Nepalis who vented their reactions on different social networking sites. In a movie review show ETC Bollywood Business anchor and movie analyst Komal Nahta made a statement that Nepal is also part of India while explaining the box office collection for the blockbuster Bollywood movie DON 2.
The video on YouTube posted below also follows a clarification statement by ETC networks on the statement made by Mr. Nahta:
It became a much talked issue on social networks this week and has once again fuelled debate on Nepal-India relations.
As matters got intense online, especially on Twitter mentioning Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) while discussing his statement, he had to tweet a clarification article and also had to write a convincing blog post by holding his same values.
It was surprising that Komal did not regret his statement on his blog post. Rather to justify his point, he further claimed those who made such statements were just irate citizens and hardly knew about his business point. He further added:
Probably, most of the Nepali citizens who created a controversy where none existed, weren’t even aware that Nepal is, in fact, counted as part of India for the express purpose of counting the domestic shares of Bollywood films.
His attitude in responding to others’ tweets was also questionable.
Lex Limbu writes:
When I heard that, I felt uneasy as well. But then I wondered why a grown man, who surely is educated would say such a nothing. After fishing for clarifications Komal Nahta took to twitter and justified himself [..]. Fair enough, maybe he did have a point for saying that, but it's annoying now that the millions of geographically challenged Indian viewers will now think that Nepal is actually a territory of India (oh no).
It was not just blog posts and website articles on the issues; some YouTube videos were also made against the reporter’s statement. Watch this episode on the topic:
http://youtu.be/xI9BeNHH2_g
This is not the first time that such a controversy has aroused Nepalis to speak against it. In 1998, Madhuri Dixit, popular Bollywood actor had to apologise when she said that Nepal was once a part of India. Again in 2000, Hrithik Roshan, another Bollywood actor had to clarify that he had never stated that he hated Nepal and its people.
The Hrithik and Madhuri's case was also covered by BBC News saying, “Movie theatres across Nepal have suspended screening Indian films after an alleged anti-Nepal slur by a Bollywood star.”
Recently in a comedy show Stephen Colbert made fun of Nepali identity and culture, which had aroused similar discussions on social media.
I commented in my own blog post:
My view on the topic is that be it film business calculations or industry norm or whatever, it is indeed a blasphemous error. If it’s industry norms, the reporter should have mentioned that clearly in his show.

author: Pradeep Singh


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Nepal: Outcome Of The 17th SAARC Summit · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chandan Sapkota analyzes the outcome of the seventeenth summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which was held in November 2011 in the Maldives.


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Occupy Wall Street Demands Release of the South Korean President’s Vocal Critic  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

The OWS (Occupy Wall Street) set up a special Facebook page calling for the release of Chung Bong-ju who was jailed for raising allegations against the South Korean President. Mr. Chung is also the host of Naggomsu, the nation's most popular podcast lampooning the president and the ruling party.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Pakistan: Jamat-ud-Dawa – Pakistan’s Own God’s Army · Global Voices
Rezwan

Salman Latif warns about the activities of banned extremist outfit Jamat-ud-Dawa, which is fueling anti-Indian sentiments in Pakistan.


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Pakistan: One Year After Salmaan Taseer’s Murder · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pak Tea House explains how Salman Taseer's murder has woken up Pakistanis and a lot of concern and awareness about the minorities and finding justice is evident after one year.