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Too Late for Jamaican Government to ‘Kiss and Make Up’ When It Comes to Chikungunya · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A man from the Dominican Republic bows his head as a child walks into a hospital for treatment. The disease has spread quickly Caribbean-wide. Photo courtesy the Pan American Health Organisation, used under a CC BY-ND 2.0 license.
As Chikungunya, a mosquito-born virus that causes high fever and acute joint pain, continues to run rampant throughout the Caribbean, regional governments have been grappling with how to deal with the outbreak.
In Jamaica, where the number of Chik-V cases is steadily climbing, the People's National Party, under the leadership of Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, has been coming under fire for letting the situation get out of hand and not being prepared for the fallout. This week, Simpson-Miller said that the country is in the midst of a “national emergency” because of the Chik-V outbreak.
Carolyn Joy Cooper, who blogs at Jamaica Woman Tongue, was irate over the ineffective way in which the Jamaican government has dealt with the situation. The Ministry of Health has not done much in the way of educating the public about the virus and how it is spread; laboratories are running out of reagents to test for the disease and hospitals do not always seem to have access to the medicine needed to treat it.
Cooper noted that “almost a year ago, in December 2013, the World Health Organisation reported that chik-V was in the Caribbean” and wondered why the country's Ministry of Health has been reactive, when it had every opportunity to be proactive:
Even before that, the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) jointly published in 2011 a vital document, Preparedness and Response for Chikungunya Virus Introduction in the Americas. It warned that ‘[t]he resulting large outbreaks would likely tax existing health-care systems and the public-health infrastructure, and could potentially cripple some of society’s functioning’.
That’s when the Government of Jamaica should have taken notice and started a public-education programme on the threat of the virus. Before it got here; not now. Why was our minister of health not paying attention then?
[…]
I suppose the minister of health will claim that the Government didn’t have the money to launch an expensive media campaign. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been forcing us to cut back on government spending. But in 2011, when those detailed warnings about managing chik-V were issued by PAHO-CDC, we should have told the IMF to ease off. A crippled workforce cannot possibly be productive.
Economically, Jamaica is in a tricky position, partly because it is shackled to the International Monetary Fund, from which it accepted a $932 million loan in 2013, with $68.8 million soon to be released. The government apparently continues to throw money that it doesn't have behind the problem. On Twitter, one user quipped:
Each MP to get J$2M to fight #Chikungunya so everybody happy. @JamaicaPNP @JLPJamaica we certainly do hope #Jamaica will get value for money
— Marcus A Bogle (@likle_wiked) October 15, 2014
Meanwhile, the minister of health, in responding to the country's first fatality from the disease, has said that he would like to be infected in order to understand what people have been experiencing.
In typical West Indian fashion, some netizens decided to look at the lighter side of the situation, sharing popular cartoonist Clovis’ take on the government's response to the outbreak of the virus:
Jamaican Health: #Jamaica and The #Chikungunya virus in Cartoons on THE ISLAND @infoChikungunya JOURNAL http://t.co/BdSJFP6hZh
— Poetess Denise Fyffe (@denisenfyffe) October 10, 2014
Some have also pointed out that citizens must also shoulder their part of the responsibility for creating environments in which the mosquitoes thrive. Nicole West-Hayles tweeted:
Can't see why it's State responsibility to be cleaning up backyards of able bodied persons. #Chikungunya #Jamaica
— Nicole West-Hayles (@nicolewesth) October 11, 2014
Blogger Cooper addressed the Jamaican prime minister's call for Jamaicans to “help the Government cope with our public-health crisis”:
She should have done that three years ago. Chik-V batter-bruise wi now. It’s much too late to kiss and make up.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bloggers Behind Bars: Ethiopia’s Zone9ers and Threats to Online Speech Across the Globe · Global Voices
Rebecca MacKinnon

“We want more openness, more transparency,” Ethiopian writer Endalkchew Chala told me in a phone interview. “People deserve choice; people deserve access to the world’s knowledge.” For expressing views like these online, his friends were scheduled to go on trial for terrorism in early August—though the trial was later adjourned to October 15. It briefly reconvened last week then adjourned again until early November.
In July, Ethan Zuckerman wrote a detailed post here on Global Voices describing the origins of the Zone 9 bloggers collective, and why they chose that name, and the implications of their case in Ethiopia. In a nutshell, two years ago Endalk (as his friends and colleagues like to call him) got together with several like-minded young Ethiopian writers and journalists to launch a hard-hitting blog called “Zone9.” The blog’s name derives from Addis Ababa’s infamous Kaliti prison, divided into eight zones with political prisoners confined to Zone Eight. They chose the name Zone9 intending to suggest that the entire nation was becoming a virtual prison—effectively a ninth zone. “All of Ethiopia is part of it,” explains Endalk. In 2011, one inmate, journalist Eskinder Nega, was arrested for the seventh time after writing a column, which ironically criticized the Ethiopian government’s habit of arresting journalists on terrorism charges.
Such edginess was too much for their government to take. Six of the Zone9 bloggers were arrested this past April. Three months later, they were formally charged with terrorism and “related activities.” Endalk, pursuing a graduate degree in Portland, Oregon when the arrests took place, is now their informal spokesperson, blogging and tweeting the latest developments. The group’s alleged crimes include attending trainings by international technical experts on how to use software tools to shield themselves from electronic surveillance. They are also accused of clandestinely organizing themselves into a blogger collective—a bizarre accusation given that Zone9 is a public website.
For the past two years, Endalk and four other Zone9 members also ran the Amharic edition of Global Voices Online. The group translated to Amharic (the dominant local language in Ethiopia) Global Voices posts written by contributors from around the world—particularly those related to activism, freedom of expression, and censorship— of strong relevance to an Ethiopian audience whose state-controlled media is heavily censored.
The Zone9 bloggers are not the only Global Voices contributors who recently found themselves behind bars, as governments in a growing list of nations have recognized that modern-day connectivity can prove a lethal challenge to their legitimacy and very existence.
Bassel Khartabil, a Syrian-Palestinian computer engineer and open Internet advocate, has been imprisoned in Damascus since March 2012. Alaa Abd El Fattah, an Egyptian activist and blogger arrested in November 2013 for violating Egypt’s new Protest Law, was dealt a 15-year jail sentence along with 25 other activists this past June. He is currently free on bail, but already facing new legal challenges allegedly due to his behavior while in prison. Tajik author Alex Sodiqov—a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto—was arrested while carrying out academic research in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikstan. Eventually he was accused of espionage. While he has since been released and allowed to return to Canada, he has yet to be cleared of the charges.
The idea for the Global Voices network came out of a 2004 meeting of bloggers from around the world. It was a time of heady optimism, when bloggers seemed poised to break down barriers and help create a better world. We created a website with the tagline “The world is talking. Are you listening?” As our manifesto put it:
“Thanks to new tools, speech need no longer be controlled by those who own the means of publishing and distribution, or by governments that would restrict thought and communication. Now, anyone can wield the power of the press. Everyone can tell their stories to the world.”
We recruited editors and volunteers from across the globe who helped to curate, translate, and contextualize what bloggers were saying about their countries and regions—what they were observing in their communities, and how people around them were reacting to world events. Eventually, the site came to be translated back and forth in over two dozen languages, mainly by volunteers like the Zone9ers.
Digital connectivity can indeed be revolutionary. In the 21st century, networked technologies are a necessary condition for social and political change. But over the past decade we’ve learned they are insufficient on their own to prevent widespread and systematic human rights violations–let alone bring about a more democratic and just world.
Governments are fighting back against the Internet’s empowering, decentralized character. They are upgrading their own institutional, military, and technical power. They are passing laws criminalizing various forms of online speech and enforcing those laws with police, security, and intelligence forces. Law enforcement and intelligence services of democracies, as well as dictatorships, are pushing their powers of surveillance to the limit. Many governments are also finding new and creative ways to control through their legal and technical powers what people can and especially cannot do on the Internet and with mobile devices.
The Ethiopian government is a case in point. It has revised the law so that practically anybody who uses the Internet to build a movement around a common ideal, or conduct independent journalism, can potentially be charged with terrorism. Internet access is available only through the state-controlled monopoly, Ethio Telecom, which keeps prices artificially high and beyond the reach of most. Those who can access the Internet do so through heavily monitored cybercafés. They must navigate censorship of overseas dissident websites, and face pervasive surveillance thanks to technologies purchased not only from Chinese companies but from European firms like Gamma, a German company that sells remote monitoring systems, and Hacking Team, an Italian firm specializing in spyware.
Anything the Zone9 bloggers ever did online can potentially be used against them without constraint.
The attack by governments on Internet freedom is by no means limited to authoritarian dictatorships. This year, alongside the usual suspects like North Korea, Cuba, and China, Reporters Without Borders listed the Indian government’s Centre for Development of Telematics as one of the 20 biggest “enemies of the Internet,” thanks to its role in developing a clandestine mass electronic surveillance and data mining program for deployment on nationwide networks.
The United Kingdom also made the list, winning the title “world champion of surveillance,” due largely to the work of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which has developed the world’s largest data collection and communications-monitoring system. Last month the British authorities invoked emergency powers to pass a new law allowing the government to issue warrants to companies for data stored outside UK jurisdiction—effectively legalizing its already sweeping technical power to spy on much of the world. As former NSA contractor Edward Snowden put it, “they are worse than the U.S.”
The problem has been compounded by Internet and telecommunications companies pursuing short-term business interests
without considering
the impact of their
behavior on Internet
users’ rights. We have
all unfortunately allowed companies to
track, collect, and
 sell vast amounts of
 personal information
 without even realizing what was happening. As American
 security guru Bruce
 Schneier likes to say: “Surveillance is the
business model of the Internet.”
How convenient for the NSA, which, until Snowden blew the whistle, had relatively easy access to the communications and stored data of U.S. Internet companies. Now many of these companies have recognized that this situation is not actually sustainable for their business in the long run. Without basic levels of trust from individuals and businesses that rely on the Internet, its platforms, and networks, the economic value of the Internet (along with its political and social value) will diminish over time. That is precisely why major companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are now calling publicly for legal limitations on the NSA’s powers, as well as increased government transparency on matters of surveillance.
These sovereigns of cyberspace—an apt term because of the rules and parameters they set on their services, on which we have come increasingly to depend—have become a form of transnational private governance. The Internet is replete with corporate and government gatekeepers. It’s patrolled by a variety of virtual police seeking to enforce government laws and company terms of service. These gatekeepers and police must be held publicly accountable in a way that can constrain them from abusing their power.
It is up to all of us, as citizens of nations and as denizens of a globally interconnected Internet, to keep pushing for accountability in how our digital lives are shaped and governed by all who wield power over us. If digital connectivity is to fulfill its clear potential, nations’ legal frameworks governing Internet companies, as well as users, must embrace the protection and exercise of basic human rights. The technical standards and business practices of companies must be compatible with the kind of open, democratic world we seek to create.
We are far from reaching that goal, but some important steps are being taken in the right direction. Legal reform efforts to curb government surveillance powers in the United States are making headway. Initiatives are being built to hold tech companies to basic human rights standards, including freedom of expression and privacy. Global Voices is working with a worldwide community of people ready to fight for their online freedoms, working with other trans-national groups advocating an open Internet.
As we think globally, those of living in democratic countries must not forget that Internet freedom starts at home. If we cannot figure out how to constrain government and corporate power over digital networks people depend on, we should prepare to join our Ethiopian friends in Zone9.
Also read: The Zone 9 Bloggers Are Writing From the Outer Ring of the Prison, the Nation Itself

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rebecca MacKinnon


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Building an Internet Fast Lane in Russia Could Be a Great Way to Stifle Independent Media · Global Voices
Sergey Kozlovsky

The net neutrality paradise of information equality may be coming to an end in Russia. Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) may soon allow Internet Service Providers to collect fees from websites willing to pay a premium for prioritized content delivery.
The popularity of websites and services content requiring high bandwidth, like YouTube and Skype, has led to a dramatic increase in the amount of data traveling through the Internet, FAS says. The increased load on Russia's telecommunication network necessitates new investment in the national infrastructure, but ISPs complain that they're short on funds.
As is the case around the world, Russian Internet service providers are vocal opponents of net neutrality, which exists in Russia largely de facto, without being legally enshrined. Rostelecom, a leading local telcom that is majority-owned by the Russian government, has blamed Skype for gobbling up too much of its bandwidth and in turn allowing users to make calls for “free,” rather than using Rostelecom's telephone services. According to the company, customers’ use of Skype cost it 6.7 billion rubles ($166 million USD) in 2009 alone.
Although network neutrality is not explicitly protected under Russian law, Russian ISPs effectively treat all Internet traffic equally when it comes to its “size” or the amount of bandwidth it requires for transport. It should be noted that Russian ISPs do block some traffic on political grounds—a practice that goes against the principle of net neutrality, which is to treat all traffic equally, without exception.
Details about the plan to end Russian net neutrality are still few and far between. So far, FAS has merely submitted its proposal to the government, which will deliberate for nobody knows how long. In fact, FAS’ announcement itself was quite unexpected. Just a few months ago, agency head Igor Artemyev expressed his support for the principles of net neutrality, saying that ISPs should treat all content equally.
И мы можем ещё раз подчеркнуть, что ликвидация мобильного рабства, технологическая нейтральность, сетевая нейтральность, конкуренция между стационарной электросвязью, развитие её с мобильной и так далее являются фундаментальными вопросами, о которых мы мечтали 10 лет.
We can stress once again that the end of “mobile slavery” [the introduction of portability for mobile telephone numbers] and the arrival of technological neutrality, Net neutrality, competition between landlines and mobile networks, and so on, all represent fundamental things we dreamed about for the last decade.
Now, however, FAS officials are citing the Federal Communications Commission in the United States for arguments against net neutrality. FAS’ new proposal would require ISPs to maintain a service “baseline,” but companies would be allowed to charge more money to deliver faster speeds for premium content.
Net neutrality remains an unresolved issue in the US, as well, where the FCC's position seems irresolute, despite President Obama's statement on October 9 that he opposes “creating two or three or four tiers of Internet.” When it comes to Internet regulations, Russian officials often model policy on approaches tried in the United States. By “copycatting” the US, Moscow is able to defend itself as “behaving like the Western democracies.”
Depending on what the FCC does with net neutrality, Russia's FAS might need to reexamine its justifications for policy reform.
In Russia, where the online space for independent media is fast shrinking, the prospect of filtering Internet content poses additional dangers. Indeed, if Russian ISPs are permitted to play favorites, when it comes to delivering websites and services, ordinary Internet users might wake up one day to find that Kremlin-friendly online media load much more quickly than the scrappy free press.

author: Sergey Kozlovsky


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Citizen Journalist Kidnapped and Killed in Mexico for Reporting on Organized Crime · Global Voices
Tlanonotsalistli

Image from Valor por Tamaulipas’ Google Plus account. “For you we will be strong. In memory of: María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio, 15-16 October 2014 in Reynosa. Kidnapped on 15 October in the Reynosa area. Rosario was a doctor dedicated to informing the community about dangers, with a heart as big as her courage, our Miut3.”
Citizen groups in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas reported yesterday that Twitter user María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio had been kidnapped and murdered. Although it is unknown who was responsible for her death, photographs of Fuentes Rubio's body appeared on her Twitter stream.
Her Twitter account @Miut3 was suspended shortly thereafter. After María del Rosario supposedly asked for forgiveness for facing the drug lords, photos of her own murder were published, as well as a posthumous message that warned other citizen journalists to remain quiet about Reyonsa's violence because “you won’t get anything out of it.”
A Reynosa medical doctor, Fuentes Rubio volunteered as a contributor with Valor por Tamaulipas (Courage for Tamaulipas), a citizen media platform that allows users to file anonymous reports on violence, particularly incidents concerning organized crime and the drug trade. She also served as an administrator for Responsabilidad por Tamaulipas (Responsibility for Tamaulipas), a similar project associated with the first. The last post by “Valor for Tamaulipas” described her as “an angel who gave everything, her life, her future, her safety and peace (…) for the good of the people of the state.”
This is not the first time individuals associated with these networks have been punished for their reporting. Since it was established in 2012, Valor por Tamaulipas has faced a range of threats and incidents of violence that at times have forced administrators to pause their activities.
Valor por Tamaulipas has been using social media to crowdsource reports from citizens in the state of Tamaulipas, which has been riddled with drug-related conflict and corruption since 2006. In February of 2013, an unidentified drug organization circulated a pamphlet offering MX$600,000 (about US$44,000) for information on the whereabouts of the administrator(s) of the Valor por Tamaulipas social media accounts. Shortly afterwards, @ValorTamaulipas announced plans to suspend reporting. But the network has since taken shape once more — violent crime continues to plague Tamaulipas and citizens continue to report on it.
This conflict has forced many traditional news organizations to curb their reporting on drug violence; the Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that sixteen journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2006, mostly due to their coverage of drug-related crime and corruption. As Darío Ramírez, general director of Article 19 in Mexico and Central America, said: “The violence against the press in Tamaulipas and the lack of protection for freedom of expression by the Mexican authorities has generated information vacuums in issues related to public security, for which social media has become an effective citizen tool to be freely informed about this acts.”
As citizen and social media users work to fill this silence and report on what they see and hear on the ground, groups like VxT and individuals like Fuentes Rubio have become prime targets for drug organizations.

author: Tlanonotsalistli


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Ex-President’s Return Triggers Media Warning from Government in Madagascar  · Global Voices
Andriamifidisoa Zo

Marc Ravalomanana – Public domain
The political situation is tense again in Madagascar after ex-president in exile Marc Ravalomanana's return to the country. The conditions under which he came back and the subsequent house arrest and deportation to the North of the country are strongly debated on most malagasy media outlets. Heninkaja Rakotomanantsoa, managing editor of a TV channel in Antananarivo, posted in Malagasy on his facebook profile that all press editors received a warning memo from the government about fact-checking any news pertaining to the return of Marc Ravalomanana :
Nahazo fampîtandremana ny Onjam-peo sy ny Fahitalavitra rehetra, sao hono mitarika any amin'ny fanakorontanana saim-bahoaka ny fampahalalam-baovao diso, na tsy voamarina.
All media outlets in Madagascar (TV and radio) received a warning that they will be held responsible of threats to national security if they are caught spreading false information or rumors (since Ravalomananana's return).

author: Andriamifidisoa Zo


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Hong Kong’s Journalists Battle Self-Censorship, Intimidation and Police Violence to Report Umbrella Revolution · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Staff from Apple Daily News showed their determination to keep the newsroom operating after a mob attack on October 13. Photo from Chan Pui Man's Facebook page.
Journalists working in Hong Kong have come under tremendous pressure in recent weeks for covering news on the Umbrella Revolution, the pro-democracy protests demanding free and fair elections. Not only have they exposed themselves to violence while covering clashes between police and protesters, when they return to the office from the field, some of them have to endure the push for self-censorship from the newsroom or even harassment from pro-Beijing thugs.
Since police began removing barricades set up by protesters at the sites of the massive sit-in dubbed Occupy Central, confrontations between protesters and police officers have happened almost every day. Standing between the police and protesters, photojournalists have become vulnerable to injuries themselves. It is not uncommon to see TV station cameramen being pepper sprayed or pushed away by police officers during the news report. In some cases, the police do not differentiate between protesters and reporters and assault them when they take photos of the front-line.
Four independent news sites — inmediahk.net, SocREC, USP and Local Press — issued a joint statement condemning the police for intentionally attacking reporters on October 15 when they dispersed protesters on Lung Wo Road outside government headquarters:
凌晨三點，SocREC一名攝影記者則在添馬公園採訪清場，被持防暴裝備的警察強行拉入警員堆之中，拳打腳踢接近30秒，記者的眼鏡、頭盔以及眼罩被打至飛脫。一輪暴打後，兩名警員把該名記者拖行近30秒，送上警察押送犯人的旅遊巴上。拖行期間，受傷記者不停向警察展示記者證，但警察依然没有停止毆打，更用粗口辱罵記者。記者在旅遊巴上，有負責應付傳媒的警員確認SocREC記者身份後，著令他下車。記者事後已去瑪麗醫院驗傷，證實面部、額頭、鼻、嘴角、頸部以及左手手臂都有明顯傷痕。
同一時間，獨媒其一中名攝影記者在龍和道隧道內採訪期間，一名警察突然上前用胡椒噴霧指嚇他，記者遵從警員指示後退，但警察仍然在毫無警示下多次正面對準記者面部發射胡椒噴霧；後來，該記者雖然多次重申記者身份，警察仍然把他雙手扭轉並押走。其後警察更對記者吆喝：「記者又點，記者大哂？」、「記者又點，記者唔可以行前影相架嘛！」，警察確認記者身份之後放行。而另一名獨媒記者在後退時，亦遭警員用圓盾撞傷頭部。
At 3 a.m., when covering the clearing of Tamar Park, a reporter from SocREC was pulled into the side of the riot police's line and beat up for about 30 seconds. Later, two police officers dragged him along the road for 30 seconds and threw him into a police detention van. The wounded reporter repeatedly displayed his press badge during the ordinal, but it did not stop them. Instead, they abused him verbally. Only after a police press officer confirmed his identity inside the van was he allowed to leave. The reporter sought treatment at the Queen Mary Hospital and the clinical report found obvious injures on his face, forehead, nose, mouth, neck and left arm.
Similarly, a reporter from inmediahk.net covering the news inside a tunnel on Lung Wo Road was suddenly threatened by a police officer with pepper spray. He followed the officer's instruction and backed off, but was sprayed in his face without warning; although he showed his press badge many times, he was arrested and handcuffed. In the process, the police officer yelled: “Reporter? So what?” “Even reporters cannot take photos from the front.” He was released after his identity was clarified. Another inmediahk.net reporter was hit in the head by a riot police officer with his shield while he was backing off.
Even if reporters at the front-line risk physical injuries to cover the news, their stories might not be published because of self-censorship practices in the newsroom. Many news organizations in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, were already fearful of losing advertising revenue from their business ties in the mainland or angering the Beijing government. This trend has only increased with the recent protests calling for an open nomination system of candidates for the city's chief executive, which goes against the mainland's wish for a largely pro-Beijing nominating committee.
On October 15, the chief news executive of TVB, the city's most popular television station, ordered the news team to edit a voice-over describing a video report on alleged police brutality. The footage clearly showed a handcuffed protester punched and kicked by several police officers in a dark corner for four minutes.
The next day, 28 staff members from the newsroom issued a joint statement expressing regret over the management's decision. So far more than 100 staffs from the station's news branch have co-signed it.
A former TVB reporter Au Ka Lun explained  how the TVB newsroom operates after he read the joint statement:
這份行文平淡的聲明，一字一句，都是血與淚；我讀到了，我記起了，我們這一代記者，無止境的屈辱與掙扎，理想與現實的差距，去與留之間的徘徊。[…]
很多時，前綫記者，就只負責採訪，他們是「車衣女工」，只是新聞製作過程的一環。很多時，採訪完畢，片段送回公司，稿不是他們寫的，內容的編輯與選材，也不是前綫記者全權決定的，新聞部裡，有很多編輯，有很多採主，編輯採主之上，還有一個人；一個人之上，有強橫的勢力。記者最自由自主的時間，就是那一個人睡覺的時間，而他睡很少。
Every word in this plain statement is written in blood and sweat. I read it and remembered the endless humiliation and struggle our generation of reporters has faced. The huge gap between ideal and reality and whether one should stay or leave is always a struggle. […]
Most of the time, the reporters on the front-line are only responsible for interviews and recording what happens onsite. They are like the workers in the sweatshop, responsible for a part of the news making. After they have done their work, the footage would be sent back to the newsroom. They won't be responsible for the script. The content and the focus cannot be decided by the reporters. In the newsroom, there are many news and assignment editors, and above them there is one more person in charge. Above that person are even greater forces. Reporters are not free and autonomous; they are only free when that single person is asleep, but he sleeps very little.
The “greater forces” referred to by Au are the different forms of political pressure coming from Beijing, such as smears or even violent threats. Most media outlets in Hong Kong have compromised by incorporating self-censorship into their newsroom management like TVB. For those who refused to comply, the threats are more explicit.
Since October 12, pro-Beijing mobs were mobilized to surround pro-democracy Apple Daily's headquarters and stop the media outlet from distributing their papers. They blocked the entrance of Apple Daily on October 13 and obstructed the papers from being loading onto the trucks. In addition, Apple Daily's website has suffered from cyber attacks that knocked the site offline and the telephone lines of its office were jammed with abusive phone calls.
Despite the fact that the media outlet quickly obtained a restraining order from the court, the mobs continued roaming outside the entrance. As the Hong Kong police did not take action to disperse them, staff from Apple Daily took matters into their own hands and confronted them in the street.
Staff from Apple Daily confronted the mobs outside the media outlet's headquarters by holding up their newspaper. Photo from Chan Pui Man's Facebook page.
Ever since Beijing insisted that weeding out “undesirable” candidates for Hong Kong's first direct vote of its top leader was a national security issue, its representatives in Hong Kong have resorted to extreme measures to clamp down on dissenting voices. Such measures have not only obstructed the development of democracy, but also undermined press freedom, which is the foundation of the financial city.
Follow our in-depth coverage: Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution

author: Oiwan Lam


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Mexico’s ‘Corona Capital’ Music Festival Played On Despite Heavy Rains · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Corona Capital Festival. Photo taken by the author, J. Tadeo.
Poor weather and complaints from fans about the concert's faulty electronic bracelets marked the fourth annual Mexican music festival, Corona Capital, which took place on October 11 and 12, 2014 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Rodríguez Brothers Racetrack) in Mexico City.
The festival featured popular bands and international musicians such as the Black Kids, MGMT, Weezer, Belle & Sebastian, Jack White, and Damon Albarn. On the first day, Massive Attack, one of the most awaited performances, had to wrap up early due to inclement weather, upsetting many attendees. Giggy Zúñiga made the following comment on Twitter:
Ni para decir que va a valer la pena la neumonía que me va a dar, porque bajaron a Massive Attack #CC14 Maldita lluvia.
— Giggy Zúñiga (@re_cyclablemoon) octubre 12, 2014
Now that Massive Attack has left the stage, it’s not even worth getting pneumonia over. Damn rain.
Meanwhile, Armando Prssr E stated:
Lo mejor del #cc14 cancela por motivos “técnicos ” o sea #MassiveAttack , que mal quedaron @CoronaCapital
— Armando Prssr E (@Syv_Armando) October 12, 2014
The best of #cc14, that is, #MassiveAttack, is canceled for “technical reasons”, this made @CoronaCapital look really bad.
As it rained on Saturday, Twitter user D a m expressed her disappointment:
Yo ya ni ganas tengo de venir mañana #CC14
— D a m (@madarispe) October 12, 2014
I don’t even feel like coming tomorrow.
Nevertheless, there were some that enjoyed the weather, such as Ana Laura Calzada:
Hace mucho no disfrutaba mojarme como hoy! ❤ #CC14
— Ana Laura Calzada (@analauracalzada) October 12, 2014
It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed getting soaked like I did today!
The severe climate conditions, heavy rains, and muddy terrain recalled the experience at Glastonbury Festival, the planet’s biggest and most important music festival, where performances are hardly ever canceled due to bad weather.
Another reason for people’s dissatisfaction were the electronic bracelets that organizers, among them a renowned beer company, introduced to the Mexican concert industry. All attendees had to have them activated when turning in their tickets upon admission.
Sergio Villalobos noted that donning the bracelet did not help speed up entry to the event:
La entrada con brazalete a la par del acceso con boleto. Omito comentarios…. ¡Fatal! #CC14 pic.twitter.com/1DeHnawbqm
— Sergio Villalobos (@El_Gran_Pa) October 11, 2014
Entering with the bracelet or a ticket is the same. No comments… Fail!
UserCynthia mentioned a “failed bracelet system”, meaning they no longer worked as designed, resulting in cash and credit cards being used as a substitute in order to purchase food and drink.
The bracelets would be the used as a system to get access to the event as the only payment method for food, drinks and official merchandising, and for checking in at the different locations for the festival. They ended up working only for entering and not that well.
día desafortunado, 1 hr para entrar, se cayó el sistema de brazaletes, llueve suspenden a massive attack, 1:30 hrs de esperar a Jack #CC14
— Cynthia (@cynuribe) October 12, 2014
What an unfortunate day, an hour to get in, a failed bracelet system, rain suspends Massive Attack, and a 1.5 hour wait for Jack.
Jack refers to Jack White, another artist that took part of the festival. Oscar Ro wrote to OCESA, a Corona Capital organizer and the ones responsible for the bracelets, the following message:
Su pulsera ha sido la peor experiencia que he tenido de todos los eventos que han hecho… @ocesa_total #CC14
— Oscar Ro (@OSROAN) October 12, 2014
Of all your events, this bracelet has been the worst experience I’ve ever had…
At the end of the festival, Andrés Olascoaga pointed out the problems he faced when trying to remove the bracelet:
Oigan @CoronaCapital ¿Con qué pinzas de mecánico puedo quitarme la pulsera del #CC14? #EstáDurísima
— Andrés Olascoaga (@AndresOlasToro) October 12, 2014
Hey @CoronaCapital what type of pliers can I use to take the #CC14 bracelet off? It's really tough
Last year’s festival experienced a letdown when John Talabot canceled his performance a few days prior to the event due to the insecurity posed by the country’s organized crime, becoming yet another one of its victims.

author: J. Tadeo


text:
Outrage Over Transgender Woman’s Suspected Murder by US Marine in the Philippines  · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

CCTV footage of Jennifer Laude with suspect PFC Pemberton entering an Olongapo City lodge. Photo Credits: kapederasyon.wordpress.com
The death of a Filipina transgender woman in an Olongapo City motel, allegedly at the hands of a US marine has unleashed a flood of outrage and raised questions as to the benefits of US-Philippine military agreements such as the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to the country.
According to reports, Jennifer Laude died of drowning and there are signs that her face was pushed down the toilet bowl, leaving injuries and lacerations on her head and neck. Her lifeless body was found 11:30 p.m. in the evening of October 11, less than an hour after she stepped out of a disco bar and checked in the motel just across the street with a US serviceman.
Kapederasyon, a sectoral organization of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders in the Philippines, condemned the Laude's killing and expressed alarm that the crime was purportedly elicited by the victim’s gender:
Hate crimes have been a persistent nightmare of the LGBT sector. Every day, hundreds of our kapederasyon are subjected to hate speech, discrimination, and violence. We are victimized physically, emotionally, and psychologically amidst the backdrop of the prevailing patriarchal and “macho” culture.
PFC Joseph Scott Pemberton, the US marine suspected of killing Laude, is one of over 3,000 US troops who are in the Philippines as part of the Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX). The American soldiers were on board the USS Peleliu and the USS Germantown, which docked in the country last month.
Laude’s sister Marilou Laude is demanding that the US ships, which are on port call in Subic Bay after the naval exercises, be prevented from leaving in order to make possible the unhindered investigation into the murder.
Pemberton is said to be detained aboard the USS Peleliu. According to the local police, the VFA has limited their authority in carrying out investigation of US servicemen involved in crimes. The US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is said to be investigating the crime.
Under the VFA, custody over US troops charged with violating Philippine laws “shall immediately reside with US military authorities.” However, the Philippine government may request for a handover of custody of the suspected US serviceman in its favor.
Veteran journalist Ellen Torsedillas writes that US custody over Pemberton denigrates Philippine sovereignty:
The DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] and the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] chief’s subservient stance on U.S. custody over Pemberton denigrates Philippine sovereignty – the supreme right of the state to command obedience within its territory.
With a diminished sovereignty, what does that make of the Philippines?
Activists burn a US flag during a protest action in front of the US Embassy. Photo Credits: Richard James Mendoza.
In a Facebook status, professor Judy Taguiwalo, former University of the Philippines faculty regent and women rights activist, compared the country’s situation to the days when the US military bases in Subic and Clark were still intact before their withdrawal in 1991:
Nothing has changed since American soldiers killed Filipinos and considered them wild pigs so powerfully depicted in Nora Aunor's film “Minsa'y Isang Gamu-Gamo” [Once a Moth]. The sorry excuse that is the so-called Philippine government instead of asserting our right to have custody of the Marine who violated our kabaro and our laws justifies the continued custody of the suspect by the Americans !
The blog Jumping Jolens also compared Laude's killing to the rape case of a Filipina woman involving US serviceman Daniel Smith ten years ago:
It was Gloria Arroyo [former president of the Philippines 2001-2010] leading the Malacañang [presidential palace] at that time, and [she] turned over Smith’s custody to the Americans. Now we have BS Aquino who’s much less ballsy than Arroyo. I don’t think he’d even try to assert our right to the custody of whoever killed Jennifer, much less fight tooth and nail to convict him. No Filipino leader in my lifetime has ever been bold enough to kick Uncle Sam’s ass — all they do is kiss it.
Filipino activists condemned the Philippine government for refusing to assert jurisdiction over Laude’s murder case. In a fiery rally at the US embassy, protesters called for the junking of the VFA, EDCA, and other military agreements which they say will only lead to the rise of crimes committed by US troops in the country.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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São Paulo Is Running Out of Water, But Authorities Say There’s No Need for Rationing · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

The Cantareira System, which supplies 7 million people with water, has reached record lows yesterday with 4.1 percent of its total capacity. Image by Flickr user Fernando Stankuns. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The most populous state in Brazil, São Paulo, is going through its worst water crisis in decades. The summer season, the driest in 84 years, has triggered a drought that has hit 70 cities so far, affecting the lives of 13.8 million people.
From those cities, 38 have started a water rationing plan, where the supply is alternated between neighborhoods every week. One of the most concerning situations, however, is in São Paulo city, the state capital and Latin America’s largest metropolis. The Cantareira System, a four-lake complex of reservoirs responsible for providing water to 45 percent of the city’s metropolitan area (about 6.5 million people) and other surrounding cities, is now running at record lows of 4.1 percent of its total capacity.
In spite of that, for months the state government and Sabesp, the state utility that manages the Cantareira System, have denied the risk of a water shortage in the capital and the need to enact a rationing plan, like other cities have done. But since earlier this year people from several neighborhoods in São Paulo have been complaining about weekly or even daily interruptions. Just this week, 34 public schools in the city have had problems with the water supply – and at least one had to cancel classes because of it.
Some people believe they're going through unofficial rationing. On the website Faltou Água (Water was missing), a collaborative map shows locations where users have reported interruptions to their water supply.
Below is a selection of the messages posted to the website in August and September:
Water interruption from midnight to 6 a.m. at Jardim São Paulo, North Zone. Has been happening at least for a week
Here in VI Monumento there are interruptions every night. It started at midnight but they have been cutting it off it earlier every day. Today beginning at 9 p.m. there's no water anymore
Na v Madalena cortam todas as noites. Isso faz quase 2 meses
In Vila Madalena they have been cutting it off every night for the past two months
Still, many people in São Paulo haven't experienced any problems with their supply. For that, Vinícius Duarte has an interesting theory, which he posted on Facebook:
Boa parte da população paulistana AINDA não sente a falta d'água (e acredita no governo, e continua gastando a rodo, e fazem piadinha com o tema) por uma razão simples: mora em prédio de apartamentos. Quando a Sabesp desliga o fornecimento (todo dia), o morador não vê a torneira seca e fica tranquilão. Afinal, ela continua a ser abastecida pela caixa d'água do edifício, que é coletiva. (…) Como algumas unidades consomem menos que outras, a coisa vai meio que se compensando. Mas isso só enquanto TEM água na caixa.
Most of the population of the city of São Paulo STILL doesn't feel the water shortage (and believes in the state government, and keeps wasting water and making jokes on the subject) for a simple reason: they live in apartment buildings. When Sabesp cuts off the supply (every day), they keep getting water from their taps and think it's all good. But this water is coming from the building's water tower, which is collective. As some apartments use less water than others, they naturally compensate each other. But that will last only if there's still water in the collective tank.
Cantareira System on the verge of collapse
It was revealed this week by the State Prosecutor’s Office that Sabesp knew the reservoirs were at risk of water shortage since 2012. At that time, the company had sent a report to its investors in New York – it has 25.4 percent of its shares negotiated at the New York Stock Exchange – warning that a drought predicted for April 2014 might impact its finances. Sabesp, however, only decided to take measures about eight months ago: a discount to users who saved water was its main strategy to combat the imminent collapse of its main reservoir.
Since May, the company has been using the first quota of the “dead volume” (the remnants of water that lie in the bottom of the lake). Regulators had prohibited it from collecting from the second quota of that volume over concerns it was mismanaging supplies, but that decision was revoked yesterday due to the emergency of the situation, since the first quota will only last for the next few weeks.
The second quota comprises of 106 billion liters and should last until March 2015 without water rationing. After that, it is over: there is no “third” dead volume quota at the Cantareira. All there is left is to hope that the rainfall during the wet season, which peaks in December through February, will be enough to provide more water for the rest of 2015.
As blogger Camilla Pavanelli put it for her 1,600+ followers on Facebook:
O plano do governo do estado é um só: captar até a última gota de volume morto e torcer para que chova. Não há plano B. Sendo assim, eu diria que já passou a hora de reconhecermos o seguinte: O tempo de pensar no uso racional e consciente de água já passou. O assunto, agora, é outro. O assunto não é “usar com parcimônia para que não acabe”. O assunto é que está acabando – ou, se considerarmos que a água do Sistema Cantareira que estamos consumindo é volume morto, já acabou.
The state government's plan is only this: to drain the reservoirs until the last drop and to pray it will rain. There is no plan B. That being said, I think it's time we recognize something: the time to think about the rational and conscious use of water is over. That ship has sailed. The main discussion now is not “use it wisely so it won't end”. It is ending nonetheless – or, if we consider we've been consuming the “dead volume” water, it has ended already.
Specialists believe it’ll take at least four years for the system to return to normalcy, but that estimate depends on rainfall meeting historical averages. The main construction plans to start draining water from other rivers and reservoirs in the country are only due to be ready in 2016, according to Sabesp’s own schedule.
There are 38 municipalities in the countryside who are going through official water rationing. Those cities are not attended by Sabesp, but rather have their water supplied by small, local companies.
The main advantage of going through an official rationing is that people are able to know when and at what time they’ll have their water interrupted – so they can take precautions and are not caught by surprise.
That doesn’t necessarily prevent rallies and revolts, though. Itu, a city with 163,000 inhabitants, has experienced rationing since February and has been supplied poorly, with the district having to buy 3 million liters of water daily from nearby cities. On Sunday, residents attended a fourth rally against the water shortage, blocking a highway and setting fire to a bus.

author: Taisa Sganzerla


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When Journalism Isn’t Quite Enough · Global Voices
Noor Mattar

Zainab Al Khawaja is once again in prison. This photograph taken by Rebellious Feb14 is of a protest in Budaiya, Bahrain, on 18th May 2012 calling for her release. Copyright: Demotix
This headline must be one of the worst things a journalist could write, and this topic must be one of the least written-about, but for the subject I'm writing about I felt it necessary to abandon everything I've been taught and write primitively.
This article was going to be about the arrest of Zainab Alkhawaja, a prominent activist in Bahrain. I was going to start with the background, which is that she was arrested for a speech tweeted by her sister Maryam:
Urgent: Zainab Alkhawaja walked into court, asked to speak. She said to judge: ” I'm the daughter of a proud & free man…” CONT'D #Bahrain
— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) October 14, 2014
#PT ” my mother brought me into this world free and i will give birth to a free baby boy even if it is inside ur prisons.” CONT'D #Bahrain
— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) October 14, 2014
#PT ” It is my right… and my responsibility.. as a free person.. to protest against oppression and oppressors.” CONT'D # Bahrain
— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) October 14, 2014
#PT She then ripped a picture of the king and placed it in front of the judge. Zainab is at risk of arrest now; 8 months pregnant #Bahrain
— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) October 14, 2014
I would then have shared some of the reactions Maryam inspired, like how many started doing the same to the picture of the king, in solidarity with her:
.@monakareem In solidarity with @angryarabiya I'm tweeting #ArrestMeWithZainab Join me! pic.twitter.com/2hArn15UFs
— Linda (@SE25A) October 14, 2014
Or this YouTube video that shows how Hitler would have reacted to such an act:
But that is not what I think this should be about. I think that in this article I should have to face my demons and confess that despite of how comfortable that style of writing is for someone who tries to avoid trolling and PR hit-men, it is also a flawed way to draw the scene. I use the word “draw” because I think that a good journalist is like an artist: though a painter might draw a perfect likeness of a lady, it's still the painter's own reflection of her aura, her character and her smile, and that tells us more and drives us to think.
We journalists are not encouraged to write about our own feelings, but to report what the subjects of the actions do and say. But what Zainab Alkhawaja did wasn't an act meant to make headlines—the target was each of us, in any place on earth and in any job. It was to remind us that defiance is not only a means of survival, but the very reason we are human. It's the original sin that we will always inherit. Defiance, for Zainab, was not a tool to attract attention: all the attention in the world will not help you in prison, and those who want attention will only make use of it it when they leave prison. Zainab was not posing on podiums, she didn't travel to stand in front of mics and take pictures with the elites among the politicians. For her, defiance was a lifestyle.
I find no words better to express what I'm trying to say than this poem by Amal Dunqul:
يا اخوتي الذين يعبرون في الميدان مطرقين
منحدرين في نهاية المساء
في شارع الاسكندر الأكبر :
لا تخجلوا ..و لترفعوا عيونكم إليّ
لأنّكم معلقون جانبي .. على مشانق القيصر
فلترفعوا عيونكم إليّ
لربّما .. إذا التقت عيونكم بالموت في عينيّ
يبتسم الفناء داخلي .. لأنّكم رفعتم رأسكم .. مرّه !
” سيزيف ” لم تعد على أكتافه الصّخره
يحملها الذين يولدون في مخادع الرّقيق
و البحر .. كالصحراء .. لا يروى العطش
لأنّ من يقول ” لا ” لا يرتوي إلاّ من الدموع !
.. فلترفعوا عيونكم للثائر المشنوق
فسوف تنتهون مثله .. غدا
و قبّلوا زوجاتكم .. هنا .. على قارعة الطريق
فسوف تنتهون ها هنا .. غدا
فالانحناء مرّ ..
و العنكبوت فوق أعناق الرجال ينسج الردى
فقبّلوا زوجاتكم .. إنّي تركت زوجتي بلا وداع
و إن رأيتم طفلي الذي تركته على ذراعها بلا ذراع
فعلّموه الانحناء !
علّموه الانحناء !
Oh brothers crossing the square while looking down
Defeated by the end of day
Be not ashamed and look up at me
Because you are hanged by my side on the gallows of the cesar
Raise your eyes and look at me, for if your eyes met the death in mine
The desolation in you will smile for you have raised your head for once in your life
Atlas has thrown his burdens
now it's on those born in slavery
The sea is just like the desert, fills no thirst
Because the thirst of the rebels is only filled with tears
Behold the hanged rebel
Tomorrow you will end up like him
And kiss your wives here in the mid of the road
because here is where you will end
for kneeling is bitter
and the spider spinning a curse over the shoulder of men
Kiss your wives .. I left my wife without a kiss
And if you see my kid who I left on her arm missing an arm
Teach him how to kneel
God didn't forgive Satan when he said no
The meek
They inherit the earth
Because they don't get hanged
So teach him how to kneel
I would continue writing my clearly biased/inspired/unorthodox article, but the list of dead people and dead dreams, killed because they declared defiance, doesn't fit within the 1,000-word limit. For now I leave you with one name: the unborn Abdulhadi, who will be born free, whether in prison or out.
Join us on October 21, Tuesday, for a conversation with Zainab's sister Maryam Al Khawaja about the arrest and the state of activism and protest in Bahrain, on our Hangout series GV Face.

author: Noor Mattar


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More Than 40 Million People Await the Launch of Odia Wikisource  · Global Voices
Subhashish Panigrahi

Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
Speakers of Odia will soon have mountains of books to read online in their mother tongue, following the launch of the Odia Wikisource, which will make accessible many rare books that have entered the public domain. Authors and publishers are also invited to donate their copyrighted work, possibly bringing open access to large volumes of books and manuscripts, creating a vast archive of educational resources. And everything will be in Odia.
One of the biggest advantages of Wikisource is that all its books are available in Unicode, meaning that Google's search engine indexes the texts’ entirety, and readers are able to copy easily what they wish. (Most conventional archival systems lack this feature.) A volunteer community administers Wikisource. To upload a book's content, volunteers either retype the books word-for-word, or, when possible, use Optical Character Recognition (commonly known as “OCR“), which converts scanned images into editable text. Available at or.wikisource.org, Odia is Wikisource's eleventh Indic language.
There are more than 40 million native Odia speakers in the world. Most live in the Indian state of Odisha and its neighboring states, but there is a large diaspora in countries like the US, UK, UAE, and across South and East Asia. Despite being spoken by so many people, Odia's online presence is relatively small.
As of October 2014, Odia Wikipedia hosted 8,441 articles. The state government's websites have Odia-language content, naturally, but none of the text is in Unicode, making the materials invisible to search engines and difficult to share. Thanks to individual and organizational efforts, some Odia-language websites have recently emerged with Unicode content.
With support from the non-profit organization Pragati Utkal Sangha and the National Institute of Technology Rourkela, a Bhubaneswar-based outfit has digitized about 740 books through the Open Access to Oriya Books (OAOB) project. Most of these texts were published between 1850 and 1950. The OAOB project is the largest existing digital archive of Odia literature, but the archived books are only available as scanned PDFs, restricting readers’ ability to search within the texts.
As a Wikimedia project, Odia Wikisource underwent a long approval process, after running as an active incubator project for nearly two years. Both the Language Committee and the Wikimedia Foundation's Board reviewed and endorsed the project.
Odia Wikisource has already digitized and proofread three books entirely. In collaboration with the Wikimedia-funded Centre for Internet and Society‘s Access to Knowledge, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) has partially digitized another book, as well. KISS is also busy digitizing another Nine books by Odia-language author Dr. Jagannath Mohanty that were relicensed to CC-BY-SA 3.0 earlier this year.
In response to posts on Twitter and Facebook, four new contributors recently joined Wikisource to help digitize “The Odia Bhagabata,” a literary classic compiled in the 14th century. “Content that have already been typed with fonts of non-Unicode encoding systems could be converted by converters which was the case of Odia Bhagabata. New contributors did not face the problem of retyping the text, as the book was already available on a website Odia.org and is out of copyright”, says Manoj Sahukar, who (along with yours truly) designed a converter that helped to transcribe “Bhagabata”.
Rising Voices contacted some of those whose efforts made this happen.
Mrutyunjaya Kar (MK), Long time Wikimedian who has proof-read the books on Odia Wikisource
Rising Voices (RV): Youre there with Odia Wikisource since its inception. How you think it will help other Odias?
MK: Odias around the globe will have access to a vast amount of old as well as new books and manuscripts online in the tip of their finger. Knowing more about the long and glorious history of Odisha will become easier.
Nihar Kumar Dalai (NKD), Wikisource writer
RV: How does it feel to be one of the few contributors to digitize Odia Bhagabata. How you want to get involved in future?
NKD: This is a proud opportunity for me to be a part of digitization of such old literature. I, at times, think if I could get involved with this full time!
Nasim Ali (NA), Oldest active Odia Wikimedian and Wikisource writer
RV: Do you think any particular section of the society is going to be benefited by this?
NA: Books contain the gist of all human knowledge. The ease of access and spread of books are the markers of the intellectual status of a society. And in this e-age Wikisource can be helpful by not just providing easy access to a plethora of books under free licenses but also aiding the spread of basic education in developing economies. Together with Wikisource and cheaper internet this could catalyze a Renaissance of 21st century.
Pankajmala Sarangi (PS), Wikisource writer
RV: You have digitized almost two books, are the highest contributor to the project and also one of the main reasons for Odia Wikisource getting approved. What are your plans next to grow it and take to masses?
PS: I would be happy to contribute by typing more books on Odia so that they can be stored and available to all. We can take this to masses through social, print and audio & visual media and organizing meetings/discussions.
Amir Aharoni (AA), Wikimedia Language Committee member and Software Engineer at the Language Engineering team at the Wikimedia Foundation
RV: What you feel Wikisource could do to a language like Odia with more than 40 million speakers?
AA: In schools in Odisha, are there lessons of Odia literature? If the answer is yes, then it can do a very simple thing – make these lessons more fun and help children learn more! Everybody says that in Kerala this worked very well with Malayalam literature.
Clearly, strong passions motivate Odia Wikisource's volunteers, like Nihar Kumar Dalai, who writes on Facebook:
Hindi and English are fine, but our native language is bit more special! Who of us does not now about the art, culture, noted personalities, tourist spots and festivals of Odisha? But if you search online about all of these then there is very little available. There comes a simple and easy solution Odia Wikipedia. Like Odia Wikipedia, Odia Wikisource is another great place and this is my small contribution to bring Odia Bhagabata on Odia Wikisource.

author: Subhashish Panigrahi


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Humanitarian Associations in Burkina Faso Campaign for Revenue Sharing from the Mining Industry with “Just 1%” Hashtag · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

Bobo Vendors in Burkina Faso – Public Domain
A new hashtag is trending in Burkina Faso online networks: #Justeunpourcent (Just 1 Percent in English). The hashtag refers to a campaign initiated by local NGOs to the Parliament that requests that 1 percent of the mining revenues be shared with humanitarian associations to fight poverty in Burkina Faso. Nadine Kone from Ouagadogou kickstarted the campaign on twitter :
#Juste1pourcent pour sortir les communautés de la pauvrete Mesdames et Messieurs les deputes du Burkina Faso juste 1% pic.twitter.com/yGylO9WCC7
— Nadine Kone (@NadineKone) 14 Octobre 2014
Just 1 Percent: To all the Members of Parliament in Burkina Faso, this is a way to help communities against poverty.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Kashmir Witnesses ‘Worst Violence in a Decade’ Between India and Pakistan · Global Voices
Nikhil Dhingra

Indian villagers carry the dead bodies of Akram Hussain, who was killed in alleged Pakistan mortar-firing at Jeora village of R.S Pura border sector about 32 km from Jammu, India. Image by Amarjeet Singh. Copyright Demotix (23/8/2014)
Tensions are spiking again in Kashmir, this time along the Line of Control, the “LOC,” between Indian and Pakistan. Over the past few days, the two neighbors have exchanged gunfire at the border, killing 17 civilians and causing thousands more to flee the area.
The new hostilities began roughly two weeks ago, on October 7, when Indian and Pakistani soldiers killed nine bystanders, while shooting at each other. Following the confrontation, both sides blamed each other for inciting the violence. Calm proved elusive over the next few days, as India and Pakistan traded mortar fire and machine-gun bullets, killing another six locals, including three children.
In an effort to relieve tensions, military commanders in India and Pakistan established a telephone hotline to keep each nation's armed forces in regular contact. So far, the effort hasn't accomplished much.
India and Pakistan created the LOC in 1972, following violent clashes over the Kashmir. The geographical invention failed to bring peace, but the two countries did sign a formal ceasefire in 2003, after a particularly long 14-year stretch of gun battles along the border.
The latest unrest in the LOC has been called the region's “worst in a decade,” and many fear it could destroy the 2003 ceasefire altogether. Efforts to repair ties have fared poorly. India refused to join Pakistan in meetings with Kashmir's separatists, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ominously cancelled plans to speak with his counterpart in Pakistan earlier this year, in August.
According to Pakistani officials, Islamabad did nothing to provoke Indian attacks. “We fail to understand why the Indians are targeting Pakistani civilian populations,” a Pakistani major general told the press on October 8.
Indian forces tell a similar tale, with the roles reversed.
Mass media coverage about the skirmishes has been polarized. The Times of India, for example, has published articles like “Pakistan May Continue Border Firing Until Diwali,” where the newspaper accuses Islamabad of “violating the ceasefire once again.” The Express Tribune, on the other hand, has proven to be more pro-Pakistani, publishing work like “Escalating Tensions: As India Resumes Shelling, Pakistan Warns of Payback,” implying that India instigated the recent violence. The strongly liberal newspaper Karachi Post has also blamed Indian troops for shooting first.
On Twitter, many have commented on the disparate news coverage. A degree of cynicism colors many of the responses. Omar Waraich, for instance, writes of the LOC border crisis:
Line-of-control clashes: Pakistani media: 5 Pakistanis killed http://t.co/c2kCEZZu95 Indian media: 6 Indians killed http://t.co/kBb323Qw2a
— Omar Waraich (@OmarWaraich) October 7, 2014
The media's inconsistency has angered Internet users, as well. Salman Akram Raja argues that the information war in the press is aggravating the shooting war in the streets.
Media in both India & Pakistan creates parallel worlds of anger and anguish. Dozens of channels but no understanding of each other's views.
— salman akram raja (@salmanAraja) October 9, 2014
Since the beginning of October, the LOC ceasefire has been violated 11 times, and neither India nor Pakistan formally acknowledges responsibility for initiating the conflict. Without an end in sight, the region can only sit by idly and hope the conflict between these nuclear-armed rivals doesn't escalate further.

author: Nikhil Dhingra


text:
Video Animation Explains How Principle of “Free Prior and Informed Consent” Can Empower Indigenous Peoples · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact has uploaded a video animation explaining the principle of “Free prior and informed consent” or how communities should have the right to decide for the development of their lands.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Barbados Muslims Reject ISIS, but Still Face Anti-Islam Bigotry Online  · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

Mosque at sunset in Dow Village, Trinidad; photo by Taran Rampersad, used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license. Muslims comprise about 6% of the population in Trinidad and Tobago, with some regional territories having a higher representation and others, like Barbados, having a smaller percentage.
ISIS, the Al Qaeda offshoot that has grown to control large parts of Iraq and Syria using brutal and violent tactics, is allegedly recruiting fighters from the Caribbean. A recent report in the Trinidad Guardian stated that the organisation is paying as much as US $1,000 a day to new recruits.
In an interview with the newspaper, Nasser Mustapha, the president of the Trinidad Muslim League, said he was shocked by the development: “They are using our religion for their misguided aims. Scholars have written a lot about this but joining Isis is not the way to paradise. These fighters are taking things out of the proper context…”
Many prominent Islamic scholars around the world have similarly condemned ISIS, but that unfortunately hasn't stopped some from conflating the militant group with the religion of Islam. Barbados Free Press, a popular blog so named because of its desire to state its opinion without being fettered in any way, followed that mistaken line of thinking in a recent post. The blog was unapologetic about its stance, saying:
We must abandon Iraq and the Middle East. Let them slaughter each other over words and ideas… but we must take steps in the Caribbean to ensure that these violent people – fueled by their violent Koran – never gain a foothold in our countries.
The Islamist apologists and their lackeys are far more concerned with their public relations campaign for Islam than they are for the teachings from the Koran that promote ultra-violence to spread their religion.
To those who say that ISIS doesn’t represent ‘true Islam’…
Tell it to ISIS, not me.
Barbados, like most other Caribbean territories, predominantly comprises people of African descent, most of whom are descended from slaves who were brought to work the sugar cane plantations. The island's Muslim community is small — anywhere from 0.7-1.5 percent of the population.
Barbados’ first Muslim, a silk trader from West Bengal, reportedly arrived on the island's shores about a hundred years ago. Later, Muslims from villages in Gujarat (West India) arrived; others came as indentured labourers post-Emancipation. As a minority, and perhaps to create a support system for their faith and way of life, Barbadian Muslims have built mosques, schools and even a controversial housing development that critics accused of being for Muslims only. Though the developers deny this, the issue has exposed underlying social tensions on the island and created a climate for Islamophobia to thrive.
The Barbados Muslim Association has attempted to clarify such misconceptions, making the point that you can be both Muslim and Barbadian. When asked about anti-Muslim sentiment on the island in a recent interview with Antillean Media Group, the association's secretary, Suleiman Bulbulia, said:
We don’t generally experience it. Usually it will raise its ugly head when there are issues like these or some international occurrence which the media highlights.
Driving this is probably a vocal minority who by and large may not be Barbadian but persons living here and who have their own axe to grind.
I definitely think there is a need for greater public education on Islam, Muslims and specifically the faith and the followers in Barbados.
Social media has helped to bring out more persons and their opinions, positive and negative, although usually very negative.
Like Bulbulia mentioned, some commenters echoed Barbados Free Press‘ negative view of Islam, but others pushed back against the ignorance. One, who was of the opinion that hate only begets more hate, responded:
I am an apologist. I do not believe that the vast majority of Muslims think that ‘the Koran verses about slaying infidels and imposing Islam through force have (any) place in today’s world’. Nor do I believe that the Biblical injunctions to, for example ‘kill all the inhabitants of any city where you find people that worship differently than you. Deuteronomy 13:12-16′ have any place either.
Another reader, using the name MistaBlack, called out the blog for its own extremism. Quoting a paragraph from the post, he countered:
“But there is a dark side to the Internet when it comes to spreading the destructive and violent supremacist ideology of Islam. The Saudis distribute their supremacist hate via satellite and internet to private Muslim schools throughout the Caribbean – including in Barbados.”
And the same Saudis have an unbreakable alliance with both Britain and the United States and are dropping bombs on ISIS, go figure. The above is a convoluted extraction from this alarmist article.
User Harry took the argument right back to home base, discussing the violence that has been taking place on Barbadian soil:
Sometimes i think that yall crazy. We bajans killing each other everyday […] and yall out worrying about a few muslims who livin [with us] for so much years and who is our neighbours and [go to school with] us etc. Yall need to stop watchin cnn and fox. I guess we can call our own black [people] ISIS cus we killin each other out hay !!!
Violent crime has been on the increase in Barbados and there is conjecture that some of it may be linked to the drugs and arms trade now rampant throughout the region. Caribbean islands are viewed as critical trans-shipment points between South and Central America, where many powerful drug cartels operate, and the American and European markets which are heavy consumers of cocaine and other illicit substances.
In the same interview, Bulbulia addressed the situation simply by saying:
No Muslim to date has bought shame to Barbados. Judge us by these criteria, not the actions of so-called ‘Muslims’ in other parts of the world who act contrary to the teachings of their faith. Barbados has been a fair, tolerant society. We live here and practice our faith without hindrance or interference.

author: Flora Thomas


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Beyond an Ebola-Free Nigeria  · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

A screenshot of TIME magazine's tweet about Nigeria's containment of the Ebola virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday, 20th October declared Nigeria to be free of the Ebola virus. A statement from the organization headlined “Nigeria is now free of Ebola virus transmission“reads:
“The lines on the tabular situation reports, sent to WHO each day by its country office in Nigeria, have now been full of zeros for 42 days. WHO officially declares that Nigeria is now free of Ebola virus transmission.
“This is a spectacular success story that shows that Ebola can be contained. The story of how Nigeria ended what many believed to be potentially the most explosive Ebola outbreak imaginable is worth telling in detail. Such a story can help the many other developing countries that are deeply worried by the prospect of an imported Ebola case and eager to improve their preparedness plans. Many wealthy countries, with outstanding health systems, may have something to learn as well.”
Ebola's ravaging of West African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone and its recent outbreak in Texas has generated global panic and hysteria. Some infected healthcare workers who were administered a vaccine that is yet to undergo full clinical trials have recovered, The unavailability, however, of any true and tried treatment or vaccine has made the Ebola epidemic a cause of anxiety. In light of these facts, Nigeria's successful curtailment of the disease is cause for hope and excitement, not only for that country, but for others as well.
. Congratulations Nigeria . * * * pic.twitter.com/luWP4xD5B2
. Congratulations Nigeria . * * * pic.twitter.com/luWP4xD5B2
— Ebola Alert (@EbolaAlert) October 20, 2014
In July we reported on the panic generated by Nigeria’s index case, where Patrick Sawyer,  an American-Liberian lawyer infected with the virus died in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial city. Upon arrival from Liberia, where he had taken care of a sick Ebola relative, Mr. Sawyer collapsed in the airport. He was rushed to hospital, where he was initially treated for malaria. He died some days later. Mr. Sawyer was diagnosed of Ebola some days before his death.
Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, the consultant who treated Sawyer, was instrumental in preventing Ebola from becoming an epidemic in Nigeria. Dr. Adedevoh placed Mr. Sawyer in quarantine and refused to discharge him despite pressure from high quarters. She was reported to have contracted Ebola on August 4, 2014, and died from the disease on August 19, 2014.
RT @zebbook: Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, I doubt this would have been possible today without your sacrifice #EbolaFreeNigeria pic.twitter.com/Qf5RVpzFKA
—  Nwachukwu Egbunike (@feathersproject) October 20, 2014
Lagos is Africa’s most populous city, and for a disease outbreak of this dimension it was a powder keg waiting to explode. The explosion, however, never occurred. According to Scientific America, Nigeria's success was based on the following:
“The swift battle was won not only with vigilant disinfecting, port-of-entry screening and rapid isolation, but also with boot leather and lots and lots of in-person follow-up visits, 18,500 of which were undertaken to find possible new cases of Ebola among a total of 989 identified contacts. Such ground-level work may sound extreme: even the usually measured WHO declared the feat ‘a piece of world-class epidemiological detective work.'”
Nigeria's effective public health response hinged on an existing Incident Management Center established for Poliomyelitis which was deployed for Ebola management. According to the Centers for Disease Control:
Directly linked to the contact tracing was the Social Mobilization strategy. This included teams of three social mobilizers who were trained and deployed to conduct house-to-house, in-person visits within specific radii of the homes of the Ebola contacts. For high-density areas, house-to-house teams covered a 500m radius, 1km in medium density areas and 2km for low density (7). As of September 24, approximately 26,000 households of persons living around Ebola contacts had been reached with house-to-house visits in Lagos and Rivers states.
Besides the epidemiological response, some Nigerian professionals used social media for information dissemination. One such initiative was the Ebola Alert, “an evidence-driven group of volunteer professionals working on Ebola Virus Disease Interventions”. They used a Twitter feed to keep people informed and dispel rumors, as rumor-mongering can be devastating in a crisis like this.
The Lagos State government plans to send health professionals to Sierra Leone to aid in the containment of the Ebola Virus Disease there. Nonetheless, Nigeria should not rest on this current certification from WHO of being Ebola free. Nor should we get caught up in petty squabbles such as the one between the Federal Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Government over who deserves credit for Nigeria's containment of the disease.
The prize of freedom is eternal vigilance. Ebola is not dead until it is eradicated from all parts of the globe and can no longer pose a threat to humanity.
Follow our in-depth coverage: The Struggle to #StopEbola in West Africa

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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Cambodia’s Police Are in the Market for Water Cannon Trucks ‘to Be Used Against Demonstrations’ · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Police notice for the bidding of water cannon trucks. Photo from Facebook page of Sopheap Chak
The Cambodian police has released a public bidding notice for the procurement of two water cannon trucks which they specifically mentioned are going “to be used against demonstrations.”
It reads:
To supply two water cannon trucks to be used against demonstrations. The said trucks are manufactured in Korea in 2014, with 100% quality, to be provided to national police forces for use in security, safety and social order protection operation.
The notice, published in two local newspapers, alarmed human rights activists who fear that authorities might resort to violence again as garment workers have recently revived their petition to increase their monthly minimum wage.
Garment workers held a nationwide strike last January, which was violently dispersed by the police. The protest camp of the political opposition at the Phnom Penh Freedom Park was also removed by authorities. For several months, the government has banned public demonstrations to maintain peace and order in the country.
Sopheap Chak of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights asked about the budget source of the proposed purchase and criticized the police for trying to undermine free speech:
People tax payment or aid support? Instead of strengthening its effort in using water cannon to rescue people from fire, the government is focused on how to fight against freedom.
On Facebook, John Weeks, a communications officer for Swedish development organization Forum Syd in Cambodia, also questioned the priorities of the government:
Now if only the government put *land concessions* out for competitive bidding instead of riot control equipment, there would be a lot more trust. Sigh.
While water cannon trucks are commonly used across the world, this could be the first time in Cambodia that a government agency has explicitly admitted that the trucks will be used against rallies and not for fire control.


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Chatting with Tony Iribor, Nigeria’s Social-Chatter Curator · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

With nearly 11 million Facebook users (more than anywhere else in Sub-Saharan Africa) and the third most Twitter users on the entire continent, it's safe to say that Nigeria has a vibrant social media presence. Nowhere is Nigeria's netizen activity stronger than on Twitter, which has fast become the country's most robust platform for social chatter.
Nwachukwu Egbunike (NE) of Global Voices caught up with Tony Iribor (TI), who curates a new weekly production on Twitter called “Nigeria — the Twitter Round Up.”
NE: We know that Tony Iribor tweets at @tonypox, curates the weekly Nigerian Twitter Round Up and is a social commentator. Can you tell us about the Tony we don’t know about?
TI: Tony is a happy guy who loves to laugh. The first of six children from Ebonyi State in Nigeria. A singer, song writer, a rookie instrumentalist, a lover of music and shoes.
Tony Iribor (@tonypox) curates a weekly Round Up of Nigerian Twitter Conversations. Image used with his permission.
NE: What’s the story behind the weekly presentation of conversations in Nigeria’s TweetVilla, the Twitter Round Up?
TI: To be very honest, it was born out of the need to meet up a deadline for a friend’s website. I was introduced to the editor of the website that hosts the round-up. And one of the expectations was to contribute content to the site. I could not meet up as often as expected so one day the thought just dropped. How about I put together a summary of events on Twitter Nigeria? Especially for those who are not always there when they happen. I had not seen it done by anyone before so I decided to give it a try. I spoke to the editor and he liked the idea and the rest is what we have now.
NE: How do you choose your theme or story each week?
TI: The stories are usually picked from the various topics discussed on Twitter daily. Twitter being what it is, gives people room to say what they think about anything. So it could be politics, religion, etc. Even though some topics get recycled from time to time.
NE: What has the feedback from your audience been like?
TI: It has been good. At first I was not sure how it would be received, but now I feel I am under some kind of pressure to meet the need for my regular readers. There are Mondays when I get tweets from people asking why the weekly round-up has not been published yet. There are those who read and go “Wow! I never knew all of that happened this week!” it makes me happy that I meet a need, if we can call it that.
NE: Which roundup has generated massive interest (measured by retweets, favorites and conversations)?
TI: Hmmmmn. I think there a few. I am not sure but I know there was one I did during the world cup where we had tweeps leading prayer sessions before one of our games (Weeks 15, 16 and 17) and the one that had the issue of the ponmo ban (Week 27). They were hilarious
NE: How will you describe the milieu of Nigerian Twitter – is it warm, aggressive, friendly or…?
TI: For me, it is that and even much more. It depends on your views on issues and how people see you.
NE: There has been an on-going conversation among media scholars and practitioners on the impact of social media conversation. Some think that it is irrelevant while others think it has been impactful. What are your views, especially but without limiting it to social media in Nigeria?
TI: Social media has been impactful no doubt. It has given people the chance to get their voices heard easier that what it used to be. It has also helped give momentum to causes. It has in a way, made it easy for people to gather and make things happen, both positively and negatively. However, I feel that people should not get carried away by social media alone. There is a time for social media and there is a time to hit the road and put action to whatever it is that needs to be done. It has become flesh or made real.
NE: In your opinion, has Twitter conversations been helpful in effecting social and political change in Nigeria?
TI: In a very small way, I would say yes. We are not yet at the point where what happens on twitter really brings the kind of political change we sometimes seek.
NE: Being an avid Twitter user, have you been able to morph your online ‘friendships’ into offline interactions?
TI: Yes, I have.
NE: Nigerians will go to the polls early next year for another general election. Will the social media be a potent flame or a damp squib in determining who wins or loses?
TI: Potent flame for awareness and propaganda for those online, yes. But the majority of those who will guaranty political parties’ victory are not on twitter. The serious politicians will have to appeal to those and look for how to get them to vote in their favour. Like I stated earlier, we are not yet at the stage where we can say social media will determine things like these.
NE: Any last words?
TI: No, there will be no last words. Why last words? I am still here. I am going nowhere. LOL. Whatever you do, make sure your life has a positive impact on someone else’s.


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#Fails of the Tunisian Electoral Campaign in One Hilarious Blog · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Campaigning underway by the ‘Current of Love’, a political party in Tunisia
Tunisian netizens are crowdsourcing the funniest and most ridiculous moments of the election race on a Tumblr blog called #TnElecFails.
Campaigning for Tunisia's parliamentary elections kicked off on October 4. More than 5 million registered voters are set to elect 217 members of the Assembly of the People's Deputies on October 26.
Two of the strongest contenders in this year’s legislative elections are the Islamist Ennahda Movement, which emerged as the winner of the 2011 election; and Nidaa Tounes, founded in 2012 and led by 86-year-old Beji Caid Essebsi, who served under the previous autocratic regimes of Habib Bourguiba and Zine el-Abidin Ben Ali
But with a number of electoral lists exceeding 1,300 and a number of candidates estimated at 13,000, there are plenty of things to laugh about in this year's election race including the logos, names and mottos of electoral lists.
Here are some photos:
“I like” is the logo of this list
Name of the list: “the miserables”, motto: “a hope for generations”
This independent list ‘I want my country to be clean’ was hung on a wall near a high school, without the photos of its candidates, with the following note: “Our photos do not matter, what matters is achieving our promises to you”. The list did not remain without photos for long, and this note was added: “We do not need your faces anyway”.
But why the derision of the Tunisian elections?
Scissors is the logo of the Tunisian party because they want to “circumsize the security [institution], the judiciary and the administration”. Most probably, they meant to purge or cleanse from corruption. But, they opted for “circumcise”.
Well, it is not really a choice. Who would not laugh at “the miserables, a hope for generations” or at a party seeking to “circumcise the security and judicial institutions and the administration”?
“Une journée sans rire est une journée perdue” — devise de nos politiciens qui l'appliquent pour le bien du peuple.. #tnelec2014
— Fhtagn! (@Fhtagn) October 8, 2014
“A day without laughter, is a lost day”, this is the motto implemented by our politicians for the good of the people.
But at the same time, this mockery reflects the popular dissatisfaction with the political class in Tunisia, which nearly four years after the ousting of the Ben Ali regime, has done little to respond to the urgent socio-economic aspirations of Tunisians.
This was reflected by the protest of a group of unemployed graduates in Metlaoui, an impoverished town in the province of Gafsa in southwestern Tunisia. They hung their university diplmoas with “for sale” written on them, on a wall allocated for electoral lists.

author: Afef Abrougui


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False Ebola Alarm Provides Convenient Distraction for Macedonia From Unflattering EU Report · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

“Ebola” graffiti in Caen, France. Photo by F. S., CC-BY.
The publishing of a critical EU report on Macedonia coincided with the spectacular arrest of several Macedonian judges and an over-dramatic reaction to an alleged case of Ebola in the small country, and some speculated that the timing was no accident.
On October 8, 2014, the European Commission (EC) issued its annual Progress Reports, delineating the progress of countries participating in the process of joining the European Union. In the case of Macedonia, the report noted significant backsliding in the areas of freedom of expression, media, and the independence of the judicial system, apart from the ongoing  country name issue, as summed up by Enlargement Commissioner Füle in this video:
Subtitled statement by Füle via 24vesti
As previously reported, both local and international political analysts did not express optimism regarding the response of the Macedonian government:
Cvete Koneska: Progress report #Macedonia: Criticism is unlikely to be taken seriously by the government http://t.co/hIhysh4Ymk
— LSEE-Research on SEE (@LSEE_LSE) October 9, 2014
However, on the same day, Macedonian authorities staged a massive police action leading to the arrest of 14 judges and 11 officers of the Skopje Basic Court, in front of several television cameras. The apprehended judges stand accused of delaying implementation of sanctions against perpetrators of misdemeanors. In some media, this action overshadowed the conclusions of the EU report, which was given much less attention. Several television stations also decided to devote more time in the evening news to traffic accidents and local political squabbles, with reporters claiming that the Macedonian public was uninterested in the EU report. (While the latest IRI survey found out that 72 percent of the population support Macedonia becoming a member of the EU.)
The next day, another media blitz followed: the death of a British national in a Skopje hotel was suspected to have been caused by the Ebola virus. Skopje authorities sealed off the hotel and neighborhood with heavy police forces, imposing strict quarantine to dozens of guests trapped inside. Media buzzed with warnings about the disease, even though its existence remained unconfirmed by any evidence at all.
The alleged Ebola case put Macedonia on the map of world news organizations, thanks to speedy and meticulous Reuters news service's continuous coverage. UK media in particular picked up the story, but also many in the US and elsewhere around the world.
In Macedonia, a continuous stream of news items about the case flooded the media, “revealing” various aspects such as the role of the British businessman, who allegedly served as an adviser to the prime minister, his ties to the national government, and its efforts to attract foreign investors, among other details.
Results whether it is #ebola or not will have to wait 48 hrs as #Macedonia doesn't have laboratory to do that sort of analysis.
— Andreja Bogdanovski (@BogdanovskiA) October 9, 2014
Macedonia health authorities sent samples to a competent laboratory in Hamburg, Germany, which after three days confirmed that the Ebola virus was not cause of death of the unfortunate British national. Foreign follow up coverage was far less spectacular than it was to the initial reports.
Even before the official results of the German lab were made public, Macedonian social media users expressed doubts about the propaganda being used around the whole case. As early as October 9, one Twitter user pointed out that the victim seemed to have suffered from chronic alcoholism.
Странските новинари не дознале дека кај нас свински/птичји грип, #ебола обично напаѓа после извештај од ЕК. Али ќе се прошетаат бар.
— марјанот (@MarjanIvanovski) October 10, 2014
Foreign journalists did not know that swine flu, bird flu, or #ebola usually attack Macedonia after each EC Report. No matter, at least they'll enjoy a bit of traveling.
Острите критиките од #ЕУ, причина за “појава” на #ЕБОЛА во #Македонија!?
— Dimitar Azeski (@DimitarAzeski) October 9, 2014
Is the harsh criticism by the EU a reason for the “occurrence” of ebola in Macedonia?
Сите збореа за извештајот, сеа сите зборат за #ебола. – #Ж likes this
— Џетроу (@i_taka_toa) October 9, 2014
Everybody used to talk about the Report, now everybody talk about ebola.
– The Prime Minister likes this.
Вечер на Сител: Македонија со најголем економски раст од сите земји погодени со ебола.
— Igor Trajkovski (@mkrobot) October 10, 2014
Tonight on Sitel: Macedonia with largest economic growth of all ebola-affected countries.
Seasoned journalist Erol Rizaov expressed his outrage in a column titled “There is no Ebola, but there are plenty of idiots”:
Да се пушти непроверена вест во провладина телевизија дека во државата, најверојатно, умрел човек болен од заразна болест од која се плаши цел свет е невозможна мисија без амин од власта. А, да се пласира три дена и три ноќи ударно како да удрил страшен земјотрес со епицентар меѓу градскиот стадион, Арената „Филип Втори“ и зградата на Владата и тоа без асистенција и логистика на политиката е незамисливо. На некого страшно му требаше „ебола во Македонија“, па макар ја ставил во карантин целата земја како што кај нас се стави хотелот на „ужасот“. Држава со болен од ебола е како епидемија на чума по која херметички се затвораат сите врати кон и од Македонија. Ете ваков голем подвиг направија високите професионалци. Им ја замрзнаа крвта на граѓаните откривајќи ни ја лагата на годината дека Британецот што починал во хотел ги имал симптомите на ебола.
Некому многу му се брзаше да ги оддалечи луѓето од вистинската драматична вест за иднината на земјата која е доведена во прашање според оценките на европската влада од Брисел. По веста за апсење на цел еден суд, подметнувањето на еболата дојде како вишна врз шлагот за пренасочување на вниманието на јавноста.
It would be mission impossible for a pro-government television channel to air unconfirmed news that a man suffering from infectious disease that scares the whole world died in this country, without a blessing from the government. It is unthinkable to continue propagating the same news as primetime for three days and three nights, as if a catastrophic earthquake hit somewhere between the Phillip the Second Arena [the seat of Sitel TV] and the Government building, without political assistance and logistical aid. Somebody sorely needed “Ebola in Macedonia,” even if that would quarantine the whole country, as they quarantined the “hotel of horror.” If a real Ebola patient exists in a country, than the procedure is akin to plague epidemics, with hermetic closing of all doors in and out of Macedonia. This is the big accomplishment of these high professionals. They froze the blood of our citizens by spreading the lie of the year, that the Brit who died in a hotel had Ebola symptoms.
Someone was in a real big hurry to distance the people from the real dramatic news affecting the country's future. This future is jeopardized, according to the European authorities from Brussels. After the news of wholesale arrest of an entire court of law, planting the ebola story came as a cherry on a cake for redirecting the public attention.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Hacking Against Ebola · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Global Editors Network intends to develop new technologies and social networks for covering and preventing the Ebola epidemic from spreading.
Watch the YouTube video below for more information about the project:
Follow our in-depth coverage: The Struggle to #StopEbola in West Africa