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28 Dead, 268 Still Missing in South Korean Ferry Sinking · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A South Korean ferry heading to a resort island sank on April 16, 2014 with hundreds of passengers, including 325 high school students, on board. It has been two days since the accident and 28 people are confirmed dead as of April 18 and 268 people are still missing. Their chances of survival are very slim.
Three images below have been shared publicly by the South Korean Coast Guard's Facebook page [ko]. The first photo shows the boat's captain amongst the first group to be rescued.
Image shared publicly by South Korean Coast Guard's Facebook page
Image of Sewol ferry rescue operation, shared by Korean Coast Guard's Facebook Page
Image of Rescue Operation, shared by Korean Coast Guard's Facebook page
South Korean online venues have been inundated with messages of condolences for the victims and their loved ones and intense anger against the captain and crew members who evacuated early [ko], well before most of the passengers. In particular, the on board announcement which told the passengers to stay still [ko], even after the ferry started tilting, has further fueled the furor.
#Sewol 2003년 대구지하철 방화 참사 때 기관사가 마스터키 뽑고 도망가는 바람에 승객 다수가 사망했습니다. 세월호 선장과 기관사 등의 조기탈출 이야기가 들립니다. 부디 사실 아니길 바랍니다. 사실이라면, 처벌은 당연하고 결코 용서받지 못합니다.
— … (@DrPyo) April 16, 2014
During the 2003 Daegu Subway fire disaster, a majority of passengers died as the train conductor ran away after plucking away the master key. I hear the stories that the Sewol ferry’s captain and the conductor evacuated early. I wish it is false. If that is true, then they can't be forgiven nor escape punishment.
선장이 가만히 있으라는 방송을 말단 여직원에게 시키고 본인은 1차로 탈출했다는 소식을 들으니 옛날 한국전쟁때 이승만이 이젠 안전하다는 방송을 하고서 한강다리 끊고 도망갔다는 이야기가 떠오른다. 무려 60년이 지났는데도 어쩜 이렇게 그대로인지…
— 풋비홀릭 (@FootvieHolic) April 16, 2014
The captain, after ordering a low-ranking female crew member to announce that the passengers should stay where they are, escaped well before anybody else. It reminds me of the historical event during the Korean War – when President Rhee Seung-man, after broadcasting that “now it is safe”, ran away after cutting the Han River bridge. It's been over 60 years, but the history stays the same.
Authorities still can't confirm what caused the incident, and various speculations have sprung up, including that the ferry could have hit a rock. Currently, many blame the fact that the ship went through illegal remodeling [ko] to host more passengers. Korean net users discussed the unsolved mysteries.
세월호 의문점들 1. 기상 좋고 암초 없는 곳에서 조난 2. 선체 우측 바닥에 움푹 패인 자국 3. 침수 중 “가만 있으라” 방송 4. 선장과 선원 먼저 탈출 5. 조난신고를 승객 가족이 8시 58분에 함 6. 지역 어민은 7시 30분 경 세월호 발견
— ㅂㄴㅂ (@yimoha) April 16, 2014
There are remaining questions: 1) How was the ferry wrecked in an area with no reef and on a clear weather day 2) There is a big dent on the right side of the hull. 3) Announcing “stay put” while the ship started tilting 4) The crew and captain evacuated first 5) The distress call was made at 8:58 by a passenger 6) Local fisherman noticed there is something wrong with Sewol at 7:30.
Many blamed sensational and insensitive media coverage.
문화일보 초판을 보면 얼마나 나태하게 여객선 세월호 침몰을 대했는지를 알수있습니다. MBC는 구조작업이 끝나기도 전에 돈얘기를 합니다. KBS는 생존자나 구조소식보다 대통령동정이 더 중요합니다. (아이엠피터) pic.twitter.com/fAOWSjnBSK
— 서영석#국민TV라디오 (@du0280) April 17, 2014
If you look at Munhwa newspaper's initial report, you can see how lazy they were in reporting this issue. MBC talks about [the insurance] money even before the rescue operation has ended. KBS focuses more on the president's reaction than the survivors and updates on the rescue mission (by blogger with the online handle of “I am Peter”)
The rescue mission is under way. However, the victims’ relatives and families have released a statement [ko] lashing out that information is still lacking and the scale of the rescue team has been greatly exaggerated.
도착시간 5시 30분쯤 진도 실내체육관 비상상황실에 와보니 책임을 가지고 상황을 정확히 판단해주는 관계자가 아무도 없었습니다다. 심지어 상황실도 없었습니다다.[…] 어제 현장을 방문했습니다. 인원은 200명도 안됐고, 헬기는 단 두대. 배는 군함 두척. 경비정 2척. 특수부대 보트 6대. 민간구조대원 8명이 구조작업 했습니다다. 9시 대한민국 재난본부에서는 인원 투입 555명. 헬기 121대. 배 169척으로 우리아이들을 구출하고 있다고 거짓말 했습니다.
When we arrived at 5:30 at the Jindo gymnasium emergency center, there was not a single staff member who was responsible for telling people what's going on. There was not even a control center […] We visited the accident scene yesterday. The rescue team was less than 200. There were only two helicopters, two marine boats, two coast guard boats, six special forces boats. And eight civil rescue team members have carried out the rescue mission. However, the Disaster Headquarters have lied to us that they have dispatched 555 rescue team members, 121 helicopters and 169 boats.
**Further update is to come about the disaster.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Southern Russia’s Road Warriors · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

North Ossetia's road warriors? Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
Last week, on April 10 and 11, 2014, a group of men from the village of Maisky in North Ossetia blocked traffic on a federal highway, protesting the detention of two local young men. Aliskhan Gurazheva and Mustafa Barkinhoev stand accused of participating in what the authorities are calling “illegal armed formations” in the bordering republic, Ingushetia.
Around 100 friends and family members gathered to protest the arrests on April 10, claiming that the boys had been detained without cause. First, North Ossetia's Interior Minister came out to talk to the protestors, and succeeded in convincing them to return home. When no results were forthcoming, however, the protesters nearly doubled in number the next day, gathering to block traffic for a second time. Ultimately, police detained 16 people, in order to disperse the protest and free up the roads, the website Caucasian Knot reports.
Situations like this are not uncommon in the North Caucasus, but it is unusual to see such public disturbances in the relatively quiet republic of North Ossetia.  Blogger sunja_edu commented:
Да все как обычно. Ингушей сделали виновными априори. Это раскручено специально и продолжается достаточно давно.
Yep, it's business as usual. The Ingush are found guilty a priori. This is all unwinding for a reason, and it's been going on for a long time.
And then referring to the 1992 East Prigorodny conflict, he added:
В 92 также было.
It was the same in [19]92.
Blogger Slonus2012 posted links to reports about the demonstration, as well as a video of the men protesting. He called it second “Maidan” (referring to the protests in Kiev that ended in the ouster of President Yanukovych). One reader disagreed with the usage of the word “Maidan,” writing:
Да, с Майданом тут мало общего… Сейчас прочитала, что их уже разогнали, и 15 чел. задержали. Ну этого и следовало ожидать… и это никак не поможет ребятам.
Yeah … this has little in common with “Maidan”… I’ve just read that they already dispersed them and detained 15 people. But this was to be expected… and in no way does this does help the [two detained] guys.
Slonus2012 answered:
это уже ребятам помогло, их нашли, допустили адвоката, а если бы не собрались то, получилось бы как с Ахмедом Бузуртановым.
It has already helped the guys, they’ve been found, they got a lawyer, and if [the crowd] had not gathered, the guys would have ended up like Akhmed Buzurtanov [a wrestling coach from the same village, who was kidnapped in December 2012, and whose case later reached the European Court of Human Rights].
Footage from the site of the highway protest. Caucasian Knot.
Some saw a connection to the events last summer in Pugachev [Global Voices report].
Возвращение в средние века, не иначе. Теперь вот и в Ингушетии началось.
We have returned to the Middle Ages—there are no two ways about it. Now here in Ingushetia it has begun.
Another reader wondered:
А что поможет? что нужна сделат чтобы такого не происходило? А что остается делать Людям когда закон,который должен действовать Закона, действует по Бандитски.
And what does help? What should people do in order to keep this from happening? And what is left to do when law enforcement, which should act within the law, acts like a gangster?
The fate of the two men whose arrests sparked the traffic incident remains undecided. Yesterday, April 17, they acquired the services of a celebrated local attorney, who accepted the case pro bono. The trial is already bigger than its two defendants, however, as their friends and family have displayed a readiness for civil disobedience that undoubtedly has many asking what these protests say about the larger population's willingness to take to the streets (or highways, as it were), when faced with perceived injustices.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nina Jobe


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The New Government of Prime Minister Roger Kolo Announced in Madagascar   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Tananews in Madagascar has published the full list of the 31 members of the new Malagasy government [fr]. Mitsangana Madagascar notes that the list includes 6 women and that 7 ministers were already part [fr] of  the previous transitional government. Former prime minister Beriziky wished the new government well on twitter :
Passation avec mon sucesseur @kolo_roger. Remerciement à tous les malgaches. #Madagascar pic.twitter.com/90Yxvsf2pC
— Jean-Omer Beriziky (@JOBeriziky) April 16, 2014
Introducing Roger Kolo (@kolo_roger) as the new prime minister. Many thanks to all Malagasies #Madagascar

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Winners and Losers in the 2014 Indonesian Legislative Polls · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A banner of Jokowi for president in central Jakarta. Photo by Herianus, Copyright @Demotix (3/15/2014)
190 million voters, 12 parties, 560 Parliament seats.
Indonesians will vote twice this year: April 9 for the local and national legislative elections; and three months later on July 9 for the presidential election. A party needs 20 percent of legislative seats or 25 percent of the popular vote in order to nominate a presidential candidate. But according to quick counts, no party reached the minimum threshold which means there is a need for coalition–building.
Regardless, Endy M. Bayuni underscored the value of the recent elections:
Indonesia is now quite comfortable with the constant changing of the guard. These changes reflected the will of the people who exercised their sovereign rights through the periodic elections. The elected leaders are too learning that their positions and influence are not permanent, and that they have to account for their policies and actions.
Only two presidents have ruled Indonesia for 53 years after 1945. But after implementing democratic reforms in 1998, Indonesians were able to elect four presidents already.
However, Indonesian politics is still marred by various issues such as corruption and inefficient bureaucracy. This was noted by Zak Rose:
The political establishment in Indonesia has never seemed less popular. Stalled democratization initiatives and rampant corruption in the halls of political and military power have not gone unnoticed by the Indonesian public. Party loyalty has hit rock bottom, and an increasingly cynical electorate is eager to find alternatives to the status quo.
Searching for alternatives, many people pinned their hopes and support to Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a rising politician who is admired for his pro-people style of governance. His popularity is often dubbed as the ‘Jokowi Effect’.
But the ‘Jokowi Effect’ proved to be limited if we are to interpret the recent election results. Wimar Witoelar tried to explain why Jokowi’s opposition party underperformed in the election:
I was wrong. The media was wrong. The polls were wrong. There is no Jokowi Effect. Or maybe there is one, but it is not strong enough to break the stranglehold Indonesia’s party oligarchy has on the electorate.
Jokowi backers might have the morality but not the will to win, as they are not investing in the Jokowi candidacy by voting for the party that will launch him.
The quick count results are a humiliation. It’s sad to have violators of human rights and blatant power manipulators show equal strength as a fresh popular leader. It demonstrates failure to translate Jokowi’s popularity into electoral votes.
Winarno Zain analyzed why the business sector was not overly enthusiastic with the election outcome, and in particular with the ‘Jokowi Effect’:
First, given the distribution of votes among parties, it is clear that whatever coalition government is formed, it would be weak and not effective, as the debate on government policies and the decision-making process would drag on for a long time in the House of Representatives.
Second, during the campaign, the rhetoric of populist and nationalist policies were at high pitch, even harsh words against foreign-business interests were heard, shocking the business community, who are already wary of the back sliding of some government policies in trade and investment, as reflected in the recently approved investment and trade laws.
Jokowi, the frontrunner, has not even spelled out his thinking on economic issues. We only know that he was a manufacturer and exporter of furniture.
Indonesia is the most populous Muslim majority nation in the world. Islamic Parties have been participating in the electoral process but their votes have been decreasing in recent years. But this year, their votes went up which surprised many analysts. However, Dr Greg Fealy clarified that it does not reflect a ‘resurgence of political Islam’:
This election result does not show a resurgence of political Islam but it does indicate its resilience and ability to adapt to changing attitudes in the electorate. The four Islamic parties that have gained parliamentary seats have done so partly because they have moved closer to the centre of the political spectrum, and away from a doctrinaire Islamic position.
Some media moguls also joined the elections but their parties did not dominate the polls. For Agus Sudibyo, it means voters have the capacity to critically discern what the media are reporting:
They take into account core ties like ethnicity and faith; quite apart from credibility and quality.
People are not merely blank canvases that can be painted upon by the media. They are competent in giving feedback; therefore one would need to reconsider the view that citizens are merely passive media consumers.
Another factor in the campaign is the involvement of young voters. Hasyim Widhiarto probed the impact of the youth vote:
The abundance of young people has also explained why Indonesia has earned the title as one of the most active nations on social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook in the past few years, inspiring political parties and politicians to field their election campaigns in cyberspace.
Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo and his wife cast their votes in the legislative elections in Jakarta. Photo by Denny Pohan, Copyright @Demotix (4/9/2014)
Indonesia’s major political parties are now busy forming alliances in preparation for the July presidential election. The most popular candidate is still Jokowi. Christian von Lübke explains why Jokowi is popular among the masses:
The idea of a non-establishment contender from the midst of society – who is not a scion of a political dynasty, nor a business tycoon, nor a ranking army general, and who actually listens to people’s concerns – has stirred much enthusiasm.
But some people are also wary of the people behind Jokowi:
In the eyes of sceptical observers, the former mayor of Solo already finds himself entangled in web of entrenched interests, power brokers, and campaign financiers.
Donny Syofyan warned about misusing the power of the ‘Jokowi Effect’:
The ‘Jokowi effect’, that is the overwhelming influence of Jokowi due to his current popularity, is subject to misuse.
Jokowi should not be exploited as a media darling. Jokowi often benefits from his personal magnetism but this should not lead to media immunity for him and his proponents.

author: Mong Palatino


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Bad News & Worse News for Russian Internet Users · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

If you think the bad news in Russia is bad, wait until you hear the worse news. Images mixed by author.
First, the bad news: the most popular website in Russia, Yandex.ru, will no longer rank Russian bloggers or categorize the most popular news topics discussed online. That service, which for the last ten years Yandex featured on the splash page of its blogs search engine, is now kaput. In an announcement published today, April 18, 2014, Yandex explained that the traditional blog is in decline, as Internet users flee to social networks like Facebook and Vkontakte, where popularity rankings can be difficult to calculate.
Now, the worse news: Yandex’s decision to euthanize its rating system for bloggers was also a response to legislation now making its way through the Russian parliament, where Duma deputies today passed the second reading of a draft law that would impose mass media regulations on bloggers with daily audiences in excess of three thousand visitors. Under this law, various kinds of self-expression would become illegal, and any website with enough traffic lands on a government registry.
Forbidden blogging would include everything from conveying approval of terrorism to using obscenities. Websites would be expected to fact-check anything they publish, likely making life impossible for the countless Russian blogs that peddle conspiracy theories and compromising rumors about Russia’s rich and powerful. Bloggers would also become accountable for any damage done by their writing to the reputations of individuals and organizations, portending a flood of lawsuits by Russia’s very litigious politicians.
The legislation’s final draft, which the Duma is expected to pass next week, is of course the latest in Russia’s series of repressive Internet laws. Saddling “popular” websites and blogs with the obligations of a major news institution will undoubtedly silence many bloggers. Some netizen heroes, like Alexey Navalny and Pavel Durov, will continue to “speak truth to power” and challenge the government’s attempts to control the Russian Internet. Most people don’t have the resources to risk a libel suit, however, and even the bold will think twice, before airing grievances that could be deemed illegal.
To understand the misery awaiting Russian bloggers, consider a couple of details in the controversial legislation.
. Section 3, Clause 2, of Article 10, subscript 2 (“Features of Public Information Distributed by Bloggers”) says that bloggers affected by the law will maintain the right to publish under a pseudonym. However, Section 5 says that bloggers must reveal their surname, initials, and email address. Effectively, this law bans anonymity for Russia’s popular bloggers. (Unless it doesn’t, depending on which clause you cite.)
. Section 12 says that a blogger can appeal to the government to be removed from the state’s registry, if his or her website’s traffic drops below three thousand daily visitors for three consecutive months. If a blogger doesn’t appeal to the government, however, state officials are allowed to wait for six months of low daily traffic. In fact, even after six months, the law only states that such websites “may be removed from the registry.” There is nothing in the law that obligates the government to remove websites from the list, meaning that the burden of upkeep will fall on individual bloggers.
If this is the brave new world awaiting Russian netizens, it’s no surprise that Yandex decided to discontinue its ranking system for bloggers, which presumably would have aided government watchdogs in their attempt to identify the Internet’s most “popular” Russian users. Yandex may be setting a dangerous precedent, however. Next, will it cancel its blogs search engine altogether? Would Twitter stop revealing trending hashtags, if Russia somehow criminalized them?
The idea to equate bloggers with mass media is still just a bill in the legislature, but it’s already harming Internet freedom in Russia. One shudders to think what will happen, when the damned thing is the law of the land.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Bangladeshis Mourn Gabriel García Márquez, the ‘Magician Of Words’ · Global Voices
Rezwan

Gabriel García Márquez. Image by Wikimedia/Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara. CC BY 2.0
Gabriel García Márquez, the Nobel-prize winning literary legend from Colombia, died April 17, 2014 at the age of 87. He was not only popular in Latin America but also in South Asia, especially in Bangladesh through translations of his works. There, he was known as the “magician of words”.
Most of the local newspapers in Bangladesh carried the news of his death with importance. On Facebook, Bangaldeshis paid tribute to the author of such beloved works as “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and “Love in the Time of Cholera”.
Blogger and author Mahbub Morshed wrote:
মার্কেজ আমাদের জীবনকালের সবচেয়ে বড় সাহিত্যিক।
Márquez is the greatest author of our lifetime.
Tanvir Haider Chowdhury acknowledged the influence of Márquez:
Nostalgia. Melancholy. Solitude. Romance.
I look at these words, and they always make me think of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He taught me to look for the magic underneath the facade of the everyday. Mr Marquez's prose to me defined lyricism. In his hands, the poetry, poignancy and pathos of the human condition lay revealed.
He will always evoke to me my early youth, when I incredulously devoured ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ and ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’. I vividly remember sitting there stunned, trying to absorb the fact that these were contemporary works of fiction.
In literary critique Facebook group Boi Porua, writer Ahmed Mostofa Kamal mentioned while discussing the influence of Márquez on Bengali literature:
মার্কেজের প্রভাব খুব বেশি পড়েনি বাঙালি সাহিত্যিকদের ওপর। তাঁর নির্মাণ-কৌশলে অনুপ্রাণিত হয়ে লেখা কঠিন ছিল। কিছু কিছু কৌশল ইউনিকই থেকে যায়, মার্কেজেরটিও তাই।
Márquez's style did not influence Bengli authors much. It was hard to mimic his writing style. Some skills remain unique, such was Márquez's.
Blogger Megha wrote earlier on Sachalayatan blog in a review of a Márquez novel:
একে একে (তার) অনেক বই পড়া হয়েছে। জেনেছি একটা মানুষ কত অসাধারণ কল্পনা শক্তির অধিকারী হতে পারে, কত অসাধারণ ভাবে অতীত বর্তমান আর ভবিষ্যতকে এক লাইনে লেখার ক্ষমতা রাখে! জেনেছি সত্যিকার অর্থে কথার জাদুকর কাকে বলে!
I have read many [of his] books. I have learnt how imaginative a person can be, how magnificently one can write about the future and the past in one line. I have known what a “magician of words” truly means.
Kaberi Gayen, an educator and writer, paid homage to him:
কেনো যেনো কাঁদতে ইচ্ছে করছে না মোটেই। যিনি তুমুল স-শব্দ ভালোবাসায় আরো কয়েকশো বছর বাঁচবেন বলে বিশ্বাস করি, তাঁর ‘মৃত্যু'তে কীভাবে কাঁদি? তাঁর স্বপ্ন এবং ভালোবাসা আমাদের ভেতরেও একটু একটু করে জায়গা করে নিক।
অনেক ভালোবাসা মার্কেজ।
No, I will not cry. As I believe that he will live at least a few more centuries with resonant words of love, how could I cry mourning his death? Let his love and dreams conquer our hearts little by little.
Blogger and Global Voices author Pantha Rahman Reza bod farewell:
বিদায় মার্কেজ!
আপনি বেঁচে থাকবেন আমাদের অক্ষরযাপনে!
Farewell Márquez. You will live on in our reading lives.

author: Rezwan


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Cameroonian Bloggers ‘Are the Future, and We Are Writing That Future Now’ · Global Voices
Dibussi Tande

Florian Ngimbis receiving the Young Francophone Writer Award in 2008. Photo courtesy of Florian Ngimbis
Although the Cameroonian blogosphere is not so well known, it is certainly a source of crucial information about Cameroon, especially during this current period of uncertainty that has seen a minister arrested and kidnappings rise.
Dibussi Tande talked with Florian Ngimbis, president of the Cameroonian Bloggers Association (CBA) and winner of the Best Francophone Blog award during the 2012 Best of the Blogs Awards (the BOBs), to assess the state of the local blogosphere and particularly bilingualism in Cameroon.
Florian Ngimbis (FN): Kamer kongossa est un blog que j’ai ouvert en 2008. Il s’agit de textes courts, écrits de façon imagée et humoristique qui tout en me mettant en scène dans des histoires plus ou moins hilarantes, jette un regard critique sur la société dans laquelle je vis.
Florian Ngimbis (FN): Kamer kongossa is a blog that I launched in 2008. It consists of short articles written in a colorful and humorous manner, in which I find myself in more or less hilarious situations while taking a critical look at the society I live in.
Si succès il y a, je dirais qu’il est dû au fait que je n’invente rien. La plupart de mes histoires mettent en scène des gens, des situations que la majorité des camerounais ont vécu. Je fais juste un effort d’écriture pour rendre le tout concis et digeste, une grosse pincée d’humour et ça passe.
FN: My success, if any, is due to the fact that I don't make up anything. Most of my stories are about people and situations that a majority of Cameroonians can relate to. All I do is make the stories concise and palatable and spice them with a good dose of humor.
Florian Ngimbis. Photo courtesy Florian Ngimbis
describes you as a blogger who “depicts Cameroon with vitriol and humor,” whileDeutsche Welle
Le niveau d’injustice a atteint un seuil critique dans ce pays, ne pas s’engager est impensable. Le degré de « vitriol » que je mets dans mes textes équivaut au degré d’amour que j’éprouve pour le Cameroun et à la rage que j’ai de le voir spolié par une bande de vautours, si la haine des vautours est synonyme d’engagement, alors oui, je suis engagé et mes textes sont autant de cailloux que je jette à la tête de ces maudits oiseaux.
The level of social injustice has reached a critical level in this country. It would be unthinkable for me not to be an activist/writer. The level of “vitriol” in my writings is equal to the degree of love that I have for Cameroon and to the rage that I feel as I watch it being despoiled by a band of vultures. If the hatred for these vultures is synonymous with being a committed writer, then yes, I am committed and my writings are stones that I aim at the heads of these cursed birds.
GV:
Le CBC est un groupement de blogueurs qui décident de se mettre ensemble pour promouvoir l’activité du blogging à l’échelle nationale. Nous nous rencontrons fréquemment pour discuter des problèmes liés à la pratique du blogging et à l’environnement numérique au Cameroun.
The CBA is a grouping of bloggers who have decided to come together to promote blogging at a national level. We meet frequently to discuss issues related to blogging and the digital environment in Cameroon.
FN: Je le pense aussi et j’ai toujours exprimé ce point de vue lors de mes prises de parole. Mais la tendance au rassemblement était majoritaire. Ainsi, un à un les blogueurs des pays francophones ont basculé dans la mutualisation au sein d’associations. Je suis contre, mais je comprends que cette tendance soit liée au contexte. Au Cameroun en particulier, bloguer c’est une course de fond dans laquelle on est seul. Difficile de s’automotiver. Entre les coupures de courant, Internet au débit capricieux et toutes les difficultés de l’existence, le blogueur camerounais peine à exister et très souvent abandonne. En intégrant une association, il découvre qu’il n’est pas seul, bénéficie des conseils des autres, des formations que nous dispensons et surtout fait évoluer son contenu en se frottant aux autres. Beaucoup de blogueurs sont des porteurs de projets et leurs blogs ne sont que le prolongement de ces derniers. Nous mettons nos énergies en commun pour faire avancer ces projets.
Et puis le combat est aussi ailleurs, c’est mener une vraie action de lobbying pour faire baisser les prix et augmenter le niveau de qualité de la fourniture Internet dans notre pays. Pour cela des actions concertées s’imposent et ne trouvent leur sens que dans ce genre d’entité. Chaque blogueur est libre de son ton, de ses propos, de ses choix, le CBC est une association, pas un gouvernement.
I think so too, and I have always expressed this point of view whenever I take the floor. However, the trend towards forming associations has been dominant. Thus, one after the other, bloggers in Francophone countries have moved towards syndication. I am against this but I understand that this trend is linked to the context. In Cameroon in particular, blogging is a long distance race in which the blogger is all alone. It is difficult to motivate oneself in such circumstances. Between power outages, temperamental Internet connections, along with all other difficulties in life, the Cameroonian blogger is usually abandoned. By joining an association, the blogger discovers that he is not alone; he benefits from the advice of others and from the training that we offer. He also improves his blog content by interacting with other bloggers. Many bloggers have personal projects and their blogs are merely extensions of these projects. We pool our resources to help move these projects forward.
In addition, the battle is also elsewhere. It is about lobbying to lower the cost and increase the quality of Internet service in our country. The concerted effort required to make this happen finds its meaning in an association such as ours. Each blogger is free in his tone, his words, and his choices; the CBA is an association, not a government.
GV: At the moment, t
La langue n'est ni un facteur d'acceptation ou d'exclusion. Même si vous bloguez en Bassa’a, pourvu que vous soyez un blogueur camerounais, vous ferez parti de la communauté. Même si vous résidez en Cochinchine, c’est votre “camerounéité” qui nous intéresse. Le souci est que le CBC comme toutes les autres composantes de la prétendue Nation qu’est le Cameroun est en butte au cloisonnement de la société camerounaise. Le bilinguisme est d’essence coloniale et on nous l’a cédé en héritage lors des pseudo indépendances. Le bilinguisme au Cameroun ne consiste pas à parler deux langues, mais à avoir une société dans laquelle on parle soit l’une soit l’autre langue. Or la langue est le ciment qui lie les gens et peut se transformer en barrière lorsqu’il est mal conceptualisé. Du coup on a les anglophones d’un côté et les francophones de l’autre et il est hallucinant de voir à quelle point les deux groupes linguistiques sont étrangers l’un à l’autre et ne se mêlent presque jamais dans la réalisation de projets. Néanmoins nous nous battons ardemment pour changer cela et nous avons des blogueurs anglophones. Une grande action de lobbying est en cours en ce moment auprès de la diaspora et le profilage de la blogosphère CBC sera effectif d’ici quelques mois.
Language is neither a factor for inclusion or exclusion. Even if you blog in Bassa'a, you will be part of the community as long as you're a Cameroonian blogger. Even if you live in Cochinchina, it is your “Cameroonianness” that interests us. The worry is that the CBC, like all other segments of the nation that Cameroon is supposed to be, is hindered by the compartmentalization of Cameroonian society. Bilingualism is essentially a colonial legacy which was handed down to us during our pseudo-independence. Bilingualism in Cameroon is not about being able to speak two languages, but about having a society in which we can speak one language or the other. Now, language is the glue that binds people together, however, it can be transformed into a barrier when it is ill conceived. As a result, we have Anglophones on one side and Francophones on the other, and it is astounding to see to how much both groups are strangers to each other, and practically never come together to carry out projects. Nonetheless, we are fighting ardently to change this, and we have Anglophone bloggers in our association. A major lobbying effort towards the Diaspora is ongoing and the restructuring of the CBA blogosphere will be complete in a few months.
GV:
Nous ne sommes pas un acteur politique, ni un parti. Certains d’entre nous bloguent sur les cheveux ou la cuisine !!! Mais effectivement certains blogueurs sont en passe de devenir de vrais leaders d’opinion ! Nous allons dans le sens du renforcement de leurs capacités. Nous aidons les activistes à monter leurs campagnes. Nous permettons aux blogueurs « menacés » d’avoir des cours de sécurité sur Internet. Nous n’obligeons pas les blogueurs à penser d’une certaine manière, mais si un blogueur lance une campagne pour protester contre l’accès restreint à l’eau courante à Yaoundé, en exposant sa campagne au CBC il est certain de pouvoir convaincre d’autres blogueurs de le suivre. Nous ne sommes pas un mouvement de pensée, mais nous favorisons l’émergence de leaders d’opinion, chacun dans son domaine.
We are neither a political actor nor a political party. Some of our members blog about hair or cooking!!! Well, some of us are on the way to becoming true opinion leaders! We are helping them to improve their potential. We help activists carry out their campaigns and train “threatened” bloggers on Internet security. We don't force bloggers to think in a particular way, however, if a blogger initiates a campaign to protest against the limited access to running water in Yaounde, he will certainly get the support of other bloggers once he informs the CBA of his campaign. We are not a thought movement, but we encourage the emergence of opinion leaders, each within his domain.
GV:
FN: Jeune, entre 20 et 35 ans en moyenne, financièrement instable, grande gueule, cultivé.
Young, between 20 and 35 years of age on average, financially unstable, very outspoken and cultured.
GV:
FN: Il y a trop peu de blogueurs en ce moment. Et encore moins qui sont vraiment influents dans leurs domaines. Trop de blogs généralistes, peu de blogs spécialisés.
FN: There are very few bloggers at this time, and even fewer who are truly influential in their domains. We have too many general blogs and very few specialized blogs.
GV:
FN: C’est un avis que je respecte, mais que je ne partage pas. Et ça dépend de ce qu’on appelle décoller. Notre pays est l’un de ceux qui pratiquent les coûts de connexion les plus chers en Afrique, pour un service pourri. Internet est encore classifié comme objet de luxe ou utilitaire. Bloguer au Cameroun est un luxe que peu peuvent se permettre.
I respect that point of view but I don't share it. And, it depends on what we mean by take off. Our country has one of the most exorbitant Internet connection costs in Africa, along with a rotten service. The Internet is still classified as a luxury or a utilitarian object. Blogging in Cameroon is a luxury that only a very few can afford.
Ma réponse se trouve dans mon propos précédent. Avec un taux de pénétration de moins de 5% comment voulez-vous être connu ? La notion de « blog » elle-même n’est pas encore passée dans les habitudes, Facebook ou les sites de rencontre sont plus ancrés dans l’imaginaire collectif. Mais tout ça va changer, et je suis fier de voir autant de blogueurs camerounais faire avancer le mouvement.
FN: My answer is in my previous statement. How can you be known in a country that has an Internet penetration rate of less than 5 percent? The concept of a “blog” is not yet part of our habits; Facebook and Internet meeting sites are much more anchored in the collective imagination. But all this will change, and I am proud to see so many Cameroonian bloggers helping the movement go forward.
GV:
FN: Collaboration ? Non, il y a même de la rivalité, les journalistes étant dans l’état d’esprit que nous venons leur arracher le pain de la bouche, ce qui est faux. Chaque blogueur est particulier et son travail a la couleur qu’il lui donne. Je ne fais pas de l’information, ni de l’actualité, je fais des chroniques, avec un traitement décalé. Certains responsables de journaux m’ouvrent leurs colonnes parce que mes textes je les soigne, et j’ai un lectorat de plus en plus croissant qui est le gage de la qualité de mes textes. Que veut un directeur de publication si ce n’est faire lire son journal, alors, pourquoi cracher sur du contenu potentiellement vendable sans que cela n’empiète sur la ligne éditoriale. Les plus « open minded » me passent un coup de fil et en fonction de la qualité du journal je décide de collaborer ou non.
Collaboration? No. There is even rivalry, with journalists in a state of mind that we've come to threaten their livelihood, which is not true. Each blogger is unique and his work takes the direction that the blogger wants. I don't do reporting or news but write opinion pieces after the fact. Some newspapers open their pages to me because my texts are well written and I have an ever-growing readership which is a guarantee of quality. After all, what does a newspaper publisher want other than having his newspaper read? So why spit on content which is potentially sellable and which does not infringe on the newspaper’s editorial policy? The more open-minded journalists call me, and depending on the quality of the newspaper, I decide to collaborate with them or not.
GV:
FN: Nous sommes l’avenir, et cet avenir nous l’écrivons au présent, maintenant.
FN: We are the future, and we are writing that future now.

author: Dibussi Tande


text:
Chile Struck By Disasters in April 2014 · Global Voices
María Angélica Marín

In April 2014, Chileans received one blow after another. Two earthquakes shook the Far North (Arica and Iquique) and an enormous forest fire ravaged the city of Valparaiso. In both cases, the damage and number of victims were significant.
Photo by Flickr user retoricaca. (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The hills of Valparaiso are a symbol of the city. Their bright colors, architecture, and other characteristics give Valaparaiso its touristic appeal. The hillside regions were settled haphazardly as the growing population, faced with a lack of space on flatter terrain, began to build homes in the mountainous areas. The dwellings are mostly made out of light materials and, as has happened in the past, became fuel for the fire. This time, climate conditions also played an important role in the spread of the flames.
National and international aid began to arrive immediately in the form of provisions, first-aid supplies, and volunteer participation. Thousands of volunteers have filled Valparaiso to the point that the mayor and city authorities requested no more volunteers should come to join those already in the city. The large number of volunteers is interfering with the removal of debris and causing traffic problems in affected areas (the hills Cerro Mariposa, El Vergel, La Cruz, Cerro El Litre, Cerro Las Cañas, Cerro Miguel Ángel y Mercedes), and the city's sanitation network cannot cope with the needs of so many people [es]:
Agradecemos las campañas pero a aquellos voluntarios que vendrán a Valparaíso les decimos que es imposible que podamos atender a todas las personas. Tenemos una red sanitaria que hoy no existe, en algunos sectores no hay luz.
We are grateful for the [aid] campaigns, but we must tell the volunteers who are coming to Valparaiso that it is impossible to accomodate everyone. Our sanitation system is currently nonexistent and some areas do not have light.
EMOL website reports [es] that “the Minister of Health, Helia Molina, announced the implementation of a health alert in the entire area.” Molina also announced a plan to vaccinate adults and children in order to avoid preventable illnesses such as the flu (for those in shelters), tetanus (for at-risk groups like firefighters, city workers, and volunteers working on debris removal), and meningitis (for at-risk groups in the area).
All in all, it is admirable and inspiring to watch people who fled from the fire with nothing but the clothes on their backs, leaving behind all their hard-earned belongings, begin to clean up the area and rebuild their homes with great determination. And the epitome is seeing the people of limited means who are coming to the aid of those who lost everything.
Meanwhile, help is continuing to arrive at aid supply centers, shelters are continuing to deliver the aid they have been providing since the disaster, and plans for reconstruction are already underway, as evidenced by Twitter posts:
Gobierno de Chile elaborará un plan para reconstruir Valparaíso tras incendio http://t.co/kjksgMex3B
— ℬlคςķ ℐ (@blackj9021) abril 15, 2014
The Chilean Government will prepare a plan to rebuild Valparaiso after the fire.
Presidenta de #chile anuncia que entregará bono a quienes perdieron sus casas y pertenencias por incendio en Valparaiso. Por #telesur
— Tatiana Perez (@tatianateleSUR) abril 16, 2014
The President of Chile announces that she will issue aid bonds to those who lost their homes and possessions in the fire in Valparaiso.
Los fondos recaudados en esta jornada doble irán en directo beneficio de los más de 12 mil damnificados que dejó el incendio de #Valparaíso
— CSD Colo-Colo (@CSDColoColo) abril 16, 2014
The funds raised at these two [basketball] games will directly benefit the more than 12 thousand people affected by the fire in Valparaiso.

author: María Angélica Marín


text:
Facebook Predicts the Outcome of Macedonian Presidential Elections, Again? · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

The proportion of ‘likes’ on the official Facebook pages for Macedonian presidential candidates has turned out to be surprisingly similar to their proportion of the official vote count – both in the 2009 elections and in the 2014 presidential elections.
One day after the first round of the 2014 presidential elections, human rights expert and activist Zarko Trajanoski in a Facebook post [mk] found an interesting correlation when comparing ‘likes’ on the official Facebook pages of leading candidates Gjorge Ivanov and Stevo Pendarovski with official results published by the State Elections Commission:
Смејте му се пак на Facebook, ама отприлика ги погоди резултатите:
Сооднос на лајкови на Facebook:
Иванов (94.295) : Пендаровски (67.222) = 1 : 1.403
Сооднос на гласови во прв круг:
Иванов (449.068) : Пендаровски (326.133) = 1 : 1.377
You can ridicule Facebook, but it managed to guess the approximate results:
Ratio of Facebook Likes:
Ivanov (94,295) : Pendarovski (67,222) = 1 : 1.403
Ratio of votes during the first round of the elections:
Ivanov (449,068) : Pendarovski (326,133) = 1 : 1.377
In 2009, research [mk, pdf] published by the Metamorphosis Foundation on social media during elections that year first revealed a surprisingly strong correlation between each candidate's support on Facebook and the number of the actual votes they gained in both rounds of the elections (note: the research team included the author of this post).
The total number of Facebook users who expressed their support for a presidential candidate taken into account was 7,958, or 0.39% of the population. This is less than the 0.98% of the U.S. population who were documented as having expressed their support for either Obama or McCain via Facebook in 2008, but still comparable taking into account the structural and population differences of the two countries.
During the first round of elections, when seven candidates competed, the percentages for the two top-scoring candidates differed by only around 1% from the actual votes they gained. The percentages and the rankings for the other candidates showed a higher degree of discrepancy between Facebook and the polls – up to 6%, especially for the candidates who won smaller percentages of votes and whose main constituencies most probably do not use new technologies in the same degree as the general population (see figure [1]).
Figure 1: Graphic comparison of the support received via Facebook before the first round of voting (blue) and the votes won on 22 March 2009 (pink). Image from the ‘Social Media Usage by Candidates for the 2009 Election’ report by Metamorphosis Foundation, used with permission.
During the second round of elections only two candidates competed, and the final outcome was predicted with an accuracy of less than 1% difference to the actual results. The winner, George Ivanov, won 62.48% of support on Facebook, and 63.14% of the actual votes. His opponent, Ljubomir Danailov-Frchkoski, won 37.52% of the Facebook support and 36.86% of the actual votes (Figure [2]).
Figure 2: Graphs comparing the level of support on Facebook before the second round of the elections and votes won during that round. Image from the ‘Social Media Usage by Candidates for the 2009 Election’ report by Metamorphosis Foundation, used with permission.
The results of the monitoring during the 2009 presidential elections pointed that besides generating support, social media can be used as a fairly accurate tool for market research once a critical mass of users has been reached.
Considering that the same political influences that might bribe or coerce voters to vote, something that has been known to happen in Macedonia, also directly influence their social media behavior, this phenomenon can be taken as more proof of the notion that social media reflect and permeate society at large. A novelty in 2014 was political personalities’ use of Facebook advertisements, especially those with larger financial resources. This trend was first seen during 2013, but intensified substantially in the run-up to elections.
Electoral fraud?
The election observation mission by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) stated that the first round of the 2014 elections was conducted “efficiently” and predominantly peacefully. However, the opposition has accused the government of foul play, and preliminary election monitoring reports by the civil society groups Civil and MOST have highlighted a number of alleged irregularities.
Social media users focused on questions that they could verify on their own – for example, the practice of marking voters’ thumbs with ink designed to last 24 hours to prevent any person from voting more than once. After voting, users including @RedRadish5 posted before and after ‘selfie’ photos of their thumbs to show that the ink could be easily rubbed off with a wet tissue or alcohol. During the 2009 elections voters were sprayed with seemingly more permanent invisible ink that was detectable under UV-light.
@razvigor @FokusMK Проверено. И со ракија пол саат после гласање #избори2014 #изборимк pic.twitter.com/MDZeCZC91G
— Red Radish (@RedRadish5) April 13, 2014
@razvigor @FokusMK Checked. And [rubbed off] with rakia [brandy] half an hour after voting #избори2014 [#elections2014] #изборимк [#electionsmk]pic.twitter.com/MDZeCZC91G
— Red Radish (@RedRadish5) April 13, 2014
@razvigor @FokusMK и после pic.twitter.com/C2EBKdbm3T
— Red Radish (@RedRadish5) April 13, 2014
@razvigor @FokusMK and after pic.twitter.com/C2EBKdbm3T
— Red Radish (@RedRadish5) April 13, 2014
In a statement, ODIHR noted that “fundamental freedoms were respected and candidates were able to campaign freely […] although biased and unbalanced media coverage and a blurring of state and party activities created an unbalanced playing field.”
Despite the large number of media outlets, many stakeholders with whom the observers met alleged there is indirect control over the media by the ruling party, through the government’s dominance in the advertising market. There was a lack of political analysis and independent reporting, and the public broadcaster failed to provide balanced coverage.
The incumbent enjoyed a significant advantage in financial resources and predominance in paid advertising. The government’s clear support of the incumbent during the campaign did not fully respect the separation of political parties and the state.
The second round of the presidential elections is scheduled for April 27, and will coincide with the early parliamentary elections.

author: Filip Stojanovski


text:
Syria: Life As It Was Before the Invention of the Light Bulb · Global Voices
مرسيل شحوارو

This post is part of a special series of articles by blogger and activist, Marcell Shehwaro, describing the realities of life in Syria during the ongoing armed conflict between forces loyal to the current regime, and those seeking to oust it.
Life without electricity in Syria: Surgical teams now without water and electricity in Aleppo. Image by Halabi Lens. Copyright: Demotix
Since the part of Aleppo where I live was liberated from the Syrian government authorities, our electricity supply has been cut off as a collective punishment for a city on the verge of liberation. It doesn't matter whether you support or oppose the regime, because the ruler of the country behaves as if he is the owner of a farm, cutting off electricity and water supplies when he pleases. If he could cut out the supply of oxygen to those who oppose him, he probably would.
Our power supply has disappeared completely for long periods. We'd complain for a couple of days, or a week, then we'd have to turn our attention to burying the remains of the dead as the Assad killing machine switches from bombing the Damascus countryside to bombing the city, sometimes with Scud missiles.
At the same time, we have had to contend with new challenges emerging from the halt in state services such as health, education and the judicial system. It took us a long time to understand that the city we loved had in fact become two cities which rebuke each other, and try to outdo one another in the number of death announcements.
And we became accustomed. We got used to life as it must have been before the invention of the light bulb, resigned to the disappearance of this modern luxury. It became a customary to hear ululations of joy in the neighbourhood when the electricity was turned on, as if it was an exceptional event which called for celebration.
With time, the rituals of our life began to be measured by the quantity of electricity His Majesty bestowed upon us. We had to make the most of the two-hour electricity supply the lucky neighbourhoods received. We would switch on all the lights in the house, even those we did not need, and charge all our electrical gadgets, especially our laptops and mobile phones, even though these barely work, as the network is so weak.
If we were lucky and the reappearance of electricity coincided with the availability of water, we would start tackling the loads of laundry that had piled up. Many of us invested the two hours on using our electric ovens, to save on exorbitantly priced gas. Even the hours you sleep and wake up are no longer important. You have to get used to waking up when the electricity is switched on to complete those household chores that depend on having a power supply.
The availability of electricity also dictates what you buy and eat. There's no point in buying foodstuff that need refrigeration. You become innovative and find new places to store your goods. You might leave a piece of meat, which has become relatively expensive, near the window, because you cannot come to terms with the idea of throwing it out if it were to spoil. Any perishables you buy must be consumed within a day or two. With time, you learn to adjust and estimate the quantity of food you need. Or perhaps you never learn, like one of our friends who always misestimates the amount of labna we need for our household.
After several months, Syrians found innovative and economical solutions to replace the government-supplied electricity. Central electricity generators became available in most neighbourhoods in the liberated areas, and with their noise and pollution have become a feature of the city, which is already covered with soot from the bombings and Scud missiles.
Households share generators among themselves according to their needs, or, more precisely, their financial abilities. Little by little, you learn the names of the owners of the generators which supply your friends’ homes, as you can't help but hear their screaming as they and their neighbours yell across the balconies every time the electricity goes off, or when there's a problem with the supply. This happens four or five times daily: “Abu Ahmed, the electricity is off,” followed by, “Abu Ahmed, the electricity is back on.” Electricity from the generators is available for only a few hours daily, but it's become an acceptable alternative that allows people to take care of their basic needs.
The size of your handbag also expands to keep up with the unpredictable electricity supply. You have to carry all your chargers with you wherever you go, in order to take advantage of any moment the electricity is switched on. And if you have spare cash, you'll certainly buy an extra battery for your mobile phone and laptop.
Flickering lights, not strong enough to read by, cast their shadows on the walls of your house, powered by car batteries which Syrians also now use to generate electricity in their homes. In this modern age, you use a great deal of your brain power, and your time, to manage the absence of electricity, and this is what the evil dictator wants. He wants us to stop following the news, to become cut off from all that is happening around us. He wants to divide Syria so that we become focused on our own local and limited needs, which do not extend beyond the neighbourhood we live in. He wants us to become paralysed and exhausted from the lack of services. He wants to make our lives difficult in order for us to yearn for the good old days.
And we have to be resourceful, so that it lights up what is left of our journey.
Marcell Shehwaro blogs at marcellita.com and tweets at @Marcellita, both primarily in Arabic. You can read the first two posts in this series here and here.

author: مرسيل شحوارو


text:
Turning Faecal Waste Into Business Opportunities · Global Voices
Kofi Yeboah

Clean Team Ghana's toilet cartridges awaiting delivery to customers in Kumasi, Ghana on October 17, 2013. Photo by Nyani. Used with permission from Clean Team Ghana.
It might not look like much to the average person, but to social entrepreneurs faecal waste is valuable business. Inorganic fertilisers are being replaced with faecal sludge, which is cheaper and rich in resources for agricultural purposes.
Having realised the potential in the re-use of faecal waste, Clean Team Ghana (@cleanteamghana), a sanitation company in Ghana that provides innovative and affordable in-house toilet facilities to urban communities, organised a Twitter chat pulling experts on faecal waste treatment from around the world to share thoughts on “How to Turn Faecal Waste into Opportunities”. The chat on April 15, 2014 used the hashtag #WasteOpportunities.
It was the company's second Twitter chat. The first tackled how open defecation can be eradicated in Ghana with the input of sanitation experts, government officials, social enterprises and the online community on January 24, 2014.
Gavin Collins, a lecturer at the Ryan Institute in Ireland, commented:
I would say the sky's the limit when it comes to the products and services that can be generated from faecal waste. #wasteopportunities
— Gavin Collins (@gcollinsgalway) April 15, 2014
Doreen Anim, a revenue collection manager at Clean Team Ghana, pointed out:
@CleanTeamGhana @princeboadu it can be converted into ethanol and methanol to be used as liquid fuels in engine #wasteopportunities
— Doreen Anim (@DoreenAnim) April 15, 2014
Andy Narracott emphasised the use of CO2 from waste:
Fisheries have challenges sustainably managing underwater plant ecosystem in ponds. CO2 from waste could provide input #wasteopportunities
— Andy Narracott (@AndyNarracott) April 15, 2014
What are the main challenges in turning faecal waste into opportunities? Twitter user @ahiabor offered one answer:
@CleanTeamGhana Culture, Funding, Infrastructure all play a part. For instance we do not have a planned sewerage system #wasteopportunities
— SHaNToN (@ahiabor) April 15, 2014
Gavin Collins agreed:
There's a ‘yuck factor’ permeating the debate on suitability, acceptability of products & services frm faecal waste.. #wasteopportunities
— Gavin Collins (@gcollinsgalway) April 15, 2014
Naomi Kokuro wrote:
@CleanTeamGhana @asantewamonney culture is the first barrier once that is broken,funding wouldnt be much a problem #wasteopportunities
— Naomi Kokuro (@naamsb) April 15, 2014
Francis Kumadoh argued:
Culture is a factor in the management of faecal waste. #wasteopportunities @CleanTeamGhana
— francis kumadoh (@kumadorian) April 15, 2014
Replying to Francis Kumadoh's tweet, Valerie Labi wrote:
@kumadorian @CleanTeamGhana and smell people there's lots of money to be made in value chain.handling & transportation & end product
— Valerie Labi (@valerielabi) April 15, 2014
Akua Akyaa Nkrumah, innovations manager at waste management firm Jekora Ghana, commented:
@CleanTeamGhana -ve perceptions of waste, lack of govt support, lack of capital and lack of market for waste products #wasteopportunities
— Akua Akyaa Nkrumah (@AkyaaN) April 15, 2014
Super Yansh, a sanitation-oriented enterprise providing a home away from home toilet, suggested:
@AkyaaN @CleanTeamGhana #wasteopportunities: In creating useful products from faecal waster we must consider our cultural values&believes
— SUPERYANSH (@superyansh) April 15, 2014
Dan Smith, a technical support consultant at Clean Team Ghana, argued:
If you process faecal sludge to industrial fuel then culture is not an issue #wasteopportunities
— Dan Smith (@dpksmith) April 15, 2014
Andy Narracott disagreed that culture is the main challenge:
@CleanTeamGhana No – money talks. We spoke to cocoa farmers who were happy w/ fertiliser from waste as long as cheaper! #wasteopportunities
— Andy Narracott (@AndyNarracott) April 15, 2014
Hans Doctor, ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo, wrote:
@dpksmith @CleanTeamGhana pricing has to be competitive, otherwise people will not buy.
— Hans Docter (@hansdocter) April 15, 2014
Climate Watch Ghana suggested:
The issue of benefits shouldn't be concentrated on financial gains….think about the environmental benefits much more. #wasteopportunities
— ClimateWatch Ghana (@ClimateWatchGh) April 15, 2014
Asantewa Monney remarked:
We normally 4get that waste is not all about recovery n recycling but also talk about reuse…remember the coke bottle #wasteopportunities
— Asantewa Gyamfi (@asantewamonney) April 15, 2014
Mona Mij, an industrial designer, tweeted:
#wasteopportunities in dev countries: Excreta reuse needs to be sexy! How? People involvement, stylish branding+marketing! @CleanTeamGhana
— Mona Mij (@MonaMij) April 15, 2014

author: Kofi Yeboah


text:
World Reacts to Death of Nobel Prize Winner Gabriel García Márquez · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

(All links are in Spanish, otherwise noted as [en] for English.)
On April 17th, 2014 the world learned of writer Gabriel García Márquez's [en] death. Born in Colombia, his career went international after being honored the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 for his work entitled “Cien años de solidad” [en] [One Hundred Years of Solitude] and “for his novels and short stories [en], where fact and fiction come together in a world richly composed of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and troubles.”
Internet users didn't wait to express their thoughts via Twitter hashtags such as #GabrielGarciaMarquez [en], #GraciasGabo [Thanks Gabo], #DescanseEnPazGabo [Rest In Peace Gabo], #AdiosGabo [Goodbye Gabo], Macondo, Realismo Mágico [Magic Realism], and Aracataca.
La Revista Arcadia [The Arcadia Magazine] published a multimedia special on the life and work of the writer and journalist. The Colombian newspaper El Tiempo  put out a call in search of stories from readers that met him.
Gabriel García Márquez by Arturo Espinosa en Flickr. Image licensed CC by 2.0
PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENTS
The White House published a quote citing [en]:
Con la muerte de Gabriel García Márquez el mundo pierde uno de sus escritores más visionarios y uno de los favoritos de mi juventud.
With the passing of Gabriel García Márquez, the world has lost one of its great visionary writers – and one of my favorites from the time I was young.
Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, expressed:
Foi com tristeza que soube da morte do escritor colombiano Gabriel García Márquez
— Dilma Rousseff (@dilmabr) abril 17, 2014
It was with sorrow to hear about the death of Colombian writer, Gabriel García Márquez.
Colombia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, expressed:
Mil años de soledad y tristeza por la muerte del más grande colombiano de todos los tiempos! Solidaridad y condolencias a la Gaba y familia
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) abril 17, 2014
One thousand years of solitude and sadness for the death of the greatest Colombian of all time! Solidarity and condolences for Gaba and family.
Ecuador's President, Rafael Correa remembers “Gabo's” love for Latin America:
Se nos fue el Gabo, tendremos años de soledad, pero quedan sus obras y amor por la Patria Grande. ¡Hasta la victoria siempre, Gabo querido!
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) abril 17, 2014
Gabo has left us, we will have years of solitude, but his love and work will remain for the Great Homeland. Ever onward to victory, darling Gabo!
From Peru, Ollanta Humala asserts:
Latinoamérica y el mundo entero sentirán la partida de este soñador. Descansa en paz Gabriel García Marquez allá en Macondo.
— Ollanta Humala Tasso (@Ollanta_HumalaT) abril 17, 2014
Latin America and the world entire will feel this dreamer's parting.  May you rest in peace in Macondo Gabriel García Márquez.
In Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro published a photo with the following commentary:
Fue Amigo sincero y leal de los líderes revolucionarios que levantaron la Dignidad de la América de Bolívar y Martí. pic.twitter.com/7GTYZV8qlp
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) abril 17, 2014
He was a sincere and loyal friend to the revolutionary leaders that lifted the dignity of Martí and Bolívar's America.
La Fundación Gabriel García Márquez [The Gabriel García Márquez Foundation] for the Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano [The New Iberoamerican Journalism] (FNPI is the Spanish acronym) thanked everyone for their words.
Muchas gracias a todos por sus mensajes. Cumpliremos el mandato de Gabo son seriedad y entusiasmo. #GraciasGabohttp://t.co/psQj8KzJf0
— FNPI (@FNPI_org) April 17, 2014
Thank you very much for all of your words. We will fulfill Gabo's engagement seriously and enthusiast.
Nevertheless for Twitter user Richie, the coverage relating the death of the yellow butterfly writer has not been enough:
La muerte de García Márquez cogió a los periodistas colombianos de vacaciones. Un viejo brillante hasta el final.
— Richie (@melisMatik) abril 17, 2014
Colombian journalists were on vacation when García Márquez died. A wise old man until the end.
Gina Eschebac reflects upon why García Márquez died in Mexico and not Colombia, giving the reminder that he had to live in exile because he was accused of being a communist, as we will see further on:
¿PÓR QUE SE FUE GABO DE COLOMBIA EN 1981 Y MUERE EN EL EXILIO? http://t.co/6UvrvLbbCl
— #Afro Candombera (@afro_candombera)abril 18, 2014
WHY DID GABO LEAVE COLOMBIA IN 1981 AND DIE IN EXILE?
Rubén Díaz Caviedes mentions in a post from the magazine Jot Down that the writer died in said country due to health problems:
Lo último que se sabía sobre el estado de su salud era que los años le estaban venciendo por la cabeza y que tenía «conflictos de memoria», citando a su hermano pequeño. Sufría una demencia senil acelerada, según él, por el tratamiento contra el cáncer linfático que casi se lo llevó en 1999.
The last known information regarding his health was that age was getting the best of his mind and that he had “memory problems”, quoting his younger brother. According to him, García Márquez suffered from rapid senile dementia due to to cancer treatment for lymphoma, which almost took his life in 1999.
The Colombian literature blog entitled, Macondo Literario [Macondo Literary] said:
Un querido y agradecido adiós a Gabo por compartirnos tanto a través de sus letras.
A loving and thankful goodbye to Gabo for sharing so much with us through his words.
From his blog Juan que Duerme [John that Sleeps], remembers the Nobel winner's speech, “La soledad de América Latina” [Latin America's Solitude], where he reflects about what first Europeans found when they first arrived to the New World and about some facts that were occuring back in 1982.
And finally an article from América Economía [America Economy] offers us excerpts from two stories where former Cuban president, Fidel Castro, retells his stories of the Colombian Nobel winner. He reminds us that during his lifetime, Gabriel García Márquez was labeled a communist. This without a doubt, did not hinder his glory. He rose to be Russia's most read foreign author. His work, “El amor en los tiempos de colera” [en] [Love in the Time of Cholera] was taken to the Hollywood screen [en]. His works also inspired a variety of songs.
According to a post from C – Records:
Pablo Neruda dijo sobre la novela ‘Cien años de soledad’, que era “la mejor novela que se ha escrito en castellano después del Quijote”. Los índices numéricos como el que demuestran que los libros de García Márquez son los más vendidos de los que se hayan publicado en lengua española en toda la historia, exceptuando la Biblia.
Pablo Neruda said that the novel “Cien años de soledad” was “the best novel written in Castilian Spanish, after Don Quijote.” Statistics show that García Márquez's books are the most sold in the history of Spanish literature, except for the Bible.
May he rest in peace.

author: Cati Restrepo


text:
An African Tale of The First Love Story Ever Told · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The website Histoire Africaine/African History [fr] narrates the tale of the oldest love story ever told, the story of Osiris and Isis [fr] and explains what makes it stand out [fr] from the other love stories. Osiris was the king god of Egypt and Isis his queen. Set, his brother, murdered Osiris to take over the kingdom. Isis find and restore Osiris’ body, resurrecting him and they conceive their son Horus. The author writes that the story is rich of lessons for the African continent [fr]:
While Osiris is rightfully mentioned at every funeral because he was the One who first attained the eternal life, one must note the crucial role that Isis played in allowing Osiris to persevere. She embodies the concept of love, the one that never gives up, that rescues loved ones and frees them from darkness.
From right to left: Isis, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus on wikimedia CC- Share Alike 1.0


text:
Egyptian Turns to YouTube to Object to Compulsory Service in Egyptian Army · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

An Egyptian activist has turned to YouTube to spell out his objection to the mandatory military service in the Egyptian army, compulsory for men aged between 18 and 30.
In an email sent to Global Voices Online, Adam writes:
I am Egyptian conscientious objector against serving in Egyptian Army because I hate wars and violence.I recorded that video in Arabic and translated in English.Hope you broadcast it on your TV channel so Egyptians and world can know my views because people like me who refuse to serve in Army are not heard from Media.I hope you help me because I want to free the Egyptian people from military rule and religious rule.I support Western democracy.
In this video, subtitled in English, Ahmed (Adam) says:
I am Ahmad (aka Adam) from Egypt. I'll talk to you about mandatory conscription in Egypt. I am totally against mandatory conscription, I refuse to serve in [the] Egyptian Army because it is a criminal army which killed thousands of protesters and innocent people in Mohamed Mahmoud Street and Tahrir Square in Cairo and many regions in Egypt.
He adds:
The mandatory conscription is humiliation, enslavement, and forced labour to thousands of poor Egyptians who get conscripted every year to work in the private businesses and farms of Egyptian army generals without any pay or salary. Any any Egyptian soldier [who] served in the army knows very well how large credits the army generals own in their bank accounts. Also, army generals own lots of real-estate property obtained in an illegal way. They rob the country's wealth and assets.
Adam explains:
Mandatory conscription is not found in any developed country, any Western country, nor the USA.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Farewell to Puerto Rican Salsa Singer Cheo Feliciano · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

A photo of Cheo Feliciano being widely shared on social media. Taken from Facebook page 32 x Oscar.
(Links below are in English, otherwise noted as [sp] for Spanish)
In the early morning hours of Thursday April 17th, 2014, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and producer, José Luis Feliciano Vega, better known as Cheo Feliciano, died in an automobile accident. He was 78 years old.
As a singer, Cheo Feliciano was one of the most important exponents of salsa and bolero music. His artistic trajectory includes working with Joe Cuba, Héctor Lavoe, Celia Cruz, Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, and Tite Curet Alonso, amongst other big names in popular music. He was admired not only in his native Puerto Rico, but in all of Latin America as well. In the following video we can appreciate Cheo Feliciano's gift for salsa. Here he shares the stage with legendary Fania All-Stars in celebration of the ensemble's 30th anniversary:
Twitter users lamented the great loss that his passing represents. They also expressed admiration towards his music:
Desde pequeña escuchando tu música; eras mi ídolo, como me duele tu partida mi #CheoFeliciano #NuncaVerteEnVivo #DescansaEnPazCheo #Triste
— Hayde Rosales H. (@haiderosales) April 19, 2014
Been listening to his music since I was little; you were my idol, your passing is very painful my Cheo Feliciano. Never see you live. Rest in peace Cheo.
Hoy sólo escucharé #Cheofeliciano
— Juancho Jaraba (@juanchojaraba_S) April 19, 2014
Today I will only be listening to Cheo Feliciano.
Grande como: cantante, bolerista, sonero, inspiración a muchos, hombre que venció al vicio, como ¡Familia! de PR entero. DEP #CheoFeliciano
— Fiquito Yunqué (@fiquito_yunque) April 17, 2014
Great as singer, bolerista, sonero, an inspiration to many, a man who overcame his vices, as family to all of Puerto Rico.
Coliseo Roberto Clemente was elected as the venue for the public to say goodbye to Cheo Feliciano. This in order to accommodate as many people as possible who wished to pay their last respects:
Llega al Coliseo Roberto Clemente el féretro de #CheoFeliciano. El público podrá darle último adiós a partir de 1pm pic.twitter.com/B0PbZpMtU6 — Ricardo E. Martínez (@RicardoEladio) April 19, 2014
Cheo Feliciano body arrives at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente. The public will be able to show their last respects starting at 1pm.
Cartoonist Kike Estrada [sp] also shows homage to Cheo Feliciano's memory:
In 80 Grados [80 Degrees], an emotional account [sp] is given by writer and Caribbean scholar Juan Carlos Quintero Herencia. He remembers Cheo Feliciano and how another great salsa singer, Puerto Rican Héctor Lavoe (1946-1993), immortalized him in “El Cantante” (video) [The Singer] as one of the greatest voices in salsa's history.
“Have a good trip, Cheo” from cartoonist Kike Estrada. Taken from his webpage, Planeta Kike [sp] [Kike's Planet]. Used with his permission.
Héctor Lavoe en “El cantante” ha dejado inscritos los nombres del sabor y el plante salsero. Allí está el código para la fácil-dificultad del cantar salsero, además de que nos dejó la vara con la que el “Cantante de los cantantes” deseaba ser medido. Estos son sus verdaderos pares: “Mi saludo a Celia, Rivera, Feliciano, esos son grandes cantores. Coro: Hoy te dedico mis mejores pregones./ Ellos cantan de verdad/ siempre ponen a gozar a la gente./ Coro: Hoy te dedico mis mejores pregones/ Escuchen bien su cantar/ aprendan de los mejores.” Hasta ayer, Cheo era el único que desde el lado de acá de la grabación podía devolverle el saludo a Lavoe con su voz, en vida. Hoy, allí los verán: Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Celia Cruz y Cheo Feliciano, cuatro titanes custodian el pabellón de los salseros muertos.
Héctor Lavoe has left the flavors of salsa and the image of the salsa singer engraved in “El Cantante”. There lies the code for the apparent simplicity of singing salsa. Furthermore, he left us the measuring rod with which the “singer of singers” desired to be measured by. These are his true equals: “My greetings to Celia, Rivera, Feliciano, those are great singers. Chorus: Today I dedicate to you my best songs/ They really sing/ They always make the people have fun/ Chorus: Today I dedicate to you my best songs/ Listen carefully to their singing/Learn from the best.” Up until yesterday, Cheo was the the only one on this side of the recording that could return Lavoe's greeting with his voice in life. Today, you will see them there: Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Celia Cruz, and Cheo Feliciano, four titans watching over the pavilion of the deceased salsa singers.
Cheo Feliciano was also admired in the United States, particularly in the Puerto Rican diaspora, such as this mural in the Bronx, New York shows:
#RIP#graffiti#mural for #CheoFeliciano, #Salsero#Boricua supreme. In #Bronx by BG183 & HEF pic.twitter.com/h4XiYrXWLR
— David Gonzalez (@dgbxny) April 17, 2014
You can read Cheo Feliciano's biography here [sp]. It was written by the Fundación Nacional para la Cultural Popular [The National Foundation for Popular Culture].

author: Ángel Carrión


text:
How Technology and Citizen Media Shaped Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

“Let the morning sun lit up democracy. A new day will come.” A T-shirt from the March 30 protest. Photo by Facebook user Wayne Huang. CC BY-NC 2.0
Throughout the three-week occupation of Taiwan's legislative building by protesters angry over a secretly negotiated trade deal with China, citizen media played an important role in keeping the public informed.
Members of the Sunflower Movement set up a number of websites dedicated to the protest and the Cross-Strait Service and Trade Agreement (CSSTA), whose passage by the legislature in mid-March without a clause-by-clause review sparked the occupation. Some worried the trade agreement would make democratic Taiwan vulnerable to political pressure from the communist mainland.
Thousands of people turned up and protested outside the Legislative Yuan alongside those inside. Half a million citizens also took to the streets to support the protest on March 30.
Protesters left the Legislative Yuan, as the country's legislature is known, on April 10 after the speaker promised to pass legislation monitoring future agreements proposed by the executive branch before deliberating on the current deal.
Live-streams were available for those who wished to follow along with the occupation. Tang Fong, a tech activist, explained on website 0th Sunflower Digital Camp how they created an online hub to collect all live-streams of the protests and improved the live broadcast system inside the occupied legislature to safeguard the protesters from police violence:
On March 23, at the MoeDict Hackthon, we repurposed the domain name we registered a while ago, g0v.today, to collect all the direct streams for everyone, including the English translation task force.
On March 28, a team from ITRI showed up, saying “there are still blind spots, like in some corridors in the Academia Sinica” [a code name for the legislative building], and helped set up six more cameras and capture videos from the blind spots. NO incident NOR brutal events ever happened after the cameras were up. We appreciated what they’ve done and hence shared much bandwidth.
If it is even 1% due to what we did that few people were injured, and no one went missing, then I think it is worth it.
Police aggression was indeed a reality that protesters faced. On March 23, demonstrators attempted to occupy the Executive Yuan, but were suppressed by riot police with rods and water cannons. Several protesters, doctors and journalists were injured.
Transparency
As the Taiwanese government did not inform the public about the details of the CSSTA, a number of citizen-initiated websites were created to explain the agreement and its potential impact. Tech blog Cool3c.com highlighted some of the initiatives:
服貿跑馬燈將所有服貿相關新聞直接一行一行排下來，雖然界面上沒那麼好看，但新聞的旁邊還增添了 Facebook 上貼文者的註解，反而更有由下而上的素人評論新聞效果。
CSSTA news ticker [zh] lists CSSTA-related news one by one. Although its interface is not very pretty, the comments besides the news taken from Facebook make it feel close to the common people.
(自己的服貿自己審) 將服貿全文、公聽會逐字稿、產業評估報告全部整合和立法院專案報告全都整理起來。可快速查詢服務貿易協定和你公司的相關性。
(Let us review the CSSTA for ourselves) [zh] summarizes the full text of the CSSTA, transcripts of previous public hearings, evaluations of affected industries, and project reports from the Legislative Yuan. Now it is easy to check out how the CSSTA might affect your company.
國會無雙 […] 這個網站試題以「播報體育賽事」的方式來代替原本無趣的立法院實況，並在公聽會安排「主播」和「球評」，讓對政治冷感的一般公民可以用非常具娛樂性的方式來親近政治議題，是邁向「政治普及」的重要里程碑。
Our one and the only one congress [zh] […] tries to make the experience of watching real-time broadcasts from the Legislative Yuan similar to the experience of watching sports. They have anchors and critics for the real-time broadcast of public hearings so everyday people who usually don't care about politics can learn about these political issues in an entertaining way. This is an important milestone for “popularized politics”.
To monitor the government and legislature and make sure they fulfilled their promise of setting up a monitoring mechanism for future cross-strait agreements, the tech activist Tang Fong set up a new platform together with her friends:
On March 27, we set up another website, 123.g0v.today, where you can find the phone number of the legislator for your election area. You might call and demand for the legislation [for a cross-strait agreement-monitoring mechanism] before review of the pact proceeds, and invite the legislator to join the camp.
Their g0v server also hosts a calendar for the Legislative Yuan so that citizens can easily know what is going on there.
Appendectomy Project is a similar initiative dedicated to supporting the impeachment of unsuitable legislators. cool3c.com described this website:
這個網站的出現，讓難以理解（或是更精準地說一般人不太關心）的公民罷免權，有了一個很好理解的開始。
The emergence of this website allows citizens to understand their right to recall (which is usually not of concern for most of us).
This website has become a key platform for protesters to keep tabs on lawmakers after the end of the occupation.
Citizen media
The Facebook page of National Taiwan University's E-Forum attracted more than 100,000 followers during the Sunflower Movement because their student reporters covered the protest 24 hours a day from inside and outside the legislature. They explained [zh] how their citizen reporting evolved throughout the protests:
3月20日，十幾位同學拿著自己的手機和筆電、借來的相機和攝影機、以及臨時承租的兩台4G行動基地台，在濟南路上就地開始採訪。從蹲坐在路邊，到莫名進駐了濟南路上的帳篷，擁有了半正式的編輯台；從原本只有十幾名台大新聞所學生參與，到後來共有將近九十名來自政大、師大、交大、東華等各大學同學在各地支援的龐大規模。
On March 20, about ten student reporters brought their cell phones, notebooks, rental cameras, video cameras and 4G mobile base station to Jinan Road and started their interviews. In the beginning, they worked on the roadside, and later they moved to a tent on Jinan Road. At the end, they had a semi-formal newsroom. In the beginning, there were only few students from the Graduate Institute of Journalism of National Taiwan University. At the end, it became a huge workforce composed of around 90 students from National Chengchi University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Dong Hwa University supporting the coverage of the protest in several locations.
Tents outside the legislative building on April 4, 2014. Photo by Twitter user bratscher. CC BY-NC 2.0
Protest logistics
Technology also helped to facilitate logistics for the protests. cool3c highlighed some of the tools:
神人（由ETBlue發起，眾人編輯）製作的透過mapsengine所製作「佔領立法院地圖」，包括演講台、廁所以及7-11都清楚的標示出來
A masterpiece (initiated by ETBlue and supported by several others) by making use of maps engine to generate a map for #CongressOccupied [zh]. This map marked the podiums, toilets, and convenience stores clearly.
(立院排班表): 使用者可透過 Facebook 的帳號登入，立即瞭解自己的朋友在立法院排班的狀態，自己也可以加入排班，讓朋友間互相提醒。
(Calendar for taking shifts at the Legislative Yuan) [zh]: Users could log in with their Facebook accounts. They could see their friends’ shifts in the Legislative Yuan, and they could sign up and take their shift [as a voluntary security guard]. Friends could use this website to remind each other of their shifts.
flyingV, a crowdfunding platform, was initially set up to raise funds for newspaper advertisement  for the movement. On April 7, VDemocracy.tw was created as an additional fundraising website specifically for social activists. Another Internet fundraising project was hosted by zeczec.com to publish a photobook for the Sunflower Movement.
Betty Eric explained how protesters organized themselves despite their differences:
在學運團體裡頭，這個「共同的通訊協定」就是群體共同的意志和行動方法。我們可以觀察到，太陽花學運出現的幾個團體平常各自獨立，目標和訴求也不盡相同，但是反對黑箱服貿的意志相同（通訊協定相同），只要微調系統設定，兩個子網很容易就可以連上。
網路內部意見有重大分岐的時候，比較可能的是分割網路，保持各自意見的純粹性，而不是因人而改變初衷。[…]網狀民主的不妥協性高，也因此太陽花的僵局可能比以往的運動拉得更長。
In this student movement, the protocol is defined by their determination and their tools. We can see that they used to belong to different independent groups that have different goals and demands. Nevertheless, they have the same protocol: against the “black box” secretive process behind the CSSTA. As a result, after some minor adjustments, these groups can be easily connected to each other.
While there is major divergence in their opinions, what they likely do is separating their network. Therefore, they can keep their own opinions instead of changing their original goals. […] This kind of Internet democracy does not compromise easily. As a result, the conflict between the government and the protesters might be elongated.

author: I-fan Lin


text:
Peru: Blog Site for Women Claims Unethical Use of Web Domain · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Ellas dicen [es], a blog site for women, recently posted about the problems they went through after a representative of PERU.com suggested an association between the two entities. In the end, the agreement did not work out after a trial run, and no contract was signed. However, PERU.com, part of the El Comercio editorial group, registered the domain ellasdicen.pe and refuses to give it up. The blogger from Ellas dicen wonders:
¿Acaso es pecado emprender algo sin tener el dinero para registrar la marca porque entonces, alguna persona “súper viva” aprovechará para usar TU idea y sacar SU provecho sin darte ningún crédito de por medio?
Is it so wrong for people to launch projects without having the money to register their brands just because some opportunist could possibly take advantage by stealing YOUR idea and profiting from it without giving back any of the credit?
Some tweeters have begun to show solidarity with @ellasdicenpe:
.@perucom va a tener que demostrar que registro de dominio ellasdicen.pe tras relación con el blog @Ellasdicenpe no es de mala fe ni desleal
— Erick Iriarte Ahon (@coyotegris) abril 14, 2014
@perucom is going to have to prove that registering the ellasdicen.pe domain after its association with the @Ellasdicenpe blog is neither disloyal nor in bad faith.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
Philippine Jeepney: World War II Surplus Vehicle that Became a Cultural Icon · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The jeepney is the undisputed ‘King of the Road’ in the past half-century in the Philippines. But aside from being the most popular mode of public transportation, the jeepney has come to symbolize the Filipino spirit.
A jeepney in Pangasinan province. Flickr photo by Brandon Keim (CC License)
The jeepney is an indirect American legacy. After World War II, military surplus jeeps were left behind by the Americans and these were converted by Filipinos into public transport vehicles:
When American troops began to leave the Philippines at the end of World War II, hundreds of surplus jeeps were sold or given to local Filipinos. Locals stripped down the jeeps to accommodate several passengers, added metal roofs for shade, and decorated the vehicles with vibrant colors and bright chrome plating and hood ornaments.
Filipinos also painted and adorned the jeepney with various ornaments:
Filipinos also started adding colorful and shiny ornaments, and using the car’s metal body as canvas for painted or airbrushed images of personal significance, or adverts. The Jeepney became a part of Filipino culture, and an inexpensive means of transportation for the country’s proletariat.
An artist paints inside a jeepney. Facebook photo from Sarao
A popular ornament placed on the hood of the jeepney is the horse symbol:
Gilded iron moldings, intricate art work of paintings depicting country side scenery, lapels, tassels and sometimes glittery tinsels abundantly distributed inside and outside. And finally, the wrought iron symbol of a horse drawn carriage and a chrome finished horse, festooned on top of the hood as an ornament and as a reminder of a past glory representing the horse drawn carriage.
The classic Jeepney design. Notice the horse symbol? Photo from Facebook page of Sarao
In other islands, Japanese elf trucks were stripped down and refurbished as jeepneys:
In Cebu, popular jeepney manufacturers are Chariot and RDAK, known for its “flat-nosed” jeepneys made from surplus Suzuki minivans and Isuzu Elf trucks, which are no longer in use in Japan. These are equipped with high-powered sound systems, racing themes, and are bigger and taller than those in Manila.
This video is a useful introduction on how to ride the jeepney:
There is no large corporation, either public or private, which owns and manages jeepney operations in the country. It means jeepney drivers often compete for passengers in the streets:
In the Philippines , jeeps compete with each along the same route. Competition for customers is intense, and thousands of jeeps eke out a living gathering as many customers as possible by running as often as possible.
…so eager are jeeps to gain your patronage, that they will stop anywhere for you as long as you are within sight. This is to the detriment of people in private cars, but to the benefit of the jeepney-riding public.
For Manila Concierge Online, the jeepney represents a struggle between tradition and development:
They represent a battle between traditional and progress and up to now the traditional is still winning. As much as they have charm, history and being a part of the culture, it could also be said that they are totally unsuitable in almost every imaginable way as a modern public transport vehicle.
But the author noted that the jeepney seating arrangement could easily lead to friendly conversations:
Although most people simply keep to themselves on a jeepney, I have had many a friendly exchange riding one of these crazy people trucks. The nature of the seating means you are sat facing each other and I’m often smiled at as eye contact and close human interaction is unavoidable which is all part of the charm of the jeepney, a small compensation for the slight discomfort of being on a crowded one.
In recent years, the government became more aggressive in regulating jeepneys to reduce traffic and pollution. Some cities even introduced electric jeepneys. The latest innovation which could become the standard in the near future is the installation of free wifi and CCTV inside the jeepney.
Below is a Twitter photo of an overcrowded jeepney with a ‘topload':
Jeepney here in province be likepic.twitter.com/xSThHDuxP7
— Alyssa Abordo (@HeyMaggiee_) April 13, 2014
A school service jeepney. Photo from Facebook page of Sarao
A jeepney beside a trike which is also a popular mode of transportation in the Philippines. Flickr photo by Victor Dumesny (CC License)
A daily scene in downtown Manila where Jeepneys occupy all the lanes of a street. Flickr photo by Kahunapule Michael J (CC License)
A pink jeepney with a different structural design. Flickr photo by dbgg1979 (CC License)
A jeepney beside a bullock with a cart. Flickr photo by 333junction (CC License)
The main modes of transportation in Manila: Bus, Jeepney, LRT train. Flickr photo by John Ward (CC License)
This Jeepney design is often used in tourism resorts. Flickr photo by Joshua Bousel (CC License)
Jeepneys are reliable vehicles that can be used in the rugged terrains of the countryside. Flickr photo by Stefan Munder (CC License)


text:
Pope Francis, a Pope Unlike the Rest · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Before becoming Pope, Cardinal Bergoglio used to take public transportation just like everyone else. Photo from his Facebook page – Public Domain
[Most links are to articles in French.]
It's been a year since Giorgio Bergoglio, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, became the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its 1.2 billion followers as Pope Francis. Until his election, despite the importance of Saint Francis of Assisi to the Catholic Church, no pope had yet chosen to take the papal name of a saint who is iconic for standing for peace and the poor.
With vocal stances on sensitive issues like war, homosexuality and economic inequities, Francis’ renewed vigor has attracted attention all over the world, not just because he is the world's first ever Latin American Pope. In the slums of Buenos Aires, where Bergoglio worked for many years, people already knew to expect his unorthodox ways. But to most of the world's catholics, Francis’ personality has been something of a surprise.
Pope Francis has made an impression on war-ravaged Congo where 50% of the population is Catholic. In an article published on the website adiac-congo.com, titled “Pope Francis: One Year with a Surprising Pontiff,” Lucien Mpama, of Kinshasa, in the DRC, wrote:
Pas de mules rouges de pape au pied mais des souliers à bouts arrondis, comme tout curé de campagne – surtout jésuite. Pas de luxueuses voitures de fonction, des limousines coûteuses entretenues à coups de millions mais une Ford Mondeo, presque ordinaire, en tout cas de celles que l’on croise à chaque coin de rue même en Afrique (héritage de son prédécesseur ; son secrétaire à lui circulant dans et hors du Vatican à vélo). Pas d’aide de camp portant sacoche et tout le nécessaire d’un chef d’État. Pas d’appartements pontificaux (de 500 m2) mais un logement spartiate dans la Maison Sainte Marthe, la maison des cardinaux de passage au Vatican, construite par Jean-Paul II.
[There were] only slippers with rounded soles for this pope's feet, just like the same ordinary slippers worn by all countryside clerics. No luxurious, expensive cars, but rather an ordinary Ford Mondeo, just like any car you would pass on any street corner, even in Africa. His predecessor's secretary travelled within and outside the Vatican by bicycle. Nor does an army of bag carriers trail him, like you see with the average head of state. Furthermore, there are no grand 500-square-meter apartments for this pope. Instead, it's spartan lodgings in St. Martha's hostel, the resting place Jean-Paul II constructed for cardinals passing through to the Vatican.
Writing on the website Triologies run by an orthodox theologian, Jean-Thierry Verhest, a Brussels-based consultant in intercultural relations, argued that the Catholic Church appears to have rediscovered the liberation theology of the 1970s. The liberation theology doctrine originated in Latin America, later developing in other parts of the world, notably in South Africa, the Philippines, and in South Korea:
Le monde actuel n’est donc pas plus civilisé, disent-ils, que quand les hommes réglaient leurs différends à coups de poings et de gourdins. Il est, au contraire, plus dangereux et plus cruel. La capitalisme, particulièrement sauvage dans les pays du Sud, en est la cause. Ils estiment que les masses du “tiers-monde” ont à recouvrer la dignité humaine que le Créateur leur a donnée.
The modern world is, in fact, not more civilized, as they say, than it was when men resolved their differences through combat. On the contrary, the world is even more dangerous and cruel than it was before. Capitalism is the cause of this, with its particularly devastating effects in the countries of the Southern hemisphere. The populations of the Third World are rediscovering the human dignity bestowed upon them by the Creator.
The Vatican does not hide its mistrust of liberation theology, which critics call “Christianized Marxism.” The religious website croire.com (which translates to “believe.com” in English) summarizes Catholicism's two stances on liberation theology:
La Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi s'est prononcée à deux reprises sur la théologie de la libération. La première instruction, le 6 août 1984, met en garde contre les déviations dues à l'introduction d'éléments du marxisme et critique les lectures rationalisantes de la Bible qui réduisent l'histoire du Christ à celle d'un libérateur social et politique. La seconde instruction, le 22 mars 1986 est plus favorable et intègre cette théologie au magistère romain de l'Église. La théologie de la libération est relue de manière positive en y introduisant la dimension spirituelle d'une théologie de la liberté.
The first order of August 6, 1984, warns against deviations [from classical theology] encouraged by Marxist elements and criticizes rationalist readings of the Bible that reduce the story of Christ to a tale of a social and political liberator. (2) The second order, on March 22, 1986, is more favorable and integrates liberation theology with that of the Magisterium. In this second order, liberation theology is read in a positive manner; as introducing a spiritual dimension through a theology based on freedom.
Not everyone welcomed Bergoglio's election, however. His role during Argentina's military dictatorships, for instance, concerned some people. It wasn't long before entering the Vatican that Francis answered his critics by signaling his views on human rights and the military's role in society. One of the first guests Francis welcomed to the Vatican was  the Dominican Gustavo Gutierrez, one of the world's most prominent liberation theology proponents.
Indeed, Pope Francis has been full of surprises. In an interview published in several newspapers, Francis spoke plainly about homosexuality, shunning language that has made sexual orientation controversial for Catholics in the past.
In his message, titled “Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace” (which every Catholic church across the planet read on World Peace Day, on January 1, 2014), the pope called for more fraternity between people and for solidarity on the part of governments.
Francis has also taken several steps to reform the Catholic Church. In February earlier this year, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin explained the how the Vatican has begun reorganizing the Curia and the Church's finances.
On the website oeildafrique.com, for instance, blogger “Bona” from the Congo welcomed the nomination of Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo:
L’archevêque de Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo fait désormais parti des huit cardinaux qui aideront le pape de l’église catholique dans le travail de la réforme de la curie romaine. Le Pape François l’a annoncé ce samedi 13 avril.
La curie romaine, le gouvernement du Vatican, est traité de pléthorique. Elle est composée d’une secrétairerie d’Etat, de neuf congrégations romaines, de trois tribunaux, de douze conseillers pontificaux, mais aussi de six commissions pontificales et d’autant d’instituts en tous genres. Le Vatican emploie près de 3 000 personnes.
The archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo, will be part of the eight cardinals assisting the Pope of the Catholic Church in his project to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis announced on Saturday 13 April.
The Roman Curia, the Vatican's government, is overstaffed. It consists of a a Secretary of State, of nine Roman congregations, three tribunals, twelve pontifical advisors, as well as six pontifical commissions and as many institutions of all genres.
In relation to the pedophilia scandals striking at the heart of the Church, the website afriqueredaction.com reported the unequivocal remarks Pope Francis recently made before the International Catholic Child Bureau.

author: Abdoulaye Bah