text:
Mexican Officials Vote to Change Transparency Laws: A Backward Step in the Name of Security? · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

[All links lead to Spanish language webpages]
Officials in Mexico have passed constitutional reforms that will greatly affect the public’s ability to access information held by the government. The reform will also affect the autonomy of the national body that oversees this right, the IFAI [en] (Federal Institute for Access to Public Information). Although the reform actually gives more executive powers to the IFAI, the government will now be able to overrule it on the grounds of national security.
Various civil organisations have described these reforms as a backward step for the country in terms of transparency.
In Mexico, access to public information is considered a fundamental right and has been guaranteed by the IFAI since December 2002. As it stands, any person (without having to prove their citizenship) can access, free of charge, any document held by a government body that is of interest to them.
IFAI commissioners in full session. Photo by the blog’s author
The reform passed by officials on 23 August 2013 was highly anticipated and widely discussed by organisations that specialise in the subject. The general public, has also joined in with the debate, although to a lesser extent.
Before the vote took place in the Chamber of Deputies, Fundar [en] published a statement in which the organisations México Infórmate (Mexico, Get Informed) and the Colectivo por la Transparencia (Collective for Transparency) expressed their worries over the ruling. In their opinion the ruling “limits the right to access information”, adding that it:
representa un revés a la máxima protección del derecho de acceso a la información y una contradicción del compromiso del Estado Mexicano con el cumplimiento de sus obligaciones internacionales en materia de derechos humanos
represents a complete reversal to the protection of the public's right to access information and a contradiction of Mexico’s agreement to comply with international obligations concerning human rights
This is, in fact, one of the aspects of the reform that most worries these organisations. According to the statement released by Fundar:
Se aprobó un dictamen que propone que algunos titulares de entidades públicas — el Consejero Jurídico, el Procurador General de la República, el Presidente de la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos y el Presidente del Banco de México –, puedan impugnar las resoluciones del órgano garante del derecho de acceso a la información, bajo supuestos que consideramos demasiado amplios y generales: literalmente, “la seguridad, la estabilidad económica y la protección de derechos humanos”. Esto significa que, en la práctica, el acceso a la información para el ciudadano perderá su calidad de expedito, además de que se judicializa un derecho humano y se contradice el reconocimiento expreso de la especialización y autonomía del órgano garante para dirimir las controversias que se susciten en esta materia.
A ruling has been passed proposing that heads of public bodies, including the Legal Adviser, the Attorney General, the President of the National Commission for Human Rights and the President of the Bank of Mexico, be able to impugn resolutions made by the organisation that oversees the right to access information. They will be able to do this whenever they deem it a threat to “security, economic stability and the protection of human rights”. We, however, consider this too broad and too general. In practice, this means that the public’s ability to access information will be obstructed, that it will become a legal process rather than a human right, and that it will contradict the previous recognition of the IFAI as a specialised and autonomous organisation.
Equally, the organisation Article 19 voiced its desire for the IFAI to remain off-limits to the authorities:
#NiunpasoAtras en la inatacabilidad sin excepciones #TransparenciaYA #Articulo19
— ARTICLE19 MX-CA (@article19mex) August 23, 2013
#NiunpasoAtras off-limits and no exceptions #TransparenciaYA #Articulo19
Nevertheless, the constitutional reform passed by representatives gives government officials the authority to impugn decisions made by the IFAI.
On this topic, the Twitter user Javier Peralta wrote (@jjperaltamoreno):
Se aprobó reforma en #Transparencia el Consejero Jurídico de la @PresidenciaMX podrá interponer Recurso de Revisión ante la SCJN! #Retroceso
— Javier Peralta (@jjperaltamoreno)
<ahref=”https://twitter.com/jjperaltamoreno/statuses/370719458249027584″>August 23, 2013
Reform passed on transparency (#Transparencia). The Legal Adviser to @PresidenciaMX will be able to block appeals to the Supreme Court! #Retroceso
Issa Luna Pla (@ilunapla), an expert on the subject, explained that such a measure is comparable to letting the government withhold information “by decree” or by unilateral means:
Darle facultades a Consejería Jurídica de @PresidenciaMX de recurso contra #IFAI es como permitir que reserve por decreto
— Issa Luna Pla (@ilunapla) August 23, 2013
Giving powers of appeal to the Legal Adviser of @PresidenciaMX against #IFAI is like allowing information to be withheld by decree
Sue Blano (@lamayorblanco) questioned the claim that limiting transparency was about security:
¿El acceso a la información es un problema de seguridad nacional? ¡ja! Desde cuándo los políticos son toda la nación? #Ifai #miedo
— Sue Blanco (@lamayorblanco) August 23, 2013
Accessing information is a problem of national security? Sure! Since when are politicians the entire nation? #Ifai #miedo
With uncertainty faced by the public being intensified by the ambiguous interpretations of the ruling by mainstream media in Mexico, Twitter users have been expressing their confusion. Mario Martínez (@mromtz) wrote:
Si no entendí mal el encabezado del periódico, al #IFAI ya lo amordazaron
— Mario Martinez (@mromtz) August 23, 2013
Unless I've misunderstood the headlines, they’ve just gagged the #IFAI
Nevertheless, legislators took the opportunity to declare victory, with Blanca Jímenez C (@BlancaJC) exalting the work of her parliamentary group:
Como #GPPAN defendimos la #ReformaEducativa y la ley de #Transparencia. Por un mejor futuro para tu familia.
— Blanca Jimenez C (@BlancaJC) August 23, 2013
At #GPPAN we are defending the Education Reform (#ReformaEducativa) and Transparency laws (#Transparencia). For a better future for your family
In a similar vein, the deputy Manlio F. Beltrones (@MFBeltrones) declared that:
Guiados por la máxima publicidad, las inquietudes sociales y la modernización institucional, fortalecimos la rendición de cuentas
— Manlio F. Beltrones (@MFBeltrones) August 23, 2013
Guided by maximum publicity, the concerns of society and institutional modernisation, we have strengthened transparency
The right to access information in Mexico and the organisation that oversees that right are generally cited in other Central and South American countries as examples to follow. Faced with the modifications and additions that could happen during the legislative process, Mexicans and the wider international community will have to wait before they know the true effect of this constitutional reform, including the finer details of any laws that come from it.
But one thing is certain: the debate will continue to develop over the coming weeks.

author: J. Tadeo


text:
Russian Political Prisoners Ignored by Everyone · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Sergey Udaltsov, a leftist protest leader currently under house arrest pending investigation of his alleged planning of the May 6, 2012 Bolotnaya Square riots (the so-called Bolotnaya Square Case), exemplifies the popular saying: “out of sight, out of mind.” Prohibited from staying in close contact with anyone but his family and lawyers, he has struggled to maintain relevancy in the opposition movement ever since his arrest. Udaltsov is not alone in his plight — the twelve men and women currently on trial for their involvement in the riots (most of them have remained in pre-trial detention for the past year) also appear to have been largely forgotten. In an interview recently published [ru] in Novaya Gazeta, Udaltsov explained why people seem to have lost interest:
Да, сейчас все увлечены осенними выборами, да — «болотное дело» тянется очень долго, разбито на несколько частей, что не способствует поддержанию острого интереса общества и средств массовой информации.
right now everyone is preoccupied with the Fall elections, […] the “Bolotnaya Case” is being stretched out, is broken up into several components, which isn't conducive to maintaining interest from the public and from the media.
Udaltsov called on protest leaders to combat this malaise, to “actively go to court hearings, conduct a strong information campaign” and “prepare for new rallies and marches of solidarity.”
His complaint was echoed by Maria Baronova [Global Voices Report], one of the accused in the case. Baronova, who unlike other defendants is out on bail, has been attempting to raise awareness through blogging, social media, and journalism, but feels [ru] that her efforts are in vain:
[…] люди добавляют, что конечно же интерес к Болотному делу появится, ну, когда будет приговор. Ну и тогда, дескать, “Болотная” что-то с этим сделает. Например, напишет классные колонки […]
[…] people [say], that of course there will be interest in the Bolotnaya Case, well, when there is a verdict. Then, they say, “Bolotnaya” will do something. For instance, write really great op-eds […]
Maria Baronova asking people to come support the Bolotnaya prisoners. YouTube screenshot.
Baronova's frustrations came to a head last Friday, when she ran into notorious internet troll Egor Prosvirnin in a Moscow bar. Both were attending an impromptu outing organized by DemVybor's Stanislav Yakovlev (the list of participants [ru], from ultra-nationalist Prosvirnin, to liberal journalists Ivan Davydov and Elena Kostyuchenko simply serves as a reminder of how insular and cliquey the Moscow political “tusovka” is, no matter how fractured it seems from the outside).
Egor Prosvirnin at a nationalist rally. YouTube screenshot.
Baronova apparently asked Prosvirnin, who runs the popular nationalist internet publication Sputnik & Pogrom [ru], why he hasn't covered her trial. Prosvirnin's answer was either brutally honest or a cynical troll (your mileage may vary) — he doesn't care, and no one else does either. Baronova tweeted quotes from their conversation, and later collated them into a Facebook post [ru]. Prosvirnin spent the night telling her that the courtroom drama isn't popular on social media, and that it won't become a conversation topic until it is adopted by Alexey Navalny in his campaign for mayor (Navalny himself faces jail time in a political case):
- Если писать о Болотных Узниках, – говорит Егор Просвирнин, – то получишь 15 лайков.Это борьба с Ветряными мельницами. Не надо о них писать
— Maria Baronova (@ponny1) August 24, 2013
- Writing about Bolotnaya Prisoners, – says Egor Prosvirnin, – you'll get 15 [Facebook] likes. This is like battling windmills. You shouldn't write about it.
- Я не буду писать о Болотных узниках, потому что они никого не ебут (с) Егор Просвирнин — Maria Baronova (@ponny1) August 24, 2013
- I won't write about Bolotnaya prisoners because no one f*cking cares about them (c) Egor Prosvirnin
- Вы пишете об абсолютно проигрышном деле,потому что если завтра Навальный станет президентом, то о Болотном деле еще быстрей забудут (с) Ёж
— Maria Baronova (@ponny1) August 24, 2013
- You are writing about a completely losing battle, because if Navalny becomes president tomorrow, people will forget about the Bolotnaya case even faster (c) Hedgehog [Prosvirnin's nickname on the popular forum Lepra]
- История об узниках Болотной начнет иметь смысл, когда о ней начнет писать Навальный. А до этого нет смысла (с) Просвирнин — Maria Baronova (@ponny1) August 24, 2013
- The story of the Bolotnaya prisoners will have some meaning when Navalny starts covering it. Before that, there is no point (c) Prosvirnin
- Если бы я был Бароновой, то я бы пришел в штаб Навального и разделся бы по пояс и пока он бы не писал только об узниках (с) Просвирнин
— Maria Baronova (@ponny1) August 24, 2013
If I was Baronova, I would come to Navalny's HQ and take off my top until he started writing about the prisoners (c) Prosvirnin
Baronova eventually left, saying:
На этом трансляция из ада заканчивается. Это было лучшее, что я слушала о Болотном деле за год. Мысли были у многих, высказали мне их сейчас
— Maria Baronova (@ponny1) August 24, 2013
On this note, our live coverage of Hell is over. This was the best thing I've heard about the Bolotnaya case during the past year. Many people have had these thoughts, but now they've been aired
The sad thing is that Baronova, who rather naturally finds the topic of her trial very personal, is probably fighting a losing battle. If the fickle Russian public forgot about the much more memorable Pussy Riot case, just a month after their sentencing, what chance have the defendants who haven't danced in a cathedral wearing colorful masks?

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Andrey Tselikov


text:
Wikipedia in Guarani · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

This year, Wikipedia in Spanish reached one million articles and released a basic user guide in Guaraní. The idea is to revive the Guaraní-speaking community in this great platform. So far there are only 20 articles in that language.
[…]
If you are interested in collaborating with this project, download the wikipedia in Guaraní guide and join the community Vikipetã !
Maricarmen Sequera writes about Wikipedia in Guaraní in the blog Hallucina [es].

author: Silvia Viñas


text:
Young Kyrgyz and Tajiks Learn to Blog · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

More than 20 young activists from the Central Asian nations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are learning the basics of blogging at a summer school in northern Tajikistan. Rustam Gulov reports [ru] on Blogiston.tj that participants at the summer school learn to use social media to contribute to public debates on how best to address the region's most pressing social problems.
Photos from the summer school. Image from Rustam Gulov's Facebook page.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


text:
A Brick in the Wall of Tertiary Education in Barbados?  · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

During the recent budget presentation in Barbados, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler announced that the government would be cutting its subsidies for students at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus. The blogosphere is divided over whether the move is a good one for the country.
In his speech, the Minister said:
‘While remaining committed to providing continued access to university education, the government cannot simply continue to preside over a situation where the growth and development of the non-university component education system is severely retarded. The country needs to be able to build capacity at all levels of the education system.
As a consequence, the government has decided that in an effort to assist it in meeting the exploding costs of university education it has now become necessary to ask students attending and desirous of attending the University of the West Indies to contribute to their education in a more direct manner.’
The Minister explained that the government would look to means-testing and a revamped student loan program to make sure deserving students are still able to afford school. Education in Barbados has been essentially free up through university level since independence. This has been critical to the island's development and many Barbadians took great pride in this. The government's decision has spawned great debate, encompassing issues of education policy and debt management.
David Commisiong of the Clement Payne Movement, widely regarded as a left-wing political entity, called the decision of the government an “act of political treachery” and considered it to be a betrayal of the legacy of the ruling Democratic Labour Party‘s founder and former Prime Minister Errol Barrow.
If this is not an act of political treachery, then what is?
[This] is being amplified by the fact that Barbados has just gone through a General Election, and at no time during the course of that Election campaign did the DLP indicate to the Barbadian people that they were proposing to institute such a drastic severing of the fundamental social rights of the people of Barbados. In fact, they did just the opposite, suggesting that it was the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) that was threatening the social rights of the Barbadian people, and that a vote for the DLP would be a vote to preserve such social rights as the right to ‘free’ education at the University of the West Indies.
Commisiong made the point that key political figures were themselves the beneficiaries of the subsidized schooling initiative:
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and the vast majority of his Ministers have all benefitted from ‘free’ education at the UWI! Stuart…was born into a poor working-class family and was raised by a single parent – his mother – who worked as a maid. But Stuart was fortunate to come of age in an independent nation whose founder -leader – Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow – had had the good sense to accord the right of young Barbadians to education from the Primary level to University level, the status of a de facto fundamental human right, and to put a system in place whereby the cost of education was collectively borne by all taxpayers, rather than being left on the shoulders of the individual student and his or her biological family.
He concluded that the matter should be decided by a national referendum:
The people of Barbados never gave the DLP Government any mandate to dismantle the system of ‘free’ University Education. Let us therefore raise our voices and demand that they put this issue to a vote by all of the people of Barbados in a nation-wide Referendum! We, the Barbadian people, must be permitted to have a say in something as fundamental and serious as this!
Omar Best-Delice, meanwhile, wrote an essay exploring the issues related to funding education in Barbados:
To effectively determine how best to structure tertiary educational policy in Barbados, the issue thus comes down fundamentally to what is the purpose of education and specifically tertiary education? Is tertiary education special or distinct from primary or secondary education? If it is, what special attributes or benefits does it derive that the other two types of education are less equipped to? If tertiary education however, is nothing special, but merely an expansion of primary and secondary education, why would it or should it receive differential treatment compared to the other types of education?
According to Best-Delice, education cannot be seen as just another government service, given its role in development:
Education and its contributions are fundamentally more important towards economic and social value creation than virtually all other types of services fathomable. The particular form that tertiary education has taken in the Barbadian society is culturally idiosyncratic, having been forged by prior policymakers as a means to ameliorate a very real societal condition and a history that saw vast majority of the populous disenfranchised from significant economic contribution and value creation. It would therefore be remiss to divorce cost of tertiary university education from an understanding of the totality of the benefits it has provided over the years.
At Barbados Underground, a reader named “Fair Play” defended the decision and felt that most Barbadians supported the government's stance:
I believe our plan to ask students to contribute a small part of the cost of their tertiary education at UWI has more public support than we think. Talking to people from all walks of life, and ironically, particularly among low income earners, there is much support.  Their comments run the gamut from: it makes sense; the country cannot afford 100% funding at this time; other countries that are better off than us don’t do it; and, it should have been implemented long ago; to, they have an attitude after graduation – forgetting who paid for their education; and they do not give back to society, especially the doctors and lawyers who charge the same benefactors (the taxpayers) very exorbitant fees.
Commenter “Prodigal Son” wondered why there was not an outcry from the university community:
Let them keep their silence, say nothing and do nothing. Let me tell them something…if less people are able to send their children to UWI, there will be less money going into the coffers of UWI, the UWI will have no alternative but to cut and combine programmes. Thus there will be no need for so many lecturers, professors, deans, tutorial leaders, programme assistants, office staff etc.
Imagine not a word on the severity of the cuts to the QEH [Queen Elizabeth Hospital] and to me this is the worse (sic) cut of all. As a caller to Brasstacks [a radio programme] said yesterday, the government can provide children with free bus rides to get to the UWI but when they get there, they cannot go in as they have no money to pay the UWI tuition cost the government has imposed on them.
So keep your silence, UWI elite, this is the poor’s time, your time will come!
The Guild of Students at the University of the West Indies has decided take up the issue with the government.

author: Matthew Hunte


text:
China Detains Prominent Online Critic on Prostitution Solicitation Charge · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Well-known Chinese-American angel investor and prominent online celebrity Charles Xue has been detained by Beijing police for suspected solicitation of prostitution.
Speculation is rampant in China's social Web, however, that the prostitution bust was just a scheme set up by the authorities to control influential liberals online as part of recent crackdown on “online rumors.”
The outspoken Xue, better known by his nickname Xue Manzi, is one of the most prominent figures in the Chinese Internet industry and is also a famous political critic on Chinese social media with over 12 million followers on popular microblogging site Sina Weibo.
Xue's detention on on August 25, 2013 soon grabbed netizens’ attention, and his name became the top most searched key word on Weibo.
Last week, Chinese police detained two Internet users for allegedly starting online rumors defamed government groups and a cultural icon. Earlier in August 2013, the head of the State Internet Information Office urged a group of “Big V” users, as online celebrities are known, to be more constructive in their social media postings.
Government mouthpiece Guangming Daily ran a piece on Xue, saying[zh] his detention exposes Internet hypocrite. It also warns netizens “not to follow suit.”
One web user “Feixiangba feixiangba” suspected[zh]:
Xue Manzi's Weibo page with over 12 million followers
只见央视和警方一面之词，为何不见薛蛮子本人或律师声明？
How come we hear only the one-sided story from the police and CCTV, but not Xu Manzi or his lawyer’s statement?
CEO of China eCaptial Wang Ran expressed symphony [zh]:
即使@薛蛮子真的一时糊涂，这仍然不会改变他做过慈善、帮过创业者、说过逆耳忠言、推动过社会进步的基本事实。犯错就是犯错，犯法就是犯法，每个成年人都要为自己的行为负责。但一码归一码，此刻更重要的仍然是他微博上的那些言论，哪些我们同意，哪些不同意，而不是其他。
Even if Xue Manzi had a moment of weakness, it doesn't change the fact that he has done charity, helped entrepreneurs, spoken the truth, and promoted social progress. Mistakes are mistakes, but breaking the law is breaking the law, every adult should be responsible for their own actions. The most important thing at the moment is his comments on Weibo, which ones we agree with, and which ones we do not agree with.
Hu Xijin, chief editor of the government mouthpiece Global Times, weighed in[zh]:
不能完全排除官方是在通过抓嫖娼“整”薛蛮子。通过性丑闻、偷漏税等“整”政治对手，这是全世界政府通行的“潜规则”。所以善意提醒热衷政治对抗的人士，走这条路，自己的屁股一定要干净。你如果真有短，又逢官必反，早晚会搞砸。也诚劝政府，你们抓的短一定要准确无误，程序无可挑剔，否则适得其反。
It cannot be ruled out that the authorities were using the prostitution charge to frame Xue Manzi. It is a universal rule that governments around the world use sex scandals to frame political rivals. So I warn political dissidents in China to keep your bottom clean or you could mess up sooner or later. I would also urge the government to make sure the evidence they gather must be accurate, and the procedure flawless, or you would get the exact opposite result.
In response to Hu’s comment, online personality “Pretending to be in NY” disagreed[zh]:
世界上没有人是通体透明，完美无瑕的。如果要求批评政府的人必须是毫无瑕疵的完人，那世界上就没有人能有资格批评政府了。胡锡进的话看似公允，其实却是赤裸裸的黑社会式的威胁，完全撕破了伪装的不要脸。读完胡言，只感到森森寒气袭来，不寒而栗，然后看到有这么多人为之叫好，更是觉得悲哀莫明。
Nobody in this world is flawless. If you require critics of the government to be flawless and perfect, then nobody in the world is qualified enough to criticize the government. Hu Xijin's words seem fair, but it is a naked threat. After reading his nonsense, I felt densely chilled and shuddered, and then when I saw that there were so many people applauding, I felt sad somehow.

author: Abby Liu


text:
Conference on Water Ends with ‘Empty Statements’ in Tajikistan · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

An international conference on water cooperation ended in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on August 21. More than 900 representatives from about 70 countries and organizations attended the conference. Yet the event has failed to impress Tajikistan's social media users who believe that holding large conferences is less effective than doing tangible things to resolve water-related problems.
‘Empty statements’
The conference was latest in a string of international summits on water that Tajikistan has hosted over the recent years. As with previous events of this kind, endless discussions rather than concrete resolutions or agreements dominated the conference. EurasiaNet reports:
One Tajik participant told EurasiaNet.org that the discussions were “very trivial” and included “endless empty statements. Loads of money is being spent talking, but it’s like déjà vu,” he said, comparing the conference to past meetings on the same topic.
High-level International Conference on Water Cooperation, Dushanbe, 20-21 August 2013. Image by Flickr user ASIA-Plus, uploaded August 20, 2013, used with permission.
The failure of the conference to deliver tangible outcomes has not been lost on Tajikistani bloggers. Icekandar writes [ru] on LiveJournal:
В Таджикистане в очередной раз проводят международный саммит по водным проблемам. Все красиво и пышно: дорогие отели, делегатов встречают, развлекают, кормят и поют. А что нам от этих саммитов? Разве в нашей жизни что-то меняется? Из крана все так же порой течет коричневая вода. Во многих домах вода не поднимается выше второго этажа, и людям приходится устанавливать насосы, чтобы пользоваться водой. Это я говорю про столицу, а в сельской местности положение еще хуже. Во многих районах, особенно на юге, есть кишлаки, в которых чистой воды нет вообще. Дети и женщины в таких местах каждый день ходят за водой к ближайшему водопроводу или реке, используя тачки или ослов. Вода часто такого отвратительного качества, что дети болеют.
А мы все проводим международные саммиты вместо того, чтобы попытаться что-то исправить…
Tajikistan is holding yet another international summit on water. Everything is beautiful and pompous: expensive hotels; the delegates are met and entertained; they eat and drink. But what do we get from these summits? Does anything really change in our lives? The water we get at homes is still brown [dirty] at times. In many residential buildings people living above the first floor do not have water; they have to install pumps in order to have access to water. I am talking about the situation in the capital, while in rural areas the situation is even worse. Many districts, particularly in the country's south, have villages that do not get any clean water at all. Children and women in such areas fetch water daily from the nearest water pipe or a river, using carts or donkeys. The water they bring home is often of such terrible quality that children become ill.
And we keep hosting international summits instead of trying to change things…
Children fetching water in southern Tajikistan. Image by Alexander Sodiqov, November 2009.
Under a news article about the conference, one reader asks [ru]:
Напишите что решили конкретно?.. Или собрали 1000 человек и только бла-бла-бла делали? Может быть хватит пустых разговоров?
What exactly did [the participants at the conference] agree on?.. Or have they just gathered 1,000 people and did blah-blah-blah? Maybe we've had enough of these empty talks?
What to do?
Amal Khanum Gadzhieva remarks [ru] sarcastically in her blog on ASIA-Plus that Tajikistan spends much money on international summits rather than spending them on projects to improve water supply in Dushanbe:
И мне очень стыдно, что я такая безграмотная, и, к тому же, эгоистка, более того, не патриотка! Вместо того, чтобы «Шукрона кунед!»- быть благодарной, не радуюсь тому, что на проведение Форума по чистой воде нашли миллионы, а чтобы поставить один фильтр на резервуар городской питьевой воды, не могут изыскать деньги больше двадцати лет!..
I am ashamed of being so uneducated and selfish and unpatriotic. Instead of [being thankful], I am not happy about the fact that they could find millions to spend on hosting the forum on fresh water, while over the last 20 years they have not been able to find money to equip the municipal water supply system with filters…
Commenting under a news report about the conference, Alik comes up [ru] with a suggestion on how Tajikistan's water problems could be resolved:
Надо распродать дорогие авто чинушей и закупить на эти деньги трубы для населения, которое уже 20 лет без воды.
We should sell the expensive cars our officials are driving and use this money to buy water pipes for people who have lived without access to water over the last 20 years.
Water fountains in front of the National Library of Tajikistan. Image by Alexander Sodiqov, June 2013.
While Salimma, a Kazakhstani blogger visiting Dushanbe, suggests [ru] that people in Tajikistan should learn to use water more efficiently:
Представители Таджикистана рассказывали гостям со всего мира о том, как у них не хватает воды, как люди мучаются без доступа к питьевой воде и так далее. А ведь в самом Душанбе на каждом шагу фонтаны, переводящие тонны воды! Может вам просто научиться правильно и эффективно расходовать воду?
The representatives of Tajikistan [at the conference] were telling delegates from all over the world that they have shortages of water and that people suffer without access to drinking water. But in Dushanbe there are water fountains everywhere, using up tons of water! Perhaps you should simply learn to use water more efficiently?


text:
It Started With a Kiss: Footballer Causes Homophobia Debate in Brazil · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

[All links lead to Portuguese-language webpages unless otherwise noted.]
One week after Russian athletes Kseniya Ryzhova and Tatyana Firova kissed in celebration at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow as well as three-time pole vaulting champion Yelena Isinbayeva spoke out in favour of an anti-gay law in Russia that she later backtracked, it was Brazil’s time to debate homophobia through sport.
Footballer Emerson Sheik [en], who plays for Brazilian club Corinthians [en], published a photo online that caused controversy on Brazilian social networks. In the picture, the Corinthians number 10 celebrates his team’s recent victory by giving a male friend a kiss.
Picture shared on Instagram. At the time of publication of this article, it has received 9,985 likes.
Alongside the picture, Sheik wrote:
Tem que ser muito valente, para celebrar a amizade sem medo do que os preconceituosos vão dizer. Tem que ser muito livre para comemorar uma vitória assim, de cara limpa, com um amigo que te apóia sempre.
You’ve got to be very brave to celebrate friendship and not be scared of what prejudiced people will say. You’ve got to be very free to celebrate a victory like this, openly, with a friend who is always there for you.
One kiss was enough for football – a notoriously macho environment – to become a place for debating homophobia.
Critics of Sheik were not slow to appear online nor to voice their opinion on the streets. One group of members of the fans’ organisation Camisa 12 protested outside the Corinthians training ground, demanding both an apology and a retraction by the player. The group carried banners with the slogans “No fags allowed” and “This is a man’s place”.
On their official Twitter page, Camisa 12 (@Camisa12oficial) wrote:
Reprovamos atitudes isoladas que denigram a imagem do Corinthians e de sua torcida, exigimos respeito com a Fiel! Aqui é Corinthians!
— Camisa 12 Oficial (@Camisa12oficial) August 19, 2013
We reject isolated attitides that tarnish the image of Corinthians and its supporters. We demand respect for the Ultras! This is Corinthians!
However, as Wilson Gomes reminds us, in environments such as football, the use of terms referring to homosexuality have always been a way of belittling and devaluing the opposition. He wrote:
Aliás, faço logo uma distinção: não importa “o caso do selinho de Sheik”; o que é interessante é o “o caso da escandalização por causa do selinho de Sheik”. Tenho cá comigo uma regra de antropologia social de que não abro mão: pode-se conhecer, e muito, uma dada cultura pela lista dos fatos com que ela fica escandalizada.
Anyway, I’m going to make a distinction: Sheik’s kiss isn’t what is important; what is interesting is the scandal caused by the kiss. I have here with me a dictum from social anthropology that I guard closely: you learn a lot about any culture by the list of things that it is shocked by.
Artists launch protest by kissing for the campaign #SheikTamoJunto.
On the other hand, the Internet has been full of messages of support for the player.
It was not long before a remake of the “kissathon” [en], that took place during the campaign against homophobia in the Brazilian Comission for Human Rights [en], started to circulate online in support of Sheik.
The movement began with a photo (on the right) posted by brothers Fernando and Gustavo Anitelli, who are also members of O Teatro Mágico (The Magic Theatre).
Later the idea was featured on Blog do Rovai, causing it to go viral under the hashtags #Sheiktamojunto (Sheik we are one) and #vaicurintia (go corinthian).
Twitter users then began posting their own photos of support:
Photos expressing support have circulated on social networks. This one reads “In this family we are all Corinthians fans, but none of us are bigoted!”. Photo: Alex Capuano/Facebook
The blog Impedimento (Obstruction) recalled the era of Corinthians’ Democracy [en] which was lead by a group of politicised Corinthians players and is considered “the most important ideological movement in the history of Brazilian football”:
Protesto mesmo, ato de rebeldia, daqueles que nos remetem ao Corinthians da Democracia, foi o beijo de Sheik, mesmo que ele não tivesse qualquer intenção política no gesto. Não é nada, não é nada, mas nunca tínhamos visto algum jogador brasileiro peitar este “preconceito babaca que existe no futebol”, como Sheik afirmou hoje, após a repercussão do gesto de carinho.
Even if the gesture wasn't politically motivated, Sheik’s kiss was a protest, an act of rebellion, in the spirit of Corinthians’ Democracy. Yes, it isn’t much, but then we've never seen a Brazilian footballer stand up to what the player himself labelled “this stupid prejudice that exists in football,” as Sheik affirmed today following repercussions from his affectionate gesture.
The photo of Emerson Sheik’s kiss has become an act of resistance in the battle against homophobia in a world where 76 countries still classify homosexual relations as a crime [en]. Or better still, as the blogger Fabio Chiorino said, it’s “a small kiss for man, a giant leap for Brazilian football.”

author: Fernanda Canofre


text:
Kazakhstan: Script Reform Is ‘Hardly Possible at All’ · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

As Kazakhstan prepares for a highly controversial shift from Cyrillic script to Latin alphabet, its netizens are keen to note that a similar reform implemented years ago by Uzbekistan has not been very successful. Reflecting on her recent trip to Uzbekistan, Margarita Bocharova writes [ru]:
It was also very interesting to see for myself whether Uzbekistan has fully switched to the Latin script. You know, it hasn't at all. I would say that only about half (or even less) of all signs that we passed were written in Latin alphabet. The rest [was written] in Cyrillic script…
Generally, this has only reinforced my conviction that forcing a language to follow state-dictated policy is so difficult that it is hardly possible at all within 20 years or so.


text:
Kyrgyzstan to Become a ‘Beam of Light’ in the ‘Dark’ Region? · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Blogger Bektour Iskender suggests [ru] that “free” Kyrgyzstan should allow citizens of the less free nations in Central Asia, particularly Turkmenistan, to stay in the country visa-free:
OK, we have [visa-free regime] for citizens of 44 developed nations. This is great.
However, I believe that Kyrgyzstan as the most free country in Central Asia should become something more than just a beautiful country visited by tourists from the West.
It should become the center of knowledge and freedom in the region…
We should understand that we are surrounded by nations that are not free. And we have to become a beam of light in the dark for citizens of these nations. We should become a place where people facing persecution will dream to move…
We should first of all pay our attention to Turkmenistan… [Kyrgyzstan] should become the second home for [persons facing persecution in Turkmenistan].


text:
‘Million People March’ Against Corruption in the Philippines · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Massive protests, the biggest since President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III took office three years ago, rocked the Philippines on National Heroes Day as hundreds of thousands expressed indignation against government corruption and called for the full abolition of the pork barrel.
Police estimated that around 80,000 to 100,000 gathered in Rizal Park in Manila, the national capital, while thousands more held mass actions in other cities nationwide.
Public outrage against the corruption-tainted pork barrel came in the wake of exposés on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which is allotted for legislators in Congress and Senate for use in pet projects.
The PDAF has long been the target of critics as a site of official corruption. But public uproar swelled after a whistleblower identified businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles who is alleged to have conspired with lawmakers to pocket P10 billion through the fund.
Aerial shot of Rizal Park rally. Photo courtesy of Architect Paulo Alcazaren. From @muntingprinsipe
Dubbed the “Million People March,” the idea behind Monday's predominantly middle-class gathering in Rizal Park originated from social media interactions between concerned netizens on Facebook and Twitter.
The concept for a million people march against the pork barrel began with a random Facebook post by music producer Ito Rapadas.
What we need is a MILLION PEOPLE MARCH by struggling Filipino taxpayers- a day of protest by the silent majority that would demand all politicians and govt. officials (whatever the political stripes, color they may carry) to stop pocketing our taxes borne out from our hard work by means of these pork barrel scams and other creative criminal acts.
This was shared by various netizens including his friend Peachy Bretaña who suggested that the mass action be held on August 26 in time for the National Heroes Day.
Protest actions were also held in various cities nationwide, notably in Bacolod City, Baguio City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Dagupan City, Davao City, Digos City, Dumaguete City, Iloilo City, Naga City, and Puerto Princessa in Palawan.
“P1 trillion pork barrel of President Aquino, rechannel to social services”, photo from @LeanneJazul
Perhaps to deflect public outrage, Aquino promised the abolition of the PDAF and its replacement by a more transparent funding scheme last Friday. The protest action still pushed through.
During the day of the actual protest, President Aquino and his spokespersons announced that the government was on the same side with the protesters. Apparently, many were not convinced. Here were some reactions on Twitter:
You don't decide where we want our money to go. WE DO. We want our money for national development, welfare and security. #AbolishPork
— Joseph Benjamin Seña (@MonsterICEMAN) August 27, 2013
If Noynoy and protesters on the same side, why did people still go out despite his presscon last week? Abolish vs renaming. Big difference
— Renato Reyes, Jr. (@natoreyes) August 26, 2013
Meanwhile, Pixel Offensive said that if the President is truly on the people's side against pork barrel it should manifest on the following:
1) Abolition of all pork, no exemption. Kulangot lang ito kumpara sa PORK nya. [This is minor compared to his own pork.]
2) His staff wouldn't post anti-rally tweets. This just exposes the Presidential inner circle's way of thinking
Let's raise this discussion a bit higher, shall we? Do you expect an haciendero president to serve the people?
Critics alleged that the “presidential pork barrel” consisting of lump-sum allocations the disbursement of which is left to the sole discretion of the president and his executive department is worth more than 1.3 trillion pesos.
Interestingly, despite the Aquino regime's claiming to be on the side of the protesters some of his spokespersons contradicted this by posting tweets criticizing the protest action.
Hours before the anti-corruption rally, presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte tweeted a link of an article that described indignation over the pork barrel as a “nice but misplaced statement.”
The article said that while the pork barrel has been abused it isn't necessarily evil and concluded by calling those joining the protest action as afflicted by a “hypocrisy of indignation”:
Are we thinking the next step after, or like Juan Tamad waiting for someone to solve the problem for us? Anger is the path to the dark side, and this is why the hypocrisy of indignation must stop, and why we must shift gears and solve the problem of how government spends our monies.
Another presidential spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, also tweeted a link of the same article and quipped, “Who says blogging is passé!”
For his part, Communications undersecretary Manuel Quezon III asked the Catholic Church, which encouraged the people to attend the mass action, why it remained quiet during the incumbency of former President Gloria Arroyo.
The said officials have denied tweeting against the rally. But in the end, no amount of public relations magic can suppress public outrage over the massive plunder of people's money by government officials and their cronies while millions of Filipinos suffer from hunger, joblessness, and extreme poverty.

author: Karlo Mongaya


text:
Online Reporting of Bribery in Thailand · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Bribespot Thailand encourages Thais to report cases of bribery and corruption in the country. Through an interactive map, the website also identifies bribery hotspots in Thailand.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Peruvian Runners Win Mexico City Marathon · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Peruvian athletes Raúl Pacheco and Gladys Tejeda won their respective categories in the Mexico City Marathon [es].
Pacheco won the male category, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:16,53 hours. Meanwhile, the 2:37,32 time achieved by Tejeda gave her the first place in the female category.
Peruvian sports newspaper Depor.pe (@deporpe) [es] announced the news on Twitter:
Atletas peruanos acabaron con la hegemonía africana en la Maratón de México. http://t.co/KIUTACBeVI
— Depor.pe (@deporpe) August 25, 2013
Peruvian athletes put an end to African predominance in the Mexico City Marathon.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


text:
Russia’s Political Firebrand: What Makes Navalny Tick? · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Until a few years ago, Alexey Navalny was all but unknown outside Moscow’s small political intelligentsia. But today he may be the most prominent independent critic of the Russian government. In Russia, a nation where Internet use is rapidly rising, Navalny has demonstrated that blogging and social media are powerful political tools. Not surprisingly, Russia’s political establishment has taken note of the upstart blogger. Navalny could well lose his freedom before the summer ends.
In June 2013, Navalny was convicted on embezzling timber from a state-run company while working as an advisor to the Governor of the Kirov oblast. But critics argue that his heavy sentence is the work of Kremlin-orchestrated political repression. Building support through his blog’s large audience, Navalny has defended his innocence online, urging readers to download the full archive of his case’s materials (contained in a 1.7GB downloadable file), which he argues exonerate him. Navalny is also facing public criticism — many of his detractors have mobilized blogs and websites of their own (sometimes designed to mimic the aesthetic of Navalny’s work) to propagate his guilt.
Alexey Navalny at a campaign rally. Photo by Alexey Ruban (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
After a brief incarceration following his sentencing (punctuated by a massive street protest in downtown Moscow), the Kirov authorities released Navalny, pending his appeal. If his sentence is upheld, he’ll face five years’ jail time, and the prospect of becoming Russia’s most famous political prisoner. In the meantime, Navalny is a candidate in the Moscow mayoral election, running on a platform of anti-corruption and economic liberalization. (The mysterious conditions under which Navalny was released from jail led many to believe that officials intervened on his behalf, to ensure that he could participate and thus “legitimize” the competition.) Recent polls show Navalny gaining support, though still trailing incumbent mayor Sergei Sobyanin by at least 40 points.
Navalny the Entrepreneur
Alexey Navalny was born in 1976 in Butyn, a town just outside of Moscow. His parents have owned and operated a small furniture factory since the 1990s, an atypical situation in Russia, where entrepreneurship is incredibly low—a result of 70-years-long central planning, Soviet bureaucracy, and rampant corruption. As business owners and members of the middle class, the Navalnys have arguably suffered a great deal from corruption in Russian law and order. Understandably, Navalny’s advocacy as a blogger—and now as a political candidate—has focused on fighting corruption and promoting transparency and economic liberalism.
Navalny, who has a law degree, is a part-owner in his parents’ company, and has helped establish several foundations and institutions since the late 1990s. Since 2011, some of Navalny’s critics have explored whether or not he became certified as a lawyer by hiring himself to fulfill Bar-mandated work experience requirements.
Political Activism and Party Politicking
Although Navalny is now known as a blogger-turned-politician, he was involved with politics long before becoming a LiveJournal sensation. In 2000, he joined the liberal opposition party Yabloko. During the early 2000s, he worked with a similar party, The Union of Right Forces (SPS). Navalny says he joined these groups as a way to push back against Russia’s new electoral laws, which he believed were designed to prevent opposition groups from winning seats in parliament.
Navalny was expelled from Yabloko in December 2007, officially on the grounds that his nationalist views clashed with the party’s values. Navalny, for his part, maintains that he was voted out due to his criticism of Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinksy, following the party's disastrous performance in the 2007 Duma elections. In a 2011 interview [ru] with Russian GQ magazine, Navalny defended himself and explained that liberals risk permanent irrelevancy in Russia if they make any issue “taboo”:
The failure of our national democratic movement is tied up in the fact that they consider some topics of conversation dangerous to discuss in principle, including the topic of internethnic conflict. At the same time its a major issue of today. We have to admit that migrants, including those from the north Caucasus, often come to Russia with their own set of values.
Despite national indications that Russians widely share his contempt for low-wage-earning migrant workers, Navalny’s nationalist views have been a major liability for the aspiring politician, whose Moscow intelligentsia base is wary of engaging social tensions that often provoke dangerously racist energies.
Blogging for Corporate Accountability
Navalny is a minority-shareholder in several major Russian companies, including oil and gas companies like Rosneft and commercial banks like Sberbank and VTB Bank. He says he first purchased these shares as an investment, but soon became irritated by the low dividends they paid—a fact he ascribed to corruption within the companies. Taking advantage of his shareholder status, Navalny scoured corporate records for evidence of corruption and shared the information on his blog, revealing what he said were clear examples of misappropriation of funds and other forms of corruption. In a 2010 interview with Global Voices, Navalny explained how he used his blog to help coordinate a campaign against corruption at VTB Bank involving the procurement of drilling rigs.
I announced that there were some disturbing facts that I had been investigating. With the help of the blog, I put together other shareholders of VTB Bank who wrote the complaint with me. With its help, I found leasing specialists, experts in drilling rigs, etc. Via the blog, I found other insiders who told me about what is happening now with these drilling rigs. In other words, I fully coordinated the campaign via my blog.
Navalny initiated similar campaigns with Rosneft, Surgutneftegaz, and Gazprom. Inspired by the idea of using the Internet to coordinate an anti-corruption campaign, Navalny then created an organization dedicated to uncovering corruption in state procurements: RosPil [ru].
By law, all state procurements must be posted online [ru]. At Rospil, volunteers search these records for suspicious tenders involving overpriced and/or unnecessary purchases. They then refer a team of professional experts to the most dubious cases, for additional analysis. If the experts consider the tenders to be likely corrupt, RosPil’s legal team issues a complaint to Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service. According to Navalny, salaries for RosPil's expert team are funded entirely by donations collected online. RosPil claims [ru] that, over two years, its appeals have been responsible for the investigation and/or cancellation of approximately 1.8 billion USD in questionable procurements.
Fighting the “Party of Crooks and Thieves”
Navalny's anti-corruption activities have won him accolades at home. (Russian newspaper Vedomosti listed him as its “Man of the Year” in 2009.) By coining the meme “A Party of Crooks and Thieves” to describe Vladimir Putin’s dominant political party, United Russia, and through his memorable speeches during the 2011-2012 winter protests, Navalny has become the de facto leader of the country’s protest movement. For all his success as an activist and a netizen, however, federal investigators did more than anyone to cement Navalny’s status as a freedom fighter and a household name.
Alexey Navalny at a Moscow rally in March 2012. Photo by Bogomolov.PL. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
This fame has not brought him universal acclaim. Polling suggests Russians are deeply ambivalent [ru] about Navalny, even if they think [ru] his court case was politically motivated. While his mayoral campaign (which features daily stump speeches throughout Moscow) has demonstrated the disappearing barrier between Russia’s online and offline worlds, Navalny’s odds of winning the election are slim, and a five-year prison sentence looms in the autumn. Despite this, he has drawn together a broad coalition of supporters and mounted a serious run for political office. (Even the Kremlin-friendly think tank, the Civil Society Development Foundation, recently complimented [ru] Navalny for his “very active” effort.) This is an accomplishment in itself and may signal a slowly growing competitiveness in Russia’s public life.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: No Action on Dog Control Act · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch, upset over the news that another person has been mauled to death by a pit bull, wonders why the President hasn't yet proclaimed The Dog Control Act.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Campaigning for a Smoke-Free Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

There are several initiatives in Southeast Asia which discourage young people from smoking. Among the groups leading the campaign is the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) whose objectives include the “developing and putting in place [of] effective tobacco control policies” in the region. Let us review some of the activities reported by SEATCA on their website.
Early this month, about 140 youth and students from Thailand held a protest rally in front of the Bangkok office of Philip Morris International and demanded the withdrawal of the lawsuit it filed against the Thailand government which issued an order requiring 85 percent pictorial warnings in cigarette packs. The 140 protesters symbolize 140 daily deaths from tobacco use in Thailand.
Several groups also issued an open letter to Philip Morris about the issue:
You may need to ask yourself whether your effort to avoid compliance to Thai domestic law by filing the lawsuit against Ministry of Public Health, in order to increase sales volume of your products by attracting more children and youth to become your customers in the replacement of those who already died or in illness, is ethical practice.
Thai students warn against the dangers of smoking. Photo from Facebook of ASH Thailand
Anti-Smoking Protest in Bangkok. Photo from Facebook of ASH Thailand
Meanwhile in Vietnam, it was reported two weeks ago that the government is already implementing the law requiring graphic health warnings in cigarette packs.
Graphic Health Warning in Vietnam. Photo by Vinacosh/Ms.Doan Thu Huyen
This music video features Mr. Trinh Thang Binh, a Vietnamese pop singer who composed a song against smoking
In Cambodia, members of the Cambodian Red Cross youth teamed up with city officials in launching a campaign “to warn cigarette retailers about violations in tobacco advertising and promotion in the form of small posters at points-of-sale.”
…youth carried signboards bearing the message “tobacco advertising in any form violates the government’s Sub-Decree” and “Thank you for Not Advertising Cigarettes.” The youth volunteers walked with local authorities to grocery stores and restaurants checking if cigarette advertisements existed. When cigarette advertisements were found, the youths stood in front of the store or restaurant with the signboards raised up.
In the Philippines, 14,000 people participated in the attempt to form the world’s biggest human no-smoking logo at the Bicol University grounds in Legazpi City, Albay.
Human No-Smoking Logo in Albay, Philippines. Photo from @PhilippineStar
Jessa Acuna is proud of this event:
This is not only an attempt for a world record but a huge step to increase awareness among Filipinos and everybody around the world that smoking is the most preventable cause of diseases.
Gaining attention and nationwide coverage, officials are hoping to affect every Filipino. I am a proud Albayano myself and this is my own little way to support this campaign. Let this be not only just an event but a reminder.
Sensing the growing popularity of e-cigarettes in the country, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory about the dangers of promoting the product:
Wittingly or unwittingly, the electronic cigarette promotes smoking among children and the youth. It makes them less fearful of hazards and risks of smoking. It is opposed to the Department of Health goal to stop cigarette smoking and tobacco use.
The public is advised NOT to smoke at all and NOT to use cigarettes, cigars, or e-cigarettes.
The Philippine Medical Association also warned against the negative impact of using e-cigarettes:
…the use of e-cigs is not an ‘alternative lifestyle’ as claimed by its proponents and promoters but is actually a new and an ‘alternative vice’ which should not be taught to the public in general and our children in particular.
Our young ones can easily be enticed and duped into smoking by these novelty devices. Despite the reported smoking of our President he can still be a crucial factor in our fight against the evils of smoking in this country.


text:
Choosing ‘Exile’ Over Break-up, US Citizens Follow ‘Banned’ Spouses Abroad · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

This post is part of our series on Latin America: Migrant Journeys in collaboration with The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). Stay tuned for more articles and podcasts.
Happily ever after isn't always so simple for foreigners in the United States with complicated immigration histories who marry US citizens.
Details such as how they arrived in the US or how long they've been there can mean the difference between starting a life with their new family and immigration laws not allowing them to stay.
Take Leo and Corin, for example. Leo is from Brazil and Corin is a US citizen. They met, fell in love and got married in the United States, but Leo had entered the country “‘without inspection’ – in other words, through Mexico – less than 10 years ago and accrued almost 6 years of ‘unlawful presence,’” as Corin writes in her blog Corin in Exile.
Corin further explains that “the Immigration and Nationality Act says that any immigrant ‘unlawfully present’ in the United States for more than a year is inadmissible for 10 years — even married to an American.”
Corin and Leo had three choices. First, they could apply for “the Hardship Waiver”, where “the American spouse has to prove that their partner’s absence causes them ‘extreme hardship’” –something that they couldn’t prove. Second, they could stay in the United States and wait for immigration reform. Or third, they could leave the country and start their life abroad.
With the waiver option out of the table, the couple decided to leave the country and return to Brazil because, as Corin writes, neither “could stand the stress of living in the US without Leo having documents.”
Corin and Leo are just one of many families in this situation.
Photo shared on Facebook by Action Family Unity
Like them, many who are currently living outside of the United States due to current immigration laws have started blogging about their cases and their life “in exile.”
Perhaps the blog that has gotten the most media coverage, helping to draw attention to these cases, is The Real Housewife of Ciudad Juarez.
Emily Bonderer Cruz started her blog back in 2010, when she moved to Mexico because her husband “is ineligible to apply for legal status in the United States until 2020,” as she explains in her profile.
Emily goes into detail about their story in a recent post titled “Mi Casa” (My home):
In 2007 my husband was given a voluntary departure by ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. Given. Now that's a funny concept, isn't it? As if it were a gift or something.
Emily says that she went into a state of depression while she didn’t know where her husband was, or if he was even alive, as he was “stuck somewhere in the system and without any documentation, without a Social [Security number], he was just a ghost, just another immigrant lost in the in-between.” She continues:
When he finally called me from a pay phone in Nogales [Mexico], it was as if a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. He was alive. He was back on the map. He was going to be okay. I scrounged up just enough money for a bus ticket back to Parral, and for a brief moment, all was right in the world. I knew he was safe. It was in that moment that I also knew I had done the right thing and that this man was the love of my life. This is when my life was forever changed, because I knew that sooner or later, a change was gonna come.
I would be moving to Mexico.
Emily’s blog roll features several blogs by families who have moved out of the US due to immigration laws. One of these blogs is Destination Paradise, where Amy writes about her life with her husband Carlos and their two children in South Korea.
In a post titled “Why?” Amy explains that Carlos was forced by a parent to move to the US from Mexico as a teenager. Carlos attended high school and went to college in the US, and after four and a half years of dating he married Amy, a US citizen.
Amy explains that Carlos was “tired of living in the shadows in the US” and they decided to move to northern Mexico.
In October 2008, they received notice from the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez explaining that Carlos was not eligible for a visa to live in the US as Amy’s spouse.
What’s worse, Carlos wasn’t eligible for the hardship waiver either, because after arriving to the US for the first time, he had been taken back to Mexico and then forced by a parent to re-enter the US “using a relative's US birth certificate instead of the visitor's visa he already possessed” Amy explains. “Under immigration law — INA 212 A 6 C ii to be specific — a false claim of US citizenship carries a lifetime ban with no waiver.”
With the help of their lawyer, Amy and Carlos tried to find a solution for three and a half years, all the while living apart. Finally, in 2011 Amy and Carlos moved out of their respective countries and headed to South Korea.
Amy says that with recent proposed reforms, “it seems that they will now start looking deeper at the specifics in cases where the immigrant was a minor at the time, and it looks promising for our family.”
In February of this year, Amy also wrote a moving post about their status and how it relates to the current Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In the post, titled “Let no man divide what God has put together”, Amy links to a petition on Change.org which asks President Barack Obama to “bring home American families in exile”:
American citizen spouses of immigrants with immigration bars have three choices: break up their families, move abroad with no safety net and attempt to ‘get in line,’ or live unlawfully with their spouses in the US. We should not be forced to make these choices.
The petition was started by Action for Family Unity (Act4Fams), a volunteer-run group that tries to raise awareness about this issue. The group’s Facebook page, which has more stories like these, posts updates on current changes to immigration law that could affect families like Corin’s, Amy’s and Emily’s.
In the blogosphere, there are also stories of families who have been able to return to the United States after years of struggling with harsh immigration laws. For Giselle Stern Hernández and her Mexican husband, “justice was restored” -as she writes- in June 2013, after 12 years since her husband’s second deportation.
Giselle, a Mexican-American writer and performer, keeps the blog The Deportee’s Wife “to explore themes in the life of a deported man’s wife through a multimedia and intersectional lens.” Giselle also performs a one-woman show with the same title in the United States and Mexico. You can see the trailer for her show here:
But if immigration reform is passed, many families might not have to wait as long as Giselle and her husband to solve their immigration status and live together in the United States.
Earlier this year, The Center for Public Integrity reported that the Senate immigration bill,
calls for giving immigration judges and other officials more discretion to consider the pain and suffering that a loved one’s separation causes U.S. citizens and legal immigrants […] The proposal says judges who review cases can decline to order an immigrant, with some criminal exceptions, to be ‘removed, deported or excluded’ if it would be ‘against the public interest or would result in hardship to the alien’s United States citizen or permanent resident’ spouse or children.
Families affected by current immigration laws have created a supportive online community through blogs and social networks, where they also raise awareness about their situation and pressure US legislators to include their families in the much anticipated immigration reform.


text:
Hong Kong: People Living in Cages · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hong Kong artist, Kwong Chi Kit worked in conjunction with a local poverty concern group, SoCO (the Society for Community Organisation), created miniature ‘cage people’ as part of an anti-poverty campaign. More from Hongwrong.com

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Missing ‘Bar Heaven’ Patrons in Mexico Found Dead · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

The dead bodies of a dozen youths, illegally deprived of their freedom in a bar identified as Bar Heaven, were discovered in a secret grave located in Mexico State.
We referred to the #BarHeaven case in May of 2013 and the alarming problem of missing people in Mexico.
Oscar Ramírez [es] from Homozapping shared news of the discovery:
Este domingo 25 de agosto funcionarios de la PGR se reunieron con familiares de los desaparecidos del caso Heaven. En el encuentro los familiares fueron informados que se confirmó que cinco cuerpos más –de los trece que fueron encontrados el 21 de agosto en Tlalmanalco, Estado de México- corresponden a los desparecidos. Con eso son ya 10 los cuerpos identificados y que eran parte de los desaparecidos del Heaven.
El viernes 23 de agosto, en conferencia de prensa conjunta, la PGR y la Procuraduría de Justicia del Estado de México informaron del hallazgo de los cadáveres.
On Sunday 25th August, Civil Servants of the Attorney General's Office (PGR) met with family of the missing persons from the Bar Heaven case. In the meeting, the families were informed that it had been confirmed that five more bodies- of the thirteen that were found on August 21st in Tlalmanalco, Mexico State- corresponded to the missing. There are now 10 bodies identified as part of the missing persons from Bar Heaven.
On Friday 23rd August, in a joint press conference, the Attorney General and the Attorney General of Mexico State reported finding the bodies.
The following day, the national newspaper La Jornada [es] reported the find:
La Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) identificó cinco cuerpos más de los 13 hallados el jueves pasado en una fosa clandestina en el municipio de Tlalmanalco, estado de México. Los restos corresponden a los jóvenes desaparecidos el 26 de mayo pasado del bar after Heaven, en la Zona Rosa, con los que suman ya 10 los cuerpos identificados, informaron familiares de las víctimas.
The Attorney General's Office (PGR) identified five more bodies of the 13 found last Thursday in a secret grave in the municipality of Tlalmanalco, Mexico State. The rest correspond to the case of the missing youths from Bar Heaven, in the Zona Rosa, last May. With 10 of the bodies identified, families of the victims were informed.
Family of the missing protest outside the PGR on 23rd August. Photo shared on Twitter by @miss_cocoa58
Icela Lagunas [es] from Reporte Índigo referred to the families of the victims of the crimes:
Para las madres de familia que los buscaron por casi tres meses y que esperaron pacientemente a que las autoridades del Distrito Federal y las de la República los encontraran, la espera ha sido confusa y angustiante, pues la PGR y el Ejército no los dejaron acercarse al predio donde encontraron los cadáveres y la local, no se atrevió a confirmar o desmentir la versión de que son los jóvenes del Heaven.
For the mothers of those victims who were being searched for for nearly 3 months, and who waited patiently for the Federal District and Republic Authorities to find their children, the wait has been anxious and confusing. Neither the PGR nor the army allowed the families near the place where the corpses were found, they didn't dare to confirm or deny the rumour that the bodies found were those of the Bar Heaven case.
To conclude, Icela asked following question about at the Head of Government of the Federal District:
El final de los 12 desaparecidos del Heaven parece estar cerca. El capítulo de tráfico de  drogas, antros y delincuencia organizada deja ver una luz.
¿Qué consecuencias traerá para el gobierno de Miguel Ángel Mancera el desenlace?
The end of the Bar Heaven case seems to be close. The light has been shed over the chapter of drug trafficking and organized crime dens.
What consequences will this outcome bring for Miguel Angel Mancera's government?
Mexicans have shared their thoughts about these unfortunate events on Twitter.
The user ‘celerno’ (@hablaescribe) [es] pointed out that much of the coverage given to the case questioned the work of Miguel Ángel Mancera:
Casi todas las notas sobre los muertos del Bar Heaven son en relación a si Mancera se equivocó o no. Los muertos, qué.
— celerno (@hablaescribe) August 26, 2013
Nearly all of the articles surrounding the dead from Bar Heaven are related to whether or not Mancera got it wrong. What about the dead?
Miguel Cen Barrera (@pollomike) [es] reported that there are other states in which you may find reports of similar findings.
Asi como el bar Heaven en Campeche pueden haber casos similares autoridades no hacen operativos aunque tienn conocimiento punto rojos
— miguel cen barrera (@pollomike) August 26, 2013
Just as the Bar Heaven in Campeche there might have similar cases, where authorities don't react even though they may have knowledge of the hot spots.
Dulce (@dulceburguettea) [es] rebuked the traditional media that have given little coverage to the outcome of the case:
La noticia d los cuerpos encntrados dl bar Heaven, discretamente difundida, poco comentada. Por qué esta pasividad , medios de comunicación?
— dulce (@dulceburguettea) August 26, 2013
The news of the bodies found in Bar Heaven was shared discretely, with few comments. Why the passiveness, media?
Marco Arellano T. (@marellano7) [es] expressed his opinion concerning the Bar Heaven case:
Pues no sé ustedes, a mi me sigue pareciendo atroz lo sucedido en el caso bar Heaven. Eran jóvenes, algunos de 16 años. Duele.
— Marco Arellano T. (@marellano7) August 26, 2013
Well guys, I don't know, for me what happened in the Bar Heaven case continues to be atrocious. They were young people, some of them only 16 years old. It hurts.
The Senator for the National Action Party (right-cutting), Javier Lozano (@JLozanoA) [es], referred to the discovery of the bodies:
Me apena mucho por los familiares de los jóvenes desaparecidos en el bar Heaven pero por otro lado es bueno acabar ya con la incertidumbre.
— Javier Lozano A (@JLozanoA) August 24, 2013
I'm very sorry for the family of the missing young people from Bar Heaven, but on the other hand it is good to end the uncertainty.
The youth homicide case of #BarHeaven and their discovery in a secret grave is further evidence of the excessive violence that is plaguing Mexicans daily. Public opinion will be on the lookout to ensure that those responsible for this crime are held accountable for the acts by the authorities.


text:
Not a Single Liberian Student Passed This Year’s University Admission Test  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

As Liberia marks the 10th anniversary of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the 14-year civil war, nearly 25,000 school-leavers failed this year's admission test to the University of Liberia. It is the first
time that not a single candidate passed the admission test.
Liberia's president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate, acknowledges that the education system in Liberia is “in a mess”. Public Domain photo from the US State Department.
The BBC has reported that Liberia's Education Minister Education Minister, Etmonia David-Tarpeh, found it hard to believe that not a single candidate passed. She therefore intends to meet university officials to discuss the matter. She describes the failure rate as “mass murder.”
However, a private consultant, James Dorbor Jallah, who was hired by the university to manage the entrance examination confirmed the report and said the days are over when students were admitted into the University of Liberia through bribery or based on how many important people they know.
The world has reacted on Twitter with shock and disbelief at the news.
This is how Kenyan Harvard Kennedy School Professor Calestous Juma (@calestous) described the news:
Worst #Africa news since #Congo‘s Leopold II: All #Liberia students fail college entry exam http://t.co/HkSlxDCbR8
— Calestous Juma (@calestous) August 26, 2013
King Leopold II of Belgium was the sole and de facto owner of the Congo Free State, the present day the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 1885 to 1908.
Saran Kaba Jones (@sarankjones), a clean water advocate and social entrepreneur, said it is sad but not surprising:
sad but not surprising >> #Liberia students all fail university admission exam. all 25k of them! >>http://t.co/9AJkvEelej
— Saran Kaba Jones (@sarankjones) August 26, 2013
Mbas Ndriver (@Kenfreykj), a Kenyan IT professional, wondered how not even a single person was smart enough to cheat:
How can a whole country fail exams?! No one in that country is even smart enough to cheat?!!! #Liberia
— Mbas Ndriver. (@Kenfreykj) August 27, 2013
Another Kenyan tweep, Eja Nla. (@Muntez_), said it should be illegal for all students to fail:
Looks like #Liberia knows no statistics. Its should be illegal for all students to fail an exam,. All the 25,000 of them? No ways.
— Eja Nla. (@Muntez_) August 27, 2013
Ebenezer Flomo (@ebflomo), the co-founder of non-profit Help Encourage Liberia's Little Ones (@helpHELLO), noted that schools in Liberia do not have books:
@lizgrossman87 See Liz, this is exactly why we @HelpHELLO are focusing on the area of education in #Liberia. Schools don't have books.
— Ebenezer Flomo (@ebflomo) August 27, 2013
Many schools in Liberia lack basic education material and many teachers are poorly qualified.
Tweeting from Russia, Denis Eyong (@eyongdenis) asked:
One country that can be called dumb, #Liberia. How can all students in the country fail university admission exams?! http://t.co/JdrASJmkUW
— Denis Eyong (@eyongdenis) August 27, 2013
“How does a country torn from civil war recover?,” Tomoko Perez (@Tomoshiga) in New York asked:
That last tweet about #Liberia. REALLY not funny. How does a country torn from civil war recover? How do you invest in and create value?
— Tomoko Perez (@Tomoshiga) August 27, 2013
Gambian journalist and human rights activist Sulayman Makalo (@MakaloMansa) shared a quote from a university official:
#Liberia: The students lacked enthusiasm and did not have a basic grasp of English, a university official told the BBC.
— Sulayman Makalo (@MakaloMansa) August 27, 2013
Nuesity! (@Nues_Ibunos) remarked:
This is sad. I hope Nigeria doesnt descend into this! #ASUU #Education #Nigeria #Liberia http://t.co/gq7ejsZdWv
— Nuesity! (@Nues_Ibunos) August 27, 2013
Ghanaian tweep Tenace Kwaku Setor (@kwakutii) cautioned  his fellow citizens:
outcome of a political war, dear Ghanaians. All 25,000 students who sat for a CE exams into Uni failed. #liberia http://t.co/PtsvndysZd
— Tenace Kwaku Setor (@kwakutii) August 27, 2013
Referring to last year's poor performance in Tanzania, Rwandan tweep katabarwa robert (@Proud2bRwandan) wrote:
worse than Tanzania case: #Liberia students all fail university admission exam http://t.co/P7GZHon6Me
— katabarwa robert (@Proud2bRwandan) August 26, 2013
Six out of every 10 students who sat last year's National Form Four examination in Tanzania failed.
Mika Mäkeläinen (@Mikareport), a foreign news journalist at the Finnish Broadcasting Company, warned those who want to study at the University of Liberia:
Wanted to study at the University of #Liberia? Tough luck. 25,000 tried and they all failed the admission exam. http://t.co/eNIew0neno
— Mika Mäkeläinen (@Mikareport) August 26, 2013
Daniel McLaughlin (@DanielJMcLaugh) from the UK joked:
They won't have to worry much about this year's Fresher's Ball! #Liberia http://t.co/iA6AKZsP3s
— Daniel McLaughlin (@DanielJMcLaugh) August 27, 2013
A. K. Ohemeng-Boamah (@akobII) from Guinea blames the education system:
I blame the system not students. @MollyKinder: Wow – every student in #Liberia who took the university admission exam failed, says @BBCWorld
— A. K. Ohemeng-Boamah (@akobII) August 27, 2013

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Russia’s Unpopular but “Necessary” Illegal Immigrant Camps · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

At the end of July, Moscow oblast's Acting Governor proposed [ru] the establishment of a detention center for illegal immigrants on a former military base near Yegoryevsky. The cost of renovations to repurpose the property is estimated to be 200 million rubles (over $6 million). Not surprisingly, local residents were less than pleased with the idea, prompting the district's chief, Mikhail Lavrov, to suggest that a referendum on the subject, held on September 22, should decide whether or not Yegoryevsky hosts the camp.
While Lavrov said he personally opposed [ru] the proposed detention center, he supported the idea of an online poll to gauge  constituents’ feelings on the subject. The district government's website soon posted a yes-or-no survey [ru], asking the public: “Do you agree to the placement of a special camp for illegal migrants in the Yegoryevsky municipal area?”
A scene from inside one of Moscow's recent makeshift illegal immigrant detention centers, 2 August 2013, screen capture from YouTube.
While previous polls [ru] on the website generated an average of less than 100 responses, approximately 10,000 people voted on the detention center question in the poll's first 24 hours. In this period, more than 99% of the respondents—9,000 of 9,001—opposed hosting such a camp.
Moreover, the local Public Chamber wrote a letter to Moscow oblast's Acting Governor, noting that the municipality already accommodates a jail, a psychiatric hospital, two psycho-neurological boarding schools, and an orphanage.
Later, in an interview with the radio station Echo of Moscow, Lavrov tried to clarify the situation, explaining [ru] the popular backlash to building the camp as the result of confusion about the plan's details.
In a comment on Echo of Moscow’s website, one reader joked:
Жители Егорьевского района против лагеря мигрантов, потому что все жители высказали свое желание о предоставлении своего жилья все приезжим мигрантам! Добро пожаловать в Россию!
The residents of the Yegoryevsky region are against migrant camps, because all the residents have expressed their desire to provide their own housing to all visiting workers! Welcome to Russia!
Meanwhile, the chief of the local electoral commission announced [ru] that a referendum on the subject was unnecessary, and Lavrov promptly backed down [ru], closing the online poll and canceling plans for a ballot measure. The elections commission declared simply:
Если все будут отказываться — где размещать лагеря для мигрантов? А это надо делать….
If everyone refuses, where can we put the camp for migrants?  It's something that needs to be done….
On August 28, it was reported [ru] that Moscow oblast plans to have four such migrant detention centers by 2016, with at least one of these camps almost certain to appear at Yegoryevsky's former military base.
The head of Russia's Federal Migration Service in the Moscow, Oleg Molodievsky, added:
В течение месяца мы проинформируем жителей района, что за учреждение, в каком виде оно будет, какое количество мигрантов там будет находиться, и как они будут доставляться, после этого жители выскажут свое мнение, нужен этот центр или не нужен.
Within a month, we will inform the district's residents about the [camp's] establishment, explain its details, specify how many migrants will be located there, and how they will be transported, after which residents will express their opinion, about whether or not this center is needed.
Molodievsky also tried to calm locals’ fears about incarcerating more criminals nearby, elaborating:
Это те же граждане, которые ходят между нас, они перемещаются на территории области и Москвы, это не преступники ни в коем случае. Нам лучше надо разъяснять населению, что это за центры.
These are the same folks who walk among us. They move into the oblast and the city, [but] these are not criminals in any sense of the word. We need to do a better job explaining to the public what these centers.
The public outreach campaign, however, could be an uphill battle. Commenting on Molodievsky's statement, one reader remarked cynically:
Замечательно, за наш счет (налогоплательщиков) еще будем строить, отапливать, содержать и кормить. Может деньги пустить на пенсии или в школах/детсадах на завтраки детям? Или на укрепление наших границ, что бы нелегальных мигрантов становилось меньше, а ехали к нам высокообразованные иностранцы, готовые работать за 15 тыс рублей?
Wonderful, at our expense (the taxpayers) we will also build, heat, maintain, and feed [the migrants]. Can't money be spent on pensions or schools and kindergartens for children’s breakfasts? Or to strengthen our borders, so that illegal immigrants are fewer, and highly educated foreigners willing to work for 15 thousand rubles come instead?

author: Nina Jobe


text:
Strike in Colombia Gains Momentum · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Colombia's national strike, which began with an agrarian strike on August 19, is “gaining momentum with shows of support from the citizenry”, as Steven Cohen writes in Colombia Reports:
More than 10,000 people participated in “cacerolazos” — protests in which participants bang on kitchen pots and pans — held throughout Colombia’s major urban centers Monday night in support of the agricultural strike, as new labor and social groups announced they will be joining Colombia’s striking farmers, miners, health workers and truckers in protest activities.
[…]
In Colombia, a growing chorus of citizens and protesters are calling for the national government to do something to address the pressing concerns of striking workers, and end the potentially catastrophic economic paralysis that is beginning to take effect in various parts of the country.


text:
A Historian’s Pessimistic Farewell to Macedonia · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Historian, analyst and blogger Harald Schenker, who has lived in Macedonia since 1999 and is now moving to Switzerland, created social network buzz with his farewell post, addressed to a “failing Macedonia”, in which he provides a diagnosis for the country's demise and a plea for rebuilding Macedonian society. The article now has over 900 likes on Facebook and has been shared on Twitter over 80 times.
To me, and it gives me much pain to put this into plain words, Macedonia is in great danger of becoming a failing model. It is a structure that has not sought, and hence has not found, answers to crucial questions. I fail to understand how this can be, but I have to state it – that the intellectual carelessness of its self-styled elites is not only astonishing; it is an attitude that may cost them very dearly.

author: Filip Stojanovski


text:
China’s Decision on Cultural Reform · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China's current crackdown on online rumors is consistent with the official decision [zh] released after the Sixth Plenum of the 17th Party Congress in October 2011. Oxford scholar Rogier Creemers from China Copyright and Media blog translated this official document, titled Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Decision Concerning Deepening Cultural Structural Reform. Read what it says about the Internet below:
Developing healthy and upward network culture. Strengthening online ideological and cultural battlefield construction is an urgent task in Socialist culture construction. It is necessary to earnestly implement and vigorously use, scientifically develop, and manage according to the law policies guaranteeing security, strengthen and improve network culture and management, strengthen online public opinion guidance, sing the online ideology and culture main melody.
Broadly developing civilized website construction, promoting civilized web business and civilized web use, supervising and urging network operators and service enterprises to implement legal duties and social responsibilities, not providing dissemination channels to harmful information. Strengthening network legal structure construction, accelerating the shaping of an Internet management system combining standardized laws and regulations, administrative supervision and management, sectoral self-regulation, technological guarantees, public supervision and social education. Strengthening guidance and management over social networks and instant communication tools, etc., standardizing online information dissemination procedures, cultivating a civilized and rational network environment. Punishing activities of disseminating harmful information according to the law, deeply moving forward the special campaign to clean up network obscenity and pornography and resist vulgar information, strictly strike network illegality and crime. Expanding online personal information protection strength, establishing network security appraisal mechanisms, safeguarding the public interest and national information security.