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‘India’s Only Positive Newspaper’ Brings Readers a Dose of Hope · Global Voices
VideoVolunteers

Screenshot form the Optimist Citizen Newspaper
This post was written by Madhura Chakraborty, and originally appeared on Video Volunteers, an award-winning international community media organization based in India. An edited version is published below as part of a partnership with Global Voices.
Piyush Ghosh and Tuhin Kumar Singh, two young friends in Bhopal, the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, used to despair at the negativity emanating from the newspapers every morning. As a consequence, society becomes paranoid with a sense of fear and doubt. People are afraid of trusting each other and lose confidence in organizations, politicians, and the system.
The two thought, “What could be the solution? How to inspire people instead of pushing them further into despondency?”
Then a small idea came to them — a newspaper full of optimistic news. And now they are reaching every corner of India with their unique newspaper.
They launched the online and print fortnightly publication, self-branded as “India's first purely positive and good newspaper”, in October 2014, and it now has subscribers all over India now, who pay a small subscription fee of 290 Indian rupees or 5 US dollars per year.
The Optimist Citizen focuses on presenting only positive news ranging from stories of inspiration, unsung heroes, good governance, and acts of courage —  stories that aren't often picked up by mainstream media outlets, as they, as they do not create a sensation.
Saloni, with her friends, understood their constitutional rights and duties by convincing the People of Harda to educate their daughters under the Samvidhan Live! The Jagrik Project public initiative by ComMutiny – The Youth Collective. https://t.co/sO1pk6Kbdo
— The Optimist Citizen (@OptimistCitizen) January 20, 2018
Video Volunteers community correspondent Ramlal Baiga in a video report explains how this newspaper evolved:
“We called a small public meeting in a park here in Bhopal. From that day on we started working towards our first edition, our mission and vision,” recalled Tuhin.
Piyush chimed in, “My parents are social entrepreneurs and their work is so inspirational. So I felt that we should use inspirational stories to motivate people instead of negative news.”
And so started the journey of The Optimist Citizen.
Neither of the co-founders had a background in media. “We didn’t know what kind of paper is used to print newspapers or even the difference between broadsheets and tabloids!” admitted Tuhin.
In fact, all the employees on board learned and grew with the newspaper. Tannson Matthews, the marketing director, talked about this journey to community correspondent Ramlal Baiga. “Once we started the paper, we realized there are different segments to cater to,” he said.
Despite all this, the duo has managed to build a successful media brand, with a solid online presence, from scratch.
Tuhin elaborated in an interview to Entrepreneurship India magazine:
The role of media is to disseminate news in the most unbiased and true format possible. But, often, in our globalised world, it is completely opposite. We felt if negative news and stories can bring about such negative actions, why not publish and present positive stories that can bring about a larger positive impact.
Stories like that of a 10-year old underprivileged girl who runs a library for kids in her slum, an Israeli man who came to India and grew an edible forest on a 70-acre barren land, a couple who started a foundation for children with rare diseases after they lost their infant daughter, a German artist who is transforming a village in Himachal Pradesh into an art hub to increase the tourism and livelihoods in the village and so much more. It was these stories that inspired us and we believed they can inspire millions more.
It is indeed heartening to read their stories of positive change in these trying times. Instead of devoting space to the antics of media-hungry politicians, or page-three gossip, we learn about entrepreneurs and Good Samaritans across the country. These stories, neglected by mainstream media, are highlighted across different sections of The Optimist Citizen.
You can follow the newspaper on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

author: VideoVolunteers


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Several Months After Their Abduction by Boko Haram, Thirteen Nigerian Citizens Regain Freedom · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

A screenshot of 10 Nigerian policewomen released by Boko Haram who were kidnapped in June 2017.
Thirteen Nigerians kidnapped by Boko Haram, a jihadist militant organization in Nigeria, regained their freedom on Saturday, February 10, 2018. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) noted in a statement that they “facilitated the handover” from Boko Haram to the Nigerian military of “10 women police officers and three university professors”:
This operation in north-east Nigeria, with the ICRC acting as a neutral intermediary, was carried out at the request of the parties to the ongoing armed conflict…The ICRC was not involved in any negotiations that led to the handover of the 13 people. The armed opposition handed the 13 people over to ICRC representatives who transported them to Nigerian authorities. This action was similar to what the ICRC did in October 2016 and May 2017, when we transported the release of “Chibok girls” to Nigerian officials.
Ten female police officers were kidnapped by Boko Haram in June 2017 after militants allegedly ambushed a convoy of security personnel in the north-eastern city of Damboa, Borno State. They later released a video in which they described the police officers as their “slaves“.
Similarly, three professors from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, were also abducted by Boko Haram in the Magumeri area of Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria during an oil exploration in the Lake Chad Basin area on Tuesday, July 25, 2017. A few days later, Boko Haram released a video footage of the university teachers.
Boko Haram has been responsible for thousands of deaths including suicide bombings and violent, militant attacks in north-east Nigeria, northern Cameroon, and Niger. The kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in 2014 by Boko Haram in Chibok, north-east Nigeria led to the global hashtag #BringBackOurGirls which later morphed into the “Bring Back Our Girls” movement.
Twitter user Jeff Okoroafor, a Nigerian citizen, thanked the Bring Back Our Girls Nigeria (BBOG) for their persistent advocacy which has kept the abduction of Nigerian citizens at the forefront:
I want to personally and specially THANK ALL members of @BBOG_Nigeria for their perseverance – keeping the issue of the #UniMaidLecturers & #LASSAWomen in the front burner all this while. Well done fellow compatriots.
Our dear leader and heroine, @obyezeks GOD bless you ma'am.
— Jeff Okoroafor (@JeffOkoroafor) February 10, 2018

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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The Pollution in Iran’s Ahwaz Region Turns Deadly · Global Voices
Rahim Hamid

Image: public domain from Pixabay.
Severe sandstorms have blanketed Iran's Ahwaz region again this past week, with people choking as atmospheric dust levels reach 57 times the safety limit set by the World Health Organization. In late January the news broke that citizens were crowding hospitals across the predominantly Arab region—which is desperately poor despite being home to over 95 percent of the oil and gas resources claimed by Iran—complaining of severe shortness of breath and respiratory problems. Between January 21 and 25, three people died from severe respiratory illnesses.
The area is blanketed by a thick smog of sand and visibility is down to under 200 meters. The government has suspended flights to and from regional airports and closed schools, offices and banks across the once-lush province.
In 2013, the city of Ahwaz, the capital of the region, topped the World Health Organization’s list of most polluted cities in the world. According to the report, Ahwaz’s average Air Quality Index score was 372—the global average is around 71—or “Hazardous”. It was the only city on the list with an average value above 300. Reporting on the situation at the time, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) wrote that “contributing factors include desertification caused by river diversion and the draining of the marshes and the oil, petrochemical, metals and sugar and paper processing plants in and around Ahwaz.”
More than four years later, the situation in Ahwaz remains unchanged, and the group most affected are the region’s indigenous Ahwazi Arabs, who have long been discriminated against by successive Iranian governments.
The reason for the high rates of pollution is the accelerating desertification of the region, due to the extensive drying of the rivers and marshes as a result of the massive river-damming and diversion project initiated when Hashemi Rafsanjani became president in 1989. The project has seen millions of gallons of water rerouted from the region’s rivers to other parts of Iran and has intensified the already high rates of pollution and environmental degradation in the region.The dust storms combine with the constant clouds of choking pollution released into the atmosphere by the region's petrochemical refineries and factories—none of which are subject to any environmental regulations or oversight—and also with the pollution produced by the burning of sugarcane.
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to fears of reprisals by the Iranian regime, an Ahwazi high school student told Global Voices that, “The burning used to take place during the day, but after there were protests by local Arabs chanting ‘We might be able to buy potable water, but we cannot buy clean air!’ they have begun burning it at night. This morning, the school grounds were covered in several centimetres of ash from the burning. I already have severe asthma, and this is making my condition worse.”
Sugarcane is not indigenous to Iran, but has been cultivated in the region since the 1960s. During the tenure of Hashemi Rafsanjani the government embarked on an ambitious state-subsidized sugarcane-farming project that involved the seizure of thousands of hectares of farmland from Ahwazi farmers whose ancestors had farmed there for generations. Thousands of families were driven into abject destitution as their farmland was converted into vast sugarcane plantations.
These efforts have brought little profit: the sugarcane project has proven economically disastrous, with imports far cheaper than local production. The greater concern, however, is the widespread pollution and environmental devastation it has wrought on a region that was once the breadbasket of the Gulf area. Across the Ahwaz region, in cities like Falahiyeh, Muhammarah and Abadan, massive plantations of palm trees whose produce was famed across the Middle East have either been deliberately destroyed or simply left to wither. Also at serious risk are the region’s flora and fauna, as the Falahiyeh wetlands and the Hor-Azim wetlands are almost completely destroyed.
Sugar refineries are depleting the already scarce supply of river water for their water-intensive processes, and polluting the region’s remaining rivers and streams by pumping untreated chemicals used in the sugar-cleaning and refining process back into the waterways. This leaves the water downstream unusable and high in saline, which destroys the arable lands of the region’s poor Ahwazi farmers.
Then there’s the burning of the sugarcane, which takes place on plantations around the Ahwazi capital and other cities in the region before the May-November harvest. The smoke from burning sugar cane is thick and heavy due to the dense sugar and alcohol content; instead of drifting upward it blows across the land, causing severe and sometimes fatal respiratory and skin problems among the population.
At the end of January, at least three Ahwazi Arabs were reported to have died as a result of respiratory problems caused or exacerbated by the region’s severe air pollution. One of them, 43-year-old Kareem Abdul Khani from the city of Susa, who suffered from chronic asthma, was rushed to the city’s Mafi Hospital on January 21 after complaining of dizziness and difficulty breathing due to the severe pollution in the area, which greatly exceeded usual levels. He died the following day.
The second man, 47-year-old Hamid Hamdian from Mollasani County near Ahwaz city, had been suffering from respiratory disease for some time. He died suddenly after being overcome by severe breathing problems.
The third man, 34-year-old Ahmed Chenani from Hamidieh city, 30 kilometers west of Ahwaz, died from chronic respiratory problems on the night of January 25, after suffocating from the air pollution blanketing the area. Family members who rushed him to the Golestan Hospital in Ahwaz city, said that the lack of adequate medical facilities and the negligence of medical staff contributed to his death.
Rates of cancer in the region are also rising. A member of the medical staff at a hospital in Ahwaz who, like other interviewees, wished to remain anonymous, said that ten years ago the hospital had 40 beds that were largely underused. In recent years, the hospital has become overrun with cancer patients.
All this is a huge price to pay, especially for the indigenous Ahwazi Arabs, who are still denied all but the most menial jobs in sugarcane and oil—the two industries wreaking havoc on their home region‚—while ethnic Persians are brought in from other parts of Iran and offered high wages and modern, purpose-built housing in segregated settlements. Despite being natives of the wealthiest region in Iran in terms of resources, the majority of the Ahwazi people live in medieval conditions under a de facto apartheid system.

author: Rahim Hamid


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Hannah Mouncey Becomes First Transgender Player in Australian Women’s State League Football · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Hannah Mouncey. Screenshot from YouTube video “60 Minutes Australia: Girl power (2017)”
A transgender Aussie Rules football player has finally been given the go-ahead to compete in state level women’s competitions. In 2017, Hannah Mouncey was denied the opportunity to enter the national Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) draft. The AFLW season is currently underway.
Her “strength, stamina, or physique” were among the factors taken into consideration at the time. Hannah is 190 centimeters tall (6 feet, 2 inches) and weighs 100 kilograms (220 pounds). She represented her country at the 2013 World Men's Handball Championship as Callum Mouncey.
Following hormone treatment, Hannah is currently below the maximum testosterone level set by the International Olympic committee. The original rejection was certainly controversial, with vocal group agreeing with the decision in various shades, from decrying her participation as unfair because of the sex she was assigned at birth, to spurning the very existence of transgender identity.
The latest decision has brought similar responses on Twitter. This one is from a self-styled cycling expert Bolar:
This wont be a popular tweet but Hannah Mouncey, a biological man who weighs over 100kg who has had a sex change but kept his tackle can play in a womens league against females that weigh ave 60kg is a joke. Feel sorry for the girls who are going to end up with countless bruises.
— Bolar (@cyclingbolar) February 13, 2018
Others such as Dreama40 have been more sympathetic:
I admit i dont understand the whole Trans thing BUT, i do believe that it is very REAL to them and i respect their courage for living life as their true selves because that must be very hard to do.
The sport’s governing body, the Australian Football League, and Hannah herself have copped a backlash on social media following the green light for her to compete. But Twitter user Catkin rejected the negativity:
I keep noticing that all the trolling I’ve seen on positive posts about Hannah Mouncey being allowed to play football are from men. ? Anyway, I’m pleased that she’s allowed to play, even though that should have been resolved ages ago.
— Catkin / The Greatest of Catsbies (@meekin_) February 14, 2018
So did Daniel Carroll:
Hannah, you are one hell of a human being, hang in there; you have a lot of true support.
— Daniel Carroll (@Danieldfc00) February 14, 2018
Hannah uploaded a video response to the latest news:
She was forthright about the AFL’s decisions:
I cannot thank the AFL for allowing me to do something that is open to every other Australian and which the science and research has supported all along.
[…] many people will wonder why I say football doesn't matter when for so many people is such a huge part of their life and clearly mine but to understand why I feel that way you need to first understand what so many people trans people go through on a daily basis and not just when they transition.
She discussed the problems that transgender people face daily such as discrimination when looking for housing and employment, and the rejection of close friends and family.
She was far from convincing everyone, with some accusing her of acting “entitled” to a spot in the AFWL. Web developer and runner Mike Haydon attempted to be a voice of reason:
As for the Hannah Mouncey case – we're not privvy to all the tests run on her. Nor should we. If the AFL says she can play in the women's division and she's good enough to do so, then play away I say. Case by case basis. Very rare situation anyway.
— Mike Haydon (@MikeHaydon) February 14, 2018
We can only hope that more people online will approach the issue with an open mind.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Netizen Report: In Leaked Docs, European Commission Says Tech Companies Should Self-Regulate on Harmful Speech · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

Photo by Cory Doctorow. (CC BY-SA 2.0)
In the wake of public panic surrounding a spike in threats of violence and hate speech online, the European Commission has been preparing new recommendations on how member states should address “illegal online content.”
Although they have not been officially submitted, a leaked draft of the recommendations has begun to circulate and is now accessible on the website of European Digital Rights, a coalition group of civil society and human rights groups dedicated to protecting free speech and privacy online. The draft suggests that the Commission will not propose new regulations, but rather envisions private companies like Facebook and Google taking greater responsibility for these issues voluntarily.
In a brief analysis of the recommendations, EDRi’s Joe McNamee writes:
On the basis of no new analyses, no new data and no new pressing issues to be addressed, the leaked draft Recommendation seeks to fully privatise the task of deciding what is acceptable online or not. The only protection for user rights like freedom of expression is an unenforceable hope that certain “adequate safeguards” will be put in place voluntarily by the companies. The draft reminds readers – twice – that the providers have “contractual freedom”, meaning that any such safeguards will be purely optional.
The only specific types of online content referenced in the draft are “terrorist material” (no definition offered) and content under copyright. McNamee argues that “the repeated references to measures proposed to address copyright and ‘intellectual property rights’ infringements gives an indication of the real driving force behind for such far-reaching measures.”
On February 11, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission ordered internet service providers to shut down the internet over a few set time periods, during the month of February that corresponds with national university placement exams. The impetus for the temporary shutdowns was to stifle the circulation of leaked answers to the exams. The order was swiftly reversed following broad public criticism.
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority announced in June 2017 that it would become mandatory for mobile phone users to register their SIM cards with network operators, citing registration provisions in the Communications Act of 2016. In late January, authorities doubled down on this promise and set a deadline for SIM registration, threatening that any phone with an unregistered card would have its service shut off on April 1, 2018.
But this week, the measure was suspended, with authorities citing the need for a “civic education” campaign on the matter before resuming registration practices. Azania Post reports that some citizens have shown reluctance to register their SIM cards for fear that the program is “a ploy by the government to tap people’s phones.”
A new study by the French NGO Internet San Frontieres shows that major European telecommunications providers offering services in Sub-Saharan Africa do not offer the same levels of transparency and consumer protection to African customers as they do to their European markets. The study compares the practices and policies of Orange in Senegal and Safaricom (owned by Vodafone) in Kenya.
Folha de Sao Paulo announced that it will no longer post news articles or updates on its Facebook page, which has nearly six million followers. In an editorial-like article, the company said the decision stems primarily from Facebook's recent decision to reduce the amount of newsfeed content from Facebook pages, instead favoring posts by friends and family. Folha’s executive editor accused Facebook of “…banning professional journalism from its pages in favour of personal content and opening space for ‘fake news’ to proliferate.”
The behemoth British-Dutch company Unilever, which owns major food and toiletry brands including Lipton tea and Dove soap, is threatening to pull its advertising from Facebook. CNN published a pre-released copy of a speech by Unilever marketing executive Keith Weed in which he says that the company “cannot continue to prop up a digital supply chain … which at times is little better than a swamp in terms of its transparency.” CNN says that Weed attributed the move to a “proliferation of objectionable content on social media — and a lack of protections for children — is eroding social trust, harming users and undermining democracies.”
A Berlin court ruling (made in January but released to the public in mid-February) found that Facebook’s default settings for privacy and corresponding policies do not meet the basic standards for personal data protection required by German consumer protection laws. The ruling is the result of a lawsuit filed by the Federation of German consumer organizations, VZBV. The company has pledged to overhaul its privacy approach in tandem with the release of the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
Afef Abrougui, Ellery Roberts Biddle, Rezwan Islam, Karolle Rabarison, Elizabeth Rivera, Taisa Sganzerla, and Sarah Myers West contributed to this report.

author: Netizen Report Team


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Remembering Pakistan’s Empowering Human Rights Activist Asma Jahangir · Global Voices
Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman

Asma Jahangir at a Human Rights Day event in December 2012. Image from Flickr by Jean-Marc Ferré. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
On February 11, 2018, the sudden and untimely demise of Asma Jahangir, Pakistani human rights champion and a United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of Islamic Republic of Iran left the world in shock and grief.
Jahangir, who turned 66 in January, was a cancer survivor and one heart attack before passing away from cardiac arrest. Thousands from around the world sent condolence messages and paid tribute to the woman often dubbed as the ‘voice of the voiceless.’ Also known as the ‘iron lady,’ Jahangir was known to take to the streets against military dictators and regimes and for standing up for social justice.
UN Human Rights mourned:
We're saddened by the death of UN Special Rapporteur @Asma_Jahangir. She was a legendary #humanrights defender: pioneering, determined, calm, courageous — and a lovely human being. https://t.co/ag6e38xItz https://t.co/a10VEmsvMj
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) February 11, 2018
Jahangir was laid to rest in her hometown Lahore, Pakistan, where her funeral was attended by thousands of people regardless of gender, religion and social status. In Pakistan, a predominately a Muslim society, women are barred from attending funerals, particularly the act of funeral prayer. The burial in a graveyard is considered a man's job.
Independent journalist Rabia Mehmood dubbed Jahangir's funeral ‘the last subversive act':
#AsmaJahangir – Women & men all gathered to say her funeral prayer. Last subversive act. May she rest in power. pic.twitter.com/W7upoUPedY
— Rabia Mehmood (@Rabail26) February 13, 2018
In a Facebook post, Mehmood writes that “even in her death she empowered us”:
Last subversive act – women, and men stood together for Asma Jahangir's funeral prayer. This was the first funeral prayer I have participated in. Even in her death, she empowered us. Salam. Rest in power AJ and thank you.
Sabahat Zakariya, a Lahore-based journalist who attended the funeral tweeted her experience:
First time my friend and I were part of a namaaz-e-janaaza [funeral prayer.] Fitting that it was Asma Jahangir’s funeral that allowed us this glimpse into a male universe.
— Sabahat Zakariya (@sabizak) February 13, 2018
Human rights activist Marvi Sirmed writes:
Even in her death, she did not conform to the established code. Resistance, thy name is Asma.
If one word can describe the funeral procession, it is pluralism. That’s what Asma Jahangir lived for as well. Her funeral looked like Pakistan. A truly federal Pakistan with all communities represented.
Asma Jahangir was born in 1952 in Lahore, Pakistan and was introduced to politics as a teenager through her father, Malik Ghula Jilani, who was seen as a thorn in the eyes of the establishment and arrested several times as an active critic of the then military dictators Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan. Jilani supported Sheikh Mujibur Rahman‘s Awami League (Shiekh Mujib led the liberation of Bangladesh movement, causing East Pakistan to separate in 1971). Jilani was arrested in December 1971 after his resignation from the National Assembly to protest the Pakistan Government’s military action in Bangladesh.
In 1972, Jahangir challenged her father's arrest and secured a landmark judgment which became known as Ms. Asma Jilani versus the government of Punjab.
Muhammad Taqi, a political activist, and columnist explains:
The Asma Jilani case was the basis for the framers of the 1973 constitution to draft not only Article 6 – dealing with high treason – but also making a specific exception to the constitutional principle of non-retrospectivity of offences and punishments in the case of high treason and desecration of the constitution.
Jahangir earned a law degree and started practicing law under military dictator Zia ul Haq. Along with her sister Hina Jilani and two friends, she co-founded an all-women legal aid practice in 1980 to provide legal aid to women.
Jahangir actively participated in the resistance against ul Haq and images of women being lathhi-charged (beaten by batons by police) have become a symbol of resistance. The government of Pakistan declared this day of resistance as Pakistan Women's Day a few years ago, as described by the Women's Action Forum in Pakistan:
On 12th February 1983, 250 women took out a peaceful protest in Lahore to petition against the discriminatory Law of Evidence that General Zia ul Haq's regime attempted to promulgate. These protesters were lathhi charged brutally, tear-gassed and some 50 were arrested.
The second wave of the women's movement has not retreated since. In tribute and memory of that historic challenge to a dictatorial regime and discriminatory state, 12th February is marked as Pakistan Women's Day.
A firebrand activist and extremely outspoken advocate for oppressed, Jahangir was a trailblazer in Pakistan who went on to co-found the Human Rights Commission  of Pakistan in 1987. She was an integral part of the lawyers’ movement that led to ousted military dictator Pervez Musharaf in 2007, ushering in democracy's return in Pakistan.
Jahangir remained a staunch member of the Pakistan's political resistance. Her last speech was in support of the Pakthun Long March in which marginalised Pakhtuns demanded equal rights and justice from the center.
Bushra Gohar, a Pakistani politician thanks Jahangir for her solidarity with the Pakhtuns:
She stood with the #Pakhtuns in their struggle for justice & right to life…She showed solidarity with #PashtoonLongMarch when others were playing safe. She was glad the #Pashtun youth had woken up. Will treasure your powerful words of support. Thank you #AsmaJahangir. pic.twitter.com/eqxOaQKRhF
— Bushra Gohar (@BushraGohar) February 12, 2018
Jahangir did not constrain her activism to geographical boundaries, speaking for the rights of oppressed people such as the Rohingya, Kashmiri, Palestinians, and Baloch. In January, she gave statements against BBC Persian journalists on trial in Iran. David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression tweeted:
#AsmaJahangir was an extraordinary person. eg: in just past month she engaged in several public stmts on #Iran. she initiated this in january, urging #Iran to respect protesters’ rights. such a loss for so many. https://t.co/Mxm63poDPC pic.twitter.com/6WfQKMJyNl
— David Kaye (@davidakaye) February 12, 2018
Jahangir received Pakistan's highest civilian awards such as the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (second highest civilian award) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (the third highest honour and civilian award in Pakistan) in 2010. She also received several international awards including the 2014 Right Livelihood Award (along with Edward Snowden), the 2010 Freedom Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award, the 1995 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, and the UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights. France awarded her the Officier de la Légion d'honneur.
Jahangir also wrote two books: The Hudood Ordinance: A Divine Sanction and Children of a Lesser God: Child Prisoners of Pakistan.
Her 2014 Right Livelihood Award speech is making rounds on social media:
Many struggling for empowerment and justice will miss her dearly, including civil society activists, prisoners waiting for a fair trial and women on the frontlines of activist movements. Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui, who narrowly escaped abduction in January 2018 and openly complained about being harassed and intimidated by the Pakistani military, shared his grief, honoring Jahangir as his legal counsel through the ordeal:
Met Asma saahiba just few weeks back. She told me going silent is not an option. And it gave me the courage i needed. Who will now I look up to? Without her, I feel like an orphan… #RIPAsmaJahangir https://t.co/Tao4U2pN8r
— Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) February 11, 2018
Salman Hyder, a blogger and independent journalist who was among the four bloggers abducted and later released in January last year grieved:
محل سڑا میں خوشیاں ہوں گی
سڑکوں پر ماتم ہو گا
چھاونیوں میں رونق ہو گی
بستی بستی غم ہو گا۔۔۔سلمان#RIPAsmaJahangir
— Salman Haider (@salmanhydr) February 11, 2018
Palace will celebrate
streets will mourn
military cantonments will be lively
every small town will be in grief
Salman
#RIPAsmaJahangir

author: Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman


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Social Media Giants Are at the Center of a Censorship Scandal in Russia — Again · Global Voices
Christopher Moldes

Navalny's report alleges corruption on the part of Russia's Deputy PM. Now the government media regulator wants the video censored // Screencap by Christopher Moldes
Although barred from running in the 2018 presidential elections, Russian activist Alexey Navalny has found a way to ensure he stays in the news.
On February 8, Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation, an organization dedicated to publicizing corruption scandals and property holdings of Russian politicians, shined their spotlight on a trail of evidence linking a Russian oligarch and the Russian deputy prime minister.
The revelations have triggered a sharp response from Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor, which ordered Instagram, YouTube and multiple Russian media sites to remove posts related to the scandal. Nearly all of the posts targeted have since been taken down, in one way or another.
Navalny's report is based chiefly on the writings and social media postings of Nastya Rybka, a Belarusian national (real name Anastasia Vashukevich) and the author of a book entitled “Diary of a billionaire’s seduction.” In the book, Rybka describes her relationship with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch and aluminum industry billionaire, who has become a prominent figure in US media coverage of congressional investigations into Russian election interference.
US president Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigned after it was discovered that he had reached out to Deripaska offering to provide inside information on the Trump campaign.
Using thinly-veiled code names, Rybka describes her visits with Deripaska, from the moment of their meeting to a trip on Deripaksa's yacht near Norway, where they made a secret detour to meet with Russian Deputy PM Prikhodko. This meeting on the yacht also appeared in a video on Rybka's Instagram account.
In a small snippet of conversation she captured in the video, we hear Prikhodko and Deripaska discussing the worsening of US-Russian relations, and speculating on why one American official has a negative opinion of Russia. Rybka's book also alleges that Prikhodko flew to Norway with the express purpose of meeting Deripaska.
This information had been available for some time in Rybka’s book, which was published in early 2017. But it seemed to have slipped under the radar of mainstream media, until Rybka captured Navalny's attention by posting a video online in which she declared to carry out a “sex hunt” targeting Navalny.
Despite Rybka's peculiar approach, upon reading her account of the relationship and reviewing her Instagram posts, Navalny decided that this was indeed a story. If the oligarch paid for the deputy prime minister’s travel arrangements, which seemed likely to Navalny's group, this would constitute a bribe.
Navalny brought Rybka's story into the spotlight with a featured video about the scandal on his website and YouTube channel. Navalny's video report on the revelations (which can be viewed here in its entirety with English and German subtitles) has already been viewed more than five million times in one week.
This wave of attention led Deripaska to sue Rybka on privacy grounds. Deripaska is married, so this is undoubtedly causing him some consternation at home.
In the meantime, Rybka's book has become a best-seller.
Deripaska also filed an injunction with Russia's federal media regulator, Roskomnadzor, asking the agency to demand that the videos and associated online reports be removed. This caused Roskomnadzor to unleash a blitz of censorship protocols that ultimately targeted Instagram, YouTube, Navalny's website and various Russian news sites, that were either pressured or ordered to take down all copies of the yacht visit video.  Most of the local sites — along with Instagram — have since complied.
The regulator ordered Navalny to delete the relevant post from his website, to which Navalny refused. ISPs were thus ordered to block navalny.com, though the group has now employed circumvention measures to keep the site accessible. Navalny responded by suing Roskomnadzor for threatening to blacklist his site.
Roskomnadzor also obtained a court order which it served to Instagram, demanding that the Facebook-owned social media site delete some of Rybka’s Instagram posts that figured prominently in the Navalny investigation. Instagram complied and deleted the requested videos, which now cannot be found on Rybka’s Instagram page.
.@instagram decided to comply with Russian illegal censorship requests and deleted some content about oligarch Deripaska. Shame on you, @instagram! This content was spotlighted by our corruption investigation https://t.co/Pa4xVQE8MQ
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) 15 февраля 2018 г.
Blocking the activist’s site outright drew the condemnation of some segments of Russian twitter. StalinGulag, a well-known tongue-in-cheek account, said:
Пишут, что роскомнадзор начал блокировать сайт Навального. В стране цензуры нет, просто паскудные хуилы решают за тебя, что тебе можно читать, а что нельзя, но цензуры в стране нет. ЦЕНЗУРЫ В СТРАНЕ НЕТ!
— Сталингулаг (@StalinGulag) 15 февраля 2018 г.
They’re saying that Roskomnadzor started blocking Navalny’s site. There’s no censorship in the country, just odious dickheads deciding what you can and cannot read, but there’s no censorship in the country. THERE’S NO CENSORSHIP IN THE COUNTRY!
YouTube has so far not complied with Roskomnadzor’s requests, but on February 15, YouTube removed the recording of Navalny's weekly live show on copyright grounds, in response to a claim from Russia's largest state-owned TV network. The timing of this move could be coincidental, but smacks of an attempt at political censorship.
Хороший эфир получился. 30 тысяч зрителей в онлайне. Только вот спустя 20 минут его заблокировали во всех странах по жалобе Первого канала (видимо за минутный ролик из фильма “Путин”) https://t.co/WA58lMPVqe
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) 15 февраля 2018 г.
It was a good show. 30 thousand simultaneous online viewers. But 20 minutes later they blocked it globally after Channel One [Russia's largest state-owned TV network] filed a copyright violation complaint (this must be for a minute-long clip from the “Putin” movie) [The Putin Interviews by Oliver Stone]
As Coda Story points out, this is just the latest manifestation of online platforms being targeted for censorship by the Russian government. If companies like Facebook (owner of Instagram) can be swayed by government demands, their critics say, then they are abdicating their role as promoters of expression and communication.
By submitting to pressure and demands of a government (whichever it may be), social media platforms demonstrate that they are willing to undermine user interests if a government does not approve of the content that their platforms help to make publicly accessible.
However, as Navalny pointed out in his suit:
Согласно постановлению Пленума Верховного суда, информацию можно распространять без согласия гражданина при наличии публичного интереса. То есть гражданин является публичной фигурой, а обнародование информации является общественно значимым. Расследование имело целью раскрыть факты коррупции со стороны должностного лица Правительства Российской Федерации.
In accordance with a decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court, information can be disseminated without the approval of a citizen where there is public interest. This citizen is a public figure, and the publication of information is socially significant. The investigation’s goal was to expose facts of corruption on the part of a government official of the Russian Federation.
Given that Navalny has sued in an effort to affirm the validity of keeping these reports and videos online in the public interest, the social media companies involved could suspend further response until the courts have made a decision. But as Russian courts are not known for their independence, the Roskamnadzor bans are most likely to be upheld in the end.
Update: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Oleg Deripaska also sued Alexey Navalny for libel, which he has not at the time of the update.

author: Christopher Moldes


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‘They Fear Pens, Not Guns’: Turkish Journalists Sentenced to Life in Prison · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Demonstrators on World Press Freedom Day in Turkey, 2013. Image by Amnesty International Turkey.
After spending just over a year behind bars without charge, Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel was released from a Turkish jail on February 16. Just hours later, six other journalists in the country were issued a life sentence for “or attempting to overthrow the constitutional order”.
With 155 journalists serving jail time because of their work, these days of highs and lows are beginning to feel routine for Turkey's embattled independent media community.
BBC described Deniz Yucel's imprisonment as a long-standing “irritant” in the relations between the two countries. His release came shortly after Turkish PM's visit to Germany this week.
Deniz Yucel was arrested exactly 367 days ago on suspicion of “inciting the people to racial hatred and enmity” and “spreading the propaganda of a terrorist organization”.
Soon after his release was announced, crowd gathered outside the jail, where Yucel joined his wife who was waiting for him:
#FreeDeniz & #FreeDilek pic.twitter.com/YlWNMYXlBL
— Veysel Ok (@shemmoshemmo) February 16, 2018
But the ordeal is not yet over. Yucel was charged and indicted upon his release, with the prosecution demanding that he be sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Same court that ordered #DenizYucel‘s release has apparently accepted an indictment calling for up to 18 years imprisonment.
Not quite clear what is going on, but a key issue is whether he is being allowed to travel abroad.
— Howard Eissenstat (@heissenstat) February 16, 2018
In ordering Deniz Yücel’s release, the court also accepted his newly issued indictment. He faces 4 to 18 years in prison. https://t.co/eLnK8rwqZa
— Piotr Zalewski (@p_zalewski) February 16, 2018
While colleagues and friends celebrated the news of Yucel's release, another court decision came down, this time affecting the fate of a different group of journalists.
Deniz is finally free. Six others have just been sentenced to life behind bars: https://t.co/mrW1wy9amx. https://t.co/KDHNoS7Spd
— Piotr Zalewski (@p_zalewski) February 16, 2018
A Turkish court has jailed for life journalists Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Nazli Ilicak & Fevzi Yazici & one other defendant for seeking to “overthrow the constitutional order” in alleged coup plot https://t.co/nouqX4ZnJA
— Ayla Jean Yackley (@aylajean) February 16, 2018
Awful news coming in from Silivri jus now. #AhmetAltan #MehmetAltan & #NazlıIlıcak faced a trial in which no credible evidence was presented beyond their words. This verdict does not pass the test of international human rights law. #FreeTurkeyMedia https://t.co/R8M8HJpg1N
— Milena Buyum (@MilenaBuyum) February 16, 2018
Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Nazli Ilica, Yakup Şimşek, Fevzi Yazıcı and Şükrü Tuğrul Özsengül were handed a lifetime prison sentence after being convicted of involvement with Turkey's 2016 coup, despite a lack of direct evidence.
Five of the six defendants are journalists and intellectuals all had strong ties with opposition news outlets in the past. Ahmet Altan is the former editor-in-chief of Taraf newspaper and his brother, Mehmet Altan is an academic and journalist who once wrote for Hurriyet. Nazli Ilıcak has written for Hurriyet, in addition to other newspapers, and briefly served as an MP for the Virtue party.
Yakup Şimşek and Fevzi Yazıcı worked with Zaman newspaper, which was one of Turkey's largest independent daily newspapers until 2016, when the government seized its operations, alleging that the outlet had ties to Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen.
Anadolu Agency reported that six people were convicted for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and of having communicated with associates of Gulen, whom Turkey blames for the July 2016 failed coup.
In addition to facing legal threats, all of these journalists have been subject to extralegal harassment. One year ago, President Erdogan called Yucel a terrorist in one of his televised speeches.
Bu konuşmayı tam 1 yıl önce çekmiştim. Deniz sonunda özgür. Darısı Alman vatandaşı olmayan gazeteci arkadaşlarımızın başına. #DenizYücel pic.twitter.com/wxQqR1COOL
— goktay koraltan (@goktay) February 16, 2018
I filmed this speech one year ago. Deniz is finally free. I wish the same for the rest non-German citizen journalists friends of mine.
Video clip translation: They are hiding this German terrorist, this spy at the embassy. They hid him for a month. And German Chancellor asked him from me. She said to release him. I told her we have an independent judiciary. Just like your judiciary is independent so is mine. It is [the judiciary] objective. That is why I am sorry to say, you won't take them from us. Finally, he was brought to court. He was arrested. Why? Because he is spy terrorist. Who cares he is a German citizen. It doesn't matter whose citizen you are, if you are spreading terror in Turkey, if they are secretly spies, they will pay the price.
Supporters in Turkey and around the world tweeted their shock at the decision:
Today's verdict & sentences of life without parole for #AhmetAltan, #MehmetAltan & #NazliIlicak mark an apex of the disintegration of the #Ruleoflaw in #Turkey. Judge ignored a binding Turkish Constitutional Court decision. The European Court of Human Rights #ECtHR must act. pic.twitter.com/mH0njuskpu
— Sarah Clarke (@Sarah_M_Clarke) February 16, 2018
As Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak are given “aggravated life sentences”, it is worth remembering what that sentence is.
It is life without parole, with up to 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. Forever and ever, amen.
— Can Okar (@canokar) February 16, 2018
On February 12, both Ahmet and Mehmet Altan were thrown out of the courthouse, for demanding to read the constitutional court decision which ruled for their release in January. The two brothers demanded that the decision which was overturned within 24 hours by the ruling of the 27th High Court is put on the record.
The next day, on February 13, speaking from high-security prison via video link, Ahmet Altan in his defense said the following:
Those in political power no longer fear generals. But they do fear writers. They fear pens, not guns. Because pens can reach where guns cannot: into the conscience of a society.
When the verdict was handed to Altan brothers today, one observer said cries and screams filled the courtroom.
Meanwhile, there are at least four other German Turkish citizens behind bars in Turkey, while the total number of imprisoned journalists and writers since the coup has now surpassed 150.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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A Fascinating Glimpse Into the Life of a Popular Chimpanzee in Pre-War Japan · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Rita and Lloyd”, two chimpanzees from pre-war Tennoji Zoo in Osaka. Photo from image posted on Twitter user Mulboyne.
Prolific Twitter user Mulboyne has posted a series of images that provide a fascinating glimpse of pre-war Osaka as Japan embraced militarism and total war.
Mulboyne, a long-time resident of the country, makes frequent posts about Japan on Twitter, covering everything from what is likely the least popular rolled sushi to be sold in Japanese supermarkets to the top image search result for “gaijin” (“foreigner”, in Japanese) and trends in corporate rebranding.
In this case, Mulboyne has posted a series of photographs of pre-war Osaka, when the city briefly became the largest city in Japan after the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated Tokyo in 1923.
Osaka was already benefitting from a booming textile industry, which earned it the label “Manchester of the East”. This Expo took place in 1925. pic.twitter.com/1l8Dr5giLM
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
Here's one of the displays at that 1925 exhibition, showing the foodstuffs making up the daily diet of Osaka people. They certainly weren't trying to flatter themselves with that face. pic.twitter.com/qYRjTuAQtz
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
The Twitter thread, which starts by exploring pre-war Osaka, shifts towards exploring the life of one of the most famous residents of Tennoji Zoo in Osaka at the time, Rita the chimpanzee, as documented in the 2010 book by Mayumi Itoh, “Japanese Wartime Zoo Policy: the Silent Victims of World War II.”
In the 1930s, one of the most popular animals at Tennoji Zoo in Osaka was Rita the chimpanzee. pic.twitter.com/zDoJXm72zj
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
Here's Rita with shogi master Yoshio Kimura. pic.twitter.com/Xs4G0kEubq
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
Inevitably, the images depict Japan's increasing militarism as war looms.
In 1940, the zoo dressed Rita up in an army uniform. pic.twitter.com/HyqEl9a04x
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
However, before Japan's war with the United States and other Western countries began, Rita gained a consort, only to die in childbirth.
By this time, she had a partner called Lloyd, and he got in on the act too. pic.twitter.com/OtN5u0Dtej
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
Rita had a stillbirth in 1940, and died shortly afterwards. Her predecessor at the zoo, a chimp named Taro, had died of overexertion. Rita also had a demanding schedule. pic.twitter.com/xWswnkeR0t
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
While Japan's military government forced Lloyd the chimpanzee to adopt a Japanese name until Japan's defeat. Rita died as Rita, but Lloyd was eventually made to adopt a Japanese name by Japan’s wartime military government. A statue of the two remains today at Tennoji Zoo in Osaka.
Lloyd survived, but not as Lloyd. When the Ministry of Education banned the use of English, he was renamed Katsuta. There's a statue of both chimpanzees at the zoo. pic.twitter.com/mJcVzxlww9
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 9, 2018
Mulboyne can be followed on Twitter here.

author: Nevin Thompson


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An Artist Duo in Nepal Hopes Their Nude Paintings Will Encourage Men to Embrace Vulnerability · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Male nude artwork by Kapil Mani Dixit. Photo by Sanjib Chaudhary. Used with permission.
The male form in various states of undress has featured in Nepali art for centuries. Just look at the Chakrasamvara Mandala, a 13th-century Nepali paubha painting depicting the union of the deity Chakrasamvara and his consort Vajravarahi, or the many statues in erotic poses found at the Hindu temples of Kathmandu.
Nevertheless, painting nudes and exhibiting them in public still requires a bit of courage in Nepal. Traditional gender roles in Nepali society see men as the caretakers of their families, which means they should be muscular and tough. As in other parts of the world, this “macho” expectation means that men in Nepal aren’t always comfortable with vulnerability or talking about their bodies or sexuality.
To start a dialogue about what it means to be a man and celebrate the male form, two Nepali artists, Kapil Mani Dixit and Roshan Mishra, are exhibiting their male nude art series at Gallery Mcube in the city of Patan until 19 February 2018.
@men‘snude art … met these two wonderful artists @r0shanmishra & Kapil Mani who are trying to beautify a man's body as well as presenting the emotional suffering men go through for being a man. Those woman who call themselves a feminist should visit this once pic.twitter.com/W1AiJdOu39
— Banita (@banimadam) 13 de febrero de 2018
Talking to Global Voices, Kapil explained, “While men appreciate the female bodies, why do they sheepishly look at male bodies?”
God has created equally beautiful male and female bodies. Male are as handsome as female are beautiful. Let’s celebrate about our body. Why is it that we shouldn’t talk about it?
“The pink in my painting connotes the access the society hasn’t given us. It has put us in shackles within the pink colour,” says Kapil. Photo by Sanjib Chaudhary. Used with permission.
Two characters in a single frame – one vulnerable, another “macho.” “It’s okay to be you, men too can cry, men too can be sensitive,” says Kapil. Photo by Sanjib Chaudhary. Used with permission.
Roshan has used himself as a model for his conceptual series of work. He said:
My work represents the negativity that lies in our society about the male form. Most of the males feel uncomfortable to talk about their own bodies and share their feelings, thoughts, and sexuality. My eight of the conceptual work shows a trapped male figure that has been struggling to come out from its shell….Some of the works show the negative male body surrounded by vibrant, colorful surrounding and other works show a body trapped and wrapped with the social status and fear within. Depicting the subtle nudity of my own body, through this exhibition, I have tried to reach out to those males who feel timid, shy, tender, depressed, confused, lost or even feel dominant. I want them to celebrate the male figure that is given to us by the grace of the god and be who we are.
Male nude artworks by Roshan Mishra. Photo by Sanjib Chaudhary. Used with permission.
Male nude artworks by Roshan Mishra. Photo by Sanjib Chaudhary. Used with permission.
Male nude artworks by Roshan Mishra. Photo by Sanjib Chaudhary. Used with permission.
Kapil added, “Many people came to me and said they had been thinking in the same way but weren’t able to talk about it”:
It’s not only our feelings but we’ve expressed the feelings of all males. Males never talk about these issues.

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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What Do Argentinians Give Up in Exchange for “Free” WiFi in Buenos Aires? · Global Voices
Romina Navarro

Public promotional image for the Metro WiFi connection in Buenos Aires: “BA WiFi throughout the network. 1. Activate WiFi on your device. 2. Access the BA WiFi network. 3. Accept the terms and conditions.”
A recent report by VICE Argentina reveals some disturbing facts about the terms and conditions that users accept — often without having read them — to access the WiFi network that the city of Buenos Aires offers for free.
Just like many modern cities, Buenos Aires has for some years now had a public wireless internet network that people can access from parks, plazas, bus and omnibus terminals, and even from the underground metro, thanks to the installations made by the Buenos Aires City Government (in Spanish, GCBA) in collaboration with the Underground of Buenos Aires State Society (in Spanish, SBASE).
The report points out how every user who wishes to use the BAWiFi (Buenos Aires Wifi) network must register themselves and accept the terms and conditions before accessing the connection. These terms, to which users hardly pay much attention, include giving permission to the GCBA and the SBASE to compile their personal and search data, such as name, username, password, identification number or work identification key (CUIL, which is an Argentinian tax identification number), nationality, gender, telephone number, postal address, and geolocation data, as well as photographs and voice data collected from whichever device the user connects to the network.
Another striking aspect of Buenos Aires's WiFi network terms and conditions is that, by accepting them, the user gives their consent to the City Government and to SBASE to make use of and to disseminate their photos and voice for advertising and communication purposes:
SBASE se reserva el derecho a realizar la acción publicitaria, de prensa, promoción, publicación y difusión que considere conveniente de los datos proporcionados por los USUARIOS que hagan uso del Servicio. Con la sola proporción de datos y aceptación de los presentes términos y condiciones, los USUARIOS prestan su expresa conformidad para la utilización y difusión de sus datos e Imágenes (foto y voz) por los medios publicitarios y de comunicación que SBASE y/o el Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires disponga.
SBASE reserves the right to carry out the act of advertising, press, promotion, publication, and dissemination that it considers appropriate for the data provided by the USERS that make use of this Service. By the single provision of data and acceptance of the present terms and conditions, the USERS offer their express approval for the utilization and dissemination of their data and images (photo and voice) for advertising and communication media that SBASE and/or the Autonomous City Government of Buenos Aires might arrange.
VICE's work illustrates this fragment in a more straightforward example:
“Si lo hizo [aceptar los términos y condiciones], no debería sorprenderse si un día al entrar a la estación, ve su cara en una gigantografía con la frase: “De lunes a viernes bien temprano, (su nombre y apellido) disfruta de nuestro servicio”.”
If you do [accept the terms and conditions], you should not be surprised to one day see, upon entering the station, your face on a giant print with the phrase: “From very early on Mondays through Fridays, (your first and last name) enjoys our service.”
The aforementioned description, however, is not as serious as what we cite below from Article 2, the section on “Term and Duration”:
SBASE podrá establecer nuevas condiciones y/o modificaciones a cualquiera de las cláusulas contenidas en los presentes términos y condiciones y las políticas de privacidad sin necesidad de contar con la autorización del USUARIO.
SBASE will be able to establish new conditions and/or modifications to any of the clauses contained in these current terms and conditions and the privacy policies without needing to contact the USER for authorization.
In other words, users accept a contract where the terms and conditions can change at any moment without them knowing or agreeing to the new terms. This raises some serious questions about what could happen to all of the data and images the State has compiled and stored. In light of the impending reform to the current Argentinian Personal Data Protection Act, established in October 2000 as Law N° 25.326, it also raises a serious red flag.
Why does the SBASE need a user's labor key number? Why does the city government need to store any citizen's personal photos and voice notes? What other potential use could they have for this information, protected by future modifications to the data protection law or to the terms and conditions of the contract itself?
The fourth article of Argentina's Personal Data Protection Act says that the “personal data that is collected for the intent of data processing should be true, appropriate, relevant, and not excessive in relation to the scope and purpose for which they were to have been obtained.” One could suppose that some of the data compiled by SBASE (in particular, a user's photos) could be considered “excessive in relation to the scope and purpose for which they were to have been obtained.”
At the moment of this article's publication, the contract's text has not been uploaded to the City Government's or SBASE's official site for further reading and consultation. It can only be accessed from the subte, the city's metro.
Twitter user Tomás published the binding contract's complete text, which he had saved in a Google doc some time ago and, regarding the VICE report, commented:
Eso me llamó la atención y una vez me las mandé por mail después de aceptar. Nunca las había leído hasta hoy: pic.twitter.com/nef2aH0RVD
— Tomás (@TomiOlava) January 29, 2018
This caught my attention and one time I sent them to myself via mail after accepting. I had never read them until today:
On social networks, there was very little reaction from netizens in response to VICE's publicized report (or the conditions themselves). Javier Pallero, an internet policy analyst for the US-based digital rights NGO Access Now, explains that there is very little awareness concerning privacy and that what is most worrisome about all of this is the fact that it is the state that is gathering this data: “It is the only entity that still has the capacity to take away your possessions, to deprive you of liberty, or, under certain circumstances, to legally shoot you.”
The users who access social network platforms, applications, and other digital services are accustomed to accepting their terms and conditions without reading them. Valeria Milanés, director of the Digital Association for Civil Rights (ADC), explains that “these are extremely large, binding contracts with very complex terminology. What should happen is that the text is accompanied by messages with very clear ideas about how they are going to use the data, for how long, in language that is as plain as possible.”
The data delivery has already been naturalized among users, to the point of being considered a relatively low price to pay for gaining the benefits of a “free” connection:
Lo más increíble de todo: al argentino promedio no le importa, con tal de que le den wifi gratis acepta cualquier cosa, “total no tiene nada que ocultar”.
— Selva Iris ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮ (@selvairis) January 29, 2018
The most incredible thing of all: to the average Argentinian it doesn't matter, as long as they are given free wifi they will accept anything, “in the end they have nothing to hide.”
In other cases, the problem is simplified and a practical solution suggested: don't use the service.
No lo uses. Nadie te obliga a hacerlo.
— Sebastián ? (@sphuertas1) January 29, 2018
Don't use it. No one is forcing you to do so.
The scant resistance by users for entering their data reflects a worrisome disinterest or ignorance of the potential risks involved in accepting terms and conditions that are not completely understood.
In another vein, the blog El Disenso (The Dissent) openly criticized the Buenos Aires City Government and the national government, reporting how its site was blocked from the Buenos Aires WiFi network after they published a series of investigations that, according to them, “made the GCBA uncomfortable.” The blog alleges that, on February 1st, various readers informed them that they could not access the website when they were connected to the BA WiFi network.
?#EstaSemana Jue 1/2 ?#CensuraPRO: Después de denunciar a #Larreta, el #BAWiFi bloqueó @ElDisenso – Ahora el #GCBA no solo te monitorea, también decide que podés leer y que no!
Leélo en @ElDisenso???https://t.co/3qDQVHWapA
— El Disenso (@ElDisenso) February 4, 2018
?#ThisWeek, Thur 1/2 Censorship ?#CensuraPRO: After reporting to #Larreta, the #BAWiFi blocked @ElDisenso – Now the #GCBA not only monitors you, but also decides what you can and cannot read!
Read all about it at @ElDisenso???https://t.co/3qDQVHWapA
Horacio Rodríguez Larreta is the Head of Government for Buenos Aires, successor to the position that the current president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, once held.
El Disenso presented its complaints before the Department of Protection of Citizen's Rights of the City of Buenos Aires and the company Subte BA. On February 7, it confirmed that access to the site had been reestablished on the network, which they described as an “erroneous URL blocking incident.”
Of course, many still question whether this incident was accidental or intentional.

author: Romina Navarro


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20 Years After the Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Ecuador, the LGBTI Community Continues to Be Punished · Global Voices
Carlos E. Flores

The families of those who are sequestered and confined to “dehomosexualization” clinics request the “services” of these institutions and pay to keep their family members inside. Illustration by Mónica Rodríguez. Used with permission.
The following is a reissue of a report written by Carlos Flores, originally published by Connectas and re-edited with assistance from the author as part of a three-part series that will be published and translated by Global Voices. The complete report contains other detailed testimonies and analysis of the legal inconsistencies which facilitate the violence and discrimination perpetrated against gay and transgender/transsexual people in Ecuador.
The first part below features the testimonies of victims of institutions that claim to be able to “cure” homosexuality; other installments will examine the failures of the judicial system, as well as the social obstacles that inhibit the protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
Twenty years after the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ecuador, the LGBTI community continues to be punished by society and is rarely protected by the law. Mistreatment and discrimination take various forms, served by organizations that escape the state's control. Some of these organizations maintain that they are detox clinics; in reality, they carry out “cures” for homosexuality. The abuses that take place inside these clinics are numerous and multi-faceted.
Physical and psychological tortures, including insults, humiliation, unhealthy diets, beatings, electric shocks, and even “corrective rapes”, have been part of so-called “dehomosexualization therapies” in Ecuador “for a long time”, according to widespread opinion.
Some of the testimonies from victims of these institutions gave rise to works such as that of Paola Paredes, who revealed the mistreatment that various women received at these clinics. Other testimonies show how the families of the many victims act in conjunction with the clinics, and also how many women are brought in by religious organizations.
The lack of government control and protection is evident in cases like that of Jonathan Vásconez, a transgender male who lived in confinement for a year and a half and who twice attempted, and was prevented, from running away from El Centro La Estancia (The Ranch) in Patate (Tungurahua) in northwest Ecuador.
It began when he was 23 years old. He already had a daughter, and still used the female name that his parents had given him when he was born: María de los Ángeles. When he went to pick up his partner at the time, strangers intercepted him, beat him and handcuffed him, telling him they were police. Jonathan says that the order to commit him against his will was given by his family, under the false accusation that he was a drug addict. Within the center, the abuses and assaults were numerous:
Pidieron a tres compañeros que se levantaran y trajeran un tanque café, que me llegaba a la cintura, lleno de agua. Entre los tres me metieron al tanque, de cabeza, unas ocho veces. Puedo decir que ahí vi la muerte. El director de la clínica me grababa con un celular y me pedía que dijera que había ido a robar a mi hija, cosa que no era cierta. Cuando vieron que me moría, me dejaron […] Estuve un mes y una semana, esposado a la cama, y me hacían comer en el piso…
They asked three fellows to get up and bring in a brown tank full of water, which reached my waist. Between them, they put me in the tank, head first, about eight times. I can say that there I saw death. The director of the clinic recorded me with a cell phone and ordered me to say that I had gone to kidnap my daughter, which was not true. When they saw that I was dying, they left me […] I was there for a month and a week, handcuffed to the bed, and they made me eat on the floor…
Jonathan soon managed to escape, but by order of his sister, was recaptured.
The clinics and their leaders don’t often face justice, but when they are confronted, they seem to disappear and change their name. Many of the institutions also utilize religious laws and values to give structure and purpose to their work. In any case, it is not clear whether, after a complaint or the intervention of state institutions, these clinics continue to operate under another name or in different locations.
At the same time, many of the victims avoid registering complaints for fear of further victimisation by the people who mistreat them in the centers.
This was the case for Luisa (name changed), who was brought to one of these centers at the behest of her parents, who could never accept the idea that Luisa was a lesbian and even less that she had fallen in love with her cousin, with whom she now lives. She remembers the “therapy” she received very well: bathing very early and in exactly five minutes, praying, the application of the 12-step program used for drug addicts, poor nutrition, and phrases that they repeated to her day after day while they put their hands on her head: “You, you are not a lesbian, here we are going to cure you; you're very confused with your life, you're going to see that you're going to like men.”
She endured this traumatic experience at 24 years old, in 2012, spending four months sharing a space with other lesbians. Some were drug addicts and others, like her, were not. After leaving the center she returned home, but with her spirit entirely altered. Two weeks later, Luisa’s father resumed his violent behavior against her, and she feared that she would be committed once again. That's why she decided to leave.
With regards to Hogar Renacer (Spanish for Reborn Home, the “clinic” where she had been confined), Luisa did not want to have anything more to do with it: “I never made a complaint. I did not want to get in trouble. The people who worked there were kind of dangerous.”
The district attorney’s office does not provide details on resolved cases or the convictions of those that are known as “symbolic cases”, because of the level of influence they have on public opinion. They assured, despite everything, that incidences of this phenomenon have been reduced, although collectives and social organizations may disagree.
La Fundación Causana (The Causana Foundation), a “lesbian and feminist collective” that strives for the defense of the rights of LGBTI people, affirms that between 2016 and 2017 alone, it had already worked eight cases that dealt with preventing confinement. The social conditions affecting people who tend to be victims of this treatment have changed little, despite the evolution of the law. Thus, although it is maintained that current legislation has opened the door to respect and equality for all, Ecuador is very far from being able to close the book on this issue.

author: Carlos E. Flores


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As Some March to Honor a Pro-Nazi General in Sofia, Others Rally to Decry Fascism · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

Anti-fascists gather in Sofia to protest neo-Nazi Lukov march. Photo by Ruslan Trad, CC BY.
February 17 was a busy day in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, where far-right supporters marched to mark the 75th anniversary of the assassination of pro-Nazi Bulgarian defence minister Hristo Lukov, and counter-protesters responded earlier in the day with condemnations of nationalism and xenophobia.
The demonstration showed that the country currently holding the Presidency of the European Union is grappling with many of the same issues seen elsewhere across Europe, including the mainstreaming of neo-fascist politics.
For the last 16 years, the Bulgarian National Union (BNS) has organized the Lukov March through the streets of central Sofia. As Canadian journalist Michael Colborne explained:
The march, which will take place this Saturday, is in honour of Hristo Lukov, a Bulgarian general who led the pro-Nazi Union of Bulgarian National Legions, an organization that in a previous incarnation had a swastika in its logo. Lukov had close ties with Nazi leadership, including Hermann Goering, and was one of the fiercest advocates of Bulgaria’s Nazi-inspired “Law for the Protection of the Nation” that, among other things, forced the country’s 50,000 Jews to wear yellow stars.
Yet they insist there’s nothing anti-Semitic or Nazi-like about it.
Every year marchers from Bulgaria and beyond drape themselves in mourning black, hold torches and chant Lukov’s praises in unison as they wind their way through Sofia’s streets. The march ends at the home where Lukov was assassinated by Communist partisans in February 1943, where the marchers lay wreaths.
Among its stances, the BNS, which doesn't hold any seats in the country's National Assembly, promotes an intolerant view of immigration (“Bulgaria for the Bulgarians and Africa for the Africans“), rejects Bulgaria's current multiparty parliamentary democracy, and calls for “a strong centralized state power.”
The day before the main march, Lukov admirers put on an intimidating display, walking through central Sofia, shouting slogans and carrying flares and torches. The police did not intervene.
On February 17, a group of around 300 counter-protesters gathered in the park near the Sofia Mosque and the Sofia Central Mineral Baths around noon. They then made their way through the streets around the Central Halls district, the synagogue and the offices of the nationalist political parties IMRO -Bulgarian National Movement and Attack, which are part of the government.
Carrying banners such as “No Nazis in the Streets!” protesters shouted in support of refugees and minorities, and also against nationalism and capitalism.
More photos from ongoing anti-fascist march in Sofia. pic.twitter.com/Wx7mfNUNSr
— Ruslan Trad طراد (@ruslantrad) February 17, 2018
In addition to Bulgarians, participants came from Greece, Italy and Spain. Police did not allow the counter-protesters to pass through the central streets, citing security concerns due to possible clashes with the attendees of the Lukov March, who already roamed through the city in groups.
Some cadres from anti Nazi march in Sofia few hours before the Nazi march called Lukov March. pic.twitter.com/RXBWcojAlj
— Ruslan Trad طراد (@ruslantrad) February 17, 2018
At one point, members of a German nationalist group tried to provoke the counter-protesters. Such incidents happened several more times. Police arrested one provocateur.
Canadian journalist Michael Colborne also attended and published a short video:
a final video, marching by Sofia Synagogue pic.twitter.com/IkyhcnOPnj
— Michael Colborne (@ColborneMichael) February 17, 2018
As for the Lukov march, police estimated that more than 500 people attended, while the organizers previously said they expected around 1,000 to participate.
There was a visible presence of neo-Nazi groups from within Bulgaria and around Europe. Despite this, the BNS denied the allegations that the march was anti-Semitic or neo-Nazi.
According to Bulgarian journalist Mariya Petkova, 50 Germans, 10 French and several Swedes also attended Lukov march:
A family huddled in a corner as far-right Lukov march passes by in Sofia, earlier today. The little girl is covering her years. pic.twitter.com/5F17mnUSYe
— Mariya Petkova (@mkpetkova) February 17, 2018
About 10 ppl from a French far right organisation “Young Nationalists” joind Bulgarian far right Lukov march pic.twitter.com/ZFMAu857Bx
— Mariya Petkova (@mkpetkova) February 17, 2018
Apart from some 50 Germans attending Lukov march in Sofia, there's also ppl from France, Sweden, Hungary pic.twitter.com/yrZYqnlVJB
— Mariya Petkova (@mkpetkova) February 17, 2018
Every major political party in Bulgaria has condemned the Lukov march, including representatives from the far-right United Patriots, although some of its members have actually taken part in the march since the beginning. Sofia’s Mayor Yordanka Fandakova tried to ban the march, but the organizers took her to court and won.

author: Ruslan Trad


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Chinese State TV Lambasted for ‘Racist’ Lunar New Year Sketch Featuring Blackface · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

Screen capture from Chinese spring festival gala via Hong Kong Free Press.
This post was written by Jun Pang and originally published on Hong Kong Free Press on February 17, 2018. The version below is published on Global Voices as part of a partnership agreement.
China’s official news channel CCTV has come under fire over a “racist” comedy sketch showing an actress in blackface.
The four-hour Spring Festival Gala is televised annually in celebration of the Lunar New Year. On February 15, 2018, the Gala included a sketch set in Africa to commemorate the 2017 establishment of a Chinese-funded railway between the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya.
In the segment, an African actress asks the Chinese host to help dissuade her mother from matchmaking for her. Then the mother, an older Chinese actress in blackface and buttocks padding, enters the stage, alongside actors dressed in monkey and giraffe costumes. She mistakenly believes that the daughter and the host are engaged.
“I love China, China helped us build a railroad. I want to find a Chinese son-in-law,” she says.
When the actual fiancée of the Chinese host arrives to interrupt the festivities, the daughter tells her mother the truth.
“Mother, I don’t want to get married so young,” she says. “I want to go to China to study abroad. I want to be like Chinese people – to roll up my sleeves and work, to earn the praise of the world.”
The segment drew ire from Weibo and Twitter users for its use of blackface and stereotypical representations of Africa. Blackface is a practice by which non-black actors darken their skin in order to mock the appearance and mannerisms of black people.
One Weibo user wrote:
The problem with this segment is its narcissism. To show yourself assisting Africa, making it out as if African people are extremely jealous of China – as if they should be grateful to China. Isn’t China’s construction project in Africa supposed to be a win-win situation?
Another said:
This episode is racist. It has exploded in foreign media. This is understandable.
On Twitter, one user was ashamed:
CCTV’s racist show during Spring Gala shook me and made me so ashamed of China and my people. They literally had blackface on stage, had an African actor to play a monkey and a African actress yelling “I love China!” Racism is global y’all…
— Huizit (@iamHuizit) February 16, 2018
Another Twitter user agreed:
CCTV’s racist show during Spring Gala shook me and made me so ashamed of China and my people.
Comic artist @krishraghav said:
My first Chinese New Year watching the annual CCTV spring gala and they trot out a Chinese lady in blackface, exaggerated proportions and everything, with a pet “monkey” (played by a man from Cote D'Ivoire), shouting “I love China!” – I can't even pic.twitter.com/n3J1YsRhmy
— Krish Raghav (@krishraghav) February 15, 2018
Not all perceived the sketch to be racist. Online media SupChina's managing editor Anthony Tao said it was not intended to offend, but the producers “are guilty of laziness or ignorance or most likely both.”
In 2012, the Spring Festival Gala broke a Guinness World Record for the most viewed national network TV broadcast show, reaching a viewership on 498.7 million. Since then, the number has reportedly risen to 700 million.
The Gala is viewed as one of the most important platforms for spreading political propaganda; as such, it also attracts a large amount of criticism. In recent years, critical comments about the content of the Gala have been censored on major Chinese social media platforms. This year, China's most popular social media platform Weibo also blocked a list of combination search terms related to the Gala, like “Spring Festival Gala” + “ridicule”, and “Spring Festival Gala” + “garbage”.
CCTV has since removed the sketch from their official YouTube channel.

author: Hong Kong Free Press


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At Zanzibar’s Sauti za Busara Festival, Music Professionals Ask: Can One Song Really Change the World? · Global Voices
Amanda Lichtenstein

Carola Kinasha, Sauti za Busara festival MC, 2017, photo with permission by Markus Meissl.
Sauti za Busara (‘Sounds of Wisdom’ in Swahili), widely known unofficially as East Africa’s “friendliest music festival,” kicked off its 15th edition on February 8, 2018 on the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar with four full days of live music from Africa and the diaspora. Held yearly in the Old Fort in the capital city of Stone Town, this year’s event had the theme “United in Music” and aimed to increase peace and unity in an increasingly volatile, oppressive and divided world.
As part of the festival, the daily networking series Movers and Shakers invited industry stakeholders to the table for three days of dialogue related to music on the continent. The first day featured a conversation on “music for change” moderated by festival director Yusuf Mahmoud, who opened the session by posing the question, “Can one song really change the world?”
From Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” to Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” to Tracy Chapman’s “Talking bout a Revolution,” Public Enemy’s “Fuck the Police,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “We Gon’ Be Alright,” Mahmoud insisted that one song does indeed have that power and panelists Isack Abeneko of Tanzania and Herman Kabubi of Uganda shared stories on the ways in which change manifests in their respective countries as musicians, poets, and cultural organizers.
Abeneko, an artist, actor, dancer, and choreographer whose popular song “Salam” hit the airways in 2017, says he wants his songs’ messages to go beyond “flag-waving”:
I want young Tanzanians to appreciate one’s own musical heritage. We’re losing a sense of ourselves in Dar.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's cultural capital, is known as “Bongo” or “brain” in Swahili to imply the madness of living in one of Africa’s most bustling megacities. “Bongo Flava,” its unique musical genre, is often fueled by iconic images of booty-shaking, poolside glamour, masculine posturing and fast cars. But Abeneko’s songs are so much more than that:
I decided to call my music ‘Bongo Fusion,’ because it’s not exactly ‘Bongo Flava.’ I sing about street children, I sing about economic struggle, I sing about peace in the family, and my music goes beyond the studio. I want to play live. But when we distributed the songs to local DJ’s, they just told us there’s no program for that. I realized that change has to start with my own networks, building and keeping real friendships, connecting with my audiences. I believe that change happens with one person at a time.
Herman Kabubi, also known as “Slim MC,” from Kampala, Uganda is a poet and program director with the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts who is most drawn to change via programs that challenge stereotypes about Africa:
When I curate programs, I am looking for the new stories we want to tell about the continent, but also ones that will respond well with our audiences in context. I'm looking for what we call critical content.
Kabubi said he applauds artists, programmers, and cultural activists who buck the system by creating new ones outside the mainstream:
I want to curate programs that spark conversations, either by presenting a new technique, new content, or pushing limits, but always with our audiences in mind, and this includes creating spaces for LGBTQIA expression.
Kabubi also intimated hope when he referred to musician Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) who was recently elected to the Ugandan parliament and wants to “use music to unite people” in Uganda. Prior to Uganda's 2016 elections, Kyagulanyi released a song titled “Situka,” which means rise up in Luganda; the lyrics included a provocation to fight corruption and injustice:
When the going gets tough, the tough must get going, especially when our leaders have become misleaders and mentors have become tormentors. When freedom of expression is met with suppression and oppression.
Abdi Rashid Jibril, a promoter and producer with Roots International music and events production company based in Nairobi, Kenya, was quick to remind the panel and audience members about the significant pressures faced by artists who take risks as activists and artists with a message:
We live in an era of repression all over the world, but especially in East Africa, we live within a cultural moment and movement where artists are putting themselves in great danger. I challenge advocacy groups like Music in Africa and Busara Promotions to pay attention to artists in prison or who have been arrested for taking a stand against this repression. Artists need solidarity with the international community who can put pressure on governments to ensure that artists and cultural activists don’t continue to get shut down, as they have been recently especially in Nairobi.
On January 31, Amani Baya and Jack Muguna of Nairobi Horns Project were arrested on what Jibril calls “trumped-up charges that reflect the impunity and gross unfairness of our legal and enforcement systems,” and called on fans of Jibril’s highly popular Choices Thursday Night — Live music event:
[C]ome one, come all Nairobi City Hall Magistrates Court, bring a folded sign that we can unfold chest level when our friends are brought up. Free Amani & Jack. Free the Music.
The two have subsequently been released on a 200,000 Kenyan shillings (2,000 US dollars) bail and their accusations of “noise pollution” were scheduled for a hearing on February 15.
Persecution of musicians is an issue that goes beyond Kenya. In Ethiopia, for example, musicians repeatedly faced terrorism charges for their song lyrics.
It did not go unnoticed that the all-male panel appeared at odds with the subject of music for change in Africa, where gender inequality still remains the elephant in the music industry’s room. Carola Kinasha, a pioneering cultural activist and award-winning musician based in Dar es Salaam who was also the MC for this year's festival, explained that women in Tanzania don’t enjoy the same intellectual rights as men to compose and produce their own lyrics:
Let me just say, the DJ’s in Dar dictate everything, what is in — what is out, and I totally disagree with this.
Kinasha continued:
if I produce an album with nine songs on it, eight could be about social issues and only one’s about love. That one song about love will be the one that gets played on the radio.
Kinasha, project director of Music Mayday,  a non-profit organization in Dar es Salaam supporting youth in their creative and artistic development, recognizes:
[E]xpressing ourselves is much more difficult these days in Tanzania, with artists being arrested, intimidated, missing and beaten. This tells me that it’s not just a gender issue, but an issue with the rights of all musicians to speak out. This tells me how powerful music is. If it wasn’t this strong, it wouldn’t be so feared.
Editor's note: The author of this story has worked for the Sauti za Busara festival in the past.

author: Amanda Lichtenstein


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“Do Others Know We Exist?”: A Nurse’s Testimony from Syria’s Besieged Eastern Ghouta · Global Voices
Act For Ghouta

Children hiding from shelling in Harasta, Eastern Ghouta. Photo by Mohammed Rabee for the Damascus Media Center, used with permission.
The following is a testimony by Bereen Hassoun, a mother and nurse in the city of Harasta in the besieged Syrian district of Eastern Ghouta, where the Syrian regime and its allies have been waging an intense bombing campaign. Controlled by anti-regime rebels, Eastern Ghouta has been under siege by the Syrian regime and its allies since the end of 2013.
Over 120 people were killed between February 6 and February 8, 2018 alone, and February 19 saw the death of over 110 people in a single day. Some estimates put the total number of civilians killed at around 1,000 in the past three months. Civilian infrastructure has also been severely affected, with four hospitals bombed on February 19.
Speaking to The Guardian's Kareem Shaheen, a doctor in Eastern Ghouta said: “We are standing before the massacre of the 21st century. If the massacre of the 1990s was Srebrenica, and the massacres of the 1980s were Halabja and Sabra and Shatila, then eastern Ghouta is the massacre of this century right now.”
The following testimony from Bereen Hassoun was collected and transcribed by Global Voices’ Marcell Shehwaro:
—
About a month ago the shelling started to intensify, so I went underground with my family to the shelter in Harasta. The shelter is an open basement space, not divided into rooms. It holds 50 families, including around 170 women and children, all scared and hungry.
The glass in the windows had been broken by the heavy shelling. The cold was brutal, penetrating to our bones, and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't warm ourselves up. The cold became a part of us. Even when I wore five sweaters and three pairs of pants, and hid under the covers with my son, I still felt cold. My 3-year-old son, Husam, kept whispering in my ear: “I’m cold, I’m cold”. My heart grew even colder.
The water was very dirty, and I didn’t have diapers for my son. They cost 300 Syrian Pounds (approximately 50 US cents) apiece. Instead, I used a cloth covered with a plastic bag that used to hold the 800 Syrian Pounds (approximately USD 1.55) worth of bread. There was barely enough water for us mothers to wash those diaper cloths. We washed them in the same place we washed the dishes, where we washed our hands and from which drank. Our kids suffered from asthma and eye infections. A single sick kid meant every kid would fall ill. I call that “our normal life” under siege, but the shelling was our other disaster.
I lived in “Al Tibbiya” (“Medical”) neighbourhood, where the field hospital was located, which is why it was targeted. I worked as a nurse, close to my husband, who was a doctor. The shelter was close by, and we sometimes had to transfer the less seriously injured people from the field hospital to the basement when the hospital got too crowded with casualties, and then treat the injured children in full view of our own children. That might be wrong, but we didn’t have a choice.
What is your experience of motherhood when you live a daily life of fears, in constant fear that something might happen to your child or husband, afraid that your child would become an orphan if something happens to you? What is your experience of motherhood when your son asks you every day: “Are we going to die today? Why are they bombing us?” What is motherhood when you can't even buy a “piece of biscuit” for your son, or ensure a child’s most basic needs because they're too expensive, too far out of reach, or not there at all because of the siege? When you eat quietly, it feels as if you’re stealing. You eat quietly while they’re asleep. You eat just because you can’t stand hunger anymore. How do you live when you have to lie to your son, trying to convince him that radishes are in fact apples?
I have always favoured cleanliness, but today I'm afraid my son has got lice.
When a plane bombed us my mischievous little son ran quickly to me, scared to death, repeating his childish prayer: “My God, please protect my father and my mother. God, please protect my mother and my father”. It’s a strange thing to have to switch between playing, being seized by fear and crying, then playing again. They play during the moments of silence, they become fearful at the sound of approaching airstrikes, and they cry as the bombing occurs; and then they return to their games when it’s quiet again.
We couldn’t leave the shelter because we didn’t know at what moment the regime might bomb Harasta. The shelling was so intense, so continuous, day and night. Women never left the shelter except to prepare food for their children, and that’s how we lost Umm Muhammad.
Umm Muhammad was my 28-year-old neighbour.
On one day of heavy shelling, we were sitting in the basement embracing our children. Embracing them and praying, asking the Lord to protect us. First, the warplane bombarded somewhere in the distance, and wherever I looked around the basement I saw mothers calming down their children, praying and crying.
Everyone was afraid, waiting for a possible death. The first strike hit the building above us. Then the civil defence, known as the White Helmets, came and saved us.
We couldn’t locate the children in the haze of dust. My son had been close to me all day long but after the first strike the shelling calmed down a little, so he started complaining and nagging that he wanted to play with his friends. So I couldn’t find him anywhere close when the second bomb hit.
I started searching for him like crazy, among the other children: “Hussam, Hussam, Hussam!” He was, in fact, clinging to me, but in my terror, I couldn’t recognize him. A few minutes later the doctor asked us: “Can you take care of this child? His mother is dead.”
I looked at him and recognized him. He was Umm Mohammad’s son. Umm Mohammad, my neighbour who had been sitting with us in the basement just minutes ago. She had some food at her place and wanted to feed her hungry kids. So she took them to the first floor so that they could eat. Then the bomb landed and killed her.
We were crying for Umm Muhammad, and because we were afraid. We wondered whether we were going to face the same fate, and whether our children would be rendered motherless.
We argued over our children’s behaviour, their noisiness, and sometimes we would let off steam on each other, expressing our anger, desperation and feelings of being choked in that basement. In the beginning, I used to be surprised at the chaos that would ensue when food was sent to the shelter, but lately I had become exactly like them, maybe even worse, because I simply wanted to feed my son.
One of the mothers started a small and modest stand, selling candies and sweets so that our children would feel alive. And we made an agreement as a group to buy one candy for another person every day. And if one of us was killed, we had to buy the same number of candies to honour the memory of her soul.
A good part of our evenings was taken up with imagining. Not a strange or a fantastic kind of imagining—mostly trying to imagine answers to our questions: were we going to see our parents again someday? Were they going to see our children? Would our children ever be able to play like other children once more? In the future, would they know what bananas are?
Once I asked one of my neighbours: Are we really alive? Do others know we actually exist, and that we’re alive in these basements?

author: Act For Ghouta


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Malaysian Government Ad Used Barking Rooster to Celebrate the Chinese Year of the Dog · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Malaysian government greets the Chinese Year of the Dog with a barking rooster ad. Image cropped from the Facebook page of Malaysia’s Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry.
Malaysia’s Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) has apologized for using the image of a barking rooster in a newspaper ad to greet the Chinese a prosperous year of the dog.
Malaysia has a Muslim-majority population while promoting social harmony among various races and religions. In recent years, however, hardline Malay Muslim leaders have been voicing out the need to enforce Islamic teachings in governance.
Some believe that the use of a barking rooster in the Chinese Lunar New Year ad is meant to avoid insulting some Muslims who consider the dog as unclean. In fact, many shopping malls have decided not to have Lunar New Year decorations to avoid offending some Muslims.
The ad is seen by some as a reflection of the cultural conflict between some Muslims and the Chinese minority. The opposition Democratic Action Party criticized the ad for stoking division and undermining multiculturalism in society.
The ministry issued a million apologies (a Chinese expression of deeply regret), saying that it was a “technical error” without further explanation. But the majority of the netizens didn’t accept it. One comment said:
This department needs to be more cultured or exposed to the understanding of other cultures. This is really embarrassing and reflects the ignorance of your department. A barking rooster? Seriously? What planet does KPDNKK live on???
Mariam Mokhtar, a columnist from independent news outlet Free Malaysia Today, echoed the sentiment of many observers:
Our institutions are either gripped by a tide of Islamic conservatism, or are paralysed by supervisors who are lazy, and do not believe in proofreading.
Meanwhile, some Chinese netizens believe that the barking rooster was a mockery of current Prime Minister Najib Razak who is nicknamed “that rooster” because the pronunciation of Najib is similar to “Na-Ji” (那雞) in standard Chinese (Putonghua). A famous video blogger called “So I'm Jenn” talked about the symbolism of the barking rooster in her Lunar New Year greeting.
This is not the first time that dogs have been the subject of controversy in Malaysia. In 2016 a pretzel chain store was recommended by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department’s (Jakim) to rename its “Pretzel dog” to “Pretzel sausage”. In October 2014, a young Muslim activist, Syed Azmi Alhabshi, organized a “I Want to Touch a Dog” event to challenge the Muslim taboo and ended up receiving death threats. He was forced to apologize.
Malaysian Chinese constitute about a quarter of the country’s population. Since the year of the dog will be succeeded by the year of the pig, it seems likely that the cultural conflict over the Chinese Lunar New Year will be difficult to avoid next year. But hopefully, Malaysian authorities have already learned their lesson about the importance of upholding multiculturalism.

author: Oiwan Lam