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Twitter Provides a Treasure Trove of Photos of China and Japan During World War II · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Chungking, China's wartime capital during 1937-1945, here in 1944 and in colour. Posted by Twitter user @chinarhyming.
Two Twitter accounts are a constant source of insightful photographs of World War II in Asia.
The account China in WW2 focuses on the war in China that started in September 1931 with Japan's annexation of Manchuria. Another Twitter account, WW2 in Asia, is dedicated to “Livetweeting about history, exactly 80 years after it happened” until 2025 and the eightieth anniversary of the end of the war.
According to its profile, China in WW2 provides “news about the 1931-1945 Sino-Japanese war and the birth of modern Asia.” The account is managed by Peter Harmsen, author of the books ‘Shanghai 1937‘ and ‘Nanjing 1937‘.
The Twitter account provides images of a long war that has largely been forgotten in both Japan and in the West, despite lasting nearly 15 years until Japan's defeat in 1945.
Cover of Japanese kids’ magazine from 1934. Theme: fighting with warlords in north #China. #WW2 #Japan pic.twitter.com/eaCD5Er6Ge
— China in WW2 (@chinaww2) April 3, 2016
The images provide a fascinating glimpse into the world of the 1930s, and point out how, for much of the decade, Japan interacted and collaborated with Western powers while at war in China.
Japanese, British sentries in city of Tianjin, north #China, 1939. #Japan #WW2 pic.twitter.com/ofXplnaglw
— China in WW2 (@chinaww2) April 26, 2016
Japanese Marines with British-made Vickers-Crossley armored cars during first battle of Shanghai in 1932. #China pic.twitter.com/bEYkrEd69O
— China in WW2 (@chinaww2) January 9, 2016
While many of the images appear to be posed, there are some stunning documentary finds:
Japanese troops disembarking in Hangzhou Bay, Nov 1937. #Japan was pioneering amphibious tactics then. #China #WW2 pic.twitter.com/hNpRWC9A9T
— China in WW2 (@chinaww2) March 25, 2016
Included are images used for propaganda:
Japanese poster urging defenders of Hong Kong to abandon resistance, December 1941. #China #Japan #WW2 pic.twitter.com/pDXizPg5Xp
— China in WW2 (@chinaww2) May 6, 2016
As well as shots that speak to Japan's largely forgotten foray into colonizing northeast China in the 1930s:
Getting from Dalian to Harbin, fast. Magazine ad for #Japan-operated railroad in puppet state Manchukuo, #China pic.twitter.com/IorhzEdDgI
— China in WW2 (@chinaww2) April 4, 2016
The Twitter feed also frequently links to blog articles covering World War 2 in China:
What happened to the Japanese stranded in #China at the end of #WW2? Read it here https://t.co/NcMhShhiQu #Japan pic.twitter.com/Rvklf3BXrA
— China in WW2 (@chinaww2) March 2, 2016
Twitter account WW2 in Asia aims to provide a live-tweet retrospective of the war in Asia. It's also an excellent source of rare and surprising photos.
Much of the appeal of the microblog is that photos are tweeted chronologically in “real-time”; right now the account is tweeting the events of May 1936:
May 11, 1936: New Japanese law to make disclosure of industrial information an act of treason pic.twitter.com/qImZk2dleO
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) May 11, 2016
The tweets provide some useful context for what was happening as Asia marched towards war:
May 8, 1936: Speech in Japan's parliament denouncing Army's role in politics is received with thunderous applause pic.twitter.com/nCwiqWXAQ8
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) May 8, 2016
April 6, 1936: Japan's war minister orders army to stay out of politics pic.twitter.com/tVCeRv7Ihs
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) April 6, 2016
March 10, 1936: New Japanese Minister of War Terauchi Hisaichi says army is not trying to introduce Fascist regime pic.twitter.com/CWT8BJMHgi
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) March 10, 2016
There are also some great finds documenting existing Japanese colonialism in Northeast Asia prior to the official start of hostilities in 1941.
April 21, 1936: Japan plans railway from Korean port city of Fusan to Seoul, citing economic and strategic reasons pic.twitter.com/oDHT17sRk0
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) April 22, 2016
The Twitter account presents some interesting perspectives on the Japan and Asia of 80 years ago:
April 3, 1936: League of Nations names Japan world's leading exporter of dangerous drugs, followed by Germany pic.twitter.com/kLoYHJ5Htb
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) April 3, 2016
May 5, 1936: Japan and territories under its control lead world in per capita drug use, League of Nations data show pic.twitter.com/HVPzCAAodf
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) May 6, 2016
Another somewhat depressing but compelling feature of the Twitter account is that it demonstrates that the world was not taken completely by surprise by the eruption of war:
April 18, 1936: ‘Japan Must Fight Britain’ by Lt. Cmdr. Ishimaru Tota is published in English pic.twitter.com/HuxFOa5Qo0
— WW2 in Asia (@asiainww2) April 18, 2016

author: Nevin Thompson


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Were Authorities Really Tricked Into Hosting a Cultural Revolution Throwback Concert? Chinese Are Skeptical. · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

During the concert's press conference, the organizers hold a banner which says: Sing the “main theme” out loud, construct the China dream. This photo was eventually deleted from Chinese state-owned Xinhua's site.
A recent concert by an all-girl band, 56 Flowers, featuring “red songs” from the era of Mao Zedong's rule has received backlash on social media and from within the Chinese Communist Party. The reason?
The performance took place two weeks before the 50th anniversary of Mao's Cultural Revolution and was interpreted as a dangerous revival of his personality cult, which bolstered the bloody political purge to begin with.
Four days after the red concert, as criticism was rolling in, two of the organizations involved announced that they had been tricked into lending their support to the performance, leaving Chinese wondering if authorities were trying to cover up their poor judgment in hindsight or were truly that gullible.
The 56 Flowers’ show on May 2 at the Great Hall of the People, an important political arena, kicked off with the famous red song “Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman,” which was written in 1964 and became very popular among red guards during the Cultural Revolution.
The women performed against a backdrop of propaganda from the time — political posters featuring Lei Fung, a soldier who often appeared in Mao-era propaganda, and Mao depicted a red, as well as the slogan “People of the world, unite and defeat the US aggressors and all their running dogs.”
Mao's legacy in China is complex. The revolutionary, who served as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949 until his death in 1976, is considered the founding father of the People's Republic of China. In 1981, however, party officials declared his Cultural Revolution to be “the most severe setback” that the country had experienced since its founding.
Some fear his authoritarian style has been reborn in current Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has made ambitious moves to consolidate his leadership within the party and in the army. Xi's wife Peng Liyuan is a singer, and one of her songs, the 1980 track “On the Field of Hope,” just so happened to be the title of the 56 Flowers’ controversial concert.
With the criticism piling on, one of the concert's sponsors, the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater, released a statement on May 6 saying that they had been misled to believe that the concert was backed by “the Office for the Promotion of Socialism Core Values under the Central Propaganda Department”, which does not exist. Other sponsors of the concert were the China International Cultural Exchange Center and China Future Star, a singing contest organized by the China Communist Youth League.
The Beijing Western District Cultural Committee, a party organ which was in charge of screening the program of the concert, also condemned the addition of the above non-existent co-host. Neither the theater nor the committee specified who was responsible for including the fake office as a sponsor.
The concert received full coverage in offline party-affiliated media and a number of officials from the Central Propaganda Department delivered speeches onstage before the performance, however, and some theorized the scam explanation was a cover-up of the Central Propaganda Department's's role in the concert's organization.
Qiao Mu, a political commentator, argued that without the backing of top officials, the concert could never have taken place and that the statement was meant to divert the public attention:
出席人员在开场时有中宣部几个司局长致辞亮相，启动什么学习平台、惠民工程，能说没有官方参与吗？演出场地在最具政治象征意义的人民大会堂，这不仅是花钱承租、高价卖票的问题，[…]像这样的政治演出，从选题到场地，没有上级相当部门的同意和默认，是不会进入下级部门的审批放行的。
In the opening of the concert, a number of department heads from the Central Propaganda Bureau gave speeches claiming that they would launch an education platform to serve the public. And this is not official? The concert took place in the Great Hall of People, rent and tickets are not the venue's major concern. […] For this kind of political performance, without the approval of high-ranking authorities, the concert could not have gone with such a theme and performed at that venue. And the application would not have been approved by lower-ranking authorities.
可以想来的理由是，要么是高层授意、同意这样的演出，以体现一直宣传的向核心看齐意识。要么是下面为了逢迎效忠高层，主动表态称颂。也可能上下都有意思，双方一拍即合。
只是没想到时代不同。文革重现、个人崇拜，不光民众反感，体制内也有力量强烈不满。而且彻底否定文革、反对个人崇拜毕竟明确写进党的决议文件和政治生活准则，在这种情况下只好找理由低调处理，消除影响。
We could deduce that the performance either had the approval of the top authorities to advocate the idea of unity within the core [leadership], or the initiative was taken from below to show their loyalty. It is also likely that both parties could have naturally worked together.
But they failed to see that time has passed. People reacted against the revival of the Cultural Revolution and the cult of personality. Even within the party, some have spoken out against it. Moreover, the denunciation of the Cultural Revolution and cult of personality was adopted as a party resolution and appears in [party members’] guideline to political life. In response to the situation, [those responsible] have just created an excuse to cool things down.
The manager of 56 Flowers, Chen Guang, responded to the controversy by stressing that he had not engaged in any fraud nor misled anyone.
The all-girl pop group was launched in May 2015 with great fanfare in China. The band's name comes from a patriotic song called “Love My China” in which 56 flowers represent 56 ethnic groups in China. The band's mission aligns to President Xi's wish for Chinese to “advocate positive energy” by “integrating patriotism with popular culture.”
Major state-affiliated news agencies published feature reports after the concert, praising its success. Quoting from the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater, Xinhua News wrote in its concert review (a backup of the post, which has since been deleted, is available via China Digital Times) :
这次红歌颂党的演唱会是一次主旋律艺术推陈出新的成功尝试和检阅，是在习近平总书记号召下广大文艺工作者要高扬社会主义核心价值观的旗帜，把社会主义核心价值观生动活泼、活灵活现地体现在文艺创作中的具体践行。
This red song, party-praising concert is an innovative review of the “main theme” of art, in line with what Party Chief Secretary Xi Jinping told us — that artists should hold the banner of core socialist values high. We have to reflect our core socialist values in art in lively and vivid ways.
After the statements from the two party organizations were released, all the media's praising reviews were taken down. As China has a strict censorship regime, this further adds to the intrigue: Which authorities green-lighted the performance?
On popular social media platform Weibo, Chang Honghai is among the Chinese netizens asking that question:
“56朵花红歌演唱会“不经中央有关部门批准，不可能在大会堂演出的。[…]节目正式演出前要经政府有关部门审查通过才能正式上演的，这是文化制度。所以这个红歌演唱歌的演出是政府支持批准的。具体是什么人或哪些人支持这个红歌演唱会？请你来猜一猜：人民大会堂主任，中央宣传部长，文化部部长，中国演出公司经理？
It is impossible for 56 Flowers to perform at the Great Hall of the People without prior approval from central authorities […] The run-down has to be approved, this is a pre-existing cultural system. Which means this red song concert had to have been approved by the government. But exactly who gave support to this red song concert? Why don't you guess: the manager of the Great Hall? The head of Central Propaganda? The head of the Ministry of Culture? The manager of the China Association of Performing Arts?
Whether it was a scam or a cover-up of a decision that backfired, the situation doesn't reflect kindly on the Chinese state. If the concert organizers really were tricked, how come media outlets, which are all under the party's leadership, were not aware of the fact that one of the major hosts is a fake party organization? The fact that someone was capable of fooling so many authorities also says something about today's China — and it's not good.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Oiwan Lam


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Where Is Zeenat Shahzadi? Missing Journalist Is Suspected Victim of Pakistan’s Enforced Disappearances · Global Voices
Sana Saleem

Kaneez Bibi looks at a photo of her missing daughter Zeenat Shahzadi. Photo by BBC reporter Saba Eitizaz, who first broke the story. Used with permission.
Nine months have passed since freelance reporter Zeenat Shahzadi was last seen, abducted on a Lahore street by Pakistani security agents, her family alleges. At the time, Shahzadi had been working on the case of Hamid Ansari, an Indian man who went missing in Pakistan in November 2012. She helped to file a missing person's petition and to convince a government commission on enforced disappearances to investigate.
Shahzadi was supposed to give testimony on the matter a few days after she went missing. Later, the country's army admitted that Ansari was in their custody and convicted him of espionage by a court martial.
Pakistan's security agencies have long faced accusations of detaining individuals under the guise of counter-terrorism, more recently under the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance, 2013 (PPO). The PPO, declared to be “the most draconian anti-terrorism law” by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), allows the government to withhold information on the location of detainees, as well as where and why they were detained, for any “reasonable cause”.
In a lot of cases, the missing turn up dead. According to the Human Rights Watch, between 2009 and 2015 authorities recovered the bodies of 4,557 suspected victims of enforced disappearance.
Most of these cases involve men or boys, and Shahzadi is considered the first such instance of a female journalist being disappeared. Her story has stirred public outcry seeking justice for her family and for other victims of enforced disappearances. A recent BBC article by Saba Eitizaz, who has followed the situation closely, renewed interest in the case. Since Shahzadi went missing, her family's grief has multiplied — her 17-year-old brother, Saddam Hussain, killed himself in March.
On Twitter, Saqlain Imam, a reporter with the BBC, asked if Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif would help locate Shahzadi:
Can Gen Raheel Sharif do some thing for her return? @AsimBajwaISPR
Zeenat: Fears for missing #Pakistan reporter https://t.co/skCxKZwh53
— Saqlain Imam (@imam1) May 11, 2016
Another reporter and Global Voices Author, Veengas, commented:
Painful news – unacceptable. Wake up media “#ZeenatShahzadi: Fears for missing #Pakistan reporter https://t.co/V4JpC9UO6I via @bbcworldnwes“
— Veengas (@VeengasJ) May 11, 2016
Veteran journalist Matiullah Jan, who reports extensively on “enforced disappearances”, spoke about the Supreme Court's role in the issue:
The Supreme Court and #MissingPersonCommission have been a miserable failure in many cases of missing persons incl #ZeenatShahzadi a Journo
— Matiullah Jan (@Matiullahjan919) May 11, 2016
Wasay Jalil of political party Mutahhida Qaumi Movement (MQM) shared his concerns:
Why you have to pay the price in #Pakistan when you raise your voice on any injustice?? #ZeenatShahzadi #FreeZeenat
— Wasay Jalil (@WasayJalil) May 11, 2016
Netizens gave their well wishes to Shahzadi's family, especially her mother, and hoped there would be a happy ending to the story.
I hope Zeenat Shahzadi is safe and sound wherever she may. She's been reporting about the missing people & have gone missing, herself.
— S. A. Shah (@AtharShahJee) May 11, 2016
On a Facebook page called Factual Discourse, Junaid Malik shared his thoughts on the impunity often enjoyed by military forces:
Hamid Ansari is an Indian and Zeenat is Pakistani. Hamid committed no crime, did he? And this girl Zeenat was simply working on his case. She is just an ordinary girl.
Not sure where they are and what they are going through. Both just disappeared.
No one has the power to do anything. Military enjoys a special impunity in this country and no authority can challenge the agencies.
Question:
Is Human life and that of an ordinary citizen, so cheap and so valueless in Pakistan? Are there any Human rights being followed in Pakistan?
On the same thread Nazzia Shafiq Momina spoke of her fears when it comes to enforced disappearances:
It is getting to the point when anyone of us can disappear for seeking or speaking the truth and then they will keep arresting random militants in the name of my disappearance or murder. And the public will clap wah wah wah Rangers kei aaney sei kitna sukoon hei [wow wow wow it's so peaceful since the Rangers paramilitary force took over]. All bull shit
Nearly a year on, and Shahzadi's whereabouts remain a mystery. Human rights activists and her family strongly believe that security agencies had a role to play in her disappearance. However, much like the hundreds of cases before her, there's no clarity as to who is responsible and whether the family will ever learn if she's even alive. For now, though her mother Kaneez Bibi longs for closure, there's none to be had.

author: Sana Saleem


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Bulgarian ‘Green’ Activist Faces Lawsuit Over Facebook Post · Global Voices
Nevena Borisova

Borislav Sandov. Personal archive photo, used with permission.
In February 2016 Bulgarian eco-activist Borislav Sandov was convicted of “insulting” the director of a copper mining company in a Facebook status update, after he published allegations that the mine had poisoned the waters around the Bulgarian city of Panagyurishte.
The case has drawn attention to the potential fragility of political speech and freedom of expression in Bulgaria. The trial for the next instance is set for May 30.
Borislav Sandov is known in Bulgaria for his leading role in key environmental protests in recent years. Sandov, who is also a scientist and a member of the Bulgarian political movement known as The Greens, published a post on his Facebook page in which he called Lachezar Tsotskorkov, the executive director of one of the biggest mining companies in Bulgaria, a “poisoner oligarch.” The post goes on to explain what he describes as a “legal saga” between The Greens and the company, which is called Asarel Medet.
The post prompted Tsotsorkov to sue Sandov for insult and defamation. He has accused Sandov of disgracing his name. In February, the Bulgarian court of the city of Panagyurishte ruled that Sandov had not committed an act of defamation but was guilty of insult.
Some local voices are expressing support for Sandov as the trial continues onto the next judiciary instance. French ambassador in Bulgaria Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes made a gesture of support on Twitter by saying “I am Borislav Sandov.”
“Аз съм Борислав Сандов”
https://t.co/02ppu1MS6F via @ProtestnaMreja
— X Lapeyre de Cabanes (@France_Bulgarie) February 26, 2016
The Bulgarian daily Capital quoted Sandov’s lawyer Kalin Angelov after issuing the verdict in the first instance.
Борислав Сандов беше оправдан по повдигнатите срещу него обвинения за клевета, а именно – че през 2014, мината на г-н Цоцорков на два пъти е отравяла водите на реките около Панагюрище. Съдът прие, че към момента на писането на статуса, е имало достатъчно основания да се смята, че това е било така. Смятам това за успех”.
Borislav Sandov was found innocent of accusations against him for defamation and in specific – that in 2014 Tsotsorkov’s mine twice has poisoned the waters around the Bulgarian city of Panagyurishte. The court concluded that at the moment of writing the status, there had been enough grounds for one to think he was correct. I think this is a success”.
The court ruled that Sandov “humiliated” the honor and dignity of Tsotsorkov, as the insult was made public and distributed via other means, including Facebook. A subsequent analysis by Capital quotes legal expert Kalin Angelov, who commented on the case:
Г-н Цоцорков се е обидил чрез своята ПР служителка. Именно тя е следяла профила на г-н Сандов и именно тя е преценила кое е обидно и кое не. Това опосредено “обиждане” е стряскащото в присъдата.
Tsotsorkov was insulted by his PR employee who has followed the Facebook profile of Sandov and she evaluated which content was “insulting” and which was not. This mediated “insulting” is also dismaying in the sentence.
Sandov suggested that the suit may have been filed in an act of revenge. Previously, he and fellow Green party members led research and legal battles surrounding Tsotsorkov's alleged intentions to make investments that could double the size of the Asarel Medet. The mining mogul lost these challenges in three instances.
Borislav Sandov (on the right) during eco protests. Personal archive photo, used with permission.
Capital Daily also quoted Boyko Boev, Bulgarian media law expert based in London, who said that “persons participating in events in the public interest may expect reactions on the Internet in relation to their deeds.” He was also quoted explaining that determining the defendant's motive is also a factor in defamation cases. If the statement is related to the professional activity of a person, with the good-will goal to help society, then there should be a higher degree of tolerance by the court. One can assume that this level of tolerance should be applied the case of Borislav Sandov, who most agree is speaking out about a topic of public interest, as it concerns natural environment and public health.
The fact that Sandov's post appeared on Facebook is important too, as many people view the platform as a place where anyone can write anything with impunity. Boev added that:
“Не е ненормално да има дела, които са предмет на публикации във Facebook.Законът никъде не казва, че Facebok е място, където всеки може да пише каквото си иска”.
It is not abnormal to see trials centered around messages posted on Facebook. The law does not state anywhere that Facebook is a place where anyone can write whatever he or she wants.
According to the Bulgarian criminal code, defamation or insult may be distributed via print media “or other means.” Social media in this case are considered to fall into the latter category. Capital reminded readers that in 2014 a woman was ordered to pay a fine of EUR 1.200 and two compensations of over EUR 3700 over allegedly defamatory messages that she posted on Facebook. The woman in the case had posted a message on Facebook in which she accused her former employer of incorrect behavior.
Borislav Sandov. Personal archive.
The proceedings were against Sandov as an individual, who at the same time is a representative of a political party, as Sandov himself pointed out in a statement for Global Voices. He added that it is the first time that a party representative is being sued, although individually, for an activity on social media. Explaining the justification of his speech, Sandov also told Global Voices that:
“Говорим за публични фигури във връзка с които е позволени да си остър по отношение на речта”
We are talking about public figures about whom one is allowed to be sharp in terms of speech.
In a blog post entitled “Insult or a criticism: to the discussion”, the well-known Bulgarian expert in media law Nelly Ognyanova also reflected on the case:
Осъществена е намеса в свободата на изразяване по отношение на политическо слово. Политическо слово според практиката на ЕСПЧ е налице, когато става дума за важни обществени дебати в съвременното общество в най-широк смисъл, включително за опазване на околната среда, за защита на животните, за здравословен начин на живот [ECHR, VGT v. Switzerland, Application no. 24699/94, Judgment 21 June 2001]
Interfering with freedom of expression is an act that relates to political speech. Political speech according to the practice of European Court of Human Rights is constituted by important public debates in the contemporary society in the largest sense, including in relation to the preservation of the environment, protection of animals, for healthy way of life [ECHR, VGT v. Switzerland, Application no. 24699/94].
Ognyanova also added:
Политическото слово има най-висока степен на защита според международните стандарти и може да бъде ограничено на много малък брой основания, свързани с демократичните принципи на управление и с ценностите на демократичните общества.
Political speech has the highest level of protection according to international standards and it can be limited to a very few number of arguments, related to the democratic principles of government and the values of democratic societies.
In the same article analyzing Sandov's case, Capital Daily says that in some countries the judiciary system is already keeping apace with new developments in technology. In the UK for example, the prosecutor's office has received instructions on how to handle trials that are related to public interest issues as they are impacted in online speech, such as cases related to a danger to public security.
While clarifying whether such cases could occur in future, Sandov is now awaiting his next court hearing.

author: Nevena Borisova


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Five Things to Know About the Millions of Dead Fish Washing Up on Vietnam’s Central Coast · Global Voices
Loa

Screenshot of dead fish in Hà Tĩnh in central Việt Nam. Source: Người Việt Online / Youtube
This edited article by Quyên Ngô is from Loa, an independent news website and podcast broadcasting stories about Vietnam, and is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Millions of dead fish are flooding the news in Việt Nam. All the information, speculation, and outrage over what's happening on the central coast can get overwhelming, so let's break it down into five key points.
Local fishermen started noticing masses of dead fish blanketing local beaches in Hà Tĩnh province in early April. Soon, more of these sightings emerged and media reports estimate that more than 70 tons of dead fish have now washed ashore the coasts of four provinces in central Việt Nam. Carcasses of marine life, such as clams and even the occasional whale, are strewn across 125 miles of beaches.
To date, the government has not offered an explanation of the cause, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating. Citizen journalists, scientists, and those affected most — fishermen and their families —have joined in a multitude of attempts to seek answers. Even state media is asking tough questions.
Fingers are pointing at the Formosa Hà Tĩnh Steel Corporation, accusing it of discharging toxic wastewater into the ocean.
The crisis brings into the foreground concerns about environmental degradation, food safety, and lax or unenforced business regulation. Those who rely on the water and fish for their livelihoods are bearing the brunt of this ecological disaster.
While a definite link between Formosa’s wastewater and the fish deaths has not been established, locals point to a host of circumstantial evidence.
According to Lao Động newspaper, on April 4 a local diver found the steel mill’s discharge pipe spewing dark yellow water. Two days later, the first waves of dead fish began to wash ashore, and locals noticed a yellow substance in the ocean water. Later in April, Đất Việt newspaper reported that divers working on contract for Formosa ended up being hospitalized after diving in the water near the plant. One diver died.
Formosa spokesman Chu Xuân Phàm tipped his hand in an interview with VTC14, when the reporter presented him with the observation many local fishermen had made: The previously plentiful waters have become devoid of any marine life since the arrival of the wastewater treatment system. His response enraged many.
Many times in life, people have to make a choice: either to catch and sell fish, or to develop the steel industry. We cannot have both.
Phàm was fired a few days after the interview, while people across Việt Nam declared: “Tôi chọn cá”, meaning “I choose fish.“
In 2009, Formosa was shamed by environment watchdog Ethecon for its poor environmental record, including dumping hazardous chemicals into the Mississippi River, and leaving mercury-laced waste at their seaport in Cambodia.
My choice too! pic.twitter.com/KkpxZYXnvb
— Truong Viet Hung (@tvhung) May 4, 2016
The grievances from citizens in this crisis range from frustration over lack of accountability, to real fear over survival.
A local fisherman lambasted officials, telling the Saigon Broadcasting Television Network the government does not value the lives of their own people.
People have died, fish have died. And those of us who are alive are being told to ‘go swim in the water, go eat the fish, it’s fine’. Clearly they don’t look at us as people, but animals. They want us to die with the fish. They look at Formosa as gods. The foreign investment benefits them as a whole and as individuals.
Social media has exploded over the crisis. A “We The People” petition calling for an independent investigation garnered over 100,000 signatures within 48 hours, just ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit to Việt Nam. As online action caught fire, so did offline uproar.
Protests started at the end of April in the central region, first in Quảng Bình, then in Huế. Then starting last week, in Sài Gòn and Hà Nội thousands took to the streets to demand answers, accountability, and transparency.
Two prominent former prisoners of conscience, Trương Minh Tam and Chu Mạnh Sơn, were arrested as they attempted to report on the crisis. Both have been released.
On May 6 and 7, citizens once again took to the streets to demonstrate. On May 8, protests in Hà Nội and Sài Gòn were shut down within an hour. Scores of peaceful protesters were shuffled onto police buses and sent to detention centers. Others were forcefully split up, pepper sprayed, and beaten.
Fish has sustained humanity forever: you cannot eat steel. #toichonca #iChooseFish pic.twitter.com/sq3BSOjQ1l
— Phillip Charlier (@phillipcharlier) April 29, 2016
Environment Minister Trần Hồng Hà declared the waste pipe illegal after officials examined water samples around the site, but there have still been no announcements at the national level to address neither the cause nor the call for an independent investigation. Hà also apologized on behalf of the Ministry of Environment for its passivity, but both his higher up and his deputy were on a different page.
General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng received criticism after visiting Formosa’s board of directors in Hà Tĩnh to check on ongoing projects without visiting victims or publicly addressing the fish deaths.
Meanwhile, Environment Minister Deputy Võ Tuấn Nhân evaded questions from state media.
Following public outcry over lack of answers, in the central provinces the government has banned the use of the dead fish as food or animal feed, but many locals are concerned that without any oversight the carcasses may still be processed into fish sauce.
Some people are stocking up on fish sauce, in fear that future batches will carry toxic traces. National broadcaster VTV reports that at one Coopmart in Đà Nẵng, the supermarket sold out of its stock of fish sauce, salts, and canned fish for multiple days in a row. The supermarket’s deputy director told state media that fish purchases have tanked and people are now buying more poultry.
For ordinary citizens, the demand for these items is in line with their anxiety over food safety, health and well-being.
As national tension and international attention grows, the Vietnamese government is under scrutiny not only in how it addresses the people’s demand for accountability, but also how it handles the public outcry. And it doesn’t look like the protests are dying down.
Fish deaths have become personal in Việt Nam.
Listen to the podcast about the dead fish issue:

author: Loa


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Indonesians Light Candles and Seek Justice for Murdered Teenage Rape Victim · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

For nearly a month, the public ignored news of a 13-year-old Indonesian girl being raped by 14 men and murdered last April. Activists and feminist groups subsequently launched a social media campaign calling for justice, finally forcing the issue into the spotlight, and sparking a national discussion about ending sexual violence against women and children.
Indonesians in central Java region light candle for Yuyun. Photo by Forum Pengada Layanan. Source: @CuteTiel, used with permission
Yuyun, who was a top student in her class, was found dead with her hands tied at a rubber plantation. Twelve of the suspected rapists have now been arrested, but two are still at large. Most of the suspects are also minors like Yuyun which means they will receive a 10-year jail sentence if found guilty.
The hashtag #nyalauntukyuyun (“Light a candle for Yuyun”) was used enjoining the public to light a candle and demand justice for the young girl.
Internet users shared their sympathies for Yuyun's family, and Indonesian President Jokowi also vowed to arrest the perpetrators:
Kita semua berduka atas kepergian YY yg tragis. Tangkap & hukum pelaku seberat2nya. Perempuan & anak2 harus dilindungi dari kekerasan -Jkw
— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) May 4, 2016
We're all saddened by the tragic loss of YY. The perpetrators must be arrested and receive maximum punishment. Women and children must be protected from violence.
Many also urged for the passage of the Elimination of Sexual Violence bill:
Merunut #NyalaUntukYuyun.
Semoga kamu abadi dalam damai.
Semoga kematianmu membawa perubahan & menyelamatkan perempuan2 lain.
— Alissa Wahid (@AlissaWahid) May 2, 2016
Peace be with you in the next life. May your death bring change and help save other women.
Aksi solidaritas tuk Yuyun #NyalaUntukYy Stop Kekerasan thd perempuan! Brs Panti asuhan pengajian Al Faqieh Cimalaka pic.twitter.com/85QcQ5U6EC
— maman imanulhaq (@kang_maman72) May 6, 2016
Solidarity for Yuyun. Stop violence against women.
Petisi · Komisi VIII DPR RI: URGENT! Desak Pembahasan UU Penghapusan kekerasan Seksual. #YuyunAdalahKita https://t.co/L2HX5R2tLP
— Ulin Yusron (@ulinyusron) May 3, 2016
Petition for the Commission VII of the House of Representatives to urgently pass the Sexual Violence Eradication Law.
Despite the outpouring of messages of compassion for Yuyun's family, there are also those who chose to accuse the victim for somehow provoking the men to rape and murder her.
Diana Nurwidiastuti, a sex-harassment victim, deplored this attitude:
Karena kita masih sering memandang hina korban pemerkosaan. Karena kita masih menyalahkan tampilan korban, mengkambinghitamkan rok mini sebagai godaan tak tertahankan. Karena kita masih berpikir korban pemerkosaan juga menikmati seks yang dipaksakan. Karena kita tidak memberikan dukungan kepada korban untuk melawan. Karena kita yakin bahwa korban sodomi kelak akan menjadi pelaku yang melahirkan pelaku-pelaku lain dan itu adalah lingkaran setan. Dan karena kita masih menganggap pelecehan seksual adalah musibah dan aib yang perlu disembunyikan.
Because we often look down at rape victims. Because we still blame their appearance, a miniskirt becomes a scapegoat that triggers irresistible temptation. Because we still believe that rape victims enjoy forced sex. Because we encourage victims not to fight back. Because we believe that sodomized victims will one day create other perpetrators and that it's a vicious cycle. And we still believe that sexual harassment is a misfortune and a taboo that should be forgotten.
Others blamed alcohol for the cause of rape. Former minister Tifatul Sembiring from the Islamist party believes that, instead of passing the Anti-Sexual Violence bill, what is more urgent is the proposed anti-liquor law:
Minuman keras itu induk dr segala kejahatan. Bukti sdh banyak: Perkosaan, pembunuhan, tabrak lari, bunuh isteri. Dukung RUU Larangan Miras.!
— Tifatul Sembiring (@tifsembiring) May 7, 2016
Alcohol is the root of all evil. Plenty of evidence around us: rape, murder, hit and run, murder of wife. Support the anti Liquor Law.
Crimes against minors are almost always treated as domestic crimes and often go underreported in Indonesia. News about human trafficking and violence against minors mostly appears in local publications and rarely generates wide national attention.
Last year, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission said that between 2010 and 2014 there are more than 21 million reported case of human rights violations against children, 58 percent of which were sexual crimes. Meanwhile, Indonesia's National Commission on Violence Against Women recorded 16,217 cases of violence against women in 2015.

author: Juke Carolina


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Macedonia’s Government Is Subsidizing Bad Patriotic Rock Music and People Aren’t Happy · Global Voices
Marko Angelov

Screenshot of Macedonia taxpayer's subsidized video clip Amanet by Simeon Ivanov-Kango, showing the number of likes and dislikes on May 12, 2016.
Macedonian citizens have been enraged to learn that their government subsidizes and publishes rock music using taxpayer money. The government is financing the production of various kinds of domestic pop music with about 200,000 euros (roughly $228,000) per year, handing out several thousands of euros at a time to different artists to produce songs and music videos.
The selection involves categories such as “compositions that affirm the history of Macedonia” and “compositions that affirm family values and families with multiple children.”
In addition to requiring the music to be suitable to critics have described as a right-wing ideology, recipients of government grants have to qualify as bona fide “stars,” which requires “proving” this status by informing a state committee of how many albums they've released, concerts they've performed, and so on. The competition is managed by the Public Broadcasting Service MRTV, through a special commission.
Whistleblowing former commission member Kosta Karev blogged that applicants were not actually required to provide evidence for these claims. He also wrote:
Навистина ми се одвратни секаквите непринципиелни договарања, калкулациите на нечија штета и релациите мој-твој кои ги има насекаде во нашето општество па ги имаше и во работата на комисијата во која учествував. Да, причина за таквите постапувања се наоѓаат во нашиот менталитет. Но во конкретниот случај вината е и во правните недоречености и неосмислености на Законот за поддршка на домашната музичка продукција, а и во неговата лоша реализација.
I am really disturbed by all these unprincipled deals, calculations made at others’ expense, and various interpersonal relations that affect all facets of our society, and also the work of the commission. Yes, you can blame our mentality for that. But in this particular case, the guilt belongs to legal loopholes and inconsistencies in the Law for Support of Domestic Music Production, and its bad implementation.
Another former committee member, Simeon Ivanov-Kango, received 9,000 euros in subsidies to produce two songs. When one of his songs was published on YouTube, there was a public uproar, citing the video's low quality, as well as the potential of the government's project to encourage self-censorship among artists and other public figures.
Kango is a middle-aged musician who never enjoyed much commercial success either domestically or abroad, but he's been making music since the 1980s, imitating Jimi Hendrix and claiming to be a “rock prophet.” He applied and won in the “star” category.
Within a day, Kango's video on YouTube, titled  “Amanet” (an archaic word meaning “Legacy” or “Testament”), attracted more than 1,000 “dislikes” by users. Within two weeks, the number of “dislikes” grew to almost 4,000, with only over a hundred “likes.”
The song Amanet basically has no rhyme, and its lyrics are basically a list of keywords considered to be “patriotic” that often appear in government propaganda. The author and performer has been a long-time supporter of the ruling party. The song is about his syncretistic beliefs: a mix of a Balkan nationalism and mysticism, combining paganism and Christianity, with revelations about the importance of Macedonia in human history.
Лавот македонски светот ќе го спаси
како Александар Велики зло ќе победи…
The Macedonian Lion will save the world
He will defeat evil like Alexander the Great…
Macedonian citizens voiced their dissatisfaction on online social networks. The video was filmed at the epicenter of the Skopje 2014 project, which imposed “baroque” and neoclassicist architecture on the center of Skopje, adhering to the former prime minister's wish to make the city “more European.” Referring to this, Twitter user Ann Bannann wrote:
Канго воведе нов музички правец: ба-рок.
— Ann (@Ann_Bannann) May 1, 2016
Kango introduced a new musical genre: ba-rock.
A satirical article on Mojo.mk listed the song's various winning qualities, from improving the self-confidence of young musicians (“You can't make anything worse”) to promoting certain health benefits (like using the song as a remedy for constipation).

author: Marko Angelov


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Striking Google Satellite Photos Show Landslide Damage in Japan After Earthquakes · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Before and after of multiple landslides on Mount Aso, Japan. Images from Google Earth blog.
The Google Earth blog (which is not affiliated with Google) has posted aerial imagery from Google that shows how parts of Japan were affected by landslides during the Kumamoto earthquakes of April 14, 15 and 16, 2016:
For example, we can see aerial imagery of the slopes of Mt Aso captured on April 15th, and again on April 16th showing that a large number of landslides took place between the images being captured.
The series of major earthquakes, including a powerful 7.0 magnitude quake, hit the southwestern island of Kyushu hit Kumamoto Prefecture the hardest.
Damage from the earthquakes is easy to spot from the air, and is now visible in Google Earth.
The Google Earth blog has assembled some before-and-after comparisons that provide some stunning examples of the size and scope of the earthquake.
A bridge and road in Minami Aso township, east of Kumamoto.
A bridge and road destroyed by a landslide in Minami Aso township, east of Kumamoto.
More satellite images taken during the Kumamoto earthquakes can be seen here.


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For Long-Suffering Refugees, a Three-Star Respite in Athens · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Ali Jaffari and his wife, Wajiha, and son Shayan, 4, eat dinner in their room while their other son naps. Together they traveled from Afghanistan to Greece, hoping to make their way to Germany. Now they are stuck in Greece. Credit: Jodi Hilton/Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Used with permission.
This article by Jeanne Carstensen originally appeared on PRI.org on May 9, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
There’s nothing like putting your feet up at a nice hotel after a long journey.
Ali Jaffari made the long trek from Afghanistan to Athens. After the Taliban abducted and threatened to kill Ali because he had worked as an interpreter for the US and British military, the computer scientist fled his hometown of Kandahar with his wife and two young sons.
Using all the money he got from selling his house and all his belongings, he paid smugglers to take them first to Pakistan, then Iran, Turkey and, finally, Greece. They walked for 16 hours in a foot of snow crossing the mountainous border between Iran and Turkey. The overcrowded dinghy they took across the Aegean from Turkey to the Greek island of Samos almost sank.
Tears rolled down his wife Wajiha’s cheek as he recounts the horrifying boat experience. The couple doesn’t know how to swim. As a Turkish Coast Guard vessel circled their dinghy, creating large waves, they thought they and their two sons, 4 and 2 years old, were going to drown.
When they finally arrived in Athens in mid March, exhausted, the EU-Turkey deal on migration went through and the Balkan route north closed down. Their path to their desired asylum in Germany was blocked. The family, along with 54,000 other refugees and migrants, was stuck in Greece.
There was no hotel waiting for the exhausted travelers. At Ellinikó camp outside of Athens, Ali and the family slept in a flimsy tent on hard ground. There were only a few bathrooms for several thousand people and the food was bad. The children got sick.
Then a week ago Ali got a call. It was Nikos, a Greek man he had met one day a month ago in a park. Nikos said he had a solution for Ali — a three-star hotel in downtown Athens. “I was worried it was a scam, so I left my family at the camp and went to see the place,” Ali said.
We were sitting on the floor, Afghan style, enjoying a meal of pasta, chicken and salad in room #532 of the City Plaza Hotel in downtown Athens. The 2-year-old napped peacefully on one of the beds while his big brother played with stuffed animals.
It wasn’t a scam after all. Finally, after their long ordeal, Ali and his family could relax.
“We want to build another society. It seems a little idealist,” Nasim Lomani told me, laughing gently. “Maybe we can’t change the world, but we can change our neighborhood, we can change ourselves.”
Two weeks ago, Nasim and a coalition of dozens of activists in Athens occupied the City Plaza Hotel, a modern seven-story structure with 110 rooms in central Athens that has been closed for seven years, a casualty of the Greek economic crisis.
Yes, City Plaza is a squat. The activists broke into the building, which had all the furniture in place from its heyday during the 2004 Olympics, and invited a few of the 54,000 refugees currently stuck in Greece to take up residence. As of this writing, authorities have done nothing to evict the new occupants. Owner Aliki Papachela has, understandably, condemned the action.
We walk through the appealing lobby of wood and tile to reception, where room keys sit brightly in their individual cubbies. It could be a hotel anywhere, except, perhaps, for the high concentration of young children running up and down the stairs and the huge handwritten chore charts hanging on the walls.
Room keys at the City Plaza Hotel in central Athens, which was abandoned for years starting during Greece's financial crisis, and was recently taken by activists to accommodate refugees. Credit: Jodi Hilton/Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Used with permission.
Nasim, who arrived in Greece as a refugee himself more than a decade ago, explained that volunteers and refugees work together to clean the facility and cook three meals a day. There are currently 320 residents, refugees, who like Ali, were suffering in camps with inadequate services for long-term living. Many of the guests are families with children or other vulnerable refugees, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women or disabled people.
According to research by the Solidarity2refugees activists, there are at least 4,000 unoccupied public buildings in Athens. They hope that the Greek government and the local population will draw some kind of inspiration from the City Plaza Hotel project.  “This problem isn't only about refugees,” Nasim said. “Thousands of Greeks are homeless and these buildings could be used to host homeless people no matter if they are refugees or Greeks or anyone.”
Whether occupation of private property is a viable model to deal with the complicated crisis now engulfing Greece, the new incarnation of the City Plaza Hotel is thriving for now.
Nasim points out that the most pressing issue for many refugees, especially women, isn’t getting asylum, but having safe access to a clean bathroom, something that is sorely lacking in the refugee camps around Greece. Not only do the current guests at the City Plaza have rooms with bathrooms, they have their dignity restored.
But just like Hotel California, City Plaza in Athens could be heaven or it could be hell.
None of the 320 refugees fortunate enough to be staying there actually want to be guests. The severe economic crisis in Greece makes the country undesirable for refugees hoping to jump-start new lives for themselves and their families.  With Greek unemployment hovering at 25 percent and a new slate of austerity measures about to kick in, what are the prospects for new arrivals?
Many are trying to avail themselves of their right to apply for asylum. But all of the refugees I spoke to, albeit an unscientific survey of maybe six groups I ran into randomly in the dining room, complained that the Skype system they were told to use to set up an asylum appointment wasn’t working. Nasim said that speakers of Arabic, Farsi and other other refugee languages have a narrow window of only a few hours per week on Skype to try to connect with asylum authorities.
As for Ali, he’s one content father. For now.
“I am so happy now to see my children relaxed and comfortable. But I am praying that the UN will take us out of this condition. Open the borders and close the camps and this hotel.”

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Kyrgyz Musicians Deliver a Stirring Rendition of Game of Thrones’ Opening Theme · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Screenshot from YouTube video uploaded by Zanoza.kg.
Games of Thrones and Kyrgyzstan share a lot in common — poetic landscapes, fantastic costumes and a tradition of political turbulence predicated on a divide between northern and southern powerbrokers.
Now Kyrgyz musicians from the Folklore-Ethnographic troupe Ordo Sakhna have delivered the viral show's opening music as never heard before, in a performance arranged by local media outlet Zanoza.kg and the country office of Washington-based media development donor Internews.
Independence saw a revived interest in the Central Asian country's traditional instruments, none more so than the komuz, which is a regular fixture in Kyrgyz households and a favourite at national concerts marking important occasions.
Kyrgyz musical instruments featuring on the one som note that has since been withdrawn from circulation.
But even during Soviet times, the national affection for the instrument was well-known, as demonstrated in the following passage from legendary Kyrgyz author Chingiz Aitmatov's book the Girl in the Red Scarf:
Over the radio came a tune I knew, played on the komuz. It was a Kyrgyz song which always made me think of a lonely horseman riding through the twilit steppe. He has a long journey before him, the steppe is vast, he can think at leisure and softly sing a song, sing on what is in his heart. A man has many things to think over when he is alone, when the only sound in the stillness about him is the rhythmic thud of his horse’s hoofs. The strings of the komuz rang gently, like water rippling over smooth, clean stones . The komuz sang of the sun setting behind the hills, of the cool blueness sweeping stealthily over the ground, and of the wormwood and yellow feather grass stirring and swaying, shedding their pollen on the sun-baked road. The steppe would listen to the rider and sing with him…
For more on traditional Kyrgyz music, Dennis Keen's blog KeenonKyrgyzstan is an excellent English language resource.

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


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Lower Castes in India Are Still Clearing Human Waste With Their Bare Hands, Despite Laws Against It · Global Voices
Rezwan

Manual scavenging is illegal in India but the practice continues to exist. This woman in the Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh carries human waste for disposal. Image courtesy UNICEF India.
About one billion people, or 15 percent of the global population, practice open defecation and a large portion of them are in India. Much of the poor hygiene practiced in India is deeply influenced by the country's discriminatory caste system. Due to the lack of proper drainage systems, manual scavenging (cleaning human waste by hand) was designated to the lowest caste Dalits, earning them the name “the untouchables”. After decades of campaigning and improving sanitation systems, in 2013 Indian lawmakers passed the Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, criminalising the practice of employing individuals to clean manually, carry, dispose of, or handle human excreta from dry latrines, open drains, or pits and sewers.
According to a report by the Asian Human Rights Commission in 2015, however, many rural households in India continue to engage in manual scavenging, finding that the continued practice has less to do with poverty than with enduring caste-based discrimination.
Sanjay Kumar Chaudhary writes at Countercurrents:
Manual scavengers are among the most excluded and exploited communities among the Dalits. They are considered to be the lowest in Hindu caste hierarchy and, therefore, suffer multiple forms of discrimination and social exclusion at the hand of caste Hindus and the state's functionaries. They are found in almost all cities of India—where they sweep the streets and manually engage in carrying night-soil. Women from these communities are the worst victims as they constitute more than eighty per cent of workforce of manual scavengers. Apart from the social stigma that they suffer, their work is low-paid. Further, it causes various health problems, those who engage in this work being exposed to the most virulent forms of viral and bacterial infections that affect their skin, eyes, limbs, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems.
A ground report produced by the international media and human rights organisation Video Volunteers reveals that the practice continues unabated in Gujarat, which earlier declared itself free from manual scavenging.
In the video above uploaded by Video Volunteers, three young manual scavengers on Surendranagar Street in Dhangadra town, in Gujarat, can be seen entering chest-deep into a sewer without any protective gear: no gloves, no masks, and no machines. They are unaware that the Dhangadra Municipality, their employer, is legally bound to provide them with safety gear.
As per the Video Volunteers report:
When visual evidence was presented to Charuben Mori, the Chief Executive Officer of the Dhangadra Municipality, she refused to take cognizance of it and said, “We don’t endorse or promote illegal practices such as manual scavenging.” On being asked why safai karmacharis weren’t provided safety gear, Mori refused to take responsibility and instead, shifted the blame onto the contractors saying,
“These are not our employees so we do not know about their working conditions. They are employed by the contractors”. The law is clear that a person cannot be directly or indirectly (under contract) employed for unprotected cleaning of sewers.
Activists have launched a petition urging the government of Gujarat to take punitive action against the officials responsible.

author: Rezwan


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A Hub for African Digital Art, From Science Fiction Maasai Warriors to Star Wars Re-Imagined in Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jepchumba, the creator of African Digital Art. Image from her Twitter account (@digitalafrican).
African Digital Art is a website that celebrates African art, design and technology:
Created and developed by Jepchumba, the platform covers a wide range of artistic production from audio/visual production, animation, interactive projects, web, film, graphic art and design. Our focus is on artistic work or practices that utilize digital technology as an essential part of the creative, presentation or distribution process.
The creator of the site, Jepchumba, is a Kenyan digital artist who combines her two passions, digital media and Africa:
Originally from Kenya, she has lived around the world developing her interest in philosophy, art and technology. An African digital artist, Jepchumba loves experimenting with motion, sound and various digital effects and techniques and has an extensive background in digital art, web design and development, audio/visual production and social media strategies.
Below are a few of the African digital art works that have been shared on the website.
This work was designed by Rodrigo Galdino, a car designer for VW Design Center in California, USA.
He describes the thinking behind his design:
What if after an human annihilation by a lethal virus brought by aliens, the only survivors were the beautiful and strong Maasai people? What if they learned the technology left behind by [the aliens] after their evacuation, and merged into their culture, without loosing their identity and beliefs? How would it look like? All of it inside the Star Wars universe/ design language.
Kendario La’Pierre experiments with digital techniques ranging from digital collage, photography and animation. The work below is titled Beyond Reach:
3D artist Evgeny Rusolovski drew inspiration from Africa to reimagine Star Wars in 3D African character designs:
Nobody knows, was he born from sand melted with sunrays, or made an appearance where the sun have the other name. When he appeared, he gave people the chance to understand the language of birds and animals, to hear the whisper of wind and the song of the water. He brought the knowledge.
Nowadays he is God, statuesque idol from wood, bone and iron. He rests, tranquil and quiescent. Awaits when you will strain ears.
Daniela Yohannes is an Eritrean/Ethiopian Paris-based artist who combines painting, collage and illustration techniques to explore the invisible:
My work explores themes of new myth, the dream world, the supernatural and the cosmos. I’m inquiring into the unknown, making the characters in my paintings confront the void, and enter it. I rely on my intuition and dreams as a direct source of storytelling.
My paintings allow me to explore fictional narratives, enabling me to remove all concrete limitation and boundaries. I paint characters that are facets of myself, but not earthbound. In this way I truly liberate myself from social constructs. I am drawn to the threshold between life and death and my paintings often project this great duality.
BlackSage: The Rising is a graphic novel created by Sola Adebayo and written by Bill Bidiaque on the theme of fighting corruption in Nigeria:
Black Sage hunts down corrupt citizens of Nigeria and offers them the opportunity to make things right. When they don’t, he delivers judgement-day to them on earth. The world of Black Sage is one of justice and immediate judgement. There are no second chances with him.
Finally, Justice has arrived
He’s been long awaited
and he’s got a plan to liberate Nigeria.
Support Black Sage as he tackles
the electric power situation in our nation
Terence ‘Tako’ Maluleke is an illustrator, animator and digital artist from South Africa:
I absolutely love digital art, it allows you to do things that would be impossible in traditional work. Programs like Photoshop and Autodesk Sketchbook have a layering system that make drawing super convenient, not to mention the ‘undo’ button – I’d be nothing without (Crtl Z). Digital art is big part of my life. My mood is most determined by the last thing I drew, if my last drawing was good I will be happy for the rest of the day and if it was a bad drawing, well, then talk to me at you own risk.
Visit the African Digital Art website for more beautiful and creative artworks.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Why Twitter Users in Quito Can’t Stop Talking About Orange Juice · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Je suis orange juice. Image obtained from a tweet by @luciadelafuente.
In Quito, the capital of Ecuador, it's not uncommon to see people selling fresh-pressed orange juice from informal stands set up on the street. Recently, they've even come to have their own hashtags in Quito's Twittersphere.
Why? On 4 May the city's health ministry released the results of an analysis of 35 samples of informal orange juice sales from around Quito. Their report found that “32% of these samples did not meet the standards for human consumption”.
The analysis showed the existence of enterobacteriaceae or other harmful microorganisms, and the ministry recommended that people avoid consuming the juice or assure that the vendor has taken the adequate sanitary measures before doing so.
Twitter users in Quito reacted to the news with humour. Some linked the news to Ecuador's other problems, boasted of their own robust health or simply declared their love of orange juice.
Compran el juguito de naranja al joven de la esquina y luego la sistalgina a la farmacia del vecino,reactivan la economía, todos felices.
— Cuco (@DonCuquito) May 3, 2016
Buy orange juice from the young guy on the corner and then medicine at the neighbourhood pharmacy, reactivate the economy, everyone's happy.
Yo no como cuentos, el juguito de naranja rocks! #Quitopic.twitter.com/BmyPK2NNaS
— Valeria Solorzano (@ValerySolorzano) May 4, 2016
Image: After I've survived:
- Ceviche from a bucket
– 25-cent merengues
– 5-cent ice blocks
– Norteño liquor with 220V energy drink
– Flavoured bootleg liquor
– Switch [ready-mixed alcoholic drink]
– Hard liquor with Nestea
– Seabass ceviche from the street
– How drunk I got on my birthday
They try to tell me a little orange juice will do me harm.
Tweet: I'm not falling for that story, orange juice rocks!
Yo me he mandado switch a mis 16 años, tomarme un juguito de naranja de la calle me va a hacer inmortal #JugoDeNaranja
— Carolina Granja (@carolina_XGR) May 4, 2016
I drank switch when I was 16, drinking street orange juice will make me immortal #OrangeJuice
Si sobreviví al Socialismo del siglo XXI, el juguito de naranja callejero es ameba….
— Jorge Peñafiel (@joranpece) May 4, 2016
If I survived 21st century socialism, street orange juice is an amoeba…
Un juguito de naranja después de un peloteo pega full y si esta heladito mejor #Quito#Riobamba@elcomerciocompic.twitter.com/Ty4r8PCVcw
— Robert L. Gallegos J (@boblen1972) May 5, 2016
Image: I survived orange juice.
Tweet: An orange juice after a game of football is the best and if it's nice and cold even better
The hashtag #ISupportYouOrangeJuiceVendor was also used to post memes and various opinions on the issue. Some took aim at El Comercio, a newspaper that relayed the news of the health ministry's analysis:
Ud. mismo puede testificar su elaboración; el comerciante lo prepara ese momento #YoteApoyoNaranjero#Quitopic.twitter.com/ZEvzEw32c0
— Darío Terán Pazmiño (@darioteran) May 3, 2016
Facebook post: It's up to all of us who live in Quito to decide if we pay attention to the tabloid media or not; just as it's up to informal vendors to adapt their small businesses to healthy conditions that are actually more appealing (the only option). In my case I drank an orange juice and nothing happened. In the middle of an economic recession and a national disaster there are those who wish to attack these enterprises without first complimenting them and even giving them ideas for improvement. Remember that when we buy orange juice we support families from Quito, families from the coast who plant and harvest the oranges, not to mention how good it is to substitute processed products with a natural one.
Image: #elComercioVersusOrangeJuice
Tweet: You can witness its preparation yourself; the vendor prepares it right there #ISupportYouOranjeJuiceVendor
VAMOS NARANJEROS!!!!#YoTeApoyoNaranjeropic.twitter.com/3oiTfbfxAz
— Alvaro Avila Simpson (@alvaroavila3) May 3, 2016
Image: Support your orange juice vendor. Don't fall for it. Sugary drinks are more dangerous than street orange juice…
Tweet: LET'S GO ORANGE JUICE VENDORS!!!! #ISupportYouOrangeJuiceVendor
Me uno a la campaña en defensa del #JugoDeNaranja en Ecuador! #YoTeApoyoNaranjeropic.twitter.com/7vRDsKcWFk
— Lucía de la Fuente (@luciadelafuente) May 4, 2016
I'm joining the campaign to defend #OrangeJuice in Ecuador!
News channel PublimetroTV talked to Quito residents about the issue, and most of those interviewed agreed that the hygiene conditions at orange juice stands are not the best. It should be mentioned, however, that they also confessed to never having tried orange juice purchased from a street vendor.

author: Juan Arellano


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Ethiopian Blogger and Activist Sentenced to Five Years and Four Months · Global Voices
T Tekle

Photo-based graphic of Zelalem Workagegnehu by Melody Sundberg. Image used with permission.
After a long trial driven by controversy the Ethiopian Federal High Court sentenced young Ethiopian blogger and activist Zelalem Workagegnehu to five years and four months in prison.
Zelalem is a human rights advocate and a scholar who regularly contributed to the diaspora-run website DeBirhan.
He is expected to appeal the decision.
Currently Zelalem is being held in Kilinto prison in the capital Addis Ababa.
However, his family and friends fear he will be transferred to Ziway prison, some 160 kilometers south of the Ethiopian capital.
On April 15, the Ethiopian Federal High Court acquitted two of Zelalem's co-defendants Yoantan Wolde and Bahiru Degu, who spent more than 600 days incarcerated on terrorism charges critics allege were politically motivated.
Zelalem Workagenehu, however, was found guilty of “supporting terror” for an alleged link to Ginbot 7 Movement, a pro-democracy political party founded by Professor Berhanu Nega and labelled as a “terrorist organisation” by the Ethiopian government in 2010.
He was charged with conspiring to overthrow the government (he helped facilitate a course on digital security) and disseminating false information (he wrote regularly for diaspora-run websites that remain one of the true sources of reliable information on events in Ethiopia).
The judge reportedly said he was guilty of recruiting members to start an Arab-Spring-like revolution in Ethiopia and co-facilitating a digital security course that the state prosecutor understood as “a course to terrorize Ethiopia.”
Zelalem along with nine others were accused under Ethiopia's Anti-Terror Proclamation, which was adopted in July 2009. State officials defend the law, saying it is modelled on existing legislation in countries such as the United Kingdom.
Zelalem was initially charged in October 2014, along with a group of nine other defendants that included Internet users, opposition politicians, and activists. So far, seven people in this group have been acquitted after spending more than a year in jail.
Zelalem and his co-defendants told the court that they had experienced extensive torture in detention.
While in detention, Zelalem was forced to sign confession letters. As a result of beatings and torture, Zelalem says he is now suffering from a severe eye pain.

author: T Tekle


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Kyrgyzstan Embraces Google Street View · Global Voices
Eurasianet

Kyrgyzstan's famous Lake Issyk-Kul. Google Street View photo taken from Kloop.kg.
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org. Republished with permission.
Kyrgyzstan has become the first country in Central Asia to get Google Street View, although prospective visitors need not think this comes even close to a substitute for the real thing.
The project to extend Street View to Kyrgyzstan was unveiled at a cultural center in the town of Cholpon-Ata, which lies on Issyk-Kul lake, a regional tourist magnet.
“Now users of Google Maps all over the world can take virtual trips along Kyrgyz roads and discover tourist attractions online. Among other things, Google technicians took images of exceptional cultural and historic sights like the Burana Towers, the Maiden Tears waterfall, the holy mountain of Suleiman-Too (in Osh), Fairy Tale Valley, the petroglyphs at Cholpon-Ata and other places,” Google representative Tilik Mamutov said on his Facebook account.
While touting this as an opportunity to see Kyrgyzstan from afar, Google says this will help boost tourism.
“You’ll be able to discover where to find a gas station, check out what a place looks like. And when a foreign tourist arrives in a certain place they can find a hotel or a restaurant on their phone,” Google representative Oleg Yakymchuk said in remarks cited by TengriNews.
Lenin is still standing in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital. Google Street View photo taken from Kloop.kg.
That might be slightly overstating the case, however. Eateries out of the main cities and off the beaten track tend to be pretty lo-fi affairs  and the idea of them being listed on Google Maps is, well, a bit of a stretch. Until users start submitting that kind of information themselves, that is.
Yakymchuk said work putting together the Kyrgyzstan Street View has taken one and half years to complete. Taking pictures in the hundreds of locations featured on the interactive map took two months.
Burana tower, one of traditionally nomadic Kyrgyzstan's few historical monuments. Google Street View photo taken from Kloop.kg.
The achievement is indeed impressive. Covering the main roads may not have been especially challenging, but Google did go to some relatively out-of-the-way locations, such as the high-altitude Song-Kul lake.
Google was given a helping hand by the government in completing its mission. In 2014, then-Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbayev ordered that the list of locations to be included in Street View should be expanded, an evident recognition of the initiative’s potential.

author: Eurasianet


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South Africa Is Telling Some Radio Stations They Need to Play Almost All Local Music · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

South African Afro-fusion band Freshlyground performs in 2011. Photo by Flickr user firesika. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This article by Kierran Petersen originally appeared on PRI.org on May 12, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
South Africa’s national broadcaster, SABC, is introducing a new quota system that requires 90 percent of the music on its stations to be the work of “local” musicians.
The quota is meant to promote local artists and celebrate South Africa’s culture, including the country’s 11 different languages. But what exactly is “local”? That's hard to say.
More than 30 million people tune in to one of the 18 different radio stations that SABC operates. The quota doesn’t apply to the country’s commercial radio stations.
“This has been a long time coming,” says Pumza Fihlani, a BBC online correspondent based in Johannesburg. “A lot of local artists have been calling for this decision to come to pass, and they’re certainly happy that it’s happened. They feel like it’s a chance to introduce themselves to a different audience.”
Hip-hop artist Siyabonga Metane, better known as Slikour, told Radio 702 the decision was like the music industry’s version of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.
Fihlani says the SABC is trying to show that South African artists can compete on the same footing as international artists. Even non-musicians are celebrating the announcement because it’s an opportunity to listen to a different type of music, as well the as the music they grew up with.
The quota will be in place for a trial period of three months. And the end of the trial, the SABC will look at its data to see if listeners liked how much local music the stations were playing.
“It’s going to take some adjusting for some people who are used to listening to your Beyoncés, your Justin Biebers, on a regular basis, to now being introduced to local artists and that being an active push,” Fihlani says.
The SABC said there will be a special focus on jazz, gospel and kwaito — a genre of music that fuses house music, reggae and hip hop — but there are some vague aspects to the quota. For instance, it’s unclear whether music from other parts of the continent would be considered local or international. Fihlani says there needs to be more clarity on that, but mostly people are just excited to get the chance to hear more local artists.
Down the road, a similar quota system may be applied to the television stations run by SABC. In July, Fihlani says, television stations will be pushing to put more locally produced content on air.
“It’s also part of opening up the local industry and making sure there’s a market for stuff that’s locally produced,” she says.


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Taking Back Japan, One History Textbook at a Time? · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Elementary school graduation ceremony in Japan. Photo by Nevin Thompson.
After spending most of the past 20 years living in Japan, to me 2015 seemed like a turning point for the country. 70 years after the end of World War II, and despite massive demonstrations all over the country, in September 2015 Japan's ruling coalition, led by Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), used cloture to force the implementation of new security laws that will allow Japan to engage in military action outside of the country. Thanks to this new legislation, Japan effectively renounced 70 years of pacifism and can now go to war again.
For many of my friends—long-term “foreign” residents with deep connections to and equally deep knowledge of Japan—the Abe government's relentless effort to “make Japan great again” was like a nightmare come true. The country we had all come to love seems like it might be disappearing, leading us to ask whether our children will have a future here.
The forced passage of the new security legislation was simply the most striking example of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's steady attempt, over the past three years, to incrementally shift Japan rightward. Abe is perhaps the first prime minister to directly and loudly criticize the media, and has been accused of trying to turn NHK, Japan's nominally impartial national broadcaster, into a government mouthpiece that promotes the current Japanese position on regional territorial disputes with South Korea, Russia, China and Taiwan.
“Let's take back Japan.” LDP. Image widely shared on social media.
For the 20 years following the end of Japan's Bubble economy in 1991 the main national focus had been on kickstarting the economy, with no attention paid to nationalism or changing the country's constitution.
For me and my family, this 20-year-long “Lost Decade” was not a bad time to be in Japan. Deflation meant cheaper grocery bills and bargains on clothing—it is much cheaper to raise a family in Japan than Canada. Government stimulus programs poured money into shiny new infrastructure projects all over the country, which meant better public transport, more museums and, in the rural region where we live, shiny new department stores.
Even after I moved my family back to Canada in 2004 in search of a better job and what I thought would be a better education and opportunities for our children, within a year or two we found ourselves back in Japan for several months every year. As a writer, I can work anywhere, and we found that our sons could cross cultures and attend school easily in both Japan and Canada. We wondered whether we should move back to Japan full-time.
The March 2011″triple disaster” in Tohoku changed everything: the massive earthquake triggered a tsunami that in turn caused a serious nuclear accident in Fukushima. The panic and chaos of the Fukushima disaster would cause yet another seismic shift in Japanese politics. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was in power during the crisis, and many Japanese citizens were disappointed and infuriated by the DPJ's response to both the nuclear crisis and the massive devastation wrought by a tsunami that had destroyed more than 1,000 kilometers of coastline.
Promising to “take back Japan,” Shinzo Abe and the LDP swept back into power in 2012. No one thought Abe would last more than a year. Typically, because of factional politics, prime ministers are figureheads, and rarely serve more than a year. But by the summer of 2015 Abe had become one of the longest-serving prime ministers in nearly a decade. And he was steadily advancing his agenda.
Abe has long between identified with Japan's fringe but powerful nationalist constituency that includes players such as the Nippon Kaigi organization, of which many prominent LDP parliamentarians are members. Abe's newest slogan, “A Society in Which All 100 million People can be Active” bears a striking resemblance to a fascist wartime slogan, “One Hundred Million Hearts Beating as One” (一億一心). And, somewhat dishearteningly, a certain nostalgia for World War II seems to have developed in Japanese culture. In recent years, perhaps in response to what is widely perceived to be aggressive behavior by China, books and movies that look back nostalgically on the heroism and self-sacrifice of World War II have become more common in Japan.
It’s also apparent that the Abe government is trying, in some ways, to implement a more nationalist school curriculum in Japan. Based on a directive from the Ministry of Education, Japanese textbook publishers proposed removing the term ‘comfort women’ from textbooks. Besides plans to formalize “moral education” (道徳, doutoku), earlier in 2015 the Ministry of Education decreed that Japan's history, as taught in schools, should reflect the government's position on history and territorial issues.
”Let's make sure our children have a textbook that tells them the truth about history.” Image from Wikimedia user Japanexperterna.
This is not the first time the Japanese government has attempted to use school textbooks to advance historical revisionism, and I wonder how effective this move it doing to be. It’s important to note, for instance, that there is no single history textbook that every school in Japan is obligated to use. Individual school boards can choose from a ministry-approved list of books, and historically, many have refused to use textbooks that appear to blatantly whitewash history. At the schools my children attend for several months each year, little appears to have changed since I myself taught in the Japanese school system 15 years ago. There are no patriotic slogans and no pictures of the emperor in every classroom as there had been before and during the war.
It’s also true that given the way history is taught in Japan, there is likely to be little opportunity to explore competing points of view in the classroom. Japanese textbooks are designed to prepare students for passing tests, not to transmit government propaganda. Rote learning plays a large role in the Japanese education system: there is a test, you study for it, and there is a right answer and a wrong answer.
This is not to say that the Japanese approach to education is unsophisticated. In elementary school there is an emphasis on project-based learning, student-led learning and leadership. And from a practical point of view, it's more efficient to use brute-force rote learning to master the 2,000 or so kanji (Chinese characters) students need to know by the time they graduate from high school.
While the information-dense texts used in schools tend to offer a conventional national narrative of the past two thousand years of Japanese history—and one which is generally reinforced in popular culture, notably in engaging rekishi manga historical comic books on the shelves of libraries and bookstores across the country,
It’s still debatable whether in the 21st century, the government is somehow going to be able to program what children think by changing a few words in a history textbook. For one thing, history is taught by teachers who, as human beings, bring their own values into the classroom and the best teachers give students the ability to investigate and explore history themselves.
So, I'm not very worried that Shinzo Abe's textbook reforms are going to teach Japanese students a warped view of history. The purpose of Japanese textbooks, after all, is to help students pass high school and university entrance examinations, which revisionists cannot directly control. On top of that, history can be hard to teach, and students are only just starting to understand what happened in the past.
And I even have reservations about how my son is taught history when he’s at school in Canada. While Canada is often regarded as a peaceful, tolerant and progressive country, the reality is that there is a de facto system of apartheid here that we never learn about in school: indigenous Canadians and post-colonial “settlers” rarely interact with each other. The injustice, for instance, of Canada's residential school system is only just starting to be formally taught in schools.
History is ultimately about people, whose individual stories can never all be told in a government-approved textbook.
Instead, it's important to help our children remain curious, to ask questions, and to explore history on their own. In free, democratic and resilient societies such as Canada and Japan where there are few limits on freedom of speech, the problem isn't indoctrination by the state. The challenge we face is apathy. After writing about a recent agreement reached between the governments of Japan and South Korea to , I was surprised at how little interest or curiosity was expressed regular Japanese people.
So, wherever in the world my family ends up, my goal as a parent is to help my children at least try to explore the past, recognize injustice and speak up, in order to help make things better.


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Anti-Counterfeiting Group Ousts Alibaba, Chinese Consumers Unsympathetic · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A counterfeit Gucci bag for sale on Tao bao. Screen capture in May 2015 via Jing Daily
The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) has decided to suspend Alibaba's membership of the group less than a month after it was admitted, after a number of members, including Gucci, Michael Kors and Tiffany, quit the group in protest at the Chinese Internet giant's  entry.
The anti-counterfeiting group has more than 250 members, the majority of which are prominent global brands.
Last month, the group decided to extend membership to intermediaries in order to develop solutions to combat counterfeit production and distribution.
Alibaba became the first intermediary company to join under the new membership system, yet its membership proved short lived.
Other members of the group were unhappy about the presence of the new Chinese member as Alibaba runs the world's largest e-commerce platform, Taobao which in turn is often criticized for hosting a large number of online shops that sell counterfeit products.
Brands like Gucci and Michael Kors reacted by quitting the group almost immediately, with the latter calling Alibaba “our most dangerous and damaging adversary“.
More members were prepared to walk out according to an email sent to the group's board members.
The decision to suspend Alibaba's membership was announced on May 13 after Associate Press revealed IACC's President Robert Barchiesi was actually a holder of Alibaba stock, a vested interest he had not disclosed to other board members.
Back home, Chinese consumers showed little sympathy for the retail giant.
In one of the most popular news threads on Weibo, many said Alibaba had got its just deserts:
我想说这个组织当初为毛让阿里巴巴加入呢？为了故意给它难堪？
How come the group would accept Alibaba's membership in the first place? To humiliate Alibaba?
天朝引以为豪的BAT，一个成了大众眼里的诈骗冠军，一个世界级的假货王者，还有个几乎被公认的抄袭大王。
Of the heavenly kingdom's glory — BAT [Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are the three biggest Internet giants in China] — one has become the king of liars [referring to Baidu search promotion Ads scandal], one is the world's king of counterfeits [referring to Alibaba], the other is a well-recognised king of copycatting.
说实话阿里巴巴里假货确实比真货多，基本都是高仿山寨。这种公司要在法治国家估计早就被罚款破产了。
There are more counterfeits than genuine products in Alibaba. Most are high-quality counterfeits. This kind of company would be subjected to huge fines and bankrupted in countries that uphold the rule of law.
里要打假，光天猫就得多少家关门啊，自绝财路的事，谁干
If Alibaba is genuine about fighting counterfeiting, how many shops in Tmall (a platform for selling high quality products) will be forced to close? How much profit will it lose?
Some reacted with sarcasm:
还是回国吧，只要你的假货做得真卖得便宜，中国人都会拥护你，没有人会取消你的资格
Stay at home. If your counterfeits are high quality and cheap, Chinese people will support you and no one will disqualify you.
关键是，马云也想卖真货啊！可是国内没有几个生产真货的厂家啊！
The point is, even if [Alibaba founder] Jack Ma wanted to sell genuine products, very few factories would be capable of manufacturing them.
Operating under the protection afforded to it by China's Great Firewall, however, Alibaba will continue to lead e-commerce in China, as Wang Ruo, a former executive manager at Taobao stressed:
关于阿里被清出国际反假货联盟，有一位前橙同学说的很准确：“阿里进了打假联盟，也抹不去卖假的名声，出了联盟也抹不去第一电商的地位”
Concerning the ousting of Alibaba from the anti-counterfeiting group, here is a sharp quote from a friend: “Despite Alibaba managing to enter IACC, it could not escape its notoriety for selling counterfeits. Despite being booted out by the group, it is still number one in e-commerce.”
In other words, no changes are expected.


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Cameroonian Rapper Valsero Launches a Scathing Musical Attack on President Biya’s 33-Year Rule · Global Voices
Dibussi Tande

A screengrab of Cameroonian rapper Valsero from Motion de Soutien video.
Valsero, one of Cameroon’s most socially and politically engaged rappers, has released a new single in which he dishes up acerbic criticism of President Paul Biya‘s 33 years of “dictatorship”.
The song, titled “Motion de Soutien” (Motion of Support), is dedicated to the Cameroonian people and is a not-so-subtle response to the recent flurry of “motions of support” from militants of Cameroon’s ruling party asking the 83-year-old Biya to seek another presidential mandate in 2018.
The lyrics target more than three decades of broken promises, false hopes, unfulfilled dreams, widespread despair, corruption and disillusionment in Cameroon:
33 ans de dictature
33 ans de corruption
33 ans de népotisme
33 ans de destruction
33 ans de souffrance de misère sans interruption
33 ans d'arrogance, de violences et d'humiliation
33 ans de mensonges bercés par des illusions
33 ans de pénitence de sueur de larmes à profusion
33 ans de prières toujours en quête de solution
33 ans de 33 pour noyer nos ambitions
33 years of dictatorship
33 years of corruption
33 years of nepotism
33 years of destruction
33 years of uninterrupted suffering and misery
33 years of arrogance, violence and humiliation
33 years of lies soothed by illusions
33 years of penance, sweat and tears in abundance
33 years of prayers still in search of a solution
33 years of 33 export beer to drown our ambitions
According to Valsero, the outcome of Biya’s 33-year reign has been a massive exodus of young Cameroonians willing to risk it all in search of greener pastures:
Regarde ces jeunes ! Ils ne rêvent plus sinon de partir très loin
Regarde ces jeunes ! Ils ne luttent plus, ça sert à rien pour certains
Tu veux garder le Cameroun pour toi ? OK, on te le laisse !
Va s’y prends-le ! Et si tu veux, étouffes toi avec !
On préfère prendre la Mer et mourir parmi les poissons
Y a plus de chances de s'en sortir au milieu des requins
Look at these youths! All they dream of is to go far away
Look at these youths! They’ve lost the will to fight because it’s not worth it
You want to keep Cameroon to yourself? OK, we’ll leave it to you
Go ahead, take it! And smother yourself with it if you wish!
We would rather take to the seas and die among the fish
We have a better chance of surviving in the middle of sharks [than in Cameroon]
And, in one of his most direct attacks on the president yet, Valsero lashes out:
Tu as fini par rendre plus faible une nation qui était plus forte avant.
J'espère que tu es content, car pour moi tu resteras le dernier des présidents.
Un jour viendra où tu payeras ta facture…
Le people aura sa revanche dans cette vie ou une autre…
You have weakened a once powerful nation, and I hope you’re happy
As far as I am concerned, you shall remain a president of the worst kind
A day will come when you will pay your debt…
The people will have their revenge in this life or the next
Nicknamed The General by his fans, Valsero came into the limelight in 2009 with a song titled “Lettre au President” (Letter to the President) in which he called on Biya to rein in Cameroon’s “plundering and arrogant” ruling elite and give Cameroon’s alienated and marginalized young people a chance. “Lettre au President” established Valsero as the voice of the downtrodden alongside protest singer Lapiro de Mbanga.
Since then, Valsero has released numerous tracks—including two additional letters to the president—in which he bemoans the unwillingness of Cameroon’s ruling elite to address the country’s socio-economic problems and the president’s continued indifference to the plight of Cameroonian youths.
A 2010 Radio France International (RFI) portrait of the rapper explained how his music is often greeted by Cameroon's authorities:
Valsero has opted to speak out. In Cameroon, a country where people generally suffer in silence for fear of retribution or keep quiet at a price, the gravel-voiced rapper with his blistering looks is something of a meteorite. As a result, his dreaded tracks aren’t broadcast on state radio or TV, and his concerts are regularly banned by the authorities or interrupted by the police.
Valsero’s song has raised a firestorm in Cameroon, and the video went viral within hours of it being released on YouTube and Facebook. Social media has been inundated with heated and usually acrimonious debates over Valsero’s message.
In a Facebook posting, blogger Mark Bareta argues:
This music encapsulates the failed system of Paul Biya… Whatever we see today with the Biya regime is as a result of a failed government, bad judgment, lack of effective planning, no future policies for its infrastructures, corruption, etc.
According to Twitter user Franky Taz:
Autopsie d’ un crime d'état. On a besoin de ta fougue et de ta détermination. Soutiens inconditionnels @GeneralVALSERO #Valsero
— Frankytaz (@franky_taz) May 12, 2016
This is an autopsy of a crime committed by the state. We need your spirit and determination. You have our unconditional support @GeneralVALSERO #Valsero.
While conceding that “Motion de Soutien” is a nice song, Twitter user Cheikh Kemit TSIMI believes, nonetheless, that it is encouraging Cameroonians to be resigned to their fate:
Le nouveau tube de #Valsero est plus triste que violent. Plus de résignation que de résilience. #AmitiésMatutinales. Bien fait quand même
— Cheikh Kemit TSIMI (@TMarcelTSIMI) May 12, 2016
Valsero's new song is more about sadness than violence; more about resignation than resilience. Well done anyway.
Valsero’s detractors and critics, many of whom are supporters of the president, have also taken to social media to lambast the new song. In a commentary posted on one of the largest Cameroonian Facebook groups, Zulu Uhem Mesut accuses Valsero of defeatism:
Comme le Maréchal Pétain en Juin 1940, VALSERO est un GÉNÉRAL LÂCHE. Il invite la jeunesse camerounaise des ÉGOUTS à abdiquer face au combat de la survie quotidienne en prenant le chemin de l'exil RISQUÉ. Surprenant plutôt pour un GÉNÉRAL des DAMNÉS !
Nous préférons encore danser au rythme de ” COLLER LA PETITE”… qui nous donnent l'espoir… au lieu de nous associer à des appels à immobilisme du GÉNÉRAL FUYARD, déserteur du FRONT DE GUERRE.
Just like Marshal Petain in June 1940, Valsero is a cowardly General who is asking Cameroonian youths in dire straits to give up the fight for survival and take the risky road to exile. This is a surprising message from the General of the Damned!
We would rather dance to songs like “Coller la petite” [which was temporarily banned in Cameroon for immoral lyrics] that give us hope… than listen to calls to do-nothingness from a General who has deserted the warfront.
In an unsigned open letter to Valsero, another supporter of the president argues that Cameroonians rather than Biya were the problem:
Le Cameroun va mal c’est vrai, et ce depuis des décennies, certains fonctionnaires incompétents, voleurs, détourneurs de fond publics, des hommes d’affaires égoïstes qui au lieu de créer les richesses ne pensent qu’a devenir maire ou députés pour avoir des facilites dans l’import-export, Changeons d’abord d’habitudes.
Frater laisse les histoires des 33 ans la, faisons ce que nous avons à faire pour que le pays avance…
Valsero le pays ci va mal, mais il va se relever, voilà pourquoi le chef de l’État a parlé de résilience, comme moi, il sait qu’un état fort impose le changement des mentalités. »
True, Cameroon is in bad shape, and this has been the case for decades; there are incompetent and corrupt civil servants who embezzle public funds and there are greedy businessmen who, instead of creating wealth, only want to become mayors or members of parliament so they can get preferential treatment for their import-export business. Let's start by changing our ways.
Brother, forget about this 33 years business and let's do what we have to do to move our country forward.
Valsero, this country is in bad shape, but it shall rise again. That's why the head of state talked about resilience [in his end of year message]. Like me, he knows that a strong state requires a change in mentalities.
There has been no official reaction thus far from the government of Cameroon or from the president. However, it is almost certain that this song will not be broadcast on state radio or TV.

author: Dibussi Tande


text:
Chinese Censors Crack Down on ‘Illegal’ Live-Streaming, Including Erotic Banana Eating · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A London-based YouTuber named Phil Watson uploaded a video of himself erotically eating a banana outside Chinese Embassy in London to protest Beijing's latest censorship targeting “suggestive” live-streaming.
Live-streaming talk shows, many featuring women, have become more and more common in the last few years in China. On average, viewers spend about 135 minutes daily watching such shows.
A total of 60 percent of the viewers are younger than 22-years-old and 77 percent are male. Popular hosts can make up to 10,000 yuan (about $1,500) per month, mostly from tips they receive from fans, though the platforms themselves generate income through advertising and partnerships with gaming companies too.
Authorities began cracking down on “illegal” content in February 2016, targeting live-streaming platforms. In this case, illegal content can include unauthorized live-streaming of TV dramas or news reports, vulgar language, “inappropriate” clothing (hosts who appear on camera in their underwear or in sleeveless tops, for example) and eating and posing with bananas in a “provocative” manner.
As it is impossible to pre-screen live-streamed content, China's public security bureau has set up police branches at the office of major live-streaming platforms to oversee what is being broadcasted.
One local newspaper, New Express, published a follow-up feature story on May 5 exploring how exactly the web censors review live-streamed content. In one single company, there are about 80 people working around-the-clock shifts to censor broadcasted material. All of the live-streamed content are reviewed by automatic sound and image detectors before passing through the human censor team.
Each member of the team has to review more than 60,000 screenshots from the live-streamed content per hour. The team manages to take down illegal content within 20 seconds after the live-stream has started, according to the New Express story. The article didn't specify if the censors were company employees, police agents or subcontracted workers.
Platforms that don't meet authorities’ censorship standards will be fined or even taken offline.