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Forest Fires in Chile Set Alight Debate, Conflict and Misinformation · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Photo taken from Creative Commons archive, from the Public Domain.
The fires that have devastated seven of Chile's fifteen regions for months now have proved a dominant theme in media, on social networks and messaging services. While the causes of many of the fires remain unclear, the majority appear to have been started by human carelessness and a lack of preventative policies, combined with natural causes, such as the drought that Chile has been experiencing for the last eight years.
Theories abound as to who is guilty, as Rodrigo pointed out on Twitter:
Lo culpables del incendio según Twitter: Extranjeros residentes, Mapuche, Isis, Pinochet, Estado, Empresarios, USA. Y el chileno común? No
— Rodrigo  (@RodriSep) January 29, 2017
Who is to blame for the fire, according to Twitter: foreigners, the Mapuche people, ISIS, Pinochet, the State, businesses, the USA. And the common people? No.
As Rodrigo's tweet indicates, the fires have stirred a long-running and complicated conflict between the Mapuche community and the Chilean government over land rights, after a number of unfounded stories emerged in the Chilean media blaming these communities for the fires.
Writer Pablo Simonetti complained:
Es impresentable que un excomandante en jefe dela Armada haga suposiciones de tanta gravedad sin ningún sustento. Todo mi repudio. https://t.co/GraOLO6cZ4
— Pablo Simonetti (@pablosimonetti) January 29, 2017
It's unacceptable that an ex-army Commander in Chief is making such grand claims with no evidence. I won't stand for this.
Una cosa es pensar distinto y otra, creerse cualquier mentira que busca generar odio. Msj de mapuches y colombianos detenidos es invento.
— Lucía López (@lucialopezchile) January 26, 2017
It's one thing to think differently, it's another to believe any lie that aims to spread hatred. Stories of Mapuches and Colombians being detained are false.
At the same time, the fires have led to solidarity within the South American region, whose governments have sent help, while people in the country are trying to temper the effects of the fire through different strategies, including the use of Bitcoin to raise funds for those affected.
The fires are proving difficult to quell, however. Meanwhile, many online authors are rushing to post their views, urging people to think more deeply about the causes and the contexts of the fires, in an atmosphere thick with rumours and misinformation.
In an article on the online media outlet Pousta, Jaime Villarreal asked his readers to make use of all the information available to them, and to consider the possibility that climate imbalances could be behind the fires:
Siempre es más fácil, en medio de la tragedia, buscar un culpable al que podamos apuntar con el dedo. […] Es vergonzoso como la gran mayoría de las personas se ha dedicado a buscar, en cada rincón de la red, pruebas para culpar de los incendios a algún grupo mapuche o subversivo. […] Lo más peligroso es desde donde estamos tirando nuestros ataques. Basados en pruebas de dudosa reputación, nos hemos dedicado a culpar a un tercero, sacándonos de encima toda responsabilidad colateral/cultural en esta tragedia.
In times of tragedy, it's always easier to find someone to point the finger at… It's shameful how the vast majority of the people have decided to trawl the net looking for evidence that the Mapuches or a subversive group are to blame for the fires… The most dangerous thing is the place we are launching our attacks from. Based on shaky evidence, we have decided to blame a third party, rather than take any collateral or cultural responsibility for this tragedy.
He continues:
Lo otro es que nadie habla o cuestiona cuánto tiene que ver la peor ola de calor en la historia de Chile, o cuánto tiene de responsable esta sociedad enferma […] Esta ola de calor no es una coincidencia. Al revés, es un consecuencia del calentamiento global. Siento desilusionarte, pero tus manos y las mías tienen harto que ver con lo que está pasando. […] Lo dicen los mejores científicos: el calentamiento global es real y una de sus consecuencias es el alza en la temperatura y el aumento en los incendios. […] Bienvenidos al futuro.
On the other hand, nobody talks about or questions how this is related to the worst heatwave in the history of Chile, or how much this damaged society is responsible… This heatwave is not a coincidence. On the contrary, it is a consequence of global warming. I'm sorry to disillusion you, but the fact is that both you and I are involved in what is happening… The best scientists say that global warming is real, and that one of its consequences is a rise in temperatures and an increase in fires… Welcome to the future.
Another statement that has gone viral is one made by Matías, a boy from Portozuelo, one of the towns most affected by fires in the Bio Bio region. The boy criticised the media in an interview with a journalist from CNN Chile, for only paying attention to the region when there are problems:
Solo vienen cuando hay tragedias, pero este pueblo antes nunca había aparecido en ningún lugar […] Ahora viene el SuperTanker, antes no venían ni siquiera los helicópteros que habían acá. No había agua, no había nada y ahora que están pasando cosas malas, justo vienen personas, regalan de todo, hacen muchas cosas, pero antes, en los días normales, nunca habían venido a preguntar por el pueblo.
They only come in times of tragedy. Beforehand, this town was never seen by anyone… The SuperTanker is coming now, but beforehand, even the helicopters didn't come here. We didn't have any water, we didn't have anything, and now that bad things are happening people are coming, they give us everything, they do lots of things, but before, when things were normal, no one ever came to see how the town was.
The fires have also led to discussions about forestry policies, which, according to numerous social associations in the region, favour the interests of corporations that bear a share of the responsibility for the fires.
This is how it was reported in the local newspaper El Desconcierto:
En Temuco, Región de la Araucanía, se realizará un mitin […] donde enseguida se realizará un punto de prensa y el ingreso de una carta dirigida al gobierno de Chile y al Congreso de la República exigiendo el fin de todo subsidio y beneficio a los intereses de las grandes forestales.
In Temuco, Araucanía, a meeting will be held… and afterwards, there will be a press release and a letter sent to the Chilean Government and the National Congress demanding an end to subsidies and benefits in the interests of these large companies.

author: Laura Vidal


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Women’s Australian Football Competition Bursts onto National Stage at Last · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

AFL Inaugural Womens Match Carlton v Collingwood 3 Feb 2017 – Screenshot AFL YouTube video
The opening weekend of the inaugural Women's Australian Football League (AFLW) promised much and succeeded in blowing even those expectations out of the ground.
It has been a long wait:
And on the 1,000,000,000,000th day I created @aflwomens! Sorry it took so long ?? #AFLW #AFLWBluesPies pic.twitter.com/XoViALbJoD
— AFL Jesus (@AFLJesus) February 3, 2017
Sally Whyte, deputy editor of Crikey, summed up the anticipation:
It’s like the days leading up to Christmas, but when you still believed in Santa. I’m on the verge of tears just hearing advertisements for the ABC’s call of the matches. There are women in team colours, and a fixture, and a premiership cup. Every detail seems too much. And the siren hasn’t even sounded yet.
AFL, the sport formally known as “Aussie Rules football’ is “a contact sport played between two teams of eighteen players on an oval-shaped field, often a modified cricket ground”, according to the sport's Wikipedia entry.
Crowds at the inaugural weekend for the AFLW were much larger than expected. Even after it had been shifted to a larger stadium, the first game was a lock-out with nearly 25,000 in attendance and over 1,000 unable to get in.
In an article for ESPN titled Baby Girls Can Now Dream Big: Why the AFLW League is so Important, former Victorian player Chyloe Kurdas honoured those who made it happen and those who will benefit:
From Friday, no newborn baby girl will ever know what it feels like to have an AFL door closed to her.
Instead, girls and women across the country are being encouraged to take up the game, and they are doing so in droves.
[…] This cohort of AFLW women should be encouraged to pinch themselves and soak in what it means to be ‘first’. For all of the investment in them and the competition, they have a critical role to play in ensuring that they are not the last.
The aspiration for what this competition will become belongs to them as much as it did to those women who have gone before, but not as much as it does to those who are not yet born.
To experience the joy and excitement of the historic first round of #AFLW, click on one of the four twitter hashtags:
@aflwomens go you good things #AFLWBluesPies #AFLWCrowsGiants #AFLWDogsFreo #AFLWDeesLions
— Geoff Stewart (@scarpix) February 2, 2017
This tweet from cyclist Verita Stewart is a typical one:
My mum in the 70's, Mildura FC. Who knew they would see a prime time televised women's game 40 years later! #aflw #aflwomens #AFLWBluesPies pic.twitter.com/UhIX476IEG
— Verita Stewart (@lowercasev) February 3, 2017
There are four Melbourne teams: Western Bulldogs, Collingwood Magpies, Melbourne Demons and Carlton Blues. The state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is capital, is the traditional home of the sport.
The other four teams are from the states of South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales: Adelaide Crows, Fremantle Dockers, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney Giants. The other 10 clubs in the men's AFL competition will have the chance to join the AFLW in future years.
Many people are already supporters of one of the other 10 clubs in the men's national competition or are relatively new to AFL. Prolific tweep @Asher_Wolf spoke for newcomers:
Alright, I've decided to back women's football. Which team should I barrack for?
— Asher Wolf (@Asher_Wolf) February 1, 2017
After she went to the opening game, Asher shared her conversion:
I spent the match gazing in awe at the size of the crowd, appreciating the goodwill of the people around me: the fathers with young daughters beside me celebrating, and women cheering themselves hoarse as the twilight faded; the blare of the evening lights illuminating the field of athletic footy players, sprinting across the grass, leaping air-borne and ramming each other to the ground. The ball felt almost incidental to the game. We were there to watch the players. We were there for the moment.
She has a warning for the AFL:
The AFL has consistently underestimated women for generations and locked them out of the game. The AFL locked out thousands of women yet again last night, the same way they’ve been locking women out all our lives, because the AFL continues to underestimate women’s interests, talents and force of will.
We won’t put up with being underestimated.
We’ll rip down fences. Scale gates if necessary.
But we will be there.
The AFL can count on it.
If your appetite is whetted by the video highlights below, then visit afl.com.au where games are live-streamed.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Kevin Rennie


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Crowdfunding Makes Macedonian Board Game an International Hit · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

“Cavern Tavern” characters. Art by Txe Mico. Used with permission of Final Frontier Games.
How does a group of young people in a small impoverished country fulfill its dream of selling a board game on the international market? For at least two Macedonian start-ups, the answer in 2016 was the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.
Archona Games raised more than 33,000 Australian dollars (USD $25,300) to manufacture its sci-fi-themed board game “Small Star Empires,” and Final Frontier Games collected more than USD $107,000 to release its fantasy-themed game “Cavern Tavern.” Both companies beat their fundraising goals considerably.
“Top Theme on Your Side,” a leading Macedonian TV show featuring debates and reporting, aired a story about Final Frontier Games, following its smashing success on Kickstarter. Below, you can find the story with English subtitles.
Vojkan Krstevski, one of Final Frontier Games’ four co-founders, also spoke to Global Voices about the project, describing the time and resources his team invested into preparing the Kickstarter campaign, including hiring top Macedonian illustrator Txe Mico.
When launching their Kickstarter, Final Frontier Games set up four pledge levels. At level one, supporters could donate USD $1. At the second level, donations rose to USD $5, and contributors were invited to download a “PnP” (print-and-play) version of the game. At the third level, people pledging USD $44 dollars received a physical copy of the game. Fourth-level pledges, limited to just 42 entries at USD $119 at piece, provided buyers with both a physical copy of the game and opportunity to name one of the “cocktail” cards within the game.
Cavern Tavern cards. Art by The Mico. Used with permission of Final Frontier Games.
GV: Who supported your game on Kickstarter? How did these pledge levels function?
Војкан Крстевски (ВК): Преку ова, поддржувачите се чувствуваа инволвирани во самиот дивелопмент на играта, ја чувствуваа како своја, а со тоа беа и екстремно мотивирано самата кампања да биде успешна. Нашите поддржувачи станаа и најголемите промотори на кампањата. Ова не беше лесно, потребна е детална маркетинг стратегија за буквално секој ден од 5-те месеци пред-кампања и 1 месец на самата кампања за да го постигнете тоа, особено ако ова е вашиот прв проект на Кикстартер кој се обидува да биде забележан од стотиците други проекти кои се активни во секој момент.
На крајот, завршивме со безмалку 2.000 поддржувачи од сите краишта на светот кои заеднички донираа 107.966 долари. Околу половината беа од САД, 30% од ЕУ, а останатиот дел беше буквално распостранет по целиот свет. Од Кина и Јапан до Француска Полинезија, Брунеи, Иран, преку Јужна Африка па се до Чиле, Аргентина, Бразил… Речиси сите држави на планетава. За жал, живееме во поделен и раскаран свет. Гледајќи како луѓе од целата планета (без разлика на религија, политички систем или боја на кожа) се здружија да финансираат идеја на еден тим од Македонија не прави екстремно среќни и горди на постигнатото.
Vojkan Krstevski (VK): By joining a pledge level according to their preference, the supporters felt involved in the game development. They felt like the game was their own, and they were motivated to help the success of the campaign. Our supporters thus become our biggest promoters. This was not easy, we needed a detailed marketing strategy for the five months before the campaign and the one month of the official campaign to achieve this — especially if this is your first Kickstarter project, attempting to get noticed among hundreds other active projects.
At the end, we ended with almost 2,000 supporters worldwide, with donations reaching USD $107,966. About half of them were from the U.S., and 30 percent were from the EU, while the rest literally from the all over the rest of the world. From China and Japan to French Polynesia, Brunei, Iran, to South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Brasil… Almost all countries on the planet. Unfortunately, we live in a divided world. Seeing people from the entire planet who — regardless of religion, political system or skin color — joined forces to finance the idea of a team from Macedonia made us extremely happy and proud of our achievement.
Annually, about 3,000 projects apply for Kickstarter funding in the category of board games. Only 30 percent meet their funding goals, and a mere 5 percent manage to raise more than USD $100,000.
GV: How do you distribute the physical copies to your global audiences?
ВК: Поради распостранетоста на нашата публика, закупивме магацини и ангажиравме фирми за достава т.н. fulfillment центри на 4 различни континенти и таму испративме игри. Имаме fulfillment центри во САД, Велика Британија, Австралија и Кина. Зависно од каде е купувачот, го информираме најблискиот fulfillment центар и тој ја врши доставата во наше име. Процесот е доста логистички обемен, бидејќи подразбира координирање на производителот во Кина со 4 различни фирми на различни континенти, како и доставување на контејнери од играта на овие места преку бродови, но, тоа е дел од нашата работа и е само една алка од процесот на издавање и продавање игра.
VK: Due to the spread of our audience, we rented distribution centers on four continents and sent the games there. The centers are located in the U.S., UK, Australia and China. Depending on who the buyers are, we organized deliveries through the closest distribution centers on our behalf. The process was very complex, involving coordination between the manufacturer in China and four firms from different continents, shipping containers by boats — but that's part of the work and a link in the chain of publishing and selling a game.
In another interview, Krstevski noted that they were lucky to complete the process before UK implements Brexit, and the new U.S. president fulfills his campaign promise to raise customs duties on products made in China. Both political developments threaten to make the transport and sale of such goods much more expensive.
“Cavern Tavern” characters. Art by Txe Mico. Used with permission of Final Frontier Games.
GV: You've managed to earn a living doing what you love, and turn your hobby into a business. Why do people like board games?
ВК: Играњето друштвени игри, односно самите игри, се многу променети од времето на Монопол или Риск, и стануваат се поголем дел од поп културата. Растот на индустријата на друштвени игри е огромен во последните 10 години. Во голем дел, тоа се должи на потребата на луѓето за човечка интеракција, особено во ова време кога дигиталниот свет се повеќе и повеќе ни ги „окупира“ животите.
VK: Playing board games, i.e. the games themselves, has changed a lot since the times of Monopoly or Risk, and are more and more they're becoming part of pop culture. The board-game industry growth has been huge in the past ten years. For the most part, this is due to people's need for human interaction, especially at a time when the digital world increasingly “occupies” our lives.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Dispatch Beirut ‘Restores’ Damaged or Neglected Parts of the City With Legos · Global Voices
Dalia El Ali

Art installation in Geitawi Street, Beirut. Photo taken on March 28, 2013. Source: Facebook.
A Lebanese public art collective named Dispatch Beirut has made a name for itself for using Lego as a way to “rebuild” pieces of the Lebanese capital.
These “little blocks of hope”, as the collective calls them, are meant to be temporary. In their own words, Dispatch Beirut wishes to “mark Beirut city with ephemeral and creative art as a form of Urban statements about current torn down and neglected spaces.”
Dispatch Beirut was founded by Lea Tasso and Pamela Haydamous and inspired by the work of German artist Van Jormann who used plastic construction pieces to repair and fill holes in broken walls.
The biggest motivation behind this initiative was a sense that the government's reconstruction of the city after the end of the 15-year-long civil war in 1990 was prioritizing profit over heritage. Scholars Marwan Ghandour and Mona Fawaz wrote in 2010 that rather than the proclaimed “healing” being the motivation behind Beirut’s reconstruction, it was “less related to the pre-destruction phase than to the actual act of destruction”. In other words, “that the spatial erasure initiated by war destruction is consolidated during postwar reconstruction”.
This predicament required an artistic response, and Dispatch Beirut wished to do its part. Speaking to Global Voices, Haydamous explained:
Beirut has become a shadow of its former self and we wanted to change that. We wanted to bring Beirut’s bullet holes, broken stairways and streets back to life in a fun way. We wanted to give people a chance to reminisce about their childhood and their past by giving them back that sense of hope that they lost growing up during war. We gave them blocks of legos and asked them to build their own world with us.
It had soon become clear to the team that their work would face the same treatment imposed on the city.
We knew that our street art couldn’t forever remain untouched. We were faced with a lot of forced destruction. The government didn’t help either. When we created our Independence Day installation on a shattered wall, we received a signed permit to keep our installation for an entire month. After only 12 hours, we received a phone call saying that our installation was causing a lot of parties to object and therefore, had to be taken down. It was very depressing to hear that. It’s almost as if people were used to disappointment.
Installation done for Lebanese Independence Day. November 22, 2012. Source: Facebook
Creating these unique installations takes a lot of time and effort. The team managed to get Lego Beirut to sponsor their work, replacing their method up until then of simply asking friends and connections for donations. But that did not last either. Haydamous told Global Voices:
We started off using our own bricks and received donations from friends, friends of friends and so fourth. By the time we got to our 4th installation, Lego Beirut offered to sponsor us fully. After two years, the sponsorship stopped because we were having problems protecting our installations. Now we’re back to receiving donations. We’re hoping to find new forms of urban interventions that will stay for a longer time.
Dispatch Beirut's fourth installation. Source: Facebook
Despite facing problems with their installations, that did not stop the team from getting attention for their work. In 2013, Dispatch Beirut collaborated with the “Geitawi on my mind” festival and the “Dihzahyners” team to create a project called “A Little Wonderland” in which they rehabbed an old house in one of the busiest areas of Geitawi, Beirut with colorful paint and Legos.
Here is a before and after photo:
Before and after pictures of ‘A Little Wonderland’. Source: Bananapook
While some might see these kinds of efforts as trying to erase the past, Dispatch Beirut insists that that is not the point:
Our goal is not erase our memories of war but to give hope to not give up on a country that has suffered so much.

author: Dalia El Ali


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Ukrainian Social Media Users Get Five Years in Prison For ‘Supporting Separatism’ · Global Voices
Isaac Webb

Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
A court in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine sentenced two men to five years in prison for “supporting separatism” on the social media website VKontakte on February 6. The Donetsk regional prosecutor's office said in a press release that the two men were convicted by a Sloviansk city court under Part 2 of Article 110 of Ukraine's penal code, “Infringement of the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine,” which carries with it a penalty of three to five years in prison.
The men, both residents of Sloviansk, were arrested by Ukraine's Security Services in April 2015, effectively stopping their online activity. Public data does not indicate whether they were detained or released pending trial.
This week, they were both found guilty of organizing groups that supported separatist activity on VKontakte in February 2014—after the EuroMaidan Revolution that toppled former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych but before Russian-backed separatists began to seize large portions of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, including Sloviansk.
The prosecutor's office said the men endeavored to change Ukraine's borders and had provided “informational support” to the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, the two Russian-backed separatist statelets in eastern Ukraine, in furtherance of this goal. The information they distributed over social media was “of an anti-Ukrainian character,” the prosecutor's office said.
The prosecutor's office also said the two men, who did not admit to being guilty in court proceedings, subscribed to the “Russian world” ideology, which seeks to create a “greater Russia” beyond the country's current borders.
They are not the only Ukrainians to face prosecution for online speech that “supports separatism.” In November 2016, a Lviv court convicted a man under penal code Articles 109 and 110 and sentenced him to three years in prison after he allegedly called for seizing power in Kyiv and altering the country’s borders, also on VKontakte. In a separate case in February 2016, a man was found guilty of “activity aimed at changing the constitutional order and the seizure of power, using media,” in violation of Article 109 of Ukraine's penal code. He pled guilty and was made to pay a fine.

author: Isaac Webb


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From Vietnam to the US, the Zodiac Is an Important Part of Vietnamese Culture · Global Voices
Loa

Vietnamese horoscope reading in a mall. Photo from Loa
This article by Jenny Lý is from Loa, a news website and online radio project of Viet Tan that broadcasts stories about Vietnam. It is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Phước Lộc Thọ, also known as Asian Garden Mall, is the commercial staple of the Vietnamese-American community in Orange County, California. But amid the bustling shoppers and overlapping sounds, there is a space of relief. It’s tucked away on the second floor: an altar. Not far away sits an elderly man who appears to be in his 70s. A sign in front of the table he sits at reads “Chấm Tử Vi” — horoscope reading.
“Most of the time, people want to ask about love or work or if their business will fail,” says Bùi Minh Lê, a long time horoscope reader, having continued his practice in Việt Nam to present day America. He shares that many people want guidance, especially when they embark on a new chapter in their lives.
The Vietnamese horoscope uses a variation of the Chinese zodiac based on the lunar calendar. It uses astrology as well as the time, date, month and year of a person’s birth to make predictions. The Vietnamese zodiac sets 12 animals over a 12-year cycle rather than 12 signs in one year. The animal associated with the year in which we were born tells us something about our personality and our life.
As the Lunar New Year was approaching last month, the lines of people coming to see Bùi continued to grow. People were eager to see what their 2017 will look like.
But there are skeptics. Phan Việt, who’s turning exactly 60 this year as he’s born in the year of the rooster, is one of them. He does not believe in the zodiac or tử vi predictions — even though 2017 is his year. Believers say it’s particularly important if it’s your animal’s year. Phan said:
When family gathering, this subject coming up more often you know especially you know during the New Year the Tết people coming in and suddenly this subject coming up. Hey this year is the rooster, and they start telling me hey this year you will have love, you maybe will have change in your financial, something like that. I listen you know but I don’t always believe it.
But 68-year-old Vũ Cường, a visitor at Phước Lộc Thọ and also a retired teacher, thinks the zodiac is a fun way to learn about yourself and your life. He breaks down the complexity of the Vietnamese zodiac as a classification system:
…according to the history of China in particular, and the history of Asian cultures generally, people assigned animals to symbolize time. They classified the years with the 12 animals, one name for the celestial stem and one for the animal. They start with the stem Giáp, Ất, Bính, Đinh, Mậu, Kỷ, Canh, Tân, Nhâm, Quý. Then it is combined with one of the 12 animals: Rat, Buffalo, Tiger, Cat, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.
Eastern Zodiac system. Photo from Loa
The ten celestial stems, 12 animal signs, and five elemental associations make for distinct personalities and years. For example, 2017 is known as Đinh Dậu, or the Fire Rooster year. The eastern zodiac is considered to be one of the oldest horoscope systems in the world, dating back to more than 3,000 years. The zodiac system was said to have been developed by spiritual teachers who, at the time, were responsible for maintaining health and balance among the people.
Trang Nguyễn, a graduate student in Communities Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, says Vietnamese people get to know each other by using the zodiac:
In Vietnamese culture, you ask someone what zodiac animal year they are and from that you can tell their age because there are 12 animals on the wheel so it repeats every 12 years so you can sort of tell what generation is in or which cycle of the 12 they are in so you can calculate the age in your head. So that’s why when you meet Vietnamese elders, they don’t ask how old you are as much a lot of the time as your year you were born, your zodiac year and they can tell your age but they can also tell sort of your personality and all the things that’s associated with that year.
Nguyễn adds that her family all know each other’s animal year by heart. She shares, “…my mom is a dragon, I am a cat, my dad is a horse, my sister is an ox, my brother is a snake, my oldest nephew is a dragon and my youngest nephew is a dog.”
Vũ, the retired teacher, says each zodiac animal symbolizes a different quality that may carry lots of fortune or challenges. Sometimes, it can help explain why certain people act a certain way. He says, “…the tiger symbolizes strength, the dragon symbolizes wealth, and the rat symbolizes hard work.”
According to believers, not only can the zodiac predict an individual’s personality but it can also forecast the coming year. To see what’s in store for 2017: the year of the Fire Rooster, you’ve got to understand the animal.
The rooster is known for its cocky, self-assured demeanor. It’s no stranger to dramatic entrances. This zodiac sign is also known for its ability to work hard and never give up. The rooster isn’t afraid to be loud, bombastic and outspoken.
Back in Phước Lộc Thọ, horoscope reader Bùi often gets asked whether his readings are a form of fortune telling. He says, “Fortune telling is different from tử vi. Tử vi is about the basic elements using the date of birth.“
Bùi claims there is science behind tử vi and readily admits not everyone believes in the horoscopes. Nevertheless, he still comes to the mall daily to do people’s readings. He sits on that second floor inside the mall that features three giant lion figures out front representing luck, wealth, and longevity.
Listen to this podcast to learn why the Vietnamese zodiac features a cat and not a rabbit, as in the Chinese zodiac.

author: Loa


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In Trinidad & Tobago, Clamour for Action After Yet Another Woman Is Murdered · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Artwork used for a report prepared for the 2009 ‘Women for Peace’ conference, hosted by the Alola Foundation. Photo: AusAID, from flickr user Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, CC BY 2.0.
The murder of a young woman on February 7 at MovieTowne, a popular entertainment destination in Trinidad's capital city, has rattled netizens and further eroded trust in the ability of the authorities to curb rising violent crime in the country.
Jamilia Derevenax was apparently lured away from her place of work — a restaurant in MovieTowne — by a phone call from someone she knew. Security guards in the area were alerted by the woman's screams. By the time they arrived at the underground parking area, however, the attacker (although some reports say there was more than one perpetrator involved) had already slit her throat and was trying to flee the scene by car. A man was intercepted by compound security and handed over to police, who now say that the killer escaped and the person held by plaza security is not a suspect.
To many social media users, the fact that the murderer has not yet been apprehended speaks to the poor detection record of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). There have been spiralling levels of violence — particularly towards women and girls — in the country. Just as disturbingly, graphic images of the victims are often circulated via social media sites messaging apps.
One female Twitter user was concerned that people were becoming desensitised to the violence (Soca Monarch refers to the international soca music competition held during Carnival):
Timeline still talking bout Soca Monarch and a woman now get kill in Movietowne yes. I living in a murder sensitized society
— Antonia (@Toni26H) February 6, 2017
On Facebook, discussion was rife about the country's crime situation.
Facebook user Gilberte O'Sullivan was heartbroken. Saying that the society is “beyond broken”, she changed her profile picture to “a symbolic black and white ‘scarf'” from the Trinidad and Tobago flag, superimposed over the face of a crying woman “to symbolize the women and young girls silenced by murders, as the toll continues to rise”. Many other Facebook users did the same, to let the government — and opposition — know it must “stand against the scourge of violent crime” in the country.
Image of a woman's face superimposed with the colours of the Trinidad and Tobago flag; widely shared on Facebook.
One Facebook user, Lemorev Khaleem, was so infuriated at the impotence of the authorities that he exclaimed, “Look allyuh better legalize crime!!! Do as yuh plz!!!”
There were several Facebook threads which spoke about the pressing need to change the way in which Caribbean men are socialised. Sharon N Boodoosingh, like many other female Facebook users, was concerned about the message that was being sent:
When did we stop teaching our sons that:
— it is the most cowardly act to lift their hands against a woman, be it a wife, sister, aunt, daughter or friend
— differences cannot be resolved through acts of physical, emotional or psychological violence
– children, both boys and girls, are all equal and males are not superior
– they need to show due respect to every woman in their lives
Our homes, schools and society (including the so-called role models) have failed our sons so that they wrongly believe it is no big deal to abuse a woman or to stab and kill her.
#wearejameliatoo
Several women's organisations have been observing the disturbing trend. Powerful Ladies of Trinidad and Tobago (PLOTT), a business organisation that also focuses on social development projects, reposted its crime analysis for 2016, saying:
Tired counting bodies, tired looking at bloodied corpses. What will be the response to a young women found, throat slit at Movietowne Port of Spain? If this shocks you then you have not been paying attention.
As part of its ongoing effort to “raise awareness and understanding of the contributors and repercussions of the spate of aggression and violence across Trinidad and Tobago”, PLOTT publishes a geographic, demographic and temporal analysis of the murder rate on a monthly basis. January's report was unsettling:
January 2017 saw the most murders in our nation's history for the comparative period, however the increase was marginal. The total number of murders committed in January 2017 was approximately 52, this represents a 6% increase in the January murder toll from the highest toll recorded over the last decade. […]
There was also a small increase in the frequency of women murdered.
Screenshot of a PLOTT report graph comparing the frequency of murder victims by gender — January 2017 vs. January 2016.
Meanwhile, the Acting Chief of Police has stated that violent crime is down. The PLOTT report discovered an interesting link between economics, politics and violence:
Research conducted by Gould & Agnich in 2016, found a clear relationship between violence against women and failing states, pointing out that although ‘the likelihood of violence is increased for the entire populace in fragile and failing states, women are especially at risk due to patriarchal constraints at the state level, as well as in the private sphere’.
Facebook user Marlon J Jeffers suggested that other factors — such as “when authorities neglected to forcefully do their duties with a purpose throughout the years” — might also be at play. Indeed, many social media users were dissatisfied at the performance of those in charge. Ian Michado Royer's public Facebook status summed up the overriding attitude:
COP [Chief of Police]: Don't be Alarmed by Crime. Kamla [Opposition Leader]: We need more guns. Keith [Prime Minister]: Let's have talks. Yet a young woman is brutally murdered, throat slit, in Movietowne POS Car Park less than an hour ago. We are in a state of emergency and our women and girls seem to be the major target of crime and assault. We must do something now!
Many women, frightened at the trend, agreed. Teocah Arieal Ainka Dove said her spirit was “exhausted […] paralyzed in fear on an island that was once a paradise”. Leanne Audain thought that it was up to women to be one another's keeper, since “no one else is standing and fighting for us”.
One Twitter user defended the authorities, however:
Let's use common sense guys.
How exactly was the Gov't/Police going to stop last night's murder in Movietowne exactly?
— Guava Salts (@QuaceyMUFC) February 6, 2017
Other netizens were not prepared to accept the status quo; Rhoda Bharath was all for holding the police service accountable:
So we discussing crime.
We have an Acting Police Commissioner who is inept.
1. Where is the Police Service Commission that keeps hiring him in all this?
Can we start asking them some questions?
2. Where is the head of Forensics?
3. Where are the Divisional heads at the TTPS?
Can we make them accountable?
Is incompetence grounds for losing your job?
#DeViceCyahDone (Translation: Corruption can’t come to an end)
According to a recent Inter-American Development Bank study undertaken throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago spends the most money on crime and private security services (more than US $1,000 per capita), with little to show for it in terms of crime reduction. The country's Ministry of National Security received the most funding of any government department in the 2015-2016 Budget — a whopping TT $10.81 billion (about US $1.6 billion).
While the blogosphere was busy discussing the merits of punishment versus empowerment, and prayer versus action, Wired868 published a letter to the editor which cut to the chase:
If 63-plus murders, combined with a number of persons missing, in a population of 1.4M does not constitute a crisis […] what does? […]
The conversations across this landscape has long been dominated by the atrociousness and brazenness where a handful of individuals engaged in criminal activities manage to hold an entire nation hostage. And where many of us are no longer living in fear, but more like surviving—sitting ducks; awaiting our number.
In an effort to help protect women, PLOTT launched a free anti-crime app late last year. The app allows users to disseminate emergency alerts, post news about missing or wanted persons, issue public safety notifications, and view weekly crime reports. In emergencies, app users can receive instant alerts. It also allows citizens to send anonymous crime tips, call a 24-hour hotline, and notify police about suspicious activity just by uploading images. Anyone concerned about their safety can download the app by searching for “community defence” in their app store.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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In Turkey’s Neighbour Georgia, a Gülen School Loses its License · Global Voices
Eurasianet

Fethullah Gulen. Screenshot from YouTube video uploaded on NRT HD official channel on August 4, 2016.
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org. Republished with permission.
Turkey’s campaign against schools reportedly linked to Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen got a mega-boost late last week when the Georgian government opted to suspend the license of Batumi’s Refaiddin Şahin Friendship School, a private institution earlier denounced by a Turkish diplomat for supposedly “serving terrorist groups” loyal to Gülen.
Georgia’s decision to cancel the school’s operating license came just days after 270 suspects went on trial in Turkey for alleged involvement in a failed coup attempt last July that Ankara blames on the US-based Gülen, now being tried in absentia. Washington does not recognize the 75-year-old Islamic teacher as a terrorist.
Despite its strategic ties with Turkey, Georgia, unlike other Eurasian countries, previously had made no move to close institutions considered part of Gülen’s international network of schools.
The grounds for its decision to do so now are less than crystal clear. The official decision, apparently taken on February 3, may not be published until next week.
The spokesperson for the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, the body overseeing school licenses, said only that a monitoring group had found “serious violations” of regulations, including for enrollment procedures, Interpressnews reported.
Şahin Friendship School Principal Elguja Davitadze told Georgian reporters that the school’s “main” alleged violation is having “incorrectly” enrolled ten students with Turkish citizenship in its Georgian-language section. He objected that the school, which has a positive reputation in Batumi, had coordinated with the National Center on this procedure.
By law, unless a school is considered a total wash-up, officials have 60 days to spell out how it can remedy any regulatory violations. But no sign exists yet that they plan to do so for the Şahin Friendship School. National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement spokesperson Davit Kobakhidze has stated that the school’s students can transfer elsewhere.
Undeterred, Principal Davitadze told Georgian media that the school would be open as usual on Monday, February 6 since it has not yet received an official document about the loss of its license.
He has described the decision as “political.” One civil-society organization, the Tolerance and Diversity Institute, which is reviewing the case, agrees that the coincidence of the license-loss with “events in Turkey” sparks “suspicion.”
The Turkish embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
Politicians from the opposition United National Movement and Republican Party object, however, that another Turkey-linked school in Batumi appears to have had an easier time of it with regulations.
The Batumi Turkish School — according to Turkish media, Georgia's first Turkish state school — was allowed to construct its facilities and open last fall without a construction permit or license at all, they complain. (Supposedly, attempts have since been made to address these omissions.)
The school is thought to be financed by Turkish mega-businessman Galip
Öztürk, an avid supporter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and foe of Gülen. Öztürk’s Metro Holding, a transportation company, runs its Georgian operations out of Batumi, a hub for Georgian-Turkish trade.
Yet if the Batumi Turkish School is intended as an alternative to the Şahin Friendship School, no one is stating so openly.
In an earlier interview with EurasiaNet.org, Turkish Ambassador Zeki Levent Gümrükçü stated that Turkey has made plain to Tbilisi its concerns about the Gülen network, but stressed that closing the Şahin school depends on the Georgian government alone.

author: Eurasianet


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Russian Political Panic Returns, As Putin Ponders Reelection in 2018 · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

There’s a video circulating on the Russian Internet right now that shows two elderly women panicking about the potential loss of Vladimir Putin. The footage was probably staged, and that makes it a likely sign of what’s to come over the next year, as Russian political technologists and random activist groups prepare for the country’s first presidential election since 2012.
Photo: Pixabay
In the video clip below, two older women say they were out “collecting signatures for Putin,” when a “local deputy” supposedly approached them and said they were wasting their time. Putin is leaving the Kremlin, the deputy told them, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin will be Russia’s next president.
This revelation came as a terrible shock to the two activists. One complained that she hasn’t been able to sleep since the encounter, and her friend, placing her hand over her heart, declared defiantly, “We’re Putinists! We’re only for him!”
In the video, a younger woman then confirms the rumor, sadly telling the shaken old women, “Well yeah, it looks like not Putin but Sobyanin will run.”
The video was shared by a civil group based in Krasnodar called “Social Justice” — a pro-Putin organization best known for “Lidiya Arkadevna,” a member who became a viral Internet star in 2013 thanks to her vitriolic, nonsensical ramblings against opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “Arkadevna” is remembered particularly well for claiming (falsely) that Navalny once institutionalized his wife in order to “run around” with prostitutes.
When Social Justice’s activists aren’t collecting signatures to document how much Russians love Vladimir Putin, sometimes you can catch them protesting outside the Krasnodar office of Yabloko, the country’s oldest liberal political party.
If the footage of the elderly women was staged, it wouldn’t be the first viral video manufactured to draw attention to elections in Russia. The single greatest such effort was in September 2014, when someone had four men dressed as cartoon characters beat up a man in the road. On YouTube, that video now has more than 12.7 million views.
But why is Social Justice trying now to undermine Sergei Sobyanin, the very politician who faced off against Alexey Navalny in the 2013 Moscow mayoral race?
Rumors that Sobyanin might take over for Putin in 2018 have been around for years — particularly since Sobyanin defeated Navalny in the 2013 race, which many experts viewed as a special test administered by the Kremlin.
Staging videos featuring frightened old ladies fretting about a President Sobyanin probably has less to do with the Moscow mayor than it does with reminding people about Vladimir Putin’s essentiality to Russia’s political system. The message seem to be: Mr. Putin, you must run for reelection next year, or these women and the millions like them will simply fall apart.
Sobyanin, for his part, has done his best to pose no challenge to the man who put him atop Moscow’s city government. Already back in 2013, almost immediately after defeating Navalny, Sobyanin told the media that he had no plans to run for president in 2018. Two years later, he broached the subject of his own political ambitions once again, stating meekly that he would consider running for reelection as Moscow mayor when his term is up (also in 2018).

author: Kevin Rothrock


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‘Tambourine Army’ Gathers Recruits as Jamaicans’ Anger Over Child Sexual Abuse Grows · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

The Tambourine Army is a new activist group focused on the eventual elimination of sexual abuse against women and girls in Jamaica. Much of the healing work they do with survivors of sex abuse is done by the beach. Photo courtesy the Tambourine Army, used with permission.
It all started in late 2016, when a 64-year-old pastor at the Nazareth Moravian Church in Jamaica was arrested after allegedly being found in a car sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. Since then, many more cases have come to light, usually perpetrated by men in positions of power. The situation has prompted a greater focus on the problem of child sexual abuse — a long-standing but hidden epidemic in Jamaican society that is often kept secret.
As a result, a new activist “army” has formed, with a strong mission. The Tambourine Army's Facebook page defines the group as “a radical movement that was formed organically out of an urgent recognition to advocate differently for the rights of women and girls”.
Headed by the founder of WE-Change, the women's affiliate of LGBT rights group J-FLAG, the name derives from a January 9 incident during a protest by survivors of sexual abuse at the Nazareth Moravian Church. The WE-Change founder became angry and hit the leader of the Moravian Church in Jamaica, Dr. Paul Gardner, on the head with a tambourine, alleging that he had abused her partner as a child. Dr. Gardner and his Vice President Jermaine Gibson resigned soon afterwards and have since also been charged with the sexual abuse of minors, leaving the Moravian Church in disarray.
On her personal Facebook page, the “captain” of the Tambourine Army, Stella Gibson, wrote poignantly about one of her group's key concerns:
When a little girl tells you that a man has touched her inappropriately, or that he molested her…When a woman tells you that a man raped her, or that he sexually harassed her…Why do we first question the veracity of that experience that may have taken much bravery and vulnerability and nakedness for the little girl or the woman to share? Why do we then consider how damaging this must be to the man's character?
When a little boy tells you that a man has touched him inappropriately, or that he molested him or that he raped him…What makes us first believe the boy, become enraged and begin to do everything in our power to get justice for that little boy?
Why can't we first believe our girls and our women too, and do everything in our power to get justice for them? Why?
Why don't we at all times, in all circumstances shame the perpetrator and provide healing, care and support for survivors – all survivors?
What is it about a man's reputation that becomes so critical when he is accused of perpetrating sexual violence against women and girls that we wilfully and sometimes blindly disregard the very humanity of our women and girls?
What kind of society have we have created for ourselves?
Where is the protection of the value and dignity of our women and girls?
I want a different kind of Jamaica for women and girls. And I hope the #TambourineArmy will create that different Jamaica that is needed.
To that end, the #TambourineArmy has put out a call for volunteers as part of its aim to build “one of the largest coalitions of organisations and individuals in Jamaica working to remove the scourge of sexual abuse, rape and all other forms of sexual violence against our children and our women.”
“Join the Tambourine Army against sexual crimes & pedophilia! tambourinearmy@gmail.com” Screenshot of one of the calls for volunteers for the Tambourine Army; widely shared on Facebook.
The Army is gaining support, with 80-plus Jamaicans signing up.  The Tambourine Army logo, used with permission.[/caption]
One of the Army's tactics has been the #SayTheirNames hashtag, through which women are being encouraged to come forward with their stories of sexual abuse by naming the perpetrators. However, not all Jamaicans have endorsed this radical method, questioning the legal and ethical implications of the campaign. While blogger and academic Annie Paul supported the concept in her newspaper column, she also referred to a television current affairs show in which host Simon Crosskill expressed his reservations:
‘You can't allow women to name whoever they feel like,’ he kept protesting, although none of us was suggesting anything remotely like that. No one had said the names of anyone we ‘felt’ like including should be listed. What we had said was that a victim of rape or sexual abuse MUST, and has the right to, call the name of the aggressor in question. Asking victims to name the perpetrators who have harmed them is surely a very basic and fundamental rule to live by.
But my friend, the TV host, wouldn't countenance the thought of naming and shaming at all, and he wasn't alone in this. Other prominent journalists have expressed the same opinion. The perpetrator should be reported to the police and have his day in court, they insist. The judiciary must be the ultimate arbiter of guilt, and only then should names be revealed. This despite the fact that the subject had come up in the context of a dysfunctional justice system that more often than not fails to find the accused guilty, particularly when the perpetrator is a man of influence and standing.
The Army is not just about keyboard activism. Despite the expected challenges, it is already on the march. On February 6, there was a “wear black” campaign as a sign of protest. The group is also planning a Survivor Empowerment March on March 11, in solidarity with the #LifeinLeggings movement. At the march, the group will also present its action plan for change, through partnership with survivors, non-governmental organizations, the media, and the general public.
When it comes to helping survivors, work has already started — the Tambourine Army hosts Healing Circles for survivors. Much of the rehabilitation and support sessions happen by the beach, which the group believes has the power to soothe and restore. Just as importantly, the Army has been mobilizing individuals, groups and organizations to lobby the government to make much needed changes to The Sexual Offences Act which is currently under review, urging Jamaicans to submit recommendations, questions and concerns to the relevant Parliamentary Committee by February 28.
Other organizations are also getting involved. Eve for Life Jamaica, which works with young mothers who are survivors of sexual abuse and spearheaded the #nuhguhdeh (Don’t go there!) campaign aimed at protecting children from predatory older men, came up with an additional hashtag: #16protectionnotpermission, referring to the age of consent.
Building on the momentum, The 51% Coalition — Women in Partnership for Development and Empowerment — has organized a “Meeting of the Minds” on February 7, at which they hope to discuss the many perspectives on violence against women and girls.
Meanwhile, Reverend Clarke, the first Moravian pastor to be charged, appeared in court last week. He was greeted by a number of female supporters who berated the media covering the case. His victim and another sibling (from an impoverished family of ten) are now in state care. Sadly, stories of violence against women by current or former partners continue to appear in the news, as they did last year.
The problem of the sexual abuse of Jamaican girls is an oft-repeated story that is as much about social justice, deep rural poverty, and the plight of vulnerable children as it is about the perpetrators, who are often respected members of the community. Whether the Tambourine Army ultimately wins the battle for radical steps to change hearts and minds — and the status quo — remains to be seen.

author: Emma Lewis


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Trinidad & Tobago’s Prime Minister Says Women Should Choose Their Men More Wisely to Avoid Violence · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Screenshot of a public Facebook status update summarising the message of Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister as he addressed the issue of gender-based violence in the country.
On the heels of Trinidad and Tobago's latest murder, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has made a statement on the country's crime situation that is being chewed out on social media for being tone-deaf and appearing to victim-blame.
Although Rowley noted that the detection rate of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is low, he seemed a tad reticent to strongly state his disapproval with its performance, explaining that he didn't want to further demoralise the officers: “As Prime Minister, I cannot dictate to the police how to treat with citizens. Like you, I too am watching with anger at some of the things I am seeing. I have not opened my mouth”.
Rowley did manage to put some of the responsibility on the police by making the point that “in the absence of detection, those who would ordinarily be law-abiding have an incentive to become law breakers”, but he also said that women needed to take responsibility for avoiding domestic and gender-based violence by choosing their partners wisely:
You called on the Prime Minister to do something about crime. I am not in your bedroom, I am not in your choice of men.
Social media exploded. On Facebook, Keegan Fanovich said:
As per our usual culture. Let's victim blame right?
She should've chose better?
How about he should've been brought up better?
I find it hard to believe this man is actually that stupid. […] I can't see another politician cept Trump maybe making a public statement like this.
And please eh Rowley… You might as well be in my bedroom. Cuz you done f@#king we all over.
Entertainer Wendell Manwarren was disappointed in the prime minister:
What a totally uninspired response from our PM. Nah man yuh could do better than that.
Facebook user Roanne John sardonically asked:
So apparently ALL the women of this country that have been BRUTALLY murdered, raped and whatnot KNEW their assailants?
Journalist Laura Dowrich-Phillips questioned whether Rowley was qualified to speak on the issue of domestic violence, retorting:
If all these killings happening after the woman leaves the relationship clearly they made the right choices, so who really need talking to?
Twitter users also responded by sharing the story (accompanied by unflattering hashtags):
‘Pick your men wisely’ (says the Prime Minister of #Trinidad): https://t.co/N6fDZXZC7s via @guardiantt #victimblaming #crime #shameful
— Dr. Emir Crowne (@SportsLaws) February 7, 2017
In the apparent absence of willingness to get to the root of the problem, some celebrities are trying to do their part. Soca star Bunji Garlin has started a “Defend the Women” challenge, in which he calls on men to step up and call out acts of aggression against women, saying, “Every time these kinds of characters escape, they're coming one step closer to your household. Let's not wait until it hits home […] to react and then it's too late.”
In the same vein, Joanne Gail Johnson shared an infographic to the Facebook group Womantra, advising men on what they can do to stop gender-based violence:
Screenshot of an infographic that is being widely shared on Facebook.
Activist Attillah Springer also asked for public support regarding “a Carnival based conversation about street harassment and intimate partner violence”, explaining that she had secured permission from Calypso Rose to use her popular song “Leave Me Alone” to bring attention to gender-based violence within the Carnival space.
Out of this, two new hashtags have emerged — #leavemealone and #leaveshealone — to share stories and just as importantly, “to encourage men to hold their friends, brothers and colleagues more accountable”. As part of the initiative, Springer will be meeting with police about their response to victims of gender-based violence during the upcoming Carnival season.
Last year's Carnival festivities were marred by the murder of a Japanese steel plan player; the then mayor of Port of Spain was forced to resign over his victim-blaming statements in that case. Almost a year later, no-one has been arrested for the murder.
Sociologist Nazma Muller spoke to Global Voices about the complexities of the issue, which she experienced first-hand, since her mother — who divorced her father when Muller was six years old — was a victim of domestic violence. She says that alcohol, the pressures of her parents’ interracial marriage and their economic situation could have put strain on anyone. “But in Trinidad,” she says, “he easily became a monster.”
She noted that the region's collective history of abuse and trauma is a key contributing factor:
No one wants to acknowledge the fact that the physical, psychological and structural abuse of Africans and Indians during slavery and indentureship has continued throughout the centuries by parents abusing their own children and passing on the learned self-hatred and self-destruction. After Emancipation, colonialism continued. The denigration of the African and Indian continued until independence. The belief that white was […] the most desirable colour to have was absorbed by our ancestors, our parents and now us.
According to Muller, racial stereotypes also factor in:
The criminalization of our boys and men for ganja is just one example of how we as a society view African masculinity — as deviant and unproductive. These same men enter relationships — because again, the stereotype of the African man is one with a big penis who loves to have sex, and this concept is portrayed through the music (be it hip hop, soca or dancehall) — and if they are not working, how can they boost their egos? Not by screwing as many women as possible?
The relationship with their mothers are also fraught with tension and resentment since the African woman has her own identity and self-esteem issues to deal with in this colour-conscious society, plus the stresses of raising the children, holding down a job and trying to keep her man from straying.
The Indian woman has a different set of issues to deal with. The legacy of the barrack yard is a memory of a shortage of women, early marriage and sexual initiation, a controlling jealousy and possessiveness on the part of the man, and the conflict that creates when the Indian woman becomes financially independent.
Muller is convinced that “until we begin to discuss sexuality and relationships in school, or create safe spaces where our boys and men can talk about their sexuality and feelings of inadequacy, we will continue to see domestic violence”.


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‘Why Are We Still Doing This?’: Iraq Shuts Down Internet to Prevent Exam Cheating—Again · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Internet outages in Iraq as documented by Dyn between 1 and 6 February 2016
For a third year in a row, Iraqi authorities have resorted to shutting down the Internet to prevent students from cheating on exams. Network monitoring group Dyn Research has documented four outages between 1 and 6 February. These disruptions begin around 8:30 local time and last for an hour.
Three large scale Internet outages in Iraq over the last 3 days. All about one hour each. https://t.co/TSUVBW34St pic.twitter.com/vRZOBFCIx6
— BGPmon.net (@bgpmon) February 5, 2017
The one-hour outages, intended to prevent students from cheating on 6th grade placement exams, are expected to last for a week, according to local media quoting the Iraqi ministry of telecommunication. Internet outages and disruptions to prevent exam cheating have now become common in Iraq.
Why are we still doing this? #Iraq https://t.co/CwFmgj0blq
— Hayder Al-Shakeri (@HayderSH) February 5, 2017
Last year, the Iraqi government shut down the national fiber optic backbone ten times in May, in outages that lasted three hours each morning. In August and again in October, the government resorted to the same tactic to ban students from cheating during make-up exams. Similar blackouts were documented in the summer of 2015.
In Iraq's public education system, the stakes are high during national exams, which often play a decisive role in the future of Iraqi youth.
Doug Madory, Director of Internet Analysis at Dyn writes:
Within public education in Iraq, if students don’t score high enough on their 6th grade placement exams, then their public education is over and an already difficult future may have just been made more so.  This makes the exams extremely important to the future of Iraqi students, so much so that parents will sometimes go to great lengths to get a leg up on the competition so that their kid’s education will continue.
This may help explain why the Iraqi government is willing to go as far as to shut down networks to prevent exam cheating. But it doesn't justify such tactics, especially as access to the Internet is increasingly recognized as a basic right. Last June, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a non-binding resolution condemning “measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online,” while affirming “that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression.”
The resolution came as global internet outages continued in 2016, with Access Now documenting 56 shutdowns.
Across the Arab region, in addition to Iraq, disruptions were also recorded in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Last summer, the Algerian government disabled mobile Internet to prevent cheating and the leaking of Baccalaureate exams. The move prevented more than 15 million users from accessing mobile Internet, but did not stop the leaking of exams on social media, forcing the Ministry of Education to organize retakes for the leaked exams. On the other hand, in the Bahraini protest village of Duraz, ISPs were “deliberately disrupting” fixed-line and mobile data services, harming businesses in the process and costing the country more than 1.2 billions US dollars of its GDP in the span of eight days, according to a Brookings study.
The Algeria and Bahrain cases show how Internet shutdowns are not only futile, but also harmful. “They harm everyone” and “they don’t help victims or restore order,” as Access Now notes. But it appears the Iraqi government and other governments responsible for internet outages and disruptions have yet to recognize this reality.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Argentina Confronts the Scourge of Women’s Nipples · Global Voices
Romina Navarro

Image details by Pictonline. Published and distributed on their social media sites and used here with permission.
Late last month, three women decided to sunbathe topless on a public beach in Necochea, Argentina, a seaside town located in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province. As a result, the women soon found themselves at the center of a national scandal that quickly spun out of control.
According to reports by eyewitnesses, a few tourists felt uncomfortable at the sight of exposed breasts and reported the nudity to police, who soon arrived on the scene, and asked the women to cover up. When they refused, the officers proceeded to remove them from the beach. It turned out to be quite an ordeal, and 20 cops were involved, before it was over.
The scandal became a national story after video footage found its way online:
Following the police action, which critics say was excessive, Facebook users called for a massive tetazo (a form of protest in which many of the participants will show their breasts) at the Obelisk of Buenos Aires. Groups in other cities have joined this campaign, as well.
Charges against the three women in Necochea were eventually dismissed under the argument that toplessness is not illegal. During the opinion storm caused by the news, correctional judge Mario Juliano took the chance to petition the provincial legislature for a modification of the Code of Misdemeanors used as a legal backing by the police during the intervention. The judge argued that the Code is a relic of the 1970s and that it could be seen as a heritage of the country's dictatorial regimes that use force to exercise control.
Judge Juliano's initiative has its opponents, judging by the many angry comments on social media.
With tens of thousands of engagements on Twitter, the following post by Pictoline demonstrates how provocative feminist approaches to the issue of naked breasts have become:
Tres mujeres fueron expulsadas de una playa en Argentina por estar topless y vuelve la pregunta:
¿Por qué los hombres sí y las mujeres no? pic.twitter.com/UCjFn5Q1xx
— pictoline (@pictoline) 2 de febrero de 2017
Three women were expelled by 20 police agents from a beach in Argentina for being “indecent.”
“Go away, immodest woman.” “But he's also got his nipples uncovered.” “It's not the same.”
The debate returns: Why can men do it and women can't? What's the difference? The answer: there is no difference. The difference comes from a society that for thousands of years has sexualized women's breasts. “Don't incite him.” “Respect her.”
Three women were expelled from a beach in Argentina for going topless, which begs the question:
Why do men get to, but not women?
Below, you'll find a few of the tweets and memes about the incident from different points of view, and see how they're connected to gender equality and gender violence:
Cuando podés ir presa por hacer exactamente lo mismo que un hombre, no hay igualdad #Tetazopic.twitter.com/iqx7iduAp4
— Barbara Martinez (@barbarammzz) 3 de febrero de 2017
When you can go to prison for doing exactly what a man does, there is no equality.
#Tetazopic.twitter.com/iqx7iduAp4
— Barbara Martinez (@barbarammzz) Feburary 3rd, 2017
Las feministas prohíben concursos de belleza de Reef pero impulsan #tetazo. Pareciera q lo q de verdad les molesta son las minas lindas.
— Agustín Laje (@AgustinLaje) 1 de febrero de 2017
Feminists ban the Miss Reef beauty contests but push the #tetazo [showing their naked breasts as a protest]. It seems as if what really bothers them are pretty girls.
— Agustín Laje (@AgustinLaje) Februrary 1st, 2017
Ser feminista es mucho más que mostrar las tetas, queridas. Simone de Beauvoir debe estar revolcándose en su tumba. #Tetazo
— ArabellaOH! (@AdriGeorgieff) 31 de enero de 2017
Being a feminist is much more than showing them your tits, sweethearts. Simone de Beauvoir must be rolling in her grave. #Tetazo
— ArabellaOH! (@AdriGeorgieff) January 31st, 2017
Estas dos personas no están desnudas. Ambas tienen el torso desnudo. Ninguna está incumpliendo ninguna ley.#Tetazo nacional pic.twitter.com/5U4FRlyyYp
— MarchadlasPutas Ros (@MarchaPutasRos) 31 de enero de 2017
These two people aren't naked. They both have their chests uncovered. Nobody's violating any laws. #Tetazo National. pic.twitter.com/5U4FRlyyYp
— MarchadlasPutas Ros (@MarchaPutasRos) January 31st, 2017
Radio announcer Oscar Choy from Radio Rivadavia AM690 tried to present a more moderate and conciliatory perspective, but still came down against the display of women's breasts in crowded public spaces:
We can reflect…. RESPECTING ONE ANOTHER?
It's not the breasts… it's not the toplessness… it's the attitude!!!!
When you meet in a public place… respect the norms of society. Don't behave like you would at home… or in your swimming pool. For a long time we have been challenging limits, norms, provoking… altering… always going a little bit further.
In going further, we forget the Other. The Other has their space… their way of life… their culture… their beliefs.
We provoke others all the time with whatever we feel like…
The #tetazo demonstrations took place across Argentina on Feb. 7, capturing the attention of the country's news media. Online and elsewhere, the issue continues to generate debate and discussion about women's rights and gender equality.

author: Romina Navarro


text:
Chinese Say Authorities Are Going After the Little Guy With Curbs on Foreign Exchange · Global Voices
Jack Hu

Overseas property investment exhibition in Beijing 2014. Property investment and migration package go hand in hand. Photo by state-owned media outlet Xinhua.
China has escalated its crackdown on capital leaving the country, a move that many netizens complain will disproportionately affect people of ordinary means.
Just before the reset of Chinese citizens’ annual foreign exchange quotas at the start of new year, China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange demanded all buyers of foreign exchange must sign a pledge that they won’t use the $50,000 quotas for offshore property investment. Violators will be added to a government watch list, denied access to foreign currency for three years and subjected to money-laundering investigations.
China's foreign exchange reserves started to decline in 2014 as the economy started to cool down, the yuan depreciated and capital flowed out to foreign investments. China's foreign reserve plunged to the lowest since March 2011 to $3.121 trillion in October 2016. The continuous outflow could result in a vicious cycle, forcing the yuan to further depreciation and increasing the risk of a financial crisis against the background of rapidly rising debt.
The current policy is an attempt to stop people from placing their money in foreign investments.
Chinese have gone on an overseas property-buying spree over the last decade as increasingly affluent Chinese investors acquire a taste for international property. Transaction volume reached $30 billion in 2015, double the levels seen in 2014, according to property consultancy firm Knight Frank's latest research.
For examples, the tallest apartment building in London, built by China’s third-largest developer Greenland Group, saw 20 percent of its first phase buyers coming from China, Qian Wenhao, general manager in Britain of the developer, told Chinese domestic media last year. And Australia approved $24 billion of real estate investments from China in the fiscal year ending June 2015, the most recent figures available, making China the biggest source of foreign buyers.
China has become the world’s largest investment country for international property, real estate management company Jones Lang LaSalle said based on data of the third quarter in 2016. Chinese investors average $831,000 for buying property, while home buyers from other countries average $499,000, and US citizens average $232,000.
A total of 60 percent of China's rich plan to buy overseas property over the next three years, according to a survey by China Rich List publisher Hurun at the end of 2016. America, Britain, Canada, Australia and Singapore were the top five emigration destinations.
And it isn't just the rich. China’s outflow of money has accelerated over the past decade as middle-class investors from second- and third-tier cities get in on the game. The market is alluring for realtors and developers given that if only 1 percent of China’s population become prospective buyers for offshore assets, that’s 14 million people – such a market could buy up almost two Londons.
Chinese who buy property overseas have four main motivations: investment, emigration, education and lifestyle. Many are looking for a foothold in the US, Britain or Australia where they hope their children will go on to study. Big Western cities are also seen as secure places to preserve wealth that investors want to move out of China, to guard against the devaluation of the yuan.
Increasingly expensive housing prices and severe air pollution at home have also driven many rich Chinese to look beyond China.
Online, people have made sarcastic comments about the migration trend:
爱国是生意，移民是生活
Patriotism is a business, emigration is for life.
先让一部分人富起来，然后这部分人跑了
Let a part of people become rich firstly, then these people run away.
所以，大家伙儿的中国梦就是，移民美国
So everyone’s Chinese Dream is: migrating to the US.
Indeed, despite the tighter capital controls, brokers say Chinese investors can usually find ways around them, such as through black markets or faking business records. In other words, Chinese authorities’ fresh curbs on capital outflow will probably restrict ordinary people rather than the rich who usually have connections to underground banks and overseas business partners. As Frank Zhang, a user on social media platform Weibo, commented:
真正想洗钱有能力洗钱的人根本不走你这套手续；影响的更多的是普通国民吧？
Those who really launder money don’t have to follow the rules. The restrictions just affect ordinary citizens.
Given the escalating deprecation of Chinese yuan, many accused the new measures of targeting ordinary people, in particular the middle class, who merely want to save their wealth through foreign investment.
Below is a selection of comments followed a post trying to justify the new money exchange policy from Sina Finance's Weibo account:
你不停的滥印钞票稀释我的财富，却还不准我换汇保值，还有没有天理了！
You are constantly printing money in excess to dilute my wealth, but you don't permit me to convert it. This is so unfair!
严格立法，普遍违法，选择执法
Strict legislation, general violation of the law, selective enforcement of the law
一直都不让，那些富豪和某些腐败官员是如何把钱弄到国外投资的？打击打击地下钱庄这类非法渠道比总看着老百姓兜里的破钱要管用的多
The regulator says they have long banned the use of foreign currency for purchasing overseas real estates, but how have those rich people and corrupt officials been able to transfer their money overseas? It seems more useful to crack down on underground banks and illegal channels than to just control ordinary people’s money.
Due to an editing error, a previous version of this post incorrectly implied that the US$50,000 limit on Chinese citizens’ annual foreign exchange was newly implemented at the start of the year.

author: Jack Hu


text:
Deprived of Voting Rights, What Do Hong Kongers Think of the Chief Executive Race? · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

Voices from the street. Image from Hong Kong Free Press.
This post was written by Ellie Ng and originally published by Hong Kong Free Press on February 7, 2017. The edited version below is published as part of a partnership agreement.
The election of Hong Kong's top leader, called the chief executive, is set for March 26, 2017. In order to enter the race, potential candidates have to gain 150 nomination votes from the 1,200-member election committee of representatives of different professional sectors.
That same committee will decide the winner of the election. The people of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, don't get to vote.
Currently, there are four potential candidates who told the press that they would seek to be nominated: Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a lawmaker and former security secretary; Carrie Lam, ex-chief secretary and a key ally of the current chief executive CY Leung; Woo Kwok-hing, a retired judge; and John Tsang, ex-finance chief.
Pro-Beijing election committee members will only give their nominations to the candidate “blessed” by the mainland's central government. According to the four criteria put forward by Wang Guangya, China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director, the future chief executive should 1. love China and love Hong Kong; 2. be trusted by Beijing; 3. be capable of governing; and 4. be supported by the Hong Kong people.
Though the China Liaison Office, which represents Beijing in Hong Kong, told its loyalists that Carrie Lam has the central government's blessing, some doubt if the office really represents what mainland officials think.
Against such a backdrop, ex-finance chief John Tsang took the internet by storm on February 3 with a fundraiser for his campaign to show his popularity and raised over HK$4 million (approximately US$520,000) from nearly 20,000 people in just three days.
But is Tsang really that popular? What does an average Hong Konger – who does not have a vote – think about the “election”? Hong Kong Free press spoke to people on the street to find out what they think.
What do you think about the election?
The choice has more or less been made among the Election Committee members, who will be voting bearing in mind the “big picture.” I think they are just putting on a show for us, since some candidates obviously do not stand a chance, like Regina Ip and Woo Kwok-hing.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
I think the fundraiser is meant to demonstrate popular support for Tsang. I don’t think the amount matters to him.
Do you support Tsang?
Yes, because compared to Carrie Lam, I think Tsang will more likely fight for Hong Kongers’ interests when Beijing and Hong Kong have competing interests over major issues. I think Lam will probably bow down to instructions [from Beijing].
Even though I think the leader choice has more or less been made, if popular support for Tsang remains strong, [Beijing] cannot ignore it. Maybe it will change its mind and think, “fine, we’ll let you give [Tsang] a try.” I don’t feel completely hopeless about the election.
Who is your ideal next chief executive? If it could be anyone, not just the four candidates.
John Tsang, because realistically Beijing wouldn’t trust someone who’s more liberal or radical. Members of the Executive Council – including Tsang, Lam and Ip – have seen many confidential documents, and Beijing wouldn’t want an outsider to access them as they hold the key to understanding how public policies were made over the years.
What do you think about the election?
It looks like Beijing is staging a sham election, so that people will be tricked into thinking that John Tsang is elected because of popular support. It will give him legitimacy.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
It is a smart move, since it shows he has public support. But I won’t donate to him, because maybe he’s the “chosen” one.
Though Carrie Lam may look like a strong rival, she seems more stupid than before. She must be very capable since she successfully persuaded developers when amending property-related laws a few years back, so why have there been so many publicity failures since she declared her candidacy? Were they intentional? I’m skeptical, though I could be wrong.
What issues do you care about the most?
Poverty and the environment. While Tsang may be able to make some progress on environmental issues, I don’t think he cares much about livelihood issues – he has a finance background, after all. Given his track record, I don’t expect him to do much in areas like improving labour rights and ending the MPF offsetting mechanism.
Who is your ideal next chief executive?
I can’t think of anyone.
What do you think about the election?
It is about choosing puppets, because no matter who takes office, they will obey Beijing.
Carrie Lam is obviously too cunning and Regina Ip too pro-Beijing. John Tsang is just like Leung Chun-ying before he was elected [to chief executive]: he appears to be on Hong Kongers’ side, but you don’t know what he will become once elected.
Woo Kwok-hing does not seem to be pro-Beijing, but he supports the Small House Policy, so I don’t support him.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
I didn’t know about the fundraiser. But in any case, I won’t give him money – he has a lot already, being a senior government official for so long.
Who is your ideal next chief executive?
Myself.
What do you think about the election?
I’m pessimistic about it, because no matter who becomes the next chief executive, they will obey the central government. They won’t answer Hong Konger’s demands such as improving livelihoods.
I’ve been waiting for universal suffrage for many years. Ever since the 1997 handover [of Hong Kong from the UK back to China], I’ve been waiting.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
He is free to do that, but I think his chances are bleak. I guess it depends on how the public perceives his fundraiser – I do want to see Hong Kong enjoy democracy and have its own voice.
I will donate to his fundraising drive.
Who is your ideal next chief executive?
People have jokingly suggested actor Andy Lau. I think he may not be a bad choice actually. But frankly, as an average Hong Konger, I feel that only the rich have voting rights and the rest can only be docile subjects of the state.
What do you think about the election?
It feels like many things have already been decided internally, because most TV news coverage is about Carrie Lam’s campaign. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else much on TV. Even if there are reports on the other candidates, they are mostly negative or unimportant.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
I don’t have a take on this, but I won’t give him money because I don’t agree with his platform.
What issues do you care about the most?
Housing and things that matter to me, but mainly housing.
Who is your ideal next chief executive?
Anson Chan, the former chief secretary in both the British colonial government of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government under the Chinese sovereignty.
What do you think about the election?
I hope the next chief executive will be less out of touch with society and less of a lapdog of the central government. Like Carrie Lam is obviously too pro-Beijing. And Regina Ip – thankfully she won’t be able to get enough nominations.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
He must have a lot of supporters to have raised so much money. I hope he will make good use of the money; only use the donations if there is really such a need, rather than spend it on promoting himself.
What issues do you care about the most?
Housing, including public housing. Even if you make HK$30,000 a month, it will still take you 20 to 30 years to pay off the mortgages. So I hope the next leader will be able to ease our burden in this regard.
Who is your ideal next chief executive?
John Tsang seems okay so far, because he seems quite fair.
Or that former Legislative Council president… Jasper Tsang. I quite like him, because even though he is pro-establishment, he seems relatively rational. Also, I watched the TV show about him traveling with “Long Hair” [Leung Kwok-hung]… Tsang didn’t refuse to listen to someone just because that person is not on the same side with him.
What do you think about the election?
This election is more competitive than the previous ones, because there are many strong candidates.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
I think other candidates will follow suit. I will donate to him as a way of showing my support for him.
I support him because his platform and public policies he implemented in the past are more appealing to Hong Kongers. Also both the pro-establishment and pro-democracy camps have confidence in him – the support he gets is less one-sided.
What issues do you care about the most?
Building trust in society, first and foremost. It takes precedence over economic and other issues. I think Tsang is probably capable of achieving this goal.
Who is your ideal next chief executive?
Other than actor Andy Lau, John Tsang is probably the best.
What do you think about the election?
I’m just an observer since I don’t have a vote. I guess there’s some competition in this election, but the outcome will still be influenced by the Chinese government.
What do you think about John Tsang’s fundraiser?
I don’t think his fundraiser can really reflect wide public support. I won’t donate to him, because he’s not the candidate that I support. But even if he was, I probably wouldn’t donate. I don’t support any candidate at the moment.
What issues do you care about the most?
Housing, retirement and health care. Health care is actually very important, but so far none of the candidates focus on it.
Who is your ideal next chief executive?
I’m not pro-democracy or pro-government, so I don’t have a preference.

author: Hong Kong Free Press


text:
Fighting the Good Fight: Immigration Advocates Challenge Trump’s Executive Order · Global Voices
Hamid Yazdan Panah

A protester at an immigration rights rally in Washington, DC in 2010. PHOTO: Nevele Otseog (CC BY 2.0)
Ali Kermani, an Iranian national residing in Denmark, was set to enter the United States on a visitor visa in January 2017. Ali's father is suffering from Stage III cancer, and, taking into account the administrative processing typical in cases involving Iranian citizens, Ali had planned the trip months in advance. After several months he received his visa. “But then this order came down,” Ali said, “and I was not allowed to board my flight.”
The “order” in question, of course, is the Executive Order on Immigration signed on January 27 by US president Donald Trump, which sparked a wave of uncertainty, fear and outrage, as well as widespread confusion and panic among both government officials and immigrants and activists in the United States. All of a sudden a traveler like Ali, who had previously studied and worked in the United States for six years and hadn't entered Iran in more than a decade, was faced with intense scrutiny, and now the prospect of a lengthy ban, simply based on his nationality. “I am banned from Iran, because I disagree with the government,” Ali said, pointing out the irony. “Now I am banned from the United States, because of Iran's government.”
Since the signing of the Order, Immigration attorneys, in particular, have been faced with the complex challenge of making sense of a seemingly senseless law, while attempting to guide their clients, and themselves, through uncharted territory. The result has been equal parts challenge and reward, not to mention overwhelming in scope, scale and emotion.
As the Order was signed, Immigration attorneys were tasked with unpacking the implications of the new order for their clients, as well as devising strategies to safely and effectively allow immigrants to enter the United States. There was also the matter of whether or not the order was itself lawful or constitutional.
Reactions ranged from panic and disbelief to anger and indignation. The Executive order was signed with very little warning, and even less in the way of practical direction and explanation. In fact the wording of the order itself was shockingly broad and vague with regard to how it would be implemented and applied.
It is little wonder that there was mass confusion from governmental agencies as to how it should be implemented and who it should be applied to. During the first few days of enforcement, there were numerous reports of Permanent Residents being refused entry, forcing the White House to come out and clarify its position that Green Card holders were not subject to the ban.
This was just one of the many troubling aspects of the order which not only confused both governmental agencies and legal practitioners, but demonstrated serious failures on the part of the administration in its ability to craft and execute policy.
Over the course of the last two weeks, legal practitioners have banded together on listservs, forums and conference calls in an effort to understand exactly what was taking place. Each day something new seemed to pop up. Every day brought new challenges and uncertainties, whether it was the announcement by USCIS that they had frozen all petitions, including asylum applications, filed by those from the seven banned countries, or the resignation of senior officials at the State Department and CBP
Attorneys on call at airports shared stories of clients who were detained, let through, questioned or returned home. Also shared were recommended ports of entry, and guidance as to what should and should not be recommended to clients.
The initial shock brought on by the order was soon superseded by an organic wave of resistance and solidarity at airports throughout the country. Trump’s orders for exclusion and isolation provided the perfect platform for solidarity among attorneys, activists and community organizers.
The sense of comradeship and cooperation that emanated from these locations was a source of inspiration and hope for many. “The one positive I saw was when I volunteered at Logan airport,” said Joseph Molina Flynn, a Boston-based immigration attorney. “Not only were other immigration attorneys there to assist, but some of my attorney colleagues who do not practice immigration also stopped by to offer assistance and emotional support.” Flynn was one of many attorneys who turned up at Boston’s Logan International Airport. “The past couple of weeks has definitely allowed me to see in real time that the law is a powerful tool, and the positivity of outcomes depends on how it is utilized,” he said.
Boston would in fact play a particularly important role in the battle over the legality of the order: on Sunday 29 January, two federal judges in the city issued a temporary stay on parts of the order, the first of many legal challenges since brought against the Order. Some travelers, including Ali Kermani, tried to arrange to fly into Boston to take advantage of the temporary restraining order. “I knew it was a risk,” said Ali, who was eventually denied boarding the flight to Boston by the airline, “but I thought if I had one chance to see my father, it would be worth any problems.”
Other attorneys who volunteered at airports were also touched by the nexus between legal advocacy and grassroots direct action. “It was a great feeling and it felt like we were winning. Everyone was incredible and willing to do anything,” said Anna N. Yeghiasarian, an immigration attorney from Arlington, Virginia. “It felt so good to see how people came together in such short notice all over the country and even different parts of the world to rally and support the cause.”
Legal advocates organized and responded, in fact, both on the ground at airports, and in filing legal challenges to the Order. On February 3, U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle issued a nationwide restraining order temporarily blocking the Order.
For myself, both an immigration attorney and a US-based Iranian, a key challenge was maintaining my commitment to providing proper legal guidance to my clients while also providing reassurances to my family and remaining active in my community. My own uncle and his family were set to emigrate to the United States in early February. I urged them to get here as soon as they could. They landed just 30 minutes before the Order was signed, and were processed at San Francisco International Airport without any major problems. But none of us had anticipated the the fear and anxiety that surrounded their journey and their arrival in the United States.
My own family crossed borders in the past as refugees, undertaking a harrowing journey in order to find a better life. I never imagined that tradition would continue into my own professional career, and in the United States of all places.
The most heartening aspect of the events of the past week and a half has been the climate of hope and solidarity that has emerged in the midst of the fear and anxiety. For me, it’s been a powerful acknowledgement that the law does not always act in the interest of the powerful. The next four years will demand more from those of us who advocate for inclusion, tolerance and diversity, but for immigration attorneys, at least, the time for action appears to be right now.

author: Hamid Yazdan Panah


text:
In Iran, From Prison to Banishment for Posting Jokes on Facebook · Global Voices
Center for Human Rights in Iran

Image of “Symbolic Prison Cell” in Iran from Babak Farroki. Image taken from Flickr under CC By 2.0.
A version of this article was originally published on the site of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
After serving a five-year prison sentence in Iran for posting jokes about religion on Facebook, Soheil Babadi has been forced into internal exile. The 39-year-old computer engineer, who previously lived in Tehran, must now spend the next two years in Beshagard, a remote community of 35,000 people in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan. Beshagard is located on the southern tip of the country, about a 20 hour drive from Babadi's hometown in the north.
“Court documents said Soheil’s sentence should have ended in July 2015, but despite all our efforts he wasn’t freed,” said the source. “Finally, Soheil himself filed a complaint against the judge and then they let him go (into exile).”
In an open letter dated September 7, 2013, Babadi said he was tortured while being interrogated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
“In May 2011 I posted ten short pieces of satire on a Facebook page called the ‘Campaign to Remind Shiites about Imam Naghi’ without using any insulting words,” said the letter. “A year later I was arrested by the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization without a warrant and held in Ward 2-A, the IRGC’s exclusive detention center, and beaten and interrogated for 24 hours.”
“Then someone named Ghena’atkar (from Branch 3 of the Security Court) formally read the charges against me, including ‘insulting the Prophet Mohammad,’ ‘insulting the sacred,’ ‘assembly and collusion,’ ‘insulting the supreme leader,’ ‘propaganda against the state,’ ‘membership in a group planning to overthrow the state’ ‘and acting against national security’—all for writing ten jokes on Facebook,” he added.
He continued: “I was interrogated while blindfolded in the corner of a room,” he continued. “The agent wanted me to confess to the charges against me, and when I refused, he severely beat me. I was constantly under psychological pressure as the agents probed into my personal life and tried to accuse me of sexual relations with friends and relatives, even with my sister-in-law, and even of homosexual relations with one of my friends, Mostafa. But they didn’t succeed and kept me in solitary confinement for 225 days.”
Soheil Babadi meets his family after leaving prison in Tehran. He is now starting exile in. Photo from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and used with permission.
Babadi was taken from Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj on January 28, 2016 to a police detention center and held for three days before being transported to Beshagard to begin the remainder of his sentence.
Babadi was arrested in 2012 after the Facebook posts, which satirized political and religious issues while focusing on Ali al-Naghi—the tenth Imam according to Shia Islam. The page, which has nearly 33,000 fans, gained popularity after the song “Naghi” by musical artist Shahin Najafi went viral in early May 2012 and at least two senior theologians issued fatwas calling for Najafi’s death for insulting Naghi.
Babadi was first charged with “insulting the sacred” and “insulting President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad],” and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison, 74 lashes and two years in exile in the city of Beshagard near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
In a second trial in September 2015 Judge Mohammad Moghisseh of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced Babadi to an additional seven years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” and “insulting the supreme leader.” Branch 26 of the Appeals Court has yet to issue a verdict on the appeal against Babadi’s sentence.
See the Campaign's previous article on Babadi's case here.

author: Center for Human Rights in Iran