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The Student Group in Japan That’s Made It Cool to Protest · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

An eye-catching poster from the student group SEALDs, featuring founding member, Wakako Fukuda (right). SEALDs (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy) has changed the image of protesters in Japan, and made it okay to speak out. Credit: Courtesy of SEALDs
This article by Naomi Gingold originally appeared on PRI.org on May 27, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
When Aki Okuda was 14 years old, he ran away from home. But this is not one of those kid-runs-away-and-is-brought-back-and-everything-goes-on stories.
Okuda ran away and stayed away.
“I wanted to go to the farthest place possible from Fukuoka,” he says. “I ended up on Yaeyama islands, the southernmost islands in Japan.”
Population: about 50.
He’d been bullied in junior high and had just stopped going. His home life was also kind of unusual. His father was a Christian priest and his parents took in the homeless. By the time he got to junior high, he says, “the whole ‘let’s help people’ thing at home was so completely different from the atmosphere at school. [It’s like] I didn't know who I was supposed to be.”
And with all those people at home, it was hard to find space to be alone. He laughs and says, “You know, I was an adolescent.”
Okuda later went to an unusual boarding school in the countryside, where students got to vote on the rules. Then, just as he was about to start at a good college in Tokyo, the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown hit Japan’s northeast. It was 2011.
Okuda started volunteering and going to anti-nuclear protests.
He says the triple disaster was a turning point.
Aki Okuda, a founding member of the Japanese student protest group, SEALDs. Credit: Courtesy of Aki Okuda
For starters, there was the lack of believable information from the government about what was going on. Then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s right-wing government announced it was restarting nuclear reactors. Then it announced a new “State Secrets” law clamping down on journalists, a key reason Japan has fallen in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index from one of the top countries down to 72nd place.
“It felt like the government had gone too far,” Okuda says. “Things were just so out of balance, I felt I had to do something to stop it.”
Normally in Japan, most people don’t talk about politics — not with friends or family. And although in the US, there’s an image of college students as politically active or socially engaged, in Japan, it’s the opposite. College is known as your last chance to party. Being into politics? Not so cool.
“It’s really hard to speak out in Japanese society, and there was this idea that people don't think about politics,” Okuda says. “That young people are apathetic.”
But Okuda says even though people may not be speaking up, there are people who are thinking about politics, including his group — SEALDs — Students Emergency Action for a Liberal Democracy.
Okuda at 23 is now the frontman of what’s become one of the largest activist movements ever in Japan.
Last year, Prime Minister Abe introduced legislation to expand the power of the military and change Japan’s pacifist constitution. SEALDs started organizing weekly protests in front of parliament.
Most Japanese view Article 9 — the part of the constitution that renounces war and a regular military — with pride, as central to who they are. And so most opposed Abe’s security bill.
But in Japan, protests have a big image problem. In the 1960s and 70s, there were large student demonstrations that turned violent. People died. And the image of protesters as violent extremists has stuck.
So Okuda and SEALDs knew they needed to change the culture and make it seem like any regular person could and should join.
They started holding educational salons. They produced slick, eye-catching ads and brochures featuring themselves: stylish, regular college students. Okuda, who’s big into hip-hop, says there's no reason fliers for protests and politics shouldn't look as cool as the music event fliers he regularly gets.
At first, protests were small, but by mid-July and August, they hit 60,000, then 120,000 people.
SEALDs members would give impassioned speeches.  Prominent academics and politicians started to as well. And SEALDs would lead these endless, call-and-response chants, in informal Japanese calling for the downfall of Prime Minister Abe, the end of war and the protection of their constitution and children.
SEALDs groups popped up all over Japan. And then groups inspired by SEALDs.
Some critics say that SEALDs is all style over substance. Aki Okuda says that just means they've succeeded in changing the image of protestors. Credit: Courtesy of SEALDs
David Slater is a cultural anthropologist who has been studying SEALDs since it first appeared on the scene.  He says older generations in Japan have been shocked — and inspired.
“They go wow, those are the people who are now suffering because my own generation didn't do anything during the 1980s and 90s and now they’re having the courage to speak up, even at personal risk,” Slater says.
Okuda was invited to speak in the Diet, Japan’s parliament. But in the end, after an actual physical fight, Abe rammed the military bill through.
SEALDs turned their attention to the 2016 election, focusing on voting out the ruling political power. Recently, they helped bring opposition parties together. There’s actually a new political party in Japan. And they’ve been doing big get-out-the-vote campaigns.
But in all of this, there’s criticism of SEALDs that they’re not serious enough, that they’re focused on style over substance.
When Okuda hears that, though, he laughs: “That was our strategy,” he says, to change the image of protests and protesters. “So the fact that people say that means it worked. “
He says SEALDS’ larger goal has always been to create a culture in Japan where it’s OK for anyone to just say their opinion and talk about politics openly, with co-workers, friends and family, in public — to create a new normal.
Slater says the influence of SEALDs, like any large social movement, will only be fully understood years down the road. But people are already being more open about politics. He says his students are more aware of the issues and of their potential for participation.
And SEALDs — and Okuda, especially — have basically become rock stars in Japan. Okuda does multiple interviews daily and speaks at events. There’s a new documentary out. He’s also working on two books, one by himself, one with other members of SEALDs. Okuda has 28,900 followers on Twitter.
SEALDs members have also been on the covers of Japanese fashion and culture magazines. Earlier this year, Okuda and one of the many prominent women of SEALDs appeared in Rolling Stone. And for this upcoming election, SEALDs has partnered with a cool fashion brand; their “Don’t Trash Your Vote” line is about to pop up in one of Tokyo’s most popular department stores.
Despite all of that, Okuda says SEALDs plans to disband after the election in July. Okuda, who’s now in grad school, says they were always a group of individuals and each will figure out what they want to do next.
Whatever happens, it’s clear that something in Japan is changing. And a group thought of as the most disconnected is leading the way.


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How Filipinos Remember Muhammad Ali’s ‘Thrilla in Manila’ Boxing Fight · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Muhammad Ali (right) against Joe Frazier (left) during the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ boxing fight. Photo from The Kahimyang Project by Primo Esteria, shared on the official Facebook page of the Philippine presidential palace.
News about the death of Muhammad Ali inspired many across the world to pay tribute to the boxing icon. In the Philippines, Filipino sports fans shared their memories of the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ boxing match between Ali and Joe Frazier.
Last night in Araneta Coliseum tribute for Muhammad Ali . pic.twitter.com/iRaP6rq9co
— Nathan™ (@Nahtanojevad) June 5, 2016
Held on October 1, 1975, the fight became one of the greatest boxing fights in history, which featured the third and final encounter of two legendary heavyweight champions. Ali won, although he almost quit near the end of the fight. Ali’s team felt their player barely survived the fight and they blamed it on the referee. This was recalled by Carlos Padilla, the Filipino referee who officiated the game:
When I went to Ali’s corner to raise his hand, they weren’t really happy with me and the way I officiated. They surrounded Ali and basically didn’t allow me to go to him and declare him the winner. They figured I made Ali’s life difficult that day. They were none too pleased, but I said, ‘No, no, no, give way.’ They just circled around him. I told Ali, ‘I have to raise your hand.’
The Philippine government hosted and sponsored the boxing match because of the publicity it would generate for the country. Ronnie Nathanielsz, the government-appointed liaison officer of ‘Thrilla in Manila’, wrote that then President Ferdinand Marcos wanted the international event to demonstrate that the country was peaceful and prosperous despite the declaration of martial law:
…he wanted the “Thrilla in Manila” so he could ‘show the world that the country was peaceful, we have no peace and order problems, the economy is doing well and our people are content.
I remember the fight itself before a jam-packed Araneta Coliseum which was re-named the Philippine Coliseum on instructions of President Marcos who wanted the country's name to gain international recognition.
Indeed, ‘Thrilla in Manila’ succeeded in redirecting public attention from the alleged excesses committed by the military-backed government toward the boxing game.
Facebook user Manny Payumo wrote how the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ led to fewer anti-government protests a week before the event:
I was at the college of engineering during the Thrilla in Manila fight at Araneta Coliseum. The week into the fight was the only time we were not out in the street protesting against the martial law regime of Marcos.
In honor of Ali, a shopping mall was named after him. Ali Mall, the Philippines’ first shopping mall, was built near the venue of ‘Thrilla in Manila’ in 1976.
Thrilla in Manila happened when I was a college sophomore October 1975. Then Ali Mall was named shortly after https://t.co/00h41ZvGtF
— Noemi L. Dado (@momblogger) June 4, 2016
Ali Mall, Philippines- the mall named after the great Muhammad Ali in tribute right after The Thrilla In Manila. pic.twitter.com/JQ0xE4Sr2m
— Nancy (@divineme1111) June 4, 2016
World boxing champion and senator-elect Manny Pacquiao led Filipinos in honoring Ali:
Manny Pacquiao releases a statement on the passing of Muhammad Ali. pic.twitter.com/hRa2kM3CLr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 4, 2016

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Keys to Understanding the Political and Economic Crisis in Venezuela · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Peaceful demonstrations in Caracas, Venezuela on 12 February 2014. Photo by durdaneta under CC BY 2.0 license.
The crisis and the polarization that have put Venezuela in the international media spotlight are often beyond the comprehension of those watching the situation unfold, whether from up close or from afar.
For Venezuelans, the rise of Chavism as the so-called socialism of the 21st century, the oil crisis, the constitutional changes, the protests, the violence and the economic crisis seem to be unrelenting. At the same time, the political drama makes things even more confusing.
In the past, we at Global Voices have discussed the Venezuelan conflict through the lens of different perspectives, including social media. However, the country's state of affairs has become even more complex with the worsening shortage of medicines and basic products as well as the declaration of a “State of Constitutional Exception and Economic Emergency” that, according to the public opinion, challenges the democratic foundations of the system.
Recently, we spoke with Luis Carlos Díaz, a Global Voices contributor and a well-known media figure in Venezuela, to help us understand the key issues of the Venezuelan crisis and how they are all connected.
Luis Carlos Díaz (LCD): Nicolás Maduro considera que necesita tener mayor control político, económico y social para gobernar el país en medio de la crisis. La realidad es que el Estado de Excepción es una manera de anular el trabajo de la Asamblea Nacional, nuestro parlamento, porque la oposición controla la mayoría de los curules. Con una emergencia económica, Maduro puede mover presupuesto y aprobar acciones sin rendirle cuentas al país ni ser auditado por los parlamentarios.
Lo curioso es que la crisis económica la ha creado él mismo, o los años de gobierno de chavismo.
Luis Carlos Díaz (LCD): [Venezuelan President] Nicolás Maduro thinks that he needs greater political, economic and social control to govern the country in the midst of the crisis. The reality is that the state of emergency is a way of annulling the work of the National Assembly, our parliament, because the opposition controls most seats. With an economic emergency, Maduro can make decisions regarding the budget and approve actions without being accountable to the country or being audited by the parliamentarians.
The interesting thing is that the economic crisis was created by him, and by the Chavez government.
GV: How has the economic crisis unfolded?
LCD: Venezuela tiene por 4to año consecutivo la inflación más alta del mundo. Solo en el último año ha superado el 750%.
También tenemos la escasez de alimentos y medicinas más grave del continente, así que la gente muere por falta de medicamentos y muchos venezolanos han dejado de consumir proteínas y optaron por saltarse comidas para rendir la alacena. El salario mensual es de 15.000 bolívares [aproximadamente $15 dólares estadounidenses al cambio del mercado paralelo, y aproximadamente USD$39 en uno de los cambios oficiales] más 18.000 bolívares [aproximadamente USD$18 o USD$47 en cambios paralelo y oficial respectivamente] de bono alimenticio, pero la canasta básica familiar cuesta 220.000 bolívares [USD$225 o USD$570]. Las cuentas no dan.
Todas esas variables dependen directamente del gobierno de Maduro, porque controla todos los dólares, la impresión de bolívares, las importaciones y la distribución de bienes en el país.
El Estado de Excepción y Emergencia Económica le permite a Maduro acumular más poder en medio de la crisis. Las organizaciones de derechos humanos han declarado que se excede tanto en su rol de presidente, que rompe el orden constitucional. Por ello consideran [el Estado de Excepción] como un golpe de Estado o el paso a un régimen de gobierno al margen de la democracia.
LCD: For the fourth consecutive year Venezuela has the highest inflation in the world. Only last year, it exceeded 750% .
We also have the most severe food and medicine shortages on the continent, so people die because of lack of medicines, and many Venezuelans have stopped eating protein and chosen to skip meals to stretch what's in their pantry. The monthly salary is 15,000 bolivars [approximately US $15 on the black market, and approximately US $39 on the official exchange rates] plus 18,000 bolivars [approximately US $18 or US $47 on the black market and official market, respectively] in food vouchers, but the basic family food basket costs 220,000 bolivars [US $225 or US $570]. People can't make ends meet.
All these variables depend directly on the government of Maduro, because it controls all of the dollars, the printing of bolivars, the imports and the distribution of goods in the country.
The State of Constitutional Exception and Economic Emergency allows Maduro to accumulate more power in the midst of the crisis. Human rights organizations have stated that he has overstepped so much in his role as president that he is breaking constitutional order. Therefore, they consider [the state of emergency] as a coup or a move to a system of government outside of democracy.
A little more on Venezuela's currency. In Venezuela, the foreign currency exchange rates are complex because of the exchange controls in the country. These controls result in different exchange rates depending on the use. Certain groups of importers (responsible for the purchase of food and medicine, for example) get preferential currency exchanges. For citizens, access to foreign currency involves other processes and complies with different rates. Government organizations are the ones who decide to grant different exchange rates, creating numerous conflicts between the private sector and the government entities.
To calculate the actual currency equivalent, the black market rates are usually taken into account. These exchanges, where one can access the few dollars that remain circulating, are illegal. Thus, the calculation of the current exchange rate is not only complex, but the rate can drop quickly, as it did during the writing and editing of this article.
GV: Within the Venezuelan Constitution, a recall referendum can be requested by popular demand. In recent months, political opposition groups have organized collections of signatures to request a referendum against the government this year.
However, it seems that for the National Electoral Council and for other government bodies, time limits and formalities about signatures have been justification for the recall referendum not to take place. In your opinion, will there or will there not be a referendum?
LCD: El Gobierno se ha atrincherado para impedirlo. Ha creado nuevos pasos que retrasan mucho más la realización del referéndum. Sus cuerpos policiales y militares impiden las manifestaciones y protestas.
El juego es que la mitad del periodo de Nicolás Maduro se cumple el 10 de enero de 2017. Si el referéndum es antes de esa fecha y lo pierde, sale del poder y se escoge nuevo presidente en 30 días. Pero si es después del 10 de enero de 2017, sale Maduro y se queda el vicepresidente para completar el periodo hasta 2019. El problema es que un día antes podría nombrar a su esposa, a quien quiera. Por eso el chavismo intenta retrasar el referendum.
La oposición vive el drama de ser mayoría electoral, pero no puede accionar otro método que no sea civil, pacífico y democrático. Así que si le piden firmas, firmará, si las debe entregar 10 veces, lo hará. Pero es un juego desigual.
LCD: The government has made efforts to prevent it. It has created new steps that further delay the referendum. Its police and military forces prevent demonstrations and protests.
Nicolas Maduro's half-term will be on January 10, 2017. If the referendum takes place before that date and he loses it, Maduro leaves the office and a new president is elected within 30 days. But if it occurs after January 10, 2017, President Maduro leaves and the vice president is left to complete the term until 2019. The problem is that the day before he could one day appoint his wife or whomever he wants. So, this is the reason why those supporting Chavism are trying to delay the referendum.
The opposition is in the difficult situation of being in the electoral majority, but it can take only civil, peaceful and democratic action. So, if [the government] asks them for [people's] signatures, they'll give them to them. If they have to deliver them 10 times, they will. But it is an unfair game.
GV: So then, what is the role of the opposition?
LCD: Hay dos niveles: por un lado se puede hablar de los partidos políticos opositores. La mayoría son de izquierda, centro izquierda o centro. No hay derecha en Venezuela que sea electoralmente considerable. Lo importante es que desde hace una década han ido consolidando una arquitectura de acuerdos llamada Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, que es una suerte de coalición o concertación que les ha permitido ir a elecciones con candidatos unitarios. Ese ha sido el secreto de su éxito y su crecimiento sostenido elección tras elección. Eso significa que también hay ruidos y diferencias entre algunos voceros, pero hay consensos en la mayoría.
Esa oposición es un acuerdo electoral y funciona porque al final se convierte en una tarjeta por la que la gente vota. Pero el país es más que un conjunto de partidos. La mayoría de la población no milita en partidos políticos, así que ese más de 70% que rechaza hoy en día a Maduro no tiene en realidad un solo líder, ni necesita tenerlo. Ese segundo nivel de la oposición es clave porque son los votos o firmas efectivas y hay acuerdo en que se espera una salida electoral del conflicto porque es la menos violenta. Sin embargo, cada día que pasa el gobierno en el poder, significan más muertos por violencia, falta de medicinas y alimentos. Es decir, los costos sociales son bastante altos ya sin referendum.
La oposición tiene entonces varias tareas en simultáneo: dar las malas noticias sobre lo que niega el Gobierno, pero también tejer un discurso de lo posible, de la esperanza. Aunque sea frustrada con burocracia y represión.
LCD: There are two levels: on one hand, we can speak of the political parties from the opposition. Most are left, center-left or center. There is no right-wing political party in Venezuela that is electorally significant. The important thing is that for a decade they've been consolidating a system of agreements called Democratic Unity Roundtable, which is a kind of coalition or consensus that has allowed the parties to participate in elections with unified candidates. That has been the secret of their success and their sustained growth in elections. That means there are differences between some spokesmen and women, but there is consensus in the majority.
This opposition is an electoral agreement and it works because in the end it becomes a ticket for which people vote. But the country is more than a set of parties. Most of the population is not active in political parties, so the more than 70% of people who reject Maduro do not really have a single leader nor the need to have one. This second level of opposition is key because they are the votes or effective signatures and there is agreement that an electoral solution to the conflict is hoped for because it is the least violent. However, each day of this government in power means more deaths by violence, lack of medicines and food. That is, the social costs are quite high even without a referendum.
The opposition then has several tasks simultaneously: to give the bad news about what the government denies, but also to promote a discourse of possibility, of hope. Although it is frustrated with bureaucracy and repression.
GV: Are there grassroots organizations that are listening to the demands of the people? What are they?
LCD: La mayoría están desbordadas. He trabajado con organizaciones de derechos humanos, con la Iglesia, con medios de comunicación, y hay un registro cotidiano de la crisis. Pero es poco lo que se puede hacer, más allá del acompañamiento y la denuncia. El Gobierno, por ejemplo, ha bloqueado la ayuda humanitaria, así que cuesta repartir medicinas. Hace unos días pudimos meter unas maletas de donaciones, pero eso raya en lo ilegal y no es sostenible en el tiempo.
LCD: Most are overwhelmed. I have worked with human rights organizations, the Catholic Church, the media, and there is a daily record of the crisis. But there is little that can be done, beyond support and condemnation. The government, for example, has blocked humanitarian aid, so it's difficult to distribute medicines. A few days ago we provided some bags for donations, but this is almost illegal and is not sustainable over time.
GV: In the end, the complexity of the situation is due to the large number of events occurring simultaneously, which is typical in critical situations.
LCD: En momentos de crisis todo ocurre en simultáneo, así que las organizaciones populares viven también dificultades. [Es en estas dificultades] concretas en las que el país se te desmigaja… y otra simbólica y difícil: la polarización.
Somos un país dividido, herido y en conflicto, así que en las organizaciones de base hay que lidiar constantemente con las diferencias entre las partes.
LCD: In times of crisis, everything happens simultaneously, so grassroots organizations also experience difficulties. [It is through these real difficulties] that the country crumbles before your eyes… and there are other symbolic difficulties, like polarization.
We are a divided, wounded country in conflict, so the grassroots organizations have to constantly deal with the differences between the parties.

author: Laura Vidal


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Russian Blogger Arrested After Helping US Journalists Report on Olympic Real Estate in Sochi · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

The Sochi seaport, one of the many real estate objects in the Sochi area that benefited from the renovations before the 2014 Winter Olympics. Photo by Roman Ganoshenko, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Russian blogger and journalist Aleksandr Valov, editor of BlogSochi website, has been arrested while working with an HBO film crew near the southern Russian city of Sochi. The journalists were reportedly investigating claims of misuse of real estate properties constructed during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
The blogger's lawyer reports that a court in Adler charged him with “organizing a public event in a near-border zone.” Valov is to remain in jail for five days.
Valov was detained on June 3 near the border between Russia and Abkhazia together with another Russian journalist, Dmitry Saltykovsky, and a six-person film crew from US channel HBO. Initially, law enforcement claimed they were operating in a near-border zone without “necessary permits.” The US citizens were released after seven hours, while the two Russian journalists were detained further and transported to the FSB headquarters in Sochi.
Dmitry Saltykovsky, who worked as an interpreter for the HBO crew, was released, but fined 1,000 rubles ($15), according to the journalists’ lawyer, Alexander Popov, on Twitter.
Адлерсуд назначил А.Валову 5 суток ареста – 20.2 (организация публ.мероприятия в приграничной зоне?!)
Журналисту Салтыковскому 1000 штраф
— Alexander Popkov (@slevodav) June 4, 2016
Adler court mandates 5 days of arrest for A. Valov under article 20.2 (organizing public events in near-border zone?!)
Journalist Saltykovsky fined 1,000.
The HBO journalists and their Russian counterparts were in the Sochi area to film some of the buildings from the Olympic “heritage fund” which the Sochi city administration officials had reportedly put up for sale in an auction, despite their special status. Before his phone was taken away, Valov confirmed to the Caucasian Knot website that he ahd Saltykovsky were being accused of “organizing events,” but insisted the group was there not to “hold meetings or events,” but to “look at and film the houses that the city's administration had put up for sale.”

author: Tanya Lokot


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The Amazing Stories of Las Lajas Sanctuary, the “Most Beautiful Church in the World” · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Las Lajas Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary. Image on Flickr by user Jonathan Wood (CC BY-ND 2.0).
All across Latin America, stories of miracles and fantastic events travel through the region and many times stop at the churches. In Colombia, many of these stories surrround the Las Lajas (stone similar to shale) Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary. Known as the “most beautiful church on earth,” the sanctuary is located about 800 kilometers south of Bogotá (a little less than 500 miles) and 10 kilometres (about six miles) from the border with Ecuador, in the Colombian city of Ipiales in Nariño department. Las Lajas Sanctuary received canonical coronation from the Vatican in 1951 and the sanctuary was declared a basilica in 1954.
There are many stories and origins it protectes, however, that date back from at least the 18th century. One of the best known tells the story of Maria Mueses de Quiñones, and the miracles the Virgin granted to her daughter:
[Las] protagonistas [de esta historia] son la india María Mueses de Quiñones, descendiente de antiguos caciques [jefes de tribu] y su pequeña hija Rosa, sordomuda de nacimiento. El lugar de los hechos se sitúa en los andes ecuatoriales a 2.600 metros de altitud, a media cuesta de una profunda quebrada sobre el río Guáitara, en el municipio de Ipiales, en el extremo sur de la actual Colombia, a diez kilómetros de la frontera con Ecuador. […] Al llegar a la cueva del Pastarán, [María] se detiene para descansar. La niña [su hija Rosa] entonces se desliza suavemente de la madre y empieza a trepar por las lajas. De pronto María escucha que su hija le habla: “Mamita, vea a esta mestiza que se ha despeñado con un mesticito en los brazos y dos mestizos a los lados”. Desconcertada, [María] no atina sino a coger a la niña y huir del lugar.
[The] main characters [in this story] are Maria Mueses, an indigenous woman from Quiñones, who was descended from old caciques [tribe leaders] and her small daughter Rosa, deaf and mute from birth. The place where the events took place is located in the Equatorial Andes, 2.600 meters above sea level (about 8,500 feet), in the middle of a deep gorge over Guaitara river, in the municipality of Ipiales, on the southern end of modern-day Colombia, ten kilometers from the border with Ecuador. […] Upon arrival to the Pastaran cave, [Maria] stops to rest. Then, the girl [her daughter Rosa] slips from her mother and starts to climb the shales. Soon Maria hears her daughter saying: ‘Mommy, look at this mestiza [mixed race] that has come down holding a baby with two other mestizos by her side.’ Bewildered, [Maria] is only able to grab the girl and run away from the place.
And the story goes on with an even more astonishing event, not only because Rosa is able to talk:
Rosa cayó gravemente enferma y murió. La desconsolada madre, concibió entonces la idea de llevar el cuerpecito sin vida de su entrañable hija a los pies de la Señora del Pastarán, para recordarle las flores y velas con que la niña solía obsequiarla y pedirle encarecidamente que le restituyera la vida. Ante los ruegos insistentes y las copiosas lágrimas, ante la fe que no se doblega, la Virgen no resistió y obtuvo de su Divino Hijo la gracia de la resurrección de la pequeña Rosa.
Rosa got seriously ill and died. The disconsolate mother then had the idea to take the little dead body of her beloved daughter to the Lady of Pastarán's feet, for her to remember the flowers and candles the girl used to take her and to strongly plead for the girl to come back to life. Listening to the endless prayers, being aware of the abundant tears and witnessing the unbreakable faith, the Virgin could not resist and got from her Divine Son the grace of resurrection for Rosa.
In December 2015, British newspaper The Telegraph ranked Las Lajas Sanctuary as the world's most beautiful church:
El santuario de las Lajas, considerado “el milagro de Dios sobre el abismo”, es visitado cada año por 750.000 feligreses, principalmente colombianos y ecuatorianos.
Para ‘The Telegraph’ resulta impactante su estilo gótico y que se haya levantado sobre un cañón, a una altura de 100 metros sobre el río Guáitara, en la frontera con el Ecuador.
Las Lajas Sanctuary, considered ‘God's miracle over the abyss,’ is visited annually by 750.000 parishioners, mostly Colombians and Ecuadorians.
For ‘The Telegraph’ its Gothic style is impressive, as well as the fact that it has been built over a canyon, over 100 meters (328 feet) above Guáitara river, on the border with Ecuador.
The name of the sanctuary is inspired by the material used to build it:
The name Laja comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock similar to floor tiles found in the Andes Mountains.
More images can be found thanks to Twitter users:
The stunning Gothic-style Las Lajas Sanctuary in Colombia, was built between 1916 and 1949. Never ceases to amaze! pic.twitter.com/R3qAFUtGxz
— Arch Journal (@ArchJournal) 23 de mayo de 2016
Santuario De Las Lajas, Colombia pic.twitter.com/wocAIjhiC1
— iLikePicsDaily (@iLikePics_Daily) 20 de mayo de 2016
Las Lajas Sanctuary, Colombia.
Detalle Rosetón Basílica de las lajas Nariño (colombia) una maravilla #arquitectura #architecture #art pic.twitter.com/36z5VmUil7
— Orlando. (@OrlandoArq) 7 de mayo de 2016
Detail of rose window at Las Lajas Basilica, Nariño (Colombia). Amazing.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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The Thousands of Mexican Women Who Never Made it Home · Global Voices
Connectas

“Missing Women.” Photo by Luis Sandoval for El Universal. Published with permission from CONNECTAS.
This report was written by Daniela Guazo for [Mexican newspaper] El Universal, as part of the Mike O’Connor Scholarship for the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and the Initiative for Investigative Journalism in the Americas, which partners with the ICFJ and CONNECTAS. This version is published by Global Voices thanks to a content sharing agreement with this medium.
From 2002 to 2015, more than three thousand women disappeared in Mexico’s capital. Although no one is sure of their whereabouts, their families have not lost hope in finding them. Meanwhile, authorities only consider them to be “absent.”
Ana Paola Franco recently turned 21, but this time she didn’t blow out candles on a cake surrounded by her family. The tradition was broken. In her room are her clothes, her bed, and her big stuffed animals — reminders of the life she led. Everything remains intact since February 9, 2016. That was the last day the young woman left her house to go to work. She said goodbye to her brother with a simple “see you tonight.” That never happened.
After not hearing from her for more than 24 hours, her name was added to a flyer along with her picture and distinguishing marks. These cards, issued by Mexico City’s Care Center for Missing or Absent Persons (Capea), are no longer news. Her case was one of 187 reports of missing women that were filed between January and March of 2016 in Mexico City.
Ana Paola’s father went to Tlalpan’s Public Ministry offices. There, he ran into the biggest obstacle that families in a similar situation face: Ministry employees told him that “because she is of legal age, you must wait at least 48 hours to start the investigation.” He left the office with the fear that no one would look for his daughter.
Photo by Luis Sandoval for El Universal. Published with permission from CONNECTAS.
This young woman’s name is just one of the many that make up the city’s database of missing persons. El Universal’s Journalism Data Unit standardized these records up to March 2016 and they are available as a resource on Mexico City’s Attorney General’s Office website to determine how many women are missing in the capital.
Of the 6,878 reports the site has counted up to this point, 3,054 are women. Filing dates range from 2002 until the end of 2015. José Antonio Ferrer, Capea Director, ensures that the website is constantly updated and when someone is found, they are removed from it.
Below, along with the file number, is the word “ABSENT.” This label has led to more than three thousand cases not being the priority of the capital’s officials. Ferrer is blunt in describing what the institution in charge does:
Nosotros no conocemos de desaparecidos. Son personas extraviadas o ausentes.
“We aren’t aware of missing persons. They are lost or absent.”
In six out of ten, or 1,972, records found on Capea’s site, the young women were between 13 and 20 years old when they went missing. The boroughs of Iztapalapa, Gustavo A. Madero and Cuauhtémo make up 44% of these cases.
Between 2009 and 2011, there is an annual average of 300 unresolved cases. In 2012, this figure reached 432 reports of females who failed to return home. This figure, far from diminishing, indicates significant increases. In the records from 2015 are the names of 522 women who remain missing, according to the data available on Capea's website.
Mexico City’s Observatory against Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation warns that the authorities do not want to admit the problem. “The city is starting to generate its own trafficking victims and the government is ignoring it,” said Gerardo Nava and Víctor Núñez, members of this organization that has been investigating these cases for more than four years.
But for the mothers, the most difficult question is knowing when to stop looking. Alma Estela, Ana Paola’s mother, calmly, but tearfully says:
No vamos a parar. Aunque me entreguen un cuerpo al cual llorarle, pero necesito saber en dónde está mi hija.
We will not stop. Until they give me her body to mourn, but I need to know where my daughter is.
Each member of the Franco Aguilar family clings to something. A final message. The memory of watching movies on the weekends. Having breakfast together: “It was just the four of us,” says her father. Oscar forces himself to believe that one day the quartet will again be complete.
If you want to know more details of the situation faced by thousands of families and see the victim’s individual faces, view the slideshow Ausencias Ignoradas (Ignored Absences).
To read the full report, click here:

author: Connectas


text:
A Glimpse Into the First African Bloggers and Vloggers’ Festival in Dakar, Senegal · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Poster for the African Conference of Bloggers and Vloggers via Armelle. Used with her permission
Armelle Nina Sitchoma reported on the first African Bloggers and Vloggers’ Festival (FABY, for its initials in French), which took place 3-5 June 2016 at La Place du Souvenir in Dakar, Senegal.
The blogger, who is from Douala, Cameroon, wrote on her website that the two-day festival attracted 36 of the “best” bloggers and vloggers from around Africa as well as other digital figures. They gave presentations on African digital content and the economic opportunities to be found on the African web.
She continued:
Deux panels avec comme axe le « Big Data : Quelle place pour les contenus africains ? » modéré par Aboubacar Sadikh Ndiaye, Consultant web 2.0 et « La vidéo en Afrique : Quel avenir ? » modéré par Mountaga Cissé du Sénégal meubleront les deux jours d’échanges.
Les panels seront animés par des blogueurs et des youtubeurs de renom tels Edith Brou de la Côte d’Ivoire, Yassine Massouath du Maroc, Mountaga Cissé du Sénégal qui s’exprimeront sur la thématique « Comment réussir  sur internet ? Les possibilités de métier dans l’univers IT. » Annie Payep du Cameroun, Ameyaw  du Ghana, Alexandre Lette et NK Thiat du Sénégal animeront l’atelier sur « Quelle politique  pour un contenu de qualité ? »
Le deuxième jour du festival sera consacré à l’avenir de la vidéo en Afrique. Une meilleure visibilité sur le web passe nécessairement par une bonne connexion internet.  Merouane Boudiab de l’Algérie, El Oumar Diop du Sénégal et Aphtal Cissé du Togo tableront sur « Quelle stratégie pour une meilleure connectivité en Afrique ? » Produire une vidéo c’est bien. Gagner e l’argent à travers cette dernière c’est encore mieux. Comment gagner de l’argent et promouvoir ses vidéos sur YouTube? Les réponses à cette question seront données par Nancie Mwai du Kenya, Lamine Mbengue et Assane Mbengue du Sénégal.
Des exemples de réussite  sur le continent africain tels Aisha Dème de Agendakar seront présentés au public. Le FABY, 1 édition, sera également un moment d’animation à travers les stands make up – fashion de Sylvia Njoki (Kenya), mode & beauté de Aba du Sénégal. La cuisine, les jeux vidéo, l’éducation et l’humour seront également de la partie.
The two days of discussions were arranged around two panel discussions: “Big Data: What place is there for African content?” moderated by web 2.0 consultant Aboubacar Sadikh Ndiaye, and “The Future of Video in Africa” moderated by Mountaga Cissé from Senegal.
The panels included well-known bloggers and vloggers such as Edith Brou from Ivory Coast, Yassine Massouath from Morocco, and Mountaga Cissé from Senegal, who spoke on the theme of “How to succeed on the internet: Job opportunities in an IT world.” Whilst Annie Payep from Cameroon, Ameyaw from Ghana, and Alexandre Lette and NK Thiat from Senegal led a workshop on “Ensuring quality content”.
The second day of the festival was dedicated to the future of video in Africa. Better visibility on the web requires a good internet connection. Marouane Boudiab from Algeria, El Oumar Diop from Senegal and Aphtal Cissé from Togo discussed “Improving connectivity in Africa”. Producing a video is all well and good, but it is even better to earn money from it. How can you earn money and promote your YouTube videos? Answers to this question were given by Nancie Mwai from Kenya, and by Lamine Mbengue and Assane Mbengue from Senegal.
African success stories, such as that of Aisha Dème of the website Agendakar, were shared with the audience. There were also exhibition stands featuring make up – Fashion from Sylvia Njoki (Kenya) and Mode & Beauté from Aba of Senegal – and cooking, video games, education and comedy were also covered and the first African Bloggers & Vloggers’ Festival

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Be Ready to Scream on Facebook, Before Signing Up for Moscow’s Car-Sharing Services · Global Voices
Yulia Savitskaya

Promotional image from the DeliMobil car-sharing service.
Like cities throughout the West with Zipcar service, Moscow is a city with great potential for the car-sharing business: its traffic is some of the worst in the world, and parking in the city's center—within the “Garden Ring”—is prohibitively expensive. Under these circumstances, many people did not think much before signing contracts with Moscow’s major car-sharing companies, DeliMobil and Anytime (both in business since last year). DeliMobil had something extra going for it, too: an endorsement from the Moscow city government.
Within a few months, some of DeliMobil's drivers were involved in traffic collisions and suffered damage to their vehicles. While accidents were inevitable, the drivers were surprised to learn that they were charged a far higher share of the repair costs than they expected. Saying they were led to believe they'd be responsible for just 20 percent of any repair costs, drivers were billed the full repair cost, in addition to several other costs, such as another 20 percent of the repair sum and compensation for the car's down time in the DeliMobil fleet. If drivers failed to pay these fees immediately, the penalties skyrocketed.
Were DeliMobil drivers really led to believe that their liability in the event of a collision would be 20 percent of repair costs? Screenshots shared online from the company's HR department seem to suggest this claim. DeliMobil's own “frequently asked questions” section on its website read, “All our vehicles have OSAGO insurance. If a vehicle is damaged through a client’s fault, the client is charged […] 20 percent of the repair cost, if the whole sum exceeds 100,000 rubles [$1,500].”
Alexander Semenov, a DeliMobil client burned by the company's repair-cost policies, shared his story on social media and attracted the support of the “Blue Buckets”—an online community dedicated to fighting corruption on Russia's roads and highways. Semenov says he was charged 588,300 rubles (almost $9,000) for totaling a Hyundai Solaris, though the vehicle is only worth 537,000 rubles (about $8,200) brand new.
Semenov complained that he'd been charged an unfair amount of money, and hundreds of other Facebook users agreed. A spokesperson for DeliMobil commented on his Facebook post, however, explaining at great length and without any apparent sympathy that the company's policies are what they are, and even arguing that Semenov's complaint (and any media outlets that reported it) risked committing defamation against DeliMobil.
Promotional video for DeliMobil's service.
Ilya Krasilshik, the chief editor of a Latvia-based news website Meduza, later shared a screenshot of this threat to sue for defamation, fueling what was already a heated online debate. Given DeliMobil's close ties to Moscow city officials, the discussion turned political almost immediately.
The car-sharing company soon fired back, revealing that Semenov tried to blackmail DeliMobil, offering to dial back the media pressure, if the company agreed to reduce his fees. (Semenov later admitted to making this suggestion at a meeting with representatives from DeliMobil.)
The very next day DeliMobil introduced a new car-rental plan. Rental costs were now more expensive (rising from 7 to 10 rubles for every minute in a DeliMobil vehicle), but the plan now included car insurance. According to a short description that the company provided, in case of any accident a client would pay no more than 10,000 rubles ($150). The company's CEO announced that some changes were being made to the old plan, too: the maximum amount of customer expenses in the event of a traffic collision would now be limited to 150,000 rubles ($2,300). Clients previously billed as much as half a million rubles (all three of them, including Alexander Semenov) were now liable for just 150,000 rubles.
Writing on Facebook, Semenov welcomed the news, thanking his friends and readers for their support. DeliMobil even said it would review its company policies regarding social media activity.
Despite the negative press that began this story, DeliMobil has something to celebrate, too: the company demonstrated its focus on customers, and its ability to respond to complaints about its service. Whether or not this means Moscow's car-sharing industry is now a safe bet for the average consumer, however, is another matter. For all the problems car-sharing would ideally solve in Russia's capital, the business clearly creates new problems of its own.

author: Yulia Savitskaya


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Come Along on a Canoe Ride Through the Amazon With Young Sarayaku Footballers · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Imagine traveling 67 kilometers by motorized canoe in search of a rival for a sporting match. That is what the young footballers from the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon must do every week for regular competition.
These kids belong to Club Deportivo Sarayaku's football academy, which not only helps young kichwas from the community learn to dribble, pass, and play defense, but also helps steer them in the right direction, toward team sport, away from potentially dangerous temptations. The school's website says it acts as a bulwark against the “aggression of globalization”:
La niñez y la juventud de Sarayaku son poseedoras de  inteligencia, talentos y capacidades para vivir en el habitat de su territorio. Son hábiles en el bosque, cazadores, conocedores de la botánica, de los cosmos, de las montañas, de la lluvia, delas cascadas, del rayo, de las piedras, del árbol sagrado del Uchuputo y de la Pachamama. Hoy se van cayendo poco a poco ante la agresión visible e invisible de la globalización, por la postergación y abandono de los grandes ministerios, por los proyectos industriales y la falta de solidaridad que conlleva a un grave riesgo a temprana edad como el alcoholismo y migración de la juventud.
The youth of Sarayaku possess intelligence, talent, and the ability to live in their territory's habitat. They are skilled in the forest as hunters, knowledgeable about botany, the cosmos, the mountains, the rain, waterfalls, lightning, stones, the sacred Uchuputo tree, and of the Pachamama (Mother Earth). Today they are falling slowly to the visible and invisible aggression of globalization, to the postponement and abandonment of the large governmental ministries, to the industrial projects, and to the lack of solidarity that leads to the serious risk at an early age of alcoholism and youth migration.
Helping to build self-esteem and pride in the local youth culture is another goal of the football school because of the camaraderie built among the team when representing their community. This can be seen in the fun the close-knit team has when it sets off for the six-hour river journey to play its next match.
Eriberto Gualinga, a filmmaker from the Kichwa community, accompanied the team to capture the trip along the Bobonanza River, which also included a 90-minute bus ride. The team faced its latest opponent: a football school located in Palora Canton.
Filming with a GoPro camera, Gualinga documented the conditions in which the youth travel to play the sport they love:
En la Amazonia el clima es impredecible, se puede ver las cuatro estaciones del año en el mismo día, el sol en la mañana, lluvia en la tarde, fuerte viento, arboles con flores, arboles que pierden las hojas. Los pequeños viajeros se enfrentan a todas estas adversidades.
In the Amazon, the climate is unpredictable. You can see the four seasons of the year all in the same day: sunshine in the morning, rain in the afternoon, strong winds, trees with flowers, and trees that lose their leaves. The little travelers face all of these adversities.
The river is sacred to the Sarayaku people, as it is not only the means of communication and contact with other communities, but it is a source of sustenance. That is why the Sarayaku people are well-known for defending their natural surroundings because of their relationship with nature. And now the river is also a way to connect with other communities for a friendly match of football.
Sarayaku Football School. YouTube screenshot from the video: “Viajando por el Bobonaza con la Escuela de Futbol Sarayaku” (Traveling along the Bobonaza with Sarayaku Football School)

author: Eduardo Avila


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For Many Puerto Ricans, a Proposed Fiscal Control Board Smacks of US Colonialism · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

“Let's go ahead, there is an agreement.” Illustration by Kike Estrada. Used with permission.
There are many reasons why the summer of 2016 will prove to be pivotal for the future of Puerto Rico, a territory under the control of the United States. The Puerto Rican government is expected to default on almost $2 billion in general obligation bonds. The US Supreme Court will decide two cases that could touch upon the very heart of the colonial status problem of Puerto Rico. The US Congress will vote on the proposed Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA, which in Spanish means promise).
That last one now seems dangerously close to becoming a reality.
On May 25, the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, which has authority over the affairs of Puerto Rico, approved HR 5278, a bill which proposes an independent fiscal control board with the power to restructure Puerto Rico's debts. Should this board be created, its powers would override those of the entire government of Puerto Rico, including its Constitution. It would have absolute control over the government's budget, revenues and operation, and no one in Puerto Rico would have a say in the matter.
This version of the bill doesn't differ much from its predecessor, HR 4900. Indeed, most of the changes seem to be rather superficial. One of the most important points of contention between the Democratic and Republican political parties, which is lowering the minimum wage from $7.25 to $4.25 for workers 25 and under, has been left intact, for example. If anything, the new bill creates an even more powerful fiscal oversight board than was originally proposed.
While fiscal oversight boards are nothing new for the US (the capital Washington, DC, was subject to one from 1995 to 2001), the proposed board for Puerto Rico is much tougher than any previously created. Interviewed on independent US news channel Democracy Now!, journalist Juan González explained in general terms what the bill would mean to Puerto Rico should it be passed into law:
[The] bill does have a restructuring mechanism in it for Puerto Rico, but it’s now really a poison pill, because in addition to providing the restructuring that the government of Puerto Rico has asked for, it’s also requiring the government of Puerto Rico to submit to a virtual total takeover of its economy. It would require a new oversight board of seven people, four of whom will be chosen basically by the Republicans; even though they will be appointed by the president, the president has to take them from lists provided by [House of Representatives] Speaker [Paul] Ryan and by the Senate majority leader. So it’s basically going to be a Republican-dominated board.
He continued:
And most importantly—this is what rankles most people on the island—is that only one of the seven actually has to be a resident or have a primary business in Puerto Rico. So you’re in essence creating a board […] that will be of nonresidents of the island running the financial affairs of Puerto Rico for the next five, possibly 10 years.
That means Puerto Rico's already limited autonomy would be restricted even further. As a US territory, Puerto Ricans have US citizenship, but aren't allowed to vote in federal elections for the country's president. Puerto Ricans also lack voting representation in the US Congress — where laws that very much affect them, like the PROMESA bill, are decided.
Republican Representative Paul Ryan, who is the speaker or presiding officer of the House of Representatives, which is the lower chamber of the US Congress, defended the bill on Twitter:
Here's my statement on #PROMESA, the House's bipartisan #PuertoRico legislation that prevents a taxpayer bailout. pic.twitter.com/lY0YuW5cIs
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) May 19, 2016
Meanwhile, for politicians gearing up for the November elections in Puerto Rico, it's business as usual. Though they are aware of the extraordinary powers that the fiscal control board will have should it become law, one could think otherwise, judging from their campaigns. A tweet from journalist Maritza Díaz Alcaide summed this up quite well:
Surrealista ver en campaña a los que no van a gobernar…
— Maritza Diaz Alcaide (@maritzadiazalca) May 21, 2016
It is surreal to see people campaigning who are not going to govern.
Mainstream media in Puerto Rico has joined the ranks of those who are urging its people to welcome the fiscal control board as necessary and inevitable. One of Puerto Rico's most influential newspapers, El Nuevo Día, has published a series of editorials during the past months that argue in favor of federal fiscal control. A recent editorial reads as follows:
Without belittling the concerns regarding the authority the law grants the Board, the thing to do right now is for the Senators and members of Congress who are friends of the island to close ranks with the federal House leadership, Republicans and Democrats alike, which removed the restructuring legislation from the dangerous deadlock in which it previously found itself.
The legislation should not be blocked in the House or Senate. That must not happen in this final stretch. We trust that, after the House vote, the Senate will establish a swift work plan so the legislation can return to its counterpart and be completed in a final version before the critical date of July 1st, when Puerto Rico anticipates a default of about $2 billion.
[…]
In times of crisis, reason must prevail over emotions. Local and congressional leaders should make note of that.
But in alternative media and especially on social media, the narrative is quite different. Many groups have formed on Facebook with the purpose of organizing efforts to protest the proposed oversight board, with civil disobedience if necessary.
Junte contra la Junta (Come Together Against the Board) describes itself as a tool for the “agitation” of the masses against the oversight board. Another Facebook group is Coalición Ciudadana contra la Junta de Control Fiscal (Citizen Coalition Against the Fiscal Control Board) which states as one of its principal purposes to educate the public about the consequences of the control board and to help rally different sectors against it.
In an opinion piece published in Diálogo, a monthly newspaper published by the University of Puerto Rico, José G. Caraballo explains why a large number of people reject the PROMESA bill:
Lo que no es bueno para Estados Unidos no es bueno para Puerto Rico. Por eso, el proyecto PROMESA es rechazado por amplios sectores dado su impacto sobre los trabajadores privados y públicos, sobre la pobreza y sobre nuestro colonialismo centenario. En un sondeo reciente una mayoría de economistas boricuas (de diferentes ideologías) rechazan una Junta de Control Fiscal federal. La inmensa mayoría de la sociedad civil también la rechaza, incluyendo las más de 42 organizaciones que testificaron ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. En una cumbre de la diáspora boricua el mes pasado también observé una mayoría opuesta a esta Junta.
What isn't good for the United States is not good for Puerto Rico. That is why the PROMESA bill is rejected by many sectors, given its impact on private and public workers, poverty and our century-long colonialism. In a recent survey a majority of Puerto Rican economists (of different ideologies) reject a federal fiscal control board. The immense majority of civil society also rejects it, including over 42 organizations that testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In a summit of the Puerto Rican diaspora last month I also observed a majority that opposed the control board.
He also adds that in spite of this opposition, there are still many who want Congress to impose a fiscal control board out of ignorance:
Un número de personas en Puerto Rico favorecen esta Junta sin saber qué es, sin leer el proyecto (el 70% de las personas no hablan inglés) y piensan que esta Junta parará la corrupción (una palabra que no aparece en el proyecto). Esas mismas personas cambian de opinión cuando saben que los miembros de esa Junta pueden recibir “donaciones” pero tienen inmunidad criminal (abriendo las puertas a la corrupción), que ese proyecto le reduce el salario mínimo a los jóvenes y le quita el pago de horas extras a todos los empleados privados que ganen más de $455 semanalmente. Esto sin entrar en que el “representante” de Puerto Rico ante la Junta pudiese ser Donald Trump o John Paulson quienes tienen negocios aquí o que el proyecto se hizo secretamente entre el personal del Tesoro (exejecutivos de Wall Street) y congresistas conservadores, sin consultar la sociedad civil local.
A number of people in Puerto Rico favor this control board without knowing what it is, without having read the bill (70% of the people don't speak English) and think that this control board will put a stop to corruption (a word that is absent from the bill). Those same persons change their minds when they know that the members of that board can accept “donations”, but have criminal immunity (opening the door to corruption), that that bill reduces the minimum wage for young people and eliminates overtime pay for all private employees that make over $455 a week. All of this without mentioning that the “representative” of Puerto Rico before the board could [in theory] be Donald Trump or [billionaire hedge fund manager] John Paulson, who both have businesses here, or that the bill was secretly made between the Department of the Treasury (Wall Street ex-CEOs) and conservative congressmen, without consulting the local civil society.
The Center for a New Economy, an independent non-partisan think tank, has also come out against the PROMESA bill:
Lamentablemente, luego de analizar el proyecto HR 5278 – y aunque reconocemos que se ha hecho mucho trabajo para lograr un proyecto que cuente con apoyo bipartita – tenemos que decir que no podemos endosar el proyecto.
Primero, este proyecto le impone a Puerto Rico un costo muy alto a cambio de un beneficio muy incierto. Nos obliga a canjear la facultad de tomar decisiones sobre nuestra propia gestión pública a cambio de acceder a un proceso que – luego de sortear más de 45 requisitos, pasos y niveles distintos – pudiera permitirnos quizás acceder a la posibilidad de que un tribunal acceda (o no) a autorizarnos a reestructurar alguna parte de nuestra deuda.
Segundo, porque si bien Puerto Rico necesita controles fiscales fuertes, esos controles tienen que salir de unas instituciones locales y una cultura fiscal transformada. De nada vale que se imponga una junta de control fuerte que cuadre la chequera pero que, una vez terminado su mandato, nos deje las mismas instituciones gubernamentales y fiscales que nos han metido en este atolladero. Puerto Rico necesita transformaciones duraderas y a largo plazo.
Unfortunately, after analyzing HR 5278—and even though we recognize that a lot of work has been done to create a bill with bipartisan support—we have to say that we cannot endorse this bill.
First, this bill imposes on Puerto Rico too high a cost in exchange for an uncertain benefit. It forces us to trade our own self-governance in return for access to a process that—after meeting over 45 different requirements, steps and levels—may or may not allow us the possibility of a court deciding to permit us to restructure part or all our our debt.
Second, though it is true that Puerto Rico needs strong fiscal controls, those controls should come from local institutions and a transformed fiscal culture. It is of no use to have a strong fiscal control board imposed on us that balances the checkbook, but once it finishes its mandate, leaves us with the same government and fiscal institutions that have gotten us in this mess. Puerto Rico needs lasting and long-term transformations.
The PROMESA bill has all the earmarks of plain, old-fashioned colonialism, which for many only confirms that Puerto Rico is under the colonial rule of the US. Tellingly, mainstream media in the US stop just short of referring to that relationship as colonial. If the term colonial is used at all, it is accompanied by some sort of modifier (quasi-colonial, pseudo-colonial, colonial-like, etc.). The most recent example of this occurred during presidential hopeful Bernie Sander's visit to Puerto Rico on May 16, in which he told crowds that “The people of the US cannot continue a colonial-type relationship with the people of Puerto Rico”.
Perhaps the first step towards real help for Puerto Rico is for the US to recognize that it is, indeed, in a colonial relationship with Puerto Rico, a fact that has remained unchanged for the past 118 years.

author: Ángel Carrión


text:
India’s Anti-African Racism Is Once Again in the Spotlight After a Congolese Man’s Beating Death · Global Voices
Sohini Chatterjee

A lynch mob mercilessly beat three Nigerian students in Delhi in September 2014. Screenshot from video “No Country For Black Men”
A few weeks ago, Masonga Kitanda Olivier, a 23-year-old from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was beaten to death by three men in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area. Olivier had moved to India for university studies and had recently started teaching French in a private institute. His attackers allegedly used racial slurs as they assaulted him.
It was far from being the only recent case of violence against African people in India. On May 25, a Nigerian student, 26-year-old Bamilola Kazim, was hit with an iron rod after an altercation over a parking issue with a local in the city of Hyderabad. He was treated at a local hospital and released.
And in January, a 21-year-old Tanzanian woman studying in India was beaten, stripped and paraded naked in the streets of the city of Bangalore by a mob because they incorrectly thought her car had run over and killed a local woman. Three of her friends were also assaulted and the car they were traveling in was set on fire. After they were done, the enraged horde went to houses where African students live and harassed them.
Throughout the last years, similar attacks targeting African nationals and people of African descent have continually made headlines. So does that mean India has a problem with racism against Africans?
Not if you ask India's Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, who was reluctant to categorize the Masonga Kitanda Olivier's killing as racist. Swaraj assured that the assault was carried out by anti-social elements and argued that giving the case a racial tinge would be unfair to the people of India, who generally believe in harmonious cohabitation.
I would like to assure African students in India that this an unfortunate and painful incident involving local goons.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) 25 May 2016
Swaraj took to Twitter to urge Indians to tell Africans that India loves them and shake their hand. However, many found it naive or hypocritical, in the face of recent violence against Africans as well as the discrimination that persists in other sectors of Indian society.
Even after 70 years of Independence, we can't even make the Indians love each other, and they want us to tell Africans that we love them.
— Mr. Tippler (@MrTippler) June 2, 2016
@SushmaSwaraj Maybe we shd work on better awareness and not superficial steps. Besides, rights shd not depend on love. #AfricaIsNotACountry
— Mihira Sood (@mihira_sood) 2 June 2016
me: India loves you
African citizen: Africa isn't a country https://t.co/UQbY0tPLmR
— fluffy (@curiousgawker) 2 de junio de 2016
@SushmaSwaraj Better still. Urge fellow Indians to not be racist and xenophobic. Let's truly change who we are. @apercevoir
— Harish Subramanian (@HarishSub) 2 June 2016
Say “India loves you,” then, to Muslims, Dalits, Africans, seculars…and go right back to kicking them in the face? https://t.co/sGXaArGadM
— Nehr-who? (@threeinchfooll) 2 June 2016
However, a minority of Twitter users seemed to think this was a good idea.
@SushmaSwaraj tried it the kenyan guy was so happy…told me how so many indians work in kenya and how much they are respected there felt gd
— Bharathsnayanar (@Bharathsnayana1) 5 June 2016
To all fellow Africans,
India loves you.
— टिंपाटराव (@manya747) 2 June 2016
Africans and their governments haven't stayed quiet the recent attacks. Al Jazeera reported that a group of African ambassadors have come together to speak for their citizens in India, whom they believe are having to live in a “pervading climate of fear and insecurity” after the spate of attacks on African individuals. They have warned that if the attacks continue and perpetrators are allowed to escape scot- free, they would urge their respective governments to keep them from sending students to India.
It isn't the first time the issue has troubled African diplomats, either. In 2015, before the third edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit, African ambassadors in Delhi reportedly considered boycotting the Africa Day celebration, hosted annually by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in Delhi, over the xenophobia their citizens experience in India.
40 envoys almost boycott Africa Day
Africans go on camera recounting racism in India.
And minister blames media.
Enough said.
— Madhavan Narayanan (@madversity) May 30, 2016
Some Africans have recounted their experiences with racism to various media outlets. In a June 4 article for Scroll.in, a South African student of South Asian origin talked about subtle forms of racial and cultural stereotypes that exist in India:
It was also not uncommon for many students to have conversations with me, which they assumed were progressive, about Africa and Africans that were based on crude colonial stereotypes of Africans as being close to nature, having a good sense of rhythm or even, and possibly the most colonial, having big penises. While many of the students at JNU had an impressively extensive knowledge of their own colonial, independence and post-independence cultural, political, social and religious, and regional histories, as well as knowledge of western theory and philosophy, and were committed to an idea of Left politics that took ideas like South-South solidarity seriously, their knowledge of African social, political and cultural histories as well as present realities was limited.
There have been protests too. For example, after the killing of Obodo Uzoma Simeon, a 36-year-old Nigerian citizen, outside an African restaurant in Parra in the state of Goa in 2013, more than 50 Nigerians blocked the highway. They stopped the hearse carrying Simeon and dragged his body on the road as a way to draw attention to the case and prevent a cover-up of the murder.
Authorities, however, answered their protest by cracking down on undocumented Nigerians, a campaign that seemed to only make anti-African sentiment worse. The negativity continued after Masonga Kitanda Olivier's murder. In response to an alleged rape case involving a Nigerian national, Goa's tourism minister publicly accused Nigerians of committing crime on purpose to prolong their stays in India. “We should have a strict law where we can deport them. But unfortunately there is no such law in India at the moment,” he said.
There is little doubt that the series of attacks on African individuals have disgraced India in front of the international community and has strained its ties with African countries. In an effort to reverse the dismal situation, Sushma Swaraj has sought to provide assurances to African ambassadors and individuals in India alike. A group of African students called off a demonstration in the national capital as a result.
Hopefully, the country will soon be on the path to peace and security for Africans as well as for all marginalized communities in India.

author: Sohini Chatterjee


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Lancôme Cancels Concert With Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Singer After Pressure From China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Denise Ho in 2007. Photo by Verity. CC BY-SA 2.0
China continues to exercise its soft power to sanction celebrities from Hong Kong who are pro-democracy.
On Sunday, global cosmetics firm Lancôme cancelled a mini concert in Hong Kong after Chinese state-run nationalist newspaper Global Times suggested on social media that the brand supported “pro-Hong Kong and Tibet independence artist” Denise Ho by inviting her to promotional activities.
Denise Ho is a Hong Kong-based pop singer and a outspoken supporter of the city's LGBT community and pro-democracy movement. She backed the three-month-long Occupy Central protests in 2014, which called for genuine democratic elections in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy. Because of that, she was banned from making appearances in mainland China alongside other celebrities including pop singer Anthony Wong Yui Ming and movie stars Chapman To and Anthony Wong Chau Sang.
Aside from the official sanction, the Chinese propaganda machine has been actively mobilizing netizens to go after dissident artists online. In 2014, tens of thousands of mainland netizens voted in an online poll in favor of blacklisting of Hong Kong pro-democracy artists, while state-run news site Xinhua ran a commentary attacking the artists for “crushing the bowls that feed them”.
Lancome's concert poster. Via Denise Ho's Facebook.
The mini concert was supposed to take place in a cafe in Hong Kong. On popular microblogging site Weibo, Global Times implied Lancôme as well as mouthwash brand Listerine, for which Ho is a spokesperson, was taking a political position by employing her:
【兰蔻、李施德林被曝请支持“港毒藏毒”的艺人合作？】有网友爆料，内地热销漱口水品牌李施德林，及兰蔻化妆品，近日在香港新推出的品牌推广活动中，皆请了支持港毒、藏毒的何韵诗做代言活动。你們怎麼看？
Lancôme and Listerine's work with pro- Hong Kong and Tibet independence artist exposed? Netizens reveal that popular mouthwash brand Listerine and cosmetic brand Lancôme have invited pro-Hong Kong and Tibet independence artist Denise Ho as their spokesperson. What do you think of this?
Ho has never expressed support for independence for either Hong Kong or Tibet, an autonomous region of China that is the focus of a worldwide Free Tibet movement. In its message, Global Times used the word “du (毒)” which means toxic instead of “du (獨) which means independence as a way to further mislead mainland netizens on the Cantonese pop singer's politics. The two words are distinctive in meaning, but sometimes are interchangeable.
The post was removed after Lancôme issued a statement clarifying that Ho is not their spokesperson. However, the statement did not stop mainland netizens from bombarding the brand. Tens of thousands comments flooded in, calling for boycott.
Eventually, Lancôme issued another statement on Facebook that the company had decided to cancel the mini concert on June 19 because of “safety” concerns. For her part, Ho found the sudden cancellation unacceptable. She wrote on her Facebook page urging the cosmetics firm to explain its decision:
自由、公義、平等，一直是香港人所追求的，而假如現在我們因為這些堅持而要受到莫名其妙的懲罰，那麼，這早已不是我個人層面上的事情，而是整個世界價值觀的嚴重扭曲。Lancôme是國際品牌，當國際品牌也要屈膝於這種霸凌之下，我們不得不嚴肅正視問題。
我們從來不是獨立個體，面對強權歪理，其實每個人都是受害者，客戶與員工亦然。有人選擇屈服退縮，有人選擇挺直腰板，但你必須記住，你的選擇影響著整個社會，一間公司商業上畏縮而過份自我審查的決定，牽動了一整個社群的恐懼，助長了另一個極權的橫蠻。這真是我們想要的社會嗎？企業除了有營利追求，也有道德責任。向強權屈服了一次，就只會是無止境的後退。
Freedom, justice and equality have always been values pursued by Hong Kongers. If we are punished without any reason for upholding our values, this is no longer just about me. It is a serious distortion of our world values. Lancôme is an international brand, and when an international brand has to kneel before this type of suppression, we must address the problem in a serious manner.
Lancôme staff members and clients are not isolated from each other, and we have both been victimized by unreasonable tyranny. Some choose to submit to authority, some choose to stand against it. Every choice will affect society as a whole. When a company, out of commercial considerations, decides to practice excessive self-censorship, that also generates fear in the community and encourages tyranny's unreasonable behavior. Do we really want to live in this kind of society? Corporations should have moral responsibility when pursuing commercial interests. Once you give in to tyranny, the moral baseline will keep retreating.
Adrian Chow, an outspoken song composer, was rather pessimistic about the state of freedom of expression in Hong Kong, given the economic clout that mainland China wields. He looked into the 2015 annual report of L'Oreal, Lancôme's parent company, and concluded that the company would easily give up Hong Kong for guaranteed access to China's market:
這公司可能完全不知道何韻詩做過說過甚麼，更懶管她是否一個按良知行事的藝人，總之一見《環時》出手，便將她看成是公司在大陸營運的「不利因素」，必需切割。在商業世界的邏輯中，數字是唯一的道德標準，「股東利益」是所有商業行為的理據；甚麼「企業良心」，也只是 marketing & promotion 的技倆。
但當大陸因素與這種商業邏輯合流，便直接影響到香港的創作與言論自由，藝人與創作人定要謹言慎行，千萬不可以令自己成為 potential clients 在大陸營運的「不利因素」，不會作、唱、演、甚至接觸任何在大陸可變成「敏感」的作品和人士，因為他們知道 big brother is watching，隨時會被人「篤灰」。
This company probably has no idea about what Denise Ho has done before. It does not even care if she has a conscience. Soon after it read Global Times’ comment, it viewed Denise Ho as a “negative factor” for its business in China and cuts ties with her. In the business world, numbers are the only moral concern and the interests of stockholders justify the behavior. Corporate social responsibility is just a marketing strategy.
The combination of the China factor and commercial logic has direct impact on Hong Kong's freedom of expression and creation. Artists have to be careful so that they don't become a “negative factor” for their potential clients’ business in China. They have to avoid producing, singing or acting sensitive works or contacting sensitive persons because they know that big brother is watching. So many people are ready to “report” [to the mainland Chinese authorities on artists’ conduct].
However, not all businesses are bowing before the People's Republic of China. Listerine's parent company Johnson & Johnson has thus far ignored Global Times’ post and continued with Ho as their official spokesperson. In fact, Listerine references her coming out as a lesbian back in 2012, and uses the slogan “bold love, bold expression” for its branding.
Image from Listerine's Facebook.
The company's stance has won much praise from Hong Kongers on its Facebook page:
李斯德林，你好嘢，我欣賞你！ 在這個時代，自由不是必然，堅持不是必然，忠於自己不是必然，豈只是一件貨品，當中的意義，香港人的可貴，我們更加要努力捍衛！
Listerine, you are great. I appreciate you. In our day and age, freedom is not a given, righteousness is not a given, being true to oneself is not a given. A product is not just a product, it carries meaning which is valued by Hong Kongers We have to defend it.

author: Oiwan Lam


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The Champ in Photos: Muhammad Ali’s 1993 Trip to Iran · Global Voices
Hanif Zarrabi-Kashani

Muhammad Ali in Iran in 1993 from Iran State Media: IRNA.
A version of this post was first published on Medium.
In 1993, the most successful heavyweight boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, made a trip to Iran. His 1964 conversion to Islam and subsequent refusal to fight in Viet Nam brought the fighter to international attention. He became a hero in Iran, a country he once called “the greatest.”
In light of Muhammad Ali’s death on June 3, 2016) at the age of 74, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), published a set of photos online. The photos are not copyright protected. They were taken during the three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer’s 1993 trip to Iran.
The Champ’s trip was a humanitarian one. He visited both Iran and Iraq in order to help in efforts to release prisoners of war. Many remained in prison years after the end of the eight-year war between the two countries that took place in the 1980s.
In these photos, Ali is seen visiting religious sites and meeting with various Iranian government officials. Unfortunately, there are no captions for the images.
Muhammad Ali at the Tehran International Book Fair in 1993. He went to Iran & Iraq to help in the release of POWs. pic.twitter.com/IUnCuAvfuG
— Hanif Zarrabi-K. (@hanifzk) June 4, 2016
Another shot of Muhammad Ali at Tehran International Book Fair. He went 2 Iran & Iraq to help in the release of POWs pic.twitter.com/tDb6ilm388
— Hanif Zarrabi-K. (@hanifzk) June 4, 2016
Muhammad Ali w/Iran's most notorious pre-Rev strongman/street tough, Shaban (Bimokh) Jafari AKA “the brainless.” pic.twitter.com/fP57bfbyq5
— Hanif Zarrabi-K. (@hanifzk) June 4, 2016
1993 wasn’t the first time Ali had visited Iran. He also visited the country in the late 1970s during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.
The 1993 trip wasn't his only humanitarian intervention in Iran either. More recently, Ali sent a letter on behalf of journalist Jason Rezaian. Rezaian was imprisoned in Iran for more than 2.5 years.
Rezaian remembered that in his Washington Post article marking Ali's death:
I am one of literally billions of people affected by the life and actions of Muhammad Ali.
When my wife visited me at Evin prison on March 14, 2015, she smiled in a way I had not seen since before our arrest nearly eight months earlier.
“Muhammad Ali issued a statement calling for your release,” she said, beaming.
In March of 2015, Ali tweeted his hopes that Rezaian would be released shortly.
It is my hope that the government of Iran will end the prolonged detention of Jason Rezaian. #FreeJason#AliTweethttp://t.co/g4b3luXzOr
— Muhammad Ali (@MuhammadAli) March 12, 2015
Rezaian thanked Ali with a tweet when he was released almost a year later.
So thankful to people around the world for supporting efforts to #freejason. Most of all 2 @MuhammadAli, because he's The Champ @RealALI_me
— Jason Rezaian (@jrezaian) February 14, 2016
Rest in power, Ali.

author: Hanif Zarrabi-Kashani


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Tons of Fish Are Dying Mysteriously in Vietnam. Whales, Too. · Global Voices
Loa

Residents try to rescue a stranded whale at the Diễn Thịnh shore in Vietnam. Image: YouTube
This article by Nguyễn Linh Chi is from Loa, an independent news website and podcast that broadcasts stories about Vietnam. It is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
For the past two months, tons of fish have washed up dead on the shores of central Vietnam. In the past five months, locals in the Nghệ An province have also discovered at least seven dead whales, according to the news website Lao Động. The timing coincides with the recent mass deaths of smaller marine life.
On May 25, while authorities in the Quảng Bình province promoted the consumption of seafood and water activities, a 17-ton whale was found beached on Diễn Thịnh’s shore.
Amatuer footage uploaded to YouTube shows the authorities’ efforts to rescue the animal, but it died shortly after being returned to the water.
Two days later, another 10-ton whale—this one already dead and decomposing—washed up onto the same shore. As soon as the tide started to rise, the authorities pushed the carcass back into the sea.
Thái Văn Dung, an activist based in Nghệ An, has doubts about the authorities’ motives, however, saying:
I agree that it makes sense to wait for the tide to rise to discard the carcass, but why did they do it in such a hurry in the dark? Why didn’t they wait to examine the cause of death?
Dung is one of many activists who believes there is a direct link between the dead whales and wastewater emissions from the Taiwanese steel plant Formosa in neighboring Hà Tĩnh province. The government, however, has yet to conclude its investigation into the fish deaths. The ongoing environmental crisis continues to hurt local fishermen, and has also triggered large-scale protests nationwide and in the Vietnamese diaspora.
Vietnamese fishermen have long considered whales to be holy creatures. While Hanoi has refused to comment on the mysterious deaths, locals say the discovery of new carcassses casts another spotlight on the authorities’ negligence.
Click below to listen to Loa's podcast episode about the dead-whale issue and other major news stories about Vietnam from the past month:

author: Loa


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Bangladesh’s ‘Eco-Cooler’ Beats the Heat Without Electricity · Global Voices
Rezwan

Making of an eco cooler. Screenshot from YouTube Video
Bangladesh has a hot, wet, and humid tropical climate with temperatures rising unto 45 degrees Celsius (113ºF) in the summer. Most of the rural Bangladeshi population lives in corrugated tin huts that can get dangerously hot under the scorching sunlight. Many of the houses do not have electricity to run affordable cooling devices, such as ceiling fans.
A new social venture has come up with a simple idea to provide a cheap solution to the problem. Grey Dhaka, the Bangladesh wing of New-York-based advertising agency Grey, and the Grameen Intel Social Business, a social business information technology company created in 2009 by Grameen Trust and Intel, teamed up to create the Eco-Cooler.
This is amazing! Bangladesh’s #EcoCooler that runs w/out electricity could be the answer to rising heat https://t.co/NYUNHGtb5w @YourStoryCo
— Nileena (@nileenags) May 24, 2016
The Eco-Cooler is made of cardboard and used plastic bottles, which are ubiquitous in Bangladesh. Holes are cut in a grid from the cardboard, with plastic bottles fitted into the holes. (The bottoms of the bottles are removed, before this step.) As air rushes into the bottles at the wider part and hits the bottleneck, the air blown into the home cools markedly. The Eco-Cooler can lower the temperature by 5°C (9ºF) in a short time and that can make a difference.
ECO-COOLER:B'Deshi Innovation:Hot air gets into bottle, gets compressed @ neck, making air cooler b4 entering room! pic.twitter.com/mT63WEkf89
— Rasheed Kappan (@kappansky) May 22, 2016
This technology is very simple. Internet users can download the design for free and make an Eco-Cooler at home. The following video explains the process:
Sambeet Chakraborty writes on Facebook:
An amazingly simple idea..making lives better for millions in Bangladesh.
A.R. Mashrur Hasan Mukut says:
Absolutely Brilliant idea!! so easy and simple to execute!! we all should spread this idea out among those who need this !!
Instructions to make the eco-cooler is available in its website
The first prototype was installed in March 2015 and it was ready for launch by February 2016. Eco-Coolers have been installed for free in thousands of homes as a part of corporate social responsibility program in villages in Nilphamari, Daulatdia, Paturia, Modonhati, and Khaleya across Bangladesh. The venture is also teaching people how to make these devices and then teach others to do the same.
forget about #startups and #monetization, for a sec, we need the i#deas that can do wonders like this one #ecoCooler https://t.co/NRfWjBSAFa
— Anup Dhirwan (@dhirwan) May 23, 2016
The raw materials are easily available everywhere, and Eco-Coolers can be a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly cooling solution in many countries across the world.
There don’t seem to be any independent reviews of how well the eco-cooler works easily available online, but if you’ve built or tested one, let us know.

author: Rezwan


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Immersive VR Documentary on Ukrainian Chernobyl Fully Funded on Kickstarter · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Screenshot from the Chornobyl360 documentary trailer, showing drone video shot over Pripyat. Courtesy image.
A virtual reality documentary about the Ukrainian Chernobyl exclusion zone using 360-degree video technology has been fully funded on Kickstarter. The documentary's authors received support from over 300 backers to the tune of over 34,000 euro (almost $39,000).
The Kickstarter campaign for Chornobyl360 was launched on April 26, 2016, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster at the power station near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv (Chornobyl is the Ukrainian spelling of the Russian Chernobyl).
The makers of the video said they wanted to raise awareness of the Chernobyl tragedy, including the environmental fallout from he explosion and radiation, as well as honor the memory of all the people whose lives were lost or irrevocably changed in the aftermath.
It’s said we should learn from mistakes and move on. But sometimes mistakes are of such magnitude that moving on isn’t possible. The 1986 Chornobyl disaster is one of those. […] We managed to get an access and film the most restricted locations of Chornobyl Exclusion Zone – true “wasteland” of today. This is a unique opportunity to record the aftermath results of human pride and ambitions going wrong. Our primary goal is to attract your attention and let you discover with us places you would have never got into without risking your health and even life.
The documentary was shot between April 2015 and April 2016 using drones equipped with video cameras, allowing the crew to get access to some of the most restricted locations of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, such as the power plant itself, the ghost town of Pripyat where the reactor was based, the vehicle graveyard, and others. The film combines cutting-edge virtual reality technology and 360-degree video to allow its viewers to explore Chernobyl and the area around the reactor as it stands today at their own pace.
We are willing and committed to do this because we truly believe that future generations shall learn from our past mistakes. With help of our project we upkeep the global awareness and draw attention to the future of Exclusion Zone and sites like it. We care about the fate of local illegal self-settlers, scavengers, dwellers and others harmed by Chornobyl disaster. We want people to understand that it is not a game.
The team of 15 people who worked on the project is now busy with additional filming, post-production and editing. Meanwhile, they are promoting the project through interactive exhibitions and teaser videos.
The documentary makers say the interactive content will be made available for all existing virtual reality devices, including platforms such as Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, Oculus, and HTC VIVE. The completed documentary is slated to premiere in December 2016.


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In Venezuela, Electrical Shortages Limit Basic Communication — and Free Expression · Global Voices
Marianne Diaz Hernandez

Freedoms in Venezuela are being threatened not only by direct governmental initiatives to repress them, but also because of limited access to the internet due to power cuts and the deterioration and breakdown of the systems. Photo by Edu Alarcón on Flickr. Published under Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0)
Can electrical shortages be seen as a form of censorship? Without electricity, communications via citizen media — a process by which citizens participate and influence their communities —  cannot go very far. In the midst of the economic, social and political crises hitting Venezuela, citizens are facing a steady deterioration of telecommunications and connection quality, along with constant power outages. When added to the overall environment of the media, this creates a situation that is adversely affecting freedom of access to information and communication.
Freedom House, a US-based NGO dedicated to upholding civil liberties classifies Venezuela as a “not free” country in terms of freedom of expression, and gives it the second worst rating for Internet freedoms in the region. For Venezuelans, it’s not easy to get informed with impartial and truthful information with respect to daily news. Many have turned to social networks to meet needs that traditional media cannot fulfill.
While the socialist policies of Hugo Chávez’s government caused a gradual increase in the number of Internet users, this increase did not coincide with an increase in infrastructure and capacity. This has gradually caused connection quality to deteriorate. In recent years, Venezuela has become one of the countries with the slowest Internet speeds in Latin America. While other countries have increased Internet ubiquity and connection speed, Venezuela continues to have harsh limitations, comparable to those of Bolivia and Paraguay — although the percentage of users still exceeds those of Cuba, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Because of prevailing currency exchange controls in place since 2003, the restriction on imports has also affected the telecommunications sector, which in recent years has had to reduce its allocation of foreign currency in order to purchase spare parts and maintain facilities. The result of this combination of factors is slow and intermittent access to Internet. As Eduardo Marín writes for Gizmodo:
En Venezuela solamente el 0,2% de la población supera una velocidad de conexión de 10 Mpbs. Si tomamos en cuenta la declaración de la FCC, técnicamente nadie en el país goza de banda ancha Por otro lado, solo el 2,1% de los venezolanos tienen una conexión superior a los 4 Mbps.
In Venezuela only 0.2% of the population has a connection speed that exceeds 10 Mbps. If we take into account the FCC declaration, technically nobody in the country has broadband. On the other hand, only 2.1% of Venezuelans have a connection [speed] of more than 4 Mbps.
The main complaints by users on the networks have turned the issue into a kind of running joke:
-El Internet de Venezuela es tan lento, que el otro día estaba bajando una canción y cuando termino de descargarse, ya había salido el remix
— Venezolanisima (@Vnzlnsma1) May 22, 2016
Venezuelan internet is so slow that the other day I was downloading a song and by the time it finished, the remix had already come out.
The recent electricity crisis has resulted in a series of government measures. These include power cuts scheduled for three or four hours a day throughout the country which not only affect connectivity during the outage, but also have further consequences such as damaged devices, mobile phone network failures, and connectivity issues for hours after the electricity has been restored.
Toda la mañana perdida gracias al apagón. Terrible de 8 a 12 m. Bancos cerrados, sin internet, sin semáforos #subdesarrollorevolucionario
— Mariú Revilla (@Mariurevilla) May 17, 2016
All morning wasted due to the power outage. [It was] Terrible, from 8am to 12pm. Banks closed, no internet, no traffic lights #revolutionaryunderdevelopment
Cuando se va la electricidad comienzan los problemas con la señal de mi celular :(
— EstoyDeCumpleaños (@Deya_Bells) May 16, 2016
When the electricity goes out, I start having problems with my cell signal :(
During the outages, and also apart from them, the lack of investment in the telecommunications infrastructure affects phone services, which used to be the emergency network for Venezuelans when there were data service failures, or when it was disconnected by the government. Reports of service failures and outages are pervasive and commonplace. They can last for a few hours or for whole days without being repaired and without any official explanation:
A esta hora en Zulia y Falcón problemas con ABA Cantv, Movilnet y Telefonía fija de Cantv. ¿Será un corte de fibra óptica? Muy raro
— Fran Monroy Moret (@fmonroy) May 22, 2016
At this time there are problems in Zulia and Falcón with ABA Cantv, Movilnet, and Cantv landlines. Is it a fiber optic outage? Very strange.
Confronted with the instability of communications, Venezuelans resort to humor. The humorist José Rafael Briceño calls the access speed in Venezuela, “the slowest line in Latin America.”
As Briceño points out, although the service degradation is clearly a result of insufficient investment and the economic policies of the government, it is also true that the authorities responsible for ensuring the quality of service have apparently been more focused on blocking web content than ensuring quality Internet access.

author: Marianne Diaz Hernandez