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After Ang Lee’s Oscar Win, China Imagines Cinema Beyond Censors  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Looking to Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee's Oscar win for Best Director with pride and envy, mainland Chinese web users frustrated with the communist regime's tight grip on the film industry are wondering about their own country's cinematic potential.
A search of Lee's name yields [zh] more than 70,886 results and 4,165,630 discussions, making it the second most searched term on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo as of the afternoon of February 25, 2013.
This is the second Academy Award win for Lee, who thanked Taiwan during his acceptance speech for its cooperation in the making of “Life of Pi“. In 2005, when he won the award for Best Director for his movie Brokeback Mountain, the Chinese media censored his acceptance speech, omitting any references to his native Taiwan or homosexuality.
Lee concluded his acceptance speech this time around with a “thank you” in Mandarin, causing some Chinese viewers to swell with pride. But others warned not be get so excited about the cultural nod, emphasizing that Lee's win had nothing to do with China.
Some Weibo users, such as “Qianzhe Yang Fang Lang” [zh], put emphasis on the word “hua ren”, a term used to describe ethnic Chinese people living abroad, as opposed to “zhong guo ren”, meaning Chinese citizens:
Ang Lee picked up his second Best Director award at this year's Oscars. A screen shot of the ceremony from youku.
李安是个好的华人导演，但您有听到china吗？别太往自己脸上贴金
Ang Lee is a good “hua ren” director, did you hear the word “China” in it? Don't put feathers in your own cap.
Another user wrote [zh]：
人家谢谢台湾又没感谢中国！
He expressed his gratitude to Taiwan, not China!
Writer “Tianyou” wondered [zh] why some were drawing a connection between mainland China and Lee：
李安导演获最佳导演，有人狂欢，说这是中国人的骄傲。我很是奇怪。人家李安获奖是人家个人的事儿，即使值得骄傲，那也是台湾教育，美式教育的成功，跟某些人有鸟关系？
Ang Lee's win for Best Director made some people so excited, they said it's China's pride. However, I feel a bit strange, as it's his own business. Even when it comes to pride, it's due to education in Taiwan and the US. How does it have anything to do with us?
However, Jiuzhouzhi magazine editor “Jiangnan Ricardo” disagreed [zh] that Lee's win meant nothing for China:
虽然有朋友觉得李安获奖是个人的事，但我还是觉得究其履历和思维方式李安是个有明显中国文化烙印的中国导演，从「卧虎藏龙」至今他的电影中常有中国式的思辨，包括「派的一生」。他用他的方式让各国的人多一个了解中国文化的渠道, 作为中国人很为他高兴。
Although some friends think Ang Lee's win is his own business, I think his thinking features Chinese culture, which can be seen in his movies such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Life of Pi“. He used his method to present Chinese culture to the world, being Chinese I'm happy for him.
Many netizens attributed Lee's success to the free entertainment industries in Taiwan and the US. “Keguan Nvjia Yunchuang” commented [zh]：
他要是生活在大陆就肯定没戏！
If he were to live in mainland, he wouldn't have made it!
User “Shouwangzhe” echoed [zh]：
李安为什么能够如此成功？答案很简单：因为他成长于台湾。
Why is he so successful? The answer is simple: because he grew up in Taiwan.
Famous commentator “Zhu Qi“ wrote [zh]:
中国的文艺复兴还是由台湾人先走一步，恭喜台湾！民国的国共战争失败了，但民国的文化传承和民主制度仍在强劲地发力！！
Taiwanese are ahead of us in terms of culture and arts. Congratulations to Taiwan. Although the they lost to the Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War, their culture and system still prevail!
Ang Lee's win also served as a reminder of China's strict film censorship. User “Zantan Wuwei” pointed out that China is stifling creativity [zh]：
中国大陆至今无法问鼎奥斯卡，为什么？没有创造的自由，只有宣传的使命，这注定了文化的败落。一个把政治歌颂摆在比奥斯卡更高位置的社会，无法创造人类能够承传的文化。
No one from the mainland has won any Oscars. Why? Because there's no freedom in creativity and film production, only propaganda, which has lead to a decline of culture. In a society where political praise sings louder than Oscars, no one is able to create great art.
The system impedes good directors, user “Hexie De Tianxia” wrote：
大师级别，其实中国也有，只是体制决定了你该拍何种电影而已！
There is no lack of good directors in China, but the system decides what movies you make!
Just a few days’ before Ang Lee's win, China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) announced that “from now on all televised documentaries in China need to be submitted to SARFT for review first.”
Wang Ran, CEO of China eCapital Corporation, a leading private investment bank in China commented [zh] to his 2.65 million fans on Weibo：
别人都是看看好莱坞的热闹而已，只有他们是在不断以实际行动帮助好莱坞永葆全球影坛的霸主地位。
Most people are just watching Hollywood for entertainment, but they [the Chinese government] are helping Hollywood to ensure its global empire status by doing this.


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Being Fat, Talking Fat in South Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Many reports have been made about South Koreans’ obsessions with body image, some with shallow understanding of Korean culture. Youtube user durkeeinkorea in this video shares his experience in Korea where people are very ‘open about talking others weight’ and ‘calling someone fat’ in public happens frequently, with no harms intended.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Brazil: Citizen Journalists Expose City’s Unfinished Works · Global Voices
João Miguel Lima

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise stated.]
Citizen journalists in a small Brazilian city ignored by the country's mainstream media have shed light on the failure of its local government, marred by a legacy of administrative wrongdoing and poor accountability, to complete public works projects on time.
Project Amigos de Januária [Friends of Januária], a 2011 Rising Voices grantee [en], has worked to keep the government of Januária [en], a city of 65,000 residents in the northern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, honest since 2004. With a newly elected mayor and other local representatives assuming their roles on January 1, 2013, the citizen journalism outfit has recently reported on several city projects, including the construction of a sports complex, pavement repairs, and renovations to river docks, that the previous administration has left unfinished.
Construction of a sports complex in Januária. Photo by Amigos de Januária, under Creative Commons license.
In late December, days before the city's new political administration assumed power, the project visited the construction of a sports complex in the Novo Milênio neighborhood and said:
A obra possui apoio do Governo Federal e esta estimada em R$ 437.022,25. Acontece que na placa o prazo de execução é de 180 dias, mas não existe data de início da obra, o que dificulta o acompanhamento por parte da população em verificar se existe atraso na execução.
Members of the project promise to keep track of the sports complex construction, in order to push “the new political administration to resume it in 2013″.
Works left unfinished in the crossing of Leão XIII street with Brasil Avenue during a summer rain. Photo by reader Wellington Silva, published by Amigos de Januária.
The city's docks and several works of street pavement passed their deadlines and were left unfinished by the former political administration. The organization's post shares concern over the misuse of public taxes and reports about risks faced by the population, especially during the rainy season.
To celebrate 152 years since the founding of Januária, the local government began works to reform the city's docks on December 13, 2011, with an estimated date of conclusion set for May 8, 2012. However, the docks were not ready on time. As the city lies on the São Francisco river [en], the docks are its most important touristic attraction.
O ponto turístico da cidade rebebeu [sic] barras de segurança a sua volta, bancos de madeira no estilo clássico e calçamento plano adequado a deficientes visuais. Entretanto apenas uma parte do projeto esta pronto, a grande maioria da passarela não está calçada e os postes de iluminação mencionados na publicidade não foram feitos nem instalados.
Docks of Januária. Photo by Amigos de Januária, used under CC license.
The Getúlio Vargas Square was one of the few completed works.
Works at Getúlio Vargas Square were completed in the town of Januária, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Photo by Amigos de Januária, under Creative Commons license.
All around the city, unfinished public works are a reminder of what the new political administration has inherited from the the city's previous leadership. Beyond stagnant constructions projects, the new administration must solve a budgetary mess leftover from before the transfer of power – civil servants’ pay for December has been delayed, and no estimate was given for January. Amigos de Januária reported that salaries had not yet been paid in early February.
Januária isn't, however, an isolated case in Brazil. The lack of payment to public officials and the unfinished state of public works are features of a fragile political commitment to the city. Issues of physical and services-based infrastructure often rise in political transition periods, affecting the population. Members of the Amigos de Januária project are addressing these issues in order to keep their city running.

author: João Miguel Lima


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China: Cultural Revolution Murder Trial · Global Voices
Abby Liu

The trial of an elderly man named Qiu accused of murdering a doctor during the Cultural Revolution has generated discussions about the cultural revolution in China. China Media Project has translated the comments from Chinese social media and traditional media.

author: Abby Liu


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China: Guangzhou Police Detain Protesters · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Authorities in Southern China's Guangzhou city have detained 10 activists who staged a protest over North Korean nuclear test. The news triggered  netizens’ outrage. Radio Free Asia has more.


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Egypt: The Muslim Brotherhood or the CIA?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Muslim Brotherhood will soon confuse the world, if it decides to go ahead with a name change. Egyptian Bassem Sabry explains:
@Bassem_Sabry: My friend @HaniSabra has just noticed the new name being considered by the MB, “The Comprehensive Islamic Authority,” has the acronym “CIA.”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Iran’s New Stealth Fighter Soars Across Fake Sky · Global Voices
Farid

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
News photo of Iran's Qaher-313 flying across a photoshopped sky.
Iranian bloggers revealed earlier this month that an official photo showing Iran’s recently unveiled stealth fighter, the Qaher-313, in flight is in fact a fake photoshopped image. Despite claims by the Iranian government that the aircraft is patrolling the skies, sharp-eyed bloggers noticed that the image was taken from the unveiling ceremony in Tehran and superimposed onto a different background.
While many Iranians (possibly including the military) have taken to Facebook to excitedly promote the Qaher-313, many bloggers view the image as an opportunity to mock the Tehran regime. Adding substance to their mockery are allegations that the photograph of a monkey that Iran supposedly sent into space is also a fake.
After the monkey scandal broke, Freedomseeker wrote that Iranian news outlets were starting to report about the Defense Ministry’s successful production of a very modern fighter plane. The blogger found it ‘weird’ that the aircraft was being unveiled at an indoor sports stadium as airplanes are usually shown in flight. Freedomseeker also noted that the dimensions were smaller than other comparable planes, prompting the following response:
We cannot trust the Islamic Republic’s claims until we see this fighter in flight, because the government has a very bad reputation for making fake photoshopped photos and presenting models instead of the real thing.
Some bloggers reminded that there are far more important concerns for the country rather than building a new fighter aircraft.
Xcalibur published a photo of the aircraft and estimated the costs, saying:
People want bread, not fighters. If only we could feed hungry people with missiles and bullets!
666Sabz published several photos and compared the Qaher-313 with foreign models, noting that Qaher’s cockpit is very small.
Tweatter wrote that after the glorious return of the space monkey, the Islamic Republic is now looking for a stupid monkey to become the pilot of Qaher-313.
Accordingly, the Qaher-313 has provided bloggers and skeptics alike with further opportunities to mock the Iranian government’s self-declared military might. Indeed, the following video demonstrates that the mockery goes beyond Tehran’s alleged fifth-generation fighter.
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

author: Farid


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Is Mexico Really “Back in the Game”?  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In his latest column, renowned New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that Mexico “will become the more dominant economic power in the 21st century.” Twitter immediately reacted to his piece, and journalist David Agren aggregated some of these positive and negative reactions posted on the microblogging site.

author: Silvia Viñas


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“Liberal, Jewish, Sexy”: Keeping Tabs on Hungarian Students · Global Voices
Atlatszo.hu

Last week, Hungarian TV channel Atv reported [hu] that they had obtained a list created by the official student union at one of Hungary's most renowned universities. Allegedly, the student union members at ELTE University‘s Faculty of Humanities (BTK) added offensive comments to a list of applicants to the university's freshmen camping trip, using personal information available on once the largest Hungarian social network iWiW. The leaked [hu] list was created in 2009.
A screenshot of Atv's report.
The list contains personal information of more than 600 students, including their date of birth, address, phone number and email. It also contains many extremely offensive comments: the authors voiced their opinions, among other things, on people who liked animals, football, had Greater Hungary on their profile photos, looked attractive or unattractive, were members of the Christian or liberal organizations, attended high school with Jewish teachers or were openly gay.
In a statement [hu] on the case, the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information emphasized that the existence of such a list may be regarded as illegal, because personal information such as race, ethnicity, political and religious views, sexual preferences and health are subject to special protection according to the Hungarian law.
The list brought to light another problematic issue at the university's Faculty of Humanities, namely that several members of the student union were members of the far-right Jobbik party. Dávid Lakner of Teadélután blog stated [hu] that it was no news that the BTK student union also served as a way to start careers with Jobbik. Although the student union members who talked to Atlatszo.hu news site [hu] anonymously complained that it didn't matter where they were in 2009, all of them had to face accusations of being supporters of the Hungarian far right. According to a recent research [hu], 33 percent of the Hungarian university students would vote for Jobbik these days.
Péter György, head of ELTE's Institute for Art Theory and Media Studies, wrote in an op-ed piece [hu] that the listing of students brought shame on the faculty and the university, and that the faculty shares the responsibility for Jobbik's recruitment being so successful among their students. In his self-deprecating text, the university professor concluded that the decision to run a strictly apolitical faculty after 1990 led to the correctly applied academic norms in the curriculum, but failed to protect students from neo-Nazi ideas.
The student union acknowledged [hu] the existence of a database containing contact information of about 1,000 students who participated in freshmen camping trips, but denied having any collection of other data.
A source told Atlatszo.hu that lists serving discriminatory purposes were created by certain student union members, without the knowledge of the majority of those working to support the university students’ lives. The BTK student union has its own powerful elite, which includes members of Jobbik as well. Even though the existence of the list resulted in a battle at the student union in 2011, it did not come to light until now.
Another student union member accidentally learned about the en masse checking of social media profiles, but assumed that the “profiling” served as a spare time activity to some people looking for girlfriends. A meme [hu] that was started after the appearance of the list was a comment also referring to this, it said “[She] will be good for Pista”, Pista being most probably the nickname of the former student union president István Szávay, who is currently an MP from Jobbik.


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Open Letter to China on Human Rights · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Just prior to China's annual “two meetings” of the NPC and CPPCC, which are scheduled to convene on March 5, more than 100 prominent individuals — including academics, journalists, lawyers and economists signed an open letter calling on China's government to immediately ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The open letter, circulated on Chinese social media on Feb 26, has been translated by CHINA MEDIA PROJECT.


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Egyptian Police Fire US-Made Tear Gas · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Pennsylvania-made tear gas fired at Egyptians in Mansoura. Photograph shared on Twitter by @simonjhanna
On Twitter, Simon Hanna shared this picture of a tear gas canister fired by police against protesters in Mansoura and commented:
@simonjhanna: Tear gas. Made in Pennsylvania, fired against Egyptians in Mansoura yesterday. #Egypt #Morsi #USA pic.twitter.com/ZH2KQPdqdy
According to media reports, clashes broke out between protesters calling for civil disobedience and those against it, as well as police.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Tensions High After Fatal Car Crash Sparks Riots · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

On Sunday morning, a traffic accident in one of Port of Spain's most disadvantaged areas led to rioting because of rumours that the car involved in the crash was allegedly driven by an off-duty police officer…and allegations by residents of the area (which have yet to be corroborated) that the driver may have been drinking.
Netizens from Trinidad and Tobago posted updates on Twitter and Facebook very soon after the incident, which took place near the Central Market in the nation's capital.  A mother and her two young children were killed.
On Facebook, C News Live‘s page reported that the vehicular accident allegedly involved a police vehicle, although the car involved in the crash appeared to be unmarked:
The incident caused rioting and police officers, who were called in to quell the disturbance, had to fire several shots in the air.
Ccn Tvnews’ Facebook page also carried the report, stating:
There has been tension between Sealots residents and the police in the two hours since the vehicular accident occurred around 9am. Police have cordoned off the scene of the accident.
East-bound traffic being diverted off Wrightson Road in the vicinity of the lighthouse as police cordon off Sealots accident scene.
One of the TV network's journalists, @MarlanHopkinson, who appeared to be covering developments, tweeted regular updates in which the number of fatalities was reported as three, not four, as some claimed. He posted this photograph of the mangled car involved in the accident and later tweeted:
@MarlanHopkinson: Laventille MPs Marlene McDonald and Nileung Hypolite heading to Sea Lots to meet with relatives of accident victims
The neighbourhood in which the accident occurred, Sea Lots, is one of the city's most impoverished. Sharon Millar, who blogs at My Chutney Garden and gave permission for her Facebook status updates to be quoted, happened to pass by the area after the incident:
Helicopters everywhere roads blocked off.
Residents came out to aTtack the driver, the place is cordoned off and there are police everywhere. Talk is also that the woman killed is the sister of the man who opens and closes the market gates. The situation down there was very tense and we had to come through Barataria to leave. Very very tragic. Pray for the souls of the ones killed. RIP
In the commentary, fellow blogger Rhoda Bharath, who writes at The Eternal Pantomime, and also gave her permission to be quoted, described the scene as:
Helicopter and riot squad police like ants on sweetbread.
What apparently exacerbated tensions were reports that the driver may have been under the influence of alcohol.  Though this still has not been confirmed, this tweet claimed there was substance to the accusation.  One Twitter user, @aabida_allaham, posted this comment:
@aabida_allaham: Looks like people begging for another state of emergency….#SeaLots #Protest #Murders #Crime #Trinidad vigilante citizens being born
Rhoda Bharath, in a Facebook conversation, noted:
I getting pics on twitter and a pardner down in the mix….if police ain't move with sense it could flare up bad….but I hoping by now the crowd starts to thin.
What struck Sharon Millar the most, though, was that:
Everyone [in the market area] was devastated by the loss of life.
Online, however, tensions of another kind were heating up after a journalist posted a private Facebook status update about the incident – and subsequent rioting – that was racially derogatory.  Somehow, the status was shared and soon went viral.  The Eternal Pantomime wasted no time in writing a post:
The thing is, Heeralal vented an opinion that many people, of all races and ethnicities believe : that poor people, especially poor black people are sub-human and don’t deserve to be treated with dignity. It is this attitude that makes us blind to their plight. It is also an attitude that is linked to both race and class. And if you went through all of Heeralal’s comments yesterday, you’d see he was really focussed on class discrimination than race discrimination.
She delved further into the discrimination issue…
Class discrimination is rampant in Trinidad and Tobago. When it comes to poor people, especially poor black people, we are incredibly put out. How dare they be all up in our faces while we trying to be upwardly mobile? How dare they remind us that state wealth isnt distributed adequately and that some people have access to all of the resources; but most people have access to none.
We never see how daily they are oppressed and how it then results into a spill over of rage that leads to blocked roads, burnt tyres and police intervention.
…and put it into the context of what happened at Sea Lots on Sunday:
A man lost his entire family in seconds. Seconds. We can’t return them to him.  In the midst of wrenching grief, this man knows that the person responsible for killing his family may never be brought to justice. The community of Sea Lots responded angrily, impulsively and violently. The police and armed services responded back.
The blogger explained how the Facebook status update spread, then said:
None of these people [who liked and commented on the update in question] think there is anything wrong with Heeralal belittling the magnitude of the tragedy, or with him decrying vigilante style justice and then endorsing it with his own brand of vigilante justice.
On Monday morning, residents continued to block the roadway (a main access route into Port of Spain) in protest.  Facebook was filled with status updates about the gridlock and many were advised not to venture into the capital – at least not at rush hour.  Riot police were again on the scene as residents burned car tyres and lit candles in protest and remembrance.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Uruguay Has South America’s Fastest Net · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Not that long ago, I'd never thought I could report this, but here we are. According to Netindex, Uruguay is the country with the fastest average speed in Latin America, with 9,53Mbps, and that places us 57 at a global level, over Chile (58), Mexico (71) and Brazil (75).
The blog Tan conectados (Como valientes) [es] announces Uruguay's new position in the region and analyzes what's behind this achievement. However, it also mentions that “even as leaders in the region and moving closer to those 50 first places, we are far below the average global speed of 13,07Mbps”.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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VIDEO: In Bolivia, Indigenous Women Draw Society’s Short Straw · Global Voices
Silvia Vinas

Marisol is an indigenous leader in Cochabamba, Bolivia who, like many indigenous women, had to migrate to the city in search of better opportunities. She is one of the women who speaks out in a series of video interviews by Periodismo Humano [es] about women in Bolivian society. “Being a woman and indigenous here is the worst thing that can happen to you,” she says.
The women interviewed from all walks of life, tell a story that shows having two X chromosomes in Bolivia is a liability. Women receive less education and lower incomes, and although women's participation in politics is growing, Bolivia's female leaders still struggle to make their voices heard.
Mario Munera Rodríguez, the journalist who wrote and produced the series, writes [es]:
El dibujo social en el que se enclava la mujer boliviana viene dado por el contraste de, por un lado lo que allá definen como agringados o personas que desean imitar los estilos de vida (a ojos de) capitalistas y por el otro el de aquellas y aquellos que tienen raíces y se niegan a dejarlas atras.
The second video [es] deals with girls and their access to education. In the video, Munera reports:
Según el INE [Instituto Nacional de Estadistica] 2001 en Bolivia, la tasa de analfabetismo de mujeres es de 19,35 por ciento, mientras la tasa de analfabetismo masculinos es del 6,94 por ciento. En el campo el analfabetismo femenino es del 37,91 por ciento, en contraposición al masculino que es de un 14,42 por ciento.
La educación de la mujer es muy importante. La escolaridad alcanzada por las mujeres influye directamente en las condiciones de salud, nutrición y supervivencia de los hijos. Asimismo, incide en la mortalidad materna.
According to the INE (National Institute of Statistics) 2001 in Bolivia, the illiteracy rate for females is 19.35%, while the illiteracy rate for males is 6.94%. In rural areas, female illiteracy rates are 37.91% in contrast to male rates of 14.42%.
Educating women is very important. Schooling for women directly influences health, nutrition and child survival rates. It also affects maternal mortality.
Sonia, a sociologist interviewed in the video, says that “education in Bolivia is very sexist. In reality, girls are ignored.”
In the third video, Munera explores the participation of women in politics [es]. The article that accompanies the video includes the following quotes:
“Muchas han tenido que usar la violencia para hacerse respetar, para ponerles el límite al hombre”
“Los hombres piensan que las mujeres son para que se recreen incluso en estas circunstancias, de compañeras en la política”
“Se busca a las mujeres para alistarlas dentro de los partidos políticos postulantes al gobierno y tratan de cumplir con el 30% de participación de las mujeres, pero nominalmente”
“Todavía los hombres toman las decisiones y las mujeres tienen sólo que levantar la mano”
“El gobierno han cooptado a muchos de los intelectuales y pensadores de izquierda que nos decían sobre por dónde debíamos ir”
“Quienes hemos estado cuestionando la política del gobierno, no de manera destructiva y quienes no somos de derechas, hemos sido las organizaciones de mujeres”
Finally, in the fourth and last video [es], Munera stresses that “sexual and gender violence represents 70% of reported assaults in the country.” In a series of interviews, a coordinator, a sociologist and a psychologist explain the context in which the female victims of male violence live in Bolivia.
The video ends with a series of black and white photos, but it states beforehand: “No men wanted to participate in the making of this documentary.”

author: Silvia Vinas


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Brazil: Cable Car Goes Up, Houses Come Down for World Cup  · Global Voices
Pública - Agência de jornalismo investigativo

This article, written by Andrea Dip, is a part of Agência Pública's special #CopaPública coverage, originally published on April 10, 2012, under the title RJ: As Casas Vão Cair.
The construction of a cable car for tourists in preparation for 2014 FIFA World Cup in the Morro da Providência (Providence Hill) community in Rio de Janeiro is kicking residents out. Demolished houses are being traded for a stipend of 400 reais (200 US dollars), and many families have been unable find a place to live.
Neusimar is self-employed and lives with her family of seven in Morro da Providência. Her house has been painted with the acronym SMH (standing for ‘Municipal Housing Secretariat’, in Portuguese). This means that it is going down. All houses and neighboring buildings have already been demolished as residents accepted the 400 reais offered by the city hall as rent assistance.
Photo by Agência Pública
The hill is set to host the Porto Maravilha (Marvelous Port) project [a reference to Rio's nickname, “Marvelous City”], comprised of a cable car and an inclined plane designed to attend to tourists visiting the city for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics – as Pública wrote about in January [pt]. That's the reason behind the compulsory evictions that the community is facing.
“My grandparents and my parents used to play here. What about me? Will I have the right to do it?” Photo by Agência Pública
Neusimar resists because she doesn't want to leave the home where her mother was born and where she grew up with her entire family for an uncertain future:
Onde vamos achar uma casa para alugar por  400 reais? Quem vai querer alugar uma casa para mim? Estou desempregada, minha mãe é doente, temos uma família grande. Não estamos aqui por teimosia, mas não vamos sair para ficar como as pessoas que a gente vê sair e ficar na rua porque não conseguem alugar nada.
Where are we going to find a house to rent for 400 reais? Who is willing to rent me a house? I currently have no work, my mother is ill, and we are a big family. We don't remain here because of stubbornness, but we are not going to leave to become like the people we see ending up in the streets because they can't rent a place.
As days go by, she feels her situation getting more complicated:
Photo by Agência Pública
Está tudo no chão ao redor da minha casa, afetou a estrutura, agora estamos mesmo em situação de risco.
Everything is on the ground around my house, affecting its foundations, and now we are really at risk.
Similar stories are told in the video Morro da Providência, produced by the collective #EntreSemBater (Enter without knocking). The collective is made up of students from the Escola Popular de Comunicação Crítica (People's School of Critical Communication) [pt], a Observatório de Favelas (Slums’ Watchdog) project that offers community residents young and old access to different languages, concepts, and techniques in the field of communication. The short documentary was produced as a final course work, but its filmmakers decided to form a collective, which continues to research and document the evictions in Morro da Providência and in other places, as well.
The words “dignity” and “ball” are seen upside down. Photo by Agência Pública
In addition to the evictions, the video features preparations for the demolition of the hill's sports court, where community soccer championships and samba schools rehearsals were once held. Leo Lima is a photographer and member of the Entre Sem Bater collective. He says that soon after the film was completed, the sports court was torn down, leaving an open space for the construction of the car cable's tower.


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Colombia: “Let’s Revoke Congress” · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

On February 13, 2013, Colombian netizens promoted the hashtag #revoquemoselCongreso [es] [Let's Revoke Congress] to expose the reasons why the country's members of Congress should leave their jobs.
The hashtag comes from a citizen initiative with the same name [es] and is looking to collect the necessary signatures to promote a constitutional referendum to achieve their objective. Currently, only mayors and governors can be removed from their posts, so the idea is to include a precept which allows the revocation of members of Congress.
The initiative relies on a website [es], a Facebook profile [es] and a Twitter account [es], which promote the aforementioned hashtag.
Image of “Revoquemos el Congreso”, taken from the Facebook page of the initiative.
Johnny Sanabria (@jfsanabria) [es] invites society to unite:
@jfsanabria: Siempre que el pueblo se emancipa suceden grandes cambios,libertades, o derrocamiento de tiranos!! No nos dejemos mas #RevoquemosElCongreso
@jfsanabria: Every time that the people become emancipated, great changes, freedoms or overthrowing of tyrants takes place!! We will not take it any more #RevoquemosElCongreso
While Alejandra (@arv18) [es] thinks that a change is necessary in honour of a more just country:
@arv18: Por un pais mas justo #RevoquemosElCongreso
@arv18: For a more just country #RevoquemosElCongreso
For her part, Laura Serrato Pérez (@LauriitaSerrato) [es] shows her total support:
@LauriitaSerrato: Apoyo total a la iniciativa ciudadana #RevoquemosElCongreso, como ciudadanía debemos cuidarnos de los politiqueros que cazan en ella.
@LauriitaSerrato: I support the citizen initiative completely #RevoquemosElCongreso, as a citizenry we must guard against the politicians who hunt in it.
In the same way, she expresses that the current situation should definitely change:
@LauriitaSerrano: No hay congreso corrupto que dure muchos años, ni pueblo ignorante que lo resista #RevoquemosElCongreso “
@LauriitaSerrano: There is no corrupt congress that lasts a long time, nor an ignorant people who resist it #RevoquemosElCongreso“
Two netizens, Miguel Silva Moyano (@silvamoyano) [es] and Víctor Hugo Torres (@TorresVictorH) [es] held a conversation concerning this initiative:
@silvamoyano: Yo no quiero un cambio superficial e inmediatista como #RevoquemosElCongreso . Quiero un cambio de fondo que mejore la calidad de la política
@silvamoyano: I don't want a superficial and precipitate change like #RevoquemosElCongreso [es]. I want a deep change that improves the quality of politics
@TorresVictorH: @silvamoyano: Quedarnos esperando el cambio? Alguna vez hemos hecho algo de impacto como ciudadanos inconformes? #RevoquemosElCongreso
@TorresVictorH: @silvamoyano: Should we wait for change? Have we ever made any impact as disgruntled citizens?#RevoquemosElCongreso
@silvamoyano: @TorresVictorH Uds revocan el congreso y los corruptos se reencauchan en cuerpo ajeno. Los partidos intactos y privilegiando caciques
@silvamoyano: @TorresVictorH You revoke congress and the corrupt people remould themselves in a new body. Intact parties and tyrants benefiting
@TorresVictorH: @silvamoyano: y la solución es no hacer nada? Proponemos hacer algo distinto, algo que nunca hemos hecho!
@TorresVictorH: @silvamoyano: and the solution is to do nothing? We suggest doing something different, something we've never done!
At the same time, screenwriter Gustavo Bolívar (@GustavoBolivar) [es] does his own overview of the current political situation in Colombia:
@GustavoBolivar: Col[ombia] tiene 4 enemigos mayores: guerrilla, paramilitares, narcos, y clase política corrupta culpable de que existan los 3 primeros #RevoquemosElCongreso
@GustavoBolivar: Col[ombia] has 4 main enemies : guerrilla, paramilitary, drug dealers, and a corrupt political class responsible for the existence of the first 3 #RevoquemosElCongreso
Finally, the blog MQh2 [es] highlights the members of Congress’ links with illegal armed groups:
Durante los últimos cinco años 200 congresistas de la República y 470 funcionarios de todo el país han sido salpicados por el escándalo de la parapolítica. La lista sigue creciendo pero la justicia avanza lentamente.
During the past five years 200 members of Congress of the Republic and 470 officials from around the country have been affected by the parapolitics scandal. The list continues to grow, but justice moves slowly.
The Congress of Colombia is composed of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate, made up of a total of 268 parliamentarians. The deadline for the collection of signatures to promote a constitutional referendum expires on May 31, 2013. The number of collected signatures must be two million in order for the process to continue.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Costa Rica: Time of the Vanquished · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

In the post titled “Time of the vanquished” [es], the blog Furia raises profound reflections about what happens when quietness comes. It concludes its reflections by saying: “in order to conquer the silence of the serenity, the vanquished ones invent new ghosts that whisper in their ears. To win, to lose, all the same, all useless”.


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Egypt: Armed Robbery Caught on Tape  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A YouTube video of an armed robbery of a mobile phone shop in Egypt is making the rounds online. On Twitter, Ahmed Atia Aboshosha writes [ar]:
سطو مسلح..المتهمون وجوههم واضحة جدا..إذا لم يقبض عليهم فليتقدم وزير الداخلية بالاستقالة..أعتذرعن ألفاظ خارجة بالفيديو
@AD_Shosha: An armed robbery. The faces of the culprits is clear. If they are not arrested, the Minister of Interior should submit his resignation. I apologise for the vile language in the video.
It is not clear where the robbery took place or when.
Here's the video showing the armed robbery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpLKNpMjZao


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First Crowdsourced News Site in Myanmar · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

A group of young programmers in Myanmar launched the country's first ever crowdsourced news site called “Buzz in Myanmar“. With the slogan “News for people, by people”, netizens are allowed and encouraged to submit neighborhood and other local news.

author: Chan Myae Khine


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Ghana: Vote for African Women’s Development Fund Blog · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Vote for African Women's Development Fund blog which has been nominated in the first ever Blogging Ghana awards: “I’m really pleased that AWDF’s blog has been nominated in the category of ‘best organisational blog’. Many thanks to all of the AWDF staff that have contributed to this blog. I plan to revamp this blog soon with even more exciting content.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Interactive Maps of China’s Most and Least Polluted Places · Global Voices
Tea Leaf Nation

This article by Eli Bildner originally appeared on Tea Leaf Nation on February 20, 2013 and is republished as part of a content sharing agreement.
Nearly five weeks ago, Beijing experienced its worst day of air quality on record: Levels of PM2.5 — small particulates that can cause lung, cardiovascular and respiratory disease — soared to more than 30 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization.
Air Quality in China — A Snapshot
Since then, reporting on China’s “airpocalypse” has been accompanied by what seems like a monochromatic slideshow of the country’s iconic cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin —all smothered in thick smog.
Indeed, China’s most populous and prosperous cities are among the epicenters of this latest pollution crisis. In Tianjin, for instance, levels of PM2.5 hit 577 on February 9, the eve of the Chinese New Year. In Beijing, sales of New Years’ fireworks dropped 37% after the municipal government asked residents to limit their use.
But air quality in China is also a nationwide problem — a predicament that affects cities with far less name recognition than Beijing or a Shanghai. Last week, the People’s Daily reported that of the 74 key cities monitored by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, all 74 reported “excessive” PM2.5 concentrations on February 10, the first day of the Chinese New Year.
And as a glance at pollution figures from this morning shows, hazardous air conditions remain in cities throughout China, from Urumqi (with a PM2.5 concentration of 511 micrograms per cubic meter, or 20 times the recommended limit) to Guangzhou.
China's most polluted cities
1. Xingtai, Hebei
2. Shijiazhuang, Hebei
3. Baoding, Hebei
4. Handan, Hebei
5. Langfang, Hebei
6. Hengshui, Hebei
7. Jinan, Shandong
8. Tangshan, Hebei
9. Beijing
10. Zhengzhou, Henan
China's least polluted cities:
1. Haikuo, Hainan
2. Fuzhou, Fujian
3. Zhoushan, Zhejiang
4.X iamen, Fujian
5. Huizhou, Gunagdong
6. Zhaoqing, Guangdong
7. Shenzhen, Guangdong
8. Kunming, Yunnan
9. Lhasa, Tibet
10. Zhuhai, Guangdong

author: Tea Leaf Nation


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Jailed Iranian Blogger Up for Award · Global Voices
Farid

Reporters Without Borders and Google announced the name of the nominees for the 2013 Netizen Prize. Shiva Nazar Ahari, Iranian female human rights activist and blogger is among the nominees. Read more about Shiva here.


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Kallun: A Platform of Angolan Slang · Global Voices
Mário Lopes

“Kallun”. Image shared on the Facebook page of KALLUN. (used with permission).
The Plataform KALLUN (meaning slang), founded by Leocarpo Mário, is a recent collaborative project with the ultimate goal of gathering in just one place all the slang with Angolan origins. Kallun enables interactive search of terms and their meanings.

author: Mário Lopes


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Monitoring Dangerous Speech in Kenya · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Umati is a project that seeks to monitor and report the role of new media on an election: “Our Kenya-based project has citizens at its core and uses relevant technologies to collect,organize, analyze, and disseminate the information collected.”


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Pakistan’s Darkest Night On Social Media · Global Voices
Faisal Kapadia

Courtesy @SamirRajani
A massive power breakdown rocked Pakistan at 11:45 pm on Sunday, 24 February 2013, plunging 70 percent of the country into darkness for 14 hours.
Government-enforced electricity outages or ‘loadshedding’ have been in place since 2008 to manage Pakistan's electricity shortage. So when the lights first went out, many responded by powering up their generators or lighting candles, thinking it was a scheduled outage. Until tweet after tweet came in reporting that practically the whole country had been affected.
The news was verified almost instantly by journalists like Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) on Twitter:
@faizanlakhani: Confirmed: #Karachi #Lahore #Islamabad #Rawalpindi #Mangla #Dina #Faisalabad
#Sialkot #Quetta #Hyderabad #Peshawar are suffering #blackout
On the night of the outage, six power plants were working around the clock to meet the demands of the 180 million strong country. And when one plant got stressed out and shutdown, it set off a domino effect across Pakistan's national power grid.
Load sheddings (rolling blackouts) are quite common in Pakistan and are wildly unpopular. Reports suggest government mismanagement:
The government does not want to upset voters so there are no planned outages to manage the electricity shortage …[Sunday] was bound to happen. You can’t keep people happy with an uninterrupted power supply when surrounded by so many problems.
One of the first people to suggest that this power failure was on a national level was Samra Muslim (@samramuslim) with this tweet:
@samramuslim: #Karachi: which parts have power. Please confirm. @kesc_ltd
@YusraSAskari: #BlackOut #Pakistan RT @shahrukh1985: @yusrasaskari Just called relatives in Hyderabad & Dadu. Same scene since 23h30. February 24, 2013
Image from inside Karachi airport via @sanasaleem
Soon social media in Pakistan was buzzing with queries to the online Twitter account of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation @kesc_ltd.
When most of Pakistan aside from the high-security red zone and military bases remained shrouded in darkness, people once again turned to humor to make life easier during the blackout. As hilarity ensued, even our neighbors joined in on the puns:
@godfatheriv (Godfather IV): #OverHeard Pakistan's population to increase by 7% in the last few hours.#BlackoutInPakistan LOL
@zedgardezi (Zed Gardezi):'Does Mobilink work off Tarbela and Mangla dams?!?!’ Hahahaha #BlackoutInPakistan
@nikhilm0204 (Nikhil Malhotra): @lolendrasingh Rajnikant used his new electric shaver and #BlackoutinPakistan
@anilasultan (Anila Sultan): May your phone be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out. #BlackOutInPakistan #UPS twitter.com/Hasty_Gandalf/…
@Slackistanii (Wolf): Don't blame the government dammit, its all bane's fault #BlackoutInPakistan
With umpteen promises to turn the power back on within hours and people ranting and raving about all kinds of conspiracy theories from an army coup to an alien invasion, day light finally brought with it the sanity of restoration to the national grid. As city after city came back to power, Pakistanis realized that even the darkest night in our history could be seen through with unity to laugh in the face of helplessness.

author: Faisal Kapadia


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Weary of Austerity, Portugal Sings a Song of Revolution · Global Voices
Hugo Ferro

This post is part of our Europe in Crisis special coverage.
Thousands of Portuguese people, unhappy with the austerity measures imposed by the government, have promised to again fill the streets of the country on March 2, 2013.
The call for protest is gaining momentum on social networking sites, echoing what happened with the massive protests on September 15, 2012 and March 12, 2011 that helped bring down the last government. A number of protests are organized on Facebook [pt], where messages of discontent are multiplying.
The blog Que Se Lixe a Troika (Screw the Troika) [pt] is collecting appeals for participation in the protest, such as this one [pt] by José João Louro:
Não é tempo para recriminações. Muitos deixaram-se enganar. Agora é um tempo de mobilização contra a apatia e contra a aceitação do sofrimento colectivo. É um tempo de abandonar as televisões e as telenovelas e ir para a rua protestar. É um tempo de participar em todas as manifestações de protesto, sejam convocadas pelos sindicatos ou por pessoas anónimas. Não é tempo de ver quem está ou quem não está, é tempo de estarmos todos.
Poster shared on the page of the event “Screw The Troika. The People are In Charge!”
In an extraordinary move, the country's largest trade union federation, known as the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers, confirmed through its leader Arménio Carlos that union members will also take to the streets “with the people demanding new policies and a change of government”, as can be seen in this video [pt], made available by those in charge of the blog Aventar. The decision is remarkable, given that there is no memory of the union federation ever officially participating in a protest that it or one of its member unions did not organize.
Politicians pursued by song
In spite of the little attention given by mainstream media, the protest came to public's attention thanks to a series of actions designed to stop ministers from speaking in some of their public appearances.
For this, demonstrators have revived a historic song, composed and sung by Zeca Afonso, that was used as the second signal by the revolutionary coup that brought down Portugal's dictatorship on the night of April 25, 1974. The song, Grândola Vila Morena, became a symbol of the revolution and of democracy in Portugal.
The first of these actions actually occurred in the Parliament, when a group of citizens interrupted Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho's speech, during the fortnightly debate of February 15, 2013, ignoring appeals by the president of the assembly for them to leave or be quiet [pt]:
The demonstration was praised [es] on Twitter by journalist Jesus Maraña, ex-director of the Spanish newspaper Público and current director of the online newspaper infoLibre, who called it a “beautiful form of protest”.
Subsequently, Adjunct Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Miguel Relvas, whose career has been most controversial, was interrupted twice. First, in Vila Nova de Gaia during a speech [pt] at the Clube dos Pensadores (Thinkers Club), where he even tried to fight the protest, and after, in Lisbon during a conference about the future of journalism organized by the TV station TVI. There, protesters not only sang Grândola Vila Morena, but they also chanted slogans forcing the minister to leave without being able to speak, as can be seen in this video [pt]:
A number of politicians, ex-politicians, and commentators called the actions anti-democratic. First, it was Luís Montenegro, the leader of the Social Democratic party leading the governing coalition, stating to Público newspaper [pt] that:
Não há democracia se os representantes legítimos do povo, por estes eleitos directa ou indirectamente, forem impedidos de expressar o seu pensamento.
Then it was the ex-socialist minister Augusto Santos Silva, who called these behaviors “anti-democratic” and “unacceptable” in an interview [pt] with TVI24 channel. The managing editor of TVI himself, José Alberto Carvalho, said [pt]:
Liberdade de expressão é a liberdade para as pessoas se manifestarem, para protestarem, contestarem, criticarem. A liberdade de expressão termina no momento em que, por excesso dessa liberdade de expressão, impedimos os outros de se manifestarem eles próprios.
Without the privileged space that all of these individuals above enjoy in the media, average and anonymous citizens have not given up on their forms of protest and strategy to silence the ministers.
Poster disseminated on Facebook and Twitter, announcing the presence of Minister of Internal Administration Miguel Macedo in Guarda.
Social networking sites continue to be used to call for actions and disseminate where numerous members of government will be present. Over the final weekend of February 2013, the minister of internal administration in Guarda and the minister of the economy in São João da Madeira were received with the revolutionary song, in spite of an increasing police presence.
The song has already crossed the border into Spain, becoming a symbol of Iberian protest.
Coincidentally, the composer of the song, Zeca Afonso, died 26 years ago, on February 23, 1989. To commemorate the date, Grândola Vila Morena was sung in the Largo do Carmo in Lisbon, the place where the 1974 coup reached its climax.
On YouTube, Lara Sardinha, 34 year-old unemployed interior designer, made a video tribute to the song and dedicated it to “a better Portugal” [pt and en]:

author: Hugo Ferro


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One Billion Rising: Progress for Women Worldwide, But Still Much to Do · Global Voices
Barbara Auger

On February 14 2013, a large-scale feminist media event took place, One Billion Rising [en], which was followed closely on Twitter using the hashtag #1BillionRising. The website of this campaign made an appeal to women worldwide :
On the 15th anniversary of V-Day (Violence against Women Day), 14 February 2013, we are inviting one billion women, and those who love them, to walk out, dance, rise up, and demand an end to this violence. “One Billion Rising” will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, and our solidarity across borders.
Poster advertising “One Billion Rising” in France
The “One Billion Rising” project set a goal of “shaking the world into a new consciousness”, through quasi-ritual self-expression in the form of walking and dancing.
A new consciousness of violence
In her 2010 book J'ai tué Schéhérazade : Confessions d'une femme arabe en colère (“I killed Schéhérazade : Confessions of an angry arab woman”), which describes her development as a woman activist, author Joumana Haddad wrote:
A friend asked me one day: “What is your favorite place in the world ?” . . . “Inside my head.”
Here is a very simple answer, which to many may seem too easy, but which nevertheless describes an unresolved conflict.
In Egypt, for example, women refuse to be complacent, and recently – two years after the popular uprising against the political regime – women protested in Tahrir Square against the harassment to which they have been subjected. Laurie Penny, a columnist for The Independent newspaper, shared a picture on her blog of Egyptian women marching against sexual harassment.
In India, although events have been held regularly to denounce the normalization of daily attacks, it was a gang-rape in New Delhi in December 2012 which ignited the crowds, and attracted the attention of media.
In France, the public is enthralled by FEMEN, a group of Ukrainian women activists who protest topless across Europe, as well as about the issue of marriage for all and laws concerning prostitution.
On Twitter, opinions differ.  Information is shared, sometimes anonymously: marches are tweeted live, and users report, protest, ask questions, and share their feelings and personal experiences.
These voices have carried so far that some media have described it as a visible phenomenon, radical movement, or revolution in progress.
“Women still don't know how to take their space”
Meanwhile, women gathered for the art performance Silver Action, by Suzanne Lacy, at the Tate Modern Gallery in United Kingdom on February 3, 2013, did not seem to share this opinion. During the event, hundreds of British women, over 60 years old, described their feelings in a verbal performance, which was relayed on Twitter by invited listeners. They described their active roles in feminist demonstrations between the 1950s and 1980s, revealing advances in human rights, but also similarities between yesterday and today.
Listeners reacted on Twitter, for example, self-described feminist Lee Webster (@leepster) wrote:
@leepster: “My son has friendships with women that aren't sexual. That used to be unheard of” #silveraction making me realise what I take for granted.
Alice Haworth-Booth (@ahaworthbooth) said:
@ahaworthbooth: “Men have changed, and we must continue to empower men to ask the same questions we are asking” – of power & status quo #SilverAction
Journalist Julie Tomlin (@JulieTomlin) wrote:
@JulieTomlin: ‘Young women may have mobile phones but they seem just as ignorant as we were…’ #SilverAction
Joanna Sawkins (@JoannaSawkins) said:
@JoannaSawkins: Women still don't know how to take their own space. That fact is scary #silveraction
A question of intergenerational transmission between activists has also arisen, because, while over the years, women have gained more freedom, the fundamental problem which they face remains the same: what role should they take?
Reappropriation of the body
Illustration by Chili Con Cacahuete, used with permission.
To take possession of one's space, for a woman, is first to reappropriate her own body, such as in matters like abortion, prostitution, and sexuality. To exist as a human being requires first “to be present as me“, to quote Joumana Haddad. In France, a man controlled his land, his property, his children, and his wife until 1793, the year in which the equality of women in marriage was proclaimed. Prior to 1793, the body of a woman thus was an object which belonged legally to a man, like an item of furniture. After 1793, although equality in marriage recognized a woman's value, her status as a full-fledged human being was nevertheless conditioned by her attachments to men. This mentality changed only very slowly – for example, in the Civil Code of 1802, a woman was still defined as “an unable citizen”. This “disability” would not be abolished until 1938.
The concept of a woman's body as an object belonging to a man is not restricted only to French society. Martine Costes-Peplinski [fr], a sexologist, liked to begin her lectures with a reference to a folktale:
Schéhérazade, voilà des années que je raconte cette histoire pour introduire mes exposés sur la violence conjugale : comment les femmes ont dû – faute de pouvoir civil, civique et économique – développer ce savoir-faire conjugal que les hommes ont longtemps nommé : « le pouvoir sur l’oreiller ». Utiliser les quelques heures partagées pour obtenir par mille habiletés et stratagèmes ce que le droit vous refuse.
Schéhérazade, in the collection of stories One Thousand and One Nights, volunteers to stop the massacre perpetrated by the king of Persia, Shâhriar, who, convinced of the infidelity of all women, marries a virgin every day, whom he kills on the morning after the wedding night. For one thousand and one nights, Schéhérazade tells him a story each night, captivating him, and thereby forestalling her execution.
The task of this woman was to preserve the integrity of her body, which is to say, the control of her life. Although the king in this story must be considered a tyrant and a lunatic, the text nevertheless shows a form of daily imagination employed by Schéhérazade, and which must still be used today by women trapped in an abusive relationship. This could include all types of avoidance mechanisms, from submission, to indignation, or rage.
A global revolution
The fight to stop violence against women has always taken place on two fronts: that of bodily and spatial reappropriation, and that of global human revolution. This is because men are not the only ones to commit violence, and equally because, conversely, women are not the only ones to suffer it.
This is the viewpoint of Joumana Haddad in her article entitled “Boys Against Men”:
What is required now, alongside the female revolution, is no less than a male revolution: a radical, structural, non-violent, non-sloganistic revolution, which can promote a more mature and fulfilling relationship between the two sexes. And while doing so, gentlemen, simply remember this: Machismo is not about men against women. It is about boys against men.

author: Barbara Auger


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#Wikimodernism: Catalan Modernism, from the Classroom to the Web · Global Voices
Cristina Simón

Upper exterior of la Casa Batlló in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí between 1904 and 1906. Photograph by Bernard Gagnon via the Wikimedia Commons.
Art history students in Barcelona are trading in traditional homework to share their learning about Catalan Modernism, or modernisme in Catalan, with the world.
If you have ever visited Barcelona, you will remember the colorful and curvilinear architecture of Antoni Gaudí’s fantastical buildings. Gaudí is essentially the crown jewel of the region's art, and the foundation of this organic and dreamy aesthetic is the political and cultural revolutionary movement that sought to transform Catalan society at the turn of the twentieth century. Artistically, modernisme was an eclectic movement inspired by similar currents from other European countries, such as French Art Nouveau, but was nevertheless charged with a nationalist sensibility that has given it a unique personality.
After assessing a relatively low level of quality of Wikipedia's content on the subject, a group of Catalan wikimedians [ca] launched a thrilling new wikiproject: Viquimodernisme [ca], which has three aims: “improving the presence of Catalan Modernism on Wikipedia”, “making the knowledge generated at the University level accessible on the Internet” and “putting into practice new paradigms of open education”.
During the first semester of the academic year 2012-2013, more than one hundred art history students [ca] from the University of Barcelona produced quality Wikipedia articles instead of completing traditional course work, under the supervision of six teachers and researchers belonging to the GRACMON [ca], the group of research for contemporary art and design at the University of Barcelona. They have created and edited more than a hundred articles pertaining to Catalan Modernism so far.
Façade of la Casa Macaya, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch in 1901. Photograph by Mutari [public domain] via the Wikimedia Commons.
The perfect alliance
The proposal came from Àlex Hinojo (@Kippelboy), active #glamwiki [ca] member, an international group of wikimedians who work in order to increase ties between cultural institutions and the free knowledge network. Besides being one of the most active wikipedians, Hinojo is the person behind the project @CatalanMuseums, offering information in English about the museums of Barcelona and Catalonia.
Esther Solé (@EstherSole), Art historian, wikipedian and coordinator of the Viquimodernisme project, wrote in an article [ca] published by Wikimedia, how this unprecedented proposal quickly defeated all the suspicions that academics usually have of Wikipedia:
Suspicions soon gave way to curiosity and this was also replaced by the enthusiasm inspired by an unprecedented proposal. […] Considering that Wikipedia usually occupies the top positions on Internet search engines and that it is often the first, and usually the only resource consulted by most of the population to satisfy their doubts or curiosity, it makes sense to propose that the information and data available in this online encyclopedia be correct and adequate.
We asked Hinojo what he thinks about the suspicions shown by the academic field:
Suspicion is often the result of ignoring a specific subject. That’s why we develop these types of projects, so we can approach different spheres. One thing that teachers repeat the most is: “I wasn’t aware either of the level of control enforced by volunteers or the level of quality filter processes that Wikipedia has. Wikipedians are even more “pernickety” than teachers”.
Towards an open education
GLAM wikiprojects try to involve professionals from cultural institutions so they can coalesce to share their knowledge freely. In the case of Viquimodernisme, Solé and Hinojo were responsible for bringing that collaborative working culture which characterizes Wikipedia community to the GRACMON professors, world authorities on Catalan Modernism.
Solé says in her article [ca]:
Instead of performing traditional course work in the form of stapled sheets of paper that probably ended up in the trash bin, students had to edit Wikipedia articles. […] Thus participants were immersed in a world of encyclopedic language, where the syntax –code-wiki– seemed weird, where the community of Wikipedia editors was actively involved and intervened in a work that didn’t belong to the student anymore for it had become free and available to anyone thanks to creative commons licenses.
The survey conducted in January 2013 by the project's coordinators demonstrates the participating students’ enthusiasm. Graph courtesy of ESM, via the Wikimedia Commons.
Articles have been improved, especially in Catalan, but they have also edited articles in Spanish, French and English. Project managers made an inquiry to evaluate its development by the end of the first semester, on January 2013. You can check the results here [ca]. After these first months of the project, Hinojo points out the positive fact that “students find it really useful that their work has been ‘published’ in Wikipedia and is available to everybody”.
GLAM Wikiprojects, getting art online
Viquimodernisme belongs to a type of wikiprojects known as GLAM [ca] (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums), an international initiative that was born after the people in charge of the British Museum realized many articles talked about their institution on Wikipedia and decided to hire a wikipedian to correct and widen the existing content. Since then, this initiative has been exported to other countries and institutions.
Viquimodernisme has raised interest among some academic institutions, and the coordinators hope the project will become a model for others in the future. They will present their final results at the CoupdeFouet International Art Noveau Congress [ca] to be held in Barcelona on June 2013, which coincides with the project's end.
Violeta Camarasa co-authored this article. Cristina Simón collaborated in its translation into English.

author: Cristina Simón


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The Land Problem in Kenya · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Chrenyan discusses the land problem, which has become an election issue in Kenya: “It is a historical injustice for the Kenyatta family to own (it is said) half a million acres of land, all over this country (including thousands of acres in Coast Province). The defence that this land was bought is no defence at all, because the critical factor is not that the land was bought.”


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Turkish Women Speak Up: My Body, My Decision · Global Voices
Baran Mavzer

Two weeks ago, Turkish courts [tr] released Fatih Nerede, who has a criminal history of rape and robbery, after he raped a woman in Diyarbakir, a city in the southeast region of Turkey, in front of her three year-old child. The reason behind the decision to release him by the court pending trial is, that as the institution of forensic medicine told to the court “It is not possible to decide if the rape victim was psychologically damaged by the rape or not, before 18 months after the incident.” This incident might be shocking but unfortunately it is not the only one.
In May 2012 [tr], N.Y., a young girl who lives in Bitlis city of east region of Turkey, who had a mild mental disability, was raped by a man named S.I. and got pregnant after the incident. According to N.Y.'s statement she was raped several times by S.I. and she got pregnant after the rape, which she hid from her family and had a miscarriage on the sixth month of her unwanted pregnancy. She buried the dead body of the fetus. She mentioned that, she was scared and she was threatened by S.I. and this was the reason why she did not talk about the rape to anyone. It was the mother of N.Y. who discovered the tragedy, since her daughter was behaving suspiciously and differently. The Institution of forensic medicine, prepared a report on the incident which shows the father of the dead fetus was S.I. by a chance of 99.9%, due the DNA tests. The Bitlis Psychiatric Hospital also mentioned that, N.Y. was psychologically damaged by the rape. Despite the reports, and the statement of N.Y., the court decided there was not enough evidence to proof that S.I. raped N.Y., so S.I. was acquitted.
Even though, Turkish women can be seen as “lucky” compared to women in other Muslim countries, they still suffer tremendously. According to a study in 2009, only 40% of married women met their spouse on their own and decided to marry. Fifty per cent of women tied the knot through an arranged marriage. The same research shows that 35% percent of women have been subjected to physical violence by their husbands, at least once in their life. In the East of the country, this number goes up to 40%.
Another problem for Turkish women is that they can not get their economical independence, since only 27% of work force in Turkey are women, according to TUIK [tr] (Turkish Statistical Institute). And women are not represented in the parliament [tr] efficiently; there are only 79 women members of the 548-strong member parliament. And 46 female members of the parliament are from the AKP (Justice and Development Party) -the ruling party. That means there are only 33 women members of parliament are from the opposition – a mere 6% of the total number of the members of parliament.
The ruling party of Turkey, AKP, is also putting pressure on women in their speeches and politics on women and women rights. In 2008 [tr], Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister of Turkey, said in a panel on World Women Day : “For keeping our young population increasing, give birth to at least three children.”
In 2011 [en], Erdogan was furious with Dilsat Aktas, a protester who climbed an armoured police-carrier and was beaten up by police and suffered a hip fracture. He criticized her for attacking police. This was less than a year after another female protester[tr] was attacked by the police, and lost her unborn child, eventhough she had begged the police not to kick her stomach because she was pregnant.
At the end of 2012 [en], another argument on women hit the headlines. Erdogan said “Every abortion is an Uludere” by mentioning the Uludere or Roboski, as known in Kurdish, where 34 Kurdish civilian were killed by Turkish Air Force by an accident, while civilians were passing the border for smuggling and mistaken for terrorists by mistake. But this was not only shocking speech for women. During that same period, the Minister of Health talked about banning abortion: “They are asking what will happen to woman if she got raped and got pregnant? If something happens like that, she should give birth to the child, and if it is necessary the government can raise the child.”
Blogger Jenny White spoke up saying:
What is more disturbing is the reasoning — that if births are not increased, Turkey — and Turkishness — will disappear off the map. This is a jingoistic fear that resonates with the old racialist understanding of Turkishness as soy (lineage, descent), a blood-based nationalism like Germany’s jus sanguinis. In such a conception of national membership, there is no room for immigrants, migrants, or minorities, even if they are culturally assimilated. Ask the fourth-generation Turks in Germany.
Turkey-based writer and columnist Andrew Finkel wrote:
Already, the Turkish parliament has been barking at its master’s voice and is considering restricting the grounds on which, and the term of their pregnancy during which, women may seek an abortion. Turkey liberalized abortion in 1983 in response to high rates of illegal terminations and maternal mortality. If more women start dying again because they are forced to seek illegal abortions, then Erdogan’s odd analogy to the massacre at Uludere may turn out to be more apt than it should.
One of the comments on Andrew Finkel's post was telling of how horrible such statements are:
@AJBaker: Odd how often people with dictatorial instincts think it is their business to regulate a woman's fertility. Both Hitler and Stalin opposed abortion and believed that women should have brood like hens.
Twitter user AncienRose shared a story of a woman who had an abortion when it was illegal in Turkey. The story tells how hard and painful an illegal abortion was, and how prime minister's words can be real if abortion is banned:
@ERIKLIRECEL: “Her kürtaj bir Uludere’dir”: Yasaklı günlerden bir kürtaj hikâyesi » AGOS http://www.agos.com.tr/makale/her-kurtaj-bir-uluderedir-yasakli-gunlerden-bir-kurtaj-hikyesi-205 … @AGOSgazetesi aracılığıyla
“Every abortion is an Uludere”: An abortion story from the days of illegal abortion » Agos http://www.agos.com.tr/makale/her-kurtaj-bir-uluderedir-yasakli-gunlerden-bir-kurtaj-hikyesi-205 … by @AGOSgazetesi
The abortion ban was not enacted because of the protests against it. The protests gathered around one slogan “benim bedenim, benim kararim (my body, my decision)” and a website was created for the pictures all around the world of people against the ban:
It says “my body, my decision” on picture of a woman's hand. Picture is taken from http://www.benimkararim.org/
Here is a youtube video prepared by incisozluk (a Turkish social internet forum) for ‘my body, my decision’ protests:
Turkish women protested, and protected their rights by saying ‘my body, my decision.’ But it seems like they still have a long way to go and fight until it is 100% their decision what to do on their body or their life.

author: Baran Mavzer


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U.S. and South Korea: A Show of Force, But Running Out of Options? · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
US troops rendering honors to the Republic of Korea Navy destroyer (ROKS). Photo: US Navy on flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
North Korea’s third nuclear test provided the ideal opportunity for the United States and South Korea to respond with their own displays of military muscle. Two days after the test, South Korea showcased a cruise missile that Seoul claims can hit targets anywhere in the North. This month was also the first time in almost two decades that an American nuclear submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles entered South Korean waters.
Thus, the endless cycle of North Korean provocation, joint military drills and verbal war continues. Yet it remains difficult to find to find good analysis on next steps that need to be taken to address the impasse on the Peninsula.
Prominent South Korean blogger, IamPeter, for example, argued against [ko] preemptive strikes against the North’s nuclear facilities, a strategy that the Defense Ministry recently labeled the ‘kill-chain’. Instead, Seoul needs to develop a better backup plan than simply to rely on the “nuclear umbrella” provided by the United States. ImPeter also claims that even though South Korean anti-ballistic missile systems are improving, there is still a significant margin of error that could have deadly consequences:
There are just so many uncontrollable factors in a war that cannot be predicted even with careful consideration of all the data we can pull together. Once our predictions fail, the damage could be catastrophic […] When North Korea forged ahead with its nuclear tests, all the media repeated that South Korea could launch preemptive strikes [on North Korea's nuclear weapons]. But they never mentioned the possibility that these strikes could fail and lead to more serious consequences—- perhaps all-out war.
Indeed, commentators also warn that no matter how strongly the U.S. and its allies apply pressure on Pyongyang, the North has enough artillery (without nuclear weapons) to strike and cause considerable damage to Seoul.
Migukin on Asia Pundits discussed the possibility of war on the Korean peninsula:
Now, for me, the biggest question is why in the world would the North start a war to begin with? The only thing I can think of is once they get a few nuclear weapons and they feel comfortable that they have the ability to hit the U.S. with them, they may feel that is their ultimate failsafe. That’s the thing that really worries me. That the North is close to no longer being a “rational actor” and that once they feel they can actually strike the U.S. with a nuke that they will attack the South thinking they might actually be able to pull off unification on their terms.
I could see something like this happening: China finally gets fed up with the North, stops giving them food aid and the North goes crazy, lashing out in frustration. (Another scenario I’ve heard of is the North would do an artillery barrage on Seoul then just stop, feeling they had made their point.)
Based on such gloomy predictions, the denuclearization of North Korea, a major topic for decades, now seems to be a dim and distant prospect. Indeed, South Korea’s president, Lee Myung-bak has reportedly abandoned hope of denuclearization, an opinion held across the international community. In a post for the Royal United Services Institute, Edward Schwarck and Andrea Berger argued:
The difference this time around, however, is that the North’s nuclear programme may no longer be negotiable […] In recent years, engagement has had a nuclear focus. But Pyongyang’s change in rhetoric over denuclearisation suggests this may no longer be a feasible approach for the West and its allies. […] Pyongyang has intentionally borrowed the West’s own rhetoric to highlight a double standard that nuclear weapons states will find it difficult to argue with. Logic propounded by the North Korean regime is shared by Washington, London, and Paris: a nuclear-armed state seeking to guarantee the security of its citizens must retain a credible deterrent so long as others continue to possess nuclear weapons.
James Acton for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace suggested a more subtle approach of shifting the focus from denuclearization to nonproliferation.
While periodically bribing Pyongyang to suspend missile and nuclear tests may slow the program, the North Korean regime appears to have concluded that nuclear weapons are simply too vital to its own survival to trade them away[…] The United States should not formally renounce the policy of denuclearization or publicly “accept” North Korea as a legitimate nuclear-armed state. However, it does need to refocus its efforts on more attainable goals: deterrence and nonproliferation. Plans by the United States and its allies to deter North Korea are relatively advanced. By contrast, while the challenge of stemming proliferation from North Korea has not been entirely ignored, it has not attracted anything like the attention or energy it merits.
Acton advises the United States to consult with relevant countries, especially China, on curbing the pace of North Korea’s nuclear development and to have more talks.
North Korea’s controversial nuclear program will make ripples in political, military and diplomatic circles for the foreseeable future. But time is running short for South Korea and the U.S. to face North Korea with good cards in hand.
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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[Webcast] Internet Censorship and the Remembrance of Infowars Past · Global Voices
Berkman Center for Internet and Society

Every Tuesday, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society hosts a public lunch gathering in our conference room in Boston. Each session involves a short presentation by a guest speaker or one of our community members, talking about a challenge that emerges from his or her current work. We are excited to partner with Global Voices to bring these presentations to a wider audience.
Title: Internet Censorship and the Remembrance of Infowars Past
Date: February 26, 12:30pm ET
Presenter: Jon Penney
With Internet censorship on the rise around the world, organizations and researchers have developed and distributed a variety of tools to assist Internet users to both monitor and circumvent such censorship. This talk will examine more closely some of the international law and politics of such censorship resistance activities through three case studies involving past global communications censorship and information conflicts— telegraph cable cutting and suppression, high frequency radio jamming, and direct broadcast satellite blocking— and the world community’s response to these conflicts.  In addition to illustrating some of the legal, political, and security concerns that have animated historical instances of global communications censorship, the talk will aim to extrapolate lessons and insights for Internet censorship (and its resistance) today, such as the legality of censorship and its circumvention, the effectiveness of monitoring efforts, and the role of international institutions in disrupting (or facilitating) communications.
Jon is a lawyer, Research Fellow at the Citizen Lab / Canada Centre for Global Security Studies, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, and a doctoral student in information communication sciences at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, where his interdisciplinary research explores regulatory chilling effects online.
In 2011, he was a Google Policy Fellow at the Citizen Lab–where he helped lead the ONI Transparency Project while contributing to projects like the Information Warfare Monitor–and, at Oxford, was Project Coordinator for the Privacy Value Networks Project, a large scale EPSRC funded research project on data privacy. A native Nova Scotian and graduate of Dalhousie University, he studied at Columbia Law School as a Fulbright Scholar and Oxford as a Mackenzie King Scholar, where he was Associate Editor of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal. He has also worked as a federal attorney, policy advisor, and taught law at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.
His research interests include constitutional/human rights law, intellectual property, and digital media policy & culture, particularly where these areas intersect with censorship, privacy, and security.
Follow Jon on Twitter: @jon_penney

author: Berkman Center for Internet and Society


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What India Can Learn From #Shahbag · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sandip Roy writes why India should be paying attention to its neighbors #Shahbag uprising as there is a conversation happening there which matters to everyone in South Asia.

author: Rezwan


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Why Are Tourists Not Wanted at French Carnival?  · Global Voices
Emmanuelle Leroy Cerqueira

A video featuring a group of masked Carnival revelers in Dunkirk, France chanting “Les touristes on n'aime pas ça” (“We don't like tourists”) has some ruing the flood of visitors who come year after year unprepared for the festival's madness.
Dunkirk hosts one of the largest Carnival celebrations [fr with en subtitles] in Europe in terms of the number of participants and duration (three full months). The tourism office records about 1,000 hotel guests during the liveliest part of the celebration, the three days known as les Trois Joyeuses, while other tourists, many of whom are introduced to Dunkirk's Carnival by locals and return every year for the celebration, stay with friends.
Carnival-goers at the Bande de Dunkerque parade. Photo by Emmanuelle Leroy Cerquiera.
With nearly 1,000 shares on Facebook, the video [fr] was recorded during Dunkirk's Carnival on February 10, 2013.  According to the comments [fr], it is less the presence of tourists that is bothersome than the lack of preparation by the participants for the carnival's craziness, and especially the failure to respect its codes, prohibitions, and traditions.
Jules Verge explained:
sans touristes le carnaval de Dunkerque ne serait pas ce qu'il est aujourd’hui. Je ne veux pas dire qu'il disparaîtra  parce qu'il y a toujours cette belle bande de vrais piliers carnavaleux dunkerquois, mais quand même un peu d'accueil pour nous les touristes ! Moi j'en suis un et je viens de Douai et j’ai une très grande admiration pour cette fête alors s'il vous plait, les Dunkerquois accueillez-nous comme il se doit !
Without tourists, the Dunkirk Carnival would not be what it is today. I don't mean that it will disappear because there will always be this beautiful group of true Dunkirk Carnival-going regulars, but still, be a bit more welcoming to us tourists! I'm one of them and I come from Douai and I have a great admiration for this celebration so please, Dunkerquois, welcome us as you should!
Julien Vandemoere added:
Excerpt from the Carnival goers’ code of conduct [fr] published by the City of Dunkirk
je ne suis pas de Dunkerque mais de Lille, cela va faire 10 ans que je fais les 3 Joyeuses,  j'ai été très très bien initié dés le début par des Dunkerquois,  j'ai observé,  j'ai écouté, je me suis renseigné sur le pourquoi du comment du carnaval dunkerquois, et en 10 ans de carnaval, je me suis vite vu évoluer dans le bon sens»
I'm not from Dunkirk but from Lille. I'll have been celebrating Les Trois Joyeuses for 10 years. From the start, I was very, very well-initiated by people from Dunkirk. I watched, I listened, I informed myself on the “why” and “how” of the Dunkirk Carnival, and in 10 years of attending the Carnival, I feel I have grown in a positive way.
In 1998 [fr], Carnival goers were already deploring the loss of standards and history among the younger generations. A huge movement followed, supported by Carnival associations and the local government, to guide novices and teach them “excess with respect” by publishing the code of carnival conduct, raising awareness in schools, welcoming tourists, and reminding them of what is not allowed [fr].
Today, websites for beginners have taken up the baton, giving advice to future Carnival goers on how to prepare themselves and put together a costume and helping them go learn songs and the Carnival schedule of events (balls, parades, pre-parades, post-parades, communal meals, the rigaudon, etc.). For example, visit the website mincoin.fr [fr].
The situation is not unique to Dunkirk. In Nice, Carnival purists complain about a kind of standardization of their celebration that reflects the influence of Brazil's Carnival.
Communist journalist Le-patriote lamented [fr]:
Planche à billet. Ce carnaval ne consisterait-il pas à, seulement, aligner des billets pour s’asseoir gentiment sur des gradins hors de prix ? Plus personne ne se moque de personne. On se contente de s’asseoir sur les gradins, de regarder passer les chars ou de marcher tranquillement sur un chemin délimité par des barrières à moitié déguisé sous l’œil attendri des policiers et en souriant poliment aux touristes venus voir Nice et son plus beau carnaval du monde. »
This is all just about the money now. Does this Carnival now just consist of forking out money to sit politely on unaffordable bleachers? No one makes fun of each other anymore. We simply sit on the bleachers, watch the floats go by, or quietly walk along the road bound by half-hidden fences under the tender gaze of police officers, while smiling politely at tourists who have come to see Nice and the most beautiful Carnival in the world.
Samba school Beija-Flor's float during the 2013 parade. Photo by Emmanuelle Leroy Cerquiera
Same thing in Rio, where disenchantment has spread to the “foliões” (ed's note: parade participants). Famous Brazilian pagode singer Zeca Pagodinho, in an interview with Folha de São Paulo, expressed his disappointment [pt] that the popular spirit of Carnival is disappearing due to the influx of tourists and the international openness of the major samba schools:
Não tem Carnaval. Vou gostar de quê? Não tem nada. Roubaram tudo, sumiram com tudo. Acabaram com tudo o que é da cultura. Tudo. Não sei que doideira deu nesse mundo aí.
There is no Carnival. What am I going to love? There is nothing. They stole everything, they took everything. They are done with all of it that has to do with culture. All of it. I do not know what insanity has gripped the world.
So why is Carnival – an emblem of brotherhood, sharing, sympathy, and warmth – provoking such sullenness? A fear of mixing things up? Nostalgia for the past? The fear of losing traditions forever? A withdrawal from globalization and trade?
Probably a little of everything. Carnival, which is a living work of art but has existed since time immemorial [en], has always grown and become richer according to the location, time period, and trends. Today, it has become a symbol of sharing local traditions in a globalized world. It may be a challenge, but with humor and creativity, the madness can only spread!

author: Emmanuelle Leroy Cerqueira


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Women Protesters Call for the Fall of the Saudi Interior Minister · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

A group of women and children who are relatives of uncharged prisoners managed to organize a small sit-in in Saudi Arabian city of Buraida, challenging the strict ban on demonstrations in the absolute monarchy. In the past, families of uncharged prisoners managed to organize a 24-hour sit-in, but they had not been able to stay for more than that, until now. Independent human rights sources say that there are over 30,000 arbitrarily imprisoned people, many of whom were arrested in the massive, post-9/11 “war on terrorism”.
This week's sit-in had an unprecedented, explicit demand: the fall of the Interior Minister.
It all started when anonymous activism group @e3teqal, that has been responsible for organizing many small protests and sit-ins during the past two years, announced on Monday, February 25, [ar]:
إعلان اليوم حدث مميز ،، سيكسر حاجز الخوف عند الكثير من الشباب نقول للداخلية ،، أعمالنا سلمية و ستبقى سلمية و نظامية
@e3teqal: Today's announcement will be extraordinary. It will break the walls of fear for many young people, that's what we say to the interior ministry. Our activism has been peaceful and it will remain peaceful and legitimate.
At 4:49 PM local time, a tweet by a detainee's sister, al-Ruzni, followed:
عاجل أعتصام الآن ببريدة أمام الدوار الزراعي..
@jare7h: Breaking news: there is a sit-in in front of Agriculture Roundabout
A photo of the Interior Minster. “Go away.” via @acapra
Protesters held signs demanding the release of their relatives and, in an unprecedented occurrence, the dismissal of the Interior Minster, Mohammad bin Nayef. Others said: “Mohammad bin Nayef is killing our sons in General Investigation prisons,” and “Bin Nayef, the coward, get your hands off women.“
Sixteen minutes later, she tweeted a series of photos of the police force closing the roundabout, surrounding them, arresting pedestrians and filming what was happening.
وبعدكل هذا الحشدمن القوات أحببت أن أقول يامحمدبن نايف أعلم أن الأعتقال لن يثنيناعن المطالبة بأسراناالذين سلبت حرياتهم وأرواحهم
@jare7h: With the presence of all these forces, I would like to tell Mohammad bin Nayef that detainment will not stop us from demanding the release of our prisoners whose freedoms and souls you took.
Journalist Iman al-Qahtani was in live contact with the protesters. She tweeted:
إحدى المعتصمات الآن من قلب الحدث: تم اخلاء مركزين تجاريين يحيطان بالمنطقة التي نعتصم فيها كما تم إخلاء الحارات المحيطة بنا #اعتصام_بريدة
@ImaQh: One of the protesters just said: Two nearby shopping centers were evacuated, so were nearby [blocks].
The police asked the protesters to leave, but they refused unless all forces are dismissed. This did not happen and secret policemen with civilian cloths remained around the area. When some protesters tried to leave, they were chased by those policemen so they decided to spend the night where they were. Young men managed to bring blankets and firewood to the protesters. Furthermore, al-Ruzni reported:
حاولنا نذهب لدورة مياه المسجد القريب منا فطاردونا المباحث ..
@jare7h: When we tried to use the toilets of a nearby mosque, secret police forces prohibited us.
The roundabout was open by the next morning and young men managed to bring breakfast and lunch to the protesters. Then tents were brought for the first time in any recent sit-in. Those who provided the protesters with food, blankets and firewood were chased and arrested. According to Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association member, Abdullah al-Saidi:
الموقوفين بشرطة الشمالية ثلاث قضايا .. الأولى احضار بطانيات والثانية جلب فطور وخبز حار والقضية الثالثة توفير حطب للمعتصمات . حقيقة وليس مزاح
@abdulllah1406: The detainees in the northern police [station] have three cases: First, bringing blankets. Secondly, bringing breakfast and hot bread. Third, providing firewood. This is the truth, I am not joking.
Later, a group of bearded men came to ask the women to leave:
عاجل//قدوم رجأل ملتحين رفضوا اﻹفصاح عن الجهة الرسمية التي تتبعهم ويطلبون منا اﻷسماء وخلفهم رجال مباحث
@2Arrashed: Breaking news: Bearded men who refused to disclose their identities asked us for our names. Behind them are secret policemen.
Shortly after that, a protester tweeted:
عاجل/ حضروا قوات الطوارئ
@2Arrashed: Breaking news: Emergency forces arrived.
الرجاء عدم المراسلة عبر الخاص سوف أسجل خروج من تويتر و أحذف الحساب ..وصية أخيرة معنا أطفال ونساء كبيرات بالسن ومرضى..السلام عليكم ورحمة الله
@2Arrashed: Please do not send me any direct messages. I will sign out and delete the account. Last thing: among us are children and elderly and sick women. Salam Alikum.
All women and children were arrested and they remain under detainment.

author: Anas Soliman