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So the Caribbean Walks Into a Bar… · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

RAM Party Inside Haiti's Historic Hotel Oloffson; photo by Steve Bennett, used under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license.
The rest of the world often regards the Caribbean region as a monolith, but there are so many cultural differences — and sometimes points of contention — among territories that it can be hard to keep up.
Twitter has come to the rescue, though, with an insanely popular hashtag #IfTheCaribbeanWasABar. If you want to understand the region's strange sensibilities, what makes the Caribbean tick and how citizens of different islands perceive one another, put on your party clothes and have a drink in the virtual bar that is the Caribbean archipelago.
Rich in natural resources, Trinidad and Tobago has long had a reputation for being one of the more economically stable countries — and in its heyday (the 1980s, when oil prices were high) it was often in the position to loan money to other islands.
As a result, Trinidadians earned a reputation for being a tad boastful about their means. Equate them to the guys in the bar who pull up in the most expensive cars and swagger their way around…
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana would make T&T pay for ALL the rounds….”and yuh have oil?!”
— Nick Murray (@nickamurray) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar When time come to pay the tab the other islands would all look in #Trinidad‘s direction!
— Fake Patrick Manning (@patrickmanning) July 29, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Trinidad would be buying everyone drinks, and spend the next 10 years reminding everyone…
— Grandpa Kevin (@kramTT) July 28, 2015
In this virtual beach bar, most folks want to hang with the ‘cool’ people — in Caribbean terms, that apparently means Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, despite their rivalry…
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Jamaica (Beyoncé~), Trinidad and Barbados would walk in like pic.twitter.com/AkcsXGqwUl
— Senhor (@ashrouen) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar when Jamaica enters the bar and spots Trinidad and Barbados pic.twitter.com/Y5ZYAwWm6g
— Chester Jones (@chesterjones_) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados are those three girls that dislike each other but have to take pics together
— Snob Marley (@FreshPrinceK22) July 28, 2015
And speaking of catty rivalries…
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar when Cuba and Puerto Rico come in the same outfit…Barbados and Trinidad be like pic.twitter.com/RXZ35ZIAGd
— Chester Jones (@chesterjones_) July 28, 2015
Montserrat is at the top of the list, especially considering that it barely has a population to talk about — most people were forced to flee, mainly to the UK, after the eruption of the Soufriere volcano 10 years ago.
Actually they were there but no one noticed. #IfTheCaribbeanWasABar
— Sardonyx Fan Club (@KanikaJo) July 28, 2015
There are also territories that many netizens don't really consider Caribbean, even though they are, whether geographically or politically:
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Bermuda would drink everyone under the table. Then again Bermuda isn't a part of the Caribbean.
— Davon A (@davon_a) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Guyana would turn up without an I.D, and argue with the bouncers that they're “legally Caribbean, so they can get in”
— £. (@VEEmix) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Guyana would be special guest appearance. “All the way from South America ….📣📣📣
— Alex is Sanchez (@Babbstar11) July 28, 2015
And then, there's Tobago. The sister island of Trinidad and one of the most beautiful in the archipelago, Tobago has gained the unfortunate reputation of being the ugly stepsister, and Twitter users milked it for all it was worth:
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Trinidad sour whole night because she mother tell she to bring Tobago with her.
— Grandpa Kevin (@kramTT) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar: Tobago would learn about the turn up via Trinidad's SnapChat.
— Mr. Cooke (@JcSkyline) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar *Trinidad&Tobago reach the door* *Trindad walks in*…*Bouncer stops Tobago* ✋ Trinidad: “no, he's with me”
— IG: SeanChrisCASTLE (@SeanChrisCASTLE) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Tobago would be complaining to her gfs that her sugar daddy Trinidad not funding enough of her high maintenance life.
— Rachel Ramperhappy (@racheltnt) July 28, 2015
#ifthecaribbeanwasabar Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad would close it down while Tobago's in the back wanting to go home
— ;♡ Mon chéri (@MeekaV_) July 29, 2015
Of course, pressing regional issues, such as the pending deportation that many Dominicans of Haitian descent now face — and the region's attitude towards Haiti as as a whole — have come under fire:
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Haiti would be the doormat.
— New Caco Movement (@BLK_DIASPORAS) July 29, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Haiti would be like put that on France's tab
— Gregory (@Qwaid) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Dominican Republic would use the Brown Paper Bag test, before deciding to let you in the bar.
— £. (@VEEmix) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Haiti would be that girl crying outside of the bar, because her man Dominican Republic doesn't claim her.
— £. (@VEEmix) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Dominican Republic would walk in & everyone would be lkke pic.twitter.com/n2t9OLiPPu
— Senhor (@ashrouen) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Haiti and the Dominican Republic would end up bottling one another 😩😩😩
— Senhor (@ashrouen) July 28, 2015
There was quite a bit of commentary about the region's music, dancing and socialising styles:
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Jamaica would be whining one big batty gyal in a corner
— Papa Bear (@aidenhw_) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar it would open at 10pm Jamaica would arrive at 6am in snake skin boots
— The Honorable Lamzy (@MrLamzy) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Jamaicans pullin up to the party like pic.twitter.com/aNIGrYVJeS
— 28. (@LushhLuxe) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Montserrat and British Virgin islands when the DJ plays “To all my independent ladiesssss!!” pic.twitter.com/eOYNv49e6S
— inappropriate. (@_Carluhhhh) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar Jamaica and Trinidad would be arguing with the DJ over who's music should be played 😂😂😂
— Senhor (@ashrouen) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar T&T, Barbados & Guyana would be arguing whole night but when the DJ run a Soca they'd be like pic.twitter.com/1elgIAHStQ
— I'm Washed (@jarelxantoine) July 28, 2015
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar When fight bruk out the DJ would play Celine Dion to unify the nations
— The Honorable Lamzy (@MrLamzy) July 28, 2015
If the popular hashtag continues to trend on Twitter, some netizens are afraid it might have long-term effects:
Thinking that this #IfTheCaribbeanWasABar hashtag continues for much longer there's going to be a regional civil war lol
— ah is a trini (@agodtt) July 28, 2015


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Calls to #StopEvictions as Pakistani Authorities Bulldoze Slums · Global Voices
Faisal Kapadia

Poster shared by Twitter users. via @Tooba_Sd
Islamabad, the beautiful manicured capital of Pakistan, is currently in an awkward tussle with its own underserved class. The population of shanty towns who serve as guards, domestic workers and cleaners are now at odds with the city's administration because it wants to evict them from the land they have illegally settled for years, sometimes decades.
Protests on Thursday at one settlement turned violent, with police using tear gas and batons to disperse those gathered. A 6-day-old infant died allegedly from suffocation due to the tear gas, and at least three other people were injured.
Journalist Siddique Humayun spoke to residents of one settlement for a report in national newspaper Dawn. One shop owner named Murtaza said the eviction warnings have been coming for months:
According to him, someone from the government came three months ago and told the slum dwellers to vacate, but they didn't. The three-day notices kept coming, but the people did not move.
Other locals said if the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the agency behind the eviction drive, insists on kicking residents out, it should provide sufficient alternative housing arrangements as many of them are with families and small children.
Civil society is currently standing up for these not so lucky neighbours of theirs, with many tweeting under the hashtag #StopEvictions.
#CDA Operation against H-11 Katchi Abadi #Islamabad https://t.co/jFqqTCmjvX #StopEvictions @AWPIslamabad pic.twitter.com/NLmxwEIxts
— #StopEvictions (@KachiAbadis) July 22, 2015
Entrepreneur Zarlasht Faisal tweets:
Haunting images #StopEvictions. Dignified repatriation of refugees is state's DUTY esp when they take money 4 it pic.twitter.com/o7ApnutMUP
— Zarlasht Faisal (@ZarlashtFaisal) July 31, 2015
Usama Khilji, an activist from Islamabad, wrote on Facebook:
Horrible how houses of the poor are being demolished brutally with no alternative options being provided or even discussed by government & authorities. The elite strike against the poor yet again.
Raza Rumi, a writer, blogger and journalist, called the CDA hypocritical:
Hey CDA:The children’s library in #Islamabad has been occupied by a religious seminary 4 yrs. Would you evict those illegal occupants too?
— Raza Rumi (@Razarumi) July 30, 2015
Murtuza Solangi, the head of Radio Pakistan, also saw a double standard in CDA's actions:
All farm houses in Zone-4 are illegal because the area was not meant for housing. Will CDA bulldoze them?
— Murtaza Solangi (@murtazasolangi) July 30, 2015
Journalist Fahad Desmukh writes:
Thanks to all the politicians who use “roti, kapra, makaan” slogan to get votes but do nothing #StopEvictions pic.twitter.com/5Ns8800Pl9
— Fahad Desmukh (@desmukh) July 31, 2015
“@desmukh:destruction of homes. Before photo taken by me a few weeks ago. After photo via @IssamAhmed #StopEvictions pic.twitter.com/V7p7WTGWAL”
— Nosheen Abbas (@Goshno) July 31, 2015
This fight for the evicted has been taken up not just by civil society activists but also by the left-wing Awami Workers Party. The party raised the alarm over dozens of residents and an activist who were reportedly arrested under the Anti-Terrorist Act.
FIR has been registered against 58 kachi abadis residents including Hassan Turi under Anti Terrorist Act #FreeHassanTuri #StopEvictions
— AWP Islamabad (@AWPIslamabad) July 30, 2015
Some are worried that people are only standing up because these colonies provide cheap labour and their removal would mean lowering their own standard of living. Motivations aside, it remains to be seen how the government will react to the strong uproar on social media over this enforced eviction. If it continues on this course, one thing is for certain: civil society is ready to put up a fight.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Faisal Kapadia


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Court Fines the Taiwan Immigration Authority for the Denied Entry of a Foreign Visitor Ahead Anti-nuclear Protest · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

Daniel Andres Helmdach, working as a volunteer on conservation projects in 2011. Photo is from Rui-Guang Huang's facebook.
Two years ago in March 2013, Daniel Andres Helmdach was detained and deported from Taiwan because the immigration suspected that he visited the country to join the anti-nuclear protest. The German youth had done nothing illegal in Taiwan before, he merely worked as a volunteer on conversation projects back in 2011. He sued the immigration office for the unreasonable treatment and finally the Taipei District Court ruled on July 30, 2015 that the immigration authority should pay a compensation of NT$125000 (US$4200) to Daniel for his plane ticket and as consolation payment.
Daniel's case has been considered a typical example of the Taiwanese authorities abusive use of power in clamping down dissent activities. Two Japanese people from Fukushima were warned by the country's immigration office immediately after they gave a speech at an anti-nuclear demonstration on April 30, 2011 in Taiwan.

author: I-fan Lin


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Palestinian Baby Burned to Death in West Bank Settler Attack · Global Voices
Elia J. Ayoub

Graffiti reading ‘revenge’ and ‘long live Messiah’ were left on the walls of the burnt houses [Photo: Rabbis for Human Rights Facebook Page]
Eighteen-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was burned to death in his home in Duma village in the Occupied West Bank in a settler attack. His parents and four-year-old brother were also injured, with up to 75 per cent of their bodies burned, according to medics in neighboring Nablus, who spoke to Al Jazeera.
Their home was torched along with a neighbor's house by a group of settlers who left graffiti reading “revenge” and “long live Messiah” on the burned out walls. A local resident, Mesalem Daoubasah, told Haaretz he saw four settlers fleeing the scene with several local residents following them in pursuit. According to Daoubasah, the settlers fled toward the settlement of Ma'aleh Ephraim nearby.
Members of the Dawabsheh family who were injured after after extremist settlers burned their home at dawn.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/FJsTMYEo1Z
— Palestine Social (@PalestineSocial) July 31, 2015
Clothes of baby Ali Dawabsheh who was martyed after settlers burned his home in Douma village at dawn.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/7wj6Zmyt8m
— Palestine Social (@PalestineSocial) July 31, 2015
The toddler was enveloped in a shroud and his funeral drew large crowds of supporters:
The shrouded body of the burned baby Ali Dawabshe. It feels even too tragic say he is a martyr. Toddler. V. @QudsN pic.twitter.com/Q16ZpMXdJO
— Dima S. ديمة (@YasminWaQahwa) July 31, 2015
Photos of prayers and funeral for 18 month of Palestinian toddler Ali Dwabasha in #Duma, killed in arson attack pic.twitter.com/vEKQbumOBe
— Joseph Willits (@josephwillits) July 31, 2015
#NOW: While his parent struggle for their lives in hospital, baby Ali Saad Dawabsha, 1.5, is laid to rest in #Duma pic.twitter.com/0OxtvizOao
— Activestills (@activestills) July 31, 2015
While most Israeli mainstream politicians condemned the attack, activists were quick to point out that these very politicians (and established religious leaders) are part of the problem:
Reminder: Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked called Palestinian children "little snakes." http://t.co/unvNbiVPfn pic.twitter.com/yzUxjeRFCE
— Joe Catron (@jncatron) July 31, 2015
Condemnations of #Duma attack by those who label Palestinian babies a demographic threat are performances for outside consumption.
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) July 31, 2015
Israel's Justice Minister called Palestinian infants "little snakes" whose mothers should be exterminated: https://t.co/RJ32lO6mTy #Duma
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) July 31, 2015
The tract by state sponsored Israeli rabbis authorizing the killing of Palestinian children: http://t.co/kms1K83J9N #WasBurnedAlive #Duma
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) July 31, 2015
Pricetag attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank are very common. Between 2009 and the first half of 2012, there had been up to 995 attacks on Palestinian civilians. There has been 120 attacks this year alone. There were 340 arson attacks alone between 2004 and 2011.
Of these attacks, the overwhelming majority end up without prosecution by the Israeli occupation forces. According to Israeli NGO Yesh Din, up to 92.6% of Palestinian complaints are closed without further action due to “the inability of investigators to arrest suspects or to gather enough evidence to file an indictment.” Only 7.4% of complaints lead to indictments and only a third of these resulted in a conviction. In other words, the arrest of a suspect and his judgment is 1.8%.

author: Elia J. Ayoub


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Preserving Historic Thai Films · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Thai Film Archive has been uploading historic films and vintage news reports on YouTube.
One of the films is Chok Song Chun (Double Luck), which is Thailand's first feature silent film produced in 1927. Only 55 seconds of the film have remained featuring a fight scene and car chase.
Another rare film is Payut Ngaokrachang's Hed Mahassajan (The Miraculous Incident), which is the first Thai animated film released in 1955. Payut is known as the “Walt Disney of Thailand”. In the animated silent film, Payut witnessed a traffic incident in Bangkok.

author: Mong Palatino


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This Is What Happens When You Give Power to the ‘Chicas’ · Global Voices
Mary Aviles

Chicas Poderosas Conference in Miami, Florida. Photo: Chicas Poderosas.
“If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation)”.
The African proverb above has help guide the work of Mariana Santos, the founder of Chicas Poderosas, a group trying to increase the number of Hispanic-American women working directly with newsroom technology. Santos knows what challenges women face in this male-dominated industry. Even in the digital age, women journalists in Latin America work at a systematic disadvantage.
Santos is a Portuguese visual designer who's worked for The Guardian, and is currently the director of “interactive and animation” at Fusion. She says digital-media training is still limited and there are still too few programs focused on women, which keeps them underrepresented in the world of technology journalism.
In 2013, thanks to a fellowship at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)Santos created Chicas Poderosas to help change things in the industry. Staging events and meet-ups, and offering mentoring, Chicas helps women develop news applications, produce interactive content, and integrate new tools into their newsrooms, according to the group's website.
The most recent Chicas Poderosas conference was held at Stanford University last June, where 35 women journalists and developers from Latin America met for roughly four days. Santos summarized the event as “all the best experiences, classes, [and] people I met during my nine months as a JSK fellow.”
Now this is a powerful group of @poderosaschicas here at @google! #journalism #media pic.twitter.com/273dmFZfNu
— Stacie Chan (@staciechan) June 10, 2015
The ultimate goal of the Summit and of Santos’ Chicas Poderosas movement is to help women take the lead in newsroom technology and design as a way to bring women's voices into both newsrooms and the content newsrooms generate.
After the Stanford event, Dow Jones was the first to create Chicas Poderosas fellowships—sending two Latin American women journalists to newsrooms specialized in digital storytelling.
We are very happy to announce the first fellowship Dow Jones-Chicas Poderosas http://t.co/5rxThRdYvm Tks!!! @raju #CPdowjones #ChicasFellow
— Chicas Poderosas (@poderosaschicas) July 10, 2015
Maria Paula Martinez, from Colombia’s Universidad de Los Andes went to NPR. She expressed her enthusiasm on Twitter:
Chicas Poderosas | #ChicasFellow 2015 -NPR dream come true ¡Mi beca en NPR! un sueño hecho realidad http://t.co/OMbjfckWRh @poderosaschicas
— Chicas Poderosas (@poderosaschicas) July 13, 2015
And Mariana Barbosa, a former La Nacion Argentina student and journalist, went to ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest:
“Hello @ProPublica ” the new post by @marianabarbosa about the #CPdowjonesfellow Click here: http://t.co/VnqdVvp0wN — Chicas Poderosas (@poderosaschicas) July 14, 2015
For more information about how to get involved in Chica Poderosa, visit its website.

author: Mary Aviles


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Watch This Giant Rainbow Mural Transform a Low-Income Mexican Neighborhood · Global Voices
Global Voices Latin America

a low-income neighborhood in mexico is now the talk of the town. @germencrew have transformed the village of #palmitas into a vibrant rainbow, connecting the community of more than 200 homes through an array of colorful hues. see more on #designboom
A photo posted by designboom (@designboom) on
A low-income neighborhood in Mexico was transformed in a giant rainbow by the collective Germen Crew—a youth organization of muralists and street artists formed by 15 graffiti artists, under the direction of Mibe (Luis Enrique Gómez Guzmán), who's teamed with Mexican Government.
The more than 200 homes of the village of Palmitas, in the city of Pachuca (Hidalgo State), are now connected through colors.
Mexican Government Let Street Artists Paint 200 Houses To Unite The Community @GermenMuralismo http://t.co/jDDk4DXobS pic.twitter.com/Wo5nm1pooU
— Artsper (@Artsper) July 30, 2015
Another example of the collective's “urban neomuralism” is Mexico City's famous Jamaica Market, which comprises over 1,000 stands dedicated to the sale of flowers, floral arrangements, ornamental plants, and garden accessories. Last year, the crew created a mural that visualizes a symbolic ritual beginning with “Mother Earth” (Tonantzin) giving birth to a life-form that transforms into flowers on the south façade of the famous flower market.

author: Global Voices Latin America


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A Holiday Too Delicious to Resist · Global Voices
Subhashish Panigrahi

The signature brownish Rasagola from Odisha. Image under CC-by-SA 3.0 by User:Riskyishwar, Wikimedia Commons.
This July 30, Twitter users from the Indian state of Odisha launched a campaign to dedicate an entire day to their state delicacy, a dessert known as Rasagola. (popularly known as “Rasgulla” in India) Calling it “Rasagola Dibasa” (meaning Rasagola Day in Odia-language), Internet users spread the hashtag #RasagolaDibasa, which trended across India for several hours, and celebrated offline in Odisha with support from both the government and private organizations.
Three months back, the Odisha government proposed a “geographical indication” for the dessert, which would establish as a historical fact that Rasagola originated in the area, securing Odisha's “bragging rights” on the dish.
Contrary to some claims that Rasagola is a Bengali dessert, Odisha says it hails from the Jagannatha temple in its region. According to local myth, on July 30, the deities of Jagannatha, Balabhadra, Subhadra, and Sudarshana return to the temple (known as “Niladribije“) after their annual trip to their aunt's house during the grand procession of Ratha Jatra. According to custom, temple-goers present offerings of Rasagola, in order to subdue the gods. This custom is called “Bachanika,” and marks the beginning of Rasagola Day.
Odisha Department of Tourism and Culture welcomed acclaimed sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik to participate at Puri beach:
On #niladribije, The Lord offers #rasagola to Mahalaxmi. @sudarsansand with his masterpiece @Puri. #RasagolaDibasa pic.twitter.com/nvnusnaRgi
— Odisha Tourism (@odisha_tourism) July 30, 2015
A popular radio channel, Radio Choklate, held a Rasagola tasting in the city of Bhubaneswar, where the city's most popular confectioners took part in exhibiting and selling their desserts.
Earlier in the evening at Reliance Foodcourt #RasagolaDibasa pic.twitter.com/MpHydnDwkC
— Ranjan Nayak (@Ranjan_Nayak) July 30, 2015
Popular Odia-language daily The Sambad formally celebrated the day at Pahala by collaborating with a local confectioner, promising and encouraging annual celebrations on the day of “Niladribije.”
Don't forget #RasagolaDibasa tomorrow, even Pahala business is fully supporting, see you tmrw http://t.co/vFICltSsfB pic.twitter.com/9OVXiOiRlJ
— Bhubaneswar Buzz (@BBSRBuzz) July 29, 2015
In Bengal, where there are also popular claims of having invented the dessert, people have reacted with both support for and opposition to Odisha's Rasagola Day.
“This seemed particularly cruel of our next-door neighbours, who are well aware Bengal loves its icons. We are down to just three authentic pieces: The venerable Tagore, the alarmingly-thin haired Sourav Ganguly and the “sickly sweet” rosogolla. Take away the myth of Subhas Bose being alive at 118 but spare our taste buds.”
— Dhrubo Jyoti, blog on Hindustan Times
Revenge is sweet: How Bengalis made rosogolla their own writes @dhrubo127 on #RasagolaDibasa http://t.co/6y2XdXsnYM pic.twitter.com/PSv19EuDYr — Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 30, 2015
India's national media has also taken notice of the celebration. Outlets including Zee, Hindustan Times, and India Today—not to mention many blogs—have published information and opinion about the event. India's two notable chef-celebrities, Sanjeev Kapoor and Pankaj Bhadouria, have also promoted the day on social media.
Tomorrow (30 July) Odisha is celebrating #RasagolaDibasa Make sure you too have a Rasgulla & also tweet the picture pic.twitter.com/n8oeUGJh0k — Sanjeev Kapoor (@SanjeevKapoor) July 29, 2015
On her Facebook page, chef Pankaj Bhadouria wrote, “Did you know that 30th July is now being celebrated as Rasogola Diwas! Rasogolla is offered as Prasad at Jagannath Temple Puri and especially to Goddess Laxmi a day after the Rath Yatra ! Me? I am happy eating them everyday!! #RasagolaDibasa.”
Chef Pankaj Bhadouria's Facebook post on #RasagolaDibasa.
One of the key campaigners, Anita, blogged about the event, saying:
[..] Niladri Bije is an important day of celebration – the last day of the Rath Yatra marks the entry of the Gods to the Temple after their trip. [..] We are celebrating this day as Rasagola Dibasa- a day dedicated to Rasagolas. In Odia language, Dibasa means day. #RasagolaDibasa means Rasagola Day.
Despite the dispute about the dish's origins, Last week's celebration happily avoided any major mixups between Odisha and Bengal. The nationwide Rasagola phenomenon has also helped promote lesser-known spots in Odisha, like Pahala, which could become important in the region's geographical indication. In the long run, more national and even global attention could bring Odisha's cultural heritage to a much larger audience, helping people inside and beyond the region learn more about its important history.

author: Subhashish Panigrahi


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Government Aid Is Slow to Arrive as More than 100,000 Affected by Floods in North Myanmar · Global Voices
Juan Cebu

Photo shared by artist Mawlaik on Facebook.
Non-stop rains in the past week have flooded the northern regions of Myanmar affecting 110,000 people. Many criticized the government for its slow response and delay in placing the country under state of emergency.
The regions heavily affected by the rains and floods are Sagain, Magway, Chin, Rakhine, and Shan. As of July 29, the floods have killed 20 people already. Many roads and bridges were damaged in Chin. There are fears continuous rains could break some irrigation dams.
Furthermore, as cyclone Komen batters neighboring Bangladesh, the western part of Myanmar and the delta region have been hit with flash floods.
As the rain continues, concerned citizens in Myanmar have been posting photos of floods and their concerns about the safety of affected residents:
Olar Magway wrote about the impact of the floods in Magway division:
Emergency!
We can contact through the only phone in Sidoktaya.
4/5 of the city has been covered with water and we are in need of shelter, water and food.
The whole city is dark and it keeps raining.
Note: Pwint Phyu City is also in danger of flooding.
People stranded in Sidoktaya are in need of aid through air support.
On Facebook, various local news pages and citizen media platforms are sharing photos of different cities affected by the floods.
Photo shared by Chin World on Facebook. Flooding near Kalay town of Chin State.
Photo shared by Arakan Now. Flooding near Sittwe town of Rakhine state.
Photo Shared by Naw Ko on Facebook. Flooding near Pwint Phyu town of Magway Division.
Photo shared by Maung Tun Wai. Flood relief response by a civil society group.
The relief efforts of various civil society groups and volunteers are contrasted to the slow, or in some places total lack of government's response to the flood crisis.
Facebook user and activist Theinny Oo urged the government to provide more humanitarian assistance to affected regions. She said that the public and authorities should remember the lessons from the country's experience with cyclone Nargis in 2008:
(We) should remember the lessons from Nargis. Because the rescue response was late, we had such a huge loss. We were unable to rehabilitate the social, economic and education sectors. It took 5 years in Irrawaddy division alone to reconstruct. Now it is happening in five different states and divisions. Loss of civilian lives and properties is a national loss.
Political Activist Nay Myo Kyaw also shared  his thoughts about the lack of government support:
When a natural disaster happens, it does not just affect one person. It affects at least a whole town or a whole state or nation. If civil society groups and grassroots organizations carry out disaster risk reduction activities, it will be only small scale. But the most responsible entity here is the government. When the people are having such a crisis and government is reluctant to help, it means authorities are not fulfilling their responsibilities.
According to renowned meteorologist U Tun Lwin, the government should have declared a national emergency during the first three days of the floods. He made this statement on July 29. The government eventually issued an official declaration of emergency on the afternoon of July 31.
Government's response in Kalay town of Chin State. Photo shared by Hmuu Zaw, the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Information
Environmentalists are blaming rapid deforestation for the current flooding crisis. They warned that the country's forest cover has been reduced to only 20 percent of the country's total land area. They said that environmental preservation and rehabilitation should be prioritized by the government.

author: Juan Cebu


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Hong Kong Stages ‘Breast Walk’ to Protest Police and Judicial Absurdity · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An online poster against the police claim of “assault by a woman protester's breast”. From Facebook user orin.
Outraged by the three-and-a-half month jail sentence given to a woman convicted of assaulting the police with her breasts, more than a dozen organisations have mobilized a “breast walk” that will take place in Hong Kong on August 2.
Ng Lai-ying, 30, was convicted of assaulting police during an anti-parallel trader protest in March 2015 on the grounds that she had used her breast to “attack” the police officer. The incident occurred when the police officer grasped Ng's bag during the protest and she instinctively shouted “indecent assault”, as the police officer's arm brushed her breast. The charge filed against Ng Lai-ying inverted the accusation, depicting Ng as the aggressive party.
Several other protestors were also convicted of assaulting police on the same occasion.
Despite the fact the police officer did not suffer any injuries from the “breast assault” — while Ng's face was covered with blood when she was arrested — the magistrate indicated that Ng had precipitated chaos and violence against police by shouting “indecent assault” and sentenced her to three-and-a-half months in prison on July 30. Ng is currently out on bail pending appeal.
In response to the ridiculous ruling, a dozen civic groups created the “breast walk” protest. Event organizers urged participants to wear their bra on the outside of their clothes to deliver the message that “breasts are not weapons”.
On the Facebook event page:
We found this ridiculous as Ms Ng was originally making a complaint about suspected sexual assault of a police officer in the protest but now she has been turned into an attacker. We also feel angry about the fact that the case has made weapons of women's breasts and seems to be saying women are wrong to shout for help when faced with an attack.
One of the rally organisers Luk Kit Ling told independent news portal inmediahk.net that the groups would rally at the police headquarters to protest against the police officer's claim he was assaulted by Ng's breast:
陸潔玲稱到警總是要抗議作供的警員竟稱女性胸部襲擊，認為警員與普通市民權力不平等，日後警員將無須再在性騷擾及性別問題上有任何顧忌。
Luk Kit LIng explained that the rally at the police headquarters was to protest against the police officer's testimony that he was assaulted by a woman's breast. Given that police officers [are given authority as law enforcers] they are more powerful than ordinary citizens, this case would [lead to further abuse of power] to the extent that they could neglect complaints about sexual harassment [when police are in uniform].
Gloria Yip, a local artist, initiated a online poster action: Breasts are not weapons.
Performance artist Gloria Yip initiated an online poster action to protest against labelling a woman's breast as a weapon.
Below is a selection of the online protest posters:
Photo uploaded by Kobe.
Poster uploaded by a theatre actor, Leo.
Image uploaded by Bull Tsang

author: Oiwan Lam


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How a Kazakh Boy Grew Up to Be a Glam-Rock Opera Singer in the US · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Kazakh glam-rock and opera singer Timur Bekbosunov first got discovered singing Over the Rainbow at at festival in Kansas. Credit: Courtesy of Timur Bekbosunov
This article and radio report by Alina Simone for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on July 23, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
The story of how Timur Bekbosunov became a glam-rock opera singer in the US actually begins in 1958, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union. Timur says his father developed a strange idea — he wanted to go the US “to see what it’s all about.”
His dad even wrote a letter to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to see if the Communist Party would send him to the US.
He never heard back, but he never forgot America. In 1996 when Timur was 15, his dad surprised him, saying he’d applied to a program in the US on Timur’s behalf and that Timur had been accepted to study English for one year.
He ended up in Kansas, living with a nurse who became his adopted American mother. He says she encouraged him, “as corny as it sounds, to follow [my] dreams. And so I started to sing.”
That’s how Timur ended up being discovered singing “Over the Rainbow” at a festival in Kansas, by a scout from Wichita State University. And that’s where Timur discovered opera.
“I really began to enter this really strange, beautiful world of sometimes abstract, and sometimes ephemeral, way of singing,” he says. “It’s kind of an out-of-body experience when you sing.”
Since then, Timur has performed all over the world — at the Hollywood Bowl, with the LA Philharmonic — and in Kazakhstan. He went back as the soloist and producer of his own opera, The Silent Steppe Cantata, with music composed by Anne LeBaron.
“The music is composed for Kazakhstan folk instruments, so there are no western instruments,” he says. “That makes it a very, very unusual sound.”
The thing is, the people playing all those Kazakh instruments — none of them was from Kazakhstan. The large ensemble Timur brought with him was mostly made up of Westerners, which led to some friction. One time, the director of a hall burst in and interrupted their rehearsal.
“[He said], ‘No, no! It’s all over. You don’t have permission to be here.’ There were people with television cameras there, and he just makes this big stink about the whole thing. And he said we were plotting to shoot Borat 2.”
I’m just glad I wasn’t the first one to bring up Borat, the 2006 film that Kazakhstan once banned and officials denounced as “humiliating.”
But the country’s actually mellowed out on Borat considerably, Timur tells me.
“They aired at first some beautiful imagery of golden eagles flying over the steppes to counteract what Borat was bringing, but eventually they realized: Why are we trying to fight it? Let’s embrace it. And so they did.”
A couple of years ago, the foreign ministry even officially thanked Sacha Baron Cohen for boosting tourism.
And that director who burst into the hall ended up embracing Timur and his crew too — Silent Steppe Cantata toured successfully throughout Kazakhstan.
Back in the US, Timur continued to move into musical genres that defy classification. Take his band, Timur and the Dime Museum.
“What we’re doing now could be described as protopunk and minimalist chamber pop at times and it has this really great rock-opera segment to it,” Timur says.
The glammier influences of the Russian, American and European pop music he grew up listening to can also be heard on their forthcoming album, The Collapse.
Fun, right? Except the album is supposed to be a dark requiem about man-made ecological disasters.
“I would describe Collapse as a ride to the end of the world with a glass of champagne, if you can say that,” Timur says.
You can take that ride in Brooklyn this fall, where Timur and his band will perform The Collapse at BAM’s Next Wave Festival.
The other big project Timur is focusing on? His dad.
Oddly, their roles have now reversed; Timur wants his dad to join him in Los Angeles. But after spending his whole life in Kazakhstan, his father has mixed feelings about leaving.
“I’m trying to convince him that this is a good country to be in,” Timur says.
Timur’s adopted American mother passed away last month — and his mom died last year.
“I always felt I was the luckiest person because I had two mothers — one in Kazakhstan and one the United States. And suddenly I only have my Dad. I told him he has to step up his game,” he says, laughing. “When he gets to … the United States, I’m going to smother him with love.”
Sounds like his dad’s letter to Khrushchev is finally being answered — 50 years later.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Kenyans Put Obama’s Visit Under the Microscope · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

US President Barack Obama visited Kenya during his last trip to Africa as president. Kenya is the birthplace of his father.
A matatu (local public transport) with American flag colours and the portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and President Obama cruising Nairobi streets. Photo by Boniface Muthoni, Copyright Demotix (24/7/2015).
Obama condemned Kenya’s treatment of gays and lesbians at a joint press conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. In a speech at Safaricom Indoor Arena in Nairobi, Obama called on Kenya's government to hold “visible” trials to tackle corruption, expand human rights and create a society more inclusive of women and girls, while also emphasising the need to fight terrorism. He said Kenya must tackle tribalism in order to grow.
Speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, of which Kenya was co-host, Obama said Africa’s potential can be fulfilled by harnessing the power of its young people. He noted that Africa's time as a place of innovation has come.
As expected, his visit was a hot topic on social media and will continue to be discussed for a long time.
The Kenya Post observed that Obama’s visit took Kenyan politicians including President Uhuru down a notch, turning them into “schoolchildren”:
The visit by US President Barrack Obama to Kenya was in many ways significant not only because he was the first sitting US President to visit Kenya but also because it was the first time Kenyan politicians were made to look like school children.
MPs, Senators and even Governors were forced to abandon their trappings of power and trooped together like small kids wherever Obama was.
The politicians, who had been invited to attend the public address by the US President at Kasarani, arrived there in a bus like school children while others had to walk on foot all the way from Safari Park, where they left their cars, to the Kararani Gymnasium, where Obama gave his address.
The leaders, who are used to VIP treatment, also queued and went through normal security checks before they were allowed into the arena and near Obama.
The post continued:
And if you thought it was only MPs, Senators and Governors who were reduced to nothing before the US President, then you are wrong because our very own President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Deputy, William Ruto, Cabinet Secretaries and other leaders, including those from the Opposition led by former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, were also meant to arrive at the venue earlier than usual and sat in the crowd like everybody else.
Another commenter chirped that Kenya became part of the US during Obama's visit:
You all need to know that Kenya during that weekend was part of the United States and not Kenya. US had taken over and even Obama said on camera that he was at home.
Writing for the Kenya Post, F. Gori came up with a list of things that went wrong when Obama arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, including the fact that the Kenyan deputy president wasn't part of Obama's welcoming party and that Obama's “body language towards [President] Uhuru was hmmmm not so warm”:
There were serious gaffes which should have been avoided. While signing the visitors book, Uhuru should have had a seat next to Obama, not standing next to him. Two, an excited Uhuru moved Obama’s chair- playing an aide de camp of sorts. THREE, as Obama convoy left, Uhuru was left standing somewhere, almost looking stranded (oops)! Protocol chaps could have done better. Many lessons to learn here for future engagements.
Commenting on Gori’s post, Sam said:
currently every body is an analyst even those with no idea…… Get live
An anonymous commenter reacted:
Global enterprenuer summit is why Obama came to Kenya. Focus on the business opportunities not side shows.
While Dre joked:
Uhuru was lyk a bodyguard left stranded wearing an oversized suit. ..
During his public speech, Obama warned of tribal politics saying, “A politics that’s based solely on tribe and ethnicity is a politics that’s doomed to tear a country apart. It is a failure; a failure of imagination.”
Those remarks led to a blogger at Kenya Today asking whether Obama was indirectly blasting Kenyatta’s government for tribal appointments?:
Barrack Obama spoke about something. I read between lines and I can assure you that this son of ours with a mother from Kansas understands the state of affairs in Kenya, Africa for that matter.
That you do not need to come from a particular community for you to be the world’s Steve Job or Bill Gates as far as entrepreneurship. Let your surname never limit you. This one goes out to all those tribal morons.
The statement by Obama goes out to offer hope to the thousands of the jobless youth who have been marginalized in employment opportunities in public and private sector.
Anzo disagreed saying Obama did not dwell on tribal politics:
Obama didn’t talk tribe as in your imagination.he is neither a luo or kenyan american president,he is a product of his genius. tribes don’t get opportunities,individuals do.create that business of your genius and you won’t need your tribe to succeed.your tribe ain’t marginalized,only you who has not done it for yourself.may be your tribe will be better off without you.get your tribe off your head and you will have made the first step.
Commenting on Obama’s call to respect gay rights in Kenya, one online commenter Jo asked Obama to use his influence to defend polygamy instead of homosexuality since both the US and Kenyan presidents are products of polygamy:
If BHO senior had been a homosexual we would never have enjoyed this moment.
I support [Deputy President] Ruto against Obaminations and suggest to Uncle Barry to devote his enormous influence energy and resources to support and defend polygamy as an African thing that produced both him and his host His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta in 1961.
Barlet clarified Obama’s position on gay rights:
Sexual orientation is not the act. By deciding to have a family it means potus disallows the act itself. What he says is that we should not discriminate them on the basis of their colour, creed, sex etc.
On Kenya Today, Mama Mona and Nely drew eight critical lessons from Obama’s visit and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, including:
1. Always remain Authentic and grounded. Obama epitomises that.
2. Everyone has a story. Connect to yours. Know where you are from, where you are now and from there be clear where you are going. Keep the Auma and Dani Sarah in your family always close.
And blogger Dana joked on local news site Kasanews.com that Kenyans can expect the following baby names following Obama’s visit:
The Beast came, Auma [Obama’s step sister] was hugged by the Forty fourth president of the United States, Air force one came, Global Entrepreneur Summit took place in Kenya, CNN ‘attacked’ Kenya.
Below are some baby’s names we should expect to see kenyan mums naming their kids in relation to the recent events.
1. Beast Onyango
2. Potus Oloo Odek
3. Obama Hug Auma Akech
4. GES [Global Entrepreneurship Summit] Kariuki Maina
5. Air force One Wamalwa
6. Beast Kiptanui..
7. Kidero Grass Omollo
8. Secret Service Amolo…
9. Barack Abdul Wakesho
10. Obama Oloo Otis
11. United States Wafula..
12. Unknown Destination Wanyonyi
13. Niaje Wasee Kamau…
14. Hawayuni Kipchumba..
15. Global Summit Sindiyo
16. HotBed kamau

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Malaysia’s #AtTheEdge Campaign Challenges Media Censorship · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Journalists , activists, and concerned citizens gather in Penang, Malaysia to show solidarity to the campaign for the protection of free speech. Photo from Facebook page of ‘Malaysians stand in solidarity with The Edge’
Malaysian media groups and activists are preparing for a major rally on August 8 after the government ordered the suspension of two newspapers and the blocking of a news website which has been reporting about a corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The Coalition for Press Freedom was initiated by five media groups which adopted the campaign hashtag #AtTheEdge to highlight the rise of media censorship in the country.
These groups are Gerakan Media Marah (Geramm), Institute of Journalists, Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia, Reporters Sans Frontieres, and Centre for Independent Journalism.
On July 19, the Sarawak Report news website was blocked and on July 27, two local papers belonging to The Edge media group were suspended. These media companies have been exposing the anomalous dealings of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), a state-managed investment company which reportedly incurred a debt of more than a billion US dollars. They have corroborated the expose of the Wall Street Journal which alleged Prime Minister Najib got 700 million US dollars in bank transfers through the 1MDB.
The campaign demands of #AtTheEdge are all directed towards the government:
1. Lift the suspension of The Edge Financial Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily immediately.
2. Unblock access to whistleblower site Sarawak Report.
3. Respect Malaysians’ right to information about 1MDB.
On July 31, more than 70 journalists and activists gathered in front of the office of The Edge to show their solidarity with the beleaguered publication:
Stand in solidarity with The Edge at The Edge's office, 31 July, 3pm. Jom! #AtTheEdge pic.twitter.com/IZvbu1JHKK
— AtTheEdgeMalaysia (@AtTheEdgeMsia) July 30, 2015
Solidariti media bersama @theedgemarkets 8 Ogos http://t.co/8EPGoNMSbG @AtTheEdgeMsia #FreeMedia pic.twitter.com/I9EqERL4kw
— Malaysiakini (BM) (@mkini_bm) July 31, 2015
Solidarity action in front of The Edge office. PPPA refers to Printing Presses and Publications Act which was invoked by authorities when they suspended The Edge. Photo from the Facebook page of ‘Malaysians stand in solidarity with The Edge’
The August 8 rally, dubbed 808, aims to mobilize concerned Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur.
The campaign is quickly getting support from many sectors. The Facebook page ‘Malaysians stand in solidarity with The Edge’ already has 9,000 likes. Meanwhile, an online petition in support of #AtTheEdge campaign has received 30,000 signatures. The petition denounces the suspension order, which will last for three months, as a government ploy to hide the truth:
At a time when there are more questions than answers available regarding the humongous financial scandal, the Ministry’s action appears to be a self-serving draconian attempt at shutting up inquisitive Malaysians.
Transparency International's Malaysia office described the suspension order against The Edge as a counterproductive and irrational measure:
Suspending a newspaper which reported on the 1MDB scandal is not going to help the government in any way. In fact it will have more negative impact on Malaysia in terms of its international standing, sovereign ratings and the other ratings including the international perception on our press freedom.
Our government must not go for the ‘overkill’ in suppressing free speech on the pretext of acting against critics. Let’s get our facts right before we carry out more irrational measures.
Francis Loh, president of the advocacy group Aliran, underscores the importance of a free press in society:
…a democracy must have vibrant mass media and independent press which dare to conduct investigative journalism like what The Edge and Sarawak Report have done. They must make available information to the rakyat [people], especially when the authorities tell the rakyat to wait and wait.


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Will the Victims of Pinochet’s Tyranny Finally Get Justice? · Global Voices
Rhea Page

Niche that contained Chilean songwriter and activist Victor Jara's remains before forensic analysis in 2009, after which they were finally relocated to a grave. Photo taken from the Flickr account of Claudio Quezada under Creative Commons licence.
Last week saw the arrests of a total of 17 former Chilean army officers for two of the most resonant crimes committed during the Augusto Pinochet period: the brutal murder of Víctor Jara, a Chilean musician and communist sympathiser, and the burning of two activists.
Ten suspects have been charged with Jara's murder following testimony of a military whistleblower. Another seven have been charged with setting fire to the two activists, one of whom died, with the other left severely injured.
In 1973, Pinochet overthrew Chilean socialist President Salvador Allende, marking the beginning of a 17-year-long military dictatorship during which more than 3,000 people were killed and tens of thousands imprisoned and tortured.
Jara was one of the many victims taken prisoner in the National Stadium in Santiago where he was tortured, had his fingers removed and his body embedded with 44 bullets. The poet and singer was also a political activist that sided with the left-wing working class. Jara was seized shortly after the start of the coup and killed on September 16.
In 1986, 18 and 19-year-old Carmen Gloria Quintana and Rodrigo Rojas were beaten, drenched in petrol and set ablaze by military officers. Rojas died four days later, and Quintana was left disfigured and in need of crucial surgery. Both victims were political activists documenting strikes and protests against Pinochet's tyranny. The attack was covered up by the military and the pair were accused by Pinochet of burning themselves whilst making petrol bombs.
For nearly three decades a pact of silence among the soldiers of the Pinochet army has secured de facto impunity for the perpetrators. However, Fernando Guzmán, an 18-year-old soldier at the time, finally broke the pact in an attempt to bring justice to the victims and their families.
Quintana said to reporters:
I think this pact of silence breaking apart after so many years is a milestone for our country. It's a before and after in the struggle for human rights. From now on many more soldiers who are burdened by their conscience, will talk because they know what they did. They murdered and forcibly disappeared people.
Joan Turner Jara, widow of the singer called the new developments in her husband's case “a message of hope”:
Víctor’s case can serve as an example, so we’re pushing forward in demanding justice for Víctor with the hope that justice will follow for everyone.
People worldwide have taken to social media to comment on the charges.
Guardian reporter Jonathan Franklin writes:
10 Chilean Military Charged with Murder of folk singer Victor Jara….Chilean justice may be slow, but it's steady. pic.twitter.com/cgCuREr3Sc
— Jonathan Franklin (@FranklinBlog) July 23, 2015
Chilean Politician, María Antonieta Saa expressed her horror at events of the past:
Volver a ver en TV a Pinochet poner en duda el asesinato de Rodrigo Rojas De Negri es recordar con horror lo que vivimos. Verdad y Justicia
— antonietasaa (@antonietasaa) July 23, 2015
Seeing Pinochet back on TV casting doubt over the death of Rodrigo Rojas De Regri makes us remember with horror what we lived through. Truth and Justice.
As Joan Turner Jara noted, this could truly be a new chapter in the battle for justice for Pinochet's victims. The exposure of a cover up within the military may help uncover the truth about many other violations of human rights under Pinochet's regime.
According to official numbers, 40,018 people were victims of human rights abuses during the time the regime was in place while 3,065 were assassinated or went missing.
Pinochet's 17-year rule ended in a 1988 plebiscite, when 56% voted against him continuing as president leading to democratic elections to the Presidency and Congress. The former dictator was arrested under an international arrest warrant during a visit to London on October 10, 1998 in connection with numerous alleged human rights abuses. He returned to Chile in March 2000. In 2004, a Chilean judge ruled that Pinochet was medically fit to stand trial and placed him under house arrest.
Pinochet died on December 10, 2006 — ironically the International Day of Human Rights — having been hospitalized for a heart attack. He was never convicted of any of the roughly 300 criminal charges made against him which included tax evasion and embezzlement as well as human rights violations.

author: Rhea Page


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Global Voices Partners with Myanmar’s The Irrawaddy · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

These are interesting times for Myanmar as it pursues reforms in order to become a modern democratic state. It is a difficult transition for a country which has been under military rule for the past five decades but the international community should continue to press for reform.
Will there be clean and fair elections in November? Will the military-backed government continue to welcome foreign investment? What is the plan to achieve unity and peace amid ethnic and religious conflicts?
To improve our coverage of what’s happening in Myanmar today, Global Voices has partnered with The Irrawaddy, a leading media organization in the country which delivers alternative news.
The Irrawaddy was founded in 1993 by exiled Burmese journalists in Thailand. Many of them witnessed, documented, and joined the historic 1988 democracy uprisings.
The Irrawaddy magazine was the first independent news publication unaffiliated with Burmese political dissident groups. Because of its critical reports, it was banned by the military regime in Myanmar and anyone found with a copy could be arrested and imprisoned.
In 2000, The Irrawaddy website was launched and was promptly blocked in Myanmar remaining inaccessible in the country for the next 11 years. When media restrictions were eased in 2011, The Irrawaddy was finally made available to Myanmar Internet users. Meanwhile, the print magazine was finally distributed legally across the country in 2013.
Since its founding, The Irrawaddy has committed to provide the public with alternative news as part of its democratic positioning. It believes a free press is essential to a democracy:
We have a strong belief in democracy, and believe that without free media a democratic society is incomplete. It is our duty to protect and preserve press freedom and develop independent media free from bias and influences.
On the part of Global Voices, we are happy to undertake this partnership as we seek to provide our readers with better and more inspiring stories from Myanmar.


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Indians Blast Facebook Over Broken Community Standards · Global Voices
Inji Pennu

Cyber attack. Image by Florian F via Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
There are over 100 million Facebookers in India, leaving the country second only to the U.S. in overall users, and poised to lead the pack of countries using the social network by 2017. Yet Facebook is struggling to keep pace with the complexities presented by the vast, multilingual and culturally diverse Indian market.
Recent incidents occurring on the social media platform within the space of a few days show how Facebook is losing the war against rampant misogyny, child abuse, nude content and even the recent ‘original name’ policy the social network proudly enforces globally.
Screenshot of Preetha G Nair Facebook page.
Preetha G Nair, a social media activist, has been the subject of a massive cyber-bullying campaign.
On July 19, Preetha wrote a post complaining about a misogynist remark made by G. Sudhakaran, a member of a political party in Kerala, India. In response, many of Sudhakaran's party followers reported Preetha's Facebook page as fake amid a bombardment of personal attacks on her led by Davis Thekkekara, Sudhakaran's political ally.
Preetha's account was duly suspended by Facebook, who cited ‘community standards’, only reinstating the account upon verifying that she was in fact not in the wrong. When on returning to the social network she spoke out against the politics of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, India's 11th president, who died on July 27, Preetha was once more singled out based on her gender and subjected to a massive online attack.
A new Facebook profile subsequently appeared depicting her as a prostitute and featuring images of her friends and children as well as nasty stories with explicit sexual content. Many fellow Facebook users reported the profile and filed written email complaints with the Kerala Cyber Cell, the official website of the Kerala police.
But the Kerala police have not responded, while those reporting the issue to Facebook receive a standard message that the pages do not violate Facebook community standards. As of August 2, the fake profile was still online and active.
Elsewhere on Facebook, people were protesting the July 30 hanging of convicted terrorist Yakub Memon, whose capital punishment one prominent Indian journalist wrote “exposed [people's] hunger for the macabre”.
On July 31, anti-hanging pages, also in the Malaylam language, were taken down by Facebook immediately while users associated with the pages had their accounts frozen.
Anivar Aravind, an internet freedom activist, began a Twitter campaign against Facebook's policies using the hashtag #FoE. After a few hours, the frozen accounts were reinstated.
Sudheesh Sudhakaran, an active Facebooker, whose account was suspended amid the hanging controversy wrote:
ഇതിന്റെ അര്‍ത്ഥം ഫേസ്ബുക്കിന്റെ കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റി സ്റ്റാന്‍ഡേര്‍ഡ് എന്ന് പറയുന്നത്, വധശിക്ഷയെ അംഗീകരിക്കുന്ന ഒന്നാണെന്നും അതിനെ എതിര്‍ക്കുന്നവരെ പുറത്താക്കും എന്ന് വേണമല്ലോ മനസ്സിലാക്കാന്. ഫേസ്ബുക്ക് ഇന്ത്യ ഈ നാട്ടിലെ മജോരിട്ടെരിയന് പോളിട്ടിക്സിന്റെ മനുഷ്യത്വരഹിതമായ വികാരങ്ങളെ പരിപോഷിപ്പിച്ചു ഫ്രീഡം ഓഫ് എക്സ്പ്രേഷനെ തടയുന്നു എന്നല്ലേ ?
This clearly shows that Facebook Community standards are driven by people who support Capital Punishment and through them Facebook is only supporting right wingers who have no value for human rights or freedom of expression.
Any person who knows how to read in the Malayalam language can understand that Preetha G Nair is being subjected to massive online abuse.
Simultaneously a simple protest against the decision of the Indian government to hang a convicted terrorist was taken as a violation of Facebook's “community standards”. This poses a question: who is monitoring Indian Facebook pages?
For women, who constitute a majority of Facebook users in India, this question is particularly important. The platform has undoubtedly helped them voice their opinions on public issues in a way that society sometimes does not allow. But that progress is being rolled back by vicious online attacks Facebook seems unable or unwilling to police. Facebook is an increasingly unsafe place for Indian women.
Screen Shot of comments referencing Preetha's child and picture of the child.
Sheeja Rajagopal, a PhD research Scholar from Chennai, commented:
This speaks volumes about Facebook's community standards (whatever that means). Harassing a woman using derogatory language and using her pictures doesn't violate any of Facebook's policies or standards. Posting a woman's pictures on a public page without her consent and using abusive language seems acceptable to Facebook.
Maya Leela, a Spain-based linguist and activist, stood behind Preetha:
അവഹേളനങ്ങള് പ്രീതയോടൊപ്പം വളരെ വ്യക്തിപരമായി ഞാനും ഏറ്റു വാങ്ങുന്നു. ഒരു സ്ത്രീയെന്ന നിലയില് മറ്റൊരു സ്ത്രീയ്ക്ക് സംഭവിക്കുന്ന ഒരു ദുരിതവും എന്റെതും കൂടെ അല്ലാതാവുന്നില്ല.
#preethaismyfriend
Preetha is my friend. The attackers  who are Malayalee men are threatening that they are going to post nude pictures and videos of Preetha […] The videos and pictures of Preetha will carry my face too. I am also receiving all the insults and abuse Preetha is being subjected to. Whatever happens to someone of my gender (woman) is happening to me also.
Arya Prakash, a student, vented:
Not that I'm surprised, but I'm fuming with anger. What the fuck are these community standards if they cannot take down a page that's nothing but purely abusive in nature and totally harassing a woman using her photos and other personal details? Facebook should review its community standards before it reviews other pages.
Meanwhile, the creators of the page have received over, 1,000 likes and have challenged the Kerala Police to find them, while also threatening further hacks on Preetha's account.
They also issued a threat to the people reporting them on their page:
Whoever has complained to the police will have to suffer the consequences.
Screen Shot of messages challenging Kerala Police to find them.
But amid the online violence and Facebook's inaction, a hopeful culture of solidarity is growing. Preetha's friends are posting messages of support and defiance under the hashtag #പ്രീതക്കൊപ്പം, orstandingwithpreetha.

author: Inji Pennu


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Russia’s Mustachioed Corruption · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Vladimir Putin’s mustachioed spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has tied the knot with his partner of five years, Tatiana Navka. Like Putin’s rumored love interest, Alina Kabaeva, Peskov’s new spouse is a former Olympic champion. This is Peskov’s third marriage, and the couple already has a child, born one year ago.
The mustachioed Richard Mille RM 52-01. Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
The wedding, which took place yesterday, on Saturday, August 1, was an extravagant affair hosted at the most expensive hotel in Sochi. According to the news website Gazeta.ru (a Kremlin-friendly publication, incidentally), the rooms at the Rodina Grand Hotel and Spa cost anywhere from 36,000-200,000 rubles ($580-$3,250) a night.
Yesterday, Gazeta.ru also published a rather controversial interview with Peskov’s 17-year-old daughter, Elizaveta, where she expressed ambivalence about her father’s new marriage, and explained her decision not to attend the wedding. At one point in the interview, Peskov’s daughter even said she feels more at home in Paris, where her mother lives, than in Moscow, though her father apparently insists that she remain in Russia to complete her education. “Europe is better adapted to the lives of ordinary people,” she explained, adding, “And I really like the mentality of Europeans my age—their lifestyle. I feel more at home in Europe.”
These revelations are particularly embarrassing for a high-ranking Kremlin official in today’s political climate, when much of the public rhetoric focuses on the West’s moral decadence and the injustice of sanctions over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.
A day after the nuptials, Russia’s most famous anti-corruption activist, Alexey Navalny, has also joined the bandwagon of Peskov-bashing, publishing on his website evidence that Peskov wears a wristwatch worth at least $620,000. The Richard Mille RM 52-01, apparently photographed on Peskov’s arm, while clutching Navka for that fateful “you-may-kiss-the-bride” embrace, is worth four of his annual salaries. According to Peskov’s income and property declarations, he’s received no gifts worth this much money, and his earnings are simply too low to afford such an item.
Navalny points out that his discovery would mean the end of Peskov’s political career, if Russia were a more transparent country. In November 2013, in Poland, for instance, Transport Minister Slovomir Novak was forced to resign after it was revealed that he owned an undeclared wristwatch worth just $3,500—as much as 112 times less than Peskov’s alleged timepiece.
Photo: Navalny.com.
In May 2012, following a protest in Moscow that turned mildly violent, Peskov said “protesters who hurt riot police should have their livers smeared on the asphalt.” Navalny says Russians who oppose corruption should remember Peskov’s threat, and know that it’s directed at them.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Selfie Empowerment: Russian Communists Want Your Lenin Selfies · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Russian Communists want to make Lenin hip again—using the power of selfies. Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
The art of the selfie photo has become a controversial pastime in Russia, especially after being branded “dangerous” by police, who have called for taking fewer risks and advocated for “safe selfies” with a special campaign. But Russians love their selfies and they keep taking them.
Now Russian Communists are getting in on the action and proposing to hold a federal “Selfie With Lenin” flashmob—a move they say would be a “cheap and effective way to popularize the image of the leader of the world's proletariat among the youth.” In an appeal to Gennady Zyuganov, head of the Russian Communist Party, the Lenin Communist youth union of Russia's Komi republic also stressed the flashmob would help take stock of all the Lenin statues scattered throughout the country. The Komi activists have already tested the idea on a regional level in April 2015.
Zyuganov told Izvestia he would be happy to support the initiative.
Идея очень правильная, тем более что благодаря ей мы сможем увидеть, в каком состоянии находятся памятники Ленину. Непременно поддержим. Думаю, Владимир Ильич будет благодарен.
The idea has merit, especially since it would allow us to see what the state of the Lenin monuments is like. We'll definitely support it. I think Vladimir Ilyich [Lenin] will be thankful.
Reacting to the news of the proposed campaign, Nikita Petrov of Memorial, a Russian non-profit historical and civil rights society, called it “domesticating the tyrant” and “an attempt to slide Lenin into the mainstream,” and said it was a desperate move that wouldn't do much for the “Communist regime.”
Lenin selfies are quite a common occurrence on the RuNet already, although most of the photos seem to be taken ironically rather than in honest adoration of Lenin's figure. In June, Russian media reported on a hilarious incident in the town of Prokopyevsk in Kemerovo region, where a drunk resident broke apart a statue of Lenin while trying to pose for a selfie with it.
TJournal trawled Russians’ selfie photos on Instagram and found quite an impressive sampling of selfies with various Lenin statues around the country, usually with the hashtag #селфислениным (#selfiewithlenin).
#селфислениным
A photo posted by Sandra_st (@bird_sandra) on
Photo by bird_sandra: #selfiewithlenin
My name is Bond.  Вова Bond. Вова Ильич Bond. #Россия #Москва #лето #парк #музеон #лол #Ленин #Вова #Бонд #Russia #Moscow #summer #park #lol #fun #smile #Lenin
A photo posted by Андрей (@andrsonl) on
Photo by andrsonl: My name is Bond. Vova Bond. Vova Ilyich Bond.
#селфислениным #grutoparkas #дядяленинговоритмамунадослушаться
A photo posted by @murzique on
Photo by murzique: #selfiewithlenin #grutoparkas #uncleleninsaidishouldobeymymom
First kiss. #kiss #Lenin #ulanude #sunnyday #happy #Ленин #уланудэ #солнечныйдень
A photo posted by Darima Song (@moonlighttdz) on
Photo by moonlighttdz: First kiss.
The RuNet, as it is wont to do, took the joke and ran with it. Users immediately suggested that a selfie campaign was just the first step, and that other possible uses for Lenin and his famous image could include renting him out for parties and weddings, and using the “brand” to further Russia's image abroad (not that it isn't already).
ИЛЬИЧ ТЕРПЕЛ И НАМ ВЕЛЕЛ. pic.twitter.com/Zc82Rlx8hU
— Dmitry Veselov (@grayraw) July 30, 2015
Ilyich bore this patiently and bid us to do the same.
Other commenters pointed out that the campaign was ridiculous and wondered if it was possible to collect all symbols of communism into an amusement park of sorts, in order to remove the offending statues and street signs from everyday life.
Russia currently boasts over 6 thousand Lenin monuments around the country, and other post-Soviet states have their share as well. Notably, Ukraine has seen a number of Lenin statues toppled during the Euromaidan protests and later during the armed conflict with Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, a phenomenon dubbed Ленинопад (Leninfall). Russia has also seen some toppling attempts: a Lenin statue at St. Petersburg's Finlyandsky train station was left with a large hole through its lower back as the result of an explosion on April Fool's Day in 2009.

author: Tanya Lokot


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To Ethiopian-American Singer Meklit Hadero, ‘Home Is Always in Flux’ · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Meklit Hadero. Photo by Flickr user Shawn Anderson. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This article and radio report by Monica Campbell for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on July 24, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Like a lot of immigrants in the United States, Meklit Hadero’s family arrived to a place unknown, with a single connection drawing them. For Hadero, that place was Iowa, where her dad knew a professor.
It was the early ‘80s, and Ethiopia was still feeling the aftermath of the 1974 revolution.
“There was a lot of kindness and community,” says Hadero, a singer and songwriter now based in San Francisco. “We were adjusting to living in this country. At the same time it was very challenging. There weren’t many immigrants at all, let alone immigrants from East Africa or Ethiopia.”
In fact, she remembers, there was one other Ethiopian family in town. “They heard through the grapevine that we had moved there and people said, ‘Oh, they live in that apartment complex.’ And they knocked on every door until they found us and we’re still friends today.”
Her parents were physicians who had to redo their residencies in the US in order to work. It took a long time. Five years. And the jobs they got brought the Hadero family to Brooklyn.
She returned to Ethiopia when she was 21 with her mom, carrying with her a body of stories, those highs and lows her family had talked about for years regarding life back in Ethiopia. Hadero says when she got to Ethiopia, she started to “see the holes” in her parents’ memories.
“I started to see the people who were maybe only hinted at filled into whole three-dimensional personalities,” she says. She also remembers her mom shifting between what she called “home” or “back home,” toggling between Ethiopia and the United States.
“Home is always in flux,” Hadero says.
Those journeys, and discovering more about Ethiopian music, have influenced Hadero’s music and can be heard in “We are Alive,” her latest album. It includes “I Like Your Afro,” Hadero's modern twist on a traditional Amharic-language Ethiopian love song called “Kemekem,” which means “the perfect Afro.”
“This is a very flirtatious love song, where the lyrics say, ‘Oh, my dear, with the perfect Afro, you live at the top of the hill, I live at the bottom of the hill, just roll on down and meet me there.’”
She calls it her version of a “countryside song that, at the core of it, is something that people all over the world can connect with.”
She also sees how people don’t always know how to classify her. “When I play my music for the world music, they say, ‘Well, this is too jazz.’ When I play it for the jazz people, they say, ‘Well, this is kind of pop.’ And when I play it for the pop people they say, ‘What is this?’”


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China Finally Opens Door to Overseas Game Consoles · Global Voices
Patrick Wong

Image remixed from public domain.
After 15 years, mainland China's Ministry of Culture has finally lifted its ban on sales of game consoles. The new regulations went into effect on July 12, allowing in domestic and foreign companies involved manufacturing and selling consoles. These companies also have to agree to take responsibility for censoring forbidden content identified by Chinese officials.
In China, video games have long been called “electronic heroin,” and some parents and experts worry an increased supply might jeopardize children’s mental and physical health. In 2000, the State Council published a notice, joined by the Ministry of Culture and another seven administrative departments, decreeing the prohibition of manufacturing and selling game consoles in mainland China, claiming it “seriously jeopardizes young people and disturbs the social order.” This is an excerpt from the notice:
自本意见发布之日起，面向国内的电子游戏设备及其零、附件生产、销售即行停止。任何企业、个人不得再从事面向国内的电子游戏设备及其零、附件的生产、销售活动。一经发现向电子游戏经营场所销售电子游戏设备及其零、附件的，由经贸、信息产业部门会同工商行政管理等部门依照有关规定进行处理。
With the publication of this notice, the manufacturing and sale of electronic game devices and accessories must be ceased within the nation. There shall not be any enterprises and persons involved in manufacturing and selling such devices and accessories. If found to be violating these rules, the departments of economy and trade, information industry, and industrial and commercial administration shall punish [related people and companies], according to the relevant regulations.
China's regulatory efforts didn't exactly devastate the country's game culture. Writing on A9VG, a popular game forum, one user shared his doubts about the effectiveness of China's efforts to ban consoles:
其实我一直怀疑到底有没有禁止过游戏机，因为这些年来我们想玩任何游戏机都可以通过实体店或者网络购买到，游戏机房也开的到处都是，当然这些游戏机房基本都靠赌博机，政府虽然面上禁止游戏机，却放任水货在中国横行，真奇葩。
Actually, I've always doubted the prohibition decree of game consoles. These years, we can purchase any kinds of game consoles from physical or online stores, and we can see game-rooms everywhere, though most of of them are making profits as gambling machines. The government seemingly bans game consoles, but it allows sales of smuggled ones nationwide, which confuses me.
The decree in 2000 was never terribly effective; both consoles and games easily reached smuggling markets like online retail platform Taobao, as well as physical game stores, where traders openly sold goods smuggled from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
There were drawbacks to smuggled game systems, of course. The consoles would overheat, some discs would be unreadable, and a host of other issues emerged—all without any technical support, as the manufacturers refused to provide it for illegal purchases. When anything like this happened, Chinese gamers simply had to buy the product again.
Pirated games are also a lot cheaper, however. The average pirated game runs no more than RMB 10 yuan (about $1.60), whereas the genuine article can cost almost 30 times as much. For many gamers, the non-pirated product is simply unaffordable.
After buying a console, a gamer usually spends about RMB 100 yuan on a special “direct-read” chip, which allows circuit-modified game console to access the game copy—which can be easily found and downloaded online—directly from the external hard disk drive.
China’s tremendous number of gamers has long been an alluring, but illusive, market. About a decade ago, on November 28, 2003, Sony announced the PlayStation 2 console in mainland China, which was already a major success throughout the world. To bypass the Ministry of Culture's prohibition, Sony called its product a “computer entertainment system,” instead of a “video game console.”
Ahead of December 20 launch date of Playstation 2, however, the Ministry of Culture issued a new decree, and Sony was forced to postpone its effort to bring the console to China.
In early 2004, Sony again tried to sell the PlayStation 2, this time focusing on Shanghai and Guangzhou, at the price of RMB 1,988 yuan ($300). This price was about 25 percent higher than on the black market. As a result, Sony sold only about 1,000 units, thanks to the higher cost and embedded anti-piracy “locked-area” technology.
Planned since 1997, Shanghai proclaimed that the Free Trade Zone to be China’s first economic experimental area in September 2013. The Chinese government issued a notice that welcomes foreign game companies manufacturing and selling game devices, after approval by the Ministry of Culture (in accordance with the guidelines of video-game censorship).
Despite the uncertain future of China’s game market, Microsoft soon announced a partnership with BestTV, a local information technology firm affiliated with state-owned Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group (known as SMG). The joint venture promised to bring the Xbox One—one of the most popular consoles today in North America and Europe—to China by September. Sony has made similar plans for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, in cooperation with SMG’s Oriental Pearl Group.
Game rating systems provide guidelines for game companies that must strictly rate their game content according to age groups. Though China’s government has been simplifying the process of game censorship since 2013, the censorship of the industry remains nontransparent and inefficient without a simple rating system.
On the game forum A9VG, one gamer believes China’s game industry needs to establish the game rating system:
游戏的审批在于中国没有分级制度，可是这个很麻烦，因为无论是欧洲通用的PEGI，还是美国的ESRB，这些都是这些企业为了自身行业的生命力和发展来支持组织的独立行为，都不是政府机构，并且贩卖销售者都会严格遵守，如果你违反了规定，将不会再有游戏卖，所以说大多数来自于行业内部的约束力，而不是政府主导的。
As for the examination of games, no rating system? That's a serious issue. PEGI in Europe and ESRB in the US, which are established on the basis of developing the [game] industry, are independent, nongovernmental organizations. Game traders would strictly follow the [game rating system]. If you break it, you cannot sell game products any more. So most of [game rating systems] are set up by the [game] industry itself, not by governments.
With improving Internet access and faster wireless data speeds, online and mobile game has also been booming in China over the past several years. According to the 2014 report of China’s game industry, the gross value of online and mobile game have surged to over $88 billion.
Niko Partners, a research intelligence firm specializing in the Asian game market, said in its 2015 China’s video game report that sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One only have yielded 550,000 in China since 2015, partly due to a lack of Chinese games.

author: Patrick Wong


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Exiled Journalist Speaks on Human Trafficking and The Gambia’s Assault on Media Freedom · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

When Gambian journalist Sanna Camara began covering human trafficking in his home country of The Gambia last year, he was detained and questioned by police.
Sanna Camara, Gambia journalist living in exile in Senegal. Photo courtesy of Sanna Camara.
A journalist with The Standard, a leading newspaper in the Gambian capital of Banjul, Camara sought and published the opinion of a Gambian police spokesman in reaction to the US State Department's 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) which called The Gambia a “source and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.” After suffering intense harassment from government authorities and threats on his life, Camara fled The Gambia, leaving behind his wife and young children. He now lives in exile in Senegal.
The Gambia has been under the grip of a tyrannical ‘democracy’ for almost thirty years. President Yahya Jammeh, a young military officer took power after a 1994 military coup, promised upon assuming office: “we will never introduce dictatorship in this country.”
The Gambia is also one of the most repressive states in West Africa for press freedom. The Gambia currently ranks as number 151 out of 180 countries in 2015 World Press Freedom Index.
Image courtesy of Sanna Camara.
Global Voices Nigerian author Nwachukwu Egbunike caught up with Camara recently in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and they discussed his work and decision to leave his country.
Since 2001, I have been reporting general news, ranging from politics, human rights, environmental and other developmental news stories both for a daily newspaper and my blog.
The issue of human trafficking, or trafficking in persons, has been a sensitive one in my country, particularly for the media. If you understand the political environment journalists operate in in my country, you will know that the space to report and investigate issues of interest to the population, or issues that affect their lives, is so limited – thanks to diverse reasons, but key is the laws limiting press freedom and freedom of expression.
So in June 2014, while I was reporting for The Standard in Banjul, the US State Department released a report ranking countries all over the world on [the prevalence of] trafficking in persons, what measures governments take to curtail the issue in terms of laws, arrests, prosecutions, et cetera.
Not surprisingly, The Gambia was ranked TIER 3, meaning the country served as a source, destination, and transit country for human trafficking. Before this, no source, be it government, civil society or other sources was willing to speak on the relevance of the human trafficking situation to the media, even though you will hear them gossip about it in their small corners.
The US TIP Report gave me the relevant information and quotes needed to begin work on the matter. Hence my first reporting combined an interview with the Police spokesperson, quoting from the TIP report and a particular civil society voice that showed interest in the topic too, but were afraid to be named.
It was published on Friday, June 27, 2014. By 4pm, I got a tip that the Major Crimes Unit of the Gambia Police Force had been given orders to arrest me. I did not flee. I stayed and waited for them to come for me. Before they did, I received a call from the Police spokesperson telling me that “we have a problem” and that I should come meet him at a particular station before the Major Crimes get to me, which I did.
Sure the government was rattled by the news. At the time of the publication, the president was at an African Union Summit in Equatorial Guinea. The TIP Report's release and Gambia's ranking, as I learned, “caused great embarrassment” to government. Therefore, he specifically gave instructions for his officials to challenge the report.
Before this could be done, my story got published on the front page confirming some facts in the TIP report, thus undermining every [argument] that they would have used to challenge the TIP Report. As a high profile task force was set up within the government to look into this, my news came rattling…
Hence their ploy to unleash the Major Crimes [division] on me. They arrested me, interrogated me on who my sources were, why I was publishing such news when I knew it was “false”. Who was I and who was I working with, et cetera. I was charged with “publishing false news.” If convicted, I could pay a fine ranging from D50,000 (almost US$2000) to D250, 000 (about US$10,000). Or serve a sentence from six months or two years in jail.
After two months reporting on bail at Major Crimes, I did not feel safe anymore to continue working as a journalist in the country. The harassment, threats and psychological pressure I had to go through made me to decide to flee to Senegal. On August 23 2014, I arrived Dakar and sought asylum with the Senegalese government. Although I was not granted asylum, the President of Senegal, Macky Sall has assured all persecuted and exiled Gambians in his country of their protection so long as we do not break the laws of Senegal.
The feeling is another experience for my life as a journalist. [Along with] the challenges of living in a Francophone country, this life sometimes feels so frustrating and hopeless, especially knowing that you have left behind a family of young kids and a loving and loyal wife. Finding a job in that country is equally frustrating when one does not have a French background, and despite the existence of various regional offices of media outlets, finding a space to work with them is very limited.
I publish a blog, Gambia Beat where I continue reporting on Gambia from Senegal. I derive no income from this, but I am driven by love for country and passion to practice. I cannot stay in Senegal and just stop reporting on my country. I believe the issues areas relevant now as they were before I fled.
This is different from when I report from home where I meet Gambian faces on daily basis in person and hear about their stories in order to report on them. Now I am used to the idea of using the Internet and the social media, and occasionally some phone calls to Gambia to gather information and report about them. It brings a whole new dimension to my practice of journalism. But then we are in the social media generation, aren't we? (laughs)
From the outset, I had the opinion that he did it purposely to score some political points. After all, most of the released prisoners were illegally detained or imprisoned in the first place…[the] majority of prisoners in Gambia since 1994 are there because they disagreed with the president, refused to be his enablers, are assumed enemies [and] hence accused of crimes they did not commit and received unfair trials that ended up in sentencing them to prison terms. Many did not receive the luxury of trials before being thrown in jail, some died in prison… The next presidential election in The Gambia, where Jammeh is trying to seek a fifth term in office, is slated for September 2016. Now you do the maths…
At some quarters yes it has, but not enough to affect the kind of change or pressure those of us fighting against tyranny would like. Sometimes I assume that it is because of our size as a country or our lack of mineral resources that makes others to ignore our plight….if Jammeh was head of state of a major country like Nigeria, or another African country, we would made great progress by now….Five years of tyranny in a lifetime is sufficient for any freedom-loving people. The Gambia has been on a trial of freedom, peace and prosperity…
I think the citizens are fighting for their God-given rights to freedom of expression and press in various countries in West Africa. Now with the Internet, social media, smartphone, there are unprecedented levels of awareness in the history of the struggle for freedom by civilian populations in any country in the world. Hence the tide of change is swiftly pushing the barriers of dictatorships and freedom as we used to know all over the world, particularly in Africa.
Traditionally, the tyrannical governments do a lot to control the flow of information to and from the population by maintaining a tight grip on the media. This is no longer tenable with the tools now available to the new generation. It also means increased ways journalists can access information, relate with their sources and disseminate same information. In some countries, it has raised the bar of threats they face from governments and enemies of free expression, but progressive ones see it as a blessing and value added to their means of governance.
In the sub-region, dictatorship posts are crumbling one after the other, and emerging ones are becoming more open to criticisms and democratic values. But the fight for press freedom and freedom of expression is not complete until the last dictatorship in the sub region is toppled.

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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How Iran Used WikiLeaks to Attack a Human Rights Defender · Global Voices
Center for Human Rights in Iran

Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, presents his report at the 28th Session at the Human Rights Council, March 16, 2015. UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This post first appeared on iranhumanrights.org and is published here in collaboration with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
State news agencies in Iran are trying to discredit Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, through a story based on an alleged WikiLeaks document.
The authenticity of the document has been directly questioned by WikiLeaks, the well-known website that publishes secret information from anonymous sources. In a tweet WikiLeaks wrote: “Please show which cable this claim is based on. You fail to link to one of our cables in the article.”
Iran's media claims that a WikiLeaks document proves the Special Rapporteur received a million dollars from Saudi Arabia in return for promising stronger criticism of the Iranian government in his annual reports on the state of human rights in Iran.
Through his own Twitter account Dr. Shaheed, who has been recognized internationally as a principled and scrupulous champion of human rights, thanked WikiLeaks for clarifying and calling attention to the fact that these reports had not been authenticated.
This is not the first time a round of questionable allegations have targeted Dr. Shaheed.
This latest attack comes shortly after the Special Rapporteur called on Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to pay more attention to the country’s human rights situation now that the Islamic Republic and world powers have come to an agreement on the nuclear issue.
“It is my sincere hope that the successful conclusion of the nuclear talks, which will enable the lifting of economic sanctions, will allow President Hassan Rouhani to focus on his other campaign pledges, specifically those to promote the enjoyment of all human rights by the Iranian people,” said Dr. Shaheed in a statement published on July 15, 2015.
The current allegations appear to be a ramped-up effort by hardliners to pre-empt any increased pressure on Iran — from either inside or outside the country — to address the country’s egregious rights record.
“This claim is preposterous and only serves to distract from the task at hand—addressing the serious human rights issues facing the country today,” Dr. Shaheed said in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
“Allegations to discredit me do not change the [Islamic Republic of Iran’s] record documented by the UN Secretary General and raised by the U.N. human rights mechanisms for the last decade.”
“Executions are taking place at an alarming rate.  Women’s rights continue to face significant challenges. Hundreds of individuals are in detention for things they wrote, said, or posted on the Internet.  And the Baha’i leadership remain in prison for their religious beliefs,” the UN Special Rapporteur continued.
“My work, like the work of my predecessors, is based on research. It presents laws, government statements, as well as information taken from government websites and reports. My work presents interviews with hundreds of individuals, inside and outside Iran, that claim that their rights were violated, and my work presents the research undertaken by dozens of internationally recognized human rights organizations,” Dr. Shaheed told the Campaign.
While Iranian officials continue their efforts to discredit Dr. Shaheed and any other human rights defender who attempts to hold the Iranian government accountable for its rights violations, the international community has maintained strong support for the Special Rapporteur, noting his fair and meticulous work and invaluable contribution to the exposure of human rights abuses in Iran. As such it has renewed his mandate every single year.
In response to a question about these allegations by a reporter from ISNA (the Iranian Students News Agency) on July 29, 2015, Mohammad Javad Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Council, repeated the unsubstantiated claim that Dr. Shaheed had received bribes. However, within hours of the remarks being posted on ISNA’s and the Fars News Agency’s websites, the link to the interview was removed. (To see a screenshot of the removed page click here.)
Since being appointed as the UN’s human rights point-man for Iran in 2011, Shaheed has been refused entry into Iran, and his annual reports, detailing widespread rights abuses, have been described by Sadegh Amoli Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary, as “lies” and by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Marzieh Afkham of “lacking validity.”
In 2014 Javad Larijani, who is Sadegh Amoli Larijani's brother, called Ahmed Shaheed “a wicked fool,” and said “human rights defender” is another name for terrorist.
He stated: “Those who are referred to as ‘human rights defenders’ these days, are soiled with terrorist acts and call themselves human rights defenders…when you hear the name ‘human rights defender,’ these are individuals who commit terrorist acts.”
In 2012, Javad Larijani claimed Dr. Shaheed was being fed false information by “terrorist groups” as well as by the U.S. and Israel in support of “mostly those who have carried out terrorist organizations under the guise of human rights defenders.”
In 2013, during a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Javad Larijani accused the Special Rapporteur of “relying on biased sources” and working with “a notorious terrorist group” to compile his reports. Larijani’s vitriol was so great that the president of the session felt obliged to remind Larijani not to personally attack the Rapporteur in his remarks.
The supposed “bribery” allegations are not new either. In March 2013, Javad Larijani accused the Special Rapporteur of taking bribes from the US State Department, an allegation that was later proved to be completely unfounded.
Iran’s human rights chief has not just attacked Shaheed; he has repeatedly equated all human rights defenders with terrorists, making specific reference to the internationally respected human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2011 for defending free speech and the right to peaceful dissent.
Iranian officials have also moved beyond their vilification of Shaheed to trash the broader human rights mechanisms at the UN and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon himself.
In remarks on November 22, 2011, Javad Larijani stated that [human rights] reports by Ban Ki-moon’s office were a reiteration of viewpoints of “terrorist groups and organizations that oppose the Islamic Republic”, and that Iran was “extremely concerned” about the shortcomings of the United Nations under the leadership of Ban Ki-moon.
This pattern of attempted defamation and discrediting is not limited to the Larijani brothers: During a 2014 meeting in the city of Mashhad, Iran’s Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi also claimed that the Special Rapporteur was “corrupt.”
Iranian state media outlets that have participated in the current uncorroborated allegations against Dr. Shaheed include the Mehr news agency, which is a branch of the state-owned Islamic Promotion Organization, and the Hemayat newspaper, which is run and controlled by the Judiciary’s media arm.

author: Center for Human Rights in Iran


text:
Iran Closes Down Hardline Newspaper After Anti Nuclear Deal Coverage · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

Iranian media run the words “shut down” across a cover page of 9 Dey newspaper. Image publish for reuse on banifilm.ir.
Iran's Press Supervisory have closed down 9 Dey, a hardline newspaper that has published dissenting views to the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the P5+1 countries, signed in Vienna on July 13.
Iran shuts down hardline conservative weekly for criticising the nuclear deal pic.twitter.com/dMKJKKAcuK
— Mehrzad Kohanrouz (@MehrzadBBC) August 3, 2015
The closure comes some weeks after the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance issued Iranian journalists with censorship guidelines on how to cover the deal. In a report for IranWire, Mansoureh Farahani described the directive as such:
In the directive, journalists are forbidden from publishing any articles that suggest rifts among “high-ranking authorities in Iran” — referring to President Rouhani’s administration and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and his closest allies. In addition, journalists have been told to not report on anything that “indoctrinates” the public into believing that the nuclear deal goes “against the nation, Islam, or revolutionary values and ideals;” they have also been instructed not to report anything that might “polarize society”.
The directive suggested that publications that defied the orders could face up to two months of closure. Reports suggest that other hardline newspapers such as Kayhan have also been given warnings.
#Iran media supervisory board suspends hardline weekly over #IranDeal criticism,gives warning to influential Kayhan daily&hardline website.
— Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) August 3, 2015
Iran's Press Supervisory board is composed of seven members, including the Iranian judiciary, the parliament, the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, a seminary in Qom and the Ministries of Culture and Science. The board had previously banned 9 Dey in April 2014 for publishing what was deemed ‘slanderous’ articles against the president and the nuclear negotiations.
9 Dey is a radical right-wing publications in Iran, owned by Hamid Rasaei, a principalist cleric and member of parliament from Tehran.
9 Dey is the Persian date for December 30th, an anniversary that marks when pro-government supporters marched on the streets in 2009 in opposition to Green Movement protesters.

author: Mahsa Alimardani