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Bulgaria: Living With Hepatitis C · Global Voices
Rayna St.

I discovered this blog [bg] by chance. The title read, “Hepatitis-Minded: Thoughts of a Contaminated,” and it was moving to get that close to someone's everyday fight with Hepatitis C, this awful and insidious illness. The words were simple yet sharp and touching [bg]:
Аз съм момичето, което чака с теб автобуса на спирката. Което сяда на втората седалка и зяпа разсеяно през прозореца. Аз съм тази, която се смее високо на съседната маса, която ти се усмихва пред асансьора в офиса. Аз съм просто една от многото.
And I kept on reading, remembering back in 2007 when I used to work in infectious diseases at a famous institute in France. We were obliged to have all the possible vaccines when handling human contaminated samples. While waiting for the doctor to transform my arms into a colander with all the injections, we were talking, and it was quite a shock to observe how concerned she was: hepatitis C had become a serious public health threat in France and especially in Paris. Even more shockingly, no big, country-wide campaign to raise awareness and invite people to undergo tests had been organized.
It is thus understandable that I was reading the “Hepatitis-Minded” blog with great interest: because this blog does a fabulous job informing people about HCV and why it is important to know. I was thinking of how poorly informed people were in France, a country with a (still-)functioning health care system, and of how in a ravaged country such as Bulgaria thing would probably be so much worse. And when Toshka – the woman behind the blog – wrote a post to say that her treatment was successful, I decided to talk with her.
Toshka. Photo by Andrey Katanski, used with permission
Who are you, Toshka?
A 30-year-old girl from Bulgaria. A copywriter and a blogger.
What is your story with Hepatitis C (HCV)? How did you discover you were infected?
By accident, as most of the people do. Along with some other tests, I was offered to make free HCV and HBV tests – and I said yes. I was shocked to hear the result – HCV-positive.
The problem is that I used to share the common opinion about this disease – I believed it only happened to those who used intravenous drugs. And I didn’t know that you could be infected without any symptoms. I may have had it for 10 years or more.
How did your family react?
I didn’t tell them at first. I didn’t tell anyone. I couldn’t find the strength to talk about this.
When I told them, they were shocked, worried, scared. Most of the people here don’t know that hepatitis C can be cured.
How was the treatment handled by the health care practitioners?
Fortunately, in Bulgaria the HCV treatment expenses are covered by the National Health Insurance Fund. There are also qualified and experienced professionals in this field.
Maybe because it’s an expensive treatment (almost 4,000 lv. [~2,000 euros] per month), there are a lot of bureaucratic issues and requirements to be overcome by the patients. It’s not an easy thing to do, concidering the fact that the treatment spans over one year and has many side effects.
Why did you start blogging about this?
Because writing is my way of rationalizing what happens to me and what I feel. I decided to share my thoughts online in an anonymous blog because I knew how important it is for everyone with this problem to feel supported and not alone.
I believed, and I still do, that my story could be helpful.
How is this extremely dangerous public health issue handled in Bulgaria?
There are many more myths and fallacies than information here. The common opinion is that HCV is a former drug users’ problem, that it’s impossible to be cured and it’s not so widely spread.
Just a few facts: the population of Bulgaria is fewer than 7 million people. According to the latest statistics, around 2,000 people are HIV-positive. And there are more than 400,000 people with HBV and more than 150,000 people with HCV, most of them still not knowing about their illness. Hopefully, they will find out about it before it's too late.
Are there NGOs dealing with it?
Yes, there are two NGOs. The first one, Hepasist, has contacts and influence to make some changes in the health care system and practices in Bulgaria.
The second one – Hepactive – is a patients’ organization that provides everyday help to people with hepatitis and their families. Hepactive provides information and support online and is now starting offline Mutual Support Groups.
What was the most surprising thing for you while fighting with this disease?
The hardest thing in the HCV treatment is, perhaps, the fact that it takes a whole year. Your habits and the way of life change considerably during that period.
There is something in particular that struck me the first time I read your bio on the blog. You write:
Имам една молба. Ако този блог ти действа потискащо, ако те кара да се чувстваш зле, използвай малкото хиксче горе вдясно. Сериозно. Излез на кафе с приятели, купи си нещо непотребно, разходи се. Животът е прекрасен и най-нормалното нещо на света е да искаш да си здрав и да не се тревожиш. Имаш избор дали да влезеш тук или не, дали да четеш или не. Използвай го!
I felt that, on the contrary, you should invite people to stay and read especially if this is unpleasant for them. Why? Well, because this is real life and because blogging about it and being read is what will make people realize that HCV doesn't happen only to others. Precisely for these reasons, people should stay and read and reflect instead of just closing the page as if this doesn't exist. Would you comment on this? You may have changed your mind since the moment you wrote this and perhaps you discussed this with someone already :)
"Hepatitis-Minded" in a book: "Pozitivno." Credit: by Toshka Ivanova.
I still believe in what I wrote, and for me it's the same case with the book. You cannot force people to do anything. You cannot MAKE them feel, understand, or appreciate something. It's a matter of their own choice and it should be.
If one feels this story is too painful or too scary, maybe he/she is just not ready to read it. It's not only about HCV, it's also about what we are doing with our lives, why we are here, whether we love ourselves enough. Some people do not want to think about that. It's too painful. And even if they force themselves to read the book, they won't make any use of it.
“Pozitivno” is my story and my thoughts about these questions. To read it, feel it, understand it or not, is a matter of choice. And as I said, it should be that way.
You have collected all the postings from the “Hepatitis-Minded” blog in a book and you are starting a new blog. This is understandable. But what will happen to your HCV blog from now on: is the battle to inform finished?
It will stay and it will be updated on a regular basis. I will use it to share some valuable information and news about HCV.
But the personal thoughts and experiences now go to the new blog. I need a new beginning.
The road is long, but the sidewalk blooms with hope :)

author: Rayna St.


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Cuba: Absent at the Summit of the Americas · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

At The Cuban Triangle, Phil Peters blogs about Cuba's absence at the Summit of the Americas, which was held this week in Cartagena, Colombia. Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's president, addressed the issue of the US trade embargo on Cuba, calling it an “anachronism.” “We cannot be indifferent to a process of change inside Cuba that is becoming more and more broadly recognized,” Santos said. “It is time to overcome the paralysis that comes from ideological stubbornness, and to look for minimal consensus so that this process of change may succeed.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Cuba: New Video Series “Just Another Cuban” · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Penultimos Días alerts readers to a series of videos, “Un Cubano Más,” produced and posted on YouTube by Eliécer Avila, the University of Information Sciences student who famously questioned former president of Cuba's National Assembly Ricardo Alarcón about why Internet access is heavily restricted in Cuba.


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Cuba: What Did Pope Benedict XVI Leave Behind?  · Global Voices
Elaine Díaz

Two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI left the island, Cuba has returned to normalcy.  The blogosphere has gone back to its usual topics and just a few blogs mention Joseph Ratzinger in their stories.
At the Pope’s request, the Cuban government declared last Good Friday a national holiday; however, it was made clear that this was “an exceptional case.” Fourteen years ago, Pope John Paul II requested the first religious holiday in the island: December 25.
However, not all netizens in the island agree with this decision. Rogelio Díaz, in his post Holidays: Jesus Christ 2 – Orishas 0 [es] recalls the religious syncretism characteristic of Cuban society, which is mostly non-catholic:
Si al final ponen más días feriados en este país, pues los disfrutamos todos. Lo que no me acaba de gustar es el favoritismo por una divinidad particular, de parte de un gobierno que se considera a sí mismo laico, y que rige sobre un pueblo que mayoritariamente tiene una religiosidad mucho más compleja. Por muchos Papas que vengan, no van a cambiar el hecho de que el sincretismo religioso campea en Cuba y que los Orishas, esos sí, son más populares que Cristo.
On the other hand, Carlos Manuel Alvarez, a student of journalism in the University of Havana and author of the blog Obscene Chronicles [es], one of the newest blogs in the national blogosphere, compares [es] the mass celebrated at the Plaza de la Revolución with the “Peace without Frontiers” concert that took place in 2009:
Si prestamos atención, la Plaza de la Revolución del 2009 es distinta a la del 2012, dos lugares diametralmente opuestos, porque un lugar, cuando se adentra en el tiempo (…), se va pareciendo más a una cuestión litúrgica que a otra cosa, es decir, va tomando las características y el carácter que hayamos decidido darle (…).
En menos de quince años dos Sumos Pontífices han visitado La Habana. Es probable también que en menos de quince años, perdonen que insista sobre ello, se repita otro concierto como Paz sin Fronteras (nombre bíblico donde los haya). Quizás para el 2022 ó 2023. Quizás, si lo medimos en proporción, en solo par de años acontezca, pues el tiempo de los músicos es un tiempo mucho más corto que el tiempo de la Iglesia Católica, el cual, contrario al de los artistas, no es un tiempo ligero, sino pesado, un tiempo que se mide en siglos, no en décadas.
De modo que para lo lento que evoluciona el catolicismo, dos Sumos Pontífices en quince años vienen a ser como uno solo y una canción de los Van Van, si tenemos en cuenta el poder perverso y conciliador de la música, significa al unísono el Apocalipsis y la Primera Comunión.
Cuba is mostly non-catholic and religious syncretism predominates.  Photo courtesy of Jorge Luis Bolaños.
If we look closely, the Plaza de la Revolucionin 2009 is different from the one in 2012; they are two completely opposite places because when a place goes deep into time (…), it becomes a liturgical matter more than anything else, I mean, it takes on the characteristics and nature we decide to give it (…).
In less than fifteen years, two Popes have visited Havana.  It is also possible that in less than fifteen years, sorry to insist on this, we will have another “Peace without Frontiers” concert (biblical name wherever they appear), maybe in 2022 or 2023. Or maybe it will happen in just a couple of years since a musician’s lifetime is shorter than that of the Catholic Church.  Unlike an artist’s, the Church’s existence is not light, but heavy; it is measured in centuries, not in decades.
So, considering how slowly Catholicism evolves, two Popes in fifteen years come to be only one and a popular song. If we think about the perverse and conciliatory power of music , it means the Apocalypse and the First Communion at the same time.
Nyliam Vazquez, author of Eyes to the N, in one of her most recent entries [es – both links] remembers her grandmother’s teachings about the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1998:
Todo debió conspirar para avanzar de un modo distinto, cuando los ojos se elevaron y la patrona de Cuba me sorprendió con su presencia infinita en Plaza de la Revolución. Entonces no hubo más camino que aquel de regreso a la infancia, a la terraza, al taburete… Y ese instante esencial, como siempre, la oración salvadora. Después, como me enseñó mi abuela, y en su abrazo, elevé mis ruegos más urgentes en pleno estremecimiento. Seguí el trayecto de siempre. Dios te salve María, llena eres de gracia…
However, Benedict XVI’s visit was also marked by moments of political tension, for example, the trespassing of the security fence by a man in Santiago de Cuba to shout anti-communist slogans, the brief detentions of Havana’s opponents and bloggers [es – both links], and the interruption of the reception of cell phone messages from abroad.
Also present was the ideological confrontation in social networks, where, as never before, each party chose a tag on Twitter to report on the visit: #BenedictoCuba, from a pro Cuban government standpoint, and #PapaCuba, used mainly by the opposition.
Also, after Benedict XVI’s visit, two young Chilean communists arrived in Cuba [es]: Karol Cariola and Camila Vallejo, secretary of the Communist Youth of Chile and vice-president of the Student Federation of Chile, respectively.
Another reason of celebration for the Caribbean island was the declaration as venerable of the independent priest Felix Varela [es], well known in Cuba for being “the first one to teach us how to think.”  Varela could be beatified after a granted miracle is proven.

author: Elaine Díaz


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Egypt: “Blog About Nubia” Day · Global Voices
Ahmed Awadalla

In an attempt to highlight the situation of the Nubian community and to challenge stereotypes about them, on April 18 the Nubian Democratic Youth Federation [ar] organized a day of blogging and tweeting [ar] about their cause. The event took place on the occasion of the last forced migration of the Nubians before their land was submerged in April 1964 when the High Dam was built in Aswan.
The Nubians are an ethnic minority that live in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, and they were forced to migrate from their land several times between 1902 and 1964. Apart from losing their land, their language and culture has been marginalized.
Nubian activist and blogger Fatma Emam, one of the day’s organizers, wrote on her blog:
The Nubian issue in Egypt raises many questions, about race, class, democracy, citizenship and human rights. Nubians in Egypt suffered for long time from racism, alienation and neglection for their basic rights. Sadly the Nubian issue is not on the political agenda of almost all the political factions in Egypt, we might hear of Nubian issue only because of the demographic mass of Nubian voters, which was crystal clear the presidential race after the revolution. One of the main obstacles Nubians are facing while fighting for rights is the ignorance of the public opinion about their cause, that the “ordinary” Egyptian associate Nubia with folkloric dancing and music and they deny the pain which prevails in the Nubian history. […] The Nubians faced harsh discrimination and racism when they inhabited the cities, and they worked in the low profile jobs. Although Nubians proved in many times that they belong to Egypt and they are willing to sacrifice for a better tomorrow, Egypt as a government neglected Nubians and as a population discriminated against them. One might ask what are the demands of Nubians now? Full citizenship, where their history is celebrated and taught in schools as part of Egyptian history, going back to the land around the lake, naming the lake Lake Nubia [instead of Lake Nasser] and having a say in the development plans in their region. Nubia is not a homeland we live in, it is an identity, and cause we live for.
Women at Nubian centre in Cairo. Image by Flickr user Maria Johnson (CC BY-NC 2.0).
Blogger Saqr Helal reflected on the forced migration of the Nubians, and having to see the name of the person responsible everywhere:
التهجير هي العملية التي تمت وهي اسم المكان الذي ولدت فيه. وتزداد المفارقة بان يلتصق اسم الوطن الجديد بالشخص الذي تسبب فى هجرتنا “مركز ناصر” كما قلت فانت محاصر بذكري عملية التهجير وبشخص المهجر فى كل مكان بموطنك الجديد وبكل اوراقك ففي كل مرة اضطر ان اسجل محل اقامتي او اتفحص بطاقتي واوراقي استعيد كل ما مضي: الهجرة, التهجير وعبدالناصر. الذي لم يسمي باسمه فقط المركز الذي سكنه المهاجرين ولكن ايضا البحيرة التي يرقد تحتها رفات أجدادي. المفارقة ان البحيرة التي يقع ثلثيها فى اسوان وثلثها الاخر بالسودان, يسمي ثلثها السوداني ببحيرة النوبة في حين ثلثيها المصري ببحيرة ناصر
Lake Nasser / Lake Nubia. Image by Flickr user Rita Willaert (CC BY-NC 2.0).
Tweets for the day can be found on the hashtag #نوبة (“Nubia” in Arabic).
Marwa Zaky said:
@MarwaZaky2005: حمى الحنين و الانتماء للنوبة مرض لن نشفى منه و سنعدى به أولادنا و أحفادنا #نوبة
Yahia Zaied warned:
@Yo7ia: دائما تذكروا #النوبة ليس اغانى ورقص فقط النوبة شعب يعانى وحضارة وتاريخ يضيعان ولغة وترلث انسانى سيختفى
Eslam Salheen wrote:
@EslamSalheen: لما بنقول ان فئات من ابناء هذا الوطن بيتعرضوا لاشكال عدة من العنصرية ده مش معناه اننا رافضين وطننا لكن اننا عاوزينه وطن افضل للجميع #نوبة
Azza Matar added:
@AzzaMatar: شئ مؤلم ان ترى جزءا هاما من تاريخ البشرية غارقا تحت بحيرة السد العالى والاكثر ايلاما ان يكون العالم كله مشتركا فى هذه الجريمة #نوبة
Blogger Mohamed Mahmoud Moqbel discussed the lack of Nubian representation in media:
خلاصة القول أنك إن أحببت أن ترى النوبة فلا يمكنك أن تراها عبر الشاشة التى لم تقدم الواقع اليومى الذى يعيشه أهل النوبة البقعة الجميلة من جنوب الوطن ، و ما زال هناك الكثير من الكنوز التى يمكن تقديمها عن هذا العالم بما له من خصائص فقط تنتظر الفنان الحقيقى الذى يقترب منها
Mohamed Aly Talibab shared a link to photos of Nubia taken by John A. Larson between 1905 and 1907.
While many Twitter users shared Nubian music and songs, other shared videos highlighting the Nubian cause, such as this video in which filmmaker Nada Zatouna shares her experience as a Nubian woman who participated in the revolution [ar, for subtitles click cc]:
The day led to many blog posts and Twitter discussions. Blog posts were collected at the Nubian Democratic Youth Federation blog. The initiative also managed to get mainstream media attention, such as this article, and this TV interview [ar], in which Fatma Emam was interviewed.

author: Ahmed Awadalla


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Macedonia: Lead Smelting Company Sues Environmental Activist · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Greenbox blog reports [mk] that Toni Dimitrievski, director of Мetrudhem, the corporation that intends to restart the lead smelting factory in the city of Veles, has filed a lawsuit against environmental activist Igor Smilev for “endangering security,” “unauthorized recording,” “slander” and “insult,” requesting EUR 20,000 in damages. So far, only one political party, DOM, a junior “green” member of the vast ruling coalition, has protested [mk] against this “immoral” form of pressure. Before moving into the private sector, Mr. Dimitrievski had served as head of the Public Revenue Office and as an appointed manager [mk] of the state-owned Tobacco Company in Prilep.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Mexico: A Toy Collection Could Change the Future of Mexico · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

A 65 year old man had a personal collection with more than a million old toys, mostly made in Mexico. Mexican Architect Robert Shimizu, along with his son, decided to open their house as a toy museum. Their subtitled video documentary A Mexican Toy Story tells the story of how it came to be and how they believe that through toys, Mexico can recover its path.
The Mexico Antique Toy Museum [es] has organized several events with the aim to bring together collectors and rekindle the interest for locally produced products such as toys. In May, they will be hosting a Toy Design and Construction workshop [es], and the best toy to come from it will be permanently displayed in the museum.
The description in many of the videos of the Museum's YouTube Channel summarizes their mission:
El Museo del Juguete Antiguo México pretende ser un museo honesto para todas las edades sin importar el nivel socioeconómico, sin pretensiones, brindando al visitante no sólo un sitio de aprendizaje y relaciones sino también de confort, en donde se beneficiará a la sociedad mexicna [sic], a través del fomento de la cultura popular, para lograr así un refuerzo en la identidad nacional y en los lazos entre mexicanos, una mayor comunicación de nuestro pasado, presente para así cambiar el futuro de nuestro país.
An example of how the Museum promotes the popular culture experience, the next video shows a Lucha Libre exhibition which took place in the Museum to celebrate their 3rd anniversary.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Mexico City Netizens Celebrate World Bicycle Day · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

In Mexico City, bicycle riding is a fast, easy and cheap way to get around in some of the busiest neighborhoods. It is common to see people from all ages riding their bikes, especially on Sunday mornings when City Hall closes major roads to give the right of way to cyclists.
Due to the lack of a “cycling” culture, this scenario was unthinkable a few years ago, when the few people who used bicycles as a common way of transportation would get funny looks as if using this type of transportation was some sort of a suicidal activity. “Cars go first, then humans,” was the popular way of thinking.
Today, April 19, on World Bicycle Day, blogger David Saenz compares [es] Mexico's cycling culture to that in countries like Holland and Denmark:
El 19 de abril se celebra el Día Mundial de la Bicicleta. ¿Es necesario recordar los beneficios que produce este medio de transporte para el propio usuario y para la sociedad en general? Quizá en países como Holanda o Dinamarca no haga falta recordarlo. Pero sí en España, México, Francia, Italia, Reino Unido… donde, especialmente en las grandes ciudades, los coches son los amos de la ciudad.
Ecobici, Mexico City. Photo by Flickr user Alex Marduk (CC BY 2.0)
In Mexico City, the individual urban bicycle transportation system called “Ecobici” was implemented in 2010. It supplements the public transportation network with 85 bicycle stations distributed in popular spots around the city.
The blog Animal Político describes [es] how the Ecobici program wants to celebrate World Bicycle Day by setting a record in the number of users:
Para festejar este día, Ecobici llama a sus 31 mil usuarios registrados (sólo 28 mil 100 activos) a usar hoy más que nunca una de las mil 200 bicis del sistema a fin de romper el récord de 10 mil viajes en un día.
Para el domingo, Ecobici también invita a un Rally por la Tierra , claro en bici.
Como dato curioso, destaca que es el miércoles el día de mayor uso del sistema Ecobici, seguido de lunes, martes, jueves, viernes y sábado, mientras que el domingo es el que menos se utiliza.
To celebrate this day, Ecobici called its 31,000 registered users (only 28,100 are active users) to use one of the 2oo,000 bikes from the system more than ever today to break the record of 10,000 trips a day.
For Sunday, Ecobici also invites citizens to a Rally for the Earth, on bikes, of course.
A curious fact is that Wednesday is the day that the Ecobici system is more widely used, followed by Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while Sunday is the day the system is least used.
Even if it sounds like an ideal program, not every cyclist in Mexico City supports it. In the blog Prosa Poderosa (“Powerful Prose” an anonymous blogger explains [es] why he is against the “Ecobici” strategy:
Para decirlo bien claro, aplaudo la iniciativa de la Ecobici, pero me declaro en contra de los paseos ciclistas.
Me declaro en contra porque no me parece que un paseo dominical sea un aporte para educar a las futuras generaciones de ciclistas, que tendrán que usar la bicicleta como un medio de transporte, tal vez de manera obligatoria. El error de la estrategia (si se le puede llamar así a algo de lo que no se pensaron las consecuencias) de organizar paseos ciclistas consiste en que la gente asociará inevitablemente la bicicleta con actividades recreativas, de ocio o de ejercicio, no de transporte serio.
To put it clearly, I applaud the Ecobici initiative, but I am against the organized cycling rides.
I am against them because I don't think an organized Sunday ride is a contribution to educating future generations of cyclists, who will have to use the bicycle as a means of transportation, perhaps on a compulsory basis. The mistake of the current strategy (if you can call it a strategy, since consequences were not considered) to organize bicycle rides is that people will inevitably associate bikes with recreation, leisure and exercise, not as a serious means of transportation.
He continues:
Para reforzar el estigma “recreativo” de la bicicleta, éste se implanta en la memoria de los usuarios desde que van a comprarse una bicicleta, ya que estas suelen encontrarse junto a un kayac o una caminadora, en la sección de deportes de los almacenes comerciales.
Si ya era difícil desligar a la bicicleta de su ambiguo estatus de estorbo de las calles o de paria del tránsito, los paseos ciclistas no mejorarán esa imagen, ni harán que sus usuarios tomen plena consciencia de que las bicicleta es un vehículo sujetos a las mismas reglas de los automóviles. Y los ciclistas tampoco conseguirán el respeto que exigen de los conductores de otros vehículos.
To reinforce the stigma of ‘recreational’ cycling, it is implanted in the minds of users since the time of purchasing a bicycle, as these are usually found next to a kayak or a treadmill, in the sports section of department stores .
If it was already difficult enough to separate the bike from its ambiguous status as a street obstruction or a traffic pariah, these organized rides will not improve that image, nor will users become aware that the bicycle is a vehicle subject to the same rules that cars are subject to. Nor will cyclists get the respect they demand from drivers of other vehicles.
On Twitter, Mexican cyclists also expressed their concerns on World Bicycle Day. Cesar Toledo (@CessarAndroid) [es] wrote about how he feels every time he rides a bike:
#YoAndoenBici y arriesgo la vida porque no nos respetan los conductores
Mexico City's Government (@GobiernoDF) [es] also used Twitter to inform citizens of the progress of cycling route “20 de Noviembre”:
Presenta un avance del 80% construcción de la #Ciclovia20DeNoviembre. Fomentará el uso cotidiano, masivo y seguro de la #Bicicleta
Finally, the hashtag #HistoriasDeBicicleta (“Bicycle stories”) has become popular throughout the day as users narrate their cycling adventures in 140 characters.

author: Andrea Arzaba


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Palestine: Launch of “100 Palestinian Blog Posts” Competition · Global Voices
Ola Anan

In a recent article on Global Voices, we introduced a Palestinian initiative called “Diwan Ghazza”, a cultural platform that aims to raise awareness and empower Palestinian youth. As Yasmeen El Khoudary, fellow Global Voices author and co-founder of the initiative, explained:
We seek to show the world a better image of Gaza (an image that exists, but has been ignored for so long), by empowerment through knowledge and by providing a venue for youth to speak out about Gaza's forgotten face.
On April 15, Diwan Ghazza announced a competition that is open to Palestinian bloggers everywhere. The idea is to collect the 100 best Palestinian blog posts, and then to publish them in a book, in Arabic and English if possible, later this year.
This contest was inspired by a recent initiative called the “100 Posts” book project [ar], by a group of Egyptian bloggers. That project resulted in a book called “The Alphabet of Spontaneous Creativity” [ar], which contained 100 posts written by Arab bloggers from five different countries (including seven Palestinian bloggers, one of them me). The paper version of the book was launched at the Cairo International Book Fair in February 2012.
The following are the rules [ar] for “100 Palestinian Blog Posts”:
1 – Each blogger is asked to nominate one blog entry only, previously published on his/her own blog.
2 – Entries will be accepted in Arabic or English.
3 – Entries can be in one or more of the following categories: literature, poetry, society, politics, fiction, and thoughts.
4 – Entries should have been written during 2011 and 2012.
5 – Entries should not have been formally published in any paper or electronic form (such as journals, books or magazines).
6 – Entries should not contain insults, racist or anti-religious content, or politically sensitive subjects.
The contest is open to any Palestinian blogger, regardless of his or her country of residence. Entries will be evaluated by a jury of Arab and Palestinian authors, in addition to an online voting process.
Those interested in participating should fill out the form here [ar].
For further information, see the official event page on Facebook [ar], or contact diwanghazza@gmail.com.

author: Ola Anan


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Panama: Italian Scandal Rocks Martinelli Government · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

The arrest of Italian citizen Valter Lavitola has made the news around the world due to his alleged links [es] to a prostitution ring and bribes allegedly paid to former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. To Panamanians, however, Valter Lavitola is a familiar face. In December 2011, former presidential candidate Balbina Herrera leaked emails to various media outlets which purportedly linked Panamanian president, Ricardo Martinelli, with the Italian's illicit activities, implicating him in a radars and helicopters overpayment scandal.
Telemetro [es] posted the following details on its site:
Adicionalmente, Herrera presentó una serie de intercambios de correos electrónicos entre el italiano Walter Lavítola y Adolfo De Obarrio, secretario privado del presidente Ricardo Martinelli. Las misivas reflejan que el italiano, quien mantiene una orden de detención en su país, recibe custodia del Servicio Protección Institucional (SPI). También hay mensajes que suponen una comunicación entre Lavítola y la cuenta de correo electrónico del propio presidente Martinelli.
Martinelli himself has confronted the accusations, attributing them to evil intentions on the part of of the media, and, as has become customary in his presidential speeches, evoking the “malevolent souls” who wish Panama the worst. In his blog, Pma507pty [es], Erick Simpson Aguilar recalls Martinelli's speech:
“Ya llego la carta de Italia y ojala todos los medios, todas aquellas personas que con mucho morbo, y con mucha mala intención desinformaron todo lo que pasaron sobre los radares y todas las cosas en Italia, que le den la misma prominencia ustedes los medios a eso, que le den la misma prominencia que le dieron a todos los detractores que tanto daño hicieron, porque como no pueden criticar al individuo por las obras que se hacen, critican los precios de los proyectos, pero que me digan dónde hay algo aquí indebido para agarrar y meterlo preso. Ojala todas esas almas malévolas y perversas que lo único que desean es el mal para Panamá sepan recapacitar que cometieron un error”. El Presidente Ricardo Martinelli tratando de justificar el caso del supuesto sobreprecio millonario en detrimento de Panamá, en la compra realizada a la investigada empresa italiana Finmeccanica, la cual  vendió a Panamá 6 helicópteros, 19 radares y 1 mapa digital por unos $250 millones.
La Prensa [es] has put up a video of the president's statements on the matter:
The accusations and criticisms reached a roadblock due to lack of evidence, and, little by little, the Panamanian public forgot the name Valter Lavitola. However, on April 16, 2012, with Lavitola's arrest at the Rome airport, Panama was in the spotlight again, and, inevitably, so was the current government. Moreover, other members of the government are also now facing accusations of taking bribes during tendering for contracts to build prisons, as Terra reports on its site [es]:
En la lista de beneficiarios de sobornos figuran, además del presidente Martinelli, la ministra de Justicia panameña, Roxana Méndez, y otras figuras políticas, sostiene la fiscalía.
“Parte del dinero para el presidente panameño fue entregado en un maletín”, asegura la acusación, que precisa que se hicieron dos entregas de 530.000 euros y 140.000 euros.
Among the names of those accused by the prosecutor of accepting bribes, appears that of president Martinelli; the Panamanian Justice Minister, Roxana Mendez, and other political figures.
“Part of the money for the Panamanian president was delivered in a suitcase,” the accusation states, specifying that there were two payments of 530,000 euros and 140,000 euros each.
The Italian newspaper Corriere [it] details how Lavitola was treated as a guest of honour in Panama, including being transported in official vehicles and provided with an escort, all whilst facing accusations in Italy. In addition, it provides in-depth coverage of the alleged corruption in which the Panamanian government became embroiled.
There was strong reaction to the news on social networking sites. From his Twitter account (@rmartinelli) [es], the Panamanian president, denied that there were any prisons being built by any Italian companies:
En Panamá ninguna empresa italiana está construyendo ni una cárcel.
Amed Arosemena (@AmedArosemena) [es] worries about how the Panamanian justice system will appear in the eyes of the world once the all wrongdoing in the Lavitola case comes to light:
#MePregunto [es] Como queda la Justicia Panameña si en Italia llegan a destapar las bellezas de Lavitola en Panamá?? Mejor sera cerrar la Procu!
Victor Bosch (@BoschVictor) [es] is of the view that the Lavitola case is seriously hurting the country's image:
Que daña mas la imagen del Pais, indígenas protegiendo sus recursos o publicaciones Italianas x caso Lavitola, mucha gente debe estar cagada
Alcides Batista (@abatista15) [es] is also indignant at the apparent impunity with which the case has unfolded:
Es increíble ver como en Italia se llevan 2 procesos a Lavitola, 1 por sobornos a Panameños!!! Y Acá ni siquiera motivos para investigar!!
But for some, like Virgilio Hurtado (@HurtadoVirgilio) [es], the issue has been rather exaggerated, to the point of seeming like something out of a novel. Noting the similarity with two other cases in which suitcases stuffed with money were also involved, she writes:
Los maletines de dinero son como objetos de utileria en la novela política: CEMIS, MURCIA y caso LAVITOLA. Disculpen pero no soy novelero.!
Carlos Pasquini (@pasquinocarlos) [es] also plays down the importance of the case, pointing out that the problems which matter to him are those concerning the day to day life of the Panamanian people:
A mi lo de Lavitola no me da ni picazon. Quiero ver como avanza el metro, expansion de corredores, que haya mas metrobuses
Thus, while some consider the issue to be the height of corruption by the current government, others view it as an issue of little practical importance for Panama. What is certain, is that the coming days will bring some degree of elucidation. At least, this is what the Panamanians are hoping.

author: Ariel Moreno


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Portugal: Community-occupied school violently evicted · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Community members resisted eviction from the Es.Col.A in Fontinha [pt] in Porto this morning. The abandoned, disused school was being used by a self-organized collective for after-school classes, recreational activities – watch their story (with English subtitles). While broadcast media report the violent police eviction, protest continues. #Fontinha and #ocupai are the hashtags on Twitter.

author: Janet Gunter


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Senegal: An Innovative Way to Monitor the Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

[All links forward to French articles or videos unless stated otherwise]
During the evening of March 25, 2012, day of the second round of the Senegalese presidential election, journalist Pape Alé Niang of Channel 2stv was able to report that there were “strong trends in the results that outgoing President Abdoulaye Wade would find difficult to contradict”, by as early as 9pm.
Senegalese television was using the results and projections of the #Sunu2012 (Our 2012) campaign which allowed unofficial results to be given by 9pm for the first time in Africa.
Several days later, in his discussion programme Ca Me Dit Mag, Pape Alé Niang said that this historic first had been made possible thanks to the work of Sunu2012 and welcomed two members of the team to his show:
Pape Ousmane Ngom (@Paouz on Twitter) and AmyJane Diop (@aamyjane on Twitter) were invited so that Pape Alé Niang could publicly congratulate them because, as he stated: “similar to what happens in the democracies of developed countries, it was possible to announce the victory of Macky Sall by 9pm.”
Senegal has a population of 12.6 million, with almost 2 million internet users and 620,000 Facebook accounts, according to the reference site Internetworldstats [en].
Sunu2012 was devised and created in 2008 by Web Project Manager and blogger Cheikh Fall (@cypher007 on Twitter) who presented it to the public for the first time in Barcamp [en] Gorée, Senegal, in 2010:
The Sunu 2012 team. Photo used with the permission of Sunu 2012
Cheik Fall also presented the project in an interview given to CESTI (Information Sciences & Techniques Study Centre, attached to the University of Dakar).
Monsieur Fall, c’est quoi sunu2012 ?
Comme son nom l’indique, sunu signifie « notre » [en Wolof]. C’est-à-dire « notre 2012 », pour montrer comment cette année est si importante pour les Sénégalais. … Nous avons eu cette année pour la première fois un lot de treize (13) candidats et qui disent tous : non à la candidature du président sortant, en l’occurrence, Abdoulaye Wade. … Sunu2012 permet à tout Sénégalais d’informer et de recevoir des informations.
As indicated by its name, sunu, stands for “our” [in the Wolof language [en]]. In other words “Our 2012″ to show how important this year is to the Senegalese. … This year we have had thirteen candidates for the first time, and they all say no to the candidacy of the outgoing president Abdoulaye Wade…Sunu2012 allows all the people of Senegal to be informed and to receive news.
Yves Monteil wrote the following in an article entitled “A Lesson in Democracy from the Senegalese Blogosphere“:
Une nouvelle manière de faire de la politique face aux partis… Une nouvelle preuve aussi pour désavouer radicalement les politiques. La naissance de ces mouvements citoyens sur Facebook risque bien de donner un nouveau souffle de maturité décisionnelle à cette jeunesse sénégalaise. … #Sunu2012 incarne une veille permanente aux multiples branches ; sur Twitter, Facebook, mais aussi avec un blog à vocation 100 % participative et citoyenne qui assure une couverture médiatique sans précédent. #sunu2012 c'est aussi une chaîne vidéo sur YouTube, des ramifications sur des plateformes médias et sur les blogs de journalistes.
Toute l'actualité présidentielle se trouve sur ce nouveau fil que ce soit le livetweet des manifs, les commentaires sur le programme des candidats …
… Nous avons pu constater lors de la validation de la candidature de Wade que certains medias sociaux relayaient mal l'information en expliquant  que les manifs étaient dues à l'invalidation de la candidature de Youssou N'Dour. C'est sur le fil sunu2012 que cette mauvaise info a été corrigée. Un autre exemple avec Cheick Fall qui a décelé une faille sur le site election2012.sn et qui en postant un billet sur le fil sunu2012 permettra plus tard la correction de cette erreur.
A new way of conducting politics has been presented to the parties, as well as a new trial of methods to radically condemn policies. The birth of these citizens’ movements on Facebook might give a fresh breath of decision-making maturity to the Senegalese youth… #Sunu2012 consists of permanent monitoring of several fields such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as a dedicated 100% collaborative citizen blog ensuring unprecedented media coverage. #Sunu2012 also has a YouTube channel and offshoots on media platforms and journalist blogs. All election-related news is found on this new stream, including live tweets from demonstrations and commentaries on the manifestos of candidates….
During the candidacy of Wade, we were able to observe that certain social networks were relating inaccurate information such as stating that the demonstrations were due to the invalidation of Youssou N'Dour's candidacy. This inaccurate news was corrected on the Sunu2012 network. Another example was given when Cheick Fall discovered a fault on the official election website and facilitated correction of the error by posting on the Sunu2012 network.
Cheikh Fall explained how this unfolded on the day of the election:
On s’est rendu très tôt dans les bureaux de vote pour être les premiers à voter et recueillir le maximum d'informations possible avant qu'il y ait affluence. On est armé d'un téléphone portable ou d'un appareil photo afin de diffuser les infos en temps réel, vérifier si tous les candidats ont un bulletin de vote à leur nom dans les bureaux, vérifier si le matériel de vote est bien présent (l'isoloir, l'urne, l'encre indélébile), tweeter et informer avec le hashtag #sunu2012, s'intéresser aux bureaux de vote environnants et enfin, le plus important, se géolocaliser afin que l'on puisse tous se déplacer s'il y a des soucis.
The #sunu2012 team could count on the mobilization of around one hundred “E-observers” who had put themselves forward voluntarily to relay information from polling stations and especially from various strategic polling stations. The latter allowed the Sunu2012 team to publish strongly indicative trends by 8.30pm which prompted the phone call from the outgoing president to his victorious adversary.
VIDEO from Sunu 2012 HQ on the night of the second round of the presidential elections:
There were also other cyber activist projects as described by Cheikh Fall in Senegalese ‘Soft Revolution’ a definite success, as well as senrevolution or Samabaat (‘My Voice’ in the Wolof language).
Blogger Dom B. wrote the following:
Désormais, il faudra compter avec Twitter, et Facebook dans les élections, au Sénégal comme partout en Afrique, et ailleurs. Les trop vieux présidents qui ne veulent pas quitter le pouvoir, ont dorénavant beaucoup de souci à se faire.
This echoed the sentiments of Cheikh Fall who stated recently in an email:
C'est ce qui me motive le plus à me lancer pour rédiger le livre pour mieux recadrer l'idée et le projet pour les autres pays.

author: Anna Gueye


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South Africa: What People Forward a Gang Rape Video? · Global Voices
Ismail Dhorat

On Wednesday morning (18 April, 2012) South Africans woke up to a shocking front page story of a 17-year-old mentally handicapped girl that had been gang raped by seven men. They captured the disgusting and cruel incident in a 10 minute and 33 second cellphone video, which has gone viral.
The video has sparked anger and outrage online. On Twitter netizens are expressing their anger and opinions with the hashtag #rapevideo. While most people vented anger and disgust, some requested a copy of the video.
It was reported that girl went missing after the incident. @MandyWiener notes that the girl has been found:
@MandyWiener: #RapeVideo MEC Mazibuko has confirmed the teenage girl has been found and is at the Dobsonville police station.
Front page of the South African newspaper The Times. Courtesy: The Times.
The Film & Publication also issued a warning to people requesting copies of the video as reported by News24:
Possessing or distributing a video of the gang rape of a 17-year-old missing girl is a criminal offence, the Film and Publication Board said on Wednesday.
They also indicated they would pursue additional charges related to child pornography against the boys:
“In terms of the Films and Publications Act, minors may not be used or featured in pornographic content and the creation, possession and distribution of child pornography is illegal,” said Makhasi.
She said she would also approach the prosecutors in the case to ask them to charge the men for creating and distributing child pornography.
The story has also been picked up by international news outlets such as CNN.
Tamryn writes:
In our country today, it is evident that we have serious problems arising out of the youth. Our country is so taken by the antics of Julius Malema and the how-manyith wife of the president instead of spending more time on the issues that are demoralizing our country at a rapid rate. (Perhaps Malema and Polygamy is part of that!)
I know these are not isolated incidences and the truth is that these types of stories are happening all the time, everyday! With our move in technology there will probably be more and more cellphone videos of rapes.
She feels that:
It’s appauling to think that people want to find the link to the video and share it! The truth of the matter is that it can be considered child pornography and I can’t imagine why people would want to view it! They wouldn’t like it if it was their child!?!
One idiot on Twitter even managed to say that “seeing is believing” – I hope he rots in hell!
Karen Jeynes shares her insight from working with teenagers:
‘I would just delete it.’
‘If it was my friend, ja, I’d tell them.’
‘Maybe.’
A few weeks ago I was part of a process where teenagers were being asked to improvise scenes. The given scenario was that an incident of horrible bullying had been filmed on a cellphone and was being sent around. The response, overwhelmingly, was that the teenagers wouldn’t do anything about it. They would delete it from their phones, they said. No one admitted they might forward it. A few were bolder, stating that it was not their problem, and that getting involved would only cause more problems for them.
Fast forward to this morning and the horror of the rape video. The disgusting calls for a link to it so people could watch it. The litany of excuses for rape. And then the international attention and the onslaught of despicable, racist, phobic comments about South Africans.
She continues:
A few of the teenagers got to talking about what they perhaps could do if they were sent a video showing some incident of bullying. One angry young woman was full of ideas. The first of which was reply to whoever sent you the video and tell them that they are “a stupid asshole”. The second involved telling authorities. The third involved telling everyone “as loudly as possible” that the bullying, the videoing, and the distribution were all “cruel and dumb”.
Be grateful we have people like her in this world. I am.
Smidoz discusses the morality of the affair, including the sharing of the video among teens via mobile phones:
Although this issue is important, and I will continue to blog about the need for moral objectivity, it’s not really what struck me while reading the Tweets on this trend. Three things really struck me. Firstly, the fact that people where requesting links to the video; secondly, the blame being cast, and lastly, the various suggestions for punishment.
People wanted to share the video so that the rapists would be caught, or at least that was one excuse. If this was really the case, then it would be better for a call to send the video to SAPS, rather than sharing it all over Twitter.
He also feels that:
The casting of blame ranged from society to the president, people have at least started looking at the boys themselves though. Far from me to be deterministic here, but we live in a society where mass media bombards people with sex and violence. This is bound to at least have a numbing affect on people.
Twitter reactions
@ButiManamela: Viral #rapevideo is sickening. Distributers are as sick as gang rapists. Sympathies to girl & family. Safety and Security for all…
@JoziGoddess: This #RapeVideo incidence should not be looked at in isolation. These things start as ‘games’ and become more sinister with time.
@Prashil_Naran: The mentality and tendencies of our current younger generation… Disgusting. #RapeVideo
@Taravs84: Saddened that a gang #RapeVideo could go viral! No words for how disgusting that is! Those who have watched / passed on should be prosecuted
@SphiweTMahlangu: SA is a beautiful country,we just have a number of people who see life through different eyes to you and me #Rapevideo that is NO excuse.
@ksamsays: @ClaysonMonyela: #RapeVideo. I shall b praying 4 the 7 rapists 2 find like minded monsters in jail 2 give them a taste of their own medicine
@TsepisoNzayo: Girls are told to be careful NOT to be RAPED, instead of telling BOYS/MALES NOT to RAPE. MEN in solidarity against #GangRape & RapeVideo
@NazliThomas: The #rapevideo case has been widely reported but so many women in SA suffer in silence daily.
Dr. Roof sums it all up nicely:
The really sad thing is that some of us will show our anger and be upset about this incident, today. Tomorrow, another gruesome act will catch our attention. For us too, this has become normal.
South Africa is known as the “rape capital of the world” because of high incidences of rape.

author: Ismail Dhorat


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Spain: Call for worldwide entries for the Barcelona International Audiovisual Festival · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

In topics centered around children and youth, the Barcelona International Audiovisual Festival is calling for entries with a 31 May, 2012 registration deadline for audiovisuals that not only entertain but also educate and teach. More information on Young People's Media Network.


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Spain: The King and the Elephants  · Global Voices
Chris Moya

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
On April 14, 2012, Spain's King Juan Carlos underwent an operation due to a hip fracture following a fall that he suffered when he was in Botswana, Africa, hunting elephants [es].  The Royal Family reported the incident when the king had already successfully gone through the operation and was resting in the Intensive Care Unit of USP San José Hospital.
The news — which spread immediately on the Internet — seems to be taken out of old stories, in which royalty were happy and went to hunt elephants while, in their kingdom, their subjects were content and dedicated to their common citizen tasks.  It turns out, however, that in the 21st century, circumstances are different. The king still exists and he hunts elephants in Botswana, but instead, his citizens suffer social cuts unprecedented in democratic history due to the financial crisis, and there are more than 5 million people unemployed, with a rate of youth unemployment that exceeds 50%.
The king's trip has cost over 37,000 euro, and the online protests have not ceased to proliferate, such the letter from WWF Spain (a conservationist organization) and demands a meeting with the Royal Family [es]:
Este desafortunado acontecimiento es mundialmente conocido en estos momentos y estamos recibiendo incontables muestras de enérgica protesta, lo cual implica un grave perjuicio para la credibilidad de WWF y de la intensa labor que ha desarrollado durante más de cincuenta años para la protección de los elefantes y de otras especies.
On the blog “Principia Marsupia”, physicist Alberto Sicilia writes a “Letter from a theoretical physics researcher to King Juan Carlos” [es]:
Regresé a un país donde el Jefe del Estado se opera de prótesis de cadera en una clínica privada, mientras miles de compatriotas esperan meses para la misma intervención. Regresé a un país donde el Jefe del Estado se va de vacaciones en jet privado mientras se fulminan las ayudas a las personas dependientes.
Many debates have taken place across social networks as well:
@DRYburgos: Millones de parados, centenares de desahucios cada día… y el Rey cazando elefantes en Botswana?? Esto es intolerable!
@GLlamazares: De tal palo tal astilla. El monarca se fractura la cadera cazando elefantes y su nieto se dispara en el pie.
@democraciareal: Mientras unos sufrimos duros recortes en Sanidad y Educación, otros derrochan miles de euros de dinero público matando elefantes en África
This is a video from Rann Safaris, a company that sponsors trips to hunt elephants in Africa. (Note: video contains graphic content.)
On April 18, the king was been released from the hospital, and he said to the press: “I am hoping to resume my obligations and I truly apologize.  I made a mistake and it will not happen again [es].”
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Chris Moya


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Syria: Appeal by Diplomats’ Wives to Asma Al Assad · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

“Women from around the world, urge you, Asma Al-Assad, to take up your responsibility as wife of the Syrian leader. Hundreds of children in your country have already died, tens of thousands have been injured and displaced, all of them have been traumatized. We expect you to speak out for peace, to stop the bloodshed. Make your voice heard!” On April 16 the wives of the British and German ambassadors to the UN released a video urging Asma Al Assad, the wife of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, to act to stop the violence in Syria. They also started a petition calling for peace.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bolivia: Questions Over Murder of Indigenous Female Council Member · Global Voices
Pablo Andres Rivero

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.
The murder of Juana Quispe has boosted the demand of Bolivian civil society and many civil organisations for the Plurinational Assembly (Bolivia's Parliament) to pass the law “Against Political Violence and Harassment based on Gender”.
Juana Quispe, an indigenous woman and Council Member elected in 2010 in Ancoraimes, a rural municipality close to El Alto city, was an active promoter of this law herself.
Being a member of Federación Pueblo Indígena (Indigenous Federation), a political movement opposing to the ruling party MAS, Quispe had been victim of political harassment before being murdered in March 2012. Only a month before the crime, Juana Quispe managed to restore her political rights constrained by MAS members shortly after being elected.
Back in November 2010, Enlared informed about [es] the political harassment against Juana Quispe:
La concejala Quispe Apaza, de la agrupación Federación Pueblo Indígena, señaló a Enlared-Onda Local, que desde la posesión de las autoridades ediles, el pasado 30 de mayo, no se le permitió participar de las sesiones del concejo, y que en varias oportunidades incluso le pidieron que renuncie a su curul.
[…]
Ante esta situación, indicó que determinó acudir a la fiscalía e iniciar un proceso judicial, por incumplimiento de fallos.
“Yo voy a seguir luchando, por las mujeres y no sólo por mí. Las mujeres somos muy calladas, yo misma he callado muchos meses, pero ahora tengo el valor para denunciar”, remarcó.
Council member Quispe Apaza, of the political group Indigenous Federation, told Local Enlared-Onda that since the possession of the municipal authorities, on May 30, she was not allowed to participate in council meetings, and that on several occasions was even asked to resign from her seat.
[…]
In this situation, she decided to go the prosecutor and start a legal process for breach of agreements.
“I will continue fighting for women and not just for me. Women are very quiet, I myself have remained in silence many months, but now I have the courage to denounce,” she said.
The same article added:
Pero este no es el único caso. La concejala del MAS del municipio de Licoma (La Paz), Noemí Nina Chávez indicó que por no tener una formación educativa y ser madre soltera fue discriminada por la misma población.
“Una vez, en el desfile del 16 de julio, no tenía dónde dejar mi guagua y cargada misma tuve que entrar; la gente me criticó, me dijo que cómo voy a andar con mi guagua así, con el cargo que tengo”, relató.
But this is not the only case. MAS councilwoman from the Licoma (La Paz) municipality, Noemí Nina Chávez, indicated that due to her lack of a formal education and to her status as single mother she had been discriminated by the population.
“One time, in the July 16 parade, I didn't have a place to leave my baby so I carried her with me; people criticized me, they asked how I dared to carry my baby like that, considering my position”, she said.
Global Voices [es] recently published an article based on a report by Periodismo Humano which asserted that in Bolivia, “being a woman and indigenous is the worst thing that could have happened to you.” As blogger Eduardo Bowles [es] points out, referring to the same report, “this tragedy is perfectly reflected in the life of Juana Quispe.”
So far, Bolivian authorities have failed to clarify Quispe's murder; however, there is great concern that her murder was politically driven. As UN Women's official statement [es] mentions:
Expresamos, además, nuestra profunda preocupación ante la posibilidad de que este suceso pudiera tratarse de un caso de violencia política de género, según indicarían investigaciones preliminares adelantadas por la Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Crimen.
Click Genero, a blog dealing with Gender issues, reported [es] on the draft of the law:
La Red Nacional de Trabajadoras de la Información y Comunicación (Red-Ada) el 2011, mediante una encuesta, concluyó que en Sucre, La Paz, Beni y El Alto, el 27 por ciento de las mujeres en cargos públicos se “asustan y callan”.
“Violencia política son acciones que van en contra de la integridad física de las personas. Hay secuestros o golpes para que dejen sus cargos y estos hechos no son denunciados”
After conducting a survey, The National Network of Women Workers in Information and Communication (Red-Ada) concluded that in Sucre, La Paz, Beni and El Alto, 27 percent of women in public positions get “scared and remain silent “.
“Political violence are actions that go against the physical integrity of people. There are kidnappings or blows to make them leave office and these incidents are not reported”
In turn, the Centre for Women's Information and Development (CIDEM [es] in Spanish) reported [es]:
En la gestión 2010 y entre Enero y Agosto de 2011 se registraron 249 asesinatos de mujeres, de los cuales 154 fueron casos de feminicidio (CIDEM, Observatorio Manuela).
El Estado debe tomar medidas urgentes para garantizar la adecuada y oportuna investigación, garantizando que este lamentable suceso no quede en la impunidad
During 2010 and between January and August 2011 there were 249 women murders, 154 of whom were cases of femicide.
The state must take urgent measures to ensure appropriate and timely investigation, ensuring that this unfortunate event will not remain in impunity
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

author: Pablo Andres Rivero


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China and Hong Kong: 2010-2020 Shenzhen Comprehensive Plan · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mary Ann O'Donnell looks into the 2010-2020 Shenzhen Comprehensive Plan which shows how Hong Kong and Shenzhen would be integrated in the next 10 years.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Discussion on the Draft of China’s Film Industry Promotion Law · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China law blog has an article looking into the draft of the China's Film Industry Promotion Law which has been in process for years. The writers explain the potential controversy on the draft law.


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El Salvador: Is Drop in Homicides a Result of a Deal with Gangs? · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Bloggings by boz looks at a drop in homicides after last month's news of a truce between the government and gangs to reduce crime: “Murders are down about 50% since the unannounced truce took hold in early March […] One side of this debate now has real results. No matter how you look at it, it's a game changer.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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India: Imagining The iWife · Global Voices
Rezwan

Maria Francis introduces us a new App, iWife, an worthy successor of your wife.

author: Rezwan


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Kenya: Creating Alternative Initiation Rites to Womanhood without Cutting Girls · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Guardian.co.uk has released a video on female genital mutilation and the women and girls who are against this tradition and bringing on new alternatives to this initiation ritual. In the story, two young women refuse to be cut and married off in exchange for dowry, instead they are trying to convince their families that education is a better financial investment and that womanhood can be achieved with their genitals uncut.


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Singapore: Train Breakdowns Becoming Part of Life · Global Voices
Kirsten Han

Once a symbol of pride and development, Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) trains now come with a warning: ride at your own risk. Four breakdowns and assorted delays over the past week have left many commuters stranded, late for work and exams.
Lucky Tan describes getting stuck in the Circle Line breakdown:
I was on a Circle Line train when it broke down. My train which was very crowded  stopped at one of the stations and there was an announcement saying that the train was delayed. 20-30 minutes later we were told the Circle Line was down and everyone scrambled out. I took a bus (not the emergency one but normal service)  to a satellite town where I tried to get a cab at a taxi stand.  Waited more than half an hour before I was able to get one. The train failed and the effects cascaded into the taxi system because everyone would be trying to dial for a cab and the availability falls to zero- I tried calling Comfort-Delgro but the system wasn't able to allocate a taxi after 20 minutes.  Got to work about 1 hour 15 minutes late.
Overcrowding in a train station. Picture by Kirsten Han from The Online Citizen website
So many people have been affected by delays that SMRT has begun to issue train delay chits:
@sochris: LOL #SMRT issues timeslips for commuters caught in train disruptions! where else in the world will you find this?
@FakeSMRTCEO, a satirical Twitter account, compared riding the trains to current blockbuster The Hunger Games:
@smrtceo: I've decided to change #SMRT‘s motto from “Moving People, Enhancing Lives” to “May the odds be ever in your favour”
Some Singaporeans have also begun to crack jokes, making a pun out of the name of Land Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew:
@TheJohnnyBoy: Lui Stuck Yew #circlelinedown #smrt
The Minister has also announced that there will be weekend disruptions to train services from now on so that maintenance work can be carried out. Although the authorities have promised that measures will be taken to deal with these scheduled shutdowns, Alex Au thinks that we should look into alternative solutions:
I am not going to say that temporary closures should not happen. Experience in other cities shows us they are essential. Nor am I saying that bridging services aren’t part of the solution: they certainly must be. However, I am cautioning against an over-reliance on bridging services because it is user-unfriendly, and will still not be able to cope with heavy passenger loads.
He goes on to propose that there should be more duplication of routes between the buses and trains:
…the most natural way to obtain such redundancy, yet balanced with reasonable attention to cost and profitability, would be to have different companies run bus and train services. Let the bus company judge  how much to duplicate the train routes, and therefore compete for the same traffic. The worst outcome would be for the same company to run both the train and bus routes through the same corridor. The result will tend to be a determination to maintain high load levels on the train by cutting away bus services. This may increase the company’s profitability, but it also increases social vulnerability.
The latest occurrences of train breakdowns are happening at a time when the bidding for the Certificates of Entitlement (COE) allowing people to purchase cars hits an all-time high: S$92,000. For many middle class Singaporean families, this makes buying a car simply too expensive to be an option.
Lucky Tan feels that the bidding system for the COE is tilted in favour of the rich:
The main problem with the COE system it allocates a scarce resource based on a person's ability to pay rather than his needs. A middle income parent who has to ferry his children to school and take his parents to hospital can be out-bidded by a multi-millionaires's son who uses the car for dates and clubbing. The disadvantage of such a system is it causes an ever widening gap of unfulfilled demand among those with the greatest need for a car. In Singapore, where the income gap is so wide, over time more and more COEs will just go the rich rather than people who need it.
In his letter to the Straits Times forum, Chan Tau Chou agrees, and suggests that a balloting system be adopted instead:
The number of cars sold can at most match the number of COEs available, regardless of the COE price. This means it is unnecessary to have a price beyond an administrative fee required to run the system, which is meant to control car ownership and not generate revenue.
If important aspects like housing and education can be subject to balloting, surely a system can be designed to ballot for cars.

author: Kirsten Han


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Sri Lanka: Monks Calling For Demolition Of A Mosque · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Monks should be meditating, not making territorial claims”, comments Indi.ca on the protests by Monks calling for demolition of a mosque in Dambulla.


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Tunisia: Neglect of Those Wounded in the Revolution · Global Voices
Salah Almhamdi

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Tunisians have been expressing their dissatisfaction and anger regarding the government's poor treatment of those wounded during the Tunisian revolution. Before President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted hundreds of people were wounded in clashes with police, but they have since been neglected. Some of them have bullets still to be extracted from their bodies, and other had limbs amputated and are still waiting for prosthetic limbs. Many have not received the right medical treatment due to the complexity of their cases.
Prominent blogger and activist Lina Ben Mhenni wrote in a blog post entitled “The Wounded of the Revolution, Waiting for Something That Won't Come” [ar]:
Sit-in by families of men wounded during the revolution. Photo from machhad.com (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Tarek Dziri and Muslim Bin Fraj Kasdallah, who threatened to self-immolate in front of the National Constituent Assembly on April 18, before the government decided to send them abroad to get more advanced care. Photo from machhad.com (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Blogger Hada Ana wrote about one case [ar]:
Mohamed Bin Tijani El-Hanchi has a bullet inside his body. Photo from machhad.com (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Rashad El-Arbi's parents went on hunger strike before the government took responsibility for his treatment. Photo from machhad.com (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Yassine Ayari tweeted scathingly about the ruling Ennahda party:
Blogger Abdelkader Hammami mentioned a different side of the story [ar]:
The following video [ar] by Melomanx features a sit-in by men wounded in the revolution in front of the Ministry of Human Rights and Transitional Justice on March 26, 2012:
This video [ar] from TunisiaTalks shows the agony of the revolution's wounded:
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Salah Almhamdi


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Uruguayan Journalism in the Age of Twitter · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In the blog El informante [es] (“The informant”), journalist Leonardo Haberkorn looks at how his colleagues are using Twitter and other social networks to report and present their investigations. He looks at a couple of specific examples where Uruguayan journalists failed to cover an investigation in depth and instead focused on superficial details based on information found on social networks.


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Video: Better Aid and Development Discussions Through Islam Crash Course · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development.
An ongoing discussion over at the Uncultured Project has been the relationship between the lack of knowledge on what Islam is about and how aid and development organizations relate to the Muslim community. Shawn Ahmed shares a simple and short video explaining what Islam is in an attempt to pave the road to better understanding of a large group of people who could be aid recipients.
In Shawn Ahmed's 7 April, 2012, post Aid Work, Cynicism, and Islam he points out to yet another post from a Muslim on what Islam is about, and it excludes cynicism as well as respecting others.
I wish more aid workers (especially aid workers that serve in countries where there are a lot of Muslims) understood this and respected it. Because, especially in online conversations about aid and development, there seems to be a penchant towards cynicism.
In a November 2012 post, Islam and Online Aid and Development Discourse he reflects on how online aid discussions exclude minorities, even when those minorities are the target for those same aid initiatives being discussed. And he believes that one of the reasons for this  exclusion could be because of the tone of these aid conversations not reflecting cultural norms, and this could be impacting the bad image the aid industry is garnering, particularly in the case of a mostly Muslim nation like Bangladesh:
This exclusion can happen simply because of the snark, sarcasm, and personal attacks that are frequently thrown around in online aid conversations… Many Bangladeshis already tell me that the aid industry and INGOs don’t reflect them, their values, or their way of doing things. If this tone is condoned and applauded by those working to help the poor…. then they may be right.
In the Uncultured Project's latest post Islam:101 Ahmed proposes that a better understanding of the culture in the communities aid organizations are targeting, could provide a better environment for these same aid organizations, where instead of rejecting work with a certain group of people due to ignorance and discrimination, they could learn about the culture and work from this knowledge.
But what is Islam? Well, instead of citing a religious scholar, I think my friend John Green summarizes Islam pretty nicely in this video. If you have 13 minutes to spare, it’s a must watch:
The video is from an online series called Crash Course, which focuses on short, engaging videos on World History and Biology.
This post is part of our special coverage Global Development.


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Angola/Mozambique: Emerging Platforms for Artistic Production · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Blog of African contemporary culture Dá Fala shared a call for proposals on Emerging Platforms for Artistic Production in Angola and Mozambique, to be published on an issue of Critical Interventions that will explore “recent scenarios of art platforms as extensions and articulations of state, private, and individual power”, and “networks across media in the visual and performative arts.”

author: Sara Moreira


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Bulgaria: Interior Minister’s Controversial Statement · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

Blogger Nikolay Delchev condemned [bg] the reaction of the Bulgarian interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov to the recent student protests against construction at the National Sports Academy's Black Sea training facility: “[…] Interior Minister almost regrets that ‘the whole repressive apparatus that they (the police) have by law has not always been used.’ This was said by a minister of a democratically elected government in a European country in the early 21st century. Please leave comments, because I have no words. […]” A video of Tsvetanov's controversial statement is here [bg].

author: Ruslan Trad


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Colombia: What Did the VI Summit of the Americas Leave Behind?  · Global Voices
Lully

April 15, 2012, was the final day of the Sixth Summit of the Americas (known since its first edition as, “Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity”), held in Cartagena, Colombia, and endorsed by the Organization of American States (OAS).
The summit brought together 31 presidents from countries in the Americas. Cuba was not invited for “not being a democratic country,” and, despite the interest of several presidents to allow the island the opportunity to be part of the upcoming summits, the sixth summit ended without an agreement on Cuba's participation. This was not the only issue [es] that lacked an agreement; consensus was not reached on two other prominent issues during the summit: the legalization of drugs and the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
Despite the five official themes in the agenda (security, environment and natural disasters, physical integration, access to technologies, poverty and inequality), the attention centered around these three issues [es] which had as its main opponent the President of United States of America, Barack Obama. This was allegedly crucial to not signing a final declaration. However, the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, said that the summit accomplished some compromises (to be known later) and a mandate for the (OAS).
What did reach a consensus was the bilateral meeting between President Obama and President Santos, where they signed the free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia which will take effect on May 15 this year. Also, the United States extended the validity of five-year visas of to ten years for Colombians.
Opening Ceremony of the Sixth Summit of the Americas. Image by Flickr user Gobierno Federal (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
This, coupled with other events during the summit, generated numerous comments on traditional and citizen media in Colombia and in the region in general. Among the regional issues on the spotlight were the early exit of some presidents, such as Evo Morales of Bolivia and Cristina Fernandez de Krichner of Argentina, the absence of the president of Ecuador (Rafael Correa), the president of Nicaragua (Daniel Ortega) and the president of Venezuela (Hugo Chavez), and the uninvited countries such as Haiti and Cuba.
Implications for the host country
Apart from analyzing the regional issues previously mentioned, Colombian netizens also focused on the social events that increased the costs [es] of the summit, on the scandal involving prostitutes and several members of President Obama's Secret Service, on the unprecedented idea of the people of Turbaco to give President Obama a donkey [es], and on the wrong [es] interpretation of the Colombian national anthem by Colombian singer Shakira.
Andres Barreto, from online magazine Kien & Ke, mentions the alleged amount of dollars [es] that the event cost:
La Cumbre, según información general no confirmada, costó cerca de USD$97 millones, lo que contrasta con los presupuestos de las entidades públicas, así como con las necesidades del pueblo cartagenero de a píe, generalmente sumido en la pobreza, desigualdad y falta de oportunidad.
Barreto refers  [es] to the donkey for Obama and other events to conclude with a question that many asked:
Pero, más allá del burro, del malogrado himno entonado por Shakira, y de las ausencias previsibles (Chávez, Ortega y Correa), el malestar de Cristina, y el escándalo del servicio secreto con prostitutas de la ciudad heroica, es menester preguntarse, ¿qué nos dejó la Cumbre?
Gloria Ortega Perez in the blog Sentipensantes [es] shares some conclusions that are not very encouraging, since she thinks that there is no unified message among countries in the Americas:
La conclusión más general y de mirada de árbol es que estamos juntos pero no unidos, en el disenso y en el consenso. Es lo que somos. No hay mensajes unanimistas aplanadores. Un nuevo discurso será posible con más diálogo y más cumbres.
Columnist Laura Gil is quoted questioning the continuity of these summits in the site Razón Pública [es]:
“Yo creo que esta fue la última cumbre. En 1994 se planteó que las Cumbres eran el escenario propicio para el diálogo entre Estados Unidos y América Latina. Pero no hay diálogo, no hay consenso, no hay avances en ninguno de los temas clave”.
The blog El Centauro [es] shares a positive conclusion of the event, highlighting that it showed a positive image of Colombia abroad.
Más que resultados concretos (aunque también se presentaron), el mayor beneficio que le dejó la Cumbre de las Américas a Colombia fue la buena imagen que el país proyectó ante el mundo.
On Twitter, Laura Gil (@Lauraggils) [es] criticizes an article by Semana magazine [es]:
Portada de @revistasemana: “La Cumbre de las Américas dejó a los colombianos llenos de orgullo y optimismo”. ¿Nos creen tarados?
Meanwhile, videos and reviews are multiplying [es] around Shakira's singing of the national anthem, where she replaces “sublime” with “ublime”, a word that doesn't mean anything in Spanish. The issue was a local Trending Topic on Twitter for days with the tags “Ublime” and “Shakira”. Users have also created games [es], and even former Senator Piedad Cordoba [es] joked about the singer's error.
But Nicholas Motta (@ jnicolas_motta ), like others, recognizes the Shakira's speech in front of businessmen who met alternately at the summit, and links lto the video [es] on YouTube.
On the other hand, Ricardo Infante (@ ricardoinfante2 ) [es] refers enthusiastically to the extent of U.S. visas for Colombians:
Que positivo nos dejo la cumbre nos ampliaron a 10 la visa
Maria Guevara (@ NinnaHippie ) [es] mentions the scandal with prostitutes and agents of the United States Secret Service:
En conclusión, la #CUMBRE nos dejó una nueva palabra [“ublime”], dos gringos ladrones y tres veces más pobres!
Finally, Ruben Finch H ( @ Pinzonhr ) [es] regrets that the “Lleras Law 2.0″ was approved within the framework of the Summit:
Y como olvidar: una #LeyLleras2 aprobada a la carrera para complacer TLC del patrón. Qué Vergüenza! Eso fue lo q dejo la #Cumbre. Ayy otra por favor!

author: Lully


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Costa Rica: Climbing up Chirripó, the Country’s Tallest Peak  · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The tallest peak in Costa Rica is the Cerro  Chirripó, at 3820 meters (12,533 feet) above sea level. Throughout the years, it has drawn many locals and foreigners to climb up to the summit: these next few videos bring us two very different experiences. One of the first expeditions back in 1960, and a modern day hike to the top.
In the Hikes of Courage: Climbing Chirripó in 1960[es] documentary, a team of young men and women set out on a lengthy expedition to reach Costa Rica's tallest peak. We follow their progress in car, ox-carts and horseback until they start their week long trek up to the summit.
This expedition was special because it was only the second time reaching the summit was documented through signatures on a mailbox left at the top: those signatures would be evidence for the next mountaineers that the previous team made it to the top. Also, it was the first time women were documented reaching the summit. Narrated by one of the expeditionaries, meteorologist Rodrigo de la Ossa, the story is full of anecdotes on the journey which is now done through another, shorter, path.
Cerro Chirripo summit image CCBySA Peter Andersen
Currently, the hike up Chirripó is about 19.5 Km long (12.1 miles), with a mandatory overnight stay near the summit at a lodging station. This next subtitled documentary uploaded by tetsuo1337 shows their experience climbing up to the summit in 2010.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3 includes a sunrise at the summit, where on a clear day both the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea can be seen. In this case, they also get to see the smokestack blowing out of the top of the Turrialba Volcano.
Part 4 and 5.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Egypt: Should the Grand Mufti Have Gone to Jerusalem? · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

On April 18 Ali Gomaa, the Egyptian Grand Mufti and one of the highest religious authorities in the Islamic world, visited Jerusalem for the first time. The visit was controversial since it was seen by many as a step towards normalised relations with Israel, which captured the western part of the city during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and later on occupied the eastern part of it during the 1967 Six-Day War. According to Ahram Online, Osama Yassin, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, called the visit “a total disaster and a blow to the national fight against normalisation with Israel that has been going on for years”.
Many in Egypt have criticised the Grand Mufti for his visit. Zeinobia commented on the fact that people from different political backgrounds in Egypt have finally agreed on something:
You can imagine the uproar in the Egyptian political scene after few hours of knowing about this visit. The nationalists, leftists and Islamists suddenly found something to agree upon at last.
Zeinobia also quoted presidential candidates such as Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh [ar] and Hamdeen Sabahi [ar], as well as MP Essam Sultan [ar] of Al Wasat Party, who all criticised Ali Gomaa.
Grand Mufti in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Photo shared by Twitter user @alhabibali
Some of the criticism focuses on the point that acquiring a visa from Israel is considered a form of normalisation and recognition of the state of Israel. But Gomaa said, “I did not go on an Israeli visa. It was all organized by the Jordanian authorities.”
Zeinobia elaborated:
Sheikh Ali Gomaa was invited to visit the Holy places in East Jerusalem by the Royal Jordanian family which till this day is supervising the Islamic Holy sites in Jerusalem. (A piece of information I had not known before that day.) He was accompanied by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, King Abdullah’s cousin and his chief religious advisor. They were inaugurating the renovation of the Mughrabi Bridge, which leads into the courtyard of al-Aqsa mosque as well the Ghazli seat.
Khaled El-Baramawy tweeted:
Tunisian Twitter user Tounsia Hourra mocked the Mufti's denial that he took an Israeli visa:

Aboul Maali Faek still regards the visit as recognition of Israel:
Ahmad Esseily, on the other hand, had a point concerning recognition:
This brings us to the fact that Pope Shenouda III, the Pope and Patriarch of the Church of Alexandria, who passed away a few weeks ago, requested Copts not to visit Jerusalem until peace was established in the region. Aly Elshafei asked people to compare the two stances:
Nawara Negm joked in one of her tweets [ar] that the Mufti was waiting for the Pope to pass away before going there. According to Reem Al-Ashry things have changed for Copts since the Pope's death:
Mahmoud Hussien tweeted  [ar] that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists were waiting for something like this, since they want to replace the Mufti with one of their own. Issandr El Amrani also expects they will call for him to be sacked:
He might also have known that the Islamist-dominated parliament would not be happy with this, and indeed there is now a move by Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood MPs to question him and possibly sack him (something that in theory is the prerogative of the president, or for now SCAF).
Emad Arab [ar] and Samar Ali [ar] both called for the Mufti to be sacked. Mourid El-Barghouti, Palestinian poet and author living in Egypt tweeted:
Al-Habib Ali Algafry is a Sufi scholar who also visited Jerusalem recently, and he congratulated [ar] the Mufti on his visit and on praying in Al-Aqsa mosque. The Saudi Islamic scholar Abdulrahman Al-Harfi attacked them both:
Monmon Salah commented [ar] that paying a visit to a prisoner is always useful to him and not to his jailers. As if she predicted this visit, Palestinian blogger Hanadi wrote a couple of months ago:

author: Tarek Amr


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Iran: Ahmadinejad’s Car, A Woman, And a Hungry Old Man · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

An online video showing a young woman jumping onto the hood of the car of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while he was visiting Bandar-Abbass (a southern coastal city of Iran) on 10 April, 2012, is making a big splash.
The young woman speaks briefly to the president whose vehicle is surrounded by onlookers. Meanwhile, an old man also tries to approach Ahmadinejad. He cries out, “Ahmadinejad, I am hungry! Ahmadinejad, I am hungry!” Ahmadinejad keeps smiling and waving as he peers out from the sunroof of the car.
Curiously, while most western media have been talking about the girl, Iranian bloggers focused on the hungry old man.
Karansadr  says [fa]:
This old man who shouts “I am hungry, I am retired” shows that all of Ahmadinejad's promises were false. We still remember when he said that Iran is the only country where there is no hunger.
Babak Dad writes [fa]:
One day, these people will ask us, “What were you doing when we used to struggle with hunger?” Do we have an answer? I have doubts.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Mauritania: The Face of Modern Day Slavery · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Although Mauritania officially abolished slavery in 1981 and made the practice a crime in 2007, slavery is still a common phenomenon in the country. A CNN special report titled “Slavery's last stronghold” reveals that an estimated 10% to 20% of the population lives in slavery and there has been only one conviction since the practice was outlawed in 2007.
The government of Mauritania, a country in the Maghreb in West Africa, usually denies the existence of slavery in the country.
Responding to the CNN's special report, Erin Pettigrew, a Mauritania expert, explains the complexity of the problem:
Slave traders in Gorée, Senegal, 18th century. Image by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur (Public Domain).
I’ve been working in Mauritania on and off for the past eight years and this issue of ‘slavery’ is still one I am struggling to fully understand. I certainly cringe every time I see a young black child working in someone’s home, whether they be Black or Arab, in Mauritania and these relationships of work and pay are rarely clear to me. Likewise, one’s clan and lineage affiliations are sometimes difficult to sort out and this is what people use most to justify the history and current reality of exploitative labor practices. The extreme economic inequalities in Mauritania play a large part in the preservation of these relationships. And the role of government and then outside intervention in all of this? Here, I am very hesitant to comment.
After reading CNN's report, Abby asked her friend about slavery in Mauritania. This was his response:
The documentary certainly misrepresented a lot. Nothing they said was factually incorrect but they highlighted a few abuses, ignored a lot of context and made it seem a lot worse than it is. Many white moor families had a black moor family that “belonged to them.” They would cook and do chores etc and while, I'm sure there were many cases of abuses, the system functioned because of lack of economic alternatives, not cruelty. No industries economically benefited from slavery. That was all mentioned but certainly not emphasized in the documentary probably because the reporters spent a total of 8 days in Mauritania. PC Mauritania was hard because it was a poor country without a lot of luxuries but in some ways it was easier than Morocco. People were welcoming and had fewer preconceived notions based on tourism. Harassment was lower and communities were closer. Mauritania has a host of serious problems, corrupt government, desertification, lack of water/enough wells, poor education system etc. Slavery will go away when those problems are fixed not when CNN airs a poorly made documentary.
How and wy slavery still exists in Mauritania? Steve Davis explains:
The country supposedly abolish slavery in 1981. Yes that’s right 1981! However, it is still widely practiced, even though the government denies it exists. In fact the nation only made slavery a crime in 2007. How and why does slavery still exist in 2012? Here are some reasons,
the government does little to discourage it.
it is difficult to enforce laws because the country is huge and largely empty in the Sahara Desert. local Islamic leaders (imams) speak openly in favor of slavery.
racism is rampant, lighter-skinned people have historically owned darker-skinned people in the country. The “White Moors” are a light-skinned Berber people who speak Arabic. They are the power class in the country and have traditionally owned slaves. The “Black Moors” are darker-skinned people who also speak Arabic. They have historically been enslaved by the White Moors.
the population is poorly educated. Most slaves don’t even understand they are enslaved. to most of Mauritania’s slaves the idea of being owned and treated as property is normal and has been for centuries.
Progress4 Women wonders if this is a situation of “out of sight, out of mind”:
Maybe it is because the average person has not even heard of this country that this blatant injustice is not current news – they are indeed out of sight and out of mind right?? These slaves are people that are deserving of ALL basic human rights especially freedom. Kevin Bales said that “Slavery is theft — theft of a life, theft of work, theft of any property or produce, theft even of the children a slave might have borne.” – and he is correct. These men, women and children are in bondage both physically and psychologically. Their minds are not filled with hopes and dreams, but rather thoughts of oppression and strife.
I knew that slavery still existed under new headlines of prostitution and child labor etc. (because categorizing it into neater columns makes us feel better), but the era in which governments turned a blind eye (and in which Mauritania falls), I truly thought that time had passed. Regardless of how we try to soften the blow with our sophisticated euphemisms – as long as people are thought of as property, slavery exists!!
Recently, two sisters escaped from their master walking across the Sahara desert. Lissnup blogs about their ordeal:
With the help of a Tuareg nomad, they headed first toward Bassikounou and after two days, travelling at night to avoid detection and the risk of being forcibly returned, eventually reached Néma. At the age most girls are concerned with passing their school diploma, 14 year old Selama Mint Mbarek is already the mother of a son, born to her after being raped while serving as a farm hand for her former owner. Her younger sister, just 10 years old, has never experienced the inncocence of childhood, and was regularly beaten by her master. It was after one of these corporal punishments that the two little girls fled. Even so, Selama had to convince her sister that running away was worth the risk. Despite the perils of the journey ahead, Selama brought her child with her. According to the heartbreaking testimonies they delivered to the press, their master is still holding their aunt, brothers and cousins under his yoke.
Ahmed notes that these kinds of stories are “a drop in the sea” and that the government in Mauritania keeps turning a bling eye:
These stories are only a drop in the sea, for in Mauritania Anti-Slavery Organizations continue to uncover cases of slavery but the government keeps turning a blind eye. No clear programs are put in place to rescue the enslaved from their misery, nor to better the conditions of the previously enslaved who suffer under the heavy foot of poverty, illiteracy, and deprivation. Human rights activists who uncover cases of slavery are subject to continuous harassment and imprisonment and the last example is the arrest of activist in the east of Mauritania and putting them in the worst conditions where a leaked picture showed one of them stripped naked and tied in one of the places they were held in
In June 2011, Aconerly wrote a piece titled “Beyond Abolition: Ending Slavery in Mauritania”:
Slaves in Mauritania do not have a legal right to own property, let alone have a surname. Nor do they have a right to custody of their children. The 2007 law criminalizing the ownership of slaves was received with resistance and scoffing. The director of the Mauritanian government‘s Human Right Commission, Bamariam Koita even defended the fact that as of yet, no one had been prosecuted under the law. He argued that there are no chains and slave markets, and 1981 law that abolished slavery invalidates any argument that slavery exists in Mauritania. However, Mr. Koita painted a simplistic picture of slavery. In the 2007 article entitled „Slavery Past and Present,“ one man, Mohamed- he gave no surname because he was a slave- countered the director‘s statements by listing the members of his family who were enslaved. A slave‘s chains are socio-economic and generational in nature. The fact remains that a centuries-old tradition of master-slave relations whereby the dominant „white Moors“ (or Arabs) exist in superior positions to the Black Africans who lived in intergenerational slavery bolstered by undereducation and economic disenfranchisement.
Here is a sample of tweets about slavery in Mauritania:
@Munns: For a country like Mauritania to not acknowledge slavery and all the abuse the people endure is definitely going against the deen [religion].
@RedTopShwty: Slavery still exists in the country of Mauritania…. That's awful. Wish there was something I could do about it
 @Stef_Muller: @khanyisile There's slavery everywhere, I guess the diff is it's legal in Mauritania (can't read the article).
A UN Special Rapporteur led a mission to Mauritania in 2009 to evaluate slavery practices in the country. Other human rights issues in Mauritania include female genital mutilation, child labour, and human trafficking.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Portugal: ‘You Cannot Evict an Idea’ Without Borders · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
The violent eviction of a self-managed community center in Porto by the police, on April 19, 2012, triggered a wave of solidarity beyond the borders of the former working-class neighborhood of Fontinha, left to oblivion for years.
After 15 police cars arrived with masked and armed riot police to evict the project (three participants were arrested and five were injured), and emptied the school destroying all material in the building (such as books, computers and furniture), only to board up doors and windows in the end, around 300 people took to the streets in Porto, and several dozens more in Lisbon.
Educational materials and furniture destroyed in the school yard before the garbage truck came. The windows and doors were boarded up afterwards. Photo shared by Antonio Serginho on Facebook.
The events opened the newscasts on TV, and social media was buzzing with reactions; the hashtags #Fontinha and #ocupai trended on Twitter in Portugal.
Building on an idea
Es.Col.A (meaning school) [an acronymn for self-managed collective space, pt] was formed on April 2011, by a group of citizens who squatted a public school that had been abandoned by the municipality of Porto in 2006. Journalist Nuno Ramos de Almeida reported [pt] on April 20, that there are more than 25,000 housing buildings in the city left abandoned (about one in every five, which can be seen in this illustrative photo report) – many of them under the responsibility of the City Hall.
Under the slogan “Free spaces, create alternatives”, the collective proposed to bring back to life a disused building with after-school classes, communal food and recreational activities (ranging from yoga, music and capoeira, to film and debates). All based in principles of self-organization, free accessibility, non-discrimination, and practices of direct democracy and consensus through weekly Popular Assemblies.
Staircase of Es.Col.A. Photo by the Group of Artistic Studies.
Viva Filmes, a video-activism collective from Porto, published a short documentary in which community members tell the story of Es.Col.A to the brink of eviction (with English subtitles):
Poster by Gui Castro Felga
In the beginning of February, the City Hall sent a note of eviction to Es.Col.A, urging the collective to empty the building by the end of March. While Es.Col.A released an open letter [pt] rejecting the eviction, mobilization started under the motto “You cannot evict an idea” (which might have been inspired by the Global Voices post with that same headline about the Bank of Ideas in London, UK, January 2012).
Under pressure, the City Hall sent a proposal of a new contract, which was also rejected [pt] as it simply implied the legitimation of a later date for eviction of the collective – scheduled for the end of June.
The directions from the City Hall were clear: if not signed by April 12, from April 13 on, Es.Col.A would be removed. On that day Anonymous Portugal released a video in support.
The expulsion would eventually take place in the morning of April 19, as around 120 riot police entered the building [another video from a member on the ground here], and put an end to the work of one year of the community.
The City Hall issued a statement [pt] citing the necessity to “enforce laws” and calling the collective's squatting of the school “abusive” and “savage”, forcing authorities to intervene “coercively.” The statement made mention of the video above calling it “threatening” and “provoking disturbances and challenging [government] institutions.”
Meanwhile, a hiphop music video made by the youth of Fontinha sums up both the activities that used to take place in Es.Col.A, the April 19 events, and the popular reaction in Porto that followed:
Solidarity exceeds borders
Sympathy is coming from many cities in Portugal, where citizens have organized demonstrations via Facebook, such as the following that took place in Lisbon, in the evening of April 19:
A call on Facebook to make the cause go transnational was made by M31 (March 31), an European collective against capitalism that gathers groups across 12 countries. Messages of support, and in some cases translations, came from Spain (through the independent media collective La Haine [es]), Sweden (the Anonymous collective @AnonOpsSweden), United Kingdom (Socialist Workers Party via @tedsplitter), Australia (@OccupySydney), Greece [el], Poland [pl], and Germany, where an open letter to the Mayor and the city government of Porto was published on Indymedia:
Es.Col.A's Assembly, April 20. Photo by Renato Roque on Facebook.
You should know that the project and its activities are followed and supported with sympathy of many people outside Portugal. (…)
We ask that you reverse the eviction and repair the damage. Negotiate immediately with Es.col.a.-collective to reach peaceful and socially just solutions!
A petition [pt] is in circulation. The Assembly of Es.Col.A gathered on the evening of April 20 with around 200 participants, and decided to reoccupy the building on  April 25th, a national holiday that represents the end of the dictatorship in Portugal in 1974.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis