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Spain: Police Violence Against Students in Valencia  · Global Voices
Chris Moya

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
At the Luis Vives Institute of Secondary Education in Valencia (#IESLluisVives), students gathered to protest against the cuts that the Ministry is carrying out and, above all, because they have to bring blankets to the school due to lack of heating.  Many instances of tension occurred [es] at the Institute due to unjustified police attacks, instructed by the Government Delegate Paula Sánchez de León, which resulted in ten detained students.
Below we present a series of videos about the violent incident, which have been circulating on the social networks.  Digital media and social networks were, once again, an important platform for exchanges of information, reports, and debate.
@15MayoValencia: #nofuisteniño si la policía te sacó de la inocencia a base de porra y pelotas de goma. Vergüenza #IESLluisVives valencia.democraciarealya.es/post/177037460…
(Nikone Le Fou) @NikoneCons: Policía golpeando a muchach@s de 12 a 16 años en Valencia ¡Difúndelo! #IESLluisVives
:
(David Rodrigo) @deivid87vlc: La diputada @monicaoltra también ha sido golpeada cuando se presento en la comisaria a preguntar por los 6 detenidos #IESLluisvives
(Miguel Ángel Medina) @locodelpelorojo: Más de 5.000 personas piden en @actuable que el Sindic de Greuges investigue la carga policial en #IESLluisVives eskup.elpais.com/1329472559-838…
More photos can be found here.
Periodismo Humano is offering live coverage here.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Chris Moya


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Azerbaijan: Sari Gelin · Global Voices
Pervin Muradli

Əli Novruzovun bloqu [AZ] writes a review on a new novel penned by Ali Akbar, author of “Artush and Zaur,” the controversial tale of a homosexual love affair between an Armenian and Azerbaijani. In his new book, “Sari Gelin, Akbar takes his readers on the complicated journey of a young girl who reaches sexual maturity, explores her sensuality, and enters into the world of seduction. The blog says the novel challenges the patriarchal system, patriotism, traditional customs, and moral values in Azerbaijani society.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Pervin Muradli


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Cambodia: Information About Land Evictions · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Stories Without Borders provides links to pertinent news articles, videos, and other documents about the land evictions in Cambodia. Over 250,000 Cambodians have been displaced by illegal land evictions in both urban and rural areas.

author: Mong Palatino


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China: New Monetization Model for Sina Weibo · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jin Ge from China Bubble Watch introduces a new monetization model for Sina Weibo.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Egypt: Among Bulaq’s Ruins in an Unfinished Revolution · Global Voices
محمد عادل

It all started [Ar] around 2007 when “Vision of Cairo 2050″  was first declared, or as it is dubbed “Cairo 2050.” After that, the Egyptian government declared it's intention to demolish Cairo’s main informal neighbourhoods and relocate millions of people to new dwellings in the desert.
Blogger Yahia Shawkat, wrote about the project on his blog Shadow Ministry of Housing [Ar]:
The blogger continues:
A view of Bulaq, taken by the film makers. Used with permission
Bulaq Abu el-Ela is one of those Cairo’s main informal neighbourhoods which could be demolished as the former government had declared. But until now no one knows anything about the fate of the project, especially after the revolution and the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
Now, the plight of Egyptians living in those dwellings has been turned into a documentary, thanks to two Italian film makers Davide Morandini and Fabio Lucchini. The idea of “Bulaq: Among the ruins of an unfinished revolution” materialized in 2009, when the two directors traveled to Egypt to carry out research on political organisation in Cairo’s informal neighbourhoods. They both returned to the city after the revolution and started to develop the subject of their documentary film, after being captivated by the story of the demolition of an area inhabited for hundreds of years and the resettlement of its people elsewhere.
Documentary pressbook
Following is the documentary trailer in Arabic with English subtitles, for French version click here, and Italian version here, which is available online, a medium used by the film makers to further spread the message carried in their work and amplify the voices of people inhabiting the districts:
Bulaq Official Trailer from Matteo Keffer on Vimeo.
On January 25, thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, sparking what we now call the Egyptian Revolution. Only a few hundred meters way from the world-famous square, the people from popular neighbourhood Bulaq Abu el-Ela took part in the revolution, finding in demonstrations something more than a glimmer of hope. Through their voices, ‘Bulaq’ portrays their collective struggle against eviction and social marginalisation, whose destiny seems to be strictly intertwined with the hesitant fortunes of the Egyptian Spring..
The documentary also has a Facebook group here, where news about the documentary is shared, as well as links and clippings to articles and posts written about the effected area.
The following short video was produced before shooting the real film as Davide Morandini, the documentary director told me. In the video, we can hear stories from the inhabitants of the district concerning its great location in the middle of Cairo, and also about selling the land to investors from the Gulf Cooperation Council, and about demolition and destruction of buildings and transferring inhabitant to live in flats in the middle of the desert:
The documentary was awarded the first Prize at the first Festival of Short Reportages “Pillole di Attualità” in Rome, in September 2011. [festival program] [It] and will also be screened in Paris International Film Festival for Human Rights, in March 2012.
Further Reading:
Jadaliyya: Struggles that fueled a revolution

author: محمد عادل


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Egypt: Architecture without Architects · Global Voices
محمد عادل

In this short video, Omnia Khalil reflects on the massive change society underwent on social and political aspects during the last three decades in architecture, urban developments and art. Full research is available online at Waly Center Journal issue 2. (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)


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El Salvador: Facebook Photo Album Documents Worst Examples of Campaigning · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Legislative elections for El Salvador are scheduled for March 11, 2012. Tim's El Salvador Blog reports on an interesting Facebook initiative: “The Facebook page called “Sociedad Civil”  (Civil Society) is sharing a photo album of the worst examples of campaigning during this campaign season leading up to the March elections. You'll need to be able to read Spanish to understand some of the comments, but some photos […] speak for themselves.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Hong Kong: Videos Against Homophobic Bullying in Schools · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

“I am who I am” is a video advocacy project against homophobic bullying in schools in Hong Kong. It is convened by a lesbian rights organization, Nui-Tong-Xue-She (女同學社) in Hong Kong. Below are some statistics about homophobic bullying in Hong Kong collected by the organization in its campaign website [zh]:
•   2005年，民政事務局委託顧問公司進行民意調查，發現性傾向歧視在校園頻生，接近六成的受訪者認為同性戀學生在學校受到一般至非常嚴重的歧視。
•   香港女同盟會於去年進行的「香港女性因性傾向受歧視狀況」調查亦再次確認校園是性傾向歧視的重災區，高達31%的歧視行為在校園內發生，居於5項範疇的性傾向歧視狀況的首位。而同學、教職員以及學生更是第二位最常作出歧視行為的人。
•   香港小童群益會「性向無限計劃」於2009年展開網上調查，了解現正就讀中學或離校少於三年的同志青少年在學時的經歷。調查發現高達81.7%的同志青少年曾向同儕或師長隱藏自己的性傾向，並為此感到孤單(57.4%)、不安(39.8%)，甚至萌生自殺的念頭(18%)，而針對性傾向的欺凌行為仍然猖獗，受訪學生曾遭遇社交排斥、杯葛(39.8%)、言語暴力(42.3%)以至肢體傷害或性騷擾(13.5%)。
Video advocacy project against homophobic bullying in schools "I am who I am"
- A survey conducted by a research consultant appointed by the Home Affair Bureau in 2005 showed that homophobic bullying in schools was very common. About 60% of the interviewees agreed that homosexual students are suffered from discrimination in schools.
- Women Coalition of Hong Kong [zh] conducted another survey last year (in 2010) that reaffirmed previous finding concerning homophobic bullying in schools. The survey shows that about 31% of the discriminatory bullying happened at school campus and sexual orientation discrimination is most common among other forms of discrimination (such as racial). The bullies are usually students and sometimes involved teachers.
- An online survey among young homosexual communities conducted by The Boys & Girls Clubs Association of Hong Kong under its “Touch Project” [zh] in 2009 found that 81.7% homosexual youths hid their sexual orientations from friends and teachers in schools and as a result, 57.4% felt lonely, 39.8% felt anxious and 18% were suicidal. Among different forms of homophobic bullying, verbal violence was most common (42.3%), followed by social exclusion and boycotts (39.8%) and 13.5% of the interviewees said that they were suffered from physical attack and sexual harassment.
The video project began back in November 2011. The organization will release seven interviews via sexual minority and LGBT friendly media workers and politicians. Below is the project's promotion video:
So far three interviews have been released. The interviewees are:


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Malaysia: Petition Against Sarawak Dams · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An online petition urges the Malaysian government to review its plan to build twelve “highly destructive” hydroelectric dams in Sarawak that will displace tens of thousands of people and flood large tracts of tropical rainforest.


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Mali: The River Niger in Pictures · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

Boukary Konaté, a member of the Global Voices community in Mali, recently toured rural schools on a traditional Malian boat as part of a digital literacy project. This boat trip was an opportunity to explore his own country and to illustrate the many aspects of the 2,600 miles-long Niger river.
The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo River. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea. It runs in a crescent through Mali, Niger and then through Nigeria, discharging through the Niger Delta into the Atlantic.
Here are a few snapshots of the Niger taken by Boukary Konaté and his team, reproduced with permission. More pictures can be found on the Segou Connection photo gallery hosted on Briconcella's Flickr account.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Russia: Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Quintessential ‘New Russian’ · Global Voices
Donna Welles

Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev serves as an example of the quintessential ‘New Russian’ through his controversial activities during the Yeltsin Era, his modern business practices, and his extravagant international spending – he has just purchased the most expensive New York City apartment to date.
Global Voices placed Russia's ‘oligarchs’ in their historical and economic context in a November 2011 post entitled, “FC Anzhi and the Yeltsin Era Money”:
Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union 20 years ago, the world has watched Russia's transition into capitalism with great interest. The Yeltsin era of the 1990s was characterized by a struggle over who would emerge from the transition with holdings of Russia's major sources of wealth, such as its natural resources. The victors in that struggle are known as the ‘oligarchs’ because they possess a degree of wealth that surpasses most people's ability to conceptualize.
Another term for those who emerged from the process of privatization with vast amounts of wealth is ‘New Russians.’ While the term ‘Oligarchs’ focuses more on the political power of these individuals, ‘New Russians’ emphasizes the economic component of their influence.
ToperJokes Blog – a site that translates Russian and Ukrainian jokes into English – devotes an entire folder to jokes about New Russians. Here is one:
A New Russian asks the priest:
– Father, my cat has died. I want you to read the burial service!
– No, we may not do this in Orthodox Church.
– What should I do then?
– Across the road there is a sectarian church, they will do anything for money.
– Will 4000 dollars be enough?
– My son, why didn't you tell from the start that you had a baptized cat?!
As this joke suggests, New Russians are also characterized by an often unspoken assumption that their wealth was acquired through the use of irregular methods. During any governmental transition there will invariably be periods of time when laws are vague or non-existent. Russia has yet to develop a comprehensive land registry, and so it is little surprise that the Moscow News estimated last fall that 90 percent of Moscow apartments are rented illegally.
Analyseman Blog discussed [ru] Mr. Rybolovlev's activities during the Yeltsin era, including the 11 months he spent in prison accused of murdering a factory executive:
“In the early 1990s, Dmitry Rybolovlev was one of the most active participants in privatization in his region. Mr. Rybolovlev then headed Perm Credit Bank FD and bought shares mainly in the chemical plants. In 1992-1993, first deputy chairman of the Perm region's Property Fund, Vladimir Shevtsov, helped him to privatize a major stake in Uralkali and became his partner. In 1996, both were accused of organizing the murder of the director of the Perm factory Neftekhimik. Mr. Rybolovlev spent 11 months in pre-trial detention and was released on 1-billion bail.” – a little bit of background on how the money [spent on the New York City apartment] had been made.
Other casualties of regime change are issues of safety regulations and infrastructure. The Russian-language MCINC LiveJournal blog discussed [ru] last week how Russian factory owners are not held accountable for accidents, but rather they continue to receive monetary benefits from the state.
Such practices were exemplified by a major accident that occurred in Mr. Rybolovlev's Uralkali factory in 2006. UralKali.com released the Russian government's official findings on the cause of the accident along with the company's legal obligations regarding paying damages to the victims:
Uralkali (Berezniki, Perm region) has received the report of the re-opened investigation into the causes of the accident that occurred at Uralkali Mine 1 in October 2006. As stated previously, the second investigation was conducted by a commission established by Russia’s mining safety watchdog, Rostekhnadzor, on November 11, 2008, by order of the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. […]
There has to date been no judicial decision requiring Uralkali to reimburse the expenses listed in the report. However, the company cannot give any assurance that claims will not arise for such reimbursements, which could exceed 3.1 billion rubles.
So then the question becomes – What do New Russians do with the money?
The aforementioned Global Voices article about Suleyman Kerimov's FC Anzhi, along with one pertaining to Mikhail Prokhorov's New Jersey Nets, discuss how many New Russians buy international sports teams.
Coincidentally, it was to Mr. Kerimov that Mr. Rybolovlev sold his stake of Uralkali in 2010 amidst a costly divorce from his wife of 21 years, Elena. Analize Faktor blog discussed [ru] the details of the divorce that had international implications:
A Geneva court imposed an interim measure on the assets of Uralkali, a major Russian Federation potassium fertilizer producer, in connection with the divorce between the shareholder Dmitry Rybolovlev and his wife Elena […]
Elena Rybolovleva initiated divorce proceedings in late 2008 in Switzerland. She's claimed to have a legal right to half of her husband's assets and has filed lawsuits against him in the United States, the Virgin Islands, and in Cyprus, as well as in the UK and Singapore. […]
A mill at one of Uralkali’s processing plants in Berezniki, Russia. Flickr photo by ICT Group (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Agent 4 Stars Blog contextualized Mr. Rybolovlev's December 2011 investment in AS Monaco FC, following the sale of his stake in Uralkali:
Monaco’s Prince Albert II says Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev is eager to invest €200 million into the local football club. “We’re going to discuss the investment issue with the club’s administration in the coming days,” the monarch told Nice Matin newspaper. Seven-time French champions AS Monaco are experiencing serious money shortages after being relegated from Ligue 1 last season. Rybolovlev, who used to be the owner of Russia’s biggest potash fertilizer company, Uralkaly, currently lives in Monaco. […]
Previously, the Monaco club enjoyed the support of another Russian tycoon, Aleksey Fedorychev.
The post went on to list other assets held by Mr. Rybolovlev and his ex-wife Elena:
Donald Trump’s Palm Beach mansion now belongs to Dmitry Rybolovlev and ex. wife Elena Rybolovlev. Through County Road Property LLC, Rybolovlev in 2008 paid cash for the 515 N. County Road estate, which boasts 475 feet of unobstructed oceanfront and 6 acres. Rybolovlev closed the deal for $5 million less than Trump’s $100 million asking price. Trump snapped up the property in 2004 for $41.4 million.In a June 2008 statement to the Wall Street Journal, Rybolovlev confirmed he was the mystery Russian behind the Trump purchase. He said he did not plan to make Palm Beach his home. Palm Beach County’s property appraiser has assessed the estate’s value at $48 million for 2010.
Dmitry Rybolovlev also owns a string of lavish properties from London to Singapore and an unfinished Dream home a replica of the Petit Trianon, which he planned to build in Cologny, the most upper-crust hill of Geneva.
Mr Rybolovlev’s assets also include an art collection stuffed with paintings by Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Monet. These paintings were originally intended to decorate the property of Cologny.
Finally, last week both the English- and Russian-language media were filled with mentions of a record-breaking purchase: Mr. Rybolovlev had aquired the most expensive apartment in the history of New York City and placed the property in the name of his 22-year-old daughter. LiveInternet user dispepsia provided [ru] the specifics of the sale:
Last week a 22-year-old Russian student, Ekaterina Rybolovleva, purchased an apartment in Manhattan for $88 million. Of course, Ekaterina is the daughter of the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev who recently sold his shares in Uralkali. […]
Uralkali shareholder Dmitry Rybolovlev is worth an estimated $9.5 billion – which makes him the 93rd richest person in the world.
The former owner of the apartment, Sandy Weill (Former CEO of Citigroup), sold it to the rich Russian for $88 million! Mr. Weill had purchased the apartment in 2007 for $48 million. […]
The apartment is located in a building considered the best ever built in 15 Central Park West. It was built in 2006-2007 by the famous architect, Robert Stern. The apartment occupies the 20th floor in its entirety and has an area of 6,774 square ft (626.5 square meters). Also, the apartment is surrounded on three sides by a 2,077 square ft terrace (193 sq. meters).
Replying to a commenter, user dispepsia wrote:
In my opinion, it's a good investment – because the place is so beautiful! And he didn't spend the money on booze or on gambling, and the fact that it's so expensive – well, he [can easily afford it]! Unlike us, [the ordinary people].

author: Donna Welles


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Singapore Budget 2012 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Leong Sze Hian analyzes the Singapore budget presentation for the year 2012. He concludes: “Need to cut rhetoric, and do something, anything, if the government wants to regain some credibility.”


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South Korea: Judge Who Lampooned President on Social Media Resigns · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

In South Korea, Judge Seo Gi-ho, who posted an insulting message ridiculing the President on Twitter and his Facebook wall, has resigned amidst controversy.
Although, on the face of it, it appears that the the resignation was due to his poor evaluation result, his fellow judges and activist groups alleged that the judiciary's intention was to gain the favor of the President by punishing Seo, who had made the headlines for lampooning him. They also added that the review process was not transparent enough and Seo had actually scored well enough to be re-appointed.
February 17, 2012, was Judge Seo's last day in office. About a hundred people gathered in front of the Justice building to throw him a small resignation ceremony. Seo's support group, “The Eyes of the People”, gave Seo a new ‘People's Judge’ robe as a way of showing that even though he failed to get re-appointed, the public acknowledged him as a judge.
On December 7, 2011, Seo's highly sarcastic post [ko] regarding the President (which is extremely difficult to translate, given the puns and hidden context) created quite a bit of commotion in Twittersphere. It can roughly be translated into something like ‘Don't get intimidated. Or his Highness will give you a big yeot (taffy)” [meaning that the President will cause people great problems. In modern times the Korean phrase “eat yeot” (엿 먹어라) has a vulgar meaning, comparable to using the f-word in English].
It was not good timing, as it came amidst the free trade deal with the United States. Other judges too, turned vocal  and began to post a similar lampooning messages on their social media accounts. However, conservative media blew Seo's case out of proportion and this one post made such a big headline, that Seo was reprimanded by the Supreme Court some weeks later.
Now, after his recent controversial post on Facebook, he has failed to get re-appointed, something which rarely happens to judges in South Korea. (According to one local news report, out of all the judges who held post from 1988, there are only five judges, including Seo, who did not get re-appointed after their first ten year term ended.)
Responses sprang up in Twitter and Blogosphere. Baek Chan-hong (@mindgood) tweeted [ko]:
학교든 직장이든 사람을 내보내려면 평가결과를 알려주어야 함에도 대법원은 근무평가를 통보하지도 않고 서기호 판사의 재임용을 거부. 사법부 스스로 얼마나 불합리하고 비상식적인지를 보여준 것.
Twitter user @iron_heel, quoting Seo's remark, expressed his support [ko]:
저는 쫓겨났다고 생각하지 않습니다. 10년 담임제 임기를 마치고 잠시 떠나는 것이라 생각합니다. 저의 재임용 탈락은 부당하고 위법입니다. 받아들일 수 없습니다. 소송을 벌일 겁니다 – 서기호 판사 : 꼭 이기시길 !
Chegal Myeong-Hyeon (@Quantuminist) tweeted [ko]:
@jonghee1 이제 국민 대표판사 1호가 탄생했지요. 서기호 판사님, 꼭 복직하시길…
His acquaintance and supporters have even set up a special twitter account @babopansa to consolidate and retweet links about Mr.Seo and to rally people for protests and sign online petitions. This tweet [ko] is from Seo's fellow judge:
이제는 법원이 잘못된 길을 간다고 생각이 들 때, 그 말을 하려고 한다. 그 동안 침묵하는 다수였으나 소리 내는 모난 돌이 정을 맞는다 해도 이제는 침묵하지 않겠다. via 남원지원 김영훈 판사
This tweet [ko] urged people to sign online petitions:
[ON국민절찬서명중입니다] http://bit.ly/x2Jo3Q 1. 서기호 판사의 복직! 2. 정치권력개입NO! 독립과 개혁! 3. 양승태 대법원장 사퇴! #99% 이시죠?트위터와페이북계정으로서명할수있습니다!
Another tweet [ko] notified a special (Catholic) Mass that will be held to support Seo.
‘서기호 판사(분도)와 사법정의를 위한 미사'가 19일(일요일) 오후 2시 가톨릭청년회관에서 진행됩니다. 공지영 작가도 참석할 예정이라네요. 일정 확인해보시고, RT 부탁드리겠습니다.
Things are heating up also within the justice community. According to one news report, some are predicting that the court's decision to drop Seo, may provoke mass-scale protests among young judges.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Sri Lanka: Promoting Reconciliation and Hope to Young People · Global Voices
Rezwan

The memories of the long civil war in Sri Lanka and the bitter inter-ethnic acrimony is still afresh in many Sri Lankan's minds. That is why reconciliation is now the much discussed buzzword across Sri Lanka.
The recently released Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC Report) has discussed details on the issues concerning post-conflict reconciliation. But the challenges are many as Selyna Peiris at Sri Lankan reconciliation youth forum describes:
Recently, I attended a panel discussion organised by the Consortium of Human Rights Agencies (CHA) to listen to Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, the Advisor to the President on Reconciliation present a critical assessment of the ongoing initiatives, mostly by the Government, for reconciliation in Sri Lanka. [..] Apart from the fact that visually the panel truly represented the political divisions in Sri Lanka at present, their opinions also brought to light the diverse attitudes toward reconciliation in the Sri Lankan context. It was clear that to work towards a reconciled Sri Lanka, the different fractions in our community needed to be able to agree on what reconciliation actually meant in our country. It was also clear that a definition that encompasses the diversity of our community needed much compromise and commitment.
Selyna also opined that Sri Lankans should take the responsibility in their own hands instead of waiting for ages.
Last October Global Voices highlighted the works of Sri Lanka Unites, a group that connects young Sri Lankans and gives them a free space to make reconciliation work. The organisation's aim is to visit schools and build a network of over 4500 student leaders from every district and community in Sri Lanka and organize several events like the Future Leaders Conference.
Sri Lanka Unites had started their school relation road trip last October and has been posting updates about the trip in their blog (also in Tamil and Sinhala language). The stories of students making friends from other parts of the country are being posted in social media channels like YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.
The epic road trip around the country ended in Puttalam promoting hope & reconciliation to more than 50,000 students. Here are a few Twitter entries describing more events and milestones:
@SriLankaUnites: Today in Matara a SLU forum for youth to plan and implement post war reconciliation, integration, restorative justice and nation building.
@SriLankaUnites: The biggest challenge there is for FLC (Future Leaders Conference) 4 is providing transport to the students, discussing the possible options #lka
Indrajit Samarajiva writes at Indi.ca:
I really support SLU cause they do real work on the ground. A lot of people talk about building shared spaces or reconciliation, but few actually physically gather young people to make it happen. Many people talk about the conditions for reconciliation, or why reconciliation can’t happen, or what’s going wrong, which doesn’t make anything happen. SLU actually just gets it done, and for this they get some criticism.
Image courtesy Sri Lanka Unites
Selyna Peiris highlights Sri Lanka Unite's activities and what it can achieve:
There have been examples of clubs in Kurunegala partnering with schools in Jaffna and conducting health camps for the Jaffna community on their own initiative. What is absolutely beautiful about this experience is that despite the difficulties in communication, the purity of the hugs and smiles between the students when they meet is a true symbol of the possibility of an everlasting peace. Furthermore, students who have graduated into universities have taken the initiative to start the SLU university chapters and several Diaspora communities have also started SLU chapters in their respective countries and cities abroad. A happy virus – young people who are willing to and capable of leading their communities are coming together in one united platform. Most importantly, through them, the idea of a united Sri Lanka without violence and difference is spreading across the Island and beyond.

author: Rezwan


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The “Brazilebanese”, or Brazilians from Lebanon · Global Voices
Richard de Araújo

The history of Lebanese emigration to Brazil is long. It is said that Lebanese Christians began to emigrate to Brazil in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while Lebanon was still part of the Ottoman Empire. However, even after the Ottomans were defeated in the First World War, the waves of Lebanese emigrants did not cease. On the contrary, the number rose due to the events that took place in the region such as the establishment of the French protectorate, the creation of the State of Israel, and the civil war which lasted from 1975 to 1990, and was responsible for a wave of migration of Lebanese Muslims.
In Brazil these Lebanese migrants – known as “Turkish” – worked as peddlers, trading manufactured goods like clothes and jewellery in big Brazilian cities. Later, many of them would open their stores in shopping centers such as the Vinte e Cinco de Março and Oriente Streets in the downtown area of Sao Paulo, changing forever the urban landscape of the capital city as well as the way of doing business.
"And I'm here in this dungeon where I see the Bosporus…where I feel the smell of very tasty kibbeh warming the peoples’ soul on any street of a country that has more descendants of Lebanese than Lebanon." Photo: William Droops on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
As usual happens in these cases, initially the Lebanese remained apart of Brazilian society: they spoke their language (Arabic, but in many cases French), ate their own food, educated their children in their own way. However, it didn't take long for them to adapt their culture to the country which they had adopted, and soon they learned Portuguese, adapted their recipes to the ingredients found there, intermarried with Brazilians of older Lebanese origin, but also from other communities such as the Portuguese and Spanish. Anyway, everything went its natural way, with their their descendants fully integrated into the country where they were born.
The economic crisis that Brazil suffered in the 1980s and 1990s directly affected these families, dependent on the income from trade. Many chose to return to Lebanon and rebuild their lives in the old fatherland. Of course they were no longer the same, since their children were native Brazilians, who didn't speak languages other than Portuguese. This group is called “Brazilebanese”, as Roberto Khatlab says on the blog of the Council of Brazilian Citizens in the World:
[Trata-se de] um neologismo com o qual eu identifico os cidadãos binacionais líbano-brasileiros no Líbano – conta com cerca de 10 mil pessoas (sem incluir aqueles que retornaram ao Brasil sem ter obtido a nacionalidade). Em 1954, o banqueiro Jean Abou-Jaoudé funda, em Beirute, a Associação da Amizade Brasil-Líbano, que está em atividade até hoje. Os “brasilibaneses” estão presentes em todo o território libanês, do Norte (Dar Beechtar…) ao Sul (Kabrikha…), mas principalmente no Bekaa, onde existem aldeias inteiras – como Sultan Yaacoub, Kamed-Lawz e Ghazzé – com 90% de “brasilibaneses” que falam fluentemente o português e perpetuam os costumes brasileiros (gastronomia, música, arquitetura, agricultura…).
A very interesting phenomenon has occurred in Bekaa: in that area there are towns such as Sultan Yakub where the first language is neither Arabic nor French, but Portuguese. On his blog the journalist Gustavo Chakra addresses [pt] the subject with some surprise.
Quem viaja para Sultan Yakoub é alertado que, uma vez na cidade, pode pedir informações em português que qualquer pessoa responde na hora. Afinal, nesta pequena vila em uma colina isolada no meio do vale do Beqaa, quase todos os mil habitantes moraram ou ainda têm um parente próximo que vive no Brasil.
A reportagem fez o teste e, realmente, o primeiro pedestre abordado falava português. Era Hussein El Jaroush. Nascido no Líbano, ele foi há duas décadas para o Brasil, onde viveu por 13 anos. Passou por Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Maceió e, como muitos conterrâneos, terminou em Santo André. Na cidade do ABC paulista, existe até uma espécie de clube, chamado “Chácara Sultan Yakoub”, onde os originários desta vila do Líbano se reúnem nos fins de semana para jogar futebol e fazer churrasco.
This reporter took the test and, indeed, the first pedestrian who was approached did speak Portuguese. It was Hussein El Jaroush. Born in Lebanon, he went two decades ago to Brazil, where he lived for 13 years. He passed by Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Maceió and, as many of his countrymen, ended up in Santo André. In that town on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, there is even a sort of club called “Farmstead Sultan Yakoub,” where people from this village in Lebanon gather on weekends to play football and to barbecue.
A bit of Brazil in Sultan Yakoub. Photo: Renata Malkes (used with permission).
Gustavo Chacra cites another “Brazilebanese”, Jamal, 39 years old, to which the new times impose new challenges, such as the maintenance of Portuguese among the younger generations, especially those now born in Lebanon:
O importante para Jamal é manter a ligação com o Brasil pela língua. Especialmente por causa do seu filho. Ele diz que sempre fala em português com o menino, apesar de muitas vezes receber a resposta em árabe.
In order to ensure the maintenance of Portuguese among “Brazilebanese” families, among other elements of Brazilian culture, the Brazilian government established [pt] the Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Center in Beirut in April 2011. On Wednesdays the center “shows free movies for the people of Beirut, most Brazilians and descendants”.
Capoeira in Beirut, the Lebanese group that founded the school
The blog “Excessivamente Humano” provides [pt] more details:
“É uma antiga reivindicação dos libaneses, de forma geral, e da comunidade de origem brasileira no Líbano, de modo especial”, explica Roberto Medeiros, ministro-conselheiro e chefe do setor cultural da embaixada brasileira, sobre a iniciativa de fundação do centro. “Em encontros sociais ou culturais com os membros da embaixada em Beirute, os libaneses sempre solicitavam que o governo brasileiro criasse uma instituição com a função específica de divulgar a língua portuguesa e a cultura brasileira”, completa.
The fact is that this request had been made for many years, and for decades it had been trapped in the bureaucratic network of Brasilia. Moreover, although the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil is laudable, it is still far from meeting the main public for whom the center was created, because Brazilians like Jamal can't attend it because they live in the Bekaa Valley, where most Brazilians are concentrated. The next step would be to take Portuguese teachers to that region as well as encouraging and supporting Brazilian cultural associations and other cultural centres dedicated, for example, to Latin America, such as the Latin American Studies and Culture Centre at the University of Kaslik and the Project Alecrim International in Lebanon, an institution committed to maintaining the cultural identity of Brazilian children who live abroad.
The time is opportune for Brazil to meet a longstanding demand of Brazilians in Lebanon, but also to involve them as intermediaries in the trade between the two countries.

author: Richard de Araújo


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Tunisia: A Year After the Revolution, Limitations on Freedom of Expression Continue · Global Voices
Ahmed Medien

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
A year after the ouster of the Tunisian ex-president, pressure on freedom of press continues in Tunisia. This week, three newsmen from Tunisian printed newspaper “Attounisia” were arrested for publishing a controverted picture of Tunisian and Real Madrid soccer player Sami Kedira and model Lena Gercke's naked photograph.
The cover reads: "Tunisian soccer player Sami Kedira's photos shock Spain.
The arrest of the Attounisia – whose online edition happens to be one of the most visited website in Tunisia – writers outraged public opinion in Tunisia. While few were in favour of their arrest since the media law stipulates “respecting public decency”, many Tunisian internet users logged on their social media accounts to denounce their arrest, using sarcastic comments.
On Twitter, Sami Nafsi writes [ar]:
The chain sells underwear, and advertises photographs of models wearing it.
Lingerie catalogue of Monoprix
Tunisian blogger Le Trocadero [fr] couldn't help but joke about the arrest of Attounisia newsmen. In his latest bulletin, he suggested that the general prosecutor should sue the Bardo National Museum in Bardo too:
on y trouve des statues nues de femmes et d’hommes dans des positions plus que suspectes. Est-ce que tu l’accepterais pour ta sœur ?
This bulletin has already been shared on Facebook more than 3,000 times and 23 times on Twitter.
Slim Ayed, a Tunisian citizen journalist, uploaded the following video about the matter on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=08wUZUNpP5s#!
The video, in Arabic, features interviews with some Tunisian journalists and their opinions about the arrest of the Attounisia newsmen. All of them agree that these accusations are ludicrous and that the general prosecution in Tunisia should be preoccupied with more serious issues such as the unresolved cases of corruption in Tunisia and the death of the martyrs during the uprising of January 2011.
Meanwhile, two of the Attounisia newsmen were released earlier this week while the newspaper executive is still held in custody. On February 18, his newspaper published an article stating that he started a hunger strike in prison, in protest against his detention.
Sami Kedira responded publicly through German daily Die Welt:
Ich respektiere die verschiedenen Religionen, die es gibt, und auch den Glauben, den die Menschen haben. Aber ich kann nicht verstehen, dass sich Menschen nicht frei äußern dürfen. Das ist traurig”
Attounisia executive is not the only newsman being tried in Tunisia. Nabil Karoui, the Nessma TV executive, is also being tried for blasphemy after screening the French-Iranian animation movie Persepolis. Both executives can be sentenced between three to five years, according to an obsolete press code that has not been updated since the 1980s.
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Ahmed Medien


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United States: Another Assault on Immigrant Culture · Global Voices
Yarisa Colon

The decision to eliminate the Mexican-American studies program from public schools curriculum, which had been implemented in Tucson, Arizona, in 1998, has caused outrage. For many, the dismantling of the program and the confiscation of a great number of books is the living example of the ultra conservative agenda that is threatening the cultural and historic breadth of this region.
The decision approved in January by the Superintendent of Tucson's Independent School District, John Huppethal, is based on ARS-15-112 statute of HB 2281 Law. As explained by Jasmine Villa in LatinitasMagazine this law forbids courses or classes that:
Here's a list of some of the confiscated books:
Click here to read the full list.
Here is a video of the students and teachers protest against the prohibition of ethnic studies in Tucson:
As expected, the solidarity that the state wanted to control has been felt not only in Tucson but in several regions across the United States. Junot Díaz, Laura Esquivel, Ana Castillo, among other writers as well as various organizations dedicated to education, literature and freedom of expression have publicly rejected this unconstitutional action.
Online petitions have been created as well as blogs to support the re-installment of the Mexican-American Studies Curriculum. Banning History, for example, is accepting videos where people appear reading, singing or illustrating pieces of the censored books.
"You can't censor books", street art from Tucson, AZ. Photo by Flickr user crjp. Published under CC BY-NC-2.0 Licence.
Teacher Activist Group, TAG  in collaboration with Rethinking Schools, also launched a campaign to raise awareness called “No history is illegal: a campaign to save our stories”. They have also created an extended curriculum based on the lessons of the banned program, complemented by lessons on the fight for freedom of speech and cultural diversity.
Definitively, this solidarity wave will gain strength because it is a very effective antidote to the abuse of power, fear and racism. In March the Librotraficante caravan will arrive from Houston, Texas to Tucson, Arizona to hand out censored books.
Here is a video on the caravan project organized by writer Tony Díaz.

author: Yarisa Colon


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Vietnam: Land Rights Violations · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Adam Bray writes about the struggle of Vietnamese villagers for their land rights. He accuses the government of secretly demolishing homes and forcibly evicting religious and ethnic minorities in the rural provinces of Quang Ngai, Kon Tum, and Quang Nam.


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Yemen: All Set for the One Man Presidential Election  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
One more day to go to Yemen's uncontested and unprecedented “one man” election”, which will start tomorrow, February 21, 2012, ending 33 years of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule and costing the country more than US$48 million.
Following are some of the comments of journalists covering the event:
@kasinof: just arrived in Sanaa after 2 month absence. Hadi posters everywhere, no checkpoints, few random armed tribesmen in hasaba. Feels different
@tomfinn2: The election campaign here is amazingly thorough, posters on every corner, I've even started dreaming about Hadi.. #Yemen
@kellymcevers: Good to be back in #Yemen. Bullets not flying, airport not on fire, election tomorrow. The morning is quiet over the old city.
@ionacraig: The Yemen national anthem has been playing on constant rotation outside my window for the last half hour. Thank you, I am now brainwashed.
@JamjoomCNN: Amazed to see so many pictures and posters of Hadi around Sana'a (and a lot fewer of Saleh since the last time I was here) #Yemen
@HughNaylor: Yemen: Movenpick hotel where journos register for “election” of new prez. Picture of old prez, Ali Abdullah Saleh, hangs over entry way.
@adammbaron: i'm more than willing to bet that posters of soon-to-be president hadi outnumber people in #sanaa #yemen
A YouTube video entitled “Together we will destroy it” posted by @ezatwagdi mocks the official campaign video “Together we will build it” posted by the official election campaign:
The video depicts Saleh's supporters and former opponents happily dancing together carrying signs saying “Together, on February 21, to reach power.”
The signs translate into English as follows:
Yes to a good successor of a good predecessor
God forgives what happened in the past, yes to building a new Yemen
A president for Yemen, no a president for the government
We announce our peaceful support to the quiet (literal translation of presidential candidate Hadi's name) and peaceful person
Only me and the rest are cats
Wish me luck in the elections…Hadi
A graph posted in @KatieZimmerman‘s article in Critical Threats poses a very important question, if assuming Yemen does get rid of Saleh's rule with the so called election, how and will it ever get rid of the Saleh's dominating family network, who still in effect rule Yemen.
Check out the graphic (http://bit.ly/zYBD9P) in my new piece http://bit.ly/zN5DUZ on #Yemen. Thanks to @TeamPraescient
Saleh Family Network
She points out:
Saleh’s government rested on a patronage network built over the course of his three-decade rule that entrenched his family and close associates in top positions throughout the government and the military. Saleh’s reach extended throughout the state’s organs, making it nearly impossible to disentangle his patronage network from the actual state. In this respect, Saleh’s Yemen was much more like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq than like Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt, in which the military retained a considerable degree of autonomy.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: Noon Arabia


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Africa: African Arguments Online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African Arguments Online is a multi-blogging platform that covers contemporary African events and develops debates on themes that are important to an ever changing continent. The platform comprises 6 blogs: Making Sense of Sudan, African Politics Now!, Rethinking Zimbabwe, Business Africa, The Central Africa Forum and Diaspora Debate.
Each debate on the multi-blogging site consists of many individual arguments. The first contribution is commissioned from an expert on the theme. Responses are then invited and moderated by the editor.
African Arguments logo. Image courtesy of www.africanarguments.org/
African Arguments Online About page says:
Africa has long been the locus and the focus for the most impassioned and intellectually-informed debate. But for many years, specialist Africa coverage in the world’s media has been in decline, alongside the withering of many African journals and magazines that used to provide a forum for debate and opinion. African news and views have moved to the web, but there has been no comparable Africa-wide movement which provides in-depth analysis and debate of the issues and controversies that animate the continent today. With African Arguments Online we intend to fill this gap.
Let’s take a look at some of the latest arguments posted on the site. In “Making money in Somaliland: meeting Abdirashid Duale, CEO, Dahabshiil”, Magnus Taylor talks to Abdirashid Duale. Abdirashid Duale is CEO of Dahabshiil, which is one of the biggest international money transfer companies in the Horn of Africa.
Abdirashid Duale – CEO of Dahabshiil. Photo courtesy of www.africanarguments.org/
Dahabshiil is an example of how the entrepreneurial strata in Somali society has survived the country’s long-running upheaval. It combines diaspora expertise and money with a particularly strong desire to support communities back home, and in doing so to make a healthy profit in an underdeveloped business environment. Duale tells me that the diaspora are the biggest source of investment in Somalia where, particularly in the more stable regions, the housing and construction sectors are booming. Flights back to Hargeisa, and even to Mogadishu, are frequently booked out, as diasporans, and globe-trotting Somali businessmen fly in to visit extended families and check up on their investments – not the image we normally get of the country.
William Townsend reflects on the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo:
‘Congo is on the move, but where is it going?’ asked Dr Theodore Trefon (author of the African Arguments book Congo Masquerade) at an international conference, hosted by the Royal African Society in London earlier this week. It was hoped that the historic presidential poll conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last November, only the second since six years civil conflict came to an end in 2003, would consolidate plurality and herald a new era of political accountability. Instead, Kris Berwouts (until recently, the Director of the Belgium-based European Network for Central Africa) described the unfolding political picture as one of growing uncertainty and pervasive insecurity, limiting opportunities for the Congo’s vibrant civil society to take root and flourish.
Writing about post-civil war politics in Angola, Keith Somerville wonders whether UNITA is sinking after one of its leading member, Abel Chivukuvuku, decided to defect:
Abel Chivukuvuku Chivukuvuku, a former foreign secretary of UNITA. Photo courtesy of  www.africanarguments.org/
The desire of UNITA to rebuild itself and develop the support base to seriously threaten the hegemony of the MPLA will not be furthered by the decision of a leading member, Abel Chivukuvuku, to leave and make his own bid for political power, in opposition to the party that has been his home throughout his political career.  Chivukuvuku, a former foreign secretary of UNITA when it was a guerrilla movement led by Jonas Savimbi, now wants to run for office in a coalition with former members of the small PRS (Partido de Renovacao Social) party and the Democratic Block…
Jolyon Ford rethinks investor risk in contemporary Zimbabwe:
There is a limit to what one can read into visual impressions made during the Mining Indaba in Cape Town earlier this month….
The Zimbabwe country stand was notable mainly for the relatively large number of well-groomed delegates from the country’s Minerals Marketing Board. The stand however hardly appeared swamped with expressions of interest from conference delegates. Now, given the experiences of many farm, mine and business owners in Zimbabwe in the last decade — and continued political and mining policy uncertainty and potential volatility — it may seem unsurprising that conference attendees largely gave the stand a wide berth.
Still, the question remains whether current analysis tends to exaggerate the political risks of investing or operating in Zimbabwe.
Diaspora Debate is a forum for exciting, informed and vigorous debate on the issues engaging the African Diaspora in the United Kingdom and beyond.
The current debate question raised  by Dele Fantula  is: What’s Diaspora Got To Do With It?  The question has attracted reactions from Semhar Araia, Boko Inyundo and Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie.
Dele Fantula argues:
For a long while, Africa’s diaspora have been a trump card afro-optimists have wielded against the pessimists despairing about the future of the continent.  Rather than a symptom of a ‘brain drain’, they saw in this large pool of skilled professionals the brightest and best of Africa, who fled the detritus of the failed states of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and became the vanguard that would transform said basket cases into shining examples of functioning market democracies. So it’s somewhat contrary popular perception to find that the current stability and prosperity in Africa’s nations has had little to [do] with the diaspora.
"Members of the African diaspora in China. Photo courtesy of www.africanarguments.org/
He asks:
So why the faith in a group of people who by and large fled the continent when it was most in need, and returned when it least needs them? Where exactly has the diaspora shown itself to be a glorious knight in shining armor? Are we investing a little too much in this myth about ourselves and too little in the future – most crucially, in the skills and capacity of Africans on the ground?
Semhar responds to Dele's post by pointing out shortcomings in his arguments:
…it’s worth noting that Fatunla fails to define who exactly the diaspora is within the context of his analysis.  It is overly simplistic and dangerous to suggest they are “a group of people who by and large fled the continent when it was most in need, and returned when it least needs them”. The diaspora must be disaggregated into its many parts and identify what contributions they actually are providing.
…..
The other shortcoming with What’s Diaspora Got to Do With It is that it falls completely short on recognizing the diaspora’s added value – which is far beyond economic remittances and sporadic tourism.  Even though remittances continue to be the largest form of diaspora contributions, amounting to roughly $40 billion a year to support livelihoods and development, it is not the only form of significant deliverables from diaspora.
Chukwu-Emeka notes that most diaspora returnees are ill-equipped to drive change in Africa:
But few of the diaspora returnees will drive change in African countries. For the most part, they will be ill equipped to do so. Think about it. Many will have spent a considerable part of their career in the lower, middle, and senior ranks of their respective occupations. For those who have worked in western developed countries (and some emerging economies), these ranks are typically well defined and structured, and operate in the context of stable institutions, an enabling ecosystem of support, and adequate soft and hard infrastructure.
African Arguments Online is hosted by the Royal African Society and the Social Science Research Council.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Angola: Anti-Corruption Initiative Urges CNN to Refuse Advertising Deal · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Maka, a website that monitors corruption in Angola, launched an online campaign petitioning CNN International to stop accepting advertisement from the government of President Dos Santos. The presidential budget for 2012 allocates about US$17 million for promoting a positive image of Angola on CNN International, through a company run by the Dos Santos family. CNN has issued a response.

author: Sara Moreira


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Barbados: Blogging Types  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground says that “there are basically five types of bloggers, the political blogger, the philosophical blogger, the religious blogger, the light hearted blogger and the blogger extraordinaire.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bolivia: A Book on the Indigenous March in Defense of the TIPNIS · Global Voices
Pablo Andres Rivero

A book gathering a detailed recount of the indigenous march in defense of the Indigenous Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure (TIPNIS for its initials in Spanish) has been published in a digital format. Fundación Tierra [es] edited the book, titled “Indigenous March for the TIPNIS: The Struggle in defense of the territories,” and it is available as a free download [es] in its website.

author: Pablo Andres Rivero


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Curacao:  Media War?   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In the information era we live in and social media revolutionizing the way we siphon written truths it’s still a sad thing that letters to the editor are not popular in Papiamentu newspapers”: TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA thinks that “Papiamentu newspapers needs to step their political and overall report game up.”


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Egypt: One year after the revolution, 10% of its Social Media Documentation is already gone · Global Voices
Bernardo Parrella

One year after the Egyptian revolution, 10% of its Social Media Documentation is already gone. An article on US magazine The Atlantic explains how this is happening, quoting  a study conducted by a phD student in computer science and Web preservation at Old Dominion University. “Twitter gives us a new version of ‘the first rough draft of history.’ But tweets are fragile things.”

author: Bernardo Parrella


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Global: Vigils in Solidarity with Tibetans · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Since early February 2012, a series of global vigils have taken place in all over the world to express solidarity with Tibetans, following a call from Kalong Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay. As February 22 is the Tibetan New Year, activists are calling for another round of solidarity action.
Lobsang Sangay's statement can be found in YouTube and below is part of the transcript of the English version:
A map on global vigils in solidarity with Tibetans on February 8, 2012.
Ever since the invasion of Tibet, the Chinese government has claimed that it seeks to create a socialist paradise. However, basic human rights are being denied to Tibetans, the fragile environment is being destroyed, Tibetan language and culture is being assimilated, portraits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama are banned, and Tibetans are being economically marginalized. Tibet is in virtual lockdown. Foreigners have been barred from travelling to Tibet now and the entire region is essentially under undeclared martial law.
I urge the Chinese leadership to heed the cries of the Tibetan protestors and those who have committed self-immolation. You will never address the genuine grievances of Tibetans and restore stability in Tibet through violence and killing. The only way to resolve the Tibet issue and bring about lasting peace is by respecting the rights of the Tibetan people and through dialogue. As someone deeply committed to peaceful dialogue, the use of violence against Tibetans is unacceptable and must be strongly condemned by all people in China and around the world.
I call on the international community to show solidarity and to raise your voices in support of the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people at this critical time. I request that the international community and the United Nations send a fact-finding delegation to Tibet and that the world media be given access to the region as well. The leaders in Beijing must know that killing its own “family members” is in clear violation of international and Chinese laws, and such actions will cast further doubts on China's moral legitimacy and their standing in world affairs.
During Chinese Vice President Xi Jingping's visit to the United States last week, Tibetan activists greeted Xi and the group of organized supporters with stories about human rights conditions in China.
Below is a YouTube video taken on February 15 in Muscatine, Iowa:
As the Tibetan New Year is approaching, a number of Hong Kong activists have organized a candle night vigil [zh] outside the China Government Liaison Office to mourn for those Tibetans who have self-immolated to call for a free Tibet. In addition, more than 240 have signed up for a Butter Lamp Pray event* to express their solidarity with Tibetans:
In Tibet, from 27 Feb 2009 to 19 Feb 2012, 23 Tibetans have self-immolated to protest for a free Tibet and the return of The Dalai Lama. 15 of them had lost their lives. Under the repressive circumstance in Tibet, self-immolation is an ultimate act of nonviolence demonstration. Tibet question seems so far away from us, but as a human being, it doesn’t mean that we can do nothing. At least, we should pray for the death.
One of the spiritual practices among Tibetan Buddhists is to offer a lighted butter lamp that represents the illumination of wisdom and to purify bad Karma. Following their belief, we shall also light for the Tibetans who have self-immolated and pray for Tibet.
* Disclosure: the writer has been added as a host of the Butter Lamp Pray Facebook event.
Thumbnail and featured image shows annual Tibet Freedom March in central London, UK, by sinister pictures, copyright Demotix (12/03/11).


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Guatemala: Looking to Georgia for a Lesson on Fighting Corruption · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Blogger Luis Figueroa [es] wonders if Guatemala could benefit from following Georgia's example in fighting corruption.


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Haiti: Online Reaction to the Duvalier Decision  · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

At the end of January 2012, the investigative magistrate looking into human rights charges against Haiti's ousted dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, came to the decision that “the statute of limitations had run out” on those human rights abuses – but apparently not on Duvalier's misappropriation of public funds.
Haitians, both on the island and throughout the diaspora, have had to watch as the greater charges against the formerly feared dictator fall away and he heads to court for what may turn out to be a slap on the wrist for financial impropriety. Amnesty International, which presented evidence of the human rights violations committed under Jean-Claude Duvalier's reign, cried foul over the verdict. Bloggers were as equally unforgiving.
One of the most riveting accounts of Haitians’ reaction to the Duvalier decision has been on flickr, where in a photoset entitled “Protesting Duvalier Decision”, Etant Dupain told the story in photos – and added some informed commentary that gives valuable context to the situation:
A Country Without Justice is a Car Without Headlights, Haitians Protest Controversial Decision on Duvalier
On February 7, 2012 dozens of Haitians gathered in front of the Ministry of Justice in a demonstration organized by several civil society organizations to call for justice in the case of Jean-Claude Duvalier. After thirty years of the dictatorial rule of the Duvalier family, an era marked by oppression, massive human rights abuses, murders, disappearances and total violation of Haitians’ fundamental human rights, a popular rebellion forced J.C. Duvalier to flee to country on February 7, 1987 – 25 years ago. Last week a judge made the controversial decision to not prosecute Duvalier for his crimes against humanity. This decision is now in an appeals process in Haiti and under scrutiny from human rights organizations and the international community.
HAITI Land of Freedom saw the judge's decision as a blatant denial of Duvalier's crimes against humanity, and noted that:
Human rights groups criticized the decision and qualified it as unfair and politically motivated.
The blogger also drew attention to the fact that:
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay was disappointed after learning about the decision. Pillay asked the Haitian officials to guarantee that the former dictator is prosecuted for international crimes.
War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity Have No Remedy
This report [fr] from Haiti Press Network, gave a clearer idea of the impact that those crimes have had on the Haitian people:
Nous les survivants et survivantes de la dictature Duvalier qui avons payé très cher ce droit collectif à la liberté d’expression et d’association, dont nous jouissons tous aujourd’hui. Nous qui nous sommes trop longtemps tus, voulant oublier des blessures, complices involontaires de l’impunité, nous disons aujourd’hui c’est assez, lit-on dans un document distribué à la presse.
Juger Duvalier et ses sbires, poursuit-on, pour les meurtres, les tortures et les exécutions commis alors qu’il était chef suprême du pays, de son armée et de ses milices, est la seule garantie que demain, ces libertés et nos droits fondamentaux seront respectés par ceux qui prétendent nous gouverner.
We, the survivors of the dictatorship of Duvalier, who have paid a very high price for this collective right to freedom of expression and association which we enjoy today. We who, too many times, stay silent trying to forget the injuries, involuntary accomplices of impunity, today we say stop […]
Judging Duvalier and his henchmen for the murders, the tortures and the executions committed when he was the supreme chief of the country, of its army and of its soldiers, is the unique guarantee that tomorrow this freedom and our rights will be respected by those who pretend to govern us.
Justice for the 30,000 Victims of Duvalier; He must Be Judged
The decision has stirred up such controversy that there's even an open Facebook discussion group [fr] about it, called “Justice pour les victimes de Jean Claude Duvalier” (“Justice for the victims of Jean-Claude Duvalier”). Twitter was also an active discussion forum; some people showed the virtual middle finger to the former dictator, while others questioned the level of accountability in Haiti.
Interestingly, @RPrestonT tweeted:
@durandis: In my opinion, Haitians no longer view #Duvalier as the biggest problem since the others that followed did same or worse
Of course, the former dictator has also been tweeting his perspective, here.
The Justice System Must Arrest, Judge & Condemn Jean Claude Duvalier, Criminal
Diaspora blogger Elsie was upset over the decision [fr]:
Soit exactement 26 ans que le peuple haïtien se démène tout seul pour se libérer de la politique indigne, violente et méprisable de l'extrême-droite et des duvaliéiristes.
She also posted a video that shows…
Des militaires qui se mettent gratuitement à donner des coups de baton, à une femme habillée en blanc. Une femme sans défense dont le seul tort est de marcher dans la rue à ce moment là.
…prompting her to ask:
Qui a dit que le crime ne payait pas?
Elsie also wrote a post [cr] questioning the Martelly/Duvalier connection:
Ayisyen aletranje mèt pare kor yo pou yo pran plis bafl pi devan si yo pa fè makaj sere sou tandem Sweet Michey-Baby Doc sa a…komanse poze tèt nou si se pa Jean-Claude Duvalier k'ap dirije Ayiti par lentèmedyè Sweet Mickey.
Haitian Protesters tell Martelly: Stop Tolerating Criminals in the Country, Duvalier Must be Judged
Dying in Haiti published a post by Amy Wilentz that also examined those political links…
Since his return in 2011 from a 25-year exile, Mr. Duvalier — Baby Doc — has managed to insert himself into semi-polite society, even finagling a seat near the new president, Michel Martelly, at the memorial ceremony for the victims of the 2010 earthquake. The president has filled many positions in his government with former Duvalier officials and their relatives. In short, he is rehabilitating Mr. Duvalier — and along with him, the extrajudicial code he and his father, François Duvalier, governed by. Last month, Mr. Martelly proposed a blanket pardon of Baby Doc — who has been accused of corruption and human rights abuses — telling The Associated Press, ‘I do believe that we need that reconciliation in Haiti.’
…and drew the conclusion that:
Mr. Duvalier must be prosecuted for his crimes against humanity. If they are dismissed, it will send a cheering message to past and future perpetrators of similar abuses. If he is tried and convicted, those who have relied upon impunity will know that they, too, risk a turn in the dock.
In the midst of all this legal uncertainly, one thing is for sure: bloggers will continue to keep a close eye on the appeals that are sure to follow this controversial verdict.

author: Flora Thomas


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Jamaica: Gang Culture  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac attends a symposium on gang violence in the Caribbean and comes to the conclusion that “white-collar crime is no better or worse than street crimes.”


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Nicaragua: Discovering ‘1001 Tropics’ with Blogger Mildred Largaespada · Global Voices
Silvia Vinas

In the same way Scheherazade tells her stories, I am going to tell the thousand and one, sometimes interlinking, stories that emerge and that interest me, using the tools of journalism.
This is how Mildred Largaespada introduces [es] her blog 1001 trópicos [es], which will turn one year old this week, on February 9, 2012. The well-known blogger and journalist was interviewed recently by Conexiones.com.ni [es] about being the first Nicaraguan woman to participate in the Premios 20Blogs [es] blog competition run by the digital newspaper 20minutos.es.
Mildred explains the context of this interview in her blog [es].
Esta entrevista me la hicieron porque apunté al blog en el concurso Premios 20Blogs VI edición del diario digital 20minutos.es y Angélica Fajardo, la periodista de Conexiones.com, me hizo varias preguntas relacionadas al quehacer del blog, al trabajo como bloguera. Son preguntas que la gente me hace porque se muestran interesadas en el fenómeno de cómo ciudadanas comunes y corrientes abren un espacio para expresarse.
En la entrevista contesto varias de las preguntas. Interrogantes parecidas me hicieron para ser parte del corpus de la extraordinaria (por buenísima) tesina La blogosfera literaria nicaragüense, cuyo autor Martín Mulligan, es también bloguero y escritor, y su blog Jugados de cegua tengo enlazado aquí abajo.
They did this interview with me because I submitted the blog to the digital newspaper 20minutos.es Premios 20Blogs VI edición [es] competition. The Conexiones.com [es] journalist Angélica Fajardo asked me various questions about the blog and working as a blogger. They are question that people ask me because they show an interest in the phenomenon of how ordinary citizens open spaces to express themselves.
In the interview I answer several of the questions. I was asked similar questions as part of the extraodinary and excellent thesis La blogosfera literaria nicaragüense (The Nicaraguan Literary Blogopshere), whose author Martín Mulligan is also a blogger and writer. I have linked to his blog (Jugados de cegua [es]) below.
You can watch this video subtitled into English at Universal Subtitles.
Mildred adds five questions to the interview, amplifying the discussion about her blog, the competition and what it is like to run a blog like hers:
¿Para qué abrir un blog? No tengo una respuesta clara a esta pregunta, y sólo se me ocurre decir: por puras ganas de comunicar “algo”. En mi caso, era la necesidad de comunicar asuntos que no miraba que atraían el interés de los medios de comunicación tradicionales y que consideraba importantes como noticia, es decir, como algo que está ocurriendo. Con un blog tenés una agenda periodística propia.
¿Para qué apunté al blog al concurso? Mi obligación como bloguera es promover al blog porque a su vez promuevo a la comunidad que apoya al blog. Es decir, todas las lectoras y los lectores del blog son un tipo de gente que encuentra algo en los textos y artículos, se identifican con los temas e interactúan intensamente. De modo que el blog en sí mismo no tiene vida sin esa gente. Esa interacción se aprecia en mi perfil personal en Facebook, aunque en enero de este año ya le abrí una página en esa red social al blog.
Mildred Largaespada. Image used with permission.
¿Cosas feas que genera tener un blog? El blog 1001 trópicos sólo me ha generado satisfacciones inmensas. Pero tengo que decir que también me ha generado un fenómeno feo: las amenazas. Cuando escribo artículos sobre política nicaragüense y le hago una crítica al gobierno de Ortega los amenazadores empiezan a funcionar. Se lo conté sin querer contárselo a la periodista de Conexiones.com. Quienes escriben las amenazas no quieren que yo siga respirando aire puro en la faz de la tierra. Sólo quieren el aire para ellos. Pero las intimidaciones no han dado frutos, porque aquí seguimos.
¿Por qué este blog a veces se expresa en inglés? Porque en Nicaragua se habla español e inglés, y miskito, sumo y rama, y náhuatl. Uno de los intereses de este blog es reconocer que esa realidad existe en el país. Y sigo esperando el día en que los medios de comunicación tradicionales inauguren sus ediciones en inglés para todo el caribe nicaragüense. Además, el blog tiene lectoras y lectores allá. Y porque estoy aprendiendo miskito y náhuatl.
¿Qué podemos esperar de la participación en el concurso? Desde el principio todo ha ido bien: las lectoras y los lectores han comentado sus ideas sobre el blog y hemos estado en el top ten de la categoría de Actualidad durante todas las semanas, eso significa apoyos e identificación con los temas que se abordan en el blog. La participación del blog 1001 trópicos es parte del movimiento bloguero que se vive en Nicaragua y El Salvador. En Nicaragua es donde está más fuerte el blogging y están participando buenísimas bitácoras. Esa es la idea: participar en todos los eventos para llevar los temas que se abordan en los blogs para la mayor difusión.
Mildred belongs to an active community of Nicaraguan bloggers who use the internet and citizen media to communicate, inform and share their ideas. In September 2011 they organised a Blog Carnival, with the support of Global Voices in Spanish, about migration. To find more Nicaraguan blogs you can visit the Nicaraguan Blog Carnival blog [es] that includes a list of the blogs [es] that took part in the festival, including Mildred's 1001 trópicos.

author: Silvia Vinas


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Pakistan: Caution For Social Media Activists · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pakistan Blogzine informs that a notice has been published by a leading Shia activist forum to warn Shia and other human rights activists to be aware of impostors who are reportedly monitoring internet to identify and potentially harm social media activists.


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Peru: New Racism Incident Ignites Debate on Social Networks  · Global Voices
Isabel Guerra

[All links lead to Spanish language pages except when otherwise noted]
A movie theater in Lima [en] was once again the scene of a case that public opinion rapidly categorized as another example of the ongoing problem of racism in Peru: a 13-year-old boy uttered racist insults at a couple who had asked him and his friends, who were kicking up a fuss, to be quiet.
A popular daily newspaper in Lima reported the facts. According to the victim and other witnesses, once he was reprimanded by the aforementioned couple, the young boy insulted the man, calling him a “serrano de mierda” [note: “serrano de mierda” is an insult used against Peruvians with dark skin or indigenous features] then did the same to his wife. Outraged, the woman slapped the boy, who responded with a punch; when her husband saw this, he also became angry and hit the boy.
With racism a wound that refuses to heal in Peru, public outcry has not been as focused on the physical beating that the boy endured as much as it has been on the fact that the boy dared to throw around racist remarks as well as insult and openly defy a pair of adults.
Rolando explained, in his blog El áureo clarín del verbo, why the greater percentage of public opinion has not sided with the boy who was hit with punches, but instead with those who were hit with foul words:
Si a un peruano se le “cholea” tengamos por seguro que muchos otros peruanos -salvando sus diferencias de credo, ideología política o preferencia futbolística- se unirán para respaldarlo y dar la defensiva (u ofensiva para tal caso)… Se toca una herida que hasta el día de hoy parece no cicatrizar, comprobándose con ello que en las manifestaciones de racismo o de discriminación por el mismo tenemos nuestro más expuesto talón de Aquiles.
Effectively, the majority of the commentary among social networks has deemed the reaction of the insulted adults to be justified, just as Twitter users Gilda Leya (@diaz_gilda) and Lorena Flores Agüero (@lorenaflag) said.
Aguirre was quickly singled out on social networks not only for not questioning her son's behavior nor the racist insults he flung around, but also for defending him with arguments such as that her son was “misbehaving like any other boy of his age,” and because rather than apologizing for the bad behavior of her son, she instead affirmed that she would not respond to the assault because “I am not going to stoop to his level.”
To this, @The_Gunman commented on Twitter:
“Mi hijo hace palomilladas [“travesuras”] y se porta mal como cualquier chico de su edad” A quien deberían dar una tunda x mala madre es a Celine Aguirre
From this point others questioned Aguirre as a mother, just as Twitter users Paul Senepo (@paulsenepo) and Madferit Limeño (@MrKubrick29) have done.
The boy's family has fed the anger and resentment on social networks without realizing it by refusing to offer an apology for his conduct as well as by reaffirming their willingness to pursue legal action against those that hit him.
On this particular topic Twitter users such as Diego Saavedra (@Dieg0_s26) opined:
One of the few posts among the social networks that centered on the fact that it was a child who was hit was by Verónica Cervantes, on Facebook:
AQUI NO SE TRATA DE QUIEN ES HIJO, POR DIOS QUE LES PASA! PUDO SER HIJO DE CUALQUIER PERUANO, INCLUSO DE ALGUNOS DE UDS. QUE EL NIñO ES UN MALCRIADO, LO ES. PERO NADIE TIENE DERECHO A GOLPEAR, YO NO PUEDO CREER COMO MUCHOS PERIODISTAS APOYAN A ESTE PAR DE ABUSIVOS , CLARO AMBOS PERIODISTAS NO TIENEN NI IDEA DE LO QUE ES TENER UN HIJO, SINO SU PUNTO DE VISTA SERIA OTRO. LA UNICA DIFERENCIA DE SER HIJO DE ARTISTAS ES QUE TIENEN EL DINERO PARA PAGAR A UN BUEN ABOGADO Y SOLICITAR QUE EL JUEZ CASTIGUE ESTE ACTO DE VIOLENCIA Y LA DISCULPA DEL RACISMO, PARA MI NO CUENTA, NO SABIA QUE AHORA POR DECIR SERRANO TE MERECES UNOS BUENOS GOLPES, ESOS SON COMPLEJOS TONTOS. NADIE ABSOLUTAMENTE NADIE PUEDE GOLPEAR A UN NIñO AJENO Y ESO TIENEN QUE APRENDER ESE PAR DE BESTIAS HUMANAS.
Peruvian actor Christian Meier (@oliverdog), the boy's uncle, took the opportunity to comment about how his ex-family is dealing with the incident:
The blog La promesa de una vida peruana touched on the thorny topic of the relationship between racism and social inequality on every level in Peru:
Para las hermanas Celine y Marisol Aguirre… la justicia no existe para los “serranos hijos de puta” a quienes sus hijos suelen insultar y golpear en los cines. Tal vez tengan razón. ¿Cuántos delincuentes de medio pelo hay en las cárceles y cuántos delincuentes de cuello y corbata están gozando de detención domiciliaria?
Laura Arroyo Gárate reflected on the news blog Spacio Libre about the polarization that this has created:
…me sorprende la incapacidad de ambos involucrados para admitir que hicieron algo mal. La madre del adolescente agredido no ha mencionado en ningún momento que el comentario de su hijo, o sus actitudes (incluidas las de su grupo de amigos) fueron erradas. Del mismo modo, me sorprende que ninguno de los dos personajes que iniciaron los golpes afirmaran que estuvo mal caer en eso y lo justifiquen diciendo que no sabían que eran adolescentes… el racismo es uno de los peores males vigentes en el país, pero también lo es la justificación de la violencia.”
And Gustavo Faverón also reflected on his blog about how this incidence of racism has generated such commotion when thousands of similar cases happen in Peru everyday:
Si los peruanos pensaran que todo acto racista es igualmente repudiable, entonces entre los trending topics del Twitter no estaría el nombre #CelineAguirre; estaría la palabra #racismo, y no estaría por dos días: estaría todo el tiempo, todos los días, y el tema sería discutido y debatido en los muros de Facebook los trescientos sesenta y cinco días del año, no un par de días sí y sesenta días no, hasta el siguiente micro-escándalo, y los programas de televisión tendrían que hablar de ello todo el tiempo (…)
At the moment this post was published, the incident was just parodied on a television comedy program in Peru, to the delight of social network users, and the Facebook page “You are more racist than Celine Aguirre's son” published a photo allegedly of the boy.
The family's lawyer has announced that the family will seek legal action against the couple who responded to the racist remarks with punches, so it can be supposed that this issue will be around for a while.

author: Isabel Guerra


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Southeast Asia’s Three-Wheeled Vehicles · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Tuktuk, Beca, Kuliglig, Trishaw, Pedicab, Becak, Tricycle. These are the famous three-wheeled vehicles common in the Southeast Asian region. They can be seen in the streets of urban centers, but governments are trying to ban these ubiquitous pedicabs and motorized rickshaws in major throughfares.
Tuktuk outfitted with anti-bag snatching netting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo from Casey Nelson
Cow in Tuktuk in Kampot, Camdodia. Photo from Tales from an Expat
Tuktuk protective gear during rains. Photo from Flickr page of anuradhac used under CC License
Tuktuk in Thailand. Photo from Flickr page of Blue Funnies used under CC License
Tuktuk in Laos. Photo from Flickr page of Luluk used under CC License
Kuliglig or motorized pedicabs in Manila. Photo from Flickr page of gino.mempin used under CC License
Manila City government wants Kuligligs removed from the streets. Photo from the Flickr page of Siopao Master used under CC License
Tricycle in Dumaguete, Philippines. Photo by author
Engineered trike to adopt to the hilly terrain of Pagadian, Philippines. Photo by author
E-Tuktuks whose spare parts were made in Thailand will arrive in Europe soon. Meanwhile, E-Trikes were launched last year in the Philippines. They use lithium ion batteries, commonly used in laptop computers and mobile phones. Below is an E-Trike in Davao City in southern Philippines which is being promoted to reduce use of fossil fuels:
Photo by Karlos Manlupig
Jan Shim rode a Beca or rickshaw when he toured Penang, Malaysia:
THERE are many ways to see Penang, and one of the more interesting manners would be on a trishaw. Also known locally as the beca or rickshaw, it is a quaint mode of transport that ferries passengers through the streets of Penang at a leisurely pace. In Malaysia, pedestrian-pulled rickshaws were gradually replaced by cycle rickshaws (beca in Malay). Cycle rickshaws were ubiquitous up to the 1970s in cities. Since then, rapid urbanization has increased demand for more efficient public transport, resulting in dwindling cycle rickshaw numbers. Today, cycle rickshaws are operated mostly as a tourist attraction, with small numbers operating in Malacca, Penang, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Becak in Indonesia. Photo from Flickr page of Original Nomad used under CC License
M-Explorer writes about the Pedicab Siantar, an antique motorcycle in the city of Siantar in Indonesia. Edwin describes the unique pedicab designs in Indonesia. Enchanting Eden notes that Becaks are being replaced by modern vehicles:
Becaks are fast becoming a rare breed, as City Governments across the Archipelago ban them for their antiquated and inhumane nature, replacing them with motorized versions trikes similar to Thailand’s tuk -tuks. It’s ironic to think that while this is happening in Indonesia, the rest of the world, especially in the progressive countries who are pursuing anything labelled “green alternative everything” are re-introducing pedicabs in one form or another.

author: Mong Palatino


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Spain: Crackdown Against Students Continues in Valencia · Global Voices
Chris Moya

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
Just a few days after the brutal police crackdown at the Luis Vives Institute of Secondary Education in Valencia, students have again been the target of beatings, pushing and violence from the police at a pacific protest in which they were, precisely, demonstrating against police violence. This time, the crackdown started on the afternoon with unexpected force.
The chief of Valencia Police himself has referred to the protesters as “the enemy“, even though they are youngsters from 12 to 17 years, all secondary school students.
Reactions from #15M social movements were quick to denounce the crackdowns against minors and ask for an investigation and for the  political and police leaders to immediately stop the repression of minors and the participants of the pacific gatherings.

author: Chris Moya


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Trinidad & Tobago: Bloggers Make Mas · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today is Carnival Tuesday in Trinidad and Tobago and though most bloggers are taking part in the festivities, a few of them have managed to post atypical photos of their 2012 Carnival experience…
At the Drop of a Heartbeat posts pictures of some of the lead-up events to Carnival Monday and Tuesday:
The steelband "Birdsong" at the Panorama Semi-Finals
“Mother of Humanity”, from the band “Sanctification”, Kings & Queens of Carnival Preliminaries
Another costume at the Kings and Queens of Carnival Preliminary Competition
Globewriter is playing mas for the first time in about ten years and says that:
K2K [the band he's masquerading with] was worth the wait. Incredible vibe, beautiful costumes…
Globewriter at the Queens Park Savannah, Carnival Monday
Globewriter's friend poses with a masquerader from the K2K Carnival band
Nicholas Laughlin, who blogs here, also posted lots of photos to flickr – the name of his band‘s 2012 presentation is “Fowl Party”, a takeoff on the local expression “Cockroach have no place in fowl party”.  The saying is intended as a warning to social climbers not to show up in places where they are not welcome, but in the band's presentation, it puts on the cloak of social and political commentary.
Yard Fowl silhouette, at the mas camp
A cockroach in the "Fowl Party"
Masqueraders with their placards, just after passing the Adam Smith Square judging point
The band crosses the Queen's Park Savannah stage, Carnival Monday
Masquerader in a Blue Devil Band, Carnival Monday
Finally, commentary on the way in which photography and its record of Carnival has contributed to the festival's degeneration comes from Mark Lyndersay, a blogger and veteran Carnival photographer:
This is Carnival as an aggregate of cocked hips, hands lofted to the skies and ecstatic smiles. It’s a warm and inviting image that describes friendship, joy and a wanton Caribbean party and it’s all become one picture.
The disappearance of a considered visual interpretation of the event has fundamentally shifted the self-image we have of the event, its value systems and the way it is recorded and presented.
Today’s hastily produced and printed, disposable aggregates of wining posses only reinforce the displacement of portrayal by party hearty and engagement with empty enthusiasm.
Until we change this narrative by taking different photographs, telling different stories, shooting different footage, the massive legacy of Carnival creativity will keep shrinking to fit commercial concerns and limited preconceptions.
Today, if you chance to be in the mas, cast an eye on the hundreds of tiny interactions between players and photographers, it is there that the Carnival of record is being captured and our mas is snapshot to death.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Fun!  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Afrobella wishes everyone a fun Carnival!


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Argentina: Train Crash Leaves At Least 49 Dead, Hundreds Injured · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

A commuter train crashed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, leaving at least 49 dead and hundreds injured according to the latest reports. Netizens are using the hashtags #Sarmiento [es], #Once [es] and #TBA [es] to tweet about the crash.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Armenia: Activists #Occupy Yerevan Park · Global Voices
Liana Aghajanian

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.
Green spaces in Armenia continue to dwindle at an alarming rate, but a small yet dedicated group of environmental activists has also grown in recent years. Now, after launching campaigns for the country's endangered Teghut Forest, saving the Trchkan waterfall from destruction, and confronting officials over the sale of land to copper companies, the group has moved its fight to the capital, Yerevan.
After the municipality authorized the erection of shops in Mashtots Park, one of the city's last remaining green spaces, the activists have for almost two weeks taken part in their own ‘Occupy’ movement, which received widespread coverage last year when it spread to over 95 cities in 92 countries. Evicted last week from occupying the construction site, more than 100 of the environmental activists broke through a police cordon to demand a reversal of the decision to build in a public park.
The activists stayed until sundown in almost freezing temperatures with some such as @asenqte tweeting several photos of the scene.
Activists in Yerevan Park. Image posted by @asenqte
The hashtag ‘#OccupyMashtotsPark‘ was also spread on Twitter before Monday night's action and used by Armenian news outlets and individual journalists as well as bloggers and activists [hy]:
@vtaang: ով ա գալիս գնանք Մաշտոցի այգի? հիմի, դուրս եմ գալիս տանից… #OccupyMashtotsPark
@vtaang: ես գնացի, ժող. ջան միացեք, էս քաղաքը առանց են էլ լրիվ կանաչազրկվել է, իրոքից ինչ կմտածեն ու ինչ կշնչեն ապագա սերունդները OccupyMashtotsPark
Livestreams also appeared online:
@Kornelij: Live from #Yerevan mayor http://www.livestream.com/savemashtotspark #OccupyMashtotsPark
@Kornelij: One more channel from #Mashtots bambuser.com/v/2383669 #OccupyMashtotsPark
Videos were uploaded by citizen journalists with one by Epress showing students from the Yerevan State Linguistic University in action chanting with activists and carrying signs:
Another uploaded by environmental news agency EcoLur features popular artists and musicians voicing support for the activists and condemning the city's decision to construct the shops:
Caricaturist Vrej Kassouny, whose work has depicted the environmental struggle in the small South Caucasus country before, posted a video of the creation of his illustration, Green Mashtots, (featured below) on his Facebook fan page. It depicts the statue of the park's namesake, creator of the Armenian alphabet Mesrop Mashtots, flanked by high end brand boutiques.
PanARMENIAN.Net / Vrej Kassouny
Some of the activism was initiated by the ‘Մե՛նք ենք այս քաղաքի տերը’ (We are the owners of this city) Facebook group [hy], which has over 4,000 members and advocates for the protection of green spaces. Activists posted their thoughts, sharing videos, photos and links to news stories about the occupation.
Among the photos posted, group member Hovhannes Sargsyan shared one of dozens of protesters entering the construction site:
Some like Facebook user Arpine Zargaryan also used the group as a forum to post a statement on the intent of the struggle, which she stressed was purely environmental and not political, and asked that it be shared across social networks [hy]:
բոլոր այն մարդիկ, ովքեր թյուր, և պայքարի բուն թեմային կապ չունեցող լուրեր են տարածում, թող ԱՍՏՎԱԾԱՎԱԽ լինեն ու լռեն!!!
ՄԵԿԸՆԴՄԻՇՏ ՀԻՇԵՔ!!! ՄԱՇՏՈՑԻ ԱՅԳՈՒ պայքարը բնության, շնչող բայց անլեզու ծառերի, կանաչ Երևանի, մաքուր քաղաքի և ԲԱՐՈՅԱԿԱՆ ԲՆԱՊԱՀՊԱՆՆԵՐԻ պայքար է ձեր ու ձեր զավակների համար
Outspoken environmental activist Mariam Sukhudyan also posted a message of support in the group from Norick Markosian, an Armenian Diasporan abroad:
TO THE BRAVE ACTIVISTS AND CITIZENS OF ARMENIA:
Since I am a Diaspora Armenian, I cannot be there physically to participate in the protest that has been going on in the Mashtots Park for a while. Believe me when I say, I have been going to sleep, and awaken with every single one of you in my mind. Your individual faces are vividly in front of my eyes at every moment. My biggest wish is to have the… opportunity to meet every one of you, shake your hand, and give you the biggest hug that I can. With your un relentless protest and iron will you are demonstrating that all hope is not lost. You are proving that, although our country is run by bunch of money hungry thugs, but there are still people left who have not lost the human side of their character. You are proving that there are people who care for the land that belongs to us, not to them. I hope that your persistent struggle is the beginning of the end to this dark days of our history. YOUR GENERATION IS OUR HOPE, YOU ARE OUR TOMORROW. KEEP ON GOING, VICTORY WILL BE OURS.
Many believe the construction of shops are illegal and linked to oligarchs and other government-connected businessmen, a problem Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian vowed to end late last year. According to some media outlets, for example, the boutiques to be installed in the park are reportedly owned by the brother of the ex-mayor of Yerevan, Gagik Belgaryan. Reports also allege that parts of the park are owned by Armenian Minister of Health Harutyun Kushkyan and Migran Poghosyan, Chief of the Compulsory Enforcement Service.
In response to the outcry, Yerevan's Mayor Taron Margaryan issued a statement in which he welcomed the public's involvement and touted the construction as a temporary solution for shop owners whose places of business were removed from Abovyan Street in downtown Yerevan. However, that didn't prevent construction from resuming during evening of 20 February, continuing into the early morning to ensure that activists wouldn't be around to disrupt workers:
@unzippedblog: FB reports say building works in #Yerevan park restarted at night, with police presence,when no activist around #OccupyMashtotsPark #Armenia
CivilNetTV, the online broadcasting channel of the Yerevan-based Civilitas Foundation captured the news on video:
According to a Facebook event, Մաշտոցի այգի, օր 12-րդ (Mashtots Park: Day 12) [hy], protesters have vowed to press on from at the construction site with a full schedule that includes a guitar concert and a meeting with ethnographer Aghasi Tadevosyan. Police have also offered to hold a roundtable with civic groups to discuss the “legal grounds for the police actions” in the park.
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

author: Liana Aghajanian


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Brazil: Global Act “We Are All Pinheirinho” · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

A global act in solidarity with the population expelled from their homes at the Pinheirinho community has been called on Facebook for Thursday, February 23. The idea is to demonstrate in front of Brazilian consulates and embassies all over the world.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brazil: “Massacre of Pinheirinho”, One Month Later · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Blogger Giambatista Brito recalls [pt] the one month anniversary of the “Massacre of Pinheirinho“. On the morning of Sunday, January 22, 2012, thousands of families where expelled from their homes with violence by the military police, in the city of são José dos Campos, state of São Paulo, Brazil.


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Brazil: Quilombo Community in Bahia About to Be Evicted · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

One of the oldest slave descendent communities in Brazil, Quilombo Rio dos Macacos, where around 50 families live, has a date for eviction: March 4, 2012. The claim for the land comes from the Navy of Brazil, that intends to broaden a condo for its officers in that territory, in the border area between Salvador and Simões Filho, state of Bahia.
Several social movements have demonstrated against [pt] the “flagrant disrespect for fundamental human rights”, motivated by what some describe as “institutional racism” [pt].
Among the community [pt] there are “people older than 100 years who were born in the same place where they have lived until now”, and who [pt] say that “they won't allow themselves to be evicted”.
In a short documentary published by the collective Bahia na Rede, members of the community complained [pt] “that [they] are trapped in the area whose access is controlled by the military, facing difficulties in coming in and going out, and suffering daily threats of eviction and aggression in an area which is recognized by the Palmares Foundation [a public institution linked to the Ministry of Culture that aims to promote and preserve the afro-brazilian culture] as quilombola's territory”:
sob regime de tensão e violência, aterrorizados: [os quilombolas] garantem que passam a noite acordados com medo de morrer (soldados passeiam à noite toda pelas suas roças) e têm medo de sair pois quando voltar poderão encontrar a casa derrubada. O acesso à comunidade é controlado pelo portão de entrada da Vila Militar, um condomínio de residências de sub-oficiais da Marinha; e os conflitos vêm, sobretudo, com a construção desta Vila, a partir de 1971. As famílias da área foram removidas e desalojadas. Hoje estão proibidas de plantar e sendo expulsas da área.
Land is a right
Descendants of original peoples from Africa who, during colonialism, were taken from their land to become slaves in Brazil, the Quilombolas now see themselves under threat of losing their homes again, despite their right to the land they inhabit enshrined in the constitution.
The representative of the Rural Workers’ Lawyers Association (AATR), Pedro Diamantino, in an “Act in support of the quilombola Rio dos Macacos community”, which took place on February 6, explained [pt] the legal framework:
o artigo 68 das disposições transitórias da CF [Constituição Federal] garante “aos remanescentes das comunidades dos quilombos que estejam ocupando suas terras” a propriedade definitiva, porém este artigo até hoje não foi regulamentado, o que gera instabilidade jurídica. A demarcação de terras quilombolas atualmente está lastreada no decreto federal 4887/2003, que é um instrumento jurídico insuficiente para garantir a posse definitiva da terra.
And the federal MP Luis Alberto added [pt] that:
tramitam na Câmara dos Deputados um projeto de emenda à Constituição Federal (CF) que pretende avocar para o poder legislativo a regularização das terras quilombolas – hoje à cargo da Fundação Palmares e do Incra – e outros projetos que pretendem anular todos os decretos em favor dos quilombos.
The lands occupied by the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos was donated by the city hall of Salvador to the Brazilian Navy in mid 1960. At the time, the existence of inhabitants was registered [pt] and the Navy was made responsible for any compensation that might arise from the transfer of land.
By the end of 2009, the Navy presented a proposal of eviction to the Justice. One year later, the Judge of the 10th Circuit Court of the Judicial Section of Bahia granted [pt] it; the eviction was scheduled for November 4, 2011 – exactly one month after the certificate of recognition of Rio dos Macacos as Quilombola Community was published on the Diário Oficial da União, from which a Self Recognition Certificate came out. The order of eviction ended up being postponed [pt] for 4 months by the Federal Justice, but until today March 4, 2012, remains as the date for expulsion.
We Are Quilombo Rio dos Macacos
The year started with a protest outside the wall that surrounds the Naval Base, and where President Dilma Rousseff was spending holidays. Tania Lobo published on Youtube a set of photos of the protest showing the signs held by the demonstrators, which read “Are you going to allow this President?”, “Navy wants to expel Quilombola Rio dos Macacos community”, “Community (…) asks for just, legal and immediate solution”, and “Navy forbids INCRA to enter the community Rio dos Macacos”.
Meanwhile, solidarity actions have multiplied, such as the collective declaration [pt] “Somos Quilombo Rio dos Macacos” (We Are Quilombo Rio dos Macacos), by several public figures, musicians, poets and activists from Bahia's movements.
A page on Facebook with the same name, as well as many blogs, have republished the community's manifesto, which demands for:
providências imediatas por parte da Presidenta da República e pelo Ministro da Defesa, pelo fim da violação dos direitos humanos, pelo garantia dos direitos quilombolas e pela imediata regularização fundiária do Território da Comunidade Quilombola Rio dos Macacos
The 2011 report on Quilombola's Land [pt], published by the Comissão Pró-Índio from São Paulo on February 15, reveals that during the first year of Dilma Rousseff's government, only one Quilombola Land was titrated by the federal government, and that “the score of quilombola lands titrated in Brazil has reached 110, which means that only 6% of the estimated 3000 quilombola communities in the country have the title of their land.”


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Cape Verde: Imagery from Carnival’s Celebrations · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

The Great Adventure of Cape Verde's blog has posted a series of photos and one short clip featuring Carnival's celebrations.


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China: Tibetan Matches · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A satirical cartoon on the self-immolation of Tibetans and the conflict situation in Tibet. By Gianfranco Uber at Cartoon Movement.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China, U.S.A: Reading between the lines of Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Media Project has translated prominent blogger Yang Hengjun's recent analysis of three statements made by China's future president, Xi Jinping, in his visit to the U.S.A.