text:
John Legend Tells Bahrain’s Peaceful Protesters: I Stand With You · Global Voices
Mohamed Hassan

“Thank you Bahrain! I enjoyed performing for you. Full text of my remarks during “Glory” can be found here: http://showmecampaign.org/news/”. Posted on John Legend's official Instagram account (@johnlegend) on Mar 2, 2015.
Despite some activists calling for John Legend to cancel his visit, because of Bahrain's deplorable human rights record, the award-winning American singer performed to a sold-out crowd of 2000 people at a cultural event hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain on Monday night.
Legend addressed critic concerns right before performing his award-winning song Glory from the film Selma. The film is based on the historic 1965 march in Alabama, led by American civil rights leader Martin Luther King. Legend said:
A just society is one built not on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love […] We continue to fight in America to move toward this just society and we pray the same for the people of Bahrain. And for those who stand for justice, accountability, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom to organize without fear of retribution, please know that I stand with you.
The concert at the historic open-air Arad Fort in the capital was “guarded by anti-riot police vehicles outside the entrance”.
Bahrain's “Spring of Culture” events are hosted by the government of Bahrain every year. According to an investigation commission set-up by the King, while the government has been hosting these events it is also responsible for destroying centuries-old cultural monuments in Bahrain.
In the past, artists like the famous Arab composer Marcel Khalifa have boycotted the Spring of Culture in protest of the killing of unarmed civilians in Bahrain.
The small island country of 1.3 million people has been witnessing a brutal crackdown following a popular uprising in 2011. Activists have been tortured, killed or imprisoned. The country's majority Shia population are being systematically repressed.
Two opposition members who participated in conversations with the government were arrested in the last two months. Dozens of Bahraini bloggers, journalists and opposition leaders have had their citizenship stripped.
Before arriving in Bahrain, John Legend published this statement:
Often, the best way to drive progress is to show up and participate in the conversation.
Part of my mission in life is to spread love and joy to people all over the world. I intend to do just that in Bahrain, regardless of my disagreements with some of their governments’ policies and actions
Many activists were skeptical whether Legend would even mention Bahrain on stage. Academic researcher and activist Ala'a Shehabi tweeted:
Who wd seriously put money down on @johnlegend speaking out against the violent abuse of his hosts today? Mic + movement tightly controlled
— Ala'a Shehabi (@alaashehabi) March 2, 2015
The press officer at Human Rights Watch Jan Kooy tweeted:
Will @johnlegend say something to support imprisoned dissidents during show in Bahrain? http://t.co/v8t3rWhyjO https://t.co/4fKHJZjaMr
— Jan Kooy (@KooyJan) March 2, 2015
Many critics were surprised by Legend remarks before singing his award winning single “Glory”. Here's the full text of his speech:
When I spoke at the Oscars last week, I quoted one of my favorite artists, American musician Nina Simone. She said that, “It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live.” So I feel that it’s part of my job to express myself freely and passionately about issues I care about. I walk in the footsteps of so many great artists who came before me who did just that.
When you look at me, you may see the international superstar John Legend, but I am also the descendant of slaves. My grandparents and even my parents were born in a country where many of our schools were legally segregated, where many people who looked like me couldn’t vote and couldn’t expect to have the opportunities for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that were supposed to be the promise of America.
But we fought for change. I wrote this song “Glory” for a film called Selma. That film depicts the epic struggle for civil rights, justice and equality led by Dr. Martin Luther King 50 years ago. We haven’t achieved all of the goals that Dr. King fought for. We still have a long way to go. But we continue to have hope and we continue to march forward. We believe that change is possible because we have seen it happen before. Dr. King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
A just society is one built not on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love. Love for our families. Love for our neighbors. Love for the least among us. Love for those who look different or worship differently. Love for those we don’t even know.
We continue to fight in America to move toward this just society and we pray the same for the people of Bahrain. And for those who stand for justice, accountability, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom to organize without fear of retribution, please know that I stand with you.
The struggle may not be easy. Some have already paid the ultimate sacrifice to make this vision a reality. But I believe there is a brighter future ahead. And, one day when the glory comes, it will be ours…
After John Legend finished his concert in Bahrain, news of yet another African American shot by the police in Los Angeles started circulating, and in Bahrain another detained woman started a hunger strike. Human rights activist Sayed Yousif tweeted:
@manamavoice1: بدء المعتقلة جليلة السيد أمين إضراباً عن الطعام احتجاجاً على حرمانها من لقاء أسرتها #Bahrain pic.twitter.com/4Eh7MN5cq0
— S.Yousif Almuhafdah (@SAIDYOUSIF) March 3, 2015
The detainee Jaleela Alsayed Amin has started a hunger strike in protest to denying her visitation rights

author: Mohamed Hassan


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Mining and Ecocide in Santander, Colombia · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

Illegal mining is a problem affecting the Colombian department of Santander, where residents have seen first-hand how extraction and other processes linked to mining cause pollution. The video below was produced by Corporación PODION, as part of the project “Caravan for the awareness and collection of complaints in defense of the land and the environment within the department of Santander”. It was carried out in October 2014 with the goal of highlighting different complaints and testimonies regarding the violation of environmental rights in the region:
The Observatory of Mining Conflicts in Latin America explained the seriousness of the situation in Vélez and Landázuri in a statement:
La comunidad de estos dos municipios, se ha opuesto de manera enérgica ante el inminente deterioro de sus condiciones de vida y el grave daño ambiental que implicará la explotación de 60.000 toneladas de carbón al mes tomando 3 lt/seg de agua, lo que implica más de 93 millones de litros de agua anual, el vertimiento de 0.83 lt/seg , es decir, más de 25 millones de litros de agua contaminada vertida sobre sus territorios y, la remoción de más de 821.955 metros cúbicos de madera nativa, entre ceibas, roble y caracolí.
The community of these two municipalities has vigorously opposed the imminent deterioration of their living conditions and the serious environmental damage that the exploitation of 60,000 tonnes of coal monthly using 3 litres/sec of water will entail. This means more than 93 millions of litres of water yearly at a flow of 0.83 litres/sec. In other words, more than 25 million litres of contaminated water discharged over the land as well as the removal of more than 821, 955 cubic metres of native trees amongst which kapok, oak and cashew can be found.
Photos of the environmental damage caused by mining have circulated on Twitter:
@PrensaRural @IvanCepedaCast @angelamrobledo ecocidio en Santander, miles de peces muertos por Hidrosogamoso pic.twitter.com/4DeJ41lsqD
— jhoney (@J_honey20) junio 9, 2014
ecocide in Santander, thousands of fish dead because of Hidrosogamoso
Twitter users have also expressed their disagreement with the mining developments in the region:
Imagínense esa locura. Santander es una zona inestable geológicamente y pretenden hacer minería y piscinas con cianuro. Un suicidio.
— yoligrilla (@yoligrilla) noviembre 25, 2014
Just imagine the craziness of this. Santander is a geologically unstable area and they are trying to mine and make cyanide pools there. Suicide.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez


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A Move to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage in Japan Reveals Hidden Prejudices  · Global Voices
Sayuri Ishiwata

2011 Pride Parade in Tokyo by Flickr user David Martín Clavo. Usage rights: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
A municipality in Tokyo has drafted a statute that proposes issuing long-term same-sex couples certificates, which will recognize these relationships as equivalent to marriage. Tokyo's Shibuya Ward assembly will debate the statute for ratification in March.
If the statute is passed it will be the first time same-sex unions will be recognized in Japan. Same-sex couples in Japan do not enjoy equal rights when renting apartments and other places to live, and are often denied visiting rights when their partner is hospitalized. Same-sex couples are denied visiting rights because they are not considered to be family members.
In Japan, municipalities play an important role in overseeing and administering family registries. According to the draft statute, residents of Shibuya Ward aged 20 and over, who are in long term same-sex relationships, will be entitled to receive a “Certificate of Partnership.”
According to some commentators including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Shibuya's new statute may be unconstitutional and violate Article 24, which states: “marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.”
Before Article 24 was passed, under Japan's pre-war constitution, women needed to seek approval of their head of household, when getting married, and they did not have the right to initiate divorce. In 1947, Article 24 was passed with the intention to rectify this inequality between the sexes.
Setagaya, Tokyo's largest ward, is also moving to legalize same-sex partnerships. Setagaya has already moved to create a LGBT-friendly coming of age ceremony. Japanese youth achieve the age of majority at age 20, and are feted each January across the country at ceremonies hosted by municipal governments.
Nobuto Hosaka, the mayor of Setagaya, who has longed campaigned for progressive causes, spoke in support of same-sex unions at a ward assembly meeting in September 2014:
9月に議会で答弁しています。また、昨春に策定の基本計画でも、多様性を尊重し、セクシャルマイノリティの人たちの人権を守ることも表明しています。 世田谷区も同性カップル認める施策検討　渋谷区に続き – 朝日新聞デジタル http://t.co/IjGee5JhTk
— 保坂展人 (@hosakanobuto) 2015, 2月 15
At a (Setagaya) assembly meeting in September I spoke in support of same-sex unions. As well this past spring during policy discussions I expressed my intent to respect sexual diversity and protect rights for sexual minorities. [“Setagaya Ward follows Shibuya in intent to protect rights for same-sex couples.” – Asahi Shimbun]
Many have voiced their support for Hosaka's intent to speak at LGBT-friendly coming of age ceremonies each year, and  continue to see him as a voice that supports sexual minorities.
@hosakanobuto LGBT成人式に毎年の祝辞、ありがとうございます！区長の2回目の時の祝辞「誰もがマイノリティの部分を持っている。それを隠さず出していける社会が豊かな社会なんだ」という内容、感動しました。区のパートナーシップ承認も期待しています！
— assam/西川麻実 (@2assam) 2015, 2月 16
Thank you Mayor Hosaka for speaking at LGBT-friendly coming of age ceremonies! We appreciate your speech about “How a truly a great society does not attempt to hide diversity.” We are looking forward to collaborating with you in the future. – @2assam (Japanese marriage equality campaigner)
The efforts to create a supportive environment for Japan's LGBT community has answered the concerns of Setagaya Ward councillor Aya Kamikawa, the first openly transgender person to seek or win elected office in Japan.
Kamikawa identified as living with a gender identity disorder when she first campaigned and was elected to Setagaya's assembly in 2003.
She learned in 2012 that Shibuya Ward was considering protecting the rights of its LGBT community. In 2014 Kawakami posed the question to Setagaya mayor Hosaka: isn't there some way we can protect the rights of the LGBT community too?
Hosaka replied that he would help work towards this goal.
While pride parades have become a common sight in Tokyo, many in the LGBT community are asking why homosexuality and existence of sexual minorities are never acknowledged by Japanese society. There is still little awareness or even interest by Japanese society regarding LGBT issues.
So, the efforts of Setagaya and Shibuya to recognize same sex couples generated tremendous discussion online in Japan. Many people who are participating in online discussions approve of same sex marriage and the concept of a “Certificate of Partnership.”
While there is still lively debate about the pros and cons of recognizing same sex partnerships, many are appreciative of Shibuya and Setagaya's policy initiative:
渋谷の同性カップルの条例、いいと思うなー！同性愛とか気持ち悪いなんて言う人もいるだろうけど性別の壁を超えて相手を愛するって事は 人間に心があるから出来る事だと思う。悪い事な訳が無い。少なからず狭い思いをしてる人達がいるなら その人達の為に素敵な一歩を。今よりもっともっと幸せに。
— とらむすめ（虎娘） (@toracochi_Gao) 2015, 2月 12
Shibuya's plans to recognize same sex relationships is a great idea! While there are some people who feel uncomfortable with the concept of homosexuality, if you can get over it you would realize that loving another person is a fundamental part of being human. There is nothing wrong with it at all… This is one small step forward towards happiness!
There are some who are opposed:
渋谷区の同性カップル証明書どう思う？ 素直に気持ち悪いと思う。 「同性愛＝生物として欠陥がある」ってことだから、それを公に認めるのは“ヒト”の本懐を失う事と同義。 いっそのことホモとレズだけの村を作ればいい。 数年で滅びるだろうけど。 http://t.co/iIxk7OJbse
— なぞにく (@nazo_niku) 2015, 2月 12
What do you think about Shibuya's plan to provide a Certificate of Partnership for same sex couples? It's totally gross. Homosexuals are defective biological organisms. By certifying gay marriage all you are doing is confirming their failure as human beings. What they ought to do is go and create some place just for gays and lesbians. After a few years they will all disappear.
Still others were not overtly opposed to gay marriage, but did express their disquiet with the concept:
証明書条例案提出　同性カップルに話を聞く（日本テレビ系（NNN）） – Yahoo!ニュース http://t.co/Wa5k4XhUMl 認めることは否定しないけど、ごく普通の感覚では気味悪いよね。
— echo240 (@echo_cigar240) 2015, 2月 12
While I am not opposed to recognizing same sex couples, it still feels pretty unnatural and gross.
While people freely express their views in favor or opposition to same sex partnerships, there were criticisms that the naysayers weren't basing their opinion on anything but emotion:
渋谷区の同性カップル証明書に反対の人を真っ向から否定するつもりは全くないけど、否定するならそれなりの理由を挙げてほしいね。「気持ち悪い」とか「変だから」とかゆう理由だけで批判してるならそれは人の尊厳とか色々なものを否定してるのと同じ。
— M:Revo (@S_Milky626) 2015, 2月 13
While I am not not necessarily opposed to those who themselves opposed to recognizing same sex unions, I do wish these people would provide reasons for why they are so opposed. Saying “gay marriage is gross” or “it's strange” is the same thing as rejecting the basic humanity of these people.
Other commenters think that the initiative by Shibuya and Setagaya will worsen the problem of Japan's declining birth rate. However, yet other commenters respond that, since the declining birth rate has existed in Japan even when traditional marriages were the only game in town, it's save to say that recognizing same sex unions will have no effect whatsoever.
渋谷区の同性カップルの件で「少子化が進む」って言ってる人って「同性愛者の権利が認められると、女性が子供を産まなくなる」っていう意味になるんだけど、自分でわかっていってるのかな？上の句と下の句が空中分解しているのに。
— 篠原正美/すずはら篠 (@suzan2nd) 2015, 2月 13
Some people are saying that Shibuya Ward's decision to recognize same sex partnerships will speed up population decline, and that recognizing the rights of the LGBT community will mean fewer women will have children. Do these people actually understand what they are saying? They don't make any sense at all!
異性愛の人がすべて子どもを持つとも限らないのに、そもそも少子化とは別問題なのに、なぜここでそれを持ち出すのか分からん。同性カップルを否定・否認すれば少子化解消しますか？
— ぱくぽた＠北海道はでっかいどう (@packypotasky) 2015, 2月 13
Even though not all traditionally married couples have children, and even though the declining birthrate is a completely separate issue, I have now idea why it is being brought up in this this context. If we refuse to recognize same sex unions, will that reverse Japan's population decline?
And the discussion is even being debated in families:
母は同性カップルがtvに出たときすぐ気持ち悪いって言う。 前もそれですごく不快になったんだけど、小学生の弟がすかさず 「世の中お互い好き同士が全員男女だと思ってんの?そういう理由のない考えやめた方がいい。」 って言ったとき、こいつすげえなって思った。
— こどもbot (@kodomo_meigen) 2015, 2月 13
When my mom saw a same sex couple on TV she said it was “gross,” and she has felt really uncomfortable about it before. However my brother, an elementary school student said, “Do people who love each other always have to be men and women? You had better give up such illogical thinking.” I thought that was really great.
渋谷区の同性カップルについてのニュース見てお母さんとお姉ちゃんが「えー無理きもちわるいテレビ出て恥ずかしくないのかな」とか言っててわたしはそういうあんたらが気持ち悪いし恥ずかしいよ
— こぶ@マキュファー19日昼 (@kb4_tom) 2015, 2月 12
When Shibuya's decision to recognize same sex partnerships came on the news my mother and sister said, “Gross, aren't they embarrassed to be on TV?” I told them that I thought *they* were gross and embarrassing.
It seems families were arguing about the issue even before the movement to officially recognize same sex unions became a hot topic. Below are two tweets from 2014 that illustrate the same debate.
さっきTVに同性カップル(男)が出てた。それを観た家族が「気持ち悪い」と。あぁ、終わってるなぁと思った。偏見。身内にいたなんて。何ていうか、情けない。申し訳ない気になった
— すけきよ@徐行運転中 (@56suke_02) 2014, 3月 30
Earlier a same sex couple (two guys) came on TV. My family saw them and said they were gross. “That's it,” I thought. They're bigots. My family. Pathetic. I felt pretty bad.
TVで海外のゲイカップルの話があって、しきりに女役やるなんて考えられへん、気持ち悪いかも、と言う両親。 様々な人がいて良いと思いますが、私がレスビアンだったとしてもそんなこと言えるのかなーと考えました。つまり、それが本心と言うわけですし。 同性カップルの方々に幸あれ。
— ししょー（SHISHO (@tou_free) 2014, 3月 26
My family were watching TV and a foreign gay couple came on. My parents said they could never understand how they could do it, it was just gross. I wondered if they would say the same thing if I were a lesbian. But that's what they really felt. All I can say is that I wish same sex couples the best!
Looking at the debate on Twitter over the proposed new ordinances in Setagaya and Shibuya wards, it doesn't seem as though there are many well thought-out reasons for opposing recognition of same sex partnerships.
At the same time, despite vocal opposition, there are calls that all of Japan should change based on Setagaya and Shibuya's pioneering efforts to recognize same sex partnerships.
渋谷区 同性カップルの結婚相当証明書の件で、タイムラインに「嫌い、気持ち悪い」って流れてきて、まだまだなんだなと残念な気持ちもあるけど、これを機に、今後もっと受け入れられるようになっていくことを願っています。
— キハラ大輔 (@studio_lop_ear) 2015, 2月 12
A lot of people on my timeline saying that Shibuya's decision to recognize same sex marriage is “gross” or “disgusting,” which is really too bad. However, this is an opportunity to change things for the better in Japan.

author: Sayuri Ishiwata


text:
Thirty-Two Photos of the New Afghanistan · Global Voices
Aaquib Khan

An eyeshot of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, and the country's largest city with a population of about 3.3 million. Kabul province is the only province in the country with a larger urban than rural population. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Indian photo-journalist Aaquib Khan arrived in the rapidly changing Afghan capital Kabul in 2014. He shares some of his pictures and his insights with us in this post.
Afghanistan is widely seen as a country torn between bullets and religious bullies, a no woman’s land, a pre-modern place where neither young nor old can have hope for a better future. The image in my mind was no different, until I landed in the country's capital, Kabul last year.
Though much of the Kabul's imagery conformed to my understanding of the country, there were many other moments that cameras rarely capture. Old and new, traditions and modernity, are locked in a struggle. Afghans, slowly and steadily, seem to be the winners.
School kids hide their faces as many consider getting photographed a sin. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Kabul is a place of hope, aspiration, warmth and hospitality, all of which shine through when Afghans saw my blue passport. “Oh, you are Indian? I love Indian movies!”
A life-size poster of the Hindi film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ showing Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif in one of Kabul’s music shops. New Indian films are quite the rage in the country. Turkish soap operas are also increasingly popular. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Indian movies and songs rule Kabul's music market, but JLo and Britney Spears are also quite famous among youth. Songs old and new can be heard in taxis, shops and on young men’s phones. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Posters of Indian film stars decorate the country's music shops. There is a mall named after Delhi’s famous Select City Walk. Alumni of Indian universities in the metropolises as well as small Indian towns bump into you on the fringes of crowded market places.
A mall in Kabul named ‘Select City Walk’. A number of shopping malls are growing up in the capital. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Dil Jan has been a bookseller on the streets of Kabul for many years. She believes that young Afghans must read, for themselves and for their nation. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Afghanistan is far from monolithic. Walking beside burqa-clad women are schoolgirls strolling to school. Young women on their way to university, while CDs and DVDs of Bollywood and Hollywood movies can be heard playing in the background, a far cry from the blanket bans on entertainment of the Taliban period. In the land where the Taliban brought down the Buddhist statues of Bamiyan, mannequins in Kabul's shop windows don extravagant bridal wears.
Mannequins wear elegant wedding dresses. Standard wedding dresses cost from 15,000 Afghani ($215) to 20,000 Afghani ($340). Lavish wedding halls have mushroomed across Kabul in the last few years. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Then there are the competing mobile service provider advertisements, FM Radio stations, 24-hour TV Channels, numerous talk shows discussing women’s rights. There are hookah bars, where hookah and coffee is served. No women or alcohol, but plenty of young men dancing to loud music.
There is a growing demand for uploading songs and videos on mobile phones and compact discs in Afghanistan. Many youth, and even religious old men, visit these shops to get songs of their choice uploaded. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
More than 200 gyms have opened since the Taliban’s fall. There are gyms for women, too. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Vehicles honk past you and leave you in a trail of dust. Afghans complain of increasing pollution in Kabul. Security personnel man the streets, helicopters hover over pedestrians.
Amid the exuberance, there is apprehension: what will happen when the remnants of the US army finally withdraw? But young Afghans believe their country is gathering strength after decades of weakness and division.
They shout a slogan which translates as: “One Afghanistan. No Tajik, No Hazara, No Pashtun”.
Afghanistan for Afghans! The graffiti calls for unity among Afghans who are traditionally divided along ethnic and linguistic lines. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Youngsters surf the Internet near the ruined Darul Aman Palace. The palace, known to have braved many political upheavals in Kabul, was built in the 1930s. Only 5.5% of Afghan youths have access to internet with 20 million mobile phone users in the country in 2012. Technology played a role in connecting youth during last year's presidential elections. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Afghan soldiers near the Nadir Shah tomb in Kabul. There are 350,000 soldiers in the country. But there are fears over their ability to take on the recalcitrant Taliban once foreign troops leave the country completely. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
The burqa is still prevalent despite not being officially required as it was during the time of the Taliban. Roughly 28% of Afghanistan's parliament are women. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
During the Taliban's rule, female enrollment in schools was zero, and the number of boys enrolled was a million. By 2012, as the World Bank estimates, 7.8 million are attending school, including about 2.9 million girls. The literacy rate of women in Afghanistan is around 36%. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Afghan glasses-salesmen. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Afghans prefer wheat products over rice, unlike many people living in South Asia. The traditional ‘Naanbai’ are sold at roadside shops across the country. Naan-bakers make different kinds of Naanbai, sometimes two to three feet long with different designs. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
In a country that has been a battlefield for so long, the main means of survival is still petty trading. An old man with a skull cap sits at a makeshift currency exchange while others sit in sun. Demand for currency exchanges are high across Kabul due to the presence of foreigners working in the country. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A girl runs to save herself from the rain in the biggest internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Kabul. The IDP camp in Charahi Qambar has around 900 families with no school and only one mobile clinic served by four doctors. Most of those living here have migrated from the distant provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Orzgan, which remain zones of conflict. There are 40 such camps around Kabul. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Restaurants and bars where young people sing and dance, smoke hookah, and sip coffee are growing more prevalent in Kabul. Singers – including female singers – are regular acts. But recent police raids threaten Kabul’s Café culture. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A kebab seller in a busy Kabul market sells to evening passersby. Security concerns are a drag on night-life in Kabul. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A young boy looks towards the picture of Ahmed Shah Masoud, a hero to many in Afghanistan, who fought against the Soviets and the Taliban. Masoud was assassinated in 2001 just before the 9/11 attacks on the US. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Roughly 1.6 million Afghans are addicted to drugs, of which 7% are children. Drug production has increased in many areas of Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001. The country now produces about 90% of the world's opium. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A young shepherd poses as a security guard with a toy gun on the outskirts of Kabul. United Nations (UN) Special Representative to Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš has stressed the need to prevent the recruitment of children as soldiers. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A Free Fight Club, the latest craze among the youngsters in Kabul. Young people go to such clubs to learn the techniques of martial arts. Championships provide good monetary rewards for the winners. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A boy sells colourful balloons. Emerging from the fog of war, children work the local markets to provide food for themselves and their families. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A fruit seller in a hurry to shut up shop. After opium, fruits and nuts are the second most exported item from Afghanistan. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A kid looking into my camera. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
A postcard seller displays images of famous Afghans in Kabul. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Cricket is in the air! Over the last few years, the Afghan national cricket team have performed reasonably well, qualifying for this year's Cricket World Cup. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
Afghanistan has witnessed a boom in meat production in last decade. Many Afghans depend on meat producing businesses to earn a living. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
An oil painting depicting the famous game of Buzkashi played across Afghanistan and Central Asia with a goat carcass in place of a ball. Photo by Aaquib Khan.
The graveyard of Russian tanks in the outskirts of Kabul, a symbol of Afghani powers of resistance. Photo by Aaquib Khan.

author: Aaquib Khan


text:
As Floods Inundate Madagascar, Government Is Slow to Provide Relief  · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

Pictures of floods in the Antananarivo region via Twitter user @saveoursmile with permission
Locusts, plague, waste disposal issues, famine and now floods. Madagascar has been going through extremely difficult times, but none of that has shaken the morale of Malagasy people, just as the country’s stagnant economy hasn’t prevented its people from innovating and creating.
Antananarivo and other towns in the area have been on high alert following the floods that hit the region after torrential rains. The flooding reached tragic proportions on 26 February, when one of the dykes surrounding the capital burst. Other dykes subsequently collapsed, causing extensive damage throughout the region.
Residents, who have already had to endure the unrelenting dilapidation of the roads, are left wondering what new challenges they are going to have to face.
Official authorities report that as of March 3, 20 people have died, at least 41,581 people had their home affected by the floods, and 71,854 people have been displaced.
Floods in Antananarivo posted by @MiranaPriscilla on Twitter (used with her permission)
The government has already received a fair amount of criticism for suggesting that residents should use public transport to solve the traffic problems caused by the state of the roads. Now there are delays in disaster relief and the government does not seem to have any suggestions. While waiting, residents have been documenting the damage caused by the floods with hashtags such as #tondradrano and #madaflood:
The south of the capital devastated by floods via L’Express Facebook page
A video by Global Voices editor Avylavitra shows the extent of the rising floodwaters in the capital Ankadimbahoaka. Click on the screen capture to watch on YouTube:
Avylavitra added that his own house was affected by this disaster:
N'ose même pas prendre en photo ma maison qui s'est effondrée pendant la pluie d'avant-hier. putaiiiiiiiiiiin! #Madagascar #madaflood #madadobodrano #tondradrano
Dare not even take a photo of my house, which collapsed in the rain the day before yesterday. Daaamn! #Madagascar #madaflood #madadobodrano #tondradrano
Another dramatic video by John Radriarimalala posted on Facebook shows the rising flood waters in the town of Ampanefy:
As does this one by Mbolatahina Raharijaona taken from the centre of the town:
Tsimok'i Gasikara's blog describes the state of alert of the people living near the dykes:
C’est l’Atsimondrano (Sud de Tana) qui est actuellement la plus touchée. Les secouristes font appel à la solidarité de tous pour apporter leur aide, preuve que les secours sont insuffisants. C’est donc le chaos total qui règne dans la ville voire même dans tout le pays. La population qui est livrée à elle-même au milieu des ordures qui n’ont pas été ramassées depuis belle lurette, les habitations inondées, les routes défoncées et pour couronner le tout, le prix des PPN qui flambe. Le pays se noie entièrement au sens propre comme au sens figuré !
Currently, Atsimondrando (southern Tana) is the worst affected area. Rescue workers are calling for everyone to show solidarity in providing assistance, which indicates that the response so far has been inadequate. So there is a state of total chaos in the town, indeed the whole country. People have been left to fend for themselves amidst rubbish that hasn’t been collected for ages, flooded homes, rough roads, and on top of all that, the price of basic essentials is soaring. The country is going under completely, in both the literal and figurative senses of the word!
Although the inventory of damage is far from complete, photos of the buildings in the capital speak for themselves. In the Isotry district via Tahina Rakotomanarivo:
Isotry district by Tahina
In Ankadilalalana, where an entire family perished under the rubble of a house, via Amirale Ernest:
Dilapidated building in Antananarivo via Amirale Ernest
This photo illustrates the state of disrepair of the region’s roads:
Devastated road via Andry on Facebook
It may well be that in the short term, residents will have no one to rely on but themselves to overcome these obstacles. But it is becoming quite urgent for the displaced population that national solidarity for rescue and recovery get started as soon as possible.

author: Rakotomalala


text:
Global Voices, the Travel Guide for Anti-Tourists · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

“I prefer bunking down in apartments, hanging with locals, and visiting local hangouts to staying in hotels, package tours, and museum visits. And rather than purchase guidebooks, I like to read the blogs of locals and expats—and Global Voices, of course—to get a sense of a place before I travel.”
A year ago I was in Italy with a friend, lamenting my choice of shoes. I had packed only running shoes and leather boots, and both were soaked to the core after several days of downpours. Our conversation gave birth to an idea: What if there were a website or app that allowed me to “visit” a country at ground level and see what kind of footwear was appropriate? The site would be curated by locals, and would therefore have the side effect of helping me fit in with local fashion, thus minimizing the chance I’d be labeled a tourist.
A silly idea, perhaps, but the impetus behind it isn’t: Many of my generation don’t want to feel or look like tourists when we travel. This explains the rise of companies like Airbnb, that help you avoid tourist hotels and “live like a local.”
Living abroad for a few years at a young age instilled this desire in me as well. I prefer bunking down in apartments, hanging with locals, and visiting local hangouts to staying in hotels, package tours, and museum visits. And rather than purchase guidebooks, I like to read the blogs of locals and expats—and Global Voices, of course—to get a sense of a place before I travel.
This got me thinking: Are there others out there who use Global Voices as a travel guide of sorts? I had the opportunity to put this  question to several of my GV colleagues at the recent GV Summit. Here’s what they said:
Marianna Breytman, one of our Spanish-to-English translators, told me:
“I always use GV when traveling because I think it's a really great way to see what issues are currently concerning any given region. Most recently I've done it when I visited Panama, Mexico, and Colombia, and I'm planning to do it again before my trip to Turkey in a few weeks.”
Anna Schetnikova writes for GV in Russian and English. She said:
“I was travelling in Turkey at the time of the recent general elections last summer. And GV was great to use to know about political culture of the country, about different parties and activists and the society, so when I saw posters in the street, I knew what they were about.”
Mohamed ElGohary, GV’s Lingua Translation Coordinator and staff representative on the Board of Directors, recently got married and used GV to research his honeymoon in the Maldives. He said this post factored in his decision-making about which island to visit.
I also posed the question on Twitter: Have you ever used Global Voices to research a place before visiting? Emer Beamer, a social designer and educator based in the Netherlands (and regular GV reader), told me in an e-mail that when she’s looking for “good people” in a certain locale, “Global Voices is a port of call.” When she traveled to Cambodia, she met with three people that she located through GV, and is now working with a GV author on a project.
Beamer told me that she’d love to see GV implement a travel section, and that she would use it to understand “the local work ethic, where to find wifi [and] where the (idea) sharing or counter culture is happening in [a] city.” She said she usually recommends that the researchers she works with check GV before traveling.
Katie Mulloy, who works for UNICEF in Uganda, said that GV is “the logical place to look” for information about a new place, specifically “issues that fly under the radar of the mainstream media.” A seasoned traveler, Mulloy says she’s used the site to research Cambodia, Uganda and Malaysia.
I asked Mulloy to imagine what a Global Voices Travel section might look like. “Most ‘48 hours in X city’ articles are by well-traveled Westerners, for well-traveled Westerners,” she said. “But I’d be keen to know what a South Korean art student would flag as the best things to do in Seoul.”
Ben Valentine is a freelance writer currently living in Cambodia. “As a journalist and as a nerd,” he said, “I want information outside of Lonely Planet [such as] what are the new memes? What are the recent political battles for free speech in these countries? What are bloggers debating now?”
Understanding the perspectives of bloggers and social media users was a recurring theme among the people I spoke to. Moroccan blogger El Mahdi told me that reading GV before traveling gives him “an idea of how people of that country are commenting online in their own words, translated into a language I can understand…” He first used GV to prepare for a trip to Thailand, because he was seeking “things I could read to learn about the country and its culture besides Wikipedia and the clichés we all hear about tourism [there].”
In his e-mail to me, El Mahdi also managed to coin a new term:
“Since [that first trip], GlobalVoicing a country [has become] among the usual things I did before a travel, in addition of course to Googling and Wikipedi-ying the country, especially when I do not speak the country's language.”

author: Jillian C. York


text:
Indian State Maharashtra’s #BeefBan Means Eating a Burger Can Send You to Prison · Global Voices
Subhashish Panigrahi

An activist ties a mask of a cow on another, demanding banning of cattle slaughter. Mumbai, India. Image by Awadeshkumar Sidhpuri. Copyright Demotix (5/11/2012)
A blanket ban on cattle slaughter in the Indian state of Maharashtra has sparked heated debate in India.
Cattle are considered sacred in Hinduism and their meat is taboo. The slaughter of cows was already prohibited in the state, but this law broadens the ban to bulls, bullocks and calves and makes the possession or sale of beef an offense punishable with up to five years in prison and a fine of 10,000 rupees (about 161 US dollars).
Water buffaloes are an exception to the ban; Maharashtra is the third largest buffalo meat producer in India.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee ratified the bill from right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s alliance Shiv Sena in the beginning of March, 19 years after Shiv Sena had first proposed it. The law amends the “The Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act (MAPA), 1976″, which allowed for the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and buffaloes with a “fit-for-slaughter” certificate. In 1995, Shiv Sena moved to widen the ban, but as the state government changed political hands, their bill remained in limbo. Two weeks after BJP politician Devendra Fadnavis was elected Maharashtra's chief minister, supporters of the bill pushed for its approval.
Fadnavis tweeted welcoming the ratification by the president:
Thanks a lot Hon President Sir for the assent on MaharashtraAnimalPreservationBill.Our dream of ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now.
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) March 2, 2015
Member of parliament and BJP politico Kirit Somaiya called the development a “historic step, which has cultural as well as economic implications for the state.”
Twenty-four Indian states have laws preventing cow slaughter. Despite that, India projected to soon to be world's largest bovine meat producer.
Soon after the news went public, netizens reacted to the ban under the hashtag #BeefBan, which became one of the world's top trending hashtags, appearing 22,000 times in less than 24 hours.
Hundreds of activists, campaigners and Jain spiritual leaders stage a mass rally seeking a ban on cattle slaughter, and export. Mumbai, India. Image by Awadeshkumar Sidhpuri. Copyright Demotix (5/11/2012)
Twitter user Mohammed Hisamuddin tweeted asking for ban to go even further:
Products made from Cattle. Now ban all these please. #BeefBan pic.twitter.com/Be7BPr8cSx
— Mohammed Hisamuddin (@hisaming) March 3, 2015
A parody account of internationally acclaimed author Salman Rushdie tweeted:
Congratulations Maharashtra: it is now safer to be a cow than a woman, Dalit or Muslim in the state.
— RushdieExplainsIndia (@RushdieExplains) March 3, 2015
In India, about 93 women are raped every day, according to the country's National Crime Records Bureau.
Freelance writer and comedian Neeti Palta added:
Good to know a cow can now step out after dark and wear what she likes #BeefBan #MainBhiCowPlease
— Neeti Palta (@neetipalta) March 3, 2015
Columnist and novelist Shobhaa De reacted asking the chief minister to throw her in prison for eating beef:
Where's the beef ? Mr. Phadnis and others, I am willing to face 5 years in jail to defend the right of beef eaters in Maharashtra.
— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) March 3, 2015
Singer and actor Vir Das humorously suggested a ban on teeth:
Dear Govt. With beef, let's ban teeth. We can live on vegetable smoothies and this way your politicians can't make hate speeches anymore :-)
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) March 3, 2015
On Facebook, investor Mahesh Murthy debated the merits of food bans:
[..] you consider the cow sacred and won't eat it. Well, I consider spinach sacred and won't eat it. But that doesn't mean I can stop you from eating spinach and you can stop me from eating cows. Why don't you worry about your diet, I'll worry about mine. [..]
In the same post, Murthy questioned the credibility of BJP failing to provide basic amenities while being able to chase for such stringent laws:
[..] is this what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected for? Of all the things that Maharashtra needs, apparently a ban on beef is more important and pressing than solving water, electricity and jobs problems?
Many Bollywood celebrities reacted on Twitter to the ban:
@TandonRaveena: My only take on beef issue that it should not be enforced,it should be optional… To eat or not to eat,is a personal choice
— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) March 3, 2015
Blogger Shoaib Daniyal elaborated on the political sentiments of Hindu believers being compromised by politicians:
In his prime ministerial campaign, Narendra Modi used the emotive power of the cow to attack the United Progressive Alliance government. “It saddens me,” he wrote on his blog, “that present UPA Government led by Congress is promoting slaughtering of cows and exporting beef to bring ‘Pink Revolution’”.[..]
This contradictory approach to the issue of cow protection shows that it is treated more as a political rather than religious matter. Cow protection sentiments are exploited by the state and politicians to mobilise people and catch votes, targeting poor Muslims and Dalits by accusing them of cow slaughter. Of course, since other factors are clean ignored (as a result of economic considerations), these laws do nothing to actually improve the lot of cattle in the country.
Protest in Guwahati, Assam, India against the smuggling of cattle to neighboring Bangladesh where they would be slaughtered. Image by Abdul Sajid. Copyright Demotix (28/8/2009)
“You should be outraged because the state is infringing on the freedom of communities to consume food of their choice. And if you're an animal rights activist you should cheer and redirect your outrage towards stopping the slaughter of chicken, pigs, goats and buffaloes [..]”, Arun George, a blogger, argued.
Like most other religious and communal issues in India, the current beef ban has triggered media and people to react strongly. In response, hardliners have strengthened their propaganda efforts and attacked people on social media for opposing the beef ban. Many voices speaking out against the ban have accused the state and central government of not taking issues like basic amenities, women’s rights and safety and growing poverty and lawlessness seriously, instead concentrating on a beef ban.

author: Subhashish Panigrahi


text:
Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress Was Polarizing, to Say the Least · Global Voices
Elia J. Ayoub

Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the US Congress (Source: The Prime Minister of Israel Facebook Page)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s speech at a joint session of the US Congress was, to say the least, highly controversial. In his attempt to thwart a deal with Iran on nuclear weapons, Netanyahu was invited by Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner. Netanyahu spoke for 39 minutes (eliciting 26 standing ovations), during which he said a US nuclear deal with Iran “paves its way to a[n atomic] bomb.” Meanwhile in Switzerland, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jawad Zarif announced progress on the nuclear talks, set to resume on March 15. In the United States, reactions by prominent liberals were unusually negative. MSNBC host Chris Matthews called it a “takeover attempt,” saying “Think it through—what country in the world would let a foreign leader come in and attempt to wrest from the president control of the US foreign policy?” Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called it an “insult to the intelligence of the US,” while CNN‘s Christiane Amanpour called it “dark” and “Strangelovian.” President Obama said that he did not watch the speech (while Vice President Biden, 50 Democratic House members, and 8 senators who caucus with the Democrats boycotted or skipped it), adding that “there was nothing new” and pointing out that Netanyahu did not provide any alternative.
Banner by the #SkipTheSpeech campaign organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and Roots Action
This isn't the first time Netanyahu has claimed Iran is close to getting a nuclear weapon. In fact, he has said it so many times that The Intercept‘s Murtaza Hussain wrote an article titled “Benjamin Netanyahu's Long History of Crying Wolf about Iran's Nuclear Weapons.” As the title suggests, it reviews all times Netanyahu has made this claim: in 1995 (“3 to 5 years”), 1996 (“it's getting extremely close”), 2009 (“probably one or two years away”), and again in 2012 (“a few months away”). Responding to Netanyahu's comparison of ISIS and Iran, Electronic Intifada founder Ali Abunimah emphasized that Iran is at war with ISIS, too, accusing the US Congress of Islamophobia:
Now Netanyahu is likening Iran to ISIS, even though Iran is at war with ISIS. Netanyahu relying on Congress’ general dumb hatred of Muslims. — Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) March 3, 2015
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart mocked the speech and Obama's reaction, saying that “[Netanyahu] comes here, publicly slaps Obama in the face, and the president’s response is, ‘It’s OK, everyone should know I’m buying him gloves so when he hits me, it doesn’t hurt his hand as much.”  The editors of the progressive Jewish website Mondoweiss published an article fact checking Netanyahu's speech titled “Factchecking Netanyahu: An Annotated Guide to the Israeli PM’s Speech to Congress.” In it, they provide context to substantiate some of his remarks, while debunking others. For example, when Netanyahu praised US opposition to what he called “anti-Israel resolutions at the UN,” Mondoweiss explains that the US used its only veto in 2011 to oppose a UN motion that condemned Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank. On Twitter, known American-Jewish activist and author Max Blumenthal, who was in Gaza during Israel's so-called “Operation Protective Edge,” accused Netanyahu of insulting the memory of anti-fascist Jews:
#NetanyahuSpeech insults memory of Jews who resisted fascism in their native lands. True to the Zionist narrative, he called them weaklings. — Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) March 3, 2015
A senior Columnist at Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Peter Beinart, lamented Netanyahu's reference to Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor whose controversial New York Times advertisement during “Protective Edge” prompted outrage from other Holocaust survivors.
really hard to explain what it means for those of us who grew up revering Elie Wiesel to see him defiled in this way — Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) March 3, 2015
LibyaLiberty reminded the world of the time when Netanyahu claimed that invading Iraq would have “positive reverberations throughout the region”:
As Bibi explains the positive regional impact of recognizing & acting on the Iran threat, please keep this in mind: pic.twitter.com/orkdXGGaJm — Hend (@LibyaLiberty) March 3, 2015
Al Jazeera‘s AJ+ aired a report summarizing the reactions of many Iranians to Netanyahu's speech  On Twitter, Iranians used the hashtag #ShutUpNetanyahu to voice their anger:
A killer of Palestinian children and a terrorist has no right to speak about peace #ShutUpNetanyahu — عموحسین(HüseyinAmca) (@hysunn) March 3, 2015
فارغ ازهمه مشکلات داخل ایران مقابل تو متحدیم Regardless of all problems inside Iran we are united against loosers like you #ShutUpNetanyahu — ☮مهریران (@mehri912) September 29, 2014
عجز و لابه‌های امروز نتانیاهو دلیلش اینه دلش برای دوره طلایی احمدی‌نژاد تنگ شده. روزایی که هی این پاس میداد اون گل می‌زد. #ShutUpNetanyahu — Sadraa Mohaqeq (@SadraMohaqeq) March 3, 2015
Netanyahu makes so many demands and is so frustrated because he misses the golden days of Ahmadinejad. The days he passed and he [Ahmadinejad] scored. #Shutupnetanyahu
#ShutUpNetanyahu pic.twitter.com/0ariUuBMAy — دِ ایمرسیوِ شادروان (@immersivio) March 3, 2015
from 1995 he's frightening everyone from Iran! do you really want to listen again? #ShutUpNetanyahu #NetanyahuSpeech pic.twitter.com/D0cMjE3ih2 — Mahdi Aryayi (@maryayi) March 3, 2015
Is there anyway to send Ahmadinezhad there? these two are built for each other. They can make a good couple #ShutUpNetanyahu — Masoud Fatemi (@MasoudFatemi) March 3, 2015
As an Iranian American,I am ashamed to c a another countries leader giving a speech in the USA congress shame on congress #ShutUpNetanyahu — Mehdi Saharkhiz (@onlymehdi) March 3, 2015
Lebanese satirist Karl Sharo of the blog KarlreMarks quipped:
Caliph Baghdadi addresses Congress – advises against deal with Iran pic.twitter.com/lyKcKpsvx7
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) March 4, 2015

author: Elia J. Ayoub


text:
“No Blood For Vanity!” Hong Kong Animal Right Activists Protest the Fur Fair · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

More than 100 animal rights activists protested against fur fair on February 25, 2015. Photo from Che Siaoyang Facebook.
As a gigantic shopping center of extravagant goods for mainland China's noveau riche, Hong Kong is a “premier global fur trade center” and the city's annual International Fur and Fashion Fair, according to the Hong Kong Fur Federation, is the most significant event in the world for fur lovers.
This year, the fair was held from February 25 to 28 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, with local pop stars and government officials attending the opening ceremony. The occasion also attracted more than 100 animal rights activists protesting the industry's cruelty against animals.
Fur fashion is ecological, the advertisement claimed. Photo from HK animal post.
The protesters displayed photos of dead animals and anti-fur slogans such as “No blood for vanity” and “No more fur trade” while picketing the exhibition center. In response, representatives of the fur industry took out an advertisement in local newspapers to promote the idea that their business is “ecological.”
Mark Mak, one of the protest's organizers, argued on Inmediahk.net against the industry's hypocrisy:
動保和皮草工業的人是一定對立的，根本不存在任何妥協的空間。 […] 原來他們想嘗試做說客，說服我們香港的皮草業是何等人道[…] 而他們也是很愛動物的。
皮草業的朋友也愛動物，此話實在驚天地泣鬼神。其說法是，他們為了保護瀕臨絕種的野生動物如雪地的銀孤，堅決不會用捕捉回來的動物作皮草，他們的皮毛全都是來自養殖場，即是自己養的動物自己殺，自己殺了的動物自己用。 啊！ 這就是他們所說的「愛護動物，保護生態」！ […] 他們亦解釋，坊間流傳的「活剝皮草」絕對不會出現在香港毛皮業協會。 他們出售的所有制品都有歐洲的一級認證，由品質到制作過程都有嚴格監控，不可能有虐待動物的情況出現。
我先退一步，完全相信這個說法。 但就可以合理化「謀皮害命」的行為嗎？而且謀皮，只是為了炫耀，不是為了求存，那不是很缺德的行為嗎？ 再說，即管香港的皮毛業較為人道，但在中國內地將動物活剝生扑是人所共知的事實，香港人消費中的皮毛很大部份都是來自內地的， 而香港毛皮業協會每年搞個大型的皮草展，將使用皮毛等同為時尚的潮流，你不就是最大的幫兇嗎？
There is no space for any compromise between animal rights and the fur industry. […] They tried to persuade us that the fur industry in Hong Kong is very humane, green and that they love animals.
It is shocking to me that the fur industry can claim themselves animal lovers. They argue that they would not use captured animals for harvesting fur, in order to protect near-extinct wild animals such as silver fox. All their furs come from farms, which means they kill their own animal for their own use. Gosh! This is what they called “Love animal and being ecological” […] They also explained they would not skin animals alive, as their products have attained Grade-A certification in Europe, which means the quality and production process are monitored for potential abuse of the animals.
Let me take one step backward and accept their account as fact. Can we then justify the fact that they are killing for fur? And it's purely for vanity rather than survival. Isn't that immoral? Moreover, even if Hong Kong's fur industry is more humane, we all know that most of the fur products in Hong Kong come from mainland China. Every year, the Fur Federation holds this grand fur fair to promote the idea that fur is fashionable, but isn't [such marketing] assisting the inhumane killing?
Indeed, Hong Kong's fur industry caters mostly to those seeking luxury items, though cheap fur products from mainland China, where the industry isn't monitored closely, have flooded Hong Kong's local market.
The Facebook group Say No to Cheap Fur pointed out that cheap furs also come from real animals:
「我呢件衫花園街平價貨嚟啫，點會用到真皮草？真動物毛？」
NoNoNo！可能好多人都有此想法，但原來真動物毛無處不在，衣領上、髮飾上、鞋上的毛毛，十幾蚊到幾百蚊，都絕大機會含有平價動物毛。平價皮草的受害者包括兔、浣熊、甚至貓、狗！買一次毛毛衣飾，動物都要承受致死的痛苦。
消費主義下，fast fashion充斥，商人刻意隱瞞產品的製造過程，尤其是藉剝判工人或動物的真相。
平價皮草製造過程十分殘酷。美國「善待動物組織」（PETA）公開了安哥拉兔養殖場片段，工人把兔子四足綁起後用人手扯毛、或電擊後連皮活剝，令兔子表皮紅腫流血！三個月後，當兔子重新長毛，便要再次受刑！可憐的兔子！
“[If] my clothes come from Garden Street [a bargain shopping area], how can they use real animal fur?”
NoNoNo! Many people believe so [that cheap fur isn't real fur]. The fact is that real animal fur is everywhere, on the collars of coats, on hair clips, on shoes. The price ranges from ten to a few hundred Hong Kong dollars [$2-100]. The victims of cheap furs are rabbits, raccoons, and even cats and dogs. Every time you buy fur, animals suffer from pain until they die.
Consumption culture gives rise to fast fashion and the businessmen hide the exploitative production process from the public.
The production of cheap fur is very cruel. The US-based organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released a video on the breeding farm of Angora rabbits, depicting workers tying up rabbits’ feet, and pulling off their fur or skinning them alive. The rabbits were bleeding. Three months later, the poor rabbits had to undergo the same torture again.
Raccoon fur is sold for RMB 18 online. Photo from Facebook group, “No to Cheap Fur”.
The group also captured image of fur products from the online shopping platform Taobao showing that most of the cheap fur products in China are not artificial furs but from real animals:
看看受害動物貉子的毛色，與不少大䄛衣領上的毛色十分相似。我們關注小隊更在淘寶網發現真貉子皮毛衣飾，只售人民幣18元！18元背後卻是可愛貉子被商人殘忍活剝的真相。少買一件毛毛衫，讓貉子脫離痛苦！
Look at the color of the raccoon's fur—it's very similar to the color of the fur in the collars of many coats. Our team found out from Taobao that the decorative raccoon fur is sold for only RMB 18 [approximately $3]! The lovely animal is skinned alive only for RMB 18! No fur! And free the raccoons from pain!
PETA's report on China's fur Industry in 2010 pointed out:
There are no penalties for abusing animals on fur farms in China, which is the world’s largest fur exporter, supplying more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Smart Cities Hackathon in Venezuela · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

Global Datafest is organizing the Smart Cities Hackathon, held simultaneously in 27 different cities around the world. The Venezuelan edition of the Smart Cities Hackathon calls on programmers, big data experts, urbanists, public officers and communications specialists who have an interest in developing technological solutions for issues related with the security, mobility, services, e-government, environment and sustainability of Venezuelan cities.
!Estamos a una semana de vernos en el Hackatón de Ciudades Inteligentes! http://t.co/YRTwkmSgRC pic.twitter.com/xLwX4WzdOl” mira @hectorbarboza
— Carmen Riera (@carmenchu33) marzo 1, 2015
We are a week away of meeting us at the Smart Cities Hackathon!
How can you participate?
Puedes participar de dos maneras:
1. VOTA POR UN RETO
El Instituto Metropolitano de Urbanismo Taller Caracas, el Instituto de Estudios Urbanos de la USB y la Facultad de Urbanismo de la UCV propusieron los desafíos en los que se debería trabajar.
Estamos consultando a los ciudadanos para que voten por alguno de estos retos y así validen los que consideran necesarios. Entra ya a El Nacional y su programa Caracas, Cómo Vamos Y participa en la encuesta!
2. VEN A TRABAJAR EN UN PROYECTO
Durante una intensa jornada, únete a urbanistas, programadores, expertos en data, coach de emprendimiento, periodistas y diseñadores, para crear una solución digital.
There are two ways to participate:
1. VOTE FOR A CHALLENGE
El Metropolitan Urbanism Institute Taller Caracas, the USB Urban Studies Institute and the UCV Urban Planing School proposed the challenges we should be working on.
We are surveying citizens to vote for any of these challenges to figure out which ones they consider necessary. Go visit El Nacional y su programa Caracas, Cómo Vamos and take the survey!
2. COME WORK ON A PROJECT
During an intense work day, join urban planners, programmers, data, experts, entrepreneur coaches, journalists and designers to create a digital solution.
When?
From 5:00 pm, March 6, 2015
To 7:00 pm, March 8, 2015
Where?
Academia Wayra, Torre Xerox, Av Ávila with Av Libertador, Caracas.
The Smart Cities Hackaton organization is sponsored by developers community 4Geeks and the firms Vikua Grupo Intech and EstoEs.co. Besides that, it was supported by Caracas en un Click, Regional and Urban Studies Institute (Simón Bolivar University), El Nacional, RunRunes, Center of Studies for Bicycle Mobility (CEMBI) and Forum Media.
Under the hashtag #SmartCityHack, you can find out everything about the Smart Cities Hackathon on Twitter.


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Alleged Video of Soldiers Beating Civilian Shocks São Tomé and Príncipe · Global Voices
Mário Lopes

Screenshot from the video published in You Tube.
An amateur video shared on January 14, 2015, on a Facebook group called STP Denuncias has brought to light the alleged beating of a civilian by officers of the Armed Forces of São Tomé and Principe.
The original post—almost a year old now—was deleted some time ago, but the radio station Radio Somos Todos Primos (We Are All Cousins Radio) republished it, renewing the public's attention on the event:
Ontem foi divulgado nas redes sociais um vídeo da qual dá conhecer que, alegadamente, figuras com alta patente militar de S. Tomé e Príncipe terá utilizado abusivamente da força contra um civil.
Devemos todos denunciar até que se apure as responsabilidades:
http://bit.ly/denunciafacebook
Yesterday, a video allegedly showing high-ranking soldiers from S. Tomé and Príncipe using excessive force against a civilian was shared on social networks. We must all speak out until responsibility has been established: http://bit.ly/denunciafacebook
The video, which has angered human rights advocates both within and beyond São Tomé and Príncipe, features a beating that lasts approximately 15 minutes. The victim was accused of stealing.
Reacting to the video, Radio Somos Todos Primos‘ audience shared its disgust online. One reader, Luizenda Rolim, commented:
Esta ilha que esses ditos senhores comandam e julgam ser a sua propriedade nunca ira sera melhor que isso…. todos os seres humano que rouba, mata ou droga existe lei tribunal , policia de investigação criminal ou policia nacional ….isso não se faz nem a um cachorro vira-lata na rua…. e digo mais quem nestas imagem diz que tem de ser assim… gostaria eu que fosse com alguém da sua família o que estaria a sentir neste momento?
This island which those so-called gentlemen rule and consider to be their property will never get better than this…. for all the human beings who steal, kill, or sell drugs there are laws and courts, criminal investigation officers or national police…. you don't do that even to a stray dog in the street… and I tell you that anyone who sees these images and says it has to be like that…. would they like it to be someone from their family feeling what he was feeling at that moment?
The alleged images show a young man sitting on the ground, wearing only underwear, as soldiers—apparently high-ranking members of the Armed Forces of São Tomé and Príncipe—beat him mercilessly. Also present are other police officers who move closer and begin to kick and beat the young man, who never displays any kind of resistance.
Patrice Trovoada, current prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe, reacted on his official Facebook page:
Tomei ontem conhecimento que está a circular nas redes sociais um vídeo em que, alegadamente, uma alta patente militar de S. Tomé e Príncipe terá utilizado abusivamente da força contra um civil.
Yesterday I became aware of a video circulating online that allegedly shows a high-ranking military officer from S. Tomé and Príncipe using excessive force against a civilian.
Mr. Trovoada took the opportunity to announce that he is making every effort to establish responsibility for these acts:
Tendo o acontecimento ocorrido ainda no mandato do anterior governo, segundo várias versões, solicitei também a abertura de um inquérito para se apurar a origem da gravação, bem como eventuais motivos para só agora ter sido divulgada e o paradeiro da vítima.
Since the incident took place during the previous government's mandate, according to various versions, I have also requested an inquiry to ascertain the origin of the recording, as well as the possible motives for its delayed disclosure and the whereabouts of the victim.
On his Facebook wall, various types of comments can be observed: some Internet users were happy with the Prime Minister's prompt reaction, like Elisabete Rodrigues, who wrote:
Excelente senhor Primeiro Ministro. Sinal de que está atento.
Excellent Mr. Prime Minister. A sign that you are attentive.
Edson Miguel, commenting on the same post, was cynical as to the probability that the announced inquiry would have any real consequences:
Isso não vai dar em nada……! É mesma coisa dizer o cão ladra e a caravana passa, nós em STP já estamos habituado a isso.
That's not going to come to anything……! It's the same as saying that dogs bark and caravans go past, we in STP are already accustomed to this.
Adney Lucas concluded:
Sendo assim tendo em conta a veracidade do facto, mais uma vez venho muito humildemente clamar uma aceleração neste inquérito e que o mesmo seja feito com muita celeridade e coerência. Que o Estado de Direito Democrático sege respeitado e que se possa fazer a justiça com responsabilidade. Ninguém está a cima da lei, ha métodos, formas e instâncias próprias para cada caso e situações. Viva a JUSTIÇA e a DEMOCRACIA, a baixo a anarquia.
Taking into account the veracity of the facts, once again I wish to call humbly for a expedition of this inquiry and for it to be carried out with rapidity and coherence. May the democratic rule of law be respected and justice be done responsibly. Nobody is above the law, there are appropriate methods, forms and instances for every case and situation. Long live JUSTICE and DEMOCRACY, down with anarchy.
In an interview with RFI, Célia Possér, President of the Platform for Human Rights and Gender Equality, condemned the apparent act of police brutality.

author: Mário Lopes


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Another Big Media Outlet Plagiarizes a Global Voices Story. What’s the Fix? · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

Screengrab from The Guardian's corrections and clarifications column.
Global Voices writer Owen Guo spent last Sunday—the day of his 28th birthday—writing a story about a documentary on China's horrific pollution problem that had been released hours before. By the time Owen’s story was published on Global Voices, the film had already been viewed 30 million times. During a chat session we had afterwards, he told me, “I'm really glad I spent my birthday doing something meaningful like this”—echoing the impulse that has kept the Global Voices community and our reporting alive and thriving for 10 years.
You should read Owen's story—it’s excellent. A writer at the venerable Guardian newspaper thought so too, copy-pasted significant portions of Owen's story and published it under his own name the following day. If you selected a sentence from Owen's piece and ran it through a search engine, chances were the Guardian story would appear in the results—such was the extent of the similarity. The writer had cribbed more than four of Owen’s paragraphs completely, and the essence of the piece was similar as well.
The Guardian story did not mention either Owen or Global Voices.
48 hours after the Guardian piece was published, the plagiarized paragraphs came to our attention. We contacted both the author and The Guardian’s readers’ editor. The author e-mailed an apology, as did someone from the readers’ editor's desk. A few hours later they added the necessary attribution, citing Owen several times, plus a correction at the end of the story. They also published a note in both the web and print versions of their corrections column.
But Owen, who started working in journalism four years ago, still feels cheated.
Not only did The Guardian steal his byline, the incident also left him feeling betrayed by a profession he deeply respects.
Our community also feels cheated.
This isn't the first time a reputable mainstream outlet has lifted Global Voices reporting verbatim from the site and presented it as their own work, and our community knows it won’t be the last. This in spite of our very liberal Creative Commons license and Attribution Policy, which allows anyone to republish our content for free with proper attribution.
Are the journalists who plagiarize our work exploiting the fact that we’re a small media outlet? As one colleague has pointed out, how come the Guardian writer didn’t lift the paragraphs from the New York Times article on the documentary that was published online shortly after Owen’s story?
To ask how we can fix this is beyond the scope of this piece, as journalistic ethics are forever under threat, and not only in the online space. But we still believe it’s a question worth asking: beyond the obvious reactive and retroactive steps, what's the fix here? What can we do to encourage the journalism industry to hold itself to higher values?

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


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Beachgoers Form Human Chain to Save Drowning Swimmers in Peru · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Human chain at Arica beach. Photo widely shared on Twitter.
An incredible act of kindness took place at Arica beach, 18 miles south from Peruvian capital, Lima, on Sunday, March 1.
Dozens of beachgoers formed a human chain to save four swimmers who were struggling against heavy waves, which had prevented lifeguards from going into the sea to rescue them, according to Alejandro Espinoza, who reported the event to El Comercio newspaper's WhatsApp account. Peruvian news website Tawi.pe then picked it up.
The site explained:
[…] al percatarse que los rescatista no se abastecían para sacar del agua a los bañistas, los que se encontraban en el lugar armaron una cadena humana espontáneamente para poder ayudar.
A pesar de que había salvavidas, era complicado sacara (sic) a los bañistas, pues la corriente y las olas eran muy fuerte. Pero finalmente, la cadena humana pudo salvarlos y los que participaron del rescate recibieron los aplausos del público.
[…] when they noticed the rescuers weren't able to take the swimmers from the water, the people who were there spontaneously set up a human chain and so they could help.
Although there were lifeguards, it was complicated to take the swimmers out of the water, as the current and the waves were very heavy. But at last, the human chain was able to save them and those who took part in the rescue received applause from the public.
The news made headlines in various media outlets, and Twitter users shared photos of the human chain:
#Lima: 50 bañistas formaron ‘cadena humana’ para salvar a cuatro … – Trome http://t.co/bCe1qExFLb
— 757Live Peru (@757LivePE) marzo 3, 2015
50 bathers formed a ‘human chain’ to save four…
Cadena humana salvó a cuatro personas de morir ahogadas playa Arica ► wooo [FOTOS] #WasapEC► http://t.co/NfBanZFrVR pic.twitter.com/h4exqVPvAN“
— cristhian (@cristhian258612) marzo 3, 2015
Human chain saved four individuals at risk of drowning at Arica beach.
#Nacionales: Cadena humana de bañistas en Playa Arica salvó a cuatro personas que se ahogaban #CadenaHumana #AHOGADOS #Banistas #Playa
— El Comercio de Cusco (@ComerciodeCusco) marzo 3, 2015
Human chain made up of swimmers at Arica beach saved four people who were drowning.
One Twitter user offered a message full of hope:
Ver la solidaridad de los bañistas en playa Arica para salvar a unas personas, con una cadena humana me hace creer en la humanidad! #Respect
— Jean Fernandez Tapia (@Jeanpierreft) marzo 2, 2015
To witness the solidarity shown by swimmers at Arica beach to save some people with a human chain makes me believe in humanity!
Fortunately, acts of kindness like these are not unusual in Peru. Some time ago, hundreds of motorcycle taxi drivers used their vehicle lights to illuminate an airfield's runway in the Peruvian department of Ucayali so a small airplane that was transporting three patients of delicate health could take off.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Buddhist Villagers Protest Construction of Mosque in Northern Thailand · Global Voices
Zashnain Zainal

Protest against the planned construction of mosque in Nan province. Photo from @joe_black317 and Khaosod, used with permission
About 800 people joined a protest against the proposed construction of a mosque in Mueang Nan, the capital district of Nan province in northern Thailand. A Buddhist monk, who represented the demonstrators, handed a protest letter to a provincial officer.
Most Thais are Buddhists and about 5 percent of the population are Muslims. Majority of Thailand's Muslims are living in the south part of the country, formerly known as the Pattani Kingdom. In fact, some Muslim groups are advocating the separation of this territory from Thailand.
The protesting villagers, who came from Ban Buppharam and other neighbouring districts, claimed that the Muslim community failed to properly consult them about the mosque.
The first hearing was conducted in January but the local Muslim committee failed to reach a consensus about the issue.
The Bangkok Post interviewed the villagers who insisted that a mosque is not necessary in the province. The report said people are afraid there might be a “hidden political or religious purpose” in building the mosque “which could lead to unrest and violence” in other parts of Thailand.
Incidentally, the proposed site of the mosque is only two kilometers away from a Buddhist temple and some are not happy about this. The people argued in their petition that the mosque might create a “noise pollution” or that it would lead to tension because of “differences in lifestyle and culture”.
Mr. Rikkraisak Kanta, 55 years old, explained to a local media his reasons for opposing the mosque:
Villagers have no problems with Muslims but this protest is because we are not happy with the local (provincial) government that allowed the building of this mosque in a Buddhist community. We should have a public hearing before the construction as this mosque has an impact on our community. If the province continues with the construction, the Nan people will continue the protest.
A Muslim representative said there are currently 60 Muslims in Nan and they have to travel 130 kilometers to a different province to perform their devotion. Another Muslim leader also defended the project by citing its positive impact on tourism. He said that “tourists from neighboring provinces, including foreigners and individuals who are Muslim, can visit the mosque. It will lead to more spending in the region.”
Some Thais are unhappy with the intolerance shown towards another religion:
พวกคุณบอกว่าต้องการความสงบ ไม่ต้องการความแตกแยก แต่ที่พวกคุณทำอยู่นี่ คือจุดเริ่มต้นของความแตกแยกเลยนะ pic.twitter.com/lzJ5ZbNCeC
— joe black (@joe_black317) March 1, 2015
You say you want peace and don't want segregation but what you are doing here is the beginning of segregation.
ตามนัด! คนน่านฮือยื่นคำขาดห้ามสร้างมัสยิด แฉคนมีสี-การเมืองปั่นกระแสต้านทหารต่อ http://t.co/UCoh3UM5bz pic.twitter.com/YFlWIrhVoX
— ♥ Moui ♥ (@moui) March 2, 2015
Come as promised! Nan people say don't build the masjid (mosque). Some people say that rally is politically motivated and to be against the army
@moui แบบนี้ล่ะ ที่ทำให้เสื่อม เขาเรียกว่า เดรัจฉานวิชา เป็นข้อห้ามของสงฆ์ไทย แต่ขยันทำกันจัง
— ████ .III. ████ (@RITT41) March 2, 2015
The actions of the monk insult religion. This is a brute. His action is against the rules that govern monks.
I do feel sad for this news: Buddhists in Nan take a stand against mosque.http://t.co/840nlcBaaA #religions #buddhism pic.twitter.com/5W5AjqdrSk
— Chokdee Smith (@chokdeesmith) March 3, 2015
Nan Governor Ukrit Puengsopha tried to strike a balance. He said that instead of constructing a permanent mosque, Muslims in the province can begin by building a balasah, which is a temporary place of worship. The community can upgrade it into a bigger mosque when there are more Muslims in the region, he said.
Similar to other faiths, Islam is officially recognized in Thailand and the population enjoys extensive relations with Islamic countries and organizations. However the threat of continued protests brings about the question of underlining societal ignorance of non-Buddhist faiths and the impact of intolerance towards Thailand's future.

author: Zashnain Zainal


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‘Eat My S***, Mother****ers!’: A Newly-Elected Councillor Causes a Stir in Tajikistan · Global Voices
Censored Voice

Tajikistan has become a lot less Russified in over twenty years of independence. A stamp celebrating twenty years of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. Taken from the dic.academic.ru archive.
Gulnora Amirshoeva, a freshly-elected member of the city council in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe and a prominent Russian-speaking journalist, recently profaned the state language, Tajik, by using it to tell Tajik-speaking Facebook users “motherf**ers, eat my s***.”
In a nation that was part of both the Russian empire and the Soviet Union, but where most people speak a variety of Farsi called Tajik as their first language, Amirshoeva's comment has gone off like a bomb.
Amirshoeva, Editor-in-Chief of the Vecherniy Dushanbe newspaper, became a member of the city council in elections on March 1. Campaigning for the ruling People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT), she won the seat with 79.6 percent of the vote.
Given the number of Tajik-speaking opposition candidates that had failed the mandatory test in the country's state language while competing for the national parliament, many questioned how Amirshoeva, known for preferring Russian, the country's ‘language of inter-ethnic communication’, had not had to sit one to become a city representative.
As a response to this criticism, Gulnora Amirshoeva commented on Facebook (mostly in Russian with expletives in Tajik):
Это ладно, мою персону уже неделю обсуждает весь таджикоязычный фейсбук, что я не знаю , мол, язык и не должна быть депутатом , так и хочется послать их на этом самом таджикском и сказать к…и оча, гуи маро то ба кай хойда мешинед! ))))))
So, the whole of Tajik-speaking Facebook has been discussing my personality for the last week, saying I should not be a deputy because I do not know the language. I would like to tell them to shove it in that very same language by saying: eat my s***, motherf**ers!
Amirshoeva's provocative call to eat her excrement led to a spike in activity among Tajik-speaking Facebook users.
Unsurprisingly most comments were condemnatory. Zavqibek Saidamini, a Tajik journalist, posted on Facebook that Amirshoeva had insulted the language:
Дар ин пост 100% ЗАБОНИ ТОЧИКИ ПАСТ ЗАДА ШУДА АСТ! Гуё ки ин “бону” дар кадом як кишвари Русия зиндагони дораду бо дустонаш точикону точикзабононро барраси доранд!!!! Мехохам ба онхое, ки аз ин вакил имтихони забони точики гирифтанд бипурсам, ки ин “намояндаи халк” чи гуна имтихон супорид ё вакилони шахри имтихон намесупоранд?!
Баъдан ин “намояндаи халк” бо ин забону бо ин гуфтораш чи ХИДМАТЕ ба интихобкунандагонаш, ки шояд хама ба таъбири худи у “таджикоязычный”-янд КАРДА МЕТАВОНАД????
She has totally insulted the Tajik language in her comment! As if this ‘lady’ were living in a Russian city and discussing Tajiks and Tajik-speaking people! I want to ask those who accepted the Tajik language test from this representative: How did she pass the test, or do municipal representatives not take the test?After that, I would like to ask what this ‘representative of the people’ with this manner of speaking, can do for her voters, who might all be, as she says, ‘Tajik-speaking'?
Nosirjon Ma'murzoda wrote:
Аслан, банда мухолифи ҳама гуна “бигӯмагӯ”-ҳо бо ҳампешаҳо ҳастам ва ҳамеша ба ҳамраъйӣ бо журналистон моилам. Аммо акнун бо вакили мардум интихоб шудани Амиршоева, вай нафари оммавӣ шудааст. Ба ҳар ҳол, агар ман аз он ҳавза интихобкунанда мебудам, ҳатман ба ин вакил эрод мегирифтам. Маданияти баланди муошират ва донистани меъёрҳои забони давлатӣ бисёр муҳим аст. Дар ин матни шарҳи вакил беэҳтиромӣ нисбат ба забон эҳсос мешавад.
I am always in solidarity with another journalist. However, getting elected as a representative of people, Amirshoeva becomes a public person. If I was participating in that vote, I would definitely complain about this representative. A high culture of communication and knowledge of state language are very important norms. Her comment shows her contempt for the language.
A group of Tajik-speaking Facebookers wrote a complaint to the ImruzNews local newspaper asking Amirshoeva to apologise in front of the Tajik nation.
However, Amirshoeva did not stop there. She responded:
за мной весь неадекватный тадж фб следить и то мне пофиг, а ты говоришь)))) скоро не так моргну, начнут ещё два месяца это обсуждать, говоря, что можно депутату, а что нет.)))) так что расслабься )))))
All of the inadequates on Tajik Facebook are following me, and I don't give a hell)))) If I blink the wrong way, they will discuss it for two more months, saying what is allowed for a councillor and what is not. ))) So relax.
Gulnora Amirshoeva is a controversial figure in the mostly-Muslim nation. She is also known for condemning the participation of state officials in the Jum'a Prayers (a compulsory prayer for Sunni Muslims every Friday afternoon), which also earned her the wrath of Facebook users and may have contributed to the scrutiny she received after winning her election to the Dushanbe council.
It is not the first time a Tajik journalist has used a word for human waste to devastating effect. Olga Tutubalina, a journalist from Asia-Plus news agency, famously called Tajikistan's pro-government intelligentsia govno, or ‘shit’ last year and was promptly and successfully sued by the same intelligentsia for insulting their ‘honour’.
Tutubalina was paraphrasing bolshevik Vladimir Lenin, who wrote in a letter to writer Maxim Gorky: “The intelligentsia — is not the brain of the nation, it is her s***.”
***
Every Facebook comment has two sides
Shortly after this article was published, a Tajik Facebook user, who knows Amirshoeva and wished to remain anonymous contacted Global Voices to say:
Fantastic article about Amirshoeva! I think the author needs to make one slight correction though. The article suggests that Amirshoeva passed the Tajik language exam while some other candidates didn't. In reality, she did not have to sit the exam at all. The exam is a must only for those who seek to get elected to the parliament.
This was part of the whole debate. Many nationalists started it on Facebook,without understanding the difference. She tried to explain, but people began to insult her, with many also discussing her personal life, party membership, and posting insulting comments on her 9-year-old son's Facebook page. If you dig deep enough, you would see some comments telling more explicitly what I think actually irked many people: the fact she has “shoeva” in her last name (usually this ending suggests the person is of Pamiri origin). This is what angered Amirshoeva. However, she did not think she was going public with that comment – she posted it as a comment in response to a thread started by her friend, not as a separate status update.
Also, I think the summary is a bit unfair to Amirshoeva. She does speak Tajik, at a very good street level. She might not be able to write an article in Tajik, but she can freely express herself in the language.
Information about the state language exam and the summary to the article which originally read ‘if the only words you know in another language are expletives, better to say nothing at all’, have since been amended.

author: Censored Voice


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#FragaWantsToPost: A Brazilian Activist Has Been Forbidden From Protesting for Two Years · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

Ricardo Fraga hanging the pictures people drawn at the wall in Vila Mariana. Photo: ARTICLE 19/Facebook
In 2013, Global Voices told the story of Ricardo Fraga, an agricultural engineer gagged by a Brazilian court from speaking out on the streets and the Internet against the construction of a high-rise residential complex in a vacant lot in his neighborhood in São Paulo. Since then, for 728 days his right to protest has remained legally suspended.
He is under a restraining order and can't come within 1 kilometer of the high-rise complex. His Facebook page, “O outro lado do muro – Intervenção Coletiva” (The Other Side of the Wall – Collective Intervention), is forbidden to post any content related to Mofarrej Co., the contractor which owns the lot and who is responsible for the complex's construction. If he disobeys, he must pay a fee of 10,000 reais (around 3,300 US dollars).
To mark the two years since the gag order, international NGO Article 19, which defends freedom of expression and has been following the case since the beginning, has organized a protest in front of the wall March 6, 2015. Fraga won't be able attend the rally, but protesters will be wearing a mask with his face to remember that #FragaQuerPostar (#FragaWantsToPost).
It all started in 2011. For a few months that year, Fraga — a public servant who has worked for more than 20 years on environment and urbanism at São Paulo's City Hall — had a weekend ritual: he grabbed his kids’ white board, a few pens, a ladder and walked to the surrounding wall of a vacant lot located in São Paulo's neighborhood of Vila Mariana. Once there, Fraga invited people to climb the ladder, peek on the other side of the wall, think about what they would like to see there and draw whatever they had imagined. Soon the drawings became a Facebook page and a social movement.
He told Global Voices:
O movimento começou com o objetivo de promover uma reflexão sobre a forma como a cidade é apropriada, o modelo de verticalização que vem se impondo, suas consequências, o ideal de cidade que imaginamos e sobre o por que a sociedade pouco se mobiliza na preservação de espaços tão significativos.
The movement started with the goal of encouraging a reflection on how the city is appropriated, the verticalization model that is being imposed and its consequences, the ideal city that we imagine and why society doesn't mobilize itself for the preservation of such meaningful spaces.
But Fraga soon had other company at the wall: Mofarrej started sending real estate agents to the site. A few weekends went by with no major problems, each man in one corner — until one year later, one of the agents approached him with a threat that Fraga “did not know what could happen to him”.
In 2013, the company decided to file a suit, asking for the suspension of Fraga’s protests and the Facebook page and for 100,000 reais (about 33,000 US dollars) compensation.
The next day, without hearing the defendant's side, a judge issued a restraining order against Fraga, forbidding him from coming within 1 kilometer of the wall, and demanded the movement’s page be removed from Facebook. The judge ignored the demand for material compensation, but imposed the 10,000-real fine for every breach of the orders.
Fraga filed an appeal in São Paulo State Court, with the support of Article 19 and a petition with 5,000 signatures supporting him. On May 15, 2013, the court upheld the judge's decision, but reduced the restraining order from 1 kilometer to one block and ruled that Fraga did not need to take down the Facebook page, but should delete all content related to Mofarrej Co. and not post any in the future.
But in September 2014 the first judge handed down his final decision: the restraining order went back to 1 kilometer. Fraga filed another appeal and now waits for a final ruling from São Paulo State Court.
NGO Article 19 says the decision violates article 19 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and makes Fraga into “one of the first people prohibited from protesting online by the Brazilian judiciary”. On their website, they argue that the decision didn't respect the “three-part test” (three provisions recommended respected when limiting freedom of expression: to be provided by the law, to have a legitimate aim supported by international law and to be necessary and proportional in a democratic state):
Caso o teste das três partes tivesse sido observado, a restrição contra a liberdade de Ricardo não teria sido concedida visto que tal restrição não se encontra prevista em lei e o interesse econômico de comercialização dos lotes pela empresa não esta acima do interesse publico concretizado na garantia da liberdade coletiva de manifestação. Em outras palavras, a decisao constitui limitação desproporcional e ilegitima ao exercício do direito de protesto de Ricardo e o direito a informação de toda a sociedade.
If the three-part test was observed, this restriction against Ricardo's freedom wouldn't have been handed down since it's not provided by the law and the company's economic interest in real estate commercialization is not above the public interest crystallized in the guarantee of collective freedom of expression. In other words, this decision is disproportional and denies both Ricardo of his right to protest and society of its right to information.
Guilherme Ravaglia Perisse Duarte from Advogados Ativistas (Activist Attorneys) told Global Voices that the case also sets a dangerous precedent:
A decisão é assustadora, pois submete os Direitos Fundamentais à liberdade de expressão, reunião pacífica e livre associação, garantidos pela Constituição Federal, ao suposto direito da construtora de vender os imóveis, independentemente da informação.
Utilizando essa lógica seria justificável proibir as pessoas, ou a mídia, de criticar qualquer produto, sob o argumento de que a empresa tem o direito de vendê-lo.
Como seria a sociedade capitalista se a Publicidade fosse a única forma de informar? Eu imagino um mundo de obesos comendo fast-food para emagrecer e é esse o mundo da decisão que proíbe o Fraga de falar, ainda bem que é um caso isolado!
The decision is frightening because it subjects fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, peaceful public gathering and free association, assured by the Federal Constitution, to the contractor's alleged right to sell real estate, regardless of the information.
By this logic it would be justifiable to forbid people, or the media, to criticize any product, under the argument that the company has the right to sell it.
How would capitalist society be if advertising was the only way to inform? I imagine a world of obese people eating fast-food to lose weight and this is the world of the decision forbidding Fraga to speak. Fortunately it’s an isolated case.
The largely residential neighborhood of Vila Mariana has more than 300,000 residents. It’s close to Parque Ibirapuera, one of the largest green areas in São Paulo's concrete jungle. It's the neighborhood Fraga chose to raise his kids. He still remembers how sometime between the 1990s and the 2000s children used to go climb that wall to play and grab fresh fruits from the trees in the vacant lot. He also remembers the time when one of the Mofarrej’s family members decided to cultivate vegetables at the site and sell them to the neighbors.
The wall of protest. Photo: ARTICLE 19/Facebook
And he also remembers the rumor of a river passing through the lot:
(Um amigo engenheiro) disse que havia fortes indiciados que naquela área passasse um rio, o Boa Vista. Como no processo de licenciamento não constava nenhuma referência, fomos atrás de mapas antigos e descobrimos um de 1905 e outro de 1913 que dava indícios da existência do curso do rio. Com estes dois mapas encaminhei memorando como servidor ao secretário da secretaria do verde e do meio Ambietne municipal que suspendeu o licenciamento para averiguação.
(An engineer friend) told me there was strong evidence that a river ran through the area, the Boa Vista river. As the complex's licensing process did not make any reference to it, we started to search old maps, and found out one from 1905 and another from 1913 indicating the existence of the river. With these two maps, I issued a memo, as a public servant, to the Green and Environmental Municipal Secretariat who suspended the license to verify it.
After conducting an extensive geoprocessing study and finding new maps at the City Hall, Fraga found out that the information about the river was true. Twice the environmental license for construction was suspended, and twice the enterprise of 162 apartments and 650 parking spots — with estimated prices between 2.5 and 5 million reais (between 1 and 2 million US dollars) — came back.
So, when he had to hear the sentence on May 15, 2013, it was hard to hold in the tears:
He said:
Sou tb advogado e, assim que comecei a escutar a decisão do agravo impetrado, percebi que ela continuaria violentando-me, impedindo-me de postar na rede mundial de computadores e de impedir-me d ir ao local, mesmo após termos contestadas todas as acusações existentes na petição inicial da empreendedora.
I’m also a lawyer and, as soon as I started to hear the decision on the filed grievance, I realized it would continue violating me, stopping me from posting on the Internet and of going to that place, even after we contested all the accusations of the company’s initial petition.
But even with the prohibition, the Facebook page “O outro lado do muro” continues documenting and debating gentrification and occupation movements in the city of São Paulo.
Mofarrej Co’s three towers of apartments are almost concluded and ready to be delivered.

author: Fernanda Canofre


text:
From a Promising Boxer to a Casualty of the Lyari Gang Wars in Pakistan · Global Voices
Pak Voices

Ariel shot of Gwadar's coastline. Talha Baloch grew up in Gwadar. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
This story was originally written by Feroz Jan in Urdu for PakVoices. It was edited for context in English by Salman Latif and is published on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
A young man was killed in Lyari, Karachi, in an encounter with the Rangers, a paramilitary force combating gang violence and law and order problems in Pakistan's largest city. The man was later identified as Talha Baloch.
In Lyari, one of Karachi's oldest, most densely populated and politicized towns, he went by “Gwadari.” He was originally a popular boxer from the coastal Balochistan city of Gwadar.
According to the police, 24-year-old Talha died of gunshot wounds on February 18, 2015. Aftab Nizamani, a senior police officer, claimed that Talha was involved in the recent murder of three members of the political party Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and was a prominent member of Uzair Baloch‘s gang, which recently had a falling out with the PPP. In a profile published on Dawn.com last year, Uzair was described as the “political face of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Lyari, a label the PPP is struggling to distance itself from.”
Back in his hometown, the circumstances of Talha's death irked many. Talha’s relatives in the coastal city said he had extraordinary boxing abilities but was disappointed by the lack of career opportunities there for boxers. They claimed that many connected people had promised Talha a chance in the ring but no one came through, leaving him disheartened. Talha’s friends said that he eventually gave up boxing altogether and couldn't find a job for two years. Ultimately, he left his city Gwadar, went to Karachi in 2008, and eventually settled in Lyari.
Lyari is known for producing excellent boxers over the years. In 1988, a Lyari boxer Hussain Shah won the bronze medal for Pakistan in the Olympic Games. The neighborhood features many boxing clubs, but coaches there bemoan lack of opportunities for their boxers.
This isn't the first time a promising boxer has been killed in Lyari's gang wars. Stuck between poverty and the notorious Lyari gang war, many are forced to turn to a life of crime and often have to pay with their lives. In the past, boxers in Lyari have been killed by local gangs and by the Rangers.
Lyari  is notorious for a continuing conflict between different criminal gangs in the area. Political parties and state institutions have been accused of running a “proxy war” there, trying to manipulate the gangs in Lyari to meet their own political agendas. Dawn reports that between 2003-2008, the gang war in Lyari claimed 500-600 lives. In 2013 alone, more than 100 lives were lost in Lyari-specific incidents of violence.

author: Pak Voices


text:
Madagascar’s Citizens Save Themselves As Country Floods · Global Voices
Lalatiana Rahariniaina

Inundations in Antananarivo, Madagascar via @MiranaPriscilla on twitter
As floods and torrential rains keep plaguing many regions of Madagascar, a few citizen initiatives have taken it upon themselves to provide relief to those displaced by the disaster. The authorities reported that 20 people had died and 71,854 had been displaced as of March 3. The current situation poses daunting challenges to coordinating the rescue effort: several dykes surrounding the capital city could burst at anytime under pressure from the continuous downpour. Still, many associations have come forward to provide first aid kits and staple foods.
Flood in Madagascar via Tsimoka Gasikara
Crédit Photo: Wake Up Madagascar
Make sure that you tell the MPs and the members of the government that you do not agree with the fact that MPs are about to award themselves 4X4 trucks.
Food distribution in Antananarivo, Madagascar via Wake Up Madagascar
Fanja Aina sur Instagram #Weselfie2015
Andry sur Facebook: Weselfie20015
Cover photo of the Elan du Coeur Facebook page
In the urban quarter of Soavina and Ankazotoho Anosimahavelona, the Danny Gemestone Association and Foko Madagascar blog community came together to distribute rice bags, candles, and water bottles.
These are just a few examples of citizen initiatives and there are still many others, of course, doing important work on the ground today in Madagascar. As ordinary concerned individuals get their feet wet and their hands dirty, those in the flooded areas they can't reach are still waiting on the state to follow suit and swing into action.

author: Lalatiana Rahariniaina


text:
Mexican Protesters Show Creative Activism  · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

@faeriedevilish, blogging for Infoactivismo, reflects on the need to be creative in communicating our protests. Along those lines, the author explains the importance of creativity while referring to protesting events in Ayotzinapa, where photocopies of the victims’ faces were used to attract and generate awareness about the terrible incidents.
Photo from Infoactivismo. Used by permission.
Illustrators not only made use of online resources to get the public's attention, but the streets also took the leading role for young people's creativity.
En una ciudad en la que la proliferación de marchas lleva en el mejor de los casos a una saturación, y en el peor de ellos, a prejuicios de clase, hacer que las marchas de Acción Global Ayotzinapa dieran incentivos para seguir participando fue un reto gigantesco.
Y es que marchar es del Contingente Carreola. Marchar es usar tu talento para incidir – como los jóvenes de la ENAP que pintaron las caras de lxs desaparecidxs en Reforma, lxs estudiantes de la Nacional de Música que marchaban interpretando música. Marchar es de quienes cuentan del 1 al 43, y de quienes cambian los dichos machistas por versiones feministas.
Marchar no es aburrido ni tedioso: es una forma de participación social que, de hecho, puede ser bastante divertida.
In a city where a proliferation of marches can either fill the streets or lead to class prejudices, it was a huge challenge to have the Ayotzinapa Global Action encourage further participation.
The march is lead by the Stroller Contingent. Marching uses your talent to have an affect on people, such as the kids from the National School of Plastic Arts who painted their faces reflecting the people who disappeared during the Reform period, and students from the National Conservatory of Music marched while playing music. The march has people from ages 1 to 43 and those willing to change their chauvinist remarks for more feminist ones.
Marching isn't boring or tedious. It's a way to participate in something social and fun.
You can follow Infoactivism on Twitter.