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Aurat March breaking barriers against patriarchy in Pakistan · Global Voices
R Umaima Ahmed

More than 7000 women gathered in Karachi, Pakistan for Aurat March on March 8, 2019. Image via Aurat March Facebook Page. Used with permission.
On March 8, 2019, the Hum Aurtein (Us Women) movement organized an Aurat March (Women’s March) in Pakistan in all four provinces to celebrate International Women’s Day.
From metropolitan cities to far-flung areas of Pakistan, women came out to march for economic, environmental and social justice; accountability and justice for violence; reproductive rights; justice against police brutality; inclusion of transgender individuals and women with disabilities; the rights of women from minority groups; access to public spaces and push for peace and against war; against militarization in daily life and the rhetoric of jingoism. While a large number of women participated in the event a number of like-minded men also joined the march to show their support for the cause.
A Woman showing a placard which reads:”Demanding dowry shows lack of self respect” at Aurat March on March 8, 2019. Image via Aurat March. Used with permission
The Hum Aurtein movement is a joint effort of feminist women, transgender individuals, non-binary persons and sexual minorities of all classes and religious persuasions who see patriarchal structures as responsible for the sexual, economic and structural exploitation of women. They are an apolitical entity and do not take funds from NGO’s or the corporate sector. The collective organized the 2018 Aurat March; however, this year's march grew both in the number of participants and the women who helped organize it.
Social media played a large role in building momentum behind this movement. The Aurat March Lahore chapter uploaded their manifesto giving details of the importance of the Aurat March. It claims to be a movement towards collective action and consciousness building to stand against patriarchal structures in Pakistan which results in sexual, economic and structural exploitation of women. Here is an example:
a. We demand that the right to autonomy and decision-making over our bodies;
c. We agitate for equal access to quality reproductive and sexual health services for women, all genders and sexual minorities.
During the march, participants carried placards with messages about the challenges that women face in their daily lives. Some of the placards were against patriarchy, while others highlighted social issues and demanded more rights.
Women March in Lahore. Image by Shaheena Kausar via Aurat March Lahore. Used with permission.
Women marching in Peshawar. Image by Syed Talib Abbas Raza via Aurat March. Used with permission.
Aurat Azadi March on #InternationalWomensDay in Hunza District of Gilgit-Baltistan. Via Hunza 24/7 / Humans of Hunza and Aurat March. Used with permission.
Aurat March in Quetta. The placard in red banner reads: “Socialist movement is our way.”Image by Jalila Haider via Aurat March. Used with permission.
Here is a video uploaded to Youtube by Abdul Rahman:
Although the march received support from all over the country, as participants and organizers began broadcasting live videos of the event, people took to social media to speak out against some of the poster's slogans.
One placard said, ‘Keep your dick to yourself’, another said ‘We are not punching bags’, while another said ‘We need rights, not marriage proposals’ these and others created a backlash from some Pakistani social media users.
Some actors from Pakistan film industry came out with their condemnation of the march too. A number of people posted repulsive comments openly threatening women and even Photoshopped some pictures to malign the basic concept of the Aurat March.
Shaan Shahid a popular film actor tweeted:
These slogans do not represent our culture ,our values and the respect we have for our women that was my point .. and you missed it completely.. pic.twitter.com/9jaCSHnRUG
— Shaan Shahid (@mshaanshahid) March 11, 2019
Veena Malik, a TV actress who some time back was under pressure for her work tweeted:
Who planned and funded this controversial #auratmarch2019
Because this brought Humiliation to women of Pakistan instead of Anything positive like empowering them etc…!!! #Aurat#AuratMarch
— VEENA MALIK (@iVeenaKhan) March 11, 2019
Some anchors on TV also added their voice against the march and asked the Government to take action against the organizers. A Parliamentarian of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Abdul Rasheed from Sindh threatened to file a police complaint against the Aurat March.
The Aurat March organisers are planning to file a complaint with the Federal Investigation Authority after they received death and rape threats online.
Nida Kirmani, a journalist pointed out a doctored photo in her tweet to tell people how the doctoring had taken place:
Doctored images of women holding signs are circulating on social media. Here is one example of my friend, Shahana Rajani. The fake one is on the left and the real one on the right. That people would stoop this low to undermine the #AuratMarch2019 says a lot about their mentality. pic.twitter.com/ga0LSermki
— Nida Kirmani (@nidkirm) March 10, 2019
The original poster on the right says: “have you learnt how to warm food”? The doctored image on the left says, “insert with love” – and there is a picture of a penis on it too.
Despite the severe backlash, many people appreciated the Aurat March and tweeted in its favor:
Has been inspiring to see the tireless efforts feminist organizers have put into the #AuratMarch2019 & #AuratAzadiMarch in various cities. The growth of the women's movement is one of the biggest reasons to hope in Pakistan today. Join us in Isb 3pm outside the Press Club, F-6. pic.twitter.com/cPBrkt1BaE
— Ammar Rashid (@AmmarRashidT) March 7, 2019
Thread of all the photos of incredible posters from #AuratMarch2019 I'm seeing on my timeline ????????? #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/SO3pTzQqS1
— Tony Khan (@anthonypermal) March 8, 2019
Translation: Today mothers and sisters are uniting in real sense.
The outburst against #AuratMarch2019 is reason enough for me to be a marcher. It is clear that feminism is totally misunderstood & women's anger & frustration against everything they face is still unacceptable. #IAmAMarcher
— Sadaf Khan (@nuqsh) March 15, 2019
A day after the Aurat March, a group of men retaliated by announcing a Mard March (Men March) in Karachi planned for the 23 March. A number of men wrote and put up placards on social media posters as a rebuttal to Aurat March; however, it did not get a positive response:
Every action has #strong reaction
(Modified Einstein)??#MardMarch pic.twitter.com/Ovt61xJ4Eg
— Circular ? | ?? (@NotforLemonade) March 11, 2019
Aurat March was a display of power and unity by women who are not seen in public spaces freely and their opinions and demands are almost never heard. The march was successful in raising awareness about the issues and augers well for the organizers who feel that it is merely the first step on the path towards making women's voices heard.

author: R Umaima Ahmed


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Russian journalist forced to resign for Telegram channel critical of St. Petersburg authorities · Global Voices
Alexey Kovalev

Maria Karpenko was forced to resign from Kommersant daily newspaper for her critical comments about Alexander Beglov, the Kremlin-appointed acting governor in St. Petersburg // Maria Karpenko's Facebook profile
Maria Karpenko, a reporter for Kommersant, one of Russia’s leading business dailies, says she was forced to resign after the paper’s editor-in-chief confronted her about a Telegram channel she co-administrates.
The Telegram channel in question, named Rotonda, is run by a group of journalists from other publications in St. Petersburg and focuses on local politics. It has close to 10,000 followers.
Karpenko wrote on Rotonda:
Привет, это Маша Карпенко, соавтор «Ротонды» и до сегодняшнего дня — корреспондент газеты «Коммерсантъ». Меня уволили: причиной стало недовольство Кремля и Смольного тем, что я пишу здесь и тем, как «Ъ» освещает избирательную кампанию Александра Беглова.
Объясняя причину увольнения, руководитель издательского дома Владимир Желонкин сообщил: то, что я пишу в «Ротонде», не соответствует редакционной политике «Коммерсанта». «Ротонду» он назвал «активизмом, несовместимым с журналистским статусом». Если не относить эти слова на счет критических замечаний «Ротонды» по поводу политики врио губернатора Петербурга Александра Беглова, единственное, что можно назвать активизмом — это настойчивые попытки добиться того, чтобы работа городского правительства была одинаково открытой для всех журналистов (которые я предпринимала в том числе от имени «Ъ» с согласия руководства). Такой активизм считаю не просто совместимым с журналистским статусом, но и неотъемлемой частью этого статуса.
Hi, this is Masha Karpenko, Rotonda’s co-author and until today a correspondent for the Kommersant newspaper. I was fired: the reason for this was the Kremlin and Smolny’s [St. Petersburg city hall] anger at my writings here and my coverage of Alexander Beglov’s [acting governor of St. Petersburg] election campaign in Kommersant.
Explaining the motivations for my dismissal, the director of the publishing house Vladimir Zhelonkin told me: what I write in Rotonda is at odds with Kommersant’s editorial policies. He called Rotonda a piece of “activism incompatible with the status of a journalist.” If we ignore Rotonda’s critical comments about the policies of the acting governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, my only activity that could possibly be construed as activism were the persistent attempts to provide equal access to the city government’s halls for all journalists, a campaign which I waged with full knowledge of my Kommersant superiors and their blessing. This kind of activism I consider to be not just consistent with my status as a journalist, but an inalienable part of said status.
Karpenko refers to a series of incidents where the government of St. Petersburg allowed only reporters from publications controlled by or loyal to the city authorities to attend their press briefings, while blacklisting critical outlets.
She then writes that Zhelonkin couldn’t have come up with the idea himself. She says he was obviously pressured into firing her for her critical articles and social media posts, likely by someone in St. Petersburg administration or even the Kremlin.
Vladimir Zhelonkin went on Echo of Moscow radio station to comment on Karpenko’s allegations:
Мария Карпенко работала в двух медиа и выбрала работу в одном из них. Её поставили перед выбором и она выбрала. По нашим правилам работать в двух медиа нельзя. Я думаю, что это в трудовом соглашении прописано. Расстались мы по соглашению сторон. Я прочитал её пост [в Телеграме]. Я ей про администрацию президента точно ничего не говорил.
Maria Karpenko worked at two media outlets at the same time and chose to work for one of them [referring to Rotonda] instead. She was given a choice and she made it. Our charter prohibits working for two publications at the same time. This must be written into her contract. We parted ways by mutual agreement. I read her [Telegram] post. I’m sure I haven’t told her anything about the president’s administration.
Other journalists cast doubt on Zhelonkin’s version, saying that even if the rules at Kommersant prohibit working on the side, they're unevenly applied, as demonstrated by Andrey Kolesnikov, Kommersant's star reporter from the Kremlin pool:
Как интересно устроено в “Коммерсанте”: Мария Карпенко лишилась работы из-за неразрешённого совместительства с Телеграм-каналом, а Андрей Колесников по-прежнему работает, хотя и возглавляет журнал “Русский пионер”. Ему совмещать можно.
— Vladimir Varfolomeev (@Varfolomeev) 19 марта 2019 г.
It’s interesting how things work at Kommersant: Maria Karpenko lost her job for running a Telegram channel alongside her day job, while Andrey Kolesnikov is still employed there, although he is also the editor in chief of the Russian Pioneer magazine. He is allowed to moonlight without consequences.
Karpenko gave a short interview to Besposchadny Piarschik (The Ruthless Spin Doctor), a Telegram channel focused on the media and PR industry where she disputed Zhelonkin’s statement about the choice she had supposedly been given. Karpenko explained that she was simply informed that her services at Kommersant were no longer required.
She also stressed that she had written a number of critical articles about the city’s administration and never felt any pressure from her superiors to tone it down. But Kommersant’s leadership, she says, was evidently under pressure, in a scenario that ultimately led to her dismissal.
Alexander Beglov, 62, was appointed the acting governor of St. Petersburg last year, after the resignation of Grigory Poltavchenko. Beglov is unpopular among the city’s residents, especially after the winter of 2018-2019 when the city authorities failed to clear the streets of snow and ice, But the Kremlin has made no secret of its preferences in the elections planned for September 2019.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Alexey Kovalev


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‘Who ordered the killing of Marielle Franco?,’ Brazil asks a year after the councilwoman’s murder · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

Marielle's widow, activist and architect Monica Benicio, tattoed her face on her arm. Photo: Fernando Frazão, Agência Brasil. Re-use permitted with attribution.
The face and name of Marielle Franco became familiar across Brazil and in many protests after she was killed on March 14, 2018. The Rio de Janeiro politician, the fifth most voted councillor in the 2016 elections, was murdered that night on her way home, along with her driver Anderson Gomes.
Two days before the first anniversary of her death, police announced the arrest of two suspects. Former military policeman Elcio Queiroz, 46, who was expelled from the corporation for illegal side work in gambling houses, is suspected of having been the one driving the car that ambushed Franco. The suspected gunman was Ronnie Lessa, 48, a sergeant who never answered for any crimes, but had a reputation for being a sharp sniper.
According to newspaper O Globo, after some twists and the splitting of the investigation in two parts (one going after the killers, the other after the mastermind), Rio's civil police caught the suspects following a complex trail through a list of all the cell phones connected in the area of the crime.
But even after seeing those who pulled the trigger in handcuffs, many Brazilians who took the streets on March 14 this year felt there was still a sense of lack of justice or closure. The main question remains. As Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum, who has tweeted every day for the past year “who killed Marielle ”, says:
Queremos saber:
QUEM MANDOU MATAR MARIELLE? E POR QUÊ?
— Eliane Brum (@brumelianebrum) March 12, 2019
We want to know: WHO ORDERED MARIELLE’S MURDER? AND WHY?
The police were able to access Lessa's browsing history on his phone. According to investigators, he had an obsession with “people from the left”. Marielle’s schedules and her former boss, Congressman Marcelo Freixo, were among his online searches. Political hatred could be the motive, said one of the investigators.
But many are doubtful about this motive. Lessa, a former military officer who became a policeman, was a well-known mercenary inside police circles. He reportedly worked as a hired gun for one of the chiefs of illegal gambling in Rio for some years, until this man's son was killed in a bomb attack. Lessa's credibility was hurt then, having failed to protect his boss’ family.
Lessa’s assets also seem above of what a police officer’s pension could afford. He has an armored car estimated at 31,000 US dollars, a custom-made boat, and lives in a house located in a luxury area in Rio where rent usually costs 2,000 US dollars plus 500 US dollars in condominium fees. According to Folha de São Paulo, Lessa’s house is just across the street from where President Jair Bolsonaro lives. Police also confirmed that one of Bolsonaro’s sons dated Lessa’s daughter.
Os cães ladraram mas as manifestações passaram pic.twitter.com/EBNQrH25jm
— marina amaral (@amarinamaral) March 15, 2019
Tweet says: The dogs bark, but the protests go on.
Banner says: Who ordered the president's neighbor to kill Marielle?
Bolsonaro told journalists he had no memory of his neighbor. The president joked that his youngest son, Renan, claimed he made out with the entire neighborhood, so he didn’t recall “this girl”. The police dismissed it as pure coincidence.
On the same day that Lessa was arrested, police found 117 rifles that he had asked a friend to store for him. They also discovered that he received a payment of 26,000 US dollars in cash seven months after Franco’s killing.
In January, Rio’s police arrested some people connected to a paramilitary group (known as “militia” in Rio) called the “Crime Bureau” and said they could be linked to Franco’s killing. The mother and the sister of one of the members were previously employed by Flavio Bolsonaro, the president's eldest son who was elected senator in 2018.
The Intercept Brazil was the first news outlet to point the link between Franco's case and the “Crime Bureau” militia, in 2018. A story published by UOL last week revealed that the criminal gang has insiders working in Rio police's homicide investigation unit. Leandro Demori, the editor of The Intercept Brazil, tweeted the story and said:
Depois de todo o estardalhaço em relação ao Escritório do Crime, com as prisões dessa semana o nome sumiu do noticiário. Curioso, não? Na verdade não. “A PF apura a suspeita que a milícia conhecida por “Escritório do Crime” conte com infiltrados dentro da DH.” https://t.co/IZiifXvKI0
— Leandro Demori (@demori) March 15, 2019
After all the uproar regarding the Crime Bureau, since the arrests this week that name has disappeared from the news. Curious, isn’t it? Actually, it isn’t. “Federal Police is investigating a suspicion that the militia known as Crime Bureau has people infiltrated inside the homicide investigations unit”
Eliane Brum summarized in her column the lingering questions related to Franco's killing:
Quando finalmente for descoberto quem mandou matar Marielle Franco – e por quê –, não será apenas um crime que vai ser elucidado. É a anatomia do Brasil atual que poderá ser desvelada em todo o seu espantoso horror. Mas os mandantes – e os motivos – só serão revelados se continuarmos a perguntar: “Quem mandou matar Marielle? E por quê?”
When we finally discover who ordered the killing Marielle Franco — and why –, it is not just one crime that will be elucidated. It’s the anatomy of comtemporary Brazil that could be unveiled in all its shocking horror. But the masterminds — and their reasons — will only be revealed if we keep asking: “Who ordered the killing of Marielle? And why?”.

author: Fernanda Canofre


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Keeping it in the family: Kazakhstani president Nazarbayev resigns, but leaves little hope for real reform · Global Voices
Filip Noubel

Downtown Astana, Kazakhstan. Photo by Ken and Nyetta via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
On March 19, Kazakhstani president Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned from office after nearly 30 years of undisputed rule as the leader of the oil-rich Central Asian state.
The move was not unexpected, as Nazarbayev is 78 and in declining health. And the announcement itself came as a surprise for many. But there are already clear indications that the new regime will look very much like the old one.
Nazarbayev’s departure marks a historic change. He was already First Secretary of the Kazakh Republic in 1989, when the country was still part of the Soviet Union, and became the first president of an independent Kazakhstan that rose from the ruins of the Soviet Union in 1991.
For nearly 30 years he maintained an undisputed rule through re-elections and changes in the constitution up to the present day. In accordance with the Kazakhstani constitution, his successor is Senate speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who officially took power on March 20.
Yet while he has given up his presidential title and invited a successor — a rare occurrence in post-Soviet states — Nazarbayev’s resignation can be at best described as a cosmetic change.
He maintains key functions that ensure full control over Kazakhstan’s political future. He is head of the all-powerful Security Council, and head of the ruling party Nur Otan. He also retains the title “Leader of the Nation” for life, which grants him, and his family a lifetime of immunity from judicial scrutiny or prosecution.
With a relatively small population of 18 million and substantial energy resources in oil and natural gas, Kazakhstan has one of the strongest economies in Central Asia. At the same time, deep socio-political divides between ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Russians have generated significant social tension in the country. Other issues include the unequal distribution of energy resources to foreign investors and a limited economic elite, an increased presence of violent extremist groups, and a growing divide between rural and urban populations.
The presence of imposing neighbours, namely Russia and China, raises important concerns as well. Both of these powers are major trade partners and investors in the Kazakhstani economy, and both expect certain favors in return. China has demanded political allegiance on sensitive issues, including Kazakhstani silence about the fate of ethnic Uyghurs and Kazakhs currently detained in camps in China’s Xinjiang region.
When it comes to political change, it is unlikely that a major opposition effort will emerge. Although there were significant voices of political opposition in the country in the early 1990s, heavy-handed measures of censorship and political control have decimated their presence.
Today, most of the truly independent media reporting on Kazakhstan operates from abroad. When Mukhtar Ablyazov, one of the few prominent yet controversial leaders of the opposition wanted to share his views via YouTube on March 19, the internet was shut down across the country, perhaps due to the videos.
Who will take control next? That is the question on everybody’s mind, inside and outside of the country. Possible scenarios about the beneficiary of the transfer of power abound, not the least because Kazakhstan is a highly patriarchal society where power tends to stay “in the family”.
Nazarbayev has no sons but three daughters, Dariga, Dinara and Aliya. Dariga Nazarbayeva has been widely promoted in the public sphere as an influential media person and politician, and served as deputy prime minister in 2015-2016.
One plausible future scenario is that Tokayev will call for elections in the coming months, allowing Nazarbayeva to run as a candidate for the ruling Nur Otan party.  A candidate from the extended family or at least from the same political party will almost certainly emerge as the front-runner.
In an interview with Global Voices, Irina Petrushova, editor-in-chief of the independently-run news portal KazakhSTAN 2.0, commented on the prevalence of family ties in Kazakh leadership:
Думаю, Дарига может стать президентом, несмотря на то, что она женщина. И несмотря на то, что у нее безусловно есть оппоненты в существующих в окружении Назарбаева кланах. Гарантию может дать только очень доверенный человек во власти.. эти персоны, конечно, в идеале должны быть из Семьи: дочь, племянник, зять.  Именно поэтому Дарига стала сегодня спикером Сената – если вдруг что не так с Токаевым, она сразу подхватит выпавшее знамя власти.
I think Dariga can become president, even though she is a woman, and despite the fact she certainly has opponents among the clans around Nazarbayev. What is important is that only a very trusted person within the power system can give guarantees to Nazarbayev…those people ideally should come from the family: a daughter, a nephew, a son-in-law. This is why Dariga was appointed speaker of the Senate today, in case Tokayev becomes unreliable, she can reclaim power.
Some Kazakhs reacted to the transition with joy, while others expressed apathy, as the end game of the power transfer remains unclear.
According to Petrushova:
Сам по себе факт смены власти (пусть даже формальной) это позитивно, поскольку в стране три десятка лет не было вообще никакой смены власти.
The mere fact of the transfer of power, even if informal, is positive, given that for three decades this country experienced no transfer of power of any kind.
Yet there are also signs of strong rejection of the ongoing cult of personality surrounding Nazarbayev and his family. The new government was swift to announce as one of its first measures on March 20 that the capital city Astana will be renamed Nursultan, Nazarbayev's first name. Nazarbayev himself moved the location of the capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997.
On the same day, an online petition gathered more than 13,000 names to oppose this decision, a large number by Kazakh standards.
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and Kazakhstani counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev during happier times. Photo from Kazakhstan's presidential press service carried by RFE/RL.
Neighboring countries are also paying close attention as this could indicate changes in foreign policy. There are also signs that Nazarbayev’s transition “method” could become a model in the region.
Social media users in the Russian-language blogosphere speculated on whether the Nazarbayev's transfer of power could become a model for Russia, where Vladimir Putin is losing popularity and has failed to designate a successor. On similar lines, in nearby Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, undisputed rulers Berdymukhammedov and Rakhmon are grooming their sons to take over their roles.
The news also came as a surprise in adjacent Kyrgyz Republic, a country that underwent a peaceful transfer of power in late 2017. Commenting on the transition, Bektour Iskender, co-founder of the citizen media platform Kloop said:
В Кыргызстане новость об отставке Назарбаева была скорее сюрпризом — наверное, потому что мы не так особо понимаем процессы, которые там происходят. Назарбаев увидел, как печально сложилась история семьи Ислама Каримова в Узбекистане после его смерти. Поэтому надо как-то укрепить позиции наследников, передать им власть при жизни, убедиться, что их все слушаются, а потом можно и умирать
In Kyrgyzstan the news of Nazarbayev’s resignation was more of a surprise – probably because we don’t really understand the mechanisms in place in that country. Nazarbayev saw how badly things ended for Karimov’s family after his death in Uzbekistan. That’s why the position of successors needs to be strengthened and power must be transferred to them while the leader is alive, to make sure they are obeyed, and then one can die.

author: Filip Noubel


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Tropical Cyclone Idai: Animal rescues overlooked in this climate disaster · Global Voices
Prisca Daka

A stray dog rests on the beaches of Vilankulo, Inhambane Province, Mozambique in March 2006. Photo by E via Flickr/Creative Commons.
Between March 4-16, 2019, tropical Cyclone Idai swept through Southern Africa including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, and parts of South Africa, killing at least 1,000 people in Mozambique alone, displacing countless others and destroying whole villages and towns. Many areas have been cut off due to broken bridges making it difficult for rescue operations to be carried out.
In times like these, where the focus is on saving human life, rescue missions often overlook the conditions of animals. But the cyclone's devastation did not discriminate and climate change affects the most vulnerable, including animals.
As sad reports of deaths & destruction from #CycloneIdai come to us, we are now adamant that the situation is now taking a human and environmental injustice dimension. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/o7MW5jRsGo
— People and Earth Solidarity Law Network (@PESLawyers) March 16, 2019
#MSF teams are encountering challenges to reach #Chimanimani due to the broken road network. Several bridges that access the area have been destroyed by #cycloneIdaiZw. Essential support is being delayed because of this. pic.twitter.com/HPoDewpo8B
— MSF_Zimbabwe (@MSF_Zimbabwe) March 17, 2019
Cyclone Idai highlights the need for rescue teams to consider the lives of animals during disasters of this magnitude. Over the last few weeks, wild animals, farm animals, aquatic animals and pets were affected by the disaster. Marooned animals had to go without food or water for long periods and faced disorientation over the loss of their natural habitats. They may be aware of what is happening but remain at the mercy of humans to save them.
While rescue missions focus on human life, non-human beings are rarely accounted for and considered.
Thousands of domesticated animals perish in #CycloneIdai
Disaster strikes #Chimanimani pic.twitter.com/T4myFaA9CP
— sozo Power (@sozopower) March 17, 2019
In Zimbabwe, local organization Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary has responded by helping with emergency veterinary care and feeding of livestock and other animals affected by this disaster. The aim is to assist with animal welfare and to work together with the Zimbabwe Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA) emergency response team in the affected area. They desperately need items such as dry or tinned dog and cat food, feed, bandages and blankets.
ZIMBABWE – The Twala Trust will be heading to the area devastated by Cyclone Idai on Wednesday to assist with emergency veterinary care and feeding of livestock and other animals affected by this disaster. We will… https://t.co/GW5LeQLki6
— WAR-International. (@WildlifeAtRisk) March 18, 2019
In the midst of the disaster, Zimbabweans took to social media to express concern for animal welfare and many agreed that animals should also be evacuated and rescued:
Govt should have evacuated people and animals a week early because they knew Cyclone Idai was coming and its effects in neighbouring Mozambique were widely reported in the media. This is sad.
— Dr. Phillip Pasirayi (@PhillipPasirayi) March 17, 2019
Had it been that it was cyclone,  all Zupco buses could have been deployed to evacuate all pple there including the animals,  yes l mean ducks and guinea pigs.
— Ncoe (@Ncoe15) March 18, 2019
Its cold, stormy and violent in Eastern Zimbabwe due to #CycloneIdai,  children, women and men in addition to domestic and wild animals are in  distress let us play our part. The outcome is not ours to dictate #Twimbos @SDGsZimbabwe @SDGsACT @ConnectSDGs @SDGoals @ifrc pic.twitter.com/YkmX1paEd9
— Tatenda Mugabe (@tatemug) March 18, 2019
Cyclone Idai issue was known for at least 1 week b4 it hit, did the CPU go on the ground&prepare, ask for schools to be closed&evacuated. Organise shelters, safety for people&domestic animals, map its strategy etc. Lets agree that our respone is weak, learn and improve.
— Rashweat Mukundu (@rashweatm) March 18, 2019
Animal activists encourage citizens to remember not to leave animals behind during evacuation or rescue operations and remember to look for injured and distressed animals in the aftermath. According to Heather Kitchen, who writes on emergency management strategies:
Regardless of their ‘worth,’ when something disrupts the ability to care for these animals, outside help is needed … [which is] limited when it comes to rescuing, caring for, and sheltering animals because it has not been fully integrated into emergency management’s planning activities.
Scientists insist that climate change played a major role in creating this cyclone and the widespread flooding witnessed over the last few weeks in southern Africa. Climate change will continue to make storms like this one more severe and intense. Often, these environmental disasters impact those who have done the least to cause climate change.
“Cyclone #Idai is a clear demonstration of the exposure and vulnerability of many low-lying cities and towns to sea-level rise as the impact of #climatechange continues to influence and disrupt normal weather patterns.” – @unisdr special rep. ?https://t.co/MtcP3bn14D #Resilience pic.twitter.com/dGVNBjAYRm
— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) March 18, 2019
In a recent article in Grist, the links between climate change and tropical storms can no longer be denied:
Cyclone Idai is not a natural disaster; the storm was made worse by climate change, centuries of colonialism, and continuing international injustices.
Global warming is causing more intense rainfall. Idai produced a year’s worth of rain in a matter of days. Regional drought in recent years hardens the soil and enhances runoff. Sea levels are also a foot higher than 100 years ago, which can only mean that coastal flooding extends further inland.
Scientists and environmental activists warn that as long as we delay climate action, the worse it will become for humans, animals and the planet as a whole. The real extent of the devastation and the impact on human, animal and plant life is yet to be assessed.

author: Prisca Daka


text:
Christchurch massacre brings out the best and worst in humanity · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – Photo courtesy: Christchurch City Council Newsline/Kirk Hargreaves (CC BY 4.0) Cropped from original.
The massacre of fifty people at prayer in two Christchurch mosques has brought unparalleled responses on both mainstream and social media in New Zealand and Australia. Shock, outrage and sadness have been followed by a great deal of debate about the perpetrator and the causes of this kind of hate crime.
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has received accolades for her role after the shootings, which took place on Friday, 15 March 2019. She is seen as a unifying leader for the compassion she has shown and her swift action on gun laws. Kiwi journalist David Farrier acknowledged on Twitter:
incredibly heartened by @jacindaardern’s leadership in new zealand. from leading the charge on tightening our gun laws, to her empathy and compassion – thank you
— David Farrier (@davidfarrier) March 19, 2019
Ardern has also taken a strong position about the man who has been charged:
He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless. And to others, I implore you: speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. He may have sought notoriety but we, in New Zealand, will give nothing — not even his name.
The alleged gunman is an Australian citizen.
The NZ government has called an inquiry into the attack. Many Kiwis have questioned their authorities’ inability to detect or curtail the growth of right wing extremists such as white supremacists. News that the Security Intelligence Agency has not finished its plan to combat far-right extremism has reinforced their views.
There has been considerable criticism of the role of mainstream media both before and after the horrific events. Many believe that some sections have been complicit by fostering a climate of fear towards Muslim immigrants:
what can be done about everyday torrent of racism from MSM –print, broadcast & digital. Some of our best-paid, high-profile media personalities are up to their necks in it with fulsome support of their producers & editors & have been for years #auspol https://t.co/YPmaVBv63M
— Denise Shrivell (@deniseshrivell) March 19, 2019
The televising of parts of the killer’s livestream video plus the publishing of quotes from his so-called manifesto has also brought widespread condemnation.
Facebook has been slammed for its lack of action over the livestream, which ran for 17 minutes before being taken down. There have been calls for an advertising boycott as Newshub NZ reported:
New Zealand businesses are pulling advertising from Facebook in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack.
They are calling for global support as pressure mounts on the social media giant to make changes to its livestreaming feature.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Mediawatch program has a scathing examination of the parts played by both the MSM and the social media monoliths in the coverage of the massacre.
A debate about the right to free speech has also been reignited:
“Not all free speech is equal” thousands in #Melbourne offer our love and support to #Christchurch and both our Muslim communities – but warn our media on giving a platform to hate #TheyAreUs #vigil pic.twitter.com/Za5zM8Clst
— Loz ? (@YassLoz) March 18, 2019
The Australian government blocked a visa for far-right personality Milo Yiannopoulos for the second time after his “appalling” remarks about the massacre. This followed an earlier change of heart under pressure from free speech advocates.
Controversial right-wing Australian Senator Fraser Anning created a storm when he blamed Muslim immigration for the slaughter. In a media release using his parliamentary letterhead Anning claimed:
[…] what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in New Zealand and Australia, of the increasing Muslim presence.
[…] the real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets is the immigration program […]
Once again, Fraser Anning has invoked my religion in his cruel, inhumane and theologically unsound rhetoric about Muslim people. This is hate speech and this must be denounced as vile and unhinged. He is not fit to lead. pic.twitter.com/D74O3tnI48
— Eliza Barr (@ElizaJBarr) March 15, 2019
He was widely condemned but the action of a seventeen-year-old boy at an anti-immigration event on the following Sunday captured worldwide attention. #EggBoy [aka #eggboi] broke an egg on his head. Anning responded by punching him and members of the crowd choked, and kicked the lad. He was quickly elevated to hero status, including a couple of murals in Melbourne:
#eggboy murals. He is a true hero around here. pic.twitter.com/ldoB1fA3hL
— Ozan (@Ozinos) March 19, 2019
Egg Boy received international attention:
On Friday, he was just another Australian high school student. By the end of the weekend, 17-year-old Will Connolly was the international sensation #EggBoy, the prankster who launched a thousand (give or take) memes. https://t.co/qLG9hyWbTo pic.twitter.com/MAOSmIzRXN
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 19, 2019
However, not everyone was prepared to condone his actions:
How different is Egg Boy’s behavior from that of indiscriminate perpetrators of violence/murder? Egg Boy should not be encouraged. He is not a hero.
— MrKalunda (@kapishorg) March 19, 2019
At last count over $AUD 70,000 [$US 50,000] had been raised through crowd funding for his possible legal costs. He will donate the majority of the money to the Christchurch victims.
Meanwhile a political row has broken out over “inflammatory” remarks by Turkey’s President Erdogan during an electioneering speech. He apparently suggested that people with anti-Muslim sentiments attending ANZAC commemorations at Gallipoli will return in coffins like their predecessors in World War One.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reacted strongly saying all diplomatic options were on the table. Opposition leader Bill Shorten also rebuked Erdogan. The New Zealand government has been more restrained in its response. The Foreign minister will take up the issue when he visits Turkey in coming days.
Morrison did not get uncritical support back home. This tweet was just one of several accusing him of a history of using Muslim extremism for political purposes:
Erdogan is wrong, but this is what happens when 1. You have an Australian Government which has dog-whistled racism & Islamophobia for years, and 2. You support faith-based populism (of which Morrison & Erdogan are both examples) #Gallipoli #Christchurch
— ?????????? ?? ?? (@correzpond) March 20, 2019
It appears that the Turkish government is backing down claiming that Erdogan was taken out of context.
In stark contrast to some of the arguments happening in Australia, the New Zealand people have demonstrated a unifying spirit, exemplified by these spontaneous haka dances by students in Christchurch:

author: Kevin Rennie


text:
Netizen Report: EU activists make a final push to keep the internet filter-free · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

“All Rights Reserved.” Drawing by Frits Ahlefeldt, released to public domain.
The Advox Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in technology and human rights around the world. This report covers news and events from March 9 – 20, 2019.
In the remaining days of March, the European Parliament is expected to vote on a landmark copyright reform that could upend major online spaces for creative and political expression, such as YouTube and Facebook.
The latest draft of the EU Copyright Directive — which largely has been drawn and debated behind closed doors — includes Article 13, that would require internet platforms like YouTube to install “upload filters,” a technical mechanism that would block users from uploading copyright-protected content, effectively imposing a system of “prior censorship” on major internet and social media platforms.
A final vote on the copyright directive is expected between March 26 and 28. In the days leading up to the vote, citizens and digital rights advocates across the region will make a final push to convince legislators to rethink the policy. As of March 12, more than five million people had signed a petition against Article 13, and thousands have called and emailed their Members of the European Parliament.
Dozen of public protests are planned for March 23 and several major websites that would be affected by the rule have planned held a symbolic blackout on March 21 — including the German, Czech, Danish and Slovak versions of Wikipedia.
While a change like this would legally apply only for EU member states, it could have enormous effects on the the internet worldwide. If filtering systems like this were built and put in place in Europe, governments in other countries could take interest and pursue similar (or even identical) mechanisms for their own territories.
To learn more about these efforts, visit the Save Your Internet campaign site.
Iraq’s Council of Representatives is considering a controversial cybercrime bill that would impose a lifetime prison sentence and steep fines for people convicted of using “computers and the internet” to “undermine the independence, the integrity and safety of the country, or its supreme economic, political, military, or security interests” or to ”publish or broadcast false or misleading facts with the intention of weakening confidence in the electronic financial system”.
Earlier this month, human rights groups published a statement urging the Iraqi parliament to withdraw the bill. The Council was scheduled to debate the bill on March 14, but it was later removed from the day's schedule. On Twitter, the official account for the Iraqi Council of Representatives thanked those who contacted it to “criticize some laws,” but did not specify which laws.
Not two weeks before the surprise resignation of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh authorities arrested activist Serikzhan Bilash on March 11 in Almaty.
Bilash was accused of “inciting ethnic hatred” after he said in a public speech that he wanted to go to war with China, over the country’s Xinjiang “re-education camps.” He explained this would be an “information war,” but authorities evidently did not appreciate the distinction. He has since been flown to the capital, Astana, and released on house arrest.
Bilash leads a group called Ata-Jurt, which has helped more than a thousand Kazakhs advocate for their loved ones who are detained or missing in neighboring China's Xinjiang region, amid the Chinese government's crackdown against ethnic and religious minorities. Gene Bunin, the curator of the English-language Xinjiang Victims Database estimates that Ata-Jurt has published at least 3,000 video testimonies from former detainees and their family members.
Maria Karpenko, a reporter for Kommersant, one of Russia’s leading business dailies, says she was forced to resign after the paper’s editor-in-chief confronted her about a Telegram channel she co-administrates.
The Telegram channel in question, named Rotonda, is run by a group of journalists from other publications in St. Petersburg and focuses on local politics. It has close to 10,000 followers. In an interview with , Karpenko said she believed her editor was pressured into firing her for her critical articles and social media posts, likely by someone in St. Petersburg administration or even the Kremlin.
Venezuelan journalist and human rights defender Luis Carlos Diaz went missing on the evening of March 11 and was later found to have been detained by government intelligence officials. He was released on March 12, pending charges and on the condition that he will report to authorities every eight days.
Luis Carlos is a long-time and celebrated member of the Global Voices community. For more than a decade, he has worked to defend freedom of speech and use of digital networks to maintain public access to information amid Venezuela's ongoing crisis. He and his wife, Naky Soto, host a hugely popular video program (previously on YouTube, now on Patreon) where they offer political commentary and humor.
Egyptian authorities have delayed the release of prominent blogger and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah by 10 days. Abd El Fattah was scheduled to be released from prison on March 17, 2019, the day he completes his five-year sentence in prison. The prominent blogger and political activist was arrested at his family’s home in November 2013. More than a year later, he was tried and sentenced to five years in prison for “organizing a protest” under a 2013 law that prohibits unauthorized demonstrations. While he did take part in a protest against military trials for civilians, he had no role in organizing it.
New research by SignaLab, a social media research group at the Jesuit University of Guadalajara, shows a set of emerging trends among supporters of the administration of Mexico’s new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as “AMLO.” The study shows patterns of activity on Twitter that appear to reflect coordinated efforts to promote the positions and interests of the new government, and to undermine its critics.
In an interview with Animal Politico, research lead Rossana Reguillo — who was a target of Twitter campaigns linked to former president Enrique Pena Nieto — lamented the resurgence of this trend with the new administration. Attacks like these “contribute to a climate of polarization and hate speech, which do not bode well for democracy,” she said.
On March 8, women in seven cities of Pakistan took part in a national “Aurat March,” an array of public rallies promoting the rights of women and LGBTQ people. While the marches garnered significant support online as well, they also became the target of scrutiny by public officials and open threats against some of the lead voices in Pakistan’s women’s movement. Digital Rights Foundation director and Global Voices community member Nighat Dad publicly reported that she, along with hundreds of other women, received rape threats over Twitter.
Several media groups in the Philippines marked the World Day Against Cyber Censorship on March 12 by holding a protest to denounce ongoing cyber attacks on independent media sites. Bulatlat, Kodao Productions, Pinoy Weekly and Altermidya are among sites that have weathered distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks since December 2018. The groups say the attacks were backed by the Philippine government. The website for the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has also been a target.
Reckless VII: Wife of Journalist Slain in Cartel-Linked Killing Targeted with NSO Group’s Spyware – Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto
The Index of Racism and Incitement in Israeli Social Media 2018 – 7amleh / The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
Free To Be Mobile: Ensuring that women, girls, queer and trans persons can inhabit digital spaces freely and fearlessly – Point of View / India
Afef Abrougui, Ellery Roberts Biddle, Mong Palatino, Talal Raza, Chris Rickleton, Taisa Sganzerla, Filip Stojanovski and Laura Vidal  contributed to this report.

author: Netizen Report Team


text:
Controversy at Malaysia’s Women’s Day march leads to its organizers being probed for sedition · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Women's Day march in Malaysia. Photo by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
At least seven organizers of the Women’s Day march in Malaysia were informed by the police that they could face sanctions for possible violations of the Sedition Act and Peaceful Assembly Act.
On 9 March 2019, hundreds participated in the “Hentikan Keganasan, Hormati Perempuan” (Stop violence, respect women) march held in Kuala Lumpur, the country’s capital. The event issued five official demands: End violence based on gender and sexual orientation, end child marriages, ensure a woman's freedom to make choices over her own body and life, ensure a dignified minimum wage, and ensure the destruction of patriarchy.
The march lasted more than two hours which was followed by a short program where several speakers discussed the five demands. Feminist groups were joined by other sectors in celebrating International Women’s Day. Among those who participated in the march were members of the LGBT community. However, some news reports about the march focused on the presence of the latter which led to the mischaracterization of the event as an LGBT protest.
An online backlash against the Women’s Day marchers was soon organized by conservative groups which are opposed to the promotion of LGBT rights. The privacy and safety of some of the marchers were violated after their photos and profiles were widely shared in chat groups and social media pages. Some were threatened and bullied by strangers and even friends, families, and employers.
Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa, the country’s minister in charge of religion, added fire to the online vitriol when he accused the Women’s Day march of “misusing the democratic space to defend things that are wrong in the religion of Islam.”
Malaysia’s constitution guarantees the protection of minorities, including those who identify themselves as members of the LGBT community. But in recent years, hardline groups have become more aggressive in demanding the strict enforcement of Islamic teachings in governance. Malaysia has a Muslim-dominated population.
On 14 March, the police announced that seven Women’s Day organizers are under probe for sedition and for violating the Peaceful Assembly Act.
Human rights groups were quick to defend the women leaders and other participants of the march. The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality, a coalition of 13 women’s groups in the country, issued a statement urging the government to stop persecuting human rights activists:
If we do not uphold the rights of certain group of persons – to the extent that individuals cannot peacefully express their interests – our credibility as a democracy is diminished. The government must guarantee “democratic space” for everyone. Not just for people the government – or even the majority – agrees with.
We urge the government to stop harassing women human rights activists and peaceful protestors. Instead, we urge the government to reaffirm the rights of all Malaysians to peaceful assembly and expression, and to state how it plans to address the rally’s five demands.
Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia, another coalition of several civil society groups, bemoaned the online backlash instigated by anti-LGBT groups:
The deliberate mischaracterisation and the on-going hate campaign is regretfully, legitimising violence against LGBT. Do we want to see people harmed, tortured or killed just because they live life that we do not approve of?
Around 24 civil society groups signed a statement accusing the religious affairs minister of “reinforcing the harmful public rhetoric and prejudices towards women, marginalised people and LGBT people.”
The government must not take the side of the bullies. Denying a group of marginalised groups their right to participate in democracy is truly an abuse of democracy.
Queer Lapis reposted the story of one participant who was bullied after the Women’s Day march:
I have always been a resilient person, but moments like these truly break my heart. For two days after the march I was felt kinda scared and shameful of my activism, when I shouldn’t be! This is partly due to the heightened visibility and the impact on my family. People who were not there at the march don’t deserve to comment on it unless they have done their research. However, the haters’ version of “truth” is what some people want to hear and see so that they could continue to justify their hate!
I was weeping all night and through my sleep on Sunday. I knew I wasn’t alone in my struggle, I reached out to my friends, some of whom were there marching and some of whom weren’t. I’m thankful for people in my life who were truly proud of me for marching with them and on their behalf. They gave me encouraging words to honour my feelings and healings; I rebuilt my strength slowly.
These Twitter posts which used the hashtag #WomensMarchMY debunked the lies being peddled by anti-LGBT groups about the Women’s Day march:
If you’re questioning why there were pride flags at #WomensMarchMY its because we stand in solidarity with other minority groups.
It’s because we of all people should know what it’s like to be oppressed and be excluded.
It’s because we believe in equality.
Don’t you?
— sarrah salihan (@sarrahslhn) March 9, 2019
pic.twitter.com/YhJgnYKAvF
— Fahmi Reza (@kuasasiswa) March 12, 2019
The march wasn’t used to promote the LGBT but rather to stop the growing violence against the minority community in accordance with Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution, which says there should be no discrimination on the grounds of gender.
— Charles Santiago (@mpklang) March 11, 2019
Another joint statement by several society groups criticized the malicious motive behind the deliberate act of labeling the march as an LGBT event:
It is an irrational act to further polarise public views on LGBTIQ rights by leaning on conservative sentiments. It is an insidious attempt to weaken the existing solidarity between LGBTIQ activists and the feminist movement.
The Centre for Independent Journalism reported that two Malay-language newspapers appeared to have “neglected their duty of fair reporting” by sensationalizing the LGBT presence in the march which incited “hatred towards an already marginalised and at-risk community.”
And finally, Human Rights Watch reminded the government to affirm its commitment to repeal the sedition law and the reform of the draconian Peaceful Assembly Act:
Rather than using abusive laws against people marching for basic rights, Malaysia’s government should be addressing the critical women’s rights issues that the march highlighted.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Violence tiptoes in on jokes, stereotypes, and lies — and catches us by surprise · Global Voices
Tori Egherman

Mitchel Esajas, co-director of the Netherlands-based Black Archives, negotiates with police on the road to Den Helder in November 2018. Despite having received permission to demonstrate peacefully for an inclusive Sinterklaas celebration, our group traveling from Amsterdam was stopped a few miles into the trip. Eventually, we were turned away. Photo by the author. Used with permission.
Author's note: This has been resting as a draft post for months now. It might not seem like today, March 19, 2019, is the right day to hit publish. But I am listening to racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic speech from Dutch politicians in the wake of recent events. Power doesn't have to be aggression. But I'm afraid it is here, in the “tolerant” Netherlands.
Dear Nederlanders,
Over one hundred years ago, something lit a fire under the feet of my great-grandparents, and they fled Eastern Europe for the United States with their children. A few decades later there was nothing left of the Jewish communities they fled except for a memory. Most were destroyed utterly. Burnt to the ground. Erased from the maps. You know the story. The Netherlands suffered too. Dutch Jews were abducted, tortured, and murdered. People here were killed and starved and tortured.
I often wonder what would have changed had Europe heeded the warning of the Jews fleeing for other lands. What would the world look like? The violence vulnerable minorities experience eventually comes for the rest of us as well: the well-meaning, the silent, the comfortable.
Violence tiptoes in on jokes, stereotypes, and lies. It catches us by surprise. The violence against Jews in Europe didn’t come out of nowhere. It began with false accusations, scapegoating, and individual acts of violence. The mass violence was decades in the making.
And now I find myself living in Europe, in a country I love, among people I admire. I’m sure my grandparents are spinning in their graves. I can just hear them asking me why I would ever come back to a land they associate with violence. I, too, am feeling their angst and fears fueling me. Somedays I am afraid to wear my Star of David, but I do so anyway. I do not want to be invisible. Honestly,  I am much more afraid to wear a t-shirt with #BlackLivesMatter or Zwarte Piet is Racisme written on it. This is true even though I agree with both sentiments.
“If you want to understand the Netherlands, look at who has the right to demonstrate. Nazis, Pegida [right wing political group from Germany]…Instead of blocking Nazis, you block people struggling for inclusive societies. We receive threats of violence from the right and the police shut down our march and let the Nazis march. They give them the whole stage.” Naomi Pieter
Graphic from the Zwarte Piet is Racisme Facebook page.
Yet, every day, black and brown people go out in their skins. They cannot avoid racist violence simply by removing a sweatshirt or tucking their identity under a shirt collar.
And they do face violence. It comes from individuals and authorities. I’ve seen it. You’ve seen it. Recently I attended a demonstration to protest blackface. I got on a bus with about 15 others. We headed for Den Helder.  Mitchell Esajas from the Black Archives went over the protest guidelines with us. We were advised to remain peaceful and calm. Before long we were stopped by the police. It was disappointing, but not shocking. Our right to peaceful assembly was being denied.
Instead of continuing to Den Helder, we headed to Amstelveen and joined an ongoing protest. There was anger towards us, but nothing unexpected or extreme. This wasn’t true elsewhere, where protesters were attacked with neo-Nazi salutes, projectiles, racist insults, and physical violence.
When I heard Prime Minister Rutte dismiss anti-racist activists as “extremist,” I felt the old fears coming up. How can struggling for a more inclusive society ever be deemed extreme? Does the Prime Minister have any idea how many death threats anti-racist activists receive? How their physical safety is threatened? How their rights and opportunities in society are curtailed? If the concerns about racism in society could have been solved on talk shows alone, then there would be no protests.
I ask myself where is bravery today? Where is leadership? I saw it on the side of the KOZP activists. Yet if elected officials are unwilling to protect the rights of vulnerable minorities what will become of the rest of us?
I ask this as a citizen and as the granddaughter of refugees. I am old enough to have grown up in a community of Jews who were grappling with the Holocaust. There were survivors who couldn’t stop talking about what they had experienced, even around small children. There were others who retreated into themselves and never escaped the trauma. Some even became happy and productive. Because of their influence, I made a promise to myself to grow into an adult who would be brave and fair and just. It’s not a promise I’ve always kept. Each day, however, that childhood promise becomes more demanding.
I’m sure many of you, including Prime Minister Rutte, made similar promises as children. You told yourselves that you would be part of the resistance, you would stand for the rights of others, you would do what you could even if it was a small act.
There is no time like today for keeping that promise. You might think taking a stance in favor of a more inclusive Saint Nicholas Day tradition is trivial in the face of a burning world and other crises. Yet if we let the vulnerable among us blossom in an inclusive and welcoming society, the solutions to our crises will be more attainable.
Thank you for reading,
Tori

author: Tori Egherman


text:
Welcome to the Venezuelan internet. Luis Carlos and Naky will be your guides. · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Naky (left), Luis Carlos (right) and their dog, Pepe's, nose (bottom). Photography taken from Luis Carlos’ Facebook profile, used with permission.
After years of censorship, constant power cuts, dwindling presence of non-state media, and vicious political polarization, the internet in Venezuela has become a very complicated place. It is even a battle ground within the political conflict. Trying to find and make sense of information online has become really, really hard.
But we are not alone in our struggle. In this murky and uncertain milieu, thousands of Venezuelans inside the country and abroad have found a special person, a guide who knows how to read in the dark. His name is Luis Carlos Díaz.
He is a journalist, a geek, a foodie and a collaborator here at Global Voices. His name made headlines last week when he was detained by government authorities in Caracas. Yet most of us know him not as story subject, but as a person who is making the media, constantly, and on his own terms.
Luis Carlos and I go way back. We met at university, had a couple of classes together and became very good friends. He made me read Kapuscinski for the first time, showed me how it inspired him to write about journalism for peace, and pushed me to start my own blog. We even opened a blog together with another friend of ours, a space to comment on everything we found hilariously cheesy around us. He also invited me to join Global Voices.
A few years later, Luis Carlos met a real-life wonder woman named Naky Soto, who would become his main collaborator in work and in life. Naky is a communications professional who talks of little else but defending people’s rights and performing citizenship.
The rest is easy to guess. They fell in love, got married, and started a life together.
Over the past ten years, Naky and Luis Carlos’ work on various internet platforms has become a touchstone for many Venezuelans as the country has fallen into crisis and the community of Venezuelans outside the country grew rapidly. During this time, censorship intensified (in all forms), and online networks became our most reliable source of information.
Naky and Luis Carlos became some of the most recognized and trusted readers of the situation. They were fast to learn about new communication tools and processes, and even faster to sniff out political motivations and controversy on the national stage. Together, they found ways to explain all of this using a combination of serious analysis, references to pop culture and their signature wit.
For one of their first projects, “Political Hangouts,” they used Google Hangouts to explain what was going on in Venezuela. People would get online and participate, commenting and asking questions.
Soon after, Naky began posting daily summaries on Facebook, where you could learn what was going on, and understand why it mattered. She also became a prolific photographer, posting photos of unique insects (#Bichos) and plants that refused to give away their place to the city's concrete in her photo series #Tercas  (stubborn).
Last fall, one follower picked up on her #tercas hashtag with a powerful response:
Por las personas que luchan “tercamente” por lograr un país de respeto, responsabilidad y libertad coloco fotos de plantas creciendo en sitios inusuales. La primera: la vida no conoce ni respeta candados, prisiones ni censuras @Naky #tercas pic.twitter.com/LVAq2PrWTG
— Alejandro Alvarez I (@aalvarezi) September 6, 2018
For all of those who fight “stubbornly” to achieve a respectful, responsible and free country, I'm putting here some pictures of plants growing in unlikely places. The first: life does not know or respect locks, prison or censorship.
Naky and Luis Carlos’ conversations in Hangouts, on Telegram and on Twitter have become popular at universities and in public spaces around the country and the region. They are not just in it for the followers, but the numbers are impressive. Alongside tens of thousands of followers on Instagram and views on YouTube, they have nearly half a million followers on Twitter (@LuisCarlos and @Naky) between the two of them.
From Luis Carlos and Naky, we've learned how best to read all kinds of media, how to deal with bad internet service, how and why it is important to register, document, and denounce abuses. They have taught us how to be careful with the information we have and share, what media sources were trustworthy, how to be patient with family members spamming our WhatsApp groups with fake news.
When popular services go down, Luis Carlos often helps people seek alternative solutions:
WhatsApp está sufriendo fallas.
Momento publicitario para decirles que Telegram sigue activo y allí somos un gentío pasándola bien.https://t.co/c9i3Vq4HZj
— Luis Carlos Díaz (@LuisCarlos) December 31, 2017
WhatsApp is down. This is a good moment for an ad: Telegram is still accessible and we're a bunch of people having a great time over there.
He recently created a short video about hackers. The framing message was: “befriend a hacker, love your hacker, learn how they operate because, at the end, we'll all become one”.
? ¿Sabes qué son los #hackers y por qué los necesitamos?
Lo cuento en #TodosLosDíaz, sobre todo en un momento en el que la política está siendo hackeada y nos hacemos falta.#Patreon ? – https://t.co/wU5PGZeM8S pic.twitter.com/QVLRvZXm4U
— Luis Carlos Díaz (@LuisCarlos) February 15, 2019
Do you know what hackers are and why we need them? I'm explaining it in #TodosLosDíaz (Every Day), specially now that [the country's] politics have been hacked and we need ourselves [around]
Most recently, they have launched a Patreon project where subscribers and supporters can find analytical videos and episodes of “En serio” (in Spanish, “seriously”), their latest collaboration, where they help viewers make sense of the latest wave of political events taking place in the country, which can be remarkably difficult to comprehend.
Screenshot of the episode “Political Happiness”, part of the series #EnSerio (Seriously), taken from Luis Carlos’ Patreon channel.
Venezuela has changed so rapidly, so violently, and so weirdly, that the only way to make sense of it all was to connect with a network of people, inside the country and out. Over the years, these two people have shown so many of us that learning does not need to be limited to certain spaces, and that it can happen in collaboration, connecting people, in constant evolution, surpassing obstacles, and lighting pathways for those who are struggling to find their way.
Through their work, thousands of us — friends and followers and collaborators — found ourselves in a network. We’ve found ways to learn from them, and from each other. As we look ahead, it’s clear. Our network is exactly what we need to keep going.
#LuisCarlosVivoYLibre

author: Laura Vidal


text:
Deprived of citizenship, the Vietnamese of Cambodia live on the edge of society · Global Voices
Loa

Photo by Loa
This edited article by Gia Linh Vũ is from Loa, a news website and podcast of Viet Tan that broadcasts stories about Vietnam. It is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement
Situated in the center of Cambodia is the Tonlé Sap lake, translated as the “Great Lake.” Its length reaches 250 km, spanning several provinces and cities. Connected to the capital city Phnom Penh by its long river system, the Tonlé Sap lake and river have sustained the development of the country throughout its rich history.
Cambodia shares its eastern border and large parts of its history with Vietnam. Periods of wars and immigration between the two countries have led to a significant population of ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia today. The tense history between the two nations has influenced the perceptions of ordinary citizens to this day, with many Khmers continuing to view the Vietnamese with resentment and suspicion.
According to a 2014 report on the living conditions of Vietnamese in Cambodia, it is estimated that nine in ten ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia are undocumented. The Cambodian government attributes that figure to illegal immigration. This attribution overlooks a significant population of Vietnamese in Cambodia today that can be traced to mass immigration that occurred over a century ago during French rule over Indochina when different laws governed the country.
After the French withdrew from Southeast Asia, targeted discrimination of Vietnamese by the Khmer Rouge attempted to purge the existing ethnic Vietnamese population from Cambodia by deportation and execution. Those not executed had their possessions confiscated, including birth certificates and any documentations that proved citizenship.
Discrimination persists to the present day through laws enacted to retroactively block paths to naturalization. The 1996 Law on Nationality supersedes a 1954 law and places additional requirements on non-citizen children born in Cambodia to become naturalized. The new law requires that both non-citizen parents of the child be born in Cambodia, when formerly only one parent was required to be, before the child can be granted citizenship. Furthermore, those who have had their citizenship paperwork confiscated under the Khmer Rouge are unable to have their applications processed, and applicants have no sympathetic authority to appeal to.
As stateless people, the ethnic Vietnamese on Tonlé Sap do not have the same protections and privileges as the citizens of Cambodia. They are not allowed to purchase land, their access to education is limited, and they are subject to arbitrary taxes and abuse by the local government.
This denial of privileges results in a large population of stateless Vietnamese huddling in communities along the Tonlé Sap lake and river in floating villages.
The houses owned by the ethnic Vietnamese are distinctive by both their design and their lack of permanent attachment to the land. Text and photo from Loa
While those living along the river banks are among the poorest in Cambodia, there is still economic stratification within this marginalized population. The Vietnamese tend to live in the floating houses, whereas the Khmer families who can afford to, live in more robust houses built on stilts. Vietnamese floating houses and boats often carry geometric designs in primary colors. Spotting the nón lá, the iconic conical hat, is another giveaway.
At the time this photograph was taken, the water level was approximately 3 meters high, nearly reaching the tops of many trees and completely submerging others. In the village of Kompong Khleang, the water can rise up to 10 meters.
During monsoon season, the level of the Tonlé Sap reaches its peak during the months of September and October. Those living in floating houses are at the mercy of the rise and fall of water levels; it is quite apt that the floating homes of the stateless Vietnamese are as transient as the status of their citizenship.
To get to the floating villages, I rented a boat driven by two co-captains. One steered the boat and the other operated the engine, switching roles halfway through the journey. The first of two floating villages I visited was Chong Khneas.
Chong Khneas is easily accessible from the major city Siem Reap and enjoys many tourist visits. As such, visitors are aggressively bombarded with donation requests. A prominent sign posted in front of a school said “Charity and educational center to help poor children.”
Funded in part by donations, the floating school in Chong Khneas supports over 300 children from grades one through five. Text and photo by Loa
The school is taught by five teachers who arrived from Vietnam to live and teach in Chong Khneas.
Without paperwork proving citizenship, the children are denied from continuing their education on land, once they age out of primary school, after which they work to support their families. This limits the social mobility of the ethnic Vietnamese, locking generations into lives on the water.
The journey to the second village of Kompong Khleang was more difficult. Driving by tuk tuk from Siem Reap takes several hours, part of which is along unpaved red dirt roads. Tourism at this sleepy village is clearly stunted compared to its sister village of Chong Khneas. My tuk tuk driver assured me that here I “will get to see how ordinary Cambodians live.”
Photo by Loa
Upon boarding my rental boat, I was struck by how young my captain seemed. His name was Sela and he was only 14 years old.
Sailing through the waterways of Kompong Khleang, I waved down a woman and her husband to ask if I could board their home. Their names are Mrs. Trần Thị Lén and Mr. Quành. Nearby their children were reeling in a fishing net to collect their catches for the day.
Mr. Quành and his wife have 6 children ranging from 10 years old to “20 something.” The youngest child, the sole girl in a lot of 5 brothers, resembled her mother. She was the only one who looked over to see who this foreigner visiting her family was. Her brothers continued with reeling in their catch undistracted.
Rice and finger-length fish make up most of their daily meals. Mrs. Lén recounted how her family and the other Vietnamese there are often blamed for life’s hardships by their Khmer neighbors.
“They tell us to go back to Vietnam. They say we fish everything and leave nothing for them. They tell us to go home. They don’t want us here.”
Her family arrived to this country three generations ago. When I asked about the future prospects of their children, Mrs. Lén didn’t have an immediate answer. She just said they would like to go back to Vietnam, but they lack the means to leave Cambodia. Her family is in debt, she continued, referring to the arbitrary taxes levied on them. Other Vietnamese families who have escaped this life have done so by sneaking away in the night back to Vietnam, begging for food and transportation along the way.
Photo by Loa

author: Loa


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Website fighting against body-shaming proves Carnival is for #everyBODY · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A post shared by NieKohle (@abundzukohle) on
The magic of participating in Carnival celebrations, no matter where in the world they may be, is the ability to don a costume, transform yourself in the masquerade, and let loose with joyful abandon.
In most Caribbean-based Carnivals, this is called “playing mas”, but there has long been an unspoken rule that the privilege should be reserved for people — women especially — of a certain size and fitness level. For Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2019, Candice Santana, who is plus-size, decided to “play mas” regardless. She was body-shamed for it, but fought back, prompting online discussion about the issue. Santana received a tremendous amount of support as a result of her courage and grace under fire.
As it turns out, a Caribbean body-positive movement — #everyBODYplayahmas — has been available as an online resource since 2014. After being body shamed herself in a Trinidad Carnival publication, plus-size model and Carnival lover Nadelle, who founded the site, made it her mission to “a safe space for #everyBODY to be comfortable playing mas”. Since then, she says, “#everyBODYplayahmas has grown to being a social media campaign that has reached Caribbean carnivals around the world.”
Carnival lover Nadelle, founder of  #everyBODYplayahmas, a website dedicated to helping people of all shapes and sizes to feel confident participating in Carnival celebrations. Photo courtesy Every Body Play Ah Mas.
Nadelle was heartened by the attention that Candice Santana received, saying, “Many women believe they cannot wear a costume and thanks to masqueraders like Candice Santana and our followers we can shed a different light on what true representation of masqueraders looks like.”
The website has a full listing of annual regional Carnivals, as well as affiliated events and diaspora Carnival celebrations.
Where the network finds most support, though, is in the blog section, where plus-size women share their stories and Instagram photos:
A post shared by everyBODYplayahmas (@everybodyplayahmas) on
A post shared by everyBODYplayahmas (@everybodyplayahmas) on
A post shared by Monif Clarke (@monifclarke) on
A post shared by @rantothezebra on
A post shared by Carnival Slayers™ (@carnivalslayers) on
A post shared by Carnival Slayers™ (@carnivalslayers) on
A post shared by Carnival Slayers™ (@carnivalslayers) on

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Cote d’Ivoire’s chocolate waste spurs second industry in cocoa butter · Global Voices
Jeslyn Lemke

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. An Ivorian woman melts chocolate waste to produce cocoa butter. Photo used with author's permission.
Editor's note: Dr. Jeslyn Lemke traveled to Cote d'Ivoire in December 2018 and learned about the process of cocoa butter production using chocolate waste. Lemke produced a short video explaining the process exclusively for Global Voices.
Forty-five-year-old Fatima Traoré, a mother of eight, sells her cocoa butter to soap makers every few months. Traoré lives in Cote d'Ivoire, the world’s largest producer of cocoa beans.
Major European companies buy cocoa beans or cocoa bean paste from Cote d'Ivoire cocoa factories to produce chocolate. But Ivorians also have a local use for the oily bean: rendering cocoa butter from the chocolate scraps from the chocolate factories, to make a local soap, Kabakrou.
Traoré, who lives in the major metropolitan city of Abidjan, buys several tons of chocolate scraps every few months from a chocolate factory in Youpogon, a neighborhood of Abidjan.
Screen capture of selling her cocoa butter (from the original video) with the author's permission
The factories have sold the majority of the cocoa paste to companies in Europe and discard the plastic bags which stored the chocolate. Once home, Traoré scrapes the small chocolate scraps from the bags and collects big piles of the fragrant dark chocolate paste on a tarp.
Using wood fire to boil multiple metal cauldrons of water in the tropical heat, Traoré melts down the chocolate scraps and renders the cocoa butter. In December 2018, Lemke narrated and shot this video to explain the entire process, with an in-depth interview with Traoré.
The cocoa butter is a sought-after commodity in the region. Traoré sells her butter mostly to women who use it to make the Kabakrou soap, famous locally for being an effective and cheap product to wash clothes or kitchen plates. The original Kabakrou soap is a hard, ball-shaped soap usually made from palm oil and caustic soda mixed with water.
Kabakrou soap by Narcisse Ehui Ble CC BY-SA 4.0
The soap can be sold in bulk or on a per unit-basis in several cities of Côte d'Ivoire as well as in neighboring countries of Mali and Burkina Faso. The price of one big unit is 200 CFA Francs (0.346 USD). Traoré's cocoa-based soap is an intriguing alternative to the more standard palm-oil based Kabakrou soap.

author: Jeslyn Lemke


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In Brazil, 30 million people live in ‘quasi-deserts’ of news · Global Voices
Agência Mural

Nearly 30 million people lack access to local news in Brazil. Image: Magno Borges/Agência Mural, used with permission.
This story is authored by Lucas Landin, Micaela Santos, and Paulo Talarico. It is published as part of a partnership between Global Voices and Agência Mural.
On December 1, 2018, a heavy morning rain flooded the many neighbourhoods of Franco da Rocha, a town in the northern part of Greater São Paulo, in Brazil. Roads were blocked, businesses closed, and buses had to take detours in order to cross the city.
“It was difficult to know how the public transport was doing when the city flooded“, recounted 20-year-old student Amanda Ferreira. “The trick was to wait for information from people who were trapped by the flood, and those who managed to get home”.
The difficulty in finding information has an explanation: Franco da Rocha currently only has two news outlets. It is considered a “quasi-desert of news” by the latest Atlas da Notícia (“News Atlas”), a study that measures the number of media outlets in Brazilian cities. The study, conducted by Projor (Institute for the Development of Journalism), has published reports since 2017.
Last year, it revealed that over 30 million people in Brazil have no local media coverage. In addition, it identified cities where there are few information outlets: the “quasi-deserts”.
Brazil's population is of 209 million. Greater São Paulo, the wider region around São Paulo city which includes 39 cities, has a population of 21,5 million.
“I get to know about things happening in Franco da Rocha on social media and, sometimes, through the city council's Facebook page”. And as there is a lot of information passed by word of mouth, you don’t know what is a lie or the truth”, Amanda said.
“We see cases, for example, where a locality’s main news source is the council or government’s website, or the council or mayor’s social media page. This is not journalism”, highlighted Angela Pimenta, Projor’s president. “The risk in these cities is information which does not meet journalistic protocols, of hearing contradiction, or which is completely incorrect, incomplete, or biased, even reaching the extreme of being actually disinformation.”
Map shows the distribution of news outlets around the city of São Paulo. llustration by Agência Mural, used with permission.
Over 1 million people in Greater São Paulo is at risk of having no news outlet that covers their city. At least 10 municipalities have a maximum of two media outlets (online, radio, or TV) which covers local news.
Three cities have no news outlets at all: Vargem Grande Paulista (50 thousand inhabitants) in the Southeast, Pirapora do Bom Jesus (18 thousand), in the west, and Biritiba Mirim, a town of 31 thousand inhabitants in the east.
In the region of Biritiba, there are locations which are not quite “deserts,” but come close. “I receive a lot of news by the Whatsapp group of the city. As the city has no newspapers, I buy the Diário de Mogi (from a nearby town).” said retired 73-year-old Maria Aparecida Nunes, who has lived in Biritiba for 30 years.
Nearby Ferraz de Vasconcelos, a municipality of 188 thousand inhabitants, has a similar situation: it only has two newspapers.
The alternative is to follow the news on social media. “I usually follow the pages of newspapers from the region [based in nearby cities] and follow pages from Ferraz, like TV Cenário. I also follow directly the pages of councillors,” said 20-year-old student Renan Santos.
“I only see news from Ferraz on Facebook. I usually check the page ‘Salve Ferraz’ (Hey Ferraz) quite a lot,” commented 26-year-old systems analyst Juan Pedro Morales.
One factor that explains this situation is inequality, which also affects communications. Greater São Paulo has over 1,000 information outlets in total. However, 76 per cent of them are based in the capital. The other 24 per cent are spread along the region's 38 other cities, which in turn represent 40 per cent of its residents.
For comparison, São Paulo itself has seven news outlets for every 100,000 residents, while in Franco da Rocha the rate is of one for every 100,000 residents.
“We get to know about things through people’s comments,” explained Márcia Pereira Cardoso, a 40-year-old resident of Franco. “People comment everything that happens in the city. I use Facebook and WhatsApp, but it’s hard to not have other outlets. If there were a news program on the radio or television about the city it would be good,” she added.
“I do not usually read newspapers because I get to know about things from what people and my family tell me. When something happens, particularly if it is bad, the news spreads quickly,” said 22-year-old electrician Gustavo Correa da Silva.
“It means that the population are left without the basic human right to information,” says Ângela. She explained that the survey tries to paint a picture of the overall situation in the country, so that solutions can be created to encourage the creation of local journalism projects.
One of the conclusions is the link between a lack of information and a lack of good quality public services in the same towns, as well as the question of income.
“We clearly see a correlation between the presence of the press and a higher Human Development Index. The people who are most vulnerable to lacking information are the most likely to lack basic sanitation or medicine, [and have] bad quality education and pollution.”

author: Agência Mural


text:
Afghan government is ready for talks with the Taliban, but are their victims? · Global Voices
Ezzatullah Mehrdad

Kabal Shah sits in his barbershop in Kabul, holding a pucture of his brother Adel who was killed by in a Taliban-claimed suicide bombing. Photo by Ezzatullah Mehrdad, used with permission.
Kabal Shah, 52, watches the news on the peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban group in his barbershop. Every time the news anchor reports on development in peace talks, Kabal Shah recalls the memory of his brother, Adel Shah.
One day in 2017, Adel was on the way to his barbershop when Kabal heard a huge explosion. He called Adel several times until a doctor at Wazir Akhbar Khan Hospital picked up the phone. The doctor pronounced his brother dead.
“We are powerless” to seek justice, says Kabal Shah who lost his leg during the civil war of the 90s. “There are thousands of us that nobody sees.” Kabal says that when a Taliban suicide bomber targeted a convoy of U.S. soldiers, the attack claimed the life of his 24-year-old brother. But he hopes that the same does not happen to other young Afghans like Adel.
U.S. envoys and representatives of the Taliban are attempting to negotiate a way out of the war they've been fighting for 17 years, during which thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed and wounded. But in these peace talks, the names of civilian victims are seldom heard.
About 31,000 civilians have died from 2001 to 2016, according to the Watson Institute of Brown University. An additional 41,000 civilians have been wounded.
Crossfire, improvised explosive devices, assassinations, bombings, nighttime raids on homes of suspected insurgents, and airstrikes have been blamed for the high civilian casualty numbers.
According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 5,272 civilians were killed and injured in 2017 alone. Still more were killed and injured in 2018, the deadliest year of the war, according to the UN report: 10,993 civilian casualties, including a record number of children.
UN reports attribute at least 63 percent of civilian casualties in 2018 to various insurgent groups, including the Taliban and the Islamic State. The blame for 24 percent of civilian casualties falls on Afghan and American militaries.
Aziz Ahmad Tassal, the director of the Civilian Protection Advocacy Group, urges the Afghan government and international community to pay better attention to the victims. “They are stuck; they are hungry and will do whatever it takes to feed their kids and family members,” says Tassal. “They have been ignored and suffered unbearable pain while going through this endless struggle.”
As an example, Tassal tells the story of an 18-year-old girl, the lone survivor of an airstrike in Nangarhar province which killed her entire family. Before the airstrike, the girl had been engaged. But after the tragedy, the family of her fiancé refused to accept the disabled bride who had lost an eye in the explosion. Now she lives with her uncle who demands that she pays him back for what he's spent on her sustenance.
“If we don’t heal their broken hearts and prosecute the perpetrators, what is peace for, then?” asks Tassal. “Whoever caused the causalities must be prosecuted.”
The Taliban-claimed suicide bombing in Kabul on July 24, 2017, killed at least 38 people, including Najiba Bahar Hussaini, an employee of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. Her and Husain Rezai were engaged and planned to marry after two years of romantic relationship.
“In full confidence and despite the civilian victims, the Taliban still sees the casualties as justifiable,” says Rezai. “If you have a problem with the U.S., why does your [the Taliban] fight against them [the U.S.] keep claiming the lives of ordinary Afghans?”
“Peace does not matter to me, personally,” says Rezai. “I just don’t want to see any more people suffer and lose their loved ones.” He says he hoped that the International Criminal Court would persecute the Taliban for murdering civilians, but now he's all but abandoned his hope.
Latifa Sultani, a liaison for Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), says that the victims demand an unconditional end to the war, not a peace deal which would grant impunity to the perpetrators.
“AIHRC has advocated for compensation to pay the victims and for the persecution of perpetrators,” Sultani says. “Those who have committed crimes must bear the responsibility, at the very least they should apologize.”
Sultani explains that without serving justice and addressing the victims’ grievances, peace talks might eventually result in only a provisional end to the war without ever reaching lasting peace. “Without paying attention to the victims, pain and anger will pass on from one generation to another.”
AIHRC has frequently called for including the representatives of civilian victims in the peace talks, as there is a tangible danger of them seeking violent revenge after failing to bring their attackers to conventional justice.
But for some relatives of the victims, only an answer for their losses would calm them down. Ghulam Mohammad, in his 50s, was listening to a radio news broadcast on December 31 last year, when a group of armed men stormed his brother's house.
“They were uniformed armed men, with a fleet of drones supporting them,” says Ghulam Mohammad in a hotel in Gardez, Afghanistan’s Paktia province. “I learned later that a caravan of 50 vehicles had arrived from Paktika Province [neighboring province of Paktia] to Zurmat [district of Paktia where Ghulam Mohammad lives].”
Ghulam Mohammad rushed to his brother’s house. He found his brother, Naim Faruqi, and his two sons killed by shots in the face. Ghulam's nephews were students at local universities.
Then, a group of armed men lined up Ghulam Mohammad's family on the balcony of his own house. One of the armed men came forward and told Ghulam Mohammad that they would spare his and his family's lives.
Recently, CIA-sponsored Khost Protection Forces carried out night raids in the region. Allegedly, it was the KPF that raided Ghulam Mohammad and his brother's houses.
Ghulam Mohammad reached out to the local governments in Zurmat District and Paktia Province, but they refused to supply any information about the operation and those who had raided his brothers’ house.
Ghulam Mohammad holds a picture of his nephews who were killed by a night raid in their houses in the eastern region of Afghanistan. Photo by Mohammad Imran.
“We demand an answer. What was their crime? I am ready to appear before any court that prosecutes me if my family had committed a crime,” says Ghulam Mohammad. “At least someone should answer. Is being a student a crime?”

author: Ezzatullah Mehrdad