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South Africa: On the murder of the leader of Afrikaner Resistance Movement · Global Voices
Muhammad Karim

On the night of the 3rd of April 2010, the leader of the Afrikaans Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), an Afrikaner resistance movement, Eugene Terre'Blanche, was murdered.  This has happened in the time when issues of race relations are hotly debated following the singing of ‘kill the boer’, an old apartheid activist song, by the ANC Youth leader, Julius Malema.
Let's see what digital citizens in South Africa are saying about his death and the future of race relations in the county.
From the Old has been following the entire fiasco so far and here's what he's posted on the South African Scouts Association: “Statement by the Verkenners Beweging van Suid-Afrika about the murder of Eugene Terreblanche”
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A ROUGH TRANSLATION FROM AFRIKAANS TO ENGLISH, PROPER VERSION WILL BE UPDATED IN A FEW MINUTES.
The Scouts Movement of South Africa has learned with sadness of the brutal murder of the elderly Eugene Terre'Blanche. Mr. Terre'Blanche devoted his life in bondage to his people whom he loved had. It is sad that his life was lost, for his bondage.
It is instructive to note that the murders are less than a month after Mal-emma the first time the commission had sung “shoot the farmer.” This follows two days of court order against Malema and can rightly be asked whether this court order an influence on the killing of our uncle Eugene. Whether there is a connection between the death of the communist Hani Paassaterdag in 1993 and the murder of Uncle Eugene Paassaterdag in 2010 for the Scouts Movement irrelevant. The fact is, a vulnerable elderly farmer in his bedroom on barbaric way with sticks and PanGas beaten to death and the regime of the day, the climate created for this genocide being committed against our people are.
The link between Julius Malema's provocative statements and the Murder of Eugnene Terre'blanche is a consistent theme when looking at the list of blog posts on the subject.  DBS on MyDigitalLife calls the event a big opportunity:
The murder of Eugene Terreblanche is a big opportunity for South Africans.
This is a great opportunity to take a big breath and show the world that we are able to be sensible, think before opening mouths and talk to each other before doing anything physically rash.
The hatred stirred up by different leaders in the past months is not good for the country. Let us use this man's death as a turning point to reconcile ourselves to the different views of the people in the country rather than lying the blame with someone singing a song.
Can we do that? Yes we can! Will we?  Well sadly I suspect not.
Obviously having a bone to pick with the AWB.  KickMugabeOut hopes the former AWB Leader suffers eternal torment.  He does cover the story with some very interesting pictures and comments.  One of the pictures shows a guy wearing a T-shirt with the old Apartheid flag as well as an Israeli flag on a fence.
South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, has made a statement on the murder of Eugene Terre'Blanche.  One is covered here by the Times Live Blog.  And another perspective on Jacob Zuma's statement by From The Old:
Today Jacob Zuma will speak to South Africa at 2pm.
He will most likely tell South Africans to forget about the event and that we should move on, however many claim this is not possible and that the boers are under attack.
Jacob Zuma also said today that “South Africans not to allow agent provocateurs to take advantage of this situation by inciting or fuelling racial hatred”.
However he seems to forget that in the past few weeks white South Africans have been constantly attacked by Julius Malema that cant seem to stop the racial hatred and blaming of white people.
From The Old also covers another statement, this time by the AWB, claiming the murder was political:
The AWB came forward and said in a press conference that the murder was in fact political and that they will retaliate against Julius Malema whom they believe is the cause of the murder.
Julius Malema in the last few weeks incited hatred against white Afrikaners and Boers by insisting on singing the “kill the boer” song.
As tensions grow in South Africa just as the World Cup is heading this way. In under two months South Africa will hold the biggest sport event Africa has seen while polarization and racial tensions are peaking.
Continuing on this line, Common Dialogue asks, “Is Terre Blanche’s blood on Malema’s hands?”:
Eugene Terre Blanche died a violent death allegedly at the hands of his farm hands. Is this as a result of Malema singing “kill the boer”?
Terre Blanche was allegedly hacked and bludgeoned to death on his farm near Ventersdorp, in the North West province, allegedly by farmworkers during an argument over R600.
Emotions are inflamed with some rightwingers even threatening to avenge the killing. The question is just how “miraculous” was South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy?
And just how dangerous are the racial utterances by people like Malema and other politicians who are fond of racial political posturing?
From The Old, covering many aspects of the case on his blog, says this yet again from the AWB's perspective agreeing with a perspective revealed on Facebook:
“The BWB sympathizes with the family of Eugene Terreblanche and wants to point to the fact that this deed was politically motivated by Melama as revealed on Facebook”
White farmers all over South Africa are still under attack, now one of the biggest known boers have been murdered on his own farm because of a wage dispute allegedly. Many find it hard to believe that a normal pay dispute could lead to the death of Eugene Terreblanche the leader and founder of the AWB.
Eugene Terreblanche is said to not sleep at his farm at all and the fact that it came out that he was “sleeping” also brings up more doubts about the reality of what happened.
Whether or not this is politically motivated is another story, a white farmer employing black people on his farm gets murdered. The first thing that comes to mind is the song the ANC is so desperate wants to get unbanned. The same song Julius Malema was gagged not to sing but continues to sing in Zimbabwe despite court orders.
Tony Lankester puts up his opinion in “What Would Malema Do?”:
So Eugene Terreblanche has been murdered. And although it is probably unrelated, the fact that it happened while the country debates the appropriateness of struggle songs like “kill the boer” is going to put the whole debate in stark relief. It is a real life example of what the song’s critics have been saying, and Malemaphobes will gloat into their G&T’s. And while it is unlikely that a tubeless rendition of the song inspired anyone to put a bullet into a sleeping Mr Terreblanche, it will be interesting to see what Julius Malema does next. Will he back down and stop singing it? Will he publicly condemn the murder and say that actually doing it is not what he meant? Or will he stick to the principle he’s been holding forth and sing it at the next opportunity?
FliMflaMfLiK argues that instead of focusing on “kill the boer” the song, and we should focus on this facts: “Terreblanche = White Earth”:
Everyone seems to be focussing on “the song” but nobody is looking at “the facts”.   Getting knickers in a twist is what people do best and what they should be doing is sitting back and looking at the logical:
1. They were 16 and 21 respectively – very young.
2. They did not run, they waited for the cops.
3. They were angry about not getting their monthly salary of R300.00 each (shocking).
4. Apparently Eugine treated them very badly in the past (this I can well believe).  He had threatened to kill them before.
5. Given the above, could these young lads have thought (in their minds), that they were acting in self defense?
Just because Eugine was famous, it's an issue?
These young men may not have known anything about any song in their parts.  We don't know.
Perhaps it's wise to wait and see what other facts present themselves?
And finally, in a satirical twist, Azad Essa uses the Terreblanche event to pick apart issues and stereotypes in the South African Muslim Community in his post on Thought Leader “Was Terror’Blanche a Muslim?”
Overall, one of South Africa's leading figures of the “Afrikaner Resistance” movement has been put to rest in violent circumstances.

author: Muhammad Karim


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Taiwan: Debate over kitten-slayer case · Global Voices
Vergil Yeh

A National Taiwan University graduate student, Lee Nien Lung, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the end of March 2010 under the charge of animal cruelty. The sentence given to Lee Nien-lung by the Taipei District Court for abusing and killing three cats is the longest in Taiwan’s history.
Animal cruelty has been considered as minor offense in Taiwan, the cat-killer case in 2006 was only resulted in a 50,000 NTD fine (around 1,500 USD) — as animals are considered as a property rather than life in legal term. In 2007, the animal protection law in Taiwan was amended due to public pressure. For extreme cases, the penalty can be up to one year imprisonment and 1,000,000 NTD fine, and full disclosure for  the offender identity. The evidences in Lee's case were gathered jointly by netizens and cat lovers, who found out that Lee was at least involved in 7 cat deaths.
Evidence gathered by netizens
A blog, antiabuse, was set up to collect evidence and follow the serial cat killer case. It provides a detailed description of how netizens dig out the case:
2008/09/28中午，ptt網友September11在研一男舍垃圾桶內發現三隻小貓屍體，於宿舍版發文請求處理。網友目視，三隻小貓年紀都不超過一個月。後有網友指出曾在某間宿舍門口聽到貓叫聲。懷生社同學會同當初通報同學調閱監視錄影帶後，因錄影機位置因素，並無拍到棄屍人，而後可能因為清潔人員清掃的關係，也無法找到小貓屍體。最後在10/23因證據不足，以誤會一場結案。
2008/10/10下午，ptt ID dodoson在ptt台灣大學 獸醫系97級班板詢問台大總圖旁的貓，網友catjoelee發現送醫。醫師指出貓有腦水腫的跡象，預後不良且醫藥費昂貴。最後貓被施以安樂死，由 catjoelee交給系上教授提供學術研究之用，目前已聯絡上該教授，且遺體已交由動檢所處理。dodoson事後寫信希望要回貓屍，留下電話 0958xxxxx8，catjoelee以貓屍已經在系上教授冰櫃為由回絕。已聯絡上送養人，送養人指出領養人為李xx。
2008/11/29 凌晨，ptt ID Meanings在ptt台灣大學 懷生社社版通報有小貓重傷。同時間由其他網友發現並送太僕動物醫院(台北市龍江路260號)急診，醫生研判傷重建議安樂死，並將屍體拍照後火化。…2009/02/21經貓咪論壇中途白狼指認，確定為白狼網友於11/27號送出的中途貓，且經由照片指認確認認養人為台灣大學 博士班學生李xx。
2009/02/21 22兩天，經多名中途指認曾經送養貓給李xx，並另有多名中途指出此人曾在多處表明希望認養貓，如果認養不到便會對該中途騷擾謾罵。
As a result of netizens’ joint effort, five victims (those who gave the kittens to Lee) reported the case to the police and testified in the court. Moreover, some witnesses provided the court with more evidences on Lee's cruelty. One of them said Lee, “in an effort to relief the pain of a kitten hit by a vehicle”, put the kitten inside an activated dry machine. Another said Lee once caught a kitten with a towel and flung it to the ground. The kitten was tortured to unconsciousness.
Before the trial on 20 of January 2010, aletheia wrote a letter to the Prosecutor comparing animal abuse with child abuse. The letter has been re-posted in many forums and blogs:
動物無法說話和欠缺感受痛的能力完全無關，更因為動物的五感能力超越人類，
其所感受的痛苦更為強烈。
牠們不說話也不代表欠缺定罪證據的一環，正因為牠們欠缺受害者發聲的能力，
正因為牠們就如同人類嬰兒般脆弱沒有任何的自我辯護能力，
才值得我們成年人更仔細的翻查對如此暴虐違反人性的疑犯，對其做出最強烈的指責。
Animal as human property in the law book
Animal lovers are pleased to see the result of the 18-month imprisonment sentence, but blogger Woosean thinks otherwise:
殺貓博士再怎麼變態，他殺的是貓，是動物，而不是同於你我的人類，
這些幼貓只要不屬於任何人的財產，殺貓博士的行為就不算侵害到任何人，
相反地，若這些幼貓真的屬於什麼人，大可對殺貓博士訴請經濟報償，
更有甚者，在找到殺貓博士其他暴力或侵權行為以前，他還真是個無害的人，
就跟在維吉尼亞州森林裡打獵的胖老美或在板橋釣蝦場裡享受鉤殺蝦子之樂的台灣人一樣，
他毫無必要地奪走幼貓的生命，就像你毫無必要地奪走肉雞全家的生命一樣，
他唯一能夠被批評的，是他對待以致於奪走幼貓生命的方式，
但這種批評終究是感情性的，同樣的批評可以應用在所有牲畜屠宰場裡，
不用太高的智商與藝術造詣就能將海產店描繪成血腥的煉獄，
而不變的事實是：打獵、釣蝦、吃活魚與虐殺（非他人財產的）貓都同樣無害，
結果前三項被默許，虐殺貓者被關十八個月…
There are around 193 comments from the post so far. 竹林茶苑 commented in a neutral tone:
动物与人类的价值是有很大区别的。不过如果虐杀动物变成长期的心理压抑成为一种可能对人类或社会的伤害也 是不可不防的。…其实处罚虐待动物的动机是什么值得商榷，是为了法律而法律还是为了惩戒或者是防范这类恶劣行为可能会发展在人类身上？
Lee is now filing an appeal to the higher court to review the sentence. The debate regarding animal rights will continue to become a hot issue in Taiwan.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Vergil Yeh


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Trinidad & Tobago: Free Advice  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Beach Called Life has some advice for the new CEO of Trinidad and Tobago's Water and Sewerage Authority.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Passing On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog acknowledges the passing of George Daniel, Chairman of the Local Chapter of Disabled People International, while National Gallery of Jamaica Blog is saddened by the death of artist and graphic designer Marlene Lewis Weinberger.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Respect for Copyright  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

More Trinidadian bloggers speak out on the issue of copyright infringement, here and here.


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Ukraine: Court Ruling on Stepan Bandera’s Hero of Ukraine Status · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop addresses the Ukrainian president once again, writing about the Donetsk Administrative Court's decision that Stepan Bandera “cannot be a ‘Hero of Ukraine’ because he was never its citizen”: “Following the logic of the Donetsk court ruling, you will have to ‘de-heroize’ at least 15 Heroes who died before 1991, including poets Vasyl Stus and Volodymyr Ivasiuk. Then there are the brave men who died fighting the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 1986. And the Red Army heroes who liberated Auschwitz, accepted the capitulation of the Japanese and raised the Soviet flag atop the Reichstag in Berlin to mark the end of the Great Patriotic War. They, like Bandera, died before 1991.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Women’s Rights In Pakistan · Global Voices
Ambreen Salman

Pakistan as a developing country has yet to go a long mile before it stands beside all the developed countries. The women make more than half the population of the country, but sadly they are not treated well. This year on March 8th, Pakistan also celebrated “the women’s day” in an attempt to make a change in their lives showing a ray of hope to every female. Domestic violence is one the harsh realities of a Pakistani women. Activists who work for women cause say that many women remain in violent relationships because they believe they must obey their husbands and that divorce is a shame.
Candle light vigil during the White Ribbon Campaign in Umerkot, Pakistan. Image by Flickr user CWGL. CC BY
According to a report of NGO White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) Pakistani women are subject to increasing abuse.  Increased cases of violence are being reported each year in Pakistan. According to the report: “sexual harassment at the workplace, abuse, beating, and rape were some of the forms of violence against women.”
One third of women in Pakistan are uneducated and have very little concept about making their own choices. The police often snub the women and refuse to register cases unless there are obvious signs of injury and judges at times seem to sympathize with the husbands.
Dr. Farzana Bari,  acting director of the Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University, states that commemorating the day around the UN theme “Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all” seems to be a fallacy “when rights and opportunities are simply disappearing from the lives of everyone; men, women and children.”
Are we then asking for equality in police torture recently shown on television channels? Equality in sharing the brutality of the factory-owner, who kidnapped, chained and tortured a laborer in Gujranwala? Do we want to share the humiliation of bus hostess in Sialkot? Do we want to have equality in the fate of Shazia, the young domestic servant who was tortured to death?
Global Voices author Sana Saleem at the Dawn Blog states that:
For a society to progress, human rights have to be guaranteed, with the assurance that rights are maintained without gender bias or discrimination. Gender-based violence reflects and reinforces injustices and compromises the health, dignity, and liberty of its victims.
In Pakistan a proposed bill to ban domestic violence is being debated in the parliament. Women rights activists and some Islamist lawmakers are chasing it. It remains to be seen who wins. Pakistani blogger Baaghi questions the efficacy of the judiciary as there is no strong law to protect the women:
At the end of the day, dispensation of justice begins from acknowledging an act as crime. If domestic violence is not even considered a punishable crime, how can one expect to get redress from the system? When acid throwing is not listed in the penal code as a form of offence, how one can even hope for it to be punishable? And when even some of these crimes  against humanity are listed as crimes, our rotten system just refuses to acknowledge that it ever happened.
Pakistani women can achieve their goal by joining hands together and motivating each other. Educate women which will ensure awareness of what is happening to women around the world today is an essential step towards improving their situation. It is a surprising fact that women are made to do some of the things simply because of the fact that they are women. No one can change the world by themselves, but many people doing a little can make a real difference in the society. The nations that put up with the ill-treatment of women must know that they are being watched. A good number of governments are run by men who may not have the wish to transform things unless the world makes some noise.
The things which we can do at our level are:

author: Ambreen Salman


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Bangladesh: Women Must Not Be Forced To Wear Veils · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shamim Ashraf at Straight from Bangladesh informs about a recent court ruling in Bangladesh which asserts that “none can force women, working at public and private educational institutions, to wear veils or cover their heads against their wills.”

author: Rezwan


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China: New calls for Hu Jia’s release on medical grounds · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Amid fears that imprisoned blogger and activist Hu Jia‘s medical condition might have worsened with the development of cancer, academics Ai Xiaoming and Cui Weiping have launched an Internet petition calling for Hu's release on humanitarian and medical grounds.

author: John Kennedy


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Colombia: Motorbikes in Medellín · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Colombia Passport takes a look at the role and statistics of motorbikes in Medellín, Colombia.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Cuba: Confiscated  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y recreates possible reasons why copies of her book, Cuba Libre, were confiscated.


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Guatemala: A Tale of 2 Lakes, Macaws and a Queen · Global Voices
Renata Avila

The Laguna del Tigre National Park - a critical reservoir of wetlands and tropical dry forest habitats – is currently threatened by human encroachment, out-of-control fires, and oil exploitation. While the 25-year contract expired, the company Perenco Guatemala LTD is seeking its renewal, but environmentalists and activists are opposing to it strongly, organizing campaigns on Facebook [es] and other websites. On behalf of Guatemala, the The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) for Guatemala with the representation of the Environmental and Social Legal Action Center  [es](CALAS for its initials in Spanish), filed an Environmental Submission before the Secretariat for Environmental Matters stating that the country is failing in the implementation of its protected areas and not respecting the laws with the extension of the 2-85 contract for oil operations in the Laguna del Tigre National Park in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve.
Photo by MikeMurga and used under a CC license.
In other words, many are concerned about the destruction of the homes of many living creatures, as explained by the blog Guatemalan Birdwatching :
Guatemala has like 19 ecosystems, 300 microclimates, more than 37 volcanoes, rivers, lakes and beaches that are united in our ethnic diversity forming a destination of mystical magic and adventure. Biological diversity has enabled Guatemala to stand among the 25 countries with the most variety of natural resources in the world. Millions of species living in its varied ecosystems, more than 700 species of birds, mammals like the jaguar, tapir and a variety of reptiles and insects.
Savia, a school for learning how to respect and protect the planet created a video, where the story of the Laguna del Tigre is told and why they feel it is important to protect it (with English subtitles).
The campaigns and pressure from environmental groups has been effective — delaying President Colom decision. It is still uncertain whether he will extend the contract to the oil company, which may go against the will of members of his own Cabinet, as is the case with Luis Ferraté, the Minister of the Environment who is not in favor of extending the contract.
The park is considered a Scarlet Macaw Sanctuary for birdwatchers, and is one of the reasons why Guatemalan birding School blog expresses its concerns. It is estimated that there are only 300 Scarlet Macaw families left in the Mayan Biosphere.
Dayamn shares the sad story of Poc Duck, now extinct:
Maybe it is a name most of the people in the world haven’t and will never get to hear. This beautiful kind of duck became extinct a long time before a lot of us were even born. It inhabited one of the biggest lakes in Guatemala. n 1966, the Ecologist Anne LaBastille started a campaign to save the duck from extinction but her efforts were in vain. Her natural reserve wasn’t enough to counteract the damage we did to their environment and finally in the year 2004 after a study made by the UICN with the sponsorship of BirdLife International, the bird was officially considered extinct.
For the lake in Atitlan, the place where Poc duck disappeared the story is different.  Alan Mills points out that the lake did not collapsed overnight but it was the result of the irresponsible hippie-chic tourism development that took place there, and all the empty beer bottles and rubbish left behind by wild parties, neither improving the living conditions of the extremely poor people from the villages around, which did not increase the environmental friendly tourism. For Guatemala Solidarity Network, the Lake is crying, too:
The writer, Aldous Huxley, famously wrote wrote of Lake Atitlán,”Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing.” While, I’ve never been to Lake Como I have been to Lake Atitlán and it is stunning. However, there is a fear that the lake is dying and will become marshland through man-made interventions. These interventions include, for example, farming, tourism, and the lack and/or breakdown of public services to manage human waste.
While there are opinions saying that there is nothing left at the Laguna del Tigre National Park, archaeologists working in the region with communities clarified that a substantial amount of forest canopy remains intact within the  enclave zone.
The governor of Petén regrets [es]that they did not act before to protect our jungle. However, it is not only about preserving the environment. One of Laguna del Tigre's greatest treasures is a 2,500-year-old city of the ancient Maya world, called Waka´(500 BC) or El Peru. It host among other treasures, the tomb of a Mayan Queen.
¿Que te pasa Guatemala? [es] reported that CALAS filled a claim against the Ministry of Energy, who is in favor of extending the oil exploration contract in the middle of the rain forest. The blogger Tokoloshte suggests visiting  Laguna Lachua to be “industrialized” by the government (they will create a highway across the reservoir).
Manuel Boloma a young Maya Q’eqchi’ [es]Social Anthropologist from the North (near the reservoir) strongly rejects the President's attitude and the apathetic role of people, doing nothing to rescue our future. He saids that it is not an economy-environmental issue but rather the government distorted priorities, a suicide for Guatemala future. He asks Guatemalans to open their eyes and see how they are destroying a valuable tomorrow.

author: Renata Avila


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Guyana: Kite Season  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal says that “a kite ain’t just a kite.”


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Haiti: Chopper Brothers  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Emmanuel Midi blogs for Inside Disaster about two Haitian brothers who built a helicopter from scratch.


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India: An English-obsessed Nation? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Purba at Desicritics asks whether Indians are an English-obsessed nation.


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Jamaica: Water Crisis · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Labrish links to a YouTube video of Jamaica's Hermitage Dam, calling it “an impassioned plea for action from Jamaica's citizens to stand up and take this [water] crisis seriously, and for the government and opposition to act responsibly.”


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Kyrgyzstan: The “Archived” Revolution · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

On April 6th, Kyrgyzstan a mountainous country in Central Asia, was hit by mass protests [ENG] which eventually led to the overthrow of the government. Regional administrators were seized by protesters, and the army and police switched sides to the opposition, leaving President Kurmanbek Bakiev with almost no support.
The riots have not been bloodless – the recent unrest has so far left almost 74 people dead and more than 500 wounded – unlike a previous peaceful “Tulip revolution” [ENG] in 2005. The two uprisings are not dissimilar. Only five years ago, it was Bakiev who came to the Ala-Too square in the center of Kyrgyz capital demanding the resignation of former president Askar Akayev. Now, it is Bakiev himself who has had to flee the capital amidst roaring crowds led by opposition leader Roza Otunbaeva.
Kyrgyzstan cultural-political divisions, map source: Wikimedia
The roots of the present revolution are various: South vs. North clash (Bakiev is from the South, the rebels are from the North), corruption and suppressive government (in recent years Kyrgyz people witnessed all forms of oppression from closings of the newspapers [ENG] to independent journalists’ murders [EN], Russia's Great Game interest, Ortega-y-Gasset'ian “revolt of the masses“, etc. Whatever the real reasons of the Kyrgyz revolution of 2010 are, it is important to note that it was overwhelmingly immediate, furious, bloody and… well-documented.
The role of the new media changed slightly this time compared to other dramatic events (like the protests in Moldova or Iran). Blogs and Twitter didn't serve as serious means of public mobilization since the Internet penetration rate is relatively small in Kyrgyzstan ( just 15 percent in 2009). However, new media were agile enough to cover all the main events giving detailed footage of initial protests in Talas, rampage in Bishkek and looting that followed. At the same time, new media were efficiently used by the opposition attracting the attention of international community and shifting public opinion to the side of the protesters. The opposition leader Roza Otunbaeva (@otunbaeva), for instance, registered her account as soon as she became the head of the provisional government. On the other day, son of president Bakiev, Maxim opened a LiveJournal account to express the pro-government point of view.
As Gregory Asmolov concluded [RUS], it was not “journalists 2.0″ who were the most efficient in covering Kyrgyz events but the “editors 2.0″. Bloggers who both knew the region and were outside the country to see the big picture and collected the photographs, videos and Twitter confessions. Two most informed bloggers in this situation were people outside the country: US-based Yelena Skochilo (a.k.a. LJ user morrire) and Kazakhstan-based Vyacheslav Firsov (a.k.a. lord_fame). They managed to assemble the most complete collections of photos, videos and timelines.
Another “winners” in the coverage are the local blog-portals namba.kz, kloop.kg, issyk-kulpress.kg (as well as traditional news sites like internews.kg, neweurasia.net and 24.kg), forum diesel.elcat.kg and a wordless webcam showing Ala-Too square (its screenshots were captured and transmitted by many bloggers). Twitter hashtags #freekg (the major hashtag of the event), #bishkek, #kyrgyzstan and #talas, although filled with re-tweets and various provocations, made it possible for English-speaking audience to follow the events as well.
Despite nation-wide problems with the Internet on April 6 and 7 (the government forces blocked several popular websites “Azattyk” (RFERL), 24.kg, ferghana.ru, LJ user sabinareingold reported), the Kyrgyz revolution came out to be very well-documented. Registan.net, comparing the events with Andijan massacre, wrote:
The information coming out of Kyrgyzstan is not always reliable. It is often biased, short-sighted, confusing and contradictory. But it is giving us a view of Kyrgyzstan that demands our attention — not only now, but in the months and years to come, when we look back on these events and try to piece together what happened
Since the information was so vast, so there was a systematized list of events and materials gathered and published by the bloggers.
April 6th, Talas
The revolution began on April 6 in Talas , north-western Kyrgyzstan, where the local people stormed the local administration. The same happened in Naryn a couple of hours earlier. On the next day, almost all regional capitals except Bishkek in the North of Kyrgyzstan were controlled by the opposition.
April 7th, Bishkek rampage
The most important events happened on April 7 in Bishkek. The opposition meeting turned to an open conflict. When protesters (who somehow acquired arms) started to storm the Presidential palace after defeating police forces, the presidential guards started firing at them in an attempt to stop the attackers. Witnesses said several snipers killed at least 20 people (others were killed by grenades and open fire).
Video of the storm:
Another video:
The police was unable to stop the protesters and left the building. President Bakiev left for the unknown location on his plane. On April 8, there was information that he landed in Osh (south of the country), and moved to his native village near Jalalabad. He refused to abdicate. The Osh region is among those that aren't controlled by the opposition so far. It is still unclear what will happen to Bakiev.
April 8, Revolution aftermath
After the opposition forces won Bishkek, they confronted another serious danger: the looters. Various bloggers reported omni-presence of looters (sometimes armed). In the evening, the looters were stopped by newly established police and volunteer brigades with white bandage on their hands. The last messages from the blogs said that the situation in Bishkek stabilized.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Paraguay: Naturalization of Foreign Footballers · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

There is a wave of naturalizations of foreign footballers in Paraguay, enabling them to play on the National Team. Carlos Rodríguez of Rescatar [es] does not agree with this, and also notes that there many other foreigners who want to put their immigration documents in order and must pay bribes to do so.


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Sri Lanka: Results Of Parliamentary Election 2010  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lanka Libertarian blog publishes the updated results of Sri Lankan parliamentary election held on April 8, 2010.


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Taiwan: The winner of the Masters de la Boulangerie 2010 is… · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

Pao-Chun Wu, winner of the Coupe Louis Lesaffre in 2007 and silver medalist at the World Cup of Baking in 2008, has won the championship at the Masters de la Boulangerie 2010. (Via News from la Coupe Louis Lesaffre)
twrose describes the 2008 competition, which paths Wu's way to the master of bakery:
三月二十九日，所有選手聚集到巴黎北部的選手村，天氣雖冷，空氣中卻充滿煙硝味。最引人注目的是這次比賽三大種子隊之一的日本隊，是由有上百家連鎖店的東客麵包店與神戶屋主廚、帝國飯店主廚，以及二○○二年拿到世界冠軍的日本選手所訓練出來的菁英隊伍。「他們看都不看你，」吳寶春記得對手的氣勢，台灣隊則是第一次參加這種國際賽事的小隊伍。
世界盃前一個半月，法國突然寄來新的比賽規則：要求歐式麵包項目（編按：由吳寶春負責）要在八小時內做出十一種麵包，共二百五十一個。「怎麼那麼多？怎麼做得出來！」所有人都嚇到了，這麼大的量，一般需要十二個小時呀！…八小時，沒人喝一口水、或離開上廁所，拚盡全部的力氣，終於在倒數三分鐘前完成，整場歡聲鼓掌。台灣是當天第一組完成的隊伍，在十二隊國際隊伍裡，只有六隊順利完成，連日本隊都沒有完成。
Photo courtesy of justeating.
Wildeny said why it is not easy for a chef trained and working in Taiwan to win the championship:
In Taiwan, this kind of artisan-style bread is not widely accepted. People still used to pastry-like sweet bread (soft & rich; which was influenced by Japan) or traditional steamed buns. Most bakers do not master in artisan baking.
The most challenging part in the competition, Justeating said is the specialty breads.
最需花腦力的是具有國家特色的麵包。前一次比賽時，寶春師傅採用紅酒桂圓麵包奪取亞軍，那百年老龍眼樹和柴火慢燻產出的桂圓，的確是一款百分百的台灣味。而今年呢？
Photo courtesy of justeating.
「我想用荔枝乾和玫瑰，然後用原住民的小米酒做媒介，你覺得如何？」
玫瑰的香氣，荔枝乾的淡甜，小米酒的酸韻，這三種味道想在麵包中取得平衡，困難度不低啊！
果然，在接下來的一段時間中，我嘗到許多次失敗的作品，有時小米酒酸味過高，有時荔枝乾軟爛無味，有時嘗不出玫瑰的香氣。諸多狀況發生後，我曾不只一次建議寶春師傅，看要不要將香氣最淡的玫瑰拿掉，然而寶春師傅每回都以「凡事正面思考，讓我們再試試看」做結論。
出發前往法國比賽之前，寶春師傅總算抓到了完美的配方，三角型的麵包外型，在原住民的意涵裡代表頂天立地的山峰，上頭以麵粉營造出荔枝的圖像…再以荔枝酒取代小米酒，凸顯荔枝的香氣，夾雜著埔里的有機玫瑰香息，做出口感清雅獨特的－－「荔香玫瑰麵包」。
When Pao-Chun won the Masters de la Boulangerie, Justeating, who is a close friend of Pao-Chun, had very complicated emotions.
知道寶春師傅得到冠軍時，我腦海中第一個浮出的畫面，不是寶春師傅高舉著獎杯、身邊被眾多媒體環繞的景象，而是一個往來於烤箱和製麵台之間的疲憊身影，一個為了夢想憋著一股勁兒的執著眼神──那是2010年2月24日下午，吳寶春出發前往巴黎比賽的最後一次練習。
對於寶春師傅來說，這是一場「一個人的戰爭」，周遭朋友能做的事情，除了鼓勵之外，只有默默地相伴。
「比賽是短暫的，學習是永遠的。」
就他的角度來看，這次參加比賽的目的，除了希望將台灣的好告訴全世界之外，還能讓他學習如何跟壓力相處。自我的成長空間，遠遠比以奪冠來得重要。
This is a video for the World Cup of Baking in 2008.

author: I-fan Lin


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Taiwan: WhereCamp Taipei · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Schee of Hopendata project announces on the project blog(zh) that WhereCamp Taipei is to be held on April 10th in Taipei. This is a an unofficial follow-up event of Where 2.0 conference. Schee and the two other speakers will talk about recent popular Augmented Reality apps and Location-based services.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Uruguay: Praise for Tupamaros During Venezuela Visit · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Much to the dismay of blogger from Qué pasa Uruguay? [es], that during Uruguayan President José Mujica's visit to Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez praised the Tupamaros, the Uruguayan guerrilla group from the 1960s and 70s, of which Mujica was a member.


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16 Years Later, the Rwandan Genocide Remembered · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

On April 7th, Rwanda commemorated the 16th anniversary of the genocide that took the lives of as many as 800,000 people and traumatized a whole region to this day. The genocide is commemorated to keep the memory of the victims alive and honor them but also to help the country move forward in the spirit of unity and reconciliation. Survivors of the genocide recall those 100 days when humanity as a whole failed them immensely and consistently. Many of them are involved in the reconstruction process, creating networks to sustain coexistence. In the aftermath of French president Sarkozy recent visit to Kigali and acknowledging in a joint press conference with President Kagame that “mistakes were made” in 1994 (fr),  bloggers discuss the meaning of Genocide Memorial Day (although commemorations really last a week) and the complexity of Rwanda's international relations.
Tutsi  survivor Norah Bagarinka recalls how she was stopped by militiamen but was eventually saved by one of them who happened to be her gardener:
He took us, my other and three other ladies, aside on the other bush. When we reached there, he got some leaves, bandaged my hand, and he told us: ” Run, run for your safety”. And he apologized.
The project Voices of Rwanda  records the life stories of Rwandans – not just stories about the genocide, but about their lives as whole. This testimony from a survivors explain why she feels compelled to remember and provide her testimony:
” If I die without telling my story here, my lineage will be snuffed out”
(For more details on Voices of Rwanda, read the article on The Hub at Witness)
Blogger Mamadou Kouyate posts an article on the recollection of a group of Australian soldiers from the UN peacekeeping team of the Kibeho massacre:
“Many of the vets have a lot of guilt about what happened because they were not able to do the best they could do to save lives. They could not do anything to defend those who couldn't defend themselves.”[..] “All that seemed to remain was the stench of genocide and children abandoned by war pathetically wandering the streets, traumatised by the death and destruction they had witnessed.”
The commemoration in  Amohoro (Peace) Stadium were followed by 20,000 people in a calm and uplifting atmosphere. Sara Strawczynski provides a description of the Walk to Remember in the streets of Kigali:
During my months living and working as a Kiva Fellow in Rwanda, I’ve had a hard time reconciling what I know to have taken place with what I experience day-to-day. Kigali is a safe, clean and beautiful city. The countryside is lush and stunning. [..] That said, signs of Rwanda’s genocide are never far beneath the surface [..] we passed two groups of prisoners, easily identifiable in their pink, orange and blue jumpsuits. Rwanda’s prisons are filled with people accused and convicted of genocide and war crimes, and its incarceration rate is among the highest in the world.
Jenny Clover attended a commemoration at the Church of Nyamata where 10,000 people were killed:
The church at Nyamata is filled with the clothes of all 10,000 people who died there – thousands and thousands of shirts, dresses, socks and trousers piled on church pews. They start to blur into one after a while – just a muddy pile of tatty clothes, pulled from a mass grave where the murderers tried to cover up what they had done. [..] There's a lot more to say about the memorial at Nyamata: the rows and rows of skulls neatly lined up in the cold underground crypt, some with clean machete cuts right though them..
This is the second time that Jina Moore  is in Rwanda during Memorial Day. She is torn between “the obligation to attend and the urge to stay away“:
Many are marking something they know from memory; others are remembering the loss of family, even if they were abroad and did not face genocide themselves. But this is not my memory. Without a doubt, I will spend the better part of today thinking of my friends who are survivors, and thinking of the family they lost who, through my friends’ stories, feel almost like people I knew, too. Perhaps I will mark some part of the day with those friends. Perhaps not. There is often discussion among the mzungus here of whether it's intrusive of us to go to these programs, or on the other hand whether it's disrespectful not to. I don't think there's a rule.
Many local bloggers have also reacted to the complex relations between Rwanda and the international community.
Stephane Ballong explains that the relation between Rwanda and France is still a bit tense (fr):
En août 2008, Kigali qui a rompu ces relations diplomatiques avec Paris, avait menacé de traduire en justice 33 personnalités françaises. Dans un rapport de 500 pages, les autorités rwandaises ont dénoncé l’implication du gouvernement français dans le génocide. Le document confirmait les responsabilités directes de treize politiciens et vingt militaires français dans ces tueries.
Christophe Ayad goes into more details about these allegations that will be published in a dossier  called ” «La France au Rwanda»    (fr):
Dans «Là haut, sur la colline de Bisesero», Jean-François Dupaquier fait le récit des premiers jours de l'opération Turquoise -opération militaro-humanitaire controversée et destinée à «stopper les massacres»- à travers le témoignage long et détaillé de l'adjudant-chef Thierry Prungnaud, gendarme du GIGN. Il est envoyé en élément précurseur sous le commandement du COS (Commandement des opérations spéciales). Pendant plusieurs jours, il ne comprend rien à la situation. Et pour cause. Voici le tableau de la situation qu'on lui a dressé avant sa mission: «Les Tutsis exterminent les Hutus. Nous sommes venus pour les protéger, mettre fin aux massacres (…) Votre rôle est de vous informer de la situation sur le terrain, de voir où en sont les rebelles du FPR». C'est exactement le contraire de la réalité: les Tutsis sont massacrés par les Hutus et le Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR) n'est en rien impliqué dans le génocide, qu'il cherche plutôt à stopper.
France is not the only country being accused of involvement in Rwanda's tragedy. Mamadou Kouyate  posts on his blog an article by Michel Chossudovsky  at Global Research  that claims that the war in Rwanda and the ethnic massacres were part of US foreign policy.
All these allegations and the still palpable trauma from the tragedy make for a very complex diplomatic and political scene in Rwanda.  Local bloggers are weary that a few months away from the elections ( scheduled in august 2010), political tensions might rise again. Jean-Marie Vianney Ndagijimana  writes that the opposition party, Les Forces Démocratiques Unifiées-Inkingi (FDU-Inkingi) has been under duress  on several occasions, namely by being denied passports, being subject to arbitrary police investigations and physical threats.
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(Global Voices in French author Abdoulaye Bah contributed to this article with links.  For bloggers’ reactions to last year's Genocide Memorial Day, please read Elia Varela Serra's compelling article).

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Cast your vote for the “Best of the Blogs” · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Online voting has begun for the Best of the Blogs Awards from Deutsche Welle, one of the most prestigious international blog competitions with nominated blogs in eleven different languages. You can vote for your favorites until April 14, 2010.
The jury will meet in the middle of April to decide on the winners, and the results will be announced on April 15 during the re:publica conference in Berlin, Germany. The winners will receive their awards at a ceremony during the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum in June 2010 in Bonn.
Among the Nominees
In the “Best Weblog” category, the competition is fierce between well-known blogs from around the web. Jordanian blogger Osama Romoh currently has over 60%  of the votes. He blogs about social issues in his country with ironic humor.
In this same category, AJI – Ação de Jovens Indígenas [pt] from Brazil is designed to accommodate young indigenous bloggers  of the Dourados Reservation and help them write about problems in their  reservation as well as to address national issues, like the status of native populations generally in Brazil.
Another contender of this category is Han Han, a prolific novelist and race car driver from China who happens to be China's most read blogger and a contender for Time Magazine's Top 100 list.
Global Voices and The BOBs
Global Voices itself won a BOBs award in 2005, but many of the current and former contributors to this website are featured in this year's BOBs for their activities outside Global Voices.
Among the “Best Blog” nominees is Ushahidi, a blog that accompanies a web application that helps map disaster situations via mobile phones and social networking. Global Voices’ former authors Juliana Rotich, Ory Okollah helped develop this project, that was initially created to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Recently, Ushahidi maps were deployed in Haiti after the earthquake that devastated the country, as well as after the Chile Earthquake.
HerdictWeb, a project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University (where Global Voices was founded) is a nominee in the ‘Reporters Without Borders Award” category. Herdict Web seeks to gain insight into what users around the world are experiencing in terms of web accessibility and censorship.
Talk Morocco — an edited forum intended to encourage intelligent, open, and honest debate on issues relating to Morocco and the diaspora created by Global Voices authors Jillian C. York and Hisham — shares the award nomination in the English weblog category alongside with Voice from Gaza, You Are Not Here and others.
Another Global Voices author, Jorge Gobbi has been blogging travel tips in Spanish on Blog de Viajes since 2003. The blog has already won the Best Spanish Travel Blog Award by travel guide publisher Lonely Planet. Check other blogs in this category here.
Canadian blogger nominee threatened with death
Michelle Blanc, a Canadian transsexual women who blogs in French about her life transformation is among the nominees in the French weblog category. Michelle recently discovered [fr] several disturbing threats on her life posted on YouTube and other websites.
Alongside Michelle's blog, Femme 2.0 ou le parcour transsexuel in the French category, there are many others, such as La Vigie du Web, Chez Gangoueus, Chroniques de la loose, Entendu à Paris and more.
Don't forget to vote for all your favorites!
Also see: Arab World: Pulling all the Stops for the BoBs

author: Diego Casaes


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China: The brief lives of Chinese buildings · Global Voices
Don Weinland

At a construction and energy conservation conference that opened March 29 in Beijing, a Ministry of Housing and Construction official revealed that construction in China only has a 25–30 year lifespan, reports China Daily.
How long will these 15-year-old buildings in Guangzhou remain standing? (photo/ Don Weinland)
Chou Baoxing, vice-director of the Ministry of Housing and Construction, said at the Sixth International Green Building and Energy Conservation Conference that although China produces 2 billion square meters in new construction annually, these new buildings have a maximum lifespan of only 30 years.  The lack of longevity in Chinese construction has led to the accumulation of billions of tons of construction refuse, China Youth reports.
An article at the People’s Daily reports that 30–40 percent of city garbage is construction refuse.  The article states that an astronomical amount of this kind of refuse is created annually and now surrounds many Chinese cities.
High turnover rates for building may help to explain China’s ferocious appetite for construction materials.  China currently consumes 40 percent of the world’s cement and steel.  But as for the short-lived nature of Chinese construction, there are multiple explanations.
Sources report that suppliers often shortchange developers, who in turn shortchange consumers.  The 1993 Consumer Rights Protection Law was drafted before housing was considered a tradable product by the government.  Therefore consumer rights protected in the 16-year-old law do not extend to the housing sector.
Economist and blogger Zheng Fengtian acknowledges sub-standard construction practices in a post:
而据专家分析，目前我国建筑质量出现最多的问题是施工质量问题，目前不少建筑物存在钢筋不达标，混凝土保护层不达标等严重问题，偷工减料很普遍。
According to professional analysis, most problems concerning my country’s architectural quality are construction problems.  Currently existing problems with construction material include sub-standard rebar and sub-standard concrete protective layering, among other serious problems.  Shoddy construction and the use of inferior materials are commonplace.
In July 2009, after a 13-storey building toppled over in Shanghai’s Minhang District killing one construction worker, the Ministry of Housing conducted inspections in 90 cities at 180 different construction sites.  According to China Youth, 96 percent passed the inspection.
Some sources say the problem isn’t faulty construction. Yang Tao writes in a blog that those in power are more concerned with short term political achievement than with harm to the environment or conservation of resources, often leading to the demolition of healthy buildings.
对于权力而言，建筑垃圾不是问题，资源浪费不是问题，民众房屋寿命更不是问题，权力追求的高楼之高、广场之大，城市的整齐、划一和一尘不染的美观，以及这背后的政绩。
As far as the powers are concerned, construction refuse is not a problem, the wasting of resources is not a problem, and even more so, the lifespan of the people’s housing is not a problem.  The powers are after the height of the skyscraper, the vastness of the square, the tidiness of the city, uniform and untouched aestheticism—and the political achievements behind the curtain.
Yang Tao writes that even a perfect city will not satisfy the ambitions of a short-term official.
短暂的任期和异地为官的制度，让官员习惯性地短视，他们需要的是在自己的五年甚至更短的一届任期做出看得见的政绩，所以，别人建的楼和广场，永远都是别人的政绩 … 没有最大只有更大
Short terms and the system placing officials outside of their home districts make them habitually short-sighted.  Within their five year—or perhaps even shorter—term they must produce visible political achievements.  So a building or a square built by someone else will always be someone else’s achievement … There is no biggest, only bigger.
A post at lousun.com states that the rate of demolition in China is equivalent to 40 percent of current construction rates—as China builds 10 buildings, they tear four down.  This blogger writes that many buildings subject to demolition are healthy.
近年来，中国很多属于正常使用年限的建筑被强行拆除，大大缩短了住宅的使用寿命，这也不符合节能与建设节约型社会的要求，是造成资源浪费的又一大原因。
Recently, many buildings with normal age depreciations have been forcibly torn down, greatly reducing the lifespan of residential usage.  This does not coincide with society’s request for energy conservation and economic construction.  It’s another great cause of the waste of resources.
With skyrocketing housing prices and fear of a growing real estate bubble, high demolition rates and dangerously shoddy construction remains an enigma.  Blogger kkdstt says the situation is truly characteristic to China.
花最贵的价钱买最短命的建筑，这样的事情只有在和谐中国能够发生。
Spending the greatest amount of money to buy the housing with the shortest lifespan—this kind of thing could only happen in harmonious China.
These conditions put the livelihood of the people at risk, kkdstt writes.
在房价一飞冲天的年代，没有人关注建筑质量，没有人关注和百姓联系的民生。大家想的是如何把老百姓从他们栖息了千年的土地上赶走，然后找一帮所谓的专家搞一些百姓听不懂、看不明白的概念方案 … 只要楼盖起来了，房价涨起来了，GDP增长了，财政收入增加了，即使房子是纸糊的，与我何干。
In an age when housing prices have gone through the roof, no one is concerned about construction quality; no one is concerned about the common people’s livelihood.  Everyone is thinking about how to drive the commoners from their ancestral homes—finding a band of so called professionals to craft concepts that the people don’t understand … As long as the buildings go up, housing prices rise, the GDP and the government’s income increases, housing could be made of paper for all I care.
A code was passed during a 2006 government workshop stipulating that all major buildings be built with a lifespan of 100 years and all normal buildings be built to last 50–100 years.  Despite this code and other inspection procedures, a lack of longevity throughout the industry persists.
Perhaps the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake that reportedly killed at least 68,000 people is an example of the dangers of sub-standard construction.  The earthquake leveled more than 7,000 schools, many of which were compared to Tofu due to their altogether flimsiness.

author: Don Weinland


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Citizen Media at International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy · Global Voices
Davide Galati

The 4th edition of the International Journalism Festival will take place in Perugia, Italy on 21-25 April 2010. Rooted in the Etruscan origins of its home-town, the Festival is broadly focused on the future of journalism and communication. It will be a place where columnists, leading journalists and other representatives of mainstream media will sit face to face with citizen journalists, activists and other people involved in alternative media production—in an attempt to find a larger collaboration between new and traditional media.
As stated in the event presentation:
L'obiettivo? Parlare di giornalismo, informazione, libertà di stampa e democrazia secondo il modello 2.0. Un evento nato dal basso, aperto alle “incursioni” degli utenti, un evento unico dove i protagonisti dell’informazione provenienti da tutto il mondo si incontrano con i cittadini, i lettori, gli studenti, i professionisti, in un flusso continuo di idee, scambi, confronti. I media giocano un ruolo fondamentale nelle nostre vite quotidiane ma spesso vivono di autoreferenzialità. Il festival rompe in qualche modo questo muro grazie al suo format e rende vivo e vitale l’incontro tra chi fa informazione e chi ne usufruisce.
Founded in 2006 by Arianna Ciccone and Christopher Potter, the IJF 2009 edition hosted more than 80 different events, 220 speakers, over 260 accredited journalists and almost 300 volunteers from all over the world. This 2010 edition promises to be even larger and more crowded.
Here is how Spanish freelance journalist Jose M. Calatayud describes his experience in 2009:
I was sitting on the front row at the talk Post-journalism: a new means of communication. These three guys, young Italian journalists, were sitting next to me. The three of them were using at the same time their laptops online, their iPhone-like phones and their cameras. At least the guy next to me was twittering, blogging, sending and receiving emails, updating his status on Facebook and checking the site and making comments every minute… I guess the other two were doing the same thing. And at the same time the three of them were chatting and laughing and -I guess- listening to the speakers.
The whole event is supported by a small number of sponsors and the involvement of several media partners, including Global Voices Online. Indeed, two Global Voices-based panels will be hosted on Wednesday April 21 and Thursday 22, both moderated by Italian Lingua editor, Bernardo Parrella: “Bridging the gap between different languages and cultures online”, with David Sasaki, Marc Herman, Portnoy Zheng and Nicola Bruno (Totem [it]); “Citizen media to foster human rights and freedom of speech”, with the presence of Jillian York, Sami Ben Gharbia, Gianni Lannes (Terra Nostra [it]), Gabriele Battaglia (PeaceReporter [it]).
The program includes other panel discussions focused on citizen journalism and new media from an international perspective. “Middle East media: chocks away!” will address the social web development in Arab countries, also pointing to Al Jazeera and its Creative Commons repository as an example of new digital journalism. “Women, the media and power” is a series of four panels on the role of women in the media, while a Barcamp on “media and crowdsourcing” will take place Sunday 25th.
IJF10 couldn't exist without the support of many volunteers coming from over twenty countries all over the world, from Gambia to Brazil to Uzbekistan. In the following YouTube video, Italian volunteer Francesca tells us her experience at the past edition:
On Twitter, the event will use the hashtag #ijf10. The Festival has also a Facebook page, with more than 6500 fans so far. Among those, on March 17th Jungle Julia Alianelli wrote about the state of press freedom in Italy:
Aiutateci please!!! Emergenza informazione in italia!!!! Per informarmi sul mio paese sono costretta a leggere articoli dei giornalisti stranieri!!
Anna Leonova writes:
Dear collegues! I will represent the International League of Young journalists at the festival. If anybody likes to join – you're always welcome. We are a community of active young journalists who want to make this world better.
Along with a PDF brochure detailing the full program, the event will be broadcast on a dedicated web TV channel. Here is a short video-presentation:
Input:
etruscan
Firefox Extention by Jimmy Ruska, Translation from Google Translate, (C) Google.
Function to click individual words is from Answers.com Extension.
Online Education should be free.

author: Davide Galati


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Social Media Create and Fight Information Overload · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Elena Skochilo: from journalist 2.0 to editor 2.0.
Few hours after the riots in Bishkek started, I saw that my friend from Kyrgyzstan is on Skype.  I asked if she is OK.
“I couldn’t leave the center of Bishkek, so I am at my friend's house in the center of Bishkek,” she said. “I can hear shooting and explosions. I can see a lot of smoke. The city is on fire. The crowd already started to loot stores. But if you want to know what’s going on, you should check this link.”
She gave my a link to a blog  Morrire by a Kyrgyz journalist Elena Skochilo (also former GVO author), who currently lives in the U.S.  The blog provided an updated feed of recent news from Bishkek that was based on monitoring of traditional and social media. To some extent, it was a paradox. A person in Bishkek was getting information about disturbing events in the city through a blog of a person from Tennessee who monitors the info on Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz events were widely covered by social media as described it the recent post [ENG] by Alexey Sidorenko. Dozens, if not hundreds, of people from Bishkek posted numerous updates on Twitter (under #freekg hashtag), Livejournal, the local blogging platform Kloop.kg, Diesel forum and other online outlets. Some events were covered live via web cameras placed at the central square of the city. In addition to that, the traditional media reports were widely reposted and distributed online.
Unlike in other situations when social media overcame the lack of information, the coverage of events in Kyrgyzstan caused to information overload and even chaos. A person who wanted to know what was going on in Bishkek could easily find herself drowning in the middle of the ocean of information. It was difficult, for instance, to differentiate the information originated in traditional media from the one born in social media platforms. Original evidences and reposting mixed with facts, rumors and pure speculations. Some of the local news Web sites were blocked for certain periods of time and that made it harder to check the original source of information.
The role of the local forum, Diesel [RUS] in this case, is very important. The question why forums are more valuable source of information than blogosphere was discussed in this GV article [ENG] about the night club fire tragedy in Perm. Twitter is also more useful since it creates one feed of information through heshtag and its easier to follow.
In this situation of information overload, a major role has been played by bloggers-aggregators. The aggregators find the most interesting and impressive content and post it on their blogs. It is not a new phenomenon. Mostly, it’s a visual content that includes shocking pictures and video. The same thing happened this time. Popular Russian bloggers Drugoi and Abstract2001, for example, provided the “selected” pictures and videos (e.g. here and here). The visual content certainly raises emotions and shows the degree of tragedy. Moreover, posting this content became a major platform for discussion of events. But it still doesn’t present any consistent picture of what’s happening. Not only a common information consumer, but also journalists can just lose themselves in the ocean of information.
The nature of the new information environment not only creates new challenges, but also provides new opportunities. The events in Bishkek showed emergence of the new social media institute – editors 2.0. Those are bloggers focusing on monitoring various sources of information including traditional and social media and producing consistent and relatively credible information picture of the events. This people should not necessarily be at the place of the events. They can be far away from the event in question and  still have an opportunity to get a global picture. But they have to be very familiar with the area of event to have a capabilities to evaluate and check information, and engage it’s own sources if necessary. In addition they have to have a high online reputation to be considered as a credible source information.
We have seen few blog-based initiatives that were focused on monitoring and creating a consistent picture of events.  A blogger adam-kesher posted [RUS] the most interesting Tweets. A blogger Lord-fame who was located in Kazakhstan made a comprehensive effort [RUS] to cover the event in Bishkek based on a big variety of source.
However, the most impressive job was done by a blogger Morrire, a Kyrgyz journalist Elena Skochilo [ENG] who currently studies in Tennessee, United States. Skochilo is a well-know blogger and photographer. Her blog was recognized as the best blog of 2005 because to her coverage of the “Tulip Revolution” in Kyrgyzstan. This time, despite the fact that she was very far from the area of event, she still was that major source of information, not only for bloggers but also for many traditional media outlets. For instance, some information on major Russian news portal Lenta.ru was based on links from her blog. Some foreign reporters also followed her blog updates. A foreign desk editor of the Israeli Russian language channel “Israel Plus” Dmitry Dubov wrote [RUS]:
Собственно, у нее я и брал всю необходимую инфу, плюсь добрал парой телефонных звонков в Бишкек, для драммы. Все. Картина дня сложилась.
“My duty is to be a filter,” Skochilo said in an interview to GV. “I should sift out truth from rumors and present the most precise and confirmed information.” The Morrire blog served as a missing chain between  social media content and information consumers. It addressed the major problem of social media, which is not the lack of first-hand information, but lack of editors who perform the task of data mining. It provided informational product, a consistent picture, that was based on various sources of information including social and traditional media. Skochilo explained to GV how she did it:
Я отслеживаю все возможные источники информации, где могут быть хоть какие-то существенные данные. СМИ, форумы, блоги. В этот раз очень помог закрытый чат в Skype, где представители НПО и журналисты обменивались информацией в реальном режиме времени. Решать вопрос о размещении информации всегда сложно, полагаюсь на интуицию…данные должны быть подтверждены несколько раз – это основное правило. И всегда думаю о том, как эти данные могутповлиять на ситуацию в обществе…
The Morrire blog is an example of evolution from a journalist 2.0 to editor 2.0.  Five years ago, during the “Tulip Revolution,” Morrire was a source of first- hand content. It provided important of information but served only as a part of puzzle of the events. This time, the  Morrire’s blog focused on creating the entire picture.  Elena Skochilo told GV how she felt about the fact that this time she was far from the places where the events took place.
В моем отсутствии есть плюсы и минусы. В 2005 году я была очевидцем и освещение событий во многом было эмоциональным. Сейчас же все, что я могу сделать, это беспристрастно пропускать через себя весь этот безумно огромный поток информации и выдавать еще более точные и оперативные данные, чем в 2005 году. Минус в том, что конечно же, мне хочется быть в Кыргызстане и быть очевидцем и составить свое личное мнение о происходящем. Мне тяжело дается разница во времени и я сейчас не отличаю, где день а где ночь и какой сегодня день недели. Очень неприятное ощущение и недостаток сна сильно сказывается.
If in the past traditional media were occasionally using information from social media, this time the social media took a patronage over social and traditional media together. The case of Kyrgyzstan media coverage shows that social media create not only a new generation of journalists but also a new generation of editors. To some extent, it means that social media become more mature and independent in its ability to fulfill journalistic duties.

author: Gregory Asmolov


text:
Poland: President Kaczyński is Killed in Plane Crash in Russia – Initial Reactions · Global Voices
Sylwia Presley

The news of the plane crash in Western Russia, which killed the President Lech Kaczyński, his wife and dozens of other senior Polish officials this morning, is reaching the entire blogosphere, as well as the mainstream media now. The President was traveling to Katyn, to take part in commemoration of the anniversary of the 1940 Katyn Forest massacre.
Both Twitter and its Polish mirror service Blip.pl host initial reactions to the catastrophe. People are shocked.
Ewa_b posts:
Nice is adding [PL]:
It must be a bad dream ;-(
Others, like Namenick, express their shock together with passing on the news in English:
Vagla points out [PL]:
Half of Poland's government was on that plane.
Joined in sentiment [PL] by hustka:
“these are the people who ruled the country” chaos!! ;o
Perdo points out [PL]:
The Parliament Speaker steps in for the President. They will announce early elections.
Polish news services, such as Onet.pl, are currently crashing under the load of traffic; mobile networks are also overloaded.
Dziennikarz is reporting [PL]:
All Polish portals are having problems with gigantic traffic
Malisa updates on mobile networks [PL]:
#plusgsm network overloaded. people must call each other with the news.
Mainstream media is delivering news updates constantly, so reactions to those start to appear as well:
KissMeJoeJ is posting:
Polskatimes.pl has published the initial list of people who were on the plane, feeding it to Twitter, too.
Some, like Irenkaa, start speculating [PL]:
I wonder if it really was an accident…
Voter101 comments on the fact that President was not liked by the public [PL]:
#president  no one liked him – now there will be respect for the dead…Irony.
Naphilim explains [PL]:
Maybe I didn't like him, but this is not how I imagined the change of the head of the country.
People are beginning to gather and express their grief, as dominikpanek is reporting [PL]:
In front of Presidential Palace in Warsaw citizens of the capital gather. They are bringing flowers and wreaths.
Twitter users are using #RIPLechKaczynski hashtag to express their grief online, calling others to join them, the way TeamJoeJ does:
Linkaaa‘s tweet sums up the general feeling of the Polish social media users now:

author: Sylwia Presley


text:
Russia: Bloggers Discuss Andrzej Wajda’s “Katyń” Movie · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

For the first time in Russian history, Andrzej Wajda‘s [ENG] “Katyń” (2007) has been aired on Russian public television channel “Kultura” [ENG] provoking online discussions on Stalin regime, historical truth, humanism and Russian-Poland relations.
Katyń movie poster, Wikimedia Commons
The Katyn massacre [ENG], a deliberate execution of almost 22,000 Polish officers by the Russian NKVD officers [ENG] in 1940 remains the main unresolved historical issue between contemporary Russia and Poland. Throughout almost 50 years official Soviet propaganda said that Katyn had been a Nazi war crime until in 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev recognized the NKVD murders.
Russian government's position on the issue was far from straightforward since that. In 1990, the Russian Prosecutor's Office started investigation of the horrible incident. In 1992, Russian president Boris Yeltsin shared a part of the secret archives containing evidence of the NKVD executions. But in 2004 (already under Putin), the case was closed due to the death of the guilty (executors). Polish officers shot in Katyn along with thousands of Soviet political prisoners were neither rehabilitated nor recognized as repressed. While in Poland Katyn massacre became one of the new nation-building symbols of martyrdom, there's no common view on the issue in the Russian society as there's a group of historians promoting Soviet point of view [ENG]backed up by communist party together with some veterans of NKVD. The Soviet version is still transmitted in popular newspaper like “Pravda,”[RUS] and by some popular bloggers like Russian intellectual Anatoliy Wasserman.
Followed by a serious worsening of relations between the two countries in 2005-2007 (Meat trade dispute [ENG], Missile dispute, etc.), things started to change in 2007. The prime-ministers of Poland and Russia launched the Commission on Difficult Issues [RUS], which mission was to settle down a large number of historical issues between the countries. The Katyn massacre stood as a central point of the debate. Most experts agree [RUS] that the appearance of “Katyń” on Russian public TV was due to the work of the commission and upcoming commemoration of the Katyń massacre.
“Katyń” was aired during Friday prime-time (19:40 – 21:30) with the discussion after the show. It was claimed that the Channel One (Russian leading TV channel) simultaneously Oscar-winning “Hurt Locker” on purpose but that turned out to be inaccurate (“Katyn” ended at 21:30, while “Hurt Locker” began at this very time). Interesting feature of the TV-discussion that followed the movie was that none of the Polish representatives was invited.
The online discussion of the movie gathered more than 2100 blog posts [RUS] and became #5 topic in the Yandex discussion rating. Bloggers were divided in their opinions. Some completely denied the version of NKVD murders (claimed to be the Goebbels’ version as the Nazis were the first to announce Katyn massacres). Among those who recognized the NKVD murders, opinions weren't uniform either. Despite some bloggers’ claims “Katyń” was “market-oriented,” “Anti-soviet on purpose,” “too outlined,” “made to order,” the majority of Runetizens said they were deeply touched by the movie.
Most bloggers denounced the myth of the movie's hidden russophobia (anti-russian sentiment).
kir_mgd, for example, wrote:
Я, честно говоря, не воспринял фильм как русофобский хоть в какой-то мере.Что-то там действительно трафаретно и прямолинейно(флаг на портянки),но не примитивно и злопамятно. Впечатление очень сильное производит.
Moderator of the ru_katyn community dassie2001 wrote:
Никто другой в Польше не сделал бы НЕантироссийского (НЕрусофобского) фильма на тему Катыни. Вайде – удалось
One of the main current of those discussions was the search for the reason of the mass murders. “Usual” (in this kind of discussions) versions like “strategic necessity,” “revenge for 16,000-20,000 Soviet prisoners of war who died in the Polish camps after Soviet-Polish war“[ENG] and others were offered. LJ user Yasko repeated deputy Kosachev's explanation [ENG] of the massacre in terms of the essential blood-lust of the faceless totalitarian regime:
Совершенно гениально пан Вайда показал нам, что это работала именно машина уничтожения людей. А то, что эта машина – порождение именно западной мысли, западной цивилизации, это тема выходящая уже за пределы темы Катыни, в том ей масштабе, в котором надо было её сегодня раскрыть, что А. Вайда и сделал.
Not everyone accepted the notion of faceless machine. LJ user Maxilla_k wrote:
Однако, хватит врать, автор у этой “машины” безусловно есть, и он в фильме показан. “Эффективный менеджер” смотрит со стены в сцене приговора “тройки” генералу польских войск. Зачем он то делал, – не знаю.
The humanism topic was raised by popular movie critic kinanet:
Подлинная опасность ленты Вайды, которой испугались в нынешней России многие перестраховщики, заключается как раз в человеческом измерении политической трагедии, не заканчивающейся выяснением всех обстоятельств случившегося в Катыньском лесу.
…
Мы ж привыкли поклоняться лживым кумирам, фальшивым идеалам, а главное – любить не отеческие гробы, а могилы вождей и их прихлебателей на Красной площади. И потому пребываем в тоске по прежнему величию, которое тоже было дутым, поскольку имело своей основой кровь и насилие. Так люди ли мы, человеки ли?
It seems that the movie had an effect. After viewing it, Yelena Tokareva, editor-in-chief of the tabloid “Stringer,” publicly said she was [RUS] sorry for the negative reviews that were published in her magazine.
The effect was especially significant for those Russians who were not aware of the issue. If not in a historical but at least in a moral way. As eli_prophet put it:
Я был приятно обрадован тем, что хоть и спустя 3 года после выхода, хоть бы и не по самому центральному каналу, но этот фильм был показан на государственном телеканале в пятницу (и не простую, а страстную пятницу), в самый прайм-тайм. Это не огромный шаг, но шаг достойный уважения. И мне кажется важным, чтобы как можно больше людей в нашей стране получили возможность посмотреть на события Второй мировой войны другими глазами, с другого ракурса.


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Election Fever  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

With one action, the prorogation of Parliament, Trinidad and Tobago‘s Prime Minister thrust the country into election mode.  (The constitution of the twin island republic states that from the moment Parliament is dissolved, a general election must be held in no fewer than 35 days and no more than 90).  As the news broke, the blogosphere was rife with speculation that the move was made to pre-empt a no-confidence motion against Manning that had been scheduled for debate today in the House of Representatives, as well as to avoid the fallout over the report of the Uff Commission of Enquiry into the Construction Sector, which was critical of the modus operandi of the state-owned Urban Development Corporation of T&T (UDeCOTT) – which is not to say that bloggers are not asking other critical questions, some even as basic as “When?”
Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival, and lifestyle, however, starts with the “Why?”:
Why now? Why would the Prime Minister risk losing Government with not even 3 years of his five-year term behind him?
Why? Why when the country can still call on record revenue and a commanding majority in Parliament?
The analysts are pinning it on the no-confidence motion; or Calder Hart. But as Chris Rock asked when speaking on the Columbine shootings, “Whatever happened to crazy?”
It's quite possible Manning is just a nut. A lunatic.
But, the blogger continues, there may be some method to the “madness”:
Suppose you're Manning and you have the preliminary findings of the Lindquist investigation into Calder Hart and UDECOTT…
At that point it suddenly hits the Prime Minister; the PNM will lose the Elections if they wait five years, and worse yet, in a few months time, there is a definite concern that his own Party will finally realise what all have said, that he, Mr. Manning, is the millstone 'round the PNM's neck.
He thinks farther ahead, what would happen if his Party turns against him? Well they'd see new leadership, wouldn't they…Who would they turn to, he ponders? Dr. Keith Rowley!
Now if you were Prime Minister Manning you'd know that is your worst case scenario. So how do you stop that? You call a General Election!
It's a win-win scenario for Manning.
In contrast, gspottt‘s focus is squarely on “engaging in the political process and advocating for what GLBT people need” and posts a survey to that effect.
Twitter (#Trinidad) is also abuzz with the news.  @izatrini asks:
So when is election in #Trinidad and #Tobago http://qtwt.us/cvkq
@Jahriv links to a recent article in Foreign Policy magazine and quips:
http://ow.ly/1whQS – Let the politicking begin! #trinidad  – PS don't read if you intend to vote #PNM – you might just get swayed!
@nissandookeran, meanwhile, advises tweeple to check online to verify whether they are registered to vote:
#trinidad Check your voter registeration status, takes less than 2 minutes here: http://ebctt.com/registration.php
…and @nplaughlin muses:
So: a general election some time in the next three months. #Trinidad
Regional bloggers are also weighing in on political developments in Trinidad and Tobago.  Moving Back to Jamaica comments:
The battle has begun between the PNM and UNC/COP over who will rule Trinidad and Tobago, courtesy of a snap election called by Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday.
Last night, this fact was ignored in our television newscasts. This morning, only a single newspaper bothered to mention it in a report lifted verbatim from the news-wires.
Why should Jamaicans care?
Well, we need to remember that the person being elected is also the de facto CEO of some of our most important companies.
Francis Wade goes on to examine “the stake that the Trinidadian government has in Jamaica's economy”:
Now that elections are upon us all, what's the deeply unpopular Patrick Manning likely to do?
Will he defend the equally unpopular Air Jamaica deal as he fights for his political life? Or will he abandon his aspirations to rule the airways of the region, leaving the Government of Jamaica with empty hands?
How much does he value the deal? How much does he care that the IMF is quite likely to hold Jamaica to its promise to get rid of the airline by a certain, non-negotiable date?
Is he willing to take a stand for the Air Jamaica acquisition on a point of principle, and fulfill his part of the bargain?
Trinidadians will tell you, with a laugh, that they know the answer to that question.
He ends the post with an admonishment:
We need to pay attention to the rest of the Caribbean region, so that we can start to learn how to do business with countries that know much more about us, than we know of them…
I doubt that the IMF cares who is in power in Trinidad, and whether or not they are corrupt, but… (Hello!!) we MUST.
Meanwhile, Barbados’ Cheese-on-bread! seems amused:
Wuhloss. These days Governments in the Caribbean are falling apart faster than a Hollywood marriage.
But Trinidadian diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch has the last word, by dint of the title of his post, in which he simply asks:
“The end?”


text:
United Kingdom: Iraqi LGBT group leader Ali Hili refused priority for ayslum application · Global Voices
Judith Townend

Ali Hili, the leader of an Iraqi lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group, has been told his asylum application will not be prioritized by the UK government, even though the UN High Commissioner for Refugees recommends “favourable consideration” for such “at risk”groups of people.
Hili's application, which has been outstanding for for three years, prevents him from travelling and therefore, his supporters say, inhibits his efforts to raise the profile of Iraqi LGBT, a London-based group which started campaigning in 2003.
“Hili has received many requests to speak about the situation in Iraq internationally, including from US-based groups such as the Gay Liberation Network and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Campaign, which he has been unable to pursue,” say campaigners.
“He desperately wishes to do this [travel] in order to further the aims of his organisation, that is, supporting lesbians and gay men in Iraq and bringing the world's attention to their plight,” Hili's solicitor wrote to the UK Border Agency in 2009.
Over 700 Iraqi LGBT people have been assassinated in the past six years, says Iraqi LGBT. Hili has been issued with a fatwa from inside Iraq.
Pink News has more background details in a comment piece by Paul Canning, gay rights activist and LGBT Asylum News webmaster, at this link. Canning says:
It often shocks people to hear this but talk to Iraqi gays who've made it out and they'll tell you – life was better under Saddam.
In November 2009 the Gays Without Borders blog published this Iraqi LGBT account of the situation for gays and lesbians in Iraq.
Using the internet as a means to track down new victims, militia members are now employing computer analysts to monitor traffic on gay dating and networking websites in the region. They work with internet café owners to single out people who frequent these sites and set up fake profiles in the attempt to lure them out.
Despite the reported risks, UKBA's latest response that refuses Hili a priority application says:
Photo agency Demotix has a picture of Hili protesting in London here, displaying a simple link to his campaign: http://bit.ly/alihili.
Iraqi LGBT has some suggestions for UK citizens who wish to help appeal against Hili's case: for example, writing to the home secretary, the prime minister, and your local MP.
For those outside the UK the campaign suggests asking politicians and organisations to invite Hili to your country (something he wouldn't be able to do under the current restrictions) and publicizing the requests.
Meanwhile, supportive comments are gathering on the petition to the home office asking the UK government to expedite the case (with just under 600 names at the time of writing).
One signatory, Paul Allen, says:
Would you want to live any longer in a society that treats you, the person you are with fear, hatred and violence, an agenda pushed by religion?
Ron Addison adds simply:
Shame on you, Sort it out NOW.

author: Judith Townend


text:
Bangladesh: Bangla Blogs At The BOBS – Meet Ali Mahmed · Global Voices
Rezwan

Deutsche Welle's 2010 The Best Of Blogs (BOBs) international award has a significance for the Bangla (Bengali) bloggers in Bangladesh, India and the Bengali diaspora around the world. In its 6th round of blogging competition Bangla language blogs have been included in the BOBs [bn] for the first time. With approximately 230 million speakers, Bangla is one of the most spoken languages in the world. This award is significant in a sense that we have not seen any successful nationwide best of Bangla blogs competition in Bangladesh or in India till-to-date.
Among the 11 Bangla blog nominations we have a mix of prolific bloggers with different backgrounds, including Global Voices Bangla Lingua translator Kowshik.
Ali Mahmed (Shuvo)
Today we are introducing Ali Mahmed (Shuvo), who writes from Gangasagor union in Akhaura Upazila, situated in the Eastern border of Bangladesh. Ali Mahmed is currently leading among the Bangla Blog nominees on the basis of readers votes. I am translating below an email interview with Ali Mahmed, which discusses about his blogging and the blogging scene in Bangladesh.
GV: Would you please introduce your blog and tell us what kinds of topic you cover?
উত্তরটা আমার জন্য বড়ো কঠিন। আমি যেটা করার চেষ্টা করি, আমার বিক্ষিপ্ত ভাবনাগুলো একত্রিত করে লেখার প্রচেষ্টা, সবিরাম। আর এখানে লেখা মানেই তো ব্লগিং।
অবশ্য আমার লেখাগুলো আদৌ প্রচলিত ব্লগিং-এর পর্যায়ে পড়ে কিনা আমি জানি না। এবং প্রচলিত কোন ধারা আমি মেনে চলি না। যেমন আজ মশা নিয়ে লিখলাম- মশার প্রতি মানুষের বিশ্বাঘাতকতা, তো কাল মা হাতি- যে হাতিটা আগে মা পরে হাতি, একটু পরই বুশকে নিয়ে – তিনি কেমন করে রক্তের সঙ্গে তেল মিশিয়ে নতুন একটা জ্বালানী আবিষ্কার করার চেষ্টা করছিলেন। পরশু হয়তো কোন একটা ধর্ম নিয়ে, এর পরের দিন হয়তো বা বিজ্ঞান বিষয়ক কোন একটা লেখা। এই জন্যই শুরুতে বলেছিলাম, এই প্রশ্নের উত্তর দেয়াটা আমার জন্য মুশকিল।
But I am not sure whether all my writings fall in the criterion of “traditional blogging” as I do not follow any tradition. Like one day I wrote about the betrayal of men to the mosquitoes [bn], then the next day on a mummy elephant [bn] – which is a mother first and an elephant next. The day after I would write about a religion [bn], and on a science related [bn] issue on the next day. That's why I mentioned at the beginning, the question is hard to answer.
GV: You are basically a writer. When did you start to blog and why?
আমি নিজেকে লেখক বলে স্বীকার করি না। বলি লেখার রাজমিস্ত্রি। একজন রাজমিস্ত্রি যেমন একের পর এক শব্দের ইট বসিয়ে একটা কাঠামো গড়ে তোলার চেষ্টা করেন তেমনি আমিও একের পর এক শব্দের ইট বসিয়ে একটা কাঠামো গড়ার চেষ্টা করি। কোন পাঠক যখন আমার সেই নিষ্প্রাণ বাড়ি নামের কাঠামোটা ছুঁয়ে দেন তখন সেটা হয়ে উঠে ঝলমলে একটা প্রাসাদ।
আমি লেখালেখির নামে ব্লগিং শুরু করি ২০০৬ সালের ফেব্রুয়ারিতে। কোন এক দৈনিকে ‘সামহোয়্যার ইন ব্লগ ডট নেট’ এই সাইটটার খোঁজ পাই। ওখানেই শুরু।
এঁরা এক অভাবনীয় কান্ড করে ফেলেছিলেন। এঁরাই প্রথমে এই দেশে বাংলায় লেখালেখি করার সুযোগ করে দিয়েছিলেন। এই দেশের পক্ষ থেকে আমি গভীর কৃতজ্ঞতা প্রকাশ করি। আমরা যারা দেশে থাকি তাদের চেয়ে এটা অতি জরুরী ছিল প্রবাসীদের জন্য। খানিকটা অক্সিজেন, প্রবাসীরা এখানে তাদের দমবন্ধ শ্বাস ফেলার সুযোগ পেতেন- একমুঠো দেশের সোঁদা মাটির গন্ধ! এর ফল যে কী অকল্পনীয় তার পুরোটা আঁচ করা মুশকিল।
কেন ব্লগিং শুরু করলাম এটা অল্প কথায় বলি, আমি তো আগেও লেখালেখি করতাম। ওখানে ব্লগিং শুরু করার পূর্বেই বিভিন্ন পত্রিকায় লিখেছি, তখন পর্যন্ত আমার বেশ ক-টা বইও প্রকাশিত হয়েছিল। কিন্তু ওখানে এসে লেখার শক্তি দেখে হতভম্ব হয়ে গেলাম। ফারাকটা টিভি নাটক এবং মঞ্চনাটকের যে তফাত, এমন! একেবারে লাইভ, জীবন্ত!
একটা লেখা দিয়ে আপনি পার পাবেন না, পাঁচ মিনিটের মধ্যেই ভাললাগা-মন্দলাগা জেনে যাবেন, ভুল লিখলে জালে আটকা পড়বেন।
I started blogging in February 2006. I read about the (first Bangla blogging platform) somewhereinblog.net site in a newspaper and it began.
This site has done wonder in giving the privilege of blogging in Bangla in this country. I express my sincere gratitude to them on behalf of my fellow countrymen. This was also vital for the diaspora community – they could find a breathing space here – the smell of a hand-full of mother earth from home. The effect is unthinkable and difficult to fathom.
Why I started to blog – I will be short – I was writing before I started here. I wrote in a few newspapers and had already published a few of my books. But I was stunned to see the power of writing when I started blogging. The difference is like between a television drama and a theater performance. Its live, very active.
You cannot get away writing in a blog – a reader can react within 5 minutes. If you write anything wrong you will be caught.
GV: In 2007 your book “Shuvo's Blogging” was published. It is deemed as the first book in Bangla on Blogging. What motivated you for this feat?
এটা বের করার পেছনে ঠিক সুনির্দিষ্ট কোন কারণ ছিল না। এক বছর আমি সামহোয়্যারে চুটিয়ে লেখালেখি করেছিলাম। ওখানে বেশ কিছু আমার পছন্দের লেখা ছিল, তাছাড়া অনেকের সঙ্গে অজস্র মন্তব্য চালাচালি হয়েছিল। ইচ্ছা ছিল মন্তব্যসহ পোস্টগুলো নিয়ে আসা কিন্তু তাহলে বইটা গিয়ে দাঁড়াত প্রায় হাজার পৃষ্ঠার, এই বিপুল আকারের বই বের করতে প্রকাশক আগ্রহ বোধ করতেন না। আরও কিছু সীমাবদ্ধতার কারণে কেবল পোস্টগুলো নিয়েই বই বের হলো।
GV: You started writing in a community platform – and now writing in your own site. Please let us know the difference.
কমিউনিটি ব্লগিং-এর বিপুল শক্তি হচ্ছে এর পাঠক। সামহোয়্যারে বা অন্যত্র লেখার সময় এমনও দাঁড়িয়েছে আমার কিছু পোস্টে হাজারেরও উপর হিট ছাড়িয়ে গেছে, যেটা আমার নিজের সাইটে অকল্পনীয়। কিন্তু কেবল হিটটাই বড়ো কথা না, অনেকের মন্তব্য পড়ে বোঝা যেত আদৌ তিনি লেখাটা পড়েননি!
কমিউনিটি ব্লগিং-এ যে সমস্যা আমাকে ভারী বিব্রত করত, তা হচ্ছে দলাদলি। বুশ স্টাইল, হয় তুমি আমার দলে নইলে খেলা থেকে বাদ। এতে আমার প্রবল আপত্তি ছিল, এখনো আছে। আসলে এটা হচ্ছে আমাদের দেশের কালচার। এখানে জন্মের পরই আলাদা করে ফেলা হয় একটা প্রাণ পশুর, না মানুষের বাচ্চার? এরপর ছেলে, না মেয়ে? কোন ধর্মের? বাড়ি কোন এলাকায়? পরিশেষে কোন দল করে? কালে কালে এটা আমাদের শেখানো হয়েছে!
অনলাইনে লেখার সময় আমি ভয়ে কাঠ হয়ে থাকি, এই রে কোথাও ভুল লিখে বসলাম না তো আবার- প্রচুর পড়তে হয়, হাতের নাগালে তথ্য-উপাত্ত রাখতে হয়। এখানকার পাঠক কিন্তু আমার উপন্যাসের টিনএজ পাঠক না, দুর্ধর্ষসব মানুষ, যারা প্রবাসে গেছেন উচ্চশিক্ষার জন্য। এঁদের রয়েছে চিন্তা করার বিপুল ক্ষমতা!
অন্যদের কথা জানি না কিন্তু এই সব আমার উপর চাপ পড়ত। তারচেয়ে আমার নিজের সাইটে যখন লিখি, লিখে বড়ো আরাম পাই। বাড়তি চাপ নাই। যে অল্প পাঠক সাইটটা ভিজিট করেন তারা মুলত পড়ার জন্যই আসেন। তাঁদের সঙ্গে আমি আমার ভাবনা শেয়ার করতে পারি, ‘বাঁশে ভিউ মিরর’ লাগাবার আইডিয়া। আমার স্বপ্নগুলো ছড়িয়ে দিতে পারি, আমার ভুলগুলো শোধরাতে পারি।
The problem in the community blogging (in Bangladesh) is grouping (and acrimony). Its Bush style, either you are in my team or out of the game. I objected about this, I still do. Actually its the culture of our country. We are being segregated from the birth – is this the life of a human or an animal? Then is it a boy, or girl? Of which religion? Where is the domicile? and last which political party (s)he belongs? We were taught to think like this.
I feel scared when I write online – whether I am making any mistake. I have to read much – have to keep the statistics, links ready. The readers here are not the teenage readers of my book – they are very knowledgeable, some have traveled abroad for higher studies. They have got a higher power of thinking!
I don't know about others, but this created much pressure on me. When I write in my own online space, I feel much relieved. There is no extra pressure. My loyal readers come here to basically read my articles. I can express my ideas with them, like the idea of adding a rear view mirror on a bamboo [bn]. I can share my dreams, I can correct my mistakes.
GV: Please share your ideas of the blogging scene in Bangladesh.
আমি প্রচন্ড মুগ্ধ! এক কথায় দুর্ধর্ষ, এখানে ব্লগিং-এর নামে যেসব লেখালেখি হয়, অনেকের লেখা পড়ে, তাঁদের ভাবনার প্রসারতা দেখে আমি থ হয়ে যাই। পারলে এদের হাত সোনা দিয়ে বাঁধিয়ে দিতাম। আমাদের দেশের যেসব বিখ্যাত লেখকগণ রয়েছেন এঁরা কল্পনাও করতে পারবেন না, এখানে এমন অনেকে লেখালেখি করেন তাদের লেখার-ভাবনার কী গভীরতা!
GV: In a country where there are 40% illiterates, how do you see freedom of expression as a tool of establishing democracy and can blogging play a role here?
এই প্রশ্নের উত্তর চট করে দেয়াটা মুশকিল। যদি বলা হয় হ্যাঁ তাহলে অতিশয়োক্তি হবে। যেখানে শতকরা ৪০ ভাগ মানুষ অশিক্ষিত, এখানে খুব অল্প মানুষই নেট ব্যবহার করেন। তাছাড়া আমাদের দেশ যারা চালাচ্ছেন তাঁদের এইসব পড়ার সময়, যোগ্যতা কই? এমতাবস্থায় ব্লগিং করে চট করে কিছু করে ফেলা যাবে এটা বলা মুশকিল। তবে ভূমিকা রাখা যেতে পারে পরোক্ষভাবে।
GV: How do you feel to be nominated in an international competition like BOBS?
অবশ্যই এটা অতি আনন্দের। তবে আমি পেছনের কাতারের মানুষ। হুট করে সামনে চলে এলে বিভ্রান্ত হয়ে পড়ি।
GV: Please tell the Global Voices readers how reading the Bangla blogs will benefit them?
এটা আমি একটু ঘুরিয়ে বলব। কোন দেশ কতটা সভ্য এটা তার স্বর্নের মজুত বা মিসাইলের সংখ্যা দিয়ে হয় না। আমি মনে করি ওই দেশের মানুষদের ভাবনা, যার আরেক নাম ব্লগিং নামের লেখালেখি দিয়ে হয়।
এখন আমরা কোন দেশের লোকজনের ভাবনা জানব কেমন করে? পত্রিকা-মিডিয়ার মাধ্যমে, উঁহু। ওখানে আমরা কেবল জানতে পারব মেদবহুল ভাবনা। নির্মেদ ভাবনা জানার জন্য ব্লগিং নামের শক্তিশালী এই মাধ্যম ব্যতীত অন্য কোন উপায় নাই। দেশটা বাংলাদেশ নাকি কঙ্গো সেটা দেখার বিষয় না, দেখার বিষয় হচ্ছে ওখানকার মানুষদের ভাবপ্রকাশ-ব্লগিং।
যেমন আমরা এই গ্রহের সাহিত্য বলতে বুঝি ইংরাজি সাহিত্য প্রকারান্তরে আমেরিকা-বৃটেনের সাহিত্য। মুভি বলতে বুঝি আমেরিকার মুভি। ব্লগিংটাও যেন সে পর্যায়ে না যায় সেজন্য আমাদের যেটা অতি সত্বর করা প্রয়োজন পৃথিবীর বিভিন্ন ভাষার ব্লগারদের লেখা অন্য ভাষায় অনুবাদ করার ব্যবস্থা করা।
How can we learn about the thinking of the people from a country? From print or visual media? No. We can only learn about bloated thoughts from them. To learn about genuine opinions there is no alternative to reading blogs. It does not matter which country the blogger is from, Bangladesh or Congo. The only thing matters is the expressions of opinions of citizens.
Now a days the predominant literature of the world is English literature (US & UK). Movies are predominantly from US (Hollywood). So to prevent blogging from getting monopolized we need to translate blogs of different languages to other languages of the world.
GV: Your six year old son has started blogging. How do you feel about it?
অনুভূতিটা অন্য রকম। আমি আমার সন্তানকে ব্লগিং করা দেখিয়ে দিয়েছি। আর সে আমাকে দেখিয়েছে এটা, সে ৬ বছর বয়সে ব্লগিং করে আর আমি ২৭ বছর বয়সে প্রথম কম্পিউটার ছুঁয়ে দেখেছিলাম!
The voting at the BOBS ends on April 14th. So if you are a Bangla speaker please read these blogs and don't forget to vote for the best within next Wednesday.
Update: For our non-Bengali speaking readers here is a link to some of the blog posts of Ali Mahmed in English.


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Colombia: 62 Years After the Bogotazo · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Patricia Quintero Barrera of the blog Etnicografíca [es] writes about the 62nd anniversary of the “Bogotazo,” which is a period in Colombian history where there were “protests, disorder, and repression” in the capital Bogotá, following the assassination of Presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948.


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Dominican Republic: Fresh Crabs for Sale · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Duarte 101 [es] has a photo of a young street vendor selling fresh crabs that come from San Juan de la Maguana.


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Gabon: African actor in Chinese martial art movies · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Do you know Luc Bendza? He is probably the only African to take part in Chinese martial art movies.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ghana: Ghana Music Awards 2010 winners · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ghana Music Awards 2010 winners: “Sarkodie, Wutah, and Becca won multiple honours at the 11th Ghana Music Awards, which were organized last night, April 10, at the Dome, Accra International Conference Centre on April 10, 2010.”


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Iran: State Reaps Real Dividends of Double-edged Persecution · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, along with the Broadcasting Board of Governors, are sponsoring a half-day conference on Monday (April 12) in Washington DC entitled “Iran:  Opportunities and Challenges for Citizen Engagement.” Ivan Sigal, Executive Director of Global Voices Online, will take part in the event as a moderator. I was asked to participate by writing a couple of commentaries/posts on the conference topic.
From my observations and experience, citizen media and social networking in Iran has probably been, for the past few years, the only efficient means for Iranians to express their ideas, share original stories on different issues, communicate with each other and the outside world and even, in some cases, organize demonstrations.
There is no doubt that citizens protesting the results of the June presidential election have made efficient use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs to ‘immortalize’ their movement and to broadcast evidence of the violence committed against people by the security forces. However, the cornerstone of this movement is not technology – it’s the people.
This said, I should add that Iranian netizens are facing enormous pressure and have been the victims of the Islamic Republic’s persecution; and in some cases, they have been largely misunderstood by Western media.
Security Issues: Virtual Writers, Real Victims
For years, Iranian netizens have faced filtering, hacking and persecution. In recent months, after the presidential election, the persecution reached a new scale as did its consequences:
Prison: Dozens of bloggers were among the several hundreds of Iranian journalists, political and civil society activists who were arrested after the 12th of June election. Some who got released, such as Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, former reformist vice president and a very active blogger, no longer dare to criticize the Iranian government. Who would be so bold after months of being persecuted? Not many, of course.
Cyber Attacks: The Iranian State or its supporters have multiplied initiatives and projects to rule the virtual world, not by words but by force.
The Iranian Cyber Army is just one example of several militant Islamic initiatives that have only become more fervent since the elections in June 2009. This hacker group is perhaps the strongest Iranian, or Iran-related, militant Islamist project on the Internet. Twitter, Radio Zamaneh, Green Movement sites such as Jaras and Kalameh were among the victims of this cyber army. It has announced that it will hack and reveal information which could jeopardize the activists behind those sites.
The organized-crime-fighting unit of the IRGC, launched a website named ‘Gerdab’ (meaning ‘vortex’), where news and photos of arrested people is published. During the post-election protests in 2009, Gerdab published photos of protesters, and asked the Iranian public to help identify them. This site is now hunting bloggers too.
An atmosphere of fear has been created. Khyaboon, an underground Internet newspaper, has no site or blog, due to security reasons, and just sends its issue to email boxes.
In other words, the Islamic Republic reaped the dividends of persecution. It silenced many bloggers, forced them into exile or silences them altogether.
Curb your Enthusiasm
Iranians used Facebook, the blogosphere, Twitter and YouTube to reach the outside world, reflecting the Iranian people’s image and convey the message of leading politicians to thousands of people. These virtual platforms have provided useful tools to dynamise slogans, images and dates of demonstrations.
Iranian citizen media is the extension of real people’s activities. In recent months and after February 11, which is the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, when the Iranian State ‘stole’ the show from the Iranian opposition, citizen media enthusiasm like the real-world protestor’s dynamism, has been curbed.
A continuing lack of strategy in Tehran and other battleground cities may push netizens out of the virtual world – at least until a new wave of protest movements.
We had a peak into the creativity of Iranian online activists between June and February, a time when people were enthusiastic and believed in the possibility of victory in the near future.
Despite this, I should add that I believe that Iranian youth is and remains creative. And so is their social networking, but they can not make a miracle happen. Who can?

author: Fred Petrossian


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Kyrgyzstan: A Photo Report From Bishkek · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos and commentary (RUS) on the recent unrest, looting and poverty in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – by LJ user zyalt (Ilya Varlamov).

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Peru: Terminating Mobile Phone Contracts · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Starting July 1, mobile phone users in Peru will have the option to terminate their service contracts without having to complete its duration, should they not be satisfied with the service, which is good for consumers notes Arturo of Crónicas del Basurero [es].