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Eviction in Calais Refugee Camp Poses Special Threat for Unaccompanied Minors [Updated] · Global Voices
Annabella Stieren

Liz Clegg (first on the left) independently runs the Centre for Women and Children in Europe's largest informal refugee camp, taking care of unaccompanied minors. Photo: Brindusa Nastasa. Used with permission.
Update (February 23, 2016): On February 23, a French court in Lille ruled that the judgement on the eviction will be delayed until the end of the week, after eight NGOs filed a request for a temporary injunction to halt the evacuation last week. The authorities are now under legal obligation to wait for the court ruling. In the meantime, volunteer group “Help Refugees” conducted a census in the camp. They counted 5,497 residents, of which 423 are unaccompanied minors.
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It is 9 o'clock on this foggy Valentine’s Sunday in the so-called “Jungle”, Calais’ infamous refugee camp, home to an estimated 6,000 people living in tents, caravans and wooden shacks. This morning, the only ones awake seem to be seven hungry Afghan boys. Their rhythmic knocks on a wooden door mingle with the continuous sound of the footsteps squelching through in the sludge. The door belongs to a red and yellow tent about seven meters long: The Women’s and Children’s Centre of “The Jungle”. The boys at the door are waiting for British volunteer Liz Clegg to take them for breakfast. Together with her team of volunteers, Liz takes care of the most vulnerable individuals in the camp, including unaccompanied minors.
The boys don’t know that this is among of the last mornings they can run hungry to the Centre for food and support. A week from now French government bulldozers will steamroll everything: The improvised playground with swings and climbing-frame, the tent with cushions and blankets to keep the Centre's users warm, the artwork created by women and children throughout the last months—in short, these people's place of safety and trust.
The seven exhausted boys, between the ages of 10 and 15 years, have been up all night. After an hour-long walk, they put their lives in danger by trying to jump onto lorries to reach England. Suleyman, 11, seems barely present. Crouched in a corner, he sips his milky chai, his eyes glassy, staring into the void.
While Liz buys the boys’ breakfast she expresses worry about the plans to clear the southern side of the camp. The French government recently informed over 800 refugees, including families with young children, that they will be expelled from the camp within the next few days. The demolition this seven-hectare area will halve the size of Europe’s largest informal refugee camp and destroy vital community buildings such as mosques, churches, a legal aid centre, a centre for administering vaccines against measles, food distribution facilities, a theatre and a youth centre.
The camp is also home to anywhere from 200 to 500 unaccompanied children, some as young as 10 years. For them the Women and Children's Centre is the only point of reference. “We keep track of them, we know if they are missing, we help them,” says Liz. “If they take this from them, we will lose them”
The Women's and Children Centre at the Calais refugee camp. Photo: Brindusa Nastasa. Used with Permission.
The upcoming clearance of the camp will not be the first this year. In January, shelter that served over 2,000 people was demolished. On February 1 another area that included a church and mosque was cleared. The government's plan is to push as many people as possible into the 125 new pearl-white containers in a fenced section of the camp.
pastor clutches the last piece remaining of his church # ACAB #refugeeswelcome pic.twitter.com/UHv0xI2l05
— Calais Solidarity (@calaisolidarity) February 1, 2016
In this new area, which looks more like a livestock farming facility than housing for humans, there won’t be any churches, mosques or schools—community spaces that residents of the “Jungle” agree have made their lives a little more bearable. The plan appears to be to slowly diminish the Jungle, which has attracted much media coverage lately. Volunteers and refugees are skeptical about the government's plan. They believe it is an attempt to push people into giving up their dreams of going to the UK and start seeking asylum in France. Another concern is that the new facilities accommodate only 1,500 people, and that entry will be by fingerprint recognition.
Like other community spaces, the The Ethiopian church will also be affected by the eviction. Photo: Brindusa Nastasa. Used with Permission.
“Most refugees. . . fear if they take fingerprints in France, it will diminish their chances of getting asylum in the UK, the country they hope to reach one day,” says Jamal Ismail, head of the Kitchen Camp, which has been providing more than 1,000 meals per day since September.
Liz Clegg has been volunteering in Calais for seven months. She started out distributing supplies from the back of her truck, but soon realized there was no place for women and children where they can feel safe and taken care of.
“Most boys are deeply traumatized from the journey,” Liz says. “Walking for days, beaten by the traffickers, drugged, usually left without food for a long time.” Liz points at two of the boys, who are sharing an Afghan paratha bread between themselves. “This is months down the road of steady food. In the beginning we could not put a piece of food on the table without a massive fight kicking off between the boys. Now they are more relaxed, because the food keeps coming.”
An estimated 200-500 minors are believed to be living in the camp in Calais. Photo: Brindusa Nastasa. Used with permission.
Both the French and UK authorities know about the increasing numbers of neglected and undernourished children in the camps. Organisations such as the UNHCR and Save the Children have expressed concern about the situation, but they have not come to the camps to confirm numbers or give support, volunteers say. It is all left to a bunch of “hippies”—as the volunteers call themselves—with no formal training or qualifications for the job.
Volunteers try to make life for children as bearable as possible. Photo: Brindusa Nastasa. Used with permission.
The prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region publicly announced the eviction on February 12 on France24, but the UNHCR still does not seem to know about it. Head of Legal and Protection at UNHCR UK, Leonard Zulu, who visited the camp just a few days before to assess the security situation, said he has no information on the demolition of any structures.
Meanwhile, the situation seems to get worse. There are reports of more and more teargas use, police brutality and attacks against migrants, including minors. Although under a clause in the EU’s Dublin Regulation, refugees who have close family members in an EU country have a full legal claim for asylum there, large numbers of children remain alone in the jungle.
More must be done to protect children in #Calais and #Dunkirk | https://t.co/QQOpep8GI6 pic.twitter.com/CndXcHRUXC
— UNHCR United Kingdom (@UNHCRUK) February 9, 2016
Bureaucratic failings mean that despite the existence of provisions in the EU regulations for minors to be transferred safely and legally, in practice the journey can be virtually impossible. At the beginning of 2016 a 15-year old Afghan boy died in a refrigerated lorry, even though his sister lives in the UK.
13yrs old, living alone in #CalaisJungle. Youth centre and the schools 2 be bulldozed next week. What will he do? pic.twitter.com/jjCRQftZz0
— Kate Evans (@cartoonkate) February 16, 2016
Leonard Zulu suggests that the best way is for the children to apply for asylum in France, then inform the authorities that they have family in the UK—the mechanism that is provided under the Dublin regulation. But most children do not understand what “asylum procedure” means. The only thing they know is what they have been told: find their way to their relatives in the UK.
Zulu admits that there is much to be done regarding information access and dissemination. He hopes that with a permanent presence in the camp, the UNHCR will be able to help with disseminating information, including to children. This also includes information on medical issues. Liz Clegg, for instance, has to help a child who shows her a transparent plastic bag with different pills. He severely injured his knee but does not understand which medicines he has to take.
Valentine's Day at the Women's and Children's Centre. Photo: Brindusa Nastasa. Used with Permission.
After breakfast, the boys go back to the Centre, where “Children Day” is about to start, as happens every Sunday. The tent is decorated with heart-shaped balloons. Volunteers explain how to make Valentine’s Day cards with cardboard, glitter and glue. For a while it is quiet and everyone focuses on writing a note for the ones they love: Mothers, fathers and brothers, thousands of kilometres away or in some cases, dead. Some write a card for Liz, who has become a mother figure for many of them, the only person who has showed them love on their journey. For her it is a very difficult role.
“It’s inevitable, but I am sad about it,” she says. “This has been going on for so long that we are forming attachments. On one level it is wonderful, that they have somebody they can be attached to so that when they do get back to being little boys that miss their mums, they got somebody. But on another level it’s terrible, because it will end. Next week it is going to finish. And then what?”
For more information on the Women and Children's Centre see their official Facebook page and their online petition against the eviction. This article was researched and written by Annabella Stieren and Brindusa Nastasa, who are currently following the routes of refugee children through Europe. Their multimedia project is supported by the Reporters in the Field fellowship.

author: Annabella Stieren


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Facts Be Damned. China’s President Demands Media Outlets Parrot the Party Line · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The huge banner says: “CCTV is sticking to the party line. We welcome your review with absolute loyalty.” Image from Twitter user fangshimin
Chinese President Xi Jinping made visits to three major state media outlets over the weekend of February 19, stressing to employees in a speech that all news organizations affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party and the government should strictly follow the party line in their news reports, features, columns and even advertisements.
Xi toured China Central Television (CCTV), People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency. Very quickly after his visits, one of the photos taken at the CCTV office went viral online. The photo shows how Xi was welcomed with a huge banner stating, “CCTV is sticking to the party line. We welcome your review with absolute loyalty.”
It is no secret that these three outlets act as mouthpieces for the party, but such an explicit declaration of subservience was startling, so much so that it almost sounded self-mocking. On Twitter, Chinese political dissident Hu Jia laughed at the candidness:
难得说句实话，CCTV承认自己姓党。荣耀接受 #习特勒 “检阅”，笔杆子和枪杆子、刀把子实质都是党卫军。#Xitler pic.twitter.com/gThm40mZsk
— Hu Jia 胡佳 (@hu_jia) February 19, 2016
In a very rare moment, CCTV speaks the truth that it sticks to the party line and that it is honored to have a review from #Xitler [a combination of Xi and Hilter]. Pens, guns and swords are all security guards of the party.
However, for those who are familiar with the party's history, Xi's speech was viewed as a setback given former leader Deng Xiaoping's reform efforts of the 1980s. Deng, who was a victim of the ideology battle waged during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s, had shaken up how media was treated in China by giving space for party- and government-affiliated organizations to run media outlets.
This liberalization was briefly disrupted by the 1989 Tiananmen protests, but beginning in 1992 the party began to commercialize media to stimulate domestic consumption of goods and culture, loosening its direct ideological control over the content to allow market mechanisms to develop. While all media outlets are still affiliated with the state and the party, fact-based reporting and market interests have become two major driving forces in the country's commercial media sector.
That's the reason why Ren Zhiqiang, a retired property developer and a party member, couldn't help but criticize Xi Jinping's statements declaring the party line being the dominant principle in media outlets’ operations. He commented on the news with a question, followed by an expression of disappointment:
人民政府啥時候改黨政府了？花的是黨費嗎？
Since when did the people's government change their name to the party's government? Their money comes from the party member's fee?
當所有媒體有了姓，並且不代表人民的利益時，人民就被拋棄到被遺忘的角落了！
When all the media are working for something other than the people's interest, people are left behind and forgotten.
His posts were quickly censored, the only trace of his words being online commentary labeling him as anti-party. Most of the comments critical about media sticking to the party line were either deleted or hidden on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo. Outright dissent can only be found on platforms like Twitter, which aren't patrolled by Chinese censors.
Reading between the lines, Twitter user Westmoon believed the so-called “loyalty to the party” actually means “loyalty to Xi:
什么为党立言、什么姓党之类，又及对习近平各种粗俗大白话之长篇解释，都是为习近平这一个点赞，根本没什么真正的姓党，只姓习！习近平第一任都还没结束，其通过反腐所树立的威望已如此，第二任时，岂要以天论。
— Westmoon (@westmoon) February 21, 2016
The explanation about speaking on behalf of the party, sticking to the party line and Xi Jinping's long and empty elaboration is all about endorsing Xi Jinping. There is no sticking to the party line, only sticking to Xi. Xi Jinping hasn't finished his first term yet and he has already established such strong authority via his anti-graft campaign. He will be like a god when he enters his second term.
While @Zodiac4698 was struck by the military term “review”:
其实重点不在”姓党”，而是在于”检阅”二字，所谓”党的喉舌”实际在共产党的意识形态里就是一支部队，”宣传”（撒谎造假）的本质叫”宣传战”！是要战斗的，和谁战斗？和人类的良知，公理，常识，逻辑，乃至于最起码的恻隐之心战斗！直到泯灭人性 https://t.co/XrfLP69Wxi
— 小悲 (@Zodiac4698) February 19, 2016
The point is not about sticking to the party line, but the word “review”. It implies that the party mouthpiece is similar to a military troop in an ideological battle, propaganda (lies and fake news) is a battle. Who are the soldiers and who are the enemies? The battle will be against conscience, common sense, justice, logic or even empathy. [And its victory] will be against humanity.
Political cartoonist Badiucao represented the media outlets as monkeys (hou, similar to the pronunciation of the words “mouth” or “throat” in Standard Chinese) and snakes (she, similar to the Standard Chinese pronunciation of “tongue”):
#巴丢草 漫画 【喉舌姓党】习大大幸临央视，喉舌们涕泪高潮。有的忙着改姓，有的不敢洗手，一派盛世，好不热闹。#习近平 #央视 #cctv #喉舌 #党 pic.twitter.com/yHBuMz4IDO
— 巴丢草 Badiucao (@badiucao) February 21, 2016
Badiucao cartoon: Party mouthpiece: “Uncle Xi” visited CCTV, monkeys and snakes have their organism in tears. Some are busy changing their surnames [to the party], some refuse to wash their hands [after shaking hands with Xi]. This is such a glorious moment full of happiness. #XiJinping #CCTV #mouthpiece

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Oiwan Lam


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Indian Tribal Activist Soni Sori, ‘an Inconvenient Woman Who Speaks Inconvenient Truths’, Attacked · Global Voices
Sohini Chatterjee

Tribal teacher and political leader Soni Sori speaking in an interview. Screenshot from YouTube
Indigenous political leader and human rights defender Soni Sori, who has spoken out against the brutalization of tribal people by security forces in Bastar district in the central Indian state of Chattisgarh, was attacked by unidentified men on February 20. The assailants rubbed oil paint possibly mixed with chemicals on her face, which blackened her skin and caused a burning sensation, sparking initial reports that she had been the victim of an acid attack.
Sori had received death threats prior to the attack. As news of the violence against her spread, many condemned it on social media, speaking out in support of Sori.
Rama Lakshmi, India social media editor for the newspaper The Washington Post, tweeted:
Acid attack on Soni Sori — silencing an inconvenient woman who speaks inconvenient truths about incredible India.
— rama lakshmi (@RamaNewDelhi) February 20, 2016
Activist and columnist Sudheendra Kulkarni pushed authorities to act:
I strongly condemn the attack on tribal activist and Aam Admi Party leader #SoniSori. #Chhattisgarh Govt must nab and punish the culprits.
— Sudheendra Kulkarni (@SudheenKulkarni) February 21, 2016
Ashutosh, a spokesman for the Aam Aadmi political party to which Sori belongs, wrote:
Attack on Soni Sori is another attempt to muzzle the voice of dissent.1 might disagree with one's views but this is no way to deal with.
— ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) February 21, 2016
India, the largest democracy in the world, has within itself spaces that are neither democratic nor free. Bastar is one such place. In an effort to tackle a Maoist insurgency, special police officers were deployed in 2005 by the state of Chattisgarh's government with backing from the Indian home ministry. Before being declared illegal by the Supreme Court of India in 2011, these special police officers, comprised largely of uneducated youth, perpetrated violence against tribal people of the region on mere suspicions that they could have links with Maoist militants.
Tribal people endured human rights violations such as unlawful arrest, violence, rape and even death at the hands of the special police officers, and later other authorities in Bastar.
In a blog post published in 2009, before the Surpreme Court ruled that special police officers were illegal, Umar Khalid explained:
Hundreds of villages have been evacuated in Chattisgarh alone and the mainstream media [barring a few exceptions] never found time to document it. Women of Chattisgarh are alleging rape by Salwa Judum [special police officers] men, but the courts in India refuse to listen. […] And precisely when the people retaliate on these forces, these mercenaries become national heroes overnight for the government.
Soni Sori has been a vocal activist against the atrocities in the region. In 2011, she was taken into custody on accusations that she was helping Maoists operating in the area. She remained in jail for more than two years before being released in 2014 on bail; six out of the eight cases against her were dropped, but it’s unclear what became of the final two.
She said while behind bars at the Raipur Central Jail, she was raped and sexually abused, revealing through letters that stones were rammed into her genitals and she was subjected to frequent electric shocks.
Poster from Amnesty International
Amnesty International described her as a “prisoner of conscience”, saying that the charges brought against Sori and her nephew Lingaram Kodopi were filed in retaliation for the fearlessness they exhibited in speaking out against human rights violations regularly faced by tribal people living in areas considered by the Chattisgarh state and security forces as Maoist strongholds. Sori's husband, Anil Futane, was first among the three to be arrested on charges of masterminding an attack on a local leader of the Indian National Congress political party; he spent nearly three years in jail before being acquitted of all charges. He died shortly after being released from jail.
Sori's story has largely been ignored by the India's and the world's mainstream media, both of which often fail to reach out to India's rural poor.
Facebook user Rahul Sen ruminated on the possibility of the attack against Sori never making national headlines like the recent arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges over supposedly anti-India slogans shouted at a campus rally. He wrote on Facebook (reposted with permission):
Soni Sori was also an anti-national in the eyes of the state, seditious beyond the limits of common sense. And, hence, the inflicted tortures – the stone chips and pebbles that tore into her vagina and anal space – were beyond the purview of the sensible. Yet, she would not occupy all of the front-page of ‘The Telegraph’ or let's say, even deserve a mention in most of our newsfeeds and Facebook posts. Except when we are ‘speaking for’ the oppressed; or theorizing on the state's duplicity; or even better, critiquing the critics for not taking her seriously, as I am doing through this post. She lives in this absence, through each passing reference; a very deliberate absenting of a life whose survival in itself is political. Not all lives are grievable, not all anti-nationals affect us universally.
Even though Sori's attack hasn't become a trending topic on either Facebook or Twitter, people who are aware of her struggle have come together to support her in the fact of violence. India Resists, a citizen media platform, started a petition condemning the attack and demanding prompt action against the culprits.
Sori has since been moved from Chattisgarh to Delhi for treatment. In an interview a few months before the attack, Sori spoke about her prolonged determined struggle against violence and injustice.
I have gone through a lot. I was tortured, electrocuted. My body has gone through lots of suffering. I lost my husband to the hands of injustice. When I think of those days, I do get angry. And this anger consumes all the fear I have ever had. This anger gives me courage to fight on. I see myself getting involved in other people’s struggle. I do not know if I can get them justice, but I will make sure their stories of suffering will be heard outside. Their stories will be spread. And that is my aim.
The recent attack against her speaks to the fact that she is having to pay dearly for a struggle far more universal than it may at first seem: the struggle for freedom from state-sponsored violence.

author: Sohini Chatterjee


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Journalist Hit With Defamation Suit From Timor Leste’s Prime Minister Over Corruption Reporting · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

Timorese journalist Raimundo Oki. Photo: AJTL/Facebook
Timor Leste's prime minister has filed a defamation suit against a journalist, who learned of the legal action against him last month.
On November 10, 2015, veteran journalist Raimundo Oki wrote for Timor Post newspaper that it was Prime Minister Rui de Araujo who “recommended the winning bid for a project to supply and install computer equipment to the new Ministry of Finance building in 2014,″ according to the Southeast Asian Press Alliance. Araujo at the time was an adviser to the Minister of Finance.
SEAPA reported that the newspaper published Araujo's response to the allegations on its front page seven days later, in accordance with the right of reply guaranteed under Article 34 of the country´s Press Law, passed in 2014.
Despite this, the prime minister still filed suit against Oki. If convicted, Oki could face up to three years in prison for the crime of defamation for false accusations under Article 285 (1) of the Timor Leste Penal Code.
Felipe Belo, president of the Timor Leste Journalist Associationn (AJTL), urged the leader to respect the work of the media sector:
The Prime Minister should lead by example on how to respect the country's Press Law by recognizing that such reporting is part of the work of journalists.
If Oki made an error in reporting, it should be dealt with under the Press Law…The lawsuit is an act of criminalization of the work of journalists.
UPDATED February 26, 2016: This is not the first time that a journalist in Timor was sued in court for exposing alleged corruption in the country. Oki and another journalist risked imprisonment in 2013 for writing about the inefficiency of the judicial system. Instead of a jail sentence, the court imposed a fine against the two journalists.
As a journalist, Oki attended the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists Fellowship Programme at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York in September, completing the program with fellow journalists from 15 other countries. In this video, Oki was interviewed about the role of the Global Goals approved by the UN in promoting prosperity in Timor Leste:
Global Voices tried to reach Oki and the office of the prime minister to get more details about this case but received no answer. On February 9, Oki posted this meme about journalism on his Facebook page:

author: Manuel Ribeiro


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Live Twitter Chat #AskLesotho Brings Lesotho’s Worst Drought in Recent History to the Fore · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Send a Cow farmer in Berea district of Lesotho, Malehloenya Tsenoli, showing a drought-affected field in Lesotho. Photo: Send a Cow. Used with permission.
“Send a Cow” is a UK-based international development charity. Global Voices spoke with its Communications Manager, Azita Shamsolahi, about a live Twitter chat, #askLesotho, the group is organising this week.
Ndesanjo Macha (NM): Can you briefly tell us about yourself and your organisation?
Azita Shamsolahi (AS): Founded by farmers in the UK at the height of the milk crisis in 1988, Send a Cow is an international development charity. It works hand in hand with some of Africa’s poorest communities, providing a proven package of ongoing support and practical training, including farming skills, gender equality, sanitation, and money management—alongside livestock and tools—to ensure some of Africa’s most marginalised people have the confidence, knowledge, and skills to help themselves.
Within a few months, malnourished families are eating regularly and are able to pay for children to attend school. Within a year, farmers are diversifying their income streams to ensure they survive the hungry months and unexpected disasters like drought and food shortages.
Send a Cow currently works in seven countries in Africa. The charity has already lifted over 1.3 million people out of poverty and has big plans to give millions more the hope and the means to secure their own futures from the land.
NM: What is the main objective of #askLesotho Twitter chat? What time will it take place?
AS: #askLesotho gives people from around the world an opportunity to learn more about the current crisis in Lesotho and to speak to someone directly on the ground about the conditions and challenges they’re facing.
Twitter users are invited to join the conversation next Wednesday, February 24, between 12 and 1 p.m. GMT, using the hashtag #askLesotho.
NM: Who will be taking questions on behalf of your organisation?
AS: Send a Cow Lesotho’s Country Director, Manthethe Moipone Monethi, will be taking questions on the charity’s behalf.
About Manthethe, our Country Director: ‘‘I grew up in Lesotho. My father worked in the mines (in South Africa) and my mother took care of the household. I remember my mother was a member of a women’s group who did sewing and knitting to earn some extra money. I also remember she was learning bakery, as for a period there were always large multi-coloured cakes in the kitchen.
I always saw myself as a banker, which was very glamourous to me! But after finishing my studies in economics and accounting I went to work for an NGO and loved it. I often worked in the field managing programmes, and I’d feel rewarded at the end of the day when I’d spent it meeting people we’d worked with, as I’d seen their perspective on who they were and what they could achieve completely change, because of the intervention that had brought them hope…
When I think of my hope or vision of the future, it goes back to the reason I stayed on this career path in the first place and that is the people I meet along the way. I want households to be food secure and enjoy three nutritious meals a day. I want to see excitement and hope in people’s eyes as they see their situation changing, which will lead to them becoming more resilient to bad weather and climate shocks. I want to see families brought back together, sharing in their achievements and enjoying the freedom of being able to send their children to school, improve their household, and take care of their families.
Because if you have the means to take care of your family your whole situation changes. You are more hopeful, more confident, and every one of us deserves to feel that way.’’
Send a Cow Country Director, Manthethe Moipone Monethi, will take questions from Twitter users. Photo: Send a Cow. Used with permission.
NM: What is the current situation with the drought in the country?
AS: Lesotho is currently facing its worst drought in recent history. A second year of insufficient rain caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon has left families unable to plant their staple crops such as maize and sorghum, and water sources have dried up killing livestock.
The country recently benefited from a recent downpour but it has done little to ease the crisis. More than a third of the population is thought to be affected by the drought and the World Food Programme estimates that hundreds of thousands of people will require food aid in the coming year.
This drought is particularly devastating as around 80 percent of Lesotho’s population live in rural areas and agriculture is the main source of income for 60 percentof the population. Production of maize, the country’s staple food, has dropped by more than half compared to 2006 causing a deficit which has pushed up food prices. Right now, a third of Lesotho’s population are at threat of hunger and malnutrition.
NM: We understand the government has declared a state of emergency as a result of the drought.
AS: On December 22, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili declared a state of emergency and appealed for assistance from the international community. Lesotho estimates that it needs approximately $37 million USD to provide sufficient water, food, nutritional support, and medication to those most in need but the government has indicated that it has only $9.6 million to support these activities.
NM: Why do you think there is very little coverage of the food crisis in Lesotho as compared to other African countries, such as Ethiopia?
AS: This is an issue we’re hoping to explore in the Twitter chat. We believe it may have something to do with the fact that Lesotho is a little known country in the West whilst countries like Ethiopia have a long history of Western aid and support.
NM: How can people join the chat and send questions?
AS: Twitter users are invited to join the conversation by using and searching the hashtag #askLesotho between 12 and 1 p.m. GMT on Wednesday 24, February 24.
For those who can’t take part on the day, you can send your questions in advance to comms@sendacow.org. You can also learn more about Send a Cow by following us on Twitter, @Sendacow, or visiting www.sendacow.org
NM: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?
AS: Send a Cow has almost 30 years’ experience in sustainable agriculture and gender-equality training and believes that a long term approach which seeks to support and train farmers is the key to ending rural poverty. However, we have been shocked by the severity of this drought which is why we recently launched an emergency appeal for Lesotho. To find out more or to support the appeal, please visit our appeal page.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Residents of the Peruvian Amazon Denounce Oil Spills Contaminating Local Rivers · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Screenshot from a video about the ecological disaster in the Peruvian Amazon. Credit: YouTube/Onias flores cueva
This post was originally published on Juan Arellano's blog Globalizado.
In a new case of environmental contamination in the Peruvian Amazon, news broke on January 26 that a oil spill had occurred the previous day, caused by a breach in the Northern Peruvian Pipeline in a location near the village of Chiriaco, in the Imaza district in Bagua Province. The spill was denounced by members of a local indigenous community.
On January 29, the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA, for its name in Spanish) announced its inspections had discovered that the spill had impacted cocoa plantations and the Inayo brook, a tributary of the Marañón River. It also noted that Petroperú, the pipeline operator, had recovered 150 barrels of emulsified crude oil from the Inayo River Basin.
Members of the indigenous communities in the area, represented by the Regional Organisation of Indigenous Peoples of the Northern Peruvian Amazon (ORPIAN, for its name in Spanish), declared that they would file a report against Petroperú, as the spill put the communities’ lives at risk and caused the death of fish in Inayo brook, and the company failed to prevent the oil from reaching the Chiriaco River.
#Amazonas: derrame de petróleo afectó terrenos agrícolas y afluentes del Marañón https://t.co/5Vtp7VRT7Y pic.twitter.com/1XrJre0k92
— Actualidad Ambiental (@actualidadspda) February 1, 2016
#Amazon: oil spill affected agricultural lands and tributaries of the Marañón River
In the days that followed, as torrential rains fell in the region, the situation worsened as the oil spread to other more important rivers.
litros y litros de petróleo estuvieron fluyendo por el río Chiriaco hacia el Marañón https://t.co/f9IoPTrroE @elcomercio @congresoperu
— Jesus C. (@JesusiCloud) febrero 12, 2016
Liters and liters of oil were flowing through the Chiriaco River toward the Marañón.
The satirical news site El Panfleto Perú posted very real video of the spill on Facebook.
But this was not the only incident. Residents of Puerto Alegría and Santa Rosa in Datem del Marañón province, in the Loreto region, spoke out on February 3 about a spill caused by a lightning strike to the pipeline. They claim that the spill has affected a surface area of 3 kilometres of the Morona River, with a thickness of 15 centimetres, and that it will affect some 3,500 people in the area.
Given that the spills both originate from the Northern Peruvian Pipeline operated by Petroperú, blame has fallen on the state company, although it has indicated in various statements that it has fulfilled its responsibilities regarding the maintenance of the pipeline, and that the breaches were due to natural causes (landslides).
Ministerio del Ambiente sancionará de forma severa a Petroperú por derrame de petróleo en Amazonía https://t.co/aMqrz10wAb vía peru21pe
— Santiago Alfaro (@salfarorotondo) February 13, 2016
The Ministry of the Environment will severely penalise Petroperú for the oil spill in the Amazon https://t.co/aMqrz10wAb from peru21pe
#DerrameDePetróleo #hastacuándo (¡!) Vía El Comercio: https://t.co/JX81FB7GUH
— MOCICC (@mociccperu) February 15, 2016
#OilSpill #howmuchlonger (!) From El Comercio
However, the announcement that Petroperú, which is state-owned, will be fined 60 million soles, some 17 million US dollars, was also criticised:
@pabloderecho@Cuarto_Poder@coyotegris Ademas multa @petroperu_sa debe limpiar derrame y directivos Pdte y directorio deben ser despedidos!
— luis thais diaz (@luisthais1) February 15, 2016
Tweet from Pablo Cesar Revilla: @coyotegris @Cuarto_Poder awful management… Will Petro-Perú be fined? State against State?
Tweet from luis thais diaz: In addition to a fine, @petroperu_sa should clean up the spill and its management, the president and board of directors should be fired!
¡Increíble! PetroPerú contamina ríos en Amazonía y la multa de S/59 mllns de soles la pagaremos todos los peruanos pic.twitter.com/m96HPxErYF
— Job Rosales Pacheco (@job_rosales) February 15, 2016
Image: Environment Minister Pulgar Vidal states that OEFA will impose a financial penalty on Petroperú for contaminating rivers in the Amazon with crude oil.
Won't this money come from the taxes that all Peruvians pay? Will none of the Petroperú officials involved in this crime against the environment resign?
So with money that belongs to all Peruvians we will pay 59 million soles for the inefficiency and malicious actions of the Ministry of Energy and Mining officials whose juicy salaries will not be affected.
How many schools and medical centres could be built with this money that Petroperú will have to spend for contamination?
Tweet: Incredible! Petroperú contaminates rivers in the Amazon and the 59 million sol fine will be paid by all of us Peruvians
Later, as more images became available from the area, the public was able to witness the gravity of the spill. Authorities in the affected villages asked for a public health emergency to be declared, as residents can no longer consume water from the contaminated rivers. It is estimated that some 2,000 barrels of oil have been spilled and that 8,000 people have been affected, as well as their agricultural areas, in what has become the 11th significant oil spill in the Peruvian Amazon since 2010.
Filmmaker Fernando Valdivia commented on Facebook that these oils spills have been happening continuously for many years. As proof he linked to a video from 2009 where in which a vice energy and mines minister says that these spills are a common occurrence. Valdivia added:
los derrames son PERMANENTES. Lo que ocurre es que se presta atención a los más grandes y -sobre todo- VISIBLES. Reducir la situación a los hechos recientes es relativizar el problema. Incluso el año 1982 la serie documental COUSTEAU en el Amazonas (de Jackes Yves Cousteau) dedicó un capítulo al tema del oleoducto. El 2007 el productor de la serie, Jean Michael Cousteau retomó el tema y lo que descubrimos (fui el encargado de esa parte de la filmación) es que en vez de mejorar, se había empeorado la situación, principalmente por las amenazas territoriales. Hoy, 8 [años] después, ya es un desastre…
Spills are PERMANENT. What is happening is that attention is paid to the biggest and — above all — most VISIBLE. Reducing the situation to recent events is to play down the problem. As far back as 1982 the documentary series COUSTEAU in the Amazon (with Jackes Yves Cousteau) dedicated an episode to the pipeline. In 2007 the producer of the series, Jean Michael Cousteau, took the matter up again, and what we discovered (I was in charge of this part of the filming) is that instead of improving, the situation had worsened, especially because of territorial threats. Today, 8 [years] later, it has become a disaster…
Facebook user Buda de Nieve reflected on these events in the context of Peru's upcoming elections in April:
Por un lado, en el “Perú oficial”, los candidatos hablan de progreso, TLCs y desarrollo. Al mismo tiempo, en la siempre olvidada selva peruana (qué casualidad, justamente en Bagua), hace días que los ríos están cubiertos de petróleo, cientos de personas están respirando y varios animales vienen muriendo por la contaminación ocasionada por un derrame de petróleo. La próxima vez que un candidato hable de lo importante del “desarrollo”, piensa qué tipo de desarrollo queremos. ¿Queremos ser un país “más rico” a como dé lugar […] o queremos ser un país sostenible? De esto también trata esta elección.
On the one hand, in “official Peru”, the candidates talk about progress, free trade agreements and development. At the same time, in the ever forgotten Peruvian jungle (what a coincidence, in Bagua), the rivers have been covered in petrol for days, hundreds of people are breathing and many animals are dying from the contamination caused by an oil spill. Next time a candidate talks about the importance of “development”, think about what type of development we want. Do we want to be a “richer” country, whatever it takes […] or do we want to be a sustainable country? This is also what the election is about.
Meanwhile, the NGO DAR argued that the corrective measures imposed by Law Number 30230 (the Investment Promotion Law) are not sufficient to avoid environmental contamination, as they do not encourage its prevention nor the fulfillment of environmental obligations by companies.
creemos que estos hechos son consecuencia directa de mantener un enfoque que busca promover inversiones a costa de debilitar estándares ambientales por considerarse obstáculos al crecimiento económico. Nuevamente se demuestra en los hechos que esta lógica, aunque puede viabilizar nuevos proyectos en el corto plazo –generando puestos de trabajo y renta–, y mediano plazo, trae mayores perjuicios económicos, sociales y ambientales.
we believe that these events are a direct consequence of maintaining a focus that seeks to promote investment at the expense of weakening environmental standards, which are considered obstacles to economic growth. Once again the events demonstrate that this logic, although it can make new projects viable in the short term — generating jobs and income — and medium term, it brings greater economic, social and environmental damage.
So far the cleanup operation continues while the communities in the Morono River Basin continue to demand that Petroperú immediately provide water and food for the duration of the cleanup, and that it fulfill its obligations to provide adequate protective gear to the people who are working on the cleanup in the affected areas. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has ordered the declaration of a health emergency in one of the affected areas in the Loreto region.

author: Juan Arellano


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Russians Find the Stories Hidden in Photos of Decay · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
There's a community on the Russian social network Vkontakte that takes photos of rust, peeling paint, and decay, and reimagines them as “abstract stories.” The creator and sole editor, a man named Sergei Vyskub, invites anybody to join his group and submit photos with ideas about what stories might be contained therein. “Every masterpiece has its own story. Look around and tell us yours,” he tells visitors to his page on Vkontakte.
Vyskub told the website TJournal.ru that he first got the idea for the project when looking at photographs of peeling plaster that reminded him of a statistical chart. His friends helped him attract his first subscribers, sharing “abstract stories” in their own Vkontakte groups. The idea caught on, and some communities on the site with followers in the millions started sharing his work (not always with accreditation).
Though his group's work doesn't always get cited, its rise in popularity has been meteoric. The first post on Vyskub's community is dated February 9. In just two weeks, there are now more than 16,000 subscribers. Members can submit pictures with or without suggested “stories,” and Vyskub populates a photo album with submissions that still need interpretations.
“Abstract Stories” isn't Vyskub's only Vkontakte community. He runs another photo project called “Bus Stops,” where he collects pictures of bus stops throughout Russia. He says he has no plans to try to monetize either community (by selling advertisements, for instance). Both projects are a “labor of love,” he told TJournal.
The Dead Sea. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
The St. Petersburg skyline. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
When you forgot to clean the fish tank. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
Finding Nemo. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
“Congratulations! You're having a boy.” Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
The Hedgehog in the fog. (An allusion to the award-winning 1975 Soviet animated film by Yuriy Norshteyn.) Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
The launch of ballistic missiles. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
The album cover of “Animals” by Pink Floyd. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
Eugene the Moth. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
The annual celebration of redheads in Ireland. Photo: Abstract Stories / Vkontakte
For more photos and their “abstract stories,” visit the Vkontakte community here.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Swasthani Vrata Katha in Photos: Nepal’s Month-Long Festival of Fasting and Praying for Spouses’ Well-Being · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Nepalese Hindu devotees offer prayers before entering the Hanumante River during the Madhav Narayan festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
Swasthani Vrata Katha is a month-long Hindu festival during which women fast and pray to the goddess Swasthani to ask for the care and prosperity of their spouses and family members. Younger girls fast and pray to get good husbands.
The ritual begins on the full-moon day of Poush and ends on the full-moon day of Magh (the tenth month of the Nepali calendar), which was yesterday.
During the festival, devotees recite scriptures from the Swasthani Vrata Katha (the story book of goddess Swasthani). A different chapter is recited once a day for 31 days. Women wake up early in the morning, take a bath, and worship Mahadev, one of the three major deities of Hinduism, in the afternoon, each day of the month.
Nepalese women holy bath in Pashupathinath Temple a month Swasthani Bratakatha festival goddess Swasthani Kathmandu pic.twitter.com/Q3tqXnFRta
— Earthman Journalist (@Intprofessor) February 9, 2016
Some women even fast for a month. Writer Shiwani Neupane tweeted:
Yesterday was the stuff of legend. I saw a woman conducting her month long Swasthani fast inside a cave. #Nepal pic.twitter.com/CJlWQ2jwLT
— Shiwani Neupane (@ShiwaniNeupane) February 15, 2016
The ritual is said to have started after King Himalaya’s daughter Parvati, the Hindu goddess of love, fertility and devotion, spent a month fasting and praying to the goddess Swasthani, asking to marry Mahadev whom she had longed for since childhood. Her love for him was no accident — Parvati was the reincarnation of Mahadev’s first wife Sati Devi, who after immolating herself was reborn.
The devotees throng to the places mentioned in the Katha: Guheswari, Gokarna, Sleshmantak forest, Gaurighat, Bagmati River, and Shali Nadi (River).
In Sankhu and Bhaktapur, both men and women fast, worshiping goddess Swasthani and god Madhav Narayan. People also take part in ritual bathing while observing the Madhav Narayan festival, which starts and ends on the same days as Swasthani Vrata Katha.
While devotees worship the goddess Swasthani, seeking the well-being of their spouses and family members, some are displeased by the ritual's gender inequality.
In an opinion piece, Manju Thapa writes:
कथाले पति भनेका मालिक हुन् भने पत्नी भनेका पतिको सेवा र चाकडी गर्ने सेवक हुन् भन्नेजस्ता पति—पत्नीको अत्यन्तै असन्तुलित अन्तरसम्बन्ध देखाइएको छ, जुन महिलामैत्री छैन ।
The story says a husband is master while a wife is a servant who needs to serve her spouse. This is not women-friendly as it shows an unbalanced relationship between a husband and wife.
The tradition continues despite the few outcries. On Twitter, atmiya_nepali wrote sarcastically:
साँच्चै महिलामाथि गरिएको चरम विभेदको कथा संग्रह “श्री स्वस्थानी व्रतकथा” किताब अग्रगामी हरूले च्याते कि नाईँ ?
— Atman (@atmiya_nepali) January 24, 2016
Did the progressives tear the story collection “Shree Swasthani Vrata Katha” which is highly discriminating against women?
While the debate continues, let’s take a glimpse of the Swasthani Vrata Katha and Madhav Narayan festival through the lenses of photographers Sunil Sharma and Archana Shrestha.
Nepalese Hindu devotees bathing in the Bagmati River at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple during the Swasthani Vrata Katha. Image by Archana Shrestha. Used with permission.
Nepalese Hindu devotees take holy water from the Bagmati River during the Swasthani Vrata Katha. Image by Archana Shrestha. Used with permission.
Nepalese Hindu devotees offer prayers at the bank of Hanumante River during Madhav Narayan festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
Nepalese Hindu women warm themselves after taking holy dips at the Hanumante River during Madhav Narayan festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
Nepalese Hindu devotees offer prayers before taking holy dips at Sali Nadi (River) during Madhav Narayan festival in Sankhu, Nepal. Nepalese Hindu women observe a fast and pray to goddess Swasthani and god Madhav Narayan for longevity of their husbands and family prosperity during the month-long festival. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
Nepalese Hindu devotee offers prayer before taking a holy dip in Sali Nadi (River) during Madhav Narayan festival in Sankhu, Nepal. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
Nepalese Hindu devotees at Sali Nadi (River) observing Swasthani Vrata Katha and Madhav Narayan festival in Sankhu, Nepal. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
Nepalese Hindu devotees carry oil lamps on their body parts during the Madhav Narayan festival celebrations in Thecho, Lalitpur, Nepal. Image by Archana Shrestha. Used with permission.
A Nepalese Hindu devotee participates in traditional rituals during the Madhav Narayan festival celebration in Thecho, Lalitpur, Nepal. Image by Archana Shrestha. Used with permission.
A Nepalese Hindu boy portrayed as god Madhav Narayan, blessed with holy water, participating in traditional rituals during the Madhav Narayan festival celebration in Thecho, Lalitpur, Nepal. Image by Archana Shrestha. Used with permission.

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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Unexpected Border Closure Leaves Thousands of Afghan Refugees Stranded in Greece · Global Voices
Marianna Karakoulaki

Photo by Marianna Karakoulaki.
In recent months, scores of refugees have fled their war-torn homes in the Middle East, risking their lives to cross into Europe, hoping to find security for themselves and their families.
The road to Europe isn't paved with rose petals, however. Since November, only three nationalities—Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans—have been allowed to pass into Europe through the precarious “Balkan Route.” Now this road is becoming even more precarious for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, following new requirements set down by several Balkan countries that asylum seekers must show their passports or ID cards, along with papers they receive in the Greek Islands. Refugees carrying Turkish visas, meanwhile, are no longer being permitted into northern Europe, and the Republic of Macedonia has closed its borders entirely to displaced Afghans.
Situated at the Greek-Macedonian border and serving as the main exit point for refugees and migrants into the European mainland, Idomeni has witnessed changes like nowhere else in Greece. Before the crisis, the area was under the control of smugglers. More recently, it's hosted a transit camp and now a military post.
Channel 4 News reported on a journalist’s efforts to track down kidnappers holding migrants for ransom:
As Idomeni swells with refugees, another camp with temporary accommodations has been established 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the area, in the empty parking lot of a gas station.
A boy carries a piece of wood for a fire near the tent where he's living, 20 kilometers from Idomeni. Photo by Marianna Karakoulaki.
With limited information and exhausted after sleeping inside unheated buses and tents, thousands of asylum seekers decided to walk the 20 kilometers to Idomeni, where a full camp and a slow border-check procedure awaited them.
Thousands of people walk 20 kilometers, in order to reach the border crossing at Idomeni. Photo by Marianna Karakoulaki.
The “Are You Syrious” Facebook page says only 500 people were allowed into Macedonia between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Monday, February 22. According to reports, police and military officials arrived at the border and proceeded to examine everyone's documents and identity cards in excruciating detail.
Syrian and Iraqi refugees wait in line for hours, until their papers are checked by the Macedonian police and army. Photos by Nicolas Economou, used with permission.
Refugees from Afghanistan waited in line, unaware that they wouldn't be allowed to cross the border. “We came here on Saturday. Why don’t they let us pass?” a teenage Afghan boy named Sam asked Global Voices’ reporter on the ground. “Let us cross and then close the border. I left Afghanistan because there is war there: bombs every day, no jobs, and no future. I need to support my family.”
As the day progressed and little new information reached those in line, tensions mounted and refugees began to protest, demanding entry into Macedonia.
Afghan refugees protest nonviolently, demanding to be let in Macedonia. Photo by Nicolas Economou, used with permission.
Small children carrying handwritten signs demanding open borders moved to the front of the crowd, where they addressed Greek police officers. After a standoff that lasted a couple of hours, the crowd managed to push through the police blockade, making its way to the border crossing, where people smashed a small fence near the train tracks, finally entering Macedonia.
Afghan children hold handwritten banners demanding open borders. Photo by Marianna Karakoulaki.
“I left Afghanistan almost a month ago. I lost my baby, and I am with my husband. Do you know what will happen next?” a woman named Zahra asked in perfect English, which she says she learned by watching movies. “Why is this happening to us? Why don’t they let us cross?”, Zahra desperately asks everyone.
A man holds his Syrian passport (one of the documents that can guarantee passage into Macedonia). Photo by Nicolas Economou, used with permission.
Tensions are expected to continue in Idomeni, where this week's story is likely to repeat itself, as thousands more come looking for safety and a better future. For now, the only hope seems to be a passport.

author: Marianna Karakoulaki


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World’s Oldest President, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Turns 92 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe turned 92 this month. Public domain photo by the U.S. Air Force.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, nicknamed ‘Uncle Bob’, turned 92 on February 21. He is the world's oldest president, holding office since 1987. His time in the upper echelons of Zimbabwe's government isn't limited to his 30-year stint as president; he also was Zimbabwe's prime minister from 1980 to 1987.
According to human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Mugabe's government regularly mistreats opposition politicians and their supporters, journalists, civil society activists and human rights defenders.
Human Rights Watch's World Report 2015 pointed out that, “The government of President Robert Mugabe continued to violate human rights in 2014 without regard to protections in the country’s new constitution. An expected legislative framework and new or amended laws to improve human rights in line with the constitution never materialized.”
Mugabe is also accused by Zimbabwe's opposition and the international community of systemic electoral fraud.
Online, Twitter users have been sharing facts about and quotes from a man known for his oratory skills, brashness, sense of humor, homophobia and hatred for the West.
“I have died many times. I have actually beaten Jesus Christ because he only died once.” Robert Mugabe. Happy birthday uncle
— Sammy Netsh (@Sammy_Livhu) February 21, 2016
Mugabe made the above comment on his 88th birthday in reference to constant rumors about his death.
“We did not chase away whites, we just took our land” President Robert Mugabe
— Sivuyile Fanatic (@MndaweSivuyile) February 21, 2016
Mugabe chased white Zimbabwean farmers from the country from the year 2000 as part of his land reform and black empowerment program. A total of 4,000 white farmers lost their farms.
I will continue Untill God says come-says Pres.Robert Mugabe upon his 92 birth day pic.twitter.com/gQ3T1xifF9
— Harunah Kiyemba (@harunahkiye) February 21, 2016
Mugabe made the observation after the United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon urged African leaders not to cling to power.
“Let me marry you first, if you want me to accept homosexuality in my country.” Robert Mugabe to Barak Obama.
— IG: AdvBarryRoux (@Barry_Roux) February 21, 2016
Mugabe is reported to have made the statement after US President Barack Obama called on African governments to give gay men and women equal marriage rights. In 2011, Mugabe referred to gay people as being “worse than dogs and pigs.”
‘The white man is here as a second citizen. The only man you can trust is a dead white man.’ ~Robert Mugabe
— AFRICAN HISTORY (@africanarchives) February 21, 2016
The quote is widely attributed to him by many sources online including a 2015 article by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
“The HQs of the UN is actually misplaced” 😂😂 Robert Mugabe Turns 92 today!
— Saddo Saddam YNWA (@saddamshab) February 21, 2016
Speaking at the opening of the annual African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last month, Mugabe said the UN’s headquarters in New York should be in a more populous country, such as China, India, or in Africa.
“So Blair, keep your England and let me keep my Zimbabwe”. – Robert Mugabe
— Runaway Slave (@StheOnline) February 21, 2016
Mugabe made the above comment at the Earth Summit while responding to former UK leader Tony Blair's criticism of his land reform.
Africa must establish its own International Criminal Court to try Europeans, says Robert Mugabe https://t.co/gkZNeRfMjA
— Vivian Jonathan (@VivianJonathano) February 22, 2016
Addressing journalists at the Harare International Airport, Mugabe said, “They [Western leaders] committed crimes, colonial crimes galore – the slaughter of our people and all that imprisonment… I have a case, why was I imprisoned for 11 years? We forgave them, but perhaps we’ve not done ourselves justice… You set up the ICC [International Criminal Court], we set our ICC to try Europeans, to try Mr [George] Bush and Mr [Tony] Blair.”
Fun fact: When Robert Mugabe was born the Ottoman Caliphate still existed. He's also been in power for 6 years longer than Steve Biko lived.
— Imran Garda (@ImranGarda) February 21, 2016
The Ottoman Caliphate was the last Sunni Islamic caliphate of the late medieval and the early modern era. The Turkish National Assembly abolished the Ottoman Caliphate on March 3, 1924. Steve Biko was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa who died in 1977 at the age of 30.
Robert Mugabe is the most academically honored President in the world. No other president has more university degrees than him. #factcheck
— p.Brobbey (@PrinceBaaRCa) February 21, 2016
Mugabe has got seven degrees. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, before getting four bachelor's degrees and two master's degrees through distance learning.


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Bolivians Use Social Media to Expose Electoral Fraud in President Morales’ Referendum · Global Voices
Jessica Janoski

“Found ballots marked in favor of Evo Morales’ option.” Screenshot from Instagram user's rafacastillor's account.
Social media has been a crucial platform for citizens to denounce alleged electoral injustice in Bolivian President Evo Morales‘ referendum on changing the constitution to allow him to run for a fourth consecutive term and possibly serve as president until 2025. Hundreds of images, videos and recorded voices messages taken by voters have been circulating throughout Facebook and WhatsApp since Sunday, February 21, reportedly showing acts of fraud.
So far, partial results from the electoral commission OEP (Órgano Electoral Plurinacional) indicate that Morales has been unsuccessful in sequestering a seat for the presidential race of 2019. With 96 percent of the votes accounted for as of Tuesday evening, the electoral board reflects the referendum's defeat at 51.7 percent against, versus 48.3 percent, a margin of 3.4 percentage points.
From voter impersonation to invalid ballots, voters wrote online that they witnessed varying degrees of fraud, largely committed by electoral delegates attempting to manipulate the number of sí votes to help secure a win passing the referendum.
Santa Cruz native Gabriela Molina was a delegate for Sunday's referendum. In a personal interview I conducted with her, she stated:
None of this is new. But this time, it shows the power of social media, and that now we are able to impact a campaign with the truth.
The alleged fraudulent acts included unavailable and missing voting materials, burning of pre-marked ballots, statistical misinformation and voter impersonation.
Many voters arrived at their polling station to find inadequate materials, forcing them to wait for ballots to arrive after their station had run out, whereas other stations opened hours late because they had not received ballots or electoral registers before the polls opened 8 a.m. Sunday, as I witnessed first-hand.
The Latin American Youth Pro-Democracy Network reported on its Twitter account:
#BoliviaDecide Denuncian que no repartieron material desde el primer hasta el cuarto anillo de la ciudad de Santa Cruz donde gana el NO
— Juventud LAC (@JuventudLAC) February 21, 2016
Accusations of missing material from the first to the fourth city circles of Santa Cruz where the NO vote wins.
In addition to official media reports, voters from at least one polling site captured on video the burning of ballots by citizens after they found them in a room with a group of delegates who had checked “sí” on their own accord.
Papeletasmarcadas#FRAUDE#col.24 de septiembre#deberiacontratarmeunitel
A video posted by Fabiola Jordán ♡ (@fabbijj) on
Caption: Marked ballots. Fraud. 24th of September School [in Santa Cruz de la Sierra]. [News channel] Unitel should hire me.
In Bolivia's largest metropolis of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the local electoral board TED (Tribunal Electoral Departamental) confirmed that the more than 5,300 voters who were unable to vote on Sunday due to the burning of their ballots will return to the polls on March 6.
The Facebook page of opposition’s advocacy group “Me Comprometo, Voto No” (I Make the Commitment, I Vote No) posted images supposedly revealing votes being falsely attributed as sí as they were entered into the OEP (Órgano Electoral Plurinacional) electoral commission’s system. The images were taken by voters and delegates alike cross-checking their designated polling tables with the information available online.
Abajo, el acta de mesa con una clara victoria del NO. Arriba, el cómputo adulterado del mismo acta #Bolivia #Fraude pic.twitter.com/iz1NuMZyGg
— Rubén Darío Cuéllar (@rdcuellarpaz) February 23, 2016
Below, the polling station results showing a clear NO victory. Above, the falsified numbers for the same station.
Local newspaper El Día reported cases, some of them uploaded using social media, of fraud in which numerous deceased persons were still eligible to vote and listed on the electoral roll the day of the vote. The Electoral Supreme Court refuted those claims, saying “there's no way a dead person's name can be used to vote […] because the official list also shows the voter's photo”.
Cruceños (city locals) have since gathered at the Fexpo Cruz (International Convention Center) in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, monitoring TED employees as they compute the ballots and asking them to respect their votes and demonstrate transparency during the official count.
Delegate Molina spent the day at the Fexpocruz making sure the ballots were counted correctly. During the interview with me, she added:
I’m enraged, we are all enraged with how in our faces the fraud has been.
The problem is that there are no checks and balances, so that’s what’s incredibly frustrating in this country. No matter how much evidence, and no matter how much we can discuss facts, there is no law against this.
That’s what this [opposing the referendum] is all about.
In the meantime, opposition voters hope the fraud does not change the outcome predicted by authorized polling company Equipos Mori on Sunday, a 49-51 percent victory for the “no.” They have expressed frustration with the slow count, and after witnessing multiple accounts of fraud committed during voting day, are concerned the remaining ballots may be tampered with in an effort to skew results.
#NO eternos gobernantes, NO angurrientos de poder, NO modificar de la constitución política #BOLIVIADiceNO#NOEVO#NOMAS#BOLIVIA SE RESPETA
— Carla Lorena (@carlalrg) February 13, 2016
No to eternal rulers, No to people hungry for power, No to the constitutional amendment. Bolivia says no. No Evo. No more. Bolivia ought to be respected.
#BoliviaDecide#BoliviaDiceNo#NO#ÑO “We gotta take the power back – R.A.T.M.” #Referendo2016#ReferendoBoliviapic.twitter.com/lEHUXtlD1G
— Federico Escobar (@fedemergent) February 22, 2016
As celebrations erupted throughout the country following Mori’s unofficial results, Vice President Álvaro García Linera declared a “technical tie,” advising the opposition to refrain from premature celebration as “it’s highly probably that whatever is on television will drastically change within the following days,” and “your celebration might turn into tears by the publication of the final results.”
President Morales stated on a press conference on Monday, “Now is not the time to party, we need to wait with serenity for the final results.”
If one thing is clear from Bolivia's national referendum vote this past Sunday, it's that the Bolivian people have had enough of corruption.
Update February 25, 2016. President Evo Morales conceded defeat in the weekend referendum according to a press release published by the Ministry of the Presidency.

author: Jessica Janoski


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Egyptian Writer Ahmed Naji Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for His ‘Sexually Explicit’ Novel · Global Voices
Mohammed Hasan

Egyptian novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji has been sentenced to two years in prison for insulting public decency through his sexually explicit writings. Photo source: @anaje
A Cairo appeals court sentenced Egyptian novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji for two years in prison for publishing a chapter containing “sexually explicit” scenes from his novel The Guide of Using Life in a magazine.
Naji, accused of violating public decency, was acquitted in the first trial in December, which the Public Prosecution appealed. His case went to trial after a man complained that he got heart palpitations, a drop in blood pressure and sickness after reading Naji's material. On Saturday, Naji was arrested from the appeals court, after a judge sentenced him to two years in prison for “destroying social values.”
The Egyptian legal system has become the target of much criticism. A court has just wrongfully sentenced a four-year-old child to life in prison and “convicted of four counts of murder, eight counts of attempted murder and vandalising government property” — crimes he couldn't have committed because he was two at the time. Such legal gaffes aren't unheard of in Egypt's legal system. Amnesty International states in a report:
Trials before the criminal courts were riddled with due process violations. Some trials proceeded in the absence of the defendants and their lawyers . In others, judges prevented defendants or their lawyers from presenting evidence in their own defence or cross-examining prosecution witnesses. In many cases, courts convicted defendants despite an absence of substantive evidence against them.
Naji was found not guilty in the first trial, the sentence stated that:
” كما أن ما احتواه العمل الأدبي ( القصة ) علي ألفاظ وعبارات جنسية هو أمر درج في العديد من المؤلفات و الأعمال الأدبية و الأشعار قديما وحديثا وهذا ما انتهت إليه شهادة كل من الأستاذ / محمد سلماوي و الروائي / صنع الله ابرهيم والتي تطمئن اليهم المحكمة من أن العمل الأدبي ﻻ يمكن الانقطاع من سياقه أو أخذ جزء منه و ترك الآخر .
كما أن العمل الأدبي هو كيان واحد إذا انقطع منه جزء انهار ذلك العمل .”
The court also notes the piece of literature (the story), which included sexual words and phrases, is common practice in many published literature and poems, both old and recent. The court concluded after the testimonies of professor Mohamed Salmawy and novelist Sona'allah Ebrahim, which the court accepts, that a literary work cannot be divided, censored out of context or evaluated partially because it is a single object and taking parts from it, destroys it.
The retrial, however, did not take this into consideration. The editor-in-chief of the state owned publication that featured Naji's story was also fined 10,000EGP (around $1,220 US dollars).
A YouTube video at Naji's book launch, held in November 2014, shows many people reading excerpts from the book and viewing the art material featured in it without experiencing the heart-attack like symptoms mentioned in the complaint:
The two year sentence Naji was slapped with is the maximum possible punishment by law for such cases. However, morality laws in Egypt are unclear in the publications sector. For example, until recently a state-sponsored curriculum by Al Azhar University, Egypt's top religious institute, included chapters on sanctioning the eating of the flesh of prisoners of war. Blogger Alyaa Gad noted:
الأزهر يلغي أكل لحم الأسير من المناهج.
ياختييي- وال٢٠ كيلو لحم أسرى اللي عندي في الفريزر أوديهم فين دلوقت؟!#عقلانيون pic.twitter.com/RTGhha39ti
— AlyaaGad AfhamTVأفهم (@AlyaaGad) March 4, 2015
Alazhar removes cannibalism of prisoners of war from the curriculum. Oh God, what will do with the 20 kilos of prisoner meat in the fridge now [sarcastically]!
This isn't the first incident related to freedom of expression this month. Earlier this month, prominent satirist Islam Gawish was held for questioning while other journalists like Ismail Aleskandarani  are on trial on trumped up charges.
Egypt, which was the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to have a formal newspaper in 1828, was recently ranked 158 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published in a 2015 report by international watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

author: Mohammed Hasan


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When Elections Are a Joke, the People Tell Election Jokes · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

“Pecko” caricature by Darko Markovic for Citizens for European Macedonia. Used with permission.
Jokes about elections and election fraud are common feature of modern Balkans folklore, reflecting the concerns of citizens across the region. Ballot box misdeeds have been a very real issue in the young democracies of Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia, and as the saying goes, ‘If I didn't laugh, I'd cry.’
These acidic jokes are mostly spread on social media and among friends. Entertainment websites that rely on copy-paste production sometimes include them in bigger compilations, too.
Let's take a look at a few of these jokes from the region.
The following joke from Montenegro refers to widespread practice of not erasing deceased voters from the Voter's Registry:
Došao Crnogorac na biračko mjesto kako bi glasao.
Nakon završenog glasanja, zatraži od ljudi iz komisije da mu daju stolicu da sjedne.
– Izvolite stolicu, je li Vam dobro, gospodine?
– Ma dobro mi je, samo ću da sačekam oca da dođe na glasanje.
– Pa doći će Vam otac kući poslije glasanja?
– On ne dolazi kući, evo ima već 10 godina jer je umro, ali redovno izlazi na izbore pa rekoh da ga vidim…
A Montenegrin man goes to the polling station to vote.
After voting, he asked the electoral committee to lend him a chair to sit.
– Here's your chair, sir. Do you feel unwell?
– I am OK, I just want to wait for my father to come and vote.
– Well, won't your father come home after voting?
– No, he won't come home. He died over 10 years ago, but he regularly votes in elections, so I figured I'd try to see him…
While this particular version is “branded” as coming from Montenegro, variations can be found about many other countries. A 1998 article by a British author notes a version referring to a 1948 campaign in the US.
Variations of following joke is present across forums and social media throughout the region. These particular copies are from a selection of election jokes from a Serbian entertainment website:
Kandidat za gradonačelnika u nekom selu drži govor, pa kaže:
– Do vašeg sela ćemo napraviti asfaltirani put! Napravit ćemo i vodovod! Izgradit ćemo i školu!
Netko iz mase:
– Ali u selu nema dece!
– I decu ćemo vam napraviti!
A candidate holds a speech in a small village:
– We'll make an asphalt road to your village! We'll make waterworks and indoor plumbing for you. We'll build you a school!
A citizen from the crowd shouts:
– But we have no children in the village!
– We'll make you some children, too!
As witih many other jokes, the following also has universal appeal, even though it's attributed to a particular country:
Dođe premijer Srbije u posetu vrtiću. Gleda malo decu kako se igraju i kaže svom ministru finansija:
– Daj piši ček na 5.000 eura za poboljšanje životnih standarda u vrtićima!
I ovaj napiše ček, i idu dalje te dođu u zatvor. I gleda malo zatvorenike kako robuju i kaže:
– Daj piši ček na 500.000 eura za poboljšanje životnih uslova u zatvoru!
– Pa kako za decu 5.000, a za ove zločince i razbojnike 500.000? – kaže ministar finansija.
A, premijer će njemu: – A šta ti, misliš da ćeš ići u vrtić posle sledećih izbora?
The Serbian prime minister visits a kindergarten. Watching the kids play, he tells his minister of finance:
– Allocate 5,000 euros of the budget to improving living conditions in kindergartens!
The minister of finance complies. Then they both visit a prison. After watching the prisoners for a while, the prime minister says:
– Allocate 500,000 euros of the budget to improving living conditions in prisons!
– Why 5,000 for the kids, and 500,000 for these criminals and robbers? – the minister of finance asks.
The prime minister responds:
– Do you think that after the next elections, we'll be sent to a kindergarten?
Widespread use of questionable polling results as a propaganda tool is the subject of this joke collected by a Serbian blogger.
Političar se obratio agenciji za ispitivanje javnog mišljenja:
– Imam osećaj da bi 98% građana ove zemlje glasalo za mene. Da li bi mogli to proveriti?
Dva meseca kasnije dobio je izveštaj:
– Gospodine, anketirali smo 10.000 ljudi i svi pripadaju onom malom postotku od 2% građana koji su protiv vas.
A politician asks a polling agency to conduct a survey for him:
– I have a feeling that 98% of citizens of this country would vote for me. Could you check that?
Two months later he receives a report:
– Sir, we surveyed 10,000 persons and they all belong to that small percentage of 2% of citizens who are against you.
In 2011, Nova Makedonija daily asked Macedonian politicians to tell their favorite jokes. Opposition Member of Parliament Vesna Bendevska contributed with the following:
Бабичка оди на гласање.
– Синко, помогни ми, те молам, ги заборавив очилата.
– Нема проблем, госпоѓо – вели еден новопечен административец и го заокружува лавчето на листот.
– Може ли да знам за кого гласав, синко?
– Не може, госпоѓо, изборите се тајни!
An old granny goes to vote:
– Son, please help me, I forgot my glasses.
– No problem, madam – said an newly employed civil servant from the election committee, and circled the ruling party candidate on the ballot.
– Could you tell me who I voted for, son?
– I cannot, madam, that would be a violation of the secrecy of the vote.
The following joke can be interpreted as poking fun at the supposed support Balkan right-wing parties receive from their “sister parties” within the European People's Party, a political party within the European Union. “Proving” to the electorate that one has the support of “the foreigners” is often key to getting swing voters. In a kind of role reversal, Nikola Gruevski, the leader of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE from Macedonia, helps Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany and leader of the Christian Democratic Union political party from Germany.
The Mile character in the joke refers to Mile Janakieski, former government minister and Gruevski's right-hand man, currently under investigation as a key suspect in a criminal conspiracy case to commit electoral fraud.
Му ѕвони Ангела Меркел на Груевски:
– Никола, пријателе, ми треба помош од тебе. Во Германија ќе има избори и многу ми е тешко.
– Ангела, ако помогнеш да влеземе во ЕУ, нема проблем. Што да направам за тебе?
– Никола, ако можеш, испрати ми некој искусен стратег да ми помага!
– Нема проблем, Ангела, ќе ти го испратам Миле.
Поминале изборите и Груевски и ѕвони н Меркел:
– Ангела, што бидна, победивте ли?
– Не, завршивме на второ место и ги изгубивме изборите.
– Како така, а кој победи тогаш?
– ВМРО…
Merkel calls Gruevski on the phone:
– Nikola, my friend, I need your help. We have elections in Germany and I'm going to have a hard time winning.
– Angela, if you help us get into the European Union, no problem. What can I do for you?
– Well, you seem to win all the time. If you can, please send some experienced strategist to help!
– No problem, Angela, I'll send Mile.
After the elections, Gruevski calls Merkel over the phone:
– Angela, what happened, why didn't you call to thank me?
– But we didn't win, we ended up at second place.
– How come, who won then?
– VMRO…
“Forward to Europe!” A “Pecko” caricature by Darko Markovic, made for Citizens for European Macedonia. Used with permission.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Iberian Media Collectives Will Gather in Portugal to Debate Alternative News · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

An Alternative Information Meet-up is about to take place in Coimbra, Portugal, bringing together different media projects from the Iberian Peninsula for two days of collective debate and sharing of practices around information.
The Alternative Information Meet-up will take place in Coimbra on February 25-26, 2016. #InfoAltCoimbra
The meeting starts on February 25, 2015, with a round table featuring members of alternative media projects from Portugal (Indymedia.pt, Jornal Mapa, Portal Anarquista and Guilhotina.info) and Spain (Periódico Diagonal and Radio Vallekas from Madrid, and the Catalan newspaper La Directa).
The day after, a radio workshop offered by one of the visiting projects — Radio Vallekas, “a combative Madrid Neighboorhood” — will address online/FM broadcast emission, how to build a program and the importance of connection to the community and social movements.
The meeting is organized by Rede de Informação Alternativa, a network of alternative news outlets that has been recently established by a group of anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist collectives from Portugal, who “feel the need to promote a broad debate around the state of the media”:
Num mundo onde grande parte do fluxo de informação é dominado por uma televisão e uma imprensa nas mãos de grandes conglomerados de media, é urgente encontrar outras formas de comunicar e de fazer e transmitir informação. Sentimos a necessidade de desconstruir os discursos hegemónicos através de projectos de comunicação horizontais e independentes, comprometidos com as comunidades e as ruas, bem como com as lutas e os processos que aí se desenvolvem. Na mesma medida, concebemos projectos de informação que não estejam comprometidos com o discurso das grandes empresas, nem dos grandes grupos económicos, nem dos partidos políticos.
In a world where much of the information flow is dominated by the TV and the press which are in the hands of big media conglomerates, it is urgent that we find other ways to communicate and to make and transmit information. We feel the need to deconstruct the hegemonic discourses through horizontal and independent media projects, committed to the communities and the streets, as well as the struggles and processes that are therein developed. In the same measure, we design information projects that are not committed to the speech of the big companies, nor the major economic or political party groups.
The meet-up will take place at Ateneu de Coimbra. Participation in the Portuguese- and Spanish-language event is open and free — for those who can't physically make it, livestreaming might be available. Check out the Facebook event and the hashtag #InfoaltCoimbra on Twitter for updates.

author: Sara Moreira


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Homophobia Mars a Chechen Model’s Dream · Global Voices
Darina Gribova

Ilona Bisultanova. Image: Youtube / Wedding RU
Many models dream of scoring a photoshoot for Dolce & Gabbana. 17-year-old Ilona Bisultanova's dream came true last month, when she was hired to pose for pictures wearing new headscarves designed by Stefano Gabbana, who then shared the photographs on his Instagram account, where he has more than 707,000 followers.
Back home in Chechnya, however, Bisultanova's compatriots didn't take kindly to her collaboration with an openly homosexual man. Gabbana's account was soon flooded with angry comments, harassing Bisultanova for working with him. Haters also criticized her for being insufficiently Muslim, and for (apparently) plumping up her lips for the pictures, either with makeup or lip augmentation.
Some comments from Chechen Instagram users defended Bisultanova, congratulating her on representing Chechnya on the world stage, but these wellwishers were decidedly in the minority.
Due to harassment, Bisultanova has hidden her own Instagram account behind a privacy wall. She has more than 75,000 subscribers.
@ilona1998amir #dgwoman ❤❤❤❤#dgfamily
A photo posted by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on
Some of the comments included the following remarks:
Истинная мусульманка, у которой иман, чтобы так покрыться, не допустила бы, чтобы ее фотки публиковал на своей странице среди всяких других себе подобных всемирно известный гей.
A true Muslim woman who has iman [the true faith] to cover herself like this would never allow a world-famous gay to publish her photos on his page, among others of his kind.
Зачем одевать хиджаб преступая все запреты и указания Аллаха!!! Если хиджаб одет не из-за любви и страха перед Творцом!!! То какой смысл в этом!!! Щас я говорю в целом о состоянии дел мусульман.
Why would anyone wear a hijab while violating all the prohibitions and the guidance of Allah!!! If she's wearing hijab, it's not because of love and fear for the Creator!!! So what's the point in that!!! I'm talking right now about Muslim issues in general.
Это ее натуральная красота. А все завидуют. Илона очень красива МашаАллах, и умна и красива и талантлива.
This is her natural beauty [referring to her lips]. Everyone is just envious. Ilona is very beautiful—Allah has willed it so. [She is] smart and pretty and talented.
Bisultanova is one of the faces of Dolce & Gabbana's new collection of hijabs and abayas, which targets luxury fashion wearers in the Muslim world. Have a look at the photos and judge for yourself how suited Bisultanova is to this role.
عبايات دولشي جابانا  حبييييت #dolcegabbanaabayawear#dolcegabbanaabaya
A photo posted by accessories7alamza (@7alamza) on
بعد @dolcegabbana ، ما هي محلات الموضة التي تود أن تراها تطلق تشكيلة عبايات؟ اذكر اختياراتك! After @dolcegabbana, which fashion house should launch an abaya collection? Name your pick! #dolcegabbana #dolcegabbanaabaya #shopping #middleeast #mena #fashion #❤ #dgabaya #dgwomen
A photo posted by Bahrain World Trade Center (@moda_mall) on
According to the independent television station Dozhd, Bisultanova worked until recently for the Grozny-based Firdaws fashion house, which is controlled by Ramzan Kadyrov's wife, Medni. Several weeks ago, Bisultanova launched her own fashion line, “Masterskaya by Ilona Bisultanova.” (Her company's Instagram account, too, has been made private. It has more than 21,000 subscribers.)
Ramzan Kadyrov, the brutal leader of Russia's Chechen Republic, is a known critic of homosexuality, to say nothing of gay rights. In 2009, he said homosexuality, prostitution, and drug dependency are Russia's biggest modern problems. What the country needs, he argued, are “soldiers—the defenders of the Fatherland. That is why the Chechens will be always at the forefront.”

author: Darina Gribova


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Violence Escalates on Eve of Elections in Jamaica · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Screenshot of a YouTube video of the One Love Peace Concert, held in Jamaica on April 22, 1978. The concert was aimed at quelling the political violence of the election season; Bob Marley brought the leaders of the opposing political parties — Michael Manley (PNP) and Edward Seaga (JLP) — up on stage and joined their hands together in a symbolic gesture of unity.
A series of violent incidents and alleged instances of political intimidation in the past two weeks has had a dampening effect on Jamaica's pre-election fever (often called the “silly season”) as the island prepares for general elections on February 25. The latest incident was a shooting at a mass rally in the Prime Minister's constituency on February 23, the final night of campaigning.
Last night's drama follows a string of violent incidents connected to political events (but not necessarily politically motivated), in which Jamaicans have lost their lives or been injured. The country has a long history of turbulent elections.
On February 7, two men were shot and killed and three injured while attending a mass rally of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), in Montego Bay. One of those killed was one of the town's “most wanted” men. A third man later died.
On February 9, also in Montego Bay, one man was shot and killed and three other people wounded in a JLP motorcade in the Flanker district. Twelve motor vehicles were also damaged in the incident. Police said the motivation for both incidents was was gang-related, not political. The Montego Bay police chief noted he had not given permission for the motorcade.
On February 22, a drive-by shooting in Montego Bay's Canterbury district left four JLP supporters and a 13-year-old boy suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the injured men subsequently died.
On February 23, a man was shot dead at a dance held by Horace Dalley, the incumbent People's National Party (PNP) candidate for Northern Clarendon. Initial reports suggest this, too, was not a “political” crime.
There have been numerous confrontations in several constituencies across the island this month, and today the JLP is accusing a PNP supporter of pulling a gun on a JLP councillor in opposition leader Andrew Holness's constituency in inner city Kingston.
While several incidents have been attributed to gang activity, there's growing concern about the prospect of a safe election tomorrow, especially in marginal constituencies or ones that have already been the scene of local conflicts since the election date was announced on January 31. Last night's incident might have put the Prime Minister herself in danger, since she was on stage at the time of the shooting and remained there afterwards, during ten minutes of widespread panic by the crowd.
Music, entertainment and the spectacle of politicians kicking up their heels on stage at party rallies are an integral part of the Jamaican political scene. The incumbent People's National Party's final public rally, held in Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller‘s South West St. Andrew (Kingston) constituency and broadcast live last night on Television Jamaica, was another classic example of this blend of cultural expression and political message, all aimed at galvanizing supporters. Business leader and media guru Marcia Forbes tweeted in frustration:
Buy expensive airtime to carry music concert after refusing to debate? What is the PNP thinking? #JaVotes2016 #Jamaica
— Dr. Marcia Forbes (@marciaforbes) February 24, 2016
But the PNP event proceedings took a turn for the worse when gunshots rang out in Portia Simpson Miller Square (commonly known as Three Miles), an intersection in downtown Kingston, where the party faithful were gathered. Kingston Public Hospital reported that two people were admitted with what appeared to be gunshot wounds, one with a stab wound and 36 others, including two children, with non-life threatening injuries sustained during the stampede of frightened supporters. Police Commissioner Carl Williams has since denied that there were any gunshot wounds inflicted and that the shooting in fact occurred outside the meeting.
A man lifts a baby to safety amid a stampede at @JamaicaPNP meeting in St Andrew SW after a gunfire #JaVotes2016 pic.twitter.com/t6tPAQYya7
— Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) February 24, 2016
Television viewers commenting on Twitter reacted with shock, with many commenting on the prime minister's remarks immediately after the shooting incident. The Prime Minister seemed to imply that the “evil” incident was orchestrated by the JLP and that she was expecting such a disruption in response to the Montego Bay shooting. Peppering her words with religious references and in a defiant tone, she pledged to find the perpetrators, adding: “I will deal with it.”
NGO member Jaevion Nelson expressed concern over Simpson Miller's “problematic” comments and decried what he sees as the casual normalisation of violence in Jamaican society:
last night was a perfect example of how unmoved many of us are by incidents of violence.
— Jaevion Nelson (@jaevionn) February 24, 2016
Nelson concluded, on a resigned note:
we sigh, sing a song pray and just move on as if nothing happened. this is a daily occurrence.
— Jaevion Nelson (@jaevionn) February 24, 2016
Many online and traditional media commentators also questioned the police response—or rather, their lack of speedy action—immediately following the shooting, but not everyone agreed that their actions were inappropriate.  The Prime Minister continued speaking after the gunshots were heard and did not leave the stage.
Police look in to the crowd as people scamper following gunfire @JamaicaPNP meeting – @taylor2nd photo #JaVotes2016 pic.twitter.com/MjpHiwFJxx
— Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) February 24, 2016
Other Twitter users put forward conspiracy theories, and the speculation in social media built up overnight. Popular broadcast journalist Abka Fitz-Henley tweeted a quote of the police's official position:
UPDATE: “We cannot say it was politically motivated. We have no evidence to support that” – ACP #EalanPowell on shooting at PNP rally
— Abka Fitz-Henley (@AbkaFitzHenley) February 24, 2016
In an ironic postscript, human rights commentator Susan Goffe tweeted:
Dispense with ballots!Decide election with dance contest,7am-5pm! 63 v 63, & 3rd parties &independents! #JaVotes2016 pic.twitter.com/0twx5c0lR4
— Susan Goffe (@suezeecue) February 24, 2016
Meanwhile, some voters fear that the atmosphere of intimidation in some areas could deter voters from turning out on February 25. The Jamaica Gleaner's editorial cartoon this morning reflected this concern, suggesting that undecided voters might withdraw their support for either party:
Today's #LasMay editorial cartoon. See more cartoons: https://t.co/bHAIV1FfD5. pic.twitter.com/5xawK1UhOE
— Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) February 24, 2016
At this point, prospects for voter turnout are not particularly encouraging. Election day workers and the security forces voted early, and the turnout was slightly lower than in 2011. According to an RJR opinion poll conducted by Don Anderson, the race could be very tight, with the gap narrowing.
In the last election in 2011, the PNP won 42 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, seven of them with margins of fewer than 300 votes. Going in to this election, civil society organizations such as WE-Change Jamaica, National Integrity Action and the 51% Coalition have continued to keep the focus on the issues. The Electoral Commission of Jamaica is also urging Jamaicans to come out and vote.
With no official campaigning taking place today, the Jamaican electorate awaits election day with bated breath—and with fingers crossed.

author: Emma Lewis


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Volunteer Disaster Relief Efforts Cultivate a Friendship Between Taiwanese and Japanese · Global Voices
New Bloom

Japanese volunteers at Tainan earthquake site. Photo taken by Enbion Micah Aan
Taiwan was a colony of Japan from 1895 to 1945. However, the history of invasion has not prevented the two peoples from developing a friendly relationship. Throughout the past decade, cross-border, volunteer-driven disaster relief has established mutual respect and appreciation at an interpersonal level.
New Bloom writer and photographer Enbion Micah Aan captured Japanese volunteers helping in the aftermath of Tainan earthquake. The original post, titled “Japanese Volunteers at the Tainan Earthquake Site”, was published on February 21 as part of New Bloom's photography column Seeds, which seeks to explore and promote just causes by highlighting individuals‘ efforts in social changes. The following edited version is republished on Global Voices with permission.
On February 13, at the Tainan earthquake disaster site, I saw about 20 Japanese volunteers wearing Taiwan Presbyterian Church vests with Japanese flags displayed on their clothes or badges. In the supply section, the Japanese volunteers outnumbered the Taiwanese volunteers. I spoke to a few of them, and the common sentiment among the Japanese volunteers was that they felt compelled to help with the rescue effort, since Taiwan donated the most money out of all the nations in the aftermath of March 11, 2011 earthquake that ravaged Japan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Akiko Kitayama, a professional pool player who lives and works in Tainan, said
When somebody is in trouble, and it is someone who has helped us before, of course, we would help them. You [the Taiwanese people] helped us and we weren’t even your friends, so of course we came to help. Japan and Taiwan will be best friends forever.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Most of the volunteers said they also wanted to help out since the first day, but the opportunity did not present itself until Masaki Tsuji, a local resident in Tainan, posted on Facebook, informing people they would be able to enter the disaster area to help through the Taiwan Presbyterian Church. He brought along some 15 volunteers.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
There were also others who joined the volunteer team via the Presbyterian Church without seeing the Facebook notification. One of them was Mew Hatta, a student studying agriculture in Taipei, who had experience working with the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church at the Japanese Christian Disaster Victim Relief Center of the Northeast District during the rescue effort following the 2011 earthquake in Japan.
There were also Japanese volunteers who said they would have helped regardless of Taiwanese’ contribution after the Japanese earthquake — Hiroyuki Yamada, who lives in the neighborhood and runs a Japanese shop in Tainan, and Reiko Akamine, a student at Cheng Kung University.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
In Taiwanese media, much has been discussed about Japanese sympathies and aid following the Tainan earthquake. Though some organized efforts are politically motivated, such as a diplomatic desire to forge an alliance with Japan against China, upon seeing and talking to actual Japanese volunteers, even the most hardened observers would conclude that the bond between the two peoples is genuine.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
While most would interpret the relationship now between the two nations as friendly, the history and politics of Taiwan and Japan is not as simple as it appears on the surface. As of now, Taiwan’s government is still not formally recognized by Japan, and given Japan's historic colonization of Taiwan, most Taiwanese people commemorate the day marking the end of Japanese occupation after World War II.
It was not until Kuomintang (KMT)’s brutal rule in Taiwan beginning in 1949, after the party had retreated there following defeat at the hands of the communists in mainland China, that the general Taiwanese attitude towards the Japanese gradually softened to the point that the Japanese occupation is often viewed with a sense of nostalgia. Japan in its role as a former colonizer of Taiwan can be seen on one hand as having started a modernization process and building of important modern infrastructure that is still in use today. But on the other, it also oversaw the environmental and ecological exploitation of the island (often to build the aforementioned infrastructure) as well as subjugated and, in some cases, killed Taiwanese, establishing a ruling foundation later continued with the KMT regime.
However, at a grassroots and interpersonal level, the bond between the two cultures has been born out of the contradictions and complication of history and politics, and this is especially apparent during times of disaster. It is without question that the Taiwanese and Japanese have developed deep appreciation for one another.
Other photos record Japanese volunteers’ efforts at the Tainan earthquake site:
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.
Photo by Enbion Micah Aan.

author: New Bloom