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Sriracha, a Truly Global Sauce with a Big Heap of Vietnamese Love · Global Voices
Loa

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. Photo from the Flickr page of Mike Mozart, CC License
This article by Chí-Linh Đinh is from Loa, an independent news website and podcast that broadcasts stories about Vietnam, and is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
I’m at Bánh Mì Boys, a local eatery in Toronto, Canada. It’s late, I’m hungry, and my friend and I order some bánh mì with Sriracha sauce heaped on top.
Sriracha, in case you didn’t already know, is bottled chili sauce, instantly recognizable by its iconic green cap and rooster logo. I use it on everything, and probably on some foods I shouldn’t. For Halloween I dressed up as a bottle of Sriracha sauce. To say I love the stuff is probably an understatement. But I’m not alone.
One of the staff explains why he likes too, even though it is a little different than what he remembers. “I guess, ‘cause I’m from Thailand,” he says. “Sriracha is originally based in Thailand, the small city,” he explains, “But the [sauces] we have is very different from actual Sriracha sauce, like it’s not that spicy but you can put it on everything.”
Many people assume the sauce is an import from Asia. Who knew there was actually a town named Sriracha?
I talked to Griffin Hammond, director of the short documentary titled Sriracha, which covers the history and phenomenon of the rooster sauce.
Yeah in the film we went to Thailand to kind of find out the story of the original. The sauce, I don’t know what it’s like in Vietnam, but in Thailand it was much runnier, a lot sweeter, and different consistency and kind of seemed like it went with different things too—similar ingredients, of course.
Hammond explains more of the backstory of the modern Sriracha, which starts with David Trần, and his voyage to the United States:
He was in Vietnam and he one of the many ethnically Chinese people that were sent out out of country, kinda pushed out of Vietnam after the war, and he was asked to get on a boat, called the Huey Fong.
Huy Fong Foods, incidentally, is what David Trần would later name his company.
Hammond recounts:
There were 3,300 refugees on this boat, and finally after a month of living on this boat, Hong Kong relented, let them stay there for a little bit, and the UN relocated all these people and I think a large number them landed in the US.
David Trần, at the time without a dollar to his name, first arrived in Boston, but eventually made his way to Los Angeles.
Hammond continues:
When he was there, he was looking for a job and couldn’t really find anything he liked, but saw that a lot of Vietnamese people that wanted—they were eating phở and they didn’t have any hot sauce, like that from back home, and he just saw a market there and thought, ‘I could make some hot sauce,’ and that’s how he started making Sriracha.
The little business Trần created back in 1980 has now flourished and expanded.
There’s currently a large factory in Irwindale, east of Los Angeles, making the world’s supply of everyone’s favorite hot sauce. In fact, if you so wanted, you could go there and book a tour and check it out yourself.
Sriracha’s origin is getting harder to keep straight. Let’s recap: We have a Chinese-Vietnamese refugee who only started selling the sauce when he came to the United States. The sauce itself is inspired by Thailand’s Sriracha sauce, but it’s not the same taste, not exactly.
So maybe…Sriracha is kind of a toss up between all the cultures? A true fusion food?
It’s an intriguing thought, and it makes sense at a global level, especially since ideas and foods travel across borders. And the neat thing about globalization is this—even though David Trần never sold Sriracha in Vietnam, it is rapidly becoming a favorite back across the pond anyway.
Victor Nguyễn, who does business in Asia, explains,
So I go back to Vietnam —I go to Asia maybe like once or twice a year on my schedule, and in the last few years, I’ve noticed that, whenever I post a message on Facebook or maybe like email my friends asking them if they want anything from California, or from LA, the number one answer is Sriracha sauce. This past trip, where I went in September, my entire check-in luggage was all Sriracha sauce. It was all literally, I think, I had about 15 bottles in my luggage.
15 bottles is definitely no joke. In the end, this mashup of cultures makes Sriracha a truly global sauce with a big heap of Vietnamese love. And what’s better than that?
But anyway, where were we? Ah that’s right, I was enjoying my bánh mì. With Sriracha, of course. But in that case, I might as well ask the burning question: “What’s your favourite thing to put Sriracha on?”
My server responds: “Oh…pizzas, probably.”
Hey, that sounds pretty good. But I think it’s time to stop hassling the staff now. The place is picking up their dinner crowd.
Listen to the podcast about Sriracha:

author: Loa


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Call for Sugar Tax on Beverages Ignites Nanny State Debate Down Under · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Sugar Tax report – Image courtesy Grattan Institute (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
Australians are divided over a proposal by the Grattan Institute to levy a so-called sugar tax on beverages to help tackle obesity. The independent think tank has released a report, ‘A sugary drinks tax – Recovering the community costs of obesity’, recommending that:
Australia should introduce a tax on sugary drinks to recoup some of the costs of obesity to the community.
The best option is an excise tax of 40 cents per 100 grams of sugar, on all non-alcoholic, water-based drinks that contain added sugar.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce immediately rejected the idea, calling it “bonkers mad” — a tautology or saying the same things twice, as bonkers means mad. This didn't please dietitian Miranda Blake:
@BarnabyJoyceLNP govt tried ‘stop eating so much’ approach for decades. Result? World leading obesity #sugartaxhttps://t.co/i7Eyc3UkvG
— Miranda Blake (@MirandaRBlake) November 23, 2016
Joyce is a member of parliament for the Nationals, a party with close ties to the agricultural sector.
To use a football metaphor, some in the media could be accused of ‘playing the man not the ball’ (a personal attack):
“Is it too early to predict Barnaby's Push Back Weight Loss Program will become a viral worldwide hit?” https://t.co/WISfQx8Mnb #sugartax
— Dan Gaffney (@DTGaffney) November 23, 2016
There have been the inevitable accusations of hypocrisy over high taxes on alcohol and tobacco products. In response to Joyce's tweet saying the Australian Taxation Office “will not solve your weight problem”, Christian Peterson countered:
But apparently it'll solve ya booze and nicotine use issues. There's a reason hypocrite and politician are a cliche in our culture.#sugartax https://t.co/H2fc2Z4v4J
— Christian Peterson (@API80) November 23, 2016
The target of Adam Cleave, who works in corporate affairs for Imperial Tobacco, was an old enemy:
Budget balance could be helped by reducing the number of tax-funded lobby groups that exist purely to ban things they don't like. #sugartax https://t.co/i3epJgONC0
— Adam Cleave (@AdamCleave) November 23, 2016
Aaron Lane linked to his research for free market think tank The Institute of Public Affairs (@TheIPA), traditional supporters of small government and opponents of the so-called ‘nanny state':
Sugar tax is already on the list of bad ideas that don't work. My @TheIPA research from 2014: https://t.co/DVPcuBBLBo #ausvotes #nannystate
— Aaron Lane (@AMLane_au) June 21, 2016
Plenty of Twitter users were cynical about the motivation behind the proposal:
#sugartax is just like #carbontax Scam to get more money out of the population.
— Marcell (@melvict) November 23, 2016
Others like Caitlin Syrett rejected the notion of relying on individual responsibility:
.@Barnaby_Joyce: “I believe in the freedom of the individual.”
Statistics: “Look where that's got us”. #auspol #sugartax pic.twitter.com/JWKXuWas20
— Caitlin Syrett (@CaitlinSyrett) November 24, 2016
Dental public health expert Matthew Hopcraft had teeth in mind as you would expect:
I hear a lot of opposition to a #sugartax as one part of the fight against #obesity #decay #diabetes
But I don't hear credible alternatives https://t.co/KOlJiPxO73
— Matthew Hopcraft (@Matt_Hopcraft) November 23, 2016
The economics editor for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper had a strong view about the tax:
Talk of ‘nanny state’ is cover for protecting profits of industries selling health-damaging products https://t.co/Mfifkfcz50 #ausecon
— Ross Gittins (@1RossGittins) November 23, 2016
Meanwhile, some others have been thinking outside the box:
Rather than considering a sugar tax, it'd be more useful if there was a fresh fruit and veg subsidy for low income earners and pensioners
— Asher Wolf (@Asher_Wolf) November 23, 2016
So, what exactly are the costs of the obesity crisis, and how would a sugar tax make a difference?
The report's co-author, Stephen Duckett, has addressed the issue in this podcast. It is included courtesy of their Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0):

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Kevin Rennie


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From Tehran to Manhattan, One Fashion Shoot at a Time · Global Voices
Omid Memarian

Iranian photographer Kourosh Sotoodeh with fashion models Allegra Dewi Carpenter and Eszter Boldov during a shoot on a New York City rooftop. Photo shared by Koroush Sotoodeh and used with permission.
Had fashion photographer Kourosh Sotoodeh pursued his dream profession in his home country of Iran, he probably would have been arrested one day during a crackdown on the growing fashion industry by the country’s security apparatus—a crackdown which, over the past year, has prompted the authorities to label people like Kourosh “itinerant photographers who lure girls.” Since last January fashion photographers have been arrested in droves, along with fashion models and those involved in modelling agencies.
Since leaving the Islamic Republic to work for a Dubai-based agency in 2009—the year the Iranian government came down hard on protesters disputing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election as president—he hasn’t looked back. Kourosh has since relocated to New York City, where freedom of expression is as much a reality as rampant competition. “The subjects in my photography are people, therefore it is natural for me to want to go somewhere where people have more freedom with their clothes, conduct, and social acts,” Kourosh tells me during a shoot at a Manhattan-based studio. In Iran, Kourosh would have risked imprisonment or worse if he were to publish the photographs he took—of a partially-clothed female model—the day I interviewed him.
Trying to make it in the world’s most competitive fashion locale isn’t easy for anyone. Still, the 38-year-old has landed gigs with inCOVER magazine and Harper's Bazaar, and seems completely at home. “As one of my favorite New Yorkers, [comedian] Louis C. K., said, I constantly throw away my best works and start all over again to create better works,” he tells me as he changes a lens. “I believe in that.”
As I caught up with Kourosh during one of his shoots, we delved into the problems and opportunities in Iran's fashion industry, and how his career has taken off in the world's fashion capital of New York City.
When did you start your photography career? When did you leave Iran and why?
Kourosh Sotoudeh (KS): I was interested in illustration from a very young age, but I started professional photography in March 1999. I was studying industrial design and naturally I spent most of my time at the Arts University where I learned more about photography and could see, enjoy and practice it. By “professional photography,” I mean the time I started earning a living through photography. It’s quite clear that back then I had a totally different concept and understanding of photography, compared to what I know now. Both my customers and I understood so little about it, so we thought we were doing fashion photography, but maybe it would be more accurate to say that I was engaged in some type of unusual portrait photography of subjects who liked to see themselves through my lens. Gradually, I gathered more experience and knowledge about the profession. After a modeling agency offered me a job in the field of fashion photography in 2009, I swiftly accepted the job and moved to Dubai.
Kouroush photographing model Eszter Boldov. Photo shared by Kouroush Sootodeh used with permission.
OM: What problems did you face as a fashion photographer in Iran?
KS: There are many competent and creative fashion designers and photographers in Iran, some of whom will go far in gaining widespread recognition. There is also a large group of Iranian youth who are interested in modeling and have the internationally accepted physical features needed for this profession. But for many reasons, including the Iranian laws and the Iranian market’s lack of contact with the international fashion scene, many of these talented people will have to be terribly lucky to find a chance to prosper in this field.
I can’t say whether fashion photography is allowed in Iran or not, because the law is silent on many different issues, and this leaves a lot of room for subjective interpretations. But I can say with certainty that there are no laws against taking photographs of people who are wearing beautiful clothes, therefore there shouldn’t be any problems. Or if there is a problem, I never saw any rules developed to tell me as a photographer what to do and what not to do in order to stay away from trouble. The silence of the law enables different organizations to act according to their own taste. Just like all the other artists in Iran who choose people as subjects, I had problems too, but my biggest problem was an occasional security threat to a profession based on arts and aesthetics—something I could never understand.
OM: What areas of fashion photography face the biggest problems in Iran? Have these problems led to some photographers giving up on their field?
KS: Generally, when men are subjects of fashion photography, there are fewer limitations, although we can’t say this is always the case. There are a lot of limitations for photographing women, some of which are based on laws, but laws do not set many of these limitations. I’m not talking about nude photography, which of course everyone knows is not allowed in Iran! But there is a lot of subjective interpretation and enforcement of limitations. These limitations are increased or decreased based on the views of the officials in charge of arts and culture. As a photographer, you never know which rules you have to follow in order to build a long-term plan of action for your professional development. It is natural to be fed up and to give up the profession altogether after a while.
OM: Do you know photographers or models in Iran who were forced to do other work because of the pressure the government exerted over them?
KS: Yes, I do. I know a lot of people who were very talented in their work, and after they were unable to pursue their field in Iran, they decided to emigrate, but the immigration wasn’t always a good decision for them. Sometimes they were unable to compete in the job market and ended up doing work other than photography. Their inability to compete was not necessarily a result of their lack of expertise, but due to the different language, their inability to relate to the new society’s social conditions, and the absence of any support. But the hardships of a life in diaspora should not cause disappointment and defeat.
Some of the Iranian models arrested in recent crackdowns. Photo from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, used with permission.
OM: Why do you think the Iranian authorities are monitoring Iranian models and photographers and trying to prevent their work?
KS: I don’t believe there is total agreement between the government decision-makers in this or in similar areas. When the entire path of a profession is limited by subjective decisions, the atmosphere for growth in that profession shrinks, and as a photographer working in such an environment, you would feel at best just tolerated. If fashion photography in Iran were to move towards nude and erotic photography, it would have seriously violated the law and a crackdown would be expected, but I believe that even nudity has not been properly defined and there are no clear boundaries.
Are there any written procedures on how much of a woman’s hair can be shown in a photograph? Is it written anywhere that if a woman has plump red lips, she should not be the subject of a close-up shot? If I don’t know these boundaries, my job becomes very difficult. I believe even the authorities differently define these boundaries and they each have their own ideas about them. Ultimately, their biggest concern is if these activities violate Islamic culture. But the truth is that even in defining the boundaries of Islamic culture, there is no unified voice or understanding.
OM: Do you think the continuous crackdowns on Iranian models and photographers will keep them from pursuing their work there? Will they be pushed underground?
KS: No. The industry will never stop. Clothes are one of the basic needs of human beings, no matter where people live. The fashion and clothing industry is very active in Iran and is naturally in need of promotion and marketing. Therefore, fashion photography, with all its limitations, will continue to exist, because the thinking behind this creativity is unstoppable. The thought process cannot be stopped and it will eventually find a way to be expressed. I think this situation is temporary and when something truly exists, it will have to be accepted. I hope laws are developed to define the boundaries, so everyone knows what is legal and what is illegal. The fact is that so much has been pushed underground, that there is now a huge underground world, bigger than the world above ground! This is why I think the ban needs to be re-thought. Can a world that is so extensive be marginalized?
OM: What do you think would happen if security agents realized a photographer is doing nude photography?
KS: Again, this is where the outcome could be different due to the subjective nature of handling the issue. Like many other things that are considered a crime in Iran, you never know exactly what would happen if you pass this red light! Would you be fined $200, would you be imprisoned, or would you be deprived of your civil rights? I have no doubt that this type of photography is considered a crime, and all I can say is that you would have to be very fortunate to end the issue with a cash fine. When there are different types of pressure on ordinary photographers, I don’t even want to think about what would happen to someone who does erotic photography in Iran!
Is it possible to earn a living as a full-time professional fashion photographer in Iran?
KS: If by “professional” you mean someone who makes a living this way, the answer is yes. If you go to Instagram right now and search for a few simple keywords, you would be able to find a lot of Iranian photographers and models in this field. As I said before, this chain certainly exists and is economically viable. But if the question is whether they have world-class quality or not, the answer is dependent on a lot of other factors. It depends, for example, on how well the artist can promote himself or herself. When everyone is trying to toe the line, so as not to cross the government red lines, they would undoubtedly have less publicity and this could lead to lower work quality and revenue for them.
Iranian model Elnaz Golrokh (now based in Dubai) maintains a popular fashion and modelling Instagram page with over 800,000 followers.
OM: With the emergence and widespread popularity of Instagram, many photographers and models have started showing their work on social media networks and some have a million followers. How instrumental do you think social media has been in the popularity of this type of photography?
KS: Social media, and especially Instagram have been absolutely instrumental! I think that’s because Instagram communicates with image-seeking audiences and this brings people closer. Because social media is far-reaching, everyone has access to it and when a photographer uses this tool, through peer influence other colleagues and competitors also move to use that tool, and this is why a large group of Iranian photographers moved to Instagram, for example. Organizations that oversee internet access in Iran then scramble to find mechanisms for controlling these artists. But I believe that social media has catapulted people forward, and even if the censorship organizations are successful in pulling people back, the art of photography has been able to take a few steps forward in gaining new audiences.
Kouroush photographs a model on a New York rooftop. Photo by author.
OM: Did you or other Iranian photographers ever try to sell your photos to publications outside Iran? Or were you only thinking about the domestic market?
KS: I think if you have professional ambitions, no matter what the profession, you always think about finding the best market and environment for your work. If you were a programmer in South Asia, you would for sure dream about working in Silicon Valley someday. If you were an Iranian soccer player, it is natural that your big dream would be to play in Spain’s La Liga. For me, the dream was to go wherever I could become a better and more experienced photographer. This is why I went to Dubai and now I am in the La Liga of photography in New York! As a photographer inside Iran, you may be able to send your photographs abroad, but the photos would have to be wildlife photography or social photography. The areas in which I was active hardly allowed me to be connected to the professional life outside Iran. This is why I had to move, so that I could strengthen my professional relationship with the international market. The subjects in my photography are people; therefore it is natural for me to want to go somewhere where people have more freedom with their clothes, conduct, and social acts.
inCOVER cover photo by Kouroush. Used with permission.
What kind of things can you do in New York that are not possible in Iran?
KS: I always considered myself a citizen of the world, not of a particular country. I believe that I have to live where the general public’s values are closer to mine. This does not necessarily mean that where I am is better or worse; it just suits me more. When a large part of my identity is comprised of being a photographer and my desire to illustrate, it’s not at all strange that I would feel more comfortable here professionally and personally. The most important thing for me is that this city’s tempo and dynamics totally match my energy level and every morning when I wake up, I’m in a race with my city, and I love this feeling a lot. Before I forget, of course, I should add that in New York no one investigates and measures the hair and figures of my models with a ruler and a magnifying glass!
What would you like to accomplish in New York?
KS: I definitely have some big dreams. I would like to be known as a New York photographer whose work has its own character and signature, and to show my view behind the camera to those in the fashion industry here. I hope next time we meet, my pictures do all the talking!

author: Omid Memarian


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In Iran, the Kurdish Struggle Remains in the Shadows · Global Voices
Hamid Yazdan Panah

Kurdistan Republic of Mahabad, 1946 Source: Wikimedia Commons
In May 2015, Mahabad, the capital of Iran’s Kurdish region, burned as riots and protests spread following the mysterious death of a young Kurdish woman in the city. Activists claimed that she had fallen to her death from the window of a hotel while escaping an attempted rape by an Iranian security official. The incident garnered international attention and was the focal point for geo-political propaganda battles.
The riots in Mahabad were not only indicative of the latent rage among the Kurdish population, but were also a symbolic reminder of the flame that has long burned within the city of Mahabad.
In 1946, Mahabad became the capital of the short-lived independent Kurdish republic. The dream of independence did not last long, and the Republic was soon destroyed by the Shah of Iran in 1947, and the Kurdish leader, Qazi Muhammad, hanged for his defiance.
The Kurdish Mahabad Republic was established in 1947. President Qazi Muhammad is in the middle. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, part of the public domain.
Today, Kurdish activists remain targets of the state. Over the years, dozens have been executed for their ties to Kurdish resistance groups. In April 2016, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps clashed with Kurdish militants. Many of those killed were members of the PDKI (Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan), the organization founded by Qazi Muhammad in Mahabad in 1945.
The clashes left dozens of both Revolutionary Guards Corps members and Kurdish militants dead, and rekindled the prospect of armed struggle in Iranian Kurdistan. Mohammed Saleh, a PDKI representative in Erbil, Iraq believes that violent confrontation is not a choice but a reality for Iranian Kurds. In an interview conducted by email, Saleh wrote that “Iran's system is a brutal religious dictatorship. We have no choice but to fight back. There is no political arena in Iran's theocratic dictatorship. This is the only way we can fight back. This is our right.”
Despite the short-term alliances between the Kurds and the West, widespread recognition for the rights of Kurds remains uneven, if not completely absent from mainstream discourse. Stories that do make international headlines usually concern the following: Kurdish confrontations with ISIS in Syria, increased Kurdish sovereignty in Iraq, and the nearly 40 years of Kurdish resistance in Turkey.
The Kurds of Iran—a 6-million-strong population—remain largely ignored by the international community despite their constant activity and presence.
Ava Homa, an Iranian Kurdish writer and journalist residing in the United States, says the progress made by Kurds, particularly in the Rojava region of northern Syria, is both representative of the potential for positive change in the region and a case study in the hypocrisy of the West.
“Their decisions are profit based, not justice based,” Homa said of Western support for the Kurds in a phone interview. Human rights for Kurds in Iran remains a serious issue, Homa pointed out: “In 2015, 93 people were charged as Moharebeh [enmity against God], 63 of them were Kurds.”
Nor does the Kurdish cause receive much attention within Iran. “A lot of so called Iranian activists and intellectuals do not recognize the national aspirations of Kurds,” said Homa. “For them asking for independence is a crime and not a political choice. There is this preference between land and territorial integrity over humanity.”
For the Kurds in Iran resistance is historically rooted. Though the movement has undergone many shifts and changes, it remains alive today.
Beyond the Iranian government, the geopolitics of the region continue to present new challenges, including from fellow Kurdish parties. In May 2016, a deadly clash between members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)—primarily in a struggle against the Turkish government—and the PDKI resulted in a number of casualties, threatening to expose serious divisions in Kurdish unity.
The PKK went on record stating that armed struggle in Iran was not to the benefit of Kurds, and encouraged a “focus on civil and cultural movements” instead.
Mohammed Saleh has critiqued this stance for undermining the resistance of Iranian Kurds, and for being largely a reflection of the PKK’s own shifting alliances in the region:
The Kurdish movement has distinct characteristics, whether in Iran, Iraq, Turkey or Syria. We don't interfere with PKK's struggle in Turkey, and PKK shouldn't interfere with our struggle in Iran. This is the voice of our people. We are fighting for a cause.
Saleh has also argued that the regional conflicts in Syria and Iraq are both an opportunity and obstacle to the recognition of Kurds as an equal partner in the future of the region:
All the players involved are benefiting in some way, except for the Kurds. And the Kurds are not just fighting for their own stability. But they hope to bring peace to the entire region, and it can be possible because we are inclusive.
The struggle for change is also on the mind of Iranian Kurds in the diaspora. Samira Ghaderi, an Iranian Kurd and former lobbyist for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Washington DC, believes that promoting change is not the sole responsibility of those living in Kurdistan. In a phone interview, Ghaderi said:
I feel responsible for the Kurdish people. Given our unfortunate situation, I think it is the responsibility of every Kurd and every friend of a Kurd to spread awareness about our century long struggle.
Women's Protection Units Fighters, August 4, 2015. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Ghaderi is one of many young Kurds in the United States who have found a sense of empowerment through taking a stand on Kurdish issues and promoting the cause:
As an American-Kurd. I know I have been granted an opportunity that most can only dream of. And I take this very seriously.
It is not a surprise that many of the Kurdish activists, whether in Syria, Iran or abroad, are women. As Ghaderi notes, “Throughout history, Kurdish women have been at the forefront of the struggle.”
According to Ava Homa, Kurdish women have had to overcome racism and repression by the state, patriarchy and chauvinism within Kurdish culture, all the while being exoticized by the West:
Even though the West likes to fetishize the Kurdish women’s struggle, focusing on girls with guns, what is happening in Rojava is really far beyond any of that. This is the first time in Kurdish society, and really any society in the middle east where women have so much power and control. Where they are respected as individuals.
Feminism and the empowerment of ethnic minorities is a central component of what is taking place in Rojava and throughout Kurdistan. It's one of the few positive developments in the face of a horrific regional conflict that has spawned misogynistic and fundamentalist movements.
The question remains whether this type of movement can also take root in Mahabad, and serve to inspire ideas not only ideas about gender equality, but a greater movement for dignity, justice, and perhaps independence for Iran’s Kurds.

author: Hamid Yazdan Panah


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Independent Report Offers Troubling Findings on Digital Rights in Ecuador · Global Voices
Daniela Gallardo

Image taken from Pikabaym and published under CC0 license as part of public domain.
There are many well-known figures in Ecuadorian politics. One of the best known is Martha Roldós, a former member of parliament from Guayaquil famous for her fierce opposition to the government of President Rafael Correa. In 2014, Roldós told the media that her email account had been “invaded”, saying a letter sent to her private email account had been stolen and published “word-for-word in the state-run newspaper El Telégrafo”.
The email was written by Adam Isacson (a member of the program on Regional Security Policy at the Washington Office on Latin America) and addressed to David Holiday of the Open Society Foundations. (Note to readers: Global Voices receives some of its funding from OSF.) Roldós was copied in the correspondence.
Publishing the letter, El Telégrafo also reported that Roldós and others were planning to develop a “media project” in Ecuador. Roldós’ project, Fundación Mil Hojas (One Thousand Pages Foundation), had already existed for a year, as it happens. It focuses on investigative journalism, particularly reporting on transparency and corruption — issues that have frequently occupied the national media's attention.
Until Roldós’ case, this type of cyberattack and publication of personal information in Ecuador was something you found only in the movies.
This year, Roldós’ group — together with another Ecuadorean organisation called Usuarios Digitales (Digital Users) — published an alternative report for the UN Human Rights Council, ahead of Ecuador's periodic human-rights review in May 2017. The report's focus is the country's situation with digital privacy rights and information access.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council for improving the human-rights situation in the territories of the 193 UN member states. Ecuador's last UPR was in 2012. Slovakia, Canada, Norway, Latvia, Belgium, France, and Costa Rica, among others, submitted observations on Ecuador about the state of freedom of expression and association, the decriminalisation of defamation, and media independence, among other points.
We spoke to Alfredo Velazco, a member of Usuarios Digitales, who said that the report assesses how various actors are currently working to suppress content (primarily content critical of those in power) in a manner inconsistent with international standards. The report is divided into five sections, which we will examine accordingly.
The document asserts that Ecuador has witnessed violations of the right to personal privacy being used to obtain information that is then later used by state officials on national television and in President Correa's Saturday broadcasts.
The report takes up the issue of cybersecurity and state surveillance. Similarly, various reports have highlighted the alleged contracting in 2013 of the Italian firm “Hacking Team” by the Ecuadorean government's National Intelligence Secretariat.
According to the report, “Hacking Team: Spyware in Latin America“, the Italian firm offered its services to the Interior Ministry in mid-June 2015. The latter indicated a need for a “National Monitoring Center at country level” that could begin functioning by October 2016. This report, based on information published by the Associated Press, says that “from the leaked emails emerges proof that the government of Rafael Correa used Hacking Team's malware to spy on Carlos Figueroa, a media and political activist who was sentenced to six months in prison for ‘insulting the president'”.
Usuarios Digitales reports that it has made note of various fake social network accounts, and even some official accounts, that have been used to disseminate threats against those who express an opinion different from the views of the Correa government. In addition, the group analyzes the ways in which cyber-harassment has been expressed. For instance, state officials have publicised the names and personal information of active social-media users. The case that's maybe resonated most with the public is the story of “Crudo Ecuador”, wherein President Correa bullied online satirist Gabriel González into quitting the Internet.
This is where Martha Roldós, the president's fierce opponent in Guayaquil, comes in. In 2014, she filed a motion for discovery with the Guayaquil prosecutor's office directed against El Telégrafo Editor Orlando Pérez. The motion's aim was to find out the source of the information El Telégrafo published, which revealed that Roldós was looking for external funding to create a news agency. The case did not move forward, however.
And finally there's Ecuador's digital blackout in 2014, which the report says hindered access to sites such as YouTube and Google on March 28, 2014, between 19:20 and 19:53. This occurred days after the publication of personal emails that were said to belong to Rommy Vallejo, head of the National Intelligence Secretariat on the Google platform Blogger through a blog named “Anonymous Ecuador”.
The report also says that Fundación Mil Hojas, Plan V, and Focus Ecuador reported “cyber-attacks” in May 2016 that affected their webpages. Days before, these sites had published information about oil contracts and the participation of the main representative of Petroecuador and the country's former oil minister.
Additionally, the report talks about the trolls who intimidate opposition politicians, journalists, and citizens opposed to the regime.
The report also illustrates how Ecuador's civil society is fighting back to maintain its digital rights. For Alfredo Velazaco, “there is a big lack of knowledge on this issue and a lack of spaces that could enrich the debate. Due to the conditions in the country, digital rights and the flow of information have been relegated to a second tier. Those in power are taking advantage of this lack of knowledge to prevent unwanted information from being published or shared”.

author: Daniela Gallardo


text:
Kyrgyzstan’s President and the Little Personality Cult that Couldn’t · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Soviet leader Josef Stalin created the benchmark for Eurasian personality cults in the modern era. Soviet era poster widely distributed.
Earlier this month, Kazakhstan's national bank announced that long-ruling President Nursultan Nazarbayev's face would appear on a new-issue banknote worth approximately $30 in local currency. Approximately a week later, legislators in the Central Asian country demanded that the capital presently called Astana be renamed in his honour. While he has so far refused to accept their demand, anyone with even half an eye on Kazakhstan would surely concur that the 77-year-old leader's cult of personality is ticking along quite superbly.
Nazarbayev's neighbour and colleague in Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, is doing almost as well. Unlike Nazarbayev, he does not have a fancy title like “Father of the Nation”, but that is only because his predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov had already bagged a similar moniker — Turkmenbashy, or “Father of the Turkmen” — before he died of a heart attack in 2006.
Informally known as the ‘protector’ Berdymukhamedov has gone to great pains to ensure Niyazov is not missed, erecting a golden statue of himself on horseback to match those of Niyazov already in place. According to reports, Berdymukhamedov is also preparing to publish a book of national folk wisdom that sounds like a replacement for Niyazov's Ruhnama (‘Book of the Soul’) that was once mandatory reading for all schoolchildren.
Golden statue in the capital Ashgabat of Turkmenistan's first President Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled from the late Soviet period until his death in December 2006. Creative commons.
Then there is Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon. His cult of personality had been slow-burning but has progressed very rapidly in the last two years or so, at the same time as everything else from the economy to human rights has hurtled backwards.
Not content with a short, punchy title like his colleagues in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, Rakhmon is Tajikistan's “Founder of Peace and Stability, Leader of the Nation”, a status that enables him to run for re-election an unlimited number of times.
He also has his own President's Day, that was celebrated earlier this month for the first time, and there is still the very real possibility that the tallest hydroelectric dam in the world will be named after him, if it is ever built, that is.
But there is one Central Asian leader for whom even modest (by regional standards) attempts at self-promotion result in stern rebukes and no shortage of ridicule. This is Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev, who unlike his colleagues in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan is constitutionally bound to a single six-year term in office and must contend with a critical press and civil society that views any attempt to expand his authority with deep suspicion.
Here are three examples where brand Atambayev has faced difficulties in recent times.
Photograph of Kyrgyz language textbook in which Atambayev features alongside schoolchildren. Kloop.kg, creative commons.
A number of parents of schoolchildren in Kyrgyzstan expressed indignation on social media at the beginning of the school year this year after Atambayev's face and name found its way into a Kyrgyz language textbook for use by fifth graders.
According to Zanoza.kg, the parents were angered mostly by the potential cost to the state budget connected with changing the textbooks for every new president. But Atambayev's political opponents were more worried that the textbook appearance was an indicator of a future cult.
The Insanat publishing house that published the textbook admitted including Atambayev in its product (while not explaing why) and said it could not have done so without the education ministry's permission.
The education ministry, in turn, released a stiff statement that suggested the publishing house had not been open about Atambayev's cameo from the outset:
In signing off on the issue the [ministry] commission discovered the inclusion of a drawing depicting Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, which, according to commission members, was not in the preliminary draft. Since the withdrawal of this page in the textbook would have led to the destruction of the integrity of the book issue as a whole, the commission was forced to approve the issue.
Where the original suggestion to include Atambayev into the textbooks came from is still unknown.
By far Atambayev's best results on the PR-front have come through his music. The 60-year-old president and literature fanatic released this year a series of songs he claims to have written and composed. The thoughtful acoustic numbers with titles like “In Spite of Fate” and “I'm Not Afraid to Die” have been generally well received by the public and are a far cry from the crass, pomp-filled state anthem Forward Only Forward my Dear Turkmenistan reportedly penned by Berdymukhamedov.
Atambayev's fourth song ‘Ridiculous Words’ is below.
But taken as biographical insights the songs add to the general picture of Atambayev as a melancholy and restless leader upon whom political office has weighed particularly heavily, and who critics argue was never up to the task of leading a country that has suffered two revolutions and other political unrest.
On her deathbed at the height of his purges in 1937, Stalin's mother reportedly said she wished her son had continued his religious education and gone on to work as a priest. Atambayev is perhaps another leader that missed his true calling.
While Atambayev has pledged not to hold political office after 2017, there are plenty of signs that he wishes to maintain influence over the country's domestic politics, chiefly through constitutional changes that would empower the present government headed by loyalist Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov and his Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. The changes will be put to a vote December 11.
As the country prepares for the constitutional referendum, there has been plenty of mudslinging, with several opponents of the changes being reported as under investigation by anti-corruption authorities answerable to Atambayev.
With battles in the parliament heating up, one opposition leader has even called for the president to be impeached on the grounds that he is operating above and beyond his constitutional mandate.
Atambayev's friend and political ally Isa Omurkulov, however, launched a staunch defence of the president in which he shocked journalists and social commentators by referring to Atambayev as the “guarantor of the constitution” that he is trying to change, and, more importantly “the father of the people.”
The proximity to the titles acquired by lifelong rulers in other Central Asian countries was not lost on Twitter users, who derided Omurkulov.
Атамбаев не отец нации, он ее бухой далекий родственник.
— Перзидент КР (@kyrgyzpersident) November 23, 2016
Atambayev is not the Father of the Nation, but rather its drunken and distant relative.
Атамбаев – отец нации? ? Да нее.. Максимум – өкүл-ата
— Dan (@jazziko) November 23, 2016
Atambayev, father of the nation? No, he's some kind of surrogate.
As Atambayev enters the final year of his presidency (elections are likely to take place in October or November next year) it is likely there will be more initiatives coming from the government to ensure his page in future educational textbooks is guaranteed.

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


text:
One Way to Interpret Nicaragua’s Presidential Election: A ‘Democracy Without Consensus’ · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Daniel Ortega, president-elect of Nicaragua for a third consecutive term. Image taken from Wikimedia Commons.
President Daniel Ortega‘s victory in the 2016 Nicaraguan elections at the beginning of November came as no great surprise to both onlookers and Nicaraguans. The elections, which have provoked little reaction from citizens, have allowed Ortega a third consecutive term in office in this Central American country.
Daniel Ortega's long career in Nicaraguan politics is primarily rooted in his leadership of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), a leftist political party which has played an important role over the past few decades in Nicaragua. The foundations for the FSLN were laid during the Nicaraguan Revolution and the fall of Atanasio Somoza‘s dictatorial government. This was followed by a long battle to retain power against the Nicaraguan Contras — or the counter-revolution — which were propped up by the United States government.
Ortega's government and its years in power have continually elicited criticism, most notably in reference to the country's democratic process. One of the most controversial aspects of this last election was the nomination of Ortega's wife — now the vice president-elect — as running mate.
On the Latin American news blog Con Distintos Acentos (With Different Accents), researcher Renée Salmerón explores how best to understand the election results, as well as the complexities of the Nicaraguan government and the country's prospects for the coming years. The article interprets the statistics and points to specific data, but more importantly examines the way in which Nicaraguan democracy, for all intents and purposes, does not appear to unite its citizens around a common purpose:
[En] el país continúa vigente lo que refería [el profesor e investigador Andrés] Pérez Baltodano, para quien en el país lo que se vive es una «democracia electoral sin consenso social». El martes pasado, La Prensa recordaba que hace diez años se celebró el último debate entre candidatos a la presidencia. A aquel debate no acudió el recién reelecto presidente, quien además desde el año 2008 no comparece ante la asamblea nacional.
Andrés Pérez Baltodano, a professor and investigator, refers to a prevailing notion in this country whereby there exists an “electoral democracy without social consensus”. Last Tuesday, La Prensa recalled that it has been ten years since the last debate between presidential candidates. The recently re-elected president did not attend this debate and, furthermore, has not appeared before the National Assembly since 2008.
Salmerón also highlights how the political discourse, which draws references from Nicaragua's recent past, is not managing to connect with the population, and is not resulting in greater participation:
La oposición y el gobierno yerran. En el entorno político se ha manifestado cierta tendencia en el discurso de la oposición y algunos analistas sobre la valoración al gobierno. Dicha tendencia tiene que ver con los siguientes factores: El primero, es el que relaciona el contexto político electoral de los 90's con el actual. El segundo, compara al presidente Ortega con el dictador Anastasio Somoza […] El tercero, afirma que existen civiles armados en el norte del país (rebeldes). Y finalmente, un cuarto, es el que asocia la Nica Act (Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act) con la política de Estados Unidos en el contexto de la guerra fría. Todo es una reminiscencia del pasado.
Ese discurso no abona el diálogo, y no ha surtido efectos movilizadores en el comportamiento de los ciudadanos.
The opposition and the government are mistaken. In this political climate, we have seen certain trends within the narrative of the opposition and a few analysts in their assessment of the government. These trends relate to the following factors: firstly, they link the political electoral context of the 1990s with the current one. Secondly, they compare President Ortega to dictator Anastasio Somoza […]. Thirdly, they affirm that there are armed civilians in the north of the country (rebels). Fourthly, and finally, they associate the Nica Act (Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act) with American politics within the context of the Cold War. These all allude to the past.
This discourse does not lead to dialogue, and it has not had a mobilising effect on citizens’ behaviour.
She continues:
Por su parte, el gobierno no ha sabido gobernar para todos, simpatizantes y no simpatizantes. Los ciudadanos incluidos en sus programas sociales, y que integran los gabinetes de poder ciudadano son simpatizantes del FSLN […] en su mayoría. Ello ignora el clivaje histórico sandinismo-antisandinismo […] que existe en el seno de la sociedad y que en la elección se ha manifestado a través de progobierno vs abstención.
As far as the government is concerned, it has not known how to govern across the board, for both supporters and non-supporters. Citizens who benefit from social programmes and who join the Citizen Power Cabinets [local forms of government made generally by volunteer citizens] are mostly supporters of the FSLN. It has overlooked the historical sandinismo-anti-sandinismo schism which prevails at the heart of society, and which became apparent during the elections via the pro-government supporters vs. the abstainers.
One of the areas of analysis pertains to a critical review of the elections. For Salmerón and her associates, there is more involved with building a democracy than merely holding elections. There are many variables, and representation remains limited; furthermore, if deliberation and discussion panels are not involved with the debates, there is the real risk that elections are merely a symbolic event with little real significance:
Empero, no solo los candidatos son responsables por no debatir. Ni los medios, ni las universidades reunieron a los candidatos para discutir sobre sus programas de gobierno. No basta con las elecciones. Como sugirió McConnell (2009: 310) se debe reflexionar hasta qué punto la simple celebración «exitosa y regular» de elecciones es suficiente para consolidar una democracia liberal representativa. Todo parece indicar que no es suficiente. Por qué si desde hace meses se habla de una alta aprobación, y ahora el gobierno gana con una mayoría absoluta, continúa la crítica a un maquillaje de las encuestas o una farsa electoral.
Nonetheless, the responsibility for not participating in the debates does not lie solely with the candidates. Neither the media nor universities have brought the candidates together to discuss government policies. And this is not good enough for elections. As McConnell (2009:310) suggests, we must consider to what extent holding “successful and regular” elections will be useful in forming a representative liberal democracy. Everything appears to point to the fact that this is not enough. If we have been talking about high approval ratings for months, and now the government has won with an absolute majority, why is it that we are still hearing criticism about skewed polling or farcical elections.
Foreign intervention and armed conflict have not disappeared from the news. However, times have changed and today's greatest challenges relate more to internal disputes than external influences. For Salmarón, the challenge continues to be how to unite Nicaragua around a common purpose and how to overcome the limitations brought about by the lack of support from certain strategic allies:
El voto duro del FSLN ya ha tenido lo que ha querido: Este partido gobierna en tiempo de paz. No puede alegar más las ideas del “imperialismo” o “el capitalismo salvaje”. No puede evocarse más a los enemigos. Pero además, esta vez no puede citar a los amigos. Hay que decirlo. Dejémonos de tonterías, se acabaron los beneficios producto de la relación con el expresidente Hugo Chávez. El país no es productivo como potencialmente debiera.
La polarización no ha desaparecido. Hay un sector que tiene su espacio en la sociedad. Ello es innegable. Es un reto para el gobierno reivindicarse, corregir los vicios, decir sí a la transparencia, a la inclusión y al verdadero cambio económico social.
The FSLN's partisan voters have achieved what they wanted: a party that governs in times of peace. It can no longer declare ideas of “imperialism” or “fierce capitalism”. It can no longer talk about its enemies. However what's more, it can no longer list its friends. It needs to be said. Let's stop messing around, the benefits derived from the relationship with ex-President Hugo Chávez have stopped. The country is not as productive as it has the potential to be.
Political polarisation has not disappeared. There is a sector which has its place in society. This is undeniable. The government faces many challenges, such as defending itself, tackling corruption and enabling transparency, inclusion and real socio-economic change.

author: Laura Vidal


text:
Yet Another Report on Extrajudicial Killings Backs Up Jamaican Human Rights Defenders’ Calls for Police Reform · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

An art installation by Camille Chedda showing the faces of young men killed by the police in Jamaica. The piece was exhibited at an event hosted by the lobby group, Jamaicans for Justice, on November 23, 2016. Photo by the author, used with permission.
It's really nothing new. Extrajudicial killings by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force have been a persistent human rights concern over decades, highlighted in numerous local and international reports, including the U.S. State Department's Human Rights Report.
Now, add Amnesty International to that list. At a press conference in Kingston on November 23, 2016, Amnesty International unveiled its latest report on Jamaica: “Waiting in Vain: Unlawful Police Killings and Relatives’ Long Struggle for Justice”. Amnesty's Americas Director, Erika Guevara-Rosas, noted in a press release:
If authorities in Jamaica are serious about tackling the country’s shocking levels of police killings and violence they must urgently promote a deep police and justice reform to address not only the number of police murders but the root causes of the problem.
The report goes beyond the basic, egregious injustice of the deprivation of citizens’ right to life by agents of the state; it also explores what Rodje Malcolm, advocacy manager with the human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), called a “web of human rights abuses” associated with the killings themselves that affect the victims’ families, friends and the wider community. These include various forms of harassment, threats and intimidation — at home, at funerals and wakes, at hospitals and even in court.
Malcolm was speaking at a small, informal evening event with family members and the human rights community following Amnesty International's press conference. The gathering also put on an art exhibition and film screenings to highlight the problem.
Very powerful expression of police killings in Jamaica, wall mounted #SheStands4Justice #Time4JusticeJA pic.twitter.com/KggsPTpMTj
— Minar Pimple (@minarp) November 24, 2016
Malcolm pointed to a “culture of fear” that pervades impoverished neighborhoods and “does not even have a perpetrator”. The culture of “informer fi dead”, which dancehall deejay Buju Banton sang about back in 1991, means that citizens refuse to report crimes or come forward as witnesses, for fear of either criminal gangs or the police — or both. This atmosphere persists, paralyzing communities and making the quest for justice even harder.
One example is the case of Matthew Lee, who was shot dead  by the police along with two other young men in the uptown Kingston area of Arcadia in January 2013. No witnesses have come forward and the case has therefore been stalled.
Shackelia Jackson (left) and Simone Grant at a community meeting following the release of Amnesty International's report on extrajudicial killings in Jamaica. Jackson's brother Nakeia was cooking in his kitchen on Orange Street, Kingston in January 2014, when he was killed by police; Grant's brother, Matthew Lee, and two other young men were shot dead by the police while driving in Arcadia, Kingston, in January 2013. Photo by the author, used with permission.
Shackelia Jackson, the courageous and outspoken sister of cookshop operator Nakeia Jackson, who was shot dead by police in January 2014, said Jamaica's justice system has caused great suffering to families like hers, noting that periods of harassment by the police always coincided with court dates. Her brother's case was dismissed in July of this year; since then, the harassment has stopped. Jackson asked at the meeting, “Who is authorizing all this?” and activist Glenroy Murray shared her forthright statements:
“We have left the future of the country in the hands of men who have no desire for change” – Nakeia's sister. #Time4JusticeJa
— Glenroy Murray (@GlenDivo) November 24, 2016
His colleague, Jaevion Nelson, mused on Twitter:
I am concerned that our courts rely on witnesses so much for certain cases. What's the point of investigations? #Time4JusticeJA
— Jaevion Nelson (@jaevionn) November 24, 2016
One Jamaican expressed support for the victim's family:
.@josefinasalomon @Petchary I sincerely hope someone will be held accountable for this young man's murder. His family continues 2 fight 4 it
— Kerry-Ann Morgan (@patrioticjam) November 23, 2016
While blogger Susan Goffe observed:
The courage demonstrated by families of victims of police violence is remarkable. #Time4JusticeJA
— Susan Goffe (@suezeecue) November 23, 2016
Even members of the Jamaican diaspora expressed anxiety over the issue:
I love Jamaica but this is one of the reasons I am very hesitant to return. #Time4JusticeJA https://t.co/F4XbNPHWtn
— Falcão Roberts (@nfkroberts) November 21, 2016
However, some took a harder line, suggesting that victims of police killings got what they deserved:
They would have u think that all those 2000 men killed in 10 years were Innocent babys?. #Time4JusticeJA
— RealRenk (@RealRenk) November 24, 2016
Nevertheless, there is hope. The establishment of the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), set up in 2010 to look into cases of police abuse, has been credited for greatly reducing the number of police killings, which fell from 258 in 2013 to 129 in 2014 — and dropped even further, to 98 in 2015 — a 16-year low.
However, Jamaica's murder rate has been inching up this year. Broadcast journalist Abka Fitz-Henley tweeted:
UPDATE: latest JCF stats for crimes between Jan 1 & Nov. 19, 2016 shows that murders up by 5.2 percent this year compared to 2015. pic.twitter.com/S6Cp5qFYk4
— Abka Fitz-Henley (@AbkaFitzHenley) November 24, 2016
JFC stands for Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Security and human rights — and the country's snail's pace justice system — are never far from the agenda in Jamaica. The release of the Amnesty report highlights the need for the Jamaican government to begin to seriously tackle the issue of police reform — an issue that was raised in the Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the 2010 incursion by security forces in Tivoli Gardens.
The need for “broad institutional reform” in the police force was also included in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) new Stand-by Arrangement for Jamaica earlier this month. As a step in this direction, Prime Minister Andrew Holness committed himself to a complete overhaul of colonial-era legislation related to the Jamaica Constabulary Force by October 2017.
Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, who met with the Amnesty and Jamaicans for Justice representatives this week, appears to be fully aware of the “justice delayed is justice denied” aspect of the problem, which allows more human rights abuses to take place as cases drag through the courts. This week, the minister declared that documents for court cases must be ready within three months. Whether this is achievable remains to be seen.
On a positive note, there was welcome support for Jamaican families from women elsewhere in the hemisphere. Amnesty's Caribbean campaigner Robin Guittard shared:
More solidarity across the globe: colleagues from #Brazil in solidarity with families of people killed by police in #Jamaica #Time4JusticeJA pic.twitter.com/cudSwokiKL
— Robin Guittard (@Aboboudial) November 24, 2016
While human rights, crime and violence remain thorny issues, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for Jamaica, once good intentions are translated into action.

author: Emma Lewis


text:
‘History Will Absolve Me’: Fidel Castro Dies at 90 · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Fidel Castro meets cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in Havana in 1961. Creative Commons.
The founder of the Cuban Revolution and president of Cuba for almost 50 years, Fidel Castro, died on the night of Friday, November 25, in Havana. He was 90 years old.
After Castro and the guerrilla movement he began forming in 1952 made several  attempts at destabilizing the increasingly repressive Cuban government, “El Comandante” (The Commander), as he was called by many, stormed the presidential palace on New Year's Day in 1959, defeating longtime US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
He ruled Cuba under a one-party system until he stepped away from power in 2008 allowing brother Raul Castro to succeed him as President of the Republic.
In Latin America and beyond, Fidel has held an almost mythical status for leftist revolutionary movements for over half a century. Since his 1959 inaugural speech in which a white dove perched upon his shoulder, parallels between Fidel and religious leaders have inspired believers and historians alike. He has become a figure of legend, arguably as much for those who revere him as for those who reject his legitimacy as a leader.
Billboard in Cuba: “TO FIGHT AGAINST THE IMPOSSIBLE AND WIN.” Photo by Jim Snapper. (CC BY 2.0)
Under Fidel's rule, Cuba became the first country in post-colonial Latin America to refuse economic aid from the United States and unequivocally defy its political agenda in the region. In the 1960s and '70s, Cuba became a leader in universal education and healthcare systems, women's rights, and in providing medical relief in the aftermaths of natural disasters in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Under Fidel's command, Cuba also provided significant military support for anti-colonial and socialist uprisings in countries including Angola, Nicaragua and what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Simultaneous to the radical innovations of the Cuban revolution, the Castro government's endemic state censorship, jailing and persecution of dissidents, anti-LGBT policies and hypercentralized economic model were equally prominent features of his rule.
Castro was also known for his fiery, passionate and very long speeches. In one of his most famous addresses, he challenged his critics: “Condemn me, it does not matter, history will absolve me.”
All this scrapping over Castro is rooted in a conception of history where everyone has to either be a saint or a demon. No one is either.
— William J Richardson (@HoodAcademic) November 26, 2016
Cuba suffered the consequences of a punitive and controversial US-imposed economic embargo from the 1960s, a policy that became a prominent weapon in the political and ideological arsenals of both the US and Cuban governments. For decades, Cuban government and intelligence agencies have routinely thwarted US government efforts to infiltrate or overthrow the Castro government.
After the fall of Soviet Union in 1989 the island entered what was called “The Special Period in Times of Peace,” in which the sudden lack of support from the USSR brought severe economic hardship to the country. Economic reforms of the 1990s generated more opportunity for industries such as tourism to take hold. For some Cubans this represented a breach of the socialist contract of the Revolution; for others, it was a necessary step to preventing the country from going into a complete economic meltdown.
US President Barack Obama and Raúl Castro normalized diplomatic relations in 2014, but the embargo can only be officially ended by the US Congress where the Republican party controls a majority of seats.
The Cuban government has announced nine days of national mourning and a series of tributes.
Revered and despised in perhaps equal measure, what few would contest is Fidel Castro's status as a towering figure in modern world history.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


text:
Refugee-Run Grocery Stores Help Bring Healthy Fare to a Food Desert in the US State of Pennyslvania · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Pradip Upreti, center, stocks shelves in his Erie, Pennsylvania store, UK Supermarket. Credit: Erika Beras
This story by Erika Beras originally appeared on PRI.org on November 24, 2016. It is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Much of Erie, Pennsylvania is a food desert — people don’t have easy access to fresh or nutritious food. But in one stretch of Erie, on and around Parade Street on the city’s east side, stores run by refugees are popping up and making a big difference.
At UK Supermarket, Samantha Dhungel pulls bags of vegetables out of the freezer. In her cart are onions and eggplant, but she pulls out a vegetable she only knows by its Nepali name. It's a leafy green that her Nepalese husband uses in his cooking.
“This helps a lot because you can’t find stuff like this in Walmart or K-Mart or wherever people shop,” she says.
And you can’t find stuff like it in much of the city. Before this store opened two years ago, there were a couple convenience stores and a few fast food spots around. All of them sold food that wasn’t nutritious, says Alex Iorio. She’s the public health educator for the Erie Department of Health. She says this place is different.
“This store has tons of whole-grain rice, whole-grain meals, flours, things like that,” she says, “lots of dry beans and peas, which are high in protein. So all those are considered healthy, and our store owners like carrying items like that because they have a longer shelf life.”
The stretch of parade stretch where UK Supermarket is isn't a food desert anymore. It's one of about 20 grocery stores that have popped up in Erie in the last decade, run by former refugees.
Most of the stores carry fresh foods and whole-grain items. Before, if people in the neighborhood wanted fresh vegetables, cornmeal or nuts, they’d have to drive across town or to the suburbs.
Then two years ago, Pradip Upreti, a Nepalese refugee, opened UK Supermarket.
“I looked in the community and found that there really is a need for Asian-based stores in Erie, which we really don’t have too many,” he says.
He wasn’t trying to solve the food desert problem — none of the store owners were. They just wanted refugees in Erie, who make up 10 percent of the city, to have access to specific foods.
People would drive distances and buy up items like jackfruit and halal pizza. Then they’d resell those items to people in their community. Upreti saw a business opening there.
“I wanted to do more, like a lot of people having to travel to Pittsburgh or Cleveland just to get groceries didn’t sound too good to me,” he said.
Upreti’s store carries mostly South Asian foods. Across the street is an Iraqi owned store that carries lots of spices. Around the corner, another Iraqi store specializes in fish and meats like lamb and goat. And there are well over a dozen more stores like them.
Upreti says he gets customers from everywhere, and the majority of customers are longtime residents of the area.
“Indian and Nepalese are the biggest two ethnic groups, along with African, Arabic Americans and some Vietnamese and some Burmese,” he says.
Iorio from the health department knows this spot because she runs Erie’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative, which helps Pennsylvania cities that have food deserts.
She visits the stores to ensure they have healthy foods on their narrow, packed shelves. If they do, they get rewarded — $100 a year, new shopping carts or vegetable display cases. She doesn’t know where people got their groceries before these stores started popping up.
“There were always some corner stores,” she said. “But we think people are going to buy what they have access to and what they’re used to.”
Having these stores here isn’t a full-on solution. As stocked as they may be with whole-grain rice and vegetables, people still pick up other things. Like Swapna Sibarim, whose shopping cart is full.
And as she pays for her vegetables, rice and yogurt, there are a few other things — like ingredients for some sweet desserts.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


text:
Exit Castro: The Caribbean Says Goodbye to the Force Behind the Cuban Revolution · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A mural of Fidel Castro at Jose Marti Technical High School in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, Jamaica. The school was built by the Cubans in 1977. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission.
Fidel Castro, the revolutionary who presided over Cuba's political, economic and social path for close to 60 years, died aged 90 on November 25, 2016.
Castro was a behemoth in the regional political landscape, commanding respect from and enjoying good relations with Caribbean leaders over decades, perhaps most notably Grenada's Maurice Bishop, whose left-wing government had been close to Cuba.
Trinidadian activist Tillah Willah paid her respects by posting a photograph of the two leaders:
Image of Maurice Bishop and Fidel Castro shared by Facebook user Tillah Willah.
For many social media users across the Caribbean archipelago, Castro was the ultimate maximum leader; a compelling and romantic figure, greatly admired for his stance against the intimidation tactics of the United States (which caused the region to feature quite prominently in the Cold War), his charisma and his electrifying oratory.
In the eyes of much of the region, Castro was also synonymous with standing up against colonialism; Cuba supported the Angolan War of Independence, helped the African National Congress’ struggle against apartheid in South Africa and sent ground troops to battle in the 1983 US-led invasion of Grenada.
The importance of this theme to the territories of the region was not lost on one Jamaican graduate of The University of the West Indies, who tweeted:
One thing Castro (and Manley) got right imo, your country has to be self-sufficient. You must repel neo-colonialism to survive
— Furious Styles (@gunnerbeeks) November 26, 2016
Other reactions to his death soon began to flood social media. Columnist and blogger Gordon Robinson noted:
Self reliance; education; leading from the front&by example, those were the simple qualities that made Fidel such an enduring&successful Ldr
— Gordon Robinson (@TheTerribleTout) November 26, 2016
On Facebook, social activist and University of the West Indies lecturer, Gab Souldeya Hosein, summed up the emotions many were feeling:
I can't lie. History weighing heavy on my heart this morning. I mourning the end of an defining era of fierce collective Caribbean hope. I know the work is in our hands. But right now we've lost the strength in our stride and it feels as if every gain in the region is under threat. There must be commitment, courage and struggle, but first there is loss. My generation of activists stays away from the state instead of seizing it for our national sovereignty. We stay the course, but must risk more to go further and build movements that press our mandate forward. We must create the Bishops and the Fidels of our future. We must make ourselves new symbols of autonomy and self determination. But first, before we rise as giants, this is a time for remembering and tears.
Trinidadian actor Michael Cherrie remembered Castro as the “last of the great revolutionaries…defiant survivor in spite of it all”.
On that note, Jamaican youth representative Godiva Golding admitted:
@CallTyrone_W Fidel isn't blameless. He took hard stances; most of which were right. But it wasn't free. His people paid for that.
— Godiva Golding (@GodivaGolding) November 26, 2016
While some Facebook users wished they could be in Cuba to witness this defining moment, others wondered if his death would change much:
Watching Florida news…
A 24 year old American of Cuban descent says he's been waiting his whole life for Castro's death?
The man was 90 and out of leadership for years.
What impact will his death have on the current global political dynamic?
Time will continue to expose his leadership qualities/demerits.
Jamaican Tanya Stephens shared her perspective:
He was good or bad depending on who you speak to. I fell in love with the romantic portrayal of the Cuban revolution in high school History class. I couldn't express that at home. I later took more details into consideration and lost some of my love for the man while exercising empathy for the many refugees who fled the country to seek more favorable socioeconomic conditions elsewhere. Then I went to Cuba and my love was renewed. There's no human on this planet who gets a perfect score from every other human. What I saw was an education system which works. Healthcare which works. National security which works. We stayed in a rooming house in a ‘ghetto’ in Havana although we could have easily afforded a room in the best hotel, but we wanted to be among the people. I went walking in this ‘ghetto’ after midnight, and the only interactions from locals we attracted were offers to (literally) break bread with us and invitations to come into homes and hang out with them. I dream of a Jamaica close to this. I could also see that it was a synthetic kind of safety born of fear, but I would pick someone being afraid of the repercussions from committing a crime over everyone being afraid of criminals ANY day.
To all the people whose lives he touched negatively, I hope they and their descendants can somehow find the peace he is now incapable of giving them. […]
To all the other Caribbean Government heads, please take a page from his book. One of the good pages. Craft our education and health systems like you ACTUALLY have our interest somewhere in your corrupt hearts. […]
To Fidel, hope you finally find real peace!
Remembering Fidel Castro and speaking about his legacy is no doubt a complicated affair. To much of the English-speaking Caribbean, he was a flawed hero — as one social media user put it, the perfect example of how revolutionaries can morph into the very thing they hate. Castro rose to power in Cuba by challenging the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista; after nearly 60 years of leadership — totalitarianism, some would say — the Cuban diaspora had no trouble calling Castro a dictator himself.
Writing from the United States, Johennys Leiva posted:
Please don't pretend to understand what happened on that island. […]
Castro didn't storm in on one side of the island and with a swooping coup d'etat seat himself at a coronation.
It was gradual.
He appealed to the young, poor and uneducated first. With talk of ‘sharing the wealth’ of how ‘the rich didn't need so much’ of how he would make sure everyone was truly equal’. Countryfolk that didn't read or write fell head first for the hype.
He grew his crowds momentum.
Those that opposed were executed, curbside.
When he finally took over, weapons were all removed. His indoctrination or brainwashing literally divided families. He had quiet watchers to see if anyone had too many ‘guests’ and if they called the authorities, on suspicion alone you we're [sic] thrown in jail. […]
We didn't have another uprising because it wasn't just go in and fight. You didn't know exactly who your enemy was. […] He was heavily guarded, heavily protected and although we hate him for the vile things he did – we respected the tenacity. We knew he didn't care who he killed to stay there. We understood there was no benevolence or weakness to attack.
Independent Caribbean journalist Wesley Gibbings, however, was more measured:
Nobody is my ‘comandante’, whatever my philosophical position on social justice and rights. The caudillismo culture will always remain subject to rejection.
Honouring social and cultural rights does not mean diminishing civil and political rights. It is not a matter of either/or. These things are not binary equations.
Also, not loving someone does not necessarily mean you have to hate them.
In keeping with the culture in the Caribbean, there were some social media users who injected a dash of wit into their commentary. Facebook user Laura Dowrich-Phillips, who was crushed over the deaths of so many international — and regional — icons this year, quipped: “One more month to go 2016, calm yuhself.”
The banter continued, with Justin Phelps adding, “Fidel declares victory and dies of ‘natural causes’.” Other netizens were widely sharing memes and cartoons that summed up Castro's astuteness and longevity:
A cartoon by Mike Peters for the Dayton Daily News, widely shared on Facebook.
Castro meme that uses a photo by Corbis; widely shared on Facebook.
But mostly, it was a time for reflection. Jamaica-based blogger Annie Paul described Castro's passing as if “a mountain has died and words are inadequate to describe the loss, the Fidel-shaped hole in the universe we must live with now”; while Jamaican entrepreneur and publisher Latoya West-Blackwood tweeted:
2016 feels like the end of an era and the beginning of a new and uncertain future. What a time to be alive.
— L.A. West-Blackwood (@garveygirl) November 26, 2016

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
How to Use the Internet to Protect and Pass on Traditions to Malian Youth · Global Voices
Boukary Konaté

Photo of Dogon Masks in Sangha, Mali  by the author Boukary Konaté with permission
The culture of Malian villages holds the key to the wealth in the West African country's national identity: village traditions, tales, griots, proverbs and historical figures. Today, a strategic alliance with new technologies (photos, recordings, films) contributes to the preservation of this wealth as this culture is disappearing quickly amid urbanization and persistent political crises.
This is where the ‘Quand le village se réveille’ (When the Village Wakes Up) project comes in. The Quand le village se réveille project is a grantee of Rising Voices, a project of Global Voices.
A video report by Les Observateurs at France 24 summarizes the birth of project and its goals:
The website is a treasure trove of anecdotes and traditional stories to help better soak up this ancient culture, but the project also explains how information technology is essential in the effort to preserve Mali’s history. One central activity of the project is bringing writings from the project into classrooms to allow young people to learn about social organization during the time of older and bygone generations.
To make the project accessible to all and especially to mobile phone users, the project developed an Android app.
Boukary Konaté, project creator. Photo by the author
Tech Africa's Samir Abdelkrim told Global Voices more about how the project came into being:
Le premier déclic a été le fait qu’à mon arrivée dans les localités dogons, des localités que j’aime beaucoup à cause de son patrimoine, j’ai fait le constat que les jeunes, au lieu de construire leurs maisons sur des collines comme l’ont fait les vieilles personnes, ont commencé à construire sur des terrains plats. Je me suis dit q’un jour, disparaîtront probablement, ces belles architectures culturales avec toutes leurs composantes du passé de cette ethnie qui a su bien conserver le passé des ancêtres jusqu’à nos jours.
L’idée m’est venue en tête suite aux constats des dangers de la disparition des pratiques traditionnelles et culturelles, surtout dans nos villages. Il m’est venu en tête alors de chercher un moyen de sauvegarder et de promouvoir le riche patrimoine culturel de mon pays sinon de l’Afrique, afin de mettre virtuellement en place, une base de données culturelles en faveur des futures générations qui n’auraient pas la chance de les apprendre auprès des vieilles personnes comme l’ont fait nos parents.
Il s’agit d’aller de villages en villages à travers le pays pour faire la photo des objets traditionnels et culturels en disparition, décrire leurs rôles dans la société; interviewer les vieilles personnes sur les pratiques culturelles anciennes et leurs avantages pour le monde d’aujourd’hui, surtout en faveur de la paix et de la cohésion sociale; produire des articles de blog et de vidéos sur des cérémonies traditionnelles et culturelles
The catalyst was the fact that when I arrived in Dogon villages, spaces that I deeply love because of their heritage, I noted that young people, instead of building their houses on hills as the elders did, began to build on the flat land. I said that the day will come when this would disappear: this beautiful cultural architecture with components of the past of this ethnic group that had been able to preserve the ancestors’ past ways to this very day. So, the idea came to mind upon noting the danger of loss of traditional and cultural practices, especially in our villages. It came to mind when looking for a way to safeguard and promote the rich cultural heritage of my country, if not of Africa, by developing virtually a cultural database for future generations who won't have the opportunity to learn from old people as our parents did. The plan is to travel from village to village across the country to photograph disappearing traditional and cultural objects, describe their function in society; interview elders on traditional cultural practices and their benefits to the world today, especially in support of peace and social cohesion; create blog posts and videos on traditional and cultural ceremonies.
There are plenty of examples of noteworthy website content, as this video where we discover how fisherman in the Dogon region of Mali crossed rivers accompanied by donkeys and horses:
Or this traditional ceremonial dance accompanied by a flute:
As WHO EXPLAINS? the flute has a special prominence in Malian culture:
La flûte constitue un instrument traditionnel très populaire en milieu peul. Elle est accompagnée par d'autres instruments musicaux comme les calebasses pour assurer les manifestations culturelles: mariages, baptêmes, cérémonies annuelles…
The flute is a very popular instrument among traditional Fulani people [Fulani people is one of the main ethnic group in Mali with 2.8 million people which makes 17% of the total Malian population]. Along with other musical instruments such as gourds it is a cornerstone of cultural events: weddings, baptisms, annual ceremonies…
The project is a long-term commitment, and one not without obstacles, but the efforts are starting to bare fruits:
Le premier obstacle concerne le déplacement sur le terrain: rais de déplacement, d’hébergement et de restauration des agents sur le terrain à la quête du patrimoine culturel.
Un autre obstacle pouvait se situer au niveau du contact avec les vieilles personnes dans les villages. Vous savez, en matière de transmission de savoirs traditionnels et culturels, les vieilles personnes s’ouvrent difficilement aux jeunes et ils sont surtout beaucoup plus méfiants quand ils ne connaissent pas avec qui ils ont à faire. Nous connaissons ces notions et savons les mettre en pratique auprès des sages pour les rassurer et les mettre en confiance. Cette notion du respect des règles d’obtention du savoir avec les sages a beaucoup facilité le contact avec les détenteurs des traditions africaines.
The first obstacle is field work: travel costs, accommodation and meals for officers doing field work in search of cultural heritage. Another potential obstacle is reaching village elders. You know, when it comes to transmitting traditional and cultural knowledge, elders are slow to opening up to young people and they are that much more suspicious when they do not know who they're dealing with. We know these issues and know how to work around them to reassure elders and build trust. These notions around the rules for obtaining knowledge with elders greatly facilitated contact with the keepers of the African traditions.

author: Boukary Konaté


text:
In Afghanistan, Women’s Rights Still Struggle to Take Root · Global Voices
Rustam Ali Seerat

Girls in Afghanistan. DFID UK Flickr.
This November Afghan women and men on Facebook joined others around the world in posting Facebook profiles as part of a two-week-long United Nations initiative to Unite to End Violence Against Women.
A recent televised debate highlights the scale of that task in a country wracked by foreign invasions and riven by internal differences.
Earlier this month, two female public figures were debating an anti-harassment law which was recently passed by the Afghan parliament at a round table with a deputy of the Kabul clerical council on Aryanna TV.
The cleric shocked many netizens by calling the women “rationally paralyzed” with “defective brains” and backed up his argument with a selective sampling of Islamic religious texts. The two women were reduced to resorting to a cliched defense of women and girls as wives and daughters, seemingly unable to make the simple argument that men and women are of equal worth.
The social media-active cleric's comments about women proved a hot topic on Afghan sections of social media.
Nilofer Tahiri wrote angrily on Facebook:
معاون شورای علمای کابل: زنان ناقص العقل اند.
#نكته: پس تو بد بخت كه از يك #ناقص العقل به دنيا آمدي هيچ #عقل نداري.
Posted by Nilofer Tahiri on Saturday, November 12, 2016
Being delivered into this world by someone brain-defected, the deputy to the Kabul clerical council must himself be without a brain.
Posted by Nilofer Tahiri on Saturday, November 12, 2016
In a 2011 survey by Thomas Reuters Foundation, Afghanistan was identified as the most dangerous place for women to live due to high mortality rates, limited access to doctors and a lack of economic rights.
Women in Afghanistan trail men in part due the absence of intellectual and institutional support for a women's rights movement, even as over a quarter of MPs and the governors of two provinces (Dykundi and Bamiyan) are women.
Some female politicians have gained a reputation for speaking out against social injustice:
سیلی غفاری زن شجاع و دلیر افغان که همیش در جنایت کاران را در برنامه های سیاسی تلویزیون های با حرف هایش مانند مشت اهنین پولادی کوبیده است.
Posted by Sayed Paise Kunari on Saturday, April 25, 2015
(MP )Selay Ghaffari is a courageous Afghan women who always criticizes the criminals with her words in the TV debates.
Posted by Sayed Paise Kunari on Saturday, April 25, 2015
While such political positions should not be easily dismissed on the back of the five-year reign of the staunchly conservative Taliban government wherein women played no role in public life, they still feel somehow symbolic in a country where many still view male superiority as inherent.
Restrictions on women are most pronounced at the semi-urban level. In rural Afghanistan women are equally active in working outside of the house as men are, often toiling unveiled in the field as opposed to their counterparts in provincial towns where the religious establishment and patriarchy are more powerful.
In urbanized regions of the country due to higher rates of education and social security, women enjoy broader opportunities, even as sexual harassment has stayed a persistent problem.
How to change the environment for women's rights in the country?
As education becomes more and more prized in Afghan institutions, it is critical that universities and think tanks as well as progressive elements in government explicitly identify with and support feminism.
Currently there are few publicly visible institutions fighting for women's rights, while notable exceptions such as the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, which partially carries out the role of a court in dealing with domestic violence and other abuses of women, remains isolated in the overall institutional framework.
One way in which women have been able to earn dignity and respect In Afghanistan is by quoting Islamic religious texts, citing passages from the Koran or the work of Muslim scholars, in order to prove that abuses against women are un-Islamic.
But a dialogue on women's rights based on religion alone can only uphold the rights of women so far. There will always be some like the deputy of the Kabul clerical council, who are ready to turn scripture against women again.

author: Rustam Ali Seerat


text:
In the Hands of the Azerbaijan Government, Beloved Novel Becomes Nation-Branding Infomercial · Global Voices
Eurasianet

A promotional photo for the film Ali and Nino. (photo: IFC Films).
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org written by Arzu Geybullayeva. Republished with permission.
The novel Ali and Nino has long been beloved both for its affecting cross-cultural love story and for its rich, complex portrait of the Caucasus. But in a new film adaptation of the book – executive produced by the daughter of Azerbaijan's president – much of that complexity is ironed out into a narrative closely tracking the Azerbaijani government's preferred image of itself.
Ali and Nino, written by the pseudonymous Kurban Said and published in 1937, tells the story of the Azeri Muslim Ali and Georgian Christian Nino, who fall in love in Baku during World War I as the Russian empire is falling apart and Azerbaijan is striving for independence.
In the film adaptation, however, several historical elements of the novel – including the role of Russia, Armenians, and Shia Islam – have been distinctly altered. “Despite the correct chronology, the details were manipulated to reflect government sympathies. And this is why it cannot be described as an objective film,” said Altay Goyushev, a historian and prominent public intellectual in Azerbaijan, in an interview with EurasiaNet.
The film was an international production directed by Asif Kapadia, a Briton who won an Oscar in 2016 for his documentary Amy. Ali is played by Adam Bakri, a Palestinian, and Nino by the Spanish Maria Valverde. The Azerbaijani state involvement was clear, however, even if few of its details have been revealed.
Leyla Aliyeva, daughter of president Ilham Aliyev, was the executive producer of the film, which cost a reported $20 million to make. It premiered at the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center in Baku and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva – also the head of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation – was among the ruling family members who came to watch the premiere. In a speech after the screening, producer Kris Thykier thanked Leyla Aliyeva, without whom, said Thykier, “this film would have never happened.” Thykier also thanked the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for its help in filming and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Azerbaijani officials have been heavily promoting the film on social media, and Azerbaijan's ambassador to the United States Elin Suleymanov spoke at the New York premiere.
The film, accordingly, changed some key parts of the story in ways that better suited Azerbaijan's nation-branding efforts.
Much of the book's dramatic tension provided by is Ali's internal struggle, torn between his love for Azeri tradition and his Muslim warrior roots on the one hand and his love for the European princess Nino on the other.
Early on in the book, for example, Ali’s father gives his son family and marriage advice: “Never forget: you are the master and she lives in your shadow. … If you ever need advice, and she gives it to you, do the exact opposite. That is perhaps the most important thing to know.” Later, Ali takes part in the Shia Muharram festival, which involves self-flagellation; Nino by chance sees him and calls him a “fanatic barbarian.”
These scenes, and anything else with a hint of “barbarism,” were excised from the film.
One of the few times that Azerbaijan is recognized as a Muslim nation in the film is during a scene of political strategizing, when one of the independence activists, Fatali Khan Khoyski, said: “Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could become the first democratic Muslim nation?” Ali agrees, saying they should work to build a “modern, progressive country.” Neither of these lines appears in the book, but both echo Azerbaijan's state branding.
Azerbaijan's relationship with Russia also is treated differently. While the book is critical of the Russian revolution – and as a result was not read in the Soviet Union – Russia is portrayed significantly more negatively in the film. In one early scene, Ali argues that he shouldn't fight for the tsar's army in World War I because “we've grown used to thinking of ourselves as part of Russia, but we're not. They invaded us 100 years ago and took our family's power away. We're an occupied country.” Those lines don't appear in the book. Likewise, the film invents a scene where two of Ali's friends who did join the army are insulted by Russian officers and say that they regret joining.
The book's most significant Armenian character also is portrayed much more one-dimensionally in the film. While he is the villain in both, attempting to kidnap Nino and marry her, in the book he is also an old friend of Ali's and an advocate of cross-cultural ties in the Caucasus. In the film, though, he only insinuates himself into Ali's life in order to steal away Nino, and gratuitously insults Azerbaijan as well: “Nothing comes from the desert.”
The element of the film that has been the greatest source of criticism among Azerbaijan audiences is the way it depicts the Azerbaijani struggle for independence. The movement in which Azerbaijan fought for its independence and where Ali takes up arms was stripped down to a few men roaming around the country, shooting enemies.
The film also exaggerated the role of Khoyski, who became foreign minister after Azerbaijan was declared an independent republic in October 1918. The film incorrectly attributes the famous quote “The flag once raised, will never fall” to Khoyski, which was in reality spoken by Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, the first and the only president of Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan until its collapse in April 1920. The line doesn't actually appear in the book, but the sidelining of Rasulzadeh is consistent with the current government's ambivalence toward him; his political party, Musavat, was the predecessor to one of Azerbaijan's few opposition parties today and Rasulzadeh is considered a hero to many of Azerbaijan's dissidents.
Upon the film's release Suleymanov, now Baku's ambassador to Washington, tweeted a link to a review of Ali and Nino that he wrote in 2000. In that review, Suleymanov worried that if recommended to someone, “the essence of the book will be overlooked behind today’s stereotypes, the convenient notion that cultures clash rather than coexist.”
The warning proved prescient; for international audiences, the transformation of the book into a sort of infomercial for modern Azerbaijan has resulted in a lackluster reception. Variety described the film as “plot and spectacle, delivered via inexplicably unpoetic English-language dialogue, absent all but the faintest traces of the cultural, gender and historical themes that would have rendered it worth watching.” The Los Angeles Times concluded: “There’s zero chemistry or feeling to this sweeping, predictable endeavor, only the scent of what might have been.”

author: Eurasianet