According to data from the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, it is estimated that the number of Cubans living with HIV is 6,200 and the prevalence rate among adults aged 15-49 is 0.1% Approximately 57% of these cases can be found in the capital city of Havana [es]. However, as Mileyda Menéndez Dávila of Juventud Rebelde [es] notes that this has been changing over the past few years:

Elemento distintivo en la expansión del VIH en Cuba es su distribución geográfica. Diez años atrás la epidemia se concentraba sobre todo en ciudades cabecera, fundamentalmente, además de otros poblados. En el 2006 no se reportaban casos en 41 de los 169 municipios cubanos: hoy todos tienen algún grado de afectación.

Some of this shift can be blamed on some people's belief that infection only happens to others, as well as a lackadaisical view on the seriousness of the disease. Menéndez Dávila adds:

Más bien abundan las disonancias entre el saber y el hacer cotidiano, y aunque se detecten nuevos casos por día, mucha gente prefiere ahogar su conciencia con sonsonetes adormecedores como «Eso no me tocará a mí», «Ya el sida no es tan grave porque los medicamentos alargan el plazo» y hasta «!De algo hay que morirse, ¿no?!».

One blogging activist who is trying to break down these misconceptions about the disease and about infection is Sandra Alvarez. On her blog Negra Cubana Tenía que Ser [es], she often shares news, statistics about HIV/AIDS in Cuba, as well as personal anecdotes. One recent story involves friends of hers, who happen to be HIV positive, and decide to have a baby. Regarding this experience, she writes:

Con ella y él aprendí que los seres humanos somos mucho más que cuerpos biológicos sanos o enfermos, o seres racionales que, en ocasiones, analizamos los hechos con pasmosa frialdad.

She contributes to Bloggers Cuba [es], and earlier this year she shared her experience of getting tested. She describes some of the items asked by her tester:

Y tú, hace cuanto tiempo no te haces la prueba de VIH?

Piénsalo, se puede vivir con el resultado…

Photo of negative test result and used with permission by Sandra Alvarez

LuluzinhaCamp badge: "'Luluzinhas' for the end of violence against women".

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women was yesterday. Following a series of special posts on Global Voices Online to raise awareness and voices around the cause, we'll see in this post some Brazilian bloggers' opinions about women's rights.

Renowned Brazilian blogger Lúcia Freitas [pt] gives her contribution by posting a call for bloggers to support a campaign [pt] against violence in the LuluzinhaCamp [pt], a collective of women bloggers inspired on the Little Lulu comics:

Chamada geral! Entre 25 de novembro e 10 de dezembro estamos convocando para a luta pelo fim da violência contra as mulheres. Vamos fazer posts, twittar, fotografar e lembrar que mulheres são seres humanos e merecem respeito – aliás, todo mundo merece…

"Lulus against violence". Photo by Gabi Butcher©, used under a Creative Commons license

Srta. Bia [pt] hears the call and adds her voice to the LuluzinhaCamp campaign, saying [pt]:

No Brasil uma mulher é agredida a cada 15 segundos. Na maioria das vezes o agressor é o parceiro, um familiar ou uma pessoa próxima. Desde pequenas, meninas sofrem com violência e discriminação. Organizações em defesa dos direitos da mulher lutam para eliminar as brechas e anacronismos nas leis, porém as mudanças precisam reverberar na sociedade, na maneira como a mulher é vista.

She carries on:

É por liberdade que as Irmãs Mirabal lutaram, é por liberdade que lutamos a cada dia. Liberdade de ser a mulher que eu quiser, a mulher politizada ou não, a mulher que tem filhos ou não, a mulher que faz um aborto ou não, a mulher depilada ou não, a mulher que faz sexo com quem quiser ou não, mas acima de tudo a mulher que deve ser respeitada e que de maneira alguma pode sofrer nenhum tipo de violência, seja ela física ou psicológica, apenas por ser mulher. Nada justifica a violência contra ninguém.

"Do your bit". Photo by Gabi Butcher©, used under a Creative Commons license

The violence against woman debate is a hot topic in Brazil. Just recently, a series of events involving a student from Bandeirantes University in the state of São Paulo triggered many blog posts on the society's prejudice against the feminine body. On the occasion, tourism student Geisy Arruda wore a short pink dress to go to a regular classroom. Her story, however, touches on more than a 20-year-old woman’s choice at clothing: she ended up catching the attention of many students, who considered the dress offensive. Hundreds of them started ridiculing and cursing the girl, as well as threatening to assault her that day.

Geisy Arruda was eventually expelled from the University under the argument that her “provocative” behaviour was not compatible with the school's rules, but after the international mass media found the case profitable and Geisy became a celebrity on TV and on the Internet, the university admitted her back as student. So far, the heckling students have not been punished. Denise Arcoverde in Síndrome de Estocolmo [Stockholm Syndrome, pt] mentioned the case in her blog. In one particular occasion, she wrote [pt]:

Nesse outro vídeo, a imagem da moça saindo escoltada pela polícia.  Fiquei tão passada com a história que me deu uma taquicardia, de raiva. Eu já vi muito machismo, muita cretinice, mas nada com essa violência. Foi um estupro emocional, que não deve ficar por isso mesmo.

Como discutimos no Twitter, a faculdade paulista UNIBAN não é culpada pela atitude canalha dos estudantes, mas é responsável por não ter controlado a situação e ainda deixar a menina ser humilhada ao sair, escoltada pela polícia. Se fosse minha filha, processaria e exigiria milhões de indenização por danos morais.

"Those who are free fear not being ridiculous". Photo by Gabi Butcher©, used under a Creative Commons license

The Corpos em Revolta blog [Bodies in Revolt, pt] depicts the different types of violence suffered by women and asks the readers to take part in this struggle:

Acreditando que a idéia de feminilidade e o ideal de beleza são conceitos socialmente construídos e ferramentas de controle, o Coletivo Antissexista Corpos em Revolta mostra seu repúdio, nesse dia Internacional da Eliminação da Violência Contra a Mulher, a todas as formas de misoginia, machismo, sexismo, homofobia, e racismo, que vitimizam e inferiorizam as mulheres.

And they add information about a demonstration scheduled to take place on November 29 to celebrate their struggle:

Não acreditamos em padrões de feminilidade nem aceitamos padrões estéticos! Somos a favor da diversidade de corpos e de personalidades, da subversão dos valores sexistas que controlam nossas relações! Propomos uma sociedade onde não haja distinções de gênero, cor, etnia, sexualidade ou qualquer outra forma de inequidade sustentada pela sociedade de mercado!

Para marcar essa data, o Corpos em Revolta fará um ato simbólico no Parque Redenção no domingo, dia 29 de novembro, às 15 horas. Traga sua revolta e participe!

Finally, we read the following message [pt] on the Instituto Humanitas Unisinos blog:

Mulheres vem sofrendo a violência dos homens presentes em suas vidas (companheiros, pais, irmãos, filhos) há alguns séculos, e cotidianamente, muitas vezes em silêncio e culpadas por acontecer, ou muitas vezes sem saber reconhecer como uma violência e especialmente contra elas, por serem mulheres. Só recentemente e nos últimos anos, a agressividade social e individual contra nós está sendo nomeada e combatida, com o avanço dos movimentos sociais, feministas e de mulheres, muita coisa avançou no sentido de reconhecer como uma forma específica de privação dos direitos ao exercício da cidadania.

Photo Foto por Gabi Butcher©, at Luluzinha Camp, used under a Creative Commons license

The photos that illustrate this piece are from a LuluzinhaCamp meeting in São Paulo on November 22. See the full gallery of positive thinking portraits taken by Gabi Butcher, from DiaPositivo Fotografia [pt] blog. And happy 2010!

Photo of Venezuelan flag in smoke by ··· Mango Verde con Sal ··· and used under a Creative Commons license.

The international and Venezuelan public opinion still wonders if Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's intentions of war are serious, while they explore the real possibilities of Venezuela getting into an armed conflict for which the nation does not seem prepared. Meanwhile, violent incidents along the border raise tensions and puts a veil on a situation, making it difficult for a reconciliation between the two countries anytime soon. However, the most expanded opinion in the blogosphere makes it clear that a war in ths region would be a conflict among people with a very close historical background and a very deep cultural attachment.

Daniel, through his blog Venezuela News and Views quotes a very controversial Venezuelan ex-president and gives his point of view:

… Translating this communique and publishing me puts me on record as someone that will not go to war against Colombia. If Colombia were to attack is a different matter but I would need proof of it since, courtesy to the FARC and even the ELN, Chavez could create a pretext to make it look like Colombia attacked.(…)

In other words, unless proven that indeed the US and Colombia are preparing an invasion to Venezuela, which odds for me are about <0.01% , I am in open refusal and thus a traitor by chavista canon. Not to mention that I am a pacifist, a conscience objector, and cannot justify any war unless overt aggression is clearly proved. And even then I would be unable to hold a gun and shoot, and would be of any use only at some hospital or such service(…)

Gandica, from the blog Enigma Press [es] gives an original idea:

Ahora bien esta es mi posición: Si estalla la guerra entre Venezuela-Colombia invito a la comunidad virtual de blogs de Venezuela a salir con la bandera colombiana. Y a toda la tribu electrónica colombiana a salir con la bandera de Venezuela. Y combatiremos -en esta guerra entre Venezuela y Colombia- a punta de balas de aguardiente y balas de ron en una zona temporal autónoma bajo los explosivos tonos del vallenato y nuestros joropos llaneros. Y después del combate, ebrios de felicidad, nos abrazaremos y reiremos como nunca antes. Que los políticos de Venezuela y Colombia y sus poderosos intereses y los perros de la guerra-Venezuela-Colombia se despedacen entre ellos.

Facebook has also been a tool to express the disapproval on this growing conflict. The group “Paz entre Colombia y Venezuela (Peace between Colombia and Venezuela)” looks for people online to join and discuss.

This is their main objective:

Este grupo no es para discutir si Chavez es bueno o malo o si Uribe hace las cosas bien o no, es solo para que, independientemente de la ideología política de cada uno de los miembros de este grupo nos unamos para RECHAZAR ROTUNDAMENTE UNA POSIBLE GUERRA ENTRE LOS PUEBLOS HERMANOS!.

Photo by Rudy Girón of Antigue Daily Photo and used under a Creative Commons license.

In Guatemala, the Multi-Annual Campaign (extended from 2008 to 2015) of the Regional Chapter, “JOIN together to put an End to Violence against Women” was recently launched, and Radio Feminista is reporting on the event at the collaborative space Fin a la Violencia (End to Violence). In addition, the organization Take Back the Tech is promoting a 16-day blogathon by taking over the blogosphere to discuss topics related to violence against women and ways to prevent it through the use of technology. Anyone can join the network and blog about the subject, from any place, in any language.

Honduras

When a crisis arises across the world, it often leaves women more vulnerable as a target for violence. For example, the blog Género con Clase [es] from Honduras republishes and article written by Tacuazina Morales, who writes that there was an increase of violence and brutality against women just after the coup. This was due in part to the “state of non-protection that victims found themselves and the weakening of the institutions responsible for the protection of the human rights of the women.” According to Feministas en Resistencia, there were approximately 400 cases of violence against women during the demostrations against the coup, including 23 sexual assaults, some of which had the involvement of state security forces.

Guatemala

In neighboring Guatemala, impunity, which is the non-prosecution or punishment of perpetrators, is the most serious consequence of this phenomenon. Up to 97% of the cases of violence against Guatemalan women are not prosecuted according to the blog Género con Clase [es]. Journalist Montserrat Boix features several organizations working on the issue in the country, and also highlights the recent Law Against Femicide passed in 2009 [es].

Guatemalan blogger Ixmucane of Cine Sobre Todo [es] writes about migrant women, who are especially vulnerable to violence:

Unas de las situaciones en las que las mujeres están más indefensas es en la migración, porque están lejos del círculo familiar que las proteje, no conocen las leyes y muchas veces tampoco el idioma. Insisto que cuando hablo de migración, hablo de la migración dentro del país como hacia el extranjero. Y lo peor es que no se quiere defraudar a la familia que se queda, ya que ellos dependen muchas veces económicamente de ellas.

In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of prayer typically said on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces, so Julio Serrano of the blog Fellinada [es] wrote a series of nine articles or “a novena” to unveil the complexities of violence against women. He also asks for the grace to replace violence with words of love: he used as his prayers, nine real stories of different kinds of violence against women and he ends with these thoughts:

Finalmente, no es un golpe bajo hablar del amor en este día, es una postura radical, política, amar es un acto social. Desde mi masculinidad y reivindicando a la mujer en mí, y a la mujer en el otro, y a las mujeres cercanas y lejanas, a mi mamá, a mi novia, a mis amigas, a mis hermanos, a mi papá, a mis amigos, y a aquellas tres hermanas y a lo que representan para nosotros hoy, para ustedes estas palabras llenas de amor”

Photo by Rudy Girón of Antigua Daily Photo and used under a Creative Commons license

Rudy Girón of the blog Antigua Daily Photo made a statement about why we should reject violence as something normal, and why we should take that as a starting point to be part of the solution to solve the problem of violence against women:

I do not want to hear gun shots as normal. I refuse to take violent acts as normal. I do not want to be desensitized towards all the manifestations of violence. I do not want to see naked guns on the streets; at the entrance of banks; with every delivery truck; at shops and every tiendita (store) in the country. I do not want to be part of the problem. I will not yield to words that belittle women or other people. I will not. I want to be part of the solution.

The world has changed again, bringing more complex problems to the forefront to be solved, but because of the internet there are also more voices to join the conversation who add their ideas for solutions. Even the most marginalized in society, poor, indigenous women are fighting for their rights as described by the blog of Guatemala Solidarity so it is time to say no to violence and say yes to a more equal society.

Local pediatricians are using the iPhone to connect with experts in Bangalore for screening and diagnosis of a potentially blinding condition in newly born infants, ROP (retinopathy of prematurity), so they can be treated within 48 hours. Already 1600 infants have been screened and 160 have been treated successfully.

Cut across to North-East India's Tripura Vision Centre project which is effectively utilizing ICTs to reach rural masses with quality eye care services through tele-ophthalmology.

e-Health and more specifically telemedicine, promises to revolutionize rural health care in India soon. It is a welcome development, given the inadequacies of health care in rural areas.

The ambitious aim of India’s first National Health Policy [NHP], framed in 1983, was to achieve the goal of Health for All, by 2000 AD, through the provision of comprehensive primary health care services. Yet, given the country’s vast geographical spread, huge population, inadequate rural infrastructure and paucity of health care personnel, trying to make health care accessible to all has presented seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Consider these daunting statistics:

• Over 72%  (that would be over 620 million) of India’s population lives in its 638,588 villages.
• Government spending on health care is a mere 0.9% of GDP (2006 data) while the WHO recommended figure is around 5%. Of this, very little reaches the rural millions.
• India has about 5.97 physicians and 7.9 nurses per 10,000 population while the global norm is 22.5. Of these, 75% of medical specialists live and work in urban areas. There is a huge shortfall of medical personnel in rural areas.
• The number of hospital beds in rural areas is only about 0.19 per 1000 patients (Urban India=2.2, World average = 3.96, and developed countries =7.2)
• 66% of rural Indians do not have access to critical medicine

In an article in PLos Medicine, Sanjit Bagchi, a medical practitioner and medical journalist based in Calcutta, India, writes:

The poor infrastructure of rural health centers makes it impossible to retain doctors in villages, who feel that they become professionally isolated and outdated if stationed in remote areas.

In addition, poor Indian villagers spend most of their out-of-pocket health expenses on travel to the specialty hospitals in the city and for staying in the city along with their escorts. A recent study conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Opinion found that 89% of rural Indian patients have to travel about 8 km to access basic medical treatment, and the rest have to travel even farther.

Keenly aware of the problem at hand, the GOI, in partnership with both public sector as well as private sector organizations, has been trying to promote and implement telemedicine and e-health projects across various states since 1999.

The basic telemedicine model as described by DIT's K.K.Ghosh in his presentation “Telemedicine: DIT intiative” [ppt] is as follows:

India saw telemedicine in action on a large-scale for the first time in 2001 after the earthquake in Gujarat, when the Ahmadabad-based Online Telemedicine Research Institute established a communication system from Bhuj, one of the worst hit places and hence pretty inaccessible. Soon they had a disaster management system up and running that allowed for the electronic transfer of medical needs, data etc., and enabled medical specialists to provide consultations from far away places through video-conferencing.

Other government and private players in the telemedicine space in India, especially in connection with the semi-urban, rural poor/ isolated communities and tribes can be found in this 2008 report from ehealth-connection.org. They include:

• Department of Information Technology (DIT) & Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), which falls under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. DIT has been carrying out telemedicine pilot projects across various states such as West Bengal, Tripura, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
• ISRO, offering connectivity backbone through satcom applications such as  GRAMSAT
• The Ministry of Health & Family welfare and its National Rural Telemedicine Network working under the wings of the National Rural Health Mission
• Private hospitals such as Apollo (Ex: The Aragonda project)

Sanjit Bagchi points out:

The efficacy of telemedicine has already been shown through the network established by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which has connected 22 super-specialty hospitals with 78 rural and remote hospitals across the country through its geo-stationary satellites. This network has enabled thousands of patients in remote places such as Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep Islands, and tribal areas of the central and northeastern regions of India to gain access to consultations with experts in super-specialty medical institutions. ISRO has also provided connectivity for mobile telemedicine units in villages, particularly in the areas of community health and ophthalmology

In the following video, Mr. Chaturvedi, Director of The National Rural Health Mission in India, speaks about the ‘over-arching' program, launched in 2005.

On why telemedicine is good for India, Dr. K. Ganapathy, President of the Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation had this to say:

The distribution of specialists in India is indeed lopsided. There are more neurologists and neurosurgeons in Chennai, than in all the states of North eastern India put together… The increasing availability of excellent telecommunications, infrastructure and video conferencing equipment will help provide a physician where there was none before.

(…)

This also ensures maximal utilisation of suburban hospitals. The general practitioner in the rural/suburban area often feels that he would loose his patient to the city consultant. With Telemedicine the community doctor continues to primarily treat the patient under a specialist’s umbrella. With modern software/ hardware at either end 90% of the normal interaction can be accomplished through Telemedicine.

The journey of telemedicine in India is however, not without challenges. Sanjit Bagchi writes:

“There are inevitable difficulties associated with the introduction of new systems and technologies,” according to Sathyamurthy (Programme Director, Telemedicine, ISRO). “There are some who needlessly fear that they will lose their jobs. Although the systems are user-friendly, there are others who are affected by the fear of the unknown in handling computers and other equipment. There is a feeling that the initial investment is high and hence financially not viable.” In addition, there may be technical hitches, such as low bandwidth and lack of interoperability standards for software.

Sanjay Prakash Sood of the Centre for Electronics Design & Technology of India mentions some other challenges on the road to e-health such as lack of health infrastructure and services, shortage of computer-savvy health care personnel, and poor quality of communication services in many of the cities.

Toms K. Thomas, Senior Manager at ESAF India in his presentation“ICT & Rural Healthcare: Tele-Clinics in Chhatarpurin Madhya Pradesh (India)” points out that:

There is a need for public sector to be an enabler who invests in infrastructure –Living condition of the poor, Power, Road , Transport -ENABLING ICT TO OPERATE

He also talks about the basic infrastructure required for a model ICT enabled District Public Health System (DPHS)

The Indian government slogan “Health for all by 2000AD” may in the end have been an over-ambitious dream that has fallen by the wayside. It still remains to be seen, whether or not today's promise of health care delivery to India's rural millions via ICT will succeed in transforming tomorrow's reality.

words as violence must break SILENCE

UNIFEM, in the Say No to Violence channel on YouTube has already documented some of the actions being taken around the world to end gender violence. This first video shows the Ngara Girls High School in Nairobi, Kenya, where young girls are being taught to say No to Violence, to stand up for their rights and also how to deal with rape, assault, harassment and other forms of gender violence:

Also in Kenya, the Kenyatta National Hospital has a Gender Violence Recovery Center, where women and their children can go and receive care in cases of violence against them. In this next video, they tell of their experience running the center, the context they are in, and women who have been victims of gender violence speak out:

In Peru, the Flora Tristan organization is having a protest and mass gathering for another aspect they believe is related to gender violence: the denial of free access to birth control methods and the new law that determined that the day after pill (emergency contraception) wouldn't be distributed free of cost. They will be doing an educational campaign in a park in Lima and giving out information about birth control, also handing out day after pills and birth control packets as a symbolic protest:

In the context of all Latin America and the Caribbean, UN-INSTRAW launches this video as part of an awareness campaign :

Latinoamérica y el Caribe es un lugar peligroso para las mujeres. Más de 50 por ciento de las mujeres de la región han sido objetos de agresiones. En la República Dominicana, por ejemplo, 1,453 mujeres fueron asesinadas entre los años 2000 y 2008. En el marco del Día Internacional para la Eliminación de la Violencia Contra la Mujer, UN-INSTRAW lanza un nuevo video sobre la seguridad de las mujeres latinas y caribeñas.

In Spain, women participated in the 5th Self-Defense seminar against gender violence, where they are taught how to protect themselves in case they face a dangerous situation. Training is geared towards enabling them to disable their aggressor momentarily so they can run away from danger.

And from Chile, Hip Hop Artist COFLA has made a song titled Femicide. Whereas hip-hop lyrics are often thought to promote violence against women, this artist has put out a song condemning how men go from promises of love and protection to violence, aggression and even murder:

Have there been similar efforts and activities in your hometown or country? Please let us know in the comments how your community is moving towards ending violence against women!

Photo by Ayahuasca and used under a Creative Commons license.

Esperanza Martinez says on the blog Ecoportal [es], that women told their husbands that if they allowed the companies to work on their lands, they would have to find other women …on different lands. The Kichwas organized a united front against the oil company until it finally had to leave.

This group of Kichwas live in province of Pastaza, on 140 thousand hectares in the Amazon, an area the Ecuadorian Ministry of Mines and Oil identified as Block 23. Several companies attempted to work there throughout the years, but they failed every time due to Kichwa’s opposition to drilling.

Although the decision to resist was made by the entire tribe, women’s participation became a key component. These fearless women will go a long way to preserve the forests and their lands.

Support Women

The blog Observatorio Petrolero Sur [es] publishes what Kichwa leader Franklin Toala said about the role of women during this process:

Uno de los procesos que tuvo Sarayaku, que hay que recalcar, es el magnífico apoyo de las mujeres. La relación que existe entre las mujeres y las comunidades es mucho más fuerte.

Ecuadorian newspaper Diario Universal described a chilling scene involving Kichwa women that took place in 2003,when 15 women and children ran for 4 hours through the jungle yelling “anchuri, (get out) anchuri oil companies,” to meet face to face with the oil company’s workers and armed guards. Confrontations took place and eventually the army intervened. But the Kichwas remained on their lands and kept them free of oil drilling.

Petroleum, Climate Change, and Indigenous women

In Ecuador, several regions have already suffered the terrible environmental and health consequences of oil drilling. In Pichincha in the province of Sucumbios, oil drilling has been taking place for 20 years, the air is polluted and the water contaminated because of oil spills. The people have suffered the loss of domestic animals because of drinking contaminated water and the loss of crops because the contaminated land becomes infertile. They are also affected by several skin and respiratory diseases, birth defects, and miscarriages.

Women are once again the most vulnerable to these negative impacts. In petroleum areas of Ecuador the incidence of cancer is three times more comparing to the national average, especially affecting women. Women are in constant contact with contaminated water by washing clothes and bathing their children in the river.

It is no wonder Kichwa women reject oil drilling. They know it will transform their lands, their lives, and the environment for ever.

The Online Community Reacts to the Kichwa Example

Blogger Efren Calapucha shares his feelings on the Kichwa’s stand on the blog Redamazon [es]:

¡Amigos de la Tierra! En este espacio de la selva amazónica con grandes recursos biodiversos se quiere cercenar LA VIDA lo que NO PERMITEREMOS se establezca tan execrable hecho que afectará al Calentamiento Global extinguiéndose los pueblos, la flora y la fauna hasta hoy fortalecidas y guardadas celosamente

The blog Observatorio Petrolero Sur [es] posts about the remarkable determination of the Kichwas despite the circumstances:

Han pasado dos décadas y hasta el momento la exploración no se concretó, pero la amenaza es permanente. En 20 años pasaron muchas cosas, demandas a nivel nacional e internacional, campañas en un lado y en el otro, y en el territorio la presión fue mucha. Los kichwas sufrieron todo tipo de atropellos, persecuciones e incluso la militarización de Sarayaku; pero siguieron diciendo no.

The Kichwa community has managed to keep their forests safe so far but the struggle is not over. Of course with Kichwa women among them, they have little to fear.

Watch the Video

A Kichwa child stands defiant with the words “I’m a forest protector” painted on his chest. He appears in the video filmed and posted by Oilwatch, which is about the Sarayaku community’s reaction to the attempt of an oil company to carry out oil exploration in their lands. Click here to watch the video in Spanish.

With so many local, regional and international development organizations working with farmers, the possibilities for information and communication technologies (ICTs), are great. Still, the question remains: Can these technologies live up to the hype and actually help raise human development levels?

One point of optimism lies at the heart of Web 2.0 technologies or “the participatory web” according to a 2008 report by Annemarie Matthess and Christian Kreutz for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, called “Participatory Web - New Potentials of ICT in Rural Areas” [PDF]. They write:

The participatory web offers new ways to translate and bridge language domains. Users publish themselves and can engage in a dialogue. One such result is that knowledge becomes more explicit – bridges are built between the local and global knowledge. Worldwide agriculture research cooperation has a long experience in this field and results show how difficult it is to translate global scientific knowledge to the local context.

For all the great potential of ICTs in rural areas, Tanzanian-based journalist Emmanuel Onyangoin in his blog Knowledge Matters warns the challenges facing technologies in rural areas remain high:

Studies shows that, rural farmers do not have direct access to the internet in rural areas pending on a number of factors. The basic ones being the increased computer illiteracy among users and an unreliable infrastructure such as electricity.

Wikis and scientific information

One popular method to increase farmer productivity is through wikis, the often plain-vanilla collaborative websites that provide easy editing features, made popular by sites like Wikipedia.

Wikis are an easy way to exchange ideas over the web, allowing people in different locations to write, edit and disseminate documents on low-bandwidth sites. Wikis can be used with other platforms, such as maps or photographs, not only to collect data but also enabling users to participate in vetting the information.

One such wiki is the Knowledge Sharing Toolkit of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which allows people in laboratories and those working in the field to disseminate a wide-range of information that can be constantly updated, amended and assessed.

The Communication Initiative Network explains that the Knowledge Sharing toolkit has three main pieces:

1. A library of tools, meaning web-based software (e.g., blogs, wikis, instant messengers, podcasting) and offline physical tools that can be used with a variety of methods.
2. A library of methods, meaning group processes that people can use to interact with each other, online or offline (e.g., appreciative inquiry, storytelling, knowledge fairs).
3. A set of perspectives and guidance that can help users choose tools and methods for their needs and contexts. Some examples: How can I organise meetings differently? How can I plan, monitor, and evaluate my activities/projects? How can I improve relationships and collaboration between regional offices and the headquarters?

The Knowledge Sharing Toolkit began as a means to keep up with the explosion in scientific knowledge, which has been facilitated by the expansion of the internet and peoples’ increasing access to information. The libraries are not written for scientists, however. Rather, generalists can update their basic skills so they can better communicate with scientists, funders, partners in the field or immediately leverage new ideas in their communities.

Maps and food security

It’s been argued that one of the major components of food security is getting produce to market. Bad roads and poor transportation infrastructure are often the culprits. To solve some of these issues at the local level is iMMAP, which began using GIS technology more than a decade ago to locate landmines. They’ve moved on to help guide crisis responders in a number of different countries.

From the ICT-KM blog at Cgiar, a new project is explained.

Throughout most of the developing world, there is a real and urgent need for roads data. Road location and attribute information can play a vital role in long term development applications and also help humanitarian agencies with short term emergency and logistical planning. Despite this dire need, though, popular web mapping service applications have not explored the roads less travelled in much of the developing world. No tourists, no maps!

From that blog post, a question and answer session took place with Olivier Cottray, who spoke about gRoads, an Ethiopian-based project mapping roads with GPS-enabled PDA devices and how it will support local farmers.

The rationale of the project in the context of farming is that the better roads data will help agencies and organizations that are supporting farmers to look at accessibility to markets. Location information is also being collected for infrastructure of importance to small holder farmers such as irrigation equipment; water reservoirs; community grain storage or fertilizer warehouses; and agricultural extension offices.

Video and overcoming low literacy

Some practitioners argue that video blogging is one way to overcome a few of the hurdles facing ICT technologies in rural areas. By posting video or audio files, bloggers immediately overcome literacy issues. Also, they can speak directly by using local languages that may not be common on the internet.

Brenda Zulu, in her blog, ICT Journalist, investigates how video blogging works in Ghana with an interview with Prince Deh, the Assistant Country Director of Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS).

Vlogging major challenges were listed as connectivity or access and getting people to share Information and Knowledge and cost of equipment.
From my his own view, Deh said Web 2.0 tools were important and even more important because of the deeper impact the tools would have on marginalized societies, even if these impact are not immediately felt.
He observed that many more rural communities have stories to share with the larger public and voices to amplify and saw Web 2.0 tools as perfect applications to project the voices of the rural poor in the future.

“How do we solve the problem of rural connectivity in order to extend the benefits of Web2.0 tools much wider beyond the scope of the cities?” he asked.
He pointed out that it was important to have knowledge of video editing and innovativeness in order to create story telling videos.

Deh says the images increase the popularity of video blogs because they make them engaging. After filming a video, they can be embedded into a blog, so people can comment on them.

Development groups like them because they are cheap to make and disseminate. One popular video from GINKS explained to farmers (in a local language) how to use their mobile phone to get market information.

Lessons Learned

Throughout much of this Future of ICT for Development series on Global Voices, I have strived to put forth a well rounded debate on the positives and negatives of these technologies. Mostly I have tried to answer whether ICTs can raise human development.

One drawback has been that it is hard for me to find those who are skeptical or cynical regarding the potential of ICTs. I'd like to include these next three comments solely for the purpose of debate. They happen to be a response to a 2007 Web2forDev blog post regarding the participatory web and development. What makes them interesting is that these comments provide healthy skepticism (if not criticism) of ICTs affecting development levels in rural areas. I add these comments not as a critique on the above projects; rather, I think ICTs as tools of development need to be debated in the open.

The commenters pose a few questions: Are the stories presented in these blog posts or series like this the norm or just an aberrations? What role, if any, will ICTs play in raising living standards?

From Pankaj Gupta:

I think a lot is made of how ICTs can help in development and poverty reduction. I live in India, have worked extensively in participatory digital video and sustainability research, and travel a lot to the ‘poorest’ districts of the country (that makes up nearly most of the country!) and can say with the confidence that comes from first hand observation that the poor are far far away from using the web. The examples are merely examples: rare exceptions that voluble techno-freaks amplify, only to mislead a lot of us into thinking that information technologies can do any good to the poor. If probed deeply, any of these examples would not pass the test of affordability or sustainability once the artificial support on which an experiment is flaunted is removed. People caught up in day-to-day survival have no inclination or energy or access to link up with the web and profit from it.

From Andrea:

I have been working extensively in Africa and I quite agree with you. I have seen very few villages with electricity, less with PCs and even less or none with internet connection but I think that this is also one of the thing we should still work on it.
On the other hand I still see a huge potential for web 2.0 in Aid. Web 2.0 has a strong potential for collaborative work and I think that international organisation should start using it as soon as possible.

From Ignatia/Inge de Waard

I agree with both Andrea, Pankaj and [post writer]Holly that only a minority of people are connected in developing areas. But just like Andrea I believe in web2.0 as a strengthening evolution. Because of the participatory strength of web2.0, I believe that even if only a minority will use the participatory web, this will make a huge difference on developing areas. If any change can be done, change must be stimulated by those target people. Only by their knowledge essential changes will take effect.

Photo by Lozbot and used under a Creative Commons license

In Reticente [es], the blog of Juan David Escobar, he writes about that tradition that has been passed down by many generations:

Mis abuelas nos enseñaron que a eso de las 3pm, se debe parar la vida para comer algo caliente con parva, o lo que te encuentres, pero comer “algo”.

More often that not, this “something” is an arepa. On a cold afternoon, Escobar participated in the preparation of arepas of chócolo (soft corn), and which is something also discussed in other Colombian blogs. The Blog de Colombia [es] provides an explanation about the process to prepare the arepa:

La arepa es una de las comidas más típicas en Colombia. Para hacerlas, los ingredientes son muy básicos: harina de diferentes tipos de maíz, agua, aceite y sal. Luego está el relleno, que cada uno puede hacer de lo que quiera, pero la arepa pura es lo importante. Aunque todavía no se pongan de acuerdo sobre qué país es el originario, la arepa colombiana tiene su propia tradición y forma de elaboración.

The arepa of chócolo is made after threshing the corn, as indicated by the blog Recetas de Cocina, Colombia Turística [es]:

Se desgranan los chócolos, y se muelen. Debe quedar una masa suave. Se arman las arepas y se ponen a asar sobre una hoja de plátano, luego se voltean sobre una hoja nueva, hasta que queden bien asados por ambos lados.

The arepa of chócolo is accompanied with cheese [es]:

Si quiere puede hacer dos cosas con el queso: cortarlo en lajitas, cortar la arepa por el borde e introducir el queso en la mitad y asarlas de nuevo por un minuto o rallar el queso y mezclarlo, con la masa, antes de armarlas.

Blogger Carlos Múnera of the blog Somos Iguales [es] affirms:

Qué cosa más rica es ese binomio culinario de la arepa de chócolo* con quesito y mejor cuando se forma aquel triángulo amoroso a la llegada de un espumoso chocolate en leche. Sí señores, ah fríos que nos ha quitado ese trinomio de sabor. Ah tardes que nos han acompañado paralelo a una buena visita parviada*. Cuán sencillos y humanos nos sentimos cuando comemos del fruto de la tierra cocido al calor del fuego.

Photo by Juan David Escobar and used with permission.

Finally, Escobar of the blog El Reticente [es] concludes his post:

Mientras los ordenes económicos y de seguridad se mueven y la ciudad crece y se moderniza, todavía por aquí tenemos las tradiciones más clásicas, a pesar de que de las abuelas ni los huesos quedan.

As they mention on their site:

We want to send you on a five-day, expenses paid trip to the South By Southwest Interactive 2010 festival. Tell us your story and you could be headed to Austin on us. Plus, we're giving away three Flip Mino video cameras and a bunch of sweet T-shirts.

It's simple to enter: just make a video. In 60 seconds or less, make a case for open video. Then upload it anywhere and tell us the URL. You can make any case you like, in any form you like.

It can be in any language, any form, and any topic related to open video issues, to be posted before January 31, 2010. All videos must be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) or other applicable license. For ideas of what to make the video about, they have a page with a list of topics or issues you can check before making or posting the video. Don't forget to check the FAQ as well.
So what is South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive. It is a series of events and conferences which take place in Austin, Texas:

SXSW Interactive features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.

Some of the issues relevant to the contest are Art & Remix Culture and Fair Use; Citizen Journalism, Activism and Human rights; Collaborative video; Commons & Licensing; Device Freedom; Digital Divide; Education and video; Royalty-free Codecs; Media Consolidation; Net Neutrality; Privacy & Censorship and Universal Accessibility.
Some of the videos that have been uploaded already on the site are:

Be smart, support open video from Adi

According to the filmmakers, the experiment showed that the metal detector doors are in fact activated by the banks' security guards. In other words, the security method currently employed by banks is based on their personnel's pre-judgment, often plagued with preconceptions, stereotypes and discrimination against certain types of people. On their blog, Circo Voador [Flying Circus, pt] invites readers to join forces, sending their own videos of as many different banks as possible. They explain the experiment:

Na primeira cena aparecem várias pessoas ao redor da bolsa. Todas elas fizeram o teste com a mesma bolsa, algumas foram barradas outras não. Em nenhum momento alguém alterou o conteúdo dos pertences na bolsa. A escolha da imagem do MC Shackal não se deveu ao fato dele ser negro e sim, por termos nos utilizado de câmeras escondidas e o momento em que o registramos, não sofreu interferências externas, como carros ou pessoas paradas na frente da câmera.

Many people reacted on the Circo Voador blog's comment box. Some of the readers shared similar experiences, such as Dona Biologia [pt], a teacher:

Coloquei chaves, celular, bolsinha de moedas no local indicado e a porta apitava e travava. Por fim, o rapaz chamou um pseudo gerente que atravessou a porta e, dentro do caixa eletrônico da agência, me fez abrir a bolsa de provas e quando não viu nada que justificasse, teve a audácia de dizer que fora a minha bolsinha de lápis. Me arrependo até hoje de não ter processado o banco pelo constrangimento.

Christiano J. Jabur [pt], who was once barred at a metal detector door in São Paulo because of a digital camera, claims that discrimination against people in the same revolving doors happens in banks regardless of the colour of the skin:

Tive que colocá-la numa caixinha para conseguir entrar no banco. Mas uma senhora de idade, também branca, que tentou entrar na agência da Nossa Caixa, na mesma cidade, foi barrada e não conseguiu entrar de jeito nenhum, mesmo chamando a polícia. O gerente do banco ininuou que ela poderia ser criminosa, pois existem muitas pessoas hoje, acima dos 50 e 60 anos de idade, cometendo crimes (o que não deixa de ser verdade). Não vou dizer que não exista preconceito contra negros e pardos nos bancos, por parte de vigilantes e atendentes. Mas dizer que são só os negros que são barrados nas portas giratórias é uma bela de uma mentira.

On the other hand, a security guard called Leandro [pt] explains in the same comment box how the system works, and criticizes the way the video has been interpreted by some:

Sou Vigilante (segurança), e posso afirmar, este sistema é falho, mas este vídeo esta sendo usado para sujar a imagem de profissionais que estão apenas cumprindo ordens… os ‘controles’ podem sim travar e destravar as portas giratórias, mas isso não é valido para todas as agencias, são sistemas diferenciados pra cada agencia ou cada porta giratória… e não temos controle sobre o “Nível de travamento“ de cada porta (isso é de responsabilidade do gerente), que costuma variar de 4 a 7 níveis, por isso vc pode entrar em uma agencia e ficar travado e em outra passar sem problema algum…
Sei que intenção de vc's não é esta, li o que estão propondo e apoio totalmente, mas não esta sendo divulgado desta forma, outros sites e meios de comunicação estão colocando informações “picadas”, pela metade… eu mesmo recebi um Email como Titulo: “Vigilantes racistas?”

The video has gone viral on the blogosphere too. Rafael Cesar [pt] says that whether the doors shut on white or black people is besides the point:

A questão é que sabemos que aquele detector de metais é muito mais uma desculpa para os seguranças fazerem o controle da forma como julgam apropriada do que qualquer outra coisa. O que trava, mesmo, é aquele controlezinho que eles carregam. Comigo é rotineiro, sem qualquer exagero, passar por aquela porra sem metal nenhum na mochila (já deixei até estojo naquela caixinha ao lado por causa de lapiseira) e me travarem. Ou seja: o que volta e meia detectam em mim é um meliante em potencial, porque por várias vezes não havia qualquer metal a ser detectado. Se eu não tinha metal, por que ‘a porta’ travou? E, se eu tenho metal, por que logo em seguida ‘a porta’ destrava?E nessa de o crivo da segurança passar pelos olhos dos seguranças, é claro que o indivíduo negro leva a pior. Assim como leva a pior com a polícia, com emprego etc.

Helio Ventura [pt] takes the opportunity to republish a text written in March 2007 asking if revolving doors detected metal or melanin after a black customer was killed inside the bank in Rio de Janeiro:

Rio de Janeiro, sexta-feira, 22 de dezembro de 2006, 13 horas e 20 minutos. O micro-empresário negro Jonas Eduardo Santos de Souza, 34 anos, estava na fila da agência do banco Itaú da Av. Rio Branco, da qual era cliente há 10 anos, para operações de rotina. Mas ele foi vítima do racismo que persiste em existir em nosso país, apesar de muitas vozes da elite e da intelectualidade negarem. Ele foi morto com um tiro no peito por Natalício de Souza Marins, 29 anos, vigilante da agência.
Ao tentar entrar na agência bancária, Jonas foi parado pela conhecida e constrangedora porta giratória. Ele foi abordado por Natalício e obrigado a pôr na bandeja todos os objetos que possuía. Como a porta continuava travando, Jonas foi obrigado a tirar inclusive o cinto. O gerente foi acionado por Natalício, e só autorizou o acesso do jovem micro-empresário à agência após exigir que Jonas provasse ser cliente da agência, mostrando um cartão do banco. Após o constrangimento, já dentro da agência, Jonas e Natalício continuaram a discutir, até que o vigilante, demonstrando total despreparo para o exercício da função, sacou seu revólver e matou Jonas, que não teve chance de defesa. […]
Assim como também poderíamos estar do outro lado, o de Natalício, também negro, um pai de família que teve suprimidas as oportunidades de acessar uma profissão que pudesse dar melhores condições à sua filha de 5 anos, que se viu obrigado a pleitear apenas funções que exigem menor qualificação, como a de vigilante. Ele também foi atingido pelo racismo estrutural que assola este país. Isso em nada muda o fato dele ter agido equivocadamente: é um homicida e deve receber as sanções legalmente previstas. E ser também negro não atenua o crime. Mas nos faz perguntar: que sistema é este que coloca dois semelhantes em lados opostos, fazendo com que um tire a vida do outro? Até quando fatos como este acontecerão? Percebemos o quão perverso é este “racismo à brasileira”, uma política de extermínio silenciosa, disfarçada de risco social e fatalidade.

Andréia Freitas [pt], who once managed to get undisturbed inside a bank with a kitchen knife she had bought earlier on in the day, says that the sad conclusion is that people only see each others' surfaces:

Por que será que cresceram os assaltos a banco realizados por homens de terno e gravata? Por que será que hoje existe o roubo de carros em estacionamentos e os assaltantes chegam no local pra assaltar de carro importado? Golpes de estelionatários em hotéis de luxo, em lojas de grife, em restaurantes cinco estrelas…

A resposta é óbvia: O mundo é movido por “aparências”! Sim… se você é considerada uma pessoa “bem apessoada” a vida fica mais fácil pra você em todos os aspectos. Agora… se você não está tão “bem vestido”, ou seu cabelo “acordou” num dia ruim, ou seu sapato tá meio surrado, pode apostar que a vida não será bolinho pra você.

O ser humano vê as aparências! Se as portas dos bancos fossem realmente controladas por uma máquina, por um dispositivo eletrônico de segurança, os dois caras do vídeo do YouTube tinham sido barrados! E nada mais justo do que barrar OS DOIS, que portavam objetos de metal.

An online petiton [pt] launched with the experiment demanding that Brazilian banks stop using revolving doors and invest in x-ray systems or safety equipment that shows customers' real belongings has been signed by over 2,000 people so far. Over all, the plea is that everyone is treated with respect by the banks.

On 3 November it was announced that USAID would not be extending the work of the local branch of the International Republican Institute (IRI). Officially, the reason given was that IRI had not submitted an application, but many have since cast doubts on this explanation as one comment on In Mutatione Fortitudo explains.

After an initial covering up by the Embassy (claiming IRI didn’t even submit a proposal to stay) more information came out in the press. It seems the US (more specifically USAID, a branch of the State Department that oversees development projects) is not cutting its budget for democracy programs, rather they are devoting all of them to the National Democratic Institute. It seems it is not a change in US foreign policy, but it has major foreign policy consequences, it seems they are not unhappy with IRI’s work, but they are destroying the very projects they have spent millions on to build.

The blog post itself speaks highly of the IRI's Country Director, Jake Jones.

[…] Jake was for Azerbaijani blogosphere what Columbus was for Americas - something like he was the first discoverer of it. And this discovery happened at those times, when I was almost the sole English-language blogger out there on the ground and was writing under a pseudonym of “a political scientist from Azerbaijan.” I now hear that a lot of foreign organizations in Azerbaijan are thinking of pumping support into blogging, bloggers, et cetera, but it was Jake and IRI who first noticed the potential of new media field in Azerbaijan, and are still careful enough not to overestimate it as other organizations and individuals do.

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines, set up with the encouragement of Jones, also comments on the main force behind the organization's work in Azerbaijan.

About a little over a year ago, I was skyping a friend living and working in Baku. The topic of our discussion that day was finding a name for my blog you are currently reading. It took us a while but at the end, “flying carpets and broken pipelines” was created.

[…]

I have never met a person so interested in the region. He learned the language, traveled the country and gets on well with everyone. When Emin and Adnan were arrested, he was there to support and help in any way he could. […] All of this is only a small portion of what Jake and IRI has done in Azerbaijan, which also involves endless trainings and seminars held all over the country.

[…] IRI presented itself as an institution investing in the country and hoping to have made an impact (among other international institutions working in the country). It would be a loss for Azerbaijan to see IRI leave so please USAID (if anyone there is reading this blog) let them stay and do their job because they are worth it!

There seems to be a general misunderstanding that IRI didn't make any proposals for its next year activities in the country. It is NOT true, IRI DID propose. In fact there are local partners who can SUPPORT and JUSTIFY for this.

Both blog posts also report that a Facebook group, Keep IRI in Azerbaijan!!!, has been set up. At time of writing it has 830 members.

That is how Ursula Rakova described the state of her homeland during a recent panel discussion during Climate Week in New York City. She has been a vocal and tireless activist to raise awareness and attract support to lead the relocation of the residents of the Cataret Islands in Papua New Guinea. These islands are gradually being flooded due to the rising sea levels attributed to climate change, and it is predicted that the islands will be completely submerged by the year 2015.

Higher levels of seawater has destroyed crops and harmed supplies of drinking water. As a result, as seen in this video produced by the United Nations University, the residents on the islands have been going hungry.

As a result, the residents, which are being considered the first climate refugees, must be relocated to the larger Bougainville Island. This complex task is being led by Rakova, who was given this enormous responsibility by the elders and the rest of her community. She has been spanning the globe to raise awareness, but more importantly, raise funds to physically relocate the approximately 120 families.

Some of the relocation has already taken place, but not without difficulties. Journalist Dan Box has been documenting the process and has been in touch with Rakova and other groups on the island, who provide updates on the situation. Box writes on his blog Journey to the Sinking Lands:

The initial evacuation (of five men, who were the fathers of five families) to the mainland has hit understandable troubles: Of the five who formed the first wave of migrants leaving the islands to build new homes on the mainland, three have returned to the islands. Apparently, they were finding it too hard living in a new place and being apart from their families. Three men have been chosen to replace them and are expected to make the journey soon. The gardens that have been planted by the original five men, however, have begun to bear fruit and veg and with this food available, the remaining two men can send for their families to join them.

In this video, Rakova describes why this campaign is necessary:

I want to make sure that my people have a future life for the generations to come. I would say to people that believe climate change is not happening, if you have the heart to feel that you are flesh and blood? To you it is a choice of lifestyle. For us, who are already suffering the impact of climate change and rising sea levels, it is a choice of life and death, because if we do not move, we are going to be drowned. And we are already losing our homelands. I think you do not need to question whether this is climate change or not. You should be able to put yourself in our shoes, and maybe travel to our islands; we invite you to travel to our islands and see it for yourself.

(…)

if they do not come up with a good solution in the Copenhagen meeting, my people will drown. Islands in the Pacific and elsewhere in the world will disappear, within the next twenty years. We will all lose our homeland, and this is my fear, that we are going to lose our ancestral homes and this is human rights, it is abusing our right to live in our ancestral homeland.

The money needed to evacuate the residents has not been coming in as had been hoped writes Rakova in an email to Box. These funds are important to help purchase land and to build homes for the residents. She will continue her campaign, when she will participate in activities during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7-18.

[Thumbnail by Oxfam International]