Global Voices » 7 Billion Actions

Bangladesh: Citizen's Voice, A Citizen Watchdog for Public Services

Salman Latif — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:38:59 +0000

As internet connectivity grows in developing nations, technology is coming to play vital roles in shaping the trends of social activism and awareness. Although there is still limited access to internet in countries like Bangladesh, it is very promising to witness projects that are beginning to use ICT to address social issues.

Citizen’s Voice (Nagorikkontho.org) is one such project which has been launched by Population Services and Training Center (PSTC) to empower Bangladeshi public by having their voices heard, especially regarding feedback on public services. The platform supports both Bangla and English language to make it versatile for all the users and all the technology platforms (mobile texting sill do not support Bangla font).

Bangladeshi government agencies have recently defined service deliverables in their Citizens Charter. Documenting feedback about these services is important for their quality to be assessed.

Citizens Voice - www.nagorikkontho.org/

Citizen’s Voice believe that this would help enhance the standard of these services and bridge the common man to the public authorities:

“If common people become aware of what are their inalienable rights stated in the Citizen Charter, they can understand their needs and performance of the public service agencies. Therefore, they can monitor their deserved services and raise their voice to the civil societies and respective public authorities. This monitoring will further improve their civic facilities and augment their living status.”

A stack of bricks in a parking space that shouldn't be there. From Citizen's Voice.

The portal has been built based on Ushahidi platform and it contains different reports which cite the irregularities by government institutions, and has emerged as a watchdog for such irregularities, and media outlets can use it to locate such issues. One example is a report about Panchagah Women’s College. The college was charging students a fee for entrance forms more than double as high as was sanctioned by the government.

After Citizen’s Voice published the report, the media took notice, and college authorities were ordered by the board of education to revise their fees. This is one example of how something as apparently simple as a digital report published on a website can actually be significant enough to make a practical impact on ground. To facilitate access to a common man, reports can be submitted via sms, email or through a web form.

The header on the site lists a number of questions, asking about the availability of common services - such as access to health facilities, free education, and so forth. ‘If not, please send a report,’ it says. Reports can also be submitted in the form of a video, photo or a blog post. One video listed on the website by maaDiyan on YouTube shows a busride on “the busiest highway of Bangladesh” between Dhaka and Bandarban, and how drivers skirt traffic rules to get ahead faster.

We were taking the bus back to Dhaka from Bandarban. I think it was on 10 Sep 2011. I was wondering if there were any changes to how people drive on highways in Bangladesh, after so much was going on about road safety. I got my answer. These drivers are simply crazy. There were enough traffic signs on the road, but I have a suspicion that these bus drivers think those are there for decorative purpose only.

In these ways, Citizens’ Voice offers a democratic space for interaction between service recipients and providers through technology.

Egypt: Your ID, Your Rights Targets Women

Tarek Amr — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:11:17 +0000

According to figures coming from the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, as many as 4 million women in the country do not have national identity cards. A woman without a national ID is not able to own land, she cannot buy or sell assets and she cannot even inherit from her deceased family members.

The lack of IDs also prevent women the access to various of public services, including education, healthcare, the right to vote and other basic social rights. And that's why a new campaign has been launched aiming to provide all women with national ID cards.

The campaign is called “Your ID, Your Rights” and their goal is to issue IDs to 2 million Egyptian women for free. It will start with a pilot for three months.

2 Million IDs to 2 Million Women

According to the campaign's Facebook page [ar]:

المرحلة التجريبية سوف تشمل الـ 3 شهور القادمة (ابتداءا من مارس) و سوف تبدأ في محافظة القليوبية و هي تضم 14 مركز و تهدف أكثر من 40 ألف سيدة لا تملك بطاقة رقم قومي. تم أختيار المراكز التالية فى محافظة القليوبية للمرحلة التجريبية: مركز بنها، مركز قليوب، مركز شبين القناطر ومركز القناطر الخيرية

The pilot will be for three months, starting from March, and it will take place in the Qaliobeya governorate, which has 14 districts, and the target of the pilot period are 40,000 women with no ID cards. The following districts have been chosen in the Qaliobeya for the pilot period: Benha, Qalioub, Shebin El Kanater and El-Kanater El-Khayreya districts.

According to UN report in 2006, 41% of the adult females in Egypt are illiterate. Photo courtesy of Ilene Perlman.

This isn't the first campaign of try to achieve the same goal, however this one is supported by various NGOs, including UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women), UNDP (United Nations Development Program), MSAD (Ministry of State for Administrative Development), SFD (Social Fund for Development), MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and others.

The campaign organisers are also making use of social media to spread awareness about the project. They have launched accounts on Twitter and Facebook to raise awareness about the campaign as well as gender inequality issues in the country.

On Twitter, they announced:

@Million_ID: تم تصنيف مصررقم 120 من بين 128 دولة علي قياس الفجوة بين الجنسين

@Million_ID: Egypt is ranked number 120 among 128 countries when it comes to gender inequality.

Your ID, Your Rights

Finally, they want people to help them raise awareness about the campaign by sharing and retweeting their posts on Facebook and Twitter.

And here's how they frame their appeal to netizens:

@Million_ID: هدفنا اونلاين مش اننا نوصل للنساء في القري و لكن هدفنا هو نشر الوعي للناس من الطبقة المتوسطة و العليا

@Million_ID: The goal of our presence online is not the reach the women in villages, but to raise awareness about the campaign among middle and upper class.

Egypt: Using Twitter for a Healthier Life

Tarek Amr — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:27:42 +0000

Can Twitter be used to save people's lives or improve their health? During the clashes that took place in Tahrir Square in Egypt last month, a Twitter account (@TahrirSupplies) was created to arrange the delivery of medical supplies to the field hospitals set up by volunteers in and around the square, as well as food and other items needed there. Healthy Egypt Tips, on the other hand, was a different initiative by a group of volunteers who started a Twitter account (@HealthyEgypt) in August in order to spread health awareness tips in Egypt.

Here is one of their tips:

@HealthyEgypt: A few miniature servings of coffee at intervals works better than one large mug to keep you alert and focused.

They also reply to people's questions, help peer initiatives, and spread sex education as well where culture makes it embarrassing to ask sexual questions.

Who are you and tell us more about your initiative.

We are a group of volunteers, it started as my wife Iman Ismail and myself Kareem Mossad, then we added a doctor friend who is Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim

It's written in your bio that you are sharing 100% credible and verified information. So we have to ask you: Are you doctors? How do you normally get your medical information, confirm it, and answer people's questions?

My wife and I are health activists and enthusiasts. We are not doctors yet we've been in community service for quite a while. We have one code of conduct as that for any medical information we provide to our followers, is that we need to double check it, by checking more than once source for credible well known health websites, or verify with “Ahmed Ibrahim” who is the third person (doctor) helping in this initiative.

Is the account sponsored by any commercial entity or an NGO's? I've noticed for example that you sometimes refer to brand names. Are you affiliated with them somehow?

We're not officially sponsored by any commercial or NGO yet. However, we've received a couple of proposals, but we weren't ready for that step yet.

How long have you been raising awareness online? Do you have plans to have presence outside Twitter, such as Facebook, blogs, etc?

We started in August, around mid-Ramadan, and the followers response was pretty impressive, we bought “www.healthyegypt.org and www.healthyegypt.net“, and we're currently in the programming phase for our website so we can launch soon.

Also we noticed that you almost only tweet in English? Aren't you planning to tweet in Arabic? Don't you think English will limit your audience inside Egypt somehow?

You're absolutely right, we do tweet in Arabic sometimes but not regularly, and it’s definitely on our plans with the website which will be in both languages so we can attract more visitors to it.

We are also getting positive feedback via Twitter from people who are expressing how much such information is helping them and raising awareness about untouched issues.

This is one way Twitter is being used to spread health awareness in society. If you know of any other health-related projects online, please let us know.

South Asia: Celebrating the 7 Billionth Child

Rezwan — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:12:32 +0000

On the 31 October, 2011, the earth welcomed a newborn child named Oishi. Her birth in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka carried a special message - she is the 7 billionth child of the world.

The Editor.net reports:

The 7 billionth child of the world is here in Dhaka. The lucky parents of the child are Mohsin Hossain and Tonni Hossain. They had hoped for a boy child as their third child. And this 3rd child is the 7 billionth child (symbolic) of the world.

The beautiful girl child was born on 12:01 AM at the early hours in Azimpur Maternity and Child Care Hospital.

It is difficult to identify exactly which child is the 7 billionth one, so a symbolic celebration is happening around the world. UNFPA selected Oishi to carry the honor in Bangladesh.

The website adds:

This birth was celebrated publicly - with cake and candles. The hospital was crowded with people who gathered to catch a glimpse of the child. Sponsored by the 7 billion action program, this program was a publicity event.

Posha Pakhi at group blog Somewhereinblog.net carried the news with a post titled “The 7 billionth child was born in Dhaka“. The post attracted many comments:

Journo opined [bn]:

Welcome the the 7 billionth child from Bangladesh. Hope she will live as an enlightened person.

Mithapur wished the child and questioned the justification of selecting her and mentioned jokingly [bn]:

One question: How did they calculate that she is the 7 billionth

If the line would read -

The world's 7 billion (instead of billionth) children born in Dhaka

It can happen one day, isn't it?

Atiq cannot tell the difference between 7 billion and 7 billion plus one:

I don't understand all the fuss between 7 billion and 7 billion plus one numbers. Why so much discussion on this? Everybody is born with a number everyday.

My prayers for every one of them.

Although the world cheers at Oishi's birth, it did not cheer her parents much. Because Oishi is a girl child. Her parents wanted a boy this time [bn] (the first two are girls).

Sri lankan mother Danushika Perera cuddling her newly born baby. Image by Rohan Karunarathne. Copyright Demotix (31/10/2011)

Not only in Bangladesh, similar celebrations took place in many countries of the world. In Sri Lanka UNFPA celebrated the birth of Muthumani, the girl child of Ishara Madushanka and Danushika Dilani Perera.

Similarly in India Plan International celebrated the birth of Nargis as the 7 billionth child of the world.

LiveIndia.Com reports [Hi]:

In Lucknow, the capital of Uttarpradesh state in India, a baby girl named Nargis was the symbolic seven billionth child to be born during the early ours of Monday. She was named as Nargis.

Although the growing number of world population has been seen as a wake up call for the world, Muthumani, Oishi and Nargis give us the message that the girl-children should not be neglected in the future.

Cuba: Guardians of Urban Green Spaces

Elaine Diaz — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:49:39 +0000

In December 2006 a century-old Ceiba tree was cut down in the San Agustín neighborhood of Havana, the Cuban capital. But this was more than a tree. It was the symbol of the city and of the cultural heritage of this Caribbean nation.

This sad event inspired a group of young Cubans to found El Guardabosques (The Guardian of the Forest or Forest Ranger) in January 2007 with the mission to “contribute to a better management of green spaces.”

El Guardabosques reported the death of the Ceiba tree by email to hundreds of recipients, including government institutions.

“The response was incredible,”says Isbel Díaz, founder of the environmental group, “and it prompted us to perform the first action: edit a digital newsletter.” The group now publishes a free digital newsletter “to denounce anti-ecological depredations in the urban environment.”

Isbel Díaz, founder of El Guardabosques

The members of this project recognize the role of technology and virtual networks in the creation of a community. According to Isbel Díaz, networks allow you to build “your own communication channels to denounce the actions of private or state institutions that violate the law, or that hidden in the lagoons of the law, damage the environment.”

Thus El Guardabosques was born, a non-institutionalized network of people passionate about nature [es]:

A partir de un núcleo inicial de unas cinco personas, todas vecinos de San Agustín, se han ido sumando puntualmente personas y colectivos a este trabajo. Hay quienes han estado solo en la siembra de una postura y nunca más hemos coincidido, y están quienes han participado en casi todo lo que se hace.

From an initial core of five people, all residents of San Augustín, more people and groups have been joining. Some people only participated in the planting of a tree, never to be seen again, and there are others who have participated in almost everything we do.

The most significant aspect of this project is its focus on inclusion and participative democracy. There are no exclusions based on age, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, political affiliation or economic status to participate in El Guardabosques.

For over five years, the distribution of the newsletter on the Internet has been complemented with hundreds of actions such as cleaning rivers, oceans and landfills. In addition, community projects have focused on planting and caring for trees.

Currently, El Guardabosques' newsletter is sent to nearly 1,000 email addresses. Seventy-eight percent belong to residents in Cuba who access the Internet from the internal network, mainly from universities, research institutes, cultural and artistic institutions. The group has also participated in events like the panel “We think Cuba,” which is coordinated by the Hermanos Saiz Association.

Planting of an Anacagüita. Photo: Courtesy of Isbel Díaz

In June 2009, El Guardabosques joined the Red Protagónica Observatorio Crítico [es], a network which includes a dozen projects that work on issues related to childhood, sexual diversity, race, information, cultural promotion, among others. Participants inaugurated their fourth meeting in 2010 by planting an Anacagüita tree in a nursery.

According to the newsletter:

Trabajadoras del centro, encabezadas por su amable directora, niños de la comunidad, miembros de la Red Protagónica Observatorio Crítico, e invitados al evento decidimos colectivamente el mejor sitio para sembrar el arbolito, cavamos el hoyo, y sembramos y regamos la planta.

People who work at the center, led by its friendly director, children in the community, members of Red Protagónica Observatorio Crítico, and guests, collectively decided the best place to plant the little tree. We dug the hole, planted the tree, and watered the plant.

The death of the Ceiba tree in San Agustín has inspired the creation of a wonderful network of people who support each other and believe in environmental causes. El Guardabosque has also expanded its network of environmentalists and has created a space for exchange with other projects.

East Timor: Investing in Creativity and Culture

Janet Gunter — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:44:54 +0000

East Timor is known for its material, musical and dance traditions. Celebration of “culture” was a crucial part of its resistance to Indonesian occupation from 1975 to 1999, and East Timorese independence has seen a number of emergent cultural projects. But something that goes overlooked is a strong culture of craft and “making” with locally available materials.

Enter a new project called “Tatoli ba Kultura“, meaning “Passing on Culture”. The objective of the project, after extensive research and preparation, will be to support the development of a school of creative industries:

The project aims to create an institution to conserve and protect indigenous culture but also to bring creativity to an educational level in order to create innovation.

The coordinator of the project, David Palazón, is an artist who hails from Barcelona, Spain. He says:

Passing on culture

By chance I came here [to East Timor] to have a break with my career, do some volunteering in my field, one thing led to another.

He has been crisscrossing the country with his team researching Timorese material and performance culture, and posting fascinating videos, images and audio on the Tatoli ba Kultura “media map”, which is fast becoming a great reference.

Some of the most compelling videos are of musical instruments which are region-specific. Take for example this video of a musical instrument called Rama from Ataúro Island:

The Timorese context is quite specific, argues Palazón:

Kultura is not quite the same as we understand culture in the western world. For Timorese, culture is all those things that comes from the past, it's a reference point to understanding where they come from. My most common question when I do fieldwork is: Why do you do this like this? And the reply is always the same: ‘Because it is the way our ancestors used to do it, and it has been passed on from generations.' Obviously they have many influences from Indonesia, China, Portugal, etc … which are also rooted in the inside of the culture and are in practice totally embedded.

He says, in relation to innovation:

Traditionally speaking, Timor is still very much a country dependent on subsistence agriculture, the economy outside the capital is very much dependent on the family, their goods, what they can exchange, their family members and their incomes, and how these are distributed among who they choose in relation to their own traditions and beliefs. So in a way it is very conservative - not politically speaking - but because changing things implies a serious risk that many people cannot afford […] Nevertheless inside the traditional system there are people who are more progressive.

Ultimately, Palazón hopes that a school of creative industries would among other things generate employment through the rise of a “creative class”, increase small business development, and boost tourism.

Tatoli ba Kultura has the support of Griffiths University in Queensland, Australia and a number of institutional donors. Palazón paraphrases Griffiths Professor Tony Fry, who says, “Timor has two national resources: oil and culture. Oil will not last forever, on the contrary, culture will last forever.”

Egypt: A Class Project That Became One of Egypt's Biggest Charities

Tarek Amr — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:52:48 +0000

Resala volunteers teach reading to blind students - photo from Resala

It was the year 1999 and Sherif Abdel-Azim was back in Egypt after finishing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering in Canada. He taught Engineering Ethics to students at Cairo University, and he also spoke to students about the differences between charity organizations in Egypt and Canada.

Sherif Abdel-Azim

Abdel-Azim and his students decided to set up an informal charity group called Resala (Mission). They began offering services to students of the university as well as to the general public - such as teaching free courses and offering aid to orphanages and hospitals.

One year later, one of his students suggested they should build an orphanage. One of her relatives donated land for them to build it on. From this moment they decided to register as an official charity organization - also called Resala [ar].

Eleven years later, it's one of the biggest charity organizations in Egypt, with more than 50 branches all over the country, tens of thousands of volunteers, and different activities that vary from blood donation and orphanages, to fighting illiteracy. They help blind people with their studies by recording books for them on cassettes, and they refurbish used clothes and give it the poor.

And much more.

Last May, TEDxCairo invited Sherif Abdel-Azim, the founder of Resala, to give a speech about the organization, stories he witnessed there, and about volunteerism in general [ar].

In 2008, Ashraf Al Shafaki, a blogger who volunteered with Resala, wrote a blog post about their annual initiative to collect used clothes for charity and fundraising:

During the month of Ramadan last year (2007), Resala aimed at collecting 100 thousand pieces of used clothes from people in Egypt through its 7 branches in Cairo and 2 branches in Alexandria. At the end of Ramadan last year, Resala exceeded its goal and actually collected 200 thousand pieces of used clothes!

He then wrote how Resala raised the bar in 2008 by announcing they would collect 300,000 items of clothing. Yet again Resala exceeded their goal and actually collected over 1,000,000 items of used clothing in less than 30 days.

Resala volunteers classified, washed and ironed around half a million (500,000) pieces of donated used clothes. The rest of the one million pieces of donated clothes will be sold with very low prices to needy people in poor districts all over Egypt through small 3-day exhibitions held near their homes. Prices for each piece vary around 50 cents and $1 with a maximum of under $3 for the most expensive used clothes pieces. This practice gives the opportunity for poor families to take their time during the exhibition and select and choose what they want in any quantity they need. It gives them the feeling they are buying the clothes with their own money.

The revenue from the used clothes sales are channelled into the various activities of Resala, along with the donations collected for the cycle to go on and on.

A Resala computer training workshop. Photo by Telecenterpictures on Flickr (CC-BY-NC-SA)

United Kingdom: At Age 77, a Life of Inspiration

Paula Góes — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:01:11 +0000

Julie Kertesz is someone who celebrates her 77 years of age as she celebrates life itself. Retired but very active, Julie defines herself as a storyteller and photographer. She is also a prolific blogger, a videomaker and is just getting started in stand up comedy.

She was born in Transylvania (then part of Hungary, later Romania), moved to France at the age of 30, and has lived in London since July 2008.

According to one of her followers on the photography sharing website, Flickr, Patrick Barry Barr, she is a “role-model to people of all ages who desire to lead full and active lives of learning and doing.” He said (in 2005):

Julie70 exhibits a spirit that belies her age, as we tend to think of people in their 70’s, and I marvel at her enthusiasm, the way in which she relishes meeting strangers and sharing her enthusiasm with them. I will be 67 on 11 May, and when I grow up I want to be just like Julie Kertesz.

Self portrait – Julie Kertesz

Julie loves learning and has never stopped studying – not even when it was forbidden by the communist regime of Romania. While working in Paris, she returned to the classroom as a mother of two, only to leave university at age 43 with a PhD in physics.

As she describes in her life story on her blog, there is life after 70:

We are not giving up!
Each of us does something, either to live better or to rest alive.
Alas, I met also old people who looks as if they did already give up, and even some very young ones.
Lonely, in the metro.
Just look at them in the metro of Paris. How different with the man I met yesterday, working in the market. And so many others of us, living our lifes as full as possible.
Ok, we have a certain age, but we do not feel old inside!

Julie uses Flickr, blogs, and personal storytelling to inspire others. In a comment on her blog entitled “Courage to laugh at yourself” (in French) a reader shows appreciation for her endeavors:

[…] tu sais Julie, tu es Une Sage, je le pense. Tu m'aides souvent dans des moments compliqués, je me dis “attends, l'effet Julie va se produire, ça va aller”.

[…] you know, Julie, I think you are a wise-woman. You often help me in my complicated moments, I tell myself “wait, the Julie effect will materialise, it will be OK”.

Perhaps the source of such wisdom is the readiness to dare to experience something new. In the video below, Julie uses her fourth language to illustrate some of her first-time experiences between the ages of 25 to 70:

It was precisely at the age of 70 that Julie discovered photography. In 2006, she created the !afterclass! group, a masterclass on Flickr where 2,500 people get together to learn photography. She also created the people reading group; the never too old group; and strangers no more:

No more strangers. I met them, I spoke to them. I remember them.

This last group inspires people to approach others and, with every interaction, a beautiful human being is unveiled. Click on the pictures below to discover the delightful stories Julie uncovered through “human Interactions” with strangers.

Mozambique: Uniting Small Farmers for a Better Tomorrow

Janet Gunter — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:30:09 +0000

Our story is from the wild north of Mozambique, a poor country in Africa of roughly 20 million people where 70% of the population are small-scale farmers. Mozambique's post independence history has been a rollercoaster ride of civil war and changing economic models.

Mr. Júlio dos Santos Pêssego, from the province of Niassa, is a survivor. He grew up in a family of small farmers on the banks of a river far from the nearest town, and he describes his childhood as “difficult”. Today, he is one of the principal leaders of the “peasant movement” in Niassa province, working to defend land rights, increase food production and bring prosperity to farming families.

Pêssego, on the far left

A long journey

Pêssego remembers seeing independence in 1975 as a boy in 2nd grade, after having worked for an agricultural company spraying pesticides. In the first years of Mozambican independence, he was forced to abandon his studies and never completed middle school. Later, he says [pt]:

Devido a guerra de resistência, abandonei o meu emprego no ex-complexo agro pecuário e refugie me no distrito de Cuamba onde aparentemente era seguro. Dediquei me na produção de hortícolas para a minha sustentabilidade. Com o fim da guerra, circundei as montanhas para uma zona denominada Mutaco.

Due to the war, I gave up my job in an agricultural and livestock facility and I took refuge in the district of Cuamba where it was apparently safe. I dedicated myself to growing vegetables to sustain myself. With the end of the war, I went around the mountains to a new area called Mutaco.

In Mutaco, he joined an agricultural association in 1999 with the goal of raising goats. Pêssego landed on his feet and prospered, but had the vision to help other farmers rise with him, encouraging people to face great challenges and yearn for more than just to scrape by.

Pêssego with his friend and colleague Alifa Aide (to his right)

With his dedicated team, he has partnered with major international NGOs, administered grants from European donors, and liaised with government officials on behalf of farmers. He learned to drive for his work, criss-crossing the province which is four times the size of England. He says [pt]:

Mas sublinhar que todo este tempo nunca abandonei a produção de alimentos. Principalmente hortícolas.

But I should emphasize that this whole time I never stopped growing food. Principally vegetables.

Building a national movement

The peasant movement formally emerged from state-sponsored cooperatives after the Mozambican government distanced itself from socialism in the late 1980s. It has been challenging to convince farmers that working together can be something empowering when not imposed from above.

The national umbrella organization is called UNAC, the National Union of Peasant Farmers, and is comprised of small self-help groups from the village level up.

Discussing food prices and community issues with active farmers

Pêssego, a physically imposing father of seven and a man of strong conviction, speaks in soft tones and uses aphorisms, folk tales and jokes when he speaks to communities. His name means “peach” in Portuguese.

One of his favorite adages comes from a regional folk tale about a rabbit and a leopard: “If you would like something, you must ask for it.” He takes this to mean that the powerful use cleverness over brute strength to maintain privilege, and that the weak must outwit them to get what they need.

Armenia: Newfound Support for Domestic Violence Victims

Liana Aghajanian — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:35:03 +0000

Domestic violence has long been a taboo subject in Armenian circles. But when 20-year-old mother Zaruhi Petrosyan was brutally beaten to death by her husband and mother-in-law last October, the case mobilized individuals and organizations in confronting this issue which affects over a quarter of women in Armenia.

The awakening gave way to the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women in Armenia, a seven member organization that has been following Petrosyan's case and working to make changes to the criminal code about domestic violence. Along with the Women's Resource Center, Society Without Violence, PINK Armenia, Zangakadun, Women's Rights Center, The Tufenkian Foundation in partnership with the Armenian International Women's Association and USAID the Women's Support Center which now seeks to raise new funds to open a shelter for abused women in Armenia.

We spoke to Tufenkian's Country Director, Mary Matosian in September about the challenges and hopes for the project.

Zaruhi Petrosyan, a young mother who was beaten to death last year by her husband and mother-in-law/Image courtesy of family via News.am

Global Voices (GV): What kind of work has your organization done in the scope of domestic violence in Armenia thus far?

Mary Matosian (MM): We have created posters and fliers and distributed them. This has not been very easy because we would like to put them in store windows, and some have accepted and some have not. We ran our hotline number [on television] and people called us from all over Armenia. We teach positive parenting, many of these women continue to be physically violent to their children, so the children become perpetrators of violence. Many of these women didn't even know this was a problem because this is what they’ve seen in their families and they think this is the norm. Together with British Embassy, we also ran a training program for journalists, speaking to them about what exactly domestic violence is, and how to interview victims of violence.

GV: How do you change attitudes about domestic violence in Armenia?

MM: We need to educate people at all levels, government officials, teachers, doctors. For example we did training with teachers. They were women, and very adamant about not wanting to talk about this subject, and very resistant. Women themselves are not ready to think towards their own good. International organizations play a major role in this, and the diaspora too. Because on a local level as much as we scream and yell, nothing happens. When there's outside pressure they start to react. We have to start changing legislation. Laws are very important for the protection of victims and punishment of abusers.

Armenian diasporans in Los Angeles supported activists in Armenia by organizing a march against domestic violence earlier this year. Image by Liana Aghajanian.

GV: Why is this an important enough issue for those who are not Armenian to care about?

MM: Domestic violence is an international issue. We get grants from organizations that have no presence in Armenia. The solidarity of women around the world to promote women issues and to protect women is something universal, without borders. Through the internet now, we are so connected with each other and we can present experiences to Armenians and mention how are things in Africa and South America and other parts of the world, and where they have dealt with the issues – and that in itself creates a parallel for them to be inspired.

GV: What about critics who will point out that men get abused too. Do you have programs available for male victims of domestic violence?

MM: We have indeed two men in the program who were abused as well. We had one particular family where all members of the family were hitting each other. We cannot address everything – there's all sorts of violence – you need to focus on something, but there are other cases and they should be addressed.

GV: What does the future hold for curbing domestic violence in Armenia?

MM: If we go at this pace, I think the future is very bright. Because if we can continue to be well-organized and continue to have funding and be active the way we are now, more and more information will be spread around. Even though we have had good results in the past few years, we are still in the nascent stages of this struggle. For example, the word ‘feminism' for some reason has bad connotations in Armenia. We still have to explain to people, to women, what women's rights are. Women are not even aware that they have problems. We are still in the very early stages.

Other organizations in the country are also establishing infrastructure for domestic violence victims. In July, the non-profit charity Paros “Lighthouse” opened a new shelter and women's center near Etchmiadzin, where they house expecting mothers and women with children up to 2 years old who have been abused and have no where to go. The center has received three women so far, who come for support for milk, clothing, diapers and therapy. According to founder Seta Ghazarian, it has capacity for up to 16 women.

Malawi: A Growing City and its Pay-to-Cross Footbridges

Steve Sharra — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:41:04 +0000

As the world's population reaches 7 billion at the end of October, one sign that Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, is growing rapidly are the numbers of people that flock to the city's markets. Two of such markets are on opposite sides of the Lilongwe River in this city of just over 1 million. One market sells vegetables and farm produce, the other clothing.

Four years ago, going from one market to the other meant taking a circuitous path along the riverbank, crossing the Lilongwe Bridge, and then walking back on the other side. Today, there are bridges connecting the two markets, but they are not conventional bridges. They have been constructed by hand using locally-sourced wood.

A hand-made bridge connecting two markets across the Lilongwe river. By Steve Sharra (CC-BY)

The bridge pictured on the right was constructed by a team of seven young men, and it now provides them with a livelihood. They take turns manning the bridge, from as early as 6am to as late as 7pm when darkness falls and the markets close.

The proceeds of the day's bridge-crossing go into the pocket of whoever is on shift. From his earnings, Samuel Mbewe told me he had opened a grocery store.

Their constructors collect tolls, currently at K10.00 (US$0.06) per person crossing.

A local solution to joblessness and urbanization

On Sunday October 2, 2011, I found Samuel Mbewe and Kayen Kayanka, standing guard at their bridge. In the three years that they have owned the bridge they have never counted how many people cross the bridge per day. But Samuel told me their earnings range from MK9,000 (US$54) on a slow day, to MK25,000 (US$150) on a good day.

At MK10 person, that's between 900 and 2,500 people crossing the bridge every day. But it's only an estimate, since he says some people pay only K5, while others don't pay anything at all, such as friends and colleagues.

At work on a Lilongwe river bridge, Samuel Mbewe and Kayen Kayanka with friend. By Steve Sharra (CC-BY)

The bridges are not for the lightheaded, or someone with vertigo. First timers take slow steps, while experienced crossers walk as if they were in Air Jordan basketball sneakers.

A Swiss blogger, Janique Racine, wrote in 2007 about being frightened to death upon crossing a swaying bridge. She said:

Of course you don’t want to look down but you have to because your foot might get stuck in the empty spaces!

There are other hazards as well. The Lilongwe River overflows during the rainy season. The bridges get damaged in the floods, but they are rebuilt once the rainy season is over. In January this year a man drowned trying to cross.

In July this year, the young men (there are no women thus far) organized themselves into a “bridges union”. They agreed each bridge should contribute K200 (US$1.20) per day to a shared pool. That translates into MK803,000 (US$4,808) per year. The aim of the union is to support members in times of death or bereavement. I asked about future investment plans with the savings, but they had none, as yet.

Brazil: Creating Opportunities for Life After Jail

João Miguel D. de A. Lima — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:21:30 +0000

In the 1990s Ronaldo Monteiro was convicted for extortion by kidnapping and sentenced to 28 years in prison in Brazil. While serving his time, Monteiro and some fellow inmates were concerned for the wellbeing of their families in their absence. They responded to the situation by setting up a workshop inside the jail where they recycled and sold paper. A portion of the profit went towards improving their equipment, and the rest was shared among their families. That's how project Uma Chance (A Chance) started.

The Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI) began offering short courses on information technology to detainees. Monteiro enrolled and learned fast; he was soon invited to teach as well. The project expanded to other penitentiaries, and family members were also invited to participate.

In this documentary by Mixer Productions, Monteiro explains how he pursued a new path from inside jail and turned his life around (subtitles in English):

Event to celebrate the third year of ‘Growing up with Citizenship' at CISC. Photo by Danny Silva, used with permission.

In 2002, while still incarcerated, Monteiro created the Center of Social and Cultural Integration known as CISC-Uma Chance, which offers courses on IT and recycling to communities of Tribobó, in São Gonçalo, in Greater Rio de Janeiro. They work to make opportunities available to more people, as CISC develops activities in cooking, citizen awareness, healthy lifestyle and preparation for university.

In 2003, Monteiro was granted parole.

New beginnings

In 2006, Monteiro went one step further and created the impressive Incubadora de Empreendimentos para Egressos (IEE) (Incubator of Small Businesses for Ex-Detainees). Aiming for social reintegration of young offenders, detainees and former detainees, the incubator fosters ideas with dynamic lessons on entrepreneurial skills and management. The IEE seeks to break the cycle of repeat-offending by offering a chance to men and women who are often turned down by society.

The project has earned support from Petrobras since 2006, and has partnered with Ashoka, McKinsey & Company and several universities. Because of this work, Monteiro was named an Ashoka fellow.

Ronaldo Monteiro talking to participants of IEE. Photo by Danny Silva, used with permission

As Monteiro says in the documentary above, serious projects “transform lives and make men work” instead of resorting to crime and armed violence. In a TEDx Sudeste [pt] presentation in 2010, Monteiro explained that rehabilitation should involve education, and opportunities and incentive for pursuing dreams.

The penitentiary system in Brazil has been repeatedly been a subject of criticism by human rights groups. A report by Amnesty International in 2010 said detainees “continued to be held in cruel, inhuman or degrading conditions”, often facing overcrowded facilities.

When detainees are released, they carry a heavy stigma, and harsh experiences in jail hardly contribute to rehabilitation. But with the proper incentive and inspiration, detainees may find options of new paths to rebuild their lives.

Worldwide: Dialogue and Peace Through Sport

Claire Ulrich — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:33:15 +0000

Joël Bouzou [fr], a bronze medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games and modern pentathlon World Champion in 1987 from France, is the founder and president of Peace and Sport, a global initiative created in 2007 whose objective is building sustainable peace through sport.

Burundi: Peace & Sport sport center in Gihanga - Image from website Peace and Sport

In countries where Peace and Sport operates, the organization supports local actors and heps them design and implement programs for vulnerable youth, while strengthening existing sports facilities damaged during armed conflicts.

In Burundi, for instance, Peace and Sport is funding the renovation of sports facilities, equipment and training for coaches. Since 2008, 300 out-of-school children in Gihanga, war orphans and children living in the streets nearby, have been receiving training in football, athletics, karate, modern biathlon, judo, volleyball, basketball and tennis. Community events are organized to foster reconciliation, education as well as the promotion of peace.

Pascal, a 16-year old former refugee and would-be football player from the Gihanga Center, is quoted [fr] on Peace and Sport's Burundi page:

Sport clears my mind. When I play football, I expend a lot of energy: suddenly, I no longer think about the death of my relatives, it removes dark thoughts from my mind. It soothes me. In addition, through football, I can communicate better with other children. I am learning how to guide them, not necessarily by giving them orders. I like that.

Peace and Sport worked in Côte d’Ivoire, even during the period of political turmoil and ethnic strife in early 2011, and continues to do so in Bouake, Abidjan (Marcory), Daloa, Man and Yamoussoukro. The organization supports local NGOs and reaches nearly 600 children through social, education and social inclusiveness programs (literacy, health, civic education).

Global Voices spoke to Joël Bouzou about his work.

Global Voices (GV): Joël Bouzou, why did you create Peace and Sport?

Joël Bouzou with Nelson Mandela - Image from Peace & Sport website

Joël Bouzou (JB): I created Peace and Sport in 2007 because, as an Olympic medalist, I am particularly attuned to the power of sport to create unity across political, social, ethnic or religious divides, which are often the core reasons for conflicts on the planet.

GV: In which countries do you operate?

JB: We have supported or coordinated the implementation of programs in seven countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Burundi, Timor Leste, Colombia, Haïti, Israël-Palestine and, more recently, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

GV: To what extent do you think you have contributed to peace?

JB: To me, peace is not just a state of “no war”; peace has to be taught, learned and transmitted. Sport is a recognized educational tool. It is easy to implement, even when infrastructure is lacking. Sport, taught in a structured manner, helps vulnerable children regain a personal balance and to set goals and standards for themselves. They reacquire the wish to improve and to succeed. They rediscover the path to solidarity, tolerance and a sense of solidarity. They learn how to communicate, to overcome their prejudices and to engage in dialogue.

Peace and Sport, whose patron is Prince Albert II of Monaco, has also created Champions for Peace, an initiative that brings together 56 world level athletes. It grants awards to grassroot organizations or sports events, such as Skateistan, a skateboarding teaching initiative for both girls and boys in Afghanistan.

On September 21, on the occasion of World Peace Day, the Peace and Sport youth centers organized a special event, an Open Door day, to promote the values of sport.

China: “Do you have memories from before you were kidnapped?”

Andy Yee — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:01:08 +0000

A girl plays the violin for change at a train station in Beijing. Screenshot from documentary trailer shot in November 2010

If you’ve ever visited a Chinese city, you will see children begging or performing with musical instruments near train stations or on crowded streets for spare change. What you’ve witnessed is the tip of a serious and tough problem in China – the kidnapping and selling of children.

In early 2009, the public security authorities in China have implemented an anti-kidnapping campaign. At the end of 2010, official figures (not necessarily reliable) showed that 9,165 cases of trafficked women and 5,900 cases of trafficked children were uncovered; 9,388 children and 17,746 women were rescued, and 3,573 criminal kidnapping gangs were destroyed.

The true number of kidnapped children is likely to be much higher than the number rescued. According to some estimates, as many as 70,000 children in China are abducted by gangs each year.

What is fuelling this child kidnapping? Thanks to the one-child policy, and Chinese traditions placing huge pressure on families to have sons, stolen children are often sold into new families. On the other hand, kidnapped girls are often sold into areas where there is a surplus of unmarried men. Still many others are sold into street performance, begging or prostitution.

Telling their story

The child kidnapping issue is the theme of an upcoming documentary called “Living with Dead Hearts: The Search for China's Kidnapped Children” by Charles Custer.

Custer is an American strongly interested in China. Currently based in Beijing, he runs the successful blog ChinaGeeks, which offers translation and analysis of the China blogosphere. For his documentary, Custer wants to go beyond statistics and analysis. By focusing on the personal and emotional side of the stories, he wants to attach real faces to these social problems.

At the end of last year, Custer launched a fundraising appeal on Kickstarter to make the documentary. Following generous responses of more than 100 people, the project has successfully raised more than $8,500, and Custer has since then spent much of his free time tracking, interviewing and filming parents and kidnapped children.

This month, the film crew has put together an update together with an early trailer of the film:

Their goal is for viewers abroad to be able to relate to Chinese people as individuals after watching the documentary. They would be able to see, for example, how the parents of kidnapped children feel with questions like, “When did you discover your daughter was missing? Could you tell us more about your daughter’s character and hobbies? What methods have you tried to look for her apart from reporting to the police and the school? How do you plan to keep looking?” Or how kidnapped children feel as adults: “Do you have memories from before you were kidnapped? Do your current “parents” remember from whom you were purchased? And how do they feel about it now?”

If you care about this issue, you can see how Custer is progressing on the documentary at the dedicated website www.livingwithdeadhearts.com, or learn more about kidnapped children in a special section of ChinaGeeks.org. If you wish to show your support, visit the Chinese charities Baby Come Home and Xinxing Aid, which support kidnapped and street children in various ways.

Cuba: A Tireless Defender of Gay Rights

Elaine Diaz — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:18:05 +0000

Francisco Rodríguez Cruz is a Cuban journalist and activist who for over a year has maintained a controversial blog [es] committed to advancing the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Cuba. This is a community that has experienced a difficult history of discrimination on the island.

Paquito, as he is commonly known on the web, does not only address issues of sexual diversity and gay rights in his blog. He has also been writing of his own personal experience, for the past five years, of battling HIV and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

“Those who have the privilege to access Internet from Cuba should aim always at improving something in the country, not only deal with external hostilities. Perhaps then we would develop much faster,” he says.

In a previous interview last year, with Tele Sur, Paquito was asked about his blog and said, “At first, some people said it was impossible for someone with my characteristics to exist in Cuba: HIV-positive, communist, gay, father, journalist.” But Paquito, with all his multiple dimensions and complexity, really does exist.

Here is the video of the Tele Sur interview [es]:

Paquito is a member of Hombres por la diversidad (Men for Diversity), a social network of the state-run program National Centre for Sex Education, but he has also supported civil society and independent associations and the recently founded Rainbow Project, which aims to participate in debate on public policies and raise awareness of institutional homophobia. They advocate changes to Cuban law that eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender.

Francisco Rodríguez, journalist and blogger at "Paquito el de Cuba."

On December 2, 2010, Paquito was received by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, at the ministry's headquarters, along with other representatives of civil society in Cuba [es] who questioned Cuba's support for an amendment to remove reference to sexual orientation from a United Nations resolution condemning summary executions (executions without trial). During this meeting, the foreign minister said there would be no changes in Cuba's policy to oppose any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender.

After this unusual dialogue, Paquito suggested to the authorities in March 2011 that they should support an international UN declaration to eliminate “criminal penalties and other human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” And they did, in June.

Meanwhile, Paquito continued denouncing irregularities committed by Cuban police, who repeatedly fined visitors to a gay spot in central Habana.

Gerardo Arreola, a journalist from La Jornada in Mexico, wrote about his efforts [es]:

Su activismo ha tenido giros tan insólitos como el que lo puso frente a la policía, primero como infractor, luego como demandante y finalmente como interlocutor.

His activism has had twists so unusual, as to make him run in with the police, first as an offender, then as a plaintiff, and finally as an equal.

Paquito is now fighting his latest battle. He has run, literally, after the Cuban Minister of Justice, María Esther Reus, to ask her what happened to the updated draft of the Family Code, a law that would approve, along with a number of important benefits for all Cubans, legal marriage for couples of the same sex. The minister replied that she has until 2013 to submit the law for parliamentary consideration.

Paquito does not give up: “There will always have to be someone to ask the questions that will prevent people from forgetting,” he says.