Global Voices » Youth

Morocco: Busted for Posting Caricatures of the King on Facebook

Hisham Almiraat — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:23:23 +0000

On February 7, 2012, Walid Bahomane appeared before a court in the Moroccan capital Rabat. The 18-year-old is accused of “defaming Morocco's sacred values” by posting pictures and videos on Facebook mocking king Mohammed VI of Morocco.

This isn't the first time a Moroccan Internet user has faced such charges. In 2008, Fouad Mourtada, a young engineer, was sentenced to three years in prison for impersonating the king’s brother on Facebook. An international outcry and a campaign of support forced the authorities to release Mr Mourtada a month after his arrest.

Walid Bahomane's arrest is the first since a constitutional reform last summer (theoretically) revoked the “sacred” character of the monarch. The king is still, however, the focus of a great deal of devotion in the country.

A copy of the police report filed against Mr Bahomane emerged on the Internet, revealing a first: according to the document, items seized by the police are “two Facebook pages (sic) containing phrases and images insulting the sacred values, and an IBM computer.”

Copy of the police report filed against Mr. Walid Bahomane as posted on Facebook.

Despite calls for his release the judge decided to send Walid to a juvenile detention facility near the capital pending his trial. A group of netizens have reacted to the arrest of Mr Bahomane by creating a support group on Facebook called “Mohammed VI, my freedom is more sacred than you!”, where members are invited to publish and share cartoons of the king.

Cartoon representing King Mohammed VI posted on Facebook

The group's preamble reads [ar]:

هذه مجموعة تضامنية مع الشاب وليد بحمان، 18 سنة، معتقل بسجن الأحداث بسلا بتهمة إهانة قداسة محمد السادس على الفيسبوك. فلنثبت لمحمد السادس أن حريتنا أقدس منه

This is a solidarity group with the young Walid Bahoman, aged 18, detained in the juvenile detention facility of Salé for insulting His Majesty Mohammed VI on Facebook. Let us prove to Mohammed VI that our freedom is more sacred than him.

Zineb El Ghazoui, a co-creator of the group, writes on her blog [fr]:

[cette arrestation bat] en brèche la propagande de l'Etat marocain autour du changement et des prétendues avancées démocratiques.

This arrest flies in the face of the propaganda put out by the Moroccan state around the idea of change and the alleged democratic advances.

On Twitter, some are timidly following suit. Musique Arabe tweets [fr]:

@MusiqueArabe Opération soutien à Walid Bahomane - publions tous sur nos profils la caricature de notre choix.

@MusiqueArabe Operation support Walid Bahomane - publish a (king's) cartoon of you choice on your profile.

Despite the recent constitutional reforms in Morocco the regime does not seem prepared to tolerate any violation of its red lines. In July 2011, a few days after the adoption of the new constitution, a French newspaper, Le Courrier International, was censored [fr] in Morocco because it contained an irreverent caricature of the king.

The independent press has often suffered the wrath of the regime when it dared tackle the sensitive subject of the monarchy. So much so that the Internet seems today the last frontier where most Moroccans can still exercise their right to free expression.

Something Moroccan netizens seem to be fully aware of, inspired by the Arab spring, they seem determined to close ranks and show solidarity with Mr Bahomane.

As a result, exercising censorship will be even more difficult for the regime.

Trinidad & Tobago: Children's Rights

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:23:27 +0000

West Indian Mother thinks that “it's high time we start acting in defense of our children and treat them with the respect that is the right of every human being. ”

Cuba: Young Activist

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:10:01 +0000

Pedazos de la Isla blogs about a sixteen-year-old dissident who “calls on ‘all Cuban students' to join the resistance to end with the Castro dictatorship.”

Indonesia: Reform of Juvenile Justice System

Mong Palatino — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:11:26 +0000

Leopold Sudaryono writes about the proposed reforms to Indonesia's juvenile justice system after numerous cases of children arrested and prosecuted of petty crimes were reported in the media

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Caring Diaspora

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:46:43 +0000

“Sometimes I have scant respect for Vincentians in the diaspora. They appear to be extremely critical of everything Vincentian, know what's best for us but provide little beyond chatter”: Abeni has found a notable exception to the rule.

Trinidad & Tobago: Principal Charged with Child Cruelty

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:39:38 +0000

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog reports that the school principal accused of “placing the head of two students in a toilet bowl at her school and flushing it” has been charged; Plain Talk comments on “the depravity required” to commit such an act: “Flush it to make a point, to send a message, humble and humiliate at one time, and bring everything and everyone back into the order according to brute force…how can this little country take much more?”

Venezuela: Photos of Armed Children Spark Controversy Online

Marianna Breytman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:02:11 +0000

Venezuelan social networks exploded with reactions after photos of a group of children posing with rifles [es] in one of Caracas' most representative neighborhoods, Barrio 23 de Enero, went viral. The photos, taken and posted by the “La Piedrita” collective on their Facebook page [es], spread rapidly and generated a multitude of opinions, mainly ones of rejection.

Image via Eduardo Ponte @acaballoregalao on yfrog

In his post “En Venezuela Intentamos Construir Paz” (In Venezuela, We Try To Build Peace) [es], Luis Carlos Díaz shares other links that help contextualize the story and adds:

Un grupo de niños de una parroquia caraqueña fue usado para un acto político, portando armas de guerra y violando más de una ley bajo la mirada complaciente de autoridades y cuerpos de seguridad. Más allá de la obvia desviación ideológica-religiosa en las paredes, se cometieron hechos punibles con un grupo de niños. El Gobierno hoy manifestó su rechazo, pero es una medida estética en tanto permita su impunidad.

A group of children from a parish church in Caracas was used for a political act, carrying weapons of war [es] and violating more than one law under the obliging glance of authorities and security officials [es]. Well beyond the obvious ideological-religious deviation on the walls, they committed punishable acts with a group of children. The government demonstrated its contempt today [es], but this remains an aesthetic measure so long as it permits their impunity.

Meanwhile, Ludmila Vinogradoff comments on her post “Los Niños de la Revolución” (Children of the Revolution) [es]:

En la parroquia caraqueña donde fueron fotografiados los niños existen varios grupos radicales que dicen defender al gobierno de Chávez, amenazando con tomar las armas en caso de que el mandatario salga del poder. La pregunta que se hacen todos es; ¿quién financia a los grupos radicales y les suministra las armas de guerra?.

Various radical groups exist in the Caracas parish where the children were photographed that defend Chávez's government, threatening to take up arms in case the leader leaves his position of power. The question everyone is asking is, who is financing these radical groups and supplying them with weapons of war?

Days later, the collective filmed a video in which they sustained that their activities did not look to train children to use weapons. Nevertheless, other YouTube users highlighted the fact that one of the members passed by with a weapon hidden in the back of the shot, as well as the presence of the video's spokeswoman in the photos in question.

The photos were also a point of discussion in the media and a start-off point for a march organized by the same collective, La Piedrita, through which they demanded respect for the children in the photographs. According to posters that the collective shows in the images shared [es] on their Twitter account, “…the only thing that the children carried was the Constitution.”

Similarly, they responded to the media saying the children were not carrying real weapons and that it was all part of a “theatrical play.” Reactions on Twitter discredited the statement.

Ytzel Pérez (@ytzelpérez) [es] was one of the users who criticized the collective's arguments, and Eduardo Ponte (@acaballoregalao) [es] posted his thoughts under the hashtag #insólito [es]:

@ytzelpérez: Buenos días a todo mi TL, sorprendida ahora según y q los Niños d la Piedrita estaban haciendo una “obra d Teatro” eso no se los cree nadie!

@ytzelpérez: Good morning to all of my TL, surprised now that, according to la Piedtrita, the children were putting on a “play.” No one believes that!

@acaballoregalao: INSÓLITO: La Piedrita asegura que los fusiles M-16 eran de plástico y que los niños hacian una obra de teatro #FAIL

@acaballoregalao: OUTRAGEOUS: La Piedrita assures everyone that the M-16 rifles were plastic and that the children were putting on a play. #FAIL

Ministerial representatives and personalities, as well as members of civil and non-governmental organizations communicated their rejection of children's incitement in armed conflicts. However, it is unlikely that this debate will end soon.

For many, these images have been used to manipulate public opinion against the government. For others, the images represent a warning in terms of the resources and the limits of pro-Chávez groups which the government could use alternatively from the Armed Forces. The fate of those responsible from the La Piedrita collective before the authorities of the Presidential Commission for the Control of Arms, Ammunition, and Disarmament [es] is yet to be seen.

Bahamas: Same Old Election Game

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:06:17 +0000

Blogworld “regard[s] the incoherencies that pass for election rhetoric with a sense of disgust” and explains why.

Iran: Police controls a Facebook group, arrests its administrators

Hadi Nili — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:24:23 +0000

A Facebook group called “Daaf and Paaf” (means hot persons) fell under control of Iran's cyber police. Iran's cyber police announced [fa] on the group's Facebook's wall that “the administrators of this group have confessed to promoting banality”. This group had an online competition for choosing hot Iranian men and women.

Trinidad & Tobago: Abuse of Trust

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:44:04 +0000

The TnT River says of an incident in which a teacher allegedly stuck a student's head in a toilet bowl: “This is another case of child abuse which comes in a different form and from an institution entrusted with the education and all-round development of this child.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Child Abuse

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:37:35 +0000

Guanaguanare hopes that the story of Josiah Governor, the child who was beaten to death, will “motivate us to be more humane in the way we treat our children”, while TnT River blogs about Everton Vasquez, a minor who “hanged himself after receiving a beating from his grandmother.”

Philippines: Blogger House Project

Mong Palatino — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:43:23 +0000

Baratillo Pamphlet writes about the Bloggers for Habitat YouthBuild Philippines project which aims to gather 2,000 youth that will help rebuild the lives of families whose homes were totally damaged by a typhoon.

Video Highlights: Music, Indigenous Initiatives, Indignation and Wonder

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:44:07 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

Music and Indigenous Initiatives

Latin America

Brazil: Cultural Debate as ‘Oh if I Catch You' Song Goes Global

Music has spurred an ongoing debate in Brazil, as netizens realize they have a new cultural ambassador which they may not have chosen themselves. In this case, it is Michel Teló's song ‘Ai se eu te pego‘ which not only became the rhythm played over and over during the end of the year festivities, but has also crossed borders, even getting its own versions in English, Polish and Dutch.

Peru: Cápac Raymi, The Andean Christmas

In Peru, the Incan culture is still alive in most of the Andean region, and Christmas is a time when they have united their pre-Columbian traditions with the later Christian festivities. The festival of Capac Raymi takes place in December coinciding with the Winter Solstice and honors the Sun. Although the holiday is no longer observed as it was during the reign of the Incas, it has transformed into an Andean Christmas, where Christmas choirs sing in Quechua with Andean musical instruments and dances:

Another strong cultural group in Peru is the Afro-Peruvian community and they have also left their mark in how Peruvians celebrate Christmas:

Peru: Afro-Peruvian Christmas Music

The song “Black Christmas” by Cesar Calvo is a lament, where they sing to Baby Jesus who was born in a manger, but with a slight difference, he is black as the people surrounding him:

Washed by the night
Just like you and me
Born among blacks
the Baby Jesus.

Don't come down, Baby,
from your altar,
lest the master
has you whipped.

Venezuela: The Essence of African Music in Videos

African heritage in Venezuela has also strongly influenced the music, and online video is being used to spread the knowledge of the African Diaspora and Afro-Venezuelan Caribbean culture.

From Canada comes a video journalist with a project: To visit one country per week and to record the stories of under-reported minorities.

Video: One Year, One World and 52 Different Stories

So far she is still raising funds for this one year journey where she would be recording, editing and producing short documentaries from the road. A short video of her visit with the Embera indigenous communities in Panama gives us a promising look into the type of content she'd be delivering once her project takes off:

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Check out the list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues that Indigenous Cry shared.

Indignation

In Guatemala, indignation has overwhelmed citizens after investigative journalism uncovered that the President of the Chamber of Agriculture of that country had children under 14 years of age working in his sugar cane fields. Cane cutting is considered very physically demanding even for adults, and the conditions under which the cane cutters work contrast with the growth of the sugar industry.

Guatemala: Child Labor in the Sugar Cane Fields

The video, made under the guise of a photographic project to make portraits using an old fashioned camera shows the workers, including children who work long days without even making minimum wage:

In Brazil, the indignation has been caused by the violent forced evictions in what is being called a massacre:

Brazil: “Massacre of Pinheirinho” Causes an Uproar

Urbanist and UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik reported:

Thousands of men, women, children and elderly residents of the Pinheirinho occupation are surprised by a siege consisting of helicopters, armored vehicles and more than 1,800 armed men of the military police. In addition to the exits of the occupation being blocked, the water, electricity and telephone were cut, and the order was for families to gather to begin the process of retreat. Determined to resist - as the repossession had been suspended on Friday - the residents did not accept the command, initiating a dramatically violent situation that lasted all day and that has resulted in homeless families, people injured, arrests and rumors, including of the existence of fatalities.

East Asia

Hong Kong residents are becoming outraged: the cultural clashes have citizens and bloggers in a tense situation where any event is cause for fury:

China and Hong Kong: Train Scuffle Ignites Cross-Border Fury

Hong Kong Rethinks its Relationship with Mainland China

While bloggers in Hong Kong complain about their stretched resources and bubble economy, seeing the mainlanders as the intruders and sharing music videos where Mainland Chinese are compared to locusts, others such as Grey Reporter see both parties as victims of the system:

Actually, Hong Kongers and mainlanders share the same destiny – to end the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party and the collusion between the rich and the powerful.

Wonder

Middle East & North Africa

Jordan: Let it Snow

Snow in Jordan had people whipping out their mobile phones and documenting the long awaited snow fall, even if it didn't stick.

But in case you are in a place where the snow does stick, what about checking out the video tutorial on how to build an igloo with just snow and a knife?

Eastern and Central Europe

CEE: A “Safe House” and an Igloo

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:26:18 +0000

Intercontinental Cry has a list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues, some made by indigenous people from Brazil, Australia, Panama, USA, Northern Kenya, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Caribbean: TEDx Shows “Ideas Worth Spreading”

Karel McIntosh — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:02:09 +0000

“Ideas worth spreading.” With this simple slogan, TED.com, which began in 1984 as an annual conference devoted to technology, entertainment and design, has infiltrated the Internet, gathered valuable global mindshare among people interested in changing their communities and empowered people in various countries to spark discussions in local, self-organised, intimate, TED-branded events, dubbed TEDx.

This sharing of ideas has found its way to the Caribbean - in 2011, five TEDx events were held in the region: two in Jamaica, two in Trinidad and one in Puerto Rico, the prelude to which was the hosting of a TED Talk in November 2010 by Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. TED Talks cover science, arts, politics, global issues, architecture, music and more. Events can be held in homes, workplaces, schools, universities or public theatres.

Showcasing local live speakers and featuring TED video talks, the Caribbean events each had a different viewpoint. All TEDx events share TED's format of short, prepared talks on a wide range of subjects to foster learning, inspiration and wonder, and to provoke conversations about the topics for discussion. Interestingly, for all of the interest they garnered and the reportedly high attendance at each of these events, very few bloggers actually wrote about them, and a survey of the respective events’ hashtags showed a trail of mainly the organiser’s tweets.

The first Jamaican event, TEDxIrie, aimed to “show the world that Jamaica's size doesn’t limit what [they] can contribute globally in all areas of human activity.” Speakers included Carolyn Cooper, Ebony G. Patterson, Jacqueline Sutherland, Kaiton Williams, Mark A. Jones and Wayne Marshall.

TEDxJamaica, held in October 2011, featured a mix of local and foreign speakers and seemed more business-oriented. The Jamaica-born featured speaker, Barrington Irving, is confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest global solo flyer. He used the event to announce a global initiative with Brazilian aeronautics manufacturer Embraer to create the world's first Flying Classroom at 40,000 feet in the air.

Other speakers included Andrew Simpson, Information Technology guru expert of CASEWare; former “Apprentice” winner Randall Pinkett, who now heads his own multimillion-dollar company; Simon Benjamin, an artist whose portfolio includes television commercials, music videos and branding for major entities; JJ Geewax, who helped establish the real-time, online advertisement exchange company Invite Media, as a market leader before its acquisition by Google and Divya Narendra of ConnectU, the campus-based, social-networking platform, the central ideas of which would eventually morph (albeit with bitter litigation) into Facebook.

In contrast, Trinidad’s latest TEDx event, TEDxPortofSpain, the theme of which was “Changing Conversations”, attracted a crowd that seemed largely filled with persons from the arts and creative industries. Featured speakers included Global Voices’ Managing Director, Georgia Popplewell, who spoke about Global Voices’ work around the world; Wendell Manwarren of the Rapso Group 3Canal, who is a singer, writer, producer, teacher, sound designer and director, entrepreneurs Ria Ramkissoon and Kiran Shiva Akal; architect Mark Raymond and Stefan Grosberg, food artisan.

Students at the University of the West Indies also threw their hat in the ring, hosting a TEDx event, TEDxUWI with the theme “Beyond Your Limits” in February 2011. Speakers included students Amilcar Sanatan, Brandon O’Brien, and Stephan Taylor and UWI graduate Omar Mohammed. Sanatan spoke about youth and culture in Trinidad and Tobago and examined how self-acceptance affects the way we live.  Taylor talked about new ways of thinking about innovation, discussing how the Caribbean region is developing through fresh ideas, and O’Brien discussed “Compassion as 21st Century Enlightenment”, outlining how compassion can be used to border the differences between different sectors of society and push towards a new unity. Mohammed focused on the ways in which Caribbean countries are responding to Climate Change.

Local celebrities, Miss Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam, and comedian Learie Joseph, were also featured. the former beauty queen focused on encouraging the audience to recognize opportunities, while Joseph shared his life's journey, comically illustrating how perseverance can help to overcome boundaries.

The response to the student-led event was so positive that the university held another TEDx event in November 2011 event, themed “Cultural Reality Imitated in a Mutual Environment”. The focus, inspired by the Trinidad and Tobago's government's imposition of a state of emergency to combat the escalating crime situation, looked at crime “as part of the cumulative narrative of Trinidad and Tobago and its connective ability”.

Finally, higher up the Caribbean archipelago, in December 2011, TEDxSanJuan was about to its mark. At first, bloggers seemed uncertain about what the event was meant to accomplish and how successful it would be. Gil the Jenius quipped:

As I write this, TEDx San Juan, first edition, is to start in 17 hours.

I have no idea who's speaking. Or what they'll talk about.

The only information I have is that the theme is “Bursting the Bubble,” referring to My Brethren who are pushing the envelope, boricuas breaking new ground. Good. Marvelous. But to be blunt: so what?

So Jenius, if you're so down on the event, why are you going?

Because I could be wrong. I could be wrong that the agenda, when it is finally revealed, will be a flop, a collection of butt-buddies brought in to present a skewed shadow of “Bursting the Bubble” excellence.

And wrong he was! Post-event, the Jenius wrote here that “TEDx San Juan was a rousing success“:

As I tweeted: I'll eat some of My words, happily.

Let Me dismiss My off-targets first: I sill don't agree with hiding the speakers line-up until just before the event.

Now for the positives: TEDx San Juan is the first event I have ever attended locally that exceeded My expectations…for My money, every speaker was a huge hit. TEDx San Juan was interesting, dynamic, moving and impressive. Three thoughts came together during the event:

1) I'm so used to events like these being “what could have been” that I have become too cynical about “what could be.” I won't do that again.

2) I, and We, are not alone. There are plenty of My Brethren who not only want to make a difference, they actually are making a difference.

3) The next TEDx has already begun. And it will be even better than this one.

Dondequiera was excited to attend the event from the get-go and noted that:

2011 has really been a breakthrough year for the Internet in Puerto Rico…everyday, I see more signs that the Internet is gaining broader and deeper acceptance locally. I have two predictions:

We're still on training wheels here in Puerto Rico, but the rollercoaster ride that is the Internet, is just about ready to take off. Look for a more ubiqitious Internet presence in 2012.

The Internet marketing embargo that the local advertising agencies controls, is starting to leak. When the dam breaks, it will break a tidal wave of opportunity.

After the event, the blogger noted that despite the limited number of invitees for the conference, which he called a “barrier [that] caused many local social media users to express their disgust with the process and the exclusion it caused”, there was a bright side:

Pissing people off because they couldn't register for an event is a great problem to have. Let's reframe this. 900+ people in Puerto Rico wanted to attend the TEDx San Juan Conference! People are hungry for ideas. What a optimistic signal!

I talked to one of the organizers and we agreed that, if nothing else we celebrate TEDx San Juan for having told us this one story: I am not alone. You are not alone. They are others. And they're here and in many different places around the world. Many speakers talked of transformation, to becoming fueled by passion.

TEDx is one way in which the Caribbean creative and technology fraternities are getting their ideas out and sharing them with the world - and the phenomenon seems to be a harbinger of innovation for the regional online community.

The thumbnail image used in this post, “TEDxPortofSpain”, is by TEDxPortofSpain, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Creative Commons license. Visit TEDxPortofSpain's flickr photostream.