This first video from the Central African Republic, documents the plight their only deaf school is facing: they are down to two teachers working out of love, since they haven't been paid their salary for 4 years, and they are in dire need of supplies and books. This video is in African Sign Language with English subtitles.

The Humanitarian and Development Partnership team of the Central African Republic is the non-profit organization which produced and posted this video. On their blog, they point out what the needs of this school are, according to its principal: salaries, materials, teacher training, busing, more schools for the deaf and vocational training for older students. Information about how to contact this organization to help this school can be found here.

From the Philippines, the Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf provides training in computer skills for their students, preparing them for the job market as well as they can, however, as can be seen in this video which they produced and directed themselves, they face frustration and lack of job opportunities once they get out of school. The video is in Filipino Sign Language with English subtitles:

Venezuela also provides specialized education for the deaf population, and in this video, school staff explain how they go around teaching deaf children who may also suffer from cognitive deficiencies in what they call a bilingual environment. There, students are taught in Sign Language as their first language and in Spanish as their second language, which will hopefully enable them to integrate themselves better to the rest of the hearing community. One of the teachers explains how she doesn't consider incorrect verb usage in homework as a mistake, but as an opportunity to explain to the students that people who hear, use verbs in different manners and they should also learn how to express themselves appropriately when communicating with them. The video is in Venezuelan Sign Language and Spanish.

Finally, a short video of the gruposenaslibres in Mexico: In tandem, a Mexican girl and an Austrian guy sign their respective manual alphabets, the numbers and the months of the year.

Thumbnail image used is Hands by John-Morgan

Mexablog [es] writes about the feeling of helplessness and anger at such a brutal attack:

Esto es a todas luces una cobardía sin precedentes, esto ya debe de ser la gota que derramó el vaso y si gobierno federal no hace algo al respecto se confirmará todo lo dicho hasta ahora, que narco y gobierno trabajan juntos.

Imágenes crudas muestran a personas muertas y heridas que pasaron de momentos de alegría a momentos de dolor, angustia y terror, un terror nunca conocido hasta ahora y de seguir adelante no se a donde vayamos a parar.

Enrique V. of Tinta y Pixeles [es] reminds his readers that those who were killed and injured were not directly involved in the ongoing conflict between organized crime and the authorities:

…y quienes fueron las víctimas? no fueron grandes empresarios, y tampoco gente relacionada con el estado mexicano, fue un ataque contra la gente común, contra el ciudadano promedio, el que sale en la noche con su familia a pasarla bien un rato, en fin a los menos culpables de la terrible situación por la que atraviesa este país.

Morelia is the hometown of current Mexican president Felipe Calderon, and some are wondering whether the attack was a message to him. However, the Mex Files [es] speculates, “Calderon was nowhere near Morelia, and — if the attack had a political angle, it was more likely an attack on Godoy and his administration than on Calderon.”

Regardless of who is at fault for this horrendous crime, the blogger at Monorama [es] summarizes many people's thoughts, “This is very scary.”

Photo by Edgar Blancas and used under a Creative Commons license

Thousands of Mexicans in attendance for the march in Mexico City protested against the government's inability to halt kidnappings and violence against citizens. Similar marches were held in other cities around the country. Already some citizen's media videos have already been posted. Now, bloggers from the capital and in other cities across the country provide their reflections and reactions to the march. However, many do not see that much will change without other actions by civil society.

El Nahual of Mexico Para Los Mexicanos [es] is one that doesn't think that the march will make an immediate difference, but what is needed is a continued effort by all:

La marcha por si misma no resuelve las cosas y sólo es una señal de presión hacia el gobierno, pero esta presión social hacia el gobierno si es de sólo un día no funciona, debe de ser continua y a todos los niveles para que funcione. Salir, vestirse de blanco y encender una velita en la noche, es muy loable, pero no suficiente. Se necesita que todo el tiempo y continuamente le exijamos al gobierno, en todos sus niveles y expresiones, que realice su trabajo y que lo haga bien; y que nosotros cumplamos las leyes y señalemos a quienes no lo hacen. Se necesita que despierte la sociedad civil.

Ana, a commenter on the blog Ocho Cuartos [es] responded to the question whether readers attended the march:

Yo quería marchar no pq creyera en la marcha (dejé de creer en las marchas y los efectos “cambia la realidad y el gobierno ya” desde los tiempos del olvidado mosh y todo ese dismother que armó alla abajo en el df) sino pq creo en méxico y quería manifestar esa opinion.

Lei los periodicos y me senti confundida. Muchos marcharon por convicción, pero otros marcharon pq el amigo, la novia, etc estaban ahi -en otras palabras por evento social-.

JC Cortés of Cargamento [es] is extremely cynical about the value of such a march and thinks that it will take years before things change, when this generation of criminals disappears:

En este país, la protesta causa molestia… ¿no es ese el comportamiento habitual del mexicano frente a una manifestación?… ¿no son unos nacos los que se manifiestan?… ha habido infinidad de marchas y nunca sirvieron de nada.

Las hubo para exigir justicia, para evidenciar corrupción, para acusar fraudes electorales, para mejorar el ambiente social. Ninguna sirvió, esta no será la excepción

Carlos Garduño of Vivir México [es] is another that felt that the march did not accomplish much, and what is needed to fight against crime and against organized crime is “to attack the foundation that sustains them: the economic foundation that supports them and corruption.”

MaJaDeRiA, a Colombian blogger living in Mexico, writes in her blog about her experience marching in this event, and noticing how class divided it was. The upper crust did head out to march, but stayed at the starting point, the Angel of Independence statue, the middle and lower classes, known by some as the “metro travelling class” did meet at the Zocalo. She ends with a few questions for the Mexican citizens:

• Por que no había una unanimidad de consignas?. Entre pedir la paz, pedir que si no cumplen renuncien y pedir que se acaben los secuestros….qué era lo que en realidad pedían?.
• Nunca entendí por que la marcha no era contra la violencia, sino contra la inoperancia de las autoridades. Una cosa va de la mano de la otra?. No debería uno marchar contra la violencia y pedir la revocatoria del mandato de las autoridades en otra parte?.
• Quién es el malo acá?. Los delincuentes, las autoridades, o quién?.
• Por qué llegar al Zócalo y no a los Pinos?. (a.k.a la casa del Presidente).

-Why wasn't there a unanimity in slogans? Among the requests for peace, asking for those who don't do their work to resign and demanding the end of kidnapping… what was it that they were really asking for?
- I never understood why the march wasn't against violence, but against the uselessness of the authorities. One thing goes along with the other? Shouldn't one march against violence and ask the revocation of the authorities mandate somewhere else?
- Who is the bad guy here? The delinquents, the authorities, or whom?
-Why reach the Zocalo and not los Pinos (a.k.a. the President's house)?

Her video Marcha D.F. on how the is on Blip.tv. The Spanish captions read: I don't know if marches
are good for anything other than giving incentives for informal commerce. But I do know that MANY people were at the D.F. March. It was good to see them walk.

From the Mexican city of Monterrey, yazpeace posts a video of the candle-lit anthem singing:

Image credits: photograph of votive candle by skyseeker.

According to the Analisis a Fondo blog, according to the Dutch NGO Pax Christi and local authorities, Mexico has surpassed Colombia in the number of kidnappings, which take place mostly in the capital and neighboring areas. According to official statistics, in the first half of 2008 there were 323 kidnappings in Mexico City, and these numbers could be higher, since families of victims are afraid to contact the police, who have been proven in the past to be connected with kidnapping rings.

In Solution to Kidnapping in Mexico, bunnymango proposes citizens to stop paying taxes until the government takes care of the kidnapping situation. The text in Spanish on the video says:

In the first 5 months of this year, in Mexico more than 232 kidnappings were reported. However, this number is uncertain, many are not reported due to mistrust in authorities. With our taxes we are maintaining corrupt politicians and murderers and kidnappers in jail.It is the duty of our government to provide an educational system, social security and support to prevent crime and give people opportunities. Lets stop paying taxes, until they respond and we see results. If we don't have the courage to demand the authorities to act we will be kept waiting and this won't change.

The latest high profile kidnapping was of 14 year old boy Fernando Martí, whose father owns a major chain of sportswear and equipment. Even after paying a hefty ransom equivalent to 500 000 USD, the boy appeared murdered inside the luggage compartment of a stolen and abandoned car. What has shocked Mexicans is the fact that it seems that high ranking officers and ex officers were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of the boy and his two bodyguards during a fake police checkpoint where they were intercepted.

In El Justo Reclamo, Fernando Martí and the plebeyan blood, Martín Velez writes about how the media and government seem to have been blind to police abuses until now, and provides a possible reason for this:

El asesinato de Fernando Martí parece ofrecer una respuesta: La situación se ha degradado a un punto tal que inclusive la casta empresarial se ha vuelto vulnerable, eso es lo que hace singular este homicidio que es tan lamentable como los otros veinte de hoy y los veinticinco de mañana.

The assassination of Fernando Martí seems to bring an answer: The situation has degraded to such a point that even the business caste has become vulnerable, that is what makes this homicide unique, although it is as deplorable as the other twenty that happened today and the twentyfive of tomorrow.

The following video was made by Jocelyn Negrete, the text reads:

Mexico is the latin american country with the highest risk of being kidnapped. Mexico has the second place in the number of kidnappings. In the country between 3 and 4 kidnappings take place each day.Sometimes we need something to happen se we can reflect about our reality. Kidnappers have among their main targets businessmen and people in the middle class. In 2007 there were a total of 297 kidnappings. Most of the victims don't survive the abduction. Victims suffer physical abuse or the amputation of parts of their body.Fear, family suffering, pain, mourning, psychological trauma… are some of the consequences from being a kidnapping victim. DON'T KEEP QUIET!! Lets demand the renewal of the police forces since most of the cases are committed by the police. Lets work together.Lets fight to strenghten the offices in charge of public safety. Together we can accomplish great changes. For a better future!

SciDev.Net's conference blog reports that:

“An issue widely discussed in the AIDS 2008 conference is the fact that several countries deny the entry, stay or residence of HIV-positive people because of their HIV status.

According to the publication Entry denied, published by UNAIDS in partnership with other organisations and distributed at the conference, at least 67 countries are on the list of those that deny the entry to people living with HIV/AIDS.”

Mexico, where AIDS 2008 was held, has no traveling restrictions for people with HIV/AIDS, but 65 or so other nations enforce some degree of restriction on the estimated 33 million people living with HIV globally. Seven nations, according to the European AIDS Treatment Group, impose a complete entry ban on HIV-positive people: Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Countries with such restrictions often argue that it helps protect public health and avoid costs associated with treating HIV-positive people from other nations.

David Cozac, who blogged about the human rights sessions at AIDS 2008, says that experts disagreed with such arguments.

“During a session on travel restrictions for people living with HIV, participants decried the fact that although there is no evidence that travel restrictions have a positive public health impact, 67 countries still have restrictions in place.”

One of the countries with such restrictions is China. Despite hopes that China would lift its HIV-related traveling restrictions before the Olympics, the country has maintained them, even during the games. Under their current regulations, tourists and short-term visitors must declare their HIV status, and those planning to stay long-term must undergo a blood test; if found to be HIV-positive, they are refused entry.

Denise Patterson, blogging from Thailand, comments on China's ban of visitors with AIDS and other health conditions during the Olympics:

” A ban on people with mental illnesses or sexually transmitted diseases? That is very amusing. If the Chinese government believes they can control every aspect of the Olympics, they are sadly mistaken…

… According to 2007 statistics, published by the World Health Organization, the HIV/AIDS rate in China is 2.9% of the population. The ‘ban' doesn't seem to be working.”

However, China may be responding to the pressure. China Daily reports that Hao Yang, deputy director of the ministry's disease control and prevention bureau, told the publication at AIDS 2008 that the two-decade-old HIV/AIDS travel ban will likely be lifted in 2009.

China may be following America's lead for change. In July U.S. President George W. Bush signed legislation to repeal the statutory ban on entry into the U.S. for HIV-positive tourists, students, and immigrants, taking the first step needed to eliminate the ban. However, for the ban to be completely lifted, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must now remove HIV from a list of diseases that prevent people from entering the U.S. HIV is currently still on the list.

Kevinf, posting on ToTheCenter.com, writes about the positive reaction to this repeal.

“Many AIDS experts and rights activists find the new legislation to be a cause for celebration. Previously, travel restrictions could cause more trouble than they prevented, causing people with HIV to lie about their condition. It was discriminatory and would also lead to many of the infected to lie.”

David Munar posts this video of Rev. Christo Greyling of World Vision International, where he discusses why such travel bans are detrimental and raises questions about the U.S. repeal.

LauraK, blogging for AIDS 2008's youth site, warns that the U.S. repeal is a major step, but not the final one.

“It is now up to the Secretary of Health to change regulations to reflect the new legislation. HIV must be taken off of the list of diseases that mean inadmissibility to the United States, but Congresswoman [Barbara] Lee is confident that this will happen soon.”

She goes on to share how such travel restrictions have impacted those with HIV, as she witnessed at an AIDS 2008 questioning period.

“One man came forward to express the sense of betrayal felt by those forced out by the restrictions, he had personal experience as a US citizen living in Canada with a partner who is HIV-positive. He still loved his country, he told the panel, but he was ashamed and angry with his government for initiating the repressive legislation that forced him to choose between his country and his partner, as well as for taking 20 years to address it.”

Photo of Red Traveling Suitcase by tofutti break on Flickr.

Their introductory video explains their role and participation in the conference, where youth from all over the world explain their reasons why they believe their participation is of the utmost importance in addressing the issues around HIV and AIDS.

From the different symposiums, speakers and panels during the conference there was a common message: AIDS is affecting youth at alarming rates. At the Diverse Families area of the Global Village, a panel was dedicated exclusively about the impact that family acceptance has in reducing risky behaviors that could lead to HIV. Policies around youth are usually generated from above, by adults and their ideas about what programs and campaigns could help reduce risky behavior, but stigma and fear are still strong barriers that block teens from receiving adequate information. At the Youth Force press conference, these youngsters spoke out about their specific needs:

They establish that youth is not a homogeneous group: that among the youth are women, teens who are involved in sex work, there are injection drug users, others living on the streets or are part of the Men having sex with men group. They are being invisibilised as well as those youth living with HIV-AIDS.

Part of their activities outside the Youth Action Zone was a piñata bashing, where piñatas filled with condoms, candy and lube were labeled with words and negative terms regarding youth they want to see eliminated:

They have many other videos on their channel, please feel free to check them out and comment, and visit their website as well.