Global Voices » Poland

Attention! Baby on Board: An Interview With a Travelling Blogger Family

Kasia Odrozek — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:41:29 +0000

An interview with The Family Without Borders: Anna and Thomas Alboth, parents, travellers and bloggers who've been around the Black Sea and around Central America with their two small daughters.

In 2010, a young couple from Berlin – Anna, a Polish journalist, and Thomas, a German photographer – decided to live on their globetrotting dream – and they decided to do it with their 6-month-old daugther Hanna on board. With a fully-packed Renault Espace they made a half-a-year-long road trip around the Black Sea, through the Caucasus to the Caspian Sea. The idea worked out so well that in 2012, already with their second daughter Mila, they travelled in Central America from Mexico down to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

From their first trip on they decided to share their unusual experiences through their blog, The Family Without Borders [en; Facebook]. The interest turned out to be so significant that in 2011 the blog was named the Best Travel Blog by the Polish edition of the National Geographic.

Global Voices (GV): Let’s imagine 25 years forward. Your daughters have their own children and want to go travelling with their babies. What is your reaction?

Mexico (Yukatan), Holbox Island. Photo © Thomas Alboth, used with permission.

Anna (A): I hope it will be this way. Recently, we've had some discussions about parents, kids and grandkids and how it all can change. We were a bit afraid that maybe they will choose a totally other way of life than we did and that it would be hard to accept it if they would start saying things like, “I want to go to a hotel.” But on the other hand, the more they grow up the more I feel that I’m scared that something can happen to them, all these mother-ish things.

Thomas (T): I would have wanted it. But I’m also not so sure if they will like this lifestyle, I have friends who grew up in a community flat and then they turned into the opposite. I’m also pretty happy to be completely different from my parents. So maybe one day they will stay in a hotel, will have nice rolling suitcases and that’s ok.

GV: You received the National Geographic title for the Best Travel Blog in 2011. Why do you think your blog became so successful?

A: I think it was two things. First, we didn’t plan for it to be big, so we were just doing what we liked, and I think these things are always going bigger when you just do what you love. We have known all these travel bloggers who had business plans, but for us it was basically writing for the grandparents, so that they could see Hanna safe and smiling. That was the beginning. After a while we started to check the statistics and we saw that people from 20, 40, 50 countries were visiting the blog, and we were like, “wow”. There is this generation of young Europeans who are studying abroad, travelling, making international couples and they think that if they have kids it will be all over. I think when they see what we did, they see hope that it all really doesn’t have to be over.

The whole family in their flat in Berlin. Photo by Kasia Odrozek

GV: Did you have a clear work division: who is writing, who takes pictures and so on?

A: Yes, we had clear divided tasks. It happened that I made some pictures but not often, normally the camera was in his hands all the time. I was writing the posts, Thomas wrote maybe two posts in these three years. For the blog he does all the technical things and I do all the human communication work. And on the road Thomas usually drives and I usually tell him where we are going [laughing]. The whole thing works when we are doing it together. A couple of weeks ago, he was in Burma and I was in Palestine and we didn’t post anything on the blog, and it felt strange.

GV: Would your experience be different without the blog?

A: For me having the blog was very motivating to get more knowledge about everything. On the second trip, I was writing in a much more journalistic way, so I was noting many more things, asking for more context while talking to people, taking leaflets in museums and so on. I don’t know if I would do all of this without knowing that I will publish it.

T: I was a bit jealous, because writing means reprocessing, while editing pictures is not the same experience, you don’t need more knowledge, you don’t have to understand the situation to make a picture.

At Lake Sevan in Armenia. Photo © Thomas Alboth, used with permission.

GV: What is your favorite memory when you look back at your travels?

T: More than a memory it is a feeling of being self-paced, that you decide about your own life. When you stay in one place you get into this daily rhythm, you get up, grab a coffee in the morning, you take a tram or metro and you go to your office, and 80 percent of your day is predictable. That’s what I liked about the trip, for a half of the year you decide what you want to do.

GV: Was there a moment when you thought, “This was a mistake”?

A: There was one such moment when I was scared and I thought that all these people saying that we were irresponsible parents were right. It was the night at a hotel in Guatemala where we saw three big men with guns passing by the corridor, talking angrily on the phone. We had to do something to feel better, so we asked them if they were dangerous. We didn’t speak too much Spanish but, luckily, we knew the word peligroso, dangerous. They answered “yes, but not for you and not here.” Then we learned that in Guatemala everybody has guns because they hadn’t been disarmed after the civil war.

GV: You say that your travels were about people and their stories. What was the craziest thing you heard or experienced?

T: If you come from a different world, even just the way people live their everyday lives seems interesting and sometimes strange.

The family has to say goodybe to their hosts in Guatemala, Chilasco waterfall. Photo © Anna Alboth, used with permission.

A: During the second trip, in Guatemala, we were hosted by a Mayan family in their small house with plastic chairs and a TV. After we talked to them, they were surprised, but not by the fact that we were travelling for so long – but that we could live without a TV for so long. Then in the evening, when I started to cut potatoes for a soup, all these small girls immediately started to help me because that’s what they do, they do everything together. When we were leaving, they were asking when we would come back and it was heartbreaking, we wanted to say that we would call but they didn’t have a phone, they wanted to write a letter but they didn’t know how to write.

GV: Any plans for the future?

A:We have to go on a trip again, of course. But before we do it, I need to finish my book on Central America, then we will go travelling again.

On March 26, 2013, The Family Without Borders will share their pictures and stories at a slideshow presentation at the Globetrotter shop in Berlin. For more details, please visit their blog or Facebook.

Slovak PM's Support for 2022 Winter Olympics Bid Draws Criticism

Tibor Blazko — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 02:01:50 +0000

Whereas Norway and Switzerland are planning to hold referenda before submitting their 2022 Winter Olympics bids, the fate of the Slovak-Polish joint bid already seems decided: the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has declared his support for it, without waiting for the government's approval.

Slovakia's Olympic expenditures were initially estimated at €200 million, but later the Minister of Finance spoke [sk] of €300 million, while some estimates amount to nearly €500 million. Slovak NGOs, such as Aliancia Fair-Play, and the opposition parties are demanding [sk] the precise cost analysis and a list of funding sources.

Economist Richard Ďurana thinks [sk] that the “organization of the Olympic Games is a very expensive, short-term boost of national pride that only very rich or very irresponsible countries can afford.”

Imrich Body, a member of the non-parliamentary 99 Percent-Civic Voice party, sees the Olympics [sk] as another attempt to “feed the Gorilla“, referring to the corruption scandal that shook Slovakia a year ago.

Blogger Matej Bórik has these questions [sk] for the Prime Minister:

How do you ensure that there will be no overcharge scenario as in London, Athens, Sochi, Vancouver and other mega-cities? What steps will you take when it will occur? Do you have enough cash in [your] personal account?

Blogger Samo Marec writes [sk]:

It should be noted that we have already been fighting for the Olympics – and even twice. [...] It is possible that I'm alone with this opinion, but I strongly believe that the sole purpose of the [Olympic bidding] is making public money private once again. Compared to [those who came up with] this plan, [Jaromír Ruda, known for the failed Deaflympics,] is a poor amateur. [...]

Blogger Karol Šebo is optimistic [sk]:

Poland, not Slovakia, will play the leading role in convincing the International Olympic Committee.

Poland, which has only recently organized EURO 2012 successfully; Poland, which has a strong lobby in a number of organizations around the world. And not to mention that Krakow has a strong brand image internationally. That's why I think that this joint candidacy has a real chance to be successful, and any success provides Slovakia with a great chance to become more visible, something that does not happen often.

Blogger Tomáš Bosák writes [sk]:

A candidate to host the Olympics now, when we are languishing [under austerity measures]? What do we need the Olympics for? [...] I am just wondering from where this or that government will have the money for this parade.

Because I remember what a show it was about [the hockey stadium in Bratislava] and how it kept growing more expensive. Now it would not be enough to build just one stadium. I don't know, it reminds me of organizing May Day celebrations. No calculations, no documentation, but let's do it, because people will have fun. And we will have a chance to show off.

Mikuláš Huba, an ecologist and a newly-elected MP, writes [sk]:

There is a threat to the nature, because the Tatras are not the Alps.

Not giving money to doctors and teachers, but giving it to officials, politicians, developers and sponsors?

The candidacy for the Olympics is such a serious decision that it cannot and should not be made by one person and in one day; it requires a serious, long-term and informed debate not just in the parliament, but in the society as a whole, following the example of Norway.

Prime Minister has openly demonstrated how serious he is about the consolidation of the public finances and also what (and who) his priorities are.

Parallels Between Religious and Copyright Wars

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:54:28 +0000

Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party, reinterprets the wars of religion that devastated Western Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries in terms of the current struggle to control information through overbearing legislation related to copyright and freedom of expression:

The religious wars were never about religion as such. They were about who held the power of interpretation, about who controlled the knowledge and culture available to the masses. It was a war of gatekeepers of information.

Poland: Interview with Adam Dobrzynski, GV Translator and Heavy Metal Musician

Kasia Odrozek — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 21:59:10 +0000

An interview with Adam Dobrzynski, a member of the heavy metal band Wanderer and a translator for GV Poland.

He lives in Warsaw's district of Praga, will soon graduate with a degree in American Studies and Philology with a focus on teaching. However, from the beginning of his studies, he was thinking of becoming a translator rather than a teacher. And even though his biggest talent is his English proficiency, for the past 10 years it has been music that remained his strongest passion.

Global Voices (GV): Who is Adam Dobrzynski? A musician? A student? A translator?

Adam Dobrzynski (AD): Most of all, I am just myself, music is my passion, translation is something that, besides music, I want to do in life, something that I’m best at. To be honest, studying is just a professional formation. I think one could call me part translator, part musician?

Adam Dobrzynski, photo used with permission of the band Wanderer.

GV: Is your band a good material for an article?

AD: I think we are all fanatics of music, we are very determined to create something on our own – probably because of that we are still looking for our musical identity. We have some of our own material, we can’t complain about inspiration…just pass by one of our upcoming concerts. Despite some rotations in the band, we remain strong and tight, we want to achieve a lot in the world of music.

GV: What are your musical inspirations?

AD: Rock and metal most of all, in all its colours and varieties. Also, classical music, but just occasionally – sometimes I listen to Wagner. For more than 10 years I’ve been fascinated by heavy, fast tones, I think they are a perfect carrier of energy.

GV: How did you end up in the band Wanderer?

AD: Music is my passion, for the last 10 years I’ve been listening to a whole range of rock music, from rather light to very heavy sounds. It’s the music that has shaped my character, the way I perceive the world, et cetera. At some point, I found time to grab the guitar, I wanted to try myself out in creating music that I love and fulfill the dream of playing in a band. Despite initial trouble and a short career of my former band, I did not stop exercising and finally got rewarded. I got a chance to join Wanderer as the second guitar. From the first rehearsals and concerts I felt that this was it, that it was worth sacrificing life for playing. We’ve been playing together for more than one year now and it is, in my opinion, my biggest achievement and pride. Why? Because I live according to the rule that you have to fulfill your dreams without counting on somebody else, without waiting for financial stability, we just have one life, there is nothing to wait for.

GV: And what was your path to GV?

AD: A friend showed me this website in May. I thought: “Why not? To do something I like, something that is meaningful and to gain some experience? Good bargain.” I’ve always wanted to translate and work according to these kind of rules, so I took a look at the offer, I filled out the form… and here I am.

GV: Do you think that GV should write more about music?

AD: Of course, this is something that moves the whole world, that connects millions of people. I think that many people would like to read information, news (or maybe stories?) from the world of music.

Members of the band Wanderer, photo used with permission of the band.

GV: Are you active in social media? Do you have a blog?

AD: No, I’m a bit asocial. And besides that, I don’t even have enough time to start this kind of activity.

GV: What is the role of new technology in your life?

AD: I don’t like changes at all, I’m still using my old Nokia and the only “new technologies” I’m investing in are an iPod and a multi-effect for my guitar.

GV: Are you a bit of an activist? Did you take part in the winter protests against ACTA?

AD: I don’t consider myself an activist, I’m not a part of any group… but I did go to the protest against ACTA. I also remember our first concert in Warsaw, we dedicated it to the fight against ACTA, we have sacrificed our old T-shirts to make protest banners against this bill. We have expressed our “endorsement” for ACTA in the song “Drill” that we played for the first time at this concert [unfortunately, the song is not recorded yet].

GV: Do you think that young people in Poland should get more engaged in “internet politics”?

AD: Sure, Internet is nowadays probably the kind of media that young people feel the closest connection with. Where, if not there, to express your opinions and fight for a better tomorrow? And young people have to get involved in politics – they fight for their future.

GV: In your opinion, how will the world of media look like in 10 years and what will be the role of citizen media?

AD: I think everything will speed up even more, the flow of information will be even bigger, Internet will be king among the mass media. Social media will be the main point of discussion, self-expression and opinion-forming, a platform to exchange opinions.

GV: Would you like to add anything?

AD: I feel proud translating posts for GV. Why? I’m doing something meaningful, I bring the events and stories from the world closer to the Polish public. It’s very important.

You can find the music of the band Wanderer on MySpace, and the GV profile of Adam here.

Poland, Ukraine: A Euro 2012 Roundup

Veronica Khokhlova — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 22:39:32 +0000

Notes and musings on issues related to the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine: at Polandian – here, here, and here; at Memory at War – here; at Raf Uzar – here; at Politics, Economy, Society – here; at The Pipeline – here.

Poland: Football Fans Clash Ahead of Poland-Russia Game

Anna Gotowska — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:24:48 +0000

Over 180 people were detained due to clashes that broke out between rival Russian and Polish football fans in Warsaw on June 12. Unrest started during the march organised to mark the Russian National Day, attended by thousands of visiting Russian fans ahead of the Poland-Russia Euro 2012 game at the National Stadium.

Concern about possible tensions had been expressed by several newspapers and public figures prior to the march, given the troubled history of the two countries. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, the Mayor of Warsaw, recognised the problem, but stated that “the Russian fans’ delegation promised that there wouldn't be any political exclamations on their part.”

Gronkiewicz-Waltz called the day of the march “the main challenge for the city during the Euro 2012 championship.”

Clashes in the centre of Warsaw. Photo by Nikodem Szymański, used with permission.

The idea of holding the march had also caused quite some buzz among the Polish netizens. A few days before the march, Salon24 user szkielkooko wrote [pl]:

Clashes during the Euro are inevitable. [...] Polish hooligans will definitely oppose the march, and organise some spectacular fights to “repay the Russians” for the years of communism, partitions and the bloody supressions of the Polish uprisings in the 19th century. This kind of behaviour is almost openly encouraged by the right-wing journalists.

Salon24 user rybitzky also pointed out [pl] the stance that the mainstream media took in this situation:

The mainstream media suddenly started to act as if they were completely crazy. Maybe the journalists got so sucked into the atmosphere of the Euro that they forgot their usual strategy of promoting the Polish-Russian reconciliation?

@polococto wrote [pl]:

If the Mayor allowed a march of two rival Polish football teams through the city center, would anyone be surprised by the clashes?

@jakmarcin called for the reasonable evaluation of the unrest [pl]:

The German media describe the clashes objectively, as a minor outburst of aggression on the both sides

Clashes in the centre of Warsaw. Photo by Nikodem Szymański, used with permission.

Some people are interpreting the riots as part of the political game between the ruling party and the opposition.

@DziadekWaldemar wrote [pl]:

There is only one political party in Poland that can gain from those clashes, and it's the right-wing [PIS] and its supporters, they have links with the hooligans [...]

Salon24 user mojsiewicz wrote [pl]:

The ruling party is ready to burn down half of Warsaw only to stay in power. These clashes are the only thing that can draw attention of the public away from almost 3 million Poles living in poverty.

Some people point out that the hooligan clashes in Warsaw gained much more attention in the interational press than the “March of the Millions” – a massive protest rally organised on the same day in Moscow by the opposition.

@OlgaAlehno wrote:

WELL DONE PUTIN! A march of 200,000 opposing him, held in Moscow, was outdone by some minor clashes in Warsaw. [...]

Poland: Obama's “Polish Death Camp” Gaffe Causes Controversy

Anna Gotowska — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 01:01:31 +0000

In the last days of May, a storm of controversy struck the Polish public opinion, caused by a verbal gaffe committed by the US President Barack Obama. During the ceremony of posthumously honoring Jan Karski, a Polish World War II resistance hero, with the Medal of Freedom, Obama used the expression “a Polish death camp” rather than stating clearly that what he meant was a Nazi Germany-operated death camp on the Polish territory.

The major irony behind this statement lies with a fact that Jan Karski was being honored for his struggle to tell the outside world about the systematic murder of Jews in his country. During the wartime Karski smuggled himself into the Warsaw Ghetto and witnessed firsthand crimes committed against the Jewish people. That information was taken by him to Allied leaders, among them US President Franklin Roosevelt, in order to cause more radical actions on their part.

This is not the first time when such unfortunate phrase regarding the concentration camps built on the Polish soil by the Nazi regime has been used. According to the data published by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the last three years almost 200 succesfull interventions have been made, in response to untrue expressions appearing in the media around the world. Using phrases such as a “Polish concentration camp” may be prosecuted by Polish courts even outside of the Polish borders. The first such trial is to be held on September 13 against the German publishing company Axel Springer.

According to the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, harsh reactions of several Polish political and public figures was adequate. “We always react in the same way when ignorance, lack of knowledge, bad intentions lead to such a distortion of history, so painful for us here in Poland, in a country which suffered like no other in Europe during World War II,” he said.

The Polish online community was also shaken by the news. But in the blogosphere reactions to the faux pas of President Obama were varied.

Maria Dora writes on her blog [pl]:

At first, I wanted to write something about the American affront, but after giving it a little tought, I consider it more of a neglect or carelessness on the part of the president's team rather than the president himself. [...] Anyway, it is clear that every time such a phrase is used, we must correct it, because it contributes to the distortion of history.

Janusz Wojciechowski notes [pl]:

The word “Germany” cannot be used in the presence of the word “genocide” because Germans, who are now the leaders of Europe, can't be assocciated with such things. We shouldn't blame Obama. We ourselves let the others blame the war, genocide and the aforementioned “Polish death camps” on us. If today in the Europarliament I was to use a phrase “German death camps,” it would be considered a huge scandal [...]

@twitkcg states [pl]:

Most of all, we are defending the historical truth. In this context a phrase “Polish concentration camps” is absurd and scientifically disqualified.

@michalgornicki shared his concern [pl] about the influence of the gaffe on the perception of Poland during the Euro 2012 championship:

After this, all of the European football teams that come to Poland visit only the “Polish concentration camps,” this is just great

Rafał Kmiecik debates [pl] the historical accuracy of the phrase:

The phrase “Polish death camps” is an oxymoron due to the fact that during the war (1939-1945) Poland didn't exist as a country! We were under the German rule. [...] All of the camps had German names and were run by the Nazis”

Mmaly comments [pl]:

“Polish concentration camps” is an unfortunate mental leap that may mess with the historically ignorant foreigner, but for a person who is not historically illiterate the meaning of the phrase is clear, and in some contexs even justified. For instance, it may be used to differentiate Nazi concentration camps built on the Polish soil from those built on the territories not asocciated geographically with Poland. That's why I find the harsh comments on Obama's gaffe rather inadequate.

A much harsher reaction on the part of Polish netizens was triggered by an article written by Debbie Schlussel, a US conservative journalist and lawyer. In a note posted on her website, she claims that Obama's gaffe wasn't a gaffe at all. According to her, Poles founded several concentration camps and ruled them along with Germans. They were also personally responsible for the deaths of several milion Jews. “This wasn’t just the Nazis. It was tens of thousands of eager Poles and more” – she says.

Thousands of Polish netizens reacted immediately. Schlussel's website was down for almost 3 days, due to the intentional overload caused by Polish internet users. Her Facebook fanpage was flooded with thousands of letters, posts and comments, both in Polish and English, demanding immediate apology and expressing outrage. An anti-fanpage was created on the spot, containing instructions on how to report Schlussels fanpage to Facebook admins.

Debbie Schlussels responses to polish comments flood

The action of collecting signatures under a letter of protest to Schlussel's employers was advocated on Twitter.

@kurasinski comments [pl] on an article about Schlussel:

Political corectness made in the USA.

@x3LoveRock adds [en]:

Don't understand any crap that Debbie Schlussel says about Poles. She clearly doesn't know Polish History.

On his blog, karkonosznawygnaniu wrote a letter addressed to the journalist. The letter is written in English, and starts with words condemning the lies:

I'm sorry to read that your view on Poland and Poles is so full of hatred and spite, based solemnly on your ignorance and basic knowledge of historical facts. I find it shameful that as a journalist you fail to realize that history of Poles and Jews dates back a millennium, all the way back to the beginning of the Polish nation.

@megi696 wrote [en]:

Debbie Schlussel's “knowledge” is a disgrace. To think that such an individual is a journalist! Hopeless.

Although the majority of Polish netizens decided to express their outrage in cultured and reasonable way – by reporting the Facebook fanpage as one promoting hate, signing the letter to Schlussel's employers, or trying to explain the painful and difficult history of Poland during the times of war – a lot of comments containing anti-Semitic remarks appeared as a reference to Schlussel's Jewish origin. In her latest post, Schlussel comments on those and attaches several highly offensive pictures sent to her during the last days.

davyjones calls [pl] for a more cultured way of expression:

The critique of Debbie Schlussel should be loud, but also to the point. Poland should use this discussion opportunity so that people could learn how it really was [...] Only by an open discussion of the facts can we fight against such statements.

Poland, Ukraine: Euro 2012 and Racism

Veronica Khokhlova — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:09:01 +0000

Football fans across Europe have been presented with quite a list of reasons not to travel to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012, which is scheduled to begin in a week. Ukraine “options” to choose from include mass killings of stray animals, hotel price gouging, the threat of “beautiful Ukrainian women,” homophobia, and the plight of Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's jailed ex-PM. The newest item recently added to this extensive and diverse negative publicity menu is racism – and it is relevant for both Poland and Ukraine.

On Monday, May 28, BBC One aired Panorama's Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate, a documentary that, according to BBC, “reveals shocking new evidence of racist violence and anti-Semitism at the heart of Polish and Ukrainian football and asks whether tournament organiser UEFA should have chosen both nations to host the prestigious event.” After watching the footage that “Panorama spent a month filming at matches in both the joint host nations,” Sol Campbell, a retired English footballer, advised fans to “stay at home” and “watch it on TV”: “Don't even risk it… because you could end up coming back in a coffin.”

The BBC documentary has caused many heated discussions online. The article on Campbell's advise to fans, mentioned above, has generated over 950 comments. The Periscope Post reviewed tweets by “some key sports commentators [who] insisted that the film has irresponsibly overstated the countries’ societal problems, while others welcomed the BBC’s expose.”

Below is a selection of excerpts from English-language blogs commenting on the BBC documentary and the issues it raises.

LEvko of Foreign Notes commented on the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's inept response:

[...] A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oleh Voloshyn, today stated the BBC should apologise for the programme. He claimed ‘the British side’ has never officially protested about the racist displays by Ukrainian fans.

[...]

He should have declared: there will be zero-tolerance at Euro 2012 of racist behaviour, either by home fans or by visitors, and left it at that. His statements will merely dissuade even more England fans from travelling to Ukraine.

Polska Dotty wrote about the need to address the problem of football racism:

[...] On the one hand there has been criticism of the programme that it caricatured the problem, giving the impression travelling to Eastern Europe would be like stepping back into the Third Reich. [...] Some of the many bloggers in the two days since Panorama was shown have suggested Poland has concentrated too much on the stadiums and other infrastructure needed for Euro 2012 and not enough on clamping down on the racism/hooliganism amongst fans. I think that has to be right. In UK we had terrible football hooliganism in the 70s, but it was addressed. To be fair, it took time, so we should be careful how we judge others. If the Poles stamp out the unacceptable behaviour quickly from now on, encouraged to act by the spotlight that has been shone on them, this will be a result. [...]

Odessablogger explained the use of the word “negr” in Russian and Ukrainian:

[...] Now there is no denying that there is a racist element amongst certain fans and in particular those associated to certain football clubs in Ukraine.

[...]

However, this heated debate between the Ukrainian Expat community and traveling English fans has now centred over the word “nigger/negro” (негр).

It is time to be crystal clear. In Ukraine and Russia there is no racial derogatory slur attached to the word “nigger/negro”. It is not an insult here and neither is it meant to be insulting!

Despite the negativity attached to the word in the UK and other nations, historically and currently, the word nigger has no such undercurrent in Ukraine or Russia. It is not a word that Ukrainians or Russians would use to insult a black person.

[...]

Cultural, linguistic and historical awareness is a necessity if you are looking for an excuse to call racism over words like nigger in Ukraine. Wonder if the BBC or UK media will actually highlight this, or whether they will simply be so ignorant as to see it as a racial insult – that it isn’t?

A screenshot of the map shown in BBC Panorama's documentary, which misplaced and misnamed some countries.

On Thenews.pl's Euro 2012 Blog, Peter Gentle wrote, among other things, about a seemingly minor cartography blunder and the effect it might have on the audience:

[...] And Panorama would never have got off to a bad a start in its pomp as Stadiums of Hate does, by displaying a map at 2.28 minutes into the programme of Poland sharing a border with … Austria! Unless there have been huge changes in borders and peoples around Europe, in secret, that only the BBC knows about, then Austria does not border Poland. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic has slipped south, and borders with a large country which appears to be Yugoslavia.

Maybe, Panorama's confused idea of the map of Central Europe is not such a big deal in the context of the vile imagery the programme presents: but imagine if you are a Pole watching this [...] and having to take seriously a programme that doesn't even know which countries Poland borders with. [...]

In her “Letter from Tennessee to Poland and Ukraine,” Kim Green wrote:

[...] Poland and Ukraine, it isn’t going to be easy to do this. But I implore you: sit down and watch the video. Get mad. Get embarrassed. And then, move on. Clean house. Let your wrongheaded rednecks know that you think they’re complete jack@$$es, and you’re not going to put up with the swastikas and the ridiculous anti-semitic t-shirts and the incoherently designed hatemongering banners. And then, you can welcome the world to your cities for Euro 2012 and show them who you really are. [...]

Michał Zachodny, who writes about Polish football on his blog and on Twitter, had this to say on The Independent's sports blog:

[...] But there is something Poles and Ukrainians can thank the BBC for. By making the problem much bigger than it is in reality, by showing that both countries are struggling with the issues, by compromising the governing bodies, they made them react. Strong reaction, even if forced, is needed to help fans prove that their response to, and disgust at, the Panorama show, is not based on empty promises and hopes. Because however scandalous and unfair the treatment was perceived to be during the programme on Monday night, it is now up to the hosts to prove the BBC wrong and the European championships are just the start.

At Polandian, Paddymokotow wrote:

[...] Poland shouldn’t be afraid of the world’s attention. We should be glad the world is holding a mirror up to this wonderful country. Now let’s show the world its true reflection.

[...] The Polish Government has taken the policing and security of this event extremely seriously – they know how important it is to Poland’s reputation. You should take the same care you’d take visiting
any unknown city as a tourist, but not more.

Which reminds me of my trip to South Africa for the World Cup. The UK media spent a lot of time talking about the rampant crime, terrifying HIV rates and extreme poverty in the run up to the football- saying some England fans were ‘virtually certain to die.’ But not one
England fan was arrested or killed in that month. But proving the media wrong about South Africa doesn’t prove them wrong about Poland –
that’s up to everyone Polish person when kick off begins. [...]

On The Guardian's Comment is free, Natalia Antonova wrote this about the situation in Ukraine:

[...] Law-enforcement officials are keenly aware of the possibility of scandal. My source in the Ukrainian police told me this week: “People being picked up by the police for crimes are being told that should they cause any trouble during the tournament, there will be hell to pay. And officers themselves are being cautioned to think twice about harassing foreigners.”

It may be that during Euro 2012, Ukraine will be a safer place for foreigners than for citizens. As a friend of mine who is a former prosecutor told me this week: “Some parents are worried that their children will fall prey to foreign sex-tourists during the tournament! As you can see, these kinds of safety concerns can go both ways. But Kiev is ready for the fans, the city is spruced up, and I think all will turn out well.” [...]

One of the 220 comments to this post, by Definatelynotashark, reads:

Can anyone name me a major sporting event that didnt have these headlines in the run up?

Are people in Europe watching documentaries showing the Tottenham riots and warning them of the dangers of London in advance of the Olympics?

Go to Ukraine, take reasonable precautions, act sensibly, enjoy!

Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko's Plight and Euro 2012

Veronica Khokhlova — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:12:02 +0000

There must be some corners on the web (e.g., here and here) where football fans are still having apolitical discussions of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, scheduled to take place in Poland and Ukraine from June 8 to July 1. For the past few weeks, however, the upcoming sporting event has featured prominently in arguments and discussions among those who seem more interested in the Ukrainian and European politics than sports.

Earlier this month, several European politicians, including the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, announced their plans to boycott Euro 2012 in protest against the imprisonment of ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko. However, there is no consensus among the EU officials yet on whether “to call a political boycott of the Ukraine half of the Euro 2012 football championships.”

Tymoshenko's arrest came on August 5, 2011, a little over a month after the beginning of her first trial on June 24. She was kept at Kyiv's Lukyanivska Prison (GV texts about this facility are here and here) until December 30, when she was transferred to the Kachanivska Penal Colony in Kharkiv to serve a seven-year sentence for exceeding her powers as Prime Minister. Reports of Tymoshenko's health problems and her 20-day hunger strike have dominated the recent coverage of her case. On April 19, another trial of Tymoshenko began in Kharkiv, but she refused to attend it. The hearing of this second case, in which Tymoshenko is charged with evading taxes in the 1990s, has been postponed until late May.

While the preparation for the tournament in Ukraine was marred by a number of other controversies (e.g., the cruel treatment of stray animals; accusations of hotel price gouging; and, of all things, the threat posed by the “beautiful Ukrainian women”), this latest international scandal seems to have done the most harm to Ukraine's image so far.

On May 3, the Economist asked readers in an online poll if they supported the calls to boycott the games held in Ukraine:

The apparently brutal treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko, an imprisoned Ukrainian opposition leader, has led to calls for European leaders to stay away from Ukrainian matches in the upcoming Euro 2012 football tournament, which the country is hosting jointly with Poland.

The Economist agrees with these calls. Do you?

Of the 1,834 votes cast so far, 68 percent are in favor of the boycott and 32 percent are against it.

Odessablogger – who believes that “the football is the wrong stick to hit Ukraine with given the need for EU personalities to interact directly with the Ukrainian people” – recounted some of the examples of sports and politics “colliding” in the past, and quoted from the April 28 Der Spiegel interview [en] with boxer and politician Vitali Klitschko, who opposes the boycott of Euro 2012:

“[...] This tournament is the biggest sporting event in the history of Ukraine. It has to happen. It is even an excellent opportunity to draw the world’s attention to the maladministration in our country. [...]“

Odessablogger also noted Yulia Tymoshenko's stance on the boycott:

[...] In case you are wondering, the current position taken by Ms Tymoshenko herself over the matter, is that there should not be a boycott because of her, and that the Ukrainian people should see the EU leaders in Ukraine as it will encourage them to look to the EU rather than think they have been written off. [...]

Marek Siwiec, a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament, explained on his BlogActiv.eu blog why he did not support the boycott:

[...] In Poland we need to understand (and I repeated it many times) that the football championship for Ukrainians is a national question – a source of pride, regardless of political views. Ukrainians deserve to have this tournament in their country in an atmosphere of festivity, in spite of all. [...]

[...] Besides, as a whole political class, just as we act together in defence of Yulia Tymoshenko, in this case we should separate sport from politics. If there was somebody in Poland who would like to take this opportunity to rob something from Ukrainians, I warn – the political costs in the mutual relations will be long lasting and serious. [...]

Jonathan Hibberd of Chicken in Kiev wrote about Germany's stance on Euro 2012 in Ukraine:

Merkel boycotts Ukraine? Business as usual.

Germany has been boycotting Ukraine's interests for some time. [...]

[...] Germany should in fact, albeit indirectly, accept some responsibility for what has happened here since 2010. As one leading commentator said a couple of years back, it would have meant an awful lot if Chancellor Merkel had come to Kiev and made a speech in support of Ukraine's European ambitions. Don't forget how narrowly Tymoshenko lost the Presidential election. German endorsement of a European and Euro-Atlantic choice for Ukraine might well have been enough to swing the election for her, but instead it was held against a background of resignation, that Europe didn't want Ukraine and rapprochement with Russia was paramount. Merkel was not there for her then. [...]

At OpenDemocracy.net, Valery Kalnysh, deputy editor of the Kommersant Ukraina newspaper, shared this possible explanation for the German leader's position:

[...] But why, on the other hand, is Germany so active in taking up the cudgels against Ukraine? During the course of a conversation, a German journalist commented ‘It’s quite easy for Merkel to attack Ukraine and demand respect for human rights. Unlike Russia, you have no oil or gas and you’re not as strong and influential as China. It’s convenient to criticise Ukraine and it does great things for [her] popularity rating.’ [...]

LEvko of Foreign Notes explained “why Ukraine's Euro 2012 [would] not be as big a success as hoped”:

[...] In previous tournaments, in my experience, many fans have made an extended holiday of their visits to countries hosting such events; days between matches being spent on the beach, sightseeing, etc. etc. In countries such as Austria/Switzerland or Portugal, where tourism is highly developed, this was an attractive proposition..but, no disrespect intended…Kharkiv? Dontesk?

Europe is currently in the deepest economic crisis since WW2. There is little cash around..not enough to pay the Ukraine's rip-off hotel prices.

Then there's the Olympic games in London later in the year – an attractive draw for sports fans.

[...] But the tsunami of bad press in Europe's mass media over the Tymoshenko affair will be the final turn-off. Fans will rather stay at home, or, at best, fly in and out for matches, just like they do for European club matches.. [...]

Olga Mrinska of Regional Accents reflected [uk] on the Euro 2012 boycott scandal in the context of the general social and political situation in Ukraine:

[...] The repressive race aimed at the opposition leaders has reached its apogee in the past year, and domestic politics has become the center of attention of world leaders. [...] Today's Ukraine is, above all, associated with the jailed opposition, lack of freedom of speech, kleptomaniac and lying officials. Our president must have naively (???) believed that [it's possible to endlessly mislead these "spineless" European leaders and feed them with "mañana" [empty promises] at any mention of the democratic reforms – the leaders who live in ordinary houses in the city center (Germany), ride bicycles (the Netherlands), fly regular commercial flights (Finland) and have incomparably fewer guards that he does (choose any EU country).] And when these Europeans have finally stood up [...], [the Ukrainian leaders began talking] of the Cold War era and bias. In my opinion, this is a lousy excuse…

The problem isn't with the Europeans, but with the Ukrainians – the voters who have brought to power people without the intellect, without a strategic vision and without the belief in the better future for the country and its people. The problem is with the so-called elite that, just like those hotel owners, lives only in the present, without giving any thought to the future.

Despite the avalanche of negative information about Ukraine in the world media, justified in most cases, we still have a chance to [show Ukraine in a positive light] to those football fans who would attend the Euro. Out people are the last frontier and the last hope. The end result and the final assessment of the event depends on their open-mindedness, decency and hospitality. [...]

Finally, a few words about the aspect of Euro 2012 that has gone largely unnoticed – [the view that the Ukrainians themselves have of the event]. Five years ago, we were promised an ocean of private investments, a new and shining infrastructure that would serve host cities for decades, an influx of tourists and billions for the economy. Instead, residents of Kyiv and other cities have experienced mainly negative consequences – destruction of parks, totally dug-up cities, closed streets, altered public transportation routes, [...], growing prices, etc. [...]

Video: Nonprofits Show Their Work Through Award Winning Videos

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:59:17 +0000

Winners for the 6th Annual doGooder Non Profit Video Awards were announced on 5 April, 2012. Following, the winning videos for the 4 different categories: small, medium and large organizations and best storytelling, and the 4 winning films in the fearless category.

For the wmall organization award, the winner was Protect the Defenders, an organization that honors, supports, and gives voice to people serving in the US military services who have been raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members.

For the medium organization award, the prize went to Solid Women, a video made by Fonkoze, Haiti's largest microfinancing organization which shows the impact the organization's programs has had on 5 different women.

The large organization award went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's video on a new medication to treat CF which is benefiting some patients, although efforts are still needed to find treatments for other patients.

Best video storytelling was to the World Memory Project‘s video on how information is helping Holocaust survivors get some closure as they are able to discover what happened to their loved ones during the World War II. In the video, Sol discovers what happened to his father after they separated the day before the liberation.

Four separate grant money awards went to the most fearless videos in the contest. Real Stories of Addiction and Recovery, The Story of Cholera, Not Acceptable R-word PSA and the story of Robert, a homeless man.

Poland: The ‘Web Kids’ Manifesto’

Claudia Parra — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:21:04 +0000

Originally written by the Polish photographer and poet Piotr Czerski [pl] (see Wikipedia for his biography in Polish), the ‘Web Kids’ Manifesto‘ is now appearing on the web in many other languages since its publication on February 11, 2012, in the Polish regional newspaper, Dziennik Baltycki.

The manifesto expresses the sense of community of a whole generation born alongside the arrival of the networks and Internet. It also proclaims the affinity of young people around the world with the emergence of an original global culture and the desire to participate in the circulation of cultural goods, beyond the legal or geographical frontiers arbitrarily imposed.

According to Czerski, the manifesto is evidence of this generation’s desire to distance itself from the power relations inherited from the established authorities [pl]:

Piotr Czerski, author of 'Web Kids" Manifesto'. Photo from his blog, under licence CC 3.

Nie ma w nas tej wynikającej z onieśmielenia pokornej akceptacji, jaka cechowała naszych rodziców – przekonanych o nadzwyczajnej wadze spraw urzędowych i odświętnym charakterze interakcji z państwem. Nie czujemy tego respektu, który brał się z odległości między samotnym obywatelem, a majestatycznymi szczytami „władzy”, majaczącymi gdzieś pośród mgieł.

There is not a trace in us of that humble acceptance displayed by our parents, who were convinced that administrative issues were of utmost importance and who considered interaction with the state as something to be celebrated. We do not feel that respect, rooted in the distance between the lonely citizen and the majestic heights where the ruling class reside, barely visible through the clouds.

This generation opposes private interest groups’ institutional regulations and the control these groups exert over personal information and common cultural goods. It also expresses its need for transparency, freedom, and a “true and real democracy” [pl]:

Być może nie nazwaliśmy tego dotąd, być może jeszcze sami nie zdajemy sobie z tego sprawy – ale tym, czego chcemy, jest chyba po prostu prawdziwa, realna demokracja. Demokracja, o której być może nie śniło się nawet waszym publicystom.

Perhaps we have not yet given it a name, perhaps we are not yet fully aware of it, but I guess what we want is real, genuine democracy. Democracy that, perhaps, is more than is dreamt of in your journalism.

It is a demand more current than ever within the context of the opposition to the ACTA agreement, where the risk of curtailing freedoms is intensely perceived, especially in Eastern Europe [fr].

The manifesto’s original version in Polish: ‘Mi dzieci sieci‘
English: ‘We, the Web Kids‘
French: ‘Nous les enfants du Web‘
German: ‘Wir, die Netz-Kinder‘
Spanish: ‘Nosotros, los hijos de la Web‘
Estonian: ‘Meie, võrgulapsed‘
Swedish: ‘Vi, nätbarnen‘
Czech: ‘My, děti Sítě‘

This manifesto and the reactions it has sparked off everywhere in the world in such a short time, are proof of the desire for freedom, democracy, and transparency that deeply questions our societies. This desire is expressed by those who, from now on, are the willing protagonists of globalization, and who will be the critical citizens of the web over the next decades. The tide has turned, no doubt about it.

Hungary: An Eventful Celebration of the National Holiday

Marietta Le — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:30:47 +0000

Last week, Hungary celebrated the 164th anniversary of the 1848 Revolution. On March 15, 2012, the opposition elected a rapper as the ‘alternative president’ – while the prime minister compared the country to a frog jumping out of a pot of hot water at the very last moment – and a group of far-right protesters broke into the office of the International Monetary Fund. On March 16, a techno party was held at Budapest's Heroes’ Square. On March 17, new members of the Hungarian National Guard took their oath at the same location.

Before the national holiday of March 15, the Hungarian media devoted some coverage to the news of the Polish and French supporters coming to attend the demonstrations. Véleményvezér blog posted [hu] about this with the title, “March 15: thanks but we don't want to import protesters!”:

[...] It looks like the Hungarian national holiday's commemorations will turn into real international events. Gazeta Polska, a right-wing weekly, reports under the title of “A Long Voyage to Hungary” that several thousands Poles are traveling to Hungary to rally for Viktor Orbán. French left-wing intellectuals have published a public invitation that says it's a cause of conscience to come to Hungary and attend the Milla protest against the ‘nationalist’ Fidesz government. [...]

Guest representatives of the two nations attended the day's two largest events. The Poles mainly attended the official governmental celebrations and the main event in the afternoon of March 15, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke. The French guests mainly attended the largest opposition demonstration together with the citizen movements.

The latter was organized through the Facebook group ‘One Million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary‘ (the English mirror page is here), often dubbed as ‘Milla'. Milla started their event also in the afternoon, with a speech by Dopeman, a popular rap musician, who had successfully re-positioned himself from a popular musician to an artist expressing the opinion of a strong citizen opposition by publishing an explicit song partly using the words of the Hungarian anthem [hu].

Starting from the national holiday of October 23, Milla has been running a highly criticized and incoherent contest for the ‘alternative president’ position – which Dopeman ended up winning. (They admitted on their blog [hu] that the contest's process was not perfect.)

The rapper cited the many problems of the Hungarian society in his opening speech [hu] on March 15, also quoting his own lyrics about the struggles of living in Hungary. Afterwards representatives of those social groups that have been affected by the current government's politics – students, journalists, members of the civil society organizations, etc. – also spoke.

At the same time, in front of the Hungarian Parliament, PM Orbán compared the Hungarian society's loan-taking to a frog that feels comfortable in a pot of slow-boiling water until it's almost too late.

His criticism of the EU was highlighted by the international media, and here is what Eva Balogh had to say about it on her blog:

[...] As for the current political atmosphere in Europe Orbán lashed out with a few harsh words on that topic. Hungarians understand that “the European Union is not an alliance of saints but they cannot watch with folded arms while some political and intellectual trend forces an unholy alliance on Europe.” [...]

By the end of the Milla event, a far-right group ‘Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement‘ (the name refers to the 64 counties that existed before the Treaty of Trianon, a resentful memory in the Hungarian history) rallied at the same place, generating a conflict which was solved by the presence of the police. The youth movement then went to the local office of the International Monetary Fund, where they wanted to hand in a petition to the representatives of the organization, and when they were told they could not do it, they lit firecrackers inside the building. Egyenlítő blog recorded their actions and shared the video on YouTube.

March 16 was still about celebrating the 1848 revolution, but some Budapest youths decided to do it their own way. ‘More Techno To The Parliament‘ is a movement opposed to the current political situation, but is reacting to it by using some key terms of political speech. They hold parties on national holidays where they talk about the ‘techno question’ and promote the idea of a ‘state techno radio', not missing out the issue of the need for professional speaker systems and a DJ in each village. This time the party was at Budapest's Heroes’ Square:

On March 17, also at Heroes’ Square, some 130 people took an oath [hu] as new members of a paramilitary group called the Hungarian National Guard. The ‘guardists’ have become popular in the past few years in Hungary, but because of their radical activities the core group,the Hungarian Guard, had been banned. Similar groups re-appeared in some villages in northern Hungary (Global Voices posts about this are here and here), threatening the Roma population with their presence.

This video shows the anti-far-right protesters, too, holding posters saying ‘No Garda', ‘No Racism'.

Europe: Will ACTA Treaty Pass After Protests?

Danielle Martineau — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:09:08 +0000

[All links forward to French articles unless stated otherwise.]

As of the end of the month of February 2012, the mobilization efforts of Internet users against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [en] were still going strong. In fact, they may have begun to bear fruit.

By including infringements against the author's rights in its scope, this international treaty, which addresses intellectual property rights, also affects Internet content.

The ratification debates which were placed on the European Parliament's agenda on February 29, were put on hold in expectation of the opinion of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The issue of the treaty's conformity with European Community law was brought before the court on 22 February by the European Commission.

No ACTA – Strasbourg. Photo by Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Taurillon, the “magazine of young Europeans -France” describes “Europe's about-face on ACTA“:

Si l’avis est négatif, l’ACTA n’a plus aucune chance en Europe. Mais en cas d’avis positif, le recours à la CJUE représente le double avantage de redonner au traité une certaine crédibilité, et de repousser son adoption à une époque suffisamment lointaine pour que la polémique se soit tassée et que l’opinion publique regarde ailleurs.

If the opinion is negative, ACTA no longer stands a chance in Europe. However, if there is a positive opinion, appealing to the ECJ would mean a double advantage by giving the treaty a certain credibility, and also pushing back implementation to a time that is far enough away when public debate has settled down and the public's attention is focused elsewhere.

Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson for la Quadrature du Net urges on the European deputies:

Les eurodéputés doivent résister à la stratégie de la Commission européenne, qui cherche à gagner du temps et à transformer le débat en une simple discussion juridique, et pour cela continuer à travailler au rejet d’ACTA. ACTA vise à imposer une tendance pour une politique globale du droit d’auteur qui est toxique pour l’Internet libre et pour les libertés. Le Parlement européen est le dernier rempart : il doit agir et adopter une position claire et forte, faute de quoi il laissera le champ libre à la Commission pour imposer une répression inacceptable.

The Eurodeputies must resist the European Commission's strategy of attempting to gain time and turning the debate into a simple legal discussion, thereby continuing to work towards ACTA's rejection. ACTA aims to impose a tendency for a global policy of author's rights that is toxic for the free Internet and for freedom. The European Parliament is the last line of defense: it must act and adopt a firm and clear position, otherwise it will leave the field wide open for the commission to impose an unacceptable repression.

For trucbuntu, there is no question of remaining passive while waiting for the Court to adjudicate:

Les citoyens de toute l’Europe peuvent contacter leurs représentants dans les commissions Commerce International (INTA) et Industrie (ITRE), qui se réunissent cette semaine pour discuter d’ACTA, et leur demander de continuer à travailler au sein de leur commission pour le rejet d’ACTA.

Citizens of all of Europe were able to contact their representatives in the International Trade (INTA) and Industry (ITRE) Committees, who met on February 29 to discuss ACTA. Many citizens requested their representatives to reject the proposal.

The website of the European Parliament explains the procedure and the issues of the treaty [en] that are under scrutiny, and has published ‘What you should know about ACTA‘ [en], a page of questions and answers. The ACTA workshop of the European Parliament has been the object of a storify [en] made by the Parliamentary services (link via Global Voices contributor Asteris Masouras [en]).

The organization AVAAZ submitted a petition to the European Parliament on 29 February with 2.4 million signatures against ACTA. The petition is still open:

Nous sommes vraiment proches de la victoire — notre pétition forte de 2,4 millions de signatures a ébranlé les responsables politiques partout en Europe et stoppé les censeurs. La Commission européenne est à présent en position de faiblesse et espère que la Cour de justice donnera son feu vert au traité ACTA en lui soumettant une question juridique très limitée qui recevra certainement une réponse positive.Mais si nous faisons résonner nos voix aujourd'hui, nous pouvons faire en sorte que la Cour examine tous les impacts légaux du traité ACTA et publie un avis qui fera toute la lumière sur cette attaque contre nos droits qu'est ACTA.

We are really close to victory — our petition, with 2.4 million signatures has shaken up those politicians in charge throughout Europe and stopped their censors. The European Commission is currently in a position of weakness and is hoping the Court of justice will green light the ACTA treaty by bringing before the court a very limited legal question, that will without doubt receive a positive response. But if we make our voices heard today, we will be able to get the court to examine all the legal implications of ACTA and publish an opinion that will bring to light the real attack against our rights that is ACTA.

No ACTA – Strasbourg. Photo Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Anti-ACTA parties continue to strengthen their resources. New protests were set for 10 March, and torrentnews gives a list, with this appeal:

La liste n’est pas exhaustive, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour la compléter ;)

si certains se sentent l’âme d’un reporter- photographe en herbe, nous recherchons également des personnes pour faire un petit article photo du déroulement de la manif, rien de bien compliqué, comme fait ici pour Nice, Marseille,Bordeaux et Strasbourg.

The list is not exhaustive, do not hesitate to contact us to complete it ;)

If any individuals see themselves as budding photojournalists we are also looking for people to do a small photo story on how the protest unfolds, nothing too complicated, as it happens in Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg.

For details on the elements of the debate, see also these linked articles from the Tribune on February 29, and Myeurop, on March 3. On Global Voices, see the laws SOPA/PIPA that set a precedent in the USA, here [en] and here [en]. Since the beginning of the protests, ACTA seems to have lost a lot of political momentum.

The title of this post is inspired by the end of the article “La liberté sur Internet : le filtrage de la discorde” which was published by the Institute of Research and Legal and Information studies and Communication (I.R.E.D.I.C.). It puts into perspective Internet blocking and debates the adoption of ACTA.

The original article in French was published on March 4. For background on the ACTA proposal, more articles can be found here [en].

Poland: Szczekociny Train Crash, Yet Another Tragedy

Veronica Khokhlova — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:38:30 +0000

Polandian writes about the reactions to the March 3 deadly train crash in Szczekociny, Poland: “When the comments were gathered from the prominent politicians, one that stood out was [PM] Donald Tusk saying something like ‘…This is the worst disaster since… the last such tragedy'.”

Poland: Gossip Portal Accuses Mainstream Media of ACTA Ignorance

Kasia Odrozek — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:32:58 +0000

In what kind of country are we living and how pathetic are the media here, if an article like this had to be written by an Internet portal with a poodle in their logo?

With these humble words a popular Polish gossip portal, Pudelek, decided [pl] to join the ACTA discussion with a post on February 10, 2012, accusing the Polish mainstream media and local celebrities of missing the point and of ignorance in the debate about the controversial legislation.

Meanwhile, on February 11, ACTA protesters took the streets in many European countries, including Poland.

It has been almost three weeks since January 24, when Polish netizens started their protest – which soon turned Europe-wide – against the international agreement that, according to them, presents a threat to Internet freedom. Numerous Internet initiatives [pl] and massive live protests on the streets of many Polish cities induced a debate [pl] about the “generation acta” and their motivations.

While major information services published political analyses and focused on the events that shaped the debate (e.g., Anonymous attacks [pl] and deputies of a certain party wearing [pl] Guy Fawkes masks in the parliament), the most popular Polish gossip portal decided to speak up [pl] on the “real motives of the raging young people” in an article called, “ACTA: How celebrities lost contact with reality”:

The biggest Polish gossip portal decided to speak up for young people. Screenshot of http://pudelek.pl

So let's write about what is not being spoken out – about what is the real reason for the protest and anger that suddenly surprises everybody now: the Internet “piracy” for private use is today the only way for millions of young Poles to live at least a bit like their collegues from Western Europe. To have access to culture, entertainment, to be able to watch a movie on the computer with the girlfriend. This is actually not only a Polish problem. This is a problem of the whole young population in Europe that doesn't have any chance to do a career like their parents did and buy the same apartments they once bought. Everyone who went lately to Italy, Spain, Portugal or even France or Great Britain and took a look at something more than monuments, knows that. In Poland, where almost everything is more expensive than in the West and salaries are three times lower, it is especially visible, like looking through a magnifying glass. But for some people it is apparently not clear enough, even after massive demonstrations with -10°C cold.

The portal criticises some celebrities for their statements about the protests and for defending radical copyright and calling file-sharing a “theft” – while being so well off with money. The authors also ask [pl] why the media coverage of the movement isn't big enough considering such a massive scale of the protests:

Why aren't TV stations shouting about it? 30,000 people chanting, jumping on frost in Krakow! What happened in the last years that, according to them, was more important than this?

The portal recalls [pl] a couple of YouTube videos showing the recent protests, stressing that these are just a few examples out of many, many more. Here is an example showing 30,000 protesters in Krakow, uploaded on YouTube by skitowiec on January 26:

These are just a couple of videos. Do they make you reflect? If somebody doesn't appreciate this, belittles it, it means that he's completely not up-to-date and doesn't understand what actually happened here. What does this civilisation offer to young people if it takes cheap culture and entertainment away from them? Does it offer a good job? Perspectives? You got to be kidding me.

The reaction to the post was enormous: the article has reached nearly 7,000 supporting comments and 8,000 shares on Facebook. The compelling post caused also an immediate reaction from the mainstream media. A journalist from Gazeta.pl [pl], Pawel Wronski, published a mocking article titled, “On the barricades with a poodle” [pl], in which he stressed the tabloid character of the medium and its attempt to comment on a serious matter. The reaction of the readers in the newspaper's forum was devastating [pl] for the journalist.

Pudelek itself answered [pl] with another post:

It's hard to accept the truth, especially when it comes from a pink gossip portal. But what does it have to do with anything? It's just about millions of people who can read it now. Because it's not our own opinions we wrote down here. We wrote down what you [readers] have been sending to us in thousands of emails. [...] The problem is that we wrote the very thing that you [the media] were afraid to write [...]. How can you be sure that you're expressing somebody's voice, that you can look down on millions of our readers with distaste and that you are an authority for anybody? Do you think that smart people don't read gossip?

Aleksandra Jabloonska supports [pl] Pudelek's post on Facebook and talks about her experience:

I'm impressed that somebody finally had the courage to write it – it's just a pity (no offense) that it had to be the editors of “Pudelek” and not “the free TV and facts for people.” I will give a real-life example: I'm studiyng film and theater. We are required to know all the film history. If I had to watch legally all these movies that they need me to know, I would have to spend [too much money]. But that's not a problem for the state or the university as long as I have internet access – because they assume that I can afford it. I wonder how they imagine such education after implementing ACTA, if the university is not able to make these materials available and the state doesn't give a damn. It's sad, really sad.

Young Poles protest against ACTA but also against the everyday reality. Image by Alexey Sidorenko, used with permission.

Karolina, for whom the article was the first she read on a gossip portal, comments [pl] under the post:

For the first time I've read an article on “Pudelek.” A wise and balanced text. A text describing the world of celebrities whose only contact with poverty is limited to attending a charity gala. It's a weird country, Poland.

Martyna Tina comments [pl] on Facebook:

I was very happy to see that you took our opinions under consideration and wrote about the ACTA problem. Because although this doesn't concern only young people, the older didn't make the effort to read even a bit. They watch TV and there of course the cameramen film in a way to show the least people (seriously!) and they don't say: Poles went on the streets – but they say: somehow not so many people showed up for the protest. They marginalise the problem, labelling it to youth, to the internet, to pirates, to thieves. Thieves are the big corporations, bankers and dishonest politicians.

Blogger niekontent doesn't believe in charitable intentions of the gossip portal and reminds [pl] them that the mainsteram media actually provided a pretty big coverage on ACTA:

Here is the news: with all my respect for the talented editors, but “Pudelek” doesn't touch upon such topics as ACTA unless they become relevant (meaning “interesting,” meaning “clickable”) for the street. This is the logic behind a service that achieved a huge success based on this simple mechanism.

A truth hard to deny, but still, the immense reaction to the post on a portal that normally writes about movie stars’ break-ups and best Grammy outfits, should make the media reflect on their overall condition. Are they mirroring the voice of the young generation, are they able to listen? To some extent, young Poles consider the protest an occassion to express their anger against the political elites and the reality they have to live in day by day.

Blogger niekontent finds [pl] the discussion somewhat sad:

It's sad how much Gazeta Wyborcza, one of the most important representatives of the so-called “old media,” stopped to understand the young generations of Poles, those who grew up with the internet. What is worse, sometimes I'm afraid that Gazeta Wyborcza (generally speaking, not individual people) stopped to understand what internet is about. [...] It's sad that one of the most aggresive and uncompromising tabloids, which “Pudelek” is, became an authority for a mass of young Poles. [...] What is also sad is that the voice of “Pudelek” in this debate sounds just stronger, more honest.