Global Voices

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The world is talking, are you listening?

Ramzy Baroud writes [fr] about the conflict in Mali on Pambazuka:

British security firm G4S will rake in enormous profits due to the crisis taking place in Mali, Libya and Algeria. Recognized as the biggest security firm in the world, the group was downgraded at the time of the Olympic Games in London last year, as a result of its inability to meet the terms of a government contract. However, with the growing instability in Northern and Western Africa, it is expected that the firm will make a strong recovery in the near future.

On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]:

“A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to Italy, by way of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bolivia. From authoritarian regimes to democratic countries, none are exempt from criticism on the topic. In 2013, torture remains as endemic, omnipresent and multi-faceted as ever”.

If the press have the energy to expose the names of victims and their pictures, why can't they pour the same energy into covering the information and wisdom that would prevent further tragedies?

A professor of Islamic studies Naito Masanori commented on Twitter [ja] about the press coverage of the Aménas hostage crisis in Algeria where 10 Japanese have allegedly been killed.

M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012. She started with a list of nonfiction books, then followed by a list for poetry [En] and fiction [En].

Roman city Djemila, Algeria by photo by rapidtravelchai on Fotopedia CC-license-BY

Algerian historian Nacéra Benseddik warns that the construction underway on the site of UNESCO World Heritage Site Djamila is endangering the archaeological ruins [fr]. Djamila is famous for for its unique adaptation of Roman architecture highlighted by an impressive arch.

Algerian blogger MnarviDZ writes:

The Algerian rulers are actually artists who invented the art of time stretching and we, the Algerian people, are all taking part in their performance. And as contemporary art doesn’t care much about beauty, happiness and stuff like this, the rulers chose to make their performance feel ugly, and this is why we are not enjoying it much. These rulers do take this art to its limits because we’re forced to watch (and endure) their art work forever.