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Global Voices in Dutch Looks Back on 2011

Percy Balemans — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:00:05 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

While the year 2012 is already well on its way, the translators of Global Voices in Dutch look back on 2011. Which posts stood out and what makes Global Voices so special?

Marjolein Snippe writes:

A while ago I had been translating a short documentary on the Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant and the arguments of indigenous people opposing it. Then I saw this report on Global Voices. I was glad the issue is still receiving attention and that the (mainly) indigenous people opposing it are getting their voices heard in Brazilian courtrooms, by the Brazilian government and by worldwide sympathisers and supporters.

I was very much touched by an article about Syria I translated back in March. All the personal stories and deep worries made the impact the struggles had on the people living there so much more visible and “tangible” than most official newspaper reports!

Mieke Tulp writes:

Being asked which GV posts from last year made an impression, it seems inevitable to come up with something about the Arabic Spring. One article that struck me was a report about day-to-day life on Tahrir Square. It focussed on the positive attitude and feelings among the protesters. Little Utopia amidst explosive surroundings

Another story from an Arab country that touched me was the arrest of Razan Ghazzawi. The article was translated into virtually every language Global Voices covers, and rightfully so. She was released on 18 December.

Something that had an absolutely negative impact on me: Troy Davis’ death. He was executed in September. I do not know what to say about it. It should not have happened.

And an interesting story about children who have to work. In Bolivia the working children formed unions to ensure better wages and working conditions. It is a story about strong children who work and go to school and are determined to create a better future for themselves.

Percy Balemans writes:

Last year I translated a lot of stories about the Arab Spring, a subject that was also covered extensively by regular media. But they mainly showed images of huge crowds. This is why I was touched by the story about Egyptian Nadia El Awady who took her 73-year old father to Tahrir Square. What a wonderful way to get a taste of the atmosphere and to read how a 73-year old experiences it all!

I also enjoyed translating the article “African Women Striving to be Heads of State“. A perfect example of the kind of subject you won't read about in regular media, but which is covered by Global Voices.

Saskia Bliemer writes:

I found “North Korea Threatens to Disclose Recordings of Talks with South“, written by Lee Yoo Eun, very interesting to translate. Though we have seen lots of images from North Korea on the news lately, the country remains a mystery to me. The good thing about Global Voices is that you can read the opinions of the local population, making it possible to get a more complete idea of the situation.

A huge thank you to all Global Voices in Dutch translators [nl] for their contributions in 2011! Would you like to contribute as well? Contact us.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

Africa/Caribbean: Vote for the YoBloCo Awards

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:21:38 +0000

Public evaluation is now open for the “Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition” (YoBloCo) : “We received more than 90 entries for the competition, among which we shortlisted a total of 36 blogs for the Individual Category and 16 blogs for the Institutional Category.”

Africa: Open Doors 2012: Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:25:19 +0000

Open Doors 2012 focuses on Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa: “Following on from India in 2011, the next edition of Open Doors, the Festival del film Locarno’s co-production lab, will be devoted to francophone Africa…Application forms for Open Doors 2012 are available on www.onopendoors.pardo.ch and are restricted to projects from francophone Sub-saharan Africa”

African Women Striving to be Heads of State

Lova Rakotomalala — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:46:56 +0000

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf paved the way in 2006 when she was elected President of Liberia, the first African woman to reach the top level position. Since then, several other African women have decided to run for presidency, most recently in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger. The outcomes of their campaigns have had various degrees of success so far, although not many expect them to follow in the footsteps of Johnson-Sirleaf just yet.

Yet many African countries are scheduled for elections in 2011-12 and the increase in female candidates is undoubtedly a step in the right direction for a continent that still struggles at times with fair representation of minorities in their political systems.

Clarisse Juompan-Yakam has written an in-depth article [fr] on the subject where she notes that the candidates share many similar traits: they are often highly educated, tenacious politicians who first got involved in the public debate as civil rights activists.

Niger

Juompan-Yakam writes that Mariama Bayard Gamatié, who lost in the recent Presidential elections in Niger, was unhappy with the lack of media coverage her campaign received:

Première Nigérienne à briguer la magistrature suprême, cette fonctionnaire des Nations unies attribue en partie à l’indifférence des médias sa contre-performance à la présidentielle de janvier dernier : 0,38 % des voix au premier tour, le pire score du scrutin.

First Nigerienne women to run for commander in chief, this United Nations staffer believes that her low score in the January Presidential elections (0.38% of votes, lowest of all candidates) is due to the lack of media coverage.

Gamatié views her candidacy as a stepping stone for other women in the region to follow.

Bénin

Marie-elise Gbedo, presidential candidate in Bénin. Image by Benin-diaspora.com

One of them was Marie-Élise Akouavi Gbèdo in Bénin whom Mrs Gamatié joined on the campaign trail earlier this year to show her support. Mrs Akouavi Gbèdo did not win the election but she is now Minister of Justice. She helped make polygamy unlawful in Bénin.

Madagascar

In Madagascar, the actual date for the Presidential elections is not yet set. However, Mrs Saraha Georget Rabeharisoa is one of the first to submit her candidacy. Mrs Rabeharisoa is the head of the Green Party in Madagascar. The uncertainty about the electoral calendar [fr] does not agree with her:

L’Etat a fait des dépenses faramineuses pour les membres du gouvernement qui étaient descendus sur le terrain pour sensibiliser les gens à s’inscrire dans les listes électorales… Si actuellement, on décide de ne pas procéder aux élections pour permettre aux citoyens d’exprimer leur choix, on a fait des dépenses pour rien.

The government is currently spending a great deal of money for the members of the government to ask people to register for the elections… If we finally decide not to have elections for the people to express themselves, then we would have spent the money for nothing.

Saraha Georget Rabeharisoa, head of the Green Party in Madagascar. Image by http://hasinimadagasikara.mg

The environment, evidently one of the main themes for her political party, is one of the main headlines in Madagascar because of the infamous illegal logging of rosewood from the rain forests. Mrs Rabearisoa weighs in on the scandal [mg]:

Tsy ekena ny fitrandrahana tsy manara-dalàna rehetra eto madagasikara. Mikasika ny fitrandrahana ny andramena, dia efa nanomboka ny taona 2001 no nisian’izany voalohany. Tokony hisy hatrany ny fandraisana andraikitra manoloana izany

All the illegal traffic that is going on in Madagascar is not acceptable. About the rosewood logging, it had already started back in 2001. It's high time we put measures in place to deal with this

Democratic Republic of Congo

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angèle Makombo-Eboum is running for the presidential elections of November 2011. She explains that if a woman is good enough to run a household, she ought to be good enough to run the country [fr]. She boasts a Master of Law from the Sorbonne.

Pourquoi le Congo ne ferait-elle comme le Liberia, la Thaïlande, le Brésil ou l'Allemagne où le pouvoir d'Etat est exercé des femmes. Les femmes sont capables de changement . La vie à Kinshasa donne bien l'illustration la plus patente…Ce sont les femmes qui nourrissent les familles. Elles font étudier les enfants.

Why can't Congo go the way of Liberia, Thailand, Brazil or Germany, countries where women are at the highest level of power. Women are capable of bringing change. Life in Kinshasa is the best example of that.. It is the women who feed the families. They also make sure that the children get an education.

Cameroon

Cameroonian Édith Kah Walla believes women have to overcome higher hurdles to convince their countrymen that they are competent for the job. Owona Nguini agrees with her [fr] but he also thinks that being a woman can be an important asset:

Le fait que Mme Kah Walla soit une femme peut jouer dans les deux sens..parce que c’est la première fois qu’une femme se présente et c’est rare d’aller jusqu’au bout de la compétition électorale. Ça peut aussi être un handicap compte tenu de la prévalence d’un certain machisme politique qui fait que la grande partie de la société ne voit pas nécessairement une femme à sa tête.

That Mrs Kah Walla is a woman can work both ways… it would be a first that a woman runs and goes all the way to election day. It can also be a handicap because there is still a certain machismo in the political field that makes an important part of the society not picture a woman at the top of the nation just yet.

Togo: 3rd BarCamp Selects the Translation for “Blog” in Ewé Language

Suzanne Lehn — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:07:02 +0000

In its presentation of the third edition of BlogCamp Togo, togocouleurs explains that [fr] the Togolese blogosphere coined a new word for “blog” in the Ewé language (spoken in Togo, Ghana and Benin) : “with the vote taking place directly on the ETTIC [fr] ('Togolese Space for Information and Communication Technologies') Facebook wall, the neologism « Nyablog » was chosen by the majority of voters as the translation for blog (ahead of other options such as kaméhoma, kamégbalé or kamégnakaka).

Africa : Delicious Peanut

Thalia Rahme — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 21:29:08 +0000

Nadia Khouri-Dagher writes a post on afrik.com [fr] where she praises the peanut, a condiment that has been integrated in most African cuisines: “Senegalese Chicken Mafé, Malian Peanuts Tiguadegue sauce, Ghanean Inkatse-abè sauce, Togolese Azindéssi sauce, Beninese Aziin nusunnu sauce, Congolese moambe chicken, Peanut rougail from Reunion Islands,… : The peanut or goober composes a wide array of dishes and popular and delicious in the majority of Sub-Saharan African countries !”

Benin: Meet Benin's Rising Star

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:31:16 +0000

Chale writes about the rising star of Benin's music: “Kiinzah is certainly one of the rising stars in the African music scene. We discovered the Benin singer recently through a Gabonese Youtube channel, that alone signifies how she's crossed over her country's borders and is making a mark on the African continent.”

Lebanon: Story of a Migrant House Keeper, Georgette

Rhita Boufelliga — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:41:51 +0000

To mark Labor Day, the non-governmental organisation Migrant Workers Task Force has published a video, in which Georgette, a house keeper from Benin working in Lebanon, relates her experiences and speaks of the changes she would like to see in migrants' working conditions.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Surge in Use of Mobile Phones

Diana Rhudick — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:47:29 +0000

André-Michel Essoungou writes the following on the site reseautelecom.com: “According to the ITU [International Telecommunication Union], investments in the African mobile phone sector, the prime mover of information and communication technologies, went from US$8.1 billion in 2005 to nearly US$70 billion today. These technologies are about to become the driving force for African growth.”

Côte d'Ivoire: Where Are the African Personalities When They Are Needed?

Anna Gueye — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:56:15 +0000

A few months ago, Marième Jamme asked Bono and Bob Geldof to take less prominent roles as speakers for Africa in the media and leave space for Africans to speak for themselves. Today on the Africa Rising blog, bloggers wonder where have the African personalities gone when they are actually needed to get the world's attention on the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire ?

Libya: Sub-Saharan Africans in Serious Danger

Mairi Mcgivern — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:55:58 +0000

This article is part of our special coverage on the uprising in Libya.

The crisis in Libya since the uprisings against Colonel Mouammar Gaddafi has not only had dramatic consequences for Libyans, but also for Sub-Saharan African citizens residing in Libya. Thousands of refugees are exposed to terrible conditions on journeys to the nearest borders, and numerous black Africans currently do not dare to leave their homes, not even to find something to eat. Why is this?

The digital portal for the civil society of Maghreb e-Joussour.net explains in an article [fr] published on March 2, 2011:

De peur d'être pris pour des mercenaires à la solde du pouvoir de Mouammar Kadhafi, les migrants subsahariens vivant en Libye se cachent depuis le début de la répression sanglante, au risque de se retrouver oubliés dans ce pays qu'ils veulent quitter.

For fear of being mistaken as mercenaries working to uphold the powerful regime of Mouammar Gaddafi, Sub-Saharan migrants living in Libya have been forced to hide ever since the onslaught of the repression began. Yet they run the risk of finding themselves forgotten in a county they wish to leave.

Hundreds of thousands have migrated to Libya from all over the African continent, notably from the countries within close proximity, such as approximately 300,000 from Chad, 50,000 from Nigeria and 10,000 from Mauritania. In an article on Mediapart [fr] (subscription required), Carine Fouteau remarks:

Regrouped according to nationality in certain areas of the larger cities, they are calling for help but are not heard. ‘The Sub-Saharan Africans are afraid. After the information we received from the Malians, they gather together as much as possible, up to 10, 20 or 30 at a time. They cannot get out, they live underground. Anyone with black skin is in hiding because certain individuals have experienced some abuse”, reports Alassane Dicko, one of the co-ordinators/leaders of the Malian Association of Deportation (AME), situated in Bamako.

Global Voices previously shared citizen videos related to the African mercenary question.

Al Jazeera English shares a video report on the dangers faced by black Africans in Libya.

In a report of Malian testimonies on the website Bamanet.net, Abdou Karim Maiga recounts the experience of certain individuals [fr] who are refusing to flee.

Mamadou Diakite, who is around thirty and works as a civil servant, recounts that “since the beginning of the conflict, we have been persecuted and especially since the press began to speak of the implication that many blacks are mercenaries working closely with Gaddafi. People here say that our president supports Gaddafi and therefore we are viewed as traitors.

Another Malian, Chaka Sidibe, arrived in Libya just four months ago. He affirms that for several nights he and his friends have not slept and adds that [fr]:

We have been abandoned by our Chinese bosses who have been evacuated by their country and their villagers have asked us to leave as quickly as possible. We came together and crossed the Egyptian border by foot.

The website Relief Web reports real life stories of people who have attempted to save their own lives:

Fearing for their lives, given the targeting of Sub-Saharan Africans, and desperate to leave Libya, they had paid a human trafficker to take them to Egypt in a sealed and refrigerated truck.

The information agency of the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Irin News, reports the experience of some Somalis [fr].

Their food reserves are almost totally exhausted, he explained, “The landlord did the shopping for us but we are missing a lot. We had a little bit of money when the troubles first erupted, but we are labourers and it has now been 12 days since we last worked.

Additionally, it is the women who have paid the heaviest price during this conflict, Shamso Mohammed, a Somali refugee, told IRIN in the same article:

The Somali women are particularly worried about what might happen. “I arrived here almost a year and a half ago in order to try to get myself to Europe, but so far I have not succeeded and now I find myself in the exact same situation I was trying to escape from by fleeing Somalia.”

Maryan Ali, who lives under the same roof as Shamso, has said that she fears they may come and attack them in their homes. “The residencies of several Somalians would have been, in effect, the target of attackers”, she added.

Three of her friends disappeared five days ago, she revealed. “We called them for work and they went; the last news we have of them is that they were taken by a car driven and accompanied by armoured men. We have no idea what the men have done to them and we have no one to turn to for help.”

Boukary Daou wrote in an article published on Maliweb.net:

On this Wednesday, (2nd March), there are around 134 migrants, who have trampled the soil of home. But this is just a small fraction of our compatriots living in Libya.

According to the last administrative census carried out by the vocational electorate of the civil State, (Ravec) there are more than 9000 Malians still to be accounted for.

The site Podcast Journal signaled other sources of worry for the HCR and the OIM:

Melissa Fleming, spokesperson of the HCR, made known to the HCR some concerns over the destiny of a ‘large number of refugees of Sub-Saharan African origin who are not yet authorised to enter into Tunisian territory.’ This is an issue equally signalled as a concern by the spokesperson of the International Migration Organisation (OMI), Jemini Pandya, who also works to help with the evacuation process of non-Libyan nationals.

In another article by Carine Fouteau on Mediapart (reproduced on Centrafrique Presse), Jean-Phillipe Chauzy, spokesman of International Organisation of Migration (IOM), explains:

Those who do not have any official papers are literally restricted over there. What’s more is that there are copious levels of people in this situation; from Mali, Guinea, Nigeria, Niger, Toga, Benin, Burkina Faso etc. Without a passport it is improbable that they would be authorised to leave the country. Their situation is a particularly pressing issue.

This article is part of our special coverage on the uprising in Libya.

Africa: Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou

Rhita Boufelliga — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:46:50 +0000

Boukari Ouédraogo wrote [Fr] on his blog: ” The 22^nd edition of the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou will take place in Ouagadougou from February 26th to March 5th. This year's theme is “African Cinema and Markets.”

Tragedy bookends Year 2010 for Francophone Citizen Media

Lova Rakotomalala — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 11:02:25 +0000

It appears that tragedy will bookend yet another year rich in remarkable events in the world of French-speaking citizen media.

The month of January set the tone for the rest of the year with the traumatic fallout from the earthquake in Haiti, the attacks against the Togolese football team at the African Cup of nations in Cabinda and the firing of tear gas against protesters in Madagascar. The end of the year did not provide much respite from violence as the ongoing political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire has already claimed close to 173 lives and social tension sparks riots in Tunisia.

The year 2010 was also marked by the 50th anniversary of the independence of many African countries, highlighted by a controversial military parade at the Champs-Elysees in Paris and the hosting of Young African Leaders Symposium by US president Obama. Throughout the year, citizen media in Francophone countries was once more at the forefront of information dissemination and often found itself under duress for exercising their right to free speech.

An Ominous Start

The earthquake took everyone by surprise but despite the frequent interruptions of phone services and generally poor access to internet, Haitian citizen media responded to the challenges and provided frequent updates and a much needed on the ground perspectives regarding the recovery effort.

In the midst of the tragedy, a francophone “show of solidarity” was discussed at length when Senegal's president Wade offered free land to Haitians earthquake survivors. The offer was met with a mix of skepticism and support by Senegalese, Haitian and citizen media worldwide.

On February 18th, a coup took place in Niger in which President Mamadou Tandja was captured after a gun battle in the capital, Niamey, led by led by Col. Abdoulaye Adamou Harouna. The general sentiment of the Nigerien citizen media seemed to go from “blasé” to “good riddance”.

The financial crisis also affected the African continent; African bloggers reacted to the apparent differential treatment from the IMF when it comes to helping countries like Greece compared to some African nations.

From financial to natural crises, The northern and western African regions were plagued by prolonged period of rains and severe floods. Morocco, Mauritania, Benin, Nigeria and Togo were amongst the most affected by floods with initial reports often provided by citizen media.

The security and stability of the west African region was also on the mind of bloggers when AQIM made headlines repeatedly by taking hostages in Mali and killing Michel Germaneau in July and again capturing several employees of AREVA hostages in Niger later that year.

AQIM Area via Orthuberra on Wikimedia - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Celebrating Independence in Francophone Africa

Despite the weary start, the year 2010 was also supposed to be a celebration of 50 years of independence and a critical election year for many African nations. Yet given the delayed human development progress, questionable governance and mismanagement of natural resources, many African bloggers wonder whether there is really a cause for celebration in Africa so far.

Yet the celebrations went on, sometimes quite lavishly as seen in Brazzaville, Congo.

None of these celebrations caused quite the stir that the military parade of African soldiers on Bastille Day at the invitation of French president Sarkozy provoked. With the growing exposure of the corrupt nature of “La Françafrique“, refering to the relationship between some African leaders and French lobbying groups, many observers pointed out that the presence of African armies at the Champ-Elysees was condescending and awkward at best, not unlike Sarkozy's Dakar speech. [Another speech by the French president in Grenoble this summer about delinquents of foreign origins and the forced expulsions of Roma people also provoked intense reactions in the francophone blogosphere.]

A different approach was taken by the US administration in marking the multiple independence anniversaries in Africa. In early august 2010, US President Obama held a three-days symposium for Young African Leaders to exchange ideas on how to foster development, human rights and democracy. The emphasis on the youth of Africa was in clear contrast with the presence of the old guards of African leaders showcased on Bastille Day.

Hoping for Transparency

Year 2010 was also supposed to be the year when some African nations would make important strides towards free and transparent elections.

That hope quickly faded away.

The electoral process in Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar and Rwanda were all at some point subject to major question marks, marred with missed deadlines, suspicions of massive fraud and acts of violence.

Yet one has the feeling that citizens in those countries are eager to move forward and prove that mediocre leadership cannot hold countries back forever. The rise of a burgeoning civil society and local citizen media provide hope that progress are being made, often in spite of proper governance.

Théophile Kouamouo and Saint-Clavier Oula

The impact of online citizen media has become evident enough that authoritarian African governments have taken major steps towards increasing censorship of digital media. Ivorian bloggers and journalists were arrested in July for publishing documents on corruption in cocoa and coffee trade. Since the Ivorian political crisis broke out in December, many bloggers and twitter users have withdrawn from their online activities and are no longer posting updates on the situation because of personal threats.

In Madagascar, a slew of journalists and political opponents were arrested for alleged threats against national security and voicing their dissents online. Steps towards more control of online content in Madagascar are also being taken, highlighted by a proposal that all Malagasy digital content are to be be managed by a single private provider (fr).

It is yet to be seen whether this year's lessons from some African nations' electoral hardships will be learned by their neighbors. Senegal and Cameroon among others will face important electoral deadlines in 2011. Cameroonian bloggers do not appear overly optimistic about the upcoming elections. As for Senegal, local citizen media has already been quite vocal about perceived nepotism and corruption inside the current administration.

It would be a refreshing sight in 2011 if the streak of dubious electoral results and post-electoral violence were to be halted for a change. African leaders owe that much to their resilient population.

Benin: How to help flood victims

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:52:47 +0000

How to help flood victims in Benin: “So people are homeless, kids aren’t going to school, and disease is rampant. What can we do from our armchairs? I checked with the USAID director and several other international donors to find out what they’re doing. The relief effort is being lead by Caritas, who works in partnership with the Beninese government to get supplies and support to areas affected by the flooding.”

Benin: One of the Most Affected by the Floods in Western Africa

Lova Rakotomalala — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:31:55 +0000

Blaise Aplogan posts a photo of floods in Benin [fr]. He adds a table that summarizes the number of casualties and people affected by the floods in several western African countries, noting that Benin was one of the most severely hit [RFI report in French].