Archive for
March 6th, 2007
Stories
South Asia: Holi, Wedding excess, Bollywood, Snow, Bus etiquette, ordination of children
Happy Holi to our readers. The Hindu Spring festival of colors is one of the most popular traditional festivals in India and Nepal. South Asia Biz reports that the Indian Cricket team, now in the Caribbean for the Cricket world cup celebrated Holi with the local Indian communities.
We also have other assorted topics discussed in these South Asian blogs:
Bangladesh:
Nazia Hussein of Adhunika blog highlights the tradition of excess expenditure in weddings, which becomes burden for the family. She contemplates where to draw the line.
Recently a Dhaka highrise caught fire causing five deaths and much panic and people witnessed dramatic rescue scenes. Drishtipat Blog posts eye-witness accounts of the terrible incident and critics the absence of safety measures to avoid this kind of tragedy.
Bhutan:
Ugyen of Visit Bhutan in 2008 shares a breath taking video of the Landing of the Druk Air, Royal Bhutan Airlines in Paro, the Only Airport (more…)
Arabisc: An Open letter to the Saudi Labour Minister
Saudi Arabian blogger Raed Al Saeed has written an open letter to his Labour Minister Dr Ghazi Al Gosaibi, who is also a distinguished writer and diplomat, and posted it online.
The letter, whether it made it to Dr Al Gosaibi's office or not, is available on the worldwide web for all to read and calls for treating local and expatriate workers equally. The issue of expatriate workers in oil rich Arab countries is a sticky one. While on the one hand they are a boon to their local economies back home, remitting to the tune of $14 billion to their countries from Saudi Arabia alone annually, the questions of abuse and discrimination are routinely raised when addressing how the the Kingdom treats its six million-strong foreign workforce.
And while expatriate workers agree to do menial jobs which many Arabs from oil-rich countries look down at, there is still talk among nationals of foreigners competing to take jobs from them - something difficult to gauge I presume amid conflicting reports on unemployment figures!
(more…)
Malawian Musings: Diaspora, Internet-based Radio, Nigerian Movies, Stray Dogs, Silicon Valley dreams, and Muluzi’s comeback
The Malawian blogosphere has been abuzz with news of Malawian initiatives involving radio broadcasting and the Internet; Malawians in the diaspora; personal narratives about dislikes, trips and city issues; and the political comeback of former President Muluzi who is said to be planning a return to contest for another term after the constitutional termination of his two earlier terms as president.
Radio program and Internet radio for Malawians in the Diaspora
Victor Kaonga, a Malawian radio broadcaster studying in Sweden, writes on his blog Ndagha about a new radio program he has initiated, called AMalawi Kunja kwa Malawi (Malawians in Diaspora) aired on TransWorld Radio. The program, launched on January 10, 2007, follows a successful Christmas special which had initially been slated for 30 minutes, but ended up running to 90 minutes. Victor writes:
The programme is a platform to let Malawians in diaspora share with listeners in Malawi something about their lives, their work, studies, stay and the countries they are living in. Malawians abroad are interviewed to share personal experiences as well official positions on issues that affect them where they are and at home.
Victor continues to share news about a new Internet-based radio for Malawi, the second one in six months.
It is now amazing to me how though slowly Malawians are utilizing the Internet for radio. It was only last year in August that the first internet radio ran by a Malawian started broadcasting. Radio Yako made news and still is considered the pioneer. Another internet radio Kwacha FM has just started doing a similar thing. I hope no one will raise questions at the names! I am wondering a bit about the “fm” extension! I would say to both kongilachuleshoni!
Global Voices is seeking an Outreach Director
Global Voices is seeking a full-time Outreach Director. The outreach director will coordinate Global Voices's efforts in promoting blogging, podcasting, videocasting, photoblogging and other forms of citizen media throughout the world. This will include responsibility for managing a grants program that will support innovative outreach efforts with microgrants, compilation of curiculum for blogging outreach and coordination of speaking and teaching engagements for Global Voices bloggers around the world. (For more on how Global Voices views outreach, see these notes from our December meeting in Delhi.)
Suitable candidates will have a strong understanding of the international blogosphere, journalism or technical writing experience, excellent management and leadership skills, and strong experience as a public speaker or technical trainer. Strong spoken and written English is a must - skill in other languages is a strong plus. We are very unlikely to consider candidates who are not active bloggers - links to the blogs you participate in are a key portion of a cover letter or resume for this position. Active involvement in the Global Voices community is a strong plus.
Global Voices expects that the Outreach Director will focus 40-50 hours per week on the position, with a great deal of schedule flexibility. Some international travel is required as part of the position, including attendance at the Global Voices annual meeting (travel funding will be provided.) The Outreach director reports to the acting managing director of Global Voices, and later to the executive director - she or he will be an active part of the Global Voices senior management team.
This position does not require relocation. All Global Voices jobs are virtual - people work from their home countries and connect with other Global Voices staff via the Internet. This job is open to residents of any nation. Salary will be based on experience.
To apply, please send a letter of interest along with CV or resume to ethan@globalvoicesonline.org
What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — about murders in Guatemala
Recent events involving the murder of four Salvadorans in Guatemala have dominated the blogosphere in El Salvador. On February 19, three members of the Central American parliament (PARLACEN) from El Salvador's ruling ARENA party were found murdered in Guatemala along with their driver. The group had been traveling to a working group meeting of PARLACEN. The bodies were found in a rural area outside of Guatemala City, in the burned out shell of the vehicle in which they had been driving. Among the dead was Eduardo D'Aubuisson, son of the founder of ARENA.
Initially the reaction in the Salvadoran blogosphere was to call for restraint[ES], avoiding a rush to judgment, and calling for an in depth investigation[ES]. Jjmar wrote that no one should seek to take advantage of the murders[ES] for political gain, whether to further the political polarization in El Salvador or to gain a benefit in the 2009 election campaign.
Fears of a political motive were largely eliminated when four Guatemalan police officers were arrested for the murders three days later. The arrested police officers included the head of the organized crime unit within the Guatemalan national police. Yet there was to be another twist. On February 25th, the four Guatemalan police officers were executed in their cells in a high security Guatemalan prison. Most reports indicated that gunmen “stormed” the prison, passing through eight locked(?) doors to get to the suspects and kill them. The executions coincided with a riot within the prison, and the some Guatemalan authorities are still suggesting that the suspects were killed by rioting gang members. The discussion in the blogosphere now turned to organized crime and narco-trafficking and its hold in Central America.
(more…)
Tunisphere: Mauritania's elections, Super shield and Mohammed Abbou.
Mauritania's presidential elections were almost ignored on the Tunisian blogosphere. Only Nadia From Tunis brought attention to this historical event in this country, a member of the UMA (Arab Maghreb Union). In this article, Nadia talked about all the miraculous decisions made by a military who took over using force in this region of Africa where leadership is never taken away peacefully. The post is somehow alluding to the current situation in the rest of the Maghreb and African countries:
Le 11 mars, regardez vers l'ouest
La Mauritanie, vous savez le petit pays qui fait partie de l'UMA, là-bas juste en dessous du Maroc. Mais si! Le pays ou tout le monde s'appelle Oueld quelque chose ? Vous voyez de quoi je parle ?
Bref, dans ce petit coin perdu qui n'a jamais notre attention, on s'apprête à vivre un évènement historique. Le 11 mars prochain, des “élections présidentielles”, des vraies, vont avoir lieu! (pour ceux qui ne sauraient pas ce que cette expression veut dire, restez sous votre bouclier, c'est mieux) […]
Le CMJD organise un référendum constitutionnel qui entérine notamment la réduction du mandat présidentiel à 5 ans et son renouvellement à une seule fois, ainsi que des élections municipales, législatives et sénatoriales. Il abroge un texte de lois qui restreignait les conditions d'associations, de réunions publiques et d'expression, gracie des opposants emprisonnés et permet le retour au pays des autres, met fin au système de censure et libère la presse et l'audiovisuel, réforme le statut de la magistrature pour garantir la neutralité des juges, met en place des procédures pour réduire la corruption, renforce le dossier des finances publiques, et réduit la dette extérieure. La meilleure reste quand même le miracle suivant: après 19 mois à la tête du pays, le colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall “se retire” pour laisser la place à son successeur, qui sera élu en mars, et martèle la nécessité de préserver la neutralité totale des dirigeants en cette période décisive[…]
Mauritania, you know the small country, member of the UMA, over there, just south of Morocco, you see! That country where all the people name start with Oueld something? Do you see what I am talking about?
So, in this small part of the word that never came to our attention, people are about to live an historical event. On March 11th, “presidential elections” will take place! (For those who wouldn't know the meaning of that expression, stay under your shield, it is better that way)**[…]
The CMJD (military council for justice and democracy) is organizing a constitutional referendum that will confirm the reduction of the president mandate to 5 years and limit its renewal to one time only, along with municipal, congressional and senatorial elections. It will also repeal a law that restricted the freedom of association, public reunion and speech. It will reprieve and pardon all political prisoners and allow the return of the exiled. It will also end censorship and guarantee freedom of speech to the press and the audiovisual industry. It will reform the judicial system to guarantee judge's neutrality, put in place a process for dealing with corruption, reinforce public finance and reduce external debts. The best of all is the following miracle: After 19 months as the head of the state, Colonel Ould Mohamed Vall will “step down” and yield to his successor who will be elected in March and he kept pointing out the need for total neutrality of the current government during this decisive period […]
Links for Tue, 2007-03
neweurasia summarizes recent defense and security news from Central Asia.
Leila Tanayeva notes that Kazakhstan's president has called for the country to develop halal industry in its food sector. She asks though whether or not Kazakhs really care if their meat is halal.
Safrang says that unless the US takes steps to prevent the death of civilians in its military operations in Afghanistan, the fight against the Taliban will be slowly lost as legitimacy fades.
At Geoffrey Philp's blog, filmmaker Mikey Jiggs writes about the experience of making a documentary about dub poet Malachi Smith.
Namibia Notes writes about Namibia's government policy limiting the sale of live, on the hoof, animals to feed lots and abattoirs in South Africa, “The Namibian Government put the limits in place to promote local abattoirs and feed lots, and thus add value to a basic product. The curse of being a former colony means that your valuable resources are extracted in their most basic (and least profitable) form so the colonizing country can gain both from the use of that material and from the wealth created by turning it into a usable form.”
Tear of Eritrea writes about political persecution in Eritrea, “Suppression of Political Dissent and Free Expression Governing party and government leaders and journalists arrested in 2001 as alleged traitors, spies, and foreign agents continue to be held incommunicado in undisclosed prisons. In 2006 a website issued a detailed but unconfirmed report asserting that 31 prisoners, including the leaders and journalists, were being held in isolation cells in a remote jail built expressly to hold them. The report claimed that nine of the 31 had died in captivity (one by suicide).”
On the occasion of the writer's 80th birthday, el Cubano de la isla meditates upon (es) a fleeting encounter between Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez and Ernest Hemingway in Paris: “The sad thing is that when wake up tomorrow, I'm not going to be in Paris, but in Havana, and in spite of how fond García Márquez is of this city, it will be difficult for me ever to happen to run into him on a street corner. . . “
London-based Trinidadian blogger Sinistra posts part three in her “Young and black in Babylondon” series. In this installment, she's asked whether she's “half-caste”.
Nicholas Laughlin didn't manage to watch this weekend's eclipse from a mountaintop, but he invites anybody who watched it from “a strange or interesting location” to leave comments and share links to their photos at the Caribbean Beat blog.
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