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May 16th, 2008
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China: Time to pray
‘Pray for the disaster victims, god bless China' has been the main motif on many main Chinese blogging websites as the country moves past the hundredth hour of mourning, fund-raising and blood donations.
The call for prayer has been the theme of coverage at new media and blog service provider Netease, which has also created a map mashup wherein users in Wenchuan can report in live time what's happening in their area. Blog service and news provider Tencent, like many of its peers, has set up a number of different pages allowing users to express their support and shared experiences. has just released its first 2008 beta version of the company's hugely popular instant messaging client with a disaster relief theme, QQ Prayer; downloading it allows the user to send candles and yellow ribbons to display their support and compassion to earthquake victims. As with all internet companies, QQ has set up a donations page which has already seen users sending in over 13 million RMB, as well as a channel to report fund-raising scams.
QQ has continued aggregating user-shot video clips from around the earthquake disaster scene which now number in the hundreds, as well as having set up a chart showing the latest figures and updates from the relief mission, including a missing person's bulletin board which can be seen further down.
Sina.com has gone for a green ribbon campaign, and is also calling on users of its blogging services to pray for those lost and yet to be unburied, as well as compiling official CCTV footage along with user-shot video.
Sohu.com's main Earthquake page is also featuring clips from the few media allowed to report from the disaster zone as well as those uploaded by users, with the emphasis on the latter. As with most blog portal websites, details on how to donate to Chinese Red Cross are being given prominence.
Chinese search engine leader Baidu has turned its Earthquake page into a sort of operations center for all the different online and offline relief initiatives it has underway, with calls to action aimed at users also being seen on smaller blogging sites such as Blogbus, BlogCN and Xici Hutong, among many others.
Cat898 has put most of its front page toward discussion of the earthquake, and features a photo set of the men working on the relief mission front line.
And the blog portal at China.com, while featuring what appears to be one user's photos of the devastation hundreds of thousands are experiencing, is also now highlighting one post which proposes that people allocate 1% of their monthly income toward the relief campaign:
每人月工资的1%，对每个人来说不算什么，但是对于灾区的人民可是救命钱呀。相信我们的民族一定能够在危难中崛起。
借用一句广告词
有我，中国强
To quote an ad slogan:
“With me, China is strong”
The overwhelming reponse to the proposal has been that people have already donated far more than 1% of their monthly salaries. The third comment on the proposal reads:
这次灾难中最大的灾难就是留下了数以万计孤儿！！！此时他们还在和其他的灾民一样接
受着救济，可日后的日子恐怕难以想象．时间长了我们的政府还会一如既往的想着他们吗？
即使想着他们无非也是逢年缝节的象征性的救济一下，况且专项救济资金不一定都能按期而
至！各个部门截留挪用之例每每发生，真正落到实处也是杯水车薪啊！因此我在此强烈呼吁
或建议！！！政府能不能即刻制定一政策：让全国有爱心的人民来领养！！当务之急是政府
出台相关的户籍政策和配套政策．如全部免去１２年的一切义务教育学杂费．．．等等！这
样就可以使领养者少去许多人为的麻烦，特别是户籍！！！
Even if the government keeps them in mind, it will only still be be symbolic relief on special holidays, and what's more, relief funds put aside for them will not necessarily arrive on time! Cases of departments at all levels intercepting and embezzling these funds happen every year, and what actually ends up where it should is just a piddle! This is why I strongly propose that the government immediately formulate the following policy: let those caring people from around the country adopt them!! What's imperative is that the government draw up the related household registration and accompanying policies. If they could all have tuition waived for the twelve years of mandatory education etc…!! This would make is less troublesome for those adopting, especially with the household registration!!!
Anti-CNN.com has also set up a new ‘Earthquake Status' section, the top thread in which at present is a response to those making the argument online that corruption led to poorly-constructed school buildings in the Wenchuan area, which is why so many schools collapsed while government buildings remained standing: ‘Those saying that the government buildings are still in good condition can just shut their mouths'
Pioneering web 2.0 site Douban has also been at the forefront with aggregation pages like Help Wenchuan gaining thousands of users quickly; other groups set up include:
[Earthquake] How netizens have used Fanfou and Wikipedia to file real-time reports
Why the country is not accepting foreign assistance for now
Anti-poverty funds: ways to donate and know where your donation is going
There have also been prayer groups, more tips on how to donate wisely, a group to publicize new access points into cut-off Wenchuan as they are discovered, discussions over whether the torch relay ought to be put on hold, and even a group just to discuss initial photos that came out of the disaster areas. Groups set up by religious intellectuals like Wang Yi have seen numerous discussions taking place.
Some Douban groups have been deleted, but others have been set up to host discussions that were deleted off other sites. Then there's Douban's moving special earthquake page, where it turns out actually dozens of earthquake groups have been set up, each with their own avatars and many with hundreds of members.
Douban was actually one of the first to set up a space to help users find their missing loved ones. QQ's is still growing, there's even been a site set up especially for those missing from the 5-12 earthquake, and on Friday Google China released its own contribution, which builds off existing efforts underway on Tianya, Baidu, Soso, Sina and Netease.
Citizen and independent online media have been making contributions of their own. The Chinese-language entry for the 2008 Sichuan earthquake on Wikipedia was set up more quickly than its English-language counterpart, despite that Wikipedia Chinese is blocked from within China.
Citizen reporter Zuola has come out of retirement and arrived in Sichuan Friday with a shovel, batteries and medicine to help with the rescue efforts and will be sending updates to his Twitter account [zh] and late Friday night posted photos to his blog recounting what he saw from on the train to Chengdu and in the city itself, after meeting up with a local NGO:
The SocialLearnLab has posted in support of those organizing post-disaster psychological counseling for relief workers, volunteers and the victims.
Countless bloggers in Sichuan have been reporting what they see; BlogCN.com user Ayue writes of trying to go on with life and work in Chengdu, of rumored explosions and water stoppages and food shortages, long line-ups at supermarkets and having to go hungry:
Blogbus user Frees writes also of going on with life post-earthquake, and shares a picture of the crowd gathered outside the local Ikea where they work:
Photos from Netease blogger Wan, also in Chengdu:
Baidu user Cinderella in Ya'an, Sichuan posted photos from one of her nights spent sleeping with the community outside in the park:
One outdoor enthusiast and photographer has posted a number of photos of blood and goods donation drives from where he blogs in Leshan, and Yahoo!China blogger Puping777 has a wide variety of photos of his own, taken in devastated Beichuan while there to help out. The Wuqing blogger has photos of road slides on mountains near Aba in Sichuan province.
Well-known Bullog blogger Song Shinan, who lives near Chengdu, has been working overtime to aggregate all bits of information he can find in what has now turned into a series of highly-informative posts that are being mirrored onto his Netease blog.
Technology Sociology Science Fiction futurism blog Qixianglu, another website calling on readers to turn to their spiritual sources of support to pray for the earthquake victims, has been tracking stories related to the earthquake as they come out; part of their strategy has included a QQ group, a Douban group, and tags on Technorati, Del.icio.us, Zooomr and Flickr.
The MeMedia collective has being doing in Chinese for total coverage of Earthquake discussions what the crew at Shanghaiist have been doing in English; among all the links MeMedia has been aggregating and sharing publicly on Diigo has been the last blog post from a teacher in Beichuan who didn't survive the earthquake, photos of a school sports activity from May 11.
Entertainment reporter/blogger Tu Motuo at Bullog.cn is actually in Dujiangyan right now and has posted photos of a crumbled hospital and a city in darkness with only generators at this point with which to function.
Tang Buxi at Blogging for China has translated a blog entry from a medical volunteer at one of the sites visited by Premier Wen Jiabao this week:
I really am not used to those Sichuan provincial leaders. We’re chewing on bread rolls, and our beloved PLA Army, Armed Police warriors… they’re chewing only on dried instant noodles. But those leaders are eating two warm dishes and rice. At lunch I saw the premier while he was resting, and he was only eating a roll and salted vegetables. I cried at that moment.
Also from the MeMedia links comes a Tianya thread that's been getting passed around, ‘Photos from the earthquake disaster site that you won't see on TV!' showing the full extent of the both human and structural damage that has taken place.
Blogger Oliver Ding has set up a community space on SlideShare for those affected by and working against the damage done by the earthquake, one of the many ways to help the earthquake victims that in turn is being shown support on Digg.
Veteran blogger Popoever has posted quite a number of graphics of different styles and sizes for those wishing to display and rally up support for relief fund-raising being carried out by Chinese Red Cross, both on his own blog and on Flickr. Several of those blog badges contain the information for a campaign Chinese Red Cross is carrying out in collaboration with China Mobile, which allows any of its hundreds of millions of users to donate 1 or 2 yuan via SMS from their mobile phones:
Perhaps as a response to concerns many bloggers have vocalized regarding donating to Chinese Red Cross, but at least in keeping in line with several previous fund-raising drives over the past two years, blog portal Bullog, which hosts many online celebrity and high-profile media workers' blogs, was quick to launch a donation drive of its own, with accounts opened and organizers in Sichuan by the 14th. Those organizing the Bullog donation activity are some of the most well-known journalists, editors and bloggers in the country.
Support for relief efforts from English-language bloggers has been equally swift and thorough. Overall support for Red Cross China has been so strong that accessing the Red Cross website for the past several days has been difficult due to the high volumes of traffic it has been receiving.
In no particular order, here are just a few of the many blog posts foreign and English-language bloggers in China have given us in just a few hectic days:
http://www.ifgogo.com/80/how-to-donate/
http://cnreviews.com/uncategorized/china_earthquake_relief_and_donation_guide_-_will_update_20080514.html
http://cupofcha.com/2008/05/16/ways-to-donate-to-earthquake-relief.html
http://www.chinavortex.com/2008/05/how-chinese-websites-are-helping-donations-for-sichuan-earthquake-victims/
http://shanghaiist.com/2008/05/13/red_cross_society_earthquake_sichuan.php
http://beijingbookworm.com/whatsnew.htm
http://www.pandapassport.com/chinese-internet/donate-for-adspace/
http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2008/05/15/add-a-quake-relief-donation-badge-to-your-blogsite/
http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2008/05/help-chinas-qua.html
http://chinesepod.com/earthquake_relief
http://shanghaiist.com/2008/05/16/green_scene_how.php
With only a few handpicked pro-CCP media being allowed to report openly from the disaster scene combined with the roadslides and remote locations being the hardest hit, the not-so-new role that microblogging has played in overall coverage of the earthquake hasn't been discounted.
With sites like Summize.com making it instantly possible to see what's being said at any given time in Chinese on sites like Twitter, domestic Chinese services such as Jiwai and Fanfou took it a step further and provided their own [Earthquake] tags. On Fanfou alone there are even accounts that have been set up specifically to track developments as they unfolded; one here from charity NGO 1kg.org, and another from liveblogger ‘River Crab Goes Ashore'. On Twitter, someone has set up an account just to track seismological events in China as they take place.
With Summize.com for Twitter and Fanfou's built-in regional search options, it's quite easy to seek out those microblogging their experiences of the past few days according to location; say Guangyuan, for instance, just 15 miles away from one of the nuclear warhead plants that might have been disrupted during the quake.
Anyone who follows the ‘friends' of the chinaquakewatch account on either Twitter or Fanfou will be given instant access to a carefully-selected group of users who have been sticking closely to microblogging the events of the last few days as they personally have seen them unfold. Aftershocks could be felt in Chengdu on Friday, and here's what several Fanfou users had to say:
10:40 am, Ameko随
中共你救不了人就快滚一边去!强烈要求境外支援!别把希望放在恶魔身上…快快自救啊中国人!!
11:46, parco77
现在4级左右的余震我已经开始觉得摇着爽了。摇麻木了。
13:28, fruitfan
又震了
13:29, venqia
又来
13:29, Alex06
刚刚又震了.估计成都感觉更明显!
13:34, Flying
刚才又晃了一下
13:37, fruitfan
今天的余震还比较明显~
13:40, parco77
刚才那一个。。太震撼了= =|||。。我看到隔壁几幢楼的人纷纷又跑下楼。
14:03, yalaner
又震了?杯里的水晃着.
14:39, 橘子皇
余震一起，卖场人跑光光
14:45, yalaner
又震了,很厉害的余震.
16:08, tokyoegg
今天中午又发生了一次余震，震感很烈。以前还不觉得，现在有点恐慌了。
16:13, tokyoegg
我现在坐在这里都能感觉到房子在很轻微的晃动。
16:32, kake
韩国救援团，欢迎…
17:20, Flying
现在四川手机卡打电话都不停机
18:52, tokyoegg
又来一强余震，要崩溃了！
19:28, Alex06
紧急通告：四川AB型血液告急！！！
21:08, winning
花了一个小时才打通志愿者热线，却被告知只有男生才能奔赴前线，我草，你歧视咱女生么，我可是比某些男生要强悍的呀。
22:53, fruitfan
到汶川的路又断了~
(May 17) 00:16, 橘子皇
恩，这次余震持续时间比较长
00:16, venqia
又震了~！
00:47, Flying
据说已经有伤员转移到乐山的医院，团委什么时候可以组织我们出动啊？
00:57, Pandaemonium
受不了我爸，每次余震都要打个电话来说一次…你不要告诉我你害怕…
Egypt: Torture for Bloggers and Activists
Egyptian bloggers, cyberactivists and activists on the ground continue to pay the price for speaking up against the rising cost of living and calling for higher wages and a better life. What started as a call for a strike on April 6, quickly spiralled out of control, with a face off between rioters, protesters and the police. Here's an account of what has happened and is still happening to some of the activists who have used the worldwide web to spread news of what is happening at home.
During the unrest, on April 6 and 7, Egyptian bloggers worked round the clock telling the world about the workers' revolt that shook their country, as thousands rioted at a textile mill in Al Mahalla. They were also among the first casualties of the unrest, which left some killed, scores injured and an undetermined number of activists, organisers and mere spectators behind bars. Their coverage came in the form of blog posts, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, Flickr shots, Facebook messages and all other online tools they could get their hands on.
The saga seems to continue, as some activists are still detained, six weeks after their arrest, prompting calls from their colleagues for their immediate release. Others, allegedly harassed, physically abused and later released by the police, continue to use online tools to tell the world their story.
This is one of many images of the back of Egyptian Facebook user Ahmed Maher, taken by award winning blogger Wael Abbas and posted here, under the title: The Newest Egyptian Method to Find Out Your Facebook's Account Password.
أحمد ماهر هو المؤسس الحقيقي لجروب الإضراب على الفيس بوك وليست إسراء عبد الفتاح كما زعموا والسبب في وجود إسمها وحدها على الجروب الآن هو أن فيس بوك أوقفت حساب أحمد ماهر لأنه كان يرسل عدد ضخم من الرسائل يوميا ليضم أعضاء للجروب وكان هذا المجهود هو سبب إنضمام أكثر من سبعون ألف عضو للجروب فإعتبره سبامر واوقفوا حسابه بينما كان كل دور إسراء هو المساعدة في الإدارة وحذف التعليقات المسيئة فقط لكن بعض وسائل الإعلام كانت تبحث عن قصة شيقة وبالونة لنفخها ولم يكن همهم أبدا الدقة في المعلومة أو البحث عن الحقيقة والقصة السليمة مما أضر بالحركة الوطنية من اجل التغيير ككل وبمصداقية نشطاء الإنترنت خصوصا وهو أمر لا يمكن التسامح ف
Ahmed Maher is the real founder of the Strike's Facebook Group and not Esraa Abdulfattah as everyone assumed. The reason why her name alone appears on the group until now is because Facebook suspended Ahmed Maher's account because he used to send huge numbers of messages daily for new members to join the group. It was as a result of this effort that more than 70,000 members joined. They considered him as a spammer and closed his account while Esraa's role was to help in administrating the site and deleting derogatory comments only. Some media organisations, which were looking for an exciting story and a balloon to blow, were not concerned with the accuracy of the story or looking for the truth. This has negatively impacted the national movement for change overall and the credibility of cyberactivists, in particular and this is an issue we can't forgive.
Elijah Zarwan tells us what happened to Maher:
I’ve just heard from a friend that Ahmed Maher, a 27-year-old engineer quoted in the Western press as a May 4 Facebook activist, is alleging that he was beaten in State Security custody. Details are still sketchy, but apparently State Security called him in for a “friendly” coffee earlier this week. When he didn’t go, my friend tells me, State Security took him from his home in the middle of the night, beat him, and released him with the warning that they were “just pulling his ear” this time, and that next time would be worse. He is reportedly in hospital now.
And Abbas posts the following video showing the extend of torture Maher has been subjected to:
In the video [Ar], Maher says how his clothes were ripped off by the police and then shows us scars on his back which he says were caused by policemen beating him on his back with their bare hands.
Blogger Hossam el Hamalawy links to a newspaper report on what happened to the Facebook user and how he was arrested and tortured by police here.
Hamalawy also draws our attention to the plight of blogger and activist Kareem Al Beheiri, who has been behind bars since April 7. He writes:
In an interview with el-Badeel, released Karama Party activist Ahmad Amin Ahmad Eid said that:
Kareem el-Beheiri was tortured in Mahalla’s State Security Police office for more than 18 hours. He told me his torturer was listening to the Quran while torturing him. I saw in Mahalla’s 2nd Police Station children no more than 13 years old, whose eyes and bodies were injured by rubber bullets. They said police kidnapped them from the hospital where they were receiving treatment and accused them of participating in the strike.
Hamalawy also reports that Mohamed Maree, a translator who was arrested along with American photojournalist James Buck, while interviewing the families of those arrested in Mahalla, has been tortured. While Buck was released and asked to leave the country, Maree continues to languish in prison, despite an outcry from activists for his release. Hamalawy writes:
The latest information we have on Mohamed was by rights lawyers who visited Bourg el-Arab Prison on Saturday:
We managed to visit Bourg el-Arab Prison today. It turned out that translator Mohamed Saleh Maree is detained as a ‘criminal’ after he was detained in the company of US journalist James Buck. The latter was released by the police in Mahalla after pressures from his embassy, but Mohamed Saleh was kept in custody despite a release order from the prosecutor. We couldn’t back then find out where he was kept. Today we visited him, and he mentioned he was tortured by beatings and electric shocks in Mahalla’s State Security office. Mohamed was also banned by the prison administration from taking his exam at the university.
Buck continue to fight for his colleague's freedom and is spearheading a campaign to draw the world's attention to his friend's plight. He has also set up a petition on his blog calling for Maree's release.
Kuwait: Zero Hour for Elections
Kuwait is all set for its National Assembly elections on Saturday (May 17). A total of 246 male candidates and 27 female candidates are running for 50 seats in the hotly contested elections, which should be held every four years. Elections are however held earlier if the Emir (Ruler) exercises his constitutional power to dissolve parliament and that is what happened on May 21, 2006, when the Emir dissolved the National Assembly through constitutional means and Kuwait held national elections on June 29, 2006. On March 19, the Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, dissolved parliament again after constant clashes between the government and the elected MPs, and called for new elections on May 17. With the election date so close, it is no wonder that Kuwaiti blogs are full of election material.
Amer over at Hilaliya gives his reason why he is so into the elections this year:
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not 'social' individual, not social in the Kuwaiti ‘political animal' sense of visiting diwaniyas, campaign headquarters, and ‘getting out the vote'
“What's gotten into you?” relatives and close friends ask.
But the answer is simple really…The country is in a severe state of gridlock, buffered by corruption, waste and inefficiency. Now we have no control over who the government appoints to run the country but we do have the power to make the right choice on May 17.
Forzaq8 over at 5-Q8 writes his final thoughts on the elections:
Election should be taken seriously , it is not a game
Tomorrow your Vote decide your future and your sons future
for example don't ask why didn't they build a new hospital when the member you voted for didn't approve the funding for it , and more example could be said
Still on the topic of the elections, Aggz The Aggressor writes a brief history of democracy in Kuwait:
Many may argue against this post, though I hope it ‘at least’ makes sense to most readers.
We’ve come to realize that democracy in Kuwait is something of a unique experience, especially to those of us that never saw Kuwait in it’s infancy
Away from the elections, Dr Mahbob brings us news of an agreement between the government and Knet (Knet is a national company providing electronic banking services to all the banks in Kuwait) and what he thinks of it.
I think this is big step toward e-payment and I hope hackers don’t show up when the smell chance of stealing money online.
Q8Ba7th writes about his experience going to P2BK2008:
P2BK is a new youth initiative to organize annual forum for small and startup businesses. A healthy and definitely needed concept I say for startups and small business who can’t afford to take place in big expos like Info Connect and others.
And finally Ducatiq8 explains his feelings when he abides by the new law of not using his cell phone while driving:
اليوم كان اول يوم يطبق فيه قانون منع استخدام الهاتف النقال يدويا أثناء القيادة
طبعا ديكاتي مواطن صالح وملتزم و تقي وورع وكل الصفات الزينه فيني
اليوم اول ما ركبت المركبة(أخييه يا انا يا ابو مركبه) المهم حطيت عدتي
وطلعت السماعه وقعدت اضبطها لإن وايراتها متعربكه فقعدت اطلعهم وحطيتها على رقبتيToday was the first day for the implementation of the law that forbids using mobile phones while driving. Of course, Ducati is a good law abiding devout committed citizen and all the good things are in me. As soon as I got into my car today, O got my kit out and the earphone and started setting them up because wires were tangled and then put it around my neck.ووصلناها بالتلفون واستلمت القياده
الواحد واهوه يطبق القانون يحس بشعور حلو يعني وانا اسوق واطالع يميني ويساري يعني شوفوني ترا مطبق القانون
المهم وصلت الكلية ونزلت من السيارة وانا معلق السماعه
والناس تشوفني الله شوفوا ديكاتي مطبق القانون والبنات يأشرون شوفي شوفي مطبق القانونI then connected it to the phone and started to drive. When a person follows the rules, he develops a good feeling. I was looking left and right, trying to show others that I was abiding by the law! I then arrived at the college and got out of the car, with the earphone dangling around my neck and people were looking at me and saying to themselves: ‘Oh look! Ducati is abiding by the law! Even the girls were pointing at me.وصلت عند المحاضرة والربع واقفين سلمت عليهم والكل يقولي ها ديكاتي مطبق القانون
اقولهم اي والله شسوي طبقت القانون
دشيت المحاضرة وبدأ الدكتور بالكلام وافتتحها بالكلام عن القانون واخذني كمثال جيد لتطبيق القانون
يقولي الدكتور ها ديكاتي اشوفك مستانس شكلك اول مره تطبق القانون
وانا اضحك اي والله شنسوي يا دكتور طبقنا القانونI arrived at my lecture location and found my friends standing there. I said hello to them and everyone was saying: ‘Oh Ducati, you are implementing the law?' I told them I had to. At the lecture, the professor started his talk speaking about the new law and set me out as an example of someone who abides to the law. He then told me it looked as if it was the first time for me to implement the law. I laughed and said: ‘What can I do Doctor, we followed the law?'تدش الجمعيه ويشوفك الكاشير ويقولك طبقت القانون اتقوله اي
تروح ستاربكس يطلعلك الفلبينو هاي سير يو سيم ذات يو طبقت القانون او الرول
وانا اقوله يس يس مي طبقت ذا قانون
تروح المسجد تصلي ويقولك الشيخ احسنت جزاك الله خير انت مثال يحتذى به لتطبيق القانون
ترجع البيت ابوك يشوفك يقولك عفيه على ولدي انا ربيتك على تطبيق القانون وتربيتي ما راحت بلاش وهذا انت طبقت القانونYou enter the supermarket and the cashiers see you and asks: ‘You are following the law?' and you say yes. And then you go to Starbucks and the Filipino there says: ‘Hi Sir. It seems that you implemented the new law!' and you reply: ‘Yes, yes, I did.' You go the the mosque to pray and the Imam tells you: ‘May Allah reward you for being a good example and abiding by the law. And finally you return home, where you meet your father, who tells you: ‘Congratulations to you my son. I raised you to respect the law and I have not failed in that as I see you implementing the law!'
Blog for Palestine Day
Blogger za3tar has organized Blog About Palestine Day on May 15, the anniversary of the Nakba and Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. Bloggers around the world were invited to blog for Palestine, as noted by Global Voices here. Many bloggers chose to participate in the event; here is a selection.
za3tar, the organizer of the event, blogged about being Palestinian, sharing a story of his family and concluding:
For us Palestinians, only two things remained true during the past 60 years; First, life for ordinary people only gets worst every year. Second, from the minute you are born in Palestine, you are immediately a suspect, and you are continuously treated so for as long as you live. No one in the world can condone mass punishment of civilians, but punishing suspects is not a big deal.
We must be suspects, otherwise what explains 60 years of Israel’s direct violation of numerous UN resolutions without any consequences. We must be suspects, otherwise what explains our denial of basic human rights. For me and my family, the only crime that we are suspect of, is simply existing!
These stories are not unusual for Palestinians. As a matter of fact, i come from a blissed family, my parents were able provide us with food and shelter, and none of my relatives was killed. Unfortunately however, the stories of average Palestinians are much grimmer still.
Rebellious Arab Girl, a Canadian resident, also blogged about being Palestinian:
What do I represent?
I represent my self, a Palestenian with hot blood through my veins and a voice to speak about my existence. I am Palestenian. I will always be one. I was born as one, and will die as one.It has been 60 years since my home was taken away, isn’t that too much?
I may be one person. I am not a celebrity or someone who is famous and well known. However, I have the right to speak out when I say, “we had enough!”
Vivirlatino blogged about the Palestinian population in Chile:
Last month about 40 Palestinian families, refugees from Iraq, were welcomed into Chile.
“We hope that suffering will be a thing of the past, and Chile the source of your new happiness,” Deputy Interior Minister Felipe Harboe said as he welcomed the 16 adults and 23 children who had spent months stranded at a desert camp on the Iraqi-Syrian border.
The rest of about 117 refugees from this specific camp arrived in the Santiago neighborhoods of La Calera y San Felipe this week. They were welcomed with flags, dancing, and music.
While these homes in Chile, which come with the support of the Chilean government and all of it's resources (including a monthly stipend and counseling services), do not replace or erase the need of Palestinians to have a home in their homeland, the right to return, historically it makes sense. So many people left Chile after the 1973 U.S. backed military coup. So many lives lost and disappeared through state sanctioned violence. The links are there. The connection is there.
And Far Away blogged about the changing face of both Palestine and Israel, sharing fascinating photographs:
It’s been 60 years since the Palestinian Nakbeh. That means around four generations of Palestinians.
Of course, in these past 60 years, life for Palestinians for those still living in Palestine and the ones living in exodus have changed drastically. Thanks to ethnic cleansing, injustice, barricading, lack-of-educational means, poverty, bad health care, constant pressure, among other racist and unjustifiable actions, life has changed.
Life for “Israelis” has also changed.
The wheels have turned…
Bruised Earth wondered about the false hope being given to Palestinians…
So on this day of of the Nakba, the catastrophe, all this site can ask and ‘hope’ to encourage is the ongoing search for the truth. Hope more people can wade through the politics and media that filter what we all need to know; what we all must confront. Everyone must find that for themselves.
…and encouraged readers to seek the truth from outside sources:
Read other Web sites - beyond Fox, CNN, BBC, and Reuters. Forget about the 30 minute news updates - and instead piece together 30 minutes of real news from other sources every day.
Read the facts. Find more facts. Find more truth.
Syrian blogger Maysaloon discussed the Nakba:
In many ways, how we choose to commemorate May the 15th says a lot about us in the Arab world. Those of us who remember it as something from the past and, to put it biblically, with much “wailing and gnashing of teeth”, miss the point. The Nakba did not happen and end in 1948, it has continued to this present day. You can see the Nakba in Gaza, in the refugee camps and, dare I say it, it has expanded to Iraq. However, from the Nakba we also saw the birth of resistance. From the heroism and selflessness of al Husseini and the resistance in 1948, to the battle of Karameh in ‘68, Beirut in ‘82, Iraq today and the South of Lebanon in 2006. The struggle against occupation continues, as it does against those who collaborate. May 15th reminds us of the tragedy which befell a people, our people but also strengthens our resolve to resist and to push on. Am I the last person to talk about resistance from the comfort of my home, in a country which was Israel's midwife? Perhaps, but just as a first person is necessary in a set, so is the last, and it is belonging to the set and playing your role in anyway possible which is what counts. The only thing, the easiest thing, for us to do is to forget, to count ourselves defeated or irrelevant. Each of us has a moral duty to resist zionism, empire and neo-colonialism in all aspects of our lives and it will be a poor excuse to say, one day, that you were only being realistic. The enemies of Palestine know that every person they kill or bomb they drop only creates more determination to fight them, that their time is running out. Sixty years on, the dream of ending Israel is that little bit closer. Sixty years on, the struggle continues.
Finally, My Home Away From Home, who lives in Canada, shared her desire to go to Palestine, the country of her ancestors:
Palestine…it is my home that I have never set foot in, it is the land I love without boundaries.
My heart cries for Palestine, I want to touch its soil even once in my life. My heart and soul are always with Palestine, it is a part of my prayer ritual. I pray that one day we get our freedom we get our right to return. I pray for the gruesome murders and unfairness to stop, for children to start living like they are supposed to without fear, for mothers to be able to sleep the night without worrying that tomorrow or the day after she may lose some or all of her children. I pray for families to live together all in one place without a brother, a son an uncle in the isreali prisons for life. I pray that children can go to school or out to play and come back home safely. I pray that wives and husbands are not widowed too soon, and children are not orphaned when they are still young. I pray for people to live in peace and harmony and for all of us Palestinians born all over the world to reunite and meet in our homeland, a land who’s love was born in our heart…
Myanmar: Citizen videos in Cyclone Nargis' aftermath
On May 2nd, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar (Burma), generating massive damage and tens of thousands dead or missing. The situation would be considered critical for any country. However, the military government or “junta” has restricted the entrance of aid by requiring all donations to pass through them. The junta has also set up guidelines for journalists on how to report on the cyclone, restricting their communications, particularly on showing dead bodies or reporting about insufficient aid for victims, according to Burma News, a local online news source.
In spite of these restrictions on people carrying cameras and taking pictures, some have gone out to record the extent of the damages. There is anger over the failure of authorities to evacuate the affected villages, even when they were allegedly aware of the impending cyclone and the possible devastation it could cause. The following images, uploaded by YouTube user aungsayapyi may affect sensitive people: they are very graphic, include dead bodies and should be viewed with discretion and an adult's consent:
YouTube user AfterNargisYgn has been uploading a multi-part series of videos featuring images of the effects of the Cyclone in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, previously known as Rangoon. People removing downed trees, wading through waters and drying up their mattresses, clothing and in general trying to clean up and move on.
YouTube user Burma4u uploaded a video of the aftermath in Latbutta, with Cyclone Nargis' victims crowded in refugee shelters, trying to sleep as they mull over what will happen to them in the near and far future.
An insightful video about the Burmese people's future has come from myochitmyanmar, another YouTube user who has uploaded a video with some English subtitles, interviewing Laputta survivors and refugees on their current situation: at the refugee camps, on the streets: rice donations and clothing hand-outs for children, private initiatives done without the State Peace and Development Council who governs them. Meanwhile, a picture on Burma News shows what looks like Red Cross aid, which is supposed to be for Cyclone refugees, being sold on the streets.
The following video, also from aungsayapyi shows how people are experiencing life in the refugee camps with donations from private donations, and a Military General's arrival, carrying promises instead of clothing, food or water. They proceed to tell refugees that the people who died, died because of bad karma, and that they should consider themselves lucky to be alive. They give some recommendations about grouping themselves according to villages and then leave. It has been subtitled in English for a better understanding of the events:
In the YouTube Blog they've also highlighted the video community's efforts to help Myanmar and provide aid, and they highlight both news networks and private initiatives who are documenting the cyclone and letting the world know what is going on in this small Southeast Asian country. For example, Nightwatcher1982 of the Netherlands has promised that for every video response to his video he gets, he will donate $5 to the Red Cross, and if it's a good video, he'll donate $10:
Global Voices Online has been providing extensive coverage of the disaster, aggregating information from different citizen media sources in the region on what is happening with food aid, water and the refugee situation as death tolls continue to rise. Please don't hesitate to go over to our Special Myanmar Cyclone Coverage page and read the posts that the amazing team of volunteer authors have been writing with translations from Burmese blogs telling first hand accounts of life in Myanmar right now. You can also follow our Myanmar feed on twitter.
There will also be a global blog action day on behalf of the Burmese victims on May 17th, when people are asked to tell others about the crisis in Myanmar, and some are already organizing fundraisers and events.
Iran: “The Internet is a gift to us”
Arsham Parsi is the founder and director of the Iranian Queer Organization based in Toronto, Canada. He talked to us about the presence of Iranian homosexuals in cyberspace, their challenges and projects. Homosexuality is banned in Iran, and punishable by prison or death.
How do you evaluate the presence of homosexual blogs in the Iranian blogosphere? Are there many bloggers that talk about their homosexuality?
Yes, we have many Iranian LGBTIQ bloggers, and most of them live inside Iran. They have nicknames and write anonymously, which is safest for their security, but sometimes the government finds them through their IP addresses. But they do exist and are very active.
How do you use the Internet, including blogs and video films, to talk about Iranian homosexuality?
The Internet is one of our most important communication tools. Without the internet our organization could not do many things. We don't have representatives in Iran because we fear for their safety; we don't want to make problems for them. We monitor their weblogs, and it is one of our resources. The Internet is a gift to us.
What about Iranian reactions to your website/blog? Is there any dialogue there between people who are homosexual or defend homosexual rights, and people who consider homosexuality a “sin” or “an immoral act”?
There are different reactions. We receive many hate messages, and also many messages of support. In the Iranian queer weblogs, they have dialogues with other people, and sometimes bloggers address these issues. But in general, people have changed their views in the last few years.
Is there any online forum where Iranian homosexuals exchange their ideas or leave comments?
We have a magazine, Cheraq. And we have a forum for Iranian homosexuals too. It started a few months ago. But weblogs are more common.
How you see the situation of homosexuals in Iran? Are they involved in cyberspace in order to express themselves?
As I said, a lot has changed. I remember a few years ago, nobody talked about our rights, but now you can find thousands of pages online. According to them, they cannot have physical relations freely, but they exist and they try to be active. I think now, Iranian queer issues have become a human rights issue.
When you look at Iranian gay and lesbian blogs. Do they face different kinds of difficulties?
Of course yes, it is totally different. They have different situations. Lesbians are more invisible, and it is because of Iran's general lack of women's rights. We don't have many lesbian blogs, and those that I know, are active in trying to say lesbians exist too. We have an online magazine for lesbians, Hamjens-e man. It is the first magazine for Iranian lesbians.
Do you have any project, comment or idea to share with us?
We exist, but we cannot speak out. We should support each other. It is our freedom tax.
Links for Fri, 2008-05
Abraão Vicente [pt] has a long and reflective post about the upcoming elections in Cape Town, which he iltustrated with a Gilbert & George pic. “I'm a little bit confused, I must confess. During the election campaign everything seems to be easy. It seems that all dreams are possible to achieve. There are plenty of promises, and there is distribution of hugs and kisses”.
Arco-Íris de Amor [Love Raimbow], the first LGBT samba school, will parade Rio de Janeiro Carnival next year, according to Thiago Velloso [pt].
Xangana, Xitswa, Ndau, Nhugwe, Macua, and Chuabo“I think the national languages are our heritage that most deserves to be saved, and the way we can do is passing them (languages) on to our children”.
Rabble Rousing Random Ramblings on why terrorism has an financial cost associated with it.
Heartcrossings on the huge range of opportunities available to the youth in India, and why going to the US is no longer a big dream.
All Things Pakistan on the trend of vigilante justice in the country - with its horrible consequences.
Unheard Voices on the increasing trend of child labour in Bangladesh.
Eugénio Costa Almeida [pt] breaks the news that the deal to standardize the Portuguese language in all countries was ratified in the Portuguese Parliament and within six years new spelling rules may be adopted. “Everyone has thought about “getting into the habit” but the most important thing was forgotten: children who will begin studying.”
Break All Chains on the case of Dr Binayak Sen, who is a public health specialist and currently jailed in India on charges of being associated with the Naxalite movement.
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