Global Voices Online

Stories

Japan: Reflections on the Akiba Massacre (Part 1)

Chris Salzberg · 11:29, June 14th, 2008 · East Asia

lingua → it

Update: See also Part 2

When all the dust had settled and the knife rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district last Sunday, which took the lives of seven people and left at least 17 injured, had come to a close, many were left wondering what it all really meant. Some pointed the finger at video games, while others pushed for stronger net monitoring. But while news media commentators tried to ease anxiety [ja] that there might be deeper social forces at play in murderer Tomohiro Kato's motives, bloggers offered less simplistic interpretations.

Video taken just after the killing

One of the common themes that many bloggers were writing about are the conditions of so-called temp workers (”haken　rōdōsha”, or in Japanese 派遣労働者). Between 2000 and 2007, the number of temp workers in Japan, hired on short-term contracts at lower wages than full-time employees and with very little job security, increased by 4.5 million. Kato worked at an automobile factory of Kanto Auto Works (関東自動車) under Toyota, contracted through temp agency Nikken Sogyo Co. [ja] (日研総業).

At the webpage of allneetnippon, an NGO tackling the problems of Japan's working poor, director Yamamoto Shigeru (山本繁) gives an indication of what temp work is like:

派遣のような期限の決められた働き方では、安定的な人間関係はなかなか生まれない。3ヶ月や半年、長くても2年、3年で職場を転々としていく。しかもそれが自分だけではないから、孤立化に一層拍車がかかっていく……。

The kind of fixed-period work that you get in temp employment hardly ever results in stable relationships. You switch workplaces every 3 months or one year, or at most every two or three years. And this is not just you [it is other people as well], so isolation will further increase….

昨日の秋葉原の事件についてネットでいろいろ調べたりして、孤独が絶望を生んでいるように僕には思える。静岡のど田舎で自動車部品工場で働きながら、派遣会社が用意した単身者用住居に住み込みで働く生活は、どれほど寂しく、苦しいものだろうか。

I had a look around at various places on the net about the incident yesterday in Akihabara,and my feeling [from what I found] is that isolation is giving birth to a despair. Working at an auto parts factory in a rural place like Shizuoka, living in a single-room residence prepared by the temp agency, is there any more lonely, any more painful a life than this?

In an article at magazine9, Amamiya Karin (雨宮処凜) describes meeting someone who had been working at a Toyota factory through the same temp agency:

昨年末、名古屋である男性に会った。犯人と同じ日研総業から愛知県のトヨタ車体の工場に派遣されていた２４歳の男性は、昨年９月１８日、「１０月９日をもって雇い止め」と通告された。幸い彼は労組に加入していたので団体交渉をし、「一ヵ月の生活保障」「(それまで住んでいた)寮の確保」、「就業先の紹介」を勝ち取った。が、日研総業はその一ヵ月の間、彼に一件の仕事も紹介せず、一ヵ月が経つと賃金を打ち切り、会社の借り上げアパートである寮から追い出した。その結果、彼は路頭に迷い、名古屋のホームレス一時保護所に収容された。

At the end of last year, I met a guy from Nagoya. Just like the offender [Tomohiro Kato], he had been dispatched by Nikken Sogyo to a Toyota car frame factory in Aichi prefecture, and received a notice on September 18th that: “On October 10th, your employment will be terminated.” Luckily he had joined the labor union so he entered into collective bargaining, and he was able to win “one month of life security”, “guarantee [that he could stay in] the dorm (where he had been living up until then)”, and “referral(s) for future employment”. But in that period of one month, Nikken Sogyo [the temp agency] did not refer him to a single job, and when the one month was over his wages stopped and he was thrown out of his dorm which he had been renting from the company. As a result, he ended up on the streets, and within a short time he was admitted into a Nagoya homeless shelter.

Blogger qushanxin brings up the issue of discrimination against so-called “NEETs” and “freeters” in Japanese society:

貧困をめぐる社会運動は生存に軸足を置いているが、やはりそれと同時に差別を問題にしなければならない。というのは、もし「フリーター」と呼ばれる人々に、彼らが求める水準の生活保護や社会保障が充足されたとしても、安定した正社員層の、「なんで努力もしていない連中に俺たちの税金が・・・」というルサンチマンがむしろ募っていくだけだからである（これは「日本社会に溶け込む努力もしていない外国人なんぞに・・・」という人種差別の理屈と紙一重である）。何度も書いてきたことだが、マックやコンビニの店員が「まもとな社会人」として認知されるべきだという規範的な問題が、生存の問題と同時に語られなければならない。両者は密接な因果関係にあり、一方だけを切り離して論じると非常に危険であると考える。今の「生存」を掲げる運動には、「小難しい規範的なことなど生存が満たされてから考えればよいこと」という雰囲気を感じるが、これは全く間違っていると言っておきたい。

The social movement surrounding poverty centers itself on [the issue] of survival, but actually it must at the same time also question the problem of discrimination. I say this because, suppose for example that the demands for standard livelihood protection and social security of the people called “freeters” were satisfied, this would just cause the resentment that “our tax money is going to those guys who don't even work hard…” to build up among regular full-time employees with stable work (there is a fine line between this idea and the racist theory of “foreigners who do not even try to blend into Japanese society…”). I've written this many times before, but the problem of survival has to be discussed together with the normative problem that employees of McDonald's and convenience stores must be recognized as “true members of society” [shakaijin]. Both problems are closely correlated, and I think it is thus extremely dangerous to separate them and deal with them on their own. One can sense in the movement right now for “survival” an atmosphere of “we can think about the troublesome normative issues once survival is satisfied”, but what I want to say is that this [thinking] is totally mistaken.

今回の秋葉原の事件がこの問題に関係しているのかどうかわからないが、もしそうだと仮定としたとして、犯罪心理学者とかいう肩書きの人が言っているような「自己顕示欲」「不満の吐け口」という無内容な解釈ではなく、私はもっとスレートに、秋葉原に歩いているような「普通の市民」（実際そうではないとしても）を憎悪していた可能性のほうが高いと考えるべきである。つまり、「フリーター」や「ニート」と呼ばれるような人々にとっては、「普通の市民」こそが日々侮蔑的・差別的な視線を自分たちに向ける当事者であるがゆえに彼らを攻撃する、と考えるほうが素直に理解できるように思われるのである。

I am not sure if this relates to the incident in Akihabara, but if we take the above to be true, then rather than interpretations without any substance by people with titles like criminal psychologist about “people who crave the limelight” and “release of dissatisfaction”, one should instead consider the possibility to be stronger that he had hatred for the “average citizen” like those walking around Akihabara (even if in actual fact this was not so). In other words, for people like those referred to as “freeters” and “NEETs”, it is exactly the “average citizen” who every day targets their gaze of contempt and discrimination at them, and this is why they attack them; it would seem easier to come to an honest understanding [of this issue] by thinking about it in this way.

At a thread on 2channel titled “Kato is our friend” (加藤はおれたちの仲間), differing views were expressed. Some disagreed with the title of the thread (comment #11):

11：名無しさん＠毎日が日曜日：2008/06/08(日) 23:06:03 ID:OzKp/XrY
こんなテロ事件を起こしても世直しにはならない。逆効果だ。
こういう事件が起こっていちばん喜んでいるのはむしろ勝ち組。
勝ち組の仕掛けたワープアネガティブキャンペーンの罠に
加藤はまんまと自分からかかりにいった裏切り者の大馬鹿者。

This kind of terror will not improve the world. [It has the] opposite effect.
The ones who are the most pleased with this incident are those from the winning side.
Kato is a complete idiot, a traitor who thoroughly fell for the trap set up by the winning side,
a negative campaign against the working poor.

Comment number 16 disagreed with criticisms of the temp employment system:

16 ：名無しさん＠毎日が日曜日：2008/06/09(月) 00:01:22 ID:m9O5agz5
秋葉原無差別殺人事件で派遣制度を叩くスレが多いけど、それを批判するのは違うんじゃね？
派遣制度がなければ仕事にも就けずホームレスになってた奴なんて数えきれないほど出てくるだろ。
結局本人の甘え、スキルの問題なわけだし、仕事を選ぶから派遣をやってるわけだしな。
都市部の派遣社員より給与が低く、賞与もなく、待遇も悪い名ばかり正社員だって数十万人はいる。
派遣が悪いわけでも、社会が悪いわけでも無い。全て個人の責任だよ

There are a lot of threads on the Akihabara indiscriminate murder incident attacking the temporary employment system, but seems to me that they're criticizing the wrong thing.
Countless examples have come out of people who would be homeless if there was no temporary employment system.
In the end he depended too much on the kindness of others, it was a problem of skill, and he was working at a temp job because he was picky about his work.
There are hundreds of thousands of nominally full-time workers whose wages are lower than temp employees in urban areas, who get no bonuses and who are treated badly.
Temp agencies are not bad, nor is society. It's all the individual's responsibility.

Many however expressed sympathy with Kato, like this one (number 18):

18 ：かばわ(2チャンのドン)：2008/06/09(月) 12:58:38 ID:+aeuC22C
悪いけどオレは加藤のおかげで自信が付いた
今なら加藤までは行かないけどすごいことができると思う
加藤ありがとう　勇気を与えてくれて　感謝してる

It's bad to say, but it is thanks to Kato that I've gained confidence.
I wouldn't go as far as to do what he did, but I think I could do something amazing now.
Thank you Kato - You have given me confidence - I am grateful

Blogger naoya_fujita at the deconstruKction of right, though, doesn't buy the arguments supporting Kato on 2channel threads and in blogs:

まず、彼が若年者雇用の鬱屈の表現者であるならば、なぜ犠牲者は同じく若年者を狙ったのか。資本主義の祝祭都市で消費を享受しているから敵だと思ったのか。本来狙うべき敵はエスタブリッシュ層や経済エリートなどではないか。もちろん、通り魔なんてまったく肯定はしないが、もし仮にやるとしても、本当に最後の手段として暴力を使うとしても、被害を最小限にして効果を最大限にするべきで、本当にやるんだったら経団連を爆破とか国会に突入とかするべきなのだ。なぜしなかったのか。近づけないからである。

First of all, if he is a representative of the gloom of young people about employment, then why did he choose the same young people as his victims? Did he think of them as his enemies because they were enjoying consumption in the festival city of capitalism? The enemies he should be aiming at are the establishment class, or the economic elites, no? Of course, I absolutely do not agree with something as terrible as a mass stabbing, but just for argument's sake suppose that you were going to do something, and suppose that as a measure of last resort you were going to use violence, you should minimize the damage while maximizing the effects, and if you were going to really do it you should do something like blow up the Keidanren or break into the National Diet. Why didn't he do that? It's because he can't go near them.

エスタブリッシュメント層は、公的、私的にセキュリティを上げている。ゲーテッドシティにしたり、警備員をつけたり、監視カメラをつけたり、オートロックにしたりである。私のような貧乏人はオートロックには住めない。これはどういうことか。つまり、通り魔をやっても、殺されるのは貧乏人だけということになるのだ。セキュリティを金で買う余裕のない人間が、最も殺されることになる。ということは、エスタブリッシュメント層にしてみたら、貧困をケアすることによるリスクの低下（暴動をしなくさせたり左翼革命を起こさせなくする）ということに金を出すより、自分たち自身のセキュリティを上げて、貧困な人たちは貧困な世界で殺しあえばいい、という風に、分断するつもりだと思われるからだ。これがセキュリティ社会だ。だから、「あんまり貧困に追い詰めてるとここまで鬱屈して爆発するんだぞ！」という恫喝も無効なのだ。「だったらセキュリティ上げて君たちを排除する」となる。すると本来の敵ではなく味方同士で殺しあうことになる。今回の通り魔など、その地獄絵図だ。

The establishment class suggests security in a public and private setting. Forming gated communities, installing security guards, switching to auto-locking [doors]. Poor people like me can't live in [places] with autolocks. So what is this about? What I am saying is that even though you carry out a massacre, the ones who are killed end up being poor people. People without any extra money to pay for security end up being the ones that are killed the most. Which is to say, the reason is that if you think about it from the view of the establishment class, it is better to point to people's personal security than it is to spend money reducing the risks involved in caring for the poor (by putting down rebellions and preventing left-wing revolutions from happening); if poor people commit murders among the world of the poor then so much the better [from the point of view of the establishment class] — seems to me that is the way this situation should be analyzed. That's the security society. So threats of “don't drive us to poverty or we will become so miserable that we will explode like this!” have no effect. [You get a response like]: “If that's the way it is, then we'll raise security and get rid of you guys.” And when that happens, you end up murdering not the true enemy, but your fellow companion. What you get is a picture of hell, like the mass stabbing that happened this time.

The location of the killing was the discussion topic of many blog posts. Blogger paraselene at END_OF_SCAN was almost in Akihabara when the killing happened:

たまたま昨日のビリフリでアキバのラーメンの話をしたので、美味しいラーメン屋を探して食べようという気になったのであって、ホントわずかな違いであそこに居合わせたかもしれないと思うとぞっとします。

Just by chance there was some talk last night about ramen in Akiba, so I was thinking that I'd go find a good ramen place and have a bite to eat. I shiver when I think that if things had been just a little bit different I might have been there when it happened.

交差点の惨状を見たとき、とてもその場に居続けることができなかった。無政府状態近かったし、またどこに危険があるかわからなかったし。

When I saw the disastrous scene at the intersection, I absolutely couldn't stay there. It was close to anarchy, and I wasn't sure if there was still any danger.

In a post that was bookmarked by many Hatena users [ja], blogger klov asks why Akihabara has become a place for “spectacles”:

従来は種々のオタクと呼ばれる人々がコミュニケーションを志向して集う空間であったのが、近年のメディアの露出を通して秋葉原という都市に共通の記号を見出し、スペクタクル志向空間になっている。よくオタクが「俺たちの知っている秋葉原は死んだ…！」と嘆くのは、こうしたコミュニケーション志向空間から、メディアを通じて喚起されるスペクタクル志向空間に変わったことを指すのではないか。

Up until now, it had the atmosphere of a place where a variety of so-called otaku gathered with the intention of communicating, but through recent media exposure common symbols in the city called Akihabara have been uncovered, and its atmosphere has become oriented toward spectacle. It would seem that the mourning of otaku that “the Akihabara we knew has died…!” points to the transformation from a communication-oriented space to a space that, roused through the media, is oriented toward spectacle.

For much much more about this story, see a fantastic round-up by north2015 at N.S.S.BranchOffice [ja]. See also the last messages (explained in this Mainichi article) posted by Kato in Japanese, reproduced by blogger coldcup [ja]. For more background on Toyota's changing business strategy (related to the use of temp workers), see this article from 2007.

Thanks to Taku Nakajima for link suggestions.

3 comments · read »

Cape Verde: Teenage, pregnant and banned from school

Paula Góes · 11:10 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → pt · es · zht · zhs

On May 28 2008, a young Cape Verdean female student, attending the 11th grade at the Januario Leite Secondary School, District of Paul (Santo Antao Island), was asked to cancel her enrolment after delivering a baby. Distraught by the bitter taste of women discrimination in Cape Verdean schools, Ana Rodrigues wrote a letter to the Minister of Education, requesting her right to remain at school and avoid an unwanted interruption in this nearly finishing school year. In face of this event, and being aware of the existence of similar cases, we demand a special framework for pregnant girls at school, emphasising that our intention is not to encourage girl pregnancy, but rather combat school drop-outs and discrimination implied in the above mentioned suspension measure. Subscribe this petition in favour of Ana Rodrigues and leave your opinion on this suspension measure. Do you agree that pregnant women should be suspend from school?

The above excerpt is from a petition against the school's decision, whose link has been circulating around the Cape Verdean blogosphere. So far, the online petition organized by the Citizenship Movement and Cape Verdean Blogs has already been signed by over 220 netizens and support is growing fast. Many of the island's bloggers have been mobilized and they are posting about the issue, some of them generating a good debate about human rights, sex education and society's hypocrisy. Below is a roundup of the strong reactions, starting with Eurídice Monteiro [pt], the first blogger to call for action:

Fiquei furiosa ao saber da situação da jovem Ana, que, apesar de estar a enfrentar dificuldades económicas acrescidas, é uma das melhores alunas da sua escola, com uma média acima dos 17 valores. Ainda a poucos dias, na Feira do Livro de Lisboa, durante a apresentação da Revista Direito e Cidadania, uma distinta senhora de nome Ernestina Santos contestava a discriminação das jovens e adolescentes grávidas nas escolas cabo-verdianas, como que adivinhando o caso da Ana. Como tenho uma preocupação particular com a feminização do abandono escolar, principalmente no ensino básico e secundário, e com a elevada taxa de gravidez precoce, que condena as jovens e as adolescentes a abandonarem os estabelecimentos de ensino, muitas vezes definitivamente, não podia ficar calada perante este caso.

I was furious to learn of Ana's situation, the girl who, despite facing increased economic difficulties, is one of the best students of her school with an above average mark for 17 subjects. A few days ago at the Book Fair in Lisbon, during the launch of the Law and Citizenship Magazine, a distinguished lady called Mrs Ernestina Santos contested the discrimination against pregnant youngsters and teenagers in Cape Verdean schools, as if guessing Ana's case. As I have a particular concern with the feminization of the school dropout issue, especially in primary and secondary education, and with the high rate of teen pregnancy, which condemns youngsters and teenagers to leave their schools often for good, I could not keep quiet when faced with this case.

Photo by NineInchNachosIII

Photo by NineInchNachosIII used under a CC licence.

Many other bloggers heard about the case through the above post, and they were quick to react. João Branco [pt], who has seen his two daughters through motherhood, says that this all happened in a incredibly surreal fashion:

Andamos a brincar? Uma grávida é uma doente infecto-contagiosa neste país? Onde pára o direito constitucional à educação? Ainda para mais parece que a aluna em causa - Ana Rodrigues - escreveu uma carta para à Sra. Ministra da Educação, suplicando pelo direito de continuar os seus estudos, sem uma interrupção indesejada neste ano lectivo preste a findar. Suplicando? Suplicando por um direito? E se fosse ao contrário? O Estado a suplicar aos cidadãos que paguem os seus impostos, por exemplo. Este caso é um escândalo, fere o direito à educação, pedra basilar do desenvolvimento de Cabo Verde desde sempre. Ainda mais preocupante quando este é um caso tornado público, dando-nos a sensação que muitos mais haverá, similares a este, um pouco por todos os estabelecimentos de ensino.

Is this a joke? Is a pregnant woman in this country an infectious and contagious person? Where is the constitutional right to education? It is even worse because the student concerned - Ana Rodrigues - wrote a letter to Ms Minister of Education, begging for the right to continue her studies without an unwanted interruption in this nearly complete school year. Begging? Begging for a right? And what if it was the other way around? The State begging the citizens to pay their taxes, for example. This is a scandal, this violates the right to education, the cornerstone of the Cape Verdean development. It is even more worrying when this is just one case made public, giving us the feeling that there may be many more cases, similar to this, happening in all educational establishments.

However, a commentator on the above post disagrees. Kuskas [pt] says that her sister was expelled from school when she got pregnant and missed the term, but she was better prepared to go back to her studies a year later, with the help of her family. She stresses that parents are responsible for ensuring that children do not get pregnant in the first place:

João, gravidez não é doença e nem deve ser, mas a adolescente gravida que frenquenta as aulas é prejudicada em relação aos colegas de muitas formas: as faltas são injustificadas (pelo que sei PARTO não é justificação para faltas, pelo menos nas escolas secundárias), nas aulas de educação fisica ela é tratada como as outras alunas e ela não tem direito a licença maternidade. SE as nossas escolas e as FAMILIAS estivessem PREPARADAS para lidar com essas situações, que eu continuo a dizer NÃO È e NÂO DEVE ser NORMAL, não haveria problemas nenhuns.

João, pregnancy is not a disease and it should not be, but the pregnant teenager who goes to school is in jeopardy in relation to her colleagues in many ways: the missed days are unjustified (and we know childbirth is no justification for missing [lessons], at least not in secondary schools), she is treated like other students in the physical education classes and she is not entitled to maternity leave. IF our schools and families were PREPARED to deal with these situations, I still say they ARE NOT and this MUST NOT be NORMAL, there would be no problems.

By Carina

Abstract painting by Carina used under a CC licence.

Not exactly linked to the comment above, Eileen Barbosa [pt] criticizes this very mentality towards young mothers, and people who think they are less capable of completing their studies:

Já ouvi vozes dizerem qualquer coisa como “Unh, não me parece que fique bem ter grávidas a conviver com outros alunos…” Porquê, pergunto? Dá um mau exemplo? Serei inocente quando penso que pode até funcionar do outro jeito: a grávida sente-se mal disposta, a grávida não pode participar nos jogos violentos; quando o bebé nascer, virá com umas olheiras enormes por estar a perder sono… e as despesas… é melhor adiar…

Uma futura mãe precisa, mais do que ninguém, de meios para ganhar a vida e sustentar a cria. Negar-lhe as ferramentas para isso parece-me uma maldade injustificável.

I have heard voices saying something like “Unh, I do not think it looks good that pregnant girls mingle with other students…” Why, I wonder? Can you give me a bad example? Am I being naive when I think it could actually be the other way around: [people saying] the pregnant girl feels unwell, the pregnant girl can not participate in violent games; when the baby is born, she will come with bags under her eyes for not getting enough sleep… and the expenses… it is better to put it off…
A future mother needs, more than anyone else, the means to earn a living and support her offspring. Denying her the tools to do so seems to me an unjustifiable wicked thing.

On the grounds of childbirth

More than just granting that Ana Rodrigues is given the opportunity to resume her studies, bloggers want an investigation into the school headmistress' decision to force the girl to give up school, on the grounds of “childbirth”. The notice, signed by headmistress Alda Maria Martins Lima, reads as follows: “The Directorate of Januario Leite Secondary School hereby gives notice to teachers and students of the 11C class of the Economic and Social Course that the student Ana Maria Rodrigues is suspended from classes on the grounds of childbirth. She must apply herself for the cancellation of her matriculation for this school year”.

Virgílio Brandão [pt] publishes excerpts of the Constitution which shows that not only every citizen has the right to education, but also that “The agents of the state and other public entities are, by law, criminally and disciplinarily responsible for actions or omissions that lead to violation of rights, freedoms and guarantees.” On another long and well thought of post, he reminds readers that this is not the first time [pt] that a young girl has been driven to drop out of school after getting pregnant. In fact, if not normal, this seems to happen quite often in Cape Verde and that it is a fact society and government need to better acknowledge and address:

O extraordinário é que as Instituições que deveriam proteger a infância, a juventude e os direitos humanos em geral não fazem (não fizeram, que eu tenha conhecimento) nada de prático para evitar este e outros males. Quantas Anas existem e já existiram em Cabo Verde? O que aconteceu com elas, depois de decisões como esta? A estatística não deve servir somente a política e a economia, não…

The amazing point is that the institutions that should protect the children, youth and [advocate] human rights in general don't do (they haven't done, as far as I know) anything practical to prevent this and other evils. How many Anas are there and have already been in Cape Verde? What has happened to them, after decisions like this? Statistics should serve not only politics and economy…

Photo by O Pirata used under a CC licence.

Furnas [pt] carries on the same idea to say that it is high time society debated these issues in an open manner:

Se os caboverdianos querem discutir a questão da gravidez na adolescência que o façam de forma séria, madura, ponderada e científica, não na perspectiva moralista e, muito menos de valores pessoais discutíveis e de origem e finalidade duvidosas! Acho que por uma questão de cidadania, que nos toca a todos, deveríamos estudar a possibilidade de entrar com um processo-crime no tribunal contra o estado de Cabo Verde! Está mais do que na hora de começarmos a quebrar o silêncio…

If Cape Verdeans want to discuss the issue of teenage pregnancy they should do so in a serious, mature, thoughtful and scientific way, not with the moralist view only, and even less with debatable personal values of dubious origin/means! I think that as it is a matter of citizenship, which concerns us all, we should consider the possibility of joining with the criminal proceedings in a court against the state of Cape Verde! It is high time we began to break the silence…

Paulino Dias [pt] believes that talking about it is not as easy when people just close their eyes to the problem.

O problema é mais profundo, minha amiga. Tem a ver com a (re)avaliação da legalidade e da “humanidade” da medida de afastamento das alunas grávidas das escolas, tem a ver com a desconstrução das famílias e dos seus valores que vimos assistindo diariamente, tem a ver com um certo “lavar de mãos” dos pais no que diz respeito à educação sexual dos filhos (sim senhor, isso não é assunto apenas do Ministério da Educação ou das Delegacias de Saúde!), tem a ver com a passividade de todos nós que tranquilamente vamos assistindo a esses “pequenos” dramas e assobiamos para o lado com a consciência limpa de quem pagou já os seus impostos.

The problem is deeper, my friend. It has to do with the (re) assessment of legality and “humanity” of the schools' removal order for pregnant students, it is about the deconstruction of families and their values that we have watched daily, it is about a certain “washing of hands” of parents regarding sex education of children (yes sir, this matter does not only concern the Ministry of Education or the Health Authorities!), it has to do with the passivity of all of us who quietly watch these “small” dramas and turn our backs with the clear conscience of those who have already paid their taxes.

Photo by elisnice

Photo by elisnice used under a CC licence.

Coming back to Virgílio Brandão [pt], this time on a comment on a Cafe Margoso post, he shares this anecdote about one of his past colleagues at Law School who had three kids during the university course:

Um dia, perguntei-lhe porque é que ela estava quase sempre grávida na altura dos exames e ela respondeu-me, com um extraordinário sentido de humor:

- Virgílio, fico mais inteligente quando estou grávida.

One day, I asked her why she was almost always pregnant when the examinations were up, to which she answered me, with an extraordinary sense of humour:
- Virgílio, I get more clever when I am pregnant.

7 comments · read »

Malaysia: Escalating fuel protests

Mong Palatino · 07:41 · East Asia

lingua → zht · zhs · fr

Fuel protests are escalating in Malaysia today. A few days ago, the opposition managed to gather thousands of people in the streets as protest to the Malaysian government's move to reduce fuel subsidies and raise fuel prices. Next month, anti-government groups vow to mobilize one million Malaysians.

Cowboy Caleb describes the situation in Malaysia the night before higher oil prices took effect:

“Traffic was being diverted from the seaside road, because it looked like a crowd was staging a demonstration. Further along the way, every single petrol station I passed by was jam-packed with cars queuing-up to pump petrol.

“Naturally, Malaysians are shaking their fists in anger. Amongst all the other oil-producing countries, Malaysia is the most expensive despite still being relatively cheap in the Asian region. This just smacks of bad governance.”

Konsyenz explains the anger of ordinary Malaysians:

“Simplistically put, a net exporting country like Malaysia should profit when global oil prices increase. Demand for oil is ever increasing, but the limited supply pushes the value of this prized commodity up.

“So, logically speaking, an oil-rich country like Malaysia, which is projected to be a net exporter until 2014, is making more money when prices skyrocket. Why is the country suffering from the effects of global oil prices then?”

But freelittlebrain thinks the oil price hike protest is unjustified and wrong. The same viewpoint is expressed by Malay Women and Malaysia:

“I was shocked and quite angry with the recent fuel price hike 24 hours after hearing the news last week but quickly realize that there is nothing we can do about it. I still maintain my stand that the fuel price protest like what Malaysians have planned for today is a waste of time.”

chantique79 believes the fuel policies of the Prime Minister reflect the leader’s “very short thinking without thinking the consequences to the people.” Former Malaysian leader Dr. Mahathir Mohamad shares his perspective on the issue:

“I believe the people expect the increase of petrol price. But what they are angry about is the quantum and the suddenness. The Prime Minister was hinting at August but suddenly it came two months earlier, just after the ban on sale of petrol to foreigners. If the increase had been more gradual, the people would not feel it so much.”

Fireangel uploads the article of a friend who tackled the impact of higher oil prices on the economy:

“The entire supply chain, from manufacturers, to distributors and retailers will now face the prospect of a “double-whammy”–paying a quarter more on their electricity bills as well as bearing the drastically higher price of fuel.

“The resulting cost increases will undoubtedly be passed on to the consumer, and might in turn precipitate a crisis in domestic production as demand for some goods falls through the floor with the diminution of real income.

“The effects of inflation, let alone hyperinflation, are unpredictable at best in a country that recently avoided paying a RM900 minimum monthly wage. At worst the combined effect of these latest developments will set a match to the powder keg of social discontent.”

Meshio.com adds:

“I have also noticed people are more pissed off with the petrol price than with the rice hike. It shows that the people are not stupid. They know the price hike is a global issue. But they also know that the shocking petrol hike is NOT so much of a global issue than it is a home-brewed one.”

Malaysian leaders have vowed that there will be no more oil price hikes this year. They said the government will look for alternative sources of revenue. Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin reacts:

“What alternative ways available? The government might consider scrapping corruption and look at ways to legalize it without doing it illegally. We have legalized civil servants' moonlighting and working in the night; we had legalized horse racing and bettings, we had legalized casinos, sports toto, 4-Ds; well, just add one more to it.”

KTemoc Konsiders describes the oil price hike as “Truly Tragically Tsunamic.” And the blogger points out the “positive” impact of the hike:

“The only enterprise which will boom, and I say this not as a cruel joke but as an observed reality of Malaysian life, will be the 4-Ekor and gambling businesses. Poverty leads to financial desperation, and desperation leads to fantasized hopes … and fantasy leads the poor to the 4-Ekor shops.”

paultan.org notes that cars are now a luxury and a necessity at the same time:

“I guess compared with our per capita income, cars are now officially a luxury and thanks to our pathetic public transport system, a necessity at the same time! We will have to find alternate ways to cut our fuel bill without relying on public transport, such as minimizing travel and car pooling.”

Rajan Rishyakaran reviews the fuel subsidy system of Malaysia:

“It isn’t as if Malaysia’s coffer is awashed with cash: we have been in a fiscal deficit for many years now. And revenue from oil shouldn’t be spent on subsidies: it is wasteful, not targeted and inefficient. Handing out checks (a bit like what the current administration seems to be doing) is a lot more efficient.

“Of course the current government could do a lot to lower the burden. Cancel huge projects of questionable value (why Penang Monorail, for example, when refurbishing the island’s tram lines are far much cheaper) - and channel that money into tax cuts.”

Rant Cushion discussed how the fuel subsidy was abused:

“The subsidy has been abused by those who do not merit the taxpayers’ sacrifice. When a subsidized system like that for fuel creates a two-tier system, we can bet there will be corrupt siphoning of benefits across the tier, where those not entitled will enjoy benefits at taxpayers expenses.

“Removing the fuel subsidy does NOT mean the end of subsidy to those in need as there are other ways to ensure they receive the publicly funded benefits via, for example, social welfare packages which will be an improved system of ensuring the benefits actually reach the intended target population.”

Oxyeleotris marmorata asks: Did we enjoy the nation's oil wealth? Where did all the oil profits go to?

The rising food and energy prices led ShadowFox's hideout to worry about the future:

“The wealth from the parent’s generation is ending soon, now we're facing the new generation of youths who might not be as diligent or financially adequate as their parent's generations, and the lack of decent opportunities in meritocratic environment. Even in the private sector, things are not all that rosy. Young people nowadays will have a huge problem managing their finance.”

5 comments · read »

Korea: Myungbak Castle

Hyejin Kim · 04:30 · East Asia

The biggest candlelight vigil against policies of the new government started from the US-Korea beef trade was over on the 10th of June. Hot issues now are how the government reacted to the demonstration and how demonstrators responded to the government.

The protests come on the 21st anniversary of demonstrations in 1987, seen as pivotal in South Koreans' struggle for democracy, and during the day, the government put 60 container boxes, welded them together, put sand in the container boxes, thrusted iron cores in the ground, and put lubricating oil on the surface of the boxes in downtown Seoul where the candlelight vigil was planned to start in the afternoon. Some 20,000 riot police were mobilized in Seoul, and thousands more elsewhere in South Korea, ahead of Tuesday night's large protests.

Unlike the government and some people’s expectation that there would be physical violence, several hundred thousand demonstrators, as they promised each other, successfully finished the demonstration without any blood. Netizens are excited about the successful democratic expressions of citizens. Barricades that the government made in order to block the road to the Blue House where the president works are criticized and satirized by netizens.

Well Connected Container Boxes

Netizens named the barricade and put it in wikipedia.

명박산성(한자: 明博山城)은 2008년 6월 10일 6.10 민주화 항쟁 21주년을 맞아 한미 쇠고기 협상 내용에 대한 반대 시위의 일환으로 서울 도심에서 100만 촛불 대행진이 계획되자, 경찰이 시위대의 청와대 진출과 전경과의 대치를 원천 차단하기 위해 도심 곳곳에 설치한 컨테이너박스 바리케이드를 뜻하는 말이다. 대한민국 네티즌과 시위대가 풍자의 뜻으로 사용하기 시작하였지만, 신문 기사 등에서 인용하면서[1] 널리 알려지기 시작하였다. 또한 주요 외신에도 컨테이너 장벽의 사진이 보도되었다.

Myung Bak San Seong (Myung Bak Castle) means a barricade which was made by container boxes in major streets in order not to let demonstrators encounter police troops after participants in the candlelight vigil who protested against the US-Korea beef trade and celebrated the 21st anniversary of the 6.10 Democratization Protest on the 10th of June, 2008 plan for a big march to the Blue House. At first, netizens and demonstrators used the term as innuendo, but later on newspapers quoted it and it started being used in common. Foreign media also reported the photos of the Container Wall.

Netizens are happy about the result of the demonstration.

감사하다.오늘 아침 신문을 보면서 그들이 밤새 저기서 열띤 토론을 통해 결국은 넘지 않기를, 우리는 이성적인 판단에 따라 자제할 수 있음을 보여주었다니 너무나 감사하다. 멋지다.

I appreciate it. Reading today’s newspaper, I knew that they decided not to climb over (the barricade) after they went through enthusiastic discussions. Seeing that we could control ourselves by reasonable and logical thoughts, I appreciate it. Awesome.

Many netizens point out that the Myungbak Castle led more people to participate in the demonstration.

지난 한달…대한민국의 화두는 ‘소고기' 였다. 개인적으로 소고기에 반대하는 것이야 당연하지만 그것과 별개로 지금 이 상황은 ‘소고기'자체가 더이상 문제가 아닌 것 같다. 단순히 소고기 때문에 이렇게 사람이 모인다는 것도 아니고, 소고기가 뿅~하고 해결된다고 사람들이 그냥 쓩~하고 사라질 것 같지도 않다.

누가 말하듯이.. 소통의 문제..

6월 10일의 축제(?)에 참여를할까 말까 고민하다가….친구녀석의 ‘역사의 한 순간을 즐기자~'란 말에 혹해서 먼 길을 나섰다[…]

Last month, the topic of Korea was ‘beef.’ In my personal opinion, I’m also opposed to beef, but the current affair is not just about ‘beef.’ Due to beef, so many people simply don’t gather together so much. The issue related to the beef will be solved well, but that doesn’t mean all people will be quite either.

Like somebody said… the problem of communication…

I was wondering whether I will participate in the festival of the 10th of June… After my friend said, ‘Let’s enjoy the moment of history~,’ I decided to leave the path.[…]

Through this demonstration, many netizens comment on the significant meaning of this event to ask what is democracy and what are the right of citizens. Steps that participants made in order to climb on the container boxes showed what they wanted was not being against the government in a riot, but being in mutual communications they want with the government.

Stryofoam steps. How they’re built.

Participants who would like to avoid physical fights “Riot police don’t have guilt” and “Peaceful Demonstration and non-violence.”

솔찍히 저 컨테이너가 쌓일 때부터 어떻게든 올라갈 방법을 찾아낼 거라고 예상하긴 했습니다만, 이 스티로폼의 계단이 단순히 몇몇 과격분자들의 의지 표명이 아닌, 촟불집회를 위해 나가신 수많은 분들의 논쟁과 토론에 의해 얻어진 결과라는 사실에 찡 했습니다. 대화를 통해서 해결해야 한다고들 교과서에선 질리도록 배우지만,흔히들 토론이나 논쟁이라고 하면, 인상을 찡그리고 피곤한 표정을 짓습니다.그도 그럴것이, 자기주장이나 자기의지가 굉장히 강한 현대인들 사이에서 논쟁이나 토론이 일어나게 되면, 상대방의 입장에대한 수긍이나 긍정을 굉장히 보기 힘들기 때문입니다, 이러다보니 상대방에 대한 이해나 긍정보다는 자기는 무조건 옳고 상대방이 틀렸다는 것을 전젱로 아무런 진전없는 말싸움과 인신공격만이 계속될 때가 많기 때문입니다. 하지만 그런 논쟁과 토론이 눈꼼만큼씩이라도 전진해서, 결국 서로가 타협할 수 있는 교차점을 찾아낸다면, 그것은 정말 성공이라고 할 수 있겠죠, 아무리 험악해보여도 토론은 어디까지나 평화적인 “대화”니까 말이죠 ^^평화로운 대화로 좋은 결과를 얻었다는게 정말 감격입니다. 그게 진정한 평화 민주주의겠죠.

Honestly, I assumed that people would try to find a way to climb over the container boxes when they had been piled up during the day. But when I learned that steps of styrofoam were built up after arguments and discussions by participants, not by a few extreme elements, I was really impressed. Even though we learn that problems should be solved by dialogue in textbooks, we are not used to have discussions and are not willing to have arguments. It’s understandable. When people in the modern world who have strong tendency of their own thoughts have discussions or panels, it is hard to see that they try to understand the other side. Therefore it is common to see that their own arguments are right and others are wrong, and consistent arguments and personal attacks happen. However, such arguments and panels are progressing little by little and if people find the point of intersection, it is success. Even though the discussions look aggressive, it is peaceful dialogue.” I am impressed that there was a nice result after peaceful dialogues. This is real democracy.

Netizens who participated in the event share their experiences.

일단, 저는 좀 놀러 다니다가 밤늦게 들어와서 인터넷 서핑을 하다가 명박산성을 뒤늦게 발견하고 11시쯤에 시청역으로 달려갔습니다. 그런데 사당역 쯤에서부터 이미 지하철역에 촛불집회 관계자로 추정되는 인파가 상당하더군요. 시청역 근처까지 가니 이미 엄청난 인원이 오가고 있고…

행사도 하고, 각종 자유발언도 있었는데, 줄이 좀 길더군요. 모여서 듣고 있는데, 갑자기 어떤 술냄새나는 아저씨가 고함을 지르고 뭐라고 해대서 실랑이도 벌어지고….그리고 제가 줄을 서고 있는데, 앞에 어떤 외국분이 올라오셔서 연설을 하시더군요. 잘 못들었는데…(영어가 안되는 건 아닌데;;귀가 그냥 좀 안 좋음;;) 마지막에 “이명박!”을 외치고 양손으로 X자를 만드는 장면은 확실히 봤습니다. 일단 기다려서 자유발언을 하게 되었는데, 그쯤되니 촛불이 다 타서 끝나버렸더군요. 일단 단상에 서서 말을 하기는 했는데….아놔;;줄에 서서 마음속으로 몇번이고 예행연습을 했는데 버벅대고 말도 잘 못했답니다OTL

직접 와서 보니 시위의 민주성이 정말 제대로 확립되어 있는 것은 확실하더군요. 대표적인 예로, 자유발언을 진행하는 사회자조차도, 몇 시간 동안 진행한 후에 시민들 중 거수자들을 후모로 지목해 교대하는 방식으로 했습니다.

민주주의가 모든 사람의 권리를 보장하는 최상의 구조이기는 합니다만, 의견수용과정에서 긴 토론이 발생함에 따라서 의사결정의 속도가 지연된다는 다소의 단점도 있는데, 그 점도 반영이 되기는 했네요..대표적으로, 스티로폼을 쌓아서 컨테이너상자를 넘는 것에 대해서 의견분열이 있고 실랑이가 발생했습니다. 이로 인해 언쟁으로 번지고, 스티로폼을 컨테이너 쪽으로 쌓기로 합의한 것은 새벽 3시나 되어서였습니다. 또한 지휘구조의 부재로 인해 스티로폼을 다시 쌓은 것은 새벽 3시 30분, 일부 시위자들(프락치라고도 추정됨)이 컨테이너 위로 올라가서 필요 이상의 난동을 부리자, 제지를 하고 시위대 전원 스티로폼에 오르는 것을 금지했습니다. 그리하여 격렬한 토론이 벌어지고, 몇몇 대표인원이 컨테이너 위에 올라가서 깃발을 흔들고, 그 밑에서 자유발언을 하는 등 질서체계가 확립된 것은 새벽 4시 30분이나 되어서였습니다.

I was hanging out and came back home late. Surfing the Internet, I discovered the MyungBak Castle, I ran to City Hall at 11 pm. But from the Sadang Station, it was full of people who seem to be related to the candlelight vigil. When I arrived at City Hall, there were so many people coming and going. There were events including the free speech stage. There was a long line for participating in it. Suddenly, a man having acohol odor was shouting… I was also in the line and waited. A foreigner before me also stood up on the stage and started the speech. I couldn’t hear well (English). At last, he shouted “Lee Myung Bak!” and made the gesture of X. I was waiting for my turn and my candle was already burnt out. It was finally my turn.. I practiced several times while I was waiting, but it didn’t work as good as I imagined.

Observing it with my eyes, I could see how well the demonstration was organized. For example, a host of the free speech led it for several hours and put volunteers in his position by turn. Democracy is the best structure to guarantee rights of all people. Some discussions became long while taking others’ opinions. I could see this kind of disadvantage.

For instance, whether we had to pile up styrofoam and to go cross the container boxes, there were split opinions. Arguments appeared. As a result, after the compromise, they decided to pile up them at 3 am. Due to the lack of leadership, it restarted piling up at 3:30 am. Some demonstrators got unnecessarily excited after climbing the containers and were controlled. After that that, some of them were allowed to climb. After another arguments, some representatives climbed the containers, swayed flags, and started free speeches at 4:30 am.

The next morning, selected participants with flags on the top of the container boxes. Photos from OnMyNews

1 comment · read »

“Beware of Egyptian Men,” says the Canadian Embassy

Marwa Rakha · 00:35 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → es

Back in December 2007, I was almost crucified for writing a post entitled: Relationshsips Warning: Do not date Egyptian Men. In that article, I said:

Because of the nature of my work in the tourism sector, I am used to hearing that this or that country has issued a travel warning to its citizens who plan on traveling to Egypt, especially in the aftermath of an attack. Naturally, most warnings address safety and security issues, and some warnings dedicate a section or two to hygiene and harassment. Lately, and because of the increasing number of divorces, custody issues, and domestic violence cases, some countries warn their women from Egyptian men. Yes, they tell them clearly not to get emotionally involved or legally committed to an Egyptian man!

Wandering Scarab - an Egyptian girl living in Canada - prior to her last visit to Egypt, decided to visit the Canadian Consulate website to register with the consulate in Egypt just in case her Canadian husband or her baby girl needed assistance with travel or local authorities. What she read on the site was appalling and ended up in her writing this post.

On the page specific to Egypt the first item displayed recent updates about major events in the country, like strikes and riots or disease outbreak, of which there was none for Egypt. So far so good. The second item displayed warning and recommendations where “EXERCISE HIGH DEGREE OF CAUTION” was in bold and highlighted in blue. I went on to read why the good people in the Foreign Affairs department think that I should exercise a high degree of caution. Among the many warnings, ranging from terrorist attacks and unexploded landmines to substandard medical care, there was this excerpt:

Women, particularly foreign women, are frequently subject to unpleasant male attention, sexual harassment, and verbal abuse. This often takes the form of staring, inappropriate remarks, catcalls, and touching. The Department publishes a booklet entitled Her Own Way: A Woman’s Guide to Safe and Successful Travel. Its prime objective is to inform Canadian women and encourage them to travel safely.

There are reports of female Canadian citizens being forced into marriage without their prior knowledge or consent. Parents, relatives and the community may use relentless pressure and emotional blackmail, threatening behavior, abduction, imprisonment and physical violence to coerce young people to enter into marriage. While both men and women experience forced marriages, it is a form of violence most commonly perpetrated against women. They have been unable to return to Canada, and their passports and money have been retained by family members. Canada opposes the practice of forced marriage and urges all countries to respect their international human rights obligations relating to free and full consent to marriage. Forced marriage constitutes a human rights violation under several legal instruments, including international human rights law, to which Canada is a signatory.

The Wandering Scarab thinks that the fact that the Canadian government went though the trouble of creating and promoting such a booklet suggests:

a. they are not exaggerating about the warning, and

b. the incidents of harassment happen frequently enough that there had to be a public warning about them.

This is the first thing Canadian women learn about Egypt. How embarrassing and sad this is.

Trying to overcome her shock and sense of indignation, she was struck by a second clause:

Canadian citizens who were born in Egypt, or who were born outside Egypt to an Egyptian father, are considered citizens of Egypt. Consular assistance, if required, will be granted by the Egyptian authorities on a case-by-case basis.

In other words, because I have dual citizenship, Egypt has the right to refuse the assistance of the Canadian Consulate in the event that I need such assistance. Let me reflect on that for a minute… OK, so even though I'm a Canadian citizen, Egyptian authorities will treat me as an Egyptian citizen, which means that if something happens, I can be denied legal counsel, held without charge indefinitely, interrogated (tortured) in prison, and prosecuted in Egyptian courts.

How was this particular dilemma resolved?

After not much thought I did indeed register. However, I registered using my husband's name, since he does not have the Egyptian citizenship. I avoided putting my name on the forms like it was the plague.

In pursuit of my original cause; Egyptian men taking advantage of foreign women, I found Insteadi who is “a trailing Scottish bird in Cairo” who dedicated a post for the nature of the relationship between Egyptian men and foreign women.

I just read an interesting article from Egypt's Daily Star (nothing like the UK one!). It is about men looking for foreign (note they actually use the word ‘blonde') wives to finance them. I have seen this sort of thing time and time again here, with the foreign woman usually being a tourist when she ‘falls in love' and not understanding that her beau could actually have ulterior motives. Why should she? He says such beautiful things to her, makes her feel so special, so wanted. He is so romantic (it's a shame she doesn't understand Arabic or she'd realize when song lyrics are being translated). Later comes the demonstrations that ‘he's not like that'. Frequently divorce is on the horizon. Soon after that, I don't know what happens with her, but he remarries: IT'S BUSINESS.

While I understand life in Egypt is tougher by the day, it surely can't be fair to enter a marriage you believe is for love, when the reality is that an entire family is plotting how to cajole you out of your money.

Words, beautiful or not, are cheap.

14 comments · read »