Archive for
August 12th, 2008
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Brazil: Olympics, war and elections
It could not have been any different; the Olympics, war and elections were the dominating keywords of the week in the Brazilian blogosphere, with many bloggers commenting on the games in Beijing and the achievements of Brazilian athletes, while others were more worried about the Russian-Georgian conflict, not forgetting, every now and then, to give consideration to the upcoming local elections in the country. Nathalia [pt], a very young newbie blogger of just 16, reflects on the three issues:
Eu estava na quarta série quando aconteceu a copa de 2002. Fizemos um projeto na escola que envolvia todos as matérias, cada uma tratando de um aspecto do evento. Uma frase dita por algum professor que eu nem lembro quem era me marcou muito: “Esses eventos servem pra ‘disfarçar’ o que de verdade está acontecendo pelo mundo”. O Brasil foi pentacampeão naquele ano e confesso que não intendi o que aquele professor queria dizer.
I was in fourth grade at the time of the 2002 World Cup. We did a school project involving all the subjects, each of them dealing with one aspect of the event. One of the teachers, don't remember who, said a remarkable phrase to me: “These events are only good to ‘disguise' the truth of what is happening around the world.” Brazil was five times champion that year and I confess that I didn't understand what that teacher meant.
Hoje, seis anos depois, acompanhando uma Olímpiada de verdade pela primeira vez isso ficou claro pra mim. Faz 5 dias que não sei o que acontece no mundo. Ligar a TV é inútil. Todos os canais contam e recontam jogos e medalhas. Na estação de notícias que eu costumo ouvir na rádio não foi diferente. Todos parecem ter apenas um só assunto : Pequim. Até na internet que teoricamente é o meio de comunicação mais versátil e abrengente parece que se esqueceu das notícias do mundo real.
Today, six years later, and truly following the Olympics for the first time it became clear to me. For 5 days I do not know what happens in the world. Turning the TV on is useless. All channels count and recount games and medals. The news station I am used to hearing on the radio was no different. They all appear to have only a single subject: Beijing. Even on the Internet, which theoretically is the most versatile and in depth means of communication, it seems the stories of the real world are forgotten.
Tive que rolar minha página inicial [globo.com] até o fim pra descobrir se o mundo havia se transformado num grande ginásio Olímpico ou se ainda existiam notícias reais. Descobri que nesse meio tempo uma guerra estorou, o dólar voltou a subir e mais críticas em relação a censura chinesa foram feitas.
I had to roll down my homepage [globo.com] until the end to find out if the world had been transformed into a large Olympic gymnasium or even if there was still any real news. I found out that in the meantime a war has broken out, the dollar value is going up again and more criticism regarding Chinese censorship has been made.
Além disso, não foi aprovada a lei que impedia canditatos com a ficha suja a se candidatar nas eleições desse ano e o TSE registrou 378 candidatos com mais de 70 anos. Parece que em ano de eleições, o Brasil está jogando sua sujeira política pra baixo do tapete. Um tapete chinês. Eleger idosos e acusados de crimes não parece ser a solução para nosso país. E o brasileiro não sabe disso por quê? Porque o Brasil ganhou 2 bronzes em Pequim, porque Phelps bateu mais um record ou porque a seleção do Dunga pode chegar a algum lugar.
Moreover, the law that prevented candidates with a criminal background running for this year's elections was not passed, and the TSE [Superior Electoral Court] registered 378 candidates over 70 years. It seems that in an election year, Brazil is sweeping all its dirty politics under the carpet. A Chinese carpet. Electing the elderly and those accused of crimes as electoral candidates doesn't seem to be the solution for our country. And why don't Brazilians know about this? Because Brazil won 2 bronze medals in Beijing, because Phelps broke another record or because Dunga's [football] team can get somewhere.
Confesso que sou a maior fã das Olimpiadas e que acordei as 5 da manhã de sábado para ver a competição de Ginástica. Mas de vez em quando é bom olhar mais além e ver o que está por traz de um evento tão grande como esse.
I confess that I am the biggest fan of the Olympics and that I woke at 5 am on Saturday to see the Gymnastics competition. But every once in a while it is good to look further and see what is beyond an event as large as this.
China: Faking the Olympic opening ceremony, at what expense?
Faked, harmonized, prettified, just when everyone seems so into the Games, out comes the news that two of the highlights of the opening ceremony were not what they appeared: production of a made-for-tv version of the footstep fireworks that walked across the sky from Tiananmen Square to the Bird's Nest began a year ago, and nine year-old Lin Miaoke, de facto face of the event for many, was actually lip synching to the voice of seven year-old Yang Peiyi, harmonized out of the picture because she doesn't look perfect enough. There was some humor to be found in this; people asked, ‘they blew so much money on this thing and we couldn't even get a real one?'
For the faked footstep fireworks, the argument that there wasn't much difference between what was seen from the ground and what was seen on television has made it less of a controversy, that and probably the fact that most bloggers are used to digital touch-ups of official events.
Looking at the early buzz on Twitter, though, we feel a sense of shame at seeing authorities muck it up not once but twice, and then wondering what the next fake revelation will be.
Twenty-something Sohu web editor and iPod fan Flypig wrote a series of tweets just as word was spreading through blogger circles:
http://twitter.com/flypig/statuses/884863093
他妈逼《歌唱祖国》这事儿已经超出了“假唱”的范畴，就是“替唱”，和“替考”是他妈一个性质的事情，这是对整个中国青少年的极大误导。张艺谋滚出来道歉！
http://twitter.com/flypig/statuses/884865256
张艺谋用实际行动告诉了全中国未成年心智未成熟的青少年和儿童：为了“和”，为了“歌唱祖国”，可以让儿童行骗！
http://twitter.com/flypig/statuses/884866210
张艺谋还传递出来一个信息，就是，人长得不好看，歌唱得再好听，也是不能上台的。我去你妈的。你知道你导演的这台开幕式有多大影响吗？你知道你会扭曲一整代人的心理吗？
News of the lip-synching where reported was (at least in many places) quickly deleted, but discussion continued elsewhere; also on Twitter, Chinese wikipedian @shizhao tweeted in response to @buchimifan ('Chen Qigang reveals, the main reason Yang Peiyi was taken out was in consideration of the image presented to the rest of the world, and national interest') and @kcome ('fuck the image presented to the rest of the world, and fuck national interest! Denigrate kids like this and our heaven-sent hypocrisy will just flow from one generation to the next!'):
@kcome @number5 @buchimifan 这样说的话，当年美国奥运会拳王阿里颤颤巍巍那火炬的形象，岂不更是丢尽了美国人的脸？
Blogger/businessman Isaac Mao has collected a few other posts, one of which from Sina blogger ‘nice book on a summer night' asks:
两个孩子都很优秀，但我想此后她们都会为此事受到伤害~ 唉，这事儿办得，，，哪怕是一个不很完美的童声，或是一个不很惊艳的形象，我们都能接受…
可是现在，别说很多人接受不了~孩子们能承受吗？
大人的决策，要她们来承担后果，对两个小女孩都不公平~
如果有人想为这件事情辨护，请先想想，如果杨沛宜是自己的孩子，如果林妙可是自己的孩子。
有的时候，底线和原则是比国家利益还重要的，至少，如果是我的孩子。
But now, never mind that we can't accept this, do you think that the kids can stand it?
Adults made the decision, but they have to deal with the consequences, which are unfair to these two little girls~
For anyone thinking of defending this incident, please just think: what if Yang Peiyi was your own child? What if Lin Miaoke was your own child?
Sometimes, things like the bottom line and principles are more important than national interest; at least they would be if those were my kids.
At the end of his post, Isaac asks:
那么，还有什么是真的呢？金牌？
Perpetually blocked Blogspot blogger Nick Wong also writes:
今天新闻出来了，让很多人感动得热泪盈眶的小女孩唱歌（歌唱祖国）原来是演“双簧”的假唱，而另一让众多人赞不绝口的焰火“大脚印”大部分是事先的录像，并不是实况直播，真真算是丑闻了。我本来也不觉得这两点有什么让人激动（反而觉得很恶心），当然听了这个消息也不觉得什么失落。中国人天性好面子，自古就好大喜功、喜欢弄虚作假，一点也不奇怪，只是连纯真的孩子从小都要受这样恶习的熏陶，真是让人叹息。
Japan: Ainu recognized as indigenous people
On June 6, a couple of months prior to the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, the Japanese Diet passed a resolution to officially recognize the Ainu as an indigenous people. Immediately following the passage of the resolution, a government panel held its first meeting to start working on a plan to put these words into action. While this development marked a historical turning point for the Ainu, bloggers were far from unanimous in their responses to the passage of the resolution.
Blogger abe-iw welcomes the Diet resolution:
昨日2008年6月6日は、画期的なメモリアルデーとして歴史の一ページに長く記録されることになるだろう。この日、アイヌ民族を先住民として認め、関連する政策の一層の推進を政府に求める国会決議が、参議院本会議において全会一致で可決・採択されたのだ。
June 6, 2008 will go down in the pages of history as a groundbreaking memorial day. On this day, the Diet resolution calling for the government to recognize the Ainu as an indigenous people and to further implement related measures was unanimously passed and approved during the Upper House plenary session.
[…]ようやく法の下に平等をうたった憲法第14条の精神が、ここ日本においてもまっとうに遵守されることになったのだ。この間、関係者・関連団体のたゆまざる情熱と努力は敬服に値するが、それにも増して昨年年9月13日、国連総会において採択された「先住民族の権利に関する宣言」や、きたる７月に開かれる「北海道洞爺湖サミット」が今次決議実現の追い風になったことは、報道の示すとおりであろう。悲惨な戦乱や度を越す暴力沙汰が絶えない今日、先住民・少数民族の主権を尊重しようという最近の動きは、人々の心の奥底にまだ残っている良識が垣間見えた感がし喜ばしい限りである。[…]
[…]Finally, Japan has complied with the spirit of Article 14 of the Constitution, which ensures equality before the law. Although the passion and the efforts of people and organizations that have been involved [in this movement] are worthy of respect, the passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the United Nations on September 13the of last year, and the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit scheduled for this coming July, helped [make possible] the realization of the passage, as reported in the media. In the world of today, with horrible wars and extreme violence that never ends, the recent move to respect the sovereign rights of indigenous people and enthnic minorities offers a glimpse of the decency at the bottom of people's hearts, and this makes me so happy.[…]
While appraising the resolution as a milestone, Eunheui thinks that there is something missing:
先住民族として認め（られ）ることが一里塚であることは確かだ。しかし、この文書はアイヌの権利を保障するための何ら具体的な政策提起も含んでいないし、歴史認識に言及こそするものの、それを自分のものとして非をあがなう道に踏み込もうとはしない臆病な文章だと私は思う。私は決議案を作った人たちの善意や良心を疑いはしないが、残念ながら、この文章を今から何十年か経って読み直した時にそこに燦然と輝く人権擁護の宣言を見出せるという予感は全くしない。
Photo by Flickr user Okinawa Soba (used under CC-BY-NC-SA ).
Akio Ikeuchi, however, questions the goverment's involvement in preservation of an indigenous culture. He agues that it is the Ainu people's role, not that of the government, to show their commitment in restoring their culture and ethnic identity:
６日，「アイヌ民族を先住民族とすることを求める決議」が国会で採択された。が，おそらく私の感覚が鈍いのだろう。私には今さらどうしてこのような決議が必要なのかが分からないのである。
私は別にアイヌを先住民族と見なすことに反対したいわけではない。が，日本民族にほとんど同化吸収されてしまったアイヌを，いまさら分離する必要がどうしてあるというのだろうか。
I am not trying to oppose recognizing the Ainu as an indigenous people. However, why is it necessary to isolate the Ainu, who have nearly been assimilated into Japanese society, now?
[…]もしアイヌの人たちが今の日本とは一線を画する形で自分たちのアイデンティティーを取り戻したいというのであればそれもまた一つの立場であろう。その場合，かつてのアイヌの地をアイヌの人たちに返すべきだとも言えるだろう。その際，日本はアイヌの自立を支援すべきでもあるだろう。
が，国会決議が
政府に対し，アイヌを独自の言語，宗教や文化を有する先住民族と認め，有識者の意見を聞きながらアイヌ政策を総合的に行うことを求めている（同)などという甘い話であるなら，果たしてアイヌの人たちはどこまで独自の文化を保つべく自立しよういう覚悟を持ち合わせているのか疑問になってくるだろう。
However, the Diet resolution calls for the government to acknowledge the indigenous people with their language, religion and culture, and to comprehensively implement Ainu policies, consulting experts' opinions. This is naive thinking, and the question arises as to how determined the Ainu people are to become autonomous in order to preserve their own culture.
民族文化が保存されるためには，民族自体に生きる力，すなわち「生命力」がなければならない。が，今回のように政府に援助を要求すること自体，その力の弱さを物語っているのではないか。
本気でアイヌ文化を復興したいのであれば，政府の助けを借りないというくらいの気概がまず必要なのではないか。
If they seriously want to recover the Ainu culture, first they need have the guts to say that they do not need the help of the government.
Blogger Yu argues that this resolution suddenly introduces the notion of ethnicity and reshapes the definition of the citizen:
日本は先週まで単一民族国家だった。
不思議な言い方だが、これはマジ。
Until last week, Japan was an ethnically homogeneous nation.
This may be a strange way to say it, but this is real.
アメリカも建国以来ずっと単一民族国家だ。
なぜならアメリカは「個人の権利」は保障するが「民族の権利」は認めていない。
あの国で国民を形成するのは「アメリカ人」だけだ。
America, too, has been an ethnically homogeneous nation since its foundation.
This is because although America ensures the “rights of individuals”, it does not recognize the “rights of ethnic groups”.
The country is made up only of Americans.
日本も全く同じだった。
在日朝鮮人やアイヌや琉球人がいる日本は他民族国家だ、という主張はあったが、これは評論家的な見方に過ぎない。
在日朝鮮人は「日本国民」ではなく在留外国人だし、「国民」は民族ではなく個人を単位としていた。
Japan was exactly the same [in the past].
Arguments have been raised that Japan is a multi-ethnic country, consisting of zainichi Koreans, Ainu, and Ryukyu, but this is just the perspective of critics.
Zainichi Koreans have been defined as foreign residents and not as “Japanese citizens”, and a “citizen” was defined not based on ethnicity but at the level of the individual.
良くも悪くも日本は国民統合に成功した国だ。
アイヌも琉球も、地方の伝統文化に過ぎなくなった。
For better or for worse, Japan is a country that has successfully unified its citizens.
The Ainu and the Ryuku are now no more than mere local traditions.
そんな状況が変わった。
アイヌが先住民族と認められ、国民の中に民族というラインが引かれた。
アイヌが民族なら、それ以外は自動的に大和民族となり、どちらでもない琉球人もまた民族となる。
マスコミもネットもあまり関心はないようだが、これは重大なことだ。
「国民」と「個人」の間に「民族」という枠が突如生まれたのだ。
The Ainu are recognized as an indigenous people and a line called ethnicity has been drawn between the citizens.
If the Ainu are an ethnic group, then the rest [of the Japaense people] automatically become the Yamato people, and the Ryukyu who do not belong to either group become yet another ethnic group.
Neither the mass media nor the net[izens] seem to be interested, but this is a grave issue.
A framework for “ethnicity” has suddenly emerged between the “citizen” and the “individual”.
それは民族の権利を保障し、自決権を認めるということにもなる。
つまりアイヌが独立を主張すれば、大和民族はそれを否定する権利を持たない。
沖縄にしても同じだ。６日のことは、実は、現状追認に過ぎなくなるであろう憲法改正などよりはるかに大きく、国家の形を左右する出来事だったかもしれない。
This also means that ethnic rights will be ensured and the right to self-determination will be recognized.
In other words, if the Ainu claim their independence, the Yamato people have no right to deny it.
What happened on June 6th was, in fact, much more significant than the amendment of the Constitution […] and is an event that could change the shape of the nation.
Saudi Arabia: Slavery in the Gulf
Two weeks ago there were strikes and violent demonstrations by Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait, protesting low pay and poor working conditions. Following the demonstrations, more than 200 workers were deported. In this post, two Saudi bloggers tell us what they think of modern-day ‘slavery’ in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf.
Ahmed Baaboud begins by referring to the history of slavery in the United States:
He then describes the situation in Saudi Arabia:
أتكلم من خلال معرفة شخصية لأن لي أقارب يعملون كبائعين في محلات أقمشة و بيع ساعات يعملون من الساعة التاسعة صباحاً حتى صلاة الظهر (أي إلى حدود الساعة الثانية عشر ظهراً)، و بعد ذلك يعودون للعمل من الساعة الرابعة و النصف حتى الساعة العاشرة و ربما الحادية عشر مساءً، أي ما مجموعة ثمان ساعات يومياً تقريباً و بشكل يومي من غير أيام إجازة أسبوعية، بل حتى إجازات الأعياد تكون مقصورة في العادة على يوم أو يومان. كما إن الأمور تصل إلى حد غير معقول خلال العشر الأواخر من شهر رمضان حيث تستمر ساعات العمل إلى الساعة الثانية صباحاً.
I’m speaking from personal knowledge, because I have relatives working as salespeople in shops selling fabric and watches; they work from nine o’clock in the morning until the noon prayers (meaning until about midday), then return to work from half past four until 10pm or maybe 11pm. That means they work in total around eight hours per day, on a daily basis without weekly days off, and usually even Eid holidays [Muslim feast] are limited to a day or two days. Matters also reach an unacceptable level during the last 10 days of Ramadan, when working hours continue until 2am.
Another blogger, Ahmad, is not at all surprised by the events in Kuwait:
تذكرت الكلمات السابقة وأنا أشاهد ردة فعل العمالة في دولة الكويت خلال الاسبوع الماضي ، حيث أضرب عدد كبير من العمال وبعضهم شارك في مظاهرة علنية في الشوارع والميادين مطالبين بتحسين الأنظمة ، بغض النظر عن إشكاليات العمال والجرائم التي انتشرت مؤخراً ، أنا على يقين بأننا في دول الخليج - ليس في الكويت فحسب - لازلنا ننظر إلى العمالة الآسيوية نظرة متدنية وخالية من أي تقدير واحترام أشببها بالنظرة الحيوانية ، فالمواطن ينظر للعامل ويتعامل معه وكأنه ليس انساناً مثله ، ناهيك عن تعامل الشركات التي تقدم رواتب شهرية متدنية جداً ، أعلم بأن 120 دولار (450 ريال) تعتبر مرتباً عالياً جداً للموظف في بنغلادش مثلاً ، لكنها لن تستطع أن تجعل عاملاً في الرياض أو دبي أو الكويت يعيش بأقل التكاليف مع توفير مبلغ نهاية كل شهر ، فلو فرضنا أن جميع وجبات الأكل الثلاث تكلف العامل في اليوم الواحد فقط 12 ريال فهذا يعني بأنه يحتاج إلى 360 ريال شهرياً فقط لوجباته الثلاث ، ناهيك عن الملبس والتنقل والتوفير .
الشركات الكبرى الآن تضغط على الحكومات التي تتأخر في دفع مستحقات المشاريع الكبيرة بعدم دفع رواتب العمال ، فحين يحتج العامل ويوصل صوته للمسؤولين في بلاده يكون رد الشركة بأننا ننتظر (التعميد من الحكومة ) أي استلام جزء من مستحقات المناقصة وهو الذي يتأخر بالأشهر ويصل إلى 7 أو 8 شهور ، الضحية هنا العامل الذي لاعلاقة له بكل ذلك .. يحرم من مرتبه الضئيل فترات تصل إلى 8 شهور .. ثم نغضب حينما يلجأون للجريمة والسرقة .
When governments are late paying what they owe for large projects, major companies now put pressure on them by not paying workers’ wages. When workers complain and their voices reach officials in those countries, the companies might respond that they are waiting for the government’s ‘baptism’, meaning that they are waiting to receive a portion of what is owed to them, and that is what is delaying things by up to seven or eight months… The victims are the workers who have nothing to do with all that. They are deprived of their meagre salary for up to eight months – then we get angry when they resort to crime and theft.
كل هذه السلبيات تتكرر أيضاً في العمالة المنزلية ، ففي كل دول الخليج تعمل الخادمة أو السائق نحو 18 ساعة يومياً بلا توقف ، وهناك الكثير منهم لا ينعمون بمكان نوم ملائم ، بل هناك من يجبر الخادمة على النوم في المطبخ بين الفرن والثلاجة ! ، في أحد المرات ذكر لي صديق (متفاخراً ) بأنه لا يجعل الخادمة تغسل (حوش) المنزل خوفاً من تلقيها أرقاماً هاتفية من سائقين بالجوار .. لذلك فهي لا تتجاوز حدود المنزل الداخلي وربما لا تنعم بضوء الشمس سوى عند نشر الملابس في سطح المنزل ، وعلى كل حال يؤكد أيضاً بأنها لا تخرج مع العائلة للسوق أو المطاعم حتى يضمن عدم تعرفها لعمال آخرين ، قلته له بالعربي ( هي في سجن ؟) ، فأجاب .. (بس هي راضية!)
All these negative factors are also repeated in domestic employment. In all the states of the Gulf, housemaids or drivers work about 18 hours a day without stopping, and there are many who do not have a proper place to sleep – indeed, some are forced to sleep in the kitchen between the oven and the refrigerator! One time a friend told me (with pride) that he didn’t let the housemaid clean the yard, out of fear that she would get the telephone numbers of the neighbours’ drivers. So she never left the house, and maybe never saw sunlight expect when putting out the clothes to dry on the roof. In any case, he emphasised that she didn’t go out with the family to shops or restaurants, to ensure that she didn’t get to know other workers. I asked him, ‘Is she in prison?’ He replied, ‘But she's happy enough!’
سل نفسك الآن ، متى آخر مرة أحضرت وجبة خارجية للخادمة أو السائق ، وكم مرة منحت السائق هاتفك الجوال لمحادثة أهله ، ماذا عن الخادمة .. هل مازالت تكتب رسائلها وتبعثها بالبريد ؟
هل لديكم شك بأنها ليست (عبودية) ؟
Ask yourself now, when was the last time you brought a meal from a restaurant for your driver or housemaid? And how often have you let the driver use your mobile phone to talk to his family, and what about the maid? Does she still write letters and send them by post?
Do you have any doubt that this is slavery?
Malawi: Discussing development and the Olympics
Maize silos, in Mangochi. Photo by Victor Kaonga.
“Development” has been exercising the minds of Malawian bloggers lately. The approach has taken the form of highlighting efforts of Malawians abroad, Malawi's much touted fertilizer subsidy program, Malawi's presence at the Olympics and Chinese presence in Malawi, and a philosophical discourse on the problems that accompany the adoption of westernization as a development paradigm at the expense of tested and effective African ways.
Developing Chitipa district
Edna Bvalani writes on her blog Tadala about a group of Malawians based in the United Kingdom who have teamed up to devote themselves to assisting in the development of one of Malawi's 32 districts, Chitipa. Titling her post Patriotism Spirit, Edna writes:
Most of the times you hear “people” asking their district assemblies, Members of Parliament or Non governmental organisations, to build them public toilets, school blocks, health centres and the list is endless. I strongly feel that Malawians are not patriotic in developing this nation. Think of cases where pupils are learning on an open ground or under a tree for many years. That school ever since it was opened, has produced cream of creams ranging from Doctors, lawyers, Managers, Executive Directors, Chief Executives and Entrepreneurs, the list is endless. But how come we are failing to mobilise ourselves to go back to our home villages and do something which will contribute to development.
The failure of the fertilizer subsidy program
The fertilizer subsidy program has attracted a lot of attention in the last three years, and has been a backbone of Malawi's development efforts, owing to the country's agro-based industry. Mercy Palamuleni comments on a Nyasatimes article that reported President Bingu wa Mutharika as admitting that his fertilizer subsidy program, much hailed around the world as a Malawian revolution, had failed. Mercy points out that subsidies work when strategically used as is the case in the West, but in Malawi wealthy farmers have the edge over poor farmers:
I understand that the main goal of the program is to help the small under resourced farmers. However, I always wonder how the average farmers are usually left out while the rich farmers can always find their way to coupons. I really wished our program would concentrate more on financing the average farmers who from readings seems to the majority of the commercial farmers. In the end, may be the system might be efficient if coupons are distributed to everyone.
Malawi in China, China in Malawi
Also featuring highly in Malawi's development efforts in the last year has been the Malawi Government's decision to switch diplomatic relations from Taiwan to Mainland China, a decision argued within the same development framework.
Buckaroo Thandi's starts with Malawi's participation at the Olympics. A friend texted her at 4am Malawi time from Wyoming, USA, about Malawian athletes being shown on TV, making Thandi regret not having a TV set. But the presence of China in Malawi is becoming central in Malawi's development discourse, and Thandi is mesmerised by what appears to her to be a strange site on the streets of Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi:
I was quite surprised to see a truck ferrying Chinese construction workers in Lilongwe. I've heard about Chinese construction workers elsewhere in Africa but to me this was a surprising sight all the same. Am I being idealistic in hoping that they will teach us their unique skills in building and pass the construction mantle back soon after?
New roads, new silos
Victor Kaonga recently toured parts of southern Malawi, and saw new roads and new maize silos as evidence of development projects hatched and completed in the last few years.
[G]etting to Mangochi was a bit of a marvel for me as I travelled on the Golomoti Road for the first time after it was tarred. I thought the road makes a quite a beautiful drive through the hills of Dedza into the plains on the Western side of Mangochi.
Obviously once the road connecting to Monkey Bay is fully constructed, it will really shorten the distance between the country's capital Lilongwe and the Mangochi lakesides.
On the maize silos, Victor has posted a photograph of the new structures that are storing some of Malawi's surplus maize production in the wake of food crises in the last six years.
How westernization dilutes African wisdom
Mzati Nkolokosa goes philosophical in looking at the underlying fissures in the way westernization is interpreted as development, leading to the abandonment of African ways of doing things. Mzati goes down a list of Malawian practices which when closely examined seem to have performed much better than the western ways being sought after to the detriment of Malawi's cultural heritage. He provides examples in environmental conservation in contrasting areas which are denuded of their green vegetation versus those still lush and green, African traditional religions, African ways of governance which he argues are are equally democratic, Africans ways of caring for orphans, African ways of providing health care and safety valves, and African attire, among others.
Couching his analysis in development discourse, Mzati explains that:
Village heads are best suited to represent people in development matters. They know every person in their areas. Take your example. Your village head, most likely, knows where you live and work. He or she knows you by name. This is true of the rest of the people from your village.
Your village head knows the needs of the people better than a ward councilor. The challenge is that we have copied what we think are democratic structures from the West at the expense of our own democratic structures. This assumes that democracy is not African which is not true.
Mzati concludes by bringing together his examples into one overarching argument:
Not everything African is evil as we are made to believe. Using herbs as medicine is not evil. What is the difference between SP and a liquid from boiled peach leaves? They both cure malaria, only that the liquid has not passed through a factory. Is the herb at Limbe market evil because it did not pass through some factory in Mumbai, India?
It is time to reflect on our ways of life and discover those we believe will benefit us. There is a lot we are losing by abandoning everything African and adopting everything western. Agriculture is just one example. Manure from animal waste is a lot better than fertiliser that is destroying our land.
South Ossetia: Did Kosovo set a precedent?
See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.
When Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on February 17, 2008 governments around the world were divided about the legitimacy of such an act. As of today, 45 out of 192 sovereign United Nations member states have formally recognised the Republic of Kosovo. Notably, a majority of European Union member states have formally recognised it (20 out of 27). However, a few others such as Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Greece or Cyprus did not recognize Kosovo's independence fearing the reactions of the separatists from their countries. They thought that Kosovo would set a precedent. Then Russia's president Vladimir Putin apparently did not think so.
According to the Chinese daily Xinhua on February 23, 2008:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the recognition of Kosovo's unilateral independence by several major world powers set “a terrible precedent”.
On February 18, the Reuters website published an article on the occasion of Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence. The article, titled “Russia's Chechen rebels hail Kosovo independence”, said:
Russia has strongly opposed Kosovo independence, arguing that to recognise a separatist region as a new state without the consent of the country affected sets a dangerous precedent for scores of other territorial conflicts around the world.
Bloggers also reacted and analyzed possible consequences of the recognition of Kosovo's independence. Below is a representative selection of posts from that time.
Stanley Crossick wrote on his blog on February 22, 2008:
Recognition of Kosovo’s independence is an unfortunate solution, but there is currently no better a solution.
[…] Kosovo has separated from Serbia without its consent; and the UN has failed to endorse its independence because of strong protests by Serbia and Russia, backed by China. However, the question should have been brought before the UN Security Council, as the legitimacy, if not the legality, of the independence would have increased with a resolution supported by a large majority, despite the veto(s). The EU foreign ministers have clearly stated that Kosovo is a special case that should not become a precedent but that may fall on deaf ears in Spain, Cyprus.
Irina Filatova, a professor of the Economics in Moscow and a senior research fellow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, commented on The Guardian's blog Comment is Free on February 23, 2008:
Many think that Russia would use this situation to recognise the break-away [Georgian republics] of [Abkhazia] and [South Ossetia], and perhaps even [Transdnistria], a break-away part of [Moldova].
[…]The Americans say that Kosovo is not a precedent, that it is a once-off exception. It is difficult to believe this. If a nation wants to secede and to create it own statehood, there is little what any government can do, except keep it by force. […] The independence of Kosovo is useful to the US in order to show the world that America is not anti-Muslim, merely anti-rogue states, some of which happen to be Muslim […] But they would not support the [Basques] or the [Walloons], or the [Kurds], let alone the Transdnestrians.
Nor would they support the Abkhasians and the South Ossetians, of course. On the other hand, if Russia decided to recognise these break-away republics, and if Georgia decided to oppose this (which it would) then the Americans would, of course, support [Georgia], and Russia might, indeed, face a conflict with the west.
Kosovo's independence is not going to explode Europe, but it has already exploded many of the assumptions on which our modern system of international relations is based.[…]
Shaun Walker wrote in the British Prospect Magazine in April 2008:
[…] When I visited Abkhazia last month, I heard all the same arguments for independence as on previous visits. But this time there was an added grievance—Kosovo.
Abkhazians have always felt that the west has treated them unfairly, and now, since the recognition of Kosovo's independence by several western countries, they feel doubly wronged. Why did Kosovars deserve their freedom more than the Abkhaz?[…]
Now it seems that assumptions by many bloggers have become a reality. To everyone's astonishment, on the same day the Beijing Olympics started, Russian military troups and South Ossetian separatists took control of the South Ossetia region from Georgia's authority.
Jelena Milić, like many other bloggers, was shocked to hear the news. She wrote [Serbian] about it on her blog in the Serbian news portal B92:
Šta je ovo? Zar nisu nekad ratovi prestajali kad su igre počinjale?
What is this? Weren't wars supposed to stop when the Olympic Games began?
Ivan Marović, also blogging at B92, wrote a post [Serbian] titled “the War in Georgia” in which he says:
Postavlja se pitanje zašto baš sad, nakon petnaestak godina primirja?
S jedne strane, separatisti i Abhaziji i Južnoj Osetiji su osetili da nakon priznanja jednostrano proglađene nezavisnosti Kosova od strane vodećih država Zapada, oni mogu učiniti nešto slično i očekivati podršku Rusije. […] Rukovodstvo Južne Osetije je, poučeno događajima na Balkanu, skapiralo da sve može, ako imaš moćnu državu iza sebe, a u njihovom slučaju to je Rusija.
S druge strane, gruzijski predsednik Miša Šakašvili kapira da je situacija sad ili nikad. On takođe misli da ima moćnu državu iza sebe, Ameriku, ali da će, što vreme duže bude odmicalo, sve teže biti izvesti vojnu akciju protiv separatista. Već sad se oseća smanjenje uticaja Amerike i povećanje uticaja Rusije na Kavkazu. […]
Međutim, već posle nekoliko sati postalo je očigledno da je Rusija reagovala brzo i odlučno, dok se Amerika još uvek drži retoričkih reakcija. Izgleda da će SAD da pomogne Gruziji onoliko koliko je Rusija pomogla Srbiji 1999, odnosno da je gruzijska vojna akcija u Južnoj Osetiji propala, nema ništa od brzog zauzimanja Južne Osetije. Sad je samo pitanje šta će se desiti, da li će rezultat biti prekid vatre uz pojačano pristustvo ruskih trupa ili otvoreni rat koji može poprilično da potraje.
The question is: why now, 15 years after the armistice?
On one hand, Abkhazian and South Ossetian separatists felt that since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was recognized by the leading Western countries, they could do something like that and expect the support of Russia […] With Kosovo on mind, South Ossetian leaders have figured out that if they get the support of a powerful country, in this case Russia, they will attain their goal.
On the other hand, Georgia's president Mikhael Saakashvili considers that this moment is decisive for his country. He also thinks that he has the support of a powerful country such as the United States, but as time goes by it will be more and more difficult for him to justify the military actions against separatists. […]
However, already after a few hours it became obvious that Russia had reacted promptly and seriously, while the United States is still trying the diplomatic way. It seems that the U.S. will support Georgia in the same way Russia supported Serbia in 1999. It means that Georgia's military operation has failed in South Ossetia. The fast takeover South Ossetia has failed. Now the only question is whether a ceasefire will be worked out so that Russian troops will remain in South Ossetia or the war will be go on.
Reuters blogger Giles Elgood wrote a post titled “Was South Ossetia’s fate sealed in Kosovo?” in which he wondered:
Is Kosovo to blame for the fighting in South Ossetia?
When the Serbian province seceded from Belgrade in February, South Ossetia was quick to reassert its own claim to international recognition.
As a spokeswoman for separatist leader Eduard Kokoity told Reuters at the time: “The Kosovo precedent has driven us to more actively seek our rights.”
Those remarks will not have gone unheard in Tblisi and could well have added some urgency to Georgia’s desire to impose its rule over breakaway South Ossetia.
With widespread Western backing, Kosovo was able to achieve a fairly clean break with its former ruler, despite Russian objections.
Now Moscow is backing the separatists and it’s far from clear how things will play out this time.
Austin Bey doesn't agree, claiming that it is not possible to compare both issues - Kosovo and South Ossetia:
[…]After Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, separatism resulting from international action to protect an ethnic minority has an imprimatur.
That is one interpretation of Russia’s argument that Kosovo should never have been allowed to unilaterally separate from Serbia, which it did earlier this year.
Russia’s invasion of Georgia’s separatist South Ossetia region is certainly renewed warfare in the near abroad. It is also a violent reminder of how unsettled Eastern Europe remains in the post-Cold War era.
For Moscow’s foreign policy purposes, the troubles in Georgia fit “the Kosovo frame” – a minority group beset by an “ethnic nationalist authority” attempting to regain control.[…][…]I’m pointing this out not because I believe Georgia is Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia. It most certainly is not. Georgia a democratic state “working its way West” politically and economically. These are major qualitative differences between contemporary Georgia and Serbia in 1999.
However, Russian diplomats warned for the last eight years claimed “the Kosovo precedent” would affect around 200 regions or territories in nations around the world. That’s a nice round figure and it may in fact be low.
Moscow’s insisted that Kosovo would establish a “separatist precedent” for spinning statelets from sovereign nations. Interestingly enough, both Romania and Greece oppose a “unilateral” Kosovo independence. Spain, with its Basque separatists, wasn’t enthusiastic.[…]
Links for Tue, 2008-08
Tumwijuke of Ugandan Insomniac discusses skin tone issues in Africa after seeing a cosmetic commercial in which Beyonce's skin looks digitally whitened, wondering “Why are our supermarkets filled with cosmetics from Johnson and Johnson that promise to brighten your color and return you to the fairness of your youth?” And she adds “Why, when, how, why did we go back to that place where looking more white was the preferred state?”
White African reports that the news aggregation site Alltop has just created an Africa page, Africa.Alltop.com, with the aim of giving African news and bloggers “additional attention outside of the traditional African blog echo chamber”.
Arefe of Addis Journal reported that Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima's latest feature is going to be in the official competition for the 65th Venice's Film Festival, starting at the end of this month. Sean of Africa is a country also noted the participation of the film, titled Teza, in the festival.
Arefe of Addis Journal reports that the lawyer of popular Ethiopian singer Teddy Afro has been released after spending a few days in jail with his client. The lawyer had been found guilty on charges of contempt of court, adding some more drama to the singer's trial that has captured nationwide interest.
The sword of truth condemns the recent coup d'état in Mauritania as it contravene's the protocols of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He concludes: “The military remain to be only an impediment to democracy in Mauritania”.
Jeremy Goldberg of Millennial Challenge gives an overview of Ugand