Archive for
October 19th, 2008

   

Stories

Japan: Media Bias in Potato Field Eviction?

Images appearing on Japanese TV on October 16th of government forces evicting crying nursery school children from potato fields in Osaka, part of plans to extend a highway (the Second Keihan Highway) between Kyoto and Osaka, has sparked many on the Japanese net to respond with accusations of media bias. Kitasumoto Nursery [ja] in Kadoma, who once owned the fields but had them forcefully expropriated by the Osaka prefecture government, had plans for the end of October to dig up potatoes that had been planted in May of this year [ja]. The face-to-face confrontation that ensued, with nursery teachers and children on one side and government forces sent in to evacuate the area on the other, had all the elements of a made-for-TV drama. Osaka Governor Tōru Hashimoto has claimed that the children's tears were used as a ploy in the confrontation.

Blogger rollcabbage agrees with Governor Hashimoto's move:

第二京阪道路をつくることについて
意見の違いはもちろんあるだろうけど
抗議するにしても
もっとましな方法があるだろうに。

There are of course differences of opinion regarding the construction of the Second Keihan Highway,
but even if you are going to protest about it, there are better ways to do it.

橋下府知事にはときどき
「あれ?」と思わされることもあるけど
この件に関しては100%支持する。
ネットを見て回っても
府知事を支持する声が多い。

Governer Hashimoto sometimes does things that make me think, “Huh?”,
but in this case I support him 100%.
Looking around the net, it seems that there are many people voicing support for him there as well.

At tantei-tiu, another blogger makes a similar observation [ja]:

このニュース、最初にテレビで見たんですが
まあ、橋下さんも酷いことするなぁ。と思ったもんです。

I saw this news first on TV, and thought to myself, wow, [Governor] Hashimoto is doing terrible things.

でも、いろいろ見てると、なんかそうでもないみたいですね。
保育園側が悪いような・・・。
なんて思うようになってしまいました。

But looking around, that doesn't really seem to be the case.
Seems like it's the nursery school that's in the wrong…
that's what I'm starting to think.

ってかね、報道の仕方に問題があるように思えますね。

Or I should say, it's in the way [this story] has been covered that there are problems.

At Smoky Quartz Forest, one blogger remarks [ja]:

ニュースで伝えたときは、まるで大阪府側が理不尽に立ち退きを要求するような伝え方しかしなかったし、「何故立ち退きを要求されたのか」についても軽く触れた程度でしかない。
まさにマスコミと所有者側が、大阪府と橋本知事をメディアと言う力で嵌めているとしか思えない伝え方に聞こえる。

When it was broadcast in the news, it was made to look as if the eviction demand by the Osaka prefectural government was unreasonable, and [the question of] “why have they demanded that they be evicted?” only received minor attention.
The way the story is being portrayed, one has to imagine that the mass media and the owners are using the power of the media to pigeonhole the Osaka prefectural government and governor Hashimoto.

俺がこのニュースで浮かんだ疑問としては、何故立ち退きが分かっている土地で、作物を植えたのかいうことである。
普通ならそんなところは避けるし、俺ならば別の土地を探して借りる。
結局は行政潰しの計画的な謀略としか言えないので、幼稚園側を擁護する気は皆無。

The question that came to my mind when watching this news was, why were they planting produce in land that they knew would have to be vacated?
Normally, you would avoid a place like that, if it were me I would look for another plot of land to rent.
In the end, I can only see this as some kind of systematic strategy to destroy the administration, and so I have no interest in defending the nursery school.

Blogger hitonochikara questions the story [ja] of “authority trampling over children's spirits” as presented in news reports:

本当にそうですか?府が用地買収を開始したのは平成15年と言います。府と保育園が5年間かけた結果が子供達を泣かすことですか?少なくとも野菜の植え付け時期に保育園側は、こうなることは予見できたはずです。その畑に何故イモを植えたのですか?仮に予見できなかったとして、保育園が行政代執行の通知を受け取ってからの10日間、いったい何をしていたのですか?

Is this really true? The prefectural government says that it began its acquisition of the site back in 2003. Is a result that the prefectural government and the nursery school [worked out] over 5 years something that should make children cry? At the very least, the nursery school could have foreseen that this would happen during the period that it was planting vegetables. Why did they plant potatoes in those fields? Even if we suppose that they could not have predicted what would happen, what in the world was the nursery school doing in the ten days after they were notified about the eviction?

In a popular post on the topic, blogger KoshianX analyzes an article on the topic published in Sankei [ja] and makes a similar observation:

この記事がいろいろひどいと思った。何がひどいって大阪府がいたいけな子供を泣かせてるというストーリーで書かれてて、あまりに一方的すぎて素直に読めば「橋本知事ひどい!」になるし、うがって見れば「保育園あやしい政治団体みたいだな」になりがち。

I found this article horrible in so many ways. The reason I felt this way is that the story that is written here, about the Osaka prefectural government as making innocent children cry, is just too one-sided; if you take it as it is written, you just have to think, “Governer Hashimoto is horrible!”, but if you dig deeper, you come out [thinking], “This nursery school seems just like a suspicious political organization.”

Comments on 2-Channel expressed similar sentiments. In an early comment, one person writes:

3 名前: 韓国外相(東京都) :2008/10/16(木) 11:51:25.36 ID:XFrZVa+b
画像のガキ見たら府の判断はいいとおもった

Looking at the bratty kids in the video, I thought the government made the right decision.

Others questioned the moves by the daycare:

10 名前: 四柱推命鑑定士(神奈川県) :2008/10/16(木) 11:52:59.00 ID:uJD1SyPq
そもそもなんでそんなややこしいことが起こる場所に畑なんか作ってたんだよ

What are they doing in the first place planting fields in a place where there will be such confusion going on?

13 名前: 嫌煙派(福岡県) :2008/10/16(木) 11:53:45.84 ID:Gg+lDFTH
いやマジでなんで2週間前倒しでイモ掘りやらなかったの?
随分前から通知されえてるはずだが

Seriously, why didn't they dig up the potatoes two weeks ahead of schedule?
They were notified about [what was going to happen] a while ago.

Finally, one commenter makes a suggestion:

14 名前: 9条教徒(鹿児島県) :2008/10/16(木) 11:53:57.68 ID:F9qMgyq7
芋買ってきて別の畑に埋めて子供に掘らせればいいんじゃね?

Couldn't they have just bought some potatoes, planted them in a different field and had the children dig those up?

Bangladesh: Sculptures, Bigots and Bloggers

Lalon A new controversy rattled Bangladesh last week. Authorities in Bangladesh were forced to remove five sculptures of Bauls (mystic folk singers) including Fakir Lalon Shah in front of the Zia International Airport in the face of protests from an Islamist group. They formed a sculpture prevention committee which pressed that they do not want any sculptures in the airport area where the hajj camp is located and they do not want Muslims to start their journey to the Hajj pilgrimage seeing the sculptures. Islam does not allow worship of objects/depictions that represent God or his messengers, or saints. However sculptures are part of the different cultures the Muslim world represents and can be found in every part of the world.

The removal of the sculptures and the inaction of the government has sparked protest across Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi blogosphere had heated debate on this issue.

A guest writer in the Bangla Blogging platform Sachalayatan says:

এয়ারপোর্ট একটি দেশের আন্তর্জাতিক প্রবেশ দ্বার। সবাই চাইবে তার দেশের শিল্প-সংস্কৃতি-ঐতিহ্য কে এখানে সংক্ষেপে তুলে ধরতে। লালন কি কোন ধর্মের মুর্তি? অমার প্রিয় স্বদেশ কি গুটিকয়েক (অসীম!) শক্তির লোকের কারণে অসাম্প্রদায়িক থেকে উগ্র ধর্মীয় দেশের পরিচয় লাভ করবে?

An airport is the gateway for a nation. Every country will want to display its arts, cultures and traditions here. Is Lalon display of any religion? Will my country be identified as a fundamentalist country from its secular image because of some (mighty!) persons?

Kowshik Ahmed writes [bn]:

একজন লালন আমাদের বাঙালীত্বের মানবিক স্ফূরণ সম্পাদন করেছেন, সাম্প্রদায়িকতার ঊর্ধ্বে অনুভবের বাস্পায়ন ঘটিয়েছেন। লালন আজ সেই সাম্প্রদায়িকতার বিষবাষ্পে স্খলিত। [..]

ভাষ্কর্য ভাঙা ও মোল্লাদের আবার সংঘ-শক্তি প্রদর্শনে মধ্যবিত্ত বাঙালি মুসলমানদের অনেকেই পরিমিতভাবে বিরক্ত। অনেকেই মৃদুস্বরে ধৈর্যের সাথে প্রতিবাদী কথা বলবার চেষ্টা করছেন।

Lalon has established the humanist aura in us, the Bengalis, encouraged us to think beyond communalism. Lalon is today being poisoned by the venom of communalism.

The removal of sculptures and the display of the muscle power of the Mullahs have angered many middle class Bengali Muslims. They are trying to voice their protests in a feeble way.

Lalon
The statues being pulled down: Image credit Banglar Joy

Blogger Banglar Joy says:

লালন নয় আমাদের গোটা বাঙালির জন্য অভিশপ্ত অধ্যায় (এটি)! [..] গোটা কিছু পাগড়ী আর উর্দি পরিহিত ফতোয়াবাজদের কাছে চরম ভাবে লাঞ্চিত দেশ, জাতি আর বিবেক! আমাদের সরকার নিরব, জাতির বিবেকবান মানুষ আজ মৃত।

Its not only for Lalon but a cursed event for the whole nation. [..] The nation is being completely harassed by some people in religious cloths. Our government is silent. The people with conscience are dead.

Journalist Jahangir Alam Akash reminds that the country is under state of of emergency. However these (fundamentalists) are given the impunity by the government.

ওরা জরুরি অবস্থা মানে না কখনই। ওরা ধর্মকে পুঁজি ও ব্যবহার করে যখন যা খুশি তাই করে থাকে। আমাদের কালো বাহিনী, আইন-শৃঙ্খলা রক্ষাকারি বাহিনী কেউ তাদের ধরে না।

They never abide by the rules of state of emergency (bar on collective protests). They can do anything in the name of religion. Our black forces, Security forces never take actions against them.

Oporajeo Bangla
Image: Dhaka University students protesting with blindfolds in the faces of the statue “Oporajeo Bangla” in the compound. Courtesy: Lal Dorja

Faruq Hasan asks:

এত কিছু থাকতে এখন ভাষ্কর্য নিয়ে টানাটানি কেন? দেশে তো অনেক ভাষ্কর্য আছে। এখন কি সব ভাষ্কর্যই সরিয়ে ফেলতে হবে? হজ্জ্বযাত্রীরা তো উত্তরবঙ্গ থেকেও আসবেন, সেক্ষেত্রে আমরা কি গাজীপুর চৌরাস্তার ‘জাগ্রত চৌরঙ্গীর' সেই দৃপ্ত মুক্তিযোদ্ধার ভাষ্কর্যও ভেঙ্গে ফেলবো? বকশিবাজার থেকে যদি কোনো হজ্জ্বযাত্রী বিমানবন্দরের দিকে আসতে চান তাহলে কি আমরা টিএসসি মোড়ের রাজু মনুমেন্ট ভেঙ্গে ফেলবো? যদি এদের না ভেঙ্গে ফেলি তাহলে লালন কি দোষ করলো?

Of all the things why they are messing with this sculpture? There are many sculptures in the country. So should we remove them all? The Hajj pilgrims will also come from the North Bengal. So should we also remove the glorious sculptures of freedom fighters in Gazipur crossing? If any pilgrim wants to come to the Airport from Bakshi Bazar they will have to travel past the Raju Monument in TSC crossing. So should we remove that too for them? If we choose not to do anything with them then why bother with the Laoln sculptures?

Yoothochari explains that the sculpture is not impersonating Lalon Shah but a symbol of all baul musicians:

মৃণাল হক যে ভাস্কর্যটি নির্মাণ করছিলেন বিমানবন্দর সড়কে, সেটির নাম “খাঁচার ভিতর অচিন পাখি”, সেখানে যে বাউলের ভাস্কর্য করা হচ্ছিলো, সেটি লালনের নয়। লালনের মূর্তি করা সম্ভব না। কেননা লালনের কোনো ছবি বা স্কেচ নাই।
The sculpture being erected by Sculptor Mrinal Haque in the Airport road, was titled “unknown bird in a cage” (after a song of Lalon meaning soul). The sculpture do not represent Lalon but the Baul musicians because you cannot make a statue of him. There are no pictures or sketches of Lalon available.

Protests
Image: Protest slogans in the streets “Communalism or freedom of expression? Which way is the government?”. Courtesy: Lal Dorja

Mahbub Morshed discusses [bn] that there is a deeper politics in it and the date coincides with the period when the government was under pressure to execute an arrest warrant against a top religious party leader.

Rajorshi says:

এসবই সাম্প্রদায়িক রাজনীতির কুটচাল। এগুলো অনেক আগেই শুরু হয়েছে এদেশে। এভাবে ধর্মকে ব্যবহার করে বিগত কয়েক দশকে কয়েকটা মুফতি (আমীনি, শা হাদিস) নেতা, সাংসদ হয়ে গেছে।

These are all shrewd tactics of communal politics. It has started in this country long ago. In the past decade many such religious leaders have become members of parliament.

Mahi Rahi says:

আমাদের দেশের কিছু ধর্মীয় গুরু আছেন তারা মনে হয় সবসময় একপায়ে খাড়া আছেন মুর্তি দেখলেই তা ভেংগে গুড়িয়ে ফেলার জন্য। কিন্তু তাদের মনে যে লোভের মুর্তি, খ্যাতির মুর্তি আর ক্ষমতার মুর্তির যে প্রতিনিয়ত পুজা চলে, তাকি তারা কখনো ভাংগতে পারবেন।

There are some religious leaders in our country who are on their toes to break any statues. But they worship the statue of greed, popularity and power in them everyday. Can they brake them?

Onrinno posts pictures of a human chain that took place in Dhaka protesting the removal of the sculptures.

Nazrul Islam remembers how he posed as a live sculpture in school events and says:

খুব ইচ্ছা করতেছে বিমানবন্দর চত্বরে সেই বালকবেলার মতো মূর্তি সেজে দাঁড়িয়ে থাকতে। একতারা হাতে…

I feel an urge to go to the (empty) airport sqaure and stand as a live statue with Ektara in my hand, just like my adolescent days.

There were also some voices for the removal of the statue. Borno says:

মূর্তির সাথে চেতনার কি সম্পর্ক? লালন যদি তার লেখনি দিয়ে মানবতার জন্য কিছু করেই থাকেন তো লালনের গানই লালনকে মানুষের হৃদয়ে স্থান দেবে। এ জন্য মূর্তি বানাতে হবে কেন?

প্রকৃতপক্ষে, ব্যক্তির কাজই তাকে মানুষের হৃদয়ে স্থান দেয়, মুর্তি নয়।

What is the relation between consciousness and statues? If Lalon did any good to humanity with his writings then the people will place Lalon songs in their hearts. Why we need a statue for that?

In fact, peoples deeds places them in people's hearts, not the statues.

Lalon Fakir's songs has also inspired the rock music scenario of Bangladesh and some of his songs are rendered into popular modern folk rock. One of the rock legends of Bangladesh Maqsoodul Haque suggests to choose silence as a weapon of choice:

The Mullahs and Politicos combine wish us to be reactive and replicate their reactionary character. We do not consider them ‘worthy opponents’ or ‘worthy adversaries’ or even ‘worthy Comrades’. All we say is let us be – for we did not in the first place as a fraternity ‘demand' or ask for any Monuments to our glorious ancestors, our forefathers……did we?

Those who have already commenced their ‘protest’ do not have either the bAUL’s or Bengal’s schools of socio-spiritual thoughts as an objective to further. Indeed, their objective and aspirations are narrow – as they wish to piggy-back on the bAUL issue to aspire for even narrower political expediency – the capture of state power – made even more complex give the restlessness prevailing in the country.

This is the oldest game known to mANKIND and epitomized in many bAUL songs:

Go tell the thief to steal
Go tell the peasant to catch him
Why do you then call the children of hUMANs - sINNERs?

[..]

Please keep the pEACE, spread the word and NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT.

Mrigrendra recognizes:

তবে ভাস্কর্য থাকুক আর না থাকুক লালন জীবিত আছেন। নিযুত হৃতস্পন্দনে তিনি জীবিত থাকবেন। কোন **বিমানবন্দর গোলচত্বর মুর্তি প্রতিরোধ কমিটি** সেই লালন দড়ি দিয়ে টেনে নামাতে পারবে না।

Whether the sculpture is there or not Lalon is alive with us. He will live in millions of hearts. No **sculpture prevention committee** can bring that statue down.

*Thumbnail image of Lalon Shah from Wikipedia

Angola: On the sadness and happiness of being a returneeVideo post

When Angola became independent in 1975, the former Portuguese colonizers were forced to go back to Portugal. But they were not the only ones. Angolans too, Portuguese descendants or not, left their whole life behind. They abandoned goods filled houses, cars, jobs, and most of them travelled only with a change of clothes. They did not have time to say good bye, to give notice at work, to guarantee they possessed the houses of which they left the front doors open.

Many years later, the home owners returned to recover their goods. They got nothing back. The houses had been occupied in most cases by people coming from the countryside or given to other people by the Angolan state, which declared them abandoned by previous occupants.

They arrived in Portugal with no hopes, looking lost, holding their kids by their hands, with their only a certainty an unstable present and grey future. In Portugal, they were dubbed the “returnees”, a pejorative term which has dimmed with time, but which still marks the soul of those who fled their own country.

The author of 25 de Abril - O Antes e o Agora [April 25 - Before and Now, pt] blog reproduced the story of a man who left everything behind to flee Angola:

“Entre essa massa anónima de pessoas de destino incerto encontrava-se Ribeiro Cristovão, a sua mulher e os três filhos menores. “Mantive-me em Angola quase até à independência. Acreditava que apesar das alterações radicais haveria lugar para todos. Enganei-me.” No final de 1975 abandona o seu emprego na cervejaria Cuca e a sua casa em Nova Lisboa. O homem do desporto da Rádio Renascença confessa que os primeiros três meses passados em Lisboa foram os mais difíceis da sua vida. E sem o abrigo na casa da irmã em Alcochete, a sua história estaria hoje pintada em tons ainda mais negros. “Recordo-me de calcorrear a cidade à procura de emprego, sem sorte nenhuma. Estava mesmo desesperado. No primeiro Natal na capital, Ribeiro Cristovão afundou-se numa tristeza profunda. Ali estava ele rodeado com a sua família mas com a árvore despida de presentes. O rótulo de retornado teimava em fechar-lhe as portas”.

“Among the mass of anonymous people whose destiny was uncertain, there was Ribeiro Cristovão, his wife and three small kids. “I stayed in Angola nearly up to Independence. I believed that despite the radical changes, there would be room for all. I was mistaken”. At the end of 1975 he left his job at the Cuca brewery and his house in Nova Lisboa. The sports reader at Rádio Renascença confesses that the first three months he lived in Lisboa were the most difficult of his life. And if it was not for the shelter at his sister's home in Alcochete, his story would be painted in even darker tones. “I remember walking the whole city seeking a job, without any luck. I was indeed in dispair”. At the first Christmas in the [Portuguese] capital, Ribeiro Cristovão sunk into a deep sadness. There he was surrounded by his family but with a present-empty Christmas tree. The returnee tag closed all doors to him.

JPF, from Fado Falado [Spoken Fado, pt] has a different perspective:

”Tenho contudo a ideia – e a convicção – de que por cá, os retornados foram na generalidade bem acolhidos. Pelo Estado e pelas pessoas em geral. Aliás a maioria e a sua descendência está por aí em situação identica à dos casos dos que já cá estavam e nas respectivas descendencias. Dir-me-ão que conhecem um caso X e outro Y diferentes. Provavelmente, há casos desses. Como os há de retornados que, não necessitando de nada, se fizeram e beneficiaram de toda a prebenda”.

I have however the idea - and conviction - that over here the “returnees” were fairly well welcomed, by the State and by people in general. Incidentally, most of them and their descendants are now living here in the same situation as those who were already here and their descendants. Some would tell me that they know X or Y different case and probably, there are stories like these just as there are stories of “returnees” who, not in any need, benefited from all the donations.

The Cubatangola [pt] blog author tells us a curious fact:

“Ontem tive a certeza que uma grande maioria dos antigos habitantes de Agola, não enjeita serem chamados de “retornados”. Tenho um familiar que devido a graves problemas de saúde, ACV já por mais de quatro anos se encontra internado num lar para idosos. Recentemente conseguimos arranjar um novo lar com umas condições bastante melhores e uma assistência mais completa, para o mudamos ontem. Quando umas das empregadas soube que este novo utente tinha vivido bastantes anos em Angola e tinha regressado na leva de 75, chegou-se a ela e disse simplesmente, EU TAMBÉM SOU RETORNADA! Uma frase simples, mas tão cheia de significado que foi suficiente para acalmar esta pessoa idosa, arrancando-lhe um sorriso, aqueles sorrisos de cumplicidade que trocamos com as pessoas que já conhecemos há muitos anos. Sim, mais do que nunca continuo a acreditar que esta palavra “RETORNADOS”, identifica um povo, povo esse que não se deve envergonhar de assim ser chamado, mesmo que alguns o achem pejorativo”.

Yesterday I had the certainity that the greatest part of former Angolan residents don't mind being called “returnees”. I have a relative who, due to serious health problems, he had a stroke over four years ago, lives in a care home. Recently we managed to find a new place with much better conditions and more extensive care, and we moved him yesterday. When one of the carers learnt that this new patient had lived many years in Angola and had come back in the bunch of ‘75, she came to him and said, simply, “I AM A RETURNEE TOO!”. A simple phrase, but so full of meaning it was enough to calm down this elderly person and bring a smile to his face, one of those smiles of complicity we exchange with people we have known for many years. Indeed, more than never I believe that this RETURNEE word identifies a people who should not be ashamed to be called thus, even if some think it is pejorative.

The truth is that neither the Portuguese state or citizens themselves made the life of those returning to the country easy. JPF confirms this:

“Tenho família que fugiu de Angola em 75. Foi terrível para muita gente, para muitas famílias. Pelo que apreendi na altura e sei hoje, o Estado português, na época, não lhes prestou lá o apoio que deveria. Abandonou-os, mesmo. Mas isso é uma questão que têm de colocar aos responsavéis políticos de então. Basicamente, militares barbudos, alguns comunistas, muitos revolucionários e oficiais-generais, como Rosa Coutinho, Vasco Gonçalves e Costa Gomes. E outros de quem não conhecemos os nomes”.

I have family who fled Angola in ‘75. It was terrible for many people, for many families. As far as I learnt at the time and know today, the Portuguese state did not provide them with the support due at that time. They were indeed deserted. But this is a question which should be directed to the relevant polititians of the time. Basically, bearded militaries, some of them communists, others revolutionaires and general-officers, such as Rosa Coutinho, Vasco Gonçalves, and Costa Gomes as well as others whose names we don't know”.

It is true that tha majority decided to leave for the old metropolis, but some decided to stay. It was, nevertheless, the place where they had started a family, a place where dreams and a promissing future were bonded together. JPF publishes a story of courage and love for the homeland on his blog:

“Há uns anos, li na revista Pública, uma excelente reportagem com “o mais velho português de Angola”. Era um tipo com quase 90 anos. Tinha nascido lá, por volta de 1910. O seu avô tinha ido para Angola na primeira metade do século XIX.
O homem relatava a história da sua vida. Em 74 ou 75, quando rebentaram a sério as hostilidades em Angola, desfez a casa, carregou carros e camionetas e rumou, da cidade onde vivia, a caminho de Luanda, para se pirar com a família. Chegado a meio do percurso, de muitas centenas de quilómetros e milhares de perigos, parou o carro e pensou: vou fugir para onde? Porquê? Esta é a minha terra! Esta é a terra que eu gosto!
Voltou para trás com a família e ficou. Hoje terá perto de cem anos. Ou já morreu - na terra onde nasceu e que sempre amou. E onde foi enterrado pelos seus familiares.
Não tenho dúvidas de que este velhote amava mesmo de Angola”.

“Some years ago I read an excelent story about the “oldest Portuguese in Angola” in the Pública magazine. He was a nearly 90 year old man born there, in around 1910. His grandfather had gone to Angola in the first half of the 19th century. This man told his story. In ‘74 or ‘75, when the serious hostility in Angola broke off, he packed up his home, loaded the cars, and drove out of the city he lived in to Luanda to flee with his family. Half way through, after hundreds of miles and thousands of dangers, he stopped the car and asked himself: “where am I going to run away to? Why? This is my land! The land I love”. He went back with his family and stayed there. Nowadays he is close to a hundred years old. Or, if he has since died, it was on the land in which he was born and lived, always. Where he was buried by his relatives. I have no doubt this oldie did love Angola.

To round off, Carlos Pereira of meus escapes [my scapes, pt] uploads a video made in Luena in 1975 showing what he calls “moments of great drama for the victms of a disasterous decolonization”:



The wonderful pictures that illustrate this article are screenshots from the video above, by Dailymotion user kutemba
Originally written in Portuguese, translation by Paula Góes

South Africa: A New Era In The Fight Against AIDS?

In late September Barbara Hogan was appointed as South Africa's new health minister by interim President Kgalema Motlanthe, ousting her controversial predecessor Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. AIDS activists and many South Africans are hopeful that this move will signal a shift in the government's HIV/AIDS policies.

Hogan, a veteran anti-apartheid activist and a long-term ANC (African National Congress) member, was previously the chair of the finance portfolio committee. Since becoming health minister, she has broken from the former government's stance on HIV/AIDS and has
vowed to make AIDS a top priority. This has caused excitement for many South Africans, who are hopeful that Hogan can strengthen the country's fight against HIV/AIDS by taking a more science-based approach to policymaking. In this video AIDS activists celebrate Hogan's appointment.

In the past Hogan publicly criticized former President Thabo Mbeki's stance and policies on HIV/AIDS. Roughly 5.7 million people in South Africa are living with HIV and 350,000 people died of the disease last year (almost 1,000 deaths a day). Tshabalala-Msimang has also been blamed for inadequately responding to South Africa's HIV/AIDS problem. The former health minister promoted beetroot, garlic, and other foods as treatment for HIV/AIDS, resulting in the nickname “Dr. Beetroot,” and has been accused of creating confusion about anti-retroviral drugs.

Stephen, posting on irreverence, calls Tshabalala-Msimang a national embarrassment and Hogan a glimmer of hope. Ciaran Parker, blogging on Ciaran’s Peculier [sic] Blog, elaborates on Tshabalala-Msimang's unorthodox views:

“Kgalema Motlanthe, while stating a desire to pursue continuity, has got rid of some of Mbeki’s more controversial ministers. Chief among these is Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the chief theoretician behind Mbeki’s AIDS denialist policies. Mbeki’s government refused to accept the role the HIV virus has in the spread of AIDS, and his health minister stated that anti-retroviral drugs, which have been shown to have some effect in fighting the disease, were too expensive…Medical professionals working in the South African health service who publicly disagreed with the minister’s bizarre theories have been victimised.”

Earlier this week, at the opening of the International AIDS Vaccine 2008 conference in Cape Town, Hogan publicly declared that HIV does cause AIDS and should be treated with conventional medicine. She also said the government was committed to scale-up mother-to-child prevention programs, therapies that prevent HIV-positive pregnant moms from passing on the disease, and that an effective HIV vaccine was desperately needed.

Scientists, activists, and many bloggers have expressed relief and excitement following Hogan's address. Haley, blogging on adventures as an ambassadorial scholar, says:

“So most people I talk to find it - surprising - that democratically elected government officials, in today's world, would deny such ideas as … say… that HIV causes AIDS. However, sadly in South Africa, that has been the case…. but no longer my friends, no longer.”

Ray Hartley, posting on The Times, South Africa, blog adds:

“‘We know that HIV causes AIDS.'

With these words, the Health Minister, Barbara Hogan, ended an ignominious decade of Aids denial that has cost South Africa countless lives and has forced those with the virus to live in the shadows.”

It's difficult to determine how many lives were impacted by previous HIV/AIDS policies, but the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) says that over two million South Africans died of AIDS during Mbeki's presidency and at least 300,000 deaths could have been avoided if he had met basic constitutional requirements. Some bloggers say that both Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang have blood on their hands. Soneka Kamuhuza, blogging on Things That Make You Go Mmmh!, blames mostly Mbeki.

“Their [Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang] intellectual apathy, targeted myopia and general dis-ingenuousness played dangerously to help continue the pandemic. Pushing holistic approaches, which when used singularly, cannot be an effective treatment for the virus, they battered their nation with their fortified and unified ignorance. It is now estimated that South Africa has the world's highest numbers of people infected with HIV. Somehow, I see Mbeki's hand all over this…In a country rich with natural resources, he has cheated its most important resource, the people of an opportunity to make a critical head start in the fight against AIDS.”

Many hope that Hogan will reverse some of this damage. A post on peripheries points out that many people expect that the period of politically-supported AIDS denialism in South Africa is over. However, others remain cautious. BillyC, commenting on a blog post on The Times, South Africa, says:

“Barbara Hogan has a mountain to climb to reverse the almost terminal damage to health care on Manto’s watch. Staff competency, morale and levels as well as a slew of health policies and legislation all have to be addressed. In addition the promotion of voodoo medicine and demonisation of western science is now deeply embedded in the national psyche. It will take years of hard, courageous and diligent work to get us back to a health system that’s respected and effective. We can only wish Barbara Hogan god speed. She’s gonna need it.”

Photo of South African AIDS Ribbons by mvcorks on Flickr.