Archive for
October 27th, 2008
Stories
Guatemala: Heavy Rains and Flooding Affecting the Poorest Communities
Foto by Mesas de Diálogo.
The past month has been very difficult for many Guatemalans. During tropical storms, heavy rains and flooding, a lack of public policies aimed at preventing tragedies resulted in even more damage, as agricultural crops have been ruined, houses completely destroyed and people have even been buried alive because of landslides.
Floods and storms affect many communities, but the impact is higher in communities below the poverty line. These communities are often isolated from services or shelters, like the small villages in Peten, Quiché and Zacapa. El Poptuneco [es] reported that President Álvaro Colom flew on a helicopter to Porptun, one of the affected areas. Also, the Governor, Rudel Alvarez, on his personal blog , reported on the situation and regularly updated the weather conditions stating that it was the worst tragedy in ten years in Sayaxche , another village in Southern Peten where 288 families in extreme poverty were affected by the rains and floods.
Mesas de Dialogo blog [es] told a real life story of the crisis:
Realizaron un sobrevuelo el día 21-10-08 por el área rural encontrándose una señora la cual desde las alturas pudieron observar que imploraba ayuda entre las inundaciones baja el helicóptero pocos segundos y ella dijo que tenía 4 días de no comer juntamente con sus hijos, perdieron su casa y sus cultivos.
They flew over the affected area on 10-21-08, and they saw a woman from a distance, so the helicopter landed. The woman said that her family had been without food for four days, and that they lost thier home and their crops.
The community was inaccessible by vehicle, so the only way to help them was via air.
Citizen Journalism blog El Zacapaneco [es] reported on the damaged infrastructure in Zacapa (Eastern Guatemala), saying that La Union, a village, suffered once again because of land slides that blocked the main highway.
But solidarity is always present, as El Portal de Peten reported , Rainforest Alliance has already expressed their solidarity. Cuban Doctors are helping people in the most affected areas, as reported by the Municipal News Blog [es] . Caritas de Guatemala made a call for medicine, clothes and food and they can be contacted here .
It is sad to read that every year such tragedies happen, and some regions are always affected. At the same time, no public policies or measures are taken to avoid the damages. The cost is so high: human lives, homes, and harvests are all washed away with the floods, as you can see in the pictures of Arturo Godoy.
Morocco: Barça Fan Jailed for Superlative Statement
Many bloggers were shocked last week to learn that a young Moroccan man had been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for what seemed like such a minor “crime.” The young man, a Barça (FC Barcelona, a soccer team) fan, allegedly wrote “God, Nation, Barça” on the blackboard at his school. Morocco's motto is “God, Nation, King.”
Although FC Barcelona has already announced [es] they will support the young man and take whatever action is possible, precious little is known about his case.
Laila Lalami offers up information:
Moroccan judges seem to be in a competition to find out who will issue the most excessive, most ridiculous, and most embarrassing ruling for the country. The latest example comes from the town of Ait Ourir in the province of Marrakech, where a high school student named Yassine Belassal was arrested, tried, and promptly sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for insult to the king because he allegedly wrote “God, Nation, Barça” on the blackboard.
Morocco’s motto is ‘God, Nation, King’; Barça is the Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona.
Belassal is in his senior year and also a national champion in karate. He may or may not have had legal representation at his speedy trial; he may have written the motto on a wall outside or on the blackboard in class; he may have acted alone, or with a group of three friends; his last name might be Belassal or Ait Ben-Lassal—the facts of the case are somewhat unclear. What is clear, however, is that he is now in prison, serving a sentence at the Boulmharez jail, for what seems like a harmless case of football hyperbole.
Blogger Adilski takes a sharp look at the sentencing:
On a light note, a commentator on Al-Arabiya website said the teen was arrested because the king is a fan of Real Madrid. On a serious note, though, most probably the king was not aware of the incident when it took place. It must have been some angry teacher or principal who reported the incident to the Gendarmerie, who in their turn tried to “impress” and presented the kid to the court. Zealous and sycophant prosecutor and judge threw the kid in prison, hoping for few taps on the shoulder.
Moroccan blogger Ibn Kafka [fr] has questions about the case:
1- Peut-il être condamné à une peine d’emprisonnement, s’il s’avère qu’il n’est pas majeur?
2- Aurait-il été condamné s’il avait remplacé “Allah” ou “al watan” par Barça au lieu d’”al malik”?
3- La procédure pénale a-t-elle été respectée dans le cas de Yassine Belassal?
1 - Can he be sentenced to imprisonment, if it is not a major crime?
2- Would he have still been convicted if he had replaced “Allah” [God] or “Al Watan” [country] with Barça instead of “al malik” [king]?
3 - Has criminal procedure been observed in the case of Yassin Belassal?
The blogger provides an in-depth analysis of the case in French, musing on issues such as Belassal's age, the nature of his crime, and the laws surrounding it. He concludes that if Belassal is in fact a minor (a fact which has not yet been made clear), then Morocco has violated its obligations under the 1989 Convention on the Rights of Children.
In addition to the multitude of bloggers covering the case, a Facebook group has also been set up in support of Belassal. Stay tuned to Global Voices for more updates.
Iran: Blogging from the Smallest School in the World
Here is another story about how blogging can change lives in a positive way and attract attention to invisible parts of this world.
Abdul Mohammad She’rani, a young Iranian teacher in a very remote village in Iran, blogged about his very small school and his four students in a small Iranian fishing village of Jamalabad Kalu near the southern port city of Bushehr.
Abdul Mohammad She’rani with his four students.
Social media did something nearly miraculous: Iranian media and even CNN reported about this village and the government helped with road construction and other facilities. UNESCO recognised the school as the smallest in the world. You can see several photos of the school here.
CNN did a story on this school, that has made the rounds in a video on YouTube.
Notes of a teacher as soldier blog (an English blog that translated some of Abdul Mohammad's posts) writes about the first experience of the teacher with this school:
On the first day I became the soldier teacher, a tiny girl with a sweet voice and that lovely southerner modesty came to meet me. She took my hand with her tiny one, encircled with a green bracelet to ward off evil, and showed me Kalou's new school; a school that had no walls and stood just a few steps away from the sea.
In his blog, Abdul Mohmmad writes that he once gave, “If I were the President” as a topic for an essay to his four students.
One of students wrote, “If I were the President I would help poor people, I would not let anyone lives in poverty… I would provide water and electricity for villages in order to help rural people live a comfortable life like urban ones… I would establish peace between different countries and I would not let powerful countries attack weak ones.”
Baz Ham Zendegi (means life again) writes [fa]:
Abdul Mohammad does not complain about the lack of facilities, difficulties and problems. But he writes about life, love of learning and teaching in any circumstances. He teaches his students that kindness is reigning here and life with all its ups and downs goes one…
Climate Analysis of Rihanna's ‘Shut up and Drive' Video
Empivot is an online green media aggregator, or as its tag line says, it is the ‘Online Network for Green Video'. Members can upload video, browse channels such as Renewable Energy Business Watch, YesterMorrow - Design/Build School, Green Tv and others.
An interesting video that was posted on the Brighter Planet channel does a climate analysis of Rihannna's ‘Shut up and drive' video. It is done in the style of VH1's pop up video, interspersing facts about cars, CO2 emissions, fuel efficiency and car use in America.
Bangladesh, India: Things that make your children taller, stronger and sharper
Recently two advertisements of childrens food products made by Nestlé and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) aired by a Bangladeshi television channel were banned in UK. The Bangladeshi private TV channel NTV (not Nepali TV as some reports claimed) is rebroadcasted from UK to cover 58 countries in Europe and surrounding areas.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of UK has banned the adverts because they were misleading and inaccurate. The both ads are made by these multinationals for consumers across the South Asian countries including Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The generic ads are usually made for multiple countries and dubbed in several local languages to be aired by local TV channels.
In the Maggi Noodles (Nestlé) advert, a mother explains to her child: “Maggi is the best because it has essential protein and calcium that help to build strong muscles and bones.”
Watch the ad here (in Bangla):
On the other hand the Horlicks (GSK) ad in NTV claimed: “Children have become taller, stronger and sharper. The Horlicks challenge – now proven!”
Sudarshan Banerjee writes at planning-shlanning about a slightly different version of the Horlicks ad aired in Zee Bangla, an Indian regional TV channel:
“The Horlicks Ad would have been banned if it were running on a national channel. Here's how it goes. Scene outside store. Mother and adoloscent child duo - 2 pairs; one Mother's bag showing a refill pack of Complan and the other Mother's bag showing a Horlicks bottle (Both very very CLEARLY - no pixelations, no attempt to hide whatsoever).
The spot goes on with the Complan boy saying, my health drink has 23 nutrients, how much does yours have? To which the Horlicks boy's answer is 23 nutrients and also something (eludes me, at the moment).
The Complan boy goes on to say, Mine makes me ‘Taller' with the show of measuring up the height on one's shoulder at the Complan ads, the Horlicks boy replies, mine makes me ‘Taller, Stronger & Sharper'.
The Complan boy then says, mine costs Rs.178 and the Horlicks boy replies, mine costs only Rs.124 (please pardon if the prices are off by a few rupees). The Complan boy then jubilantly says, Mummy, In this case we are higher right with the Mother making a grimace of I've-been-had kind of look.
The Ad ends with a couple of people carrying a Horlicks billboard with the 3 tenets of Taller, Stronger & Shraper clearly written in the background.”
The truth emerged after both Nestle and GlaxoSmithKline claimed that the ads had been broadcast in the UK without their knowledge or consent. Interestingly GSK said that its claims were accurate for “children in that part of the world” and they complied with the regulatory requirements of Bangladesh. A GlaxoSmithKline spokesman added that the Horlicks sold in India is a completely different formulation and product to the one in the UK.
Arif Jebtik from Bangladesh had this to say [bn]:
এ বিষয়ে নেসলে কোম্পানি নাকি একটা ব্যাখ্যাও দিয়েছে । নাহ, তারা ক্ষমা প্রার্থনা করেনি । তারা বলেছে, এসব বিজ্ঞাপন তৈরী করা হয়েছিল বাংলাদেশের মিডিয়ার জন্য, “ভুলক্রমে” যুক্তরাজ্যে প্রচারিত হয়েছে বলে তারা দূ:খিত !!
ঠিক আছে নেসলে কোম্পানি । সত্য ভাষনের জন্য আপনাদের অভিনন্দন ।
যাবতীয় ইতরামি এই তৃতীয় বিশ্বের দেশটার সাথেই সবাই করছে , আপনারাও করতে থাকুন ।
Its ok Nestle. Congratulations for telling the truth.
Everybody is doing all these evil things with this third world country. Please continue to do it.”
Himu writes in the comments section:
নেসলের কোন প্রোডাক্ট খেয়ে বুদ্ধিশুদ্ধি হলে জানায়েন তো একটু … একজনকে গিফট করবো … ।
The ASA has ruled that the the products should not be advertised in UK without adequate substantiation for the claims made for it but the reality is that the ads will continue be aired in many South Asian countries.
China: “Criminal” with Human Rights Award
Last week (Oct 23) it was announced that the European Parliaments' Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to Chinese political activist Hu Jia. On the other hand, China government expressed its anger and disappointment at the European Union decision, insisting Hu was a criminal, and described the EU move as “gross interference in China's domestic affairs”.
In the Chinese internet, because of political censorship, there isn't much open discussion, but Wang haoxuan's attack on Hu Jia caught some attention:
他三十多岁了，没有工作，没有正当经济来源。还要问年迈的父母要钱。是个不折不扣的啃老族。荒唐的是，胡佳连自己都养不活，却以“环保”和“ 帮助艾滋病人”为幌子义无反顾地投身火热的“民运”事业。至于活动资金，就要靠国外那些个“民主基金会”支援了。胡佳老婆还和达赖见面，支持藏独，反对北京奥运。可见胡佳被抓一点也不冤，是罪有应得。胡佳已经肝硬化了，估计活不了多久。也许马上就要和当年的魏某一样，以保外就医的名义做为政治筹码被塞进去美国的飞机。至于他到美国以后，当然要知恩图报，为分裂中国而奋斗终身了。
胡佳，你已经沦为了一个受西方列强利用的分裂分子。中国不欢迎你，快滚吧。
Duimanpark, a Hong Kong blogger, laughs at such kind of name calling attack with a sarcastic tone:
這個世界的罪犯有很多種，例如製造三聚氰胺奶粉的，是罪犯；只是關注一下環保，說幾句意見，也可以是罪犯，分別只是，前者不會坐牢，後者不坐牢，也要軟禁。
我認為胡佳最大的罪，是蠢。他去年向法新社說：「中國整個歷史都是獨裁統治，現在我相信，我們有機會為國家五千年來首次帶來民主，所以我覺得活在當下是福份，所以我這樣做。」他竟然蠢得相信中國會有民主，實在不能饒恕。須知道，不自私不愛財不懂走位都是中國人的原罪，一眾不為錢財打滾、反為人權奔波的人士，都是愚蠢的原罪犯啊！
Devilfighter praises the European Parliament for this courageous move:
實 在 要 為 歐 洲 議 會 的 堅 持 與 勇 氣 鼓 掌 。
正 當 世 界 大 部 份 國 家 越 來 越 被 中 國 的 經 濟 實 力 嚇 倒 ， 越 來 越 被 中 國 的 迅 速 崛 起 迷 惑， 越 來 越 不 敢 開 罪 中 國 政 府 時 ， 歐 洲 議 會 仍 敢 於 堅 持 原 則 ， 仍 敢 於 開 罪 中 國 ， 毅 然決 定 把 沙 哈 洛 夫 人 權 獎 這 個 國 際 性 的 人 權 獎 項 頒 予 仍 囚 於 中 國 冤 獄 的 維 權 人 士 胡 佳先 生 。 像 這 樣 的 表 現 怎 不 讓 人 讚 賞 呢 ？
The whole world has been amazed by China's economic power and growth and refrained from intimidating the Chinese government, the European Parliament managed to insist in their principle and give the human right award to human right activist Hu Jia, who is still in jail in China. How can we not appreciated this?
除 了 讚 許 與 肯 定 外 ， 胡 佳 及 他的 家 人 更 需 要 各 方 面 特 別 是 國 際 社 會 的 支 持 。 誰 都 知 道 ， 中 國 的 異 見 分 子 及 他 們 的家 人 受 盡 政 府 不 同 部 門 的 打 壓 騷 擾 ， 連 正 常 過 生 活 的 權 利 也 被 剝 奪 ， 連 出 外 交 流 探訪 的 機 會 都 被 剝 奪 。 把 人 權 獎 頒 給 胡 佳 ， 至 少 可 以 讓 他 及 家 人 感 到 有 人 支 持 與 協 助， 至 少 讓 他 們 不 會 感 到 孤 軍 作 戰 。
China Human Rights Lawyers concern group urges the international society not to forget about other human rights activists who are still in jail:
當大家的焦點投放在胡佳身上時，請不要遺忘其他深陷囹圄的中國維權人士︰彷如人間蒸發的北京維權律師高智晟、正在獄中被剝奪與家人和律師會面權利的廣東法律維權人士郭飛雄、同樣因參與法律維權工作被囚的山東失明民間法律工作者陳光誠，還有，本月14日因探訪京城黑監獄被無理毆打的許志永。
There is still a long way to go.
Links for Mon, 2008-10
Eagle and the Bear writes critically about the new Russian movie “Admiral.”
Copydude writes about and posts pictures of Kaliningrad's and Svetlogorsk's real estate - and “fake estate.”
Thai Girl has photos of Preah Vihear temple and a discussion of the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
Soldiers and even non-combatants are using Buddha amulets when they are on duty.
Writers Myat Soe and May Ng discuss the views of Burmese Americans about the U.S. elections
Lao Voices ponders about the impact of Western culture on Lao people.
Rajaratarala at Dream into Reality discusses some real challenges one has to face to live in a remote village of Sri Lanka.
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