Archive for
December 20th, 2008
Stories
Brazil: Against Illegal Abortion or Against Women?
Abortion is a very complex issue in Brazil [1, 2], just as almost everywhere else in Latin America. It is considered a crime in the country, not punished only in proven cases of pregnancy caused by sexual abuse or that put the mother's live at risk. There is an effort by parliamentary representatives to change the law so that abortion can be accepted in a broader spectrum of cases [Pt], but it doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon due to the political power of the pro-life groups in Brazil.
Despite the law, it is believed that over 1,000,000 clandestine abortions take place in Brazil, and over 70,000 women die [Pt] of complications from clandestine abortion attempts, each year. In some states, like Bahia, female mortality rates are 5 times higher than the limit accepted by the World Health Organization, most are deaths caused by complications resulting from illegal abortions [Pt].
Crucified Woman, by Eric Drooker. Used under permission. All Rights Reserved.
Bury the dead. Prosecute the survivors.
Last November, more than 1,500 women faced charges [Pt] and in the Brazilian city of Campo Grande, 30 of them were indicted for the crime of abortion on the same day. Ironically, there is a rumor that some of these women will be sentenced to doing community work at childcare institutions. It is either this or going to jail. Elyana, from Rosa e Radical [Pt], vented her outrage in her blog [Pt]:
“Fizeram as contas? Em cerca de 4 horas e meia o juiz condenou 4 mulheres e acusou mais 1.070.
Nunca antes nessa minha vida vi a justiça trabalhar tão rápido.
As acusadas entraram com habeas-corpus, mas todos eles foram negados.”
The accused [women] petitioned for habeas-corpus, but all the petitions were denied.”
In another post, Elyana quotes an interview [Pt] with Health Minister José G. Temporão for a popular science magazine about the issue. Temporão says that abortion is a public health issue and points out that opposition to its legalization is connected to gender issues. Below, are some of the words quoted by Elyana:
“[…] como as classes de menor renda não têm acesso à informação e aos métodos anticoncepcionais, são as mulheres pobres que realizam aborto em condições inseguras. Para as mulheres ricas, o aborto é uma questão que não se coloca. Elas fazem. Em condições seguras. Pagam R$ 2 000, R$ 5 000. As mulheres pobres não. Existe também uma questão de gênero. Eu pergunto: se os homens engravidassem, será que essa questão já teria sido resolvida? Como é que alguns setores têm coragem de dizer que essa é uma questão que não pode ser discutida? Não vamos discutir que as pessoas estão morrendo? A realidade está batendo na nossa cara.”
Mothers of the World, by Eric Drooker. Used under permission. All Rights Reserved.
An Inquiry into Illegal Women… I mean… into Abortion
The Minister's point of view, however, doesn't seem to be shared by many people in the Brazilian Government and blogosphere. On December 8th, Arlindo Chinaglia, president of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, approved the creation of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry [Pt] on Illegal Abortion in Brazil.
The Commission of Inquiry was petitioned by a large group of pro-life deputies lead by Luiz Bassuma, who collected more than 220 signatures of fellow congressmen to support its creation. Bassuma is a member of the Worker's Party (PT), the same party of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and was elected Federal Deputy by people of the state of Bahia. The Worker's Party, which decided in its last convention to take a pro-choice stand on abortion, is now threatening to expel Bassuma due to his condoning the Parliamentary Commission on Illegal Abortion.
Many self proclaimed pro-life bloggers welcomed Chinaglia's initiative.
Jorge Ferraz , from the Christian blog Deus Lo Vult [Pt], congratulates Arlindo Chinaglia for the installation of the Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Abortion in his newest post:
“Já não era sem tempo; desde fevereiro que se fala nisso. Rezemos para que o crime seja combatido, e o assassinato de crianças inocentes não seja tratado pela sociedade com indiferença e impunidade.”
Hermes Rodrigues Nery, Executive Officer at the National Movement for Brazil Without Abortion, blogs at O Possível e o Extraordinário [Pt] about the “perverse international interests in abortion in Latin America” [Pt]:
“Há décadas querem impor e generalizar a prática do aborto nos países da América Latina, torná-lo inclusive um direito humano, o direito da mulher torturar e matar um ser humano inocente e indefeso dentro de seu próprio ventre […] A questão do aborto está inserida no contexto do controle demográfico. Os especialistas que fundaram o Conselho Populacional da ONU (em 1952), entre eles, Warren Thompson, já indicavam o aborto como estratégia pragmática para conter e até diminuir as populações pobres do mundo. […] Como vemos, a “conjura contra a vida” é um processo de um poderoso sistema (cultural, político e econômico) que age sem que muitos não se dêem conta de estarem sendo vítimas de alienação e manipulação. Agora, temos a oportunidade – com a CPI do Aborto – recém-criada no Congresso Nacional – de apresentar documentos, relatórios e depoimentos para expor e erradicar essa “chaga social”, com isso, trabalhando na defesa do direito à vida dos milhões de excluídos, barbaramente torturados e assassinados, para atender a lógica perversa dos poderosos, que agem contrariando o princípio universal de que a plenitude da vida é um direito de todos e um bem para todos.”
Many bloggers disagree, and think that the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Abortion will only expose and intimidate women, and prey even more on woman's rights.
Alessandra from Blog Terribili [Pt] thinks Bassuma has something against women, and that the Commission of Inquiry is a religious move within the traditionally secular Brazilian State:
““CPI do Aborto” parece brincadeira de mau gosto. Vem do Bassuma, aquele deputado que é contra as mulheres, que parece que elege as mulheres como inimigas número um. Ele quer vê-las na cadeia, como criminosas, por terem cometido o terrível equívoco de tomar para si as rédeas de seu corpo e de sua vida. Ele se esquece de que o Estado é laico, que as pessoas têm direito de ter ou de não ter crenças e de que ele não pode impor sua fé religiosa sobre todos e todas.”
Jandira Queiroz, a blogger and woman's rights activist who writes on the blog Sapataria-DF [Pt], thinks that the CPI on Illegal Abortion is a way to persecute women and prey on their rights [Pt]:
“Como sabem, no ano de comemoração dos 60 anos da Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos e às vésperas da realização da 11ª Conferência de Direitos Humanos, vivemos a intensificação da perseguição e criminalização das mulheres […] Mais do que nunca, precisamos denunciar a violação explícita aos direitos humanos das mulheres […] Os direitos das mulheres são direitos humanos!”
“This Hypocrisy Causes Hemorrhage. Legalize Abortion. Give us rights over our bodies. Global Women's March”. Picture of a banner at the WSF in Porto Alegre, Brazil, by Gabby de Cicco, used under a Creative Commons license.
Pedro Cross, on his Multi-Eu [Pt] blog, tells us a little bit more about the opposition of many Brazilian congresswomen to the Commission of Inquiry:
“A exposição da vida privada das mulheres é o principal argumento que a bancada feminina na Câmara dos Deputados apresenta para se posicionar contrária a instalação da CPI do Aborto. […] A deputadas se queixam de não terem sido ouvidas em um assunto que é de interesse da bancada e vão questionar o Presidente da Casa sobre o fato da CPI do Aborto ter sido instalada antes da CPI do Trabalho Infantil, que estava na frente na lista das comissões a serem instaladas.”
A very complex issue
Some bloggers are very worried about the pro-choice movement in Brazil, which they see as an anti-life and homicidal crusade against the rights of the unborn children. Not only do they support the CPI on Illegal Abortion, but one of them also points out that our people “might die out just like the Russian population” if the Brazilian Government doesn't fight illegal abortion in Brazil, or, worse still, if the Government legalize it. Marcelo, from the blog Quadro Conservador [”Conservative Picture”, in Portuguese] says:
“A Rússia é o paraíso dos abortistas. Como todo país comunista, o aborto é totalmente liberado e publicamente custeado. Como o ateísmo também foi incentivado durante o século em que era comunista, barreiras morais também não existem por lá. O resultado é este: um país desesperado diante do declínio de sua população. Os russos entrarão em extinção? Como havia dito, uma política cuja conseqüência é o declínio da população humana é má por natureza.”
Whether the Russian population are actually facing extinction, or if the Russian laws on abortion are the cause of such a decrease in numbers, is a matter of debate.
Helder Moraes, from Doa A Quem Doer [Pt], states that abortion is a crime usually committed by people “who lack moral, responsability and control over their sexual desires”, but supports abortion in cases of sexual violence:
”Sou CONTRA o aborto. Só sou a favor de aborto em caso de gravidez de RISCO e em caso de ESTUPRO, pois a mulher não pode ser obrigada a gerar um filho que ela NÃO DESEJOU, ainda mais vindo de um ato HEDIONDO desse. Do contrário, excluindo essas duas possibilidades, o aborto deve ser PROIBIDO SIM !!! Em vez de abortar, tem que se fazer a campanha: “FECHEM AS PERNAS MULHERES”. O que falta é muita vergonha na cara. Falta MORAl, falta RESPONSABILIDADE, falta EDUCAÇÃO, falta tudo !!! Por isso, fazem filho de penca, a torto e a direito e depois ficam aí… lamentando e procurando clínicas clandestinas de aborto !!!”
Later in the post, Helder tells us what solution he believes would solve the problem:
“Sou a favor da esterilização OBRGATÓRIA de pessoas POBRES que tenham de 3 a mais filhos, e a favor de aborto somente em casos de gravidez de risco e de estupro.”
Many other bloggers and Orkut users agree with Helder's ideas, either by openly blogging and posting similar comments around the blogosphere, or by simply agreeing with and congratulating those who do so.
On the other hand, women's rights groups, such as Front for the Right of Abortion [Pt], state that abortion is a feminine right in the context of choices about their own bodies and lives. Márcia Silva, from the Marcia e suas leituras [Pt] blog, posts the Front's manifesto, partially quoted below:
“A criminalização das mulheres e de todas as lutas libertárias é mais uma expressão do contexto reacionário, criado e sustentado pelo patriarcado capitalista globalizado em associação com setores religiosos fundamentalistas. Querem retirar direitos conquistados e manter o controle sobre as pessoas, especialmente sobre os corpos e a sexualidade das mulheres. […] A maternidade deve ser uma decisão livre e desejada e não uma obrigação das mulheres. Deve ser compreendida como função social e, portanto, o Estado deve prover todas as condições para que as mulheres decidam soberanamente se querem ou não ser mães, e quando querem. Para aquelas que desejam ser mães devem ser asseguradas condições econômicas e sociais, através de políticas públicas universais que garantam assistência à gestação, parto e puerpério, assim como os cuidados necessários ao desenvolvimento pleno de uma criança: creche, escola, lazer, saúde. […] Nenhuma mulher deve ser presa, maltratada ou humilhada por ter feito aborto!
Dignidade, autonomia, cidadania para as mulheres!
Pelo fim da criminalização das mulheres e pela legalização do aborto!
Dignity, autonomy, citizenship to all women!
[We fight] to end the criminalization of women and for the legalization of abortion!”
“Abortion should not be a crime”. Image by the Front for the Right of Abortion.
As we have seen above, abortion is a very complex issue in Brazil, mixing religious and secular morals, human rights, political infighting and gender issues. There is not much agreement even among those who fight for the right of choice or for the rights of the unborn. It's hard not to take sides in the ongoing, daily growing, discussion in Brazil. Outspoken pro-life and pro-choice bloggers and activists exchange bitter words, and some self-proclaimed pro-life activists go as far as to say on pro-life Orkut communities that every abortionist should die in a terrible way. Contradictory statements apart, we'll keep listening to the voices that speak about Human — women's or unborn fetuses's — Rights in Brazil, and hope for the best.
Former Tunisian Diplomat Sentenced To 8 Years By French Court
Khaled Ben Said, an ex-vice-consul in Strasbourg, was convicted of having ordered acts of torture and barbary upon fellow countrywoman Zulaikha Gharbi when a police superintendent in the Tunisian city of Jendouba 12 years ago, and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment by a criminal court in this same Strasbourg, by the way the seat of the European Court of Human Rights.
The Tunisian diplomat was tried in absence, since he fled from France in 2001, after hearing that a complaint had been lodged against him by Ms. Gharbi, whose husband is a political refugee in France as a member of Tunisian banned islamic party Ennahda. The trial went on account of universal competence, a mechanism allowing legal proceedings against the authors of alleged serious crimes, whatever place they were committed and whatever authors' or victims' nationality. This procedure stems from a 1984 UN convention against torture which was introduced into French legislation in 1994.
It is the second time in France that a sentence has been delivered on these grounds. In 2005, a Mauritanian serviceman was sentenced to 10 years for acts of torture perpetrated in his own country.
Tunisiawatch a blog “censored in Tunisia” taking up mainstream medias articles,explains :
[…] En l'absence de l'accusé, le procès auquel la Ligue française des droits de l'homme et la Fédération internationale des droits de l'homme (FIDH) s'étaient constituée parties civiles a aussi été celui du système mis en place par le président Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, au pouvoir depuis vingt et un ans. Plusieurs témoins ont dressé un portrait au vitriol du régime tunisien où, selon eux, la torture est érigée en “pratique d'Etat”.
[…] In the defendant's absence, the trial, in which the [Human Rights Organizations] Ligue française des droits de l'homme (LDH) and Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) brought an independant action for damages, was also the trial of the system established by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in power for 21 years. Several witnesses drew a vitriolic picture of the Tunisian regime, where, according to them, torture is made a state practice
These testimonies eventually gained the court's conviction, although the French state's representative had called for acquittal, stressing the utter lack of evidence in the record.
“This is a further advance in the fight against torturers' impunity and a strong signal to Tunisian authorities ; torturers, if safe in Tunisia, are no longer so in other countries”, commented the Human Rights Organizations' lawyer.
In a further post, Tunisia Watch adds :
Khaled ben Saïd qui fait l'objet d'un mandat d'arrêt international depuis 2002 n'a pas la possibilité de faire appel puisque l'audience s'est déroulée sans lui. Toutefois s'il est arrêté, il sera rejugé. Au-delà de la peine prononcée soit 8 ans de RC, c'est-à-dire en décembre 2016, il y aura prescription.
Khaled ben Saïd, who is subject to an international arrest warrant since 2002, is in no position to appeal, as the trial was held without his being there. However, if he gets arrested, he will be tried again. Beyond the time of delivered sentenced, namely eight years of criminal imprisonment, i.e. in December 2016, there will be prescription.
Earlier in the day, the Tunisian authorities had denounced the trial as a “complete fabrication” and further said that “claiming torture would be a tolerated practice in Tunisia pertains to dishonesty and
disinformation”.
Nawaat.org portal is a tad bit skeptical while wondering whether the taboo about torture in Tunisia is on the way to being lifted. The blog quotes CNRS researcher Vincent Geissler, who told during the hearings :
“En Tunisie, sous Ben Ali, on torture au nom des droits de l’homme et on viole les femmes en invoquant le droit des femmes”, a également expliqué devant la cour Vincent Geissier. Cette pratique “est destinée à humilier et à diffuser la peur”. Avant d’ajouter : le recours à la torture, “c’est un mode de contrôle de la société”.
“In Tunisia, under Ben Ali, they torture for the sake of human rights and they rape women while putting forward women's rights”, also explained Vincent Geissler to the court. “This practice is devised to humiliate and to spread fear”. Before adding : “it is a way of controling society”.
Readers voiced their various opinions (Fr.) in the comments section of the local website of newspaper Libération and at leJDD.fr.
One (optimistic) pick :
Rédigé par: GDP : Comme quoi, n'en déplaise à Sarkozy, la justice progresse davantage en France que les droits de l'homme en Tunisie.
GDP : Which just goes to show that, wether Sarkozy likes it or not, justice makes better progress in France than human rights in Tunisia.
Egyptian Spinsters
The outcasts of the Egyptian society - the spinsters - are raising their voices in an attempt to change how society views them.
Khokha - the anonymous author of The daily diaries of a sinister spinister - says:
طب ماشى بقى … شوفوا الدنيا من عين هذى العانس الغيرانة
و تابعوا يوميات العانس الحقود
Abeer Soliman, an Egyptian writer and the author of The Journal of a Spinster, wrote:
طرحنا السؤال وكانت الأراء كثيرة، والأسباب العرجاء أكثر، واستفاضت كل واحدة منا في عرض تجاربها في الحياة، وتكهناتها بأسباب كونها عانس حتى الان.. في نهاية المطاف وضعنا أيدينا على النقاط المشتركة بيننا جميعا وتأكدنا أنها سبب عنوستنا.. جمعااااااااااء.
هذه الصفات هي: الاستقلالية.. النجاح.. الذكاء، واستطعنا من خلال تحليل بعضاً من علاقاتنا السابقة أن نكتشف “المصيبة السودا” ألا وهي أن الأنثى الناجحة المستقلة الذكية شخصية مبهرة تجذب الأنظار.. تخلب الأللباب.. تستفز الرجال للتقرب منها لكونها غير نمطية ..ثرية وشيقة.. يعيش معها الرجل سعادة لا توصف لكونها الحلم المفقود، ولكن ماذا بعد؟؟؟؟؟
الفرار.. نعم الفرار هو الخطوة التالية حيث لا يملك الرجل الشرقي مع أمثال هذه الشخصيات التي تهدد ذكورته.. تهدد سي السيد بداخله .. سوى الفرار، خصوصاً وإن كان هو ذلك المثقف المطلع.. فبداخله تكمن الطامة الكبرى (شيزوفرانيا المثقف المصري أو العربي) الذي وفقا لقراءاته واطلاعاته وأحلام يقظته- لكونه مختلف عن جذوره- تستهويه الشخصيات أمثالنا- أنا وصديقاتي- لكن يبقى بداخله ذلك الرجل الذي يريد أن يثبت على الدوام “لذاته وللمجتمع” أنه هو.. الرجل.
ولكن ماذا تعني كلمة الرجل في أذهان هؤلاء العجزة ؟
- صاحب اليد العليا.. اللي بيصرف على البيت ..صاحب العمل الأفضل.. صاحب الدخل الأكبر، والأكثر وعياً.. الدليل للحياة.. السند..المرشد.. الموجه.. إلى أخر هذه المهاترات.
ومن هنا.. نحن لا نصلح للرجل الشرقي، فكلنا صاحبات وجهات نظر قوية فيما يتعلق بذواتنا.. صاحبات تاريخ طويل في تسلق صخور الحياة.. ومن هنا.. وبعد الانجذاب، والانبهار، وأحلام واهية في ليالي صيفية حارة، يفر هؤلاء الرجال بعد أن تسقط عنا الأهلية كزوجات، وربات بيوت، وأمهات.. لنبقى عوانس.
Independence, success, and brains were our stigma for we live in a society here the smart successful independent woman attracts and challenges the man; he peruses her with adamancy and enjoys being with her and around her for what her rich character has to offer. But what next?
Escape! Yes the typical Middle Eastern man is intimidated by such a character that he is left with no other option but to flee. It gets worse if the afore mentioned man is cultured and well-read for he is the victim of a form of schizophrenia unique to the Egyptian or Arab male who due to his wide readings and exposure is drawn to women like us but deep down he still hides the Alfa male who always has to have the upper hand, the better job, the bigger income, the clearer vision, and who constantly plays the role of savior, guide, and counselor.
Hence, we are not suitable for our men; we are all very opinionated women with a history of strife and achievements. Having said that, it only makes sense that after the attraction, the fascination, the day dreaming, and the sandcastles, those men decide that we are totally unfit for being wives and mothers leaving us to face our destiny as spinsters.
Ethat ElKatatney of Muslimah Media Watch wrote an elaborate post on the issue confessing that she is a 21-year-old spinster.
Yes, a spinster at 21. In my country, although many many Egyptian women are delaying getting married until they’re in their mid-to-late twenties, society still looks at them with a critical, disapproving gaze.
“Men and women were made for one another. You are a sinister spinster.”
“Better a man’s shadow than that of a wall.”
Both are Arabic proverbs reiterated by mothers, aunties, grandmothers and even friends, the former meaning that women who don’t marry are labeled “spinsters,” and the latter meaning that any man is better than being single.
I hate the word spinster, as I’m sure any woman does. It’s definitely no female equivalent of bachelor. Wikipedia tells us spinsters have a reputation for:
Sexual and emotional frigidity, lesbianism, ugliness, frumpiness, depression, astringent moral virtue, and overly-pious religious devotion.
Nice. And in Egypt, where according to the latest statistics there are approximately 9-10 million spinsters over the age of 30, unmarried women are (alternatively) rejected, stigmatized, mocked, gossiped about, pitied and constantly reminded of what they’re missing out on.
Which is why 27-year-old Yomna Mokhtar’s facebook group Spinsters*/ Old Maids for Change is such a breath of fresh air. Mokhtar is a journalist at Al Yom al-Sabe’, a weekly Arabic newspaper, and she set up the group in May ‘08. True, I don’t know how successful a Facebook group of 600 (and counting) trying to change the Egyptian mentality of “spinsters” is going to be, but at least it’s an effort. The group has a media spokesperson, a social advisor, a religious advisor, and a psychologist. Impressive.
Discussion topics on the group include When spinsterhood is a choice, We won’t wear hijab or pray taraweeh [supplementary] prayers for the groom, Latest list of the groom’s demands, etc.
Ethar, a journalist herself, tracked down the media responses to Yomna Mokhtar's group
The first articles about the group were written in October within days of each other at Al-Lawha Online and at Al-Arabiya (the latter with hundreds of fascinating comments that offer great insight into Egyptian psyche and an interesting choice of picture. Though I disliked Mokhtar saying she is against semi-arranged marriages, which she says turn women into “cheap commodities.”)
A couple of days later, an Egyptian forum posted a Q & A with Mokhtar. She told them:
My goal is to change the image of the spinster in our society, encouraging the woman not to isolate herself from it, and ingraining [in her] the idea that making the world a better place is not only through marriage and producing babies, but in improving your community through the abilities God gave you.
Unfortunately, the Q & A wasn’t exactly the best I’ve ever read. The reporter (who happens to be a man) asked her: “Why do you have such a negative idea about spinsters?” (duh, it’s not her, it’s Egypt), “Why did you use the words ‘for change,’ which are used by political movements?” (conspiracy theory much?), “Does your movement rebel against the the idea of marriage?” and most infuriating of all:
Why don’t you try changing the image of the spinster by trying to fix the behavior of some women who have helped give spinsters a bad name?
Thankfully, she pwnd him:
Your question encapsulates exactly the view of society towards women whose marriage date was delayed, who look at her as the girl with a bad reputation, and this is the viewpoint we are fighting against. Especially since a lot of [unmarried] women […] hold the highest educational degrees and the highest positions. But no, society begrudges them their success and considers it a way of compensating for delaying marriage.
A couple of days later, The Daily News Egypt picked up on the story from the Arabic media. In the article, Mokhtar said she used the label ‘Spinsters’ in the group title though she’s against it, because “it is the term people use.”
I also believe that using a different label for unmarried women would just be ignoring the reality of the term. By using it, they’re trying, in some small way to “take it back.”
Two weeks after that article came out, the story made the Los Angeles Times, where the author interviewed Mokhtar and brought up two great points. One, that men are also joining the Facebook group, and two, that this is not the first time an Egyptian woman discussing the issues surrounding marriage does so online, with the first woman being the author behind the satirical blog wanna-be-a-bride.
[And I”m being kind of catty here, but this article's translation of the group's mission statement needs some serious work].
Then two days ago, The Agence France-Presse wrote about the group, finally snowballing it onto the global sphere. (English version and French version).
The article was pretty inclusive, and I particularly liked the fact it mentioned that marriage is an obligation for all Egyptians—Christians and Muslims alike. The author also interviewed a well-known sociologist, which gives Mokhtar’s opinions added weight, and stops anyone from brushing off her comments as the rantings of a bitter spinster. The author also pointed out that the group isn’t asking for the right to be single or crossing any of society’s “red lines.”
(Though I’m sure the fact that Mokhtar is veiled was very important to mention—you know, to prove that she’s not one of those morally decadent spinsters. As was adding that mass Islamic weddings are held with the aim of preventing “deviant” behavior (a.k.a., homosexuality and premarital sex), and not simply with the aim of helping those without funds get married).
Another French interview with Mokhtar was also published on the same day at Lepetitjournal with the title Spinster Girls: Objects of Mockery. My French is a little rusty, but as a journalist I loved the lead:
O la la! The poor girl! She’s still not married? But why? When will she start a family? She risks living the rest of her life alone, the poor girl!
And the comment: “Not getting married is an unforgivable mistake; refusing to marry a punishable crime!”
It was also a Q & A interview, and Mokhtar explained that Facebook is not enough for what the group wants to accomplish. In the future, they will be holding seminars to raise awareness and meetings where spinsters can talk about their experiences to their family in the presence of a psychologist.
ElKatatney messaged Mokhtar on Facebook and asked her what she though of the media coverage thus far. She said:
I liked the western coverage more than the Arabic coverage, which I only dealt with superficially. [There's been] other coverage in other print newspapers like Al-Masa’ and Rose al-Youssef. One reporter asked me if the role of the movement was to improve the behavior of unmarried women who don’t get married because of their bad behavior. I think the problem is not about the media outlet as much as it is the journalist. A good journalist, whether western or eastern, produces a good article.
The 21 year old spinster concluded her post saying:
I am feeling so inspired now. My new title = empowered spinster. Hmm, not really working for me. Bachelorette?
*The Arabic word used, ‘Anis, has several meanings in Arabic but is socially understood to mean spinster/ old maid.
Looking at Egypt's First Female Mayor
Eva Habil, a 53 year-old Christian lawyer, became Egypt’s first female mayor on December 14, representing Komboha, a rural town in conservative Upper Egypt with a Coptic majority community.
Yusra of Muslimah Media Watch wrote:
Habil, whose father was mayor of Komboha, beat out five male candidates, including her younger brother. Why mention she’s Christian? Well, because in this same story, a niqabi who came out to congratulate Habil was asked if she’d ever pursue politics. She didn’t even have time to answer before her husband said he wouldn’t let her.
While it is true that Egyptian women, regardless of their religion, struggle to break into politics, Muslim women have an added burden: that of jahiliyah. If Komboha were a small, traditional Muslim town in Egypt, the fellaheen would never allow a woman to accept a leadership role in politics. It would be socially unjustifiable and she’d be pressured to step down. This is a difference in religious culture. Habil not only could accept the position, but she could talk to the locals wearing jeans and a snug sweater. Imagine the outrage that would follow if a woman in a traditional Muslim town, such as Siwa, 50 km from Libya’s border, left the house without covering up from head to toe. However, does this mean that Muslim women in Egyptian villages view Habil’s election differently than Christian women in Egyptian villages? I doubt it, and the niqabi woman mentioned in the article is proof that Habil’s victory is a victory for women, both Christian and Muslim.
Habil’s leadership position is a boost of empowerment for women in Komboha and in a country where only nine female lawmakers serve in the 454-seat parliament, but it does very little to question deeply entrenched attitudes about women throughout the country. Still, it does remind us that regardless of their difference in religion, Egyptian women share the same struggle when it comes to paving political careers.
True to her Egyptian nationalism, Habil says religion should not serve to divide communities. “We must, first and foremost, proclaim ourselves Egyptians.”
Habil is my mom’s age. She went to Ain Shams University in Cairo, at the same time my mom attended teaching college in Tripoli, Libya, They both grew up wearing mini skirts and travelling alone. By the 1980s, they both saw their societies become more and more conservative. Blame it on the1979 Iranian Revolution or the empowered Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or the policies of Muammar al Qaddafi, but in the 1980s, Islamic conservatism swept the Middle East and the mini skirt was replaced by the headscarf and galabiyah. To compete, Egypt’s Christians openly displayed their faith as well. Habil says the women in her town wore huge crosses to set themselves apart. Habil and the other 10 percent of Copts in her generation lived through the same political, social and cultural changes. They are united in that change, even if it does not manifest itself in exactly the same way.
On the same event, from a political stance, Zeinobia wrote:
Overall from outside it is a huge victory to the feminist movement in Egypt but if you look inside you think that in the end it is not a real change.
Eva Habil is from the young stars who impressed President Mubarak in the NDP this year with their new thinking. Yes she is a NDPian and heads the women's committee in her governorate and you know what I mean when I say that she is a NDPian. Already I do not consider her young for she is 53 years old !! Well they consider Gamal Mubarak a young man up till now !!
Eva Habil is the daughter of the last mayor who already inherited from his father so it runs in the family.
She was appointed by the Ministry of Interior. Yes there were 5 other men running for the same position but she was chosen and I think it was because of her position in the NDP at the first place.
I see it with all my respect as another form of political inheritance.
I would have considered Eva Habil as a real rule-breaker in Upper Egypt if she were not a member in the NDP, from a regular family that is not related to the Mayor from near or far. I would have considered her as an icon in the history of Egypt if she were elected just like in all the civilized the countries not appointed and not appointed by the Ministry of Interior.
Here is the AFP report about her and I do not like the fact they inserted the religion into the topic, of course the reporter missed her NDP connection.
Japan, Brazil: A centenary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil.
In June 1908, the Japanese ship Kasato Maru (笠戸丸 ) [jp] docked in the Port of Santos (São Paulo) after a 52-day voyage, bringing the first Japanese families to Brazil. The journey had started on the 28th April of the same year, when 781 Japanese farmers left the port of Kobe after deciding to move to the other side of the world in search of better living conditions.
Kasato Maru at the Port of Santos, photo from Laire José Giraud's collection.
Since then, the Japanese community in Brazil has grown year by year, particularly during the war years. However, not only was the integration process of the Japanese immigrants into the native Brazilian community very long and difficult, the relations within the same Japanese community were also very complex, due to the different reactions that their distance from the homeland roused in the individuals as well as their willingness and ability to adapt to the new country.
id: Parupalo Oyaji (パルパロおやじ) at Paruparo Weblog analyzes some historical events that well describe the complexity of the situation within the Japanese community in Brazil during the war.
１９４１年に開戦した日米間の戦争、太平洋戦争ではブラジルに移民した日本人たちにとっても深刻な問題を引き起こしました。ブラジルが連合国側についたため、現地にいた日本人は敵性外国人になってしまったのです。ただ、不幸中の幸いは、米国やペルー在住の日本人たちのように強制収容所には収監されずに済んだことです。それでも、敵性外国語である日本語の使用は禁止され、日本語で書かれた新聞・雑誌の配布が禁止されました。
In 1945, Japan surrendered to the United States and World War II was over. But for 80% of the Japanese community in Brazil, Japan had won the war. Parupalo Oyaji carries on explaining a dark piece of history:
戦争の結果について、日系人社会が二分されてしまったのです。一つは「敵国からの情報を信じてどうする？日本が負けるわけはない」という「勝ち組」。他方は、冷静に事実を受け止めて日本の敗戦を認識していた（ポルトガル語がわかる人たちで日本が不利な状況であるという途中経過についても認識していた）という「負け組」でした。
「勝ち組」のなかでも特に過激だったのが「臣道聯盟」という国粋主義的団体で、ついには「負け組」のメンバーを「国賊」として処罰するという武力行使に及んだのでした。この抗争は次第に激化し、翌年ブラジル軍事警察によって「臣道聯盟」が壊滅されるまで、２３名もの死者を出してしまったのです。外国の地で、本来は助け合わなければならない日本人同士が「殺し合い」をするという大変悲しい事件が起きてしまいました。
Within the victorist group, there was a particularly nationalist and extremist faction called Shindô Renmei [jp] [lit. “The Federation of Loyal Subjects”] who considered the members of the defeatist group as traitors, and began to take military action to punish them. The following year, with the intensification of the strife within those factions, the Federation of Loyal Subjects was repressed by the intervention of the Brazilian military. Twenty three people died. Such a miserable thing: in a foreign land, where fellow-Japanese men were supposed to help each other, they were killing each other instead.
これだけの騒動を起こしてしまったのですから、当然のこと「日本人移民の受け入れ」は禁止されましたが、１９５２年から再び解禁となり、その後も１９７０年頃まで移民が続けられました。
日本から移民した総数は２５万人、今でも６万人を少し下回る数の一世（日本人）がブラジルに暮らしています。
また、ブラジルのいわゆる日系人と言われる人たちは、２世から５世まで含めて１５０万人という海外日系社会最大規模を誇っています。
In total, the number of Japanese people who immigrated to Brazil amounts to 250,000 and even now around 60,000 first generation Japanese people still live in Brazil.
But if you think about all the Japanese-Brazilians, from the second to the fifth generation, there are 1.5 million people who proudly constitute the largest ethnic Japanese community in the world.
Japan-Brazil Exchange Year
As agreed in 2004 by former Primer Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Brazilian President Lula da Silva, 2008 was elected as Japan-Brazil Exchange Year and during this period all sorts of cultural events have been promoted to celebrate the centenary of the Japanese immigration to Brazil.
Takanori Kurokawa, a Japanese blogger who lives and studies Portuguese in Recife (in the northwest of Brazil), describes a Japanese festival organized to celebrate Japan-Brazil Friendship Year.
11月最後の日曜日でした。
毎年この日にはレシーフェのフェイラ・ジャポネーザ（日本語では日本市になります）というが開催されるのですが、今年も盛大に開かれました。
今年は日系移民100周年ということでレシーフェの日本人会や日本人、日系人が関わる団体、会社など力を入れていたようです。
レシーフェに住む日系人の数はサンパウロ、パラナーに比べれば圧倒的に少ないので、このお祭りもたいしたことないんじゃないかと思っていたんですが、これが結構すごかったんですよ！
As this year we are celebrating the centenary of Japanese Immigration, many Japanese organizations, Japanese-Brazilian groups and companies gave their contribution.
The number of Japanese-Brazilians living in Recife compared to Sao Paulo or Parana is very small so I thought that also this festival wouldn't have been so special but I had to change my mind, it was pretty awesome!
会場となった旧市街地の一角は所狭しと屋台が並び、入り口には大きな鳥居が。
日本文化を紹介するコーナー、食べ物のコーナー、手芸品やお土産のコーナーの3つに分かれていました。
[…]あとすごかったのはアニメのコーナーです。日本のサブカルチャーとして大人気のアニメですが、当日はマンガを売る屋台や、コスプレグッズの屋台、ゲームの屋台もありました。
僕の知っているマンガのコスプレ、知らないマンガのコスプレをしたブラジル人でいっぱいでした。
Brazilian Immigration to Japan
While in the first decades of the 20th century many Japanese emigrated to Brazil in search of work, the immigration tendency [en, pdf] changed in the 90s and many Japanese-Brazilians began to immigrate from Brazil to Japan, coming to represent the category of dekasegi (出稼ぎ, lit. “the one who leaves his house in search of an income”). In the late 80s, in fact, when Japan had already become one of the world's wealthiest countries, the Japanese Ministry of Labor began to facilitate the entry of ethnic Japanese workers, granting them labor visas in order to supply the shortage of workers in the so called “dirty, dangerous & demeaning professions”.
Nowadays, there are 300,000 Japanese-Brazilians (日系人, Nikkei-jin) living in Japan and most of them work in car factories [en] often as temporary employees under precarious working conditions.
Trailer of the documentary film Brazil Kara Kita Ojiichan (ブラジルから来たおじいちゃん, “Um Senhor do Brasil: visitando brasileiros no Japão”), about Ken’ichi Konno (紺野堅一), a 92 y.o. Japanese man who immigrated to Brazil 73 years ago.
At Raten Nikkei Ryugakusei (ラテン日系留学生), a blog that collects the voices of some Japanese-Latin Americans, Patricia Yano (矢野パトリシア) writes her reflections on her identity as a Japanese-Brazilian.
私は日系2世です。小さい頃から日系人社会とブラジル人社会の両方を経験しています。日本人の祖父母からいろいろ学んで、日系人であることを誇りに思っています。
[…]ブラジルでは日系人コミュニティは2%を超えませんが、日系人コミュニティをポジティブな少数派として認められている。しかし、日本にいるブラ ジル人は、ネガティブな少数派の特集を抱えている。この両面的な特徴を抱えている日系ブラジル人のアイデンティティはどうなるであろう。
自分自身は、日本とブラジルの文化を自分のアイデンティティに統合しました。しかし、両アイデンティティを統合するプロセスは簡単なものではありませ ん。ブラジルにいると「日本人」と呼ばれます。日本に来ると「ガイジン」と呼ばれます。つまり、ポジティブな少数派からネガティブな少数派に変わります。
留学生として来日する日系ブラジル人は、もしかしたら、このアイデンティティの変化を特に感じないかも知れません。しかし、デカセギとして来日する日系 ブラジル人はもっと感じる傾向があります。[…]
Personally speaking, my identity consists of both the Japanese and the Brazilian cultures. However, the process that brought me to think in this way was not that easy. When I am in Brazil I am called “Japanese” and when I am in Japan I am called “gaijin” [foreigner]. In other words, the way they consider me as an individual belonging to a minority changes from positive to a negative.
The Japanese-Brazilian people who come to Japan to study may not feel this difference but the
dekasegi, people like me who come here in search of work, do. […]
ブラジルに移住した日本人は、ブラジルで努力をして、ブラジルの社会でポジティブなイメージを形成しました。それで、日本に住んでいる日系ブラジル人は、どのように日本でポジティブなイメージを形成できるであろう。それで私は感じました。日系人は様々なアイデンティティを持っており、多様性のあるグループだと思います。 […]
日本人移民の百周年記念の今年に、教育を通じて、様々なことを学ぶべきだと思います。例えば、日本人の子どもに移住の歴史を教えることは重要です。[…]
This is what I thought. Japanese-Brazilian people have several identities and represent a varied group. In this year, which is the centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil, we should focus on education and take it as an occasion to learn. To start with, in my opinion it is really important for the children of those Japanese immigrants to know that history.
On the same blog, Neide Ayumi Kuzuo (葛尾 あゆみ ネイデ), presenting her last illustrated book titled “Me, EU” (ぼく・ＥＵ), whose protagonist is a sansei [3rd generation] boy who interrogates himself about his identity, writes about her memories as a child of Japanese immigrants.
三年間愛知県でブラジル人語学相談員をした時に、主に小学校と中学校合わせて４０校以上を訪問しました。入学式から卒業式まで参加しました。
[…]
外国籍の子どもたちの相談に接していると、私自身の、子どものころの出来事が思い出されます。父が、「ブラジル人はすぐ嘘をつく。理由なしに仕事を休んで は、次の日にわかりきった嘘をつく。借金が多くあっても平気だ。一年かけてためたお金をカーニバルの一週間で全部使ってしまう。借金までして遊びに行くな んて、信じられん。」とか、「手が早いのには参ったよ。置いてある物は全てもらっていいものだとおもっている。懸命に植えたものを平気で盗んでいく。文句 を言いに行ったら、『食べ物や果物は全て神の物であり、神の物は誰の物でもない、皆の物である』という。神だと、何を言っているのだ。俺が植えたんだ！｣ とカッカして帰ってきたのを今でも忘れられません。
Even now I remember when he came back home one day, burning with anger, and he said: “I didn’t know they are so light-fingered. Just put something somewhere and they think they can have it. They steal without any problem what you planted with strenuous efforts and if you complain they say: “Food and fruits belong to God, God’s things do not belong to somebody but to everybody.” God?! What the hell are you saying? I planted those things!”
このように、父がブラジルのことを悪く言うたびに、心の中で、その都度、
「ではなぜブラジルにいるの？何でブラジルに来たのよ?」
「私も日本人の顔や形をしているのだから、日本で生まれたかったよ。日本の小学校に通いたかったよ」
「『目を開けろよ、日本人！』なんて目の形のことで知らない人から歩道でからかわれたりしないですむのに・・・」
とずっと思っていましたが、一度もこの気持ちを打ち明けたことがありません。
又、学校でも「アクセントがおかしいよ。こう言うのよ。直しましょうね。と先生にいつも注意されるのいやだよ」「音読が一番きらいだよ」「学校で、年に一 回の祭り、参加したいよ」とも一度も訴えたことはありませんでした。[…]
もう一方では、ブラジルの文化や習慣などに触れることも多くありました。特に家族愛というような、愛情の表現のしかたが一番好きでした。それに、全てに臨機応変で、心で動き、感情豊かで、陽気さの中で育ちました。
[…] On the other hand, I had the opportunity to know Brazilian culture and customs. And what I enjoyed the most was the way they express their love, particularly for their family. Besides, the environment where I was brought up was cheerful, rich in emotions and it was considered normal to be spontaneous in every circumstance.
A family of Japanese Immigrants in Brazil, image from Wikipedia.
Adgator: Africa's First Advertising Network for Bloggers
Adgator is the first ad network for African bloggers created by Afrigator, a social media search engine and blog directory. The network is currently being tested in South Africa. Plans are underway to launch the network in Kenya and Nigeria next year.
Why an ad network for bloggers? Lester Hein explains on Afrigator's blog:
Why would we want to create an ad network I hear you ask? Well, it’s simple. We know that for many bloggers, writing is a passion and an outlet. But we also know that it takes up many long hours and that sometimes is gets difficult to keep going with no real reward (other than the satisfaction of your content being read and interacted with by others). So we’ve built a system that allows bloggers to earn some money from their blogs.
Since it’s still early days for the system, we’ve invited a small group of bloggers to try out the system and be the first to start making some money from their blogs. If you would like to join us, have a look at www.adgator.co.za for more info.
Justin Hartman notes that Adgator links bloggers to advertisers “in a way that Google Adsense and other forms of online marketing simply can't do.”
He continues:
The more I’ve been watching the collective growth of our network the more I’ve come to realise just how powerful blogs are in relation to other traditional websites. As an example, the top 100 blogs in South Africa (as measured by Afrigator) account for more than 1.7 million unique users and serves over 5.6 million page views each month.
This makes the network as powerful in terms of audience reach to South Africa’s #1 local website, News24, which also serves around 1.7 million uniques each month ~ (Nielsen Netratings - Q2 June 2008).
The scary part for me is that more than 1,200 blogs registered on Afrigator haven’t implemented our tracking code so they can’t be added to these figures and if you had to add them to the mix I have little doubt the network would look a whole lot different.
So, with a total network cap of 3.2 million unique users and 7.9 million page views I’ve often wondered how we can use this network to all of our advantage and I believe Adgator is the answer to this pondering.
The concept of Adgator is simple. Sign up as a blogger, insert a piece of code into your blog theme and we’ll go out and find advertisers who are willing to spend money. Each time a blogger sees one of our ads on their website they know that they’ve made money. Initially we’ll be sticking to a CPM model because that’s what advertisers understand and we will share 50% of the revenue with bloggers.
This model means that a blog serving as little as 2,500 page views a month can make R300 for doing nothing and if you’re lucky enough to be a high-traffic blog your earnings could be as high as six figures. Our aim with Adgator is to be as transparent as possible and all blog owners will have their own access to our system so they can track their earnings in real time. In our reporting we break down cost, revenue share and total income so the blogger knows exactly who’s getting what.
Bloggers Reaction
Bloggers have reacted positively to the creation of an advertising network focusing on African advertisers.
“Adgator takes on Adsense in Africa,” declares Appfrica:
The South African social media aggregator Afrigator is taking on Google’s Adsense by offering a platform for Advertisers and bloggers interesting serving their local audience. Afrigator has a reach of 1.7 million African bloggers. Platforms like Adsense often fail in foreign markets because of their size; a significant portion of the ads they place aren’t relevant to local audiences at all. By focusing on South Africa specifically, Adgator can make sure that the ROI for advertisers remains pretty high.
Afrigator has money and credibility to run an ad network:
Afrigator recently had a sizeable stake acquired by MIH Print Africa, a division of Naspers Limited. This gives them more money to work with, and more credibility. This also means that they have a sizable sales team at their disposal, which is one of the biggest issues when doing an ad network.
Before you run off to Adgator and sign up, here are a couple things you should know:
It’s a 50% revenue split with Adgator.
You get paid on a CPM basis, so you had better have a good deal of traffic to make money.
Chris M has a list of things he would love to see on Adgator:
• Cookie setting to avoid logging in each time
• Firefox widget to see daily earnings
• A daily average statistic in the dashboard
• A blogger referral affiliate system
◦ Ability to see how many referred
◦ Ability to see how much revenue earned
• A way to see all advertisers currently serving Ads to my site
◦ Ability to block them
◦ Ability to maximize impressions from them
◦ Ability to minimize impressions from them
◦ An understanding of whether they’re paying for local only traffic
• A way to choose the pay-out threshold
• A leaderboard, showing top 20 earning bloggers per month
No doubt, I’ll come across more and as I go, I’ll keep adding them to this list.
Greenman is excited about “The chance for local advertisers to advertise locally, and for local bloggers to earn locally, without an American company taking a cut and subsidising BushObama…”
It is about creating a fairer world:
Circulating money as locally as possible is one the most important prerequiites for a fairer world, and one of great potentials of the internet.
The giant vacuum cleaner effect of large US/European companies earning effortless revenue from everywhere in the world is one of the most insidious effects of this otherwise highly beneficial burgeoning global community. Credit card companies, Paypal, Skype - the money goes in one direction only. Google actually send some back the other way, but slice a large chunk off on the way. It happens in so many spheres - telecoms, where two Nigerians communicating with each other one building apart have their call routed via Europe, earning money for European telecoms providers. Or in food, where raw cacao is picked, sent to Europe, processed into chocolate bars, and sent back to Africa. Or computers… or just about anything.
The internet breaks this vicious cycle in the easiest way. While producing something like computers may require large investment and equipment, the barrier to entry in the virtual world is much smaller. Primarily, it requires skills, while at the same time the internet is the best means to ensure access to the knowledge required for developing these skills.
Adgator potentially breaks the loop in the online advertising sphere, and does so in a way that on the surface seems to be a great deal for local bloggers - a 50-50 share between Adgator and the blogger.
However, Adgator design has irritated Shaun:
The single most irritating thing about South Africans, the interwebs, and web 2.0 is that nobody can dream up a single original idea and build it. (Except for, I’m hoping, this guy). We copy muti from digg, amatomu and afrigator from technorati, Synthasite from [choose-your-lame-site-builder], Blueworld “social network” (ahem!) from myspace, AmaGama/iBlog from Wordpress.com/Blogger, Zoopy/YouTube, the list goes on, and then we slap some really stupid justification like “we are localising it for a South African audience“.
Yeah, localising it for what South African audience? The one that uses the *other* internet that we have in SA, not the *real* Internet? Come on.
Yes, you all suck on originality, copycats, and that pisses me off.
But there’s a new one. And oh, how the mighty have fallen!
After bitching and whining and moaning and circle-jerking in a great hoohaa about how Regator kinda sorta maybe looks a bit like Afrigator, yes I’m looking at you Mike, and Stii, and Justin, and co, you have the nerve to launch Adgator on the site design of Text Link Ads. That’s pretty low. And Lame. You couldn’t even change all the text…
Did you honestly think nobody would notice? Or was I surfing on that *real* Internet that doesn’t have an audience in SA and this is a better more “localized” version?
Justin Hartman of Afrigator responds:
Hi Shaun
I’ll copy the same response I left on Chris’ blog when this came up.
Geez you guys are sharp and on the ball - there’s no getting away with anything!!!
Text Link Ads was my inspiration due to the simplicity of the layout and design and I’d be lying if I said we didn’t copy the code.
To be honest we didn’t really expect the site to be going live so quickly and we needed something up and running ASAP. With Mark Forrester on leave (planning his wedding) I was left at the web design helm and this is what you get when you let a business/operations guy to do the design!
Links for Sat, 2008-12
Penúltimos Días [es] provides a list of the best Cuban books of 2008.
“The region has been slowly but surely moving back into instability. With Qassam rockets and mortars being targeting Israeli communities and Israeli helicopters and tanks targeting Palestinian locations. Several Palestinians have been killed. Several Israelis injured, All people in the region are in fear of further escalation,” observes Hope Man, the Israeli writer of the jointly authored Israeli/Palestinian blog Life Must Go On in Gaza and Sderot.
Check out LivniBoy, Israel's answer to ObamaGirl. His YouTube video, “Love Song to Tzipi Livni,” has received over 6,350 views this week alone. Tzipi Livni is the Kadima Party candidate for prime minister in the upcoming winter elections. You'll be able to enjoy the feel of the video even if you don't speak Hebrew, including the chorus, “I will be your man, rak tagidi li ken (just tell me yes).”
Every year at this time, Jews look forward to Hanukkah, the festival of lights. Jacob Richman posts a list of 70 Hanukkah videos on YouTube, among them is an old favorite: Adam Sandler's “Hanukkah Song.”
Israeli Mom describes her visit to Kibbutz Or HaNer, which is special for its large scale murals created by Argentinean artists Daniela Almeida and Jose Kura. “During 2007, Kura and Almeida were invited to the kibbutz (founded by Jewish immigrants from Argentina), to create a collection of murals that will describe various facets in the life of the kibbutz,” Israeli Mom explains.
The Jordanian intelligence prevents Gamal Eid, the General Manager of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), from entering Jordan because of his criticism of freedom of expression in Jordan two years ago,The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, The Skeptic reports the details.
World's first locative documentary for mobile phones is about youth culture in Soweto: “Today is a big day on the Grid - we’ve just launched a 25-episode documentary about youth culture in Soweto, the famous South African township. The documentary, called Mobikasi, is the first to be delivered exclusively by a locative mobile social network like the Grid.”
Pierre Maury reports that French authorities have responded to the accusation of censorhip of “47″ a historic independence play created by Jean-Luc Raharimanana and Thierry Bedard. Victoire Bidegain Di Rosa, advisor to the French ministry of Culture explains that the subject of the play is not necessarily of interest to the other countries of the region and that each cultural center is free to to showcase the play provided that each center finds independent funding for the expenses (fr).
This site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Please read our attribution policy.
Solana Larsen102 posts 
Juan Arellano128 posts 
Ethan Zuckerman93 posts 
Antoun Issa11 posts 
Sinisa Boljanovic36 posts 
John Kennedy740 posts 
Abdurahman Warsame5 posts 
Daniel Chandranayagam11 posts 
Kamla Bhatt60 posts 
vergilyeh1 posts 
Winglok Hung10 posts 
Syafique Shuib3 posts 
