Global Voices · Citizen media stories from March 2009

March, 2009

Monthly archive · 208 posts

Stories from March, 2009

1 March 2009

Africa: Blogging And Walking With God

Written by Paula Odhiambo · Sub-Saharan Africa

It has been a while, but as with most things, blogging did not wait for life to catch up with it – it can be said that blogging helped to keep many sane as they weather the storms that life brings them. Through struggles and fears and laughter and tears, African women bloggers have continued to tell their stories and to share their walk with God. 2008 was a year of growth for many. It follows, then, that 2009 will be a year of maturity.

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Uganda: The Literary Blogren

Written by Rebekah Heacock · Sub-Saharan Africa

Uganda's bloggers are increasingly using their blogs as forums for literary expression, and online poems, short stories and multi-part novellas are becoming increasingly popular.

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Virus scare hits Southeast Asia

Written by Mong Palatino · East Asia

Rising cases of dengue fever, chikungunya, bird flu and ebola viruses were reported in several Southeast Asian countries in the past two months. Relax, there are no pandemic threats. Not yet, anyway.

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Global: Hijablogging In Vogue

Written by Jillian C. York · Western Europe, North America

Hijablogging: Just another global trend taking the blogosphere by storm. All around the world, women who opt to wear hijab (the Islamic head covering) are also opting to blog about their experiences, as well as veiled fashion, lifestyle, experience, and the political and religious issues surrounding it.

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Updates from March, 2009

23 March 2009

Israel

Hatam Kanaaneh, who blogs at A Doctor in Galilee, writes about the pomegranate: “Rumman – Arabic for pomegranate, originally the Pharonic name for the Iranian native fruit - has a special romantic ring to it in my heart.”

• Ayesha Saldanha

Palestine

Gazan blogger Fida Qishta commemorates the death of American activist Rachel Corrie six years ago: “Every year we remember 16th March. We remember a kind, insightful, talented person committed to the plight of the Palestinian people. Her name was Rachel Corrie. … We should remember Rachel and all that she stood for. Similarly we must never let the world forget all the innocent Palestinian souls who perished without mercy.”

• Ayesha Saldanha

Palestine

Gazan blogger Ayman Quader describes the plight of children who are forced to work because of the desperate economic situation in the Gaza Strip: “It is true that Palestinians have honed a collective resilience in the face of historic hardships. But this strength should not be sentimentalized. Children, who remain exquisitely sensitive to their circumstances and surroundings, need a healthy environment in which to develop and thrive, explore and play, hope and dream. The captivity imposed by the siege has robbed them of this freedom.”

• Ayesha Saldanha

Palestine

At the New Internationalist Gaza Blog, Louisa Waugh describes seeing hordes of foreigners arriving in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks - and calls it the Gaza solidarity circus.

• Ayesha Saldanha

Palestine

In Gaza, Eva Bartlett describes how plastic sheeting is playing an important role: “The siege is still on and cement is still unavailable. Major reconstructions and repairs won’t happen for a long time, just as the thousands of houses needing to be re-built won’t be so until Egypt and Israel allow in building materials. The easiest and really only solution now is simply to lay plastic sheeting over the tin roof.”

• Ayesha Saldanha

Bahrain

Bahrain blogger Hussain Yousif has a question: “As a provider, I know that deals for installing and configuring censorship solutions are held between the ISP’s and the providers. The providers are at most agents\resellers for an international provider. The new thing is that the “UNIFIED” solution is suggested by the government, bought by the ISPs, billed back to the government. The puzzle is: who owns the licenses?”

• Ayesha Saldanha

Bahrain

Rick Beeman is an American living in Bahrain - and he asked his mother to write about her experience of visiting the country: “Here I am on the other side of the world for the first time in the Middle East… Bahrain so far has shown me some very beautiful architecture, some of the most gracious and friendly people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

• Ayesha Saldanha