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East Timor: From sighs to steps forward with the use of the Internet

Sara Moreira · 09:10, May 9th, 2009 · East Asia

lingua → zhs · zht · es

Being willing to listen what bloggers are talking about, Global Voices faces big challenges to cover the blogospheres of regions where people are not using citizen media. That is the case of East Timor, where there are many Internet connectivity problems which make blogging very difficult. But what are the challenges that bloggers from East Timor face when uploading content to the Internet? And what are the projects, nonetheless, arising in the Timorese blogosphere?

It is common to hear Timorese bloggers sighing at their inability to post as often as they would like to. Ângela Carrascalão, a blogger and news correspondent for the popular Portuguese newspaper Público, started her blog [pt] in 2006 and today still regrets the obstacles she finds while writing for the Web.

Está lenta, muito lenta a Internet. Enervantemente lenta! A lentidão não se prende todavia com o calor intenso que é normal nesta altura do ano, é a razão lógica de ser da nossa indolência e nos tolhe os movimentos…

Slow, the Internet is very slow. Darned slow! Either way, this slowness has nothing to do with the intense heat, which is normal at this time of the year, it is the logical reason for our laziness and it numbs our movements…

The same author makes an interesting point about the real need for Internet access in a country where there is a lack of almost everything:

Nos distritos do interior não há Internet. Poderia ser simples dizer isto e com isso concluir que estamos mal, que somos um país subdesenvolvido. Mas, que importa que não haja Internet, se ali, no Timor profundo, falta tudo, ou quase tudo?

There is no Internet in the countryside districts. It would be easy to say so, and then conclude that we are not doing well, and that we are a developing country. But why is the fact that there is no Internet important, if back there, in the deep heart of Timor, everything or almost everything is missing?

There is no doubt that the Internet plays an important role in providing communication channels as well as education to isolated areas. Presumably due to the actual delay concerning Internet technologies in the country, later this year the Government will launch an amusing solution based on the broadcast of pedagogical television shows [pt]. This system is not innovative, as it was common in Europe in the 80’s, but it apparently provides a fitting solution for the absence of infrastructures that East Timor still faces, 10 years after the special autonomy referendum was held.

Nevertheless, more and more initiatives are appearing willing to act on economical development through the use of online communication tools for trade. One example is the Peace Dividend Trust, a non-profit foundation dedicated to the “support of long-term economic recovery by increasing the purchase of goods and services available in the country”.

Photo by Peace Dividend Trust Timor Leste, used with permision

One of the Peace Dividend Trust projects in East Timor is a Procurement Database that aims to “identify goods and services” and “to work with local businesses specifically to facilitate the process of switching to local suppliers […] that can reliably meet the operational needs of international agencies”.

Their website provides a powerful search tool where visitors can look through 26 different businesses categories in all the districts of East Timor. Through this, it is possible to find quite thorough information about each formal business, concerning the type of activity, services and products available, contacts, references and other useful information. It also supports an interface for people to provide feedback about each business. Buy in Timor exceeded 2,000 entries in March 2009, becoming a unique reference concerning local economy and the private sector development and entrepreneurship. The following blog post from the end of March 2009 reported:

To date 50.05% of visits have come from users inside Timor-Leste, 13.37% from Australia, 7.80% from Singapore, and 6.48% from Indonesia. (see graphic above)

There are now 2,013 unique business profiles online and the job of verifying further new businesses in Dili and the districts continues.

The Timor-Leste Procurement Database has had 43,435 hits in just 10 months. These hits have been generated by 8,272 separate visits. The website is designed to connect institutional and individual buyers (both inside and outside Timor-Leste) with domestic suppliers.

The above quote is taken from one of several blogs that have been recently launched by Peace Dividend Trust Building Markets project in East Timor. These blogs provide up to date information while enhancing new ways to “Buy locally, rebuild markets, employ young men and increase the stability of post-conflict and fragile states”. One of the most active blogs is Serbisu Iha Timor-Leste / Jobs in Timor-Leste [te].

Ema hot-hotu bele uza blog ida ne'e atu hare Vaga Serbisu iha Timor-Leste no atu buka informasaun kona ba serbisu iha Timor-Leste laran e liur.

Anyone may use this blog to search for Job Opportunities in East Timor and to find information about working in and for East Timor.

Photo by Peace Dividend Trust Timor Leste, used with permision

Through the Building Markets project, a big diversity of businesses are promoted in different blogs. The Carpinteria Sanders [en], for example, is a blog to support a new carpentry furniture supplier from Dili. Diverse woodwork is presented at Manu-Koko, a group of artisans that make carvings from Mahogany, Teak, Mangrove, and Saria. It is also possible to find real estate sources, such as Aluga Uma Timor which aggregates several rental opportunities all over the country and Itimuran, for eco-accommodation on Atauro island. Cheap Car Dili posts information on cars for rent, and Diamond Workshop tells the story of a vehicle repair and maintenance business.

The Procurement Database project addresses the international community as the main consumer of the local services which are being promoted online, and reportedly it reaches many people in the country. The other part of the challenge ahead is to get local people - the national community - involved, both as consumers and also as content managers for those blogs.

In fact, not many initiatives are known to empower Timorese people, especially from rural areas, through online technologies. Therefore communication, trade and education in the first person through these media still has a long way to go in East Timor.

***

This is the last piece in a series of posts to celebrate the existence of the Internet in East Timor and to draw attention to the current situation. The first article explained the huge digital divide in the country, while in the second one Jen Hughes was interviewed, explaining how she founded Suai Media Space, whose main objective is to make the voices of Suai youth heard all over the world.

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Japan: For the Price of a Plane Ticket…?

Tomomi Sasaki · 02:20 · East Asia

lingua → es · fr · zhs · zht

Recently, an initiative by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare offering to cover the travel expenses for unemployed nikkei nationals who wish to return to their home countries has been causing a stir. The offered amount is 300,000 JPY ($3,000) plus 200,000 JPY ($2,000) for each dependent; the government will pay for the plane tickets and wire the rest of the money in U.S. dollars once the recipient(s) have returned home. In return, they lose eligibility to reenter Japan on a nikkei status of residence for a ‘certain amount of time'. Officials are unclear on how long a time this will be, just one of the reasons that have left this initiative open to a flood of criticism.

Many Japanese bloggers are using the word 'severance pay' when taking up this topic. For example, Kaoru Domoto at Harem Journal read a widely referred to article in the New York Times and said:

実はタイムズの記事を読んでからネットで日本の記事を探し、「帰国支援金」という言葉を見て、さらに驚いた。英文記事には「支援」に相当する言葉はなかったのだ。だってこれ、「支援金」じゃなくて「手切れ金」でしょうが。

I searched for articles in Japanese after reading the Times and was very surprised to come across the phrase ‘aid to return home'. There wasn't anything in the English article that referred to this money as ‘aid'. After all, this isn't ‘aid' at all but 'severance pay'.

Debito Arudou goes further and calls it ‘a repatriation bribe‘:

This scheme only applies to nikkei, not to other non-Japanese workers also here at Japan’s invitation. Thus it’s the ultimate failure of a “returnee visa” regime founded upon racist paradigms.

[…]

Don’t treat foreigners like toxic waste, sending them overseas for somebody else to deal with, and don’t detoxify our society under the same race-based paradigms that got us into this situation in the first place. You brought this upon yourselves through a labor policy that ignored immigration and assimilation. Now deal with it here, in Japan, by helping non-Japanese residents of whatever background make Japan their home.

Lenzabile approves of this comment by the Mayor of Hamamatsu City as convincing and practical criticism: “We need to put our heads together and come up with ideas, such as allowing reentry once recipients have repaid their travel expenses”. S/he worries that:

もちろん少子高齢化時代において移民問題は重要ですが、個別案件を安易に「移民を積極的に導入すべきか？」という問いの賛否に結びつけると、目の前の懸案事項をどうするかの問題（日系人の困窮、生活保護の問題、政府の財政、帰国希望者の存在等）が霞んだり、無用の対立を生んでしまう気がしてなりません。

Of course, the immigrant issue is an important one in this age of dwindling birthrates and an aging population. However, making a simplistic connection between individual issues and arguing the pros and cons of ‘Should we actively invite immigrants?' leads to unnecessary conflicts and hinders solving the problems in front of us, such as relief for nikkeis, their welfare, the financial situation of the government, and taking care of the people who want to go home.

Local municipalities and Hello Work Offices job centers have been holding briefing sessions for the proposal. The blogger at Libertad attended one in Nagoya:

愛知県内では、豊田に４００人、豊橋に400人集まって関心の高さをうかがわせましたが、名古屋は何と170人しか参加しなかった。僕自身、そのうちの名古屋の説明会に１７日、参加してみました。ふだんはコンサートで使われるセンチュリーホールがお通夜のように重苦しい雰囲気に包まれていました。仕方ないのだけれど、ブラジル人のような普段陽気な人たちの集まりなのに、実に静かで暗いのです。檀上の厚労省の人と通訳が一方的に進める説明会にはあまり反応がなく、ロビーでは、当日の受付係りのブラジル人通訳が何人もいて、手持無沙汰にしている姿が実に印象的でした。

Toyoda City and Toyohashi City each had 400 people attendeding their sessions, but only 170 people went to the one in Nagoya. I myself went to the meeting in Nagoya that was held on the 17th. The atmosphere at Century Hall, a venue normally used for concerts, was bleak and resembled a wake. I know it can't be helped but the Brazilians, who are usually such cheery people, were so quiet and gloomy. There wasn't much reaction to the one-sided explanation by an official from Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare and an interpreter. There were many Brazilian interpreters on hand, manning the front desk in the lobby. The sight of them standing around with nothing to do is burned in my memory.

Ja Fui Gata, from Nagoya, doesn't like the idea of the sound of the proposal, and says the situation is worrying:

Acho esse plano de ajuda um presente de grego. Afinal, o que fica patente e que o governo japones quer se ver livre dos nikkeis, esquecendo que ha 100 anos o Brasil acolheu muitos japoneses num momento de crise neste pais (primeiramente 781 pessoas) . Muitos estao inconformados com a situacao. Apesar de saber que o governo japones tem feito algo para ajudar neste momento de crise, vejo essa oferta com muita desconfianca. O que sera que o brasileiro tem feito de ruim nesta terra para ser tao rechacado?

I think this plan is a trojan horse. After all, what remains clear is that the Japanese government wants to get rid of nikkeis, forgetting that 100 years of Brazil sheltered many Japanese people in a time of crisis in this country (like the first 781 people)*. Many people are desolate with the situation. Despite knowing that the Japanese government has done something to help at this time of crisis, I view this offer with great suspicion. What have the poor Brazilians done wrong on this land to be so rejected?

* Read a previous Global Voices article that covers the history of nikkei Brazilians in Japan that Ja Fui Gata mentions: Japan, Brazil: A centenary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil.

Kurati, who lives in Gifu Prefecture, observes that “Japan will never be again that dekassegui (guest laborers) paradise”. He says returning home is just one option among others:

Quem ta proximo da miseria ,tem mais e que pegar essa ajuda e sair fora. Quem ta aguentando a situacao,continue forte e se adeque a nova realidade do arquipelago.Ja vi muitos brasileiros reclamando da vida na agencia publica,mas a realidade e dura em qualquer lugar do mundo.As empresas escolhem quem quiserem.Onde que no Brasil,uma empresa empregaria um cara que e analfabeto,e por vezes mal conhece o idioma?Pois e aqui tb e assim.Nao era assim antes porque a economia ia de vento em popa,e as empresas contratavam gente ate pra girar manivela.Agora,o Japao esta na merda,mas pelo menos tem dinheiro em caixa,e vai gastar esse dinheiro fazendo remendos no pais..

Those who are close to extreme poverty should accept the help and leave. Those who are holding on should carry on strong and adapt themselves to the archipelago's new reality. I hear many Brazilians complaining about their life in the public agency, but the reality is tough everywhere in the world. Companies choose those they want to employ. Where in Brazil would a company employ an illiterate guy, who often barely knows the language? It is like this in Japan, too. It's not like before when the economy was doing well, companies hired people merely to turn a handle. Now Japan is in disgrace, but at least it has cash on hand and will spend this money patching up the country.

In collaboration with Paula Goes.

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Indonesia: Battle over Intellectual Property Rights

Carolina Rumuat · 00:49 · East Asia

lingua → fr · es · zht · zhs · pl

Recently, the US Trade Representative (USTR) released its annnual Special 301, an analysis on US trading partners' seriousness to reassert the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) within their respective judicial soils.

Despite government's effort to crackdown IPR hijacking activities, the USTR placed Indonesia in Priority Watch List, alongside IPR violator heavy weights such as China and Russia.

The slipping of Indonesia's status from Watch List to Priority Black List was considered a slap on the face by Indonesian officials.

Quoted by The Jakarta Globe through Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, the state said it is concerned for Indonesia's downranking.

From time to time, the national police destroys massive amount of pirated CDs in public and this is paraded by the local media.

In the capital Jakarta, pirated DVDs and CDs are omnipresent. The “sidewalk retailers” can be found every 50 meters in popular hangouts in Central and West Jakarta.

William on his blog Etersoul agrees that Indonesia should remain on the blacklist.

Lalu bagaimana tanggapanku sendiri? Aku sendiri akan mengatakan dengan lantang SETUJU!!

Mengapa sampai aku bisa mengatakan hal ini? Realita di lapangan memang menunjukkan kalau orang-orang di Indonesia ga menghargai karya yang dibuat oleh orang lain, mungkin karena miskin kreatifitas atau memang pengen maju dengan cara yang instan. Tapi untuk miskin kreatifitas aku sendiri merasa ga terlalu benar, karena toh banyak anak bangsa yang akhirnya bisa membawa negara ini menjadi lebih terkenal dalam hal yang positif.

[…]

Biarpun polisi bertindak untuk memberantas obat-obat palsu, DVD bajakan, atau bahkan sampai merambah ke dunia maya dengan menangkap para plagiarist artikel, tetap saja ga akan efektif selama di otak orang-orang yang hidup di negara ini hanya cara instan saja yang terpikirkan. What a shame.

What's my opinion? I'd say out loud (that I) AGREE!! Why I said that? The reality says that Indonesians don't really respect other people's work, (the reason) could be because they're poor in terms of creativity, or wish to make headway in an instance. But honestly, I don't really believe that (Indonesians are) poor in terms of creativity, because the truth of the matter is that there are plenty of citizens who brought positive highlights over the country.

[…]

Despite the police's effort to tackle piracy of medicines, DVD, and even as their effort branched out to the virtual world where they try to stop online article plagiarizers, their work will not be effective as long as they put in their mind (how to benefit themselves with) the easiest ways possible. What a shame.

Creativesimo, a local community blog, speaks about the irony of this downranking:

Selamat buat Indonesia! Setelah merilis undang-undang informasi dan transaksi elektronik menyusul undang-undang hak atas kekayaan intelektual, lalu disusul beberapa penggrebekan sporadis - baik sekadar proyek ataupun serius - Indonesia mendapat ganjaran. Peringkatnya naik dalam daftar hitam pembajakan software, kalo dulu Watch List sekarang Priority Watch List. Huebat!

Indonesia sekarang sekelas dengan Rusia dan China dalam hal pembajakan. Tetapi: apakah pencapaian teknologi informasi kita sama dengan mereka? Jelas kalah jauh! Lalu mengapa yang kita perangi adalah pembajakan dan bukannya kebodohan atau ketinggalan

Congratulations to Indonesia! After releasing its first Information and Electronic Transaction Law which follows the Intellectual Property Rights Law, and also sporadic crackdowns - without detailing if the crackdowns were just “projects” or the government was actually serious - Indonesia is now punished. Its ranking plunges from Watch List to Priority Watch List. Awesome!

Indonesia is now on the same class with Russia and China in terms of intellectual rights violation. But: do we have the same IT achievements like them? Obviously we're left way behind! So why are we fighting the (IPR) violations instead of fighting the lack of education or our (education) lag?

Government's willingness to eradicate IPR piracy is shown with the establishement of Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Republic Of Indonesia. However, the police's knowledge to detect illegal softwares is still poor [id].

This May mark the launch of Indonesia's first Intellectual Property Academy. The school, which located in in Depok, West Java, is founded in collaboration with the Japanese government, through Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

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