Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2009 September 16

16 September 2009

Daily archive · 8 posts

Stories from 16 September 2009

Egypt: Bloggers call for a fun-filled harassment-free Eid

Written by Marwa Rakha · Middle East & North Africa

As Eid Al Fitr approaches, women in Egypt are bracing themselves for even more sexual harassment than what has already become a disturbing norm. Bloggers and online activists are also joining forces to fight the phenomenon, calling for a fun-filled and harassment-free celebration.

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Morocco: Activists Break Fast in Public, Receive Punishment

Written by Jillian C. York · Middle East & North Africa

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating or drinking from dawn to sunset. A group of Moroccan activists was reprimanded for breaking the fast in public, an action that is punishable under the Moroccan criminal code. A divided blogoma reacts to the incident.

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Qatar: Country's woes not expat labor's fault

Written by Shabina Khatri · Middle East & North Africa

Comments ranged from scornful to incredulous upon the release of a government study blaming underskilled expat laborers for Qatar's falling productivity rate. Shabina Khatri taps into the discussion and brings us the latest buzz.

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Brazil: Bloggers on why there is still racism in the country

Written by Diego Casaes · Latin America

Following the discussions on racism brought up a few weeks ago with the story of a black man accused of stealing his own luxury car, Diego Casaes highlights other cases and bloggers' takes on racial discrimination.

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Iran: More protests planned on “Quds Day”

Written by Fred Petrossian · Middle East & North Africa

The Iranian 'green' opposition protest movement is spreading the word through online and offline citizen media about more protests in Tehran and other cities on September 18, international Quds Day.

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Lebanon: “We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’re Online”

Written by Ayesha Saldanha · Middle East & North Africa

Bekhsoos is a newly relaunched online magazine "covering topics related to (homo)sexuality in the Arab world". It was founded by the Lebanese group Meem, a support community for lesbians, bisexuals, queers, questioning women, and transgender persons.

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Dominican Republic: Switching Companies While Keeping Mobile Number

Written by Rocio Diaz · Latin America

Mobile telephone users in the Dominican Republic will now have the option to switch companies, and keep their original numbers. Many think that this will be a good development for consumers.

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China: The Founding of a Republic

Written by Andy Yee · East Asia

As a celebration of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October, the all-star epic “The Founding of a Republic” will be screened tomorrow, on 17 September. The film has stirred a heated discussion on the Internet – not for the film itself, but for the nationalities of the stars.

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Updates from 16 September 2009

Jamaica

Litblogger Geoffrey Philp posts short tributes to two Caribbean writers who have died within 24 hours of each other: Trinidadian Wayne Brown (1944-2009) and Jamaican Trevor Rhone (1940-2009).

• Nicholas Laughlin

Barbados

Barbados Free Press asks if the country's tourism authorities are paying enough attention to potential visitors in the Americas. “We’re chasing after the Chinese market which is fine, but why should we be ignoring a substantial market that is much much closer?”

• Nicholas Laughlin

Guyana

What happens when drought hits the “land of many waters”? Guyana-Gyal wonders. “A rice-farmer living in my mother childhood village say that the water in the artesian well is running rusty. Rust. The colour of blood drying.”

• Nicholas Laughlin

Anguilla

Montague Kobbe posts a review of a new book about sailboat racing in Anguilla. “There is something innate, something intrinsic, that links Anguillans to seafaring and boat building – after all this might be the only island in the West Indies where cricket is not the most popular sport.”

• Nicholas Laughlin

Cambodia

Details Are Sketchy criticizes a sub-decree by the Cambodian government which encourages dentists to undergo professional training but does not include a penalty for those who refuse to do so.

• Mong Palatino

Kazakhstan

Slavasay writes that Yevgenii Zhovtis, the famous Kazakhstani human rights activist, who is currently waiting to serve a four year prison sentence for a traffic violation that caused a man’s death, is undeterred, and will continue to defend himself and others.

• Adil Nurmakov