Global Voices · Citizen media stories from October 2011

October, 2011

Monthly archive · 215 posts

Stories from October, 2011

12 October 2011

Chile: Education Reform Triumphs in Unofficial Plebiscite

After five months of protests and school takeovers, Chile’s student movement continues to mobilize for an overhaul of the country’s education system. Over the weekend an overwhelming majority of Chileans voted in favor of education reform in an unofficial and symbolic plebiscite.

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Israel: News of Gilad Shalit's Release Welcomed

Written by Elizabeth Tsurkov · Middle East & North Africa

On October 11, the Israeli government and top Hamas officials confirmed that a deal has been struck between Israel and Hamas that would lead to the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli netizens react to the news.

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Colombia: Outrage at Conservative Politician over Remarks about Rape and Abortion

Written by Julián Ortega Martínez · Latin America

On Tuesday October 11, Conservative politician Enrique Gómez Hurtado's statements about abortion caused outrage among Colombian Twitter users. Gómez supports a legislative act to reform an article in the Constitution in order to outlaw abortion under all circumstances.

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Malawi: Death of a Student Activist and a Campaign of Terror

Written by Steve Sharra · Sub-Saharan Africa

Early on the morning of Saturday September 24, a University of Malawi Polytechnic student was found lying stiff on a paved surface, next to a pool of blood. His name was Robert Chasowa, a student activist, and he was dead.

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Uruguay Celebrates its Bicentennial

Written by Silvia Viñas · Latin America

This year Uruguay is celebrating the bicentennial of its "emancipation process". Events to commemorate the beginning of the country's independence struggle have been scheduled to take place throughout the year.

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Egypt: Mourning the Heros of Maspero's Battle

Written by Nermeen Edrees · Middle East & North Africa

Egyptians are pulling together after a bout of violence at the state television building Maspero, engineered to pit Muslim against Christian and vice versa. Nermeen Edrees sums up netizens' reactions.

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Updates from October, 2011

21 October 2011

China

Annie Lee from China Hush translated an article that examines the cause of moral deficiency in mainland Chinese society.

• Oiwan Lam

20 October 2011

Armenia

Shreddernet examines the Extreme Metal scene in Armenia and asks whether its dark melodies and themes have a place in the Caucasus. For a small number of the region's inhabitants the blog says the answer appears to be yes, and the post includes an interview with Daeron, a local metal band who perform in Armenia and Georgia.

• Onnik Krikorian

Health

Cuban bloggers report that some Cuban dissidents do not trust state hospitals after the death of Laura Pollan; babalu translates a blog post claiming that Pollan's hair and skin samples were collected before her cremation with the intention of sending them to an independent lab “in the hopes of determining her true cause of death”; The Cuban Triangle counters by saying: “Laura Pollan’s daughter told the Herald that her mother received ‘very good attention' in the hospital in the week leading up to her death, and that doctors even seemed to attempt ‘the impossible' as if to avoid later accusations of lackadaisical care.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch expresses his disgust at “the corruption that is rampant in Trinidad and Tobago.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Haiti

Dying in Haiti marks the one year anniversary of Haiti's cholera outbreak, saying: “Conservative numbers say that cholera has infected 500,000 Haitians and killed 6,500 of them. This is more than any place in the world.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Freedom of Speech

Cuba will soon be having a new population census, but Generation Y wonders whether those who will be asking the questions are “census takers — or censors”, saying: “Tearing down the wall of distrust is not so easy, especially in a society where privacy in the home has been greatly invaded by official institutions.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco