Global Voices » Janet Gunter

Mozambique: Diving and Defending Marine Life

Janet Gunter — Mon, 28 May 2012 10:08:45 +0000

Tourists come from South Africa and all over the world to relax on Mozambique's beaches, go on sports fishing expeditions and dive in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

It is estimated two-thirds of the Mozambican population lives on the coast and many depend on the ocean for a livelihood from fishing - and often communities near large tourist destinations do not feel money from this tourism circulating. So involvement of Mozambicans as dive professionals, tourism professionals and conservationists is crucial to a sustainable future for Mozambique's coastal areas.

Whale shark in Mozambique. Image by Flickr user gigi_h (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Enter the Bitonga Divers - an NGO championed by Mozambique's first dive professional, the inspiring Carlos Macuacua, based in Tofo, a town in Inhambane province.

Quoting their website

In 2006, when Bitonga Divers was formed, there were no Moçambican divemasters or instructors. Since that time, in partnership with Ocean Revolution and foreign owned dive centers, Bitonga Divers now has trained eight Mozambican Instructors and 11 divemasters.

Image courtesy of the Bitonga Divers

The Bitonga Divers also invest in outreach to communities, showing megafauna and underwater scenes to people living near the coast, many of whom have never been underwater or seen these animals alive. At first the response was weak, but after years of tireless work, the Divers say they bring together 250 people easily for a night-time session. Community leaders participate too.

Through this kind of outreach, people begin to make positive links between protecting sea life, tourism and economic development.

Alarm over overfishing

Recently Tofo-based tour operators and community associations have raised the alarm that government programs intended to boost commercial fishing have resulted in overfishing of rays, sharks and dolphins in the area.

As travel writer Aaron Gekoski explains in the online travel magazine Go World Travel

The biggest threat facing Tofo, sadly, is a familiar one. Overfishing has had a dramatic effect on these waters over recent years. Only five years ago, divers could be treated to schools of devil rays 300 thick. Now they are lucky to see 10 at a time. Gigantic, unforgiving walls of gill nets frequently ensnare manta rays.

Casa Barry, one of the big dive-oriented lodges in Tofo, discusses conservation and brings attention the issue of illegal fishing on its blog, like this post on the rescue and successful release of a loggerhead sea turtle.

The most contentious allegation (made in a recent article in Canal Moz newspaper [pt]), is that the World Bank is financing these government programs, that are designed to help local fisherman to catch more and bigger species.

Mozambican fishermen. Image by Flickr user stignygaard (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Márcia Horst responded on Reflectindo Sobre Moçambique [pt]

Isto eh inacreditável…alguém acredita que o Banco mundial financiou barcos a motor e redes aos pescadores das zonas turísticas, sem uma previa formacao, sem capacitação nenhuma, sobre as espécies mais importantes destas praia, que nós todos dependemos delas para o nosso desenvolvimento turistico, e hoje, a cada dia esses pescadores só pescam essas espécies que o povo depende delas..EU ESTOU EM ESTADO DE CHOQUE, e me pergunto, onde estavam essas ditas associações de preservação, concernência, whatever se chamam, quando o banco mundial fez essa entrega?

This is unbelievable…does somebody believe that the World bank financed motor boats and nets for fisherman in tourist areas, without any training, without any building of capacity, on which are the most important species of this beach, that all of us depend on for the development of our tourist industry, and today, as each day passes these fisherman are just fishing the species that the people depend on… I AM IN A STATE OF SHOCK, and I ask myself, where were the supposed groups dedicated to preservation, concernvation, or whatever, when the World Bank delivered these boats and nets?

Dead shark. Photo by Flickr user anaadi+ (CC BY-NC-SA)

Irrespective of the alleged involvement of the World Bank (which has not publicly commented on the issue), it is safe to say economic incentives are driving this kind of fishing.

Marine Mega Fauna Foundation, an organization working with Bitonga Divers, explains

Inshore fisheries are extremely lucrative by local standards, with the fins from a single shark being worth around 3000 Mets (approximately US$120).

The documentary “Shiver” was filmed last year with Macuacua and the Marine Mega Fauna Foundation, and goes into depth about the shark fishing problem.

Much of what is caught in Tofo is actually processed and exported out of Maputo to China and Asian markets. Centro Terra Viva, a Mozambican environmental NGO, describes a bust of a Chinese-occupied house ‘illegally processing' marine products last year [pt]

Apesar do inventário das quantidades e espécies encontradas ainda não ter finalizado a STV publicou imagens, adiantando que foram encontradas grandes quantidades de barbatanas de tubarão, entre as quais algumas ainda estavam no processo de secagem, holotúrias (também designados por pepinos-do-mar e localmente por megajojos), diversas conchas, cavalos-marinhos secos em sacos de serapilheira, cágados vivos em tanques e carapaças de tartarugas marinhas. As autoridades acreditam que estes produtos conservados seriam exportados para a China ou outros mercados asiáticos.

In spite of the inventory of the quantities and species found not having been finalized yet, STV ran images, adding that large quantities of shark fins were found, among which some were in the process of drying, holotúrias (also designated as sea cucumbers and locally as megajojos), various shells, dry sea horses in sackcloths, live tortoises in tanks and sea turtle shells. Authorities believe that these conserved products would have been exported to China or other Asian markets.

The government of Mozambique has repeatedly stated locally, nationally and internationally that it is combating illegal fishing - but it seems that its efforts, and those of dedicated conservationists like the Bitonga Divers, are not enough to stop the problem.

Mozambique: Music clips with a regional perspective

Janet Gunter — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:31:22 +0000

Youtube user Niassatim uploaded a series of music clips by artists from the northern interior of Mozambique, in the Yao language, also spoken in Malawi and Tanzania. The videos depict a mixture of local realities and musical influences, and global elements. (To date, Niassa province's biggest musical export is Massukos.)

East Timor: New President takes office

Janet Gunter — Sat, 19 May 2012 20:19:17 +0000

Taur Matan Ruak, East Timor's new president, was sworn in today, on the eve of the celebration of 10 years of independence since the UN transition from Indonesian rule. CJITL shared his inaugural speech [Tet], in which he emphasized the need to diversify the country's oil-dependent economy.

Mozambique: “Who wants to give birth here?”

Janet Gunter — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:01:43 +0000

Knight International Journalism Fellow Mercedes Sayagues published a video (with versions in English and Portuguese) which takes viewers on a sad tour of maternity clinics in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. The province has the highest maternal mortality rate in Mozambique.

Mozambique: President Rejects Social Networks

Janet Gunter — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:37:52 +0000

[All links in Portuguese unless otherwise indicated.]

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza made waves on social networks in March 2012, with his rejection of the use of online communication tools in a speech before an audience of young supporters of the historic ruling party Frelimo [en]. The speech was delivered at the closing session of the Central Committee of Organização da Juventude Moçambicana (OJM, Organization of Mozambican Youth).

Guebuza stated that tools like Facebook and Twitter have “the potential to be transformed into spaces that produce performances, factories of unattainable dreams and infinite mirages and expectations that can lead to the sidelining of a culture of work, promoting the spirit of dependency.”

Global Voices' partner newspaper in Mozambique, @Verdade, published on April 19, an editorial that criticized the controversial statement, saying the real motivation of the statement was to silence critical voices:

President Armando Guebuza. Photo by World Economic Forum no Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Guebuza disse que os jovens precisam de deixar de ser fofoqueiros e intriguistas e entregarem-se ao trabalho. (…)

Ao invés de ministrar “palestras de motivação”, onde pudesse dar aos jovens dicas de como se edifica um património económico em tão pouco tempo, o Presidente da República prossegue indiferente ao eleitor, ao povo, aos jovens e à opinião pública, demonstrando o desprezo absoluto por alguns princípios básicos da democracia.

Guebuza said that young people need to stop being gossips and conspirators and dedicate themselves to work. (…)

Instead of giving “motivational speeches,” where he could give young people tips on how to marshal economic resources in a short time, the President of the Republic continues to be indifferent to the voters, to the people, to the young people and to public opinion, showing an absolute disdain for some of the basic principles of democracy.

To which an anonymous commenter responded:

Sempre a tentar mandar poeira para os olhos do povo. Deves andar borrado com as redes sociais, deves ter pesadelos de te acontecer uma à Ghadaffi. Então toca de tentar minimizar a utilidade dessas ferramentas. Mas os jovens têem sempre aquela veia de rebeldia, além de que não gostam de receber ordens de velhotes que se escondem atrás do passado para impingirem a sua doutrina.

Always throwing sand in the eyes of the people. You must walk around tainted by the social networks, you must have nightmares that a Gaddafi [referencing former Libyan leader] will happen to you. So try to minimize the utility of these tools. But young people always have that rebellious streak, and beyond that, they do not like to take orders from old people who hide behind the past to push their doctrine.

Historian and analyst Egídio Vaz reacted in a note that was republished on Antonio Kawaria's blog Reflectindo sobre Moçambique (Reflecting on Mozambique) on April 17:

Wireless sign on a building in Maputo. Photo by rabanito on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

um abraço a todos jovens que usam o facebook como ferramenta para o exercício dos seus direitos de cidadania (…). na verdade, recorramos as palavras do Presidente Samora Machel que se tornaram em máxima frelimista de então: Quando o inimigo nos ataca é porque estamos no caminho certo. Pelos direitos de cidadania, inalienáveis e não-negociáveis, Viva o facebook

A hug to all the young people who use Facebook as a tool to exercise their rights as citizens (…) in truth, let's resort to the words of the President Samora Machel which became a Frelimo maxim of the time: When the enemy attacks us it is because we are on the right path. For the rights of citizens, inalienable and non-negotiable, long live Facebook

One of the comments left on Egídio Vaz's piece, signed by user Tchaka, added:

na juventude [de Guebuza] não havia internet, redes sociais, etc., ele e o seu partido estão com dificuldades de perceber as tendências modernas da juventude e têm medo do poder que as novas ITC [Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação] trazem para a mente juvenil.

In [Guebuza's] youth, there was no Internet, social networks, etc, he and his party are having trouble understanding trends of modern youth and are scared of the power new ICT [Information and Communication Technologies] brings to the young mind.

In a meeting with the country's Youth Parliament in Inhambane, journalist José Belmiro, refusing the latent threats against those who would make their voices heard, concluded:

Nós jovens não podemos nos calar (…) Expor ideias não quer dizer que seja do contra ou da oposição. Significa que sou sujeito do meu destino (…) Nós jovens temos a responsabilidade de romper com o ciclo do medo

We young people cannot silence ourselves (…) Setting forth ideas does not mean to be against or of the opposition. It means that I am in charge of destiny (…) We young people have the responsibility to break with the cycle of fear

Portugal: Video of Guinea-Bissau coup protest in Lisbon

Janet Gunter — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:56:58 +0000

Youtube user MinisterioDaVerdade published a video of a large parade on Saturday by Guinea-Bissaun residents of Lisbon, and their Portuguese families and friends, protesting the military coup which took place April 12. Marchers occupied the streets of Lisbon's Baixa neighborhood. Signs read “We have a consensus: No to dictatorship” and simply “peace.”

Portugal: Community-occupied school violently evicted

Janet Gunter — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:09:30 +0000

Community members resisted eviction from the Es.Col.A in Fontinha [pt] in Porto this morning. The abandoned, disused school was being used by a self-organized collective for after-school classes, recreational activities - watch their story (with English subtitles). While broadcast media report the violent police eviction, protest continues. #Fontinha and #ocupai are the hashtags on Twitter.

Mozambique: First African Board Book Gathering

Janet Gunter — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 11:01:05 +0000

Maputo is playing host to the first ever African meeting of publishers of board books. These are sturdy books, published on a small scale (often for children) with strong covers and resistant bindings. Culture reporter Inocêncio Albino wrote about the event [pt], and has been tweeting photos of books by Kutsemba Cartão, the first African board book publisher.

Guinea-Bissau: Coup d'Etat and the Angolan Military Mission

Janet Gunter — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:29:13 +0000

At nightfall on Thursday, April 12, 2012, dozens of military personnel took the streets of the capital of Guinea-Bissau, the headquarters of the historic political party in power, PAIGC (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, or African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde), and the National Radio, starting yet another coup d'etat in a country that since independence in 1974 has never seen an elected president make it to the end of term.

In recent weeks, two events raised the tension levels in the military and political arenas: as Global Voices reported, there were allegations of “generalized fraud” by the opposition in the first round of presidential elections on March 18 (early elections due to the death of President Malam Bacai Sanhá in January 2012) and the announcement of the withdrawal of the Angolan Security Mission in the country, MISSANG.

Headquarters of the presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Junior (PAIGC), also known as Cadogo, during the campaign for presidential elections. Photo by Giuseppe Piazzolla coypright Demotix (12/03/2012)

The armed forces and the quest for arms

News of the military withdrawal [pt] at the beginning of the week had raised alarm about the possibility of a military coup being prepared. Guinean military personnel had taken what is considered a political stance in demanding the reinforcements of Angolan military equipment that MISSANG had received after the failed coup attempt of December 2011 - “if not, they should return it to Angola”.

The spokesman for the Guinean Armed Forces, Daba Na Walna, moreover told journalists [pt] that, two days after polls closed on March 20, the Angolan ambassador in Guinea-Bissau, General Feliciano dos Santos, had accused the General António Indjai, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, of intending to bring about a coup d'etat.

Portuguese journalist Helena Ferro de Gouveia wrote [pt] in her blog Domadora de Camalões about the “formal reasons behind the position the Guinean military men took”, and added:

[com] o afastamento dos militares angolanos, que apesar de inúmeras críticas que lhe podem ser feitas têm sido o garante de alguma estabilidade no país, a Guiné mergulharia numa nova espiral de incerteza.

Voting station for military personnel. Photo by Giuseppe Piazzolla copyright Demotix (15/03/2012)

[with] the distancing of the Angolan military, that in spite of the numerous criticisms that could be made of them have been the guarantee of some kind of stability in the country, Guinea-Bissau would plunge into a new spiral of uncertainty.

On the beginning of the 12, the National Movement of Civil Society for Peace, Democracy and Development (MNSCPDD), had announced [pt] a peaceful march “with the goal of defending the values of democracy, Peace and democracy itself,” exalting “the Armed Forces to remain neutral and non-partisan in relation to the political dispute under way in the country”.

Meanwhile, a few hours later, the coup began.

Reactions on Twitter and blogs

A little before 8pm, journalist António Aly Silva, on his blog Ditadura do Consenso (Dictatorship of Consensus), announced [pt] that “dozens of military personnel have just descended on the residence of candidate Carlos Gomes Jr (out front and out back), and also on the delegation of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and that there were “many people fleeing, running, through the city of Bissau”. Then the first shots were heard.

On Twitter, the international community did not hesitate to respond. InDepth aggregated a series of tweets and various media sources on a Storify page. A number of people, like Mel Huang (@mel_huang), mentioned the wave of rebellions that have happened in countries near Guinea-Bissau.

George Ayittey (@ayittey), economics professor and author from Ghana, vented:

Look, we are FED UP with these military brutes, bandits, vagabonds and coconut-heads: http://bbc.in/IHyHUv

To which Majaliwa (@majaliwa68), from Tanzania, responded:

yes,in the same countries…it seems they occur repeatedly in same sample of countries NOT across Africa =stereotype!

Aly Silva left an appeal to the international community:

"This is what happened to the back of the residence of Prime Minister and candidate Carlos Gomes Junior". Photo by Aly Silva

Mais de um milhão de guineenses estão reféns de militares…guineenses. Temos sido sacudidos e violentados, usurpam e tolhem-nos os nossos direitos, até o mais básico. Até quando mais a comunidade internacional vai tolerar que gente medíocre - alguma classe política, e militar faça refèm todo um povo? (…)

Nada justifica o levantar das armas, é intolerável o disparo de armas pesadas numa cidade com mais de quatrocentas mil pessoas. É criminoso, acima de tudo. Tiveram tudo para estancar a hemorragia e a orgia de violência. Sabem há muito que este é um país que nasceu, cresceu e vive sob laivos de militarismo.

(…) Não há tiros, nem feridos nas urgências e menos ainda corpos na morgue resultado de mais uma brutalidade da canalha. Não se sabe quem morreu - espero e desejo que ninguém tenha sido morto. Um país é o último, e único, refúgio seguro para o seu povo. Foi traumatizante ver mulheres e crianças a chorar; é triste ver homens e jovens a fugir de homens e jovens como eles.

More than a million Guineans are hostages of military men… Guinean ones. We have been shaken and assaulted, they have usurped and restricted our rights, even the most basic ones. How long will the international community continue to tolerate that mediocre people - some political and military class, keeps a whole people hostage? (…)

Nothing justifies taking up arms, and shooting of heavy weaponry is intolerable in a city of more than 400,000 people. It is criminal, above all else. They had all they needed to stop the bleeding and the orgy of violence. They've known for a long time that this country was born, grew up and lives in the context of militarism.

(…) There is no shooting, no wounded at the emergency room and much less victims at the morgue resulting from yet another rogue brutal act. It is not known who died - I hope and wish that nobody has been killed. The country is the last, and the only, secure refugee for its own people. It was traumatizing to see women and children crying; it is sad to see men and young people running away from men and young people just like them.

Friday 13 morning, the journalist reported that “there are more and more military on the streets, some circulating even in civilian cars. The situation has become tense again, sign that something is not right. Meanwhile, the self-named ‘Military Command' made an (unsigned) statement saying that the revolt was caused by a hypothetical 'secret agreement' between Guinea-Bissau and Angola, by the interim President Raimundo Pereira and the Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr.”

The whereabouts of Carlos Gomes Júnior, winner of the first round of voting for President, and Prime Minister at the time of the death of the former president, are still unknown. The second round of elections is scheduled for April 29, to be disputed with ex-President Kumba Yalá, even though he refuses to participate, having asked for the elections to be annulled and demanded that the National Electoral Commission (CNE) withdraw his name and his photo from the second round ballot in protest against alleged irregularities in the first round.

Brazilian Music Loses Influential Scholar, Santuza Cambraia Naves

Janet Gunter — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 23:50:15 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages, except when otherwise noted.]

A quietly influential voice in the study of Brazilian popular music fell silent on Wednesday, April 4, when Rio de Janeiro-based researcher Santuza Cambraia Naves died unexpectedly at the age of 59.

Brazilian music is its most well-known cultural export, and in the country, popular music is so much a part of daily life and Brazilian being that people almost take it for granted. As Researcher Leonardo Davino wrote:

Portanto, quem tem a autoridade para criticar canção? De todos e de ninguém, aliada à forte penetração no cotidiano, a (linguagem) canção vive e sofre a mercê do gosto de quem lhe comenta, resenha, critica. E nem podemos dizer que, diferente do que acontece com a literatura, haja uma querela entre crítica acadêmica e crítica de periódicos e blogs. Em canção, há uma ensurdecedora ausência de espírito crítico.

So, who has the authority to critique song? Belonging to everybody and nobody, linked to the strong penetration of daily life, the (language) song lives and suffers at the mercy of the likes of those who comment, write it up and critique it. And we can't say, in contrast to what happens in literature, there is a quarrel between the academy and magazines and blogs. In song, there is a deafening absence of critical spirit.

Yet in spite of what Davino describes, in recent decades, the academic study of music in contemporary Brazilian history (Bossa Nova [en], Tropicália [en], and MPB - Brazilian Popular Music [en]) has made important strides.

MPB - Photo by Flickr user minusbaby (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Relevant, indispensable references

In her work, Cambraia was interested telling the interwoven stories of these musical movements. She articulated best what “MPB” meant in an important interview with Historia Agora (History Now), in 2007:

Quando surge o conceito de MPB nos anos 1960, criado pela geração pós-Bossa Nova, ou seja: a geração de Chico, do Edu Lobo, e etc. Que foi uma geração muito politizada, surgida dentro de um contexto nacionalista. Criou-se uma idéia de costurar o Brasil através da música. Todo mundo, nesse período estava pensando no projeto do Brasil. Não foi um nacionalismo xenófobo, é muito sofisticado.

The concept of MPB emerges in the 1960s, created by the post-Bossa Nova generation: that of Chico [Buarque], Edu Lobo, etc. That was a very politicized generation, coming out of a nationalist context. The idea was to stitch together Brazil through music. Everybody in this period was thinking about the project of Brazil. It was not a xenophobic nationalism, it is very sophisticated.

Davino cites Cambraia's book Canção popular no Brasil (Popular song in Brazil) about this period after bossa nova

[…] a canção popular tornou-se um espaço crítico em relação ao seu meio de produção, consumo e circulação. (…) Não se trata de uma crítica que se restringe à participação do intelectual na vida pública, como de fato ocorre, mas também de operar com o pensamento crítico no próprio processo criativo, lidando com procedimentos intertextuais e metalinguísticos.

Popular song became an important critical space in relation to its means of production, consumption and circulation. (…) It was not just a critique limited to intellectual participation in public life, what in fact happens, but was also about acting with critical thought in the very creative process itself, laboring with intertextual and metalinguistic methods

Cambraia provided “indispensable references” like these, beyond her work on individuals like Caetano Veloso and Noel Rosa, said Scholar Luiz Henrique Garcia on his blog Massa Crítica MPB.

This October 2011 lecture on tropicália is “classic Santuza” - she describes the movement as a reaction against the “mainstream” MPB of the time. She goes on to say how today it is almost impossible to find one “mainstream” popular music to react against.

While Cambraia's initial research was about 20 century Brazilian popular music, she was interested in what was popular in Brazil and the flip-side, Brazil's countercultures. She was at ease commenting on hip-hop, electronic, and other emergent forms of music. Her recent lectures on digital music consumption and the impacts of technological change on music production give an idea of ongoing relevance of her work.

Tributes to Santuza

Santuza Cambraia Naves, 19/05/1952 - 04/04/2012. Photo by Rui Britto (used with permission)

Revista de História paid tribute and explained Cambraia's significance in the post Triste Som do Silêncio (The Sad Sound of Silence):

Em diversas oportunidades a autora destacou a importância do método historiográfico para a etnografia com textos e foi uma das pioneiras na reflexão mais profunda e sistemática sobre a MPB.

Numerous times she highlighted the importance of textual ethnography and was one of the pioneers in deeper and more systematic reflection on MPB.

Students, colleagues, publishers and cultural institutions paid tribute to her on Facebook and Twitter, including musician and ex-Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil who retweeted the sad news.

Musical group Passarela 10 (@passarela10) wrote “a great loss for those who produce and reflect on music.”

Gilberto Porcidonio (@_puppet) said “Another great professor leaves us: Santuza Cambraia Naves. How sad, how sad…”

Judging by the emotive reactions, her character was just as important as her academic production. Most knew her by her first name. As historian Cecília M. (@senhoritaci) put it “People like Santuza should not be allowed to die.”

Ethnomusicologist and Global Voices contributor Debora Baldelli, who studied with Santuza as an undergrad over a decade ago, described her as a long-time academic mentor who was “very caring and enthusiastic, and giving a lot of space.” Baldelli remembers on her blog:

Santuza tinha um modo muito próprio de dar aulas, um tom de voz muito particular também, uma risada e um sorriso contagiante e, claro, um cigarrinho fumado de um jeito muito Santuza, que entrava ali na aula como parte necessária do cenário. […] Ir para a aula da Santuza era como entrar num atmosfera à parte.

Santuza had her own way in class, a very particular tone of voice too, a laugh and a contagious smile, and of course, a little cigarette smoked in a Santuza way, which in class was a necessary part of the scene. […] Going to Santuza's class was to enter another atmosphere altogether.

Cambraia's gift of “great intelligence, sensibility and generosity, and (…) contagious joie de vivre.“, as blogger António Cicero described her, will be remembered by many.

Angola: Violence Against Protest for Fair Elections

Janet Gunter — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:05:09 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted.]

With the slogan: “Against Fraud in the Next Elections”, the city of Luanda was again the stage for a protest on the morning of March 10, 2012. And again, according to some reports [en], the State made its strong arm felt, repressing violently a right of all citizens.

The demonstration was supposed to protest against the ways in which the 2012 elections are being prepared. According to a note that accompanied the call to protest, the nomination by MPLA (the party in power) of its member, Suzana Inglês, to preside over the National Electoral Commission (CNE), violates Article 143 of the Law of the Elections approved in December unanimously.

Quoting the note, “The opposition has resorted to a boycott, abandoning in a block the negotiation table, in protest of the ignorant impositions of the absolute majority.”

Poster for the March 10 protest

Discontentment with the government of President José Eduardo dos Santos [en], in power since 1979, brought Angolan people to the streets again, to demand the criteria of impartiality of the Election Law, the formation of an independent National Electoral Commission, but also a more generic call to action: “Angolans United Against Corruption. Zé Du out!”

They were received with a strong police response, according to reports [en] from various people on the spot, on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

At the end of the day, Nelson Pestana, jurist, political scientist and university researcher, summarized in a note on Facebook republished by the blog Círculo Angola Intelectual, what awaited protestors on the morning of March 10, when they met up in the neighborhood of Cazenga, in Luanda:

O bando do mal já lá estava. A Polícia Nacional estava espalha pelo percurso anunciado, colocada como se estivesse emboscada. O lumpenato nacional contava pois com o apoio e a cumplicidade da Polícia Nacional que era suposto estar ali para manter a ordem pública, garantir a segurança dos manifestantes e fazer com que a Constituição da República fosse respeitada e não fosse pisoteada por um bando de mal-feitores. O que aconteceu não foi nada disto, como teria sido, num país civilizado. Os homens do mal começaram a agredir os manifestantes, de forma inusitadamente violenta, sem mais, nem menos. Traziam barras de ferro e armas de guerra.

The band of bad guys was already there. The Police was spread out across the announced route [of the protest], positioned like there was an ambush underway. The national lumpen was then counting on the support and complicity of the National Police that was supposed to be there to maintain the public order, guarantee security of the protesters and see that the Constitution of the Republic would be respected and not be trampled on by a band of wrong-doers. What happened was none of that, as it would be, in a civilized country. The bad guys started to attack the protesters, in a gratuitously violent way, sparing nothing. They brought iron bars and the arms of war.

The blog Universal disseminated a series of updates made on location:

Luaty [Beirão, rapper conhecido como Brigadeiro Mata Frakuxz] tem a cabeça partida jorrando sangue e ainda se encontra em parte incerta; Luamba foi igualmente raptado; Explosivo Mental e Adolfo estão em situação complicada no local. Luaty Beirão foi ferido na cabeça e Mário Domingos foi levado pelos polícias. (…) Fernando Tomás, Amarildo Will Bento Tonet, Mário Domingos, organizador da manifestação voltou a desaparecer, um dos seus colegas está gravemente ferido. Segundo informações de jornalistas no local há disparos feitos pela polícia.

Luaty [Beirão, rapper known as Brigadeiro Mata Frakuxz] had his head smashed up, gushing blood and where he is still not known; Luamba was also kidnapped; Explosivo Mental and Adolfo are in tough spot there. Luaty Beirão was wounded in his head and Mário Domingos was taken by police. (…) Fernando Tomás, Amarildo Will Bento Tone, Mário Domingos, organizer of the protest disappeared again, and one of his peers is seriously wounded. According to information from journalists on the ground, shots were fired by police.

On the day before, allegedly, the government had put its plan into action. Rapper Carbono Casimiro was target of a surprise visit in his house – by a dozen individuals dressed in black, ready to attack, as its reported in the blog Central, which also published photos of the aggressors and of the victims:

"Wanted: Attackers of protesters". Image by Central 7311

A casa tinha acabado de ser invadida por uma dezena de homens trajados de preto, armados com ferros e soqueiras metálicas, que arrombaram porta, janela do quarto e que deram início a um festim de pancadaria a todos os presentes: Sampaio Liberdade, Cavera C, Santeiro, Nelito e o próprio Carbono. Chegaram numa carrinha e colocaram-se dois matulões no portão de entrada que dá acesso às três outras residências para além da do Carbono, impedindo que alguém entrasse ou saísse. Estando o único acesso à casa fechado, os jovens viram-se encurralados e foram mais uma vez castigados por pensar diferente. (…) É incrível o nível de confiança que estes homens revelam, pois em plena luz do dia e mascarados apenas com chapéus e óculos escuros, fazem tudo aos olhos de todos. Os habitantes da rua do Carbono estavam todos aglomerados lá fora assistindo, um após outro, saírem lesionados e ensanguentados os agredidos. A polícia ainda recalcitrou, resistindo, tal como acontecera com o Mário Domingos, registar a queixa. Mas os jovens não arredaram pé e essa formalidade ficou cumprida.

[Carbono Casimiro's] house had just been invaded by a dozen men wearing black, armed with iron bars and brass knuckles, who busted down the door, his room's window and began dishing out beatings to all those present: Sampaio Liberdade, Cavera C, Santeiro, Nelito and Carbono himself. They arrived in a van and put two big boys at the gate which gave access to the other houses, not letting anybody enter or leave. With the only exit sealed off, the young people found themselves trapped and were again punished for thinking differently. (…) It is incredible level of confidence that these men show, as they do everything in broad daylight with only hats and sunglasses, for everyone to see. The residents of Carbono's street were all gathered outside watching one after the other of the attacked came out injured and bloodied. The police withdrew, resisting taking a report, as had happened with Mário Domingos. But the young people did not budge and this formality was carried out.

The city of Benguela was also included on the route for freedom of speech scheduled for March 10, but police forces foiled the initiative, as one can read on Club-K:

A manifestação era organizada por um grupo de jovens da cidade capital da província de Benguela e estava marcada para acontecer no principio da tarde deste sábado, e tinha o seu ponto de partida marcado para o jardim defronte a Escola 10 de Fevereiro, com culmino no jardim defronte ao mercado municipal ” mais conhecido como jardim milionário”; mas o executivo de Benguela proibiu o evento a pretexto de não obedecer a lei. Segundo alegava na nota entregue quinta-feira aos organizadores o percurso escolhido encontravam-se duas sedes de partidos políticos, “no caso o MPLA” .

The protest was organized by a group of young people in the capital city of the province of Benguela and was set to happen in the beginning of the afternoon of this Saturday, and had as a meeting point the garden in front of the Tenth of February School, with an end-point at the garden in front of the municipal market “better known as the millionaire's garden”; but the mayor of Benguela prohibited the event on the pretext that it did not follow the law. According to the note delivered on Thursday to organizers, along the chosen route were the headquarters of political parties, “in this case MPLA [the ruling party]”.

A number of members of the Angolan association of human rights defenders OMUNGA were imprisoned as a result of police intervention in Benguela, as is explained on their blog Quintas de Debate where photos of victims were also published. The organization announced another protest for March 17, to “demand the substitution of Suzana Inglês as President of the National Electoral Commission but also in solidarity with all of our countrymen repressed, humiliated, tortured, kidnapped, discredited and insulted for wanting to construct a democratic country and to demand the end of repression, prohibition, restriction of the right to protest”.

East Timor: Nation Loses a Treasured Political Elder

Janet Gunter — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:57:49 +0000

Francisco Xavier do Amaral, known affectionately as “Avó Xavier” or “Avó Xavi” (Grandfather Xavier), succumbed to illness on Tuesday morning at the national hospital in Dili. He was 75 years old. Xavier do Amaral was a founding member of Fretilin, the political party for which he read the unilateral declaration of independence in November 1975 on the eve of the Indonesian invasion. (The Archive and Museum of the Timorese Resistance has the original document online.)

Upon hearing of his death, Facebook users reposted this video interview of him in 1975 with Australian media - here we get a sense for Xavier do Amaral's age and experience at the time, as he was older than most of the passionate, young student nationalists who formed Fretilin.

Xavier do Amaral took part in the mountain-based resistance against Indonesia until he and his supporters mostly from his home-based the mountain region of Turiscai and Maubisse, were accused of betrayal by Fretilin in 1977. (Listen to the accusations here on “East Timor Calling” radio archive of a September 1977 broadcast on the Timor Archives blog.)

Xavier do Amaral was imprisoned in the mountains only to be later captured by Indonesian soldiers and taken as a trophy prisoner to Jakarta. He returned to East Timor after Indonesia's scorched earth exit from the territory in 1999.

In 2001, he was elected to the first Constituent Assembly with his party ASDT, mostly with the devotional support of mountain people in central Timor.

View over Xavier do Amaral's region of origin, central Timor. Author's photo

While he was generally quiet politically, his influence in coalition politics in recent years is not to be discounted. At the time of his death, he was a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, for a third consecutive time.

Immediately following news of his death, Facebook user Baumali Quintao posted a public photo of Xavier do Amaral on his deathbed, generating over one hundred comments. Adeza Freitas posted a photo of the funeral car taking Xavier do Amaral back to his residential compound on the Dili sea front.

Tributes to Grandfather of the nation

Tributes are flowing in from Facebook, Twitter, on blogs and as comments on YouTube, from Cambodia, Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and Portugal.

Many commenters wished Xavier do Amaral a “safe journey” to the beyond in many languages, mostly in East Timor's own official language Tetum.

Justin Amaral wrote publicly on Facebook [tet]:

Husu ba Timor oan sira iha nebe deit atu reza ba ita nia avo francisco Xavier do Amaral nebe fila hikas ona ba aman maromak nia kuana.Francisco Xavier Do Amaral nudar ema ida nebe fo nia vida tomak ba rai Timor Leste […]

I ask for Timorese people to pray for our grandfather francisco Xavier do Amaral who is returning to God's side.Francisco Xavier do Amaral was a person who gave his whole life for the land of Timor Leste […]

Alzira Mota Pereira commented on a tribute posted by the Timorese Rede Feto (Women's Network) [tet]:

Francisco Xavier do Amaral, nrn nebe Uniku no ema nebe brani tebes hodi kaer no ukun TL iha tempu Krize 75. “Francisco Xavier do Amaral” ita nia naran morin no Sagrada tebes mai ami Timor oan!!! Viva Proklamador, Viva avo Xavier

Francisco Xavier do Amaral, a unique name and person who was brave enough to take leadership in TL in the Crisis of 75 “Francisco Xavier do Amaral” your name is sweet and very Sacred to us Timorese people!!! Long live the Proclaimer of Independence, Long live grandfather Xavier.

Nailorotiris commented on YouTube:

His charisma, gentleness, honesty and unassuming character will be missed among world leaders.

Nug Katjasungkana wrote in Indonesian [id] on Facebook:

Berdukacita atas meninggalnya Francisco Xavier do Amaral (pejuang pembebasan rakyat Maubere, Ketua Fretilin pertama, Presiden Republik Demokratik Timor-Leste pertama, tawanan politik Pemerintan Republik Indonesia)…

Mourn the passing of Francisco Xavier do Amaral (the liberation fighter of the Maubere people Maubere, first leader of Fretilin, First President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, the political prisoner of the Republic Of Indonesia)…

NGO Fundasun Mahein wrote on its blog in English:

Our young nation has lost one of its great elders. […] since the restoration of independence, his role in our struggle for independence has never been truly and properly recognized and valued.

Xavier do Amaral's supporters are known for gathering in Dili at his residential compound. Freelance journalist Meagan Weymes described the scene there today on her blog: “family and supporters had gathered outside the home to pay their respects, singing hymns and crying”.

As the Timorese government has declared a national period of mourning until Thursday, there will doubtless be images of mourning in coming hours and days, both from the capital city but also from his mountain home.

Mozambique: Time lapse viral video of storm over Maputo

Janet Gunter — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:43:08 +0000

This video of a storm arriving over the city of Maputo has gone viral on Youtube, with over 450,000 views in just a few short weeks. Statistics show greatest numbers of views in Mozambique, South Africa, Japan and Portugal. Mozambique has been hit by a number of cyclones in recent months.

Angola: Documentary “Death Metal Angola”

Janet Gunter — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:23:54 +0000

New York-based producers of a documentary called “Death Metal Angola”, about the emerging metal scene in Angola and a rock festival in the city of Huambo, are raising money for post-production costs on crowdfunding platform IndieGogo. The film's tagline: “The hardest hardcore is Angolan hardcore.”

Angola: Young video blogger goes off on what's “no good”

Janet Gunter — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:08:37 +0000

Young video blogger @DelvisBoy (Delvino Funetil) has started a series of video rants about Angolan pop culture called “Não Ta Bom#” (It's no good#). His simple rant about Facebook posted only days ago has had over 11,000 views - but he has ambitions of reaching a million.