Written by Ndesanjo Macha · comments (0)
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Written by Ndesanjo Macha · comments (0)
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Written by Ndesanjo Macha · comments (0)
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A month had passed on that Friday since the official political campaigns for Mexico's Presidency took off. Such election, up until then, didn't generate any interest among the electorate, mainly because people perceived the top candidate was invincible.

For many, the media coverage of the candidate's visit was biased, like the Mexican Editorial Organization that chose as a headline for its next day edition: “Success for Peña at the Ibero in spite of planned boycott intent” [es]. This coverage, along with the students' protests, became an explosive mixture that first found an outlet in social media and now has taken its energy to the streets of the main Mexican cities.

Furthermore, some politicians qualified the students as “porros” (slang for members of fascist organizations who use violence as a method to express their views) or thugs, to which the Ibero students responded with a video entitled “131 Ibero students answer back” [es] where they show their Iberoamericana University student ID's.

Right away, political analyst Denise Dresser (@DeniseDresserG) [es] published on her Twitter account:

RT 131 Alumnos de la Ibero pero somos mas los que sentimos igual,SUMATE #somosmasde131yo soy el 132.Y tú,te sumas?

RT 131 Ibero students but there are more of us who feel the same, JOIN #somosmasde131 (we are more than 131) I am the 132. So, are you in?

The tweet started a chain of tweet reactions among throngs of youngsters that called themselves “the 132″. A web page was also set up to inform about the movement and its activities: http://yosoy132.mx/ [es].

University students protest on May 23 against media manipulation. Photo by Hector Aiza Ramirez, under Demotix copyright.

Last Saturday May 19, young people from several education institutions called for a protest that started at the heart of Mexico City - the Zocalo - and marched to the emblematic Independence Angel with the objective to inform all Mexicans and the world about the media bias seen at this election.

On Wednesday May 23, young students organized another protest, this time starting at the Light Stele and marching towards Televisa (TV Station) Headquarters to demand an impartial coverage of the election process.

There were some like Andrés Oseguera (@AndresOsegueraV) [es] who started calling this demonstration “the Mexican Spring”:

¿Será esto -por fin- nuestra primavera mexicana? La #MarchaYoSoy132#NoMasTelevisa

Is this - finally - our Mexican Spring? La #MarchaYoSoy132 (I am 132 protest) #NoMasTelevisa (No More Televisa)

The movement has turned out to be the oxygen for political life in a country where apathy was the rule, as it was pointed out by Ivan CD (@ivan6500) [es]:

Esta pinche generación ha conseguido un milagro La ‪#MarchaYoSoy132‬ cuando perdia mi fe en Mexico aparecieron ustedes!!! ‪#GRACIAS‬!

University students protest on May 23 against media manipulation. Picture by Hector Aiza Ramirez, under Demotix copyright.

Part of the frustration comes from the similarity many have noticed between the winning candidate and the soap operas produced by Televisa. Leopoldo Pérez (@leo_lpv) [es] published a motto heard at the protest:

La #MarchaYoSoy132 no queremos novelas, queremos escuelas!

The #MarchaYoSoy132 we don't want soap operas, we want schools!

These protests have taken place in several cities across the country like Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, Saltillo, Mérida, Guadalajara, among others, showing the strong discontent the young have towards mainstream media. Erika-Flowers (@ErikaFlores27) [es] wrote:

La #MarchaYoSoy132 Los medios masivos de la comunicación son opresores y manipuladores de la información, usados por los “poderosos”…

The #MarchaYoSoy132 Mainstream mass media are information oppressors and manipulators used by the “powerful”…

This heterogeneous group of young people has woken up and shown their indignation to the heartrending problems of a country that coexists daily with frightening poverty levels, more than 60 thousand deaths due to a ‘war‘ against organized crime, and endless social issues that make it imperative, like David Sánchez Romero (@Deiv_SR) said, to have a better Mexico:

México entrará en un momento de: YO NO ME VOY A DEJAR FREGAR, YO YA NO, ENTIENDAN YO SOY UN JOVEN QUE QUIERE UN MÉXICO MEJOR

Mexico will enter a moment of: I AM NOT LETTING SOMEONE SCREW WITH ME, NOT ANY MORE, UNDERSTAND THAT I AM A YOUNG PERSON THAT WANTS A BETTER MEXICO

Written by Miguel Angel Guevara · Translated by Elizabeth · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0)
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Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0)
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There is a a 16-page color pullout in all the daily newspapers today boasting of the accomplishments of the Government over the last two years. This pullout is funded by taxpayers. Didn’t we vote against this foolishness? Nothing has changed.

The blogger continued:

I thought any political party that replaced a corrupt and vindictive regime like the Manning administration would have at least appeared, without even trying, competent and honest during its first two years in office. Sadly, that has not been the case. All the Peoples Partnership has appeared to have done was to replaced once set of corrupt, vindictive and incompetent people with another set…the lack of performance is due to fighting at all levels of the party and parties for the spoils of the land.

He also referred to yesterday's anniversary celebration of the party's two years in office:

The anti-productivity, falsely self-righteous MSJ [Movement for Social Justice], a nearly severed arm of the PP [People's Partnership], has cited favoritism and nepotism as two of the reasons for not celebrating tonight with the other Parties that make up the PP – UNC [United National Congress], COP [Congress of the People], TOP [Tobago Organisation of the People], NJAC [National Joint Action Committee]. Regardless of the reasons the MSJ gave for pulling out of the celebrations (and not the Partnership as yet), the main but unsaid reason is probably the massive failure of the TCL [Trinidad Cement Limited] strike – the failure of the OWTU [Oilfield Workers Trade Union]. Next to the Government, the OWTU might be the biggest bully in the country and bullies tend not to get along well together.

The big celebration was also top of mind for The Eternal Pantomime. Yesterday, she wrote:

The Prime Minister is saying this is not a fete in here…She maintains that this is actually the Government (sans the MSJ [Movement for Social Justice]) coming to account to the people…This is the same Government that won’t answer our questions in the Parliament, or when the media interrogates them in post-cabinet meetings or over the phone. But tonight, yet another year later…the PM plans to account to the country for her government’s achievements in the past year.

You will no doubt hear about the numerous mini-projects that they put on fast track in the last month to allow them to have things to report.

She went on to document all the topics that would (and would not) be covered at the event:

What you…won’t hear is a proper comparison of crime statistics between last year and this year (minus the lull period of the SoE) and a breakdown of how the removal of certain National Security infrastructure has led to murders and gang activity once again being on the upsurge.

You will hear about all the sweeping changes being planned for SEA. You won’t hear why the indecent haste to change this exam in this way and the impact it’s likely to have on our failing education system.

You will hear talk of how the trip to India and all the other numerous trips have yielded trade and investment possibilities. You will never get details on what those possibilities are or what the trips really cost us…you also will not hear that they met a stable economy, and a treasury that was not in debt and they have now managed to screw the entire economy up.

I wish I could think of all the other areas they are going to list as achievements, but their numerous and glaring failures are far too apparent to me.

The blogger had a slightly different perspective from aka_lol's, however, when it comes to the legacy of the People's National Movement (the country's first post-independence government, now occupying the opposition bench in Parliament) - especially against the backdrop of Trinidad and Tobago's upcoming 50th anniversary of independence:

The architect of this nation will always be recognised as Eric Williams…it is Williams’ ideas, programmes and implementation that built and developed the idea of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: for better or for worse. And this is where every other political party will always stumble!

The PPG [People's Partnership Government], the UNC [United National Congress], the COP [Congress of the People] will fail simply because none of their leaders or any member of leadership is the calibre of historian that Williams was. In this year of our 50th anniversary the PPG have tried to avoid all mention of Eric Williams, because it will mean having to mention the PNM and therefore having to acknowledge that much of the infrastructure they have come and met, and regularly use and abuse was developed under Eric Williams, and then maintained under Chambers and then Manning. Indeed every government since 1981, whether it was PNM-led or not, has been coming to terms with the Williams legacy. Every regime we have had lives under his shadow….both in terms of his achievement and his failures.

An important part of any nation’s imagination is its Independence story. Last year the SoE [State of Emergency] denied us a celebration. This year’s celebration will be a disappointment. Mark my words. The country is frustrated, disillusioned, broke and bitter. Come August the people’s minds will turn to Eric Williams, which invariably means they will turn to the PNM and their thoughts will force comparisons. Many will still recoil at the thought of Manning, but many more will continue to think of Williams and what he stood for…no country forgets the architect of their Independence.

In today's follow-up post, The Eternal Pantomime gave an update on last night's celebration:

The PP [People's Partnership] dropped two bombs last night, but one was more obvious than the other and will be talked and beaten to death over the water coolers today, while the other bomb, might well remain in stealth mode for a while.

The overt bomb was of course the appearance of Sugar Aloes at the Eat Ah Food Fete. And if Aloes’ presence didn’t emphasise for use the extent of trough feeding going on under this regime then we are truly misunderstanding the ethos of this government. The whole point of producing Aloes onstage was of course to undermine the confidence of PNM supporters. It was the PP’s way of saying, ‘Look, even all yuh biggest critics joining us.' Then I get up this morning and see a Guardian story that says the Calypso Revue is looking for a home… this is the tent Aloes belong to…I wonder if land for the tent owners was part of Aloes’ contractual arrangement last night? The battle for Elections 2015 is well underway folks. Indeed it never stopped. This is a government that has not yet begun to rule, and has certainly never stopped campaigning.

The other bomb though, got lost in the fireworks of Aloes’ presence….and that was Prakash Ramadhar’s speech…but Ramadhar’s COP [Congress of the People] made a bold move last night and dropped some fighting words.

The blogger republished the speech in her post.

Facebook and Twitter were busy today with commentary about the event (and extensive marketing thrust surrounding the government's second anniversary), with @IamCoffeedude saying, tongue-in-cheek:

There is a remote controlled parachute flying over the Queen's Park Savannah towing a massive picture of Kamla. We real reach boy. ‪#Trinidad‬

WUZDESCENE echoed his sentiment in a post titled “Wha really goin' orn in T&T bwoy?!”, at the end of which the blogger commented:

all ah dat tralala goin' orn ….. while Kamla an' she Pee Pee …. in Central ….. galleryin deyself …. in celebration of …. two years …. of ….. screwin' de country!!!!!!

aka_lol made a prediction about what citizens should expect from the People's Partnership government for the rest of its term:

Over the next three years I expect an increase use of the smoke-and-mirror technique while there will be more pick pocketing of the taxpayers’ purses by those who are friendly with those on the top…there will be no improvement in the way the country is governed…”

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0)
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Whatever the number, one thing is clear. If Eurovision has been considered as politically charged in the past, with bloc voting and regional rivalries tainting the intended good spirit of the competition, this year's event has taken controversy to new and higher levels.

Freedom of Speech in Azerbaijan! Baku 24 may 2012! Eurovision gəlsin! Photo by Mehman Huseynov

Baxın necə biz Eurovisiona hazırlaşdıq! Polsilərin Qadınla bü cür rəftarı! Ayıb olsun sizə! Bakı 24 may 2012 Photo by Mehman Huseynov

Foto Azərbaycandaki durumu əks etdirir! Baku 25 may 2012 Photo by Mehman Huseynov

@leylanajafli: who are these plainclothes?? when will this stop?? #azerbaijan brutal force used on peaceful activists http://on.fb.me/JBSCWN #eurovision

@adnanhajizada: @leylanajafli they are frm ministry of internal affairs

@sakitoglu: 60 #activists were detained today. They are still in custody. #Azerbaijan #Eurovision

@newint: #Armenia has pulled out, #HumanRights campaigners are angry… #Eurovision is as political as ever! http://ow.ly/b92lc #Azerbaijan

With the international media full of stories about Azerbaijan's human rights record, Glennmcmahon470 comments on increased attention this year.

Eurovision has long been subject to ridicule by much of western Europe with its trashy and manufactured pop considered far below our musical tastes with audiences consisting of largely excitable teenage girls and members of the gay community.

But as this year’s competition in Azerbaijan is used as a platform by human rights and pro-democracy campaigners to highlight abuses largely ignored by the western media until now, should the conscientious among us be taking it a little more seriously as a tool for change?

[…]

Previously the competition has been used by other former soviet states to promote themselves to a western Europe who barely knew they were there.

[…]

Azerbaijan is also clearly taking it very seriously, spending more than a billion dollars on the event – the most expensive contest ever, and equally hoping to put themselves on the map, bolster tourism and prove they are capable of putting on prestigious international events.

But the government clearly didn’t bargain on the attention given to its human rights record with activists getting almost as much attention as the 56-year-old event.

[…]

Whether you love it or hate it, he said, the Eurovision has at least created a dialogue on the issues facing Azerbaijan. However it remains to be seen whether once the Eurovision road-show moves on, the media circus moves with it.

However, not everyone is happy with how foreign journalists have covered the event.

@MahirZeynalov: Dear international media, please let us enjoy Eurovision. Yes, yes we get it, Azerbaijan is the worst dictatorship on Earth. Enough bashing.

@nhacizade: by now we have a pretty solid prototype of the western-publication article on #Azerbaijan and #Eurovision. thanks for never surprising.

‏@onewmphoto: @nhacizade True, the reports are predictable and almost overload, but let's face it. Official Baku is giving the media plenty to write about

@nhacizade: @onewmphoto yeah, not unleashing the police everytime 20 people get together for a protest walk would have saved them a lot.

@nhacizade: @onewmphoto but the nature of the coverage also comes from the fact that when media says “country you've never heard of before”..

@nhacizade: @onewmphoto what they mean is “country we never cover and dont know much about”. same for almost all post-soc states that aren't Russia.

Dubbed the ‘Eurovision Effect,' some like AmnestyBrum, an Amnesty International group in the U.K. explains why it considers the spotlight important.

Tomorrow it’s Eurovision time and there are number of concerns we’ve got on the human right situation in the host country Azerbaijan. The song contest is a rare opportunity for Amnesty International to shine a spotlight on the country. In just the last few weeks there have been a whole series of horrific incidents.

[…]

So when everyone else is curling up to watch Eurovision there couldn’t be a better time to turn the spotlight on the real big issues in Azerbaijan. And of course there is the bitter irony that the British entry for Eurovision by Engelbert Humperdink is entitled Love Will Set You Free.

Others, however, are concerned with what will happen when the foreign journalists up and leave Azerbaijan. One of them is Khadija Ismayil, the investigative journalist who was recently blackmailed because of her work and who voiced such concerns in a live RFE/RL Facebook event.

Marion Kipiani There is quite a bit of talk about how the ESC created an opening for independent journalists and HR defenders to speak to an international public. But what is your view on how to keep attention alive after world attention moves on, e.g. to Euro-2012? Do those who were brave enough to speak out now have to fear reprisals?

Khadija Ismayil […] we are going to have hot summer. Azerbaijani government will retaliate and punish those who spoiled their party. So people active in Sing for Democracy campaign will need more support further. We also expect more pressure on critical journalists and especially investigative journalists. My colleagues from RFE/RL and Bizim Yol newspapers found out how much money had been spent on ESC and that the government diverted money from water supply projects and pension increase to build a concert hall for ESC. Unfortunately, our government is tend to break mirror instead of brushing it's hair to look better.

RFE/RL's Transmission blog also reports that the organizers inside Azerbaijan have been attempting to control press conferences for the event, especially those involving one of the few contestants to show an interest in the internal human rights situation.

Following the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 24 in Baku, Swedish finals contestant Loreen was asked by a Reuters journalist about her meeting with Azerbaijan's political opposition.

She answered simply: “What I can say, there is two parts of me. One that is private and one that is my work that I'm doing here, and just today I want to keep the focus on this energy that we created right now.”

But Azerbaijani Public TV, which is broadcasting Eurovision, immediately had its moderator jump in to keep any more questions “relevant,” prompting howls of protest from the journalists in the room. What's more, its voiced-over translation of the reporter's question into Azeri on its domestic broadcast came through as only “How did you feel on stage?”

Meanwhile, as Azerbaijan prepares to host the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, new security measures controlling admission for the audience have been announced at the last minute, perhaps indicating that the unprecedented controversy surrounding the musical event is far from over.

Written by Onnik Krikorian · comments (0)
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Those, in case you were wondering, are the 70-plus countries—and counting—that will be represented at this year's Global Voices Citizen Media Summit.

In 38 days' time, on July 2, 2012, over 250 people from the four corners of planet Earth will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2012. Moving this number of people across the globe takes some doing, and for us on the planning team, the past few months have been spent figuring out how to get people from cities like Vilnius, Bamako, La Paz, Kolkata and Naypyidaw to Nairobi, booking hotel rooms, sorting out visa applications, and, most of all, designing and refining the Summit format and program. Then refining it again.

Nairobi Skyline, by Mutua Matheka (used with permission)

Highlights of this year's Summit include:

- The announcement of the winners of the Google-supported Breaking Borders Award

- “Digital Media and Disruptive Publics“, a workshop for academics studying citizen media that takes place in parallel with the Global Voices organisational meeting

- Lots of Kenyan bloggers, including winners of the Bloggers' Association of Kenya's recent blog awards, and winners of our own blogging competition

This year's program will include plenary discussions, topic-based breakout groups, open “unconference”-style sessions and hands-on training workshops. We'll be facilitating online, real-time participation and will be capturing, translating, and publishing the knowledge and conversations coming out of the meeting as part of the process.

If you'd like to join us in Nairobi, we've still got room. You can register via the Summit web site. The registration fee is US$75 for participants from outside of Africa, US$50 for residents of Africa outside of Kenya, and KES 2,500 for Kenyan residents.

If you'd like to join us, but can't, we'll be streaming portions of the program live on July 2-3. Also check out blog posts by the Global Voices community and our speakers at the Summit web site and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2012 is made possible by Google, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Institute, Knight Foundation, Hivos, Adessium Foundation and Yahoo!, with support from iHub.

Written by Georgia Popplewell · comments (0)
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Yerba mate was the centre of controversy in March of 2011 when the Federal Administration of Public Income (AFIP, an entity in charge of implementing policies enforced by the Executive arm of government in taxation, imports and exports, and collection of social security resources) discovered slave labour in a yerba mate field. The website Fortuna Web [es] published the results of an investigation done by Argentina's tax agency:

La Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP) detectó mediante inspección el trabajo de niños en la recolección de la cosecha y la ausencia de sanitarios, agua potable y energía eléctrica en el campo ubicado en Puerto Esperanza, a 260 kilómetros de Posadas.

On the other hand, the website Artículos y Debates de Política [es] (Articles and Political Debates) published an article with respect to the working conditions of the yerba mate workers:

Hacinamiento, insalubridad, trabajo en negro, incumplimiento del jornal diario, trabajo de menores, pago con vales, algunas de las irregularidades que se pudo relevar en un campamento de tareferos en Caraguatay. El Sindicato de Tareferos denuncia la ausencia de los inspectores del Ministerio de Trabajo para controlar las condiciones de la cosecha y la complicidad del poder político de la zona.

Yerba mate farmers protest in Misiones - photo by Pablodf (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In a post from April 2012, Global Voices published citizens reactions to the increase in the price of the popular yerba mate. One of the motives in the authorisation of the rise in this raw material is to improve the marketability of the industries and the working conditions of the employees. Increases are approved on a  six-month basis. The Resolution of 119/2012 of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries [es] of Argentina, published by the National Institute of Yerba Mate,  [es] says:

entre las funciones del INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE LA YERBA MATE (INYM), la de acordar semestralmente, entre los distintos sectores participantes del mismo, el precio de la materia prima.
Que el Artículo 12 del Decreto Nº 1240 del 12 de julio de 2002 establece, como períodos semestrales, a los comprendidos entre los meses de abril a septiembre y de octubre a marzo de cada año.
Que el precio de la materia prima debe resultar de un acuerdo en el INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE LA YERBA MATE (INYM), basado en el precio promedio de venta al consumidor de los productos elaborados con yerba mate,

This regulation of increases at six month intervals was put into place since 2002 through the Decree law Nº 1240 of the same year. However, there have been reactions referring to working conditions that seem to persist. Dario Aranda's blog [es] writes about the situation of the worker:

La distancia entre el hogar y el yerbal determina la hora de levantarse, siempre de madrugada, entre las 4 y las 6. Un camión recorre los barrios, sube a los trabajadores al acoplado y comienza la travesía. Pueden ser veinte kilómetros, también 40 o 50. A las 7 están en el yerbal, mojados por el rocío y la helada. Tijera o serrucho en mano, cortan las ramas pequeñas de la planta, acumulan las hojas sobre plásticos abiertos como mantel que esperan en el piso. Luego se unen las puntas del plástico y forman una gran bolsa, el “raído”, cien kilos, 20 pesos. Un tarefero experimentado, y con suerte, puede hacer cuatro raídos al día, 80 pesos de salario bruto, con descuentos se transforma en 60 pesos en mano, por jornadas de nueve a doce horas: equivale a tres kilos de yerba.

Alternatively, the Secretariat of the Federation of Agriculture, a private entity that deals in the labour issues affecting small and big producers, declares in Urgente24.com [es]:

imposible mantener en blanco al personal. Esto más allá de que la AFIP diga que se debe mantener en blanco a los tareferos, que son quienes hacen la cosecha de yerba mate.

The Universidad Nacional de Misiones [es] (National University of Misiones), a public and free institution, presented research [es] of the sector in the province of Misiones [es], its point of reference being new recruits in the area of Jardin America [es]. The results revealed the following:

fueron 1131 tareferos registrados, de los cuales el 84 % son varones cuyas edades oscilan entre 18 y 50 años.

De los datos registrados también se desprende que los jóvenes de 11 a 17 años, representan el 10 % de los tareferos (tarea u obra que se debe concluir en tiempo determinado; se hace por empresa o a destajo) de esta localidad, de los cuales el 50 % comenzó a tarefear entre los 5 y los 14 años y aprendió la tarea mayormente con sus padres.

De ese total de 1131, el 60 % alcanzó un nivel educativo -primaria o EGB- y casi el 83 % lee y escribe.

En cuanto al pago más del 80 % manifestó que se le paga en dinero y por familia recolectan un promedio de 1300 kilos por día.

The Misiones controversy seems endless with the issue of the price of yerba mate and the conditions of the workers.

Garganta del Diablo - Iguazú Falls- Photo by: Laura Schneider

Written by Laura Schneider · Translated by Louella Mahabir · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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Africans and friends of Africa have been tweeting Africa Liberation Day throughout the day.

@Chrisfordshind1: It's africa freedom day.but what i know you can't be ignorant and be free at a same time,but knowing the truth is a begining of freedom.

@Luyanda_Peter received a t-shirt to celebrate Africa Day in 2010. Photo courtesy of Twitter user @Luyanda_Peter

@Thagman_Hits: Its not just a matter of celebrating “africa freedom day”.its a question of,”are people experiencin real freedom?”

@laokov: Happy Africa Freedom day people,but is Africa FREE?

@NikiMapoma: Good Morning! Today is Africa Freedom Day. I've read Zambia is one of only four countries where it's a Nat'l Holiday. How will YOU spend it?

@Thato_wally: Its nt a happy africa day if our ppl r stil in the illusion of freedom,if corruption is seen as a norm nd a common practise…

@Pepuzani: Africa freedom day, well I guess there is some freedom to celebrate. Freedom Of using Facebook.

@champoj: Do not make the same mistakes your parents made,learn from them n make your life bright even as we are celebrating africa freedom day!

@Mutakala88: Am celebrating Africa Freedom Day by reading the Zambian Draft Constitution #ZambianPride #fb

@khadijapatel: RT @khayadlanga: Since it's Africa day, here Thabo Mbeki's great “I am an African” speech. Refamiliarise yourself http://bit.ly/LxspGq
View media

@lead_sa: RT @williamwealth: @702JohnRobbie @lead_sa Are you an Afri-CAN or an Afri-CAN'T? I believe we can! Enjoy Africa Day!

@stwala20: Happy Africa day. People be proud of being an African with your cultural practices. Forward with economic freedom in Africa forward.

Kenyan Poet celebrates the day with a poem:

It all started as a vision of one man,
A the dream of one son,
A son of Ghana, a Nkrumah who sang a song
whose words were written with the blood of our brothers sailed off
to plantations as slaves to white masters.
A song whose rhythm and tune was hummed
by the cries of our people
Feet shuffling, hands trembling, mouths begging

We don’t know them!
We don’t know the freedom fighters

The rhythm of whips cracking on their backs
The sound of gunshots reigning in the dull yet sunny days,
Dark, yet moonlit nights.
The sounds had become a dirge to their ears
Maafa, Maafa

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We dedicate this post to four sexual and reproductive health programmes that are currently using online networks to reaffirm the value of basic rights.

Saludpromujer (Pro-women health) and Taller Salud (Health Workshop) in Puerto Rico, the Latin America and Caribbean Women's Health Network based in Chile, and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) in New York.

The double CD "We Don't Talk About That," made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Saludpromujer, can be listened to on their website.

1. Saludpromujer [es] began as part of a study about women at the Cayey Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, and was transferred to the Gynocelogy and Obstetrics Department of the Medical School of the University of Puerto Rico, under the direction of Yamila Azize Vargas. Part of its mission is to encourage “curricular changes and investigation of female reproductive health issues that are excluded and stigmatized in the education of the science of health, such as sexuality, contraception and abortion.”

Saludpromujer also coordinates the Caribbean Initiative on Abortion and Contraception, a network that promotes research and the training of health professionals in more that 15 Caribbean countries. It also maintains the Rosa Gonzáles Documentation Centre which houses books, magazines and videos [es]. On their website you will find scientific research, and radio broadcasts recorded under the name “De Esto No se Habla” [es] (We Don't Talk About This), in which health professionals discuss essential issues in medical school classrooms.

2.  Taller Salud  is based in Loíza, Puerto Rico and it was founded in 1979 by  Carmen Guzmán and Eugenia Acuña who worked in New York against the widespread sterilization of poor Latin American women who were mainly Puerto Rican. Once they returned to Puerto Rico they continued to condemn the excessive sterilization of women, and they have focused on guaranteeing the right to contraception and abortion. Today, this organisation, coordinated by Alana Feldman, integrates into their work awareness of issues including reproductive health, sexuality,  vaginal health, the impact of violence of women's health and the health of young girls.

Also, as part of its mission to “create safe spaces sharing experiences essentials for the body and comprehensive health” it regularly organised workshops that are accessible to  the community and health professionals. On their Facebook page there is a calendar of the next workshops about, among other things, empowerment, eating disorders and HIV/ STD prevention strategies for young people. On their blog Desde el el barrio de Adolfina (From Adolfina's Neighborhood), which is dedicated to the heroine, Adolfina Villanueva [es], the available resources from their Documentation and Information Centre are listed.

Last year, Taller Salud launched the project El Tenderete Fotográfico [es] (Clothesline Photography), an art competition to commemorate the International Day of Action for Women's Health (celebrated on 28 May). In the video below, the work of the finalists and the winner (Dora Irrizary) is shown.

Even though the recent ecomomic cut-backs have made the print-version of the Women's Health Journal impossible, it is still being published in its digital format on the RSMLAC website.

3. On 28 May, 1984 the Regional Women's Health Meeting was held for the first time in Colombia. During the six-day workshop a diverse group of feminists decided, among other things, to create the Latin America and Caribbean Women's Health Network (RSMLAC). In the beginning, the network was coordinated by Isis International, a non-governmental organization based in Chile, but from 1995 it began functioning autonomously. The General Coordinator is Nirvana Gonzáles Rosa, a feminist with extensive experience in the defence of women's human rights, both in her country, Puerto Rico, and the region in general.

The current counselors are Télia Negrão (Brazil), Natalia Pineda (Colombia), Lise Marie Dejéan (Haiti), María Eugenia Romero (Mexico), Alma Odette Chacón de León (Guatemala), Norma Benítez (Paraguay), Sergia Galván (Dominican Rupublic).  RSMLAC organise the Itinerant University, from 1996 to 2004 it followed the implementation of the agreements made at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development and it works in favor of the decriminalization of abortion in Chile, as well as other projects. On this site you can see their most recent campaigns, join discussions on the blog [es] and access the Women's Health journal.

4. The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) works to “ensure the fundamental human right to reproductive health and justice for Latinas, their families and their communities through public education, community mobilization and policy advocacy.” This is what their website tells us. The access to abortion, immigrant rights, the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community LGBTQ are also included in their work agenda.

This organisation, established in New York City in 1994, also offers the workshops, or “webinars” Latinas Organizing for Leadership and Advocacy (LOLA) via the internet, with the aim of encouraging Latina leaders who wish to get involved in the development of fair and inclusive public policies. On joining their electronic mailing-list or their Facebook page, you will receive information about the next local and national training sessions and activities.

Below, the video explains the vision of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, directed by Jessika González-Roja:

Written by Yarisa Colon · Translated by Kathryn Morgan · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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It seems a long time since Malian citizens were eagerly awaiting presidential elections, initially scheduled to be held in April 2012. In the meantime, outgoing President Amadou Toumani Touré was removed from office by a military junta, led by Captain Amadou Sanogo.

The military announced the dissolution of government institutions, suspended the Constitution, and formed the National Committee for the Recovery of Democracy and Restoration of the State (CNRDR). On April 1, the Tuareg rebellion, consisting of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Salafist movement Ansar Dine, took control of three regions of northern Mali. On April 6, the MNLA declared the independence of Azawad.

These conflicts have displaced thousands of people fleeing the influence of MNLA and Ansar Dine, a population already struggling against a food crisis [en] caused by drought.

Escalating crisis

The crisis does not end there. Interim President Dioncounda Traoré, who has been appointed for one month and must attempt to resolve conflicts in the north, as well as protests in the south in support of the junta, was recently attacked in the presidential palace.

Interim President Dioncounda Traoré (Wikipedia License CC-3.0)

During one of their demonstrations on May 23, protesters broke into the palace, and injured the president. Malijet gives the details on how this attack occurred:

..Les manifestants ont pris la direction du palais de Koulouba sur des motos et des véhicules. [..]  Sans rencontrer la moindre résistance malgré la présence des forces de l’ordre, les arrivants escaladent les murs pour se retrouver jusqu’au sommet de l’imposant édifice. Une délégation des marcheurs conduite par Boubacar Boré [président de l'association Yélé Wolo Ton] sera reçue par le président Dioncounda Traoré à qui elle explique l’objet de la marche. Dioncounda Traoré leur assure qu’il a pris bonne note des griefs formulés contre lui et réitère sa volonté de ne jamais constituer un problème pour le pays. Boubacar Boré et ses compagnons prennent congé et rapportent le contenu de l’entretien aux manifestants dont une partie se disperse aussitôt. Mais, un autre groupe de manifestants était resté caché dans le jardin de la présidence. Ces irréductibles exigent la démission, séance tenante, de Dioncounda Traoré. La colère monte et ils défoncent les portes du secrétariat général de la présidence où le président a son bureau et investissent les bureaux. Il est alors un peu plus de 13 heures. Ils gagnent le premier étage où Dioncounda Traoré avait été évacué par quelques gardes de la salle d’audience pour une autre salle un peu plus éloignée. Les manifestants enragés balaient les quelques éléments de la Garde républicaine présents et forcent les deux portes de la salle. Ils font irruption dans la pièce. Quelques uns d’entre eux recommandent bien « ne le touchez pas » mais les plus nombreux se ruent sur le président sans défense, le frappent à coups de poing, de pied…

An amateur videographer recorded these events [now offline], and confirmed the above report.

Malijet explains how Traoré escaped the demonstrators:

Il [Un garde républicain] a alors le bon reflexe de coiffer Dioncounda Traoré du casque qui servait à le protéger lui même. Ce geste a certainement sauvé la vie du président car certains agresseurs étaient armés de marteaux et s’en sont servis. La suite est un peu plus confuse. Selon des informations que nous n’avons pas pu recouper, les forces de l’ordre sont finalement intervenues en nombre.

The presidential palace after the assault on the president. Photo by Dex Traoré on Twitter (CC license)

How can Mali resolve the crisis?

While President Traoré was evacuated to France to treat his injuries, the Committee of Malian Patriotic Organizations (COPAM, a pro-junta group) announced their wish that coup leader Captain Sanogo take charge of the transition. A ceremony in the M. Keita Stadium assembled supporters of the coup, with the intention of inaugurating Sanogo as President.

A former Malian minister believes that the country can find its way out of crisis by respecting its own diversity:

Le Mali d’aujourd’hui est une nation qui doit assumer et s’enrichir de sa pluralité. Le fait d’avoir voulu, depuis l’indépendance, enfermer cette nation plurielle dans les carcans jacobins d’un État-Nation d’origine coloniale est la cause principale de l’indifférence des populations ou du rejet des institutions et de l’administration étatique. Nos ascendants ont fait cohabiter bamanan, foula, songhoi, soninkés, boua, tamasheq, etc.. dans les mêmes familles, les mêmes royaumes et les mêmes empires. Pourquoi ne pouvons-nous pas en faire autant aujourd’hui ? L’unité de la nation n’est pas antinomique du respect de sa diversité. Il faut les conjuguer au lieu de les opposer. Mettons alors en place des institutions et des procédures administratives qui comprennent et qui savent gérer cette question.

Malians living abroad have also reacted to the situation in their country.

Gilles Olakounlé Yabi, director of the West African Project of the International Crisis Group, believes that the crisis will, alas, continue:

Il n’y a malheureusement plus de solution miracle à une crise qui est partie pour durer. La condition nécessaire mais pas suffisante à la mise en place d’un cadre politique et sécuritaire permettant un retour progressif de l’Etat au nord est la clarification de la situation à Bamako (capitale du Mali). Il faut soutenir le gouvernement civil incarné par le Premier ministre Modibo Diarra et le président intérimaire Dioncounda Traoré, quoiqu’on pense des qualités et des défauts de ces personnalités, maintenir la pression sur les meneurs de la junte et leurs soutiens politiques tout en veillant à ne pas fragiliser davantage l’armée malienne. Remettre sur pied l’Etat, c’est redonner de la crédibilité et de l’autorité aux autorités civiles mais c’est aussi aider à restructurer l’appareil militaire. Mais on perd actuellement beaucoup de temps à Bamako dans de vaines querelles pendant que les groupes armés s’installent confortablement et durablement au nord, et imposent leur loi aux populations civiles.

Written by Lova · Translated by Andrew Kowalczuk · View original post [fr] · comments (0)
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Bajo una apariencia hipócrita de preocupación y denuncia, los programas de telebasura se regodean con el sufrimiento; con la muestra más sórdida de la condición humana; con la exhibición gratuita de sentimientos y comportamientos íntimos. Desencadenan una dinámica en la que el circense “más difícil todavía” anuncia una espiral sin fin para sorprender al espectador.

NO TRASH TV! TURN IT OFF BEFORE IT DISCONNECTS YOU. Photo from arrakis.es

Mainstream Media vs Social Networks

However TV trash is in serious danger thanks to an active audience that has used the power of social networks and digital campaigns. Since 2008, the journalist and blogger Pablo Herreros has been critical of these programs on his blog, Communication is what the game's called [es], even calling some programs “subsidized crime” on TV. Some programs have presented interviews with criminals or their families to talk about their crimes on set in exchange for large sums of money.

In October 2011, Pablo Herreros put together a petition on his blog with over 33,000 signatures that demanded advertisers to punish the programs that engaged in these practices. Among the programs the petition sought to stop is the show La Noria, which  paid for an interview with the mother of El Cuco, guilty of killing the young woman Marta del Castillo [es] after a highly publicized case. The advertisers heeded the petition, making it the first time advertisers have completely withdrawn from a program. Just a few weeks ago the program stopped broadcasting.

The blogger Pablo Herreros also spread a video (in Spanish) that shows the victim's families pain and trauma caused by these type of paid interviews:

The fight in the social networks for responsible TV programming continues under the hashtags #NomáscrímenpagadoenTV (No more paid crime on TV) and #Otratelevisiónesposible (Another television is possible). The goal is for the petition to garner enough support to include politicians and television stations.  Several advertisers have heard its call which is itself a great achievement.

Some media outlets already point to a  possible decline in trash on TV [es] referring mainly to those programs that pay criminals, and sensationalist journalistic TV shows. The advertising crisis in Spain could be the perfect moment to think over what type of TV is most desired by society and help bring it about.

While it is important to trust in popular initiatives on the Internet and their influence, it cannot be forgotten that four days ago the Big Brother reality TV show, after 12 years of being broadcast, continued breaking audience records with 1.3 million viewers in Spain.

Written by Elena Arrontes · Translated by Stephen Cairns · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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Written by Silvia Viñas · comments (0)
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