· November, 2011

Stories about Portuguese from November, 2011

East Timor: Building One Country Out of Many Languages

  28 November 2011

When East Timor became an independent country in 2002, both the Tetum and Portuguese languages were chosen as official for the newborn country. Nevertheless, the number of national languages is up to 16 and dozens of other dialects are used on a daily basis by Timorese citizens.

Video: Plural+ 2011 Awards Young Filmmakers

  26 November 2011

Youth from around the globe were awarded in New York for their thought-provoking short films showing their proposals for making society more peaceful and multicultural by addressing the topics of diversity, migration and social inclusion.

Mozambique: Poetry on trees

  26 November 2011

The Mozambican literary collective Movimento Kuphaluxa has shared on Facebook and on its blog a series of poems exhibited on the city of Maputo's historic acacia trees. Some well-known writers like Mia Couto are featured (FB link), but most poems are from younger writers.

Portugal: A Peek into a Day of General Strike

  24 November 2011

Throughout the day of general strike in Portugal, November 24, Twitter user @Shyznogud has curated online media content for the page “a peek into the strike” on Scoop.it. Journalist Paulo Querido (@PauloQuerido) noted that “there are more tweets against the #grevegeral (general strike, hashtag in use) than in favour. Makes...

Mozambique: More striking security guards

  23 November 2011

After the fateful G4S strike earlier this year, more security guards are on strike in Maputo. @Verdade newspaper photographer Miguel Mangueze tweeted a photo of a sign from the protest, depicting the Portuguese head of the company SOS, who they allege deprives them of pay over the holidays.

Brazil: Maximum Fine After Silence on Chevron's Oil Spill

  23 November 2011

On 7 November, an oil platform operated by Chevron-Texaco and located 350km off coast from Rio de Janeiro, began spilling crude oil. Two weeks after, the spill is believed to be under control and Chevron has been fined the maximum amount allowed by Brazilian environmental authorities. But not all is clear concerning the intricacies and coverage of the environmental disaster.

Brazil: Real State Speculation Threatens Sacred Ground

  18 November 2011

Sagrada Terra Especulada (Sacred Speculated Ground), a Brazilian collective that advocates for indigenous land rights, is promoting a documentary [pt] and a petition [pt] in defense of the Pajé Sanctuary, close to Brasilia´s Pilot Plan. Real estate speculation [pt] threatens this area of savannah with the construction of a so-called...

Brazil: Toxic Documentary on the Amazon

  17 November 2011

Brazilian journalist Felipe Milanez (@felipedjeguaka) published [pt, en] a documentary about the Amazon in the series Toxic – “the various ways in which we detonate our planet” – of the Vice website. The documentary features the environmental activist Zé Claudio Ribeiro da Silva who was killed in May 2011.

Brazil: Online Campaign to Protect Xingu Against Belo Monte

  16 November 2011

A new movement called Gota D'Água (Drop of Water) [pt] has launched an online campaign to discuss Brazil's energy planning through the analysis of the Belo Monte dam project. The campaign includes a video featuring public figures and a petition, that has already gathered 1923 signatures, to be handed over...

Brazil: Student Assaulted While Protesting in Brasília

  15 November 2011

Rosangela Basso, from the blog Maria da Penha Neles, posted a series of pictures and a video of a sociology student from the University of Brasília (UnB) being assaulted by security guards at the Federal Senate while protesting against the new Forestry Code.

Brazil: Suspicious Fires in Slums of São Paulo

  14 November 2011

Brazilian teacher and urban planner Raquel Rolnik writes [pt] about a wave of suspicious fires in slums of the city of São Paulo. Allegedly, a few days after the last fire, a construction company had already turned the aftermath into a building site for new developments.

Brazil: Journalist Shot Dead During Police Action

  14 November 2011

Journalist Cristina Rodrigues asks [pt] “who's to blame?” after the tragic death of a Brazilian journalist from the TV Bandeirantes, who was shot by drug dealers during a police action in a slum in Rio de Janeiro on November 7. Journalist Antônio Mello blames [pt] the bullying of the TV...

Gabon: Bongo Indulges With Football Match Against Brazil

  11 November 2011

The Brazilian national football team came to Libreville, Gabon for a friendlly football match against the Gabonese national team on November 10. The social challenges the team witnessed are in stark contrast with the spending habits of the current Gabonese President Ali Bongo.

Guinea-Bissau: Community Radio Launches a New Blog

  9 November 2011

The community radio Voz de Queléle (Voice of Quelélé) [pt], from the Quelélé neighborhood in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, launched a new blog in October 2011. The radio was created in 1994 and has played an important role especially in providing public health information to the community.

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Manuel Ribeiro
Manuel Ribeiro is the Portuguese editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write here.