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Panama: 37th OAS General Assembly, A Trail of Poisoned Medicine and Update on the New Immigration and Health Laws

# At the same time the OEA (OAS, Organization of American States) celebrated their thirty-seventh Regular Session of the OEA General Assembly in Panama from June 3-5, 2007, there were many congregations of groups peacefully protesting against the recent developments in Venezuela, involving the closing of RCTV which, to many, limits and conditions free speech and freedom. The local TV stations ceased operations for 30 seconds in the morning and 30 seconds in the afternoon, showing only the image we are sharing here. The message reads "Sin expresión no hay libertad, ni en Venezuela ni en el resto del mundo," which means "Without free speech there is no freedom, in Venezuela or in the rest of the world."

luto

Local newspapers in their websites and a group of bloggers also participated with the initiative. Learn more by visiting Diablo Rojo.

# Suntracs.org shares the audio file (ES) of the speach Canciller Maduro from Venezuela gave at the OEA's General Assembly meeting in Panama.

# From LaPrensa Blog, a very controversial issue is exposed. ¿Cómo evalúa usted las investigaciones por las muertes con medicamentos contaminados? (How do you evaluate the investigations of the deaths by contaminated medication?)

El tema de los medicamentos contaminados que provocaron la muerte a un centenar de panameños, cada día toma un giro distinto. Éste semana el Ministerio Público ordenó la detención de actual director de la Caja de Seguro Social, René Luciani, para ser indagado con respecto al tema. Igualmente se ordenó la detención de los ex directores Rolando Villalaz y Juan Jované.

Sin embargo, el proceso ha estado caracterizado por su lentitud, han pasado ocho meses desde que se supo del caso y la fecha todo sigue confuso y sin vistas de ser aclarado.

This process of investigating the death of more than a hundred Panamanians by the ingestion of contaminated medication takes a new turn every day. This week the detention of Rene Luciani was ordered, the current Director of the Caja de Seguro Social (Social Security Agency) to give testimony about the case. Rolando Villalaz and Juan Jovane, ex directors of the same institution were also called for the preliminary inquiries.

Nevertheless, the characteristic of this process has been slowness, it has been eight months since we learned about the case and to date it remains confuse and unsolved.

Head over to LaPrensa Blog to read the complete report and the array of interesting comments.

# The Noriegaville News meditates on the new immigration law and new health regulations from a different perspective: Panama stands firm against dangers of tourism.

First of all, if visitors came to Panama with the idea to stay for six weeks or so to find property or spend a couple of months in their condo or vacation home, they will find that a freshly implemented law makes this a criminal activity. The duration of the tourist visa has been reduced from 90 days (the standard all over Central America) to 30 days only, and for an extension one has to go through the nightmarish bureaucracy at the Immigration service.

Carry your obligatory vaccination card!The new visa regime is not the only measure the government takes against tourists entering the country. A new law is being debated in the National Assembly that makes it obligatory for anyone in Panama or entering Panama to carry a "vaccination card" as proof of having been vaccinated against unspecified diseases. Read more…

# Panama Guide reports on the changes on immigration law in Panama: Update on the 30-Day Tourist Visa Issue.

Today I interviewed Lic. Karen Zamora, the Chief of Investigation for Panama's Department of Immigration, regarding the recent changes to the tourist visa law. She said they can instantly check the status of any tourist in Panama using a new and sophisticated computer system. They capture the tourist movement data at entry points such as Tocumen Airport and Paso Canoas for every entry and exit, and they have the technology to instantly check on the status of any tourist in the country at any time (pretty cool). She demonstrated the technology using a mock suspect, and said "he last entered in January and has not left, so he's currently illegal." They can also now easily see the multiple tourist entries and exits over time, so they know who are the "perpetual tourists." She added that anyone who enters Panama after 22 May 2007 falls under the new law and regulations, and that anyone who was in the country prior to that date will be treated under the old regulations. She said that they know this is a period of transition and that there are people who have gotten "caught in the change" to the new law. Read the complete article…

# Panama Guide shares some vital information: FAQ: What Shots Do I Need For Panama?

Panama's Ministry of Health is tasked by law to specify what vaccinations are required. Their program is called the "Programa Ampliado de lnmunizaciones" (PAI) (Extended Immunization Program). Within this program they publish the "Esquema Nacional de Inmunizaciones" (National Immunization Scheme), which specifies what vaccinations are required by who, at what age, special conditions, etc. So far I have not been able to find a link to this document (but I know it's there somewhere.) The new law as published does not contain a comprehensive list of required vaccinations, but rather simply talks about new vaccinations that will be funded through the law and provided to the Panamanian population through the new immunization program. There are, however, other sources that will work as a start for now. Read more…

# Boquete Guide finds an unique place in Volcan, Chiriqui: Road Trips from Boquete: Sitio Barriles, an amazing archeology site which lays secret to most of visitors and residents.

Of all the places I have been so far in Chiriqui this site is most amazing. Three distinct cultures inhabiting this one area in a 2600 year span. Distinct cultures if their images and artifacts are indicative. It is theorized one was Asian and another African both in about the same time frame. And then Mayan at about 900 AD.

I cannot recommend this day trip enough if this bit of history is of interest to you. Edna takes her time to explain it all and answers questions. Oh cost, we never asked and even after Jennifer bought some trees and other plants and I gave a large gratuity the cost was far less than Finca Dracula. Read on…

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Debating Darfur: Bloggers question Sudanese ambassador to U.N.

Solana Larsen · 23:35

“What does Sudan want?” “Who do you think are arming the rebels?” These deceptively simple questions were posed to the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations by members of the panel at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York on 24 May, 2007. His answers were evasive, and the debate was full of awkward moments. The ambassador even blamed the violent conflict in Darfur on climate change at one point. The other panelists disagreed.

Global Voices' Sub-Saharan Africa Editor, Ndesanjo Macha, live-blogged the event and was invited to pose questions directly from Sudanese bloggers in the Q&A session.

Reuters Newsmaker event New York Ndesanjo and Rebecca blogging

There was a quiet gasp from the audience of journalists and opinion-makers when they heard where the questions were coming from. New York is very, very far away from Darfur. Somehow it brought the room closer to the tragedy to know someone in the region was listening.

Here is the second question Ndesanjo asked, right before the end:

At the last Reuters Newsmaker event there was a live webcast which made it easier for bloggers to listen and ask questions while it was happening. This time, the full audio recording of the event has been added to the Reuters website later (here) and video clip (here). Just click to see how depressingly far from any resolution the conflict is.

The speakers represented the US Department of State (Lauren Landis), the United Nations (Mia Farrow), the International Crisis Group (John Prendergast), and NBC News (Ann Curry).

“Will you say yes to peacekeepers?” asked the moderator. The ambassador hesitated. “Yes, for African Union peacekeepers supported by the United Nations,” but it was a conditional response. He said he only wanted peacekeepers, after durable peace was established (good luck).

“It’s their policy to destroy that rebellion by killing the supporters. They don’t want witnesses. They don’t want an effective peacekeeping force,” said Prendergast. He called for sanctions against individual senior leaders. And he called them war criminals. “Until there is a cost for continuing to arm militias they will continue the killing in the villages. They will continue bombing civilian targets,” he said.

I blogged the event on openDemocracy's blog. And here's the Reuters account.

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Russia: The Temple's “Online Feeder” Nearly Wrecked by Bloggers

Veronica Khokhlova · 22:55

While looking for information on LiveJournal's recent blackout, I ran into this unrelated item (RUS) by Anton Nossik (LJ user dolboeb), one of the people in charge of Sup, the Russian online media company running the “Russian-speaking” segment of LiveJournal in partnership with Six Apart:

The Temple's Money Changers Have Hidden Away the Price Tags

The price list for commercial services rendered at [Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior], which had been dug out by the dogged bloggers […], didn't stay there to delight our eyes for too long. It hasn't even been a week yet, and the price list has been quietly taken out of the Internet users' sight. But it appears that the commercial department of the God's Temple did manage to overcome the pressure from the bosses embarrassed by the leak and prevented the final bankruptcy of its online feeder.

As a result, we have something extremely strange. The price list page is now empty, and the only way to learn about the prices is by reading bloggers' accounts, or by looking into Google's cache. At the same time, the rest of the advertising pages have been left intact and are promoting different kinds of the Temple's money changers' activities. Here, for instance, is an advertisement of services for those who'd like to rent conference halls of [the Cathedral] (with pictures). And here's an ad of the underground garage where some God-fearing Russian oligarchs are hiding their Maybachs, Lamborghinis and Maseratis from the wrath and envy of fellow citizens (the price list for this service is also empty now, but there's a phone number that one can call to specify the prices).

[…]

There's even a dry cleaning service at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral.

LJ user breqwas offers an explanation (RUS) of why so much commerce is taking place inside Russia's main church:

You see, [Christ the Savior Cathedral] does not belong to [the Russian Orthodox Church]. It belongs to the city and is managed by the Christ the Savior Cathedral's Fund, through which they were raising funds for its construction at one point. It was not given over to [the Russian Orthodox Church] allegedly because it costs a lot to maintain such a huge thing, and our Church is poor. And this is why this Fund is raising money the way it can. Why are they doing it like this? First, because it's a free country, and second, because it's Russia. […]

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Angola: Kitanda – A Gateway to the African “Lusosphere”

koluki · 22:42

lingua → pt

If you ever want to get your way into the African “lusosphere”, one of the best places to start is the blog “Kitanda” (“Marketplace” in Kimbundu, one of Angola's national languages).

Kitanda has become along the years, since its launch in 2004, an unavoidable reference in the “lusosphere”. Mainly dedicated to showcasing poetry written in Portuguese by authors from all lusophone countries, Kitanda also often offers a critical look at social and political events in those countries and internationally, all wrapped with evocative pictures, incidental music and, perhaps more importantly, a comprehensive blogroll of the “lusosphere”.

The attached post is just one example of its spirit. It presents the song “Luanda” and its lyrics, by Luanda’s hiphop group “Kalibrados”, expressing the sorrows and highs of Angola’s capital and its citizens. The song is particularly enriched by the use of a choral line from one of the pearls of Angolan music, “Monami” (”My Child” in Kimbundu) by a prominent Angolan singer, the late Lourdes Vandunem. Here’s the (possible) translation:

Fico malaíko com as cenas que constato
Queres ver Luanda, vê primeiro Ecos e Factos
Se água tem, energia não tem.
Se energia tem, água não tem,
nem tudo tá sebem.
A maioria não se importa é só tchillar
Sexta farrar,
sábado no bar,
segunda a kubar.
E Luanda vai morrendo lentamente.
Sem jovens para erguer uma capital diferente.
Se não formos nós, quem fará por nós?
O estrangeiro explora e foge
nunca querer saber de nós.
Não há estrilho, para tudo existe um prazo.
Nossa existência não é obra do acaso.
Digam de que forma a gente vai criticar,
vai relatar, não só Luanda,
Angola vai mudar.

Só a mudança para sarar minha ferida,
ua ué Luanda, amor da minha vida.

Essa é a minha, a tua, a nossa, vossa banda.
Essa é a minha, a tua, a nossa, vossa Luanda.

A preto e branco, como vês, nua e crua,
crua e nua,
conclusões efectua
O kimbundo? nana.
O português? Fala-se mal!
Não é normal,
em termos de linguagem, tá-se mal.
Luz, niente, água, niente.
É melhor eu me calar para não ser inconveniente.
O tempo da TPA, quase todo já foi-se.
Porque quase todos têm em casa, a Multichoice.
Channel O, MTV, KTV, CBC, SIC, Globo, RTPI.
Sim, a globalização tem força,
vemos outras culturas e esquecemo-nos da nossa.
Tu vês que eu não falo a toa.
Roulottes em Luanda é tipo cafés em Lisboa.
Reparem só, analisem com atenção:
sobre o preço da gasolina, sobre o preço do pão.
Sobe quase tudo, só o salário que não.
Bwé de makas, bwé de estrilhos, bwé de kilingas mayuya.

Mas mesmo assim, minha Luanda kuia.
Mas ‘inda assim, minha Luanda kuia.
Mas mesmo assim, minha Luanda kuia.
Mas ‘inda assim, minha Luanda kuia.

Bem-vindo a Luanda, a cidade que acontece,
onde todos são pausados, todos são kaenches,
onde há bwé de problemas, mas ninguém tá preocupado.
Muitos passam fome, mas tão sempre bem grifados.
Não há retalhos, problemas é a grosso.
Tá na moda formar grupo e dar com catana nos outros.
Tem dicas para rir, tem dicas pra chorar.
E o Luandense até nos óbitos, gosta de se mostrar.
Isso é Luanda, ninguém respeita nada.
Com conversa, não se entendem,
só se entendem com porrada.
Fico malaíko com o clima da cidade,
na porta da discoteca, todos são celebridade
Ninguém pode esperar, todo mundo quer ser visto.
“Hey brother, sou VIP”. Comé, brother, evita isso!
Esse mambo tá empestado de ilusão,
Luanda é uma selva onde todos querem ser o leão.

I get malaiko (dazed) with the scenes I get
You want to see Luanda, see first Echoes and Facts
If there’s water, there’s no energy.
If there’s energy, there’s no water,
not everything’s alright.
The majority doesn’t care, its just chill
Friday party,
Saturday bar
Monday kubar (sleep).
And Luanda is slowly dying.
Without young blood to build a different capital.
If it’s not us, who will do it for us?
The foreigner exploits and runs away
never cares about us.
There’s no trouble, for everything there’s a time.
Our existence is not by chance.
Tell us how we will criticise, report,
not only Luanda,
Angola will change. Only change can heal my wound,
ua ué (lament) Luanda, love of my life.
That’s mine, yours, ours, your banda (“hood”/place).
That’s mine, yours, ours, your Luanda.
In black and white, as you see,
nude and crude,
crude and nude,
affects conclusions
Kimbundo? Nope.
Portuguese? Badly spoken!
It ain’t normal, in language terms, we’re in bad shape.
Light, none, water, none.
Better I shut up not to be inconvenient.

All TPA (Angolan Public Television) time is almost gone.
’Cause everybody’s got at home, the Multichoice.
Channel O, MTV, KTV, CBC, SIC, Globo, RTPI.
Yes, globalization is strong,
we see other cultures
and forget about ours.
See, I don’t speak just for speak’s sake.
Roulottes in Luanda is kind of cafés in Lisbon.
Just look, pay attention:
to the price of fuel, to the price of bread.
Everything’s going up, only the salary not.
Bwé (lots) of makas (disputes),
Bwé of estrilhos (problems),
Bwé de kilingas mayuya (crazy stuff).

But even so, my Luanda kuia (thrills).
But still, my Luanda kuia.
But even so, my Luanda kuia.
But still, my Luanda kuia.

Welcome to Luanda, the city that happens,
where everybody’s paused, all are cool,
Where there’s bwé of problems, but nobody’s troubled.
Many go hungry, but are always designer dressed.
There’s no piecemeal, problems are in bulk.
It’s fashionable to form groups
and attack others with machettes.
There’s dicas (tips) for laugh, there’s dicas for cry.
And the Luandense even in mourning likes to show off.
This is Luanda, nobody respects nothing.
With talk they don’t understand each other,
only with fight.

I get malaiko with the city’s vibe,
on the club’s door, everybody’s a celebrity
Nobody can wait, everybody wants to be seen.
“Hey brother, I’m VIP”. How’s it, brother, forget about it!
That mambo (thing) is pestered by illusion.
Luanda is a jungle where everybody wants to be the lion.

10 comments · »»

Arabeyes: Reversing the Greenhouse Effect in Egypt

Amira Al Hussaini · 22:25

What will you do if you could reverse the adverse results of the Greenhouse Effect and make your country at least 5 degrees Celsius cooler? Bent Masreya, from Egypt, addresses this issue in the following translation.

It can indeed work out only if people pooled in and donated money to grow forests. The trees, in turn, will absorb Carbon Dioxide and emit Oxygen, making the world a better place and summers more bearable. However, it is not as simple as it sounds, explains the blogger, whose name means Egyptian Girl.

أنا سمعت النهاردة فى الراديو، دكتور بيتكلم عن الاحتباس الحراري، طبعا الموضوع ده ابتدا يطفو على السطح وبشكل ما الناس ابتدت تعرف عنه، كلام صح او كلام غلط، طراطيش كلام او معلومات تفصيلية المهم ان مصطلح الاحتباس الحرارى، او الانحباس الحرارى اصبح مصطلح متداول بدرجة ما.

المهم الدكتور ده كان بيتكلم عن خطورة الاحتباس الحراري، ما علينا مش هنقعد نشرح المصيبة اللى مستنية كوكب الارض وسكانه لما تزيد درجة حرارة الأرض، ولا التلج اللى هيدوب ومستوى المياه اللى هيزيد واليابس الى هيغرق ويختفى تحت سطح البحر - بما فيهم خمس جزر فى الهند راحوا خلاص بسبب الاحتباس، ولا هنتكلم عن تأثيره على بقاء حيوانات او حشرات بعينها ولا ان نوع الحرب فى المستقبل هتكون على المية وكده

I was listening to the radio today when I heard a doctor talking about the Greenhouse Effect. Of course, this is a topic which has surfaced a lot lately and people have started to know more about it. What people know might be true or utter nonsense; it could be detailed information or bits and pieces from here and there. Nevertheless, the greenhouse effect is a phenomena which has become common.

اللى لفت نظرى - بعد ما انا مخضوضة من خطورة الموضوع ده - ان الدكتور قال اننا ممكن فى مصر ننجح فى تخفيض درجة الحرارة خمس درجات.. ازاى بأه؟ هو قال ان كل مصري لو دفع جنيه واحد نقدر بتمن الجنية نشترى عشر شجرات جازورين، الشجرة منهم ببريزة.. الشجر ده بيكبر بسرعة ومساحة الاخضر بتاعته كبيرة وبيمتص كميات هائلة من ثانى اكسيد الكربون وينتج لنا الاكسجين بالمقارنة بغيره من الشجر.. لو المصريين باه دفعوا كل واحد من جيبه جنيه وابتدينا نشترى الشجر ده ونزرعة حوالين المدن - سياج اخضر - هو قال اننا محتاجين كام مليون شجرة، انا مش فاكرة الرقم بالظبط، بس يعنى دى الشجرة بعشرة صاغ

What drew my attention - I am still in shock because of the danger of the topic - is that the doctor said that we in Egypt can succeed in lowering temperatures by five degrees. How is that possible? He said that if every Egyptian paid an Egyptian pound (US $0.175), we can purchase trees which grow really fast and which can expand the greenery in our country. This plant absorbs great quantities of Carbon Dioxide and emit more Oxygen in comparison to other trees. If Egyptians donated money and we grew those trees around cities to create a greenbelt, we can solve the problem. I can't remember how many millions of trees he said were needed but this tree is better than 10 others.

يعنى احنا نقدر نساهم فى معالجة الاحتباس الحرارى ونقدر ننزل درجة حرارة مصر خمس درجات لو الشعب المصري زرع حوالين بلاده شجر من ابو بريزة
طيب ايه المشكلة فى ان دا يتحقق؟
هو انا مش عايزة ابقى متشائمة، بس بجد لو دا حل ياريت نقدر نعمله وماتوقفناش مشاكل من نوع.. اننا كشعب معندناش ثقافة التبرع، اعتقد ان بشىء من الوعى الناس هتقدر وبدل ما الواحد يدفع جنيه هيدفع عشرة فبدل ما الواحد يجب عشر شجرات يجيب مية..
المشكلة التانية ان الموضوع ممكن ينزل كمشروع تحت رعاية وزارة الزراعة او تكون هى مسئولة عنه اول عن اخر، ودى مصيبة لأن المشروع كده هيبوظ، لو مش بسبب السرقة يبقى بسبب البيروقراطية، يبقى الافضل ان جمعية تتعمل عشان تحقق الهدف ده، الجمعية تبقى مسئولة بس عن زراعة شجر الجازورين حوالين مصر.. ودى عملية فيها العمر كله

This means we can solve the problems associated with the Greenhouse Effect and can reduce the temperatures in Egypt by 5 degrees if each one planted those 10 cent plants around our cities. So what is stopping this from happening?

I don't want to sound pessimistic but seriously, I hope we would be able to implement this solution and not exacerbate this issue by side problems such as the fact that we are a nation of people who don't have a culture of volunteering. I feel with a little bit of awareness, people will be able to contribute and instead of paying a Pound, they will pay 10 and instead of planting 10 trees, we will have a 100.

The second problem is that this project maybe launched under the patronage of the Agriculture Ministry or it may be responsible for it from the beginning to the end. This will be a real catastrophe because a project like this will be ruined - if not from thefts, then from bureaucracy. The best solution is for a society to be formed for this purpose - to grow trees around cities - and this could be its lifelong mission.

ثالثا، ممكن تتفتح سوق سودة لشجرة الجازورين، فيزيد تمنها بشكل سعارى لربع جنيه ، او يزيد بشكل اسطورى تراجيدي احتكارى لعشرة جنيه مثلا.. كارثة فعلا، بس ساعتها ممكن ندخل فى دوامة منع الاحتكار والمحاكم والقواضى وكده ، بس ربنا معان

Thirdly, a new black market may open up for such trees.This will make their prices leap to a quarter of a Pound or it can tragically increase to 10 Pounds. This will be a tragedy when it happens but we can all then go through the motions of breaking the monopoly, courts and trials. May Allah (God) be with us.

رابعا، هنحتاج اعداد كبيرة من الشباب اللى ممكن يساعد فى زراعة ورعاية الشجر ده لحد ما يكبر ويتولى مسئولية نفسه… طبعا لو فتحنا باب التطوع مش هنلم اكتر مية ميتين فرد، اممم بس ممكن نشتغل الطلبة بتوع المدارس الثانوى والكليات فى النوع ده من التعاون والمجهود الوطنى الاجتماعى البيئوى.. والافضل طبعا انهم يحصلوا عى مكافئات عشان نقدرنلاقى عدد كبير من الشباب المستعد يقضى وقت ومجهود فى الحكاية دى.. طبعا مكافئاتهم محتاجة تبرع من ناس تانية . هاها

The fourth point is that that we will need a large number of youth who are able to help in planting the trees and caring for them until they grow and manage on their own. Also, if we open the door for volunteers, we will only attract a 100 to 200 people maximum. emmm… But we can get students from high schools and universities involved in this type of environmental work and it would of course be better if we gave them incentives to encourage them to exert their time and effort in such a project. This will also need people to dig deep into their pockets again.. haha

خامسا، طيب نروح لمين عشان ناخد منه فلوس؟ طلاب المدارس والجامعات… اصحاب السيارات، كل واحد يدفع تمن كام شجرة تمتص الرصاص اللى بيخرج من عربيته، نقف لهم فى اشارات المرور مثلا، الناس فى المستشفيات هيبقوا حابين يتبرعوا ولو بجنيه ويدعوا ربنا يشفيهم بالصدقة الجارية دى.. الكام واربعين ألف بنى ادم مصري اللى على فيس بوك.. انتو.. انا.. مين كمان؟
انا عايزة اخفض حرارة مصر خمس درجات

The fifth point is who to ask for money? School and university students? People with cars? Shall we ask everyone with a car to pay for the fumes coming out of their cars? Do we stand for them next to traffic lights? People in hospitals may also want to donate so that we pray for them for better health as well as the 40,000 Egyptians on Face Book? You? Me? Who else?

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Chile: Oil Spill Affects Livelihood of Fishermen

Rosario Lizana · 22:11

lingua → zhs · zht · pt

Three hundred and fifty liters of oil were spilled in Bahia San Vicente in Talcahuano. As Ecologia y Patrañas Diversas (ES) explains, the spillage happened when the ship New Constellation under the flag of the Marshall Islands and operated by Ultramar, while unloading fuel for the National Enterprise of Petrol, Enap. The accident happened on May 25.

To understand who were responsible for the accident, the Public Prosecutor's Office is working on the case. The online newspaper, El Ciudadano (ES) posts that the accident was due to a breakdown in the pipe on the property of Enap (ES), National Enterprise of Petrol. In the meantime, SAG (Agricultural and Livestock Service) is working to rescue, rehabilitate, wash, and relocate the birds to a safe area. More than 200 birds are being attended to at a clinic in the same location.

The environment and the fishermen in the area have been the most affected. As Sergio Leiva (ES) explains, the Enap company hired 50 fishermen to help with the labor of cleaning the area, because it is now impossible for the fishermen to work. Up until now, it is said that 85% of the area is now clean. The port authority developed a plan to recover the petrol and to build barriers to slow down the damage. Mauricio Barrientos (ES) wrote that the damage will remain for 15 years. Also, that there are some groups of students helping to clean the area.

0 comments · »»

Poverty in Morocco, and a Moroccan Family Living in a Toilet

Jillian York · 22:07

A BBC article about a Moroccan family living in a toilet as well as a blogger's experience with smelly bus rides (Knarf in the City: “Rush Hour“) sparked a discussion about poverty in Morocco.

Cat in Rabat remarked upon unpleasant smelling classes, and continued:

Having said that, the children and their clothes were, at least, superficially clean and always wore their ‘Sunday best'; in fact, they often wore the same outfit every class probably because they only owned one set of decent clothes.

Why did they smell? Many of Morocco's poor rely on a weekly trip to the hammam (public bath) to get scrubbed and scoured and splashed clean…

The blogger quoted an earlier post from The Morocco Report in which the worst jobs in Morocco were discussed, naming “hammam attendant” as #1:

Imagine scrubbing the dead skin off human bodies all day long, sitting in wet clothes and sweat, pausing only for a sip of water or an orange, because for every body you scrub, you might get ten or twenty dirhams. Such is the life of a hammam worker.

Cat in Rabat transitioned into a discussion about the aforementioned BBC article…

…A family of toilet squatters who were barricaded from their ‘home' (a home replete with a noxious zoo of various vermin and god-knows what airborne distempers) with cement and concrete. Why such draconian measures? What was their crime? - Mr. Baja had had the effrontery to go to the press seeking assistance in raising public awareness to their plight. Blocking access to the toilets was a bit of a double whammy: not only is a family now out on the street, but Mr. Baja no longer has the means to earn his bread - a living which had hitherto been less than $30.00 a month.

And Mr. Baja? - he just wants to get the hell out of Dodge. Of course, he has no money and no way of acquiring the legal means to emigrate so, instead, he's considering crossing the Straits of Gibraltar in the rusty hull of a freighter (which will probably be apprehended) or in a rickety fishing boat (which will probably capsize). He has run out of alternatives.

The Morocco Report also blogged the story, saying:

Anyhow, after that there’s the poor. Not a whole lot of in-between. The poor sometimes live in the medina homes their families have owned for literally hundreds of years, usually without modern plumbing, sometimes without electricity. Other times they live in shanty towns or slums, with corrugated metal roofs held down by rocks. And then there are the homeless.

Daniel Sturgis: The Struggling Beach Buggy Travel Writer in Morocco had a different take on the article:

I wouldn't put too much stock in what the “toilet guy” says. Perhaps, events in some form or another like he said might have happened. I doubt he'd pass a lie detector test on all the facts however.

First of all, what are these toilets and how did he get his job? Likely, he came off the street and worked for tips, one of countless toilet people who leave a dish for tips on a rickety wooden chair outside public toilets. Inside, the toilets always seem to remain filthy and stinking. The “toilet cleaners” don't put their “not so hard” earned money to good use and invest in a bottle of bleach every so often.

In a final comment about poverty in Morocco, I will share this poignant comment from Everything Morocco posted at The Morocco Report:

Having lived in Fez medina for a long time now, I have to comment on this matter of people smelling bad or clothes not being clean - and pardon me if this gets long.

First, not all homes have water or can afford it if they do, so the family carries it to the house from the public fountain - my neighborhood is an example. Public water is free. Nor do they have washing machines (or laundromats) so all clothes are scrubbed by hand - at the public fountain. Everything is done at that fountain that can be done to stretch the family’s income.

Deodorant at 30 dh minimum per can is a whole day’s wages for an illiterate unskilled laborer. Food - or deodorant? Also, when I lived in Germany in the 80s, the buses were as rank as any here and that’s because they just didn’t want to buy a cosmetic product they considered luxurious.

Soap is cheap, yes, but again, cold water and a bucket at the public fountain - and wearing the same clothes you’ve worn all week anyway. Maybe the only clothes you own. And even if you have two sets, how much work can a woman raising a family of four, five or six kids handle anyway? And all that washing wears the clothes out faster and they may not have the money to replace them.

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Chávez, Lula and the media: is it a samba or a waltz?

Jose Murilo Junior · 15:30

lingua → pt

It was a funny week that passed by here in Brazil, in the wake of the implementation of the Chávez government decision not to renew the broadcasting license of Radio Caracas Television. The Brazilian Senate debated the issue in one of its sessions this week and decided to ask the Venezuelan regime to reconsider the decision. Chávez, in one of his more peculiar speeches, said Brazilian senators “are a parrot that repeats whatever Washington says”, and warned that “it's easier for the Portuguese empire to retake Brazil than for Venezuela to return the television license which finished with Venezuela's oligarchy”. As a result Lula decided to summon Venezuela's ambassador in Brazil to explain Chávez's comments, and that was the signal big media outlets were waiting for in order to spread the word about the much anticipated presidential clash. We should ask: what is the real line in this three partner dance between Chávez, Lula and the media? Brazilian bloggers tell us, from one side to the other, and in the middle.

Chavez Lula

(more…)

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