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June 20th, 2007
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Arabeyes: World Refugee Day - Focus on Iraq
As the world marks the World Refugee Day today, the Middle East finds itself again at the centre of a mounting humanitarian tragedy.
A UN report blames the war in Iraq for boosting the number of refugees to 14 million worldwide. This figure includes 4.3m Palestinians (and their offspring) who were displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
“The number of refugees worldwide has risen for the first time in five years, largely because of violence in Iraq, according to a United Nations report.
The total number of refugees rose by more than 14% last year to nearly 10 million, the UN refugee agency says.
The number of internally displaced people also reached a record high of almost 13 million, the report says.
(Besides Iraq, conflicts in Lebanon, East Timor, Sudan and Sri Lanka were blamed for the rise in refugee numbers.
The figures released by the UN do not include some 4.3m Palestinians (including those born in exile) displaced since 1948 as a result of the conflict with Israel,” reports the BBC.
The war on Iraq alone has resulted in 4.4m refugees and Internally Displaced People.
‘”The situation in Iraq continues to worsen, with more than 2 million Iraqis now believed to be displaced inside Iraq and another 2.2 million sheltering in neighbouring states,” the UNHCR statement said.
According to government figures, some 1.4 million Iraqis are now in Syria, up to 750,000 in Jordan, 80,000 in Egypt and some 200,000 in the Gulf region. Syria alone receives a minimum of 30,000 Iraqis a month.
“The number of Iraqis fleeing to neighbouring countries remains high,” the UN agency said,' says Reuters.
What is the blogosphere's take on this tragedy?
State of Despair:
Zeyad from Healing Iraq posts three videos filmed for Dateline (09/05/07) by Australian SBS highlighting the plight of three Iraqi families who fled the carnage to nearby Jordan.
“You won't see this on American TV. It's heartbreaking, but these are just the stories of three families, out of millions,” he notes.
Warning: Some of the images may be disturbing.
Iraqi Refugees in Syria:
Alive in Baghdad posts this video, explaining why Iraqis are fleeing to Syria.
The international press is again highlighting the growing Iraqi refugee crisis. There are at least 4.2 million Iraqis displaced from their homes, with 2.2 million now believe to be outside Iraq. The UN has now warned the number should be expected to rise to 5 million displaced Iraqis in the near future.
Ian Mather writes in the Scotsman that this exodus now exceeds the displacement of Palestinians in 1948, and is the greatest exodus in the history of the region:
The flow of Iraqis fleeing sectarian violence in their homeland has risen to more than four million - the largest refugee crisis in the Middle East since the creation of Israel in 1948.
Syria, with porous borders and greater openness to Iraqis than its other Arab neighbors such as Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, is believed to have the largest number. According to Paul Cochrane of the Independent:
A major and growing refugee crisis is developing in Syria. More than 1.4 million Iraqis have fled there since the 2003 invasion, with about 30,000 more arriving every month.
Although the primary reasons for Iraqis fleeing their country are violence and insecurity, many are also looking for better health care and the chance for their children to have an education without the daily risks of traveling between home and school in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
Fleeing to Jordan:
Konfused Iraqi Kid writes that there are at least 750,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan.
“the Jordanian government signed an argeement with a Norwegian NGO, FAFO,to conduct a survey to estimate the actual number of Iraqi refugees in Jordan, the results are expected to be published next month, after fieldwork has been finished in April and May, according to the website of the NGO.
Usually, any story involving Iraqi refugees you read will tell you that there are about 750,000 Iraqis in Jordan and 1.5 million in Syria.
However, a source from the Norwegian NGO just told me that the initial results seem to indicate that the total number is much lower, almost half of that estimate in here (Jordan). With the strict rules applied by the government on Iraqis entering Jordan, as well as the high cost of living and inability to find work or residency, I don't find it surprising that the estimate is lower, but it's such a huge difference that I am still willing to wait for the official results,” he explains.
Fleeing to Kurdistan:
Alive in Baghdad updates us on the status of Iraqis fleeing to the Kurdish regions in this post, which features a video.
Arab Iraqis fleeing to Kurdistan have become an increasingly strong indication of the deteriorating situation in Baghdad. More than 30,000 Iraqis are believed to have fled their homes to Arbil in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region.
This week Isam Rasheed takes us to Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region and one of many cities in Kurdistan now brimming with refugees fleeing violence in the south.
The hardships expressed by two families in this episode are just a small indication of the difficulties Iraqis are finding in their new home. According to Ron Redmond, a spokesman for UNHCR, “Those who have fled are becoming increasingly desperate as they and their host communities run out of resources.”
Forget Baghdad:
Nadia N, an Iraqi living in Toronto, Canada, has dedicated a separate blog to document developments in the Iraqi refugee crisis. Aptly named Forget Baghdad, the blog has sadly not been updated for a while.
“this blog was created to highlight the challenges for iraqis seeking asylum outside of iraq as well as its internally displaced people and current diaspora. it was started out of concern for what i feel is a very underdiscussed issue, one whose urgency is growing exponentially as the war goes on. as iraq has become one of the most dangerous countries to live in in the world iraqis hoping to leave face exceptional challenges, not only due to a trend of european countries in recent years to tighten their immigration policies but also because of a refusal of many countries to acknowledge that iraq is a country at war, which complicates the status of those that are seeking refuge,” explains Nadia.
Help Iraqi Refugees:
From Egypt, Issandr El Amrani urges readers to pressure the US government to do more for Iraqi refugees.
“Refugees International is asking people to call the White House to ask them to increase the aid to Iraqi refugees to $290 million. Remember that, as we noted recently in a post on a recent Brooking report on Iraq’s refugee crisis, the US has given refugee status to only about 800 Iraqis since 2003, although new legislation will increase that to a still measly 7,000,” he explains.
Blame the US:
According to Shamhita, the US-led wars in the region continue to the mounting tragedy.
One of the less talked about side effects of the unjust and continued US led military campaign in Iraq is the subsequent displacement of people, mostly women and children, that are forced to flee from persecution and become refugees in neighboring countries. According to a study produced by the United Nations, the current number of refugees world-wide has risen for the first time in 5 years.
The total number of refugees rose by more than 14% last year to nearly 10 million, the UN refugee agency says. The number of internally displaced people also reached a record high of almost 13 million, the report says. Besides Iraq, conflicts in Lebanon, East Timor, Sudan and Sri Lanka were blamed for the rise in refugee numbers.
Furthermore, this doesn't include the 4.3million Palestinians currently displaced as well.
The report said the conflict in Iraq was largely responsible for the rise. Some 1.5m Iraqis are now estimated to be living as refugees in other countries, mostly neighbouring Syria and Jordan.
Considering that the next largest group of refugees are from Afghanistan, I think it is pretty safe to say that US military campaigns, not only kill people, but also displace them. But the bigger question for me is, what are the consequences of this displacement? What happens to people when they are forced to leave the place they know as home, go homeless, run in fear and look for protection from neighboring states, where the economy can rarely sustain them?
While our “leaders” sit pretty with greedy fists full of food.
Korea: “No Bare Feet in Slippers. No Sportswear or Shorts”
A Korean university put this warning on a business school building. Students have reacted sharply. They say it is excessive control by the school. A school representative clarified that the intention of the warning was to teach the next generation’s business leaders about etiquette.
Some bloggers criticize students’ criticisms of the school.
이번 사건에도 역시 뉴스 헤드라인만 보고 달려드는 불나방 같은 사람들이 많은 것 같다..
“대학의 자율”이라는 일차적인 명제에만 관심을 기울인다..
“대학은 배우는 곳이고, 대학생도 학생이다.” 이 명제에 대해서는 별로 생각해 보는 경우가 없어 보인다..
저 발표를 비판하기 전, 과연 “경영대”와 “경영대가 무엇을 배우는 곳인가” 를 생각해 보는 것이 선행되어야 할 것이다..
그 비판의 근거를 “대학”에서만 생각해 보지 말고, “경영대”라는 범주로 구체화하여 객관적으로 평가해 보면 생각이 달라질 수도 있다..내가 저 제제를 찬성하는 이유는 대학의 자율과 학생의 자율 이전에 배움의 자세가 우선되어야 한다고 생각하기 때문이다.. 또한 그 학과에 맞는 아이덴터티 역시 간과해서는 안 된다고 여기고 있기 때문이기도 하다..
연극영화과나 디자인 학부의 학생들을 보면 심하다 싶을 정도로 피어싱, 악세사리, 노출을 하는 경우가 많다..
하지만 우리는 이것을 나무라지 않는다..
그가 예술을 전공하는 학생이고, 자신의 신체를 꾸미는 것 역시 예술에 있어 절대적으로 중요한 창의성 발현이기 때문이다..
그들의 화려한 외모가 “연극영화과 이니까.” 라고만 생각했다면 “대학의 본질은 자유뿐이다.” 라는 주장 만큼 단순한 것 아닌가?손태원 경영대학장이 밝힌 제제 사유는 다음과 같다..
미래의 경영자가 될 경영학도들에게 공공장소에 알맞은 에티켓을 상기시키고 이를 지키도록 하자는 취지에서 안내문을 붙인 것이다.이게 싸구려 옹고집이나 학자로서의 보수적 마인드라고 폄하할 수 있을까?
경영대가 무엇을 배우는 곳인가?
당신은 당신 스스로가 경영대 나와서 그와 상관없는 분야에서 일하거나, 심지어 노가다나 뛰는 밑바닥 인생일 수도 있다고 여길 지 모르지만,
교수님들 생각은 다르다..
제자들 하나 하나가 모두 이 나라 기업들의 경영자가 될 것이란 가정으로 지식을 전수하시는 것이며, 가르치는 입장에서 저런 의식은 매우 중요하다..
그런 대단하고 소중한 제자들에게 좀 더 일찍 경영자로서의 마인드를 심어주겠다는데, 이게 무작정 욕만 할 꺼리인가?저 제제가 공대나 예술대에서 언급되었다면 반대했을 것이다..
하지만, 경영대라는 학문적 고유성을 감안하면 충분히 납득할 수 있는 조치이다..
더불어, 슬리퍼에 반바지 끌고 다니는 자유를 주장하는 경영대 학생회의 철부지들에게 묻고 싶다..
슬리퍼에 반바지를 신는 자유도 자유냐?
The reason why I approve of this regulation is that there should be the attitude of learning prior to college freedom and freedom of students. In addition, we should not disregard identity corresponding to school departments.
If you see students at drama and movie schools or design schools, it’s easy to run into students who look very distinctive, through accessories and piercing. But we don’t blame them. Because they study art, decorating themselves is important artistically and it is the manifestation of creativity. If we regard their appearance as students from drama and movie schools, it would be as simple as we think “the nature of college is freedom.’
The reason why the head of the business school made the decision on the regulation is explain below.
He wanted to let students at the business school know they should recognize appropriate etiquette, as people who will be future business managers. Can we belittle for cheap bigotry or having a conservative mind as a scholar? What do students at business school learn? They learn human relations…
You students can work in a place which is not related to your major. But professors’ ideas are is different. As the people who convey knowledge, each student is important. How can we blame those who would like to instill a business mindset in precious students?
If the regulation was on students at engineering or art schools, I would be against it. But it is understandable why the school made it for the business school. I would like to ask the business school students who insist on the freedom of shuffling around in slippers and shorts. Is that real freedom?
Another blogger commented,
물론 더우니까 그럴수 있겟죠 그런데 학교측에서 얘기하는건 아마 강의 들으러갈때겠죠?
대학이란게 자유의 상징 아닐까요? 라고 말하는 사람들이 많더군요
지킬게 많아지는게 당연한거 아닐까요
강의시간에 맨발 슬리퍼는 좀 아니죠
A blogger, Photohistory, joked that the school ought to be run explicitly as a traditional school.
참 어이가 없다. 지금 고등학생들 두발 규제한다는 사고방식조차도 맘에 안드는데 다큰 성인인 대학생들 복장규제까지 하려는 모습 이건 아니라고 생각이든다
왜 고등학생들에게 두발 규제를 하는가? 머리 빡빡 깎아 놓으면 탈선 하기 힘들거라서 그런다구? 그래도 할놈은 가발써가면서 한다. 그게 단지 머리 때문에 못한다는 생각은 단체포적 생각 아닌가 그리고 대학생들 복장규제는 뭔가. 자율의 대명사의 대학이란 곳을 이렇게 고등학교식 가르침으로 할려는것인가?
반바지 입고 슬리퍼 끌고 오는건 그 사람 인격이다. 그 복장이 남을 불쾌하게 하거나 불편함을 준다는것은 너무 자의적인 해석이다. 반바지와 양말없는 샌들같은거 신고 다닌다고 누군가는 불편하고 불쾌하겠지만 누군가에겐 시원하게 보인다고 칭찬받을수 있는 일이다. 그걸 교직원 눈으로 규제한다는 발상 자체가 문제다.
물론 너무 노출이 심한 의상은 피해야할것이다. 공부하러 도서실에 온건지 자기 몸매 자랑할려고 온건지 구분 못하는 학생들도 있기는 하다. 하지만 누구 한명 다가가서 생판 모르는 사람이 너 옷 꼬라지가 이게 뭐냐. 니가 술집 여자냐? 라고 말할수 있는가? 사람들은 말은 안하고 그 차림새로 사람을 판단할 뿐이고 그것도 각자 몫일것이다
노출이 심한걸 금지라는 단어보단 자제해 달라는 캠페인으로 해야 옳았을것이다. 강제적으로 출입금지란 푯말을 쓸것은 아니라고 본다.
차라리 한양대생들에게 교복을 입고 다니라고 해라. 고등학교처럼 말이다.대학생에게 자율과 창의력을 길려줘야할 대학에서 사회에 잘 길들여지고 복종하는 인간형을 대량복제하는 시스템은 이런 학교 교직원과 교수들이 만들어 내고 있다고 본다.
그리고 요즘 대학생들 노출이 심하긴 심하다. 뭐라고 크게 할수는 없을것이다. 지들 입고 싶은대로 입는데 뭐라고 할건 아니지만 나는 학생이라는 개념은 가방안에 챙기고 다니길 바란다.
It depends on people whether they wear shorts and slippers. The outfit might make some people not comfortable and unpleasant. Others can think that it looks cool and they might compliment them. The problem is that the school interprets it as teaching staff’s minds. Of course, excessive exposure should be avoided. For some students it is hard to understand what their real purposes are at the library, whether they would like to study or to show off their body figure. But can people come close to the student whom they don’t know and say ‘what’s wrong with your clothes? Are you working at a bar?” People don’t say anything. We just judge them. That also depends on individuals.
The school should have made a campaign that appeals the students not to have excessive exposure. It should not have made the warning sign to control it. Then the school should have had school uniforms. Like high school.
Colleges should raise freedom and creativity among students. But school staff and professors try to make youngsters who can be obedient to society. I know college students now are rather excessive in their dressing. But what can we do? We can’t scold them, but I hope that they sometimes think about their status as students.
그래, 슬리퍼는 소리 딱딱 나고 질질 끌리는 소리때문에 그렇다고 치자. 반바지에 운동화가 왜 단정하지 않는건데? 무조건 긴바지에 운동화를 신어야 당연한건가?…무슨 고등학교도 아니고… 슬리퍼는 그렇다고 쳐도 반바지 건은 아니야. 마음대로 옷입을 수있는 권리를 해치다니, 기본권 침해야!
Turkey is Typing…Sex Matters
The equality of the sexes has been a topic on the fingertips of Turkish bloggers as of late. Even with reforms to the penal code about a woman's right to veil (or not to), a woman's freedom of body, and stricter repercussions for rape, the equality between man and woman in Turkey is still contested. The legacy of Ataturk's secular reforms when the Republic of Turkey was founded has given the country the veneer of female equality…but with probing questions does the polish wear away?
Mustafa Akyol from The White Path has a wonderful set of articles on the post-patriarchal society of Turkey, where he discusses the history of Turkish feminism and why it has been stunted by the very reforms that were meant to foster it.
When I told her that I was reading a report which shows that Turkey is making great progress in women's rights and the AKP government is helping that, she was first surprised, then defiant, and finally counter-attacking. “Who is financing that report,” she asked, “it must be the EU who spreads these lies.”
By saying so, she was just confirming to me a crucial point made in the ESI report – that, “Kemalist women… are the out of touch with the reality of contemporary Turkey.”
To understand why, one needs to look at a bit of history. A standard story in Turkey is that our women were in total darkness before Atatürk, and his reforms gave them all that they needed. But that is a half-truth. Atatürk of course made many important reforms, but there are other facts which one needs to realize in order to get the sex matters right.
One of those facts is the feminist movement in the pre-Atatürk, i.e., Ottoman, era. As the ESI report also notes, Ottoman feminists – such as Ms. Fatma Nesibe, who used to quote from John Stuart Mill and argue for a “feminine revolution” – addressed the gender gap much before the Turkish Republic. In the last decade of the Ottoman Empire, societies emerged with names like Taal-i Nisvan or Müdafaa-i Hukuk-u Nisvan, or “The Advancement of Women” and “The Defense of the Rights of Women.”
When Atatürk came to power, he gave many important rights to women, but he did something that would be very harmful in the long term: He closed down these feminist clubs. Why? Well, it was due to the widespread belief at the time that the state should be the master of society and orchestrate it authoritatively. (For the same reason, Mustafa Kemal also banned Sufi orders and freemason lodges; civil society was considered dangerous or, at best, useless.)
Turkish Diary adds her voice in response to a recent article about women's rights in Turkey and how the debate between Secularism and Islamism figures into the situation:
What strikes me in the second chapter is the last part: one of the two periods in the whole history of the Turkish Republic when women saw major improvements starts in 2001. Which, as you know, is the period when the Akp, the “Islamist” party, went to power.
Please don't get me wrong. I know I may look like a fan of Akp. I'm not. I mean, I'm fully aware of their many faults - not only in the last weeks - and I know they are far from being the solution to Turkey's problems. But I must recognise Turkey has made lots of improvements under their rule.
Now that I have made this point clear, let me go back to the subject of this post. A couple of years ago, in Istanbul, I met the leader of a feminist organization. One of the things she said that stroke me most was: “There are two kinds of discriminated women in Turkey: those who don't want to wear the headscarf, and are forced to; and those who want to wear the headscarf, and are forced not to”.
Of course, one could think that a headscarf is just a piece of tissue and that women have far worse problems to think of. But don't forget that Atatürk, just to abolish the fez, didn't hesitate to kill the men who wore it. For women who wear the headscarf, this may mean not having access to university. Or renouncing a political career. Is this fair?
Now, I have heard many arguments against the Islamic headscarf in public places. None of them ever convinced me, in Turkey or in France. While I heard women who are against the scarf but, in spite of that, think that the France law against it is one of the most stupid things the French government could have done. One of them is Nobel Prize (winner) Shirin Ebadi. I agree one hundred per cent with them.
I won't go into details on this specific issue, I only want to point out that the “Islamist” party many are so afraid of is the one that, according to a European think-tank, has made the biggest improvements in the condition of women ever.
Spooky Sense by Garfucius doesn't hold back his opinions on what it means when a woman voluntarily wears the veil or turban:
covering up makes woman socially recognizable namely by the sexual favors her gender implies. conversely, covering up is the only way she can avoid being just that. a woman covers up because she believes she then stops being a sexual entity, except for the husband/male who practically owns her. concealment denies any “illicit” man, driven only by sex in the hermeneutics of his life, a chance to conceive of her as an instrument to be enjoyed. a türban signifies that a woman willingly submits to an oppressive dress code because she agrees to the hermeneutics that she is by nature and god's will, afflicted with the curse of representing a sexual being, or a being only definable by her sexuality!
in iran or saudia, such acquiescence may be coerced out of women. in turkey, in a much worse manner, it is quite often voluntary. “türban politics”, especially by men but by women, too, is an admission that the particular individual concerned with open vistas of the feminine is guided more by what lies between the legs than what lies between the ears. therefore, (s)he is dangerous for the mental health of the public in general.
i feel closer to the school of opinion that claims the türban and similar religious dress codes (***) will gradually fade away if not fade out, as modernization progresses. therefore, i believe gül's statement that “türban can be made more modern” does in fact, reveal a new concern among the religious “circles” that “modernity is necessary”.
In a slightly different twist, Me and Others writes about a disturbing conversation that he had with a male friend about his female boss:
today i was involved in a very interesting chat about a woman working in a client company of ours. the woman demands too much of a job in a needlesy short time which causes problems here. people sometimes work extra hours just to fulfill her (her company's actually) demands and it turns out that they need the end-product the next week.
so it was a complaining department that took place, and i think it is quite normal to criticize this situation. but all of a sudden the subject of the chat became the big round beautiful ass of the woman. well, to some extent i think it is perfectly ok for men to talk about the beautiful asses of women. after all, we cant deny, we men are animals.
but even though it was half joking, the conversation became ugly. one of the guys started to speak out what he would like to the with the woman. he said that the woman even hit on him once. i tried to remind him that she is married, and he replied “so what, i am married too.” and kept on talking about his fantasies about her.
Of course, this discussion of equality isn't on the forefront of all Turkish bloggers, let alone the female ones: Turkey and My Foreign Perspectives contends that there is equality and defends the rights and roles on the Turkish family, and our girls on the town Idil from Ignore Me If You Can and The Chronicles of a Turkish Girl talk about their active dating lives. So this leaves the question, is this an important debate or not? You tell me.
Top Links of the Week:
1. Ignore Me If You Can writes of a recent blogger meeting with Erkan's Field Diary and others.
2. Mavi Boncuk gives a review for a new book about Turkish society: The Person You Have Called Cannot Be Reached At The Moment.
3. Carpetblogger tackles the ceremonies for male circumcision in Turkey.
Myanmar: Birthday Wishes for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
This week, many Myanmar Bloggers are celebrating and sending their wishes for Burmese Opposition Leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's 62nd Birthday on the 19th June 2007.
For years, the country's famous pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has to celebrate her birthday under house arrest; every year people wishes for her release but till now all the wishes are in vain. It is agonizing to see years after years of her resistant and suffering for the faith of the country. Her persistent is deeply admired and the respect for her grows in the hearts of many Myanmar youth.
Aung San Suu Kyi (image byStephen Brookes)
Many of the bloggers have written the poems, essays, good will wishes and show her their earnest support.
Here are some of the posts of notice.
Poems:
- A Lotus in the Mud by Dr. Maung Maung Nyo
- Aunty Suu's Birthday By May Nyane
- Marthy's Voice by Nay Phone Latt
- Poem 1 | Poem 2 by Thandar
- 19 June 2007 by Tesla
Wishes:
- 62nd Birthday by Generation96
- 62nd Birthday Wish by May11
- To Mother by Klosayhtoo
- Peace be with you mother by Maydar-Wii
- Happy Birthday by TZA
- Happy Birthday Daw Suu by Yangon Thu
- Happy birthday to Aunty Su by Blog of Nyein Chan Yar
- Happy Birthday Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by thehimmoderator
Essays:
- Daw Suu's 62nd Birthday by Ka Daung Nyin Thar
- June 19 by Pu-htu-sin
It is interesting to see how people address her over the years. She was known as the Daughter of the Union of Myanmar, The Voice of Hope, The Lady and many other praises. For this 62nd Birthday, many bloggers addressed her as the Mother of the country.
Aung San Suu Kyi's Home at No 54 University Avenue in Yangoon. (image byStephen Brookes)
Meanwhile, Burmanet reported that the special reinforced securities have been applied near her house to control her birthday celebration.
Three NLD’s members who attended the celebration were arrested by authorities, he added.
Sources in Rangoon said that authorities began reinforcing security near Suu Kyi’s Inya lakeside residence and extended barbed wire
barricades on her street since Monday night.Other NLD members in Shwebo in Mandalay Division also were threatened by a military-backed mob that threw stones at the Mandalay
NLD office and placed sharp rivets that can puncture a motorbike’s tire on a road near the building, according to Tint Tint, an NLD
member.
For “The Lady” with prayers and wishes, hope you have a peaceful birthday.
Croatia: “Feral Tribune” Shuts Down
Last week, Croatian finance ministry froze bank accounts of the region's legendary political weekly, Feral Tribune, due to 68,000 Euros of tax debt, forcing the publication to close.
Founded in 1984, the Croatian-language magazine was not in the spotlight until Yugoslavia's collapse in the early 1990s. For the past 14 years, however, Feral Tribune has been reporting on the subjects that most other media did not dare approach - and has survived quite a number of lawsuits.
Here's how Ex-YU Press, a self-described “‘insider' source about the events in the former Yugoslavia,” characterized Feral Tribune:
[…] The magazine, to our knowledge, has no counterpart in the West. Its satire is too daring for mainstream advertisers, its reporting too uncompromising for mainstream politicians. Feral Tribune's mission is not merely to report news and entertain, but also to help turn its readers into better human beings!
[…]
In 2004 Feral Tribune sells about 30,000 copies per issue and boasts with almost fanatical readership in Croatia, abroad and all parts of the former Yugoslavia, readership that was prepared to pay court imposed fines and thereby save its magazine. Its editorial policy remains unpalatable for mainstream advertisers, which resulted in the demise of an attempt to publish a luxury color edition of the magazine. […]
As one commenter explained at Bosnia Vault, the magazine's current problems have to do with Croatia's taxation system - namely, the comparatively huge value-added tax (VAT) levied on newspapers:
It seems that Feral Tribune has a massive outstanding VAT bill. I find it difficult to credit that Croatia imposes 22% VAT on newspapers. In the UK books and newspapers are zero-rated for VAT. During the first half of the 19th century Britain had a newspaper tax which was considered a “tax on knowledge”. It would be very difficult for any politician to try and bring in that sort of levy again. It obviously promotes domination of the media by commercially successful publications that are less likely to challenge the rich and powerful.
Bosnia Vault had mentioned Feral Tribune in one of its past entries, too:
Combining satirical and analytical journalism, the basic message it proclaimed was that not all Croats were the same, set out to kill Muslims and Serbs. And not all Serbs were the same, set out to kill Croats.
Written at times in a deeply ironic prose, Feral Tribune utilize wit and common sense to talk about the war in a way that very few papers were capable of doing.
And here's an exchange between two Serbian bloggers that took place on B92 Blog (SRP) on June 15, 2007:
Jelica Greganovic:
Return Feral to us! Return Roby K. to me!
No Feral! No Roby K.! It is not published, and it is unknown whether it will be again. What will I read now? The only independent journal on the Balkans has now been silenced.
The Croatian ministry of finance waited for Roby K. around the corner and fleeced him. But, since Roby’s pockets were empty, […] the ministry blocked his bank account.
[…]
RETURN Feral TO ME!
Return my Croatian (and wider than that) journal, the journal of Croatian anarchists, protesters and heretics who are dear to God, but aren't hateful to the Devil, either.
P. S. The editor-in-chief of Feral Tribune - Roby K. ([Viktor Ivancic]) - received a Golden Pigeon Peace Prize (Colombe d'Oro per la Pace) in Rome last Wednesday. He said then: “… we who thought differently – there are no circumstances that can justify war crimes – were considered the nation's traitors. Here's how they treated us: police mistreatment, court persecutions, death threats, burnings of our newspaper. […] I want to say there are circumstances when national treason is not bad. Blind patriotism is never a good basis for making moralistic principles in a society. Just as the truth has no nationality, I think that honorable journalism has no nationality, either. […]”
Sentinel:
“Feral Tribune did not die the death of fascism, but was killed by free market.” (Danko Plevnik, “Slobodna Dalmacija,” 15.06.2007.)
Jelica Greganovic:
If the market is free, why then did the state forgive a tax debt to the witty [”Slobodna Dalmacija”] and other government newspapers, such as [“Vjesnik”], “The Croatian Voice” and the HRT [state TV channel]? Or is there a criterium, according to which only the government newspapers don't have to pay taxes - because they publish what the government likes?
Sentinel:
I really don’t know enough about the situation with their press. But I've read Danko’s column, and I'm shocked. Where is their solidarity? […]
Jelica Greganovic:
Feral is not a favorite of the state. For example, Croatian government wrote off a tax debt to “Slobodna Dalmacija” - 2,800,000 Euros. But it didn’t write off the 70,000 Euros that Feral owed and blocked its bank account and forcibly took the money from the sales of the magazine. Journalists have not been paid in two months. Writing off tax debts is only for the news outlets that are utterly in government property, as the HRT and “Vjesnik” are.
Links for Wed, 2007-06
ICT for Peacebuilding on the ban on Tamilnet in Sri Lanka. Lanka Libertarian on bypassing the ban.
Unfettered Dreams on the state of education in Sri Lanka, and the need for graduates who can perform.
The Pakistani Spectator on why the knighthood conferred upon Salman Rushdie is not acceptable.
Metroblogging Islamabad has an interesting primer for men looking to meet women in the city - venues range from coffee shops in book stores, gyms etc., with a note that the women you meet at parties may not be the ones you can “take home to mom”.
Blogger Ivan Henares from the Philippines is visiting Indonesia. Ivan writes about the largest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere, the Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Central Java.
“I picked up a piece and put it to my mouth, mildy surprised that the smell didn't put me off in the least. It was buttery, like the ripest, oiliest avocado mashed to the smoothest paste. I tasted a hint of butterscotch, a smidge of avocado, lots of sweetness, and something stronger, unidentifiable but not unpleasant.” Want to guess what South East Asian fruit the blogger is talking about.
Zhaomu blogs about a recent charity campaign in Wei-hai in Shandong province. Within 10 days, the city government managed to get RMB20 millions , and companies and corporates have agreed to donate 1 billion. The campaign is a most effective one. However, there are reports disclosing that ordinary workers are forced by danwei (work unit) to donate up to one third of their salary because of the campaign! (zh)The blogger invite discussion on this Chinese style charity campaign.
The blogger at 4896 bog does not know if he should laugh or cry at Malaysia Tourism director general's comments that Malaysia is safe for tourists.
Journalist and blogger Charles Levinson , who is based Jerusalem, narrates the story of a Fateh security guard who was shot by Hamas militants and rescued by a man in a donkey cart. Eight out of the guard's 12 companions were killed.
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