Archive for
May 6th, 2008
Stories
Russia: “The March, Sort Of”
The Russian opposition was to hold a protest rally on May 6 in Moscow, on the eve of Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration as president Vladimir Putin's replacement, but city officials refused to allow it - and leaders of the oppositional coalition, the Other Russia, ended up canceling the Dissenters' March at the last minute. Dozens of protesters were detained by police anyway.
LJ user drugoi, a top-ranking Russian blogger, posted photos as well as this description (RUS) of “the march, sort of”:
[photo]
This evening, by the monument to Griboedov at Chistye Prudy, 4,625 journalists and 8,416 policemen were waiting for the participants of the Dissenters' March, who, however, showed up from the opposite direction.
[photo]
A small group of 15-20 people gathered at Pokrovka and moved along Chistye Prudy towards the subway station, accompanied by a few photographers and cameramen.
[photo]
The police saw the group from afar and stopped it near the monument to a Kazakh [folk singer]. Just as I heard “grrrr… self-control and calmness… grhm-hm-gr…” coming through static noise from one riot cop's walkie-talkie, the opposition [protester] walking down the path were attacked from all sides.
[more photos and text]
LJ user kozenko posted an epitaph (RUS) to the Other Russia:
There was no Dissenters' March. The leaders vanished, and the activists carried out several small-scale and brief public disturbances in the city.
Well, the Other Russia, congratulations on your demise. Last year, it was fun with you, and even interesting. And at the start it even seemed that there was a future. But the finale turned out to be - forgive me - boring and embarrassing.
Amen.
Here is one exchange from the comment section to this post:
marchenk:
This post sounds like something written by an offended and disappointed viewer. As if you had bought tickets for this show. And the troupe ran away with you money. :)
kozenko:
This posts sounds like something written by an offended and disappointed person. Very disappointed, because none of the politicians in this country represents his interests. […]
Guatemala: Remembering Bishop Gerardi and His Report “Never Again!”
“Knowing the truth is painful, but it is a highly liberating action“
- Bishop Juan Gerardi on April 24, 1998
Ten years ago, Bishop Juan Gerardi released a report called “Guatemala, Never Again!,” which contained powerful testimonies of those forever affected by the armed conflict in Guatemala. The report provided graphic details and specific names of those who committed these crimes, and as a result, ultimately cost Bishop Gerardi his life. He was killed approximately 50 hours after the release of the report. A decade later, Guatemalan bloggers remember the man who brought much of what was happening in the war into the public consciousness.
The murder was particularly brutal, as he was beaten to death with a concrete slab in front of his place of residence Even though some accomplices were brought to justice, it is believed that more are at large. Most believe that it the crime was directly related to the report compiled by the project Recovery of Historical Memory (REMHI) of the Catholic Church.
Photo by James Rodriguez of Mi Mundo [es] and used with permission.
The blog Cerigua [es] published a letter where the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) demands the capture of others involved in the murder of the Bishop, while The Dominon blogger provides information on some of the memorial events:
Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruño gave a powerful sermon in memory of Gerardi in the Cathedral in Guatemala City. He received an extended round of applause when he stated that “the Catholic Church will not stop demanding that the case of Bishop Gerardi be clarified, until we know who was responsible for doing what.”
Former journalist and professor Ana María Rodas, blogging at La Columna de Ana [es] remembers the day when the report was released:
El 24 de abril de 1998 salí de la Iglesia Catedral luego de haber asistido a la ceremonia donde la Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado había dado a conocer a grandes rasgos los resultados de sus investigaciones sobre las atrocidades cometidas durante la guerra sucia en Guatemala. A grandes rasgos, digo, porque en un par de horas no se podía conocer todo lo que contienen los cuatro los libros con los hallazgos del Obispo y de sus colaboradores, el REHMI. El aire de la tarde era suave y sentí que por primera vez en muchos años, podía respirar libremente. Desde el atrio vi hacia el parque central….. y lloré en paz. Mis muertos, nuestros muertos, podían comenzar a descansar en paz.
On April 24, 1998 I left the Cathedral after attending the ceremony where the Office of Human Rights of the Church explained briefly the result of the report on the attrocities perpetrated during the dirty war in Guatemala. I say briefly because in a couple of hours one cannot learn all the findings of the Bishop and their collaborators in the REMHI (the report). The breeze in the afternoon was mild and I felt that for the first time in many years I was able to breathe freely again. From he atrium, I was able to see the central park … and I finally cried. My deaths, our deaths will finally rest in peace”,
Following the murder, the attention on the report's findings was now focused on the crime. The process of finding the killers became a national story, and much of it became a controversy. A book that investigates some of the games of covering the truth was written by Francisco Goldman called “The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?” The book is reviewed by the Guatemala Solidarity Network blog:
Goldman's book was an impulse buy. Reviewed somewhere on the Guardian's website, it was, apparently, an important book that Salman Rushdie rated. And it was set it Guatemala. Part of the world I've long felt an emotional affinity to. I knew Goldman was writing about a political murder, but that was about it. From the elaborate description of scene and event at the start to the release of the conclusion I was fixed on it. It's a slow meticulous story, and engrossing purely as an account of detective determination. That pace gives you time to think about meaning and motivation, and to see at work the forces that have shaped Guatemalan history, and the history of much of the Americas, first as individual acts of almost mundane brutality, then as orchestrated oppression.
Guatemalan bloggers remember that the essence of such remarkable man, who was to speak for those without a voice, for the people who suffered directly the effects of a cruel armed conflict. In the war, children were murdered or forced to enter the war as child soldiers. Much of this has been forgotten by society, and blogger Hunapu e Ixbalanque [es] writes about this phenomenon in Gerardi Against Amnesia:
Monseñor Gerardi dió su vida por que se conociera la historia que hasta hoy en día aún es desconocida por la mayoría de guatemaltecos. Su enemigo mayor fué la amnesia colectiva, una de las peores formas de injusticia. De ahí que para honrar la memoria de Monseñor Gerardi lo menos que podemos hacer los guatemaltecos es leer el Informe REHMI.
Monseñor Gerardi gave his life to communicate the history that today is still unknown by almost all guatemalans. His greatest enemy is the collective amnesia, one of the worst expressions of unfairness. So, to honor the memory of Monseñor Gerardi we Guatemalans at least must read the REHMI Report [es].
Expressed by an abstract of a poem by blogger Biblioteca del Grillo [es]
Querías “construir un país otro”/ soñabas una nueva Verapaz. “La construcción del Reino tiene riesgos”, lo sabías muy bien, pero vivías los derechos humanos como sueños divinos; con tu sed de justicia verdadera; en tu opción por las víctimas, que son también los pobres
You wanted to build a new country, you were dreaming with a New Verapaz. The construction of a Kingdom has riskes, and you knew it well, but you lived human rights as divine dreams, thirsty for real justice, you chose to fight for the poor victims
There are many sources where you can listen to the testimonies of the survivors, one is “Para nunca olvidar” (To Never Forget) where teachers from other countries can download the tesitmonies for use in their classrooms.
Photo by James Rodriguez of Mi Mundo [es] and used with permission.
Blogger Diario Paranoico gets to the point, the message of the Bishop:
Es sorprendente el alcance que ha tenido la guerra, incluso en nuestros días. En nuestro ADN, se ha inyectado el cromosoma del miedo y del silencio. Nadie está interesado en conocer su historia; miles de jóvenes y adultos se preguntan ahora quién fue ese tío desaparecido al que no conocieron y sus padres no se han atrevido a contar su historia. Huérfanos que no saben dónde está su familia…
It is surprising how the war affected us, even now. It is inside our DNA, it is the cromosome of fear and of silence. No one cares, no one wants to learn more about their history, thousands of youth and adults wonder about their disappeared uncle or the relative that the parents never talk about. Orphans that do not know where their family is buried…
Zimbabwe: Using New Technologies to Fight for Democracy
In countries such as Zimbabwe where media freedom is extremely restricted, new technologies have become powerful tools for political campaigning, communication, advocacy and mobilisation.
Since Robert Mugabe turned the country into a dictatorship, bloggers and civic organisations have resorted to using new tools and applications such as blogs, Flickr, Facebook, SMS, YouTube and mashups to fight for democracy, media freedom and good governance.
SMS
If you are in Zimbabwe and your phone rings, you might be receiving news headline from SW Radio, election update from Kubatana.net or a political joke about Robert Mugabe. Widespread mobile phone access in Africa has made SMS a powerful and useful tool for activists.
Zimbabweans are using SMS to send each other political jokes. Comrade Fatso writes about this particular use of SMS:
Anyone know someone with a truck? There's a guy wanting to move all his stuff from State House to Zvimba. The jokes spread as text messages refer to our aged dictator relocating to his rural home. People really do believe this is a general election - because our generals decide who gets elected. Another joke walking the streets of Harare is that the only difference between an election and an erection is that you can't rig the latter.
The UK-based SW Radio uses SMS to send news headlines to mobile phones:
We now have an SMS news headline service sent to mobile phones.
If you have a friend or relative in Zimbabwe who would like to receive this service please email their mobile phone number to: talk@swradioafrica.com
Kubatana, an online community of Zimbabwean activists, uses FrontlineSMS to send election news to their SMS subscribers and facilitate conversations:
Join the Kubatana SMS Subscriber list!
Kubatana uses a variety of technologies to communicate with Zimbabweans - SMS is one of them. We send out notifications of public events, inspiring quotations, selected comments from current and past articles and statements and we convert some of our web site content into thought provoking tasty 160 character messages.
What we really value is getting to know what you think, and to facilitate this you can respond to any SMS we send out. Democracy is a two way thang!
Often we take some of what you say and share it on the Kubatana Blog Site so that more people benefit from the conversation.
Let's get together, and message together.
The organisation has also used FrontlineSMS to run its campaign, “What we want in Zimbabwe?” The organisation posts messages from subscribers on Kubatana blog so that more people can benefit:
In addition to inviting email contributions, we also asked our many SMS subscribers what a new Zimbabwe looks like to them. Read some of their ideas below, and text your dreams for a new Zimbabwe to +263912452201
Amanda Atwood writes, “Text messages for change”:
As announcements by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission have been trickling out, we’ve been forwarding them to our SMS subscribers, many of whom do not have access to television or radio, or who are hit by Zimbabwe’s persistent electricity shortage.
FrontlineSMS is a text messaging system designed to meet the needs of the non-profit sector. FrontlineSMS was also used by the Nigeria Mobile Election Monitors last year. Ken Banks, the creator of Frontline SMS writes:
Back in the summer of 2006 I was fortunate to spend three weeks in Zimbabwe working with them. A local NGO seeking to promote human rights and good governance, Kubatana were the very first users of FrontlineSMS when it launched back in 2005, starting a trend which has seen the software used for similar activities in a number of other countries around the world. In their own words, FrontlineSMS finally opened up the possibilities for text messaging in their work, and I knew they had plans to use it during the 2008 elections. This is what they've been doing.
Last year, Kubatana sent out an SMS soliciting public opionion about the the Stay Away, which was called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. They published some of the reponses on their blog:
In advance of the Stay Away called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) for Wednesday and Thursday, 19 and 20 September, we at Kubatana sent out a text message and email asking our subscribers what they thought of the stay away, whether their workplace would be participating, and what their friends and neighbours were saying about it.
We were flooded with emails and text messages expressing a range of opinions, from eager support for the stay away and a commitment to stay home even if their work place was open, to others who questioned the usefulness of the tactic or whether it would make any difference on the ground.
Here is just a small sampling of people’s responses:
Don’t think it will be a success. People are tired of stay aways.
———————————
Supporting it, not coming to work, enough is enough.
———————————
Yes and all my friends want to stay away in order to make a statement.
In addition to their SMS service, Kubatana uses listserv, email newsletter and electronic activism campaigns:
Our regular electronic activism campaigns encourage Zimbabweans and other visitors to our web site to mobilise, lobby and advocate. Being involved lessens one’s feeling of despair while helping us to keep inspired.
As Joan Baez said: Action is the antidote to despair.
Our email listserv and regular email newsletters keep thousands of Zimbabweans and regional and international subscribers informed. Kubatana also helps Zimbabwean civil society to strengthen their use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) through email, Internet and motivational training workshops. We often spend a day with a group of information activists teaching them how to use ICTs more effectively either in their organisations, or as individual activists.
Electronic Cards
Sokwanele-Zvakwana is another pro-democracy civic organisation using new media tools to fight for democracy and rule of law. Its website offers free e-cards as part of its non-violent campaigns for change.
Sokwanele's Zimbabwean e-cards can be used, for FREE, to help Zimbabweans campaign for non violent peaceful change in Zimbabwe.
The cards are organised around different themes:
Bob Must Go:
Bob Must Go! It's as simple as that.
Parliamentary and presidential elections are set for 2008. You can get ready and start campaigning using our e-cards. Zimbabweans want elections that are genuinely free and fair, and we want a return to the rule of law, and a life free of violence and intimidation.
A set of e-cards evoking whimsical and fond memories of our beloved Zimbabwe. Use these for any occasion, or simply to send quick notes to friends and colleagues. Do you have an image that would make a great memory e-card? If you'd like to share your special memory with everyone by turning it into an e-card - contact us and let us know.
Zimbabwe's economy is in free-fall and it's no laughing matter. Spread a bit of cheer by sending a humorous e-card, or send a card to alert someone of the reality of our country's economic state.
They have posted a video of the e-cards on Jumpcut.
Mashup
Sokwanele created a Google map for mapping election rigging using data from their Zimbabwean Election Watch series:
Explore the map and then consider whether elections held in this context can ever be considered ‘free and fair'. Information on how to use the map, the map data limitations, and the background to how we mapped the data is provided below the map. Please visit our Zimbabwe Election Watch section, and explore our database for a comprehensive look at the many ways the articles listed in the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections have been breached by the Zimbabwean government.
YouTube and Flickr
Sokwanele has a channel on the popular video-sharing site, YouTube and a Flickr account. Visit their Album of Terror to see the extent of state brutality against the opposition.
There is a Flickr account with Zimbabwe Playing Cards:
On the outside this looks like an ordinary set of playing cards. But take them out, it is a fantastic political weapon - against hte murderous, corrupt, hypocritical regime of ‘Robber Mugabe'.
Facebook and MySpace
Various groups have established their presence on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. There is “Remove Robert Mugabe from Zimbabwe” group on Facebook:
Creating international awareness of how one man is completely destroying an incredible nation, causing millions to suffer. For everyone who believes Mugabe should no longer be in power.
And “Revive Zimbabwe”:
1. To Keep the Nation of Zimbabwe strong even without the Boundaries of the Country
2. Boycott the Hippocracies
3. Stand together to make the affliction more widely known, in order for the people to be freed, by the notification of others (world publicicty)!
There is also a group supporting Dr. Simba Makoni.
Sokwanele is also on Facebook. A cultural activist network, Magamba!, has a MySpace page where they publish blog posts about the situation in Zimbabwe. The most visible member of the group is Comrade Fatso who keeps a personal blog at Vox.
MAGAMBA! THE CULTURAL ACTIVIST NETWORK is a movement of Zimbabwean spoken word activists and creative rebels who use the word as a weapon.
Mobile Phones
The South African based election result monitoring group, The Independent Result Center, set up a website to publish independent election results. During the elections, their trained agents in Zimbabwe were sending information to South Africa via satellite phones and mobile phones.
This is how their agents obtained information:
In terms of Zimbabwean election law upon closure of the polling station counting must begin immediately, and the result must be displayed outside the polling stations to public view. Candidates and their polling agents should be in attendance during the counting process.
ZimElectionResults.com obtained the results using polling agents who were specially trained to obtain data officially displayed. This information was transmitted to a results centre in South Africa using cellphones and satellite phones to the centre which was manned by call centre operators.
Since election results were displayed publicly, the agents were able to take photos of the actual results:
Polling agents were also equipped with a camera to photograph the actual official results posted by the ZEC. These will be archived on this web site later as forensic evidence. The polling agents also counted the number of people entering each polling station.
Blogs
Immediately after Mugabe started muzzling the media, Zimbabwean bloggers became one of the key sources of information and commentary on the political and economic situation in the country. Visit our Zimbabwe Elections 2008 page for links to posts written by Zimbabwean bloggers.
Online Political Jokes
Robert Mugabe is twittering! He joins the Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki, on the popular microblogging site, Twitter:
meetings, meetings, meetings. very boring. 12:03 PM April 04, 2008 from web
Ooooo, nervous morning. Sending the wife shopping. She is getting on my nerves. Thinking of shutting the electricity down for laughs. 09:21 AM April 01, 2008 from web
Thinking of live blogging the election results. Good idea? 06:42 PM March 31, 2008 from web
Forcing people to eat election posters. Hey, at least they get fed this week. :) 01:49 PM March 29, 2008 from web
just voted. Guess who I voted for? 01:49 PM March 29, 2008 from web
Zimbabwe Democracy Now has a Zimbabwe Humour page on its website:
A selection of cartoons, movie posters and e-cards about Zimbabwe. These images are presented in the belief that the designers want to reach a wider audience. Thanks to everyone who contributed, you know who you are…
Myanmar: Unprecedented cyclone disaster
Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar last weekend which devastated five regions. State-run media reported that more than 22,000 people are found dead with another 41,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands are now homeless.
Bangkok Pundit comments on the soaring number of casualties:
“It was 351 then 4,000, then 10,000. Now, even state media are reporting 22,000 dead and 41,000 missing. By the time this is all over, a death toll of over 100,000 is not improbable. The Burmese government can't handle the situation on their own.”
Indeed, the death toll could still rise. The Irrawaddy explains:
“Witnesses who have managed to get out of Laputta Township in the Irrawaddy Delta have told The Irrawaddy that 22 villages were completely destroyed and that the death toll could be much higher. A local source from Laputta Township estimated a total of 60,000 people could have been killed by the cyclone. This estimate could not be independently confirmed.”
Rule of Lords gathers eyewitness accounts of the disaster:
“Some were killed by flying trees, some from exposure to the cold, some died when they had gathered to shelter from the storms in monasteries and they collapsed.
“The sea rose by around 5 feet and swamped the town at the time of the storm, causing most of the damage and sweeping away small homes and buildings.
“There was water, rain and wind. The shore road was submerged and on the high ground the water was at knee level. The whole town was underwater. There were heavy waves all over, and water snakes. Some died from the snakes.
“Local people in Rangoon and monks have cleared roads themselves due to the lack of authorities. The clearing has been done by a system of “self reliance” according to one participant. People are also sharing small quantities of water and other essentials among themselves to get through this period.”
Myat Thura narrates how his family and neighbors are coping with the tragedy:
“I tried to call my home in Yangon since Saturday morning. Until Friday evening, I could still call my home. My father told me that the wind was blowing heavily, but the situation was still OK. The next morning when I tried to call my home, the lines are already down. I tried the whole Saturday but I could not get through. Sunday morning, still no phone contact.
“My flat was in the top floor, so I was quite worried. There are two or three roofs blown away, and all the satellite dishes destroyed, but apart from that, the building is intact. Water was pouring into the house and my family had to move things into the rooms where it was dry.
“Electricity was cut off but, thanks to one of our neighbors who has an electric generator, we could pump water to our room. For those without any generator, water is a big problem. There is still no relief effort from the government agencies, and people are cleaning the roads by themselves.
“Prices of food had risen and the price of building materials has doubled. A few shops opened and many shoppers are trying to buy things. Some super markets opened today, and they have to limit the number of shoppers into the supermarket.
“My friend said it would be very difficult to restore the city into its previous condition, especially electricity and telecommunication as it will cost millions of dollars to repair the entire infrastructure.”
Fear from Freedom issues an appeal to the ruling Junta:
“Many now live in monasteries in cities in delta area since their villages are gone and their paddy fields are flooded. Who can help who when every family is struggling for survival. While the people in the city struggle with what they have to repair the roofs of their houses and store some water and rice for the expected shortage, the homeless villagers will become beggars till they can go back to their lands and rebuild their villages.
“The military has their soldiers to help the cities but they will not have cash nor goods and tools to help rebuild the victims. I hope they allow the international organization to help these people. They do not have any resources and expertise for this kind of disaster.”
The cyclone also destroyed a prison camp where many political prisoners are held. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners drafts this statement narrating how more than 30 prisoners were killed during a riot last weekend:
“The storm also hit Insein prison in Rangoon. As a result of strong winds, many zinc roofs atop of Insein prison were torn off, one after another.
“Due to the destruction in one area of the prison, over 1,500 prisoners were forced to congregate inside prison hall no. 1. No one was allowed to seek safety, and they were locked inside the hall until the next morning May 3, 2008. Prisoners were wet, cold and hungry as well as angry. Even though prisoners requested prison guards open the doors and move them to safety, the authorities ignored their request. Some prisoners started shouting demands, and some set fire to the prison hall. The fire burnt down the hall, and a riot situation ensued in the prison.
“In order to control the situation, prison guards opened fire on the prisoners. In addition, soldiers and riot police were called in. They opened fire on prisoners in the area. 36 prisoners were killed instantly and around 70 were injured.
“The authorities are to blame for this situation. As soon as the storm hit, they should have moved the prisoners to safety. Their mismanagement of the situation led to prisoners rioting. We condemn their violent response, which led to the needless deaths of 36 prisoners.”
KyiMayKaung uploads a letter from Sophie Lwin of the Burma Global Action Network:
“On Wednesday night NASA predicted that Typhoon Nargis would hit Burma, yet the regime did nothing…It is criminal that the regime didn't warn the people that the typhoon was coming.”
Agam's Gecko also condemns the military:
“The massive scale of the disaster has finally prompted the military regime to accept outside assistance, an about-face that alone demonstrates how dire the situation is. Very few soldiers have been spotted lately doing any of the recovery work, although state television did show a couple of uniforms pulling branches around. Monks and other citizens have organized themselves, and seem to be doing most of it.”
Myo Kyaw Htun gathers news reports about the disaster. Burmese Gold Bull and Singeo upload maps illustrating satellite-detected flood waters over the affected regions.
The Acorn on the difficulties of delivering aid to Myanmar:
“The tricky business of delivering aid to victims of a natural disaster who are also victims of a repressive regime. A closed regime. Media controls. A category 4 cyclone. Damaged infrastructure. Broken communication links. Death toll first in the hundreds, rapidly upped to the tens of thousands.
“It’s highly likely that the Burmese junta can’t cope with the disaster. Worse, its isolation is making a bad situation much worse. The international response is hobbled by the lack of communication channels, common frameworks and operating procedures.”
nofearSIngapore asserts its time for action, not politics:
“Fellow human beings are suffering in a fellow ASEAN country. Another father, brother, sister or child is now waiting for desperate aid from us. This is not the time for politics-it is the time for action.”
jg69 echoes the sentiments of many bloggers around the world:
“Not only do the people in Burma have to put up with a military dictatorship, they also have to contend with natural disasters like cyclone Nargis.
“To the Burmese people, even though it might seem a small and empty gesture, nevertheless, please accept my truly heartfelt condolences to what you have been going through for decades and what you're going through now.”
Related article: Myanmar: The Perfect Storm
On Somalis in the new Kenyan cabinet
What issues are dominating the Somali blogosphere? Let's take a quick tour: Kenya-Somali writes about the new Kenyan cabinet and the Somali representation in it:
It's good to see many Somalis who are serving in the Grand Coalition. Mr. Yussuf Haji as Defence Minister, Elmi as Minister for Northern Kenya & Arid Lands, Aden Sugow Assistant Minister of Public Works while Farah Maalim serves as a deputy Speaker. A Mr. Mohamud of Mandera also serves as an Assistant Minister.
Royal Somali comments on a Youtube video showing a brave, young Somali girl speaking out against generalizations about Muslims:
Somali young Girl talks at the Melbourne Speakers Forum about people generalizing about Muslims, the twin towers, and the concept of Jihad, the greater struggle with the "NAFS" or the SELF. Melbourne speakers Forums is just similar to speakers corner in Hyde Park London, Vancouver speaker's corner.
Native Female attends the wedding of fello belogger White African, she writes:
Highlight of the week was going to White African’s wedding party. It was beautiful…..mashaAllah. I enjoyed myself immensely and the bride looked gorgeous……mashaAllah. It was a chance for me to meet the gang. It has been a while since we were all under the same roof at the same time. Made some new friends. Picked up some new dance moves. And all this while looking hot (hey….I gotta stroke the ego….I need it lol)
East African Philosopher considers cities to study a semester in:
I have been thinking about spending a semester in Cairo, Egypt for a while now, not because I have romantic ideas about Egypt but rather it is a place that I can relate to a “little” bit in terms of culture and closeness to my native home. It also helps that I have friends and distant family members living there. Plus I’m learning Arabic and what place is better than that? Yes, Damascus is also an excellent choice too.
But back to Cairo. The other day I read this article in the New York TImes that talks about a recent scientific study of “noisiest” cities in the world and Cairo was the unparalleled champion of the noisiest city in the world at 85 decimals on an average day - that is, as the study suggests, a jackhammer at full power running 3 feet away from a human being from 7am to 10pm at night. Seriously. Yet this is only an “average” day. I wonder what an above average day sounds like in Cairo. Perhaps two jackhammers?
Somali poems have many forms, Shafi describes one form performed as part of wedding ceremonies called Gaaf (usually performed in the 7th day after the actual wedding):
Once the drumming starts and the Gaaf is initiated, silence fills the air. Every ear is tuned towards the person reciting the poetry or singing, in order to assess and judge the worth of his/her words. Addressing everyone present, the young girl starts the ceremony with these lines:
Hoobe hobaala hoobala hoobalow
Ee hoobe hobaala hoobalayey hadaba
Salaamu calaykum safiya iyo daahirow
Salaama calaykum safkan meesha joogayow
Salaama calaykum soomaaliyey dhamaan
Hoobe hobaala hoobala hoobalowEe hoobe hobaala hoobalayey hadaba
Peace be upon you O’ Safiya and Daahir
Peace be upon you O’ who have assembled here
Peace be upon you Somalis in your entirety
Macedonia: Sakura - Cherry Blossom Celebration in Skopje
Even though very few ethnic Japanese live in the Republic of Macedonia, many locals took part in the second annual celebration of Sakura - the festival of cherry blossoms in Macedonia's capital, Skopje. Organizers of the festivals included martial arts dojos and some prominent bloggers who recently started a collaborative blog, Japan@mk [MKD], and initiated spreading the word through the Macedonian blogosphere.
The festival took place on April 12, on a street lined with Japanese cherry trees in full bloom, next to Skopje's main square. The program consisted of martial arts demonstrations, reciting of haiku in Macedonian language, accompanied by music played on Japanese flute, making of origami, writing the names of participants in Japanese calligraphy, and tasting healthy products made of Japanese fungi.
Thanks to the social networking within the community, dozens of bloggers used the event to socialize, including several who came from other cities. Some of them, like Bi, Volan, Strumjan, and neW1, posted extensive photo-galleries afterwards, while others wrote posts with most favorable impressions. Nadezna and HibernusCorvus, posted their reasons why they didn't attend.
Members of Samurai Dojo in action. Photo by Volan.
Bi, one of the organizers and an Iaidō practitioner, wrote [MKD] about her insider experience:
The origami were quite successful, and were done in three booths… [for samurai hats, cranes, and cats]. The kids were very happy, and many of them took their samurai hats to Nahomi [Japanese lady who did calligraphy] to write their names in Japanese.
Nahomi got genuine Macedonian experience because the audience did not allow her to catch her breath. They crowded around her, handing papers under her nose to write their names in Japanese, without any order. They even overturned her ink. She was confused because the people could not form a line, but accepted all requests with grace and impeccable manners…
The haiku turned out great, and the three guests read poetry by classic Japanese masters and by Macedonian poets. Some in the audience turned a deaf ear on this, and complained of boredom… Other audience members provided an unpleasant experience of rude curiosity, by grabbing and even drawing the swords and the bokken from the participants' hands…
I hope next year we'll have an even more interesting and more beautiful program, with more elements, and the city will help with more than just providing space, and the consulate will provide more than just moral support. We had great time anyway, even when the uncultured mishaps mentioned above are taken into account :)
[…]
Links for Tue, 2008-05
Gociante Patissa [pt] invites readers to debate the proposed reform of the Portuguese language. Talking about language, the blogger is also responsible for the first ever blog in Umbundu language, language spoken by the Ovimbundu people in the central highlands of Angola.
Vilhelm Konnander posts an abstract of his report “on the state of democracy in Russia.”
Sean's Russia Blog comments on the article about Soviet “agitation trials,” which appeared in the Russian-language weekly Kommersant-Vlast - and was translated into English at Robert Amsterdam's blog.
Scraps of Moscow posts pictures from the 2005 Victory Day parade preparations and writes: “Hard to believe it has been three years since Moscow marked the 60th anniversary of the victory in WWII with a parade of military equipment from wartime days. Somehow that seemed like a much more endearing and appropriate approach to the celebration than the display of modern military might that is planned for this year.”
Free Media Sri Lanka reports - “Defence Secretary calls journalists ‘traitors’ and calls for ban on independent media”.
Online political jokes: So, Mugabe is twittering!: “meetings, meetings, meetings. very boring. 12:03 PM April 04, 2008 from web
Ooooo, nervous morning. Sending the wife shopping. She is getting on my nerves. Thinking of shutting the electricity down for laughs. 09:21 AM April 01, 2008 from web”
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