Stories about Citizen Media from April, 2007
France: Expelling Illegal Immigrants
Continuing the debate on expelling illegal immigrants living in France, SEMEtt ou l'étincelle noire (Fr) writes about a political asylee who was shipped back to Liberia, a group of long-term illegal immigrants who decided to form an organization to publicly demand naturalization, and how the mass explusions are eroding civil...
Why is adultery illegal in Senegal?
Why is adultery illegal in Senegal? (Fr) Women are still considered the property of men and religion a justification for law, whether or not you are a believer, the Blog politique du Senegal writes.
Reunion: New Community Political Blog
Éric Fruteau announces (Fr) the launch of echosale.com, a community blog run by the local opposition in Etang-Salé, Réunion that aims to serve as a forum for debate and a political organizing tool.
Mali Presidential Elections & ATT-cratie
As Malians prepare to go to the polls on Sunday, Le Sphinx blogs critiques of the incumbent, President Amadou Toumani Toure, at ATT-cratie (Fr) and has just published the second volume of an ebook on the subject.
Cameroonian Videogame
At Le Blog de L'Afrique, Nino writes about Play Detective, a video game developed by a Cameroonian programmer (Fr) named Sila Kayo. A reader comments, “I have always wondered if there were video game developers in Cameroon…It's great to know that there are people interested in this kind of development,...
Martinique: Happy Anniversary Le Blog de [Moi]
Le Blog de [Moi], written by a (self-described) petite, black lesbian from Martinique, celebrates its first anniversary. “I blog therefore I am? No? I blog because it makes me more comfortable with who I am…and so paradoxically, the biggest difficulty becomes being myself and not who or what you want...
“What Kind of Lebanon Do We Want?”
As Lebanon's political leaders offer up their usual litany of what he says is useless rhetoric, French-Lebanese blogger Frencheagle asks his readers to remember one question: “What kind of Lebanon do we want?” (Fr). The problem of coexistence, he says, is one that an international tribunal on the civil war...
Republic of the Congo: Biometric Identity Cards
Demain Le Congo Brazzaville thinks President Sassou won't stand a chance winning the upcoming election unless he manages to rig it. Sassou plans to create biometric identity cards, but DCB warns against putting too much faith in an electronic voting system (Fr), which may simply encourage a different kind of...
France: What You May Not Have Read About Voltaire
Racisme et Histoire: Le Tabou posts a collection of quotes from some of France's most famous philosophers, writers, and politicians (e.g., Voltaire, Ferry, De Gaulle) you might not read in history books. “I repeat, the super races have a right, because they have only one duty. They have the duty...
France: Rapper Imagines Life as a White Man
Regardailleurs blogs screenshots from an hilarious music video (Fr) called “J'suis blanc” (“I'm White”), the latest from French-Congolese hip hop artist Kamini. God comes to Kamini and makes him white for nine and a half weeks and suddenly dealing with “argent, logement, les flics, les gens” (money, housing, cops, people)...
Papua New Guinea: Remembering The Veterans
On ANZAC day, Islandbaby remembers the unacknowledged veterans who fought the Japanese in the Second World War. “And this year I Remember. I remember those who fought with the ANZACs and remain unacknowledged by many. Specifically the Australian Aboriginal veterans and from my corner of the world, the 55,000 fuzzy...
Lucien Millard Interview
Roots and Culture presents an interview with Lucien Millard. Millard, who hails from Martinique, says “music is my backbone, the air I breathe, my reason for living.” (Fr)
African Journalists on Franco-African Relations
African journalists working in France are calling on the two remaining French presidential candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal, to begin a new chapter in Franco-African relations (Fr), according to the blog of the Alliance for Democratic Progress. “We have to reconsider everything, make a fresh start, a sort of...
DRC: Opposition Ends Boycott of Parliament
The Congo's largest opposition party, allied to Jean-Pierre Bemba, President Kabila's main rival in the last presidential election, has ended its boycott of the Congolese parliament. UDPS Liege lays out the main issues that led to the boycott and their demands: security garanties, real freedom of expression, and a permanent...
An Abandoned Clinic in Guadeloupe
Breves de Guadeloupe posts photos of an abandoned clinic.
Japan: Toyama Kouichi calls for revolution, bloggers reflect on freedom of speech
“Registered voters! I am Toyama Kouichi. My countrymen! This country is an abomination!” So began the five minute political speech of gubernatorial candidate and street musician Toyama Kouichi, aired live on Japan's public broadcaster NHK as part of a series of election broadcasts formally allotted to each contender in the...
Bolivia: Interview With El Alto Blogger Mario Duran
The city of El Alto is not known for blogging. For starters, internet access is scarce and expensive, while citizens seem to have different priorities. Many who do have internet access have yet to discover the value of expressing themselves via blogs. Mario Duran is a blogger that wants to set out to change all that. In this recent interview, he discusses his entry to the Bolivian blogosphere and his plans to reach out to others.
Myanmar: Helping Hand Blogs
People of Myanmar are well known for their gentle nature, kind heart, sincerity, generosity and a great helping hand. In Myanmar, various type of non profitable groups and non governmental organizations are formed to help out physical, educational and well being of the country men especially youth and children. These days, many such organizations are starting to use blogs to announce and publish their organizations’ activities. Among them:
Laos: Laotian New Year Party
Teresa at On our Own blog describes her Laotian new year celebrations with her students from Lao.
Bangladesh: Remembering Madhabi
Morris the pen revisits Madhabi. “Remember Madhabi Majhi? She was the girl who was allegedly thrown from a balcony in Dhanmondi last year and narrowly escaped with her life. Her story was charted here in the magazine, and the last we saw of her, she was safe at the BNWLA...
Sarkozy on French Minorities
Patrick Lozès looks back at French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's history of controversial public statements about Africans and Berbers (Fr). He wonders if, given unprecedented levels of voter registration among French minorities, Sarkozy's strategy of playing to the far right will backfire.