Stories about Digital Activism from March, 2009
Haiti, U.S.A.: Temporary Protected Status
As U.S. President Obama grants Temporary Protected Status to Liberians, jmc strategies asks: “What about the Haitians?”
St. Lucia: Visiting Gros Islet
Repeating Islands’ Blog visits St. Lucia and discovers that “the fishing village of Gros Islet – the principal setting for Derek Walcott’s Omeros – seems serenely frozen in time.”
Cuba: Three Strikes
“The president of the Writers and Artists Union of Cuba…affirmed that all Cubans can travel, except those who have a debt to the justice system…I have never been charged in court yet I am condemned not to leave this Island”: Generation Y‘s exit permit has once again been denied.
Barbados: Impact on Tourism
“Although we applaud the current Minister of Tourism…for taking the bold step to restructure the Barbados Tourism Authority Board, what purpose will it serve if we have a tarnished brand to sell?”: Barbados Underground is concerned about the future of the island's tourism sector.
Bermuda: It's a Secret
“Every major government that I can think of publishes its accounting, auditing, and contracting standards. Why is Bermuda hiding behind a bureaucratic wall? You can’t have accountability if the rules themselves are held secret!”: Vexed Bermoothes wonders “if Government [is] really serious about Public Access to Information.”
Jamaica: The Red Earth
“The fact that a rich natural resource can be a curse on a country has rung true everywhere – whether it’s oil in Nigeria, cobalt in Congo or in fact bauxite in Jamaica”: Jamaica Salt blogs about the long-term cost of mining aluminium ore on the island.
Bahrain: Come back to where you belong
Bahraini activist Esra'a argues why she chooses to stay home and work for her causes: “No government, no sole leader, no foreign interference will result in social change in any country of the Middle East – it comes from collective efforts. People like you. And if you’re living and working...
Egypt: Women turn to the Internet to fight taboos
Young middle and upper class Egyptian women resort to the internet to fight their battles against taboos. The BBC interviewed some of them and Mohamed Hamdy of Bloggers Times comments on the article.
Cuba: Interview with Blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo
Claudia Cadelo interviews blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo about his participation in the Cuban blogging community, which came to his side when his book "Boring Home" had originally been accepted by the state publishing house, but later rejected. He believes that the decision was made partly by his blogging activity. Many of the island's bloggers supported him during this difficult time and even organized an alternate book launch.
Iran: Dr. Hesam Firouzi, Another Jailed Blogger
It was jailed physician and blogger, Dr. Hesam Firouzi, who recently got the word out through his lawyer about the death of blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi in Tehran's Evin Prison. He said he urged prison authorities to send the dying prisoner to a hospital, but they refused.
Egypt: Arab Youth on a Presidential Mission
Egypt's first online radio - Radio Horytna - invites youth to apply for the position of President for any Arab country of their choice. Egyptian bloggers comment on the initiative in this post.
Uzbekistan: Enemy of the Internet
Yelena writes that Uzbekistan was called an ‘enemy of the Internet’ in recently published survey by Reporters Without Borders.
Egypt: Stop Oppressing Bloggers
“Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, writes a letter to [Egyptian] President Hosni Mubarak condemning the state’s oppression against bloggers, noting Kareem amongst those abused by the government for their blogging,” reports Free Kareem, a site dedicated to campaigning for the release of jailed Egyptian blogger...
Egypt: Free Kareem Tweets
The Free Kareem campaign, calling for the release of Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Suliaman, is now available on Twitter, announced the site. Click on the link for more information on Kareem.
Japan: Italian news commentary in Japanese
Italian comedian and opinion-leader Beppe Grillo's blog [ja] is the only blog that is translated into Japanese (and English), presenting Italy from an unusual perspective. In his blog, he also hosts the translated version of journalist Marco Travaglio‘s weekly talks on the misdeeds of the current Italian government [it].
Bahamas: Society of Fear?
Sidney Sweeting wonders what kind of society the Bahamas has become when “unifomed goons can force their way into our homes at night, terrorize us (or worse) and just leave without an explanation.”
Barbados: Nature Sanctuary Issue
Barbados Free Press believes that the Prime Minister's “million-dollar support” for the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary “is a ploy…there is no dispute that the Thompson DLP Government intends to develop the lands around Graeme Hall.”
Cuba: Travel Permit
“I will sit in the crowded lobby of the mansion at 17th and K for only two reasons: to inconvenience them with my pigheadedness and to claim my rights. To show them the visa document that authorizes my entry to many parts of the world, while ‘they’ curb my travel”:...
Jamaica: V-Day
Abeng News Magazine reports that Jamaica is an active part of the international V-Day 2009 campaign – “a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.”
Egypt: Petition for Gaza
Egyptian Chronicles urges her readers to sign an online international petition to the UN General Assembly to set up a special international penal court to try Israeli war crimes, notably in the Gaza Strip.
Algeria: Mauritanian Arrested for Criticizing Government Online
Algerian The Moor Next Door writes about Abbass Ould Braham, a University of Nouakchott professor and writer for Taqadoumy — the leftist Mauritanian news website often cited here — who was arrested this Monday “after writing a lengthly piece accosting the junta.”
