Stories about Disaster from January, 2012
Video Highlights: Music, Indigenous Initiatives, Indignation and Wonder
A selection of Global Voices' recent and interesting stories including video from Latin America, East Asia, Middle East and North Africa and Eastern and Central Europe, selected by Juliana Rincón Parra.
Haiti: Leadership Triangle
“There they were, at the official ceremony: the living, breathing banes of Haiti’s existence”: The Haitian Blogger republishes an article which suggests that Martelly, Clinton and Duvalier's “rubbing shoulders” at a recent event “offer[s] an insight into the prospects for Haiti’s reconstruction and, indeed, into the prospects for Haiti’s political...
Mozambique: Mayor Shares Photos of Storm Damage on Facebook
Newly elected mayor Manuel de Araújo of Mozambican city Quelimane shared photos on Facebook of the damage, flooding and suffering caused by tropical storm Funso in his coastal home. Last week another heavy storm, Dando, caused serious flooding in the capital city of Maputo, displacing hundreds.
Cuba: Fatalities in Building Collapse
Fatalities and injuries as a result of a building collapse in “of the worst-maintained neighbourhoods in the Cuban capital” causes Generation Y to comment: “How many others in this capital run the same risk tomorrow? What urgent solution will be applied so that these tragedies won’t continue to be a...
Russia: Underwater Fire
Dmitry Gorenburg of Russian Military Reform notes yet another fire onboard a Russian submarine, putting naval safety procedures further in question.
El Salvador: Top Stories of 2011
Tim's El Salvador Blog summarizes the top stories from El Salvador in 2011.
Lebanon: Building Collapses in Ashrafieh
Najib is reporting about the collapse of a building in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Beirut. Rescue workers are removing rubble while trying to save about 30 inhabitants who were in the building when it fell.
Philippines: Malong and Typhoon Sendong Evacuees
Journalist Keith Bacongco writes about how Typhoon Sendong evacuees in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao uses the malong, a traditional Muslim blanket, to cope with the disaster.
Haiti: Two Years, Today
Today is the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. Regional bloggers post remembrances, here, here and here.
Poland: Prosecutor Suicide Attempt
Michael Dembinski of W-wa Jeziorki tries but fails to understand a suicide attempt by a military prosecutor involved in investigations of the 2010 Smolensk aircrash killing Poland's president Lech Kaczynski, and causing a plethora of conspiracy theories.
Philippines: Environment Disasters Linked to Mining, Logging Operations
Massive floods and landslides hit many parts of the Philippines in the past three weeks which killed more than 1,500 people and affected hundreds of thousands of poor villagers. Netizens are probing the causes of the disasters and the accountability of government officials in issuing permits to logging and mining firms.
Southeast Asia: The Great Floods of 2011
Storms battered the Southeast Asian region in 2011 which caused heavy flooding in many countries, displaced thousands of residents and workers, destroyed millions worth of agricultural crops, and killed more than 2,000 people. Global Voices was able to report the impact of some of these flood disasters in the past year.
Chile: Wildfire in Torres del Paine Shocks Netizens
A massive fire in national park Torres del Paine has shocked Chilean netizens, who have expressed their concerns, anger, sadness and hope that it will soon be controlled. "Torres del Paine" and #salvemostorresdelpaine have been used to inform and comment this disaster on Twitter.
Southeast Asia in 2011: A Year of Protest
#bersih, #bersih2, #bersihstories, #occupydataran, #campoutph, #walk4freedom, #sawangsawa. These are the protest hashtags of the year in Southeast Asia. Global Voices reviews several protest movements in the region in the past year that echoed the radical politics of Arab Spring and Occupy.
