Stories about Human Rights from August, 2009
Russia: Photos and Drawings of Opposition Rally
Photos from the Aug. 31 opposition rally in Moscow – by LJ user mnog (RUS); drawings and an observation – by LJ user pshevelev (RUS): “A few people are chanting ‘Shame!’ and are being seized [by the police], and the other 60 are taking photos and keeping silent. If you're...
Online Campaigns To Combat Spread Of HIV/AIDS
To combat the spread of AIDS, many organizations and activists worldwide are engaged with innovative and localized campaigns and initiatives. Today we will discuss some of them who use ICT and citizen media to augment their cause.
Sri Lanka: Let The IDPs Go
Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca visits a Sri Lankan IDP camp and shares his observations: “Everyone just wants to go home, or at least to stay with relatives. They don’t need charity anymore, they need the freedom to rebuild their lives with dignity.
Iran: “United for Baha'i Human Rights”
The Muslim Network for Bahai's Rights share with us a short animation video about Bahais’ problems in Iran since 1979.
East Timor: “Happy Day” of freedom vote
Timorese bloggers have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum which led to the territory's formal independence. One commemorates the "happy day", another recalls his determination to drive out the Indonesian military occupiers, and yet another uses the day to question the current moment in Timor.
Japan: We will not forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki
64 years ago, on the 6th and the 9th of August, atomic bombs were dropped by the U.S. forces on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 200,000 people died and every year, ceremonies are held to commemorate those victims and to remind humanity of the horrors of war and of the use...
Afghanistan: Voting Day in Photos
On the nation's second-ever election day, Afghan photo bloggers shared pictures from the polls showing military presence as well as voter enthusiasm.
Guinea : Remembering Aug. 27, 1977
32 years ago, on August 27, 1977, the people of Guinea first rose up against the abuses of Sékou Touré's regime. Oumar, blogging (Fr) for Konngol Afirik at maneno.org, explains the background and speaks up for the duty of memory.
Azerbaijan: Washington DC protest for detained activist bloggers (updated)
With detained video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli now facing an additional charge in their native Azerbaijan, The Collegian says that support for the two imprisoned youth activists yesterday transcended the digital world and spilled out thousands of miles away onto the streets of Washington DC.
Puerto Rico: “Such is Life”
The executive director of the government project Portal del Futuro defended the construction of a luxury mega-resort by telling residents of neighboring communities that they would not have access to this kind of project because "such is life." Puerto Rican bloggers respond to his remarks.
Anguilla: Discussing Freedom of Information
“Writing the law is the easy part. Getting it to work is another matter. But, even discussing it is a really important step if we are really serious about accountability and transparency…”: Corruption-free Anguilla examines the issue of Freedom of Information.
Barbados: Dialysis Crisis
As news breaks about a shortage of supplies at the hospital's dialysis unit, Barbados Free Press wonders “if politicians, civil servants and administrators in Barbados really get the fundamentals of their jobs.”
Brazil: Outrage at violent São Paulo eviction
On Monday, 240 police went to evict 800 families from the Olga Benário squatter settlement in São Paulo. Bloggers and photojournalists report on the violence, despair and lack of social justice.
Azerbaijan: Washington DC demonstration in support of detained bloggers
Melissa_Ys tweets that a protest demonstration in support of detained video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli is set to take place outside the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Washington DC tomorrow at 4pm. The two youth activists have so far spent 51 days in pre-trial detention and...
Hong Kong: “Compensated Dating” and the use of Pejoratives
The life imprisonment of the “girl butcher” might have halted the case against “compensated dating” in Hong Kong for a while, but what have Hong Kong people learned from the incident? It all started with the conviction of a 17-year-old girl for soliciting compensated dating online. In Hong Kong, it...
Pakistan: Bloggers Vs. The US Citizenship And Immigration Services
Talkhaba informs that “a newly formed network of Pakistani Bloggers namely Union of Patriotic Bloggers for Sovereign Pakistan (UPBSP) has started (the) ‘Containment of USA’ Campaign which aims at containing US and confining it to its diplomatic role guaranteed under the international law.” Their first target was to take the...
Iran: “Forced Blogging from Prison”
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a leading reformist blogger and former vice president, started [fa] to update his blog in prison. He says that the interrogation continues but he has very friendly relation with interrogator and protesters in prison know that there was no significant fraud in Iran's presidential election.
Russia: August 1991 – 18 Years On
Scraps of Moscow writes about the August 1991 coup and how it is remembered 18 years later.
Pakistan: Lone Gay Blogger Stops Writing
LGBTI Bangladesh Blog informs that “the lone Pakistani who blogs about gay travails has decided to stop writing”. “Not in Pakistan. I cannot. Sorry,” Jalaluddin, who blogs at Tuzk-e-Jalali, wrote in his latest and perhaps last post on June 28.
USA: Activism to Stop Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is an ongoing and often undetected problem in the United States. Individuals and organizations are taking actions to raise awareness and to combat this problem.
Bahamas: A Woman's World
“When women of the Caribbean and the Americas are truly equal, stay at home mothering will be a paying job”: From the Bahamas, Womanish Words is celebrating Women's Equality Day “by imagining a better world for women, and for mothers and their children especially.”
