Stories about Youth from December, 2008
Libya: “Gaza Burning!” Blogger solidarity with Palestine
Fozia Mohamed begins her exploration of the Libyan blogosphere with her own personal reaction to news reports about the recent Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, in addition to sharing the shock and solidarity that many Libyan bloggers are feeling towards the Palestinian people.
Fiji: Offensive ads
Oceanic writes about the debate over the culturally inappropriate ads in Fiji.
Lebanon: Solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza
“In Gaza There is a Boy Standing and Waiting to go to Sleep” these are the words that Mazen Kerbaj chose to summarize the situation in Gaza in one of his cartoons. Taking a second look, the cartoon seems to say: “In Gaza There is a Boy Standing and Waiting...
Syria: More on the Israeli Massacre in Palestine
Diana Ghazzawi, a Gazan blogger who is now based in North America, shares with us her worries that she might not meet her relatives in Gaza one day, if they don't get lucky from the strategic Israeli shelling on the Gazans: This is not about politics. It's not about specifics...
Syria: Myths about Israeli Attacks in Palestine
Our coverage of Syrian bloggers reacting on the ongoing Israeli war in Palestine continues. Israel is still proceeding the attacks in Palestine for the forth day causing 385 civilian deaths and leaving 1700 injured. Yaman Salahi, a Syrian blogger based in the US, has posted a note on his Facebook...
Cuba: Wishing for Freedom
Cuban blogger Retazos [ES] shares some of her wishes for 2009.
Syria: Bloggers Infuriated by Israeli Massacre in Palestine
"Many Syrian bloggers feel depressed and paralyzed over what's happening in Gaza now" writes Razan Ghazzawi as she brings us more reactions from the Arabic-language Syrian blogosphere in our continuing coverage about the current Israeli airstrike campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Bahamas: Students & Drugs
“In the Bahamas, the average age for male and female students who peddle and smoke weed/drugs is age 13 and 14, respectively”: Adrian Gibson at Weblog Bahamas says that “the illicit drug plague has ripped our social fabric and will unremittingly haunt the history of our island chain for many...
Haiti: Restavek
“In the truest definition of the word it means ‘one who stays with'”: Tara at The Livesay Haiti Weblog says that the Restavek system “might be one of the most frustrating ones of all for me to accept. The fact that children are used for labor and for the benefit...
Palestine: Israeli Airstrikes Spur Actions from Bloggers
Following the end of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, violence and tensions have escalated between Israel and Gaza. Today, Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza in what the AFP calls “one of the bloodiest days of the decades-long Middle East conflict.” So far, the death toll in Gaza is at 210 and rising. The Palestinian blogosphere reports.
Saudi Arabia accuses Egyptian of Espionage
27 year old IT programmer Youssef Al Ashmawy is currently detained in a prison Riyadh and is accused of spying on the Kingdom. Zeinobia wrote: Saudi Arabia is detaining Egyptian Internet activist Youssef Al Ashamawy. Youssef is being accused of spying on the kingdom for the Egyptian intelligence!! Youssef is...
Northeast Asia: 2008 Review
The northeast Asia region is becoming more integrated politically, economically and socially. State leaders from China, Japan and South Korea recently signed a Joint Statement for Tripartite Partnership to address the serious challenges in the global economy and the financial markets. Peace talk between North and South Korea continues, while...
Egyptian and Tunisian Bloggers against Censorship
In December 2006 frustrated Tunisian bloggers launched the "Action Blank Post" initiative in defense of freedom of speech. Supporting bloggers from all over the world posted a blank on their blogs on the 25th of December, and now bloggers have united again in this anti-censorship tradition, as Marwa Rakha shows.
Gaza/Sderot: Israel and Palestine together on video
The Gaza/Sderot: Life in Spite of Everything Project is one of the prime examples of the variety of ways a bridge between different cultures and world-views can be created through online media. In this project created by ARTE.tv, a French-German cultural television station, twelve people going on their day to day business on either side of a violent border were exposed on a website for ten week project which ended on December 23rd. The two minute videos documented snippets of the lives of 6 characters in Gaza, Palestine and 6 characters on the other side of the border in Sderot, Israel during two months.
Caribbean: 2008 in Review
From natural disasters to lightning bolts of the athletic kind, 2008 was a busy one for the Caribbean blogosphere. Here are some of the highlights...
Haiti: Photo of the Year
Haiti Innovation reports that the UNICEF “Photo of the Year” features the plight of Haiti, while the photographer, who has her own blog, says of her win: “It’s not only great because my work as a photographer gets recognition, but also and much more important – eventually many people will...
Bangladesh Election 2008 And Cyber Activism
Bangladesh goes into poll on December 29, 2008 for a much awaited parliamentary election. The scenario is lot different than the recent US presidential election where citizen media and Internet campaigning and fund raising were extensively used. With a penetration of 1% of the total population of 145 million, Internet...
Bangladesh: A Change Is Required
Life As I Know It comments on the impending Bangladesh election: “I hope this 9th national election brings a change… no matter how small it is. It has to start from somewhere.”
Jamaica: Christmas Present
All blogger Long Bench wants for Christmas is “a public apology from Bruce Golding for how he and his government have been a spectacular failure and embarrassment to Jamaicans in 2008.”
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Wartime Childhood Memories
Amila Bosnae shares some wartime childhood memories.
Brazil: Against Illegal Abortion or Against Women?
Abortion is a very complex issue in Brazil, just like almost everywhere else in Latin America, where it is considered a crime. Despite this, over 1,000,000 clandestine abortions take place in Brazil and over 70,000 women die of complications from clandestine abortion attempts every year. Daniel Duende takes a look at the new moves in the clash between pro-life and pro-choice movements.
