Stories about Youth from May, 2013
Leaving North Korea
Concerns over insufficient protection of North Korean refugees have grown ever stronger as news came out that nine young North Korean defectors have been forced to return to North Korea after being captured in Laos. The Dreamer blog shares a story of a young North Korean defector which explains in...
35,000 Child Prostitutes in Bangladesh
Amader Kotha, a site dedicated to women's issues in Bangladesh reports that at least 35,000 children are being exploited sexually on a commercial basis in the country. More than half of them live in the official red light districts of the country and are often forced to enter the profession that...
Little PSY and his Vietnamese Heritage
After learning that Korean child actor Hwang Min-woo or Little PSY of Gangnam Style fame has been receiving hate messages for being half-Vietnamese, James Bao wrote him a letter urging him to be proud of his Vietnamese roots: Wear your heritage proud. We hope you’ll one day get a chance...
13-year-old Girl Publicly Shamed in China
A 13-year-old girl was handcuffed and then paraded on the streets after “accidentally spilling water on a town government vehicle” in Guizhou province. Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ reaction.
Syria Untold: Raqqa Lessons, From Freedom to Creativity in State Building
After the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Raqqa in March 2013, the city suffered a tremendous power vacuum, especially in public services. Syria Untold speaks to activists on the ground who describe a number of campaigns and initiatives led by young people to build the Syria millions dream of.
Hackers in Arab Cities: Slow Internet and Girl Power in Algeria
Meet those Internet geeks in the Middle East & North Africa. Global Voices re-posts excerpts of the blog "Hackers in Arab Cities'' by Sabine Blanc & Ophelia Noor. In this article they depict the state of Internet in Algeria with two young geeks from the 'Ecole Supérieure d'Informatique d'Alger' (Computer Graduate School of Algier).
Chinese Social Web Defends US Vice President Biden
United States Vice President Joe Biden has faced a firestorm of criticism from Chinese international students after he referred to China as a nation that cannot "think different" or "breathe freely" during his commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania. But mainland Chinese Web users have hit back, reproaching the students abroad for their behavior and defending Biden's speech as worthy of reflection.
Tunisia: FEMEN Activist Faces Possession of Pepper Spray Charge
Tunisian FEMEN activist Amina Tyler, 19, is set to appear before a court on May 30 to face a charge of "non-authorized possession of pepper spray." If convicted the young woman could spend up to six months in prison.
South Korea's Child Porn Law Blasted for Restricting Freedom of Expression
A new youth protection law in South Korea, meant to protect children by clamping down on child pornography, is being assailed for its broad language that labels net users who unknowingly downloaded suspicious content and artists who depict children in their work as criminals.
Peru: Is Junk Food Synonymous with Freedom?
The recent Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating by Boys, Girls, and Adolescents, promulgated by Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, has generated debate about wether it restricts freedom of choice for parents in the way they raise their children. Others see threats to their freedom to advertise.
Guinea-Bissau Youth Calls for Peace
The Guinean movement Ação Cidadã (Citizen Action) [pt] released an open letter [pdf] on May 8 “from a youth who wants to have their place in their own land in peace, with the freedom and progress they are entitled.” The document calls for young Guineans to mobilize peacefully for peace, democracy...
Trinidad & Tobago: It Takes a Village
A generation of Criminals, just like a generation of Professionals, don't simply pop up. They are raised. Trini World Views challenges everyone “who breathes fire and brimstone at criminals and the policing of criminal activity…to put that same passion into getting involved in the process [of] crime prevention.”
Moscow Soccer Fans Clash with Police
Following Saturday's scoreless soccer game that catapulted Moscow's CSKA club to its fourth Russian Premier League title, the team's fans clashed with riot troops in downtown Moscow. Police detained 140 people [ru], later releasing all but two. Bloggers posted photos to LiveJournal here, here, and here [ru], alleging police brutality.
Why Is China's Post-80’s Generation Dispirited?
China's state-run People’s Daily ran a piece titled “The Post-80′s Generation is Dispirited: Early Decline Cause for Alarm[zh],” arguing that China’s youth born after 1980 face “spiritual confusion and a loss of identity” despite better material living conditions. In response, social media celebrity and social critic “Zuoyeben“[zh] wrote an essay on the real cause...
Jamaica: Blogging about Police Brutality
To mark the tragic anniversary of the Tivoli incursion and the lives that were lost there, Jamaican bloggers are uniting to draw attention to the scourge of extra-judicial killings in Jamaica and a police force seemingly out of control and beyond restraint. Active Voice is gearing up to comment on...
In Wake of Brutal Murder, Questions About the Roots of Russian Homophobia
Are Russia's members of parliament, who have fostered a climate of homophobia over the past year, to blame for a man tortured to death by drunk hooligans in Volgograd?
Comoros Chats About Identity on Twitter
The hashtags #TesPasComorien and #Teamcomoco are stoking conversation among Comorian Twitter users about what it means to be from the island nation of Comoros.
PHOTOS: Guerrilla Art Project Captures Japan's Northeast in Portraits
Photographs of about 400 people collected from Japan's tsunami-devastated northeastern Tohoku region make up an exhibition at Tokyo's Watari Museum of Contemporary Art by French artist JR as part of his "Inside Out" participatory art project.
Chinese Government Bans Seven ‘Speak-Not’ Subjects
A prominent Chinese law professor recently revealed in his microblog on popular Twitter-like site Sina Weibo that the Chinese government has imposed a policy on university professors instructing them not to teach seven subjects, including freedom of the press, past mistakes of the communist party, and human rights.
Yemen: Focus on Education!
In a country where the illiteracy rate of both sexes (15 years and above) is almost 40 per cent, education and the empowerment of the women and youth is an imperative necessity for any concrete development in Yemen. Activists argue why education should be a right and not a privilege.
Dominican Catholic Church Sues NGO for Sexual Education Campaign
The Catholic Church filed a claim against the Dominican Association for Family Welfare (Profamilia) to withdraw their advertising campaign, "Your sexual and reproductive rights are human rights."