· January, 2010

Stories about Feature from January, 2010

Global Voices in Haiti: Talking to Volunteer Régine Zamor

Alice Backer, on assignment for Global Voices in Port-au-Prince, interviews Régine Zamor, a Haitian-American who travelled to Haiti after the 12 January earthquake and has helped dozens of people as an independent volunteer. "Many Haitians and others willing to help took matters into their own hands during the first-response period."

31 January 2010

Global Voices in Haiti: On Reconstruction

With scattered clean-up efforts under way in Haiti, debates have begun about how best to rebuild houses and other structures destroyed in the 12 January earthquake. Georgia Popplewell reports from Port-au-Prince on "the critical matter of shelter for those who have lost their homes".

30 January 2010

Haiti: Wired Money May Help Rebuild Before Aid

With phone lines being restored in Haiti, money sent from families abroad “by wire” is again arriving, and helping reconstruction even where international aid has not arrived. Remittances from family members living abroad represented at least thirty percent of Haiti's Gross National Product before the January 12 earthquake.

30 January 2010

Iran: Green Tune to Support Protest Movement

A ring tone for a song which motivated young Iranians to go to the front and fight during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s is making the rounds again in solidarity with the opposition. Hamid Tehrani reviews the reactions of bloggers to the 'Ey Iran' song.

29 January 2010

Haiti: Security vs. Relief?

More than two weeks after the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, and despite an international outpouring of aid, thousands of affected Haitians in and around Port-au-Prince have received little or no relief assistance. Some Haitians and others on the ground suggest that exaggerated concerns about security and violence may be hindering relief efforts.

28 January 2010

Russia: Prosecution Against Opposition Blogger Stopped

RuNet Echo

The first criminal case against a blogger in Russia with a happy ending unfolded over a long period of time. After two years of investigation and three socio-linguistic assessments, experts didn't find any evidence of "incitement hatred against police and Russian Security Service officers." But the blogger's victory, however, is rather an exception than a rule.

28 January 2010

Peru: Heavy Rains and Mudslides in Cusco

Heavy rains and flooding have been affecting the region of Cusco, Peru, leaving thousands of local residents affected. The tragedy has left unanswered questions about the region's preparedness for these types of natural disasters.

27 January 2010

Philippines: “Renewable Marriage Bill”

A partylist group in the Philippines wants to introduce a law that would put a ten-year expiration date on marriage contracts. As expected this unique proposal generated an intense reaction in the blogosphere.

26 January 2010

Timor Police Brutality Video

Police brutality in Timor-Leste is not new, but getting it on video is. This is something of a “Rodney King” moment for Timor-Leste and its police service.

25 January 2010

Russian Blogger Harassed For Marrying Chinese

RuNet Echo

Maria Gromakova became a victim of comprehensive virtual attacks of Russian extreme nationalists. Online harassment eventually turned into a real-life nightmare forcing Maria and her family to leave Russia. She tells her story to GVO.

24 January 2010

Haiti: Teens’ perspectives on the earthquake

Although the coverage of the aftermath of the 7.3 earthquake which has left Haiti's capital partly devastated, has been massive, one group of Haitian bloggers has been overlooked - teenagers. Here is a look at what young people have to say about this catastrophe, which foreshadows a new era in their lives.

23 January 2010

Haiti: “1+1=3”

More than ten days after the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, with large-scale relief efforts underway, Haitian bloggers and Twitter users wonder what the future holds in store, and how reconstruction efforts will be managed. Others seem concerned that media reports don't always add up with what they observe on the ground.

23 January 2010

Haiti: “We’re all eight days old”

Bloggers and Twitter users on the ground in Haiti continue to provide news on efforts to recover from the disastrous earthquake of 12 January, and comment on "aid politics" — who gets helped by whom.

21 January 2010

Egypt: Detained Bloggers Tell their Tales

More than 20 Egyptian bloggers, who were on their way to pay their respects to the families of the victims of the Coptic massacre, were arrested when their train arrived in the village of Naga Hammady in Upper Egypt. They were released shortly afterwards and they are now telling us their side of the story.

20 January 2010