O blog Egípcio afirma:

نجلاء الإمام المحامية و رئيسة جمعية لحقوق الإنسان تدعو الشباب العربي للتحرش بالإسرائيليات و اغتصابهم كنوع من المقاومة و بعد كده بنتسائل ليه الغرب بيتهمنا بالتخلف و الإرهاب أما تكون دي رئيسة جمعية لحقوق الإنسان هيفتكروا المواطن العادي شكله عامل ازاي؟؟

O blog israelita [En], My Right Word, publicou excertos em inglês da entrevista emitida na Al Arabia TV a 31 de Outubro de 2008:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on October 31, 2008.

Interviewer: Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam has proposed that young Arab men should sexually harass Israeli girls wherever they may be and using any possible method, as a new means in the resistance against Israel.

[…]

Interviewer: We have with us the lawyer Nagla Al-Imam from Cairo. Welcome. What is the purpose of this proposal of yours?

Nagla Al-Imam: This is a form of resistance. In my opinion, they are fair game for all Arabs, and there is nothing wrong with…

Interviewer: On what grounds?

Nagla Al-Imam: First of all, they violate our rights, and they “rape” the land. Few things are as grave as the rape of land. In my view, this is a new form of resistance.

Interviewer: As a lawyer, don't you think this might expose Arab youth to punishment for violating laws against sexual harassment?

Nagla Al-Imam: Most Arab countries… With the exception of three or four Arab countries, which I don’t think allow Israeli women to enter anyway, most Arab countries do not have sexual harassment laws. Therefore, if [Arab women] are fair game for Arab men, there is nothing wrong with Israeli women being fair game as well.

Interviewer: Does this also include rape?

Nagla Al-Imam: No. Sexual harassment… In my view, the [Israeli women] do not have any right to respond. The resistance fighters would not initiate such a thing, because their moral values are much loftier than that. However if such a thing did happen to them, the [Israeli women] have no right to make any demands, because this would put us on equal terms – leave the land so we won't rape you. These two things are equal.

[…]

I don’t want young Arab men to be interrogated. I want these Zionist girls with Israeli citizenship to be expelled from our Arab countries. This is a form of resistance, and a way of rejecting their presence.

No blogue da Vancouver Film School, um dos designers, Lisa Temes, descreve [En] o processo utilizado pelo grupo para abordar este tema:

Our goal for this project as motion designers was to complement an informative and powerful script by using subtle yet engaging imagery. Although we took inspiration from sources such as the recent animated film Persepolis, we created all of our assets by photographing live subjects and tracing them in illustrator, so we were able to achieve the exact look we were aiming for.”

Enquanto a luta continua [en] na província de North Kivu na República Democrática do Congo, apesar do tão divulgado cessar fogo, na relativamente calma província de South Kivu mais um jornalista foi assassinado. No dia 21 de novembro, Didace Namujimbo, que trabalhava para a Rádio Okapi, apoiada pela ONU, foi baleado na cabeça [en] ao voltar para casa naquela noite.

O jornalista espanhol Hernán Zin conheceu Namujimbo em sua redação, durante uma viagem a Bukavu no verão passado para escrever sobre a violência sexual como arma de guerra. Ele o descreveu [es] em seu blogue Viaje a la guerra (Jornada na guerra):

Un hombre alto, de buena presencia, que hablaba un francés impoluto. El primer rostro amigo que encontré en el Congo.

E acrescenta:

Además de una honda tristeza, me vuelven recuerdos de las conversaciones que mantuvimos sobre la muerte de su compañero Serge Maheshe [en], el 13 de junio de 2007. Hablamos sobre quiénes podrían ser los culpables, pues yo tenía la intención de incluir su historia en la sección de este blog Morir para contar.

Serge Maheshe, editor de notícias da Rádio Okapi, foi baleado na cabeça em 13 de junho de 2007 ao voltar para casa, exatamente da mesma forma que morreu, um ano e meio depois, seu colega e amigo Didace Namujimbo. Um ano depois do assassinato de Maheshe, um ex-jornalista da Radio Okapi em Kinshasa, Cédric Kalonji [fr], escreveu sobre a impunidade aos crimes do tipo na República Democrática do Congo:

Je constate amèrement que la justice, pilier de l’autorité de l’État qui est le fondement même de la démocratie ne fonctionne pas au Congo. Quand aurons-nous, et qui rétablira une justice efficace et indépendante dans ce pays?

Agora Cédric Kalonji reflete [fr] mais uma vez sobre a democracia no seu país:

En apprenant cette nouvelle, je suis partagé entre douleur, tristesse et colère. Je me demande comment la démocratie s’installera durablement dans un pays où on est visiblement allergique aux journalistes indépendants et professionnels. Devons-nous laisser le Congo entre les seules mains des hommes forts, ceux qui sont armés?

Kalire acha [fr] que o assassinato de Didace Namujimbo representa muitos outros:

Comme Didace, ils sont nombreux à se faire tuer dans le Kivu.

Se faire tuer par «des inconnus», par on ne sait même pas qui: des «rebelles»? des militaires congolais? des bandes de pillards? des voisins jaloux?

Comme Didace, ils sont des centaines à se faire tuer, violer par des «inconnus».

Mais Didace est… était journaliste.

C’est pourquoi sa mort peut parler pour celle des autres.

Freddy Mulongo do blogue Rádio Revéil FM, lembra-se dos seis profissionais de imprensa que foram assassinados em circunstâncias parecidas nos últimos três anos, incluindo Didace Namujimbo e Serge Maheshe. Nessa postagem, ele resume o que esses casos têm em comum [fr]:

Les scénarios sont les mêmes: tous les journalistes congolais sont tués la nuit, à proximité de leur domicile, on retrouve sur eux l'argent mais leur appareils téléphoniques… Et après on arrête des “innocents” que l'on présente comme des assassins. On organise une mascarade de procès souvent dans un auditorat militaire, il arrive parfois que les présumés assassins se rebiffent, pendant ce temps les vrais commanditaires courent toujours et jouissent de l'impunité.

Para Freddy Mulongo, a situação dos profissionais da imprensa do Congo está sinistra:

Ils sont journalistes et professionnels des médias en danger car comme le dit si bien l'adage des Peuls dans l'extrême Nord du Cameroun: “Si on rase ton camarade. Mouille-toi la tête, ton tour arrive!” A qui le tour? Qui sera le prochain victime?

Colette Braeckman, jornalista belga e especialista em África Central, ao saber do assassinato de Didace Namujimbo se perguntou [fr]:

Comment concilier ces assassinats, qui semblent être d’origine mafieuse ou politique, avec l’état de droit dont les élections de 2006 auraient du marquer la naissance, avec « la fin de la récréation » solennellement annoncée par le président le jour de son investiture?

Também nessa semana, a Human Rights Watch divulgou um novo relatório chamado “Vamos esmagar você” [en] , sobre a restrição do espaço político no Congo. Sobre isso, Colette Braeckman comenta que “eles fazem um julgamento muito sério nos dois anos que se seguiram às eleições”. No resumo do relatório está escrito [en]:

Government agents have also threatened, arrested, tortured, and otherwise harassed journalists and members of civil society who were linked to political opponents or who protested abuses against them.

O sumário conclui:

Elections themselves cannot bring democracy. Congolese and international actors must work to establish an independent judiciary and a vibrant parliament with an effective opposition to improve human rights, hold the executive to account for its actions, and counterbalance the restriction of political space. Failure to establish such counterweights will endanger Congo’s young democracy.

(Foto de Didace Namujimbo no escritório da Radio Okapi em Bukavu, tirada em maio passado Elia Varela Serra)

Todos são bem-vindos.

Horários Locais: Nova York 07:00 / Buenos Aires 10:00 / Londres 12:00 / Johannesburgo, Beirut 14:00 / Nairóbi, Moscou 15:00 / Nova Delhi 17:30 / Tóquio 21:00 / Hong Kong 20:00 / Sydney 23:00

Sala de bate-papo: http://www.worknets.org/chat/

O bate-papo começará focalizando dois projetos beneficiados pelo Rising Voices, REPACTED, em Nakuru, Quênia, e AIDS Rights Congo, sediado em Brazzaville. Saberemos como ambas as organizações têm implementado a blogagem e os programas divulgação de vídeo para disseminar o conhecimento a respeito de suas iniciativas na prevenção da AIDS e na defesa dos direitos dos indivíduos soro-positivos.

Outros tópicos de discussão incluem: quais são os fatores a serem pesados quando os blogueiros HIV-positivos divulgam publicamente sua condição? Como blogar pode sustentar a formação de redes online? E os fóruns online? Que outras novas ferramentas de mídia, como mashups de mapas, podem ser usadas eficientemente?

Se houver outros tópicos que você gostaria de discutir durante o bate-papo, por favor acrescente comentários abaixo.

Como parte de sua campanha, Obama e o vice-presidente eleito Joe Biden disseram que mais providências precisavam ser tomadas para combater a pandemia mundial de HIV/AIDS, assim como a malária e a tuberculose (TB). Ambos prometeram destinar pelo menos US$ 50 bilhões até 2013 para o combate mundial ao HIV/AIDS, com a esperança de no mínino duplicar o número de pessoas soro-positivas em tratamento, e também defenderam um aumento nas contribuições dos Estados Unidos ao Fundo Global para a AIDS, Malária e TB. The ONE Blog apresenta uma lista de outras promessas de campanha relacionadas à saúde e à pobreza.

Blogueiros de todo o mundo estão entusiasmados com aquilo que a vitória de Obama pode representar para as questões relacionadas à saúde. Ray Hartley, blogando em The Times, South Africa, posta um trecho do discurso feito por Obama no Dia Mundial de Combate à AIDS, 2006, depois de uma visita à África do Sul:

We know how to save people’s lives. We know the medicine is out there and we know that wealthy countries can afford to do more. That’s why it was so frustrating for me to go to South Africa, and see the pain, and see the suffering …We should never forget that God granted us the power to reason so that we would do His work here on Earth - so that we would use science to cure disease, and heal the sick, and save lives. And one of the miracles to come out of the AIDS pandemic is that scientists have discovered medicine that can give people with HIV a new chance at life.

yannick Santana, comentando esse trecho, diz:

If people have been wondering about ways in which President Obama change could positively impact the problem-solving process in Africa, this is an illustration.

addis2000, blogando em Addismenged, oferece cinco razões pelas quais a vitória de Obama é algo bom para os etíopes, entre elas ser uma ajuda em potencial para que os etíopes-americanos tenham acesso a uma assistência médica que possam pagar. Em Ethiopia addis2000 acrescenta:

HIV/Aids and food insecurity form convergent miseries. To combat poverty, Ethiopian economists urge for immediate steps to curb the country’s exponential population growth. And yet, despite the Bush administration’s outstanding work to treat HIV/Aids victims in Africa through the PEPFAR programme, it worsened things by ordering USAID missions in six African countries to ensure that no U.S.-financed condoms, birth control pills, I.U.D.’s or other contraceptives are furnished to Marie Stopes International, which operates clinics in Ethiopia. Senator Obama supports family planning.

Outros também continuam esperançosos. Um post em Med India diz que Bill Gates, co-fundador da Microsoft Corp., está otimista em relação aos esforços de Obama para confrontar problemas de saúde global, incluindo alguns na Índia. Understand Argentina também acredita que tenhamos muitos motivos para comemorar, e espera que esta seja uma nova era para todos os habitantes das Américas: do Norte, do Sul e Central. Uma das razões de comemoração, ela acrescenta, é que Obama trará:

More assistance in vocational training, micro-finance and community development; continue fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; reinforce global education.

Nos Estados Unidos, os planos para a assistência à saúde apresentados por Obama incluem torná-la acessível financeiramente e disponível para todos, reduzindo seus custos e promovendo a saúde pública. Ele também comprometeu-se a desenvolver e a começar a implementação de uma estratégia nacional abrangente para o HIV/Aids, durante seu primeiro ano de presidência.

RH Reality Check diz que a vitória de Obama pode ser vista como um mandato conferido à ciência e à racionalidade, especialmente nas políticas de saúde. Um post em Housing Works também mostra entusiasmo por essas políticas fundamentadas na ciência, e espera que estejam voltadas para as pessoas mais necessitadas.

AIDS advocates were overwhelmingly thrilled by President-elect Barack Obama’s victory Tuesday, expressing hope that Obama’s election will bring meaningful changes to health care reform, science-based prevention, and a National AIDS strategy — all of which he promised during the campaign. And there is a real hope that the first black president — who has spoken out against health disparities in minority populations and homophobia in the black community — will frankly address the epidemic in the United States which overwhelmingly affects African-Americans, Latinos and gay men.

Stiletto, blogando em Pourqoi-Pas?, ressalta que, apesar de Obama ter herdado enormes problemas do presidente George W. Bush, ela tem esperanças de que o presidente eleito possa cumprir suas promessas.

For the American people, I hope he manages to find the 33 billion dollars to make America’s health system a thing of everyday like here in Europe, instead of being a joke like a third world country and having 45 million people with no health care cover. If that idiot Bush managed to find nearly 1000 billion dollars to go murder hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, surely, 33 billion dollars to keep the health of the citizens of USA is a lot more important and a lot cheaper. But this is your problem, Americans, and I wish you all the best.

No entanto, My African Diaspora adverte que precisamos dar tempo a Obama para que realize todas as suas promessas:

Temper expectations. Change won’t occur overnight. We’ve got so many pressing priorities: the economy, healthcare, the war, foreign policy and a slew of others. He won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make it all better. To expect him to would only demonstrate our own ignorance of the political process. Instead, reserve judgment and criticism and engage in the governance of your country. It is our right and our responsibility.

Foto de Obama Posters, de tonx, em Flickr.

O tema deste ano para o Dia Mundial de Luta contra a AIDS é “Lidere - Fortaleça - Faça Acontecer”, enfatizando a liderança política exigida para que se combata verdadeiramente a doença. Enquanto o percentual global de adultos que vivem com HIV parou de crescer desde o ano 2000, 33 milhões de pessoas ainda vivem com o vírus, e quase 7.500 novas infecções acontecem diariamente. As taxas de novas infecções por HIV também estão subindo em muitos países, tais como China, Indonésia, Quênia, Moçambique, Rússia e Vietnã. A AIDS também está cobrando o seu preço - 2 milhões de pessoas morreram da doença, ano passado.

Blogues de todo o mundo estão dando rostos a essas estatísticas, compartilhando histórias de cuidado com aqueles que estão com HIV/AIDS, o impacto da doença sobre o cotidiano das pessoas, e o estigma que a acompanha. Esses relatos em primeira mão mostram tanto o progresso que tem sido feito no combate à doença, quanto o volume de trabalho que ainda precisa ser realizado.

Em Poz For Life, Russel, de 20 anos, bloga da Austrália sobre ser soro-positivo, na esperança de que isso incentive outros a fazerem o teste para doenças sexualmente transmissíveis e a adotarem práticas seguras. No seu primeiro post ele recorda o dia em que fez o teste para HIV e o terrível período de espera antes de receber o resultado. Aqui está como ele descobriu que era soro-positivo:

I got there [the doctor's office] around 10:30am and went straight in, it was like they where waiting for me ready to take my soul and toss it out the 4th story. I went into his office and I sat down, then I hear ‘Russell am sorry to say but the test for HIV is positive.' I froze for a few seconds and just looked amazed. What felt like a lifetime of silence was around 30 seconds. I said ‘I was thinking it might come back that way.' I can't believe that I said that, really the first words out of my mouth was I thought it might come back that way.

O blogue AIDS Rights Congo, da AZUR Development Organization, um projeto do Rising Voices, defende os direitos das pessoas soro-positivas. Seus posts mostram a discriminação e o estigma enfrentados pelos que vivem com o vírus no Congo. Um dos posts fala sobre a vida de “Bernadette”, uma moça que é vendedora de roupas no mercado de Tié-Tié, em Pointe-Noire. Sua vida muda quanto uma amiga divulga seu estatus de portadora do HIV.

At the market, her neighbors immediately desert their tables; which even attract the attention of those responsible for managing the market, who, conscious of the fact that having a table at the market is a difficult thing, are surprised to find empty tables around her. The situation has put everyone on alert, and those passing from far away can hear the neighbor’s gossip on the fact that she is a woman infected with HIV. However there are no outward signs that Bernadette is sick, one cannot read it on her face. The illness is not at an advanced stage and she is not on ARV [Antiretroviral] treatment. She is simply a normal young woman.

In a setback, traumatized by the situation, she stops her little shop.

Juan Carlos, de 29 anos, bloga do Equador sobre como convive com seu estado de portador do HIV.  Num de seus posts, ele comenta a importância do equilíbrio e os benefícios de conversar com alguém sobre o que você está passando.

Hay mucha gente seropositiva que obvia la ayuda de los psicólogos a lo largo de sus vidas. Personalmente, si hay alguien que escuche o lea esto… yo creo que siempre es bueno conversar con un psicólogo cada cierto tiempo, hace que los días más sombríos se vuelvan más claros y nos ayuda a sobre llevar mejor nuestra vida con este virus y nuestros demás problemas.

Pinoy Poz, que mora na Cidade Quezon, nas Filipinas, bloga sobre a vida com o HIV e as dificuldades de revelar seu estatus de portador do vírus. Ele assumiu que era gay aos 21 anos, mas nove anos depois “voltou para o armário” ao descobrir que era soro-positivo. Neste post, ele fala que contar às pessoas que é portador do HIV não tem sido tão ruim quanto temia, mas ainda é duro.

Honestly, I’ve been too chicken to tell some of my other contacts myself. And when I say contacts, I mean… okay, sexual contacts. So I did the next best thing. I backtracked through my sexual contacts up to more than a year ago, and had a friend contact them anonymously, to advise them to get tested for HIV. The reactions varied from asking who the sender was, replying to the anonymous number that they’d just gotten tested, sending foul messages to their alleged stalker, or most commonly, assuming that they did get the message, not replying. But I felt that was as decent a warning as I could manage.

Existem pequenas histórias semelhantes a esses posts vindas de todo o mundo. Este mapa Global Voices Google de blogueiros soro-positivos destaca mais vozes de blogueiros assumidamente soro-positivos e cuidadores, além de outras mídias cidadãs relacionadas ao HIV/AIDS. Assim, dê uma olhada e leia suas histórias surpreendentes. O mapa é “embeddable”, por isso você pode adicioná-lo ao seu blogue ou Web site. Apesar de estar sendo lançado em conjunto com o Dia Mundial de Luta contra a AIDS, o mapa continuará a ser atualizado ao longo do ano.

Foto de AIDS Ribbon In Tree, de ttfnrob.

Centenas de pessoas teriam morrido durante a violência que assolou Jos, no centro da Nigéria, na sexta-feira 28 de novembro, em confrontos gerados pela disputa do resultado de eleições locais.

(Foto do portal de notícias cidadão Sahara Reporters)

Saralynn, missionário baseado em Jos, descreveu [en] a situação no sábado:

I fled my house today.

David woke me up at about 06:45 to tell me he thought there was trouble. I'd heard the sirens in my sleep and realised with a start that I also heard gunshots. And the sirens were going on and on–one after another. There were local elections here yesterday, and the governor had deployed troops to keep the peace. But that was yesterday. […]

My parents' driver/gardener came around 08:45 […]. He told us of youths on the streets, of burning tires, of soldiers, of people out with knives and big sticks.

Jeremy Weate do Naijablog relatou [en] que a blogueira Talatu-Carmen [en] estaria trancada em um armazém da família com uma centena de outras pessoas. Ele também postou uma carta sobre a situação na cidade, enviada pela fazenda de Zamani, em Jos, para seus clientes:

Two of our delivery staff — Audu, our head driver, and Ado, our delivery assistant — had their houses burnt down and lost all of their belongings. This afternoon I spent driving all around Jos looking for their families in some of the refugee camps set up around the town after people were evacuated from their area by the army. We finally found them, and brought them back to my compound. So we currently have about 25 refugees in the house. [..]

Moving around in Jos is not easy, and we are not sure when the situation will return to normal. Today we couldn't get to the farm (30km away from the house) because many of the roads were blocked and parts of Jos are under 24 hour curfew. Fortunately everything is normal at the farm and so far there have not been any incidents of violence in the rural areas around Jos. But it is impossible to get some items like onions and potatoes that we source locally because no one is coming in to Jos with these items. Everything in Jos — shops, markets, banks, etc.– are all closed and the city is virtually deserted. All the inhabitants are locked in their homes.

Adeola Aderounmu do blog Thy Glory O Nigeria…! acha [en] que “na Nigéria, com o passar dos anos, os políticos continuaram a misturar política e religião” e que a política da Nigéria é do tipo “o vencedor leva tudo”. Por isso, ele acredita que deva haver punição para os perpetradores de motins assassinos:

In Jos-Nigeria, hundreds of people may have lost their lives because of an election that took the dimension of religious inclination. You can imagine that ignorance remains a weapon that has been used to send innocent people to their early graves. The perpetrators of these evil acts will never be found. They will never be brought to book. In Nigeria, this type of killing usually comes with the backings of some wicked politicians. The perpetrators enjoy privileged protection or anonymity and they will be unleashed again to do the same harm in the future. This is why religious riots or political riots associated with religion remains recurring incidents in Nigeria.

Naija Pundit doMy Nigeria, por outro lado, não acha [en] que os tumultos tiveram fundo religioso:

PDP and ANPP are secular parties which do contain religious fundamentalists in them, but those elements are the exception rather than the norm when it comes time to set party policies and activities.

What is going on in Jos right now is all about the perceived politics of disenfranchisement, and not religion.

[…]

So Nigerian papers say the strife was as a result of what is being perceived as a stolen election, but the BBC takes that, twists it around, and turns it into a story of Christians vs. Muslims, obviously a story that will garner more interest in the West, but one that sets religious relations back immensely across the board.

[…]

The wonders of western media… I guess next time there is economic beef going down in the UK, Nigerian media should say it is a race war between the white anglo-saxons and their former subjects from the continent or the island…

Osize Omoluabi do Mootbox destaca [en] que “como em todos os conflitos na Nigéria, os lados envolvidos parecem não concordar quanto à origem dele”:

Some believe it is just a bunch of mean spirited thugs being used by a few godfathers to achieve political goals. Others claim it is an all out religious /ethnic violence. I will stick to what a wise old man told me ten years ago, he said, “when it comes to sectarian violence in Nigeria, in the end, all violence in Nigeria is driven by Economics”.

E conclui:

As the unrest in Jos unfolds it is especially useful to keep in mind that Christians and Muslims live side by side in Jos and this arrangement has remained this way since these religions where introduced to the region. It is even more interesting that once this unrest passes, life will return to normal and these groups will go about their business and worship like nothing happened.

[…] It is noteworthy that if all parties involved, providing infrastructure for the government, building community and developing grass root ties for the different religious organizations, the city of Jos would not have been in its present state. Why can’t we all get along? Because there isn’t enough to go around.

O Chronicling Cairo [en] mostrou sua tristeza numa mensagem no blog [en]:

Since we moved to Heliopolis we've been dealing with an incredible amount of sexual harassment. Keep in mind that the entire time we've been living in the hotel so far has been during the month of Ramadan, the holiest month of the year for Muslims and the time in which all Muslims make extra effort to worship God and live in a pure and holy way.

As such, all sexual thoughts and acts during the fasting hours are technically forbidden. However, we cannot walk down the street in Heliopolis (in daylight or after sundown) without catcalls, honking cars, constant hissing, and what i'm sure are likely extremely lewd expressions in colloquial Egyptian being tossed our way. I was warned to expect the harassment, I can take the verbal abuse.

What I have difficulty accepting, however, is the physical component of the problem. Two weeks ago this sequence of events happened:

The fact that we're foreigners has no bearing on the level of harassment we're receiving–our Egyptian and Arab dorm-mates are harassed at an equal level. Surveys conducted of Egyptian women indicate that veiled women experience only 10% less harassment than unveiled women. My Palestinian suitemate told me that it will get even worse once Ramadan ends.

By deciding to house us in a completely isolated area full of military compounds that is hostile to outsiders in general, AUC put their female students in a terrible situation where there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop men from touching us inappropriately. And that makes me angry.

Scene and heard [en] publicou a seguinte carta de uma estudante estrangeira da AUC [Universidade Americana no Cairo]:

Dear S&H,

I am currently doing a semester abroad here at AUC at the new campus and am unfortunately really disappointed. My friends recommended the program after spending a summer studying Arabic at the downtown AUC campus and told me how amazing it was to be right smack dab in the middle of the city and cultural festivities. I had heard about the new campus but was told it wasn't “that far” from downtown and figured I had nothing to lose. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the new campus and realized I was in the middle of a number of developing upscale communities surrounded by desert…not exactly the cultural experience I was looking for. I have to take a bus or Cairo Cab downtown to be able to experience the streets and true culture of Cairo. I wish I was able to walk down the streets near Tahrir square and eat koshari and falafel sandwiches between my gaps like my friends had told me about…and although Cilantro's not bad, that's not exactly what I flew thousands of miles to experience.

I recently read an article in the Daily News that really hit home and I thought that this was the best place to voice my opinion and maybe open a discussion forum. In the article, the reporter recommended: “For the sake of its foreign students, AUC’s Arabic Language Institute should seriously consider returning to the university’s old location in the heart of downtown Cairo.”

YES PLEASE.

Will Ward publicou um post com o título AUC: Batalha por comida no novo campus. [en]

On my first day at the AUC new campus I waited in line over half an hour to buy a cardboardy bagel from one of the three chain food outlets that were up and running.

This was because the university had sold a concession to Delicious Inc, a company that operates chain franchises like Cinnabon, McDonalds, Cilantro, etc, to be the sole foodservice provider on campus. A cup of coffee at one of these places runs 12-15 pounds, and a sandwich or salad would set you back at least 20.

For Ramadan this was not a huge deal because most people weren’t eating on campus anyway, but after Eid all hell broke loose. With fasting over, no one was prepared to wait forever in a line to overpay for meh food.

After a few days, something fantastic happened. Instead of complaining (my default response), a group of students set up small stands around campus and began selling snacks, apples and little packages of homemade pasta with roasted veggies. These were cheaper and more delicious than Delicious Inc’s products, so naturally, the company tried to shut them down.

I am told that, after being closed initially, the students appealed the decision to the AUC president and were given permission to continue operating. But then yesterday I noticed that Delicious had set up their own kiosk and had dispatched two Cilantro employees to hand out cookies to the passersby.

Getting warmer….but I’m not sold yet. When they start delivering free double macchiatos to my office, then we’ll talk. That may even earn them a coveted Friday in Cairo endorsement.

But in the end, even the student food is priced head and shoulders above the cheap filling lunch you can get for a few pounds at the downtown places. The real scandal is that, with November almost here, there is no sign of fuul, tamiyya or koshary on the new campus as promised.

Meanwhile, I continue to spend a great deal of time at the old campus. The wireless internet is still up and running, the cheaper, better coffee shop is still open, the bank is open with no lines. There are trees, birds chirping, no desert rats, you get the picture.

Estudantes furiosos conseguiram um pedido de desculpas [en] do reitor da AUC:

The head of The American University in Cairo apologized to attendees at a raucous and at times angry student forum today meant to address concerns about the new campus, which continued even as a blackout hit the university.

Flanked by two armed bodyguards, President David Arnold asked for the audience’s understanding and forgiveness for the problems the university has experienced this semester.

“I want to express my deep personal apology about the problems and suffering that we have encountered at the past two months,” he said.

The forum was hastily organized in response to a sit-in held by dozens of student protesters last week outside the administration building.

The group organizing the protest asked the school provide the details of its contract with food consortium Delicious Inc. and publicize all of its financial records, provide cheaper food alternatives, guarantee the campus is finished by spring, a reimbursement of four weeks of tuition, and a cap on tuition hikes.

During his address at the Motaz El Alfy Hall in the newly opened section of campus, Arnold acknowledged student frustration with the problems AUC has experienced in the move to Kattameya.

Arnold defended the move as the “right decision,” though he was immediately heckled for the comment.

He did not give a definitive answer about when the campus would be fully completed, but said he expected student housing would be ready for tenants at the end of the semester. An updated construction schedule is expected next week, AUC said in a statement.

To address student concerns about food on campus, the university has created a Food Services Committee, and will provide a summary of its agreement with Delicious Inc, the university said.

At the forum, Arnold announced that students would also receive a food coupon worth 200 LE.

He also agreed with the concerns that staff and students have raised about the bus service provided by Family Transport. Drivers for the Heliopolis-based firm have been in at least two accidents since the beginning of the semester.

“Bus service was not that good for the first two weeks of this semester, as many problems were taking place, such as the bus was sometimes full or it wasn’t on time,” Arnold said.

The bus services rebate will be worth 500 LE to each student, a third of the value of the bus pass.

But he said he was not entertaining a tuition refund of any kind. In its release, the university stated tuition covers 70 percent of education costs, the remainder covered by donations and AUC’s endowment funds.

“We have made a commitment towards offering higher education programs for you, so a reduction of tuition is unnecessary,” Arnold said.

In previous remarks to the Caravan, university officials said AUC has suffered a decline of almost $100 million in the market value of its securities investments, which were largely made with endowment funds.

No Facebook, diversos grupos foram criados pelos estudantes dando voz as suas frustrações: Petição para retornar para o antigo campus, [en] Odiamos o novo campus,[en] e Não venda o campus velho.[en]

Shefali Yogendra explica [En] por quê o Twitter é a ferramenta perfeita para emergências:

As Mumbai saw an unprecedented instance of what can only be described as ‘distributed terrorism’, Twitter sprung into action. Twelve hours later, Twitter users all over the world were saying they found Twitter updates more reliable, timely and clear.

The following characteristics of Twitter make it a perfect tool for use in emergencies - both for disseminating updates and information, and for coordinating help efforts such as contacting friends and relatives, and organizing blood donation drives.

Sepia Mutiny [En] concorda:

Twitter has also been a great way to get details about what’s going on. Try typing Oberoi for example. “Terrorists trapped” also results in a slew of Tweets.

Enquanto os relatos da TV e da imprensa estão acostumados a usar o sensacionalismo e causar terror amplificando rumores, os feeds do twitter retratam um senso real do que está acontecendo e como as pessoas estão lidando com isso. Aqui estão alguns exemplos de twittadas que apareceram no feed do canal #Mumbai [En]:

aravindjose: Dont worry about blast sounds. They are by NSG to break off the doors. Not by terrorists - Maj.Gen.

puneet: In past 20 years that i have lived in mumbai Never have I seen such empty streets in Mumbai

asteris: http://helpmumbai.pinstorm.com, a comprehensive guide to relevant emergency phone numbers and info on the #Mumbai attack

quiz_master: CNNIBN: Deshmukh - “20-25 terrorists came in mumbai, 7 killed, 1 caught

Estas twittadas foram usadas por muitas redes de notícias para exibir notícias minuto a minuto em seus canais de notícias na TV.

Contudo, corre um rumor de que haveria solicitações para que o canal #Mumbai do Twitter fosse fechado. Arzan do Mumbai Metblogs [En] relata:

Twitter users were asking people to stop sending updates and there were rumors that the Government and/or the Military had asked the twitter channel #mumbai be shut down.

However there is no official record of this and Dina Mehta clarified this on twitter. She reports that the news channels have stopped carrying twitter feeds on their TV broadcasts.

Um usuário do Twitter respondeu:

nexplicable: Its stupid to ask #mumbai posts to stop. Something else will come up in no time. Security forces need to learn to work with this.

Abaixo, as últimas atualizações do canal #mumbai do Twitter, em inglês:

Fotografias estão aparecendo no flickr e em outros sites, permitindo que a gente vislumbre imagens para além do que é divulgado na grande imprensa. Arun Shanbhag conta com uma postagem cheia de fotos [en] - de poças de sangue e marcas de giz a um Taj Hotel em chamas. Veja mais fotografias dele no flickr.

Imagem do Taj hotel em chamas por Soumit Kar. Eis uma fotografia do mesmo hotel tirada por Mayank Austen Soofi - pegando fogo, à noite. Ashesh Shah tem uma foto de escadas e guindastes colocados no hotel para ajudar no trabalho de resgate.

O Taj Mahal Hotel [en] é uma construção icónica em Mumbai. Frequentemente visto em fotografias como pano de fundo da porta de entrada da Índia, é um patrimônio da nação e teve várias figuras ilustres do mundo todo como hóspedes em seus quartos. Parte do choque expresso pelos blogueiros tem a ver com o fato da estrutura ainda estar em chamas, e o piso superior, ao que parece, ter sido totalmente destruído pelas chamas.

Esse artigo é parte da cobertura especial do Global Voice sobre os ataques terroristas em Mumbai, Índia [en] em 26 de novembro de 2008.

A indignação perante a cobertura na imprensa dos ataques terroristas em Mumbai é aparente na blogosfera. Para uns, os principais meios de comunicação parecem ter tomado a rota do “chocar e abalar”, em vez de apurar os rumores antes de divulgá-los. Mas a nação parece estar colada aos aparelhos de televisão, que são provavelmente as fontes de informação mais “ao vivo” neste momento. Kalyan Varma writes:

In tough economic and global times like this, we will win only if we move on with out lives and keep this behind. This is how we fight terror, not overreacting to this, not invading countries and giving up our freedom. Bad enough the security guards check my car and bags each time I enter a mall or hotel here in Bangalore, I do not want to give up any more of my freedom.

and someone please shut up Barkha Dutt of NDTV. She is causing more damage to the country by FUD than the terrorists themselves.

Em tempos de aperto econômico global como estes, apenas ganharemos se seguirmos adiante com nossas vidas e deixarmos isso para trás. Esta é a forma como se luta contra o terrorismo, não exagerando nas reações a ele, não invadindo países e abrindo mão de nossa liberdade. Já basta ter os seguranças verificando meu carro e sacolas a cada vez que entro num centro comercial ou hotel aqui em Bangalore, não quero abrir mão de nem um pouco mais da minha liberdade.
e alguém por favor cala a boca da Barkha Dutt da NDTV. Ela está prejudicando mais o país causando medo, incerteza e dúvida do que os próprios terroristas.

E na perspectiva de um homem da imprensa, Smoke Signals [pt] escreve um artigo ferino sobre o noticiário e si mesmo.

The rational corner of my mind tells me that there is no security measure, no multi-crore security ‘plan' that can permanently inoculate me and my fellow Mumbaikars against what is becoming a gory ritual. But who, listening to a colleague call in with details of grenade explosions and the rattle of machine guns and mounting body counts or watching images of the Taj Mahal Hotel – more, to me and my fellow Mumbaikars than a ‘hotel'; its facade is as much a part of my Mumbai-ness as is vada pav and cutting chai and the boon-granting Ganesha of Siddhivinayak – can stay rational? That other me, the irrational me that showered and dressed and drove to work today, watches news reports of the Prime Minister talking to his wannabe successor to work out travel plans [Shall we go to Mumbai together or separately? Prime Ministerial plane or commercial airliner? Window seat or aisle?] and wonders, don't you guys have anything more important, more immediate, to do? Does Mumbai really need, want, either or both of you to regurgitate the cud of banality, to trot out prefabricated statements on the order of ‘The country must come together to resist this threat to its security?

O lado racional da minha mente me diz que não há nenhuma medida de segurança, não há nenhum “plano” multi-crore* de segurança que possa inocular permanentemente a mim e a meus compatriotas em Mumbai contra o que está virando um ritual sangrento. Mas quem, ao ouvir um telefonema de um colega com detalhes de explosões de granadas e barulho de metralhadoras e contagem de corpos ou ao ver imagens do Taj Mahal Hotel - para mim e meus colegas mumbaianos, mais do que um simples ‘hotel', a sua fachada representa grande parte da minha “mumbaindade” assim como vada pav (uma comida vegetariana indiana), colher folhas de chá, a benção de Ganexa no templo Siddhivinayak - pode permanecer racional? O outro eu, o eu irracional que tomou banhou e vestiu-se e dirigiu-se ao trabalho hoje, que assiste aos noticiários com o Primeiro-Ministro falando ao seu possível sucessor sobre a elaboração de planos de viagem [Vamos a Mumbai juntos ou separados? No avião do ministério ou de vôo comercial? Assento na janela ou ao corredor?], se pergunta, vocês não têm nada mais importante, mais imediato, para fazer? Será que Mumbai realmente precisa ou quer que um ou ambos de vocês regurgitem a ruminação da banalidade, vomitem declarações prefabricadas do tipo “O país tem que se unir para resistir a esta ameaça à sua segurança”?

*Nota da tradução: crore é uma unidade no sistema numérico indiano

Falstaff [en] comenta a cobertura implacável da imprensa e pergunta se alguém parou para pensar sobre como isso pode acabar ajudando aos agressores:

It's a particularly bad idea because it seems to me that most media channels are too busy trying to sensationalize the news to bother thinking through the consequences of what they're saying. It's not just that much of the coverage seems to be designed to amplify the general hysteria and panic, it's also that watching journalists describe what the police are doing or report on who is still trapped inside the hotels, I find myself wondering whether anyone's considered that at least some of that information might be helping the attackers.

É sobretudo uma má ideia pois ao que parece a maioria dos veículos da imprensa estão ocupados demais tentando sensacionalizar as notícias para se preocupar em considerar as conseqüências do que estão dizendo. Não é apenas o fato de que grande parte da cobertura parece ser concebida para amplificar a histeria e o pânico gerais, é também que jornalistas descrevem o que a polícia está fazendo ou divulgam quem ainda está encurralado nos hotéis, eu me pergunto se alguém tem levado em consideração o fato de que pelo menos algumas dessas informações podem estar ajudando aos agressores.

As primeiras fotografias do ataque em Mumbai começam a chegar ao flickr. Vinu, do Vinu's Online Cloud, [en] disponibilizou um monte de fotografias tiradas nas ruas de Mumbai.

MumbaiHelp está novamente online e se oferece para fazer telefonemas para qualquer pessoa que não consiga falar com sua família e amigos.

Leave a message if you're trying to get through to pals in the city.

Preferably leave a cellphone number for both yourself and your friends / family, and we'll try and SMS them.

Tip: Suggest you avoid calling. Lines are bound to be screwed. SMS direct instead.

Deixe uma mensagem caso você esteja tentando contactar amigos na cidade.
Preferencialmente deixe o número do celular de ambos, você e seus amigos/familiares, e nós vamos tentar mandar uma mensagem de texto.
Sugestão: evite ligar. As linhas estão congestionadas até o limite. Mande um SMS diretamente em vez disso.

Enquanto isso, Gauravonomics [en] escreve o artigo "Jornalismo Cidadão em Tempo Real Durante os Ataques Terroristas em Mumbai”:

The Mumbai terrorist attack is now on the front page of Google News and Mahalo is doing a great job of compiling the story as it unfolds.

The first photos of the Mumbai terrorist attacks are up on CNN-IBN and NDTV and both (CNN-IBN and NDTV) are streaming live video feeds of the unfolding situation.

I’ll be updating this post with more citizen generated resources on the Mumbai terrorist attacks as they are put up.

Os ataques terroristas em Bombaim já estão na primeira página do Google News e Mahalo está fazendo um ótimo trabalho de compilação da história tal como ela se desdobra.
As primeiras fotos dos ataques terroristas em Bombaim já estão na CNN-IBN e NDTV e ambos (CNN-IBN e NDTV) estão transmitindo feeds de vídeos ao vivo sobre os desdobramentos.
Vou continuar atualizando este post com mais recursos gerados por cidadãos sobre os atentados terroristas de Bombaim a medida eles são publicados.

Em uma série de explosões e disparos, a cidade de Mumbai parece ter sido alvo de ataque. Segundo as notícias, pelo menos sete diferentes locais foram atacados. Em uma espécie de terror sem precedentes, uma combinação de armas de fogo, explosões e granadadas foi usada para atacar cinemas, hotéis, hospitais e outros locais públicos. Uma matéria na imprensa [en] relata:

At least four people are reported to have been killed and 15 are injured as unidentified groups of gunmen opened fire in at least four places across south Mumbai on Wednesday night.

Há relatos de que menos quatro pessoas foram mortas e 15 feridas quando grupos de pistoleiros não identificados abriram fogo em pelo menos quatro locais no sul de Bombaim, na quarta-feira à noite.

Em uma postagem de uma linha, o blogue a view on markets and life [uma opinião sobre os mercados e a vida, en] evoca a confusão e o choque no momento.

Sirens outside my window. Please make it a safe night.

Sirenes do lado de fora da minha janela. Esperamos que seja uma noite segura.

No Twitter, várias pessoas estão falando de Mumbai, e parece que há poucas informações disponíveis.
Existe uma certa especulação quanto a este ser realmente um ataque terrorista. Bombaim constumava ser testemunha de guerras de quadrilhas, mas não se tem notícias delas há mais de uma década.

Uma comunidade online de engenheiros posta notícias sobre os eventos à medida que eles acontecem:

10 minutes before (10:45 PM IST) there is an Open Firing and Explosion reported in South Mumbai. Till now there is no Casualities reported. Atleast 15 Injured and 1 policeman injured. AK47 used in Firing .

So far 5 Confirmed Incidents reported in Shooting. 3 Confirmed Dead !

Firing reported in CST (Chatrapati Shivaji Terminal), Taj Hotel, Colaba Causeway and VT Station. Reports Confirmed its a Terror Attack. In VT Station atleast 15 people Feared Injured.

Há 10 minutos (10h45 PM IST) um tiroeteio e uma explosão foram relatados ao sul de Bombaim. Até agora não há relatos de casualidades. Pelo menos 15 ficaram feridos e 1 policial foi ferido. Foi usado AK 47.

Até agora 5 relatos de incidentes foram confirmados. 3 mortos foram confirmados!

Tiros relatados no CST (Terminal Chatrapati Shivaji), Taj Hotel, Colaba Causeway e Estação VT. As reportagens confirmam que é um ataque terrorista. Na Estação VT, teme-se que pelo menos 15 pessoas ficaram feridas.

Uma postagem no Retributions [en] recorda-nos que a ameaça do terror é muito real na Índia. Uma postagem no Staccato [en] articula uma idéia semelhante - sobre os atentados terroristas cegos que têm repetidamente assolado várias cidades da Índia.

Bomb blasts in Bombay as we speak.

Phones jammed. Can't reach my family.

I've gone through this before.

Not panicking.

Bomba explode em Bombaim enquanto falamos.
Telefones congestionados. Não consigo alcançar minha família.
J