OPINION: ‘We are here for the long haul’: Bader Philanthropies’ commitment to Harambee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Daniel J. Bader & Franklin Cumberbatch
October 14, 2019
(Photo by Andrea Warren))
Editor’s note: Got something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Daniel J. Bader, president and CEO of Bader Philanthropies, and Franklin Cumberbatch, its vice president for engagement, discuss Bader’s commitment to the Harambee neighborhood.
The Harambee neighborhood is home to lively individuals and families.
Our neighbors have hopes, dreams and vibrant ideas that come alive whenever we are together for “Chat with Bader,” a monthly event hosted to spark conversations about revitalizing our community.
Moving from the Historic Third Ward into a neighborhood was not about just moving stuff from one building to another building. It was about moving our hearts, minds, perspectives and culture. The way we “do business” has been altered by a heightened sense of humanity.
Every day offers an opportunity to connect with our neighbors, whether they live right next door, around the corner or throughout the 160-block community.
Conversations with residents amplify the passion people have for making our neighborhood safe, clean and healthy for all ages. And they have given birth to great ideas as they manifested the true meaning of “Harambee,” the Swahili word for “all pull together.” The neighborhood has joined together for annual community cleanups and a youth snow shoveling effort that benefits the elderly, helping them to safely leave their homes this past winter.
Harambee residents are people of action and walking historians on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive who share stories about our global headquarters building (formerly known as the Green Bay building), which has been around since the 1920’s, serving the neighborhood in many capacities. It continues to be a place where members of the community gather together. We never want that to change, in fact, we want to keep making those connections with passionate individuals.
Education and commitment are a passport to the future, and we are here for the long haul. We look forward to hearing the stories of the community as we work together to continue making Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive a place of fascinating activities and connections. During our first year in the new space, we welcomed over 5,000 people to our Harambee neighborhood headquarters, a 100-percent increase from our last year in the Third Ward.
One of the most memorable events was our recent “BBQ with Bader.” More than 300 guests connected with friends, neighbors, colleagues and enjoyed great food and danced to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music’s jazz ensemble. Seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter illuminate across our patio is one of the many reasons we enjoy being a part of a neighborhood. We experience the power of interactions between people coming together every day, and that guides us in the ways we partner with organizations around the world through our grants and convenings.
We invite you to join us at one of our upcoming “Chat with Bader” sessions, come say hi and talk with us about issues that are most important to you.


Benin Artefacts: Another Batch Of 1,030 Artwork Repatriated From Germany - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Publisher (A.M)
January 19, 2022
Tijani in Ibadan said that many artefacts had been received from the
European nation, but the commission would receive at least an
additional 1,030 in 2022.
The objects were taken from the country during the punitive expedition
of Benin in 1897.
According to him, when the artefacts would be received, it would give
the commission the opportunity to build new museums and attract more
tourists across the world.
Tijani said this would also give them opportunities to view the cultural
objects from the Nigerian context.
He added that the commission had called for the expansion of the
National Museum in Abuja and that of Benin so that the objects could be
displayed.
He said the commission had partnered with corporate organisations to
fund museum activities, adding that it had renovated many museums
across the country.


Africa: Kwani? Manuscript Project Announces Literary Prize · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“To celebrate the African novel and its adaptability and resilience, Kwani Trust announces a one-off new literary prize for African writing. The Kwani? Manuscript Project calls for the submission of unpublished fiction manuscripts from African writers across the continent and in the Diaspora,” Nana reports.


Mauritius: Is Kreol inferior in Mauritius? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mauritian blogger, Jean Lindsay, asks: “How can I accept that Kreol, my mother tongue, is inferior to other languages spoken in Mauritius?”


Neighborhood House Hosts FREE Children’s Immunizations | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
April 26, 2011


Haiti: Martelly’s Promises  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Toussaint on Haiti suggests that Haitians who voted for a Martelly presidency may now be suffering from buyers’ remorse.


Lebanon Resistance & Unity  · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The war that Israel is waging against Lebanon remains the primary issue discussed by bloggers blogging about Lebanon this week. This roundup does not do justice to the amount of posts that contain analysis, updates, personal experiences, reflections and photos of the situation in Lebanon. But it gives a feel of what things are like.
Amal prays to God to save Lebanon in her unique way:
Perpetual Refugee writes a very touching post about how he watched, in real time on TV, his neighborhood being bombed and his grandfather’s house destroyed.
And in another post titled: “From the killing fields. Silence”, Perpetual Refugee writes:
I try and imagine the 371 stories of each fatality of this current genocide. I try and remember how beautiful a summer it was in Lebanon. How children played in the streets at all hours of the day. The sounds of innocence echoing through the valleys of Lebanon’s countless villages. How the restaurants were full of foreign people in love, I mean totally in love with the host country that has so generously welcomed them into her heart. How each person I had spoken with just one week ago had so positively looked to the future of a nation that just earned a hard fought independence. A confident Lebanon. A proud Lebanon. A Lebanon so full of promise.
And now, as I watch high rated news telecasts projecting images of destruction. Images of genocide. I don’t hear anything. Just silence. Mixed in with ads for McDonald’s and Ford automobiles interspersed between the funerals.
Prof Juan Cole gives evidence that the “War on Lebanon Planned for at least a Year” ago.
In addition to pinpointing the Middle East “crisis”,  Anarchistian asks the following questions:
John Bolton: Syria must pressure HezbAllah to stop firing rockets at Israeli civilians.
John Bolton: Syria must pressure HezbAllah to hand over the two Israeli soldiers.
I wonder:
Who will pressure Israel to stop dropping 23 ton bombs on Lebanese civilians?
Who will pressure Israel to hand over Lebanese hostages in Israeli jails?
Who will pressure Israel to stop targeting journalists and TV stations?
Who will pressure Israel to lift its siege, which is an act of war against all of Lebanon?
Who?
Not our good friend the USA, surely?
Having in mind that an all-serious tone on the blog would turn off many readers who argue that we must always find something to laugh about even when bombs are falling on our heads, I have decided to launch a funny Middle Eastern quote of the day initiative. Here’s today’s:
“Israel’s offensive in Lebanon is not aimed at destroying HezbAllah.” – Avi Dichter
Lazarus defines terrorism in this fill in the blank exercise:
Terror: violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands.
Terrorism: the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.
Murder: the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought.
Use these three words to fill in the blanks.
The IDF, through its actions of _______ing civilians, engages in state-sponsored ___________ and inflicts _________ on Lebanese civilians.
*Definitions from Merriam Webster.
Abu Kais sees that “Maybe Israel has a problem too” and says:
The international focus now is on getting rid of Hizbullah, implementing resolution 1559, and allegedly “helping the democratic Lebanese government.” The method is war, and the outcome so far has been an empowered Hizbullah and a weakened government that is quickly losing credibility among the very population it is supposed to protect.
Jij describes and analysis in much detail the reasons that lead us to this this situation.
Propaganda machines are usually most energetic in time of war. Prof Abu Khalil notes this in one of his posts:
Is anybody keeping track with the lies of Israeli propaganda (which seems to emulate Nasser's propaganda of the 1967 war) in this war? They claimed that they have killed 100 Hizbullah members but failed to provide evidence–wait, maybe the pictures of the incinerated children count as evidence; then they claimed yesterday that they occupied Marun Ar-Ras, only to claim today that they really really really now fully occupy Marun Ar-Ras; and then they claimed a few days ago that they have scores of Hizbullah fighters in captivity, only to claim today that they have two. Which is which, o propagandists of the Israeli war machine? Also, having lived under Israeli occupation in 1982, I am glad to see that the quality of Israeli Orientalism has not improved one bit. In fact, the quality of the Arabic in the propaganda flyers has even gone down.
As well as quoting a doctor in one of the hospitals in the South of Lebanon who observes that all the injured are innocent civilians who were trying to escape and were carrying white flags.
While Dr Victorino discusses the issue of propaganda in this article:
Many apologists of the Bushmert regime have pumped up their shameless propaganda campaign in the airwaves and on the internet since the start of Israel’s war of aggression on Lebanon.
The truth is that more than a third of towns and villages targeted by the Israeli Air Force are actually located in exclusively Christian areas – Yahweh’s glorious army made a point of bombing both Roman Catholic and Byzantine Orthodox areas, thus proving its attachment to the development of Christian ecumenism!
Jamal uses his very witty style to make up some accomplishment for Olmert's killing campaign which still has no military accomplishments to speak of.
Ahmad describes how he woke up to the bombing and demolition of a center in Saida that hosts clinics, a pharmacy, a medical laboratory and a mosque among other civil things. The center is just 10 minutes walk from where he lives.
Lebanese Bloggers Forum is a blog maintained by a number of Lebanese bloggers and has posts on many topics, updates, calendar of demonstrations etc. It has this post which lists the 68 UN Resolutions that Israel is in violation of among other things.
Most writers agree that Israel’s actions are leading to the exact opposite of what Israel claims that it wants to achieve. Pierre Tristam writes in this article:
The more the Israeli assault lasts, the more distant it gets from its presumed aim of destroying Hezbollah—the more impossible it becomes to destroy what the bombing campaign of the last twelve days can only recharge and redirect in proportion to the tonnage of savagery it is dropping on Lebanon. Who, the Lebanese are rightfully asking themselves, are the terrorists now?
And Sophia writes in one of her posts:
Up to now, the ‘war on terrorism’ has produced nothing and killed much more civilians than the attack on the WTC. It didn’t even produced friendly regimes for the US, let alone winning hearts and minds in the ME.
Moreover, Hezbollah enjoys now a support from a defiant sizable part of the Christian population in Lebanon. My guess is that, before the war on Hezbollah will end, the US and Israel would have lost all their allies in Lebanon, except may be for the weakened Lebanese forces who appear more and more to be the shadow of their former self in terms of Christian support. As in Ukraine, the US sponsored Cedar revolution will be short lived.
Israeli war machines are also intercepting radio broadcasts. EDB at Anecdotes from a Banana Republic writes about one such incident:
I get a huge kick out of the Israeli radio interception. Halfway through a news broadcast on the Lebanese Communist Party radio station, a monotonous, droning voice interrupts to address Hassan Nasrallah and the Hezbollah fighters (in Arabic): “Come on, oh Hassan, you coward. Pack your bags and go to Masnaa [the remaining border crossing to Syria, last time I checked].. come on, you brave men hiding in your tunnels and caves…”
Couldn't they do that to the TV stations, too? It might diversify the content a bit, if we weren't just seeing bombs and dead babies. Also, I'd love it if they dressed up like “real Arabs” to interrupt the broadcasts. That would be ultra-effective; a guy in a turban interrupts a cooking show or, say, Fashion TV, which is also still broadcasting, to say, “Surrender now, Jesus… I mean, Allah loves you”.
Intercept every media outlet and tell the Lebanese what to think and do; then you will be welcomed with flowers and baklava. Do they have figures on how successful the conversion rates are from their propaganda? More successful than penis-enlargement spamming? Surely not. People aren't grateful for being bombed. That's a tough lesson.
EDB also shows the logical fallacy behind Israel’s claim that it is not targeting civilians:
US hypothesis Nr. 1: Israel does not attack civilians and civilian infrastructure.
US hypothesis Nr. 2: The US “is concerned for the personal safety of American citizens due to the current security situation in Lebanon” because “major roads … are subject to an air strike at any time” (according to an email I received from the US Dept of State)
In short, Americans in Lebanon are in danger of being hit by an Israeli bomb.
US hypothesis Nr. 3: We must evacuate all American civilians.
Conclusion:
We must evacuate all American civilians, for they are in danger of being attacked by Israel, which does not attack civilians.
The American civilians who are in danger must all be human shields for Hezbollah or hiding Katyushas under their beds. Why, oh why, would they be in danger, if Israel is attacking Hezbollah, rather than everything that moves?
UrShalim posts about Israel’s destruction of the notorious Khiam Prison which testifies to its dark past when it occupied Lebanon as well as pictures of Beirut trying to cope with the war against it.
Finally, for now, Zena has these pictures of the environmental damage caused by the Israeli war.


Senegal-Chad: Hissène Habré won’t be expelled anymore  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

In a post published on July 11th, leboytownshow.com blog states the following [fr] :”Senegalese authorities finally announced that they suspend the deportation order against Hissène Habré (editor's note:  Chad former president) “.


How Empatico is closing the gap between classrooms in Nigeria and other parts of the world | EduCeleb
Kayode Oluwaseun
26th August 2018
Empatico is a free video conferencing tool that connects classrooms of children aged 7-11 across the world, all in a bid to make the world a little much kind. The tool is created on the foundation of empathy. It is believed that when children learn empathy at a tender age, it goes with them into adulthood.
From its launch in 2017 till date, Empatico has generated more than 2,000 users in over 50 countries across the world. Beautiful connections have been made between classrooms across the world, and amazing feedbacks have been received from teachers and pupils likewise.
Earlier this year, a classroom in Nigeria was able to connect with another classroom in Connecticut, USA. This connection was facilitated by David Omololu Aiyeola, an alumnus of the African American Institute (an organisation in partnership with Empatico on scaling the tool in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa).OLUWASEUN KAYODE had an interview with Mr David to discuss his experience using the Empatico tool. Read his thoughts below
My name is David Omololu Aiyeola, the CEO of Edufunfunds Ventures, one of the British Council top 50 social enterprise start ups of 2017. An alumnus of Enterprise development center (SSM).
I am an African American Institute (AAI) alumnus, having undergone one of the Transformation Leadership Program (TLP) at EDC=, Social sector Management Program SSM6. I do get the newsletters. I read all and look out for opportunities which I take pleasure of sharing with all my friends via all my social media channels. The last newsletter was unique as it made mention of the great plan of a partnership with Empatico. It also said that AAI is supporting the expansion of Empatico free digital learning tool in Ghana and Nigeria through its education partnerships across the African continent, bringing educational opportunities to young people across the African continent according to its mission to expand the boundaries of how kids learn, and also help teachers integrate kindness and curiosity into their lesson plans, and give students a new way to explore how their peers across the world live. To me this is good news. So, I looked up the website and instantly signed up.
So easy. You log in your name and email, and you get a confirmation email which you need to activate to validate your signup. Next, you need to fill the schedule time table to indicate the time of availability so that the admin can match yours with another teacher in another clime.
I was matched few days later. This was after I have received a welcome email. I was first matched with a teacher in India. I initiated a chat and waited for 2 weeks and there was no response. So, I reached out to Erick Roa and we had a brief exchange of emails. I actually got his email from the newsletter. He advised that I cancel the first match and request another which I did, and was re-matched with another teacher in Connecticut.
Our first interaction was good. The experience was quite revealing. The children asked why the kids at the other end are not putting on uniforms. It was a bit challenging to easily grasp what the American kids were saying because they are fast in speech. Our children were a bit shy at the beginning and later they grew bold.
To arrive at that point, we had to agree with the other teacher the best time for both parties based on the 5 hrs time difference between Nigeria and the US. Next, we chose the same activity (Folktales to learn from) and fixed a time to virtually meet via the video tool on the site.
After that, the whole team got really busy in the activity that was selected. We streamed the videos, read it out loud and summarise the lessons of each story. On the D-day, we appeared in our best to have real fun. We asked the children what lessons was gained from the activity from both sides and why they chose such points.
At first, when we shared the information with the children, they were very excited. The founder of the school, Aunty Tosin as she is fondly called added so much Efizy (pump and joyous expectation) to the announcement. The head teacher Miss Taiwo also resolved all their scepticism while she selects the pupils capable of participating as you know they must be able to communicate very well in English. So, the expectation was quite high.
After the interaction, I was bombarded with questions. Oh! the other school was so beautiful. Will the kids come to Nigeria? How can we get to know them better? When next to connect? What kinds of food do they eat? What kinds of sport do they play? etc. So, I asked them why they didn’t ask the kids from the International Magnet School for Global Citizenship Connecticut USA directly.
That was what led to the unanimous decision to organise the second interaction which was also successful and all questions were asked while we, on our own part, used that opportunity to teach the other kids few things about Nigeria and our rich cultural heritage in dance, chant and songs to the cheers and admiration of their peers at the other side. Who will believe this will be possible and all for free. Empatico is simply awesome.
You can tell that Mr David had an amazing experience using Empatico, and it also validates the tool for use by other Nigerian teachers. If you are a teacher and will love to use this tool. It’s free and easy to sign up. Just visit empatico.org and click on sign up. Fill in your details and follow the steps.


Georgia War: The Pipeline That Was Not Bombed · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Eternal Remont comments on one of the apparently erroneous stories picked up by the media, namely the alleged Russian bombing of the crucial BTC-pipeline, which BP & co – running the pipeline – has no knowledge of.


Bahrain: Parliament Protest Planned  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Bahrain Journalists Association has called for a demonstration in front of the Parliament building this Thursday at 5pm to show to denounce the dearth of parliamentary output in its first session, reports blogger Mahmood Al Yousif. “I plan to be there, it is important to demonstrate to the “people’s representatives” that they are anything but. Especially with the ridiculous efforts exerted by them collectively to restrict personal and all other freedoms,” he adds.


Travel: An extreme sport for Africans · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Africa silhouette image by Natasha Sinegina (CC BY-SA 4.0). Visa page images by Jon Evans (CC BY 2.0). Image remix by Georgia Popplewell.
In 2019, Temitayo Olofinlua, a Nigerian writer and academic, was denied a visa to attend the European Conference on African Studies in Edinburgh, UK. The British High Commission in Nigeria said they were “not satisfied” that Olofinlua would leave the UK at the end of her trip.
The truth is: I am tired.
— Temitayo Olofinlua (@Tayowrites1) May 29, 2019
The visa refusal was later rescinded by the UK Home Office. Olofinlua went to the conference and has since returned to Nigeria.
Others have not been as lucky. In April 2019, the UK visa authorities prevented 24 out of 25 African scientists working on infectious diseases from joining their colleagues at various events taking place as part of the London School of Economics Africa Summit. The people most invested in and best-positioned to tackle the problem of diseases on their continent, were barred from participating in an event about “the challenge of pandemic preparedness.”
The LSE will be holding its next Africa summit not in London but in Belgium due to the ease of securing visas for Africans there, and because so many African invitees now refuse to go through the humiliating British visa application process. https://t.co/Q3WfiHS7Ja
— Mũthoni Mũrĩu (@jmmuriu) July 18, 2019
Barring Africans from entry into certain countries is not only humiliating — it also highlights the institutional racism that underpins the notion that African professionals and creatives cannot be trusted to obey the law.
Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” The reality, however, is that without a passport and valid visa, this right cannot easily be exercised. And the ease of getting a visa varies according to nationality. On the 2019 Henley Passport Index, Japan and Singapore hold the top spot for access to most countries, while Angola, Egypt and Haiti are at the bottom.
Kenyan author Ciku Kimeria describes the indignity of living without “passport privilege.” She notes that even a visa does not guarantee entry because “you still have to deal with the surly immigration official who will suspiciously ask, ‘And what are you here to do?’” If the answer to this question isn’t to the official’s satisfaction, visitors could find themselves being marched back to the departure gate.
We need to address this visa injustice. It’s time we talked about #visareciprocity. If you apply these rules to Ugandans going abroad. Same rules should apply to foreigners visiting Uganda. Enough is enough. And Africa, it’s time to drop the visa requirements to visit each other pic.twitter.com/aiX0tsALSe
— TMS Ruge (@tmsruge) July 11, 2019
For Africans traveling outside the continent, applying for a visa can feel like offering sacrifices to a ravenous god. Adéṣínà Ayẹni (Ọmọ Yoòbá), Global Voices Yoruba translation manager, recounts his recent experience trying to procure a visa to Lisbon, Portugal, for the 2019 Creative Commons Summit:
It was the greatest news of my life when I received a mail to deliver a keynote address at the 2019 CC Summit in Lisbon. . . . On April 18, 2019, some days to my birthday, I submitted my visa application to attend the Lisbon summit at the VFS Global office in Lekki, Lagos. The summit was slated for May 9-11, 2019, but visa processing takes a minimum 15 days.
On the day I was to depart for Portugal, I still [hadn’t] received my passport. . . . 11 days after the summit elapsed, I received a text from the VFS for collection of my passport. My people say, inú dídùn l’ó ń mú orí yá (you cannot be at your best when sad). It is one thing that I was not given a visa to attend the summit, another is that the huge scholarship grant to attend the summit went down the drain, wasted. I am miserable because I have not been able to refund the scholarship due to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy on wire transfers. It is excruciatingly painful that my right to associate as a free citizen of the global village was violated. I was stripped of my voice!
It’s difficult for Africans to travel outside Africa — but it can be equally grim to travel within the continent. Citizens of many countries in the global North can travel to most Africa countries visa-free, or with few restrictions, but the majority of Africans need visas to travel to over half of the other African countries.
Nigerian Global Voices contributor Rosemary Ajayi captures the “struggle of Africans traveling within Africa”:
I am happy that we, and many others, are highlighting the challenges Africans face getting Western visas. This doesn't annoy me as much as the struggles of Africans travelling within Africa. At RightsCon in Tunis, and GlobalFact in Cape Town, I took the time to ask Africans if they had needed visas. Just this weekend, I learnt of a Nigerian journalist who was unable to attend GlobalFact because he didn't have a visa. Let's not talk about how most of the African delegates at RightsCon had to fly out of Africa first, in order to get to Tunis. Last month, I met an East African journalist applying for a visa to Nigeria. He was asked to supply the driver's license of the professional driver picking him up from the airport!
As Rosemary points out, intra-continental travel is often further complicated by having to travel out of the continent in order to reach a destination within Africa.
At the International Air Transport Association (IATA) regional aviation forum in Accra in June, Ghana's Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia lamented the fact that “a business person from Freetown [Sierra Leone], for example, should travel for nearly two days to go to Banjul (often through a third country) for a journey which a straight-line flight would have taken only one hour.”
The convoluted flight routes are then compounded by the extraordinarily high cost of air travel within the continent. The currency in the following tweet is Nigerian naira, around US$ 990.
I wanted to go to cote d’ivore last week, checked wakanow , the cheapest flight was 380k. Lagos to New York is 360k. https://t.co/ObJ5HfLFIF
— ❤ (@TounBash) September 17, 2018
A rescue operation off the Canary Islands in 2006. Photo by Noborder Network. (CC BY 2.0)
Between 2010-2017, migrants from sub-Saharan African countries accounted for the largest migrant population in the world after Syria. Many Africans leave the countries fleeing poverty or violent conflict, to seek asylum, refugee status or permanent residence in North America or Europe. A 2018 Pew Research study reports that the number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa “grew by 50% or more between 2010 and 2017, significantly more than the 17% worldwide average increase for the same period.”
Sub-Saharan Africans are also emigrating to countries far and wide. In 2014, over 170,000 migrants without legal documents ferried across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Many hailed from sub-Saharan Africa. In December 2018, Brazilian police rescued 25 sub-Saharan African nationals who had “been at sea for over a month” in the Atlantic Ocean. The travelers had paid “hundreds of dollars apiece” for the trip from Cape Verde. In June 2019, US Customs and Border Protection in Del Rio, Texas, USA, arrested more than 500 Africans from Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola, for trying to cross into the USA via the Rio Grande River.
While dominant narratives in the media perpetuate Africa as a continent of mass migration driven by poverty or violent conflict, however, Marie-Laurence Flahaux and Hein De Haas, scholars from University of Oxford and University of Amsterdam, respectively, take issue with this stereotype.
Flahaux and De Haas argue that these narratives are propagated not only by “media and politicians” but also by scholars. Their research shows that migration from the continent is multi-layered and driven by global “processes of development and social transformation” that have increased the “capabilities and aspirations” of Africans’ to migrate — similar to migrants from other parts of the world.
These stereotypical narratives, however, often inform visa policy: Most countries’ authorities assume that all Africans who travel will not return to their home countries, leaving African visa applicants to bear the burden of proof.
Getting non-African nations to take a more nuanced approach to visa approvals for African nationals is a long battle. Meanwhile, African nations can take action to improve mobility across the continent. A common African passport is one step  — but it's not enough. The Single African Air Transport market (SAATM), and the Continental Free Trade Agreement, both launched last year, have laid the foundation for some of these shifts, but widespread implementation is still a long way off.
Meanwhile, as an African, to dare to travel is to be subjected to cruel humiliations when travelling outside Africa — or to be jolted out of the fantasy of African unity by the harshness of travelling within the continent. Either way the visa gods demand more sacrifices, while remaining adamantly intransigent.


Hamilton Design Review Panel to Deliberate on Design Rules for New 45-Storey Waterfront Tower – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

April 6, 2021
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel will deliberate Thursday what should be required for Pier 8 developer Waterfront Shores to be allowed to build a 45-storey tall building as Hamilton’s new skyscraper icon.  what the City should expect from a 45-storey tall building on the West Harbour, if it is approved by City Council, or even sought by the Pier 8 developer Waterfront Shores.
The meeting is Thursday starting at 2:00pm. Members of the public can request access to watch the meeting by emailing<EMAIL_ADDRESS>prior to noon on Wednesday.
The tower concept emerges from a surprising turn of events.
Herman Turkstra and Harbour West Neighbours Inc. settled their appeals of the Pier 8 redevelopment zoning with the inclusion of a clause requiring the City of Hamilton’s planning department to present a range of options for a “signature” mid-rise or tall building on the western edge of Pier 8.
The neighbourhood appellants are seeking more family units in the overall Pier 8 redevelopment, the tall building option is designed to incentivize this goal.
As the building height increases, so too does the required number of family units. A 45-storey building must include 150 units with two or more bedrooms.
What should the urban design guidelines for a signature building be?
The City hired Brook McIlroy to create a new Urban Design Guideline for this site, officially known as Pier 8 Block 16. Brook McIlroy created the original design guidelines of the Pier 8 redevelopment.
The 92-page document covers site organization, public realm interface, residential building design, sustainability, how to ensure either the mid-rise or tall building option integrate well into the City’s hope to make Pier 8 a year-round destination that Hamiltonians from all parts of the city frequent for recreation and entertainment.
It is a dry read, and not being a product of Waterfront Shores, it does not provide any details regarding the proposed tower. This is why there are no new renders of the proposed building, and the figures in this document are all conceptual.
Disclaimers are contained throughout the document stating that the City of Hamilton has made no commitment to allowing a tall building on Block 16, and the report is to facilitate discussion.
Waterfront Shores “should allow for a minimum of 50% sun coverage at all times of the day” during the spring and summer on the new waterfront promenade, the report states. This means the design of the entire site will need to be designed to manage shadowing of the promenade along the Harbour to the north of the buildings.
Parking for Block 16 will need to be hidden within the neighbouring buildings to the east, says the report. The podium of Block 16 needs to be an active space, not storage for cars. Garage entrances need to be recessed and screened from the pedestrian realm.
Green design should be a key requirement, and the City should impose strict standards the report states. Waterfront Shores is expected to be enrolled in the Energy Star Portfolio Manager prior to submitted any application for Block 16 to the City.
District energy preparation will also be required, including the reserving of space and easements for future thermal piping.
All landscaping will be required to utilize 100% native plants, the report states.
Bird-friendly design will be required “including sunshades or louvers, visual markers within glazed surfaces, and non-reflective glazing to reduce window collisions with birds.”
The idea of the building as a landmark is briefly explored in the final sections of the report, with much discussion of the top of the building serving as a beacon that will represent Hamilton’s skyline.


Kenyan Blogger Detained Over Controversial Tweets · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Controversial Kenyan blogger and Twitter user Robert Alai was detained in police cells on Tuesday 21 August, 2012, for allegedly abusing the Kenya Information and Communication Act.
Alai is accused of claiming that Kenyan government spokesperson Alfred Mutua wanted to kill him, and alleging Mutua's involvement in ordering the murder of human rights activists, Oscar King'ara and Paul Oulu, in 2009. Alai pleaded not guilty and was released on a cash bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings.
According to NairobiWire, the tweets that got Alai in trouble are the following [now offline]:
Robert Alai's tweet accusing government spokesperson of murder that got him into legal trouble.
The foolish government spokesman called Alfred Mutua now threatens me and tells me that he will deal with me. #Justice4Karen #WomenLeadership
Alfred Mutua and Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere need to act and arrest Allassane Ba ASAP.#Justice4Karen
I have just told Alfred Mutua that one day he will leave that power he is misusing.#Justice4Karen
072124**** is Alfred Mutua's number he is using to threaten me. FOOLISH PIG is drunk with power. #Justice4Karen
Alfred Mutua ordered for the execution of G.P. Oulu and Oscar King'ara calling them Mungiki. He wants to do the same to me. #Justice4Karen
Robert Alai runs Tech Mtaa blog and runs a Twitter account with over 20,000 followers. On Twitter he describes himself as a ‘voice of the voiceless’.
Alai is a very controversial blogger who has stepped on many people's toes, as Erik Hersman explains in his post that begins with Voltaire's quote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”:
Robert Alai is blogging scum. Make no mistake. The quality of a person is not found in what they say, but in what they do, and Alai has proven time and time again that he is a bad actor.
If you know Robert Alai’s history in the tech scene in Kenya, then you know why he has been banned from the iHub. There’s a reason why the Skunkworks community ejected him multiple times over many years. There’s a reason why Nokia banned him. There’s a reason why Google blacklisted him. He consistently libels individuals for personal gain, to draw traffic and monetize his sites. For him it’s about attention, any way that he can get it.
However, he warns Kenyans on Twitter who are laughing at Alai’s predicament because tomorrow the government could tackle them with the same piece of legislation, that allows for censorship based on fuzzy details and definitions. He adds that the issue at hand is not about Alai:
This isn’t about Alai, he just happens to be playing the role of a jester, distracting us from the much greater story that is online and media censorship in Kenya. There were many of us who warned against the real danger in 2008 and 2009, this Kenyan Information and Communications Act that allowed for censorship based on fuzzy details and definitions, and how it could all be done at the behest of one man, with little oversight. While everyone wants to laugh and point fingers at Robert Alai, they won’t be laughing when this censorship gets applied to him.
This all stems from the Kenya Informations and Communications Act (PDF Version), which was amended after the post-election violence in 2009 in an effort to curb hate speech. It is a controversial amendment of the Kenya Communications Act, 1998 because it gives the state power to raid media houses and control the distribution of content.
After discussing two sections of the Act, he concludes by saying:
The real issue 4 years ago, and why this act was opposed by many, is that the act contained controversial provisions that sought to allow security agencies to seize property without due process, arrest and indefinitely detain suspects.
What the question should be for all of us with Robert Alai, is whether that is being tested on him. Was/is there due process? Who decides which media company gets raided? Who gets to say which blogger gets arrested, or which person on Twitter said the wrong thing?
This is not the first time Alai has found himself in trouble:
A few months back, another blogger, Dennis Itumbi, threatened to sue Alai for linking him to some ICC documents the former was arrested for. Just recently, Miguna Miguna also threatened to sue him for distributing his Sh 3300 book ‘Peeling Back The Mask’ in pdf format, free of charge to his thousands of twitter followers.
The tweets below show how netizens are divided about his case:
@MwaiKibaki [fake Kenyan President Twitter account]: Robert Alai is assisting the police with investigations and will be released after they are done with squeezing his nuts. #FreeAlai
@KimJobil: b careful what you tweet..huey Freeman”not every black man arrested is Nelson Mandela” #freealai freedom of speech gotta have limits
@MwisiWaKuku: @afelonyang “so #kot [Kenyans on Twitter] are just a bunch of humorous comedians who shy away from serious issues.” #FreeAlai is not a serious issue. Who cares?
@sickolia: Ati #FreeAlai?We want #FreeInternet and #FreeAlcohol
@RamzZy: You just yell #FreeAlai then when he logs in he insults your mothers. It's cool, hata mimi nililamba makamasi nikiwa mtoto.
@peteretelej: Mutua is always misinforming the public, I don't see why he should be pissed with #RobertAlai doing the same. #FREEALAI
@dannyceo: Doesn't the govt. Have real issues like settling idp's, and fighting corruption? #FreeAlai
@MikeObare: His frequent tweets,mostly break news b4 several media houses and for that,he has been regarded by some as a ‘one man media house’ #FreeAlai
@dannyceo: I know @RobertAlai is a ***! But what the govt. Is doing, is infringing on his constitutional rights#FreeAlai
@mwirigy: U never know how u hate/like @RobertAlai n miss his rants on ur tl until he is neutered, sorry muted by kenya police #freealai :-D


Japan: Anti-nuclear power demonstrations in Shibuya · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Several thousand protestors are gathered in Shibuya, Tokyo for an anti-nuclear power demonstration. This demo follows another held on April 10th (video). Hiruma Takashi posted photos of arrests. Twitter users are using the hashtag is #57nonukes.


East Timor: Chinese Involvement in East Timor · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Tumbleweed finds a Chinese petroleum company building a petrol station in Dili, the capital of East Timor. The post also some discussion on other construction projects that the Chinese are involved in.


How can my smartphone help me in an emergency? | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
FEMA Region V
September 10, 2014
Disaster preparedness begins with knowing your risks, making a communications plan and having an emergency supply kit with essentials such as water, food, flashlights and medications. Go beyond the basics to enhance your readiness with the following digital tools and tips:
Program important phone numbers into your contacts.  Make sure your contact list includes friends, loved ones and anyone else you may need to rely on or reach out to in the event of a disaster. Include doctors, pharmacies, day care and dog walker contacts to ensure you can take care of yourself and your family’s needs.
Plan to use text messaging. During and after a disaster, phone lines usually become overwhelmed. Texting can help you check on your friends and family, leaving the phone lines open for emergency use.
Retain power, even when power is out. Consider investing in solar-powered or hand-crank chargers and external cell batteries to extend the life of your smartphone in case of a blackout. In the event of a power outage, remember to conserve cell battery by reducing screen brightness and turning your phone on airplane mode when you’re not using it.
Use social media to stay informed. Connect with your state and local public health and emergency management agencies on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on safety information before, during and after a disaster. You can also follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5 and facebook.com/fema.
Identify your important documents and electronically store them in a safe space. Scan important records such as household records, medical records and financial documents, and save the files on a cloud or flash drive. You may also want to password-protect the data you have stored in case of loss or theft. Store the backup records in a safe deposit box or other off-site location.
Download apps to get and stay prepared.
Get safety information sent directly to your phone. Below is a list of disaster specific keywords you can use to sign-up for bi-monthly safety tips via text message:
You can always find valuable tips to help you prepare for emergencies at www.Ready.gov and by following FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.


OId video from Thailand shared as visuals of a Muslim brutally assaulted in China for offering Namaz at a public place - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 3, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it is the recent visuals of a teacher assaulting a Muslim student for performing Namaz in an educational institution in China. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent video of a Muslim student being assaulted for performing Namaz prayers in an educational institution in China.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows an old incident that took place in the Samut Sakhon province of Thailand. The video shows a worker of a debt collection company being subjected to a harsh assault by his higher authority due to their failure in collecting money from a customer within the designated timeframe. The victim was not assaulted for performing Namaz and the video has nothing to do with China. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots shared in the post, a video showing similar visuals was found published by the “Story This Morning” news channel on 03 December 2020. This news channel reported it is the visuals of a subordinate of a debt collection company being brutally assaulted by his superior in Samut Sakhon City in Thailand.
Reporting the complete details of the incident, several news websites published articles in 2020. They can be seen here, here, and here. According to reports, the victim was allegedly assaulted by his superior authority for failing to collect money from a customer within the specified timeframe. Additionally, the victim was accused of manipulating customer accounts by transferring funds from other customers into the account of the customer who was unable to make the payment. The incident reportedly took place in January 2020 at the T.M.N. Group Co. Ltd company branch in the Samut Sakhon province of Thailand. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be inferred that the video shared in the post originates from Thailand, not from China. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the victim in the video was not subjected to an assault for performing Namaz.
To sum it up, an old video from Thailand is shared as the visuals of a Muslim student being brutally assaulted for offering Namaz in an institute in China.


‘Proud of my city’: Turnout down, but Milwaukee’s Black voters leapt hurdles to vote | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Anya van Wagtendonk (Wisconsin Watch)
November 13, 2020
This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.
Early in the morning on Election Day, Angela Lang stood in a conference room in the offices of BLOC — Black Leaders Organizing for Communities — on Milwaukee’s north side, addressing nearly two dozen staff members and volunteers.
It was the first time the team was together in the building since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, said Lang, the group’s executive director. They were gathered on Nov. 3 to build on months of community organizing to get out the vote among African-American voters in Wisconsin’s largest city.
The stakes were immense. A worsening pandemic — and accompanying economic recession — was disproportionately harming people of color, and a nationwide reckoning surrounding racism and policing spurred residents to the streets last summer.
“For me, what I define as success is that we sought out to increase Black voter turnout in the city of Milwaukee,” she told her team. “Despite what happens in the rest of the state, despite what happens to the rest of the country. That’s our slice of the pie.”
In Wisconsin, his margin of victory was slim: just 20,539 votes, according to unofficial totals.
But voter turnout was stagnant in Milwaukee — and down in primarily Black neighborhoods, a Wisconsin Watch analysis found — at a time when the number of votes cast statewide soared above 2016 levels.
Wisconsin Watch examined the 17 voting wards in Milwaukee in which at least 85 percent of the voters are Black. The analysis found that the raw number of votes cast dropped in all of them in 2020 compared to 2016. The predominantly Black wards were identified by L2, a widely used proprietary voter database, and total votes cast came from the Milwaukee County Clerk’s Office. In all, voters cast 1,222 fewer votes in those 17 wards than in 2016, Wisconsin Watch found — a drop of nearly 11%.
Experts and organizers say that was largely due to pandemic-related hurdles, such as the loss of crucial voter engagement tools including door-knocking, and the fact that Black voters are less likely to favor voting by mail — a method that about 60% of Wisconsin voters used to cast their ballots in 2020. Fear of the pandemic, which has ravaged Milwaukee, created additional barriers, they said.
But get-out-the-vote organizers bristle at the suggestion that Black voters haven’t done their part in the past two elections — particularly in a state where lawmakers have made it disproportionately harder for them to vote.
For Lang, and other activists who worked on get-out-the-vote efforts among the city’s Black and Latino communities, the numbers don’t tell the full story. To them, persuading voters to participate despite the relentless force of the COVID-19 pandemic — coupled with the same obstacles to voting that they faced in 2016 — rendered a numerically flat turnout a victory.
On Saturday, with an American flag pinned to her hair at the downtown Zeidler Union Square, Lang addressed a jubilant crowd.
“Let me tell you, with all these circumstances, the insurmountable barriers, I am damn proud of my city,” she said. “The fact that we had all of these challenges, and yet you still showed up? Imagine if that work didn’t happen. Imagine if the groups and the organizations didn’t make that happen. We would not be standing here today.”
Overall, nearly 3.3 million Wisconsinites cast ballots in the election, compared to 3.1 million voters in 2016. But the total number of ballots cast in Milwaukee did not increase as some had predicted, remaining nearly flat with fewer than 150 votes separating the total from the 2016 figure of 247,836.
Milwaukee contributed roughly 195,000 votes to Biden’s statewide vote total of 1.6 million – up about 6,000 from what Hillary Clinton won from the city in 2016. Trump also saw a bump of about 3,000 votes in Milwaukee, earning 48,414 votes in 2020, compared to 45,411 in 2016. The main difference from 2016: a drop in votes for third-party candidates.
Because Wisconsin offers same-day registration, the Wisconsin Elections Commission recommends measuring turnout based on all eligible voters, not simply those who registered before Election Day, but eligibility figures are not yet available. The number of people who registered on Election Day also is not yet available.
Examining only voters who registered before Election Day, turnout this year was nearly 78% in Milwaukee, lagging behind other Wisconsin cities. In Green Bay, for example, 84% of registered voters cast a ballot, about the same percentage of those who turned out in Madison. Again, once eligible voter numbers are available for 2020, these turnout percentages will change.
Days before official numbers were released, Lang signaled that regardless of the final tally, BLOC’s success in 2020 would largely be judged by its work to build relationships among organizers and residents.
“The story will be how you all showed up every damn day, you pushed through, you pushed through tears, you pushed through tragedy, you pushed through trauma, to do this work,” Lang told her team on the morning of Nov. 3. That effort has drawn attention from activists and observers throughout the country and news organizations including the New York Times, Washington Post and NPR.
On Election Day, BLOC activists fanned out to 30 precincts on the city’s north side to act as “voter guardians,” engaging with residents. Working from their homes, some 45 activists called and texted voters throughout the day to urge them to vote.
In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, organizing tactics necessarily changed. Over the weekend, a ballroom at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center was converted into the nerve center for Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), which mobilizes young people of color. There, canvass manager Princeton Jackson kept tabs on the 19 people out in the field dropping literature on doorsteps and running text and phone banks.
Because of the pandemic, door-knocking, usually a highly effective tactic, was off the table, Jackson said. Instead, the group’s operations went fully digital. By the end of Election Day, he said, the group had sent out 1.7 million text messages and placed 913,000 calls. In the two weeks between the start of early voting and Election Day, LIT organizers left literature at 49,700 doors — mostly in Milwaukee’s deeply segregated Black and Latino-majority neighborhoods.
The pandemic “definitely tested our ability to, essentially, evolve or die,” he said. “I think we did a pretty good job in terms of pivoting and just making those necessary changes to ensure that we still galvanize, organize and encourage as many people as we can to exercise their right to vote, especially during such a pivotal time in our nation’s history.”
Democratic political strategist Sachin Chheda said the cancellation of door-to-door canvassing and other community engagement efforts likely hurt turnout in the city.
“In Milwaukee, I think we’ve lost everything in terms of those interactions,” he said. “When you think about what it takes to get a first-time voter to the poll, when you think about what it takes to convince somebody who is economically oppressed that voting is going to make a difference, it requires a level of engagement in person, and missing that, I think, really did have an impact.”
Nevertheless, spirits were high on Election Day among those venturing to the polls, said Jennifer Epps-Addison, network president at the New York-based Center for Popular Democracy, a national progressive group that organizes for racial and economic justice. Her group had trained — virtually — activists in seven states, including Wisconsin, to serve as election observers.
“There was a lot of excitement across the city, and people participating in voting,” said Epps-Addison, a Milwaukee native. “You know, the line that I kept using is, ‘Have a joyful Election Day,’ and people really were feeling joyful as they went to the polls.”
In some ways, joy is also a tactic. Outside of the Fitzsimonds Boys & Girls Club, a polling place in Metcalfe Park, BLOC activists Dawonyae Robinson, Dawn Holt and Shanice Jones, all 21, danced, sang and handed out shirts and masks that read “Count Every Vote.”
“We came out here, we had a great day, enjoyed ourselves,” said Robinson, his voice hoarse by 5 p.m. “Some people walked up angry, left happy. Some people walked up happy and left even happier. So that made our day a lot better and it made it go very smoothly.”
Midway through the day, somebody called the police with allegations of electioneering that reached the District Attorney’s office. The office declined to pursue the matter, but Robinson said it deterred some would-be voters — police presence at the polls can be intimidating or off-putting to some — and the group had to put their signs away. But the interaction did not dampen their spirit.
Robinson cannot vote, a condition of being on probation. That motivates his activism, he said, and his chant for the day: “I can’t vote, but you can.”
“It’s so important because I need people to take my place in this voting situation,” he said.
Black voters face hidden challenges on their way to the polls. An investigation based on leaked documents showed the 2016 campaign of President Donald Trump used demographic data to systematically dissuade voters in Milwaukee’s primarily Black neighborhoods from participating in the election.
An analysis of the data by Channel 4, a British news organization, found that Black voters made up a disproportionate share of the group identified as “deterrence” voters, or voters the Trump campaign sought to dissuade through Facebook ads. Brad Parscale, former senior advisor to the Trump campaign, denied in a 2018 PBS FRONTLINE interview that the campaign ever targeted the Black community.
In one Milwaukee voting ward in 2016, where 80% of the residents are Black, 44% were marked for deterrence. Of that group, only 36% turned out to vote, according to the analysis.
That’s why, in 2016, when some cited lower turnout among Black voters in Milwaukee as a factor in Trump’s narrow 22,748-vote win over Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin, activists were unhappy.
They viewed those numbers as part of a trend in which Wisconsin Republicans pushed for years to make voting more difficult, including by enacting voter ID requirements that disproportionately discourage Black voters.
At the Zeidler Square victory celebration Saturday, the Rev. Greg Lewis, executive director of Souls to the Polls Milwaukee, pushed back against the idea that Milwaukee’s turnout had missed the mark. Lewis pointed to challenges facing voters, such as voter ID requirements, a still-pending court case aimed at purging 130,000 voters from the rolls and the shortening of the early voting period to two weeks.
A survivor of COVID-19, Lewis also identified extra hurdles to voting caused by the pandemic, perhaps most clearly illustrated during the April 7 primary, when 180 polling places in Milwaukee were reduced to just five.
“We have to fight all those things. And we still came out, and we voted,” he told a cheering crowd. “I don’t want to hear about anybody talking about depressed voting in Milwaukee. You ought to be talking about those politicians who are suppressing our vote here in Milwaukee.”
Nationwide, voting experts pointed to the role that Black voters played in this year’s election, and especially in urban cores such as Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta, where the outcome in these cities drove the outcome for the state.
But even as Black voters turned out overwhelmingly for Biden, the Trump ticket saw a small uptick in its support from African-Americans across the country, including in Wisconsin. Trump’s support from Black voters increased by two percentage points to 8% from the 6% of that vote he garnered in 2016.
Some prominent Black celebrities, including rappers Lil Wayne and Ice Cube, expressed support for Trump in the campaign’s final days, and some polls indicated a higher-than-expected favorability towards Trump among Black men.
In Wisconsin, the Trump campaign courted Black voters via its Black Voices for Trump campaign, which emphasized the president’s record on issues like criminal justice reform and school choice. Republicans established their first-ever Milwaukee field office in February, signaling an attempt to reach Black voters. At least one prominent billboard in the city proclaimed Trump’s record on Black unemployment.
Henry Fernandez, principal at the African American Research Collaborative, a polling firm, cautioned against overstating that shift.
“Neither rappers in my age group nor polls that under-sample Black men should be used to get the pulse of the Black community,” he said. Black men comprise “the second most progressive voting bloc in America; only Black women perform better for progressive and Democratic candidates, with 92% of Black women supporting Biden,” he said.
“Black men, Black women and other people of color, were the only reason this election came out the way it did,” he said.
That’s in the face of ongoing obstacles, including a historic preference for in-person voting and a competing fear of contracting COVID-19, said Kevin Morris, a voting rights researcher at the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York University Law School-based center that advocates for changes to improve democracy.
“Racial minorities, for a number of reasons, didn’t shift as much to vote-by-mail options this year as white voters did,” Morris said. “Especially Black voters are less trustful of voting by mail. And they’re less trustful that their ballot will count. And so it isn’t a seamless process for them to switch how they vote.”
That sentiment is compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of which climbed precipitously in the weeks leading up the election, and which has disproportionately harmed Black communities nationwide, including in Milwaukee.
In general, Morris said, voters are less likely to turn out if they are sick themselves, or caring for a loved one, “or there are disruptions in their life.”
Coming out of her polling place at Gwen T. Jackson School in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood, Carolyn Dillard said she never considered anything but voting in person on Election Day — even though wearing a mask triggers a breathing condition.
“I never do early voting, because I don’t want my ballot to get lost or anything. I go to the polls, so I know I did it properly,” she said, echoing a theme that activists say they heard during get-out-the-vote efforts.
Even in the face of these challenges, Lang said, a diverse Milwaukee — working class, queer, Black, brown and Indigenous voters — came out.
“I don’t need to tell you how hard this year has been,” she said Saturday, as American flag balloons waved behind her and passing cars honked their support. “And for whatever reason, we all had the audacity to still show up anyways and make our voices heard.”
Wisconsin Watch’s Bram Sable-Smith and Nora Eckert contributed to this report. The nonprofit Wisconsin Watch (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit newsroom that focuses on government integrity and quality of life issues. Sign up for our newsletter for more stories and updates straight to your inbox.This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.


Nigeria Signs MOU To Scale Up Water, Sanitation In Government-Owned Institutions - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
March 15, 2023
The MoU tagged,  “SchoolWASH Programme” is aimed at improving the crosscutting issues of water and sanitation, as it impacts on different sectors of education, health, economy, among others.
At the event in Abuja, Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the partnership became necessary following low access to potable water and sanitation facilities in educational institutions in the country.
He said data from WASH normal routine mapping shows that only 10 per cent of schools had access to safely managed sanitation services.
The minister said it was expected that the School WASH Programme would serve as a catalyst to spur investment in the water and sanitation sector in all government educational institutions.


Environmental Emergency: Drought Kills Thousands of Animals in Colombia · Global Voices
Lully

[All links lead to Spanish pages, unless otherwise noted.]
Capybara. Photo from Pierre Poulquin on Flickr under the Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 2.0).
A drought that has left more than 20,000 animals dead —among them capybaras, spectacled caimans, and cowsin Paz de Ariporo in the Casanare Department, has shocked the world and alerted activists as well as environmental associations.
The Latin American Voice published a letter where activists are denouncing the Colombian State and oil companies before the international community, the Organization of American States [en] and the United Nations [en], deeming them responsible for the environmental degradation. The letter concludes as follows:
Solicitamos lo antes posible se lance una alerta mundial para proteger nuestros derechos humanos y animales, en especial de los habitantes de Casanare, Colombia, y le exija al gobierno colombiano tome cartas en el asunto y brinde una solución pronta y efectiva a este desastre ambiental, exigiendo a las petroleras la responsabilidad con el ambiente y reduzcan su impacto ambiental, e inste al congreso colombiano a legislar en favor del medio ambiente y moderen el modelo extractivista que tanto daño le hace a la humanidad.
We request that a global alert be launched as soon as possible to protect our human and animal rights, especially those of the inhabitants of Casanare, Colombia, and demand that the Colombian government take action on the matter and provides a prompt and effective solution to this environmental disaster, requiring that oil companies take responsibility for the environment and reduce their environmental impact, and urge the Colombian Congress to rule in favor of the environment and oversee the extractive model that causes so much damage to humankind.
Other associations, including Avaaz.org, are carrying out a global campaign to reject the environmental catastrophe with this argument:
Han muerto cerca de 20 mil de animales.
El hydrochaeris hydrochaeris conocido como Chiguiro o Capibara esta catalogado en peligro de extinción y con la sequía se van a extinguir totalmente.
Están acabando con nuestro país.
Las petroleras deben: Hacer excavación de pozos artesanos
Sembrar… arboles nuevamente
Ser responsables socialmente, están matando nuestros animales.
Haz clic aquí para ver el texto completo
About 20,000 animals have died.
The hydrochaeris known as the capybara is considered endangered and with this drought it will become completely extinct.
They are destroying our country.
The oil companies must: dig artesian wells
Plant trees again…
Be socially responsible, they are killing our animals.
Click here to see the full text.
Las 2 orillas announced [es] that oil companies that operate in the sector are responsible for environmental damage:
La población afectada le atribuye el daño ambiental a la intervención de las compañías petroleras como Pacific Rubiales, Geo Park, Cecolsa, Ecopetrol, Petrominerales, Parex y New Granada; a propósito los estudios arrojan que para extraer un galón de petróleo se necesitan 10 galones de agua y que para refinar un galón de petróleo se necesitan 7000 mil litros del preciado liquido.
The affected populations attribute the environmental damage to the intervention by oil companies like Pacific Rubiales, Geo Park, Cecolsa, Ecopetrol, Petrominerales, Parex, and New Granada; the studies purposely show that in order to extract a gallon of oil, 10 gallons of water are needed, and to refine one gallon of oil, 7 million liters of the precious liquid is needed.
YouTube user Daniel Felipe García replicated a video from Caracol Television where viewers can see mud deposits converted into pits where animals die. The video also shows how the community tries to take out the animals that are still alive:
http://youtu.be/Yggln7368Q0
At the same time, different environmental associations are expressing themselves on Twitter to call attention to this emergency:
La sequía en Casanare es efecto del cambio climático causado por las actividades económicas irresponsables con el medio ambiente.
— FUNDACIÓN AMBIENTAL (@BOSQUESECOSDEC1) marzo 25, 2014
The drought in Casanare is an effect of climate change caused by irresponsible economic activities with the environment.
Andrea Padilla called a demonstration on March 25 that was repeated on the 28, at the same time, in front of the Ministry of the Environment:
Martes 25, 2pm, protesta en @MinAmbienteCo por tragedia animal en #CasanareSeMuere @NoticiasCaracol @chivasdellano pic.twitter.com/AMtvlevAW8
— Andrea Padilla (@andreanimalidad) marzo 25, 2014
Tuesday the 25th, 2pm, protest at the Ministry of the Environment for the animal tragedy in Casanare.
Gracias @Lullyp por DF. Se repetirá el Jueves 28, 2pm en @MinAmbienteCo No podemos bajar la guardia @chivasdellano #CasanareSeMuere
— Andrea Padilla (@andreanimalidad) marzo 26, 2014
Thank you, @Lullyp for DF. It will repeat on Thursday, the 28th, 2pm at the Ministry of the Environment. We cannot let our guard down.
Citizens on social networks have also spoken out in indignation, like Luis Alfonso Yepes:
Indigna la crisis ambiental del #Casanare, indigna la respuesta del Estado, indigna el “aporte” de las petroleras. Vergüenza total.
— Luis Alfonso Yepes B (@luisyepesb) marzo 24, 2014
Outrageous is the environmental crisis in #Casanare, outrageous is the State's response, outrageous is the “contribution” from the oil companies. A complete disgrace.
Anibal Osorio denuncia a petroleras por el desvío del agua:
Mientras que las petroleras desvían las aguas, miles de chiguiros y muchas especies mueren de Sed en Casanare. pic.twitter.com/1OK0SX9ebC
— Aníbal O§orio® (@anibalosorioc) marzo 24, 2014
While the oil companies are diverting water, thousands of capybaras and many other species are dying of thirst in Casanare.
The President of Colombia also spoke up on Twitter:
Con el Consejo Nacional de Desastres pondremos en marcha medidas adicionales para mitigar efecto de la sequía en el Casanare
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) marzo 24, 2014
With the National Disaster Council we will put forth additional measures to mitigate the effects of the drought in Casanare.
While some media sources are announcing that the Attorney General's office is conducting investigations in addition to solutions announced from various entities and a plan to mitigate the problem is being promoted, the blogosphere continues to generate content and promote digital activism.


Macedonia: Singing Skopjans · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Screenshot from the video “Lumberjack” by Singing Skopjans.
An ad hoc choir “Singing Skopjans” (Macedonian: Распеани скопјани in Cyrillic and Raspeani skopjani in Latin alphabet) consists of citizens of Skopje who express their opinions on social matters through songs. The singers meet every Sunday at different locations throughout the capital of the Republic of Macedonia and shoot a music video, to be uploaded on the YouTube channel of the civic activist group Ploshtad Sloboda (“Freedom Square”).
The choir uses humor, which is reflected in their repertoire. They performed children's song “We are Macedonians” (Ние сме Mакедонци) [MKD] at the public holiday of the Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle, and had a performance in front of the Greek Liaison Office (a de facto Embassy of Greece) with the song “Dirlada” (Дирлада) [MKD] about summer love of a Macedonian boy and Greek girl who encounter difficulties due to visa restrictions.
On a grimmer note, the Singing Skopjans also sang “Kill me” (Убиј ме) by the local band Bernays Propaganda, which includes these lyrics:
Не сум како тебе,
немам иста боја,
омразата е твоја
…
Не сум како тебе
затоа у-б-и-ј м-е
убиј, убиј ме.
…in order to comment on the events of beating up student protesters on a Skopje square a few months ago.
The latest performance includes the Lumberjack Song by Monty Python, related to the cutting of the old trees on the Ilinden Boulevard, an act of Skopje's mayor which caused a lot of anguish and frustration [MKD] among ordinary citizens several months ago.
The word about this innovative commentary source has been spreading mainly through social media, especially through Facebook, and after a few weeks caught the attention of the traditional media: Dnevnik daily published an article about the choir [MKD].


Nigerian govt announces new resumption date | EduCeleb
27th July 2020
The Nigerian government has rescinded its earlier decision to postpone the resumption of students in spike of the COVID-19 pandemic cases recorded.
On Monday, the Federal Ministry of Education announced that secondary school students in the “exit classes” will resume on 4th August.
This was announced in a statement signed by its Director, Press and Public Relations, Ben Goong in Abuja.
Mr Goong said the decision was reached at a virtual consultative meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education and Commissioners for Education of the 36 states, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, (NUT), the proprietors of private schools and the Chief Executives of examination bodies.
The Ministry further stated that students will have two weeks to prepare for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which will now start on 17th August.
“Secondary schools in the country are to reopen as from the 4th of August, 2020 for exit classes only.
”It was agreed that the exit classes should resume immediately after the Sallah break, from 4th of August, 2020 to enable them prepare for WAEC examinations which will commence on August 17th, 2020.
”The meeting also resolved that a passionate appeal be made to the Federal Government through the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and public-spirited Nigerians for assistance to schools across the country to enable fast track the preparations for safe reopening.”
EduCeleb.com recalls that the government had four weeks earlier announced a resumption date but later suspended that due to safety concerns over the increasing cases of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This has attracted criticisms widely with stakeholders calling on the government to review such a decision.
In this new arrangement apparently, only students in Senior Secondary School 3 would be resuming on the said date while others were to remain at home.
Inadvertently, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) would have to reschedule some papers earlier fixed for the between the first two weeks of August considering this change.
The government also intends to hold further meetings with the Chief Executives of examination bodies namely, the National Examination Council (NECO), the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB) and and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) to harmonize their examination dates.
Details of the meeting would thereafter be made public by the ministry, Going hinted.


Sudan: Government Sources Say Al-Bashir Steps Down As President - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
April 11, 2019
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has stepped down and consultations are under way to form a transitional council to run the country.
The Minister of Production and Economic Resources in North Darfur, Adel Hussein, said that there are consultations to form a military council to take over power after President Bashir steps down.
Sudanese sources confirmed the report that al-Bashir was at the presidential residence under heavy guard.
The military will make an announcement soon, state television said as troops were deployed in Khartoum.
The Army and security services deployed troops around the Defence Ministry on major roads and bridges in the capital, as thousands of people flocked to an anti-government protest outside the ministry, a witness said.
Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in the centre of Khartoum in jubilation, dancing and chanting anti-Bashir slogans.


Japan: Controversial documentary The Cove released free online · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Joi Ito announced on his blog that the award-winning documentary The Cove has been dubbed in Japanese and released for free online. In the post, Ito-san wrote: “Why the online release of the film in Japan is so important is that the Japanese people should watch the movie and make up their own mind. Regardless of what you think about the film, banning it is unexcusable.”
Last year right-wing activists opposed to the screening of the documentary and some theaters refused to show it.
Here is the link to the movie.


Four students suspended for cultism at FUDMA | EduCeleb
3rd March 2021
Four students of the Federal University Dutsinma in Katsina State, have been suspended for their involvement in cultism.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Armaya’u Hamisu Bichi approved their indefinite suspension with immediate effect.
The Vice-Chancellors’ approval was sequel to the “Security Report” signed by the Acting Chief Security Officer of the University, Tanimu Dari Atiku, and made available to the Directorate of Public Relations and Protocol.
The affected students are; Peter Enajo, M.sc Sociology; Lukman N. Aminu, B.sc Computer Science; Musa Halidu, B.sc Sociology, and Maikasa Victor Lawal, B.sc Sociology.
According to the report approved by the Vice-Chancellor, the aforementioned students who are confirmed members of various cult groups are suspended indefinitely pending the final security investigation.
Professor Bichi strongly warned students at all levels to desist from all forms of cultism and other social vices.
He described cultism as a formidable source of concern at the University Management and all meaning and law abiding members of the University Community.
He reiterated that the Management will not relent in dealing decisively with any member of the University Community found to be involved in cult activities.


The Achiever Ambassadors Essay Competition 1439/2018: Call for Entries | EduCeleb
1st April 2018
The Kwara State Chapter of The Achiever Ambassadors has announced the call for entries for the 1439 (2018) Essay Competition.
The essay competition which is organised exclusively for tertiary institution is part of The Achiever Ambassadors’ educational initiative which is tailored towards reigniting the writing and reading culture in our society. It is also to encourage socio-political awareness and intellectual development amongst students of tertiary institutions.
Prizes would be presented to winners.
Entrants for the competition must be students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria
Entries would be accepted mainly from Muslims, but others may submit too
The topic for the essay is:
Category A: Islam and Moral: An essential tool for Societal Reformation
(Open for all Muslims in Tertiary Institution)
Category B: Effect of Brain Drain to Nigeria Economy
(Open to all Students in Tertiary Institution)
The winners of the competition will be announced and awarded at The Achiever Ambassadors Ramadan Public Lecture which is scheduled to hold on June 3rd at Galad College beside Graceland Unilorin Road, Tanke Ilorin, Kwara State.
The deadline for submission of essay entries is 30th April, 2018
For enquiries, contact any of the following
08081474756 – TAA KWARA
09080691304 – ZAINUL ABIDEEN
08140791851- AGBOMEJI


Non-Teaching University Workers Begin 5-Day Warning Strike Monday - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
August 17, 2019
NonAcademic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and Senior Staff Association ofNigerian Universities (SSANU) will begin a five-day warning strike from Monday,August 19, following alleged delay of the Federal Government in addressingtheir grievances.
Amongthe contentious areas included, Earned Allowances which the non teaching staffunions claimed that they were shortchanged in the sharing formula.
Theysaid that out of the N23 billion released to the four unions in the university,the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) allegedly took over abouteighty per cent of the money, leaving only twenty per cent for the threeunions.
Theyalso lamented the inability of government to obey court judgment, especially the judgment of theIndustrial Court in 2016 that directed government to reinstate sacked workersof Staff Schools, which had not been complied with and the re-negotiation ofthe 2009 agreement.
The National Public Relations Officer of SSANU, Salaam Abdussobur in a statement , said the one week strike would commence on Monday.


Slovenia: Pepi Sekulic Honors Salih Mahmoud Osman · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Adventures in Wheelville writes about and posts some picture from a Ljubljana exhibit by Pepi Sekulic, honoring Salih Mahmoud Osman, a “Sudanese human rights lawyer who has recently been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament.”


How to keep your utilities on if you are behind in payments | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
July 16, 2020
If you are worried about your utilities getting disconnected, it’s not too late to get help. (File photo by Brittany Carloni)
The clock is ticking for those behind on their utilities.
Beginning July 25, We Energies will once again be able to disconnect services.
Here’s what you need to know to keep the lights on.
If you are behind in payments and have not made arrangements, your utility provider can disconnect services starting July 25.
In addition, utilities can now charge late payment fees on debts incurred after July 15; refuse service for failure to provide documentation to prove identity and residency after July 25; and require a cash deposit as a condition of new service starting July 31.
Last month, the Public Service Commission, or PSC, lifted a temporary prohibition against disconnecting or refusing service. The commission, an independent agency that regulates Wisconsin’s public utilities, allowed utilities to restart issuing disconnection notices on July 15.
The utilities, however, must allow a 21-day medical extension of service when a customer or a member of a customer’s household has tested positive for COVID-19.
If a member of the household is still under a COVID-19 quarantine after 21 days, he or she can apply for a temporary waiver so long as they can provide documentation from a  medical provider.
The PSC strongly encourages customers behind on payments to arrange for a payment plan or apply for assistance.
If customers cannot reach an agreement with their utility, they may contact the PSC by calling 1-800-225-7729 or file a complaint on the PSC website.
We Energies recommends that customers who are having difficulty paying their bill call<PHONE_NUMBER> as soon as possible to discuss options, including payment plans and the potential for financial assistance.
“Disconnection is always a last resort,” said Brendan Conway, manager of media relations at We Energies. “We have been working closely with customers during the COVID-19 crisis and are continuing to do so.”
In addition to calling We Energies directly to ask about payment plans, Milwaukee County also offers energy assistance for low-income residents through Community Advocates and UMOS.
Income requirements for energy assistance are based on the number of people in your household and can be found on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website. Unemployment income and stimulus checks do not count as income when applying for energy assistance.
Additionally, if your utilities are included in your rent, but you still meet the income requirements, you may still be eligible to receive energy assistance.
Due to COVID-19, applicants only have to provide income statements from the month prior to the month they are applying. This means that people applying in July only have to provide proof of income for June. Previously, applicants had to provide evidence of income for three prior months.
Cleopatra Echols, program manager for Milwaukee County’s energy assistance program, says that it is best to apply now if you think you’ll need it — even if you are unsure whether you qualify or if you have not received a disconnection notice.
“People think that if they don’t have a past due bill they won’t qualify, or they don’t have kids they won’t qualify, or if they receive unemployment they won’t qualify,” Echols said. “But this isn’t true, you can still qualify if you are on unemployment, don’t have kids or don’t have a past-due bill.”
To apply for energy assistance, you can schedule an appointment or call 2-1-1. You can also call 414-270-4MKE to schedule an appointment, but due to an unexpected high volume of calls, you may be on hold for an extended period of time.
“If you need help, call us, even if you are not sure if you qualify,” Echols said. “Even if you don’t qualify, we know about other resources we can refer you to.”
•Fact sheet on residential customer rights
•Citizens Utility Board
Are you worried about your utilities being disconnected during or after the pandemic? Share your experiences with News414.


State Police: Ekweremadu Hopeful That President Buhari Will Approve Establishment - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
June 5, 2019
Nigeria deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu has expressed hopes that President Muhammadu Buhari will approve the establishment of state and local government police in the country.
Buhari received a report on the reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad,SARS on Monday, June 3 by National Human Rights Commission Committee on SARS.
Presidential spokesman Gerba Shehu in a statement disclosed that the President directed the setting up of a three-man panel to produce a report and a white paper produced within three months.
He noted that the report of the committee will form the basis of recommendation on setting up of state and local government police in Nigeria.
However, Ekweremadu, who sponsored the state police bill in the Nigeria Senate, said he is confident that implementation of state and local government police in Nigeria will address security challenges in the country.


Japan: Reflection upon the Okinawa issue · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Kechak considers [ja] both the negative and the positive aspects of the Okinawa question. While, on one hand, former prime minister Hatoyama wasn't able to modify the agreement with the US, on the other hand, he managed to bring attention to the military base issue, that had been ignored for years by the past governments, the blogger says.


Old image from Bangladesh shared as Muslim leader from Assam Congress caught with arms - Alt News
Aqib Pathan
5th November 2020 / 11:16 am / Last updated: 9th September 2021
Two photographs are viral on social media with the claim that Assam Congress leader ‘Amjad Ali’ was arrested with arms and bullets in his possession. The first image is of a man handcuffed and standing next to police officials, the second image shows hand grenades and bullets in a bag. The pictures were shared by one Sanjeev Saraswat on Facebook, drawing over 3,500 shares.
#कोंग्रेस_का_आतंकियों_के_साथ☹
असम का कोंग्रेसी नेता #अमजत_अली सेब की पेटी में हथियार और गोलियों के साथ हिरासत में लिया…
Posted by Sanjeev Saraswat on Sunday, 5 September 2021
The same images were shared earlier in June.
कांग्रेस का पंजा…आतंकियों के साथ! pic.twitter.com/5iWu6aESY8
— सी बी पंजाबी (@cbpunjabi) June 15, 2021
They were widespread on Facebook.
In fact, the pictures were also being shared last year.
#असम के #कांग्रेस नेता अमजात अली 🐷सेब 🍎की पेटी में #हथियार और #गोलियां के साथ हिरासत में। काफिरो को मारने का कर रहा था प्लान। पुलिस ने दबोचा।
इनकी पूरी तैयारी है जागो हिंदुओ जागो…
:@TEJSHAH9 #जागो_हिन्दू_जागो#Powerfull_Twitter_Army pic.twitter.com/dD2IG7JGd3
— 🇮🇳TEJ SHAH(હિંદુ)🇮🇳 (@TEJSHAH9) November 3, 2020
Alt News found that the images have been circulating online at least since 2018 with the identical claim. But both images are from unrelated incidents from two years ago. It is noteworthy that we were unable to find any references to an Assam Congress leader named ‘Amjad Ali’. There is a TMC leader from West Bengal with a similar name but he is not the man in the viral picture.
Image 1
Alt news performed a reverse search on Google and found a 2018 news blog that carries the image of the man in handcuffs. According to the blog, the person was arrested in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh on charges of sexually harassing a minor girl who later died by suicide. On further searching with Bangla keywords ‘ময়মনসিংহের মেয়ে আত্মহত্যা, যৌন হয়রানির মামলা’, we were led to a report by Bangladesh-based Somoy News, which said that the incident took place in Mymensingh’s Trishal Upazila. The name of the accused was Mubarak Hussain. He was arrested by police on charges of sexual assault. The girl later hanged herself to death.
A comparison of the uniforms worn by the policemen in the picture and photos of Mymensingh police confirms that the incident is from Bangladesh.
Image 2
A reverse image search of the second picture took us to an October 29, 2018 tweet by Jammu and Kashmir police. It said that three suspected militants were arrested on the outskirts of Srinagar. The police recovered arms and ammunition in their possession.
A brief exchange of fire on the outskirts of Srinagar city. Three suspected militants arrested among them one is injured.Arms and ammunition recovered. Investigations started. pic.twitter.com/lT9AoRnu5H
— J&K Police (@JmuKmrPolice) October 29, 2018
According to a Greater Kashmir report published on October 30, 2018, “Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday claimed to have arrested three suspected militants after a brief shootout near Noora Hospital on the outskirts of Srinagar city.”
Therefore, images from two different incidents, one from Bangladesh, were shared with the false claim that a Muslim leader from Assam Congress was caught with arms and ammunition.
Aqib is monitoring and researching mis/disinformation at Alt News
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How Guatemalan Group ‘Las Poderosas’ Uses Theater to Confront Violence Against Women · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

“Naciendo” (Emerging) is a new theater production from Las Poderosas. Image provided by the group and published with permission.
With performances that are equal parts therapeutic and empowering, Guatemalan theater group Las Poderosas (Powerful Women) is sending a powerful message for gender equality and against gender-based violence from the stage. Since 2008, their work has expanded across social media and the region. For these women, theater is a means to heal, condemn, communicate, and raise awareness within a country where, according to information from UN Women, “two women a day are killed on average.
The group formed after participating in a theater experiment in Marco Canale’s documentary “Hoy puedo ser” (Today I can be). The experience lead these women to devote themselves fully to exploring the power of testimony and the world of emotions. Their main focus is writing and performing plays that reveal the various forms of violence, from the most evident to the most subtle, that go undetected in everyday life, only to be noticed when collectively observed.
The blog Heroínas (Heroines), recounts Las Poderosas’ story:
El gusanito del teatro invadió las entrañas de estas siete mujeres y sus hijos, que decidieron continuar con el montaje escénico y hacer presentaciones a lo largo y ancho de Guatemala. […] De las vueltas del destino y de un sueño que tuvo Lesbia Téllez [una de las participantes] en el cual, estas supervivientes se veían sobre el escenario vestidas de luchadoras, nace “Las Poderosas”. Una compañía de teatro sin parangón que tiene como propósito, sanar a aquellas personas que han sido objeto de la violencia mediante la catarsis y el espacio creativo que ofrece el teatro. […] Cuando se les pregunta qué significa para ellas el teatro, esta “Liga de la Justicia” de siete heroínas […] no dudan en asegurar que ha sido su salvación y el motor de cambio de sus vidas.
These seven women and their children were bitten by the theater bug, so they decided to continue with the production and perform across the length and breadth of Guatemala. […] Through a twist of fate and a dream held by one of the participants, Lesbia Téllez, Las Poderosas was born; the survivors appeared on the stage dressed as luchadoras [wrestlers]. This unparalleled theater company's mission is to heal those who have been subjected to violence through catharsis and the creative space that the stage offers. […] When asked what the theater means to them, this seven-woman “Justice League” […] doesn’t hesitate to assure that it has been their salvation and a driving force for change in their lives.
The group’s “trailer” gives a better idea of their style and approach. The video shows members of Las Poderosas sharing their own experiences:
Mi marido me mandó matar. Me dispararon al corazón. Perdí mi brazo, pero hice justicia.
My husband ordered me killed. I was shot in the heart. I lost my arm; but I got justice.
Las Poderosas also participate in community work with women from different regions, both inside and outside of Guatemala. They encourage women to share their experiences in order to draw attention to the problem of violence and provide solutions for it. An example of their efforts is their involvement in International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with “close to 60 women from 8 municipalities within the Sololá Department of Guatemala; some of them being leaders and violence survivors.”
Their most recent performance, “Naciendo” (Emerging), delves into the many facets of violence, including its presence in Guatemala’s mixed heritage and the country's painful civil war, which left more than 250,000 dead. More profoundly, however, this new production initiates conversations about the body, sex, and most importantly, soul-searching:
Scene from Naciendo. Published with permission.
[“Naciendo”] nace de una investigación sobre nuestra sexualidad, nuestro origen y la guerra. Hablamos con nuestras madres, con nuestras hijas, con nuestras nietas y con mujeres sobrevivientes del conflicto armado, buscando las huellas de nuestra historia, de nuestro país, la historia de nuestros cuerpos.¿Qué es lo que vivimos? ¿Qué estamos por vivir?
Hacer esta obra, recordar, tratar de entender las sombras y la luz, nombrar, cantar o hablar sobre cómo hacemos el amor, fue una forma de mirar a los ojos ese camino tan ancho que cada una de nosotras guarda adentro.
Mirarlo como si fuera un río.
Es el lugar desde el que estamos naciendo.
[“Naciendo”] emerges from an investigation of our sexuality, our origins, and the war. We speak to our mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and women who have survived armed conflict, searching for traces of our history, country, and bodies. What is it that we are living? What are we about to live?
Doing this production, remembering, trying to understand the darkness and the light, naming, singing, or speaking about how we make love was a way of gazing into the eyes of that ever-so-wide path that each one of us keeps inside.
Gaze at it as if it were a river.
It is the place from where we are emerging.


Government of India has not launched PM Dhana Lakshmi Yojana or PM Vaibhav Lakshmi Yojana. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 27, 2020
A video claiming that the central government is providing loans to women under Vaibhav Lakshmi Loan scheme is gaining views on YouTube. Also, a similar post claiming that the central government is providing collateral-free loans to women through PM Dhana Lakshmi Yojana is doing rounds across all social media platforms. Through this article lets fact-check the claim.
Central government has launched PM Dhana Lakshmi Yojana/ PM Vaibhav Lakshmi Yojana for the benefit of women.
Fact: The Central Government has not launched any such scheme. ‘Press Information Bureau (PIB)’ through a tweet has categorically denied the existence of any such scheme and mentioned that the post is fake. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for information about the schemes mentioned on the website of ‘Ministry of Women & Child Development’ which is the nodal ministry for the advancement of women and children in India, we did not find any mention about these schemes in the list of women-related schemes provided on the website.
As it is mentioned in the video that the loans are provided through SBI and Vijaya banks, we searched for information on SBI and Vijaya bank (now BOB) websites. However, we did not find any mention or any information regarding these schemes. Also, we did not find any newspaper article, or any news reporting regarding these schemes.
‘Press Information Bureau (PIB)’ on 12 June 2020 has cleared the air regarding the scheme through a tweet saying that central government has no such plan of launching a scheme and their tweet has categorically stated that the post is fake.
दावा: पीएम धन लक्ष्मी योजना के तहत महिलाओं को केंद्र सरकार द्वारा 5 लाख रुपये तक लोन प्रदान किया जाएगा#PibFactCheck: यह दावा #Fake है। केंद्र सरकार की ऐसी कोई योजना नहीं है| pic.twitter.com/alE35AFZDD
There is no information about these schemes on the ‘Direct Benefit Transfer’ website of the government of India or for that matter on any government portal.
In a nutshell, there exists no such scheme by the name PM Dhana Lakshmi Yojana or PM Vaibhav Lakshmi Yojana.
Did you watch our new video?


Barbados: Reinvention?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“To most sensible observers the problems of West Indies cricket can only be solved by revamping the current monolithic West Indies Cricket Board”: Barbados Underground wonders whether the organisation has the resolve to reinvent itself.


Sri Lanka: University Politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Tamiliana on “Jaffna University or Yarlpanap Palgalaikkazhagham has become a volatile flashpoint of tension in the on going conflict between security personnel of the state and the younger generation of the district. “


Bahrain: Love Israel! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Sharon is dying after whatever hit his brain. I am not writing this to express my joy but my admiration to Israel as a government, a country and a committee, $ilver Girl said.


Hungary: Van Gogh Exhibition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestcentric advises against visiting a Van Gogh exhibition in Budapest.