The Malagasy dwarf Hippo

Bloggers in Madagascar just blow my mind

2009-06-30T17:34:00.002-04:00

I have been in Antananarivo for a little more than a week now. It's been mostly about running around town, catching up with families, seeing old friends, meeting familiar online friends in real life... the head is spinning quite a bit from all the stories and the resilience of the people here.

Oddly enough, I have not been able to keep track of news as well as when I was abroad but I definitely have a better understanding of what happended and how people experienced the past months. Things as expected were much more complicated than they appeared, granted it was already confusing enough.

I have many photos, clips and stories I'd like to share but time and internet access is failing me. So I decided to just enjoy the company of families and friends as much as possible, blogging be damned :).

Last but not least, I'd like to give a shout out to all bloggers who took time to chat with me. It's been an education and a true treat. And you know what is really missing from blogging? You rarely get to share a good laugh together.

We will try to all get together and share our experiences, tips and lesson learned as new media users during crisis on
Saturday , July 4th at Ivotel Ambohidahy from 13:00 until who knows when....

It will be a continuation of BarCamp Madagascar 9 months ago ( an enriching meet-up from all accounts) and a workshop on new media tools for beginners will close the session.

A few influential bloggers and twitterers have already agreed to present on various themes such as: why they felt that blogging was a civil act a the times, the complenetarity of blogging with journalism, importance of timely, authentic tweets, staying out of harm's way and how digital media can participate in the recovery process.

I have been preaching the importance of linking to other blogs in blog posts and here I am, without a link to show for.

The lesson as always, I am an idiot.

Still, please do come on saturday, the exchange of ideas and the manner in which it will happen will be intriguing.

Plus there will be food, drinks and free wifi.

For a better global flow of ideas: Clips of E. Zuckerman and O. Wasow panel discussion

2009-05-31T22:29:00.008-04:00

Solana and I were lucky enough to catch a panel discussion on technology and Access at the New Museum as part of the "Younger than Jesus" exhibition on. Ethan Zuckerman and Omar Wasow discussed the implication of internet access, its benefits and limitations for groups who are not as connected yet. Even though I am quite familiar with Global Voices, I am still fascinated by how much I learn when I get to hear the exchange of ideas between these scholars. So instead of boring you with what I learn from the two talks, here is a clip I took of the discussion after the panel presentation on how we can improve the flow of ideas on global scale and why we should work hard at it:

The analogy "Distributed Information /balanced nutrition" total works for me.

Here are the first 10 minutes of Ethan's talk on how we can help improve the flow of ideas. Don't miss the flow map of flights around the world on any given day (at 6:20 mark), it is striking.

In defense of Rajoelina and Ravalomanana in #Madagascar

2009-05-27T11:36:00.006-04:00

I have been receiving a few emails ( some nastier than others ) about my take on the events in Madagascar. This is an attempt at clearing things up because my name and avatar were used in many forums, unbeknown to me, writing words that I never thought of.

Disclosure

So for the sake of clarity and full disclosure, here is my personal view on what transpired in Madagascar, in chronological order:

There was a laundry list of bad governance in the past few years in Madagascar. There was also an evident recognition of Madagascar as a good place to invest with a strong ROI. It is also a fact that those investments did not benefit the majority of the population who still suffered from endemic poverty.

The Malagasy power shift was a military-backed takeover. No legal lingo can refute the fact that without the support of the CAPSAT ( one faction of the army) and (most probably) foreign financial lobbies, no power shift would have been possible. The fact that there might be a document from fallen president handing the power over to a military directory is irrelevant to the cause of the power shift.

. Given those two observations, I personally think that:

1) the transitional government only legitimacy or purpose would reside in preparing elections as soon as possible. Any attempt at changing the constitution without a clear mandate from the majority of the population is illegal and should be considered as such.

2) In the event that elections were to happen soon, I support that all candidates willing to do so be allowed to run for presidency, including former presidents and Rajoelina himself. I know that Rajoelina has been lobbying for former presidents to be banned from running ( and what basis I am not sure) and that he is too young according to the constitution but denying him would be denying the voices of a relevant part of the population.

3) I think that instead of criticizing Malagasy citizens' active involvement and discourse in the fate of their country, the so-called "silent majority" should help frame the future and ensure that transparent elections are held. That is the only way we can recover and move forward towards reconciliation. There is a humanitarian crisis and environmental crisis brewing at home and the faster we resolve the political conundrum, the faster we can attend to the problem at end. If we put the foundation of social harmony on the back burner because we have a few upcoming crises or are tired of the crisis, we will prove that we cannot learn from our mistakes in 91 and 02 and will go through all this again in 2012. No more of this shameful nonsense, please.

What of our leaders ?

Yes I am in favor of early elections and I 'd wish that all of them are allowed to run. Why ?

Let's see the argument for each of our protagonist, first Rajoelina:

I have been critical of Rajoelina's actions and here is why:

1) his reasons for starting the power struggle and the way he went about fixing an injustice were all wrong: Firstly, he went full force in the crisis because his TV station was shut down. There are a myriad of reason to start a struggle (poverty, monopoly and staple products, poor terms of land deal etc...), the closing of his TV station is not one of them.
2) the crisis has now caused 200 deaths and the loss of investors confidence in Madagascar that has plunged into the abyss of a recession. Was it all worth it ? Wasn't it an option to start campaigning for the election planned in 2012 and build a case for a change of regime ? What was all the rush about ?
Yet I support an exception for his candidacy. His approval rate may be at all time low now, but he was willing to be the voice of dissonance when things looked fishy in Madagascar and no one said anything. And that alone gives him the right to carry those voices further. Rajoelina's delusion of grandeur has been well documented and he might be flawed but he represented the hope of many when things were going astray. Had he not commandeer the coup, maybe his popularity would be higher.

A lot has been said about Ravalomanana's mistakes but a shortcoming that has been not enough emphasized is his inability to listen to his critics and dismiss them without hesitation. His contempt for academicians, former foes and contrary point of view is indisputable. He now accuses France of supporting the "coup, and a band of bandits and wanting Madagascar to return as a colony". I am aware of where he comes from on this statement but more than anything, this statement shows me that he is still not admitting his own wrongdoing and suggests that he is not willing to find a consensus with all the parties involved.

Still, he is the current elected president and it is clear that he has a legitimate mandate as the legal leader of Madagascar and the support of a substantial part of the population. No elections would make sense without him in Madagascar and that's a fact.

Both politicians have failed their people in many ways. Yet, one cannot forget that they both shoulder enormous pressure and that their (similar) flaws as leaders might be a byproduct of the strain of the job. One wish that they both would be more open to discussion but how many presidents in other places can say that they have the true pulse of their nations ? That is why elections would go a long way towards helping them listen to their constituents, explain what they want for their country and how they plan to do it. Elections are far from the perfect solution but they would show that both sides are willing to listen to the other side's point of view and more importantly to the silent majority.

They lost a lot of credential in the eyes of many. It is time they both earn them back. I hope they both still can, for everyone's sake.

Blogging for a cause: Support #freespeech and Global Voices Advocacy @advox

2009-05-15T15:04:00.008-04:00

A lot has been said about the strengths and weaknesses of the participatory web. In the end, the whole point of activity on the web ought to be about whether one has contributed even in the tiniest fashion to a better understanding of the things around us.

Many initiatives are promoting the positive actions of blogging. One of them, Zemanta organizes a "blogging for a cause" month at the end of which they will honor the causes that bloggers care the most about.

Here is my vote for Global Voices Advocacy. GV advocacy is a project for journalists, bloggers and activists worldwide to protect freedom of expression and free access to information online.
Why ? There are many reasons why GV Advocacy rocks but on a more personal level, GV advocacy featured two articles that detailed the current threat against free speech and bloggers in Madagascar. But it was equally as instrumental for bloggers and activists from every other parts of the world.

So yep, to all the bloggers out there, GV advocacy is worthy of your support.

This blog post is part of Zemanta’s “Blogging For a Cause” campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

Thoughts on #newmachine conference and #humanrights reporting in #Madagascar

2009-05-11T16:57:00.006-04:00

Cross-posted on Foko Blog Club:

On May 4-5 2009, the Human Rights Center at University of California Berkeley organized the Soul of the New Machine Conference on Human Rights, technology and new media to share best practices and develop new strategies for incorporating technology to address human rights abuses. A few partners and friends were part of the panel of presenters, among them Ken Banks of FrontlineSMS, Erik Hersman of Ushahidi and David Sasaki, director of Global Voices Outreach program, Rising Voices.

I will go into further details later on how these three organisations have been of tremedous help in documenting the multiple acts of violence during the Madagascar crisis but for more info now, here is an interview by Solana Larsen of Tahina, one of the manager of the foko-ushahidi platform in Antananarivo, Mg.

A New York Hub for the conference was also organized by Cristina Moon and she graciously invited Foko to present their work at the brooklyn location.

As you know, Foko primary mission is to document the everyday lives of Malagasy citizens and local agents of environmental change, not record potential human rights violations by their government. Yet, the ongoing crisis decided otherwise for the time being. The hub was a great opportunity to meet and learn first hand from Human Rights activists present at the event.

The presentation went over the background of the crisis, the known human rights violations that were documented since January 09, the use of new media by tools by the dynamic new media users' community in Madagascar (both related and non-related to Foko) and the obstacles for more extensive reporting of current events. We also posit that among all the past and current human rights violations in Madagascar ( military repression, limited freedom of speech, arrest etc..) the most glaring offense in our opinion is the 400,000 people (mostly children) currently at risk of hunger in the South because the political deadlock prevents an effective response.

The fact that Foko is present in 5 different regions of Madagascar is important but still insufficient to provide comprehensive reports from all the regions of a nation twice the size of Great-Britain.

The Conference had a specific emphasis on data accuracy, fact-checking and the use of mobile reporting. Michael Ferola present at the NY hub, has been very kind to offer an analysis of the entire database collected on the foko ushahidi platform. We are evaluating a way to measure the quality of the data and present them in an effective manner.

The videos of the panel discussions at the conference will soon be available on fora.tv

However, here a few important reviews made at the conference:

1)On the panel "PDAs and Phones for Data Collections", speakers discuss the potential of mobile reporting for providing additional information during humanitarian crises in developing countries. For more info, here is the notes from Erik's talk at the conference and a post on Kiwanja website on how FrontlineSMS was used in the film "The Reckoning".
No groundbreaking news here so I will take this opportunity to describe the collaboration with mobile technology experts and thank the people at FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi who worked with us overnight to get the platform ready for sms reports as soon as possible.

As Tahina explained, there were a few obstacles to overcome but FrontlineSMS developpers ( Alex Anderson, Carlos Genz and Ken Banks) provided timely technical support and sped up the release of a new version they were working on to take into account the urgent need for an SMS/computer interface for the Madagascar crisis. We cannot thank them enough for helping us establish the first project to collect SMS reports directly onto a computer via the intelliSMS software.
The Ushahidi team was also tremendous in setting up the platform quickly and showing us how to modify the interface to allow for the translation of key words, categories and timeline.

2) on the panel "Blogging Human Rights", David Sasaki spoke about the internet tools used to shine a light on issues that media often ignored. He also explained the importance of giving people on site during the opportunity to tell their stories in their own words and stop using proxy as voices for the oppressed. He also emphasized the importance of translation in breaking the "echo chamber" and reaching new audiences about issues that most people are not familiar with. A case in point for this statement that is related to Madagascar is the online petition for Razily, a protester who was arrested on March 28th for flag theft and who has not been heard of since then. The petition has now reached moe than 500 signatures in a week thanks to media attention in different languages (ny marina momba ny Razily news2dago, Madagascar-Tribune, Ethan Zuckerman, Jillian York on Huffington Post and Madagaskar-Vision.de) For the ultimate comprehensive resource on translation and new media, read Chris Salzberg's thesis on the lingua GV project. (PDF)

Finally, David also emphasized the importance of addressing the safety of citizen journalists

In short, the conference was a reminder that supporting the development of new media users and communities in developing countries is a worthwhile endeveaor, especially considering their added value when a crisis situation breaks out.

On World Press Freedom Day: Support Razily and free speech in #Madagascar

2009-05-02T11:42:00.010-04:00

This is Razily:

Razily marched on towards soldiers during a rally protesting military actions in Madagascar. He marched alone, knowing that marching on would put him in harm's way.
It's been more than a month since his arrest and although mentioned, no trial date nad been set yet. It is unclear whether Razily is still alive today.

Razily is not a member of the press, nor is he an online media user.
He was a street vendor, but he stood for his right to express himself, amidst increasing censorship in his country.

Please support the release of a trial date for Razily by signing this petition.

The support so far looks very promising but the petition needs more signatures to demand accountability from the leaders of the armed forces.

There are more people not accounted for in Madagascar right now.

For more details, please read Ethan Zuckerman's article on Razily.

As an early birthday gift for me ;) , please send Razily your thoughts and consider letting your friends and relatives know about his courageous stand by adding the banner below:

Frontline Event: Roots of the Turmoil with Stephen Ellis

2009-04-27T14:12:00.003-04:00

World Book Day Review: "The Book of Sand" By J.L. Borges (& a bit about the Book of Imaginary Beings) #GVbook09

2009-04-23T16:07:00.007-04:00

On UNESCO World Book Day and as part of the Global Voices Book challenge, I thought I would tackle a book from an Argentine author. Why? Well, Argentina is one of the places where my sister once lived that I did not have the chance to visit & the place that Celeste, Jorge & Romina, friends who gravitate around the Global Voices/Rising Voices sphere, call home. I don't know much about Argentina and although the epic battles at La Bombonera between Boca Juniors and River Plate are famous all the way to Antananarivo, I desperately needed to know more a bit more.
I asked Celeste where I should start with if I were to read an Argentine author (except for Che Guevara who would be in a category of his own) and she immediately suggested Jorge (corrected) Luis Borges.

I was delighted to learn more about Borges and his work.
However, for the purpose of the book challenge and learning more about the culture, Borges is a complex fellow because he spent a lot of his time in many different parts of the world. Then again, it might just be the right fit since a Global Voices initiative will always redefine and challenge the established boundaries between cultures and aim to bridge them together.
In his writing, Borges would often nonchalantly drop phrases from Hugo, Balke or Schopenhauer in the middle of a stories without bothering with translation, probably assuming that we all should know at least this much from each foreign languages.

The Book of Sand is a collection of short stories that bends time, space and personalities. For the untrained reader like myself, it takes some adjusting to stay with Borges train of thought. Truth be told, many of the subtleties of his writing are still lost on me but I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

In my naive opinion, the Book of Sand felt like a challenge to the reader to look beyond the finality of events and understand that the beginning and end, fact and imagination are all truly relative. Such assessments are sometimes difficult to accept for someone who has spent most of his life trying to prove hypothesis as facts.
There are 13 short stories in the book but I will focus on one called The Congress because it speaks to the difficulty for a heterogeneous group to come together in trying to achieve a common goal.
In The Congress, the narrator is Alexander Ferri, an Argentine who recalls his days as a member of a society called the "Congress of the World". One of the goal of this group composed of many nationalities was to preserve classic books from every regions of the world. The dynamic of the group is described in details by Ferri, from the charismatic leader Glencoe to the internal rivalries of Eguren and Ferri. They all met in a ranch and are sent on missions to collect classics fro all over the world. The fascination for Europe is touched upon when members are manoeuvring to be sent to the libraries of Paris or London. Ferri falls in love with Beatrice in paris and fails in his mission to collect the books.
The Congress comes to an end abruptly when Glencoe gathers all the books collected and orders them to be burn. The reason he says, is that the idea of a Congress itself was wrong in assuming that they were an accurate representation of the rest of the world. Does the only engineer there represent all engineers ? Does Nora, the Norwegian truly represent all Norwegians ?

The Congress points that we like to shrink and summarize the world in a way that can be comprehensible to us but, in the end, these attempts are always futile. It is just impossible to have a true replicate of all the regions of the world and any similar initiatives are pointless.

As Madagascar tries to find an exit to its political dead end, such assessment of the true representation of a group is hitting very close to home for me at this time. No entity can ever claim that it represents perfectly a population. However, a group has to agree on a set of rules to live by and tolerate each other. When those agreements are rendered meaningless for whatever reasons, the opus of the members (like the collection of classic books initiative) usually ends in ashes.

Even though, this particular story brought me back to the crisis back home, I welcomed the rest of the short stories as an escape to the accrued violence there for the past few days.

A final link between Borges and Madagascar can be found in his other book: the Book of Imaginary Beings where Borges devotes a whole chapter to the origins of mythological creatures called lemuri:

"The Lemuri were the souls of the evil dead, created by Romulus to subdue the restless spirit of his brother Remus".

That is indeed consistent with Malagasy traditional folk stories in which lemurs are sometimes thought to carry the spirit of passed relatives.
I am sure Georgia (GAP) and David will be thrilled to know that the monkey on their back might just be the embodied spirit of someone's ancestors :). And Leonard, don't be surprised if those guys start to engage you in a conversation.

( Via Flickr @Carribeanfreephoto)

eyewitness account of pillage of National Park in the Sava region of Madagascar ( translated from Sobika)

2009-04-22T09:46:00.004-04:00

Because of the current vacuum in security forces in some regions of Madagascar, there is an ongoing looting of Malagasy National Park by organized mobs looking for rosewood and other rare kinds of woods.
These crimes have been documented by many already: The New York Times , The Globe and Mail, NGO and Foko blogger Koloina (twitter) yet nothing is being done to prevent further pillage of the forest and the protection of endangered species:

Below is an eyewitness account of this ongoing disaster,originally posted in French on the Sobika webiste a few weeks back and translated by environmental activist and famed Malagasy singer Razia Said (also on twitter)

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MADAGASCAR: EMERGENCY IN THE SAVA REGION

We are again publishing a new eyewitness account of events in the Sava region. Madagascar’s patrimony – the natural environment - is being utterly destroyed by the chaotic and unregulated exploitation of resources. Thus far, no government authority has even reacted to this crisis. If current conditions persist, the region’s forest and the many indigenous species of plants and animals which comprise the wealth of Madagascar will have completely disappeared in less than five years – because of one simple reason: the thirst for money. LET’S SOUND THE ALARM. THE SAVA REGION IS DYING. THIS REGION MUST BE SAVED!

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM=ENVIRONMENT=PROTECTION OF PATRIMONY

PRECIOUS HARDWOOD AND LEMURS

(source remains anonymous for security reasons)

Herewith you will find the results of my research into the world of timber trafficking.

“A SHIPPING CONTAINER FULL OF ROSEWOOD IS WORTH 900 MILLION FMG”

(images via Koloina)
1) The fact that too much timber is allowed to be exported is a serious matter. In light of the large quantity of logs now being stockpiled by exporters in Antalaha, the situation seems deeply disturbing. And that’s not even counting the tree-trunks which have already been shipped overseas, nor those which are still hidden in the forests, awaiting shipment.
2) The current sales price FOB at Vohemar ranges from 5 to 6 USD per kilo of top-ranked (or “first-choice”) timber. During the best season, that rate equals about 45,000 Fmg per kilo or 45 Million Fmg per ton. Rates have even reached as high as 10 or 11 USD per kilo. The price of second-choice timber is around 3 or 4 USD per kilo, or 27 to 36 Million Fmg per ton.
3) Demi-madere (?half-finished?) planks sell for 2.50 USD per kilo, or 22,500,000.00 Fmg per ton.
4) Medium-sized shipping containers can hold 20 tons of rosewood, averaging between 110 and 140 pieces of timber each (this ratio applies if the timber is rounded – ie: not yet squared off into planks). A container of first-choice timber is worth 900 Million Fmg.
5) The weight of the logs varies enormously because the loggers do not follow rules regarding authorized cuts. Some short, slender logs weigh a mere 75 kilos. The largest log I saw, however, weighed a record-breaking 1,405 kilos, with a length of 3.30 meters and a diameter of 90 cm. Incredible ! How did they manage to get it out of the forest? Average logs weigh about 200 kilos, measuring 2.50 meters with a 40 cm diameter.
6) Among the 13 logging permits approved during this period, some are for loggers new to this region. There is no quality control, few machines and little space to work. Some loggers, however, are experienced and have mastered the concept of quality both in woodcutting and in purchasing. They work with good machinery and proper space.

1) The older and better exporters are voicing complaints about the newer exporters, whom they accuse of ignoring the rules about log size and surface area to be logged as well as the spacing between cuts. The new exporters encourage indiscriminate logging and are careless about grading wood suitable for export. This leads to frequent complaints by foreign purchasers who demand refunds, damaging the image of the logging business, and indeed of the whole country.
2) As for the villagers, the local collectors sell timber at 15,000 Fmg per kilo to big collectors and exporters. The collectors recruit young people from the village, paying them between 25,000 to 35,000 Fmg per day to transport the cut timber out of the forest where it is stockpiled.
3) I made another discovery: many statements filed with the Ministry as part of requests for logging and timber storage permits are simply false. Once the Ministry approves a request, the loggers rush to fill the authorized timber amount, then push delivery of the timber to port as quickly as possible. The collectors panic and struggle to fill their quotas. Some collectors use deception, and fill hollow tree trunks with sand or gravel to increase their weight at delivery. Under cover of darkness, some collectors steal timber from others. Every night, timber collectors and wood haulers crowd the village bars until dawn, drinking away their profits – especially on weekends. People’s behavior has changed. They have become aggressive and cruel, vaunting their prowess with boasts and fakery. They give no thought to consequences, risks or even rules…
4) Policemen on duty in Manantenina are paid 25,000 Fmg. According to people I’ve heard chatting in the bush-taxis, there have even been clients of Belaoko lokoho who have stopped the vehicle asking to transport Bolabolas. The taxi driver refused.
5) Passengers in bush-taxis talk a lot about the issue of logging inside the Park. They have mentioned that the timber collectors are leaving the Park to await the reaction of the new President (TGV), since they fear he will pass a new law aimed at protecting the Park. But after the President passed through Sambava, not a word was spoken about the problem of that particular Park. Suddenly, the wood collectors went back to work in the Park with much more confidence and assurance that the government would not get involved. Can this be confirmed?

And another source:

IT’S A MASSACRE – HE KILLS EVERYTHING HIS DOGS HUNT DOWN, MORE THAN 3,000 TO 5,000, AS AN ESTIMATE.

I’ve just returned from two weeks in the forest, where I discovered that every stream leading down to the sea along countless branches and confluences is awash with timber. This is inevitable, and a cause of great dismay.
Out in the bush, I’ve discussed this issue with the loggers, with the timber collectors, with traffickers we know, with everyone involved. Their conclusions are unambiguous, direct and raw.
Yves recently posted this on his blog: “If we refuse to proceed down the pathway of the court and of reason, rocky and difficult as it may be, but worthy of our most beautiful discoveries, then we may well design our own funeral monument, built in a trash heap, on which the last one of us will perhaps have the strength to carve these words: “Here lies humanity, its vanity flown. No flowers, no crowns. Nothing but a great burst of laughter!”

I don’t know if you’ve heard of the “the Butcher” of XXX, former mayor of XXX. His wife is the current mayor. For the past thirty years, he has been hunting in the very same woods where I spent two weeks getting lost. The Butcher has built his business there, with ten trained dogs, hunting rifles with 5-shot magazines (the cartridge casings have been found). He kills everything his dogs hunt down. It’s a massacre. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 animals killed.
He sells the meat to the Chinese community of the SAVA region, of Tamatave and even of Tana…and even in the Makira district…Down there, in a single territory we find varecia rubra, varecia variegata, the offspring of crossbreeding between both species, as well as simpona, babakoto, komba albifrons, coronatus, avahi, lepilemur, the aye-aye, hapalemur griseus and another species of hapalemur which could be prolemur simus. Unfortunately, due to the depredations of “The Butcher”, the animals are terrorized, and flee from human beings, and even from human odor. What a nightmare…”

SIGNED: An internet user who wants the world to take notice of what is happening now in the SAVA region.

Revue de Presse /Press Review #Madagascar (April, 03-09)

2009-04-14T11:36:00.002-04:00

REVUE DE PRESSE DU 03 AU 09 AVRIL 2009

(03 avril 2009)

Politique intérieure

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Devant les dirigeants de l’Afrique australe réunis au Sommet de la SADC, le 30 mars au Swaziland, l’ancien président de la République Marc Ravalomanana s'est plaint d’avoir été forcé de transmettre les pleins pouvoirs sous la menace d’une arme et encerclé par des soldats. Niant sa démission, Marc Ravalomanana a accusé son rival, Andry Rajoelina d’avoir envoyé des soldats au palais d’Etat d’Iavoloha, le 17 mars dernier. Selon ses termes, les troupes ont dispersé ses milliers de partisans installés à l’extérieur du palais avant de l’attaquer. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar)

*

Andry Rajoelina a procédé à l’ouverture des assises nationales organisées par la Haute Aurotité de Transition. Le nombre des participants, surtout issus des régions, a largement dépassé l’effectif prévu. Plusieurs personnalités politiques, entre autres, quelques membres du bureau politique du Tim, y ont participé. Elles ont affirmé que leur participation est personnelle et n’engage pas leur parti. Des représentants de la communauté internationale dont ceux de l’Union Africaine et des ambassadeurs du Maroc et d’Algérie étaient aussi présents. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Suite à la réunion organisée à Paris, le 2 avril, par l’organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF), il a été décidé que Madagascar sera suspendu de la communauté. La condamnation entraîne, entre autres, la suspension de la coopération multilatérale francophone, à l’exception des programmes qui bénéficient directement aux populations civiles et de ceux qui peuvent concourir au rétablissement de la démocratie. L’OIF réclame la tenue d’élections libres, fiables et transparentes dans les délais les plus brefs. L’OIF se dit prête à accompagner le processus de retour à un ordre constitutionnel démocratique. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile)

(04 avril 2009)

Politique intérieure

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Les assises nationales qui se sont tenues les 2 et 3 avril et rassemblant de l’ordre d'un millier de participants issus de diverses entités ont abouti à la résolution d'écourter le régime transitoire à 19 mois. Un calendrier électoral a été élaboré. Le programme fixé commence par un référendum pour une nouvelle Constitution en septembre prochain pour se terminer par l'élection présidentielle en octobre de l'année prochaine. Les législatives et les sénatoriales se tiendront au mois de mars 2010 et mars 2011 (terme de 24 mois de transition). En outre, une conférence nationale sera organisée en juin 2009 après la mise en place d'un comité pour la réconciliation nationale. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

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Les assises organisées par les partisans de Marc Ravalomanana, en parallèle avec les assises nationales de la HAT, ont drainé plusieurs centaines personnes issues de diverses organisations. Axées essentiellement sur la recherche de solutions à la crise, les recommandations mettent l'accent sur six points allant du retour rapide à l'ordre constitutionnel à l'organisation de la réconciliation nationale par le biais des assises nationales, une fois la paix rétablie. Les autres points interpellent les militaires et surtout la communauté internationale. Il est demandé aux militaires de respecter la neutralité politique et de ne plus faire preuve de violence envers les manifestants pacifiques. Le cas échéant, les assises proposent le recours à l'interposition des forces internationales pour rétablir l'ordre. Ils n'excluent pas non plus le dialogue entre les deux camps mais demandent la protection des forces d'interposition internationales. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

En visite de courtoisie auprès du premier ministre Monja Roindefo, l'ambassadeur de France Jean-Marc Châtaigner, en tant que président local, a proposé une séance de travail entre le gouvernement malgache et des techniciens de l'Union européenne. Pour que le changement soit accepté par les Nations unies, la France, à travers son ambassadeur, s'est également dite prête à collaborer avec les dirigeants de la transition pour asseoir la démocratie à Madagascar. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

(06 avril 2009)

Politique intérieure

*

Après sa descente à Fianarantsoa et à Toliary, la délégation de la haute autorité de la transition, dirigée par son président Andry Rajoelina, a effectué une visite dans le Nord du pays, notamment à Antsiranana, Sambava, Nosy Be et Mahajanga, le week-end dernier. A chaque étape de son déplacement, Andry Rajoelina a été accueilli par une foule importante. A Nosy Be, le président de la haute autorité de la transition, Andry Rajoelina, s'est adressé aux manifestants légalistes. Il a déclaré que le retour au pouvoir de Marc Ravalomanana est exclu. Andry Rajoelina a fait savoir que la gestion d'un Etat n'est pas un jeu d'enfants. Il faisait allusion à la démarche de Marc Ravalomanana qui souhaite revenir à la tête du pouvoir après avoir démissionné. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Les militants du mouvement pro-Ravalomanana ont fait un sit-in devant le siège de la représentation des Nations unies samedi dernier. A défaut d'avoir pu pénétrer dans l'enceinte, ils se sont contentés d'un meeting sur le trottoir. D'après le porte-parole du parti Tim, ce sit-in est un message destiné à faire réagir les Nations unies. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Le conseil de la Commission de l'Océan Indien, en affirmant sa solidarité à l'égard du peuple malgache, appelle au rétablissement dans un délai rapproché, du fonctionnement démocratique des institutions de la Républiques. La COI souhaite également que Madagascar retrouve sa place au sein de la communauté internationale et décide d'envoyer une mission d'appui et de soutien à Madagascar, en concertation avec cette dernière à l'issue de la 25ème session de la COI, le 4 avril. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar)

Economie

*

La centrale thermique de la compagnie nationale de l'eau et de l'électricité (Jirama) a été, samedi, la proie des flammes. Trois générateurs d'une production totale de 18 Mégawatts sont partis en fumée. Les flammes ont également endommagé tous les équipements et les machines, notamment le groupe électrogène. La fuite des carburants utilisés pour la mise en marche de ce groupe ainsi que la vétusté des générateurs qui ont été installés en 1975, sont à l'origine de cet incendie. L'incident n'affectera pas l'approvisionnement en électricité. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

La société agroalimentaire Tiko de l'ancien président Marc Ravalomanana annonce l'arrêt d'activité de l'entreprise suite au conflit politique depuis le mois de janvier. L'absence de réseau de distribution après les pillages, l'incendie des centrales de vente Magro ainsi que l'atmosphère d'insécurité ont conduit à cette décision. Fleuron de l'industrie malgache avec 3500 emplois directs et près de 100 000 emplois indirects, les conséquences de la fermeture du groupe s'avèrent être un coup dur pour l'économie. Outre les producteurs agricoles qui assurent l'approvisionnement en matières premières, les sous-traitants et les commerçants souffrent de l'arrêt des activités de la plus grande industrie agro-alimentaire malgache. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar)

(07 avril 2009)

Politique intérieure

*

L'épouse de l'ancien vice-premier ministre Pierrot Rajaonarivelo exilé en France a annoncé le retour imminent au pays de son mari sans avancer de date. Entourée des proches collaborateurs politiques de Pierrot Rajaonarivelo, elle a fait appel à une amnistie pour les détenus et les exilés politiques. Elle a porté ses critiques sur la lenteur de la mise en œuvre de la promesse du président de la haute autorité de la transition, Andry Rajoelina, en vue de la libération des prisonniers politiques ainsi que le retour au pays des exilés. Renée Rajaonarivelo a évoqué des manœuvres politiques faits par l'entourage d'Andry Rajoelina dans la concrétisation de cette mesure. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Suite à l'annonce faite par le professeur Zafy Albert de sa décision de prendre en charge la gestion des provinces autonomes et des régions, une délégation du comité pour la réconciliation nationale (CRN) assurera la descente dans les six ex-chefs lieux de provinces pour avancer dans le projet. (Les Nouvelles, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Attendue le 1er avril, la nomination des autres membres du gouvernement de la haute autorité de la transition (HAT) n'a pas encore eu lieu. Les consultations continuent. (Les Nouvelles, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Moins nombreux que d'habitude, les partisans de Marc Ravalomanana se sont de nouveau rassemblés sur la place de la Démocratie. Les différentes interventions des dirigeants du mouvement ont annoncé la mise en place prochaine d'un gouvernement soutenant la légalité. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Des officiers supérieurs et des politiciens pro-Ravalomanana font l'objet d'un mandat d'arrêt. Ils sont soupçonnés d'avoir semé des troubles, portant ainsi atteinte à l'ordre public. Dix neuf personnes seraient concernées par cette mesure judiciaire. Parmi elles figurent des meneurs du mouvement légaliste. (L'Express de Madagascar)

Informations générales

*

La tempête tropicale "Jade" secoue la partie nord de l'île. Les fortes précipitations qu'elle provoque ont causé une inondation dans trois districts de la Grande île, Mananara Nord, Maroantsetra et Antalaha. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar)

(08 avril 2009)

Politique intérieure

*

Après l'annonce de la nomination à venir d'un premier ministre ainsi que des membres de gouvernement de redressement national, les proches de l'ancien président Marc Ravalomanana multiplient les actions de reconquête du pouvoir. Les députés destitués par le régime transitoire se préparent à faire la campagne de la mise en place prochaine de ce gouvernement dans leurs districts respectifs. Parallèlement, ils ont annoncé qu'ils maintiennent la tenue de leur session ordinaire de l’assemblée nationale prévue en mai. Les pro-Ravalomanana ont incité les contribuables à entamer un mouvement de désobéissance fiscale. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Après avoir quitté le Swaziland, l'ancien président Marc Ravalomanana est arrivé dans la capitale éthiopienne lundi soir. Selon des sources diplomatiques, il a eu des consultations avec le Premier ministre éthiopien, Meles Zenawi, et le président de la Commission de l'Union africaine, Jean Ping. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar)

*

Les employés de la banque centrale ont entamé une grève illimité à cause des menaces et autres actes d'intimidations à leur encontre émanant des autorités, dont l'interdiction de sortie du territoire qui frappe le gouverneur et le directeur général de la banque centrale de Madagascar, ainsi que les contrôles acharnés des véhicules convoyeurs de fonds. Ils réclament le respect du statut et de l'indépendance de cet établissement. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

Economie

*

Pour éviter la fermeture de la société Tiko, le ministre des Finances et du budget Benja Razafimahaleo propose une solution à court terme après une rencontre avec les responsables de la société. La société Tiko peut reprendre ses activités à condition qu'elle fonctionne comme une société privée normale sans les avantages fiscaux et douaniers dont elle bénéficiait auparavant. Le paiement des arriérés vis-à-vis de l'Etat est laissé en suspens mais Tiko devra dorénavant s'acquitter des taxes en vigueur. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

(09 avril 2009)

Politique intérieure

*

Les Nations unies et l'Union africaine (UA) réclament, en vue d'une transition ouverte et équilibrée, la tenue d'un dialogue impliquant toutes les entités politiques malgaches. Dramé Tiébilé, envoyé spécial du secrétaire général adjoint des Nations unies, et Ablassé Ouedraogo, envoyé spécial de l'UA Jean Ping, ont indiqué lors d'une conférence de presse, qu'un retour rapide à l'ordre constitutionnel à travers un processus consensuel associant toutes les parties concernées s'impose pour établir un régime transitoire démocratique. Concernant l'éventuelle intervention des casques bleus à Madagascar, l'émissaire des Nations unies a précisé qu'aucune décision allant dans ce sens n'a été prise lors de la réunion du conseil de sécurité de l'ONU à New York. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar)

*

Les partisans de l'ancien président Marc Ravalomanana prévoient de faire une grande marche en direction des ambassades étrangères ce jour pour une remise d'une lettre de revendication de retour à l'ordre constitutionnel. En outre, les dirigeants du mouvement ont promis pour ce jour la venue d'un invité surprise. Accusé de vouloir légitimer le coup d'Etat à Madagascar, Jean-Marc Chataîgnier, Ambassadeur de France s'est fait particulièrement huer par les défenseurs de la légalité. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

La ministre de la Justice Christine Razanamahasoa a nié l'existence d'une interdiction de sortie du territoire du directeur général de la banque centrale et du gouverneur. Selon elle, ces personnalités sont citées au Parquet à titre de témoins dans l'achat du second avion présidentiel Force Two sous le régime Ravalomanana. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L'Express de Madagascar)

*

Le Premier ministre Monja Roindefo réagit à l'annonce de la tenue de la première session ordinaire de l'Assemblée nationale, faite par les anciens députés de l'ancienne mouvance présidentielle. Le chef du gouvernement du régime transitoire rappelle que la suspension de cette institution signifie interdiction de réinvestir le bâtiment abritant l’assemblée nationale. Cependant, il a exclu le recours à la force et prône le dialogue tout en parlant d'usurpation de fonction. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar)

*

Des employés du Ministère des Finances et du Budget ont effectué un sit-in dans la cour du ministère. D'après les initiateurs du mouvement, les raisons sont multiples : le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel, la suppression de tous les avantages accordés aux agents de l'Etat et surtout les difficultés financières pour faire fonctionner la machine administrative. L'un des employés a évoqué le ralentissement des activités et la détérioration des résultats. Il a souligné que la recette fiscale a diminué de plus de 60% depuis cette crise et la prise en main par le pouvoir en place des affaires de l'Etat. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Fermée suite à une mesure administrative en octobre 2005, l'église FPVM a de nouveau été autorisée suite à un arrêté du Ministère de l'Intérieur publié mardi. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Le bilan provisoire du passage de la tempête tropicale "Jade" fait état de 8 morts, 2 blessés et plus de 3.320 sans-abri. La partie Nord-Ouest et le Sud-Est de l'ile ont été les plus secoués. (Les Nouvelles, L'Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

*

Malgré les négociations entamées par le Ministre des Finances de la Haute Autorité de la Transition (HAT), Benja Razafimahaleo, le groupe Tiko reste sur ses positions d'arrêter sa production. La convention proposée par le ministre a été rejetée par le groupe. Face à cette situation, la HAT entend suivre la voie judiciaire. De son côté, le groupe Tiko porte plainte au niveau international pour la série de pillages et de menaces dont les employés ont été victimes. (L'Express de Madagascar)

#Opinion: New Rules on Madagascar and Trade vs Aid

2009-04-06T18:03:00.012-04:00

Let's borrow Bill Maher's routine to sort through the confusion in Madagascar:

New Rules:

Rule 1: If your whole political shtick is to restore democracy and give the land back to the people, you cannot take 18 months to organize elections, state that the land deal with Daewoo was really quite acceptable and change the constitution so you are eligible to run. It should take less time to organize elections than to build the Empire State Building (13 months). In fact, your sole purpose should be to get elections done as soon as possible.
Rule 2: If you are so desperate on getting aid again from "friendly nations" , you cannot demand their respect after threatening to kill them, it's just not appropriate.
Rule 3: If you have money to throw an extravagant inauguration party for your debut as a non-elected president, you must have money for rescue and relief in case a cyclone arrive. Well, it just did , 8 died, 3300 are homeless but hey it was a heck of a party
Rule 4: There is an ongoing effort right now by international agencies to collect $30 millions USD for rescue effort after cyclone Jade because we were unable to care for our own people. This is unfortunately not the only case of aid being critical for Malagasy. Thousands have lost their jobs since international funds have been frozen. So Madagascar is real life example of what 'd happen if aid were to be stopped abruptly. It is not pretty.
Rule 5: An passionate debate is going on the merit of aid versus trade. I personally lean towards the thinking of Ayittey and Co. Yet, this is not an option in the short term for a few countries. Aid might be flawed but it keeps so many people going in Madagascar that I am having a hard time picturing it being stopped cold turkey. Moreover, there are many cases of limited aid going to the civil organisations that proved to be very effective agent of progress. So "smart aid" directly targeted to the civil societies should be encouraged and large funding to the government should be restrained.
Rule 6: As for trade, this telling post from a person in Madagascar with insights in the word of privileged traders shows that until corruption is effectively rooted out of businesses in Africa, trades truly benefiting lower classes will always be merely wishful thinking.
Rule 7: Finally, if you incite your supporters to march for freedom and democracy, your place is at the front of the march, not at the back, a few miles away from harm. That's how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr did it, that's how Mahatma Gandhi did it. You don't send your people into harm's way when you were not willing to do so yourself. But that's not a new rule, that's a universal "great leader" rule.

Just a reminder for those who don't know him, Bill Maher is a comedian and "New Rules" are a satire :).

All That Tweets...

2009-03-18T18:29:00.010-04:00

Thanks to the dynamic new digital media user community in Madagascar ( in trying conditions nonetheless), there is a tiny silver lining in the ongoing puzzling crisis at home.
It seems that I have gotten the opportunity to explain it quite a bit recently. The fact that I get the call to do it is very unfair because as I said repeatedly, without the content produced by users In Madagascar, there would be nothing for me to talk about, translate or amplify like below:

(CNN's Errol Barnett is truly an amazing guy, I now understand the confessed crushes that many lady friends have expressed, granted probably not for the same reasons).

Let me clarify a few other things that I wanted to get off my chest for a while:

1) What I do on twitter is exactly what I do for Global Voices Online but for all digital media (blogs. videos etc..) Malagasy bloggers produce informative content that we get to translate and contextualize.
All other 220 authors/translators at Global Voices Online are doing the exact same thing. The goal is to explain and shine a light on regions and issues that may be underexposed. That philosophy is what drives most of us to twitter and to other platforms.

2) Ethan Zuckerman is the primary reason why the twitter Malagasy community got on the radar during the crisis. Evidence ? I had about 130 followers on twitter before his post on following the crisis on twitter on February 19th. I have a few more now. Of course, most people are still asking where Madagascar is or whether Angelina Jolie took over the island.( I am looking at you Vinvin :) ). The key is that Ethan cared about a "pothole" (h/t to Erik) that is not really in his neighborhood and wrote about it ( aka the caring issue as Joi Ito coined it). And after reading that post, many journalists agreed: there might be a story there worth telling and the new way how some information is conveyed from there ( on twitter or on sms-based crisis mapping) is also important.

3) As you may have noticed, I was willing to talk to anyone who would write/video about the crisis. Attention seeker much ? Well, that's for you to judge but the goal once again is to get people to look beyond the animated movie and the striking biodiversity. Not that we at Foko don't care about biodiversity, because we do. But it needs to be contextualized. That's what the bloggers at Foko in Madagascar do so at every opportunity we get, we direct people towards their work. This is not to get rewards from Google adsense because after all, we are all volunteers there, but because the only reason to explain something is so for people to listen. If no one listens, it's a moot point, right? So I get to talk because it's more convenient for everyone involved ( media, local bloggers are obvously quite preoccupied) right now but whenever possible, I'd much rather have the guys on site do the talking, without the diaspora as a proxy.

4) Let me repeat as well the other reason why citizen media added an important value to the information pool during the crisis. Journalists cannot possibly be everywhere, yet troubles were happening in several blocks of the city and in many different cities. Witnesses who can transmit information rapidly are crucial components. it is also no secret that airwaves were filled with biased news generated by both parties. Twitterers correcting info or warning people of potential hoaxes happened more than once.
The memory that will probably always stay with me once this crisis is over is this inocuous tweet on March 17th:

Dipnote is the twitter handle for the official Blog of the U.S. Department of State. I should be mad that I was wrong but3 independent sources also posted it and even the very knowledgeable French cable news France 24 reported it before amending it. I immediately Re-tweeted the note to notify people of my mistake and that the president is not at the US embassy( where he is even now is still anyone's guess). I think it is awesome that the administration is savvy enough to know that this is the beauty of twitter. Instant amendment of false information by sources who know better. When there is a gap in information, one wants to collect all potential info and get all the twitter users to verify and help sort out truth from rumors. Another reason why twitter worked in this situation.

addendum: Andrew Meldrum's piece on twitter & Madagascar summarize the idea well: "twitterers are not real journalists [..] we are complementary to journalism"

So there, I hope I clarified the sudden blitz about new media and the Madagascar crisis. The attention as oso said before, will come and go anyway and that's fine. Hopefully, the crisis will also be behind at that time and one can start elaborating more constructive projects.
But at least now if one ever wanted to visit Madagascar, even virtually, one would know where to find a few real people online.

( Foko bloggers on Flickr)

Revue de presse Malgache du 28/02 au 12 /03

2009-03-18T13:04:00.003-04:00

Reçu récemment par email. Wow, Il s'en est passé des choses en 12 jours (euphemisme du jour)

REVUE DE PRESSE DU 28 FEVRIER AU 12 MARS 2009

Politique intérieure

– Haile Menkerios, émissaire des Nations unies a été confiant quant à la poursuite du dialogue entre les deux protagonistes de la crise. Lors d’une conférence de presse, le sous-secrétaire des Nations unies chargé des Affaires politiques a déclaré que des solutions de sortie de crise devraient émerger prochainement. D’après Haile Menkerios, les deux parties ont confirmé leur engagement afin de trouver une solution pacifique à la crise. Toutefois, il a rappelé que le processus de négociation doit être à 100% malgache. Pour sa part, les Nations unies est disponible à soutenir Madagascar pour trouver une issue pacifique. Haile Menkerios a également réitéré la nécessité d’élargir le dialogue à d’autres forces politiques comme il l’avait préconisé lors de son premier passage à Antananarivo. (Le Quotidien, Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Madagascar Tribune, Midi Madagasikara)

– Après consultation de l’émissaire des Nations unies Haile Menkerios, l’archevêque Odon Razanakolona a de nouveau accepté de continuer à jouer le rôle de facilitateur à côté des trois autres chefs d’Eglises du Conseil chrétien des Eglises (FFKM) mais en posant des conditions pour améliorer le processus des négociations : Arrêt des violences et arrestations en tout genre, arrêt des actes d’intimidation et de provocation, liberté pour tous d’exprimer leurs opinions. (Le Quotidien, Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le général Désiré Ramakavelo, un des membres de la délégation des émissaires de Andry Rajoelina a dénoncé l’attitude frôlant la partialité de certains médiateurs composés des chefs d’Eglise du FFKM. L’ancien ministre de la Défense nationale a perçu certains gestes penchant du côté du chef de l’Etat. (L’Express de Madagascar)

– Une tentative d’arrestation échouée contre le dirigeant politique, proche compagnon de lutte de Andry Rajoelina, Alain Ramaroson s’est transformée en une perquisition sans mandat de son domicile le 26 février dernier. Alain Ramaroson a pu échapper à son éventuelle « arrestation ». Il n’était pas chez lui lors de l’incident. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– La manifestation de la plate-forme de l’opposition du 27 février à Fianarantsoa a été réprimée par les forces de l’ordre. L’affrontement a fait un mort et une dizaine de blessés graves. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Madagascar Tribune, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le 28 février, sur la place du 13 mai, l’ancien maire de la capitale Andry Rajoelina a appelé une fois de plus ses partisans à observer une grève générale jusqu’au renversement du régime en place. Lancé à l’attention des agents de la fonction publique, des forces armées et de toutes les forces vives de la nation, cet appel constitue la stratégie du mouvement pour paralyser la machine administrative. Parallèlement, Andry Rajoelina a décrété une occupation sans limite de la place du 13 mai. Andry Rajoelina n’a pas tenu compte de l’éventualité d’une reprise des négociations avec le président de la République. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Madagascar Tribune, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

– Dans son émission hebdomadaire diffusée le 1er mars sur les ondes publiques, le président Marc Ravalomanana a déclaré qu’il est temps pour que tous les Malgaches prennent conscience de la gravité de situation. Face à la crise, l’ensemble de la communauté internationale des bailleurs de fonds et partenaires du pays ne cesse de recommander l’urgence d’une solution. Aussi, il a recommandé à son gouvernement de prendre toutes les mesures pour rétablir la sécurité sur tout le territoire, afin de permettre à la population de mieux reprendre les occupations quotidiennes. (Le Quotidien, Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le Conseil des ministres de la Sadc qui s’est tenu en Afrique du Sud le 27 février dernier recommande, avec insistance, que toutes les parties prenantes respectent les principes démocratiques et les valeurs malgaches. La Sadc soutient l’actuel processus de dialogue à Madagascar. Elle invite instamment les parties aux négociations à maintenir leur engagement au processus jusqu’à ce qu’une solution pacifique soit trouvée, à respecter l’Etat de droit et à s’abstenir au recours à la violence pour résoudre leurs différends. Pour le moment, la Sadc n’enverra aucun contingent à Madagascar pour une quelconque mission de pacification. (Le Quotidien, Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– L’Union africaine a dépêché son commissaire à la paix et à la sécurité, Lamamra Ramtane, pour faire suite à la mission de Amara Essy le mois dernier. (Le Quotidien, Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Des membres d’associations, de société civile, de syndicats, d’opérateurs économiques et de citoyens civils et militaires s’activent pour proposer une voie de sortie de crise. Se regroupant au sein du Collectif des citoyens et des organisations citoyennes, ils sont convenus d’une base de sortie de crise à partir d’une solution négociée et non la force. Ils projettent également la proposition d’un schéma minimaliste de sortie de crise. (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Lors d’un conseil des ministres qui s’est tenu le 4 mars, le chef de l’Etat a une fois de plus réitéré l’urgence du rétablissement de la sécurité sur le territoire national et la prise de responsabilité effective des forces de l’ordre déjà à pied d’œuvre. Il a également lancé appel à la population pour collaborer avec les forces de l’ordre et leur prêter main forte dans l’accomplissement de leur mission. A cet effet, les lois seront appliquées par la justice tandis que la population est tenue de les respecter et de les observer. (L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Les rassemblements prévus sur la place du 13 mai ont été interdits du 4 au 7 mars par les forces de l’ordre. Tout le secteur du centre ville a été quadrillé bouclant ainsi le passage des manifestants. Tout ceux qui tentaient de s’approcher ont été refoulés à coup de grenades lacrymogènes et de coups de fusil en l’air. Des courses-poursuites ont eu lieu dans plusieurs quartiers de Tana. Face à cela, Andry Rajoelina a continué d’inviter ses partisans à se rassembler sur la place du 13 mai. Il a exhorté ses partisans à ne pas baisser les bras. Cette répression militaire a fait une dizaine de victimes et une vingtaine de blessés. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Une nouvelle version de la mouvance présidentielle dénommée FAV vient d’être créée. Elle regroupe environ 40 partis politiques qui demeurent acquis à la cause du président Marc Ravalomanana et défendent la légalité dans le bras de fer politique actuel. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

– Le président de la haute autorité de la transition autoproclamée Andry Rajoelina a échappé à une tentative d’arrestation par l’Etat-major mixte opérationnel, le 5 mars, à son domicile. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar)

– Les derniers jours de négociation n’ont pas vu la présence des mandataires de Andry Rajoelina. Andry Rajoelina a soulevé le non-respect des conditions pour la poursuite des discussions, à savoir les violences policières et la série de tentatives d’arrestation de sa personne. (L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Les représentants des bailleurs de fonds et des partenaires techniques et financiers ainsi que les différents ambassadeurs accrédités dans le pays ont rencontré successivement le président de la haute autorité pour la transition Andry Rajoelina et le président de la République Marc Ravalomanana, le 6 mars. La sortie de crise a été au centre des discussions et échange de vues entre les parties. (Le Quotidien, Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Madagascar Tribune, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

– Des militaires du Corps d’Armées des personnels et des services administratifs et techniques (Capsat) à Soanierana (sud de la capitale ont décidé de ne plus recevoir les ordres émanant du commandement de l’armée, mais de servir la cause du peuple. Leur porte-parole ne voit pas un coup d’Etat dans cette mutinerie mais une mission de restructuration et de réorganisation de l’armée car « rien ne va plus ». (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar, Madagascar Tribune, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le commandant de la Gendarmerie nationale, le général Giblain Pily, a donné des éclaircissements sur la position de la gendarmerie, suite aux chamboulements au sein des forces armées. Il a déclaré que les gendarmes vont continuer ses services de maintien de l’ordre aux côtés de l’armée et de la police nationale. Dans la foulée, il a appelé les politiciens à trouver au plus vite un accord afin de régler cette crise. (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Les militaires mutins du Corps d’armée des personnels et des services administratif et techniques (CAPSAT) ont désigné leur nouveau chef d’état-major général de l’armée (Cemgam). Ils ont reçu le soutien de plusieurs officiers et sous-officiers issus de différents postes de commandement. Les officiers mutins du CAPSAT ont ensuite pris contrôle le ministère de la Défense nationale dans le but d’obtenir la démission du ministre. Sous pressions, le vice-amiral Ranaivoniarivo, ministre de la Défense nationale nommé par Marc Ravalomanana a démissionné mais sa démission a été démentie et remise en cause par la suite. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Les sous-officiers de la gendarmerie suivent aussi le mouvement né du CAPSAT. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar)

– Un communiqué du FFKM et de l’Onu a annoncé la tenue d’une réunion élargie pour l’examen des propositions de sortie de crise formulées par les deux camps. Concrétisée sous forme d’assises nationales, elle se tiendra du 12 au 14 mars et verra la participation de 90 personnes environ qui vont représenter les différentes entités existantes dans le pays, notamment les acteurs politiques, la société civile, les syndicats ou encore l’armée. Par ailleurs, le FFKM et l’Onu appellent à une trêve pour donner toutes les chances de succès à ces assises, par le biais d’un communiqué. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, Midi Madagasikara)

– Vivant caché depuis plusieurs jours, , Andry Rajoelina a été placé sous la protection des Nations Unies. L’information a été rendue publique par l’émissaire des Nations unies Tiébilé Dramé au cours d’une conférence de presse. (Les Nouvelles, Midi Madagasikara)

– Après plusieurs jours d’absence, les partisans de Andry Rajoelina sont revenus sur la place du 13 mai. Quelques orateurs ont pris la parole pour témoigner contre la violence des troupes de répression fidèles au président Ravalomanana. Ils ont dénoncé l’utilisation excessive des armes à feu, des grenades lacrymogènes ainsi que les brimades physiques. (La Gazette de la Grande Ile, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le président de la République a fait, mardi 10 mars un discours à la Nation. D’un ton conciliant, il a demandé à la population de lui pardonner ses erreurs tout en lui promettant de considérer ses revendications. Le chef de l’Etat soutient seulement la nécessité de respecter la voie constitutionnelle pour y arriver. Marc Ravalomanana revient ainsi sur la nécessité de privilégier la voie de la négociation pour sortir de la crise actuelle. (Le Quotidien, Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Les partisans du régime en place ont eu des mots très durs à l’égard des chancelleries étrangères établis à Madagascar lors de leur meeting du 10 mars. Emile Ratefinjanahary, président du Tim Europe et Constant Raveloson, secrétaire général du MFM ont accusé les pays étrangers d’ingérence dans les affaires nationales et d’y orchestrer le désordre par le biais de leurs ambassades, en particulier, celle de la France. Par ailleurs, les partisans de la légalité ont reproché la partialité de l’archevêque Odon Razanakolona dans sa mission de médiateur et d’être de connivence avec la France dans l’organisation de la crise et dans la division du pays. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

– Le porte-parole adjoint au ministre des Affaires étrangères à Paris, Frédéric Desagneaux, a annoncé que Andry Rajoelina a quitté la résidence de France où il était abrité. L’annonce a été faite en raison des rassemblements qui ont eu lieu devant l’Ambassade de France à Antananarivo. Il a rappelé que ces dispositions ont été prises par la communauté internationale et que la France y a pris part. Parallèlement, les Nations unies, par l’intermédiaire de Yves Sorokobi, du porte-parole du secrétaire général Ban Ki Moon, ont démenti la déclaration de Tiébélé Dramé. Yves Sorokobi a précisé que les Nations unies jouent le rôle d’intermédiaire dans cette protection. (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le comité national de coordination (CNC) regroupant les partis d’opposition et les membres du gouvernement de la haute autorité de transition (HAT) s’oppose à la tenue des assises nationales du 12 au 15 mars afin de trouver des solutions à la crise. Ils ont avancé le maintien de leur revendication qu’est le départ du président Marc Ravalomanana de son poste, et rappelé le manque de confiance envers le chef de l’Etat et le Conseil chrétien des Eglises (FFKM). Le CNC soutient que cette décision n’a pas eu l’aval de Andry Rajoelina. Pour le CNC, la manifestation devrait s’intensifier sur tout le territoire national et il appartient au gouvernement de transition d’organiser le dialogue national ainsi que les futures élections. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Depuis le 6 mars, la situation évolue d’une heure à l’autre à Antananarivo. Samedi 7 mars des affrontements entre partisans des deux protagonistes ont failli éclater. Les forces de l’ordre sont arrivées à temps. Toutefois, les échauffourées se sont terminées par un bilan qui fait état d’une dizaine de blessés. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

– Pour la deuxième fois, le siège de la radio Viva appartenant au maire destitué de la capitale Andry Rajoelina a fait l’objet le 7 mars d’une descente des forces de l’ordre. Des éléments armés ainsi que quelques personnes en tenue civile sont entrés dans le bâtiment après avoir dispersé les attroupements près de l’accès au bâtiment. Ils ont emmené avec eux certains matériels importants et en ont détruit d’autres. (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– L’absentéisme dans certains ministères serait depuis quelques jours très contrôlé. Chaque employé absent doit s’expliquer avec pièces justificatives à l’appui. (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Les dernières manifestations organisées ces derniers temps dans la capitale ont dégénéré en des pillages de magasins et des biens d’autrui, obligeant les forces de l’ordre à intervenir pour limiter les dégâts. Ces actes de pillage et de vandalisme augmentent le nombre des victimes et d’autres emplois risquent encore d’être perdus. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le conseil chrétien des Eglises (FFKM) a décidé au dernier moment le report des assises nationales. Mgr Odon Razanakolona n’a pas précisé la date du report. Il a seulement évoqué que les conditions d’une tenue paisible de cette réunion ne sont pas réunies. Jusqu’ici, l’équipe de Andry Rajoelina s’est montrée réservée quant à leur participation à la rencontre. Seul le président Ravalomanana y a montré un intérêt. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara, La Vérité)

– Les ambassadeurs des pays partenaires de Madagascar ont insisté sur la tenue des négociations élargies. Ils sont convaincus que ce forum national d’échanges constitue la « dernière chance » pour Madagascar de trouver une issue pacifique à la crise actuelle. Selon leur communiqué, toutes les alternatives non démocratiques à la tenue de ces assises nationales qu’il s’agisse d’un coup d’état, d’un directoire militaire, ou de la poursuite des désordres actuels auraient de graves conséquences sur les relations entre Madagascar et le reste du monde. (Les Nouvelles, La Gazette de la Grande Ile, L’Express de Madagascar, Midi Madagasikara)

– Le président sénégalais Abdoulaye Wade se déclare prêt à mener des négociations en vue de trouver des solutions à la crise malgache. Il a invité les deux parties en conflit à Madagascar à venir dans la capitale du Sénégal pour une rencontre. (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar)

Economie

– La compagnie Qit Madagascar Minerals (QMM) se prépare à expédier sa première cargaison d’ilménites vers le Canada à la fin du mois de mars. Pour cette première exportation, les chiffres exacts du tonnage ne sont pas encore bien déterminés mais à la fin de l’année 2008, l’usine a déjà produit 10.000 tonnes de sable lourd, qui est un mélange d’ilménite et de zircon. (Les Nouvelles, L’Express de Madagascar)

Inquiétude pour les journalistes malgaches, victimes collatérales de la crise politique

2009-03-13T11:21:00.003-04:00

13 mars 2009
Via Randy, puis Tahina (in English) :

MADAGASCAR:

Reporters sans frontières exprime son inquiétude renouvelée après la suspension de parution de cinq journaux et les agressions et menaces dont plusieurs journalistes ont été victimes au cours de ces dernières semaines. Depuis le début du bras de fer politique opposant le président de la République, Marc Ravalomanana, et le maire déchu d'Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, l'organisation déplore une prise en otages des médias et un climat défavorable à la liberté de la presse.

"Les journalistes indépendants faisant leur métier avec sérieux pour informer leurs concitoyens sur la situation politique actuelle ne sont ni des manifestants ni des acteurs de la crise. Dans ce climat politique très tendu, il est primordial qu'ils soient protégés. Dans le même temps, nous demandons aux journalistes des médias proches du Président ou de son principal opposant de ne pas verser dans la propagande partisane ou la diffamation, mais au contraire de faire preuve du plus grand professionnalisme en fournissant des informations vérifiées et objectives", a déclaré Jean-François Julliard, secrétaire général de Reporters sans frontières.

Le 10 mars 2009 vers 13 heures, Christian Rivo Rakotonirina, ancien rédacteur en chef du quotidien Tribune de Madagascar et désormais rédacteur en chef d'un journal en ligne, a été pris à partie, lors d'un meeting au stade Mahamasina d'Antananarivo, par des partisans du président Ravalomanana qui l'accusaient de téléphoner à Andry Rajoelina. Dépouillé de son téléphone Blackberry, il a ensuite été passé à tabac et se trouvait dans le coma lorsqu'il a été transporté à l'hôpital HJRA (CHU Joseph Ravoahangy Andrianavalona). "Mon mari se trouve dans le service de neurologie. Il est désormais conscient et hors de danger, mais mal en point. Le dernier scanner a décelé un hématome frontal", a confié la femme du journaliste à Reporters sans frontières.

Le même jour, Tiaray Rakoto, journaliste de Inona Ny Vaovao? (Quelles nouvelles?), un quotidien appartenant au président de la République, a été poursuivi, fouillé et dépouillé de son argent par des militants pro-Andry Rajoelina. Le journaliste a réussi à cacher son matériel avant que ses assaillants ne s'approchent de lui. Depuis ces deux incidents, Tribune de Madagascar et Inona Ny Vaovao? ont décidé de cesser de paraître "jusqu'à nouvel ordre".

Par ailleurs, suite à des menaces d'incendie criminel proférées à l'encontre du groupe de presse Midi Madagascar, propriété du député de la majorité Mamy Rakotoarivelo dont la maison a été pillée le 11 mars, les quotidiens Midi Madagascar et Gazetiko et l'hebdomadaire Midi Flash ont cessé de paraître.

Toujours dans la capitale, le 7 mars vers 14 heures 30, Sitraka Rafanomezantsoa, journaliste du quotidien Malaza, a été agressé par des "casseurs de manif", un terme utilisé localement pour désigner les partisans du Président. Joint au téléphone par Reporters sans frontières, le journaliste a accusé des "gros bras" de l'avoir frappé à coups de gourdins et de barres de fer. Il s'en est tiré avec deux hématomes à la tête et l'arcade sourcilière ouverte.

Des incidents similaires se sont également produits en province. A Tamatave, une localité de la côte est de l'île, lors d'une manifestation de l'opposition organisée le 19 février, les forces de l'ordre ont tenté d'arracher la caméra d'un journaliste reporter d'images prénommé Harilala, travaillant pour la chaîne de télévision TV Plus. Brièvement interrogé par la police, le journaliste a ensuite été relâché. Quelques jours auparavant, à Fianarantsoa (Sud-Est), Nicolas Rabemananjara, directeur de TV Plus, a été menacé verbalement par des agents de police qui lui ont intimé l'ordre d'arrêter de filmer une manifestation de l'opposition.

Media coverage of Madagascar part II

2009-03-02T15:45:00.007-05:00

The previous post on the subject of media coverage of the crisis in Madagascar was too long and the graphs were a bit confusing. I guess that's what happens when you have a subject worth looking into but you don't know the right tools to do it the right way.

Enter people who know.

I was kindly invited along with many others contributors to Global Voices to attend the WeMedia conference:
" It’s about how we know what we know, whether through journalism and the shifting systems used to produce it, through social networks and our personal connections to people and organizations we trust"
I won't give a recap of the conference because so many smarter people already did
But for how I feel about it, read Rebekah, Leonard and Jeremy's take.

I also got to pick Lokman's brain quite a bit while at the conference. We were roommates so he did not have much of a choice there. Lokman is a brilliant UPenn PhD candidate who will write his thesis on Global Voices and is now based at the Berkman center at Harvard.

He was curious about Madagascar and the current events so I tried to give him my perspective, for what it's worth. We acknowledge the relative lack of in-depth coverage ( although slightly better than before, in my opinion) in the western media and got to talk about how to evaluate in a rigorous manner the coverage of countries through the scope of global media.

Lokman showed me the project Media Cloud that strives to "collect and analyze the daily flow of news stories from a wide variety of traditional and new media sources." and led by Stephen Schultze.

They have plenty of really cool tools to offer and even though Schultze warned that "the system is still in the early development", the potential visualizations of the media landscape got me really intrigued. We say that our part of the world is often ignored or depicted the wrong way, well let's find out.

My Malagasy-centric mind had to look up how Madagascar was depicted in the news media. So I keyed in Madagascar for the NYT, BBC and FOX NEWS:

[Note: let's keep in mind that today's events in Madagascar included: a call for a national strike, barrages planted around the city, heavy military presence, a micro-credit building on fire, tear gas launched and bodies found downtown Tana ]

(Click on link above for better vizualisation)

By now, no one should be surprised that Madagascar is often associated with the movie industry. We need to move past that if we are to make progress in country "branding".

Still, if you don't know who Paul Dergarabedian is ( name most often linked to Madagascar by Fox news) , he is the the "brains and the voice of the Hollywood horse race" aka Mr Box-Office, the one crunching the numbers on who won and who lost in Hollywood.

While the first people to be associated with Madagascar on the NYT and BBC were Marc Ravalomanana or Andry Rajoelina (aka TGV) , FOX News got Mr Box-Office. I try not to be biased agaisnt Fox News but after the number they put during the US presidential campaign about Obama, I am just moderately surprised by this finding. Hey, at least it's not Ben Stiller right ? I am now perfectly comfortablestating that Fox News is hardly a source of news, at least international news. (The next person mentioned is Reese Witherspoon. Just sayin')
Maybe that's OK. Maybe Fox News should stay indifferent about the rest of the world and just concentrate on being "fair and balanced" with respect to US news.

the NYT and ther BBC deemed the events in Madagascar serious enough to send their own reporters on site so no they do not suffer from the general indifference that seem to plague Fox News and the likes.

If we continue the query with other organizations that I know wrote many updates on the situation in Madagascar: Voice of America , Reuters and Global Voices ( hey, one needs to be able to face criticism right?)

One would say 2 things:

1) Rajoelina does not appear in both Reuters and Global Voices coverage. Ha ! Bias you say ! Well, maybe. Let's see,

Either:
a) Reuters and GVO never mention Rajoelina
b)OR Reuters and GVO coverage of Madagascar both have sufficient materials about Madagascar for the past few years (before the rise of Rajoelina) that his name does not break the top 10 words barrier yet.

2) I would also like to present as evidence that the Daewoo land deal that is mentioned by Rajoelina as the number one reason for wanting Ravalomanana out appears in the top 10 words of GVO, unlike any other news services.

One thing that you can certainly not blame Reuters or GVO of is indifference towards international media.

If you plug in most other news media, they come up empty for Madagascar except for Time Magazine who has an interesting list of top words including: depression, biofuels, corporate giant, Ethiopia, UN food and South Korea.

The feature is not available yet for other languages but it would be very interesting to see what publications in other languages would look like.

Finally, just for kicks: maps of the globe as covered by GVO and Fox News.

Bias ? An Overview of the Coverage of the Crisis in Madagascar in the Media

2009-02-15T18:27:00.022-05:00

[Update: I wrote the following post before the stand off between armed forces and protesters today. Armed forces used tear gas and fired in the air to disperse crowd that wanted to take over ministry buildings.
The account by the media of today's events will obviously be quite telling of the coverage of the crisis]

The coverage of the current political conflict in Madagascar is intriguing in many ways because the perception of the conflict is quite different depending on the viewers' locations or affinities.
First, let me state that I am currently not in Madagascar. I try to follow as closely as I can the conflict by reading the reactions made available online.

Accusations of bias has been expressed many times by either camp and since they both owned their own media outlets for a while, I think bias is certainly expected.

It has reached the point where many people in Madagascar are tuning out news outlet because they recognize them as an instrument of propaganda.

The battle has of course reached the press and the interwebs. Financial backing by political parties of a few newspapers provoked suspicions of non-neutrality.

Citizen media filled a partial void there by documenting the events themselves with their own point of view ( biased or not).

So there is a definite fatigue among Malagasy people from the constant barrage of political messages masquerading as news, a strong desire to stay away from political events.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are many people outside of Madagascar (esp. in the US) who are still not aware that there is unrest over there . It is understandable because TV coverage has been quasi-nonexistent here so far. The international online press has done a better job lately than in the early part of the conflict.

In France, the narrative is a bit more complex because of the special ties between France and Madagascar dating from the colonial period.

Tension between the Ravalomanana administration and France are not a secret. There is currently no permanent French ambassador assigned to Madagascar after clashes between former Ambassador and Marc Ravalomanana.

Supporters of Ravalomanana also organized a protest on Saturday (in parallel to the meeting for peace ones) to protest an alleged bias in the coverage of the crisis from French media ( a bit more on this later)

So let's try to have a clearer picture on how the Madagascar crisis is being covered and what we can learn from it:

I am evidently not a media expert, I only have a strong interest in the coverage of Malagasy content. Fell free to correct me or suggest a better way to analyze the media coverage.
For this purpose, I will be using two tools: wordle.net for word cloud analysis and google news to analyze the news online content.

I will mostly skip the non-text materials because it is 1) again mostly non-existent here and 2) I am not sure how to do that properly.

If one wants to determine whether a website is biased, one need to determine how to detect bias.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) there is no shortage of website who clearly support one or the other protagonist. A definite platform to express a 3rd opinion or a call for unity is yet to materialize.

Let's start with how to spot a biased website aka known as positive controls in biological terms:

1) What words would a pro-Ravalomanana website mostly use ?
let's see:

( all images generated by wordle.net)

A few words jumps at the reader instantly: Tiko, Eveques, President, TGV, Merci/Thanks

1) Tiko is the president' own business venture, so no surprise there.
2) Eveques translates to archbishops; the church is currently mediating negotiation between the two sides and religion is displayed front and center in both Ravalomanana and Rajoelina's agendas
3) President, TGV and Merci/Thanks: the emphasis of legitimacy is expected here. Ravalomanana is the elected president. TGV is interesting because calling the opponent by a nickname that suggests haste would lessen his credentials. I.e, they protray him as an immature young man. Merci/Thanks suggest that Ravalomanana would like other to believe that he is still getting a lot of support from the people and outside. He may or may not but he sure is grateful. (Thanks is one of the only word present in English).

2) A Pro-Rajoelina website:

Words that jump out: Place, Foule, Rajoelina, Daewoo, Patrie, Sang

Clearly, the emphasis here is on the fact that a popular movement has taken the street to showcase their patriotism. Place is the meeting place where la Foule (crowd) would demand what would be best for Madagascar. The fact Sang ( blood) is also repeated often denotes that Rajoelina blames the massacre of Red Saturday on Ravalomanana. A notable missing word there is Ravalomanana. This website won't acknowledge the man blamed for most of Madagascar's woes.

3) How about an alleged neutral website ?

Words: President, Rajoelina, Dialogue, Calme, Pro-TGV.

It sure seems more balanced that the previous two. Yet, the presence of Pro-TGV instead of pro-Rajoelina may suggest that this website would emphasize the importance of a back to normal life and might place most of the blame on the former mayor.

Who financially backs the websites obviously will drive the content of their coverage.

Why Twitter in the Malagasy context:

This is where citizen media reporting especially with micro-blogging (twitter) has a clear advantage over the large websites. No need for costly maintenance of websites.

The one advantage of twitter in the western world and India is the possibility to send message via text messages. That possibility has been negated when Twitter removed the option to carry SMS messaging in the rest of the world as explained by White African.

This is why initiatives like Ushahidi are critical for crisis reporting in ssAfrica and that we are testing it in Madagascar.

However there are other major advantages besides text messages to twitter that Malagasy twitterers have used efficiently:

1) All tweets initially get equal exposure, unlike comments on websites. Emphasizing good information with retweet or disavowing bad ones can be done instantly. Information and filter is crowd sourced to a certain degree ( limited to those online unfortunately)

2) The fact that one is limited to 140 characters favors the reporting of facts over opinions. It is evidently not always the case but it is an additional filter.

3) "Searchable" topics with hashtags. The "#Madagascar" hasthag was quickly picked up by all as the tag to use with tweets related to the crisis.

4) Possibility to reach a large audience instantly.

5) Limited bandwith. Although no one is immune to fail whale, the fact that tweets can be posted quickly helps a lot in a bandwidth limited regions.

Of main stream media outside Madagascar

As mentioned earlier, there is limited TV broadcast except for shorts clips on French TV news. Still, persistent rumors of media bias led to protest in front of the Maison de La Radio building in Paris. International Francophone TV channel TV5 even issued an apology for not providing as much footage from the Ravalomanana camp as the Rajoelina camp because they were not given same access. Why Ravalomanana would not provide sufficient access to TV5 is a bit puzzling but might be a product of his apprehension for french-speaking media.

Now is there real bias in the international coverage ?

The coverage as aggregated by google.com (news):
12,155 news items on Madagascar
8,256 news items on Rajoelina
7,990 news items on Ravalomanana
367 news items on Madagascar 2.

and it is roughly the same number of items on news aggregated by google.fr.

we established earlier the type of words that one camp would use. Now we can search for the same words ans see in what news channel they would appear more often:

A pro-Rajoelina Rethoric would use 3 words frequently: " Rajoelina + daewoo + blood"

Google.com news items for: "Rajoelina + daewoo + blood" = 1
Google.fr news items for: "Rajoelina + daewoo + blood" = 12

let's revisit favorites words used by pro-Ravalomanana: "president + tiko + calme"

google.com (news) : "president + tiko + calme"= 27 news items
google.fr (news): "president + tiko + calme" =25 news items

Statistical study on news about Madagascar were also slightly skewed by the release of Madagascar 2 on DVD the day before Red Saturday so here is a word cloud of google news articles that contains "Ravalomanana + Rajoelina":

words that stand out: Protesters, Forces, Saturday, Killing, Cyclone.

In Google.fr for the same words:

Words that stand out: President, Maire, face-a-face, manifestations, Forces.

How do word clouds of the French online press articles on the causes of the Madagascar crisis look like ?

No RSS feed available from any of the main MS media so here is the world cloud from an article entitled: "testimonies: neither for Ravalomanana nor Rajoelina"

The words that stand out: President, Sang, Capitale (blood, president, Capital City).

In L'express, an analysis/editorial goes over the cause of the crisis:

Words: TGV, rouge, Bulldozer, Ratsiraka, ressemblent, Daewoo: (TGV, red as in red saturday, Ratsiraka)

Let's compare that with a similar causal analysis from from IRIN news (english):

Words: Antananarivo, people, economic, president, crisis.

If there is unbalanced reporting in the foreign press, it is certainly hard to pinpoint with absolute certainty. But one would suggest that the emphasis on the economy is stronger in anglophone press whereas the francophone press is more political.

In summary

There is a small difference in the phraseology of the Madagascar crisis between English speaking and French-speaking news online. However, it is unclear whether that is due to the french-speaking crowd being more familiar with the issues or just an unbalanced coverage of the crisis.
Given that most Malagasy articles are written in French, more polarized content will be found in French as well.
I don't think the blame for unbalanced coverage were warranted but given the history of the two nations, it is a trend worth keeping an eye on.

Tomavana wrote an extensive piece on this issue (fr).

Teach someone you love to micro-blog

2009-02-13T15:14:00.004-05:00

Global Voices is having a Valentine's day blog drive (is that the correct the terminology ?) where bloggers teach loved ones how to blog, or micro-blog

After getting rejected several times at work on my offer to teach how to micro-blog (No, I swear it was not a pick=up line), I turned to family for comfort and as a last resort. I was going to teach my 4-legged roommates but they already have a blog.

My mum is a busy person. When on the phone, if it takes more than 2 minutes, she will often tell you to speed up because she is in between commitments.
However, unlike the other members of my family, she is a true believer in the power of communicating tools and network.

So twitter's less than 140 characters policy is a perfect match for her. Additionally, bandwidth is still at a premium in Addis Ababa and she is often on the go so micro-blogging is definitely the way to go.

We went with twitter. We considered the other options but since she is far from a geek and she will use twitter to collect quick information and find people in her line of work, we figure the most utilized one would work best.

Setting up her account over the phone was easy, the challenge was to find a password strong enough yet easy to remember(she often calls me to retrieve her login passwords). One line bio: check. Photo: check. SMS updates: nope, not from here.
background: still deciding between Mesquel Square or Rova.

Okay, now the fun part.
Who to follow and how to find them ?

Well she wanted fresh news from Madagascar, especially now so I had to direct her towards the limited although growing group of twitterers based in Madagascar.
Joan collected all Foko bloggers on twitter here so that's probably a good place to start.
@ariniana, @as2coeur,@dadandry, @layshiyuu01 , @r1lita (& more to come).

Then you want to add all the micro-bloggers on site who provided instant news during the crisis (in alphabetical order):
@barijaona, @DotMG, @DanielAustin, @harinjaka, @foko @pmalgachie, @saveoursmile, @tandriamirado, @thierry_ratsiz ( Not the full list of twitterers in Madagascar)

Now, we just need to remember the password, choose a practical twitter manager, synchronize with facebook and and we are good to go. Oh I forgot, one also need to tweet more than once a year !

I should have skipped the latest sarcasm because my mum decided not to follow such an ingrate, mocking son.

Happy Valentine's day everyone. And remember, don't mock your mum's computer skills

PS: shameless plug: 4 legged-roommates also now on twitter.
They are not following me either.

Of opinion and online conversation

2009-02-05T16:56:00.006-05:00

2009 has already been quite a crazy year just a little more than a month into it. The consequences of such dramatic events and the increased connectivity of the world is that more information but also more opinions and rumors are readily available to our inquiring minds.

Evidently that is not true everywhere. From my restricted point of view, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people weighing in and participating in information sharing and conversations about the sad events in Madagascar.

Despite mainstream media ( radio and tv) being restricted for various reasons, access to events were still possible thanks to on-site netizens doing live reporting.

There were also more than reporting going on on the web. People died, the economy is heading for a plunge and the political scene is still a bit confusing.
So people want to understand and possibly point fingers at who is to blame for all this.
Many also drew parallel to the Gaza situation. In my opinion, it was an inappropriate comparison to make but it reflected the fact that innocent people in both regions were scared and angered, victims of decisions they didn't not agree with.

I was glad to see the massive online participation but it became clearer than it would become difficult to sort information from rumors, willingness to debate from insults and shouting matches.

That is true regarding crisis in Madagascar and I don't need to tell you this but it is also probably true regarding the Gaza crisis.

I was discussing the state of the global blogosphere with ketablaogy, who is among those who are very skeptical of the benefits of increased participation online (many governments are also leaning towards restricting access now).

I told her that 20 years ago, all of us felt helpless about events around us. We had 1 TV station and we all knew too well that it was a propaganda machine. Now, if you do not agree, you can articulate your argument and let people decide if you it's a load of crap or not. Obvious argumentation on my part; hey that is what I truly believe otherwise I should instead close this blog and have fun Michael Phelps-style. (I still might do that).

Ketabloagy thinks otherwise. She thinks that less is more. Let the experts explain what they were trained to do. To illustrate this, she quotes the philosopher Serge Carfatan on " The Realm of Opinions":

It is regarded as sound advice to tell someone progressing on the path of life : « you must form your own opinions » [...] This enables us to discuss of this, that and the other, give our point of view, make a comment[...] On the other hand however it is not enough to stick to opinions. What is the value of our opinions on technical matters on which we have no competence? Are we to have opinions ready for idle talk? Would it not be better to keep quiet? An opinion is a vague idea about something, it is not yet a founded conviction.

I am thinking: you really don't have to get mean and personal here.

He goes on:

"To understand is not to condemn and it is not about taking side. Yet we frequently tend to sort everything into neat categories via rapid judgments. Life cannot be represented in dual simplistic schemes, it cannot be reduced to alternatives such as “brill/rotten”, “it’s good/ it’s bad”, “I had to do it/ I couldn’t do it”. Because our judgment is freely decided, because it belongs to us, it is possible for us to avoid precipitation and prejudice through suspending our judgment. This is called epoke. Thus it is our responsibility to avoid the mistake that consists in assenting too quickly to ideas that after all are rather muddled. To give one’s opinion is therefore to make an intelligent and rational use of one’s freedom of choice, one’s free will."

I think I get it. The corollary to the ability to publish your thoughts publicly is that you at least think twice before you do so. A Malagasy colleague said so perfectly as the crisis was at its peak.

Yet I am ten times happier to have the chance to sort through the numerous opinions out there that to have the sad sight of censored opinions. And even if I am not the most qualified to fully comprehend the crisis in Gaza or in Madagascar, I certainly think I am not only entitled but compelled to express outrage at the reports and images of innocent people suffering.

Images and reports that would not have been available to us in real-time if not for blogs and bloggers.

And that when used properly, it might even be another tool for global diplomacy.

Impact économique de la crise à Madagascar...

2009-02-03T12:02:00.007-05:00

e ne vais pas essayer de comprendre le pourquoi de la situation actuelle a Madagascar.

Pour suivre les évennements en temps réel, c'est ici.

Un retour sur ce qui s'est passé en Malgache, Francais et Anglais.

Mais en lisant cette depeche hier sur le credit rating Malgache qui plonge, il n' y a aucun doute que cette semaine passé aura été devastatrice non seulement dans l'immédiat mais sur les prochaines années a venir.
Expliquation de Randiana, aka ketablaogy, et confirmé indépendemment par TNR, sur l'impact de l'annonce que le credit rating de Madagascar est passé de stable a négatif:

Le credit rating permet aux investisseurs étrangers de calibrer leur approche sur un pays dont ils ne maîtrisent pas les incertitudes (risque politique, risque commercial, risque juridique). Si une agence de credit rating (S&P, Fitch) font ce travail en amont, ils peuvent proposer de financer des investissements en demandant un taux d'intérêt ou de rentabilité en rapport avec le risque annoncé. Le taux d'intérêt/rentabilité est fonction du risque perçu ou déclaré. Plus le risque est élevé, plus le taux d'intérêt/rentabilité exigé augmente, moins un pays pauvre peut accéder aux financements en question.

Or le financement de projets, dans une économie de plus en plus urbaine, c'est la clé de la création d'emplois, source de richesse n°1 pour un travailleur des agglomérations urbaines. On a vu que la nouvelle forme de pauvreté, c'était la misère urbaine dans lequel l'individu devient totalement vulnérable aux changements de conditions économiques.

Dans le cas malgache, la source de richesse dans les campagnes est également problématique puisque les terres deviennent chères (note: pour certains pays) (cas Daewoo), et les coûts de production (engrais, machines, main d'œuvre raréfiée) s'envolent, sauf pour peut être pour l'essence qui a valsé avec les extrêmes.

Sans stabilité des revenus, offerte par la création d'emplois et l'investissement, les populations en situation précaire peuvent plonger du jour au lendemain vers une pauvreté absolue. Le lien entre GDP et IDH n'est pas mécanique, mais le premier est une condition nécessaire, bien qu'insuffisante au deuxième.

Ceci ne touchant meme pas à l'impact deja important sur le stress quotidien des Malgaches ( cost of living, safety etc...).

Un shot de vodka s'impose...

Anecdotes on Relations Between Africans and African Americans

2009-01-23T12:50:00.005-05:00

I have been putting this post in the back burner for a while now. But as you may have noticed, I now have the perfect excuse to share my personal point of view on the complex issue of relations between Africans and African Americans in the United States.

Yes it is a complex and an ever-evolving relationship. I will try to stay away from the gross generalization as much as I can. But some cliches may have to be mentioned for some of the stories that took place.

My first semester of college in the US ( Tulane, New-Orleans LA) was spent mostly with the members of the Tulane African Student Association (TASA). Because of Tulane strong International Public Health program, the association had quite a few members every year. In fact, TASA was one of the most active international student association after the powerhouse Latin American Student Association (LASA) who also threw the liveliest parties in town.
A Kenyan and an Ivorian were in charge of activities when I first came. The welcoming TASA party is also where I met my buddy Nkamany from DRC who some of you may have met.
He went to high school in Miami-Dade and his roommate was an African American corner back on the Tulane team. He would be instrumental in helping me forged friendships with African Americans that I probably would not have otherwise because I was just too insecure with the language barrier to speak with anyone outside the classroom (I only attended lecture-type classes my 1st year to avoid public speaking and team assignements).

( African dancing class at Tulane U photo via an-to-the-drew)

So as the semester went, I would usually just hang out with his friends and try to keep up with the conversation. They were fine with me not saying much and did not try to get me to say something either.
Once I got more comfortable, I would try to start a conversation about Tupac and MJ because I thought it would be a good conversation starter. They would indulge me but their amused looks told me that I walked right into a cliche and that there is so much more I need to learn.

My first good conversation was with Charles who told me about this cool software called napster :) if I wanted more unpublished tracks from my fave artists. I did not even know where my email where stored so it was total magic for me. He also opened up about his trip to Nigeria to understand his roots that he traced there. At the time, I did not get why he got emotional telling the story (hey, I was 19).

Nkamany and his friends took me to a stepping competition. Stepping is a coordinated dance where pledges from a fraternity compete with other fraternities. It is dynamic, synchronized and often very impressive. I never got the point of fraternities but I could appreciate the beauty of the team work in display.

( stepping by Joe Focus)

Nkamany and I were a bit of an oddity at TASA. The African and African Americans students just never find common grounds on campus. Basically, We did not "get" each other.

Tulane as an African Heritage Museum on campus (Amistad Center) that African Americans are rightfully proud of.
That somehow ticked African students off. The feeling was that" why would you even bother with an African Heritage Museum when you don't try to bound with Africans ?" Everyone started pointing fingers so we decided to hold a public discussion on African and African American relations organized by TASA and the Black Students Association.

One Nigerian graduate student in chemistry started the public panel discussion: " why do you insist on being called African Americans ? Most of you don't want to know about Africa and your so-called brothers right here". Oh boy, way to start a mature conversation, my man. A girl reciprocated: " Africa is part of our heritage hence we are African American. What is the problem ? Have you ever been our functions? I do not recall any of you ever coming to our events"
A Kenyan on the track team wondered: " why is it that it is easier for me to interact with international students from Colombia, England or Japan than with with you ?"
I was tense and probably not as productive as we hoped for. We mostly aired grievances and promised each other to organize more joint functions but we never got around to do so. One student had the most pertinent input of the session and she was white Porto Rican, not sure what that said about your panel.

I wished that Nkamany and his friends were present there but they were all away for job or med school interviews.

I think the dynamics are not the same anymore. Mostly because of guys like Nkamany, Africans who grew up here and are as comfortable in a maki in Kin as they are at a Master P concert at the House of Blues. Because of Obama obviously, who rocks to both Jay-Z and Stevie Wonder in his Ipod as well as Amadou and Miriam from Bamako.

The assumption was that because we all had an African heritage, it would make sense that we would bound more readily ( I know that the diversity within Africa is also an important factor here). Yet, as someone said, the commonality of being a foreigner was a stronger bond than the common heritage.

Obama said that at first, he had a hard time understanding the black community. But he made a conscious effort to reach out. That was our mistake at the Tulane symposium, we were too busy blaming each other instead of reaching out. Back then, did you really expect a new foreign frosh to know Foxy Brown ?

Now with the interwebs, I sometimes get my new US hip-hop tunes from my cousins in Paris. Obama has shown a willingness to reach out to the rest of the world. I know more and more young black men and women volunteer for assignment in Africa.

I guess there is no need for a panel discussion on African and African American relations anymore if there ever was one. After all, was there ever a panel on European and European American relations ? Those things seem to work out naturally with a bit of good will, travel and the interwebs.

Guess where and when

2009-01-21T11:44:00.004-05:00

Old school photos by an old school photographer (not me) with an old school camera

(And no that's not the Lincoln Memorial)

Hint: this neighborhood was in the news recently :)

(Before we did, our grand parents also a hung out here)

More photos of the same kind here.

Inauguration Day blog party (while we still can)

2009-01-19T20:39:00.005-05:00

There are all of depressing events going right now. I won't list them, you know what they are (And If you have an interest in Malagasy politics, the the shit has not hit the fan yet, but you know it's coming).

So even more reason to rejoice in seemingly the only good news while we can. I am talking about the departure of GWB (kidding sort of). Inauguration Day start at 10 AM EST, the international crew at Voices Without Votes, sister project of Global Voices Online, will comment one last time on the US elections. It was fun. If you want to weigh in, feel free to drop by and leave your own remark about the ceremony at the US`presidency in general as it relates to you( enthused or snarkly, we do both at VwV).

Some GVers are actually attending the ceremony live to wish soon-to-be president Obama good luck ( Lord knows he will need some). We hope that they will be able to share their feelings (via twitter or other medium).

A common sense cabinet for some African politicians

2009-01-12T12:25:00.010-05:00

Let me preface the following rant on African politics with three comments:

- Kudos to Ghana for their (almost) seamless presidential elections. With a vote differential this small, the absence of call for demonstration/protest is remarkable. The continent does not have a good record of close elections coming to term peacefully. I am not sure how we would have reacted in Madagascar in a narrow political contest but if history (and the venom currently spewed on Malagasy forums) is an indicator, a close election is the last thing we need.

- I do not follow the African politics as closely as I should. Therefore my comments should only be regarded as those of an intrigued and amused observer. I am also not claiming that I could do better if given the chance, an important factor to keep in mind when criticizing the job of others. [I do no support any Malagasy political leaders because I cannot make a complete informed judgment on all of them yet.] Still, as a citizen, I believe it is partially my duty to contribute to a conversation if I think a perspective is overlooked.

- Finally, I may be critical of some African politicians but that is not to say that other regions have fared better with their leaders (The nonsensical statements of members of the parliament here and in France rival those of African MPs on the level of sheer stupidity; a quick search for quotes from T. Stevens, R. Harris and P. De Villiers should amply suffice).

[Now on to the tongue-in-check rant...]

I found myself wondering too often whether most African leaders live in ivory towers. To remedy to the intermittent lack of vision, I suggest that an administration must appoint a "common sense" cabinet. A committee made of three random Joes ( not that Joe) who are to be replaced every year.

Seriously (Ok, almost seriously).

Three people would be sitting in on governmental meetings and would be allowed to veto two decisions a year. The selection of said "common sense" cabinet has to be random and exclude, well, politicians.

The reasoning is that often political/financial interests, overly specialized expertise and corruption get in the way of basic common sense.

Let's review the past week in African current events ( beside the well-known tragedies):

- The Malagasy president was recently questioned by the IMF about the purchasing of a new Boeing 737-700. I know that the president justified the purchase of his own Malagasy Air Force One to "meet the challenge of globalization".
I also would be remiss not to acknowledge that under his watch, the GDP growth rate is now at 6.7% and Madagascar became a decent option for many investors.

(Malagasy plane by caribb cc-license)

But with its population still mostly living with less than $2/day, the purchase of a million-dollar new plane for his own travels sounds inappropriate. That coupled with the land deal fiasco with Daewoo results in a PR disaster at best and evidence of poor governance at worst. The common sense cabinet would probably hear about the plane and say: " don't you think that plane-shopping can wait a little bit ? "

- Speaking of land deals, Kenyan government is still justifying the much-maligned lease of 40,000 hectares to Qatar. Though it seems that the deal was revised after citizens demanded a redo for the proposal. The three Joes would have said: "hey, we are now facing our very own food crisis here, we probably should tend to that before helping other regions prevent their potential food shortage"

- In some cases, a "common sense" cabinet might be too little, too late. Mugabe and Co. have reached that point a long time ago. Reports of the abduction and beating of a 2-year-old named Nigel Mutemagau have surfaced. Ethan's comment on the latest outrageous news from Zimbabwe is spot on: "if a government can’t be pressured into releasing a two-year old, I’m not sure if it can be pressured to do anything."

Unfortunately, the common sense committee in Harare is apparently composed of Mugabe and the demons that haunt him.

The list of events the common sense committee would prevent can go on and on and that is sad. Absurd governance tends to overwhelm the many progresses made by the citizens of the region. Because of my field of study, I have to add to the list the ineptitude of the former RSA government on the issue of HIV/AIDS and the proposed garlic treatment. Someone from the streets could have told them that they probably should wait for clinical trials before going public with such information. But their judgment was clouded by the political desire to come up with an African solution to an epidemic that has plagued us on so many levels. [Common sense guys: "Garlic ? really ?" ]

( photo by Gio JL CC-license)

The main issue to me is that leaders are bound to lose touch with the daily reality of the people they serve. They often dismiss protests and petitions as pointless criticism from bitter, envious rivals. Sometimes they are right. But often they need a reality-check that their close acquaintances are seemingly unable to provide.

Best wishes to all for 2009.

A third world (re)view of Outliers on International Migrants Day

2008-12-10T18:25:00.009-05:00

I did not mean to steal Rezwan's blog title but I could not find a more suitable name for my take on Gladwell's latest book: "Outliers" aka the story of success.

I am not going to write a review of the book per se. Much smarter people ( D. Brooks, Kakutani etc. ) already did and, as it is often the case with good books, the conversation from their take is as compelling as the book itself. I will instead try to explain how the book "felt" from a 1/3 world perspective.

Although I am self-confessed Gladwell Kool-Aid drinker, I did not love the book.

It's probably because while I was reading all those success or almost sucess stories, I kept thinking that the vast majority of the world , the so-called 1/3 world will never be close to sniffing the kind of success that makes an outlier by most people's standard. I guess that was one of Gladwell's main point, opportunity is a major factor in generating geniuses, but it still made me somewhat angry and unfulfilled.

I hope this post will not be another leftist whining rant about the unfairness of the world from someone who should really be thankful he is already an outlier for not living on $2/day.

But tomorrow is International Migrants Day so let me try to link outliers, opportunity and immigrants.

I started reading outliers thinking of one of my high school classmate at the lycee francais of Antananarivo. His name was Hery and he was a math wiz. There were a few in my class who could hold their own but Hery was way above everyone.

Admission into a foreign school in Madagascar is quite a selective process. Sure there is the language barrier ( in this case french) and strict academic criteria but it is still a selection mostly based on wealth. Tuition fees are unaffordable for 97% of the population and there is an added cost for non-French citizens because the school was meant for French students in the first place.

In many ways, the immigration process in Madagascar starts right at home when you try to enter a foreign schools. Out of hundreds, only a few of Malagasy high-school students were admitted each year. Outliers ? I think so. The reason for choosing the foreign high-school route is that it then facilitates the pursuit of higher education abroad later. Not the only way, of course, but it increases the odds.

Hery would always finish his math exams a good 1/2h before anyone else. In order to avoid attention by leaving early, he would just wait there and draw his classmates. I don't know many geniuses but to me, he was as close as it got.

One day Hery did not show up for class anymore. Rumor had it that it was a family issue. I went to his uncle's dining place ( in Behoririka) downtown where he stayed as a guest, a joint so small that at age 14, I had to make sure my head would not hit the door. No one knew where he went. Maybe back to his hometown, 300 km north of Tana, to help his folks.

The Chris Langan's story in Outliers is also the story of a unique talent that went through the net of the educational system. But Chris Lagan is still the subject of best-sellers, tv shows and created his own foundation. No such opportunities for Hery.

The truth is, to have a chance at achieving greatness when you are from the 1/3 world, migrating is close to an non-negotiable requirement. Most successful ssAfrican writers, artists, scientists or entrepreneurs that one has heard of have experienced life abroad at some point or another.

Many people and projects are hard at work to change this. The combination of increased availability of content online, improved local institutes and local business incubators makes the need to immigrate lesser and lesser.

I wish there was a way to quantify the cost to a country of the dozens of outstanding talents wasted because there were insufficient infrastructure to nurture their skills to their fullest potential. And of those outliers who made it big, how many are now working at NASA or Google instead of home ? Are the losses in thousands, millions ?

On international migrants Day, it is important to note that the reason why most immigrants decide to leave home, as painful as that decision is, is because they want to give their children a better chance at becoming one of those outliers. That's still the only way they know how.

Bottom line is Will Hunting, if you were from the 1/3 world, you would not even have the chance to turn down those NSA interviews or to hear your boy threaten to kick your butt for sitting on a lottery ticket.

Human Rights Day: Stop FGM.

2008-12-10T17:41:00.006-05:00

On Human Rights Day, Sameer Padania of WITNESS asks: "what images open your eyes to human rights ?"

I am submitting this post on behalf of my mother. She does not have a blog yet (although I hope someday she will pen down mer memoirs). Here is her pick:

( photo credit to Marc Kobason)

Female genital mutilation or excision (FGM) is not a cultural issue, it's a human right and a health issue.

More blog posts on Images for Human Rights Day from:

David
Tomavana.
and many more.