Development + Journalism + World

This site is tracking threatened and/or imprisoned bloggers...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:24:36 -0400

This site is tracking threatened and/or imprisoned bloggers around the world.

Modem to improve African net access

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:03:33 -0400

Modem to improve African net access:

The BRCK, from Ushahidi, “will go on sale in November with a price tag of $199 (£130).” Source: BBC News

pulitzercenter: “My challenge as a storyteller will be to tell you something about the developing...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:39:25 -0500

pulitzercenter:

“My challenge as a storyteller will be to tell you something about the developing world without making you think, “Oh no, one more depressing thing about poor countries.”

- Pulitzer Center grantee Joanne Silberner talking about her project on #globalcancer. View the interactive map and read the stories here.

pulitzercenter: Already the leading cause of death in China,...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:38:36 -0500

pulitzercenter:

Already the leading cause of death in China, tobacco-related cancer rates may triple by 2050. Learn more from the Pulitzer Center / PRI’s The World global cancer reporting series.

What is the smoking culture like in your communities? Show us by submitting a photo to pulitzercenter@gmail.com; photos may be featured on PRI’s The World and the Pulitzer Center websites.

fotojournalismus: From series Land for Sale.Tourism is very...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:47:58 -0500

fotojournalismus:

From series Land for Sale.

Tourism is very important for Indonesian economy. It has much to offer, from natural beauty to cultural diversity including numerous luxury resorts, hotels and bungalows.
Majority of investors in infrastructure are foreigners, but the people who build it come from all over Indonesia. The average monthly wage of a worker is around 200USD, which is almost the same amount you have to pay for one night stay in some of the hotels they build. They work and live in bad and dangerous conditions.
Since tourism is for many indonesians the only source of income people easily sell their land underprice but the one time amount of money they get raise many questions. What will happen in the future, what will their successors do and what does all this mean for the environment?

The series is an on going project.

Matjaz Rust

www.matjazrust.com
http://matjazrust.tumblr.com

Photo

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 11:30:48 -0500

"You won’t allow me to go to school. I won’t become a doctor."

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:16:00 -0400

“You won’t allow me to go to school. I won’t become a doctor. Remember this: One day you will be sick.”

pulitzercenter:

A short poem, addressed to the Taliban, from Lima Niazi, a 15-year-old Afghan girl. Today is the International Day of the Girl. Read about Lima and other girl poets in Afghanistan in Pulitzer Center grantee Eliza Griswold and Seamus Murphy’s project on Afghanistan, women and poetry and leave your own landai in the comments.

Lima Niazi. Image by Seamus Murphy. Afghanistan, 2012.

pulitzercenter: Megacities are growing, and landscapes are...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 10:15:49 -0400

pulitzercenter:

Megacities are growing, and landscapes are changing, but will there be any fish left in Thailand? Slideshow by Adam Janofsky for the Pulitzer Center. Click here to see the rest of the project.

Padi di Jawa Barat

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 02:33:24 -0400

Padi di Jawa Barat

Internet censorship in Pakistan: Authorities push for automated filtering

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:19:47 -0400

Internet censorship in Pakistan: Authorities push for automated filtering:

The Internet Service Providers Association (Ispak), in an email, has confirmed its support for the National URL Filtering and Blocking System – this will enable the en masse blocking of websites that contain ‘blasphemous’ and ‘pornographic’ content, as well as those that ‘pose a threat’ to ‘national security’.

SOURCE: The Express Tribune, April 18, 2012

Vietnamese Bloggers Charged For “Anti-State Propaganda”

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:15:56 -0400

Vietnamese Bloggers Charged For “Anti-State Propaganda”:

The Wall Street Journal, 18 April 2012

"I saw the conditions of the three bodies and I don’t have the heart to describe them,” said Firman,..."

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:18:20 -0400

““I saw the conditions of the three bodies and I don’t have the heart to describe them,” said Firman, Herman’s brother. “It was terrible. I’m sure their eyes, hearts and kidneys were taken.””

- Jakarta Globe: Families of Slain Workers Demand Autopsies Amid Organ Trafficking Fears (April 20, 2012)

Three Indonesian men were killed in Malaysia while they were working there. The bodies were returned to their relatives in Indonesia.

FrontlineSMS:Radio has trials in Zambia and Uganda

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:09:20 -0400

FrontlineSMS:Radio has trials in Zambia and Uganda:

Designed as an African-wide research initiative, Africa’s Voices is aimed at analysing citizens’ opinions on a wide range of issues as radio stations all over the continent ask a monthly question and audiences are invited to reply via SMS.

This program aims to capitalize on the media that are most widely used in Africa: radio and SMS (text messages).

Malaysia Couple Charged with Maid Murder

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:37:16 -0400

Malaysia Couple Charged with Maid Murder:

Every year, dozens (maybe hundreds?) of domestic workers die in countries that are foreign to them. Many of these maids and caregivers come from Indonesia and Cambodia. They are “exported” by their countries (which of course PROFIT from exporting them) to work for people who often treat them like animals.

Mey Sichan was found dead by paramedics called by her employers on March 31. When found, she weighed 26 kilogrammes (57 pounds). She also had bruises on her body.

Police said she died from acute gastritis and ulcers likely due to lack of food over a long period. The maid had been working for the family for eight months.

Why do Indonesia and Cambodia encourage their young women to go abroad and risk this kind of abuse?

Source: Agence France Presse, in The Jakarta Globe (April 13, 2012)

20th ASEAN Summit: Outcomes

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:32:22 -0400

20th ASEAN Summit: Outcomes:

The 20th ASEAN Summit, with the theme of “ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny,” was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 3 and 4, 2012. This is a summary of the results of the two-day meeting, based on social media during and after the event.

Photo

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:38:25 -0500

More street vendors, less poverty: Indonesian Minister

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:36:54 -0500

More street vendors, less poverty: Indonesian Minister:

uncdan:

The government says it wants to help more people join the ranks of the nation’s 90 million street vendors in order to promote public welfare and economic development.

“The level of poverty has been reduced by up to 8 percent due to the existence of street vendors,” Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syarifudin Hasan Syarifuddin said on Friday.

“Street vendors have an economic potential that should be facilitated and developed,” Syarifudin said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The minister he wanted to form a partnership with street vendors that would reduce their antagonistic relationship with public order officers, who often crack down on unauthorized vendors.

“They will be trained and organized and we will also provide a place for them to do business,” Syarief said.

The bold is my addition. Because holy crap that’s a lot of people.

Consider that Indonesia’s population is not too much over 200 million people. That means that somewhere around 45% of the population… are street vendors. And he’d like to add more.

Can anyone else see what’s wrong with this picture? Because this minister doesn’t seem to.

These are people with NO insurance, NO health care benefits, NO safety net. Is this the best that the government of Indonesia can do?

Pathetic!

exxi: This mother orangutan and her baby were saved by the...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:09:06 -0500

exxi:

This mother orangutan and her baby were saved by the animal charity Four Paws from people who are paid to kill them. There are allegations that many palm oil companies in the area of Borneo pay rewards of up to 1m Indonesian rupiah (about £70) for each ape killed. The Four Paws team found the pictured orangutans surrounded by a group of local youths intending to kill them for a bounty
>| Vier Pfoten / Four Paws

We read about these atrocities all the time in Indonesia. The owners of the palm oil plantation first cut down the orangutan habitats to grow their vile and disgusting palm oil trees, where there once was a beautiful rainforest. Then, when the homeless orangutan come looking for food or shelter (which is no longer there), local people murder them to get money that is paid by the owners of the palm oil plantation. The police and the government do little or nothing to stop this, most of the time.

For many Indonesians, ‘Fesbuk’ is the only Internet | via Agence France-Presse

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:02:06 -0500

For many Indonesians, ‘Fesbuk’ is the only Internet | via Agence France-Presse

Jakarta grinds to a halt as traffic nears gridlock

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:13:46 -0500

Jakarta grinds to a halt as traffic nears gridlock:

With a video report and text, Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald newspaper shows why Jakarta is not welcoming to development, progress, or foreign investors: Its own people can hardly move from one place to another.