A Crystal Globe

Views by Central American Bloggers

Many Central Americans voice the situation of their country through blogging, giving a more dynamic, true-to-life portrayal that a regular news article might capture.  We can sense the personal effects of political issues, and see how this improves or worsens, in real time, on an almost daily basis.

It’s interesting to see the variety of bloggers and their reasons for making a site.  For instance, there are an abundance of log/diary-types written by travelers, blogs by transplanted Americans who now call Central America home and many postings created by people who travel in between the U.S. and their native home, feeling a strong connection to both.

Citizen Orange is not technically a “Central American blog,” since its moderator live is Massachusetts. Kyle is a native Guatemalan who then went to Harvard, took time off to help his country recover from Hurricane Stan, and is now back in the States.

 “While I was down in Guatemala I decided it would be a good idea to retrace the route of a migrant and bring myself closer to understanding what it means to be an average Guatemalan,” Kyle says of his reasons for starting the blog.  “After my trip from Guatemala into the United States I was reborn as a journalist and a migrant advocate.”

Citizen Orange continually posts articles and insight into the issues that affect migrants.  Recently, a site visitor commented:

“The many wonderful people represented in this roundup, in the links to the right and many we have yet to discover are working to stop the hatred being perpetrated against migrants.  I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but we can open people's eyes and make this country a better place.  I believe our cause is like warmth and that so many are out in the cold.  We must show them the joy of being warm.  Helping just feels better than hating.  Who can argue with that?”

In Chiriqui Chatter, Don Ray writes about his changed life after moving to Panama in 2003.  It is a type of journal, but his reflections reveal insight into Panama society and culture, as well as political and economic climate.  For example, his multiple posts about the construction of certain restaurant and stores says something about the region’s commercial development.

James Rodriguez gives his depiction of Guatemala through articles and captivating photos taken at events around the country in the blog Mi Mundo.  It is very politically-driven, attempting to create discussion and change with topics such as the anniversary of the Spanish Embassy massacre, the Social Forum of the Americas gathering and environmental issues.

Tim’s El Salvador Blog is basically what is says; but Tim currently lives in Milwaukee, not Central America (He is a lawyer that has been visiting the country since 2001).  But he did post a comment of interest to our class discussion:

 
The intersection points of blogging and journalism are many and varied in El Salvador. Journalists are bloggers. Bloggers write about journalists and vice versa. Although El Salvador is a country where most people can't spend significant amounts of time online, the ever-growing number of bloggers in El Salvador is starting to influence public debate.

Discussions about the role of blogs were sparked when the conservative El Diario de Hoy newspaper ran a piece titled Cybernetic Proselytism [ES] which warned of supposed dangers from blogs including “disinforming, disorienting and denigrating,” all resulting in prejudice to democracy. In particular, the writers of the article warned that blogs were going to be used inappropriately by political parties leading up to national elections.

Finally, in what I could understand…the Laughter Theater blog, takes a sort of funny and wry, yet very concerned and educated look at Costa Rica’s political and social atmosphere.

A post about Paige's adventures overseas

Paige

Migrant & Immigrant Rights

Since reading Enrique's Journey, I have become fascinated with migrant and immigrant's stories; after everything they face—dangers of the journey, health problems, etc. —in trying to achieve a better lives in a new country, obstacles of prejudice still exist.  But, families and individuals do what they must, whatever the cost, existing merely on hope and perseverance.

In the past few years, bloggers around the world have documented immigrant's struggles.

Late last year, a rally was held in Taiwan by human rights activists and workers showing their growing frustration at the country's handling of Southeast Asian migrants’ labor rights, namely having the right to a day off.  We see it here in the states and overseas—industries want cheap labor and lots of it; if they must exploit foreigners they will do so.  The sad thing is that immigrants need jobs of any kind, so they will take whatever work they can get.  It's a sad, sad cycle. But, at least this demonstration garnered some attention and immigrants are standing up for fair treatment.

Child labor exploitation also creates serious issues among immigrant communities.  In his blog, Arudou Debito explains problems occurring in Japan where the children of Brazilian immigrants are being hired to work in factories, clearly violating labor laws. This raises an interesting debate and theme we saw in Enrique's Journey.  Enrique—desperate to make some money, focused on finding work for his survival—loses interest in school work. Is this situation a problem of the immigrant children seeking employment or the factories/employers?  Debito says:

"According to the article, this was caused (if not indirectly justified) by parental guidance and lack of interest in school?

How about the responsibility of the lawbreaking employers and headhunters? Not to mention the low wages offered foreign labor that are not conducive to raising a family in the first place. The businesses get off easy once again, it seems. "

In such places (United States included), some better system must be worked out where immigrant children can get a proper education without being forced into factory work in order help provide meager wages to the family income.

During autumn of 2006 in Russia, tensions built between natives and immigrants resulting in riots and deaths.  Ethnic differences and migrants' legal status caused a political and societal situation much like one the US seems headed for if we don't find a better way to facilitate the Latin American population.

 

Notes from the Chicana on the Edge

I contacted Regina, the blogger of Chicana on the Edge.  This is what she had to say about her blog:

Paige,

I am so sorry this took so long.  My fiance knocked my
laptop off the kitchen counter last weekend and I am
only JUST NOW able to respond to emails, etc. after
getting my computer fixed.  It has a new hard drive,
but now runs worse than before.  Great.

I started Chicana on the Edge in June 2004 because I
read a magazine article about how everyone was
blogging and I discovered that a friend had one and I
figured what she had to write wasn't any more
interesting or important that what I'd write.

I tend to blog about whatever is on my mind.  There's
no particular focus to it.  That might be a weakness
of my blog, but I just like to write about my life and
the things that seem important to me.

I started out focusing on the 2004 presidential race,
but I also blogged a lot about the subjects that were
on my mind at the time:  my difficulties and
adventures in dating, why I don't believe in a god,
the awkwardness of being a Mexican American who
doesn't fit many people's linguistic, cultural and
educational expectations, how much my job sucked.  I
also dabbled in fiction and poetry, which I was
creating at that time because of a writing group I was
in.

The response has been pretty steady.  I usually have a
pretty good number of comments, but I don't know how
many readers are steady or how much turnover there is.
 At times I've been surprised at how many more men
than women comment, but now a lot of women comment,
too.  I'm always glad when other Latinos are reading.

My focus has changed over the past (almost four!)
years.  I used to be really obsessed with my failure
to find a man and I'd theorize about what marriage was
like, what love really was, and how life works.  I
also used to be a very vocal atheist.  In the past
couple of years my focus has shifted to my seemingly
endless job search and, now that we're back to an
election year, I've gone more political again.  I'm no
longer in that writing group so the poetry and fiction
has stopped.  I do a lot of jobsearch whining.

The blog gives me a sense of being connected with
others.  It helps me feel less lonely. It's weird how
that goes.  I've made friends with other bloggers I've
never seen or spoken with, yet I feel like I can trust
them for advice and an objective point of view.  There
are also times when I've faced a problem with not a
clue as to what to do and my readers have actually
helped me, either with suggestions or just to say
they've been there.  My blog has been a surprisingly
important part of my emotional support.  I should
probably feel embarrassed about that, but it's true.

Please feel free to ask more questions.  It's also
fine with me if you share this with your class.

regina

CAR Refugees

The word refugee brings a lot of different issues and images to mind.  I have always been unsure as to what classifies certain groups as refugees and how they differ from immigrants, so having the the encyclopedia of the world and various voices at my fingertips, I looked it up for a clearer definition.  I mean, I understand what the word means, but it seems like a word that is misused a lot. Anyway, Human Rights Watch gives a good explanation here, stating that individuals feels forced to flee their home country due to "race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion."

I started exploring and kept finding references to the situation in the Central African Republic, an region I previously knew nothing about.  Human rights blogger "flametree" pointed out this article that illustrates the grave circumstances of many of these people fleeing CAR for Chad where residents try to assist with what little they themselves have:

"Things are not good for us," says Bekoninga village chief Mbaisibu Bernard. "The refugees arrive with nothing. It's us who must give them food and water, and find somewhere for them to sleep. We hardly have any food ourselves - just a few sacks of millet and some peanuts. But we must share this with the refugees."

Since 2003 when President Francoise Bozize came to power, over 70,000 have fled CAR for Southern Chad and Cameroon due to the dangerous landscape of the country of political rebels attempting to overthrow the government. 

The Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team (HDPT) began a blog to better educate people about the atrocities occurring in this region. The organization posts personal looks at individuals and families that have fled the country and those, such as farmers, that are struggling with daily life due to the endless fighting and chaos.

Sociolingo's Blog was an interesting find.  He or she lives in Mali, West Africa and posts news and materials relating to African countries to inform the general public.  Here, Sociolingo points out a radio station ( that's partnered with      United Nation program)  working to help with peace and development efforts in CAR.

WorldBridge, a blog sponsored by Refugees International, posts refugee stories from around the world.  Here an aid worker describes his experience with CAR villagers, who are haunted by past rebel violence and live in fear of future attacks.

CAR refugees thus escape to neighboring countries in diseased, malnourished and without water, as this blog details.

The heartbreaking fact is that after the many refugees flee for their lives, their circumstances rarely improve.  For a large percentage, they can't find proper care. If they do find UN aid workers or a good community, their health has already been too far ravaged.  For those who survive physically, some may still be mentally traumatized, agonized by violent memories from CAR rebels.

Comunicación en Mexico

Just as in the United States, the Mexican blogosphere aggressively spreads the opinions of people in every corner of the country.  Currently, the blogs seem to be lit up  with concern for drug-related violence.

The  Drug violence bloggers are talking about seems reminiscent of a Hollywood drug lord movie, thick with blood and unnecessary deaths between the police and cartel, but, it seems a variety of populations are getting hit in the crossfire, including musicians. From artciles and blogs, you can sense the frustration of a people who had possibly trying overcome the old cartel stereotypes only to have this new explosion. In Mexico Moniter, a video posted by Franc Contreras shows the confusion amongst Mexicans and the senseless of the deaths.

In Chicago and across the U.S., many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans uphold their heritage and native ties through blogs. Chicana on the Edge, run by Regina from Chicago, shows her love and frustration for aspects of both countries political and cultural activities.  Fed up with actions taken to discriminate against non-English speaking immigrants, she posts:

Immigrants don’t need any more motivation to learn English. What they need is English classes they can attend regularly and the time to study. Lack of English instruction and lack of time (often from working more than one job in a day) is what keeps many immigrants from learning English.

In other posts, Regina proudly shows her support for Obama and a United States united for change and her dislike of Republican politics ( and Ann Coulter).

The Unapologetic Mexican proves to be another Obama supporter, yet another exemption to the articles stating that Clinton has the Latino vote.  In general, the younger vote leans to Obama, regardless of race or ethnicity. But this blog is interesting because it shows the daily posts on a variety of subjects of interest to young Americans, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. It bounces between political and pop culture, personal and public. 

Human Rights

Human Rights

I think the first time I became exposed to the idea of "human rights" as an organized cause started in high school when I, funnily enough, began regularly attending summer music concerts and festivals.  While I had always been aware of global injustices, I guess I was naive to the fact of how many groups and organizations tirelessly work and campaign on behalf of the voiceless around the world.  At many music events, while killing time before the show, my friends and I would explore the information booths of various efforts and groups. The Human Rights Campaign generally makes appearances at such fests (at that time, it was probably Lilith Fair).  My eyes began to open...and I got their cool, recognizable bumper sticker.

Surfing around the Internet, it seems that individuals and groups blog on almost every aspect of human right in almost every country. While much debate arises in the media world about the relevance of bloggers, its important to consider not their journalistic status, but the light they shed on so many issues around the globe.  Without this form of communication, so many voices and causes would be lost.

I was extremely encouraged and impressed to discover the Mideast Youth blog, a student-owned, independent site where young people from a variety of Middle Eastern countries and religions share their concerns and hopes in attempt to "eliminate extremist ideologies and ignorance from the Middle East" by proving "moderation, interfaith understanding, and sanity does exist in the region" among Arabs, Iranians, Kurds and Israelis.

Students post about things that affect their immediate world and interests, but also larger human rights movements. Recently, someone shared their frustration and uncertainty about events occurring in Pakistan, calling it the "sad story of democracy in the Middle East," and stating the Islamic fundamentalism remains an obstacle in ever achieving a successful democracy.

I find this faith and this blog, Baha'i Faith in Egypt fascinating because it depicts the efforts of uniting people of all faiths and the struggle they face from opposition. It shocks me that a religion or belief system that seemingly welcomes and accepts a huge umbrella of people faces the prejudice and scrutiny it does it Egypt.  Several blog entries explain that Egyptian Baha'i followers were only recently issued the right to obtain ID cards and birth certificates, obviously a huge victory.

The International Rescue Committee blog tracks efforts of the group to help people living in war zones and places torn apart by violence.  This is about as humanitarian as it gets; people selflessly aiding those who have been stripped of all their rights, had their lives destroyed.  Most recently, a blogger, Ann Jones, has been writing about women's issues in Liberia.

Here's a snippet of her last enrty:

These women are defiant, but they tell me of other man-made rules harder to challenge.  God and Allah, it seems, are nothing compared to the power of witchcraft or the spirit world or what these women call “African signs.”

“Women are not allowed to cut in the palms,” Sangai says.  She means that women and girls are forbidden to climb palm trees and cut the fruit from which valuable palm oil is made.  Some women have tried, and all of them have come to a bad end.  First they are said to be not women but “monkeys” who climb trees.  Then, if they persist, they are killed.

With this more formal blog, the posts are more like articles, but you feel a special connection to the reporter because its a blog.  For some reason, I usually feel a closer relationship with a blogger, probably because its first-person.  Because of this, I automatically feel closer to the subject at hand. This is the power of blogging about international and social issues--it can make people feel and connect in a way they haven't before.