Myanmar: the beginning of a new era

When I visited Myanmar in 2002, I spent a lot of time wondering if it was right to go there.

All the money spent in that country would have surely supported – in some way – the terrible military dictatorship.

Finally, I decided to go and see … During my trip I met a nineteen years old guide. When we were on the bus with the driver or other people he was used to mechanically speak, with a sort of  ‘flat’ sound. He didn’t reply to any difficult question about his country.

But during a trekking, far from any other people, he started to talk about his life, his family, his difficult life in Myanmar. There I realized that he was able to speak Italian better than English, that was also the reason why he looked at my Italian book about Myanmar. At the end of the trip, I wanted to give him the book but before I had to inform him about contents, as it strongly criticized Myanmar government.

A simply travel guide could represent a danger for him, for his freedom. However, as I supposed, he was very happy about the present, he took the book but fastly hid it.

Today, reading about Aung San Suu Kyi election, all my thoughts are for that young guy and ‘the beginning of a new era’ for Myanmar people.

Here and here two previous posts about Sung San Suu Kyi

And here, the song that Bono with U2 dedicated to her

Against all racism

Apartheid Museum - Johannesburg

Today we celebrate the International day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. You are in Rome, go to Colosseum for symbolic embracing!

Rome, Italy - March 21st, 2012 - by Jemima Russell

This is the message of the Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
“The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an important opportunity to remember the pernicious impact of racism.

Racism undermines peace, security, justice and social progress. It is a violation of human rights that tears at individuals and rips apart the social fabric.

As we mark this International Day under the theme of “racism and conflict,” my thoughts are with the victims.

Racism and racial discrimination have been used as weapons to engender fear and hatred. In extreme cases, ruthless leaders instigate prejudice to incite genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

There are many valuable treaties and tools – as well as a comprehensive global framework – to prevent and eradicate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Nevertheless, racism continues to cause suffering for millions of people around the world. It thrives on ignorance, prejudice and stereotypes.

The United Nations is responding by working to foster inclusion, dialogue and respect for human rights. Where societies have been shattered by conflict, the United Nations strives to promote peace processes and peacebuilding that foster inclusion, dialogue, reconciliation and human rights. Uprooting racism and prejudice is essential for many war-torn societies to heal.

At the same time, I look to all people to join the United Nations in our drive to eliminate racism. We must, individually and collectively, stamp out racism, stigma and prejudice.

This year, we are spreading the word through social media. Visit our new website, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban_Ki-moon.

Tweet your support with the hashtag #FightRacism.

Share the text of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination with the link http://bit.ly/xGOrnX.

 Post to one of our Facebook pages in English, French or Spanish. Or create your own campaign.

Join us, on this International Day, in spreading awareness to stop racism.”

Rome, Italy - March 21st, 2012 -By Jemima Russell

International Woman’s Day: nothing to celebrate

In these days all the Italian media are reporting about ‘crimes of passion’ in my country. In 2011, 97 (ninetyseven!) women were killed by their husbands, boyfriends, partners. How can we define a crime as a passion? Isn’t it a sort of cultural justification of power of possession?

Together with these crimes, sexual abuses are still alive and most of them are committed at home.

I was really impressed reading about an important a photography project by Grace Brown. This project is called Project Unbreakable. Grace uses photography to help heal sexual abuse survivors by photographing them with posters that hold quotes from their attackers.

Project Unbreakable by Grace Brown

At the same time, in another part of the world … we are in Africa, but the “topic” is always the same: crimes and violence against women.

In order to create awareness, 70 climber from 30 different African countries are climbing Kilimanjaro. This initiative is part of an important campaign called Africa Unite (http://www.africaunitecampaign.org/), which aim is to enforce national laws to punish all forms of violence against women.

So … let’s start again with new ideas on International woman’s day, considering it not as a celebration, but an important opportunity to increase awareness, spread the voice, fight all forms of violence against women, all over the world.

Carnival in Gomorrah’s land, or the wish for a normal life

Scampia's carnival parade stops along its way to send its message to citizens and invite them to join - (c) 2'012 nicoletta di tanno

I’m proud to introduce a special guest for a very special post: Nicoletta Di Tanno. She accepted to share with us her experience in Scampia, and her passion for social photography.

She is a communication specialist with more than 20 years experience in international environment, and volunteers for Shoot4change.

A child from the Scampia football school represents the school on the top of their float - (c) 2012 nicoletta di tanno

Ever since, Carnival celebrates the subversion of the ordinary. In Scampia, the neighbourhood in the outskirts of Naples described in Saviano’s best-seller ‘Gomorrah’, subverting the ordinary means that residents can occupy their territory, reclaiming their ownership.

The driving force of this carnival is the G.RI.DA.S association, meaning ‘Group for awakening from sleep’. This association, founded by a couple, Mirella and Felice Pignataro, has since decades bravely been providing a centre of social aggregation and cultural initiatives in this difficult area of Southern Italy.

For the 30th year, Scampia’s carnival proposes to schools and to the local community a parade for expressing creativity, and a day of collective re-possession of public spaces – the real Occupy Scampia! Social issues are at the heart of this carnival, denouncing inequalities and injustice as well as representing local initiatives and achievements.

In this context, different initiatives and associations, both local and from elsewhere, meet in the morning of Carnival’s Sunday in front of GRIDAS’ base, to walk the neighbourhood in parade through its streets and buildings, often off-limits on an ordinary day, using dancing, masks, protest and proposals to raise awareness among those met along the way.

This year’s theme was “Your money or your life, i.e. this is the way it goes”, around which children, citizens, boy-scouts, Roma people, musicians, relatives of convicted and many others, brought their message along with carnival floats and masks.

It was simply impossible not to be involved! The enthusiasm and commitment of all participants was overwhelming. The aspiration to live a life as much ordinary as possible, based on work, integrity and justice, shows through in every instant and in every representation. From the parade, an invitation to join was constantly addressed to the many people that from home look at the march out of their window, revealing a wish for participation that can’t be achieved.

Masks and symbols, positive and negative, coexist in the parade in a symbolic fight. At the end of the path, reaching a nearby Roma settlement, an allegoric bonfire destroys negative symbols while the positive ones are kept, and the parade is joined by the Roma community.

Being within and together the parade as a photographer was a unique experience, joyful and hopeful. One of those that heal your spirit, because they bring about solidarity and the best out of each and every one, in spite of a lieu commun that would make you think you wouldn’t find them there. A virtuous circle, where positive calls positive, and where you hope you can come back again.

People watching the carnival parade in Scampia from their windows -(c) 2012 nicoletta di tanno

A child watches the carnival parade as it passes through a courtyard. He was possibly forbidden to join - (c) 2012 nicoletta di tanno

A child from the Roma settlement joins the parade crowd with his bike - (c) 2012 nicoletta di tanno

Blogging day to free Rossella Urru

Rossella Urru #freerossella #freerossellaurru

I’m proud to join today the campaign to free Rossella Urru, the Italian woman working for the International Committee for the Development of Peoples (CISP) that was kidnapped on the 23rd of October in Raguni, Algeria, the administrative centre of the Saharawi population refugee camps.

This blogging day is part of an important campaign supported by important media such as Rai TG3, as well as bloggers and websites from all over the country.

If you’d like to be part of this campaign, don’t forget the hashtag: #freerossella #freeRossellaUrru

Communicating migration

One year ago I had the opportunity to start a new job experience at the department for migration and integration policy of an Italian ministry.

The proposal arrived unexpected, but I didn’t hesitate and accepted.

As IT specialist involved also in communication process, with focus on marketing and social media, it was asked me to work on a website concerning migration policies.

Let me say something …

Nowdays, migration and integration is one of the most difficult social issues to afford.

Each European country try to represent its own model and theory, according to its history and origins. Guidelines are weak and the borders between countries become higher and higher again, when hundreds of people disembark to our coasts. Debates on multiculturalism or assimilationism increase. But above all, intolerance increases.

In this context it’s very difficult to communicate migration in a positive way, considering it as an opportunity for our society, without stereotypes.

That’s on of main reasons that pushed me to do my best, maybe as ever, for this project.

Yesterday, during a conference I heard a sentence I can resume, more or less, like this: communicating migration is a service for all and if you do it in the right way you can save somebody, by helping him/her to leave clandestinity (Stephen Ogongo – Director at Africa News)

Communication 'tools' - 1

Communication 'tools' - 2

Communication 'tools' - 3

Communication 'tools' - 4

Civil war: Palmyra

Today, a civil war is also here, in Palmyra, UNESCO world heritage.

Palmyra, Sirya. January 2011

Arab spring or European winter?

This is the letter that some mothers of missing Tunisian migrants wrote to the Italian Minister for Cooperation and Integration. Any comment is useless.
Dear Minister,
these are the Tunisian mothers who, since March 2011, have not been having news about their sons leaving for Europe after the revolution.
During this time we have been visiting various Tunisian government officials, including the Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister, and the Home Affairs Minister. Nobody could give us any news. To be more precise, the Foreign Affairs Minister told us that his office reached out to Italian detention centers and gathered that our sons had never arrived in Italy despite contradictory evidence that their boats reached the Italian coasts.

We have organized marches and sit-in protests to be heard and in the past few months we have started to ask for the digital fingerprints of our sons to send the to the Italian Home Affairs Ministry in order to gather precise information on their arrival. To this end, as
we wrote in an appeal addressed to both Tunisian and Italian institutions, we are asking for an exchange of fingerprints in order to learn what our sons’ destiny has been, if they are alive or dead. While families of missing Tunisians are asking Tunisian and European
institutions to change their migration policies, in Italy we joined a group of women and families supporting the appeal for the fingerprint exchange. Shouts from the two banks of the Mediterranean are joining together to ask for action on the case of missing Tunisians. A delegation of our families has been in Italy for a week seeking an answer.

However, this has not led to any result yet and neither the Tunisian nor the Italian
government has yet let us know if they will follow up on our request. 

We are writing to you because we know you will be on a state visit in our country on February 14 and we want to ask to meet with you to be granted that your government will give full collaboration to our institutions to reveal the truth on what happened to our sons.

The mothers of missing Tunisian migrants.

A glance at the world …

Snowy Rome

I left my blog a year ago, as it was too difficult for me to look after social media, blog, e-mail, etc.

Many things have been changed: my English is worst than before, in Rome is snowing, my activities are increased, and I’m on the “higher step” of the social technographics ladder, according to Charlene Li ‘Groundswell‘.

In spite of all that, I decided to come back to my blog, with a new/old look. The style is quite similar, but I changed the header picture, choosing between hundreds of shoots I took all around the world.

Eyes.

A glance it’s the simplest way to communicate when you meet unknown people, when you don’t know a language, when you’d like to express yourself without words.

As I wrote before, in spite of all new and old social media, this is the place I love most. Because  it has been my first experience as ‘creator’ in the net, because I need to share my experiences as a traveller (even though I still consider myself a tourist).

I’d like to thank again Becky Carroll: in her ‘Teaching Social Media’ class at UCSD I learned the importance of listening to the people, as the web is made by people. We often forget it …

Rome - Villa Pamphili

Talking about revolutions …

In this moment is very hard to say something useful or interresting about revolutions in Mediterranean area. I’m reading hundreds of pages, articles, news. I’m just reminding to you and myself that the picture you can see as header of … Continue reading →