Essential Afro-Latino/ Caribbean Current Events

[Poitier]

Google And Microsoft Are Mapping Favelas So They Can Sell Things There
ALISSA WALKERYESTERDAY 8:00 PM
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The twisting sidewalks and dizzying density of Brazil’s favelas might deter most outsiders from navigating these crowded inner-city neighbourhoods, which informally house about 1.5 million of the country’s residents. Yet in the last few months, both Google and Microsoft have both been seen mapping their narrow streets and dirt paths.

According to the Wall Street Journal, both companies have recently launched concerted efforts to accurately map these sprawling communities. But before you think this is some kind of goodwill effort to represent the people of this world more fairly, consider this fact that Google released, per the Journal: Although the areas had almost uniformly been seen as places of extreme poverty, now 85 per cent of favela residents have mobile phones.

Google and Microsoft want to map these areas so they can figure out how to market to the people who live there. Knowing exactly where people live allows Google to sell specific, geotargeted advertising. Local businesses can then be mapped, which means their owners can be tapped to market their services online. And there will also now be a way to track buying habits and internet usage with bit more geographic preciseness.


Vidigal, a favela in Rio de Janeiro, now is represented on Google Maps, although no Street View yet.

Before the tech giants decided to capitalise on Brazil’s favelas, there had been other, less commercialized efforts to properly map these neighborhoods, which are informing the Microsoft and Google invasion. A nonprofit called
Redes da Mare fought to get the favela of Mare properly represented on Rio de Janerio maps, with street names, addresses, and zip codes. Microsoft is working with this group to make sure their maps match the way locals think of their community, a smart move. Google meanwhile is recruiting local volunteers using its MapMaker app to photograph and plot businesses on its maps. Some streets and passageways don’t have official names, so meetings have been held so residents can vote to name them.

As you can see from the Google Maps example above, the blanks in Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro are starting to be filled in with some street names and even pedestrian walkways connecting different corners of the community. Given the ever-changing nature of a favela — with no development codes, people could easily reroute a street or remove a building at their whim — keeping these neighbourhoods up-to-date will surely keep mapmakers on their toes. But if it means reaching a growing potential audience, I’m sure they will figure out how to make it work. [WSJ]

Picture: Brazil’s Favela Morumbi, photo by Alexandre Meneghini/AP

 

[Poitier]

Brazil's quilombos, founded by escaped slaves, offer a window to the past
The communities are a testament to the resilience of Afro-Brazilian culture, but many struggle with a lack of services

September 20, 2014 6:00AM ET
by Donna Bowater

Conceição Maria Viana, left 82, the oldest member of the Santo Antônio dos Pretos quilombo, with her daughter Suzete Viana, right.
Gustavo Oliveira
SANTO ANTONIO DOS PRETOS, Brazil — To listen to Conceição Maria Viana, a descendant of escaped slaves, is to hear the voice of Brazil’s once silenced past, buried deep in the forest amid the babassu palm trees.

Viana's grandfather, Benedito Zacarias Serra, was a runaway slave who founded one of thousands of clandestine settlements known as quilombos before slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888.

Today, 126 years after slavery ended, Serra's quilombo lives on as a testament to the resilience of Afro-Brazilian culture, with about 100 families celebrating many of the same traditions — and facing many of the same challenges — from when Santo Antônio dos Pretos was founded.

Most quilombos are Portuguese- or Portuguese creole-speaking but a variety of African-influenced dialects have endured in pockets of cultural resistance, which have also held on to traditional African structures of community leaders and elders.

Some estimates suggest there were up to 5,000 quilombo communities across 24 statesduring 17th and 18th century colonial Brazil, with many hidden in remote parts of the thick jungle to conceal them from slavemasters and officials. They ranged from just a few dozen inhabitants to the biggest quilombo, Palmares, where the population reached an estimated 20,000 people after the Dutch invasion of Brazil. Palmares was invaded by the army in 1694 and its leader, Zumbi dos Palmares, killed on Nov. 20, which is now Black Awareness Day.

Conceição Maria Viana, 82, in the Santo Antônio dos Pretos quilombo, Codó, Maranhão state, Brazil.
Gustavo Oliveira
Today, the government’s Brazil Quilombola Program has mapped more than 3,500 communities, and provided many with land titles — a right enshrined in the 1988 Constitution — as well as social support, including bringing electricity to 20,000 quilombo homes between 2004 and 2008.

In a 2009 report, the special secretary for the promoting of racial equality said the land titles were a “historical redress.”

“In a society like Brazil’s, marred by centuries of widespread discrimination, it is not enough that the state refrain from discrimination in its laws,” it said.

But while many residents of the villages, known as quilombolas, now own the land they live on, some are still living without clean water, and with limited access to health care and education.

Viana’s small community of Santo Antônio dos Pretos, in the northern state of Maranhão, is cut into a clearing and surrounded by swamps and dense forest, where goats and dogs roam between the homesmade of mud, branches and palm thatch.

It is linked by a single potholed dirt road to the nearest town of Codó, 30 miles away, and cut off from the rest of the world whenever rain makes the road impassable.

Santo Antônio dos Pretos is marooned in another era, frozen in time and swallowedby the towering palms and tamarind trees.

“I was born and raised here,” said Viana, 82, at the home she shares with her daughter Suzete Viana, 62.

House in Santo Antônio dos Pretos quilombo, Codó, Maranhão state, Brazil.
Gustavo Oliveira
Their simple mud house is neatly divided into three rooms, all cast with an orange hue from the sun filtering through the clay tiles. At the back there is a simple mud stove, embers still burning from Suzete Viana’s cooking. In the bedroom, a narrow bed is pressed against the wall and a hammock strung across the middle of the room.

Viana said that during her grandfather’s time, officials would raid the quilombos, hunting escaped slaves and returning them to their owners.

Quilombos were not only refuges from the brutal slave quarters, called senzalas, but they were also places where escaped slaves could freely practice banned religions with African roots, including Terecô, a form of worship carried out through music and dance.

“All the cultural dances and music started in the slave quarters, but the Terecô dance happened only in the forest where the quilombos settled because it was banned,” Viana said.

Viana recounted a family legend of Santo Antônio dos Pretos’ resilience and strength.

“There was a man called Lieutenant Vitorino who knew Terecô took place here and so he came here to Santo Antônio to stop the music.”

The grave of the João Palacio, founder of the Santo Antônio dos Pretos quilombo in Codó, Maranhão state, Brazil.
Gustavo Oliveira
“When he got down from his horse, he was enchanted and he danced, he danced until he fell on the floor, he almost died from dancing,” she said, breaking into the song her grandfather sang when Lieutenant Vitorino came to shut down the celebration.

“He never came back to Santo Antônio and he would always pass by another way, and whenever he met my grandfather, he lowered his head.”

Thus, the community survived and its religious traditions lived on as a mark of defiance in spite of other difficulties.

Santo Antônio dos Pretos only got clean drinking water five years ago, thanks to a well dug by children’s rights organization Plan International.

“Before, the community drank dirty water, water not fit for consumption that animals also drank, and this caused a lot of sickness like diarrhea, cholera and malaria,” said Anselmo Costa, a technical assistant with Plan International in Codó.

“The rate of sickness among children and the elderly was really high and after the project was built, this changed significantly.”

For Viana, the oldest member of the quilombo, it had been a blessing after growing up with little to eat or drink.

“At my age, I prayed to God for this,” she said.

Like many, Viana’s family’s makes a living by harvesting nuts from babassu palm trees. The kernels are crushed and used to make oil, soap and cattle feed. Even today, Suzete cooks over hot babassu coals on a stove made from the same mud clay as the house.

“I used to get up early to break the babassu and leave without anything to eat. I used to go out, just a rock of salt in my mouth, and go to the field with just a prayer,” said Viana.

But while the well has brought hope, the community still lacks medical provisions.

Residents rely on herbal remedies to treat ailments like headaches and stomachaches — otherwise they must travel to Codó, an hour away by car.

Viana's other daughter, Vanda Moreira, 63, said, “Things improved a lot for us after we got clean water, and it would improve even more if we had a health center and better roads.”

“We need a medical center. If you need to see a doctor, you have to go to Codó, and if you don’t have a car, you have to go by donkey,” Moreira said.

Her sister Suzete Viana added: “Today, there are cars to take the sick but if we don’t have cars, we die here.”

Centro do Expedito, another quilombo community about 20 miles away, still does not have access to clean tap water and has little access to medical facilities. Centro do Expedito also struggles with high levels of illiteracy.

Naize Uelen Vieira Souza, a teacher at Centro do Expedito's school, said one challenge is impressing the importance of schooling onto parents who are often uneducated themselves.

“Education in rural areas is much more difficult. The children come to school without the support of their parents because their parents say, ‘I’ve survived being illiterate, my son can also live without learning to read or write.’”

The Tenda Santa Barbara Glorioso Santo Antônio church where the Santo Antônio celebrations will take place in the quilombo.
Gustavo Oliveira
“There are night classes but there’s a great resistance because of the culture; they spend a lot of time working in the field, they have children at home and so they have other priorities.”

Francisco Carlos da Silva, a farmer and leader of Centro do Expedito, said theirs was a different country from the one that hosted the soccer World Cup last summer.

“There’s the world, and then there’s the underworld,” he said. “We feel let down.”

But when the rest of Brazil’s attention turned on the FIFA event in June, the proud quilombolas also celebrated, focusing their efforts on the annual Santo Antônio festivities, which started on the same day.

The celebration pays homage to Saint Anthony — one of three saints celebrated during traditional June festivals across Brazil — but with extra significance in the quilombo named in his honor.

“We’re preparing too,” said Suzete.“It takes a year to prepare for the celebration and everyone here helps.”

The Terecô tradition is one of the surviving customs of the community’s African founders, preserved surreptitiously but now celebrated freely and proudly.

But there is one secret that remains with Conceição.

“My prayer is an old prayer, a strong one,” she said. “My mother taught me and my grandmother taught me. And it will stay with me until the end.”

 

[Poitier]

Black Candidate's Rise in Brazil Reflects Shifting Views on Race

Marina Silva, Brazilian Socialist Party presidential candidate, campaigned recently in São Bernardo do Campo. Associated Press

SÃO PAULO—The emergence of a black candidate in Brazil's presidential race is highlighting a major shift in racial views in a country that was the biggest slave importer in the Americas and last to abolish the practice.

Socialist Party candidate Marina Silva —the African-descended daughter of illiterate rubber tappers in the Amazon—is running neck and neck with President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party. The latest polls show the Oct. 5 election would require a runoff between the two women, in which they would tie.

The real possibility that Brazilians could elect a black president is drawing comparisons with President Barack Obama, and underscores the dramatic economic and ideological shifts the nation has undergone in just the last decade. Under Ms. Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, millions of black Brazilians have risen from poverty by welfare programs, scholarships and a racial equality law that established quotas for black students in universities.

The number of Brazilians declaring themselves black or "pardo," the Portuguese term to describe mixed-race Brazilians of African descent, has soared, part of a new black consciousness movement fueled by rising economic opportunities. Self-declared black and pardo Brazilians accounted for 53% of the population last year, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, after rising significantly between 2000 and 2010.

Though racial quotas may have given some Brazilians incentive to self-identify this way, "there is a movement of the assertion of black pride and the appreciation of brown, black and indigenous people in Brazil," said demographer José Eustáquio Diniz Alves, who teaches at IBGE's National School of Statistics Sciences.

Ms. Silva has emerged as a strong contender without overwhelming black support. In contrast to the U.S., where Mr. Obama got 95% of black votes in his first term, Ms. Silva has polled about 25% of Brazil's prospective black vote, compared to about 35% for Ms. Rousseff, whose party's social programs have greatly aided low-income Brazilians of color.

The growing value of black identity is a significant shift in Brazil, the country which imported the most African slaves in the Americas—4 million people by one estimate.While Brazil didn't legally abolish slavery until 1888, the aftermath was far less tumultuous than in the U.S. Brazil fought no civil war to end slavery, and endured no Jim Crow -style segregation that would spur a large-scale civil rights movement. The absence of such defining confrontations, some experts say, has kept Brazil from addressing racial inequality head-on. Intermarriage was encouraged as a way to "whiten" the population, creating a more racially-mixed population and leading many here to declare Brazil a kind of post-racial society.

The country's government, media, workplaces and even its shopping malls tell a different story, said Dojival Vieira, journalist and founder of AfroPress, a website dedicated to Afro-Brazilian news. "Less than 20% of the House is black, and we have only two black senators," he said at a popular São Paulo shopping center, referring to the lower legislative chamber. "Just look around. We're in a middle class mall and I'm the only black person here."

While 19.2% of whites in Brazil have completed college degrees, just 7.3% of pardos and 6.4% of blacks have, according to the latest census data from 2010. Black Brazilians earn an average of $391 a month, about half what their white counterparts do.

Ms. Silva's candidacy comes at a time when black Brazilians are increasingly speaking out about inequality and discrimination. Earlier this month, Brazilian authorities banned the Gremio soccer team from the country's main cup competition after its fans called the opposing team's black goalie a "monkey" and other racial slurs.

In August, a widely circulated cellphone video showed a dark-skinned man in a mall dropping his pants to prove that he wasn't carrying stolen merchandise. "I'm a worker, man! Here! What robbery? Show me!" he shouted angrily at a security guard as onlookers applauded.

While race alone won't get Ms. Silva elected, the possibility of a black president leading South America's largest nation would be a watershed, said Adriana Barbosa, founder of an Afro-Brazilian cultural group called "Feira Preta," or black fair. Like many Brazilians, the 37-year-old is mixed-race, but has dark skin and said she suffered racial discrimination all her life.

"Marina is a reference, a role model, like Obama in the U.S." Ms. Barbosa said. "I cried when he was elected, and it wasn't even in Brazil. Having a black president here would be really symbolic."

Ms. Silva hasn't emphasized her race in this year's contest as she has in the past, though she has proposed creating harsher punishment for hate crimes and discrimination in addition to expanding racial equality efforts. Race "is a very important issue because most people think there is no racism in Brazil ... that's why we put it in Marina's platform," said Mauricio Rands, her top economic advisor. "She is very proud of her roots."

 

[Elle Driver]

Bahia is finalist in contest Harvard
Alean Rodrigues | Branch Feira de Santana

• Luiz Tito. | Ag AFTERNOON | 09/17/2014
  
  
  
  
  With parents, Gabriela Georgia celebrates selection project that aims to combat endometriosis

"I've broken paradigms, because I am black, Northeastern and an inland town. Yet I managed to be among the finalists of that contest outside my country. To me, it's a victory." The phrase is the young Feira de Santana (to 109 km from the capital) Georgia Gabriela Sampaio da Silva, 18, who participates in a contest at Harvard University in the United States, along with students from around the world.

There were 40 entries, 16 from Brazil, it being the only Bahia. A vote on the internet chose the top 15 jobs as finalists, the Georgia was voted fifth. "It was hard to get here, because the work can be done in groups or individually.'m Running with some groups and it does not cease to be one point less for me, I'm alone. But I think I get there," says student .

Georgia dreams attend engineering at a university abroad. The work selected for the contest is to create a kit to diagnose quickly and cheaply endometriosis, a disease that affects no less than six million women in Brazil and 170 million worldwide. The idea came from the experience gained with an aunt, who went by the problem.

"I started researching and noticed the lack of an early diagnosis is that it increases the risk of disease and other stages of it. As the main symptom is pain during menstruation, women spend a lot of time without seeking treatment," he said. "The average delay in seeking treatment is seven years. Meanwhile, endometriosis progresses and can spread to other organs. Treatment and diagnosis are very expensive," he explains.

From humble family, the student account that the work developed thinking in people with less purchasing power. Thus, invested in a kit that could be cheap and affordable public services.

Social issue

"It's a social issue even. Many women can not afford treatment and are at risk of worsening the situation.'s Goal is to make something that can give them the right to a diagnosis and appropriate treatment," notes Georgia.

Merchant's daughter of Jorge Luiz Sampaio Santos and hairdresser Sidney Sampaio da Silva, the student always excelled in studies and, therefore, was always invited to participate in student competitions.

"She always stood out. Throughout school she passed was praised by teachers. Till auditioned for one good school here and was selected among the top candidates, winning a scholarship. Proud of the way that we're following," said the mother.

Not contain the joy, Jorge Luiz recalls that her daughter was approved in four vestibular State universities in Feira de Santana (Uefs) and the Federal Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

"She did not attend because her dream is to study out of Brazil. Whereas in other homes the parents fight for their children to work, here is the fight that she accepted to attend a university here in the country. Education is the greatest wealth we can give our children, and this is her dream. then we will do whatever is possible to be done, "says the father.

With high school completed last year, Georgia is now preparing to compete in other vestibular in Brazil and try a place at universities abroad. "I want to study abroad, the more open they offer us," she says.

Engineering

Georgia Gabriela highlights that may be associated engineering and at the same time, develop the scientific research related to the project.

"I tried to be selected in two universities abroad, but, so far, failed. Believe that participation in the competition at Harvard can help somehow the realization of my dream," he says.

The next stage of the selection is to be interviewed by an examining board (the internet). The end result should come out in the first half of October. "We are cheering. Amo research and it is interesting to see me producing knowledge.'s Research gives the opportunity to create, and this stimulates me," she says.

http://atarde.uol.com.br/bahia/noticias/1625257-baiana-e-finalista-em-concurso-de-harvard

That's wassup. I appreciate her work being that I have endometriosis.

 

[Poitier]

Guyana, China Sign MOU To Train Local Doctors

Published: Sunday September 28, 2014 | 10:46 am0 Comments


GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sep. 28, CMC - The Government of Guyana and the People’s Republic of China on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the ‘China/Guyana House of Medical Science’ that will train local doctors by members of the Chinese medical team.

Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran who signed on the Guyana Government’s behalf, said the MOU is a continuation of a bilateral agreement, which sets the foundation for more powerful interaction between the two countries.

China’s Health Minister Li Bin said both countries have had a long-standing relationship for approximately 100 years, and the Chinese Government is working on collaborating with Guyana in other areas of development such as infrastructure.

“I believe that under the efforts of the two Governments the partnership will bring about new achievements,” Bin said.

Ramsaran said Guyana and China have enjoyed strong diplomatic and people to people relationships. He stated that this is the first visit of the Chinese health minister to Guyana follows numerous visits to Guyana by Chinese delegations.

“The Government of Guyana is very thankful for the help of the Chinese Government,” he said.

Under the MOU of the China/Guyana House of Science, the Government of Guyana hopes to consolidate what they have advanced while working with China and also hopes to expand surgeries provided and the training of doctors.

The MOU is valid for five years and can be renewed for a similar period if both countries so desire.

 

[Poitier]

Bahia Port in Brazil Gets Green Light Despite Greens' Opposition
SEPTEMBER 2014
HITS: 26

The government has authorized the beginning of the construction of Porto Sul, in the city of Ilhéus, southern Bahia, after the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), connected with the Ministry of the Environment, gave the green light to the undertaking.

Launched in a tourist area that boasts highly diverse fauna and flora, the project has been the motive behind protests staged by environmentalists, who argue that the port will cause an negative impact on both the region's environment and the local conservation units, like the Environment Protection Area of the Encantada Lake and the Almada River, which has already been severely damaged by the disposal of sewage and trash.

Valid for six years, the license issued by Ibama last September 19 lays down the conditions, restrictions and measures to be observed and adopted in order to prevent and minimize pollution and other negative effects on the environment.

Overall, the project will entail 29 programs of monitoring, adaptation, prevention, and recovery, whose scope encompasses fishing, training local staff, preventing child abuse, controlling erosion and aggradation, and managing effluents, solid waste and air quality.

In addition to the public terminal, the project includes the construction of a private terminal, to be controlled by the Bahia-based mining company Bamin, and is to have an external area of 1,224 hectares for the loading and unloading of cargo.

It will also have a pier equipped with a breakwater 3.5 km from the coast. Integrated to the east-west railroad, the port will be used for the transport of iron ore, soy, ethanol, fertilizers and solid goods.

 

[Poitier]

Brazil President Tells UN She Wants More Power for Developing Countries
SEPTEMBER 2014
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President Dilma Rousseff criticized on September 24 the delay in providing developing countries with more voting power at such major financial institutions as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and said that they are running the risk of losing efficiency and legitimacy.

The statement was made at the opening ceremony of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, in New York.

"It is imperative to put an end to the disparity between the increasingly important role played by developing countries in the world's economy and their insufficient participation in the decision-making processes of financial institutions worldwide, like the IMF and the World Bank. The delay in expanding the voting power of emerging countries at these institutions is unacceptable," Rousseff declared in her speech.

She highlighted the joint efforts of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which decided this year to start a development bank and an arrangement for the emergency assistance of member countries and other emerging nations as an alternative to the world's financial order.

The president mentioned a number of measures taken by the government over the last years in an attempt to protect the Brazilian economy from the global crisis, but she admitted that Brazil is also among the countries that experienced a slowdown.

"In spite of having managed to resist the damaging consequences of the crisis, they also affected us more severely during the last years. This fact comes as a result of the persistence of serious economic difficulties everywhere in the world, which caused a negative impact on our growth," she argued.

The president went on to add that it is indispensable "to recover the dynamics of the global economy, which should function as an instrument for propelling the growth of international trade and the reduction of inequality among countries," Rousseff stated.

She also expressed her support for commitments from the countries after the conclusion of the Doha Round, a series of negotiations aimed at the liberation of global trade.

In her speech, which lasted approximately 24 minutes, Rousseff also criticized the multilateral agencies' lack of ability to work towards the resolution of conflicts, as was the case in the recent crisis between Palestine and Israel and the impasse faced by Russia and Ukraine.

"The use of force is unable to eliminate the deep causes of the conflicts. This is clear in the unrelenting Palestinian question, in the systematic massacre of the Syrian people, in the tragic collapse of Iraq, in Libya's alarming insecurity, in the conflict in Sahel and the clashes in Ukraine. At every military intervention, we haven't been walking towards peace, but rather watching as these conflicts grow ever fiercer," she declared.

Rousseff demanded "a real" reform in the UN Security Council, and criticized the delay in this process. "UN's 70th anniversary, to be celebrated in 2005, should afford the convenient opportunity for [bringing about] the progress the situation requires. I'm certain that we all understand the dangers of a paralysis and stagnation of the Security Council. A council that's more representative and more legitimate will also be able to prove more efficient," she said.

The president seized the opportunity to stress Brazil's opposition to the government of Israel in the conflict with Palestine. "We cannot remain indifferent to [this] crisis, especially after the dramatic events that took place in the Gaza Strip.

"We condemn the disproportionate use of force, which has made a considerable number of victims among the population, including women and children. This conflict should be solved, and not poorly managed, as has been the case," the Brazilian head of state concluded, and made an appeal for tolerance between both states taking into consideration the borders internationally recognized.

Climate Summit

The Climate Summit held its closing ceremony at the UN headquarters, in New York, with the commitment to reduce deforestation by half up to 2020 and to end it totally by 2030.

The New York Declaration was signed by 150 countries and organizations, among which 28 member states, 35 companies, 16 indigenous groups, and 45 associations from the civil society. Brazil, however, was not among its signatories.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Brazilian government was not invited to participate in the process of drafting the letter, so the country was unable to commit to the goals established. The Ministry further explained that the declaration is not an official UN document, and is thus only to be followed by its signatories.

The UN Information Center for Brazil announced that the letter remains open for other countries and organizations interested in signing it. In addition to the fight against deforestation, the document lays down objectives such as the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions over the next six years.

The center went on to highlight that the negotiations over the commitments countries should make to combat global warming hold valid up to 2015, when the 21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP-21) is to take place in Paris.

Leaders and representatives from 125 nations took part in the summit. According to the UN, the gathering has been the biggest one ever held on climate changes. Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said in her speech at the event that the fight against climate changes is not harmful to the economy.

"The reduction in the emissions and the adaptation measures should be regarded as a source of wealth, so as to attract investments and launch new actions for sustainable development," she stated, adding that developed countries should be assigned the bigger responsibility in the struggle against global warming.

 

[Poitier]

For black leaders of heavily Afro-Brazilian state of Bahia, Marina Silva being black and female is not enough; activists lay out 16-point agenda


Presidential candidate Marina Silva recently met with black leaders in the state of Bahia

Note from BW of Brazil: With only four days remaining before Brazilians head to the polls for the first of a probable two votes, according to recent polls, the PSB presidential candidate has lost much ground in her attempt to become Brazil’s first black and second female president. According to the latest numbers, Marina’s percentages of voting intentions continues to slide as the Workers’ Party (PT) incumbent Dilma Rousseff has increased her lead over Silva by a count of 40% to 25%with the surging PSDB’s Aécio Neves gaining ground at 20%. As previously reported here, due to some of stances and political allegiances, many black leaders have expressed suspicion of of her candidacy and her recent meeting with Afro-Brazilians inblack majority state of Bahia will reveal a lot about her reception with a population that has strongly supported nearly 12 years of PT policies. Although leaders admit that her being a woman, defining herself as black and of poor origin are valuable assets, these traits are not enough for her to earn the support of a population that has long been ignored in Brazilian politics. People vote for parties that appear to have their best interests on their agenda and so far Silva hasn’t been able to prove that she’s in their corner.

Marina being female and black of Marina is not enough for blacks in Bahia

From the newsroom, with information from the A Tarde newspaper by Cleidiana Ramos


Recently in Salvador, Bahia, Marina Silva met with leaders of the black community to discuss her proposals

Salvador – The fact that the former senator Marina Silva (PSB) self-declares herself the “first black woman from a poor background”, with chances to win the presidency of the Republic, was not enough that the Movimento Negro (black movement) of Bahia, that it would opt in a unified way in regards to her candidacy in the race with President Dilma Rousseff (PT) who is running for re-election.

In two meetings held in recent days, the division became explicit with names like João Jorge Rodrigues of the organization Olodum, and Vovô, of the organization Ilê Aiyê, making the choice for Dilma – who leads in the polls – and others like Zulu Araújo, former president of the Fundação Palmares (Palmares Foundation), and councilman Sylvio Humberto (PSB), of the Instituto Steve Biko, declaring support for Marina Silva.

A meeting that took place on Wednesday (9.24), at the headquarters of Ilê served for the disclosure of a letter of support from supporters for Rousseff’s re-election. Meeting participants – mostly black leaders of the PT (Workers’ Party) and PC do B Communist Party of Brazil), connected respectively to CONEN (Coordenação Nacional de Entidades Negras or National Coordination of Black Entities) and UNEGRO (União de Negros pela Igualdade or Union of Negros for Equality), of the governing Movimento Negro – adhere to the campaign without presenting any demands, nor holding anyone responsible for commitment to historic banner issues that the movement itself has pushed.

Blacks with Dilma

The justification for adherence to Dilma, was that “at stake is not just an electoral dispute, but political projects,” as Gilberto Leal, of CONEN said during the meeting. “Our choice is for whoever has closer conquests to the banner issues that we historically stand for,” said Leal, an outspoken critic of the management of the sociologist Luiza Bairros at the head of the Special Secretariat for Policies to Promote Racial Equality (SEPPIR), of the Presidency of Republic.

The President of Olodum, João Jorge Rodrigues, although affiliated to the PSB (Marina Silva’s party), not only joined the campaign for Dilma’s re-election as he attacked the candidate of his party. “My party, the PSB, in which she came in because she could not create her own, in 1947 fought for religious freedom, an issue that she does not understand, as well as gathering support for someone like Marco Feliciano that does enormous harm to human rights,” he said, omitting that the Rede Sustentabilidade (Sustainability Network) – Marina’s party – has been frustrated by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) amid allegations made by the candidate herself of interference of the Federal Government, concerned that there was not time for its legalization for the electoral dispute of this year.

Blacks with Marina

On Saturday (9/20), black Bahian leaders linked to the PSB candidate received Marina and launched a manifesto in which they reported having discussed at the meeting, “confronting racism, the defense of racial equality, combating religious intolerance, ensuring the mainstreaming of government policy, central to the defense of the Republican, secular state and respect for ethnic and racial diversity.”

Further ensuring they guaranteed that Marina made commitments to these causes and expressed support for the candidate, presenting a text with proposals.

In this sense, new government actions that ensure public policies in progress and ensure ongoing dialogue with the black Brazilian community, actions that preserve the autonomy of the Movimento Negro, treating it with dignity and respect, recognizing the plurality and diversity existing in it are necessary – imperative in a democratic environment in which we live – to ensure their participation in all decisions relating to the promotion of racial equality in the country.

We want a government that dialogues with all forms of expression of Braziliannegritude, regardless of the policy matrix to which it is linked or the religious denomination to which it belongs. Similarly, we want a government that is a partner of these organizations in all actions aimed at eradicating racial inequalities in Brazil, particularly in relation to black Brazilian youth who have been victim of genocide. We want a clear commitment to the future government that is, on one side, maintain the achievements to date, particularly racial quotas for black men and women in universities, by means of a strong program of permanence of these young people in higher education, and on the other, that steps leading to the acceleration of the process of promoting racial equality in Brazil are adopted, as the effectiveness of public tenders, with racial quotas, already approved by the National Congress.

 

[Poitier]

Black leaders presented the candidate with a list of issues important to the black community

That confront racism and to promote racial equality in Brazil are an integral part of the design of a fraternal and egalitarian nation, for strategic and sustainable development. Proposals:

1) Support for the creation of the National Fund to Combat Racism: an instrument that should centralize and coordinate the resources of the federal government for the implementation of public policies needed to combat racism, funding and promoting actions in partnerships with civil society organizations in the field of human rights, the Movimento Negro and anti-racism.

2) Religious Intolerance: ensure the full exercise of religious freedom in the country, inalienable constitutional rights of Brazilian citizens. (Art.5-VI). Combat and punish in an exemplary manner all those (individuals and institutions) that promote or exercise religious intolerance in Brazil, in particular against the religions of African origin, by means of national and educational campaigns.

3) Auto de resistência (Auto resistance or resistance of arrest): extinguishing of auto resistance, one of the most nefarious tools used by the Brazilian government, through the police force, in conflict with society, particularly against poor black youth of the country, which has contributed greatly to the impunity of crimes committed by police officers, and in defense of citizen police.

4) Secretariat for the Promotion of Policies of Racial Equality – SEPPIR: ensure the permanence of this institutional space as well as provide it with human, material and budgetary resources so that it can meet its objectives for the articulation of public policies promoting racial equality in the governmental environment.

5) Law 10.639/2003 and Law 11,645/08: monitor compliance of said Law, as well as expand the training of teachers by the Ministry of Education, with the goal of training all teachers in the elementary and middle school for teaching of Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous History and Culture.

6) Quotas in the University: maintaining the Quota System in Brazilian higher education and expansion of permanence of cotista (quota students) programs in universities. Adopting, also, actions to encourage and guarantee the equitable participation of black students in the Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science without Borders) program.

7) Quilombos: provide INCRA the technical conditions and human resources needed to accelerate the procedures for elaboration of technical reports of delimitation of the remaining quilombo territories and subsequent titration.

8) Black Youth: Combating violence against black youth through inclusion programs for the first job, full-time schools, access to cultural goods and support the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, proposed by Senator Lidice da Mata, of Bahia, to investigate the causes of the true extermination of black youth in the country.

9) Black women: contribute to the overcoming of all forms of institutional violence that affect black women, as well as the strengthening and expanding of their participation in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of public policies.

10) Capoeira: guaranteeing the regulation of the practice of the condition of Teacher and Mestre (Master) of Capoeira, ensuring the inclusion of capoeira in schools, according to Article 26/A of the LDB and tLaw 10.639/2003 and support to the non-subordination of Capoeira to the Federal Council of Physical Education.

11) Cultura Negra (Black Cultura): enlarge the budget (assuming the commitment of non- contingency) of the Fundação Cultural Palmares (Palmares Cultural Foundation) and promoting public competitions in order that this institution has the technical, human and budgetary resources necessary for the fulfillment of its mission to preserve, develop and disseminate cultural manifestations of African origin in Brazil.

12) Health of the black population: ensuring the resources necessary to expand the Health Program of the black population, in particular the prevention and monitoring Sickle Cell Diseases in Brazil.

13) Exchange: creation of Afro Latino and Caribbean Observatory, as well as holding festivals, meetings and other activities to intensify the ongoing exchange of information among Latin American and African countries in the Black Diaspora, thus contributing to exchange of experiences and to the advancement of racial equality in Latin America and the Caribbean and in Africa.

14) Environmental Racism: ensuring public policies that guarantee the sustainability and combating environmental injustices against the black population.

15) Work and Diversity: to ensure, within the federal public service environment, state-owned enterprises in mixed economies controlled by the union, private companies encouraged by the federal government, respect for ethnic and racial diversity in the occupation of positions and functions of direction, and fostering economic entrepreneurship of the black population, from the expansion of tax incentives and special lines of credit aimed at the qualification of this segment.

16) Intensify the economic relations between Brazil and the African and Caribbean countries, encouraging the participation of Afro-Brazilians in business through diversity and encourage the training of staff for operations in foreign trade.

 

[Poitier]

Black Brazilians learn from South African leader Steve Biko


Biko’s legacy has changed lives: George (centre), Karina (right) and friend, Janete

By Alejandra Martins

Steve Biko sought to set black South Africans free from oppression and he died for it. He probably never imagined that 30 years on, his message would be setting free the minds of young men and women more than 4,000 miles away, in Brazil.
The Steve Biko Institute in Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, aims to help black Brazilians achieve what many never dared to dream of – to enter university. Brazil boasts some of the best universities in Latin America, but passing the country’s tough university entrance exam, the vestibular, is not an option for most black Brazilians.They make up almost half the country’s population – far more than that in Bahia state – and the majority live in poverty.

“Here in Bahia, 70% of the population is of African descent, but more than 80% of those who graduate from university are white, so you can see clearly there is a situation of exclusion,” explains Lazaro Passos, a young mechanical engineer who is the institute’s project co-ordinator.

Redressing the balance

Mr Passos says the poor quality of state primary and secondary schools means black students end up with only a remote chance of passing the vestibular. Many white students, on the other hand, not only grow up in the private school system, but can also afford expensive one-year courses that prepare them for the exam.

Paradoxically, it is mostly these students who secure the coveted places in Brazil’s federal universities, which are funded by the federal government and charge no fees. The Biko institute aims to redress the balance, offering cheap courses to prepare black students. “Biko is a reference for us because of his activism as a student, and above all, because he saw education as a weapon against oppression”, explains Mr Passos. The institute’s T-shirts bear Biko’s words: “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

The message has changed the lives of hundreds of students, like young mother Karina de Souza, who attended a course at the institute and is now a university student specialising in literature.

“We grow up seeing only white people having success as professionals. We learn at history lessons in school that black people were brought as slaves, and all they left as a legacy is traditional foods, and dances like samba or capoeira,” she says. “Here at the Biko institute we learn about many blacks who succeeded through education.”


Salvador, the capital of Bahia, was at the heart of the slave trade

All the students at the Biko institute attend lessons in “citizenship and black consciousness”, where they learn about great black Brazilian engineers such as Andre Rebouca or Teodoro Sampaio.

“Black people need to learn about these figures and many others. It is part of the process of raising their self-esteem,” says Mr Passos. “We realized if we don’t work at this very deep level, students never aim to be doctors, or engineers, because they believe they can only apply for less prestigious courses.”

Bahia was at the heart of the slave trade that shaped Brazilian history. It is estimated that four million slaves were sent across the Atlantic to shed their sweat and blood in the fields of Brazil, eight times the number of slaves shipped to the US. Their legacy is alive in every corner of Bahia.

‘Apartheid’

“Brazil was one of the last countries to abolish slavery in 1888 – you can imagine how this system moulded society. Even now, the black population is suffering the consequences,” says Mr Passos.



Lazaro Passos: Studying is important, but so is black pride

Students at the institute come from poor backgrounds and most of them are the first ever in their family to aim for university. “My mother worked very hard washing clothes, selling food on the street. She couldn’t finish primary school, but made sure all her kids completed secondary education. I was working from an early age, helping my mother,” says Karina.

George Oliveira’s future also changed thanks to the Biko institute. When he arrived there he had abandoned his studies and was working, like everyone else in his family, as a cook. Today he is studying economics at university. He is convinced his country has to overcome what he says is a disguised form of apartheid.

“There are no laws here saying this place is for whites only and that place is for blacks only, but if you go to the rich neighbourhoods you see whites and if you go to the slums you see mainly blacks.

“Even in the media, the soap operas seem to depict life in Europe rather than Brazil.”

The education ministry acknowledges that the exclusion of black students is a serious problem in Brazil. Eliezer Pacheco, president of the National Institute of Educational Research, says: “Poverty in Brazil has a color, and that color is black. That’s why the Ministry of Education has been strongly defending the introduction of quotas for black students at university. Even though universities are autonomous according to the constitution and there is a lot of resistance, some universities have started adopting this system.”

Empowerment

The Biko institute enrols about 300 students a year, of whom about 35% enter university. I put it to Lazaro Passos that this is a low success rate. “Students come here after 11 years of bad schooling, often with their self-esteem at rock bottom. We reach out to human beings and that’s what matters. We always leave our mark.”Often we meet former students who after many years are back at their studies. Deep down the message remained like a delayed time bomb: education is the answer”.

The legacy of Steve Biko has empowered people like Karina and George. Karina is making sure her five-year-old son grows up proud of being black. George, the first of his family to enter university, wants to become a professor. For Lazaro Passos, what is at stake is not only the future of students such as George, but the development of Brazil.

“If there are no black students at university then we are excluding minds that could be thinking up a new and more competitive Brazil,” he says.

“It’s not only a loss for the black population, but for the whole of this country. If blacks don’t have access to university then Brazil is excluding 45%* of its own people.”

* – At the time of the article, Afro-Brazilians were estimated to make up 45% of Brazil’s population. The last census in 2010 confirmed that this population made up 50.7% of the total.

Source: BBC News

 

[Poitier]

'Romeo & Juliet-Inspired 'Cristo Rey' is Dominican Republic's Foreign-Language Oscar Entry
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and ActOctober 2, 2014 at 12:05PM

Described as a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," set in the Dominican Republic, director by Leticia Tonos Paniagua's "Cristo Rey" is a drama that follows the relationship between a kind-hearted teenager, ostracized for his mixed Haitian-Dominican descent, and the beautiful sister of a local drug kingpin he’s hired to protect.

"Cristo Rey" stars James Saintil, Akari Endo, and Yasser Michelén, and has been selected by the DR as its entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration by the Academy.

If director Paniagua's name is familiar, it may be because, 3 years ago, we profiled her last film, "La Hija Natural" ("Love Child"), when it was set to be the Centerpiece film at the Caribbean Tales Film Showcase in Toronto. The film is available for viewing on various online websites I came across, but none of them looked official, requiring you to download one application or another in other to view the film. Although it looks like it's available on DVD, but just not in the USA.

A graduate of the London Film School, Leticia Tonos says she's more interested in posing questions, than making statements, and especially prefers tackling social issues.

"Cristo Rey," which reflects her mission, is her second feature directorial effort.

Watch 2 new clips from the film below:

 

[ellessij]

Trinidad and Tobago Pitches Tourism in Bid to Diversify Economy
September 26, 2014 | 3:14 pm |Print



Above: the investment conference in New York (CJ Photo: Joshua Martinez)

By Joshua Martinez
CJ Contributor

NEW YORK — “We need to get away from a boom and bust economy.”

These were the words of Trinidad and Tobago Trade, Industry and Investment Minister Vasant Bharath, who was addressing a group of potential investors at a conference pitching Trinidad’s economy in New York.

While Trinidad has long been an economic leader in the Caribbean due to its thriving energy sector, it’s now looking to diversify its economy.

The New York event, which was hosted at the Council on Foreign Relations this week, was aimed at promoting all sectors of Trinidad’s economy, with a particular emphasis on tourism.

The latter is something of a new push for the twin-island country; its longtime (and logical) emphasis on oil and gas has been what Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the conference called a “blessing and a curse.”

That is, a blessing for the consistent growth energy provides; a curse for not creating an urgent motivation to develop other economic sectors.

But that’s now changing.

The push began in earnest in 2013 with the efforts of former Tourism Minister Stephen Cadiz, who was set to lead the country on a global tourism marketing push.

Now, two Tourism Ministers later (in less than two years), that drive has waned a bit, but many in the country have long advocated for a stronger tourism focus.

That could come in a number of ways — from increasing the number of hotel rooms, particularly in Tobago, to developing niche sectors like cultural tourism and eco tourism.

Ultimately, the country’s officials urged, the key is to develop the country’s economy more broadly, from tourism to other industries like agriculture and green energy.

But in a tourism-heavy region, it’s a natural place to start.

I'm from, and live in Trinidad. The only tourism boom we get is for Carnival. That's the real money maker. I love my country, and my culture but it being riddled by crime/drugs/violence is making it the last Caribbean vacation destination.

 

[Poitier]

I'm from, and live in Trinidad. The only tourism boom we get is for Carnival. That's the real money maker. I love my country, and my culture but it being riddled by crime/drugs/violence is making it the last Caribbean vacation destination.

 

[DreadBrown]

JAMAICA

Danchall legends link up to represent for the culture

 

[Poitier]