Iran - Counting Down to a Day of Solidarity with Those Who Speak Out

Sphere: Related Content

On Thursday February 11, 2010, Amnesty International is calling for support for those participating in the mass protests standing up to the authorities and the abuses of Basij militia and Revolutionary Guards by disputing the outcome of the last year's June Election. As of this posting, it is February 11th in Iran.

Current local time in Mashhad, Iran

In creating this post, the arena of collaboration that I have chosen is again, Bloggers Unite, who are working with Amnesty International to get the word out on February 11, 2010 which isVictory of the Revolution Day in Iran. Equivalent to the Fourth of July in the United States, it is a day commemorating liberty, independence and freedom.

Admitting to being a slacktivist is my way of recognizing that this blog on its own is only a minor contribution and does not compare with the commitment being made by others. After all, I am writing this from usually sunny southern California where although the economy is bad and jobs are now tenuous, I am safe writing this post rather than fearing torture or death. That for me though is an argument against keeping quiet. Small voice blogs such as this one can help spread the word and push awareness beyond the edge of mainstream news sources. By using multiple means of communication through writing, podcasts, and video we can provide greater clarity regarding the impact of these issues. This YouTube video from the Amnesty International (Belgium Flemish) chapter shows former detainee Ali Kheradnejad talking about his experience.

As Amnesty International asserted

Since blogs and websites like Twitter and YouTube were virtually the only way the Iranian people could expose the horrific treatment being inflicted on them in the days following the contested Presidential election, we full expect Iranians to turn to the Internet once again to carry their messages. That is why we are asking everyone to show their solidarity online on February 11th whether its on your blog, website, or social networking profile.

It is also an assertion that having more slacktivists on the web will not lead to those committed to causes leaving to Farmville on Facebook, as some argue, rather it will help accumulate into potential tipping points of change. This is especially true as these efforts are done in collaboration as with Amnesty International's effort to support protester's in Iran. The sort of effort can be faulted for being "activism for a lazy generation”, but as ict.developmentgateway.org, The Boston Globe -News of Iran, edited in Newton and Clay Shirky: Social Media vs. the Dictator demonstrate social media tools such as Twitter can be effective tools in creating social awareness.

News #CNNfail: Twitter Blasts CNN Over Iran Election

Twitter users blasted CNN this weekend for a lack of coverage of the Tehran protests, with Iranian citizens claiming ballot fraud and taking to the streets.

Twitter has proven a powerful tool for spreading news of developing events in the country, but it has also taken on the role of media watchdog: thousands of Twitter users adopted the hashtag #CNNfail to highlight a lack of Iran coverage from the news organization.

Language: EnglishSource: Mashable: The Social Media Guide

Added by John Daly

June 15, 2009 Archive Date: June 15, 2009

News of Iran, edited in Newton - The Boston Globe

The website is called Tehran Bureau, but it is not housed in the Iranian capital. It’s edited from Niknejad’s parents’ living room in Newton

The English-language site has generated a lot of attention over the past few weeks as tensions escalated over allegations of electoral fraud by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government. When demonstrators were shot and communication with the West was curtailed in a government clampdown, Tehran Bureau’s stream of news alerts and Twitter feeds became a valued source of information cited by The New York Times and other Western news organizations.

Clay Shirky, in this TED Talk looks at how the end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics, Iranian protestors streaming news to the world, showing how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news by bypassing censors (if all too briefly).

Although it is not the primary focus of this blog, it has in the past supported Amnesty International efforts on behalf of dissident Hana Abdi, a women's rights advocate in Iran and posted on Kristof and WuDunn's general theme in their book HALF THE SKY". To wit, the brave women of Iran who took to the streets to protest the results of the recent election.

In the final analysis, it recognizes the perspective put forward by Former Irish President Mary Robinson, also former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that Progress on MDGs Requires Focus on Human Dignity, Equality and Equity.

A Win for Haiti and a Good Week for the World

Sphere: Related Content

My wife and I made a financial contribution to UNICEF because they stated that 100% of the money would go to directly to relief efforts. Recently Caryl M. Stern President & CEO of U.S. Fund for UNICEF sent me some photos taken last Saturday at the Foyer L'escale Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It is heartening to see that some good is being done.

What you see here is what's happening all over Haiti. Because of your rapid, decisive response to our appeals, thousands of children are alive today.

Look into their faces. Full of life and hope for a better tomorrow:

© UNICEF/2010/Tidey

UNICEF staff pouring safe drinking water for children.

© UNICEF/2010/Tidey

Children at the Foyer L'escale Orphanage.

They are alive today because UNICEF was there: distributing clean water, providing shelter, protecting children from abuse and exploitation.

This week alone, UNICEF:

• Launched a campaign to immunize 500,000 children against measles, diphtheria, and tetanus;
• Provided clean drinking water to over a half a million people daily;
• Installed latrines, bringing the total of new sanitation facilities to 750; and
• Delivered personal kits to 50,000 children without parental care.

We are now preparing to face the serious risks and challenges that lie before us in the weeks ahead. And with 40% of the Haitian population under the age of 14, this is a children's emergency. These children need to be found, fed, and kept safe from abuse and exploitation.

But just for today, I wanted to show you the very real impact you're having on the children of Haiti.

From all of us at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, thank you.

I also added my name and comments to the petition to be delivered to Secretary Geithner and did a post arguing that Progress on Haiti are Lessons for the Millennium Development Goals. The goal was to help Haiti begin to rebuild by lifting the debt of $1 billion it owes to the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, and a handful of others by getting others to sign the petition asking Haiti's creditors to act quickly and cancel Haiti's debts.

Now Sheila Nix, U.S. Executive Director at ONE has sent a thank you and gave us:

Breaking news: The United States Treasury Department has just announced U.S. government support for complete debt cancellation for Haiti and will work with our international partners to ensure that new assistance comes in the form of grants, not debt-incurring loans.

She credits the than more than 200,000 ONE members who supported this effort calling on the U.S. to take this message to G7 finance ministers' summit this weekend.

Your voices and support for Haiti are the reason we're celebrating a victory on debt relief today. This important news from the U.S. government, combined with the grassroots presence Michèle will lend to the Iqaluit meeting, makes me optimistic that we'll be hearing more good news on debt relief for Haiti soon, as its people look to rebuild and live out their motto L'union fait la force (Unity is strength.)

In fact, ONE will be there when U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his counterparts in the G7—the very people who sit on the governing boards of the international lending institutions that hold Haiti's $1 billion debt—meet in the far-north Canadian town of Iqaluit this weekend for a G7 finance ministers' summit. Among Iqaluit's 7,000 residents is ONE member Michèle Bertol, and she has graciously agreed to deliver our petition to the host of the summit, Canadian Finance Minister James Flaherty.

Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, also recorded a video message to thank ONE members.

I am not going to claim any great role is this effort but I will argue the even small efforts by millions working in common purpose across the globe can make a difference. I do believe that the technology of social media whether blogs with small voices like mine or globe spanning tools like twitter have made a significant impact. The point is that we do have the ability to make a difference. We just need to start doing it before the disaster happens.

Social media fills communication gap in Haiti: BBC

Despite the near collapse in landline and cellular communications in Haiti after the earthquake, social media has enabled people to communicate with one another and organize information. Organizations such as Telecoms Sans Frontieres have been able to provide Internet access for relaying maps, communication and disaster information through services such as Twitter and Ushahidi.

In Haiti, Tech Efforts Move From Relief to Recovery | Social Entrepreneurship at Change.org.|

In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, all initial attention -- naturally -- focused on immediate relief. Search parties to dig people out of the rubble, and relief workers to set up access to medical treatment, food, water and shelter. But the real process of recovery, which comes next, has far greater implications for a nation's future health and development. That's why it's great to see technology groups that were some of the earliest and most creative responders to Haiti's initial crisis are now shifting gears to focus on recovery, as well.

Seeing the Vision of a Better World

Sphere: Related Content

Back in September of last year, I did a post on Exploring Pathways of Vision, Sight and Insight at My Pathways to New Paradigms blog which was designed to open myself to new possibilities.

This blog takes the idealistic visions of what could be possible and works to identify efforts to make them a reality. The Millennium Development Goals are an ultimate expression of that concept. The idea that individuals could have even a minuscule affect on global challenges that have afflicted the world for centuries takes both extreme idealism and pragmatism. The Exploring Pathways of Vision dealt with the subject from a more academic, scientific and philosophical perspective though it did recognize how this work could benefit millions.

This post looks at real world application in developing countries. Andrew of Care2 tells us that in Africa, approximately 140 million people are at risk of river blindness, a disease caused by the bite of a black fly that breeds in fast flowing rivers.

Fortunately, one tablet can prevent river blindness and Merck & Co. has promised to provide this tablet for as long as it takes to get rid of this disease for free.

Care2 asked us to send a message of support to the volunteers on the ground letting them know you are grateful for their work.

In some villages, most of the adults have gone blind and the children are kept home from school to act as their guides and caretakers. This devastating disease has forced families to move away from fertile lands and fresh water for fear of going blind. Right now, volunteers are working to distribute these free tablets to as many people as possible.

Here is my message to the volunteers at Sight Savers International.

You are not only a great example of humanity for the rest of us, you are also a model of how non-profits and businesses can work together to positively address the suffering on millions. The science of the western world makes no difference if it can't get to where it is needed. A heartfelt thanks also to Merck & Company for their role is this important effort.

Change.org calls on us to take action now to call on the international community to provide assistance to end preventable blindness today >

More than 40 million people in the developing world can't see their children, parents, and friends, yet most blindness can be prevented or cured with inexpensive medicine or operations. Trachoma infection causes horrible pain, scarring and eventually blindness, and it affects millions of children around the world. But a simple $8 operation can fix these problems, sparing a child years of infections resulting in a lifetime in the dark.

This video provides a glimpse into the suffering that this can cause.

This next one tells us how these problems can be successfully addressed with pragmatic and low cost approaches to care. A concept we seem to have difficulty with in the West.

Thulasiraj Ravilla: How low-cost eye care can be world-class | Video on TED.com

This blog plays only a very small part in getting the word out about these efforts. It is hoped that by recognizing and telling of the efforts of others I can help generate more support for them.