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We are forcing Facebook to pay attention to its dangerous impact to violence in Myanmar
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Facebook and Myanmar aren't good for each other. (To be fair, Facebook isn't good for anyone but that's for another day.) The news agency The Associated Press got its hands on some documents and found out that, 'Facebook is still super dangerous for people living in Myanmar. There's so much hate speech and misinformation on the platform.'
Refresher: Three years ago, reports showed that the social media/tech company had been one of the reasons for a lot of the (offline) violence against people of different ethnicities and religions living in Myanmar. Basically, people were putting up 'kill XYZ people!' posts and Facebook wasn't able to spot nor delete them. It promised to do better.
What's the situation like now?
Scrolling on Facebook today, it's still not hard to find posts threatening murder and rape in Myanmar.
Give me an example
Just last month, on October 24, someone in support of the military in Myanmar posted a two-minute video calling for violence against those that stand against the new government (remember the coup on February 1?). The video (last I checked was Saturday) had received some 70,000 views. Now, I cannot find it anymore, luckily.
Someone else, a week later, posted a photo of soldiers who had captured and blindfolded men down a dirt path. The Burmese caption read, 'Don't catch them alive.'
Why this matters: Facebook reaches billions of people worldwide. In Myanmar alone, some 29 million people use Facebook. Whatever you say on there can go viral – cute dog videos or calls for a violent riot against an ethnic group. Content moderation is incredibly necessary. And it seems that Facebook isn't doing neaaaaarly enough. But – repeat after me – virtual platforms have real-world consequences.
Did you know that Myanmar was connected to the internet in 2000? The country was under a strict military rule until then.
Diversify your intellectuals
Follow Htaike Htaike Aung on Twitter. She's a Myanmar internet policy advocate.
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We are electing a new parliament in Somalia – and women make up 26 percent of it
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Somalia is choosing a new parliament at the moment.
Why this matters: Some 16 million people live in Somalia. They all have a right to a healthy, functioning government that works hard on keeping them safe and helping them thrive.
Tell me more about that process
Each federal state is sending members in order to become members of parliament. The parliament is made up of two parts, the Upper House and the Lower House. As of last week, the Upper House is now officially elected.
Next up: the Lower House, and then presidential elections next year. Experts, specifically people working at the United Nations are like, 'congratulations on the successful Upper House elections! But, please, hurry and try to elect the Lower House by the end of the year. Don't let too much time pass.'
Who was elected?
54 people. Among them were 14 women, representing 26 per cent of the Senators (the plan was to reach 30 percent).
Why hurry though?
"Unfortunately, the security situation in Somalia continues to be volatile," said James Swan, Special Representative of the Secretary‑General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). In other words: Al-Shabaab is a huge threat and super active still. Somali military, together with African Union military, is strong but the African Union is leaving at the end of the year. There's a plan for a transition of responsibilities but it's coming about real slow.
What's Al-Shabaab doing in Somalia?
Not contributing to peace, that's for sure. Just last week, the armed group killed a famous journalist named Abdiaziz Mohamud by a suicide bombing in Mogadishu. Mohamud was the director of Radio Mogadishu and super critical of the armed group.
Did you know that Italy has a colonial past in Somalia? Not many people do but there are more and more initiatives that want to change this.
But Somalia isn't all politics and colonialism.
- It's also music. If you missed it, here's Nimco Happy's Isii Nafta, a Somali song that everybody online can now sing along to. Thanks, TikTok!
- And it's literature. If you're looking for a Christmas gift, try Nadifa Mohamed's The Fortune Men, a real-life story of a Somali seaman who was wrongfully executed for murder in Wales, United Kingdom. It came out this July and was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Here's her Twitter if you want to follow her.
- And it's poetry. For you Beyoncé fans, this is old news, but Warsan Shire is one of those poets that will convert you to reading poetry even if you religiously tell everyone that 'Idk poetry isn't really me'. She's isn't super active on social media but get her poetry.
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We need to talk about what's killing young people worldwide, especially boys and young men
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Boys and young men around the world are dying more often than girls and young women, according to a recent study published by The Lancet in late October.
Tell me more
Since 1950, the death rate of women aged 10 to 24 has gone down by 30 percent; that of men in the same age group only by 15 percent.
Why?
"Overall, about a third of deaths in young people were due to accidents, injuries or conflicts and violence. Another third were from infections, poor nutrition or pregnancy. And the rest were from non-communicable diseases such as cancer or suicide." In other words: Many of these deaths are preventable. They didn't have to die.
Are there any differences between countries?
Of course. For example, boys and young men in central and eastern Europe and central Asia died by suicide while violence and conflict killed boys and young men in Latin America and the Caribbean. The slowest improvements were in in 20- to 24-year-old young men in Africa.
Any good news?
Absolutely. Overall, fewer young people around the world are dying today.
What about other genders?
Unfortunately, there was no information on where trans or non-binary people fell into these statistics.
Why this matters: Every now and then, it's wise to update one's set of beliefs about the world with new studies. This one taught me that young people aren't at the center of many let's-improve-the-world plans (unlike young children) and that it's important to understand not only where but also why young people are dying.
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We, the farmers in India, won the biggest protest against new farm laws – the government is now 'unsending' them
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Refresher: Last year, in September 2020, the government of India passed some laws that made a lot of farmers in the country extremely mad. 'We just want to modernize this country's agricultural sector,' the government said. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets, saying 'these laws will hurt our ability to make a living. You must repeal them.' And so it finally did.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will withdraw the laws on live television. 'Please go home, let us make a fresh start,' he said. Farmers are now awaiting next steps, as Times of India reported.
Tell me more
The whole unsending-the-laws thing is a process that will begin in December when parliament sits for the winter session.
Why now?
'He might be doing this for votes,' say some. It would make sense. Modi announced this on the day of the Guru Purab festival, when Sikhism founder Guru Nanak's birthday is celebrated, and ahead of key elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Most of the protesters against these laws are Sikh farmers from Punjab. Plus, farmers are one of the most influential voting blocs in India.
What now?
Dozens of farmers lost their lives protesting this. 'We want compensation,' they say.
Did you know that farmers protested for 359 days, over 700 people died, 11 round of talks ended nowhere and at least 183 people were arrested in connection to this protest? Times of India has a detailed factsheet for you.
Why this matters: Over 700 people died during this protest. I repeat: 700.
On another note, but also India-related, comedian Vir Das called out sexual violence in India while he was performing in Washington, D.C., United States. Now, he faces lawsuits in India, even from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. He's literally on (nationalist) TV, getting dragged like there's no tomorrow.
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OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING
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Sudan: The military and civilian leaders reached a deal and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is back in office.
Pakistan: The country passed an anti-rape bill (not a law yet) that allows for the chemical castration of repeat offenders.
Global: Employees at Amazon in 20 countries will strike on Black Friday for better working conditions like long hours, low pay and complex performance review systems.
Afghanistan: The Taliban just banned women from appearing in TV dramas. Female journalists and presenters have also been ordered to wear headscarves on screen.
France: As of last Thursday, the country has banned wild animals in circuses.
Switzerland: Same-sex couples can finally get married starting July 1, 2022.
Chile: The country had an election. Two candidates are now heading for a second round of elections on December 19. The choice is between a far-right populist (José Antonio Kast) and a former student protest leader (Gabriel Boric).
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As Germany is well on its way to legalize cannabis, a woman in Oklahoma, United States, was kicked out of church because she had brought cilantro aka something that looked like (but wasn't) marijuana to people.
Later, the church authorities issued a statement and allowed said woman to attend prayers from next week.
I think this was a pretty valuable lesson for the lady: Stop hanging out with people who do not know what cilantro looks like.
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If you enjoy this newsletter, you have this newsletter's patrons to thank at least in part. Patreon makes an important contribution to helping me stay freelancing and scour the internet for underrepresented news and perspectives. So, thank you so much to everyone supporting me there.
That's it. 'See' you next week. And again, thank you for your patience,
Sham
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