Italy turning into India?

When I was in India, a few certain places had rubbish (trash) piled on the side of the road.  Occasionally these piles of rubbish would be set on fire.  Not a roaring, out of control fire, but a smoldering fire.  You know - just to get rid of the trash......!   
(disclaimer:  MOST places in India I saw did NOT have piles of trash in the streets)

Now check out this article:

Naples: Exasperated residents set fire to rubbish  (bbc news article)

 

Residents of the Italian city of Naples set fire to piles of rubbish overnight in protest at the government's failure to clear a backlog of more than 2,000kg of malodorous waste from the streets.

Firefighters tackled about 55 rubbish fires, some of them in piles of waste 2m (6ft) high.

The Camorra organised crime group controls most waste-collection services in Naples, Italy's third-biggest city.  Armed guards have been brought in to escort bin lorries as tensions rise.

Last month, the government mobilised the army to help clear rubbish from the streets after angry residents began setting fires to piles of bin-bags.  However, the Italian cabinet failed to approve a decree allowing waste to be transported to other regions.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, mayor of Naples Luigi de Magistris said organised crime was putting residents at risk.  "Various groups want Naples to remain buried under rubbish... for political reasons or because of illegal interests," he told La Repubblica on Friday.  He also accused Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of failing to help, describing him as "having washed his hands, like Pontius Pilate".

Mr de Magistris, from the opposition Italy of Values party, was elected last month as voters turned against Mr Berlusconi in what was seen as a test of his popularity.  Earlier this month, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano visited Naples and declared the situation with the city's waste "alarming".

NOW, you are probably wondering why, in this 'modern and civilized' contry, is there a problem with rubbish piled in the streets?  Well.... it's complicated.  Blame it on the Mafia and corruption.  Here is another article that explains more reasons for this mess:

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- The garbage crisis in Naples encompasses the worst Italian clichés, and in particular those of the southern part of this lovely peninsula: mismanagement, political interference, mafia profiteering and the ability of those responsible to deflect the attention and the blame elsewhere.
There is a popular saying here that roughly goes like this: everybody is competent enough (to find a solution) but nobody is responsible (for actually carrying it out).
In many parts of the world waste disposal is a business -- and usually it is a good business. Garbage can be transformed into various sources of energy and then sold for a profit. In Naples, garbage is also good business, but in the sense that millions, if not billions, of euros have been wasted -- and nobody really knows how.
The problem is as old and ugly as rotten trash. The region's dumps reached full capacity more than a decade ago, and since then a state of emergency has been declared every year. Eight different commissioners have been appointed, but they have all failed to solve the problem. State of emergency means government money: €1.8 billion (more than $2.5 billion) in emergency funds have been devolved to deal with the problem.

It is still difficult to find out where or how that money has been spent. Incinerators that were supposed to be built were never finished, either because the companies in charge of constructing them could not finish the job, or else because magistrates stopped the work, pending ongoing criminal investigations into alleged mafia involvement.
One Italian newspaper suggested that a good 20% of the money went to pay for the salaries of those in charge of coming up with a solution to the problem.
More worrying perhaps, is another suggestion: that the local mafia, known as the Camorra, is taking advantage of the situation. As the crisis has worsened over the years, so the Camorra's profits, estimated now at around €1 billion (roughly $1.45 billion), are alleged to have increased.

How does the local mafia make money? The Naples prosecutor in charge of environmental crimes says city government officials use the state of emergency to quickly award contracts which otherwise would have to be checked by complicated anti-racketeering legislation.
Once they receive the money, companies linked to the underworld dispose of the waste either in the open or, ironically, at regular city dumps, even if they are overflowing. The mafia clans have now managed to burrow their way so deeply into the system that every attempt to fix the problem has proved futile.

But why are citizens protesting now? Well, the government wants to re-open a previously shut dump to dispose of 3,700 tons of waste which is laying in the streets of Naples and surrounding areas. The problem is that when the site was closed years ago, locals were promised that a golf course would be built there. As a result, many residents invested savings to construct apartments and residences in the vicinity -- in some cases just a few yards away from the site.

They are now waking up to a mountain of trash instead of 18 holes. A rotten deal indeed.

Afghanistan in the 60's and 70's - part two.

Here are some more photos that I find quite interesting. 


Firstly - a nice street scene.  People walking, biking, and driving around.  This is Kabul in the late 60's I believe.


These are the normal looking woman you would see today if they weren't forced to become refugees, or forced to wear a burqa under the Taliban rule.

This is a medical research center with both men and women studying. 

Ariana Airline Flight Attendants in the 60's. 

Rush hour, note the nice buildings, street lights in the park, stoplight, etc...

Afghanistan used to be (and still is to some degree) full of orchards, fields, vineyards, etc.....  

Children's school - notice the lack of head coverings for most girls? 

A florist shop with apartments above it.  

Another street scene with little shops, and people going about their daily lives.

 And another street scene.

Fashionable women in a record store.

These are students at the University of Kabul sometime in the 60's or 70's.

School girls in the 60's I believe.

The campus of Kabul University. 

See more photos of Afghanistan before the wars here.

The Buddhas of Bamiyan

In the 500's the area of Bamiyan was a Buddhist Monestary where two huge Buddha statues were carved. As you can see in the photo on top of my blog the area is full of caves where generations of people lived. Also, in some of the caves, are ancient carvings and paintings showing Buddhist artwork.

The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang passed through the area around 630, and described Bamiyan as a flourishing Buddhist center "with more than ten monasteries and more than a thousand monks". He also noted that both Buddha figures were "decorated with gold and fine jewels" (Wriggins, 1995). Intriguingly, Xuanzang mentions a third, even larger, reclining statue of the Buddha. (from Wikipedia)

Up until 1979 (before the wars) Bamiyan was a tourist area with people coming from all over the world to see the Buddhas.

However, the Taliban invaded the Bamiyan area, forcing many of the residents out, and in 2001 blew up the statues.

Now this is what it looks like today.

The government has pledge to rebuild the statues and for a few years I thought that sounded like a great idea. However I was watching a video clip about Bamiyan today and an Afghan pointed out that if the statues are rebuilt then the whole thing will end up looking like Disneyland. I think I agree with that person's opinion.

Here's two videos that I found interesting:

Bamiyan Buddhas part 1

Bamiyan Buddhas part 2


Update as of May 18, 2012:

Stone Carvers return to the Bamiyan Valley (May 2012) 

Culturally senstivive, male approved, driving protest by Saudi women!

This article points out something that I don't normally see in mainstream media - cultural sensitivity.  These women just want to be able to drive themselves to where they want to go, right?  And they live in one of the strictest countries in the world.  So instead of going out driving in one big group like they tried to do in the 90's, they are encouraged to go out individually.  They are going to be wearing head coverings or veils (very important, proper, and respectable in that culture).  They are going to fly the Saudi flag and post photos of the King, which is not a sign of protest but of love for King and country.  Lastly they are going to try to get approval from male relatives before driving, which in that country is a 'validation' or 'approval' status.    I think the driving protest of the 90's didn't work because they did a Western style protest.  Just my opinion.... let's see what happens, shall we?  In my time zone, it is about 6:30 pm in Saudi Arabia so I guess the news will be giving us updates soon.  The article is below.

Saudi women plan Friday protests against driving laws

Another long-running Middle East political conflict is about to break out into the open, with unpredictable consequences. The protesters who will be taking to the street this time, though, will be in the driving seat, and wearing veils.

King Abdullah has promised more rights to women and said lifting the ban is 'a matter of time' Photo: AFP/GETTY

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent

4:00PM BST 16 Jun 2011

Saudi women campaigning for an end to laws banning them from driving have designated on Friday as their own day of direct action.

An online campaign, Women2Drive, urges those with international driving licences – so that they cannot be arrested purely on the grounds of being unqualified – to test the law.

They are being asked to do so individually, in contrast to the last incident of mass disobedience over the issue, in 1990, when 47 women who drove in convoy around the capital, Riyadh, in a show of strength.

They were quickly arrested, and many were ostracised and fired from their jobs.

That incident was seen as part of a social upheaval resulting from the arrival of thousands of western servicemen, and women, as part of the military force sent by the United States and others to retake Kuwait from Iraq. The US military insisted on the right of servicewomen with driving roles to keep their jobs. 

This time, protesters believe they have a greater chance of success. King Abdullah has promised more rights to women and said lifting the ban is "a matter of time", while even leading clerics have come out in support.
Earlier this month the king finally gave in to another long-running campaign – to force women's lingerie shops to recruit women shop assistants.
Among the campaign's supporters is Sheikh Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Baz, whose late father was the Grand Mufti who first issued a fatwa, or decree, against women driving. "Fatwas may change with the changing times," he said in an interview.
On the other hand, conservative clerics have made a broad series of claims against the campaign, ranging from the mild to the extreme, with some claiming that it is part of a Shia plot to split the kingdom from its Sunni rulers and others saying it is a conspiracy "backed by secularists, the West and Jews".
One, Sheikh Ghazi al-Shamari, called for a woman who posted a video of herself driving on YouTube last month to be lashed in a women-only shopping mall.
In contrast to previous "days of rage" across the region, women are being asked to break the law as politely as possible, by flying the Saudi flag, posting pictures of the king in the windows – and seeking approval from male relatives.

Interview with a female journalist in Afghanistan

Female Afghan journalist: 'I have no plans to stop'

By Asieh Namdar, CNN

June 13, 2011

Mina Habib says it's important for Afghans to be journalists so they can tell the stories of their own people.

(CNN) -- Mina Habib is doing what would have been unthinkable during the Taliban era. She is one of the few working female Afghan journalists.

For Habib, journalism is a passion, but it also helps support her family. Her father is unemployed, and her mother is partially paralyzed by a stroke.
From Kabul, Habib talked to CNN's Asieh Namdar about the challenges for women in Afghanistan and the inspiration, fears and risks associated with being a female journalist.

Q: Why did you want to be a journalist? Weren't you scared by the obvious risks?
A: I was aware of all the risks involved. Being a female journalist is not socially accepted. But I wanted to highlight the problems of women and children in Afghanistan. I felt I had a responsibility to tell their stories. I knew it would be a huge challenge, and there would be many obstacles along the way, but I felt I had to do it because my country needs Afghan journalists to tell the stories of their own people, to convey the problems that still exist.

Q: Were you inspired by anyone in particular? What are your favorite stories to cover?
A: It was my childhood dream to be a journalist, but no one [person] really inspired me. I like covering politics, exposing corruption and doing stories that involve children. My proudest story was exposing people who use sick children as beggars. A government commission banned the practice after my story.

 

Q: Were you ever threatened while covering these types of stories?

A: Yes. One of my reports had to do with child labor/child smuggling and children being used for suicide attacks. It was a story that had to be told. I came home that evening and found a letter on my door. I don't know who wrote it. It said my life would be in danger, if I continued my work as a journalist. I continued! I was also wounded last year while covering a suicide bombing in Kabul. My family blamed all this on my work. But I have no plans to stop.

Q: What's been the reaction, in your family and otherwise, to you wanting to be a journalist?
A: Like many Afghan families, they were totally against it. They wanted me to be a teacher or doctor. My family was worried about how I would be viewed and my safety. They thought it would be a tough job for a woman. They never supported me in this area.
Others are skeptical as well. They consider journalism "immoral work." I can hear them asking, "What is a girl doing outside the home, being a journalist?"

Q: How has life changed for you since the fall of the Taliban?
A: During the Taliban era, women could not work or get an education. They lived in fear. I'm working now, doing something I love. In Kabul things are better, but in provinces women are still afraid to work or study. Women can't appear in the media, work or study outside the home.

Q: How do you want to see yourself 10 years from now?
A: I want to be a successful and respected journalist -- to do my job, with freedom, without being threatened or harassed.

Q: What is your biggest fear today?
A: People standing in the way of me doing my work. Those who want to stop me from being a journalist. ... I blame cultural and social barriers that don't see women as equal to men. Even Islam says men and women are equal. But many still don't want to believe that. These are the same people who think it is inappropriate for women to even appear in public. I also blame government officials for not doing enough to ensure laws are balanced and fair for women.

Q: What do you do on your day off?
A: I live with my family, so I try to spend time with them. I help my mother and sisters. Sometimes, I bring my work home, writing my reports. My family gets upset. They want me to help with things around house more, instead of on my work.

Q: Do you think you yourself face greater dangers than international journalists who come to Afghanistan to report?
A: I think all journalists who are here to report the truth face danger.

Q: What do you want the world to know about you?
A: I want them to know that despite the obstacles before me, I will continue to work hard and be the best journalist I can be. I'm doing this for the children of Afghanistan because they are the future of this country.

Mina Habib writes for the daily Chiragh newspaper and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. She received her journalism degree at Kabul University.