Quand l'Etat est une affaire de famille

Deuxième jour de Conférence au GIJC 2010. Mon émerveillement perdure. Les histoires et anecdotes s'enchaînent. Le nombres de gens que j'ai vu à la télé aussi...

Ce panel a présenté la situation de trois États différents, dont la structure politique semble ressembler à un portrait de famille. Theophilus Abbah du Nigeria, Ahmes Benchemsi du Maroc et le journaliste Ougandais, Frank Nyakairu, ont présenté le fonctionnement politique de leurs pays respectifs. Conclusion de tous: la liberté de la presse est en péril.

Au Maroc, la liberté de la presse existe; c'est même certainement l'une des plus étendue comparée aux autres pays arabes/musulmans. Pour autant, les choses changent. Auparavant, les journalistes pouvaient écrire plus ou moins librement sur le régime autocratique sans trop craindre d’éventuelles conséquences. Par contre, il y a trois sujets que les journalistes ne peuvent pas traiter: Dieu, la patrie et le roi. Si l’on aborde ces sujets dans la presse, il faut craindre certaines conséquences comme des menaces, des procès et même la prison. Benchemsi le sait. Il a été poursuivit en justice, et a même passé quelques nuits en prison. Son crime: d’avoir appelé le roi Marocain un « être humain », au lieu d’un individu « sacré ». Au fur et à mesure que le roi devient plus sûr de lui et de sa position, il rend le travail des journalistes plus difficile. Ceux-ci doivent faire face à de plus en plus de procès, et beaucoup de journaux se voient fermer. Tandis que Benchemsi voit la situation se détériorer, il exprime une inquiétude certaine pour le futur.

Le Nigéria est censé être un pays démocratique. Les histoires d’Abbah disent pourtant le contraire: le gouvernement reste un système clos. Abbah parvient à enquêter pourtant en travaillant avec les politiciens et les membres du cabinet, en s’associant aux proches du gouvernement et de travailler avec les agences anti-corruption. Il ajoute qu’il ne faut pas sous-estimer le rôle des dames de la haute société car souvent, elles peuvent être une source d’information très intéressante.

En Ouganda, c’est clair: tout est affaire de famille. Tous ceux qui sont au pouvoir ont généralement un lien avec le chef; que celui-ci soit sanguin ou par alliance. Nyakairi a présenté au public une charte représentant la structure politique en Ouganda. Cependant, cette charte ressemblait avant tout à un arbre généalogique du président, Yoweri Museveni. Comme l'a dit Nyakairi, « corruption est le mot du jour ».

Ces trois journalistes ont exprimé leur inquiétude pour le futur du journalisme. La liberté de la presse est menacée, et pas seulement au Maroc, au Nigéria et en Ouganda. Pour les trois interlocuteurs, il est important que les journalistes travaillent ensemble et qu’il y ait plus de collaboration entre les journalistes locaux et les médias étrangers.

Article suite au panel "Quand l'État est une affaire de famille" tel que publié sur www.gijc2010.ch

When the state is a family affair

Deuxième jour de Conférence au GIJC 2010. Mon émerveillement perdure. Les histoires et anecdotes s'enchaînent. Le nombres de gens que j'ai vu à la télé aussi...

Today’s conference presented three situations of where different states organisation charts seem to resemble more of a family tree, than anything else. Theophilus Abbah from Nigeria, Ahmed Benchemsi from Morocco and an impromptu contribution from Ugandan journalist, Frank Nyakairu, all discussed the political workings and for some, corruption, of their respective countries. Conclusion from all, the freedom of the press is truly in danger.

In Morocco there is a freedom of the press; certainly the highest compared to fellow Arab/Muslim countries. Yet, that was until now. Previously, one could report on autocratic regimes quite freely, without much fear of consequences or backlash. There are, however, three subjects that journalists should not talk about: God, the homeland and the King. If you do, consequences are guaranteed and they can vary from threats, trials and jail time. Benchemsi should know. He was sued on numerous occasions and even spent a few nights in detention. His ‘crime’: calling the Moroccan King “a human being”, rather than a ‘sacred’ individual. As the King has gained in confidence in his leadership role, he is making journalists’ job increasingly difficult. Unsure as to how to deal with the freedom of the press, journalists are increasingly facing lawsuits and trials, and more and more press agencies are being shutdown. Benchemsi expresses a concern for the future as he sees the situation worsening.

Nigeria is supposedly a country under the leadership of a democratically elected government. Though hearing Abbah’s various experiences and stories, it becomes clear that this is questionable. The government remains a closed system. Abbah goes on to explain methods for journalists wanting to investigate the government: working with politicians and members of the cabinet, associating with close family members of government officials, scrutinising the budget and working with anti-corruption agencies. He also adds that the role of high-society ladies close to government officials should not be underestimated, as they can often be the source of interesting information.

In Uganda, it is clear. It is a family affair and it is a closed system. All those in power are generally related in some way or another with the leader; be it through blood, through marriage, or other family ties. Nyakairi presented a visual map of what Uganda’s political structure, under Museveni’s leadership, looks like. It could be a reconstruction of Museveni’s family tree. As Nyakairi states, “corruption is the word of the day”.

The three journalists expressed their concern for the future of journalism. The freedom of the press is in danger, and not only in Morocco, Nigeria and Uganda. It is important for journalists to work together, and that there be more cooperation between local journalists and foreign media.

Word du jour: Roberto Saviano

Première jour de conférence à la 6ième Global Investigative Journalism Conference, à Genève. Premières rencontres. Première séance. Première fascination…

En Conférence avec l’homme qui fait peur à la Mafia, et pour qui facebook l’a sauvé: Roberto Saviano. A man for whom life is like a prison, wanted for dead by certain Mafioso who have not digested Saviano’s revelations. As he details his experience as an investigative reporter, as an infiltré of the Camorra, as a person whose life has been turned up side down after he sought to tell the truth and expose the presence and power of crime organizations in Italy, one can only be surprised by his oddly optimistic and grateful attitude.

Saviano wants to begin by underlining that he believes in the power of words, be it against the mafia or not. For him, words have given him the possibility to continue living. While he could have had the possibility to disappear, with Finland offering asylum, Saviano chose not to run away. He instead chose police protection, living in hiding and in permanent presences of his seven bodyguards. He has also chosen to face criticism from the likes of Silvio Berlusconi, who recently stated that people like Roberto Saviano damage Italy’s reputation. Nothing more needs to be said as this reflection in itself sums up the nature of Berlusconi’s character and concerns. Roberto Saviano has chosen to stand up for what he believes in, and he believes that talking about the Camorra and exposing crime organisations is the only way to resist these powers… Refusing to be silenced. Refusing to be intimated. After all, the mafia does not merely use arms to kill, but they use defamation and slander to intimidate; they attack a person’s honour and reputation in order to deter those who may so much as consider reporting and investigating on criminal organisations.

Roberto Saviano explains that despite his strange misadventure, he is hugely lucky because the situation in which he finds himself in today, is merely a reflection of the success of his investigation and the threat that he, this young Italian from Naples, poses for these Mafia bosses. After all, had his story created no interest, had he had no readers, there would have been no media-hype, no million sales of "Gomorrah" and no film.

Finally, as he details how fellow investigative journalists can get in touch with him, he adds that facebook saved him. As he can no longer go the pub, Facebook has become his equivalent; a place for him to socialize with others all in the presence of a nice, cool beer.

Cheers to that, and cheers to him for accepting this rare public appearance.

lost in a Third Culture

Dans le cadre d'une recherche universitaire, je m'immerge dans une bulle internationale qui ne m'est pas si étrangère...celle d'une école internationale privée...foyer d'enfants que l'on terme Third Culture Kids. Une bulle qui m'a enseigné sur la société, la hiérarchie, le respect, les différences culturelles, sociales, économiques...une bulle dont j'habitais sans vraiment le vouloir. Me sentant plus 'étrangère' que les "étrangers" que je côtoyais, dû à ma localité. Je n'étais, je ne suis pas, l'un d'entre 'eux'. Car mes racines, même si elles sont biculturelles et binationales, elles sont claires; je les ai vécu, je les vis au quotidien...je suis du coin, comme on dit. Mais je vivais mon écolage dans une bulle internationale, bien détachée de la localité que je pouvais ressentir et connaître...une schizophrénie au quotidien entre mon habitat et mon école.

I observed first-hand these Third Culture Kids; in their arrivals and their departures, in their cultural and linguistic struggles and their academic achievements, in their arrogance and in their appreciaiton, in their materialism and in their solitude, in their unconsolidated roots and in their blurred identity. Except when I was in this bubble, we had never herd of this term, Third Culture Kids. In fact, a lot of things weren't explained to us about the psychological or emotional experiences and struggles we may feel in being in a permanent transit zone.

I always thought I was utterly removed from this nébuleuse, that I was merely a passing observer yet I was wrong. In my naive youth, I thought things could merely be broken down into binaries; that it was simply an either/or situation...but with time, with increased transition and transiting...you realize that this bubble, these inhabitants of the bubble, myself, are a web of complexity; a multitude of layers that I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of...

...to be continued

Pensée du jour: the 'Orient'

Lately, in one of my classes, I have been focusing on the Israël-Palestinian conflit. It draws up many questions and complexities...which I am not going to delve into right now. Instead, it reminds me of a work I did on 'Orientalism' and Hollywood. This mix of fascination and fear of the Middle East, also identifiable as the ‘Orient’, has been long-standing within the West. The Western media and Hollywood particularly, have placed an intense focus on Arabs and Islam often portraying “highly exaggerated” stereotypes and conveying “belligerent hostility” towards ‘them’. Over centuries, the oriental East and Islam with their associations of barbarism and primitive ‘Otherness’ have been constructed as a binary opposite to the civilized and democratic ‘Occident’.

It seems we always need an Other, to villify, and to makes 'us' feel better.

Since the ‘terrorist’ attacks of September 11, in 2001, in the United States, there has been a heightened Western fascination and paranoia of the Orient, due to the incessant links with terrorism and ‘Islamic fundamentalism’. There is little doubt that in a media saturated-era, the attacks were a “terror spectacle” with images of the crashing planes and crumbling Twin Towers etched into thousands of peoples memories. What was shown live across global news channels “looked like a disaster film”. However, ironically, Hollywood is far from unfamiliar with terrorists and the spectacular. On the contrary, terrorism has long been a focus in Hollywood filmmaking, as well as the vilification of Arabs as incompetent, evil villains. The list of films dealing with such topics is endless...and rarely, is the blame put on the 'Occident'.

I also point out that the Orient “consisted – and consists - of the great civilizations to the East of the West”. Yet, we find there is increasingly a narrowed description of the Orient. We can find that all to often, it indicates the Middle East and discounts China, India, Japan, Korea and other parts of the Far East as also being ‘Oriental’.