Hidden Forms of Human Trafficking: A Critical, Gendered Discussion

On the evening of Thursday, December 1st, the AUSG Women’s Initiative, AUSG Dignity for Women Worldwide, Break the Chain Campaign, and Kay Spiritual Life Center sponsored a panel called Hidden Forms of Human Trafficking: A Critical, Gendered Discussion. Panelists specifically discussed labor trafficking as opposed to sex trafficking, and they paid special attention to men who were trafficked.

The event was organized by students who who were passionate about creating public events for humans rights and the impetus for holding a forum about the hidden forms of human trafficking was the Break the Chain Campaign. To make sure the audience members understood how human trafficking was understood in an international context, the introductory speaker read the UN’s definition of human trafficking which is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation” (“What is Human Trafficking?”).

Tiffany Williams, a social worker with the Break the Chain campaign, emphasized that there needs to be a greater awareness for forced domestic work as a form of human trafficking. It’s hard to raise awareness for this because of how domestic work typically doesn’t count for a country’s GDP and that women are “expected to do it” so it is rarely questioned. The only place where domestic labor is protected is in New York state, where labor protections have been passed in its legislature. The issue with providing labor protections relates back to the New Deal era when legislators didn’t protect farm and domestic labor for racial reasons. For the most part, caucasians typically didn’t work in domestic or farm labor at that point in history.

Williams said that Break the Chain has helped over 265 people who were forced into domestic labor. In many cases, victims were forced to serve World Bank employees, IMF employees, and diplomats. Domestic trafficking is one of the hardest forms of trafficking to identify because it can easily be mistaken as being voluntary and can be hidden in plain sight in everyday life. In this respect, it is hard to convince law enforcement to take such domestic trafficking cases legitimately, Williams said.

Evelyn Chumbow, a survivor and graduate student studying social work in Baltimore, described how she had been taken from her native Cameroon at the age of nine and was forced into labor in the United States until she was eighteen. She was taken from her family under the pretense that the person in charge of her would make sure she was adopted in the United States, but instead the woman who took her from Cameroon forced her to clean, cook, take care of her two children, and live in a cold garage for almost a decade. The woman was abusive, giving Chumbow no food for weeks and forcing her to stand for hours on end. “How can I explain,” Chumbow said, “It...she was evil.” She says that most people don’t speak up about their abuse and that there is a problem when separating sex and domestic trafficking. It is the same crime and should be judged the same, she says. “[Congress] is only talking about sex trafficking and it’s annoying!” she stated.

Chissey Mueller, a coordinator at the International Organization for Migration, talked about how the is much less awareness when it comes to men who are being trafficked. Only now are academic publications starting to report on male trafficking, the focus normally being on young girls and women who are sex trafficked. Mueller spoke about men who are trafficked into Thailand to work on fishing boats and the injustices and punishments they experience. Comparatively in Eastern Europe, men are being forced to labor in agriculture and construction. She raised the point of identifying whether or not beggars in Washington, D.C. are victims of labor trafficking, for begging can be a form of forced labor.

The final panelist, Ann Jordan, a Director within the Center on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University’s Washington College of Law, stated that trafficking has become a “silo issue.” It has become separated from all issues, such as governmental policy and cultural norms, and has the connotation of only pertaining to women and girls in forced prostitution. She says that this distinction began in the 1980’s and 1990’s when women's groups noticed foreign women working as prostitutes. Without feminists focusing solely on prostitutes, there would have been far better solutions if all forms of trafficking were combined, she believes.

Jordan urged the audience to try to think more clearly and analytically about hearing statistics about forms of trafficking. “How do you know that, what is your evidence?” she told audience members to ask of people who spout statistics and information. Jordan also told listeners that Americans need to be more wary of where they buy goods. She referenced a story about Chinese factory workers committing suicide from harsh conditions working in an iPad factory (article about this can be found here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tenth-worker-at-ipad-factory-commits-suicide-1982897.html). The demand for low costs and goods in the United States contributes to labor trafficking and unfair working conditions in poorer countries. Allowing trafficking to continue perpetuates the mentality that it is acceptable, Jordan said.

"What Is Human Trafficking?" United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. United Nations. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html>.

Pakistan's New Extreme Censorship Policy

Here in the United States we often take the media for granted because there are countless new channels, newspapers, political radio shows, etc. but across the world circumstances are different. Many nations have limited access to news stations and those that exist are unreliable at best. For example, in Pakistan during Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s dictatorship, the only source of correct, uncensored information was the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC.) Many Pakistani’s still rely on BBC for their international news because the Urdu-speaking stations within Pakistan are often sensationalistic (Waraich).

Recent events have caused the Pakistani government to drastically change their opinion of BBC. On November 27th a NATO airstrike along the Pakistani-Afghan border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and it sparked outrage across the nation. Pakistani cable television operators blocked numerous international news channels in protest at their coverage of the atrocity. What the media viewed as unbiased international news, the Pakistani government viewed as offensive.

The Pakistani government was already upset with BBC over a documentary that they aired entitled “Secret Pakistan.” The program questioned the nation’s commitment to combatting Taliban militancy and parliamentarians like Palwasha Khan were outraged by the accusations.The US and other Western nations have been criticizing Pakistan for refusing to target Afghan insurgents in their territory and the documentary highlighted those views. According to CIA officials and western diplomats, Pakistan isn’t living up to its commitment against the war on terror (Associated Press). Khan was quoted saying “International channels as reputable as the BBC should not distort facts. It was an insult to the feelings of 180 million people who have sacrificed so much in the fight against terrorism.” (Waraich).

The All Pakistan Cable Operators Association (APOCA) held a press conference in which they demanded that BBC World be taken off the air in Pakistan and just hours after the meeting their demands were met (Tribune). BBC issued a statement saying “We condemn any action that threatens our editorial independence and prevents audiences from accessing our impartial international news service” (Associated Press).

Even though BBC was clearly singled out by APOCA, I’d like to make it clear that they were not the only channel targeted. Television operators have vowed to blocked all foreign TV channels that air “anti-Pakistani” content. Just recently Pakistan’s only English language news channel, Express 24/7, was taken off the air. Citizens are now forced to rely on the biased Urdu language equivalents (Waraich). Understandably, English-speaking Pakistani citizens are infuriated by these blockages because it is a clear denial of their right to unbiased, international news coverage.

Khalid Arain, Cable Operators Association spokesman, said that no foreign anti-Pakistan channel would “ever” be broadcast in the country. He said, “We want to send them a strong message to stop this. If they don’t stop this, then it is our right to stop them” (Tribune).

It is hard for most Westerners to imagine a world in which the government blocks all information that portrays them in an unfavorable light. In the US, the government is constantly criticized on some news networks while being praised by others; this gives American citizens a well-rounded perspective on how effective their government is. When states such as Pakistan block all critical information from the public, their news organizations are no longer trustworthy. Not only will people stop watching the local channels but they will go out of their way to find the information they are looking for (Sakr).

In some cases censorship can be a positive tool used by the government to protect its citizens. For example, sensitive military information isn’t broadcast on the news to protect it from enemy states. But when oppressive governments use censorship it generally has a negative connotation. It is used as propaganda, an enabler of ignorance, a force against globalization, a shield of human rights abuses, and a way to control people (Pillai). Pakistan clearly is acting in self-interest rather than in the interests of the masses because its citizens are denied a clear picture of current events. My question while studying these events became, “At what point does censorship become unacceptable and what can we do to prevent that?” Most would agree that censoring obscenities from children is an acceptable practice but what about when a government decides that fallen soldiers can’t be depicted on the news? Here we run into a grey area because some agree that the general public should be protected from tragedy while others feel that is our right to know how wars are progressing (Lester).

No actor has the right or the ability to impose on a nation’s sovereignty and reverse censorship so how do we get around it? One way I found was to use the internet as a resource because it is much more difficult to censor, but even that can prove ineffective. In many cases it is frustratingly difficult to get information out to a group of people when their government is actively trying to prevent it.

Works Cited

Waraich , Omar. "Pakistani cable TV blocks BBC over Nato air strike coverage." Independent [London] 30 11 2011, n. pag. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistani-cable-tv-blocks-bbc-over-nato-air-strike-coverage-6269977.html>.

"BBC taken off air in Pakistan by cable operators."Express Tribune 30 11 2011, n. pag. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http://tribune.com.pk/story/299928/bbc-taken-off-air-in-pakistan-by-cable-operators/>.

Associated Press, . "Pakistani cable TV operators block BBC because of critical documentary."Washington Post 29 11 2011, n. pag. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistani-cable-tv-operators-block-bbc-because-of-critical-documentary/2011/11/29/gIQApVPB9N_story.html>.

Sakr, Naomi. TBS Archives. Transnational Broadcasting Studies, 05/11/2000. Web. 1 Dec 2011. <http://www.tbsjournal.com/Archives/Fall00/sakr1.htm>.

Pillai, Prabhakar. "Pros and Cons of Censorship. Censorship is prevalent in the modern society. It is a highly divisive issue. Here's a look at its pros and cons.." Buzzle.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec 2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-censorship.html>.

Lester, Paul Martin. "Military Censorship of Photographs." Diss. California State University, Fullerton, 1999. Print. <http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/military.html>.

Ben Richardson

Professor Craig

World Politics

30 November 2011

Nigerian Anti-Gay Bill

Nigeria’s senate passed a bill demanding a fourteen-year prison sentence for anyone found guilty of homosexuality. Needless to say, the bill was vehemently opposed internationally; in fact, the British government has threatened to withhold aid from the country if the bill is signed into law (Purefoy).

Britain’s threat was met with outrage in Africa, where it is seen as a colonial violation of their sovereignty. It’s an interesting point, especially considering that many African nations have anti-gay laws that are vestiges of the colonization of the continent. Many African leaders stated, in response to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s remarks, that they are working to expand their economies toward the end that they might become less reliant on foreign aid.

Another concern of critics of the bill is that it could target nongovernmental rights groups. The bill also includes a ten-year sentence for anyone found to be aiding or abetting in a homosexual marriage. The NGO’s are fighting a losing battle to begin with. As in many other African countries, homosexuality has been illegal in Nigeria for years (Ibukun). In fact, in northern states dominated by Shari’a law, homosexual activity is punishable by death by stoning.

South Africa is the first African nation to legalize same-sex marriage, and yet even there, anti-gay violence is a huge problem. South Africa is the birthplace of the term "corrective rape," the process by which lesbian women are raped to "cure" them of their homosexuality.

NGO's are also concerned about the impact the bill might have on the prominence of AIDS in Nigeria. Although Nigeria has a relatively low AIDS rate for an African country, its large population means it has the third largest number of HIV positive citizens in the world (“HIV and AIDS in Nigeria”). Gay rights groups are worried that the HIV/AIDS situation could deteriorate if they are prevented from maintaining their treatment efforts.

So how does a country like Britain decide to discourage this bill by threatening to withhold aid from Nigeria? First, there is an interesting transnational advocacy network in play. British citizens have organized protests in opposition to the bill, including “kiss-ins” (Gray).

Other European countries have opposed the bill, and tried to help by allowing victims of anti-gay violence to take refuge within their borders. Britain's policy would be far more aggressive, so much so that some have expressed concerns that it could result in increased targeting of homosexuals. It also risks alienating their African allies. Ghana's President John Atta Mills has made it clear that he does not want to see homosexuality legalized in Ghana, even if it would save his share of foreign aid (Purefoy).

Cameron insists that he is willing to risk these consequences. Britain has demonstrated that protecting human rights is more important than some of their interests abroad. It will be interesting to see if Britain follows through, because if successful, it could lead to more similarly liberal policies in the struggle to promote the defense of human rights in Africa.

Gray, Stephen. “London campaigners to stage kiss-in over Nigeria’s anti-gay draft law.” PinkNews 14 Nov. 2011. Web 30 Nov. 2011.

Ibukun, Yinka. “Nigeria moves to ban, criminalize gay marriage.” Associated Press 22 Nov. 2011. Web 30 Nov. 2011.

Purefoy, Christian. “Nigerian senate passes anti-gay bill, defying British aid threat.” CNN 30 Nov. 2011. Web 30 Nov. 2011.

“HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.” Avert. Web 30 Nov. 2011.

Famine Media: The Politics of Representation, A Roundtable Discussion

On the night of Wednesday, November 30th in the SIS Founders Room, the SIS Global Environmental Politics Program, Eco-Sense, and the Student Organization for African Studies sponsored a roundtable discussion about famine in Africa and how it has been portrayed in the media. Panelists included Halima Barqadle (American Refugee Committee volunteer nurse), Christopher Hillbruner (FEWS NET), Professor Caty Borum Chattoo (American University School of Communication), and Professor Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt (American University School of International Studies). Only half of the seats were occupied, and prior to starting, there was a hush over the audience. One of the organizers of the event stood to introduce the speakers and provide a brief overview as to the objectives of the roundtable discussion. The idea for the discussion was generated by students who wanted to show solidarity with the crisis in East Africa, moving beyond charity and pity typically associated with the famine. Famine Media was only one of the first in a series on famine that will continue for the rest of the semester and into next year. The catalyst for focusing specifically on how media represented famine was the fact that people who paid attention to the news heard about the crisis and then it abruptly disappeared. The introductory speaker emphasized the idea that the talks were aimed toward being an informative dialogue between the audience and the speakers.

To kick off the discussion, organizers showed a slideshow to define terms that would be used throughout the dialogue. The media was broken down into four different types: self-generated (blogs, documentaries, videos), digital (social media, blogs), corporate (NY Times, Washington Post, profits from advertisements), independent (PBS, NPR, funded by subscriptions and foundations). Each of these types had the potential to overlap with another form of media. When speaking about digital media, the slideshow included this photograph by Reuters journalist Barry Malone, whose blog can be found here: http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2011/07/29/me-and-the-man-with-the-ipad/. It brings up the point of the guilt that journalists often feel when reporting on human suffering such as famine. To some, it feels as if they are stealing dignity from the starving men, women, and children who are photographed. In the corporate media realm, Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN experienced the theft of dignity from subjects as well. While reporting on famine, the subjects of video footage would often try to hide their faces in hospitals, not wanting to show their emaciated bodies or submit their starving babies to the cameras.

The first panelist, Halima Barquadle, recently volunteered as a nurse in a Mogadishu hospital for the American Refugee Committee. In Somalia, millions are already suffering from famine and millions more are at risk. On a daily basis, Ms. Barquadle witnessed problems with infrastructure, education, and specifically women dealing with violence. The famine mostly affects women and children and in hospitals, ailments such as measles, malaria, diarrhea, and malnutrition are common. Outside of the hospital Ms. Barquadle volunteered at, there would often be a line of one hundred or more people in front of the door. Patients would travel from many miles away and due to limited resources, doctors, and time, the hospital would have to turn away some patients that did not have life-threatening issues. The hospital had 300 permanent beds and would usually treat 100 outpatients every day. When treating patients, there was a lack of screening. Only height and weight would usually be recorded before assessing the patient’s situation. There were also major issues concerning medication -- often vital prescriptions would be missing from the hospital’s pharmacy so that patients would be forced to pay more expensive fees for medications if they chose to make such a purchase. There was a heavy strain on doctors as well, for the education system in Somalia collapsed along with the government twenty years ago. Nurses were commonly using twenty-year old methods of treatment for their patients and practices based upon superstition would also sometimes interfere with the treatment of a patient.

Ms. Barquadle noted that education is key and that communication throughout different parts of the hospitals in Somalia needed to be improved. Outdated medical practices, such as not using sterile gloves or proper masks, needed to be revised. Despite strenuous and sometimes frustrating times at the work, however, she said that she still had hope. She said that it boosted her spirits to see healthy children playing along the beach and that in the media, such positive images are often outweighed by images of malnourished, starving children.

Christopher Hillbruner, the next panelist, worked with FEWS NET to help create projections of food security in areas such as Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and central Asia. Overall, he said, the media did a bad job of covering the famine. American media was slow on the uptake and European media outlets were only slightly faster. There were predictions about the famine, but the “alarm bells” weren’t loud enough for the media to hear in time. Mr. Hillbruner also mentioned that there was a big disparity between how different crises are covered in different areas of Africa. Since Niger had a better NGO network, there were more advocates pushing for media coverage in that country whereas in southern Somalia, no such network existed after NGOs were pushed out of the country.

Mr. Hillbruner mentioned that with better technology comes speed and the ability of journalist to reach the masses more quickly. Sometimes, journalists are so speedy that they don’t fully understand or fact-check their reports, contributing to misinformation about famine. “There’s a tendency for people in the media to believe everything they’re told by humanitarians,” Mr. Hillbruner said, emphasizing the need for better fact-checking by journalists.

He also introduced one of the main ideas in the panel: compassion fatigue on the part of media-consumers from hearing about African famines and suffering. In the case of famine, there exists the idea that whatever famine is currently occurring has to be “the worst famine ever” in order to gain attention from the media. After the famine in Somalia was officially declared as such, it took two weeks for it to make the front page of the NY Times. It only made the front page the day after the debt crisis was resolved. When covering famine, the media often is unable to distinguish what is “the worst” and what is only “bad.” In this respect, the media needs to be careful in terms of what adjectives they use in their reporting, Mr. Hillbruner cautioned. Political agendas also have been known to interfere with reporting, which further complicates the question of whether or not a high caliber of factual information is being reported.

The third speaker, Professor Caty Borum Chattoo from American University’s School of Communication focused on the differences between the various types of media. The aid organization Oxfam is one of the few organizations that has an in-house media production team. They have a better ability to provide access to reporters and can overcome problems such as funding that many sources of independent media often have to deal with.

Professor Chattoo produced a show about resilience during famine, instead of apathy, in partnership with Oxfam. She said that it’s not a story that’s typically shown. Increasingly in the media, where the business model is changing, expensive investigative, health, or science reporters are the first ones to be laid off, meaning that coverage of relevant issues by highly qualified individuals has diminished. The famine narrative, Chattoo stated, is difficult to endure in mainstream media. Famine eventually increases to the point that it levels off and stays at the same high rate, and “sameness” does not garner much media attention for long. In the past, news wasn’t under the constant pressure of trying to make money. It simply wasn’t expected to make a profit. There was the idea, Chattoo said, to “give people what they need to know not what they want to know, and stick to that.” 60 Minutes was the first news source to actually make a profit, revolutionizing how news was produced after the late 1970’s. Today, media coverage is expected to have nail-biting stories that draw in high-paying advertisers. In the case of famine coverage, few advertisers want to support outlets that continue reporting on a subject that doesn’t always have the ability to entertain or enrapture audiences.

The final speaker at the roundtable, Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt, a professor within American University’s School of International Service, concluded the discussion before the panel answered questions from the audience. She mentioned the idea of “framing” and how every media story can influence how we think about the world in addition to how a media story can have political influence. The media, humanitarian groups, governments, and political enterprises all rely upon stereotypes in order to frame issues, including famine. DeWinter-Schmitt said that dealing with stereotypes makes sense -- it takes a phenomenon and allows people to see it as an example of something else. It’s how the brain naturally classifies information, she said. In famines, people rely upon easily understood stereotypes such as the simple descriptions of victims, heroes, and villains. Victims are the “brown, starving masses,” heroes are the aid workers and the doctors, and the villains are corrupt government officials and rebels, as she put it. Such metaphors legitimize Western thought and it contributes to the “infantization” of victims. Compassion fatigue sets in quickly in such simplified explanations. DeWinter-Schmitt also noted how the entertainment industry is contributing to the idea of such fatigue. In Blood Diamond, the main character, played by DeCaprio, has a saying of “TIA,” meaning “this Is Africa, for when things go wrong in the film.

Overall, the panelists agreed that depictions of famine in the media definitely influence response and solutions to the problem. The idea of looking into indigenous, local solutions was suggested as having the potential of being very successful. Increasingly, however, social media such as Twitter and Facebook are continuing to redefine how famine is portrayed in the media.

India, the United States and Terrorism

Jas Elmer

Professor Dylan Craig

SIS 105-001H

November 20, 2011

Terrorism and its Effect on a Nations Power: An Analysis of India and the United States

As weapons and warfare have become modernized a shift has occurred in the power of non-state actors. Among these actors are terrorist organizations. As terrorists have gained more economic, social, political and military power they have become significant players within international relations and have begun to play a role in the power and roles of countries. The influence of terrorist organizations has also become to prohibit upcoming powers from gaining more international presence and in turn may be helping super powers keep their power. In comparing the United States and India, the U.S. is viewed as a hegemonic power and India as a potential rising power. Both states face similar terrorist threats, being they have terrorists from within their borders but most of their threats come from foreign citizens, often from the same groups. However, terrorism is a bigger problem for India because they are geographically closer to countries with a high number of terrorist organizations, they are attacked more frequently and their military does not have the same technological capabilities as the U.S. The comparison between these two states represents how terrorism affects a states rank in society. This is because although the United States also receives terrorist threats, it is not costing the U.S. a significant amount of power. However, as a rising power the terrorist acts in India prohibit them from gaining more power and achieving the level of security enjoyed in the United States.

            A huge reason why India faces a greater risk of terrorist attacks is they are geographically close to where many terrorist organizations operate. Afghanistan and Pakistan are considered the “epicenter of terror” (Choudhury). Because India shares a border with both nations they have a much higher rate of terrorist attacks. Home Minister P. Chidambaram has identified that “four out of five major terrorist groups are based in Pakistan and three of them... continue to target India” (Choudhury). Due to weak border security many people from neighboring countries move in and out of India and the government has been unable to control large-scale illegal immigration (Rediff). India has been facing problems of both insurgency and terrorism in areas of the state which border Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal (Rediff). Although the United States also faces illegal-immigration issues, most of the immigrants come from Mexico or neighboring Latin American states and have not added to the risk of terrorism in the U.S. as the immigrants to India have. The importance of geographical location is shown in the number of terrorist attacks the countries have had.

            The only recent terrorist attack which was carried out against the United States has been the bombing of the Pentagon and Twin Towers on September 11th. In contrast there have been 46 terrorist attacks in India since 1999, counting suicide terrorism alone (Rediff). While the terrorist attacks on September 11th have caused more casualties than the most recent terrorist attacks in India, the estimated 19 attempted terrorist attacks since have been thwarted by the United States law enforcement (Carafano). However, the prevalence of attacks in India is much higher. A main reason for this higher prevalence is the difference in technology between the police and military forces of the two states.

            The strength and capability of the Indian and United States militaries are very different. This is heavily affected by the military technology each country possesses. In India many military weapons are so old that they have become obsolete, a main reason “Indian law enforcement remains ill-prepared” (Bradsher). In a recent standoff with terrorists in the Taj Hotel the sharpshooters for the Indian military “had neither protective gear, nor the high-powered telescopes that their counterparts in Western countries would most likely use in a standoff with terrorists” (Bradsher). In interviews preceding the standoff a sharpshooter, who spent 60 hours perched outside the hotel, said that “he nor his partner had fired a shot because they were not sure how to distinguish the gunmen from ordinary civilians trapped inside the hotel” (Bradsher). This is just one example of how lacking technology weakens India’s ability to fight terrorism. On the other hand the U.S. military spend a great deal of resources on military technology and are constantly updating their military weapons. In upcoming years the U.S. Army plans to dedicate an additional $124 billion to develop a Future Combat System (Boot). Increases in funding for military technologies are often awarded because “information technology is central to American military dominance” (Boot). The extent to which the Indian and U.S. government can counterterrorism is highlighted by the strength of their Navies.

            The strength of the U.S. military has been unprecedented. The U.S. dominance is so substantial that no one “even tries to challenge the U.S. Navy anymore on the high seas” (Boot). Of course this is possible because “the U.S. Navy regularly updates the electronics and weapons aboard” (Boot). In contrast a parliamentary investigation found that the Indian Navy and Coast Guard were unable to monitor sea routes due to a lack of long-range surveillance equipment (Bradsher). The shores are so inadequately protected that terrorists have been able to sneak into Mumbai through the sea (Bradsher). The security flaws in both the Indian Navy and the rest of their military allows terrorism to be a more frequent occurrence and prevents them from gaining a heightened level of security.

            In our current world terrorism is a very important international issue. The states which have the highest security from terrorists are those who are geographically further from their centers of operation and those that have the military technology needed to counteract and prevent attacks. Countries which have less successful terrorist attacks also happen to have more world power. This trend is highlighted by India and the United States. This is because the United States is a militarily strong hegemon, whereas India, although a rising power, is geographically near to many terrorist groups and has a lacking military; making it more difficult for India to thwart terrorist attacks and gain more international power.

Works Cited

Boot, Max. "The Paradox of Military Technology." thenewatlantis.com. The New Atlantis, 2006.

Web. 26 Nov. 2011.

Bradsher, Keith and Somini Sengupta. "India Faces Reckoning as Terror Toll Eclipses

170." nytimes.com. The New York Times, 29 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.

Carafano, James. "U.S. Thwarts 19 Terrorist Attacks Against America Since 9/11." heritage.org.

The Heritage Foundation, 13 Nov. 2007. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.

Choudhury, Uttara. "India Blind to Hindu, Muslim Terrorist Threats from Within the

Country." firstpost.com.  First Post, 17 Sept. 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.

"Terrorism: India’s Unending War." rediff.com. Rediff India Abroad, 4 Apr. 2003. Web. 26 Nov.

2011.

Social Media and Political Change

Jas Elmer

Professor Dylan Craig

SIS 105-001H

November 26, 2011

Social Media and Political Change

            In recent months vast political changes have been occurring worldwide. Important political gains have already been made in many Middle Eastern countries through the Arab Spring movement and future political changes could be seen in other regions of the world through the Occupy movement which has now drawn out protestors in over 70 countries (Occupy Wall Street). Media has played an important role in these events; however the traditional media sources have played a relatively minor role compared to social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. Although it is now possible to see news from foreign sources, social media provides tools for political change that traditional sources simply can’t provide. Social media allows citizens of countries to talk with one another, leading to a stronger Trans Advocacy Network, a sense of international community and a quick and efficient way to share ideas and to mobilize for protests.

Previously, public media was the only means of news and information which people had access to. However as time has progressed the options people have to get the news has expanded exponentially. People still depend on traditional media for their news however “the future of journalism is probably going to be smaller and smaller news outlets having bigger and bigger impact” (Council on Foreign Relations). The effects of blogs, twitter and facebook have already proved crucial in many different political issues around the world including the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement. These new outlets of media have helped to create more change and political awareness than many forms of traditional media do.

Due to oppressive governments and frightened journalists many news sources are not accurate or simply do not cover information. One example is Tunisia, “official media does not cover what is really happening in Tunisia, so bloggers and online activists try to do this” (Channel 4 News). Because official media fails to cover important issues regarding politics, human rights, military conflict and upcoming revolutions bloggers have been filling the gap. Internet activist Ala’a Jarban says that, "Facebook and social media are playing a major role in all changes and revolutions happening in the Arab region” (Channel 4 News). One of the main reasons why bloggers and other individuals participating in social media have had such a great impact is they connect different groups of people.

Due to globalization it is much easier to communicate with people in different areas. News sources such as BBC and Al Jazeera allow people to hear news from different parts of the country. However, in many areas such as Tunisia public media is not able to get stories out to local populations or international populations. Social media allows for communication between individuals which is more effective in affecting political change than traditional news. Social media is important because it allows many different groups of people to communicate with one another. Social media is important because it links many groups together including “regular citizens, activists, nongovernmental organizations, telecommunications firms, software providers, governments” (Foreign Affairs). This allows average citizens to communicate with members of different states and allows them, in some cases, to informally or formally communicate with their governments. This change in communication has given many people more opportunities because as “the communications landscape gets denser…the networked population is gaining greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech, and an enhanced ability to undertake collective action” (Foreign Affairs). This is because it leads to a stronger Trans Advocacy Network.

In the case of the Arab Spring social media has given citizens of the Middle East the ability to communicate with people living in different countries such as the United States and European countries. This allows the citizens of foreign countries to encourage their respective governments to put pressure on Middle Eastern governments. The Trans Advocacy Network is one factor which has aided in the spread of the Arab Spring.

The Arab Spring is a perfect example of how political change in one country can affect another. Although all of the major newspapers and news channels have had coverage on the events occurring in the Middle East, social media played a particularly important role in the revolutions because it gave people information in a different way than traditional media did.

Social media made it possible for the revolts in the Middle East to not only gain support in the Arab world but in the international scene as well. Throughout these revolutions Facebook and Twitter gave minute-by-minute accounts of these revolutions for many people following around the world (Channel 4 News). This use of social media allowed the international community to get involved and also to give people strength in knowing that other people were supporting them. In Libya they had a website in English dedicated to the cause of the protesters in order to “appeal to a wider global audience, which has been key for online activists” (Channel 4 News). Activists from Libya have also said that they have received "overwhelming support, which has allowed all of the people in the region to come together" (Channel 4 News). They also believe that “social media has created an international show of solidarity” (Channel 4 News) and has allowed them to gain support not only from Tunisia and Egypt but the United States and beyond (Channel 4 News). The relatively small incident which began in Tunisia spread like wild fire. The events in “Tunisia and Egypt inspired young Iraqis to communicate their opinions” (Channel 4 News) and quickly led to the Facebook group “Iraqi Streets for Change” (Channel 4 News). The revolutions taking place in the Middle East stretched further than they probably imagined and with the help of social media their idea of revolution also reached the United States.

Although most countries participating in the Occupy Wall Street movement are in a much different position than those countries in the Middle East the Occupy Wall Street website says that they are “using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve [their] ends” (Occupy Wall Street). It goes on to say that they are “inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and [aim] to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy” (Occupy Wall Street). From the information provided on their website it appears that the interaction between the revolutionaries of the Arab Spring and of the Occupy Movement have helped citizens form a common international identity in order to combat against the unfair economic and political situations occurring throughout the world. The impact the Arab Spring has had upon the Occupy Wall Street movement shows how social media can cause political ideas to spread and how political changes can affect one another. It also shows how important social media is in bringing groups together.

The Council on Foreign Relations says that the reason why social media is particularly helpful is that it is “natively good at group-forming” (Council on Foreign Relations). Previous to social media the only outlets people had to communicate with one another were telephones and televisions. The Council on Foreign Relations explains that social media is more successful because “Internet allows for not just one-to-many communications like television or one-to-one communications like the telephone, but also many-to-many communications” (Council on Foreign Relations). The ability which social media has to provide an outlet for many-to-many communications will lead to “political and social ramifications” (Council on Foreign Relations). The Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street movements both show how social media can be used to form groups of people with common interests and how social media allows people to organize movements.

Social media provides a way for people to mobilize. Facebook and Twitter accounts allow people to share stories, videos and pictures of protests encouraging others to get involved. People also use their individual twitter and facebook accounts in order to give updates on protests in which they are participating. Additionally sites also have discussions about social inequalities and maps and details regarding upcoming protests (Channel 4 News). Many people have become engaged in social media and belong to groups regarding these movements. For example, the main facebook page where activists have been discussing protests in Egypt has attracted more than 82,000 members (Channel 4 News). Social media also has acted as a way for people to keep safe during protests. Blogs, Twitters and Facebooks circulated “pleas for medical aid and even tips of how to create home-made tear gas masks” (Channel 4 News) during the Egyptian revolution. The main Occupy website, and also websites for particular cities participating in the Occupy movement have lists of tips on how to avoid confrontation with police and how to lead peaceful protests (Occupy Wall Street). These are just a few of the ways in which social media has helped revolutions in the Middle East and worldwide.

Although traditional media is still successful in informing people on current events and has a significant place in our societies. Social media provides opportunities for people to create political change in ways that public media does not provide. Facebook, Twitter and blogs allow people from different backgrounds and nationalities to connect.  This in turn leads to a more connected international community and a stronger Trans Advocacy Network. This network provides an international support system which allows ideas to spread to other countries, similar to how the ideas of the Arab Spring moved to Wall Street. Additionally, social media also allows people to form groups in order to achieve a common goal. Social media allows people to communicate with one another in a way which newspapers, televisions, radios and telephones cannot. Although traditional media is important social media leads to political change because it allows people to communicate with one another allowing them to rally into local and international groups.  

Works Cited

"Arab Revolt: Social Media and the People’s Revolution." channel4.com. Channel 4 News, 25

Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

"Digital Power: Social Media and Political Change." cfr.org. Council on Foreign Relations, 31

Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

"The Future of News." cfr.org. Council on Foreign Relations, 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street, 20011. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

                                                                                                                            

Shirky, Clay. "The Political Power of Social Media." foreignaffairs.com. Foreign Affairs,

Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.