Cambodia-U.S. Tensions on the Rise

By: Kyle Saunders

Produced & edited by: Jacob Solether

Photo credit: Kyle Saunders

U.S. officials are scrambling to win the approval of Khmers after tensions have flared between the U.S. and Cambodia. A video of opposition party leader Kem Sokha surfaced on social media earlier this month, apparently showing him receiving advice from U.S. sources. Kem Sokha was shortly thereafter arrested and accused of treason, and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party claimed that Kem Sokha’s current efforts as opposition leader were backed by the U.S. government. That accusation has led to a rapid deterioration in trust between the two countries, and the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh has taken to Twitter employing the hashtag #WhyWeAreHereKH to assure Khmer citizens that the U.S. has not turned its back on Cambodia.

The embassy’s Twitter account has directed attention toward U.S. goodwill projects in Cambodia that are designed to improve access to the arts, education, and technology for Khmers. Lyroth Chea, a native Khmer who studied at a university in Virginia and now works in public accounting in Phnom Penh, explains that the social media campaign isn’t working. “The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh is trying to make an impact with its social media campaign, but it is not significant. It is like a guy from a Western country trying to feed a Cambodian kid a cheeseburger, or a Cambodian guy trying to feed a European kid with rice. It is a metaphor of not understanding each other.”

This metaphor seems to be holding at the highest levels of government as well. 

According to a Reuters report by Prak Chan Thul and Matthew Tostevin, the U.S. has touted its monetary aid in order to show dedication to Cambodia-U.S. relations. 

But, as Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan told Reuters,“Taking aid doesn’t mean they can order us to do what 

they want. We aren’t their ally. We aren’t their slave.”

Photo credit: th.wikipedia.org

This rejection of perceived Western superiority has impacted the Cambodian government’s stance toward nongovernmental Western-oriented programs as well. Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have both been shuttered and accused of acting as spies “in the dark” by Prime Minister Hun Sen. Jodie DeJonge was editor-in-chief of the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh until it recently found itself in a financial dispute over taxes and was forced to close. She believes that “the key reason the government wanted the Daily closed was to silence its journalism in the lead-up to next year's critical general election, the first in five years.”

The ruling party lost a significant number of seats in parliament five years ago in the last general election. Hun Sen has in the past expressed a desire to serve in his current role for another nine years, when he will be 74 years of age.

Ms. DeJonge noted, “Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this year described the Khmer reporters who worked for RFA and the Daily as ‘servants of the foreigners.’” While the pressure exerted on pro-democracy organizations such as Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, and the Cambodia Daily has seemingly been sudden, the Cambodian government’s rhetoric has shown increasing disdain for Western-oriented influences.

Sony Ouch, a former writer at the Daily, said via email that reporting in Phnom Penh is more difficult than it was a short time ago. Since the Daily closed, he said, “We can’t use our old press cards…We can say there are a lot more local media outlets, but it is hard to find one that matched with the Daily.” This limitation on journalists indicates that the government’s supposed attempts to silence pro-democracy opposition are having an effect.

Ben Paviour is a freelance journalist and former writer for the Daily. In response to a question about the closure of pro-democracy organizations in Cambodia, he wrote, “I think the closures had everything to do with the Cambodian government's sudden attack on U.S.-affiliated organizations and institutions. NDI (National Democratic Institute) was the first to go, the Daily came next, and RFA later, all while Fresh News and CPP politicians were ramping up rhetoric against the U.S. When people talk about the breakdown in relations, they're obviously talking about these closures, and the connection the government made between Kem Sokha and supposed U.S. groomers and patrons.” (Author’s Note: Fresh News is a pro-government news organization in Phnom Penh.)

Pheap Aun also worked as a writer for the Cambodia Daily, and believed that the Daily’s dispute with the government was about politics as well: “I think Hun Sen was worried about the upcoming election in 2018 because he would lose the election, so he now shut down the Daily and radio stations to stop the independent voice that published and televised the true information… foreign countries and the international community have learned factual information from the Daily and RFA.”

With so many pro-democracy voices being silenced by the government, U.S. efforts to reach Khmers are limited. While its Twitter campaign has received mixed reviews, the U.S.Embassy’s Facebook page has proven helpful in fostering conversation with Khmers, according to at least one native Khmer. 

Chakrya Lim, an employee in the private sector in Phnom Penh who has experience in international development, says the main problem with this situation is that primarily only “Cambodians with education know the Embassy page and follow” the updates it provides. The Embassy continues its social media efforts to reach more Khmers to boost perception of the U.S.

**Global Spotlight is a nonprofit educational production, constituting a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. 

Japan’s Skyrocketing Economy and Dwindling Birthrate

By: Marina Neuman

Produced & edited by: Jacob Solether 

After years of warning, it is no longer possible to ignore Japan's

dramatically shrinking population. 

Photo from NPR.org

In five years, the population has fallen by almost 1 million people. Japan’s total fertility rate had hit 1.41 children born per woman, according to the CIA, meaning Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Further estimates by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research predict Japan’s population will continue to fall, hitting 97 million by 2015, this would be a dramatic decrease from the 127.5 million people reported in 2012.

It began following World War II, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida made rebuilding Japan’s economy his top priority. While his efforts 65 year ago largely helped Japan to become the third-largest economy in the world today, the negative impact is clear.

“During the 1950’s, women's university enrollment rate exceeded 40%," Tokyo University economist Hiroshi Yoshida said. But as more women entered the workforce and businesses began to ask more of their employees, fertility began to plummet.

Looking ahead

However, Japanese culture is beginning to change, and fewer young people than ever are dating and marrying. A 2010 survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security shows 61 percent of unmarried men and 49 percent of women aged 18-34 were not in a romantic relationship, up almost 10 percent from five years earlier. Another study found one-third of people under 30 had never dated at all. “I think most young people just can't be bothered.” Mioko Nemec, a Japanese woman studying at Ohio University, said. “Women want to focus on a career instead of being pushed into the role of a wife and mother.”

In order to encourage an increased birth rate, the Japanese government began to host speed dating events and fatherhood classes to help men see themselves in a parental role, but that isn’t enough — corporations also need woman-friendly policies.

“Theoretically, Japan offers a parenting leave system for up to three years, mothers can only be paid during the first year,” said Rieko Kishi Fukuzawa, a nurse and midwife in Tsukuba, Japan.  “This forces many to return to work earlier than they would typically wish, due to financial reasons.”

Gender norms and cultural expectations also typically interfere with work and children. Although husbands can now spend more time with their new babies than was previously custom, few men take paternity leave.

“To me, it is the way that some young people don't trust a marriage value,” said Risako Tanaka, a stringer for NHK in Tokyo. “Overall, young people are less interested in a complicated relationship. On the other hand, some people put their career first.”

“Theoretically, Japan offers a parenting leave system for up to three years, mothers can only be paid during the first year,” said Rieko Kishi Fukuzawa, a nurse and midwife in Tsukuba.

Photo from marketplace.org

When compared to the U.S Tanaka says, ‘In Japan, and in the US, if women seek for a same promotion/wage as man does, she needs to work twice or triple. There is a gender bias, and in Japanese mind, people put high values on their professions. It is quite a difference in terms of women's role as well. If you are married and working, you are expected to do perfectly at home and at work. Japanese wives do most of the house choirs (which is more time-consuming than here in the US).”

**Global Spotlight is a nonprofit educational production, constituting a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. 

Dirty Daggering in Jamaica

By: Jacob Solether

Produced & edited by: David Lee

Dancehall

Dancehall music is not performed in clubs or halls, but rather outside the neighborhoods of the lower-class in  Jamaica. “You have these huge speaker box sound systems, there’s a gate and people pay to come in. Usually there are one or two sound systems playing and inside you can buy alcohol, there’s food like cod gold and jerk chicken. Then there’s people standing up dancing. That’s really what a dancehall is,” said Winsome Marcia Chunnu, who is the Strategic Director for Multicultural Programs at Ohio University. Dancehall music is similar to pop music  playing in a dance club in the United States. Both genres have up-beat tempos that are easy to dance to and  both types of music excite people  . The deejays at dancehalls, known as selectors , often play dance songs that instruct people ondancing. Whether that be Dutty Wine, Hot Wuk, or Daggering, take it away!

Photo from Spin.com.

Photo from morelikehaicool.wordpress.com.

From street music to mainstream 

The dancehall movement began in the 1990’s on the street corners of Jamaica’s lower-class communities. Troubled neighborhoods in Jamaica, also known as ghettos and shanty towns, left many youths in disarray. Living in poverty with little money and not much to do, many of the youth used dancing as a way to escape the troubles of the day. Dancehall was also the easiest and most affordable leisure . “Dancing is the cheapest form of entertainment on the island,” said Winsome Marcia Chunnu. And as the Jamaican legend Bob Marley once sang, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”  

To better understand the dancehall scene, one must know the sociopolitical context in Jamaica. Music on the island is often a direct reflection of society. Dancehalls and dancehall music provide a sense of relief for poor communities. The dancehalls are also a place for people to socialize, hear new music and to show off their unique, new dance moves.

Although daggering originated in the streets of Jamaica, it crept into the mainstream during the early 2000’s when popular dancehall artists such as Mr. Vegas and Vybz Kartel performed on the radio. Dancehall has always been known for its oversexualizing lyrics and dance styles. Like most dancehall dance styles, daggering focuses on oversexualizing pelvic thrusts, grinding, as well as male masculinity. Daggering did not usher in an era of people grinding and humping each other, but it did take dancing to the next level. Literally. Today, Jamaicans use dancing to become celebrities and people travel to the island from around the world just to perform in dance competitions. “You’ll have people who are coming from Japan to be dancehall queens,” said Lavern Morant, the Resident Director at Ohio University
.  

The dancehall craze began in street parties by people from the lower-class, but things changed once members from the middle to upper-class started going downtown. “Adults do it, teenagers do it, but it just depends on what part of Jamaica you live in,” Morant said. This movement propelled the dancehall music scene during the ‘90s and into the new millennium. Across town in the upscale communities people have similar parties called sessions, but these typically do not last as long, the music is different, the attendees vary in age and the venues are owned by different people. In the late 2000’s, Jamaicans started having Passa Passa, where a lot of middle to upper-class people would go downtown for the dancehall scene. As a result, dancehall music became more accepted in society. The dancehall movement broke down social barriers, created new norms for dancing and changed the social structure. Now,rich and poor people from all social classes celebrate dancehall music today. Carnivals and dancehall festivals are now openly celebrated in Jamaica.

Photo from Samdiephuis.

“So, we have these huge sound systems on every corner, in poorer communities, and they play all those (dancehall) songs. They happen every week and it’s where most people consume dancehall because they’re not played on the radio,” said Winsome Marica Chunnu.

Uncontrolled content

Parental advisory labels are placed on music with explicit content in the U.S. Though teenagers still find ways of listening to it, either by their parents, older siblings, or via the Internet. In the UnitedStates, music videos on television can be censored or taken off air due to explicit content. This is common in Jamaica.

The country has a long history of banning songs due to lyrical content related to sex, drugs, violence and politics. Before dancehall arrived to mainstream and was seen on YouTube, the Jamaican dance style was already causing a lot of controversy due to its explicit sexual content. The Jamaican Broadcasting Commission has banned most dancehall music from the air waves. 

In 2009, the JBC issued a directive order saying, “There shall not be transmitted through radio or television, any recording, live song or music video which promotes the act of 'daggering', or which makes reference to, or is otherwise suggestive of 'daggering'.” The law however, still has not stopped people from daggering or listening to dancehall music that references daggering. “Nobody cares about the JBC banning anything. Most dancehall songs are banned from the airwaves,” said Marcia Chunnu. Though explicit music and dance styles have been banned by the JBC, people can still hear it through the sound systems setup on street corners and continue to dagger. 

Though there is no specific punishment if broadcasts play dancehall music, former and present prime ministers have spoken out against dancehall music and daggering. Many musicians and deejays have retaliated and said there are bigger problems on the island than to worry about censoring dancehall. “Gun shooting, robbing, and other social issues are much more of concern to Jamaicans,” said Lavern Morant.

For those who wish to learn how to dagger, here’s a guide to daggering from Major Lazer. https://www.vevo.com/watch/major-lazer/major-lazer-guide-to-daggering/USCJ81000497

Global Spotlight is a nonprofit educational production, constituting a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted materil as provided under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Contact srippsiij@ohio.edu with questions. 

The Rise of Russian Tech

By: Hayley Harding

Produced & edited by: David Lee

Russia's Computer Age

A decade or two ago, the path to economic stability for students in Russia was to pursue a degree in economics or law.

Students focused on ‘serious’ careers, paths that would one day get them jobs that could weather the fluctuation in the ruble, Russia’s currency, in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Today, the pursuit of stability comes in a new form: jobs in technology, in computers and coding, much like in the United States.

If there is a difference between the countries, computer science education in Russia was crafted in the image of rigorous Soviet traditions. For students, technological innovation is emphasized in the form of olympiads and non-formal extracurricular activities, said Liliia Zemnukhova, a sociologist and research fellow at the European University at St. Petersburg’s Center for Science and Technology Studies.

European University at St. Petersburg. Photo from Vassar College International Programs. 

“Both industrial demand ... and political agenda ... put computer science on the list of strategic trends in the context of the global technological development,” said Zemnukhova .

Students in Russia say they aren’t necessarily pressured by those around them to pursue a career in a certain field, but people encourage them to think about more responsible careers.

“(It is a) common opinion that being, for example, an engineer is better than to be a teacher or a linguist because of payment and opportunities to find a job,” said Lena Murashova, a student of linguistics at Novgorod State University.

However, a more technological friendly generation is not without its own problems.

For those looking to move to technological firms in Moscow or St. Petersburg after graduation, there may be a disconnect between what they learned in school and how firms are operating.

“The equipment (at colleges and universities) is dated, the good programs are only a few and the professors are mostly old,” said Alexander Klimchenko, a student of linguistics at Novgorod State University.

“Not being against here, but judging from my personal experience, it is really hard for them to keep up with the fast-moving technological progress, so their teaching is not always useful.”

For non-Russians, there are very different concerns with the increase of computer-savvy Russian graduates. In the past year alone, Russians have been accused of everything from shutting down the power grid in Kiev,  Ukraine – to interfering with the United States’ latest presidential election.

International Cyber-games 

A joint assessment released in January 2017 between the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency found with high confidence that “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election,” although it did not go so far to name any specific individual, organization or state actor involved.

Putin continues to deny state involvement in the hackings. In June, however, he told reporters it perhaps could have been private, “patriotically minded” Russians who hacked the Democratic National Convention, perhaps contributing to Trump’s victory.

Russians don’t have much faith in their own election system, but they generally don’t think their fellow countrymen had anything to with the alleged hacking of the U.S. election.

“Is our election corrupted? For sure,” Klimchenko said. “They're not even really good in hiding it. But we can't really do anything about it. ... Has (the U.S) election been corrupted by Russia? I don't think so. In today's world, it's not only nearly impossible but also stupid to try to interfere in such an event in the world's leading country.”

Some consider the hype around potential hacking to be more indicative of the U.S. media environment than of actual Russian wrongdoing.

“There is no technical data that allows us to draw any kind of conclusions ... that (alleged hackings) were executed by someone that was connected to Russia or Russian governments,” said Maria Smekalova, coordinator of the Russian International Affairs Council’s Russia-U.S. Dialogue on Cybersecurity. “Still, this happened and affected the global agenda and became a tool that is widely used to, I'd say, even manipulate the global agenda and international affairs.”

Smekalova noted the accusations of hacking are beginning to affect Russian businesses, too. She cites Kaspersky Labs, a Moscow-based technology company with many alleged ties to Russian intelligence agencies.

After several reports from major sources came out in July  suggesting closer ties between Kaspersky and the Kremlin than once thought, the Trump administration removed the company from lists of approved vendors for information technology products. Homeland Security in turn outright banned Kaspersky products, followed by a Senate move to do the same.

As of 2016, Kaspersky had the largest market-share of cybersecurity software vendors in Europe. Photo from PcMag. 

As of 2016, Kaspersky had largest market-share of cybersecurity software vendors in Europe

Kaspersky has not released numbers indicating a financial hit since the United States government started acting against it, but major retailers such as Best Buy and Office Depot are pulling its products from their shelves.

“I can definitely say the impact ... has been totally and solely negative, both for political relations between the countries and for economic relations,” Smekalova said.

Private technology firms still report doing well, which offers hope to Russians looking for work in the industry. Aleksey Fedorov, a research fellow at the Russian Quantum Center (RQC), says the work RQC does in the area of quantum information — the idea that computer and information science intersect with quantum mechanics — has led to innovation in computer science across the country.

“RQC has become a role model for the transformation of science into new technology, and for the revival of the traditions of scientific and engineering excellence in Russia,” Fedorov said. “In particular, President Vladimir Putin mentioned quantum technologies as one of the most important innovative developments in Russia.”

An endorsement from Putin fails to mean any one thing for groups around the world, be it Russian students or government officials from the United States.

For some, however, it is indicative of what some experts are calling a rising “information war,” Smekalova said, one that may strain relations between the United States and Russia.

“I'd say the current situation is only getting worse,” Smekalova said. “This is not ... a sign of any positive change.”   

Global Spotlight is a nonprofit educational production, constituting a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted materil as provided under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Contact srippsiij@ohio.edu with questions. 

Young Greeks: Well-educated, but barely making it by

By: Lindsey Curnutte

Produced & edited by: David Lee

Twenty-four-year-old Sofoklis Magkanaras feels lucky to be working a minimum-wage job in Kalava, Greece.

“Believe it or not, I consider myself lucky to even be paid this, because most of my friends are unemployed or paid worse than me,” Magkanaras said.

The Greek economy has been facing a historic debt crisis since 2009. Photo by SigmLive.

Greece's Lost Generation

Magkanaras graduated from the University of Thrace with dreams of becoming a teacher, but he says the chances of him doing so are near impossible because of job scarcity for Greek teachers.

“For a Greek teacher like myself, the only options we have is either getting to the public sector –  which is quite impossible because there are almost 120,000 teachers waiting to be placed to schools all over the country, or teaching to private schools –  where they pay you almost 2.5 euros per hour. So it isn’t worth it.”

Until 1997, Greek teaching candidates were guaranteed a job, but some waited 15 years for placement, according to a report from the European Network of Teacher Education Policies.

Since then, the Ministry of Education in Greece has been working to reform the system of teacher placement. But with recent layoffs and public employment freezes, the wait for teaching jobs could end up being just as long as in the 1990s.

Gabriel Croft Georgiadis, also of Kavala, thinks he will be waiting 10 years at least on the waiting list for a teaching job.

“Unfortunately the system is so blocked and my number in line is like 15,000 or something,” Georgia said. “The system is blocked because too many enter universities and end up as jobless teachers.”

In 2011, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that the recruitment of new teachers in Greece is likely to be no more than 900 a year.

“[There is a] growing number of teachers awaiting appointment, 4,500 are already on the ‘list,’” the report reads. “Recent actions to freeze all public employment could further reduce the number of appointments to permanent teacher positions to replace those who retiring.”

Instead of teaching, Magkanaras works as a sub-manager for a supermarket where he is paid minimum wage.

The minimum wage for Greeks under the age of 24 like Magkanaras is 510 euro per month, according to The Federation of International Employers.

“The biggest problem are not the salaries themselves, but the cost of living,” Magkanaras said. “Basic stuff like food, electricity, water, gasoline are like three or four times more expensive than they used to be six years ago.”

Magkanaras is one of the many disillusioned young Greeks who are a part of, what some call, Greece’s lost generation.

“I think what we are seeing in Greece is a lost generation,” Kevin Featherstone, a professor at the London School of Economics, told the LA Times. “There's a despondency about their own future and their place within Europe that a previous generation never had.”

The European Union (EU) reported 44 percent of Greek youth, people between the ages of 15 and 24, were unemployed in July 2017. The youth unemployment rate peaked at 58.3 percent in 2013 and has hovered around 50 percent since, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

Overqualified to be Unemployed

“We wake up every single day with frustration and depression thinking about all the simple things we want to do and simply can't,” said Josephine Lazaridou, a 25-year-old medical lab technician, who makes about 420 euro a month in Kalava, Greece.

Lazaridou, like many of her friends, lives with her parents, and calls herself lucky because she has something that many of her friends do not: a job that pays her enough to live modestly.

“A lot of my friends cannot even contribute economically to their houses with their parents because some of them are still unemployed,” Lazaridou said. “Everyone is really struggling to keep up and I think that we feel that we are tired of this situation.”

Lazaridou, like many Greeks, young and old, is frustrated with Greece’s crippling economy.

“The Greek government cannot change this situation,” Lazaridou said. “Youth has no power, no opportunities, no future. This is what all of my friends think, we have to abandon our country for a better life.”

Many young Greeks have done just that. In 2016, the Bank of Greece found that 427,000 Greeks, mostly the young and educated, have emigrated since 2008. Dubbed the “brain drain,” this migration of college-educated Greeks has driven many to blame the Greek government.

“We are people and an entire generation is getting lost because of shitty actions [by the government],” Magkanaras said. “So as we say here in Greece, all of [the politicians] are only puppets, and only banks have control of this country.”

Greek students protesting educational reforms. Photo by RT.

Unlike other government officials, Deputy Education Minister Kostas Zouraris sympathized with students, telling Greece’s SKAI TV that they have little choice but to search abroad for a better future.

“For now, it’s understandable that kids are saying they want to leave,” Zouraris told SKAI. “Let’s hope they return because we are, as you know, bankrupt and a debt colony.”

Both Magkanaras and Lazaridou agree with Zouraris’s comments, which are deemed controversial by Greek media.

“I know that maybe you find it difficult to believe but I think he is right,” Larazidou said. “All of my friends have at least one university degree, we speak English and most of us know one more language. When we go abroad, the other European countries give you the feeling that you can achieve a job development during the years.”

Larazidou said she is pessimistic about her future in Greece, as are many others. 51 percent of Greeks surveyed by Pollster MRB believe their country’s financial situation may never get better.

“I almost feel like I have no future here, and I really wanted to make a career someday, but eventually I have to give up like others, because you cannot invest money to a bad economy and have things going your way,” Larazidou said.

“I just keep going and going, and maybe after two or three more years I will leave too.” 


Global Spotlight is a nonprofit educational production, constituting a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted materil as provided under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Contact srippsiij@ohio.edu with questions. 

Choosing “Cold Hard Cash” over Card Money in Egypt

By: Michelle Michael

Produced & edited by: Jacob Solether 

In American culture, where parents and grandparents eagerly open savings accounts for a newborn baby and train the growing child to save money for the future, going an entire lifetime without ever opening a bank account may sound impossible.

However, if you live in Egypt, there’s nothing unusual about not having access to a formal bank account. In this heavily cash-based economy, Western traditional banking system is replaced by cash and gold stored at home and gam’iyats—organized pools in small familiar circles.

According to MasterCard, in 2015, only about 35% out of the 82 million Egyptians had access to a bank account. This means that almost two-thirds of Egyptians are unbanked, a striking contrast compared to the mere 7% of the unbanked U.S. population.

Cash preferred in Egypt 

Egyptians rely heavily on cash transactions. Although cards are used in high-end brand stores and big supermarket chains, general day-to-day operations do not require a bank account to function.

“This is mainly due to the lack of trust in the banking system in general. People don't trust electronic money as they trust actual money,” says Rasha El-Ibiary, Assistant Professor of Communication at the German University in Cairo.

She continued to say that the high level of poverty also plays a central role in Egypt’s prevalent cash culture. “40 percent of [Egypt’s] population live below the poverty line, earning less than $2 per day. I believe this figure might have soared since the devaluation of our currency last November. [This] and the continuously increasing prices of basic commodities make it harder for people to save any money.”

The complex requirements attached to opening a bank account also veers off the masses from the banking systems. “Banks sometimes require a deposit of 10,000 EPG to open a bank account and other documents that people find hard to make available,” says El-Ibiary.

Similar sentiments were also expressed by Mohanad El-Sangary, a freelance journalist based in Cairo. “The idea of taking a loan from a bank is stressful. The high interest rates, fluctuating economy, and the unstable jobs make borrowing from banks a burden.”

According to World Bank data, Egypt’s lending interest rate for 2016 was 13.6% which was almost four times that of the U.S rate, 3.5%.

To some Egyptians, like Mohammed Ali Alqalibi, the small business owner who runs a silk and curtains factory in Tanta, banking transactions are considered haram (forbidden by Islamic law). He believes that borrowing from banks for interest is a sin against Allah and therefore refuses to deal with the banking system.

So then how do Egyptians function without the use of banks?

 Savings are made at home in cash or gold. “Since the value of currency is being constantly evaluated these days, people believe that gold is more stable,” said El-Sangary.

Borrowing, on the other hand, is done in small familiar circles. Gam’iyat systems are a common means of interest-free borrowing that is popular among the lower and middle classes. Gam’iyats are small organized credit unions that operate within known friend or family circles.

Homa Hoodfar, a Canadian-Iranian sociocultural anthropologist who studied the livelihood of families in Cairo for more than a decade, describes gam’iyats in her book Between Marriage and the Market: the root of the word “gam’iyat” literally means "association" and often refers to a savings club or rotating credit association.

Gam’iyats depend heavily on trust. A group of people (mostly neighbors or friends) come together and contribute a certain amount of money to the pool every month over a certain period of time. Each month, the collected money goes to one of the members depending on how urgent a persons need is or how it is determined at the beginning of the period.

According to Hoodfar, they are usually run by an elderly woman in the neighborhood who is trusted by everyone and has a strong personality to ensure the timely collection of money.

“It is very much like taking a loan; but with no interest,” says Laila Otefy, a 29 year-old school teacher who has participated in many gam’iyats herself. “If I am the last one to receive the pool of money, then it is not different to saving money by myself over several months. But if I receive the money at the beginning, then it is beneficial and is similar to interest-free borrowing.”

Otefy says that many of her friends have participated in gam’iyats to make purchases that they can’t afford to pay at once. However, she later continued to say that this cash-heavy culture is changing with the younger generation.

Many employees of major corporations and government organizations are required to have bank accounts. The school for which Otefy works has started opening bank accounts for its employees and is transitioning from paying by cash to direct deposits. Such changes confirm the new shift from the popular cash culture.

Similar opinion was echoed by El-Sangary: “This [cash-based economy] is a cultural difference. The concept of card transactions didn’t take off in Egypt as well as it did in the West. However, the IT infrastructure improvements in the late 90s and 2000s and the increasing internet purchases are boosting credit cards.”

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Magda Mohammed, a banker at the National Bank of Egypt, said that they are trying to promote banking services to the general public through above-the-line marketing strategies using mass media and the internet. She also said that many bank branches are opening throughout the country to make them more accessible to the masses. 

**Global Spotlight is a nonprofit educational production, constituting a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. 

When Disasters Strike

by Evans Yonson (Philippines)

I come from a country where natural beauty is everywhere. We take pride in our natural resources - land, sea, air and the beautiful smiles of the Filipino people. We always find something to smile about. Because it's more fun in the Philippines.  

But, our country also has its share of disasters - natural and man-made calamities. Earthquake. Typhoons. Floods. Landslides. Famine. Forest fires. The latest devastation that hit the Philippines was Typhoon Haiyan leaving 6,300 dead and billions of dollars damaged to properties.

Government planners and scientists agree that such numbers could have been if people have been educated and informed about the coming of the disasters.

In 2011, my siblings and their families survived a catastrophic flash flood brought by Typhoon Washi. They lost everything. They have been informed two days before to take evacuate their abodes and seek higher grounds but never really bothered to heed the government's call. More than 2,500 died in this disaster.

These disasters could have been if these citizens have only been informed and educated about all things disaster, risk reduction, and preparations. 

When I went to my university in 2013, I immediately volunteered to our Disaster Risk and Reduction and Management Council and to help them out in their information, education and communication campaign for Cagayan de Oro City. I was mainly involved in education and awareness raising.

On July 10th, an hour after my last SUSI2017 class at Scripps College of Communication over at Schoonover Center and outside my bedroom window, the skies went from blue to very dark gray in a matter of minutes. My colleagues were off to Kroger to shop for food stuff.

I received these Emergency Alerts below. First, the flash flood warning. Then, came two disturbing messages - tornado warnings.
  

I received these messages before
everything else happened.

The tornado came and went. Zero casualty.

My co-scholars came home and told me their tornado stories. 

If only the Philippines, our government and the Filipino race, have all these warnings and attitudes towards disasters then we would have saved thousands of lives and millions of dollars.

Then, it will be a more fun in the Philippines.

While my keyboard gently weeps

A replication of Rolling Stone Magazine boss Jann Wenner’s San Francisco office at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

The exhibition on the 50 years of Rolling Stone Magazine at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a sign of how journalism can build identity and a strong relationship with its readers as music stars do with their audience.

Text and photos by Enrique Núñez Mussa, Chile.

(Originally published on Global Spotlight Vol. 10, Issue III, 2017) 

The sun trespasses the buildings of San Francisco and pours through the window. The hands hitting the keys receive the warmth of the sun’s rays. It is a regular day at the office, but a regular day in this office is like a party anywhere else or at least that is what they wants us to believe.

This office will become a museum exhibition 50 years later, but Jann, the man with messy hair, jeans, and boots who is writing inside those rays, doesn’t know it yet. He might intuit it, he is aspiring big. The letter he is writing is directed to Mick Jagger, he has already received one from the frontman of the Rolling Stones that reads: “Dear Jann: In return for my consent to allow you to register the name Rolling Stone what do you offer as far as cover stories, special small ad rates and summer clothes coverage”.

         Selfie at the exhibition.    

Jann Wenner founded the magazine in 1967 and was defined by him as: “Rolling Stone is not just about music, but also about the things and attitudes that the music embraces. We’ve been working quite hard on it and we hope you can dig it. To describe it any further would be difficult without sounding like bullshit, and bullshit is like gathering moss”. That definition and the epistolary interactions with the voice behind “Paint it Black” and “Satisfaction” are part of the exhibition on the 50 years of Rolling Stone Magazine at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The exhibit that recreates the first office also shows documents as the handwritten messages from Gonzo pioneer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson, a collection of the most memorable magazine covers, pictures from the first days, pieces of edited articles, the notes on the interview Wenner did with president Barack Obama and objects such as the recorder used by the now-film director Cameron Crowe, who presented the golden age of the magazine in his movie Almost Famous.

Cameron's Crowe recorder exhibited at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The magazine was able to turn a typing machine into a rock and roll object as an electric guitar. It made journalism something as cool as The Beatles, The Sex Pistols and Jimi Hendrix, broadening narrative structures. Writers and photographers were able to develop their own voices, trying different registers. They could attempt diverse repertories and styles, bringing quality from an outsider’s perspective as the political photos of Annie Leibowitz.

After going through the halls of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame looking at the different ages of popular music, I think at one level the reason to make worthy to exhibit a t-shirt or an old record is from the more visceral perspective of the emotions raised from that song, the same way as an article that surprises you.

There is also a response to their current societies through an embrace or a rebellious response to previous generations, Rolling Stone Magazine did break with traditional journalism and several times honored the best in good literature. That creates a point of view and a style that goes beyond an individual artist or band, it defines an age, as a collection of individual articles mixed with photography and design. It ended up defining a brand and an attitude toward society, creating an identity readers could relate to engage with the world.

 Jann Wenner's notes on his interview to Barack Obama.

The final scene of the movie The Power of Rock, directed by Jonathan Demme and presented in the Hall museum, ends with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, and Prince playing "While my guitar gently weeps", written by George Harrison, is heart-beating and breaking when Prince plays a solo in which he moves his fingers as fast over the strings as you could imagine the fingers of Jann Wenner over the typewriter. The composer from Minneapolis closes his eyes and lets the chords flow as the music cries without lyric, it weeps, it is real and relevant and emotional, and it becomes history, as a letter to Mick Jagger that would help define the future of journalism.