You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2009.
One night, my friends and I were hanging out and had a lot of fun. At around 4.00 a.m., we decided that it was high time to go home. On our way home, we still felt so happy cuz of the great evening we had together. We laughed, we listened to great music… Suddenly, this happiness turned bitter cuz I noticed poor people sleeping on the sidewalks near tunnels. I felt so sad though powerless in front of such picture. I have to tell you that we are now in winter in Madagascar and on that morning we all felt so cold.
I asked my friend to stop the car so I could take one or two photos of these poor people. I wanted to share this poverty to people who do not feel comfortable enough with what they have. What you see in these pics are not dead people, they are poor homeless people who have to take a rest facing this so hard life. For their bed, they gather all plastic bags, newspapers or old clothes that you and I throw in the streets or in trash bins.
A little brick house in Countryside Vs. a little wooden house in the Capital City
The situation above makes me remember a story I read in a book. This story talked about a little family who had a little brick house and a peace of land in countryside of Antananarivo. The little house had only one room where were the bedrooms and the kitchen at the same time. They had one cow and a few chickens. They had a little rice field and planted a few vegetables. The crops and the milk were their resources.
One day, the father decided to sell the cow and the chickens because he wanted to bring his family downtown and see the so called Capital City. This father believed that life would be beautiful once they would arrive in the big city.
Few days later, the family arrived in town. They came and see an uncle who already lived in Antananarivo. The father and the little family were astonished once they saw where this uncle lived: in a little house made with wood and plastics. Well, the father who was really courageous and motivated, invited his little family to fix a little wooden house near the uncle’s and said that this would be the beginning of a new life and a brighter future.
The father helped the uncle driving rickshaws; the mother became a laundress and the kids picked up all bottles and plastic bags in trash bins for resell. Most of the time, it was hard to find money to survive because jobs were so rare but the father convinced the family to stay because this would be only a start for a great life in a very near future. Years after, their financial situation and life conditions worsened and the children missed their little room of the countryside but the father did not want to leave “his” Capital City.
Since the beginning of this month, I saw from a brochure of Alliance Française d’Antananarivo (AFT) that they would schedule a free concert of Vilon’Androy on July 17th. I already wanted to attend this show.
Friday evening, I invited my friends to come with me to the Vilon’Androy concert. Dago Mc was not convinced to enjoy this plan at the beginning but finally we all loved the whole show. Tahina, DagoMC and I even took part in dancing the Southern part of Madagascar rythms. I loved it so much. Andry didn’t dance, I guess that was because he didn’t know the moves 
but he took some pics. I have taken a few pics and set a video for you to be convinced as well that the Vilon’Androy is a great musical band.
The concert shared not only a Malagasy musical show but also culture of the South of Madagascar: hairstyle, dress, jewelleries, musical instruments… And one more time, I loved it.
When we started to get the moves, the lead-singer announced that it was time to end the show so we all shouted “NOOOOOOO” and so the band kept on performing again and again. Finally, as it started to be late at night, the concert came to its end. The Vilon’Androy has just released a new album “Pelake”and brought some CDs. Fans were so happy to buy some. My friends and I took the opportunity to get on the stage and take some pics with the band. That would remain a wondeful souvenir.
Since Andry Rajoelina and the HAT have taken the power, they brought into court the case of “TIKO Group”, the companies of the ousted president Marc Ravalomanana. In fact, this group did not pay their due taxes during the presidency of Ravalomanana. The tribunal has given their verdict; the group has to pay the amount of Ariary 25 billions to the Malagasy state. Since then, all the companies of this group closed.
When we heard from Andry Rajoelina that he would never sell oil to “his” people (Malagasy people), Friday morning, I was a little astonished when I heard the statement of one of his ministers during the morning news on radio. The Minister of Finance and Budget, Benja Razafimahaleo, admited that the Group TIKO played a big role in the economy of the Island. Due to its closure, many people are jobless: not only workers from the companies, but also all the providers of raw materials (milk, … ), transporters… Convinced by the role of the company TIKO, the government of the HAT is offering the following solution. TIKO will get back to work with all their employees, with the same techniques, the same products, but the debt due to the state will be inferred from the result of the company. Then, everyone will profit from this coming back of TIKO.
The minister said that they did not know yet if TIKO would agree with this proposal. Until then, some big new groups took benefit from the crisis by importing the “missing” basic foods – mainly oil and butter. The home-made yoghurts are invading the groceries. And it is amazing to see all those butter sellers in the streets without refrigerator or good condition for preserving food.
The second edition of Barcamp Madagascar was held on saturday, July 4th, 2009 at Ivotel Ambohidahy. Bloggers, journalists, citizens wanting to know more about new media attended the workshop.
Lova Rakotomalala
This year Foko has choosen the topic “Crowd sourcing info in Madagascar” presented by Lova Rakotomalala. The new media which is a digital communication tool for spreading information using blog, twitter, youtube, flickr… The new media which is more and more appreciated due to its quick and instant flow is also growing in Madagascar. The need of new media has been highlighted during the crisis of Madagascar. Some boggers then took the floor to share their experiences. We could hear Andry (Foko Antananarivo), Jentilisa, Avylavitra, Stefane (Foko Antananarivo), Jaona (Foko Fianarantsoa), Patrick (Foko Toamasina), Gaetan (Foko Antsirabe). The main purpose was about the Madagascar crisis. It seems like all of these bloggers exactly knew that they were running into troubles and big risks trying to take pics and eye-witness riots but could not restrain themselves from blogging.
We also had the priviliege to hear about different social networks: twitter, facebook, friendfeed… the web 2.0 by Thierry Andriamirado. By the way, it was the first time for me to meet @tandriamirado and I was really pleased. A blog is not enough if none knows about its existence, we do need social networks to get the interest of the followers, to share and to spread information.
The former Minister of communication, Tsilavina Ralaindimby attended the Barcamp 2.0. He acknowledged that Malagasy bloggers have done a great job throughout the crisis.
After a short break, the workshop kept on with Chris and Afick from the region of SAVA. They talked about a current project of establishing social radios in remoted areas in Madagascar. Working with Radio Active and BBC, Radio Ciel of Antalaha is now efficient.
Claire Ulrich
Claire, from Global Voice in French, talked about different cases of censorship all over the world. She said that nowadays, governments are aware of the power of internet and new media. This is the reason why they have created new systems to block disclosure of some information that may harm them. We recently heard about the case of Iran elections and the arrest of bloggers. Other cases of censorship are disappearance of the site or the bog, or some articles of the blog, or censored names which will be changed into unknown letters. How to avoid censorship? Claire advised each blogger to make sure to know the laws and regulations of their country in order not to give reason to the government to arrest them. Herdict.org has been created for each one of us about websites or blogs that do not run properly.
I attended the first edition of Barcamp Madagascar but blogging and stuff were too new for me to get really involved. This year was exceptionnally different because I sincerely felt concerned. Tahina and I should have even participated by presenting Foko-Ushahidi but I do not really know why at the last moment another guy has been invited by Stefane to talk about it. Anyway, it was cool.
Ushahidi which means “Testimony”is a social network which Foko has decided to work with inviting all citizens of Madagascar to report and to share any event, case, abuses… they have eye-witnessed by logging on http://foko-ushahidi.com or sending sms to (+261) 33 40 691 11.
Patrick and I
I was so glad to meet, for the first time, Patrick from BUEC Toamasina. Nice to meet you dear
A big hand to all of us guys
More pics on My Flickr
My friends and I couldn’t believe it when we saw a message saying “R.I.P MJ, the King of Pop” on Facebook on Thursday, June 26th, 2009. In fact, we were all together that night to celebrate the Malagasy Independence Day.
My brother and I talked about Michael Jackson’s death in a cab and amazingly the cabber asked “but who is that Michael Jackson? “. My brother then said that he was a singer from America. And the cabber wanted to know if MJ was Black or White? My brother and I looked at each other with a little smile but didn’t reply
All MJ’s fans gathered at Gare Soarano:
We hea
rd from news that all fans throughout the world will gather to pay tribute to Michael Jackson. Malagasy MJ’s fans decided then to meet at Gare Soarano on wednesday evening starting from 5.oo p.m., through the initiative of someone that we still don’t know. Some people heard announcement on TV, others got the news from twitter and facebook.
I was impressed that this event was completely instant. Some came with posters and photos of MJ, some brought candles and a big book of lyrics, a guy was disguised to look like the King of Pop and even danced on the rythm of MJ’s songs played from a friend’s car. You’ll find below the interview of this friend who is a real Big Fan of MJ.
Njato and Hery, fans of MJ brought the posters and photos
Fan forever:
Lova, not only a Big Fan of Michael Jackson but also a great drawer, will nicely share his sweet thought about his STAR. Enjoy.
+ Why do you like MJ? and what do you like the most in MJ?
I love the energy in his dance and move. What I admire the most is his meticulous way in doing things and his vision. Michael Jackson always see huge and new things that people follow years after.
+ Since when have you liked MJ?
I was a kid during the thriller era and I used to tease my aunts because then she was so in it, I used to say “zordir e” [trash] instead of “just beat it” and she was sooo mad at me… but then in 1987, Bad album was released, and then was my turn to be hooked.
+ How did you behave when you heard all the story with the kids?
I just said “Well, MJ was an easy target, but look at the end he’s gonna be acquitted.” It’s sad people doubt him, and it’s so unjust when you see media & als could make lots of money out of it. Showbiz is showbiz, what a pity.
+ As a fan, what are your limits?
No plastic surgery for me, I love his move, the poet in he was and his appreciation of
beauty.
+How can you define the music of MJ?
“Perfect and revolutionary”
+ The MJ’s songs/album you like the most? Why?
Well, Man in the mirror IS the song I can say I like the most… it talks about “change of self, helping people…”. And it’s so special for me because thanks to that song, English language is now in me. Before, I didn’t know the meaning of the song, and I just loved the melody, but I did everything to make it possible for me to understand it, I asked my parents to buy me a dictionary, and I picked all words in the lyrics one by one, and I translated them… and starting from that, my English is born The song offered me an opportunity to speak English, it’s a self change.
+ How did you feel when you heard about MJ’s death?
I was soooo stunned, I didn’t believe it. Once I heard about it from a friend, who sent his sympathy with a short message around 6am, I didn’t care wether it was a joke or not, my very first reflex was to grab my remote controls and I browsed all news channels to look for further infos…
+ Do you agree with his nickname King of pop?
Definitely, he is the KING OF POP.
MJ - Lova - Roxy
+ During your MJ’s interpretations, share the best experience.
First of all, I’d say, I was the only Malagasy fan that performed his dance on our national tv station in “Avoria” tv show in 1989. And after that I was asked to perform it everywhere : roxy, antsahamanitra, ccesca, falda, and even in the suburb areas… but the very first was during my father’s stage anniversary with my little sister (then, we pretend to be Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson). I was amazed and a little bit proud of myself when people came at me for a signature after any show… You know I felt like I was my star …LOL…
My best experience was the opening of our wedding ball, my wife and I tried to interpret our stars, hers “Aaliyah” and mine was “Michael Jackson”.
+Any message for all MJ lovers?
Our MJ will always be remembered. But please, keep all good things he did and ignore all tabloid junkies. May he rest in peace.
Recent Comments