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I am not good at Basket Ball and I’m not sure I know much about the game, the rules, the techniques and stuff. My friend Tahina who’s found of this game has already talked about this championship and some good Malagasy performers. Though I was there.
I was there watching the Malagasy performers… yelling to death when they scored… missing some mistakes 
but I was there like these other Malagasy people queuing at the gate for supporting our team.
Malagasy people are not really used to go out on workdays. And it was quite amazing to see the crowd lining up at the entrance gate of Palais des Sports Mahamasina to watch the game at 6.00 on a Tuesday evening.
What Diana and I could hear touched our heart. In fact, we were going to follow the match between Senegal and Madagascar. Everyone already knew the performance of this Vice-champion of Africa team. - and the winner for this Afrobasket Women 2009. Everyone already anticipated our failure. Though the stadium was amazingly full that evening and this dynamic public was there to encourage the Malagasy team, an attitude I feel proud of.
One day, Tahina and I proposed “Climate change” as a discussion topic for our club. We were so astonished (or shouldn’t we???) that all the members felt reluctant so we could guess that they were not interested in it. I believe that a lot of people around the world behave like these members when it is to talk about “Climate change”.
I have registered to this Blog Action Day (BAD) because first of all, I feel concerned about it, and also it is so great to see the numerous blogs which are taking part in posting articles about “Climate change” – BAD’s topic of this year. This makes me feel NOT ALONE 
Since this morning, I have deeply thought about what I will post this evening. And on my way home, I saw this big truck which smokes. I took out my camera and came nearer the driver and asked if I could take a pic. The big guy hesitated as I explained that it was for my blog. He could guess that I will talk about environment so he said “Make sure you don’t put me and the number of the truck in.” So I took the pic and showed it to him. Then I asked a “silly” question: Why he didn’t want to appear in the pic. He laughed and said: “I know that this smoke is bad but this truck is my money resources so I have to do with it… Anyway, I’m not the only one [shy smile]“
I lived that guy cuz I started to cough with the smoke. I went home and I have noticed that my neighbour is using charcoal. And bingo! here is our topic. Most of Malagasy homes (I am tempted to say 90%) use charcoal. Why? Because this is cheaper and you can buy it at any time in small quantity. Though if you use gas you have to pay it once. Don’t even think of electricity!!! But where does the charcoal come from??? Peasants in countrysides cut trees of forests to make the charcoal. Though none of them thought about re-planting trees. They prefer to move on to the nearby forests and so on. We, who are aware of the environment, know what goes with this act: no rain, endemic fauna and flora disapear, heat, erosion…
I think that the main problem here in Madagascar is that people are so busy to search for what they are going to eat today. We then become selfish and just think of ourselves. We forget our neighbours and our future generation.
One day, I really wanted to watch a documentary movie about “Why have we waited until it is too late to save our planet?”; yet, many believe that they still have time to think about the problems of climate change tomorrow or even later. People are not aware at all. Though, here in Madagascar, we should now be in hot and rainy season. I remember, when I was a kid, in october like this it rained almost every day… but this october 2009, till today, we only had 5 or 6 rainy days. Some may feel happy cuz they won’t need to buy and bring umbrella; peasants are not cuz of their farming.
I hope that the Bloggers’Action of today will wake up millions… billions of people… governments… poor countries… rich countries… and then, we will altogether rescue the Earth. What I can and already do now is planting my own trees
One Sunday, my family and I wanted to have a little picnic outside Tana. We were not sure of where to go but finally decided to take the National Road #3 wich goes to the North part of Antananarivo and leads to Anjozorobe. We stopped by Talatamaty to buy some “koba” which are really famous and delicious . Well, people also stop by for buying sausages but we were not in for them on that day.
A few kilometers from there, we were attracted by a crowd so decided to park the car and join this crowd. Wow, in fact they were watching cockfights.
My sister and I were so happy ‘cuz this made us remember our childhood. My father used to love cockfights. He had two or three roosters that he feeded and trained everyday. It was a real passion. My sister and I used to come with our father every sunday afternoon for “his” cockfights.
I was so impressed. The cockfights still took place on sunday afternoon and wow, even the rules did not change apart from the amount of the placing .
The first rules are for the cockfighters owners. The organizers choose by toss whose rooster will start the fight and its opponent. After the fight, the winner will get a prize (money).
How to define the winner? The two cocks are put in the middle, the public stand around in a circle. The cocks start to fight. The one that will run away and give up the fight will loose the game.
Meanwhile, the public do not just watch the fight. They also gamble. They decide between them the amount of the placing and then support the rooster that they believe will win.
Ahhhhhhh, sweet memories! I think, I will come back and watch these cockfights again some sunday afternoon just like when I was a kid.
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.
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.
Marais Masay
Fishermen at Marais Masay
The Marais Masay is a former swamp which has been transformed to collect the discharge of dirty water from the surrounding areas and companies. It is so obvious that fishing at this marsh is forbidden. Poverty makes people breaking the law. As you can see on the pic, people are still fishing there. I heard that they take those fishes and put them in a clean pool for a week and then sell them in some markets far from Marais Masay.
Now, there is a project, sponsored by Ile de France, to clean the water of Marais Masay. Since it is hard to follow and to punish the fishermen, cleaning the marsh can be a good solution. And frankly speaking, I love this project. I am not good at technical details, and since there was noone there to answer my questions, I only took pics so enjoy them
The name of this project is Vetiver Float – “Flotteur de Vétiver”. Vetiver is the name of the grass. This float is used to hold garbage and to purify the water so eating fishes from Marais Masay will be safer in a near future.
I am so sorry, contacted by the genius guy who is the source of this project, I have been asked to take off some photos. Thanks for your understanding.
April 16th, 2009 at 12.15 pm, thousands of legalist women, in a March, passed by Antaninarenina. The dress code was white. Also, those courageous women, in a long line of 3km, sung gospel songs while waving the flowers in their hands. While they were passing by Antaninarenina, they hummed “Sambatra aho Jeso ô, manana anao izay Tompon’ny hery…” [Jesus, I am glad to have You, the Power holder...].
Unfortumately, I didn’t have my camera with me and took a long time to decide to take pics with my mobile phone. I was about to miss the March.
While taking pics, a lady told me not to be afraid of them because they do not plan to make a mess around but only protesting against the HAT and claiming the return of Marc Ravalomanana.
Two military trucks were around but did not try to disperse the crowd nor open the fire.
Pics from The Cyber Observer
March 28, the pro Ravalomanana were 15,000 to 20,000 to rally at Ambohijatovo Democracy Square. Right after the rally, on their way home, the crowd planned to pass by Analakely but the militaries started to fire. At the beginning they shot into the air and fired tear gas. Then, those militaries fired on the protesters.
I was unfortunately not in Ambohijatovo to see what really happened so I watched the news on local TV to know more about it but it seems like the media cannot stop changing the reality. There were a lot of divergence about the information.
When the TV plus announced that there were 22 injured from Analakely, MaTV said more than 30. @dadandry went to HJRA and confirmed that 34 wounded people were registered at this hospital.
TV plus announced that they were clashes between TGV supporters and pro Ravalomanana so the militaries had to open the fire to disperse the crowd. Though Le monde.fr did not mention those clashes.
I really needed to understand that detail, I meant that big difference, so I asked a blogger friend who witnessed the event to tell what really happened. Andry said that, after the rally in Ambohijatovo, the 20,000 pro Ravalomanana wanted to go down to Analakely, like they used to do before going home.
Pic from The Cyber Observer
Pic of Avylavitra
The first line arrived in front of the restaurant Planète when the militaries started to fire into the air then exploded tear gas. Suddenly, those militaries shot on the crowd. “I could see people laying down on the ground full of blood”, Andry said “but the most sad thing I’ve seen yesterday was, a little girl who cried because she could not find her mother”.
Pic from The Cyber Observer
I will tell you a personnal opinion on this, Andry Rajoelina does not want the crowd from Ambohijatovo go to the Place du 13 Mai because people will discover that these pro Ravalomanana are 3 or 4 times more numerous than the TGV protesters of few weeks ago.
Another personnal opinion, the militaries were told to fire on the crowd so these Ravalomanana followers will be afraid to come back to the general strike planned for next Monday.
Still a personnal opinion, Andry Rajoelina was (one more time) mistaken because now the whole world can see and understand his “real democracy”: getting the power through violences and frights, then letting criminals go freely out of jail, and now shooting on people because they are against his coup, …
As agreed, the pro Ravalomanana still made a rally at Ambohijatovo Democracy Square on wednesday. The number of the crowd has increased a lot. When on saturday, we said they were 3,000, on monday they were more than 6,000. Tuesday and wednesday, the crowd joining the fight against the coup were around 10,000. The park of Ambohijatovo was full.
The most exciting and encouraging thing for these Ravalomanana followers was the direct call made by their “President” (yes, for them, Ravalomanana is still the President) saying that he will be home soon. Marc Ravalomanana thanked his people who trust in him and who are ready to fight for him to come back, to fight for the Tanindrazana (ancestors land).
At 01.45 p.m., this 10,000 people went to Analakely. The pavement was compledely blocked. And when I noticed a bus which was still trying to cross the crowd, I could hear the people wacthing from the sidewalk stating that “When TGV protesters made a rally like this before, they would have attacked this bus”.
Nevertheless, they were clashes. A little group of teenagers (from the orange revolution camp) were throwing stones and insults to the crowd. Those pro TGV also took the pics of Ravalomanana from the hands of “their opponents” and teared them. When I tried to take pics, those little guys frightened to attack me and to destroy my camera. I could get a very short video anyway.
Sunday night , a friend informed me through sms that the President Marc Ravalomanana has called for a general strike starting from Monday. This news was heard on Radio MADA International which has transmitted on short wave 5895KHz since saturday and latest news, can also be caught on FM100.6.
Monday, they were more than 5,000 people to answer the call of their beloved President… more… Father Marc Ravalomanana.
We want noone else but our dear Father
The Democracy sqare was full of crowd who do not accept the transitional government which they qualified as coup. The main protests we could here were:
- Why didn’t Andry Rajoelina wait for elections? Real democracy is respecting the choice of electors who have given Ravalomanana five years of presidency.
No to Coup d'Etat
- Andry Rajoelina seized the power by arms and force, but we do not give up, we did not “loose”, we keep on fighting for the “real” democracy.
For that, these pro Ravalomanana are ready for a daily rally at the park of Ambohijatovo.
Monday, some militaries in a 4×4 tried to intimidate these Andry Rajoelina’s opponents by firing a tear-gas. The crowd replied with a big and massive “oooooh… oooooh” to show that they were not afraid at all.
Like on saturday, after the rally, the crowd went all down to Analakely.
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