Important

I'm going to suspend (temporarily, I hope) the update of this site...
Thanks to all of you.

Giovanni

Old links cleaned out

Today I removed a few links from the sidebar on the right, as their related blogs or web sites weren't updated regularly.

If your blog or web site is no longer here on theViewPoint.org, and you think it should be, please kindly let me know (the dot ViewPoint at gmail dot com).

UK universities boycott Israeli academic institutions

The news is that

Britain's University and College Union (UCU) voted on Wednesday to promote a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, protesting Israel's policy on the Palestinians. [...] The motion was approved by a 158 to 99 vote, and called for freezing European funding for Israeli academic institutions, while condemning "Israeli academia's cooperation with the occupation."
(Haaretz.com, 31/05/2007, U.K. union backs calls for boycott of Israel academe)

On this issue, I suggets you to read the opinions both on Israelity.com (Another British Boycott (ho hum)) and on Oranges and Olives (Do it because it works!).

Comments welcome!

Brazil: the Prestes Maia Occupation

Introduction
For over a decade, a 22-storey building on Rua Prestes Maia in central São Paulo stood empty, ignored by its owner.

In November 2002, the Movimento Sem Teto do Centro (MSTC), Homeless Movement of Central São Paulo, occupied and squatted it.

Since April 2005 the council has been trying to clear the building on behalf of the owner for development.

In February 2006 a deadline of 15 April was set for the eviction of the families.

On 30 March 2006, Amnesty International issued a "Urgent Action" on behalf of the families of Prestes Maia, reminding the Brazilian authorities that under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights they had at least to give adequate notice of eviction, and provide the occupants with adequate alternative accomodation.

On 4 April 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the families had rights as residents, and suspended the eviction order indefinitely.

In February 2007, a new order to evict, before 4 March, the 468 families of Prestes Maia was issued, on the grounds that the building is not fit for human habitation in its present condition.

In March 2007, A São Paulo state judge extended the final date of eviction by a further 60 days, until 10 May.

On 12 april 2007, the mayor of São Paulo, Mr. Gilberto Kassab, met with the Minister of the Cities (Ministro das Cidades, ndr), Mr. Marcio Fontes, and others to solve the problem of the Prestes Maia families.

Now a progressive and pacific withdrawal of Prestes Maia families is under way, and the families are moved to new locations.

The following is a syntesis of a great photo essay by Tatiana Cardeal: click here to see the full photo essay about the Prestes Maia Occupation.

© text and photos Tatiana Cardeal (web site: Brazil Social Photography; Flickr: Tatiana Cardeal's photos)


Where do we go?

The beginning

Almost two years ago I started to document the Prestes Maia Occcupation at São Paulo's downtown.
I was in front of one's door apartment, disturbed with this inner's image, when the boy came, full of life... I shot.

The building of Prestes Maia

Prestes Maia is a colossal abandoned clothes factory that towers over central Sao Paulo, and is the biggest occupation of Latin America; the building, with 22 storeys, is home to 468 families, around 2,000 people from the MSTC (Downtown Homeless People's Movement).
The owners of the building, Jorge Hamuche and Eduardo Amorim, abandoned the building twenty years ago and owe about BRL$5 million (EUR$1.8 million) in taxes.

Despite this, the judge of the 25th Civil Jurisdiction of Sao Paulo granted an injunction for the repossession of the property, ignoring the residential rights of the occupants and even a UN report that declares: "the municipal government of Sao Paulo, through the Secretaria de Habitacao e Desenvolvimento Urbano and COHAB, should promote the renovation of the Prestes Maia building for housing and social interests, to meet the objective of the dispossession of the building by the municipality."

22 floors, and no elevators.

Roberta and other 468 families are waiting. After a meeting at the town council, on Feb 15 2006, the Prestes Maia people "won" two more months to stay and negociate.

The people of Prestes Maia

Inside the Prestes Maia building, an old woman with her cane.
A few days ago, Chris was asking me about the old and the ill people... how do they do with 22 floors and no elevator? Well, sadly, the truth is that they do what is possible.

Talking to Romilda Nunes, 63 years old, and her husband, João Cosme, it's easy to feel how worried they are.
I'm worried too.

Daiane and her son, Kauê Nicolas, both living at the Prestes Maia building.

Almost a year ago, Severino at the encampment of the Downtown Homeless Movement.
They have been camping several times in front of the São Paulo's city hall, to protest and pressure the mayor about their cause.
Severino is the founder of the Pretes Maia Popular Library and, with Roberta, he is its guardian.

An inhabitant of the Prestes Maia building, in a talking supported by a protest of artists, last Sunday (February 12, 2006).

Here is Ivaneti de Araujo, one of the most important leaders of this movement, talking to the Prestes Maia people.
I've just arrived from the Prestes Maia building, where they were having a assembly.
Well, the good news is that after a meeting in this afternoon at the town council, they won more two months to stay.
Then, they should start the negociation again, and again.

Ten women have been leading the most underprivileged community of São Paulo city, the Downtown Homeless Movement, formed by thousands of people who formerly lived on the street. Like an army without shelter, they founded the Homeless Movement not only as a way to struggle for the right to housing, but to restore their own dignity, unraveled by lack of care and social segregation.

Here are lady Romilda (left) and the Prestes Maia's coordinator, lady Jomarina (right), cooking in an improvised kitchen at the encampment. They both live at Prestes Maia, and here they are cooking pasta for hundreds people of the Downtown Homeless Movement.

The children of Prestes Maia

I took this picture on July 2005, when I first visited the Prestes Maia because of an attempt to get the people out of the building.
I hadn't seen this two kids there anymore, maybe they had left the place.
They were posing for an artist who was drawing... many artists helped, and are still helping to call the attention of people to this issue.

There are Carlos Daniel, who has a minor learning deficiency problem, and his grandmother Roberta (on the back). They live at the Prestes Maia building, in a family of three adults and two children.

1, 2, 3... brothers (Jonas, Lucas and Jessica) of the 315 children that are living at the Prestes Maia Building.

Kids that live at the Prestes Maia building while praying for the decisions regarding their future.


The life at Prestes Maia

At the Federal Public Ministery, people from Prestes Maia listening to the public audience.

These women are so amazing! I've been learning so much with them.
I love to learn about their collective conscience (as the indigenous people too). It always surprise me how different a society, that is able to look for the collective with the same power it looks to the individual world, can be .

In a relief day of the occupation, Prestes Maia's families celebrats the last suspenction of their eviction with a barbecue in the street, in the Prestes Maia Avenue, but still with some tensions in the air. It was before the final negotiation of their progressive withdrawal, and they were untrusting.
I won't forget some hungry faces of this day.

Here are pictures from Roberta, the Carlos Daniel grandmother, trying to cook their dinner in their room, on the 8th floor. The electricity company cut off the energy last saturday (May, 27th), at 7:30pm, without giving a warning. The company workers arrived at the building accompanied by 10 police cars.

At the beginning of the Prestes Maia's occupation the residents tryed to negotiate with the AES Eletropaulo Company (the American AES Corporation, Houston Industries Energy, Inc.), asking to let them to pay for the energy they were using, but the company demanded that they pay an old debt , from the previous owner, that was about US$50.000. So, there were no possibilities of negotiation, and they did some "improvised" illegal connections to have the energy.

This kid is looking for new stories at the Prestes Maia Popular Library.
This library project was started by a couple from Prestes Maia occupation, Severino and Roberta ; Severino, who recycle the garbage from the streets of São Paulo city to eke out his living, found many books on the streets, and as he is not capable to read, he felt bad giving the books for recycle.
"Books are sacred", he said.
So Severino and Roberta started acumulating books, then they realized there were hundreds... and so they organized them.
Now, the Popular Prestes Maia Library has 16.000 books, and is used by kids, adults and visitors.
It's the seeds of knowledge that are alive inside a hard life.


In April 2006, Prestes Maia hosted a cool art exhibition as part of a major arts festival – the IX Havana Biennale.
13 groups of artists, that support the Prestes Maia homeless movement, were invited to the Cuba's Biennale, but they had burocratics and financial troubles... so they decided to create this "parallel room" of the Habana Biennale, at the subsoil of the Prestes Maia building, to show their work simultaneously, and many works have been sent to Habana via fax, every day.
It was another way to call the attention of the society to the ocuppation.

This is a piece of one of this works. It's a kind of mockup of the Prestes Maia: 4 meters tall, the column of light illuminates pictures of the residents.

From one of the creators words (a group called "February, 3th Front"): "What supports this building it's not the building in itself, but this people".

I was lucky to find the little Aquiles, a cute boy and one of the Prestes' residents,
just playing inside the mockup. The red letters are talking about resistence, and Zumbi, a heroic 17th century leader of fugitive slaves in Brazil. They've quoted Zumbi because, while visiting the apartments at Prestes maia, the artists felt that these are the actual quilombos (quilombos were hidden places that the slaves used to live after fleeing from the farms. The only secure place to live in freedom).

Long life to the Zumbi spirit!


A year ago, an artists' performance to pressure the judge, asking the suspension of the Prestes Maia Occupation's forced eviction.


The end (?)


The Prestes Maia Occupation is getting empty, day after day, but there is still a piece of art, made by the "February, 3rd Front group", shinning as a totemic light in the middle of the garage.

In the photo, Patrick Wilcken, writer and Amnesty International’s campaigner in Brazil.


Winds of changes
a gate will open
we navigated in dreams
and expectations

every place
must bring enchants for the eyes
and touch the heart

dear Prestes Maia
symbol of many fights
and knowledge
we brought your name for the world
but it will remain in our hearts

there is a giant bird
that underneath of its wings
received us

Here's the life's mirror
It's time to leave
Good bye dear Prestes Maia
we must leave you

The doors are closing
they cease the applauses
but it will be forever
kept in our memory.

Poem by Roberta Maria da Conceição, a nice friend of mine, always opening her wings and home to receive me at the Prestes Maia occupation.


One of the empty apartments at Prestes Maia we visited after the beginning of the withdrawal.
Here, the English team of the Amnesty International, about a week ago:
- Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s campaigner on Brazil;
- Tim Cahill, Amnesty International researcher on Brazil;
- Manoel Del Rio, lawyer who supports the Downtown Homeless Movement .

We have received letters from all over the globe, to help the Prestes Maia's occupation during difficult days of resistance and negotiations.
This was really an important step of all this process, and you all were part of it.
Thanks a lot.

Let's do not forget, everyone is a changemaker :)

Legal and business advice for online publishers and bloggers

The Online Journalism Review has an interesting feature on the steps bloggers and online publisher can take to protect themselves, and their website, from lawsuits and other legal problems.

Here are the first few lines; click here to read the item.

"Over the months that I've been writing about legal issues for OJR, the consistent issue that has emerged is that online publishers need good legal representation. But that imperative has been matched by an equally vexing question: how does a small publisher get the right legal advice at an affordable price? Fortunately, there's a host of good resources available, and some fairly clear guidelines on when legal advice is needed. Here's what I learned from talking to the experts and scouring the Web.

Consider your legal exposure when choosing a structure for your business. Mark Anderson, an intellectual property attorney at Masur & Associates, says that, "Especially in terms of copyright infringement claims, damages can be very high, and if you're not insulated by a corporate entity..."
(Read more)

What I saw: slice-of-life reportage from around the world

"What I Saw" has been set up by journalists who seek to promote the art of reportage, a journalistic form that is sadly in decline, as they say:

"Whatever you’ve experienced or witnessed - whether dramatic, extraordinary, insightful, entertaining or just rather odd - send us your story, or a short outline of what you’d like to write, and we’ll let you know if it fits the bill. If you’d like to discuss an idea, then write to us as well. We want to hear from anyone - you don’t have to be a journalist or have any real writing experience. It’s what you have to say, and how you say it, that counts. We all have a story to tell. Share yours on this website."

Damascus Spring

Damascus Spring is an archive of Syrian bloggers who write about Syrian freedom of speech prisoners now being sentenced without a fair trial, sometimes without trial at all. The blog is dedicated to these Syrian prisoners, and to Syria Spring.