InternationalMEdiaSTUDIES
tra n s p a re n cy ve rs u s c o r r u p t i o n
Impressum IMS Volume 2
Das Magazin wurde im Medienpraxisteil „Print“ und dem Seminar „Projektmanagement“ erstellt, in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Internationalen Institut für Journalismus (IIJ) der GIZ in Berlin und Bonn im Oktober 2012 Redaktionsteam: Evgenia Belyaeva Christine Bukania Maria Centeno Karen Silva Toqa Hilal Abu-Bakarr Jalloh Srinivas Mazumdaru Sayed Musaddiq Jacques Abel Onya Olga Ostapenko Ayu Purwaningsih Julieta Romero Valentin Vasilev
My corruption … By Evgenia Belyaeva Corruption is a term we, International Media Studies (IMS) students coming from countries like India, Sierra Leone, Russia, Indonesia, Colombia and Kenya, are very well aware of. It is rooted in our countries and affects all parts of our lives. In Sierra Leone people give bribes to get a passport and in Indonesia they pay when they want to be admitted to a prestigious school. In Russia it is common to give money to travel with a pet, in India to buy a driving licence and in Kenya to bribe policemen to free themselves from a speeding ticket. The reasons for corruption in our countries are many ranging from poverty and greed for money and power to seeking privileged treatment and covering secrets. “All of us have a responsibility to take action against the cancer of corruption,” said United Nations
Front page: Foto: Piotr Lewandowski www.sxc.hu
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Tutoren: Olaf Herling Andrea Tapper
and accountability. And most of all in communication when, for
Projektmanager: Petra Kohnen
We hope this magazine will give the readers the information and
The basic medicine to fight and eliminate corruption at any level is transparency. Transparency implies clearness and openness in any decision-making process. Free access to official documents instance, a government involves local communities in all steps of a large infrastructure project. Transparency promotes a culture of trust and creates a better society for all people. motivation to stop this vice of corruption.
Deine Korruption …
10 silly questions
8
From Nairobi to the big screen
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6
How to measure corruption
11 Fairness for forests
Latin America under the microscope
Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil: the whole editorial team taking the topic seriously on the terrace of the Journalism Institute in Berlin
Photo: Andrea Kambergs
Korruption kennt jeder Student von International Media Studies (IMS), und meist aus eigener Erfahrung. Denn in unseren 25 Heimatländern haben fast alle schon damit zu tun gehabt. In Sierra Leone beispielweise geben die Leute Schmiergeld, um einen Ausweis zu bekommen, in Indonesien für die Aufnahme in eine hochwertige Schule, in Russland, um ihren Hund ins Flugzeug mitzunehmen. In Indien wird bestochen, um einen Führerschein zu erhalten und in Kenia steckt man dem Polizisten etwas zu, um einen Strafzettel zu umgehen. Die Gründe für die Korruption in unseren Ländern sind viel fältig: Armut, Gier Geldgier, Macht, Suche nach privilegierter Behandlung, das Verschweigen von Informationen. „Korruption ist wie Krebs, der sich in unserer Gesellschaft verbreitet. Bei uns allen liegt die Verantwortung, diese Plage auszurotten“, unterstreicht der Generalsekretär der Vereinten Natio nen, Ban Ki-moon. Die beste Medizin gegen Korruption ist Transparenz. Transparenz bedeutet Klarheit und Offenheit. Freien Zugang für Bürger zu amtlichen Dokumenten. Rechenschaftspflicht. Und Kommunikation: Bei großen Bauvorhaben etwa sollte und kann der Staat die Bürger von vornherein miteinbeziehen. Transparenz fördert eine Kultur des Vertrauens und damit eine bessere Gesellschaft. Wir hoffen, unser Magazin motiviert Sie, über Korruption in Ihrem Leben nachzudenken. Und zu helfen, das Laster zu beseitigen.
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10 silly questions
about corruption By Valentin Vassilev and Toqa Hilal
Corruption and transparency are tricky terms to define. What do people from various walks of life make of all this?
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Kann ich mit meinem Presseausweis ins Theater? Schwierige Frage. Irgendwie ist das ja schon Vorteilsnahme, also in gewisser Weise korrupt. Aber ich finde, es ist dennoch kein Problem, weil der Gewinn für den Journalisten nicht groß ist, und der Verlust für das Theater auch nicht. Korruption hängt mit Macht zusammen, und hier geht es nicht um Macht. David Rojas-Kienzle, 23, Student und Journalist bei „Latein Amerika Nachrichtenmagazin“, Berlin
2
Will corruption disappear if poverty is eliminated?
No. Ireland was quite well-off when it fell into recession in 2008 because of a huge real estate bubble, which in turn, was brought about by dodgy dealings and all kinds of reckless financial transactions. Claire Martin, 28, Transparency International (www.transparency.org), Berlin
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Are policemen in Kenya corrupt because they are poorly paid? Of course. If someone tells you he will pay you just for looking away, aren’t you going to take the money? We must stop throwing stones and look at ourselves. Life is expensive, and policemen, just like you, have to pay rent, take their children to school and feed them. If they are underpaid, they’ll collect money from the streets. But they are also victims. We need to stop blaming everybody else and fix the system. Tosh Gitonga, 31, Kenyan film director
Is corruption a matter of culture? Culture may support corruption but it’s not the main cause. The main cause is greed. For example, the kinship values that exist in societies like in Indonesia, which are not bad at all, may help generate corruption because people are more interested in taking care of their relatives than in doing their job properly. Mariana Klute, 60, member of German NGO “Watch Indonesia” (www. watchindonesia.org)
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Kann ein Journalist PR und Journalismus gleichzeitig machen? Journalisten können nach Überzeugung des DJV durchaus zur gleichen Zeit sowohl PR machen, als auch journalistisch tätig sein, allerdings muss beides klar voneinander getrennt sein. So ist durchaus denkbar, dass freie Journalisten für einen Auftraggeber PR-Texte verfassen, für einen anderen journalistische Artikel. Die Arbeit darf sich jedoch nicht gegenseitig beeinflussen oder überschneiden. Eva Werner, 37, Bildungsreferentin und Pressesprecherin, Deutscher Journalistenverband (www.djv.de)
IMS – transparency versus corruption
Photo:Svilen Photo: SvilenMilev Milev
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Greed for money rules the world?
6
What’s an appropriate punishment for corruption? It depends on the level on which corruption occurs. Bribing a police officer is not like bribing a minister or a president. That is why there is no one-size-fits-all punishment. But it is important that all corrupt individuals be persecuted, regardless of their social, cultural or financial status. Our motto is “No Impunity.” Deborah Hardoon, 30, research manager at Transparency International, Berlin
If I give my qualified brother a job – is it nepotism? Hiring your qualified brother in the private sector is not nepotism because you may have good reasons to do so. You may know the relative to be more reliable, while the other person’s character, team spirit and social skills are yet unknown to you. However, when it comes to hiring a relative to a state position one should not give preference to a relative. But there is a common shady practice in Russia: civil servants do not hire relatives in their state institutions, but refer them to friends in the business world who could hire them. Igor Savin, 56, Vice President of the Russian Soil Science Institute at the Ministry of Agriculture, Moscow
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Who is corrupt – the person who receives a bribe or the person who gives one? Both are corrupt. But the briber is more to blame as he is “gratifying the needs” of the receiver. At least, that’s what I think. Dr. Ashraf Salhi, 33, psychologist and neurologist, Amman
What is corruption? In philosophical, theological or moral discussions, corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. In economy, corruption is payment for services or material which the recipient is not due, under law. wikipedia.org
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Was bedeutet eigentlich „TRANSPARENZ“? Durch etwas hindurch zu schauen und alles ganz klar zu sehen – das ist perfekte Transparenz. Je präziser die Kleinigkeiten sind, die man sieht, desto durchsichtiger ist zum Beispiel ein Fenster. Getönte Scheiben sind natürlich genau das Gegenteil von transparent. Hank Warschau, 56, Glaser, Berlin
IMS – transparency versus corruption
6 The world map (right) shows how the level of corruption differs from country to country. The intense red colour stands for a high level of corruption, while yellow stands for the lowest one. Grey colour means no data available. A new map is published annually
CORRUPTION rency PERCEPTIONS The A–Z of transpa INDEX 2011 s its own Corruption even ha u familiar with vocabulary. Are yo hment? these terms of enric
THE PERCEIVED LEVELS OF By Olga Ostapenko PUBLIC-SECTOR CORRUPTION d corruption • Gran IN 183 COUNTRIES/TERRITORIES dal Anglo Leasing scan Kenya had the huge hest places. corruption in the hig AROUND olved WORLD that invTHE government
half of the In the scam involving n, companies won of the African natio istent, s that were non-ex contracts for service nt ed the money – a blu and the players shar ption. case of Grand corru COUNTRY/TERRITORY
New Lobbying •Zealand
SCORE 9.5
RANK 25
France
7.0
11
it is in most 7.0 andLucia 9.4ed by law 25 , Saint Even when allow 25 Uruguay Finland 9.4 me “distortive 7.0 ing can28beco United Arab Emirates 6.8 Sweden 9.3 countries, lobby the organisation6.4 Estonia Singapore disproportio 9.2 nate”,29says and 30 nal. Cyprus Norway 9.0 In the United 6.3 Internatio Transparency 8.9 31 Spain 6.2 Netherlands cy lobbies pharma Botswana 6.1 Australia 8.8 ple, 32 States, for exam price control of 6.1 32 ed Portugal Switzerland 8.8ve block essfully ha cc su 32 Taiwan 6.1 Canada 8.7 ars. 35 Slovenia 5.9 Luxembourg 8.5 medicine for ye
12
Hong Kong
13
Iceland
2 2 4 5 6 7 8 8 10
Denmark
8.4
36
Israel
5.8
95
India
3.1
120
49
Rwanda
5.0
73
Brazil
3.8
95
Kiribati
3.1
120
50
Costa Rica
4.8
73
Tunisia
3.8
95
Swaziland
3.1
120
50
Lithuania
4.8
75
China
3.6
95
Tonga
3.1
120
50
Oman
4.8
75
Romania
3.6
100
Argentina
3.0
120
50
Seychelles
4.8
77
Gambia
3.5
100
Benin
3.0
120
54
Hungary By Karen
3.0
120
3.0
120
3.0
120
3.0
129
3.0
129
3.0
129
3.0
129
54 56 57 57 57
Chile
7.2
44
Dominica
5.2
69
22
Qatar
7.2
46
Bahrain
5.1
69
24
United States
7.1
46
Macau
5.1
69
19 19
dealings.
• Revolving door ves back and forth An individual who mo anies, ce and private comp between public offi rvice © 2011 Transparency International. All rights reserved d of government se exploiting his perio that his own benefit and and his contacts for . of private companies • Whistle blowing e it’s too late! South Set the alarm befor vocate ateng, year 2006, ad Africa, province Gu . ud fra the whistle on Janetha Brink blew ims, the local antiAccording to her cla tipwas not investigating corruption hotline senior g investigations of offs and was derailin t bu , ed ls. She was sack government officia later awarded. cy International
Source: Transparen
SCORE
3.9
22
16
COUNTRY/TERRITORY
Samoa
7.3
16
RANK
69
Bahamas
16
SCORE 5.1
21
14
COUNTRY/TERRITORY
Mauritius
8.3 Vincent and 5.8 ering 36 Saint the Grenadines • Money laund Germany 8.0 n, igi the or ealingBhutan 5.7 Japan The process of 8.0 conc 38 or lly 39 Malta 5.6 ga ille of n Austria 7.8 tio na ownership or7.8desti 39 Puerto Rico thin wi5.6 Barbados it ing hid by y ne tained41mo Cape Verde 5.5 dishonestly ob United Kingdom 7.8 ities. 5.5 Belgium onomic41activPoland legitimate ec7.5 43 Korea (South) 5.4fia ected to ma Ireland 7.5 nn co en oft is ing 44 Brunei 5.2 Money launder
14
How to measur
46
60 61 61 61 64 64 66 66 66
Backstage at Transparency Internatio Silva
3.5 and 100 Faso worldwide in itsBurkina international Kuwait 4.6 77 Vanuatu 3.5 100 Djibouti secretariat, TI100 works together Jordan 4.5 80 Colombia 3.4 Gabon with governments, and ndimuthu4.4Raja, the Czech Republic 80 former El Salvador 3.4 100 companies Indonesia Namibia 4.4 80 Greece 3.4 100 Madagascar civil society in order to implement telecom minister of India, Saudi Arabia 4.4 80 Morocco 3.4 100 Malawi measures Bewas arrested in 2011 for Malaysia 4.3 80 Perual3.4 to tackle 100 corruption. Mexico Cuba 80 Thailand 3.4 100practical Sao Tome and Principe sides developing tools to legedly indulging4.2 in corruption and Latvia 4.2 86 Bulgaria 3.3 100 Suriname promote transparency, the organicausing a loss of nearly 40 billion Turkey 4.2 86 Jamaica 3.3 100 Tanzania sation 3.3 also comdollars to the exchequer. Georgia 4.1 86 Bribery Panama 112 Algeria South Africa 4.1 86 3.3 piles the most 112 im- Egypt in agencies in Bangladesh isSerbia estiCroatia 4.0 86 Sri Lanka 3.3 112 Kosovo portant 3.2 indicator112on Moldova mated to reduce4.0the country’s na-and Herzegovina Montenegro 91 Bosnia Slovakia Liberia 3.2 the Cor112 Senegal the topic, tional income by 4.0 almost 91 4 percent. Ghana 3.9 91 Trinidad and Tobago 3.2 112 Vietnam ruption Perceptions In Brazil, the right-hand man of Italy 3.9 91 Zambia 3.2 118 Bolivia Index (CPI), which FYR Macedonia 95 Albania 3.1 118 Mali former president3.9Luiz Inácio Lula measures the level da Silva organised a scheme to buy of corruption in congressional support for his polidifferent countries cies, handing in over 10 000 dollars worldwide. to members of opposition parties. According to the Cases of embezzlement, extortion, last indicator, released in June fraud, lobbying, money laundering 2011, New Zealand and Finland and nepotism pop up in the news are the least corrupt countries in every day. Many of them are pointed the world, while North Korea ranks out by non-governmental institufirst, followed by Somalia. But what tions, especially Transparency Inis the index based upon? Where ternational (TI), the most important does the organization get the figcorruption watchdog in the world. ures from? How does one actually In more than a hundred offices 4.6
77
Lesotho
A
IMS – transparency versus corruption
3.0
129
3.0
134
3.0
134
2.9
134
2.9
134
2.9
134
2.9
134
2.9
134
2.9
134
2.8
134
2.8
143
Photo: XXXXxx
RANK 1
Researcher Deborah Hardoon: “Corruption is hidden”
0
0
0
0
7
SCORE VERY CLEAN
9 - 10 8 - 8.9 7 - 7.9 6 - 6.9 5 - 5.9 4 - 4.9 3 - 3.9 2 - 2.9
HIGHLY CORRUPT
1 - 1.9 0 - 0.9 No data
The world map of transparency in 2011
Source: Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International
e corruption RANK
COUNTRY/TERRITORY
2.7
143
Belarus
2.4
168
Angola
2.0
Ecuador
2.7
143
Comoros
2.4
168
Chad
2.0
Ethiopia
2.7
143
Mauritania
2.4
168
2.0
Guatemala
2.7
143
Nigeria
2.4
Democratic Republic of the Congo
nal, the world’s fiercest corruption crusader 2.7
143
Russia
2.4
168
Libya
2.0
2.7
143
Timor-Leste
2.4
172
Burundi
1.9
0
Mongolia
0
Mozambique
9
143 Togo measure2.7corruption? Eager
to know more, we visited the headquarters 152 Tajikistan Solomon Islands 2.7 of Transparency in 152 International Ukraine Armenia 2.6 154 Central African Republic Dominican Republic 2.6 Berlin, the capital of Germany. 2.7
143
Uganda
Honduras
2.6
154
Congo Republic
9
Philippines
2.6
154
Côte d´Ivoire
9
Syria
4
Cameroon
2.5
154
Kenya
4
Eritrea
2.5
154
Laos
4
Guyana
4
Lebanon
4
Maldives
4
Nicaragua
4
Niger
4
Pakistan
4
Sierra Leone
3
Azerbaijan
9
Top Five least corrupt countries
SCORE
Bangladesh
Kazakhstan
9
– North Korea – Somalia – Afghanistan – Myanmar – Uzbekistan
Top web links How corrupt is my country? Check here: www.transparency.org/country To join the conversation on corruption, follow on Twitter @anticorruption
Iran
0
Top Five most corrupt countries in the world
+ New Zealand + Denmark + Finland + Sweden + Singapore
0
0
The worst and the best
2.6 Guinea-Bissau A matter of 154 perception 2.5 154 NepalinternationIn the premises of the 2.5 154 Guinea al organisation we Papua metNewDeborah 2.5 154 Paraguay Hardoon, 2.5 a young 154 British Zimbabweresearch 2.5 responsible 164 Cambodia manager, for some of 2.5 164 Guinea TI’s best2.5known164tools, such as the Kyrgyzstan 2.4 Perceptions 164 YemenIndex (CPI), Corruption the Global Corruption Barometer and the Bribe Payers Index. Her t-shirt asked “Government, y u no transparent?,” a very appropriate question, given the number of scandals in the public sector uncovered almost daily across the world. The 30-year-old researcher explained the indicator was created in 1995 as an attempt to put corruption in the international spotlight for the first time. Since then, TI has been compiling quantitative data provided
IMS – transparency versus corruption
1.9 surveys from 13 different institu172 Venezuela 1.9 tions, such as the World Bank 175 Haiti 1.8 and 2.3 175 Development Iraq 1.8 the African Bank. 2.3 177 Sudan 1.6 2.2 The 2011 index scored 183 countries 177 Turkmenistan 1.6 2.2 177 Uzbekistan and territories from 0 (highly1.6 cor2.2 Afghanistan 1.5 2.2 rupt) to180 10 (very clean) based on per180 Myanmar 1.5 2.2 ceived levels of public sector corrup182 Korea (North) 1.0 2.2 182 reports Somalia used as a source 1.0 tion. The 2.2 2.2 for the indicator are “based on the 2.2 perception of experts rather than on 2.2 2.1 concrete cases of corruption”, says 2.1 Hardoon. She explains why: “Cor2.1 ruption is deliberately hidden.” For 2.1 her, using only evidence would mean relying on data of governments and on cases, which were already exposed. ”Therefore, it rarely represents the full picture,” she adds. Subsequently, whether a country is on the index or not is not an indication of the existence of corruption but rather on the availability of sufficient information on it. “The surveys we use look at factors such as enforcement of anti-corruption laws, abuse of power, allocation of public 2.4 by 2.4
172
Equatorial Guinea
funds, cases of nepotism, payment of bribes to secure contracts and the like,” she maintains. Although the Corruption Perceptions Index has managed to raise awareness and put corruption on the agenda of policy makers worldwide, it also has constraints. Critics say that the data collected slightly changes from year to year and there is no real way of telling if a country has improved or deteriorated. Deborah Hardoon assured that Transparency International is working on improving their methodologies. “But one thing is clear,” she stressed: “When it comes to corruption, people´s perception is more accurate than official reports.”
Documentation by Srinivas Mazumdaru
Transparency International – the organisation in a nutshell Transparency International, founded 1993 and based in Berlin, is an international non-governmental organisation engaged in promoting trans parency and anti-corruption practices worldwide. It‘s active in more than 100 countries.
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Made in Africa – from Nairobi to the big screen A Kenyan film about crime and corruption makes its European premiere in Berlin By Christine Bukania
Photo: Abu Bakarr Jalloh
N New kid on the block: Director Tosh Gitonga poses for photos at the Berlin premiere
airoberry – the city where you are likely to be beaten violently, robbed, wrongfully arrested and turned into a gangster before you know what hit you. It is a place where every day is a struggle to stay alive, and the policemen who should protect you are the most corrupt and dangerous. This is how Kenya’s capital is known to its inhabitants, and also how it is depicted in the recently released film “Nairobi Half Life.” The film made its European debut to a full house and hearty applause in Berlin in October. It is the first Kenyan film to be submitted for an Oscar award in the Best Foreign Language
Film category. It was first screened at the Durban Film Festival in July, where the lead actor Joseph Wairimu won the Best Actor Award. The film about a youngster trying his luck in Nairobi was conceived at an annual workshop run in Nairobi by internationally renowned director Tom Tykwer (47). His organisation, One Fine Day Films, is co-operating with Deutsche Welle Academy to promote African filmmaking (see box). Sitting with Tykwer in one of the luxurious suites in Hotel Concorde, overlooking Berlin’s high end shopping district, film director Tosh Gitonga (31) and Olwenya Maina (24) who plays the role of gangster Oti sigh, chuckle, and shake their heads, seemingly still adjusting to
IMS – transparency versus corruption
9 Grim movie: Shocked after being robbed, lead character Mwas wonders what else awaits him in this scene from “Nairobi Half Life”
Photo: One Fine Day Films
Photo: Abu-Bakar r Jalloh
Trade or ai d?
their continuing good fortune, but their eyes remain careful and a little guarded. They would like to transform film making in Africa, to tell stories that revolutionise, and this is just the beginning. Tykwer explains, “I believe in the power of film for change; great art changes the world.” Gitonga nods in agreement. According to him, “Nairobi Half Life” is making waves on the international scene because it is authentic. Indeed, while strangers to the East African region may view “Nairobi Half Life” as they would any other Hollywood thriller on violence, sex and crime, people in Nairobi and Kenyans in the Diaspora love it because they see themselves in it. “The film is the story of a city. We did not exaggerate. It is not about a positive or negative view. It is simply Nairobi,” says Gitonga. He is quick to emphasize that the foreign support has not influenced the content in any way. “We are using the partnership as a platform to showcase our own potential and talent.” Tykwer concurs, calling the film an anti-cliché. “For example, we show the theatre and art scene of Nairobi, I felt like I was discovering a place that I have never known about.” Still, no doubt, “Nairobi Half Life” portrays a grim picture of Kenya’s capital city. But Gitonga holds that there is hope yet.“
“The film is not positive or negative. It is simply Nairobi”
In Africa, yo ung people want to prod films but lack uce Hollywoo finance and d training. Tom a German fi Tykwer, lmmaker, an d Tosh Gitong director, hav a, a Kenyan e found a new model of co Interview: A operation. bu-Bakarr Ja lloh IMS Magazi ne: Is this fi lm another new busines form of aid s model? or a Tom Tykwe r (TT): It’s p leasure! Aid probably a or business? bit of both b It’s u t it’s surely We are bein n ot profit mak g subsidized ing. and therefor make profit. e not allow The money ed to we make fr into the nex om this film t movie. goes IMS Magazi ne: Do you think you w with your fi ill make mon lms? ey Tosh Gitong a (TG): This film has fill Kenya for si ed theaters x week since in its release are asking and many p for DVDs. N eople ow, I have st filming as a arted to look business m at odel becau keep beggin se I do not g for fundin w an t to g. IMS Magazi ne: How mu ch does a fi Half Life” co lm like “Nai st to produce robi ? TT: The film itself costs roughly 200, produce bu 000 euros to t for many it lo oks like a 5production. Million-euro Our budget s covers a tw workshop fo oweek trainin r trainees, g fr om which th next film is e crew for th selected. e IMS Magazi
ne: What hap
pens after th is film? TG: I am goi ng solo. Th is film has for my care provided a er. Some lo platform ca l investors already con in Kenya hav tacted me to e sponsor my next film. Online: Mor e on the pro
ject: onefin
IMS – transparency versus corruption
edayfilms.co
m
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“Film is a good medium
to talk about bribes and poverty” Tosh Gitonga, director
„Nairobi Half Life“ – tragisch, aber lehrreich Von
Jacques Abel Onya
Der junge und ehrgeizige Mwas träumt vom Erfolg als Schauspieler in einer großen Stadt. Um seinen Wunsch zu erfüllen, verlässt er sein Dorf und fährt nach Nairobi, um dort das heiß ersehnte Glück zu finden. Doch zunächst muss er am eigenen Körper erfahren, dass Nairobi nicht sofort die erwünschten Möglichkeiten bietet. Kaum angekommen, wird sein ganzes Hab und Gut gestohlen. Allein und ohne eine Menschenseele zu kennen, schlägt er sich durch die unbekannten Straßen. Mwas freundet sich mit einem jungen Bandenführer an. Aufgrund seiner Notlage wird er ein Mitglied der Gruppe und es beginnt ein Teufelskreis. Denn obwohl er weiterhin davon träumt, als seriöser Schauspieler Fuß zu fassen, gerät er immer tiefer in den Strudel aus Diebstahl und Gewalt und lernt die Schattenseiten von Nairobi kennen. Photo: One Fine Day Films
Photo: One Fine Day Films
For example, when we were shooting, the police really supported us even though the film portrays them in a bad light.” The two young filmmakers acknowledge that even they are not spared the effects of everyday corruption. It is manifested in little things, like the shopkeeper that turned up the volume of his stereo to disrupt filming until he was paid; or a government official who refused to issue a document on time. “Yes, we deal with such things,” says Gitonga, “but if you know the right procedures and give yourself enough time to plan, then you will not have to take a shortcut.” Following its debut in Kino International in Berlin, “Nairobi Half Life” will premiere in fourteen cities across Germany. Gitonga and Olwenya will be present at all of them. They are resolute not to condemn the criminal and the corrupt. Rather, they would like us to look at the roots of these vices and ask ourselves “why and what can we do?”
Nairobi Half Life entführt in 96 Minuten Kinofreunde nach Nairobi, die Hauptstadt Kenias. Laut Regisseur Tosch Gitonga (31) ist sein Film vergleichbar mit einem „Spiegel, der die soziale Realität reflektiert.“ Die professionelle Produktion sowie der bisher erreichte Rekorderfolg machen aus dem Film wohl einen der besten Afrikas 2012. Produzent Tom Tykwer freut sich darüber, dass der Erfolg mit einem geringen Budget von 200 000 Euro möglich gewesen ist. Online: Movie trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=nRjBLAnx2jU
Basking in the limelight: Director Tosh Gitonga (r) and supporting actor Olwenya Maina (l) enjoy moments of stardom at the Berlin premiere of “Nairobi Half Life”
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Fairness for forests Indonesia is receiving money for protecting trees – but does the initiative really work?
Photo: Tofuphotography, Australia
By Ayu Purwaningsih and Sayed Musaddiq
C
orruption and deforestation: Two problems deeply rooted in Indonesia. The impact does not only lead to poverty, but also contributes to the destruction of the world. Indonesia is receiving funding from a new scheme aimed at conserving its forests. But is this the right way to move in a country surrounded by corruption?
IMS – transparency versus corruption
Marianne Klute, a German activist, is a member of Watch Indonesia, a German non-governmental organisation concerned with human rights and the environment, for many years. When we visited her home at a suburb in Berlin, she was sitting on an old chair in the work room, surrounded with her favourite books.
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When the trees are cut, the flood comes
Photo : Walhi Sumatra Selatan
Logs from land clearing in a log-yard in Sumatra Selatan, Indonesia
Marianne Klute expresses her sadness about the rate of deforestation in Indonesia and narrates her personal experience visiting this Southeast Asian country. According to her, the forest entrepreneurs always argue in favour of exploiting the forest riches to improve the economy, while the local people are against such exploitation. In her own words, “The local communities are against deforestation, because they feel the disadvantages of it such as big floods, and even climate change.” Deforestation is the second most important factor, after fossil fuels usage, contributing to climate change and global warming. Even the Indonesian government admitted in a recent report that the rate of deforestation in the country is very high, with an estimated rate of 1.17 million hectares of forest area per year, which is equivalent to 300 football fields per hour. The country has lost almost half of its green cover in the last sixty years (see side-bar). With international support. Indonesian government has promise to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent, with international support by 2020. Indonesian government has promised implement forests conservation measures. The country, which is home to the third largest tropi-
What is REDD+? REDD+ or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation is a UN-initiated scheme that aims to reduce the contribution that deforestation is making to climate change, essentially by paying tropical forestrich countries not to cut down trees. There are two main ways in which this can happen. The first is fundbased: communities receive money as compensation for conserving forests, which they might otherwise depend on. The second is mechanism-based: the carbon that is stored in forests is represented by carbon credits, which are sold on carbon markets. People can purchasing these credits, the proceeds are given to forest-dwelling communities.
cal forest on Earth, joined the UN-REDD or United Nations – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Programme. Within this scheme, Norway pledged one billion dollars towards funding the program in Indonesia. Around nine million dollars have already been released to implement the program’s first phase. It involves determining reference emission levels and monitoring systems such as satellites over the forest. Claire Martin from Transparency International in Berlin welcomes the initiative undertaken by the Indonesian government. “Compared to countries such as Vietnam and Papua New Guinea, Indonesia seems more open to engage itself in saving nature.” However, corruption is widespread in Indonesia, and the international community is concerned about the lack of transparency in the flow of funds. Activists such as Marianne Klute worry about the effectiveness of the programme. She says, “Whenever I asked Indonesian officials about the transparency of the forestry sector, the officers always had reasons to avoid discussing the issue with me.”
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Shrinking green in Indonesia Indonesia is experiencing one of the highest rates of tropical forest loss in the world. Still densely forested as recently as 1950, today 40% of the forests are cleared.
“Officials always avoid discussions with activists“ Marianne Klute, Watch Indonesia
Nearly half of the forests are fragmented by roads and other access routes. According to Global Forest Watch, logging concessions cover more than half of the total forest area. Illegal logging has reached epidemic proportions. A former senior official of the Ministry of Forestry recently claimed that theft and illegal logging have destroyed an estimated 10 million hectares.
Dedi Hariyadi, an Indonesian environmental activist, is also critical. “We have an issue here which we call policy capture.” Politicians, bureaucrats and business people work to obtain permits through bribes – so a wrong action becomes perfectly legal. In this way, some local communities have been forcefully removed from their homes to make way for forest exploitation, he said. What is the solution? “We need stronger monitoring and punishment, if the Indonesian forest initiative is to work at all,” activist states. Transparency International, which monitors the execution of the REDD program in Indonesia, suggests a whole array of control measures: to be consistent in regulations to avoid confusion in their implementation, as well as, to strengthen the police, judiciary and also indigenous communities. In Indonesia, the training of local farmers has already started: They learn how to resist the massive logging industries and some are paid if they catch hunters or loggers. A sign of hope, that the remaining forests in the 17.000 islands forming one of nature’s last paradises will yet be saved.
IMS – transparency versus corruption
Money down the drain: How much of donor support actually trickles down to the farmer in Indonesia?
Online: www.thereddesk.org www.globalforestwatch.org www.walhi-sumsel.blogspot.com
Illustrator: Sayed M
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Making headlines: different covers of "Lateinamerika Nachrichten" on display Photo: Julieta Romero Güeto
Latin America under the microscope Berlin magazine as a watchdog for a continent By Julieta Romero and Maria Centeno
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our years ago, David Rojas-Kienzle, then a 19 year-old half-German, halfChilean politics student, stumbled on the eye-catching headlines of the alternative magazine “Lateinamerika Nachrichten” for the first time. His attention was drawn, not only by the stories, but also by the unconventional offer: “Anyone who´s interested in writing about Latin American topics can join us!” So he decided to go to one of the weekly editorial meetings in Berlin's Kreuzberg neigh-
bourhood, where stories taking place 12 500 kilometres away are researched, written and published in German for Germans. From that day on, Rojas-Kienzle found a way to combine his own roots and journalism. Today, he continues volunteering for the publication together with twenty more contributors from two continents. Turbulent political events in Chile marked the beginning of the “Lateinamerika Nachrichten” magazine in a still-divided Berlin thirty nine years ago. Weeks before its launch, a violent military coup ended the presidency of socialist Chilean president Salvador Allende, rais-
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ing Germany's interest in information about the continent. Solidarity movements, known in Berlin as the “Soli-Szene”, were the first readers and supporters of the publication. Back then, when military dictatorships plagued the rest of the continent, its circulation reached 8.000 copies a month. In the following years the magazine expanded its focus to revolutionary movements such as Mexico’s Zapatista Movement, Landless Workers’ Movement in Brazil, guerrilla groups in Colombia and the effects of neoliberalism on the continent's economy. Rojas-Kienzle, former regular reader and now a newsroom member, affirms that the magazine has historically shown solidarity with leftist movements. “We try to explain why the existence of these movements is necessary in Latin America,” he says. Now, this niche publication has found a new commitment. This time the problem is not the lack of information, but the stereotypes regarding news from the region in German media. “In my opinion, the problem is that in Germany news about Latin America are poorly covered and too eurocentric. For example, the "Spiegel" magazine doesn’t even have a Latin American newsroom." David Rojas-Kienzle suspects that the correspondents they send to cover stories don’t even speak Spanish. Each cover of “Lateinamerika Nachrichten” states the story of its own heroes: indigenous people fighting for their rights in Bolivia or students demonstrating in Chile. Rojas-Kienzle believes that “stereotypes are fought by taking people seriously and giving voice to the voiceless”. The analytical coverage in the magazine is not the only feature that distinguishes it from the current global media. The newsroom has an open-door policy that invites every citizen to take part in the decision making process. Because the magazine has no hierarchical structure and is financially independent, content production gets a step closer to the people. For Rojas-Kienzle, this business model may seem harder to organize, but it is more democratic. “We are a collective, I think it wouldn’t work if we had a boss telling us what to publish,” he adds.
Alternatives Ges Sure, it is not always easy to chäftsmodell have consensus either on stories or „Lateinamerika Na pictures, but the key, according to chrichten” ersche inen monatlich in Berli Rojas-Kienzle, is harmony. “We try n und werden bundesweit vertr ieben not to be too emotional when taking decisions." He strongly believes that Redaktion: variier the way media operates affects the t je nach Ausgab e. Kein Chef, alle En tscheidungen we quality of journalism. “By practising rd en gemeinsam getro ffen this kind of journalism we believe we can make political and social Arbeitstellen: 2 Festangestellte, events in Latin Ameri15 bis 20 ehrenamtliche Mitarbeiter ca more transparent." Yet the quesAuflage: 1 500 Ex emplare tion remains, is this model feasible for Sprache: das Mag azin erscheint au all professionals or f Deutsch is good journalism a task to be left to philanthropists? Preis: 4,50 Euro, Abo: 42,50 Euro. For Rojas-Kienzle, the answer is simple: “No one can live off Distribution: erhä ltlich am Kiosk, in this kind of journalism but I am Buchläden und öf fentlichen Bibliot pleased with the compromise I heken have made." Finanzierung: du rch Anzeigen und Stiftungen “Lateinamerika Nachrichten”
“Our journalism makes politics transparent”
IMS – transparency versus corruption
Marketing-Strate gie: Anzeigenaus tausch
Photo: Gonzalo Zapata / Flickr
stories are also published online at www.lateinamerikanachrichten.de
Powerful stuff for a feature magazine: student demonstrations in Chile
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transparency How people in the network are discussing the issue of corruption
Tweets Neritia @neritia „Until the lion learns to speak, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.“ African #proverb#transparency #truth Expand Mamur @mamur CEO explains why he reveals everyone‘s salary at his company #transparency Expand
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Rakesh Rajani @rakeshrajani 30m Oil companies sue to overturn openness and #transparency. What do they want to hide? Expand Benjimen H Powers @BigPowie 1h #transparency and repercussions are what keeps governments and corporations honest, not morals. Protect the truth. #assange Expand Barack Problema @BarackProblema 2h How many people would have voted for Obama in 08 had he promised 8% unemployment, $16T debt, worsened foreign policy and zero#transparency? Expand Bernd Huettemann @huettemann 5h #schendelen #transparency in Brussels is much higher than in national capitals #ebsexkl Expand Layout and compilation of tweets by Karen Silva