Ukraine Burning: Peaceful Protests, Riot Police and Democracy

A demonstrator waves the Ukrainian flag as the riot continues.

Ukraine is boiling in the midst of anti-government protest and a river of blood flows at the Maidan Square where the Ukrainians are protesting against the government with clashes between them escalating. The Ukrainians are calling for peaceful protests but alleging that the government is using violent means to curb the protest. At this stage it would be a good idea to look at what has led to such a crisis in Ukraine.

An Orthodox priest prays between the police and anti-government lines.

President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine, who belongs to the Party of Region, had been promising the citizens that he was eager to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union that would create closer economic and political ties between the EU and Ukraine. Ukrainians were eagerly looking forward to the signing of this treaty. But Russia was not too happy with the prospect of Ukraine allying with the EU as Russia wanted it to join its own union. Thus, Russia started applying economic sanctions on Ukraine. Ukraine depend heavily on Russia for its supply of natural gas and oil and feared an escalation of prices. On 21^st November, 2013, President Yanukovych suspended talks with the EU over the agreement and signed a treaty with Russia by which Russia promised to buy a substantial amount of government bonds and subsidize oil and gas prices.

A banner mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin at the protesters' camp in central Kiev.

Tens and thousands of protesters, mostly students and middle class people, poured into the Maidan Square, which had been the center for the Orange Revolution in 2004 that had kicked Yanukovych from his then post as Prime Minister, to protest against the government’s decision not to sign the agreement with the European Union. President Yanukovych responded by passing ananti-protest legislation that prohibited the use of loud speakers, among other stricter measures, without prior police permission. Protests erupted anew in response to this legislation and the protesters started demanding a change in the political power structure of the government as they felt that a lot of power was vested in the hands of the President.

Protesters hurl Molotov Cocktails at the police, who responded with stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Riot police throwing petrol bombs or Molotov Cocktails at protesters.

Medics evacuate an injured.

As anti-government protests swelled and people started putting pressure on the government with the Opposition joining in, the President responded by ordering riot police to crackdown on the peaceful protestors at the Maidan Square. (This might have been President Yanukovych’s revenge for his ousting from power via the Orange Revolution in 2004 that had also started at the same place, the Maidan Square) This led to bloody clashes between the protestors and the authorities. Many have been killed and thousands injured with the government deploying truncheons, tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets (some allege that live ammunition has also been used) to combat the protestors. But instead of subduing the protestors and their democratic zeal, this has only strengthened their resolve to seek a change in the government and the power structure of their country. Even though the Ukrainian government, including Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, resigned on 28^th January, 2014, President Yanukovych still is in power and his authoritarian power was amply demonstrated when in February, a few days back, he ordered crackdowns on the peaceful protestors leaving many dead and hundreds injured. The protestors did respond to the crackdowns by retaliating, throwing bricks and bottles at the police and the riot police. Protestors are now calling for everyone to be peaceful in their protest despite the actions of the government.

Smoke rises over the centre of Kiev as opposition supporters set fire to tyres.

Heavily armoured protesters shield themselves from police fire amid flaming barricades.

As Ukraine burns, we the citizens of the world look on; we, who call ourselves liberal and espouse democracy, just speak of high ideals while innocent people are dying and being injured in trying to live these ideals. Where are those that were so eager to give democracy to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan? What are they doing now when the people of Ukraining are fighting for democracy and human rights? Are the democratic rights and freedoms of the Ukrainian people not so important because they lack economic value? It is easier to fight when your own tail is on fire but it is the mark of humanity when you fight for the rights of others. This is the time for action and be inspired by the zeal and ideals of the Ukrainian people – this is the time to act.

Anti-government protesters gesture at a barricade.

[Photographs: The Telegraph]

The Tibetan Crisis

With the Syrian crisis and other conflicts raging around the world the attention of the world leaders, the world media and the people in general has been diverted to the refugee situation in these areas. But these conflict torn regions are not the only ones whose inhabitants have to suffer the tragedy of being driven out of their homeland and become refugees. Attention nowadays seems to have been diverted from a major crisis situation that has led to most of the people from that land becoming refugees in others vis the Tibetan crisis.

The Tibetan crisis has been successfully suppressed by the Chinese government from making the media splash that other conflicts seem to have, while being far more disastrous than quite a few others. China, using its military might has been trying to eradicate the centuries old culture, tradition, religion and language of the Tibetan community. Not being just satisfied with the occupation of Tibet, China is doing everything in its power to consume the Tibetan tradition with its state-driven policies. The Chinese military occupation and state-sponsored terror in the region has forced most of the Tibetans to move out of Tibet and seek refuge in other countries, mainly in India.

In India, the Tibetan community, under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, its religious leader, has created the Tibetan Government in Exile with its headquarters in Dharmashala. Here the Tibetan refugees have endeavoured to protect and sustain their centuries old traditions, religion and language. But their condition as refugees is not something to be proud of. Tibetan refugee camps are spread across many cities in India and the condition of these camps is dismal. The squalid living conditions, the poor sanitation and he lack of social and cultural integration into the local community is a major problem that the Tibetans have to face in their everyday life. There is hardly any effort from the government to help them integrate or to provide schemes for their economic development. Tibetans have been engaged in menial labour in the cities and their condition is deteriorating over the years.

With so much international effort being put into combating problems faced by refugees around the world, it is time that the international community pay more attention to the refugee situation in Tibet. China has so far been able to divert attention from Tibet but it is time that this changed. The Tibetan refugees  have been suffering for too long and it is time we, as the people of the world, as global citizens, did something about it. 

Philip Seymour Hoffman: Ode to an actor

Awesomely powerful - is all that I can say about Philip Seymour Hoffman's acting. He was brilliant in all the characters he played, breathing life and spirit into each and every one of them. The first time I encountered Philip Seymour Hoffman was when I watched the movie Synecdoche, New York (2008). I was left stunned by his very natural and powerful acting. This led me to watch his other movies like Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), Scent of a Woman (1992), Owning Mahowny (2003), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), The Savages (2007), Boogie Nights (1997), Twister (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998),Patch Adams (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), Red Dragon (2002), 25th Hour (2002), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), Moneyball (2011), The Ides of March (2011), Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012); not to mention Capote (2005) for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. In each and every one of them he never failed to impress me with his acting irrespective of the prominence of his character. He was also quite famous in the theater circle as a director and actor, but I have not seen any of them so far. 

I will definitely miss his presence on screen and, I am sure, so will others all over the world. I sometimes wonder why such talented people die so young - does not seem to be right. I am a bit late in writing this in tribute of this great actor but better late than never. Here are a few images from his life.

Origins of the Hijab / Turban

      Walking down the roads of Berlin you come across people from all over the world and listen to so many different languages. One of the things among these that you will notice is Turkish women wearing the hijab. I have always just noticed that and walked on without another thought. But recently I have been wondering why is it that certain societies have taken to turbans and hijabs while others have not. I tried to search around in the internet trying to find an answer to my question but came up with only with the different types of head-dresses in existence (and extinct) some of which I had never heard of before. So I put my grey cells into action and came up with a very satisfactory explanation for this phenomena.

     According to my theory, head-dresses, especially the turban and hijab are closely associated with the traditional geographical location of the society or community. If you take a closer look at the geographical origins of people who wear turbans and hijabs, you will notice that they almost always originate from arid regions of the planet. It is people from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Saharan and sub-saharan Africa, Punjab, and such other arid places who have taken to these kinds of head-dresses.

     Coming from an arid region where the availability of water is limited, if not scarce, bathing too often is a luxury they could not afford. The region being arid also meant that there was always dust and sand being blown about by the wind. In such an environment keeping long hair open would only make them dirty, thus requiring frequent washing. To reduce the necessity for frequent baths in a region with limited water supply, it was a very natural move to cover one's hair. Since women generally have longer hair than men, it becomes more necessary for them to keep their hair covered in such conditions. The covering of the hair, thus originated as a response to the environment, which has, over the years been assimilated into the culture of the people originating from these arid areas. Over years, the turban and hijab became a part of the identity of the respective communities and societies.

     I will refrain from providing empirical data sets and statistics, as I believe they just complicate and narrow our perception of the issue at hand, and it is the broader picture that we need to keep in mind. I am not saying that my theory has no holes in it, just that I have not been able to notice any so far. I would be really glad to know your opinion regarding this and whether you have any alternative theories to suggest.

[Photos: courtesy the internet]

Berlin Vibes on a Saturday Night

Saturday nights are generally very busy in Berlin. The roads, in certain areas, are packed with people going or coming back from a bar or a club, food shops packed with hungry people gobbling on different kinds of food, and all these interspersed with groups of people chatting loudly - overall a very lively atmosphere. Yesterday I decided to join in this atmosphere of merriment and joviality. Three of my brother's friends were in town for a career fair and they were polite enough to invite me out for drinks with them. I thought that I would just join them for a beer and then come back home and let them explore the night-life.

I met the gang at this bar called Via Nova on Revaler Strasse near Warschauer Strasse station. The fact that they had chosen that bar to hang out told me that they were not at all familiar with the city. Via Nova is a nice bar with very nice staff, including some very cute girls, but it is not a bar that a person living in Berlin would go to. Nonetheless, we had a nice lively discussion there among ourselves and soon it turned to the topic of what they would do after going out of that bar. They wanted to explore the 'cool' places in the city but did not have any idea of where exactly to go. They also wanted to meet up with their friends who had also come to the fair but were somewhere else but somehow that did not work out. So I ventured an invitation to show them a few places in Kreuzberg, where the main 'action' is and they were very happy to accept my offer.

Coats on, we started off for Oranienstrasse as I know a few nice bars there. Our first halt was the gay-bar called Roses (about which I have written in a previous post titled The Pink Explosion. I thought it would be an interesting place to experience for someone not familiar with the diverse Berlin culture. Roses did not fail to become an instant hit. They were struck dumb by the decor and the ambience of the place and would have buried themselves there for the night had it not been for the lack of an inch of space to stand.

Our next halt was a bar at the corner of the road called Bateau Ivre. It is a nice quaint place which is very crowded in summer as they open up the windows and people can sit outside and have a pleasant experience. The hefe beer here is quite good. The interior of the bar is also very cosy. My brother's friends also liked this place but then again we did not find a place to sit here and so we decided to leg it from there.

My next suggestion was the bar called Luzia which is quite a popular bar in this neighbourhood. It is a kind of a mix between a bar and a club. There is a room to the left of the bar where there are DJs playing Elektro music and people smoking and dancing on the floor. There is also an option to climb up on a balcony sort of space that overlooks the dance floor - kind of cool actually. It is always crowded but the ambience is nice. The gang loved this place and decided to brush shoulders with strangers while sipping on their drinks.

These kids were fascinated by everything they saw in Berlin on this Saturday night and did not fail to express it. They stared at people on the streets, took random photographs, and wowed at every little thing that caught their fancy. They had never experienced such a diverse bar culture anywhere else and had never been offered so many alternatives. As I spent more and more time with them yesterday and as they involved me in their admiration for Berlin, I realised sadly that a certain spark has gone away from my life - the awe and fascination of meeting head-on the night-life in Berlin. I have become used to the diversity and alternate culture of this vast city. Make no mistake, I am still fascinated and engrossed in this environ, but that feeling you get when you experience it for the first time is not there anymore. This city has successfully absorbed me into its midst and now I am a part of this epic.