[New-imc] Indymedia Baghdad? Kabul? (fwd)

[evan at protest.net]

As somebody who has been involved in organizing indymedia centers in
places i'm not from i have to say i'm really worried by this proposal.

For example we rolled in to town and setup the Prague IMC. Then when then
event was over there was  nobody left to really do the organizing. I think
it was  a big mistake and was detrimental to the long term organizing of
indymedia as a network of local media centers. This has happened over and
over again. When it happens a bunch of internationals roll in to town, set
something up, work and then disapear. It doesn't leave any long term
organization by which we can build a media revolution. Eventually czech
activists have restarted the Prague imc, but we were lucky that after more
than a year they decided to start an imc in the shell of what we left
behind.


Right now i'm in Quito. During the FTAA summit in November the Ecuador imc
was a very solid organization which did amazing well coordinated coverage
of the summit, protests, and issues. But after the protest most of the
organizers left. This left a huge gap from which the Ecuador imc is still
trying to recover.

For example, in places where there are IMC's like colombia then i
definately think we should be working with them to figure out how to best
support their work and get news of what's going on in colombia out to the
world.

I personally would love to see some indymedia folks, perferably who spoke
arabic and perferably who were iraqi or at least middle eastern
themselves, go to Baghdad and help start an indymedia center. Also we
might consider how we could cover issues and events when explictly don't
intend to setup an organization. But this is a very different thing that
what has been done by indymedia in the past and we need to think of it
critically and throughly before we engange in such a venture.

in solidarity,
evan

On Sat, 22 Feb 2003, boud wrote:

> i'm just forwarding this with end-of-line characters so that it's
> readable on the archive.
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 18:37:41 -0800 (PST)
> > From: Crystal Allene Cook <c_allenecook at yahoo.com>
> > To: new-imc at indymedia.org
> > Subject: [New-imc] Indymedia Baghdad?  Kabul?
>
>
> Proposal for Indymedia At Large
>
> Some Radio IMC and other folks here in Los Angeles, on the tail of
> what has been created with electronicIraq.net and
> electronicIntifada.net are interested in the possibility of
> creating/moderating an Indymedia At Large.  Although we are still in
> the process of what this proposal may actually entail, we are
> interested in helping facilitate Indymedia possibilities to
> militarized zones or sites of U.S. Military aggression and/or
> occupation through creating opportunities for the the people there to
> have access to bearing witness and entering the process of posting to
> a global audience, even if they cannot rely upon a secure site,
> server, or functioning group in their immediate situation or environs.
>
> Some proposals include:
>
> A) Using whatever technology available to submit information to
> Indymedia At Large, moderators would then take responsibility for
> posting to the site.  IMC At Large participants would garner support
> to help people on the ground in these sites access this technology.
> This could be done through outreach here, directly going to those
> areas to provide support, etc. all towards the eventual goal that the
> people on the ground at these sites would, as able, form an actual
> functioning IMC, moderating their own site.
>
> B) Our initial interests include At Large to: Baghdad, Kabul,
> Colombia, and the Philippines, etc., stretching as far and wide as
> U.S. Military Aggression.  We have begun dialogue with Voices in the
> Wilderness (www.vitw.org), Iraq Peace Team, and ElectronicIraq. net
> toward creating the possibility for an Indymedia Baghdad.  As a
> fully-functionin IMC, adhering to all the principles of IMC, would be
> difficult to create there, an Indymedia At Large would serve as a
> bridge between the intial steps of independent voice and independent
> moderation.
>
> Please respond with any ideas, comments, overlapping suggestions, etc.
> We are in the process of waiting on response for local members to
> possibly go to Baghdad, as well as working to support
> ElectronicIraq.net Although this is not an Indymedia site, these
> people are doing important work and would be worthwhile highlighting
> through the main IMC site.
>
> Thanks so much!
>
> Crystal Allene Cook
>
> c_allenecook at yahoo.com
>
>
>
> Fiction Writer
> Co-founder of Los Angeles/Orange County Jubilee
> 4653 1/2 Melrose Avenue/Los Angeles, CA 90029
> c_allenecook at yahoo.com/c_allenecook at sbcglobal.net
> CrystalCook at laocjubilee.org/www.laocjubilee.org
>
> Drop the Debt!  Boycott the World Bank!
>
> _______________________________________________
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> New-imc at lists.indymedia.org
> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/new-imc
>
>
>

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