[governance] Serious Matters for ISOC

Sat Feb 4 03:49:49 EST 2017

Mawaki

I think it time for the class to have a recess

Best

A.N

On Sat, Feb 4, 2017 at 7:10 AM, Mawaki Chango <kichango at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Janvier,
>
> I promise this will be my last word on this topic. First, kudos to Arsène
> who just spoke like a wise man, albeit a young one. As a Co-coordinator he
> plays very well his role by seeking to moderate here. I'm just talking as
> an individual member, in no role endorsed or assigned by this community
> (except of course, the drafting of a half page statement, a 2 day
> assignment completed a couple of days ago.) So allow me to break it down to
> you squarely, in my personal capacity.
>
> 1) This audience is full of people who are accustomed to reading and
> analysing written materials, even complex ones requiring contexts,
> including from people for whom English is not first language. We don't get
> stuck on some linguistic incorrections here or there, which do happen to
> all of us by the way, including English speaking people as first or only
> language. In most cases, readers here would assume the best or most
> plausible option for the intended meaning, taking into account the context
> (including our past experience with the speaker, if available.) So I am of
> the opinion that grammar does not explain anything here and no one (from
> the people who reacted against it) actually misunderstood your first email
> in this series. What does happen, though, is that our communications
> sometimes carry with them our blind spots or biases (these may be personal
> or cultural). The best among us try to acknowledge it when called out, but
> it's hard and that's human.
>
> 2) If you develop 5 points in a communication, and 4 of them positive or
> rather merely confirming what your audience would expect from you, while
> your 5th point causes them serious concern, well, their first order of
> business will be to let you know about their concern. Are you really
> surprised here? Well, you shouldn't be.
>
> 3) Arsène said this very clearly in that paragraph from his previous email
> where he referred to how you sounded in your first email. BTW, the subject
> line of that email reads: "Please Cameroon did not shut down the Internet
> !!!" (I cannot tell I have all the digital evidence to claim you personally
> wrote that subject line but your mail is the only one I've seen in the
> thread that explains such line.) So yes, your message was conveying a sense
> of acceptability of the shutdown because it is partial, because it targets
> "only" 2 regions out 8. This does not depend on a word that is misplaced in
> a sentence, or misspelled. (I'd even go as far as to say rather than your
> audience isolating and pouncing on one or two words from your message,
> which you claim we've done here, this is more like a holistic reading of
> your message. Please note that I myself have already given you some benefit
> of doubt by saying in a previous message that in that first email of yours
> you may have been carried away while feeling the urge to say something in
> order to make your country - your government actually - look less bad. But
> misinterpretation, there was not.) And that sense of acceptability you
> conveyed was the only thing needed to provoke the chain of reactions you've
> seen here about this.
>
> 4) And last, as the saying goes, when you're in a hole (and you'd
> presumably want to get out of it), stop digging. The IGC only made a short
> and rather mild statement, addressed to the whole Chapter of Cameroon. For
> that modest statement to bother you so much that you'd write multiple
> emails trying to claim it is baseless or not warranted may be, just may be,
> telling something different from, and yet louder than, what you would want
> us to believe. Fortunately, your direct response to the statement (email
> with subject line: "Statement and clarifications of ISOC Cameroon on the
> Internet shutdowns in Cameroon") is on point and reassuring, and that's
> also the last word I'll take away from you, pointing toward positive
> prospects for ISOC Cameroon.
>
> Thank you and best of luck,
>
> Mawaki
>
>
> On Feb 3, 2017 11:22 AM, "Arsène Tungali" <arsenebaguma at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Janvier,
>
> Thanks for your third email, trying to clarify the two previous ones.
> Actually, you don't need to justify yourself because when words are out,
> there is no way to take them back, especially in this context where they
> were written words which are kept in our archives. And trust me, i
> understand the language challenges you are facing, myself being a native
> French speaker. Sometimes, we are not able to fully express our minds in a
> different language :)
>
> I do salute the amazing work ISOC Cameroon is doing under your leadesrhip
> since 2011 and most importantly the fact that you are in line with the
> vision and mission of ISOC global under which (i believe) the Chapter is
> operating (even if you are a registered not for profit in Cameroon).
> Especially the actions you are planning to implement in this particular
> situation with regards to the shutdown. And please do not forget to include
> (i know you have done these already) capacity building programs on issues
> such as digital rights targetting all stakeholders, as suggested on this
> list.
>
> The over all discussion was based, in my humble opinion, on the fact that
> in your 1st email you sounded like someone who is trying by all means to
> tell this community that what's happening in Cameroon is not a terrible
> situation, only because it is just two regions out of 10 which are offline
> and that should not be considered as a disaster. And we should not speak up
> about that. Worse thing you signed your email as "ISOC Cameroon President",
> meaning you are speaking with that hat and in response to a call for
> support from another ISOC Cameroon member (i believe).
>
> And everyone (most of us here) was in agreement that this was a terrible
> declaration because universal principles, especially in the context of
> civil society in the Internet governance sphere, state that even one person
> should not be left behind. And when it is just two regions, if we don't
> speak up, next might be 3 or the whole country being turned offline, which
> is what happened in so many other countries including the DRC (where i come
> from). That's why we, as a group, decided to make an official statement on
> this and I am glad, as a result, you came back and explained that we
> misunderstood you.
>
> As a Cameroonian and an activist of open Internet (with a lot of
> experience), you should, in fact, consider this debate as a plus because
> now so many people are aware about what's going on in the country and how
> vulnerable the people affacted are. And whenever there is such a global
> awareness, we can expect good results in the future.
>
> And finally, you didn't have to say that we (Mawaki, Norbert and myself)
> are not more human rights activists than you are. This is simply rude and
> was out of context. We all fight the same battle and there is no need to
> say this to anyone who is only trying to help your country fellows and your
> country to benefit from an open Internet.
>
> I hope this debate will end here because it is no longer about you
> personally, dear Janvier, but about what we all fight for. I personally do
> wish the best to you and the people of Cameroon (where we have a lot of
> friends and colleagues) especially these regions which are facing social
> tensions and instability.
>
> Best regards,
> Arsene, IGC Coordinator
>
> ------------------------
> **Arsène Tungali**
> Co-Founder & Executive Director, *Rudi international
> <http://www.rudiinternational.org>*,
> CEO,* Smart Services Sarl <http://www.smart-serv.info>*, *Mabingwa Forum
> <http://www.mabingwa-forum.com>*
> Tel: +243 993810967 <+243%20993%20810%20967>
> GPG: 523644A0
> *Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo*
>
> 2015 Mandela Washington Felllow
> <http://tungali.blogspot.com/2015/06/selected-for-2015-mandela-washington.html>
> (YALI) - ISOC Ambassador (IGF Brazil
> <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-leadership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/igf-ambassadors-programme/Past-Ambassadors>
> & Mexico
> <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-leadership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/Current-Ambassadors>)
> - AFRISIG 2016 <http://afrisig.org/afrisig-2016/class-of-2016/> - Blogger
> <http://tungali.blogspot.com> - ICANN Fellow (Los Angeles
> <https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-07-18-en> & Marrakech
> <https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/marrakech55-attendees-2016-03-14-en>
> ). AFRINIC Fellow (Mauritius
> <http://www.afrinic.net/en/library/news/1907-afrinic-25-fellowship-winners>
> )* - *IGFSA Member <http://www.igfsa.org/> - The HuffingtonPost UK
> <http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/liza-bel/drc_b_8958150.html>
>
> 2017-02-03 12:49 GMT+02:00 Janvier NGNOULAYE <jnoulaye at gmail.com>:
>
>> Hi to All,
>> I just note that many people have deliberately chosen some words from my
>> last 2 mails and focused their arguments on its, and finally come out with
>> their declaration.
>> But, It would have been fair to analyse the full  content of the 2 mails,
>> and not to be focused on some single words taken out of their context.
>> Thank to Coko Tracy who pointed out a mistake of language I made when I
>> said "You are no more human rights activist than we are ......"  reather
>> than to say : "You are not more human rights activist than we are...."
>>  Next time I'll write everything in French.
>>
>> I request every one to put on the table these two mails I sent and make a
>> fair analyse sentence by sentence.
>> My 1st mail was trying to describe what was happening on the ground,and
>> at the end I suggested that the Chapter will work with the two partis to
>> find out a better solution.
>> The 2nd mail is in response to Arsène, Norbert and Mawaki where I come
>> with the statement that they were not more human rights activist, or not
>> more open internet activist than we are in ISOC Cameroon Chapter, for
>> meaning that the Chapter is  in line with the vision and mission of
>> Internet Society on the ground. I found a  partiality in their analysis and
>> it is deplorable. For instance into my  2nd mail, I talked about sensitized
>> and educated, for the better use of the Internet technologies and policies
>> with the governement, and the local population. No one on this list points
>> out  this solution we raise and on which we are working now, to encourage
>> or to advice us.
>> Anyway, anyone is free to support or not any action we can make.
>>
>> Warm regards
>> Janvier Ngnoulaye
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> -------- Forwarded Message --------
>>> Subject: Re: [governance] Internet Shutdown: An IGC Statement to the
>>> ISOC Cameroon Chapter?
>>> Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2017 02:29:02 +0100
>>> From: Janvier NGNOULAYE <jnoulaye at gmail.com>
>>> To: Internet Governance <governance at lists.igcaucus.org>, Norbert Bollow
>>> <nb at bollow.ch>, Arsène Tungali <arsenebaguma at gmail.com>
>>> CC: Dawit Bekele <bekele at isoc.org>, dawit at isoc.org, Joyce Dogniez <
>>> dogniez at isoc.org>, Dawit Bekele via Internet Society <
>>> mail at connectedcommunity.org>, chapter-d >> Chapter Delegates <
>>> Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
>>>
>>> Dear
>>> 
>>> Arsène, Norbert, Mawaki
>>>
>>> I appreciate your enthusiasm in your role.
>>> 
>>> You are no more human rights
>>> activist than we are, or even
>>> 
>>> more open internet activist than we are in ISOC Cameroon Chapter.
>>>
>>> We volunteer  each day to work to make the Internet as open and
>>> accessible as possible to our local population. I do not need to show out
>>> here on this platform  the actions and projects achieved so far. So you
>>> must understand that, we can not endorse a privation of the Internet to our
>>> population for whom we promote the open access of the Internet. I regret
>>> that you have misunderstand some words of my first mail on the matter.
>>>
>>> I would like to thank you for your concern on the case of Cameroon and
>>> also thank you for the declarative solution approach you are currently
>>> proposing. However, note that:
>>>
>>> 1) Cameroon is in a situation of war against Boko Haram,
>>> 2) Cameroon is in a situation of war against the secessionists, who have
>>> at one time erected their flag inside one part of the territory, no one
>>> knows by who they are supported and financed.
>>> 3) the current socio-political context is complex, and adding to that,
>>> there is still a lack of knowledge for using Internet tools by a big
>>> part of the population.
>>> 4) facing all of that, the government has taken security measures in its
>>> own way, some may be considered unfair, but it is wise for us to try to
>>> seat with them, discuss and work for the better solution, because we
>>> think that they need to be sensitized and educated about the better used of
>>> the Internet technologies and policies.
>>> 5) In a situation of conflict and crisis in a given country, there will
>>> be no an universal solution as you tend to suggest  from your respective
>>> offices.
>>> 6) I chaired the ISOC Cameroon General Annual Assembly on Saturday 28
>>> January 2017, this issue was addressed. Not need to expose its minutes
>>> to you here.
>>>
>>> So If you really want to help, please check back your proposal.
>>>
>>> I wanted to appeal the Internet Community, those who made a phone call
>>> to us to encourage us, and all the others of the community, to  keep
>>> trusting ISOC Cameroon Chapter, who is working hard on the field to solve
>>> the issue.
>>>
>>> Best regards.
>>>
>>> Janvier Ngnoulaye, Ph.D
>>> ICT Teacher at the University
>>> President of the ISOC Cameroon Chapter.
>>> Activist of "The Internet is for everyone"
>>> http://www.internetsociety.cm/
>>>
>>>
>>> -------- Forwarded Message --------
>>> Subject: Re: [governance] [bestbits] Please Cameroon did not shut down
>>> the Internet !!!
>>> Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2017 16:58:48 +0100
>>> From: Janvier NGNOULAYE <jnoulaye at gmail.com>
>>> To: Internet Governance <governance at lists.igcaucus.org>, Renata Aquino
>>> Ribeiro <raquino at gmail.com>
>>> CC: Deji Bryce Olukotun <deji at accessnow.org>, Arsène Tungali <
>>> arsenebaguma at gmail.com>, Judith Hellerstein <judith at jhellerstein.com>, <
>>> bestbits at lists.bestbits.net> <bestbits at lists.bestbits.net>
>>>
>>> Hi to all,
>>>
>>> It seems to me that the problem of access to Internet in Cameroon is
>>> very much amplified here on the Net. There are 10 regions in Cameroon, the
>>> problem of access to the Internet is only concerning 2 Regions.
>>>
>>> These 2 regions actually has some political or social crisis. The
>>> government and other stakeholders in these 2 areas are looking for suitable
>>> solutions.
>>>
>>> Meanwhile, the government has seen fit to cut these two regions of
>>> Internet access and Western Union money transfer services, for the sake of
>>> the entire population of these 2 regions.
>>>
>>> Internet works well everywhere else in the other 8 regions. I'm sending
>>> this mail from Yaounde in Cameroon. So the situation is not a disaster
>>> as some seem to publish on the Net. The ISOC Chapter can only encourage the
>>> government and the other stakeholders to seek lasting peace solutions, even
>>> if it involves a temporary suspension of Internet and Western Union
>>> services.
>>>
>>> ISOC Cameroon Chapter
>>> President
>>>
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>>      governance at lists.igcaucus.org
>> To be removed from the list, visit:
>>      http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>>
>> For all other list information and functions, see:
>>      http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
>> To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
>>      http://www.igcaucus.org/
>>
>> Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t
>>
>>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>      governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> To be removed from the list, visit:
>      http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>
> For all other list information and functions, see:
>      http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
> To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
>      http://www.igcaucus.org/
>
> Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>      governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> To be removed from the list, visit:
>      http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>
> For all other list information and functions, see:
>      http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
> To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
>      http://www.igcaucus.org/
>
> Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t
>
>

-- 
Aaron Agien NYANGKWE
P.O.Box 5213
Douala-Cameroon
Tel. 237 673 42 71 27
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20170204/7dfca05b/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t