An Infographic illustrating the process towards allowing Ben Ali to remain in power for life
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sami ben gharbia
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sami ben gharbia
Tunisie : la censure tunisienne nous révèle un précieux secret
Nous avons appris que la censure imposée illégalement à des centaines de blogs et de sites tunisiens et étrangers a été « levée » temporairement durant la mi-journée du lundi 16 Août, 2010. Et bien que les informations sur cette « levée » soient encore contradictoires – certains affirmaient qu’ils n’avaient pas accès à certains sites, pourtant accessibles à d’autres – il est encore tôt de trancher sur ce qui s’est vraiment passé au niveau de la machine de la censure en Tunisie, qui reste, rappelons-le, obscure, top-secrète et centralisée au plus haut niveau de l’Etat et n’est en aucun cas entre les mains des quelques fournisseurs tunisiens d’accès à Internet (FAI); même si, et par excès de zèle, ils ont la possibilité d’ajouter une couche supplémentaire de censure visant leur clientèle.Ainsi, nous avons appris que l’accès à flickr, le site de partage d’images (censuré le 22 Avril, 2010) ainsi que les sites de partage de vidéos, blip.tv et wat.tv (respectivement censurés le 22 et le 28 avril 2010), a été rétabli. Idem pour de nombreux sites d’actualité Français et Arabes. Très curieusement, durant ce même laps de temps, qui n’a duré que quelques heures, l’accès aux deux sites populaires de partage de vidéos, Dailymotion et Youtube (respectivement censurés le 3 Septembre, 2007 et le 2 November, 2007) n’a pas été débloqué. Chose qui soulève des questions – mais surtout apporte des éléments de réponse – sur la nature, ô combien discrète, de l’infrastructure de la censure en Tunisie.
Durant ce laps de temps qui n’a duré que quelques heures, suscitant plein d’espoir parmi les usagers du Net tunisiens, beaucoup se sont posés la question à savoir pourquoi Youtube et Dailymotion sont restés inaccessibles alors que d’autres sites du web social, comme flickr, étaient consultables à partir de la Tunisie ? Pourquoi la page française relative à la biographie de Ben Ali sur Wikipédia était inaccessible alors que les sites des partis de l’opposition tunisienne, actuellement censurés, avaient été débloqués ? Pourquoi le blog collectif de nawaat était accessible alors que sa page sur twitter était portant bloquée ?
Afin de comprendre ce qui s’est vraiment passé, et de là se prononcer s’il s’agit d’un changement de stratégie au niveau de l’organe de la censure; il est utile de clarifier d’abord les techniques de filtrage appliquées en Tunisie.
On peut résumer la censure tunisienne à quatre procédés. Ces quatre techniques ont été adoptées par le censeur tunisien à des moment variés de l’histoire du Net tunisien, puis graduellement combinées pour former ainsi l’une des machines les plus répressives dans le monde de la censure en ligne.
- Le blocage sélectif par URL : tel par exemple le cas de Wikipedia. En effet, plutôt que de bloquer la totalité de l’encyclopédie online, on bloque sélectivement les pages les plus embêtantes. C’est ce qu’il en est de la page française relative à la biographie de Ben Ali ou de celle relative à la pratique de la censure en Tunisie. Idem pour le site Google vidéo. Si la majorité des vidéos demeurent accessibles, quelques-unes, en revanche, sont bloquées.
- Au deuxième cran, le censeur tunisien passe au blocage du site en bannissant le nom de domaine et le sous-domaine qui lui est rattaché. C’est le procédé le plus couramment mis en œuvre, notamment pour sanctionner les blogueurs Tunisiens émettant des opinions déplaisantes [...] Ce qui d’ailleurs provoque parfois un jeu d’usure entre les blogueurs et la censure par l’entremise de la création successive de nouveaux sous-domaines neutralisés, de sitôt, par la police de l’internet.
- Filtrage du DNS et/ou de l’adresse IP : Avec le cran au dessus, c’est le blocage total de la DNS (DNS, système de noms de domaine) et/ou de l’adresse IP du site en question, quel que soit le sous-domaine utilisé, c’est le cas de youtube.com, dailymotion.com et de tant d’autres.
- Filtrage par mots-clefs : En dernier lieu, on pratique, pour les plus récalcitrants, le blocage radical par DNS et par mot clé contenu dans l’URL. Ainsi est-il de Tunisnews.net ou de Nawaat.org. Avec cette dernière procédure, toute URL contenant la chaîne de caractères « nawaat », et quel que soit le nom de domaine, est systématiquement bloquée. La technique du mot clé au sein de l’URL cherche ainsi à bloquer la moindre bribe d’information qui pourrait s’afficher sur l’écran du Tunisien. Le blocage par mot clé « nawaat » fait aboutir toute recherche sur Google sur une page 404. [...] Par ailleurs, le mot-clé au niveau de l’URL bloque toute image en rapport avec nawaat, y compris lorsqu’elle est hébergée sur les serveurs de Google image. Cette procédure de filtrage engendre également le blocage de tous les autres supports du web social utilisés par nawaat, dès lors que l’URL contient la chaîne « nawaat ». Ainsi, « twitter.com/nawaat », « blip.tv/nawaat », « facebook.com/pages/wwwnawaatorg/186352466213 » ne risquent pas d’être vus en Tunisie. Pareillement, la chaîne de caractères «Tunisnews » produit les mêmes effets. A noter que le bocage par mot clé peut également contenir l’intégralité du domaine et sous-domaine bloqué.
Ainsi, et afin de répondre aux questions soulevées ci-dessus, rappelons les faits suivants :
- La totalité des sites censurés par un filtrage des DNS, dont Flickr, ont été temporairement débloqués.
- Les deux sites de partage de vidéos, youtube et dailymotion, qui sont bloqués en Tunisie, et au niveau de leurs DNS et au niveau de leurs adresses IP, n’ont pas été débloqués durant cette « levée » de censure.
- La page de Ben Ali sur Wikipédia qui est censuré par un blocage sélectif d’URL n’a pas été débloquée.
- La page de Nawaat sur twitter qui est visée par filtrage par mots-clefs elle aussi n’était pas accessible durant la courte « levée » de la censure.
Cet incident très révélateur de la brève « levée » de la censure, nous a offert, et pour la première fois, des indications extraordinaires sur la sophistication de l’infrastructure technique du filtrage en Tunisie. En ce sens, s’il s’était agi d’une opération de maintenance, ceci nous amène à relever qu’il existe au moins deux sous-infrastructures indépendantes, l’une dédiée au filtrage des DNS, et la seconde au filtrage des mots-clé au sein des URLs et au filtrage des IPs (et peut–être il y aurait une troisième couche spécialement dédiée aux numéros des adresses IP). De ce fait, si une couche de filtrage tombe en panne ou est neutralisée pour une quelconque raison, telle une maintenance ou une mise à jour du serveur, la seconde, et éventuellement la troisième, indépendantes qu’elles sont, continuent à fonctionner.
Ainsi, nous sommes en mesure de conclure que ce récent incident de « levée » temporaire de la censure n’a affecté en fait qu’une seule couche de la machine de la censure en Tunisie, celle responsable du filtrage des DNS. C’est en tout cas ce qu’on a pu relever hier. Si on prend l’exemple de nawaat (l’un des rares sites tunisiens censuré et par DNS et par filtrage par mots-clefs ), on a constaté que le filtrage par DNS ne fonctionnait plus pendant ce laps de temps alors que, durant ce même laps de temps, le filtrage par mot-clé au sein de l’URL continuait à fonctionner toujours aussi efficacement. Par conséquent, et durant cette courte « levée » de la censure, nawaat.org était accessible sous son DNS alors que tous les URLs contenant la chaîne de caractères « nawaat » étaient bloqués (voir ci-dessous les copies d’écran du test qu’on a effectué à partir de la Tunisie) :
Maintenant, l’autre question qu’on peut se poser et qui est aussi importante est de savoir pourquoi la couche de filtrage par DNS a-t-elle cessé de fonctionner pendant quelques heures alors que l’autre ou les autres couche(s) continuai(en)t à censurer “normalement” tous les sites visés par un filtrage par adresse IP, par URL et par mots-clés ?
Il est possible que notre censeur tunisien soit en train de perfectionner son contrôle sur l’infrastructure du réseau en vue d’un meilleur filtrage des sujets « sensibles », voire d’une analyse plus rigoureuse des paquets de données transitant entre le réseau tunisien et le réseau international. Une sophistication de l’infrastructure pourrait être très utile à un fichage et un contrôle plus policier des usagers du Net tunisien. Avec plus d’un million et demi de Tunisiens sur facebook, des centaines de blogs de plus en plus critiques, dont plus d’une centaine déjà censurés, et un stream assez politisé sur twitter et autres sites du web social, le régime tunisien n’a d’autre choix que d’accentuer son contrôle sur le réseau par le biais d’une sophistication à la chinoise de l’infrastructure de filtrage et de traçage. Toujours est-il, s’il y a eu une mise a jour de l’infrastructure, voire un autre cran de sophistication, n’hésitons pas tous à être vigilants et attentifs aux procédés utilisés.
Il est aussi probable qu’il s’agissait d’une « simple » mise à jour du serveur; plutôt que de débloquer tout le trafic, le censeur a maintenu la ou les couche(s) du filtrage par URL, par mots-clefs et par adresse IP tout en débloquant l’autre couche, celle du filtrage par DNS. Une fois la mise à jour ou le changement de serveur effectué, tout est revenu à la « normale ».
Autres extrapolations, selon le Forum de « Démocratie Syndicale et Politique », ceci pourrait expliquer cette levée provisoire de la censure :
Il parait qu’une délégation internationale est en visite dans notre pays pour discuter de la liberté de la presse et de la véracité des accusations des activistes de la société civile sur la censure sur internet….nous nous attendons donc à ce que la levée de la censure soit temporaire juste le temps de leurrer la délégation ci-haut évoquée.
C’est en effet possible, mais peu probable pour la raison suivante : en certaines circonstances, il est arrivé au censeur tunisien de débloquer certains sites pour justement leurrer l’opinion publique Internationale. Nous avons connu ça lors du SMSI et lors de certaines manifestations internationales en Tunisie. Mais à chaque fois, cela s’est limité à certain sites comme ceux des partis politiques actuellement censurés. Ainsi, cette levée provisoire n’a jamais été si systématique que celle que nous avons connue hier, mais toujours au cas par cas. En tout état de cause, durant ces parenthèse de “liberté”, jamais le blog de nawaat ou celui de Tunisnews n’ont échappé à la vilenie des filtres de la censure.
Bien évidemment toutes ses hypothèses ne sont que des spéculations. Ce n’est qu’un effort de notre part d’essayer de mieux comprendre un des systèmes de répression les plus secret de la Tunisie et contribuer à démystifier ses procédés. Et évidemment, nous invitons toute personne ayant d’autres informations à les rendre publiques, et à fortiori, il est peut–être tant pour que d’anciens collaborateurs de ce système répressif révèlent enfin ce qui peut aider la Tunisie à ce débarrasser de ce mal.
De toute façons ce n’est qu’une question de temps, tôt ou tard, des révélations de la part de ceux qui sont aujourd’hui impliqués dans cette censure auront lieu. Aussi, nous rappelons encore notre email nawaat [ @ ] gmail [ dot ] com. Notre site est toujours ouvert à tout collaborateur. Il va de soi que ces collaborateurs ont l’assurance absolue quant à la confidentialité de leur identité.
Rédigé conjointement par Sami Ben Gharbia et Astrubal.
Lire l’article en anglais : A First glimpse at the Internet Filtering in Tunisia et en Arabe آلة الحَجب في تونس تكشف أسرارا ثمينة.
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sami ben gharbia
Blackberry facing growing pressure in the Gulf and India over encryption code [Updated]
Timeline of the Blackberry ban in the Arab world - Click to enlarge
The United Arab Emirates’ Telecommunications Regulation Authority (TRA) and The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) announced, respectively on August 1st 2010 and on August 5th, 2010, that they will block some functions of the Blackberry due to non-compliance with the regulatory requirements in both countries.
And while the UAE will cut off some BlackBerry services such as BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry Web-browsing as of October 11, 2010, Saudi Arabia had ordered the kingdom’s three mobile phone providers, Etihad Etisalat-Mobily, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Zain Saudi Arabia, to block all BlackBerry’s services, including e-mail and instant messaging, starting from tomorrow, Friday, August 6th, 2010.
This ban, which according to both countries, will remain in place until BlackBerry applications are in full compliance with local regulations, will seemingly affect more that 500,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE and 700,000 users in Saudi Arabia.
The main reason of the ban seems to lie in the way BlackBerrys handle data and in the judicial and security concerns of the encrypted communications sent to computer servers outside of the two countries. Since BlackBerry’s Messages are sent in an encrypted format through BlackBerry’s servers in Canada, which are run by the manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM), both Gulf states regulatory bodies are upset that they are unable to monitor the data traffic on BlackBerry’s handsets.
The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulation Authority says that “in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns.”
However, and as explained by CPJ Advocacy Coordinator Danny O’Brien:
With suitable technical investment in domestic Internet monitoring, the UAE can decode a great deal of BlackBerry traffic without RIM’s help. When it comes to secure, encrypted communications, neither RIM nor any other telecommunication provider will be able to help them beat the encryption and spy on their own journalists or readers. The power lies far less in the hands of RIM, and far more in the hands of savvy Net users’ choice of the right tools.
According to Dr. Christopher M. Davidson, a Gulf specialist and author of “Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success“, the United Arab Emirates’ ban on BlackBerry email and messenger is “primarily a response to mounting political opposition“:
It is also a stark reminder of the current regime’s disingenuous attitudes, its invasive censorship practises, and its intensifying control over the flow of information between the country’s citizens, its millions of expat residents, and all of their contacts with the outside world. Unlike other smartphones, such as Apple’s ubiquitous iPhone, data transferred using BlackBerrys has proved difficult to intercept and monitor for third parties, including the UAE’s state security services and other ill-intentioned eavesdroppers.
This interpretation seems to be confirmed by the recent arrest of several BlackBerry users in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly trying “to organise a protest against an increase in the price of gasoline” using Blackberry messages:
BBM user Badr Ali Saiwad Al Dhohori, an 18-year-old resident of Ras Al Khaimah, has reportedly been held in Abu Dhabi since 15 July. The authorities were able to trace the organiser, known as “Saud,” because he included his BlackBerry PIN in a BBM message he sent calling for the protest. They held Saud for a week and interrogated him to trace those he had been messaging. Accused of inciting opposition to the government, he has lost his job. At least five other members of the group have reportedly been summoned by the police or are still being sought.
In the main time, the pressures from government authorities worldwide on Blackberry maker, the Canadian Research In Motion, are growing for access to Balckberry data. In an attempt to prevent an outright ban in India, RIM has recently agreed to allow Indian security agencies to monitor its BlackBerry services:
The company has offered to share with security agencies its technical codes for corporate email services, open up access to all consumer emails within 15 days and also develop tools in 6 to 8 months to allow monitoring of chats
In Kuwait, at the request of Kuwait’s communication ministry, RIM has reportedly agreed to block 3000 pornographic websites by the end of the year, and is working with Kuwait on “legal controls that would guarantee national security on the one hand, and the rights of citizens…to use the device’s services on the other.”
In Bahrain, the widely used BlackBerry chat groups have been banned since April 2010 over the “chaos and confusion” that would result from sharing and distributing local news through these groups.
Back in 2007, RIM has reportedly provided its encryption keys to the Russian Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) “which, in turn, provided access to the Federal Security Service (FSB)“.
Update 1 (August 5th 2010): Indonesia is considering banning BlackBerry services. Gatot Dewabroto, spokesman for the Ministry of Communication and Information declared: “We don’t know whether data being sent through BlackBerrys can be intercepted or read by third parties outside the country.”
Update 2 (August 6th 2010): It has been reported that the Algerian government is reviewing the use of BlackBerry. “We are looking at the issue. If we find out that it is a danger for our economy and our security, we will stop it,” the Telecommunications Minister Moussa Benhamadi said.
Update 3 (August 6th 2010): Lebanon is considering to assess security concerns relating to the use of BlackBerry in the country. “We are studying the issue from all sides — technical, service-wise, economic, financial, legal and security-wise,” the acting head of the Telecoms Regulatory Authority told Reuters. “We are discussing this with the concerned administrations and ministries.”
Update 4 (August 6th 2010): Yestrday, August 5th, 2010, the Tunisian mobile operator, Tunisiana, announced that it will suspend the email function of the Blackberry phones for three days citing concerns about security risks.
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sami ben gharbia
Censorship in Tunisia, a nightmare! A video clip about the ban of Flickr in Tunisia.
This video mashup is about the ban of Flickr, the popular and one of the best online photo-sharing website, in Tunisia since April 28th, 2010. The clip is inspired by Anthony Hopkins’s film “Slipstream“, especially with the little flash cuts in the scenes. The burning of the ‘Mona Lisa’ scene is from Kurt Wimmer’s “Equilibrium” (2002).
The Flickr images used in this clip are under Creative Commons:
- Last Tango in Buenos Aires, by welsh boy.
- k-9, by junku-newcleus.
- Running ahead of oneself, by orangeacid.
- Wasteland , by xdjio.
- Judah Jack Donald Krug, by kk+.
sami ben gharbia
ماذا يعني أن تكوني صحفية حرة في غزة اليوم: حوار مع الصحفية و الكاتبة و المدوّنة أسماء الغول
الصحفية و الكاتبة الفلسطينية أسماء الغول
أسماء الغول، صحفية و كاتبة شجاعة من غزة كانت قد فازت بعدة جوائز، لعل من أبرزها جائزة “هيلمان هامت” لسنة 2010 والتي تقدمها مؤسسة “هيومن رايتس ووتش” للكتًاب الذين يعملون تحت الضغوط السياسية.
إلتقيت بأسماء خلال الدورة التدريبية “معاً نحو خلق ثقافة تدوين تسعى للتغيير” و سرعان ما لمست في كلامها و ملامحها تحديا لواقع ترفضه و ترفض أن تكون ضحيته. واقع الحصار داخل الحصار، أسواره مسلحة بإسمنت تأويلات رجعية للدين و أعين رقابته الأخلاقوية لا تلمح في المرأة إلا كيان عورتها.
أمثالها تركوا غزة بحثا عن هامش أوسع للحرية، حرية المعتقد و التحرك و الكلام. غير أنها أبت الإبتعاد عن رديفتها غزة، فكلاهما محاصر و مقاوم، كل حسب طاقته و وعيه بالقضية و بقيمة الإنسان التي غالبا ما يصبح أولى ضحايا للقضية. و كما كتبت يوما قبل أن تعتزل التدوين و تستقيل من الصحافة لتحافظ على عزتها و حرية قلمها المشاجر، “لن أهاجر” و هي الصحفية صاحبة الجوائزالأدبية و الصحفية و التي بإمكانها مغادرة غزة:
أستطيع القول حتى الآن بأنني لن أترك غزة أو أهاجر..وبذلك أحارب ما يحاول البعض دفعي لإقترافه من سفر محمل بالأسى..فلم أعرف مدينة تشبهني مثل غزة..ولم أعرف مدينة أشتاقها مثل غزة..حتى لو كنت أنا تلك المشاغبة واللاجئة فيها..
لن أطيل الكتابة عنها هنا خوفا من أن يكون قلمي مجحفا بحق شجاعتها. سأتركها تحكي ما تلمحه عينها الحرة من تعقيدات الحصار على غزة و طبقاتها المتينة و المتداخلة.
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abdelwahed
sami ben gharbia
أصوات نسوية من غزة في حوار حول واقع التدوين و آفاقه في ظل الحصار
على هامش الدورات التدريبية “معاً نحو خلق ثقافة تدوين تسعى للتغيير” التي قدمتها في غزة لعدد من المدونين و الصحفيين و ثلة من ناشطي المجتمع الأهلي كنت قد أجريت هذا الحوار مع ثلاث مدونات غزاويات: نور الخضري و نازك أبو رحمة من الجزيرة توك و علا عنان، صاحبة مدونة “من غزة“.
و قد تناول الحوار واقع التدوين في القطاع و طبيعة التحديات التي يواجهها مدونو غزة، مثل انقطاع التيار الكهربائي و بطئ الإرتباط بالشبكة، و كذا آفاق التدوين و الإعلام الجديد هناك و مدى تأثيره على تغيير الصور النمطية حول القطاع و دور المدونات في خدمة وحدة الصف الفلسطيني.
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مقلوبة
جيد ولكن المدون يجب أن يكون جرئ
sami ben gharbia
حوار صوتي مع المتحدث باسم وزارة الداخلية و الأمن الوطني في غزة حول حجب المواقع و الأمن الألكتروني
أنشر هنا أول حوار من سلسلة لقاءات سأقوم بها مع مسؤولين و مدونين و نشطاء المجتمع المدني في قطاع غزة. الحوار الأول و الصوتي الذي أنشره هنا كان مع المهندس إيهاب الغصين، المتحدث باسم وزارة الداخلية و الأمن الوطني في قطاع غزة حول مسألة حرية التعبير على الأنترنت تحت حكومة حماس و عن سياسة الحركة تجاه حجب المواقع و قضية الأمن الألكتروني و القرصنة.
و قد أكد السيد إيهاب الغصين عدم توخي حكومة حماس لأي سياسة حجب تجاه المواقع أو المدونات المعارضة للحكومة في غزة مؤكدا أن الحجب لا يطال إلا المواقع الإباحية: “نحن لا نقوم بتكميم الأفواه”.
و أشار أيضا أن حتى الحجب الذي تتعرض له المواقع الإباحية هو حجب إختياري بمعنى أن أي شخص يريد الوصول إلى هذه المواقع يمكنه الإتصال بمزود خدمة الأنترنت في غزة و طلب رفع الحجب عن تصفحه لمثل هذه المواقع.
و قد أشار المهندس إيهاب الغصين إلى الدور الذي تلعبه إسرائيل على الفايسبوك من استبزاز موجه ضد المبحرين من قطاع غزة على موقع الشبكة الإجتماعية الشهير قصد إسقاطهم في فخ العمالة و الإخبار لصالح المخابرات الإسرائيلية و ذلك عبر استغلالهم لما ينشره الغزاويون هناك من مواد و معلومات شخصية لا تحلم إسرائيل بجمعها بالطرق الإستخبارانتية التقليدية. فمواقع مثل الفيسبوك سهلت، حسب رأي المهندس إيهاب الغصين، المهمة الإستعلاماتية للإحتلال الإسرائلي في تجنيديه و إسقاطه لعملاء جدد في الداخل الفلسطيني. و من هنا تأتي أهمية ما يطلق عليه ب “الحملة الوطنية لمواجهة التخابر” التي تهدف إلى تحسيس مستخدمي الشبكة الفلسطينين لمثل هذه اللأخطار.
و تعرض أيضا السيد إيهاب الغصين إلى مشكلة القرصنة التي تتعرض لها مواقع حماس و حكومتها كقرصنة موقع وزارة الداخلية مؤخرا من قبل قراصنة إسرائيليين معتبرا أن القرصنة المضادة هي أحدى وسائل المقاومة المستحدثة، فالمقاومة كما قال ليست فقط أن تحمل سلاحا بل لها صور و وسائل مختلفة و منها هذا الأمر (أي القرصنة) داعيا في الوقت نفسه العرب و المتعاطفين مع القضية الفلسطينية ممن لديهم خبرات تقنية إلى القيام بعمليات مقاومة ألكترونية ضد الإحتلال من بلدانهم.
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Hasan
حوار جيد ومفيد يا صديقي
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ibrahim arab
بإنتظار المزيد من الحوارات
فكرة جميلة وتسلط الضوء على أمور نجهلها وتهمنا
تحياتي-
باسل خلف
موفق وان شاء الله دوما نكون اصدقاء انا باسل خلف من غزة ولي مدونة متوقفة تألمت عندما توقفت ولكن اتمني ان نلقتي للمزيد من الثقافة والفكر
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نور الخضري
http://www.aljazeeratalk.net/node/6255
لقاء الجزيرة توك مع المدرب الدولي سامي بن غربية
sami ben gharbia
سلام من غزة
بعد 3 ساعات و نصف قضيتها تحت شمس معبر أرتز، و بعد تدخل من الأمم المتحدة سمحتلي شرطة الحدود الإسرائيلية بدخول قطاع غزة المحاصر. أنا الأن على أرض غزة و على بضعة أمتار من بحرها و لا أكاد أصدق.
كمبعوث من طرف اليونسكو لتدريب المدونين الغزاويين و نشطاء المجتمع المدني لا يجوز لي التجول في شوارع غزة بدون مرافق و على متن سيارة مصفحة. و قد تم تزويدي بسترة واقية من الرصاص و خوذة رأس و هاتف لاسلكي.
التدابير الأمنية المتبعة صارمة للغاية و كل جهودي لإقناع مسؤولي اليونسكو بأني لن أكون مستهدفا من قبل حماس أو غيرها و أنني عربي و مسلم لا أعتبر نفسي أجنبيا في غزة لم تنجح في إقناعهم. إلا أنني بصدد ترتيب خرجاتي “السرية” للغوص في أعماق غزة و أنفاقها.
سأقضي عشرة أيام هنا قبل عودتي إلى القدس، فانتظروا مني المزيد
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احمد
يامحظوظ
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firas
وفقك الله في مهتك
نغبطك على هذا المنصب المشرف
وقريبا سندخل غزة نحن أيضا -
فؤاد
ألف مبروك لك أخي العزيز
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sonnet
الحمد لله على الدخول
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sami ben gharbia
شكرا أصدقائي
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nelly elmasry
تشرفنا بمعرفتك اخ سامي، واهلا وسهلا بك في غزة ، ومشكور جدا على ايام التدريب الرائعة
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Khaled N. Safi
أهلاً بك سامي بيننا في غزة.. سعدنا جداً بوجودك هنا.. وأكثر ما أبهجنا اللقاء المباشر مع حضرتك والتدريب على يديك
جزاك الله عنا خير الجزاء -
Hedaia
تشرفنا بدخولك غزة…وكان لنا الشرف الاكبر بان تكون لنا مدرب خلال يومين
كانت ايام رائعة تعرفنا بها على شخصية اروع
نتمنى رؤيتك مرة آآآخرى على ارض غزةتحياتي
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imad
حبيبي سامي بن غربية
انا عماد
حضرت امس ندوتك في قسم الصحافة- جامعة النجاح -نابلس
تشرفنا كثيراً
وانا سعيد بالتعرب عليك
sami ben gharbia
33 most sarcastic tweets about the #flotilla
In the wake of the deadly and universally condemned attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, on May 31, 2010, carried out by the Israeli army in international waters, many new twitter accounts have been created, by both sides (Israel and its apologists Vs. pro-Palestinian peace activists), with the sole aim to initiate a counter-narrative “PR” campaign against each other.
A “new era of PR” has been initiated by new accounts such as @USGOVPR (joined twitter on June 1st, 2010) and @IsraelGlobalPR (joined twitter on 31 May 2010), @HamasGlobalPR (joined twitter on June 1st, 2010).
And while mainstream media embargoes many verboten ideas, and operates always within its own bubble of assumptions, the twitter news-wire is free from all those constraints. Tweets are passionate, racist, negationist, belligerent, provocative, and most of all funny and sarcastic.
Even the twitter account of @IDFSpokesperson and the Consulate General of Israel in New York, @IsraelConsulate (that held the twitter Q&A #AskIsrael) have adapted to the twitter environment by showing some air of sarcasm in their hasbara.
In this sea of blood and madness, being funny – not à la “Con the World” disgusting way – is certainly much better than killing and arresting journalists who were on the ship; and that is much elegant than the IDF’s doctored audio, photos and videos that are meant to manipulate public opinion.
I was tweeting massively about the #flotilla and this post should end my twitter contribution to the noble – and so far successful – struggle to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Here is a collection of the 33 best sarcastic tweets related to the tragedy that I came across during this past week:
@IsraelGlobalPR: Sneak preview of our impartial investigation: “Israel’s response was proportionate and justified”
@IsraelConsulate: @somemuslim If u want to send chocolate, bring it to the Consulate and we will b happy to send it to Gaza after proper inspection #flotilla
@HamasGlobalPR: If the price of ending the blockade is that we need to accept gay visitors, long live the blockade #gaza #flotilla #gays
@TheLiamMurphy: Somali pirates attack over 100 Ships with 6 fatalities. Israel captures 1 & murders over 9 http://bit.ly/90YN34”
@SarahJanett: “paint-ball guns” Why not just dress the Israeli commandos up in non-threatening clown uniforms? Or Charlie Chaplin outfits. #flotilla #fact
@AnnraoiOD: GOATS are banned in Gaza. @IsraelMFA How does banning such animals protect Israeli security? #RachelCorrie #FreeGaza http://bit.ly/aCjadx
@avinunu: Based on Obama logic on #flotilla BP should be entitled to investigate itself “impartially” of course!
@janee: If the israeli army was only armed with paintballs I’m never playing skirmish again! #flotilla
@IsraelStatePR : We are peacefull people. You see there is lot of peace in cemeteries we created in Gaza. #flotilla #israel
@amirahoweidy: Pls stop comparing Israel’s army to Somali pirates! This is insulting to the Somali pirates who didn’t murder anyone #flotilla #Gaza
@radgeness: We warn the island of Cyprus to leave Israel’s territorial waters immediately or risk the consequences. #flotilla
@HamasGlobalPR: #flotilla. please make sure next boat is only gays, christians and slutty woman. looking fo a win-win: either israel kills them or we will
@pmoharper: Israel investigating itself for war crimes is like BP investigating itself for safety violations. #gaza #flotilla #cdnpoli
@IsraelGlobalPR: Israel has seized toys from the flotilla which could have provided emotional support to Hamas. #flotilla
@somemuslim: Israel should lead investigation into attack on #flotilla? Then Bin Laden should lead 9/11 investigation http://bit.ly/brRhNe
@TenPercent: How many Zionist trolls does it take to change a lightbulb? The lightbulb attacked us! #flotilla
@AlanDana: Where is the global condemnation of Turkey for it’s #flotilla attack against Israel? #StandWithIsrael #tcot
@SarahJanett: We will soon release evidence that Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is the second in command of Al-Qaeda, after Bin Laden. #flotilla
@EhabZ: Wasn’t the 1st time pirates hijacked ships, but 1st time I can recall them claiming “self-defense.” #flotilla
@SherifSharkawy: Now,I admit. Israeli soldiers were defending themselves from most dangerous weapon: Pikachu http://bit.ly/9QKXDV #flotilla #FreedomFlotilla
@IsraelGlobalPR: Now that we have copies of their passports, Israel will release all foreigners from the flotilla
@stpaulgal49: It’s all clear now. People on #flotilla were found “without papers.” Thank God Israel stopped them before they reached Arizona.
@alaa: Economist forgets how easily chickens can be weaponized in this day and age http://is.gd/cAhfU and no one told me economist is using drupal
@migueldeicaza: Israel is the kind of country that would elect Glenn Beck for president, is made up of Fox News viewers with billions in weapons
@SarahJanett: What will Israel now do with Rachel Corrie ship thats heading there way. Is there such a thing as a water-bulldozer? #flotilla #rachelcorrie
@USGOVPR: The soldier probably thought the man was holding an RPG. Some of our pilots have accidentally done the same thing #flotilla
@FakeIsraelMFA: Mossad has evidence Terror Boat Rachel Corrie is carrying IRA Terrorists who plan to join the Hamas to invade Britain! #flotilla
@IsraelGlobalPR: Israel apologises for the death of a US citizen aboard the flotilla, however we must state that the individual was not white
@GenRachel: I call for the end of the occupation of Obama in the White House!!!! #tcot #Obama #politics – hey we need a FLOTILLA!
@Ultra_Bravo: i never would’ve been upset about this whole #flotilla thing if i had watched that holocaust documentary last week.
@Remroum: Wow at the rally. Listening to a pissed off Zionist yell at pro-Palestinian Orthodox Jews: you should have died in the Holocaust!! #flotilla
@DolpheenaIDF: @montezume No we’ll never be at peace cz the world is Nazi
@heidiko44: I don’t know what to believe anymore ~ #flotilla
catauro, -
Freedom Flotilla
This is one of the best posts i saw. very funny indeed, thanks
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Aaron
Unfortunately @Israelconsulate isn’t even a parody account, it’s the official account of Israel Consulate in New York. A few days after (June 3) the attack on the flotilla they had a twitter conference with Israeli Minister for “Information & Diaspora” [AKA propagada] Yuli Edelstein and that was one of the answers given. The account isn’t very active and you can still see that tweet. BTW A list of permitted goods was recently obtained by some Israelis activists under FOI and chocolate is not one of the 30 or so items admitted to Gaza under the blockade. @IsraelConsulate previously answered that “Chocolate is getting into Gaza”, however neglected to mention that’s it’s via the smuggling tunnels to Egypt. It’s worth examining the responses to questions posed to @Israelconsulate during the twitter conference: the cynicism and semantic games are breathtaking.
sami ben gharbia
Thanks for the info Aaron, do you have the link to the list? I only saw this one
catauro
LOL exellent post Sami… !!
Ebtihal
Very Nice. Thanks
sami ben gharbia
Anti-censorship movement in Tunisia: creativity, courage and hope!
A cartoon by the prominent Tunisian blogger and cartoonist Z
Following the recent massive wave of online censorship carried out by the Tunisian censor, targeting major social websites, such as the popular video-sharing websites, flickr, blogs aggregators, blogs, facebook pages and profiles, the anti-censorship movement adopted very creative, outspoken and brave tactics in protesting the online censorship. A censorship that is not only harming the country’s average Internet users but is also affecting professionals whose work is relying on web 2.0 services and platforms, like youtube, flickr and other media-sharing websites.
Far from being exaggerated, the Tunisian anti-censorhip movement is one of the best innovative in the world and has been adopting creative approaches and tactics from its early beginning to its current stage. From Yezzi Fock Ben Ali! (Enough is enough, Ben Ali!) and its online protest “Freedom of Expression in Mourning” organized during The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Tunis in November 2005, to the Google Earth bombing for a free Tunisia, and the several national days and white notes against censorship, despite its technical and tactical advantages, has never managed to go offline and reach out to the average masses of Tunisian Netizens. It was mainly limited to a hard core of digital activists and bloggers who are pushing for a political and social change by making sure to remain independent from any political party while putting their struggle for online free speech within the continual and broader battle for fundamental rights and justice led by the civil society.
But things are about to change, since the new wave of online censorship is affecting everybody and is not anymore targeting the very dissent and political blogs and websites. Which is why it was not surprising at all to see how much the Tunisian internet community is abuzz with discussions related to various aspects of censorship policy and how much it is embracing and contributing to the anti-censorship protest.
The new anti-censorship efforts, which were prepared and organized publicly online by grassroots activists – on facebook, twitter and Google Groups and Docs – were involved in a wide range of initiatives and here are the most important ones:
- a petition aiming to gather 10,000 signatures against censorship; it has already surpassed the planned target with more than 11,729 members on Facebook;
- an open letter to the Tunisian President “La censure nuit à l’image de notre pays” (“The 404 not found” is spoiling the image of my country). So far more than 8,000 members have joined the facebook page;
- a virtual and online protest, banned few hours after its launch and called Sayyeb Sal7 (Facebook page), an expletive in Tunisian dialect which means “leave me with peace!” and mockingly refers to ‘Ammar 404‘, an “imaginary person invented by Tunisia as a metaphor for the invisible censor blocking their access to many websites“;
- an effort to index all banned blogs, websites, facebook and twitter accounts;
- providing tips, on how to bypass the ban, and easy circumvention tools to access banned websites and blogs using the viral twitter linking technique.
- an outreach effort to involve the artistic circle and media figures in Tunisia was successful enough to bring new voices to the fore of Tunisia’s citizen protest against censorship, with new songs being produced and TV (NesmaTV) and radio (MosaiqueFM) presenters addressing, and not without mockery, the censorship which, according to one of them, is infantilizing Tunisian citizens.
However, the move that will revolutionize the entire protest had the merit to bring it offline. All started when the virtual protest culminated in a non-virtual one with the initiative Nhar 3la 3ammar (A day against the censor, or manif22mai, #manif22mai on twitter). Two activists and bloggers, Slim Amamou (@slim404) and Yassin Ayari, took upon themselves the courageous responsibility of calling to rally in front of the Tunisian Ministry of communication technologies on May 22nd, while ensuring to request a permit and respect the proper legal procedures which are required to hold a rally. The rally in Tunisia was also part of a May 22 worldwide day against Internet filtering in the country.
Slim and Yassine, joined at a certain point by Lina Ben Mhenni, mastered the art of communication by making sure to update their friends and sympathizers about each step they are taking, producing a serie of videocasts published on the not-yet-blocked video-sharing website vimeo as well as on facebook.
And the expected happened: on May 21, a day before the rally, the two main organizers were arrested and investigated during the entire day. They appeared later on separate video messages where they were forced by the security forces to call off the rally and urge protestors to stay home. Slim was also forced to sign a document stating that he “understood that his call for a demonstration is wrong.”
The Police demanded that Slim records a video asking people not to show up for the planned demonstration. Apparently, Slim had to negotiate the terms of this “friendly public service announcement.” Afterwards, he had to sign a document saying that he “understood that his call for a demonstration is wrong” and then he was driven out by the police to record that “friendly reminder to stay home” aimed to dissuade people from demonstrating.
The same evening, a communiqué signed by the friends of Yassine & Slim – translated here by our friend from Morocco, Hisham (also available in French and in Arabic) alerted the public opinion and called for a plan B: “walk on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, in downtown Tunis, wearing white shirts and sit in the cafes on May 22nd at 3 pm, as a symbolic act to protest internet censorship“:
#manif22mai - May 22, 2010 - photo by Olfa (@mimouna on twitter)
Friday May 21th, from 11 am local Tunis time and until now (6.30 pm), it has become impossible to contact any of both organizers of the citizen’s march, Slim Amamou and Yassin Ayari. This comes despite the fact that both organizers insisted they wouldn’t turn off their cell phones, not today, nor tomorrow, and that in the case their phones were not working they would use any internet connection from any public space nearby. Add to this the fact that Slim’s car was parked near Habib Bourguiba Street, and that most probably both organizers were contacted by the Ministry of the Interior to announce the march was disallowed (…), we assume tat they are now at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior or any of its affiliate centers.
Tomorrow, May 22 is the day of the march, called for by Slim and Yassin, who strictly followed the procedures prescribed by the law protecting the right to protest set forth by the constitutional (specifically Law No. 4 of 24 January 1969 “organizing public meetings and processions and demonstrations and gatherings,” particularly the chapters from Part II and Chapter I in Part I). We call on all citizens to consult the text of the law governing the right to demonstrate available in Arabic and French.
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No one can declare the march “illegal” (nor “legal” for that matter) if the initiators can’t lead it. And until this moment it seems there is no possibility that they would. But at the same time, and as friends of Slim and Yassin, we can’t ignore the many indicators that prove that the march has been banned indeed. And it is necessary to inform everybody of all obstacles and difficulties so as not to leave Slim and Yassin exposed to liability or legal consequences in case the march is declared illegal.
The initiative was clearly supported by Slim and it calls on supporters to walk on Avenue Habib Bourguiba wearing white shirts and sit in the cafes on Saturday at three o’clock pm, as a symbolic show of protest against [internet censorship]. At the same time we call on everyone to respect the campaign slogans and principles and focus on the issue of internet censorship and continue all efforts aimed at denouncing censorship by following legal means. Of course, we are also calling for the release of Slim and Yassin (if they are not freed before three o’clock on Saturday 22 May), free of any legal prosecution, since they upheld all legal procedures as mentioned earlier.
On May 22, Tunisians living abroad took to the street in front of their country’s embassies and consulates in Paris, Bonn and New York. In Tunis, dozens of young Tunisians have managed to converge on Avenue Habib Bourguiba and took part in the protest. And even if the presence of uniformed and plain-clothes police barring access to the flash mob site and making it impossible for an important number of sympathizers – easily recognizable by their white T-shirts – to join the protest or remain seated in the café terraces, Tunisia’s first flashmob protesting online censorship was a successful story that should inspire us all.
#manif22mai - Avenue Habib Bourguib, Tunis, May 22, 2010 - photo by Houeida Anouar
#manif22mai - Avenue Habib Bourguib, Tunis, May 22, 2010 - This girl has been arrested the same day, no news about her whereabouts- photo by Houeida Anouar
#manif22mai - Montreal, May 22, 2010 - photo by Haroun Bouazzi
#manif22mai - Paris, in front of the Tunisian consulate, May 22, 2010 - photo by Nhar 3la 3ammar
salut , wallahi sma3t l interview et j ai pas trouve quelques chose de concret contre Hamas et a part des fouilles de laptop ou des simples et rares convocations avec la police ( qui sont treeeeeees normales vu la situation du Gaza ) d apres que cette journaliste dit les libertes politiques et journalisique a Gaza ( sous une autorite qui elle meme sous une occupation ) sont meilleurs que dans toute les pays arabe a l exception du liban , mais c est toujours facile de critquer et demander l ideal !!!
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bref avec tout mes respects pour les militant palestiniens militaires ou civiles je pense que cette journaliste est deconnecte de la realite ( 20 millions d abonnes au freres musulmans ,…….. ) et sont probleme est plus par rapport a sa societe plus que par rapport au Hamas ou peut etre meme Israel
rien de concret laptop , discussion avec la police
confort des gens HAMAS
attaque a la societe
elle est contre la resistance ????
deconnecte de la realite ( 20 million d abonnes ???)