The other day I was in a cab going to a friends house.  The cab driver had on a ramdom Chilean radio station that was broadcasting the news.  The reporter announced:

A new case of child pornography involving several children has been identified by the police in Valparaiso, Chile.  That means, parents, please pay attention to what your children are looking at on the internet!

My only thought was: “huh???”  Then I realized that he thought child pornography was porn for kids.  For the record, it is pornography OF children.

 

Shh!, originally uploaded by coming2cambodia.

Taken: Buenos Aires, Argentina April 2008
Subjects: Clare and Deb

***Deb left this week, and I already miss her.***

Thugs, originally uploaded by coming2cambodia.

Taken: tonight
Of: David and I

Check out Jess’s blog about the protests!!!!

Cementary Buenos Aires, originally uploaded by coming2cambodia.

Taken: Cemetary, Buenos Aires
When: Last week

If you get CNN, it is really worth checking out Inside Africa this weekend.  They are doing a special on slavery and human trafficking.  Reports include the move from child beggars to adult prostitution, the woman who is suing her government (story below), and how modern day slavery works in Africa.

Monday, April 07, 2008

DAKAR, Senegal — A woman who claims she was held as a domestic servant and sexual slave for 10 years is suing Niger’s government for failing to implement its own laws banning slavery in an unprecedented legal action.

Twenty-four-year-old Hadijatou Mani’s case began Monday in the capital, Niamey. It is being heard by a regional court run by the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States because Hadijatou “believes she cannot get fair redress at any national court in Niger,” Romana Cacchioli, Africa coordinator of Anti-Slavery International, told The Associated Press by telephone.

Comment from Niger’s government was not immediately available.

Hadijatou is also demanding monetary compensation equivalent to about $100,000, said one of her lawyers, Ibrahima Kane of the International Center for Legal Protection of Human Rights.

“Despite the criminalization of slavery in 2003, the government of Niger is accused of not only failing to protect Hadijatou Mani from the practice of slavery, but also continuing to legitimize this practice through its customary law, which is discriminatory toward women and in direct conflict with its own criminal code and constitution,” Anti-Slavery International said in a statement.

(THE REST OF THE STORY HERE)

Grand Spendid, originally uploaded by coming2cambodia.

I have to admit: I am a book person. I love reading. I love perusing. I love leafing through a piece. In fact, when I was home in the states, I spent quite a bit of time in bookstores and used book stores in order to bring books back to Chile.

The frustrating thing about being a book lover in Chile is the price of books. There is a special tax on books above the local sales tax which makes them insanely expensive. In fact, a book in Chile will cost almost double what an equivalent book in the states would cost– and of course people here don’t have the same amount of disposable income. Needless to say, it is not a surprise that Chile is not a reading society. Even when I was studying literature at the Catholic University (one of the best Universities in the country), most of my classmates simply had photocopies of the books (yes, copy write sticklers everywhere feel free to cringe).

However, to my surprise and delight, Argentina has not befallen the same fate as Chile. Bookstores jumped out at me everywhere in Buenos Aires, and books were at prices I could afford. The most luxurious of the stores, however, was El Ateneo: Grand Splendid! (Seen in the above photo). This old theater turned bookstore had more charm than most as it housed a cafe with live music (tango played on piano and flute during my first visit) and 4 stories of books. Although El Ateneo is a chain, I would definitely encourage anyone visiting Buenos Aires to check out the Grand Splendid on Av. Santa Fe 1860.

Mer wedding 014, originally uploaded by coming2cambodia.

Taken: Mary’s wedding April 5th, AZ
Subject: Mer, the bride

Beautiful slide show of pictures from the very talented photographer here.

I wrote several months ago about teenage pregnancy in Chile. Today, I want to talk about how class and classism get involved in girls right to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy. I also want to mention the idiosyncrasies of a country that has non progressive laws on birth control, legalized prostitution, and a ban on abortions.

Last year, Chile’s President signed a law that would allow the morning after pill to be distributed in clinics to women 14 and older. Last week this was reversed by the Supreme Court. The pill will continue to be available but only with a doctor’s prescription at local pharmacies for around 25 USD. To those reading in the US or other places abroad this may not seem like a huge sum; however, for many in Chile this is a sizeable amount. The decision, in a nut shell, will allow those higher on the socio-economic scale to continue to have access while shutting out the poor.

More news on this issue here and here.