Spring 18

Tweet

Posted on by wardenth19

In this tweet Activist from Bangladesh, Dr. Imran H Sarker has over 350K followers on Twitter. He has consistently been writing and retweeting other blogs and tweets covering the crisis of the Rohingya people. These people have been historically persecuted within Myanmar and the number spilling across the border into Bangladesh have been rising at a staggering rate. Lack of available aid has made the conditions within the camps in Bangladesh increasingly dyer.  By sharing these shocking images with his many followers he’s able to draw greater attention and support for these displaced peoples. It would be interesting to see how much aid these kinds of twitter coverage is able to bring to this crisis or if it is just something that has a voice but no action behind it.

Posted on by wardenth19

 

This tweet was written by Taslima Nasreen,  a Feminist Activist from Bangladesh who is taking up a response to an article that addresses capital punishment for the rape of minors as inhumane and ineffective in preventing such crimes. Taslima uses this tweet to imply that such kinds of thinking are part of the problem with the culture of the region and that men need to be reeducated and that there are steps that can be taken to stop rapes from occurring. With 270K followers on Twitter, her voice is being projected to a large audience who is liking and sharing her work all over the world. As a rising voice in Bangladesh, she is able to bring much attention to these topics and push for organization and charge that could really impact the lives of women living in these areas.

Maithripala Sirisena Tweet

Posted on by robertsonwa18

Tweet Here

This tweet by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, shows him attending the funeral for Sri Lankan film producer Lester James Peries.  Lester James Peries wasn’t just any film producer though. His work was so well received that in 2007 he was awarded the Sri Lankabhimanya, Sri Lanka’s highest civilian award, in cinema. Only 8 people have ever received the award since its establishment in 1986 when it was awarded to  Ranasinghe Premadasa, the president who was assassinated by the LTTE in 1993. The most recent one was awarded posthumously in 2017 to musician W.D. Amaradeva. As president, Sirisena can award this honor. Will he honor any others during his presidency, and if so then who?

Help Received: Lester James Peries and Sri Lankabhimanya wikipedia pages

Ranil Wickremesinghe Tweet

Posted on by robertsonwa18

Tweet Here

In this tweet, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe wishes his twitter followers a happy Sinhalese and Tamil New Year. Both the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year fall around the same time of year (mid April). The festivities are celebrated in similar fashion as well. The civil war from 1976-2009 was fought over sectarian divisions between Tamil and Sinhalese Sri Lankans. Perhaps this is a gesture to demonstrate that this is a new Sri Lanka where the Tamil and Sinhalese can coexist peacefully. Despite the war being over for almost a decade, there are still tensions. The important question is, what will the government’s next move be to ensure that neither side takes up arms again?

Help Received: Tamil and Sinhalese New Year Wikipedia pages.

Burma – Citizen Tweets

Posted on by conradqe19

When looking at other posts Burma was tagged in, this type of post came up a few times. It places Burma in the greater context of a global framework. The tweets from the citizens differ from those of Suu Kyi because they are directly addressing the issue. Many tweets come from journalists or those connected to the UNSC, and ultimately all support the view that the the Rohingya Crisis needs to be resolved immediately. Despite there being a portion of the population who do not with to end the genocide, they are not being represented on this social media platform.

In theory, the Rohingya and those being oppressed would be at the lower ranks of society and probably have the least access to technologies and social media, yet their voices are still being heard and promoted here on Twitter. This gives great commentary to the effect of social media and it’s reach to the different parts of society.

 

Imran Khan Tweet Analyses

Posted on by treppsr20

1st Tweet from Imran Khan

I have given my best & fought to the last ball for my country against corruption & for justice. Now I am praying to the Almighty for success

 

 

This tweet is showing Khan’s genuine interest for the Pakistani people as he runs for political power against the popularly perceived corrupt leaders. Pakistan has endured a history of military regimes and strict, oppressive leaders through their thin democracy. Khan hopes that his hard battle to reach a broad enough audience to garner support and put him in power to truly serve his people. This, along with tweet #2, makes Khan seem a bit doubtful of his chances at winning, which makes me wonder if his frustration lay mainly within the corrupt system, or the stubbornness of some of the regions of Pakistan that are not welcoming to his message.

 

 

Tweet #2- Imran Khan

 

Especially for our youth who will shape Pakistan’s future – the need to have absolute clarity of purpose.

The quote in the picture says, “When you know who you are; when your mission is clear and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose; You know that you are alive.” -Chief Seattle, Duwamish

 

This seems to be an effort to extend his genuine influence onto the younger generation of Pakistani people, specifically youth. He may realize that his odds of winning a legitimate national election are slim, so then he wants to leave an impact by challenging the minds of the youth to seek a greater purpose in their lives and look to change Pakistan for the better. This tweet makes me wonder if he is that doubtful of his chances at office, and then if he will continue to try to make a difference on a national, political scale… and if so, through which means?

Burma – Suu Kyi Tweets

Posted on by conradqe19

I had to include these posts just because the hipocrasy was incredibly amusing. One of the greatest criticisms that Suu Kyi has been receiving is that she is not involved in or trying to find a solution to the Rohingya Crisis. Just recently, she has had more conversation with the UN and allowed them to enter Myanmar to assist with resolving the crisis and providing aid, but before then, according to articles and public opinion, she has generally been a bystander. It is interesting then, that she uses social media not to address these complaints or try to change the public’s opinion. Rather, she simply uses the tweets to continue her professional persona.

Both of these tweets have very sly undertones that relate to the ongoing crisis, but do not directly address it. The first post speaks to her foreign policy attitude and frankly, I feel, shows a lack of loyalty to other countries or participants in the political system. It is one thing to say there is no forever enemy – that statement would show an attitude of cooperation and spirit of collaboration and relationship building. When she includes that there is not forever friend, however, she creates a tense atmosphere, alluding to the fact that she is capable or willing to turn her back on an ally. The second post above is astonishing simply for the fact that her country lacks any sort of understanding of the concept of coexisting as millions have been killed in this genocide.

AungSanSuuKyi’s feed is primarily filled with retweets, but these were two key posts that clearly revealed her character and political attitudes. If social media does nothing else, you cannot deny that it gives great insight to the personality of the user. In this instance, we were able to clearly see how SuuKyi wishes to be perceived and the issues she finds important.

 

 

Drake Twitter Blog Post 4 #lovearmyforrohingya

Posted on by drakejd19

another neat hashtag I found, which pops up alot in Bangladesh, i #lovearmyforrohingya. Again, another pro Rohingya hashtag, this one is similar to #iamrohingya, however seems to be a bit smaller. Aditionally, this particular tweet and all the associated ones with this hashtag date back to 2017. however, the general gist of all of them was to extend sympathy to the Rohingya people. This tweet contains a statistic on how many rohingya people have fled myanmar to Bangladesh in 100 days, thus appealing to pathos of the twitter audience. This tweet included a short video, within footage of rohingya in exodus, crossing fields, as well as a testimonial from a rohingya women discussing her fear throughout the crisis. Additionally it contains some other pro rohingya spokespersons, statistics, and calls for change.

Drake Twitter Blog Post 3, #iamrohingya

Posted on by drakejd19

Picking out a tweet is easy when studying Bangladesh, as the #iamrohingya hashtag and movement encompasses Burma, Bangladesh, and the Rohingya Nation as a whole. The Tweet here is only a small sample, this one by Amnesty International Nigeria’s twitter account. The majority are a call to arms, call for sympathy, pledges, and change in Burma. Every single one of the tweets provided context for the oppressed Rohingya’s plight, however none of them provided anything substantial for why the rohingya are being persecuted, simply that they are and that it is bad. This particular tweet is bringing awareness to the crisis and the ethnic cleansing, as well as sort of advertising the “i am rohingya” virtual experience film which was developed in Canada. The film is fourteen victim’s stories, as they tell it, portrayed by actors.

Tweet #2

Posted on by smithtm19

HR: https://twitter.com/BJP4India/status/991212382092345344
and https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pm-launch-karnataka-offensive-dares-rahul-to-speak-for-15-minutes-without-a-paper-in-any-language/articleshow/63984042.cms

Early this week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held rallies across the Indian state of Karnataka in Southwest India. Karnataka is a state currently under the heavy influence of the Congress party in India. With elections nearing in the state on May 12, Modi seeks to diminish the Congress’ influence in the state and turn in favor of the BJP. During a rally early today, Modi bashed the leader of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, son of former Indian leaders Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi. Gandhi has recently spoke out against the Prime Minister and in response, Modi used his stage in Karnataka for a rebuttal.
This tweet grabbed my attention because I thought it was very Trump-esque. Narendra Modi is very active on twitter as well, but he is almost always conveying positive imagery and not tweeting against others or in the tone that Trump uses. Here however, it is Modi’s party that does the actual tweeting, but the quote came from Modi during the rally. I was really caught by surprise when I read the tone of the tweet, especially because I was unaware of the conflict between Modi and Rahul Gandhi. The tensions between the BJP and the INC are high right now especially with state elections taking place across the country in coming weeks and months.
I obviously took this way further than just reading a tweet. The tweet was intriguing enough for me to look up what was going on and now I know a whole different aspect of what is going on in Indian politics right now. Some things that will be interesting to follow up on are the results of the Karnataka elections and whether or not the quarrel between Modi and Gandhi heats up or cools down after the elections.