160419 Webit.bg Sofia Refugee Tech v1.1
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Transcript of 160419 Webit.bg Sofia Refugee Tech v1.1
ETIQUETTE RULES FOR WHEN THE TURKISH ARMY SHOOTS
AT YOU BY MISTAKE** Then offers you tea at their barracks to apologise
Webit.bg Sofia 19/04/16
Once upon a time there was a makeshift country called Syria…◦ Forcefully carved out of the Ottoman
Empire after the Great War to give Britain and France equivalent areas of influence in the region. Imperial Russia would get Istanbul and control the Bosphorus Straits
◦ This secret partition deal (the Sykes-Picot Agreement) fueled a major “WikiLeaks” style scandal when the Bolsheviks shared the document with the UK press after taking over their country in 1917
◦ For almost 100 years Syria had nonetheless a (relatively) tolerant, multicultural, educated and wealthy population
◦ It started to become an ex-country in 2011 when the first shots were fired in Daraa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes-Picot_Agreement
… it looks like this bloody mess now◦ A severe drought between 2006-11 had
killed 85% of all livestock, driving millions of farmers into the already overcrowded cities
◦ Syria is currently a patchwork of ever-shifting control areas disputed by:◦ Assad Regime (<60% of the population)◦ Daesh = Islamic State = ISIS◦ Al Nusra = Al Qaeda◦ Syrian, Turkish and Iraqi Kurds◦ Several Syrian rebel groups (FSA, etc.)◦ Iranian masters and Afghan slaves◦ Mercenaries from Russia, Serbia and ???◦ Assorted brainwashed nutcases with guns
◦ Climate change + century-old problem = good luck finding a permanent solution
syria.liveuamap.com/en
www.unilad.co.uk/articles/this-cartoon-succinctly-explains-the-background-to-the-syrian-conflict/
Theoretical Equivalent: U.S. caseSyria (21.5 million people in 2011)
◦ 250’000 killed◦ 10’500’000 displaced◦ 500’000 crossed into EU◦ 80’000 just in the Zaatari camp near
Amman, Jordan
5’000’000 Syrian refugees in total
Only 3.6% of the current Syrian refugee population has been resettled worldwide in the last five years;95%+ still live in only five countries in the immediate vicinity: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt
U.S. (322 million people, 15x larger)
◦ 3’750’000 killed (US military deaths in World War II = 400’000)
◦ 157’500’000 displaced◦ 7’500’000 crossing into… Canada?◦ 1’200’000 in one camp near... Ottawa?
75’000’000 U.S. “equivalent” refugees
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/02/syrias-refugee-crisis-in-numbers/
“Refugee for a Week” Route
Lesvos, Greece
ISIS here…
Russian Bases**
NATO Base*
Kilis Border with Free Syrian Army
(semi-open)
Yayladagi Border with Assad
Regime (closed)
Russian jet fighter shot down here…
www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-week-refugee-crossing-turkey-overland-from-syrian-border-garcia
* NATO Incirlik Air Base + “guest” Saudi F-15 jet fighters ** Russian Latakia Air Base + Tartus Navy Base “Bullets and
Tea” Incident
Al Qaeda here…
The “Bullets and Tea” Incident
Restaurant (Parking)
Russian Bases
NATO Base
Tea time at the concealed
military base (no biscuits)
Cevlik tourist resort (longest Turkish beach)
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5903/
Entrance to UNESCO site
Soldiers in unmarked
bunker
My location when they
opened fire
Titus Tunnel – UNESCO Candidate Site
Surrender Location
World Governments pledging to UNHCR◦ On 30/03/16 a high-level UN meeting about
sharing responsibility for this unprecedented refugee crisis took place in Geneva
◦ The goal was to help more of Syria’s refugees through resettlement and other pathways such as family reunification programmes, student visas and medical evacuation.
◦ After five years, the world’s states have pledged to admit only around 180’000 refugees from Syria, a figure that is pitifully low
◦ It increasingly looks like refugees - Syrian and otherwise - will remain in the limbo of camps and similarly precarious housing until (if…) countries significantly accelerate their admission process
www.unhcr.org/pages/5694d22b6.html
How Technology Can Help◦ Technology can help in several ways to bridge this extreme case
of Digital Divide, particularly by providing free or at least heavily subsidised wireless online access and battery charging kits to:◦ Better communicate and co-ordinate camp activities ◦ Find online work (e.g. data processing), receiving payment
with innovative refugee-friendly platforms such as MONI.com◦ Online job fairs to support the creation of work visas for those
with skills in demand elsewhere in the world (IT, farms, etc.)◦ Remote education classes for those less skilled (to bridge their
knowledge gap), but above all schooling for refugee children so that they don’t get role models from terrorist groups instead
◦ Initiatives such as techfugees.com (originated during the last Davos WEF) are vastly improving the efficiency of the path from idea to field deployment and should be fully supported by those willing to volunteer and/or donate
https://hackpad.com/Tech-Projects-For-Refugees-hL0DFzrTNAqMaslow Pyramid v2.0
WiFi should be both simple and free
Don’t leave your camp without it
Reconnecting our Forgotten Souls◦ Data access via the GSM network is clearly unrealistic for the
vast majority living far below the poverty line (86% < $1.7/day)
◦ Free wireless access of sufficient quality should be provided in camps and other areas with a high density of refugees - such as those in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt (the “big 5”)
◦ We propose to start with older generation WiFi infrastructure equipment donated by telecom operators after replacing their platforms with the latest upgrades (hotspots, routers, AAA, etc.)
◦ “Ruggedised” kit-based WiFi routers specifically built for tough environments such as refugee camps are currently being developed; those should be backed and financed accordingly
◦ Justifiable security concerns with the misuse of this infrastructure for criminal activities must be addressed with the relevant authorities and monitored accordingly
Etiquette Rules for when the Turkish Army shoots at you by mistake…1. Don’t make any sudden movements as they could be perceived as threatening2. Do keep all suspicious looking objects (e.g. phones, chargers) away from you 3. Don’t run away or you’ll be considered guilty by default and swiftly “neutralised”4. Do surrender following military protocol: your whole body in the soldier’s line of sight, on your knees, hands up with all fingers fully visible rather than on the back of your head (could be hiding a weapon)5. Don’t expect them to speak or understand a single word in English*
6. Do realise that they are mostly 18+ year old conscripts trying to do the hard job of defending a military base near a war zone7. Don’t forget that they’re probably more nervous than you with the possibility of executing an innocent person and being court-martialled 8. Do show them all the documents they require (but no more) and fully cooperate9. Don’t expect the tea to be particularly well brewed or to come with biscuits 10. Do use effective deodorant as your arms will be up for quite a long time
* Using Siri is quite tricky with a rifle pointed at your head and it’s rather challenging to type on Google Translate with both your hands up
Where to learn more and engage◦ The usual suspects: keeping refugees alive with (some) dignity◦ UNHCR - www.unhcr.org◦ UNICEF - www.unicef.org◦ Amnesty International - www.amnesty.org◦ International Consortium of Voluntary Agencies - icvanetwork.org/forced-
displacement
◦ New kids on the block: Refugee Tech taking them beyond just survival◦ Techfugees - Techfugees.com◦ StartupAid - Startupaid.io◦ MONI- moni.com
Further contact:Marcelo Garcia - [email protected]/in/marcelogarcia