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Protesters Are Dodging Sudan's Internet Shutdown With a Phone-Powered Crowdmap

Posted by Soulskill on from the routing-around-damage dept.

Lasrick writes "Motherboard's Africa correspondent, Amanda Sperber, has a great piece on how protesters in Sudan are getting around the government's shutdown of the internet. Quoting: 'Since Wednesday afternoon, Sudan's internet has been sporadically shut off amid a fifth day of protests against President Omar al Bashir's regime. Despite the attempt to cut off communications and limit organization and reporting on the ground, a group of tech-savvy people based in Khartoum have developed a map for recording key data about the protests that's powered by cell networks. '"

7 comments

  1. Admirable effort, but he's going to go... by ackthpt · · Score: 2

    ... as peacefully as Assad. President Omar al Bashir has had found no difficulty allying with clans and tribes to depopulate area, such as Darfur.

    As for the protests, the country no longer has the oil or revenues as they largely left with South Sudan. The subsidies are not coming back.

    Even if he does go, he will probably be replaced by a more brutal government. Can't say I envy the people in Sudan.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Admirable effort, but he's going to go... by aNonnyMouseCowered · · Score: 2

      If it's any consolation, this dictator has no powerful friends or the oil and mineral weath to prop up his regime. So the chances of a UN intervention are greater if the casaulties go beyond the low thousands. Russia and China might even volunteer troops for a "peacekeeping" mission just to prove they aren't necessarily the best friends of opressive regimes. Certainly, the chances of them using their veto against a UN Security Council mandating sanctions would be much less.

  2. great example of handouts-gone-wild. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    so the sudanese got huge gasoline subsidies because sudan was a major oil exporter.
    but the arab sudanese were murdering the black african sudanese. hence the two civil wars, and the new country of south sudan.
    south sudan sits on 75% of the sudanese oil. smart move, arabs.
    anywhoo.... sudan (the arabs) can't afford the handouts. so they cut them back.
    and people RIOT like crazy. dependant populace ftw.

    --
    sent from my ObamaPhone.

  3. Don'r give these countries attention by TrollstonButterbeans · · Score: 1

    Countries with these kinds of problems deserve the news blackout the rest of the world gives them. No one to root for here. If you give these countries attention, you are "not helping". Let them deal with this matter privately ...

    --
    Priest: "Universe from nothing, no laws of physics, sped up time"+ huge discrepancies. Creationism? No. Big Bang Theory
    1. Re:Don'r give these countries attention by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Telecommunications blackouts are a classic tool for regimes to "deal with the matter privately". The result - from the People's point of view at least - is generally unsatisfactory.

      In any case, the locals who built this map seem to believe that getting the outside world's attention would help.