GPS Mapping of Kenyan Slum Help Aid Organizations Improve Services
by Jane Esberg for Ethicaltraveler.org

Nearly a third of Nairobi’s population lives in the Kibera slum, the world’s second largest informal settlement, yet the Kenyan government does not recognize its existence. The lack of government aid has taken its toll on public services. There is just one toilet for every 1,300 residents, and high crime rates drive most people to throw waste into the streets rather than brave the trip at night. Yet despite appearances Kibera does not lack foreign aid. As resident Sheikh Ramadhan told the Inter Press Service (IPS), there are “more than 100 NGOs operating in this small area. But this has done very little to improve the lives of residents.”

One organization working to address the gap between information and services is OpenStreetMap (OSM), which began with the simple premise that maps “of the whole world” should be free, accessible, and accurate. Begun in London, where copyright prevents recent city maps from being available for free, OSM provides information that is user-generated and editable - which is why to its founders a “blank spot” like Kibera is so readily visible.

OSM argues that the poor coordination among NGOs at least in part reflects a lack of knowledge of their operating environment. As long as neither aid workers nor residents had information about the existing services offered, the gaps could not be addressed. With this in mind, in November 2009 OSM armed 12 Kiberan youths with GPS tracking devices to map public roads and structures of interest. Mikel Maron, a board member at OSM, explained to IPS, “There has been a general lack of accountability on the project going on in Kibera. With this kind of information available, it will be easy to know exactly which organizations are working in Kibera, including available services and facilities.”

Since its beginning in 2004, OSM has become increasingly involved in humanitarian causes. Its use of GPS and user-generated input offers two distinct advantages over Google and Yahoo, which rely on satellite imagery. First, OSM's method allows the mapping of areas with poor satellite coverage. Second, while satellite images are taken relatively infrequently - maps of Nairobi have not been updated in nearly five years - OSM can be rapidly and easily edited. Most recently aid organizations, including the United Nations, have used OSM to share information about the devastation that followed the earthquake in Haiti, including available services, navigable roads, and areas in particular need.

The Kibera maps went online in January 2010, revealing the complexity of the urban center. Maron describes how even basic details depend heavily on insider understanding. A railroad may also be a pedestrian walkway; a street may double as a sewer; a store's sign may be entirely unrelated to its function. The OSM maps blend satellite imagery, GPS surveying, and the local understanding of the 12 young mappers to form a complete picture of Kibera. While it is too early to judge the success of the maps in promoting coordination among aid workers, certainly OSM has potential to address an issue integrally tied to the effectiveness of humanitarian aid.

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New Guidebook Highlights Ethnic Repression in Burma's Shan State
by Tania Campbell for Ethicaltraveler.org

The recent publication of a guidebook about Burma’s Shan State highlights the destruction and repression of its culture and people by the Burmese military junta and reveals the darker side of tourism in that region.

Entitled ‘Forbidden Glimpses of Shan State,’ the book was published by Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) to bring readers’ attention to the subtle ways in which the oppressive regime is erasing and remaking the unique culture and heritage of the state.

The Shan people are an ethnic minority and have their own culture and language, distinguishing themselves from the dominant Burman culture. Between 1996 and 1998, the junta forced more than 300,000 villagers in Shan State from their homes at gunpoint. Most have since fled as refugees to Thailand.

The guidebook's introduction states, “Given that experiencing local ‘culture’ is a primary aim of tourists visiting Burma, we feel it is important to expose how Shan State culture, religion and history are being distorted and erased, and gradually replaced by the regime’s own homogenized and artificially imposed ‘Myanmar culture.’”

The guide illustrates, for instance, how the military regime is destroying the last remaining palaces of the 34 former Shan principalities. The historic Kengtung Palace was demolished in 1991; in its place now stands an unattractive modern hotel that remains largely unoccupied due to rumors that it is haunted.

In keeping with its ideology, the regime has destroyed symbols of Shan self-rule and replaced them with monuments that glorify ancient Burmese kings. The guidebook provides pictorial evidence of the contrast between these ornate structures and the local Shan temples which have been desecrated and left to crumble.

“We want visitors to open their eyes to the repression going on around them, even in the cultural sites they are visiting,” SWAN spokesperson Moan Kaein stated in a press release.

The guidebook also brings readers’ attention to places of great natural beauty and cultural significance that are off-limits to tourists but are at risk of being destroyed. The Kengtawng Falls for example, may soon fall victim to hydropower developments with backing from Thai and Chinese investors.

The guidebook authors have included a section on well-known political prisoners who have been banished to remote prisons in Shan State. The guide states, “They will never be physically seen by tourists but their presence should be a constant reminder to us all of the cruel reality of repression in Shan State and the rest of Burma today.”

The guidebook is available at the following link: www.scribd.com/doc/22649196/Forbidden-Glimpses-of-Shan-State-English
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