Barranquilla: delivery of Temporary Protection Permits - Barranquilla - Colombia

This Friday began the day of delivery of the Temporary Protection Permit (PPT) to migrants in Barranquilla, which is directed by the District Mayor’s Office, through the Government Secretariat.

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With this call, the authorities seek that about 15,000 migrants receive their PPT, which will allow their migration regularization and access the benefits of the Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelan Migrants in the country.

The day takes place in the covered coliseum Sugar ‘Baby’ Rojas, which is located at Calle 58 No. 54-59, in the north of the city.

It is supported by the Migrant Center of the Government Secretariat, the Health Secretariat, the Opportunity Center, the Let’s Talk Emotional Vaccine Point, Colombia Migration, Sisbén, the De Pana Que Sí Foundation and international allies of the Migrant Center such as UNHCR, ACNUR, USAID , among others.

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More details of the delivery day

The invitation is for those who have not started their PPT process to do so on this great day and at the same time take advantage of other services

To date, in Barranquilla and the Atlantic, around 32,000 thousand migrants already have their PPT and they regularized their situationaccording to official figures from the district administration.

The Secretary of Government, Jeniffer Villarreal, invited the migrant population that lives in the capital of the Atlantic to be part of this event.

“The invitation is for those who have not started their PPT process to do so on this great day and at the same time take advantage of other services offered by the District, such as health affiliation, Opportunity Center offers, among others,” said the official.

This call for mass delivery will be extended until this saturday February 19, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

BARRANQUILLA

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Barranquilla: new temporary prison in the Las Estrellas neighborhood - Barranquilla - Colombia

In order to strengthen security and justice processes in Barranquilla, a new Temporary Detention Centeras announced by the District Mayor’s Office.

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The temporary prison is located in the Las Estrellas neighborhood. The space will have a capacity, initially, to house 210 people and will eventually be able to double to 420 prisoners.

There are 210 additional slots that we are adding so that we can say that here is where to keep the bandits

The Temporary Detention Center is at 108th Street No. 34 – 40, it has an area of 921 square metershas seven control spaces, a visiting room, closed circuit television for surveillance, bathrooms with anti-vandalism systems and its own electrical substation, among other adjustments.

Mayor Jaime Pumarejo referred to the importance of this center, which will allow the competent authorities to work to ensure the safety of the community.

“There are 210 additional slots that we are adding so that we can say that here is where to keep the bandits. In addition, the Minister of Justice, Wilson Ruíz, confirmed to us that in March we will be adding 500 places that are already being built in the El Bosque prison,” explained the president.

Pumarejo added that this is one of the strategies that are being implemented to accompany the work of the Police, criminal judges and other institutions such as the Prosecutor’s Office.

It was equipped with technology

This center will have adequate spaces for carrying out virtual hearings of the unionsthus reducing the risk of not developing due to external factors.

For this, it will have the necessary technology to undertake these hearings that will determine the process of those captured, according to what was reported by the district administration.

Among the benefits that this new Temporary Detention Center brings, is the decongestion of the stations of Police, by being able to relocate detained personnel in these spaces and who are waiting for their situation to be resolved with justice.

Similarly, these new facilities will guarantee better conditions for persons deprived of their liberty and provide better security conditions for the detention of persons immersed in a judicial process.

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The captures of the Metropolitan Police of Barranquilla

So far this year, the Metropolitan Police has reported 769 capturesa 23 percent increase in cases over the same period last year, according to official figures.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Metropolitan Police of Barranquilla, Brigadier General Luis Hernández Aldana, highlighted the advances in infrastructure as a tool for the peace of mind of citizens.

“Also so that the rights of personnel deprived of liberty are not violated. In the same way, it is a sample of the work articulated with the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla through the Office for Citizen Security and Coexistence, “said the senior official.

BARRANQUILLA

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Beijing Olympics Bubble Offers Rare, and Temporary Oasis of Media Freedom

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — 

Journalists at the Beijing Olympics have a tough assignment. Not only do they face a vast number of pandemic-related restrictions, they also will be working in one of the world’s least friendly countries for media.

Amid concerns about China’s surveillance and mistreatment of the press, many journalists at the Winter Games tell VOA they are using “burner” devices, such as phones and laptops completely wiped of personal data, to protect their digital privacy.

“I set up a burner computer … I have a burner phone. I even have a burner iPad with me,” said James Griffiths, Asia Correspondent for The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper. “I haven’t come across anyone who isn’t using at least some kind of burner device.”

Ahead of the Winter Olympics, the Committee to Protect Journalists warned that reporters’ phones and laptops could be contaminated with malware while in China. “Assume that everything you do online will be monitored,” read a CPJ advisory.

China ranked 177th out of 180 in Reporters Without Borders’ 2021 World Press Freedom Index, only two places above North Korea. Not only does the country employ an army of censors to maintain its so-called “Great Firewall,” it is also the world’s largest jailer of journalists, with at least 128 detained, the organization said.

Earlier this week, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China released a report warning media freedom in the country is declining at “breakneck speed.” It said China-based foreign reporters faced physical assaults, cyber hacking, visa denials, and growing threats of legal action.

FILE – The National Stadium and the Beijing Olympic Tower are lit in red on the eve of the Chinese New Year, Jan. 31, 2022, China.

A bubble tradeoff

Foreign journalists at the Beijing Olympics have reported no problems so far, even if they have extremely limited mobility due to COVID-19 precautions.

“I’m currently connected to the Beijing 2022 Internet, which you can get across the various venues and as far as we can tell it’s completely uncensored. I don’t know how monitored it might be, of course, but at least things aren’t blocked,” said Griffiths.

“They said they were going to do this, and they have delivered. But then of course, we’re in a bubble,” he added.

Reporters at the Beijing Olympics won’t see much of China at all. Instead, they’ll be in a closed loop, taking only official buses from venue to venue. It’s part of China’s “zero-COVID” strategy, which has attempted to eliminate COVID-19, despite the emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant.

The restrictions have made journalism more difficult, in certain respects.

“It’s really hard to get a feel for what these Games mean to the people here in Beijing, because the only person you could really ask is a member of the workforce or a volunteer. Trying to report on what’s happening outside the closed loop is not an option,” said Donna Spencer, a sports reporter for The Canadian Press news agency.

Spencer says she, too, brought “clean” laptops and phones to Beijing and is using virtual private networks, or VPNs, which can provide a degree of privacy for Internet connections. So far, she says she’s experienced no problems.

“It’s this very weird sort of juxtaposition. We are free to report — within the closed loop,” she said.

The only way in

The conditions may not be ideal, but for many journalists it was the only way to get back into China, said Eryk Bagshaw, North Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The Olympics presented an opportunity that we may not get again,” said Bagshaw, who also brought clean laptops, phones, and even new email addresses to Beijing.

In recent years, Beijing has delayed or refused the issuance of visas for foreign journalists. However, many journalists at the Beijing Games were issued visas through the International Olympics Committee.

But Bagshaw conceded that the bubble has greatly simplified reporting in China — for better and for worse.

“You’re essentially submitting yourself to such total surveillance that there’s almost freedom in that,” he said. “There’s cameras absolutely everywhere — you’re not looking over your shoulder wondering if you’re being tailed because you’re speaking to a Chinese dissident.”