A few days ago, a cousin I have not talked to in a while told me she wanted to donate to Global Voices. She is 26 and is doing an internship in a bank in the suburb of Paris. We are friendly but we do not interact very often. This was the first time she mentioned Global Voices to me so I asked her why she wanted to. Here is what she said (I am paraphrasing from the conversation):
I have been an occasional reader of Global Voices, mostly through my Facebook feed. After the 13 th November and the Paris attacks, I came across and read many think pieces on the events but something was amiss in all the chatter. Then the world went even crazier. The leading Republican presidential candidate is now calling for a ban on muslims entering the US; the extreme right in France has come on top at the most recent regional elections for the first time and more polls across EU show that a majority across the continent would turn their back on migrants who are at risk in their homeland and seeking refuge.
I am afraid of what the world is turning into. My place of hope these days come from reading sites like Global Voices that can provide a different viewpoint with worldwide reports from the current madness in the mainstream media. I don't know whether this kind of storytelling can succeed in stopping the current polarizing discourse but I sure like the fact that Global Voices is trying to give a different read on the world with worldwide reports. It may make a difference or it may not. But it is worth a try and i want to support that.