My Independent Media class today showed me how much I take for granted my freedom of speech. I have always been free to say what I think, but there are many others in this world that are not able to do so.
Here are just a few places where freedom of speech is not allowed: Iran, China and Egypt.
Right now, there is a situation in Egypt where a blogger named Philip Rizkl is being jailed for criticising the Egyptian government for not fully opening the border between Rafah and Gaza. For more information about this situation check out: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/ 02/10/egypt-more-activists-and-bloggers-arrested/. Sadly, this is not a unique situation in Egypt.
In Egypt, people are not allowed to criticize the government publicly. Many are turning to the Internet to voice their objections, but they must do so very carefully. The government monitors the Internet, and anyone caught blogging against the government, can be put in jail for years. In jail, these bloggers are beaten and tortured. Despite knowing the punishment for getting caught, many people continue to blog.
Those bloggers are so brave. They are risking their lives to promote freedom. I hope that their efforts are successful, because I believe that everyone has the right to say what's on their mind and to share knowledge with one another.
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