Hello everyone,
I would like to add a few points with respect to this discussion since
there are lots of undermining "thoughts".
1. Firstly, there is no such thing called an 'associate member' in the
bylaws of Wikimedia Bangladesh. One can easily become a supporting/regular
member following the chapter's rules and regulations. Secondly, anyone with
an aligned interest in the Wiki movement can work with an affiliate or the
affiliate can also invite someone to work with them. That doesn't mean the
volunteers can't take their own decisions. To clarify, they don't have the
obligation to inform the chapter at all. I personally can remember
conducting workshops even before becoming a member of the chapter. Anyway,
I can confirm that there was no such discussion within the chapter, and I
see nothing puzzling here. Lastly, bringing a sensitive issue like
harassment to a public mailing list on the basis of an "allegation", is not
expected at all. None has the ground to create such an image of any
volunteers because of an "allegation" only. I would encourage everyone not
to escalate the discussion in another direction and keep it friendly.
2. "Wikimedia Bangladesh is facing backlash within the local community." or
"This local affiliate has a troubling history of suppressing emerging
leadership in order to maintain control over its perceived "territory." "
are some fictitious statements, to blame on the basis of personal thoughts.
We have always worked with the community, and hope to do that in the future
as well. Although I would concentrate on commenting on the relevant things
in this thread, I can't restrict myself from saying that I, who joined the
chapter in 2016 as a supporting member, am proof of whether the chapter
encourages new people to lead or not.
3. I personally do believe that creating a UG with this name without any
discussion with the mentioned region's existing groups is confusing. I
agree with what Butch and Bodhisattwa have already pointed out.
Best,
Ankan
On Fri, May 26, 2023 at 12:10 AM Mrb Rafi <mrbrafi1971(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Well, this is strange and interesting at the same
time. There is a lot
going on inside South Asian communities that have been hidden from the
world and have started to surface now.
I have made an effort to analyze and document my observations regarding
the "WAP UG" and have outlined them in the following list:
1. The primary concern is undoubtedly the non-compliance of this UG with
the standard Affcom procedures, indicating either a lack of capacity or
willingness to adhere to the requisite rules for the initiation of a UG.
2. The home wiki for all three contact persons listed on the meta page
happens to be bnwiki. Notably, two of them are part of the bnwiki admin
panel, which comprises a total of 13 editors. bnwiki serves as the home
wiki for six out of the eight members affiliated with this UG also.
3. One of the three contact persons has explicitly stated on their user
page that they are an associate member of Wikimedia Bangladesh.
Furthermore, the other two individuals have close affiliations with the
local chapter in Bangladesh. Their names can be found in the CoT
<https://w.wiki/5ZZo> for the implementation of the local Wikimania in
2022. Those of us involved in the local movement, including myself, are
aware that these three individuals constitute a significant portion of the
capable workforce within Wikimedia Bangladesh. It is very unlikely that the
local chapter's three most active and leading organizers would make such a
substantial leap without internal discussions within Wikimedia Bangladesh,
and it is puzzling that the chapter appears to be unaware of this. It is
worth noting that there are allegations of off-wiki harassment against at
least one of these three UAP UG contact persons. Additionally, Wikimedia
Bangladesh is facing backlash within the local community.
4. Operating an organization without formal recognition from Affcom does
not present a fundamental obstacle. I, myself, am leading two non-affiliate
organized groups and believe that these non-affiliate groups are essential
to make the movement more distributed and transparent. But, to a lot of
people, getting recognized as affiliate leaders is rewarding enough which
may set unrealistic expectations. Personally, I am not a big fan of the
affiliate structure based on my observations in the local movement, as they
sometimes prioritize political territoriality over productive endeavors.
From my experience, it appears that affiliates function as the sole
authority within a designated territory determined by Affcom, and they are
prepared to safeguard their sovereignty over that territory (including the
onwiki spaces covered by the language or culture of the territory) at any
cost. Regarding Bodhisattwa's expectations, it is improbable that Wikimedia
Bangladesh, "being a decentralized organization and with good community
connection and support", would extend assistance to other organizations
within their territory. Unfortunately, this local affiliate has a troubling
history of suppressing emerging leadership in order to maintain control
over its perceived "territory."
5. I am concerned that the emergence of this UG is an inevitable outcome
of long-standing tensions that have remained concealed within the region
for decades. It's more of what we can see with the naked eye. The South
Asian community has complex dynamics that are tricky to figure out. There
are currently several conflicting parties here without anyone to mediate.
WMF couldn't solve the legal complexities of sending grants here even after
working for more than a decade. The conflict was previously managed due to
the professional support extended by WMF in recent years. But WMF started
destroying that capacity themselves through the so-called "budget and staff
cuts" recently. There is literally no expert in the WMF with in-depth
knowledge about the socio-political realities of this region, which is
essential for mediating between these confronting parties and continuing
the resource flow and professional support here. Consequently, conflict
appears to be unavoidable.
I have made an attempt to articulate some of the shared perspectives held
by many local volunteers that often remain unvoiced on the global stage,
where they need to be heard. You may understand that I won't be able to
present everything, but I have tried my best while staying within the
boundary that preserves my safety. Hope it helps to understand the depth of
the situation.
Best,
Rafi
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