Democracy is...

By Rajendra Thakurathi

Last year in September, when Nepal had chosen its first president and the first prime minister after the people's revolution, under democratic republic measures, but the people of the country were perplexed over this overhyped term, a democracy challenge was announced by the US State department to mark the UN’s first-ever International Day of Democracy.

The only objective of the YouTube based-video contest was to define democracy in a creative way, not blather just philosophical definitions of the political leaders. Seven winners, one each from six geographical regions- Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East-North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia-Pacific and one anonymous, were to be chosen through a democratic mean- public vote. Throughout more 100 days, YouTube got more than 900 entries from 95 countries.

By May, voters were ready to choose their seven winners from a narrowed down list of 21 finalists. One of the winners is anonymous. The winners also include a Nepali filmmaker and writer Tsering Choden, who is also the editor of Y! Magazine. Here is the list of the six winners.

1. Chansa Tembo, Zambia (ourdemocracy)

“Democracy is like a smoothie of blended philosophical ideas, ideologies, cultural norms and aesthetic values.” The portrayal of democracy through fruits of different sizes, colors and tastes blending together to form a juice in a glass reminds me of dumb citizens whose voices are crushed into making a juice in an appealing glass. Everyone’s voice is heard, true, but I wonder who the leader is and what happens of the remains of the fruits.

2. Tsering Choden, Nepal (cash0612)

“Democracy is a movement of the people.”

This is my favorite video among the finalists, may be because it represents Nepal and problems that I’ve seen. The video has a unique style and that’s where I see creativity. With commentary by some big shots of Nepal like student leader Gagan Thapa, social entrepreneur Anil Chitrakar and author and poet Viplob Pratik, among others, the video shows Nepal in the wake of the last year's Maoists’ new Nepal. In the name of people’s movement, democracy was supposedly brought in the country but problems prevail- garbage still pile up in the parking lots, traffic jams are common, protests, load shedding, water problems continue in the country. Just as a woman says in the video- “What democracy? What republic? What autocracy?”

3. Lukasz Szozda, Poland (lluukk24)

The video seems very professional with other animated videos from the same production "Luk Films." A series of colorless animated men get colored with democracy-choosing one’s own way of living and freedom of expression. The video admits that tolerance is needed for democracy and democracy is just the right thing we need. However, tolerant people means silent people, who digest any injustice incurred upon them. Their voice has to be heard in democracy but I wonder how it comes if they are tolerant and do not speak at all.

4. Rodin Hamidi, UAE (rodinhamidi)

Aman clad in a suit with a book and a camera with him represents an educated person who plants democracy in a desert area- is it his ignorance or over confidence? Two notorious kids who come brawling see the plant and while playing, they rip it apart. The man comes again after one month, but this time he brings the plant in a vase. It’s not difficult to plant democracy in any place. However, what is difficult is for it to sustain and grow. The message in the video might be unclear but all it wants to say is for a democracy to grow, a strong base is needed. Democracy is what leads to implementation of human rights. This matches the situation of the current situation of Iran (Hamidi is a native of Iran) where mass demonstrations are going on to fight against a supposedly fraud election. It seems like Ahmadinejad’s handling of Iranian democracy didn’t have a strong base.

5. Anna Israel, Brazil (ACSIsrael)

Anna tried to make this video interesting by seeing democracy in a human body where the body functions on the collective effort of all the parts. Each part represents people in a democratic society. Some of them are at a higher position in the society and some at lower. However, the body can function only if each part functions properly. The video doesn’t appealto me. Anna is talking gibberish to say things that are clear by itself and I don’t see any great piece of creativity in this.

6. Aissa Peñafiel and Migs Ocampo, Philippines (aissathesheriff)

Some believe this video makes a powerful statement about Philippine democracy. This is my best film as it fearlessly posits remarkable questions, challenge human beings and their actions and shows the repercussions.

A deep emotional voice against a silent, black and white video of a person, whose body is full of democracy and terms related to it, is really impressive. The man is ultimately killed. The words are touchy. The video posits some serious questions. What if our Achilles’ Heels are targeted by those who lead, and a complex web of lie bestowed upon us? “Democracy by the people and of the people-these words seem really pleasing while we hear,” the voice satirically smiles. Democracy is the weapon of a selfish man who lures weak and unprepared minds. These minds speak up because of hunger, fatigue, pain, despair, ambition, money and fear, which is akin to a gun pointed against their heads.

We, humans, can speak, but the words that come out through our lips do not necessarily represent our thoughts. Although the truth stands in front of our eyes, we choose to choose those whose voice we hear. Although some create sparks, they die soon. Problems still linger and troubled people still prevail. “But, I’m not among those who is going to be silent, for my silence will kill me tomorrow. I’ll be fearless.”

The filmmakers want to put this video forward for the upcoming 2010 Filipino elections.

All six winners will be going to Washington, New York and Hollywood where they are going to meet filmmakers, film producers and other professionals in the film industry. The budding filmmakers just found a platform to explain the budding democracy in different countries of the world. What does democracy mean to you?