Le 6 juin 2013, un article de presse publié par le Guardian et rédigé par Glenn Greenwald va révéler au monde l’une des plus grandes affaires d’espionnage que l’histoire ai connue.

 

 

Prism, un programme de surveillance de la NSA (National security agency ou l’équivalent des services de renseignements généraux pour la France), lancé en 2007, permet à l’agence étasunienne d’accéder aux serveurs de géants d’internet comme Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Youtube, Skype, etc; mais aussi d’accéder aux conversations téléphoniques sur des lignes privées partout dans le monde.

 

 

 

 

Personne n’est épargné. Les citoyens du monde entier, les responsables de l’Union européenne à Washington, à l’ONU et Bruxelles sont espionnés, ce qui provoque une rupture de confiance internationale des pays victime du programme américain  Prism.

 

Même les entreprises: Selon une récente étude publiée par The cloud security alliance, plus de la moitié des entreprises non-étasunienne se déclarent réticentes de travailler avec les fournisseurs de service cloud américains, et 10% d’entre elles ont déjà annulé leur contrats existants. 

 

Derrière cette affaire de surveillance téléphonique et numérique se cache un jeune homme du nom d’Edward (Joseph) Snowden. Ancien employé de la CIA et de la NSA, c’est lui qui a divulgué ces informations au magazine Guardian concernant plusieurs programmes de surveillances américains et britanniques. Pour justifier son geste, celui que l'on surnomme désormais "the whistleblower" a indiqué qu’il ne peut « laisser en son âme et conscience, le gouvernement américain détruire la vie privée, la liberté d'Internet et les libertés essentielles des gens du monde entier avec ce système énorme de surveillance qu'il est en train de bâtir secrètement ».

En divulguant ces informations, il a pris des risques colossaux puisqu’il est accusé dès le 22 juin par le département américain de la Justice de vol, d’espionnage et d’utilisation illégale de biens gouvernementaux. Il sait que le gouvernement des Etats Unis cherchent à le retrouver pour mettre un terme à la fuite d'informations ultra confidentielles, et qu’il mettront tout ce qui est en leur pouvoir pour arriver à leur fin. En effet les agissement de Snowden ont engendré une véritable crise diplomatique contre les Etats-Unis, même si ces derniers justifient leurs programmes de surveillances par la lutte antiterroriste.  Notre informaticien décide pour échapper aux services secrets du gouvernement des USA de s’exiler en juin 2013 à Hong Kong puis à Moscou où il obtient l’asile temporaire le 31 juillet 2013.

 

Pendant 7 mois, après une fuite de 1,7 million de documents dont 31 000 ultra confidentiels de la NSA selon un reportage de la chaine américaine CBS, l’ex-consultant de la NSA a vue son image évoluer de manière critique à travers le monde. Perçu au départ d’avantage comme un traitre, il est désormais majoritairement reconnu comme un héros par l’opinion internationale. En effet, il a réussi à changer les normes de la surveillance publique. On a pu le constater notamment à travers les interventions récentes de Brack Obama qui visaient à  rassurer les différents pays espionnés que le contrôle du gouvernement sur la NSA est désormais accru. 

With the excellence of its academic teaching and research activities, my university, the National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM), is very famous in the country.

 

NUI MAYNOOTH, the logo of my University

 

 

Located 20km at the west of Dublin and with more than 8000 registered students; it has not only a prestigious reputation around the country. It has also a great campus, sports and social life, run by motivated students of the university.

 

In addition, NUIM is a beautiful university divided in two different parts: South and North Campus.

 

South campus is the old part of the university. It’s a complex of fine nineteenth century buildings which includes a beautiful chapel and huge gardens.

 

 

 

   NUIM, South Capus

 

 

 

 

North Campus is the modern complex of teaching, research, accommodation, and support facilities like the phoenix, a large building where you can find a restaurant, a sports hall with a free gym, a basketball field, and lots of sports room for various sports.

 

 

 

 

NUIM, North Campus

 

 

 

Outside of the building, you can find Playing pitches for Football, Rugby or Gaelic Football.

 

My first day in the university was entirely dedicated to its presentation.

The officer of the international office gave us a lecture to explain to the international student all that we needed to know about the student life, the different courses and modules that we could take for our semester, the security rules, e.g.

Then different professors of different topic gave us a lecture to introduce ourselves to their module. It was quite interesting. But even NUIM offered plenty of different modules, I decided to take business one to fit with the choice of my studies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NUIM North Campus, Arts Building, where I had my first lecture for the presentation of the University

 

 

Finally, a 3^rd year Irish student of NUIM gave us a tour of the campus. It was really nice and were lucky (very lucky) because it was a beautiful day and it’s not very often in that period of the year.

After the tour of the campus (having seen  all the different theatre buildings for the lectures, the new library, the cafeteria, snack bar and student Union bar where I was going to drink so many beers with the others student during the semester) we went outside of the university to start the visit of the small village of Maynooth. It was beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

NUIM, The new library of south campus

 

 

Maynooth is a really small town of 10 700 inhabitants for 8 000 students. Saying in another way, it’s a really young city, where you see young students almost all the time in the street, and where the life is pretty cool.

 

In Maynooth, there’s all what you need if you are a student.

Obviously the university with theatres, a library and a sport complex where you can practice lots of sports like gym ofr example, which was a sport that I practiced 3 times a week in the gym room of the university in the phoenix.

 

 

 

 

 

NUIM, the Gym in Phoenix sport complex building

 

 

 

There’s also a shopping center with so many different shops where you can buy some food, clothes, books and where you can eat so Irish food or simply cut your hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maynooth town, The shopping Center Maynor Mill

 

 

 

There’s a main street where all the restaurants bar and night clubs are. And I have to confess that I spend most of my night time in this street, having parties with my friends.

 

My favorite bar-night club was the Roost. Every Thursday, every students of Maynooth had all a big party in this place. What is awesome with the city of Maynooth and that after only few weeks, you get to know a lot of people that you can meet again in this kind of bar and party with them.

 

 

 

Maynooth Town, The Roost bar in the Main Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maynooth Town, The Main Street with all the restaurant, bar and night clubs of the city.

Let’s go back to the beginning: My arrival in Dublin

 

When I arrived to the airport of Dublin, I was supposed to be welcome by one of the member of the international society of my university, which takes care of all the exchange students. But I didn’t find her.

 

After few minutes of intensive research, I saw the tourist office of the airport. I asked to one of the member of the staff my problem and I was happy to see how nice she was with me! My first impression with an Irish girl was actually very good.

 

She gave one call to a colleague and after few minutes I finally find the member of the international society. Then I met others international students who were waiting in the bus before to go to Maynooth, the city where I was going to live during this semester.

 

Hi guys!

 

You know what? It’s been one month that I left my country to go living this wonderful Erasmus experience in Ireland... And I have to say that in this kind of situation,

when you are abroad, discovering new people, new nationalities, new cultures way of thinking,  the time goes unfortunately too fast! It’s because I enjoy a lot this new adventure of my life that I have the impression that I’ve been there for a week.

 

To be very precise, I will take my flight to go back to France in exactly 3 months.

Hence, it remains just 3 small months to live in Ireland for me… For sure it’s nothing. But what is certain, is that you can discover a lots of things during this period of time. And actually, after the first month that I spend here, I can swear that I couldn’t imagine how much I was going to discover in a so short period of time …

 

But let’s go back to the beginning: My first impression when I get to Ireland

 

 

 

 

THERE IT IS !! IM IN MAYNOOTH FOR ONE SEMESTER 

And the show beggins ...