The View from Here
Thursday April 12, 2012
Peace without justice in Liberia
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Comfort Tokpah, 50, lost her husband and brother in Liberia's civil war and was forced to marry a child soldier. (Photo: Bonnie Allen) |
Later this month, we'll hear a verdict in the case of the first African Head of State ever tried for war crimes.
Charles Taylor, a former President of Liberia, faces 11 counts for crimes he allegedly committed in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
They include murder and rape, and recruiting child soldiers
Remarkably enough, neither he -- nor anyone else -- faces any charges for triggering a war in his own country, which killed 1/4 million Liberians.
The innocent now live side-by-side with people guilty of committing atrocities against them. Dispatches contributor Bonnie Allen tells us two of those stories.
Charles Taylor, a former President of Liberia, faces 11 counts for crimes he allegedly committed in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
They include murder and rape, and recruiting child soldiers
Remarkably enough, neither he -- nor anyone else -- faces any charges for triggering a war in his own country, which killed 1/4 million Liberians.
The innocent now live side-by-side with people guilty of committing atrocities against them. Dispatches contributor Bonnie Allen tells us two of those stories.
Listen to Bonnie's documentary
And a cruel footnote to that story: Alhaji Kromah, the former rebel leader in charge of the state broadcaster where Moses works, just got a new, more important, government job.
The President's appointed him an Ambassador-at-large in the Foreign Ministry. Observers say it likely means his prospects for prosecution are even more distant. But on the upside, it means Moses won't have to look at him every day.
The President's appointed him an Ambassador-at-large in the Foreign Ministry. Observers say it likely means his prospects for prosecution are even more distant. But on the upside, it means Moses won't have to look at him every day.
Categories: News Promo, The View from Here
Thursday April 5, 2012
Turkish minorities tread carefully in opening doors to multi-culturalism
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People in Instanbul enjoy the newly-revived Baklahorani Carnival. What was once a pagan Christian rite, has morphed into one of the few celebrations of Turkey's multi-cultural past and present. Dominant Turkish nationalism has made its organizers tread with caution. (Photo/Meghan MacIver) |
Dancing to the tune of reconciliation
With a history of conflict dating back more than 600 years, Greeks and Turks are not often found at the same party. As recently as the 90s, they sent warships into the Aegean in a sovereignty dispute over a tiny rump of rock cherished only by goats. And don't even get them started on Cyprus.
But now it seems, times are changing, ever so slightly.
Canadian journalist Meghan MacIver has found some Greeks and Turks dancing to the same tune at an unusual, and very historic party in Istanbul.
But now it seems, times are changing, ever so slightly.
Canadian journalist Meghan MacIver has found some Greeks and Turks dancing to the same tune at an unusual, and very historic party in Istanbul.
The April 5 Dispatches program
Read more »Categories: Asia, Europe, News Promo, Promo Box, The View from Here
Friday March 30, 2012
Cape Town "car guards" offer "protection"
A few weeks ago, Anders Kelto told us about car guards in Cape Town
Listen to The Car Guard Song - Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues (Eminem feat. Rihanna Parody)
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Lionel is a "Beach Buddy" in Muizenberg, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. They're licensed versions of the ubiquitous "car guards", who demand payment to watch over parked cars and (sometimes) guard against theft. (Photo: Anders Kelto) |
Here's the Horatio Alger story: how to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, in a South African parking lot.
For a few rand, they'll make sure your car is safe where you parked it. Car-guarding is a good way to rise it up from dire poverty. Even if guarders aren't always effective,
Listen to Anders Kelto's View from the car parks of Cape Town
Categories: Africa, News Promo, Promo Box, The View from Here
Friday March 30, 2012
Liberian journalist hides, for reporting sexual mutilation
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Mae Azango is a journalist in Liberia. She's in hiding fearing for her safety after breaking a national taboo and writing a story about a secret sect that practices female genital mutilation. (Photo: New Narratives) |
On March 30 it was reported that traditional tribal leaders have agreed to a deal with the Liberian government to stop the practice of sexual mutilation of young girls. This follows a brave expose by a Liberian journalist who went into hiding because of death threats for reporting the practice continues in secret. (link to Mae's follow-up piece below)
Last week and this week Dispatches covered the story:
At age 13, Ma Sabah was taken into the African bush and circumcised according to the tradition of her people.
When you put it that way, it almost sounds noble. But what Ma remembers is four women holding her down while another took a knife and hacked at her genitals.
That was more than 30 years ago. But for writing her story this month, reporter Mae Azango received death threats. She's now in hiding in Liberia, where we've managed to reach her.
When you put it that way, it almost sounds noble. But what Ma remembers is four women holding her down while another took a knife and hacked at her genitals.
That was more than 30 years ago. But for writing her story this month, reporter Mae Azango received death threats. She's now in hiding in Liberia, where we've managed to reach her.
Listen to Rick's interview with Mae Azango
Journalist Mae Azango, is in hiding in Liberia. She's a reporter with the daily newspaper FrontPage Africa, and the website New Narratives.
The March 22 Dispatches program
March 29th: More from a Liberian journalist in hiding
Last week on the program, we heard from Mae Azango, a Liberian journalist forced into hiding after receiving death threats for a story she wrote about the tradition of female genital mutiliation.
As she told us, some Liberians believe it deters adultery.
Since then, the Liberian government has cautioned journalists to be careful reporting the story but urged tolerance for her.
It also says it sent out letters to those who perform the procedure four months ago, asking them to end it.
For the record, this is the first time the Liberian government has said it wants to stop female genital mutilation.
But the Minister of Gender and Development - Julia Duncan Cassell - admits there's a big difference between asking traditional leaders to stop it, and getting them to actually stop it.
Categories: Africa, News Promo, The View from Here
Thursday March 29, 2012
Mexican tabloids: Black & White -- and dead all over
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A typical front page for one of Mexico's biggest Nota Roja tabloids. The term means 'red press', referring to the bloodshed it features. Mexico's drug war has provided them with plenty to write about. (Photo/El Manana) |
Surging drug violence brought Mexico together with the U.S. and Canada this week to talk about military co-operation to contain it.
But it took the Pope's visit to cause a temporary halt. One cartel hung out signs welcoming Benedict and pledging not to attack rival gangs while he's in the country.
With his departure, the killing that's claimed more than 47,000 lives has resumed. And with it, the debate over how best to treat it in the Mexican press -- that ranges from black-and-white, to red all over.
Canadian journalist Myles Estey has been watching it at work in one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
But it took the Pope's visit to cause a temporary halt. One cartel hung out signs welcoming Benedict and pledging not to attack rival gangs while he's in the country.
With his departure, the killing that's claimed more than 47,000 lives has resumed. And with it, the debate over how best to treat it in the Mexican press -- that ranges from black-and-white, to red all over.
Canadian journalist Myles Estey has been watching it at work in one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
Letters about violence in Mexico in Your Dispatches
Categories: Americas, News Promo, Promo Box, The View from Here
Thursday March 22, 2012
The trials of Tweeting in China
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Twitter may be blocked in China, but the Chinese have Sina Weibo, which the government tries to police but may already have lost hold of. (Photo: Reuters) |
China last week shut down its sanctioned version of Twitter, when rumours of a coup spread like the proverbial "prairie fire" throughout the country. A couple of weeks ago, Rick spoke with a journalist who knows how this "tweeting" system works.
We know it as Twitter, though not in China, where it's blocked by state surveillance.
Instead, the state permits the Chinese version -- something called Sina Weibo. The principles are similar to Twitter. The parameters, not so much.
Not when Big Brother has its algorithmic finger posed above delete, just waiting to wipe out any sign of dissent in those 140 characters on Weibo.
That hasn't stopped hundreds of millions of Chinese from signing up. It just means they have to find clever ways around it.
Author Rachel DeWoskin has been looking into it. She lived in China for five years in the 90s, writing and consulting and eventually becoming a TV star in a hugely-popular Chinese program similar to Sex and the City. Her findings appeared in a recent edition of Vanity Fair magazine. She joined Rick from Chicago.
Instead, the state permits the Chinese version -- something called Sina Weibo. The principles are similar to Twitter. The parameters, not so much.
Not when Big Brother has its algorithmic finger posed above delete, just waiting to wipe out any sign of dissent in those 140 characters on Weibo.
That hasn't stopped hundreds of millions of Chinese from signing up. It just means they have to find clever ways around it.
Author Rachel DeWoskin has been looking into it. She lived in China for five years in the 90s, writing and consulting and eventually becoming a TV star in a hugely-popular Chinese program similar to Sex and the City. Her findings appeared in a recent edition of Vanity Fair magazine. She joined Rick from Chicago.
Categories: Asia, News Promo, Promo Box, The View from Here
- April 2012
- Thu., 12 – Peace without justice in Liberia
- March 2012
- Fri., 30 – Cape Town "car guards" offer "protection"
- Thu., 22 – The trials of Tweeting in China
- Thu., 22 – Help for kids of India sex workers
- Wed., 21 – In Italy, a long drink of yesterday's wine
- Thu., 15 – China's painful healing, with bee-stings
- Thu., 15 – Rwandans find new uses for malaria nets
- Thu., 15 – Verbal autopsies shed light on death
- Fri., 9 – Italy's crisis endangers its guilds
- Thu., 8 – Mexico's vigilante mayor
- Wed., 7 – Lanse kòd animate Jacmel Carnival
- February 2012
- Wed., 29 – A box full of light saves lives
- Tue., 28 – They die so we might know
- Fri., 24 – Kennedy's very bad day in South Sudan
- Thu., 23 – Young Senegalese "fed up" with regime
- Wed., 22 – A special court for post-trauma vets
- Fri., 17 – Baad justice haunts Afghanistan
- Fri., 17 – Inside Egyptian military's business web
- Tue., 14 – Justice served in Haiti
- Mon., 13 – Syrian refugees' defiance and division
- Thu., 9 – Sri Lanka tourism vs. the fisherfolk
- Tue., 7 – Colombia's no-name dead
- January 2012
- Fri., 27 – Surfing with the crocs in a Borneo river
- Fri., 20 – India's surprise link to the heyday of jazz
- Fri., 20 – Why was it Kandahar for Canada's troops?
- Thu., 12 – Dispatches on the web
- Wed., 11 – Dutch pot cafes take heat
- Fri., 6 – Romania outreach for Roma kids a bust
- Tue., 3 – Kampala, 2011: some hope from a gay bar
- December 2011
- Thu., 29 – Deadly larceny over land in Haiti
- Sun., 18 – Fast food in the land of slow cooking
- Thu., 15 – Rio's Maracana makeover
- Wed., 14 – Mass marriage and divorce, Peruvian style
- Tue., 13 – The concrete issue of carbon emissions
- Thu., 8 – The road from Damascus -- to Libya
- Thu., 1 – Amsterdam "Santa's" helpers in blackface
- November 2011
- Wed., 30 – Guyana: jungle tourism and Jonestown
- Mon., 28 – Colombia Kidnap Radio hostage killed
- Fri., 25 – Santa, Peru buries death-squad victims
- Thu., 24 – Twins, a train and art in Brazil
- Wed., 23 – L.A.'s Father Dollar Bill dies at 92
- Mon., 21 – Kudos for correspondents
- October 2011
- Thu., 27 – Otsego County, NY: The fracas over fracking
- Sat., 8 – Famine aid: giving cash instead of food
- Fri., 7 – Rick and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
- Wed., 5 – China's surfer girl goes global
- September 2011
- Tue., 27 – Al Qaeda: up close with the bosses
- Thu., 15 – Peace and death on Tripoli Street
- Thu., 8 – Lamont Tilden remembered
- Thu., 8 – 30 Mosques/30 days goes worldwide
- Thu., 1 – The Sky Cries Blood, Afghanistan 2002.
- August 2011
- Fri., 26 – How To Fix A Football Match
- Thu., 25 – Pakistan's untold stories
- Tue., 16 – Urumqi, China's underground 6 City
- Tue., 16 – Uyghur Thriller Soundtrax
- Mon., 1 – U.S. Ramadan Road Trip
- July 2011
- Wed., 13 – Nothing but mammals, baby...
- Mon., 11 – This Is Not America
- June 2011
- Wed., 29 – Guca, Serbia: brass bands and nationalism
- Wed., 29 – The Khmer Rouge and Foxy Lady
- Mon., 27 – Remembering Andrew Princz
- Fri., 17 – A Space Shuttle, a premier, and an ocean
- Mon., 13 – Jerusalem...covering the never-ending story
- May 2011
- Wed., 25 – Radio's eyes, The Human Kind Of Eye
- Mon., 2 – War brides return to Britain on QM2
- April 2011
- Tue., 19 – Kampala...home of Gadhafi's fan club?
- Sat., 16 – Cairo...security file free-for-all
- Thu., 14 – Tokyo...in the shadow of Fukushima
- Mon., 11 – Dakar's wrestling sandbox millionaires
- Mon., 4 – Jordan's protests run deep
- March 2011
- Thu., 31 – Grand Forks, ND: misinformation on the menu
- Mon., 28 – Mexico: fear of narco-censorship here
- Tue., 22 – Noda, Japan...pictures, pieces of lives
- Tue., 22 – The screwy Saudi security syndrome
- Thu., 17 – Beijing...ice swimming and loving it
- Tue., 15 – Mendoza, Argentina...a witness to brutality
- Mon., 14 – Addis Ababa...renting the news of revolution
- Fri., 11 – Margaret Evans' Mideast overview
- Thu., 10 – China rolls back reforms
- Wed., 2 – Tunisians demand democracy now!
- February 2011
- Mon., 28 – Kabul's curbside cops
- Wed., 23 – Urumqi, China..underground music here
- Fri., 11 – Haiti classics -- A Canadian Grammy nominee
- Wed., 9 – Nairobi...Togetherness Supreme here
- Mon., 7 – London...cuts to BBC World Sevice here
- Thu., 3 – Cairo...re-charging in a mosque here
- January 2011
- Thu., 27 – Ladino: The Jewish music of Spain sung here
- Wed., 26 – Yak manure: from poo to petrol
- Wed., 26 – South Sudan...a new national anthem here
- Fri., 21 – Our man from China assesses India
- Thu., 20 – Haiti...just another death by cholera
- Wed., 19 – Goma, Congo...Clever Boys here
- Tue., 11 – Spain - no more matadors on TV here
- Thu., 6 – Juba...boatloads of celebration here
- December 2010
- Mon., 20 – The soundtrack of a randy taxi driver
- Fri., 3 – Kabul...the roadside pension plan here
- November 2010
- Wed., 24 – Afghanistan...Embedded with the Taliban here
- Tue., 23 – Kampala..The Secret Reach Of "The Family"
- Sat., 20 – Thanks for finding your way to a new feature
- Wed., 17 – Shatila refugee camp...guns are common here
- Tue., 16 – Kampala...battling homosexuality here
- Mon., 15 – Zimbabwe...Waiting For The Rain here
- Mon., 1 – China in Africa...no Chinatowns here
- Mon., 1 – Nicaragua...the remains of a DC-3 here
- October 2010
- Fri., 29 – Washington...Franzen, Freedom and Obama here
- Thu., 28 – London...the tale of MI-5 from here
- Mon., 25 – NYC 9/11...What's Going On here?
- Fri., 22 – Manila..."offending religious feelings" here
- Thu., 21 – Havana...sticking like crazy glue here
- Wed., 20 – Haiti...Rumours Of Glory here
- Wed., 20 – Who do you pay to be in the news here?
- Tue., 19 – New York City...living in tunnels here
- Fri., 15 – Falkland Islands...music of the long march
- Fri., 15 – Lusaka, SA...Tracy Chapman echoes here
- Tue., 12 – Khao Lak, Thailand...song from the Tsunami
- June 2010
- Thu., 17 – Assam, India...childbirth can be deadly here
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