by Imelda V. Abaño
Philippines
Vera von Kreutzbruck
Germany
The vast majority of them embarked from BallinStadt, a development conceived as a unique full-service departure point for emigrants. Encompassing 30 buildings, BallinStadt was so big that it was almost a small self-contained city itself, tucked within the bigger port of Hamburg. This innovative idea, perfectly suited to the times, originated with Alfred Ballin, general manager of the German shipping company HAPAG (Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft). What is left of BallinStadt is now located in the Veddel neighborhood of the Hamburg suburbs.
by Suad Hamada
Bahrain
Bahraini women facing divorce, child custody or alimony disputes walk with heavy hearts and slow steps into Shariah Courts, fearing humiliation and injustice from judges in the only court system that rules over these issues. These women know they have no legal way to challenge arbitrary, inconsistent and unjust verdicts because Bahraini civil law doesn’t have any jurisdiction over Shariah Court verdicts.
Hanan Mohammed can’t forget what a bitter experience she had in the Shariah courts when she went there to seek an increase in her inadequate alimony. The judge who “avoided any eye contact” not only declined to increase the amount of her alimony, even though he knew that her ex-husband had gotten a sizable salary increase, but he was openly hostile and rude to her, with no provocation. She says her rights have been violated and that she feels “humiliated” by the encounter.
by Nancy Van Ness
USA
As director of a performing ensemble, one of the joys of my life is to support other artists and witness their work. There is nothing more satisfying than watching my young colleague Lena Gilbert unravel the knots of a creative problem.
In sharp contrast, it breaks my heart to see talented people who could be artists fail to do their work because they aren’t confident enough of their own ability to create. Perhaps they have been taught to be too self-critical, as can happen, especially in academic circles. An emphasis on critical thinking can kill the drive to create freely. Sometimes I think the prevalence of university degrees in the arts hinders rather than helps in this matter! (However, I certainly don’t discount that aspiring artists without degrees also suffer inhibitions that hold them back.)
by Pilirani Semu-Banda
Malawi
But both the tobacco and tea industries in Malawi thrive on the cheap labor of children ages five to seventeen.
by Patricia Vásquez
Managing Editor, The WIP
USA
The outlook was grim. That day, Sharon McCarter, communications director of the Woodrow Wilson Center declared, “We are extremely dismayed about Haleh’s situation, and our concerns about her health and mental well-being have only increased as weeks of captivity have stretched into months. A renowned scholar and a tireless advocate for greater dialogue between Iran and the United States, Haleh has committed no crimes.”
by Natasha Dokovska
Macedonia
by Jessica Mosby
USA
Viewed as a music documentary, Gypsy Caravan is an invigorating film that shines a spotlight on the rich musical heritage of the Roma people. Organized by the World Music Institute, the film follows the six-week tour of the five Romani bands: Antonio el Pipa and his Flamenco Ensemble (Spain); Esma Redzepova and Ensemble Teodosievski (Macedonia); Maharaja (India); Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania); and Taraf de Haïdouks (Romania). The most inspiring part of the film is seeing the performers interact on and off stage during the 18-show tour. Over the course of six weeks, people who don't all speak the same language; who live in different countries and socioeconomic classes; and who do not play music that would seemingly complement each other jam on stage and lovingly impersonate one another off stage! For musicians who have never played together before, the five bands have incredible synergy. In almost every group scene, someone is singing or playing an instrument. The bands literally jam their way through hotel rooms, airports, bus rides, cigarette breaks, and even a photo-op at Niagara Falls. One regret that most viewers of Gypsy Caravan will have is that they didn't get to see the tour live; while the documentary attempts to capture the energy, being there in person must have been an unparalleled experience!
by Faye Anderson
USA
Every hour sees the black man elbowed out of employment by some newly arrived emigrant, whose hunger and whose color are thought to give him a better title to the place.- Frederick Douglass (1853)
Why? Jobs.
A new report by the Center for Labor Research and Education at UC-Berkeley confirms that more than half of black workers are employed in low-wage, dead-end jobs. The report, “Job Quality and Black Workers: An Examination of the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York,” looks at black employment rates. While the full report is embargoed until Labor Day, its findings include:
by Courtney E. Martin
USA
You might guess that this subject was a perfect stranger, someone I was intimidated by or nervous about getting to know. Instead, she was my best friend.
Don’t get me wrong. Reporting and writing my recently released book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body did involve speaking with a lot of strangers. I interviewed over 100 girls and women between the ages of 9 and 19, as well as dozens of experts, including psychologists, nutritionists, medical doctors, and media critics. Nonetheless, I was convinced that to tell the real story of contemporary girls and their bodies, I would also need to sit down with my nearest and dearest—many of whom were my inspiration for writing the book in the first place.
by Imelda V. Abaño
Philippines
by Victoria Stirling
Canada
Tragedies causing sickness, death and the poisoning of the environment in countries far away from us are devastating many Third World Asian countries today, and I am not talking about AIDS. No, this is a problem directly caused by the West and the entire developed world, and once we learn the horror we’re responsible for, we must make the right choice and fix these situations.
I first became aware that the Western world is shamelessly dumping its problems on those less fortunate when I read an article by Mari-Len De Guzman in a 2005 issue of Computer World Canada. It detailed the unconscionable disposal methods that some in the Western world employ today to get rid of electronic litter.
by Louise Belfrage
News Editor, The WIP
Sweden
Yesterday, August 8th, was an auspicious date, symbolically, for China – it was one year to the day before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Unfortunately, a well known and extremely effective activist and frequent spokesperson for the Tibetan independence movement, Lhadon Tethong, the Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet International, was detained by the Chinese authorities on undetermined charges. She had been in China for only six days while covering the human rights situation at the one-year run-up to the Olympic Games.
By the third day of her stay, her blog had become increasingly popular, especially in Tibet, where many saw her visit to China as courageous and inspiring: she was putting her own freedom at risk for the cause of Tibet. Before being detained, Ms. Tethong had said, “The Olympics is an opportunity to push China for change, and it’s our responsibility to take the mask off the face of the Beijing regime.”
At first, the Chinese authorities had ordered only a few security officers to follow Tethong, but by the 5th day there were up to 30 plain clothes “minders” (aka plain clothes security agents) as well as vehicles following her every step.
Tethong had reported on the action that took place on the morning of August 8th at the Great Wall: the hanging of a “Free Tibet” banner by six international activists. She began her coverage of the arrests by saying, “I am at a loss for words. This morning, six amazing people of conscience risked their lives to defend the Tibetan people.” These six -- three Americans, two Canadians and one British citizen -- were detained after two hours, on charges that they threatened national security. The whereabouts of the six activists are still unknown.
by Patricia Vásquez and Katharine Daniels
The WIP
On August 7, 2007, The WIP, in its Byline Portal, linked to an outstanding and shocking article, “The Black Sites: A rare look inside the C.I.A.’s secret interrogation program” by Jane Mayer, a reporter for The New Yorker. Mayer conducted a “major investigative report” amassing interview after interview with C.I.A. analysts and interrogators, with professors, journalists, and Washington insiders. Despite the Bush Administration’s repeated declarations that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed divulged information of tremendous value during his detention, she concludes that the CIA and the US government have been lying both about many of their “successes” in uncovering terrorist networks and crimes, and have been lying to hide the degree to which they have tortured detainees. What a shock.
It’s hard to say which are the most surprising revelations in Mayer’s report. Several of the experts she cites have serious doubts as to whether the notorious captured terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed actually is guilty of killing murdered American journalist Daniel Pearl -- even though Condoleezza Rice herself told Mariane Pearl in 2003 that Mohammed had confessed not only to masterminding that crime, but to the actual beheading of her husband.
by Constance Manika
- Zimbabwe -
Hopefully, readers may remember the piece I wrote for The WIP in May 2007 about prominent Zimbabwean playwright Cont Mhlanga, and the premiere of his most recent and controversial play yet, “The Good President.” The play had opened in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital and largest city, on April 12, to good crowds. While theatre buffs praised it as a highly entertaining play which was admirable for calling for the society to take the moral high ground, its plot certainly provoked serious debate.
To quote myself from the May article, the play kicks off with a scene in a police station where two police officers are assaulting the leader of an opposition party, acted by a look-alike of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe’s strongest opposition, Movement for Democratic Change.
In addition to beating him up, they search his pockets and steal all his money and leave him for dead. And it goes on from there.
by Andrea Benedict
USA
In these past few days since the sudden collapse of the I-35W bridge, the citizens in Minneapolis, Minnesota have experienced panic, shock and perhaps most of all, anger. The yet-to-be-determined death toll hangs like an eerie cloud over our city. Right now, patience is running thin, very thin.
As we individually and collectively try to find meaning in this event, there are still so many unanswered questions.
When this eight-lane, 1,900-foot (579 m), heavily-trafficked bridge over the Mississippi River went down, luckily, I was still at work. Normally, I wouldn’t have said being stuck at work made me feel lucky, but mundane hold-ups saved a lot of people from being on the bridge at that time.
by Nancy Van Ness
USA
Some people have said I don’t have the “perfect” body for a dancer. But others like the way I look. Either way, I don’t worry what people think of my body. In fact, I take issue with directors of dance companies and dance critics who discuss dancers’ bodies instead of their art. Even the highly respected Arlene Croce wrote unkindly about Gelsey Kirkland’s body. To me, that is not only a travesty, but it is what contributes to the eating disorders and self loathing so many dancers live with.
by Constance Manika
- Zimbabwe -
In 2003, gender activists from the Zimbabwe Women Writers group published a book entitled A Tragedy of Lives: Women in Prison in Zimbabwe. It revealed shocking human rights abuses in the country’s prison system.
Irene Staunton, publisher of the Weaver Press of Zimbabwe, not only published but also co-edited the book with Chiedza Musengezi, a founding member and director of Zimbabwe Women Writers. (Musengezi also co-edited other compilations of women’s voices, such as Women of Resilience and Women Writing Africa.)
The distinguished Weaver Press, which publishes books from and about southern Africa on political and social history, the environment, media issues, and women’s and children’s rights, among other things, works closely with the award-winning James Currey Publishers in the UK. Currey Publishers won the 2000 American Sociological Association’s Special Achievement Award for “the most extensive and impressive Africanist list in print.” In short, the Weaver Press keeps good company.
The Zimbabwe Women Writers expected that once A Tragedy of Lives: Women in Prison in Zimbabwe was published, it would cause a huge outcry that would surely result in prison reform. But nothing of the sort happened. The book wasn’t even reviewed, because newspaper publishers feared political prosecution because the findings in the book were so sensitive.
