Institute for International JournalismE.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University

Volume 4, Issue 3

Global Spotlight

What’s inside

Cuba 17

El Salvador 18

Argentina 19Brazil 18

Senegal 11

Ivory Coast 9

Zambia 12Tanzania 10

Ireland 15

Scotland 14

Belgium 13

Turkey 16

South Korea 8

Pakistan 4

India 7Malaysia 5

Thailand 6

3 AsiaBattling bullets with blackboards:The struggle of Pakistan’s tribal youth against extremismBy Sagar Atre

Jan Muhammad was born in war-torn Balochistan, but he is now a speaker

at global youth forums for peace at 22. Jan was part of a training workshop organized by the College of Youth Action and Development. Jan believes, “There is a lack of educational facilities and jobs. Extremist groups provide an income, and hence youngsters often turn to violence.”

Residents of Balochistan, the federally administered tribal areas (FATA) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa, all bordering Pakistan’s northern fringe, have seen conflicts in quick succession; the Soviet invasion, Islamic insurrections, tribal conflicts, and American drone strikes. Conflicts have destroyed basic infrastructure, farms and factories. Due to a porous border, effects of conflict in Afghanistan are severely felt.

Raziq Fahim, founder of CYAAD, says, “These youth do not have opportunities or resources to create opportunities. This vacuum is exploited by extremists, who promise money and martyrdom. We work to turn them away from violence by reducing their bitterness.” CYAAD runs training programs teaching civic rights, community building, conflict resolution and peace. Six hundred youth have attended these workshops, most now work in the development sector.

Dr. Muhammad Taqi, a columnist, states, “Persuading a religiously indoctrinated, poor and angry young man towards extremism for a monthly salary is easy.

Disillusionment, anger, economic problems and helplessness are a perfect mix for extremists.”

Sadiq Khan, senior faculty member at the Institute of Development studies and practices, (IDSP), states, “Our programs focus on giving youth a basic sense of religion, local politics and the individual’s role in development. However, their devastated infrastructure and economic poverty must end. The responsibility of providing them opportunities of earning and working must come from the government.”

Extremists, including the Taliban, recruit boys as young as nine. Dilawar Khan, a CYAAD faculty, says, “I was a possible recruit, I lived in a rural region called Pishin. I knew who they were and how they recruited my compatriots. But my parents instilled in me a strong dislike of violence. Many of my friends were embittered by their losses. We at CYAAD talk to them as friends. Showing them a different, more optimistic and peaceful side of life changes them.”

The Baacha Khan Trust Education Foundation (BKTEF) has established schools and developed curricula which mix academic learning with practical skills. Dr. Khadim Hussain, Managing Director, BKTEF, says, “We work on school and college levels. Our curricula focus on cultural, critical and analytical skills, and other facets of education. We emphasize peace and a better, more detached understanding of religion. For youth, we conduct dialogues and workshops. We are working with the government to realize the need of economic investment and aid. We want to create a sustainable model to empower the coming generations psychologically, economically and professionally. We want tribal areas without poverty and violence.”

Youth in tribal areas are now involved in various constructive activities. When last contacted, Jan Muhammad was on his way to Egypt, to talk to youth there. Change in the tribal areas is slowly coming, but maybe not as quickly as it should.

Editors’ Letter

Global Spotlight StaffAdvisorYusuf Kalyango

Editors-in-cheifJoseph BarbareeEmily BowmanHeather FarrGraylyn Roose

Copy EditorsSagar AtrePhil BarnesAmber Skorpenske

Contributing WritersSagar Atre - PakistanJoseph Barbaree - El SalvadorPhil Barnes - South KoreaEmily Bowman - Ireland Brendon Butler - SenegalKatie Donaldson - TanzaniaHeather Farr - MalaysiaAdam Flango - Ivory CoastHilary Johnson - TurkeyTina Kuhne - BrazilJenna Miller - ScotlandMatt Pentz - ZambiaTaylor Pool - BelgiumGraylyn Roose - ArgentinaAmber Skorpenske - IndiaLaura Straub - CubaBixi Tian - Thailand

This publication may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not in everycase been specifically autho-rized by the copyright owner. Because Global Spotlight isintended for nonprofit educa-tional purposes, we believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law.Contact us at kalyango@ohio.edu if needed.

Welcome to the second issue of Global Spotlight for winter quarter 2012. The writers of this issue have put together a group of stories from literally every corner of the world. Each story centers around an issue that affects members of a different country and unique culture.

Although our writers were unable to physically travel to the countries about which they reported, each interview was conducted with sources living and working in these locations. Our reporters communicated through Skype and with calling cards, oftentimes negotiating difficult language barriers to get the facts and accurately report the stories.

Hopefully you will come away from this issue with a sense of some of the behind-the-scenes stories that affect a variety of cultures around the world. Although these issues may not make international front page headlines, they all directly affect a wide range of citizens. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Global Spotlight! Thank you for taking the time to read it.

Sincerely, The Editors

6AsiaMalaysians unite to “Stop Lynas”By Heather Farr

On the morning of Feb 19, 16 protesters in Kuantan, Malaysia publically shaved their heads. As he watched his hair fall, resident

Winson Ooi felt a deep sense of injustice, anger and disappointment overwhelm him.

“In our tradition, shaving all of our hair off is a highly symbolic and serious act to show one’s strong feel-ings.” Ooi said. “I have to do this for my family.”

Ooi is acting out against the construction of the Ly-nas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan. The Australia-owned plant will process rare earths shipped from Lynas’ Mount Weld in Australia.

Lee Tan, a consul-tant for the Climate Justice Program, was working in Australia when she heard about the Lynas project. A native of Kuantan, Tan felt it was her duty to come back and fight the company she says could put farmers, seafood producers and residents at risk.

“The location of the plant is within 30 kilo-meters of a population of 70,000 people – my family and friends among them. The waste water will be discharged into a natural river, which is a major sea-food production area,” Tan said.

Despite public concerns, the Malaysia Atomic Ener-gy Licensing Board (AELB) granted Lynas a temporary operating license. Similar plants have been closed in Papan, California and Bautou due to pollution of riv-er water used for farming and links to lung cancers in workers, among other things. Thirty years ago, Mitsubi-shi operated ARE, in the nearby city Ipoh.

“Like Lynas, ARE had no long-term waste manage-ment plan, and ad hoc arrangements eventually led to a situation of indiscriminate, clandestine dumping of radioactive thorium-containing wastes in and around Ipoh city,” Chan Chee Khoon, professor at the Univer-sity of Malaysia, said. “The greater Kuantan commu-nity similarly faces the prospect unknown number of

dump sites…if Lynas does not come up with a plan for long-term waste disposal.”

Dr. Jayabalan, a toxicologist at the National Toxicology Centre in Malaysia, was involved in the research of ARE.

“We looked at the issue of young, healthy mothers living close to the plant experiencing miscarriages. We noted offspring born with congenital defects. Beyond that, we found at least eight cases of leukemia -- seven of which were acute lymphoblastic leukemia. One of the known causes of this type of leukemia is ionizing radiation,” Dr. Jayabalan said.

According to Cameron Morse, external affairs coordi-nator for Lynas, it is inaccurate to compare Lynas with

plants like Bukit Mehra because the companies process different prod-ucts. Morse adds that the International AELB reviewed LAMP in 2011 and affirmed its compli-ance with the highest health and safety stan-dards.

Ionizing radiation is a concern of citizens because rare earth el-ements often found in conjunction with radio-activity. According to the Lynas website, the

mineral concentrate used by LAMP is classified as “safe, non toxic and non hazardous by all international standards.” According to Dr. Jayabalan, however, there is no “safe” level of ionizing radiation.

“If it were safe, they wouldn’t transport the materi-als thousands of miles to Malaysia, they would build in Australia,” Dr. Jayabalan said.

On Sunday, Feb 25, an estimated 20,000 Malay-sians came together to “Stop Lynas.” According to Wong Tack, organizer of the rally, this is the first time an environmental issue has caused Malaysians to take to the streets in such large numbers.

“They are taking advantage of our corrupt system and of a non-functioning administration. They are com-ing in from the back door and attempting to use us as a dumping site,” Tack said. “The people of this country will not accept it.”

 

Live with Big TigerBy Bixi Tian

Russian Felix Cheremnykh spends several hours drawing, sketching, learning English and working out in Bang Kwang Prison. He still has 30 years to go.

Bang Kwang is a men’s prison in Nonthaburi Prov-ince, Thailand, 7 miles north of Bangkok. It is also known as “the big tiger”.

Housing 8,000 inmates, Bang Kwang has a capacity of 4,000. Each cramped cell houses 20 inmates. Each inmate has only enough space to lie flat. Every meal is white rice and soup; the only bucket in the corner of the cell serves as toilet. Inmates spend 15 hours locked in cells. Contagious diseases spread easily, and it is said that one in ten inmates has mental issues.

But Cheremnykh is still sane and reasonably happy. Cheremnykh started talking to British and American in-mates to practice English and began working out every day. But what he is most proud of is his art.

With papers and pencils provided by visitors, Cher-emnykh sketches and draws prison scenes. He is now trying to sell his art to earn money.

In Bang Kwang, every inmate has an account, and uses money to buy necessities from the prison shop. Some earn money by working for the guards.

Cheremnykh can sell his art thanks to Heather Luna-Rose, a Canadian single mother who started a website called Luna-Rose Thailand prisoner support, seeking

donations. Luna-Rose visited Bang Kwang seven years ago with her daughter. She talked to a Dutch-Canadian inmate

serving a sentence for possession of drugs. She kept returning and talked to more inmates until she ran out of money.

She now works hard for 8 months and spends the rest of the year in Bang Kwang, bringing both material and mental comforts to her “Bang Kwang guys”. When not around, she writes to them every week.

“You still have value as a human,” She said, “no matter what you’ve done “Prison conditions are widely covered in both western and domestic media, but for different reasons. Western

media focus on criticism, Thai media use the coverage as a deterrent.Dan White is a British freelance writer in South-east Asia. Despite all the media coverage, situation in Thai

prisons has not improved much. He says, “The Thai authorities like to advertise their jails. Prison stories are on sale in the bookshops.”

Many in Bang Kwang are international tourists imprisoned for drug-related cases. Some countries have trea-ties with Thailand to extradite nationals back to their own countries. America is one of them. Most western offend-ers thus come home to serve much lighter sentences.

But not all people consider Thai prisons grisly. Kriengsaks Chareonwongsak is among those. Having received his bachelor and doctoral degree in Australia, a master’s degree at Harvard, and a post-doctoral degree at Ox-ford, Chareonwongsak thinks western media coverage on Thai prisons is dramatic.

“It is similar to western prisons, but it is crowded. There are too many drug criminals, and it is certainly not a deterrent. About mistreatment, again, it prevails like any other prison.”

7 AsiaSixty years on,People in India remain fiercly independentBy Amber Skorpenske

Telangana – a fiercely independent region within the central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh continues to feel deprived even in this present day.

After the state of Andhra was pushed to merged with Telangana in 1953 the mar-riage, resulted in hardship for the population of Telangana, including political, economic and even cultural problems (many people in Telangana speak Telugu). But even though this union happened over 50 years ago, today there still continues to be mass demonstrations and even suicides by those pro-testing the merger. It is important to remember that it is not the people of Andhra that are against a Telangana state. It is the “very few” elite Andhra politicians and businessmen who are against it. They are holding this merger because of their vested interest in “real estate” in the capital city of Hyderabad.

Many groups exist throughout the region that at-tempt to promote the Telangana movement and appeal for a non-violent protest. One of these is the Telangana Development Forum, a not-for-profit organization that sponsors seminars and community events to bring people together to discuss problems faced by Telan-gana people.

Vai Jalajam, a member of this organization says, his struggle began with his grandfather being persecuted after the merger of the states because of his inability to speak Urdu. Jalajam says, “My grandfather was a very successful businessman. After the merger he was left with nothing. He was a college grad and he still had no employment. My uncles, the second generation, had no access to higher education and employment.” It is very important to Vai Jalajam to help in the cause and to have Telangana secede, as it’s own state. He says. “It is most important that we are no longer colonized by

some elite Andhra capital and power lobbyists.”While groups that fight for secession insist that their

cause is non-violent movement, reports from citizens who live in areas like Hyderabad tell a different sto-ry. Leigha Garcia-George an American who recently moved to Hyderabad says, “When I go to work in the morning there have been several times I have seen buses on fire, protests in the streets and even suicides from university students. It seems like a normal way of life around here and it’s taken some getting used to.”

When confronted with the claim that the succes-sion struggle includes violence Jalajam stresses other methods of protest such as hunger strike camps, stu-dents marching against police brutality and industrial action by miners. He then goes on to say that many students have “self immolated” and died protesting the cause.

Jalajam still believes that this is a peaceful move-ment, saying, “Violence is relative. Yes there have been buses that were burnt and Andhra leaders stat-ues were demolished. Again, I could go on and on about this but there never was a movement more non-violent and peaceful than the Telangana movement.”

A member of a Telangana based TV station,

TeleguOne gathered some statistics from the Bureau of Economics and Statistics to give viewers a better under-standing of the Telangana situation. Dilip Kumar Chowdary says, “The scenario in Andhra Pradesh is different than other states.”

It’s true. Telangana is the most densely populated and the healthiest region in India with the biggest economy and most productive agriculture sector.

The report compiled by Chowdary suggests that there is no reason why Telangana wouldn’t be able to sustain itself, as a separate state.

However, there is also a opposition from both Andhra Pradesh government officials and residents of Hyder-abad that think things are fine just as they are. Of course the population must take into account how this will affect other regions that are trying to secede. With India having such a large and diverse population with many cultures it is important to think of all the reactions and effects a big decision like this could mean.

Korean tradition challenged as mixed marriages soarBy Phil Barnes

Every morning, after boarding Seoul’s bustling sub-way, Lara Tosh casually waited for a stranger to ask the question. She never had to wait long.

“Uh, excuse me Miss, are you a Russian prostitute?”Thirteen years later, Tosh (who is actually Canadi-

an-born) laughs at the old routine. “The question” isn’t asked much anymore – Tosh is now in her 40s and thinks that old age may have something to do with it. But she is quick to point out another, more prevalent reason: South Korea’s homogeneous culture is quickly becoming more colored.

According to the Korean Na-tional Statistics Office, foreign-ers living in South Korea totaled 390,000 in 1997. In 2009, there were over 1 million expatriates in the country (120,000 from the U.S.).

Year after year, the number keeps climbing. Dr. Jinseng Park recently opened the doors of his Seoul-based psychothera-py clinic to foreigners in order to compensate for their rapid population growth.

“Korean society has been the same for 5000 years,” he says. “Many of us aren’t used to seeing any color. But it’s certainly changing here.”

And with diversity comes acceptance…slowly but surely. Expatriates, whether from China, Vietnam, Canada, or the U.S., are becoming part of the family, and a once strict adherence to “minjok” (pure blood lin-eage) is losing its grip.

There were 35,098 marriages between foreigners and Koreans in 2010, a sharp increase from a mere

12,300 reported ten years prior. Six years ago, Lara Tosh married Korean Y.B. Ahn.

He is from a conservative family, and initially, Tosh’s relations with his parents were shaky to say the least.

“When I met with my future husband’s in laws, there was 20 minutes of non-stop screaming and crying,” Tosh says.

Tosh’s relationship with her in laws has improved, but she still experiences culture shock. Ahn’s age gives

him priority due to his fam-ily’s hierarchal structure, and Tosh often finds her-self baffled over resulting responsibilities.

“I actually had to name my newborn nephew,” she says. “It was very strange -- but stuff like this makes it fun and interesting to be married to a man of anoth-er culture. I definitely see more couples like me now, too. It’s on the rise.”

Andrew Eungi Kim, a professor and intercultural specialist at Korea Univer-

sity, predicts that bi-ethnic/bi-racial enrollment will rise to 16 percent in 2118 and to more than 870,000 (26 percent) in 2050. If this proves to be the case, Koreans’ progression of accepting other ethnicities will be put into overdrive.

Dr. Park knows that the Korean social order is changing – but it could all be happening too fast. While holding hands with her husband in public, Lara Tosh’s eyes still meet the suspicious gaze of older Koreans – but now, she sets her own rules.

“Even though my husband is twenty days older than me, I’m still the boss of the house. What I say goes.”

10Africa

Walking through the neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights in New York City does not evoke thoughts of soccer. But squeezed in between black tops and roads are enough open fields where children can learn to love the game or to simply try to fit in—children like Moses. After immigrating to the United States from Ivory Coast, Mohamed did not quite fit in. He did not speak any English, just the French he grew up speaking. His parents did not aid the language barrier either. But on the pitch, the language of soccer is louder and more distinct than any dialect or accent. Moses had grown up playing in the dirt fields in his native Ivory Coast. David Sykes was born in the soccer country of England. He adapted a passion and proficiency in the game and was soon playing and coaching across the world. “Everywhere we went, especially in West Africa, everyone was playing,” Sykes said. “It was amazing for us to see the length people will go to play.” There are, however, still some soccer academies that produce top-level talent in Ivory Coast. The Académie Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas, often referred to as ASEC Mimosas, has had an advanced and successful system in place since 1948. ASEC has produced current Ivorian national team starters Gervinho, Salomon Kalou and Yaya Toure, the 2011 African Footballer of the Year. Sykes said that Mohamed’s cousin and other worried about being sent to the football clubs in Europe. They had heard stories about different players being shipped away and losing all contact with their families with no guarantee of soccer fame or glory. Other players left their country with their families in hopes of starting anew. But in the United States, where soccer takes a very far back seat to other sports, it can be difficult. So when Sykes came over to the United States to earn his master’s degree, he simultaneously started the Uptown Soccer Academy. It is a soccer academy for children primarily ages 7-14. For some players, it is simply a way to enjoy the game and exercise. For the

more serious players, like Mohamed, it has helped to be a feeder system to club teams around the city. “We now just run it as a training program,” said Sykes. “We have training four times a week.”The academy also provides scholarships or financial aid to kids that wish to play club soccer but cannot afford it. But for Mohamed, the academy offered much more than that. The ten-year old had only been in the country a few weeks when his cousin, who had already been at the academy, brought him to the academy.“He didn’t speak any English,” said Sykes. “He knew

soccer vocabulary English before regular English.” The game was also instrumental in helping transition Mohamed from his home country to New York, “Soccer is more than just playing a sport for him,”

said Sykes. “It was instrumental in helping him feel comfortable in a new environment.” Mohamed had found a home, a place where he can play the game that he loved. In sports, respect is often earned based solely on your performance. Mohamed had skills that were highly developed compared to other players. “He was immediately one of the stronger players,” Sykes said. “Kids always respected that.” Now Mohamed has transitioned from the Uptown Soccer Academy to club teams in New York. It’s a far cry from Ivory Coast, but it is an opportunity to play the beautiful game.

Ivorian boy finds soccer in the city

Image courtesy of Uptown Soccer Academy

By Adam Flango

“...players left their country with their families in hopes of starting anew. But in the United States, where soccer takes a very far back seat to other

sports, it can be difficult.”

Refugees rebuilding lives in Tanzania Tanzania has been an asylum nation for more than 60 years, taking in almost a million refugees from nations all over Africa. Refugees in Tanzania are encouraged to return home if it is safe, but more and more are wishing to change their loyalty to the country that housed them when no one else would. One such individual is Osman Mwale Macheremu (who goes by the name Kizito). The United Nations High Counsel of Refugees (UNHCR) considers Kizito one of the bravest refugees to seek sanctuary in Tanzania. While Kizito’s story was never widely known, the UNHCR spread his tale through their “1 Life: 1

Story” video project. According to Kizito’s testimony for the project, he was raised in Somalia by Italian missionaries. He shares the Bantu culture with many Tanzanians, but his ancestors were trafficked to Somalia by Arab slavers. When civil war broke out in Somalia, Kizito made arrangements for his wife and children to find safety in Tanzania. While they were able to cross to safety, Kizito chose to remain in Somalia to care for his parents who were incapable of making the journey. Kizito did not see his family for nine years, ultimately waiting for his parents to pass away before searching for his family. Once he arrived in Tanzania, he was not

only able to reunite with his family, but also to obtain full Tanzanian citizenship. “I was among the first to request Tanzanian citizenship despite the fact that I was one of the last to arrive,” he told the UNHCR. “But I felt this is my real place, where I have to live, do or die. Outside here I would die.” When he finally did receive the citizenship document, Kizito kissed the paper and fell to his knees out of joy. The population numbers in Tanzania are always increasing because of growing families and violent situations appearing across the continent, according to Jerome Seregni the Assistant

External Relations Officer at the UNHCR’s office in Tanzania. The only time refugees leave is if their home countries are safe again. The UNHCR’s operations in the nation are substantial; several sectors are needed to manage all aspects of the situation. They work with the Tanzanian government and the refugees to determine when people can leave and if specific individuals require protection and new citizenship. The UNHCR also offers social services to the refugee settlements, including food, water, educational programs and health care. The health options are so advanced that many Tanzanian citizens travel to the settlements to take advantage of them. Seregni says the organization has two major solutions in mind for this year: allowing refugees to return home if it is deemed safe and integrating all of the newly naturalized citizens into Tanzanian life and culture. While the refugee situation in Tanzania will continue for years, there is great hope for those who make their home in the country. Many could look at the situation and see a country economically and spatially burdened by the plight of others, but Jerome Seregni says the partnership between Tanzania and the refugees is, and has always been, incredibly positive: “The citizens are always willing to help. They are making a huge step in this region and its gaining international recognition”. The refugee numbers are now in a steady rate of decline, but Tanzania has created a permanent place of protection and shelter for those who seek it. Image courtesy of UNHCR and L. Taylor

By Katie Donaldson

11 Africa

Tenkhoto was once a quiet agricultural village in southeastern Senegal. But the unceasing rise in the price of gold on world markets has changed all that. In the past three years, the town has become an outpost replete with all the problems associated with boomtowns: prostitution, STDs, alcohol and violence. But perhaps the biggest problem associated with the increase in independent mining is the low-tech method that miners employ to retrieve gold, which involves the use of mercury. Martin van Den Berghe, a geological engineer stationed in Senegal with the Peace Corps, has been designing an education program to combat contamination that results from this cheap extraction method. The process is illustrated in the story of Kassi Cissokho, one of tens of thousands of young men who have arrived in the area seeking fortune. Every day Kassi descends a dozen meters into a dark, shoulder-wide shaft to scrape out bagfuls of soil and rocks. Each worker is paid for his labor in raw soil, but must process that soil himself to retrieve the gold. If he is lucky, a young man like Kassi can earn twice as much by gold mining than he can as a farmer. “There’s not much opportunity in this area. If you’re a farmboy, there’s not much choice but to head to the mines once the rains stop,” says Van Den Berghe. Up to this point, Kassi’s exposure to mercury has

been relatively minor. But it is during the final stage of recovering gold when the real harm occurs. Gold is extracted through evaporation, which creates methyl mercury smog. When this heavy metal toxin enters the miners’ lungs, it can damage the nervous system and cause behavioral disorders such as nervous ticks, memory loss, and mood instability. According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, for every 10 ounces of gold recovered, the miners use up to 8 ounces of mercury. Rains wash the toxins into the Gambian river watershed, poisoning fish, fowl and humans downstream. Van den Berghe is teaching the miners to use a re-tort, a simple metal container that costs less than $5, to condition the elemental mercury for reuse rather than evaporation

Miners in Senegal poisoned by methyl mercury exposure

Image courtesy of Martin Van Den Berghe

Image courtesy of Martin Van Den Berghe

By Brendon Butler

Van Den Berg says any metal worker in the area can build one using recycled materials such as teapots or tin cans. “It’s just a matter of convincing the people,” he says. “This is, as usual, by far the hardest. Changing habits is sadly always the hardest part of development, no matter where you are or who you deal with.” Although the Senegalese government is aware of the problem, Van Den Berghe says, it isn’t equipped to deal with it.

“The government really doesn’t exist in this part of the country,” he says. “There’s no roads; there’s no in-frastructure. Gold mining is not a dynamic profession; it doesn’t provide long term solutions for the people. But they have no other choice at this point.” Young men like Cissokho have to find ways to sur-vive. But the gold mines won’t be there forever, and if the price of gold should fall again, many miners will be left with health problems and a polluted environment with little to show for it.

After more than 40 years of cooperationChina-Zambia relations at a crux point

By Matt Pentz

Zambia’s close relationship with China dates back to the early 1970s. The African nation had been cut off from Western investment as punishment for supporting independence movements elsewhere on the continent, and China stepped in with the funds it needed to survive. Nearly half a century later, the two governments remain friends. The cracks, however, are beginning to show. Recently, the Asian superpower has been ruthless in its pursuit of higher profits. In late 2010, Chinese mine managers shot 13 Zambian workers who were protesting for better wages. Tales of poor working conditions and low pay are also rampant. “They are interested in investing in Zambia to exploit the resources,” said a Zambian journalist in the Copperbelt region who asked not to be named. “The Chinese are pushing hard to get the major concessions in other areas where they can mine the metal.” The issue was turned into a political tool in recent elections. Presidential candidate Michael Sata and his party, the Patriot Front, were hugely critical of what they saw as an unfair balance of power between China and Zambia. Though Sata and the PF lost a contentious election in 2006, their popular message carried them to power in 2010. “During the run-up to the elections, the political party had made certain promises,” said Kenny Makungu, a senior lecturer at the University of Zambia. “But the claims that they were giving, for me, were a bit

unrealistic, but that’s politicking. “That was just pure politicking.” For all the promises, little has change on the ground. “What the PF and the others expected (at first) was that the Chinese investors, like any other investors, would adequately pay their workers,” the journalist from the Copperbelt said. “They were also expected to address issues of safety in their operations, which were very low.” A possible alternative is to look to the West for investment, helping to diversify the economy and eliminate some of the reliance on the Chinese. The United States, in particular, is a strong candidate for a secondary trading partner, having invested heavily

in vital areas including better health care provision, and the fight against diseases. Sata still carries the popular support of the Zambian people (due in large part to Internet and infrastructure improvements),

but undercurrents of dissent are apparent, especially within trade unions. “The cry is still there because people are not satisfied with what they’re getting from the mines,” the journalist from the Copperbelt said. “It appears that the investors themselves are doing little to invest in their workers.” Without any indication of change, relations between China and the Zambian people, may soon reach a breaking point. It is a relationship that many on the continent will be watching closely. If even Zambia, one of the current bright spots in the region in terms of economic growth, cannot stand up and fight for credible change, it sends a powerful message to the rest of China’s African allies.

“It appears that the (mine) investors themselves are doing little to invest in their workers.”

-Journalist, Copperbelt

EuropeBelgian father speaks out against10-year-old euthanasia lawBy Taylor Pool

14

Tikvah Roosemont was born with 10 percent of the cerebrum, no cerebellum, and 75 percent of the brain stem. Doctors predicted she would die soon and ad-vised an abortion.

Lionel Roosemont, a professional guide of World War I, said he and his wife wanted to give his daughter a chance. Today Tikvah is neither deaf, lame, blind or dead.

Perfect strangers approached Lionel asking why he did not euthanize Tikvah; however, that practice is still illegal.

Euthanasia is legally defined by the law passed in March 2002 as ‘causing death of an adult by medical means voluntarily’.

“Now we know how people think,” he said. Though he and his wife tried to remain out of the

media spotlight at first, they later decided to speak out. “We have to testify about our lives and about the

worsening situation in Belgium today,”Roosemont said, “I personally think about the atmo

sphere in Belgium before the euthanasia law and I see similar signs in the US. There is more openness in the US now.”

Dr. Kenneth Chambaere, sociologist and researcher of End-of-Life diseases in Belgium says that 80 per-cent of Belgians disagree with Roosemont.

Activists for euthanasia such as Jacqueline Herre-mans, president of the French organization, Associa-tion for the Right to Die in Dignity, says that the choice to die and escape your suffering is what matters.

Roosemont said euthanasia should be illegal be-cause it is against the beliefs of Belgian political par-ties. The Christian Democrats should oppose it for re-ligious reasons, Liberal Democrats because it allows misuse of the law to kill without consent (a fact con-firmed by the health journal The Lancet) and Social Democrats because euthanasia victimizes weaker members of society.

In a 2007 End-of-Life decision study, Chambaere re-searched causes of deaths in Flanders hospitals,

the Flemish speaking part of Bel-gium; 2 percent of all deaths were by euthanasia and 1.8 percent were without voluntary consent.

In the latter cases, physicians always had intentions to hasten death. These patients were not involved because they were in a coma or due to dementia, but fam-ily and caregivers were consulted. Roosemont described this a “slip-pery slope.”

Dr. Philippe Mahoux, Socialist Party head in the Senate and a pro-ponent of the euthanasia law, said the parliament debated about eu-thanasia in 2000 and passed it due to demand.

The top three reasons for eu-thanasia requests: suffering with-out prospect of improvement, loss of dignity and pain, according to a study of euthanasia request by Dr. Yanna Van Wesemael, psycholo-gist and researcher.

A patient’s illness the treating physician receives a concurrent opinion from other consulting physi-cians and the case is heard by a re-view board and the patient is given other options.

According to Wesmael’s study, since 2002, 10 percent of the cases were withdrawn during consultation, 23 percent died before administra-tion and 5 percent were rejected.

Roosemont said, “It breaks my heart to have to be so open about what is happening at the moment in Belgium.”

Scotland to celebrate second homecomingBy Jenna Miller

“Scots have always been an emi-grating society,” Tony Mitchell of Ed-inburgh, Scotland said. “We’re al-most a kind of international nation.”

Scotland is famous for its mas-sive emigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are more people from Scotland living abroad than the total population of Scotland.

In an effort to bring home Scots who immigrated to other countries, Scotland celebrated its first home-coming in 2009. It encouraged Scots to reach out to distant rela-tives and invite them to a year of celebration with the “I Am A Scot” campaign. The country hosted events and festivals focused on cul-ture, heritage, innovation, golf, and whisky.

Funded in part by the Scot-tish government and managed by EventScotland and VisitScotland, it became the largest collaborative tourism initiative in Scotland’s histo-ry. It generated over £50 million in tourism revenue and attracted ap-proximately 95,000 visitors to Scot-

land – with an estimated 72,000 ex-clusively for the celebrations. The Scottish government plans to do it again in 2014.

“It’s a great thing for Scotland and the tourism industry, but it also rein-forces people’s perception of Scot-land internationally and encourages investment,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is the creator of a Scot-tish board game called Stramash, what he calls “a combination of Frustration, Sorry, and Ludo but with playing cards instead of dice.”

Mitchell is looking at the 2014 homecoming as a debut for his product and hopes to hold a mas-sive competition for Stramash.

He’s already been in talks with EventScotland to plan “clan playoff games” and a final championship.

Although events for the year are still in the works, themes for the year have recently been announced. Events will be focused around an-cestry and the Scottish Govern-ment’s Year of Focus, which include food and drink, active, creative, and natural Scotland. New Homecom-ing Scotland Director Tom Chamber

from EventScotland will lead the festivities and the Ministry for En-terprise, Energy, and Tourism has already pledged to invest £3 million.

“I think it will grow and become more institutionalized,” Mitchell said. “If held every five years, it will become a regular event which peo-ple will plan for and look forward to.”

The year 2014 will be a busy one for Scotland, since along with homecoming, it will also host two big sporting events: The Common-wealth Games and The Ryder Cup.

And with an imminent vote on a referendum for Scottish indepen-dence, Mitchell says he’s confident the homecoming will concentrate on “Scottishness,” but doesn’t nec-essarily see it swaying many votes.

“The people who are likely to be involved in the homecoming will probably be leaning towards an in-dependence vote anyway,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell says Scotland immi-grants did an enormous amount for developing countries abroad and hopes the homecoming with fortify an international Scottish identity.

Europe15Overcrowding kills in Irish hospitalsBy Emily Bowman

Ireland is full of luscious land-scapes, folk music and friendly citi-zens. Many citizens say the island is a safe and welcoming community to live and prosper… until you are faced with a medical emergency.

Gary Gomringer wasn’t aware of the overcrowded and disease-stricken conditions in local hospitals -- until he needed medical care.

Last June, Gomringer arrived at the Letterkenny General Hospital, in Northern Ireland, where he had an angiogram to evaluate the con-dition of his heart arteries. It wasn’t until after the procedure however, that he noticed a rapid decline in his situation.

“I was taken into the recovery room and told that in one or two hours I would be ready for release,” Gomringer said.

Instead, Gomringer watched in horror as his already occupied room filled with more and more patients, flooding into the hallway, some not even able to receive a bed.

“I heard a nurse say they were short of beds for the patients,” Gomringer said.

Gomringer waited patiently until he was assisted by a nurse and released from the hospital, about 10 hours be-hind schedule. Although his proce-dure was not critical, medical officials say their biggest concern is for others who need more serious treatment.

“The biggest problem exists in the 15 largest hospitals in the coun-try all of whom have Accident and Emergency Departments,” said Dave Hughes, Deputy General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

Ireland has battled hospital over-crowding since the late 1990s. It Image courtesy of the Irish Echo

came to a crisis level in 2002 be-cause of the extreme congestion in A&E departments, the Irish term for Emergency Room.

“These hospitals experience a problem because they are open 24 hours a day and are obligated to accept all presenting accidents and acute medical emergency needs of patients,” Hughes said.

The Presi-dent of the Irish Associa-tion for Emer-gency Medicine, Fergal Hickey, re-ported last summer that there are often as many as 350 deaths in Irish hospitals each year as a result of emergency unit overcrowding.

The issue has become so ex-treme in many hospitals, that A&E patients are being forced to lie on trolleys that line the hallways of emergency wards.

“The Irish Nurses and Midwife Organisation identified, in mid 2011, that the number (of patients) on trol-

leys were at record levels and are a daily reality in some hospitals that have previously avoided this indig-nity to patients,” Liam Doran, Gen-eral Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, said in a press release.

About 500 patients around the country are waiting on trolleys at a

given time, I r e l a n d ’ s main tele-vision net-work RTE reported.

“In two of the major hospitals (trolleys) have become the norm and there is no significant decrease in the number of trolleys waiting in their emergency departments,” Hughes said.

Although steps are being taken to help decrease the overpopula-tion, an end is not yet in sight.

“The problem remains as bad today as it was ten years ago,” Hughes said. “The impact of over-crowding is one of demoralisation.”

“The impact of overcrowding is one of demoralisation.”

- Dave Hughes

In earthquake zone, Turkish construction firms skirt law

Turkey’s recent earthquakes have been very de-structive, but the main concern is not the death toll, but weak infrastructure.

“Weak buildings and debris kill people, not earth-quakes. We need strict measures for constructions.” said Dr. Nezih Orhon, Anadolu University dean.

The government has tried to enforce measures to improve construction procedures, for public buildings. “In 2007, we introduced a new building code; however, even the modern concrete buildings collapse and are damaged in earthquakes.” explained Erol Kalkan, en-gineer with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The main problem is the builders’ use of cheap ma-terial and lack of enforcement of standards. Jonathan Head, a Turkey-based BBC correspondent, said, “En-forcement is weaker in smaller towns because builders work cheap and the local government’s lax attitude.” He blames competition for this problem.

Sadık Mert Küçükkuzucu added, “They use beach sands, a minimum number of concrete bars and cheap-er material which weakens the construction.” Head has seen this corruption and explained that companies use beach sands because they are inexpensive. Sand con-tains salt, which corrodes the concrete.

The Turkish Ministry of Public Works and Settlement is responsible for maintaining building regulations and enforcing codes, and it is certainly to be blamed for not enforcing proper standards.

Orhon revealed a shocking account almost two and a half years ago. He lived in a ten-storey apartment and noticed that there were no fire stairs outside, which violates government building codes. He contacted the manager and obtained the documents. “They were just signatures given without a real inspection.” He and the manager soon received calls from the construction company asking them to “be careful.” Orhon suggest-ed a nexus between officials and builders.

Citizens feel anger towards builders and the govern-ment, but there is also the need of a mentality change among citizens. Mubin Kiyici, a Turk living in Athens, OH said, “We have to learn from previous earthquakes. People must be more open to finding safer alternative locations, if that’s what the government demands.”

According to Orhon, who assigned his students to speak with citizens after the 2011

earthquake in Van, people said they would support the government if it asked them to relocate, but would not move voluntarily.

“A lot of work has been done by NGOs and the gov-ernment to understanding all of this information and educating people,” said Head.

Orhon hopes to shed light on this dilemma during the International Conference on Global Health and Crisis Communication Strategies hosted by Anadolu University June 19-21, 2012. Invited organizations in-clude the University of Iowa, Anadolu University and the Turkish Health Ministry among others.

While it’s apparent that Turkish citizens should learn from past mistakes, builders and government agencies need to be held accountable for their own more serious lapses.

By Hilary Johnson

south america 18Pope makes second trip to CubaBy Laura Straub States. This operation helped the

children avoid the effects of the revolution by eliminating paternal authority, but also separated them from their parents and families. “Of course it is one of the sad-dest memories on Cuban history,” says Rodrìguez, ”Things like those caused a rupture of relations be-tween religions and government in Cuba, and somehow, since then, any person that practiced any kind of religions could be considered as enemy of the revolution.” Relations between the govern-ment and religions of all denomina-tions have been on the mend. In spite of the dramatic past be-tween revolutionaries and religion there are some government offi-cials who are openly Catholic. “Actually Fidel Castro was raised as a Catholic and was trained by Jesuits.” said Father Raymond Sutter of Cleveland, Ohio, “There have been rumors in the last few weeks that he wants to return to the

Catholic faith. Political or real? Who knows.” There are other Cuban lead-ers who practice various religions, however, Cuba is fairly secular and they do not involve their religion with their work. It is still very likely, though, that Pope Benedict XVI will meet with Cuban government work-ers during his visit. It is clear that the Vatican has been in contact with the govern-ment officials in planning the visit. “He can‘t just say one morn-ing, I think I‘ll go to Cuba. He has to be invited, first by the Bishops of the country and by the govern-ment leaders.“ Sutter said. His Pa-pal Nuncio or ambassador in Cuba would work closely with the Bishops and government leaders of Cuba.” Regardless, the interaction be-tween religion and politics is inevi-table at this point in Cuba and there are hopes that this visit will continue to mend any rift between the gov-ernment and the Catholic Church.

The eyes of the Catholic world are on Cuba for the upcoming weeks in anticipation of the first Pa-pal visit since 1998. From March 23-29 Pope Benedict XVI will be conducting an apostolic journey to Mexico and the Republic of Cuba.Many would expect the nation of Cuba would be in a state of prepa-ration, however, most of the excite-ment is contained in the Catholic population. “The churches are handing out flyers and doing more activities than usual, to at least try to give the peo-ple of Catholic denomination fervor, but there are no great expectations on the street, for many it is only the visit of an international personality,” says Henry Herida of Havana. The lack of excitement can also be due to the size of the Catholic Church in Cuba. “In general, the number of people that go to mass in Catholic Church-es is few,” says Miguel Rodríguez of Havana. “I would say that in the last ten or fifteen years an increas-ing and a huge number of people are joining to Protestant religions.” Rodriguez also says that although there are about three Catholic Churches in a relatively close dis-tance, many people in his neigh-borhood are Jehovah Witness, Afro Cuban or Evangelical. The diminishing size of the Cath-olic Church could be a result of ten-sions that began during the Cuban revolution. “After 1959, the triumph of the revolution, many Catholic priests supported many actions and people that were against the revolution,” says Rodríguez. It is also important to recognize the Peter Pan Operation, an American initiative that brought over 20,000 children from Cuba to the United

In Brazil, teachers struggle for recognitionBy Tina Kühne

The Brazilian Ministry of Educa-tion announced at the end of Feb-ruary that teacher’s minimum wage would increase by 22 percent. This is just one step in improving the conditions for Brazil’s teachers.

Amelia Enrietti has been teach-ing English in private and public schools in Brazil for 25 years. Apart from being a teacher in the state of São Paulo, she works with Teach-ers Without Borders. “Most teach-ers in Brazil have two jobs. We need to work overtime to have a good salary,” she said.

Enrietti added only one teacher salary would not be enough to sup-port a family.

“The new minimum salary is still very low,” said Priscila Cruz, execu-tive director of (Everyone For Edu-cation), a movement financed by private initiatives. It wants to rein-force the importance of public edu-cation in the country.

She said solutions to improve education in Brazil were salary in-creases, better career opportunities and better teacher training.

Not all of the Brazilian states have the budget to pay this mini-mum monthly salary of R$ 1,451, which is about 820 US$.

Teaching is not an attractive pro-fession in Brazil. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducted a survey among teachers in differ-ent countries. This “Teaching and Learning International Survey” (TA-LIS) 2008 showed that job satisfac-tion of teachers in Brazil was below average.

“Only 15 % of teachers felt they would be rewarded for improving the quality of their work or for being innovative in their teaching. That’s

quite a shocking statistic and well below the average,” said Michael Davidson from the Directorate for Education in the OECD.

“There seems to be something missing in the incentives and re-wards aspect in teacher policy in Brazil,” Davidson said.

The bad standing of teachers in society and few career opportuni-ties have an impact on the recruit-ment of new teachers.

“The good students in high school want to be doctors, lawyers or engineers but not public school teachers,” Cruz said.

Enrietti decided to be an Eng-lish teacher when she was 15 be-cause her teacher encouraged her to learn. She said her own students told her they would never be a teacher, partly because of the con-ditions they see in the classroom.

“I’m afraid the government has been doing very little to encourage students to become teachers at all,” he said.

Nobre said some schools had to hire people who were not qualified as English teachers because there was a lack of teachers.

“The biggest challenge that we have in the country nowadays is finding the people who have the qualifications both in terms of meth-odology and proficiency in the lan-guage to actually teach,” he said.

English is a requirement in Bra-zil’s schools. With the growing economy and two upcoming inter-national events, the Soccer World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics, the importance for young Brazilians to be able to speak the language is increasing.

Brazil has set goals to achieve the educational level of developed countries until 2022 and has intro-duced new standards for student assessment.

Nobre thinks the country should be focusing on those who teach.

Enrietti said she had been very demotivated because of many deci-sions made in the education system in Brazil in the past decades.

“At some point I wished I hadn’t decided to be a teacher.”

In less than a month she will start a new project to train new teach-ers in modern teaching approaches and to help improve their abilities.

18 south americaEl Salvador disease linked to chemicalsBy Joe Barbaree

donal were most widely reported. Orantes believes that exposure to these products leads to health problems among workers. Each chemical is reported to have some detrimental effect. “These chemicals are banned in the United States, Europe and Canada, and they’re used here, without any protection, and in large amounts that are very concerning,” said Orantes. Spurred by Orantes’ study, Lopez collected soil samples from the re-gions most affected by kidney fail-ure in mid-2011. Student researcher Darcy VanDer-vort is helping Lopez. They traveled to El Salvador in August and col-lected soil samples, which they are analyzing for chemical presence. VanDervort’s primarily runs sta-tistical analyses and maps data to compare regions of sugar cane pro-duction with areas of kidney failure. “My maps are showing that these areas are overlapping – a lot,” said

VanDervort. She is finding that the most con-centrated areas are in the coastal regions of the country and at the border area between La Libertad and La Paz. Northwest of San Sal-vador is also highly concentrated. As many as 65 per 1,000 inhabit-ants in these regions are affected by kidney disease. Once Lopez and VanDervort con-clude the statistical mapping and soil analyses, they will send their report to the Ministry of Health in El Salvador. But they can’t yet conclude that the use of pesticides in the sugar cane industry is solely to blame. “We think it’s multi-factorial,” said VanDervort. For now, the fate of laborers in El Salvador is a waiting game until action is taken either by the Salvadoran government or sugar producers. Until then, Lopez and VanDervort will continue to explore the causes of Central America’s deadly epi-demic, whose roots remain elusive.

A sickeningly sweet industry might be causing Central America’s wide-spread kidney disease epidemic. And researchers at one unlikely in-stitution could soon prove it. News broke in the past year of kidney disease rampantly affecting countries in Central America, in-cluding El Salvador and Nicaragua. Some 24,000 deaths were record-ed after the year 2000. Many were laborers in sugar cane fields. Researchers are now trying to spur government action to pre-vent further deaths after a plea for help from El Salvador’s Minister of Health. Included in the efforts to solve the mystery are researchers from a small community in rural Ohio. Dr. Dina Lopez, professor of ge-ology at Ohio University in Athens, is a native Salvadoran now in the United States. Her research focus-es on multiple environmental prob-lems, including acid mine drainage in El Salvador. She is now leading an interna-tional investigation of soil conditions in El Salvador to determine levels of chemical pesticides in communi-ties most widely affected by kidney disease. There’s speculation that the sugar cane industry is a primary factor in the epidemic. Collaborating with Lopez is Dr. Carlos Orantes, a clinical health physician in El Salvador. Orantes studied the rural agricultural region of Baja Lempa and found that one in four men had kidney disease. Most of them were not diabetic, a common symptom of the disease. After interviewing 775 locals, Oran-tes found more than 40% reported exposure to numerous chemical herbicides and pesticides. Paraquat, glyphosate and he-

Climate change spells trouble for By Graylyn Roose Along the edges of the Andes along the border with Chile, sit the fields that provide Argentina with much of its revenue. The fields of grapes that cover the dry, arid mountain ridges are grown to pro-duce the wares of the fifth largest wine industry in the world. Yet on the outskirts of South America there is another kind of mountain; glaciers that developed on the Andes range. Scientists and environmental activists are concerned about the effect that cli-mate change might have on these ice caps, which could threaten the fragile conditions needed to sustain Argentina’s viniculture. Marcos Daviano is a professor in the University of Buenos Aires’ School of Agronomy . Daviano said that climate change could have an impact on the quantity of the wine industry in Argentina’s mountainous regions. “Not so much on the quality, but probably on the yield,” said Davia-no. “They do have a strategic plan, if you will. I don’t think they’ve re-freshed it over the last few years. But they do have a plan.” An article put out by the Ponti-ficia Universidad Catolica Argen-tina, a university in Buenos Aires, asserted that the temperature and precipitation levels of the Chilean-Argentine wine regions have al-ready changed. In “South American Viticulture, Wine Production and Climate Change,” the authors note that the region often experiences wide swings in climate and weather conditions, but predict that the aver-age temperature of the region could rise as much as two degrees Cel-sius by 2050. Martin Cavagnaro is the coordi-

nator for the Argentine Intersectoral Forum for Sustainable Viniculture (FIAVIS) a group that works to raise awareness about issues of sustain-ability and climate change.He also said the grapes need just the right amount of water to be right for wine production. Cavagnaro admitted that climate change is producing changes in the worldwide wine industry but said he thinks the negative changes will depend on how the effects are han-dled. “Climate change is producing dif-ferent responses in different wine crops worldwide…but my person-al opinion is that activity is not at risk,” Cavagnaro said. “The degree of threat will result from the ability of each region to mitigate climate change impacts.” Enrique Maurtua is the head of the Climate Change Department at Fundacion Biosfera, an environ-mental organization based in Ar-gentina. He is also the Regional Coordinator for the Climate Action Network of Latin America. He be-lieves that if current policies do not change, the world will see an in-crease of four degrees in average

world temperature by 2050. Although concerned for the fate of the wine industry if subtle tempera-ture increases occur, Maurtua says that agriculture is one small part of the ecosystem. “If the climate is changing, the species can’t grow in this place anymore,” Maurtua said, explaining that the diversity of animals is vital to the life cycle of seeds. “You need that biological reserve to keep the seeds [going].” He says it’s tough to apply cli-mate change policy to the agricul-tural industry because climate shifts are so difficult to predict. “It takes into account many data,” Maurtua said. “This does not mean you cannot do it. But climate change is complex because you need many variable factors.” Maurtua says it’s important to continue to take climate change into consideration when planning the fu-ture of the wine industry and work-ing with those who farm grapes. The most important thing is to keep working with them,” Maurtua said. “They do know the climate is changing and they want to keep sustaining their work.”

Argentine wine industry