Over the past 4 years documentary film maker Shafiur Rahman has been regularly back and forth from his home in the UK to the Rohingya Refugee camps in Bangladesh. Until the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Now 10 months into this global crisis on top of an already nightmarish situation for millions of Rohingya people, Shafiur has used these months to find new and creative ways of raising awareness and helping improve life for refugees living in the camps. Today on the podcast, we talk about the situation in 2020 for the Rohingya and how Shafiur has approached the issue in these trying times.
The purpose of their international summit is to do something to help the 1 billion people worldwide who will face famine this year. In order to address this global problem, this week the UN asked the international community at the UN Food Summit for 44 billion dollars to invest in agriculture in developing nations. The summit said no to this request.
Meanwhile the total amount spent by the US alone on the occupation of Afghanistan will total 223 billion dollars this year. According to Jo Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes’ research, both wars combined have cost 3 trillion dollars.
Military experts and political leaders continue to argue about how best to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan, how best to spend the hundreds of billions of dollars for fighting their war. Yet we know what it takes to stop hunger, we know how to feed people, and we don’t do it.
Our returning champion of humanitarian work, Mr. Tarak, joins us to discuss what is happening on the ground in Haiti as the country struggles to deal with extreme weather and a humanitarian disaster.
Been reading about the next month and what it holds in store for Kosovo and the entire Balkan region. Would have made for an interesting time to be back in Belgrade around this time.
The following video is just a montage of images, texts, and audio that I’ve been taking in and evaluating. My g4 powerbook, after 3 years of service, is struggling with exporting video… It is time for a new computer and as always.. I appreciate tips in the tip jar.. and your moral support is nice too.
When the Srebrenica massacre took place, in 1995, I had a limited understanding of what was happening in the world. But 2 years later I reached an age where I became conscious of the world beyond my school and the unnecessary suffering and destruction in different parts of the world.
12 years since Sebrenica, this month being the anniversary, I wonder what today’s teenagers are learning about what took place and why. To this day I still find I lack all the facts and a full understanding of how such a thing could be allowed to happen.
For this reason I’m working on a podcast that will take some time to put together, focusing on remembering Srebrenica and passing on the terrible story and the lessons, if any, that the world learned.
While the research is still ongoing, and the interviews will take some time to gather, I’m starting with some general resources that have gathered vital information. I hope teachers in different corners of the world are doing similar this month.
The name UNIFIL doesn’t often appear on page one of the mainstream newspapers. For many it was last summers invasion of southern Lebanon that caused the media to even mention that there was an international force wedged between Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, given the task of ensuring that all sides respect a peace agreement.
Thomas Milo had a very unique roll as one of the only Arabic speakers stationed with the Dutch battalion of UNIFIL back in 1979. We sat together in his kitchen in Amsterdam and he explained what it was like to work everyday between rocks and a hard place.
We Discuss:
– What is UNIFIL
-What armies were involved
– The Dutch role and controversy of deployment
– His studies and initial involvement with UNIFIL
– Meetings with the PLO
– The First Suicide bomb belts
– The Senegalese zone
– What progress was made?
– Israeli’s lose patience
– Lebanese reaction and approval
– First kids with Stones, the orgins
– Original Improvised Explosive Devices
– Israeli military Tactics
– Lessons for Soldiers in Iraq
– Response to Americans who criticize peacekeepers as ineffective
The purpose of their international summit is to do something to help the 1 billion people worldwide who will face famine this year. In order to address this global problem, this week the UN asked the international community at the UN Food Summit for 44 billion dollars to invest in agriculture in developing nations. 
