Engagement Over Isolation

Well my dear Portugal has taken over the EU presidency, and there is quite a buzz about their inviting Zimbabwe’s elected dictator Robert Mugabe to the upcoming Africa summit.

The UK and associated countries are upset, since there has been an ongoing travel ban on him and members of his government. Portugal is reportedly doing this because the African Union insists that every country be treated equally. But really this comes back to a classic debate in life, politics, you name it.

Isolation or engagement? Do you try to engage in dialogue with those you disagree with or those that have done something terrible? Or do you try to shut them out and find ways to punish or limit their capacity to act. And if you do either of these, what are the risks?

One of the common reference points is always the late Saddam and sanctions against Iraq. Then again there was also Qaddafi in Libya, which turned out quite differently.

At this point, taking into account this travel ban and the tactics adopted by governments critical of Mugabe, there doesn’t seem to be much change in terms of suffering Zimbabweans. He still does as he wishes and uses his office to carry out destructive policies and practices.

So maybe this is more than just pressure from the African Union. Maybe it’s time to try something else, including inviting the dictator you don’t like to some meetings; engaging in dialog. After all, he certainly wouldn’t be the only tyrant from Africa attending the meeting, and if you invite him, he has one less excuse during the next speech about how the “whole world wants to destroy him and the country”.

Mark D on Media Work

Struggling to recover following my panel discussion gig at the European Parliament, my speech at the international school here in Amsterdam, and the last 3 days of nonstop ultimate frisbee filming during our gigantic tournament/circus known as Windmill Windup.

Thanks to all this, I was not able to meet up with my friend and thesis supervisor back in my University days, Mark Deuze. Mark was in the Netherlands visiting from his new home in Bloomington Indiana. You may recall his appearance on a previous podcast talking about trends in journalism. Throughout my “career” as a crusading podcast journalist, I’ve remembered alot of lessons that I learned during those school days, especially my many conversations with him. Just this past week at the EU, as I stepped off stage, several people came up to talk to me and often said “you seem to know your stuff” (referring to media and the media landscape). I thought to myself, well… Ive been milling over these issues for years, I do believe I know some stuff.

I digress, still not functioning at 100% after all these activities, but I wanted to post a link to Mark Deuze’s new book “Media Work” which focuses on exactly what it sounds like; the work of people in media and what is happening therein. Read the book and of course, subscribe to his blog.

bm211 A Report on Cameroon

When the international community hears from Cameroon it is most commonly related to soccer or music. Yet the nation known as mini-Africa has alot more to offer. In this podcast, blogger and activist Josh Goldstein talks about his work and recent visit to Cameroon.

His blog: In An African Minute
The organization: Global Youth Partnership for Africa

We Discuss:
-How and why he ended up in Cameroon
-The organization
-The recent history of Cameroon
-The language divide
-City versus Countryside
-Technology and Access
-Support for and interest in the program
-Cultural Products
-Future Plans

 

Angela Over There, Russia in Here

I’m standing across the street from the EU parliament looking through my packet of information for this conference and suddenly there’s a big to-do across the street. Several of the charming conference organizer ladies start looking towards the main doors in excitement. And there… walking out the door and kissing some people goodbye is the German Prime Minister. Exciting? Well… No. Amusing? Perhaps.

You’d think being here wandering the halls of the European Union, I would be thinking about the big questions like.. what is going to happen with this new treaty business, or what the hell is going on with corrupt Romania and Bulgaria.. but my mind is elsewhere.

This because as I walk around, my headphones are on, and I’m listening to a very inspiring and exciting podcast. The type of podcast I too would like to do more of.. emulate in many ways.. On The Media’s Brooke Gladstone reporting from Russia.

You really have to listen to this one… to hear the old people and young people talking to Brooke. They refer to how things used to be and how things are, debate if theyre living in a police state or if it is just a phase. They argue about what freedom they have or what freedom they lack. Even the great Garry Kasparov is in there… and I must say, his words struck a chord with me.

At some point a man who identifies himself as a communist who has no desire to return to the past starts to talk about how the west wrongly pushes their values on Russia. He goes on and on about the terrible things Western nations have done in Iraq and all the unnecessary death. He is angry, yet calm; with a very interesting and wise outlook on his country and the world outside. As I rounded the corner towards the Parliament cafeteria, I turned off my mp3 player, and looked at the over 200 young journalists in ahead of me… but my mind was still on Russia.. and the great statements in that podcast.

Brooke.. you are my new heroine.

Working on a Tsunami Followup

Part of reporting and researching the under reported and the issues that involve humans struggling to survive means looking back at events that have led to struggles still taking place today. Which is why recently I’ve been scouring the internets for people reporting about or working in some way with Tsunami recovery.

It has been almost three years since close to 230,000 people throughout south asia were killed in that terrible disaster. Entire communities were erased, families seperated or forever scarred, and industries crippled.

Initially the internet had several beakons for communicating what was happenning and appealing to the world for help. I remember linking to a Tsunami Blog back in 2004. But unfortunately, as is the case with many good intentioned blogs, many of these sites have been abandoned or retired. Leaving, what I believe to be, a gap of information; a lack of reporting about communities that are still struggling and could benefit from assistance or even just attention from the outside world.

In an attempt to produce a podcast on this issue, I’ve launched a few signal flares to bloggers and organizations that were working back then and may still be working on this issue. My hope is that they share my desire to bring the story back into the internet conversation… back into our hearts and minds. Because if something useful is to be done, we must first be informed.

Iraqi Labor

The media conversation about the goings-on in Iraq doesn’t get much beyond the religious divisions and political executions. When it does, it certainly doesn’t make the front pages.

Over the weekend my Radio Labor Start Podcast feed included a recent episode of building bridges, the labor radio program from WBAI in NYC and an old favorite of mine. I expected the usual discussion of labor organizing in the US. But this episode featured a labor leader from Iraq.

Complete with translator, the IRaqi talked about the struggle of organized labor since the early 20th century in Iraq. Beyond that, he spoke about how the current government is passing laws that allow labor organizers to be arrested, tortured, and killed. While workers for sectors like oil and power, struggle to organize themselves and demand a living wage.

While we’ve long read about how terrible this current Iraqi government is, I hadn’t heard about it’s despicable labor policies. It is as if part of bringing “freedom” to Iraq involves making sure the labor movement is destroyed.

Highly recommended listening.