Citizen Reporter

Hospitals and Senior Homes

I’ve spent the better part of this summer with senior citizens, especially those living in small town Portugal. They are the generation just barely hanging on, the same people who 20 years ago I would spend much of my summer with. They were the farmers, the housewives, the seamstresses, and the factory workers. They raised children, they emigrated to countries where there was work and hope, and then they came home to live among their farms and friends for those golden years as they awaited visits from grandchildren and for life to carry on.

As decades flew by, these towns changed dramatically and perhaps the people did too. Young people kept leaving, and old people kept getting older. The focus shifted to nearby cities and suddenly there were hardly any children in town. The local school where my mother and so many other children studied, stands empty and closed as the regional government has decided there aren’t enough students. The ruins of houses I used to visit when I was a kid lay everywhere, with their collapsed roofs, broken windows and walls that have crumbled. In the center of the village there are now only two buses per day to get you to the nearest towns, another sign of a culture that has embraced the car as the ONLY means of transportation, and a community that can hardly walk to the bus stop.

Some of the still mobile seniors still tend to their fields, watering their crops which is mostly just for home consumption. Several middle aged farmers do the lion’s share of the work, growing pears and grapes, the inconsistent cash crops of the community. Their children go to school and vocational training, their interests lead them away from the farm, towards the much talked about better life that is assumed to exist beyond this dying town. As days turn into weeks, another beloved member of the community passes away. Their land passes on to a child who lives far away. Their houses lay empty, some strong enough to resist the decay, others not so lucky. Outside of town there are a few tourism projects that attract visitors with money; wine tourism, people seeking peace and quiet, and those who find the mountains and valleys of agricultural Portugal to be charming. Inside of town, the mayor wonders out loud about what will happen to his shrinking population when the generation that built the town is completely gone, and then next generations have long moved away.

This story of one particular village that I have known all my life, repeats itself over and over in Portugal. Cities get bigger. Villages die out. The elderly disappear while the young follow the promise of a what some say is a better life. Ripe plums and peaches fall from abandoned groves to the point that it smells like wine in the afternoon heat. Down the main road a few minutes there’s a new giant super market chain store that has opened up, they’ve got a sale on peaches and plums.

An African Political Safari

An African Election is a film that documents the struggle and achievements of the 2008 Ghanian elections. 4 years later, with the death President Atta Mills, the country is preparing to go back to the ballot box. And they’re not alone, throughout the continent of Africa, the wheels of democracy continue to turn, often in places you hear the least about in the international press. Film maker Jarreth Merz is fascinated and inspired by the shining examples of Africa, and in their stories he see’s a chance to inspire, the spark that can light a fire and get new discussions started, large and small. To do it, he’s putting together a mobile movie theater and bringing it all over Ghana and beyond. But he’s not doing it alone, besides his talented team, he’s putting out the call to people around the world who love democracy, Africa, aventure, and stories.. to get involved and get on board – it is time for A Political Safari.

Old Presidents

Lula — image by Luiz Fernando Reis / flickr

Over the past 3 weeks I have been in Portugal helping my grandparents with daily life during a trying series of complications that often come with old age. During that time Ive strangely found myself watching television, specifically programming from the more intellectual Portuguese state television RTP2. While washing dishes one night I heard a familiar Brazilian accent and looked over at what was a clearly older and slightly weaker Lula da Silva. The former 2 term Brazilian president was being interviewed about his life, his presidency, his country, and the world in general. He spoke about how his thinking has been impacted by his successful battle against throat cancer. He spoke about injustice and inequality in different parts of the world, including in Brazil. And most impressive for me, he spoke with a clarity and wisdom you’re rarely allowed to see in the world of international politics.

This got me to thinking about the wisdom and freedom to speak that comes with no longer being the leader of a nation. Every now and then, a president or a prime minister steps down, and suddenly it is like a weight has been lifted and a light shines upon them. In the United States, Jimmy Carter has long been the voice of unwavering criticism and honesty about the state of the world and the shortcomings of is own presidency. Nor he or Lula are the first of their kind, but listening to someone who led such a large and dynamic nation during a period of such immense change, in addition to having survived the near loss of his voice (and life), is quite enlightening.

Critics will say – he (and all former leaders) are still and always will be politicians. Lula himself says this. But the office of the executive seems so often to paralyze and silence the true voice of the person elected to that position. Perhaps you can’t speak truth to power when you are the power. But if anyone in this world were looking for useful information based on unique and qualified experience, look for the former presidents who still care about the world and have finally found the nerve to tell it like it is. They can help advise both leaders and citizens of this world, to learn from their mistakes, and look critically at how our world is being run.

Note: I will subtitle the interview and post it in the coming week as a video entry.

The Banana Podcast

2424335_44b00d59ff_m — photo by aphasiafilms /flickr

Unlike the simple and unmistakable yellow fruit on your kitchen table, the banana industry has a complex and troubled story. And as the global banana faces its greatest crisis ever, one might wonder- how did we get this banana, and how did the industry get to such a breaking point? Writer and journalist Dan Koeppel has been researching and tracking the world of bananas for several years and has information that most of the banana eating public has never heard. He joins me on today’s podcast as we discuss the history, the science, the politics and the future of the mighty banana.

Get the Banana Book

Follow Dan on Twitter

Too Soon To Worry About Libya?

A militia rolls into the airport and shuts down all air traffic, because they’re angry about something. Another militia goes into the offices of the electoral commission and burns ballots, because they’re upset about something. Officials from the International Criminal Court are arrested and later released, under suspicion of being spies.

– Eight months since the declaration of a new Libya and the end of Gaddafi’s rule, the steady stream of bizarre and sometimes dangerous activity continues in that country. As per the nature of media and stories that travel beyond its borders, these stories overshadow the positive developments that are also surely taking place. But the question becomes, despite the short amount of time that has passed, have the first steps in these critical months been the ones that will lead to a more just and peaceful future for the country? Are these isolated incidents that will pass, giving way to cooler heads and more rational conflict resolution?

There is perhaps no great point to speculating or judging for the first year or years, but I am reminded of old wisdom from both religious texts and human rights advocates throughout history on the subject of wars and bringing about change through violence. Violence begets violence. That doesn’t have to be 100% true in all cases, but in today’s Libya I see what seem to be signs of what happens, the side effects of bringing about much needed change by using violence. The guns haven’t gone away and more importantly, the wounds have not simply healed. The trauma continues to play out, and sadly, creates more victims long after the official war has ended.

Was there a better way to do it? Again, it is both too late and not the point. The point – is that the costs of what happened and how it was carried will continue to be felt for what seems like the foreseeable future. Those costs undermine the goals of creating a better country where people can live life without fear of their government or their neighbors.

Back Roads and Highways of Life

Somewhere out in the country side of western Portugal, I’m driving around dodging goats and tractors while reflecting on life’s challenges when you exist across borders. Instead of the usual world news issues and under reported news this is a more traditional stream-of-conciousness podcast that some people out there may be able to relate to when it comes to old age, economic problems, small towns, and ch-ch-changes. Join me on the back roads and highways of Portugal’s loveliest pear and wine regions.