Remembering a Defiant Old Woman

Image courtesy of Garnet Publishing UK

Hanna Braun. In early 2006 this name was recommended to me by an enthusiastic listener who said something to the effect of “you should really interview her.” I did some reading and learned a bit about who Hanna Braun was, an stubborn old lady who had grown up in Berlin during the rise of Hitler, then moved to Palestine when it was under British control, and then lived the creation of the state of Israel.  However the real story of Hanna Braun is one of resistance and speaking out – as she witnessed injustice run rampant in this newly created state.  Beyond injustice, Hanna explains what few people are old enough to recall – this was not the original plan, the dream of a secular inclusive state was co-opted and would never be realized.

I had the great privilege to speak with Hanna for 2 fantastic hours for this podcast all those years ago (including during the most recent Israeli military incursion into Lebanon).  We spoke about her life and the lessons learned from all that she lived through. We spoke about the beautiful moments and of course – her life’s work – exposing the injustices and the suffering in Palestine that deserve the world’s attention.  Hanna was dedicated not only to speaking about it, but taking action herself; organizing projects and participating in demonstrations, conferences, meetings and more.  She was an inspiring figure who taught me more about history than any school book in high school ever did.

Hanna died just over a week ago at the age of 84. I hadn’t spoken to her in a few years, but I have thought of her often whenever someone asks about my most favorite interview.  I was very much looking forward to having her back on the program and hear more from her all these years later.  Instead her voice as well as her words will have to suffice. Her memoir, Weeds Don’t Perish – Memoirs of a Defiant Old Woman Author” was published just 2 months ago.  I intend to read it, pass it on to my loved ones, continue to pass on the message, and carry on speaking out, just as Hanna did.

A New Media Conversation with Global Attitude

400He was podcasting before there was podcasting. Looking to the online conversations and connections between old and new media long before any media company understood what was going on. He’s a global citizen who has a talent for finding inspiring voices and teaching us about our world. His is a voice I hear in my head whenever I turn on a microphone or ask a question. Who better to talk about the past, present, and future of this thing we do on this website and beyond, than Christopher Lydon. He was there making podcasts long before anyone else back in 2002, when I starting recording my own program in 2004, his Radio Open Source was my constant companion as I made my way through my new life here in Amsterdam. In honor of my 400th we go back to the origins, back to the mindset that brought us this media revolution that is still unfolding. We’re not here to say its all great, nor are we here to declare it as disaster, but we are here to talk about what it has been like, what we see, and foresee, for ourselves as independent voices who make media, and for the bigger picture of us as citizens of this world.

7 Roads to Macedonia

Skopje, by NataschaM on flickr

I arrive in Macedonia just in time to enjoy the last bits of sunlight as the airport taxi whirls into Skopje. In a nation of just over 2 million people, its capital is a tiny place with a lot of history. And who’s their favorite historical figure? – Their very own Alexander the Great. And just like I observed at Mongolia’s Chinggis Khaan airport last year, Macedonia has also named their “Alexander the Great Airport” after their most famous citizen of all time. Coincidentally just this summer I was in another important site connected to this same historical juggernaut – Herat, Afghanistan, city that Alexander ruled back somewhere around 330BC. Herat would eventually be destroyed by an invasion by none other then Chinggis Khaan. Another reminder of just how connected the world is.
Talk about connected, this land locked nation borders Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. Looking at the map and discussing travel options with a taxi driver, I suddenly had the urge to pop over to Albania for a day, then up to Kosovo for another day, and on and on… with all these nations nearby, it becomes clear that Macedonia continues to be what it has historically been, a place where many roads lead.

Education, Portugal, and the World

JHWJohn Howard Wolf doesn’t know how to fix the global economy, but he can teach us a thing or two about education. Its been his business and passion for most of his adult life.  Having immigrated from the US to Portugal in the late 1970’s, even back then he was a swimming against the current, setting up a primary school in a country still getting over its post-fascist hangover.  As a Americano-Luso (American-Portuguese) he has a unique perspective based on the kind of experiences most of us only wish we could have. John Howard Wolf knows literature and he knows history, but what he knows that the world would be lucky to hear about, is another way to approach life and human relations on this planet.  For one great hour on the last days of summer in Lisbon, we sat together watching the world go by during a financial crisis, and talking about how this all happened and what is to come.

Read John’s piece in the Portuguese-American Journal

His article on Rural Development and Portugal from January 1992 (note – academic journal paywall)

Heroes Often Turn Villans

Lots of random artifacts come out in the mainstream media that once belonged to Gaddafi. Today I watched a home video where he sits on a couch and kids around with his grand children.  There he is, grandpa Muammar who clearly loves his grandchildren, same guy who ordered the mass murder of political prisoners, same guy who thought it was a good idea to start the African Union. The Dutch newspaper ran a series of photos of the Colonel, from his rise to power as a young charismatic military man to his last few years looking like the political Michael Jackson. This is was no monster. Yet he did monstrous things.

José dos Santos in Angola has been president for 32 years. He is, behind all the political pageantry, a dictator. But once upon a time, his party was the voice of reason under the brutal Portuguese colonial system. They helped liberate the country and went on to fight a civil war against what may or may not have been a madman (Jonas Savimbi). But here they are, 2011, the enemy of human rights and the antithesis of a party that was supposed to improve the quality of life for all Angolans.

Fidel Castro. Robert Mugabe. The ANC in South Africa. Bad comparisons? Perhaps. But the list of leaders and movements that started as heroes and later became something other than good to their fellow citizens is long. Whats more, it is often not possible for these leaders to recognize what they have become. They honestly seem to believe they are still doing what is right and fighting the good fight.  Later some of these people are called monsters for the crimes they commit during their reign. But in reality, monsters are just people. Grandpa Muammar was Colonel murderer, and everything in between.

What we the observers of this world and the reporters that try to explain it all need to do, is not turn everything into some easy to swallow version of the truth. The truth is not black and white, it is grey. And by pretending it isn’t, we make it more possible for the same scenarios to keep playing themselves out. Yes, you might be the hero today, and that is wonderful. But remember, years later when you still think you’re the hero, you probably aren’t.

Summer of Pakistan

Harbor in Karachi /photo by eutrophication&hypoxia

One of the finest and most extensive audio journalism series’ I’ve heard in all the years podcasting has existed, is being produced this summer by Chris Lydon’s Radio Open Source.  His focus has been Pakistan, past, present, and future.  As part of his series, “Another Pakistan,” he has spoken with a cross section of people from politics, industry, activism, entertainment, immigration and more.  In a country that is so important on the world scene, home to cities with a larger population then some countries in Europe, the information contained in these programs is not only interesting, it is vital.  When it comes down to it, what you can learn from such a thorough series is better then anything you’ve learned in high school or that one class on South Asian politics/history you may have taken many years ago.

My favorites out of the series:

1- The Fisherman of Karachi

2 – The Peace that Could Save Pakistan

3 – Pakistan’s Revenge of the 40’s, The the 80’s