How much do you know about what is going on outside Canada? Like really know? Sure, you've scanned the headlines and watched the National. You know some leader was overthrown in North Africa; things are really bad in Haiti still; nothing has changed in Afghanistan. If a Canadian was hurt or killed in any of those places, the Canadian media will have told you about that. But did they tell you what it is like to be a North African, a Haitian, an Afghani in the middle of these ongoing events? That's the kind of understanding the press has not been able to bring you. Until now.
In this presentation, Conrad Fox (that's me!) draws on his own (my) experiences as a journalist in Latin America and Nova Scotia to explore new ways of getting your international news fix from the perspective of those actually in the news. He explains the process by which traditional news stories are cropped and selected to tell a story from a Canadian perspective, and argues that online media can scoop up the bits left on the cutting room floor and send them to us in newer, more unsettling forms we had never imagined before. Want to know what it's like to live through Mexico's drug war? Turn off the TV, with it's cliche images of dusty border towns and corpses under sheets, and follow it as it happens on Twitter. Feel like you don't really understand what is motivating the conflict in the Middle East? Become an online diplomat. Didn't agree with that last interviewee on the CBC? Boot up Skype and give them a call.
As immigration to Halifax increases, the theme of understanding and perspective across borders is of growing urgency to the city. If anyone doubts its importance, just ask an immigrant whether they think today's media have done a good job at explaining other cultures to us. Conrad's presentation doesn't offer a panacea, but hopes to take the ongoing squabble between old and new media to higher ground. Through vivid examples and gripping stories from his and others' journalism, he hopes to demonstrate how both new and old media could offer us so much more than "just the facts."
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Local bloggers and foreign correspondents: Podcamp Halifax presentation
Teaching by the seat of the pants: Halifax classrooms struggle to incorporate immigrant students
This is a five minute documentary I produced for New Roots Radio about a classroom full of immigrant children in an underprivileged neighbourhood of Halifax. Many can't speak English. Some have fled bullets in their home countries. Some have been put back a grade in Canada, and their self-esteem eroded. And there are few provisions to help these students, beyond the sheer ingenuity of their teacher, and the goodwill of their classmates. Listen in to the grade three classroom of Fairview Heights Elementary, as kids from around the world talk about TV, homework and war.
British ex-top cop: Nova Scotians live in blissful ignorance
This weekend, I listened to a speech on the BBC radio by Lord Ian Blair, former head of London's metropolitan police, lamenting growing fears about violence in British society. He presented statistics that suggest Britain isn't getting more violent, and argued instead that "media manipulation" is just making it look that way. Then he held us up as a salubrious counter-example."I want to mention Nova Scotia to you," he said. "The crime rate in England and Wales and the crime rate in Nova Scotia is about the same per 10,000 [of] population. People in Nova Scotia leave their doors open. They feel very safe, and the reason for that is they don't hear about crime unless it happens in Nova Scotia or it happens... it is so big it is on the CBS news, or whatever."
The next day I visited the website of the local CBC, and these were the main headlines: "Remains found in Truro may be biker's"; "Hell's Angel killed former biker: police"; "Neighbours saddened by Cape Breton girl's death"; "Slain yachtsman's daughter returning to Canada"; "SMU seeks help with aging stadium"; "Two shootings in Spryfield." Presumably the headlines at CBS or whatever are even worse.
Reporting between the lines: International Education Week presentation
I joined Kim Kierans, journalism professor and VP of King's College, and Stephen Puddicombe, CBC foreign correspondent, for a public chat on the changing face of international journalism recently at Dalhousie University. Kim introduced us (by way of Power Point) to a rising generation of young Asian reporters working with her and amongst themselves, often against great odds, to apply new standards of journalism in their countries. Stephen shared harrowing tales of survival and misfortune from his time in Afghanistan, Haiti and elsewhere. I waffled on about some rather post-modern sounding ideas I have about how facts are not enough and that journalism needs to start presenting points-of-view and even subjective sensations from other countries. It sounds flakey, mostly because I haven't got the practical implications worked out, but it comes from a very deep frustration I feel at knowing my own personal experience living in a foreign country is not reflected by the rather wooden stories that come out of it. I take heart in the fact that new media, such as twitter and blogs, produced by the people themselves - rather than the reporters who talk to them for a few minutes through an interpreter - are filling those gaps. We just have to work out a way of bringing that media to the masses. Or something like that. Anyway, I'm not sure why I and "my partner" look so grumpy in this photo. The discussion that followed our presentations was actually a very happy, enervating moment. Check out a pithy summary of the event.
Photo credit: Stephanie Directo.
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New Roots Radio in the news
New Roots Radio, a radio program about immigration and multiculturalism that I am producing for CKDU radio in Halifax, had a visit from Elnaz Behnia, reporter-in-learning at King's College. She produced this short but sweet report for Eastlink TV on our activities. We had a packed studio that day, with three prestigious guests - head of the Immigrant Settlement and Intergration Services, the MLA for one of the provinces most diverse ridings, and spokesperson for the African Diaspora Association of the Maritimes - and the whole crew there to distract host Moh Hashem. I like this piece. I've always been skeptical of TV news because of its limited power to convey information, and while it is true it isn't exactly full of facts, it really transmits a sense of "being there."
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How deep does Mexico's drug war go?
In the last four years 28,000 people have been killed in Mexico's drug war. Most of those are drug traffickers, police and others on the front lines. But what about the rest of the population? What about children? What about Canadians living in Mexico... or Mexicans who have fled to Canada. On this Operation Wakeup special on CKDU Radio, we look at how far the drug war touches everyday lives. Guests include security expert Edgardo Buscaglia, on the line from Afghanistan, where he is currently working; Canadian ex-pat Fred Harland calling from a village near Guadalajara; Julie Chamagne, director of the Halifax Refugee Clinic; and in the studio a mother and daughter tell how they were forced to flee for their lives when they ran afoul of a hit squad.
Listen here...
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Citizenship: Rite of passage or piece of paper?
How do you make immigrants feel like their part of Canada? "I'm worried about that," says former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. "I think practically... we have five or ten years to make people feel like they belong or they are going to feel alienated." In a special Operation Wake-Up on CKDU Radio, Clarkson discusses how her Institute for Canadian Citizenship seeks to bring immigrants into the national fold by educating them about Canada; well-known immigration lawyer Lee Cohen and sociologist Howard Ramos argue immigrants would be better served by educating Canadians about the rest of the world; and a visit to a citizenship ceremony brings the voices of new Canadians relieved - and moved - to have the piece of paper in their hands.
Listen here.
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Announcing New Roots Radio
Starting in the fall, I will be producing a weekly radio news magazine on immigration for CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax. The immigration process is not easy and doesn't end with the receipt of visa. Immigrants struggle to adapt and survive, and often do so in silence. I hope this program will bring immigrants in touch with each other and with the wider community. For more information, visit www.newrootsradio.com.
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Send money, not shoes
The New York Times has picked up on a central theme of disaster relief in Haiti and elsewhere: poorly targeted aid can hinder, rather than help. "Every aid worker has a favorite story about useless donations," says the story, citing the case of microwaveable TV dinners sent to cyclone-hit Bangladesh. The case I best remember appears in this photo...
After Hurricane Stan ripped through Chiapas, Mexico in 2005, the charity Caritas was inundated by donations of surplus shoes from a national retailer. Clown shoes, platform shoes, funky disco shoes, nothing under a size 9 and hardly appropriate for dimunitive Mayan feet picking their way through mud slides. The retailer got a tax write-off and a good feeling; Caritas lost office space and manpower to store and pick through the "donations." It is often the people on the ground who know what is best for them, argues Saundra Schimmelpfennig on her blog Good Intentions are not Enough. If you are going to send anything, send money.
(In the photo, Caritas director Norma Medina, surveys a collection of donated shoes, waiting for takers - Conrad Fox, 2005)
Swine flu, the media and me
On Tuesday I was interviewed by a local radio station about what it is like to be in Canada while my family is still in Mexico in the middle of the swine flu epidemic. "You must be really worried," said a producer to me in a preliminary chat to determine if I was interview-worthy. "I mean lots of people have died already." Then she added with innuendo: "And these were healthy people too."
I hadn't been worried. Until then, my big concern was the mental state of my wife, trapped with two cranky children in a tiny house, in 40 degree heat, and bombarded by news stories of impending doom. I wasn't worried about them actually getting the flu. The total number of confirmed deaths at the time was less than the number of people dying every day due to the drug war. (And almost a week later, it is not much higher, if at all.) But when she put it like that, well.... I insisted my wife was in no danger, but the wind was knocked out of my sails. I silently wondered if I had my head in the sand. And I wondered if I'd torpedoed a chance of getting on the air.
I hadn't. The producer called back to say I was a go, and even suggested I share my skepticism on air. But I didn't. As I waited my turn on a morning show dedicated to blanket flu coverage, I listened to a raft of interviewees confidently relate tales of horror. I can't disappoint, I thought. Perhaps they know something I don't know. It would be the height of crassness to say I felt like the media was blowing the story out of proportion when I had agreed to come on the show and talk about it. So I just went on the air and said I was really worried.
And this morning the story in the papers is about media hyping the flu. So here's my bit to fan that particular flame.
Muddying the waters
The village of La Gloria, in Veracruz state, is home to a large pig farm, part-owned by US based Smithfield Foods. For years, villagers have been saying that the waste from the farm is making them sick. So when the Mexican government announced on Monday that the first known case of swine flu was detected in a young boy from La Gloria, I, like dozens of other journalists, called the Veracruz state health secretary....
"It's a lie. It all started in California. The World Health Organization said so," a woman at the press office told me, even before I'd finished my question. She grudgingly took down my details, and even more grudgingly told me her name was Elena. She said she'd put me through to someone with more information and after twenty minutes of listening to the state anthem, the phone went dead. I called the number three more times. Now, different people answered each time, and told me with harrassed voices, "This is just a local residence." When I tried to confirm the number, they hung up. After that, my calls went unanswered. It was only after an hour of calling that a nervous sounding youth finally answered. He wouldn't confirm the case of the child. "We've got to all calm down," he said unconvincingly.
"Well, all I can do is quote Elena," I told him.
"Elena, who's Elena? We don't have anyone called Elena working here."
Finally, that night, state government put out a press bulletin denying the link between the pig farm and the swine flu outbreak. It didn't explain how it reached it's conclusions. If anybody would like to find out, why don't you call my good friend Elena at the Veracruz Health secretary. She appears to be the only one willing to speak her mind there. Even if she doesn't exist.
Veracruz Health Secretary Press Office: +52 228 842 3013
Bolivia referendum: no closer to consensus
Bolivia's constitutional referendum on Sunday, Jan 25th, left both "yes" and "no" as far apart as.... well, left and right. President Evo Morales' new constitution, which passed with about 60% of the vote, seeks to revindicate centuries of inequality by creating 9 new indigenous regions with legal and financial autonomy, limiting large landholdings (traditionally owned by non-indigenous) to 5000 hectares and nationalizing all natural resources. Socialists, NGOs and indigenous groups are delighted. But old-style capitalists in the five eastern states - rich with oil and cattle-ranching - fear for their livlihoods. Clashes over the proposed constitution left several dead last year. Here's what two people on either side of the debate said today.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Regina Gualuo, President of the Indigenas Territory "Tacana 3", Beni State
"It's great. It's going to benefit the humble people of this country. It's going to improve education. Health care. The culture of the indigenous people."
Cristian Sattori, President of the Beni State Federation of Ranchers (FEGABENI)
"This constitution is seeking to divide the country. The government is governing for one half of the country to the detriment of the other half. There's two Bolivia's here trying to get along, but it's at risk.
Regina Gualuo
"Indigenous autonomy is going to benefit us hugely because it's going to decentralize federal funding that will go directly to our communities. Before, everything was centralized. The funding first went to the prefecture, then the subprefecture, then the municpality. We were like panhandlers outside the municipality. Now we can set out own priorities and fund our own projects."
Cristian Sattori
"We're the productive regions, regions that want development, that seek progress for the country, that seek to generate jobs. We'll respect the outcome of the referendum, but we are asking the government to respect our form of life, our ranching, our productive systems.
Regina Gualuo
"The ones who voted no are the ones who have been living off the resources of this country. And if there's any poor folks who voted no, it's because they've let themselves be fooled, bought for a few pennies and aren't thinking of their children."
Cristian Sattori
"The question of the 5000 hecatares (limit to land ownership) was predictable. What's dangerous is the intention of the government to use land distribution to redraw the political map in this country."
Regina Gualuo
"That's what hurts them. They say it's going to divide us, but it's not going to divide us, it's going to make us equal! Because it's not just going to be a few who benefit (from land). And they aren't going to be able to just hold on to it to use as collateral for bank loans like they used to.
Cristian Sattori
"It's absurd. We shouldn't be paying for errors of the past. I think it's great that indigenous are finally being taken into account, but you have to realize that most of this country is mestizo. It's not fair that those who were second class citizens suddenly become first class citizens, and those who were first class drop to second. It's as if Obama, to revindicate racism and slavery suddenly said that Anglo-Saxons can no longer get on buses."
Sameniego Revisted: Dead Driver
Eight months since I visited, the villages of Samaniego municipality in southern Colombia remain cut off from the rest of the world by a thick fields of landmines. A friend tells me the army has advanced only 10 kilometers. Seven members of the teachers union have disapeared, he reports. And... "you remember Weimar, the guy who drove us up to the minefields?"
Sure. Odd guy in a fancy leather jacket and a flashing bluetooth headphone in his ear. In a place where most people dress in scruffy cowboy clothes. He talked about women most of the drive up the mountain. He preferred Latinas, I remember, because gringas seem so uptight. He took us as far as the army camp in El Decio, but wouldn't go into rebel territory.
"Well, a couple of months ago, they dragged him out of his house and shot him. Hitmen."
Was it drugs? Politics? "No one knows for sure. And no one asks."
Just another day in Samaniego.
Mexico's blacks struggle to recall their past
Adan Banos grew up knowing that he and his neighbours in the town of El Ciruelo, Oaxaca, looked different from other Mexicans, but he never really thought much about it. So when I suggest to him that his curly hair, tall stature and black skin might owe to African descent, he looks speechless for a moment. "Africa, huh? That's the first time I heard that."
Press play to listen
And then he adds, "Well cool!"
No one knows how many Afro-Mexicans there are. Estimates range from 50 to 500,000 thousands, scattered mostly in dirt poor communities in the south of Mexico. Here in Oaxaca, they are concentrated in a handful of ramshackle fishing villages, where visitors from the outside are rare and government services scarce. In El Ciruelo there's no drainage. A green trail of scum runs down the main road where residents throw out their waste water.
And more alarmingly - for some - there's almost no sense of history, either. According to academics, blacks here descend from slaves brought to work a cattle ranch in the region, but few locals know that. Some explain their ancestry through implausible, dimly remembered tales of a shipwreck. Most, like Banos, seem to take little interest.
Although slavery in Mexico was abolished in 1829, much earlier than in the US, African-Mexicans have fared much worse than their counterparts north of the border. Blacks have traditionally avoided mainstream Mexican society, and even today, many Mexicans are still unaware of their existence. Some statistics suggest they are even worse off than their indigenous neighbours.
"The Indian is closer to his past than the African is. Both faced destruction," says local priest Glyn Jemmot. "The difference is, even though at some time the empire put a building, a Catholic church on top of their pyramids and destroyed their temples and their monuments, they still have a stone to go back to, and point to. Blacks do not.
Jemmot, a Trinidadian by birth, left a cushy posting in Mexico City twenty years ago to serve in the spartan surroundings of El Ciruelo. In that time, he's worked to promote black pride amongst his parishioners, and win recognition for blacks on par with indigenous groups from the government.
On the day I meet him, he's hosting a black cultural festival with student dancers from all along the coastline.
To the hypnotic droning of a harmonica and a cow's jaw rasped with a stick, two dozen dancers in furs and ghoulish masks stamp around a rec center. Audience members are dragged into the convulsing fray and whipped across the legs. It looks painful, even if it's done with good humour.
Jemmot says this dance descends from African tribal rituals. In fact, it also resembles many indigenous dances, and it is probable that through the centuries, the custom has mingled with that of it's neighbours. But whatever it's origin, it is enjoying a revival that may serve as touchstone for new interest in local culture.
One of the spectators, Tirso Salinas laughs as he watches. A generation ago, he says, people here were ashamed of their color.
"I'm proud to be black," he says. "I'm not going to do what Michael Jackson did. Paint myself with milk to get rid of my color!"
Fear
My son was nervous on his first day of school this year. "I feel like I'll get lost with all the other children running around everywhere," he said. So I gave him a man-to-man chat, explaining that it's OK to be scared, but sometimes we have to do things even when we feel scared. And then we feel much better afterwards.
"I was scared to go to Colombia," I said... "There's lots of bad people there, army guys with guns and bombs that try to kill each other. I didn't want to talk to them, but I marched up to those bad guys," - here I stuck out my arm to suggest holding a microphone; or that's how it looked to me - "...and asked them questions. I was scared they might hurt me."
He paused, amazed at his father's daring, I supposed. I braced for his gushing admiration. Instead, he lookedup at me with scrutiny: "What did you do?"
"I asked questions," I said.
"You didn't have to shoot them."
"No."
"Oh." He sounded crestfallen. "That's boring, Dad."
I'm glad to say he was fine on his first day at school.