War on Civilians in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo

The most devastating piece of news that I heard last week was a report filed from the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Woman Tells of Congo Murders (RealAudio file)

Fifty people from this woman’s village were captured by the Interahamwe, armed Hutu militia from Rwanda who were involved in the genocide in that country. The woman was the only survivor of that attack.

Excerpt from interview:

After they killed the members of my family, 19 members of the Interahamwe raped me. And then they killed two of my children in front of me. And then they took the baby off my back, and they tied a rope around its neck, and they forced me to pull the rope and kill my own baby.

Also check out the BBC news article “DR Congo’s Unending War” for some background on the situation there.

Refugee Camp Exhibit

If you’re in New York City this weekend, be sure to check out the Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City. This outdoor exhibit is being hosted by Doctors Without Borders to give visitors a sense of what life in a refugee camp is like. According to their Web site, the exhibit consists of materials used by the humanitarian group, including “emergency refugee housing, a food distribution tent, water pump, health clinic, vaccination tent, therapeutic feeding center, and a cholera treatment center.”

The exhibit runs from now through Sunday, Sept. 24, at the Long Meadow in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Hours are 9:30 to 6:30 daily. Visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org/education/refugeecamp/index.cfm for more info.

Kidney for Sale! Kidney for Sale!

Not exactly a new story but I still found “Human Kidneys for Sale” to be interesting. It aired on public radio and was filed from India by filmmaker Samantha Grant. What I found especially disturbing was Grant’s observation that

“India’s Ministry of Tourism is promoting what’s being called Transplant Tourism, aimed at drawing wealthy foreigners in search of a cheap medical fix. Its website even has a page called ‘high-tech healing’ and boasts that a ‘kidney transplant package’ in India would cost only $7,000, a fraction of what it costs in the developed world.”

(The Web site she’s referring to is Incredible India. According to the site, India also offers wellness services such as bone marrow transplants, joint replacement surgery, and, of course, yoga.)

Grant’s documentary on the same subject can be viewed online at PBS FRONTLINEt/World. I haven’t had a chance yet to check it out, but it’s only about 11 mins. long. (Though the ending probably won’t be as satisfying as that of Dirty Pretty Things, the Stephen Frears-directed film about the human organ trade. It’s excellent!–I highly recommend it.)

Honor Killings Not about Honor

Recently heard this chilling report on NPR’s All Things Considered about so-called honor killings in Iraq. NPR Foreign Correspondent Anne Garrels speaks to one family in which this occurred.

A daughter was kidnapped and threatened with death unless her brother quit the police force. The brother complied, and the girl was returned to the family. But because everyone assumed the girl had been raped while she was a captive, the family killed the girl. All for the sake of maintaining the family honor. The report is particularly chilling because the father, in his interview, is so forthcoming about what happened. Without any apparent shame, he explains that honor killings are a tradition.

That story typifies one of the reasons why I am wary of traditions. It’s one thing to have turkey on Thanksgiving and another when people use the term tradition to justify, or excuse, hateful behavior. It’s a shame that so many people accept injustices as a part of society instead of challenging injustices to further society.

Ethics in Journalism

The Associated Press has these guidelines for its reporters:

AP has longstanding rules against News employees participating in political activities or taking sides on matters of public debate. These rules apply to electronic communication as well. Do not express opinions about products, companies or individuals. Non-news employees, who may be unaccustomed to these rules, should remember that Internet readers won’t know whether a user from ap.org is a newsperson. Even what a non-News employee does can reflect on AP’s newsgathering.

(This rule as well as other Guidelines for Responsible Use of Electronic Services may be viewed here.)

This is an issue that we discussed in my Press Ethics class last semester. Working journalists are supposed to approach topics without bias and hence many companies do not allow their reporters to do any advocating or participate in demonstrations, even if they’re reporters in an unrelated field. I understand why companies would have that concern; at the same time, I know that’s not the type of journalism I want to be involved in.

One could argue that the very act of choosing which stories are important enough to appear in the paper is a demonstration of bias. I know there’s a gray area there: a human-interest story about a family that suffered losses in the tsunami will be less controversial than a story about teenagers who have sought help at Planned Parenthood. Few general-interest publications would think the tsunami story irrelevant, but I can’t imagine a publication with a pro-life “bias” would run a story on anything good that Planned Parenthood might have done.

I see journalism as a tool for advocacy, and there’s definitely a niche for it. I guess it comes down to what each publication’s management thinks is acceptable and what ethical rules they play by.

I was impressed to see the New York Times feature some articles by Nicholas D. Kristof about two prostitutes he freed from the sex trade in Cambodia. Though importantly, I just noticed that the newspaper grouped the articles in the Op-Ed section instead of say, the International section. The articles are interesting in that Kristof decided to get involved with his subjects. A year after he freed the two prostitutes, he follows up with the two prostitutes to find out where they are now. (Those not registered with the New York Times should use BugMeNot for a free login.)

On a lighter note, here are some pictures that I took today in the aftermath of yesterday’s blizzard in New York City:

Cross-Country skiers in Prospect Park, 1/23/05

Sledders in Prospect Park, 1/23/05

It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one around here who actually likes the snow. There were plenty of adults and children having fun in the park, not only skiing and sledding but building snowmen, building snowforts, walking dogs or playing ultimate frisbee. Sometimes I think I’m built for snowier winters because I don’t think one foot of snow on the ground is that big of a deal. Then again, since I don’t have a car, the only thing I have to worry about is delays on the train lines.