sometimes, it's better when you don't have to think about stuff. that's what i like about halloween, even those years when i lamely do nothing to celebrate it. this is one of those years.
but despite that, the halloween-ish magic that is the thriller endures. you've seen the thriller-thons and the phillipino 'cons-cum-choreatricians'?
they can both suck it. this is the best thriller tribute ever. ever. you're welcome.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
chapter 48: the story maclean's didn't tell
recently, maclean's magazine did a story on international volunteerism. i and several other volunteers i worked with and respect appeared in pictures and in quotes, focusing particularly on jhr. the article painted a picture of volunteers that is not very flattering, and even though i knew it was missing a lot of perspective, it stung.
it also made me mad, because it's the kind of article that hardens people's hearts and discourages the kind of compassion and leadership on cooperation and peacebuilding that forms such an important part of canada's identity.
but this article, taken from a correspondent for ctv's canada am who visited sierra leone and met some jhr volunteers gets it right.
it encapsulates the maddening beauty, the beautiful tragedy, and the tragic hope of a country where life is so hard, yet the people continue to look to a better day.
and they continue to look to canadians for a hand up. it's only through the continuing efforts from people giving of themselves to work in the trenches, no matter how slow and frustrating the process may be, that canada can fulfill its true potential to be a light to people in dark places.
idealistic? maybe...but doesn't every great victory start with a crazy idea?
here's the article:
Marci Ien in Sierra Leone: Human Rights reporting
Updated Tue. Oct. 21 2008 6:25 PM ET
Marci Ien, Canada AM
Last month I travelled to Sierra Leone for the Canadian organization Journalists for Human Rights (JHR). The group was founded in 2002 with the goal of assisting local media in Africa and North America to expand their coverage of human rights.
JHR has sent more than 175 journalist trainers to work in sub-Saharan African countries, and by its own estimates, has directly helped to produce more than 2,100 stories on human rights issues.
Sierra Leone is the most deprived country in the world. It ranks last, 177th, on the United Nations' annual Human Development Index. A newborn in Sierra Leone has the lowest chance in the world of surviving until age five.
A decade of civil war ended in 2002, and the country is now in the process of reconstruction. A UN-sponsored war crimes court is trying those accused of horrible war crimes, while the state works on the challenges of extreme poverty and an economic crisis.
Journalists have their own challenges covering political issues and the topics of human rights and corruption. My job was to meet with working journalists in Sierra Leone and help assess the training programs. Here's my diary from the week:
Friday Sept. 19 (late evening)
I arrived at Lungi International Airport and was met by Nina DeVries and Abu Bakarr Jalloh (ABJ). Nina is a media trainer with JHR and ABJ is an intern. On the way to my guest house I took in all the action on the lively streets of Freetown. The city was originally built for 500,000, but the population has swelled in recent years to 1.5 million. The infrastructure isn't there, and that leaves a lot of people conducting their social lives on the streets. People were eating, selling food, just kind of hanging out. Everyone looked young. "Where are all the seniors?" I asked. "Marci," my colleagues replied, almost in unison, "The life expectancy here is 39, 40 years old." "I'm 39," I said. That was the last question I asked that night.
Saturday Sept. 20
I went to the JHR office and met Elvis Hallowell, the country director for the organization. He shared with me his thoughts on the state of journalism in Sierra Leone -- in particular the coverage of human rights stories. Elvis told me that a lot of the human rights coverage are opinion pieces, and that's not how human rights issues should be covered. Much of the media training shows journalists how to back up their stories with facts, digging, and research. It's all about balance.
There are 15 to 20 daily newspapers, as well as private and public television stations. Radio, however, is the medium of choice for most Sierra Leonians. That evening I met all five JHR media trainers who had been working in various media houses throughout Sierra Leone for eight months. Mackay, Kevin, Jared, Rachael, and Nina took me to dinner.
Sunday Sept. 21
On Sundays, many people go to the beach. It was a gorgeous day and not a cloud in the sky. The car ride to River Number 2 was long, and the roads bumpy, but it gave us time to chat. As we travelled, we came across several kids who had put up faux checkpoints using tree branches to block the road. They asked for money...and in turn would lift the branches.
"What message are we sending if we give them cash?" one of my colleagues said. "Are we sending a message that extortion is OK?" It was a valid point -- but all I could see was my four-year-old's face. How do you say no?
The beach was stunning. As I sat on the sand I took in the sounds of the sea. In a moment of complete calm, I thought of the chaos that had ravaged this country, and the perseverance of a people trying to move forward, trying to better their lives. I asked many questions of my friends. What had they learned? Did they feel they were making a difference as journalists? It was an interesting discussion, and in the coming days I would see first-hand what life in the field was like.
Monday Sept. 22
The Special Court of Sierra Leone is a city unto itself. There have been hundreds of witnesses so far, recounting a bloody civil war that lasted 10 years and ended in 2001. Hundreds of thousands were killed or injured in the war. Three trial judges have presided over the past six years. One of them, Judge Pierre Boutet, is Canadian. Deliberations are underway. I told Judge Boutet that when his work was done -- and he comes home to Canada -- he had an open invitation to sit down and talk about his experiences on Canada AM.
When I walked into the empty court and looked at the witness box. It was an eerie space. I stood in a place where victim and victimizer came together, and I wondered if a spirit of forgiveness could ever prevail.
I had accompanied Nina and a reporter from ABC Action News. While at the court, Nina checked in with a source for another story she was working on. It involved children who were allegedly being abused at an orphanage. One little girl, Marie, had polio was said to be in particularly bad shape.
Tuesday Sept. 23
Nowhere else is the strength of women more apparent than in Sierra Leone. In the face of patriarchal laws, second-class citizenship, spousal abuse and staggering maternal mortality rates -- they live and in some cases thrive. I had lunch with 25 women at a local hangout for journalists called "Stop Press."
They were members of a group called Women in Media in Sierra Leone (WIMSAL). The women came together out of necessity, meeting every Sunday in various places. They could speak about injustices in their newsrooms and in the field. There were editors who deemed them too weak to cover certain stories. Officials who questioned their capabilities as the female journalists tried to question them on policy or other matters.
There were partners at home -- who said their place was *in* the home -- and that having a job was something a good woman wouldn't do. WIMSAL will have a formal launch on November 21. The group has invited government officials, diplomats, the press corps and members of the public to witness what a group of women with serious ideas, journalistic integrity, and a love for a country that doesn't always love them can do.
Wednesday Sept. 24
One in eight women will die while giving birth in Sierra Leone. It's a brutal statistic ... and made major news while I was there. Following the story was the Concord Times, a well-respected newspaper based in Freetown. I accompanied Kevin Hill, a JHR trainer, and Rachel Horner, a reporter with the Times. We travelled to PCM Hospital to see first-hand what was happening.
We met Dr. Ibrahim Thorlie, the chief of staff, who told us there were many contributing factors to the death rate: women arriving at the hospital already in a traumatic state, and a lack of equipment, blood, drugs, and staff. Ironically he talked of a brain drain -- one that saw medical talent leave to work in the very NGOs that were meant to help stabilize the country. Many also left for more lucrative private practice.
I will never forget one woman we saw. She was in labour...writhing in pain on a hospital cot -- that had no sheet. Above her, the tiles on the wall were crumbling. I wondered if one would fall on her. Now I wonder if she and her baby survived.
Later in the day, Kevin, Rachel and I met with Sierra Leone's Health Minister, Dr. Soccoh Alex Kabia. We recounted what we had seen at the hospital. He said the government had a plan that would be introduced in the coming months. I couldn't help but think that plan would come far too late for many.
Thursday Sept. 25
This was the first time my husband and I haven't been together on our anniversary in the seven years we've been married. It's always been a sacred time for us. When the opportunity to travel to Sierra Leone came up, I knew I would have to use my vacation time to make it work. My husband agreed I should go. "You'll grow as a person, Marce. This could be life-changing."
There are many things I will remember about my trip. I met dozens of journalists whose personal stories could in fact be front-page news. I visited radio stations, newspapers, and a televison studio. I talked to officials in the Special Court, people on the street. I spent a considerable amount of time in a hospital speaking to medical staff and patients about their predicaments and how to move forward. I read just about everything I could get my hands on that would help me to understand the complexities of this West African nation. Nothing yet could have prepared me for Kroo Bay.
Kroo Bay is home to more than 6,000 people, and used to be a small fishing settlement that sits below sea level at the point where two rivers meet the Atlantic. It became a shantytown during the civil war as people fled the violence. Now garbage is everywhere. The water is used as an open sewer. I saw children playing, defecating and being washed in it. I saw mothers whose eyes told me they had given up.
I didn't take a single picture...but the images of Kroo Bay are forever cemented in my mind. The children were curious about the two men and woman who walked through. They looked at us -- our clothes, our shoes. I looked at their nakedness...but also their beautiful smiles. How could they smile? What was there to be happy about? I could smell the desperation and despair.
My friend Mackay asked if the kids knew the ABC song. He had told me they sang it to the tune of Auld Lang Syne in Sierra Leone. In unison, five children started to sing. I held back my tears. We clapped and told them they were wonderful. This all in a place where one in four children dies before their fifth birthday, which Save the Children calls "the worst place on earth."
it also made me mad, because it's the kind of article that hardens people's hearts and discourages the kind of compassion and leadership on cooperation and peacebuilding that forms such an important part of canada's identity.
but this article, taken from a correspondent for ctv's canada am who visited sierra leone and met some jhr volunteers gets it right.
it encapsulates the maddening beauty, the beautiful tragedy, and the tragic hope of a country where life is so hard, yet the people continue to look to a better day.
and they continue to look to canadians for a hand up. it's only through the continuing efforts from people giving of themselves to work in the trenches, no matter how slow and frustrating the process may be, that canada can fulfill its true potential to be a light to people in dark places.
idealistic? maybe...but doesn't every great victory start with a crazy idea?
here's the article:
Marci Ien in Sierra Leone: Human Rights reporting
Updated Tue. Oct. 21 2008 6:25 PM ET
Marci Ien, Canada AM
Last month I travelled to Sierra Leone for the Canadian organization Journalists for Human Rights (JHR). The group was founded in 2002 with the goal of assisting local media in Africa and North America to expand their coverage of human rights.
JHR has sent more than 175 journalist trainers to work in sub-Saharan African countries, and by its own estimates, has directly helped to produce more than 2,100 stories on human rights issues.
Sierra Leone is the most deprived country in the world. It ranks last, 177th, on the United Nations' annual Human Development Index. A newborn in Sierra Leone has the lowest chance in the world of surviving until age five.
A decade of civil war ended in 2002, and the country is now in the process of reconstruction. A UN-sponsored war crimes court is trying those accused of horrible war crimes, while the state works on the challenges of extreme poverty and an economic crisis.
Journalists have their own challenges covering political issues and the topics of human rights and corruption. My job was to meet with working journalists in Sierra Leone and help assess the training programs. Here's my diary from the week:
Friday Sept. 19 (late evening)
I arrived at Lungi International Airport and was met by Nina DeVries and Abu Bakarr Jalloh (ABJ). Nina is a media trainer with JHR and ABJ is an intern. On the way to my guest house I took in all the action on the lively streets of Freetown. The city was originally built for 500,000, but the population has swelled in recent years to 1.5 million. The infrastructure isn't there, and that leaves a lot of people conducting their social lives on the streets. People were eating, selling food, just kind of hanging out. Everyone looked young. "Where are all the seniors?" I asked. "Marci," my colleagues replied, almost in unison, "The life expectancy here is 39, 40 years old." "I'm 39," I said. That was the last question I asked that night.
Saturday Sept. 20
I went to the JHR office and met Elvis Hallowell, the country director for the organization. He shared with me his thoughts on the state of journalism in Sierra Leone -- in particular the coverage of human rights stories. Elvis told me that a lot of the human rights coverage are opinion pieces, and that's not how human rights issues should be covered. Much of the media training shows journalists how to back up their stories with facts, digging, and research. It's all about balance.
There are 15 to 20 daily newspapers, as well as private and public television stations. Radio, however, is the medium of choice for most Sierra Leonians. That evening I met all five JHR media trainers who had been working in various media houses throughout Sierra Leone for eight months. Mackay, Kevin, Jared, Rachael, and Nina took me to dinner.
Sunday Sept. 21
On Sundays, many people go to the beach. It was a gorgeous day and not a cloud in the sky. The car ride to River Number 2 was long, and the roads bumpy, but it gave us time to chat. As we travelled, we came across several kids who had put up faux checkpoints using tree branches to block the road. They asked for money...and in turn would lift the branches.
"What message are we sending if we give them cash?" one of my colleagues said. "Are we sending a message that extortion is OK?" It was a valid point -- but all I could see was my four-year-old's face. How do you say no?
The beach was stunning. As I sat on the sand I took in the sounds of the sea. In a moment of complete calm, I thought of the chaos that had ravaged this country, and the perseverance of a people trying to move forward, trying to better their lives. I asked many questions of my friends. What had they learned? Did they feel they were making a difference as journalists? It was an interesting discussion, and in the coming days I would see first-hand what life in the field was like.
Monday Sept. 22
The Special Court of Sierra Leone is a city unto itself. There have been hundreds of witnesses so far, recounting a bloody civil war that lasted 10 years and ended in 2001. Hundreds of thousands were killed or injured in the war. Three trial judges have presided over the past six years. One of them, Judge Pierre Boutet, is Canadian. Deliberations are underway. I told Judge Boutet that when his work was done -- and he comes home to Canada -- he had an open invitation to sit down and talk about his experiences on Canada AM.
When I walked into the empty court and looked at the witness box. It was an eerie space. I stood in a place where victim and victimizer came together, and I wondered if a spirit of forgiveness could ever prevail.
I had accompanied Nina and a reporter from ABC Action News. While at the court, Nina checked in with a source for another story she was working on. It involved children who were allegedly being abused at an orphanage. One little girl, Marie, had polio was said to be in particularly bad shape.
Tuesday Sept. 23
Nowhere else is the strength of women more apparent than in Sierra Leone. In the face of patriarchal laws, second-class citizenship, spousal abuse and staggering maternal mortality rates -- they live and in some cases thrive. I had lunch with 25 women at a local hangout for journalists called "Stop Press."
They were members of a group called Women in Media in Sierra Leone (WIMSAL). The women came together out of necessity, meeting every Sunday in various places. They could speak about injustices in their newsrooms and in the field. There were editors who deemed them too weak to cover certain stories. Officials who questioned their capabilities as the female journalists tried to question them on policy or other matters.
There were partners at home -- who said their place was *in* the home -- and that having a job was something a good woman wouldn't do. WIMSAL will have a formal launch on November 21. The group has invited government officials, diplomats, the press corps and members of the public to witness what a group of women with serious ideas, journalistic integrity, and a love for a country that doesn't always love them can do.
Wednesday Sept. 24
One in eight women will die while giving birth in Sierra Leone. It's a brutal statistic ... and made major news while I was there. Following the story was the Concord Times, a well-respected newspaper based in Freetown. I accompanied Kevin Hill, a JHR trainer, and Rachel Horner, a reporter with the Times. We travelled to PCM Hospital to see first-hand what was happening.
We met Dr. Ibrahim Thorlie, the chief of staff, who told us there were many contributing factors to the death rate: women arriving at the hospital already in a traumatic state, and a lack of equipment, blood, drugs, and staff. Ironically he talked of a brain drain -- one that saw medical talent leave to work in the very NGOs that were meant to help stabilize the country. Many also left for more lucrative private practice.
I will never forget one woman we saw. She was in labour...writhing in pain on a hospital cot -- that had no sheet. Above her, the tiles on the wall were crumbling. I wondered if one would fall on her. Now I wonder if she and her baby survived.
Later in the day, Kevin, Rachel and I met with Sierra Leone's Health Minister, Dr. Soccoh Alex Kabia. We recounted what we had seen at the hospital. He said the government had a plan that would be introduced in the coming months. I couldn't help but think that plan would come far too late for many.
Thursday Sept. 25
This was the first time my husband and I haven't been together on our anniversary in the seven years we've been married. It's always been a sacred time for us. When the opportunity to travel to Sierra Leone came up, I knew I would have to use my vacation time to make it work. My husband agreed I should go. "You'll grow as a person, Marce. This could be life-changing."
There are many things I will remember about my trip. I met dozens of journalists whose personal stories could in fact be front-page news. I visited radio stations, newspapers, and a televison studio. I talked to officials in the Special Court, people on the street. I spent a considerable amount of time in a hospital speaking to medical staff and patients about their predicaments and how to move forward. I read just about everything I could get my hands on that would help me to understand the complexities of this West African nation. Nothing yet could have prepared me for Kroo Bay.
Kroo Bay is home to more than 6,000 people, and used to be a small fishing settlement that sits below sea level at the point where two rivers meet the Atlantic. It became a shantytown during the civil war as people fled the violence. Now garbage is everywhere. The water is used as an open sewer. I saw children playing, defecating and being washed in it. I saw mothers whose eyes told me they had given up.
I didn't take a single picture...but the images of Kroo Bay are forever cemented in my mind. The children were curious about the two men and woman who walked through. They looked at us -- our clothes, our shoes. I looked at their nakedness...but also their beautiful smiles. How could they smile? What was there to be happy about? I could smell the desperation and despair.
My friend Mackay asked if the kids knew the ABC song. He had told me they sang it to the tune of Auld Lang Syne in Sierra Leone. In unison, five children started to sing. I held back my tears. We clapped and told them they were wonderful. This all in a place where one in four children dies before their fifth birthday, which Save the Children calls "the worst place on earth."
Saturday, October 18, 2008
chapter 47: caption mania!!!
hey all...i've been inspired by john mccain.
or, citizen mccain, mcsame, or surgy mcgee...whatever your favourite name for the republican presidential candidate, he's inadvertently spawned a brand new feature here.
the picture below was taken right after the second presidential debate. what the heck was mccain thinking? i don't know, but i bet some of you clever cats out there have some idea.
it's caption mania!
simply reply with your best caption and win...my undying admiration and the envy of your peers.
or, citizen mccain, mcsame, or surgy mcgee...whatever your favourite name for the republican presidential candidate, he's inadvertently spawned a brand new feature here.
the picture below was taken right after the second presidential debate. what the heck was mccain thinking? i don't know, but i bet some of you clever cats out there have some idea.
it's caption mania!
simply reply with your best caption and win...my undying admiration and the envy of your peers.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
chapter 46: second verse, same as the first
after five weeks of being messaged to death, watching the parties squabble over bird poop and other meaningless tripe, the 2008 federal election gave us...pretty much the same dysfunctional parliament we had before.
yes, all this for the low-low price of 300 million dollars!
the third election in four years, totalling nearly a billion dollars. wouldn't that money have been better spent giving more money to our fat cat bankers, so they can keep the windfall for themselves like they always do?
despite being chosen by canadians as the best leader of a bad lot, a would-be warm and cuddly stephen harper still couldn't manage to convince canadians to give him the keys to the castle, though he did come pretty close.
that big sucking sound you heard? stephane dion's liberals doing the down stroke on their way to the party's worst showing ever. i'll say it again: worst. showing. ever.
about the only thing drowning out the liberal suckfest was the collective yawn that could be heard coast to cast, as only 59% of elegibile voters bothered to show up at the polls, a record low.
when asked to explain the landslide victory for apathy, disengaged voters said...oh, who am i kidding...who cares?
yes, all this for the low-low price of 300 million dollars!
the third election in four years, totalling nearly a billion dollars. wouldn't that money have been better spent giving more money to our fat cat bankers, so they can keep the windfall for themselves like they always do?
despite being chosen by canadians as the best leader of a bad lot, a would-be warm and cuddly stephen harper still couldn't manage to convince canadians to give him the keys to the castle, though he did come pretty close.
that big sucking sound you heard? stephane dion's liberals doing the down stroke on their way to the party's worst showing ever. i'll say it again: worst. showing. ever.
about the only thing drowning out the liberal suckfest was the collective yawn that could be heard coast to cast, as only 59% of elegibile voters bothered to show up at the polls, a record low.
when asked to explain the landslide victory for apathy, disengaged voters said...oh, who am i kidding...who cares?
Saturday, October 4, 2008
chapter 45: 15 minutes of shame
so, some of you might have noticed there was recently a photo of me holding a chicken and looking like a douchebag foreigner in a maclean's magazine article about international volunteers.
the article questions the value taxpayers are getting by sending volunteers overseas on development projects. it focuses on jhr particularly, with a couple former trainers who didn't think they did anything productive on media training placements in africa.
for my part, i'll say my stint in ghana was successful. to those volunteers who had a different experience, i'll say only that i think alot of people go to places without the experience or self confidence to carve out their own niche and win over the locals.
yes, overseas volunteerism is a great adventure, but it's also difficult. it tests your determination and persistence, and it can also be lonely and mentally taxing. you're pretty much on your own, doing a difficult job and living in uncomfortable material conditions. and going for less than six months is, in my opinion, a waste of time. i was pretty much useless for the first two months in ghana.
i think sending people overseas is valuable for the individual, canada's reputation abroad, and the host country. but we have to send our best and brightest, not whiners who thought they'd be catching rays in the tropics and basking in the automatic appreciation of the poor, grateful africans!
the article questions the value taxpayers are getting by sending volunteers overseas on development projects. it focuses on jhr particularly, with a couple former trainers who didn't think they did anything productive on media training placements in africa.
for my part, i'll say my stint in ghana was successful. to those volunteers who had a different experience, i'll say only that i think alot of people go to places without the experience or self confidence to carve out their own niche and win over the locals.
yes, overseas volunteerism is a great adventure, but it's also difficult. it tests your determination and persistence, and it can also be lonely and mentally taxing. you're pretty much on your own, doing a difficult job and living in uncomfortable material conditions. and going for less than six months is, in my opinion, a waste of time. i was pretty much useless for the first two months in ghana.
i think sending people overseas is valuable for the individual, canada's reputation abroad, and the host country. but we have to send our best and brightest, not whiners who thought they'd be catching rays in the tropics and basking in the automatic appreciation of the poor, grateful africans!
chapter 44: beware the open set!
one of the first things i learned when i became a citizen of tv land, is to watch what i was doing when working in an open set. apparently, a couple people at a dutch tv station didn't get the memo.
this is one of the funniest background bloopers i've ever seen. check it out!
this is one of the funniest background bloopers i've ever seen. check it out!
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