Saving the man who’s trying to save Congo
This is a remarkable testament to the kind of work that happens behind the scenes of journalism. Good foreign reporting only happens when locals, who never get bylines, help foreigners get access, find their way around, and talk to the people who end up in our stories. This is also a plea for help. The [...]
If the clothes make the man, the kitenge makes the woman
Here’s an absolutely fascinating look at wax prints — what we journalists like to describe as “colorful African fabrics.” I still haven’t come up with a better shorthand; anything more becomes a soliloquy to the incredible colors and creative and sometimes bizarre patterns in the cloth — and, if you’re writing about someone who can [...]
Following Ugandans on foot as they #walk2work
My occasional internet addiction finally proves useful as I follow the news in Uganda, where Museveni’s biggest challenger in the February elections is now an even more formidable opponent — a man around whom varieties of Uganda’s popular discontent can coalesce and lead to movement. Literally. Walking has become a kind of protest in Uganda, [...]
Sometimes, even newspapers call it like it is
Via the indefatigable @blakehounshell, this amazing moment of journalistic honesty — in the URL, not the story. (Though the story’s pretty funny.) http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/utter-PR-fiction-but-people-love-this-shit-so-fuck-it-lets-just-print-it-2269573.html UPDATE: Oh, damn. Well, still funny: @Blak Hounshell Re: Independent article: RT @michaelrundle: False alarm — you can type anything into Indie URLs before the number.html bit.
Of peacebuilding, debt relief, and other professional fun
It’s been quiet here lately, as I work too much and then sleep it off. But here’s what’s been going on: I have a lengthy feature article on the UN Peacebuilding Commission in the Christian Science Monitor magazine. This is one of the pieces that comes out of my three-month, four-country reporting trek last summer [...]
Twibuke
Today is the 17th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide, and Kigali is quiet, as it has been every year I’ve witnessed this day. The day also begins a week of mourning that changes the mood here. There are no weddings and no celebrations; there’s no relaxing with a Primus in hand and [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [