Archive for the ‘DRC’ Category
Goodbye to a great Great Lakes emissary
The Associated Press reported last night that former US Congressman and, later, Great Lakes Special Envoy Howard Wolpe died on Tuesday. Congressman Wolpe had a long and distinguished career before his work in the Great Lakes. Then he served as Special Envoy from 1996-2001, under President Clinton, and again in 2009, at the request of [...]
Nobel Women’s Initiative takes on sexual violence
The Nobel Women’s Initiative, which is exactly what you think it is, is taking up the cause of ending sexual violence in war. Tall order, I know, but if you want to eavesdrop on them — or better yet, participate in their conversation — you can follow a live blog here (started at 10 am [...]
Rape in the DRC: Now complete with statistics!
A few days ago, I got a press release about Congo, the first line of which is this: “A new study shows that women in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been raped at a rate 26 times higher than previously thought. The shockingly high number is equivalent to 1,152 women raped every day, 48 [...]
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 [...]
Do conflict minerals need Christmas?
Judging from my google alerts, the Christmas hook was what the conflict mineral campaign really needed to take off. If I open another story about conflict minerals in Congo, my eyeballs are going to shrivel. NPR literally pegged their conflict mineral coverage to the holiday — “Is your Christmas Gift Fueling War?” — unintentionally, no [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [