Niger: a country of religious contrast

By Taylor Pool

While the Islamic call to prayer sounds from each Niger mosque, hundreds of Christians gather together to worship God at one of the country’s many churches.  

A mosque in Niamey, the capital of Niger

Although Niger is considered an Islamic nation by the CIA World Factbook, which states that the country is 80 percent Muslim, other religions, including indigenous ones, are practiced in the country. Christianity is even spreading among the people of Niger. That growth comes as a result of the expatriate Christian presence in the country combined with the expansion of the flourishing local Church.

Unlike several north African countries, Niger is considered religiously free, meaning Christians are not generally persecuted for sharing their faith nor is the country governed by religious principles. Even so, religion still has a hold on daily life in the arid, land-locked nation that stretches from the Sahara Desert to the Sahel region of West Africa.

Worshipers at a Nigerien church

As the religion in the cultural majority, Islam has its influence on the country. Every city and village is home to at least one mosque. At the sound of the call to prayer, many Muslims pray to Mecca five times a day in a designated prayer area or even at work or outside on prayer rugs. Work ceases and markets slow down on Friday afternoons while many Nigeriens observe the Islamic Sabbath, even though Sunday is officially recognized as the Sabbath due to Niger’s history as a colony of France, where Catholocism is the most widely-observed religion. Christianity doesn’t stop at effecting school and business closures, however. As one of the poorest countries in the world, Niger is a target nation for evangelical missionaries. Many Nigeriens show their love for Christ in church, through passionate prayer, resounding musical worship and animate sermons.  

Regardless of the religious contrast in the country, the people of Niger do share one thing: the drive to perpetuate their country’s values - brotherhood, work and progress. While it is possible that two neighbors may not share the same religious values, it is likely their identity as Nigeriens would unite them in a way that is entirely unparalleled, unchangeable and even misunderstood to anyone other than those who are a part of the unique Nigerien culture. 

New Media International Conference in India

By Morgan Sigrist

IIJ Assistant & Ambassador

The Institute for International Journalism in the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Scripps College of Communication, and Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam Tirupati, in India, are organizing an International academic conference in India. The conference is scheduled to be held from November 20-22, 2013 in Tirupati, a popular tourist destination. The conference is titled “Changing Landscape in Communication with New Media Technologies: Issues and Challenges”, and will focus on themes of social engagement, education and public health, and political discourse.

The key objective of the conference is to understand how new media

And mobile technology can be used to enhance our understanding of the issues of interest and to provide effective and innovative solutions. Participants from different parts of the world will help stimulate discussion about these issues and will provide a platform where the significance of media technology can be discussed from different perspectives. 

The organizing coordinator in India is Professor Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi, who also is a SUSI 2012 alumnus. The Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) on Journalism and Media is an annual summer institute of international journalism scholars and media experts from universities and academic institutions from around the world. The SUSI summer institute is funded by an annual renewable grant from the U.S. Department of State's Study of the U.S. Branch in the Office of Academic Exchange Programs.

“ Different countries at different stages of development may have different range of salient issues. For example, for developed countries, social engagement and political discourse may be more important issues, whereas for developing countries, fundamental issues like education and public health may have more importance. Bringing together scholars from different countries and sociopolitical environments may create great opportunities for mutual learning,” said Dr. Jatin Srivastava, one of the conference directors.

Dr. Srivastava observed that new media technology is increasingly becoming a dominant tool to address various social, political, and economic issues; this will provide a common frame of reference to participants to think about these problems and evaluate media and technology-based solutions.

The conference is inviting abstracts and articles from academicians and practitioners from countries all over the world; these submissions may cover qualitative or quantitative research and may also be about media based initiatives like campaign and new media products.

Admiring She-Roes

Ms. Aazadi Fateh Muhammad

SUSI 2012 - Pakistan 

 “For living a Life, I really fight Hard”… an ordinary woman’s expression stated decades ago in the Poetry of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, an accurate description that how far great efforts are placed by the modern women to achieve their rights, as well. Women, like men are equally human, living and full of life, but unfortunately, they have to struggle doubly hard to prove their identity and status in society. They are continuously discouraged by an assortment of general biases, underestimated as weak and meek creatures. This is not only predicament of developing societies, but these discriminatory mind sets and behaviors can be easily seen in so called ultra modern world as well, where even a woman has no specific title for her other than ‘Women’, which means Wife of Men.  Means treating them as a property of men is not a fashion of eastern societies just.

A Village Woman in Sindh Province

  Gender based biases and violence, like charity, begins at home. Our family structures and socialization patterns generally support male members. Since childhood family members are directed to behave and live on gender lines. Not only in Islam but the constitution and laws of Pakistan award women their all basic rights and status in society.

   Faces of Pakistani woman represent millions of identities, tales and fragments of society at the same time. Pakistani women, no matter living in urban or rural setups, are fighting at many stages to prove their own individuality and status. However, lack of education, poor awareness, social ignorance and male dominating social patterns are main hindrances in the way of her courage and success.

    Aurat Foundation (A local NGO) reports that violence against women decreased by 6.41 percent in 2010 compared to figure from 2009, the report revealed that 8,000 cases were reported across the country in 2010 against 8,548 cases in 2009. Still serious measures are required to introduce new concrete laws and their implementation. According to Aurat Foundation report 7,733 cases of violence against women including hurt, torture, burning, rape, domestic violence, threat to violence and more were reported in the media but very few of them were answered positively. Most part of this crime has not been named by the law nor recognized by the state so it goes unpunished. In this scenario Harassment at work places bill and property rights of women law are music for the ears.  

  Population Reference Bureau Washington issued a data sheet in 2011 which shows 59% female (Age 15 to 24) literacy rate in Pakistan and in total female population of 91.6 millions only 22% of them are active in economy. Means more than half percent of women population are not being utilized and ultimately have less opportunities and exposure to work.

   We are celebrating Pakistani Women Day on March 8 across the country with the International World, for acknowledging women achievements and raising awareness to protect their rights. This day is celebrated in the memory of those women who raised their voice against discriminatory and draconian laws of a dictator in early 80s. What is hidden and can be seen in a face of Pakistani woman? Let’s see below how intellectuals’ educationists and public representatives act in response towards this question.

    A Pakistani woman has her own rightful identity. Pakistani women are beautiful, intelligent and hold capability of doing anything against all odds. Pakistani society in general and specially the religious groups are reluctant to give them their rightful place. Most of them think that they should be confined to their homes; are meant only for producing male children and taking care of family is what primary aim of their lives, said Bari Awan, an active member of War against Rape since 90s.

Asma Jilani Jahangir is a leading Pakistani lawyer, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and human rights activist, who works both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation of children.

     Prof. Shahida Kazi (Head, department of Media Sciences at Institute of Business Management, Karachi) expressed her views as saying that Pakistani woman has so many different faces. “I will say that for the most part, because of centuries of suppression the Pakistani woman is one who has learnt to be cunning, scheming and manipulative in order to survive. Of course, there are exceptions but for the most part we are not straightforward or open even when there is no need to be crafty. And this goes for all, educated, uneducated, high class, low class, young, and old. Status of women in Pakistan differs according to circumstances. However I think all women of every class are basically nothing but commodities, generally taken as the property of their men”.

    In the opinion of Dr. Zareen Abbasi (Professor at a Local University), she  believes that Pakistani women are courageous, loyal, hardworking, sincere and leading at every walk of life in society  
excluding  all that she is capable for,  her status is still not recognized at home nor  even at working places.

    Rasool Bux Sarang working as Assistant Manager Media, at Aga Khan University elaborated his point of view as, being a professional career woman, worker or a house wife, a Pakistani woman is an example of a dedicated family member whose joys, sorrows, successes or failures are usually linked to her family, but who understands the larger role she can play in improving society. Majority of Pakistani women are dependent and powerless - still struggling for their individual identities. Modern communication sources are playing a good role in creating the awareness that a woman with a more productive role in society can benefit not only to her family but also the larger society.

     A young graduate Khushboo Rafique, responded to the question picked a rural woman as a model while defining a Pakistani woman; she has the real face of Pakistan. In my opinion, a Pakistani woman is a devoting and hard working woman who dedicates her own life to her family.

    Pakistani society is basically a male-dominating society where status of a woman is not satisfactory. Obsolete customs and traditions, lack of religious knowledge and education are the main causes. Men are given more favor and attention in most of the families against their female counterparts. The real gender discrimination thus starts from homes. Women are considered not more than property in rural areas particularly the condition in urban areas is far better but women in urban areas also suffer a lot of problems in different paths of life.

Kiran Baloch is the record holder of the highest individual score in the international game. She scored 242 in the first cricket Test against the West Indies

     In patriarchal societies like Pakistan, women are habituated to consent to men as the superior human being. However awareness, education and struggle for life may change the picture in general. History is full of enlightening examples of Great women leaders, artists, scientists, and other professional women from all walks of life, which have inspired other women to overcome social obstacles.

    Need of the time is to focus on specific change leading communication campaigns who can actually bring up some differences in the existing mind sets and social patterns. Covering more than half of the country population, they deserve to be nourished and appreciated by the society without any discrimination.  As Maya Angelou (an African American Poetess) said: It is equally important to recognize and celebrate our she-roes just like the he-roes. Let’s celebrate power and beauty of feminity not only on March 8, but onwards.

Broadcast TV reporting in Africa quirkier than in U.S.

By Taylor Pool

Covering a story in Africa is largely the same as broadcast reporting in the United States, except, of course, that it’s in Africa making the experience a bizarre one every time.

During my first day with reporters, we managed to land ourselves in a near-death situation while covering the first of our two assignments on my first day as an intern. I say “our” because in Niamey, a reporter never does the job alone. The term “multi-media journalist” translates into the language of Niger, but normally, the journalists work as a team. In fact, there are generally five of us crammed inside a tiny car covering multiple stories each day: two reporters, the camera man, the chauffeur and me, the intern.

Before I explain my near-death experience, it is important to understand that roads in Niger are not like roads in the U.S. In Niamey, lanes are non-existent and traffic rules are merely suggestions. Getting through intersections is game of survival of the fittest and if you are not careful, you might run into a donkey or camel who uses the road as if it, too, were a car. 

Of course, the team happened to choose one of the busiest round-a-bouts in the city to conduct “man on the street” interviews. Naturally, the chauffeur decided to park the car on the opposite side of the round-a-bout that we were standing on. What did we do to get back? We walked and then ran when traffic didn’t wait for us back to our car, where I was welcomed by the second reporter. He told me, laughing, upon my arrival that he hoped I liked sports. 

Our second story assignment for the day involved finding a Malian citizen living in Niamey. We would try to find out his or her perspective of the conflict in Niger’s neighboring country. After exhausting all of our attempts to find a source, which included visiting the Mali embassy in Niger, paying a home visit to a woman who knew someone who knew a Malian and stopping at several merchant stands on the road, we found ourselves in the office of the chief press secretary for the city. He found out I was American and promptly handed me a sandwich.

My initial shock drastically diminished my ability to understand French in that moment, so I was incredibly unsure of what to do with the sandwich at first. I finally decided that I would rather risk food poisoning than risk being rude to a national authority figure, so I ate the sandwich, while four Nigeriens watched me with wide, anticipating eyes waiting to find out whether I would like the spicy Nigerien specialty. To my luck, it was a good sandwich. Finally, after a few more futile stops to find a Malian, we put the story on hold and made it back to the TV station. 

I learned my first day that it is legal in Niger to shoot video and ask for interviews in public locations, just like it usually is in the U.S. I discovered in the editing room that in Africa, reporters make VOSOTs and packages complete with anchor intros and tags just like it is done in Western countries. I also learned that my first day that Africans have just as much difficulty as Americans at finding sources to interview. What differs, I learned, is that in Niamey, the reporters are still writing story scripts by hand, there is no such thing as “live” newscasts and weather segments do not exist six months out of the year because, well, in the dry season it is always hot, dry and dusty.

Since my first African reporting adventure, I have run across the unpredictable Niamey roads on more than one other occassion in order to snag the all-important “man on the street” interviews. I have sat in on a practice session of an African dance and drumming team as they prepared for their performance during the national wrestling championship and I have consumed more free food given to me before interviews, which I had to accept against my Western better judgment that told me to avoid accepting gifts from sources. Most importantly, though, I’ve had the chance to see that journalism is journalism, no matter where it’s happening, even if the method of getting the job done in Niger is a bit quirkier than what I'm used to.

SUSI 2012 Update

Morgan Sigrist

IIJ Assistant

Aysha Abughazzi, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Jordan

Doctor Abughazzi returned to her position as assistant professor at Jordan University of Science & Technology in Jordan, where she enjoys using the skills she acquired at SUSI with her work. Dr. Abughazzi has enhanced her curriculum by incorporating social media and field trips as a way to “involve students more closely with the material they learn and have them interact with the various outlets of the media.”

Karlyga Myssayeva, Al- Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan 

Professor Myssayeva returned to her position as Deputy Dean for Research-Innovation and International Affairs, Department of Journalism at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan. Professor Myssayeva has enhanced her teaching and research by promoting interaction between herself and her students.

The SUSI program has helped Professor Myssayeva to “realize (her) potential,” through the training, cultural interactions and support of SUSI professors. Not only has the information gained from the other members expanded her cultural experience, but it has also allowed her to share these experiences with her students.

Social media has played a major role in helping to connect with other professionals in her field to share with the students and colleagues. This has helped to increase the critical thinking and interactions with people from around the world.

Alexander Kazakov, Saratov State University, Russia

            Doctor Alexander Kazakov returned to his position as Associate Professor in Political Science Department at Saratov State University. Since leaving SUSI, Dr. Kazakov has brought more interactive material into his teaching and seminars. He has been working on projects such as Dr. Yusuf Kalyango’s Handbook of Global Journalism and New Media Education, and co writing with Bill Benoit.

Bogdana Nosova, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine

Professor Bogdana Nosova returned to her position as Assistant Professor of the Chair of Social Communications in Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Her second position remains as Anchorwoman and Special Correspondent for State Broadcasting Company “Ukrainian Television and Radio World Service."

            The opportunities at Ohio University helped Professor Nosova to strengthen her knowledge of journalism and how media works in the US. The online content offered through the SUSI program has also helped Professor Nosovo to further her research.

 Hugo Zarate Saucedo, University of the Bahamas, Bahamas

            Professor Hugo Saucedo has begun a new project to develop a journalism institute in the Bahamas and Caribbean. Professor Saucedo is also working in conjunction with other SUSI scholars to conduct training in their countries. He is also currently working on community journalism.

Rachael van der Kooye, Freelance Journalist, Suriname

            Professor Rachael van der Kooye has made some changes including doing online lecturing, writing a chapter for Dr. Kalyango’s book, media policy research and giving lectures. Professor Van der Kooye has also shared her SUSI experiences via the radio, television and newspaper since returning to Suriname.

            Professor Van der Kooye has used her experiences at SUSI to analyze her surveys, and materials obtained at Ohio University to enhance her teaching techniques. Professor van der Kooye enjoys sharing her SUSI experiences with everyone she works with.

Taimoor Shah, New York Times reporter Kandahar, Afghanistan

           Taimoor Shah is a reporter for New York Times in southern Afghanistan, where he works on he investigative reporting skills. Shah covers news from the front lines of the war and works as an interpreter for the New York Times. He is currently at the center of Taliban activity.

            Shah has also been able to bring the tools he learned at SUSI back to his colleagues. He has been teaching his colleagues the reporting techniques he learned here at Ohio University, where he has seen much improvement in their work. Shah has also worked to create a journalism faculty at Kandahar University. The books and information he obtained from Ohio University will used as material for the students and faculty.

Murad Abdullah, Sana’a University, Yemen

            Doctor Murad Abdullah has been appointed to position head of the youth activities in the college, which deals with the academic and nonacademic activities of the students.

           Dr. Abdullah has been nominated to represent independent youth in a political debate to discuss the political status of Yemen, but is awaiting word for the final decision of if he is chosen.  If Dr. Abdullah is chosen, he will be one of 550 people to represent different political and civil movements, along with the youth and organizations. This would be a great advancement in Dr. Abdullah’s career.

Life in Niger 'normal' despite West African conflict

By Taylor Pool

“Today is a different normal,” expatriate Jonathan* said in light of the conflict in Mali that has altered the lives of many people living in several West African countries.

According to news reports, Niger has pledged to send troops to help with France’s efforts to fight corruption in neighboring Mali. Plus, many Refugees from Mali have fled to Niger to avoid unrest at home. Soon, Niger may also be home to several United States surveillance drones.

Petit Marché, Niamey, Niger

In the face of those changes, daily life in Niger is safe, perhaps safer than it has ever been. It’s just different.

Security efforts in Niger have increased for the safety of both Nigeriens and those who reside in the country, but have citizenship elsewhere.

It is true that expatriates living in Niamey, Niger are finding they can no longer leave the capital, even if they have been commuting to other cities in the country each week for years. Plus, some French schools have temporarily closed and many French expatriates are returning home.

Military trucks do patrol the streets to keep people safe and some schools are guarded by police officers for the same reason, but life on the ground is still the same as it has always been. You can still buy fruits, vegetables, brochettes, brooms, buckets and African mats on the streets and at the market. Taxis still run, the air is still hot and people still spend plenty of time each day greeting each other. People living in the villages in the countryside may never even see the effects of the conflict, especially if they don’t have access to the Internet.

If you asked me if I feel safe living in Niger, even despite the new reality of life here, the answer would be an absolute yes. I have never felt afraid of the police officers or military personnel because I know they are in the city for my safety. I have never doubted that I would return home or felt like my well-being was in question. Honestly, I have more to fear riding in the crazy Niamey traffic than I do living in a French-speaking country that has made it in the English-speaking news because of an international conflict.

The real reality is that conflict and danger is everywhere. It’s unavoidable, even in the small town of Athens, Ohio, home to Ohio University. While security measures increased in Niamey, Athens residents and students were in a panic 5,000 miles away because an armed robbery suspect was spotted in the small college town. In any part of the world, one’s safety is not a guarantee, nor should it ever be taken for granted, but to live life in fear is to not live at all.

*last name not provided to guard source’s anonymity

LEPINA law article harms rather than helps families in El Salvador

In El Salvador, thousands of children are being taken out of orphanages to instead live with their families in often-dismal situations.

By: Lindsay Boyle
Produced and edited by: Leisha Lininger

For 31-year-old Juana Espinoza, life has been a rollercoaster.

About 11 years ago, she, her 2- and 3-year-old sons, her newborn daughter and her husband — an alcoholic — lived with her aunt and uncle, who were also alcoholics.

After one particularly bad, physical fight, Espinoza’s uncle cast her whole family out of the house for good.

With nowhere else to go, Espinoza took to the streets with her children, crying and uncertain of her future. Although her husband reassured her they would be able to start new, it was his reputation that prevented them from doing just that.

Living in a cardboard house under a mango tree, Espinoza used a gas station’s faucet to bathe her children and wash her clothes, and often depended on others’ donations for clothing, food, diapers and more.

Although she had begun gardening and selling vegetables for about $6 a week, it was not enough to provide food for her children. She decided to take her then 3- and 4-year-old sons to a protection center — somewhat similar to an orphanage — where, after a bit of adjustment, they ended up having help getting the things they needed. She visited them every Sunday.

Eight years later, the Salvadoran government asked Espinoza if she wanted her boys back, and asked her not to worry about her ability to provide resources because the only requirement was to have a house. She did not have much of a choice — instead, she had three months to figure out how to use the same salary she had been living on for years to provide for three children instead of just one.

Because of one article in El Salvador’s LEPINA law, there are countless other stories just like Espinoza’s.

The LEPINA law, or the Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents, was signed in March 2009 and consists of 260 articles based on the human rights standards set by the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Although most articles of the LEPINA law are considered helpful and outlaw things such as sex trafficking and child labor, Article 13 states that it is a family’s responsibility to care for its children, which justifies the government to remove children from protection centers.

While on the surface the article may not sound bad, the issue is that the law is designed for developed countries, where families receiving children from places such as protection centers can turn to social programs such as welfare or food stamps for help. No such programs exist in El Salvador.

In El Salvador, the term “protection center” is more common than “orphanage” because only about 10 percent of children in centers are actually orphans. The rest ended up in centers because they were placed there by the government because of familial violence and or neglect, or because their families took them there voluntarily after being unable or unwilling to take care of them.

Often, those children have family members who are gang members, abusive, drug addicts, mentally handicapped or living in extreme poverty.

According to Kara Wilson, a San Antonio native who founded Project RED, although the term “orphanage” can carry a negative connotation in the United States, that is not usually the case in El Salvador.

“Orphanages here are wonderful places compared to (children’s actual homes), because they have three meals a day, they have beds to sleep in and they have an education — a private education, usually,” she said.

Gloria Daysi Abrego, a psychologist and social worker who has been with Project RED since it started as a pilot program in July 2011, called the LEPINA law contradictory.

She said that, although the law states that children have the right to live in a healthy home, they are often ending up in situations with little or no access to nutrition, health care, education and more — things she considers basic rights.

“For the majority of the children who are being reintegrated, all of these rights are being violated,” Abrego said.

El Salvador has experienced drastic changes since Article 13 of the LEPINA law began to be implemented in January 2011. In 2009, there were more than 3,000 children in protection centers. Now, there are about 700.

In El Salvador, there are about 60 private centers, which are usually funded by Christian, catholic or other organizations often outside El Salvador, and nine public centers, funded primarily by the government.

Children are being taken from both private and public centers and given back to their families, often with only three months’ notice.

There has been almost no national or international media coverage about the issue, which a source familiar with the LEPINA law said is mostly because Salvadoran media place little or no importance on children and their rights.

“Almost no one here in El Salvador has any idea that this is going on,” Wilson said. “Every time I tell people about what (Project RED) is doing and the problem behind it, people are shocked because they have never heard of the law.”

Project RED works holistically with families that have been reintegrated with their children to help them transition based on their individual situations. The project imparts counseling sessions, parenting school sessions and youth programs; provides beds for children; builds houses and bathrooms; registers children for school and provides them with school supplies and bus fare, and hands out monthly food and hygiene bags.

Project RED volunteers build a new
house while family members look on.
Provided by Kara Wilson

With just Wilson, an administrative worker, a social worker and two psychologists, one of which doubles as a social worker, the project is working with about 43 families, and wants to be working with 50 by the end of the year.

“Currently, the population that we work with doesn’t even represent 10 percent of the children in El Salvador that are being reintegrated into their families,” Abrego said. “But, we can see individually what the impact is through our work with each and every one of these families.”

Abrego emphasized that Project RED does not merely hand things out to families.

“Not only do we provide things for the families, we educate the families in order to take advantage of all the potential they have and empower them,” she said.

It was nine months before Juana Espinoza heard the Project RED field team knock on her door — nine months of living on her mother-in-law’s property in a shack with no walls and an open bathroom area, struggling to feed three adolescent children — now 11, 13 and 14 — with $3- $4 a day and no support from her mother-in-law.

“When I got the news that I was going to receive my children again, I was really worried,” Espinoza said. “I told them that I didn’t have any resources, I didn’t have a way to support them both.”

Since Project RED started working with Espinoza, it has been able to provide a new, enclosed, wooden house for the Espinoza family, which includes a stove, a latrine, a place for beds and a place to wash clothes. Espinoza endearingly calls the house the “little cabin.”

Without Project RED, Espinoza said things would be “a lot more complicated.”

“Through all of my difficulties, all of the things I’ve been through, I haven’t had really anybody to support me,” she said. “I see Project RED as a support.”

Like Espinoza, 34-year-old Ana Silvia Cardoza also voluntarily took two of her children to a private protection center when she realized she could not take care of them. With a total of five children, parents who were sick, and no support from any of the children’s fathers, things had become dire.

At the center, Cardoza said her two children received everything they needed. However, in October 2011, she was notified that she would be getting her children back, and that she would then have to attend six sessions of parenting school led by government social workers and psychologists in San Salvador to learn about her responsibilities as a mother.

Abrego explained that, often, the six parenting sessions do not do enough to equip parents to properly care for their children. She added that each session covers the exact same material, and that the parents almost always attend the sessions after they already have their children back.

According to Abrego, in many cases, parents explicitly say they are not ready to receive their children, yet the government still gives them back.

“The government is claiming that these families who have objections to receiving their children are just trying to avoid having any responsibility for their children, so they don’t take that into account,” she said.

Although Cardoza said the government was nice during the court hearing and did visit her house to complete a checklist before giving her children to her, she said they never offered any further suggestions or advice, even though the LEPINA law says the government will provide follow-up visits.

“I was really happy to be with my children again because I love my children, but I didn’t have any support,” she said. “The same problems that were there before were still there.”

She said her biggest issue was trying to provide food for five children with the $20 she received each week from her eldest son, who works in a brick-making factory.

Cardoza was only alone with her children for a week or two before Project RED started working with her. First, the project gave the family bags of food, but since then, they have given more.

”(Project RED) has given us many things,” Cardoza said. “Our whole life, our whole bathing aspect is totally different. We have a sink, running water, a shower.”

Project RED also gives weekly psychological counseling sessions to Cardoza and her 11-year-old son, who has had some behavioral problems as a result of the transition from the center to his home.

“Without this help, I’d be so much more worried,” Cardoza said. “Through this help, my life has gotten so much better.”

Project RED volunteers pose with the Cardoza family.
Photo provided by Kara Wilson.

Not all of the families Project RED has worked with have shared the same kind of success.

In one case Project RED worked with, government workers returned four of six children to a house they were taken away from because of negligence, extreme poverty, some sexual abuse and mentally handicapped parents.

“Extreme poverty doesn’t even come close to describing what kind of conditions they’re living in,” Wilson said.

She described the home as a one-room, mud house in the jungle, with three string beds piled up with trash, and feces and molding food scattered throughout the house.

Although Project RED has reported the case to government authorities in the past, Wilson said the children continue to “live like savages.” She explained that authorities said they cannot take the children back to a protection center without actual proof that they are being sexually abused, regardless of the other conditions the children are living in.

Countless other families have not been reached by Project RED at all.

Wilson, who has been visiting El Salvador occasionally since she was 14, started a pilot program in July 2011 in order to assess what families’ needs were and what could be done to meet them. It worked directly with ISNA, the branch of government that oversaw child protection at the time.

Wilson said that when she discovered what the law was doing and decided to try to help the families affected by reintegration, she was kicked out of ISNA by the branch’s sub director, who told her not to try to do what the government is already doing well. She was forced to stop working with ISNA.

“I was really discouraged at the time, but that discouragement turned into motivation,” she said. “I realized it meant that really, no one wants anybody to expose what’s actually happening.”

The source familiar with the LEPINA law explained that the law is not yet complete. It is written in the law that the government is supposed to partner with NGOs and other organizations that would act as flag raisers when aspects of the law are not being implemented properly. However, that is not yet happening.

Project RED is part of a tax-exempt Salvadoran nonprofit organization that became legal early in 2012. Right now, Wilson raises all of its funds by taking fundraising trips and working with individual donors, and through donations made via Project RED’s website, www.projectredelsalvador.org.

For Abrego, the hardest part of working with Project RED is recognizing the true implications of Article 13 of the LEPINA law.

She added that even more families are struggling to make ends meet without the help of Project RED.

“The number of families we’re working with is a small sample of the reality that’s happening on a larger scale in this country,” she said.

Lebanon’s pile of corruption and years of neglect

By: Kaylyn Hlavaty 
Produced and edited by: Leisha Lininger

Lebanon is known for attracting tourists from all over the world to see ancient cities like Tyre and natural wonders like the famous Jeita Grotto caves. Sea travelers can see mountains that stand tall and parallel the coastline with waves brashly hitting the permanent structures.

These mountains do not have snow peaks, cedar trees or rocks. Nor do they have the slightest beauty a natural wonder should exhibit. Rather they represent generations of consumption. Plastic bottles and bags, textiles, organic waste and chemicals pile up into a man-made mountain of trash totaling 40 feet of waste.

In Lebanon, there are 670 mountains of garbage scattered across the country. Both within city limits and on the coastal regions, landfills act like permanent structures failing to blend in with the city landscape. These landfills have acted as the solution to disposing of waste in Lebanon and over the years they became permanent sights among Lebanon residents.

In contrast, 40 municipal landfills are scattered throughout the state of Ohio’s 40,860.69 square miles of land according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. These landfills are monitored and operated to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. Lebanon’s total area is 4,014 square miles which is roughly two-thirds the size of the state of Connecticut. An Ohio resident can only imagine living in a country this small surrounded by 670 garbage dumps.

Fifi Kallab, president of Byblos Ecologia for Development and Environment has been campaigning and researching for alternatives and improvements to Lebanon’s waste management system since the 1980s.

“There is no long-term strategy for the disposal of solid waste or liquid waste,” said Kallab.

Waste disposal did not become a problem until the government had the first emergency plan put in place in 1997. The government signed a contract with the waste management company, the Averda group - Sukleen and Sukomi. This company controls the collecting of waste in the areas of Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

Two incinerators were placed in the Aamorousieh and Quarantina facility as an alternative form to landfills. The increasing popular objection against incinerators led to the residents burning down the incinerator at the Aamorousieh plant.

“We had to deal with our waste, especially in Beirut, because it’s not like the remote areas where residents burn their organic waste so we had to find a place to put it,” said Kallab.

As trash continues to be dumped in landfills along the coast, Lebanon does not have any legislation to regulate how waste is collected and disposed.

A landfill on fire off the coast of Sidon.
 Photo provided by Mohamed El Sarj

“There is no accountability within the Lebanese government when it comes to managing waste,” said Ziad Abichaker, founder of the organization Cedar Environmental.

Cedar Environmental is making an impact on environmental initiatives. Since 1999, Cedar Environmental has built 11 recycling and composting facilities across Lebanon. Achieving efficiency and sustainability is a main feature of the organization because it sorts, composts and recycles all under one roof. Instead of dumping waste that could be recycled and reused, Cedar Environmental founder Ziad Abichaker researched and developed Eco-Board. It is a durable material made entirely out of breaking down everything from plastic grocery bags to flip flops that many consumers all over the world use on a daily basis. These boards are being developed into products such as benches and bins.

“We are the only organization that builds recycling plants and operates them without sending any residues to the landfill. Everything gets recycled or reused, even clothes and shoes,” said Abichaker.

The two contractors, Sukleen, who is responsible for collecting and sweeping the streets and Sukomi who is responsible for land filling the waste have very little incentive to change the way they collect garbage in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. One concept does make Sukomi and Sukleen act like a monopoly, however. Back in 1995, Averda signed a contract for Sukleen to collect and sweep the streets. Then three years later, two more contracts were signed with Averda for composting and land filling by Sukomi.

In 2012, President Michel Sleiman along with his cabinet didn’t want to renew the contract unless new initiatives to combat the waste management were included in the contract. However, the previous prime minister, Saad Hariri, felt that it was too late to think of other alternatives so the contract was renewed, Kallab said.

“There is no solution without political decisions because we don’t need ideas,” Kallab said.“We need a transparent solution, a transparent politician and accountability for them because in Lebanon there is no accountability. They do what they want and nobody can ask them what they are doing.”

Abichaker says both contractors ran out of space for landfills. He said that both Sukleen and Sukomi managed the solid waste of Beirut and Mt. Lebanon which equals 2,500 tons of waste processed per day, but 1,800 tons of that waste is dumped right in landfills and only 400 tons is actually recycled from the contractor’s recycle containers throughout the city.

The collection of garbage in the city of Beirut and the suburb of Mount Lebanon is a daily routine. Tony Jada, a resident in Mount Lebanon who works as an engineer, says that the collection of garbage is politically based and often not done properly.

“We are not that advanced in technologies. We have some factories that help distribute the waste and some of this is used for agricultural reasons and it sometimes gets back into the ground water which causes more problems for us,” Jada said.

Sukleen and Sukomi usually collect garbage every day, which is different than the U.S. waste management companies once a week routine.

Jada adds, “the collection of garbage is chaos because of the crowded streets and the amount of garbage produced by each household.”

The amount of waste just dumped rather than recycled is costing the government more than just money. The waste produced and the way in which it is disposed is detrimentally affecting the fishing industry and marina life along Lebanon’s coastline.

The coastal region of Sidon is located 25 miles from Beirut. Away from the busy city life of traffic and skyscrapers, this ancient city may sound like it carries a natural awe overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. While it carries natural beauty from the water, this coast carries a burden; it holds a mountain of human garbage.

All the products wasted from day-to-day consumption land up here next to the Mediterranean Sea. The pollution of garbage is affecting the fishing industry and marine inhabitants along the Mediterranean coast.

Mohamed El Sarji is the President of the Lebanese Union of Professional Divers who sees first-hand the daily effects of the landfills on the fishing industry and tourism in Lebanon. Most landfills are prominent along the coastline.

“Nobody would allow garbage to be in their backyard. Most of the land is private except for the coastal area because they are public. They chose it simply because it’s free land for the people. They throw it there because no one will say anything,” said El Sarji.

In the winter the waves pound the bases of garbage piles and thousands of tons of garbage fall into the sea. The fishermen get garbage caught in their nets and as a result they have to keep buying new nets. Another percentage sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor. Then the garbage floats with the current and reaches the coasts of Syria, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.

“For us this is a national crisis. It’s a health problem for all Lebanese,” said El Sarji.

He explains how garbage is one of Lebanon’s biggest and most politically associated problems.

“We have a very corrupt government, very corrupt politicians and they will not solve any problem because they steal the money and bankrupt the country and take so many taxes from the people. It’s a very corrupt country, probably one of the most corrupt.”

There are four major landfills destroying the quality of the water and view of Lebanon’s coast. The landfills are located in Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon and Sour. The fishing industry, once a booming sector during the 1960s and 1970s, but since the civil war has steadily decreased as a major economic sector.

Garbage caught in fishermen's nets.
Photo provided by Mohamed El Sarji

The profits of fishermen are decreasing because of some species living in the region. The caves many fish find shelter is blocked by garbage, making these places inhabitable for the local fish. Once this happens, Lebanon’s most expensive species, the Calico bass and the grouper, will leave the coast of Lebanon causing the fishermen to follow.

El Sarji explains that the coastal areas are losing in two ways. The first victim he describes is not the environment itself but the fisherman because since the sea is full of garbage, waste products are getting caught in the brand new nets. Every time this happens they are losing money. The average fisherman only makes 300-500 dollars a month.

El Sarji said the other victim is tourism in Lebanon. Tourism along with banking is one of the main sectors vital to the economy.

“Nobody wants to come to a country where garbage is covering the whole area of the beach. There are some places where you can see the sand, but there could be a little garbage and this isn’t acceptable. Tourists will not go on beaches that are polluted,” said El Sarji.

The current industries in Lebanon are polluting the environment because they are out of date and have little government regulation. Lebanon is a country of consumption so it is important that the sectors of tourism and fishing stay alive and apparent in the presence of waste dumps.

“We need to make our income from tourist and tourism,” said El Sarji. “The system we have now we are lost between the two. Ministries are trying to encourage industry to grow and we want to preserve the environment. But it’s unacceptable to let industries grow because of the environment.”

Despite the lack of initiatives from the Lebanese government, civic duty has taken over with a number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) and projects trying to defeat this problem that has lasted decades. One NGO working towards a zero waste initiative with participation of local businesses is F.E.R.N, food establishments recycling nutrients.

Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli was inspired to start a project where waste was sorted and collected at the source while studying resource management at New York University. She worked with restaurants to help compost and recycle their waste into bins, which would then be taken off to an appropriate facility for recycling.

“It is an uphill battle. We just have meetings with people trying to get the word out and trying to explain what we do,” said Danberg-Ficarelli.

The project is still in its startup phase and with everything finalized in March, Danberg-Ficarelli said there are currently three restaurants working with them. She explains how one of the hardest parts is getting employees to agree with the new process because many already have their own routine figured out.

Danberg said it has been difficult to convince residents to change their household practices. When she proposes her plan to restaurants, the biggest barrier is convincing the employees that it isn’t a waste of time and explaining the reasoning behind her ideas.

“It is something people don’t know how to do because there is no opportunity to do it,” Danberg-Ficarelli said. “If you see the owners or managers enthusiastic about it than their employees will be willing to follow.”

While there is participation in the movement to reduce waste and find alternative disposal, methods, a country that has a corrupt political system makes the move toward progress long and difficult. Until the government steps up their role and takes responsibility for their country, then Lebanon risks sinking in the piles of garbage they built unless something is done soon.

“You would go nuts because you would be upset,” said El Sarji. “You have no understanding of why any human would do this to themselves and their country. We don’t understand. It’s lack of responsibility from our politicians and failure to manage a country properly.”