I’m often asked if I worry about getting shot when working in some of the places I go to. Not really. I mean, it is something I am always aware of and something I try to be prepared for, but the possibility of getting shot is not nearly the nightmare that people assume it is.… Continue
Adventures in War Zones and Disaster Areas for Journalists and Relief Workers
Driving in Four World Cities–Eyes Clenched Shut
I cannot remember the last time in Calgary that I used my car horn. I am not even sure that it works. I do know that if I did use the horn here it would be taken as a deadly insult worthy of gestures and incoherent rage. This is in horn-less Calgary. Elsewhere, things… Continue
Water is Life — and Quick Profit
Travelers, even the type that heads for a cosseted resort in a first world country, know to be careful about the local water. But what do you do when you are in a country where there is no safe water? Buy bottled water you’d say. Most of the time that would be a good idea,… Continue
Foreign Journalists as Liars and Fools
I’ve been watching the television coverage of the latest war this week. (It doesn’t matter which, they are all the same.) No matter which network I watch, with the exception of Al Jazeera or the BBC, the major world networks seem to be driving their correspondents to ever lower forms of journalism in the… Continue
Amid the Ruins — A Poor Kind of Journalism
An odd thing is happening to journalism amid the chaos of humanitarian disasters these days. It’s becoming as managed, influenced, nuanced and manipulated as the worst of government spin controlled journalism. Over the past years I’ve experienced at first hand a most remarkable change in how the media works in humanitarian disasters such as Albania,… Continue
How to Buy a Carpet in Afghanistan — it is not easy
I am not a carpet kind of guy. Left to myself I would be quite happy plodding around barefoot on the beaten earth floor of a Neanderthal cave, or scuffing through the dust floor of an Ethiopian tuqual. But others seem to find great pleasures in tightly bound and painted hairs ripped from the backs… Continue
Torturers I Have Met
A few years ago I was splitting a bottle of Dewar’s Scotch with one of the most senior drug control police officers in the Afghan government, (drinking is an activity more common than you would think in that Islamic nation) when the conversation turned to torture. There had just been a sensational case involving the… Continue
Travel Photography Tips
I’ve been asked more than once lately for a list of tips and techniques for taking good photographs while traveling. I’ve resisted adding my thoughts because there is a tremendous amount of excellent material already available on the web. Just do a search for “travel photography tips” and there you go. But, if by adding… Continue
Afghan Soldiers Can’t See to Read
This week in Afghanistan (Fed 23, 2011) the NATO General in charge of training the new Afghan Army, Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, said he would like to see all Afghan National Army soldiers reading at the First Grade Elementary School level by October of 2011. Think about that statement for a moment and be very… Continue
Life in Afghanistan Before the Taliban
I don’t know who took the first two pictures here but the story is that they were taken in 1968 by a British diplomat. If anyone knows who I can contact to see whether I can display these with permission I would appreciate the contact info. And should the owner of these pictures want them… Continue