also known as journalists! I particularly enjoyed working on a humanitarian report today on Zanzibari refugees living in Mogadishu of all places! I came across that story some time ago but didn't get a chance to pursue it until today. There's about 85 of them who live in the building where the previous department of water used to be based. They're political refugees who fled their country after being pursued for holding anti government demonstrations just after elections took place in Zanzibar in 2000 where the head of state was re-elected. The irony is that these people had fled their country and Kenya in fear for their lives and have chosen Somalia over them, which is completely unstable and in a state of anarchy but ironically they do not fear for their lives there. Instead they suffer from lack of food and ill-health especially since most of them are children and elders. Most of the men have already integrated into the city and have married Somali women. They have been living there for 8 years now but surprisingly are considered secondary residents by local and international charities and therefore do not receive any assistance since the charities can barely assist the primary residents; the Somalis. I was moved by their plight given the fact that they are affected by the constant fighting in the city but have no source of income whatsoever, no members of the Zanzibari diaspora reaching out for them and no government providing any support. In fact the government is likely to jail them if they decide to return home.
I also enjoyed working on my Diaspora program due to air later on today. It looks at the experiences of Somali students who are currently studying at American universities and those who have graduated. I was especially happy to hear the out of class life skills they felt they attained such as meeting deadlines, building social networks, researching and on a more personal note paying bills on time and doing their own cooking and cleaning! This will inevitably help them progress through their careers and lives.
I've started working on another 5 part series for Africa News Tonight on VOA's English to Africa, this time looking at issues in the horn of Africa. Ethiopia will be on the forefront since elections are coming up next year but I'm trying to not focus too much on the political issues in the region though this is somewhat unavoidable. Instead I'm looking to highlight issues that are of concern to the region but that the three countries also have in common. One area I'm looking to explore is the war on terror saga led by the US. I want to pay attention to how this war is interpreted by the three countries and the actions each of them is taking that they consider to be a fight to eliminate terrorism from the region. Anyone with any bright ideas that can be helpful is encouraged to hit me up.
Life outside of VOA is just as busy, I've started my production training for Fairfax public access to start hosting a radio show there, which will take up all my weekends from now until end of October but it is highly exciting. At the end I'll get to prepare, produce, edit and host a weekly 1hour show where I'll be focusing on affairs and social issues concerning East Africa. Details of this will be blasted all over facebook, twitter etc so look out for it in the near future.
So I guess it's fair to say I'm back to having no life but I'll spare my blog from complaining and hold out for when I'm swamped and in desperate need of a serious virtual rant! Hopefully that won't be anytime soon as I get to escape to Vegas for a long weekend in November with my gal Goly. Looking forward to a good old catch-up and a serious hair let-down !
P.S. if anyone has been to Vegas and can recommend a few places to hit, do drop me a line...
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