LankaLife

In Our Own Backyard

I expect that many Canadians think of poverty as being "somewhere out there". Most of us drive in our cars to and from work, stop for a coffee, buy our groceries, and drive our kids to this or that without seeing the realities of poverty in our own country.

According to a new UN report, Canadian poverty is real and right under our noses. While we reap the benefits of low unemployment and the average Canadian enjoys a high standard of living, 11.2% of us live in poverty (2004), with marked differences between provinces and territories. Poverty rates are very high among the "marginalized and disadvantaged", including Aboriginals, immigrants, the disabled, youths, low-income women, African-Canadians, and single mothers. Poverty rates for single mothers and children increased between 1998 and 2003.

Insufficient minimum wages and social assistance fail to support an adequate standard of living, the report says, and there are real disparties between Aboriginals and the rest of Canadians.

The report is not a plain language document, so check out the Toronto Star story or read more on PovNet.

Making Every Day Count

I received a reminder today. Turning on the television, I heard the news that Dana Reeve had died from lung cancer, seven months after being diagnosed and so soon after losing her husband, actor Christopher Reeve. The shows are running poignant tributes and the recurring comment from friends is that she was a woman of incredible courage and strength. Even people that didn't know her could see that. They say that after Christopher Reeve's accident, both of them saw their lives as a true gift, like being reborn. Life changes when illnesses like cancer are diagnosed. They knew that life is fragile and worked to make every day count for something, fighting hard to make changes in areas they were passionate about.

Both of them were, and are, an inspiration to others. They remind me why my husband and I decided to volunteer. We've had many talks about life being too short - neither of us knows how long we have to love, live, work, and contribute. Many people ask us why we are here in Sri Lanka volunteering. The simple answer, I suppose, is that we're just living each day to the fullest, experiencing new things, meeting incredible people, and contributing our time and skills to make a tiny dent of a difference.

The other thing I was reminded about is the strength you draw from friends and family. Having been through an illness lately, I can understand better how the support of your spouse, family and friends can bend your spirit for the better.

Okay, that's enough sap for today.

Media Moves

Reporters with Borders has condemned an arson attack last week on the printing press of the media group that publishes the Sunday Leader and Irudina. It says both publications are known for being critical of the government. Read more here. Meanwhile, police investigators say that early investigations indicate the attack is an internally-orchestrated move by the paper to draw negative attention to the government. Read more on that here.

Risking It All for Freedom of Speech

Photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was in Iran covering demonstrations when she was arrested. Days later she was dead, allegedly beaten to death at the hands of her captors. Others, likely not as well known in Canada as Kazemi, have been shot dead, bombed, hacked to death, decapitated, and tortured while capturing the images and words of war, politics, corruption and day-to-day life worldwide.

Last year, more than 70 journalists were killed doing their job. More than 70 were in prisons.

Today is World Press Freedom Day. The theme: Impunity - Getting Away with Murder because of the lack of justice in so many journalists' killings. Read more on the World Association of Newspapers special site.

Iranian Doctor Reveals First-Hand Account of Kazemi's Injuries

In a press conference today, a former Iranian doctor said that photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi was tortured and brutally raped while in police custody. Dr. Shahram Azam treated Kazemi as she was dying and believes that the injuries he observed could only have been caused by intentional torture. Iranian officials have said she died after fainting and striking her head. They have also said she was murdered by security officers.

Canada has granted Azam and his family quick refugee status after they fled Iran for Sweden in November.

Stephan Hachemi, Kazemi's son, has been fighting for justice in his mother's death for years. He says much of the work done in the case, including the videotaping of the doctor's statement in Sweden and the urging of his refugree status, has been done at the work and expense of his family. He continues to urge the Canadian government to do more, including placing sanctions on Iran and fighting for the return of Kazemis' body (she is currently buried in Iran).

In a television interview with the CBC today (follow CBC's history on the story here), he also urged Canadians to get involved in his mother's case and learn more about the Zahra Kazemi Foundation he has established. But at this time of this posting, information on the foundation was not posted on the website.

Former CBS Correspondent Says World Not Reflected in US News

After reading Antonia Zerbisias' column in the Star this weekend, I'm ready to read Tom Fenton's new book, Bad News: The Decline of Reporting, The Business of News and the Danger to Us All. Fenton, a former CBS foreign correspondent, lists topics covered in the news in 2001 -- typically trivial fare when compared to the world-changing events happening around the globe. He tells Zerbisias that TV has:

dumbed down people to the point where they don't know (the world) is even out there.

Unfortunately, September 11 didn't change the way American networks cover the news. Fenton elaborates on why it should have, but it didn't. Zerbisias points just to last week as one pathetic example:

Italy announced the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq. There was international uproar over U.S. Presidential George W. Bush's naming the hawkish deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz to lead the World Bank. Iraq's new National Assembly opened while under mortar fire. But TV news delivered the trials and tribulations of Scott Peterson, Martha Stewart, Michael Jackson and Robert Blake.

The networks continue to prioritize celebrity scandal over foreign affairs. But with the rise in blogs and other information sources over the last few years, people now have access to new ways of receiving news. It would be interesting to hear what Fenton has to say on whether civic journalism will have any impact on news coverage in the coming years.