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NEPAL ARCHIVE: May 14-29, 2006

Answers From the Hot Zone: Mission Update

Yubaraj and how to help, bad news vs. good news, why not America, and why we welcome your opinions but are deleting diatribes.

By Kevin Sites, Fri May 19, 4:03 PM ET

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How to help
Part of the Hot Zone mission has been to spur discussion among our readers about solutions to the problems created by global conflicts.

So we're always gratified when our stories, like the one about Yubaraj Khakada, the teenage parking attendant in Nepal who had to drop out of school to support his family, stimulate messages of support and even questions about how to provide financial assistance.

Yubaraj Khakada

As in the case of Gulsoma, the Afghan child bride, it's difficult to set up and administer an account to help a specific child.

Although our instinct, naturally, is to want to connect an individual face to the need, the reality is there are millions of children like Yubaraj and Gulsoma who need our support and assistance in a sustained way. This is usually best done through international aid organizations with a history and track record of providing relief and development assistance to people in the war-torn countries we cover.

We are journalists, not financial administrators, and trying to set up assistance funds for every needy individual we report on is outside our mandate, but also completely outside our realm of expertise.

That's why, in the right hand column of the site, under the heading HOW TO HELP, we always provide links to reliable and trustworthy nonprofit organizations. These groups know how to provide the most direct and sustainable aid in the countries we report from.

An aid worker in Sudan

Covering bad news vs. good news
A number of you have written to us recently questioning why our stories tend to focus on the "bad" things in a country rather than the good things. Many of those comments were generated while we were reporting from Colombia, a beautiful country rich in resources and culture.

We'd like to remind our readers that the focus of this online journalism project is to report on global conflict — to show the causes, effects and victimization that occurs during war. By reporting on the people and environments affected by these conflicts, we bring their plight to the surface and aim to create a dialogue in which attention, resources and potential solutions can emerge.

While nearly all the nations we report on have cultural, natural and other treasures which should be noted, that is not our specific role. We are not a travelogue site. There are others who provide that service.

We do, however, try to report on cultural and environmental issues as they relate to the specific conflict in a nation. For instance, our recent report on Colombian composer and artist Cesar Lopez focused on his project of turning guns into guitars.

Making guns into guitars

Why not America?
Many readers have asked: With all the problems and needs in America, why aren't you reporting from there?

Three reasons:

1. Our mission for this year is to put a human face on global conflict, and to report the stories from the places you aren't hearing about. The majority of you are telling us you are pleased with our focus and our efforts.

2. America has the largest and best-equipped news industry in the world, focused primarily on domestic coverage. If you're not seeing proper coverage of America's problems, demand it from them.

3. We're going to cover America. Stay tuned for Hot Zone America later this year, at the conclusion of our year covering global conflict.

Welcoming your opinions, deleting diatribes
As journalists we are proponents of free speech. We do not wish in any way to hamper your beliefs or opinions or to keep you from expressing them.

However, we're not obligated to provide a free forum for those of you who wish to make racist and sexist comments or personally insult our team or project.

We welcome and encourage informed opinion, inquiries, corrections and certainly criticism — as long as it helps to improve and advance the discussions we hope to promote.

We value our reader response sections as a way to add information, and to adjust and amplify the voice of our work. We see it as an essential interactive tool that allows us to be more than just a conduit for information, but a vibrant, provocative, even tumultuous debate forum for discussing the issues that result from our coverage.

We want to build an online community in which people contribute in a constructive and purposeful way, potentially leading to action and solutions for the problems we highlight.

Next: Where to Mao?
Previous: 'Show' of Force: Transcript
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  • Korean Peninsula
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  • Peru
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Comments

Join the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

1
You have already satisfactorily answered the question posed by many readers "why the stories tend to focus on the 'bad' things in a given country rather than the good things". At the risk of overkill, allow me a further comment: Especially in a society like the States where so much information is coming at us all the time, it's oftentimes the "bad" that needs to be highlighted in order to sufficiently stir the emotions, and grab a reader's attention, to wake us up if I may say so. While many of us might prefer to just hear things that tickle our ears, maybe learning about some of these "bad" things is really "good" afterall in that they shatter our perceptions. And give us cause to really reflect on the world today, and more importantly, the people of the world. As for "With all the problems and needs in America, why aren't you reporting from there?" America indeed has poverty and social needs, but when viewed from a RELATIVE plane, the simple fact is that there are many resources and programs available in the States that address poverty and needs. --Resources and programs that simply DON'T exist in developing nations and/or nations in conflict, be it social security, food stamp progarms, medicare etc etc. Ongoing kudos to the Hot Zone team! Keep up the great work! http://grant-montgomery.blogspot.com/
Posted by grantmont on Fri, May 19, 2006 8:27 PM ET
2
I'm sure you've noticed that the negative critical comments you get are from people that can't spell, use bad English, and are not concerned about anything that happens outside their own city limits. I think you are doing a GREAT job.
Posted by petersenw@sbcglobal.net on Fri, May 19, 2006 9:04 PM ET
3
Bravo to a team that makes the world a reality for those (especially in the U.S. -- with its excessive comforts and accompanying indifference) with limited or no exposure to life in developing countries -- whose economic tragedies are unimaginably magnified by the calamities of war. As a former micro-credit practitioner in developing countries, would like to support your recommendation to "reasearch the aid organizations" to which contributions are made, as such groups are frequently among the first to 'skim off the top'. Personal experience has been that those organizations (including international ones) rated by Charity Navigator (a U.S. rating agency) and most missionary organizations registered in the U.S. are usually the safest bet. In admiration and gratitude to the team whose commitment is to truth at considerable personal expense and danger.
Posted by lmurguia7 on Fri, May 19, 2006 10:11 PM ET
4
kevin...as always thank you...all of us share this world-your reporting has enlighten me to people-places-conflicts...that I would never see-know-witness...may all of us have hope...keep up the great work...most of all be safe...
Posted by wemmgee on Sat, May 20, 2006 12:12 AM ET
5
i have to appoligize for those who are citizens of the U.S.A., choosing to utlize this original area of of postins to further their own aspirations. i am neither a writer or humaniarian worker. i only live here. i have been lucky enough to live in a country where ideas can be challenged.( as a whole, without the fear of governmental reprisal) where civil and federal laws exist and are held to. ( as a whole.....) where freedom, in the form of democracy, has the ability to be understood not only as a dictionary explaination, but in action. though all this is true, i appoligize for my countrymen who choose to look at our econimcs, rather than try to accept and understand the trails of those places which have been covered so far. i have not had to hide in fear of my life, only because of my name. my place of worship has never been overcome by toops seeking out parishoners because of faith. i have never endured a civil war. i have not had to exist in poverty which mandates enough caloric intake to sustain live but not allow it to live. even if it meant i could purchase the medication needed for health, there was a way to obtain it. i have not heard of a hospital refusing emergency help to people because of race, religon, or national origon. i have not had to doge bullets from an armed conflict, such as war. there are many things to cover in this country which could sway public oppinion to entice a wider base, but thank-you, how can we understand what is happening in the world, if there are no means of media coverage to help us sustain a working knowlege of the places outside of our own myopic vision. i applogize again,. please keep up on your coverage of these areas. when we have a chance to even change out government, we can. we can by vote. these areas are imprisioned in their wars to exist. the idea of just making a change by voting, for some of them may seem like more than a dream, and more like a fanatasy. we need to know, if only to know how well off we really are.
Posted by i_love_my_vet@verizon.net on Sat, May 20, 2006 7:29 AM ET
6
People please help our own starving, malnurished, people here in America first before we try and save the world...It's not fair to our own people to give to other countries before we give to our own..Lets join together and fix America...Then when there are nomore to save in America then go save the world....and when you do go save the world take the money directly to the person that needs it not through some group or organization becouse your money will never make it to the people who need it ,..It will go to make someone's yacht payment...every dollar you give to a group or organization about less than a penny makes it to the needy , then they can say they have transferred the money they stay legal that way and they get to keep the other 99 cents ...dont belive for one second that there is even one group that accualy gives all the money to them becouse there is not..give it directly yourself.
Posted by cstrike4780 on Sat, May 20, 2006 10:34 AM ET
7
I am very pleased with this project. There is no other reporter or group of reporters that is so dedicated to bringing such a broad view of conflict in these wartorn areas of the world. No one ever bothers to focus on how the people who live in these countries are truly being affected by it all. No one bothers to bring more to the stories than who is to blame and that kind of nonsense. I am very glad that you are out there, Kevin. And my prayers are with you, because you must go through an aweful a lot to bring these stories to us. Thanks again for your hard work. Stay safe
Posted by lcromesbg on Sat, May 20, 2006 12:06 PM ET
8
csrike4780. perhaps you've read this before, but in any case, as many times as I do. it's cause to reflect: If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, and in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ...you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the millions who will not survive this week If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pain of starvation...you are better off than 500 million people in the world. If you can attend a meeting at a church, synagogue, mosque or temple without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than two billion people in the world. If you can read this … you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all. Have a great day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.
Posted by grantmont on Sat, May 20, 2006 12:17 PM ET
9
And as a P.S. -- You may be interested to know that the United States ranks last among the world's 28 top foreign aid donor countries, and its foreign assistance levels have dropped dramatically over the past 15 years, according to the United Nations Human Development Report. When you look at countries' foreign aid relative to the size of their economies, the United States is devoting 0.1 per cent of its gross national product (GNP) to help the world's poorest countries, less than any other industrialized nation. http://grant-montgomery.blogspot.com/
Posted by grantmont on Sat, May 20, 2006 12:25 PM ET
10
It's not to say that Americans are stingy, By no means, Americans when they see a need tend to be very generous. Reserach shows that through schools, religious institutions, companies, foundations and families, individuals gave at least $71 billion to the developing world last year. The point is though that what individuals give, is more than three times what the U.S. government gave.
Posted by grantmont on Sat, May 20, 2006 1:37 PM ET

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One Man. One Year. A World of Conflict.

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  • United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal - this pioneering blog in Nepal rose to popularity by bringing out information about the pro-democracy movement, avoiding censorship when mainstream media in early 2005 were working under government restrictions. Run by a group of journalists associated with various Kathmandu newspapers, the site contains lots of information about the ongoing political transformation in Nepal with photo features and details about April's 'Peoples' Movement' that forced the king to cede absolute power and restore parliament.
  • BBC: Nepal - includes a map, political history, and a timeline of key events.
  • Wikipedia: Nepal - includes sections on the Kingdom's history, politics, and its demographics.
  • Wikipedia: Nepal Civil War - provides a background to the conflict between Nepal's government and Maoist rebels.
  • U.N. Information Platform: Nepal - provides reports on security incidents, humanitarian, and development issues in Nepal.
  • BBC: Nepal Royal Massacre - looks back at the 2001 murder of Nepal's king and queen by the crown prince.
» Web Search: Nepal

HOW TO HELP

  • Red Cross in Nepal - aims to assist those injured, displaced, or otherwise affected by the conflict.
  • Doctors Without Borders: Nepal - aids people displaced by the conflict between the monarch-led government and Maoist guerrilla forces.
  • MAITI Nepal - works to protect Nepali girls and women from trafficking, and rescuing and rehabilitating victims of the flesh trade.
  • Terre des Hommes: Nepal - provides direct assistance to children at risk of prostitution, forced labor, and child marriage.
  • Human Rights Watch: Nepal - bulletins and in-depth reports on the human rights developments in the country.

MORE NEWS

» Yahoo! News Full Coverage: Nepal
» Yahoo! News Home - World - Asia

in memoriam

The Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone team dedicates this site to Marla Ruzicka, a fearless voice of compassion, who was killed in Iraq on April 16, 2005, while trying to lessen the suffering of others. For more information, see Civic Worldwide.