Earlier this year Wikileaks caused outrage when they released a video of US aircrew falsely claiming to have encountered a firefight in Baghdad and then laughing when they launched an airstrike which killed a dozen civilians….

Soon they are said to be releasing a similar video of troops in Afghanistan.

The war in Afghanistan has always been a subject of controversy, some say the American’s need to be there while others think they should back off and leave Afghanistan to it.

And you’ll be hard pressed to find an Afghani citizen who doesn’t agree with the latter…we’ve all seen the images of Afghani’s shoutng death to America and burning the flag but what’s the substance behind the hatred?

Put simply many  Afghani’s feel the American’s are doing more harm than good and the amount of civilian casualties in the region speaks volumes

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) 596 civilians were killed by US air strikes in Afghanistan during 2009, although other organizations call this an understatement.

2010 is not off to a good start with almost forty Afghans killed by NATO led troops in a two-week period during April.

On one occasion they opened fire on a car claiming two of the occupants were insurgents and in another they called an air strike on what they thought was a convoy of insurgents preparing to attack a unit of Afghan and International soldiers in the southern Uruzgan Province.

Instead it was innocent women and children found dead.

Of course compensation is offered for lost family members and damaged homes but this goes down like a lead balloon as one one businessman from Kabul puts it:

Afghans must seem like animals to the Americans if they can put prices on them” Ismail- businessman from Kabul

What do you think? Are these casualties just an unpreventable outcome of war or the result of wayward troops with little regard for human life…

Amanda

7up Documentary series

Amanda

Situated approximately 450 km south off the coast of Yemen lies pristine Socotra Island dubbed ‘the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’

Socotra is the ancient source of ambergis, dragon’s blood, frankincense and myrrh as well as being home to 700 rare species of flora and fauna. Over a third of these are found nowhere else on earth.

Inhabited by 40,000 people many of the locals live in caves without running water or electricity. They speak an ancient unwritten language and are self sufficient in all primary needs

Largely isolated by the rest of civilization the unique Socotri culture, language and environment has hardly changed since the middle ages.

But now it’s all under threat.

Technology and tourism are invading and locals are caught between a rock and a hard place, they want to dig themselves out of poverty – but at what cost?

Schools on the island now only teach in Arabic, not Socotri, an airport is now allowing westerners to visit the Island, developers, tour operators, investors, and traders are all showing great  interest in the Island

How much longer will the unique landscape survive?

Amanda

The Kuchi’s have never had a voice in Afghanistan – we’ve been locked out of society”- Ashraf Ahmadzi

Drought, modernization, land wars- the Kuchi nomads of Afghanistan are living at the peril of a harsh environmental and political landscape.

Until the early 80’s the Kuchi population was estimated at 2.5 million- now it’s almost halved.

Kuchis are Afghan Pashtun nomads who live in tents and keep mostly sheep and goats. The produce of these animals is sold or exchanged for grains, vegetables and fruit.

They have always been the peaceful face of Afghanistan with their camel and donkey caravans moving through the mountains, women dressed in crimson colours, wearing silver and lapis lazuli jewellery- their haunting songs of the lute…

But life isn’t all rosy.

Largely rejected by the rest of the Afghan population, who see them as opportunist herders and traders, the Kuchi are also supporters of the Taliban which makes them unpopular.

Until 2001 the Taliban provided them with protection – they looted and torched Hazara, Uzbek and Tajik communities and opened the land for the Kuchis, since the fall of the Taliban the Kuchis have been barred from Afghanistan’s northern and central regions.

Warlords guard the mountain passes that are the only routes to pastures the kuchis claim were left to them in the late 1800’s by King Abdul Rahman.

Once happy, free-spirited nomads they  have now been reduced to destitute farmers, casual labourers and beggars…

The road to nowhere

Amanda

‘There is extreme risk to your security in Afghanistan and we advise against all travel. The hostile security situation and frequent kidnapping of foreigners presents a significant risk to New Zealander’s in Afghanistan’

Sounds like an ideal getaway.

But this is exactly what people of the Bamiyan province are hoping the rest of the world will realize.

With the help of donations from Japan, New Zealand and the Geneva based Aga Khan Development Network, a 1.2 million dollar eco tourism project is on the cards

Training in tour guiding and customer service is underway, entrepreneurship is on the rise, landmines are slowly being cleared and tourist hiking trails devised…

Can a country with a less than impressive reputation turn itself around and get the tourists back onside?

Bamiyan tourism

The struggle

Amanda

]]> http://bravestarfilms.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/tourist-haven/feed/ 0 bravestarfilms http://bravestarfilms.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/no-place-like-home/ http://bravestarfilms.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/no-place-like-home/#comments Sun, 25 Apr 2010 23:03:17 +0000 bravestarfilms http://bravestarfilms.wordpress.com/?p=67 Read more]]> In the town of Raydah, Yemen there’s a community bearing the brunt of politics, war and hatred…

The ancient Yemenite Jewish community has dwindled in population from 60,000 to just 300 in recent years.

Targets of Islamic extremists – the ‘Al Houthi Rebels’ the Yemenite Jews are facing increased hostility by the day.

Although many have fled the country back to Israel there’s a determined few who are staying put, but this decision has come at a cost.

The synagogue and Jewish schools are closed, many are forced to covert to Islam  and men hide their curls under  skullcaps or wear turbans to disguise themselves.

The head tells them to leave but the heart wants to stay – How much longer will they survive?

The plight of the Yemenite Jews

Amanda

This year, however it’s well and truly earned itself a place on the map, but for all the wrong reasons…

A failed attempt to bring down Northwest Airlines flight 253 on Christmas Day propelled Yemen into the spotlight with a branch of Al Qaeda claiming responsibility from deep inside the country.

And terrorism isn’t their only concern.

A soaring population, the production of mild narcotic ‘Qat’ and the continuous drilling of illegal water wells have all contributed to a dire water crisis, which some believe will make Sana’a the world’s first waterless capital by 2015

Read the tragic story here:

A climate of terror – Yemen

Amanda

To build 200 cafe’s across Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa- all by 2010…

The whole notion is that the cafe’s and other projects will empower local people to dig themselves out of poverty.

If successful  they will change the lives of thousands of Africans by providing them the with opportunity and support and investing in the belief that Africans CAN save themselves.

Follow their progress here:

The Fair Facts Fund

Over the past 15 years an estimated 2,500 Indian women have been killed after being branded as witches.

In 2003 a mob of villagers burnt witches alive, others have been hung or beaten to death. Last year five women were paraded naked, beaten and forced to eat human excrement. The shocking act was caught on tape:

Read more about the witch hunt here:

Witch hunt in India

A restaurant run by male, female and transgender prostitutes has been set up in Mysore (India).

The restaurant, which had humble beginnings as a community kitchen in 2008 is supported by the World Bank Development Marketplace Fund and backed by Ashodaya Samithi, an NGO which works for the safety of sex workers.

Despite abuse and threats when the venture first started it’s now overcome the negative stigma- so much so, that Mumbai could be seeing a similar project in the near future…

Ashodaya Restaurant

Amanda