They had stormed the bridge, broken though the Venezuelan barricades. No one thought they would, but the desperation to reach Colombia proved to be too much. Hours after heavy rain pelted the streets of Cúcuta, the Táchira River rose making the illegal crossings impassable. They could not wait. They had to cross. Lives depended on […]
Hospitals, and the dead presidents they hide
Before I even get my first glimpse at the sprawling, coltish city of Lilongwe, I’m knee-deep in the roiling complexities of Malawian politics. Golden Matonga and Josephine Chinele, my driver and fixer respectively, both journalists, are rehashing the difficulties of reporting one of the troubled country’s most publicised scandals while I acclimatise to the vivid […]
Nomad Nurses: the migration Kerala’s nurses to Ireland
I first met Jijo Sebastian more than two years ago in a coffee shop in central Dublin. A friend had recommended I speak about the decade he had spent living in Ireland for the weekly series I write for the Irish Times about new arrivals to our shores. About halfway into our conversation, Jijo, who […]
Leticia Agudo in Mexico – blog two
Land of Amber blog (days 5-12) Day five: the trip to Simojovel The different cameras, mics, lights. laptops, hardrives… they all make it into the car and we head off in the late morning for the three-hour trip. Alicia tells us that she doesn’t plan anything else the days she travels to Simojovel. I think […]
Fiona McGarry in Haiti – Report 3
Suspicion and stigma surround disability issue in Haiti. Daily life in Haiti is a struggle in a way that few westerners can imagine. Simple everyday tasks, like going to school or shopping for food, have become enormously challenges in a country where most basic infrastructure was wiped away and, more than two years after the […]
Jane Doran in Ethiopia – Post 1
Jane Doran is in Ethiopia to produce a news feature for the Irish Independent on the impact programmes to improve agricultural production, boost livelihoods and eliminate hunger have had on women living in remote areas in the country. 9th December 2010 Impressions of Addis Ababa After 24 hours of relatively painless travel, we (Laurens Meulman, […]
