INSIGHTS

I have been running around like a headless chicken and suffering from a huge dose of insomnia. Due to this I have been very much online with Twitter and the likes there of. No wonder on Wednesday night I got a little tweet to tell me about the events unfolding in Mumbai. I was shocked, horrified and dismayed.

Staying up till the morning [or rather not sleeping at all] I tracked events and at the same time felt helpless without satellite news and a working internet connection. Thank god Twitter can be easily accessed through your phone and as most of you know I can be highly addicted to my phone.

But this is not about twitter, though it was the first to bring the breaking news to people across the globe. Big thumbs up to citizen journalism and yes there is a place in the world for you guys but I have to say it is restricted to breaking news.

This is about the thoughts and horror stories that filled my head while watching events unfold. And know that its still happening 2 days on.

My first thoughts were of course who is claiming responsibility for these attacks. Will they again go after the usual "Muslim Terrorist" - those crazy fundamentals? Will India blame Pakistan for the attacks? Can this lead to a nuclear war? [Not forgetting that India and Pakistan both have nuclear warheads lying in their backyards]. Also was this was turning out to be India's 9/11. What action will the country take? Those questions can't be answered as yet since the gun battles are still going on. Attacking the Taj and Oberoi hotels was extremely clever planning and these gunmen were definitely not 'normal' islamic terrorists. Precise planning and tech capabilities are allowing them to run havoc in the financial capital of India.

Worrying as this all was I was sad that I was missing from the action. I was actually wishing I was there reporting being in the thick of it all. Reminded me of the adrenaline rush I felt during May this year in South Africa, when the xenophobic attacks were happening.

No I am not saying that I condone the attacks. I CONDEM it completely but as a journalist its in my blood to want to be there, to feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. To let it all subside and to let the tears come at the horror that you see and witness. I am human and tears will be natural for I am a girl with feelings. But I would still want to be there. I want to tell the news and I want to tell it as it happens. If it was not for those witnessing it first hand I would not have heard about it till the next morning like a lot of my friends.

Where am I leading with all this?

Well no where exactly. Its just me putting my thoughts down and letting you all know about it. Its me agreeing that citizen journalism rocks for breaking news. Its me showing that I'm a little crazy wanting to be in the thick of things and not caring about my own self. Its just all about me.

On another note on me, another reason I have been running around without a head [see first line on chickens] is I'm writing a few articles for World Aids Day on Monday. Have you ever tried coordinating an article with a round up from all parts of Africa?

Yicks its an intense hard process, but I pulled it off. Now its wait and see if the editor loves or hates it. [hoping loves it!!!]

Its hard doing these stories. You meet people living with the virus who give you hope and show you that love exists and then you meet others who make your heart break into a million pieces.

Hoping to have something written up for my blog on Monday. All depends on the madness that will arise with my stories from today till Sunday night.

Be safe everyone

And my condolences to the families in Mumbai and to everyone effected and affected with HIV/AIDS!!!

Peace

PS: and there was the #27Dinner this week…awesome people out there. Photo Credit to Za5

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You can find it all anywhere in Accra

Trying to write this in between the hectic schedule I have at the moment in Ghana.

Ghana is definitely not what I expected at all. Neither is Ramadan for me here. I have been so busy working and meeting people that the fact that I am fasting seems to have passed me by. Except the fact that I really really need some sleep.

Other then that it is an amazing experience.

Firstly, we all know that fasting is hard in the first week no matter what we do or say or think. The change in the body obliterates our senses. Hunger pangs, mood swings and the idea that we have to stay at peace with the next person. Sure thing I did not have to fast since I am a traveller, but I chose to and I will live with my decision as being the right choice I made in ages.

Alhamdulillah it has been so far so good and reaching the end of the second day has passed me by. The difficulty though is waking up after only about two to three hours of sleep. Mission is an understatement.

Leaving the airport after two hours waiting for the shuttle to the hotel, I got my first real glimpse of Accra. Accra is what my travelling companion labelled as “typically African”. She insisted that it also had the “African smell which is missing in Cape Town and Johannesburg”. I’m sure she would know more then me as Ghana is only my third African country apart from Madagascar and Egypt (which according to the UN it forms part of the Middle East – if you confused let me know will explain it better).

So Sunday passed by in a whirlwind of work and seeing Accra come to life. And just because its Sunday does not for one minute mean that people are scarce or the roads are quiet. Busy is the way of life here and I love the people. All smiles no matter what. The first thing though that hit me was the poverty. Poverty in the middle of town, outside town just everywhere. Driving into the city we passed areas that would maybe resemble Alexandra township in Johannesburg. (will try and get the pics uploaded soon).

Driving back to the hotel I heard the Azaan. I was a little surprised as it was eminating from the middle of no where – in other words no minarets present for me to identify where the masjid was. This was the call for Esha and the first Taraweeh of the month. I wished right at that moment I could get off the shuttle and hunt the masjid down. But seeing as it was my first night I decided against it.

Instead I got back to the hotel and made sure I ordered food that would be good enough to keep for sehri the next morning. Getting up for sehri is hard in a different country and its harder when you alone with out your room-mates or family but I some how dragged myself out of bed.

Iftar was not that different actually. I sat on the stairs outside the forum hall watched the sunset and waited for my alarm to go off so I knew it was time. Unfortunately where the conference and forums are being held its in central town and no masjid is close by to hear azaan.

So far the days go on…

Will explain more about what I am doing here in the next post hopefully.

Full winded posts soon.

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Trying to write something of substance for my blog is like shooting in the dark -- a needle in a haystack but that’s me. I write when and where I want to if I want to. Normally it would never be a problem but these days there is so much that I want to write but I can't get around to doing so or finding the time to even contemplate doing it.

I thought that I would finally get some me time to fiddle around and expand my horizons since starting my new job, but none of that has been possible. I was first thrown in the deep end to cover the Southern Africa Development Community summit, which included meeting some presidents and writing a story on something I did not know about but I should have, since it affected women in southern Africa. The Gender Protocol was signed that weekend but it was barely mentioned in any of the papers or televised programmes. And meeting new people. Loads of new people and finding out that one of them has ulterior motives to knowing me. Learning to give that person a cold shoulder and learning that I need to invest in a fake wedding ring. Yah all that in four days. Totally interesting if not the most profound experience.

Now I'm being shipped off to Ghana and I can't wait for the experience, but o boy do I have lots to catch up on. When I was first told that I was going it was to be in the capacity of a spear writer in case it was needed. Now I have started two articles for the forum --- it’s the 3^rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness --- and I know there should be about three more to write. All this while trying to keep my first week of fast for Ramadhaan is sure going to be interesting in the least.

I love different countries and places and I hope I can fit in some touring. If not I will have to be satisfied with meeting tons of new people as per usual. Makes me wonder what else will get thrown my way when I get back.

I know I have few heady plans in the pipeline after Ramadhaan. Eid is going to be as crazy as ever. Mid-week taking leave and going home is going to be crazy and then coming back and having to work that Friday.

On to something a bit distant and arb. At the SADC summit a fellow journalist and myself were disgusted with the behaviour of a few colleagues' from Swaziland. As many of you know Swaziland is a country ruled by a monarch. So as journalists you oppose rulers who feel it is their right to control the media and its people, especially one such as the Swazi Monarch. Fine we understand if you work for the media controlled papers, radio station and television studios. We understand you are made to follow rules and regulations. But when you stand and praise your monarch in loud voices instead of doing your job as you should, you earn the disrespect of your fellow journalists.

Asking them why they did that was like insinuating that we knew better. No we don't. We are also humans and we also make the same faults but what they did was outrageous and unprecedented. I had never before experienced something to that effect and I hope never will I.

I am not saying that what I do is right but to stand and holler while your own camera is rolling footage makes you wonder if not everything is just an act.

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My posts of late have been somewhat haphazard and erratic, but that is generally the state of my thoughts as well so it would only be natural. On another deviant post I’d just like to say thanks to all the wonderfully people who responded to my cry for help at the camps.

New developments suggest that these camps will be moved to permanent premises in the Midrand area but this does not mean they still don’t need your help. I’m also glad to know that people have taken the initiative from the start to help. Stories we have been covering do not anywhere close enough cover all the stories of love and warmth expressed by people we meet along the way.

Some don’t even want their stories retold but I pray to God to keep them safe. They are definitely angels. Along with a few other stories I nearly jumped on a bus to Harare till they started arresting journalists again and sentencing them to 6months in prison.

Surprising how this goes under the radar with most people and to think a few months ago we were calling everyone to fight for the release of the British journo. Now South African journo’s are in jail and been sentenced and no one seems to care or give a damn. Something seems very wrong with that picture…don’t you think?!?!?!

When someone has answers to BOBs madness please let me know.

So Obama is now the leading presidential candidate for the Democratics… this makes me think of what I previously wrote on the topic of the US presidential race.

Interestingly the US presidential hopefuls are in the midst of their elections. The focus greatly on the two Democrat candidates – Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Is this a suggestion that the tide has changed so much so that people want a Democrat even if they maybe black or a woman. (Is the US ready for such a change?) The republican hopefuls are also having their very same elections but all you see in the media are the Democrat hopefuls..

The policy decisions made by any future president of the most powerful nation in the world will undoubtedly play a major part in the rest of the world – are we, the world, ready to be ruled by a black man or a white woman?

Things have not changed much from the last time that was written. I’m scared to know what will happen when the proper election run begins. Seriously though I was all for Obama winning but now I’m unsure about that. As the race goes on what he stood for seems to have changed a little, but then again I have no deep understanding of US politics so who am I to say anything?

If he does become the next US president then I will see what he is really made of. His comments about “We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in” and “This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past.”, gives me some hope.

In another post I also went through the turmoil within my head on the whole job situation. Nothing much has changed on that front except the parents have declared that I should apply for everything that comes my way and “you never know something will happen”. Now if anyone has a good motivation letter to pass my way and a few tips please do so.

It will be greatly highly appreciated!!!!

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