Kenya’s once famed elite running programme is under increased scrutiny as the extent of doping comes to light. By Helena Hussey Over the past 50 years Kenyan athletes have come to dominate long-distance running; yet, what started with a generation…
Category: Africa
The World’s Deadliest Ocean Crossing
BY SEAN HANSEN Forty-two miles off the Libyan coastline, the Ocean Viking races towards a sinking ship full of refugees. Acting on information reported to the Libyan Coast Guard, the ship’s crew prepares for a rescue effort in the bleak…
How Gemfields Puts the Blood in “Blood Red” Rubies
BY JUANA LEE The jewelry sector is a billion dollar business that rakes in almost USD $300 billion per year. As fine jewelry, such as gems, become the ultimate luxury commodity, consumers are increasingly aware of purchasing “guilt-free” or “conflict-free”…
“The Pearl of Africa is Bleeding”
BY HANNA HOMESTEAD The first thing I noticed as we drove into town was the smell. The familiar fragrance of Kasese’s dusty air, usually scented by flowering coffee plants and smoldering kitchen fires, was replaced with a stench that turned…
Ashoka in Monrovia
One of the first things you might notice about Monrovia is the barbed wire. It grows like vines from the top of the salt-scarred concrete battlements that ring anything of official value or importance, showing up everywhere in an endless…
Crop to Cup
BY STEPHEN SCHABER On 14th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in Union Square, across from Jason’s Jewelry & Diamonds and next door to a Western Union, you will find Bourbon Coffee, a large café with a larger mission. This…
Refugees in a Refugee Nation
BY NICOLE SCHILIT The 100 men packed tightly in the barren room suffered from different degrees of malnourishment, a visible marker that distinguished how long each had spent in the prison. The worst off had been jailed up to four…
Journey Into Israel
By Nicole Schilit About 12 meters from the end of the bridge stood the fence separating Egypt and Israel. Zebib, 27 years old, born and raised in Eritrea, was alone. Alone except for the 36 other African refugees who had…
Ethiopia Chokes Refugees
By NICOLE SCHILIT Genet’s soft voice makes it difficult to make out the words she is saying. The young Eritrean refugee avoids eye contact, and when she speaks she turns toward the empty space in her small one-room home rather…
The Lost Boys Vote
BY STEPHEN GRAY The gunfire, explosions and screams coming from his village convinced Peter it was time to flee. Concealed by the falling dusk, he escaped into the woods, leaving his family, his village in Southern Sudan, and his childhood…