by Natasha Dokovska
Macedonia

The sounds of the tambour and clarinet - loud Gypsy music – throngs of young people dressed in traditional costume, a wood table piled high with food and plenty of dry red wine…this was the backdrop for a marriage between Esma and Redxep last month in the first Roma community in Europe, Shuto Orizari, located in the northern part of Skopje, the capital of Macedonia.

• Romani woman and her child in Eastern Europe. Photograph by Lori Scott •

“Esma was my friend; she lives near our house. Esma [did] not want to be married, but she was [forced] to by her father, Ramce. He sold [Esma] to the parents of Redxep,” say Resmija, one of Esma’s friends.

The neighbors of Esma’s family claim that she was sold for 1000 Euros (approximately $1,300 USD); they confirm that all of Esma’s other sisters have been sold off as well. In a country where the average monthly income is around $690 (USD), Esma’s bride-price will certainly help sustain the family. They say that Esma’s parents haven’t worked for ten years, and that this is one means of survival.

by Judy Tatelbaum, M.S.W
USA

A current trend flooding American mainstream media (and one that is shaping perceptions of weddings as grotesque exhibitions of egomaniacal women out-of-control) is the coverage on TV, websites and in print, portraying brides-to-be as "Bridezillas". Similarly, popular shows like the Bachelor and Bachelorette pit scores of hopeful men and women against each other in a competition to win the affections of those who have resorted to finding "true love" on reality TV. These abstractions of marriage are often run in tandem with never-ending coverage of the supposedly inevitable collapse of "ideal" celebrity marriages. The latter, especially, are usually accompanied by statements implying that a woman's success will almost certainly rock if not destroy her marriage, if she has managed to have one.

The following WIP article counterbalances the Bridezilla viewpoint and reality TV confections, and offers a wiser perspective on not just weddings, but the natural courses of the marriages that follow them. These reflections come from an inspiring professional therapist in practice for over 30 years, who deals with the deeper issues of being human with incredible compassion. Not surprisingly, the two books on overcoming grief and emotional suffering that she has authored, have both become best sellers.
– Ed.

by María Suárez Toro
Costa Rica/Puerto Rico

Millions of tourists have visited Costa Rica, affectionately know as “ticolandia,” for decades, attracted to it largely because its protection of both its lush forest and coastal areas means it offers inviting, pristine beaches and unique natural beauty.

But the pending US elections may result in changes that could affect our country very profoundly, with very negative effects.

Call of the Wild

Costa Rica is what you might call a species in threat of extinction by CAFTA agreements. The majority of people in Costa Rica have become protectionists of the rare species of government and life that we have, which is now actively being eaten away at by some of its own as well as by outsiders: the pressure of the US Administration, multinational corporations and the local elites with close links to both.

by Halima Abdallah K.
- Uganda -

• Photograph by Tavis K Beaubier •

According to the Ministry, of approximately 26.5 million people living in the country, these orphans constitute about 9% of the total population.

A report released last year by the Ministry of Health in Uganda reveals that of the two million orphans in the country, about half are HIV/AIDS orphans. Of these children, 84,000 are under 14 years of age and living with the virus. The Ministry also estimates that there are 2,697 children with multiple disabilities, a fact that makes them even more vulnerable and likely to live in dire poverty.

by Sarah Wyatt
USA

The Dallas Convention Center was rocking last July. Some 42,000 Mary Kay consultants, many clad in red blazers, milled about, in attendance for the three-week national annual gathering known as Seminar.

• Mary Kay's Seminar Stage. Photograph by Elizabeth Hesse. •

"Feel the power of pink," the amplified music mandated as pyrotechnics illuminated the arena. The estrogen-infused crowd erupted as Newbury, their coiffed rock star and symbol of the Mary Kay dream, took the stage. Nearing her retirement, her 85,000 consultants had collected more than $11 million in commissions during her career. The company reported Newbury's retirement package guarantees her $8.5 million over the next 15 years.

by Lelety Mabasa
- Zimbabwe -

Reeling under severe economic hardships which have earned it the world's highest monthly inflation rate, Zimbabwe is to be dealt yet another blow as far as foreign investment is concerned. The impending disaster will take the form of the enactment of the controversial “National Indigenization and Empowerment Bill.”

• Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. Photograph by Christopher T. Snow •

All foreign investors seeking to invest in Zimbabwe will be made to seek joint ventures and partnerships with black Zimbabwean business people. According to President Robert Mugabe's government, “they cannot continue holding controlling stake” in the country's enterprises. The government is also planning to use the National Indigenization and Empowerment Fund to mobilize resources and provide loans to new aspiring black business tycoons.

by Hayward Hawks Marcus
USA

• Mast Cells. Photograph by Ed Uthman •

No, they’re not angels - at least not in the literal sense. They are our cells, and just like those legendary guardians, they work night and day without rest on our behalf, doing the countless tasks needed for bodily maintenance, including supply, communication, renewal, repair and defense.

by Rocío Ortega
Mexico

The concern is understandable and based on an undeniable reality. Mexico’s proximity to the United States accounts for the largest group of unauthorized immigrants in the United States.

by Juliette Terzieff
USA

• Waitress in Southern California.
Photograph by Derek E. Baird •

by Vera von Kreutzbruck
Germany

by Imelda V. Abaño
Philippines

TORONTO - “What has happened to me can never be undone!”

• Maher Arar addressing journalists in Toronto. Photograph by Imelda V. Abaño •

Even after five years, even after being officially cleared by a prolonged government study, Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen and telecommunications engineer from Ottawa, still carries the pain.

Maher Arar became an innocent victim caught up in the little-publicized US policy known as "extraordinary rendition" - a covert practice of sending terror suspects to third countries for detention and interrogation.

In September 2002, he cut short a family vacation in response to a request to report back to work in Montreal. Then, at New York’s JFK Airport, he was stopped by US officials. To his astonishment, he was interrogated about his supposed links to terrorists. But things quickly worsened. He was then transported to Syria, where for ten months he was physically and mentally tortured.

by Aralena Malone-Leroy
France

With a record-breaking voter-participation of 86% registered on May 6th, the French citizen’s participation in politics appears to have taken a positive turn from resignation and apathy to genuine interest and action. The reasons for this about-face of public participation in the political sphere are manifold, and emerging media seem to be playing an increasingly larger role.

by Pilirani Semu-Banda
Malawi

The American people provide over $35 million (USD) to Malawi every year in the form of development aid through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This money is used to promote rural economic development, foster governance, reinforce basic education and to improve the health of people in this poor nation.

by Binalakshmi Nepram-Mentschel
India

In Part I of Binalakshmi’s report on small arms proliferation, she explores the cultural, political and geographical factors that make North East India a hotbed for the small arms trade. – Ed.

• A village in North East India. Photograph by Binalakshmi Nepram-Mentschel •

Prevalence of War Economies in North East India

There are thousands of para-military troops armed with weapons based in North East India. Crores, or tens of millions of rupees (hundreds of thousands of US dollars) go into maintaining the troops and the various war machines, specifically, weapons, tanks, bullet proof vehicles, patrol helicopters, etc. Though until now no study has been done to estimate the costs of the heavy militarization of India's North East, the truth is there for all to see. Without doubt, a war economy exists in the region.

by Michelle Chen
USA

“Before, we could just drink straight from the river – we could drink from any stream. But it’s not like that now.”

• An Achuar Apu or spiritual leader. Photograph by Isabel Sande/Películas Atabamba •

For over thirty years the once-pristine expanse hugging the Corrientes River has been known to the oil industry as Block 1AB. But the Achuar people are now defending it as their ancestral home, and they want the US company that first opened the area to oil extraction, Occidental Petroleum, to pay for the environmental aftermath.

by Glory Mushinge
Zambia

International Labor Day was celebrated on May 1st throughout the world again this year, but in Zambia it was simply another painful experience for workers. In a nation of over 11 million people, only 400,000 have formal full-time employment; most work in unsafe conditions, earning only meager salaries. Others, in part-time or temporary employment, work in far worse conditions. Their employers, most of them new foreign investors highly touted by the government, abuse these workers in multiple ways, and consistently subject them to dangerous working environments.

What the workers get in return is pay that is a pittance instead of real wages. But many of these workers have poor or few skills leaving them with no alternatives to these jobs. Other citizens, the victims of the country's high unemployment rate (50%), were nothing but spectators at the Labor Day celebrations. Zambia’s unemployment has pushed many families (86%) far below the poverty line. According to the World Bank, the average annual salary in Zambia was $500 (usd) in 2006. In 2003, 63.1% of the population was living on less than $1 per day.

by Pilirani Semu-Banda
Malawi

Over 65 percent of Malawi's 12 million people live below the poverty line

by D-L Nelson
France

Look closely at the Van der Grinten map. It is upside down, except it isn’t. The earth, seen from space, has no up and down.

• The Van der Grinten Map •

ODT Maps of Amherst, MA, published the “What’s Up? South!" Map. Bob Abramms, ODT founder, publisher, diversity consultant, trainer and community activist, believes people need multiple view points to see the world correctly, each view not containing the truth, but part of the truth. He uses the “What’s up?” map and others to change peoples’ perspectives, not just about maps, but about the world.

by María Suárez Toro
Costa Rica/Puerto Rico

In Costa Rica, a multidisciplinary group of women artists, scientists, activists and academics is producing a musical, Wings of the Butterfly.

• Ceramic artwork for "Wings of the Butterfly" by artist, Rebecca Fernández •

Among the women involved are microbiologist, Libia Herrera; anthropologist and environmentalist, Lorena Aguilar; singer and composer, Guadalupe Urbina; radio producer, Katerina Anfossi; historian, Anna Arroba; and scriptwriter, Roxana Campos, among others.

by Donna Reames Rich
USA

Dec. 19 - In this season of giving, it seems appropriate to run an article we published earlier this year about a woman who chose to give in a very personal way. Because of who she is, when Donna Rich moved to a small Southern town that was clearly dying of neglect, she became determined to make a difference. - Ed.

•The dilapidated pizza parlor that might one day be the site of a Youth Club. Photograph by Lynda Rockel •

Turn right onto Pecan Street, and you’re greeted by the old pizza parlor - but there’s nothing appetizing about it now. Low-slung, graying, with graffiti wildly blaring from the side facing the road, the building is as forlorn as the rest of this once-exclusive neighborhood. Metal rods and broken appliance parts jut out from windows that have no panes. Somebody’s pale blue recliner sits out front, the footrest permanently extended, victim to rusty innards that won’t permit retreat. Ease off Pecan onto Birch Circle - only locals know that it’s Birch. Some kid spray-painted the “r” and replaced it with a lopsided “t”. You get the picture.

This place is a forgotten orphan, with no one to care enough to keep it up, keep it nice, keep it clean.

by Marianne Taflinger
Intern, The WIP
USA

• A woman and her children on the banks of Lake Atitlán in the highlands of Guatemala. Photograph courtesy of Bruno Girin •

So how do you change your own life and the lives in your community? Enter TechnoServe, a nonprofit dedicated to creating business solutions to rural poverty. TechnoServe‘s answer is to give hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs a hand up. It helps them develop businesses that will lift their entire community out of poverty. But how do you find, encourage and develop such entrepreneurial talents? In 2005, TechnoServe sponsored Idea Tu Empresa, a national business competition supported by the Guatemalan government and USAID, the official development arm of the United States.

by Bia Assevero
USA/France

Nicolas Sarkozy’s election to the French presidency last May 6th, signals that the French people

That is the thing about Nicolas Sarkozy. He is a love-him or hate-him kind of guy and there is little, if any middle ground. He is a Machiavellian character; expediency may as well be his middle name. He is aggressive and brash, and political correctness is not high on his list of priorities.

Anyone who doubts that need only remember that during the 2005 riots in Paris’s poorer suburbs, he referred to those neighborhoods as slaughterhouses that need to be hosed down to rid the country of the racailles. In English, that word translates to “scum,” but in French it carries an even more negative connotation. It was a shocking statement to many French people, but Sarkozy stood by it, never once appearing remotely repentant.

by Remi Adeoye
Nigeria

As early as 5am, a very young boy named Tunji is awake. At eleven years old he knows what it means when one says, “no work - no pay”. Searching under the two shirts he uses as a pillow, he pulls out a sachet of pure water and uses it to rinse out his mouth quickly. He uses the rest to wash his face and he is ready to go. Even without a wristwatch, Tunji instinctively knows he hasn’t spent more than 10 minutes getting ready for work.

From under the Ikeja bridge, which serves as his home, he walks as quickly as his little legs will carry him to the park hoping to find work for the day. He gets there just in time to displace another boy two years older than him. Lucky once again, Tunji has secured money for the day as a contracted conductor on a commercial bus. After a whole day’s work, he is only entitled to 500 Naira (US $3.99). But for Tunji, the meager amount makes his portion of daily bread and survival possible.

by Sarah Wyatt
USA

She was a socialite. Or was she awkward, gullible, clumsy?

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Broadway veteran, Patti Cohenour as Florence Foster Jenkins in Souvenir. Photo courtesy of the Seattle ACT Theatre

Will the real Florence Foster Jenkins please stand up?

Stephen Temperley’s Souvenir recently made its West Coast debut at the Seattle ACT Theatre. Broadway actress Patti Cohenour stars in this affectionate valentine to tin-eared opera soprano, Florence Foster Jenkins (1868–1944), a real-life New York socialite who stunned concert audiences in the 1930s and 1940s with her unassailable self-confidence and unique interpretations of the opera repertoire.