Ross Dunkley, Former Head of The Myanmar Times, Arrested in Burma
MUMBAI, India — There was a time when Ross Dunkley, my former boss at the Myanmar Times, was a powerful man. Today, he sits in a prison cell. I remember Ross storming into the newsroom in Rangoon after having stayed up all night drinking. Ross, a tall Australian with broad shoulders, wore a power suit. His head was bald and shiny. “Come on, Hanna,” he commanded, waving his arm in the air. “We’re going to lunch.” We arrived at Trader’s Hotel. “Sake, sake!” Ross shouted at a young Burmese woman standing near the entrance. She looked confused and walked off. [...]
Contiue ReadingSpecial Report: Child brides
I traveled to Nepal in August through a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to cover child marriage in the country. Here is the two-part series I wrote for GlobalPost. Child marriages burden young Nepalis DOLAKHA, Nepal — Suntali Thami grew up in a tiny village here in this remote district set in the foothills of the Himalayas. Her family, destitute farmers, did not have the money to send her to school. So when she was a young girl, about the age of 13, they sent her down to the capital, Kathmandu, to earn money washing dishes at [...]
Contiue ReadingIndia’s Bias for Boys
Listen to my radio story, India’s Bias for Boys, on PRI’s The World. Click on the mp3 below or on the “play” button here. Read the accompanying text on PRI’ The World site.
Contiue ReadingGHI’s Missing Piece in Nepal: Abortion
LAMAHI, Nepal – United States President Barack Obama set up the Global Health Initiative to take a more comprehensive approach to improving health care in developing nations. In particular, his administration has given great weight to saving the lives of women and to supporting countries’ priorities in health care. But there’s one exception: abortion. In Nepal, that exclusion is in plain view, and many say the lack of support disregards evidence that safe abortions can save women’s lives. Nearly all experts here — with the notable exception of those employed by the U.S. government — publicly state that the best [...]
Contiue ReadingPolitical Instability Threatens Nepal’s Health Care Program
My blog from GlobalPost’s Global Pulse: KATHMANDU, Nepal — Healthcare providers, advocates and academics have told me during my travels in Nepal these past two weeks that one of the biggest challenges to improving the country’s healthcare system is the nation’s political instability. Nepal is in the process of trying to draft a new constitution and create a new government in the aftermath of a 10-year armed conflict that pitted Maoist insurgents against the state. The conflict ended in 2006 when the Maoists agreed to give up their arms. Nepal’s unpopular monarchy was soon thereafter abolished. It has been five [...]
Contiue ReadingNepali Villagers Forced to Travel Treacherous Roads to Nearest Hospital
My blog for The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting: The ride there was actually quite lovely. It was coming back when we realized just how harrowing doing something as basic as driving to town can be for the people of Nepal’s rural areas. Pulitzer Center intern Anna Tomasulo and I arrived Monday night in Dolakha, a district in Nepal’s mountain region with picturesque mountains and lush green rice paddies. We set off Tuesday morning to visit a small village up in the hills. The area mostly consists of the Thami ethnic group, and the majority of those in this village [...]
Contiue ReadingMaternal Health and Rural Development in Nepal: One Woman’s Fight
For GlobalPost’s Global Pulse Blog: GHORAHI, Nepal — Asmani Chaudhary grew up dirt poor in a village in Nepal’s Terai region, which runs along the border with India. A member of a long-disadvantaged Nepali community called Tharu, Chaudhary was raised in a mud hut that housed her entire 30-member extended family. Now, at age 37, Chaudhary walks around the office of the organization she founded with a sense of confidence and pride. She points out the framed photographs and letters hanging on her wall: one shows her with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, another is a letter from U.S. Senator [...]
Contiue ReadingWill the Elderly Bring Down India?
MUMBAI, India — Maqbool Beg has been driving a rickshaw for 42 years. Now, at the age of 62, his children have grown, his beard has turned white, his teeth are red from years of chewing betel nut. And he suffers from high blood pressure. But he keeps on driving. He needs the money. Thanks to inflation and the high cost of living in Mumbai, Beg has never been able to save. The 4,500 rupees (about $100) he earns a month make him ineligible for even a small government handout. Beg and his wife cannot rely on their sons, who [...]
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