sierra leone

Human Trafficking: The Fastest Growing Criminal Enterprise In The World

by raquel on August 10, 2009

I came across this piece reported by CNN’s John Vause about parents of missing kids in China complaining of police indifference and harassment. I don’t think any of us are surprised to read reports about police apathy. What’s alarming is the global pandemic of human trafficking. Watching this piece reminded me of an instance relayed [...]

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Tupac Shakur: An Enigma Lives In Africa

by raquel on June 16, 2009

Tupac Shakur mural. photograph taken by Teun Voeten in December 1999, Sierra Leone.
TUPAC SHAKUR June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996
One of the reasons why hip-hop culture works well, for better and worse, as a tool for self-expression around the world is because it allows disenfranchised people to speak on their own behalf: the dance, [...]

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Women Are Heroes

by raquel on June 6, 2009

JR is one of the most interesting photographers I’ve ever happened upon. My homeslice, the artist Carlos “Mare 139″ Rodriguez put me on to him last year and I’ve been checking for him ever since. JR started taking interesting portraits of people the world over after finding a camera on the subway in his native [...]

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Bling: A Planet Rock: Frequently Asked Questions

by raquel on March 6, 2009

“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.”
~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

I’ve compiled  some of the frequently asked questions about Bling: A Planet Rock, a feature documentary film I slaved over—”slave” being the operative word here—from 2001, when I started drafting the idea, all the way through its completion [...]

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(Bling) Sierra Leone Update: Rebel Leaders Convicted

by raquel on March 1, 2009

Leaders of diamond-fuelled terror campaign convicted by Sierra Leone’s Special Court

Press Release – 26/02/2009
Global Witness welcomes the Special Court for Sierra Leone’s conviction yesterday of three senior commanders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
During eleven years of civil war, the RUF waged a devastating campaign of terror against [...]

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