The Savage War:
What worked for you?
The details really worked for me. The details really made me feel like I was there beside the main character. I felt the excitement and the horror of it all.
I liked the insightful descriptions of how the Taliban functioned. I also liked hearing about the inside functioning of the Canadian military and how their public image is managed on a journalism and public relations level.
I really enjoyed the tone of the book. It wasn’t a difficult read. Though it was long, it wasn’t difficult.
What didn’t work for you?
I found the book to be very long and I felt like I would never get through it at times. I felt that the chapters were dauntingly large and some things could have been edited out. At some points I was bored and trailed off and it was hard to stay focused.
What can journalists learn from this book?
From reading this book, I think journalists will learn that it is hard to desensitize yourself from the stories you are telling when they involve a different value system to that of your own.
In chapter two, Brewster discusses suicide bombings and what some of the globe and mail journalists found when arriving on the scene to see the remains of a suicide bomber. What they saw and had a deep impact on them.
Louie the photographer said, It’s Fucked, man. Why would anybody want to do that to themselves?”
Then Brewster writes none of us had any answers.
I also think Savage War will teach journalists that talking about situations and events is great but actually being there to see these situations unfold for puts a whole new meaning to truly understanding the story is being told.
On page 12 in chapter 2 Brewster writes:
It was the first time I actually felt like a hostage of the army. They could tell us as much or as little as they wanted, and they often chose the latter. In this case, they chose to say nothing, or next to nothing, which was probably worse. News, especially big news, abhors a vacuum.
How willfully inarticulate the Canadian military could be. Individual soldiers were, I found were wonderfully colourful and quotable, but the Canadian military as an institution seemed quite pleased to have a stranglehold on information and the movement of journalists.
What effect did the Savage War have on you?
It really made me see how Afghanistan is very much like its own operation. It made me really appreciate the dangers that journalist face when they are covering stories there. It made me imagine the stress that journalists would go through and how much they would sacrifice to get the story.
I think it made me see that not everyone could do this job and you really have to have an understanding of the culture and a respect for the customs to form effective relationships there.
How does this book compare with another non-fiction work about Afghanistan? Provide highlights of that other work?
I watched a documentary called Desert Lions by Lt. Col Mike Vernon. He came to visit journalism students in the Creative Communications program at Red River College to talk about his experience.
When I watched Desert Lions, I made a mental note to compare it to my experience reading The Savage War. What I liked about the documentary was that it was very visual and I knew exactly what I was seeing.
When I was reading The Savage War, much more was left to my imagination and interpretation of the written word. I liked seeing Afghanistan in a documentary because the footage seemed more real and raw.
I really liked seeing the footage of the soldiers when they were having their down time. It really made me see them as actual people and not trained machines. They too get super hot in the heat and sometimes needed to take their uniforms off and walk around in just their underwear.
I often wondered how soldiers could endure such hot temperatures and this showed me they had their breaking points to and they were human just like me.
I really saw the sense of urgency in the soldiers that were being filmed. When something went wrong, they immediately switched into soldier mode.
I also liked seeing how important a sense of humour was. In the documentary, the main fridge on the base was down and the soldiers were joking around saying they hoped they wouldn’t have tones of mayonnaise delivered that day. They all were able to laugh it out which made an awkward situation a bit more manageable. A sense of humour really shows a soldiers’ positive attitude.
I also thought it was interesting when the important attributes that a soldier should have was discussed. Patience for example, was the number one important skill because soldiers are constantly managing different demands. They are managing cultural demands, as well as demands from back home and finally, demands from higher ranks.
Another skill that was important for a soldier to demonstrate is restraint. When dealing in a different country with major language and cultural barriers, restraint would be the most important skill to hone. It is an important trait for a soldier to demonstrate restraint when conversing with Afghan soldiers specifically. This can be especially true when frustration builds and you are holding a loaded weapon.
I also thought it was interesting when the documentary described Afghan soldiers as being simple but effective. Other lines in the documentary that resonated with me were soldiers need to air, vent and grieve.
I thought this was an interesting because I would not have necessarily thought of the grieving part so much going hand and hand with the others. Primitive not offensive was another phrase I thought was insightful.
Finally, I thought it was very interesting when it was stated we are here to mentor them, not be and Afghan soldier. I thought that was very important to draw that line of distinction. I could imagine that it could at times become a grey area.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Should Doors Open For Door to Door Canvassers?
February represents heart awareness month. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba is in full swing with their door to door fundraising campaign that started on February 1, 2012.
Bryce J. McEwen, communications coordinator for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba said the campaign is one of the original fundraising initiatives the foundation started with and said the campaign is evaluated each year.
“The Foundation’s Door-to-Door campaign is the most successful grassroots fundraiser for the foundation, providing an excellent return on investment and raising nearly $700,000 each year in the province. “
McEwen also said the campaign raises more than just funds.
“The campaign raises life-saving awareness in the fight against heart disease and stroke. Thanks to our valued volunteers we are able to reach over 200,000 homes in both urban and rural areas across the province.”
McEwan also said volunteer participation is down slightly from last year but they are very close to their targets.
Barb Gemmell, a nonprofit expert, said several health organizations in Manitoba recruit for door to door volunteers.
“It is more difficult to get people to go door to door these days and the results of a door to door campaign are definitely impacted by the motivation and commitment of the volunteer canvassers.”
Amaro Silva, executive director for the Better Business Bureau of Manitoba can understand why charities use the door to door fundraising strategy but is does have some concern.
“In today’s world said Silva, with the number of schemes and scams on the go on a regular basis, people are probably wary and rightly so.”
Silva also said the Better Business Bureau advises people to be very careful of door to door solicitations. He said to ensure residents look for proper uniforms and to carefully check the canvassers identification. He recommends the legitimate charities ensure their volunteer canvassers are armed with uniforms, name tags charity id etc.
Silva said most scams take the form of a scatter gun approach where criminals will target anyone they think they can scam. For door to door scams though, criminals will target upper income neighbourhoods.
VISUALISATION POSSIBILITIES
When I think of visualizing this story, I think there are many options.
A chart outlining the different dates of when the various different non profits hold their door to door canvassing campaigns would be useful to the reader and also assist the organizations in raising awareness.
A map of upper income areas in the province would be useful so readers can see what areas are most likely to be targeted by criminals.
A graph depicting volunteer involvement with different charities over the years could also be used to demonstrate volunteer trends.
A graph outlining the results of door to door fundraising totals over the years from various different chairities in the city to demonstrate if this type of fundraiser is still successful could also be helpful in portraying this story visually.
Mapping out the number of victims of door to door scams could also be another useful visual component. If of course, these stats are available and current.
For the third part of the assignment, I didn't get very far with it unfortunately but I will try again. I did take a look at the tools that we learned in class though and found this very useful.
Bryce J. McEwen, communications coordinator for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba said the campaign is one of the original fundraising initiatives the foundation started with and said the campaign is evaluated each year.
“The Foundation’s Door-to-Door campaign is the most successful grassroots fundraiser for the foundation, providing an excellent return on investment and raising nearly $700,000 each year in the province. “
McEwen also said the campaign raises more than just funds.
“The campaign raises life-saving awareness in the fight against heart disease and stroke. Thanks to our valued volunteers we are able to reach over 200,000 homes in both urban and rural areas across the province.”
McEwan also said volunteer participation is down slightly from last year but they are very close to their targets.
Barb Gemmell, a nonprofit expert, said several health organizations in Manitoba recruit for door to door volunteers.
“It is more difficult to get people to go door to door these days and the results of a door to door campaign are definitely impacted by the motivation and commitment of the volunteer canvassers.”
Amaro Silva, executive director for the Better Business Bureau of Manitoba can understand why charities use the door to door fundraising strategy but is does have some concern.
“In today’s world said Silva, with the number of schemes and scams on the go on a regular basis, people are probably wary and rightly so.”
Silva also said the Better Business Bureau advises people to be very careful of door to door solicitations. He said to ensure residents look for proper uniforms and to carefully check the canvassers identification. He recommends the legitimate charities ensure their volunteer canvassers are armed with uniforms, name tags charity id etc.
Silva said most scams take the form of a scatter gun approach where criminals will target anyone they think they can scam. For door to door scams though, criminals will target upper income neighbourhoods.
VISUALISATION POSSIBILITIES
When I think of visualizing this story, I think there are many options.
A chart outlining the different dates of when the various different non profits hold their door to door canvassing campaigns would be useful to the reader and also assist the organizations in raising awareness.
A map of upper income areas in the province would be useful so readers can see what areas are most likely to be targeted by criminals.
A graph depicting volunteer involvement with different charities over the years could also be used to demonstrate volunteer trends.
A graph outlining the results of door to door fundraising totals over the years from various different chairities in the city to demonstrate if this type of fundraiser is still successful could also be helpful in portraying this story visually.
Mapping out the number of victims of door to door scams could also be another useful visual component. If of course, these stats are available and current.
For the third part of the assignment, I didn't get very far with it unfortunately but I will try again. I did take a look at the tools that we learned in class though and found this very useful.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Diabetes Unscripted, The Caregiver Diaries
This past week I handed in my IPP or my Independent Professional Project. This is a huge accomplishment as I have been working on my IPP for a year and a half. My IPP is a book called Diabetes Unscripted, The Caregiver Diaries.
Diabetes Unscripted is about real life caregivers who share their stories about being a caregiver for someone living with diabetes. I became interested in pursuing the idea of researching and sharing caregiver stories because my own family has been impacted by type II diabetes. My mom is the primary caregiver for my dad and has looked after him for many years. I was inspired by my mother’s compassion and ability to care for my dad but it hasn’t always been easy.
My parents’ situation provided me with the foundation to understand what it is like for someone caring for someone living with the disease. As a caregiver, you are giving to someone on a daily basis. I kept on thinking to myself, who cares for the caregiver though? I wanted to create a caregivers’ companion if you will, a book for the caregivers to turn to when they need support. I wanted to provide them with the opportunity to relate to people in their situation where they can receive a source of inspiration, motivation and or comfort from sharing similar stories without having to leave the comfort of their own home. Caregivers can see themselves in this book and know they are not alone.
When I started to recruit caregivers for the project, My goal was to gather caregivers who were very different from each other so I could represent as many different situations as possible. In total, I was able to recruit nine caregivers who were willing to share their stories with me. Seven of them are diabetes related stories while two are not. These two caregiving stories however, are just as powerful and relevant.
I asked participants to journal their emotions for a three month period and to be as open and honest about their feelings as possible. I wanted them to treat their journal entries as their actual diary. That is why the title is also called The Caregiver Diaries. For those caregivers that were unable to journal, I interviewed them and compiled their information together. During the editing process, I worked very hard at not losing the authentic voice of the caregivers and kept their tones and words as authentic as possible.
Due to the sensitive and personal nature of the subject, some participants asked to remain anonymous. In this situation, alias names were used while others were open to sharing this story and even provided their photographs. At the start of each chapter, a visual aid is used that the subject provided to represent them. As well, a piece of music reflecting the theme of each situation is inserted underneath the photograph.
I would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Lori Berard, Head Nurse Manager at the Diabetes Research Group in Winnipeg located at the Health Science Centre. She is also Chair-Elect for the Canadian Diabetes Association. I cold called Lori back in October, 2011 and told her about my plans for Diabetes Unscripted. She felt the project was very important. I asked her to write the foreword in the book and she agreed. Thanks to Lori, I was also able to receive funding for printing costs that is much appreciated.
I will be holding a book launch for Diabetes Unscripted, The Caregiver Diaries on March 8, 2012 at 7:30pm at McNally Robinson in Grant Park Shopping Centre. I am thrilled with the feedback I have been receiving about this project and I am hopeful that Diabetes Unscripted, The Caregiver Diaries will help many people.
Diabetes Unscripted is about real life caregivers who share their stories about being a caregiver for someone living with diabetes. I became interested in pursuing the idea of researching and sharing caregiver stories because my own family has been impacted by type II diabetes. My mom is the primary caregiver for my dad and has looked after him for many years. I was inspired by my mother’s compassion and ability to care for my dad but it hasn’t always been easy.
My parents’ situation provided me with the foundation to understand what it is like for someone caring for someone living with the disease. As a caregiver, you are giving to someone on a daily basis. I kept on thinking to myself, who cares for the caregiver though? I wanted to create a caregivers’ companion if you will, a book for the caregivers to turn to when they need support. I wanted to provide them with the opportunity to relate to people in their situation where they can receive a source of inspiration, motivation and or comfort from sharing similar stories without having to leave the comfort of their own home. Caregivers can see themselves in this book and know they are not alone.
When I started to recruit caregivers for the project, My goal was to gather caregivers who were very different from each other so I could represent as many different situations as possible. In total, I was able to recruit nine caregivers who were willing to share their stories with me. Seven of them are diabetes related stories while two are not. These two caregiving stories however, are just as powerful and relevant.
I asked participants to journal their emotions for a three month period and to be as open and honest about their feelings as possible. I wanted them to treat their journal entries as their actual diary. That is why the title is also called The Caregiver Diaries. For those caregivers that were unable to journal, I interviewed them and compiled their information together. During the editing process, I worked very hard at not losing the authentic voice of the caregivers and kept their tones and words as authentic as possible.
Due to the sensitive and personal nature of the subject, some participants asked to remain anonymous. In this situation, alias names were used while others were open to sharing this story and even provided their photographs. At the start of each chapter, a visual aid is used that the subject provided to represent them. As well, a piece of music reflecting the theme of each situation is inserted underneath the photograph.
I would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Lori Berard, Head Nurse Manager at the Diabetes Research Group in Winnipeg located at the Health Science Centre. She is also Chair-Elect for the Canadian Diabetes Association. I cold called Lori back in October, 2011 and told her about my plans for Diabetes Unscripted. She felt the project was very important. I asked her to write the foreword in the book and she agreed. Thanks to Lori, I was also able to receive funding for printing costs that is much appreciated.
I will be holding a book launch for Diabetes Unscripted, The Caregiver Diaries on March 8, 2012 at 7:30pm at McNally Robinson in Grant Park Shopping Centre. I am thrilled with the feedback I have been receiving about this project and I am hopeful that Diabetes Unscripted, The Caregiver Diaries will help many people.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Valentine’s Day Perspectives
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I wanted investigate how people of different ages react to Valentine's Day. I also wanted to see how how people celebrate the day. Finally, I wanted to learn how people respond to the media coverage that surrounds Valentine's Day and how this affects them.
Tammy Robinson, 32, program manager for Manitoba at the Co-op Housing Federation of Canada said she is a romantic at heart and loves Valentine’s Day.
“I like Valentine’s Day, I am a romantic at heart. I am going to spend it with the people that I adore. I have no specific plans yet though,” she said.
Robinson also feels that the holiday is commercialized.
“I think it is commercialized and the media tries to sell us this impossible dream of what it should be like. I do not have any Valentine’s Day traditions. I just try to be good to myself and the people around me - but I do that every day,” she said.
Rich McKinley, 40, and new dad, has a confession to make about what he’ll be doing this Valentine’s Day.
“Actually.... I'm embarrassed to say, I'm going to the Jets game with a buddy. But, I’ll definitely get my partner flowers…I love her tons. Love the Jest too!”, he said.
I interviewed a cousin of mine who lives in Los Angeles who is 60 years old. I wanted to get his perspective on the day. He asked that I keep his identity concealed.
“I am not doing anything for Valentine’s Day. I only acknowledge this day when I'm dating someone. I make a point of staying away from restaurants on this day because they are overpriced and jammed. How's that for a male point of view?”
Rafid Shahriyar, 20, lives in Bangladesh and is super excited about Valentine’s Day.
“It is a tradition in my country to buy gifts for your special one. Our media here doesn’t really make me feel pressured in any way to have to do something for the day,” he said.
From these responses, there is certainly a variety of different viewpoints about the day itself, what it represents and how the media plays a part as well. I think the important thing is to remember that the foundation of the holiday is to appreciate the one you love. So, to all of you out there, take a moment and appreciate your loved one this Valentine’s Day!
Tammy Robinson, 32, program manager for Manitoba at the Co-op Housing Federation of Canada said she is a romantic at heart and loves Valentine’s Day.
“I like Valentine’s Day, I am a romantic at heart. I am going to spend it with the people that I adore. I have no specific plans yet though,” she said.
Robinson also feels that the holiday is commercialized.
“I think it is commercialized and the media tries to sell us this impossible dream of what it should be like. I do not have any Valentine’s Day traditions. I just try to be good to myself and the people around me - but I do that every day,” she said.
Rich McKinley, 40, and new dad, has a confession to make about what he’ll be doing this Valentine’s Day.
“Actually.... I'm embarrassed to say, I'm going to the Jets game with a buddy. But, I’ll definitely get my partner flowers…I love her tons. Love the Jest too!”, he said.
I interviewed a cousin of mine who lives in Los Angeles who is 60 years old. I wanted to get his perspective on the day. He asked that I keep his identity concealed.
“I am not doing anything for Valentine’s Day. I only acknowledge this day when I'm dating someone. I make a point of staying away from restaurants on this day because they are overpriced and jammed. How's that for a male point of view?”
Rafid Shahriyar, 20, lives in Bangladesh and is super excited about Valentine’s Day.
“It is a tradition in my country to buy gifts for your special one. Our media here doesn’t really make me feel pressured in any way to have to do something for the day,” he said.
From these responses, there is certainly a variety of different viewpoints about the day itself, what it represents and how the media plays a part as well. I think the important thing is to remember that the foundation of the holiday is to appreciate the one you love. So, to all of you out there, take a moment and appreciate your loved one this Valentine’s Day!
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